Eriri did not stay long in this world. Her primary goal had only been to strip Keyaru of his Hero status.
Since Kureha was determined to handle the Jioral Kingdom on her own, Eriri saw little reason to remain.
Thus, by nightfall, she bid farewell to Kureha and Flare before returning to the Saekano world.
...
"Onee-chan, welcome back!"
The moment Eriri stepped out of the dimensional portal, she was met with the excited embrace of Kohina, who clung to her leg with a bright smile.
"Mm, I'm back." Eriri chuckled, patting the little girl's head affectionately.
It didn't take long for Reina, Illya, and the rest of the young girls to rush over as well. Soon, she was surrounded by a small crowd of enthusiastic children, all chattering at once, eager to hear about her adventures over the past few days.
Seeing their curious gazes, Eriri had no reason to keep secrets.
With that, she began recounting her experiences in the two worlds, animatedly describing the events as if telling a grand story.
Of course, she glossed over certain details that weren't exactly child-friendly.
As the storytelling continued, even Arifureta and Kanae found themselves drawn in, joining the circle of listeners with keen interest.
While they had known Eriri was away on business, they had yet to hear the full details.
By the time Eriri had finished recounting her adventures, it was already late into the night.
Under normal circumstances, most of them would have gone to bed by now, save for a few night owls. However, their fascination with Eriri's tales had kept them awake longer than usual.
Not that it truly mattered—sleep was more of a habit than a necessity for them.
Eventually, the group reluctantly dispersed, each returning to their rooms for the night.
...
The following morning, after finishing breakfast, Eriri and Arifureta, along with a few others, rode in a sleek black luxury sedan driven by Aoi Kujo, heading toward YumenosakiAcademy.
Today marked the opening ceremony for the second semester.
At the unanimous recommendation of the entire student body, Eriri had been chosen as the student representative for the semester. This meant she would be delivering a speech on stage.
Eriri had no objections to the arrangement; in fact, she found it rather amusing.
Public speaking was nothing new to her. After all, in Black Bullet, she had once addressed hundred millions across the world—though that speech had been a grim announcement of their impending demise.
Though she had already agreed with Honami Ichinose to visit her world early, Eriri wasn't in any particular rush to leave just yet.
As the clock in the school auditorium struck nine, the second semester's opening ceremony officially commenced.
Unlike past ceremonies where attendance was often met with reluctance, today was different. Not a single student was absent.
There was no need for homeroom teachers to organize or remind them—every student from all three grade levels had arrived early, eagerly awaiting the event.
And in the midst of their anticipation, Eriri's figure materialized atop the podium, seamlessly transitioning from ethereal to tangible in an instant.
The sudden teleportation onto the stage did not cause much of a stir among the students below. At most, they simply marveled at Eriri's immense power before their eyes filled with admiration and adoration.
Next came Eriri's speech.
Unlike past student representatives who focused on themes of diligence and academic effort, Eriri's speech revolved entirely around superpowers.
She covered everything from how to better develop one's abilities, to survival principles for transcendent beings, and even methods to increase the likelihood of awakening one's own powers.
The students below listened with rapt attention. Those who had yet to awaken abilities were particularly excited, eager to put Eriri's advice into practice immediately in hopes of triggering their own awakenings.
The speech lasted about half an hour—not too long, but certainly not short either.
Once Eriri stepped down from the podium, the opening ceremony was effectively over in the eyes of the students.
As for the subsequent speeches from the school administrators, most paid little attention, only hoping the event would end quickly.
...
Time passed day by day, and soon, more than a week had gone by.
During this period, several significant events occurred among the group members, with Kureha's actions standing out the most.
After spending all 200,000+ points she had received, Kureha managed to elevate her strength to Level 3, Stage 6.
At this level, she began systematically purging the Jioral Kingdom from within.
Proum Jioral was a magic knight whose strength was considered formidable among ordinary people. Even compared to the Heroes, he was not too far behind.
Had this been before Kureha joined the chat group, she might not have been able to defeat Proum in direct combat.
But now, her strength had multiplied thousands—if not tens of thousands—of times beyond what it once was.
Proum stood no chance against her and was eliminated in an instant.
Following the king, the rest of the royal family soon met the same fate—including Flare's younger sister, Norn.
Unlike Flare, who, despite her cruel nature, had not yet committed outright atrocities or harmed civilians, Norn was entirely different.
At only thirteen years old, Norn had already ordered the deaths of countless individuals.
Unlike Flare, who at least cared about public perception, Norn could issue an order to massacre an entire city without blinking an eye.
And unlike Flare, who had some history with Kureha, Norn had no such connection—giving Kureha no reason to spare her.
Kureha was no saint. Over the years, she had slain countless enemies, and she had no qualms about executing Norn.
Beyond the royal family, corrupt officials, generals, and soldiers were all swiftly executed.
With the chat group's assistance, identifying the corrupt individuals was an effortless task.
Even the three heroes, second only to the designated Heroes in strength, were swiftly dealt with by Kureha.
As for the Sword Hero, who had been invited to the capital by Flare, Kureha had already secretly eliminated her a few days prior.
