Beyond the elevator doors lay an unimaginably vast space, like a plaza.
Eriri stumbled out of the elevator, then instinctively looked up.
Reflected in the girl's pupils was a dome flowing with starlight. Countless diamond-shaped crystals floated throughout the Underground Space, which was as large as a football field, while pale blue streams of light surged through transparent pipes like a galaxy.
She lowered her head to look at the floor beneath her feet. Its material was completely unidentifiable, seeming like some kind of alloy, yet also like marble.
Streams of light likewise flowed across the floor along specific paths, with some areas marked by Light and Shadow to point the way.
What left Eriri too stunned for words were the pieces of equipment everywhere that she could not understand at all.
Were those metal lumps moving around robots? Why could they float through the air without relying on wheels?
And that platform over there—why did someone simply vanish after stepping onto it and being flashed by a beam of light?
And those steps, staircases, and all kinds of passageways suspended in midair—no matter how she looked at them, they seemed like visual effects made of Light and Shadow. So why could people and equipment move freely across them?
There were too many things she could not understand, turning Eriri's mind into a muddle.
"Even though it isn't my first time seeing it, it still feels far too incredible," Utaha Kasumigaoka said softly. "This place is practically an alien base from a science fiction movie. Junior, if you told me now that you were an alien leader planning to invade Earth, I'd believe you!"
This already stunned them? If they saw the current Starport, wouldn't they be so shocked they couldn't sleep at all?
Jiang Lianqiu raised a hand and patted Eriri on the head. "Snap out of it, Haki Eriri."
"Mm..."
This time, Eriri unusually did not say anything about being called Haki Eriri. She merely looked at Jiang Lianqiu with eyes filled with intense unease and confusion.
"Qiu... Brother Qiu... what exactly is going on here?"
There was already a tremble in the little girl's voice. She looked as though she were about to cry, making her especially pitiful.
"Don't be afraid." Jiang Lianqiu pinched Eriri's soft cheek again. "Don't worry. Everything here belongs to me, and they are all my... subordinates?"
"Since I chose to bring you here, I naturally intend to tell you some things—let's find somewhere to calm down first."
With Jiang Lianqiu's reassurance, Eriri finally calmed down somewhat. Still, she timidly pressed herself close against him as she followed him forward.
Eriri was not the only one dumbfounded. Utaha Kasumigaoka was too.
Nearly half an hour later, inside a lounge, the two girls sat on the sofa, staring wide-eyed at Jiang Lianqiu leisurely drinking tea across from them, as well as Belfast standing behind him.
After a long while, Eriri finally swallowed audibly and asked, "So, Brother Qiu, you're actually an alien!?"
"There's nothing wrong with putting it that way..."
The moment Jiang Lianqiu finished speaking, Eriri held her pale face in horror. "It's over! Is there still any chance for us!? Can humans and aliens have children!"
Jiang Lianqiu: "?"
Belfast stumbled.
Utaha Kasumigaoka turned to look at Eriri with an expression of utter amazement.
"What exactly do you think about all day?" Jiang Lianqiu rolled his eyes, but inwardly he also breathed a sigh of relief—being able to ask such a silly question meant that this girl had accepted it.
Eriri pouted and complained softly, "It's because Brother Qiu didn't even... last night... I was already able to..."
Utaha Kasumigaoka's ears twitched. Remembering the kiss mark she had seen on Eriri's collarbone at noon, she unconsciously began shaking her leg.
"What is this? I really called it. I thought an Evil God was already absurd enough, but it turns out there's an even bigger surprise..."
The literary girl sighed.
"Evil God? What Evil God?" Eriri asked in return.
Jiang Lianqiu had only briefly introduced his identity to Eriri earlier. He had not yet properly told her about the Evil God.
Thus, over the next few minutes, Eriri—whose worldview had already been shattered once and had only just managed to rebuild itself around a brand-new worldview—was, unsurprisingly, dumbfounded once again.
Before you continue