Volume 19 Chapter (6-10)

Chapter 6,

One day, after spending a few days visiting each Floor's dependents to see how they were doing and developing tools on a whim, Kousuke came across a clue that might get him closer to an answer regarding the <Evolution Sprout>.

It all started when Peach came to me to report about her Tower Level increasing.

"The Tower Level went up?"

"Yes~. But I don't understand why it went up."

"… Huh? What do you mean?"

I didn't ask her if she had looked at the log.

Peach should have known where to look because the Tower should have leveled up four times already.

"It just shows 'Level Up', but it doesn't say what the conditions for the 'Level Up' were…"

"Hmm~. I wonder what they are… Hmmm. Do you mind if I go check it out too?"

"Sure~."

Nowadays, the Northeast Tower was completely under Peach's management, so when they went to the Administration Floor, he had to confirm it with the person in question.

Peach and the other members didn't think it was necessary for Kousuke to ask them for confirmation. However, it was so like him to do it, and the girls didn't go out of their way to stop him from asking.

So, they came to the control room of the Northeast Tower to check, but the conditions were not listed the same way as Amamiya Tower.

In this case, for the Northeast Tower, the special conditions required to upgrade to Level 5 were not listed.

Rather, it simply stated, <You have reached Level 5 because you have cleared the Special Requirements.>

"Wow. That's so inconsiderate."

"Yes~. I wonder if that's how it normally works."

At the time of Amamiya Tower, the details of clearing the conditions were properly stated.

In comparison, for the Northeast Tower, there were no descriptions.

"Hmmm. I wonder how it is for the North and South Towers. Come to think of it, I didn't ask because I took it for granted, thinking that they would be listed."

Realizing that he never heard about it, Kousuke immediately visited the control room of the South Tower, where Collete was expected to be.

*Knock *Knock

"Yes~"

He remembered to knock before entering the room, just in case.

"Collete, can I ask you something?"

"Kousuke? Come in, come in"

Collete opened the door and invited Kousuke into the control room.

Peach also came along.

"So? What do you want to check?"

"I came to check the logs of when your Tower reached Level 5."

"Level up log?"

Collete tilted her head, wondering what was going on…

As Kousuke started checking the logs, Peach told Collete about what happened earlier.

"I see. As I recall, when we went up to Level 5, the requirement was to <evolve dependents into intermediate level monsters> I think?"

Collete was right, in the Northern Tower, the logs clearly showed <dependents must evolve into intermediate level monsters to reach Tower Level 5>.

"That seems to be the case. It looks like all the Four Attribute Towers are similar."

"I don't know what you mean by special conditions in the first place~?"

If the conditions were not known, it would be impossible to use it as a reference for the Level Up of the other Towers aside from the Four Attribute Towers.

"It can't be helped… Rather than that, I'm starting to think that's the reason."

"Is it to prevent other Towers from easily upgrading their Levels, since the conditions are set the same for the Four Attribute Towers?"

Collete, understanding what Kousuke was trying to say, put it into words.

"Yes, that is most likely it."

"But~. Isn't that assuming that the same person would be conquering other Towers as well?"

"No, it doesn't. Not necessarily because the Tower Administrators don't get along with each other. Rather, they could be collaborating with each other to challenge other Towers."

"They didn't indicate the conditions to prevent those who may have been trying to conquer it with collaborators from other Towers?"

"That's my guess… Well, I'll have to ask the entity that created the Towers if that's the right answer, though."

At the very least, he knew that Asura didn't make the Towers, so he couldn't ask for an answer.

He did not even know nor dare to ask who made it.

He didn't think he would get an answer even if he asked, and he also didn't want to hear the answer in the first place.

"Is it boring to manage something for which you already know the answers to?"

"Yeah. That's just how I see it."

Kousuke replied to Collete's question.

Of course, Collete and Peach, who dared to ask, shared the same opinion.

Probably, the other members of the group were in the same boat.

It would not be fun to manage a project knowing the answer from the start.

"Oh, I forgot… when the Tower reached Level 5, I found something unique…"

"What? Seriously?"

"Yes, I'm serious!"

For Kousuke, that was more important than the log.

After all, the unique products of Amamiya Tower were the World Tree and Vermilion Castle, so he expected unique products from the other Towers as well.

"So? What is it?"

"Hey, tell me too. I want to know."

Kousuke's enthusiasm got Collete on board.

"That's~…. It was something called <Earth Jewel>"

"What's that?"

Kousuke involuntarily turned his gaze toward Collete, but she tilted her head as well.

No one knew what it was, so they went back to the control room in the Northeast tower.

There, he found the following explanation.

Name: Earth Jewel

Installation cost: 300,000 pts (Divine Power)

Description: Unique item found in the Northeast Tower. It enables the placement of an Earth Element Barrier.

"Hmm… I don't get it!"

Kousuke said as soon as he saw the description.

Collete also had a subtle expression on her face.

