Souta hadn't expected that joining the video chat would leave his body completely defenseless.
He almost got collared by Esdeath. That was close, way too close.
With a thought, the collar in Esdeath's hands shattered and dropped to the floor of the dining hall.
Esdeath looked genuinely disappointed.
Souta stared at her expressionlessly and sighed.
"When it comes to you, I really can't let my guard down for even a second."
"Oh? I always thought we were quite the pair. Why not wear the collar? You seemed to enjoy it when you put it on me last time."
Esdeath's eyes glinted playfully as she looked at him.
"..." Souta glanced toward Chelsea. Thankfully, she was still zoned out.
Esdeath had no filter, she'd say anything, didn't care who was listening or watching.
But he... was a little more self-conscious.
"I think," Souta began, "you should go take a shower."
He honestly couldn't deal with her right now.
While his consciousness was off in the video chat, she tried to slip a collar on him, and judging by her look, she'd already climaxed from the attempt.
He hadn't used X-ray vision or anything, but his sense of smell was sharp. He could tell what kind of state she was in.
After so many encounters, he'd memorized Esdeath's scent.
"Mm, all sticky. Definitely uncomfortable," Esdeath nodded matter-of-factly.
"Oh right," she asked curiously, "why were you two spacing out just now?"
"The system just unlocked a new feature. It can project the surroundings of two or more users into each other's consciousnesses for a virtual face-to-face interaction."
Souta didn't hide anything and explained:
"I was trying out the feature. Since my consciousness was elsewhere, my body looked like it was spaced out."
"Why not just walk over and talk? What a pointless gimmick," Esdeath scoffed.
She bent down slightly and picked up the broken collar, still looking disappointed.
"I really liked this toy... oh well. I'll head out. The assassination squad has tasks waiting."
She turned and walked toward the exit of the dining room.
At that moment, Chelsea's awareness returned from the video chat. She blinked and looked around like she wasn't fully back yet.
When she saw Esdeath walking over, she instinctively stepped aside.
"Don't forget your shower," Souta called out.
"How about... you clean me up with your tongue?" Esdeath turned her head, eyes twinkling as she made the suggestive offer.
"...Get out," Souta replied instantly.
"Playing innocent. You'll do it eventually," Esdeath pouted, then walked off.
She really was disappointed, she'd been hoping to experience a little dominant fun for once with Souta.
As the sound of the door closing echoed, Chelsea gave Souta a suspicious look.
"What were you two talking about? I didn't understand a thing."
"If you could understand that from just a few lines, I'd actually be impressed," Souta said, shaking his head. "Don't worry about it. Come, sit. Let's have breakfast."
He clapped his hands, and the maids brought out a fresh meal.
Chelsea wasn't here for food though. She cut straight to the chase.
"When are you going after Syura?"
"What's the rush?" Souta took a bite of toast. "He's already back in the Capital, he's not going anywhere. More importantly, let me check out who the new members are."
As he spoke, he navigated his system phone.
In the group member list, two new nicknames had appeared.
Souta paused mid-bite.
Wow... they're really not hiding their identities, huh?
He was, of course, very familiar with Inori. Guilty Crown was basically his entry point into otaku life.
Sure, otakus could be fickle, shamelessly switching "waifus" by the day, but he'd never forgotten the pink-haired, seemingly emotionless songstress. She left quite the impression.
As for "Kuroneko"... that rang a bell too.
She was from Oreimo. Real name: Gokou Ruri—an edgy, chuuni girl with a flair for dramatic monologues and borderline delusions.
She blurred the line between anime and real life, treating fantasy like reality. Honestly, she could go toe-to-toe with Kurumi's "Four Heavenly Kings."
They probably had a lot in common... though Kurumi might deliberately keep her distance.
The Kuroneko could easily remind her of her own cringey past.
The kind of shame that makes you bury your face between your knees.
Souta muttered, "Didn't expect a slice-of-life character to get invited. Looks like the system really pulls from anywhere, even worlds without supernatural powers."
He opened the chat group and scrolled through the messages.
As usual, Kurumi had been the first to @ the newbies, posting the usual welcome message and suggesting they familiarize themselves with the system.
The two remained silent and wary.
Now, with Souta included, the group officially had three lurkers.
Souta: "@Yuzuriha Inori. @Kuroneko. The system just unlocked a video chat function. If you're skeptical about its authenticity, try it—it's a solid way to verify things."
It was a good tool to demonstrate the system's legitimacy.
Kurumi and the others had already discussed it earlier, so he didn't repeat the full explanation.
Tokisaki Kurumi: "Have you found Syura yet?"
Souta: "Not yet. I was just checking out the new members. What's with you all? Really that eager to see him die?"
Kurumi: "Yes! If I don't see it with my own eyes, I'll feel like I've been suffocating for days."
Altair: "Same here. I want to slice that garbage with my own hands!"
Rin Tohsaka: "Me too. I want to blow that part of him into mush!"
Souta's eye twitched. Rin... didn't you already do that to Shinji Matou?
Are you addicted to this now?
Syura really was the sworn enemy of all women.
Then again, it made sense.
The Akame ga Kill anime barely touched on how monstrous he was—but the manga? It pulled no punches.
After returning to the Capital with his personal squad, Syura would rape almost every beautiful woman he saw. Those he didn't kill immediately were tortured to death.
He let his subordinates run wild—slaughtering civilians, abusing women and children.
Even Bols's wife and daughter, while mourning Bols's death, were caught by him, and suffered the same fate.
He was a character created purely to disgust readers.
Especially when it came to women, he made you sick to your stomach.
Souta: "Don't worry. I'll make sure he gets what he deserves."
Souta: "By the way, Rin—what have you been up to lately?"
Rin: "I've been using the system support to comprehend the Second Magic. I want to master that first before focusing on a Dragon Core, mana storage, or Mana Burst."
Souta: "You might want to focus on the latter first. Becoming a true Magus isn't easy. Plus, Magic users risk being targeted by the Counter Force. Best to strengthen yourself first, so you can fight back if you run into any Heroic Spirits."
Souta: "If things get dangerous, let me know."
Souta: "Oh, one more thing—I noticed when using the video chat, your physical body becomes totally vulnerable. Just a heads-up: make sure you're safe before starting one."
Altair: "No need to worry about that, Souta. I asked the system, if danger arises during video chat, it'll forcibly disconnect you."
Souta: "Still, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Better to make sure no one's around before connecting."
Kurumi: "You keep emphasizing this. So suspicious. Did something happen while you were in the video chat?"
Souta: "Nothing happened!"
Although... now that he thought about it.
Other than trying to collar him, what else had Esdeath been trying to do?
There's no way she climaxed just from almost putting a collar on him, right?
She didn't even get it on fully.
What the hell did she do?