Then, together with Rembrandt, they headed to the dining room. While walking there, Rembrandt explained that he had now become Makoto's subordinate. When they arrived, the dining table was already prepared with a variety of dishes. Without delay, they had lunch together with Rembrandt and his family. After lunch, they drank the tea that had been prepared.
"Waka-sama, how was the food?" Rembrandt asked.
"The food was quite good. It seems you have a very capable chef," Makoto replied.
"Thank you for the compliment," Rembrandt said.
Makoto then noticed that Lisa looked like she wanted to ask something but was hesitating.
"Lisa-san, if there's something you want to ask, feel free to do so. You don't need to be reserved—I'm a pretty easygoing person," Makoto said.
"Um, Waka-sama, if I may ask… are the changes to Anata and Morris because of Waka-sama?" Lisa asked.
"The changes are indeed because of me. I made their bodies a bit younger. If you want, I can make you younger as well—consider it a gift for your recovery," Makoto said.
"Really, Waka-sama?!" Lisa exclaimed in surprise.
"Of course. It's not a difficult thing to do," Makoto said, then sent vitality energy—also called life energy—into Lisa. After the life energy entered her body, Lisa felt much lighter. She took out a small mirror she was carrying and looked at her reflection, which now appeared younger.
"Thank you very much, Waka-sama!" Lisa said.
"It's no problem," Makoto replied.
"Lisa, seeing how beautiful you are now makes my heart skip a beat!" Rembrandt said to her.
"Okaa-sama, if other people see you now, they'll think you're our older sister," Sif said to Lisa.
"And what about you two? What do you want?" Makoto asked Sif and Yuno. The two exchanged glances.
"Um, Waka-sama, could we postpone our wishes for now? We don't really know what we want yet," Sif said, with Yuno nodding in agreement.
"That's fine. You can think about it slowly. As long as it's not an unreasonable request, I'll agree to it," Makoto said.
"Thank you, Waka-sama," Sif and Yuno said.
"Waka-sama, may I explain to them what we discussed earlier?" Rembrandt asked.
"You can tell them. Sooner or later, they'll find out anyway," Makoto replied.
Rembrandt then explained why Makoto had come to meet him, how he went to Makoto's world together with Morris, and how he agreed to become Makoto's subordinate.
Sif and Yuno were initially shocked to hear that Rembrandt and Morris could travel to another world.
"Otou-sama, it's really unfair if only you and Morris get to go to another world," Yuno said.
"That's right, Otou-sama," Sif added.
"It's not that I don't want you to come, but I was too shocked at the time to think of anything else," Rembrandt said with an awkward smile.
"Sif, Yuno, mind your manners in front of Waka-sama. Haven't you heard that we can go in eight days?" Lisa said to them.
"Yes, Okaa-sama," Sif and Yuno replied.
"Now that the residential area is complete, I also want to build several facilities such as hotels, banks, and public buildings for those who come to my world. At the very least, we can build them gradually," Makoto said.
"That's a very good idea, Waka-sama. I'll immediately start making plans on how to develop the city going forward," Rembrandt replied.
"Waka, I've finished checking everyone on the list," Tomoe said via telepathy.
"Good work, Tomoe," Makoto replied telepathically.
"Waka, where are you right now?" Tomoe asked.
"I'm currently at Rembrandt-san's residence," Makoto answered.
"Then I'll head there," Tomoe said.
"Alright, I'll be waiting," Makoto replied.
"Rembrandt-san, Tomoe has finished checking everyone on the list and says she'll be coming here," Makoto told Rembrandt.
"Very well then. Morris, send someone to wait for Tomoe-sama," Rembrandt said.
"Understood, Rembrandt-sama," Morris replied, leaving and then returning after instructing a servant to wait for Tomoe.
Not long after, Tomoe arrived.
"Waka, I'm back," Tomoe said.
"So, how were the results?" Makoto asked.
"You could say they were decent," Tomoe replied casually.
Rembrandt, hearing this, was a bit confused but stayed silent as he waited for Tomoe's report.
"Three out of the twenty-eight people are spies, and one is involved in human trafficking and illegal goods. The rest include a few who sold goods secretly or committed minor corruption. Overall, it's fairly decent," Tomoe said as she placed the information she had gathered on the table.
After hearing Tomoe's report, Rembrandt was shocked.
"Waka-sama, may I look at this information?" Rembrandt asked.
"Go ahead," Makoto said casually.
Rembrandt then picked up the documents on the table and read them seriously. The information Tomoe had gathered detailed everything they had done—good or bad—as well as information about their families. Lisa, Sif, and Yuno grew nervous as they watched Rembrandt read intently.
"Onee-chan, will everything be alright?" Yuno whispered to Sif.
"I think it'll be fine. Leave everything to Otou-sama," Sif whispered back.
After a while, Rembrandt let out a sigh.
"Haah… I never imagined that someone I trusted for years would turn out to be a spy," Rembrandt said.
"Morris, it seems we'll need to change our plans a bit," he added.
"Understood, Rembrandt-sama," Morris replied.
Makoto then stood up and said, "Well then, I'll be returning to the world of Eryndal. I'll see you all again in eight days."
"Please be careful on your journey, Waka-sama," Rembrandt, Morris, Lisa, Sif, and Yuno said together.
Makoto then created a portal and entered it together with Tomoe and Mio. After watching the portal close, Rembrandt said, "This is the beginning of a journey filled with mystery and wonder. But I'm sure we'll see a world beyond anything we could have imagined," he said with a smile.
"Anata, do you need my help?" Lisa asked.
"Lisa, you can take care of the preparations for our move to the world of Eryndal. I need to deal with some trash," Rembrandt said.
