Of course, if she had known that Kaguya Yamai and Yamai Yuzuru were created by Eriri, she definitely would not have been curious about them.
"Yes."
Eriri briefly introduced Tohka and the others to Nagisa Himekawa, and they all politely greeted her in return.
Faced with such cute and well-mannered girls, Nagisa Himekawa naturally took a great liking to them and immediately pulled them over to ask all sorts of questions.
Just like that, more than half an hour passed in the blink of an eye. Yamai Kazamachi and Nia Honjou did not plan to stay the night, so after politely declining Nagisa Himekawa's invitation, they left the Himekawa household together.
Eriri had brought them here in the first place simply so they could familiarize themselves with the way. Before they left, however, she gave each of them a key to the villa, so they would not have to worry about no one being home when they came over.
During their earlier chat, Eriri had already told them about the World Gate. If they wanted to travel to other worlds in the future, they could come over and use it at any time.
As for Kaguya Yamai and Yamai Yuzuru, they temporarily stayed at the Himekawa household. Whether they would eventually settle down in this world or follow Eriri to live in the Saekano world would depend on their own choice.
...
A little after nine in the evening, Nia Honjou successfully returned to her small apartment.
After tossing her school bag onto the bed, she flopped down as well, a contented smile spreading across her face.
Thinking back on the miraculous experiences of the day, she still felt as if none of it was real.
Not only had she met her favorite manga artist, she had even formed a friendly connection with her, and under her guidance, stepped into the ranks of the extraordinary.
Things that had once only happened in her dreams had now descended into reality.
Recalling Eriri's voice and smile, a slightly lovestruck grin unconsciously appeared on Nia Honjou's face.
"Oh dear, honestly… We just parted, and I'm already starting to miss Eriri."
Nia Honjou shyly patted her cheeks. Her originally fair face was now tinged with an enticing blush.
"Since there's nothing to do right now, I'll keep researching my Angel. I'm also pretty curious about what everyone else is doing at the moment."
Just as she was about to summon her Angel and begin searching, she suddenly paused as if remembering something.
"Hmm… but before that, I should take a shower first."
Nia Honjou acted swiftly. The moment she made up her mind, she sat up from the bed and headed straight for the bathroom.
Soon, more than ten minutes passed. In a cheerful mood, Nia Honjou walked out of the bathroom completely naked.
Since she lived alone and the weather was rather hot, she usually only put on her pajamas after returning to her room.
But this time, instead of heading toward the wardrobe as usual, she went straight to the full-length mirror.
A flash of light flickered, and a slightly revealing nun outfit appeared on her body—the unmodified Spirit Dress.
"I have to say, this design really is quite revealing~"
Seeing her Spirit Dress from another angle, Nia Honjou could not help but complain inwardly. Yet soon, an appreciative smile rose on her lips.
"But it really does look pretty good, hehe."
Imagining herself wearing this Spirit Dress while doing unspeakable things with Eriri in the future, Nia Honjou could not help but let out a silly giggle.
"Ahem, fantasy time is over. Now, let's start researching my Angel~"
Feeling slightly guilty, Nia Honjou glanced left and right, then walked to the soft bed and lay down on her stomach. Of course, she did not forget to dismiss the black knee-high boots on her feet. Wearing shoes on the bed would be far too improper.
Summoning her Angel, "Rasiel," Nia Honjou solemnly placed the massive book flat on the bed.
The first person she thought of searching was Eriri. Filled with anticipation, she flipped open to the Search Page.
However, what happened next surprised her. There was no information displayed on the page at all—just like when Kaguya Yamai had tried to use her Angel earlier.
But recalling Eriri's strength—even the Spirit Crystal that turned her into a Spirit had been nothing more than a small trinket casually shaped in her hand—she quickly accepted it.
"If Eriri doesn't work, then I'll try Kaguya and the others."
So Nia Honjou proceeded to search the information of Yamai Kazamachi and the Yamai sisters, as well as Tohka. The results fascinated her, and there was no unpleasant or negative information revealed.
She had already learned about Kaguya Yamai and Yamai Yuzuru's situation from earlier conversations, so rereading it now did not surprise her.
As for Nagisa Himekawa, Yoshino, and Mio, just like Eriri, their information could not be queried at all.
That was normal. After all, the three of them had already stepped into Level 8. With Nia Honjou's current strength, attempting to pry into the secrets of Level 8 powerhouses was still beyond her capabilities.
Faced with this result, she merely scratched her head helplessly and did not dwell on it further.
Although the search results were not complete, the information about the four Yamai sisters alone had already satisfied a portion of her curiosity.
But that was merely an appetizer. The real main course would be the people she had known over the years—and the celebrities she had previously only seen on television.
"For the first target… hmm, I'll choose you, Uncle Sakata!"
Uncle Sakata was someone she was fairly familiar with in the same apartment building. He was kind and friendly, always greeting her warmly when they ran into each other downstairs, and occasionally helping with small favors within his ability. He had a wife and a daughter a few years older than Nia.
However, ever since she moved here to live alone, she had never seen Uncle Sakata's daughter. It was said that she was studying at a university out of town and rarely came back.
As for his wife, Nia Honjou had seen her a few times. Every time, she followed closely behind Uncle Sakata, seeming rather quiet, so they had never spoken. But judging from her appearance, she seemed like a gentle person.
The moment the command was issued, all of Uncle Sakata's information appeared on the Search Page.
Filled with anticipation, Nia Honjou looked at the information.
Yet before she had read much, the expectation on her face quietly vanished, replaced by disbelief.
Because the Uncle Sakata described in the information was completely different from the one she knew.
In her understanding, Uncle Sakata was an elder who loved helping others and appeared extremely friendly.
