I, Matou Sakura, Third of the Flame-Chasers!

"You went to see that lady again, didn't you?"

There was no need to ask. For the past two days, this girl had gone nowhere else.

"I went to buy Pernor some clothes."

Aozaki Akiko wore a smile, and it was clear that she was genuinely happy.

"Bought clothes?"

Kuzuki Alice paused slightly before asking, "Where did you get the money?"

Their living expenses were shared. By all rights, Aozaki Akiko should not have had any extra money to spend on clothes. Could it be that she had used their living expenses to buy clothes for that child?

"You didn't touch our living expenses, did you?!"

Kuzuki Alice's eyes widened as she stared hard at the girl before her, whose smile was gradually fading.

"I..."

Aozaki Akiko scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed.

Though she said nothing, that expression explained everything.

"Are you an idiot?!"

Kuzuki Alice took a deep breath, doing her best to calm her turbulent heart.

The clothes had already been bought and given away, so getting them back to return them was obviously impossible. All she could do now was hope that this idiot had not spent too much money!

Because of that earthquake, prices were incredibly high right now!

"Well..."

Aozaki Akiko gave an awkward smile, while Kuzuki Alice felt the urge to smash the book in her hand right into this idiot's face!

But she restrained that impulse, lightly gritted her teeth, and said in a tone of exasperation, "Do you really like that lady?!"

Though this girl claimed she had gone to buy clothes for Pernor, that child, she was not an idiot like her! Buying clothes for Pernor was merely an excuse; her real target was that lady! This girl liked that lady! As for why... she thought only that idiot herself knew.

She simply could not understand why Akiko, that idiot, would fall for that lady! "I don't!"

Her expression practically screamed guilty conscience.

Under Alice's gaze, Aozaki Akiko lowered her head in shame and asked plaintively, "Was it really that obvious?"

"I think anyone whose eyes aren't blind should be able to tell..."

"Ehh?!"

19, A Pounding Heart

Behind the church.

Matou Sakura entered the kitchen, and Zhou Lailu Jia, who had been busy inside, immediately stopped what she was doing.

"Is there something you need, my lady?"

"Yes."

She nodded, then looked at the finished dishes placed on a nearby table.

"Lailu Jia, please pack some up and send them to Akiko and Alice."

"Huh?"

Zhou Lailu Jia blinked. Send food to them?

Wait!

Could the clothes Akiko had given them have been bought with her and Alice's living expenses?

Seeing that Zhou Lailu Jia seemed to have guessed something, she said bluntly, "More or less what you're thinking—assuming what you're thinking is the same as what I was about to say..."

"I understand."

Zhou Lailu Jia nodded and said with a smile, "I'll bring it over to them in a little while."

"Yes, thank you."

With that, she prepared to leave.

But Zhou Lailu Jia's next words stopped her in her tracks.

"My lady, have you really never considered Akiko?"

Matou Sakura did not answer. She merely glanced back at her before striding away.

"Good thing she didn't get angry."

Zhou Lailu Jia wiped the sweat from her forehead. It was not from the heat of cooking, but from having frightened herself.

She had really gone mad just now, actually asking that lady such a question!

Never mind. She should get things ready to deliver to them.

Oh, right. She would also need to tell Sister to buy more rice and ingredients from now on. After all, there would be two more mouths to feed.

It was only two fewer mouths to feed, after all.

Three days later, Matou Sakura broke through the atmosphere and entered space.

Surviving in a vacuum was no longer a problem for her.

Thanks to her fusion with the Light of Trigger, her evolution had undergone a tremendous leap.

She flew toward the sun, but a sudden fluctuation caught her attention.

That fluctuation had come from the moon.

She immediately thought of The Moon King, Crimson Moon, who had been sealed on the moon long ago by Gaia and the Second Magician, Zelretch!

Had her seal loosened?

After lingering in place for a moment, she continued toward the sun.

There was no mission for Crimson Moon in the system, only missions for her two daughters, so there was no need to pay attention to her.

Absorbing energy from the sun's surface was more important right now.

