The Infinite World of Weapon Girls

"By the Emperor's decree, the sole supreme leader of District 44."

"The one who saved District 44 from space-based weapons and disappeared last."

"If faith had a color, it would definitely be Tina color."

Information like this flooded her eyes: the person worshipped by the world's cursed children, who left behind the most precious treasure, "Area 44," but had long since vanished, was named Tina.

There are countless photos and images of her, and the fan art drawn for her by the Cursed Child alone is beyond counting... The little girl was stunned. So that silver-haired girl with a single ponytail was Tina?!

She suddenly looked up.

But then they discovered that both of them had vanished from sight.

"Why didn't I recognize you just now?!!!!"

The little girl scratched her head in regret, her cute brows furrowed as she tried to recall the girl's appearance. Comparing it to the paintings online, she gave a helpless bitter smile, "...So...the real Tina is just too beautiful."

#

Tina dragged Elma into a quiet corner of a building.

"Hey, if I just lay out my identity, wouldn't all the problems be solved? Why won't you let me speak?!"

"It will cause trouble."

"Is that really the case?" Erma smiled, thinking herself clever as she started to ponder, "...Even though Tina contributed the most, no one could recognize her at a glance. So, isn't it because they were afraid of feeling awkward if she said 'I don't know her'?"

The girl turned her head away: "None of your business."

"Hmph, I mean they're blind!"

Eruma spoke indignantly on Tina's behalf, saying that Kuriboh was just a magical pet, so why didn't its owner even have the right to see it?

"Ding-ling," a message notification sounded. Tina glanced at it, then turned around and said, "The Holy Emperor is here. She must have a way."

In less than an hour, the Emperor flew from Tokyo to the 44th ward, showing how eager he was.

Following the instructions of the Holy Emperor, the two arrived at a private landing pad near the government in District 44.

The guards allowed us to enter.

The Holy Emperor, with his snow-white hair, was already standing there waiting, holding a bouquet of fragrant and beautiful flowers.

Tina was slightly taken aback: her short hair had become long, and she was no longer wearing a hat. Her eyes were like stars, her lips were slightly pursed, and her aura was imposing. Even though she had seen the changed Holy Emperor online, if they hadn't agreed on a meeting place beforehand... Tina really wasn't confident that she could recognize her at a glance!

"This bouquet of flowers..."

"This is for you, Tina. You...you're finally back."

"Ah... thank you."

She accepted the bouquet, somewhat startled.

"Is this... Miss Hailong?"

Back when Elma and the owl were working together to eradicate Gastrea, the Sea Dragon Girl met the Holy Emperor once or twice.

If it were an ordinary person, the busy emperor would not remember, but this sea dragon with a completely different style and ridiculously strong strength is hard to forget.

"Hmm... It's an honor that His Majesty the Holy Emperor still remembers me," Elma said with a slightly reserved smile.

"No, it should be my honor to see Miss Hailong again."

"I...?" Tina asked in surprise.

"...I'm sorry, I misspoke. It's my honor...Um, please don't take offense, Tina."

Tina shook her head. "No."

Thinking to myself, it's not wrong for the Holy Emperor to call himself "朕" (Zhen), it's so queenly!

"The contract ceremony should be over. I... I need to go check on Chestnut Ball first. Shall we come together?"

"That's exactly what I wanted you to do."

"Hey, didn't Tina see Kuriboh first... In that case, let's go together."

With the Holy Emperor, the three of them rode in a carriage once again toward the Temple of the Covenant.

On the surface, the Holy Emperor did not bring any guards, but Tina could secretly sense a slightly familiar aura, similar to the "Grim Reaper" she had fought before.

In the car.

Tina learned a great deal about the current state of the world through the Holy Emperor.

Large gastrula of the fourth order and above were almost wiped out a year ago, and humans are constantly reclaiming lost territory, with various countries entering the development stage one after another.

However, the origin of Gastrul remains unclear.

And the current situation of the cursed child.

Without a doubt, in District 44, where lolis reign supreme, the Cursed Children occupy the top of the food chain. In terms of combat power, no matter how many Gastrea come, they wouldn't be enough to be torn apart by the Cursed Children here.

Throughout the year, the cursed children who were adopted through contracts were scattered all over the world. Due to the magic of the contracts, you could easily find "real lolicon" on the street.

After Tina buried the International Initiator Oversight Organization (IISO), which controlled the Cursed Children, with a single punch, Area 44 completely took over the functions of the IISO.

Although adopted girls still make up less than 1/10 of all the Cursed Children, the concept of building a different kind of coexisting and symbiotic contractual relationship in District 44 has become increasingly popular over the past year.

The novel idea that "cursed children can laugh, have life, are human, crave emotions, and can also be... there's nothing wrong with being a loli" spread like a virus around the world as battles with Gastrea drastically decreased.

……

"Although the root cause of the emergence of Gastrea has not been found, fortunately there has been a major breakthrough in inhibitor research. The new inhibitor has an inhibitory effect of up to nine times! ... For example, a cursed child whose viral erosion rate would originally rise to 50% in 400 days can extend to 3600 days with long-term use of the new inhibitor."

Seeing Tina's surprised expression, the Holy Emperor was slightly taken aback, thinking, "Does she not know?"

"The new inhibitor is really amazing! Guess who developed it?"

