He still remembered it pretty clearly—his classmate had really complained about it for a long time.
But what did this loli just say?
The Little Garden was completely destroyed?
What the hell was going on? Logically, wasn't the whole point of Little Garden's protagonists to fight for the rise of their community?
That world was basically the main stage. If the Garden itself was destroyed, wouldn't the entire main storyline collapse?
How could such a central place just be destroyed? That made no sense.
"Mm. But facts are facts," Shiroyasha replied calmly.
"We really did fall into those bastards' trap. All of the Sun Authorities were lost. In the end, I only managed to return to the Garden's Core, and with the last remaining legacy, I left that already-ruined world."
Her home had been destroyed. Everything she loved had vanished into smoke.
In truth, Shiroyasha was far from as indifferent as she appeared. Even though so much time had passed, the hatred burning in her heart had never faded.
"So in a sense—you're the only spark of the Little Garden I managed to bring out. So it's not that I chose you. It's that you were the only choice."
"I see."
Makoto nodded once again. Now, the biggest doubts in his heart had all been answered.
"Then, my second question. Why did you only show up now, after I've been in this world for so long? If you had the power to save me when I fell off that cliff, that means your strength must have already recovered, right? And also—if the ring is the medium, why did Misaki have to give it to me instead of it being with me from the start?"
"Oho~, You're quite good at latching onto the key issues."
Shiroyasha let out two odd chuckles, fanning herself rhythmically as she looked Makoto up and down with a smile.
"The only thing I can say is—you're really damn lucky. At that life-or-death moment, my power finally recovered just enough for me to pull you out of danger. Otherwise, whether I liked it or not, I really would have had no choice but to pick someone else."
She put away her playful expression and let out a cold snort.
"As for why I didn't appear right after you arrived in this world… Let's just say there are beings here who are extremely powerful. The moment we entered this world, if I hadn't used the Garden Core's strength to conceal you, we would've been struck down instantly. And because of that, my power fell back into a severely weakened state. As for why I ended up leaving your body—it was just a series of coincidences."
Her folding fan snapped shut with a clap. She tapped the table lightly with its tip.
"Didn't you ever stop to think? Why was it that you and that little girl, Misaki, kept running into each other again and again in such a short span of time? Did you really believe that was all just chance? Just fate?"
Was it an awakening? Or more like a thunderclap that jolted his mind awake?
Truth be told, he had suspected it at the beginning.
Not just him—Misaki too.
After all, the coincidences of their encounters were way too bizarre.
In just a single month, they'd "accidentally" met fifteen times. That was basically once every two days on average.
"So it was all you?"
"Of course."
Shiroyasha rolled her eyes.
"If it was in a lower-level world, it would've been easy. I could manipulate the threads of fate however I wanted. But here? Ugh, it was a pain. In order to avoid alerting those bastards, I had to nudge things along bit by bit, carefully, over and over."
But at that point, her serious expression dissolved, and a smug grin spread across her face.
"But you don't need to worry. This time, after my slumber, I've recovered more strength. I still can't fight those beings head-on, at least not yet. But hiding you from their eyes? That's no problem for me."
"Shiroyasha—"
Makoto cut into her swelling sense of pride with his question.
"Those beings… are they really as powerful as you say?"
He wasn't exactly clear on who Shiroyasha was referring to, but her obvious wariness made him press the issue.
"Hmm~, Let me think how to put this."
Shiroyasha paused for a moment, trying to find a suitable analogy.
"Do you understand the Garden's power hierarchy?"
"I sort of remember, but not very clearly."
Makoto shook his head.
Of course he couldn't remember.
The fact that he could still recall what Shiroyasha even looked like was already something of a miracle.
"All right then. I'll give you a quick rundown."
Shiroyasha scratched her head helplessly.
"Seven-Digit…"
"Six-Digit…"
"Five-Digit…"
"Four-Digit…"
"Three-Digit—you can think of them as the strongest within a single universe. If they unleash their full strength, they can wipe out an entire universe. At the same time, they can also rewrite the universe as they please. Because once you reach the Three-Digit level, you've gained mastery over what's called 'Authority.'"
"Two-Digit…"
"The beings I mentioned in this world—you could treat them as being on par with the Three-Digits. And in certain domains, they've already touched upon the power of the Two-Digits. That's why I said—you absolutely cannot act recklessly in this world."
Perhaps because she'd explained a lot all at once, and maybe because she wanted Makoto to process it, Shiroyasha quieted down and sipped her tea, waiting for him to ask his next question.
"I see. In that case, I only have one last question."
Makoto cleared his throat.
"Shiroyasha—you must have some goal, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone through so much trouble with me."
For just a fraction of a second, Shiroyasha's hand froze as she held her teacup. Her expression stiffened ever so slightly.
But in the blink of an eye, before Makoto could notice, her look returned to normal. She locked her gaze onto him, her eyes burning.
As I thought, choosing this guy wasn't a mistake. Trusting that woman was the right call.
With that thought, the corners of her mouth curved upward. Narrowing her eyes, she spoke lightly:
"Of course I wouldn't put in all this effort for nothing. Why else would I invest so much into you? And given how fast you've been putting the pieces together—since you already know I escaped from the destroyed Little Garden, then you should already understand, shouldn't you?"
Though her tone was casual, the sharp edge in her words suddenly intensified.
"To rebuild Little Garden. There's only that one goal."