Apollo's death quickly stirred up a storm throughout Orario.
For the adventurers of the lower world, this was the first time they had ever heard of a god truly dying.
As for the gods themselves, they became extremely wary of Eriri, because they knew Apollo was truly dead—not merely sent back to the divine realm.
This meant that if Eriri wished, she could eliminate any one of them at any time.
Those gods who had previously harbored certain thoughts about Eriri quickly abandoned their ideas.
Back on Eriri's side, while Hestia was indeed shocked by Apollo's death, she soon accepted the reality.
Even if the outcome exceeded her expectations a bit, she didn't harbor any ill will toward Eriri. After all, she and Apollo were never on good terms. She wasn't about to mourn his death.
"Alright, now that no one's bothering us, let's keep walking. Later, I'll stop by the Adventurer's Guild to exchange some valis," Eriri said softly as she looked down at Hestia, her tone light as if nothing had happened.
"Mhm!" Hestia nodded cheerfully, not dwelling on what had just happened.
Valis was the currency of this world, and Hestia didn't think too much about why Eriri wanted to exchange for it—she just assumed Eriri needed spending money.
However, after Eriri exchanged a large amount of valis using high-grade magic stones and rare materials, and then proceeded to purchase a standalone estate complete with a courtyard, Hestia was left completely stunned.
While she had been working part-time jobs just to afford three meals a day and sleeping in the basement of a ruined church, Eriri, an otherworlder, was already living in a mansion. For a moment, she felt like her life was a failure.
But when Eriri invited her to live in the estate with her, all that disappointment vanished, replaced with overwhelming excitement.
"Eriri, can I really live here?"
Afraid that Eriri was joking, Hestia asked with a hint of nervousness.
"Of course. This estate will serve as my base in this world, and it'll be used to connect with my world."
"Connect... worlds?"
Seeing Hestia's puzzled expression, Eriri explained, "The front door of this estate will be set as a spatial gate connecting our two worlds. Opening the door can lead you to another world. Of course, only people I grant permission to will be able to use it."
"That's amazing... you can cross between worlds so easily?"
"Relatively speaking, yes. It's simple for me, but for others without enough power, it's not easy at all."
"That makes sense," Hestia nodded in understanding. Then, with a shift in tone, she asked, "But if that door leads to another world, won't I be unable to use it to enter the house normally?"
"Don't worry. Under normal circumstances, the door works like a regular one. It only activates the world-jumping function if you're thinking about going to another world when opening it."
"I see. Eriri, you're amazing!" Hestia exclaimed, hugging Eriri's arm with excitement. "I don't have to live in those ruins anymore. This is wonderful!"
"So you'll have to take good care of this home, okay?" Eriri said with a smile, gently patting Hestia's head.
"Mhm!" Hestia nodded earnestly. "Eriri, if I gain Familia members in the future, can I let them live here too?"
She looked at Eriri with hopeful eyes. Even though no one had joined her Familia yet, she was confident that wouldn't last forever.
"Sure. Just let me know when the time comes."
Eriri's words brought a look of delight to Hestia's face, but before she could say anything, Eriri cut her off.
"But before that, there's something I need to tell you."
"What is it? As long as it's something I can do, I'll definitely help you!" Hestia said confidently, patting her chest with her right hand.
"Mmm, it's nothing serious. You don't need to do anything. It's just that this estate has a restriction—I've set it so only women can enter. So if you ever form a Familia, it's best to only accept girls~" Eriri added with a playful wink.
This wasn't unique to this estate—every world connected to the Saekano world's villa had the same restriction.
"Oh, that's all? Of course, no problem."
Hestia nodded in agreement without hesitation. She didn't particularly care about the gender of her future Familia members to begin with.
"Then it's all good. By the way, I've already given you access to the gate. You can come visit my world anytime you like."
"Mhm! I'll definitely go!"
Hestia had long wanted to visit another world. She only hesitated before out of caution. But now, having come to fully trust Eriri, she had no reason to refuse the opportunity.
With the estate purchased and the world successfully connected to Saekano, Eriri had basically completed her tasks here.
She didn't linger. After handing over the remaining valis to Hestia to decorate the estate, she returned to the Saekano world.
Not long after Eriri left the DanMachi world, the divine assembly—which was originally scheduled for over a month later—was held ahead of time.
The purpose of this assembly was to discuss Eriri.
Naturally, Loki and Hestia became the focus of everyone's questions. Now that it was well-known they both had some connection to Eriri, gods led by Uranus were eager to uncover Eriri's origins.
Since Eriri had previously told Hestia and Ais not to hide her identity, Loki no longer kept silent.
As a result, information about Eriri and her origins was finally revealed to the anxious gods.
Cries of shock, disbelief, and excitement echoed through the palace hosting the assembly.
...
Eriri sat casually on a sofa while Chika Fujiwara chattered nonstop beside her. On the other side, Kaguya Shinomiya eagerly shared updates about recent events.
