Suddenly, I was swept away by a strong gust of wind and became separated from my companions.

There was no one around me.

“Mini-map.”

However, I didn’t panic and calmly brought up the mini-map.

The mini-map I glanced at was brightly lit, even though it was my first time entering the temple today.

How this happened was…

[SYSTEM] You have arrived at a new location!

[SYSTEM] The mini-map of has been unlocked!

[SYSTEM] You already possess the Guide’s Lantern!

As soon as I arrived at the temple and got off the carriage, a series of notifications popped up.

I blinked my eyes at the mention of already possessing the Guide’s Lantern, when suddenly, an item I had placed in my inventory began to shine.

It was the Helheim gem sculpture, with the name attached to it.

In other words, the sacred object that Anselot had taken from the temple was the Guide’s Lantern that illuminated the !

[SYSTEM] The mini-map of has been activated!

Thanks to that, as soon as I arrived at the temple and got off the carriage, a notification sound rang out and the mini-map was activated.

The was as vast as the .

I was thoroughly examining the maze garden within the mini-map to find my companions when…

Boom!

A loud noise came from behind me.

“Huh?”

I turned around, but there was no one there.

“Did I hear it wrong?”

As I tilted my head and looked back at the mini-map, another boom! sound was heard.

This time, I also felt a faint vibration from the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

This loud noise was getting closer and closer.

“Wh-What is it?”

Thinking that a monster might have appeared, I gripped the hilt of my sword.

But then, I suddenly noticed a dot on the mini-map rapidly approaching me.

“What…?”

The name attached to that dot was none other than…

“Anselot?”

As I blinked my eyes, another boom! sound was heard.

The huge hedge wall in front of me, which seemed to be at least 2.5 meters tall, collapsed, and there stood Anselot, panting heavily as he emerged through it.

Oh my goodness, Anselot had damaged the temple’s property again!

“Anselot, what happened…!”

“Princess.”

His stiff face relaxed as he spotted me.

He scanned my body up and down, then added with a smile.

“I’m glad. You’re not hurt anywhere.”

“Don’t tell me you ran here while breaking through the maze because you were worried I might be hurt?”

“I can’t break my promise to protect you and make our princess sad again.”

Anselot answered with a grin.

His words made me feel ticklish all of a sudden.

Suppressing my surging emotions, I retorted with a cool face.

“It’s a place managed by priests, so there’s no way it would be dangerous.”

“But that gust of wind just now…”

Anselot furrowed his brows slightly as he recalled the recent event.

“Isn’t it a trap in the maze?”

When I asked with a tilt of my head, Anselot slowly parted his lips.

“…It wasn’t the power of ordinary priests.”

“Then…?”

“…”

Anselot closed his lips tightly again, as if lost in thought.

Seeing his appearance, something suddenly came to my mind.

“Could it be the doing of the system administrator?”

Due to the incident in the Dreamlike Forest where Anselot exposed himself as a bug and blocked the system, I had to worry for a while about the system administrator coming to find me.

“…I’m not sure either.”

If even Anselot didn’t know…

“For now, let’s try to find the others.”

I examined the mini-map once again.

At the top of the mini-map, the words were written.

Although I had illuminated the entire map of the by finding the lantern, the mini-map only showed the area where I was currently standing.

Because of that, the location of Klaus, who had already escaped outside the maze, was not visible.

Pia, who was not an in-game character, naturally couldn’t be found on the mini-map.

“Maria is over there. And Irene is…”

As I thoroughly scanned the map, I noticed that Irene’s location was not visible on the map.

“I can’t see Irene.”

“Could she have been thrown out of the maze?”

At that moment, a welcome green message arrived.

[Lulu nim!ヾ(｡>﹏<｡)ﾉﾞ]

It was Pia's message after a long time.

"Pia! Where are you now! Can you hear my voice?"

As I urgently called out towards the message window, Pia responded.

[Pia was blown away by the gust of wind. Without wings, I can't fly to Lulu nim(ঌ ๑•́ −•̀)໒]

"Are you okay?"

[Yes. Pia is fine, but I ended up outside the maze( ͒˃⌂˂ ͒)]

"Is Irene outside the maze too, by any chance?"

[Irene?]

Pia's messages went silent for a moment.

Then soon…

[Ah! I think I found her! (,, ･∀･)ﾉ゛ She's over here!!! ヾ(˘⌣˘)〴]

Only then could I let out a sigh of relief.

"Please, Pia. Stay next to Irene and keep her safe!"

Of course, considering Irene's stats, no dangerous situation would occur.

