"But what's going on with Ophis?"
Elise had already learned many of the Lord God Space's secrets.
During the battle against the three great Evil Gods, the little Lord God, Hikari, had pulled Est and the others back into the Lord God Space to prevent them from getting blown up along with Elise.
Est and Ren were understandable. After all, they had contracts with Elise and, in a certain sense, could be considered part of Elise.
But Ophis didn't!
According to what Hikari had just said, the Lord God Space could only contain Elise as a Reincarnator. So why had Ophis been able to enter?
"That's actually very simple."
"Because Ophis signed a contract with Est!"
Huh? Was that really what happened?
Elise was a little confused. When had those two little ones gotten close enough to do something like that? She had absolutely no idea!
"Est apparently wanted to give you a surprise. Otherwise, why do you think the power of all four of you could fuse together back then?"
"Wasn't it because all of you were connected by contracts?"
Elise had contracts with Est and Ren, while Est had a contract with Ophis. Add a few more contracts and they could form an entire loop!
"So you still claim you don't like little girls?"
"Everyone around you is obviously a little girl. Now even I've turned into one. You must be feeling pretty pleased with yourself, right?"
Ah, I can't take it anymore! I'm surrounded by so many beautiful girls, but I absolutely can't let anyone notice, or my glorious reputation will be ruined forever!
"Could it be that you're a tsundere?"
Perhaps to avenge herself for the earlier foot-tickling, Hikari even started teasing Elise. But she seemed to have forgotten something...
Her sovereignty was in someone else's hands!
Elise: Furious!
Crack! Crack!
The sound of joints cracking suddenly echoed through the dark space, and several drops of cold sweat slid down Hikari's forehead.
"W-What are you trying to do?"
Her feet unconsciously shuffled backward. Only then did Hikari realize the seriousness of the situation.
"What's the best way to punish a naughty child?"
Elise seemed to be implying something, but Hikari clearly had no intention of sitting around and waiting to be punished.
"I think it's better to be a little more tolerant toward children. They're still growing, after all. Making a few small mistakes isn't a big deal..."
It was obvious that the Lord God's current body couldn't support strenuous physical activity at all, much less running away.
"That won't do."
A gentle smile once again appeared on Elise's face, but her movements were anything but gentle.
"There was once another little child who did something unforgivable right in front of me. Back then, I punished her very severely!"
"Although times have changed, I think this particular method should still be passed down!"
"Wait! What are you trying to do? Don't come any closer!"
Although Hikari began struggling frantically, Elise's physique was no joke!
Even though she was only Level 5, she could suppress even dragons with her raw strength. How could the little Lord God, whose very sovereignty belonged to Elise, possibly have the ability to resist?
And so, a familiar scene appeared once again.
Elise pressed the Lord God's petite body across her thighs, completely ignoring her resistance.
Smack! Smack! Smack...
The extremely crisp sounds echoed throughout the entire Lord God Space, accompanied by cries that sounded almost like wailing...
Even Est, Ren, and Ophis, who had been sleeping nearby, were awakened by the miserable cries and stared in shock at Elise and the unfamiliar little girl.
"Ah! I feel so much better now!"
After some time, Elise sat down on the sofa looking completely refreshed, while the little Lord God simply lay sprawled on the other side.
Because a certain part of her body was suffering from unimaginable pain, the little Lord God probably wouldn't be able to sit down for quite a while.
Elise: Go on, sit down!
Hikari: Get lost!
But joking around was one thing. There were still serious matters to deal with.
To help the little Lord God recover more quickly, Elise had to head to the next world.
"Remember to stay there long enough..."
"Of course. We already agreed on that."
A weak voice came from behind her. Although Hikari had started all of this herself, who told her to have such a sharp tongue?
"Then you stay here in the Lord God Space and get some proper rest!"
A white portal opened before Elise, and she stepped through without hesitation toward the world where she had once lived.
...
Asterisk War world.
It had been almost a month since the previous Phoenix Festa ended.
During this period, news about the academy festival in Asterisk had spread throughout the entire world.
