I'm Turning Into Gacha Characters?!

Chapter 523: Turned Into Gacha?! - 523

Tatsumaki turned to look at Alice, who nodded, accepting the assistance of the AI.

The function and definition of a Sephira Crystal weren’t exactly hard concepts to grasp. Strip away the experimental logs and data, and the core concept was actually pretty straightforward.

Tatsumaki easily summarized what a Sephira Crystal was in her own words.

Simply put, it was a gem that granted eternal youth and contained a massive amount of energy, allowing the user to gain corresponding abilities. To use it, one just had to fuse the crystal into their body.

Though it was called "fusing into the body," the Sephira Crystal didn’t actually displace any organs. In other words, it wasn’t a physical fusion.

This was practically a cheat item with zero drawbacks—and Fubuki had actually managed to get her hands on one?

Tatsumaki could hardly believe her eyes.

She really wanted to question it, but then again, what reason did Herta have to lie to them? To someone like Herta, this was probably just a toy she could toss away on a whim.

Was it really... just that?

A wave of complex absurdity washed over Tatsumaki. Even though it had barely been half an hour—hardly more than a brief exchange of words—she felt an inexplicable, overwhelming exhaustion.

No, it wasn’t inexplicable. It was pure information overload.

She gave up trying to say anything more. She needed time to slowly process and digest all of this.

"How do we get down?" Tatsumaki looked over at Alice.

"We just need to stand in front of that teleportation gate." Alice actually knew about this much.

Strictly speaking, they didn’t have to stand right on it to use the Ark’s teleportation function, but this was something Herta had put together, so its transmission range was much farther than the Ark’s.

The two of them stepped onto the teleportation gate together. Before Tatsumaki could even ask what to do next, she felt that familiar weightless sensation wash over her once more.

A moment later, the two of them materialized right outside the Blizzard Group’s building.

"Of all the places to end up..."

Tatsumaki’s eye twitched as she snapped back to reality.

If she used her superpowers to leave right now and Fubuki happened to overhear that utterly baffling, embarrassing chant, what then? Was she supposed to walk a long way off before finally flying away?

She could manage that this time, but she couldn’t live like this forever, could she?

She was bound to be found out sooner or later!

Tatsumaki finally realized just how constrained and humiliated her daily life would become because of this seemingly minor catch. Was this really just "revenge" after a gentle persuasion?

"Hmm? Because Alice missed everyone so much!" Seeing Tatsumaki’s conflicted state, Alice playfully feigned ignorance, wearing nothing but a pure, cheerful expression.

Only then did Tatsumaki realize she had genuinely misunderstood this robot-head.

On top of that, she had forced Alice to leave her own home to live with a sharp-tongued person like herself for so many days.

Realizing it was one thing, but actually getting her to apologize... she really couldn’t bring herself to say the words.

I’ll just find some other way to make it up to her later...

With that thought, Tatsumaki intended to say her goodbyes right then and there.

While she couldn’t hide the anomaly with her body forever, it was best not to expose it just yet. She couldn’t handle that much stimulation right now; she needed to pull herself together first.

Yet, as if luck were deliberately playing tricks on her, just as she was preparing to walk away to gather her thoughts, she spotted Fubuki stepping out of the stairwell, leading several people with her.

"Alice...? Sister!?"

Having just accepted a request from the Association, Fubuki had been planning to head out with the Blizzard Group when she was stunned to see two highly unexpected figures.

Not just Fubuki, but the entire Blizzard Group looked instantly on edge.

If Alice had just come back to grab some things like before, they could understand, but... what was Tatsumaki doing here?

Fubuki’s eyes darted between the two of them. She remembered vividly that her sister could be classified as a textbook workaholic.

Normally, she would be on the front lines protecting the city 24/7, 365 days a year, only slowing down occasionally when her energy flagged.

Other than that, she almost never shirked her responsibilities.

But what was going on now? Granted, today was indeed a day off, but appearing here at this hour—was there some major crisis? No, that didn’t make sense either, because her sister was currently standing flat on the ground, showing absolutely no signs of urgency.

Noticing Fubuki’s bewildered and surprised gaze, Tatsumaki’s face instantly soured, and she turned her head away without a word.

"Ta-da! Alice has successfully returned to the main base!"

Beside her, Alice raised a hand, throwing out a joyful announcement.

Then, she jogged a few steps over to Fubuki. "From now on, Alice can travel back and forth freely!"

"Travel back and forth freely?"

The utterly perplexed Fubuki finally caught the keyword. She looked at the beaming Alice, then at Tatsumaki’s sour expression, and a guess began to form in her mind.

"Alice, and Sister... did you go see Miss Herta?" Though it was a guess, Fubuki’s tone carried more certainty than anything.

"Mm-hmm! Alice received Auntie Herta’s blessing and enhancements. Alice has become way stronger! This way, I can protect everyone more thoroughly and much more often in the future!"

The confidence and joy in the girl’s voice practically overflowed; anyone could tell just how passionate she was about protecting others.

Seeing this, Fubuki naturally had to offer some praise. After all, regardless of what Alice’s past identity had been, the current Alice was a member of the Blizzard Group—in other words, family.

"Very good. That’s what it means to be a member of the Blizzard Group. I look forward to your performance, Alice." Fubuki gently patted the girl’s head.

"If you have work to do, then get moving already."

Seeing the two of them starting a whole conversation right at the entrance, Tatsumaki couldn’t help but snap.

What kind of scene was this?! Her own sister was ignoring her completely, chatting away happily with someone else instead?! And what was up with that robot-head?!

She had been pestering her with endless questions before, so why wasn’t she saying a single word to her now?!

She couldn’t stand looking at this for another second!

Fubuki didn’t know what was going through Tatsumaki’s mind, but she could tell her sister had clearly suffered a setback; it was written all over her current expression and behavior.

She really wanted to take this opportunity to knock her sister down a peg, to make her realize she couldn’t just control her at will like she used to.

But looking at Tatsumaki’s visibly deflated state, Fubuki couldn’t bring herself to be cruel.

Next time, then.

With that thought, Fubuki decided to gather the others and head out to work first.

Alice, meanwhile, looked over at Tatsumaki, who hadn’t made a move.

"Fubuki and the others are already gone. Shall we head back together?" the girl asked with a smile.

Tatsumaki tightened her crossed arms and let out a cold snort.

"Hmph. In such a rush to pack your things? Well, fine. Having to blow-dry your hair every single day and all that—I’ve been sick of the extra chore of babysitting a brat anyway!"

Without waiting to see Alice’s reaction, she yelled at the top of her lungs: "Madam Herta is a peerless gem! Madam Herta is an unrivaled genius! Madam Herta is an inimitable beauty!"

The moment their figures vanished into thin air, a sonic boom rippled through the surroundings.

As it whipped up the dust and fallen leaves, it also blew up the skirt of Fubuki, who had just jogged back to ask Alice exactly when she would return.

"What... did Sister just say?"

--+--

T/N: If you want advance Chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL