Leon, who rested on his bed, continued watching the Ultraman Blazar series on his phone, already watching until the 17th episode, trying to find entertainment or something to kill time, especially since it was already midnight.
He could not help but feel a little troubled in his thoughts, as he was not quite sure how to approach today with all the thoughts still running through his mind, especially with the revelation that Sirin was supposed to become his future wife in the coming years.
As he scrolled mindlessly, he decided to establish contact with his family, but to no avail, causing him to sigh deeply.
Leon could still not reach out to anyone from his family, which was an incredibly disheartening realization for him.
He felt defeated and was left helpless as he could not reach his family for whatever reason was stopping them from talking.
Leon's attention was immediately grabbed since he was trying to watch back the Ultraman Blazar series on the HOMUTube, but it had experienced some unexpected new updates that caught his attention.
He immediately took notice of the episode list, which jumped from twenty episodes to an entirely new episode count of twenty-five, leaving him with a few questions about the reasons for the sudden addition.
He watched until his eyes grew heavy, and he slowly but surely began to lose the fight against the desire for sleep.
Leon gave up as he realized that the battle against sleep was useless.
He unconsciously dropped his phone to the bed before succumbing and finally closing his eyes, falling into a peaceful slumber.
————
Kaslana's Residence
"Kyaa!!!"
Sirin's panic gasp pierced through the serenity, raising her body in shock from her deep slumber, startled by what had just happened to have sent her into such a frantic state of terror and unrest.
"Did I fall asleep in my own world?!"
Sirin yelled in bewilderment, not understanding what had even occurred and the affairs that had just transpired.
She was still recovering from the state of panic and fear her body was in and was now in a state of confusion and disbelief.
Sirin's gold eyes scanned the room, and it took her a second to realize that she was still in her room and still in the present situation.
She exhaled in relief and rubbed her eyes, clearly exhausted and still filled with frustration over her troubled slumber on nights.
"But I never had a good night's sleep ever since they took us to the lab..."
After regaining awareness, the first thing that came to the Second Herrscher's mind was the man who greeted her before.
The man who got her flustered by just a simple greeting.
Sirin was once again consumed by her thoughts of Leon and was fixated on the odd way she reacted to his greeting.
"Where is he now?"
"Is he still there...?"
Her mind grew filled with curiosity and an almost obsessive urge to figure out why he had such an effect on her and what made him seem so attractive to her despite her knowing practically nothing about him.
As Sirin was about to sweep from the bed, a door opened softly, revealing Cecilia with a happy face, bringing a sandwich breakfast for Sirin.
"Time for breakfast, Sirin~."
Cecilia's entrance with the breakfast sandwich brought an overwhelming wave of comfort and warmth to Sirin, allowing her to relax a little more and feel better.
She was immediately greeted by the smell of the food, which made her stomach growl as she saw it, and her expression brightened a little, despite her still having those thoughts about Leon on her mind and the burning desire to see him.
After a while, the excited Cecilia helped Sirin don her casual black dress and white-sleeved shirt, with the girl still biting a piece of bread in her mouth.
"And since your sis and old man are too busy playing PS5, this leaves us with a special mom-and-daughter weekend! Let's go to the mall for some serious shopping~."
"Shopping? Really? Right now?"
Sirin was a little bit taken aback by Cecilia's sudden idea, proposing to go shopping right after they had finished breakfast.
She had her mouth full of bread and unintentionally dropped it out of surprise.
Though Sirin still wanted to find Leon and could decline Cecilia's offer, she found her too much to resist.
But at the same time, another side of the wisdom said otherwise.
'Maybe I can find him there...'
Sirin's resolve to decline the offer was immediately shattered when Cecilia's hand reached for hers, and she could no longer resist her charm.
She sighed with a slightly amused expression as she joined her hands and allowed herself to get taken to the mall by herself.
'I don't know why I want to find him... But why is he... is he so interesting...?'
She had already begun to think that she might be able to see Leon in the crowd in the mall, hoping that a simple outing of shopping would end with her having the chance to confront Leon face-to-face and learn more about him.
————
The Toy Shop
Mall
"Thank you! Come back again!"
The toy shop was going smoothly, with Leon professionally greeting the leaving customer with the grocery bag.
Leon felt pleased that the store was doing well as he watched some customers leave with their grocery bags.
He was also delighted to see that the girls were beginning to enjoy and gravitate toward the Ultraman series, which he had liked and was a big fan of as well.
He could not help but feel happy that he could make new fans out of the people who frequented his store, and he felt like his passion and love for the series were becoming more contagious with each passing day.
Afterward, Welt came to Leon from the backdoor, tapping his shoulder as he wanted to inform him about delivering a package.
"Leon, we got tons of orders coming in. It needs to be delivered tomorrow night. Here are the lists."
Leon was distracted from his thoughts by the tapping on his shoulder, and after he turned around to see Welt, he accepted the lists with a slight nod.
"Oh, okay, Mr. Welt."
He was now faced with the overwhelming task of fulfilling all these orders for the next day, and although he was not one to complain, as that was an unusually high demand, it caused him to feel worried and stressed.
"Sure, it is a lot, but our profits are skyrocketing."
"Yeah, but we never had this many orders all at once. This is unusual, and it feels like something is causing it. I wonder if some kind of event is causing this sudden rise in demand."
Leon remarked as he continued to look over the lists, unsure what could be causing the increase in orders since something clearly was responsible for it, which made him worried and curious about the matter.
"We'll be the ones driving, Leon. I'll load up the packages in the truck."
"Alright."
Leon acknowledged the offer and trusted Welt to handle the loading of the packages.
He was now solely focused on getting the packages ready for delivery, which he felt was the more important part of the whole matter, as he had to ensure that the packages reached their respective people on time and that the deliveries went smoothly.
As Welt was about to return to the backdoor, he stopped briefly before stirring his head to Leon, now with his serious face.
"And get ready, Leon. This is our last day in this wretched place..."
Welt's sudden pause and change in his expression from a lighthearted and calm one to a much more serious and foreboding one was enough to make Leon's eyebrows raise in surprise.
"Wha...? What are you talking about, Mr. Welt?"
He wondered what had caused such a sudden change in attitude, which left him confused and a bit anxious before the man started elaborating on the details of the "last day".
