— — — — — —
[No Name] HQ
The Harvest Festival had just wrapped up in the City, and Black Rabbit returned to their base with a mix of relief and nervousness.
The moment she stepped inside, she spotted Jin Russell in the lobby, directing a few summoned sprites as they cleaned the furniture.
"Jin, is the leader back yet?"
The green-haired boy—still in his early teens—perked up at the question.
"Yeah, they're back. Ryo-niisan said if you showed up, you should go straight to his study."
"Thanks. Keep up the good work."
Black Rabbit reached out to ruffle his hair before springing into the air in one graceful bound, landing on the third floor, and making a beeline for the study.
Watching her vanish, Jin could only shrug and mutter under his breath, "She's always in such a rush…."
Shaking his head helplessly, he went back to his chore—training his control over the sprites while keeping them busy with housework.
— — —
The Study
Seated cross-legged on the sofa, Ryo Yagami methodically polished his Zanpakutō with a white cloth. Without looking up, he spoke.
"The matter of the Sun Authority is… for now, settled."
"Yes, Leader," Leticia replied. She was dressed in a Gothic maid outfit, her tone lighter than usual.
"Lord Shiroyasha's probably already smoothed things over. Given how sluggish the upper floors have been lately, it'll be at least two years before anyone notices."
"Still, just in case, the community should be prepared."
Ryo blew gently across the blade, staring at his reflection in its surface, eyes narrowing.
"Hire some teachers. Gather the children for lessons. Farm and ranch upkeep can be handed over to the beast slaves."
"I'll also leave one of my Familiars here to handle security."
[No Name] didn't have many members—just about two hundred and ten, counting Ryo, Leticia, and Black Rabbit. Most were kids with little to no ability to protect themselves, so any security measures would naturally be for them.
"Forgive me, Leader, but don't you think you're being a bit… too cautious?" Leticia's expression was a blend of helplessness and exasperation.
"The Little Garden isn't as dangerous as you seem to think. Even the high-ranking gods have to play by the rules of the Gift Games. And without a Gift to exploit, children aren't targets for demon lords or gods."
Ryo knew she had a point, but he still muttered defensively, "There are still some shady types in the seven-digit outer gates."
"In that case," Leticia countered, "Seal a killer move in them. A six-digit level of strength is more than enough to keep the kids safe."
Then she added with a sigh, "Besides, Miss Tritos and the others hate leaving your body for too long."
"…"
Ryo fell silent. He couldn't exactly force his Familiars into doing something they didn't like—especially if it meant they might resent him for it.
That was when the study doors burst open with a loud bang!
Black Rabbit zipped inside, bounced onto the sofa beside him, and blurted, "Well? How is it? Are we safe now?"
She grabbed Ryo's shoulders and shook him vigorously.
Clang!
The Zanpakutō's tip stopped just shy of her ear.
"Leticia," Ryo said calmly, still holding the blade, "what do you think about rabbit ears for dinner?"
"Certainly, Leader. I'll prepare the spices," Leticia replied sweetly.
"That's not funny!"
Black Rabbit yelped, clapping both hands over her ears and leaning away from the blade. "Rabbit ears aren't tasty anyway, and I was just asking!"
"Oh? You've tried them, then?" Ryo's eyes narrowed in mock suspicion.
"Of course not!" she shot back, cheeks flushing red. She was a moon rabbit—why on earth would she eat rabbit ears? No, who the hell would eat rabbit ears?
"Then how do you know they're not tasty?" he pressed.
"…" Black Rabbit froze, completely out of comebacks, staring at him with teary, betrayed eyes.
Leticia chuckled softly. "Don't worry, Black Rabbit. It's all taken care of. We're safe."
Relieved, Black Rabbit's face lit up—until she spotted the white spice packet in Leticia's hand. Her expression darkened instantly.
"Uh… Lady Leticia? What's that in your hand?" she asked nervously, pointing at it.
"Seasoning mix, of course. I've been planning on making braised rabbit pappardelle tonight," Leticia said with a teasing smile.
Black Rabbit clutched her ears again and wailed, "You're both horrible!"
"Alright, enough clowning around."
Ryo grinned, tugging lightly on her ear until she went limp like overcooked noodles.
"How'd the Harvest Festival go? No trouble, I hope?"
"It—it ended without incident… Shirayuki-hime has already started adjusting the water flow for the winner's territory."
Ryo released her with a small sigh of relief. "Good. That means our trial for promotion to the six-digit gates should be fine. Next comes… deciding how the community will develop."
Leticia tilted her head. "Leader, do you want to be a challenger or a host?"
In Little Garden, communities generally fell into two categories—
The hosts, who ran Gift Games, charging participants and building influence.
The challengers, who took part in others' games to win prizes and grow stronger.
There wasn't much difference in practical terms, but in the eyes of the world, hosts were seen as the higher tier.
"I've heard," Ryo said casually, still polishing his sword, "that in the higher-level Gift Games, there aren't any human hosts?"
Leticia immediately understood his meaning. "Correct. At the four-digit level, human hosts are essentially nonexistent. And at the three-digit level—where the massive Gift Games happen—no human has ever been a host."
Ryo smiled. "I like being the first to try new things."
That single line said enough—he intended to become a high-tier human host.
Even Canaria hadn't achieved that. Black Rabbit stared at him, a little dazed.
"I understand," Leticia said after a deep breath, her face serious. "We'll aim to become a hosting community. But first… there's one issue we have to address."
"Go on."
"The most important thing for a host," she said evenly, "is its banner."
Six months ago, after their defeat, [No Name] had lost both its name and its banner to a demon lord.
"In Little Garden, a community without a banner can't function—not even to host Gift Games. The banner is everything. It's our credibility, our brand, even the basis of our currency."
Coins in Little Garden were valuable not because they were gold, but because they carried a banner's mark.
"Other communities exchange resources for our coins, which they can use to challenge our Gift Games or buy valuable gifts from us. Printing coins is standard business, and for some communities, it's the fastest way to rise to the upper levels. Canaria's group reached the four-digit tier in just a few years that way."
Ryo nodded grimly. "But without a banner, we've lost that credibility—and can't mint coins."
"Yes," Leticia confirmed. "No banner, no coins. No coins, no trade. No trade, no growth."
Black Rabbit spoke up. "That Shark banner is fine for small trades, but as our main one? No way."
The banner was like a trademark. While the [White Shark] was still under Ryo's control, it was a poor fit for long-term growth—especially if they aimed for promotion.
Four-digit promotion usually required the banner to hold a legacy matching the community's name, sometimes even embedding a trial Gift Game into it.
But [White Shark] locked them into an ocean-beast legacy, and [No Name] didn't even have a sea beast among them.
Plus, since banners doubled as currency symbols, no nation—or community—would ever run two unrelated currencies.
Ryo slid his sword back into its sheath. "Remember what I said about an alliance banner?"
"If it's an alliance banner, we could use it long-term," Black Rabbit admitted reluctantly.
Alliance banners worked like the emblem of a corporate group—combining the credibility of multiple communities.
But there was a catch: alliances were only possible between named communities.
Which was why she looked at him oddly and said, "Yeah, but… who'd be dumb enough to form an alliance with a nameless community?"
Right then, the door opened again, and Jin poked his head in.
"Ryo-nii, there's someone here calling himself Laius. Says he's here to see you."
Clap!
Ryo smacked his palms together, pointed at the door, and grinned at Black Rabbit. "See? The idiot's here!"
.
.
.