Cecilia couldn't help but feel curious.
The silver-haired girl Izumi had just summoned—and then hurriedly sent away—left a deep impression on her.
Even Ais, standing nearby, shared the same curiosity.
After all, Cecilia had already spent some time in this world, yet she had never once encountered that girl before.
Eris rarely stayed in one place.
Ever since she became one of Izumi's subordinate gods, she had been completely freed from responsibility. With no duties binding her, she spent her days wandering across the world, sometimes even casually spreading her faith like a hobby.
Seeing both Cecilia and Ais staring at him expectantly, Izumi smiled and explained:
"That girl just now… she's a goddess."
"A goddess of fortune, to be precise."
He glanced at Ais with a playful smirk.
"Ais, if you ever manage to get a strand of her hair, you might just have luck following you for the rest of your life."
Both Cecilia and Ais froze.
"…A goddess of fortune?" Cecilia repeated in disbelief.
"So when people say 'the goddess of luck is smiling upon you'… they're talking about someone like her?"
Her eyes widened slightly.
"To think… the Goddess of Fortune actually looks like that…"
It was surreal.
A being people casually prayed to—something abstract and symbolic—had just appeared before them in the flesh.
For a moment, Cecilia couldn't even process it.
The three of them chatted idly for a while.
Then—
A familiar presence returned.
"Geez!!"
With a burst of motion, a silver-haired girl rushed forward—
—and dove straight into Izumi's arms.
"Hmph!!"
Eris puffed up her cheeks, clearly upset.
"Izumi-sama, that was so rude! You summoned me right in the middle of changing!!"
Izumi scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"…Sorry. I really didn't know."
"Hmph!"
Eris turned her head away dramatically—though the faint blush on her face betrayed her embarrassment.
After a moment, she finally calmed down and looked up at him.
"So? Why did you call me?"
"It can't be just for chatting, right?"
Izumi nodded, getting straight to the point.
Without hesitation, he took out a card—radiating a faint, mysterious glow.
"How about merging your world into mine?"
"…Eh?"
Eris blinked.
For a moment, she didn't react.
Then her brows furrowed slightly.
"…That's not something I can decide."
"I'd need to ask the Goddess-sama first."
The "Goddess-sama" she referred to were the higher-ranking goddesses of her world—the ones who truly governed its structure.
Before joining Izumi, Eris herself had been under their administration.
In other words—
the authority to make such a decision didn't belong to her alone.
Izumi nodded, already expecting that answer.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"Go talk to them."
He smiled faintly.
"I'm sure they won't refuse something this interesting."
"After all… this world is far more fun than anything they've built."
Gods, by nature, were creatures of boredom.
Eris's world was no exception.
Its "other world system" was nothing more than entertainment—summoning people, granting them cheat abilities, and watching them struggle and grow.
A game.
A spectacle.
A way to pass eternity.
Eris thought about it for a moment… then nodded.
"…Alright."
"I'll go back and ask."
She couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Those goddesses…
They spent their days doing nothing but lounging around—sometimes even gathering to play games like mahjong out of sheer boredom.
If they saw Izumi's world—
There was no way they wouldn't be interested.
"…They'll probably agree," she muttered.
Taking the card, Eris disappeared instantly.
Gone.
Watching her leave, Izumi's lips curled into a faint smile.
"If nothing goes wrong…"
"I'll gain another world."
He crossed his arms thoughtfully.
In fact, he was already considering something else—
Should he merge the High School DxD World as well?
After a moment, he shook his head.
"Not yet…"
That world was still evolving, still connecting to others.
It hadn't reached its "complete" state.
And besides—
the Biblical God was already being revived under his control.
Once that was complete, merging that world would be effortless.
As for beings like Great Red?
Izumi smirked slightly.
"If it comes to that… I'll just have Ophis help me beat him into submission."
There was no urgency.
That world wasn't going anywhere.
Instead, his thoughts shifted elsewhere.
"With more worlds merging…"
"It's about time I reorganize everything."
A structure like Little Garden—
layered realms, upper and lower zones—
…that would suit his growing domain perfectly.
For now, though—
he pushed the thought aside.
The next day.
Morning.
As everyone gathered for breakfast—
The world trembled.
A deep, resonant vibration echoed through reality itself.
Izumi's eyes lit up instantly.
"It's here."
Without hesitation, he grabbed Cecilia's hand.
"Come on. I'll show you something."
In the next instant—
They vanished.
High above the sky—
They reappeared, floating in midair.
Below them—
The world was changing.
Entire landscapes warped and reformed.
Buildings of a completely different architectural style began to materialize—small houses, medieval streets, structures unlike the modern cityscapes elsewhere.
A new world—
was merging.
Cecilia's breath caught in her throat.
"…This is…"
"…Incredible…"
Even the disasters of her own world—the Honkai outbreaks—
felt insignificant compared to this overwhelming spectacle.
Izumi gently wrapped an arm around her, holding her steady as they watched.
"This is Eris's world."
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Looks like those goddesses couldn't wait."
As he spoke—
He felt it.
Within his authority… new divine seats were forming.
One after another.
New gods entering his system.
But then—
Izumi blinked.
"…Huh?"
A hint of surprise appeared on his face.
Because among those newly integrated divine presences—
Not a single one… was male.
"…Now that's interesting."