Tale of Discovery

"So, is everything clear now?" I question once I am done telling Jeanne about her role here now that I have summoned her.

"Yes, My Lord," she responds courteously, "I shall protect My Lord's vessel to the last of my breath."

Yeah… For some reason, Jeanne labels my current body, as well as the one in the Rift, as 'vessels'. She seems to have this image of me being beyond physical matter and whatnot. As such, my physical bodies are simply 'fake' to her.

I suppose it's reasonable for her to think this way, considering how things are in regard to my identity.

Either way, she doesn't worship me any less even with such thoughts, in fact, from what I can infer of her thoughts, she believes that I have a purpose for being here. For doing everything that I am doing – Like, some sort of grand plan that is of great weight.

"That's good," I say in a firm tone, "But, don't forget about the Time-Key. You may leave. Make sure to close the door behind you."

"Yes," she responds in a tone equally firm as she straightens her posture before turning around and moving toward the door.

"Wait," I say as I suddenly remembered something.

"My Lord?" she utters as she turns her head to face me.

"Your attire… Change out of them and put these on instead," I say as I create a set of casual clothes for her that consists of navy jeans and a thin white blouse.

"Understood," she reaffirms as she grabs the clothes that are floating in the air and walks toward the cloth wall-mounted hanger present in the bath.

Following this, she hangs the newly created clothes as she begins taking off her current attire, which I can tell from my senses, is the white battle-attire she had on the first time I summoned her.

Although I didn't tell her where to change, for her to start stripping so nonchalantly with me being a few meters away from her… Too bad that I am blind right now, else I would've definitely enjoyed the treat to the eyes. Perhaps, I should ask her to strip for me later once I get my sight back? I wonder what Jeanne would think at that moment? 'My Lord is a pervert that wants to see his subjects naked'? For some reason, I feel like that's going to be the last thought that could come to her mind…

---

After having cleaned my body properly, I create a set of casual clothes for myself and put them on before leaving the bath.

Once I am out, I notice that Jeanne is standing close to a certain floating orb.

Looks like she has found the other target of her protection already. Hah~ That room is now of significant importance. First, there is the Time-Key, which needs to be protected for the duration I am going to be remaining in this world.

Second, there is the fissure in space, which is the link created by Queen. Naturally, that also needs to be protected.

Simply put, the room has to be protected by all means necessary.

"Oh, you're up already?" a gentle voice reaches my ears followed by a yawn.

"Good morning, Nao," I say with a smile as I turn my head to face her.

"Good morning," she replies as she walks past me into the bath.

Well then, Irene, I have a few more questions regarding the game I will be entering.

{Yes, Father?}

Starting with the simplest one, will I be able to use my current powers in the 'game'?

{Negative. Due to the way the games have been designed, Father is unable to use any external abilities, including Code Effects.}

Well, that sucks. I suppose it does make sense though, since if the 'game' is made to help one increase their experience in a certain area, precise control is necessary on the abilities used by said person, else they might as well just cheat their way to the main objective.

Setting this aside, will there be any time difference?

{By default, negative. If a few conditions are fulfilled, managing time in the games is possible.}

And what are these conditions?

{They are revealed as Father continues to complete objectives.}

Say, I had been considering this earlier… Irene, how much is your level of control over the games? Do they fall within your power and management?

{Negative. I simply possess the ability to transport Father's conscience to the games. Other than that, I have zero authority over anything within the games.}

Hm… Got it.

--

"Are you ready?" Nao's voice reaches my ears as a figure enters the kitchen.

"Of course," I respond, "We just have to eat breakfast before taking our leave. Right, is Shinoa up yet?"

"No, she's still sleeping," Nao replies as she walks over to the dining table and takes a seat.

Silence ensues within the room as neither of us knows what to say, only until I let out a sigh and ask, "Doesn't this take you back?"

"Hm?" she hums in a manner that indicates she doesn't get me.

"I mean, when we first met. It started with you pointing that small camera of yours at my face and chasing after me in hopes of getting me to join your school and the student council. Yet, now…"

"It does take me back," Nao says, "This world is the one I grew up in. Although my experiences here weren't exactly joyous, I feel a connection to this place nevertheless."

"Hey," she suddenly says as she gets up from her seat, "Do you need a little help?"

