Stark looked at the little girl sitting on his shoulder, constantly tugging at his hair, and spoke helplessly.
"That person doesn't want to see anyone but me. So be good and stay here. I promise I'll come right back as soon as I'm done."
He lifted the little girl off his shoulder and set her on the ground, speaking in a deliberately stern tone.
"Waaah~"
Yet the little girl merely clutched his sleeve tearfully, looking as though she refused to leave him.
"Sigh, I really can't do anything with you. Fine, but let's make this clear—once we get there, you can only wait outside. You absolutely cannot go in, understand?"
Stark sighed softly and spoke with affectionate indulgence.
He truly had no way of dealing with Lilynette. She was the only one who kept him company, so Stark treated her extremely well.
As they strolled along, they arrived at a dark, deep corridor. Enormous stone pillars and rows of rooms stood all around them, making the place seem somewhat less empty.
Yet even so, it could not conceal the desolation of this place.
It carried the aura of death, the feeling of utter stillness.
Even within Hueco Mundo, a place already meant for the dead, it felt exceptionally bleak.
Stark and Lilynette simply continued down the corridor.
Stark's lonely figure seemed to blend into everything around him. Without Lilynette's lively, bouncing figure ahead of him, it would have felt as though no one was there at all.
"Hey, Stark, can't you hurry up~?"
Lilynette crouched atop a rock, looking at Stark as he walked slowly and shouting at him.
"Okay."
Stark replied in an unhurried voice.
The two continued onward until they arrived before an enormous stone gate.
"Lilynette, just wait here."
Stark patted Lilynette's shoulder and went in alone.