Them

"Goddess, what's the mission?"

Lulu, the most curious of them, spoke first. Lusha and Luna also looked at Pupula.

Pupula waved her hand, setting up a Protective Barrier to block out sound, then spoke:

"I want you to start cultivating according to their 'requirements' right now."

Lulu exclaimed in surprise, "Goddess, do we really have to do that?"

Luna and Lusha did not understand either.

Pupula's gaze was resolute. "For the sake of the Flower Fairy Kingdom, we must. It's our only hope."

The Wisdom Fairy's wisdom finally came into play. Luna asked uncertainly, "Has something happened that left us with no other choice?"

"And it's something you can't resolve, Goddess." Luna said this with absolute certainty. "So I'm willing to cultivate according to 'their' requirements."

Pupula gave Luna an appreciative look and nodded. Although she disliked Luna's remark that she could not resolve it, Luna had spoken the truth, and she had no way to refute it. Besides, the one saying it was her daughter, so she felt only pride. The more capable her daughter was, the more it would benefit her plan.

After some thought, Lulu and Lusha agreed. Since Luna had already made her choice, they naturally supported her as her sisters.

Pupula was thoroughly pleased with her daughters and sent them off with a smile. An invisible storm was about to take shape, heralding changes to come...

Zero and the others fell silent (ー_ー). They exchanged glances, and one of them spoke:

"That goddess or whatever seems to have put up this barrier to shut us out..."

Another chimed in:

"But we've been inside this Protective Barrier the whole time."

The first person spoke again. "So it's blocking absolutely nothing?"

Zero could not help speaking up too. "Looks like that's exactly what's happening..."

Well, this was awkward.

Is this really the standard for becoming a goddess? No wonder the Flower Fairy Kingdom is so weak...

They exchanged glances, each understanding what the others were thinking.

Zero coughed and urged them on. "All right, enough chatting. Hurry up and report this. If we hold things up, we'll be in for it."

They knew all about the "them" that everyone else found so mysterious. Not only that, they even knew how those beings had come into existence. Though they were neither very powerful nor very useful, if the girls actually managed to form them, they would be a bit of a nuisance. The kind that clung like a stubborn plaster, sticky, irritating, and utterly obnoxious.

Soon, two of them flew out toward Ji Ying's location.

In the Human World, Lily and Xia Mu were making good progress. They had reached the point where chatting was no longer awkward at all. How best to describe it? They had more or less gone from strangers to ordinary friends, with a little affection between them, but not much.

Anyone else watching might not have been anxious. When rooting for a couple, a little extra time did no harm.

But Pupula was different. She was anxious. If Lily did not hurry, her plan could not move forward, and sooner or later, the Flower Fairy Kingdom would change hands.

Besides, that tree... could not wait any longer.

Without another infusion of energy, the Flower Fairy Kingdom's barrier would not hold out much longer. Without its help, her combat strength would drop to an unheard-of low. She would no longer be able to activate her other form.

How best to describe it? It was like being able only to take a beating, never to fight back. Not because you did not want to, but because you were too weak to do anything about it.

Pupula watched the scene on the other side through the Light Screen, stamping her feet in frustration. Watching Lily made her so anxious that she wished she could step in herself.

While she was secretly watching others, someone else was secretly watching her... As for who?