Sakamaki Izayoi.
As the protagonist of Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, she had been cultivated since childhood by Canary — the leader of No Name's predecessor alliance — as a candidate challenger for the "Last Trial of Humanity." The secrets she carried were far too numerous to count.
Her Gift, which even a Gift Card could not identify — listed only as Unknown — was, in its true nature, the "Third Perpetual Motion Machine": the crystallization of humanity's hope and potential. A terrifying power capable of creating something from nothing, shattering the very laws of thermodynamics.
Across the countless worlds and heavens, overpowered protagonists were hardly in short supply. But those who had reached Izayoi's particular tier were, in truth, not all that many — though why, in this Little Garden specifically, Izayoi happened to be a girl was anyone's guess.
None of that mattered, though. Being attacked right at the opening was, in a certain sense, something Suke had more or less grown accustomed to —
The headphone girl's heavy fist arrived right on cue. Before Suke had even a moment to react, Abigail — standing at his side — raised one hand, and layer upon layer of space-time immediately reduced the fist that had been about to reach the two of them to an infinite, crawling standstill.
This wasn't a slowdown in the sense of a weakness debuff. It was a manipulation of space-time's very continuity.
The fist — containing enough force to shatter an entire mountain range — hung frozen in the air, unable to draw any closer. And the headphone girl named Sakamaki Izayoi arched an eyebrow.
"Interesting — is this Zeno's Tortoise?"
"This is way more entertaining than that loach from before! Something at that level, I couldn't even be bothered to show up for!"
The words tumbled out of the headphone girl's mouth. Beyond sheer physical power, her intellect and education were the apex of the world she had come from.
Having been raised from childhood by Canary as humanity's future savior, she saw through the nature of the power Abigail was wielding in the blink of an eye — and was already preparing her next move.
But clearly, Abigail had no intention of giving her that chance.
After all, this was merely the tiniest fraction of the Silver Key's power. If Izayoi thought this was the full extent of it, she was sorely mistaken.
[Kneel.]
Just as Sakamaki Izayoi prepared to rouse the power within her — using the ability to create something from nothing to tear herself free from the severed space-time continuum — a single simple word fell from Abigail's lips.
"—?!"
The spatial lock that had been on the very verge of being shattered by Izayoi's power abruptly reinforced itself with sudden, absolute ferocity. Layer upon layer of space-time came pressing down from the invisible heavens above — and even with the headphone girl's power, her breath caught in her throat.
That was the weight of space-time. The weight that no living being was ever meant to carry.
The Silver Key — which concentrated within it the weight of every space-time in existence — merely by falling, could punch clean through the paradise that housed the gods and buddhas of all the heavens.
Even if only a single grain of dust's worth were carved from it and placed upon the headphone girl's Gift — it would be a burden the current her could absolutely not bear.
"Grrk——!"
Her body shook violently, like grain in a sieve. The ground beneath her didn't show even the faintest dent — and yet the headphone girl, crushed beneath the weight of space-time, couldn't hold on for more than a few labored breaths before she dropped with a resounding thud onto one knee.
"Heheh... that's more like it!"
"This world really is so much more interesting... hey — am I allowed to admit defeat now?"
Kneeling before another person was far more humiliating than being defeated head-on. The moment those words left her opponent's lips, Izayoi finally understood she had badly misjudged the situation.
But she didn't seem to feel any particular anger or shame about it. Instead, she cracked a wide grin —
With one trembling leg barely managing to keep her from going down completely, she addressed Suke and Abigail in the most audacious tone imaginable, delivering the most defeated words possible.
"S-Suke! Miss Abigail!"
Black Rabbit arrived at precisely that moment, running up to the scene. One look at Sakamaki Izayoi — on her knees, body shaking like a leaf, unmistakably having been put through absolute hell — and Black Rabbit immediately performed a perfect 180-degree bow to the two of them.
"I'm so sorry! This was my negligence — I failed to react in time, and because of that, things ended up like this!"
"These children are existences of vital importance to both me and my community, No Name... please, I beg you, spare their lives. Whatever compensation you require, I will pay it!"
One had to hand it to Moon Rabbits — that body flexibility was truly something else. Standing completely upright, she had bowed so deeply her forehead was nearly grazing her own toes.
"What are you on about — Shiroyasha already vouched for us as the good guys. And honestly, I rather appreciate the energy of young people."
"Get up, Black Rabbit. You're about to have a wardrobe malfunction."
Suke spread his hands. In truth, he had only followed Black Rabbit out here to see what the scene of summoning the three Problem Children looked like at the start of the plot — he hadn't expected his own personal aggro aura to activate again.
But times had changed. Just as one doesn't think twice about an insect briefly landing on them — and if the insect happened to be a beautifully patterned butterfly, one might not even mind observing it with some genuine interest.
"...? Oh — right, of course!"
Equally, as Suke's words fell, the space-time pressing down on Sakamaki Izayoi was withdrawn by Abigail. Black Rabbit immediately moved to help the still-unsteady headphone girl back to her feet.
"So... the current situation is..."
Kudou Asuka and Kasukabe You stepped forward. Everything had happened so fast that neither of them had managed to get a clear picture of what was going on.
But from the looks of it, this rabbit-eared girl didn't seem to harbor any ill intent toward them — otherwise she wouldn't have reacted to the headphone girl who'd arrived in this world alongside them with such evident concern.
"Ahem — I am Black Rabbit, the very one who sent the invitation letters that summoned you all here!"
"Do you find yourself weary of your past lives — tired of it all, bored to the bone? Then welcome! Welcome to this place — to this world called Little Garden —"
Having composed herself, Black Rabbit slid smoothly back into her welcoming-committee role. After all, these three standing before her were the true saviors No Name had been waiting for:
"A divine paradise of infinite possibilities — built upon the Gift Games where everything is staked!"
____
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