Inside the front hall's display case were a variety of rare treasures.
"You guys came at a bad time. I was just about to receive a guest, so the shop's closed. We'll have to make do in my private room."
The group followed her past the traditional-style courtyard and came to a stop at one side.
A curtain parted ahead, and a fragrant aroma drifted into their noses with the breeze—likely incense.
The White Yasha led them into a spacious Japanese-style room that served as her private chamber. Sitting at the head seat, she stretched out lazily and looked at Yoru and the others. If one looked closely, they'd notice her kimono had already dried somehow.
"Let me reintroduce myself. I'm a senior officer of the guild 'Eye of Summoning,' headquartered at the Four-Gate Sector, Gate 3345. I have some ties to this girl, Black Rabbit. You can just see me as a generous beauty who occasionally lent a hand after their guild was destroyed."
"Yes, yes, we've truly been indebted to you," Black Rabbit casually brushed off the barbed words, while You beside her gasped softly.
"Gate 3345… That's leagues above our [No Name]..."
"Well, of course. In this world of gods and Buddhas running rampant, our Thousand Eyes has carved out a name for itself and holds considerable influence."
This Little Garden city was structured into seven layers of governance from top to bottom. The numbers on the gates corresponded with these layers. Within the inner Four-Gate Sector were areas practically ruled by well-known divine and demonic beings—truly inhuman realms.
"Right now, we're at the Seven-Gate Sector, essentially the outermost layer of Little Garden. More specifically, this is the eastern region, and the gate directly faces the 'End of the World.' That's a place unaffiliated with any guild, where powerful Gift Bearers reside—like the Master of the Water Tree, for example."
White Yasha chuckled as she looked at the Water Tree sapling in Black Rabbit's arms. She must've meant the serpent god that lived near the massive Trittinis Falls.
"But tell me, who was it that won this in what kind of contest? Was it a test of wisdom? A trial of courage?"
"No, no. This Water Tree was won by Lord Yoru before we came here. He defeated the serpent god using his abilities."
Black Rabbit said this with pride. But White Yasha didn't appear particularly moved—instead, she stared thoughtfully at Yoru.
"Oh… so it was him who defeated it. I suppose that's not too surprising. After all…"
She trailed off for a moment, then smiled faintly.
"Looks like you got lucky this time, Black Rabbit. Seems you've summoned quite the incredible individual—on all levels."
"Forgive me for speaking bluntly, but that so-called serpent god… didn't seem like a being worthy of being called a god. Are gods really that weak?"
"Haha. 'God' is just a title. Calling it a serpent god doesn't mean it governs all snakes. You clearly don't understand the races of this world yet."
White Yasha's tone grew a bit more serious.
"Divinity doesn't mean one is born a god. It's a gift, granted to the highest-ranking members of a race, allowing them to change forms. A serpent's divinity gave the serpent god its massive body. Human divinity creates present-world gods and god-children. Oni divinity lets them take the form of quake-inducing demon gods. Moreover, divinity enhances all other Gifts a being has. Most guilds in Little Garden make acquiring divinity their top priority—seeking power to ascend the hierarchy."
"Even more powerful beings—like myself, and many Demon Lords—can bestow divinity upon others directly. Of course, not all divinity is equal. There are tiers."
"Lady White Yasha, are you saying you know the serpent god personally?" Black Rabbit asked curiously.
"Know it? I'm the one who granted it its divinity. Though that was hundreds of years ago."
White Yasha puffed out her flat chest proudly and laughed heartily.
"You mean… you created that serpent god?!"
Hearing this, Yoru's eyes immediately lit up with excitement.
"Hmph. Of course. I'm the 'Sovereign of the Eastern Hierarchy.' Among the guilds below the Four-Gate Sector in the East, no one can rival me—the strongest Game Master!"
Standing by the room's entrance, White Yasha declared this with a commanding air.
It wasn't just Yoru. The moment they heard the title "strongest Game Master," even Izayoi, Asuka, and You had light gleaming in their eyes.
"Is that so… Heh. In that case, if we beat you in a match, doesn't that make our guild the strongest in the East?"
"Exactly. That's how it works."
"That's perfect—saves us the trouble of looking for someone else."
All four, including Yoru, looked at White Yasha with obvious battle intent. Sensing this, White Yasha burst out laughing.
"What an interesting bunch. You didn't come to request help—but to challenge me to a Gift Game?"
"Uh? H-Hold on, you guys!?"
Black Rabbit panicked, but White Yasha held her back with a hand.
"It's fine, Black Rabbit. I too get bored sometimes, having no worthy opponents to play with."
"You really seem up for it. I like that."
"Heh. Is that so? But before the game, there's one thing I need to confirm."
White Yasha pulled a card with the "Eye of Summoning" emblem—a crest of two goddesses facing each other—from her kimono and laughed loudly.
"Do you desire a challenge—or a duel?"
In an instant, the four's expressions changed explosively.
Vision ceased to matter. Countless scenes began spinning through their minds.
Flashing through their thoughts were golden wheat fields, hills overlooking white horizons, forested lakeshores…
Unfamiliar scenery whirled past and swallowed them whole.
The four were transported to a snowy plain and a frozen lake—and it was a world where the sun moved horizontally.
The sheer strangeness of it made the three, except for Yoru, inhale sharply.
This sensation was completely different from being summoned to Little Garden. It was a level of technology no words could describe.
In the dim sky far away, there was only one star. A white sun drifting slowly across the world in a horizontal motion.
This was nothing short of creating a planet—creating a world. A miraculous spectacle.
Only Yoru remained unfazed by the change in scenery. He had seen similar places before—and could even create them himself.
A Reality Marble—a forbidden technique that erodes the world using one's own power. Although White Yasha's world seemed more refined, it was still within Yoru's grasp of understanding.
And if it could be understood… then it could be defeated.
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