Elise, the Church's Saintess, Sylvia, the world-famous songstress, and Fan Xinglou, Banyuu Tenra, had all fallen unconscious simultaneously during the final battle. Even the organizers' cameras had failed to capture exactly what had happened.
So after careful consideration, the academy festival organizers announced that all three had tied for first place.
There wasn't much else they could do. All three had rather special backgrounds.
Elise had the backing of the Church and Saint Galahadworth Academy.
Fan Xinglou was a thousand-year-old immortal.
Sylvia was Queenvail Girls' Academy's greatest star.
From an outsider's perspective, all three had collapsed almost simultaneously, making it extremely difficult to determine who had actually been superior.
So they might as well do everyone a favor. The organizers possessed more wealth than many small countries anyway, and the Gryps Festa even granted the wishes of five people. This was only an academy festival, so they didn't even need to pay out anything.
Beneath the statue of God at the Church headquarters, a woman dressed in a nun's habit slowly approached.
"Almighty Lord..."
"Thank you for allowing Lady Elise to achieve victory this time!"
The nun knelt on both knees and prayed silently.
Her name was Mana. Long ago, she had once served as Elise's personal maid.
Of course, from Mana's own perspective, not very much time had passed at all.
"Lady Elise, where exactly did you go? Why didn't you tell us anything?"
If possible, Mana still wanted to remain beside Elise and serve her. After all, that was Lady Saintess!
"Please grant me guidance, Lord!"
Miss Mana slowly raised her head and looked toward the top of the statue.
But the sunlight behind the statue seemed a little too dazzling.
"Was that my imagination?"
For an instant, Mana seemed to see Elise's silhouette above the statue, smiling directly at her.
"It wasn't your imagination."
"Eh?"
Before Miss Mana could react, she had already fallen into a warm embrace.
At the same time, a familiar fragrance surrounded her...
There was no mistaking it. It was definitely Lady Elise!
"I'm back, Mana!"
Unlike before, Elise had her eyes open this time. That indescribable charm instantly left the nun before her completely entranced.
"Lady Elise... you're so beautiful..."
The instant she realized the newcomer was Elise, Miss Mana completely lost herself.
This wasn't because Elise had used some special ability. With the help of Hikari, the Lord God, the power in her eyes could now be controlled.
In other words, it had changed from a passive ability into an active one.
Of course, Elise still usually kept her eyes closed. She had long since developed the habit, and with her eyes shut, she could perhaps perceive even more than when they were open.
But even without using the special ability in her eyes, Elise's charm still wasn't something an ordinary person could casually appreciate.
First of all, she already possessed the Sacred Demonic Charm ability, placing her at the very pinnacle of humanity from the beginning.
In the DanMachi world, Elise had also obtained a Falna capable of strengthening her physique, keeping her body permanently in peak condition.
After that, she had even devoured part of the Goddess of Beauty, Freya.
One had to understand that the gods of the DanMachi world were conceptual deities!
With only a slight use of her charm, Freya could make others willingly kill themselves for her!
Then just what level had Elise reached after obtaining part of Freya?
Even Elise herself didn't know. In any case, ordinary people couldn't casually look at her, or they could easily become hopelessly captivated, just like Mana in front of her now...
And that wasn't all. Elise had become the God of the Bible in the High School DxD world.
After becoming a god, although her appearance hadn't changed much, her bearing had truly become something transcendent and otherworldly!
At the end of the day, there were already no enemies in the Asterisk War world capable of opposing her. She had returned here purely for World Analysis.
At the same time, she could treat this as a vacation. After all, Elise had already died once before. Constantly working under that kind of pressure would eventually damage her mind even if her body remained fine.
Not to mention, her closest friend Sylvia was here too.
"Come back to your senses, Mana!"
Only after Elise called out to her did Mana finally recover. Realizing what she had just done, she hurriedly apologized to Elise.
"I'm truly sorry, Lady Elise. It's just that... you're far too beautiful."
Truthfully, Elise rather liked that explanation.
After all, she was the one and only peerless beautiful girl in this world. It was perfectly natural that others couldn't withstand her charm!
