Asuna glanced at Arcueid, who was looking back at her with a face full of curiosity, and couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh.
She had originally intended to regroup with the others, but she hadn't expected to be intercepted halfway. What's more, the person who stopped her had immediately identified her as a traveler from another world.
Looking at the message from Ren Isana, Asuna felt his assessment made a lot of sense. After a brief conversation, she realized that this vampire was indeed frighteningly naive.
"What does she want with you?" Ren Isana's message came through again. Seeing this, Asuna felt a bit depressed because she didn't actually know what the other woman's goal was.
"I don't know... She just said she wants to follow me..." Asuna honestly relayed the situation to Ren Isana. This answer caught Ren Isana off guard. Arcueid was temporarily following Asuna? What was that supposed to mean?
Ren Isana frowned and pondered for a moment before giving up on the riddle. He couldn't guess the vampire's motives, so he sent a reply to Asuna: "If she doesn't show any ill intent, just let her follow you for now. This vampire is definitely not ordinary. Try to see if you can learn a trick or two from her!"
Ren Isana didn't understand what she was after, but it didn't matter. Since she wanted to tag along, let her. He was actually quite envious of Arcueid's ability—[Marble Phantasm]. Ren Isana wanted that one badly.
The power to transform the world into an environment depicted in one's own mind, to manifest anything one desires out of thin air—that was practically the power of a Creator God.
On the other end, Asuna felt helpless reading the message, but she had no other choice. This was how things were for now; it wasn't like she could just force the woman to leave.
After giving Ren Isana a brief update on her side of things, Asuna turned to talk to Arcueid. "Miss Arcueid, I'm going to look for my companions now. If you want to follow, then come along."
Hearing Asuna's words, Arcueid nodded vigorously. "Mhm, mhm! Please look after me. The world told me to follow you, saying that your side could solve my problem."
The reason she had come looking for Asuna was actually due to information she received from the World Will. It told her that she only needed to follow this girl, which made Arcueid very happy.
Asuna couldn't shake the feeling that she was being played like a pawn. It had started the moment they entered this world—first they were all forcibly separated, and then strange people began showing up at their doorsteps.
*Are there really this many vampires in this world?* she wondered. Several people in her class had already run into them. *At this rate, is someone in the class going to end up turning into a vampire?* A strange thought flashed through Asuna's mind.
After ending his chat with Asuna, Ren Isana looked through the messages from the others. Most were reporting their own situations, and unsurprisingly, almost everyone had encountered some strange existence or another.
Reading these messages, Ren Isana became increasingly speechless. Every single one was a magnet for trouble. Even though many of them were people Ren Isana didn't personally know, they all seemed to be hauling baggage.
Some had even been approached by people from the Church, asking them to help purge heretics under the guise of it being a "divine revelation."
"I'm tired. Just let it all burn. I feel like they're just planning to use us as free labor!!" Ren Isana put his phone away, too lazy to overthink it anymore.
He didn't believe for a second that this collective wave of incidents was a coincidence. Either Alaya or Gaia had to be behind it, planning to make these interdimensional travelers handle their dirty work!
He figured he was included in that plan as well. Why else would he have ended up in Fuyuki City and gotten involved in the Holy Grail War? Were they planning to have him deal with the Evil of This World?
Ren Isana thought for a moment and immediately used his mind to contact Natsuki Minamiya. He wanted to see if he could still reach out in this world and if the marks were still functional.
"Natsuki, can you hear me?" Ren Isana activated the mark on his forehead to initiate contact. However, this time, his call was met with a long silence.
In a place unknown to Ren Isana, two beings were currently hesitating. They had intercepted the message Ren Isana sent out and were whispering to each other, debating whether or not to cut off the connection between these people and their home world.
"Forget it, forget it. If we really cut it off, I suspect that side might just launch a direct invasion. Better not, Alaya!" Gaia decided to give up on the idea of completely severing the link.
If they really cut the connection, the other side might think something terrible had happened to this group and actually declare war. Especially regarding Ren Isana... how could such a guy be born in that world? Was that kind of talent for real?
"Hmm... you have a point. But if these people want to gain benefits from our world, they'd better work hard!!" Alaya agreed that it made sense, and she promptly stopped intercepting Ren Isana's communication.
She allowed the message Ren Isana had just sent to pass through. Of course, she was definitely going to eavesdrop. She was terrified that Ren Isana might be plotting something strange.
As a World Will, intercepting information flowing out of her own world was incredibly simple. It was precisely because of this that Ren Isana's message had been snatched the moment it was sent.
