The morning sun warmed the city streets. Hayato and Lala walked side by side, their hands accidentally brushing against each other occasionally.
Lala was like a child who had just come to Earth for the first time, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at every shop, traffic light, and people passing by. Her innocent wonder made some people smile seeing her.
"Hayato, look at that!" Lala suddenly pulled Hayato's arm, pointing to a restaurant with a retro-style signboard that read 'Wagnaria'.
"Is that a food restaurant? How about we eat there?"
Hayato followed the direction of her finger. The name stirred something in his memory—a vague sense of déjà vu. He had heard or read about Wagnaria… a restaurant from a slice-of-life anime? But his memory was hazy.
This world was indeed a combination; perhaps Wagnaria was just a small part of the background, not as important as the main plots of DxD or To Love-Ru. He sighed. Better to focus on this date and think about long-term strategy.
"Why not?" Hayato answered, smiling. "Let's try it."
However, in his mind, other thoughts swirled. Influencing plot points in the human world like this had too small an impact for his system upgrade.
He opened the door to Wagnaria. A small bell above the door rang ding-dong.
The atmosphere inside was warm and cozy. The aroma of coffee, cakes, and food was tempting. There were only a few customers—an elderly couple in a corner, a man alone reading a newspaper, and a group of teenagers laughing merrily.
They looked for a seat near the window. Before Hayato could even pick up a menu, a female waitress approached with quick steps and a professional smile.
What made Hayato slightly startled—the female waitress, with long Golden Brown hair, was carrying a long katana sword slung at her waist, over her restaurant apron.
[Why carry a sword in a restaurant?] Hayato thought, unconsciously.
The waitress—Yachiyo Todoroki—jolted slightly. Her eyes widened a little. "Uhh… did you say something?" she asked, her voice flat but sounding confused.
Hayato replied confusedly. "No," he said, shaking his head.
"Just… impressed with the decor." He quickly picked up a menu and opened it.
"I'll order Omurice, Green Tea, and Strawberry Cake." He turned to Lala. "What do you want, Lala?"
Lala rested her chin on her hand, her eyes scanning the menu seriously. "I want Steak, Parfait, and for the drink… Oolong Tea!"
Hayato flinched slightly. Oolong Tea? That reminded him of the anime Grand Blue—an absurd comedy about divers and… alcoholic drinks disguised as tea. This world really incorporated everything.
Yachiyo noted the order quickly. "Alright. Please wait a moment." She walked away gracefully, the sword at her waist swaying gently.
While waiting, Hayato took out his smartphone and opened a browser, accessing a site he had just discovered: DeviTube.
A website that seemed only accessible to those with some awareness of the supernatural world—or perhaps helped by his system.
It was full of forums, vague videos, and articles about "The Cold War of the Three Factions", "Rumors of a Fallen Angel", and "Increased Sacred Gear Activity". He read seriously. This information was important.
If he could obtain a Sacred Gear, could he alter its function with the Arc of Embodiment? Or even… create fake Sacred Gears?
"What are you looking at?" Lala asked, peeking at the smartphone screen.
"The internet," Hayato answered, putting away his phone. "I'll buy you a smartphone later too."
Lala smiled broadly. "Thank you!"
Not long after, their food arrived. Yachiyo placed the plates deftly. "Enjoy your meal."
Hayato began to eat his Omurice. The soft egg, savory fried rice, rich demi-glace sauce—perfect.
He chewed slowly, not just enjoying, but also analyzing. He tried to remember every layer of flavor, the texture of the egg, the moisture of the rice.
This was practice for his Arc of Embodiment. To create perfect food, he needed to understand its composition deeply.
Lala devoured her steak with adorable enthusiasm, then finished her parfait with sparkling eyes.
After they were done, Hayato called Yachiyo for the bill. At the cashier, a brown-haired man with glasses—Souta Takanashi—smiled warmly. "How much for everything?" Hayato asked.
"Omurice, Strawberry Cake, Green Tea, Steak, Parfait, and Oolong Tea…" Souta calculated quickly. "Total 8000 Yen."
Hayato took out his wallet. He still had 10,000 Yen. He paid and received his change.
"Thank you for coming," said Souta with a professional smile, though his eyes glanced briefly at the beautiful and cheerful Lala, then at Hayato, as if wondering how a teenager like him had such a striking girlfriend.
