The integration of Little Garden quickly settled into a stable rhythm.
Although many of Little Garden's residents had been swindled almost immediately after arriving, there was little they could do about it now.
They could only swallow their losses with tears in their eyes and move on.
Fortunately, it didn't take long before they were captivated by the unique nature of Izumi's world.
After all, this was a place where exploration came with almost no risk.
You didn't have to worry about accidentally offending a terrifying powerhouse.
Even if you met someone vastly stronger than yourself, your life was never truly in danger.
As a result, countless newcomers threw themselves into adventuring.
Some of the weaker Communities soon discovered something incredible.
In this world, defeating monsters allowed one to grow stronger.
Not only that, monsters occasionally dropped powerful equipment and treasures comparable to Gifts.
The moment that information spread, a massive migration began.
Everyone rushed into the wilderness in search of monsters to hunt.
For a time, the vast wildlands became incredibly lively.
...
The older residents of Izumi's world found the newcomers' enthusiasm rather amusing.
After all, they knew something the newcomers didn't.
Izumi had populated the world with far too many monsters.
As a result, equipment was no longer particularly rare.
In fact, the weapon market had already crashed.
The culprit behind that phenomenon was a certain group of unbelievably lucky individuals.
The so-called "Luck Kings."
Equipment dropped so frequently for them that the prices of weapons, Noble Phantasms, and even divine artifacts had fallen to nearly half their previous value.
Nowadays, if someone had enough points, they could simply find one of these lucky adventurers and purchase whatever equipment they wanted.
...
At the center of this phenomenon stood the Familia of Eris.
As the Goddess of Luck, Eris possessed absurd fortune.
Anyone blessed by her seemed destined to stumble across treasure wherever they went.
Monster hunts almost always resulted in valuable drops.
Rare equipment appeared so frequently that even high-grade Noble Phantasms and divine relics had become commonplace within her Familia.
Because of this, countless gods looked upon Eris's Familia with envy.
Despite existing for only a short time, its overall strength had already grown comparable to that of the famed Loki Familia.
What made the situation even more outrageous was that every member of the Eris Familia enjoyed extraordinary luck.
It was enough to make other Familias green with jealousy.
Many adventurers had even attempted to leave their original groups and join Eris.
Unfortunately for them, Eris wasn't interested.
Her Familia accepted only girls.
Furthermore, she preferred girls blessed with exceptional luck.
Anyone who failed to meet those requirements was immediately rejected.
...
After handling the aftermath of Little Garden's integration, Izumi finally found himself with some free time.
And whenever Izumi had free time...
Dangerous ideas tended to emerge.
This time, his target was none other than Rika.
...
At that moment, Rika was feeling completely helpless.
She stared at the young man sitting across from her and rubbed her forehead.
"So..."
"Can someone explain why you're here again?"
Izumi chuckled.
"Because I wanted to see you, obviously."
"Come on, Rika."
"How about going on a date with me?"
The instant those words left his mouth, Rika's expression darkened.
"A date?"
"Go date your own sister."
"Get lost."
"You rotten man."
"I knew you weren't a decent person."
"So you've really set your sights on me now?"
"Leave already."
...
With a huff, Rika attempted to activate a teleportation spell.
Normally, sending someone away—or simply leaving herself—would have been effortless.
But this time...
Nothing happened.
The magic circle failed to form.
Her power simply refused to respond.
Rika froze.
Then she tried again.
Still nothing.
It was as though the entire world itself was deliberately suppressing her magic.
A vein appeared on her forehead.
Then another.
And another.
Finally, she exploded.
"YOU CHEATER!"
"You actually manipulated the world's laws?!"
She pointed accusingly at Izumi.
Meanwhile, the culprit merely sat there with an innocent smile on his face.
As though he had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.
Which only made Rika even angrier.