Hearing what the mushroom-like Aranara called her and seeing the surprised expressions on Lumine's and Paimon's faces, Theresa and Himeko exchanged a furtive glance.
That was right. They were going to put on an act!
The Lesser Jade Grass King might have spent the original story serving as a mascot and suffering setbacks, but what did that have to do with her super-enhanced parallel identity: the Lesser Jade Grass King who was the Aeon of Binding, Theresa, triple Envoy of Permanence, Abundance, and Elation, Stellaron Hunter, and Queen of Ten Thousand Females?
"Ahem, no need to be so surprised. I'm traveling around Sumeru again with a new friend. Marana, or the Withering Zones, must have troubled everyone for a long time."
"So I decided to help resolve the Withering Zone problem. After all, this is my territory, isn't it?"
Theresa imitated the Lesser Jade Grass King's tone and manner as best she could, but as the imposing, all-powerful Aeon of Binding, she still sounded very confident.
"Hooray! Thank you for helping us, Lesser Jade Grass King!"
"Oh, I forgot to introduce them to you, Lesser Jade Grass King. This is Golden Nara, who has been helping us Aranara, and the White Floating Spirit."
"They've helped us so much along the way and cleared many areas corrupted by Marana. They're Good Nara!"
The Aranara excitedly circled Theresa as he explained.
"Uh, hello, Lesser Jade Grass King. My name is Lumine. I'm a traveler and adventurer. Her name is Paimon, and she's my emergency food."
For some reason, looking at the utterly adorable Lesser Jade Grass King made Lumine unable to resist teasing a little. After all, she really couldn't be afraid of cute things.
"That's not true! My name is Paimon! I'm not emergency food! You jerk, Lumine! You've been getting