"Nagami, Nagami! We've got a new member~!"
Shiraori excitedly shook Nagami back and forth, her voice still stuck in that overly sweet tone she'd used earlier to fake being all cutesy.
Nagami gave her a sideways glance, looking half-amused, half-exasperated, and took a slow breath.
That fake cutesy voice? Aoi Yuuki-level. Not bad at all.
———————————————————————
[Shiraori]: Welcome, newbie~! Pic or it didn't happen!
[Itsuka Kotori]: Welcome~! Pic, pic, pic!
[Akemi Homura]: Welcome~ Show us your face~
[Kiana Kaslana]: Heeey, newbie~ Pic, now!
———————————————————————
Nagami shot a sharp, almost dagger-like glance at Shiraori.
See? See?!
All of them are like this because of you!
If we add Reimu to this madness, the average integrity of this group is going to plummet into the negatives.
———————————————————————
Gensokyo – Hakurei Shrine
The shrine had an old-fashioned charm to it—basic, but clean enough.
A black-haired girl with hair down to her waist was sleeping soundly on a tatami mat.
She wore a red and white shrine maiden outfit, distinct from typical ones.
The sleeves were detached and billowy, secured by bands on her upper arms, and her clothes fit just snug enough to show off her blossoming figure.
A purple bow was tied at her chest, and a large red ribbon adorned her hair—giving her a mischievous, youthful air… if she wasn't motionless and silent.
"Yaaaawn…"
Hunger clawed at her belly.
The shrine maiden shifted lazily. It had been a while since the last feast, and with no one dropping by with offerings, Hakurei Reimu had been starving for quite some time.
"Hmm…?"
Still lying on the tatami, her long lashes trembled as she barely managed to pry her eyes open.
She stared blankly at the familiar ceiling.
A flicker of confusion crossed her eyes, then she tried to sit up—but her empty, growling stomach wasn't having it.
Even so, her face remained calm despite the weird information now floating in her mind.
Weird stuff happening in Gensokyo? Yeah, that's basically a Tuesday.
Probably that shady gap-hag again!
Without a word, Reimu picked up a cup of tea and took a sip.
Her dainty fingers rubbed her rumbling stomach.
"…So hungry…"
———————————————————————
[Kal'tsit]: …Did you all scare the new girl off already?
[Nagami]: That one? No way. She's probably just ignoring us.
[Itsuka Kotori]: Ugh, there you go again acting like you know everything.
[Nagami]: I'm not omniscient. I just happen to know a lot, that's all.
[Kiana Kaslana]: So what you're saying is… this new member is really strong?
———————————————————————
Kiana had already watched every anime and game series Nagami had uploaded to the chat group.
Naturally, she focused on analyzing each member's power levels.
And truth be told, she suspected that Nagami was hiding the truth about her world.
She didn't know exactly why, but there were only a few possible reasons.
After all, Nagami had shared detailed records about everyone else's worlds—except hers.
If he said it was just a coincidence… she wasn't buying it.
Kiana had even gone over the Honkai Impact 3rd material Nagami uploaded in detail.
Judging by how thoroughly he documented it, the game clearly held a special place in his heart.
So for her world—an offshoot of Honkai, whether from an event, an alternate timeline, a prequel, or sequel—to be completely omitted?
Saying he just "wasn't paying attention" was an obvious excuse.
Sure, a certain dumb tuna wouldn't have pieced this together.
But this Kiana was no fool.
And if her world really was a tragedy, then maybe she was a key part of it… which would explain why Nagami refused to share more.
After thinking it over, Kiana decided to trust him.
Nagami seemed like a decent guy.
Someone who could be friends with the "her" from that worldline couldn't be all that bad, right?
…Though, let's be real, the main reason was: even if she wanted to know, if Nagami didn't say anything, she had no way to force it out of him.
Using violence? That was out of the question.
The guy's a multiversal group admin and a traveler between worlds.
He was not going to be taken down easily.
She wasn't the naive, happy-go-lucky Kiana from Honkai anymore.
She wouldn't fall for that!
Still… she had a hunch.
Nagami inviting her to the Honkai world probably wasn't just about stopping the Honkai from spreading.
But without more clues, she'd have to figure that out once they met in person.
