Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic monster!

Xia Que lost the power of the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow, and Hao Er was killed by Li with the Sky-Severing Slash—that all happened yesterday. After suddenly losing the power of the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow yesterday, Xia Que lost consciousness and only woke up now. Seria's apology was enough to explain yesterday's outcome. East and Wu Ke waited outside, not knowing what to say, so they could only wait.

Xia Que cried for a long time, and Seria didn't know how to comfort her. It wasn't until Li walked in from outside and came to Xia Que's side that she stopped crying.

“I’m sorry, I had no choice but to do it back then,” Li said apologetically. “I know it’s no use saying anything now, but at that time, Hao’er said that I had to make sure you got back to Earth safely, so…”

“No need to say anything more…” Xia Que’s face was ashen, and her eyes had lost their light. “I will go back… So, could you please not appear here for the time being… I’m afraid I won’t be able to control myself…”

Li didn't speak, only nodded silently, and left the room. What she was doing now was no different from what Xia Que had unconsciously done back then; they had both taken away the person important to each other. Li could understand her feelings, and she respected Xia Que's current thoughts, so she quietly left.

“Sister Li,” Wu Ke walked over and said, “You don’t need to care about what Xia Que said… What you did was right.”

“Ha…” Li gave a wry smile. “Now I understand how those in power feel. This really is a thankless and exhausting task…”

Back in school, Li always heard her deskmate, who was a class officer, complaining incessantly about how being a class officer always offended people and was thankless and exhausting. Now Li finally understands how she feels. However, compared to her deskmate, her current position is a much higher one, so in terms of mental exhaustion, Li is probably more tired.

Li, of course, didn't take Xia Que's words to heart, because she had already done what she needed to do, and all that was left was to send Xia Que back to Earth.

Next, she will have to go back first.

Because now there is someone in the family who took away—no, that was originally his—the person who retrieved the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow, namely Zhou Dong, who is now in Li and Ning's house. He was supposed to have died in the battle in the maze, but yesterday he suddenly appeared at the place where the two sides were fighting. Moreover, the Zhou Dong that Li's demonic eye saw was no longer the living dead person from before, and his appearance had also changed.

Compared to the previous Zhou Dong, his body now felt much more solid. A strange light flowed beneath his golden eyes, and some of the wounds on his body had disappeared, except for the X-shaped scar that covered his chest. How to put it? It was more like a symbol of Zhou Dong, but more importantly, it meant that he was right here.

When Li returned home, he saw Ning and Zhou Tai sitting face to face on the sofa.

"Long time no see." Zhou Tai gave a stiff smile.

For a man like Zhou Tai to be able to make such an expression is truly rare and commendable. After nodding to him, Li sat down next to Ning.

"Hmm...it's been a long time..." Li's feelings were a little complicated, but she was actually very happy. "I thought I would never see those people from back then again..."

“…Is that so…” Zhou Dong’s gaze drifted away for a moment, “The Dragon King is gone too…It feels like everything has changed since I came back.”

“Yes, it’s been almost a year since then,” Ning explained. “A lot has happened in that time, too much to tell you in a short time. But I want to know, Zhou Dong, how did you survive?”

"Me...?" Zhou Dong pondered for a moment, then said, "I believe it was that tree that summoned me back. As the guardian of the tree, my duty is to protect it forever. Perhaps that's why I cannot die again. Compared to last time, I'm in much better shape this time, probably because I spent a lot of time reflecting on what I truly am..."

"Hmm..." Li smiled wryly, "This time it's not just a little bit better than last time... The last time I saw you, you were a living dead, now you're a Heroic Spirit."

"Heroic spirits?" Zhou Dong didn't quite understand what was being said.

"Hmm... how should I put it..." After thinking for a moment, she explained, "Simply put, it's like a hero or great figure who was incredibly influential in their past life has been resurrected as a deity..."

Considering the era in which Zhou Dong was born, Li used a more down-to-earth approach to make him understand.

"While it's not that I can't understand," Zhou Dong said modestly, "I'm certainly not as good as a deity."

No, no, no, you're too modest. Even if you and the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow were together, probably no one here could beat you...

These thoughts were not spoken aloud. Complaining is fine, but the current situation is not suitable for complaining.

