The world of Little Garden can be observed from three perspectives: the human side, the divine side, and the Stellar side.
In fact, in the primordial era, the first to exist in Little Garden were the Star Spirits.
Only later did the dragons visit, and finally, the Divine Spirits were summoned.
However, the Divine Spirits later rose to prominence, becoming the hegemons who ruled Little Garden, and this ancient history was gradually obscured.
Setting aside the pure-blooded dragons—an anomaly that expands its own spiritual power through self-observation—their existence has always been Little Garden's greatest mystery.
The history of the gods and the history of humanity are complementary, two sides of the same coin.
Now, simply because the two are at odds, Su Mo believes that the Original from the divine side cannot save the world, which is why he has forbidden the powers of the divine side from interfering in the current historical transition period.
But the power of the Star Spirits is a different matter.
Divine Spirits cannot maintain their existence across all infinite multiverses, but Star Spirits can.
Just as every world connected to Little Garden has humans of the same cultural background, these humans all live on Earth, in the embrace of the mother planet.
Therefore, as long as the Gift bestowed by Athena does not exceed the planet's own limits, her Gift can be replicated one-to-one across the infinite multiverses, allowing the humans of every universe to enjoy the Gift of the Stars.
So, during this period when the gods cannot interfere, the power of the Star Spirits is the only cheat the candidates for savior can use.
To put it simply, you could also call it a bonus or a hack provided by Su Mo.
"Don't get ahead of yourselves. I will not grant you unrivaled power, nor will I help you overcome the Final Trial of Humanity."
Seeing Percher's excitement, the owl goddess stated things plainly.
"The Final Trial of Humanity can only be overcome by humanity itself. This is a cornerstone of the multiverse's operation."
"Therefore, the Gift I can bestow will not only be limited, but deliberately reduced—so little that every universe can bear it, so little that it would naturally appear in this world anyway, just happening to manifest near you."
"Eh?"
Hearing this, Percher couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
He had thought this Star Spirit Highness could provide some ultimate weapon to defeat their enemies, but it turned out she could only offer the bare minimum of help?
"I understand Your Highness's intentions. No matter what you grant us, it would be meaningless if it couldn't rewrite the multiverse. Therefore, the less interference, the more likely we are to achieve our goal."
Saigo Homura, however, quickly understood Athena's meaning.
Too much of a Gift like this would be counterproductive. The less there is, the more stable it is, and the more likely it is to save the world.
So—
"Please rest assured. We will do everything in our power to complete both Lord Su Mo's mission and your wish. We will overcome the so-called Final Trial of Humanity with our own hands."
"I'm just curious, what exactly is this 'Gift of the Stars' you speak of?"
He was very curious about what kind of help the Star Spirits could provide.
However, the owl goddess showed no intention of answering.
On the contrary, she flapped her wings, making a gesture to see them out.
"You'll find out when you get back."
"Eh?"
Hearing this, Black Rabbit's eyes went wide.
"Wait, Lady Athena, Ayato hasn't even arrived yet, why are you rushing us out?"
What about the Gift of the Stars you promised? We haven't seen it!
At these words, the owl goddess looked at Black Rabbit with slightly dangerous, piercing eyes.
"Are you telling me what to do?"
"...Eek!"
Little Black Rabbit immediately shivered and cowered.
But thinking of the mission Su Mo had given her, she held her ears and asked timidly.
"L-Lady Athena, did I do something to offend you? Your attitude seems a little off this time..."
They had gotten along quite well with the silver-haired goddess before.
Why did it seem like she had a problem with her today?
Hearing this, the owl's gaze grew even sharper. Her serpentine pupils radiated a powerful pressure. If she weren't suppressing her divine power, she might have petrified the little rabbit before her.
"Black Rabbit, as fellow maids to our Master, I have no issue with you as a colleague."
She said, in a tone that even Percher could tell was full of issues.
"But, next time you come to my territory, remember to rinse your mouth."
"Rinse your mouth?"
Percher paused, confused.
Was that some kind of insult, or a form of bullying?
Little Black Rabbit was always so clean and seemed to smell nice!
"..."
Black Rabbit also froze for a moment, then her little face turned bright red.
