The clear blue sky greets the sight of everyone in Tokyo. The sunlight made the temperature adequate—a sign that Winter's about to end. The remnant fervor from the holiday may be long gone, but it was replaced by something more significant.

"Altair is my new religion."

"I see, brother."

"I understand."

"Even if she lost, she won over my heart!"

"No one cares."

"Euk-!"

The bantering of the otakus never stopped. After the ending of the Elimination Chamber Fest, everyone was blown away by the spectacle. They thought that the screen glitched out for one moment, but it soon got fixed before showing a scene of Altair losing. Instead of being banished, however, she 'accepted' her mistakes.

Little did they know that it was just a one-man act made possible by the man sitting across from Meteora and the others.

"Shiro, I saw it. The lambs of darkness trying to separate us away!"

"I concur. For him to have that many..."

"How did you manage to remember those details out of all things?"

His astonishing sense of balance was enough to let him drink from the teacup while having his arm pressed by Kuroneko's flat chest. Ever since the "synchronization", her appearance reverted to her previous looks. Oddly enough, Kuroneko had no qualms about losing her "weapons of destruction" and "maturity".

Perhaps, she gained another "maturity" in a form that she couldn't understand.

"It's her true side..?"

"She is childish, but she was this childish, huh? I never knew about this."

"Mangakas have peculiar tastes, yes."

The "creators" commented from the sidelines. Though, there is someone who couldn't control herself and began drawing.

"This..! This..! The perfect model!"

For Marine, the man with the perfect proportions had shown in her eyes. Just by using him as an outline, she could already imagine the number of illustrations she could draw, what's more about the person himself.

"Sigh... I can't stop her." Matsubara sighed exasperatedly.

"You can't blame her. After all, Shiro-san's looks are overwhelming."

The knight, Selesia, took a glance in his direction before looking away. While she belonged to a world where the appearance of the many is of high standards, nothing compared to his looks. Shiro's sheer elegance is enough to make them speechless for the first time.

"Apologies. Let us continue." He calmly spoke. "The aftermath was properly dealt with. There's nothing left to be worried on this world."

After the battle, Shiro severed the portion of "it", the thing known as "The Root". In the future where its directory is nothing but corrupted, it became a terrifying enemy. Defeating it signified the removal of a potential enemy.

With that removed, there's nothing left to threaten the safety of this world. This world is special enough to not be invaded by external entities such as "Outer Gods" and the like. If they do visit here, they'd be turned into ashes by the potent [Restorative Power].

"I take it we can go home now?" Yuuya asked. 

"That's correct. You don't have much choice to choose from, anyways."

"What—"

"I was about to tell this to everyone."

Meteora's expression became solemn as she said:

"In about five days, the restorative power would fully restore itself."

The collision of worlds and Altair's existence were the main reasons why they could use their powers from their home world. There's nothing that restricts the "irrational" during the past few months, thus they were left with free reign. Without the two, there would be no chance for them to do so.

"After that period, our powers would no longer work."

"...So we need to decide."

As one of the sharpest ones, Yuuya immediately understood her implications.

"Not really."

Shiro's comment earned everyone's inquiries.

"I have two invitations here. She wanted to tag along, so there's one more left."

He took out a normal-looking smartphone from inside his [Dimensional Storage]. He placed it on top of the table, eliciting their gazes. To them, it looked no different than a normal phone. However...

"The strings of causality tied down in a single object. It's..."

"...beautiful?"

"That's... right."

Surprised that her words were taken out of her, she could only nod. The intricate composition that the smartphone has is in no way inferior to her book. Add the fact that it is something new, she admired its novelty.

"If you agree to my invitation, you won't lose your powers. You can also meet other people and travel worlds as we do. Only... take this offer once you are sure of it. Everyone with it has a responsibility they don't dare imagine."

Recalling the bits of the future, he could deduce the weight of their responsibilities. He did not remember everything due to the "locks" that he imposed, but he was left with enough information to know what will happen in the future.

Hence, he does not dare place a such heavy responsibility on someone who doesn't know anything.

Meteora fell silent. As a "Sage", she sought knowledge and the beauty contained within them. When she was at her library, she already knew every single piece of knowledge from her world. Stepping into the "World of Gods" is, in a way, a door to the unknown. So many things undiscovered lie in this world. 

In fact, she already decided to stay in this world. Whether she keeps her powers or not does not matter. All she wants to accomplish is the exploration of this unknown.

"Responsibilities..."

She caught onto Shiro's obvious implications. If he's the one who said that it is "heavy", then it is that heavy. After all, he is none other than her "senpai".

Suddenly, her fingertips touched the cold surface of the phone. Then, a bright light appeared, enveloping her vision for a brief moment.

[Invitation accepted.]

[Initiating synchronization...]

[Synchronization complete.]

[!! You are currently in a mission world. Complete the mission first to access the main chat room !! ]

[Beginning rewards distributed. It has been sent into your storage space (magic).]

Rows of pop-ups appeared in her sight. They are all mechanical, making her feel as if she is inside a game. Soon, she was absorbed in exploring each of the chat group's functions.

"Such decisiveness is worthy of praise."

"It is." Shiro replied to Kuroneko's comment.

"This is a foregone conclusion. Why act surprised?"

Hearing Kal'tsit's words, a thin smile presented on his lips.

"It is exactly a foregone conclusion that I don't dare change it."

In the future that he could remember, Meteora is one of the Beyonders who sought him after his disappearance. Due to that, Shiro felt guilty about it. What's more, there are still his wives who also went looking for him similarly.

Moreover, he doesn't want to see his "kouhai" losing on "its" attacks. The chat group is a channel for growth, which greatly helps in preparation for what is about to come.

Tap-!

Tap-!

Footsteps came from the kitchen. Slowly, the visage of a shirted girl with a red apron presented into their sight. Her usual double pigtails are retained, but the stoic expression on her face is long gone. Replacing it is a slightly abashed look of a young girl.

"H-here it is. Like the usual."

Words that shouldn't have left the military girl's mouth resounded in the room. It made her look as if she was a normal girl in her youth.

"How did this happen?"

Yuuya muttered with disbelief, representing the shock that most of the people in this room felt.