— — — — — —
"You know who I am?"
Kurma immediately turned her gaze toward Ryo. "That's strange. I haven't appeared in Little Garden for at least a thousand years."
She found it odd that Ryo recognized her. Once someone reached the two-digit level, their power to converge possibilities allowed them to sense any written record or spoken mention of themselves.
And Kurma was certain no one had ever told Ryo about her.
Ryo stayed on guard as he replied, "I have my own sources."
The last thing he wanted was to clash with a two-digit being like the World Dragon.
Algol had mentioned her before.
More willful than even Queen Halloween, Kurma was the only pure-blooded True Dragon to mature completely and ascend to the two-digit rank.
Among dragons, she stood at the absolute pinnacle. The strongest True Dragon in Little Garden.
Even among the Seventeen, she ranked among the upper tier.
"Oh..." Kurma nodded in realization. "So Algol told you. And it happened in the Unobserved Region. No wonder I don't remember it."
'Can all two-digits read minds or something...?'
Ryo was inwardly alarmed.
Kurma smiled brightly, her face full of childish innocence. "Kuu-chan wasn't reading your mind. I merely made a small guess."
'Yeah, right.' Ryo twitched at the corner of his mouth. 'I don't believe a word of that. You're a scary little monster behind that adorable face.'
At that moment, Kurousagi finally noticed Kurma.
With a frightened squeak, she ducked behind Ryo, clutching the corner of his clothes. "Ryo... who is she? Where did she come from all of a sudden...?"
"A Little Garden noble..." Kurma looked at Kurousagi with nostalgic eyes. "There are so few of you left now. I wonder if there are even enough Moon Rabbits left to perform a Divine Dance."
Kurousagi's rabbit ears instantly turned bright red. "W-Who would ever perform such a shameless dance?!"
The Divine Dance was a ritual performed by the Moon Rabbits during festivals. It required at least twelve dancers.
The festival itself commemorated the day Indra created the Moon Rabbits, and the deity honored by the dance was naturally Indra.
The nature of the performance spoke for itself.
"But Kuu-chan always thought it was quite entertaining." Kurma giggled, completely unconcerned. "Little Bunny, make sure to have lots of children. It'd be best if you could gather enough for another Divine Dance. I'd love to watch it again."
Kurousagi's face turned scarlet.
But faced with such an adorable little girl, she couldn't bring herself to say anything harsh.
Seeing Kurma's growing interest in Kurousagi, Ryo quickly steered the conversation elsewhere. "So... you didn't come all this way just to tease my rabbit, did you?"
"Ah." Kurma blinked. "I almost forgot."
She turned toward Ryo. "Sell me that counterpart."
"I already..."
Ryo had been about to say the merchandise had already been delivered to the auction.
But halfway through the sentence, his hand instinctively reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a Gift Card specially designed to store living beings.
Inside was Vishnu's counterpart.
"..."
Ryo fell silent.
"Don't bother wondering." Kurma smiled knowingly. "Shakyamuni did it."
She continued with a smile. "Three million Ouroboros Contribution Points in exchange for your little five-digit toy. That's roughly equivalent to five Authorities. We've already agreed on it."
"Of course, if you don't want to sell him, you may destroy him instead. That was always going to be his final fate."
Hearing that, Ryo understood everything. The two-digit beings had already reached an agreement regarding Vishnu's Spirit Rank.
It would be erased before anyone had the chance to openly compete for it.
As for Ryo—the "mastermind" who had nearly sparked a war between two-digit beings—his reward was Contribution Points equivalent to four or five Authorities.
More than enough to return to Arcadia and spend the rest of his days living in comfort as a wealthy man.
After thinking it over, Ryo sighed, "I accept the exchange."
Five Authorities. That was already an incredible price.
Without Vishnu's Spirit Rank attached, no ordinary five-digit could ever dream of being worth that much.
Something normally valued at less than a hundred Contribution Points had just earned him three million. He had no complaints.
The moment he agreed, the Gift Card in his hand turned pitch-black, becoming something resembling a premium bank card.
Clearly, Kurma had altered it. The three million Contribution Points had likely already been deposited, redeemable at any Ouroboros outpost.
"All done." After the transformation, Kurma clapped her hands.
She glanced at Ryo one last time... then disappeared without a trace.
Only after she was completely gone did Ryo unleash every method of perception he possessed.
His Cosmos. His Spirit Rank. His psychic senses.
After confirming she had truly left, he finally exhaled, "She's finally gone..."
Seeing how tense he'd been, Kurousagi looked at him in astonishment. "Ryo... who was that little girl? Which god was she?"
Ryo hesitated briefly before answering, "The World Dragon."
"...The World Dragon?"
Kurousagi froze.
Then she covered her mouth in shock, "The World Dragon... then doesn't that mean..."
A second later, her face turned completely white.
"W-Wait... I think I just yelled at her. I yelled at the World Dragon?!"
Still clutching Ryo's hand, she slowly sank to her knees, tears welling up in her eyes. "Ryo... what do I do? Am I going to die?"
"..."
Lakshmi blinked in surprise. "Is she always this timid?"
Kurousagi immediately protested, "Moon Rabbits aren't timid..."
Her voice gradually weakened, "I... I just..."
Anyone would be terrified after shouting at a two-digit existence. That was one of the strongest beings in all of Little Garden.
Ryo flicked her lightly on the forehead. "Stop overthinking it. If she wasn't offended enough to do anything, then nothing's going to happen."
"Really?" Kurousagi looked up with tear-filled eyes, hope shining inside them.
"Would I lie to you?" Ryo rolled his eyes before putting the black card away. Then he looked at Lakshmi, "So this card only works at Ouroboros bases?"
Lakshmi smiled. "She left instructions. If there's anything you want to buy, just contact me."
Ryo was silent for a moment.
Then he asked, "Does that include buying back Arcadia's former members?"
Kurousagi's expression changed instantly. She looked at Lakshmi with unmistakable vigilance.
Lakshmi studied Ryo meaningfully before replying, "...That's not something I have the authority to decide."
'Even Lakshmi can't decide...'
So the fate of Arcadia's captured members involved the two-digit beings themselves.
No wonder Koumei Kasukabe had never dared contact him or the new Arcadia.
Ryo's heart sank, "...Then ask for me."
Lakshmi sighed softly. "You really are loyal."
She knew the whole story.
Objectively speaking, Ryo didn't actually owe Arcadia much. At most, the only debt he needed to repay was the kindness and care Kurousagi had shown him.
Yet rebuilding the community... Standing against Ouroboros... Trying to rescue its captured members...
Everything he was doing far exceeded anything he'd ever received from them.
There was only one way to describe someone like that. He never forgot a favor. He repaid kindness with kindness.
And honestly, that was reassuring for Lakshmi. After all, it meant she could invest in him without hesitation.
"I'll make discreet inquiries." She paused before adding, "Ouroboros is going to make a move regarding you soon. So it's best if no one else learns about this."
Ryo frowned. "What kind of move?"
That didn't make sense. Algol's deterrence shouldn't have weakened so much that Ouroboros would openly target him.
Lakshmi glanced at Kurousagi before finally explaining, "The higher-ups want to invite you to join Ouroboros."
Kurousagi's eyes went wide.
.
.
.