Meanwhile, on the other side, March 7th and her companions were like headless flies, endlessly circling the immaculate and beautiful Eternal Garden, unable to find a single place to rest.
"We're doomed... It seems we're going to betray Nahida's trust after all..."
Looking at the familiar scene before her, March 7th felt a pang of guilt toward Nahida.
Nahida had entrusted them with the Weapon, facing Phandrea alone while urging them to find Sister Lumina. This was a tremendous act of faith, and March 7th and her group should have repaid Nahida with results, not betray her trust.
But... despite a thousand protests in their hearts, March 7th and her group were hopelessly lost in the garden.
"Oh heavens... We're truly beyond saving! If only I'd given the Forest Book to Stelle..."
Hidden in a corner, Lumina observed their every move, suddenly overwhelmed by regret.
At the time, she hadn't given it much thought. The garden seemed so small, she figured whether March 7th or Stelle led the group wouldn't make much difference.
After all, March 7th was an adult, and even if she was a bit unreliable, Lumina had assumed she could at least find her way around this small garden.
But March 7th's unreliability far exceeded Lumina's wildest imagination!
Well... she's called March 7th. What more could you expect?
Shaking her head, Lumina talked herself into accepting the situation.
March 7th is meant to live each day carefree, simple, and adorable. I, on the other hand, have far more to worry about...
Lumina secretly activated the Forest Book, guiding March 7th and the others in the right direction.
"Ehh, the Forest Book is moving on its own!" March 7th exclaimed, her eyes widening with surprise as she sensed the book's independent consciousness.
Now wasn't the time to dwell on that, though. The Forest Book's self-awareness and directional guidance were an incredible stroke of luck!
"Let's hurry! We can't keep Nahida and Sister Lumina waiting any longer!" March 7th called out, waving to Stelle and Little Swarm before dashing off in the direction indicated by the Forest Book.
Stelle and Little Swarm: ...
Lumina: ...
Hearing March 7th's words and watching her figure sprint away, growing more distant with each stride, Stelle and Little Swarm exchanged speechless glances.
Little Swarm nodded, transformed into her Main Body and allowing Stelle to mount her. They surged forward, following March 7th's path at breakneck speed.
In mere seconds, Little Swarm and Stelle had overtaken March 7th.
Reaching her side, Stelle swept her arm out, pulling March 7th—who was still stubbornly trying to keep up on her short legs—onto Little Swarm's back.
"Eh?!"
"Oh, right! I almost forgot—Little Swarm's way faster than me."
As the saying goes, "Worry clouds judgment." At this moment, March 7th was the perfect embodiment of that proverb. Her excessive worry for Nahida and Sister Lumina's safety had caused her intelligence to plummet.
Sigh... Good thing I don't have any ulterior motives toward little March, Lumina thought, shaking her head as she observed the scene. Otherwise... she'd be done for.
With March 7th's current level of intelligence, it was fortunate Lumina had no malicious intentions. Otherwise, March 7th would have long since become... prey.
Good news: Following the instructions in the Forest Book, March 7th and her companions quickly found their beloved Sister Lumina.
Bad news: They found two...
"T-two... two Sister Luminas..."
Staring at the two familiar figures before them, March 7th and her companions fell into stunned silence.
Under normal circumstances, the appearance of two Sister Luminas might have brought joy to the group, after all, it meant one for each of them...
But now, the emergence of two Sister Luminas was undoubtedly a crisis of monumental proportions!
One of the two Sister Luminas, upon seeing March 7th and her companions, her eyes lit up. She immediately exclaimed, "March? You're just in time! Help me defeat this imposter."
"We don't have much time left. We need to deal with her immediately."
Hearing Sister Lumina's familiar words, March 7th and her companions' eyes lit up, assuming this was the real one. They were about to hand over the Forest Book entrusted to them by Nahida.
But just as March 7th was about to act, the other Sister Lumina spoke up, "March, give me the Forest Book."
"Nahida asked you to bring that, didn't she? Give it to me, and I'll take care of the rest."
March 7th, Stelle, Little Swarm: ...
Hearing the other Lumina's words, the worst fear in March 7th and her companions' hearts had come true.
The appearance of two identical people wasn't frightening in itself. What was truly frightening was how these two Lumina, in their words, actions, and the uncanny familiarity they exuded, were virtually indistinguishable from the Lumina in their memories.
"We're doomed..." March 7th muttered. "Nahida never mentioned there were two Sister Luminas."
Seeing this, March 7th, Stelle, and Little Swarm couldn't help but sink into despair.
March 7th and Stelle, who had spent considerable time in Lumina's company, couldn't definitively determine which of the two Sister Luminas was the real one.
Even Little Swarm, who had been personally created by Lumina herself, couldn't discern the true Lumina based on her bloodline's origin. To Little Swarm, both Lumina seemed equally authentic.
"Enough. Go help Nahida," both Luminas sighed in unison, having observed the expressions of March 7th and the others.
"Quick, think of a solution! Invincible Galactic Baseballer, what should we do...?"
March 7th glanced at her Sister Lumina, then at the other Sister Lumina, shaking Stelle beside her, hoping the invincible Galactic Baseballer would come up with a solution.
Hearing this, Stelle couldn't help but fall into thought. She looked at Lumina, then at the other Lumina, and finally at her own hands. With a ding!, the invincible Galactic Baseballer had found a solution.
Under the expectant gazes of March 7th and Little Swarm, the invincible Galactic Baseballer slowly raised her head, her expression turning utterly serious. From some unknown place, she retrieved her baseball bat, pointed it at the two Sister Luminas, and declared in a cool, unwavering tone:
"Since we can't tell which one is the real Lumina, we'll just knock them both unconscious, stuff them in burlap sacks, and take them both!"
"That'll solve the problem completely, right?"