~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 40 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The dinner at the Russian restaurant could only be described as a complete success.
At the very least, Henry hadn't seen even a hint of the arrogant attitude of, "We're Eternals, so everything about us is superior, and everything on Earth is inferior." They hadn't spent the evening looking down on human civilization.
Although their original mission on Earth had been to eliminate the Deviants, they had, in the process, also become guardians of human civilization.
Throughout the conversation, Henry could sense the quiet pride of a father and mother watching humanity grow and flourish over the centuries.
It meant that after seven thousand years on Earth, they had truly grown attached to the planet.
Unlike Henry—both a transmigrator and a Kryptonian—who still instinctively regarded himself as an outsider.
Seen from that perspective, it became much easier to understand why, when the Celestial buried within Earth's core was about to emerge, most of the Eternals who had remained on Earth wanted to prevent the Emergence and protect both the planet and humanity.
They genuinely cared.
On the other hand, only a handful of Eternals knew the real purpose of their mission.
The rest remained completely unaware.
If someone were suddenly told that their true mission had never been to protect Earth at all, but to cultivate enough intelligent life to nourish the Celestial embryo sleeping inside the planet before its birth inevitably destroyed the world...
No ordinary person could accept something like that overnight.
Henry had no intention of revealing the truth about the Celestial embryo.
For one thing, he had no standing to do so.
For another, he had no way to change the outcome.
This wasn't a problem that could be solved by digging down to the Earth's core and scrambling the egg.
Bringing it up now would only damage the hard-earned friendship he'd built with the Eternals.
Instead, he changed the subject.
"So, which hotel are you staying at? I'll drive you there."
The two Eternals exchanged a glance.
Gilgamesh answered on behalf of them both.
"We haven't decided yet. We'll probably just find a motel somewhere and stay there for a while."
"Then let me arrange a proper hotel for you. It'll be more comfortable, and meals will be much more convenient."
"That's fine."
Thena accepted without hesitation.
Henry took out his phone and placed a call.
Back when he had worked as Audrey Hepburn's assistant, arranging accommodations whenever they visited New York had been one of his responsibilities.
Within minutes, he had found a hotel that could accommodate them that very night.
Just as he was about to confirm the reservation, another thought occurred to him.
"One room or two?"
"Separate rooms."
Thena answered immediately.
"I can't stand Gilgamesh's snoring."
Gilgamesh looked utterly shocked.
"I snore?"
"How would you know? You're asleep."
She looked at him calmly.
"You don't seriously think I keep sleeping outside because I enjoy the cool night air, do you?
"If we kept sharing a room, one day I'd probably wake up and chop your head off.
"While fully conscious."
The giant man looked thoroughly aggrieved.
"...Fine. Two rooms it is."
Henry nodded before asking another question.
"And how long are you planning to stay?"
"Hmm..."
Gilgamesh thought for a moment.
"Probably... a few years."
"Oh, a few..."
Henry froze.
"...Years?"
He looked up in surprise.
The feeling was much like going to a supermarket and casually asking the clerk for several tons of rice.
Henry turned toward Thena.
She merely nodded as calmly as ever.
Apparently, staying in New York for several years had indeed been a mutual decision.
Henry apologized to the hotel employee over the phone, saying he would call back later before hanging up.
"So," he asked, "what exactly are your plans going forward? Mind telling me?"
Gilgamesh shrugged.
"Nothing complicated.
"We started traveling around the world back in 1996.
"It's been nearly five years now.
"So we figured it was time to settle somewhere for a while and take a break.
"Preferably somewhere in a big city.
"We already visited Kingo.
"But... I don't think Mumbai is for us.
"He kept telling us that during the colonial era, India was one of Asia's most advanced places.
"But that was over a hundred years ago.
"Originally, we also wanted to visit Sersi in London.
"We heard she was there.
"But we couldn't find her, and no one seemed to know where she was.
"We did find Ajak in South Dakota.
"She has a wonderful ranch.
"But it's far too quiet there.
"We might as well have gone back to Australia.
"So we came to New York instead.
"To find you.
"And while we're here, we'd like to ask whether you have any advice about living in this era.
"You understand our situation.
"We've been away from human society for a very long time.
"Even though we've traveled all over the world these past five years, we still don't know what we're supposed to do."
Henry's first reaction was:
You're asking me?
These two had lived for seven thousand years.
Was it really appropriate for them to seek advice from someone as young as him?
But after thinking about it more carefully...
It actually made perfect sense.
Among the ten Eternals, neither of them had ever been natural leaders like Ajak.
Nor were they independently driven thinkers like Sersi or Druig.
They also weren't like Kingo, who had enthusiastically thrown himself into acting.
Precisely because they lacked overwhelming personal ambitions, they had been perfectly content spending several hundred years living in seclusion in the Australian desert.
Now that they had suddenly returned to modern civilization, it wasn't surprising that they felt somewhat directionless.
Perhaps lost was too strong a word.
Still, if five years of wandering hadn't helped them discover where they belonged or what they wanted to do, then they probably wouldn't figure it out anytime soon on their own.
Under those circumstances, asking someone directly was the most sensible approach.
And somehow...
The Kryptonian who wasn't even an Eternal had become the person they chose to consult.
Henry couldn't help but feel honored by their trust.
Even so, he wasn't about to throw out careless suggestions.
For example, working as bodyguards.
Unless someone dropped a meteor or launched a nuclear strike, there probably wasn't much capable of getting past either of them.
But would they even want that sort of work?
After considering the matter, Henry finally said,
"If you're planning to live in New York, I don't think you should rush into deciding what you want to do.
"First, you need somewhere to live.
"Once you've settled down, you can slowly figure out what interests you and what kind of life you actually want.
"I'll book a hotel for you for two weeks.
"Use that time to look for a place of your own.
"And if you don't have any special requirements..."
He smiled.
"I've actually been thinking about buying property in New York myself.
"You can either buy a place together with me, or I can purchase one first and rent it to you cheaply afterward.
"We can spend the next two weeks discussing the details.
"And if that's not enough time, we can always extend the hotel stay.
"How does that sound?"
The idea of purchasing property had come to Henry rather suddenly.
The timing was simply too perfect.
The two Eternals wanted to remain in New York.
The terrorist attack had only recently occurred.
As a result, people were fleeing Lower Manhattan near the Financial District, causing property prices to plummet.
Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to... buy the dip?
Well... "taking advantage of the situation" sounded much nicer than "profiting from disaster."
The media was still endlessly discussing the safety of skyscrapers, putting even more downward pressure on nearby real estate prices.
The fires smoldering beneath the World Trade Center ruins hadn't even been fully extinguished yet.
Living conditions in Lower Manhattan were, frankly, dreadful.
The properties certainly weren't being sold for pennies.
But by New York standards...
They were bargains.
The neighborhood Henry had his eye on was Tribeca, just north of the former World Trade Center.
Unlike the Upper East Side, home to old money, Tribeca would eventually become one of Manhattan's most expensive districts, attracting celebrities, entrepreneurs, and the new generation of wealthy elites.
Since he'd already been considering buying property, had cash available, and happened to encounter such an opportunity...
There was no reason not to benefit from it.
Even if he had no desire to spend every day making tiny profits in the stock market, passing up a genuine bargain would simply be foolish.
The two Eternals had no objections to Henry's proposal.
After all, the money they currently lived on came entirely from Kingo's support.
Any major decision would ultimately need to be discussed with him as well.
After exchanging another glance, Gilgamesh smiled.
"Let's do it your way, Henry."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
🎉 Power Stone Goal Announcement! 🎉
I'll release one bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones we hit!"
Let me know what should I do
Your support means everything—let's crush these goals together! Keep voting, and let the stones pile up! 🚀
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~