A dimension layered over reality, where spirits originated.
The Neighboring World covered the entire Earth.
Spirits normally stayed in the Neighboring World and entered a dormant state.
When a spirit transferred to the Neighboring World, they would naturally fall asleep.
They would only awaken when summoned to the real worldcausing devastating Spacequakes.
Thus, by right, spirits in the Neighboring World should be asleep.
Rei Ao: "Why are you still able to think?"
Yatogami Tohka: "I don't know"
Yatogami Tohka: "After suddenly entering this strange place, my mind just became active again."
Erika: "Newbie originally couldn't think at all?"
Rei Ao: "Simply put, she's trapped in a place that 'seals' spirits."
Yotsuya Miko: "...Seal?!'"
Sakurajima Mai: "Did something bad happen to the newbie?"
Misaka Mikoto: "Do you need help?"
Yatogami Tohka: "..."
So strange.
Yatogami Tohka felt confused.
Yatogami Tohka: "Aren't humans supposed to hate spirits?"
Kasuga Hijiri: "We don't know the human-spirit relationship in your world, but in ours, you're just beings from another realm. Why would we hate you?"
Aihara Enju: "Um, why do spirits get hated by humans?"
Rei Ao: "Because spirits randomly materialize from the Neighboring World into the human worldand their appearance causes Spacequakes."
Rei Ao: "Just imagine Spacequakes as large-scale earthquakes."
Hayasaka Ai: "Just appearing alone can cause earthquakes?! That's"
Thinking about it carefully, it was horrifying.
An unpredictable disaster, anywhere, anytime.
Even worse than natural earthquakes that could at least be somewhat predicted.
Busujima Saeko: "No wonder humans would hate spiritseven if it's not their fault."
Yatogami Tohka: "I don't understand. Why?"
Why would spirits bring disaster to humans?
Why were they forcibly transferred into the human world?
Frieren: "Rei Ao, you should know why, right?"
Rei Ao: "I do."
Yatogami Tohka: "You know?"
Rei Ao: "Because the one who created the spiritsthe Spirit of Origin made it happen deliberately."
~~~
[Translator's Note]:
Elf and Spirit are the same in Chinese
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Chapter 570: Kurata Yui, Breakdown Phenomenon!
"Hey, Ai-chan, what's going on? Why haven't you come out yet? Are you still feeling sick?"
Kaguya Shinomiya had been waiting ages for Ai Hayasaka to show up. Worried, she went to look for her and found Ai standing at the restroom mirror, looking totally spaced out.
Naturally, this made Kaguya even more anxious about Ai's condition.
"I'm fine," Ai replied, though her expression was distant. She snapped out of her daze, finally tearing her gaze away from the group chat on her phone.
Rei Ao had been explaining a few things, and Ai had gotten totally hooked on the story. She couldn't believe that an elf from another world might be tangled up in some sneaky conspiracy, treated like a pawn. It hit a little too close to home.
Seeing Kaguya so concerned only deepened Ai's guilt.
Someone like me doesn't deserve her kindness, she thought.
Because Ai wasn't just Kaguya's maidor her friend. She was also her watchdog. When Kaguya was little, her older brother Oko Shinomiya had planted Ai by Kaguya's side with orders to report on everything she did. His real motive? Keep tabs on Kaguya and make sure she never got in his way when it came to competing for the Shinomiya Group.
Now, all this concern coming from Kaguya just made Ai feel even worsetorn between guilt and duty. But she couldn't let it show. The Hayasaka family was basically a vassal for the Shinomiya family, and Ai and her mother had no power to resist.
She wiped the emotions from her face, returning to her usual blank expression.
"Don't worry about me, Milady. I'll go get your toiletries ready."
With that, she got back to work like always, but not before sneaking one last look at the group chat.
If it's him maybe he can save Milady
Royal Biblia Academy
Asami Lilith, one of the Trinity Seven, had some downtime and was scrolling through the group chat. Like the other witches, she checked it for funmagic research didn't exactly leave them with a ton of hobbies.
Today, it looked like a newcomer from another world had shown up. Supposedly an elf, but not the kind you usually read about.
From what Rei Aoa total pervwas saying, there was someone called Yatogami Tohka, an elf who'd apparently been created by an "Spirit of Origin." She was basically being used like a tool. That setup reminded Lilith a lot of her own situation:
I know that feeling. I was created by my fatherjust a pawn, just a tool
She couldn't shake off Rei Ao's words: "Your dad's actually a Demon King from another world, and he's using you."
That line haunted her. She'd been worried ever since about weird changes in her body and wondering when her fathersomeone she'd never even metmight strike at this world. The whole thing constantly weighed on her mind.
