I already said this is not a life simulator!

"No~ Even so, I still like them, just like when you look up at night, your eyes will always be attracted by the stars instead of the darkness that occupies the sky... Those beautiful things are like stars, shining and fascinating."

"Well...but if you want to know the real reason, it's probably because they are here."

Xiwang smiled, and smiled very happily.

"Because among humans there are people I like and people I love, so correspondingly... I am also willing to like the people they like and love the people they love."

[Is that so...? ]

It was a little confused, but in the end, it spoke firmly.

[Then I will strive to be like my predecessor one day! Find something that I like about humans! Hmm... For example... Find a human that I like? ]

"Haha, if you want to achieve that, you have to work hard now, okay?"

[Yes... yes...]

The momentum it had finally built up dropped in an instant.

[I am still so ugly now. I guess only my seniors won’t care. And I can’t control my own power well, which only causes trouble to others…]

Its weird head shows a "crying" expression, which may look weird at first glance, but if you look closely... well, it's still weird.

However, combined with its aggrieved tone, you can still feel a hint of cuteness.

"It's okay, I'll help you."

Xiwang stretched out his finger and gently tapped its "head", attracting its attention to himself.

"After all, my [song] exists for this reason~"

Her footsteps moved lightly, carrying her body like dancing; her singing flowed, bringing with it a radiance like a stream.

???~

A gentle melody sounded along with his song, carrying the leaping notes and his blessings to its side.

And it did not resist, but showed an "excited" expression on its face, and then it lay down quietly, accepting his blessing with a feeling of security and comfort.

[Thank you...senior]

When the song ended, it expressed its thanks in a somewhat hazy voice, as if it was still immersed in the previous song, but soon it came to its senses and quickly stood up.

[Thank you, Senior! That… this… this is a thank you gift I found! Please accept it, Senior!]

Bo~

Accompanied by a strange sound, a somewhat strange "ball" slowly appeared on its head, and it seemed that something was preserved inside.

"........."

After hearing the second half of the sentence, Skadi's eyes swept over again, but it didn't care at this time. It just wanted Xiwang to accept it.

"Okay~"

As expected, Xiwang...did not refuse.

Just accept it with pleasure.

"Well, since I received a gift, I should naturally give a gift in return..."

[No need, Senior... um...]

"Shhh - it's not a big deal. And it's not something particularly valuable."

As he spoke, Xi Wang picked up the little doll lying on the ground and gently placed it on its head.

"Okay~ It just happens that you can use this body. Mm, it will look cuter this way~"

【Thanks……】

"Oh, by the way, if you want to meet other people, you'd better give yourself a name, okay?"

[…Can I ask you, Senior? ]

"Okay, let me think about it..."

Xi Wang blinked and tilted his head to the side, as if he was thinking, and his white hair like waves fell down.

"It just so happens that this name was originally intended for it, um... I'll give it to you now."

Xi Wang's gaze stayed on the little doll for a while, then he smiled and spoke softly.

"[Kroy], how is it?"

[Koroi... Yeah! Thank you, senior! ]

It seems that it likes this name very much.

--------

"Um……"

"What's wrong, Mei? If you have any troubles, just tell me directly. I will help you~"

"Aliceia, there is something I have wanted to ask for a long time... After getting to know you better, this doubt has become more obvious."

Mei Raiden, who was resting in the "Utopia", looked at the people in front of her, some of whom were living a peaceful life, some were dazed like zombies, and some had collapsed and fallen into madness... and spoke slowly.

"Please tell me~ Miss Fairy will definitely tell you everything~?"

"Since once you enter the Utopia, you will become stagnant like the painting... then why didn't you walk out of the painting and continue living outside?"

“…Because I can’t do it.”

“…Can’t do it?”

"Mei, any power has a price, even a special product like "Utopia" is no exception."

Alicia said with a sigh.

"The Utopia can indeed make those who enter the painting stagnate, but... just like the painting, time will still leave its mark on it."

"……What's the meaning?"

"Well... to put it simply, the people who come in are indeed stuck, but in reality, their own [time] is still flowing. Once they walk out of the [painting], this [time] will be immediately reflected back to them."

Alicia said slowly.

"For example, if a person spends one day in a 'destination' and then goes out, it probably won't have any effect, but if a person spends ten years in a 'destination' and then goes out, he will be ten years older."

"And if you are in a [picture-in-picture], then this [time] will double."

"This is a problem we failed to test when we first built the Utopia. After entering the Utopia, we didn't expect that it would take so long to repair the Earth's environment. In the end... everyone couldn't leave the Utopia because they would die of old age if they left."

"In the end, only we fusion warriors can bring you some news from the outside world... And Gray has worked hard, and needs to continue painting to expand and enrich the area of ​​​​"Utopia", but even so... some people can't stand this long time."

Alicia sighed.

"I see...I probably understand."

Mei Raiden nodded... She could roughly guess what the three different types of people in front of her, calm, confused, and crazy, were thinking.

Calm people are willing to accept this way of life and are happy to continue living here. They will also take the initiative to find something to do for themselves.

The confused people are simply wandering around. Although they are willing to continue living, they don’t know what to do... After all, everything here is [stagnant] and there are not many changes.

A crazy person...well...needless to say.

But at least there is one good thing here, that is, you can choose to [leave] by yourself... If you really can't bear the life here and can't accept the long time, then you can choose to walk out of the "utopia" and face your own [death].

At least at this point, people here can still choose for themselves.

"But... um... what were Kevin and the others doing in the outside world... for?"

"... On this point, it is the disagreement between us [Yingjie]."

Alicia lowered her eyes and asked softly.

"Meiyi, do you think... Xiwang is dead?"

"...Based on the information I have received so far, he should be dead."

"Yes... He should have left, he should have died... But in the eyes of some people, he has not left, you know? He just lost his form and can't be with us anymore."

"...So that's why you did those things? Made Kevin do those things?"

"That's not the case. The main purpose is to help you, the younger generation, successfully survive the collapse. On this point, we are highly consistent, right?"

Alicia smiled softly.

"After all, everything is for humanity... On this point, we... must not waver."

"........."

Mei Raiden remained silent... She always felt that when Alicia said that, she was very lost, as if she had mentioned something sad.

"Just~?"

But soon, Alicia's tone returned to its usual light tone.

“It’s okay for us to achieve some of our own small goals along the way, right?”

"……Um."

Mei Raiden nodded and said nothing more.

"Sister Mei... Sister Alicia..."

However, at this moment, Grayshu's voice came from the side.

"…What's the matter, Grayshu?"

Alicia looked at the girl who was running towards her, put on a bright smile, and spoke softly.

"Graysh is already a big girl, huh? She's still so flustered... um... But Graysh is also very cute like this~?"

"Brother Xiwang's [painting]...is gone."

"……What did you say?"

Alicia was stunned.

--------

"How sure are you, Mebius, Velvet?"

"Kevin, we can't give you an accurate answer on this point... You know, our research on his [song] is still very superficial."

"And didn't Su tell you? Xi Wang is dead."

"But you don't think so."

"So? You plan on supporting us?"

"........."

"Okay, Kevin, instead of worrying about this, why not think about how to deal with the hidden Herrscher... You know, Little White Mouse said that when they dealt with the Thousand Herrschers, although they did deal with 1000 puppets, they only recovered 999 Cores, so... you understand, right?"

"I know, and I won't let that happen again."

"No, no, no, you don't understand what I mean... With the ability that Herrscher has shown now, if it really wants to hide, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to find it. But... what if we can make it come out on its own?"

"You know, it only has a [core] left that is hidden somewhere. It urgently needs a [body], right? So... I think it would be very interested in a strong enough body."

"Are you planning to..."

"That's right~"

"........."

"I see. Have you told Eden and Sakura about this?"

"We have no problem with that."

"…Sakura? Why are you here?"

"Lin noticed something unusual, so she asked me to tell you... Also, Eden said that his [painting] is missing."

"【画】... and Ling... damn it!"

--------

"Look, my dear, I received a gift from a new Herrscher."