Did You Come to Ursus on a Date?

When Qianyi saw Talulah's message, the first person he thought of was Koschei.

That immortal Black Serpent was truly an expert at stirring up trouble. Talulah was a crucial part of its plan, so it could not possibly give up on her easily. With the arrival of outsiders from another world, it was bound to have noticed something.

Realizing that if things continued like this, it would eventually be dragged out and beaten to death, Koschei had decided to take a gamble. It would confront Talulah head-on, seize her body, and carry out its so-called earth-shattering plan that made no damn sense.

But he soon realized that was not the case.

Talulah: Are you there?

Talulah: After we drank the milk you gave me, a lot of Reunion members got diarrhea. FrostNova has been squatting in the toilet for hours...

Talulah really wanted to ask whether there was something wrong with the milk, whether he had put laxatives in it.

But Qianyi did not seem like that kind of person, so she came to ask him instead.

Qianyi: "..."

You fed milk to rabbits?

Milk could irritate a rabbit's digestive tract, causing soft stools, diarrhea, and other symptoms. It would also increase the burden on the kidneys, and in severe cases, it could even lead to kidney failure.

But FrostNova was a long-eared donkey—ah, no, a Caster. Milk should not have given her diarrhea for this long, so it was definitely because the milk had expired.

Wonderful.

Talulah, have you finally experienced the pain I felt when you said expired milk was still drinkable, then made me squat in the bathroom like crazy?!

Although that was what he thought, Qianyi obviously would not admit it.

Steel Prison Big: It must have been Koschei!

Talulah: Koschei?

Steel Prison Big: That's right! That old bastard Koschei definitely snuck something into the milk I gave you to mess with your head and take over your body! Koschei, evil by nature! I'll personally come over and kill you right now!

Talulah: So that was it. Just as I thought.

She knew Qianyi could not possibly do something like that. The situation was clear now—it was all Koschei's doing!

It had actually tried to destroy their great friendship!

This was no ordinary Black Serpent. It was an immortal Black Serpent, and it needed a proper beating!

"What a damn old snake!"

Talulah squatted in the snow with a cold expression, feeling the chill against her butt and tail. She began regretting why she had stabbed Koschei's body back then instead of stabbing its ass.

She missed Raiden Mei's luxurious toilet so much. It even had a soft seat cushion, and it did not freeze her butt at all.

"Talulah, did a snake bite your butt?" FrostNova, who was squatting beside her, asked her companion with concern. But seeing FrostNova's drained expression, it was hard not to feel that she should worry about herself before worrying about anyone else.

"Where would a snake come from in this frozen wilderness? I mean Koschei! I suspect he put laxatives in our milk!" Talulah gritted her teeth.

"..." FrostNova fell silent. Actually, when Talulah had returned carrying a crate of milk, FrostNova had already felt that something might be wrong with it. But Talulah said it was a gift from a friend, and that friend had helped save Alina. Besides, FrostNova had never tasted milk before, so she tried some out of curiosity. The result was disastrous.

So it was not Talulah's friend's fault. It was that demon Koschei causing trouble?

She looked at Talulah, but another figure was reflected in her eyes. Noticing her concern, Talulah smiled confidently. "Don't worry, Yelena. I met a new friend. His Susanoo-no-Mikoto is monstrously strong and especially good at dealing with Abyssals like Koschei. I've already worked with him to deal with two Abyssals like Koschei—ones even stronger than Koschei."

As long as Qianyi launched an attack, everything would be fine.

Talulah: What are you doing right now? Are you free? Can you come help beat up Koschei?

Steel Prison Big: School starts at eight tomorrow morning.

Talulah: ?

Steel Prison Big: I'm a high school student. I have classes, and my first entrance exam is coming up, so I need to study hard. Also, I need to find someone to clean the house. I'll come find you tomorrow after the cleaning lady arrives.

Talulah: All right. I'll wait for you.

???

The next day, Tokyo. Cloudy, turning to moderate rain.

