When Pardo woke inside the small tent, she was completely disoriented.
Her first instinct was to assume that everything she had just experienced had been nothing more than a strange dream.
After all, while she still did not fully understand the concept of the Path Interstice, and had only just learned what an Emanator actually was…
She definitely knew about Aeons.
Back in the Elysian Realm, Boss Ling Ke had casually explained some things about the Paths. Unfortunately, Pardo had spent most of that conversation daydreaming and had paid nowhere near as much attention as Sim Su and the others.
Of course, Ling Ke had not mentioned the Trailblazer or the Astral Express Crew at the time.
But the Universal Broadcast he later sent out after stopping time?
That had been impossible to ignore.
So…
"The great beings who passed Boss Ling Ke's test and successfully ascended to the Divine Throne… there are only five of them in the entire universe."
Pardo waved a hand dismissively.
"How could someone like that possibly take an interest in someone like me?"
"Heh… haha~"
She laughed self-deprecatingly, as though she understood perfectly well just how insignificant she was in comparison.
Then, while still laughing, her eyes happened to drift toward her left arm.
And landed on the magnificent golden armlet wrapped around it.
"…Huh?"
The fifty-thousand-year-old catgirl (?) blinked.
She stared at it for several seconds.
Then closed her eyes.
Opened them again.
The armlet was still there.
"HUH?!"
Her shriek echoed through the tent.
Beside her, Can-chan nearly jumped out of her fur.
"Meow-wow?!"
The cat's entire coat puffed up.
"Ah! Sorry, sorry! I'm sorry, Can, I'm sorry~!"
Pardo immediately scooped her companion closer and hurriedly smoothed down her fur.
Once Can had calmed, Pardo sat with her legs tucked beneath her in a loose duck-sit and placed the cat on her lap.
While gently petting Can, she tilted her head and sank into thought.
What had happened today…
Was a very big deal.
An enormous deal.
Possibly a bigger-than-the-sun kind of deal.
"How did I suddenly become some legendary Emanator?"
The knowledge that had appeared in her mind had already given Pardo a rough understanding of just how powerful an Emanator could be.
She also understood exactly how absurdly fortunate she had been.
But this…
This was a little too fortunate.
"You've always had good luck."
"Ah, right, right. My luck has always been pretty good, haha—Eek!"
Pardo froze.
Can immediately slipped from her lap and darted behind her.
Because a black-haired young man had appeared inside the tent without warning.
It was…
"B-Boss Ling Ke?"
"That would be me."
A faint smile tugged at the young man's lips.
"Long time no see, Big Pardo."
"…"
Big Pardo?
What kind of nickname was that?!
Pardo desperately wanted to complain.
But after remembering exactly who the person in front of her was, she wisely swallowed the words.
"Um… Boss Ling Ke?"
She gave him a cautious look.
"What brings you here today?"
"Congratulations."
Ling Ke seemed rather entertained by her reaction.
Then, deliberately teasing her, he added,
"Though, considering your personality, perhaps I should say… congratulations on striking it rich?"
"Uh… haha…"
Pardo awkwardly scratched the side of her head.
She was obviously not the type to gain power and immediately become arrogant.
More importantly, she understood the difference between herself and the man sitting before her.
Even an Aeon would still stand below Ling Ke.
As for an Emanator like her?
In his eyes, that probably did not amount to very much at all.
So…
"Boss Ling Ke, please stop teasing me."
Pardo's voice weakened slightly.
"Like you said, I just got lucky~"
"Oh?"
Ling Ke raised an eyebrow.
"You certainly know what to say."
He sat cross-legged across from her and casually glanced around the inside of the tent.
Then he nodded.
"And apparently you also know how to make yourself comfortable."
"This…"
"Relax. There's no need to be so tense."
Ling Ke waved a hand.
Pardo, who had already straightened herself into an almost formal kneeling posture beside the stove, hesitated before relaxing slightly.
Only slightly.
After all, she was facing Ling Ke.
Naturally, there was nothing particularly surprising about his appearance here.
There was no way he could have failed to notice the sudden birth of an Emanator on Earth.
In truth, Ling Ke had sensed the change immediately.
Not only on Earth, but even within the Path Interstice itself.
In other words…
If Ling Ke had not permitted the Aeon of Harmony to choose Pardofelis's Sim as its Emanator, the selection would never have succeeded in the first place.
Now…
"Pardo."
Ling Ke's expression grew slightly more serious.
"Now that you've become an Emanator of Harmony, you theoretically have the opportunity to leave this place and develop on a much larger stage."
Pardo immediately straightened again.
Although, strictly speaking, she had never really stopped sitting properly.
Especially in front of Ling Ke.
Her behavior was remarkably well-behaved.
That alone put Ling Ke in a fairly good mood.
And so, much like he once had when facing another catgirl in Sundown Alley, he asked her a simple but important question.
"Pardo."
"Do you want to leave Earth?"
"Huh?"
The fifty-thousand-year-old catgirl (?) froze.
Then her face suddenly went pale.
"B-Boss Ling Ke…"
"You're not planning to throw me into outer space, are you?"
"…"
Ling Ke stared at her.
This cat's brain might genuinely be beyond saving.
Then again…
"What exactly are you imagining?"
He frowned.
"Do I really seem like such an unreasonable person?"
"…"
Pardo said nothing.
Her silence, however, somehow managed to be extremely expressive.
It practically asked:
What do you think?
"…"
For once, Ling Ke was the one left speechless.
A moment later, he found the entire situation rather amusing.