If it were just a Barrier, there would already be barriers for building a normal base.

He just didn't see the point of it being a unique item.

If there was a difference, it would be that it was of the Earth Attribute, but he had no idea what it was for.

"And like I said… Do you have any idea about this one?"

As soon as Kousuke said that, Collete and Peach both noticed at the same time.

""Vermilinia jewel.""

"Would it be similar to that?"

To begin with, the Vermilion Castle in Amamiya Tower was created using the Vermilinia jewel.

There may be a possibility that the <Earth Jewel> has a similar effect.

"Do you have enough Divine Power to install it?"

"No~"

"Alright, I'll send you Divine Power from Amamiya Tower, then you can place it on the suitable Floor…. Be sure to place it near some dependents."

"Okay…"

They went to a suitable place to install it.

Collete, who had been following along, accompanied Peach.

She thought that after sending Divine Power to the Northeast Tower, Kousuke would accompany them, so it would be better to stay with Peach.

Just as they expected, after sending Divine Power from Amamiya Tower to the Northeast Tower, Kousuke immediately came to the control room.

It took a little while for Divine Power to be sent from Amamiya Tower to the Northeast Tower.

By the time Kousuke arrived, the <Earth Jewel> had not yet been installed.

"Have you decided where to install it?"

"I have~. I decided to install it on this Floor, where I summon a lot of Spirit Wraiths."

There were other places where the Barrier could be placed. However, the Wraiths were so numerous that normal Barriers could not be used as a shelter.

"Okay then. Let's go there after setting it up."

Kousuke said, and they headed to the place where they had installed the <Earth Jewel> in the Northeast Tower.

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Chapter 7, Part 2

They headed to the Floor where the <Earth Jewel> was set up in the Northeast Tower.

It was Kousuke's first time going to a Floor with a large number of Spirit Wraiths, and it was a strange sight to see translucent spirit bodies coming close to him.

The 12th Floor of Amamiya Tower also had Spirit Wraiths, but not in such large numbers.

Of course, not all the Spirit Wraiths were gathered in one place, but it was still an overwhelming spectacle.

Moreover, there were quite a few Intelligent Spirit Wraiths as well, so it seemed even more overwhelming.

Incidentally, Spirit Wraiths and Intelligent Spirit Wraiths could be distinguished by the difference in the shade of the aura around their spiritual bodies.

Normal Spirit Wraiths had no particular color, but Intelligent Spirit Wraiths had a faint bluish tint.

There were obviously more Intelligent Spirit Wraiths than those in Amamiya Tower, so it was quite a sight to behold.

While watching such a scene, they advanced through the dungeon map.

When he was managing Amamiya Tower, he never went through the dungeon map, so it was a fresh feeling for him.

Of course, he had been there before when he was managing the Northeast Tower, but the feeling was entirely different when he was managing the Amamiya Tower than when he was managing the Northeast Tower.

Moreover, since the management was Peach's responsibility, he could see it from a different point of view.

As for the Floor, it was mostly the result of experiments conducted under Kousuke's direction.

Proceeding along the Floor, they arrived at their destination.

The <Earth Jewel> was placed in the center of a space about the size of a typical gymnasium.

There were no summoned beasts in this space other than Spirit Wraiths and Intelligent Spirit Wraiths.

It would appear that whether they were Kousuke's dependents determined if they could enter the Barrier where the <Earth Jewel> was placed.

The Spirit Wraiths and Intelligent Spirit Wraiths had gathered in what they considered to be a rest area.

When they realized that Kousuke and the others had arrived at the site, they cleared a path to the <Earth Jewel>, Kousuke and the others all looked at each other and almost laughed.

They had not expected the spirits to have that much intelligence.

They thought they were just drifting around, but apparently not so.

He summoned them to Amamiya Tower before, but they didn't appear that much, so he didn't realize what they were up to.

Peach had been there often, but never noticed because they never reacted this way.

Obviously, it was because of Kousuke's presence, but they didn't know if it was because of the presence of a present deity or if it was a response to being his dependents.

The group advanced to the <Earth Jewel> through the path.

As they approached, they found that the <Earth Jewel> was emitting a faint green light.

Other than its characteristic of being a large crystal ball emitting green light, there was nothing else that stood out to them.

The crystal ball was placed on a neat pedestal, rather than being placed, it was as if it had been attached at the time of installation.

"Hmmm. Do you feel anything special about it?"

" Well~. If I had to guess, I would say that it is emitting power in the form of a Barrier."

"I don't sense anything special from the spirits either."

Of course, this was not to imply that there were no spirits at all, but when a Barrier was set up on such a large scale, there would always be a certain number of spirits that were attracted by the Barrier.

From Collete's point of view, the number of spirits in this place did not exceed a certain number was strange.

In other words, regarding <Earth Jewel>, the power to work with spirits was limited to the Barrier.

Other than that, the <Earth Jewel> in his eyes did not have any other special power.

