Shido and the others followed Mio out of the room they had been in. According to Mio, this new section of the building was made for this new experimental team, and, should they choose to stay, it's where they would be spending most of their time.

They all entered a special elevator together. Karen pressed a few buttons and then the elevator started moving.

That said, as expected, the elevator is quite packed with this many people in it. Although Shido hardly felt bad, he also really wasn't sure what to do in this situation.

"Ara, it's quite tight in here, isn't it?"

"Y-yeah. Sorry for making you feel uncomfortable."

"Oh, I'm not uncomfortable at all."

As luck would have it, Shido happened to end up forcing Kurumi onto the elevator wall. Even if he wanted to, it was too packed for him to give her any room, so there was no choice but for them to stick close together.

Yet, she didn't seem to hate it. Rather, her smile seemed genuine, so was she enjoying it? Just as Shido was wondering about that, he felt something soft on his back.

"It really is quite packed."

Origami was the one behind Shido. But she wasn't simply standing behind him. She was very much pressing her breasts against his back. Although they weren't big (or even medium on that matter), Shido could feel her chest pressed on his back.

"Ara."

Maybe because he got a bit distracted, he ended up closing in on Kurumi a bit more, making her chest get pressed against him. In other words, Shido was currently sandwiched between black and white haired beauties.

While Shido does have female friends and interacts with girls about as normally as any other boy his age, this is obviously not a situation he often finds himself in, so he ended up not knowing what to do. So he ended up just standing there doing nothing, except maybe enjoying it, though he tried his best to not let it show.

The elevator eventually arrived at its destination while that situation was still going on. Origami got off Shido's back as soon as people started leaving the elevator, which allowed Shido to finally give Kurumi some room, though she still didn't seem to mind it. That said, Miku gave Shido a look that made him feel like he'd just committed a crime.

"Everyone, don't get left behind."

Karen said calmly, which made Shido continue to follow everyone else. Mio led the group a bit further, and then they entered another room.

Once the door opened, everyone looked at the inside of the room. It seemed like they had gone to the engineering department.

Although Mio has not disclosed how the Realizer technology works for anyone, it's obvious she can't build it all herself. Of course, the work is distributed in a way that even previous employees who tried to steal the technology couldn't figure out how it worked.

There was only one girl inside that room. A girl with long messy blond hair. Once she noticed her visitors, she took off her goggles, revealing her blue eyes.

"Mildred? What are you doing here?"

It was Origami who called out her name. Mildred looked around and quickly found Origami.

"Origami? So you were one of the girls selected?"

"Oh, right, you two already knew each other from before. Considering the confidentiality of this project, I needed to find someone who could work efficiently with little help. Mildred was chosen to help me with the creation of the new CR-Units."

Karen explained. She was the head of the engineering department of the NWET, but, as far as the public knew at least, she hardly ever got her own hands dirty with work. That she and Mildred were the only ones working on this new CR-Unit was a testament to their abilities and to the importance of this project.

"As you guessed, these are the members of the Spirit Team. I know none of the units are ready yet, but I'd like to show them exactly what they'll be working with."

"Ah, right. Come, take a look."

Mildred seemed unfazed by Mio. It was one of the reasons why Mio liked her. She can work well and doesn't get all jittery when she sees her.

Shido and the girls got closer to Mildred, who then showed them…

A crystal. Actually, several crystals. They were all quite beautiful and had a… peculiar glow to them.

But still, Shido and the girls didn't understand what they were being shown.

"These are called Sephiras. Put simply, they'll be the cores of the new CR-Units. Maybe you can tell how powerful they are? I hope this makes you realize that I was serious before."

A CR-Unit so powerful that it leaves the current ones in the dust. Yeah, everyone could believe that after seeing those Sephiras.

It was hard to explain. But everyone felt like those crystals were emitting pure power. They even felt like they'd gain that power if they touched those crystals, but the way Mio looked at them discouraged that idea.

"You said they weren't ready yet. Any idea as to when we'll get them?"

Maya, who had been quiet until now, was the one who asked. Mio put her finger on her chin, tilted her head, and then said.

"That's a bit hard to say. Right now, Karen and Mildred are working on all of those, rather than trying to finish any one unit."

"... Why is that?"

It seemed like an obvious question. Even if they are going to eventually try out all of those, surely you finish making at least one first before greenlighting the others.

And of course, Mio had a reason for that.

"It's because none of you can use them currently, except Shido. I can't predict the future, so we'll have them finish them as you girls become able to use them."

