The moment he exited the space of the Elysian Star Sea, Shun regained consciousness in real time. He immediately heard Misteln's gentle voice laced with concern.
"Ah, you're awake. How did it go? Was everything smooth?"
Misteln withdrew the hand she had placed on Shun's head and asked.
Shun scratched his head and got up from her soft, delicate thighs, replying, "By ordinary logic, it should have been a success."
Unless Elysia had tricked him, Mei should now be free from the control of the Honkai Will.
"By the way, where's Mei? Has she still not woken up?" Since Raiden Mei had been placed by Misteln inside the reed field beside them and covered up, Shun really hadn't seen her.
"Of course I wouldn't let her wake up before knowing whether you succeeded. The truth is, she tried to wake up not long ago, but I used a little trick to put her back to sleep."
"Ah… Next time she wakes up, don't stop her." Shun guessed that Raiden Mei had woken up right after he and Elysia had cut the thread of fate, but Misteln had hypnotized her again.
"Perfect. While Miss Raiden Mei is still asleep, let's talk about some other things." Misteln patted the ground beside her, signaling Shun to sit down.
"Later…" Shun suddenly remembered something he had forgotten. He then tossed a white-haired dumpling out from the Cosmic Juggernaut's space.
"This is…" Misteln looked somewhat dazed when she saw Kiana being thrown down next to Raiden Mei, but she quickly composed herself.
"Has this child been following you all this time?" Speaking of which, the reason Misteln was born was because of Cecilia. In that sense, she and Kiana also shared a deep connection.
However, Cecilia was Cecilia, and Misteln was Misteln. Even if they looked similar, they were two different individuals.
"Yeah. Taking care of this little rascal has given me quite a headache every day, though mostly it's about cooking. The Kaslana really eats too much. Luckily Mei helped share some of the burden later, otherwise I would've really turned into a full-time chef."
"Really? You look quite happy about it." Misteln covered her mouth and smiled. She liked this relaxed and peaceful atmosphere.
"Happy? It's alright. But the past few months in Nagazora City were indeed quite relaxing." To be honest, except for today and the first few days.
During his time in Nagazora City, Shun had mostly just wandered around and scouted locations. There was no work or academic pressure, and temporarily no anxiety about getting stronger. It could be said that these were truly his most relaxed days.
"However, it's already over. What are your plans next? Are you going back to Tibet or…"
Misteln tilted her head and leaned closer. "Hmm? Do you want me to go with you that badly? You… aren't you afraid your little fiancée will get angry?"
"You even know about that?" Shun had the feeling of being doxxed and subconsciously shrank back.
"Gray Serpent told me. It seems he knew the consequences of me finding out, so he told me all your information from these past few months."
Misteln wagged her finger and said softly. For a moment, it was hard to tell whether she was angry or not.
"So I got backstabbed by him again?" Although it hadn't caused any actual loss, the thought of being backstabbed by Gray Serpent still left Shun a bit displeased. Yet Gray Serpent had always been very useful, so he couldn't bring himself to do anything to punish him.
Shun suddenly felt the same helplessness ancient emperors must have felt toward their personal eunuchs after they made mistakes.
"I won't go back with you. Compared to bustling cities, being alone makes me more relaxed. As long as you don't forget to come visit me, I'll be very happy."
"Since you've said so, of course I won't forget it for the rest of my life." Shun smiled and nodded.
"You must never forget it for your entire life. You have to remember it forever. The lifespan of a Reason-type is very long, and so is yours."
Suddenly, some shadowy black-hole-like aura leaked from Misteln, but Shun didn't find it particularly strange.
This kind of promise was originally meant to last a lifetime anyway… right? Probably?
Just as the two continued sharing their experiences from the past few months, a sound came from the surrounding reed field.
As expected, it was Raiden Mei. Compared to Kiana, who had been knocked out by Shun's headbutt combined with a direct hit from the Taixu Sword God, Raiden Mei had only been artificially extended in her unconscious state by Misteln, so she naturally woke up first.
"How are you feeling, Mei? Is there any discomfort in your body?" After all, Shun had never become a Herrscher himself, so he naturally didn't know how it felt.
"It's Teacher Shun. Mei doesn't feel any discomfort, but there is a massive amount of energy inside my body that I'm not quite used to yet…"
It was perfectly normal for Raiden Mei to feel unaccustomed. In just one short hour, her body had gone through Herrscher transformation, Stigmata awakening, and feathering.
Due to a bug, the current Raiden Mei possessed both Herrscher power and Stigmata power simultaneously. In terms of raw power alone, she even far surpassed the feathered Thunder Herrscher from the original plot.
Raiden Mei, who had never previously come into contact with the mystical side, suddenly facing such vast power within her own body would naturally feel unaccustomed.
"For now, don't use the power in your body. When I have time someday, I'll find a place for you to get familiar with it."
With Raiden Mei's current strength, it would be hard to find a place on Earth where she could freely wield her Authority. This bubble world had also been riddled with holes by the Thunder Herrscher and would probably be destroyed soon, so it was naturally impossible to let her test her Authority here.
"Yes, Mei understands. I will earnestly follow your teachings." Mei bowed seriously.
"Misteln, Mei, after we get out, my safety will be in your hands." Shun entrusted the task to Raiden Mei and Misteln.
Having used the Taixu Sword God, fought the Thunder Herrscher for so long, sustained injuries from the high-energy particle beams of the Thunder Herrscher, and then used the power of his Stigmata, Shun's body was now completely exhausted.
Raiden Mei was just about to step forward to support Shun when Misteln, who had been beside him, beat her to it. Raiden Mei silently compared the size of their "armor" and realized the other party's foundation was much deeper than hers, so she pursed her lips and could only go back to help up the still-unconscious Kiana, who had a large bump on her head.
"Get ready. We're leaving this bubble world." Although none of those present would get motion sickness, Shun still reminded them out of humanitarian spirit.
As soon as Shun's words fell, four transparent light pillars enveloped the four of them. In the next moment, the bubble world returned to complete silence once more.