Although Aoko's explanation was somewhat ambiguous, the magi of the Nasuverse even with a slightly vague explanation, they will automatically fill in the blanks themselves. Judging by the look on Pepe's face, he had already filled in a great deal from Aoko's explanation, so there was no need for her to clarify further.
"...I understand (What exactly do you understand?)," Pepe said slowly. "So, where do we look for little Hinako now? Do you have any information on her whereabouts?"
"Not yet," Aoko shook her head, then continued, "But I'm quite certain she's in this world. We can take our time searching. What we need to do right now is determine the current era."
"Era?" Pepe asked in confusion. "Isn't this the 7th century AD?"
"Of course not," Aoko shot him a look. "Do you remember that we used imaginary number diving to enter this Lostbelt?"
"Yes, but... If it's parallel world travel, shouldn't the era be the same, just on a different worldline?" Pepe replied.
"Well... I'll explain a bit more, then," Aoko said with a helpless expression. "Normally, parallel worlds are as you described, just shifting worldlines without moving along the timeline. But Lostbelts are different."
"Without a specific, additional force supporting them, Lostbelts are generally abandoned, left to accumulate at the depths of the Imaginary Sea. In other words, you can't reach them through ordinary parallel world travel," Aoko explained. "Have you ever heard of the concept of a 'voided hole'?"
"That... I remember Professor Lev mentioning that before," Pepe mused. "I think I get what you mean. So, Lostbelts that have settled deep in the Imaginary Sea lose the property of their timelines aligning one-to-one with Proper Human History?"
"Bingo!" Aoko snapped her fingers and smiled. "That's why we need to determine the era first, so we can plan our next move. I have some knowledge about this Lostbelt through certain means."
Pepe didn't ask how exactly she knew; after living so long, he had become quite skilled at reading the room. If the boss didn't want to answer, he wouldn't pry.
Still, Aoko told him quite a bit about the fae in this Lostbelt. Most of the fae here were hostile toward humans—capricious and dependent on human creativity and emotions for survival. If they lost a lifelong purpose, they would gradually deteriorate and eventually die.
"I've heard magi in Europe tell legends about fae before," Pepe stroked his chin. "Some traits line up with what you've described, but most are different."
"Of course," Aoko sneered. "Most of the fae on this British Isle are descendants of sinners. This worldline was abandoned because the six major sub-kings who ruled these fae committed grave errors."
Aoko didn't elaborate on the sins, because as the three of them ventured deeper into the forest, the sounds of battle reached them.
They could all sense a considerable burst of magical energy not far ahead—someone was fighting there.
"Let's go check it out," Aoko snapped her fingers and said casually. "Let's hope these folks aren't idiots who know nothing."
----Dividing Line----
"Haah!" With a shout, the tip of the staff turned into a blade and shot forward, forcing back a wolf-like fae from the Fang Clan who had rushed at her. But there were simply too many fae chasing her. Even with the help of Totorot and the Black Knight, she barely managed to hold her ground, fighting desperately.
"Damn paradise fae, just looking at you pisses me off!" The Fang Clan fae, looking like a werewolf, spat out a mouthful of blood after being knocked back. The wounds on his body had already begun healing rapidly. "Scum like you should just die already. Those Earth Clan and Wing Clan bastards should die too... Ugh! Disgusting!"
Malice spread like the eye of a storm. Their ally, the Black Knight clad in armor with a greatsword in hand, stayed silent, but he faced the most enemies and bore the greatest pressure.
On the other side, the petite fae darted amongst their enemies with her floating spinning wheel, launching surprise attacks to relieve the pressure on her comrades.
Seeing that there were simply too many pursuers, she gritted her teeth, squeezed out what little magical energy she had left, spun her staff, and pointed to the sky.
A small-scale rainfall came down in an instant.
Each raindrop was as sharp as an arrow, piercing and killing some fae outright. But the tougher Fang and Earth Clan fae withstood it, glaring at her with even greater hatred, as if they wanted to skin her alive.
Truthfully, the trio had been hunted for some time now. This was because, during their previous Salvation Army activities, they had inadvertently exposed the paradise fae's identity while driving out a rampaging Moss from a village. The fae who had thanked her one moment turned on her the next, driving her out and reporting her whereabouts to the high fae of their clans.
But Toneriko was close to succeeding, she consoled herself. She was doing everything she could to convert her remaining stamina into magical energy, pushing her potential to the limit. She couldn't afford to fail now, or all her efforts would be in vain.
"Watch out!" Totorot shouted in panic, as a sly Fang Clan fae, using some unknown method, approached from behind and launched a sneak attack. Its claws, crackling with dangerous magical power, were about to strike her back. "Dodge!"
She noticed the attack but exhausted as she was, her movements were a beat too slow. By the time she realized the attacker's intent, it was almost too late—she wouldn't be able to dodge this on her own...
Am I going to die here? She thought, surprisingly calmly. There are still so many things I want to do. I haven't attended Uther and Mab's wedding. Will the British Isles have a gentler, brighter future...
Ah, I really want to...