Erina descended to the first floor with Hisako following behind her.
Her face was still flushed with embarrassment and anger.
The moment the staff saw her, they froze.
"Huh?"
"Erina, why do you look younger?"
"Did you buy some kind of anti-aging item again?"
The one who asked was Ryōko Sakaki, who happened to be passing by.
Hearing that question, veins immediately appeared on Erina's forehead.
"Don't even mention that idiot Izumi!"
"He turned me into this the moment he arrived!"
"And then he treated me like some kind of maid!"
"That infuriating jerk!"
Unable to contain her frustration, Erina vented several complaints before storming toward the kitchen.
Ryōko watched her leave with a strange expression.
Ah...
Something definitely happened upstairs.
Her curiosity burned fiercely.
Unfortunately, she knew better than to pry into matters involving Izumi.
After a brief internal struggle, she suppressed her desire for gossip and returned to work.
...
Meanwhile, upstairs.
Izumi sat comfortably in Erina's office while Erica remained beside him.
As they chatted, something suddenly crossed his mind.
"Oh right."
"Don't you have a silver-haired best friend?"
"Where is she these days?"
Hearing the question, Erica's expression became somewhat awkward.
"She's my secretary now."
"She's helping me manage various affairs."
Izumi immediately fell silent.
Then he looked at her with disbelief.
"You turned your best friend into your secretary?"
"...You really know how to use people."
He honestly didn't know what to say.
Wasn't that basically turning your best friend into a personal assistant?
Erica coughed awkwardly and chose not to respond.
Not long afterward, the office door opened.
Erina entered while pushing a serving cart.
She had changed into a chef's uniform.
The familiar sight immediately earned an approving nod from Izumi.
"Now this is the Erina I remember."
Then he grinned.
"Come on, young lady."
"Sit down and have a drink with me."
Erina's forehead twitched again.
At that moment, she seriously wanted to strangle him.
"Hmph!"
She turned her head away.
Clearly, she had no intention of cooperating.
Izumi simply laughed.
Ignoring her resistance entirely, he pulled her over and sat her beside him.
As the saying went—
After eating and drinking one's fill, thoughts naturally wandered elsewhere.
The meal passed pleasantly enough.
Soon afterward, Izumi dragged Erina away, leaving Erica and Hisako behind.
The two women could only watch helplessly.
As for Izumi—
He happily spent the rest of the day enjoying Erina's company.
...
While Izumi was enjoying himself, the greater dimensional world continued changing.
Countless worlds flowed toward his realm like rivers merging into a vast ocean.
And Izumi's world was that ocean.
Even he no longer knew how many worlds had already merged into it.
With each integration, the world grew stronger.
And as the ruler of that world, Izumi's power increased alongside it.
Eventually, even certain beings from another realm noticed the changes.
The residents of the Little Garden could clearly sense it.
Their world was drawing closer.
Very close.
After realizing this, several influential figures gathered together once again.
Present were:
- Shiroyasha
- Halloween Queen
- Algol
- Canary
The four sat around a table.
The Halloween Queen and Canary elegantly sipped tea.
Algol, meanwhile, remained busy admiring her own reflection.
Only Shiroyasha wore a dangerous smile.
"Let's discuss how we're going to deal with those people once Little Garden merges."
"We've got quite a few old enemies."
"Buddhism."
"The Greek Gods."
"And several others..."
As she spoke, a malicious gleam appeared in her eyes.
Truthfully, Shiroyasha had never forgotten the grievances she suffered in Little Garden.
Life in Izumi's world was exciting.
Comfortable.
Fun.
Yet the desire for revenge remained.
The moment Little Garden arrived—
She intended to settle some old scores.
Hearing this, Algol immediately snorted.
"No need to rush."
"We'll deal with them after the merger."
"I've already decided."
"That Athena is definitely getting beaten to death."
A smile appeared on her face.
"And then I'll let my Athena absorb her."
The others immediately looked at her.
Apparently, Algol had been making plans of her own.
During her time in Izumi's world, she had encountered another Athena.
Specifically, the Athena from the world of Athena.
A small and adorable goddess.
Though naturally—
Not as adorable as Algol herself.
At least according to Algol.
Initially, she'd wanted to kill Athena immediately.
Then inspiration struck.
Many gods in Izumi's world had absorbed the power of alternate versions of themselves.
If others could do it...
Why couldn't Athena?
And if there were difficulties?
Well, Izumi existed.
Surely he could solve them.
At worst, she would simply ask him nicely.
After all, Algol firmly believed that her charm was irresistible.
Even with so many beautiful women around him, she remained convinced that she was the cutest.
Thus, her plan was born.
She befriended Athena.
Took her under her wing.
And began treating her almost like a personal attendant.
Then, once Little Garden merged...
She would defeat the Athena of Little Garden.
Afterward, her Athena would absorb that version's power.
In other words—
The Little Garden Athena would effectively become her subordinate too.
It was an incredibly bizarre train of thought.
Yet somehow, it made perfect sense inside Algol's head.
Upon hearing all of this, Shiroyasha's mouth twitched.
She already knew about the plan.
After all, Algol had never been capable of keeping secrets.
A few leading questions were all it took to make her reveal everything.
Looking at the smug demon lord before her, Shiroyasha sighed.
"Are you sure you can actually wait that long?"
Honestly, she still wasn't used to the current Algol.
The old Algol would have charged into battle immediately.
She would solve problems with overwhelming force before anyone could blink.
But now?
Now she was making plans.
Schemes.
Long-term strategies.
It felt completely unnatural.
Shiroyasha couldn't help thinking:
Izumi really changed her far too much.