This was due to the experience of being near the World Tree and Vermilion Castle in Amamiya Tower.

In a general sense, people may not even realize that the Barrier was worth considerably more than a portable Barrier.

"Well, I guess I should just think of it as an effective base for the Wraiths, right?"

"Yes, I guess so. It's a little disappointing."

Kousuke and Peach resigned themselves to the fact that the Tower's difference in scale meant that nothing much would happen compared to the development in Amamiya Tower.

"Well, I probably should just assume something might happen, right?"

Collete gave them a nail in the coffin, as they were about to give up.

Collete, who said that, was also thinking that the Tower in the south might also end up not being promising.

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Even though they all went into resignation mode, they decided to stay a little longer to see if anything would change since they had gone to the trouble of setting up the system.

There was nothing much to do, though, so Kousuke watched the wraiths drifting in the vicinity.

Of course, he not only looked at their status, but also used his new powers.

Since there were so many Spirit Wraiths and Intelligent Spirit Wraiths, he was hoping for something different, but unfortunately, he could not confirm anything different.

This was because, as far as Spirit Wraiths were concerned, there was absolutely nothing to be confirmed.

The same was true for the other summoned beasts.

The new power itself was not activated for non-evolved beings.

This was an ability that could only be used for evolved beings.

Since he did not fully understand what the new power was, it was too early to say for sure if there was really nothing, so he looked at them on a whim, and unfortunately, nothing changed.

So he was mainly checking Intelligent Spirit Wraiths, and when he checked one Intelligent Spirit Wraith, it happened.

"Whoa! Seriously?"

Kousuke's voice drew the attention of Peach, Collete, and Kouhi, who were with him.

"What's wrong?"

Collete, who happened to be standing nearby, asked Kousuke.

"No… The power of my right eye reacted to the <Earth Jewel>…"

"Eh…?"

"Really~?"

The two who raised their voices were Collete and Peach, but Kouhi also looked unusually surprised.

"…. Yes. Really."

Once again, this time he checked to make sure that it did not overlap with the Intelligent Spirit Wraith, but he was still able to see the <Earth Jewel> by itself.

Unfortunately, it was still <Evolution Sprout> that was displayed.

Still, it was significant that they could confirm it even with a non-living thing.

In addition, the expansion of the vessel of the soul was also displayed.

Then, the next question arose.

Regarding this, Kousuke expressed his doubts.

"It's a jewel, but does it have a soul?"

"Hmmm. I don't feel anything like that."

Peach tilted her head at Kousuke's question.

Peach's power as a miko had been growing, so her words were trustworthy.

"I can't say for sure, though~. If you want to know for sure, you should bring Sylvia with you."

For this kind of thing, it was time to get down to business.

"Shall I bring Sylvia?"

"No, wait. Let's go back to the Administration Floor of Amamiya Tower first."

Collete's words were interrupted by Kousuke.

"Do you have anything in mind?"

"Yeah, well, I might."

Peach tilted her head and Kousuke chuckled.

"I also have no idea what he's on to."

"It will have to wait until we get to the Administration Floor to find out the answer. I'll be honest, I just find it a pain to have to explain more than once."

"Uwah, that's terrible!"

"That's mean, you know~!"

Collete and Peach raised their voices in protest at Kousuke's light-hearted comment.

Of course, they were not serious. It was just playful banter.

If his prediction was correct, there might be progress in the power of his right eye, that he hadn't been thinking about.

Kousuke was thinking about this with a certain premonition.

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Chapter 8, Fruit of Evolution

Upon returning to the Administration Floor of Amamiya Tower, Kousuke immediately went to see Shrein.

Shrein happened to be in the relaxation area at the time, so he was able to find her immediately.

Shrein looked somewhat surprised at Kousuke's brisk arrival.

"Kousuke, what's the matter, why are you in such a hurry?"

"Shrein, we are going to check out the <Vermilinia jewel>!"

"What? Oh, what? I don't mind going to see it, but what's wrong?"

Shrein tilted her head at Kousuke, who suddenly suggesting such a thing.

The <Vermilinia jewel> was originally the supreme treasure of the blood-sucking family.

It was not something that could be shown so easily, but Shrein, who thought that the <Vermilinia jewel> itself belonged to Kousuke in the first place, permitted it without any particular resistance.

There was no need for her to say no.

To Shrein, who was tilting his head, Kousuke explained what he had just seen with the <Earth Jewel>.

"I see~. So, that's why you want to see the <Vermilinia jewel> right?"

Peach, who had been following along with Kousuke, chimed in with a satisfied look.

"You mean that our jewels might look the same as the <Earth Jewel>?"

"Oh, that makes sense!"

Collete finally sounded convinced by Shrein's clarification.

"Well, that is what I think. Regarding the <Vermilinia jewel>, there might be some differences from the others."

"Oh, then in that case, let me guide you."

Shrein said, getting up from the couch.

