Academy City.
Griseo opened her personal terminal, the blue screen displaying a map of the city, which was divided into thirteen districts.
She read through the descriptions of each district carefully.
The First District was the gathering place of the world's governmental high-ranking Chosen Ones.
The Second District consisted mainly of kindergartens and elementary schools.
The Third District served as a hub of interworld exchange, equipped with teleportation arrays for travel between different worlds.
The Fourth District was a large-scale simulation training zone.
The Fifth through Eighth Districts contained numerous schools and dormitories.
The Ninth District housed automated factories that produced nanomaterials.
The Tenth District was home to airports and spaceports.
The Eleventh District contained the Church of Revelation and institutions dedicated to the study of mysticism.
The Twelfth District was packed with entertainment venues and commercial centers.
The Thirteenth District—Honkai Academy.
"Griseo, where do you want to go first?" Vita leaned forward with a bright smile, her tone playful.
"Can we visit all of them?" Griseo asked after finishing her review of the city layout.
"Of course we can! Shall we start with the First District?" Vita asked.
"Alright."
Griseo looked up, watching girls flying through the air—there didn't seem to be a single ordinary person here.
—First District—
The entire district featured architectural landmarks representing various nations. Each building symbolized a different country's government.
However, these structures were merely gateways leading to independent pocket worlds.
Within one such world—an expanse of misty skies and grand, cloud-piercing palaces—Man Sui sat upon a throne, dressed in a pale blue gown, reviewing recent governmental reports.
Thanks to the assistance of artificial intelligence, most affairs—great or small—were handled efficiently without requiring her direct involvement.
Still, she made a habit of checking in occasionally to ensure everything remained in order.
In the past, she had to remain in her nation's capital to personally manage all matters.
Now, with the help of AI and nanomaterial-based remote-controlled avatars, she could work from anywhere.
This left her with plenty of free time to spend with her beloved Sister Bronya.
That made her happy.
"Hm?"
Man Sui paused suddenly, frowning.
Someone had entered her domain.
That presence… it was that girl named Vita.
And another one she didn't recognize.
Tilting her head slightly, she thought for a moment.
She had just met Vita recently—so she hadn't forgotten her aura.
But the unfamiliar one was completely new.
"Sister Qionghua, I'm going to greet our guests."
Man Sui rose from her seat and addressed the graceful woman beside her.
"Alright, go ahead. I'll handle the rest here," Qionghua replied softly, nodding.
"Thank you."
Man Sui's figure vanished.
Griseo hadn't expected that the interior of the Chinese-style building outside would open into such a vast space.
Was this a form of bubble world technology?
"Sister Vita, are you here to see Sister Bronya?"
Man Sui appeared before Vita and Griseo in an instant.
"I just brought Griseo here to take a look around. I hope we're not interrupting anything," Vita replied with a smile.
"I see." Man Sui looked at Griseo, then back at Vita, as if suddenly understanding something.
"..."
Vita's mind-reading ability picked up on Man Sui's thoughts—and she couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
She was going to be corrupted by this place eventually. What were all these people even thinking?!
Now she was starting to have strange thoughts about Griseo, too.
"Nice to meet you, Sister Griseo. I'm Man Sui. I look forward to working with you in the future."
Man Sui smiled as she introduced herself.
"Hello."
"Please, feel free to look around. I won't disturb you two."
With that, Man Sui vanished.
"Vita, is spatial movement such a common ability here?" Griseo asked as she watched people casually teleporting around before her eyes.
"Pretty much! As long as someone is a Stigmata User, they can learn spatial magic by leveling up their skill set."
"The way I brought you to Earth isn't the same as their learnable spatial magic—it's more like divine authority granted by a god."
Vita explained patiently.
"Magic... really exists?"
"Of course it does! You can even choose classes, level up, and learn magic and combat skills—just like in a game."
"?"
Griseo was momentarily stunned. Had the world really changed that much?
Or... was she still inside her stasis pod, and all of this was just a dream?
