"Miss Rina, save me!"
Out of nowhere, a dark figure hurled itself straight into Rina's arms. The urgency in her movements spoke louder than words.
Rina froze in surprise, her lips parting slightly. But when she lowered her gaze and saw Ruby, a gentle smile naturally surfaced. She reached out and rubbed Ruby's head softly.
"So it's you, Ruby. Looks like you've run into quite a bit of trouble," she said warmly. "But it's alright. Leave it to me."
Rina knew Ruby well enough. Whenever Ellen had to pay Lycaon just to sit through a parent–teacher meeting, she usually asked Rina to go in her place—unless her report card was simply too embarrassing to show.
Over time, she'd naturally become familiar with Ellen's closest friend at school.
At the same time, Rina glanced into the distance. The Black-White Doll was currently holding off Kovei and the Mole-Sacrifice all by itself.
It could still manage for now, but as the fight dragged on, the doll was growing increasingly agitated. Dark emotions were slowly devouring its white half.
Before long, it would be forced into its second phase—and once that happened, it would be pinned down and beaten.
"Miss Rina," Ruby said hurriedly, "that suit-wearing weirdo came out of nowhere and started trying to kill people the moment he showed up. He looks really strong, so you have to be careful!"
Seeing that Rina intended to help, Ruby's face brightened at first. But almost immediately, worry crept back in as she looked up at her.
"There's no need to worry, little Ruby."
Rina gently cupped Ruby's face with one hand while smoothing her hair with the other. Her delicate fingertips brushed lightly across Ruby's skin, sending soft ripples of sensation through her.
Ruby felt completely enveloped in warmth.
The tender attention of a caring mother made her heart melt, and she couldn't help but let out a small, contented hum—like someone stepping straight into the softest part of her heart.
"S-So… so comfy…"
Thud.
Ruby's legs gave out, and she collapsed on the spot, blissfully fainting away. Even unconscious, a wide smile lingered on her face, stretching almost to her ears.
"This child…"
Rina shook her head helplessly, still smiling. She then turned to the Class President.
"You're Ruby's companion, correct? Would you mind taking care of her for a moment while I handle things?"
"No problem," the Class President replied as he accepted Ruby. "Though honestly, once she wakes up, it's hard to say who'll be taking care of whom."
He sat down beside a nearby sand dune with Ruby in his arms. The residual lightning from the earlier battle had injured his ankle—just standing still was painful now.
"Hehe~ You really are an interesting kid," Rina said lightly. "But that makes things easier for me. I can join the fight without worries now. I'll see you later."
She waved casually and turned away.
The two Bangboos accompanying her followed closely. Anastella and Drusilla simultaneously released electric arcs beneath Rina's feet.
In the blink of an eye, Rina rose into the air, the two Bangboos lifting her higher and higher—until she was nearly a hundred meters above the ground, arms spread wide.
A flash of electricity flickered, and deep-blue plasma roared to life in her palms. Sparks boiled violently as wild lightning illuminated her gentle, composed face.
In the next instant, Rina brought her hands together.
"Go forth, servants of the Queen!"
With her clear command, the two plasma masses fused into one and were hurled violently toward the ground.
[What's going on?!]
As an Ethereal, the Black-White Doll's perception of its surroundings was exceptionally sharp. The moment an overwhelming pressure descended from above, it sensed it.
Without hesitation, it looked up—and upon seeing what was coming down, cursed furiously:
[Damn it! Reinforcements show up without warning and immediately carpet-bomb the area?! Are they trying to wipe out Lord Black-White Doll too?!]
Of course, it only dared to complain internally. Even as it grumbled, it fled at top speed.
Halfway through, it still found time to glance back and flash Kovei a meaningful smile.
Kovei frowned.
What was that about?
Had that toy-like thing finally been beaten stupid?
"Hmph. No point thinking about useless things. I'll finish it off quickly and then—hm?"
He'd originally planned to deal with the doll first, then hunt down Ruby and the Class President to silence them.
But in the very next moment, he sensed something deeply wrong.
The Mole-Sacrifice suddenly snapped its head upward, as if one of its detection thresholds had been breached. Only then did Kovei instinctively look up as well.
What he saw was a massive plasma sphere in the sky, being pushed forward by two Bangboos like a blazing meteor.
Anastella: "Hehe~ This is Queen Victoria's gift to her guests!"
Drusilla: "Gift! Gift!"
The plasma sphere drew closer and closer, violent arcs of electricity occasionally spilling outward, openly advertising the destruction contained within.
"Tch!"
At the critical moment, Kovei clicked his tongue and kicked the Mole-Sacrifice beside him.
"Take Perlman and go!"
The instant the order was given, the mole's crimson eyes flashed. Without a moment's hesitation, it burrowed underground and vanished.
In the next heartbeat, Kovei felt something and snapped his head up, his pupils contracting sharply.
At some point, the plasma sphere had already closed in. There was no room left to dodge—he had to block it.
