When I came to Shiro-san’s sanctuary the day after, I was met with a shocking surprise.
"I am so very deeply sorry, Shallow Vernal-sama!" (???)
An unknown woman was performing a dogeza in front of Shiro-san. I wondered who she was considering she appeared in this out-of-reach place and what she did to go to such lengths to beg for Shiro-san’s forgiveness.
"I’m the one who suggested the group chat to come to your world in search of Miyama Kaito-sama to enlist him with our services. I mean, he’s hard to pass up on when our community considers him a timeless hero to all of creation. There’s been strict protocols to not disturb your world unless it is absolutely necessary. I am aware of it all and the potential consequences. But my thoughts would not go away at how fun it’d be if Miyama Kaito were to be introduced to the wide multiverses in this fashion…Ah, please let me retract what I said just now…" (???)
…She just blurted out her real intentions. If I’m guessing correctly with what’s been said, this woman is the one responsible for sending the group chat to this world with her sights on me to entertain her. I must say, my first impressions of her was not a very serious person with a lot of free time in her hands.
Upon noticing my presence, Shiro-san and the unknown woman turned to me.
"Hmm? Oh! It’s you!" (???)
Before I knew it, the woman bolted to me and grabbed my hands to shake them vigorously.
"I’ve heard all about you from my good friend Canalis! You are THE Miyama Kaito, the esteemed lover of Shallow Vernal-sama and the master of our Nebula-sama!" (???)
"I see…a friend of Canalis’. So, how long do you want to shake my hands?" (Kaito)
"Ah. Please excuse me, I have not felt this much exhilaration for a long time." (???)
Noticing my overwhelmed self, the woman kindly stepped back for me to get a better look of her. She is without a doubt a beautiful woman of pale skin and long silver hair. Her yellow eyes have a hint of divinity in them, but she doesn’t seem unapproachable.
"Allow me the honor of introducing myself. My name is Raven12345, an omnipotent World Creator, former subordinate to Nebula-sama, and working as an administrator within the group chat." (Raven12345)
"Nice to meet you, Raven-san. Another former subordinate of Nebula’s…did you come here to be under her command again?" (Kaito)
"I’m not as obsessed as the fanatics, so you can be at ease with that. As enjoyable as that sounds, I’ve come for other business." (Raven12345)
"Does that involve groveling earlier?" (Kaito)
"Absolutely! Shallow Vernal-sama is extremely terrifying!" (Raven12345)
Raven-san was sweating bullets and her smile was stiff, glancing at Shiro-san from the corner of her eye.
"I was much more composed when speaking to her over the phone…but being in the same room is enough to almost give me a heart attack." (Raven12345)
Well, I suppose that’s an understandable reaction after learning about Shiro-san’s past.
"For now, can I insert myself into this conversation? You don’t look like you’ll be able to stay calm when you’re alone." (Kaito)
"!!! Yes! Please stay, you are my savior, Kaito-sama!" (Raven12345)
My intervention moved her to tears. I wordlessly looked at Shiro-san and she nodded, agreeing with my suggestion.
We settled ourselves near the usual table in the sanctuary. Shiro-san provided us with refreshments with a flick of a finger.
"Alright, let us begin the first meeting between Trinia and HIGCS!" (Raven12345)
"HIGCS?" (Kaito)
"Heavenly Interconnected Group Chat System. That’s our business where we provide a pathway of communication across many worlds. It was started up by a tiny group of small-time World Creators taking inspiration from their creations finding a method to communicate with other worlds. They provided a more streamlined foundation for their creations to connect with each other from different backgrounds without the intervention of the World Creators themselves." (Raven12345)
"That’s quite a humble background." (Kaito)
"That was a long time ago until Nebula-sama noticed and popularized it. Ownership has been handed over numerous times and it has taken many renovations since to catch up with the trends. Initially, there was no option to travel to other worlds for example. Nowadays you can work hard and earn points to acquire personal strength and resources for your own world." (Raven12345)
"Then this discussion will primarily be talking about the chat group." (Kaito)
Raven-san nodded and quenched her mouth with some tea.
"I landed some very big-time customers, so it’s common courtesy to give exceptional treatment and show my respect in-person. I will give an explanation of the group chat as needed and answer any questions you have." (Raven12345)
"Speaking of which, you mentioned you were the one responsible for sending the group chat to this world." (Kaito)
"That’s right. I just couldn’t stand still knowing the hero who captured the heart of Shallow Vernal-sama and saved Nebula-sama was isolated from everything else within a single world. So with some persuasion I directed the group chat to a little detour from its path….and then it found you." (Raven12345)
Raven-san, wearing a proud expression, made a finger pistol gesture aimed at me.
"Of course, such an action was extremely risky and caused an uproar throughout all of creation. I’ve been scolded so much and was delayed from reaching you from the beginning, but I’ll get to that later." (Raven12345)
"I expect you to not forget those words." (Shallow Vernal)
"Hiii!" (Raven12345)
Shiro-san’s eyes slightly glowed and Raven-san cowered as her voice was on the verge of crying. Finding her composure, Raven-san coughed and got serious.
"I have been assigned as the admin of the server you belong to. The group chat is what it sounds like, a social media platform on a much grander scale. Users are handpicked by our algorithm. The probability of stumbling upon it is impossible and we ensure it is not visible to those not deemed worthy.
"It goes without saying, but you belong to one server out of hundreds of thousands. It is possible one day for you to come into contact with another server and keep in touch by exchanging your contact information, so don’t miss out on the opportunity.
"There are many features besides being able to speak with others, many of which are locked behind certain conditions you have to fulfill. The optional missions are there for you to earn points to spend on these features. We have a lot of varieties to the missions we can issue to you such as the daily, world, and questline missions.
