Eriri and her companions continued their journey. After touring the New World, West Blue, and North Blue, they finally returned to the first island they had arrived at in the One Piece world. By then, more than two months had passed.
Last month, Tornado had finally realized her wish of joining the chat group.
Aside from Fubuki receiving a designated invitation, another invitation fell into the hands of Kanae, leading to Shinobu Kocho excitedly joining the chat group she had longed for.
On October 25, Year 1520 of the Sea Calendar, after more than four months of world travel, their One Piece adventure came to an end. Eriri and the others left the One Piece world.
However, instead of returning directly to the world of Saekano, they first traveled to the Martial Arts Tournament world to settle Shirahoshi.
Before the thousands of mermaids from Fish-Man Island had entered the Martial Arts Tournament world, Eriri had made some modifications.
She transformed the coastal area of the world's only city to create an environment suitable for mermaids.
As the Mermaid Princess, Shirahoshi was naturally revered by the mermaids. Once she arrived, those who had arrived two months earlier began to center their lives around her.
The necessities of life, including food and materials, could be sourced from within the world. In their free time, the mermaids could explore this new realm, making their lives far richer than they had ever been on Fish-Man Island.
After bestowing Shirahoshi with the same energy as Hancock, Eriri and her companions finally returned to the Saekano world.
While four months had passed in the One Piece world, only one month had elapsed in Saekano, and summer vacation was coming to an end. In just two days, the new school semester would begin.
Meanwhile, Illya and Milim had also returned to their own worlds.
Unlike Saekano, those worlds had not been placed under Eriri's time restrictions, meaning that four months had also passed in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime and Wandering Witch.
By the time Milim returned, the main storyline in her world might have already begun.
Even after four months, Eriri was still undergoing evolution. She had no idea how much longer it would take to complete her transformation and reach Level 9.
However, the chat group members had seen significant improvements in their strength over this period.
With the exception of newcomers like Tornado, who had just joined, and Melu, who lacked sufficient points, nearly all the members had reached Level 6 or higher. Half of them had even stepped into Level 7.
At the same time, the tenth wave of chat group members had officially been invited.
[Kureha Clyret has joined the chat.]
[Honami Ichinose has joined the chat.]
[Miko Yotsuya has joined the chat.]
Seeing the three new members, Eriri was slightly surprised.
She recognized all three of them from anime she had watched in her previous life.
The chat group data already displayed their worlds of origin. Kureha Clyret was a major character in "Redo of Healer," one of the strongest individuals in her world aside from the Heroes.
Hailing from a prestigious family of swordsmen, despite her young age, Clyret's relentless training and research had made her an unparalleled swordmaster. She was known as the "Sword Saint."
Even the Sword Hero, one of the Four Great Heroes, was far inferior to Clyret in swordsmanship and could only surpass her due to his divine weapon.
This anime was infamous for its dark themes and had spawned numerous memes.
Eriri was even more familiar with Honami Ichinose, having previously visited the world of "Classroom of the Elite," though her stay there had been brief.
With the presence of the powerful Kei Karuizawa, the story there had likely deviated significantly from the original plot.
Unless Karuizawa had done absolutely nothing in the past six months—an unlikely scenario—things had surely changed drastically.
Finally, there was Miko Yotsuya. Eriri had a small measure of admiration for this girl, who was around the same age as herself.
Miko's world was filled with spirits formed from deceased humans and animals, but there was an unspoken rule between the living and the spirits.
If one could not see spirits, then spirits could not harm them.
However, if one could see them, and the spirits realized it, they would relentlessly attempt to consume the observer.
Of course, this rule was not absolute.
Powerful spirits could still affect reality to cause accidents leading to death.
Perhaps even greater spectral entities, such as deities of death, could bypass the "sight" rule and attack humans directly.
After awakening a powerful sixth sense, Miko Yotsuya could see every spirit in the world—including divine entities.
To prevent spirits from realizing she could see them, Miko suppressed her fear and the urge to scream, maintaining composure no matter what horrors unfolded before her eyes.
She was practically a steel-nerved heroine, unfazed even in the face of death.
Eriri considered the scenario and realized that even she could not achieve Miko's level of self-restraint.
Thus, while Miko was just an ordinary human, Eriri couldn't help but respect her.
Of course, Miko's tearful, fearful expressions were undeniably adorable—so much so that it was tempting to tease her a little.
Naturally, Eriri was no exception to this impulse.
She wondered if Miko had already awakened her spirit-seeing ability at this stage.
Meanwhile, the chat group was buzzing with activity due to the arrival of new members.
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): It's been four months, and finally, we have newcomers!!!]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): Welcome, newbies!]
[Yuuki Asuna (Level 7, Stage 1): Huh? The group is still adding new members? I thought the system had stopped inviting people.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Welcome to the group!]
[Ruri Gokou (Level 7, Stage 1): It's been a while since we had fresh faces. Welcome!]
[Arche (Level 6, Stage 9~Level 7, Stage 1): Welcome, welcome.]
[Adele (Level 5, Stage 7): Welcome, newcomers!]
[Azusa Aizawa (Level 5, Stage 7): Welcome!]
[Yuna (Level 5, Stage 7): Welcome!]
[Honami Ichinose (Level 1, Stage 2): Hello? What is this? Why did it suddenly appear in my mind?]
