"Season 3 of Date A Live has already surpassed a million views on the latest episode."
Sporting heavy panda eyes, Mr. Tachibana stared at the data in front of him. A trace of anticipation appeared on his exhausted face. "Meteora, is this enough?"
"For now, it seems to be enough," Meteora replied as she browsed through the comments. She hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Although some original fans are discussing the changes to the plot, there hasn't been any major backlash. It seems they've accepted it."
Three days had passed since Kaguyakari Mamika and Natsumi Kyouno had joined Meteora camp.
Everyone had been incredibly busy during this time.
Mr. Tachibana had agreed to Meteora proposal to revise the setting related to Natsumi Kyouno. He even contacted Kikuchihara Aki, the government represTachibanative, to negotiate directly with the publisher and animation studio through official channels.
But rather than a negotiation, it was more like a one-sided directive.
When it came to matters involving "Created Beings," the Japanese government couldn't afford to be careless.
Tachibana and the other creators worked overtime revising the plot, striving to make the altered settings and storylines appear as seamless and reasonable as possible.
The government also allocated a large budget to recruit and outsource teams, enabling all affected parts of Date A Live Season 3—both aired and unaired episodes—to be revised immediately.
Yes, the revisions weren't limited to the anime; even the original novel was altered.
Without government intervention, this would have been nearly impossible.
Fortunately, the modifications weren't related to core plot elements. Though some storylines had to be changed, both the novel and the anime were successfully edited within three days, thanks to the government's financial and manpower support.
Perhaps because of this, the majority of fans didn't mind the changes to the settings and plot.
Many even expressed confusion—wondering why such trivial parts were being revised at all.
After all, authors retconning their work wasn't uncommon.
Whether it was due to power scaling getting out of hand or inconsistencies between early and later plot points, fans had grown used to such changes.
As long as the plot remained logically coherent, no one would complain.
But the retcon in Date A Live seemed utterly pointless.
It didn't affect the main storyline nor did it introduce any fresh or exciting developments. It was a retcon that felt completely unnecessary.
To give an example—it was like changing "The protagonist ate a bun this morning" to "The protagonist ate a bun this morning and also drank soy milk," and this small change led to the result being altered from "The protagonist took a dump" to "The protagonist not only took a dump but also peed while doing it."
Was it a change?
Yes, technically.
Fans of the original novel didn't hold back from mocking this.
But what could Tachibana do?
He couldn't exactly tell the fans the truth, could he?
Fortunately, most fans only watched the anime. Many didn't even realize there had been any changes to the setting or storyline.
Thanks to that, the retcon passed without major backlash, like a stone tossed into a still pond that caused a few ripples before returning to calm.
"Natsumi, can you try again now?"
Feeling the timing was right, Meteora turned to Natsumi Kyouno beside her. "The fans haven't objected much to the changes, and the latest episode's views have surpassed a million. The conditions should be met."
"I'll give it a try."
Natsumi Kyouno did not refuse. She summoned Haniel, and in front of everyone began using her replication ability.
This time, she didn't pretend to fail.
With spiritual power flowing into it, the replication began. Under the expectant gazes of everyone present, the broom-shaped Angel quickly transformed into the shape of a book.
"Rasiel! It's Rasiel! We did it!" Mr. Tachibana cheered. "Yes! We succeeded!"
In the living room, the other Created Beings and Creators also revealed expressions of excitement and joy.
To them, Haniel successfully turning into Rasiel wasn't just proof that Natsumi Kyouno replication ability worked—it was confirmation that Meteora Recognition Power theory was real and valid.
As long as new settings were accepted by the public, Meteora and the others could also obtain new powers.
Under the fiery gazes of the others, Natsumi Kyouno began another round of transformations.
Rasiel turned into Zafkiel, which turned into Camael, which then became Raphael...
One Angel after another appeared before everyone's eyes.
However, when she was about to reach the final Angel, Natsumi Kyouno expression didn't change, but her heart tightened with anxiety.
Still, she didn't hesitate. She continued injecting spiritual power, visualizing the final Angel in her mind.
Within a breath, the final Angel appeared in her hands.
"Just as I thought!"
Looking at the Michael in her hands, a smile finally appeared on Natsumi Kyouno face.
Before the setting revision, the reason she could transform Haniel into other Angels was because she had played those Spirits and personally used their Angels.
However, Mukuro Hoshimiya and her Angel Michael were the sole exceptions.
Since Natsumi had never played Mukuro Hoshimiya or used Michael, it had been nearly impossible to replicate it.
But now, with the updated setting, even though she had never played Mukuro Hoshimiya, she could still use Michael.
This meant one thing—
In this world, she was the recognized Natsumi Kyouno!
Any changes to her character's settings would manifest on her!
This made her secret of being a role-player even more secure, and the world's creators would be less likely to question her identity.
"My theory was correct. Now then, it's time for the most crucial step."
Seeing that Haniel's replication ability was functioning correctly, Meteora usually blank face revealed a hint of joy. Her voice carried a tone of impatience. "Natsumi, quickly use Rasiel to investigate the identity of the Military Uniform Princess."
Natsumi Kyouno nodded, turning Michael back into Rasiel.
The Pen of Records appeared out of thin air. Flipping to the search page, she wrote down the question everyone wanted answered:
"What is the true identity of the Military Uniform Princess?"
Moments later, lines of text began appearing on the page.
But as she read what appeared, Natsumi Kyouno froze.
Sensing that something was off, the others quickly crowded around her and looked at the page as well.
"That... was rejected"
Staring at the lines and lines of text covered in black ink, Meteora turned toward Mr. Tachibana.
"Mr. Tachibana, what exactly is going on?"