As Lily maintained eye contact with Arthur until the very last moment, she was suddenly transported to outer space in the blink of an eye.
Though the planet Saturn is far by human standards, for Lily, who had already transcended dimensions, Saturn was within arm’s reach.
Upon crossing Saturn’s rings and arriving at the planet’s surface, Lily slightly wrinkled her nose.
The violent storms and massive lightning that dwarfed anything on Earth surrounded her.
The liquid tides churning on the surface had already reached the level to be called a tsunami.
It was an extreme environment that humans would describe as hell.
“…Why does anyone live in a place like this?”
Lily could not understand the preference for such surroundings.
Entering the storm, Lily briefly scanned her surroundings and recalled her memories.
“…Was it this way?”
Though a sudden lightning bolt struck her, not a single hair on her body was scorched.
Even the strong winds of the storm could not impede Lily’s movement.
As Lily floated in mid-air, something caught her eye.
“Found it.”
In an instant, Lily teleported directly to that location.
What Lily saw was an island.
Not an ordinary island, but a floating island suspended in the air, avoiding the violent waves of Saturn’s seas.
The floating island was covered by a hemispherical membrane to protect its interior from the storm.
As Lily effortlessly passed through the membrane and entered—
beep! beep! beep!
A loud alarm began to sound.
From beneath Lily’s feet, something started to rise.
Sticky black ooze writhed and surged upward.
Exceeding Lily’s height, the ooze tried to cover her from above.
“Where do you think you’re touching?”
With a single wave of Lily’s hand, the ooze was shredded and scattered in all directions.
Still, the blobs reformed and continued to charge at her, but they couldn’t reach Lily, who had erected a protective barrier.
“The only one allowed to touch my body is Arthur.”
Though Lily wanted to annihilate the blobs immediately, she left them be because she knew they were the servant race of Ch’thguah.
As the alarm continued, the island’s inhabitants began to gather.
They muttered among themselves in an ancient language long lost on the current Earth.
“An intruder!”
“To cross the stormy seas—what kind of race is this?”
“In terms of appearance, it resembles a human?”
“Wow… an incredible beauty…”
“What could someone like her be doing here?”
The appearances of the inhabitants varied.
Most resembled ordinary humans, but others had combinations of human and dog features, bipedal ants, and even wriggling masses of tentacles.
Positively speaking, they were highly individualistic in appearance; negatively, they were rather unsettling.
Through the crowd came a running figure.
A middle-aged man with dark hair and a neatly trimmed goatee.
“Excuse me… excuse me, please… legs, or should I say… tentacles…”
When the residents saw this man, they jumped in surprise and quickly scattered in all directions.
“The Grand Magician!”
“Grand Magician? What brings you here?”
The man hailed as the Grand Magician hurriedly reached Lily.
“Stop! Stop this at once, servants without form. This is a guest of our lord!”
At the Grand Magician’s words, the black masses stopped writhing and slowly sank back into the ground.
Lily, who had erected a protective barrier, looked down at the Grand Magician.
“Here, the welcoming gesture is a bit too aggressive?”
The Grand Magician deeply bowed his head.
“Forgive me, forgive me. Please quell your anger…”
The residents murmured amongst themselves at his behavior.
“The Grand Magician shows such deference?”
“What kind of person is she?”
“The Grand Magician must bow to someone?”
Ignoring the murmurs, the Grand Magician kept his head down.
“That’s enough. I assume this was automatic, and I find it tedious to argue over it.”
“Gratitude for your magnanimity, O Queen of the Night.”
“And Ch’thguah?”
“Ah…”
The Grand Magician’s evasive response made Lily nod as if she understood.
“Still sleeping, I assume.”
“Forgive me, but if Lady Ch’thguah knew the Queen of the Night had arrived, she would surely awaken immediately.”
“That’s good. But before that, I have business with you. Let’s change locations?”
“Understood. Shall we move somewhere more private?”
Lily glanced around at the gathered crowd and nodded.
—
Following the Grand Magician, Lily entered the center of the floating island.
There stood a castle far larger than the sum of all the other buildings on the island.
It was the castle of Ch’thguah, the lord of the floating island.
Though strictly prohibited for ordinary residents to enter,
“Welcome, Grand Magician.”
As the Grand Magician approached, the doors opened without resistance.
He led Lily to the most luxurious reception room in the castle.
Lily and the Grand Magician sat facing each other on the sofa in the reception room.
“Shall I bring some tea…”
“That’s fine. Let’s skip to the matter at hand.”
Lily crossed her legs confidently.
“What is it? That girl.”
“Are you speaking of Callisa?”
“Yes. Why has she appeared before us? What’s her purpose?”
At Lily’s question, the Grand Magician hastily waved his hands.
“Purpose? Preposterous! Callisa genuinely attended the academy to seek knowledge.”
“How convenient that it’s the same academy in the same dimension where I happen to be?”
“It was truly a coincidence.”
“I’ve seen her magic. She’s already contracted with Ch’thguah, and her magical abilities are already commendable. What does she intend to learn at the academy?”
“…”
Ashamed, the Grand Magician bowed his head deeply.
“…To be honest, Callisa is my granddaughter.”
“I see. The magical ability of a young human seemed unusual, but as your granddaughter, it makes sense.”
