Surrounded by a host of fairies and amidst the flower fairy's disdainful look, they retraced their steps, stepping through a transparent entrance that rippled like water. Looking up, they saw Hikari floating not far away, seemingly studying the bonsai in front of her.

"What are you looking at?"

I moved closer with light steps and casually ruffled the little idiot's hair.

"life."

Hikari murmured softly, unconsciously rubbing her palm against mine, her gaze still fixed on the open ground in front of her.

That's a colony of ants migrating.

From the nearby bushes, stretching all the way to the woodland not far away, the scattered ant colony gradually gathered into a line, moving towards some unknown destination. Their tiny forelegs carried up tiny food scraps, and occasionally a few strayed from the path, but they quickly turned back into the line, following their companions in a winding, meandering manner as they continued to move forward.

"I once heard a saying that ants are the weakest yet strongest creatures in the world. A single ant cannot fight against a disaster many times its size, but when they gather in a swarm, even when faced with raging flames, they will still rush forward without hesitation, just to leave some chance for their kin to survive."

I bent slightly to the side, also watching the ant colony. A few stray ants sniffed around the perimeter, and after finding no danger or possible food nearby, they rejoined the column to relay the message.

"That sounds amazing..."

Hikari nodded, looking confused, then a glimmer of light lit up her clear eyes, and she suddenly wanted to pounce on him: "Mr. Yumi! When did you get back! I've been waiting for you for so long!"

...Unfortunately, she is still half-fixed in mid-air. Despite her great efforts, she has only moved a tiny bit. She is still a finger's width away from my collar. She can only cling to my shoulder and try to get closer to me.

I could almost picture her dangling legs flailing about on the other side. I could only suppress my laughter, turn my back to her, and take a few more steps back: "Here, take my back. Save your energy and think about how to get out of this situation."

"Hehe~ It wasn't my idea either." Hikari laughed sheepishly, putting her arm around Hikari's shoulder. "But luckily, Yao-jie just sent a messenger over, saying she's investigating."

Since even the housekeeper has been alerted, then obviously I don't need to worry about it, right?

I nodded and tried to adjust the parameters of the void gate from the outside, but to no avail. After a few moments, I only received a comment from Hikari that it was a little itchy, so I had no choice but to give up.

"Why are you all alone? Where's [Frost Sword]?" I asked, looking around again and retracing my steps. "I was invited to the fairy territory earlier and we had a brief chat. I hope I didn't scare you?"

Hikari burrowed her little head behind her neck: "A little. [Frost Sword] even tried to cleave the house open, but nothing happened. They said it felt like striking thin air, not touching anything. Later, one of the city lord's stewards came and told us that this was a passage leading to the fairy's private land, and guaranteed in the city lord's name that there would be no danger even if we entered, telling us not to worry."

"Then [Frostsword] left."

I had assumed she would stay, since our collaboration had been quite pleasant and we had some academic topics that needed further discussion. So, I was quite surprised to hear this: "Where did she go?"

Hikari tilted her head slightly and recalled, "She said, 'Since there are no security issues, I've completed my duties and will take my leave now.' She also expressed her hope that I would keep our initial agreement and not forget to convey her challenge to Sister An. And, and..." She paused and said somewhat uncertainly, "If there's anything else, go to the hotel to find her. She said she'll probably be active in this area until next spring."

"A hotel? Which one?"

“The one we all know.” Hikari raised her hand to indicate that she was repeating.

Could she be referring to the Icefield Hut? Are there other inns with the same name here?

Although I've heard of some well-known brands having chain stores in different cities, those are mostly shops of large chambers of commerce or local specialty snacks. This is the first time I've ever heard of a hotel.

It won't take much time anyway, I'll just take a look in a bit.

"That's right!"

Before I had taken more than a few steps, Hikari jumped off my back again, startled.

I thought she was finally realizing her shame and trying to get off my back, but to my surprise, she said, "The butler just said he was looking for you!"

"Looking for me?" I asked doubtfully.

It's somewhat possible that the mages know me, but how did the steward of the city lord, who is neither a relative nor related to me, and lives in a place a bit far from my hometown and the academy city, know me?

Hikari's next words quickly answered my question.

"Yes! Mr. Yumi!"

Nodding vigorously, the little fool seemed to think that just having my arms around her back wasn't comfortable enough, so she suddenly pressed down on me from behind, her slender arms and the wafting fragrance enveloping me: "They said the city lord learned about you from the fairy and specifically asked to see you! Apparently, he wants to talk about... uh? What was it again? The fairy, and the World Tree?"

"..." I rolled my eyes speechlessly.

At this time, with these two keywords again... I roughly guessed what the other person wanted to say.

Although I also have things I want to discuss with the other party, those are not the most important things to worry about right now. Rather, in the face of the impending crisis, everything else is just a tiny and fragile bubble. Only after we have weathered the real disaster can we free up our energy to prepare for those tedious but unavoidable wrangling and exchanges of interests.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!