Makoto looked at Erin, who had grown to over ten meters tall, with a trunk about one meter in diameter. Her dense leaves covered the sky above.
"Erin, how were you able to grow so fast?" Makoto asked.
"Actually, last night, after onii-chan gave this world a name, I grew together with the world as it expanded. That's why I was able to grow this quickly. And I also have a surprise for you, onii-chan," Erin said happily.
"A surprise?" Makoto asked.
"Wait a moment. Onii-chan will definitely be shocked when you see it," Erin said. Then spheres of green light appeared from the World Tree and gathered in front of Makoto. The cluster of light merged into one and shone brightly. After the light slowly faded, the figure of a cute little girl appeared, standing in front of Makoto—wearing green clothes adorned with golden patterns.
"Tada! What do you think, onii-chan?" Erin said cheerfully as she spun around.
"So now you can manifest yourself in the real world, Erin," Makoto said as he gently patted her head.
"Erin-chan, you look incredibly cute," Mio said, seeing Erin's human form for the first time.
"Mio onee-chan, now I can eat the food you make!" Erin said happily to Mio.
"Does that mean from now on Erin-chan can eat together with us?" Mio asked.
"I'm sorry, Mio onee-chan. Even though I can manifest myself, I can't go too far away from my main body," Erin said sadly.
"In that case, let's have lunch here. Is that okay, Waka-sama?" Mio asked Makoto.
"Of course," Makoto replied.
"Erin, let me introduce you to my new servant. His name is Shiki," Makoto said, pointing at Shiki.
"Shiki, this is Erin. As you can see, her true body is the World Tree," Makoto explained.
"My name is Shiki. It is truly an honor to meet you, Erin-sama," Shiki said politely.
"Nice to meet you too. Um, how should I call you?" Erin asked.
"Erin-sama, you may call me Shiki, and you don't need to be so formal with me," Shiki replied.
"Okay, Shiki-san," Erin said cheerfully.
"But Waka-sama, you really surprised me by suddenly teleporting and appearing in front of Erin-sama," Shiki said.
"Isn't it faster to see things directly?" Makoto replied casually.
"Onii-chan, where is Tomoe onee-chan? Why didn't she come with you?" Erin asked.
"Tomoe is busy recruiting the Forest Ogre race and preparing for the inter-race match this afternoon," Makoto answered.
"I see. By the way, onii-chan, did you know that I now have a new ability?" Erin asked.
"Hm? You have a new ability?" Makoto said.
"Yes, onii-chan. Now I can create portals that connect two worlds," Erin said proudly.
"That's amazing, Erin! You can even connect two worlds," Makoto said happily.
"But I still need your help, onii-chan," Erin added.
"My help? Tell me what you need. I'll definitely help you," Makoto said confidently.
"It's actually not difficult. To create a portal, I need the coordinates of another world. So if I want to make a portal, onii-chan has to go to that world first to obtain its coordinates. After that, I can create a connecting portal," Erin explained.
Hearing this, Makoto felt relieved, since it wasn't difficult.
"Waka-sama, did I hear that correctly? Were you and Erin-sama discussing going to another world?" Shiki asked in disbelief.
"Hmm? Shiki, didn't Tomoe tell you that I have the ability to travel to other worlds?" Makoto asked.
"This is the first time I've heard of it, Waka-sama. Tomoe-sama only told me that you are a human from another world," Shiki replied.
"That Tomoe… she probably thought it would be troublesome to explain everything to you," Makoto said.
"So, Shiki, is there anything you'd like to ask? I have some free time right now," Makoto said casually.
Shiki immediately became excited and somehow produced writing tools and a notebook.
"Thank you for this precious opportunity, Waka-sama," Shiki said happily.
"Then, Waka-sama, how can someone travel to another world?" Shiki asked seriously.
"Actually, traveling to another world isn't complicated. First, you must leave the world you're living in. For example, as Tomoe explained to you before, by finding a rift in space-time and jumping into it. If you're lucky, you'll survive. Another way is through an official route—obtaining permission from a god or goddess to open an inter-world gate. And the last method is to use sheer power to forcibly break through or slip past the dimensional wall and go to another world," Makoto explained.
Shiki carefully wrote everything down.
"Mio, could you go back and bring us drinks and snacks?" Makoto asked Mio, who was chatting with Erin.
"Alright, Waka-sama. Erin-chan, I'll go get some tea and snacks," Mio said.
"Okay, Mio onee-chan," Erin replied.
Mio passed through a mist gate opened by Makoto and returned home. After a while, she came back carrying drinks and various snacks for Erin.