Although Mio didn't say anything specific, there was only one thing that the girls could think of that Shido had and that they didn't have.

The compatibility. Yeah, it made sense Shido could use those with his 100% compatibility, but it didn't exactly answer what was expected of them.

"I'm sure everyone guessed it, you need a higher compatibility score to use the Spirit CR-Units. At least 20%, anything less and you may as well just use a normal CR-Unit."

Mio said as if it was a simple statement, but it only made the girls more confused.

No matter how hard they try, a person's compatibility only grows about 1%, or close to 2% if they're lucky, during their whole active life in the NWET. 20% is an impossible goal.

Obviously, Mio expected such a reaction, so she nodded. As if confirming the girls' thoughts, but also hinting that there was more to it.

"Yes, this would normally be impossible. But remember what I said, Shin is the cornerstone of this team. Only his 100% compatibility was disclosed, but we actually found out something else during his aptitude test. Shin has a special ability to increase others' compatibility."

The girls' reactions were a mix of surprise and suspicion. Sure, if such an ability existed, it would make sense for it to be called the cornerstone of this team, but at the same time, such an ability felt like something from the setting of a modern military fantasy story.

Mio expected as much, so she signaled to Karen.

"If you could grab your smartphones, please look up my sister's data on the team's website."

The girls quickly did as told. The Neighboring World Exploration Team had a website where one could see the whole team's achievements and current employed members. It was like a public company, although Mio was under no obligation to do such things. It wasn't hard to find Ellen and pull up her page, which contained a few details about her.

One of those details was her compatibility score. Even with all her years of service and being called humanity's strongest, it was only 11%.

"Now, if you could look at this. This was taken shortly after Shido's test."

The girls gasped. What they were shown was a fairly recent compatibility test that Ellen had taken. The result was 13%.

Everyone had to retake their test every year, both to update the site and to check their evolution. That was done at the start of the year, so everyone's scores were already updated. Again, a 1 or 2% increase during their whole career is the norm, so you'd expect a test only months after to show little to no variation.

But Ellen's showed a whole 2% increase. It was unthinkable for Mio and Karen to be lying, so they had to believe that Shido's ability was true.

"While we're here, why don't we take everyone's test again? A quick one is fine. Maybe we'll find a surprise."

Mio said, and Karen took out a small device for the girls to put their hands on. The usual test needs a much bigger machine, as many things other than the compatibility are checked, but a simple score verification can be done as easily as this.

The girls each took their turn, there was no point in Shido taking the test again, so he just watched. The results soon came.

Origami had 1.2% compatibility, Maya 2.1%, Kurumi 3.2%, Yoshino 4%, Kotori 5%, Natsumi 7%, Kaguya and Yuzuru shared a 8% score, Miku had 9% and Tohka had an impressive 10% score.

Everyone's results were the same as before, except Origami and Kurumi's. They had also updated their score at the start of the year, and they were at 1% and 3% exactly. A whole 0.2% increase in such a short time was nothing if not a miracle.

"I think there's no more room for doubt. Shin's ability is real, and you girls making use of it is how you'll get your Spirit CR-Units. All that's left now is to do it."

Certainly, it was hard to doubt that Shido's ability was real by this point. At first, the girls nodded to Mio's words, but then they noticed something missing.

Namely, how did Shido's ability work? They couldn't make use of it if they didn't know that.

"Ah, right. I nearly forgot. … Honestly, part of me wants to make Shin explain it, but you girls might not believe it if you hear it from him, so I'll do it."

Shido let out his breath for a second. Thinking of having to explain how his ability works… as expected, it's embarrassing. But his peace only lasted for a moment. Having his mother explain it wasn't much better.

Still, it was necessary to explain it. Shido sweated as he looked for a hole to shove his head into once his mother finished the explanation.

"Well, I'm sure everyone noticed that only Origami and Kurumi, who were getting quite close to Shin in the elevator, had their compatibility raised. Does this give anyone any ideas?"

For some reason, Mio seemed to be having fun while Shido was almost dying from embarrassment.

"Guess. Could it be physical contact? As in, touching him is what increases our compatibility."

"Hmm, physical contact is needed, but it's not quite the full story. Any other guesses?"

No one else had any guesses, so Mio continued her explanation.

"What I'm about to say will sound strange, but it is true. Shin's ability works when he gets excited, and I mean sexually. If he's touching a girl and he gets excited, their compatibility rises. We're still investigating Shin's ability, so there's still things to learn, but that seems to be how it works."

Everyone was stunned into silence. Shido had yet to find somewhere to shove his head in as the girls turned to look at him.

