Multiversal Friendship System

Souta's biggest advantage over Todoroki Shoto was that…

He was immortal!

Even if he burned or froze himself, he would recover instantly.

That meant he never had to worry about injuries when training with his quirk.

He could keep his fire and ice powers active 24/7, training non-stop.

The more he used them, the stronger he would become.

And so, over the next few days…

Souta continuously practiced his quirk and time manipulation.

He trained relentlessly, following the logic of:

"If I can't die, then I'll train to death!"

After all, since he couldn't die, he wasn't afraid to train using extreme, self-destructive methods.

Just as Souta was immersed in his training, the friend group chat, which had been silent for days, finally became active again!

"Hmm?"

The vibration of his system phone broke Souta's concentration.

Instinctively, he picked up the phone to check the messages.

To his surprise, the person who had sent the message wasn't Tokisaki Kurumi.

It was… Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade.

Kurumi hadn't appeared in the group chat for several days.

Logically speaking, testing "worldline change duration" shouldn't take this long.

Could it be… she was being hunted by Tobiichi Origami again?

Souta wasn't too worried about Origami—after all, Kurumi had more than enough stored time to deal with her.

His only concern was that Kurumi might do something reckless—like trying to fight Deus Ex Machina (Tokisaki Mio).

But back to the group chat...

Kiss-Shot:

"@Souta. You are this group's administrator, correct? I wish to apologize for my previous accusations and mockery."

Souta:

"???"

Souta:

"Wait… what? Did something happen? Why the sudden change of attitude?"

Kiss-Shot: "I originally believed this phone was a type of apparition, but I was wrong. I admit I overlooked something."

Huh?

Just a few days ago, she was smashing it, throwing it, refusing to believe it—but now she suddenly accepts it?

Souta was intrigued.

Souta:

"So… how exactly did you verify that the phone isn't an apparition?"

Kiss-Shot:

"I do not wish to answer that question."

Not answering?

Now Souta was even more curious.

He recalled Kiss-Shot's unique vampire abilities and suddenly had a wild guess.

Souta:

"Let me guess… Since you're a special vampire that can absorb apparition energy, you probably thought, 'Might as well bite down on the phone and see what happens,' right?"

"And then—whoops!—you accidentally broke one of your fangs?"

"Hahaha!"

Of course, this was mostly a joke.

Chatting in the friend group felt a lot like hanging out with online friends, so Souta tended to let loose.

Just like when he first met Kurumi, he would tease her often and even throw in a few dirty jokes.

However… after sending the message, Souta noticed something.

Kiss-Shot went completely silent.

The group chat fell into dead silence.

"…"

Souta started to panic a little.

Wait, wait, wait…

No way… right?

She couldn't have actually done something that dumb… right?!

Just as Souta's anxiety reached its peak—

Kiss-Shot finally responded.

Kiss-Shot:

"Of course, my verification method was nothing like what you said."

"I used my beloved sword, 'Heartspan,' to test it."

(TN: Youtou Kokorowatari (妖刀 心渡, lit., Demon Sword Heart Span) alternatively called Kai'i-goroshi (怪異殺し, lit., Oddity Killer) is a demon sword that harms and effectively kills oddities.)

Souta:

"'Heartspan'? You mean the legendary 'Oddity Slayer' katana?"

Kiss-Shot:

"Oh? It seems you know quite a lot about me. Yes, it is the very blade designed exclusively to slay Oddity or apparitions."

"'Heart span cannot affect anything that is not an apparition. It cannot even touch non-apparition objects—it passes right through them."

"When I struck the phone, the blade phased through it entirely."

"That is how I confirmed that it is not an apparition."

Souta remembered 'Heartspan' vividly.

It was a replica that Kiss-Shot created using her own flesh and blood since the original was destroyed 400 years ago.

However, the reason Souta remembered it wasn't because of its strength—

It was simply because…

It looked badass as hell.

Like Sephiroth's absurdly long katana from Final Fantasy VII, it was a blade of pure style.

He didn't care if it was useful—it just looked cool.

Souta:

"I see. Makes sense."

Of course, whether or not she actually used 'Heartspan' to test the phone…

Souta felt like it was better not to ask.

After all, this was a vampire who had eaten over 6,000 humans.

If she said she used her sword, then—

"Sure. I totally believe you."

Kiss-Shot:

"Even in my long existence, I have never encountered anything like this. It is truly shocking."

"However… at this point, I have no choice but to believe it."

Souta:

"You'll get used to it."

"At first, I thought it was ridiculous too—until I actually traveled to another world."

"In the end, all I can say is… if it exists, then it must be real."

Kiss-Shot:

"Oh? So you did not create this system yourself?"

Souta froze.

Wait.

What?

Did this vampire lady really think he was behind the system?!

What kind of image did she have of him?!

Souta:

"That's… not funny."

"Come on, you're an immortal vampire with absurdly strong abilities."

"I, on the other hand, am just a normal guy."

"How the hell could I have created something like this?!"

After learning that fictional characters could actually exist, Souta had made a firm decision:

"No pretending to be some big-shot in the group chat!"

He wanted genuine friendships, not relationships built on deception.

If he had to trick people just to befriend them, then what was even the point?

Besides—

A single lie always needed countless more lies to cover it up.

That sounded way too exhausting.

Kiss-Shot:

"A 'normal person'? Then why were you chosen as the group administrator?"

Souta:

"Honestly? I have no clue."

"But if I had to guess, it's probably because my world is special."

"Also, I just happened to be the first person to pick up the phone."

Kiss-Shot:

"I see. That Tokisaki Kurumi also claimed we come from different worlds."

"At first, I thought she was joking."

"But now, I am beginning to believe it."

"Tell me, what is so 'special' about your world?"

She was curious about Souta's world.

Souta didn't mind answering.

Souta:

"Sure. The special thing about my world is… 'information.'

"In my world, you—Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade—are a fictional character in a story."

"The same goes for Tokisaki Kurumi."

"And probably most of the future members of this group."

Kiss-Shot:

"…"