"By the way, the weather's nice today. Let's eat outside."
Upon hearing that, Laika quickly stood up from her seat. "I'll go prepare the dining table then."
Before she could leave the room, Halkara also sprang to her feet.
"Wait up, Laika! I'll help you set up," she said excitedly, clearly eager to enjoy the upcoming meal.
Laika didn't refuse her offer. Smiling, she nodded, and the two left the room together.
As everyone continued animatedly discussing the food, Rosalie, who was floating in mid-air, suddenly became very downcast.
"It's such a shame I'm just a ghost… I can't enjoy delicious food…"
"Rosalie…"
Seeing Rosalie so dejected made Azusa feel terrible. Even though her power was far beyond what it used to be, she was still powerless when it came to this issue.
She could let Rosalie temporarily possess someone else's body, but that wasn't really a solution. After all, they couldn't just exclude someone from dinner.
Sensing Azusa's concerned gaze, Rosalie immediately put on a bright front and laughed. "It's fine, Sister! Don't worry about me. I've been a ghost for hundreds of years. This kind of thing doesn't bother me."
"That won't do, Rosalie. We'll have to find a solution eventually. And besides, it's not like there's no way at all."
With that, Azusa turned her eyes to Eriri and pressed her hands together in a pleading gesture.
"Eriri, could you help Rosalie out?"
Upon hearing that, Rosalie's eyes instantly lit up. She quickly turned her gaze toward Eriri, her face full of hope.
Based on everything Azusa had told her, Rosalie knew just how powerful Eriri was. She had no doubt Eriri could help her with this.
Worried that Eriri might not agree, Falfa and Shalsha hurried over and looked up at Eriri with pleading eyes.
"Rosalie-nee is so pitiful… Eriri-nee, please help her."
"Yeah, please?"
"Alright, alright, you two don't need to beg. It's not like I was going to say no," Eriri said with a gentle smile, reaching out to pat both girls on their heads.
Withdrawing her hand, she lifted her gaze to Rosalie and said softly, "Rosalie, from this moment on, you'll have all the traits of a human. You'll be able to touch others normally, eat, sleep—and still retain all your ghost powers."
The moment Eriri finished speaking, the power of her words took effect. A radiant white light flared around Rosalie.
This sudden development instantly caught everyone's attention—everyone except Pecora, who was still lost in her own world. Beelzebub was especially shocked that Eriri could use her words to affect reality itself.
Within seconds, the light faded, and Rosalie reappeared, looking exactly the same as before.
"Huh? That's it? But Rosalie doesn't look any different…" Beelzebub said, puzzled.
As a demon, she had some knowledge of souls. She could touch Rosalie's spirit form and even attack it. But even with all their demon techniques, making a spirit interact with the physical world had always been impossible.
To her perception, Rosalie was still very much a spirit—unchanged from before. But she wasn't sure if something else might've changed on a deeper level.
Before she could wonder further, Rosalie herself, beaming with joy, answered her unspoken question.
"This is amazing, Azusa! I can switch to a physical form now!"
As Rosalie finished speaking, her body suddenly began to change. The ghostly flames that had floated beside her vanished, and she gently descended from the air, now standing on the ground like a normal person.
She immediately ran to Azusa's side and threw herself into her arms.
"I can finally hug you, Sister!"
"Mhm, congratulations, Rosalie," Azusa said as she embraced her, a joyful smile blooming on her face.
Falfa and Shalsha, who had been standing in front of Eriri, quickly ran over with delight and reached out to touch Rosalie with their tiny hands.
"Congratulations, Rosalie-nee!" the two girls said in unison.
After expressing her joy, Rosalie ran over to Eriri and bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.
"Thank you so much, Eriri-sama!"
"Alright, alright, it's really no big deal," Eriri replied with a casual wave of her hand.
"You're not completely used to your new form yet, so you can't fully switch between ghost and human modes. Once you get used to it, you'll be able to use ghost abilities while in human form."
Eriri hadn't brought Rosalie back as a full human—but in a way, this might have been even better.
At least now, she didn't have to worry about lifespan limits, didn't need to regain supernatural powers from scratch, and wouldn't suddenly disappear and pass on one day.
"I understand, Eriri-sama! I'll definitely treasure this body!" Rosalie said earnestly, sounding like a passionate delinquent girl being lectured.
After Rosalie, Azusa also thanked Eriri sincerely.
With Rosalie's matter settled, Laika and Halkara finished setting up the outdoor dining area.
When they returned and saw Rosalie's new state, they were stunned. After a quick explanation, they were amazed by what had happened in just a few minutes—and their respect for Eriri grew even deeper.
...
Outside the wooden house, as Eriri pulled out steaming dishes from her storage space, an indescribable aroma filled the air.
Beelzebub and the others, who had never experienced such rich flavors, wore ecstatic expressions.
Even before tasting a bite, the sheer smell of the food confirmed that Azusa's previous praises were no exaggeration.
