Eris was furious.
This wasn't the reward she had asked for at all!
It was supposed to be the wish of those other goddesses—she had merely been acting as a messenger. So why had everything fallen onto her shoulders instead!?
At this point, Eris truly felt like crying.
Izumi casually patted her shoulder.
"Think of it as a bonus."
And the moment he said that—
He vanished.
Completely.
He didn't dare stay any longer. If he did, Eris might actually try to kill him.
Eris stared at the empty space where he had stood, her teeth grinding in frustration.
"That idiot…!!"
But there was nothing she could do.
Meanwhile, Izumi had already made a tactical retreat.
The truth was—
The moment Eris opened her mouth, he already knew what she was going to say.
That was precisely why he didn't let her finish.
As for the goddesses from the KonoSuba world…
Izumi could only say one thing:
Absolutely impossible.
Those ancient beings who had lived for who-knows-how-long—if he actually agreed to their request, he was certain of one outcome:
He'd be drained dry.
Completely.
So yes—
Izumi chickened out.
Without hesitation, he twisted the situation and pinned everything onto Eris instead.
A perfect escape.
After leaving Eris behind, Izumi began wandering through his world.
At the same time, the goddesses—now fully dressed in their most beautiful outfits—were still eagerly waiting for his arrival.
But as time passed…
And passed…
And passed…
He never came.
That's when panic started to set in.
"Say… do you think Eris might've gone ahead and taken him for herself?"
One stunningly beautiful goddess suddenly voiced her suspicion.
The moment those words fell—
Everyone froze.
Another goddess, one who governed fate, immediately activated her power.
When she glimpsed the truth—
Her face turned green.
"ERIS!!"
"That shameless girl—she actually went ahead and took him for herself!!"
"…I mean—how enviable—NO, that's not it!! That's unforgivable!!"
The moment she confirmed it, the entire group exploded into outrage.
Meanwhile—
Back in Izumi's residence—
Eris suddenly shivered.
"…Why do I feel like I'm about to die?"
She hugged herself, her face pale.
There was no way she could face those goddesses now.
"I've been completely set up by Izumi-sama!!"
In the end, she decided to hide.
No matter what, she absolutely refused to go outside.
Because if she did—
She'd definitely be captured.
Several days later—
Izumi floated high above his world, quietly observing its vast expanse.
"…It's bigger than I thought."
After a moment of contemplation, he made a decision.
To finally put his plan into action.
Closing his eyes—
His consciousness spread across the entire world in an instant.
Then—
He began to reshape it.
East. West. South. North.
The world was divided into multiple massive regions.
At the center stood the great tree beneath him.
And then—
The tree began to grow.
Higher.
And higher.
And higher.
From the ground below, people could only see its massive trunk piercing the heavens, as if it had broken through the sky itself.
Its end was invisible.
Beyond reach.
Then, the sky itself began to change.
A second layer of reality emerged.
Several higher-tier worlds were placed within this upper layer.
In the blink of an eye—
The entire world was divided into two levels.
The Lower Layer: where most civilizations existed The Upper Layer: home to more advanced worlds
Above even that—
Lay Izumi's own city.
A domain beyond all.
The massive world tree served as a bridge between layers, allowing passage between them.
Of course, there were other methods as well.
With this—
The entire structure of the world had been completely transformed.
"One world… one region."
Izumi murmured.
"If more worlds come in the future… I'll just keep expanding."
He even planned to separate technological worlds and magical worlds within the same layer for better organization.
As he worked—
Two figures appeared beside him.
Alaya and Gaia.
They watched his actions with concern.
"Izumi-sama…"
"Is this really a good idea?"
"Dividing the world into layers like this… won't it increase conflict among the people?"
Alaya voiced her worry.
Izumi simply shook his head.
"It's fine."
"I've already considered that."
"Even now, those near the center look down on those at the edges."
"They treat them like countryside outsiders."
"So don't worry about it."
"With proper rules in place, nothing will spiral out of control."
He paused, a faint smile forming.
"Besides… this is better."
"Only through competition can the people of this world grow stronger."
"In the end—everything will be decided through games."
To him, conflict wasn't a problem.
Stagnation was.
As long as the world continued to evolve and grow stronger—
That was all that mattered.
Hearing his words, Alaya and Gaia fell silent.
If Izumi himself wasn't worried—
Then there was nothing more to say.
Clapping his hands lightly, Izumi turned to them again.
"It's about time I start exploring new worlds."
"When I've merged enough of them…"
"This world will stand above all others."
His eyes gleamed with ambition.
Becoming a single-digit or double-digit being?
That wasn't his goal.
What he truly desired—
Was to become the ruler of countless dimensions.
Alaya and Gaia were visibly excited.
"Understood, Izumi-sama!"
"Leave this world to us."
"We won't let you down."
They meant it.
After all—
Their existence was now completely tied to this world.
If Izumi succeeded—
They would rise alongside it.
Naturally, they wanted that future to become reality.
Izumi smiled.
Then, with a wave of his hand, he summoned a dimensional gate.
Without hesitation—
He stepped through it.
Alaya and Gaia disappeared soon after, returning to their duties.
There was much to manage.
As Izumi passed through the gate—
He felt it.
A thin membrane.
Like breaking through the boundary of reality itself.
And the moment he entered—
The world trembled.
It cried out.
"…Oh?"
Izumi raised an eyebrow.
Immediately, he suppressed his own power.
Only then did he fully descend into the new world.
But even so—
His mere presence caused instability.
A massive spatial quake began to spread across the planet.
And today—
Just so happened to be the day a certain spirit would appear.
Because of Izumi's arrival—
That spatial quake grew even more violent.
More destructive.
Far beyond its original scale.
"…Not good."
Sensing the danger, Izumi acted instantly.
He unleashed his power—
And forcefully suppressed the spatial disturbance.
The quake, which could have destroyed half the world, was crushed before it could fully manifest.
Only then did everything stabilize.
Through that phenomenon—
Izumi came to a realization.
"…So this is that world."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
He already knew exactly where he had arrived.