As expected.
This Pardo was quite entertaining too.
And the reason he had never noticed it before was not difficult to understand.
From the very beginning, she had remained inside the Elysian Realm and had personally witnessed the role he played in destroying the Current Era.
No wonder she regarded him as some kind of "Super World-Destroying Demon King" and was terrified of provoking him.
Now…
"Forget it."
Ling Ke sighed.
"I won't ask that again."
He looked at her directly.
"So, you want to remain on Earth?"
"Mhm!"
Pardo nodded vigorously.
"Alright."
Ling Ke had no intention of forcing the issue.
However…
"Pardo, you should understand that the power of an Emanator has already gone far beyond what the current human civilization on Earth can reasonably handle."
He raised his right hand and extended three fingers.
"So I need to establish three rules."
"Okay. Go ahead."
Pardo responded immediately.
She was being exceptionally cooperative.
"Very good."
Ling Ke had always preferred dealing with well-behaved people.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Generally speaking, you are not allowed to interfere too heavily with the Trial currently being undergone by this civilization."
He paused.
"Though that's still too vague."
"Let me make it more specific."
He raised one finger.
"First: you are forbidden from eliminating Herrschers."
"Directly killing them is prohibited. Indirectly helping someone else kill them is also prohibited."
"And under no circumstances are you allowed to forcibly interfere with the Cocoon of Finality."
A second finger.
"Second: you cannot directly erase or nullify the disasters caused by Herrschers."
"For example, this current Ice Calamity."
Then the third.
"Third: until this Trial is over, your teleportation gates cannot extend beyond the Earth-Moon System."
"Likewise, they cannot directly connect to the space containing the Cocoon of Finality."
"That restriction is tied to the first rule."
Ling Ke lowered his hand.
"Understood?"
Pardo nodded repeatedly.
"Understood, understood. I remember everything."
"Good."
Ling Ke seemed satisfied.
He clearly had no intention of remaining much longer.
Standing up inside the cramped tent, he had to bend his knees and lower his waist slightly because of the low ceiling.
Then he reached out and rubbed Pardo's head.
Pardo instinctively flinched and shrank her neck.
But she did not move away.
She could feel no malice coming from him.
In fact…
There was something surprisingly gentle about the gesture.
Pardo found herself slightly bewildered.
She had not really expected Ling Ke to have moments when he treated others so kindly.
But…
It did not feel bad.
Not bad at all.
Ling Ke's mood was equally pleasant.
Because of that, he quietly abandoned the thought of punishing the Aeon of Harmony.
Although Bastet had not realized it, choosing an Emanator here had technically amounted to abruptly intruding into Ling Ke's territory.
Normally, that would have been enough to annoy him.
But this time…
Your luck is quite good, Bastet.
Ling Ke thought to himself.
You can thank Pardo for that.
He turned to leave.
Then stopped.
"Oh, right."
Pardo looked up.
Ling Ke glanced back at her.
"Since I'm technically an uninvited guest today, I suppose I should leave you some compensation."
"Eh?"
Pardo's ears perked up.
Then she heard him say,
"From now on, Kali included, no Herrscher will actively attack you."
Pardo blinked.
"Of course, if you attack them first, they are free to retaliate."
"And Rule One still applies."
Ling Ke gave her a meaningful look.
"Remember that."
Before Pardo could respond, his figure flickered.
Then vanished completely.
It was almost as though his arrival had only ever been an illusion.
For several seconds, Pardo simply stared at the empty space where he had been standing.
Before today, she had not even known who Kali was.
Yet the instant Ling Ke mentioned the name, information seemed to pour directly into her mind.
Not slowly.
Not gradually.
It was more like an abrupt enlightenment.
A sudden realization.
In an instant, she understood.
"So those twisted little bugs… and this entire Ice Calamity…"
Pardo rubbed both arms.
"They were all caused by the Herrscher of Blood?"
She shivered.
"Scary…"
"This one is way stronger than the 'original' Third Herrscher."
Pardo turned her gaze in a particular direction.
After becoming an Emanator of Harmony, the range of her perception had expanded several times over compared to before.
And now that she could sense much farther…
"Boss Kevin and the others…"
"Are they really going to be alright?"
Truthfully, now that she possessed real "Power," Pardo found herself increasingly tempted to help.
Of course, she had absolutely no intention of violating the three rules Boss Ling Ke had established.
But as she saw it…
"Boss Ling Ke didn't completely forbid me from doing anything."
"He even gave me detailed rules."
"That obviously means…"
There were still things she was allowed to do.
Pardo thought about it for a while.
Then shook her head.
"Mm… better not contact Boss Kevin and the others directly."
"If I do, I'll probably end up buried under one problem after another."
Pardo did not trust herself to accurately judge the exact boundary Ling Ke had drawn.
So she quickly settled on what she considered a safer approach.
She would not interfere with the Trial itself.
She would not interfere with the Herrschers.
But ordinary people who might otherwise die?
Perhaps she could lend them a small hand.
Nothing too dramatic.
Nothing that crossed the line.
"Yep."
Pardo clapped her hands together.
"That's what I'll do."
Just like that, she settled on her next goal.
In spirit, she had once again become that anonymous phantom thief from Sundown Alley.
The one who quietly helped Aponia keep the orphanage running without ever asking for recognition.
At the same time…
"Not bad."
Back aboard the Astral Express, Ling Ke's lips curled upward slightly.
"She understands the situation."
A brief pause.
"And more importantly…"
"She actually listens instead of merely thinking she's clever."