Chelsea: "You guys can stop dreaming. This rule clearly favors anyone who falls for Souta."
Altair: "Isn't it based on friendliness? I think friendship should count too."
Altair: "@Souta. If you're busy, never mind. I won't go for now. I'll accept Miku's kind invitation some other time."
Izayoi Miku: "It's totally fine~ I've already met the friend criteria with Darling~ Altair-san, you could invite me instead, and I'll come visit you, hehe."
Altair: "So that works too? I hadn't considered that... Alright, I'll invite you."
Souta stared at the chat, a little speechless.
Miku just won't quit, huh.
Please, don't fall for it, people!
And the way she kept calling him "Darling"... it was clearly referring to him. Weird how no one questioned it.
He scrolled up to the earlier messages and realized Miku had already explained she liked him and that they knew each other.
Below Miku's post, Rin Tohsaka had replied with a string of ellipses—definitely taking mental notes.
Souta figured Rin had accepted Miku's invitation not just out of curiosity about another world, but also to scout out a romantic rival and possibly make a statement.
Following Rin, Illya had posted:
Illya: "Oh no! Another enemy has appeared! Illya must evolve into Neko-Illya loli version!"
Souta... kind of wanted to see that now.
Chelsea was as grumpy as always, complaining that the group's host was corrupt for dragging his harem into the chat and corrupting its sanctity.
Altair, at this point, was unfazed.
Kurumi and a few others hadn't commented, maybe they hadn't seen the messages yet.
Souta made a mental note to settle scores with Chelsea later.
Probably getting cocky from being an empress now. She needed to be dragged back down to her throne and "corrected" thoroughly!
That said, Souta knew he couldn't let this whole yuri vibe take over the group.
So he posted in the chat:
Souta: "@Izayoi Miku. Miku, you should go visit Shiroyasha first. You've read the manga, so you're a little familiar with her, right? Plus, the Little Garden world is fascinating—gods, demons, mythical creatures galore. With Shiroyasha watching over you, safety's guaranteed. It'd be a real shame to miss it."
Shiroyasha, the Benevolent: "Hoohoo! The boy speaks true! You're welcome anytime!"
Izayoi Miku: "Yay~ Shiroyasha-chan is so cute too, I'm really looking forward to it~"
Shiroyasha: "Hehehe~ same here! I've sent the invite!"
Shiroyasha: "Let's even hold a singing contest gift game! I'll provide the outfits, you can wear one on stage!"
Izayoi Miku: "Really? Then if I win, can I get a hug from you, Shiroyasha-chan?"
Shiroyasha: "Of course you can!"
Souta: "Whatever makes you happy."
He pocketed his phone with a sigh of relief.
No way he was letting this yuri energy spread unchecked!
If Miku started flirting her way through the group, she might seriously derail the entire chat.
Let those two veteran flirts duke it out instead. He'd just watch from the sidelines.
Miku's voice manipulation probably wouldn't work on Shiroyasha, and while Shiroyasha was powerful, she couldn't imprison other group members.
Miku only had to think "return" to be sent back to her reality.
So a one-sided disaster shouldn't happen.
As for pausing time to change her into an outfit mid-air... Shiroyasha hopefully wasn't that shameless.
Not long after Souta put away his phone, Inori walked in.
Inside the base, she wasn't wearing her usual revealing outfit. Instead, she wore a black one-piece dress with a flared hem that stopped just above the knees.
Her pale, slender legs were fully visible—a sight that drew attention.
She looked like every part of her had been crafted for elegance and allure.
Not surprising—she was genetically engineered to perfection, surpassing even the original Mana Ouma in beauty... well, that was Souta's guess.
Inori was basically Mana Ouma with a beauty filter on.
"Gai said you needed me."
She looked at Souta, her gaze questioning.
"Yeah. Come, have a seat."
Souta pulled out a chair for her. Once she sat down, he complimented:
"That outfit's nice. Fits you really well. You should wear that kind of style more often. The last one was a bit... too revealing."
"My outfit..." Inori tugged lightly at the hem. "The previous one had stealth camo. It was for missions."
"Really? That designer must've had... creative priorities. But you won't need that anymore."
He met her slightly puzzled gaze and added:
"From now on, your actions will be public and loud. No more sneaking around. No more hiding."
"Publicity. We need the hype."
"What if the Antibodies catch us?"
"Don't worry. You'll have the power to handle them very soon."
Souta's mysterious tone made Inori's eyes light up with curiosity.
But he didn't elaborate.
Instead, he changed the topic:
"I called you here because I need your blood to research the vaccine."
"My blood only suppresses the virus," she said quietly. "It doesn't help advanced cases."
"I know," Souta smiled. "I never said your blood was the key. Relax—my power's the main ingredient. You're just a helpful bonus."
"..." Inori stared at him.
That phrasing... sounded totally wrong.
It was a logical explanation, but why did it feel so infuriating?
Meanwhile, Souta felt a bit excited.
His idea was simple—use divine power to enhance Inori's blood so that it evolved into a substance that could completely suppress the virus's side effects.
He needed two wishes:
Strengthen the suppressive effect of her blood.
Make sure the blood remained a replicable substance, not some vague "miracle energy."
That second wish was crucial.
If he ended up with "blood with mysterious healing powers," there'd be no way to reproduce it in a lab.
You can't copy "magic juice."
The enhanced blood needed to be a stable, reproducible material.
Otherwise, everyone would need his divine power to get the cure and that would be a colossal waste of energy.
Totally unsustainable.
"How much blood do you need?"
Inori's voice pulled Souta out of his thoughts.
"Let's start with two to three liters."
BANG! The door suddenly slammed open.
Two girls burst into the room.