“Aye. As you know, I was once the grand magician of Hyperborea. When my lord’s order was persecuted, through His grace, I was able to escape here to Saturn.”
As Lily already knew this story, she listened silently.
“At the same time, I married a woman who came with me and built a family. It was truly a happy household…”
“Until?”
“…This floating island, Kai, is a wonderful place. It’s filled with countless races serving the lord.”
“Suddenly, what’s your point?”
“It is a good place, but I only wished for my granddaughter to grow up peacefully. Like myself, before I met my lord.”
“So you sent her to Earth?”
“Yes, with the intention that she would grow up among her peers, living a normal life.”
The Grand Magician, catching his breath, deeply bowed his head.
“To be clear, I didn’t know the Queen of the Night dwelt there. By the name of my lord, Ch’thguah, slumbering ruler of the realm of Ynqa—I swear this.”
Lily remained silent, merely looking at the Grand Magician.
Under this reaction, the Grand Magician was drenched in cold sweat.
While the one he served was also a remarkable being who surpassed the limits of life, the being before him transcended even that—truly a monster.
She could easily drop this entire floating island into Saturn’s ocean of liquid hydrogen if she so desired.
Contrary to the Grand Magician’s assumption that Lily’s silence signified anger or irritation,
‘…Why does he insist on her having a normal life? Wouldn’t living forever by her side be enough?’
Lily remained silent, lost in thought.
‘Since he cherishes and loves her so much, wouldn’t he never want to be apart from her? Why send her away?’
Her heart yearned to stay forever with Arthur in each other’s arms and never leave the bed, so she struggled to understand the Grand Magician’s reasoning.
As the silence stretched, the Grand Magician slowly raised his head.
“…O Queen of the Night?”
Lily was snapped out of her thoughts by the Grand Magician’s puzzled voice.
“Ah, what did you say?”
“I said I didn’t send her to meet you.”
At his words, Lily nodded.
“Alright, I understand. With such a vow, I can’t distrust you.”
“Thank you.”
The Grand Magician relaxed back into his chair, wiping away the cold sweat. Just then, Lily broke the silence.
“When can I meet her?”
“Oh, you mean my lord? We can meet immediately, though it’s not long after a meal, so she’s likely in deep sleep.”
“How long to wake her?”
“Roughly… four hours is the estimate.”
“…Four hours.”
Lily’s expression turned gloomy, wanting to return to Arthur as soon as possible and disliking the longer-than-expected wait.
Surprised by Lily’s reaction, the Grand Magician hastily waved his hands.
“T-three hours! We’ll aim for three!”
The Grand Magician instantly summoned an attendant through a contacting magic.
– What is it, Magician?
– Our lord has received a guest, and it’s time to wake her.
– I’ll come right away.
– Please wake her as soon as possible. Tell her the Queen of the Night has arrived.
– B-but the Queen of the Night? An Outer God, a bringer of chaos…
– Yes. She must be awakened within three hours.
– Understood! We’ll do our best!
“I’ve sent the message. Please wait here.”
At that, Lily relaxed into her chair.
She rhythmically tapped the armrest while the Grand Magician remained stiff, waiting anxiously for his lord’s awakening.
The heavy silence was broken when,
“You said you were married?”
“Eh, yes! I am married.”
“And you even have children?”
“And grandchildren.”
Lily paused before leaning forward slightly.
“How is married life? Are you happy?”
The unexpected question left the Grand Magician puzzled, but he soon nodded.
“Of course, I’m happy.”
Though he had lived many long years, thinking of his wife always brought a warm feeling—making him an affectionate family man.
“Even always together, you feel no… ennui? You’ve lived a long life thanks to Ch’thguah.”
“Yes, thanks to the grace of Ch’thguah, I have lived many times my natural lifespan, and I’ve been married for a long time too. However, about ennui…”
The Grand Magician hesitated, unsure of Lily’s intent, but decided to answer anyway.
“Hmm… there were a few times, but we tried out several methods to overcome it.”
“What methods?”
“Um…”
The Grand Magician blushed, and Lily urged him.
“Hurry up and tell me.”
“This…”
“Don’t worry about discretion. Just tell me quickly.”
“Isn’t this, Lady Lily, something you already know well?”
The being before him was none other than Lily herself.
In terms of experience, there was none in this universe who could keep up with her. So why was she asking him such things?
To which the Grand Magician got his reply:
“Everything I’ve seen so far was not normal. Manifestations of ugly and dirty desires. Over time, I became curious about the act of pure affection. So, tell me quickly.”
Encouraged by her bright eyes, the Grand Magician eventually said,
“For example, trying out various… uh… positions…”
“Mm-hm, and?”
“And sometimes… establishing a concept…”
“Concept?”
“Like using ropes…”
After those three hours,
– Our lord has awakened.
– …
– …Magician?
– …Master?
– Ah… has she awakened?
– Yes, she is ready to meet you.
– …I understand.
– …Are you alright? You seem a bit tired.
– No… no, it’s alright. Let’s go.
After completing the communication, the Grand Magician slowly rose from his seat.
“She has awakened. Let’s meet her.”
“…”
Without a word, Lily stood up and followed the Grand Magician, seemingly lost in deep thought.
As they walked down the hallway, Lily casually muttered,
“Ropes…….”