Deep within the moon at that moment, Crimson Moon, sealed there, slowly opened her eyes. A trace of fear flashed through her beautiful gaze.

What exactly was that life-form that had flown past the moon?!

It had only been a vague sensation, yet that powerful life-force, blazing and dazzling like the sun, had seemed to take physical form and surge toward her. If she had not withdrawn her aura in time, she would already have been severely injured—or perhaps even fallen unconscious.

That being was simply far too powerful.

But who was it?

The Wandering Star's vanguard? Or some unknown Ultimate One?

No, until she figured out that powerful being, she had better stay quietly on the moon!

With that thought, Crimson Moon closed her eyes and sank back into slumber.

The already silent moon became even more deathly still with Crimson Moon's return to sleep.

And it was not only the moon. After sensing the fleeting burst of Matou Sakura's powerful aura, most Ultimate Ones on the other planets chose to enter dormancy as well.

Partly because the time had not yet come, but more importantly, they had sensed the aura of death from that powerful being!

She was an existence they could neither provoke nor rival!

Meanwhile, in the Hall of Heroes, Gaia and Alaya had also learned that Matou Sakura had gone into space.

What could they even say about that?

They could only call her a boss and be done with it! Over the past few days, Gaia and Alaya had actually been observing her constantly. She knew it too, but said nothing.

Both Gaia and Alaya could sense Matou Sakura's ever-growing power.

Yet they could not understand why Matou Sakura could absorb Solar Energy, even using sunlight to evolve her body.

Her transformation over just a few days rivaled the evolution humanity would need tens of thousands of years to achieve.

It was utterly terrifying!

This gave Gaia and Alaya some other ideas, such as having her leave behind descendants who carried her bloodline in this world.

A man?

They could forget about that.

From their observations, this boss had absolutely no fondness for the opposite sex. But toward those of the same sex—especially that sister of hers who did not belong to this world at all—she was exceptionally kind and gentle.

So Gaia and Alaya planned to send down a woman she might like.

As for how two women could have children, that was not a problem at all.

There were countless answers to that in mythology.

And Jeanne, who was right beside that boss?

Though the fact that she would not come back left them speechless, what left them even more speechless were her thoughts.

Still, since that boss did not dislike her, there was nothing wrong with letting her remain at the boss's side. But Gaia and Alaya held absolutely no hope for Jeanne in this matter.

Just as that boss saw Jeanne, this girl was an idiot!

But who should they arrange?

That was the question.

"How about sending her?" "Who?"

"The one who's severely weakened right now?"

"Are you sure?"

Gaia looked as though she were asking whether Alaya was joking.

Could she really do it?

Though she did indeed have some connection to that boss, that girl was a troublemaker!

"You don't get it. Humans these days all like selfcest!"

Alaya wore an expression that said no one understood humanity better than she did. Patting her chest, she declared with absolute certainty, "Trust me, I'm not wrong!"

"Then... shall we give it a try?"

By the time Matou Sakura returned to Earth from space, it was already three in the afternoon.

Seeing Pernor running toward her, she held out her arms and gathered the adorable little sister into her embrace.

"How was the game?"

"Not fun at all."

Pernor tightly wrapped her arms around My dear Sister's neck, puffing out her cheeks slightly.

"I want to play fun games with My dear Sister."

Matou Sakura's face reddened slightly at those words. The fun games Pernor spoke of usually had to be prefixed with "lewd."

Just as she had thought before, she was becoming increasingly unable to refuse Pernor.

When it came to that sort of thing, Pernor had already completely taken the lead.

But doing that sort of thing with Pernor really did feel good—much better than doing it alone.

"Mm, I promise."

Gently stroking Pernor's beautiful hair, the scarlet blush on the girl's lovely face made her even more beautiful.

Aoko, who happened to come running over as well, saw that faintly flushed face and froze in place once again, staring foolishly at the picturesque sight before her.

Her heart beat rapidly, and her hands clenched involuntarily.

She really had fallen for her...

But what was she supposed to do?