บท 169: Chapter 167: Four Seals
After sending Cassandra back to her room through teleportation, I went back to the Hephaestus Familia home.
My current strength made me realize that my reach could go beyond worlds. If I do it, I could affect an entire world on my own.
This is the main reason why 'He' is an omnipotent force. Perhaps He is more of a concept than anything else. My head contains everything that people below me would like to know.
It made me feel the weight behind my power—not in a bad way, to say the least.
"Before I leave this world…"
It is time to give a small gift to everyone.
*****
Not many people knew the matter regarding the other world. With nearly all of them joining Nobu to return to his world, only a select few knew the reason behind it. Everyone else continued on with their daily lives.
Of course, that is until they saw a small gift box lying on their bedside.
…
"It was today… I hope everyone can return… mn?"
A night had passed since Nobu's arrival. Finn was informed of Riveria and the rest, to which he acquiesced. The true savior of this world, Nobu, didn't earn the recognition that he should've had, yet he didn't mind it at all.
To the entire Gekai, they have the responsibility to return his actions, no matter how small their help was.
At this time, he was certain that they already went back to his world. Yet, he was caught off guard by this small present.
A corresponding gift card was placed on top of it.
'Whatever your heart desires.'
'-Sirius'
Finn was confused by this gift, but he still opened it. Suddenly, Nobu's voice rang to his ears.
'You wish to re-establish the pallum race. Finding the most optimal path…'
At that moment, the small gift box emitted blinding light that covered an entire room. Just then—
"Ah?!"
—a girl fell to his lap. He could smell a familiar scent… perhaps due to how many times the said girl "attacked" him.
"C-captain?"
It seems like the most optimal path was in his eyes all along.
…
"What's this? A sanctuary that holds a lot of technological knowledge?"
Tsubaki knew about their arrival, but she did not expect Nobu's gift to be a 'space' controlled by her. It was a kind of library/sanctuary that held knowledge regarding technology. That included physics as well as its applications.
If she could distribute it well, Gekai's technological progress will be permanently boosted until hundreds of years later.
After finding 'books' related to bipedal mechas, she knew he considered her developing taste to Gundams.
The only thing more exciting than greatswords are even larger greatswords.
"How considerate…"
…
Every person with a good enough relationship with Nobu received a similar item, skill, magic, or something that would help their endeavors.
The person who received the 'biggest' gift, however, was his close acquaintance.
*****
Several hours ago, Nobu decided to eat at the Benevolent Mistress after a long time. He encountered the familiar waitresses, and that included the 'cold' elf.
"It's been a long time, Sirius."
"Two weeks may seem like that. I got too busy with other matters."
"Seems like a tough one."
"You could say that."
Nobu ordered his usual breakfast—the first thing that he ate here. It didn't take long before he received his order.
Seeing the meals on the table, Nobu felt sentimental. In these three years, he had gone an extremely long way. It may only be enough to experience several main events for others, but to him, it was the time that took him to become someone on the same level as Him.
"There aren't many customers yet, right? Can I talk to you for a while?"
Ryuu was bewildered by Nobu's sudden request, but she didn't think much before she accepted it. They are close enough to trust each other, more so with all the events they had gone through together.
"I just thought that it's been a long time since we met. You know, I tried my best to blend in by giving you a tip."
It horrendously failed. Nobu guessed that this world has a culture of tipping that amount, but it only served to bewilder Ryuu instead. Him having no sense of money (at least that's how he looked to her) made her think about him twice.
"But, I really enjoyed the food presented here. This place must've been an important place to you, no?"
"...That's right. It is similar to your Hephaestus and Artemis Familia."
"If so… do you believe in miracles?"
Nobu's main objective appeared at this point.
"Miracles?"
"The power to accomplish things that should've been completely impossible." He replied. "If it was possible, would you take it?"
"...Yes."
Ryuu could no longer shake off the different feeling that Nobu gave her. It was faint and unexplainable, but the best term to describe it was "Nobu feeling out of this world".
She already knew about him being an otherworlder due to her close contact with the Artemis Familia, yet she still wasn't informed of the 'serious things' on his side.
"That's good."
Clang.
She didn't notice that some time had passed. Nobu was done eating as they conversed.
"One day, there'll be a surprise that will come to you. You will know to believe it when the time comes."
Something had changed.
Unbeknownst to Ryuu, a drastic change happened to her fate. Her greatest regret would no longer exist.
"It has been a good time, my friend."
"Friend…"
All that was left of her vision was the fading back of the man who helped her seek justice against the perpetrator of their tragedy.
*****
Not long after their 'celebratory party', Nobu met with the girl who came for him. He could still remember her as the girl who single-handedly went out of The Root's scope. That was what he saw during his brief time with omniscience.
"What are your plans for coming here, Sajyou-san?"
"I came to help you, Kishi-san (Mr. Knight)."
"...I see."
There are no longer any lies that could fool him. He knew that Manaka came here to assist him.
Despite having the power to 'pry' the answer out of her, he still chose to respect this seemingly stranger girl. Things are not drastic to the point that he would do it… at least not for the time being.
"Why did you want to help me?"
"Because I like you."
"..."
"I really, really, really, like you."
Nobu already saw her 'emotions' not only in her words. Manaka held an extremely strong feeling of 'love' towards himself. It was not merely an obsession, but a form of longing to become his significant other.
Of course, there is a certain level of obsession within love. Nobu couldn't deny that, more so when Artemis herself exhibited that too.