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A room in the Vermilion Castle in the northern tower.

The <Vermilinia jewel> was placed in a location that even clan members were not allowed to see.

The only people on this floor were the vampire clan and the Ygrite clan, and the Ygrite clan did not enter Vermilion Castle, so there is little point in keeping it a secret.

The Ygrite tribe, however, would still occasionally go out through Amamiya Tower, so this was done as a precautionary measure.

Naturally, the vampire clans also understood the importance of the <Vermilinia jewel>.

Because they know this, they were so thorough, they did not dare to ask the location of the jewel.

Of course, this excessive care was based on their experience.

Kousuke went to the side of the <Vermilinia jewel> and looked at it using the power of his right eye.

As a result, the power manifested itself beautifully, as he expected.

<Fruit of Evolution>

Minimum Requirements: More crystalline stones

Kousuke almost screamed.

For the first time, different requirements and names were being given.

"Hey Shrein, do you know what crystalline stones are? It has to do with <Vermilinia jewel>."

Shrein immediately answered Kousuke's question.

"Oh, that would be this."

Shrein said, and opened the drawer of the pedestal on which the <Vermilinia jewel> was placed.

Among them, she removed a glowing red spherical object.

Looking at the color and such, it could have been a ruby, but the fact that it was glowing indicated that it was different.

"What is it?"

"As Kousuke just said, it's called a crystalline stone. Simply put, it's a lump of blood."

"What's that, sounds scary."

Shrein laughed at Kousuke's reflexive remark.

"It's magic that our clan could use, something that can be created using our own blood."

"What? Is that safe?

"It has been studied to the extent that it's not dangerous to create, but it is difficult."

Because it used the blood of the conjurer itself, over the long history of the bloodsucking clan, there had been research on what was an acceptable limit within the clan.

In the past, some people died because they exceeded the limits, but nowadays, such accidents did not occur unless there was a serious problem.

"What do you mean by 'serious problem'?"

"A disturbance in the middle of creation? Well, it's unlikely nowadays, since this technique is performed under the watchful eye of several people."

She mentioned that once the preparation was complete, all that remained was to wait for the activation to finish, so as long as the preparation was not interfered with, failure was impossible.

"What's the point of going that far to make it?"

"Oh, I never told you… it's because we use it like this"

Shrein approached the <Vermilinia jewel> with the crystalline stone.

And when she got close enough that the crystalline stone was almost touching it, the next moment the crystalline stone disappeared from Shrein's hand.

"Was it absorbed by the <Vermilinia jewel>?"

"Oh? You can tell? To simply put it, the crystal stone is our power itself. By absorbing that power, we improve our status."

Shrein's story was directly in line with the required conditions.

It would mean that the <Vermilinia jewel> evolved by absorbing the crystalline stone, which was the power of the Vermilinia tribe itself.

"I see. I understand, thank you."

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"So? Was it worth it?"

Shrein asked Kousuke as they returned from Vermilion Castle to the Administration Floor.

Kousuke had been so absorbed in his thoughts that those around him did not ask any questions.

He also thought it would be better to talk to the other members of the group at the same time, so he wouldn't have to do it twice.

Now it was dinner time and everyone was there.

"Ah, yes. To a certain extent."

Kousuke told them what he saw in the <Vermilinia jewel>.

Hearing that story, everyone was silent for a while, but eventually Sylvia spoke up.

"From what you said, are you saying that its power is to see things that are in the process of evolving?"

"Hmmm. That part is a bit simple, too. And if that's the case, I don't understand why it only appears on the dependents after they have evolved at least once."

The <Evolution Sprout> did not appear in the pre-evolution dependents.

If <Evolution Sprout> would appear in individuals that were in the process of evolving, it should appear in dependents that have never evolved.

"I've been thinking about that for a while now."

"Eh? What?"

"If it evolved by simply increasing its power, wouldn't it show up then?"

Floria nodded in agreement with Sylvia's thoughts.

"In other words, it would only appear under some special conditions?"

"Yes, that's right."

More to the point, about species that evolved simply by developing their initial skills, they would not be shown under the power of the right eye.

It would mean that the power of the right eye would be activated when certain conditions must be met to evolve.

"Hmmm… Indeed. I guess you could say it fits… No, wait. If that's the case, won't it also apply to the special condition where the gray wolves are split into black wolves and white wolves?"

"Ah… Yes, it does."

Sylvia gave a sidelong glance at Kousuke's point of view.

"I guess, but I don't think the perspective is wrong, though."

Shrein, who had been listening silently, interjected.

"Could the power of the right eye only see those who are trying to evolve or are in the process of evolving?"

"Then, the reason we can't see them in the gray wolves is because they evolved quickly without even entering the evolutionary process?"

"That's what I mean."

"Okay. For example, if evolution can be done just by being able to acquire a skill, does that mean that the right eye can't see what is in between since the gray wolves can evolve instantly after acquiring that skill?"