After finishing their tour of the First District, they continued to visit the others.
The Far East entrance resembled a torii shrine. When they stepped inside, Griseo saw a crimson sky above, a quiet and eerie landscape below, covered in blooming red spider lilies.
Griseo was increasingly convinced that she must be dreaming.
Not far away, she spotted a black-haired girl in a dark kimono standing in the sea of red flowers, staring at her with deep crimson eyes.
Those eyes were dark and mysterious, glimmering like distant stars in the night—but there was something unsettling about them.
The girl's exquisite face bore a faint, icy expression.
Was she human... or a ghost?
Why did this place feel like hell itself?
"Um..."
Just as Griseo was wondering how to greet the girl, Vita had already walked up to her.
"Ai, what are you doing just standing here?"
Vita reached out and gently ruffled the black-haired girl's smooth hair.
"Watching you two," Ai Enma replied flatly.
"Oh my, am I really that pretty? Want to take a photo with me?"
Vita grinned.
"No need."
Ai Enma rejected her coldly.
"Alright, alright."
Vita shrugged.
"Griseo, this child is Ai Enma. She's always like this—cold to everyone."
"Hello."
Griseo greeted her politely.
Ai Enma nodded but said nothing, simply watching them quietly.
"Come on, Griseo, let's go."
Vita took her hand and led her toward the exit.
"Mm..."
Griseo was pulled out of the small world.
She turned back once more toward the shrine—it really looked like a realm of the dead.
Did people actually live there?
There didn't even seem to be any buildings meant for habitation.
Griseo was confused—she didn't know the place was layered, directly connected to hell itself.
Vita knew, but chose not to say.
They visited a few more places—some floating in the sky, some deep underwater, others built in deserts, over oceans, or atop snowy mountains, each with a unique architectural style.
—Second District—
It was dismissal time at the kindergarten.
Elysia sat on a bench by the roadside, eating ice cream as she waited for her mother to pick her up.
"Elysia!!"
A surprised voice rang out.
Who was calling this adorable elf's name?!
She looked up—and her pupils shrank sharply.
Griseo?!
Elysia jumped off the bench and ran straight toward her.
Seeing Elysia's reaction, Griseo's heart filled with joy. It was the same Elysia she knew!
"Wow, Griseo, you've grown so much!"
Elysia gleefully leapt into her arms.
"Are you really Sister Elysia?"
"The one and only! The dazzlingly radiant, crystal-pure, irresistibly adorable little elf—Elysia!"
"Griseo, have you forgotten me? I might actually cry~"
Elysia put on an exaggeratedly sad expression.
"Also, you should call me Elysia little sister!"
That tone, that phrasing...
Perfect match!
Griseo looked down at the little girl—only a few years old—seriously correcting her, and couldn't help but smile.
She was just too cute!
She reached out and patted Elysia's soft pink hair.
Back then, Sister Elysia used to tell her to call her Elysia little sister and to call Mobius grandma.
Now she really was Elysia little sister!
Meanwhile, Vita watched the two interact—it seemed the two already had quite a good relationship.
"Vita, do you know what's going on here?" Griseo asked.
"Most likely, some mischievous god collected her soul and consciousness, then sent her into reincarnation," Vita said, glancing at Elysia's elf-like form. "You're not from this world's race, are you? An elf, maybe?"
"Mhm! I reincarnated into a world of magic as a high elf."
"Collecting souls and sending them into reincarnation—is that something that really happens?"
Griseo was starting to seriously doubt if she was still dreaming.
"It happens all the time. In fact, it's not even rare."
"Sometimes, higher-dimensional gods want to send someone to another world faster, so they arrange accidents—like having someone run them over with a car. There are all sorts of 'death methods'."
Was this... normal?
Griseo covered her forehead with one hand—she truly could no longer understand this world.
"Griseo, what are you doing here?" Elysia asked curiously.
"Why I'm here... that's a long story."
Griseo sighed.
