On the other side, in the grand council hall of the Imperial Palace, Emperor Molt sat expressionless on the throne on the high platform.
Princess Pina stood below, reporting the events that had recently transpired.
"I see... So Zorzal is dead..." Molt said flatly, his tone devoid of emotion, as though the one who died wasn't his own son but just an unrelated commoner.
However, the dim look in his eyes betrayed the fact that he wasn't as indifferent as he appeared.
"A mysterious power that wiped out over fifty people in an instant, and accompanied by His Holiness... Could she be one of the gods?" Molt murmured inwardly.
He had no clue about Eriri's true identity, but he knew one thing for certain: she was not someone the Empire could afford to provoke.
"I understand. Pina, you may leave. You don't need to concern yourself with this matter anymore. Zorzal brought this on himself by picking a fight. His end is his own doing," Molt said, waving his hand tiredly.
Pina opened her mouth as if to speak, but couldn't find the words. In the end, she simply closed her mouth and nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty."
With that, she turned and left the hall, her mood downcast.
...
In a prison cell within the crown prince's palace, a white-haired woman with long rabbit ears drooping atop her head sat restlessly on a simple bed. She wore only a rough cloth garment and had a black collar around her neck.
"Is it true? That idiot Zorzal is really dead?"
"Absolutely true, Lady Tyuule. There were many witnesses to the event," replied a hideous green-skinned beastman kneeling respectfully beneath her bed.
"Damn it! How did it come to this? What was the point of all my effort?!"
This rabbit-eared woman, Tyuule, was the chieftain of the warrior bunny tribe. After their tribe was attacked by the Empire, she voluntarily became Zorzal's slave in exchange for the survival of her people.
But even after her enslavement, the Empire still exterminated her tribe. Only a few survivors remained in hiding.
She had endured humiliation and abuse all this time, allowing Zorzal to do as he pleased, all with the intent of gaining control over the arrogant fool and eventually orchestrating the downfall of the Empire.
Recently, she had learned of the Empire's defeat at the hands of the forces from the other side of the "Gate." She was planning to incite a war between the Empire and the other world to accelerate the Empire's destruction.
Zorzal was the linchpin of that plan. With his death, everything she had endured was now in vain. How could she not feel frustrated?
Still, she had no choice but to accept reality. As a racial slave, she had no power to influence the Empire's decisions on her own.
...
In the prison cell next to Tyuule, a black-haired girl wearing a plain garment sat curled up in the corner of her bed.
This girl was one of the captives Zorzal had mentioned—a girl taken from the other side of the "Gate."
When the Gate first opened, the Empire's army, already prepared, launched an attack on the other world. However, their military strength was leagues apart. The Empire was swiftly crushed.
Before that happened, the Empire did manage to capture many people from the other world and bring them back, handing them over to Zorzal.
Because this particular girl was considered attractive, Zorzal had kept her for his own amusement, while the rest of the captives were sold off to the slave market.
All of this had been done secretly on Zorzal's orders. Emperor Molt and Princess Pina were kept entirely in the dark.
Given Pina's personality, had she known, she would have certainly tried to stop it.
Now that Zorzal was dead, the girl's existence would inevitably be exposed. Perhaps her rescue was not far off.
...
When Eriri brought Rory back to the Akame ga Kill world, half an hour had already passed.
Naturally, Mine and the others—who had been waiting for hours—were overjoyed at Eriri's return. They quickly surrounded her, chattering nonstop and asking what had happened during those missing hours.
They were also extremely curious about Rory, who accompanied Eriri—everyone except Mine, that is.
Through the earlier brief livestream and the memory recordings Eriri had uploaded to the chat group, Mine already had some knowledge of Rory.
Rory herself was also quite curious about this new world. If Eriri hadn't been beside her, she probably would've rushed out to explore it on her own.
To satisfy Rory's curiosity, Eriri didn't immediately take Rory and Saeko Busujima back to the Saekano world. Instead, they stayed in the Akame ga Kill world for nearly a week.
During that week, Eriri and Rory traveled to all the unique and notable spots in the Akame world, thoroughly exploring everything and leaving Rory feeling completely satisfied.
After wrapping up their sightseeing, they finally returned to the Saekano world.
Besides Saeko Busujima, who Eriri brought back with her, Esdeath also decided to come along.
With the Akame world now mostly at peace and only reconstruction remaining, Esdeath had lost interest. With no more opponents to fight, she found the world dull.
Rather than staying in a boring world, she preferred to leave with Eriri.
She knew very well that many powerful individuals lived around Eriri, and that motivated her greatly.
As for Mine, Akame, Kurome, and the other girls—though they also wanted to follow Eriri—they still needed to oversee the rebuilding of their world. Once things settled down, they might also join Eriri's extended family.
...
"Hello everyone! I'm Rory Mercuri. Nice to meet you all. I hope we can get along well from now on."
In the living room of the villa, Rory introduced herself confidently to Aletheia and the others, her face showing a friendly and approachable smile.
Seeing the group of beautiful girls before her, Rory was inwardly stunned—especially by the two dazzling blonde girls who stood out even more than Eriri.