"Sister Li! Sister Ning! I'm here!"

Xiao rushed back from elsewhere. Yesterday, she had gone out to hunt monsters for some business. After receiving the call from the two of them through the earpiece, she hurriedly returned. She opened the door abruptly and was stunned when she saw Zhou Dong turning around to look at her.

At first, Xiao's expression turned dumbfounded. Then, she tilted her head in confusion, and Zhou Dong followed suit, tilting his head in a daze. Seeing their interaction, the two of them were both amused and exasperated.

"Hey?" Xiao asked, "Is that person Zhou Dong?"

“Hmm…” Li said with a wry smile, “Although the name wasn’t actually said correctly, he is Zhou Dong, that’s for sure.”

After asking Li, Xiao looked at Zhou Dong, and the two blinked at the same time.

"Are you really Zhou Dong?" Xiao asked naively.

“Hmm…” Zhou Dong hesitated for a moment, then said, “I think Zhou Dong is referring to me.”

At that moment, Xiao's expression turned to ecstatic joy. She rushed towards Zhou Dong with a radiant smile. Zhou Dong, at a loss for words, hugged her. At first, he seemed a little bewildered, but after a while, he happily patted Xiao's head. The scene looked just like a daughter reuniting with her father who had returned from a business trip.

However, it brought a touch of warmth to both Li and Ning's hearts.

After Xiao had hugged him enough, she knew to get off him and sit next to Zhou Dong.

"Hey? Zhou Dong," Xiao asked, "where have you been all this time?"

"I don't know," Zhou Dong said honestly. "I just felt like I had a very long dream, and then I kept searching for who I am."

"Oh, is that so!" Xiao then asked, "Zhou Dong, when did you get back?"

"Yesterday, I think."

"Sob... Xiao went out yesterday... I couldn't welcome you home..."

"It's alright, I'm happy to see you again."

"Stop, stop, stop, let's talk about these things after dinner."

Li felt that if Xiao and Zhou Dong continued talking, they might talk all day long, so she quickly interrupted them. There would be plenty of time to talk to Zhou Dong about these things later. She understood Xiao's feelings and wanted to share with Zhou Dong the stories they had experienced while he was away, but now was not the time.

"Oh well."

Xiao obediently stopped talking, and Zhou Dong also sensed that Li and Ning had something they wanted to tell him, so he fell silent.

"In short, Zhou Dong," Li said with a smile, opening his arms wide, "welcome home."

"Welcome home!"

The three sisters tacitly welcomed Zhou Dong.

Yes, Zhou Dong is back, which is something to celebrate for them. In short, welcome home.

"Yes." Zhou Dong nodded. "I'm back."

"I'm sorry, this is all I can do for you right now," Li said apologetically. "I really didn't expect you to come back so suddenly, Zhou Dong, so I didn't prepare anything..."

“It’s alright,” Zhou Dong said. “I’ll just stay under that tree. There’s no need for them to do anything special to welcome me.”

"I'm so sorry..." Rin really didn't have time to make any more preparations.

"Speaking of which," Zhou Dong asked, "after I woke up, I found you fighting with that girl. What happened?"

"Hmm... more or less..." Li shrugged. "But that's about it. Everything that needed to be resolved has been resolved. Ah... I almost forgot... we're leaving here temporarily tomorrow to go somewhere else..."

"Are you going on a long trip?" Zhou Dong asked.

“Well,” Li said somewhat embarrassedly, “we have to go. We have to send back the people who don’t belong to this world, and we also have some things to do.”

"I see." Zhou Dong nodded. "I understand. You're planning to send that girl back, right?"

"Zhou Dong, are you aware of this?" Ning asked, somewhat surprised.

"I know a little about it," Zhou Dong said. "Before you came to the maze, Lady Reilfa had been discussing this with me every day. Moreover, I could also sense that the girl's aura did not belong to this world."

"Hey..." Li sighed, "You seem to have become somewhat unrecognizable..."

"Really?" Zhou Dong tilted his head.

Perhaps it's because Zhou Dong's abilities were greatly enhanced after becoming a Heroic Spirit that he seems different in some ways. However, Zhou Dong is still Zhou Dong; this somewhat stubborn man from the late Eastern Han Dynasty is unlikely to change much in the future.