[Kureha Clyret (Level 2, Stage 7): Who are you people? How are you communicating in my head? Is this some kind of special skill?]
[Kaede Honjou (Level 6, Stage 2): Two new members at once? Hello! Why isn't the third newcomer talking? @Miko Yotsuya]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 1 / Group Leader): If you have questions, check the group announcement. Once you read it, everything will make sense.]
[Kureha Clyret (Level 2, Stage 7): Group announcement? Understood.]
[Honami Ichinose (Level 1, Stage 2): Got it! This seems really interesting. I'll go read it now.]
While Clyret and Honami Ichinose were reading the group announcements, the chat continued actively, yet Miko Yotsuya remained absent.
...
In the world of "Mieruko-chan," at a prestigious girls' high school, a slender girl with long black hair sat stiffly at her desk.
Her golden eyes were beautiful, her delicate face making her undeniably a true beauty.
However, at this moment, her lips were pressed tightly together, her eyes welling with unshed tears, caught in a state between wanting to cry but not daring to.
This girl was none other than the newest chat group member—Miko Yotsuya.
Miko felt like her last two days had been a nightmare. Ever since she suddenly gained the ability to see "those things" two nights ago, her nerves had been on edge.
She now knew that spirits—those so-called ghosts—were real. She never imagined such things truly existed, but for some reason, she was the only one who could see them.
Her instincts screamed at her never to let the spirits know she could see them. So, for the past two days, she had desperately feigned ignorance, pretending to be unaware of their presence.
Even when terrifying spirits stood beside her, repeatedly asking, "Can you see me?" Miko had to force herself to stay still, hold back her screams, and act as if nothing was amiss.
But she could see them—clearly.
She could see the grotesque, exposed organs of the spirits. She could see their twisted limbs and horrifying forms.
She was only sixteen! She wasn't supposed to endure something this terrifying!
Miko longed to return to the days when she couldn't see them. Those days felt like paradise now.
Then, just minutes ago, she suddenly noticed something strange in her mind. A foreign presence had appeared, yet she didn't dare probe further.
Only spirits were capable of such supernatural feats.
This had to be a trap.
If she acknowledged it, the spirits might realize she was aware of them, and the consequences would be unimaginable.
The worst-case scenario—she could be eaten alive by a spirit.
Miko had no intention of dying so easily. So, she steadfastly refused to acknowledge the strange presence in her mind.
She believed that as long as she ignored it, the "trap" would eventually disappear, ensuring her safety.
The mere thought of a powerful spirit watching her filled Miko with terror. But she didn't dare show it—so her tears simply welled up, threatening to fall.
"Miko, are you crying? Are you feeling unwell? Should we go to the nurse's office?"
Beside her, a girl with a well-endowed figure and vibrant short orange hair looked at her with concern.
Despite her cheerful demeanor, she was as beautiful as Miko—this was her best friend, Hana Yurikawa.
Hana was absolutely terrified of ghosts and horror stories, so Miko had never told her about what she was experiencing. Instead, she endured it alone.
"I-It's nothing, Hana. Just got something in my eye. It'll be fine after I rub it out."
"Oh, okay! But if you're feeling sick, you have to tell me, okay? I'll go with you to the nurse's office!"
"Mm-hmm, got it, got it."
...
Time passed quickly. In just over ten minutes, Clyret and Honami Ichinose had finished reading the chat group announcements and familiarizing themselves with the features.
Both Clyret and Honami Ichinose were astounded by the chat group and the sheer strength of its members.
Clyret, in particular, understood how difficult it was to improve one's strength. She had trained relentlessly, never ceasing her pursuit of mastery in swordsmanship.
Yet, despite all her efforts, she was only evaluated as a mere Level 2 in the nine-tier system of the chat group.
The other members, on the other hand, all possessed Level 6 or higher strength—some even reaching Level 8, which felt utterly unreal to her.
She couldn't help but feel how small and insignificant she was in comparison. The "Sword Saint" title, once a source of great pride, now seemed somewhat unworthy.
She felt that she had yet to truly earn that title.
As for Honami Ichinose, while she was equally amazed by the chat group, her perspective was different.
She was just an ordinary high school girl. Her only experience with supernatural abilities came from what she had seen on TV, which she had always assumed was fictional.
Now, facing real supernatural powers, her primary emotion was pure curiosity—a deep, insatiable curiosity.
[Kureha Clyret (Level 2, Stage 7): I have finished reading. Please forgive my previous rudeness, esteemed seniors.]
Clyret had no doubts about the authenticity of the chat group. She had earned 78 points from signing in.
She immediately used those points to test the chat group's ability to enhance strength.
Although 78 points provided only a negligible improvement, she could still feel a change in her body.
Now, she was desperate to accumulate more points to further her strength, to better protect the Kingdom of Gioral, and to truly become worthy of the title "Sword Saint."
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): No need to be so formal! We're all sisters here.]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 1 / Group Leader): Chika-chan, you stole Eriri's line! But yes, Clyret, just treat us like your close friends.]
[Kureha Clyret (Level 2, Stage 7): If that is the case, then I shall do so.]
[...]
As the group members continued chatting with the newcomers, Eriri silently stepped through the world portal, arriving in Miko Yotsuya's world.
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