---
On the way to the electronics district, Hayato communicated with SERA mentally.
[SERA, can you create an identity for Lala? Fake residency documents, family register, school history? She'll be going to school with me starting 2 days from now.]
[SERA let out a virtual sigh: Huff. I'm not paid for this, Host.]
[Come on, SERA. At least this is a reasonable and immediately useful request. Compared to asking for money duplication yesterday.]
[SERA: …Alright. It's still 9:00 AM. It will take about 10 minutes. You go shopping for smartphones first.]
[Thank you.]
Lala, who was still holding Hayato's arm tightly, heard the internal conversation again. She didn't fully understand, but the warm and caring tone of Hayato's inner voice made her chest feel warm.
She hugged Hayato's arm tighter, unconsciously pressing something soft against it.
Hayato felt the pressure and swallowed. Not yet, he reminded himself. And besides Lala, there would be Momo and Nana who might sneak into the house later… Ah, the chaos to come.
They arrived at a large electronics store. A female employee in a neat uniform greeted them with a wide smile. "Welcome! How can I help you?"
"Find me the latest smartphone," Hayato said straight to the point. "Large storage, high specs. Price is not an issue."
The employee was surprised, then her smile grew even brighter. Customers like this were rare. "In that case, please follow me." She led them to the flagship smartphone section.
Lala was mesmerized by the row of shiny phones. The employee showed a model. "This is the latest iPhone 25, with the A30 processor, a 200 MP main camera that can record 8K 120fps, and a mini projection hologram screen."
"Get one in silver, 4TB storage," Hayato ordered. He then turned to Lala. "What color do you want?"
Lala pointed to a deep blue model. "I want the blue one!"
"Same storage," Hayato told the employee. "And add a complete set of accessories—fast charger, premium case, wireless earphones."
"Right away, Sir! Please wait a moment!"
While waiting, Hayato imagined how the world would change with Lala's Deviluke technology combined with his system and power. Perhaps they could create something truly revolutionary.
After all the items were neatly packed, Hayato took out his black American Express Centurion card from his wallet. The employee almost dropped the box upon seeing the card. She quickly completed the transaction with utmost respect.
With two shopping bags in hand, Hayato and Lala continued their journey to the City Hall.
[SERA: The documents are ready. Name: Lala Satalin Deviluke. Status: transfer from Hokkaido. All documents—fake family register, birth certificate, school transfer letter—are in your inventory. Just hand them to the clerk, they'll handle the rest.]
[Thank you, SERA. You're the best.]
The City Hall was bustling with people handling various administrative needs. Hayato held Lala's hand tightly.
"Don't go far from me, just follow. Later we'll take a queue number and submit these documents." He took out a neat stack of documents from his inventory, as if they were always in his bag.
Lala held the documents, then suddenly hugged Hayato from the side. "Okay!"
They took a queue number: 113. Currently, number 90 was being called. They found seats in the air-conditioned waiting room.
Hayato sat down, while Lala cheerfully started playing with her new iPhone, exploring the internet with Peke's help for explanations.
After waiting almost half an hour, their number was finally called. They approached the counter of a friendly middle-aged female clerk.
"Lala Satalin Deviluke," the clerk read, looking at the documents. "Transfer from Hokkaido to Chiba… Reason for moving?"
Lala smiled innocently. "To marry Hayato!"
Hayato choked slightly, his face flushing. "Ahem… Personal matter. And… I've already received her parents' blessing." He lied smoothly, remembering Gid indeed hadn't forbidden it.
The clerk smiled warmly, her eyes twinkling. "It's very rare for young people your age to be so sure. I hope you'll always be happy together."
She stamped several documents and handed over a temporary ID card and a school transfer certificate for Sobu High School. "Here's your ID. Welcome to Chiba."
"Thank you!" Lala exclaimed happily.
As they turned to leave the counter, suddenly, in Hayato and Lala's party system view, a new system window appeared with dramatic visual effects.
[NOTICE: ??? SSR SUMMON GACHA – UNLOCKED]
Trigger Detected:
Citizen identity registration:✔️
Emotional resonance:"Date" ✔️
Anomaly in relationship logic→ Non-verbal acceptance: ✔️
Reality dimension opening…
Accessing...
⛔ Unknown Data.
🎁 You have received:
[??? SUMMON] [ENTITY CLASS: UNDEFINED]
Hayato froze in place. His heart pounded. What is this? A system gacha? In the real world?
