"To those troubled youths gifted with supernatural powers—
If you wish to test your abilities,
Then abandon your family, friends, wealth, and everything in the world.
Come to our 'Little Garden.'"
"Ahhh~~~"
"Yaaah!!!"
"Hey!"
"Meow!"
Suddenly, their vision widened—then immediately plunged downward.
"W-What the hell is going on?!"
"Where are we?!"
"It's all because of that damn letter!"
"Meow!"
Amidst the screams of the boys and girls, a series of splashes followed—plop, plop—as they all landed in water.
Splaaash! One by one, the soaked group climbed out of the lake and began wringing out their drenched clothes.
"Um, who are you guys?!" ×3
"Meow~~"
Meanwhile, in the residential area of Little Garden's outer gate #2105380, inside Workshop 360...
"Black Rabbit, how's it going? Did you manage to invite them?"
A boy who looked timid and frail, with dark indigo short hair, was wearing a loose adult-style robe as he spoke slowly.
"YES! Master Jin, it was a huge success! And besides the three of them, it seems like we even got a bonus guest!"
Standing beside the boy was a blue-haired bunny-eared girl in an ultra-mini skirt, her sweet and adorable expression lighting up with excitement. Her body was practically hopping in place, like a real rabbit.
"Bonus guest? What's that about?" the boy asked, confused.
"Ah, don't worry about it! Isn't one more person even better? After all, normal people without abilities can't enter the 'Little Garden' anyway! I'll go fetch them right away!"
Without giving Jin any chance to respond, the girl called Black Rabbit whooshed out the window.
"Don't worry, Master Jin! I'll bring them all back~~~~!"
Her cute voice trailed off into the distance.
"Hmm… oh well." Jin could only smile wryly in response.
◇
"Ugh, I hate this! My clothes are completely soaked!"
A girl with jet-black long hair in a red dress, exuding an aura of high-class elegance, grumbled as she wrung out her hem.
"…Are you okay?"
Another girl with short light brown hair was hugging a calico cat and asked with concern.
"Meow meow meow~~"
The calico cat meowed softly. Most people wouldn't understand it, but the short-haired girl did—because that was exactly why she had been summoned to Little Garden.
"I… I thought I was gonna die… meow…"
"What a horrible way to summon someone. There's nothing elegant about this at all!"
The red-dressed girl vented her anger.
"Totally! Dammit, I almost got a Game Over right from the start. Honestly, being summoned into a rock might've been kinder!"
A third voice chimed in—belonging to a boy with striking golden hair, violet eyes, headphones slung around his neck, giving off a full-on delinquent vibe.
"Alright, let's do some introductions. You two ladies over there first,"
said the boy, his voice rough and cheeky as he looked toward the girls.
"How rude. Isn't it proper etiquette to introduce yourself first before asking others?"
The red-dressed girl stood tall, flipped her hair, and asserted herself with a powerful presence.
"Ahhh, a proper young lady, huh? I'm the savage and violent Izayoi Sakamaki. A useless bastard blessed with brutality, depravity, and hedonism all in one, so please use me in moderation and with care, milady!"
Izayoi grinned wickedly, deliberately putting heavy emphasis on "milady."
"Is that so? I'll consider it if you give me a manual, Izayoi-kun.
I am Asuka Kudou. Pleased to meet you. And that girl holding the cat?"
"…Kasukabe Yō. Same here."
Wait a second—weren't there supposed to be four people?
Why are there only three? Does that cat count as one?
Black Rabbit, watching the three from the shadows, bit her finger in frustration.
These three... They all looked like serious troublemakers.
Ugh, what problem children!
Even though she was the one who summoned them, she couldn't help but feel uncertain.
She sighed heavily in dismay, then stifled a sneeze by quickly covering her nose so the trio wouldn't hear her.
"Why is it... getting cold?"
Black Rabbit muttered in confusion, while the others still standing in the lake looked increasingly alarmed.
The lake water they had fallen into had begun to freeze rapidly before their eyes.
The freezing spread with astonishing speed until the entire surface had turned into a massive sheet of ice.
"Here, your request's arrived.
Not a rock, but probably just as hard,"
Asuka muttered, shivering as she stared at the frozen lake.
If even a small piece of that fell on them, they'd be in serious trouble—likely knocked out cold from the impact.
"How interesting… This world…
We just arrived and already there's someone fascinating showing up.
Hey, stop hiding, you creepy bastard!"
Izayoi called out, lazily yet provocatively, as he suddenly stomped on the frozen lake.
Crackkk!
A spiderweb of cracks spread violently from beneath his foot, the sound sharp and hair-raising.
The power of his stomp drew gasps from the two girls—but Izayoi just frowned, slightly annoyed.
With his strength, shattering mountains or boulders was child's play.
He had expected the ice to shatter easily, but it was far more solid than he'd thought.
"Tch… It's that tough?"
He muttered under his breath—and then, the source of this sudden cold finally appeared before them.
It was a man with a completely expressionless face, walking slowly toward them from the far end of the frozen lake.
His presence radiated a pressure so immense it made everyone instinctively hold their breath.
It was the kind of pressure that made one want to kneel and worship—the pressure of a king.
But just as the thought struck their minds, that overwhelming pressure vanished.
In its place came a lingering, unsettling aura of dread.
Dark, filthy…
The stench of sin.
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