Makoto felt satisfied after hearing their words.
"It seems your evolution was a success," Makoto said. "Koyuki, Hakuren—even though you've evolved into Divine Nine-Tailed White Foxes, you're still children. There's no need to rush to become stronger." As he spoke, Makoto gently patted Koyuki's and Hakuren's heads.
"We understand, Waka-sama," Koyuki and Hakuren replied in unison.
"If you want, besides training, you can look for hobbies or study together with Tomoe, Mio, and Shiki. At the very least, you should try various things before choosing the path you want to walk. For example, Shiki studies magic, Mio researches cooking, and as for Tomoe… right now she's researching how to make sake and various kinds of alcohol," Makoto said.
"How about helping me cook for a while and becoming Shiki's assistant while he researches magic?" Mio suggested.
"What about me, Mio?" Tomoe asked, pointing at herself.
"What can you teach them besides fighting, Tomoe-san? Are you going to teach them how to make sake? They're still children—Waka-sama wouldn't approve," Mio said.
"You're terribly rude, Mio. Even though I look laid-back, I possess a wide range of knowledge," Tomoe replied confidently.
"Like what?" Mio asked.
"Like… how to create barriers," Tomoe said.
"Shiki can teach them how to make barriers too," Mio replied.
"Then political science and economics," Tomoe said.
"Shiki can teach that as well."
"Th-then history," Tomoe said.
"Which world's history are you going to teach? This world's? The Goddess's world? Or the world of Eryndal?" Mio asked. Tomoe was left speechless.
"Just ignore those two. At the very least, besides training, you should learn many different things," Makoto said to Koyuki and Hakuren.
"Shiki, could you be their teacher for a while? You don't need to teach anything complicated—just the basics. After that, it's up to Koyuki and Hakuren what they want to focus on," Makoto said to Shiki.
"Understood, Waka-sama. I'd be happy to," Shiki replied.
"Alright, you two, stop arguing," Makoto said to Tomoe and Mio.
"Yes, Waka/Waka-sama," Tomoe and Mio replied.
"I've created a special training room for you. After evolving, you must want to know how much your power has grown. In there, you can use your strength to the fullest without worrying about destroying the surroundings, because once you leave the training room, everything that was destroyed will return to how it was," Makoto said.
"What!? Are you joking with me, Waka?" Tomoe exclaimed.
"In that case, Tomoe-san, how about we work up a sweat after breakfast?" Mio said.
"Oh? You seem confident in your abilities, Mio," Tomoe replied. Shiki, watching the exchange, felt an ominous premonition.
"Waka-sama, I have some research that's been left unfinished, so I'll return to the research room first," Shiki said to Makoto.
"What are you talking about, Shiki? You're coming with us," Tomoe said, grabbing Shiki's left shoulder.
"Tomoe-san is right, Shiki. Aren't you curious about how strong you've become?" Mio said, grabbing his right shoulder.
"Waka, which one is the door to the training room?" Tomoe asked.
"That one," Makoto said, pointing to a door with sword and shield symbols in front of it.
"Then let's go," Tomoe said, dragging a helpless Shiki along with Mio toward the training room.
"Let's follow too," Makoto said to Koyuki and Hakuren.
"Yes, Waka-sama," they replied.
After Makoto entered the training room with Koyuki and Hakuren, they saw a vast grassland. Seeing their surroundings, Koyuki and Hakuren were confused.
"Waka-sama, where is this?" Koyuki asked.
"This is the new training room I created," Makoto answered casually. Hearing that, Koyuki became even more confused.
"A training room?" Koyuki repeated.
"Um, Waka-sama, is it normal for a training room to be a grassland with a sky?" Hakuren asked while looking up.
"I'll explain later. For now, let's watch Tomoe, Mio, and Shiki's combat training," Makoto said as he looked ahead. Tomoe, Mio, and Shiki were already standing in their respective positions.
"Mio, let's warm up first," Tomoe said.
"Alright, Tomoe-san," Mio replied. Tomoe drew her katana, and the two stared at each other. Suddenly, Tomoe vanished. In an instant, she appeared in front of Mio and slashed downward. Mio easily evaded by stepping to the side. Tomoe's attack struck the ground, splitting the earth as far as the eye could see. Without hesitation, Mio fired dark magic toward Tomoe. Tomoe twisted her body to evade and counterattacked by swinging her katana. The magic Mio fired flew far away—BOOOM! It exploded upon hitting the ground, devouring the surrounding area and creating a crater about one kilometer wide.
"Oh, it looks like they're getting fired up," Makoto said.
"Waka-sama! Tomoe-sama and Mio-sama are amazing! They can use such powerful techniques!" Koyuki said excitedly.
"This is nothing. They're just warming up," Makoto replied.
"Really, Waka-sama!? Attacks that strong are just a warm-up?" Koyuki asked.
"Of course. You'll see soon enough," Makoto said.
Watching Tomoe and Mio exchange blows, Shiki prepared his magic. He created ten golems and reinforced them with magic, then sent them to attack Tomoe. Seeing a golem standing before her, Tomoe slashed without hesitation—but ting! Sparks flew as her katana clashed with the golem's arm.
