Maria Did Not Know Maria. (cont.)

"Just let me log in anywhere."

"Ah?"

The Doll was taken aback.

But Maria's voice remained firm.

"It has only sensed our presence, but hasn't discovered us yet. By descending now, we can evade its detection... We can contact it later. Right now, we can't let it truly lock onto us!"

Maria's voice was calm, but her words were filled with determination.

The Doll beside him hesitated for a while before finally nodding reluctantly.

"As you wish."

As the Doll spoke, it moved Maria away from the originally agreed-upon teleportation location, instead choosing a more recent era and directly transporting her through time...

When Maria woke up again, she was already on the ground.

Around them, a group of children with twisted Blackhorn were watching them with concern.

They looked at Maria, turning their heads slightly, their innocent faces filled with worry.

"Big sister, are you alright?"

A little boy asked a question, his voice tinged with worry.

This surprised Maria.

Sarkaz kids?

What about here?

She hesitated for a moment, then turned her head and looked around.

This is a bustling city.

Although most of the area still consists of ordinary two- or three-story wooden or stone houses, in the distance, Maria can see some high-rise buildings under construction.

Various strange machines were constantly operating, and the road surface was paved with clean blue flagstones.

Bridges and transportation networks have been significantly expanded and upgraded. The means of transporting goods are no longer the same as before; only the Sarkaz are making their move. Biological wagons and various machines have appeared in this world simultaneously. Large logistics centers and transportation hubs have become new city landmarks. Technological machinery seems to have permeated the lives of everyone here...

"Where... is this place?"

Maria blinked.

She felt a sense of familiarity with the place, yet also a strange feeling of estrangement.

"Here?"

A few children asked in confusion, "Isn't this Kazdel?"

"Kazdel?"

The familiar term startled Maria.

She took another careful look at the city...

Although it hasn't reached the level of prosperity that Maria later saw in the world, this world has already deviated from Maria's original impression of Kazdel.

This city is growing rapidly...

They are moving from the primitive, classical era to the modern era...

In other words...

Was it after the war, but before modern times?

Maria blinked.

The children, however, looked completely bewildered.

"War? What war?"

"Um?"

"Kazdel hasn't fought a war in almost a hundred years!"

The little Sarkaz boy, despite his young age, spoke to Maria with a knowing look on his face, as if giving her a warning.

Clearly, after a long history of war and wandering, even though a certain degree of peace has been achieved, children still come to know about war.

This made Maria silent for a moment.

After a moment, she crouched down slightly.

"More than a hundred years?"

"Um."

The children weren't wary of Maria, perhaps because Maria was beautiful enough, or perhaps because of Maria Banshees -like appearance.

"The teacher said that more than a hundred years ago, Kazdel experienced a very, very big war. People from many countries came to attack us... but we won, so we gained peace."

The little boy spoke, his words very serious.

The little girl beside her shook her head.

"But my mother says it was the Demon King who brought peace..."

"No! It was war that brought peace!"

"It's the Demon King!"

"It's war!"

The two children argued, neither willing to give in, and eventually they even started fighting.

Fortunately, Maria simply picked up the two children and separated them.

After handing them over to their parents who had rushed over, Maria took off her hat, nodded slightly, and left amidst the slightly flushed faces of the two ladies.

After leaving, Maria also pondered.

While Maria was somewhat surprised by Kazdel's current state of affairs, it was clearly not the most important thing for Maria to care about.

Her intention in this journey was to confirm that she could withstand the resistance after multiple journeys.

The problem is that her previous actions were indeed a bit excessive... Her repeated clashes with Gordan had already drawn his attention to Maria as an intruder who didn't follow the rules.

The attack that occurred immediately after the time travel is the most obvious evidence.

This attack also caused Maria to lose contact with the Doll she was showing.

This is a rather delicate situation.

After all, this was the first time Maria had encountered something like this, and she didn't know how long it would take for her and the Doll to re-establish their connection.

In other words...

"Should we remain on the sidelines for now?"

Maria frowned in thought.

Meanwhile, a petite girl trotted over to Maria's side.

"Um... hello."

The girl looked young and had a delicate appearance, but she didn't seem naive.

She gripped her staff tightly and stammered as she spoke to Maria.

"Do you... need help?"

She asked the question.

But Maria did not answer immediately.

She just looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"You... you're not Sarkaz?"

"Woo!"

Maria's question immediately made the other woman tense up, but after a moment, she managed a smile and nodded.

"Yes, I'm not..."

"Weren't you attacked?"

"Huh?"

Maria's calm words left the other person stunned for a while, seemingly not quite reacting.

Maria's question just now made her think that Maria was some kind of extreme Sarkaz member.

Although they have been living in Kazdel for some years, they still find it difficult to fully integrate into the place.

Attacks and such...

"It will definitely happen again..."

The girl nodded, and seeing Maria's calm expression, she gradually relaxed as well.

After a pause, she tilted her head.

"You... aren't Sarkaz?"

Theoretically speaking, no.

Maria blinked.

She's definitely not Sarkaz... In fact, whether she can even be categorized as human in this world is debatable.

If one had to put it into words, as a Banshees queen who only held the title but never actually had a wedding, she was at most half Sarkaz.

"Isn't that right?"

Maria's doubts eased the girl's mind somewhat, but she quickly became doubtful again.

"Since you're not Sarkaz, why are you here alone?"

"Um?"

"Oh, I see, you're a reporter, right?"

The little girl looked innocent and adorable.

While Maria was wondering, she suddenly clapped her hands and gave her answer.

Maria... you're a journalist from another country, right?

"You're here to see if Kazdel is really as everyone says, right?"

The girl smiled, her eyes narrowed.

After a moment of silence, Maria nodded.

"Yes, I am a reporter."

She looked serious, but her words sounded somewhat stiff, and she turned her head away unnaturally.

Maria... this might be the first time she's ever lied.

Yes, although Maria is incredibly cold-blooded and shows no mercy when fighting Great Beast, Maria is still a good child.

Fortunately, Maria's hesitation was interpreted by the other party as some kind of embarrassment at being seen through.

He scratched his head sheepishly, then spoke softly.

"I know your work is difficult, but rest assured, we at Babel will not reveal your identities casually."

The girl smiled, her eyes narrowed, and a bright light shone within them.

Maria also tilted her head.

"You... are a member of the Babel?"

"Yes."

The girl spoke, her words tinged with pride.

"Our Babel is an organization personally established by His Highness. It doesn't just recruit Sarkaz; people of other races can also join... I know you might say that there might be a lot of injustice within the Babel, and that most of the higher-ups are Sarkaz, but please believe me, the Babel is not that kind of organization."

The girl spoke, her words radiating the brilliance of an idealist.