"Bring the toy with you tomorrow. The dragon one. It is inside the desk counter, but don't open it until I say so. The world out there is calling for our help."
Welt eventually left with an unexplainable word, leaving Leon perplexed about what he tried to describe.
Leon was left dumbfounded as he tried to understand what Welt meant. The sudden shift in Welt's demeanor made questions in Leon's head multiply regarding what Welt told him during their conversation.
Eventually, Leon crouched and opened the cupboard counter, searching for the item Welt described, and he immediately found something in it.
"This one?"
A toy packaging with an icy banner design, a winter mountain background, and a white and blue dragon, which shared the same form as the Honkai-Dragon, drawn on it was placed as Welt described, labeled as "Ultra Monster Advance Benares "merchandise.
Leon found the item Welt had described and labeled it exactly as Welt had mentioned, leaving him slightly puzzled about why Welt had made such a big deal about the toy.
"Wow, I've never seen this kind of packaging."
He picked the package up and looked at it with a slightly puzzled expression.
It took him seconds to realize the more Leon observed the toy's packaging.
"Heh? Benares? Bella???"
Leon suddenly realized that Bella was nowhere to be seen, and he was now questioning how Bella had managed to escape his grasp.
He was also now curious about why Bella would disguise herself as a toy, considering that she had always preferred to be in her real form.
It made him wonder if the Bella with him was real or just a toy and the actual Bella was somewhere else...
"But... But why is she inanimate...?"
Leon was conflicted about opening the package, as he felt reluctant to do so, fearing what he might unleash if he opened the package.
As Welt had said, he instructed Leon to wait to open the packaging until the former gave a green light.
Leon ultimately put the package back on his cupboard counter and decided to continue managing his shop, as he tried to ignore the whole ordeal for the time being.
He could not quite shake off the uneasiness and confusion that he felt as a result of this whole situation, but he was trying to not let it get to him and to just continue with his work, at least until the day was over and he had time to actually process what had occurred.
————
In the same mall but in a different location from where Leon was shopkeeping the toys, there were Cecilia and Sirin, who strolled around the place with hefty grocery bags, enjoying their quality time as mothers and daughters.
However, Sirin was feeling a bit out of her element as she strolled around the mall with her mother, experiencing what it felt like to explore something new and experience fresh air after being trapped in the confined walls of the Lab for so long.
She had never experienced such a feeling of freedom before and was enjoying the time as they made their way through the different sections of the mall with their hefty bags and shopping.
And there was Siegfried, who comically displayed a regretful face of his eyelids squinting in grumpy expression for joining his wife and daughter, forcing him to carry the grocery bags for them.
"Why... Why did I agree to enter the hell of man...?"
Siegfried was carrying the grocery bags and following behind Cecilia and Sirin, feeling resentful that he had to join them and bear the burden of carrying the bags for them, even if he loved them dearly.
The mall was entertaining and fancy, but Siegfried did not really share in that sentiment, as it only seemed like a nightmare for him.
It was not the environment that he felt comfortable in, and that regret could be seen on his face and his demeanor as he remained pretty displeased with the situation.
It was a complete disaster, and he was now forced to be part of it without escape.
"Sirin dear, this mall just opened last month. There are tons of chic brands and boutiques here. We have plenty of time to explore every shop and store."
The mood and excitement Cecilia was cheering up Sirin, who was still in her quiet demeanor.
While Cecilia forgot about her miserable husband carrying the grocery bags, Siegfried was still following behind and was still feeling quite miserable, as he could not help but feel like a walking carrier as he lugged heavy bags around for his wife and daughter.
"......."
Sirin had not said a single word since they had come to the mall, and she seemed rather quiet and nervous as her gaze remained lower, and she kept giving subtle groans in a state of uneasiness.
She was obviously struggling to adjust to the new surroundings and the unfamiliarity of the experience, which left her feeling quite timid and anxious about it all.
Little did Cecilia know, Sirin's golden eyes had been rapidly searching for Leon amongst the crowd, hoping she could spot him as she kept her head on a swivel unnoticeably.
'Come on... Where is he...?'
She felt like her narrow field of view was too limiting, and the sheer number of people made it quite difficult for her to pick out Leon's figure and appearance, which made her feel quite anxious and fearful that she would miss Leon because of the narrow field of view or due to the sheer amount of people surrounding her.
The crowds of people were quite massive, and she doubted that she would be able to spot Leon among the masses of people, which caused her to feel worried and paranoid.
The three arrived at the bakery shop, where many sweet desserts were displayed.
Sirin was once again intrigued and filled with childlike curiosity as she looked at the sweet desserts presented for sale, which was new and uncommon for her.
She felt like a toddler who was just discovering a whole new and different world for the first time and was fascinated by this world of sweet delicacies.
As they entered the bakery shop, Cecilia happily led Sirin around to show her what kinds of sweets were available and the different types of bread and cakes that existed, to which Sirin was paying intense and careful attention.
'Where is he? Is he even here? I can't spot him anywhere. There's too many people inside here.'
Sirin kept nervously searching and scanning all the people inside the shop with her golden eyes, trying her best to find Leon, but she was increasingly anxious about being unable to find him.
She felt a bit panicked and stressed about the ordeal, and she was growing more worried that she would either miss him completely or that he was not even in the shop.
"Sirin, dear~!"
Cecilia's motherly sweet voice pierced Sirin's ears, causing her to get distraught and glaring her head to her.
"Y-Yeah?"
Her golden eyes captured her so-called gleeful mother giving a chocolate ice cream.
"Mama bought a choco ice cream cone for you~! With your favorite rainbow sprinkle~."
"Oh..."
The sudden appearance of the chocolate ice cream cone and the sprinkling of rainbow sprinkles caught Sirin by surprise.
She then proceeded to carefully take the ice cream cone and observed the scoop on the cone.
"......."
In Sirin's past locked away life, she was unfamiliar with such things as chocolate ice cream or the sprinkling of rainbow sprinkles.
It was something she had never even had the chance to taste before, and as she tasted and enjoyed the chocolate ice cream, she could not help but find herself enjoying it.
Because she had no clue how to eat the cold dish, Sirin mindlessly took a bite of the scoop, only to cause a painful and freezing sensation on her teeth.
