Chapter 53: Settlement Space

[Welcome to the Settlement Space]

[Commencing Evaluation of Roleplay Score]

[Roleplay score ranges from E to S. The higher the score, the higher the quality of Spirit powers obtained]

[This time's overall roleplay score: A]

[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the Spirit ability of Natsumi Kyouno: "Transformation mode: Kaleidoscope"]

[Side Mission 1 Confirmed Complete: While roleplaying as a Spirit, the player's identity was not suspected by the Creators]

[Status: Natsumi Kyouno identity was accepted by the Creators – Mission Perfectly Accomplished]

[Reward: Item Card – Natsumi Kyouno Experience Voucher (30 Minutes)]

[Side Mission 2 Confirmed Complete: Defeat the creations that descended into this world]

[Status: Not all enemies defeated – Mission Not Perfectly Accomplished]

[Reward: Item Card – Spirit Power Reset Voucher]

[Side Mission 3 Confirmed Complete: Prevent Altair the Military Uniform Princess's World-Annihilation Plan]

[Status: Plan Prevented with Significant Personal Contribution – Mission Perfectly Accomplished]

[Reward: Item Card – World Reselection Ticket]

As she opened her eyes, the girl returned once again to the familiar Settlement Space.

All the injuries from battle and her depleted spirit energy were instantly restored. Her body and mentally state returned to normal.

The main mission of the ninth world had been successfully completed.

Although many unexpected twists and surprises had occurred along the way—even the way the main mission was completed deviated from expectations—it was still a success. And that was what mattered.

Now, only the last Spirit maiden remained for her to roleplay.

Calming her heart, she looked toward the settlement screen displayed on the system's light panel.

"An A for the roleplay evaluation?"

Seeing this score—which wasn't low, but also fell short of her expectations—she clicked her tongue in mild dissatisfaction.

She had been aiming for an S rank.

But expectations were just that—expectations. She knew full well that when playing the role of Natsumi Kyouno, there were some aspects she hadn't quite captured accurately.

While she had tried her best to restore most of the character's personality, and none of the Creators had suspected her—nor had the Orange Company—she was still ultimately too "clever" compared to the real Natsumi Kyouno.

Especially during the fight with Altair, when the Spacequake was unintentionally triggered.

Given how urgent and critical the situation was, there was no room for error. She had no time or energy to maintain her role—she solo-carried the entire scene, successfully reversing Altair spiritification and preventing the Spacequake.

Although the real Natsumi Kyouno wasn't dumb—in fact, her intelligence was five times that of Tohka—at heart, she was still a child. Faced with unexpected situations, she would most likely panic rather than calmly think things through.

With a slightly regretful sigh, the girl turned her eyes to the roleplay reward she had just received.

"Transformation mode: Kaleidoscope?"

Seeing the words "Transformation mode: Kaleidoscope," her expression immediately lit up with joy.

Although the Haniel was classified as only AA-rank, she believed that the Kaleidoscope fully deserved to be an S-rank ability.

After all, just the ability to copy other Angels alone put it far ahead of many others.

However, the moment she saw the suffix that followed "Kaleidoscope," her expression fell with disappointment.

The Metamorphosis Mirror had three primary abilities: Copying Angels, Distorting Reality, and Kaleidoscope.

Copying Angels was self-explanatory—it allowed her to replicate other Spirits' Angels.

Distorting Reality meant that anything struck by the mirror's light would have its very essence changed—bullets turned into candy, loli into mature women, skyscrapers into toy houses.

Kaleidoscope, on the other hand, was a special dimension created by the mirror, capable of absorbing and imprisoning people within.

"If you hadn't mentioned it, I would've forgotten that Natsumi even had this ability."

The girl muttered with a face full of black lines. "I didn't even use that power in the last world."

Kaleidoscope wasn't actually that impractical.

In a way, it was like a weaker version of Kurumi Tokisaki's Shadow Space, but still highly convenient and useful.

However, compared to the other two powers of the Kaleidoscope, it gave off a much weaker impression.

"Oh well. Since the evaluation was only an A, getting Kaleidoscope isn't too bad."

Comforting herself a little and regaining emotional balance, she looked at the reward item cards.

The reward for perfectly completing Side Mission 1 was a Natsumi Kyouno Experience Voucher, which needed no further explanation.

Considering the versatility of Natsumi—or rather, the False Witch—it was another reliable trump card for survival.

As for Side Mission 2, since it wasn't perfectly completed, she only received a Spirit Power Reset Voucher.

The reason for the imperfection was likely because she hadn't defeated Blitz, a creation under Altair command.

After being powered up, Blitz had been solo-defeated by Selesia and imprisoned ever since, giving her no opportunity to act against him.

"What a shame. If I had completed Side Mission 2 perfectly, maybe I would've gotten an S rating in the end."

With a slight sigh, she turned her attention to the final item card.

The reward for perfectly completing Side Mission 3 was a World Reselection Ticket.

In the past, she wouldn't have had any complaints about receiving this item.

But the problem was, after completing the roleplay of Yoshino in the previous world, she had already received one of these tickets.

Which meant she now had two World Reselection Tickets in total.

And yet—there was only one Spirit left to roleplay.

"Kinda useless now... Would've been better to get another Spirit Power Reset Voucher instead."

The girl scratched her head, expressing her dissatisfaction.

At least the Spirit Power Reset Voucher could come in handy in critical moments.

But the World Reselection Ticket was all luck-based. With good fortune, you could end up in a world with low danger levels—but with bad luck, it could turn out like when she was roleplaying Origami Tobiichi and got sent from the world of No Game No Life to No Game No Life: Zero.

Still, complaints were meaningless.

Moreover, with only one Spirit left to roleplay, whatever item cards she received were just bonuses now—they didn't affect much anymore.

After all, she had accumulated enough useful item cards from the previous nine worlds. There might even be some left over after finishing the roleplay of Mukuro Hoshimiya (Mukuro).

"Time sure flies. I'm already at the tenth Spirit."

Looking at the gate of transmigration that appeared in front of her, the girl couldn't help but sigh.

Once she completed the final roleplay, she would no longer be a traveler—but a returnee.

Without hesitation, she stepped forward and entered the Gate of Transmigration.

"The final Spirit, the last trial world—here I come!"

Author's Note (Announcement):

As the title suggests, the story will be on hold again for a while.

I still haven't decided what world Mukuro should go to or how to write it.

After all, Mukuro's character setting is quite troublesome—if she's in her emotionally closed-off state, she'd just hang in space the entire time. If she's open-hearted, I'd need to design a character that naturally draws her in.

I'll keep thinking it over.

But if I really can't figure out how to write Mukuro, I might just have the protagonist roleplay one of the previously played Spirits again.

Still not dead, but getting there.

Mukuro has been the most difficult Spirit for me to write about. From the very beginning of the novel, I had no clue how to approach her, which is why I left her for last.

These past few days, I've been using my spare time to brainstorm how to handle Mukuro while keeping her personality, the MC's independence, and the plot's fun factor in balance.

To those looking forward to Mukuro's arc—sorry, I'll have to disappoint you.

But since I promised to write ten Spirits, I'll make good on that.

Even if I can't do Mukuro, I'll write another volume featuring one of the other Spirits.

The last volume will be the protagonist roleplaying Kurumi Tokisaki once more.

Once I finish the outline and build up some backlog, updates will resume.

Probably in about two weeks.

To all the readers still following this story—see you then!