Kaito was still thinking about the thief when other people entered the room.
Kirito, Asuna, Koneko, Mashiro, Kaguya, Ai, and Lala.
A total of seven people.
Koneko hurried over and jumped into his arms as soon as she arrived. Kaito held her on his lap while addressing the others.
"How did it go?" he asked the two groups.
"We managed to complete both the main and optional missions," Kirito replied rather formally. "The optional mission rewards make the normal ones look pathetic. We earned..."
While Kaito listened to the list of rewards, he simply nodded. They weren't bad, but compared to what he had obtained, they fell far behind.
Then, Kaguya's group spoke.
"Sir, we managed to get quite a lot this time. Since we knew exactly what the device we needed was, we uncovered a pretty big conspiracy. To keep it short, two universes ended up clashing, so we managed to get two devices and, therefore, twice the rewards."
As she said that, Kaguya smiled proudly.
"Good," Kaito smiled. "List the rewards in detail later so we can record them. And by the way, there's no need to be so formal."
Kaguya nodded, but then showed a doubtful expression before speaking.
"So... about that..."
"That?" Kaito asked curiously.
"About our deal. This counts as a major contribution, right?"
Kaito smiled at her words, as if he had just heard something amusing.
"Fine, but it's not enough for me to lift your punishment."
"That's unfair. We even exceeded the mission expectations set by the system," she said, clearly displeased.
Kaito's answer, however, caught her off guard.
"Isn't that normal?"
At Kaguya's astonished expression, Ai couldn't help but laugh. Seeing her master, who always maintained a cold façade, showing so many different expressions was too entertaining, so she decided to add fuel to the fire.
"Miss, maybe you forgot, but to get an S-rank grade you have to exceed expectations. I'd imagine for SSS, even more so. And Kaito hasn't gotten anything below that so far."
Although Kaguya wanted to argue, she couldn't, because it was true. Still, she clung to a small hope.
"Then... what grade did you get this time?"
"Triple S," Kaito answered indifferently.
"That... what? I obtained two devices! I had to take part in a battle between two universes to get them. How many did you get?" she asked in disbelief.
"I got thirteen."
Unlike Kaguya's surprise, both Mashiro and Ai, standing beside her, showed proud smiles, as if it were their own achievement.
"As expected of Kaito, he completely outdid us," Ai said.
"Mhmm, amazing," Mashiro nodded.
"Then how am I supposed to make major contributions?" Kaguya asked, frustrated.
"I don't know, you'll have to figure that out on your own," Kaito replied before changing the subject. "By the way, I'm going to summon some new companions."
Koneko, still on his lap, shivered when she heard that and looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"Are they girls?" she asked.
Kaito nodded casually, as if gender didn't really matter, so Koneko just sighed in resignation.
Kaito decided everyone should leave before he summoned more people. The only exception was Koneko, who insisted on staying to "judge" the newcomers.
He held one of the summoning cards he had obtained and was surprised to notice that he could summon not just two people, but four in total.
Possible summons:
Charmcaster (Hope) - Affection: 80% - Crazy love.
Gwendolyn Tennyson - Affection: 65% - Likes you.
Attea - Affection: 60% - Love at first sight.
Bunnyx (Alix Kubdel) - Affection: 90% - Hope.
Completely ignoring what he had planned to do originally, Kaito focused on the last name. Bunnyx was a time traveler, so bringing her would be incredibly useful.
However, a bad feeling stopped him, so he decided to ask first.
"System, if I summon Bunnyx, will she still have her time travel ability?"
[No, the Miraculous only function within their own universe.]
"As expected," Kaito murmured.
After all, the kwamis were similar to the Infinity Stones. Those gems were formed when the Big Bang occurred, and since they were a crystallized force of that universe, they only worked within it.
The kwamis operated in a similar way, being born alongside a concept. Once a concept was introduced into a universe, a kwami was born to represent it. As a being born from that universe's concept, it couldn't act outside of it.
Even in the Ladybug special, where they met versions from other universes, the kwamis connected to one another and shared memories or consciousness for a brief moment. That indicated that they didn't actually use the concept of their own universe outside it, but rather connected to the one of the universe they were in somehow.
Unfortunately, that was impossible in Gaia, or in Kaito's Earth, because kwamis simply didn't exist there. There was no concept for them to connect to in the first place.
In short, the kwami of time wasn't the physical form of time itself, but rather of the time within the Miraculous Ladybug universe. Therefore, in other universes, it had no authority over the concept of time, and without that control, Miraculous users, including Bunnyx, couldn't use their powers outside their world.
Kaito felt disappointed, but quickly regained his composure.
"By the way, why is her affection at 90%?"
[Affection isn't necessarily romantic. It represents the level of positive feeling someone has toward you. Although 90% implies someone might die for you, it doesn't always mean love. It can come from respect, admiration, hope, responsibility, or even familial affection.]
Kaito understood the explanation, though he felt a bit guilty. Bunnyx had incredibly high hopes placed on him, and not summoning her just because she wouldn't be useful made him feel somewhat bad.
"How does time work once I leave a mission world?" Kaito asked.
[The world is just a simulation, so when no Lord is inside, it enters total stasis.]
Kaito didn't know how to feel. On one hand, he was relieved that Bunnyx wasn't suffering, waiting endlessly in the Miraculous world. On the other, being reminded that they were simulations made him remember that all those worlds had been completely destroyed. Everyone had died.
Even the Miraculous world, where Bunnyx managed to survive and escape. If she was in the Tower of Worlds, that meant her world had fallen too.
"Alright," he murmured, slapping his cheeks to snap out of it and adjust his mood.
"Whatever's attacking the worlds, as long as I keep getting stronger, I'll be able to save the ones I care about."
With that determination, he used two summoning cards to bring Charmcaster and Gwen to Gaia.
As for the third card, he decided to save it. So far, he had only obtained one on two occasions, and this time it was thanks to his luck being boosted by 5000%. He didn't know when he'd get another one.
A light shone before him as two figures materialized. However, both were frozen in midair, as if time itself had stopped.
Kaito was shocked when he saw them: Gwen looked like a ten-year-old girl, and Charmcaster looked like an old woman.
[Would you like to use 2000 + 3500 extraction points to restore the summons to their state during your visit?]
Kaito accepted immediately while reflecting on the reason behind their appearances.
It wasn't hard to deduce. The ones he was summoning were from the original timeline, the canon of their worlds.
Koneko had appeared only slightly different because her world had fallen when she was around nineteen, and it was in that form that she was summoned. Later, the memories of her version from Kaito's world merged with her.
But Gwen and Charmcaster's situation was different. Gwen should have died at ten because of Ben using the Carnitrix, while Charmcaster probably hid in the Legerdomain until she died of old age. Although, according to the original canon, a group of Bens from other worlds eventually defeated the Carnitrix Ben.
Considering the time difference inside and outside the Legerdomain, unless that defeat happened that same week, Charmcaster would have spent her entire life in hiding.
After Kaito accepted, the girls' bodies began to transform before his and Koneko's eyes.
Little by little, the light enveloped them both, restoring their original appearances. Finally, the summoning process was complete, and the two were gently placed on the ground, opening their eyes at the same time.
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+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)