Amou Kirukiru stood where she was, stretching both arms upward as her torso arched backward in a stunning display of flexibility.
Every joint in her body let out a rapid, dense volley of pops and cracks. Crack — crack — crack —
Then she exhaled a long, slow breath, her chest rising and falling as a sound of deep satisfaction escaped her lips.
Onigawara Rin looked at the bulging sack at her feet, reeking with the heavy iron scent of blood, then looked back at Amou Kirukiru's expression — that unmistakable look of someone who hasn't quite had enough — and felt the corner of her eye twitch.
"You…" Onigawara Rin couldn't help herself. "Don't tell me you went and did something crazy again."
"Just a little warm-up." "Those minotaurs…" "Thick hide. Hard flesh."
"The feel when you tear through it is really quite satisfying." "Especially the warmth when you drive your hand into their chest and close your fingers around their heart… that scorching, living heat — I find it absolutely captivating."
Amou Kirukiru's long, narrow eyes narrowed slightly, and the lingering frenzy still hadn't fully faded from her dark pupils. Her voice floated with a kind of unhealthy, drifting pleasure.
"…"
Onigawara Rin opened her mouth, then decided against it and closed it again. She was utterly speechless.
She stared at this woman still savoring the bloody aftertaste of battle and felt a chill creep up her spine.
Without question, the number one problem child among all of them.
An extremely dangerous lunatic who could lose control at any moment in pursuit of the thrill of killing.
Right at that moment.
Inaba Tsukuyo had been sitting quietly on a bench with her eyes closed in silent meditation. The ears half-hidden beneath her silver hair twitched slightly, breaking the stillness on this side of things.
And then —
Inaba Tsukuyo slowly opened those clear but unfocused red eyes of hers and turned toward the flow of people at the plaza entrance.
"Kami-sama is here."
Almost simultaneously.
The other girls who had been chatting or resting in a cluster — Kikakujou Mary, Nomura Satori, Hanasaka Warabi, and Amou Kirukiru who had only just been going wild — all paused for a single beat.
Then.
As one, they turned their heads and looked toward the entrance of Babel Tower Plaza.
Sure enough.
In the middle of the dense, noisy crowd.
That familiar figure was making his way through the throng.
Black hair, black eyes, unhurried steps.
Their chief deity — Haimer.
At his side, as ever, was that blue-ribbon goddess who only knew how to cling and act cute without a shred of divine dignity — Hestia.
But.
A second later.
Every gaze passed over Haimer and locked onto the unfamiliar figures walking behind him.
Four of them.
All female.
And each one more beautiful than the last.
Especially the silver-haired woman on the far left.
She wore a white formal gown that was somewhat torn and smudged with dust, yet its fine craftsmanship could not be concealed. That silver-white hair shimmered with a soft luster in the last rays of the setting sun.
Even on a plaza this noisy and chaotic, the innate composure and nobility she had cultivated over long years spent at the very heights of power made her stand out like something that simply did not belong.
She stood there, and every crude adventurer and ramshackle market stall around her became nothing more than a backdrop.
Kikakujou Mary's grip tightened on her rapier.
Onigawara Rin instinctively straightened her spine.
Even Nomura Satori, who almost never changed expression, narrowed her eyes ever so slightly.
A powerful, sharp sense of crisis.
Surged through the hearts of these veteran members all at once.
Especially when they saw the silver-haired woman glance at Haimer — and the look in her eyes held nothing back. A trust so complete it was almost startling.
That sense of crisis spiked even higher.
"Looks like…" "Kami-sama recruited new members again."
Nomura Satori narrowed her cat-like eyes, the corners of her mouth curling into a meaningful smile, and the tachi at her hip — [Gray Snake] — turned lazily in her hand.
"We've all just reached Lv. 2." "I thought we'd finally established ourselves in the Familia."
"And yet…" "The competition arrived so much faster than I expected."
Those words.
Hit every single person present right in their most sensitive spot.
Indeed.
Competition.
That was the reality of Familia life.
Resources were finite.
A deity's attention was finite.
Even the place at the deity's side was finite.
New members arriving meant that the favor which had once belonged to them alone might now be divided away.
This sense of crisis.
Was especially acute for these girls.
Because.
In this world where they had no one else, their deity was everything they had.
None of them wanted to let go.
Even Hanasaka Warabi, at this moment, couldn't help but clutch the small bear in her arms tighter, her lips pouting, her brows drooping in unconcealed displeasure.
"What the…" "We were here first…"
Hanasaka Warabi's pout could have hung a bottle off it. Brows sagging, she pinched and tugged at the fur on the small bear's belly.
