Chapter 31

"Uh, there's no need for that. I don't have much luggage, it'll only take a moment. Besides, it wouldn’t feel right to do that before I’ve officially joined you," Shoyo said, looking directly into Jeanne’s eyes.

"Hmm, that makes sense," Jeanne nodded thoughtfully. As expected of the man I’ve set my sights on... he really does seem reliable, both morally and in character! Maybe… maybe getting to know him better wouldn’t be such a bad idea?

After settling everything, Shoyo and Jeanne bid farewell for the night.

"Then, see you there! You have to wait for me, okay?" The bright, but slightly black-bellied, smile on Shoyo's face made Jeanne blush again.

"Yes!! Okay!" Jeanne waved cheerfully. A boyfriend candidate... and an even stronger battle partner, both are about to be mine!

Just as jeanne left, the system’s voice echoed in Shoyo's mind.

[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for completing a story sign-in!]
[Sign-in level: Silver]
[Sign-in story – Jeanne is an Idiot!!]
[Sign-in story objective: Fool the Jeanne from another world who inherited the soul of Saint of Orleans.]
[Reward granted – Longinus: Sacred Beast Creation]

[Sacred Beast Creation: A holy version of Longinus – Annalation Maker. It allows the host to create sacred beasts with various attributes based on creativity and imagination. Even a single sacred beast capable of defeating a Maou can be created with ease.]

"Hmm? …This kind of thing really showed up? Is it because her Sacred Gear is Sword Birth?" Shoyo was quite satisfied. With his scientific research-oriented mind, this was exactly the kind of artifact that suited him.


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"She really is an idiot."

Watching Jeanne leave, Amano Yuuma let out a soft sigh of relief.

"Hmm, adorably silly though."

Jeanne was probably the second-easiest person he’d had to deal with in this world. The first? Ophis.

Sure, his relationship with Sona was solid now, but when they first met, she had been completely cold, inside and out.

"Then... does Shoyo-san think I’m adorably silly too? You’re actually... a descendant of a hero…" Amano Yuuma smiled wryly. She had initially thought she was toying with her prey, but hadn’t realized she was the one being toyed with.

"I’ll explain the details somewhere else."
Shoyo reached out and touched her.

[Vamana the Dwarf!]

The power to transcend worlds!

In an instant, Shoyo and Amano Yuuma vanished from Kuoh Town.

Their new location: the dimensional gap.
Ophis’s home.

The place where the Great Red Dragon Emperor wandered.

In the dimensional gap, beings without sufficient power would slowly be annihilated. Shoyo’s powerful essence was enough to keep him safe, but Amano Yuuma was just an ordinary fallen angel.

"Shoyo-san… what is this place?" Amano Yuuma spread her wings. Her identity was exposed now, so there was no point in hiding it.

"I brought you here to make you mine," Shoyo said flatly, golden light flickering in his eyes.

[Buddha!]

"Become Shoyo-san’s… in other words?"

Amano Yuuma hadn’t expected him to be so direct. They’d just met today.

"Become Shoyo-san’s possession… I don’t dislike it. I wouldn’t mind staying here today either. But… could Shoyo-san come back to the fallen angel side with me afterward?"

A genuine blush bloomed on her cheeks.

"You’ve misunderstood what I meant by ‘make you mine,’" Shoyo replied, smiling faintly.

Truth be told, he hadn’t expected that while casually going through the motions, he’d accidentally open Amano Yuuma’s route.

If he really relied on his gal-game knowledge, he could probably bed Amano Yuuma while still human. But... he had no such plans.

Suddenly, brilliant golden light erupted from behind him.

Unlike the commonly seen image of Gautama Siddhartha, Shoyo’s aura exuded a sacredness that made people want to believe, want to worship.

This so-called sacredness was built on two conflicting emotions: mystery and trust.

From a scientific perspective, mystery was the unknown. How could one trust the unknown? And yet, that contradiction defined faith. Religion and belief had always harnessed this ancient power.

"This light is…"

A feeling welled up in Amano Yuuma’s chest. She wanted to stay by his side. She wanted to believe in him.

She wanted to become his follower, his possession.

Even if she couldn’t, just looking at him… being near this magnificent being… that alone was her honor.

She understood clearly: her loyalty had shifted.
It used to be Azazel.

Now, it was her new master.

[Transmigration Holy Light!]

An authority belonging to the Ninth Avatar, Buddha.

After advancing to Middle-class devil, Shoyo had gained the power to attract devotion and belief.

He could tell there were still parts of his avatars he hadn’t tapped into.

One such potential: fully incarnating into the avatar itself. Not symbolically, but literally, becoming a colossal divine being, large enough to blot out the heavens in battle.

Unfortunately, that level required strength equivalent to an Ultimate-class, or even a Super-class devil.


---

"My Lord…"

As the light faded, Amano Yuuma’s gaze was filled with passion.

"Hmm… ugh…"

Shoyo frowned. He could tell Yuuma was overwhelmed by the divine influence.

"It’s... somewhat successful, but still not practical enough."

This power, when further developed, should be able to directly override a person’s beliefs, but for now, there were limitations.

First, the target couldn’t harbor too much hostility toward him.

Second, their base power needed to be far lower than his.

While he only showed Middle-class devil strength outwardly, his actual combat capability had already reached the peak of High-class devil.

Of course… that was in his base form.

As the holy light shone on Amano Yuuma, a familiar chime rang in his mind.

[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for completing a story sign-in!]
[Sign-in level: Gold]
[Sign-in story – The Subjugation of the Pseudo-Heroine!]
[Reward granted – Super-Tier Magic: Mass Dispersion!]

[Mass Dispersion: The ultimate decomposition magic.]
[It can decompose mass directly into energy, bypassing neutrino-related energy loss from standard annihilation reactions.]
[Based on the mass-energy equivalence formula, E=mc², even 50 milligrams of mass, about one drop of water, releases energy equivalent to 1 kiloton of TNT!]

"Oh... it’s the magic version of Shiba Tatsuya’s move. Not bad, not bad, but the energy cost to cast it seems a bit much."

Shoyo was deeply interested in magic. It was still a relatively new branch of knowledge for him, one he hadn’t yet mastered.

The deeper the spell, the greater his interest.

Of course, for now, the priority was to build a solid foundation across all magic systems in this world.

The stronger the base, the taller the tower that could rise.


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