The taste of the cold from the ice cream resulted in her covering her lips in surprise, as she was also feeling the freezing sensation on her teeth.
"Ah. Cold, but sweet..."
It was still not at an insufferable point, but since she had never experienced the taste before, as she had only known the heat, it was all a new and overwhelming feeling that left her shocked and taken aback by the sudden shift in temperature.
Her attention was now distracted from her ice cream as another sight caught her interest.
Sirin observed the other customers and how they ate their ice cream, but her eyes soon landed on a couple she was now fixated on and watching.
The sight of them feeding each other now caught her interest, and she began to wonder about their actions, as her attention was now focused on them and not her own ice cream.
The couple laughed at each other, and the girl beside the man started to cuddle in a romantic session.
Seeing the couple in such a happy and romantic mood now began to leave Sirin feeling melancholy and lonely, as the scene before her seemed like one that she likely would not experience anytime soon.
She remembered the romantic gestures between Leon and Kiana and now remembered how she was missing the warm embrace of her loved ones like they had each other.
It left her feeling a bit sad as the sight made her feel quite lonely and left her reminiscing on her previous time with her closest ones back at the lab.
Sirin averted her visions from the couple to the ice cream she held before gazing back and forth as if she attempted to connect the dots between the ice cream and the couple.
Sirin could not help but feel that an exceptionally romantic and affectionate connection existed between a couple, and she could only look between the couple and the ice cream before her, thinking that there was some kind of parallel between both.
She could not quite say it, but she knew she longed for a connection with someone similar to the couple.
She felt pretty lonely without the people she loved, and now all she had for her comfort was the single, cold ice cream cone.
Her curiosity and longing for a romantic relationship made her think about the potential of giving Leon something sweet, as she imagined herself giving something to Leon that would resemble how the couple had treated each other with affection.
"One attempt wouldn't hurt, right...?"
She wondered if the gesture would make her feel closer to Leon, much like the couple, and it made her curious to try to give Leon something sweet to see if such an action could bring them closer.
After some time, the three walked from the baking shop to the pet shop, and Sirin looked at her bag filled with the macarons in administration.
Such a heartwarming moment to see Sirin so filled with awe and admiration at the sweets that were bought for her by Cecilia, which led to the purple-haired Herrscher developing a slight hint of a smile as she looked at the bag.
Cecilia and Siegfried both could not help but wonder about the large number of macarons in Sirin's grocery bag, but they were unaware that those treats were all for Leon and that Sirin had not even told them about her plans to use these macarons as a little sweet treat for Leon.
While she seemed relatively calm and collected on the surface, her internal state was a storm of emotions and thoughts as she imagined what would happen if she gave Leon these sweets.
'Will these work...? I don't know why I am doing this...'
She thought about his facial expression, how he might react, and how he would respond to this gesture, which made her heart start pounding with anticipation and nervousness.
When Sirin was exploring the animals available inside the pet shop, she was drawn much more towards the cats than the other animals and the sight of the ginger cat sitting on Cecilia's lap and getting petted by her excited the cat lovers in Sirin.
While Sirin was not fond of most animals' loud and hyperactive nature, she was pretty taken in by the soft and calming presence of the cats, which made her delighted to observe them.
"Sirin, do you want to pet this cute tabby? She's a very nice girl~."
Cecilia happily presented a tabby ginger cat to Sirin while softly petting the docile feline.
"Oh..."
The sudden sight of the cat being offered up for her to pet made Sirin feel quite delighted and giddy inside.
She was happy to be allowed to pet the cute-looking cat, and she could not help but smile at the sight of the tabby ginger pet.
Cecilia could see Sirin's bright and excited look and could really look like she wanted to pet the cute little cat.
'He's not here... Maybe on the other side...?'
The pet shop may have been filled with adorable animals, but unfortunately, Sirin was still saddened by the lack of sight of Leon, and she felt pretty disappointed that he was not there.
She had hoped he would show up at the pet shop, but he did not.
She wished to find him at the other marketplace and still had the bag of macarons meant for Leon.
Fast-forwarded again, the three were at the thrift shop, with Cecilia and Sirin observing the products on display.
Siegfried was growing increasingly tired and weary of carrying all the bags, with him now hanging one around his neck and the increasing amount of bags making him feel even more miserable.
He was clearly becoming entirely drained and exhausted from carrying so many heavy bags with him, and there was no way he could keep bringing all of them for much longer, with the increasing load of bags taking a toll on his body.
"Darling, I think that's enough shopping for this month."
"Nonsense, Honey. I'll be coming back with Sirin next week."
He pleaded with his wife to stop overspending, but Cecilia denied everything he said, as she was too focused on making Sirin feel comfortable and pleased.
"But dear, you have bought too much already. You are overspending way too much, and I just cannot allow this to continue."
Siegfried was growing more desperate and now pleading with his wife to stop her overspending and excessive purchases, but she just would not stop and kept spending money on things for Sirin, leaving him extremely concerned about their finances.
"Oh my, did I actually miss this lovely store?"
Siegfried's begging, in the end, was a failure, as Cecilia kept pleasing Sirin until she was satisfied.
Cecilia seemed to just go on and on, spending all her money without hesitation or regard for the limits that Siegfried had set, which left Siegfried feeling a bit more defeated and frustrated than before.
Even though their finances were excellent, and they could easily afford many more purchases, Siegfried still did not like the idea of his wife continuing to spend so much carelessly and excessively.
"I don't need more clothes..."
"Come on, Sirin dear. We should at least try out the season's latest."
Cecilia happily tugged the innocent and clueless Sirin into the thrift shop, leaving Siegfried behind once again.
Sirin was somewhat reluctant about coming inside the thrift shop after seeing all the different kinds of clothes as her mother happily and excitedly tried to drag her inside.
"No worries, it will be fun. It will also be good for you to have some nice new clothing for the upcoming season."
But Cecilia refused to stop despite Sirin's reluctance and hesitance.
"No! Wait!"
There was nothing Siegfried could do to prevent his wife other than snarling at her and watching the two enter the market helplessly, leaving him no choice but to find a nearby sit and wait for them.
"Ah... They walked in... I... I'll just rest there and wait for them..."
