Initially, Toyota had been looking forward to the Royal Selection. It was essentially the starting point, the first domino in a long chain that would bring down all the major threats. Sin archbishops the three disaster beasts, and most importantly, paving his way to farm points. His plan had been simple: unite the candidates against him by making them hate him.
He was going to play the scumbag role. Maybe use his mana repulsion ability, attacking people, and then hiding behind Rei when things spiraled out of control. A classic "Chinese young master" act, loud, arrogant, and always shielded by someone stronger.
But Rei had shut that plan down immediately. Telling him it wouldn't just affect him, at this, he had to agree he wouldn't mess with Reis' reputation, no matter what. She gave him a strange look after he apologized, saying that he would make sure she wouldn't be affected.
The butterfly effect was already in play. Just his presence here had changed things.
He couldn't deny it, being able to see Elsa at all insinuated something horrifying: that he had indirectly killed her earlier, making things spiral from the plot he knew. That thought alone made his stomach turn.
Which begged another question:
If Felt's spirit was still out there somewhere… was she with Rom? Or maybe she was bouncing over rooftops, turning the kingdom's walls into parkour trampolines.
Honestly, he hated the clothes Rei had picked out for him. Not because they were soft and fluffy on the inside, okay, maybe that was part of it. It was annoying how Rei seemed to be an all-in-one miracle: Divine Protection of Sewing, near-perfect in everything she did. Too perfect. It gave him a headache just thinking about her. He could never dislike her or be rude but the way she seemed to know what he was thinking and be smug about it pissed him off.
But the real issue was the vibe the outfit gave off from the outside. Seeing it from a third-person perspective with Grey World made it strange.
It made his skin crawl in a way he couldn't explain.
He had sent Subaru a message, one specifically meant for Rom, with clear instructions to say it was from Toyota. If Rom understood the hidden meaning, he wouldn't mention it to Subaru. That was the point.
When Toyota first picked Subaru up in the dragon carriage, his entire goal was to appear as a completely different person, someone Subaru couldn't possibly connect to Toyota. Toyota had even used Subaru's leftover memories to mimic his speech patterns, which wasn't that hard with Gluttony's perfect memory.
Crimson would be the mastermind.
The villain to unite everyone against.
The Demon King who would forge the Hero's Party through hatred.
Then, using Subaru as a pawn, he'd play both the support and the villain, using Toyota to guide Subaru into thinking Crimson was a villain. Let Subaru think he was stealing Crimson's plans, that Crimson was working with the witch cult to attack Arlam village, the White Whales' location, and their abilities. He believed Subaru was clever enough to repurpose the candidates using a name of someone they hated and wanted to thwart.
Rallying the others to stop the Demon King's plans. Of course, there would be no physical evidence of his involvement in collaborating with the cult, so after it was all over, clear water and bright skies.
Toyota would be the unseen third party, guiding Subaru, nudging things from behind the curtain.
There were countless reasons why it all had to unfold this way. Too many to explain in a single sitting. Too many moving pieces. If you can't go with the flow, then go upstream. Build a dam. Create your own pathway to flow down.
He had made sure to anticipate the changes made by involving Beatrice in the equation if his theory was correct, Pricilla's altercation and Julius's contempt toward Subaru would be avoided
Toyota couldn't tell if the more memories he received, the more his moral compass began to waver, but surely it was okay to use and manipulate people if it was for their own good and happiness. Right?
It should be, since he was the collateral.
But then, something strange happened while conversing with Subaru, who seemed highly suspicious of him at first, in the carriage.
The favorability system, the very feature he had planned to rely on to help him cheat into understanding the crowd's psychology, activated in a way he hadn't anticipated.
Current favorability
Subaru Natsuki— 83% Respects and fully trusts you | Points received 8,300
Subaru Natsuki— 38% Mild Interest, appreciates your help | Points received 3,800
When he first saw the screen, he thought it was a bug, but after checking the numbers, he realized his favorability points had increased. That opened up a flood of possibilities.
