After entering gumi Kato's bedroom, Rei Ao took a mont to observe the room.
It was a refreshing space, decorated with a delicate, feminine touch.
"What are you looking at, Rei Ao-kun?" gumi asked.
"Nothing, I just find the way your room is decorated surprisingly cute."
"People at ho often say I have a blank expression, but I'm just an ordinary girl too," gumi replied, then gestured towards the living room. "Rei Ao-kun, let's go to the living room. No one else will be ho today."
"?"
Rei Ao narrowed his eyes. "gumi, don't you think that sounded a bit risky… maybe even suggestive?"
gumi tilted her head, her expression blank, as if she didn't understand what he was hinting at. Rei Ao had a feeling she was doing it on purpose.
After making tea, gumi asked, "Was that really a ghost?"
"Yes and no," Rei Ao replied, giving a sowhat ambiguous answer before explaining, as Raphiel had described, the form of the figure they had seen. It was indeed the soul of soone who had passed on—a ghost, in a sense. However, it wasn't sothing harmful like an evil spirit.
According to Raphiel, it was a "wandering soul" that hadn't yet reached the afterlife. Such souls linger in the human world, without consciousness or movent, simply standing in place and sotis, by chance, being seen before vanishing soon after. So, there was no danger, and Raphiel had already sent that wandering soul to the afterlife.
"So people really can reincarnate," gumi said thoughtfully after listening.
"Not everyone can reincarnate," Rei Ao corrected her.
Most beings were created from nothing and, even in the afterlife, not everyone would be granted reincarnation. It was a structured realm, with rules for selecting which souls would be allowed that path. And, just as in the human world, there were rewards and consequences based on one's virtues and misdeeds during life. Only a small number of souls would actually be reincarnated.
"The afterlife, how fascinating," gumi remarked, clearly intrigued by the concept of a modernized afterlife.
"gumi, it's best not to be too curious about that sort of thing," Rei Ao chuckled. "You're too young to be thinking about what happens after death."
gumi smiled. "Don't worry, Rei Ao-kun. I'm not eager to die. I'm simply curious."
Rei Ao was curious, too. Raphiel had ntioned a certain na: Kanade Tachibana.
Kanade was the highest authority in the afterlife, on par with the leaders of the heavens and the underworld. No wonder he had felt an odd sense of familiarity when Raphiel first ntioned the afterlife. Kanade Tachibana, known as "Angel" in *Angel Beats!*, was the student council president in the afterlife's school, but here, she was a ruler of an entire dinsion. The revelation had given Rei Ao much to think about.
As he pondered ways to reach the afterlife without actually dying, the chat group unexpectedly chid in with a new trade request.
[Ding! Tohru has sent a trade request!]
[Trade request:] Remove the God Sword from her body.
[Ding! Please select the trade conditions.]
Tohru. She had joined the chat group alongside Yukino Yukinoshita but had only spoken once. Based on the available information, Rei Ao had a fairly good guess as to her identity.
[Na:] Tohru
[Level:] 50
[Abilities:] "Dragon Bloodline," "Dragon Magic"
Her na was Tohru. She was a dragon and even higher-level than him. With the chat's specific requirents for mbership—being an "ani-based female character"—there was only one conclusion Rei Ao could reach: she was likely *Tohru from Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid*.
"The God Sword… does that an Tohru is dying?"
Rei Ao recalled Tohru's initial ssage about being in battle, which must have been with so sort of divine beings. If he rembered correctly, removing the God Sword was no easy task; it was infused with divine power from another world. Though he was currently a lower level than Tohru, he was curious if he could actually pull it out.
Rei Ao didn't know for sure, but he decided he would go and find out. With that, he set the trade conditions and prepared to assist her.
…
Several dozen minutes earlier…
Crack!
The stillness of the night sky shattered as a segnt of space splintered open.
Boom!
Monts later, a massive figure burst through, descending vertically into the forest below.
Crash!!!
A wide expanse of trees was crushed, cushioning the impact of the creature's fall.
The being that had fallen was a giant green dragon—Tohru.
"Urgh…"
A deep, weak groan escaped her dragon's mouth, sounding pained and devoid of strength.
The reason for her weakness was the God Sword embedded in her body, which had gravely wounded her. In a battle against the gods, Tohru had been defeated. The sword, summoned by the gods, was a bane to her powers, suppressing her strength to the point where she couldn't even recover.
The God Sword was a holy weapon created by the gods, bearing the command to slay any dragon in its sight. This sword possessed unique powers that Tohru couldn't counter. Pierced by it, she could only lie there, powerless to remove it, awaiting death.
Her dragon head drooped, eyes filled with exhaustion and resignation. For the first ti, she felt drained—drained from war, from combat, from the endless taking of lives.
Perhaps death was the ultimate fate for those who had fought so relentlessly. Dragons were no exception. Tohru, in this rare mont of stillness, felt her mind calm. No longer burdened by thoughts of battle, she only wanted peace.
In this mont of clarity, Tohru rembered the chat group that had appeared during the fight. At first, she had thought it was another ploy by the gods to distract her, but the chat feature was still active.
"A… trade?"
With little to lose, she tried it out, sending a trade request. Not long after, a response arrived.
[Ding! Your trade request has been approved!]
[Trade Condition:] "Dragon Bloodline" and "Dragon Magic"
[Ding! Do you wish to confirm this trade?]
Seeing that the trade wouldn't alter her form, Tohru decided to confirm it.
