"Precisely because it was immature, it was feared. From the very beginning, it lost the possibility of evolving into a higher-dimensional space. So in the end, even the former Little Garden was nothing more than an incomplete product."
As Shiroyasha spoke with such calmness, the hatred hidden within her words nonetheless slipped out unconsciously.
"But even so, it didn't matter. It was those bastards who messed everything up, and yet they had the gall to just pat their asses and walk away."
That was real gnashing of teeth.
It should've been a heavy atmosphere, yet seeing Shiroyasha like this, Harumura Makoto almost burst out laughing.
"Hah… sorry. Got a bit worked up there."
Realizing immediately that her emotions had slipped, Shiroyasha quickly calmed herself down.
"In any case, after that lot schemed against me and stole the sovereignty of the Sun to build a new Little Garden… before this Little Garden completely collapsed, I used a special method to preserve the most essential part of the Little Garden's Core. Boy, do you follow me so far?"
"I do."
Shiroyasha's explanation was simple enough, and in fact, Makoto already had a faint grasp of what she meant.
"The former Core of Little Garden had two simplest ways to incorporate new worlds. The first was by direct suppression—using a higher-dimensional world to forcibly seize control of a lower-dimensional one. And the second was by sending someone into a new world and making them its guide.
Put more plainly, it meant changing the course of the world through their influence, to the point where the world's will itself shifted.
In that way, the Little Garden's Core could absorb it without hesitation. So when I said that becoming a ruler of a world would also work—you see what I mean."
It was almost exactly what Makoto had already guessed. There was barely a difference.
"And the same goes for any other field—if one changes the course of a world, it counts, doesn't it?"
Makoto added this himself.
To rule a world entirely was, in its own way, changing the course of history.
But what about Tesla inventing electricity? Wouldn't that also count as changing the world's progression?
Of course it would—so long as Makoto got there before Tesla.
"Exactly so. Clever boy."
Shiroyasha clapped him on the shoulder approvingly.
"But you won't be sending me into such simple worlds, will you? After all, even if I succeed in those, they wouldn't contribute much toward restoring this place."
Makoto narrowed his eyes, staring sharply at Shiroyasha.
She only smiled wider, the corners of her mouth spreading more and more.
"That's right—you've caught on to what I mean. Even if you went to countless such simple worlds, it would be nothing but a drop in the ocean. To truly repair the Little Garden's Core, they'd be useless."
The two of them were like riddlers exchanging cryptic words.
But anyone sharp enough could already grasp what they meant.
How many worlds would it take to completely restore Little Garden?
At the very least—half the number of worlds the original Little Garden once commanded.
That number was beyond astronomical.
For Harumura Makoto, entering ordinary worlds was indeed easy.
The knowledge he had acquired from Academy City, a place of unparalleled advancement, would be enough to shake any mundane world to its core.
But one by one? How long would that take?
Even given ten thousand years, it would never be enough.
So what did he need?
Helpers—lots of them. Enough to share the burden, to help him gather worlds together.
Quantity, until it transformed into quality.
That had been the development model of the original Little Garden.
But in plain, ordinary worlds without anything extraordinary, how many worthy helpers could Makoto really recruit?
It was possible, yes, but the numbers would be painfully limited.
Now… what if it was a world full of gods and Buddhas, where supernatural powers reigned?
Helpers gathered from such a place could, by sheer strength alone, conquer entire worlds and become rulers.
Take just Academy City's Number One, for instance.
If he wished it, in a world with nothing extraordinary, he could easily do just that.
"Daunted?"
Shiroyasha tilted her head with a smile, watching Makoto.
"Of course I feel the pressure. At the end of the day, I'm just an ordinary guy, right? Even my esper development wasn't that great. At best, my body's tougher than average."
Makoto spread his hands helplessly.
"Is that really so?"
Shiroyasha cut him off, suddenly asking in that sharp tone.
"Do you truly believe your spatial distortion—and your body—are that simple?"
The Academy City tests had shown that his natural-born spatial distortion had made no progress in ten years.
And though his unusual body had been pushed to its limits through careful training, it seemed there was nothing left to develop.
Yet even so, Shiroyasha was telling him there was more.
"Your body's true treasure hasn't been unlocked yet. In my current state, I can't help you much. But what I can do, is help you unseal the true potential within this body of yours."
The tip of her fan tapped lightly against Makoto's chest.
A warmth seemed to seep into him from that touch, spreading through him, as his mind grew drowsy and his thoughts were slowly being pulled away.
…
The silver gate slowly closed. The spatial ripples dispersing around it gradually faded.
Shiroyasha stood with a faint smile at her lips.
Everything around them collapsed—the starlit sky, the elegant garden scenery, all of it disintegrated the moment the silver gate shut.
But that smile at the corner of her lips could not be stopped.
"Shiroyasha… you're the Little Garden's Core itself, aren't you?"
That had been Harumura Makoto's final question before being drawn into the gate.
Shiroyasha hadn't answered—only smiled.
"I'll definitely make this starry sky shine bright once again."
That was Makoto's last declaration before leaving completely.
"Honestly… that boy really knows how to say the right words."
Shiroyasha couldn't hold back her laughter anymore, her hand sweeping lightly through the air.
And everything reverted to how it had been the very first time Makoto arrived here.
"Still… that sharp intuition of his… It's exactly like that woman's. And it really pisses me off."