Toyokawa Shoko had landed a big job, an expensive order in Ginza.

That was one of Tokyo's busiest commercial districts. If you threw a stone at random, you could hit a billionaire.

Although most of those rich people had their quirks, they were genuinely generous with money. Leaving everything else aside, just cleaning the house paid the absurdly high price of one hundred thousand yen. They really treated money like it was nothing.

Unfortunately, the weather was terrible that day. Torrential rain hammered against her umbrella, while rainwater flew from its edges in graceful arcs.

She had already imagined what she would encounter. She would arrive at a luxurious residential complex, where attendants on both sides of the entrance would bow and say, "Thank you for your hard work." Then she would swipe a card to open the elevator and head to the proper floor. After that, under the guidance of a butler hired by the wealthy owner—a woman in a tight, high-slit cheongsam swaying her willow-thin waist—she would begin her work.

Yet when she arrived at her destination, she froze.

The luxurious apartment complex she had expected was nowhere to be found. Instead, there was a large estate decorated in a rather classical style. Beneath the century-old cherry tree in the garden, a rain of petals lashed the fish pond like a violent storm.

"Am I really still in Ginza?"

Toyokawa Shoko suspected that she was not in Ginza at all, but rather in one of Tokyo's more remote and less developed old districts. Otherwise, how could such a classical building exist here?

Tokyo City Hall had not demolished this waste of land and turned it into a commercial district?

She sighed softly. If she owned a house like this in Ginza, selling it would definitely let her repay the 16.8 billion. After entering the living room using the password she had been given in advance, she hurriedly took off her shoes. The floor felt slightly cool beneath her feet.

The house was furnished entirely with solid wood furniture, but the chandelier was a European-style crystal fixture. A newly released anime played on the living room television. A cherry-haired girl, about 1.5 meters tall, sat hugging a pillow and watching intently, while a silver-haired young man beside her sat at the table doing homework.

Perhaps because of the rainy weather, he was extremely focused and did not notice her arrival at all.

Wait, why did these two look so familiar?

"Qianyi?" she called out the name of the group member she had met not long ago.

"Oh, Shoko. When did you get here?" Qianyi looked up and greeted her.

"???" Shoko's mouth fell open in shock. After a brief moment of disbelief, she let out a groundhog-like scream. "No, why are you from the same world as me?!"

"Calm down. This sort of thing is common in the Dimensional Chat Group. It was only a matter of whether it happened sooner or later." Qianyi continued writing his homework. "And if anyone should be surprised, it should be me. I hired a cleaning lady, and it ended up being you. Is this what they mean when they say Dimensional Chat Group members are drawn to one another?"

"I have no comeback for that." Dressed as a cleaning lady, Shoko did not think there was anything wrong with him recognizing her. What really made her miserable was exposing such an embarrassing side of herself in front of a group member.

"Since you're here, are you interested in doing some extra work?"

"I won't wear a maid outfit and clean your house for you, and I definitely won't step on you with a disgusted look on my face." Shoko silently took two steps back. But after considering the gap in their strength, she silently took two steps forward again.

"No, I mean helping Talulah with something."

"Is there overtime pay? Are travel expenses reimbursed? Roughly how much will the final profit be?"

"If nothing goes wrong, we can probably get a duke's gold coins to drop." Qianyi set down his pen. "And he's a duke with real power. His total assets might be enough to buy half of Tokyo."

In the blink of an eye, Toyokawa Shoko had taken off her cleaning uniform. She stared firmly at Qianyi. "Captain, when do we leave?"

Did You Come to Ursus to Go on a Date?

"Captain, when do we leave?"

Toyokawa Shoko could not wait to join Qianyi in farming Koschei for gold—ah, no, to help the group member Talulah, who was in desperate need of assistance.

Helping group members was an administrator's duty. How could she run away at the last second?

