Zongman, start your journey to godhood by saving the heroine of anime

Sensing the seriousness in Bai Ye's tone, Avril's expression instantly froze on her face.

"Um...Bai Ye, you're not telling the truth..."

Before the girl could ask clearly, Victorique suddenly spoke up, breaking the strange atmosphere between the two.

"We've reached the Sultanate, where you wanted to buy souvenirs. Let's hurry in!"

Upon hearing Victorique's call, Avril, who was about to ask a question, suddenly stopped talking.

He looked at the luxurious department store in front of him.

Then, he once again revealed that lively expression, and the stiff smile on his face became lively again.

"Okay, let's go in quickly!"

The girl ran to Victorique's side and followed the two women into the mall.

“Victoria, let me tell you, girls shouldn’t wear the same style of gothic dress every day…”

Watching the two girls walk into the mall together from behind, Bai Ye smiled and followed them inside.

Author's Note: The following shop scene will involve Rozen Maiden items. After the shop scene, the story will move on to the Dantalian bookshelf mentioned in the title of this volume. After taking Dantalian away, Shinobu, whom everyone has been eagerly anticipating, will finally appear. However, I've seen some readers commenting that they want to see other characters from the Monogatari series. But I've already written a prequel for Shinobu, so I'd like to ask for everyone's opinions here. I wonder if everyone would be able to accept it if I were to put other characters into a crossover anime world later on.

Chapter 56 Human Traffickers? They've got me tied up! (Bonus Chapter 1 for the Bounty)

Sudan is home to the most famous department store in Suvarnabhumi, the capital of Suvarnabhumi.

Its interior is modern in style, with a multi-level structure similar to a modern shopping mall. The overall layout is predominantly white, and the area is very spacious.

Each floor houses dozens of shops arranged around the mall, selling everything from luxury jewelry to toys and clothing. Further inside, there are dedicated boutiques separated by glass doors.

Apart from the fact that there are only stairs and elevators for going up and down, and no escalators that Bai Ye was familiar with, everything else is basically no different from a modern department store.

"These three guests, is there anything you need?"

Not long after Bai Ye and Victorique entered the room, a blond male waiter approached them politely and asked them questions.

"I want to buy some clothes, and also, Blue Rose!"

Avril, who was walking at the front, spoke first.

Upon hearing this, the waiter responded politely.

"Um, for the clothing section, please take the elevator up from this direction. The fourth floor is where we sell clothes."

As for the blue rose...

The waiter suddenly gave a meaningful smile.

"The Blue Rose is on the top floor of the store; you can take the elevator up there. Do you have any further questions?"

"there is none left!"

After finding out where the shopping area was, Avril happily led Bai Ye and the other person to take the elevator upstairs as instructed.

About ten seconds passed.

With a "ding," the elevator doors slowly opened, and Bai Ye and his two companions arrived at the top floor of the mall.

Indeed, between the clothes and the replica of the Blue Rose, a national treasure of Souval, Avril Lavigne ultimately chose to go to the rooftop first and buy the Blue Rose paperweight.

He led the two women out of the elevator, where a long corridor stretched out before them. Unlike the bustling crowds on the first floor, the top floor was completely deserted.

Bai Ye released his five senses and sensed for a moment, then immediately frowned, as if he had discovered something. He led the two women to the end of the corridor.

At the end of the room was a half-open door. Pushing it open, it seemed to lead to a boutique room with a black and white checkered floor, gray-brown walls, and a magnificent crystal chandelier.

However, what Bai Ye should pay attention to is a rose-like gem that emits a faint blue light and is placed in a glass case in the center of the room.

Of course, Bai Ye wasn't after the beauty of the gemstone. The reason Bai Ye cared about it was simply because he sensed a faint energy fluctuation emanating from the rose gemstone.

This does not appear to be a replica of the blue rose that Avril Lavigne described.

This must be the country's national treasure, the genuine Blue Rose! Bai Ye immediately made this conclusion.

However, even if it is a national treasure of this country, it should not have such energy fluctuations!

"This should be a Philosopher's Stone!"

At the crucial moment, it was Xiao Sheng, Bai Ye's constant companion and grandfather, who came out to answer Bai Ye's questions.

"Philosopher's Stone?"

Bai Ye recalled that among the strange tales of this country, there seemed to be a story about an alchemist, I think his name was something like Leviathan!

Bai Ye still remembers that part of the story. The real identity of Leviathan seems to be that he was just a black man who was bought and sold by a European nobleman. He stole a large cart of gold from his master by pretending to be dead.

Then, wearing a mask and carrying gold, he arrived in the country pretending to be an alchemist, and apparently even slept with the country's queen.

In the end, if the queen hadn't given birth to a dark-skinned child, the king wouldn't have known he was being falsely accused.

Back to the topic.

If that alchemist was a fraud, then where did this Philosopher's Stone called the Blue Rose come from?

Bai Ye was somewhat puzzled.

"Who knows!"

Xiao Sheng also failed to deduce any conclusions from the plot Bai Ye had seen.

"never mind!"

Reaching into the display case, Bai Ye took the blue rose into his hand. After examining it for a moment to confirm its authenticity, and sensing the unique, almost life-like energy within the sapphire, Bai Ye suddenly had the urge to take it with him.

Just as Bai Ye had this thought, the door behind him was pushed open again.

"Who is it? Over there!"

A loud, resounding voice suddenly came from the doorway.

Bai Ye turned her head and saw a strong man in an expensive suit, accompanied by a blonde mature woman who looked like a secretary.

