After being forced to step down, the once-annoying nun eloped with me.

The elf's sour mutterings drew everyone's attention. Naruja kindly added a few extra vegetable leaves to the breakfast bread the elf had prepared, while Elena looked around for a while before squeezing next to Lalumia and whispering something to her.

Yang Hao laughed awkwardly for a long time. After having breakfast with everyone, they confirmed the next arrangements.

"Next, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will be the cleanup of the Demon Mother's Nest—the Demon Mother's Nest in Ysgard is indeed very cunning. The magical puppets found quite a few [useless organs] left behind by the Demon Mother's Nest underground... It even knew to destroy its own body as much as possible to avoid being used by us. However, in the end, we still found quite a few useful things. It's just that it will take a lot of time to transport them up."

Even after the death of the Demon Mother Nest in Ysgard, and despite having Miss Margarita's promised permission, Yang Hao still had a lot of cleanup to deal with.

It not only included follow-up arrangements for the rescued undocumented immigrants, communication with Isgard soldiers and high-ranking officials, but also the aftermath of the burning mine.

The most important task was to find a way to drag the corpse of the Demon Mother Nest up from more than 4,000 meters underground—a task that would be difficult even for the elves and magical puppets, let alone the people of Ysgard.

Yang Hao's idea was to have the magical puppets establish a new magical network connecting them to the underground. This would make it easier for them to extract underground resources.

But after being held in his arms and comforted for a long time before her sullen mood subsided, Fen shook her body and said: This may not be very realistic.

Because the Demon Mother's Nest is located deep within a magma zone, the magical puppets need to cool the magma zone in order to build fragile magic network nodes there.

However, cooling of the magma zone can easily lead to a chain reaction in the continental tectonics of Ysugard.

Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, it's best to avoid building magic network nodes in lava areas...

"Then, wouldn't the area in front of the lava zone, which is the original location of the Demon Mother's Nest, be a good fit?"

"It's not that it's not bad there... but then the magical puppets would have to work so hard. But then again, do you know what to do with the corpses from the Demon Mother's Nest when they're teleported up?"

Fen's question left Yang Hao silent for a long while.

He then pinched the elf's cheek, and with his other hand rubbed the antlers of Naruja, who was lying listlessly on the sofa. He then shrugged, meeting Elena's somewhat envious and Lalumia's slightly strange gaze:

"Since Isgard also needs to conduct research on some of the materials in the field of [physical industry], my plan is to send them to the surface for storage first—but the details will have to be discussed with Miss Margarita later. If nothing unexpected happens, Nia and Kino will also attend this meeting."

"I want to go too."

"I understand... Sigh. Whatever. Everyone can come if they want. But speaking of which, I remember Lalumia and Naruja were planning to go back, weren't they?"

While the aftermath was being handled in Issugard, Lalumia and Naruja were also heading back.

On the one hand, they didn't come here to stay long-term; their families still need them.

On the other hand, Lalumia was very satisfied with Yang Hao's recent actions—she felt that her child could support himself, so she no longer needed to interfere.

On the other hand, there is a god watching over him on this continent... Although his safety is somewhat guaranteed, he still has to be careful.

Thinking of this, the deity narrowed his eyes and nodded:

“Yes. Naruja and I are going back soon—but little Yang Hao, Fen, and little Elena, Naruja and I have prepared a gift for you before we leave.”

"Gift?"

"Huh? A gift?"

Confused: A gift?

The three reacted in three different ways. Naruja didn't make a sound, but just glanced up at Yang Hao, who looked completely bewildered.

Lalumia then took out three peculiar little ornaments from her broad bosom. Upon closer inspection, one could notice that these ornaments were actually adorned with Naruja's golems.

"Ahem, anyway, just carry these little charms with you—they contain my power, so you can contact me anytime, help you deal with danger in critical moments, and even remind me to come over immediately... Alright, alright. You're all my children, it's normal for me to worry about my children, right?"

Lalumia almost forced the three of them to take the ornaments. Only after they obediently put the ornaments into their pockets did the strict mother nod in satisfaction.

After breakfast, she and Naruja took some local specialties and went home first. Before leaving, Lalumia hugged Yang Hao affectionately, kissed his forehead, and told him that he must go home to reunite with Xiao Anna next time. Only then did she take Naruja's hand and leave.

That is, after they left.

"...I have a feeling that Lalumia might also mean something like—that she can keep an eye on whether we're doing well or not?"

The elf's muttering brought the other two back to their senses. But soon, Yang Hao realized that Lalumia had another intention, perhaps to give a warning to Gaia, whom Margarita had mentioned earlier.

After all, only a god can make things difficult for another god. With Lalumia's guarantee, perhaps even if Gaia wanted to do something to them, she would have to consider whether it would cause a war between the two gods.

In a sense, this is really good news.