That would mean that the power of the right eye would only show things that were in the middle of an evolutionary process.

If something could evolve just by meeting one condition, it would evolve the moment that condition was met, which means that the power of the right eye would not be able to see it.

"Does that mean that one of your abilities is the power to be able to identify individuals who are in the process of evolving?"

Collete chimed in with an opinion that summed up what they had been talking about.

And those words fit Kousuke best.

"…Well, that sounds about right."

He recognized that it was the correct answer in his own mind.

"Apparently, that's only part of my new authority."

"Part of?"

"Don't forget that it's a divine ability. Even the status display doesn't show everything, so we should assume that this one does as well."

Kousuke nodded in agreement to Sylvia's words.

At the very least, it would be significant to say that they now know the conditions under which the power of the right eye could be activated in this case.

The rest was how to use this power, but unlike the status display, Kousuke was troubled by the fact that he could not immediately make use of it.

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Chapter 9, Evolutionary Research

Thanks to the <Vermilinia Jewel>, Kyousuke was able to understand something about the power of his right eye.

As was the case with the status display, the power of the right eye only displayed the current state of the subject, and does not directly work on anything.

Of course, in Sylvia's words, the current state may not be all of its power, so there may still be room for further possibilities.

However, it would not be so easy to find a place to work on, so for the time being, there was nothing to do but to examine the current state one by one.

"By the way, have you found out about the expansion of the vessel of the soul?"

"No, I haven't. Did you find out anything?"

Peach suddenly asked that question, and so, Kousuke answered honestly that he did not have a clue.

"I don't know whether it's an answer or not, but~. I just have an idea of what it is…"

Whether as a fortune-teller or innately, Peach had good intuition.

She once said that succubus were a species with such a keen intuition, so perhaps it was one of their species traits.

Under such circumstances, Tower members already knew that Peach's word 'somehow' could not be ignored.

"What do you mean?"

"How is it that Nana and Wanri were able to evolve so smoothly to begin with~?"

Peach tilted her head as she said this.

On her lap, the miniaturized Nana was being comfortably petted by Peach.

Wanri, who had also been transformed into a human, was sitting next to Kousuke.

All eyes were on Wanri.

Wanri felt those gazes and shook her head as if in a panic.

"Uh… Uh? I'm sorry. When I awoke, I had evolved, so I don't even know the reason why."

The last part was an apologetic whisper.

"Oh, that's okay. If I knew the answer to that question, Kousuke wouldn't be so worried."

Collete quickly followed up on Wanri's seeming dejection.

In addition, before Wanri was able to humanize, she did not even understand her own status, so it would be unreasonable to ask her for the solution.

"Yes, yes. However, I kind of understand what Peach is trying to say."

Kousuke also mentioned while smiling at Wanri.

In addition, Shrein also nods in agreement.

For what it was worth, Shrein was the oldest of the group, apart from Kouhi and Mitsuki.

She had been watching Nana and Wanri for the longest time.

The same, incidentally, could be said about Kousuke and his ability to see their status.

"That's what I mean, there are a few things that made Nana and Wanri different from the other dependents, but the big difference is that they were filtered out."

Shrein's words made Sylvia notice as well.

"…Oh, I see. Titles, is it?"

Both Nana and Wanri had titles attached to them early on.

Few other dependents of the same race had titles.

However, at least there was no title change similar to Nana's, if any.

As for Wanri, she had multiple titles other than <Kousuke's kin>.

"Speaking of which, doesn't the fact that they have the title <Kousuke's dependents> in the first place also explain why the dependents can evolve so easily?"

The members looked at each other when Floria said that.

Floria almost said it as an idea, but after she said it, she somehow began to think that it was the right thing to say.

"No. Wait, wait. You're getting a little ahead of yourself. If that's the case, shouldn't all the dependents be able to show something with the power of the right eye?"

Kousuke put a stop to the discussion that had started.

"I think you're right that titles are a factor in evolution, but not all of them, do they?"

Speaking of late, they had never seriously discussed titles in a serious way before.

Of course, if you look at the individuals who evolved, it was obvious that titles played a major role, so they didn't venture to discuss it in-depth.

"I see. I wonder if it would be better to take a look at titles, or rather, their status?"

"Especially with evolution, I think it would be better to consider it."

Until now, they had been doing things by intuition, but now they were talking about systematizing it properly.

"Oops. I have been so busy that I have been neglecting it."

Kousuke did indeed think about this, but he put it off until later, and now the problem became apparent.

Though, it was not so big as to be called a problem.

Sylvia saw this and raised her hand.

"Can you leave it to me to systematize and summarize it?"

"Sylvia, huh? I don't mind."

Sylvia abruptly suggested, and Kousuke gave his permission.

However, there was a big problem in doing so.

"If Sylvia wants to do it, I guess it's fine… But how are you going to check the status?"

To begin with, Kousuke was the only one who could check the status without any tools.