"Alright. Please be careful," Lisa replied.
"Don't worry. Now that Morris and I are younger, dealing with them will be easy," Rembrandt said.
After Makoto returned to his residence, he relaxed in the living room with Tomoe, while Mio prepared tea and snacks for them.
"Waka, how about creating a special team to gather information? It's really troublesome if I have to personally handle it every time you want information," Tomoe said.
"Are you just being lazy, Tomoe?" Makoto teased.
"But gathering information is really troublesome," Tomoe replied.
"Waka, how about we create a ninja force!" Tomoe said enthusiastically.
"Hm, a ninja force?" Makoto said thoughtfully.
"How about it, Waka? It's not a bad idea, right?" Tomoe asked.
"After hearing your idea, I came up with one as well," Makoto said.
"What is it, Waka?" Tomoe asked.
"How about creating a mysterious unit—no one would know their identities, their numbers, or even the identities of their own comrades. Secrecy would be their top priority. Each member would only use a code name during missions. When they're not on duty, they would blend in with the city's residents—merchants, guards, street vendors, anything. Their task would be to gather information from their surroundings. Their name would be: Shadow," Makoto explained.
"But Waka, aren't ninjas way cooler? And ninjas can gather information too!" Tomoe protested.
Mio then arrived carrying tea and snacks.
"Waka-sama, what are you arguing about with Tomoe-san?" Mio asked, puzzled.
Makoto and Tomoe explained their differing opinions.
"Why don't we just make both?" Mio suggested.
Makoto and Tomoe fell silent.
"Mio's right. We can make both," Makoto said.
"Yeah, Waka. I feel silly for arguing about that," Tomoe admitted.
"So, what skills should we give them?" Makoto asked.
"For the ninjas, skills similar to what Souei has," Tomoe said.
"If I'm not mistaken, that would be Shadow Movement, Doppelganger, and Ultra Acceleration," Makoto said.
"Yes, Waka. Those are enough as standard abilities. Their job is to gather information, not to fight," Tomoe replied.
"Then for the Shadow unit, we'll specialize them purely as spies, since secrecy is their most important aspect. I'll give them Disguise, Camouflage, and Shadow Movement. How about it, Tomoe—anything to add?" Makoto asked.
"You could say ninjas are for missions that require fast movement, while Shadow is for slow, careful infiltration," Tomoe said.
"Isn't that already good enough? If anything's lacking, we can improve it in the future," Mio added.
Makoto and Tomoe exchanged glances and nodded.
"Now we just need the candidates," Makoto said.
"For the ninjas, I'll appoint Lime as the leader and add several Forest Ogres as members," Tomoe said.
"And who would be suitable for Shadow?" Makoto asked.
"Waka-sama, how about you entrust Shadow to me?" Mio asked.
"To you?" Makoto asked.
"Yes, Waka-sama. The Alke have now entered many industries—agriculture, construction, research, administration, trade, and more," Mio explained.
"I didn't know the Alke had already spread into so many fields," Makoto said in surprise.
"Alright, Mio. I'll entrust the Shadow unit to you to form, but we'll need some adjustments. Their main purpose is to gather information once I start connecting this city with other worlds. As for the ninjas, their task will be to accompany us when we travel to other worlds," Makoto said.
"Is there anything to add?" Makoto asked.
"Nothing, Waka," Tomoe replied.
"Nothing, Waka-sama," Mio said.
Tomoe and Mio then left to gather and train their respective members.
Several days passed after the ninja force and the Shadow unit were formed. Makoto also granted skills to the members of both units. The ninja force now consisted of ten members, including Lime. As for Shadow, Mio included all Alke in the unit. Because Shadow was extremely secretive, only Makoto, Tomoe, Mio, Shiki, and Selena knew of its existence. Makoto even went so far as to add a rule seal that prevented every Shadow member from speaking about anything related to their duties, in any form whatsoever.
After a few more days passed, the day finally came for Rembrandt and his group to move to the world of Eryndal. After breakfast, Makoto set out with Tomoe, accompanied by the ninjas hiding within Makoto's shadow. After creating a portal, Makoto and Tomoe stepped into it. When they emerged, Makoto found himself in front of Rembrandt's residence.
The servant who saw Makoto and Tomoe appear so suddenly was only slightly startled, then calmly bowed.
"Waka-sama, Tomoe-sama, please allow me to guide you to Rembrandt-sama," the servant said. Guided by the servant, Makoto arrived at the back courtyard of Rembrandt's residence.
Many people had already gathered there, along with neatly arranged wooden crates of various sizes. Everyone present belonged either to Rembrandt's family or to the families of his loyal followers, whom Tomoe had already checked beforehand. Half of Rembrandt's followers were servants, and the rest were his direct subordinates. As Makoto approached, Rembrandt and those around him noticed Makoto and Tomoe's presence.
"Waka-sama, Tomoe-sama, welcome," Rembrandt said.
Rembrandt's followers also bowed to Makoto.
"Is everything ready?" Makoto asked.
"Yes, Waka-sama. Everything is ready," Rembrandt replied.
After looking around, Makoto said, "Before we leave, we need to clean out the rats hiding around here."
Hearing this, Rembrandt felt a bit confused. Then Makoto said, "Lime."
"Ha!" Lime responded, suddenly appearing beside Makoto and kneeling. He was dressed entirely in black and wore a special mask that Tomoe had ordered from the elder dwarf. Rembrandt was shocked by Lime's sudden appearance.
"All of you, eliminate the rats hiding around here. Also find out what they're after," Makoto ordered.
"Understood, Waka-sama," Lime replied, then vanished before Makoto's eyes together with the shadows that emerged from beneath Makoto's feet.