Nevertheless, I asked Pia to stay with Irene, who had just entered human society not long ago and was unfamiliar with the ways of the world.

[What about you, Lulu nim?]

"I'm with Anselot, so I'll be fine. Please, Pia."

[Understood, Lulu nim! Leave it to this Pia!( • ̀ω•́ )✧]

Pia's message, burning with determination, allowed me to feel much more at ease.

Klaus, Maria, and Irene were all heroes from the original story, far surpassing the abilities of ordinary people.

Even if we were separated, there would be no danger.

"Let's hurry and get out of the maze too."

I looked at the mini-map, trying to find the exit.

However, even the map drawn on the mini-map was in the shape of a maze, making it difficult to find the way out.

Seeing me wracking my brain over the maze-shaped map for a long time, Anselot tilted his head.

"Why are you making your head hurt when there's an easy way?"

"An easy way…?"

I blinked my eyes and looked at him.

[This is the timeline separator]

A lovely-looking girl with green hair tied up in two braids and blue eyes was blinking adorably as she followed someone.

There was a boy with black hair, slightly taller than the girl, where the girl was following.

'Pia, I'll definitely fulfill Lulu nim's request perfectly!'

Lulu nim had given me a 'request'.

Then, as a guide illuminating Lulu nim's path, I had to make sure to complete that request.

Pia was burning with determination as she diligently followed behind Irene.

'But why are his steps so fast?'

Irene's gait was clearly leisurely, yet Pia's short legs had to move very busily to keep up with him.

"Irene! Irene…!"

I called out to Irene at the top of my lungs, but it seemed he couldn't hear well, drowned out by the noise of the festival crowd.

But then, at that moment!

"Eek!"

Pia was startled and looked to the right.

A sweet scent wafted over.

"The magical cookie that makes love come true!"

The cookie she had seen before entering the maze was right there.

Unconsciously lured by the scent, Pia was walking unsteadily towards the cookie when she suddenly stopped.

"No!"

Smack!

Slapping her own face with both hands, not too hard to hurt, she came to her senses.

"I can't forget Lulu nim's request!"

Having regained her senses, Pia diligently followed behind Irene, blinking adorably.

Not having wings was so inconvenient.

If Pia were her original self, she would have flown swiftly and caught up in no time…

'Human legs are so inconvenient.'

Pia thought, sticking out her lips like a beak.

Irene, with his usual expressionless face, was heading somewhere.

At first glance, it seemed like he was walking aimlessly, but his steps had a clear purpose.

Irene passed through the front yard where the festival was taking place and went deep inside the temple.

"Irene! Where are you going!"

Pia tried calling out to Irene again, but once more, Irene didn't hear Pia's call.

Gradually, there were fewer people around, and the surroundings became quiet.

Only then did Pia feel that something was a bit strange.

'It's so quiet all around, so why can't Irene hear Pia's voice?'

Just as Pia was about to pass through the entrance leading to the deepest inner garden of the temple…

"Oof!"

Pia bumped into a passing priest and fell on her bottom.

"Oh dear, are you alright?"

The priest helped Pia up and spoke in a kind voice.

"It seems you came to play for the festival. You shouldn't go inside. Security has been tightened recently due to some unpleasant incidents within the temple."

"That's not it, Pia is here to get Irene… Huh?"

Pia looked at the place where Irene had been just a moment ago.

But Irene was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did he go?"

Blinking her eyes, Pia noticed that the sky was gradually getting dark.

Pia was about to send a message to Luibel but hesitated.

"This is a big problem. I confidently told her to leave it to Pia, but…"

Lulu nim might be disappointed, asking how she couldn't even do this easy task. She didn't want that.

"I'll wait here."

With that thought, Pia sat down right there and waited for Irene to come out again.

Meanwhile, deep inside the temple. In front of the statue of Lus.

The Luenhart Capital Temple was a temple dedicated to the goddess Amor, but Amor was also a subordinate of the chief god Lus.

Therefore, all temples on the continent, including the Temple of Amor, revered Lus, the lord of the world and the only absolute being, the god of light.

As such, the statues of the god of light, Lus, and the light dragon Helheim were representative sacred objects that could be seen in any temple on the continent.

The annoying green bird was finally out of sight. Well, it didn't matter whether it followed or not.

Irene stood still in front of the statue carved from gems and gazed at it.

"Why…"

His voice flowed out softly, carrying a question.

The corners of his eyes, which had been staring at the statue, slightly furrowed.

The disappeared statue of the light dragon Helheim was also a problem, but…

"Why does it look like that?"

Because the statue of Lus, the god of light, was terribly destroyed.

As if someone had deliberately tormented it out of spite.