Ring Fortress, 5500th floor, Softskin Tooth-Dyeing Shop.
Angel and Laplace's consciousnesses had already returned to their bodies.
Yet even with their consciousnesses restored, the heavy atmosphere surrounding them showed no sign of easing.
A passing Pirus shop owner noticed that the glass window near Angel had been covered in a layer of "illusion," blocking the view from outside, and had originally intended to come over and ask what was going on. But before he could approach, the oppressive atmosphere made him too afraid to say a word. He quietly backed away and only dared take a deep breath once he had returned to the empty counter.
Only when the tooth-dyeing shop's door was pushed open did the stagnant atmosphere gradually begin to ease.
The one who entered from outside was a red-skinned Pirus, shorter even than the shop owner by a full head, reaching roughly Angel's waist. He was dressed plainly and looked utterly unremarkable, but the moment he entered, the shop owner sprang up from behind the counter in shock.
"L-Lord Pisi?!" the shop owner cried out, his high-pitched voice even cracking.
Realizing his voice had cracked, the shop owner hurriedly covered his mouth, then rushed eagerly to the newcomer's side. All manner of fawning, flattering words flowed from his chattering mouth one after another like water running downstream.
Pisi clearly enjoyed such praise, smiling until his eyes narrowed into slits.
Under normal circumstances, Pisi would probably have let the shop owner talk until he ran out of words before stopping him. But he had other business here today. After enjoying several seconds of flattery, he waved a hand and interrupted the shop owner.
"Alright, that's enough for today." Pisi coughed. "I came here today to meet important guests. Step aside first and don't disturb us... understand?"
The shop