Volume 19 Chapter 2,

After checking all the dependents in Amamiya Tower, he confirmed that very few of them had an <Evolution Sprout>.

Still, that did not mean that there were no other dependents that had it aside from the black wolves, so he checked each one of them and discovered the following results:

It was not shown on every species.

Only individuals that had evolved at least once displayed the condition.

Only the expansion of the Soul Vessel had been confirmed so far.

Result 1, was mostly from the black wolves, but it was also displayed on some other dependents as well.

Result 2, on the other hand, only dependents that had evolved at least once showed the condition.

Since it did not seem to be displayed for species that evolved from the lower to the middle rank species, this <Evolution Sprout> may only be displayed among the middle ranks and higher rank species.

The reason was not clear. It was still unknown why only the expansion of the last Soul Vessel was displayed. It could be because Kousuke’s right eye did not have enough ability to see the rest, or it could be that there was no other information there for him to look at.

In the end, no conclusion could be made as he was still uncertain.

After much deliberation, Kosuke decided to give up on the idea. After all, he would never be able to find an answer to his question about the soul, even if he did a normal search.

He checked with the members of the Tower, but no one could tell him.

Kosuke decided to give up and pulled out his trump card.

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[So then, can you tell me about it?]

[Why the sudden question…]

The person he decided to ask was Eris.

[I would love to answer you, but I don’t know either.]

[What? Really?]

Kousuke, who had expected an immediate answer, was seriously surprised.

[Yes, that’s right. As I told you before, I’m not all-knowing, you know?]

[Oh, well, I knew that, but I thought you’d understand since we’re talking about the evolution at work in this world.]

[Oh, I see. But we Goddesses don’t have complete control over evolution in the first place, so there’s not much we can say pertaining to this question of yours.]

Talking about evolution deeply involves knowledge over souls.

For souls, the Goddesses do have control over them, but they cannot create new ones or alter them at will.

[What do you mean? What about the time Haku was created?]

[That was thanks to Asura’s power.]

[Oh, so that’s how it is. So, I have to ask her?]

[That’s right.]

[I see. Then I’ll ask Asura.]

[Ah…]

Eris paused for a moment just as Kousuke was about to cut off the communication. Kousuke, being curious, asked.

[Hmm? What’s wrong?]

[No, no. Nothing. It’s just that Asura-sama seems to be busy right now.]

[I see. Thank you. I’ll ask her when she has time.]

Kousuke thanked Eris for her advice and this time, cut off the communication.

Eris, who had been cut off, considered what Kousuke had told her.

“He doesn’t understand how significant it is to be able to see the contents related to evolution in the first place…. Well, it’s Kousuke, after all.”

Eris mumbled a comment so quiet that it did not even reach Spica, who happened to be standing beside her.

She simply watched Eris, who had finished communicating with Kousuke, and let out a big sigh while tilting her head.

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As he was taking care of some other minor things before calling, he was suddenly contacted by Asura.

He was quite surprised, this was the first time he had ever received contact from the other side.

[Eh? What?]

[Kukuku, you don’t have to be that surprised, right?]

[Well, I didn’t think you would be the one to contact me, so I said I was surprised.]

Strangely enough, even though it was his first time receiving a Divine Oracle, he immediately recognized the person who sent him the Divine Oracle.

Kousuke was told that this was how a Divine Oracle was supposed to work, and he had no choice but to accept it.

[When did you gain the ability to perform a Divine Oracle on me?]

[I’ve been able to do it for a while, but I didn’t do anything special, you know?]

[Yeah, that’s right.]

Currently, only Asura and Sylvia could do a Divine Oracle to Kousuke.

Peach was one step away, but unfortunately, even with the assistance of tools, it was not enough.

Sylvia, by the way, could do a Divine Oracle because she was Kousuke’s miko, of course.

Sylvia lived with Kousuke on the Administration Floor most of the time, so there was no need for her to do Divine Oracles all the time.

Asura also didn’t bother to use Divine Oracles, so she never had to use it until now.

Of course, besides not being bothered to perform one, Asura refrained from performing Divine Oracles because it could have an impact on the world if she were to ‘appear on the stage’ so easily.

This time, Eris told her that Kousuke had something to discuss with her, so she decided to perform a Divine Oracle instead.

[I heard from Eris about what you wanted to know.]

[Ah, really. So, did you figure anything out?]

[Hmmm. That’s the tricky part.]

Kousuke tilted his head inwardly in response to Asura’s cryptic answer.

[What do you mean?]

[I know some things about evolution, of course, but I have no idea exactly what your ability is.]

One of the abilities possessed by his left eye was to read and display status, and now the power of his right eye has become a unique ability.

Moreover, judging by what kind of ability it had, the World Record was definitely involved, making it an ability that was unknown even to Asura.

[I see… But there are things you can figure out, right?]

[Of course. But I don’t know if they’re the right answer.]

[That’s fine. At this point, I haven’t even begun to grasp what’s going on.]

If there was something that he might help him understand, even if it was only a little, he wanted to hear about it.

[You do know that evolution can only happen if certain conditions are met, right?]

[Well, I have seen it happen all over the Towers.]

He mostly had observed it from his Dependents.

But he was unable to find the exact conditions for this.

It was mostly by chance.

[That’s the right answer. There is no such thing as an absolute condition for evolution in the first place.]

[Isn’t that impossible? Ah, I see. That’s what you mean.]

What Asura was trying to convey was that even if the conditions for evolution were met, some individuals would evolve, while others would not.

Asura knew that there were no two same individuals, even if they were of the same species.

If such a situation occurred, then there was one convenient word to describe it.

A mere coincidence.

[I’m just guessing from here.]

Following this unusual introduction, Asura continued.

[Don’t you think Kousuke’s power this time will make up for the difference?]

Hearing Asura’s guess, Kousuke was silent for a good ten seconds.

[No, no, wait a minute…is that possible?]

If true, it would be a tremendous power.

After all, it could enable individuals who have not been able to evolve to do so.

[… I’m hoping that’s the case.]

Kousuke’s shoulders slumped in disappointment at that reply.

[So, do you know what the expansion of Soul Vessel means?]

Regardless of what the future holds, if he did not solve the problems he was facing now, he would not be able to know what would happen in the future.

He decided to solve the current problem for the time being.

[I’m not sure about that. Usually, the term ‘Soul Vessel’ refers to the physical body. I think what Kousuke is seeing is something else.]

In short, Asura didn’t have a definite answer either.

[No, wait. Wait, if the Soul Vessel is the body, doesn’t that mean something about changing the body?]

What Kousuke was referring to was not a change in physical size or nature, but rather a change in the inner workings of the body, or skill.

Since it was the skill that was involved in the evolutionary conditions, he shouldn’t be wrong in his assumption.

[I know, but then again, how was that different from what Kousuke has been doing with your body so far?]

[….Ah]

Kousuke was stunned when he realized that Asura’s suggestion was absolutely right.

He had just gotten a good hint from Asura, but he was still back at square one.