(TL Note: Btw Chapter name is the title drop, translation meaning I have a few too many love interest.)
The next day, Chelsea transformed into the Lord of the Path of Peace using Gaia Foundation and began carrying out her duties.
The intel she had obtained from the Revolutionary Army's spies proved invaluable, helping her understand the Lord's mannerisms and avoiding any potential slip-ups.
To prevent accidents, Souta and Kurumi stayed hidden within the shadow space, monitoring the situation at all times.
Souta even purchased extra memory-altering spell cards from Tohsaka Rin just in case.
After all, Rin's level of magic was far more reliable than that of "homunculi" from the Fourth Holy Grail War, who had even struggled to erase memories from ordinary people.
Fortunately, by the time evening arrived, they hadn't encountered any major issues requiring the spell cards.
Chelsea had perfectly played the role of the Lord, remaining completely composed despite the overwhelming number of followers.
As expected of a professional assassin who was used to high-pressure situations.
Back at the private palace, Chelsea dismissed the maids and guards ahead of time.
Then, she transformed back to her normal self, taking off her outer robes and collapsing onto the bed, exhausted.
Wearing only a white shirt and a short skirt, she lay there panting, looking both tired and alluring.
"Phew! I'm exhausted! I take back what I said before—this guy actually works super hard!"
"You have an entire kitchen staff dedicated to preparing your meals, and you still think it's exhausting?"
At some point, Souta and Kurumi had emerged from the shadows.
Souta glanced at Chelsea's stretched-out, slightly parted legs, and from this angle, he could faintly see the white fabric underneath her skirt...
The snow-white thighs and pure-white underwear were both in plain sight.
"Being a Lord is basically like being treated as an Emperor.
The entire city of Jelock is serving you, and you're still complaining?
If I made you work on a farm for a day, you'd probably collapse on the spot!"
Chelsea, still sprawled out on the bed, lazily replied:
"When you put it like that... being an assassin sounds way better.
Finish a job, then relax for a while.
Maybe I should just go back to assassination work?"
"...Did you already forget about your head?"
Chelsea sat up, looking visibly irritated.
"Can we stop bringing that up already!?"
At this moment, Kurumi spoke up:
"How did the mass gathering preparations go?"
Though she had been following Chelsea through the shadow space, she had been busy extracting ability cards and hadn't kept track of the event's progress.
"I already informed the higher-ups of the church, but because there are so many followers, it'll take about four days to organize."
Chelsea then turned to Souta and asked:
"What about your preparations?"
"Kurumi has already extracted a ton of ability cards.
But since we spent all day ensuring your safety, we haven't had time to plant the seeds Shiroyasha gave us."
Souta pulled out his system phone and checked the store.
Shiroyasha had already uploaded the seeds, but since they hadn't had time to plant them, Souta hadn't purchased them yet.
"We'll still have to stick close to you tomorrow, so I've scheduled the tree-planting for tonight instead."
Souta turned to Kurumi:
"That okay with you?"
"If you're too tired, then—"
Kurumi smiled, cutting him off.
"If I'm not there, how do you expect to plant that many seeds on your own?"
She gently scolded him:
"Stop saying things like that. You know we work best together."
"Alright, alright." Souta scratched his head.
"Let's head out, then."
"Wait—what about me!?"
"I'm not staying here alone!
If I get found out, I'm screwed!"
"Don't worry—I'll protect you."
Before Chelsea could react, a voice spoke from behind her.
Startled, she whipped around, only to see another Kurumi standing there—this one dressed in a different-colored Gothic dress.
Chelsea's eyes widened in shock.
"Kurumi... Miss Kurumi!?"
"That's one of Kurumi's clones," Souta explained.
"Of course, she is Kurumi."
"She'll protect you for now.
If anything goes wrong, we'll rush back immediately through the shadow space."
"Relax, Miss Chelsea~"
The Kurumi clone, dressed in deep crimson, spoke with a reassuring tone.
Then, she glanced at Souta and flashed him a playful smile:
"Souta~ Don't take too long to come back."
She then cast a meaningful glance at the bed.
Her smile turned mischievous.
"I'll be waiting for you... to sleep together."
For a brief moment, Souta felt tempted.
The real Kurumi: "..."
Kurumi watched her clone acting flirty, and for a second, she really wanted to punch herself.
But since that was her past self, she sighed and let it slide.
The shadow space expanded, and Kurumi and Souta swiftly departed for the city outskirts.
Kurumi's Third Bullet has the ability to accelerate time, allowing anything it hits to rapidly mature.
When used on plants, it could grow an entire tree from a tiny seed in seconds.
The necessary nutrients...?
Apparently, the bullet automatically extracts what it needs from the world itself.
Much like how the Fourth Bullet could restore damaged bodies by summoning lost matter.
In short—don't think too hard about it.
"Hey, Souta," Kurumi asked as he purchased the seeds from the system.
"Are you sure Shiroyasha's seeds aren't dangerous?"
"They should be fine.
The system price wasn't very high, so they can't be too rare or powerful.
At best, they'll probably just be stronger and more resilient than regular plants."
Souta stared at the large sack of seeds, his eyes filled with anticipation.
"According to the system description, most of these are fruit tree seeds from Little Garden.
If they take root, they'll provide a new food source for Jellock's people.
That should increase their loyalty to the church.
The only problem is... there's a LOT of them."
"Over 100,000 seeds."
Kurumi was a little surprised, but quickly adjusted.
"With four days before the ceremony, we should be able to finish in time."
She expanded her shadow space, and in an instant—over 1,000 Kurumi clones emerged.
The silent, desolate outskirts suddenly became lively.
It looked like a scene from paradise.
"Ara ara~ Souta, it's been a while~"
"Souta~ I finally get to see you!"
"Are we going on a date tomorrow?"
"Souta, I... love you."
A swarm of Kurumi clones rushed over, surrounding Souta, examining him from head to toe.