Had Hozuki Nozomi lingered a moment longer at the site of the former shrine, he would have witnessed a peculiar phenomenon. The newly appeared plaque bearing the characters for "Miyamizu Shrine" flickered once, as if its existence was unstable, then slowly crumbled into fine, grey dust that scattered on the wind.
Not only the plaque.
A gentle, yet thorough, breeze swept through the clearing. As it passed, the entire shrine structure—the torii gate, the offering hall, the haiden—all dissolved silently into the same ethereal dust, leaving behind only an empty, wooded lot as if nothing had ever been there.
Unbeknownst to Nozomi, a small, cool, smooth object had materialized in his jacket pocket during the encounter.
***
Leading the three shaken girls to a quieter, more public area, Hozuki Nozomi finally stopped. "Alright, Miko, Hana-chan, start from the beginning. What exactly happened? And you," he turned his gaze to the unfamiliar twin-tailed girl, "who are you?"
The girl immediately dropped into a formal, kneeling bow, her forehead nearly touching the ground. "Hello, Master! I am Yuria Niguredou, a friend of Miko and Yurikawa-san! Please, accept me as your disciple!"
Nozomi blinked, taken aback. She's already rushing to become a disciple?
Yuria Niguredou had spent a lifetime seeking someone who could understand her world. She had once found an elderly obaasan who crafted minor wards—a genuine, if retiring, exorcist. But the old woman had refused to take on an apprentice. When Yuria returned, determined to plead her case relentlessly, the woman had vanished without a trace. The display of power she had just witnessed from Hozuki Nozomi—the effortless annihilation of a terrifying false deity—was beyond anything she had imagined. This was her chance.
"Master, I also possess the Spirit Sight! I will study diligently and won't be a burden, I swear! Please accept me! I am willing to do anything!" she implored, her voice trembling with a mixture of fear and desperate hope.
Yotsuya Miko and Yurikawa Hana made no move to interfere. They were still recovering from their own scare, and Yuria's actions seemed perfectly logical to them. In their world, finding a reliable anchor was paramount.
Nozomi considered her request for a moment, then gave a slight nod. One apprentice, two apprentices… three makes no real difference. However, he felt compelled to reiterate his unique… tuition fees. "Becoming my disciple carries a specific price," he stated, his tone serious. "You must become part of my family. Permanently."
As for what kind of "family" he meant, he left that to their imaginations.
Hearing the familiar condition, Yotsuya Miko and Yurikawa Hana both flushed pink, recalling their own agreements. Yuria Niguredou was stunned for a second, then her brain made the inevitable connection: strangers becoming family… girls and a man… the implication was clear. He means marriage! This Master really has no sense of propriety at all!
Yet, the alternative—a life of constant, helpless terror—was worse. Swallowing her embarrassment, Yuria nodded firmly. "I… I understand. I accept."
With a new disciple acquired, Nozomi distributed a practical dowry: a dozen Body Protection Talismans and several Demonic Flame Cards to each girl for basic offense. His full magical template was still locked behind the virtual reality game's public launch, so formal instruction would have to wait. For now, practical tools would have to suffice.
He then spent some extra time with the trio, engaging in lighthearted banter and casual games to help dispel the lingering fear from their ordeal. By the time he escorted them to safer ground and finally returned to Sakura Dormitory, the sky was painted with the deep oranges and purples of dusk.
He was just about to head to his room when Shiina Mahiru approached him, a wrinkle of worry on her brow. "Nozomi-kun, could you go look for Nanami? She went out to buy soy sauce two hours ago and still isn't back. I'm getting worried."
"Two hours? For soy sauce?" Nozomi's relaxed demeanor vanished. "I'll find her."
Stepping outside the dormitory grounds, he immediately activated the Person-Locating Mode of his Game Life System. A shimmering golden arrow materialized in his vision, pointing unerringly in a specific direction. If you have a cheat, use it. He had always been quite satisfied with this particular function.
****
Meanwhile, Aoyama Nanami was fighting the urge to look over her shoulder. She walked slowly down a seemingly ordinary residential street, having passed under the glow of countless identical streetlights. The red-haired beauty walking silently beside her wore a deeply apologetic expression.
She was Yusa Emi.
The two had been walking in silence for what felt like an eternity. They would approach a familiar-looking corner, turn it…
…only to find themselves facing another stretch of the same road, with the same streetlight, the same alley mouth branching off to the side.
