[Ding! Frieren has submitted a trade request: A method to eliminate all demons!]
[Ding! Sakurajima Mai has submitted a trade request: A way for others to see me again!]
Right after Haruto Amakawa finished speaking, two requests appeared before his eyes.
The first belonged to Frieren.
He instinctively opened her information panel.
[Abilities]: Elven Bloodline, Attack Magic, Defense Magic …
[Possessions]: Staff
The tradeable options flickered across his vision like cards laid on a table: Elven Bloodline, Body Usage Rights, and dozens of spells each carved with ancient runes.
If he chose one, Frieren would be notified. Whether she accepted the terms would depend entirely on her.
But the problem was glaringly simple—
"I have no idea how to eliminate all demons," Haruto muttered with a wry smile.
Even if the Demon King were slain, it wouldn't erase the demon race from existence. And Haruto was only Level 15—half her strength at best. If Frieren at Level 30 couldn't solve the problem herself, why would asking him help?
He shifted his gaze to the second request.
Name: Sakurajima Mai
Level: 0
[Ability]: Adolescence Syndrome: Cognitive Disappearance
As expected, the options remained the same—abilities, energy matter, and her body.
The surprising part was that Adolescence Syndrome had manifested as a tradeable "ability."
But even if he traded for it, her condition wouldn't vanish. Her problem wasn't rooted in possessions or raw ability—it was born of tangled emotions, unseen wounds of youth. That wasn't something he could "fix" with a single trade.
Haruto exhaled softly and tapped into the chat.
Haruto Amakawa: "@Frieren, @Sakurajima Mai, I can't solve your requests right now."
He wasn't a miracle worker, and pretending otherwise would only end in disappointment.
Haruto Amakawa: "I've only just become the group leader. Do you have any easier trades? Something simple… to let me practice?"
Frieren: "Ah… I suppose I'll handle it myself then."
Sakurajima Mai: "…"
Then another notification rang out.
Akame: "Can you destroy the Empire?"
Haruto froze, his lips twitching. Destroy the Empire? With Esdeath, General Budo, and the Supreme Imperial Arms? He hadn't even fully measured his own strength yet. He couldn't promise the impossible.
Stella: "Wow, so there's nothing you can actually do?"
Before Haruto could reply, another message appeared.
Saeko Busujima: [Image]
She had been silent until now, but suddenly posted a picture.
It was of a shriveled corpse-like figure, skin stretched tight over bone, eyes clouded white, its twisted jaws frozen mid-snarl.
Sakurajima Mai: "Is this makeup for a movie?"
Clicking on the image late at night startled her.
Saeko Busujima: "No… this is a person."
Saeko Busujima: "To be precise, a person who has been infected by a virus and turned into a living corpse."
Stella: "A human turned into that?!"
Sakurajima Mai: "Isn't that just a zombie?"
Haruto typed calmly.
Haruto Amakawa: "Or you could call it an undead."
Saeko Busujima: "You know of them?"
Saeko Busujima: "Then… can you defeat creatures like this?"
Haruto's eyes narrowed slightly.
Haruto Amakawa: "Submit a trade request."
Undead were different from demons or empires. Ordinary humans with weapons could slay them. Against something like that, he finally felt a degree of confidence.
And perhaps… this would be the perfect chance to test himself in another world.
[Ding! Saeko Busujima has submitted a trade request!]
[Trade Details]: Defeat the undead in front of her and help her escape the encirclement.
[Ding! Please choose trade terms!]
"Saeko's swordsmanship… or her body?"
Haruto's hand rose to his chin as he considered. After a moment, he selected her swordsmanship.
If her situation was dire, demanding her body outright would only waste precious seconds. And Busujima Saeko wasn't someone who would so easily agree to such a trade.
---
Fujimi Academy
The morning should have been calm, the kind of ordinary school day where students lingered by shoe lockers, chattering in the halls.
Instead, screams tore through the corridors.
From the once-ordinary classrooms staggered monsters in human skin—infected corpses gnawing at the living, blood dripping from their lips.
Those bitten but not consumed rose again moments later, joining the ranks of the shambling horde.
At the center of it all, Saeko Busujima stood in her Fujimi Academy uniform, a wooden bokken clenched tightly in her hands.
"Shhht!"
Her blade whistled through the air, cracking against an undead's temple. Bone shattered, flesh tore, and the monster crumpled at her feet.
Her movements were sharp, precise—every strike drawn from the Busujima family's centuries of swordsmanship. Even with only a wooden sword, her grace turned survival into an art form.
Yet the tide was endless. The corridor stank of iron, sweat, and decay. The walls were smeared with crimson handprints where students had clawed desperately before being dragged away.
Dodging bite after bite, her breath grew heavier.
"Haaah… haaah…"
Her chest heaved beneath the tight uniform as her stamina drained. Even for someone of her caliber, exhaustion was inevitable against an unending horde.
[Ding! Your trade request has been accepted!]
[Trade Terms]: Basic Swordsmanship
Saeko froze mid-step, her violet eyes narrowing dangerously.
Swordsmanship… her very foundation.
If she traded it away and lost the ability to wield it, it would mean certain death.
But another notification rang out immediately:
[Ding! Abilities and possessions are one-time trade options. The trade target will "analyze the essence" to "replicate" them. It will not affect the original owner's usage.]
Relief washed through her tense body.
She tightened her grip on the bokken. So it wasn't truly taken from her.
[Ding! Do you confirm the trade?]
[Note: Once the trade is completed, the group leader, Haruto Amakawa, will be obliged to fulfill the trade terms and has the authority to enforce the agreement.]
Understanding the rules, Saeko did not hesitate further.
"Confirm."
At the same instant, Haruto received his own notification.
[Ding! Trade initiated!]
[Trade Target]: Saeko Busujima
[Trade Details]: Defeat the undead in front of her and help her escape the encirclement.
[Trade Terms]: Basic Swordsmanship
[Duration]: 3 hours
[Ding! World Crossover will begin in 3 seconds!]
"A world crossover…"
Haruto let out a low sigh.
This chat group was beyond anything he had imagined.
Counting silently in his mind—three… two… one—
The walls of his room blurred, folding in upon themselves. Light swallowed him whole.
And his figure vanished into Saeko Busujima's world.