"L-Lady Athena, I didn't—"
She stammered, as if trying to explain something.
However—
"No need to explain. I'm more familiar with the Master's scent than anyone."
The starlight that had filled the earth vanished. The owl closed her eyes, completely concealing her presence in the darkness.
And the goddess's final warning echoed only in Black Rabbit's ears.
"I have no issue with the Master bestowing his favor upon you. But as a maid, even if conditions are lacking, it is your duty to accept what you must... Next time you receive such a gift, you must swallow it all."
With that, the fwoosh of the bird's wings completely disappeared.
*It's not that she didn't swallow it on purpose, her throat was just too shallow!*
"Black Rabbit, what did the goddess mean? Did you offend her?"
Percher asked, confused.
"N-No, it's just a private topic between me and the goddess, it's n-nothing!"
Little Black Rabbit waved her hands, her cheeks burning, and changed the subject.
"Since Her Highness said so, let's leave now!"
"So suspicious..."
Percher squinted at the rabbit, feeling she was hiding something.
But it was pitch black, so they could only follow the elevator's light back to the entrance.
Just then, with a CLANG, the elevator descended, and Kudou Ayato arrived late.
"Black Rabbit, little Homura, and Percher? I'm not late, am I?" the sword-wielding girl asked in confusion.
Then, looking completely bewildered, she was pulled back into the elevator by the three of them and returned to the surface.
"So, in the end, what exactly was the Gift of the Stars that Lady Athena mentioned?"
Coming back to his senses, Percher stopped staring at the suspicious Black Rabbit and looked quizzically at the others.
Why did it feel like he'd made the trip for nothing?
"I have a guess, but we'll have to wait for confirmation," Saigo Homura said with some confidence.
A few minutes later, an urgent communication came from the Holy Cross Group's construction team.
"Report! A small earthquake has occurred beneath the Holy Cross Group laboratory. Investigation suggests it's due to abnormal groundwater activity. The unidentified filamentous material you specifically pointed out before has been washed out. Awaiting further instructions!"
Hearing this report, Percher was slightly stunned.
He leaned over to look at the report and saw that the so-called groundwater was from the path their elevator had taken.
They had only been here for a few minutes, and that ancient underground palace was already flooded, with the water even being pushed to the surface?
"Black Rabbit, what on earth did you do to make the goddess so angry? Don't tell me she's planning to flood this whole place?"
Percher looked at Black Rabbit fearfully, subconsciously leaning closer to her little head, wanting to take a good sniff to see what she'd secretly eaten.
Black Rabbit was currently trying to chug water. Seeing him approach, she immediately pushed Percher away.
"It can't be that bad, right? Logically, Lady Athena got a head start on me... Besides, I was just practicing my or—ahem, I mean, this shouldn't have anything to do with me! Lady Athena doesn't seem like the type to get so jealous!"
Even if she was jealous, she should be going after Lady Leticia and Lady Lamia. Blaming me is completely unfair, right?
Athena is a virgin goddess, she should be able to tell that I'm still pure!
While Little Black Rabbit was still trying to figure out what was going on, brainstorming wildly, Saigo Homura's eyes lit up and he jumped to his feet.
"All of you, stay put! I'll collect it myself! This is a gift from the mother planet! This is a true gift from the heavens!"
"A gift from the heavens?" a construction worker from the team muttered in confusion.
Although he was an internal member of the Holy Cross Group, he himself didn't follow the Cross faith; he was an atheist.
From his previous impression, Dr. Saigo Homura, despite his youth, seemed to be a pure researcher who rarely mentioned concepts like God. Why was he suddenly so agitated this time?
Meanwhile, Kudou Ayato and Percher were also surprised by Saigo Homura's sudden excitement and hurriedly asked, "What is this 'Gift of the Stars' you're talking about?"
"The Third Stellar Particle!"
Saigo Homura ran off without looking back.
Seemingly realizing his words would cause confusion, he turned back and added one more word.
"Original!"
At this, everyone except Percher showed expressions of delighted surprise.
"The Third Stellar Particle Original? Isn't that Izayoi's Gift?"
"Lord Su Mo arranged for the three of you to come receive a Gift... Does that mean you can become as strong as Izayoi too?"