After that, Riku didn't chat with Ako Tamaki any further and instead teamed up with Shiro to clear the new map and play ranked.
Once ranked was done, it was time for the guild war.
Worth noting: in Fantasy World, creating a guild requires at least ten players. So, besides the four characters each that Riku and Shiro controlled, there were six other players. Ako Tamaki was among them. Of course, in a guild war, everyone other than Riku and Shiro was basically there to make up the numbers; the enemy zerged them the moment they entered, and they became salted fish, cheering from the back.
Meanwhile, Riku and Shiro, two people piloting four characters apiece, faced the opposing guild's entire roster and pulled off the feat of defeating two thousand players between them.
That's also because Guild Wars caps out at two thousand participants. Any more and it would've been even scarier.
Thanks to that, Riku and Shiro left behind a pile of legends in the Fantasy World. Most people assumed they were cheating.
But reporting did nothing. The two of them didn't need low-level cheats in the first place; their very existence was a pair of walking, self-propelled hacks.
Ding-dong..
Just then, the doorbell rang, right as Riku and Shiro were stretching after the guild war.
"Bro, who's at the door?" Shiro asked.
"Ms Rie is probably inviting us over for lunch," Riku shrugged.
"Then you go. I'm full from snacks," Shiro said matter-of-factly, patting her stomach.
"Don't treat snacks like meals," Riku scolded, ruffling her hair.
"Hmph, you're so naggy. Go on already, don't keep her waiting," Shiro said.
"Alright." Seeing that persuasion was useless, Riku stood up. Shiro still didn't like seeing people. The only reason she was a little familiar with Kei was because Kei often came into her room; after years of effort to get along with Shiro, even someone not into anime or games like Kei had forced herself to learn, and only then did Shiro accept her existence instead of treating her like air.
As for Rie Kosaka, Shiro just couldn't warm up to her, not that she disliked her; they just didn't click, like they were naturally out of sync.
Riku opened the door. Rie was outside.
Seven years had passed, and Rie Kosaka still hadn't aged; if anything, she looked younger, like someone around twenty. That was thanks to the spirit energy-infused fruit Riku had given her.
Not only had she become more youthful, but her gentle, homely grace had deepened, more and more like the ideal "wife" aura, quietly captivating. Even Riku sometimes found himself drawn in.
He had asked before if she planned to remarry after all; in the original story, Rie Kosaka married into the Izumi family.
Rie had only smiled mysteriously and given no answer.
Riku hadn't pressed. Seven years later, Rie was still single, which was her answer.
"Where's Shiro-chan?" Rie craned her neck to peek inside; the way she leaned forward revealed her slender collarbone and fair neck.
"Same as ever doesn't want to come out," Riku said helplessly.
"I see." Rie shook her head. She was used to it. Shiro was an absolute beauty with a monstrous IQ, but she was also an extreme shut-in.
Well, her own daughter wasn't much better, also a hardcore homebody.
"Have you eaten? Come have lunch at my place," Rie said, as naturally as ever.
"Mm." Riku nodded and followed Rie back to her apartment, sitting down like it were his own home without a hint of tension.
The table was already set with a decent spread.
Rie then called Sagiri downstairs. It's worth mentioning that Sagiri wasn't as reclusive as in the anime; in the original, her parents' divorce triggered a mild shut-in phase, and only after they remarried and then both passed away did she become a complete recluse, locking herself in her room and losing the courage to go out.
Footsteps sounded. Wearing pink pyjamas and no stockings, Sagiri walked over on bare legs, Riku noticed at a glance.
Sagiri had grown much like Shiro had: hair down to her legs, skin even fairer, and an even cuter face.
"Nii-san, can you look at this drawing? I just finished it," Sagiri said, bringing a little swirl of her own fragrance as she came to Riku's side, tablet in her arms and eyes full of expectation.
Her voice was still quiet, but much better than in the original, where she practically needed a speaker.
"Sagiri, it's mealtime," Rie said helplessly.
"It's fine, it won't take long," Riku smiled, taking the tablet.
"Honestly, Riku, you still spoil Sagiri like this," Rie said, shaking her head. Her expression was warm, but her eyes were complicated.
One has to admit that the three of them really did look like a family of three.
Taking the tablet from Sagiri, Riku looked at the illustration on the screen. It was a girl in a gothic-lolita dress, adorable to the extreme, the kind of image that could awaken a gentleman's soul at a glance.
Even the picky Riku had to give this one a high score; it was first-rate work.
With Rie Kosaka still alive and personally teaching Sagiri and with Riku's occasional critiques, Sagiri's level was likely far beyond the anime version. In the original story, after all, Sagiri learned everything on her own.
"Not bad. You've improved again since last time." Riku patted Sagiri's silver hair and praised her from the heart.
"Hee-hee." Buoyed by Riku's praise and the head-pat, Sagiri's eyes curved into happy crescents, like a cute little animal.
"Nii-san, when are you going to write a new book?" Sagiri suddenly remembered something; her bright eyes opened wide with expectation.
"Riku, I want to know that too," Rie added, eyes shining. Time had never dulled her passion for anime or manga.
To Rie Kosaka, who knew him better now, Riku's intellect was even more frightening than Shiro's.
Seven years ago, Riku had said he wanted to write light novels. That very year, he actually started.
His first book, his first submission: with a single fantasy novel, Demon Interlude, he won the newcomer award and even smashed previous sales records by a huge margin.
After that, he only climbed higher, going viral across the world and breaking records people still talk about today.
He didn't even have illustrations; just imagine how high the quality had to be. After reading Riku's novel, Rie felt it was the best light novel she'd ever read. Bar none.
The thing that made editors and readers cough blood, though, was how utterly he ignored schedules and how hard he slacked off. The update pace of Demon Interlude was so slow that people wanted to hold a knife to his throat.
Most authors finish a volume on schedule; if the quality clears the bar, Kadokawa's imprint promotes it, prints the books, and sells them with smooth sailing.
Riku was different. One volume took two or three months. If it weren't so good, so good you couldn't stop, he'd have been "done" ages ago.
Every time, his editor worked herself into a rage, ready to drag him into a locked room. But with those scrawny editor's arms, it was useless; she couldn't even find where Riku lived.
Worse for his detractors, every time jealous authors crowed that he was courting disaster and about to flop, the new volume's sales exploded and slapped them all in the face.
Readers would curse him to high heaven, swearing they'd never buy the new volume, then the moment it dropped, they'd scamper off to read it. It even became a meme:
"Even if I'm dying of book-drought by the roadside, I swear I won't read that new volume… Hah. It's so good!"
Demon Interlude ran twenty-five volumes. Riku took five whole years to finish it. Of course, if he'd wanted to, he could've wrapped it in a week.
But as the saying goes: if a novelist doesn't slack off, are they even a novelist? He wrote purely for fun. Remember, he'd been both a god and a demon king after three god-and-demon worlds; every power system and story pattern was second nature. Writing was child's play.
Because his pen name was Kuangshao, the moniker "Old Thief Kuangshao" spread far and wide in the world.
"Old Thief Kuangshao went to play mahjong again. He'll update if he loses. Everyone, let's curse him into losing his shirt."
"Slack-off fiend; got rich 'selling razor blades' (i.e., painful cliffhangers)."
Lines like that were everywhere online.
What made Kadokawa's editors, managing editors, and editor-in-chief even more helpless was that Riku's personal info was a total black box; they couldn't dig up anything. He found even talking about the manga/anime adaptation of Demon Interlude a hassle, which meant the usual commercial tie-ins never even started.
But for a pillar-class superstar, they couldn't force him. Truth is, thanks to Riku, their imprint had become the #1 light-novel label over those years.
And then, the final straw: for the last two years, Riku basically vanished. No intention of writing anything new. Worse, no one could get in touch.
So a lot of old fans joked that Old Thief Kuangshao must be winning too much at mahjong and had no desire to write. Others turned into amateur detectives, convinced he'd already met some untimely end.
In short, within the scene, Riku was the most mysterious, most formidable genius author and also the most exasperating and unruly. No contest.
Which was why Sagiri and Rie were staring at him so expectantly. Two whole years of slacking…
"Uh… why are you asking all of a sudden?" Riku rubbed his nose, oblivious as ever.
"Nii-san, I want to draw the illustrations for you," Sagiri said, cheeks flushing as she mustered her courage to look straight at him, utterly serious.
"Help me draw the illustrations?" Riku blinked, then looked at Sagiri in surprise.
"Is that… not okay?" Sagiri lowered her head, her delicate toes fidgeting against the floor, speaking nervously.
Because Riku was too exceptional, she had always felt she wasn't qualified to illustrate such an amazing novel, so she never brought it up and instead kept working hard to improve her skills.
Now Sagiri felt she was strong enough, and, combined with wanting to see Riku's new book, she finally mustered the courage to bring it up.
For a girl as shy as Sagiri to suddenly say this was already something surprising.
"Of course it's okay. If 'Eromanga-sensei' is the one illustrating for me, that's something I could only dream of." Riku smiled, rubbed Sagiri's head, and teased.
"I-I don't know anyone by that name." At the same time, she was delighted. Sagiri's cheeks turned scarlet. She squeezed her eyes shut, clenched her fists, and raised her voice, utterly mortified.
Yes, Rie Kosaka had been the first "Eromanga-sensei," then retired last year and passed the title on to Sagiri… the so-called second-generation "Eromanga-sensei."
"That's wonderful, Sagiri." Rie Kosaka watched her daughter with a smile and sighed with feeling. Sagiri had worked so hard at drawing precisely so she could illustrate for Riku; now her wish had come true.
In truth, they both knew that if they had just asked, with Riku's personality, he would have agreed without a second thought. They just had a mental hurdle to clear.
"I'll do my very best!" Sagiri said, elated.
"All right, let's eat first." Riku set the tablet down on the nearby sofa and shook his head. "Mm-hmm!"
With that, Rie and Sagiri sat down to eat, smiling.
Rie Kosaka and Sagiri kept picking dishes for Riku, leaving him both amused and exasperated.
While they ate, Sagiri couldn't help asking curiously, "Nii-san, what kind of light novel are you planning for the new book?"
"Mm… probably fantasy again." Riku pondered.
"I see!" At that, Rie Kosaka's eyes lit up. Riku's prowess was well known; even she and Sagiri, who weren't that into fantasy, had been captivated.
"These last two years, I wasn't completely slacking off. I already mapped out the general idea long ago. I just couldn't be bothered to write it." Riku shook his head.
"If your fans heard that, they'd be mailing you razor blades again," Rie Kosaka quipped. "You put them on ice for two years just because you were lazy."
"Eh, they don't know where I am and even if they did, it wouldn't help, so whatever," Riku said casually.
Rie Kosaka only shook her head slightly. Over these seven years, she had noticed that Riku was mysterious, not like ordinary people, but there was no need to say such things aloud.
Amid the laughter, they finished the meal, and Riku headed back to his own place.
-
"Bro, the guild was talking about something just now," Shiro said, her expression a bit complicated.
"Hm? What is it?" Riku asked, curious.
"They're discussing an offline meetup," Shiro said, shaking her head.
"An… offline meetup?" Riku's expression turned wry. In this little guild of only eight people, everyone got along pretty well. It was a nice, small circle. They'd known each other in the game for close to a year. Meeting in real life, while unexpected, wasn't exactly shocking. It happens all the time.
"Are you going to go?" Shiro glanced at Riku and asked.
"What did the others say?" Riku asked.
"The other six all agreed," Shiro said, pointing at the chat channel.
"I see. As the guild master, it'd feel wrong not to go." Riku shook his head.
"Then you go. I'm not going," Shiro said, unsurprised by his answer.
"Alright then." Riku smiled, patted Shiro on the head, and sat down.
He typed in the chat to say he was in for the meetup, which surprised and pleased the others. After all, the four characters controlled by Riku and Shiro were absolute mysteries, the most enigmatic players in all of Fantasy World.
As for Ako Tamaki, there was even less to say; she was rolling around on her bed at home.
In the end, they set the meetup for May, in the famed Akihabara. The exact time and spot would depend on everyone's schedules.
Ding-dong!
Just then, the doorbell rang again, making Riku arch a brow, because whoever was outside wasn't an ordinary person; the aura was thick with something angelic. He told Shiro he'd get it and went to open the door.
Standing there was a petite girl in a school uniform, only about 144 centimetres tall, the very picture of a loli build.
Her long blonde hair was neatly combed and fell down her back; her beautiful, refined features were lit by an innocent smile; her deep blue eyes shone brightly; her skin was porcelain. Though her figure was… lacking about the same as Shiro's, the first impression she gave was of a sunny, petite young lady, an existence like a little angel.
