Rozen's departure did not lighten the atmosphere at the scene.
Even though Glenda was still tilting her head, shaking Yuiri repeatedly, and calling out "Da~" in her usual manner, the others couldn't relax. Instead, their faces were filled with helplessness and bitterness.
"Um..."
Seeing everyone like this, Yukina hesitated for a moment before speaking up.
"If there's nothing else, I'll go ahead and leave with Senpai."
Clearly, Yukina couldn't simply turn and walk away as casually as Rozen had.
After all, she was still part of the Lion King Agency, and with her classmates and even her superior present, leaving without a word would be too improper.
But the fact that she announced her intention to follow Rozen in this situation was enough to show where her loyalties lay.
Perhaps Yukina herself hadn't realized it, but she was undeniably on Rozen's side, with no intention of speaking up for the Lion King Agency.
Of course, even if she hadn't noticed her own bias, others certainly had.
Shirona sighed silently in her heart before nodding.
"Continue carrying out your mission, Himeragi Yukina."
Yukina hadn't been involved in this operation in the first place—her sole task was to monitor Rozen. Having her stay by his side was exactly what the Lion King Agency wanted.
Rozen had always been indifferent, if not outright dismissive, toward the Lion King Agency, yet he seemed to regard Yukina differently.
If that was the case, keeping Yukina close to Rozen might mean he would eventually overlook some of the Agency's actions for her sake.
"Understood."
Yukina didn't know what Shirona was thinking, but she was always clear about her own duty.
And that was to stay by Rozen's side.
With that, Yukina bowed to the group, then picked up her guitar case and hurried after Rozen.
Rozen and Yukina thus left together.
Of course, they hadn't actually left Kamioda Shrine yet.
Nagisa and Avrora were still here, and they would definitely wait for them to wake up before leaving.
As for Shirona and the others, they still had to stay behind to clean up the aftermath.
However...
"Ah!"
Yuiri, who was carrying Glenda on her back, suddenly exclaimed as if remembering something.
"Oh no! I forgot to return Tenyuryo to His Highness!"
As she spoke, she instinctively raised one of her hands.
In it was the pure white machine gun, now shrunk to the size of a tennis racket, which she had been holding all this time—only now did it catch everyone's attention.
"This is..."
Shio blinked in surprise before her expression turned astonished.
"The Mechanical Demon-Purging Assault Spear Mark Seven...!?"
Shirona finally noticed the gun in Yuiri's hand, her face tightening with shock.
"So this is the Lion King Agency's Mechanical Demon-Purging Assault Spear Mark Seven?"
Hisano also turned her gaze toward the weapon in Yuiri's hand.
"Uh..."
Only then did Yuiri realize she might have revealed something she shouldn't have.
Yes.
This was a very big deal.
"How do you have the Mechanical Demon-Purging Assault Spear Mark Seven, Yuiri?" Shio asked in surprise.
"And this isn't the Lion King Agency's Mechanical Demon-Purging Assault Spear Mark Seven, is it?"
Shirona's expression turned serious as she stared at her.
"Not the Lion King Agency's...?"
Hisano was equally taken aback.
After all, this sacred weapon was famously known to be producible only by the Lion King Agency, with only three in existence worldwide—all in the Agency's possession. How could there be one that wasn't theirs?
However, Shirona quickly pieced it together.
"Could it be... that His Highness made this himself?"
She voiced the possibility.
After all, it had been the Three Saints who collectively decided to offer the Lion King Agency's magecraft knowledge to Rozen in exchange for the opportunity to monitor him.
In other words, Shirona was well aware of this arrangement—in fact, she had played a direct role in making it happen.
Now, a Mechanical Demon-Purging Assault Spear Mark Seven not belonging to the Lion King Agency had appeared.
The only explanation was that Rozen, who possessed all of the Agency's magical knowledge, had crafted it himself.
Moreover, considering that the core of the Mechanical Demon-Purging Assault Spear Mark Seven—the divine spear of the Devas—had once fallen into Rozen's hands during the Blazing Banquet, if he had successfully implemented the Divine Wave Drive Technique and mastered the production method of the Mechanical Demon-Purging Assault Spear Mark Seven, it was entirely possible for him to create one.
But was that really feasible?
Even with the materials and the manufacturing process, applying the Divine Wave Drive Technique was no simple feat.
This system had leaked to outsiders before, yet no one outside the Lion King Agency had ever succeeded in deploying it in actual combat.
And yet, Rozen had cracked it?
As Shirona wrestled with these doubts, Yuiri—uncertain of how to interpret her reaction—answered hesitantly.
"I-It does seem like His Highness made this himself..."
Her uneasy tone confirmed Shirona's suspicions.
Shirona fell silent.
Though she had considered this possibility, she still found it hard to believe Rozen had actually done it.
After all, how much time had passed since the Lion King Agency handed over their magecraft knowledge to him?
At most, it had only been about half a year.
And in just half a year, Rozen had already managed to recreate the Mechanical Demon-Purging Assault Spear Mark Seven on his own?
This made Shirona wonder if their decision to hand over the Lion King Agency's centuries-old magical knowledge had been too reckless.
Back then, even though Shirona and the rest of the Agency had been wary of Rozen's ability to summon divine beings and seal the Fourth Primogenitor, their choice to pay such a heavy price hadn't been made lightly.
After all, that knowledge was the foundation of the Lion King Agency—the very essence of their organization. Handing it over was tantamount to gambling with their survival.
Yet, in the end, they had gone through with it.
The reasons were twofold.
First, as previously mentioned, even if all other magical knowledge was given to Rozen, as long as the Three Saints' legacy remained, the Lion King Agency could still stabilize itself and maintain its operations.
Second, they had believed that even someone like Rozen wouldn't be able to fully grasp the millennia-old magical knowledge of the Lion King Agency.
The knowledge contained secrets only specialists could decipher and techniques that required unique conditions to master. Even if Rozen obtained it, they assumed he wouldn't be able to fully comprehend or replicate it.
Yet now, in such a short time, the Lion King Agency's prized Mechanical Demon-Purging Assault Spear Mark Seven and Divine Wave Drive Technique had been recreated?
But that wasn't even the most shocking part.
The real issue was...
"His Highness gave you this spear for you to use, didn't he?" Shirona stared intently at Yuiri, enunciating each word. "Can you wield it?"
Yuiri shrank back slightly before answering.
"I... I can use it..."
Her words finally plunged Shirona into silence.
Her emotions were indescribably complicated.