During the previous world mission, Black Abyss White Flower had ultimately been split into two parts. One part, Black Abyss, had been returned to Durandal, while Abyss Flower and the Gene Reaper remained in her possession. But those items were too precious and dangerous. Even after using the Dimensional Chat Group's administrator privileges to disinfect both weapons and confirm that they were safe, Shoko had not acted rashly.

After obtaining them, she locked them in a cabinet to prevent accidents. Not knowing how to handle them, she had originally planned to throw them into the chat group and exchange them for points, but fortunately, Qianyi stopped her.

"Abyss Flower is highly versatile. Selling it would be a waste, so keep it for yourself. But it's a Honkai Energy weapon, so it's too dangerous in your hands. I suggest letting Kiana hold onto it for now. As for Rita's Gene Reaper, if you recycle it through that money-grubbing chat group, you probably won't get much for it. They'll likely fob you off with a few hundred points. But if you ask Kiana to negotiate with Heavenly Mandate, I think Heavenly Mandate would be more than willing to pay one hundred million to buy the weapon back."

One hundred million!

A whole one hundred million!

Whether Qianyi meant dollars, yuan, or yen, it was a windfall from heaven to her.

Just by completing a world mission and grabbing a weapon, she could earn one hundred million. How much could she make by farming a duke's gold coins?

She did not know, but Qianyi had already begun recruiting teammates in the group.

Steel Prison Big: Terra Black Serpent raid. Anyone coming?

I want to eat Mei-flavored instant noodles: Another event?

Steel Prison Big: Talulah invited me to her world to beat up the immortal Black Serpent Koschei.

Lower District Flying Head Barbarian: What's an immortal Black Serpent? A black snake? They're pretty rare in the Underworld. I caught one before and made snake soup for the children. Everyone said it was delicious, but I didn't get to try any.

Mentioning Black Serpents made her think of snake soup, and mentioning snake soup made her think of the children. Seele, you really were the gentlest person in the Dimensional Chat Group.

Steel Prison Big: He's a super perverted lolicon. He set his sights on a girl when she was still little, and to get her, he didn't hesitate to blow up half of Lungmen. Even after dying, he possessed someone else, trying to take over her body.

Talulah: ...Everything you said is technically correct, but why does it sound so strange?

Customer Service Xiangzi is at your service: Miss Talulah was targeted by someone like that? Koschei truly is vile.

Lower District Flying Head Barbarian: Count me in. I want to beat the hell out of someone like that!

I want to eat Mei-flavored instant noodles: I'm going too. After I told my sister about my mom and that stinky old man, she started looking at me strangely. I suspect she wants to beat me up again, so I'd better make a run for it.

Customer Service Xiangzi is at your service: What about Mei if you leave? And don't you still need to negotiate with Heavenly Mandate and sell the Gene Reaper for a good price?

I want to eat Mei-flavored instant noodles: Shoko, some things don't need to be spelled out so clearly, understand?

As long as I don't think about it, then it basically doesn't exist!

Besides, when Durandal discovered Black Abyss White Flower was gone and her expression turned terrifying, she still did not hit Mei. She only hung me up and whipped me. If I leave, she probably won't do anything to Mei.

Talulah: Um, how should I put this... I'm happy to have all of you come, but the points on my side might not be enough to buy that many Travel Tickets.

After receiving one thousand points and buying some Originium Inhibitors and winter supplies, Talulah only had around two hundred points left.

Fortunately, Travel Tickets in the group came at different prices: one-day, one-week, and one-month passes. A one-day pass only cost ten points, a one-week pass cost fifty, and a one-month pass cost a full two hundred.

Her two hundred points were enough to buy one-week passes for around four people.

After she told the group members this, some of them immediately withdrew.

Maple Sugar Commander: I still have school here, so I can't go.

Lower District Flying Head Barbarian: I probably wouldn't be much help. Call me if you need me. Besides, I really don't want to go to a snowy wasteland.

Customer Service Xiangzi is at your service: I can buy my own Travel Ticket.

