Chapter 266: Future Interaction

Rimuru Tempest.

The being which any space-time related constraint doesn't apply to him. He could freely travel through the past, present, and future with his power. Unfortunately, the "lock" invalidated the main nature of it.

Even so, he could immediately determine if an entity from another timeline is in front of him.

In his sight, the space around "her" is continuously being twisted. Her appearance could not be distinguished properly. It's as if time is rewound over and over again.

Haruhi: "Argh!!! What should I do?!"

Ilhan: "She goes at it again."

Fourteen: "So childish."

Saitama: "Will she grow up?"

Soohyun: "Probably, no."

Streams of messages passed through the goddess' sight.

"Nothing much have changed." She let out a soft murmur before facing him. "A foreigner... is what I am called."

"Foreigner... It befits you."

As someone who doesn't originally belong to this time, it is the nickname most suited for her. With tense nerves, Rimuru watched over the stranger who casually read through the book.

While she was turning the pages of the book, she saw a particular message inside "their" chat group.

Sakura: "Nii-sama went missing!"

Due to the fact that most of the messages in the chat group are leisurely, it stood out immediately. Dozens of concerned messages appeared. Shinji's best friend was also alerted by it.

Ilhan: "Shinji went missing? How?"

Sakura: "It's too sudden! He was alright a moment ago, but his soul suddenly disappeared!"

Ilhan: "Disappearance..."

Seeing the goddess' expression change, he had a hunch as to what happened.

"Are you the one who caused it?"

"In a sense, yes."

As soon as he heard that confirmation, his partner immediately pulled off a hostile move. She tried "disassembling" what constitutes of the "goddess", shattering the core concept that she was built upon. It is the most effective way to deal with beings on their level.

However...

Bam-!

Seven sword bits flew around her, cutting the invisible threads from Ciel.

"The Divine Spiritual Core, Manas." She mumbled out the nature behind Ciel's existence. "This is what lies down at the end."

She thought of a certain librarian and the evolution that she was undergoing. If thought about carefully, it leads down to this exact path.

"I come with peace."

"...but you took Shinji away."

"'Took away' is not the right term... rather, it is he who accepted my call."

"..?!"

Without waiting for him to react, the goddess reached out to her chat group panel and sent a message. Just by doing so, sparks flew around the translucent panel.

"Reach it."

Her touch supported the panel in fighting back against the very principles of reality. It is no longer the same as fighting against a sole [Will], but their collective.

Even so, the goddess is strong enough to fight back.

S@#@$%$#: "It's alright."

[Error!]

[Error!]

[Error!]

[Inputted Message is!@#@#!]

[#@!@$#!$!]

[@#$!#%~#@%4]

[#@$!%$@#%$%#$]

All sorts of bugged message popped up beside the panel, yet she paid no heed to it.

S@#@$%$#: "Shinji-kun will come back, and so are the rest."

For a few seconds, no new messages appeared. Perhaps shocked due to the appearance of blood-red text or the indistinguishable status of the profile behind it.

[S@#@$%$#]

Status: Inactive

Last Online: 35 Years ago

Current Points: #$@%$^%^$%&^$#@$@!

Active Title: "The Richest"

Going down into the profile description, all they saw was:

Description: "I am generous. If you ask me for a SSR, I would give you one; UR if I'm in a good mood."

Maou: "Damn. This is another level of flexing."

Rimuru: "So many questionable things, yet you noticed that one the most?"

Dazai: "Leave him be. Poverty is a harsh thing."

Shadow: "You don't know how hard it is to be poor!"

Other than the joking replies, the majority consisted of inquiring messages.

Rimuru was tempted to mention that the bugged out user was right in front of him. But, he doesn't know what she would do.

"Who really are you..?"

That brings him back to square one—to his first question.

"You'll—" Her words were interrupted as she saw a message in the chat group. "The cat is out of the bag."

Sakura: "No way... Aniki..?"

All throughout the history of the chat group, only one such person is able to acquire "The Richest" title. With his insane luck that granted him a UR every thirty or forty pulls, he armed the earliest chat group members. It was such an absurd phenomena that the chat group itself limited his "Random Spin" pulls, lest it would not be able to keep up with his wealth.

It is none other than the man known as the Librarian of the End, Demon God, and Commander.

The goddess—Shiro—summoned forth her crown of wisdom. Instantly, it hovered on top of her hand. She decided to place it on top of her head, giving off a mystifying aura around the robed girl.

The jewels embedded into it glowed brightly as it established a connection to the "main console".

Rumble-!

The library shook as it detected the incongruency. The crown used as the key isn't its original pair. Yet, it is genuine.

Rimuru recalled the words of "Doctor". Originally, the library was to be used as an information archive. Since it intercepts every information present, it became one of the focal points in their fight.

"There used to be a librarian in this place. Of course, that guy irresponsibly went missing. He didn't even bid us farewell. Right, he must've wanted to escape his child support."

Realizing the identity of the person in front of him, he murmured:

"Commander..."

"Time waits for no one. You understand this the most." She said. "I would search for some information in the library. Meanwhile, you compress the main points that happened during the years I "will be" gone."

"That'd violate the lock that you... your future self imposed!"

"True. That's why, you will transfer it moments before I leave."

Shiro's existence in this world is breaking every single known law. It is very surprising to see him continuously exist into this timeline without any adverse response. If not for the power that he is borrowing, he wouldn't be able to do so.

Sakura: "Shiro-nii..?"

S@#@$%$#: "Long time no see. You've grown up well."

Sakura: "It's really you..!"

For as early as few decades ago, he disappeared inexplicably. Neither his friends nor his wives knew what happened, which is why they all sought for his traces. His wives went on their own ways. Kuroneko ventured into the "dark zone" while Kal'tsit regularly visited the "other plane" to formulate more countermeasures. Castoria along with Nimi used their authorities inside the library as they went from one place to another.

"Rimuru-kun."

"Yes?"

"Can you make a livestreaming room? The one where only the "leaders" are allowed." Shiro asked.

"Yes. One moment..."

With Rimuru's panel, the scene was soon recorded. What was shown in the panel is a "goddess" who wore a set of jeweled robes and crown. Her golden eyes peered through the screen, making the viewers feel as if she is directly talking to them.

"Greetings, everyone. And... Romani."

A series of "???" and "?!?!" flew past the screen. Since they are the "leaders", their comments are much milder than the regular chat group members.

Romani: "You've finally shown yourself up. I knew that you had a plan."

"Yes. It's quite difficult to pull of, actually." She commented. "The locks that "I" made are too strong."

Just her implied meaning alone is enough to let everyone understand what is happening.

"I have only 53 seconds, so we shall make this quick."

The longer Shiro stayed, the more she felt the impending force that would pull him back to the past.

"For starters, I am Shiro. The one known as the 'Commander'."

A bombshell was dropped immediately.

*****

A/N: If you don't know who "Fourteen" is... Think of a character that has something related to it...

(She's a certain world-ending entity that took dozens of hours for a "bin", his friends, and a satellite to "defeat?")