When Eriri and the other three emerged from the world passage, they found themselves inside the royal palace of Deviluke—in Lala's bedroom.
"Wow, my room! It's been so long~"
After nearly half a year, Lala was genuinely happy to see the room she had lived in for over ten years.
Although she could've returned to the To LOVE-Ru world anytime using an interdimensional pass, she had never done so until now.
"Lady Lala, would you like to switch into palace attire?"
At that moment, Peke's voice rang out from above Lala's head.
Lala was wearing a light blue one-piece dress—common Earth clothing. While it looked great, it was a bit out of place on Deviluke.
Peke thought Lala should switch to the kind of attire she wore while on Deviluke, especially since they would soon be moving around the palace.
But Lala didn't care at all and casually replied, "No need, Peke. This is fine."
"Understood, Lady Lala."
During the initial period after leaving the To LOVE-Ru world, at Eriri's request, Lala hadn't worn Peke in her hair.
But as time passed and Lala's invention skills rapidly improved, she optimized Peke.
Now, even if Peke were removed or ran out of energy, Lala wouldn't end up completely naked—she'd simply lose the ability to freely change her outfit styles.
And so, Peke had resumed its role as her all-purpose wardrobe assistant and remained fastened to her hair.
Beside her, Momo and Nana were also visibly excited—not just because they had returned home, but also because they would soon be seeing their mother again.
It had been half a year, and they truly missed her.
"Onee-chan, I'm going to see Mother. Want to come too?" Nana asked Lala energetically.
"Of course I do!" Lala raised her hand enthusiastically. "It's been so long—I miss Mom too!"
Then she turned to Eriri and added, "Oh, Eriri, come with us! Mom will definitely be happy to meet you."
"Sure! I'd like to meet your mother too. After all, we're family now."
Eriri didn't reject Lala's invitation. Since she had come here, it was only natural to meet the family of the three sisters. Besides, she was genuinely curious to meet Sephie, who was dubbed the "most beautiful woman in the universe" in the original work.
Hearing Lala and Eriri's exchange, Nana quickly chimed in, "Mhm! We'll properly introduce you to Mother."
Then she turned to Momo. "What about you, Momo? Coming with us?"
"Obviously. Of course I'm coming—I miss Mother too," Momo replied, rolling her eyes at Nana.
With the decision made, they didn't delay any further. The group left Lala's room and headed toward Sephie's location.
In the past, they would have needed to ask around to find her, but thanks to their growth, they could now easily sense their mother's presence—as long as she was on Deviluke.
On the way to Sephie, the three sisters also took the opportunity to show Eriri around the royal palace of Deviluke.
As the seat of power ruling over the entire galaxy, the palace was undeniably grand—far surpassing the palaces of any kingdoms Eriri had seen in other worlds.
As the group of four made their way through the palace, it was inevitable that they encountered royal maids and guards.
These maids and guards were mostly Devilukeans, each with a black tail growing from the base of their spine.
When they saw the three princesses—Lala, Momo, and Nana—they all respectfully bowed to them without exception, visibly joyful at their return.
As Deviluke's royal daughters, the three sisters were extremely popular on their home planet.
After they left the To LOVE-Ru world, Gid publicly claimed that the three sisters had simply gone on a journey, so none of the staff realized they had actually run away from home. Everyone believed they were just returning from a long trip.
At the same time, many of the maids and guards were curious about Eriri's identity. But understanding their position, they knew better than to ask Lala or the others about it.
With a relaxed pace and occasional stops, it took them over half an hour to reach the palace where Sephie resided.
Outside the palace, dozens of guards were stationed at every entrance and perimeter. Leading them was Zastin, captain of the Deviluke royal guard.
Upon seeing the group, Zastin immediately stepped forward and respectfully bowed.
"Lady Lala, Lady Nana, Lady Momo—welcome back!"
"Long time no see, Zastin!" Lala said cheerfully.
Momo and Nana also greeted him with warm smiles. After all, Zastin was someone they were very familiar with.
"It's so good to see you safe, Lady Lala. And you too, Lady Nana and Lady Momo. His Majesty and Lady Sephie have missed you dearly," Zastin said respectfully.
Then, glancing at Eriri, he asked Lala, "Lady Lala, may I ask who this person is?"
As captain of the royal guard, it was his duty to eliminate any potential threats to the royal family.
Even though Eriri had arrived with the princesses, he still needed to confirm her identity to be at ease.
"Ah, Zastin, let me introduce you—this is Eriri. She's the person I love the most. Ehehe~" Lala hugged Eriri's arm and leaned on her shoulder with a blissful smile.
"Uhh..."
Zastin blinked in confusion, looking back and forth between Lala and Eriri, unsure how to respond.
"Alright, alright, Zastin, you guys stay out here on guard. We're going to see Mom now."
