The members of the Light Music Club were quite familiar with the name Izumi.
Because they often spent time with the younger girls living under Izumi's care, they had naturally become curious about the "Izumi-oniichan" those girls talked about every day.
So they had asked about him before.
The girls never tried to hide anything.
Instead, they enthusiastically told them all sorts of stories about Izumi.
That was how the members of Houkago Tea Time learned that Izumi was the ruler of this world—the supreme existence standing at its pinnacle.
And now, hearing Kayo reveal that the mysterious donor was none other than Izumi himself, everyone in the Light Music Club froze in shock.
"Y-You're kidding, right?"
Ritsu Tainaka stared blankly.
"That Izumi-sama?"
She couldn't believe it.
The ruler of the world had actually been watching their performance?
Beside her, Tsumugi Kotobuki looked deep in thought.
"So that's how it is..."
"That handsome gentleman was Izumi-sama."
"What a shame."
"If only I'd reacted faster, I could've stopped him."
A look of regret appeared on her face.
After all, that was the supreme ruler of the world.
Just being able to speak with him would have been an unforgettable experience.
The girls continued chatting excitedly about Izumi.
The fact that he had listened to their music and then casually rewarded them with such an enormous amount of points left them both thrilled and overwhelmed.
Watching them, Kayo couldn't help smiling.
Then she asked:
"Would you like me to take you to meet Izumi-oniichan?"
"Since he had time to watch your performance, he should be fairly free right now."
"If you want to thank him, it's probably best to do it in person."
The girls immediately froze.
"W-We can do that?"
"Is it really okay to meet Izumi-sama?"
"We don't even know him..."
"What if we bother him?"
"What if he gets angry and vaporizes us?"
Ritsu's imagination instantly ran wild.
Black lines practically appeared on Kayo's forehead.
She was completely speechless.
This girl really did have a talent for overthinking things.
"Of course not."
"Izumi-oniichan isn't that kind of person."
"Ritsu-san, please stop imagining weird things!"
Ritsu laughed awkwardly.
"Sorry, sorry!"
"But seriously..."
"As the ruler of this world, doesn't Izumi-sama know everything?"
"Aren't creator gods usually like that?"
"Hmm... probably."
She paused.
Then her expression changed dramatically.
"Wait."
"Doesn't that mean he knows all our secrets too?!"
Mio Akiyama immediately buried her face in her hands.
What nonsense was this idiot talking about now?
Even Kayo felt exhausted.
This was hopeless.
"Whether Izumi-oniichan knows or not, I can't say."
"But I can tell you one thing."
"Even if he doesn't know..."
"Alaya-neesan probably does."
The moment those words left her mouth, everyone stiffened.
And then—
A translucent figure suddenly appeared behind Ritsu.
"Kayo-chan is correct."
"I know everything."
"KYAAAAAAAAAAH!!"
The sudden appearance scared everyone half to death.
Especially because Alaya had materialized in a ghost-like, semi-transparent form.
Anyone who didn't know better would have thought an actual ghost had appeared.
After startling them thoroughly, Alaya simply stared at the group expressionlessly.
Eventually, the girls calmed down.
Trembling slightly, Ritsu looked at Alaya.
"A-Alaya-sama..."
"I didn't mean anything by it!"
Of course she knew who Alaya was.
In every possible sense, Alaya was humanity's ultimate supervisor.
All human beings ultimately fell under her domain.
Alaya glanced at her before speaking flatly.
"You certainly have courage."
"To describe Izumi-sama as someone so cruel."
"What do you think I should do with you?"
"Perhaps remove your ability to speak?"
"Or maybe make it impossible for you to move your hands so you'll never play drums again?"
The instant those words were spoken, Ritsu dropped to her knees.
"I WAS WRONG!"
"PLEASE DON'T!!"
She surrendered immediately.
The fearless Ritsu Tainaka had been defeated in seconds.
Watching the scene, Kayo couldn't help laughing.
The girl who dared to ask Saitama why his head was so shiny was now trembling like a frightened rabbit.
Honestly, if this world hadn't prohibited killing, Ritsu would probably have been beaten up countless times by now.
She really had a talent for courting disaster.
"Alaya-neesan, please stop teasing her."
"Next, I'll be taking them to meet Izumi-sama."
"And since you're already here, could you cover for me for a while?"
"I'll be back soon."
Alaya withdrew her gaze from Ritsu and nodded.
"Go ahead."
"I'll handle things here."
"Maybe I'll drag Gaia over as well."
"Seriously, that girl does nothing but sleep all day."
"At this rate she's going to weigh two hundred kilograms."
The moment Gaia was mentioned, Alaya looked genuinely exasperated.
Kayo immediately laughed.
"That's just because Gaia-nee likes sleeping."
"Anyway, I'll leave things to you."
"We're heading out."
With that, she lightly jumped down from her seat.
Turning around, she waved at the members of Houkago Tea Time.
"Come on!"
Then she headed straight toward the Kabbalah Tree of Life.
The girls exchanged glances before hurrying after her.
After all, they were finally going to meet Izumi.
Their curiosity had already reached its limit.
And despite all of Ritsu's ridiculous theories, none of them truly believed Izumi was some terrifying tyrant.
After all—
A person who would casually reward a group of amateur musicians with such an unbelievable amount of points couldn't possibly be that hard to get along with.
At least...
That was what they hoped.