Under the cover of night, Riku carried his darling daughter in his arms and led Saeko Busujima back to their temporary base, a luxurious villa.
"Darling!"
Alice came rushing out of a suddenly opened portal like a hungry wolf, looking to pounce straight into Riku's arms.
Riku shifted slightly, sidestepping her and letting Alice tumble onto the sofa.
"Can't you see I'm holding Little Klee?" Riku said helplessly.
Alice let out a series of "ying, ying, ying" sobbing sounds, covering her face in a display of melodramatic affectation. "I knew it. Once you have a daughter, you don't want me anymore. Men are all the same, treating women like nothing more than tools for continuing the bloodline."
That was quite a heavy accusation.
However, Riku remained unfazed. He sat on the sofa, cradling his daughter, and said, "It doesn't matter. The child is already born, so you're useless now. The next one will be more obedient, and the next one will be cuter."
"..."
Saeko Busujima and the other girls who had just stepped out of the portal fell into a collective silence.
What was this? A "confrontation lane" couple?
The two of them babbled and traded barbs back and forth. If this were described in a cultivation novel, one might say their clash was so intense that "the very Great Dao was being ground away."
Eventually, the two stopped their antics.
Alice reached out a small hand and said, "Darling~~~"
"I know what you're asking for, but I don't have it," Riku said, setting his daughter down and spreading his hands.
"Eh?" Alice tilted her head, surprised. "Isn't the universe next door a technological one?"
Riku shook his head. "Quite the opposite. It should be classified as mystical, or even mythological."
Riku didn't hide anything and gave her a brief explanation of the [Saint Seiya] Universe.
"So it's that universe," Alice said, understanding dawning on her. In that case, it really was a waste of time; the technology in that universe was nothing to write home about.
Riku knew exactly what Alice was thinking and what she wanted to do. However, there was no need for much discussion on the matter. As the saying goes, the result would be fine, but as for the process, don't ask.
At that moment, Riku turned his gaze toward the other girls.
Mm... the group was quite complete.
There was the mother-daughter pair with dusty purple and pink hair: Yuriko Takagi and Saya Takagi.
There were the best friends with wheat-toned and snow-white skin, a perfect "black and white" pair: Rika Minami and Shizuka Marikawa.
Finally, there was the girl with a high ponytail and chestnut-colored hair: Rei Miyamoto.
Including Saeko Busujima, the six-person team from the [Apocalypse] Universe was fully assembled.
"My Lord!" the five girls greeted him, bowing respectfully and obediently.
Riku simply smiled and nodded, not asking them many questions.
It wasn't until Saeko Busujima took Little Klee to bed that Riku lay in bed, holding Alice, who had just finished cosplaying as a little frog. He asked curiously, "What about Takashi Komuro and Kohta Hirano?"
Had the original protagonist group been broken up? Had Rika Minami and Yuriko Takagi taken their places?
"How else can I put it? This universe has completely collapsed," Alice complained lazily. "I checked. Aside from these six girls, everyone else on the entire planet has turned into the Dead."
"Completely collapsed..." Riku thought for a moment before deciding not to dwell on it. He casually asked, "How far has the progress gone?"
"I've already researched the central hub system for the Dead." Although Alice felt tired, she immediately perked up, sitting up in a "duck sit" position and gesturing as she began her explanation.
The [Apocalypse] Universe was a very weak universe. To be more precise, it was currently in its infancy, a newborn stage. Aside from the intelligent species of humans nurtured on "Earth," no other intelligent species existed in the universe.
And now, it had collapsed.
Alice had studied it. Her original plan was to simply wipe out the Dead, but then she changed her mind. She decided to control them instead. After all, the Dead didn't know exhaustion or fatigue.
What was that? That was the Innate Laborer Physique!
By using a central hub system to control the horde of the Dead and utilizing the "Magic Circles" provided by her darling to mine "Universe Energy," she planned to jump-start the tech tree and then use that to nurture more Universe Energy, creating a cycle.
She had run into a problem at the final step.
However, in Alice's view, it wasn't a big deal. She would take the first two steps first. If that didn't work, she would just find another way to continue "farming" and harvesting Universe Energy sustainably.
"Impressive!" Riku gave her a sincere thumbs-up. As expected of Alice, her ability to cause trouble and her practical skills were both top-tier. In just three months, she had already made this much progress.
"As for those six girls, they all have good potential. With a little guidance, they can all hold their own." Alice signaled that Riku could rest easy with her in charge.
Riku smiled and said, "Alice, are you just being a coward?"
"Who said that? How is that possible? Darling, don't talk nonsense!" Alice immediately shook her head vigorously, insisting it was impossible for her to be a coward.
"Then shall we continue?"
"If we're continuing, then let's continue!"
To battle!!!
In the end, Alice was defeated. Even after giving it her all, she couldn't fully satisfy the "Lord of the Universe." She felt truly sorry.
Of course, losing was one thing, but admitting defeat verbally? Absolutely impossible!!!
The next day, Riku got out of bed. As for Alice? She declared she was taking a few days off to rest. The reason? Naturally, it was because her provocations and stubbornness had led to a total defeat, and her body needed time to recover.
Saeko Busujima took Little Klee out to play again, the little girl skipping and jumping happily.
As for the other five girls, Riku didn't play favorites. He taught them all about Cosmo and planted a seed within each of them.
As for whether they could make those seeds sprout and grow? Riku wasn't entirely sure. He would take it slow; the system was one thing, but innate talent was also extremely important.
Of course, Alice had planted "Cosmic Cores" in all six girls, so they were now considered "family." Their life forms would undergo a transformation, evolving from a short-lived species to a Long-lived Species. They could work hard in the future; even if they ended up as nothing more than "eye candy," it didn't matter.
In the [Apocalypse] Universe, setting aside the "Universe Energy" harvested, the gain from "Saeko Busujima" alone was already quite staggering.