Toyota found the entire situation deeply uncomfortable. He had been in this world for less than thirty days, and what he had accomplished in that short time would be considered monumental by any standard. He had managed to acquire the strongest ally in the entire story, by far, the "Sword Saint," and was now in a position where ruling an entire kingdom, a fourth of the entire world, was a realistic possibility.
And it was all through sheer dumb luck.
Or was it really?
Looking back on everything, there were too many oddities to ignore. Why could he gain items and abilities just by leaving a positive impression on people? In some stories involving gods, divine power was tied to the number of followers they had; was this meant to be something similar?
Then there were the souls of alternate timelines, something he hadn't even known existed until the system mentioned them. Was that tied to the system itself? Or maybe the parasite?
The parasite… he still knew almost nothing about it, other than the fact that it had said he'd eventually be able to access other worlds. Was it the reason behind all this? Was it connected to him? To the system? To Envy? Or Subaru?
There was that strange moment, the "main route" Subaru had briefly spoken to him, offering advice, maybe encouragement… or was that just his imagination?
By some twist of fate, he had been granted a Divine Protection that, judging by its description, seemed to influence the insignia's choice. But despite the power and opportunity, he was still just a person whose only previous social interactions had been with terrified men in orange jumpsuits and tutors who would leave within an hour.
All his knowledge of the human psyche came from movies, books, internet forums, and stereotypes. He was practically self-taught when it came to socializing, constantly restraining himself from using quotes because he wanted to be original, to be his own person. That was usually the moral of the story in most kids shows.
The only one he had spent any real time with was Rei. She hadn't left his side for more than five minutes since he arrived, like an intelligent, loyal dog. An annoyance, sure, but one that had become oddly comforting in its consistency.
Despite his calculating exterior, keeping to himself, Toyota's morality was far from selfish. After consuming so many stories across so many mediums, he had come to a conclusion: for any narrative to progress, there had to be an antagonist. Without a villain, the hero's growth would stagnate. Without conflict, allies would drift apart, their interests diverging until the entire structure collapsed into a vacuum.
Someone needed to be the enemy.
And if no one else would do it...
Then he would be glad to be it if just for an appearance.
His Grey World scanned the entire crowd, gauging their emotions while he simultaneously kept the favorability feature open. He deliberately avoided focusing on the candidates. He wasn't entirely sure how his body's basic biological functions would react after seeing the girls whom he had slept with, especially given how his perception operated almost like X-ray vision, passively allowing him to see through and around armor and clothing.
Any perverted person might've abused such an ability.
So, to counter those thoughts, he developed a brutal method of control: he'd use Gluttony's perfect memory to frame the moment their bodies were blown apart by beams of light, when Shaula, his lovely subordinate under his orders, sniped their heads clean off, followed by a spray of arterial blood. Better traumatized than hard, he figured.
Toyota wasn't a petty person. But the mixed memories from Envy, the main route Subaru, flashed in his mind. Memories of being kicked while kneeling, humiliated at his lowest emotional and physical point. It ticked him off… but that wasn't him, was it? It was Subaru.
He distinctly remembered muting his pride, forcing himself to kneel and lick Priscilla's foot just to win her support, only to save innocent lives. If she had simply refused him, it would've been one thing. But no, she kicked him in the face with freakish strength, looked down on him, face full of disgust, like he was some filthy cockroach, mocking him for being weak and powerless.
If he didn't know the future, through his meta knowledge and other timelines…
To say the least, he wanted to vie for equality. Left, right, goodnight. These hands? Rated E for everybody.
If it hadn't been for the chaotic mess of Lust, who had deep relationships with each of these girls, or Wrath, who had seen their fates play out without his or Subaru's interference… or Gluttony, whose memories he hadn't yet finished absorbing or fully understanding… he might've broken his promise to Rei right then and there.
He could do it now, reach inside her body and crush her heart or brain with his Unseen Hand. As long as the target was standing still and there was no mana interference, it was within his ability.
But she was, despite everything, despite her arrogance, regal demeanor, confident posture, commanding voice. A good person. What Toyota considered a bad person was still up for debate, but Pricilla Barielle was just a woman who couldn't stand those without pride. That was one of the reasons he held back.
Still, he needed something to vent the burning anger welling up inside him. The throne he'd conjured wasn't just for show. It was a provocation. A deliberate act to antagonize someone who believed herself God.
And sure enough—
"Remove yourself from that unsightly seat. My divine self cannot stand your insinuation that you are above this exalted existence in any capacity."
He stood happily to extract Elsa from his lap. Elsa had burrowed into his chest in a feline-like way, curling her body into his stomach, now being slid off her cheeks were puffed, pouting at him. It might have been cute if she weren't a psychopath, who probably chose that position to analyze his abdomen's insides.