As long as the status could not be checked, it was obvious that work would not get done unless Kousuke was by her side.

"That's…"

Sylvia knew that, too, so she was at a loss for words.

But seeing the members in such a state, Kousuke smiled and stood up.

"Kukuku. I thought that something like this would happen…!"

Saying this, he left the place and headed for the laboratory.

Kousuke soon returned from the lab and was holding something in his hand.

It was a small, palm-sized box-like object.

"What is that…?"

Sylvia, who had a vague idea of what it was from the conversation, asked Kousuke on behalf of everyone else.

"Don't be surprised! This is what we've been waiting for…"

"That device allows you to see statuses, right?"

Collete quickly answered, cutting off Kousuke's attempts to be dramatic.

No one showed any sympathy for Kousuke, who sank to the floor.

Realizing that Wanri was among them, Kousuke quickly pretended that his earlier line had never happened.

"So that's what I mean. Well, there will be restrictions that the only people who can use it are those who have Divine Power, but that doesn't matter to everyone here."

The fact that all of them had trained to handle Divine Power was useful here.

Naturally, it would be considered a Divine Tool since it would not activate without Divine Power, but since that was already a common occurrence for everyone, they all went through with it.

"If you have something like that, I can help~"

Unusually, Peach also actively wanted to participate.

"Peach? Of course, I don't mind. Oh, by the way, I only made two. And you don't have to use it with just the two of you."

They nailed Kousuke first because it looked like he was going to run for another position.

Furthermore, the dependents who have evolved so far, they have no choice but to rely on their memories.

Kousuke had no desire for precision in this area.

Originally, it started from the power of his right eye, so Kousuke only thought that if he could make a connection with it, all the better.

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The ladies were gathered in the relaxation area, now that Kousuke was gone.

"You two are being very aggressive, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I guess so. What's wrong?"

Shrein and Collete asked Sylvia and Peach, tilting their heads.

Floria listened, perhaps feeling the same way.

"…what about Peach?"

Sylvia did not answer that immediately, but looked at Peach.

"Probably thinking the same thing."

Sylvia nodded at Peach's reply.

"Perhaps it's that fact that we also have an <Evolution Sprout>, you know… That should be connected to that matter."

"I thought so too~"

Sylvia and Peach's words caused the other three to change color.

They knew immediately what they were talking about. But until now, they hadn't thought of it with the folklore.

"…I see. So, we should go behind the scenes?"

"Yes. We definitely need to follow up on that."

"Hmmm. In that case, I think it would be better to leave this matter to the two of you."

The three of them immediately agreed and looked at each other.

Thus, without Kousuke's knowledge, the women's plans proceeded.

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Chapter 10, Relationship between Title and Soul Vessel

Leaving the women to investigate the dependents, Kousuke decided to take another route to confirm his thoughts about the titles.

That other route was Goddess Jal.

[So? What is it you want to ask me?]

Kousuke communicated with Jal, who immediately answered.

The last time I went to the Divine Realm, they complained that they were getting busy, but he wondered if that had settled down. Kousuke went through his thoughts with Jal.

[About the titles…]

[Sorry, but I don't get it…]

Jal took the initiative to fill in Kousuke's queries.

[Uh…?]

[You want to know about the relationship between titles and soul vessels, don't you?]

[Well, I suppose that's part of it?]

[I think that person also answered, but we really don't know. In the first place, the term <Soul Vessel> is based on Kousuke's authority, right?]

Kousuke tilted his head at Jal's statement.

[What do you mean?]

[Kousuke's authority to see the <Soul Vessel> has never been seen or heard of, not even among us. Of course, no one can answer that question.]

[You've never heard of a <Soul Vessel>, so you don't know if it has anything to do with the title?]

[That's what I'm saying.]

Like the status indicator, it was a power that had never been used to express a state of being in the process of evolution in written form.

That was why it became Kousuke's new authority as a God, and that was why even Asura and the other Gods did not know what it signified.

Kousuke remembered hearing this from Asura before.

[Hmmm. If that is the case, then it can't be helped.]

[Huh? Is that okay?]

Kousuke easily backed down, and Jal, on the contrary, sounded as if she had lost his cool.

[Yeah. Because I kind of knew what to expect from the previous talk with Asura. But more importantly, this time, another topic is the main issue.]

[I see. So, what's the primary issue?]

Even Jal couldn't figure out Kousuke's true purpose.

[Can I get blessings, too?]

[Yes, you can.]

Jal immediately answered Kousuke's question.

[Eh?]

Kousuke was surprised at how quickly she answered.

It was as if she had been waiting for Kousuke to ask her that question in advance.

For Kousuke, it was a question that he wondered if it was alright to ask, even though he was a God, but for Jal, it was an easy matter.

[Of course. That's within my domain.]

[I see… So? Is there some sort of paperwork to go through?]

He had heard a lot about the procedures that were necessary for the gods to influence the world.

