Actually, even without Chika Fujiwara speaking up, Byakuya—as a transmigrator—could already guess their identities based on their nicknames and avatars.
The group member 『Cancer of the Earth』 was actually Chika Fujiwara, from the manga *Kaguya-sama: Love is War* and its spin-offs.
The group member 『Utako Kasumi』 was actually Utaha Kasumigaoka, from the light novel *Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend* and its spin-offs.
The group member 『Esdeath』 was indeed Esdeath, from the manga *Akame ga Kill!* and its spin-offs.
Besides those three, there was 『Youkai Sage』, who hadn’t spoken since Byakuya joined.
That was the youkai Yukari Yakumo, from the *Touhou Project* bullet-hell games and their derivatives.
Thanks to the convenience of the internet era, although Byakuya couldn’t recite every single detail of the works these four appeared in, recognizing their “origins” was no problem at all.
As for why he agreed to Chika Fujiwara’s proposal despite already knowing who they were…
On one hand, he didn’t think it was a good idea to blurt out things like “I’ve read works about you” or “I read them before I transmigrated to this current world.” Her introduction would provide a natural way for him to “get to know” the members.
On the other hand…
While he possessed some “special” information, it was ultimately based on works he had encountered before his transmigration.
Who knew how they actually were in the real world?
Even if the information he had matched perfectly with their real-world counterparts, the versions presented in those works were only one facet of them, not the whole picture.
Chika Fujiwara’s introduction had its own value.
Once Chika finished the introductions, Byakuya uploaded his avatar and shared his real name.
『Cancer of the Earth』: “Mr.
Byakuya?”
『Cancer of the Earth』: “Wait, this chat group can actually pull in guys…”
『Newbie』: “…”
『Cancer of the Earth』: “Uh, sorry, sorry!
I didn’t mean anything bad, Mr.
Byakuya.
It’s just, as you can see, everyone who joined before you was female, so I just naturally assumed that was a requirement for joining this group.”
『Newbie』: “It’s fine.”
『Cancer of the Earth』: “Right~ back to business!”
『Cancer of the Earth』: Since you have no doubts about the fact that “this group connects us across dimensional boundaries,” Mr.
Byakuya, let’s just fast-forward to the next item.
『Cancer of the Earth』: Regarding the functions of the Super-Dimensional Mutual Aid Group, would you like a general overview first, or should I introduce them one by one for you to check?
『Newbie』: As for the functions, I’ve actually looked into them already.
Based on the system descriptions in the details pages, things like red Envelopes, check-ins, and live streaming aren’t hard to figure out.
『Newbie』: If I had to name one thing, I have one main question.
『Newbie』: For now, is this Super-Dimensional Mutual Aid Group only for chatting, like we’re doing right now?
『Cancer of the Earth』: Uh…
strictly speaking, yes.
『Cancer of the Earth』: However, Mr.
Byakuya, you can definitely look forward to what’s coming in the future.
『Cancer of the Earth』: For example, there’s a check-in feature.
Every member can check in once every 24 hours to earn 1 point.
But aside from sending those points to other members via red Envelopes, there isn’t a single place in the entire feature list where you can actually spend them.
That’s obviously abnormal.
『Cancer of the Earth』: Additionally, there’s a [+] icon following the current features like [Check-in] and [Red Envelope].
It’s obvious that there are functions that haven’t been unlocked yet, which aligns perfectly with the “point expenditure channel” I mentioned.
『Newbie』: Speaking of that [+], have you guys tried upgrading to the Official Version?
『Newbie』: From what I can see in the prompts, the only prerequisite is “number of people,” and you’ve clearly already met that requirement.
So, is there some other hidden restriction?
『Cancer of the Earth』: ?
『Esdeath』: ?
『Utako Kasumi』: …Could I trouble Mr.
Byakuya to explain exactly what you mean by “upgrading to the Official Version”?
『Newbie』: Huh?
You guys didn’t notice?
『Newbie』: If you click that [+] at the end of the feature list nine times in a row, a prompt pops up.
It says that when the number of group members is three or more, and with the consent of all members, the Super-Dimensional Mutual Aid Group can be upgraded to the Official Version.
Once that’s done, more group functions will be unlocked.
『Utako Kasumi』: …
『Cancer of the Earth』: …
『Esdeath』: …
Following Byakuya’s instructions and clicking the [+] icon nine times, the three of them indeed saw the prompt.
They fell into a deep silence.
So, for the past year or so—or half a year, depending on the person—the only reason this group was limited to chatting was simply that they hadn’t discovered the upgrade option that had been available all along?
『Cancer of the Earth』: I know saying this now makes it sound like I’m passing the buck, but I’m genuinely curious…
『Cancer of the Earth』: It’s one thing for the system to hide an option—which should have been at the bottom of the list—so deeply, but why on earth were you able to find it in less than ten minutes after joining, Mr.
Byakuya?
『Newbie』: Probably because I’ve seen a few “tricks” like this before.
You know, like “click the version number seven times to activate developer mode.”
『Newbie』: In fact, I didn’t just try the [+].
I tried clicking around other blank areas of the interface to see if I could trigger any hidden features.
Unfortunately, only the [+] gave me any feedback.
『Cancer of the Earth』: Emmmmm…
『Cancer of the Earth』: “The Newbie Is So Capable He’s Making Us Veterans Look Useless”
『Utako Kasumi』: “Says the Girl Who Roasted Herself Too, Then Tried to Act Cute by Putting It in Title Brackets”
『Cancer of the Earth』: “Says the Girl Who Is Also Useless, but Thinks Pointing Fingers Will Get Her Out of It”
『Esdeath』: So, are we upgrading to the Official Version today or not?
『Cancer of the Earth』: Yes, of course we are!
『Cancer of the Earth』: Sister Yukari, wake up!
@Youkai Sage
『Youkai Sage』: ?
『Utako Kasumi』: Read the chat history.
『Youkai Sage』: Oh, a newcomer has arrived…
『Youkai Sage』: Hmm?
We can upgrade the Super-Dimensional Mutual Aid Group to the Official Version as long as there are three members?