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Inside a milk tea shop in Outer Gate 7777—
Ryo and Kurousagi sat together on one side of a booth. Across from them sat Aishelia, her long golden curls framing a pretty face with clear blue eyes.
The three of them chatted casually over cake and drinks.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Ryo said, taking a sip of his milk tea. "Where exactly did Athena send you?"
"A very strange world." Aishelia let out a sigh. "It was filled with bizarre lifeforms that survived by feeding on something called the Power of Existence."
"The inhabitants called their world the Crimson Realm. The strongest beings there were only around the level of Four-Digit elites, but the strange thing was that even after spending a hundred years there, I couldn't create enough impact to shift the world's observation line. So in the end, I had no choice but to come back."
"Thanks to that, I failed Lady Athena's mission, and my Spirit Rank barely improved." She gave a wry smile. "Still, I did manage to develop two proto-Authorities while I was there. With enough time, they could mature into true Authorities."
The moment Aishelia mentioned the Crimson Realm, Ryo immediately realized where she'd gone.
Shakugan no Shana.
A world built around the Power of Existence.
From her description, she'd spent those hundred years in the Crimson Realm itself, the homeland of the Crimson Denizens.
But the major events of the original story all took place in the human world.
If Aishelia had lived in the Crimson Realm for over a century, there was no way she wouldn't have known it was possible to travel to the human world.
Which meant... she must have arrived before the story even began.
No. Much earlier than that. Maybe back in an age when the Crimson Realm wasn't even connected to the human world yet.
'That's some unbelievably bad luck... Did she end up tens of thousands of years in the past or something?'
"I'd already prepared myself for the possibility of failure," Aishelia continued. "But I never imagined I'd spend that long without making any progress."
"There were only three influential Four-Digit gods. Everything else was essentially a pack of wild beasts. There was no one worth talking to."
She laughed at herself. "But it's fine. It wasn't a complete loss."
Ryo shook his head. "You've got a surprisingly positive outlook."
Three gods capable of conversation.
That had to be Alastor, Shaher, and Snake of the Festival.
Which meant Aishelia had arrived even earlier than he'd guessed.
At that point, all you could really call it was terrible luck.
Kurousagi sighed sympathetically. "It sounds like Lady Aishelia ran into one of the classic problems with observing other worlds."
"The worst cases are worlds where you can't build enough influence to affect the observation line."
"When I was little, one of the elders in my clan told me she once spent a fortune opening Boundary Gates, only to arrive on one barren, lifeless planet after another. In the end, she had to abandon every expedition. It cost her an unbelievable amount."
Unlike Ryo, who could travel under rather unusual circumstances, everyone else in Little Garden needed specialized Boundary Gates to explore other universes. And activating one of those gates consumed a lot of resources.
The farther a world's conceptual distance from Little Garden, the greater the expense, with no upper limit.
Back in Little Garden's early days, nearby universes had been plentiful. The profits from exploration easily outweighed the costs. But after countless years, almost every world within reasonable reach had already been observed.
Anyone wanting to find an unobserved universe now had to venture much farther away, with no guarantee of success. That was why so few people bothered anymore.
Aishelia smiled. "I wasn't quite that unlucky. I learned a great deal about how Authorities are constructed, so I at least recovered my investment and even made a small profit."
"If I sold the world's coordinates, I'd probably earn even more."
Her smile softened. "But I got along well with the people there. I don't really want dangerous individuals showing up and disrupting their lives."
"In that case..." Ryo raised an eyebrow. "Why not consider selling the coordinates to someone you actually trust?"
Aishelia blinked.
Ryo smiled. "Someone who'd respect your wishes. Someone who wouldn't cause unnecessary harm to the Crimson Realm's inhabitants. Someone capable of bringing that world into Little Garden's observation network. And, naturally, someone whose interests perfectly align with your Perseus Community."
He paused, "Or, more importantly... someone whose interests align with yours."
Aishelia gave him a strange look. "Ryo... aren't you talking about yourself?"
Ryo calmly took another sip of tea. "Did I say that?"
"So you are." Aishelia looked completely speechless. "Have you forgotten you're technically my fiancé? You keep emphasizing that our interests are the same. Who else could you possibly be talking about?"
"Really?" Ryo replied with an innocent expression. "That never crossed my mind."
Aishelia eyed him suspiciously.
'Could it be... Did he see that I failed Athena's mission and want to help repair my standing with her?'
The thought unexpectedly warmed her heart.
After thinking for a moment, she said, "I don't mind giving you the coordinates. But I'll need Lady Athena's approval first. She's the one who funded the expedition."
"I understand." Ryo nodded with a pleasant smile.
Internally, however, he remained perfectly calm.
'Athena is literally staying at my house. There's no way she'd refuse.'
'Although the Crimson Realm's timeline seems ridiculously early...If I really want to go, I'll probably have to rely on the forum's abilities.'
'Besides, I still need to deal with the Godslayer War first. That should give Aishelia enough time to discuss things with Athena while I make my own preparations.'
With that thought in mind, he changed the subject. "By the way. Why were you traveling with Jason?"
Aishelia sighed again, "It's... complicated."
She wore a helpless smile. "Because Lord Zeus signed the Godslayer War Treaty, every member under Greece's banner has been required to participate."
"Aside from Zeus's own faction, which has to deal with Arcadia's divine war, everyone else has been ordered to gather in the South Area's Four-Digit layer."
She paused, "And recently... We received a new order."
Her gaze settled on Ryo.
He immediately understood. "It has something to do with me?"
"Yes." Aishelia gave him a bitter smile. "Now that you've officially entered the Godslayer War... Every member of Greece has been ordered to hunt you down."
The corners of Ryo's mouth slowly curled upward.
"Well, well..." He grinned. "Isn't this interesting."
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