"Alright."
Rin smiled as he looked at the children. "The experiment was very successful. Now, who wants to go first?"
"Big Brother, are you going to turn us into Divine Species like Shizu-sensei?"
Chloe looked up and asked curiously.
"That's right."
Rin nodded, then added, "However, if that happens, you will have to work for me, just like Shizue."
"Of course, that will be after you grow up."
"And before that," Rin continued, "I will, together with Shizue, properly nurture all of you."
"…"
The children looked at one another.
Over these years in the Kingdom of Englassia, they were not truly ignorant.
The countdown of their lives, the fear of death, the failures of incomplete summoning, and Shizue's struggles and worries.
As for working for Rin.
He saved their lives.
For such a life saving grace, becoming Rin's helper after growing up, could that really be considered repayment?
Wasn't it only natural?
After all, aside from Shizue, in this world, only the man before them had been willing to show them kindness.
Someone like Yuki Kagurazaka…
Despite his cheerful exterior, his heart was incomparably dark.
To put it bluntly, these children had been secretly summoned by him.
In other words, all those tragedies were created by that man's own hands.
And now, for him to hypocritically pretend to care about them was truly nauseating.
Children were the best at discerning sincerity from hypocrisy.
In the eyes of Chloe, Alice, and the others, Yuki was a dangerous monster.
"Big Brother is a good person."
Chloe voiced what everyone was thinking, and Alice, standing beside her, even stepped forward and loudly declared, "I'll go first!"
Rin was countless times stronger than Yuki.
Yet the feeling he gave the children was like that of a gentle, sunny older brother next door.
He truly wanted to save them.
"Um…"
"When Alice grows up, can she become Big Brother Rin's bride?"
This was written in the knight novels Alice had read. To repay the knight who saved the princess, the princess had to offer herself.
"Uh…"
Rin awkwardly scratched his cheek.
He did not refuse, but gently patted Alice's little head and smiled. "Alright, alright. When little Alice grows up, you can be Big Brother's bride."
Those words were obviously just meant to appease a little girl.
No matter how desperate Rin was, he would never have such thoughts about a seven or eight year old child.
"It's a promise!"
Alice grabbed Rin's hand and said seriously, "Whoever goes back on their word is a puppy!"
"…"
Rin was both amused and exasperated. He could only casually agree, but he did not take a child's words to heart.
How bold, Alice.
Chloe looked at the two of them, a faint light flickering in her eyes.
Although they had only just met, Rin had already gained a great deal of goodwill from the children.
It was hard to say why.
Perhaps this was the importance of a first impression.
"So, Alice, are you ready?"
Rin did his best to soothe the girl's emotions. "Big Brother is about to begin."
"Mhm!"
Alice hugged the doll in her arms, gathered her courage, and nodded firmly.
"Buzz!"
Under the gaze of Shizue and the other children, an extremely vast amount of magicules enveloped the golden haired young girl.
The first step was to select the most suitable Heroic Spirit template that the child could absorb.
"Hmm?"
Very soon, Rin found that figure. "This is…"
"She is the personification of Night, and also the primordial ancient mother goddess who gave birth to dawn, day, dreams, death, sleep, fate, pain, and old age."
"Her name is…"
"Nyx!!"
Rin spoke her name, then used her divine body as a vessel to contain Alice's soul after ascension.
Such a powerful divine body also meant just how terrifying Alice's future soul strength could be.
"Next."
"The attribute suitable for you, Alice, is…"
Creating a divine body was simple. Rin only needed to sculpt one according to Alice's appearance.
The true key lay in the Immortal Spirit soul that would envelop the girl's own soul.
Although attributes were about compatibility rather than absolute strength…
Just as spirits had attributes, Immortal Spirits also had distinctions between high tier and low tier attributes.
Earth, water, wind, and fire were considered ordinary attributes.
Above them were light and darkness, which were high tier attributes.
"Speaking of which…"
Rin showed a surprised expression. "I remember that in the original work, the spirit Rimuru summoned that suited Alice should have been of the Void attribute, right?"
Void Spirit was actually a space attribute spirit.
Space might not be as versatile as time.
But time and space.
They had always been inseparable.
Their relationship was like the chicken and the egg. It was impossible to say which was stronger.
"Indeed!"
Looking at the Immortal Spirit power symbolizing the concept of space that Treyni pulled from the void, Rin revealed a satisfied smile.
"What outstanding talent!"
Rin did not hold back his power and began working together with Artoria and Treyni, completely shaping that incomparably pure Immortal Spirit soul.
"Rin, this power exceeds what I can name."
"Please bestow a name upon this nascent power yourself."
Although Treyni was the Immortal Spirit Empress, the Spirit of Space had clearly exceeded the limits of her control.
Time and space were powers that transcended basic attributes and reached the very root of the world.
"Alright."
Rin pondered for a moment, then said, "From now on, you shall be called Boundless Rift."
[Boundless Rift]
It possessed the fundamental unit required to create space within the void that could accommodate spirit and matter, and it was also a prerequisite for the concept of time.
An Immortal Spirit born from such a concept…
Even by merely existing, she possessed over a million magicules, comparable to a true Demon Lord.
Yes, unlike Primordial Flame, which needed to fuse with Shizue to evolve further, the potential of the Space Immortal Spirit could only be matched by the Time Immortal Spirit.
From the very beginning, the two of them already stood at the pinnacle of spirituality, and in the future, they were destined to lead the God Race to the peak of the world.
(To be continued.)