In human terms, this was a gamble—a last, desperate asure.
[Ding! Trade comncing!]
[Trade Partner:] Tohru
[Trade Task:] Remove the God sword embedded in her body
[Trade Condition:] "Dragon Bloodline" and "Dragon Magic"
[Ti of Stay:] Unlimited
"???"
Upon seeing the "unlimited" ti limit, Rei Ao wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
"Rei Ao-kun, sothing seems strange about this trade," gumi Kato noted, seeing the unusual prompt.
Everyone in the chat noticed as well.
Mai Sakurajima: "@Rei Ao, what's with this trade? Unlimited ti?"
Mai was the most upset; if Rei Ao went and couldn't co back, she would never accept it.
Saeko Busujima: "This feels off sohow."
Aya Yomogawa: "Lord Rei Ao, maybe it's best not to go through with this trade."
Frieren: "There's a real chance of trouble here. And it involves dragons and gods!"
Sui: "Yes, yes, if it's dangerous, please don't do it!"
Stella: "Hmm… for soone so new to start off with such a big request is a little unnerving."
Yukino Yukinoshita: "Will this trade actually require him to stay in her world?"
Shizue Izawa: "But Rei Ao-kun should be able to cancel the trade and co back whenever he wants, right?"
Rei Ao: "Yes, I can cancel the trade at any ti if needed."
Whatever the situation, it seed that the chat prioritized Rei Ao's well-being.
Rei Ao: "Still, I have a theory about what's going on here."
Rei Ao: "I'll go investigate."
"What *are* they talking about?" Tohru wondered as she watched the ssages scrolling by, vaguely making out what was being discussed.
At that mont...
A figure appeared on the forest path—a human, staggering as she walked.
"Ugh, I hate working overti... ugh, overti sucks…" grumbled a pink-haired woman with glasses. Her swaying walk and flushed cheeks made it clear she was drunk, muttering complaints about her company and late hours, the epito of a worn-out office worker.
As she stumbled along, she suddenly collided with sothing hard and fell backward.
"Ouch… that hurt," she murmured, rubbing her forehead. "Did I hit a utility pole? Or maybe a tree?" Blinking through her foggy vision, she strained to focus on the large object before her.
It looked… enormous. And what she saw resembled two gigantic lanterns, glaring down at her.
"Human, leave this place!" A weak but forceful voice bood, accompanied by a powerful gust of wind that knocked her back again.
"Wah! Wh-what was that?" she squeaked, still bleary-eyed and dazed, unable to comprehend the enormity of the creature before her. Had she been fully aware, she would have been completely dumbfounded.
Tohru loathed humans. In her world, they were deceitful and treacherous, often foes of dragons. She wanted to kill the human who had seen her… but the surge of energy quickly faded, leaving her weakened once more. She dropped her head in exhaustion. The God Sword was continually burning her insides, relentlessly sapping her strength.
In this state, Tohru couldn't even summon the strength to speak. All she could do was lay there, waiting for the inevitable. The God Sword could only be removed by another; she was helpless against it herself. But she doubted any human would willingly help a dragon, their supposed enemy.
"Just as I thought."
Rei Ao appeared before Tohru's massive dragon head, clicking his tongue in amazent. Glancing to the side, he noticed the swaying woman who had just stumbled to her feet. He imdiately understood.
Well, well. Kobayashi had shown up too.
There was no doubt that this green dragon was Tohru.
Tohru's dragon eyes narrowed, fixing on the human who had appeared out of nowhere.
"Human, have you co to kill ?" she asked, her voice low and wary. His silent approach suggested he wasn't ordinary.
"Hmm…" Tohru groaned, straining to rise. She didn't want to die by a human's hand, not like this. But her strength failed her halfway, and she collapsed back to the ground with a thunderous crash.
The force shook the ground, making Kobayashi stumble, montarily clearing her head. Rubbing her eyes, she looked more closely and finally recognized the form in front of her.
"Is… that a dragon???" she gasped, her mouth agape in disbelief. She took a few steps back, barely able to process what she was seeing. "This must be a dream, right?" She raised her hand to pinch herself, as if that would help.
Rei Ao just smiled at her reaction, focusing his attention on Tohru.
"You think I'm here to kill you," he said, "but I'm not."
"Not here to kill ?" Tohru's dragon eyes narrowed in suspicion. She had witnessed humanity's deceit and treachery over millennia. His words rang hollow to her ears, and she remained on guard.
Rei Ao simply shrugged, "Did you forget our trade agreent?"
At this, Tohru's eyes widened as she rembered the trade request she'd sent out.
"It's you!" she breathed, shocked.
Instead of replying, Rei Ao glanced around, confirming his suspicion. "So I was right…"
"Right about what?" Tohru demanded, fixing him with a steely gaze.
"Nothing you need to worry about. For now, let examine that sword," he replied, leaping onto Tohru's back with ease.
Tohru barely reacted, eyeing him with a trace of curiosity. She doubted he could pull out the God Sword; the weapon wielded by the gods was ant to be immovable by re mortals.
But as Rei Ao grasped the hilt and casually pulled the sword out, Tohru's dragon eyes widened in utter disbelief.
"I'm sorry," Rei Ao said, smirking, "but I've never held gods in high regard, nor do I have any faith in them."
"…"
Tohru was speechless. Could there really be soone with not an ounce of faith in the gods?
Kobayashi, who had been examining Tohru's massive form in amazent, raised her hand unsteadily. "I don't believe in gods either!"
~~~
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