Chapter 137: Chapter 136: A Blink
I haven't really looked into a certain prospect throughout my journey back to Gekai. I knew what they felt about me, yet I kept it at bay.
…rather, I kept the current status quo.
I am self-aware that I am not really good at things related to romance. I didn't have any experience of it, be it in my past life or current life. Although I recalled "snippets" of all fifteen iterations when it comes to romance, it wouldn't simply make me proficient in handling these matters in one go.
"Orion..?"
Artemis' head peaked out of the dressing room.
We are currently on a date. One of the places we went into is the Kyoto Station Building. It is a hotspot for foreigners visiting outside Japan, and as such, has many stores and places to explore. It is perfect for their first visit, or so I thought.
"Yes..?"
"I-I don't know if it'll look good…"
She said as she averted her eyes from me. To that, I gave off a smile before saying:
"It'll look good."
Mustering her courage, she stepped out of the dressing room. It was a blue long-sleeved dress. It is a simple design yet Artemis carried it with her usual divine looks.
"What did I say?"
I teasingly asked her.
A smile bloomed out of her face. It replaced her flustered look with her usual confident look. Then, she took several steps before grabbing my right arm.
Due to our height difference, she had to tiptoe to kiss my cheek.
"How about this..?"
Startled by her sudden actions, I slightly lost my composure. In this round of teasing, it seems like it was a draw…
"Nobu."
A voice called out to me from another dressing room. This time, it was Hephaestus who dressed up.
For some reason, Artemis let go of my arm and nodded at me with a determined look. Understanding her intent, I walked over Hephaestus' dressing room as she followed.
Unlike her previous outfit, it was an elegant black dress. It is very plain yet, just like before, a goddess' beauty shone brightly. The dress is more suited towards formal occasions.
"You have a new dress for the upcoming Denatus."
"..."
I am aware that these two don't like blunt compliments very often, and as such, I opted to go about it in a roundabout way. Of course, it'll be different if we're not in a public place.
By the time I paid for the clothing, we got some understanding stares from the sales ladies. What's more, they went into some sort of misunderstanding that some of them… gave me their numbers.
When we left the store, Artemis sported a somewhat disappointed look.
"Are the women of your world… nevermind. I shouldn't have expected something else. It seems that there are as many similarities to Gekai as there are to your world."
Hephaestus was about to comment something when she changed it into something else.
"Don't fall for them, Nobu."
Seeing them like this made me realize something. Having a harem is difficult, yes, but there is a way to prevent all of those troubles. If it is harmonious, then that'll solve many problems.
Perhaps this is the reason why Suimei never experienced things such as "harem war" that shows up in manga.
"I won't. Why would I if I already have you two?"
A smile bloomed on their face before Artemis pointed out one thing.
"Are you sure it would only be us two?"
Well…
It seems like I still have a long way to go to become a harem protagonist.
*****
After the entire date, we met up with my parents once again before I escorted the two of them back to Gekai. I had to cancel today's practice with Bocchi-chan since… well, it is a special day for us.
I felt guilty for this so I decided to spend more time with her in the future.
When I thought my day was about to end, Mashiro noticed something with her keen senses.
"Where did you go today, Nobu?"
"Ah..? Yes?"
For the first time, I used the excuse of "not being able to hear" to buy more time. Within this time gap, I activated my mind partitions and began thinking swiftly.
In a blink of an eye, everything returned to normal.
"It's nothing much. Why ask?"
"Because… you smell different."
"Ah?"
"You don't use any perfume or cologne… but you smell nice." She said. "It's different today. You used one today… a cologne."
I see.
She might've mistaken the cologne for my Infinite Conversion state's remnants. Before I left Gekai, I tried to do something with Hephaestus and Artemis—a battle state where they are fully connected with me.
Since a god is already perfect, it became more pronounced when I used the Infinite Conversion along with our connected states.
Nothing sensual occurred, though.
"Well… it's nothing much. I dropped by Kyoto to meet with my parents."
"Oh."
The panic in my heart was resolved.
To be honest, I am confused on how to act around her… Bocchi-chan too. Right now, I tried to hide the fact that I already have two girlfriends.
Why am I worried about their reactions?
In the end…
'I like them…'
My heart is turning more and more like a scumbag. However, since I already accepted the fate of a harem protagonist (or tou-san calls it), I braced myself to face the problems it brought together with.
'Will I accept it if I see them with…' I didn't even have to finish my train of thought when I came up with an honest response. 'NO.'
Perhaps it was nothing but bits of memories from a parallel world at first, but my memories with Bocchi-chan and Mashiro are real. We became friends since I was young and continued to be like one until now. Mashiro even trusted me enough to live together with her.
These things cannot be faked… and so are my feelings.
'After I return… it's time to tell them everything.'
In the present, only Ryuu, Mashiro, and Bocchi didn't know about my departure to another world as well as the supernatural world in general. Since they are bound to be exposed when December comes, I might as well tell them early on to prepare themselves.
Vroom-!
The motorcycle zoomed as the lights on the stoplight turned green.
*****
In the middle of the night, I sneaked out of our residence and went back to Altair.
"You look different."
"Really?"
Just like before, Melusine accompanied me. Although she spent time roaming Tokyo in search of any potential dangers, I spent time with her such as bringing her in a cafe, teaching her more about the cultures of "proper history" humans, and so on.
One of her biggest changes is her expressiveness.
She used to hide her real emotions in a cold facade, but I could see parts of it as time went by.
