After gifting the transformation ability to Chelsea, Souta then used divine power to grant her immortality.
Just like the immortality gained from drinking the immortal wine in Baccano!, Chelsea's cells could now instinctively regenerate and reassemble.
This regeneration could be controlled by her conscious mind, meaning it wouldn't interfere with future intimate activities—no strange "reset" effects.
With this, Chelsea was essentially safe in the Akame ga Kill world.
Even if someone cut her head off, she wouldn't die—her dismembered cells would reassemble into a complete body.
Even being drowned in cement wouldn't help; the transformation ability would let her escape with ease.
At this point, she had top-tier healing factor.
Even if Esdeath showed up, she wouldn't be able to kill her. Not even imprison her.
Sure, Esdeath could freeze mist particles, but if Chelsea transformed into darkness to escape, Esdeath couldn't stop her.
Unless someone attacked her soul directly or vaporized her into base particles, no one in this world could kill her.
After realizing this, Chelsea couldn't stop grinning.
No more worrying about losing her head!
"Thanks, Souta."
Chelsea took the lollipop out of her mouth and offered it to him.
"Here, have some candy. Don't be shy—it's got the saliva of a beautiful girl on it."
Being the big-sister type, she had always teased the protagonists in the original story. Clearly, that habit hadn't gone away.
Kurumi took the lollipop for Souta—and threw it on the floor.
"Ah, if you didn't want it, you could've given it back!" Chelsea looked genuinely disappointed.
Kurumi gave her a glance and asked, "Chelsea, how does the immortal body feel?"
"I tried it with a knife. The wound healed instantly, and even the blood flew back into place."
Chelsea looked proud and impressed.
"It's amazing!"
"Is that so… just like Souta used to be. But…"
Kurumi spoke meaningfully:
"This kind of externally granted immortality has a big weakness—you should be careful."
"Weakness?" Chelsea was surprised. "What weakness?"
"It can't defend against time-based powers."
At some point, Kurumi had already pulled out her old-fashioned flintlock pistol. She twirled it in her hand, smiling slyly at Chelsea.
"For example, what if a certain spirit walked by and shot you with the Fourth Bullet, reversing your body's time? You'd have to start worrying about your head again."
Chelsea: "…"
Was Kurumi threatening her?
What a petty woman!
Souta had already flirted with how many girls? Can you even threaten them all? Chelsea grumbled internally.
But she wisely chose to back down.
"Oh, right. We still haven't brought Taeko and the others back. I'll go pick them up."
With that, Chelsea made her exit.
Kurumi followed: "You can't go alone. I haven't undone the time-stop on them yet. Let's go together."
"I'm fine with that—but can you put the gun away first?"
"Ara~ that won't do~ What if we run into danger and I don't have time to draw it? I need to protect you, you know?"
"…"
Kurumi's smiling face made Chelsea grit her teeth.
But she could only swallow her frustration.
'Just wait. You'll have to leave eventually, and Souta's church is based here. He'll definitely come back often. Once you're gone… I'm totally going to flirt with him out of spite!'
Chelsea silently made a resolution.
Meanwhile, Souta watched her leave and fell into thought.
The transformation ability was way more advanced than the Gaia Foundation Teigu.
If Chelsea's affection level toward him hit the threshold, would the system extract that transformation ability as a superpower for him?
That was a loophole Souta had just thought of.
Originally, transformation wasn't a divine office or governing principle. But if the system extracted it from a friend, maybe it would gain that potential?
He posed this question to the system and got a cold reply:
[No. The system only extracts abilities based on the original world's worldview of the group member.]
Well, there went the loophole.
Souta felt a bit disappointed.
"Wait… that means Chelsea can now transform into anyone, right? Akame, Mine, Esdeath… even beast-girls. She can tweak any body part—tighten things, enlarge or shrink herself, even become a real beast… Whoever marries her is going to be so lucky."
He slapped himself across the cheeks—how did his mind drift there again?
"Must be Kurumi's influence." He immediately shifted the blame and then focused his thoughts, teleporting into the sky.
He entered the portion of his divine kingdom hovering above and began burning faith to convert it into divine power.
Considering Chelsea wasn't likely to run into danger, he didn't convert much.
Just about enough to match his previous level-1 god capacity.
Enough divine power to wipe out Fuyuki City, which he once offered to Rin—plenty for Chelsea to dominate this world.
A group like the Four Rakshasa Demons? She could summon lightning with a thought and leave them half-paralyzed.
They were still human—how could they dodge lightning?
"That should be enough."
Souta nodded at the stored divine power.
With that done, he and Kurumi said a brief goodbye to Chelsea and temporarily left the Akame ga Kill world.
Flash of white light.
Souta and Kurumi returned to Souta's world.
Kurumi opened her eyes and looked at the familiar surroundings, a warm smile appearing on her face.
She had lived here for more than two months. Coming back gave her a sense of comfort and belonging.
Souta sat down on the couch and conjured some black tea using his matter-creation ability. He looked at Kurumi:
"Want some tea?"
Kurumi shook her head, walked over, took the conjured tea, and dumped it out.
Even threw the cup into the trash.
Since Souta often conjured drinks for convenience, the apartment had accumulated over ten different tea sets—she didn't feel bad tossing another one.
"Honestly… life should have a sense of ritual. Don't do this anymore."
Kurumi sighed and went into the kitchen to make tea herself.
When the tea was ready, she brought it to the coffee table in front of Souta… then sat on his lap, snuggling into his arms.
"What's wrong?" Souta looked at her.
"Nothing. I just felt like doing this."
Kurumi smiled softly, resting her head on his chest, her body relaxed and content.
"I couldn't do this while Chelsea was around."
She traced circles on his chest with her finger, teasingly:
"It's been a while. Let me lie here a little, okay?"
"As long as you want," Souta replied gently, hugging her close.
"Can you pat my head?" Kurumi asked quietly.
"Mm." Souta gently stroked her soft hair.
Kurumi closed her eyes, looking as lazy and content as a Persian cat.
After a while, she opened her eyes and said:
"When I go back, if I really become stronger… I'll confront Mio."