Through Mem's ability, they delved into the Dryad's memory—a memory conjured by the Golden Threads.
They understood that at this very moment, an unidentified creature clad in a black cloak and wielding a sharp sword was approaching the Great Tree in the Grove.
"Everyone, I have a bad feeling..."
"Thanatos's Death Mist seems to be drawing closer."
After reaching this conclusion, Castorice rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought. The sinking feeling in her heart intensified.
There was no doubt about it: something was terribly wrong in the Grove.
"It seems this Black-Robed Swordsman is the culprit behind the Grove's current silence."
"But... who is this swordsman, and why are they targeting the Grove?"
Feeling the emptiness in her arms, Lumina's gaze fell once more upon Mem.
Seeing the little creature quickly hide behind Stelle, Lumina smiled faintly. Feigning ignorance, she summarized the information Mem had provided from the Dryad's memory.
"Towards the Great Tree?"
"Cas, what does that mean?" Trianne asked Castorice after a moment's thought.
Hearing the question, Castorice shook her head. "I'm sorry, Lady Trianne, I don't know the specific meaning of that phrase."
The words "Towards the Great Tree" were far too vague. The entire Grove of Epiphany was situated on the Great Tree, so Castorice couldn't deduce anything specific from it.
"In any case, let's proceed cautiously," she decided. "Since the target is 'towards the Great Tree,' if we keep moving forward, we'll eventually figure out what it means."
Without overthinking it, Castorice opted for the simplest, most direct approach.
"Yes, that's a good idea. Sister Castorice is so clever," Lumina said with a deeply gratified expression, nodding in full agreement.
"Lady... Sister Lumina..." Hearing Lumina's praise and feeling her gaze, Castorice's face instantly flushed red. She fidgeted with the hem of her little skirt, lowering her head slightly as a shy blush spread across her fair cheeks.
While Castorice felt deeply embarrassed, she was also filled with surprise and confusion.
She admitted—and understood perfectly well—that she wasn't good at communicating or getting along with people. But surely she wasn't so awkward that a few teasing words or a simple compliment would instantly make her blush beet red, right?
And yet... the reality was right before her eyes.
A single word from Lumina, a single glance, was enough to make her heart race and fill her with a wave of... shyness and embarrassment.
This was what truly baffled Castorice.
Why is this happening? Why have I become so... easily flustered?
Have I always been this way? Did the constant care from Lady Aglaea, Tribbie, Trianne, Lady Trinnon, and my fellow Chrysos Heirs merely give me the illusion that I could interact normally with people?
Or... is Lumina... special?
Is she... special to me?
Castorice had a habit of getting lost in all sorts of daydreams in her daily life.
She'd imagine things... things completely divorced from reality, but that brought her joy.
Like... what she'd imagined about Lumina and Herta earlier.
But now, as those same wild thoughts turned toward herself, Castorice felt...
Felt a little... strange.
Though the feeling was strange and embarrassing, she didn't find it unpleasant in the slightest.
"Way to go, Cas!" Trianne praised, hands on her hips and a smile on her face.
"Lady Trianne, you too...?" Hearing Trianne's voice, Castorice snapped back to reality.
Despite her words, Castorice was incredibly grateful for Trianne's praise.
Trianne's comment had instantly pulled her back, preventing her thoughts from spiraling further and dissipating much of her shyness.
Lady Trianne's words had been a huge help...
If Lumina hadn't been present, Castorice would have bowed deeply in gratitude.
"Hehe, because Cas really is amazing!" Trianne didn't hide her true feelings, praising Castorice once more.
"Mmm..." Compared to Lumina's praise, Trianne's words also brought a blush to Castorice's cheeks.
But this blush wasn't from shyness or embarrassment; it was a warm, comforting glow.
While Lumina's praise also held that warmth, the shyness and awkwardness she stirred in Castorice far outweighed it.
If Lady Trianne was like a kind younger sister, then Lumina was... the mischievous, teasing older sister of the family.
She still offered the unique warmth of family, but she was also full of playful schemes...
"Anyway, let's hurry," Castorice said, changing the subject.
"We don't know what that Black-Robed Swordsman is planning."
"We're watching past memories," Lumina said. "We don't know if the Black-Robed Swordsman has already succeeded or if he's even left the Grove."
Luckily, Lumina had no idea what Castorice was thinking right now. Otherwise, she certainly wouldn't have spoken so calmly.
Arguing with Trianne was pointless, but Lumina knew she absolutely needed to improve Castorice's impression of her.
What does she mean, "mischievous, teasing older sister"? I'm perfectly proper, okay?
If Lumina knew what was going through Castorice's mind, she would have immediately dropped all concern for the Grove to defend her image. She would have transformed into a "caring Big Sister" and launched a series of brainwashing... no, a series of manipulations... wait, that's not right either.
She would have launched a series of... self-image maintenance operations.
Fortunately, Lumina remained oblivious to Castorice's thoughts, saving her a great deal of time that would have otherwise been spent on manipulation.
At Lumina's simple prompt, everyone nodded and continued deeper into the Grove.
They continued forward, using a device to leap to another platform.
"Ah..." Upon arriving, Castorice seemed to sense a presence, and her expression shifted.
"Cas, what's wrong?" Trianne, standing beside her, noticed the change and asked with a mix of confusion and curiosity.
After a moment of silence, Castorice finally spoke. "The aura of death... it's getting closer."
"It's..." She gazed at the short flight of steps ahead. "Just above these stairs."
"The aura of death?" Trianne repeated, puzzled at first. Then, after a moment of thought, her small face grew anxious. She tugged at Castorice's sleeve and urged, "Cas, let's hurry up and see!"
