Yae Sakura was a miko from Shinano, 500 years ago. Today, she was utterly alone in the world, solitary and without a single attachment.
She truly had nothing left to cherish in this world.
To be alive now was merely to exist. She had no goals, no expectations, no yearning for the future.
She was like a doll, simply obeying her benefactor's commands.
Because beyond that, faced with a world that was completely alien after five hundred years, Yae Sakura had no idea what else she could do.
Kallen.
Ye Feng thought of Kallen.
However, there was no Kallen NPC here.
If he were to unlock the "Schicksal HQ" map, would she perhaps appear?
He set that thought aside for the moment and returned to the present.
Ye Feng raised his palm, materializing a collar.
Of course, the collar was just one form of expression. It could have been chains, a ball gag, or something else entirely.
Ye Feng imbued it with the ability of 「Link」.
Speaking of 「Link」, there were many ways to play with it. For example, a consciousness link, or perhaps a shared sensory link.
However, the 「Link」 Ye Feng had created for now was simply endowed with a "connection to this world."
"Sakura," Ye Feng called out.
The name caused the Goushinnso Miko to pause for a second, but she immediately lowered her head and bowed.
"I am here."
"Wear this. If you can take it out with you, have Yuno put it on."
"Yes, Benefactor."
Yae Sakura accepted it, lifted her pink hair to reveal her fair, elegant neck, and put it on herself.
The collar then emitted a pink glow before transforming into a crimson mark, similar to the Honeysuckle Crest, that wrapped around her neck.
Ye Feng wanted to experiment and see if this kind of "Link" could be used to pull a consciousness from the real world into this place.
If it could… Jie jie jie!
---o---
This time, Kiana managed to learn about Yae Sakura from Ye Feng without getting bent over.
To be honest, with Ye Feng suddenly being so nice, the Tuna found it a little hard to get used to.
"I feel like there's another scheme afoot."
But regardless, she now had information on Yae Sakura.
And the fact that she was a Pseudo-Herrscher who could be communicated with made Kiana extremely happy.
Herrschers are aberrations! Enemies! Natural disasters!
This put Mei in a very awkward position.
The Third Herrscher, the Herrscher of Thunder.
By maintaining this identity while living among people, Kiana could understand how Mei felt—Mei must feel like the most out-of-place black sheep in a flock of white ones.
A sense of shame and fear would naturally arise. If everyone knew about this, they would surely cast cold, judgmental glares her way.
Mei could only sprinkle white powder on her black fleece, pretending she too was a white sheep.
Whenever the rain fell or the wind blew, would the white powder on her body fall off? Would someone scream, "It turns out she's a black sheep!"?
She must be terrified, unable to find a moment of peace in her heart. But aside from doing this, she couldn't think of any other way.
—Kiana understood that feeling!
That was why Kiana always stayed by Mei's side, constantly causing a little trouble for her, so that Mei wouldn't always be lost in self-doubt and self-loathing.
If a "kindred spirit" were to appear, Mei would surely be able to relax a little, right?
Kiana reported her findings about Yae Sakura to the Principal.
The shorty sat before her large desk, elbows propped on the tabletop, hands clasped under her chin, her eyes flashing with the light of wisdom.
"Wait a minute. You're saying that this Miss Yae Sakura's consciousness can also appear in your 'Stigma Space'?"
"That's what Ye Feng said."
"Are you sure?"
"I haven't seen her myself. Ye Feng said our entry times are always staggered."
Theresa stared intently at Kiana, her gaze sweeping back and forth.
Being watched like this made Kiana uncomfortable. She squirmed uneasily. "What is it, Great-Aunt?"
"Oh, my dear niece, you believe whatever he says?"
"Mmph… Although Ye Feng has a foul personality and uses despicable methods, he keeps his word. He wouldn't go so far as to lie to me."
"He keeps his word? You're that certain?"
"Of course! I've…" experienced it firsthand.
Kiana forcefully swallowed the rest of her sentence.
"You've what?"
"Aiya, just trust me on this, Great-Aunt."
"..."
Theresa looked speechlessly at her foolish niece. She probably hadn't yet realized the gravity of the situation.
"Kiana, if Yae Sakura's situation is truly as Ye Feng described, then all of our previous theories might be completely wrong. 'That world' isn't a Stigma Space, nor is it a world of consciousness. It's a far more mysterious existence that we cannot yet comprehend."
"Eh?"
Theresa flipped through her files.
Recorded within were all of Kiana's reports. Although they were only verbal accounts, some clues could still be gleaned.
Theresa said, "Kiana, you once asked 'Ye Feng' what kind of world that was, didn't you?"
"Mhm."
"If he truly 'wouldn't lie to you' as you claim, then he gave you the answer from the very beginning."
"The answer…"
"In your account, this is what he said: 「This world is probably similar to a game world. Now that you've entered, you're probably a 'player,' and I'm the 'administrator.' As for everyone else besides us, they are all NPCs.」"
"...The administrator of a game world… can I interpret that as… a god?"
The Tuna froze.
I got bent over by a god?
"No way!" Kiana waved her hands frantically. "A guy like that can be called a god?"
Theresa continued, "Didn't you say he left a 'Honeysuckle Crest' on you, and it appeared in reality the very next day? Recently, I've reviewed all the data on Stigmata for comparison. That mark… it might not be a Stigma."
Kiana's mind buzzed, feeling like it was about to explode.
She cupped her hands over her lower abdomen. "...Not a Stigma? Then what is it?"
Theresa turned her head, her gaze drifting pensively out the window. Her sky-blue eyes were deeper than ever before, radiating an astonishing sagacity.
The master of the Far East Branch, a former S-rank Valkyrie, and the successor-in-line to the Schicksal Overseer, said softly:
"I don't know."
"..."
Kiana nearly stumbled and fell over. "No way, Great-Aunt, after all that build-up, you're just giving me those three words?"
---o---
Senba High School.
Ye Feng sat in the classroom, his eyes fixed on Yuno.
Finally, a peculiar crimson pattern materialized on her neck. The pattern was a twisted, interlocking, bewitching design that wrapped around her neck just like a collar.
"The 'Link' has been established!"
Ye Feng's heart skipped a beat.
He watched the person before him with anticipation.
He didn't know if this method could be used to pull someone into this space.
Ye Feng waited until Yae Sakura arrived, but Yuno still showed no reaction.
"Is she asleep?" Ye Feng asked.
"We came over after Yuno fell asleep."
Although he would be able to sense it immediately if a consciousness entered, Ye Feng still checked her panel, refusing to give up hope.
Yuno was still listed as an NPC.
"Sigh, it seems I was being too naive."
Oh well. There are still other ways to play with 「Link」.