In the MC's world, Souta rubbed his slightly bruised cheek and let out a sigh of relief.
He had finally made it through Kurumi's wrath.
"Man, managing a harem is seriously tough... especially when every girl is ridiculously amazing."
Souta recalled what had happened just a few minutes ago, and he could still feel the dull ache in his face.
After he came clean about everything involving Esdeath, Kurumi... exploded.
Why did it turn out ? For the first time, she had someone she liked. Someone willing to save her. Two kinds of joy overlapping, bringing her a happiness that felt like a dream. So why... did it end up ?
She had clearly been there first—whether it was kisses, hugs...
Realizing she had been beaten to the punch, Kurumi showed a rare, obvious display of anger in front of Souta for the first time.
Even if it was just an S&M game, this was unforgivable!
In her rage, she started hurling her phone at Souta, aiming directly for his face.
She even forbade him from using his divine shield to block.
After venting a bit, she finally calmed down.
But then came regret.
Thinking back to all that Souta had done for her, she began to resent her impulsive actions.
How could she hurt the person she liked?!
For a moment, guilt overwhelmed Kurumi, and she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye.
After quite a bit of inner struggle, she decided to let it go.
It had already happened. Getting mad wouldn't help.
Instead, why not use Souta's guilt to elevate her position in his heart? Push herself way ahead of those other flashy floozies.
Besides... it wasn't like there was no way to fix things.
She was, after all, the Time Emperor!
She could travel through time.
Once her evolution was complete, she'd sneak into the real world, send a clone back to the past, find Souta before he got his system phone, and give him a proper beating.
And then play some exciting games with him.
Whatever the clone experienced still counted as her own.
No way she'd let that lunatic Esdeath get away with this!
Thinking about it made Kurumi's anger disappear.
Still, she kept a cold face for now.
The guiltier Souta felt, the deeper her imprint on his heart.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease, after all.
"Souta, go work on building your cult now."
Kurumi deliberately lowered her voice, sounding detached.
"..." Souta stayed where he was.
They stared each other down for a while.
Only when he saw the frost in her expression begin to thaw did Souta finally speak.
"...Sorry. I made you angry."
"Oh, so you do know! But... whatever. I'd already prepared myself for this. And the system isn't exactly wholesome, it's hard to stop it."
Kurumi's tone carried deep resignation, as if she were accepting her fate.
"Congrats. You're now getting the same treatment as Itsuka Shiori. Lucky you. Just wait, I'm going to bully you good and get back everything I lost."
Souta exhaled. "Sure, bully me however you want."
"Then show me your best Itsuka Kotori impression, put on a gir—"
"Some trashy stuff I'm still going to veto."
Souta cut her off before she could finish.
Seriously, what was she thinking?
You want me to cosplay as a lotus fairy girl and seduce you or something?
Eventually, Kurumi's time of lucidity ran out. Her consciousness drifted into fatigue and drowsiness.
"This time... I'm not letting it go so easily, Souta."
Kurumi cast him a meaningful look as her eyes drooped:
"Guess how many clones I've stocked up? Hehe, you better get ready to beg!"
With that, her spiritual energy calmed, and her eyes fully closed.
Souta knew then: he had cleared the stage.
Finally, he could relax a little.
Now that Kurumi was out of the way, running a harem should be smoother, right?
No... If I've already committed to a harem, I can't keep being this passive. I need to shift my mindset. I have to become a scumbag, a real scumbag... a glorious, calculated scumbag...
Souta snapped out of his thoughts.
He focused his divine power to erase the bruises from his face.
He didn't mind the pain; he still felt guilty toward Kurumi.
But soon, he'd be heading to the "Guilty Crown" world to grow his cult. Showing up with a bruised face in front of someone like Gai Tsutsugami might lower his divine image. He didn't care much about that himself, but it mattered to the believers.
Who'd worship a god with a black eye?
Of course, he hadn't forgotten his main task.
Before finding Gai, he had to try manifesting his "divine kingdom."
With that, he could develop corresponding divine arts to bestow upon his followers.
And whenever they used those arts, he'd gain divine power in return.
This process could go hand in hand with expanding his cult.
With both faith and power streaming in, his divine reserves would skyrocket!
"Let's not stockpile. Time to test it."
Souta sat on the couch, closed his eyes, and focused all his attention inward.
His consciousness dove deep into his soul to sense the superpower bound to it.
This was an instinct, no training needed.
Guided by instinct, he quickly "touched" the shape of that power.
Like unlocking a floodgate, the vast divine force within his god-realm surged forth.
Golden light flooded into the depths of his soul, wrapping him in warmth.
His superpower, nurtured by the divine energy, began evolving.
Soon, all his divine energy was drained.
Souta winced at the cost, but let it go.
He pulled more divine power from the system store, recharged his cultivation, and repeated the process.
The entire apartment filled with a sacred aura.
Bathed in golden light, Souta gradually merged with the material world.
He was completely immersed in the sensation of growth, unaware of time slipping by.
When his power was nearly drained and he came to, he realized that half the day had already passed.
He looked out the window; night had fallen.
His face didn't show joy, only a craving for more.
"Still not enough... so close! Why is this taking so damn long?!"
His OCD flared. Thinking it over, he popped into the Akame ga Kill world.
But only two days had passed there since he left.
Even after converting belief into divine power, he was still just short.
With no other choice, Souta gave up and asked the Path of Peace's, the lord for the original mythos text, then returned to his man cave.
"If Akame won't cut it, guess I'll have to go to Date A Live. But Kurumi's stuck in the past and unconscious. Without the Eleventh Bullet, getting to the future's not easy."
Souta muttered while thinking through his options.
Soon, he pulled out his system phone and opened the marketplace, eyeing his 10086 point balance.
"The invite... I'll send it to Miku first."
Without hesitation, Souta spent 10,000 points on an invitation.
"System, invite Izayoi Miku to the group."
He whispered to his phone.
[Thirteenth friend invite sent]
[The Requiem Diva's affection level has reached the required threshold. Host has randomly obtained one of her abilities.]
[Randomizing... Congratulations! Host has acquired: Mental Manipulation]
"The Requiem Diva... is that Miku's nickname?"
Souta was a little surprised by the system's follow-up.
He had expected Miku to provide him with a powerful superpower with potential to reach the level of "Law."
She had just joined the group and he was already receiving benefits.
So the affection system didn't even require face-to-face interaction.
Meaning... online romance works too?
While he was marveling at the ability he had just acquired, the group chat lit up again with the arrival of the new member.
This time, Altair took Kurumi's place, tagging the newcomer and giving a kind reminder to read the group notice.
The members quickly started discussing the newbie.
Rin Tohsaka: "Weird, didn't two newbies just join? Why is there another one all of a sudden?"
Altair: "I find it strange too. Normally, the system waits before sending another invite."
Souta: "I invited her."
Souta: "I'll explain later. Got stuff to do now."
Souta opened a private chat with the new member "Requiem Diva" and started typing.
He sent a message explaining his identity, the system, and the group, and asked Miku to send him an invitation in return. Without one, even if he thought about Miku during his dimensional travel, he'd still end up near Kurumi.
He had already confirmed this back in the Campione world.
Requiem Diva: "Darling!? Is that really you?"
Requiem Diva: "Wait just a moment, I'll invite you right now!"
Just seconds later, Souta received her invitation.
He tapped "Accept" immediately and was transported straight to the Date A Live world.