One pull.
Then another.
"…???"
The small bear watched a little clump of its own fur get yanked out by Hanasaka Warabi. Too timid to make a sound, it could only stare with wide black-bead eyes, utterly bewildered.
Amou Kirukiru had no such thoughts on her mind.
After all, she was already far ahead of the rest by any measure.
So when she looked at the new faces, her gaze skipped clean past the beautiful silver-haired woman and settled on the black-haired girl with her killing intent carefully reined in — and on the small red-eyed child gripping two short blades.
The black-haired girl's footsteps were steady and grounded, her right hand resting loosely near the hilt of her blade at all times.
The red-eyed little girl's gaze wandered, looking casual and careless — yet her center of gravity was constantly maintained in a stance ready to explode into action at any instant.
Warriors.
The scent of her own kind.
Amou Kirukiru pressed her tongue tip against the roof of her mouth, and the light in her eyes grew brighter.
It looked like —
The days ahead would not be dull.
After all, when she spent time with the Five Swords, she always felt something was missing — they couldn't give her the pressure she craved.
But.
Whatever private thoughts each of them harbored, the moment they caught sight of their deity, the whole group hurried forward to meet him.
"Kami-sama!" "Mm."
Haimer stopped walking and looked over the group — Onigawara Rin and the others, a little tired but in genuinely good spirits — along with several sacks bulging with considerable loot.
"Looks like today was a good haul."
"How did it feel?" "Lv. 2 strength — have you gotten used to it?"
Haimer's voice was warm, carrying none of the lofty authority of a deity presiding over followers — more like a parent asking after children returning home from an outing.
"Absolutely no problems!" Onigawara Rin answered first, unable to hide the excitement in her voice.
"The power we have now is genuinely staggering." "Monsters that used to feel like a real hassle — now one swing and they're done." "Even pushing down to the 15th floor, we had complete room to spare."
As she said it, Onigawara Rin couldn't help but run her hand over the sword at her hip.
"That's right, that's right!" Hanasaka Warabi jumped in, pointing back at Kyoubou.
"Kyoubou got so much stronger too! Just earlier, a silverback ape tried to ambush us, and Kyoubou slapped it dead in one hit!"
"Roaaah—" Kyoubou let out a cooperative low rumble, puffing out its chest.
"Good." "Sounds like this trip was well worth it."
"You adapted quickly." "Even faster than I imagined."
"Well done."
Haimer gave a single nod, warmth evident in his eyes.
The moment those words landed, Onigawara Rin and the others, who had been holding themselves a little tense, visibly let their shoulders drop.
That edge of hostility directed at the newcomers was also blunted considerably by that one piece of praise.
Because after all.
Wasn't that exactly why they'd thrown themselves into battle in the Dungeon? For just this kind of acknowledgment?
...
Then Haimer noticed Onigawara Rin and the others' gazes beginning to drift, almost without their knowledge, toward the figures behind him.
Standing there.
Were four strangers who clearly weren't Orario locals.
The silver-haired woman in particular.
Was too brilliant to look at directly.
Even standing off to the side, she seemed to give off her own light.
That nobility and elegance that radiated from her very bones made Onigawara Rin — who on any normal day was purely a fighter who only cared about swinging a sword — feel instinctively, acutely self-conscious.
Without thinking.
Onigawara Rin curled her feet inward.
She glanced at her own boots — caked with Dungeon mud and monster blood — then looked at the other woman's white heels.
It was like tramping in through the door in filthy, mud-soaked straw sandals and planting one foot squarely on a freshly waxed palace floor that gleamed like a mirror.
That feeling of inadequacy, much as she didn't want to admit it, rose up in her chest clear and undeniable.
"Right, you've probably noticed by now." "As you can see."
Haimer, having caught onto this, turned his gaze toward the Holy Emperor, who looked just slightly flustered.
"These are the new members of our Familia." "Come on, say hello."
Being stared at by so many pairs of unfamiliar eyes — every one of them clearly seasoned and radiating a sharp, coiled intensity —
It would be a lie to say she wasn't nervous.
But.
The Holy Emperor drew a slow breath anyway.
And steadied herself.
After all, she had already decided to leave her former identity behind and begin again.
This was the starting line.
So.
The Holy Emperor stepped forward.
A little stiffly, she walked up, folded both hands in front of her, and bowed with a slight but graceful inclination.
The gesture was elegant and precise — the kind of propriety etched into the bone by a lifetime of noble upbringing.