"No, I am fine," I reply.

"Are you sure? Because the eggs seem like they will start burning anytime soon."

Ugh. Admittedly, cooking blindly turned out way harder than I expected. I thought I could depend on my heightened senses to deal with the handicap, but it didn't go the way I expected it to.

"Fine," I say in a defeated tone, "You do know how to cook, right?"

"You're asking for a beating," Nao utters in a frosty tone as she walks over and begins helping out.

---

"Are you really not going to visit your brother?" Nao asks while sitting beside me on an express train.

"As I said, I don't see the guy as my brother and I don't think I ever will," I respond in a somewhat irritated tone.

"But he cared about you and Ayumi so much, and he still does," Nao continues.

"I don't care about that. At most, I wouldn't treat him coldly and would help him out if necessary, but other than that, there won't be anything else."

"What about Ayumi? Are you going to prevent her from seeing her eldest brother forever?"

"If she desires to see him so much, I would fulfill her request - if possible. Don't misunderstand though, in that case, I would be doing it for Ayumi's sake and not his."

Anyway, I doubt that would happen anyway unless someone plants the thought inside her head.

"Don't mention our trip back here to Ayumi, alright?" I say as I wrap my left arm around her waist.

"Stop, people are looking," Nao says as she lowers her voice a little.

"Let them watch," I say as I chuckle, "I have such a wonderful girlfriend. It would be a shame to not show off."

"You prick," she mutters as she sets her head against my shoulder and closes her eyes.

--

"There it is," Nao says as looks out of the window of the bus.

"Yeah, thanks for informing this blind one," I say jokingly.

"You're welcome," she responds in a serious tone, rendering me speechless.

Shortly, the bus comes to a stop. The two of us, as well as a middle-aged female passenger, proceed to get off and walk in the direction of the only building nearby.

"What do you think your brother will do after he recovers?" I ask on the way.

"I am not sure," she replies in a doubtful tone, "There is so much that needs to be done, and he doesn't have anyone to depend on."

"Hey, there is me, no?" I say while smiling, "I believe I should be able to help him out one way or another in whatever issues he might face."

"You're not even from this world," Nao rebukes, "What can you do?"

"I don't know, perhaps threaten the government to take care of his needs or else I flatten the country?"

Following my words, the middle-aged woman walking behind us coughs lightly.

"Of course, that's a joke," I say, "Who would be delusional enough to make such claims seriously."

Nao doesn't say anything for a brief while before moving closer to me and whispering, "Are you actually going to threaten the government?"

"Huh? You want me to?" I ask back.

Although it would be a little troublesome, doing so shouldn't be that hard, considering the recent events that have taken this world by shock.

Numerous locations all over the globe experienced odd phenomena, during which buildings collapsed inwardly as if some mini black hole had formed inside each one of them.

Surely, if I appeared during such trying times and showed off my prowess a little, the folks would be more than just pressured.

Shortly, we make it inside the building and directly walk over to the receptionist's desk.

The lady seated notices Nao as she breaks her focus from the computer screen in front of her and asks in a gentle tone, "Are you here to visit your brother?"

"Yes," Nao responds simply.

"Go right ahead. You know his room number, right?"

"Yes."

And so, the two of us make our way to the room in which Nao's brother is staying.

Once we're standing in front of the door that leads to the room, Nao comes to halt and takes in a deep breath before reaching her left hand out to the handle.

Following this, we enter the room, only to find the guy sitting on the bed with his back to one end. Using my senses, I can tell that he didn't react to our appearance in any way, almost as if he hasn't realized we're here.

"Victor," Nao says in a serene tone as she takes a seat at the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, leave it to me," I say in an assuring tone as I approach the dazed guy and press my palm against his head.

He doesn't react to this in any way as he continues to remain motionless. And so, I begin circulating Holy Essence within my right arm before utilizing Healing Factor on the fellow.

A few moments pass by, and I sense that the treatment is complete, so I stop circulating Holy Essence and back away a little.

"N-Nao," a croaked and hoarse voice escapes from the man's lips as he ever so slowly turns his head to face his sister.

Seeing that the treatment was a success, I release a small sigh as I study Nao's complexion a little by using my senses before turning around and walking out of the room.

Thus, I've fulfilled my promise to Nao and finished my mission for today.