Is it really a good idea for them to imitate me so blindly…?
Izumi glanced at his classmates, all of whom were buzzing with excitement, and found himself at a loss for words.
Still, he didn't dwell on it too much.
The Dungeon world was dangerous—brutally so—and the people inside weren't exactly saints.
If they learned skills first, then went there, they might be able to find a suitable Familia to join and gain power quickly.
As for how they would manage that…
That wasn't Izumi's problem.
After finishing the registration, Hiratsuka Shizuka clapped her hands lightly and said,
"Alright, that's it. Go home and get your affairs in order."
She paused, then added casually,
"Oh, and don't forget to write your wills."
"Not that I want you to need them—but if there's anything you want to leave behind, do it now."
"Once you leave, there's no guarantee you'll come back."
With those chilling words, she turned around and left without looking back.
The reason she gave them a day to prepare—
Was precisely so they could arrange their final affairs.
Training outside the world meant sacrifices were inevitable.
She only hoped that this time…
It wouldn't end in total annihilation.
The class froze.
That was… awkward.
So the one-day preparation period was actually meant for writing wills?
Not only this class—other classes across the school had also begun discussing it heatedly.
Strictly speaking, it was two days.
Today and tomorrow.
By the time the announcements were over, classes had already ended, and students were free to leave.
Izumi and his group had nothing else to deal with, so they left the classroom and headed straight for Rias Gremory's Occult Research Clubroom—the old school building.
Inside, there was no one else around.
Only Kuroka, sprawled lazily across the sofa, flipping through a manga.
Her black cat tail swayed back and forth lazily.
When she noticed someone enter, she lifted her head.
The moment she saw Izumi, her eyes sparkled.
She tossed the manga aside and lunged forward.
"Meow~!"
"Izumi-kun, you finally came to see me!"
"That makes me sooo happy!"
Izumi didn't even flinch.
With a simple spatial swap, he switched places with Koneko.
Kuroka flew straight past him—and crashed into her little sister instead.
Koneko stared at her sister flatly.
"…Onee-chan, enough already."
"You're getting more and more hentai by the day."
Though they had reconciled, Koneko was still helpless in the face of her sister's increasingly unrestrained behavior.
If she could beat her, she would have punched her ages ago.
Unfortunately—
She couldn't.
Even though she'd landed on Koneko, Kuroka didn't mind in the slightest.
Instead, she hugged her sister tightly and rubbed her cheek against hers.
"Ehehe~"
"So, Shirone, why are you all back already?"
"Don't you have classes today?"
Unable to escape, Koneko sighed and explained everything.
After hearing the whole story, Kuroka nodded in realization.
"I see."
"So it's those two worlds."
"Choosing both really isn't a bad idea."
She tilted her head slightly.
"If you go to the second world, I recommend joining the Loki Familia."
"The Loki there is very different from the one in our world."
"She's flat too—but much easier to deal with."
"Of course, that's only if you're flat as well."
"......"
What kind of dangerous dialogue was that?!
Izumi stared at the cat woman with a complicated expression.
Still, her words piqued his interest.
"Don't tell me you actually know those two worlds, Kuroka?"
Kuroka nodded as if it were obvious.
"Of course I do."
"Vali's been to both worlds before, looking for opponents."
"But he didn't find anyone worth fighting."
"Some people were strong—but none of them were his match."
"And the gods all had their powers sealed."
"No one wanted to fight him."
"If they unsealed their power, they'd be forcibly sent back."
"So after seeing a bunch of weak gods…"
"Vali lost interest."
She shrugged.
"That world's basically made for beginners."
"......"
Everyone fell silent.
Izumi was genuinely surprised.
So Vali Lucifer had been there before?
That meant…
Quite a few people from this world had probably already visited those places.
There might even be established exchange channels.
That world likely knew about this one as well.
Things were probably very different from the original stories.
Thinking about it, Izumi couldn't help but feel intrigued.
Just how much had that world changed?
After chatting for a while in Rias's clubroom, classes ended.
Rias herself returned shortly afterward.
Seeing Izumi and the others, she walked over and said,
"Izumi-kun, I'll be counting on you to look after Koneko in the other world."
She had known about the school's arrangements for a long time.
Koneko was the only first-year in her peerage.
And the only person she could entrust her to—
Was Izumi.
Izumi nodded without hesitation.
"Leave it to me."
Even if Rias hadn't asked, he would have done so anyway.
His gaze then shifted to Katō Megumi and Eriri Spencer Sawamura.
"Eriri," Izumi said,
"Go home and let your mom know."
"No need to prepare a will."
"Protecting a weakling like you isn't exactly hard for us."
Eriri's eyelid twitched.
That sounded oddly insulting.
She clenched her fist internally.
Sorry for being weak, huh…
Still, she replied aloud,
"Yeah, yeah. I got it."
Danger?
She wasn't worried at all.
Her teammates were monsters.
And they even had a super high-performance healer.
Izumi nodded, then looked at Megumi.
Before he could speak, she said calmly,
"I'll go home later and report everything to my mother."
"…Very proactive."
Satisfied, Izumi stood up.
"Alright, then let's head back."
"Once you're done preparing, I'll distribute your weapons."
After saying goodbye to Rias, Izumi took everyone home.
He still had to make arrangements for Ophis and the others—
Throwing them all into his subspace world would be easiest.
Since they were heading to the Dungeon world anyway—
He might as well pick up a few girls to train.
Raise their strength a bit.
See which ones were willing to fight.
He didn't mind nurturing them.
Those cursed children had incredibly high potential.
If trained properly, they could become formidable combatants in the future.
With those thoughts in mind, Izumi returned home.
The others went to their rooms to pack.
Clothes, daily necessities—
They'd need everything.
For the next half-year, they would likely be living in another world.
At the same time—
In the Underworld, preparations were already underway.
Those heading to other worlds were being organized.
And the one in charge of this operation—
Was none other than Grayfia Lucifuge.