Yet the information revealed by the search showed that this so-called Uncle Sakata was nothing short of a dark-hearted scumbag. Calling him a beast in human skin would not be an exaggeration.
In front of outsiders, he acted like a devoted husband who cherished his wife. In reality, he frequently committed domestic violence at home. Even his daughter had fled that suffocating household early on because she could no longer endure his abuse.
Not only that, during his school years he had often bullied weak and obedient classmates. Even worse, when he was a child, a minor conflict had directly led to the drowning death of a playmate who had been with him.
The reason he had always greeted her warmly and occasionally helped with small favors was, at its core, because he harbored lustful intentions toward her.
After reading all of this, Nia Honjou's entire expression darkened. For a moment, she even felt the impulse to personally kill that scumbag. But she quickly forced herself to suppress it.
After all, until yesterday, she had merely been an ordinary high school girl. Expecting herself to make the decision to kill someone so easily was clearly unrealistic.
"Damn it… I never imagined that guy was such trash. You really can't judge a person by their face."
Taking several deep breaths, Nia Honjou finally managed to calm the fury in her heart. She then ended her search on Sakata and shifted her target to the next person.
However, as the investigation went deeper, her complexion grew darker and darker. By the time she had finished searching everyone she intended to, she felt utterly unwell.
Among the people she had looked up—whether ordinary individuals, lofty politicians she had only seen on television, or glamorous celebrities—aside from a very small minority who were consistent inside and out, the rest all had more or less serious issues.
The darkest among them were even a hundred times worse than Sakata, to the point that Nia Honjou could hardly bear to look.
Classmates who seemed to get along well with her were, in truth, two-faced, occasionally slandering her behind her back.
Teachers who appeared dignified and respectable at the podium were, in private, filled with filthy fantasies, frequently indulging in obscene thoughts about their own students.
Fortunately, there were still a small number of people who were genuine through and through. Otherwise, she might already have begun doubting her entire worldview.
But even so, things were not much better. This was only her first day using "Rasiel." At this rate, without any external interference, it would not be long before she, just like in the original story, grew to despise humanity and chose to wear a mask when interacting with others.
...
A little past eight the next morning, a visibly dispirited Nia Honjou arrived at the gate of the Himekawa household's villa, her steps somewhat heavy.
Staring at the villa gate that blocked her view, she momentarily forgot what she was supposed to do next.
After learning about the ugly roots of human nature through "Rasiel" yesterday, she had suffered from insomnia and had not slept at all the entire night.
Logically speaking, with her current constitution as a Spirit, a single all-nighter should not have burdened her body in the slightest. Yet her spirit still felt exhausted.
The root cause was not the act of staying up all night itself, but rather what she had been thinking about during that sleepless night.
Yesterday's searches had completely overturned her understanding of most of the people around her, to the point that she no longer dared to face those she knew. She even wanted to find an empty place to hide away from everyone.
Fortunately, her infatuation with Eriri had not diminished in the slightest. Moreover, she had not found any negative information about Kaguya and the others—at most, they harbored somewhat lewd thoughts toward Eriri.
But that was hardly a problem. After all, she was the same.
That was precisely why she had the courage to come here. Perhaps she wanted to seek comfort from Eriri—or perhaps an answer. An answer that would allow her to face humanity normally again.
Just as she gathered her resolve and prepared to press the doorbell, the villa gate suddenly opened from the inside.
"Oh my, Nia-chan, good morning."
The one who opened the door was Nagisa Himekawa. She had just finished preparing breakfast and had been about to wake Eriri and Yoshino when she sensed Nia Honjou's arrival.
She knew Nia had a key, so she had not planned to open the door. But when she sensed that Nia's emotions were off and that she had frozen in front of the gate, she gave up on waking the others for the moment.
"Good morning, Auntie Nagisa."
Seeing Nagisa Himekawa standing behind the door, Nia Honjou froze briefly before forcing a somewhat stiff smile.
"It looks like something's weighing on your mind. Come in first. I just finished making breakfast—have a little with me."
Nagisa Himekawa beckoned her inside. Nia did not refuse and simply followed closely behind her.
After entering the dining area, Nagisa guided Nia into a seat, then brought out a simple breakfast from the kitchen and placed it in front of her.
"Don't overthink things. Eat first. Eriri and the others are still sleeping—I'll go wake them."
Standing behind her, Nagisa gently rubbed Nia's head.
"Don't worry. No matter what happened, Eriri can handle it easily."
With that, she left the dining room and walked toward the bedrooms.
Last night, under Yoshino's persistent pleading, Eriri had not returned to the Saekano world to sleep. Instead, she stayed here and held Yoshino as they slept.
Since Eriri had not gone back, Mio naturally stayed as well, sleeping on Eriri's other side.
With the little girl Yoshino nestled between them, there had been no deeper exchanges that night. They had simply cuddled together and slept peacefully.
As for Kaguya Yamai and Yamai Yuzuru, the two sisters had been arranged in a separate room.
When Nagisa Himekawa pushed open the bedroom door where the three were sleeping, the first thing she saw was Eriri lying on her side like a sleeping beauty, her brilliant golden hair spread across the bed.
Yoshino, dressed in a rabbit-themed pajama set, was curled up in Eriri's arms like a kitten, while Mio wrapped her arms around Eriri's waist from behind, her body pressed tightly against Eriri's back.
Nagisa had long since grown used to this sight. There was nothing inappropriate about it. Their pajamas were worn neatly, and it simply looked like three close girls sleeping together.
—
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We've now officially caught up to the latest chapter released by the author. This means there will be no daily update for the time being, as future releases depend on the author's own schedule.
I'll be checking regularly and will translate any new chapter as soon as it's released.
Thank you all for your continued support!