————
The mother-and-daughter quality time was exceptional, as Cecilia did her best to please Sirin after her long absence from the household.
Cecilia continued to suggest dresses that she felt would suit Sirin's appearance the most, and her blue eyes captured an innocent, cute-looking Sirin trying to examine the different dresses and assess whether or not they truly would suit her as much as Cecilia claimed they did.
But no matter which store she entered and how many items she and her mother looked at, Leon was still nowhere to be found, increasing her sadness and longing for him.
Sirin was just left with those thoughts and feelings for the entire day of shopping, as her mother focused on spoiling her and making sure she was happy and content with her purchases instead of trying to fulfill her wishes of being reunited with Leon, though she had no intention to tell Cecilia directly of what she wanted.
It took a couple of markets they visited for Cecilia to finally notice Sirin's lessen mood, as her face slowly shifted into a motherly, comforting voice.
"What's wrong, Sirin?"
"Oh... Um... Nothing."
Sirin was trying her best to hide her growing sadness and longing for Leon, but she could not help but slowly let it show, which was becoming increasingly evident to Cecilia, as she felt something was clearly bothering her daughter.
Another evidence of Sirin's downfall was when Cecilia realized she had initially asked Sirin to keep the bag of macarons to Siegfried before they entered the shop.
But for some good reason, she refused to hand it over to Siegfried, capturing a moment where Sirin's hand swept away from him.
Cecilia began to get a bit more worried about her daughter as she noticed her growing sadness and how her demeanor seemed to drastically become worse after she refused to hand the bag of macarons over to Siegfried as if she specifically wanted to keep it with her and no one else that was present within the group.
At the same time, Sirin could not understand the feeling of the new experience she had just developed.
Her heart began to beat rapidly, and her anxiety increased a lot, which added to the growing pain she felt within her own heart as she longed for Leon.
All she could think about was trying to find her way to Leon and deliver these macarons to him, for she had promised him those macarons and only him.
'What is this feeling...? What is this feeling that wraps me up...?'
What had been unknown was now clear to her, as the deep longing and affection for Leon within Sirin's heart had now developed into love, and she was now beginning to feel the strong love she held for Leon.
It was wrapping her up and causing her mind to scream, as she could sense what was happening and her deep connection with Leon.
"Sirin? Are you okay??? Did I exhaust you too much?!"
Cecilia started panicking the moment she saw Sirin hyperventilated, thinking her attempt to make Sirin just resulted in her falling into an exhausted and stressed state.
"I-i-i..."
Sirin's breathing became more erratic, and her voice trembled with a mixture of sadness and longing.
She felt overwhelmed with these feelings towards Leon, causing her to become a bit panicked and distraught.
She tried to talk, but the feelings within her were too much for her to properly speak. She just started trying to take deep breaths to calm herself down, but her heart was still beating fast, and she felt like she was going to cry.
A sudden mint scent started to linger around the market, which immediately caused Sirin to suddenly freeze in place, as she could smell the distinct and familiar scent, the same as the one she had experienced before.
She immediately realized what was happening as her heart started to beat even faster, and she quickly looked around to figure out where that scent was coming from.
Now Sirin's mind was screaming to track the scent as she started to walk straight out of the market, having zero care about her surroundings, including the panicking Cecilia.
"Siriiinn. Where are you going???"
Sirin was too focused on following that specific mint scent, not caring about Cecilia's panicking and where she might be heading.
It was like nothing else mattered but following that scent as she walked straight out of the market without hesitating, her heart pounding and her mind growing frantic.
"Sirin...?"
The smell grew more profound and distinct, getting Sirin more excited and anxious, but it grew more worrying to Cecilia as she realized that her daughter was not listening to her and was heading straight out of the market without a care for her own safety or anything else.
While Cecilia could smell the mint scent, she could barely smell it, while her daughter had a much stronger ability to track down the scent.
It was like her mind was being guided by that scent, as she was completely unaware of her actions and was just tracking it as if it were her main priority.
'I can feel him... I can smell where he is... Oh God, why am I enthralled by this scent...?'
She seemed confident in following the scent despite her mother following her closely behind her.
After some time, Sirin suddenly stopped moving and just stood there, staring blankly at her front as she took deeper breaths.
She was finally starting to see a sign of where the scent might originate from, but she was still quite uncertain about her conclusions.
Sirin first glanced at the market, filled with toys on display products, but simultaneously, she sensed the scent coming from the same market.
The toy was superhero-oriented, packed with action figures and other gimmick toys.
"Wow..."
Sirin was observing the store's entrance constantly, as she kept hoping and waiting for Leon to appear so that she could finally have the opportunity to give him the macarons and finally see him once again after so many hours searching for him.
Her heartbeat kept increasing slowly, and her hands began to tremble with nervousness as she observed people coming and going from the store.
But Sirin still could not see Leon anywhere.
"Huh, a toy shop...?"
Cecilia's confusion and curiosity could be felt, as she had seen Sirin have a new interest in toys targeted at male audiences, and it was unusual since she had never expressed any interest in toys before.
"Do you want a toy, Sirin?"
"I... I don't know."
"You don't have to, dear, and I could buy you anything in this shop if that was something you really wanted."
Cecilia continued her motherly behavior of trying to please her now love-struck daughter, but Sirin was still quite unsure of what she wanted as her mind was now completely wrapped up in thinking about Leon and her feelings for him.
She could not think straight, and her mind became more unclear about what she wanted.
'This must be it. It's the same place...'
Sirin was confident that the mint scent originated from the toy shop, and it encouraged her to continue approaching the market until she was standing directly in front of the toy shop, closely followed by her mother, Cecilia, who was beginning to get reasonably concerned about Sirin's strange actions.
After they approached the store, Sirin's eyes were captivated by the action figures on display, reaching her hand to the acrylic shielding.
"Oh, those are some very nice figures, aren't they?"
Cecilia also glanced at the action figures and noticed her daughter's fascination.
While she saw nothing unusual about the items for sale, it was certainly different from how Sirin usually looked at toys when she was not interested in them.
The action figures on display were full of different types of Ultraman.
Sirin's mouth formed an "O" mouth, hand glued on the acrylic shielding, while her golden eyes rocked left and right, unable to contain her temptation of the unique-looking Ultraman action figures.