Lala also saw the window, her eyes full of curiosity and a little worry. "Hayato… what is this?"
"We better go home first," Hayato said, his voice low. "I have a bad feeling about this."
Lala nodded, holding his hand. "Sure. I'm curious too."
[SERA: Host! There's an anomaly! A backdoor breach has appeared in my system! Someone or something hacked it! I'm trying to recover and trace the source!]
[I probably know who…] Hayato thought with disgust.
[SERA: The old man? Let me analyze… There is… a hidden digital signature. Very faint. The letter 'Z'.]
SERA's voice sounded annoyed. [Yes, him. Zelretch.]
They hurried home, almost running. Once home, Hayato immediately grabbed a bottle of cold water from the fridge and drank it to calm himself. It was almost 12 noon.
Lala was impatient. "Hayato, why don't we just open the gift? After all, it's a gift from the system."
Hayato took a deep breath. "I hope this isn't a trap. But… you're right. Better to do it in a more controlled place."
He looked at his small, enclosed backyard. "Let's go to the back."
They went to the backyard filled with plant pots and a little grass. Hayato opened the system interface again. SERA appeared as a hologram, her face showing an expression of "very displeased".
"Are you sure you want to run this summon? The Entity Class is 'Undefined'. That could mean anything—from Saber Class to Beast." SERA complained.
Lala looked at SERA's hologram in awe. "Wowww! You can float and shine! So interesting!"
SERA turned to Lala, her expression softening a little. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am AI SERA, who runs this system and assists my Host, Hayato Hayama. Nice to meet you, Lala."
"Nice to meet you too, SERA!" Lala replied cheerfully.
Hayato stood straight, calming his mind. This was probably a risk. But also maybe an opportunity.
[Zelretch… he might be testing, or just being playful. But he wouldn't give something truly lethal… right?]
"I'm ready," Hayato finally said.
"Besides, there's no harm in trying. Hopefully it's not a 'Beast' or something."
"This seems like a summoning mechanism from the Fate world," SERA added.
"That old man wouldn't possibly give a summon from a world other than his own."
With a pounding heart, Hayato focused his thoughts on the [??? SUMMON] button in the system window, then pressed it mentally.
There was no explosion of light or rumbling sound. Only a sudden, oppressive silence, as if the air in the backyard had become denser. The midday sunlight instantly dimmed, as if covered by a grayish filter.
Then, from an empty point in the middle of the yard, a silhouette began to form. Slowly, from the bottom up, as if being printed by living shadow ink.
A female figure.
She looked elegant and deadly at the same time. Her hair was long silver with pink tips, styled in an elaborate twintail. Her eyes were glowing emerald green, emitting a seductive and dangerous aura.
She wore a sensual black nightgown, open at the front revealing her black panties, with black fishnet stockings and high heels. On her head, a pair of elegantly curved black horns.
She floated a few centimeters above the ground, a mysterious and meaningful smile gracing her red lips.
Above her, gold and maroon system text appeared with dramatic effects.
[SSR Summon!]
You have summoned:
Class: BERSERKER
Name: LILITH – Mother of Desire
⚠️[WARNING]⚠️
Emotion Distortion Field: Active
Pheromone Wave Detected
System AI SERA engaged Anti-Flirt Protocol
And at the bottom, in a small, handwritten-style font:
Note:
[Oh,and don't bother blaming me.
I only left the trigger switch under the rug.
You're the one who stepped on it~]
—K.Zelretch
The air around Lilith felt warm, sweet, and intoxicating. Hayato could feel a wild urge inside him—a sudden, irrational desire.
Lala frowned, her tail twitching uncomfortably, sensing the foreign influence.
SERA, her hologram blinking red. "[Anti-Flirt Protocol Active! Mental Shielding for Host and Party Member!]"
Hayato stared at the female figure—entity—before his eyes. Perhaps more dangerous in a certain way.
With a heavy breath and a face flushed from a mix of anger and pheromone influence, Hayato looked up at the sky, as if he could see the multiversal wizard there, and shouted with a voice full of exasperation:
"I SHOULD HAVE NEVER PRESSED THAT SUMMON BUTTON!!!"
Meanwhile, somewhere between dimensions, an old man with white hair laughed merrily, sipping tea while observing the chaos he had just thrown into his favorite Anomaly's life.