The silence in the group chat was broken by Souta's message.
Souta: "@Tokisaki Kurumi. Kurumi, how's your preparation going? Have you made it back to 30 years ago?"
Tokisaki Kurumi: "Not yet. I just finished loading the time into 'Zafkiel.' The further back I travel, the greater the energy cost—later stages increase exponentially. It took a lot of effort."
Souta: "Shiroyasha and I have already arrived in the real world. We're ready to head to your location."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "So fast? Give me a moment, I'll travel back now and notify you when I arrive."
Souta: "Alright, no rush. We have plenty of time."
Kurumi went silent after that, likely focusing on her time travel.
Souta suddenly became curious—if Kurumi left her phone in the present and then traveled back 30 years, would the phone's stalker mode still activate and follow her?
Altair: "So, you're all set? Then let me wish you success in advance."
Souta: "How are things on your end, Altair? Has the issue of Setsuna Shimazaki's identity been resolved?"
Altair: "It's settled. Because I exist as a colorless entity, I can incorporate secondary creative settings infinitely. I had Setsuna create a fanwork where I was given the settings of 'Electronic Information Alteration' and 'Memory Manipulation.' Once those settings were accepted by the world, I gained the ability to not only modify recorded electronic data but also alter ordinary people's memories."
Though Altair's abilities all had restrictions, preventing her from doing something extreme like reversing the laws of life and death in the real world, the fact that she could acquire any ability she wanted was just absurdly overpowered.
Souta: "With those two abilities, fabricating an identity must be ridiculously easy for you."
Great Benevolent Deity Shiroyasha: "Oh? You can acquire any ability you want? If you manage to gather billions of different abilities, you should try visiting the Little Garden. If the central system recognizes them, it might bestow upon you an immense Divinity."
Souta: "Speaking of which, Shiroyasha, do you think you can solve the problem in Altair's world? The issue of severing the link between reality and fiction?"
Altair: "Let me explain the situation."
Altair quickly provided an overview of the relationship between creators and creations in the world of Re:CREATORS, highlighting the core issues.
Souta also supplemented her explanation with additional details.
Souta: "To use an analogy, the relationship between reality and fiction in Altair's world is like 3D and 2.5D, rather than a simple distinction between 3D and 2D."
Great Benevolent Deity Shiroyasha: "Having one's fate manipulated at will... truly a tragic existence. Such a bizarre world is rare to come by."
Souta: "So, do you have a solution?"
Great Benevolent Deity Shiroyasha: "Unfortunately, this isn't my area of expertise. I definitely can't help... but I do know someone who can."
Great Benevolent Deity Shiroyasha: "A certain arrogant woman who happens to be one of my greatest rivals. A terrible personality, absolutely infuriating!"
Altair: "@Souta. You know who she's talking about?"
Souta: "Most likely Halloween Queen. She's a character from Shiroyasha's world, capable of controlling the 'Boundary Between Worlds and the Cosmos.' If she were to intervene, she could probably solve your problem."
Souta: "But Altair, the Halloween Queen belongs to the Omnipotent Domain, and she's not subject to the 'Omnipotence Paradox.' If her true form were to descend into your world, I'd bet your Earth would be gone before she even manages to sever the link between reality and fiction."
Great Benevolent Deity Shiroyasha: "@Altair. You might want to consider staying in your world for now and collecting as many abilities as possible. Once you've gathered an overwhelming amount, you could try visiting the Little Garden to obtain Divinity. If that works, you might grow strong enough to resolve this issue yourself."
Altair: "Seriously!?"
Great Benevolent Deity Shiroyasha: "Why would I lie to you?"
Altair: "Thank you for this suggestion. But my creator's life still hasn't stabilized, so I don't have time to pursue this just yet. I'll wait a while."
Inside the rental apartment, Souta read through their conversation and glanced over at Shiroyasha, who was still fiddling with his iPhone.
He asked, "Can Altair really become stronger this way?"
Shiroyasha lifted her gaze slightly and replied casually, "The chances are pretty high. There's actually precedent for something similar in the history of the Little Garden—like... you know about Leticia's younger sister, Lamia, right?"
"Yeah, I know," Souta nodded. "She was one of the Vampire Princesses from long before the Anti-Utopian War."
"Exactly. Back then, vampires were known as the Knights of the Little Garden, and they were revered. Their later reputation as evil creatures was fabricated by poets after Leticia fell and became a Demon Lord."
Shiroyasha reminisced for a moment before continuing:
"If I remember correctly, Lamia took on all of Leticia's negative reputation and was cursed with the equivalent of billions of Demon Gods' maledictions. If not for the 'Omnipotence Paradox' suppressing her, her Divinity could have surpassed even the Omnipotent Domain."
Souta was a little stunned. "So... the more Gifts you have, the higher your Divinity?"
"Of course! Gifts originate from Divinity—they're directly linked. The more Gifts you accumulate, the more your Divinity increases."
Shiroyasha nodded firmly.
It wasn't only by claiming a major Historical Convergence Point that one could amass a vast Divinity.
"Otherwise, with just the few stories about Lamia circulating in the outside world, how could her Divinity accumulate to the point of rivaling the chief gods of the divine pantheon?"
"But Altair's abilities come from another world. Can they really be considered Gifts and, in turn, supplement her Divinity?"
"Hmm? Wasn't it you who told me that friends in the group enjoy the 'Interwoven Influence of Different Worldviews' function? If this function truly exists, then under its influence, her abilities would be recognized as Gifts in the Little Garden. Once the central system observes them, it would likely compensate by granting her a corresponding Divinity for each Gift. Stacking up to billions of Divinity points would be quite impressive. It might not be as exaggerated as Lamia, but reaching four-digit status wouldn't be impossible."
"Uh... I completely forgot about that."
Souta hadn't expected the system's functions to be utilized this way—it was truly being exploited in all kinds of creative ways.
Just then, his phone buzzed.
Turning his attention back to the screen, he saw that Kurumi had tagged him in the group chat.
Tokisaki Kurumi: "@Souta. I've arrived a day before the 'Eurasian Sky Disaster' occurred. You can come over now."
Souta: "Alright, we'll be there soon."
Setting his phone down, Souta turned to look at Shiroyasha.
"Kurumi is ready. Let's head over."
Hearing this, Shiroyasha regretfully put down the iPhone she had been browsing.
She seemed to have been searching for information related to the Little Garden.
As for how she could read Chinese... Don't ask. Just chalk it up to 'Authority over the Full Spectrum of Gifts.'
"If you really want it," Souta chuckled, "you can keep that phone. Just download everything you need in advance before taking it back to the Little Garden. But you'll have to figure out how to charge it yourself."
"Oh? You're pretty generous. Then I won't hold back."
Without hesitation, Shiroyasha casually pocketed the iPhone.
...At least let me take out the SIM card first.
Souta felt a little speechless but decided not to say anything further.
If Kiss-Shot could use Material Creation to generate a gaming console after turning into vampire sludge, then making another phone shouldn't be too much of a stretch for him.
Shiroyasha suddenly leaped toward him, and Souta caught her mid-air.
Given their height difference, if she tried to hug him on her own, she'd probably end up clinging to his leg—her head would be right at... ahem!
This position was much more convenient.
"System, take us to the Date A Live world."
Everyone, meet my wife.jpeg