Kirino Kosaka: AHHH!!
If Shirai Takeru were standing in front of her right now—
Kirino would totally unleash her "Nyan Nyan Punch" on him.
Why did he have to keep bringing up the eroge thing!?
Was he afraid people would forget!?
Trying to change the subject, she quickly typed in the chat:
Kirino Kosaka: By the way, you two have been awfully quiet—Tohsaka Rin, Hyuga Hinata. What's going on?
Kirino Kosaka: Don't worry, we're all good people. We won't do anything to hurt you."
"I... I don't know what to say..."
In the Hidden Leaf Village, Hyuga Hinata's head was practically steaming.
She was starting to wonder if she had fallen into some sort of genjutsu.
But with her Byakugan, she could clearly see that her chakra flow was completely normal.
Which meant—genjutsu was highly unlikely.
This realization filled Hinata with both excitement and unease.
More importantly, now she was hesitating—
Should she report this to the village? Or to her father?
Tohsaka Rin: "I just wanted to observe for now."
Tohsaka Rin: "What's with all this talk about ghouls and demon slayers? Are you guys some magician's prank?"
Tohsaka Rin: "Seriously, the Holy Grail War hasn't even started yet, and you're already playing around!?"
Kirino Kosaka: "Holy Grail War? What's that supposed to be?"
Robin: "Interesting. Looks like this newcomer's world isn't exactly ordinary either."
Shirai Takeru: "Let me explain— The Holy Grail is said to be an artifact brimming with magical energy."
Shirai Takeru: "Supposedly, anyone who wins in a ritual called the Holy Grail War can have any wish granted."
Kirino Kosaka: "Sugoi! That sounds amazing!"
Shinobu Kocho: "Any wish at all?"
Tohsaka Rin: "Of course!"
Robin: "A ritual? So this Holy Grail War is like a performance?"
Shirai Takeru: "Pretty much. In simple terms, it's just fourteen people brawling in a small town."
…Stunned.
Tohsaka Rin stared at Shirai's words, her mind momentarily frozen.
How could something as revered as the Holy Grail War be described like that?
All the prestige—it was just gone in an instant.
"How could you say that!?"
"Fourteen people? They're powerful magus! And their summoned spirits are heroic legends from history!"
Tohsaka Rin was visibly flustered.
But Shirai calmly asked, "Just tell me—was anything I said wrong?"
"Fourteen people? Small town? Group fight?"
Tohsaka Rin: "..."
That string of questions left her reeling.
Because... it was true.
Even if it was called a war, in the end, it really was just fourteen people duking it out.
Robin: "Still, if it can really grant wishes, then it's incredibly valuable."
She thought back to her own world's history.
As someone who could read the forbidden texts, she had long been hunted by the World Government.
But this Holy Grail...
To most people, it was probably more valuable than history itself.
Tohsaka Rin: "Well, it's just alright, I guess."
Tohsaka Rin: "Still, I'll definitely win the next Holy Grail War."
Tohsaka Rin: "But seriously—what is this place?"
Tohsaka Rin: "You guys are magus, aren't you? Don't tell me you don't even know what the Holy Grail War is?"
Kirino Kousaka jumped in right away: "Because we're from different worlds!"
"Look! We've got Devil Fruit users, demon slayers, ghouls, and even the God Tongue!"
"You're a magus, sure, but clearly from a totally different type of world!"
Different worlds?
Parallel universes?
Tohsaka Rin began to think deeply.
After all, in her world, the concept of parallel timelines already existed.
It wasn't too hard for her to accept the idea of other worlds.
But Rin also noticed something—
From what the others were saying, this wasn't just a case of similar parallel worlds.
It was something far more drastic.
Kirino Kosaka: "Anyway, since we're all in the same group now, let's just get along from here on out!"
Erina Nakiri: "Agreed. If there's a chance, I'd love to let everyone taste my cooking."
Robin: "Why didn't you send photos this time?"
Erina Nakiri: "Can't I take a break from that?"
Shinobu Kocho: "Of course, I'm happy to get along well with fellow humans."
Implying, of course...
That she wasn't counting Kirishima Touka.
But to Shinobu's surprise—
Touka, who had always been quick to respond to provocation, said nothing this time.
She hadn't even typed a single word since.
Shinobu frowned and considered poking her again.
But just then, she noticed something.
In the chat group panel, aside from the lottery feature...
A new option had quietly appeared. At some point, what was once grayed out had become a clickable button.
"Hey! Look!" Shinobu said excitedly. "The invite feature's unlocked!"
"Does this mean we can invite new members into the group? Wait—no!"
"It's inviting others into our worlds?!"