"I'm sorry, I'm leaving you out of the house as soon as you get back," Li said apologetically. "The three of us are going on a long trip tomorrow, so there'll be no one home right now... But don't worry, I'll find someone to come and take care of you."

“It’s alright,” Zhou Dong waved his hand. “I can take this opportunity to familiarize myself with the maze and the current state of this world. This must be your home, right? I’ll protect it while you three are away.”

Among the people they knew, none of the three sisters believed there was anyone stronger than Zhou Dong. They couldn't quite put their finger on how strong Zhou Dong was, but as the original master of the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow, coupled with his formidable combat power, dealing with the Demon King Xuan Ze would probably be a piece of cake. At this moment, Li thought of a word to describe Zhou Dong.

That's the ceiling of combat power in this game.

Many RPG games feature a character stronger than the protagonist, often referred to as the game's power ceiling—the strongest character in the game, someone who is unlikely to be stronger. Of course, this only happens if the author doesn't write haphazardly or arbitrarily.

Zhou Dong was such a powerful figure in the hearts of the three sisters. It would be perfect to have him help look after the house; there was no more reliable man than him. Even when they were away from the Little Garden, Zhou Dong would help them with anything that happened, so they shouldn't have to worry about any problems they couldn't solve.

After that, the four of them chatted. The three sisters told Zhou Dong all about what had happened in the world while he was away. Zhou Dong listened patiently to their explanations. During this time, the world underwent earth-shattering changes, which made Zhou Dong very amazed. So much had happened in just a short period of time.

At the same time, he was also amazed that the three children who needed their protection when they first arrived at the maze had now grown into capable adults and had learned many things he didn't know. This was truly a very gratifying thing.

As night fell, the day of returning to Earth drew near.

Chapter 15 Departure

The only people who knew about the three sisters' upcoming trip were the core members of the alliance, and the location for this trip was near the Li family's residence. That morning, while the three sisters were still making preparations, acquaintances and friends had already arrived to see them off.

"Hmm... your outfits are quite unusual."

After seeing the three sisters dressed in novel outfits at home, Negi had this thought.

“These are clothes from that world,” Li explained. “There should still be quite a few piled up in the warehouse, although most of them have been turned back into fabric. When we go there, we should do as the Romans do, otherwise we’ll be seen as weirdos if we dress like this world.”

"Um..." Chu Chu said timidly, "I think it looks pretty good like this..."

The three sisters are currently wearing clothes from Earth. They can't very well go to the other side wearing clothes from this world, can they? Although they might be mistaken for cosplayers, being stared at by all sorts of people would still be uncomfortable. Besides, Rin wants to keep a low profile. For this reason, Ning specially made three bracelets that can slightly alter one's appearance when worn, to accommodate Rin, who has dragon horns, and Akatsuki, who has fox ears.

Of course, thanks to the bracelets, their hair color also changed to the same black as Xia Que and Xuan Ze, so they wouldn't attract attention with their brightly colored hair. Similarly, Xia Que and Xuan Ze also changed into Earth clothes. Xia Que wore the school uniform she wore when she came to this world, while Xuan Ze still wore his old black coat, which seemed to be something he brought from Earth.

Xia Que still didn't look directly at Li, her gaze wandering elsewhere. Li didn't seem to care, continuing to focus on her preparations.

"Li, have you brought enough clothes?" Fino asked worriedly. "There aren't many clothes in that world, are there? It must be a hassle to choose. Do you want to bring some clothes from here as well?"

“Sister Finoer, you’re worrying too much…” Ning explained, “Even if we get there, we’ll still be able to use the power of this world, so Li will still be using the Dragon King’s authority there. That’s why we don’t carry our luggage with us. You don’t need to worry so much…”

"Eh...is that so..." Finoer still seemed a little uneasy.

“I think that’s enough,” Salid nodded in agreement. “Sister Finoir is worrying too much.”

“Although it won’t be long, I still hope you can come back soon,” Alice said. “After all, the harvest festival is approaching, and it won’t be very interesting if you don’t come back in time to take charge. It’ll just be me and Sevi.”

“Hey,” Savi complained, “Just say what you want to say, don’t drag me into it all of a sudden. Besides, am I that bored?”

