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Little Garden – East Area - Outer Gate 2105380
Inside the shop belonging to the community [Thousand Eyes].
"Thank you so much for your help!"
The girl with waist-length blue hair and twitching bunny ears bowed deeply to Veyron over and over.
Her name was Black Rabbit. She was one of the very few surviving descendants of the Moon Rabbit Community — the "nobility" of Little Garden — ever since their home, Moonlight City, was destroyed two hundred years ago by the Demon Lord Azi Dahaka.
And the reason she was thanking Veyron? For rescuing Leticia Draculea.
Two centuries ago, Azi Dahaka's attack wiped out the Moon Rabbit homeland.
Back then, Black Rabbit hadn't even earned her "name" yet. She was adopted by Canaria, the strategist of the former community [Arcadia], and spent nearly two hundred years growing up there.
Out of gratitude for Canaria and the community that had raised her, when [Arcadia] lost its banner and name to an unknown Demon Lord — becoming what's now known as [No Name] — Black Rabbit, thanks to her unique status as "Little Garden Nobility," wasn't taken as property like Leticia was.
She could have used her racial prestige to join a bigger, more powerful community… but she didn't.
Instead, she stayed with [No Name] and took care of the remaining children.
So naturally…
For someone like Veyron, who had gone out of his way to bring Leticia back, her gratitude was immeasurable.
"You really don't have to be this formal."
Veyron smiled. "Technically speaking, I haven't actually returned Leticia's ownership to [No Name]. For her, nothing's really changed compared to the last few months."
"That's not the same thing."
Black Rabbit shook her head seriously.
From her conversations with Leticia — who had been allowed to visit [No Name] since Veyron hadn't placed any restrictions on her — she had learned about how Leticia had been passed around, "bought and sold" by different communities.
Sure, during that time Leticia had been treated well enough, but it was easy to guess what would have happened if things had gone on like that forever. With [Arcadia]'s banner and name still lost, her position would have gotten worse and worse until… well, it wouldn't have been good.
But now that her ownership was in Veyron's hands, everything was different.
Black Rabbit didn't know exactly who Veyron was, but she was certain of two things:
First, this man's background was enormous — so big that even the [Thousand Eyes] community treated him as an equal. And not just a single member of Thousand Eyes, but the entire community regarded him, and the community he was about to officially found, as being on equal footing with them.
Second, he bore no ill will toward [Arcadia] — or [No Name] as they were now.
Even Shiroyasha's attitude toward him confirmed that much.
"If you really want to thank me," Veyron said, handing her a scroll, "then make sure the upcoming event is run flawlessly."
He hadn't called Black Rabbit here just to hear her thanks — not when they were meeting in a Thousand Eyes shop.
No, this was business. He was handing over the ceremony for founding his new community to her — someone Shiroyasha herself had strongly recommended as the host.
"Don't worry!" Black Rabbit said, taking the scroll and unrolling it to read the summary inside. After confirming that the ceremony's rules were relatively straightforward compared to other Gift Games she had hosted, her confidence returned. "As a 'Judge Master,' I swear I'll make sure the whole thing is perfect!"
The Moon Rabbits were considered nobles of Little Garden — and not just because their clan was part of the Twelve Devas, protectors of the city, and retainers of Indra, the chief of the benevolent gods.
What truly made them "nobles" was that the Moon Rabbits had ears and eyes connected to Little Garden's very core. They were born with the right to temporarily pause a Gift Game to mediate between organizers and participants — the natural "hosts" and "judges" of the Little Garden.
And Black Rabbit was ready to do her best for Veyron's community: [Eden].
...
"She really has grown a lot since everything that happened to your community."
Leticia, sitting in the audience, watched as Black Rabbit easily hyped up the crowd while patiently explaining the rules of the new community [Eden]'s featured Gift Game, "Amplification" and "Enhancement," in a way even kids could understand.
She sighed softly.
Of course, she was proud of how much Black Rabbit had grown… but knowing that this cute bunny had been forced to mature so quickly because their guardians had failed to protect their community left her with a complicated feeling in her chest.
"That's why you guys should've just agreed to my proposal from the start~"
Shiroyasha, clearly understanding what Leticia was sighing about, grinned and clapped her on the shoulder. "Sure, you all raised her well enough, but compared to what she was naturally capable of, two hundred years of progress was still pretty shallow."
"…You mean that entire room full of bizarre, completely unwearable uniforms you have? That's her destiny in your mind?"
Leticia gave the woman — one of the most powerful beings in all of Little Garden — a deadpan look.
"What? What's wrong with that?"
Shiroyasha nodded toward the stage, where Black Rabbit stood dressed in a knee-length skirt, black thigh-high socks, and an otherwise perfectly modest uniform. "Sure, those other outfits had a lot less fabric than this one, but I made sure to equip every single one with a magic gift that makes them look like they're revealing something when really they aren't showing a thing!"
So you do know they're not actually suitable to wear outside without that magic gift?
Leticia gave her a look that said exactly that.
"Hehe~" Shiroyasha's smile turned downright lewd. "Leticia, just imagine how sexy Black Rabbit will look in my dresses. I even have ones that change color depending on whether her hair is blue or pink — just looking at her will feel like a blessing. Oh, there is even a naked dress I have personally made, it's my masterpiece."
"..."
Leticia could only stare, convinced Shiroyasha was a hopeless case. But then she heard what came next — and decided this perverted woman deserved to die.
"Hehe~ Gwen, Selena, Merlin, Chika, Esdeath, Fubuki… and all their friends and sisters… hehe~ One day, I'll dress you all myself. One day." Shiroyasha's grin was almost childlike, but her expression was glowing like she was making a solemn vow.
...
"Tha's the rules."
While the two of them bantered, Black Rabbit had already finished introducing the core of the ceremony — the Gift Games of "Amplification" and "Enhancement."
Thanks to the prearranged projection screens broadcasting the event, not only the audience gathered at [Eden]'s headquarters — summoned here under Shiroyasha's personal invitation — but also anyone near a [Thousand Eyes] shop in any outer gate who'd heard about it could now watch and learn how the games worked.
Using coins issued by the Eden community, participants could approach the "Amplification Machine" and "Enhancement Machine" set up to the left and right of each Thousand Eyes shop entrance, and upgrade themselves as they pleased.
Time for them to suffer the same despair Veyron did when he played those cursed games on Earth.
.
.
.