Altair: "She still hasn't woken up? I suspect she's at a critical stage of evolution."
Altair: "If anything goes wrong, please let me know. My 'Holopsicon' ability might help."
Souta: "Relax, Altair. Hopefully we won't need that. Because if even I can't help, there's no way you can."
Chelsea: "It's true, but wow, Souta, only you could make something so brutally honest sound even more hurtful, hahaha!"
Shiroyasha: "Hah! That's so you, kid."
Altair: "Chelsea's words were pretty hurtful too."
Chelsea: "Oops, sorry, sorry."
Rin Tohsaka: "You'll get used to it, Altair. That's just standard Souta behavior."
Altair: "I understand, I understand."
Souta: "Why is no one considering that I might just be teasing or joking?"
Rin Tohsaka: "Oh please, stop pretending. You know how often you roast people? It's practically a reflex at this point. I'm so used to it, it feels weird when you don't sass me."
Souta: "Didn't know you were that much of a masochist, Rin."
Rin Tohsaka: "Hmph! Who do you think trained me into it?"
Queen of Nightmares: @Altair. "You have a power called 'Holopsicon'? That's quite an interesting name. Mind sharing your identity?"
Souta: "She's asking if you're a devil, angel, god, demon king, magi, etc."
Altair: "I guess... I'd be considered an esper."
Queen of Nightmares: "Oh? We've got espers too? This group's getting more interesting by the second!"
Souta: "By the way, Miss Queen of Nightmares, have you read the group announcement?"
Queen of Nightmares: "Too long, didn't read."
Souta: "Did you try throwing the phone after picking it up?"
(The system phone only triggers its "return" effect if deliberately thrown or left far away. Without testing it, the user may not notice anything unusual. Souta himself didn't discover its special nature for over ten days.)
Queen of Nightmares: "Throw it? Why would I do that?"
Souta: "Alright, I get it."
Queen of Nightmares: "?"
Souta: "Let's do a video chat sometime. I'll show you what divine power looks like."
Queen of Nightmares: "Oho? I'm looking forward to that! But as a demon king, I won't go down easy!"
Queen of Nightmares: @Altair. "Miss Altair, could you tell me more about your 'Holopsicon' ability? Don't worry, in return, I'll share my background too."
Altair: "Your background?"
Queen of Nightmares: "My powers as a fallen angel. Interested in trading info?"
Altair: "Sure. I've always been curious about beings like fallen angels."
And just like that, the two began their interdimensional chat.
Midway through, Shiroyasha jumped in and started praising Ruri's "immense power," claiming she was stronger than Souta and even took a jab at him.
Souta felt... nothing. If anything, it was amusing.
Watching them chatter was surprisingly entertaining.
He didn't linger too long, though, and put his phone away.
Unless someone tagged him directly, he had notifications turned off.
He glanced over at Kurumi.
The girl was still curled up, completely motionless.
He sighed and tried to suppress the worry in his heart.
"Right, I just got 1,000 points. Since I'm doing nothing anyway, might as well work on understanding the Laws."
Souta recalled the points he earned from helping Inori.
With what Kurumi and the others had sent him previously, he now had over 1,100 points, enough to buy 11 minutes of system-assistance time.
"Last time, 50 minutes pushed me forward significantly. Maybe 11 more minutes is enough to awaken a Divine Authority."
He felt a surge of anticipation.
Kurumi probably wouldn't wake up during that short span anyway.
"Alright then... let's begin."
He opened the system shop, spent the 1,100 points, and activated the session.
That mysterious state descended upon him once again.
Souta quickly shut his eyes, focusing entirely on his comprehension.
Having experience now, he dropped into the state even faster.
11 minutes passed in a blink.
Souta opened his eyes—calm, focused, filled with clarity.
The mental storm inside his mind stirred the winds around him, blowing open the floating clouds above.
When he looked ahead, the rising grass flattened completely under his gaze, turning smooth like glass.
Matter reshaped itself at his will.
With a glance, he altered the local terrain.
And it hardly cost him any divine power.
"My control over matter has grown again. I wonder how much divine energy I'd need to awaken my Authority now... Maybe it's enough?"
His eyes gleamed with eagerness.
But a glance at the still-sleeping Kurumi calmed him.
Her evolution was still underway—if something went wrong, all the divine energy he had would be needed to save her life.
Reviving someone by bypassing logic and laws through a divine wish cost a lot.
Power was great, but nothing compared to his wife.
He restrained the urge, focusing back on her.
Finally, as morning sunlight spread across the plains, Kurumi's spiritual presence stirred.
Souta noticed immediately and stepped up to the edge of her Sephira Crystal projection.
"Kurumi. Are you awake?"
Her lashes quivered, and slowly, she opened her tired eyes.
"Souta? Why are you here? When did you...?"
"You disappeared from the group. I came to check on you."
He got straight to the point.
"What happened? Why did you suddenly fall into a coma?"
"Sorry... I was exhausted. Just wanted to sleep, that's all..."
She tried to comfort him.
"Don't worry. It's just a side effect of evolving. I've fallen asleep a few times already."
Kurumi was still curled up, wrapped in dense spiritual energy, likely unable to move freely yet.
"And... don't look. Turn your head."
She said, slightly embarrassed.
Guess she finally got shy.
"Okay, okay. I'm not looking."
Souta turned his head away.
There'd be plenty of chances to see every inch of her later, no need to rush. Even open her up and look insi— ahem. No need to get ahead of himself.
"You've been evolving for quite a while now. Still not done?"
"Can't help it. I absorbed the spiritual vein completely, but it's massive. Takes time to digest."
"At the current pace, it'll take another half month for the crystal to finish evolving. I'll probably sleep again during that time and won't be awake for long."
"I see... as long as you're okay."
Souta sighed in relief.
"Aww, worried about me?" Kurumi teased with a soft smile. "If you're lonely, you can come in—I'll pat your head."
"Wait, I can go in?" he asked, pointing to the crystal barrier.
"Well... I'm not entirely sure. Probably okay?"
She didn't sound confident.
"Then never mind. Not worth the risk."
Souta restrained the urge and replied:
"I'll stay here and wait for a month."
"No need! I'm really fine, you don't have to worry so much."
"I'll only wake up once every five or six days, and even then, just for a few minutes. Just talk to me while I'm awake, then go do your thing when I sleep."
"It's fine," Souta waved. "Waiting for you is what I should do."
"But I don't want you bored out of your mind waiting."
"Are you sure nothing's going to happen?"
Souta turned back and stared into her eyes.
"Of course—wait! Turn your head back around!"
Kurumi quickly covered her face, completely red.
Being stared at naked was testing the limits of her shame.
Don't be fooled by her usual maturity and flirty behavior—deep down, she was a well-raised, refined lady who hid her girlish heart.
Hidden, not gone. Once her boundaries were crossed, it showed.
"Okay, okay, I'm not looking anymore."
Souta turned away again.
"...By the way, Souta, you haven't been flirting around lately, have you?"
Suddenly, Kurumi asked.