"Sirin, perhaps it would be best to choose only one figure. If you choose a few, it might be difficult for me to carry them all.
As Sirin looked at each figure with great interest, Cecilia became concerned about their ability to return her purchases.
It might be hard to carry multiple figures back, but perhaps her daughter simply chose not to listen to her.
As Sirin continued glancing her eyes at the Ultraman action figures, there was one Ultra that caught her attention.
"Wow, this is interesting..."
An Ultraman with a white and red body pattern and black streaks, a capsule-shaped Color Timer, and his blue colored demonic-like eyes.
The mask design was completely opposite, but in reality, the character was a hero, too, despite his demonic appearance.
His name is Ultraman Geed.
"What's so interesting about it? It's an Ultraman, just like the rest of them."
Cecilia glanced over at the figure and thought it did not seem so special compared to all the others, but to her daughter, it sure was much more unique and attractive.
Thinking Cecilia was wrong, Sirin poked her index finger at the acrylic, pointing at the Ultraman Geed action figure.
"Look at the eyes... It's like he is the one who dares to be different. Ultraman... Geed?"
"Oh, you're talking about that one. I suppose he does have quite interesting eyes. They really are quite a peculiar design."
Cecilia, too, took notice of the demon-like eyes of the Ultraman and found them quite intriguing, but she still had no idea what was making her daughter so enamored with this Ultraman figure.
After observing the figure, Sirin stirred her head to the left, staring at the store entrance before she started to step forward, still in her cautious movement.
'I know he's here...'
She felt her heartbeat pounded so hard every second she stepped inside the store, as her mind was only filled with Leon.
Much to Sirin's dismay, there was no one behind the counter, but in the actual scene, Leon had been hiding behind the counter cashier's place when he sensed Sirin was coming, thanks to his Stigmata mark on his right upper palm.
'She's here. She's here...'
His Stigmata mark was glowing in blue, meaning that he had already sensed Sirin's presence, but he was waiting for her to finally appear before his eyes so he could see and reunite with her again.
Leon was feeling quite nervous about facing Sirin again, as he was behind the counter, waiting and hoping that she would finally come to him so that he could finally look at her and speak to her face-to-face once again.
His would-be future wife, the love of his life, was now getting closer to him, coming to him after so many hours of not being able to see her.
He held a breath while lowering his eyelids before he breathed deeply, gaining the confidence to confront Sirin with his own eyes.
Leon nervously walked out, and finally, his eyes locked on his purple-haired would-be wife, who had been waiting for him in front of the counter.
"Good afternoon. Oh, hi, Sirin! And... Aunt Cecilia?"
He had noticed someone else behind Sirin, Cecilia, which surprised him as he had not expected to see her.
Sirin's eyes widened in flabbergasted expression, causing her cheeks flushed red as her mouth quivered uncontrollably.
"H-h-hello..."
'He's here! Oh God, He's here!'
Leon's appearance suddenly startled and shocked Sirin, causing her to turn utterly red because she was flustered. Her breathing became very erratic as her eyes and mouth grew wide with shock.
She was too stunned to say anything.
She could hardly even bring herself to say hello.
Cecilia also took notice of his presence in the store, feeling surprised to find out he was working in the toy shop.
And she could finally smell Leon's mint scent in the surroundings.
"Ohhhhh. So you're working in here, Leon?"
"Oh, uh, y-yes, I am, Auntie."
Cecilia's presence and comment surprised Leon, as he did not expect his future late would-be mother-in-law to be here.
He tried to remain as calm as possible, although it was not easy, as a noticeable blush formed on his cheeks.
Cecilia couldn't help but let out her gleeful reaction as she chuckled while brushing her short white hair at the surprise.
"This is so unexpected. Hahaha."
"H-haha, y-yes, indeed."
Leon, too, started to smile and chuckle a bit, though quite awkwardly, although he could not help himself as the situation he was in was entirely unexpected.
Cecilia's unexpected appearance at the store caused his heart to beat slightly faster as he felt his embarrassment getting stronger and his cheeks becoming red.
"How did you find me here, Auntie?"
"Hahaha. I don't even know there's a toy store here. Wow, this mall is sure so big. We missed this unexplored section. Sirin somehow found it, Leon."
"Ah, I see. Quite a lot of surprises we have here, now, don't we?"
Cecilia couldn't help but feel quite amused as the situation she encountered was not planned, and she was quite happy to meet with Leon again.
It was a nice coincidence that she ended up here while her future daughter and her would-be son-in-law were also present.
'So Sirin managed to track me with my scent...'
But deep in his bubbling thoughts, he knew they found him because of Sirin's hypersensitive senses that could smell his mint scent from afar.
As the conversation continued, Sirin was entirely overcome with shock, excitement, and a bit of nervousness as she was still stunned to say anything, her face slowly growing red and her breathing becoming erratic.
She continued staring at Leon, her heart beating quite frantically and her eyes unblinking.
But Sirin had a portion of strength to lower her head at the bag filled with macarons, planning to present him a sweet gift, but she was struggling with how to communicate with Leon.
'Oh no! I never talked to a man like him! How will I tell him? What happens if he happily accepts? What if he rejects it and says he doesn't like my gift?'
It was like her mind was utterly blank regarding how she was supposed to communicate with him in this situation.
She had prepared all those macarons for him but could not decide what to do there. The situation was overwhelming, and she could not determine what to do now.
The scent of Leon's mint was still quite strong, but she was beginning to notice another sweet fragrance blending with it.
It was very subtle, but she could still smell it.
'A Honkai Scent...?'
There was something about how her Honkai Scent blended with his mint that was quite enjoyable to the nose, almost as if it was a blend of two sweet flavors coming together to create something divine.
At first, Sirin had thought her own Fenghuang Down was messing up her mind.
'Is he for real...? Why did he have my Honkai Scent...? Is my Fenghuang Down playing with my mind...?'
She continued to wonder if the two scents were just her imagination, but now that she was close to him, the two scents blended together to create a divine fragrance that was quite enticing to her.
But she still did not realize that she was smelling his actual scents instead of it being her own imagination.
'It was now or never.'
No matter how high her tension was, Sirin forced herself to lift her hands with the macaron bag to the counter while her eyelids closed shut and her lips folded sourly, struggling to speak and face Leon.