"Oh? Shiki, your golems are quite interesting, but this still isn't enough!" Tomoe said, reinforcing her blade with magic and cutting the golem in two.
"Still not enough," Shiki said, commanding the other golems to attack and surround Tomoe. Attacked from all sides, Tomoe leapt into the air to evade.
"Now!" Shiki shouted, firing the spell he had secretly prepared—a massive meteor hurtled down toward Tomoe.
"This is good, Shiki," Tomoe said, coating her katana with wind and water magic before launching a slash at the falling meteor.
Seeing the meteor split cleanly in two, Makoto said, "It seems their warm-up is over."
"Waka-sama, Shiki-sama is amazing—he made a meteor fall from the sky! How did he do that?" Hakuren asked.
"If I'm not mistaken, Shiki used earth magic to create a huge rock high in the sky and reinforced it with magic. Then he used fire magic to heat it, wind magic to strengthen the attack, and finally gravity magic to accelerate its fall and guide it toward Tomoe," Makoto explained.
After the meteor was cut in half, Tomoe, Mio, and Shiki stopped attacking.
"That should be enough warming up," Mio said.
"Yes. I've more or less grasped how strong I am now," Tomoe replied.
"Tomoe-sama, Mio-sama, please don't hit me too hard," Shiki said.
"Relax, Shiki. We know what we're doing," Tomoe said casually. Hearing that, Shiki forced a stiff smile.
Their bodies were then enveloped in rainbow-colored light. When it faded, the three returned to their previous forms. Tomoe and Mio showed no significant changes aside from mysterious patterns on their bodies and being twice their former size. Shiki remained a skeleton, but the aura he emitted was completely different. He also wore something like a crown and an elegant white robe.
"It feels like it's been a very long time since I last used this form," Tomoe said.
"Are you senile, Tomoe-san? It hasn't even been a year since you took on a human form," Mio replied.
"I just wanted to set the mood, Grandma Mio," Tomoe said.
"Haaah!? What did you just say, T-O-M-O-E-SAN?" Mio snapped.
"I'll do my best to stay out of their fight," Shiki thought to himself.
Not long after, the three unleashed attack after attack. Grasslands turned into deep chasms, mountains were shattered to pieces, forests burned to ash, deserts became seas, islands dried up, and some places turned into magma. Koyuki and Hakuren were utterly shocked. Each attack showed them just how strong someone could be. If not for the protection Makoto had created, the shockwaves alone would have easily killed them both.
Tomoe, Mio, and Shiki fought for several hours until noon.
"Let's end our match here, Tomoe-san. I need to prepare lunch for Waka-sama," Mio said, returning to her human form.
"You're right, Mio. Hearing that made me hungry," Tomoe said, also changing into human form.
"Haaah, it's finally over," Shiki sighed, returning to human form as well.
Makoto teleported in front of them.
"How was it? Is the fight over?" Makoto asked.
"Yes, Waka-sama. It's already noon—I need to hurry and make lunch," Mio replied.
"Then let's return to the main room," Makoto said.
After returning, Mio prepared lunch with Koyuki's and Hakuren's help, while Makoto, Tomoe, and Shiki waited on the sofa.
"That was really fun earlier, Waka. Moving your body once in a while feels great," Tomoe said cheerfully.
"In that case, you can train there from time to time. How about next time the three of you fight me?" Makoto suggested.
"That's a great idea, Waka. It's been a long time since I last fought you," Tomoe said happily.
Soon after, Mio arrived with Koyuki and Hakuren carrying lunch.
"Waka-sama, lunch is ready," Mio said.
"Oh, curry rice today. After working up a sweat, curry rice really hits the spot," Tomoe said.
After lunch, they relaxed on the sofa.
"Tomoe, after this, use flight mode to head to Dwargon," Makoto said.
"Understood, Waka. After Dwargon, where are we going?" Tomoe asked.
"We'll return to Eryndal. I'm curious about Erin's growth. She said earlier that after my evolution, she grew very tall and large," Makoto replied.
"Waka-sama, who is Erin?" Koyuki asked.
"Erin is a World Tree in my world. You could say she's the guardian of the world under my dominion," Makoto explained.
"Waka-sama, you rule a world!?" Koyuki exclaimed.
"Koyuki, there's no need to be surprised. If Waka wants to, he can easily create a world," Tomoe said.
"Wow! You're amazing, Waka-sama!" Koyuki said cheerfully.
After that, Tomoe went to the cockpit, and Makoto turned on the monitor to show the surrounding scenery.
"Waka-sama, there's something I'm a little curious about," Shiki said.
"Hm? What is it, Shiki?" Makoto asked.
"What kind of energy is used to operate this minivan? I tried observing it earlier, but I couldn't find any clues," Shiki said.
"This minivan now runs on magic energy crystals that I created," Makoto replied, producing a palm-sized magic energy crystal that emitted a faint rainbow glow.
"With a crystal of this size, the minivan can operate continuously for one year. Since we're inside a world, the minivan can't absorb energy from outside, as that would disrupt the balance of the world. Once the minivan enters the Realm of Chaos, it can then absorb external energy and store it to operate normally," Makoto explained.