She would not be much help anyway, merely a little rat picking up the things everyone else did not want. How could she have the nerve to make Talulah pay for her ticket?

Child of Prophecy: So it will be me, Shoko, Kiana, and Qianyi? Hehe, four people together—let's go!

I want to eat Mei-flavored instant noodles: Ursus, full-speed assault!

???

Ursus snowfield, outside a certain village.

This was an uninhabited wilderness covered in tree stumps. Before winter arrived, it had been a forest and a good place for the villagers and Reunion to gather firewood. But as winter approached, the nearby villagers had cut it all down and sold the surplus firewood to other villages, leaving Reunion alone to endure the relentless torment of the bitter cold day after day.

The Shield Guards, dressed in heavy protective suits and holding shields, marched past the few remaining stumps. Their footsteps were perfectly synchronized, crunching through snow mixed with fallen leaves. After reaching an open area ahead, they stopped and split into two lines, forming a passageway.

Standing before the Shield Guards were three people with vastly different appearances. At the front was Dragon Girl in military uniform. To her right stood Patriot, mountain-like in stature, holding a halberd and shield and wearing a ram-skull mask. To her left was FrostNova, a silver-haired girl with rabbit ears.

Nearly all of Reunion's strongest combat power had gathered here.

"FrostNova and I would have been enough to welcome them." Talulah did not understand why, as soon as they heard her group members were coming, everyone had insisted on joining her. It was as though they were more familiar with them than she was.

"Talulah, you know how it is. Once that old stubborn man decides something, I can't talk him out of it," FrostNova said.

"To prevent... accidents... They should... be here soon..." Patriot said in a hoarse, halting voice.

The Shield Guards behind Patriot immediately understood his meaning. They took out their shields to use as serving trays, spread over them the slightly yellowed white cloth the villagers used for steaming buns, then placed two small tankards on top. They opened two bottles of milk and filled the cups, then arranged two leaves—somehow shaped into attractive decorations in advance—beside the rims. This was the best welcoming ceremony Reunion could put together.

According to Talulah, most of the friends she had met in the chat group were extremely powerful. One of those coming on this trip, in particular, could fight evenly against a girl comparable to a humanoid beast. With a wave of his hand, he could create an enormous explosion covering an entire city block. Even near-fatal wounds could be healed with ease. More terrifyingly, that person seemed to know everything, truly living up to the phrase, "I know all."

To be honest, Patriot found it hard to believe someone like that existed. He found it even harder to believe that Talulah, who spent every day with them on the snowfield, had somehow met such an incredible friend. And he found it hardest of all to believe that someone so powerful would cross worlds from so far away simply because Talulah asked for help.

A door abruptly appeared before everyone. Patriot stared intently at the wooden door, sharp red light glinting in his eyes. As a Ursus war hero and the last pure-blooded Wendigo, he could easily frighten off hundreds of trained Infected patrol troops with nothing but a glance. Cowards would piss themselves at the sight of his eyes, so he rarely looked directly at people. But today, he wanted to use these eyes to confirm whether the person who had Talulah acting like a little fangirl was a con artist or someone with genuine ability. If it was a con artist, he would not mind teaching that person the rules of Reunion.

The wooden door opened, and the first person to emerge was a girl bundled up tightly, her side hair braided and a suitcase in hand. Seeing this youthful girl, whose entire style did not fit in with the surroundings—or even with them at all—Patriot and the others could not help but freeze.

Holy shit, this was the omniscient powerhouse Talulah said could destroy cities with a wave of her hand, make Abyssals like Koschei stop crying at the mere mention of her name?

Where did this kid come from?

At around 1.55 meters tall, Toyokawa Shoko was practically tiny on Terra Continent, where nearly everyone was over two meters tall. She was small enough to sit at the same table as a Feline and get aggressively petted.

Next came a blonde girl in a hood, holding a staff and looking exactly like some country girl. After that came a white-haired girl with twin tails and heterochromatic eyes.