"Alright, open the live broadcast."
As the live broadcast resumed, everyone once again saw the situation inside the venue.
"Is there anything else to discuss?"
"Lord Zhong Chen, according to the agenda, the next part is free discussion. There are no specific issues that need to be discussed."
Diablo said, bowing respectfully to Zhong Chen.
"Hmm, then let's have a free discussion..."
As Zhong Chen's words fell, various discussions began to sound in the venue.
Time passed in the midst of everyone's discussions...
"Ha... I'm so sleepy..."
Zhong Chen was slumped on the table, looking drowsy, staring blankly at the people below who were engaged in a heated discussion.
"Yeah, it's so boring!"
Milim also had an utterly bored expression, her right hand unconsciously carving the pattern of a lime coin on the table.
"Munch munch munch... When will this be over? I wouldn't have come if I knew it would be like this..."
Ramiris held a potato chip, nibbling on it and muttering softly.
"Hoo... hoo... hoo..."
Unlike Zhong Chen and the others who could still grumble, Rimuru, who was sitting at the very top, had already successfully fallen into a dream.
Chairwoman Shizu, noticing the state of the few people above, shook her head helplessly, then waved to Diablo.
"Chairwoman Shizu, do you have any instructions?"
Diablo, who had come before Chairwoman Shizu, asked elegantly after bowing to her.
"Hehe, Diablo, let them go back first. We can handle the remaining issues ourselves."
"It's hard on these restless fellows to keep them here all this time."
Chairwoman Shizu said with a smile, looking at the drowsy few, then spoke to Diablo.
"Yes!"
Diablo nodded to Chairwoman Shizu, then trotted over to Zhong Chen and whispered:
"Lord Zhong Chen, Chairwoman Shizu said you can leave first. Your presence is no longer required for the upcoming matters."
Zhong Chen, who had already closed his eyes and was nodding off, instantly perked up upon hearing this.
"Really?"
"It's true."
"Oh my gosh!!!"
"Rimuru, Milim, Ramiris, Veldora, retreat!"
Zhong Chen, having received a positive answer, quickly shouted to the others.
At the same time, he formed a hand with magic power and slapped Rimuru on the head.
"Huh? Is it over?"
Rimuru, woken up by the slap, looked around in a daze.
"We can retreat, hurry up, or we won't be able to leave later."
Saying this, Zhong Chen came to the golden throne and pulled Rimuru down. His wild actions made it seem as if Zhong Chen was trying to usurp the throne.
The people who were discussing also noticed the actions of the few on stage and involuntarily stopped their discussions.
As the few walked off the stage, everyone present stood up and watched them leave.
It wasn't until the few walked out of the venue's main door that everyone present sat down, and then the heated discussions resumed.
Meanwhile, the few who had just arrived outside the door cheered excitedly.
"Yahoo! We're free!!!"
"Woohoo!!"
"Arcade, here I come!"
"Sakuya must have prepared desserts, let's hurry back!"
"Finally, I don't have to carry this thing anymore, it's so heavy."
Rimuru casually took off the crown on its head and threw it back to Zhong Chen.
At the same time, a black mist enveloped its entire body. When the black mist disappeared, the magnificent emperor's attire had changed back into its usual casual clothes.
"Lord Rimuru, Lord Zhong Chen... you've come out, please get into the carriage!"
The person in charge of the convoy, seeing the few who had come out, greeted them respectfully.
"No, we won't. You all go back directly."
Zhong Chen waved his hand at the person in charge, then pulled out a spatial capsule and threw it aside.
After a puff of smoke, a military Humvee appeared before everyone's eyes, and the few jumped into it without hesitation.
Then Zhong Chen stepped on the accelerator and sped off.
Only the convoy leader was left, watching helplessly as the red taillights drove away.
"Ding, Dimensional Gate charging complete. Anchor world coordinates?"
"Ding, anchoring world coordinates..."
"Ding, world coordinates successfully anchored! According to Host's memory retrieval, the current world is 'A Certain Scientific Railgun'. Does Host wish to begin the Crossing?"
"Holy moly! The official Academy City is here!"
"Aleister wouldn't ask me for copyright fees, would he?"
"Speaking of which, what's with these past two days? I haven't even gone to 'Binchotan' yet, and now 'A Certain Magical Index' is here?"
"Uh... maybe Host has been lucky lately?"
"Mhm mhm, that's right, it must be!"
"...You're getting ahead of yourself!"
"..."
Half a day later...
Zhong Chen, wearing his 'Carefree Cloak', stood with his hands on his hips, looking arrogant at the entrance of the Commercial Street, watching the bustling crowd inside, and shouted loudly:
"Hmph hmph, Commercial Street, your emperor... Oh my gosh!"
"A Chen, I am the emperor!"
Zhong Chen rubbed the back of his head and turned to look at Rimuru, who was glaring fiercely at him.
"Uh... I've never seen you care so much about your emperor status before."
Hearing Zhong Chen's words, Rimuru ignored him.
Instead, it flung its cloak, also placed its hands on its hips, and shouted into the Commercial Street:
"Hmph hmph, Commercial Street, your emperor is back!!!"
"My goodness, you stole my line!"
At this moment, the people inside the Commercial Street also noticed the few standing at the entrance.
There was no other way; the people inside the Commercial Street were simply too familiar with the attire of these few.
"Oh, the Lords have arrived."
"We haven't seen them for many days, and we've missed them a bit."
Several middle-aged beautiful women who were selecting fresh vegetables looked at the suddenly appearing group with smiles.
"Hehe, it seems the 'protection fee' I prepared is finally going to be handed over."
A bakery owner took out an exquisite box, filled with fragrant pastries.
"Nezuko, go get a few candied haws. Your Chen Gege and the others are here."
Mrs. Kamado smiled and instructed Nezuko, whose eyes lit up upon hearing this, and she quickly ran into the shop.
At this time, Zhong Chen and the others had already arrived in front of a small apple stall.
Rimuru showed a fierce expression, slammed its hand on the table, and shouted loudly:
"Ba... Baka... Yarou, have you paid today's protection fee?"
"Yes, yes, yes, Lord Rimuru, here, today's protection fee!"
The stall owner smiled and took out a bag from under the stall, containing five red, clean apples.
"Hmph hmph, that's more like it."
"A Chen, here."
Rimuru distributed the apples to the few, one for each person.
The stall owner, meanwhile, maintained a smile, watching the group swaggering to the next stall with a wide gait.
The tallest building on this Commercial Street was only three stories high; it was a very retro Commercial Street.
All the people who opened shops inside were from the earliest batch.
For example, Mrs. Kamado's candied haw shop, Tamayo's figurine shop, and Rigurd's statue shop were all here.
And because Zhong Chen and the others would often come here to stroll around,
the popularity here was always higher than that of the newly established commercial district.
"Hey, hey, hey! A Chen, look, it's your chibi doll!"
Zhong Chen followed the direction of Rimuru's finger and indeed saw a giant chibi doll of himself.
"This... this is simply lawless!!!"
Seeing his image being misused, Zhong Chen walked towards the shop with an angry expression.
He shouted loudly as he walked:
"They're making money and not sharing any with me! How despicable..."