"If it's a long story, then you can tell me later!" Elysia said cheerfully.
Griseo was momentarily speechless.
Sure, it's a long story—but I could summarize it!
"You two—what are you planning to do to my adorable daughter?"
A sudden voice startled Griseo.
"Mom!" Elysia exclaimed, running into Kiana Kaslana's arms.
"Good girl." Kiana patted her daughter's head lovingly.
Another powerful figure!
Vita couldn't even remember how many times her mind-reading ability had failed lately.
Ever since arriving here, she kept encountering people immune to her powers.
Many of them—she couldn't even tell if they were avatars, clones, or just incredibly strong beings.
And all of them were frustratingly good at hiding their strength.
How annoying!
It made her nervous—looking for amusement in this place was far too dangerous.
She liked to find fun, not become the fun.
"You're Elysia's mother?" Griseo asked, looking at the white-haired girl before her.
"Is that a problem? Do you think we don't look alike?"
"Then how about this!"
Kiana Kaslana instantly transformed into the adult Elysia's appearance—then into Vita's, then Griseo's.
Finally, she reverted to her original form.
Griseo stared, dumbfounded, as Kiana took on both her and Vita's likeness.
"Miss, your daughter has memories from her previous life. I'm guessing you already know that, right?" Vita said with a faint smile, arms crossed.
"Is that supposed to be a problem?"
"You're not even the slightest bit concerned?"
"Concerned about what? I raised her myself—she's my daughter. As long as she hasn't been possessed by someone else, what does it matter if she has past-life memories?"
"..."
Vita was momentarily speechless.
"Ely, do you know these two?" Kiana asked.
"Mhm." Elysia nodded.
Hearing her mother's calm tone, the little elf relaxed. She knew her mother had already noticed her oddities long ago.
"Since they're acquaintances of my daughter, why don't you come to our home for a visit?" Kiana Kaslana said with a gentle smile.
"Um... would that not bother you?" Griseo asked, glancing at Elysia nestled in Kiana's arms.
"Hehe... There's no such thing as a bother."
Kiana smiled, activating a teleportation spell. A magic array unfolded beneath their feet.
All four of them were instantly transported to the Overlord world.
After stabilizing the inter-universal channels, teleporting across universes no longer required large-scale cross-dimensional magic—just high-level intra-universal spatial magic capable of reaching distant star systems.
Although it was easier now, few in Academy City could perform it.
Usually, fixed teleportation arrays or advanced technology were still required.
—Overlord World—
Elf Royal Palace.
As Kiana Kaslana arrived, a young elf ran up to report. "Guardian God, the humans are fighting a powerful army led by demons."
"I know. You may go."
"Yes."
Kiana already knew about it. Ainz, for the sake of self-preservation—and to indulge his obsessive collection habits—had been gathering items from other worlds for study.
His subordinate, Demiurge—the tactician and commander of Nazarick's external defenses—had completely misunderstood his intentions, assuming their supreme overlord was preparing to annihilate the gods.
As a result, Demiurge began his own machinations.
He had secretly gathered numerous demi-humans and non-human races who had once been defeated by her faction, organizing them into a revenge army against humanity.
Clearly, Demiurge intended to use these pawns to test and collect more intelligence.
Hmm... Let them come.
This world had too many races—it could use a common enemy to unite them.
It was far too fragmented.
Kiana Kaslana sat down casually on a nearby chair and said to Vita and Griseo, "Make yourselves comfortable. By the way, you can call me Kiki—that's not my real name."
"When traveling to unknown worlds, it's safer to use aliases. Some places have attacks that target real names—for instance, writing someone's name in a little notebook and causing instant death."
"In the unknown worlds out there, anything can happen—far beyond what you've experienced."
Elysia climbed into Kiana Kaslana's lap, cuddling close. "Mom, I want to explore the unknown worlds with you. Can I?"
"When you're a bit older, yes. By then, arrangements will be made for you to visit safer worlds first."