“Hehe, that’s not what I meant. You just misunderstood.” Alice explained with a smile. “Of course, a celebration like this is more fun with lots of people. I remember the Duchy had similar celebrations a long time ago. You should know this kind of thing best.”

"Hmm...that's true." Saiwei couldn't come up with a rebuttal.

"Li, remember to bring back lots of books when you get there."

"If you see anything that's profitable, remember to bring it back to me. Things aren't like they used to be; we need to stock up on money."

Friends came up one by one to say goodbye to the three of them. The week-long trip hadn't been very long, but they would still feel a little lonely after leaving their friends. Ning checked the time, nudged Li's hand, and reminded her that it was getting late.

"I'm sorry," Li apologized to everyone, "it's getting late, and we need to send the Demon King and the Hero back before night falls in that world, so we have to set off."

Li looked at Xia Ling and said, "We're entrusting Zhou Dong to you. Please take care of him while we're away."

"Please rest assured and leave it to me." Xia Ling smiled confidently, indicating that there was no problem.

Zhou Dong shrugged, not reacting much. He simply walked forward silently and stood in front of the three of them. Li was too nervous to speak. She didn't know what Zhou Dong was planning to do, but facing this older brother-like man, she instinctively straightened up, waiting for him to speak.

"Leave it to me," Zhou Dong reached out and patted their heads. "I will protect this home well. The most important thing is to have fun."

"..."

The three looked at each other, then nodded to Zhou Dong and said in unison.

"Ok!"

Since even Zhou Dong had said so, the three of them would be letting him down if they didn't have a good time. Having said what needed to be said, Li also began preparing to travel through time. The three of them walked to Xuanze and Xia Que's side, ready to depart at any moment.

"Heh, are you finally done talking?" Xuanze snorted coldly.

"What?" Ning teased him, "Envious that we have people seeing us off?"

"No need, and there's no need for that," Xuanze said haughtily. "It's not the kind of journey where you never return, and it's only been a week. Is it really necessary to make such a fuss?"

Ning seemed to be in a good mood today. If it were any other time, she would probably have retorted to Xuanze, but this time she only teased him a couple of times. This rare interaction meant that Ning's mood had changed and was leaning towards a certain emotion.

"Good morning," Li greeted Xia Que. "You're going back to Earth today. Is there anything else you need to do?"

"That's all. Let's go back now."

Xia Que's emotionless reply was somewhat worrying. Li was concerned that she might do something foolish while being teleported there, so he gave Xiao a look, signaling her to keep an eye on Xia Que's movements to prevent her from doing anything irreversible.

After making the final preparations, Li stepped forward and activated her power using her own magic as a medium. Silver magical light formed the emblem of the Time-Space Dragon King, and the patterns in the center of the emblem began to transform into a vortex of magical power, drawing away the magical power from Li's body, as if opening a passage. In the end, the emblem transformed into a portal leading to the vast starry sky.

But this was only the beginning. The journey to Earth wasn't complete; it was merely the opening of a gateway to other worlds. Silver magic formed a path to Earth. Observing her own magic power, which was still plentiful, she quickened her pace, hoping to connect to Earth as soon as possible. Just as her magic power was about to run out, the portal connection was complete.

The vast starry sky vanished, replaced by the scenery of another world. The appearance of this scene immediately caused a stir among the crowd, as this was the first time they had ever seen the sight of another world. However, no matter how curious they were, Li could not possibly take them there.

"It's time to go."

After giving a greeting, Li took the lead and walked through the portal. Xuanze followed closely behind. After the two of them passed through the portal, Xia Que also entered the portal accompanied by Ning and Xiao.

At first, a soft silver light filled their entire field of vision. When all the silver light disappeared, what appeared before them was the familiar sun and towering reinforced concrete buildings. Ah... that's right... they had returned to Earth.

"...You're back..."

The summer sparrow, which had been listless, regained some color in its eyes after seeing this familiar scene.

"...Still the same as always..." Even Xuanze sighed, "The atmosphere is so stifling..."

This world was very familiar to the three of them, including Rie, and they would not feel any discomfort even after returning from that world. Therefore, Rie looked at Akira and Ning with concern.