And so, after some troublesome little girl used some method Erica Joaquina didn't know to escape early, she was very surprised, but still continued to confront the nine young people who remained.
Although she hadn't managed to trap everyone, and the strongest little girl—whose strength she couldn't see through—had gotten away, she didn't mind.
After all, there were still nine people trapped in her Heaven, including several who were very powerful. If she could force them to admit defeat, she'd feel a little more confident about defending Natsuhara Island and protecting the King.
Though this method was less than honorable, and did amount to making things difficult for people and forcing a deal on them, at this critical moment, with the island's fate hanging in the balance, she, Erica Joaquina, a Natsuhara Guard, no longer cared about such things. Not when it was for the King and Natsuhara Island.
"Then..."
"Let's use seven hundred years as the benchmark. I'll see just how far you can go."
She looked at the seven young people sitting cross-legged in front of her, then at the young couple at least half a day's journey away from them. After murmuring those words, Erica Joaquina slowly closed her eyes.
She'd said seven hundred years, but in her view, even though she'd deliberately refrained from separating them and imprisoning each one in a different parallel Heaven, and had instead let them gather together, they'd still last only a few years at most. Perhaps they might manage a little better and last a decade or so?
That was probably their limit. They certainly wouldn't last any longer.
After all, they were all young, and it was common knowledge that young people were restless and fickle. Even with their companions there to ease their loneliness and dispel their worries,