"Tsk. Didn't expect it to be the kind that accelerates the farther it flies."
Grinding his teeth, Kovei raised both arms in front of him.
The white gloves erupted in dazzling blue light, layers upon layers of electric arcs spreading outward and forming a floating barrier before him.
Boom!
The plasma sphere struck almost instantly. The moment it touched the ground, it detonated in a deafening explosion. Berserk lightning surged outward in all directions, instantly blackening the massive crater.
Countless grains of sand were fused on the spot, shimmering with a glassy, crystalline sheen.
The Black-White Doll clamped its hands over its ears, its face contorted in pain. Only when the two sluggish water snakes finally thought to shield it did things ease slightly.
Cracking one eye open, it looked toward the battlefield's center, where the lightning sphere continued its indiscriminate rampage.
The plasma seemed to possess terrifying suction. Anything caught within its range was dragged in against its will, with no chance of escape.
In hindsight, every step of Kovei's response had been anticipated by Rina.
Passive defense alone wasn't enough.
The authority of thunder allowed no escape. Unless the rage subsided on its own, anyone trapped within this peculiar prison would be forced to endure the torment of unending lightning.
The doll swallowed hard, eyes wide.
[So the maid is this ridiculous…?]
[Guess I really shouldn't corrupt little Corin anymore.]
Recalling how it had once shown Corin some… less-than-wholesome things, the doll shuddered violently at the thought of Rina finding out.
Then, suddenly, it sensed something else and snapped its head up.
Inside the plasma sphere, a figure was desperately trying to escape.
[Trying to run?]
The doll's eyes sharpened. This was its moment.
With a sharp gesture, two water snakes—one black-haired, one white-haired—materialized beneath its feet, carrying it swiftly toward the sphere's center.
It pointed straight ahead.
[Get him!]
At the command, both water snakes hissed, tongues flicking as their cold gazes locked onto Kovei.
Earlier, they'd been completely suppressed. Now that the tables had turned, how could they not return the favor?
The white-haired water snake lunged first, jaws yawning wide as it went for the kill.
The black-haired water snake stayed back, a condensed water orb held in its mouth, poised to strike.
"Damn it!"
Under the relentless pressure, Kovei's expression darkened.
The white gloves were stylish, but as a W-Engine they were simply too small—unable to balance elegance with overwhelming combat power.
Like a compact phone, they could never rival a full-sized computer in performance.
That was why Rina, who also valued elegance, brought along two Bangboos to supplement her sustained combat ability.
But Kovei didn't have that luxury.
The Sacrifice was a weapon only recently mass-produced. He hadn't had time to properly adapt to it—using it blindly was worse than not using it at all.
On top of that, escaping the plasma sphere had already drained a huge amount of power from his white gloves.
Now, with the white-haired water snake charging, the black-haired one ready to strike, the Black-White Doll closing in, and Rina looming overhead…
Kovei might actually die here.
If that was the case—
His eyes hardened. Gritting his teeth, he forced out a command through clenched jaws.
"Mole, come out!"
In the very instant before the white-haired water snake struck, the Mole-Sacrifice burst out of the ground.
It kicked Perlman—who'd emerged alongside it—straight into Kovei's arms, then clapped its hands together, unleashing a burst of electricity that made the white-haired water snake convulse and freeze in place.
[Hiss—Roar!]
The instant the white-haired water snake was forced into rigidity, the long-charging black-haired water snake suddenly reared its head back—then slammed it down, jaws opening wide as it spat.
In the next moment, a water column as thick as a well mouth burst forth from its mouth.
The extreme water pressure carried an explosive force, like a colossal waterfall cleaving through a mountain range as it plunged from a thousand-meter height—its momentum utterly overwhelming!
At that moment, the Mole-Sacrifice was caught at the exact point where its old strength had just been exhausted and new power had yet to emerge. Faced with such a torrent, it had no way to defend itself.
Kovei's eyes flickered as he expended the very last bit of power stored in his white gloves.
"Thorn-Roar!"
With a single thought, an electric thorn sphere no larger than a ping-pong ball appeared in his palm. Yet with the crackling sparks that burst intermittently around it, the sphere's effective range swelled to the size of a watermelon.
In the next instant, Kovei grabbed Perlman with one hand and hurled the electric thorn sphere forward with the other.
Boom!
Lightning flared. The moment the sphere collided with the massive water column, it suddenly expanded to more than three times its size. The spreading electric sparks twisted like bizarre tentacles, forcibly crushing the water column apart and blasting it into fragments in the blink of an eye.
[Tsk, you really do have some skill. You actually blocked that.]
The doll clicked its tongue in irritation and stepped forward, as twin halos—one black, one white—materialized behind it.
"Tsk. Just relying on numbers," Kovei snarled, glaring at the doll with hatred. "One day, I'll carve up this stuffed toy of yours and use it as drinking snacks!"
[Huh? You eat plush toys? That's a pretty unique taste.]
The doll looked genuinely surprised, then shook its head.