"Please! Take my sweets if you like them!"
Leon's body recoiled, feeling slightly surprised by Sirin's sudden action as she pushed this bag of sweets towards him and made an awkward attempt to speak to him while closing her eyes in nervous excitement.
"I-I'd be happy too-to-too..."
He became flushed as he saw her struggling like this with her words.
He found it quite adorable how she closed her eyes and folded her lips when trying to speak to him, and he couldn't help but feel flattered by her efforts right now.
'Ooohhh. The whole time, she is planning to give him her macaroons. I'm quite impressed with her courage and how she got past that initial barrier of nervousness to present this beautiful and delicious gift to him.'
Cecilia could only swing her head countless times when she watched Sirin hand the bag of macarons to Leon, finding out she was trying to express her kindness to Leon.
"T-this is for you."
Sirin eventually managed to get out these words as she opened her eyes and watched Leon.
She finally handed the bag of sweets to Leon with a slightly red and flushed face, looking entirely relieved that she managed to express what she wanted to say to him.
Leon's lips widened further, seeing the Second Herrscher's flipside from being a menacing girl into her emotional side.
"Hoh hoh hoh. Thank you, Sirin."
He happily took Sirin's present grocery bag, looking at the three packs of macaron in it, before gazing back at Sirin with a smile.
Sirin was now entirely red-faced, as she had felt a bit embarrassed from all the attention she was getting from Leon and even Cecilia.
But she couldn't help but smile as she got this much praise from Leon.
"I-I hope you can forgive me fo-or being so nervous. I didn't even kn-know what to say an-and I still don't kn-know what I wanna say."
'Why did I feel nervous...'
Having seen Sirin slowly regaining a bit of humanity inside her heart, Leon wanted to give something valuable to his would-be future wife, so he lowered the bag to the floor and gave a sweet smile to Sirin.
"Hahaa. It's alright. Oh, wait. I'll give you something better."
"Huh, y-you will?"
Sirin looked slightly surprised to hear he would give her something else.
She did not know what else he had planned, but she was eager to see what the mysterious man would give her now.
"Hold on."
Leon lowered his body, opened the counter cupboard, and took a silver engraved capsule-shaped Color Timer, based on Ultraman Geed's chest shape, that almost cost around 75,000 HOMU Coins.
With a bright smile, as he straightened his body to look at his would-be wife Herrscher, Leon extended his right fist to Sirin before unclenching his fist, revealing the silver ring on his palm.
"Here's for you, Sirin."
"W-Wait, a-are you giving this to me?"
Sirin was speechless, surprised to see Leon giving her this special gift.
She had no clue how much it genuinely cost because of its rarity, yet she couldn't help but feel a bit humbled by this act of pure generosity from Leon.
"Yeahh. Don't ask the price. Otherwise, you will have to pay. Hahahaa."
Leon joked with her to not pay for his present, even though it cost a fortune.
"H-h-huh, h-how am I supposed to repay this?"
Sirin still couldn't believe he would give her the gift without asking her to repay it. It showed Leon's generosity, and she was pretty surprised.
"I-I mean, n-now that you've given me this, I'd-have to give you something back to match it."
Cecilia could only watch the two interacting, hoping for Sirin to be more socialized.
But deep in her thoughts, she wanted Leon to help the Second Herrscher regain humanity, especially since Cecilia was initially confused about how she could recognize his name.
'I don't know who you are or how I got your name. But please, don't stop showing your kindness to Sirin. She needs help... And love...'
Cecilia was now hoping that their interaction would help Sirin feel even more at ease while interacting with Leon and thus help her regain even more of her humanity.
She left the store and waited outside.
She already knew Sirin lost her humanity from the start, and she felt that if Leon could help her regain her humanity, he could help her become more attached to the world and the people around her again.
"Come on, don't be ashamed. Give me your hand, Sirin. Let me help wear it for you."
Leon kindly asked Sirin to raise her arm toward him while simultaneously taking a precautionary step to interact in a physical touch since he was aware Sirin would be freaked out if he instantly grabbed her hand.
"A-alright."
Sirin slowly raised her arm toward him, hesitating whether or not she should touch Leon's hand.
It was clear that she was very nervous and quite cautious about this physical interaction, but she also felt a weird feeling inside her mind telling her that it was okay to do this and that she shouldn't feel too nervous or worried about it.
She closed her eyes a little and slowly pressed her hand against Leon's, feeling slightly flustered and surprised as this physical touch made her feel oddly warm and comfortable.
'I'm ready...'
While Leon could already feel Sirin's porcelain touch on his palm, he took a deep breath before gaining confidence to use his right hand to slip the same ring on her middle finger, which exposed his glowing-in-blue Stigmata on his upper palm.
Sirin was caught off guard by Leon's sudden action of placing the ring on her finger, but even so, she didn't mind it. Instead, Sirin felt a bit relaxed as she enjoyed his comforting presence.
The touch of his finger also felt weirdly comfortable and soft, making her feel warm inside in a way that she liked.
She remained in that peaceful relaxation for a while before slowly opening her eyes again to look at Leon with her golden eyes.
Her golden eyes caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a Stigmata mark on his right upper palm.
At first, she found it strange since it was an exclusive insignia to anyone with Herrscher's power.
'Is that... Is that his Stigmata...? What is that supposed to mean...?'
Thinking it was part of Fenghuang Down's influence, Sirin decided to shrug the mark, as her eyes now focused on the Geed's Color Timer silver ring.
A cold sensation thrived into her skin.
The ring felt quite cold to the touch, and Sirin felt a strange sensation spread through her skin as if it had an odd cold chill.
It was a new experience for her as she had never worn such an accessory before, but she still felt comfortable enough to keep this ring on her finger.
"Do you like it? I think this ring suits you just quite well, don't you think? It really brings out your beauty like nothing else."
Sirin was too stunned to speak once again. Her eyes were captivated by the silver ring on her right middle finger.
All those times, her life had been caged in the lab, with the cruel scientists torturing her friends and her inmates for their greed, not showing any empathy to the suffering children.
She had lost her humanity because of that, leading her to aim for genocide against humanity.
But the young man's loving gesture, including the motherly love from Cecilia, had given her a new path to humanity.
