Unexpectedly, it was this timeline.
This was the Astraea Familia—the one that, years before the anime's main story begins, would be almost completely wiped out in a single incident, leaving only Ryuu behind.
Their deity was Astraea, goddess of justice and judgment—an existence said to embody absolute righteousness.
So Xien figured his own safety probably wasn't something he needed to worry about anymore.
What did worry him was the old man who'd been locked up beside him. It was possible he'd been overlooked in the chaos of the rescue, which was why Xien asked about him the moment he had the chance.
Ryuu, hearing that the boy's very first question was concern for someone else's wellbeing—the person she'd saved—looked at him more gently than before.
She set the now-empty bowl down lightly.
"Don't worry. That old gentleman has already returned home. He's reunited with his family and is safe."
Xien let out a long breath, a sincere smile spreading across his face.
"I see… That's great. Really."
Seeing that genuine smile, the elven girl's expression softened further, her voice turning warm.
"You're in the Astraea Familia's residence right now. And I am a member of the familia—Ryuu Lion. So rest here in peace. No one will disturb you."
"Thank you, Miss Ryuu. Just call me Xien. Thank you—truly—for saving me. If I ever get the chance, please let me repay all of you."
It was a small gambit on Xien's part. If possible, he wanted to build connections with this familia—better yet, join it outright.
Don't tell him this familia is fated to be destroyed so it's a bad choice.
From his perspective, in Orario's so-called "Dark Age," there were very few truly safe places. Only the top-tier familias with real strength could offer any stability—and with his current body, skeletal and weak to the point of being nearly worthless, what familia would even want him?
Becoming a normal civilian?
The old man next door was a normal resident of Orario—and look what happened to him.
And besides—he'd already come to a world where personal power was everything. And there was a clear path to strengthening himself.
Why would he choose to stay ordinary?
In a world where individual might could decide everything, weakness itself was a sin.
So the only rational move was to do everything he could to stay.
But the girl seemed not to catch the implication.
"All of that can wait. For you, the most important thing right now is rest," Ryuu said. "Our captain will return this afternoon. She'll explain everything. For now… I need to leave for a bit."
"Okay. Thank you for breakfast, Miss Ryuu. Goodbye."
Since she had something to do, Xien didn't push. This was their first meeting—talking too much could backfire, even provoke dislike. And his life had been saved by them. He had no place to stop her.
"…Goodbye."
Carrying the tray, Ryuu paused at the door and took one long, deep look back at the boy on the bed.
Then she closed the door behind her.
Outside the Room
Only after the door shut did Ryuu finally lose her composure.
Her expression turned vivid—far more than usual. One hand pressed against her chest, regret rising in her heart.
Because last night, she and a few companions had been playing a game. The loser would be responsible for taking care of the boy today.
Ryuu had assumed he wouldn't wake up so soon, so she'd agreed. If she'd known… if she'd known she'd have to personally care for a male stranger as a "pure" elf, she would rather die than accept.
And as expected—she'd been set up.
She lost.
The mastermind behind it all, of course, was Kaguya—the one who'd been itching to mess with her.
So after finishing morning training, Ryuu came to check on him. The food she brought was just in case he woke up suddenly.
But who could've guessed it would happen exactly like this?
The instant she opened the door and saw him awake, she nearly turned around and fled.
And yet, that one unconscious murmured line from him—"Is this a goddess?"—had stopped her in her tracks.
To avoid disgracing the Astraea Familia's name, she forced herself to go in.
And predictably, she was utterly overwhelmed by wave after wave of the boy's sincere "honest attacks." She almost lost control. In the end, she could only retreat in something close to a panicked defeat.
"What if he thinks I'm hard to get along with," she muttered, "and… never wants to talk to me again?"
"Ah… Ryuu Lion… what have you done…?"
Back Inside the Room
Meanwhile, inside, Xien finally had time to piece things together.
He clenched his withered hands—and suddenly realized something.
His body felt… different from before.
He grabbed a small mirror from the table nearby. Seeing the familiar face reflected back at him, he fell into troubled confusion.
"The face is mine, no doubt… but it's from when I was fifteen or sixteen."
"What is this? Physical transmigration? Time reversal?"
While he was still stuck in that loop, he noticed something changing at the edge of his vision.
That number he'd been staring at…
Had quietly shifted from 99% to 100%.
His expression went from shock to joy in an instant.
A racing heart. Trembling hands.
Xien focused his attention on it.
He "clicked" it with his mind.
And for the first time—something finally changed.
"System installation complete. Activate now?"
He forcibly suppressed his excitement and selected Yes.
What happened next made him freeze.
A black-hole-like vortex appeared in the center of his vision.
And from it crawled out—laboriously—something that could only be described as an orange tabby cat shaped like a ball.
It shook its stubby little paws, as though dusting itself off—despite having no dust at all.
Then it looked at Xien with huge eyes… and immediately teared up.
"Late, but here at last—honest trade, no scams! The Orange Tabby Savior System reporting in! Host… I thought I'd never see you again, meow… Waaaah…"
"…Huh?" Xien blurted. "What the hell is that?"
Staring at the fat orange cat floating in his vision, Xien was beyond confused.
"You're… what? A system spirit?"
"That's right, meow."
"Then why did you only show up now?"
"This… I'm very sorry, meow, Host. Because of my mistake, we were missing part of the startup energy during transmigration. That's why I couldn't meet you right away. I'm sorry, meow…"
So that was the reason?
He remembered what it felt like in that cell—waiting and waiting, staring at that "99%," then crashing into despair at the edge of death…
And now this thing was telling him it was just a mistake?
Xien's resentment instantly surged like a volcano. Veins bulged on his forehead.
Through gritted teeth, he asked, "Then how can you activate now?"
The orange cat, still chattering happily, didn't seem to notice his face at all.
"Because your body received a bit of energy replenishment. In this world, there's a ritual called the 'Blessing'—the power of the gods. I borrowed just a tiny bit without affecting you, meow, and that was enough to gather the energy required to activate the system."
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