Those two were Arifureta and the loli-form Shinobu.
In her current form, Shinobu looked to be around fourteen or fifteen years old. While not as developed as her adult form, her figure was still quite impressive.
Combined with the elegant Lolita dress she wore, she truly looked like a perfect princess—though Shinobu was already known as a beautiful princess in the first place.
As for why she was in this form, it was naturally because Eriri had asked her to change. The dress she wore had also been specially chosen by Eriri.
As for the newly added member of the family, Rory, no one showed even the slightest hint of rejection. After she finished introducing herself, everyone warmly welcomed her and quickly began chatting. In no time at all, they were getting along splendidly.
As for Saeko Busujima and Esdeath, the two of them had already interacted with the others during the Martial Arts Tournament, so they had no trouble fitting in and conversing with everyone.
Naturally, a welcome banquet was held to celebrate the arrival of Rory and the others.
Around 6 p.m., everyone in the villa gathered in the dining hall, including Megumi Kato, who still lived in her own home, and Sayuri, who had rushed over from work after hearing Eriri had returned.
Yuzuru Hanyu had long since moved into the villa.
Dish after dish of beautifully prepared and fragrant cuisine was brought out from the kitchen by Ibiruai and Athena, both dressed in maid outfits.
Having gone nearly half a year without tasting Aoi Kujo's cooking, Esdeath and Saeko Busujima were completely captivated by the dishes on the table.
They clearly remembered how delicious the food was.
If it weren't for the presence of others, they might have already started digging in without caring about appearances.
Rory finally realized where the dishes Eriri had brought out earlier had come from. The thought of enjoying such amazing food every day made her seriously consider never returning to her original world.
...
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed since Eriri brought Rory and the others to the Saekano world.
Over that time, Rory, Saeko Busujima, and Esdeath had fully integrated into the household.
On the second day after arriving, Rory, who had long been looking forward to receiving an energy seed, was finally granted one by Eriri.
The fact that Eriri brought Rory home meant she already considered her part of the family.
And Eriri would never treat her family poorly.
With the help of the energy seed, Rory's strength improved significantly in just two weeks.
Aside from Rory, Esdeath also made remarkable progress during this period.
The house wasn't short on battle maniacs. In addition to Saeko, who had frequently sparred with Esdeath in the Akame world, Jibril and Kohina were no less enthusiastic about fighting.
Despite the vast difference in their power levels, both Jibril and Kohina accepted Esdeath's challenge.
Of course, they restrained their power during combat to match Esdeath's level.
The villa had a dedicated battle zone in its yard, equipped with the same type of barrier used during the Martial Arts Tournament.
So they didn't need to worry about holding back. Even if injuries occurred, they would be instantly healed to peak condition.
Additionally, Saeko officially transferred into Toyogasaki Academy.
She had originally been a third-year high school student—just recently promoted to that level—so catching up with a semester's worth of material posed no problem for someone of her academic ability. She went straight into her senior year.
As for Esdeath, she had no interest in attending school and remained at home focusing on training.
Rory, of course, didn't need school at all. It would be ridiculous to make a nine-hundred-year-old loli attend classes.
During these two weeks, Eriri hadn't left the Saekano world much. However, the invitations from members of the chat group—especially Kaguya Shinomiya—never stopped. They were all very eager for Eriri to visit their worlds.
In the end, unable to resist their enthusiasm, Eriri agreed.
The first destination Eriri chose was the world of Oreimo, where Ruri Gokou lived.
Eriri had always been quite interested in that world, not just because of Oreimo, but also because Eromanga Sensei shared the same universe.
The main characters of that series—Sagiri Izumi and Elf Yamada—were both among Eriri's favorites.
This time, Eriri was determined to meet them.
However, the current timeline in that world was 2011, which meant Sagiri, born in 2005, was still just a six-year-old girl. Elf Yamada, likewise, was only an eight-year-old loli.
But that wouldn't stop Eriri from getting to know them.
It's not like Eriri lacked lolis around her.
Illya, Reina, Myuu, Myne—weren't they all around six years old?
So Sagiri and Elf's age didn't concern her in the slightest.
...
The next morning, in the Oreimo world, at the Gokou residence—
Having just received a message from Eriri in the chat group, Ruri Gokou was now waiting excitedly in her room for Eriri's arrival.
It had been nearly half a year since she last saw Eriri in person. Livestream appearances didn't count.
So she was very much looking forward to their reunion.
At that moment, not far from her, a very familiar world portal suddenly appeared.
Seeing the portal, Ruri's eyes lit up. A moment later, Eriri stepped out of it, wearing a simple white dress.
With a bright smile on her face, Ruri rushed over to greet her.
"Eriri, you're here."
"Mm, long time no see, Ruri," Eriri said with a smile, gently patting her on the head as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Feeling the touch on her head, Ruri immediately blushed and reached up to pull Eriri's hand down.
"Don't pat my head! Geez," Ruri said in a flustered tone, though her hands remained firmly wrapped around Eriri's right hand, clearly not wanting to let go.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven