"That's right, they were all reincarnated. They should all be newborn babies right about now. As for why you were reincarnated—it's actually quite simple."
Eriri then briefly explained what the previous Demon Lord and Hero had done, as well as the actions she and D had taken at that time.
After listening, Mirei Shinohara sighed in amazement. She didn't blame Eriri or D for not saving the rest of the class.
More than a year of surviving in the labyrinth of another world had long since changed her. She was no longer the ordinary high school girl she had once been, and her perspective on many things had shifted.
Besides, even if she still carried the mindset of her past life, she would never resent Eriri for this matter.
"By the way, Eriri, I've been meaning to ask… why do you call Wakaba 'D-chan'? Didn't you always call her Hiiro-chan before? What does the 'D' mean?"
Putting down her chopsticks, Mirei glanced at D, who sat diagonally across from her, quietly savoring her food. Finally, her gaze settled on Eriri.
"'D' is D-chan's real name. 'Wakaba Hiiro' was just a temporary alias she used on Earth. So from now on, you and White should just call her D."
As she said this, Eriri seemed to recall something. She pulled D over with her right hand and patted Shiraori's head with her left.
"And White, stop eating for a moment. Let me reintroduce you two properly."
Hearing Eriri's words, Shiraori immediately raised her head, her cheeks adorably puffed out from stuffing her mouth full. Her big curious eyes turned toward Eriri.
"You two don't know D-chan's true identity yet. She's actually one of the highest-ranking gods in the universe, the ruler of the underworld, and also the creator of the System in the world where you reincarnated."
Before Mirei and Shiraori could react, Eriri continued:
"And this one here is my newly appointed personal maid, Meido. She's also the ruler of Hell, an existence equal in rank to D-chan~"
At this, Eriri's gaze fell on Meido. Mirei and Shiraori immediately understood she was talking about the beautiful stranger who had opened the door for them earlier.
Although they were shocked by D's identity, they had already guessed something along those lines. Since Eriri had explained earlier that the other classmates' reincarnations were D's doing, they could accept her being the ruler of the underworld.
What truly shocked them was that the maid who had welcomed them into the house turned out to have such a terrifying identity.
And yet, such an existence served as Eriri's maid. Naturally, they couldn't help but feel immense curiosity about Eriri's true identity.
Unable to hold back her curiosity, Mirei asked outright:
"Eriri, then what is your real identity?"
Shiraori also stared intently at Eriri like a curious child. Although she didn't really care what her master's identity was, her curiosity still got the better of her.
Since D already knew Eriri's identity, she wasn't interested in this topic. She simply pulled herself free from Eriri's grip and returned to enjoying her food.
As for Eriri, she began explaining to Mirei and Shiraori.
"As for me… I'm actually not from your world at all…"
Then, Eriri repeated what she had once told D—about her background and about the vastness of the multiverse.
By the end of her explanation, both Mirei and Shiraori were left utterly shaken. They had always known Eriri was powerful, but this level of power went far beyond anything they had imagined.
Thinking of this, Mirei turned her gaze toward Aoi Kujou, who sat beside her.
"Then does that mean Aoi is really powerful too?"
Aoi Kujou only smiled faintly. "I'm just the young lady's personal maid, nothing more."
Mirei clearly didn't believe her. With curiosity driving her, she tried using Appraisal on Aoi.
But the skill that had once revealed every secret in the other world now displayed only the most basic lines of information.
[Name: Aoi Kujou]
[Identity: Maid]
[Power: Level 7, Stage 2]
[Master: Eriri Spencer Sawamura]
Although the information Appraisal revealed matched Aoi Kujou's words, Mirei simply couldn't reconcile the title of "maid" with such overwhelming power.
From Eriri's earlier explanation of the Multiverse's Power Level Classification, she knew just how terrifying Level 7, Stage 2 truly was.
Although it was only two stages higher than Shiraori's Level 6, Stage 9, the difference was immeasurable—like the gap between heaven and earth.
But then she recalled that Meido, the ruler of Hell, was also serving as Eriri's maid, and she immediately felt more at ease.
Driven by curiosity about Meido and D's power, Mirei used Appraisal on them as well.
[Name: Meido]
[Identity: Maid, Ruler of Hell]
[Power: Level 8, Stage 1]
[Master: Eriri Spencer Sawamura]
—
[Name: D]
[Identity: Ruler of the Underworld]
[Power: Level 8, Stage 1]
Seeing their stats, Mirei couldn't help but marvel inwardly. Compared to her own Level 6, Stage 7, she had no idea how long it would take to reach their heights.
Instinctively, her gaze shifted toward Eriri, and she subconsciously activated Appraisal on her as well.
But this time, nothing happened. It was as if her skill had vanished into the void without the slightest ripple.
Just as she was about to try again, she caught sight of Eriri giving her a meaningful smile.
Instantly, she lowered her head like a child caught sneaking food, embarrassed and afraid to attempt Appraisal on Eriri again.
Of course, Eriri knew exactly what Mirei had done. After all, that Appraisal skill was one she had specifically created.
If she wished it, no matter what Mirei or Shiraori tried to Appraise, nothing could escape her sight.
That skill contained her power of omniscience. In theory, it could Appraise anything across the multiverse.
However, Eriri had imposed small restrictions upon it. When used on anyone related to her, it would only display the most basic information. And as for herself, she had completely excluded her own existence from Appraisal.
Just like that, several minutes passed, and dinner was already halfway through.
Suddenly, Mirei lifted her head with a cry.
"Ah! I just remembered—Eriri, during the cultural festival, the ghost we saw in the classroom… that was you, wasn't it?"
Mirei recalled the cultural festival from before reincarnation. She remembered how she had told Eriri about the ghost in the classroom, only for Eriri to act completely disbelieving.
Now, when she considered Eriri's true power, it was obvious that Eriri had only been teasing her.
Her gaze toward Eriri grew slightly resentful.
"That's right, it was me. Didn't I tell you back then? If you try to scare others, don't be surprised when you get scared instead. You were the one who insisted on playing ghost. You can't blame me~"
Eriri admitted it outright, her face full of mischievous delight.
Mirei rolled her eyes at her in exasperation, not believing a word. After all, several people had been playing ghosts that day, but she had been the only one to see the "real ghost." Clearly, Eriri had arranged it just to mess with her.
But she couldn't bring herself to complain to Eriri. She certainly didn't dare.
So, she could only turn her frustration into appetite, burying her head again as she launched a full-scale assault on the remaining dishes.
...
Time quickly passed, and soon it was after 7 p.m.
After finishing dinner and resting for a while, Mirei bid farewell to Eriri and the others. She was finally ready to return to her family home from her past life.
Leaving Eriri's house, she immediately cast a barrier over herself to block sight and cameras, ensuring her actions wouldn't be noticed by ordinary people.
Then, she took off and flew straight toward her home.
It wasn't far, since her house and Eriri's were both in the same school district.
At her speed, it took less than a minute before she landed in front of her own gate.
Although night had already fallen completely, Mirei Shinohara's night vision allowed her to clearly see everything around her.
Looking at the familiar gate she hadn't seen for over a year, her eyes quickly grew wet.
She wiped away her unshed tears, dispelled the barrier around her body, and pressed the doorbell.
As she anxiously waited, slow footsteps approached from inside until they finally stopped before the gate.
The door opened, and the light from the entryway spilled out. A weary-looking middle-aged woman peered out through the half-open door.
Seeing only a cute, white-haired little girl she vaguely found familiar, the woman relaxed and fully opened the door, even forcing a faint smile onto her exhausted face.
"Hello, little one. Do you need something?"
Looking at the slightly thinner woman before her, Mirei's eyes grew wet again, and this time tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks.
Unable to hold herself back any longer, she rushed into the woman's arms, her small hands clutching her tightly.
Startled by her sudden action, the woman froze, flustered.
"Little girl, what's wrong? Are you lost?"
"Mom, it's me—Mirei! I'm back!"
The middle-aged woman's eyes went wide in shock, her face filled with disbelief.
"Eh?"
...
After Mirei left, Eriri and the others returned to the living room.
Since Mirei and Shiraori had returned to Earth, the live broadcast in the living room had ended, replaced by looping anime from this world.
At this moment, Eriri sat on the sofa, hugging Shiraori tightly like a life-sized body pillow.
But since Shiraori was not shorter than Eriri, the way she was held left Eriri resting her chin on Shiraori's shoulder, her arms wrapped around both her chest and stomach.
Though Shiraori stayed silent, her heart was surging with uncontrollable excitement.
"Ahhh, Master is hugging me! Master's body is so soft and smells so nice… I'm so glad I'm alive in this world!"
"Ahhh, Master is naughty, touching my chest like that!"
"But it's fine! All of me belongs to Master. Master, please touch me as much as you like!"
"Hehehe~ looks like Master really does love my body. Well done, Shiraori!"
"Uuuh, I think I've caught an illness where I'll die if Master doesn't hug me… what will I do without Master? If only she could hold me forever."
"Yahoo! I'll always be Master's dog! No, I mean—I'll always be Master's spider!!!"
...
Eriri hadn't peeked into Shiraori's thoughts, so she had no idea her little pet was currently losing her mind inside. Otherwise, she might have let her experience firsthand what it felt like when those crazy fantasies became reality.
At that moment, she casually chatted in her mind with the other group members.
Although she had been in this world for over two months, she had never stopped communicating with Arifureta and the others.
For those like Shea, who had stayed at home, these two months had been the hardest. After all, this was the longest Eriri had ever been away from them.
In the meantime, some events had unfolded in a few worlds. For example, in the Campione world, the King of the End was about to appear. In the Sword Art Online world, the "Underworld" project to cultivate highly advanced artificial intelligence was already in development.
As for the other worlds, not much had changed—only two months had passed, after all.
Among all the group members, the most troubled one was likely Kyoko.
Seraphim's harassment hadn't stopped at all, leaving Kyoko endlessly irritated. But since Eriri had ordered her not to do anything too extreme to Seraphim, she had no choice but to endure.
Because Eriri had promised that once she returned, she would personally bring Eu to settle the matter with Seraphim, Kyoko didn't dare to act on her own and bring Eu back from the world of Saekano just to deal with Seraphim's harassment.
—
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