"Mm." Castorice's expression was grim, but she didn't summon her weapon.
The aura of death on the platform above was overwhelmingly dense.
Aside from that suffocating presence, there was nothing else.
No enemies...
Without further hesitation, the group quickly ascended the steps and reached the platform.
Before them lay a pile of monsters...
They were strewn across the ground, surrounded by pools of black mud, seemingly devoid of all life.
"This is..." Castorice's expression hardened as she muttered under her breath.
"This... This is terrifying." The scene made even Trianne tremble with fear.
"Hmm?" Herta, who had remained impassive until now, raised an eyebrow at the sight, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.
After a brief moment of confusion, she extended her Perception.
"Ah..."
Understanding the principle behind it, she turned her gaze to Lumina, who was putting on a masterful performance with a feigned look of gravity. Herta leaned in and asked, puzzled, "Why did you place an isolation barrier on these ordinary people?"
Herta couldn't comprehend Lumina's actions.
The "Black Tide Spawn" lying on the ground were, in fact, scholars from the Grove. Lumina had simply cast a barrier on them, isolating them from the outside world.
To an outsider, they would look identical to Black Tide Spawn.
This barrier also completely sealed off their life force, making them appear dead.
Herta couldn't guess, nor could she imagine, what Lumina's purpose was.
Just moments ago, Lumina had saved them, pulling them back from the brink of death as Black Tide Spawn and restoring them to their human forms, even reviving them.
So why, now, had she placed a barrier on them, making them "revert" to the appearance of Black Tide Spawn?
Could it be just for Castorice and the others to see?
Herta muttered inwardly, unable to comprehend the logic.
Well, if this is also part of Lumina's... no, if this is also Lumina's way of deepening her bond with beautiful girls, then I suppose I understand.
Herta felt that when it came to beautiful girls, nothing Lumina did would surprise her anymore.
"What? You want to know?" Lumina asked, unaware of the rapid train of thought that had just raced through Herta's mind.
Lumina let out a soft hum, the corners of her lips curving into a slight smile. She raised her small hand and tapped her own lips with a finger.
Gesturing to Herta, she said, "Kiss me, and I'll tell you."
At that moment, Lumina's attention was mostly focused on Castorice and Mem. As a result, she had momentarily forgotten Herta's feelings for her and blurted out the line, intending only to tease and flirt.
"..."
Hearing this, Herta's stunningly beautiful face froze, her small mouth slightly agape. She seemed utterly shocked that Lumina would dare to say something so teasing, especially after Herta had made her own feelings so obvious.
If it had been anyone else, they would have blushed at Lumina's words, scolded her for being improper, and immediately surrendered the initiative. Lumina could then have seized the opportunity, while the beautiful girl was blushing, to launch a series of Follow-Up Attacks.
If this had been the old Herta, that's likely how it would have played out.
The only difference would have been that when Lumina launched her Follow-Up Attacks, Herta could have resisted with some attacks of her own...
But the Herta of now was no longer the Herta of before.
After the events in Okhema's room and the grove outside Okhema City, Herta felt she had already made her emotions and feelings abundantly clear.
She couldn't believe Lumina would still say something like that to her.
In that case, I won't hold back either.
Without another word—knowing that if she said anything more, Lumina would surely realize what was happening and the opportunity would be lost—Herta wrapped an arm around Lumina's neck, pulling her head close. She pressed her body tightly against Lumina's, using her other hand to cup Lumina's small cheek.
Having done all this, Herta knew that hesitation meant defeat. She swiftly aimed for Lumina's small lips and kissed her.
"..."
Herta might have known the classic saying, "Hesitation means defeat."
But she clearly didn't know that not hesitating could also lead to defeat.
Unfortunately, despite Herta's complete lack of hesitation and her exceptionally decisive actions, she ultimately came up empty...
"Ahem, ahem, Little Herta," Lumina said, using her power to create some distance between them. A faint blush, like the afterglow of a narrow escape, still lingered on her cheeks.
Feeling Herta's glare brimming with infinite resentment, Lumina coughed a few more times and lectured her with the world-weary air of a wizened elder. "I know you're eager, but you really mustn't rush things."
It was as if she were telling her, Young people shouldn't be so impatient.
What's the use of being hasty?
Impatience won't put food on the table.
...Though Herta's impatience had almost brought her a meal just now.
Well... "almost" was probably an understatement. The gap was likely the size of an entire cosmos.
After all, no matter how fast Herta moved, their power levels were clear. Lumina could always flash away the instant Herta got close to her "delicious meal"...
Herta understood this perfectly.
The problem was, Lumina had told her to kiss her.
She was just following Lumina's instructions.
So, what happened?
Naturally, someone cheated.
Otherwise, according to their agreement, Herta would have already tasted the "delicious meal" she had been dreaming of.
Those cherry-pink, glistening little lips were a constant temptation.
Herta was done with "righteous methods."
As long as she could get even a small "bite," she felt that any method was fair game.
Like climbing into Lumina's bed in the middle of the night... or waiting until she was fast asleep... or even resorting to: "Miss Lumina, you wouldn't want your beautiful girls to...?"
All sorts of "unrighteous methods."
After all, back in the grove, Lumina had already touched and squeezed her... you know.
Was it really too much to ask for a single "bite" in return?
Herta reasoned silently.
She didn't dwell on it further, just shot Lumina a speechless, exasperated glare.
Knowing this woman couldn't play fair, Herta didn't get hung up on it.
Instead, her mind began to churn, plotting...
...a plan to finally secure her "meal" in peace.