"Oh, it's Ely and Seele. It seems the 'Herrscher Rehabilitation Project' has already begun?"
"That's right, long time no see~ Did you miss me?♪"
Behind the counter, Fu Li gently patted the black cat on his shoulder, shooing it off before walking over to Seele and ruffling her short black hair.
That's right. Although the leisurely life in Twilight Street made it easy to forget the world's crises, he hadn't been completely idle.
For instance, he had sent the design blueprints to Vill-V, asking her to create the [Void Hand, Soul Probe], and then entrusted Elysia with using it to save both the Third Herrscher of Wind and the Sixth Herrscher of Death.
After losing her Core, the Herrscher of Wind was detained by the MOTHs, with Dr. MEI and Elysia taking care of her.
As for the Herrscher of Death, she was to be looked after by him—someone with prior parenting experience.
"Tch, damn human."
Seele gritted her teeth, feeling the large hand messing with her hair. She desperately wanted to resist, but the special device on her wrists had suppressed her physical abilities to the level of an ordinary person.
"Hey, wait a minute, what's the meaning of this?! And who the hell are you!"
Seeing the two of them chatting so familiarly, with the clear intention of leaving Seele behind, Pardo naturally couldn't sit still. The fur on her body bristled slightly, and a sense of threat rose within her.
One mountain cannot contain two tigers, and one Li cannot contain two cats.
As the lady boss of the cat cafe, how could she allow a stray cat to move in?
"Oh? You must be Pardo." Seeing her, a look of interest appeared on Elysia's face, and she extended a hand.
"Hello, I am the Second MANTIS of the MOTHs, Elysia. As you can see, I'm a beautiful girl as lovely as a flower♪"
I can tell just by looking at her eyes, she's a total weirdo.
Staring at the beautiful, slender hand offered to her, Pardo's face remained expressionless. Ignoring the other's hurt expression, she silently took a few steps back.
"Are you... a human trafficker?"
"A human trafficker?" Hearing this, Elysia quickly waved her hands. "Oh my, little Pardo, why do you always think the worst of me? She's the one Li specifically asked for, you know♪"
The one he specifically asked for?
Hearing this, Pardo looked the pretty, disdainful girl up and down, then turned to the nonchalant Fu Li, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Seeing Pardo silently take another step back, Fu Li knew she had misunderstood and quickly explained.
"No, you're overthinking it. She used to be a Herrscher. Logically, she should be detained by the MOTHs, but as the founder of the Herrscher Rehabilitation Project, I want to try a gentler approach to achieve our goal."
"A Herrscher? A gentle approach?"
After spending so much time together, Pardo knew Fu Li's character quite well. Although she didn't know what a Herrscher was, she chose to trust him.
Of course, Seele's moving in was now inevitable; there was no use in her trying to stop it.
"Alright, that's that, then. The escort mission is complete. Also, Vill-V wanted me to tell you that the new Deep End is almost finished. You can have them prepare to move."
"Mm, I understand. But it's so late, why don't you stay for dinner?"
"No need, I still have things to do, so I'll be going now."
For some reason, Fu Li felt that when Elysia looked at him, her gaze was always a bit evasive. Although she acted the same as usual on the surface, she left in quite a hurry.
Is it because she knows she will also become a Herrscher in the future, so seeing me try to save one gives her complicated feelings?
Fu Li guessed as much, then took Seele's hand and walked back into the room.
In his previous life, within the MOTHs he was a part of, almost no one had a favorable impression of Herrschers. To prevent Seele from seeing those hateful glares, he could only protect her by keeping her in her room.
But here in Twilight Street, this place without a past, no one cared if she used to be a Herrscher. No one would hate her, and no one would resent her. They would only see her as a little girl.
In a chaotic place like this, it might just be a new beginning for her.
It was precisely for this reason that he had requested for Seele to be sent here.
Noticing the somewhat dejected Pardo, Fu Li smiled helplessly, pulled her into his arms, and gently stroked her head.
"From now on, you two are friends, so you have to get along, understand?"
"Oh."
The little cat in his arms mumbled a reply, puffed out her cheeks, and added, "She can't live on the second floor."
That was her and Li's little nest, and it was her final bottom line.
"Okay," Fu Li nodded, not refusing.
---o---
[And just like that, your cat cafe gained a new resident, Seele.]
[Although there were a few unpleasant incidents due to Seele's personality, Pardo wasn't one to hold a grudge. With your mediation, their conflicts were quickly resolved.]
[In the end, Seele, much like Kalpas, was just excessively tsundere.]
[Gradually, they 'hit it off,' and their relationship improved significantly.]
[Aponia saw all of this. Although she felt a little anxious, she still maintained absolute confidence.]
[Half a year later, the Seventh Herrscher descended, letting the people of Australia see the sun.]
[You personally intervened and took her Core. Her guardians were appointed to be Mobius and Hua.]
[This guardianship model, consisting of one researcher and one close acquaintance, was the best method you could think of.]
[Mobius was responsible for research, while Hua was responsible for her care and for restraining Mobius's actions and experiments.]
[After that, the Herrscher of Sentience's Core was also taken. Her guardians were Klein and Cangxuan.]
[The Herrscher of Rock caused the destruction of the Mu Continent. Due to his 'table-flipping' behavior, the plan to retrieve the Core failed.]
[At the same time, Sakura was ordered to Twilight Street to liquidate traitors.]
[You also persuaded everyone at the sanatorium to move to their new home, the new Deep End.]
---o---
Twilight Street, sunset.
Fu Li stood at the airport, holding Pardo's hand with his left and Seele's with his right, watching the plane ascend into the blue sky.
They watched silently until it disappeared into the clouds.
After a long while, Pardo asked softly, "Li, will we be able to see them again?"
"Of course," Fu Li said with a smile. "They've just gone ahead of us to a safer place to get treatment."
"Parting is for the sake of a better reunion."