Chapter 684: Kotori's Question

"I'm sorry, Nia. Without the mutual consent of Yui and those children, I will not let you go to Aincrad again. Too many children have already reported to me that they were harassed by you!" Lingyun closed the book in his hand and said to Bentiao Eya.

"How could it be like this..." Hearing Lingyun say this, Bentiao Eya, who was rolling around on the sofa, couldn't help but let out a wail, her whole body collapsing directly onto the sofa.

Watching Bentiao Eya in that state, Itsuka Kotori suddenly remembered a magical animal she had seen on the internet not long ago—a salted fish.

"Bu, but, I really didn't expect that they would actually appear in this world, and they were all such cute children, how could I not be moved!" Bentiao Eya looked at Lingyun with teary eyes. "Besides, as a kind big sister like me, how could those children hate me?"

"They don't hate you? Given your various behaviors before, the fact that those children didn't write a sign at the door saying 'Bentiao Eya and dogs are not allowed inside' is already the greatest tolerance they have for you!" Lingyun rubbed his brow and said.

At the beginning, she was a bit worried about how much of an impact the experiments previously conducted by DEM on Bentiao Eya would have on her mental state. But later, Lingyun found that he had completely underestimated the endurance of this shut-in. Especially when she saw Yui; if Yui hadn't used her special authority in Aincrad to escape directly, she probably would have been hugged and rubbed fiercely in her arms.

It wasn't just Yui; other Cursed Children had more or less encountered the same problem. This shut-in Spirit with a somewhat terrible personality had caused quite a stir in Aincrad during this period.

At the joint request of Yui and the other Cursed Children, Bentiao Eya, whose injuries had nearly healed, was kicked directly out of Aincrad, and now Bentiao Eya was temporarily settled in the Mysterious Shop by Lingyun.

The area of the shop was not very large, but for Lingyun, who had mastered spatial abilities, this was not a problem at all; he simply set up an Array to expand the space inside the shop, and the problem was completely solved.

Seeing Bentiao Eya like this, Lingyun himself let out a soft breath. At the beginning, he was still a bit worried about how much of an impact the cruel experiments previously conducted by the people at DEM on her would have on her. But now it seemed he had underestimated the endurance of this older shut-in, Bentiao Eya.

When Yui appeared in front of her, she simply threw the injuries she had suffered before to the back of her mind, putting all her heart into getting close to Yui. As for the reversal problem that Lingyun and Tokisaki Kurumi were worried about, it seemed to have completely vanished after she met Busujima Saeko and the others.

"Hello, Shido, we meet again." Lingyun smiled and waved at Itsuka Shido.

"Yes, we meet again, Mr. Shopkeeper." After learning that Lingyun was very likely the Swordsman, Itsuka Shido's tone also held a hint of reserve.

"No need to be so reserved here." Lingyun said with a smile. "Please sit, the three of you. By the way, Xia Shi, go and bring over the snacks Asuna made. Ashtarte, I'll leave the black tea to you."

"Understood." Senju Kayo and Ashtarte nodded.

Before long, a plate of snacks and three cups of black tea were placed in front of Itsuka Shido and the others.

Seeing the snacks on the plate, Yatogami Tohka immediately reached out, grabbed one, and put it into her mouth, after which a happy expression appeared on her face.

Watching Yatogami Tohka chewing the snack with a happy look on her face, Itsuka Kotori couldn't help but pick up a piece of snack and put it into her mouth, and then her eyes narrowed as well.

"Mm, delicious."

After finishing the snack in her hand, Itsuka Kotori used great willpower to resist the urge to put another piece into her mouth and turned toward Lingyun.

"Are you the owner of the Mysterious Shop? Then may I ask you a question?"

"You want to ask if I am the Swordsman, right?" Lingyun asked with a smile.

"You, you knew?" Itsuka Kotori was startled in her heart.

"There really aren't many things I don't know!" Lingyun said with a smile. "At the same time, I also know your other identity!"

"Another identity?" Itsuka Shido was stunned, suddenly remembering the name Tokisaki Kurumi had used for his sister earlier—Efreet.

"Could it be?" Itsuka Shido looked at Itsuka Kotori, a hint of disbelief in his eyes.

"You..." Itsuka Kotori's heart trembled.

Afterward, she forced herself to calm down and asked Lingyun: "I want to know, why can the Spirits here all remain in the current world instead of returning to the Boundary? And, except for the person lying on the sofa, I am completely unable to detect a trace of Spirit power from you all?"

"As for this, it's actually not very difficult. After all, as long as a Spirit can control the Spirit power within their body well, they can avoid being repelled by this world. And if one can control the Spirit power within their body well, it is enough to lower one's own Spirit power fluctuations to a level that instruments cannot detect." Lingyun said with a smile.

"Is that so?" Itsuka Kotori nodded. "Then what about Spacequakes? Why do Spirits bring about Spacequakes?"

"Spacequakes? This is actually not difficult either. You should know that every Spirit possesses extremely powerful Spirit power. And once the intensity of the Spirit power emitted from a Spirit reaches a certain level, it will cause the distortion of space, thereby bringing about a Spacequake. But to be honest, this is the first time I've discovered that the space of this world is actually so fragile!" Lingyun said.

"Space is fragile?"

"Yes, the space of this world is simply too fragile. As long as one exerts a little force, the space will show signs of shattering, which is why Spacequakes occur so easily." Lingyun explained.

"So that's how it is?" Itsuka Kotori nodded thoughtfully.

"Besides that, do you have any other questions?" Lingyun asked.

"Yes, that is, why are there so many Spirits in this place?" Itsuka Kotori asked.

"This? It's actually very simple." Lingyun said. "Kurumi and I were together from the start, and Yoshino is my younger sister. As for that salted fish over there, she is someone Kurumi and I brought back from Nilier Island."

"Nilier Island?" Itsuka Kotori's pupils shrank slightly.

"That's right, the place that is now just a pile of ruins." Lingyun said.

"Then what are your plans now?" Itsuka Kotori brought up the topic she cared about most.

"You don't need to worry about us causing destruction or anything in this world; we just want to fulfill a wish of Kurumi's. During this period, as long as those people don't come to provoke me, we naturally won't act recklessly. But if they strike first, then what it will eventually turn into, I don't know either." Lingyun said.

"You mean, DEM?"

"That's right."

"I understand. I will do my best to assist you in this regard." Itsuka Kotori nodded heavily.