"Maybe…"
"..."
Soon, we walked up into the containment room. Different from its previous empty state, there are now several items being sealed by transparent boxes. The room has its several thousand magicka strengthened—to the point even gods would regret being trapped inside.
Every single item inside the room all came from Atlas Institute. These are the relics that came with the broken superweapon, [Black Barrel]. These so-called fragments of [Knight Arms] allowed Atlas to know more about the ruined world thousands of years in the future.
To keep it simply, these weapons consumed the energy created from the deaths of higher-level beings… or the planet itself.
It is for such a reason that they remained sealed inside this containment room despite their independent "seals" provided on the boxes and the items themselves.
"The gun… will you succeed?" She asked with a hint of curiosity.
"Now… yes. At the very least, I'd be able to use it even if I had to pull my falna's full attention to it."
Back then, I faced a dilemma about [Historia Emendatus]. It could only summon the "past" in which I am familiar with. If I didn't know about an item's past, the magic would fail.
However, it is different when I have my [Dreamland]. The Black Dragon was an experiment to see how far I could go with it—it didn't disappoint me.
If it still fails after all that…
[Chances: Ten]
[Miracles: Four]
[Summon: Zero]
"Your world is truly extraordinary." I said to Melusine before turning to look at her. "How did the Last Master even manage to come through all of that?"
"She… It was pure luck. My Queen was betrayed, us Fairy Knights are targeted one-by-one… even that insect's transformation that was a surprise was taken care of by her. It isn't a mistake that she became humanity's Final Master."
"Not a mistake… I get it."
That explains why I earned a whopping three miracles and seven chances all at once. It was even more absurd than a single holy grail. It shows the magnitude of its strength when used by Fujimaru-san.
As for her fate… perhaps it has been decided long ago. Who knows?
In a flash, the surroundings became my dreamland. Only the transparent box in which [Black Barrel]'s remains were left.
"Infinitus commuto." (Infinite conversion.)
Bzzt-!
The surrounding aura was overwhelmed by my dream organs. The dreamland gained a pillar to its existence, becoming even more life-like than before.
"Omnia ludus forte. Vicissim cursus scaturiens flumen..." (Everything is a game of chance. Reverse the flowing river…)
Shatter-!
Crack-!
Akin to a glass, space itself began to shatter even before the spell's completion. This magnitude showed the gun's potential that could destroy the world.
Crack-!
Crack-!
Soon, the cracks began showing up uncontrollably. Even the reality within the dream is starting to reject its underlying nature.
Buzz-!
Suddenly, the wristwatch on my arm reacted. I immediately 'recast' another spell from scratch. I am currently casting two grand-level magicka, yet I could manage due to my dream organs that elevated the state of my existence.
Shatter-!
The glass on the wristwatch was shattered, revealing a dark-blue katana mixed with a trail of dark red traces on its grip.
Instantly, a strong surge of power came upon me. The energy of the universe since 13.7 billion years ago surged in my existence.
Hum-!
Frost began appearing on the ground. The temperature around me dropped to the point it started snowing.
The uncontrollable cracks became manageable through Lapis Judaicus' support.
"…Historia redux." (History shall be brought back.)
Shatter-!
Like a shattered mirror, [Black Barrel]'s image became extremely different. Instead of the dilapidated gun as well as its corruptive aura, it turned into a black M1 Garand. It gives off tranquility when I first lay my eyes on it, followed by extreme danger.
"The weapon that could kill gods…"
Suddenly, a dormant ability was awakened once more. Endless information bombarded my brain.
Tick.
Nine mind partitions opened up. They tried to sort this information but to no avail. Like white strings extending over infinity, it contained endless possibilities. This is something beyond my current capabilities.
If I would use a term, it would be…
Omniscience.
It took a while before settling on a vision.
I stood in the midst of a vast paradise. Lushes of greenery and flowers could be seen everywhere. The clear blue sky has its full beauty exposed, with stars visible as far as I could see.
Uncountable "entities" existed in the sky similar to stars. Their looks are akin to the gods of the spiritual realm. Most of them are characterized with blurs of light which compressed their "existence".
"A short visit was all it took." I heard myself talk. "I would hate to take things up this way, but if this is what you like…"
Pointing the M1 Garand into one of the bright stars, I pulled the trigger.
Bang-!
…
The next moment, I found myself blankly holding the rifle.
"...Another trouble, it seems."
Every single world travel entailed a problem along with it. That remained true throughout all my travels on the other worlds.
Compressing my dreamland, its radius shrank into a very small circle that encloses my entire body—it is similar to a domain that is stuck to my body.
The consumption was lessened while the two things that got their time manipulated remained in my hands.
Melusine was surprised by the familiar aura the rifle sported.
"You succeeded…"
"Let us pay a visit to your world, shall we?"
"...save it for another time." Melusine denied. "You should focus on your world's crises first."
"Alright, understood."
For now…
"This will be over in a blink."
…I will visit another world.
*****
A/N: Well… Uni strikes back once again. More than a dozen works and their deadlines are all within this week. I survived it with 2-4 hours of sleep, though it caused my brain to not function well enough to write some chapters. I'll try to pick up the pace this week and keep up a better update rate. Though, the 1 chapters per 1-2 day might only happen during my vacations since our second semester is jam-packed with projects that we have to finish (I'm definitely losing sleep again). Well, it is what it is since it's common in uni (no matter the country).
Happy Reading~!
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