"Lilith, don't you think the academy feelsoff somehow?" Kasuga Hijiri asked suddenly.
"What do you mean, 'off'?" Lilith blinked. Aside from it being strangely quiet, she hadn't noticed anything super weird.
"Something's really wrong! Big trouble!"
A panicked voiceSelina'sechoed from outside. Exchanging a glance, Lilith and Kasuga Hijiri rushed out of the classroom.
Outside the Classroom
Selina, Kazama Levi, Yamanai Mira, Fudou Akio, and Kannazuki Arin had all gathered in a wide hallway. When Lilith and Kasuga Hijiri arrived, they saw black mist covering the entire campus.
The glow from the crystal ball Yamanai Mira was holding lit up just enough space for them to see other classrooms, where students had either collapsed on the floor or slumped over their desks.
"Are they dead?" Kazama Levi frowned.
Fudou Akio went in to check one of the classrooms, then came back shaking her head.
"They're not dead. It's more like they've all passed out."
"So that's why the whole place is so eerily quiet," Kasuga Hijiri murmured.
"Yeah, and it's not just the academy."
A voice suddenly broke in. Out of the mist came Lieselotte.
"Do you actually know what's going on?" Kannazuki Arin asked sharply. She and Yamanai Mira eyed Lieselotte with cautionLieselotte had tried to attack them before.
"Heh." Lieselotte didn't seem bothered by their suspicion. "It's not just the academy that's covered in this fog. Everything outside is, too."
"What?" Everyone was floored. Even the area outside the school was affected?
"So what's the deal here?" Yamanai Mira asked impatiently. "Shouldn't we go talk to the headmaster or something?"
"No need," Kasuga Hijiri interrupted. "Check the group chat. The answer's all there."
In the Group Chat
Kurata Yui: "@Everyone Guys, my magic is going completely haywire."
Yamanai Mira: "And you are?"
Lieselotte: "Oh, come on. You've never heard of her? She's one of the Trinity Seven too~"
Kazama Levi: "Huh? That's news to me."
Lieselotte: "She's the 'sealed' witch. No wonder you haven't heard of her."
Asami Lilith: "So if your magic's out of control, does that mean this whole mess outside is your doing?"
Kurata Yui: "I I'm not really sure what's happening out there."
Fudou Akio: "Then at least tell us why you're sealed away."
Kurata Yui: "Um, well, technically I'm not "sealed." I chose to live in the dungeon under the school"
Yui was a mage who lived in a parallel dimension called the "world of dreams." She usually could only communicate with others through their dreams.
She didn't really bond with anyone and spent her life asleep doing research, so the academy basically kept her underground.
She had an immense amount of magical powerright under the headmaster's level. If her powers spiraled out of control, they'd trigger a "breakdown phenomenon," plunging the entire world into a permanent sleepand destroying it.
The group freaked out upon hearing that.
"Wait, that's the breakdown phenomenon?!"
Selina: "No way! Is the world about to end? I don't want that!!!"
Lieselotte: "Relax, we're still here, aren't we?"
Kannazuki Arin: "Either way, we have to stop this from getting worse."
Asami Lilith: "Okay, so how do we do that?"
Kurata Yui: "Well if you all come down to the dungeon and find me, then you can kill me."
"!!!"
~~~
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Chapter 571: Mischievous Idea...
Kurata Yui: "Find me...and then...kill me"
Asami Lilith: "Kill? What kind of sick joke is that?! Even if we don't really know who you are, we're not going to hurt you!"
Kazama Levi: "No. Killing her is one way to settle this problem."
"What?"
Lilith stared at Kazama Levi in disbeliefkilling someone was no small thing.
Levi remained calm. "We could try sealing her magic or suppressing its out-of-control surge. But if none of that works, killing her is the only way to stop the Collapse."
"She may sound cold," Fudou Akio chimed in, "but she's just being realistic."
"In that case, let's head down to the dungeon," Akio suggested.
"Wait a second."
Kasuga Hijiri suddenly spoke up.
"Maybe I have another way."
"Huh?"
Everyone turned to her, curious about her plan. But she didn't say anything elseinstead, she quietly opened the group chat on her phone.
Kasuga Hijiri: "@Rei Ao, Rei Ao-niidid you see the messages in the chat?"
Rei Ao: "Yeah, I saw them."
Frieren: "What, what? Is Something big happening again?"
Kasuga Hijiri: "Yup. One of the mages here lost control of her magic, causing a Collapse that could potentially put the entire world to sleep."
Miko Yotsuya: "The entire world could fall asleep?! That's hugeI mean, terrifying!"
Akame: "This is a disaster."
