Nightfall

"Superconducting Wave: Thunder Cannon Mouth!"

With Oshi's excited shout, a thumb-thick golden arc sputtered crookedly from her mouth. The sand on the beach flew everywhere, leaving both her and Obe covered in dust.

As for Ra, an invisible force blocked the sand and stones before they could reach her—a simple external application of mental power.

"Cough, cough, you red-haired idiot..."

"Hey, hey, hey~ Stop! Ra-sis said today's arguing time is over, you can't curse at me anymore! Right, Ra-sis."

Knowing she was in the wrong, Oshi quickly hid her small body behind Ra, hugging her waist and poking only her head out.

"Tsk!"

"It seems you can now initially control the power within your body. Well done."

Ra gently stroked Oshi's head, dusting off the grit.

"Hehe~ Not at all, it's all thanks to you, Ra-sis." Whether it was Ra's comforting head-pats or something else, Oshi was uncharacteristically humble.

Obe on the side watched with some envy, but she was too shy to step forward. Acting in such a clingy manner was quite embarrassing for her.

"However, since Oshi, you have so much energy, go chop some thin wood and branches and vines from the forest.

It's getting dark, and we need a place to rest." After speaking, Ra gently patted Oshi's head, signaling her to let go.

Oshi understood. Although reluctant, she obediently let go. After giving Ra a passable salute, she darted off towards the forest.

"Understood! Mission guaranteed!"

"Is Big Sis going to set up a tent?" Watching Oshi's bouncy retreating figure, Obe asked Ra.

"That's right. I remember that Mr. Grylls from TV taught something like this before.

Even though our bodies won't get sick from the cold now, it's still good to have some shelter. You help me clear a patch of open ground too."

"'Mr. Grylls'..." Obe took some time to realize who Ra was referring to.

"Big Sis, I always feel that compared to Osi and me, your personality and habits seem to have changed much more than before."

"Perhaps, but our souls undoubtedly originate from [him]. That won't change."

Ra didn't want to delve too deeply into the matter, casually brushing it off, "Maybe you think I'm not like [him] because I've inherited another side of myself that even he didn't know about."

"And the moment our souls split into three, we were no longer [him]. It's water under the bridge, don't dwell on what has already happened."

"Sigh~ Fine. Sometimes I really envy that empty-headed Oshi."

Obe felt a bit dizzy from Ra's "He is [him] and yet not [him]" explanation and stopped dwelling on the personality issue.

A clearing large enough for the three of them was cleared at the edge of the forest. Ra then controlled flames to finely bake and harden the ground.

"Alright, now we just wait for Oshi to return."

A few seconds later, Ra retracted her flames and pressed down on the ground with her hand, finding the dryness and hardness to be just right.

Watching Ra skillfully use flames, Obe suddenly thought of something and asked, "Big Sis, the clothes we're wearing were also woven by you using divine power, right? Why didn't you just use divine power to create a tent?"

"Hmm? You noticed."

Ra stood up, patted her hands which weren't covered in much dust, and turned to explain, "But regrettably, divine power is ultimately just a special kind of energy; it cannot create something from nothing.

The clothes you're wearing are actually a visual effect produced by the light and heat emitted from my flames. They have temperature but no substance.

If you don't believe me, try lifting your skirt and see if you can touch your legs."

Obe tried it and indeed, she could directly touch her thighs through her skirt.

"Really! I only just realized this now!"

The sensation of her own fingers on her thighs reminded her that what she was wearing wasn't real clothing, making her silently reflect on her own denseness.

"No, that's not right! Big Sis, you carried food in your skirt when you returned from the forest. I don't think I'm mistaken." Obe suddenly found a loophole.

"Oh, that. I did carry food back in my clothes then. You're not mistaken~" Ra's tone was unusually playful.

"Then your clothes are..."

"The answer is energy density," Ra revealed the secret.

"What's called 'divine power' is, in the end, just a type of energy particle. When compressed to a certain density, it undergoes a change in state, just like oxygen becoming liquid at 5.2 atmospheres."

As Ra spoke, she lightly lifted the hem of her skirt, its texture, like high-quality silk, clearly visible with the slight sway of the skirt.

"The reason my dress can hold those foods is by turning energy into reality this way, and then using some mental power to shape it into the desired form, making it 'real' clothes.

As for yours... I'm sorry, you can only change them after you've mastered this method yourself. For now, I can only guarantee the appearance and warmth."

Ra was telling the truth. It wasn't that she didn't want to make them clothes like hers.

But just as liquid oxygen reverts to gas when the pressure and temperature maintaining its existence are removed, the divine power detached from Ra's body would slowly return to its original state if undisturbed.

Fortunately, Ra still had considerable control over this detached divine power. This kind of delicate control, like embroidering with flames, was not difficult for her. Of course, it was far less intuitive than when it was within her body.

It was like playing a racing game: one was a direct neural connection, the other was manually pushing and pulling a joystick.

"..."

Hearing Ra's explanation, Obe was speechless.

Like Oshi, she could now initially control the power within her body, so she naturally understood the terrifying technique hidden beneath Ra's simple words.

This god-like control over power and the immense mental strain required to maintain it was simply a fantasy to her at the moment.

"There's, there's no need to go this far, is there?"

"Perhaps, but I have my reasons." Ra lowered her gaze, as if looking at something that wasn't there.

"Do you remember what I said before? That exploring other worlds within the Millennium Puzzle requires immense divine and mental power to support it. I'm preparing to open those doors in the future, after all, it's possible one of those doors leads to our original world."

"Is, is that so?" Hearing this reason, Obe didn't quite know what to say.

[As expected, Ra is different from us. Her gaze is probably already fixed on the distant future.]

[Appearance, personality, effort, talent, intelligence, foresight - she lacks nothing. What a perfect superhuman! Oshi, hurry back! I only feel at ease when I'm with a commoner like you!]

And so, after only being separated for ten minutes, their little Obe began to miss her cheap second sister.

Their relationship is truly that good~

In the forest...

"Hmm? Obe? (Unconcerned)"

Oshi, who was enthusiastically searching for trees, suddenly felt something, but after hesitating for a moment, Oshi continued searching for trees. Perhaps her feeling was mistaken just now.

"Speaking of which, why are all these trees so thick~"

After searching for a long time, Oshi found that the thinnest trees here were as thick as five of her.

Helpless, she had no choice but to blast down two bamboo stalks with Thunder Cannon Mouth and take them back.

"Sister Ra only said she wanted thin wood, she didn't say it had to be tree wood. Bamboo is also wood~ Brother Bamboo, Brother Bamboo, if anyone's to blame, it's your neighbors for growing so well."

Jumping up, Oshi casually pulled down a few vines from the treetops, preparing to go back and hand them in.

The bamboo, which was actually a gramineous plant: "..."

"Oi~ I'm back, Sister Ra. Speaking of which, this skirt you made is amazing. It didn't get snagged even once on the way."

Oshi still hadn't realized that the clothes she was wearing were no different from a painted pattern.

"It's good that you're back. Let's set up the tent. We'll be spending our first night in this world in this little tent."

"Haha~ Now that you mention it, I'm quite excited~"