Aoyama Nanami's legs finally gave out. She slumped against a wall, slid down to sit on the cold pavement, and hugged her knees to her chest, placing the bag containing the bottle of soy sauce carefully beside her. Her voice was small and trembling. "Emi-san… can we really get out of here?"
They had been walking for over two hours. Her stomach growled with hunger, but more than that, a deep, existential dread was settling in. They were trapped.
Yusa Emi let out a heavy sigh and sat down next to her. "Nanami, trust me. I will get you out of here. I swear it on my title as the Hero, Amelia Justina!"
"Ame… lia?" Nanami mumbled, confused.
Yusa Emi offered a small, determined smile. Channeling her inner power, a soft silver light began to emanate from her. Her casual red hair shimmered and transformed into a cascade of brilliant silver. Her ordinary clothes dissolved into motes of light, replaced by form-fitting, elegant silver armor adorned with intricate engravings. With a whispered incantation, a magnificent longsword, glowing with a pure, holy radiance, materialized in her grasp.
She turned her now-gentle, luminous gaze to the stunned Aoyama Nanami. "Yes. My true name is Amelia Justina. I am a Hero, summoned from another world."
Aoyama Nanami's jaw dropped. She stared, utterly disbelieving, at the Valkyrie-like figure now sitting beside her—the familiar convenience store coworker transformed into a being of myth and light. "You… you're Emi-san? This isn't… some kind of special effect?"
"Of course not," Yusa Emi—Amelia—replied, her tone laced with regret. "And it is my fault you are caught in this. I dragged you into a battle with monsters. But do not worry. I will get you out of this place safely, no matter what."
The sequence of events was frustratingly simple. She had been finishing her shift at the convenience store when she ran into Nanami shopping for soy sauce. Off work, she offered to walk back with her to Sakura Dormitory. Passing a particular alley, her honed senses had screamed—the vile aura of a demon, weak but present. Acting on instinct, she had rushed to confront it. Worried for her friend, Nanami had followed. And in that moment of crossing a boundary neither could see, both had fallen into this looping, endless corridor.
***
Back with Hozuki Nozomi, he followed the golden arrow to its terminus—a perfectly normal, empty street corner. Nanami was nowhere to be seen.
Is the system glitching? he wondered, frowning at the arrow that now pointed straight at the pavement.
Just then, the Game Life System chimed with a new notification.
[Ding! Congratulations, Player, for triggering a special quest: Reclamation of the Divine Artifacts.]
[This world is far more complex than the Player imagines. As a God Child, you must possess the requisite grandeur. The divine artifacts left in the human world by the Goddess shall serve as your stepping stones to divinity.]
[Collect as many divine artifacts as possible. Reward per artifact collected: One Skill Entry or Item Draw, plus a fixed reward of 100,000 yen.]
Nozomi's interest was immediately piqued. Divine artifacts? So such things really exist? But his priority snapped back. Wait, I'm here to find Nanami. Where is she?
[Ding! Detected Divine Artifact: [Eternal Corridor]. Please commence collection.]
"Eternal Corridor? What's that?"
[Ding! Please observe the small, round hand mirror discarded in the corner.]
[Eternal Corridor: One of the divine artifacts left in the human world by the Goddess. Currently activated and in a passively triggered state.]
[Those led into the Eternal Corridor will never find its end, perishing from despair and hunger.]
[The Eternal Corridor cannot be broken from the outside.]
Reading the description, Nozomi's mouth twitched in irritation. Cannot be broken from the outside? Then what's the point! What about Nanami?!
Just as frustration mounted, another prompt appeared.
[Ding! The Eternal Corridor can only be breached from within. To reclaim it, the Player must guide those inside onto the correct path.]
Guide them? How? Nozomi thought, exasperated. Their phones won't work in there… Wait. Phone.
He remembered Yotsuya Miko's ingenious, if embarrassing, solution from earlier.
If an angel's blessing can insulate a signal enough to make a call out… maybe it can also get a call in?
Without another second's delay, Hozuki Nozomi turned and sprinted back towards Sakura Dormitory. He needed to find Frieren and, hopefully, borrow another one of her "blessings"—preferably not another article of underwear, but he'd take what he could get.
To his immense relief and slight surprise, when he held the imbued item to his phone and dialed Nanami's number…
It connected.