Hiiragi Shinoa: "Oh my, looks like they're calling on Rei Ao for help again."
Rei Ao: "Kurata Yui's situation is definitely a crisis for your world. But with the Demon King factor that you, Lieselotte, and Selena possess, fixing this should be pretty straightforward."
Kasuga Hijiri: "Hehe guess I'm busted."
Saeko Busujima: "?"
Erica: "Something's offthis feels like a setup!"
Stella: "Oh, cut it out with the 'setup.' Hijiri is Rei Ao's Demon Queenno scheme here."
Erica: "Uh sorry. I just blurted it out without thinking."
Bibi Dong: "I think she just misses Rei Ao, that's all."
Kasuga Hijiri: "Mhm, I really do miss Big Bro Qing, so do you have time?"
Rei Ao: "Next time, just tell me straight up, no need to hide it. I've got all the time in the world. Let's just make the deal."
Rei Ao: "By the way, if anyone else wants to come over to Hijiri's world for a visit, let me know."
After wrapping up some matters for Kaguya, Ai Hayasakaabout to head to schoolpaused in surprise when she saw the exchange.
Ai Hayasaka: "Um this Kasuga Hijiri-san is from a different world than ours?"
Miyuki Shiba: "Yes. Hijiri, you, and I are all from different worlds."
Ai Hayasaka: "If that's the case, then how could other people go meet him?"
Rei Ao: "Didn't I mention it? I have permission to bring others with me when I travel to our group members' worlds."
Ai Hayasaka: "..."
Traveling between worlds? Once again, Ai was completely shaken. Could this really be true?
Yatogami Tohka: "The outside world...what's it like, I wonder?"
Rei Ao: "Well, sitting around wondering won't do anything. Why not see it for yourself?"
Yatogami Tohka: "Me? But I'm stuck in a neighboring dimension, unable to move."
Rei Ao: "Hey, you won't know until you try."
Yatogami Tohka: "But my presence will trigger a Spacequake and cause a catastrophe."
Rei Ao: "Spacequakes are no big deal for me. I can handle it so no one's in danger."
Yatogami Tohka: "...Alright, then. Please help me!"
Ai Hayasaka: "Excuse me could I go to another world too?"
In the end, Ai asked the question she'd been holding in. She wanted to see for herself if this was all real.
Rei Ao: "Of course. But don't you still have school? Are you planning to ditch class?"
Ai Hayasaka: "I'll take the day off."
"Miss Kaguya, my head feels a bit dizzy. Could you help me request a day off?" Ai asked just as Kaguya got into the car.
"Huh?"
Kaguya looked worried. "Ai, are you okay? Maybe you should see a doctor!"
"Yeah, I plan to go to the hospital. Also, I'd like to get away for the day to relax. Would that be alright, Miss Kaguya?" Ai bowed deeply.
"Alright then, but make sure you go to the hospital. I'll let you have the day off."
Hearing that Ai would be going to a hospital eased Kaguya's mindher biggest worry was always that Ai might be sick and refuse to get medical help.
"Ai, please take care of yourself."
"I will, Miss Kaguya."
[Ding! Trade Initiated!]
[Trade Partner]: Kasuga Hijiri
[Trade Purpose]: Resolve the Collapse
[Trade Terms]: "Unlimited usage rights over my body"
[Duration]: 24 hours
[Ding! You've chosen to bring the following travel companions: Ai Hayasaka, Yatogami Tohka!]
...
Royal Biblia Academy
Everyone looked at Kasuga Hijiri in stunned silence.
Yamana Mira twitched her mouth. "So that's your brilliant plan?"
"Well, it's certainly convenient" she added.
"No."
Kannazuki Arin fixed her gaze on Hijiri. "That's not her plan. The person in the chat said that she, Lieselotte, and Selena could resolve this Collapse on their own."
"Haha, she just wants to see her boyfriend," joked Fudou Akio, who suddenly moved over to Kasuga Hijiri's side and nudged her knee, curiosity sparkling in her eyes. "Hey, what's it like having a boyfriend? Is it really that fun?"
Kasuga Hijiri blinked her bright eyes. She was about to speak when a voice broke in:
"Well, if you're curious, why not see for yourself?"
Everyone's eyes snapped to the same spot. Rei Ao appeared, along with a blond-haired girlAi Hayasaka. Rei Ao was the one who spoke.
Fudou Akio paused in surprise, then grinned. "You know, I've been wanting to try it out. But I've never met a guy I actually likednone of them could beat me in a fight."
She stared intently at Rei Ao.
"You, on the other hand, are the only man who's ever beaten me. Interested in giving it a shot?"
"What are you even talking about?!" Yamana Mira burst out before Rei Ao could answer.
