Not long after Souta sent his message, Tohsaka Rin replied.
Tohsaka Rin : "Well, this is rare. You're the one contacting me first?"
Souta: "Rin, I'm actually very proactive. You're the passive one here."
Tohsaka Rin : "How am I being passive?"
Souta: "Did you forget what happened last time when you ran away?"
He was referring to when they returned to the real world from the Demon Slayer universe. In the apartment, he'd tried making a move on Rin, but the twin-tailed girl chickened out at the critical moment and bolted.
He even had to use divine power afterward to cool off his frustrations.
A pretty awkward memory, to say the least.
Tohsaka Rin : "I wasn't running away. Something came up suddenly, so I had to head back to Fuyuki."
Souta: "What was it?"
Tohsaka Rin : "Uhh… I'll tell you next time. Definitely next time."
Souta: "…"
Souta: "You're free now, right? I'll come over and finish what we didn't get to last time."
Tohsaka Rin : "Perv! Shameless!"
Seeing her response, Souta smirked and put his phone away, leaving her hanging for about five or six minutes.
It didn't take long before Rin got restless and messaged him again.
Tohsaka Rin : "Why aren't you replying?"
Tohsaka Rin : "Ugh… are you mad at me?"
Souta: "Being looked at like that, even I feel a little hurt. If you really don't want it, I'll never touch you again."
Tohsaka Rin : "I just wasn't ready…"
Tohsaka Rin : "Sorry. I shouldn't have said that to you."
Souta: "It's fine. As long as you're not disgusted by the idea. Anyway, I need your help with something. Here's the situation…"
He briefly explained the current difficulty he was facing.
Tohsaka Rin : "So basically, you need points?"
Souta: "Exactly. I'm planning to trade divine power for your points. How's your progress on the Second Magic? Do you have any left?"
Tohsaka Rin : "I think I'm almost there. It feels like I'm just a step away from opening the Door to Akasha. Probably just need around 200 more points. I'll transfer the remaining 500 to you."
Souta: "Rin, you're in a dangerous state right now. You might get backstabbed by the Counter Force at any moment. If something happens, teleport to my apartment right away or better yet, stay at my place for a while."
Tohsaka Rin : "Don't worry. I can handle it."
Souta: "When you complete the Magic, don't forget to call me. I'll help you with the physical evolution."
Tohsaka Rin : "Pervert!"
Souta: "?"
What did he say?
Giving her a dragon core, enabling mana release and other skills, completing a true magus evolution. How was that perverted?
…
After getting the points from Rin, Souta dove into developing miracles.
His first priority was a protection-type miracle.
Humans in this world had fragile bodies, even those with the "Power of the King."
Considering his followers' safety, protection spells were a must.
On that front, Souta already had some ideas.
"Last time I tested it, my 'Matter Divinity' can slowly materialize my divine realm. It's just really slow."
He'd tried this experiment once in the clouds of the real world.
A divine realm exists between reality and illusion, it's not physical matter.
But with the "Matter Divinity," that limitation was gone.
He could now materialize his divine realm, albeit at a snail's pace.
Just turning one mountain in his realm into physical matter took ages.
But the benefit was obvious.
For example, if his divine realm had a certain mass, then a punch from him would carry that same mass, as if the whole mountain was striking.
If his divine realm evolved into a miniature world, his casual strike could feel like an entire continent crashing down.
It was like wrapping enormous mass around himself conceptually and using it for offense.
A very handy skill.
Souta planned to use this idea to develop a conceptual matter-based protective shield.
For instance, wrapping the concept of steel around his body for defense.
That way, he'd gain full protection without restricting movement.
He wouldn't feel the mass himself, but if someone else crashed into him, they'd feel it.
A "double standard" divine skill!
Developing this miracle required two techniques: generating steel, and conceptualizing it.
Luckily, Souta had both.
"Let's give it a shot."
…
Three Days Later — Inside the Base's Shooting Range
Inori held a Glock 17 in standard shooting stance, aiming it directly at Tsutsugami Gai.
Gai stood like a human target, frowning in deep reluctance.
He tried to look calm, but the sweat on his temples gave him away.
"Lord Souta, are you really going through with this?"
Gai looked at Souta and forced a stiff smile.
Inori also glanced at Souta, clearly unsure.
Souta had told her to shoot Gai. If he hadn't said it twice, she'd have thought she misheard.
"Shoot," Souta said. "There are several more miracles to test. Let's not waste time."
At that, Gai felt like he was being utterly screwed over. When the virus vaccine was being tested, he was the guinea pig.
Now it was miracles and again, he was the test subject!
Was this personal?
He started to suspect Souta had it out for him.
"Don't take it personally," Souta noticed Gai's expression and explained:
"Right now, among everyone in the Illuminati, your faith in me is the strongest. The width of the channel I create to connect followers with the Source depends directly on faith. The others I've blessed can't channel as much Source Energy as you. Want me to use them instead?"
He turned to Tsugumi, who had been enjoying the show on the side.
"Tsugumi, if Gai won't do it, you're up."
Her amused expression froze, her face turning stiff.
She said nothing, pretended not to hear, and played ostrich.
"I'll do it," said Ayase Shinomiya, stepping forward.
"If Gai's scared, I'll take his place."
Gai's expression turned complicated. Was she saying that on purpose, cutting off his escape route?
If Ayase took the hit instead, as a man, he'd be socially dead in the Order.
So he couldn't back down.
Souta… was this your plan all along?!
"I'm gonna shoot now, Gai," Inori warned.
"Go ahead," Gai gritted his teeth.
Souta chimed in, "Aim for the head. If we're testing, we might as well go all in. Aim for vital spots, the forehead and heart. You can handle that, right?"
"No problem," Inori nodded gently. "I'm a good shot. At this range, I'll definitely hit both."
"Cough…" Gai interrupted quickly, "How about somewhere else? If it's full-body protection, then anywhere should do, right?"
"That's where you're wrong," Souta shook his head. "What if the experiment fails? A shot to the head or heart will kill you quickly. no pain. But if you get shot somewhere else, you'll suffer."
Gai: "…"
Wow. Thanks so much for your consideration!