"[Shop] for example is self-explanatory. This is where you spend your points for resources. What’s available is catered to suit the user. To expand the items available is simple, spend more points, fulfill some conditions like missions, come into contact with other users, or go up in rank as a user.
"I think I’ve said as much as I need. You’ve only begun to interact with the group chat so I won’t say much more to overwhelm you. Any questions?" (Raven12345)
"Me and Minato-kun have already figured out most of these the longer we used the group chat. I’ve been made aware of my rank 4 authority unlocking everything available to me in the [Shop] too. My main concerns are the world missions, coming into contact with other servers, and what else my authority entails." (Kaito)
Raven-san nodded with a look of satisfaction.
"I’m pleased to have capable users who catch on quickly. World missions involve making trips to other worlds and completing simple stuff. Some involve saving a person or group, intervening in critical events, eliminating dangerous factors, and saving the world." (Raven12345)
I think the last one is stretching the definition of simple.
"There’s countless servers with their own administrators running them. It’s good practice for these servers to intersect to build a much stronger community. The most common occurrence is in other worlds when sharing similar world missions. With your luck you might meet a senior server who could provide you benefits for starting out." (Raven12345)
Doesn’t it make more sense for you to be responsible for that…
"And finally, the situation about your user rank…" (Raven12345)
She lowered her head and gave a heavy sigh.
"Normally, a user starts at the bottom in rank 0. Like with everything else, there are conditions to ranking up along with the great benefits that come with a higher rank. Your username even gets a nice color palette corresponding to your rank. Those at the bottom have blank colors, going up will eventually earn you black, red, blue, gold, and finally purple." (Raven12345)
"That’s an unconventional progression of colors." (Kaito)
"We picked those colors so they don’t hurt the users’ eyes when reading their usernames." (Raven12345)
………How very realistic and thoughtful.
"Let’s talk about your rank. Your benefits include the complete catalog of the [Shop], items below a minimum cost come as free for you, permanent discount to all items, unrestricted travel to other worlds, early access to some features, authorization of certain knowledge in the Q&A section, protection rights in the group chat such as immunity to getting muted even if a moderator took action, and other extra stuff." (Raven12345)
"Wait! Unrestricted travel to other worlds? I recall having to pay for going to the Doctor’s world." (Kaito)
"That’s because you had a faux rank 4. Your situation is really unconventional for HIGCS. The higher ups wanted to compromise by giving you a rank 4 with restrictions…Buuuut, that was a very stupid idea considering who the person sitting next to you is." (Raven12345)
Said person sipped her tea nonchalantly.
"Those guys got their heads straightened out and gave you an actual rank 4 recently. As for the points you used to purchase stuff previously? Those will be refunded back guaranteed with no strings attached." (Raven12345)
She made a peace sign and I widened my eyes from processing the information.
"Going to any world you want free of charge alone is awesome, but unrestricted travel includes visiting worlds you'd come across during world missions. You can’t immediately go back to places like those, you’d at least need rank 3 account for that." (Raven12345)
Raven-san dropped her smile and heavy bags appeared below her eyes. There was a heavy aura surrounding her exhausted face.
"There has been chaos when it came to discussing what rank you’d be promoted to the instant you became a user. There were those who advocated for you to have rank 5, and there were those who resisted saying it’s too early for you to be one." (Raven12345)
"And how’s progress on that?" (Shallow Vernal)
Shiro-san’s voice caused Raven-san to jump.
"W-Well, that’s not under my jurisdiction. I don’t have any power to influence a decision that important. I’m just a middle manager!" (Raven12345)
"I understand…You can go back as my messenger. Tell them you have the backing of Shallow Vernal. My words should be a cause for them to listen." (Shallow Vernal)
Raven12345 powerlessly slumped on the table with her head in her hands. You have my sympathies for being dragged around by Shiro-san’s antics…
"Let’s not get too hasty, Shiro-san. Having rank 5 from the get-go sounds a bit too overwhelming for me. I’d rather let myself slowly adapt to using the group chat. It’d feel more rewarding to experience climbing for that rank." (Kaito)
I ignored Raven-san’s streaming tears of gratitude and said to Shiro-san. My words made her contemplative. She nodded in appreciation of my reasoning.
"Very well. We can settle for rank 4 and nothing less. Kaito-san must have as many advantages over the rest of the newbies." (Shallow Vernal)
"I’ll take it." (Kaito)
There’s no way to convince her to lower it. Once she’s put her mind to it, it becomes extremely difficult to sway her.
"Most grateful for the deep considerations, Kaito-sama, Shallow Vernal-sama! I’ll be sure to communicate your intentions to my bosses and return with favorable news." (Raven12345)
Unexpectedly, Raven-san spoke in a clear and fluent voice, got up from her seat and performed a neat bow with a fresh smile. I have to admit, Raven-san did have a professional and business-like air to her.
"Hey~, I can act like my position demands me to. Don’t underestimate this goddess and her negotiation skills. It’s difficult for anyone to keep their composure when your lover is that imposing, okay?" (Raven12345)
Raven-san smugly answered my thoughts with a wink. She left the scene in a flash, leaving me and Shiro-san alone in the sanctuary.
"I won’t hold you up on your business with your new friends. We can talk as much as we want after." (Shallow Vernal)
That put me in a daze for a bit. The old Shiro-san wouldn’t have this much consideration for others taking up any time with me. Feeling happy reminiscing over how much she’s grown, I nodded gratefully.
I picked up my phone and contacted the only two other people on my server.
Afterword:
Serious-senpai: "So that's the administrator…she seems like a reliable person!"
Raven12345 (Source: The Record of Unusual Creatures)
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