Makoto smiled and helped Selena to her feet, then turned to face the townspeople.
"Without further delay," Makoto said as he took a glass handed to him by Komoe. After all the townspeople were holding their own glasses, Makoto raised his glass and said, "For all of us, and for this city—cheers!"
"Cheers!!!" the townspeople shouted loudly.
The celebration began with music and performances put on by the townspeople. Some of them also came up to greet Makoto, who was sitting on the stage.
"Waka-sama, how have you been?" asked Eld, the chief elder of the dwarves.
"I'm doing well, Eld. How is the research going? Any progress?" Makoto asked.
"As for the creation of storage space, there hasn't been any significant progress. We succeeded in creating a material that can be used as the core of a storage space, but the results are still far from what we hoped for. We also surveyed several mountains and forests around the city with the help of the Alke and the Forest Ogres to search for rare materials," Eld replied.
"I have something for you. You can use it to research all the materials inside," Makoto said as he handed a ring to Eld.
Eld looked confused as he received the ring. "What kind of ring is this, Waka-sama?"
"Try focusing your thoughts on the ring," Makoto said.
After Eld tried it, his eyes widened in shock.
"Waka-sama, is this truly a spatial storage tool? Moreover, the space inside is enormous—around one hundred cubic meters—and it's filled with materials I don't recognize!" Eld exclaimed.
"Well, Eld, I'm looking forward to you creating something that will surprise me," Makoto said.
"Leave it to me, Waka-sama!" Eld replied seriously.
The party continued joyfully, and the townspeople congratulated Selena as well. Makoto also saw Erin, Koyuki, and Komoe dancing and laughing together with the townspeople. The celebration lasted until midnight. Most of the adults were still drinking alcohol, while the children had already gone home with their parents.
After the party, Makoto and his followers returned home, including Selena, who had just become his follower.
"It seems the townspeople were especially excited this time," Makoto said as he walked home while carrying the sleeping Erin in his arms.
"That's because they couldn't meet Waka for quite a while," Tomoe replied, carrying Koyuki, who was also asleep. Hakuren and Komoe walked behind Shiki, struggling to stay awake.
"Waka-sama, if I may ask, where did you go earlier?" Selena asked Makoto.
"Hm, if I explain it now, it'll take quite some time. How about tomorrow morning after breakfast?" Makoto replied.
"Very well, Waka-sama," Selena said.
Before long, they arrived at Makoto's residence.
"Oh, it looks magnificent now that it's finished," Tomoe said.
"We prepared the best we could for Waka-sama's residence, from the decorations to the furniture inside," Selena added.
After entering and putting the sleeping Erin and Koyuki into their respective rooms, Makoto went to his own room to rest.
When morning came, Makoto was awakened by Erin.
"Onii-chan, wake up! It's already morning," Erin said.
"Hm? Erin, why are you the one waking me up?" Makoto asked.
"Mio-onee-chan said breakfast will be ready soon, so I came to wake you, onii-chan," Erin replied cheerfully.
"Alright then, I'll get ready," Makoto said as he headed to the bathroom.
"Okay, onii-chan. I'll wait for you in the dining room," Erin said.
After getting ready, Makoto went to the dining room, where everyone had already gathered.
"Good morning, everyone," Makoto said.
"Good morning, Waka," Tomoe replied.
"Good morning, Waka-sama," Shiki said.
"Good morning, Waka-sama," Selena said.
Soon, Mio arrived carrying breakfast, with Erin, Koyuki, Komoe, and Hakuren helping her cook.
"Waka-sama, breakfast is ready," Mio said.
"Good morning, Waka-sama," Koyuki, Komoe, and Hakuren greeted him.
"Onii-chan, try the tamagoyaki I made," Erin said cheerfully.
"Waka-sama, please try the miso soup I made," Koyuki added, not wanting to lose to Erin.
"Alright, let's eat," Makoto said.
During breakfast, Makoto made sure to praise Erin and Koyuki after tasting the food they made. After finishing breakfast, they all gathered in the lounge. Once Mio prepared tea and brought snacks, Makoto began to speak.
"Alright, let's continue the conversation from last night," Makoto said.
"Yes, Waka-sama," Selena replied.
"First, I'll tell you who I am and how I came to the goddess's world," Makoto said.
Makoto then told them about his past life—how he was reborn in another world and the process of regaining his memories. He explained who Erin was, how he traveled to the goddess's world and met Selena, the abilities he gained from Erin, and his journeys to other worlds with Tomoe, Mio, and Shiki. He also talked about his evolution with Erin's help, which caused the green light that appeared earlier, how he met Koyuki and Hakuren, and how he returned to the world of Eryndal yesterday afternoon.
At first, Selena listened calmly, but when she learned Erin's true identity, she was deeply shocked. Upon hearing that Makoto could travel to other worlds so easily, she was left speechless.
"So, Waka-sama only returned from another world yesterday," Selena said.
"That's right. How about we go have lunch at Erin's place this afternoon? You still haven't seen Erin's main body, have you?" Makoto asked.
