In the darkness, a faint light seemed to glow in the distance.

  “What’s...... that......”

  Dazed, Hulim Heyerar reached out unconsciously toward the light.

  It grew brighter and brighter, quickly dispelling the surrounding darkness......

  “......”

  Hulim found herself opening her eyes.

  A clear blue sky stretched above, dotted with a few drifting white clouds.

  Lying on the ground, she stared blankly at the sky.

  “The sky？”“Am I on the surface？But I was just deep in the dungeon......”

  She sat up and looked around.

  She was in a grassy area by a lake.

  The lush green grass was dotted with colorful flowers. A gentle breeze blew, carrying a faint floral scent to her nostrils.

  “Where on earth is this？Why am I here？”

  The unfamiliar surroundings filled her with confusion.

  She instinctively reached for her back—only to feel nothing.

  “Helkem...... it’s gone！”“And not just Helkem—the Seven Luminaries too！”

  The disappearance of her two weapons shocked her. But then she noticed something even more astonishing......

  “My body...... feels strange？”

  She stared down at her chest, where something she’d never had before now existed......

  Hulim hurried to the lake, leaning over to look at her reflection in the clear, mirror-like water.

  She froze completely.

  ......Who is this？

  The reflection showed a woman with long aquamarine hair, clear aquamarine eyes, delicate skin, and stunning looks！

  No matter how she looked at it,

  this wasn’t her—！？

  She was only thirteen！

  The reflection was clearly that of someone much older！

  Hulim touched her face repeatedly, trying to confirm she wasn’t mistaken.

  But the reflection mimicked her every move, even the look of shock on her face！

  “What on earth is happening？！！”

  ......

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  A few minutes later,

  Hulim sat dumbfounded by the water, staring at her reflection.

  No matter how long she looked, she couldn’t connect this person to herself. Her reason told her this couldn’t be true.

  Yet the reality was right in front of her.

  She racked her brain, but couldn’t figure out how touching the Philosopher’s Stone had transported her to this strange place—and transformed her into a beautiful stranger she’d never seen before.

  “......The Philosopher’s Stone？”

  Hulim suddenly recalled the moments before she’d woken up here.

  At that time, after breaking the seal and touching the Philosopher’s Stone, something had happened.

  But it had all been too fast. Before she could react, her consciousness had faded......

  Could it be related to the Philosopher’s Stone？

  She tried to recall the details, hoping to find clues. But before she could, she remembered something urgent.

  Someone was still holding the line for her！

  “Right...... Semiris！！！”

  “Huh？！”

  A surprised voice came from behind her.

  The familiar sound made Hulim’s body stiffen.

  She slowly turned around.

  And saw an extremely familiar figure......

  “Aww！I was caught！I wanted to scare Winnie, but I messed it up~！”

  The Fairy Queen Semiris—with three pairs of transparent light wings, golden hair, and emerald eyes—wore an embarrassed smile, as if caught doing something naughty.

  “Semiris......”

  Hulim stared dumbfounded at her, muttering her name.

  “Hm？”

  Semiris tilted her head.

  “What’s wrong with Winnie？Semiris thinks Winnie’s expression is weird~？”

  Hulim didn’t answer. Her mind was in unprecedented chaos, even wondering if she’d fallen under some illusion magic.

  But soon, she noticed something different.

  This was definitely Semiris.

  But her appearance was off！

  The girl in front of her looked younger than the Semiris she knew—or rather...... this was a teenage version of Semiris！

  “Um...... Semiris？”

  Hulim tried to calm herself down and asked.

  “......What did you call me？”

  Semiris looked confused.

  Seeing that expression, a flash of realization crossed Hulim’s mind.

  She knew this look all too well......

  She’d seen it countless times over the past year.

  It was Little Semiris.

  “Winnie is so strange~！Winnie is Winnie, right？Why don’t you remember your own name？”

  Winnie...... Could that be the original name of this body？

  But who was she？Why had Hulim become her？

  And what about this teenage Semiris with Little Semiris’s personality？

  “Ah——！Semiris gets it~！”

  Semiris suddenly looked enlightened.

  “Winnie is playing a new game, isn’t she~？”

  “A game？No...... that’s not it, Semiris......”

  Hulim tried to explain, but Semiris was already lost in her own thoughts.

  “It must be because everyone is gathering today, so Winnie prepared this specially~？”

  No, listen to me......

  From just a few words, Hulim was certain—this was undoubtedly Little Semiris.

  She’d spent nearly a year with her; she could never mistake that vibe.

  But......

  Everyone？

  Was there someone else here？

  As soon as the thought crossed her mind,

  “Oh, interesting. Winnie actually took the trouble to prepare a game—how rare！Even this lord is curious now！”

  When did he get here！！？

  Hulim jumped in shock.

  She quickly looked toward the sound.

  A man was lying casually on a large rock in the grass, legs crossed.

  The moment she saw him, an indescribable ferocious aura washed over her.

  Rank S......

  She didn’t need to confirm further—this man was definitely one of the strongest beings in this world.

  “Galamand！Long time no see！”

  Semiris flew over happily, greeting the man.

  “Yo！Semiris, long time no see. You’re still the same！A childish fool~！”

  The man sat up from the rock, grinning to reveal sharp fangs.

  Only then did Hulim get a clear look at him.

  He had messy fiery red hair, two black horns on his head, and golden slit pupils. Every gesture exuded an unruly temperament.

  “Hmm——！”

  Semiris puffed out her cheeks angrily, waving her fists in protest: “Semiris is not a childish fool！You’re the fool, Galamand！”

  “Haha, see？This is exactly why you’re a childish fool~！”

  Galamand laughed and teased her, then turned to Hulim.

  “Hey hey hey, what’s wrong, Winnie？Did you stay in the water too long and get stupid？Staring at this lord with that dumb look~！”

  “......Sorry, but who are you？”

  “Huh——？”

  Galamand’s expression froze, then he broke into a ferocious smile.

  “Oh？So that’s the game？Interesting！”

  Crackle~！

  He cracked his knuckles, the joints making a crisp sound.

  “How about this lord helps you remember the answer with his fists~？”

  “......”

  That sounds absolutely terrible......