[Zaelum: The raw only have like 4 more chapters than now, so don't sub if you want more chapters of this fic, as the author don't have them yet xD]
The next day, morning.
Zyhark blinked awake in sunlight slipping through the gap of the floor-to-ceiling curtains.
He reached out by reflex to the side—only to touch empty sheets.
"Yukino?"
He sat up.
The room was quiet; the black-haired girl was long gone.
"Already headed out?"
He put on the panties and clothes left on the nightstand; after washing up and stepping out of the bathroom,
his eyes fell at once on the small round table in the middle of the room—where a breakfast packed in a heat-preserving bento box had been set out.
He opened it.
Inside was steaming, fragrant seafood congee.
Beside it, a small dish of appetizing pickles had been thoughtfully prepared.
"..."
Looking at this clearly customized, nutritious breakfast prepared just for him,
Zyhark's heart warmed at once, as if filled with gentle sunshine.
The corners of his mouth rose on their own as he murmured:
"Sharp tongue, but so considerate…"
"What a tsundere—cold outside, warm inside."
However—
That good mood over breakfast paused the moment he noticed a change at the coat stand in the corner.
Yukino's newly bought battle outfit, and that longsword—both were gone.
"Down to the Dungeon this early?"
Zyhark raised a brow.
A mix of worry and complicated relief welled up in his heart.
This girl…
Was really pushing herself, huh?
Was it to prove herself—or was she truly striving for this just-founded [Familia]?
Seeing how diligent she was,
Zyhark felt that as the main god, he couldn't slack either.
He drew a deep breath and sank his awareness inward:
"System, use that 'Crossover Heroine Summon Card'!"
[Command confirmed.]
[Beginning summoning…]
As the system onee-san voice fell, that familiar pure-white radiance gathered and wove together once more in the center of the room.
Zyhark watched the forming silhouette with tense, eager divine eyes, silently praying in his heart:
"Give me a gentle one, please, and maybe with some combat talent."
"Don't be another strong-willed, poison-tongued type like Yukino."
"Just a heart-healing, angel-type beautiful girl would be perfect…"
The light gradually faded.
A girl's figure came into clear view.
She had linen-blonde hair as smooth as a waterfall, gleaming with healthy luster.
On a doll-like delicate face were set a pair of big eyes that seemed to hold the sweetness and warmth of caramel.
Her skin was near-translucent ivory, flawless and smooth.
A well-shaped nose bridge, long lashes, and naturally cherry-tinted lips
together created a deceptively pure, angelic visage.
She wore Seijo High School's uniform, but her state was a bit sorry.
The uniform jacket and blouse clinging to her were soaked through.
At a glance, they faintly traced a figure that wasn't voluptuous but exquisitely well-proportioned.
The likewise-soaked black stockings clung to her slender legs, making her look especially fragile and pitiful.
She seemed to have been caught in the rain just before the summoning; beads of water still hung from the ends of her linen hair.
Her whole presence carried a chilly, forsaken-by-the-world gloom.
The instant he saw that face,
Zyhark's eyes flew wide, blurting almost involuntarily:
"An—Angel-sama?!"
"Shiina Mahiru?!"
Then his face fell, and his inner complaints exploded:
"You've gotta be kidding me, sir!"
"Another 'problem child'? Really?!"
"Judging by that soaked, dejected look, clearly her wonderful parents shattered her mood again."
"And while she was emo in a park getting rained on, I summoned her here, right?"
"Great, just great. She may look gentler than Yukino, but from what I know of the original—"
"This Angel-sama's poison tongue is no joke, and her inner walls are even higher than Yukino's!"
While Zyhark was having a full-length inner monologue, Shiina Mahiru's long lashes, damp with raindrops, trembled slightly.
She slowly opened those caramel eyes.
Initial confusion was swiftly replaced by vigilance and scrutiny.
She scanned this utterly unfamiliar, lavishly decorated room.
Finally, her gaze settled on the only male present.
There was no panic in her eyes—rather a detached, cool calm.
"Where is this?"
"And… who are you?"
Mahiru's voice was clear and pleasant like silver bells,
but it carried a distinct sense of distance, jarring with her current bedraggled appearance.
"I remember I should be—"
"Welcome to another world—the Labyrinth City, Orario."
Zyhark hurriedly cut in, trying to explain with the sincerest tone:
"As you can see, I, Zyhark, am a god."