"Your beauty should be shown more to this world, not locked away in an isolated place as a mere experiment. You are worth much more than that, and I wish your heart would be happy."
Leon gave her a reassuring smile while still maintaining his gentle approach in his voice.
He was still not quite used to that kind of talking, yet he couldn't help but feel that that approach was necessary for the Second Herrscher and helped her come even more out of her inner shell.
When she kept staring at him with a bewildered face, Sirin's golden eyes caught a glance of the deep and long scar on his right eye.
"What happened to your eyes...?"
She spoke in her stuttering words, unable to contain her emotion of seeing his deep scar. She didn't know why she pitied the stranger, but Sirin felt the young man had a strong connection she wasn't unaware of.
The flash of memories that popped into his mind made him remember a very harsh and painful moment where his life had nearly ended at the hand of one of Otto's S-rank Valkyries.
It made Leon feel bitter initially, but he was also reminded of the importance of his Honkai Pathogen, indirectly made from Herrscher of Light's Honkai Energy, as it saved his life then.
But Leon wasn't bothered by the question. Instead, he simply smiled at her and gave her a gentle response.
"It's just an injury that I got some time ago. I don't need to say much about it, but it doesn't matter. Please feel free to ask any other questions if you'd like to know about me."
"Just an injury???"
Sirin snarled in her stuttering voice, finding herself in disbelief.
"You're right. It was less of an injury and more like a near-death experience I had."
Leon nodded a little, admitting the truth of what the Second Herrscher had just stated.
"It was nothing pleasant, and there is a lot more I could say about it. But that's not really necessary. What really matters is that I lived through something like that and still survived, even though I was supposed to be dead by now."
Leon noticed Sirin's sour mouth form with her eyelids squinting as if she couldn't stand seeing him in injury.
Not wanting to see her crying, Leon tried to make her happy by presenting the Ultraman box toy, Ultra Replica Geed Riser, as he placed the box on the counter with his hand on top.
"Look, Sirin! Do you want to try this toy? The Ultra Replica Geed Riser! I see you're a fan of the son of Ultraman Belial, Ultraman Geed."
"D-Did you just hand me this toy?"
Sirin was surprised by this sudden presentation of the toy, but she was still kind of taken aback by how the man in front of her seemed to understand her love for these things.
"U-Uhm... y-yeah, I l-like Ultraman Geed a lot! I would like to try this toy if I can."
The two's conversation lasted for some time, with the air blended in with a warm talking about Ultraman Geed, along with Leon demonstrating how to play the toy, which Sirin keenly observed him.
————
After a while, Sirin went out of the store, bringing a grocery bag filled with the Ultra Replica Geed Riser, as she returned to Cecilia, who had been waiting outside to respect their personal conversation.
"Oh, you're done, Sirin? How are you now?"
"Hm, I'm feeling quite good, actually. I met a nice gentleman who gave me this toy right here."
Sirin had returned to Cecilia, and she was just standing there with her grocery bag and the Ultra Replica Geed Riser toy.
She seemed pretty happy and enthusiastic about this gift that she received, and she returned with a more confident and optimistic attitude, feeling that she had managed to make good progress in interacting with the mysterious man.
"Ohhh. Do you pay for it? You could have told me to pay for you, Sirin~."
"No... He gave me this for free."
"Heh?"
"Yeah, he didn't ask for any payment even though this toy is extremely expensive! I never would have thought that he'd give me something this good without asking me to pay back for it..."
Although Sirin was not quite sure why the man was so generous to her, she wasn't complaining and was simply grateful for the present he had given her.
"Oohh. How generous he is."
The mother-and-daughter conversation continued as they started to walk from the store, returning to Siegfried.
"I know, right? And he was also so nice to me! And he gave me this ring, too."
Sirin showed Cecilia the silver ring on her finger, feeling happy and excited about the gift.
Since he was the only person who had shown such kindness towards her, she thought he was the best person in the world.
"RAGHHHHHH!!!"
Suddenly, Siegfried's piercing loud scream washed the mall's air from the distance, enough to cause the glass dome to be shattered, resulting in shards of glass pelting to the floor.
Cecilia and Sirin looked over and saw a scene of mass destruction in the distance, which had apparently been created by Siegfried's sudden loud scream.
"W-What the?!"
"This can't be..."
Unknown to the two, the glass shards were about to pelting to the two. Cecilia's keen instinct came into play, raising her head above, only to see the dangerous glass shards raining.
"Oh no! Watch out, Sirin!"
Cecilia's instinct of trying to preserve Sirin kicked in, and she quickly tried to shield the Second Herrscher from the falling glass shards as she grabbed her into her protective embrace.
"Don't worry, Sirin! I will make sure nothing happens to you! Mama will always protect you!"
As the two stood together, they endured the harsh sound of the falling glass shards hitting the ground, although they still didn't know what had happened.
"Remember our magic spell: Ich liebe dich."
Sirin would normally try to fight back this kind of affectionate embrace from Cecilia, as her normal behavior was to be harsh and not show any sign of weakness, but right now, she just felt stunned and unable to move at all.
She just accepted it as she felt the warmth from another person's body surrounding her and just stayed in this embrace without fighting back or pulling away from it.
The sound of the falling glass dome was getting closer, and Cecilia and Sirin did not realize the sheer danger they were in from that.
Cecilia held on tightly to Sirin, protecting her with her own body, while Sirin was still stunned by the warm and peaceful feeling of such a protective embrace.
Suddenly, an unknown force caused them to get pushed away from the falling glass dome.
Cecilia and Sirin were pushed away from the falling glass dome, now breaking in its loud, shattering noises.
They both were luckily saved and didn't get hit by any of the falling pieces, and they watched as the glass dome was shattering.
"W-what just happened?"
Cecilia was surprised by the sudden action saving her and Sirin from the falling disaster and was now looking to see who had saved them.
She stirred her head back and forth, trying to find whoever saved them from the danger, but to her dismay, she saw nothing but victims lying on the ground in pain.
She then turned around to check on Sirin, but she still seemed shocked and could not move.
"Sirin? Sirin, can you hear me? Can you move...?"
Sirin's head moved in the slightest, signaling her conscious response.
"I'm alright... I'm alright... I just saw that hu- I mean Leon..."