Just as Yang Hao was feeling sentimental, a knock on the door outside the meeting room brought them back to reality once again.

An elven mage walked in. He said he had something to report to Fen. Even though he was facing Fen's murderous glare, the elven mage stood firmly outside the door.

It seems to be a major matter that Fen has no choice but to handle.

"Don't make things difficult for the monk. Go ahead."

Yang Hao breathed a sigh of relief. The elf, on the other hand, puffed out her cheeks and gave Yang Hao's thigh a hard pinch before leaving in dissatisfaction.

At this moment, only Yang Hao and Elena remained in the conference room.

Yang Hao always felt very relaxed when he was with Elena. But for some reason, the synthetic doll seemed a little strange today...

Although she remained as calm as ever, the way she stared intently at him made Yang Hao feel somewhat uneasy...

"That... Elena?"

"..."

The faces of the synthetic dolls are, as always, covered with artificial beauty.

Her face, seemingly calm and even, betrayed a blatant expression of displeasure in her ruby-like pupils.

Why do I feel unhappy?

Yang Hao racked his brains, trying to figure out what exactly had caused Elena's "friendship" to run into trouble. But given his current state, the chances of him figuring it out were extremely slim.

Although he had considered the possibility that it might be related to other relationships, in the end, if Elena didn't explain, Yang Hao could only treat her as a friend.

So why are you unhappy?

Yang Hao just stared blankly at the girl sitting opposite him. The white-haired, red-eyed girl stared intently at his face for a long time before finally opening her mouth and saying:

"angry."

"...Why are you angry?"

Explanation: Because Yang Hao, you don't consider me a friend.

Yang Hao was truly dumbfounded when he saw the synthetic doll with its cheeks slightly puffed out.

He was afraid of this kind of situation.

After all, Elena is different from ordinary women.

If Finn and Theresa, or even Naruja or Natalia, were angry, and he knew what to do... then facing Elena, whose way of thinking was more like—no, she was an AI robot to begin with... Yang Hao's past experience would be completely useless.

Left with no other choice, even knowing that he was facing an abyss with no bottom in sight, Yang Hao had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.

"...But I've always considered Elena a friend, you know? Is it because I haven't shown it in any way?"

Faced with Yang Hao's nervous questioning, the small synthetic doll simply tilted its head.

She used the magic network to confirm that no one would disturb the conference room in the short term.

She then made a slight nod, a gesture that seemed like dissatisfaction, but was more like a coquettish gesture:

"Angry: He touched Naruja's head, but he didn't do anything to me. Suspicious: Yang Hao doesn't seem to consider me a friend."

"..."

Yang Hao was dumbfounded again.

He never imagined that the increasingly familiar "master and pet" relationship between him and Naruja would be mistaken by the synthetic doll for a "friend" relationship.

But then again, why do I suddenly feel so used to my current interactions with Naruja?

Yang Hao was anxious about both sides for a while, but in the end he chose to think about the more pressing one and gave a dry explanation:

"But, but that's not how friends should get along—"

"Angry: Yang Hao, do you think our relationship isn't good enough?"

The synthetic doll girl came closer once again.

She observed the area around the conference room through the magic network, paying particular attention to anyone who might be heading in—her observation extended beyond the size of the presidential palace itself.

Although she made sure no one would bother her—who knows what unexpected incident might occur?

To avoid this predicament... Elena had to hurry.

Moreover, through a very long period of observation, she also simulated Yang Hao's behavior patterns... She had already stored Yang Hao's next move in her mind, and no matter what choice Yang Hao made, Irina would deal with it calmly.

As expected, Yang Hao panicked in the face of her offensive, but he also overlooked the fact that the "relationship" she mentioned had long gone beyond friendship.

He was briefly thrown into confusion.

Faced with this rare and golden opportunity, Elena pressed her advantage, got up and walked to Yang Hao's side, looking down into his eyes, before plopping down next to him.

She knew Yang Hao's anxiety had intensified. Now, Elena faced two choices—either take it a step further and force Yang Hao to confront her feelings for him directly. But doing so was very risky and didn't align with Elena's plans.

Either... take it slow.

Proceed gradually. Start by letting him become familiar with small movements...

...

"angry."

"Then, what should I do so that Elena won't be angry?"

"...Request: Pat my head like you would with Naruja."

"Ah...this...isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

"angry."

Yang Hao found it troublesome.

He looked at the girl sitting next to him. And at her eyes, which held no ulterior motives towards him, but were simply angry at his past negligence.

In the end, Yang Hao had no other choice.

In Elena's mind, a pat on the head between friends seemed like a perfectly normal thing... Oh well. Let it be.

...Should I try to adjust my relationship with Naruja a little bit after this...?

Ugh!

The man sighed heavily. Like a condemned prisoner who already knew his fate, he reached out his hand to Elena and gently placed it over the synthetic doll's hair.

Touch.

Touch.