Shichen's hand was wrapped in a blue radiance—brilliant enough to light up the entire radio tower.
Within that blue glow, a deep-blue silhouette appeared, shaped like a sauropod. It stood on four legs, blue and silver all over, with gray metallic plating along its torso—and at the center of its armored chest, a diamond gleamed.
The shadow gradually condensed into a solid form, its features sharpening: pale-blue stripes across its body; fin-like structures along its back; a crown-like crest atop its head; two horn-like protrusions near its mouth that resembled tusks; and three metallic spikes along the back of its neck, giving it an unmistakably dinosaur-like presence.
This was Shichen's time-bound familiar—Dialga.
The ability Shichen had to travel through time and space came from it. Likewise, the time power Tokisaki Kurumi inherited also originated from Dialga.
Its counterpart was the spatial familiar—Palkia.
Shichen's "spatial movement" was no longer the simple teleport skill he'd learned in the Konosuba world; it came from Palkia—true, free-form control of space itself.
And the space ability Yamauchi Sawa inherited was also Palkia's power.
When Shichen blended his own power signature into Takamiya Mio, it didn't show directly on her—yet when she split her power into ten parts, what manifested and evolved in the spirits was precisely the power that belonged to the two of them.
Kotori's flames. Yoshino's ice. And even the phenomenon of Spirit inversion.
Strictly speaking, Shichen and Mio were something like Kotori and the others' "reborn parents." Once they became Spirits, they were no longer the same as before—they'd become entirely new existences.
Of course, that definition was way too strict. Shichen didn't actually think of it like that. At most, he treated it as a cheeky bit of "spice" for teasing.
He'd joked around with Yatogami Tohka's sister, Tenka, but he wasn't seriously treating himself like her father.
Life needed seasoning. An occasional taboo joke could lighten the mood—otherwise everything got dull.
And more than anything, Tenka's personality made her the perfect target for teasing. She was so cold and serious that stirring her up was often the only way to get a reaction.
"Shi-Shichen… what is that?" Chisato was startled by the massive blue beast that had appeared out of nowhere.
Even though it was clearly a "beast," she still felt something holy and imposing from it—so much that she couldn't quite bring herself to stare directly.
"It's called Dialga. Just think of it as… my pet," Shichen said, ruffling Chisato's hair as he introduced it.
"Pet…"
"ROAR—!" Dialga rumbled a low, displeased growl at Shichen.
"Alright, alright—my partner, okay?" Shichen corrected himself with a sigh. "Can't even joke a little."
"Rrr." Dialga gave a satisfied rumble.
"Partner… Shichen, who are you, really?"
"My identity and background won't help you much right now," Shichen said calmly. "You'll understand later."
"Okay." Chisato nodded obediently.
"Good girl."
"Then… why did you summon it—Dialga?"
"To take us for a walk in the sky, obviously."
"…Huh?"
"Come on."
Shichen wrapped an arm around Chisato, hopped onto Dialga's back, and sat down cross-legged.
Chisato sat on his lap—so small and light she barely registered as weight to him.
"Dialga. Let's go."
"ROAR!"
Dialga didn't run on its four legs at all. It simply lifted into the air, floated out of the radio tower, and shot upward into the sky.
"So—so cool!" Chisato blurted, wide-eyed.
From Shichen's lap, she could look out over the aerial view—dense rooftops, streets, and tiny figures moving below.
A view she'd never seen before, not even in her dreams.
"Shichen…" Chisato suddenly tensed and turned back to him.
"What's wrong?" Shichen kept holding her steady.
"W-We're really obvious up here. Is this… okay?" she asked anxiously.
Dialga wasn't enormous—only about six or seven meters long, just enough to carry the two of them comfortably. But even so, a massive beast flying openly through the air should've been impossible to miss.
"Relax." Shichen smiled. "Dialga's cloaked. Normal people can't see it."
"Huh? Really?"
"You can see it, but people on the ground can't."
"Oh… okay."
"So go ahead and enjoy the view. You can even scream if you want."
"I'm not going to scream."
"…Sure."
