Tale of Discovery

After the somewhat heavy conversation from earlier, what came next was relatively lighthearted.

Expectedly, Origami's peculiarity threw the girls' guards off. They had her answer quite a few questions, most of which were related to her job as a part of the AST, but fortunately, her prejudice seems to have decreased by quite a bit, so no one got uncomfortable.

Shortly after that, Tohka returned to the living room, this time dressed in casual wear that consisted of a black skirt and a purple blouse.

I took that chance to get up from the sofa and head upstairs to my room, which brings me here to the current situation.

Right now, I am seated on my bed while gazing at AI's expressionless face. A moment ago, I asked her if she was planning to get out any time soon, to which she immediately responded by appearing right in front of me after a sudden burst of light.

"AI," I say, "What exactly made it necessary for you to appear physically?"

"The state of the Platform," she responds, "Due to the state it's in, this Platform may be the only one I can appear in and be close to Father with no consequences."

"Huh? Are you saying you appeared here because it was a great chance to be close to me physically?" I inquire while peering into her enchanting eyes.

"Affirmative," she responds while shifting her sight away.

Nevertheless... the way she worded it is worrying, to say the least.

"Say, had you appeared in the other Platforms I've been to so far?"

"Affirmative," she responds, confirming my doubts, "I materialized in Sorcerers' Lair."

"And you made sure to not be close to me, right?"

"Affirmative."

"How close? I mean, how close do you have to be for problematic things to occur? And, what do you they consist of?"

"Around five meters," she responds, "The effects of the disruption caused are unclear."

Releasing a sigh, I ask, "Leaving that aside, what did you mean earlier when you said you were 'inside' me?"

"Due to being a direct materialization of Father's energy, I can reside within the body created freely."

Hold on a moment. The direct materialization of my energy? Am I constantly imbuing her with my energy to let remain materialized as I do with Jeanne?"

"Negative," AI suddenly says, "After a body has been formed, self-sustenance becomes possible."

"I see."

Alright, I suppose that most of my questions have been answered. I should probably get the matter with Jeanne over with.

With such thoughts in mind, I instruct AI to move aside before raising my right arm and focusing on using Norse Magic.

Shortly after that, a bright light shines in the room for a few seconds before fading and revealing a confused Jeanne.

The beautiful woman looks around for a few seconds before seeming to realize something as she walks over in the direction of the bed and kneels before saying, "My Lord, I am ready to serve."

"Get up," I say with a small smile on my face, "Things here are not the way they were back in the two worlds you've seen so far."

Heeding my order, Jeanne gets back on her feet and stands tall with a solemn look on her face.

"Relax," I say, "The reason I've summoned you over is quite simple. But, before that, I would like to make sure of something."

"What is it, My Lord?"

"Prior to appearing here, did you see anything out of the norm? What was the process like?"

"Similar to the time that My Lord brought me over to the world in which there were kingdoms, I suddenly found myself elsewhere in a duration that made it impossible to determine what transpired."

"I thought so. Anyway, drop the formal way of speaking. Yes, this is an order."

"Understood," she responds, to which I squint my eyes. Well, I guess that would be somewhat hard for her.

"Aside from that," I continue, "You are to call me as 'Shido' from henceforth. That is the name of the identity I have taken upon myself.

"There is a lot that needs to be discussed, but for now, I will give you a briefing of the reason you have been summoned."

---

"And that's the gist of it. Do you have any other questions?" I ask after a while of discussing my aims in this Platform with Jeanne.

AI is already back 'inside' me, as she determined there was no purpose to staying materialized.

For the past twenty minutes, I explained my purpose to Jeanne, which is to seal the spirits in order to save them from the hands of the corrupted organizations, and my main objective of locating a certain spirit.

Naturally, I didn't explain to her what exactly I needed to do in order to seal the spirits, as it was unnecessary.

"No," Jeanne responds to my query in a serious tone.

"Alright then," I say, "Let's head downstairs. Remember, leave all the explaining to me. Follow along with whatever I say. The residents of this world are not ready to know about the existence of other worlds just yet, so we have to refrain from speaking of such matters carelessly."

"Understood, My Lord."

Nodding my head, I reach my left arm out to hold Jeanne's hand before dragging her along with myself as I exit my room and move toward the staircase.

Shortly, the two of us reach the living room which is brimming with energy as the girls seem to have gotten rather lively.

Natsumi in particular seems to be enjoying herself quite a bit as she stands in her 'adult form' in front of Origami while asking her questions.

Kotori is the least lively one as she simply is reading something on her phone, which I assume is related to her work.

Taking in a deep breath, I tighten my grip on Jeanne's hand before stepping forth along with her into the room. Immediately after that, silence presumes in the room as the girls look over at us, or more accurately, at Jeanne.

Kotori notices the sudden silence, so she looks up from her phone, only for her eyes to widen as she catches sight of Jeanne.

Coughing twice, I let go of Jeanne's hand before raising my arm and saying, "Everyone, I would like to introduce someone to you."

None of the girls present utters a single word for a solid minute as they continue to gawk at Jeanne before Origami shifts her focus over to me and says, "Cheating?"

"No," I instantly say, "This girl here is Jeanne. A confidant of mine that will accompany those who aren't coming with me tomorrow."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Kotori exclaims as she jumps up from the sofa, "Who is she exactly and where did she come from?!"

"Calm down, Kotori," I say, "This is related to what had happened before. You know, the matter that resulted in me developing this power."

Following my words, numerous utensils in the kitchen close to us get lifted into the air, startling Yoshino, while Natsumi and Tohka both look over with curiosity.

"How?" Kotori asks, "Don't tell me, she just suddenly appeared as a memory and when you thought of her, she appeared?"

"Wow, your guess is on point," I say while acting amazed, "That's exactly what happened."

"..."

After a whole two minutes of pure silence, Kotori's expression changes to that of exasperation as she says, "Will you tell us what happened exactly?"

But I already did... Oh well, I guess the truth sometimes is the hardest to believe, so I suppose I can make it vaguer.

"But that was the truth, you know? Isn't that right, Jeanne?"

"Yes, My Lo-," she responds before stopping herself from finishing what she had to say.

Nevertheless, it was too late.

"Hold on! What did she just say?" Kotori asks while staring at Jeanne with suspicion.

"She was going to say 'My Lord', wasn't she?" Natsumi adds while grinning.

Hah~ This is troublesome. Whatever. The best way to deal with this matter would be to remain silent about it as a whole, promising to share the details later when the time is due.