Since Subaru believed the current him was an entirely different person, he was gaining even more points than before. If that was true… then what if he started creating multiple aliases? Could he just keep farming the same people under different identities?
Subaru alone gave 100 points per percent, probably because he was the main character.
One of the plans Toyota had come up with to solve the rampant poverty in the slums was to create a kind of adventurer guild system. Something structured, with a bounty board for tasks and jobs, accessible to the common people. But if he approached it under a different identity… how many points could he accumulate through that? That experiment would have to wait until after this mess was over.
For now, Toyota waited quietly outside the Grand Royal Hall, near the entrance where Rei would bring Subaru in. He scanned the throne room area with Grey World, analyzing everything. So many sources of stimuli, knights, mages, wisemen, it was overwhelming receiving the flood of emotions.
Suppressed emotions were the easiest to sense with his grey world, except for Rei, recently her emotions were impossible to read, maybe some divine protection, or possibly since she's the only one in color. But if he wanted his entrance to be memorable, he needed time. Time to set up his Unseen Hand.
He had so many ideas for how to use his powers. Most of them weren't applicable yet, held back by his lack of raw energy. Still, his current mana pool had upgraded, from A- to a solid A. His mana control had improved to match. Even his rudimentary control over mana's mastery level had increased. He could now draw it from the atmosphere, shaping it freely. No more relying on physical contact or his reserves.
His personal mana, as always, shimmered with its strange purple hue as he let it spark from his fingers, forming brass knuckles, then letting it dissolve. He could infinitely reuse this mana since he was producing it.
While the atmospheric mana he drew on was pink. That mana was more like recyclable dust, which he had to gather, putting in much more effort.
"System, show me my current mastery levels."
Overall Mana Control: A
Overall Mana Pool: A
Overall Mana Purity: EX-
Spells:
Vita: Amplifies gravity (Mastery Level: 4)
Current usefulness: A
Potential usefulness: EX-
Murak: Decreases gravity (Mastery Level: 4)
Current usefulness: A
Potential usefulness: EX-
Minia: Creates purple projectiles (Mastery Level: 5)
Current usefulness: S-
Potential usefulness: EX
Shamac: Distorts senses with inky mist. Potential for minor teleportation. (Mastery Level: 2)
Current usefulness: D-
Potential usefulness: EX
Abilities Learned:
Creation of Rudimentary Constructs (Mastery Level: 4)
Current usefulness: A+
Potential usefulness: Forbidden
Gravity Emission (Mastery Level: 1)
Current usefulness: C+
Potential usefulness: Forbidden
Passive Abilities:
Instant Mana Regeneration — Any mana exuded from the body is instantly regenerated. More useful the higher the mana pool.
Current usefulness: SSS+
Potential usefulness: SSS+
Chantless Cast — Able to perform spells without verbally speaking the incantation. Increases casting speed.
Current usefulness: S+
Potential usefulness: S+
Karma's Reserve — The more pain you experience, the more your personal mana pool expands.
Current usefulness: Forbidden
Potential usefulness: Forbidden
Through constant experimentation, testing various combinations of spells and theories, Toyota had learned several variations from both Vita and Murak. The issue wasn't complexity, but power and duration.
He silently commanded his Unseen Hand to begin weaving a dome-like structure over the ceiling, using Grey World at full capacity. The strain built with every second. As he elongated the unseen hand simultaneously guided it to wrap around itself.
This was it. The main cast would all be here.
Four of the women he would face were ones he had seen naked, had slept with, in an alternate timeline. And through Gluttony Subaru reading their Books of the Dead after killing them, he had come to know their entire life stories in haunting detail from their own perspective, which made it worse.
That's right, he had experienced everything through their memory.
EVERYTHING.
Toyota took a deep breath.
Now wasn't the time to back out. He had already experienced death. He had already experienced pain.
What was there left to fear?
"Is something wrong, honey?"
A teasing, seductive voice whispered in his ear as pale, delicate arms draped around his neck. Her tongue slowly traced from his chin to his ear.
He couldn't feel Elsa doing it; her touch was intangible, but he still shivered involuntarily. The mere sight and sound of it happening made him want to contract his neck into his body like a startled turtle.