"Wow, that's a lot of snacks, Mio onee-chan!" Erin said excitedly.
After placing most of the snacks in front of Erin, Mio handed drinks to Makoto and Shiki.
"Waka-sama, Shiki, here are your drinks and snacks," Mio said.
"Thank you, Mio," Makoto said.
"Thank you very much, Mio-sama," Shiki added.
After drinking, Makoto continued his explanation.
"Second, you need to survive within the realm of chaos, where space and time are extremely unstable. You can use magical barriers to withstand spatial and temporal erosion, but it requires a large amount of magical energy to cross into another world. And even then, you must have the world's coordinates. Otherwise, you'll be sent drifting somewhere unknown. If you're lucky, you might find another world; if not, you'll have no choice but to wait for death," Makoto said.
"Then how do you obtain another world's coordinates, Waka-sama?" Shiki asked.
"You can ask the god or goddess who governs that world, or possess a special ability like mine that allows me to detect the coordinates of a world I'm in," Makoto replied.
"Overall, those two conditions are enough to travel to another world. But to be safer, one must also have the ability to avoid detection by the god or goddess who governs the other world. If the destination world has no governing deity, then there's no need to hide," Makoto continued.
"Why do we need to hide from their detection, Waka-sama?" Shiki asked.
"Every being born into a world carries a unique mark specific to that world. Before I left my original world for the Goddess's world, the god Tsukuyomi erased my world mark. Although he didn't explain why, after hearing Tomoe's explanation, I formed a theory: if someone travels to another world while still bearing their previous world's mark, the new world will reject their existence and forcibly expel them. That's why most people who succeed in traveling to another world end up returning to the Goddess's world—they still carry their original world's mark. So if we want to enter another world, first we must evade the governing deity's detection, and second, we must erase the mark of the previous world," Makoto explained.
"Then which method will you choose, Waka-sama?" Shiki asked.
"Of course, I'll use my own power. With the power I gained from my soul bond with Erin, I can easily travel to other worlds. My body no longer has a world mark, but you—Tomoe, Mio, and Shiki—still do. Don't worry, though. As the ruler of this world, I can easily erase those marks," Makoto said.
After answering Shiki's questions, noon approached. Tomoe arrived through a mist gate together with her clone.
"Waka, the preparations are complete. I've come to pick you up," Tomoe said.
When she noticed Mio chatting with Erin, she looked confused.
"Waka, who is this little girl?" Tomoe asked, pointing at Erin.
The clone Tomoe also looked at Erin curiously.
"Tomoe onee-chan, it's me, Erin!" Erin said cheerfully.
"Erin!?" Tomoe exclaimed in shock. "Wait, how did you grow so tall so quickly?" she asked, pointing at the World Tree.
"That's because onii-chan named this world, so I—being connected to it—also grew faster," Erin replied.
Makoto could only shake his head as he listened.
"So, Tomoe, are your tasks finished?" Makoto asked.
"Yes, everything is done, Waka-sama. The preparations for the inter-race battle are complete, and the Forest Ogres have agreed to move to Eryndal and pledge loyalty to you," Tomoe said.
"When will the match begin?" Makoto asked.
"After lunch, Waka," Tomoe replied.
"Then after lunch, we'll go together," Makoto said.
"Mio, we'll have lunch here today. Can you prepare picnic-style food?" Makoto asked.
"Leave it to me, Waka-sama. I'll make something delicious," Mio said, then returned home through a mist gate to cook.
"Tomoe, can you prepare a place for us to sit?" Makoto asked.
"Of course, Waka," Tomoe replied happily.
After some time, lunch was ready.
"Alright, let's eat," Makoto said. As they ate, Makoto explained Erin's new ability. Hearing that they could now travel to other worlds, Tomoe grew impatient.
"Waka, let's hurry and go to another world!" Tomoe said excitedly.
"You can prepare for the trip, but don't overdo it. For now, only the four of us will go, so simple equipment is enough," Makoto said.
"Oh right, Tomoe, how about I give your clone a name? It feels strange every time I call her," Makoto said.
"Of course, Waka. I don't mind," Tomoe replied.
"Then from now on, your name is Komoe," Makoto said, patting Komoe's head and channeling some magic into her to strengthen her.
"Oh, I feel my body overflowing with power, Waka-sama!" Komoe said, throwing a few punches into the air.
"Komoe, if you have free time, you can play with Erin," Makoto said.
"Really, Waka-sama!? I can play with Erin-chan?" Komoe asked excitedly.
"Of course. Right, Erin?" Makoto said.
"Yes, Komoe-chan. You can come anytime," Erin replied.