It was as if another version of Artemis appeared in front of him.
"Are you fine with this? Dedicating your life to someone like me?"
"You are more attractive than you think."
Seeing her shining eyes, he couldn't find a way to refute her words. He had already maintained the basic etiquette by giving some distance to her before. Knowing her power, Nobu already knew that Manaka saw something in him that warranted her interest.
From the moment their eyes met during his omniscient state, he had a feeling that this day would come.
In the end…
"If that's what you want…"
*****
***
*
He was right.
His influence could reach throughout endless worlds.
However, this realization came with a cost.
"A predetermined ending… Isn't this just life?"
Just because one knows they would die one day, it doesn't mean that they could simply forfeit life. It is up to their hands to create the story prior to their deaths.
In a sense, it is similar to writing a book.
The beginning and ending are already predetermined, yet the hands of the author bring life to the story.
Just like that…
He reached infinity.
*****
"Are you fine with these two crepes?"
"Mn."
A week had passed since Nobu gained the power of a [World Magister]. It was currently Monday.
Right now, he walked along the street with Melusine. She is currently wearing one of the dresses they bought on the way here.
"You really like sweets… If you'd like, I'll try to bake a cheesecake for you. I haven't really tried it in years, but I should be able to make one."
"There's no need to trouble yourself…"
Nobu looked at the girl whose height was shorter than him.
"What if I were to say that you look cute while eating sweets?"
"..."
Melusine, who was taking small bites to her blueberry crepe, paused her actions. She tried her best to conceal her embarrassment by keeping a straight face.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to hide it from Nobu.
"That's not a joke."
She was used to the sudden 'jokes' that he made when she was with him. Of course, it was a part of his personality. When he lived as Galahad, he had this tendency to shatter the atmosphere by making lethal jokes. Some would leave the recipient burnt for days while the other would lose confidence facing him.
Either way, that was one of the few things that 'entertained' him, and he kept it up to this life.
Ring-!
Just then, the earpiece on his right ear rang. With a simple thought, he accepted it, causing a transparent screen to appear in his sight.
"We're already in the office. I also brought the suitcase with me. How are things on your end?"
"Everything's fine, tou-san. I brought Melusine with me."
"I see."
Nobu's father, Seiji, heaved a sigh on the other side of the call.
"You mentioned an upcoming apocalypse, yet you are having a date with a cute girl." He said jokingly. "You make me proud."
Before Seiji could push the topic of grandchildren, Nobu already went ahead of him.
"Yes, yes. I won't disappoint tou-san and kaa-san."
This conversation made Nobu think of one thing.
'How many girls… like me?'
Artemis, Hephaestus, and Manaka alone took three spots.
There are also several dubious ones like his three students as well as the dragon incarnation beside him. There's also his two childhood friends along with his two best friends. Nobu doesn't know.. Or rather, he chose not to peek through his omniscience in this aspect. He had already activated his 'omniscience' and saw countless possible futures with it, but he chose not to touch the romance aspect.
After all, this was one of the things that anchored him to this world. He wanted to resolve it without 'cheating'.
Overall, he currently has three confirmed girlfriends with the rest being the relationships that might change anytime. the only exception to it was Riveria's 'teacher-like' atitutde as well as Alfia who managed to 'catch up' when she visited their familia home before he left.
This was the instance that showed his 'hesitant' side.
'Things would not change if I approached them… but it might cause some bad feelings for Artemis and Hephaestus.'
Despite the two goddesses giving him the green light to start the so-called "harem", he has enough emotional quotient to consider their feelings—that even if they agreed to it, it might still cause some unpleasant feelings.
After all, this was unfair to the women who love him. They dedicated themselves to him alone, yet his love is split apart by many women.
At least, Nobu aims to reduce those unpleasant feelings to the bare minimum. To do that, he needs to act competent when it comes to relationships. He shouldn't be too hesitant, but he shouldn't be too pushy.
In short, it boiled down to balance and proper treatment.
"I trust you with that. I saw how you moved with others. You know, that time when you introduced the ones who came from another world. I could totally write an entire light novel with that scene alone!"
In the end, Seiji had to give Nobu credits. It was unknown when, but his son is already headed towards the path of a proper 'harem protagonist' who considers the feelings of his partners. Nobu completely broke the misconceptions of the so-called "harem protagonists" who couldn't even resolve his emotional conflicts with his girls—the one that becomes too passive to handle his entire harem.
That was, in Seiji's words, an example of the don'ts within a harem.
Rumble-!
An earthquake disrupted their conversation.
"...There's an earthquake. Was this the beginning?"
"...Yes."
"I'll call you later. I will take care of your kaa-san."
Beep-!
What Nobu didn't tell his parents, however, is that his powers were enough to guarantee their safety.
Melusine ate the last bit of her crepe as she stared at the sky. A shroud of darkness began to envelop the bright blue sky. It was the phenomena accompanied by the descent of these so-called "calamities".
Only when they defeated it could they reclaim the blue skies. It would then serve as a kind of "break" that ensures the mental state of everyone within the world.
This time, however, the darkness was far more intense than the one in his memories.
"The descent of four calamities at once… Their strength was enhanced when they appeared together due to their myth."
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse was something that came from the Bible. They were the first four seals that destroyed the world as the descent of His judgement came.
Their legend was strong enough to be used by the concept of "End" to become its apostle.
"So it begins."
This day was destined to be a peaceful yet chaotic one.
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