It seems that he first saw the two women, Victorique and Victorique, turning their heads in front of the display case, and then he saw the blue rose in Bai Ye's hand.

The man's eyes lit up, but his brows furrowed slightly at the same time.

"What are you doing here! Don't you know this is a private area where entry is prohibited?"

Avril was still somewhat confused when she heard the man's angry rebuke.

Isn't this the place where the waiter pointed me to sell Blue Rose paperweights? How did it become a private area?

However, seeing that the other person was tall, strong, and arrogant, the girl decided to back down first and prepared to go forward and explain.

However, as if he had noticed the girl's actions, Bai Ye was the first to pull her back.

Because of her recollection of the Blue Rose, the national treasure of Suvar, Bai Ye seemed to recall the plot related to this shopping mall.

In the original story, the Soval national treasure, the Blue Rose, was stolen by the person behind the scenes of this shopping mall.

Furthermore, it seems that the basement of this shopping mall is the headquarters of an organization that traffics young girls.

Recalling the original story, Bai Ye immediately had the idea of ​​double-crossing the villain.

Moreover, there is really no need for such illegal organizations that traffic in girls to continue existing.

Upon realizing this, Bai Ye immediately adopted an arrogant tone.

"I came here specifically because I had my eye on this blue rose on your rooftop, so what?"

The burly man's eyes narrowed upon hearing this, seemingly surprised that his rebuke would elicit such a response.

However, upon further reflection, he noticed Bai Ye's confident and fearless attitude and carefully examined Bai Ye's black-haired, black-eyed, Eastern face.

Seemingly understanding something, he instantly relaxed his furrowed brow and tentatively began to speak.

"I wonder which big boss is behind you, wanting to buy this gem that's the most prized possession of my shop?"

As he spoke, the burly man subtly winked at his secretary beside him. The secretary understood and slowly walked out of the exhibition hall.

Seeing this, Bai Ye didn't make any move, but just smiled slightly and replied to the big man in a teasing tone.

“I don’t have any big boss behind me; the only one who wants this gem is myself.”

It seemed that he had discerned from Bai Ye's words that the other party had no intention of making a deal with him.

The burly man frowned again, and his tone became somewhat impolite.

"So, what price are you willing to pay for this blue rose in our shop?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Ye's tone became even more playful.

"How about the price: the lives of your entire family?"

"Do it!"

The moment Bai Ye uttered those words, the burly man simply took a sudden step back and rolled away, disappearing outside the room.

Then, the next moment, a dozen or so dark-skinned figures dressed in suits and carrying guns suddenly rushed into the entrance of the exhibition hall.

Judging from his actions, it seemed as if he was afraid that Bai Ye was hiding a weapon and wanted to coerce him.

The sudden turn of events startled Avril, who was still somewhat confused. She didn't know how things had inexplicably turned into a situation where the three of them were being held at gunpoint by a group of men in black suits.

Victorica, who had gone through thick and thin with Bai Ye, showed no sign of panic at this moment.

The girl, seemingly aware that Bai Ye was about to unleash another massacre, calmly took out her small pipe, lit it silently, and stood behind, observing coldly.

"Kid, I don't know whether you were sent by the Suvar government or some country in the east, but now that you've come to my territory, don't even think about leaving unscathed."

Seeing the burly man in the suit who initially hid behind a group of his men before daring to utter threats, Bai Ye couldn't help but sigh.

No wonder he's a ruthless person who can steal national treasures from the capital of a country; he's so cautious even when facing a mere teenager.

Unfortunately, with Bai Ye, the Holy Son, in front of you, no amount of caution will help.

Then the burly man in front spoke again.

"There's a black market auction coming up soon between powerful figures from various countries, and we're running low on the merchandise we've been capturing lately. The two girls you brought happen to fit the bill perfectly!"

As he spoke, the burly man gave orders to his men with a smug look in his eyes.

"Don't hurt the two girls next to the boy."

Upon hearing the burly man in the suit say such a thing, Avril, who had been somewhat flustered, suddenly realized something.

"Could it be that the girls who disappeared in Suvalen, as rumored, were all......"

"That's right, they were all kidnapped by us and sold to powerful figures in various countries to be their playthings!"

The burly man picked up where Avril left off, and then revealed a lewd expression.

"You will be no exception; you will become one of the products we will be selling later."

Hearing the burly man's words, Avril's eyes flashed with regret. She shouldn't have come all the way to Suvalen just to buy some souvenirs. If only she had taken Bai Ye back to her hometown yesterday!

Clearly, although the girl knew that Bai Ye was exceptionally strong, she still didn't think that her personal strength could be of any use when facing more than a dozen armed men.

The girl could only raise her arms to shield Bai Ye, seemingly knowing that she was the commodity the burly men were talking about and that they probably wouldn't shoot her.

In this way, they could give Bai Ye a chance to escape.

but

Bai Ye was unwilling to accept the girl's sacrifice in order to protect him.

"After all, what kind of image does a grown man have hiding behind a girl? Right? Look at that uncle hiding behind a group of people over there."

The burly man was taken aback upon hearing this, not understanding why Bai Ye showed no fear even at this point.

Then Bai Ye reached out and pulled Avril into his arms.

Although he was unwilling to accept the girl's protection, Bai Ye still appreciated her feelings.

Seeing Bai Ye flirting with girls right in front of her, Victorica behind her pursed her lips slightly and muttered to herself, feeling a little jealous.

"That was my old spot..."

Regardless of how jealous Victorica was, everyone only heard Bai Ye speak again.

"Hey! Uncle, have you seen the latest newspaper from Suvar these past two days?"