"It is a pleasure to meet you." "My name is Seitenshi."
"I have no experience as an adventurer and will likely need your guidance in many respects." "But… I will do my utmost. Even starting from zero, I will not be a burden to any of you."
"I look forward to learning from you all."
As the Holy Emperor's words faded.
The air went quiet for exactly one second.
That name…
Sei… tenshi?!
Every person present — save for Haimer who knew the full story, and the three who had come from the same world — had the exact same thought flash through their minds at once:
That name sounds nothing like a normal person's name.
Who in the world gives themselves a name so drenched in sanctity and nobility?
On anyone else.
Even someone who was merely a little above ordinary and tried to go by a name like that, people would write them off as unbearably presumptuous.
But.
Looking at this silver-haired woman standing there as though it were the most natural thing in the world, radiating that effortless, bone-deep elegance.
Nobody thought there was anything wrong with the name.
If anything, everyone felt…
The name suited her perfectly.
And on top of that…
"Senpai"?!
Being addressed as "senpai" with such genuine, respectful deference by a woman who carried herself like high-born royalty — who looked more like a princess than any actual princess any of them had ever seen —
The impact of it was completely off the charts.
Whatever small flicker of hostility Onigawara Rin had harbored toward this "rival" was sunk without a trace by that single word.
If the newcomer had swept in arrogant and imperious, they might have been able to unite against her and put her in her place.
But faced with someone this gracious and well-mannered, who had placed herself this low with eyes this sincere —
Even if anyone had still had hostility left to spare, it would've been impossible to act on it now.
Who could seriously put on airs in front of a face like that?
Especially when a woman of such poise and refinement was bowing to you.
Onigawara Rin felt the sword in her hand turn almost too hot to hold.
She scrambled to return the gesture, suddenly completely at a loss.
"Ah… uh…" Onigawara Rin released her white-knuckle grip on the hilt, her hands wandering awkwardly at her sides with nowhere to go.
She tried to bow back.
But her brain short-circuited halfway through deciding between her usual swordsman's salute and mirroring the other woman's gesture, and she ended up just bending at the waist in a clumsy full ninety-degree bow.
"I'm Onigawara… uh… p-pleased to meet you."
Her tongue had tied itself in a knot. Her cheeks were flushing, entirely beyond her control.
Honestly…
She was the veteran here, yet she was acting more like a nervous newcomer than the actual newcomer.
Onigawara Rin mentally cursed herself for being so pathetic, but kept fighting to maintain her composure on the outside.
With someone going first to break the ice.
The atmosphere eased noticeably.
One by one, the others followed with their own introductions.
"I'm Kikakujou Mary." Mary made a quick effort to straighten herself up and reclaim a hint of the dignity befitting a young lady — though her voice still came out a little taut.
"I'm Nomura Satori." Satori waved a languid hand.
"I'm Inaba Tsukuyo." Inaba Tsukuyo gave a slight nod and said it quietly.
When it came to Hanasaka Warabi's turn.
She'd still been pouting and sulking a moment ago — but now, faced with this beautiful Holy Emperor treating her with such courtesy and calling her "senpai," every trace of the sulk evaporated.
She felt a little embarrassed.
"Um… I'm… Kyoubou…" "Pleased to meet you!"
Hanasaka Warabi pointed behind her at the enormous black bear and managed a somewhat stilted finish.
"…!!!"
The Holy Emperor followed Hanasaka Warabi's pointing finger.
When her gaze landed on the massive bear known as Kyoubou.
Her shoulders jolted.
In all honesty.
As a ruler raised in a greenhouse, the animals she had encountered in her previous life were limited to thoroughly domesticated pets — cats and dogs — or lions lounging lazily in the sun behind zoo glass.
A beast this enormous, this wild in its presence — even at several meters' distance, the sheer pressure it exuded was enough to make her heart race.
But.
Since it belonged to Haimer's Familia.
It was a comrade.
And so.
Though the Holy Emperor was still afraid — her palms even damp with fine beads of sweat — she forced herself to hold her expression together and offered a gentle smile.
"Hello, Miss Hanasaka." "And… Miss Kyoubou… and… little bear?"
The Holy Emperor's gaze dropped to the small bear nestled innocently in Hanasaka Warabi's arms. She gave both Kyoubou and the little bear a nod of greeting.
Even the other women present found themselves staring, momentarily enchanted.
"I'm Tendou Kisara." "Pleased to meet you."
After everyone had a moment to recover.
Tendou Kisara stepped forward as well.