He asked because I thought it applied to him as well, but Jal's answer was simple.

[You don't need it, you know?]

[What? Really?]

[Yes. The screening process I'm doing in the first place applies to those in the Divine Realm. It has nothing to do with Kousuke, because you're down there.]

[I see.]

[Well, that doesn't mean that you can't go wild with it… so, it's hardly a problem.]

[…I don't know how to in the first place, the way you put it, though, it sounds like we have been running wild.]

Kousuke asked, thinking it would be a fluke, but Jal went above and beyond that expectation.

[Well, if it's just a random fluke, then it's alright. Well, knowing your temperament and actions so far, I don't think you would do anything that would actually upset the balance of the world.]

He could only hear her voice, but it was as if he could see Jal's suppressed laughter.

She was absolutely right, and there was nothing he could say in return.

[But I don't know what the border is, you know?]

[You don't need to worry about that…. and Sister Eris said so as well, she's currently beside me]

Apparently, Jal was communicating with him right now, with Eris by her side.

[I see. Then I guess everything's ok then?]

[Hey, what do you mean by that? You don't believe me?]

Kousuke could see Jal's sullen face and was about to burst out laughing, but he managed to hold it in.

He pretended he didn't hear the laughter coming from behind Jal.

[No, no. It's not like that.]

[…Something doesn't add up, but whatever]

He did not say specifically what the difference was, but Jal seemed to be convinced by that, and Kousuke was relieved.

[So? How do I get the blessings I need?]

Kousuke, who had started this meeting because he wanted to ask this question in the first place, was finally able to get to the point.

[Eh…? Well, you just go to the person you want and say, "Here…?"]

Kousuke wondered what Jal's explanation was all about, but before he could broach the subject, he heard another voice.

[I'm not sure how that explanation is going to get through to him, Kousuke-sama can't see you, right?]

It was Eris who interrupted with an exasperated voice.

[Because~. I can't explain it well in words.]

[You should realize that trying to explain is a mistake.]

[Hmm? what do you mean by that?]

Kousuke interrupted their exchange.

[To begin with, to give blessings means to share a small portion of God's authority. Naturally, the power given varies, so there would be no fixed way to grant blessings.]

[Ah~. You mean to say that a part of God's power is called a 'blessing'?]

[That's how it is. On God's end, granting power does not mean that we lose it.]

With Eris's explanation, Kousuke understood what she was trying to say.

[In short, since there are various kinds of power, there are naturally various ways to give said power?]

[Correct.]

[Kousuke should be able to handle that side because you're used to using the power to display status, let alone your recently awakened power…]

Jal interrupted and explained so.

The immediate answer she gave earlier was also referring to the power to display status.

[Do you want to grant the display status as a blessing?]

Kousuke nodded his head.

He had no idea how to give something like that to someone.

On the other hand, Eris and Jal had no idea how to explain it to Kousuke.

In fact, he would not be able to explain it to the other Goddesses either.

For these women, who originally existed as Gods, the power to grant blessings was something very natural to them.

[I need to share a small part of the divine power, right?]

[Yes. In the first place, the power of a deity should be so powerful that if you carelessly share it, your body would not be able to endure it.]

[My paperwork checks out those things, too, you know?]

[Something about that makes me think it would be better not to give them a blessing.]

Kousuke suddenly became afraid of giving blessings.

They were saying that giving blessings without knowing how much or how little to give will lead to bad results.

[I can only say that you will understand that as a feeling when you try to give a blessing.]

[Yes, yes. Somehow, you can tell that it cannot go any further.]

This was something that could only be understood by actually trying it out.

Incidentally, once one learned how to give blessings, the rest would follow on its own.

The problem was the first time.

[Well, what am I going to do now?]

Kousuke was worried, while Eris and Jal avoided meddling in this matter.

They knew that if they meddled in these issues, it would surely have some kind of impact.

That was why they refrained from talking about it.

However, since there was a partner involved, he could not just casually put it into practice.

In the end, the meeting didn't result in a good answer..

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Sidestory 1, Pressing issues 3

The hints from Eris revealed many things.

As expected, there was a tradition that the deities on land had left more children than those in the heavens.

However, it was unclear what the distinction was between those in heaven and those on land.

There was a difference of opinions in the church on this.

For now, it was simply said that those who were allowed to enter the Divine Realm were the deities of heaven, and those who were not were the deities of the land.

Of course, there were many forces that had a differing opinion on this.

Even the churches were divided in their opinions, so there was no clear answer.

The fundamental problem regarding the existence of deities was not even understood.

It would be easy to say that a person who possessed divine authority was a deity, but the fact that this was not the case made things even more complicated.

Deciding to leave it to the experts to investigate further, the women decided to return to their original goal.

They found out that many deities who have conceived children on land were classified as land deities.

Those in heaven who had left children were those who originally existed on land and later went to the Divine Realm.

There was not a single deity who was said to have originally existed in the Divine Realm that had conceived children on land.