"And I'm the one who summoned you from your world to this one."
"Another world? A god?"
Mahiru repeated the two terms.
Not only did belief fail to surface in her caramel eyes,
there was instead open suspicion—and a trace of distaste.
She lightly wrapped her soaked arms around herself, her tone polite yet frost-edged with sarcasm:
"May I ask—is this some new kind of malicious prank targeting high-school girls, or something worse?"
"Taking advantage of a girl's low mood to bring her to a strange place and spinning such an absurd tale…"
"Sir, your behavior has surpassed lowbrow and ventured into outright vile."
"Please tell me how to return. Immediately."
Looking at that "I've long since seen through every filthy trick" expression,
Zyhark felt a headache coming on.
As expected—
Another nonbeliever!
He sighed helplessly, knowing words alone weren't going to cut it.
"Looks like you won't believe me without evidence."
His eyes sharpened; he stopped suppressing his divinity.
Divine Might—unseal!
In an instant, a vast, sacred, inviolate pressure exploded outward from him as the center!
A blazing holy blue radiance sheathed his whole body.
His stylish black hair, amidst star-like motes of light, turned in a flash to flowing silver-white.
The very air in the room seemed to grow heavy and solemn!
The moment that pressure fell over her, Mahiru's slender body trembled hard, as if an unseen force had seized her breath.
Those caramel eyes filled with stunned disbelief.
Her earlier doubt and sarcasm melted away like frost in sunlight, replaced by— an instinctive awe before a higher-order existence, tinged with fear.
Such an unearthly power was nowhere near human reach!
Zyhark slowly drew back the [Divine Might], returning to his normal appearance.
Looking at the pale-faced Mahiru biting her lower lip, he said in a low voice:
"Now—do you believe me?"
Shiina Mahiru was silent for a long time before she slowly lifted her head, looking at him with complicated eyes.
The words she spoke next carried the faintest tremor:
"…I believe."
"In that case, kami-sama,"
"for what purpose did you summon me to this unfamiliar world?"
"I hope you'll join my [Familia] and become one of my followers."
Zyhark stated his intent directly.
"Familia?"
Mahiru's brows knit slightly.
The term was utterly unfamiliar to her—yet it sounded like shackles and uncertainty.
"I… refuse."
"I don't want to become anyone's follower, and I don't want to stay in this strange world."
"Please… send me back."
Her tone held a plea, but her eyes were uncommonly resolute.
Zyhark's face showed a helpless, wry smile:
"Unfortunately, I don't have the power to send you back—yet."
"The summoning is irreversible."
"How could this be…"
A film of dim moisture instantly veiled Mahiru's eyes.
She murmured, her voice full of helplessness and grievance:
"Why… why me?"
"I just… just wanted to be alone for a bit…"
Seeing her look so tear-rimmed, so pitiful it tugged the heart,
Zyhark felt a pang of guilt as well.
But with no way to explain the System, he could only brazen it out:
"This… may be the guidance of fate."
"In this world, you might find a new life—and a new meaning."
"A new life… meaning?"
Mahiru repeated, the curve of her lips turning bitter to the extreme:
"In a place like this, for no reason? Brought here by a god—for no reason?"
"Isn't that… going too far?"
She suddenly lifted her head.
Though mist still clung to her caramel eyes, what filled them now was a resolute detachment.
Then she stopped looking at Zyhark altogether and headed straight for the door.
"Wait!"
"Where are you going?"
Zyhark called out in a hurry.
Mahiru's steps didn't pause.
Her hand was already on the knob; her cool voice drifted back:
"Since you cannot send me back, I'll have to find a way myself."
"Or at least… leave here."
With that, still wearing that rain-soaked school uniform, Mahiru pulled the door open without hesitation, and walked away without looking back, disappearing at the end of the inn's corridor.
Zyhark's outstretched hand froze in midair before it finally dropped, and he sighed:
"Great—there goes another one…"
"Why is recruiting for my [Familia] such a rocky road?"
He rubbed his brow.
In his mind's eye he could already foresee— that before long, he'd probably be finding that rain-drenched, crying "problem" beauty at some street corner again.
Just then, the System chimed in with a prompt:
[If you recruit the summoned heroine into your Familia within the specified two hours…]
[You will receive one additional Crossover Heroine Summon Card as a reward.]
...
…
(End of Chapter)
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