— — — — — —
"Alright, alright. The stuff you collected for me last time was more than enough. Making a couple of extra sets won't be a problem."
Seeing how Shiroyasha looked just about ready to brawl with the twin goddesses of [Thousand Eyes], Veyron cut in to calm things down:
"If we really need to talk about a 'price'… then let's keep it simple, like last time. Just give me a hand if it ever comes down to it, and maybe let me borrow your name now and then?"
"My name? That's fine."
Shiroyasha agreed without hesitation. She didn't even bother asking what Veyron wanted it for. Just a second ago, she'd been yelling at the twin goddesses, but now she waved it off:
"Whatever's going on with those two, that's their business. As for me, you can use my name however you like. And if my weight alone isn't enough, I've been around the Little Garden a long time, ShiroYoruMaou isn't without her fair share of friends… Oh, and yeah, they two agree."
Obviously, she might joke around, but it wasn't all play. Deep down, she did count the twin goddesses of [Thousand Eyes] as "friends."
Sure, when her spirit rank had been torn apart back then, her feelings toward them were mostly resentment. But after so many years, she understood the truth.
Unless the world stayed locked in its original chaos forever, as one of the Celestial Stars—the foundation, the template of the universe, practically the singularity at its origin—her downfall was inevitable.
The only difference was who would do the breaking. If "Beginning" and "End" hadn't stepped in, some other universal truth would've slashed her apart instead.
Ironically, when she joined [Thousand Eyes] under that rule—"a defeated Demon Lord must become part of the victor's community"—that very community became her shield.
Without the twin goddesses, and without her own presence to make three Sovereigns in total… well, let's just say her fate would've mirrored that of another "problem child"—a certain Demon Star. Yeah, that's a nod to Algol, in case anyone missed the not-so-subtle hint.
Even though her spirit rank had been shattered, she still qualified for a two-digit Authority. But you think the others would've let her keep all the Sun Authorities all to herself? Not a chance.
After all, having control of more than half the Sun Authorities meant that, if she ever went all in, she could ditch the Little Garden entirely and create her own.
Ironically, Shiroyasha managed to hold on to 14 Sun Authorities out of the original 24. That's more than half—just in case your math is that bad.
"Then it's settled."
Veyron raised a hand, and the two of them slapped palms.
With that agreed on, he fused the materials down to the final step—ready to form as soon as the "Soul Light" was poured in. He passed them to Shiroyasha, along with the concepts that boosted the Saint Cloth's amplification rate to eighty-one times, plus two drops of blood that granted a temporary three-day, seven-hundred-twenty-nine-times boost.
Shiroyasha didn't waste a second, tossing everything straight into the [Thousand Eyes] banner.
Only after pocketing the benefits did she finally ask why Veyron wanted to borrow their names in the first place.
"As the price for getting 'Ophiuchus's Sun Authority,' I promised the Central Core I'd set up a community here in the Little Garden—and that I'd personally be part of it."
Veyron explained: "Honestly, I could just hang a plaque in some random seven-digit outer gate and be done with it. But since I'm here with time to kill, I figured… why not make it fun?"
"Fun?"
At that word, Shiroyasha's ears perked up.
For those who stood at the two-digit Authority level—or even the three-digit Omnipotence tier just below it—the desires of ordinary people, or even most Asuras, gods, and buddhas, had long since lost their flavor.
What did omnipotence really mean?
It meant having every ability.
Of course, in the Little Garden, the paradox of omnipotence imposed its limits. But out in the wider cosmos, a three-digit being who could exert full strength was, in the literal sense, all-knowing and all-powerful.
As for the Authority level? That was the point where someone could pull every law, every power, into themselves.
Which was why two-digits in the Garden ended up in one of two camps: either like the twin goddesses, existing as near-embodiments of the rules themselves with nothing left to seek but an abstract, unreachable "goal"… or like Shiroyasha, who had embraced the role of pure hedonist, chasing nothing but entertainment.
"Right now, it's only a rough idea."
Veyron lifted both hands. In each palm, a machine took form—at a glance they looked identical, but on closer inspection, their designs diverged in subtle ways.
"Have you ever heard of 'Enhancement' and 'Amplification'? Maybe you have—but do you know the difference?"
Shiroyasha blinked. "???"
"Doesn't matter if you haven't. Once these two are finished, you'll know the difference as soon as you try them."
He chuckled, dismissing the illusion. "I'm planning to unveil them at the founding festival of my new community. When the time comes, I'll need to borrow some of [Thousand Eyes]'s storefronts in the outer gates. And besides that, I'll need you to invite a few guests you think are worth the trouble."
He shrugged. "Sure, I could try to make a name by joining some big community's Gift Games before the official founding. But honestly? Spending that time feels pointless when I could just punch the Little Garden itself and make a bigger splash."
「...」
The Central Core's reply was six dots of pure silence.
"Ahem, just an expression." Veyron coughed lightly. "I came here for fun, not to be someone else's fun. And if I used the sort of tricks that turn hosts into clowns at their own Gift Games, well… it wouldn't go over very well."
"I see."
Pretending not to hear who Veyron was really aiming at, Shiroyasha thumped her chest. "Leave the 'guest list' to me."
---
A short while later— At [Queen Halloween] community
Making no effort to hide her presence, Shiroyasha strolled straight inside.
"Good day, Lord of the White Night."
The one greeting her was a tall, sharp-featured woman in a tailcoat. Her long purple hair, tied into a ponytail, swayed behind her as she bowed slightly. Clearly, she had been waiting.
"The Queen is already in the courtyard, awaiting your arrival."
"Tch. If she's really waiting, shouldn't she have come herself?"
Shiroyasha clicked her tongue, then waved a hand dismissively at the purple-haired woman. "Not that I'm complaining about you, but you know as well as I do… she's the same as always, isn't she?"
She sighed. "Forget it. Just take me to her."
Her greeter didn't rise to the bait, and Shiroyasha wasn't in the mood to press. She simply gestured for the woman to lead on.
Her name was Scáthach, the Witch of Dún Scáith. A figure from the Ulster Cycle of Irish Mythology. A four-digit goddess.
Scáthach served as Butler, head maid, and knight-commander to the very one Shiroyasha had come to see: Queen Halloween.
Queen Halloween is a Celestial Star Spirit and one of Little Garden's first three problem children, alongside Shiroyasha and Algol.
She is also known as the Golden-Haired Queen Who Governs the Boundaries, and as the Green Flash Before the Horizon.
The relationship of Queen Halloween and Shiroyasha?
Well, they never got along. Maybe it's because both were personifications of the Sun, maybe it's just that they were "problem children" cut from the same cloth. Either way, their relationship was less about harmony and more about needling, mocking, and outright bullying each other whenever the chance came up.
.
.
.