Takumi stared at Miori Shiba's question for a few seconds, the faint glow of the floating chat window reflecting in his eyes.
"Are gold and diamonds useful in your world?"
After finishing a bottle of jasmine tea, he placed it aside, wiped his mouth, and thought carefully.
He could create gold easily. Diamonds too.
Material transmutation was child's play now.
But that didn't mean they were useless.
In his world—rebuilt, mechanically optimized, and powered by Honkai-derived engineering—gold and diamonds had very specific purposes:
superconductive circuit routes
hyper-stable computation matrices
energy containment modules
quantum stabilizers
high-purity crystalline lattices used in teleportation nodes
anti-corrosion housings for planetary-scale reactors
So yes—precious metals were valuable.
But not as currency.
Takumi typed slowly:
Takumi:
[Gold and diamonds are useful. But not for wealth.]
[My world uses them in reactors, hyper-conductive circuits, and quantum stabilizers.]
[If you convert your assets into gold bars or pure diamonds, I can repurpose all of it for industrial use.]
[Consumer wealth = useless. Industrial-grade resources = good.]
Miori froze mid-breath.
Gold…
…would still matter?
Not for money, but for industry?
Her father leaned in, eyes widening. "Industrial gold and diamonds? What kind of world requires such massive quantities?"
Before she could reply, Takumi continued:
Takumi:
[If you can convert everything into high-purity industrial gold or diamond, do it.]
[I can't use your world's money, stocks, bonds, or political connections.]
[But metals work. Science works. Knowledge works.]
[Don't bring 'wealth.' Bring 'materials.']
Miori's father exhaled sharply.
"…He's telling the truth."
He stood, pacing slowly.
"If that new world requires gold for scientific purposes… Then we should buy out all the mining companies and conversion facilities we can. Liquidating assets into industrial metal might work."
His wife—silent until now—finally spoke, voice shaking:
"But… if we leave this world… we abandon everything. Everything we built, everything our ancestors built, everything our nation—"
Miori interrupted gently.
"Mother, our nation abandoned the cursed children long ago. They abandoned justice. They abandoned humanity."
Silence.
Her mother lowered her gaze.
In the Chat Group
Other members chimed in one after another.
Fujiwara Chika:
[Industrial gold?? Takumi, your world sounds insane…]
[Like… ridiculously high-tech insane.]
Sagiri:
[Takumi-nii, what kind of machines do you have that need diamonds??]
Bronya:
[Quantum stabilizers? Pure diamond wafers?]\
[That's not a 'ruined' world. That's a hyper-advanced post-apocalypse.]
Akeno:
[In my world diamonds are for jewelry… my goodness.]
Himeko:
[That's normal. High-purity diamond is crucial for extreme-energy research.]
[Takumi's world is… very promising.]
Her tone was mischievous, like she'd confirmed something.
Takumi raised an eyebrow.
What did she mean by "promising"?
He'd ask later.
For now, he focused on Miori.
Miori Shiba:
[Understood, Takumi.]
[My family and I will begin converting all assets into industrial gold and diamonds.]
[We'll need time, though.]
Takumi:
[Just prepare.]
[You don't need to rush. I'll come when the chat group unlocks direct travel.]
Her father suddenly realized another problem:
"Miori… If we convert everything into gold, the government will notice. Mining companies will notice. Asset control committees will interfere."
Miori's lips curled upward.
"Then we move quietly. Father, our family is Simma Heavy Industries. We are the gold and diamond supply chain."
A slow smile spread across her father's face.
"…Then let's begin."
Back in Takumi's Villa
Takumi leaned back on his sofa, staring at the ceiling.
Gold.
Diamonds.
So he'd really gone from "last human on Earth" to "industrial resource supplier for multiverse immigrants."
The thought made him laugh.
Then… he felt something strange.
A pressure.
A vibration beneath his consciousness.
The chat group threshold had shifted.
He sat up immediately.
His eyes glowed faint neon-blue.
Herrscher of Reason activation — subconscious computation engine spinning up.
The system chimed in his mind:
[Chat Group System Notice]
"Detected preparation for inter-world migration on significant scale."