———————————————————————
[Nagami]: I'm not even sure if "fated individuals" still get battlefield buffs in other worlds.
But if they do, this shrine maiden might actually be the strongest person in the group right now.
[Inori Yuzuriha]: Shrine maiden?
[Nagami]: Yup. Inori, you've probably never met one, right?
———————————————————————
Inori had spent nearly her whole life locked inside a lab, and her understanding of shrine maidens came almost entirely from books and data.
During his long private chats with Inori Yuzuriha, Nagami had been doing his best to help her build a more complete sense of common knowledge.
Unfortunately, his efforts had little effect. Ironically, the things he said in jest were what stuck with her the most.
———————————————————————
[Inori]: Mmm~
———————————————————————
The girl's soft hum sounded like a spring bubbling quietly in the mountains—clear and ethereal.
———————————————————————
[Nagami]: Once I'm done with all this chaos, I'll come visit you. So be a good girl until then, okay~
———————————————————————
Lately, Nagami had been caught up trying to prevent the outbreak of the Third Honkai Eruption, and had no time to spare for Inori.
At least keeping her in the lab was safer—for now.
He had seriously considered whether or not to bring Inori into the Honkai Impact 3rd world.
In the end, he decided it would be safer to keep her close by.
After all, as the vessel of Mana Ouma, she was essentially a weapon that every faction would fight to obtain.
And without someone trustworthy by her side, she'd be left defenseless.
There was no way a girl like her—someone who didn't even have a complete grasp of basic common sense—could ever deal with organizations that controlled entire militaries.
In a future full of uncertainties, including the risk of death, Nagami simply couldn't bring himself to leave her to fate.
He'd rather have her by his side.
And while he was at it, he might as well inject her with a dose of the Void Genome.
With the power of a "Fated One," she should be able to meet the activation requirements, right?
———————————————————————
[Inori]: Mmm~, I'll be waiting.
[Shiraori]: Uuu~ I wanna go play in the safe world too~
[Nagami]: …No one's stopping you from going.
———————————————————————
Struggling to endure the suffocating sensation crawling through her body, Shiraori glared daggers at Nagami.
As if it were that easy! Not everyone can just stop being human like you can!
Since the day she joined the chat group, Shiraori had been barely scraping together the points needed to purchase the "Fated One" ability.
A normal person's grind could never compare to an ultra-lucky bastard like Nagami.
The "Fated One" ability had the best cost-to-benefit ratio when purchased while still weak—the fewer powers you had, the cheaper it was.
Most importantly, the effects were permanent once activated.
Shiraori desperately wanted to scream, Screw you, lucky dogs!
But when Nagami's gaze shifted toward her, she instantly plastered a cute smile onto her round little face.
He wasn't just lucky—he had admin privileges. What was she supposed to do about that?
Time passed, and the new member in the chat group still hadn't said a word. The flurry of messages slowed down again, becoming sporadic and broken.
Back in her not-so-sturdy, but extremely well-hidden and cozy little den, C.C. casually cast a Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique.
The spider monster looked at her with something like longing before being burned to ash.
She didn't even leave a corpse behind for Shiraori to eat.
Though she wasn't averse to eating spiders, C.C. preferred not to eat her own kind if she was already full.
As she put it, Eating spiders just feels…weird.
Of course, when you're starving, all that goes out the window.
"Ahhh~ my soft, fluffy pillow, I missed you sooo much!" Shiraori dove face-first into her silk-woven pillow, her whole body rocking back and forth.
"Fuuu~! I'm dead tired~!" Lifting her slender legs, she gently kicked off her knee-high boots.
Her delicate feet, clad in pristine white thigh-high socks, touched down on the web-like bed.
C.C. leaned back lazily, settling into a comfortable pose.
She stretched her well-proportioned, lithe body with pleasure.
Every curve of her figure seemed to radiate youthful charm.
Sitting with her knees bent, her skirt slid down her smooth, toned thighs, revealing a strip of snow-white skin—the sacred "absolute territory."
"…Uh." Shiraori looked at C.C., who had joined her on the bed, clearly conflicted.
By conventional standards, she was a girl, and Nagami was a boy.
Sharing a bed together was absolutely inappropriate.
This…
She pondered…
And overthought…
Then gave up.