Since Flare's existence had been erased from her memories, the Sword Hero had been puzzled about why she was in the Jioral Kingdom's capital.
However, even with her memory gap, she still vividly remembered the intelligence reports concerning Eriri.
However, in her memories, the intelligence regarding Eriri had subtly changed—from 'a golden-haired beauty far surpassing Flare in looks' to simply 'a golden-haired beauty with exceptional charm.'
Thus, upon learning the next day that Eriri was connected to Kureha, the Sword Hero immediately set out to find her.
Without any prior notice, she barged into the Clyret family estate, demanding to know Kureha's whereabouts. After extracting that information, she proceeded to storm into Kureha's palace without hesitation.
Since Eriri had already returned to the Saekano world, the Sword Hero naturally did not encounter her. However, she did come across someone she had completely forgotten—Flare.
Seeing Flare again reignited the same obsessive infatuation she had felt before.
Previously, because of Flare's status as a princess and fellow Hero, the Sword Hero had been forced to suppress her desires, secretly harboring a crazed admiration for her.
But now, in her altered memory, Flare was nothing more than an ordinary woman connected to Kureha.
Not even Kureha's strength concerned her, let alone that of a seemingly ordinary girl.
Without hesitation, she decided to take Flare by force and 'educate' her properly.
In her mind, Flare was now the 'exceptionally beautiful golden-haired girl' mentioned in the intelligence reports.
Yet, before she could make a move, Kureha appeared and stopped her.
Faced with the famous Sword Saint, the Sword Hero showed no fear. In fact, she arrogantly stood her ground, ready for a confrontation.
However, in the very next instant, Kureha moved faster than the Sword Hero could even perceive, appearing several meters behind her.
The Sword Hero hadn't even registered what had happened before thin red lines began appearing across her body—moments later, her form split into several pieces, collapsing onto the ground.
Even as she drew her final breath, the Sword Hero couldn't comprehend how she had been slain. After all, she was supposed to be a chosen Hero, blessed by the gods.
Her death was so swift and silent that no one was alerted.
Even the person who had informed her of Kureha's palace simply assumed she was engaged in a discussion with the Sword Saint—or had discreetly left.
Had there been a fight, the commotion would have been massive.
As for the Sword Hero's divine weapon, Kureha promptly reclaimed it through the chat group. It was only worth 20,000 points, but any gain was better than none.
The next steps were straightforward—eliminate the remnants of corruption and establish a new ruling force, ensuring that governance remained firmly in her control.
With her current strength, Kureha could single-handedly suppress any threats from the demonic race along the borders. However, she had no intention of doing so blindly.
From the memory projections, she had learned that not all demons were hostile to humanity.
Just as humans had both good and evil individuals, there were demons who sought coexistence with humans.
Thus, after stabilizing the Jioral Kingdom, Kureha planned to visit the demon lands herself and work towards fostering harmony between the two races.
...
Classroom of the Elite World — Advanced Nurturing High School.
Inside a particularly charming dormitory room, a girl dressed in a red school uniform sat cross-legged on the only bed in the room, her eyes closed in meditation.
Honami Ichinose's delicate face was tinged with a faint blush. Her smooth, snow-white skin contrasted against the deep red of her uniform, and the significant volume of her chest stretched the fabric taut, as if ready to burst free.
From the steadily rising aura emanating from her, it was evident that Honami Ichinose was currently using her chat group points to enhance her strength.
Once an ordinary person at Level 2, Stage 1, after a little over a week of reinforcement, she had now reached the mid-tier of Level 2.
This was despite the fact that she could only focus on improving her strength after school and on weekends. If she had devoted herself entirely to strengthening, like Kureha, she would have likely already stepped into Level 2.
Today marked the first day of the weekend, so even in the morning, Honami Ichinose was inside her dorm, diligently enhancing her strength.
Thanks to Eriri serving as a connection, Honami Ichinose and Kei Karuizawa had grown significantly closer over the past week. From time to time, they would meet in secluded areas of the school to spar, as they were the only two supernaturals in this world.
Of course, they didn't use their full power in these matches. Not only was there a considerable difference in their current strengths, but if Kei Karuizawa were to go all out, their school might no longer exist.
Since Eriri planted the energy seed inside her, about half a year had passed. Over this period, Kei Karuizawa had never ceased her training, and the result was that she had transformed from an ordinary high school girl into a powerful supernatural being capable of obliterating an entire nation with a single full-force attack.
However, in daily life, she only displayed exceptional physical abilities and refrained from revealing her supernatural powers.
In truth, with Kei Karuizawa's current level of strength, openly displaying her abilities wouldn't pose any significant problems—there was no longer any weapon in this world capable of threatening her. Not even the largest-yield nuclear warhead would suffice.
Perhaps, if she were to reveal her abilities, she might even become the most powerful figure in this world.
After learning about Kei Karuizawa's true strength, Honami Ichinose had been pushing herself relentlessly, hoping to catch up to her.
However, with only around 200,000 points at her disposal, it was impossible for her to match Kei Karuizawa's power. Unless she could obtain a far greater amount of points, closing the gap remained out of reach.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven