This is not the date I wanted.

"And, my fellow man, is this what you are hunting? You have a good eye."

"Awesome. I kind of want to take it home."

"Wow, now that I've been rescued from the cage by the prince, my favorability must have been perfectly increased! You're really good at this, Meng Yue-chan~"

"Yoshino... please give me your guidance."

“Eh hey hey!?

As if he were a rare rag doll, Shiori, who was curiously watched by Yakuya and the others, let out a confused cry.

"Hey, hey~ Introduce yourself and escape later. Let's talk later, the trouble is not over yet."

Pulling Shizhi away from these curious babies, Mengyue reminded.

"There are only five of them, but we have thousands of people. What are you afraid of? As long as you bring back Orihime and capture these thieves, in addition to the reward on the wanted order, I will add an extra 500 taels of gold..."

Pong——!

Suddenly, a cannon shot out from an unnoticed corner. The city lord, who was shouting "?" just now, fell to the ground without a sound.

"Father!?" Shiori shouted with a pale face.

"Oya Oya~ Don't be so panic. It's just a normal tranquilizer bullet. After all, if I let him yell like that, I'll be in a lot of trouble."

Gently blowing out the smoke from the cannon, Tokisaki Kurumi came out of the darkness with a dangerous smile on her lips.

"Blood White Ze——Kuang San!?"

"Before joining the Thieves' Group, he was the one who killed thousands of people?!!"

"The city lord has been dealt with? Then do we continue to fight?"

"I don't want to fight those monsters. If you want to fight, you go first."

Now without a leader, the soldiers and guards were completely scattered. If the City Lord Kuang San had issued a bounty order, the soldiers would have rushed forward under the temptation of money. It must be said that Kuang San's move was very timely.

If at the beginning there was only a 70% chance of escape, now it is 99%.

"Kuang San, I'll leave this to you guys first."

"Well, please don't worry. Mengyue-san and Miss Orihime can leave in gratitude. Hmm~ It looks quite delicious. Mengyue-san, please introduce it to me later~."

Kurumi licked her lips obsessively, causing Shiori to turn pale.

"Okay~"

Meng Yue reached out and touched Shizhi's head, and answered helplessly.

……

"Are those the companions of Lord Meng Yue?"

"Well, although their personalities are somewhat strange, they are generally good people. Please forgive me if Shiori-chan is frightened."

"No, I think they are all very unique people. Master Meng Yue is really lucky to have such a great partner."

"Well...if I have to say it, it's more like bad fate."

Arriving at the gate of Tiangong City, the scene here was different from the almost massacre at Yejushi's side. The guards at the city gate looked as if they had eaten something unclean. They looked dazed, as if they had been brainwashed.

Meng Yue couldn't help but smile bitterly when she saw this scene. Sure enough, this guy came too.

"Husband~I miss you so much!"

"Miku..."

"Master Mengyue, you and that partner are husband and wife..."

After dodging Miku who rushed towards him while calling him a sweet name, Mengyue felt the fanatical gaze of Shizhi behind him. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly.

"Shiori, let me introduce you to one of my friends, Yuiya Miku. By the way..."

"Oh, what's wrong with this kid?! She's so cute! It's decided~ From now on you are my wife~"

"Hey!?"

"He's popular with both men and women..."

Mengyue pulled away Miku who was about to pounce on Shiori and explained calmly.

"what……"

Shiori laughed awkwardly.

"Really... Mengyue, you are really messing around."

A sigh of helplessness came from above the city wall. Meng Yue looked up and saw Qin Li, holding a giant axe and a candied haws in her mouth, jumping down from the lookout on the city wall.

"Captain Kotori. I am so touched that you led everyone to a place like this just for me (wipes tears)"

"Stop flattering me!" Kotori rolled her eyes in annoyance, shook the note in her hand and complained.

"'I have decided to go to Tiangong Castle at X time on X day of X year to abduct a princess. In order to be a hero and save the beauty and use the suspension bridge effect to win her heart, I decided to hide this matter and go there secretly... I am not leaving alone because I am worried that you will be a burden, so don't come!' What the hell is this message that gives us goosebumps and bends around and asks us to 'come over and help quickly'!?"

"I have always believed that you, the leader, will understand the deep meaning of this sentence."

Meng Yue gave a thumbs up and said.

"What on earth do you think of me!"

Kotori sighed silently, glanced at Shiori who was a little shy, and said.

"In short, we have already controlled the city gate. Miku, I and Tohka will reunite with them before we retreat. Mengyue, you guys should leave first. After all, as long as we can successfully escape with Orihime, this battle will undoubtedly be our victory."

"I see... No. Before that, there's one more thing to solve."

Meng Yue shook her head and pointed at Yuanyi Origami who was following closely behind her and said.

"Wow~ This cool guy is also very handsome."

"What a surprise! Aren't there some pretty powerful people in this city?"

"The mermaid princess - Yui Miku, and the phoenix - Itsuka Kotori..."

Origami glanced at the two of them calmly and then ignored them. Instead, she looked at Shiori behind Mengyue and asked seriously.

"Your Highness, Orihime, let me confirm one last time. Are you really not planning to return to Amagu Castle?"

Shiori shook his head slowly but firmly.

"My dear servant Yuanyi, I no longer wish to return to that small bird cage."

"Is that so? I am the lord's warrior and the princess's bodyguard, so I cannot go against Lady Orihime's sincere wish."

Origami exhaled softly, drew her katana, and pointed the blade directly at Mengyue.

"Husband!?"

"Meng Yue!?"

"Wait, don't rush to be on guard, this guy has no intention of killing. Tobiichi Origami, say what you want to say."

With a wry smile, Miku and Kotori retracted their looks of starting a fight, and Meng Yue looked at Origami.

When escaping from the castle in the smoke, Origami, as a samurai, should have gone to protect her lord even if she knew it was a trap. However, the other party chose to attack her who took Shiori away without hesitation, and Meng Yue saw many problems from this.

Tobiichi Origami may be her enemy, but she will not be Gokawa Shiori's enemy.

Origami looked directly into Mengyue's eyes with a serious look.

"If, Lady Orihime, gets into trouble outside, I will kill you without hesitation."

"What a terrible threat~ Don't worry, I'm afraid of death, so that day will not come."

"...I hope you remember what you said."

Origami silently sheathed the blade and turned back.

"You actually left the city lord who was shot aside and chased him just to say a few words. You are really unqualified as a samurai."

Meng Yue looked at Origami walking away and sighed speechlessly.

"Then congratulations, Orihime-sama... no, Gokawa Shiori. You are no longer a trapped bird in a cage."

After hearing Mengyue's words, Shiori came back to his senses. Now, he was no longer the star-studded Orihime, but an ordinary girl - Gokawa Shiori.

"Hey, um, um, Master Meng Yue! From now on, should I be happy?!"

"Of course ~ my lovely Shiori-chan."

Admiring Shiori who was blushing because of her words, Mengyue chuckled and slowly stretched out her hand.

"As agreed, are you willing to travel the outside world with me?"

"You're still asking this kind of question at this point. Master Meng Yue really has a bad taste."

Under the fluorescent light of the moon, Shiori's pretty face showed a dreamy and touching smile.

Perhaps, I will experience unbelievable hardships in the castle and encounter many sorrows that I have never seen before.

However, you will also encounter many happy things, many wonderful experiences that you have never had before, and you will be able to start to get to know new people and make many interesting friends like Mengyue’s friends.

Compared to that small and unchanging prison, isn't this cruel yet beautiful world more desirable?

Maybe, I can't fly in the sky with my own wings, but as long as I have him, this person's company!

Shiori held that person's hand tightly.

"My name is Gokawa Shiori. I am not very talented, so please give me some guidance, Master Mengyue."

Sure - no problem.

————————————————————————————————————————I am the dividing line between unreality and reality——————————————————

"I am just a delicate bird in a cage. I cannot fly into the blue sky, but I still want to be in the outside world. Am I being greedy?"

……

"This Lord Mengyue is not some annoying fly. He is my only and most precious friend."

……

"Because, Master Mengyue said that he didn't save me for my sake, but came here simply because he wanted me. So even if he failed the first time, Master Mengyue would come back for the second and third time. I believe that even with my father's tolerance, he would not forgive Master Mengyue."

……

"I will not go back! I want to escape from this birdcage and go see the mountains and rivers of this world with my favorite friend!"

……

Looking at the two yin and yang moon singing passionately on the street, as if they were performing an opera, the others looked at each other and gathered to discuss quietly.

"Honey has been like this since school, what on earth are you talking about?"

"...Judging from the content alone, it should be a story about a handsome and dashing samurai who rescues a beautiful princess who was captured by a thief with bad intentions and then flees."

“Eh——I feel like there’s a difference between Origami-san’s description and Honey’s lines…”

"Oh~, it sounds very interesting. I feel my curiosity is rising. I really want to ask Mengyue to tell us about it after I go back~"

"I am...very curious too!"

"Meng Yue looked very happy... Come to think of it, I felt like I had a strange dream today. I felt like I was waving the Aoshagong and fighting with a group of people wearing clothes from a long time ago... Hmm! Today's soybean flour bread is so delicious~"

"Kuku - my family, you have already felt the invisible apocalypse together with me through the contract."

"Additional. It seems that Xixian also had a similar dream."

"Oh my god, it seems I'm not the only one who feels this way.

"Well. Let's not talk about what I dreamed about. Compared to this, I am more curious about who the person who keeps calling herself 'concubine' is, don't you think? Shidao~"

Seeing Kotori's meaningful and smiling eyes, Shidou, sweating all over, raised his head and laughed dryly.

"Ahahahaha, concubine...I, I'm not sure!"

At this moment, Meng Yue didn't care about the curious gazes of passers-by around her, and was completely immersed in her own world. It was as if she was a believer chanting the Bible, singing a sacred song...

"That's really too much, Lady Mengyue. I had already decided to give up. But you still showed up all of a sudden and stole everything from me so suddenly and unreasonably... Really, you're too cunning."

——I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you!

"Perhaps, I can't fly in this sky with my own wings. But as long as I have him, this person's company!"

—I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you!

"My name is Gokawa Shiori. I am not very talented, so please give me some guidance, Master Mengyue."