Letting Pricilla sit on his construct, he deliberately disintegrated it the moment she made contact mid-squat, dissolving it beneath her. Before she could fall, he caught her with the Unseen Hand, sliding it smoothly beneath her. Imbuing it with mana, he applied a subtle use of Gravity Emission from below, making it so that the closer she got to touching it, the lighter her body would feel.
While he was frustrated, he wouldn't be stupid enough to let her be injured because of him.
Letting out all of his spite in a single comment, he mused softly, "It seems my control waned the moment you sat down. You must be heavy."
The reason he chose that particular provocation was that women would always attack the dense protagonist when he asked how much they weighed. He never really understood why, maybe because they were more insecure about that specific topic?
Anastasia, hearing his comment, burst out into light giggles.
Looking down at Priscilla, whose face was now flushed with embarrassment, he thought to himself, She must be at least somewhat angry at me.
Current favorability
Pricilla Barielle – -32% Dislikes you finds you irritating | Points received 0
Wow seems I did a good job on my introduction.
But to Toyota's astonishment, the negative value began to flicker as her deep red eyes began looking up at him with an unnerving intensity.
Pricilla Barielle (Sun Princess)— 41% Interest, respects you for standing up to her | Points received 820
Toyota, reading the description, was taken aback internally, not letting it show on his face.
What is she, some sort of masochist? Wasn't this the same percentage I got from Rem after risking my life to save her?
"You… you crippled basterd." Pricilla blustered, yet her eyes were swirling with an intense emotion.
What is wrong with her?
Taking an unnoticeable step back, he continued his act as Crimson, watching as Priscilla regained her balance and pointed her red-black fan at his neck threateningly.
His mouth moved on its own while his mind wandered elsewhere.
Seeing it made him momentarily forget what he was doing. That wasn't just any fan. it was the Yang Sword, one of the Ten Swords of Power, alongside Rei's Dragon Sword, Reid. The Yang Sword was a legendary, sentient weapon, bestowed only upon those deemed worthy to rule Volachia.
It was a sword that could instantly transform from fan to weapon, sheathed in the atmospheric yang mana, which it manipulated. Its power was terrifying: fire seven times hotter than standard hellfire, heat manipulation, pain manipulation, durability negation, soul burning, existence erasure, intangibility, and the ability to burn anyone the wielder judges an enemy. It could even generate force fields.
This was a god-tier weapon. Still weaker than Reid, but still god tier.
If it didn't have so many weaknesses, it would've made his bucket list. But:
It could only be used while the sun was up.
It consumed massive amounts of yang mana.
It couldn't be used at full power unless all other heirs to Volachia were dead.
And if an unworthy wielder dared touch it, they'd be turned to ash.
Regaining his focus, he turned away from the sword in fan form he must ignore Pricilla. At his back, her expression was scandalized in an almost twisted way.
Pricilla Barielle (Sun Princess)— 42% Interest, respects you for standing up to her | Points received 840
Really!
Turning briefly to Crusch and Emilia, who seemed dumbfounded.
Finally, the moment he had been waiting for, the time to present the insignia. It was in his ring. He hadn't bothered to take it out earlier.
The reason? Only two people in the entire room had the intelligence and context to understand what it truly meant for him to possess that ring.
No offense to Subaru, but at his current level, he wouldn't be able to notice the smaller details. Subaru was a character who was forced to become intelligent after facing impossible situations—he had to adapt just to survive. But at the moment, he was still in his infancy stage.
Raising his hand, Toyota tapped the emerald ring three times.
With a flicker of space, the insignia appeared out of thin air. His unseen hand caught it, becoming tangible just long enough for him to physically reach out and grasp it.
Exactly as expected, the two people he had been focusing on reacted immediately.
Through instincts honed by Wrath's memories, memories of death and cold, he felt it. The temperature around Roswaal's section dropped by at least three degrees Fahrenheit.
Perfect.
Toyota wasn't about to reveal his identity, but the real reason he had so brazenly shown his identity was to slow down Roswaal's schemes. Introducing an unknown variable. This would make Roswaal more cautious, giving him more time to act. The main storyline was already messed up, so why should he diligently force it down the laid tracks? Just mess with the clown. Make Roswaal schizophrenic, become someone the tome couldn't predict.
Still, that wasn't his biggest concern.
A certain Loli was.
His eyes darted toward her the second her lips moved. She was going to say it. He could feel it.
"Subar—Mmpph."
His unseen hand lashed out mid-sentence, clamping down gently but firmly over Beatrice's mouth, stopping her from spilling his identity to Subaru.
She would be on his side, as he had already told her the partial truth, he put his finger to his mouth subtly with a smile.
(AN: I got home very late due to an appointment, so the release was a bit delayed. I apologize.) This is a recap skim from Toyota's perspective to show the majority of the plans. For the future recap, I will skip 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?)