Certainly, thinking about the elevator incident, it seemed to make sense. Kurumi and Origami, the two girls whose chests were pressed against Shido and who obviously caused him sexual excitement, had their compatibility raised while everyone else stayed the same, even though everyone was so close to each other.

Although… theirs only increased by 0.2%. It made them wonder how exactly they figured out this ability, and what Ellen did to manage a 2% increase.

"What's with that power?! Hahaha, it sounds funny, like something you'd see in an ecchi manga."

"Right? I also thought so. Personally, I think Shin's abilities manifested like this because, well, he's a teenage boy, obviously he wants to get dirty with girls, and if he's anything like me, he must have quite a high libido."

Shido couldn't tell what hurt him more, having his mother explain his ability to a room full of girls, or having her comment on her libido. In any case, he felt like his heart was about to stop.

While Mio was having fun with Mildred, the girls were thinking about what they'd just heard.

"Wait a second! You want us to let your son have his way with us?!"

Miku shouted, seeming almost angry. Maybe because she realized the seriousness of it, Mio stopped playing around.

"I suppose that's a way to put it, but I have no intention of telling you to just spread your legs or let him force himself onto you. As you saw in the elevator, something as simple as pressing your chest on him will work, although it is slow and less effective than something more direct. You heard my explanation, and again, I'd like everyone to at least give it a try. But of course, whoever feels uncomfortable with it can leave without any repercussions."

"It's obvious we can't accept this! Right, girls?!"

Miku said. The other girls, who seemed to be deep in thought, then voiced out their opinions.

"I don't think it's a problem. There are only benefits."

"Yes. Although I had no idea of this during the elevator, I don't think I'll mind getting closer to Shido-san."

"Kotori is fine since it's onii-chan!"

Origami, Kurumi and Kotori weren't against the idea. These three even seemed a bit excited about it.

"As Origami said, the benefits justify at least an attempt."

"W-we have to do it for the new CR-Units, r-right? I-I'll try my best."

"If you're fine with me… ah, but if you think I'm too disgusting or something, I'll understand."

"T-this is a bit embarrassing, but… a knight never runs from a challenge! I'll show you why they call me Venus, the goddess of seduction."

"Translation. Since we're here, we'll give it a try. Also, no one calls Kaguya that."

"S-since it's Shido, I can do it."

Maya, Yoshino, Natsumi, Kaguya, Yuzuru and Tohka also didn't seem to mind. Though only Maya and Yuzuru seemed to have calmly thought things through. Meanwhile, the rest of the girls were embarrassed, but they seemed willing to give this whole thing a go at least.

"How about you, Shin?"

"E-eh? A-ah, I… it sounds weird coming from me, but I do want to help with this experiment and do as much as I can to help end the Spacequakes. So, I want to work together with everyone!"

Even Shido doesn't really know what he was trying to say. Although he couldn't deny the excitement at the thought of what he and the girls would have to do, his sentiment of wanting to do what he could to help was sincere, and that was transmitted to everyone.

"So that's how it is. Miku, are you sure it really can't be helped? Again, I have my reasons for choosing you for this role, and I'd be grateful if you could give it a try for me."

Miku let out a sigh, she had already given up on changing things, so she resigned herself to it. As said before, the benefits far outweighed any perceived detriments. That said, she didn't seem the least bit happy.

"I suppose… if it's just once…"

"Ah no, the compatibility increase is only temporary. It only lasts from a few hours to about a day. So everyone would have to make use of Shin's abilities many times, likely every day even."

Hearing this, Miku's expression became one like she had just heard of the world's end. Still, it seems she was more resolute than she was given credit for.

"I'll try at least…"

"That's all I can ask. Now then, we've taken enough time here. You're all dismissed for today. But, if I may give a suggestion, why not have the veterans show the rookies around? It would help everyone get to know each other better. Ah, also, since this team is still secret, everyone will report to me, Karen and Ellen directly. That's it for today, we'll talk more tomorrow. Bye bye."

Mio waved her hand and left, Karen went along with her. Shido and the girls left the room, as to not bother Mildred's work.

As Mio suggested, the girls that had already been in the Neighboring World Exploration Team for longer gave the new members a tour of the building. While the atmosphere was tense at first, it soon lightened up with everyone having small talks here and there.

It was just the start, but this new team, the Spirit Team, seemed to be having an easy time getting closer to each other, except for Miku towards Shido. It seems that she still didn't quite like his presence, so for now he opted to keep his distance.

This marked the start of an adventure none of them had ever imagined.