She didn't bow deeply the way the Holy Emperor had. Instead, one hand rested on the tachi at her hip, her long black hair lifting slightly in the breeze, her gaze sharp as a drawn blade.
A simple introduction.
Clean. Direct.
Carrying that crisp, proud edge that was entirely her own as a swordswoman.
That quality was right up Onigawara Rin and Kikakujou Mary's alley.
"I'm Aihara Enju! I'm ten years old!"
"Hiruko Kohina."
Then Aihara Enju and Hiruko Kohina bounded forward in turn, bright-eyed and bursting with energy, not shy in the slightest.
They were staring wide-eyed with open curiosity at the enormous bear lurking behind Hanasaka Warabi.
"Is that a bear?" "It's so big!" "Can I touch it?"
For Aihara Enju and Hiruko Kohina, after a lifetime of Gastrea, a normal, fluffy, frankly rather good-natured-looking giant bear was actually a novelty.
The two of them were entirely unbothered by Kyoubou's massive frame and fearsome tusks — if anything, they zeroed in with their faces lit up, clearly desperate to try.
That startled Hanasaka Warabi, who took half a step back on reflex, clutching the small bear protectively and stammering:
"Huh? You can… well… Kyoubou's temperament is… it doesn't usually let people touch it…"
"It's fine, it's fine!"
Hanasaka Warabi hadn't even finished before Aihara Enju boldly reached out and quickly poked Kyoubou's thick belly.
Soft.
Warm.
Really nice to the touch.
"Wow! It's actually warm!"
Aihara Enju spun around and shouted back excitedly.
Kyoubou looked down at this tiny audacious creature with a snort, didn't get angry at all, just lazily shifted its weight and let her poke away.
It had probably sensed there was no ill intent.
"Looks like we've got some very interesting little sisters joining us." Nomura Satori watched this unfold, her narrowed eyes curving into crescents as she smiled.
This Familia.
Was never going to be quiet again.
And so, after that round of introductions.
The atmosphere was still a little awkward, with traces of wariness and careful probing between everyone.
But at least now, they all knew each other's names and faces.
The ice of that invisible barrier between them was slowly beginning to melt.
"Alright." "Now that everyone's acquainted, let's not just stand here."
Haimer clapped his hands together; the sharp, clean crack cut through the murmur of conversation.
As their chief deity, he was quite satisfied with how things had gone.
No immediate clash, no mutual rejection — this was a good start.
"Guild first." "Let's convert today's materials into Valis. We're not exactly flush with funds right now — we do have Ganesha's sponsorship, but still, it's always better to watch what comes in and what goes out." "While we're there, we'll get the new members registered as adventurers."
"And then…"
Haimer tilted his head and looked at the sky.
The last blush of sunlight had already vanished below the horizon; Orario's night had officially arrived.
The Magic Stone lamps on Babel Tower were beginning to flicker to life, mingling with the starlight above.
Time to fill some stomachs as well.
Haimer turned around and looked at this enormous gaggle of beautiful women, the corner of his mouth curving up.
"To celebrate the new members joining us — and to celebrate today's haul."
"Tonight." "The venue — [The Benevolent Mistress]!"
"We drink until we drop!" "YEAH!!!"
At Haimer's declaration.
Except for the Holy Emperor and Tendou Kisara, who were still blankly wondering what on earth [The Benevolent Mistress] was —
Everyone else's eyes lit up instantly.
Aihara Enju had no idea what it was either, but seeing everyone so excited, she threw her hand up and cheered along anyway.
"Yay! Food! Food!"
The last of the stiffness and formality shattered in an instant under the wave of cheers.
And just like that.
The whole group swept off in full force, leaving Babel Tower Plaza behind and heading in the direction of the Guild headquarters.
Orario's night.
Magic Stone lamps flooded every street with a light as bright as midday.
The group was quite sizable.
And their average looks were absurdly high, each of them a different kind of striking.
The whole walk was essentially a moving spotlight — drawing stares from an endless stream of passersby.
The Holy Emperor in particular.
That nobility of hers — so completely out of place among the noisy, rough-edged adventurer crowd — was simply impossible to ignore.
Even moving through the middle of a crowd, she stood out like a white swan that had wandered into a flock of chickens.
"Um…" While they walked.
Kikakujou Mary couldn't hold back that curiosity of hers any longer.
She quickened her pace, drew up alongside the Holy Emperor, and fell back half a step, maintaining a polite distance.
She might be a swordswoman, but at heart she was still very much the particular, finicky young lady she'd always been.
