Souta didn't have to wait long before Tanjiro arrived at the clearing.
Standing nearby while cloaked in invisibility, Souta remained unnoticed by everyone.
Just then, the phone in his pocket vibrated.
"Hm?" He took it out and saw a message in the group chat.
Altair: "@Souta. How's it going over there? What's the deal with the newcomer, did you figure it out?"
Souta: "It's confirmed that it's not Kamado Tanjiro himself. Barring any surprises, it should definitely be his sister, Nezuko."
Souta: "I accepted Tanjiro's request for help and am planning to assist his sister with the demon defect issue."
Shinobu: "Judging from the intel you sent about those siblings, the demon flaws seem pretty similar to vampires—fearing sunlight, needing to eat people. Are you planning to buy the 'Undying Body Evolution Card' and gift it to the newcomer?"
Shinobu: "Let me remind you—kindness is fine, but don't overdo it. Excessive charity might not always be a good thing for the other person."
Souta: "Don't worry, Shinobu. I've thought it through. I'll lend it—not give it away."
Souta: "Besides, we might not even need the Evolution Card. If I can fix it with divine power, using points would be a waste."
Kurumi Tokisaki: "Speaking of points, could the newcomer trigger a wish-type mission?"
Kurumi: "From the intel you shared, the Kamado siblings lost their entire family. It's likely they'd want to resurrect them. Maybe something like Altair's rescue mission could be triggered?"
Souta: "Nezuko, huh... there's a chance, yeah."
Souta: "By the way, Kurumi, did you already head back in time?"
Kurumi: "I'm a thousand years in the past now, heading to the plains of Outer Mongolia. There's the world's largest spiritual leyline there—I plan to ascend there."
Souta: "Alright, just remember to take it step-by-step. If anything goes wrong, stop immediately and contact me. I'll come right away."
Kurumi: "Ara~ so worried about me? How sweet~"
Kurumi: "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
Souta: "Don't jinx it by saying stuff like that."
Chelsea: "@Souta. By the way, do you have any mythological data?"
Chelsea: "The Lord of the Path of Peace asked me about it. He said since real gods exist now, their doctrine and myth background need updating. He knows I can hear divine will, so he's pushing for material ASAP. But I don't know mythology—should I just refuse?"
Souta: "No need to refuse. Doctrine and myth should evolve, especially if we're going to use religion to guide the empire."
Souta: "How about this—once I'm back, I'll download some mythology like the Bible and bring it to you. Let that leader use those references to create updated doctrine. I'm in the newbie's world now, came via a world-jump card, so it's inconvenient to go back."
Souta sighed. Had he known, he would've downloaded the materials earlier and uploaded them directly to the marketplace.
Altair: "If you can't go back, I'll do it for you. I'll upload various mythological texts to the shop. It won't cost much—about 1 point each. Just send 1 point to Chelsea."
Chelsea: "But I can't read your language!"
Altair: "I'll upload language skills too. Should be about 1 point."
Souta: "Chelsea, seriously? You're a god—use divine power to decode languages. Gods can understand and speak any language, even those based on light or color. It's a god's instinct. So don't waste a point—just use divine power."
Chelsea: "Tch, you're just stingy. Can't even spare a single point."
Souta: "Say what you want. I'll send you the point."
After replying, he transferred 1 point to Chelsea.
Until he fully understood the auxiliary functions of the system, Souta wasn't about to waste even a single point.
Altair: "Alright, I'm off to gather the data."
Souta: "Altair, don't upload anything weird. If you create some cringe-worthy mythology, that's going to be a problem."
Altair: "You don't trust me? I have taste."
Altair's confidence was loud and clear, but Souta still had doubts.
After all, she had a pretty intense case of chuuni syndrome.
Hopefully she'd stick to official mythology and not toss in something embarrassingly dramatic.
If she did, Souta might just go over and give her a good smack... right in front of Setsuna Shimazaki.
Athena: "@Souta. So you're a god from another world? How intriguing."
Souta: "Hm? Finally decided to speak up? Were you lurking this whole time?"
Athena: "This one was verifying the authenticity of the system phone. It cannot be destroyed by any means, not even banished to the Underworld—it always returns to me. For now, I acknowledge its mystique surpasses even my own."
Souta: "This one...? That tone... You wouldn't happen to be Athena, the Unsubmissive, would you?"
Athena: "Oh? So the announcement was right—you, as the group admin, know everyone's details."
So it was confirmed—this was the Athena!
Souta sighed in relief.
Kurumi: "So the two newcomers are from the same world?"
Souta: "Yep. But a God Slayer and an Unsubmissive God in the same group? Not a good match."
Souta: "@Luo Hao. @Athena. Don't start fighting, alright? Now that you're both in the group, you'll need to get along."
Athena: "Are you saying that my eternal rival is in this group?"
Souta: "Yes. But it's not like you can kill each other. The system blocks lethal attacks between group members. So you two better work things out."
Athena: "My only goal is to retrieve the Gorgoneion. Fighting my rival is secondary."
Athena: "@Souta. I can't sense the Gorgoneion's location right now. If the announcement was true, you should have intel on that, correct?"
Souta: "So... you want me to help find a divine artifact?"
Athena: "The search I will conduct myself. What I need is the information you know. Fellow god of another world, rest assured—I will offer proper compensation."
Souta: "I can give you the intel, but I'm not in my world right now. Once I wrap things up here and return, I'll look into it."
He had watched Campione! long ago and forgotten most details, but he could easily recall it all through divine memory. No need to return to the real world.
The reason he didn't hand over the info immediately... was because he wasn't sure what Athena would do with the Gorgoneion.
In the anime, she wasn't exactly shy about causing chaos.
She even caused a divine split later, with Metis nearly dragging the world into the Underworld.
If it weren't for the God Slayer defeating her, humanity would've been doomed.
The novel had some differences, but Souta wasn't sure which direction the current timeline leaned.
So, for the safety of the people in that world, he had to investigate first—then decide.
Athena: "Very well. I await your news."
And with that message, she went silent again.
"...The Unsubmissive God is actually easier to talk to than Luo Hao," Souta muttered.
Luo Hao still hadn't said a word—likely because she thought the rest of them weren't worth talking to.
A Demon Queen too proud to bother.
Souta sighed helplessly. Nothing he could do about it—for now, he'd take it one step at a time.
"Souta-san, are you there?"
Tanjiro's voice broke his train of thought, and Souta looked up from his phone.
Looking ahead, he saw that only Tanjiro remained in the clearing. Even the examiner siblings had left.
Souta revealed himself and replied, "I'm here."
Seeing Souta appear, Tanjiro visibly relaxed.
"Sorry, I was lost in thought and didn't hear you calling."
Souta gave a brief explanation, then asked:
"Everything taken care of on your end?"
Tanjiro nodded, "Yes. I'm officially a Demon Slayer now. They said my Nichirin Blade will arrive in 10 to 15 days."
"Great. In that case, let's go back to your sister."
"Point me in the right direction—and give me an idea of the distance. We'll... teleport straight there."