"Finally—we're back!"
The moment she stepped onto the grounds of Heavenly Dao Palace again, Black Cat stretched lazily and cheered in delight. Beside her, Asuna and Eriri also breathed sighs of relief.
"Yeah... I never thought we'd end up staying in a completely different world for so long..."
Asuna opened her eyes, looked at the sky before her, then glanced back at the VF... Hm?
Wait, why was there a VF here?
That was because Fang Zheng had brought back two people this time. One was C.C. She had been very interested in the outside world, and after hearing Fang Zheng introduce Heavenly Dao Palace, she had voluntarily asked to come along.
The other was Anya. During the previous battle against the Reapers, Anya had performed exceptionally well. After destroying those Alien Creatures and returning to Earth, Fang Zheng had asked what reward she wanted, but she had said that she hoped to become Fang Zheng's Knight.
Considering that Anya had indeed performed well, Fang Zheng had ultimately revealed the existence of Heavenly Dao Palace to her. Anya herself had not hesitated in the slightest, so Fang Zheng casually brought her back as well.
"Xia Shi, take C.C. and Anya to find somewhere to live, then arrange their daily lives in Heavenly Dao Palace."
Having spent so long in Heavenly Dao Palace, Fang Zheng naturally already had a clear process for things like bringing people back. Xia Shi nodded upon hearing this, then led C.C. and Anya away.
"Wait!"
Watching them leave, Eriri seemed to suddenly remember something and sprang to her feet.
"How long did we stay in that world?"
"Huh..."
Asuna and Black Cat were both stunned by Eriri's question. Before this, they had been too busy enjoying the excitement of traveling to a new world. But now