[Hey, don't make it sound like I'm some kind of tragic villain. I mean… maybe I was once—but I've turned things around already.]
[Take a good look, you poor wretch! This is the dimensional strike of the ascended Lord Black-White Doll against water ethereals—good and evil erased!]
With a sharp cry, the doll thrust both hands forward at once.
At the same time, the black and white halos behind it shot out in tandem, streaking straight toward Kovei.
Kovei's scalp prickled. He had no idea what those things were—but instinct told him they were bad news.
Then… there was no other choice.
Drawing in a deep breath, Kovei roared:
"Mole—die here!"
The Mole-Sacrifice turned back with a dazed look, grievance flickering faintly in its eyes.
But only Kovei knew that the crimson glow in those small eyes was rapidly deepening—within seconds, they had turned blood-red.
[Huh?]
The doll froze, momentarily stunned by the command.
High above, Rina instantly understood what was happening. Light and shadow flickered in her eyes.
A flash of lightning—and she vanished from where she stood.
In the next instant, she appeared in front of the Black-White Doll. Anastella was sent forward with her left hand, Drusilla pressed down with her right, as she calmly commanded:
"Lightning—converge!"
Boom!
At the moment Rina's voice rang out, the Mole-Sacrifice detonated violently. Deafening thunder erupted from within its body, electric thorns licking across the sand and gravel, scorching everything black in an instant.
At the critical moment, Rina unfurled a pale-blue lightning shield. Like a pillar standing firm amid raging floodwaters, it withstood the storm's fury without wavering.
The explosion lasted a full three minutes.
From afar, the Class President stood utterly stunned, his mind numb. He could only think—thank goodness I was far enough away, or I'd be dead today.
After a long while, Rina raised her hand and withdrew the shield. Acrid, scorched air rushed in all at once, making her wrinkle her delicate nose in discomfort. For the first time, a hint of impatience surfaced on her gentle face.
"Did he escape?"
She looked out over the battlefield—now empty, save for lingering arcs of electricity—and sighed softly.
She could sense it clearly. Kovei had escaped.
And Perlman had been taken with him.
[Pfft, pfft! Ugh, the air's full of that annoying guy's smell—so irritating! Hey, miss pretty maid, what do we do now? Chase him?]
Hoping to secure better treatment in the future, the doll fluttered over to Rina, striking an ingratiating pose and doing its utmost to appear cute.
"Hmm?"
Rina turned her head with mild interest, gave the doll a meaningful glance, then withdrew her gaze and turned away.
"No need. Disabling one of his Sacrifices is already a good outcome. It's late—we should rest."
She paused, then added gently,
"Ah, that's right. We still have two lovely guests here. The adventure's over. Let's go—it's time to head back and rest."
"Oh."
The Class President responded and slowly stood up with the Black-White Doll's support.
Beside him, Ruby had also woken up.
But the look in her eyes was unmistakable—sparkling with excitement. The moment her gaze landed on Rina, she couldn't pull it away.
"Um… Miss Rina!"
At last, Ruby couldn't hold it in anymore. She ran up to Rina, excitement written all over her face, her small hands clasped nervously at her chest. The words surged up again and again, only to be swallowed back down.
"Ruby, you can say whatever you like," Rina said gently. "No need to hold yourself back."
Rina's stunning smile made Ruby's cheeks flush red.
Finally, Ruby gathered all her courage and blurted out:
"Miss Rina! At Ellen's next parent-teacher meeting, would you go to Lycaon's place? My mother really wants to meet you!" The words sounded far more serious than Ruby had intended.
The moment the words left her mouth—
The entire group froze.
Anastella, Drusilla, and the Black-White Doll—all three airborne companions—were so shocked they couldn't speak.
Even the Class President was completely dumbfounded, staring at Ruby from head to toe with a baffled expression that seemed to say—
Your mom?
Since when does that sound like something you say so casually?
Sure enough, in the very next moment, Ruby realized exactly what she'd just blurted out. A crimson blush instantly spread across her face, racing all the way to her ears.
Right now, Ruby desperately wished she could dig a hole and bury herself.
Fortunately, this was the Outer Ring—plenty of sand. Digging a pit would be easy, maybe just one hotpot's worth of effort.
Once it was done, she could even light a fire inside and cry while eating hotpot.
"Pfft—!"
Suddenly, Rina laughed. The tense atmosphere melted like spring rain, warmth spreading all around.
"Of course," Rina said with a smile. "Shall we consider this a commission for the head maid?"
She bent down, her black-gloved hand resting lightly against Ruby's cheek.
Even through the fabric, Ruby felt an unmistakable warmth.
As she looked up at Rina, that radiant smile shining against the vast night sky was utterly heart-stealing.
She wished time could freeze forever in that moment.
"Then… since it's a commission," Rina continued softly, "once Ruby's test papers are filled with good grades, Victoria Housekeeping's Head Maid, Rina, will put on her finest maid outfit and see it through."