"Leon? There's no Leon here, Sirin."
"B-But I saw him... I swear he was the one who saved us... but he isn't here anymore."
Sirin was sure that she saw Leon and that he was the one who had saved them.
He might have somehow gotten lost in the chaos, but Sirin was sure about the man she saw earlier.
Especially when she caught Leon's mint scent on her nose, which lasted seconds before it wandered off from her sniffing.
"I saw him just moments ago right here."
"I could smell his mint scent..."
Cecilia was now beginning to notice the same scent of mint coming from Sirin's body, just like she did with Leon in their earlier meeting.
"Do you also smell mint?"
"It's no longer here..."
When Sirin shook her head, claiming she could no longer smell Leon's scent,
Cecilia still couldn't understand how Leon wandered off that fast after rescuing them. She knew she could smell his scent, but it was gone right when they got pushed.
But what mattered now to Cecilia was to search for Siegfried, as he might have caught in the unfortunate accident, too.
"Let's think about this later, Sirin. I need to make sure my husband is still alright. I heard him scream quite loudly earlier."
Cecilia was now more worried than ever, as she knew that her husband, Siegfried, could be caught in the chaos, and she hadn't discovered how badly he might have been injured.
Since Cecilia was so worried about his well-being, she knew she had to find Siegfried in the incident.
"Okay..."
Sirin, who was still shocked, could only nod in acceptance as the two started to find Siegfried walking through the glass shards while making a cracking noise every time Cecilia stepped on it.
The incident was a dangerous event, but luckily, there were no casualties, only injuries and serious ones.
Then, there was Leon, hiding behind the pillar after he had saved Cecilia and Sirin from danger. He released a deep sigh as his chest raised up before backing up.
He then looked at the destroyed mall that used to have various stores and goods here but now was in complete ruins.
After a few more moments, he slowly left his hiding place.
He could only watch the victims involved in the incident. Some were writhing on the floor in agony, and some survived with minor injuries, sitting on the ground with their head lowered.
Leon could see that Cecilia and Sirin had not gotten caught within the glass dome's falling debris, thanks to his action that escaped them from death before it was too late.
They were now back together with Siegfried, trying to comfort him as he was shocked and distressed due to the sudden incident.
Leon's iPhone started to ring before he picked it up and put it on his ear while his eyes remained locked on the Kaslana family.
"Leon? Meet me at the south side of the mall. It's time to get out of this cursed realm."
"Lah? Now?"
"Change of plans... Remember to bring Benares too."
"Okay, Mr. Welt..."
Leon immediately turned around and went to the mall's south side, regrouping to where Welt was standing by
————
Time was fast-forwarded to where the doctors were treating Siegfried. He only suffered minor injuries on his back and arm, which was an easy task for the doctor.
Cecilia and Sirin were leaning on each other while waiting outside for Siegfried to return.
Cecilia was using her loving motherly instinct towards Sirin, wrapping her hand around her shoulder to show her that she cared about and was willing to protect her.
She was resting, letting her lids be closed, and relaxing her body, not feeling like she needed to stay alert.
On the other hand, Sirin was in an emotional state, finding herself in this tender moment inside Cecilia's warm embrace, allowing her to feel an overwhelming feeling of peace, warmth, and comfort.
'She held me in her arms again... Her embrace felt so soothing and warm to me... Why...?'
Sirin thought of being embraced by Cecilia, feeling the soothing touch and warmth of her motherly embrace.
She felt like she had discovered an overwhelming sense of comfort and peace, which made her feel like she was in heaven.
She was overwhelmed by the feelings of the situation, making her wonder why she felt so good that way.
Her golden eyes lowered to the grocery bag she was holding, where the Ultra Replica Geed Riser box toy was deformed due to the impact of getting pushed by someone from the danger.
The thought of who might have pushed her out of danger was still stuck in her head, but it also started to affect her emotionally.
'Why did you run away...? Can't you just at least stay, rather than saving me and just vanish without a trace?'
Her mouth stretched widely, and her lips slammed shut, still unable to understand the sudden turn of events that led to Leon saving her and Cecilia, only to disappear suddenly without a word.
'I just met him, but why do I miss him a lot...? Ahh. That mint scent...!'
She didn't understand what she had just experienced, not even being able to say a proper goodbye to him or ask who he was.
She felt like she just witnessed a vision and was still processing it.
The emotional Sirin decided to lift the toy from the bag and unbox it, revealing a protective plastic film that encased the Geed Riser and the Ultra Capsule collectible items.
She was getting slowly calm and relaxed, and she took out the Ultra Replica Geed Riser toy from the grocery bag, now peeling off the protective film that encased the toy and its collectible items.
The red knuckle-like DNA capsule design was now in Sirin's hand as she began to observe the transformation item's striking design. Thankfully, Leon had installed the battery previously, so she didn't have to unscrew the part to install it.
She took the Loading Knuckle as an extra holder of the Ultra Capsules by inserting it into the holes.
Sirin now inserted both the Ultraman and Ultraman Belial capsules into the Geed Riser's Loading Knuckles, and she started to load and activate both capsules by sliding the notch upward, creating a respective Ultra grunt noise.
As she pressed the trigger, the transformation phase began, and the Geed Riser started to scan the two ultra capsules she was utilizing.
[Fusion Rise!]
After scanning both capsules, the Geed Riser announced the final phase of the transformation.
Sirin pressed the trigger again, and the Geed Riser started to make its normal transformation sounds.
[Ultraman! Ultraman Belial! Ultraman Geed: Primitive!]
The Geed Riser then played the jingle of Ultraman Geed Primitive, and Sirin was quite excited to have the form available for her to use.
"I can turn into Ultraman Geed Primitive now."
Sirin felt her inner child was showing out from her void heart as she started to enjoy her time exploring the Geed Riser and its features.
She began scanning the other capsules to see what Type Change of Geed he could become and afterward until Siegfried was out of the room.
Cecilia was still in her deep rest state. Her eyes remained unseen, and she heard the Geed Riser toy making all its sounds while Sirin enjoyed it.
Having her daughter enjoy her time and play happily with the Geed Riser toy made Cecilia enact a soft, subtle smile, showing her some happiness hidden from the naked eye.
Ultraman Geed: Color Timer silver925 Ring