Faced with someone like the Holy Emperor — who was clearly well-bred and well-mannered, arguably more the picture of a proper young lady than Mary herself — she felt a natural pull of curiosity.
"Seitenshi-san… please forgive me if this is rude, I'm simply a little curious." Mary carefully chose her words, her gaze moving over the Holy Emperor.
"What did you do, before?" "That outfit…"
Mary pointed at the cuff of the Holy Emperor's white formal gown.
"It's a bit soiled now, but the fabric and the craftsmanship… I can tell that even in the finest tailors' shops I've ever visited, you'd be hard-pressed to find something made this precisely." "And this lacework… the technique used for this weave, it's extraordinarily delicate."
As a former young lady of distinction, Mary had a very sharp eye for these things.
"And Seitenshi-san's name…" "I keep feeling…" "It sounds very much like a princess from some kingdom."
Mary said it with a slightly sheepish half-laugh.
Not that the curiosity was unreasonable.
After all —
That elegance in her every movement.
Combined with a name saturated in such a sense of the sacred.
Something you simply never heard.
No matter how you looked at it, this was not an ordinary person.
Even a fallen noble wouldn't carry herself like this.
At that question.
The others perked up their ears as well.
Onigawara Rin especially.
She was making a show of browsing the weapon shop window displays along the road, but her ears were practically straining to reach over.
After all, when such a powerful "rival" had dropped in seemingly from nowhere, who wouldn't want to know a bit more about her background?
The Holy Emperor heard the question.
Her footsteps slowed almost imperceptibly.
She reached instinctively for the delicate lacework at her cuff.
It had been hand-stitched by the finest craftsmen in the Tokyo Area — every stitch and thread a mark of the highest artistry that world could offer. It had also been a symbol of who she once was.
But now.
All of that was in the past.
"More or less…" The Holy Emperor's eyes dimmed for just a moment, as though something had surfaced in her memory.
But almost immediately she steadied herself, and offered a composed smile touched with a hint of apology.
"The household I grew up in was very strict." "I rarely went outside. Every day was either etiquette lessons or handling… some household affairs." "So I don't know much about the outside world."
"As for my name…"
The Holy Emperor paused, tilted her chin up slightly, and looked at the sky.
"It was given to me by an elder in the family. It was probably… a hope that wasn't entirely realistic." "That I might be like a saint, and bring happiness to those around me… something along those lines."
The Holy Emperor hadn't lied.
But she had omitted the most critical part.
After all, Haimer had made it clear — matters of the other world were to be kept confidential.
"I knew it!" Kikakujou Mary clapped her hands together as though something had just been confirmed, her face breaking into an expression of complete vindication.
"Seitenshi-san's bearing — the moment I saw you, I thought: she was raised in some castle, a sheltered young lady kept well away from the world." "A household with rules that strict — I understand it completely."
Mary sounded genuinely empathetic, her tone tinged with feeling.
"But…" "You're out now." "That means you're free."
As she said it.
Kikakujou Mary patted the rapier at her hip, turned her head, and flashed the Holy Emperor a brilliant smile.
"Under Kami-sama, there aren't that many rules." "Eat what you want, go where you want." "As long as you have a sword in hand, there's nowhere you can't reach."
In that moment.
The unbounded, untethered freedom that radiated from Kikakujou Mary — so distinctly her own as an adventurer — made the Holy Emperor stare, something stirring deep within her.
"Free… dom…?" The Holy Emperor repeated the word softly under her breath.
Yes.
That was precisely why she had chosen this path.
"If that's the case…" "Then perhaps I really did come to the right place."
"Speaking of which, Mary-san…"
The Holy Emperor came back to herself, looked at Kikakujou Mary, and asked with genuine curiosity:
"You aren't originally from here either, are you."
"Ahaha… you noticed?" "That's right." "I'm not from around here either."
Kikakujou Mary blinked, caught off guard for a moment.
Then she rubbed her cheek a little sheepishly.
And at that.
The two of them looked at each other.
Some things went unsaid.
But a single glance, a single knowing pause —
— that wordless understanding that only exists between people far from home —
— was enough to dissolve in an instant the invisible distance that had separated them.
The two of them were warming to each other quickly.
"Since Seitenshi-san and I both ended up with Kami-sama in search of freedom." "There's no need to be so formal." "Just call me Mary." "Then Mary-san should just call me Seitenshi too."
The Holy Emperor, hearing this, let the last of her guard drop, and a light, easy smile crossed her face.
____
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🔥 New history: Re:Zero: Wrath Route Yandere Emilia Watches the Projection
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