"Wow, this smells amazing… I'm gonna drool! Onee-sama, let's eat already!"
Pecora, snapping out of her daze, clung tightly to Eriri's arm and gazed at the food with shining eyes.
Scarlet, whose spot was taken, looked a bit annoyed, but she didn't want to make things awkward for Eriri and let it slide.
It was just temporary—once they returned to the Saekano world, she could cling to Eriri as much as she wanted.
"Alright then, everyone dig in! Don't hold back—there's plenty for everyone," Eriri said with a nod.
Perhaps sensing Scarlet's mood, Eriri pulled her into her arms once they sat down, making Scarlet beam and forget all her irritation toward Pecora.
Swallowing hard, Beelzebub picked up her chopsticks and placed a piece of food into her mouth.
The next moment, her eyes widened in shock as an explosion of indescribable flavor danced across her taste buds. A blush spread across her cheeks.
"Th-this is… way too delicious!!!"
Beelzebub exclaimed, and then completely abandoned her noble facade, diving into her food with unrestrained hunger.
It wasn't just Beelzebub—Laika and the others were having the same reaction. Exclamations of amazement echoed around the table as they all focused intently on enjoying the meal.
As expected, for the next half hour, everyone at the table—except for Eriri, Ophis, and Scarlet—was immersed in the bliss of the food.
After nearly thirty minutes, dinner finally came to an end. All the dishes that had once filled the table were now comfortably inside everyone's bellies. Eriri had even replenished the dishes mid-meal.
Now, Beelzebub and the others were slumped in their seats with round, full bellies, looking content and lazy.
"So satisfying… though I did overeat a little. Otherwise, I could've gone a few more rounds," Halkara said cheerfully, patting her bloated stomach.
"My cooking is still way below this level… I'll train harder from now on so I can make food this delicious myself," Laika added seriously, also rubbing her belly.
"Do your best, Sister Laika! Whether we get to enjoy meals like this every day depends on you!" Rosalie encouraged her with a clenched fist.
Watching their antics, a bright smile spread across Eriri's face.
"Laika, if you want to learn cooking, I can have Azusa take you to my place for training. How far you go depends on your own effort," Eriri said with a chuckle.
"Eh? Really?"
"Of course! I'll be setting up a World Gate next to your house later, so you'll be able to visit anytime."
Azusa chimed in, "That's right, Laika. While I couldn't take you to other worlds before, with the World Gate there's no such restriction anymore."
"Got it! I'll work hard. Thank you, Lady Eriri," Laika said earnestly with a nod.
Just then, Pecora suddenly spoke up.
"What are you all talking about? A World Gate? Other worlds? Onee-sama, are you from another world?!"
Thanks to Eriri's special care, Pecora wasn't stuffed like Beelzebub and the others. She now clung to Eriri with shining eyes and an excited expression.
"Come to think of it, I haven't told you guys yet," Eriri said, pinching Pecora's soft cheek. "Yes, I'm from another world."
Eriri then gave everyone a general overview of the multiverse and the Saekano world.
Azusa didn't need the explanation, and Laika, Rosalie, Falfa, and Shalsha all had some prior understanding, which was now further deepened.
As for Pecora, Beelzebub, and Halkara—this was their first time hearing about it, and they were completely shaken. Their worldview had been flipped upside down, and they were filled with intense curiosity about other worlds.
Eriri also explained the power scale of the multiverse, making it clear that Pecora's strength didn't count for much in the grand scheme—and just how powerful Eriri really was.
This made Pecora even more excited and prouder than ever to have someone like Eriri as her big sister.
Of course, they also learned some other things.
"So Ophis-chan and Scarlet-chan are both dragons? And they're both Level 7 dragons? That's… unbelievable," Beelzebub said in shock.
She had thought they were just cute little girls. Never did she imagine they were world-destroying entities.
"You're not wrong. I am the Infinite Dragon born in the Dimensional Gap. The red one is the Dream Dragon from the realm of fantasy," Ophis said calmly.
It had been more than half a year since she left the world of High School DxD, and her obsession with the Dimensional Gap had completely faded.
Now, she far preferred staying beside Eriri, in their home in the Saekano world.
So, the thirty-year promise she once made to Eriri could essentially be considered null.
The same went for Scarlet. No longer the Great Red that endlessly soared through the dimensional void, she had now become Eriri's personal little dragon girl, content to stay in one villa.
Falfa, Shalsha, and the others looked at Ophis and Scarlet with wide-eyed wonder, while Laika showed them genuine respect as senior dragons—even though they weren't from the same world.
"Onee-sama! You should set the World Gate in my Demon King's Castle! Preferably in my private chamber! That way I can visit you every day!" Pecora pleaded, tugging at Eriri's hand.
But Azusa quickly objected, "That won't do, Demon King. The World Gate should be on our side. Besides, the Demon King's Castle isn't the most convenient place, right?"
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