"Too slow!"
When Rozen appeared here, accompanied by a childish yet imposing voice, a mysterious impact hit his head.
"Bang!"
With a dull sound, Rozen's head was fiercely struck.
"Ouch!"
Rozen immediately retreated, holding his head.
In front of him, a petite girl in a dress snorted lightly.
"Leaving me alone in such a deserted place for so long, do you think you're something just because you defeated the Third Primogenitor?"
Saying so, the girl reached out with a small hand, as if to grab Rozen's ear.
"N-no! It's just that Nagisa, Yukina, Avrora, Kanon, and Asagi kept talking to me the whole time! I couldn't find a suitable time to leave!"
Rozen quickly dodged the reaching hand, explaining with a pained expression.
Upon closer inspection, it was indeed difficult for a girl to stay alone in such a deserted place, wearing a stuffy dress even with the sea breeze blowing from time to time, especially at night on Itogami Island where it's summer all year round.
"If only you didn't wear such a hot dress!"
Rozen couldn't help but mutter.
"What did you say?"
Natsuki glared at Rozen.
"N-nothing!"
Rozen quickly shook his head, feeling helpless.
Originally, Rozen had prepared himself for a heavy conversation when he came here, but Natsuki was as usual, making Rozen feel relieved yet disappointed.
"(In the end, I still can't lift my head in front of Natsuki-nee.)"
It seemed that in this life, Rozen was destined to be overwhelmed by this sister who had sacrificed so much for him.
Of course, Rozen was sure that the reason Natsuki showed this expression, waiting here for so long, was secondary. The main reason was probably that Rozen came late, and Natsuki had already anticipated it to some extent, so she directly struck him without saying a word.
"Hmph." Natsuki snorted lightly, then sighed, "Forget it, I've kept you waiting for two whole days before giving you an explanation. Let's call it even."
Hearing this, Rozen raised his eyes and looked at Natsuki.
At first glance, Natsuki seemed to be the same as usual, delicate like a doll, flawless, and cute, giving people a feeling of pretending to be an adult. But for Rozen, who had been with Natsuki for a long time, he could feel some slight differences.
It wasn't insight brought by the Mind's Eye, but a feeling accumulated over a long period of time.
Therefore, Rozen could be sure.
"Now, the one who came here is your original body, right?"
Rozen affirmed.
Who else but Natsuki, who had been training her puppet manipulation skills since ten years ago to prevent Rozen from worrying unnecessarily?
As a result, she had reached a unparalleled level in puppet manipulation skills, making it difficult for Rozen's Mind's Eye to discern her intentions?
It was precisely because of Rozen's presence, and because of Rozen's keenness and excellence, that Natsuki had honed herself to this extent.
So Rozen asked this question.
The answer he got was confirmation.
"Don't worry, it's the original body now." Natsuki glanced at Rozen and said confidently, "After all, the prison barrier has been completely submerged in the sea by some ignorant little brat. Even if I can continue to sleep and create dreams, without that shell, the mechanism of the prison barrier is incomplete, so the contract hasn't been executed yet."
If the opportunity to become the key to the prison barrier arrives, Natsuki will be tormented by an irresistible sense of urgency like Tokoyogi Yuuma did ten years ago, and she will have to go and fulfill the contract, right?
Now, with the prison barrier destroyed, and the magic criminals mostly dead, there's no need for the prison barrier to appear.
At least for now.
"The Artificial Island Management Cooperative is already planning to rebuild the prison barrier. They will start working on it stealthily after the Harurouin Festival."
Natsuki tapped the lace fan in her hand and said so.
"I can't let Aya stay outside for too long, otherwise, she might escape at any time."
Natsuki only said such words, without revealing any other emotions.
"The Artificial Island Management Cooperative..."
Rozen squinted.
At this moment...
"Bang!"
The lace fan struck Rozen's head again, making him cry out in pain.
"Don't think about anything complicated." Natsuki stared at Rozen, saying seriously, "The existence of the prison barrier is necessary, and the Artificial Island Management Cooperative still has value to use. As long as I am still the key to the prison barrier, those guys will have to make concessions in various ways, so this position is indispensable for me, or rather for us. You don't want to end up fighting against the Artificial Island Management Cooperative like you did with Astarte, do you?"
Without the current position, Natsuki would have no say as just a mere national attack mage, let alone protect Rozen and the others from various malice.
Therefore, for Natsuki, the current position is necessary.
As Tokoyogi Yuuma said, for Rozen, for the others, Natsuki finally found some meaning in her own destiny.
Since that's the case, Natsuki will naturally follow through.
"I know you have the ability now, to directly defeat the Third Primogenitor, seal the Fourth Primogenitor. I believe the Management Cooperative also dare not offend you. But you need to understand, this is only the case when they cannot afford the cost. If they encounter absolute interests that cannot be compromised, simple violence cannot stop human ambition. You can confront the Management Cooperative, but behind them is the country. Even if you can resist the country, behind the country are the various alliance countries of the Sanctuary Treaty. If you really insist on resisting to the end, it is also possible to end up with you alone against the whole world."
Natsuki said extremely calmly.
"You don't need to be clever, just obedient..."
Before Natsuki could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by Rozen.
"Just obediently leave everything to you, is that what you want to say?"
Rozen said so, and his gaze also directly faced Natsuki.
"Do you think this kind of statement can make me compromise, Natsuki-nee?"
Rozen's expression was as serious as Natsuki's.
This made Natsuki silent involuntarily.
Isn't it just like this?
If it's Natsuki, for Rozen's sake, she definitely wouldn't mind being enemies with the whole world.
So...
"We're siblings, right?"
Rozen smirked.
"Siblings with similar personalities, it's inevitable."
In other words, if Natsuki thought Rozen was joking, she could try.
Rozen and Natsuki stared at each other, their gazes intertwined, standing firm against each other.