The moment Souta saw the KuroNeko's eyes, he knew exactly what she was plotting.
Smash the phone?
Smash it, then toss it away?
And then meet again like nothing happened?
The KuroNeko would soon learn, she was overthinking it.
Back in the world of Akame ga Kill, the system had already given the warning.
The only way to escape from the group chat was to die once.
Now Souta was curious to see how the KuroNeko would react once she realized that every escape method she imagined was useless.
To make sure she never forgot the feeling of that Damocles sword hanging over her head, the fear and panic it carried, he would occasionally tag her in the chat, reminding her not to forget about the duel.
Yes, yes, I really am the bad guy here.
"Miss KuroNeko, don't forget to notify me when the duel happens. I'll come cheer you on."
Altair followed right after Souta, calling out to her.
"I think others will be interested too. I'll bring them along when the time comes."
KuroNeko: "?"
Her expression froze instantly.
She stared at Altair's sincere smile, speechless.
In the end, she didn't say a word, simply muttered an exit command and left the video call.
Watching her go, Souta glanced at Altair and couldn't help saying,
"Altair, if I were KuroNeko, I'd definitely kill you."
Altair: "?"
"I'm joking."
Souta smiled at her puzzled face.
Clearly, she had no idea she was a natural backstabber, the kind who could cut people down without even realizing it.
If KuroNeko ever gained power, Altair would probably be the first target she vented her anger on.
"I'll head out first, Souta." Altair waved, adding, "Meteora Österreich and the others are almost done forging the 'Birdcage.' I might call you over soon, so be ready."
Souta gave her an OK gesture.
"And the crabs, don't forget." Kiss-Shot reminded him as she walked over.
"No problem."
Out of habit, Souta reached out to pat her head.
Because she had once said it was a sign of obedience and didn't mind, he had picked up this habit early on.
But his hand passed right through her.
Souta sighed. "Feels like it's been a long time since we met face to face."
"If you want to come over, you can anytime. I've been a little bored lately. If you keep me company, I'll…"
Kiss-shot paused, then promised,
"I'll pat your head instead."
"Big brother, don't forget what Illya said. Tonight, white stockings, next door to mama, 1X… heehee."
"Souta, don't forget this month's jewel supply. I'll be going now."
Right after Kiss-Shot, Illya and Rin Tohsaka also left.
White Night Demon dashed over to Shiori and the others, shouting "High quality! Such high quality!" while peering at them from a dimension invisible to everyone else.
She even began commenting on the spirit's figures.
Things like, this one is nice, that one is fresh, that one is childishly lewd… filthy words spilling nonstop.
"…" Souta couldn't take it anymore. He sent Kurumi a private message, asking her to end the video call.
About five seconds later, White Night Demon exploded into particles of light and vanished.
Another five seconds later, Souta's phone buzzed violently.
Great Benevolent God, White Night Demon: "@Souta. Kid, just you wait!"
Souta: "?"
Great Benevolent God White Night Demon: "What, nothing to do with you?"
Souta: "What do you mean?"
Great Benevolent God White Night Demon: "Fine, maybe it was just coincidence."
…
Once everyone else had left, Souta said a brief goodbye to Shiori and the rest, then instantly teleported to Kurumi's house.
Miku had already returned to her own place and sent him a message to say she was safe.
The national idol had originally planned to sneak out to see him, but as soon as she got home, her manager caught her.
Helpless, she had no choice but to obediently attend her idol activities.
Seeing Kurumi's parents weren't home, Souta sat down on the sofa, quietly waiting for her return.
Regarding the follow-up handling of Takamiya Mio, Kurumi would probably need his help.
It wasn't long before Kurumi space-jumped back into the living room, carrying the unconscious Mio.
When she noticed Souta waiting, her face lit up. She set Mio down on the sofa.
"What happened to her?" Souta asked.
"I drained her dry."
"…"
"I mean her reiryoku, Souta. Were you thinking something dirty just now?"
Kurumi wasted no time teasing him.
Souta ignored the provocation, steering the topic back.
"So you mean Mio is human now?"
"No," Kurumi shook her head. "Mio was born purely from a Sephira Crystal. She can't become human. I only left her with the bare minimum of reiryoku to function day to day."
"Her power won't recover, right?" Souta carefully examined Mio's condition.
Kurumi stepped forward, blocking his view.
"No cheating in front of me."
"…Kurumi, I'm not interested in Mio mama." Souta said helplessly.
"Don't worry," Kurumi dropped the joke. "The modified Spirit Formula absorbs reiryoku capacity itself. So the power she lost isn't the kind consumed in battle. It won't come back."
"You plan to let her live as an ordinary person?" Souta asked.
"More or less," Kurumi sighed. "Right now, I don't want to kill her. To stop her from plotting anything in secret, this is the only way."
"Then next, it's Shiori Itsuka's problem."
Souta thought for a moment before speaking.
"Shiori's situation is similar to Origami's, one soul carrying two personalities.
Simply extracting one personality and giving it a new body won't work. Without a soul to anchor it, it won't hold."
"Not even divine power can do it?" Kurumi was surprised.
"I've never tried, so I don't know. But even if it's possible, the price will be huge. Otherwise, gods could just create infinite believers at will."
Souta shook his head.
If solving a soul problem required too much divine power, he had no interest in it.
After all, he charged points for giving divine power to chat members.
Such a precious resource, used for free to help strangers?
What kind of nonsense was that?
Polite to strangers, brutal to friends?
"Hmm… that does make things tricky."
Kurumi realized the problem and felt stuck.
"By the way, I forgot to ask something."
Souta spoke up.
"Shinji's true form… was it male or female?"
He had assumed male before, but the conclusion was shaky.
If Shinji's true self was male, she wouldn't have made the mistake of turning Shinji into Shiori.
Otherwise, when he awakened, he'd probably collapse.
Which meant… was it yuri from the start?
Kurumi gave him a definite answer. "Female."
"…Alright, that makes things easier."
Souta immediately proposed,
"Let's add a safeguard to Shiori's soul so the two personalities won't merge or consume each other. Since they're both girls, sharing one body isn't that big a deal."
Kurumi thought about it, then agreed.
But soon, another thought struck her.
If Mio and Shiori went on a date, would that mean she was cheating on all the Spirits of the Itsuka household?
And if Shiori dated the Spirits, would that mean she was cheating on Mio?
Who betrayed who, and whom did they betray?
So confusing!
She shook her head, throwing the mess aside for now.
Looking at Souta's face, which seemed to grow more perfect by the day, Kurumi suddenly stomped on him hard.
Souta: "???"
"Souta, don't you think…"
Kurumi leaned in, lowering her voice.
"…it's time we settled the score?"