"Then, as punishment for losing your composure, Mana..."
"Accompany me for a walk around the Church. It seems quite a lot has changed here recently?"
Within Elise's perception, quite a few familiar things had appeared.
Excavators, for example. Even the models looked extremely familiar.
...
As the first fictional world Elise had ever visited, she naturally still remembered the plot of Asterisk War. Even after experiencing so many other worlds, she had never forgotten it.
Because she genuinely liked this place.
So Elise was absolutely determined to take control of this world!
Not only to help the little Lord God recover, but also because of a few personal thoughts of her own.
"I didn't expect the Church to change this much in such a short time."
While walking with Mana, Elise also saw some of the renovations the Church had undergone.
Although Elise had personally been away for seven or eight years, only a little more than a month had passed in this world.
Being able to renovate the entire Church in such a short period proved that the Church's efficiency was indeed extremely high.
"I heard the Pope personally gave the order. Apparently, he even spent a great deal of money hiring a construction team from that great eastern country?"
"All these new buildings were completed in less than a month. They're really amazing!"
"If the Lord knew, surely He would protect them and keep them safe for the rest of their lives, right?"
Well...
After hearing Mana's words, Elise was genuinely left somewhat speechless.
The Lord really would bless those people, because Elise herself was now that Lord. She could bless whoever she wanted!
But what Elise hadn't expected was that even in a place like the Church, she could somehow run into a construction team from her old homeland.
That Pope really knew how to choose. He had gone straight for the best in the world!
But speaking of the Pope...
A trace of gloom flashed through Elise's eyes.
In the end, that had still been a mistake she herself committed back then.
In the past, Elise's eyes had been an uncontrollable ability. No matter what living creature made eye contact with her, she could devour their soul.
But how could Elise have known that at the time?
So because the ability had seemed extraordinarily useful, Elise had simply treated it as a charm ability. After all, anyone who looked at her would obey her.
The Pope of the Asterisk War world was one such person.
When Elise first arrived in the Asterisk War world, she had directly made eye contact with the Pope.
After all, she had only possessed an ordinary identity here. To gain a basic level of influence in this world, she needed a decent background.
Among the available factions, the Church and Saint Galahadworth Academy had naturally been her first choices.
So she had chosen to charm the Pope!
But back then, who could possibly have known that this ability actually devoured souls?
That was why this Pope had become one of the very few people Elise genuinely felt guilty toward.
"No matter what, I should still meet him. Even if he stopped being the person he originally was long ago."
...
"It's been a long time, Elise!"
"Have you been doing well lately?"
After truly meeting the Pope again, Elise instead became even quieter.
Although he continued speaking words of concern, Elise knew they weren't coming from the real him.
Just as the Goddess Astraea had once said, after losing his soul, all that remained was an obedient puppet.
"Mhm. I've been doing very well lately. Thank you for asking!"
It was something she had already done, just like spilled water that could never be gathered back up. So all Elise could do now was compensate the Pope afterward in whatever ways she could.
"You've been doing well? That's wonderful!"
"Whenever I see you, it feels as though I'm looking at my own child! The younger generation truly surpasses the old!"
The elderly Pope remained as kindly and amiable as ever, but another voice suddenly came from the side and directly interrupted him.
Within the Church, aside from Elise herself as the sole exception, the Pope possessed the highest authority!
Yet now, someone actually dared to directly interrupt him?
Just who could be so bold?
"Honestly, Lady Elise is still right here. Don't say something that makes it sound like I'm already dead!"
Miss Mana looked at the current Pope with obvious displeasure. She was the only person who would speak to the Pope like this.
"It's fine, Mana. Even if Grandpa Pope called me his granddaughter, I wouldn't mind."
"That way, I could become sisters with you!"
What? Become sisters with Lady Elise?
This happiness had come far too suddenly. What was she supposed to do?
Miss Mana stared in shock, perhaps with a faint trace of secret delight, completely immersing herself in her own little world.
Meanwhile, Elise's expression became even gentler as she looked at her.
Then I'll repay this debt through the Pope's descendants...