"Unlocking: Civilization Anchoring Protocols."
"Preparing new authority modules…"
Takumi froze.
Then another message appeared:
"Host's psychological stability remains optimal. Proceeding with authority upgrade."
His vision fractured for a moment—
A thousand imaginary circuits spiraled outward from his consciousness.
The world blurred, then sharpened with crystalline clarity.
He felt something evolve inside him.
Something vast.
Something terrifying.
Not the Herrscher of Reason.
Not the Herrscher of the Void.
Something older.
Something tied to civilization itself.
"New Authority Acquired:
Herrscher of Foundation."
Takumi blinked.
"…Herrscher of Foundation?"
He had never heard of that before.
The description burned into his thoughts:
[Herrscher of Foundation — Authority Concept]
The Civilization Root.
The Architect of Cultures.
The Seed of Societal Growth.
Able to generate base knowledge for newborn civilizations.
Able to stabilize migrating populations.
Able to create cultural laws and safety barriers to protect new societies from collapse.
Takumi felt his heart skip a beat.
"…So the chat group expects me to start taking immigrants."
And also—
create a civilization.
Not just build infrastructure.
Not just provide food.
But birth an entirely new multicultural society, from zero.
A chill ran down his spine.
This wasn't just power.
This was responsibility on a cosmic scale.
Chat Group — Real-Time
Zhongli:
[Takumi, what happened? Your aura changed.]
He actually felt it.
Across worlds.
Akeno:
[Something big just happened to Takumi-kun.]
[Even from here I felt… something.]
Bronya:
[Your energy signature spiked like crazy! What did you unlock now??]
Takumi responded truthfully:
Takumi:
[I unlocked a new Authority.]
[Herrscher of Foundation.]
[Seems related to civilization development and migration.]
Silence.
Then:
Himeko:
"…Takumi."
"You just unlocked something equivalent to an Aeon-domain Authority."
Everyone froze.
Even Bronya paled.
Aeon-level?
That was completely beyond any planetary boundary.
Takumi rubbed his forehead.
"I didn't ask for this," he muttered under his breath.
"But I guess… this is the path."
He took a deep breath and typed:
Takumi:
[Anyway.]
[Once Miori prepares the metal resources, I'll begin constructing a city specifically for immigrant populations.]
[My world will need a proper capital.]
[A place for all newcomers.]
[A new civilization.]
The chat exploded.
Sagiri:
[A capital?!?!]\
[Takumi-nii is founding a kingdom??]
Chika:
[Civilization-building arc?? Let's gooooo!!]
Megumi Kato:
[Takumi-san, please consider education systems early…]
[If you bring in children, schools will be essential.]
Zhongli:
[If you need governance structures, I can help design a stable legal foundation.]
Bronya:
[I want to contribute technologically. Let me upload manufacturing blueprints.]
Himeko:
[Takumi, you're entering an era of expansion.]
Takumi read all their messages and…
smiled.
Not arrogantly.
Not crazily.
Quietly.
With genuine warmth.
Finally—
He wouldn't be alone anymore.
Back in Miori's World
Miori Shiba's father began calling every corporate partner, every financial branch, every mining subsidiary.
Within an hour—
A secret industrial conversion plan began.
Within a day—
The Shiba family began withdrawing assets globally.
And within a week—
A silent gold rush engulfed their world.
Not for wealth.
Not for greed.
But for survival.
Final Scene — Takumi's World
Standing on the mountain overlooking the rebuilt farmland and empty plains, Takumi stretched out his hand.
Blue gears of light rotated around his arm.
Herrscher of Foundation — Activation
He whispered:
"Let's build a home for them."
Imaginary constructs erupted upward—
metal skeletons
foundation matrices
automatic factories
habitats
gleaming towers
energy conduits
A city began forming.
A city made for children who had nowhere else to go.
For families seeking peace.
For people who needed a new beginning.
Takumi's eyes glowed softly.
"This world won't be empty much longer."
And above him, the new orbital satellites shimmered, aligning into a protective formation.
A new civilization was about to be born.