Night. In Shendu's guest room.
After spending the entire day playing, Shendu found the experience somewhat novel. The innocence of the children in this otherworldly village, along with the taste of noble life, gave her a refreshing sense of change.
Her mindset had also shifted. From the initial hesitation of carrying out missions, she had gradually become more proactive.
At this moment, Felt was nestled against her side. Ever since she began calling Shendu her sister, Felt had grown extremely close to her, showing both affection and deep respect.
It seemed Shendu's guidance during this period had been quite effective. This future royal candidate was already gradually being influenced by her. In both word and deed, she was beginning to follow Shendu's lead.
It even gave her the illusion that she had brainwashed Felt.
"Big Sister, will we always be together from now on?"
After spending so much time together, Felt's affection for Shendu had risen steadily, drawing ever closer to surpassing its original limit.
"Silly girl. You're my little sister. Of course we'll be together. I promised you—I'll let you live the life you want."
Shendu spoke firmly. Felt's eyes reddened at once, so moved she nearly burst into tears.
[Ding~ Felt's affection toward the host has increased by 28. Current affection: 98.]
After everything they had been through, Felt now completely trusted Shendu. Her affection had nearly reached its maximum, causing a faint smile to appear on Shendu's lips.
"Alright, time to sleep. We'll see what fun there is tomorrow."
Shendu gently stroked Felt's head as she spoke softly.
After the lights were turned off, Felt leaned against Shendu and soon drifted into a peaceful sleep.
At three in the morning, in the darkness, a wisp of black energy suddenly emerged from Felt's wrist. Just as it was about to spread throughout her body, the ring on her finger flashed brightly, instantly dispersing the black mist.
Shendu, who had been asleep, opened her eyes.
She had sensed a trace of magic—something different from her own. When she looked over, Felt was lying peacefully in front of her, completely unharmed.
Was it an illusion? Or has something else happened?
The more she thought about it, the more something felt wrong. She had clearly sensed a different kind of magic appearing on Felt's body.
Just as she was about to speak, space and time itself suddenly shifted.
The three-in-the-morning darkness vanished in an instant, replaced by bright daylight.
Strangely, the bathrobes they had been wearing had turned back into sleepwear. An overwhelming sense of wrongness filled the air.
She remembered that only today they had worn bathrobes. On other days, they had worn sleepwear.
After grasping this crucial detail, Shendu dressed and walked toward the pavilion. There, she once again saw Emilia studying methods of communicating with the Divine Dragon.
Seeing this, Shendu seemed to understand.
Time had reversed.
It appeared that Natsuki Subaru had died once already. Time must have rewound. Whether he himself was aware of it or not was another matter.
Soon after she bid farewell to Emilia, Natsuki Subaru arrived right on schedule, asking whether she had time and if she would like to visit Arlam Village.
Felt appeared as before. Rem needed to purchase supplies. Everything unfolded exactly the same as yesterday—the very same scene replayed before Shendu's eyes.
After heading to Arlam Village just like the previous day, Shendu once again saw the blue-haired girl casting a fearful look in her direction.
When the playtime ended, she once more noticed the bite mark on Felt's hand—as well as the identical marks on Rem and Natsuki Subaru.
In that instant, every useful clue surfaced in her mind.
The strange blue-haired girl.
The bite marks.
The foreign magic that had appeared during the night.
As the pieces connected, Shendu suddenly realized that the peculiar blue-haired girl was likely connected to Elsa the Bowel Hunter.
"Oh... I see."
Because Felt possessed the ring Shendu had given her, she was able to dispel the curse on her body. Rem and Natsuki Subaru, however, were not so fortunate. At three in the morning, they had died suddenly—without even the ability to resist.
The ring Shendu had bestowed was powerful, capable of dispelling curses. That was why, before time reversed, Felt had remained safe and sound.
After understanding everything, a glimmer of light flashed through Shendu's crimson eyes. With the truth laid bare, a new plan began to form in her mind.
...
Night. Inside Beatrice's Forbidden Library.
Shendu opened a spatial gate once more and stepped directly inside.
The moment she entered, she saw the blonde loli lying sprawled across a sofa that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, munching on snacks while reading a magic book.
It seemed even this spirit could not resist the temptation of sweets.
Noticing someone had entered, Beatrice lazily turned her head. When she saw it was Shendu, a trace of a smile appeared on her face—only to disappear just as quickly.
"So it's you. What made you decide to visit me tonight?"
After her brief excitement, Beatrice stared into Shendu's eyes and spoke expressionlessly.
"Oh? Have you forgotten what you're supposed to call me?"
Seeing that Beatrice had not addressed her properly, Shendu revealed a gentle yet dangerous smile. A ball of magic gathered in her palm.
"Big Sister!"
Faced with the obvious threat, Beatrice did not dare to argue and obediently corrected herself.
"Good. Beatrice, I have a question for you. In this world, do curse techniques show no symptoms at first, only to erupt suddenly at a fixed time and drain the victim's life force?"
With a faint smile, Shendu calmly asked her question.
"Yes, that's correct. Curse users are extremely discreet. Detecting their work is quite difficult."
Beatrice thought for a moment. Then, as if realizing something, she looked toward Shendu.
"Big Sister, have you discovered something?"
"It's nothing for now. You'll know soon enough. I'm still investigating. If there's a result, I'll tell you."
After finishing the conversation, Shendu waved goodbye and left. Before departing, she casually altered the surrounding elements with magic, conjuring a large pile of snacks for Beatrice.
"The Dragon God of another world..."
Watching Shendu's retreating figure, the blonde loli murmured those words. Recalling the contents of her Gospel, she felt a trace of emotion. That seemingly ordinary silver-haired girl possessed the background of a legendary dragon—one even bearing the title of 'God.'
"So that's it... Is this the one destined to change the world?"
"It seems the person I've waited four hundred years for has finally appeared."
After saying this, Beatrice turned back around, continuing to read while eating her snacks.
[Ding~ Beatrice's affection has increased by 85. Current affection: 85.]