Crossover: The Problematic Deity of Arcadia

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Stepping through the boundary gate, Ryo and Leticia returned to the No Name base in Outer Gate [2105380].

Ryo gazed out at the morning sky, then turned to Leticia.

"Looks like it's dawn."

"Mhm. Dawn already."

Leticia folded her wings and landed softly. After watching the sunrise for a moment, she asked casually:

"Thought about how you're going to explain all this to Black Rabbit?"

Disappearing in the middle of the night and running off to a four-digit Gate? Knowing Black Rabbit's personality, she'd definitely be worried sick.

Although... Ryo probably wasn't the one who'd get scolded the most.

Leticia smiled, clearly waiting to enjoy the incoming drama.

Ryo paused to think, then gave a small nod and said:

"Actually, I think you should explain. Whether it's the Trial or sneaking out in the middle of the night, it'd probably go over better coming from a girl."

Leticia's smile froze for a couple of seconds.

"…Wait, don't tell me you dragged me all the way to Perseus without even clearing it with Black Rabbit?"

Ryo rubbed his chin, totally unfazed.

"I did mention it, technically. But you know her—she probably thought I was just joking. Honestly, I figured she'd react like that, which is why I just went ahead with it."

Leticia stared at him in silence for a second. A twinge of pity for Black Rabbit flickered in her eyes.

Just how well had Ryo read that girl's personality?

But then the realization hit her—she really was going to have to explain everything for him. Leticia sighed, already feeling the headache coming on.

"…I don't think this is really my job…"

Then her eyes landed on the rolled-up document in Ryo's hand—the Ownership Contract.

She went quiet for a moment, then let out a deep sigh.

"…Fine. I'll go talk to Black Rabbit."

When you're living under someone else's roof, sometimes you've gotta go along with it.

Even though they'd left Perseus and returned to the crumbling remains of Arcadia, technically speaking, Leticia was Ryo's "property" now.

As a result, there were limits to how much she could go against his "orders."

It was the price Ryo paid—risking his life in the Trial to claim this reward.

Leticia wouldn't stoop to using underhanded tricks to dodge her responsibilities.

Seeing her give in, Ryo smiled and tucked away the ownership scroll.

"Gotta admit, this thing's pretty handy. Don't you think so, Miss Leticia?"

The pureblood Vampire Princess narrowed her eyes at him, "You're getting a little too cocky these days."

Ryo just chuckled.

"Can't help it. After getting played by Algol, I needed to let off some steam… and you guys were the unlucky targets."

Leticia was stunned speechless.

He needed to blow off steam, so he used them for that? What were they, emotional trash cans?

Still, since he brought up Algol, Leticia's curiosity got the better of her.

"So how did you manage to convince Algol, anyway?"

Ryo thought about it before answering.

"Well, rumor has it that Demon Star is obsessed with beauty. And lucky for me, I happened to have a Gift that enhances beauty. That was the opening."

"You were that confident it would work?" Leticia asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ryo scratched his chin again, thinking aloud. "Honestly? The key was the aura I gave off."

"You have to make her believe you're hiding a trump card. Let her think you've got something dangerous up your sleeve. Then, take advantage of the initial exchange to shift the tone. Only after that will she start to consider talking."

He shrugged.

"Of course, I only came up with that plan after actually meeting Algol. At first, I just wanted to test the waters, see how big the gap between us really was."

"My original goal was to challenge them openly, but secretly pressure Perseus—make them back off and stop pushing too far."

"In the end, things didn't go as planned… but they worked out better than I expected."

"So your 'trial' was just a scare tactic for Perseus, huh? That's… actually pretty clever," Leticia nodded.

No wonder Aishelia had picked up on it too.

Ryo's whole "trial" thing was really a message: Arcadia isn't dead yet. A warning to Perseus not to mess with him.

No one could've predicted the outcome—Ryo Yagami not only completed the trial but even got Algol to admit defeat.

Leticia laughed softly at the thought.

"Your luck's pretty insane, huh?"

"I like to think so." Ryo smiled, though he knew better. The Hōgyoku's influence was likely helping guide things behind the scenes.

Leticia chuckled at his cheeky tone.

"So, Boss… have you figured out the next steps for our community?"

Ryo nodded, raising one finger.

"Yeah. Three phases: First, get recognized as an area ruler. Then, use that status to earn a ton of money and Gifts. Finally, buy info on Arcadia's flag."

Leticia nodded again, impressed by the logic.

"Reclaiming the flag… That should be our top priority."

"But I'd suggest adding one more goal—boosting your personal strength."

"No matter what, we'll need firepower if we want the flag back."

"I know." Ryo nodded seriously. "Training starts tomorrow? Or today?"

"Let's go with tomorrow. Today, we need to—wait, she's here."

Leticia turned just in time to see a certain bunny girl dropping down from the sky at high speed.

Moments later, Ryo heard Black Rabbit's angry voice shouting in his ear:

"YOU TWO!!!"

"Explain to me RIGHT NOW why you snuck out in the middle of the night—!!"

"This bunny is seriously mad right now!!"

"…She's all yours." Ryo motioned to Leticia, then vanished in a blur.

Leticia could only give a resigned smile as she stepped forward to block Black Rabbit.

— — —

Meanwhile, Ryo had already made it back to his room. He gave Jin Russell a quick "I'm going into closed training, don't bother me for a day," and locked the door, leaving Jin completely confused.

The reason?

At the very end of his trial, Ryo had heard a notification from the Dimensional Forum.

He locked the door behind him, sat down quickly on the sofa, and opened the interface.

[Ding—!]

[New member invitation successful. Member is currently asleep, no questions yet.]

"…Is today April Fool's or something?" Ryo muttered, lips twitching.

He closed the message, browsed through the forum tabs to see if there were any updates.

Sure enough, Aizen had sent out several invitation prompts… all of which had failed. The system now showed a two-month cooldown before any new attempts.

"This guy… still doesn't trust anyone, huh."

Ryo chuckled dryly and looked away, shifting his attention to a different message.

It was from the very first person to post a question in the forum—{Kanae-Is-So-Cute}.

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