Inside the royal office of the Hydra Kingdom, Laguna and Lilia sat with grim expressions, discussing potential strategies for the upcoming party and trying to predict the chaos to come.
"We have settled on our responses to the expected questions to some extent, but I have no idea how we are supposed to handle things if the situation escalates further..."
"It is a difficult position. Regardless of how things look now, once the party begins, it will be nearly impossible for Your Majesty to react instantly. Depending on the scale of the incident, it might even be beyond our power to resolve anyway."
"Quite. And now that Eden-sama has arrived, I have my doubts as to whether the Gods can handle things on their own. Not that we could do much better even if we were there..."
As the reigning monarch, Laguna would be tied down by formalities once the festivities officially began, making it impossible for her to act on impulse as she had during the earlier sunset incident. As for Lilia, despite her assistance, she was still a foreign noble; direct intervention in the Hydra Kingdom’s internal affairs was a delicate matter that could lead to diplomatic friction.
If nothing happened during the party, their worries would be for nothing, but neither of them was optimistic enough to believe they would be so lucky. Both were racking their brains for a solution.
Just then, one of the maids arrived.
"Your Majesty, pardon the intrusion. The Underworld King has arrived and requested an audience."
"Nuh—Kuromueina-sama?! Please, let her in at once!"
Laguna and Lilia’s expressions brightened instantly, despite their surprise. They could easily guess why Kuromueina had come, even though she had no original plans to attend the festival.
More importantly, they knew there was a high possibility that she would be their salvation.
Shortly thereafter, Kuromueina stepped into the office.
"Sorry to drop in unannounced, Laguna-chan."
"Not at all. You are very welcome here."
"Well, I actually didn't plan on coming, but after seeing that display a while ago, I figured Shiro was up to her usual antics again... wait, huh? Why is Lilia-chan here?"
"A-Ahaha... I wonder why?"
Kuromueina tilted her head in confusion at the sight of Lilia, who supposedly had no official business in the Hydra Kingdom. However, upon seeing Lilia’s weary, wry smile, she seemed to grasp the situation immediately. "Ah, I see. The usual, then," she noted, clearly familiar with Lilia’s trouble-prone constitution.
"...Anyway, could you fill me in? I’d like to hear the details of what Shiro has been up to today."
"Understood. To begin with..."
Since Kuromueina had truly just arrived, she lacked the full context. Laguna and Lilia proceeded to explain the day's events in detail.
After hearing about the string of incidents undoubtedly caused by Shallow Vernal and how they had scrambled to respond, Kuromueina let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Phew... I had a hunch, but Shiro really is having a field day. Normally, she tries to be a bit more restrained and considers the impact of her actions in her own way, but it looks like she’s so high-tension that she’s lost all self-control. Well, even though she walked around a bit during the Six Kings Festival, Shiro doesn’t usually get the chance to attend events like this. And since it’s a date with Kaito-kun... well, I suppose it’s only natural for her mood to be through the roof."
Kuromueina was well aware of how her own excitement had skyrocketed when she had toured a festival with Kaito during the Six Kings Festival, so she could emphasize with Shallow Vernal’s feelings to some degree.
"Anyway, for now, I'm more worried about what the Earth God is up to. I want to know what her plan is, so I'll head over and ask her myself."
"O-Oh, thank you very much! That is truly a life-saver."
Laguna breathed a profound sigh of relief. It was a massive weight off her shoulders to know that Kuromueina would be handling Machina, who had been their greatest source of anxiety.
She finally felt reassured enough to focus on the party... but that relief was pulverized just moments later when a knight burst into the room, gasping for air as he delivered his report: a massive mountain had suddenly manifested at the exact coordinates on the map provided earlier.
Serious-senpai: "It's finally come, Mount Fuji..."