Lala didn't say anything more and simply pulled Eriri along. Together with Momo and Nana, they walked to the palace doors and pushed them open.
Eriri hadn't said a word to Zastin the entire time—she had no intention of introducing herself or making conversation.
Only after the doors closed again did Zastin snap out of his daze.
"This is bad... If His Majesty finds out Lady Lala likes girls..."
Zastin didn't even want to imagine what might happen next.
He knew full well that Gid had been arranging marriage prospects for Lala, hoping her future husband would inherit the throne of Deviluke.
But now, that clearly wasn't going to happen. He had no idea what kind of furious reaction Gid might have.
Zastin did know that the princesses had run away, but he had no clue they had traveled to other universes—nor did he know who Eriri really was, or how powerful she was.
Gid, on the other hand, knew all about Eriri and was both wary and fascinated by her ability to freely travel through worlds.
So even if he knew about Lala and Eriri's relationship, he'd likely just grumble a bit—he certainly wouldn't fly into a rage or try to harm Eriri.
Of course, if he knew that his other two precious daughters had the same kind of relationship with Eriri, what might happen was anyone's guess.
...
After entering the palace, it didn't take long before Eriri and the others reached the innermost chamber, where they saw Sephie seated at a futuristic desk, handling documents.
Several virtual displays floated in front of her, and Sephie was reviewing the information with focused attention, occasionally swiping her fingers across the projections.
Since Gid was a full-fledged warrior and terrible at politics, all political affairs—including interstellar diplomacy and maintaining post-war peace—were handled by Sephie.
As a result, she was usually very busy. But that never diminished the respect and admiration her daughters felt for her.
In fact, they respected Sephie far more than they ever did Gid.
"Mama, we're back!"
"Mother, I missed you so much!"
"Mother..."
The moment they saw Sephie, the three sisters dashed toward her excitedly.
Lala didn't forget to pull Eriri along as they ran forward.
At the sound of her daughters' voices, Sephie's hands froze, and she immediately looked up in their direction.
When she saw them running toward her, she sprang from her seat, eyes lighting up with joy beneath the sheer veil over her face.
"Lala, Nana, Momo!"
With a delighted cry, Sephie ran toward them in turn.
Within moments, the four had reached her. Nana rushed straight into her mother's embrace, rubbing against her like a spoiled kitten.
"Mother~"
"My, Nana still loves to snuggle so much."
Sephie smiled as she stroked Nana's head, then looked toward Lala and Momo.
"Lala, Momo—you both look well."
Then her eyes turned to Eriri, and a trace of awe immediately appeared in them.
"Lala, is this the friend you mentioned in your message? What a beautiful young woman."
Even Sephie, who had a fair amount of vanity, had to admit that Eriri's appearance surpassed anything she had seen before.
While Sephie examined Eriri, Eriri was also taking in Sephie.
She was dressed in a white, elegant gown. Her smooth, pale shoulders were bare, with a graceful cleavage and the upper curves of her chest exposed.
Long, pink hair flowed freely down her back yet looked completely untangled.
Even though a thin veil covered her face, Eriri could easily see through it—taking in a visage that looked nearly 80% similar to Lala's.
Just from her features alone, Sephie's title as the "most beautiful woman in the universe" wasn't just for show, nor merely the result of her Charmian bloodline.
Speaking of the Charmians' bloodline power, Eriri instantly identified its origin.
She saw a special charm-based ability in Sephie's face—one that explained why male beings who looked at her would lose all rationality.
It was clear that Sephie had no control over this innate allure, which was why she always wore a face veil.
If she could control it, she wouldn't need to hide her face at all.
While this was beyond her capabilities, with Eriri's help, that issue could easily be resolved.
Upon hearing Sephie's question, Lala beamed and said, "Yes, Mama!"
After Lala spoke, Eriri offered a polite introduction with a smile.
"Nice to meet you, Auntie. My name is Eriri Spencer Sawamura. Just like Lala and the others, you can call me Eriri."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sephie Michaela Deviluke. Thank you for taking care of Lala and the others over the past half year," Sephie said sincerely.
At that moment, Nana—still snuggled in Sephie's arms—suddenly raised her head and, just as she had promised earlier, enthusiastically began introducing Eriri.
Compared to Eriri's simple self-introduction, Nana's explanation was far more detailed.
By the end of Nana's lively rundown, Sephie had a much deeper understanding of Eriri.
That included the fact that Eriri possessed the strength to destroy an entire universe—something that left her utterly stunned.
Though she'd heard Gid mention Eriri before, his impressions were based mostly on her ability to freely traverse the multiverse.
But during Nana's introduction, Sephie noticed something off—her daughter seemed overly enthusiastic.
It didn't feel like she was just introducing a close friend. It felt more like she was introducing someone she liked.
That realization gave Sephie a rather curious expression.
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