"With pleasure, Waka-sama. In that case, I'll head to the city office first to take care of today's duties," Selena said, then left for the city office.
After Selena left, Tomoe and Mio also went off to handle their own tasks. As for Shiki, he became a temporary teacher for Koyuki, Hakuren, and Erin. Erin, seeing Koyuki and Hakuren studying with Shiki, became interested and joined them.
That left Makoto alone, feeling bored. He then remembered one of his hobbies from his previous life: assembling Gundam model kits.
"How could I forget? In this world, who wouldn't dream of creating their own Gundam?" Makoto said excitedly. He then closed his eyes and entered his consciousness space.
Inside the consciousness space, Makoto muttered, "Hmm, which Gundam design should I make first?"
"Nueria, display the Gundam images from my memory," Makoto said.
[Understood.]
Various Gundam images appeared before him:
Mobile Suit Gundam (Original): RX-78-2 Gundam
Zeta Gundam: Zeta Gundam (MSZ-006)
Gundam Wing: Wing Gundam, Wing Gundam Zero
Gundam SEED: Strike Gundam, Freedom Gundam, Justice Gundam, Akatsuki
Gundam SEED Destiny: Strike Freedom Gundam, Infinite Justice Gundam, Destiny Gundam
Gundam 00: Gundam Exia, 00 Gundam, Gundam Kyrios, Gundam Virtue
Iron-Blooded Orphans: Gundam Barbatos, Gundam Flauros
Gundam Unicorn: Unicorn Gundam
Gundam: The Witch from Mercury: Gundam Lfrith
Seeing so many models made Makoto impatient.
"It seems I should start from the basics," Makoto said. "First, the main engine of the Gundam. Even if I can make something similar to the original, I have something even better."
He thought further. "Why should I follow an existing Gundam model? As long as I think it's a Gundam, that's all that matters."
With his imagination running wild and supported by Nueria's calculations, Makoto began creating his first Gundam. He started with the Gundam's energy core, creating a special spherical space capable of storing and circulating magical energy.
Next, he built the Gundam's internal frame using special materials that were as hard and as light as possible, designing it to resemble a human skeleton. He then created artificial muscles using flexible yet sturdy materials to support heavy loads. With Nueria's help, Makoto successfully built the main engine and the cockpit, located in the chest.
For the head, Makoto designed it as the main sensor unit, capable of vision, identification, and functioning as a radar to detect enemies. After completing the body, he added various functions such as enhancement magic, detection magic, defensive magic, flight magic, and resistance magic against spells, heat, cold, and many other elements.
Once the core body was complete, Makoto created the outer armor, along with compartments that could open to launch missiles, and parts on the arms and shoulders that could connect to rifles, cannons, swords, and shields. After equipping the armor and linking it to the body, the armor changed color to silver-gold with blue and red lines. For the armor design, Makoto used the RX-0 Unicorn style.
Naturally, he also created several rifles and cannons to arm his Gundam, along with swords and shields—most notably a beam sword as a backup weapon.
Makoto also created a storage space in the abdomen connected to the control room, allowing the Gundam to store weapons and ammunition, ensuring he wouldn't run out of missiles during battle. For the rifles, he created several types: one using fire magic reinforced with lightning magic for penetration, one using fire magic reinforced with wind magic for high destructive power, and one using dark magic reinforced with water magic that would explode and engulf the surrounding area upon impact.
The cannons followed similar configurations but with greater destructive power. The missiles were imbued with various elemental magics and could track enemies after being launched. Makoto also created wings shaped like those of the Strike Freedom Gundam, capable of firing independently or spreading out around the Gundam to attack enemies separately like satellites.
After finishing, Makoto gazed proudly at the Gundam he had created. Though there were still some imperfections, he was satisfied with the result. After storing the Gundam in his personal storage space, Makoto exited his consciousness space.
Looking at the clock on the wall, Makoto realized it was almost noon. When he glanced out the window, he saw Erin playing with Koyuki and Komoe.
"It looks like their study session is over," Makoto said.
When Makoto went to the kitchen to get some water, he saw Mio preparing lunch.
"What are you making, Mio?" Makoto asked.
"Waka-sama, I'm making stuffed bread," Mio replied cheerfully.
"Once everyone has gathered, we'll go have lunch at Erin's place," Makoto said.
"Yes, Waka-sama. I've already contacted Tomoe to come back. As for Shiki, he's in the laboratory with Hakuren," Mio replied.
At noon, Selena arrived last.
"I'm sorry for making you wait, Waka-sama," Selena said.
"It's fine. I know you're busy handling various matters in the city. Now that everyone is here, let's go," Makoto said.
Makoto then teleported with everyone. After arriving, everyone behaved normally—except Selena. Seeing Erin's main body for the first time, Selena was utterly shocked, not only by its size but also by the aura emitted by the World Tree.
"Selena, snap out of it," Makoto said.
Selena came back to her senses. "Forgive me, Waka-sama. I was just so shocked by the World Tree. This calming yet mysterious aura completely captivated me," Selena said.