The moment Kurumi asked the question, Souta's expression froze. His heart skipped a beat, and it felt like a giant red "DANGER" sign lit up over his head.
Fortunately, Kurumi was still looking at his side profile and didn't notice anything suspicious yet.
Souta quickly composed himself, silently debating how to respond.
Lie? That feels wrong. My conscience wouldn't survive it.
Be honest? ...Would she come at me with a kitchen knife?
Kurumi was about to surpass him in strength...
Seeing him silent, Kurumi began to look suspicious.
Thankfully, just then, her system phone 'tucked under her backside', vibrated.
"Ah, someone messaged me." Kurumi's face turned a bit red.
The buzz against that spot... it tingled like a soft electric current.
Hearing that, Souta sighed in relief.
He didn't want to lie, but also wasn't ready to be completely honest. The timing just wasn't right.
Whoever messaged her, bless them.
Whoever you are... thank you!
Kurumi summoned her shadow and had it reach out from her skin, retrieving the phone and floating it up to her face.
She used voice command to enter the group chat.
Souta glanced over and gave a small nod of admiration.
So shadows can be used for that too? That's pretty clever.
Wonder who she picked that trick up from...
"It's Altair. She tagged me to check how I'm doing," Kurumi said, smiling gently. Clearly, being cared about made her feel good.
She dictated her reply aloud.
Kurumi Tokisaki: "Sorry for making everyone worry. I'm in the middle of evolving. Don't worry—nothing dangerous, I just keep falling asleep."
Altair: "As long as you're okay."
Souta checked his phone and smiled with relief.
So it was Altair who bailed me out. Not bad, not bad. I did let her tag along for some point farming back with Nezuko, so I guess that favor wasn't wasted after all.
Just then, his phone buzzed too.
Inori: @Souta. Gai says he agrees to cooperate. When will you be coming over?
Kurumi: "Cooperate? What cooperation?"
Altair: "Souta accepted a mission to rescue a new group member, and found their world perfect for building up faith. So he's planning to set up a religion there. Miss Inori is the one he saved."
Altair: "But when he suspected something might've happened to you, he dropped everything and rushed over."
Kurumi: "So I made him neglect his important business?"
Souta: "It's not that serious. Building a religion can wait. Don't overthink it, Kurumi."
Souta: @Inori. Got it. Have Gai wait a bit, something came up on my end. Once I've wrapped this up, I'll head over."
Souta: "Oh right, Inori—don't forget to send me an invite. Otherwise, I won't be able to cross over. Ask the system how to do it if you're unsure."
Altair: "Oh, by the way, Souta, you might be losing your third-place ranking."
Souta: "Huh? What ranking?"
Altair: "The power rankings in our chat. Shiroyasha is first, Kiss-Shot is second, and you were third. But after chatting with Queen of Nightmares, we've concluded she's stronger than you, so you're bumped to fourth. She and Kiss-Shot are about equal in power."
Souta: "Who made this list?"
Altair: "Shiroyasha did."
Souta: "Seriously. What a waste of time."
Shiroyasha: "Hmph! You're just jealous, kid. Even if Queen of Nightmares surprised me, I'm still number one—undefeated and unmatched, heh heh!"
Souta: "Who dares claim invincibility? Where are the 'undefeated' now? Even the mighty Empires fell."
Ignoring Shiroyasha's bragging, Souta tossed out a niche quote and pocketed his phone.
Right before he did, he got the invitation from Inori.
He left it alone for now.
The Gai matter wasn't urgent, he planned to let Funeral Parlor stew for a bit.
After spending his points to advance his comprehension of the Laws, he was more interested in seeing whether he had enough divine power to awaken a Divine Authority.
Ever since gaining divinity, the Authority issue had been a pain.
He'd fought tooth and nail for so long, it was time to enjoy the fruits of his labor.
Just then, he felt a sharp gaze land on him.
Confused, he turned, and locked eyes with Kurumi.
This time, she didn't shyly look away. She stared straight at him.
After a full ten seconds, she sighed and said:
"Souta... when did you meet Izayaoi Miku?"
"Quite bold of you, sending me that message," Kurumi said with a smile but her eyes sharpened like blades. "Was that meant to provoke me?"
Ah... so that's what I forgot!
Back when he feared something had happened to her, he sent a probing message: "Want to know a secret? I have a close relationship with Izayaoi Miku."
If she replied, he'd know she was okay.
If not, she might be in trouble.
He hadn't planned to keep Miku a secret forever. It was something he'd eventually come clean about.
But now? That bait had just blown up in his face.
Damn it. I was just thanking Altair for bailing me out, and now she's tossed me into a deeper hole!
Thanks a lot, Altair!
Souta sighed inwardly and braced himself:
"I was testing to see if you were in trouble. If you didn't reply, I'd know something was wrong."
"Then... was your confession true?"
"When did it happen?"
"Last time I visited that world to gather faith, I bumped into Miku, saved her, we got to know each other... Then when I went back to fix the Origami incident, I spent some time with her as a child. I think she developed feelings for me too."
Since the cat was out of the bag, he figured it best to lay everything on the table.
"Wait... there's Origami too?"
Kurumi's temple twitched.
She took a few deep breaths and asked:
Kurumi looked exhausted, her tone flat as she added:
"You forgot Kiss-Shot."
"Well... things with Kiss-Shot are complicated. Calling it romance feels off. It's more like mutual dependence."
Kurumi was speechless.
She'd mentally prepared for this, but not for so many girls at once. It was a bit much.
There's a saying, the more you hold back, the angrier you get.
Kurumi was done holding back. She lowered her voice and said:
"Souta! Turn off your divine shield!"
A hand extended from her shadow, gripping her system phone, and slammed it into Souta's face.
The phone triggered its "return" function and teleported back to Kurumi's backside.
She smashed it into him again.
Souta rubbed his face. It only stung a little, nothing serious.
If it helped Kurumi vent, it was worth it.
After all, he had caved to temptation.
"Five girls, five smacks. That's your punishment!"
She was frustrated and upset but not hateful.
She'd known this would happen, and still chose to stay close to him.
Being mentally prepared made a difference.
Calm down, calm down, she told herself. Those flashy hussies only get the scraps. I'm the most important one, he knows that.
"Actually... you should've smacked me one more time."
"..." Kurumi stared at him blankly. "Who else?"
BAM! The phone smashed into his face with extra force.
This time, she really meant it.