Under the guidance of Kikuchihara Aki, Kōshi Tachibana arrived at the base.
Meteora, Selesia, and Rui Kanoya had originally planned to return together, but on the way back, they sensed a battle between creations and got off midway.
As for Sōta Mizushino, he was just a high school student who got involved completely by accident. To prevent his family from worrying, he was the only one who didn't stay at the base and was directly sent home.
As for Kōshi Tachibana, ever since Natsumi Kyouno disappeared without a trace, she had officially joined this faction.
Kikuchihara Aki took her to her house, helped her pack some belongings, and then took her to a girl's clothing store to buy some necessary clothes before driving to the base.
Although they called it a base, it was actually just an apartment building.
It wasn't some sci-fi secret base filled with high-tech equipment, nor a mystical realm filled with magic and rituals—just an ordinary luxury apartment building.
Compared to where Kōshi Tachibana had lived before, it was only slightly bigger.
However, compared to the Altair faction that was constantly exposed to the elements, the treatment provided by the Meteora faction was already extremely favorable.
Not only did they get to live in a luxury apartment for free, but most of their needs were also met. The area was surrounded by numerous surveillance cameras, both visible and hidden, to prevent any suspicious individuals from approaching.
Living here was definitely the safest option.
"Yo, good day everyone!"
As soon as she entered through the apartment entrance, Kōshi Tachibana pulled her suitcase into the living room and cheerfully greeted the creators there.
At that moment, there were five creators present in the hall.
Excluding one who had died, one who had gone missing, and those whose works were published under the name of a company rather than an individual, all summonable creators were already here.
As ordinary people, although their fictional characters had manifested in the real world, most of the time when the creations were out and about, the creators would stay here.
After all, they were still just regular people with no combat abilities.
Plus, most of them still had deadlines to meet.
"Uh, Miss Kikuchihara, who is this child?"
Upon seeing the lively girl in a white dress walk into the living room, the tall, thin, and slightly balding Gai Takarada, creator of Elementally Symphony of Vogelchevalier, was momTachibanarily stunned and subconsciously asked.
"Wait, didn't you say the creation that descended this time was Natsumi Kyouno from Date A Live?"
Looking at the girl before him—who, aside from both being little girls, bore no resemblance whatsoever to Natsumi Kyouno—Masaaki Nakanogane, the plump creator of Infinite Divine Machine Mono Magia, asked in confusion.
Seeing the creators present expressing their doubts, Kikuchihara Aki looked somewhat helpless. But she couldn't hide it from them.
So, she had no choice but to speak in the calmest tone possible, revealing what she had already mentally rehearsed.
"This girl isn't a creation," she coughed twice and said. "She is the author of Date A Live, pen name Kōshi Tachibana..."
"Hah?!"
"Kōshi Tachibana is this young?!"
"Miss Kikuchihara, are you sure you got the right person? Kōshi Tachibana has been in the industry for over a decade—there's no way he could've signed a publishing deal while still in the womb!"
She hadn't even finished her explanation when the creators—eyes wide in shock—cut her off.
Among the five, Gai Takarada, who was somewhat familiar with Kōshi Tachibana and had met him a few times, looked completely incredulous.
Did she accidTachibanally bring back Kōshi Tachibana daughter?
No, that couldn't be right. At the last authors' gathering, didn't he say he didn't even have a girlfriend?
How could he have a daughter in less than a year?!
"I'm Kōshi Tachibana, alright."
Grinning, Kōshi Tachibana made a peace sign with both hands, looking very pleased with everyone's reaction. "While trying to recruit Natsumi, I accidTachibanally pissed her off. As punishment, she turned me into this."
Once everyone had calmed down, Kikuchihara Aki explained in full what had just happened.
After hearing the entire story of how Kōshi Tachibana ended up in this form, everyone had different reactions.
Some were shocked, some confused, and some... envious.
"In any case, starting today, Kōshi Tachibana will be living with you. Although she's now an Elementary school student physically, her mind is still that of an adult, so there's no need to treat her like a child," Kikuchihara Aki said. "Meteora and the others should be back soon. I still have reports to write, so I'll leave you all to it."
With that, and seeing that no one had any further questions, Kikuchihara Aki left.
"Why do you still look so dumbfounded, Matsubara-kun?"
Approaching the person she was most familiar with—Gai Takarada—Kōshi Tachibana stood on tiptoe, trying to pat his shoulder like before, but couldn't quite reach. "Ah, forget it. Just help me carry my stuf into my room... Speaking of which, which room should I take?"
"Go straight, third door on the right," he replied.
"Got it. I'm going to set up my PC. I've got a match with Akasaka later in Apex. Want to join me?"
"You're still playing games even after turning into that?" Gai Takarada looked utterly bewildered. "Wait, is Miss Kikuchihara okay with you contacting your friends?"
"She said not to, but she's already left, hasn't she?" Kōshi Tachibana laughed. "Besides, I arranged the match with Akasaka yesterday. Ditching him now would be rude. If I don't use voice chat, he won't know I've turned into a loli, right?"
Thanks to Kōshi Tachibana quick thinking, the hundreds of people who had been turned into loli by Natsumi Kyouno in Akihabara were eventually all changed back.
Only Kōshi Tachibana alone bore the punishment.
This significantly reduced the pressure on the government.
However, since Kōshi Tachibana had turned into a loli, she was still not allowed to contact her acquaintances—at least not until she returned to normal.
After all, the phenomenon of fictional characters appearing in the real world was still being kept secret from the public. If Kōshi Tachibana transformation became known to her friends, it could cause unnecessary trouble.
"By the way, Senpai... if Natsumi joins the enemy, what will you do?"
Compared to Kōshi Tachibana nonchalance, Gai Takarada seemed even more worried than she did. "If that happens, wouldn't you be stuck like this for life?"
"Wouldn't that be even better?" Kōshi Tachibana chuckled. "I'm almost thirty. Now I'm back to ten. It's like getting twenty years for free. Wouldn't you want that?"
"But I'm a guy!"
"It's just a bit of psychological and physiological adjustment. You can get used to it."
Kōshi Tachibana rolled her eyes at him.
"Stop whining and help me carry my stuff!"