"What!?"

Sitting in the garden pavilion at the back of the castle, with half-eaten sweets and several empty glasses in front of her, Shirley picked up a piece of cake with a look of surprise on her face.

She had just received news from her mother.

Soon, a large group of new friends would be arriving.

Attention!

It’s a large group!

Since Shirley’s birth, all the major different races have had their next generations.

According to the previous rules, these descendants need a gathering like this to get to know each other better and strengthen their friendships.

First, it’s important to clarify that Shirley has a slight social anxiety.

Although this may not be apparent on the surface, she feels extremely uncomfortable whenever she interacts with strangers.

Moreover, since her birth, the only person she has had contact with is Karina.

She had no idea what these unknown friends were like or what their personalities were.

What if their personalities don’t match? What if misunderstandings occur? What if they are ugly monsters…

Various terrifying ideas emerged in Shirley’s mind.

No matter how you looked at it, this party didn’t seem worth attending.

However, things weren’t that simple.

It wasn’t just about meeting each other and being done.

At this party, they also had to choose the "older sister" among them.

Originally, Shirley wasn’t very concerned about the position of "older sister."

She didn’t have that kind of controlling desire where she needed to be the boss everywhere.

Sometimes, she even thought being a laid-back person might be good.

However, when she received the information that “after this party, they would meet regularly at the older sister’s house,” she began to feel that something was wrong.

Among their different races, although there are some relatively close ones, like Shirley and Karina, most of them are distant.

She couldn’t bear the thought of traveling so far every time to go to someone else’s house.

Additionally, she received a direct order from her mother.

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She had to secure the position of "older sister"!

Otherwise, she would be punished for leaving without permission this time.

Under this double pressure, Shirley decided to use all her strength to fight for the position of "older sister."

Meanwhile, Karina by her side was immersed in a sea of barbecue, looking incapable of distraction.

She probably didn’t even hear what Shirley’s mother had said.

Moreover, the method for selecting the "older sister" was also very strange.

Each person present needed to set a challenge, and then everyone would choose who performed best, making that person the "older sister."

There was no set standard for selection, everything was based on their subjective opinions.

Of course, choosing oneself or abstaining wasn’t allowed.

“When the time comes, you’ll choose me, understood?”

Saying this, Shirley shook Karina’s shoulders desperately, trying to pull her temporarily out of the barbecue sea.

"I know, I know..."

It wasn’t clear if Karina had actually paid attention to what Shirley said.

In any case, her attitude was very superficial.

Seeing Karina continue to stuff food into her mouth, Shirley also realized that Karina wouldn’t be able to hear anything she said at that moment.

So, she began to think about what kind of challenge she should choose to show her authority.

...

At the same time, not far from the castle.

The dense forest was moving slowly — literally, the trees that should have been rooted in the ground came to life and moved toward their destination in an orderly manner.

Along the way, the terrain was forcibly altered, and no matter how barren the soil was, it became full of vitality.

Crystal-clear plants sprouted from the ground and grew with impressive speed, creating a sort of paradise resembling the Garden of Eden.

“You have to get along with the children there, understood?”

A soft female voice emanated from the moving forest, the sound seemed to come from the center of the forest.

“Un...der...stood.”

The response was from a slightly immature child’s voice, with a drawn-out and somewhat confused tone, sounding quite adorable.

Elsewhere.

A cold wind blew over the land, and the temperature in the area seemed to have dropped below freezing.

However, the stream on the ground showed no signs of freezing.

This icy wind was carrying away all the vitality of the living beings in its path.

The land became dry and cracked, and the plants began to visibly wither and seemed to turn into dust.

The animals, terrified, fell helplessly, wilting until they became dry corpses.

Sensing the vitality of the outside world draining rapidly, it seemed that a joyful "kekeke" laugh came from the cold wind.

If someone observed closely, they would see that the cold wind split into two currents, one large and one small.

“It’s just ahead. When you get there, you need to get along with them, okay!”

In the air, a vague silhouette of a woman appeared.

Although she said something similar, the feeling conveyed was entirely different.

— With a clearly sinister and eerie tone.

“I know, mommy—”

The smaller figure responded cheerfully and twirled twice in the air simultaneously.

The graceful movements were as elegant as a dance but seemed to contain murderous intent.

...

The stream’s water flowed, winding like a water snake, with two large blue bubbles glowing under the sunlight, moving quickly with the waves.

Inside the water bubbles, one could vaguely see two figures, one large and one small, resembling half-human, half-fish beings.

The figure looked very much like a “mermaid.”

“Glub glub~ glub glub~ glub blub blub…”

The larger figure made this sound while releasing bubbles.

“Glub blub.”

The smaller figure responded in kind.

Although the exact content of their communication wasn’t clear, it was certainly something similar to the two previous figures.

...

Similar situations were occurring elsewhere.

Areas that had been quiet were becoming lively, and no matter where they were going, their destination today was only one place — Shirley’s castle.

Feeling the familiar presence approaching from all sides, Shirley’s mother wore a satisfied smile.

This gathering was both a meeting of the younger generations and the adults.

Since only her friends had come, there was no reason for disappointment.

And as for why they were all coming, the answer seemed obvious.

Among the adults, the "older sister" was, naturally, Shirley’s mother.