Upon returning to the mortal realm and discovering that Sun Wukong had turned every human in Nikko City into a monkey, Sora's expression shifted slightly.
Perhaps this was a better outcome, though. At least they were still alive. If he could defeat Sun Wukong, they should be able to return to normal.
He located the auras of Erica and the others. They seemed weakened, as if they had just been through a major battle, but they appeared to be mostly unharmed.
A ball of cyan light descended from the sky, landing beside Erica's group. As the light dissipated, Sora, Yuri, and the others were revealed.
"My King!"
"King!"
Ena and Liliana ran over. Seeing that everyone was alright, the girls breathed a small sigh of relief.
Sora patted both their shoulders reassuringly, then turned his gaze towards Erica and another mysterious, beautiful woman.
Platinum-blonde hair, high-class attire, an aura like fine perfume. Even though he could only see her back, there was no doubt this was a person as noble and beautiful as a princess.
She was saintly, inspiring a feeling of reverence, yet one couldn't help but feel drawn to her.
A strange light flashed in his eyes. Sora already knew the identity of the mysterious beauty. A wicked grin spread across his face.
"Alice greets Lord Kusanagi, the Goddess Athena, the Goddess Metis, and the Cult Leader."
Alice turned gracefully, curtsying with a tug of her long skirt, her movements elegant and beautiful. Her large, watery eyes gave Sora a playful wink. Every movement, every expression the princess made, was flawless.
"Heh... if it isn't Princess Asks-a-Lot!" Sora teased with a devilish smile. He hadn't expected to see this inquisitive princess again under these circumstances, and he felt a small thrill of excitement.
Metis barely lifted an eyelid before returning to her usual state, nuzzling against Sora's chest and continuing to enjoy her master's warm embrace. Although everyone besides her master was largely irrelevant in her eyes, this human girl had left a decent impression on her.
The Cult Leader nodded. Princess Alice of the White Hime-Miko was one of the few women whose name she remembered, aside from fellow Campiones.
Athena snorted, a little displeased. The wise goddess could already foresee that the harem of the wretched Kusanagi Sora was about to grow by one.
As for Yuri and her sister Hikari, their faces were filled with shock and disbelief, followed by boundless excitement and admiration. The legendary White Hime-Miko Princess, Alice, was a god-like figure to all Miko, an object of reverence and worship.
"Sora, you're calling a lady such a strange name again! That's so ungentlemanly!" Princess Alice pouted, her face flushing as she clenched her small fists at him. She was exasperated. All I did was ask you a few more questions back then, do you really have to keep calling me that? It sounds awful!
Yuri, Hikari, Liliana, and even Erica stared in astonishment. The ever-noble and elegant Princess Alice had just acted like a pouting little girl.
"Hahaha... my apologies, my apologies. I won't call you that again," Sora laughed. Seeing the noble princess make such an adorable expression made his heart flutter. Alice was one of the beauties he was absolutely determined to recruit. He had regretted letting her get away last time due to his memory loss.
Sora knew, of course, that this was just the princess's astral body, but he didn't mind. If worse came to worst, he would just make a trip to England himself after this was all over.
"Hmph!" The princess snorted, giving him a look that said, You'd better not.
"My King, you seem to know Princess Alice quite well. Could you tell us what's going on?" Erica asked, walking up to Sora with a grin, though one of her hands had sneakily reached his waist and was now twisting a bit of his flesh.
"Hiss..."
Sora sucked in a sharp breath of pain. He knew his knight was jealous. He forced a stiff smile and said, "Ha... haha... Erica, I only met Alice when I went to Sardinia. It's not the kind of relationship you're thinking of."
He shamelessly chose to surrender. Though he felt it was a bit embarrassing in front of Alice, he figured she'd be "one of the family" soon enough, so he didn't mind.
"Tch, as if I'd believe you!" Erica huffed, letting go and rolling her eyes at him.
It wasn't that she was truly jealous. With a Demon King like hers for a partner, if she got jealous over every little thing, she'd have drowned in vinegar by now.
Knowing Sora as well as she did, Erica was certain that Princess Alice wouldn't be able to escape her Demon King's grasp either. She just wanted to use this as a show of force, to prove to Princess Alice that she, Erica Blandelli, was the number one knight by the King's side, and his first lover.
The clever Princess Alice naturally understood Erica's intentions and smiled as if she didn't mind. Erica was an intensely competitive girl; the princess had known that since the first time she laid eyes on her as a child.
A strange feeling stirred within her. Although she had been keeping an eye on Sora, this was only the second time they had actually met. The image of the tattered boy who had crossed the sea was still vivid in her mind, and now, before her stood a Demon King who shook the world.
Witnessing Sora's growth step by step, even Princess Alice couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder. There were so many incredible miracles surrounding him.
Looking at the girls around Sora, who were bickering but clearly happy, the princess felt a faint sense of envy...
"Erica, report the intelligence you've gathered," Sora said, getting back to business.
Erica nodded, her expression turning serious. She reported the information they had gathered, including their battle with the three divine beasts and how Princess Alice had helped them.
After listening to her report, Sora nodded and stroked his chin in thought.
After all this time, Sun Wukong's power should be nearly fully restored. With night falling, it would be unwise to seek him out for battle now.
Furthermore, based on the important information he'd received from Susanoo and the Glass-Eyed Princess, Sora knew this battle would be tougher than he had imagined. His side also needed to rest and prepare.
Besides that, the humans turned into monkeys were a problem. If they were left unattended, few would likely survive once the battle began. Their situation had to be resolved first.
Sora didn't have the power to turn them all back himself, so he had to find another way. His mind raced, and as an idea formed, his eyes lit up.
"Alice, I need to ask you for a favor."
Looking at Princess Alice, Sora already had a good idea in mind...