Just as Shichen predicted, it didn't take long before Chisato started shouting excitedly anyway, practically vibrating with joy.
There she was—the Chisato he knew best.
Not the "perfect agent," but the bright, exuberant girl that had always been buried underneath.
Shichen decided to stay up there with her a while longer. Even if he could use Haniel to turn the grown-up Chisato into a smaller version, this Chisato was different.
Her mindset. Her innocence. The way she reacted to things.
This was a real little girl—simple, genuine, exactly as she should be.
And Shichen loved that.
Holding her like this felt satisfying in a way that was hard to explain.
…
Inside a castle-like mansion, in a room by a window, a blonde little girl with twin-tails lay sprawled on the sill, bored out of her mind.
School was boring. Friends were boring.
Girls only clustered around her. Boys only tried to impress her. Couldn't they all grow up already?
She didn't like it, but she also knew she couldn't escape it—her status guaranteed this kind of life.
Still… couldn't something magical happen once in a while?
She wanted the kind of fate you saw in fairy tales.
"…Hm?"
Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw something.
She turned—and her eyes went wide.
What was that?!
A blue monster?!
And… people?!
So cool!
Without thinking, she bolted out of the room, twin-tails bouncing as she sprinted outside to chase after it.
"Eriri? It's late—where are you going?" A woman who looked young enough to be her older sister called after her.
"Mom, I'm going out for a bit! I'll be right back!" Eriri shouted without turning around.
The woman shook her head and didn't stop her. If her daughter was finally interested in something, maybe it was good to let her go.
She even briefly considered that, if Eriri got bored again, she could reveal her and her husband's "hidden identities" and let her discover a whole new world…
But would that be too much for her?
Eriri had no idea what her mother was thinking. She ran hard, pumping her little legs, constantly looking up at the blue beast flying through the air, terrified she'd lose it.
It wasn't fake.
She hadn't imagined it.
And even though nobody else on the street seemed to notice, that somehow made it more convincing.
Normal people couldn't notice something like that!
But she could.
Which must mean she was special.
…
By the time the sky had darkened, Shichen brought Chisato back toward the radio tower. But the moment they entered, Shichen's expression tightened.
"Shichen? What is it?" Chisato caught the change immediately.
"Looks like there are still stragglers."
"Huh?"
"The criminals your team took down have accomplices. They came to check the scene—and planted explosives. Probably retaliation."
"What?! Bombs? That's not—"
"Too late." Shichen's eyes narrowed. "They're detonating. Looks like they noticed us."
"…What—"
BOOM—!
The explosion hit like a hammer.
A wave of flame surged in, snapping forward like a fire serpent opening its jaws to devour them. The roar was deafening. The structure beneath them began to collapse.
"Shichen!"
"It's fine—small problem." Shichen's tone stayed calm. "But these people are seriously unhinged. If this hit normal civilians—"
He scanned the area—and froze.
"…Huh?"
There was someone else inside the tower.
A single blonde twin-tailed little girl.
Why was she here?!
No time to think.
Shichen pulled Chisato close and expanded a barrier around them—then flicked another protective shield toward the blonde girl as well.
The girl's mind was totally blank. She hadn't even processed fear yet—only the surreal fact that this famous tower was suddenly collapsing.
Before she could even squeeze her eyes shut, a transparent dome snapped into place around her.
The blast wave washed over her—and she wasn't harmed at all.
The barrier blocked everything perfectly.
But then she realized she couldn't move. The shield lifted her into the air and lowered her slowly, drifting past debris and fire like it didn't matter.
Am I… going to get buried? she thought suddenly.
Now that dying wasn't the problem anymore, that was her new worry.
Up above, Shichen held Chisato and flew out through the collapsing structure, ignoring the shockwaves.
"Shichen, you're amazing!" Chisato couldn't help blurting as she stared at the tower turning into rubble.
"Now's not the time to admire," Shichen said, eyes cold. "Those guys deserve what's coming. Let's catch them—and you'll avoid punishment from your organization while we're at it."
"Classic Shichen!" Chisato beamed. "So thoughtful!"