However, Sylvia and her colleagues did not find that to be a problem.

After all, Kousuke existed right next to them as an actual living deitie.

In that sense, it could be said that the present Kousuke was a land deitie.

As one would expect, there was no specific information on how the deity of the land in the past had conceived their offspring.

Overall, when it was found that it was the deities of the land who had children, the investigation once again came to a standstill…. But Peach's words led to another problem.

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"I was looking at the books and I thought~…"

Peach's voice at that moment was almost a monologue, as if she had no intention of letting anyone hear her.

But fortunately or unfortunately, Sylvia was right next to her and heard it.

"Have you found out anything?"

"I don't know if it's related, but aren't there many children that are of higher species?"

By children, of course, she meant the children of deities.

Sylvia's expression turned into one of surprise when she heard Peach's words.

Indeed, even in Sylvia's memory, she remembered that many of the children were of the higher species of their race.

"Children of the deities would be of a higher species?"

"It could be considered so~…"

For some reason, Peach hesitated to say the end of that sentence.

Sylvia understood what Peach was trying to say, so she didn't dare prompt her.

"…It's something we don't want to think about if we can help it."

"… I guess so~"

Unusually, Peach also had a somber look on her face.

If their concerns were correct, the girls' objects would be cut short.

If they had any ideas about this matter, they would share them with the others, but they were hesitant to tell everyone.

However, they knew they could not avoid telling the others eventually, so they decided to do so, even if they did not feel comfortable doing so.

"Did you find anything new?"

Somehow sensing the mood of the two of them, Collete was slightly startled when she asked.

"…Something that doesn't sound good?"

Shrein, sensing their reluctance to speak up, interjected.

It was also to make it easier for them to talk.

Deciding it was better to speak soon, Sylvia finally managed to speak.

"…I've noticed that most of the children of the deities are of a higher species."

"Not all of them, as expected, but almost all of them, up to the point where I've been able to examine them so far~"

"The children are of a higher species… So that means… So, that's how it is."

As if understanding the point, Shrein immediately realized what they were trying to imply.

Her expression clouded over, as did Sylvia's and Peach's.

"What do you mean?"

Meanwhile, Collete and Floria, still unsure, were looking at each other.

Shrein explained to them, exhaling a sigh.

"If the child is of a higher species, it means that the parents are likely to be the same."

"Ah…"

Finally, understanding what she meant, Collete and Floria's faces clouded over as well.

"You mean, to conceive a deity's child, the partner would need to be of a higher species?"

"In a nutshell, yes."

Unfortunately, those present could not be called a higher species.

And it was not that easy to become a higher species.

On the contrary, they did not even know if the same individual could evolve the same way as the summoned beasts.

It was only natural, in a sense, for everyone's faces to grow gloomy at the newly revealed problem.

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The problem of becoming a higher species could not be avoided forever.

Sylvia decided that now that she knew the problem, it would be better to quickly confirm it, and decided to ask the Goddess, Elisa Meir for the answer.

[…That's as far as we have gotten, what do you think?]

[Your conclusion is not wrong.]

[I see…]

Sylvia's shoulders slumped at Elisa Meir's answer.

[But don't be too quick to judge, okay? I'm not going to let it dangle in front of you when you don't have any hope from the start.]

[So what you're saying is?]

[Just because you are not a higher species now, does not mean that you will never be one.]

Sylvia's expression brightened slightly at Elisa Meir's words.

[Is there a way to become a higher species?]

[We cannot give you any advice on that. However, it is not like there have not been such beings in the past.]

Even if it was something like grabbing a cloud, if there was hope, they had to go for it.

[And don't get me wrong…]

[…yes?]

[We're not very knowledgeable about evolution. We are rather surprised that Kousuke-sama has evolved his dependents so well.]

Sylvia only laughed and didn't go into it, though she didn't think it would be a surprise to a Goddess.

[Usually it's just naturally occurring, and one can't really target to evolve]

[Well, I guess it is not the case for us.]

They had done one thing that Goddesses had told them to be impossible, and this was a tremendous hurdle.

[It doesn't matter. Just knowing that it is not impossible, is good enough.]

[I see.]

Elisa Meir ended the consultation with that answer.

It was not the most desirable result, but even so, just knowing that it was too early to give up, was enough of an achievement.

Sylvia was on her way to everyone's place to tell them about the results of this consultation.

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Kousuke's newfound authority brought hope to the girls.

Unfortunately, they did not even know how to evolve, but it was enough to know that there were signs of evolution.

It was Sylvia who was the first to notice it, but the others soon realized its potential.

Hence, the dependents willingly offered themselves to do the research.

Of course, this was not yet the answer they seek, but it was much better than the 'wait-and-see' approach that they had been taking.

Thus, Kousuke was thanked by the girls, unbeknownst to him.

However, the girls, who were convinced that he would react the same way even if he knew, did not tell him and went on with their usual routine.