Lately, Elsa, frustrated by his complete lack of verbal response, had resorted to this new method. It was less flirtation and more psychological torture.
Noticing his flinch, her cheeks flushed with a blush. She pulled her hands to her chest, swaying her hips as if bashful.
"You're the cutest, honey," she giggled. "Teasing you is even better than seeing your intestines."
She paused, tilting her head in genuine thought.
"Although… I'm sure they look beautiful in a vibrant red."
Ignore ignore ignore.
He had no time to dwell on it.
The moment was approaching. Rei began his formal introduction. Toyota's weave was nearly complete. His Unseen Hand, his Authority of Sloth, had finished its setup.
The idea had come to him while watching Rei tailor his clothes. If mana could travel freely along the length of the Unseen Hand, then theoretically it could be extended infinitely, used like an invisible thread, a medium for spell work.
He had used that theory to grow the Unseen Hand throughout the ceiling and walls of the hall, forming an intangible structure, a dome.
And now, he was lowering it.
The reason for the last-second reveal was a test he had always wondered if Aldebaran could see the authority. There were multiple theories that he could do so if he introduced it like this, he would receive his answer.
It began to settle gently, silently, into the room. None could see it.
His heart was pounding.
Then he saw it, Rei knelt.
That was his cue.
Letting his mana flow through the long weave of a single thread-like arm, Toyota made his Unseen Hand tangible, for just a fraction of a second.
A wave of dizziness hit him immediately.
In tandem, he activated Gravity Emission, a spell that radiated gravity either as repulsion or attraction. He pushed it to its limit, setting it to resonate with each footstep. Every time his foot hit the ground, a burst of gravitational force pulsed outward.
The effect was punishing.
Each step sent a wave of nausea through his body. His Grey world blurred to a haze. He focused everything he had on the carpet beneath his feet, red velvet, at least that's what it was supposed to be, he reminded himself. Grounding.
He forced himself forward, step by agonizing step, the pressure in his skull building like a vice. Pushing mana through the Unseen Hand was one thing; making the entire construct tangible was another matter entirely. Added was the fact that he grew it so much. The strain was immense.
Still… he had to be strong.
He imagined a throne forming in front of him, carefully guiding the atmospheric mana to gather and take shape in a laid-out formation. Slowly, it solidified into an elegant throne.
It looked cool.
But the fact that he knew it was pink soured his mood.
Real men like pink. He thought to himself as if trying to brainwash his own mind.
He couldn't afford a mistake, not even a hint that would reveal the color of his Purple Od's mana.
Letting himself fall into the seat, he sank down with practiced arrogance.
Then Elsa, giggling, jumped into his lap.
The audacity of it shocked him.
Ignore ignore ignore.
His concentration slipped for a fraction of a second. The focus on Gravity Emission broke. The field vanished. The dome of a single unseen hand thread began to contract.
A sudden lightness hit his body, and he instinctively wanted to rise, stand up, push her off, and regain control. But he couldn't. That would ruin the image. Instead, he crossed his legs, leaned slightly back, and let his expression drop into a sneer to mask his discomfort.
From this new vantage, he took in the entire crowd.
Nervousness coursed through him, despite everything he had planned.
They were watching.
He swallowed it down and forced his voice out, cold and confident.
"Why so quiet?" His tone was sharp, unflinching. "You are looking at your new king."
It was acting. All of it. But it had to be convincing.
And then, he caught on Al's helmet. Unlike the others, Al's pupils weren't on him; they were pointed toward the ceiling.
Just as he'd guessed.
(AN: Mc's stats have taken a minor boost since you last saw. This is a recap skim from Toyota's perspective to show the majority of the plans. For the future recap, I will skim through most of the dialogue quickly to get to the present.
I've set an official release schedule: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Although when I get bored, I add extra.
Bonus chapters will drop on Saturdays if my demands are met. 🔫
Trade deal:
You give me 150 power stones, and I give you a bonus chapter.
Sounds fair, right?)