Yud Bet Really Was Too Versatile

Two empty soda cans sat on the bench.

Kurumi ultimately relented and absorbed a portion of her Spiritual Power.

Qian Huanyue felt the shadow beneath her legs turn a dark red, followed by a slight numbness in her legs. Then, there was no unpleasant sensation at all. Judging from the expenditure, it was practically like being bitten by a mosquito; even the itch quickly faded.

Kurumi really was a good person. She had been softhearted enough to absorb only this little.

Qian Huanyue thought warmly, sincerely giving the "worst Spirit" a good-person card. She even wondered whether Kurumi had been so careful because she was afraid Qian Huanyue would feel uncomfortable, taking only the tiniest, most negligible amount.

Yet in Kurumi's perception, she clearly felt the power she had accumulated over so long suddenly leap forward by a tremendous step—just a little more, only that final negligible bit, and she would have enough to fire [Yud Bet] and return to thirty years ago.

Qian Huanyue suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness wash over her. In truth, it could not really be called drowsiness.

This was not Kurumi's doing. Rather, a tremor originating from the very foundation of her existence descended without warning.

It was not an attack, but more like a gentle yet irresistible summons.

—The Neighboring World was pulling her, this "Spirit," back into its original domain.

If she wanted to return to reality, she would likely have to wait for the next spatial quake. Who knew when that would be?

Qian Huanyue watched her body gradually turn transparent and revealed a helpless, slightly apologetic smile.

"It really came at the wrong time..." Qian Huanyue murmured. Before her body completely faded away, she smiled, opened her arms, and gently gave the girl before her a fleeting embrace.

"Until next time, my friend..."

Her voice was like dispersing mist. Together with her entire body, she transformed into glimmering motes of light and vanished completely from the real world.

After a long while, a complicated yet resolute smile appeared at the corner of Kurumi's lips. It carried Tokisaki Kurumi's arrogance, certainty, and a trace of indescribable tenderness.

"Ah la..." she murmured to herself, her voice especially clear beneath the silent night sky.

"So that my friend will not suddenly vanish before my eyes and ruin the mood, when we meet next, I suppose I shall have to tell you how to remain in reality, Miss Qian Huanyue."

That enormous amount of Spiritual Power, given almost playfully yet allowing her to touch the edge of her long-cherished wish; that utterly unreserved trust; and the... subtle sense of indebtedness brought by this hasty parting all required a "return gift" with sufficient weight.

"Honestly, Original, you're far too stingy! Moonie gave us so—much Spiritual Power! How could merely telling her how to stay in the real world possibly be enough?!"

A clone with a livelier, more impulsive personality, who appeared to be from an earlier era, spoke first. She spread her hands wide in an exaggerated gesture, her face plainly declaring, "That's nowhere near enough."

The clone who had been with Qian Huanyue all this time also came back to her senses. "Agreed. Both the quality and quantity of that Spiritual Power far surpassed the ordinary. More importantly, she gave us 'trust' itself. That value cannot be measured so simply."

"That is true."

"It certainly is."

"'I' am right."

Kurumi's clones chattered as they echoed one another, their voices rising and falling in agreement within the dimension of shadows.

"Ah la~ You are all correct." The original finally spoke again.

"Then, according to 'our' wishes, how should we compensate this generous yet troublesome friend?"

"Since she is a newly born Spirit, once she has the ability to remain in reality, how about helping her arrange a comfortable residence?"

The instant this suggestion appeared, the densely packed clones within the shadows fell silent for a moment. Then, with remarkable initiative, they all retreated to either side in perfect unison, tacitly clearing an open space. Even the original could not help twitching at the corner of her mouth as she turned her head slightly away.

They were the embodied remnants of certain... well... periods of unique aesthetic taste or naïve ideas from Tokisaki Kurumi's long life.

For example, the one who had suggested decorating a residence likely came from a brief period when she had been obsessed with cozy home magazines and shoujo manga. Her aesthetic leaned toward... copious amounts of lace, bows, and warm colors. For now, she could be called Sweet Loli Kurumi.

Her eyepatch was a cute heart shape, she carried a parasol, and even her attire was not the usual black-and-red Gothic Astral Dress.

Precisely because of these subtle traits, which made the present original and the other clones somewhat embarrassed, these four special clones could not integrate particularly well into the vast group of clones. As a result, they often gathered voluntarily in a corner, forming a small "special interest group."

At this moment, the other three members of that "dark history" stood at the edge of the open space, looking at their companion who had bravely offered her suggestion with expressions mixed with anticipation and understanding.

"Ah la..." The original pressed a hand to her forehead. In the end, she still turned back around and tried to maintain her dignity, though her tone carried an imperceptible hint of helplessness. "The premise of this suggestion... is not bad."

Eyepatch Kurumi: "We can prepare carefully chosen gifts for Moonie."

Bandage Kurumi: "Ah la, if that is the case, then I want to do it too."

Kimono Kurumi: "I will not lose to 'us' when it comes to friendship!"

Looking at the four eager members of that "dark history," each with a completely different style, there was no doubt that they were all clones with especially bold ideas.

"Ah la..." The original Kurumi let out a soft breath, as though she had made some sort of decision.

The next second, before those four special clones could offer any more shocking interior-design opinions, the shadows beneath their feet surged upward like living black satin, gently yet irresistibly wrapping around and swallowing them.

Kurumi had no doubt that they would sneak out. As for the rest, she would simply let nature take its course.

Qian Huanyue, asleep within the Neighboring World, slowly opened her eyes. The chaotic yet warm essence of the Neighboring World flowed around her, conveying a vague message at the same time—there were other beings here similar to Spirits.

Quasi-Spirits?

What were those? Creatures of the Neighboring World?

She blinked in confusion, trying to focus her gaze.

Yet before her was clearly an Empty expanse, containing only ever-changing streams of radiant energy and a faint glow that seemed eternal.

"...So sleepy..."

Drowsiness spread through her. Qian Huanyue slowly closed her eyes again, wrapping her arms around her knees.

And in the area she had sensed as "Empty," after she fell asleep, an exceedingly tiny crack, as though made of shattered mirror fragments, flashed into existence before completely disappearing, as if it had never existed at all.