The sky glittered with countless motes of stardust, while beneath their feet stretched a neatly manicured lawn.
Clear streams wound gently through the grounds, a man-made rock garden rose in tasteful formation, wooden pavilions lined the walkways, and around them bloomed all manner of flowers, competing in color and fragrance.
"Compared to last time I came… it's completely different now."
Standing on the corridor, Makoto looked around with mild surprise.
"This place is nothing more than a small artificial subspace. As long as my power is sufficient, I can change it however I please, on a whim. Last time, there was simply no need."
The main doors opened with a slow creak, and from within stepped Shiroyasha.
"Well then, boy, have you finished giving your instructions?"
Makoto gave her a look full of black lines.
"It's a perfectly normal question… so why does it sound so off when you say it?"
"Haha, you really do overthink things."
Unbothered by his complaint, Shiroyasha took her place at his side, snapping open her folding fan.
"But that also means you're ready, doesn't it?"
"There wasn't much to prepare in the first place," Makoto shrugged casually. "You said it yourself—even if I leave, not much time will have passed here."
"That's only the ideal scenario, if unexpected events crop up, your absence could stretch on. But in that case, you can rest easy. Even if you're late in returning, I'll blur this world's perception to a certain extent."
Her answer carried all the absolute confidence of a god.
And judging from the fact she still had energy to spare on decorating landscapes, it was clear she was indeed in a state of recovery.
"So then, what exactly do I have to do? Explain it clearly."
Makoto didn't put too much weight on her earlier words.
After all, his little foothold in this world hardly counted for much in the eyes of the real powers. So long as things remained stable and he didn't pursue reckless expansion, no one would bother with them.
That much, he trusted Komaba to handle well.
Not to mention, he had also asked Misaki Shokuhou to lend a hand.
"Mm. That look in your eyes really is promising."
Shiroyasha nodded approvingly, then raised her chin and pointed at the starry space above.
"It's simple. What you must do is refill this sky. To truly make it blaze with stars once more."
Was that longing in her voice? Nostalgia? Or perhaps sorrow?
From Makoto's perspective, it seemed he could glimpse countless emotions tangled together in her.
And even he had to admit—
In this setting, in this atmosphere, his own heart was being stirred.
Yet he held his tongue.
Because he knew: she wasn't finished.
His questions hadn't yet been answered.
"I told you before, didn't I? My goal is to rebuild the Little Garden, with this place as its foundation. And do you still remember how the Little Garden was structured?"
Like a teacher posing a test question, Shiroyasha suddenly quizzed him.
"That, huh… I think I remember a little. If I recall, wasn't it something like—an existence of higher dimension, composed from a multitude of universes?"
Makoto's memory had always been sharp. If someone reminded him, even distant information came back clearly.
Ever since meeting Shiroyasha, he had already dredged up all his scraps of memory about the Little Garden.
"Correct. Stripped of all extraneous layers, at its core, the Little Garden was exactly what you described. But… there's still a subtle difference."
She folded her fan, waggling it lightly as though pointing out a detail.
"To be precise, the Little Garden was a higher-order construct built to guide the proper development of other worlds—what we call the Third Observed Universe.
It is a world where the beginning, the Creator, and the end, the created, are one and the same. Countless multiverses stacked together like particles, forming a single higher dimension.
And the 'stars' in the heavens above—that was the glory the Little Garden once held. What you see sparkling now is only an illusion wrought by my power."
She spoke deliberately slowly, as though to ensure Makoto understood.
Luckily, it wasn't too hard for him.
After all, Academy City had courses on spatial dimensions.
Even if non-specialists like him weren't taught advanced theories, what he knew was enough to follow along.
"So my task now is to gather new worlds, and bring them under the Little Garden's rule, is that right? But… how, exactly? It can't be as simple as just conquering them, right?"
He spread his hands, showing his helplessness.
But to his surprise, Shiroyasha didn't deny it. She nodded as though it were indeed a valid option.
"Truth be told, if you're capable of it, conquest is indeed one of the ways."
Not bothering with riddles, she continued on her own.
"The ground we stand on now—this was once the Core of the Little Garden."
"Wait, and what exactly is the Little Garden's Core supposed to be?"
The unfamiliar term immediately tripped him up.
He had the strong sense that if he didn't understand it, everything that followed would be gibberish.
"Very well! Seems I really do need to give you a lesson."
Shiroyasha showed no impatience—in fact, she almost looked amused.
Perhaps it was because she'd been alone in this empty space for so long?
Either way, Shiroyasha's lecture began.
"Just as you've understood, the Little Garden was a gathering of worlds, a higher-dimensional hub. Now, let me tell you something else. Whether it's a lower-dimensional world, or one of higher dimension, every world possesses something akin to a world-consciousness.
The Little Garden once encompassed uncountable worlds. Do you think such an existence wouldn't give rise to a collective awareness of its own? Of course it did.
Immature though it was, incomplete though it remained… it was born nonetheless. That was what we called—the Core of the Little Garden."