Natsuki Minamiya's response was fashionably late. Hearing Ren Isana's voice, she quickly replied, "I hear you. What's the situation on your end?"
Upon receiving the reply, Ren Isana didn't overthink it, assuming it was just a case of lag. He began updating her: "We were forced apart. All the students in the class have been scattered across the world."
Hearing this, Natsuki Minamiya's brow furrowed. Were the locals there really that unfriendly? Were they afraid her students would cause trouble? Natsuki Minamiya felt a wave of dissatisfaction.
"Tch, how stingy. I said we should have just invaded directly. A mere world trying to act up?" Natsuki's annoyed voice came through. The eavesdropping Alaya and Gaia were instantly dumbfounded.
What kind of talk was that? What did she mean by "invaded directly"? Dammit, what do you people take our world for? This is too much!! Also, who are you calling stingy?!
"I didn't think you were such a radical, Natsuki. But never mind that. Do you want a daughter... wait, I mean, an apprentice? I picked up a little one with a very strong spatial affinity. I'm busy doing manual labor for this world and might not have time to look after her. If you want her, I'll send her over."
Natsuki Minamiya's interest was piqued when Ren Isana mentioned a child with a strong spatial affinity. If that was the case, she really was interested.
Even though Ren Isana had perfectly copied all her spatial techniques using [Jianjigu], it had left her feeling like she lacked any sense of accomplishment as a teacher. If he could find her a talented child with spatial potential, she certainly wouldn't mind raising another Gap Beauty.
"Then send her back to me. Let's see if this world even allows people to be sent through," Natsuki Minamiya agreed immediately, though there was a hint of testing in her tone.
Ren Isana understood her instantly. If he couldn't send a person back, it would prove someone was meddling. It might even mean they were in danger, as they could be intercepted at any time!
With that thought, Ren Isana spoke up quickly. "Alright, I'll send her to you tomorrow. I need to tell her something: if I can't send her back, it means our safety line is useless and this world has no sincerity. If that happens, find a way to bail us out. We might have to go to war!"
Ren Isana was prepared for the worst. If they were truly trapped in this world, war was the only option. Though he wasn't sure if their world would actually go to war for their sake...
"Right. If these methods fail, then prepare for war. Make sure you're ready on your end as well. When the time comes, we'll hit them from both sides. I don't believe the people there can actually stand against us. Just be careful!" Natsuki's tone became incredibly solemn.
The two finalized the plan and agreed to contact each other tomorrow. Every single word they spoke was heard clearly by Alaya and Gaia.
"Unforgivable! Damn it! What is wrong with them? These bastards really do have bad intentions. Both of them are already thinking about war? This is way too much!!" Alaya was fuming after listening to their conversation.
If she hadn't overheard them, she wouldn't have known that the people from that side were so unfriendly toward their world. They were thinking about war all day, weren't they? Fine! I'll go gather my Grand Heroic Spirits right now!
"Calm down, Alaya. If we really go to war, we won't gain anything... That world's World Will isn't one to be messed with... She's taller than us, stronger than us, has longer legs than us, and a better figure..." Gaia hurriedly held Alaya back.
She couldn't let her be impulsive. Impulsiveness was the devil. That other World Will was far stronger than them. If a fight really broke out, they might make that side pay a price, but their own world might just cease to exist.
Hearing Gaia's words, Alaya puffed out her cheeks in anger but had no choice but to concede, knowing Gaia was right. Alaya sighed, her gaze landing on Ren Isana before slowly shifting to Sakura.
With a cold snort, Alaya directly deleted all the parallel world timelines attached to Sakura, leaving only the current one. *You want to take her away? Then take her!* The angry Alaya was merely venting her frustrations.
By the way, she deleted the timelines, though they probably would have been deleted anyway once the girl reached that other world. Now, Sakura had only one future.
After ending the call with Natsuki Minamiya, Ren Isana breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that he could still reach people; his biggest fear was being cut off. He didn't dwell on it further and lay down on the bed to rest.
Outside, Morgan and Da Vinci looked at each other, both unable to hide their surprise. Both had sensed Alaya's presence just now. Although it was only a fleeting flash, they had captured it.
It seemed the World Will was paying very close attention to their Master. This was going to be interesting. Was it normal for visitors from another world to be constantly watched like this?
The corners of Da Vinci's mouth curled up slightly. Today's interaction with Ren Isana had made her quite interested in his world. Would she have the chance to go over there and play, or perhaps exchange ideas, in the future?