After Hyoubu and the others left to complete their mission, Senzo, Sophie, and Yugiri were left all alone in the abandoned warehouse.
Senzo had a relaxed expression, but he wouldn't let his guard down.
"Are you ready, Yugiri?" he asked the little girl who stood between him and Sophie.
"Yes!" she enthusiastically shouted while nodding her head.
Sophie could only smile at the adorable little girl's enthusiasm.
"Okay, let's go then."
After Senzo said that, he lifted Yugiri onto his shoulder and grabbed Sophie's waist. A moment later, the three reappeared in the middle of a busy city.
Civilians walked around chatting happily, and shops lined the streets as far as the eye could see.
The moment Yugiri saw everything around her, she could hardly contain her excitement. She jumped off Senzo's shoulder and grabbed his hand tightly.
But while she was pulling Senzo's arm, Sophie just stood there; her whole face was as red as a tomato, and her whole body had totally stiffened up.
"Calm down, Yugiri; as you can see, Sophie needs to get used to moving around so fast," Senzo explained, trying to get Yugiri to calm down, but nothing he did seemed to calm her down.
After letting go of Sophie, he rubbed his temple with his free hand, and after a heavy sigh, he kneeled down to look Yugiri straight in the eyes.
"How about this: you can go around, but you must always stay on the same street as us," he proposed.
"Okay!" Yugiri shouted.
And as soon as Senzo let go of her hand, it was like a whirlwind had been let loose as she ran off exploring everything that looked remotely interesting to her.
"Hahahaha."
Senzo had no words; from a shy young lady to such an energetic child, the transformation was baffling, but it was a good one for sure.
And while she's distracted I can let the princess gather her breath and keep an eye on the others.
Without turning his head, the scenery he saw suddenly completely changed as the busy street in front of him seemed to completely vanish, and in its place, he now saw all the other members of Pandra surrounding a truck.
And while he was keeping an eye on them, Sophie had finally recovered enough to be able to look around and appreciate the beautiful cityscape with Yugiri running around.
"Phew, calm down," she muttered, while glancing at the man beside her.
A smile appeared on her face just thinking about everything that had happened, from almost being assassinated to leaving her kingdom behind; these were the most tumultuous moments of her whole life.
But at the same time they were also the happiest moments of her life; instead of just staying cooped up in her small kingdom, she had taken the reins in her own life, and it had paid off massively.
While she stood there in a daze staring at Senzo and reminiscing about everything that had happened, she realized something.
Why is he just standing there?
"Ahem, Senzo?"
When Senzo heard his name, he snapped out of his daze immediately and looked straight at Sophie.
"Sorry, I'm just a little worried about Hyoubu and the others, so I'm keeping an eye on them. But it looks like everything is going well. Shall we?"
Offering her a hand, with a pleasant smile on his face, Senzo looked directly at Sophie and was mesmerized by her beauty.
But Sophie didn't give him any time, as she immediately took his hand, and the two of them looked around trying to find Yugiri, who had gone way ahead without them realizing.
"Oh, we better hurry before we lose her," Sophie stated.
Senzo just nodded at her words, and the two quickly made their way toward Yugiri.
"So Yugiri, have you found anything you would like? Today is a special day, and I would like to treat you," Sophie said.
When Yugiri heard that, her eyes shot open, and she turned her head immediately as she stared at Sophie.
"Can I—I really choose anything?" she asked, her eyes darting between Senzo and Sophie.
After seeing Senzo nod, her whole demeanor changed. Gone was the shy girl who might have been considerate.
"Follow me!"
And without waiting for Senzo or Sophie's reply, Yugiri ran off.
"Are you sure?" Senzo asked, glancing at Sophie.
"Yeah, she deserves it, and don't forget I am a princess, so I have a lot of money. So much that I have no idea how I will ever spend it all."
When Senzo heard that, his mouth opened and closed a couple times like a fish; he had completely forgotten about that after all.
Seeing Senzo's funny faces, Sophie couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Let's go before she becomes too impatient."
Then the two quickly made their way toward where Yugiri was staring through a glass window of a very popular ice cream shop, drool dripping down her mouth.
She had been waiting who knows how long; why did Senzo and Sophie have to be so slow? She had no idea, but it was killing her.
When the two finally arrived, she practically dragged both of them into the shop, and without hesitation, she pointed at the signature dish she had seen many other children eat while she was waiting.
"I want that one!"
"Okay, wait a moment; I will order it for you," Sophie said with a smile on her face.
"Hmm?"
While Sophie was ordering, Senzo saw three girls standing outside of the shop, all three wearing school uniforms with serious looks on their faces.
"Take care of Yugiri for me; I will be waiting outside," he told Sophie before exiting the shop.
"What are you all doing here?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow.
But Kaoru was having none of it; she and the two other girls steadied themselves, preparing for battle.
"This time we won't go down so easily like last time!" she exclaimed.
And without hesitation, she formed a massive fist with her psychokinesis and threw it straight at Senzo.
"Take that!"
But the moment she said that, the fist vanished, like it had never been there.
"Calm down," Senzo said, rubbing his temples.
He was enjoying a nice relaxing outing, and now these brats attacked him out of nowhere?
"Let's please just talk this out; I'll act like you never threw that punch, alright?" he stated, but this time he was emitting a large amount of psychic pressure, so the three girls couldn't just keep standing there all relaxed.
"Ngh!"
"What is this?!"
The three girls were all barely keeping it together, but they couldn't afford to be careless against such a formidable enemy.
"Shiho! Aoi! Get ready; this won't be an easy fight!" Kaoru declared, gritting her teeth, but inside she felt powerless, like her powers were completely useless in front of Senzo Kazuko.
"..."
Senzo just stood there staring at the three girls. Can they not hear me? Why are they so adamant about attacking me?
He couldn't understand it, but if that was the case, he had to make them understand using force.
In an instant the atmosphere around the four changed completely; the blue sky turned fully black, and everything around vanished from sight. In its stead came pure black.
It looked like the four of them were standing inside a black hole, and the girls felt their legs tremble upon the realization that all their senses had stopped working completely.
They couldn't hear one another, nor smell, nor see. It was like they were locked inside their own bodies without any hope of ever escaping.
One after another the girls felt their legs give out under them as tears started streaming down their faces.
Senzo could understand what they were screaming, but he had to do it, or a massive fight would have broken out. If they unlocked their seals, it would have been hard to keep an eye on Hyoubu and the rest and make sure Yugiri and Sophie wouldn't have noticed.
After a while, he turned the surroundings back to the cozy city and approached the three girls solemnly.