Ai Hayasaka stood quietly behind the sofa, her clear, observant eyes occasionally drifting to the trio.
It had been two days since Eriri connected the DanMachi world to the Saekano world.
Not long ago, she used the portal to appear in the villa where Kaguya lived.
Since she had informed the group through the chat beforehand, Chika had already come to Kaguya's place to await her arrival.
It was Saturday, so the girls didn't need to skip school to greet her—not that weekdays really limited them either.
"Alright, let's head out and browse the city a bit, then I'll go buy a house."
Hearing this, Kaguya quickly said, "Onee-sama, there's no need to buy one. I'll gift you a villa."
"Sure. Where is it located?"
Eriri didn't refuse. A villa was nothing to either of them.
"There's one nearby. I'll take you to see it in a bit. If you don't like it, we can pick a different one."
Eriri nodded. "Alright then, why don't you take me around for a bit?"
"Leave it to me!" Chika Fujiwara volunteered enthusiastically.
About ten minutes later, Eriri, Kaguya Shinomiya, Chika Fujiwara, and Ai Hayasaka stepped out of a long black luxury car.
They had arrived at a busy shopping district.
Aside from certain special worlds, most modern urban settings across different everyday-life worlds were quite similar—only varying slightly by time period.
So Eriri wasn't too concerned about where they went shopping. For her, it was more about enjoying the experience with her friends.
Following the lead of Chika and the others, Eriri visited several of their favorite hangout spots.
While walking past a café, a slightly hurried voice called out from behind them.
"Sister!"
Hearing that familiar voice, the four girls stopped and turned around.
When she saw her younger sister, Chika grinned and walked up to her.
"Moeha! What a coincidence. Are you out shopping with Kei? Where is she?"
Chika looked behind Moeha and soon spotted a silver-haired girl stepping out of the café.
Just as Chika was about to greet the girl, Moeha walked past her and stopped in front of Eriri.
"It really is you, Eriri-nee! When did you get here? You didn't even come play with me!"
She puffed her cheeks cutely.
"Long time no see, Moeha," Eriri said with a smile, placing her hand on Moeha's head and gently ruffling her hair. "Well, I've found you now, haven't I? Call your friend over and let's go shopping together."
"That sounds a little half-hearted, but I'll forgive you! Because I love Eriri-nee the most~" Moeha said cheerfully.
"Huh? Wasn't Moeha just calling for me a moment ago?"
At that moment, Chika, having greeted the silver-haired girl, returned with her.
The girl looked at Eriri with curiosity and awe, her blue eyes shining. When their eyes met, she quickly looked away, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
"Sister, you must've misheard. I was calling for Eriri-nee," Moeha replied casually.
Then she pulled the silver-haired girl in front of Eriri and introduced her. "Eriri-nee, this is my good friend, Kei."
Hearing this, the silver-haired girl quickly bowed slightly and greeted politely, "Hello, senpai. My name is Kei Shirogane."
This silver-haired girl with striking blue eyes and cute features was none other than the original male protagonist's younger sister.
She was a middle school student at Shuchi'in Academy. Since Eriri was shopping with Chika and looked around the same age, Kei assumed she was a student from the academy's high school division.
In the original story, Kei Shirogane admired Kaguya Shinomiya, but right now, upon seeing her for the first time, she showed no particular reaction—meaning this was likely their first meeting.
However, despite this, Kei's full attention had been captured by Eriri.
"So your name is Kei, huh? That's a lovely name. I'm Eriri Spencer Sawamura. You can call me Eriri-nee like Moeha does~"
With that, Eriri ruffled Kei's hair just like she had with Moeha.
Despite her usual tsundere personality, Kei didn't resist the gesture, which surprised Moeha, who knew her well.
Soon after, Kaguya and Ai Hayasaka also introduced themselves to Kei Shirogane.
Only at this point did Kei Shirogane realize that the black-haired beauty standing to Eriri's right was none other than the famously elegant Kaguya Shinomiya—the legendary young lady who, at just sixteen, had taken over the powerful Shinomiya family.
Kei immediately felt a sense of awe and respect. If Eriri hadn't appeared today, she probably would've reacted just like in the original story and developed admiration for Kaguya.
At the same time, she also noticed something strange—she had never heard of Eriri's name before. In her opinion, if Eriri were a student at Shuchi'in Academy's high school division, there was no way someone so eye-catching and elegant wouldn't be well known.
Since no one in the middle school division had ever mentioned Eriri, there was only one logical explanation: Eriri didn't attend Shuchiin.
To confirm her guess, Kei Shirogane asked directly, "Eriri-senpai, are you a student at Shuchi'in Academy?"
"Didn't I say already? Just call me Eriri-nee like Moeha does. 'Senpai' sounds so distant," Eriri said with a smile as she ruffled Kei's hair again. "And no, your Eriri-nee isn't a student at Shuchi'in Academy."
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