Of course, she actually was an angel…
To be precise, the petite girl before him was the heroine from Gabriel DropOut, a beautiful "useless angel."
But judging by her current state, she hadn't fallen yet. She was a top-of-the-class angel who had only just descended to the human world.
"Hello, are you the landlord?" Gabriel looked at Riku with a sunny smile and asked.
"Mm. I own this building. And you are?" Riku nodded.
Five years ago, for various reasons, Riku had simply bought the whole place.
"My name is Gabriel Tenma White. I'm here to rent a room. Do you have any vacancies?" Gabriel introduced herself first, then asked.
Her eyes were lovely, full of life. Coupled with the sanctity that angels naturally carried, she could inspire goodwill at a glance.
Of course, the same applied in reverse: compared to Gabriel, Riku was on a different level entirely. He had more angelic retainers under him than he could count.
"Looking to rent, huh." Riku rubbed his chin, then said, "Come with me."
"Mm-hmm." Gabriel nodded and followed behind, curiously taking in Riku's back as they walked. She felt an inexplicable pull, as if his very existence drew her in.
At Room 505, Riku took out the key, unlocked the door, and led Gabriel inside.
"Wow, it's so big." Gabriel looked around the place and couldn't help an exclamation.
"What do you think, Miss Tenma? Three bedrooms, a living room, one bath, one kitchen. The rent is 15,000 yen a month," Riku said casually.
"Huh!? Really?" Gabriel stared at Riku in shock. Though she'd only just arrived in the human world, she'd already checked a number of listings. Even a studio with just a bathroom and a kitchenette usually went for about that much.
So three bedrooms at that price were insanely cheap.
"You didn't read the rental notice?" Riku glanced down at the girl whose head barely reached his chest and shrugged, speaking offhandedly.
"Uh." Gabriel blinked, remembering one of the "rules": to rent here, the landlord had to find you pleasing to the eye.
What a ridiculous condition, worth a thousand snarky comments. She'd come mostly to try her luck.
"Don't want it? Then forget it," Riku said, the corner of his mouth quirking with mischief.
"Please, landlord, I absolutely want it!" Gabriel bowed deeply and raised her voice. A deal this good didn't come along every day; no way she was walking away.
"Then it's yours," Riku nodded. The rent was cheap partly because he didn't care about money… and partly because he suddenly remembered once pulling Gabriel's original-owner panties out of a loot box. That was a thing.
Destroy the evidence, or find a chance to give them back? Tough call.
Riku's mind wandered.
"May I ask your name, landlord?" Gabriel asked with a sincere smile, an angelic expression that could melt a heart.
She'd asked other tenants which unit was Riku's, but had forgotten to get his name at the time. A misstep.
"Riku Dola. Call me Riku, or Dola, either is fine," Riku said easily.
"Got it, Mr Riku. You can call me Gabriel," she replied with a smile. It was a bit forward to go straight to first names, but she couldn't help herself.
"If there's nothing else, I'll head out. If you have any questions, come find me," Riku said, nodding and waving as he spoke her name so naturally.
"Actually, there's one more thing I'd like to ask," Gabriel said, suddenly very earnest.
"Oh? What is it?" Riku raised a brow.
"Just now, when I was near your place, I heard screaming. Did someone get hurt? If so, please let me treat them." Gabriel's concern was genuine.
Right now, Gabriel was truly a good kid, no, a good angel.
As for how she'd heard the screams from that far away, no need to overthink it. An angel's hearing wasn't something you measured by human standards.
"Oh, that? It was a game. The screams you heard were death cries from in-game characters," Riku said with a grin. An audacious idea had just occurred to him.
"Game?" Gabriel repeated, tasting the unfamiliar word.
"This game is a bit cruel, isn't it, letting characters die like that." Gabriel looked stricken with sympathy.
"Well, a priest can resurrect them," Riku said, smiling like a big bad wolf coaxing Little Red Riding Hood. "Miss Gabriel, are you interested in games?"
"It's not that I'm interested," Gabriel hesitated. "I just can't stand by and do nothing in the face of such tragedies."
She couldn't tell a human her true identity.
Little did she know, the person in front of her was anything but human.