Hearing what Souta said, Kiss-Shot couldn't help but feel an odd sense of unrealness.
Or perhaps absurdity would be the better word.
She glanced at the computer screen, then spoke with a slight frown:
"You're saying... a character from this animated work has joined our friends' chat group?"
"Yep," Souta nodded. "You can actually watch the anime and see her entire original fate unfold... That is, before she joined our chat, of course. Now, her future is bound to change."
Upon hearing Souta's firm response, Kiss-Shot's eyes lit up with deep intrigue.
Back in the Monogatari world, Souta had explained the concept of fictional works and their relationship to reality.
But at the time, since there was nothing tangible to illustrate his point—plus, she had been in a self-destructive state—she hadn't paid much attention.
But this... was different.
Now, the anime was right in front of her.
And someone from the anime had just joined their chat.
This was the most fascinating thing she had encountered in over 500 years.
"Souta," Kiss-Shot said, eyes sparkling, "Since you've spoken so highly of it... I suppose I shall begrudgingly watch it to humor you."
She pulled the laptop closer, setting it on her lap.
Her skirt was pressed beneath it, keeping it from shifting around.
Baidu's entry had mentioned that Kiss-Shot was a textbook tsundere.
With the computer now in her possession, Kiss-Shot clicked on the video and quickly became immersed in the anime.
She seemed completely absorbed by the concept of watching someone's fate unfold from a godlike perspective.
Meanwhile, Souta had no intention of rewatching Re:CREATORS.
After all, the general plotline was still fresh in his mind.
Instead, he pulled out his iPhone, opened a food delivery app, and ordered some donuts and soda for Kiss-Shot.
Then, taking out his system phone, he opened the Friends' Group Chat and tagged the new member.
Souta: "@Shirotsumekusa . I know who you are now. To make things easier, let me update your nickname."
A moment later, the system notification popped up:
[Shirotsumekusa → Altair]
For the first time, Altair—who had been completely silent since joining—could no longer remain passive.
Barely five seconds passed before she replied.
Altair: "@Souta. Why do you know Yu's name?"
Yu was an archaic first-person pronoun used in classical Chinese and Japanese.
Much like how Kiss-Shot used 'Wa' (吾) to refer to herself, Altair used 'Yu' (余).
"Ahh... I guess the system is translating all these unique pronouns too," Souta mused to himself.
"Actually... hold on."
In the anime, Altair's English subtitles also translated her pronoun as 'Yu' instead of 'I'.
"Wait... Did the system steal that translation straight from a fansub group? Damn, that's shady!"
Souta snickered to himself at the thought.
Of course, Altair and Kiss-Shot's pronoun usage weren't the same.
Kiss-Shot spoke that way because her Japanese was four centuries out of date.
Altair, on the other hand... was probably given this self-important speech pattern by her creator, Setsuna Shimazaki, as a deliberate chuunibyou trait.
In the original story, Altair was the ultimate edge-lord.
Her entire life philosophy could be summed up in two sentences:
"It's the world's fault."
"Yu shall destroy this world that drove Setsuna to her end!"
So basically... why don't you just track down the keyboard warriors who drove Shimazaki Setsuna to suicide and settle things in person?
Tokisaki Kurumi: "@Souta, you figured out the new member's true identity?"
Souta: "Yeah, I just got back from the Monogatari world and looked up 'Shirotsumekusa ' online. It didn't take long to figure it out."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "You're back? Alone or with company?"
...Kurumi, why do you always manage to hit the nail on the head?
Souta: "I came back with Kiss-Shot. Her situation is... well, because she's lived too long, she developed a death wish. I couldn't just leave her alone in the Monogatari world, so I invited her to the real world for now. I plan to look after her for a while."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "..."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "Alright. If you'd actually left the vampire lady behind, you wouldn't be the Souta I know. I'll let it slide this time."
Seeing this message, Souta couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Kurumi's constant teasing was starting to make him question...
Was she actually interested in him, or was she just naturally flirtatious?
Altair: "@Souta. Answer Yu—why do you know Yu's name?"
Since Altair had tagged him again, Souta decided to put that thought aside for now.
But he made up his mind—once Kurumi finished her world-line shift experiment, he'd go to her world in person and ask her directly.
For now, he responded to Altair.
Souta: "I feel like I've already explained this same thing multiple times... Screw it, I'll just make an announcement. Altair, check it out when you get the chance."
Souta immediately got to work.
It took him about ten minutes to type up the post before publishing it in the chat group.
The announcement didn't go into too much depth about the real world.
It simply outlined the relationship between anime/manga worlds and reality, along with Souta's personal theories about the nature of existence.
Yes, the same three multiversal hypotheses he'd shared with Kiss-Shot before, including the Omnipotent Universe Theory.
Souta: "@Altair. I've posted the announcement—give it a read."
Souta: "@Tokisaki Kurumi. You should check it out too. I haven't told you about my theories on existence yet."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "Alright, I'll take a look."
The chat immediately fell silent.
Souta set his phone down and rubbed his eyes.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Kiss-Shot.
She was curled up on the sofa, hugging the laptop, completely immersed in anime.
Her pale, slender legs stretched out from under her white dress, her bare feet swaying playfully against the couch.
She looked just like a restless little girl.
All of her dignity as the "King of Oddities" was completely gone.
Noticing his gaze, Kiss-Shot looked up and tilted her head.
"Nothing," Souta took a sip of water. "Keep watching."
Just then, his system phone buzzed again.
Kiss-Shot's phone vibrated too, but she ignored it.
Souta picked his up—it was Altair.
She must have finished reading the announcement.
Altair: "@Souta. Yu has read the announcement. The fact that Yu is merely a 'fictional character' in your eyes... is not surprising. Yu has always known this."
Altair: "However, Yu does not understand—how did Yu's story reach your world? Also, are you truly from another world?"
Souta: "Okay, I see what's happening here. Your world is a bit... special. I can understand why the announcement didn't fully answer your questions."
Altair: "What do you mean? What has Yu misunderstood?"