The Holy Emperor first asked a question, but seeing the girl's doubtful expression, he then pursed his lips and said:

"It's that dolphin who used to want to make you sundaes forever... It's something that's easy to get praise for, so why didn't Xia Shi tell you or take credit for it?"

"So it's Xia Shi..."

"We've never had a chance to meet, so how could I possibly tell her?" Tina thought bitterly, yet a hint of tenderness and longing appeared in her eyes. The owl had indeed mentioned this to her one day, and she hadn't expected Xia Shi to actually succeed!

"besides."

The Holy Emperor continued.

"After two random samplings of the adopted children of the cursed, the happiness index was generally above 99%, of which 12% were engaged and 0.12% were married."

"Get...married?!"

Elma jumped to her feet, only to bump her head on the roof of the car, hitting her head and falling back down. Frustrated, she rubbed her head and said, "...They're just children! Isn't this illegal?!"

[222. Kuriboh's ability to evolve a second time?]

"Your Majesty the Holy Emperor..."

"Wait! Please don't call me 'Your Excellency.' If possible, I hope you'll call me 'Sister Holy Emperor'... You used to be so outspoken, why are you using such a distant form of address now?"

The Holy Emperor spoke to the girl with a tone that was both gentle and firm, as if correcting her.

Even without uttering a word, or making a single glance, he naturally exudes a cold and noble aura, like a flower on a high mountain. Is this really the same weak and cowardly Holy Prince who once needed Tina's patient guidance?

Perhaps it was because Tina had become more sensible, or perhaps it was because the Holy Emperor now truly possessed the demeanor of a monarch. However, the Holy Emperor showed no imperial bearing whatsoever in front of her.

Hearing her say that, Tina nodded and said amiably:

"Then... Holy Emperor Sister, without the obstruction of forces like Kikunojo Tendo and the other 'Generation of Plunder', the implementation of the Gastrea Law should go smoothly, right?"

"Speaking of this..."

The Holy Emperor and Tina were sitting opposite each other when Her Majesty the Queen suddenly reached out and grasped the girl's soft hands, smiling as she said, "...Thanks to Tina, the new law can no longer be implemented."

"Sigh..." Tina tried to break free from Her Majesty's intimate embrace, but found that the latter's small, fair hands were gripping hers tightly. She frowned slightly, "...Why..."

"Because of Ward 44, almost all the cursed children in Japan have been taken in by Ward 44... Since there are no more cursed children in Japan, then who will abide by the new law?"

The Holy Emperor spoke softly, unaware of the reason for Tina's change in expression.

Only after Her Majesty the Queen finished answering and came to her senses did she awkwardly withdraw her hand. Then, a glint of light shone in the Holy Emperor's eyes as he sincerely said to the girl:

"The cursed children, as their name suggests, should be 'cursed,' enduring a short and unjust life of misfortune, rejected by the entire world, dying in darkness without anyone knowing... But, because of Tina's appearance, their fate has been completely changed..."

"Tina did something perfectly that I've been working hard on with little success, so I've never known how to thank you enough..."

The Holy Emperor's gentle gaze, with its smiling lips and tender eyes, should have been both unsettling and enjoyable, but since she had seen the girl, he had maintained this demeanor, which made Tina feel uneasy.

"...Ah, Holy Emperor Sister, you flatter me."

The girl recalled the past and couldn't help but sigh wistfully, saying:

"I never considered myself someone who was willing to uphold justice for the weak and vulnerable, nor did I think I could shoulder such a huge responsibility... The magic contract and saving District 44 were just things I accomplished incidentally in order to fulfill someone's wish or to save some people."

"Because there were too many things I had to do, I accidentally saved the world," is that right? Perhaps Tina herself doesn't even realize how kind and adorable she is.

The Holy Emperor smiled gently, his fingers involuntarily climbing up the girl's jade-like hands and tenderly grasping them.

This time, the girl's expression finally changed, and she quickly withdrew her hand, asking with concern, "Your Highness, you... you've become strange. Are you ill?"

The Holy Emperor's expression changed slightly, but she tried her best to hide it. Even she herself couldn't explain the reason for her outburst, so she looked away somewhat embarrassedly, "...maybe...."

Fortunately, Tina didn't pursue the matter too much: "Although there are many national affairs to attend to, you need to take more rest."

Elma barely dared to speak throughout, sitting quietly to the side, trembling as she observed.

Before long, the car arrived at the Hall of Contracts.

Elma, who got off the carriage with the girl, cautiously followed behind her, whispering in Tina's ear, "...This Holy Emperor seems to be a completely different person from the one I met a year ago?"

"I also feel something's a little strange," Tina agreed wholeheartedly.

"The former Holy Emperor was a gentle and kind person inside and out. Now... all the kindness is gone. Even his back exudes a cold and unapproachable aura. Only when he speaks to Tina does he become a little bit like the old one, gentle and fearful."

Watching Her Majesty the Queen's retreating figure, Elma analyzed, "...Oh my god, could it be..."

"Stop guessing, it's impossible!" Tina gave her a disgruntled look, and Elma immediately fell silent.

Go around to the back door of the Hall of Contracts, where a small number of elite guards are stationed.

With the Holy Emperor leading the way, the journey was smooth and unobstructed until they entered the back gate, where there were no guards in sight, the light dimmed, and the terrain suddenly narrowed.