"I followed through on my word and didn't kill him," Shun said, observing the ice, which was about the size of a two-story house and was now serving as a seal for the Demon King of Immortality.
"…"
However, there was no response at all from the fool.
The audience watched in silence, as this figure clad in white was a mystery to all of them. Until…
"Shun-san, who are you talking to?" Rudeus walked forward and asked. He already had his suspicions.
'Does he have the infamous system thing as well?!' Rudeus cursed his own luck. His only unique features were his enormous magic capacity and chantless magic.
"A friend, that I just took revenge for."
Seeing his rare, serious expression, Rudeus didn't ask any further questions.
"I see… when did you arrive here?"
Since why he had arrived was clear, Rudeus asked when he had arrived.
"Today. Since there was a line here, we thought we should line up too, as the locals know more than us." Shun's reasoning was that of a tourist.
"We lined up together too," Hilda complained, with annoyance clear in her voice after learning what they had actually lined up for.
"Pursena and Linia are beastfolk," Rudeus noted, well aware of Eris' family's tastes.
"T-Then it's fine, bring them here," Hilda gave her permission.
"…"
"Long time no see, Rudeus-sama." Lilia greeted Rudeus in the same tone as always, but her face showed her worries. Lilia had been deeply troubled lately.
She was supposed to be a heroine in a tragic story, someone who had sacrificed herself for her young master's future, but…
'For the last three years, I've only been spoiled with affection, with no hardships… I have no face to show the young master.'
"Yeah, nice to see you again." The two exchanged pleasantries. The group completely ignored the crowd still watching and the sealed Badigadi.
"Um, Rudeus-kun. Who are these people?"
Before anyone realized it, some important people had arrived. It was Sylphie, Princess Ariel, and her subordinates. For some reason, the cause of today's chaos, Pursena and Linia, were present too.
"They are my family and relatives. And that man is Shun-san, better known as the Magic God…" Rudeus gave a simple introduction.
"!!"
"What did he just say?!"
"He is that guy?"
By now, the weird phenomenon of the Seven World Powers ranking constantly being updated, with the Magic God appearing at the top, then disappearing, then appearing again, was famous gossip among informed people.
Nowadays, Shun was a phantom local celebrity among mages, especially since mages were often looked down upon. Everyone thought that if you just got into close range, mages were useless, which was not that far from the truth.
Hearing the introduction, Shun decided to clean up the scene. He touched the ice containing Badigadi, and the next second, the giant block started floating. It rose until it reached the sky and hid behind a cloud.
'Just in case, I'll make it harder to find this sealed Badigadi,' thought Shun, who was a cautious man through and through.
The best part about the Float-Float Fruit was that it only cost the user's stamina when making something float for the first time. After that, it required nothing and would stay afloat as long as the user didn't become fatally injured or dead. Falling unconscious wouldn't cancel the ability, otherwise, falling asleep every night would be dangerous.
After that, Shun thought about using the Arc of Time to fix the crater made by the skirmish and the damaged road.
'Hmm, it's a good opportunity to check her progress.'
"Aisha, come and clean up the aftermath," Shun said, confusing the crowd.
"Yes!" An energetic voice shouted back the reply, as she wanted to show off.
"Restore." She copied Shun and chanted, and the effect was immediate.
The broken street and buildings started going back in time to when they were in perfect condition.
"Aisha… so she was learning from him…" Rudeus muttered, feeling a bit jealous. Who wouldn't want to be able to use time-related magic?
While Aisha was busy, Shun joined the group around Rudeus.
"I'm back," Shun said, grabbing Hilda and Lilia's hands.
"!"
This small action didn't escape the group's notice, especially Rudeus' eyes.
Lilia was happy that Shun didn't forget to hold her hand too, but now wasn't a good time.
"Long time no see." Shun faced Rudeus, who had grown up from a teenager into an adult.
"Yes…"
Rudeus was still thinking about the action from earlier.
"I came here today on Lilia's wish to help you out."
"Eh?" Lilia and Rudeus were both surprised by this.
Rudeus wasn't a genius with an IQ of over 200, but he was able to connect the dots.
"So he is… he was one of them?" Rudeus asked.
"Yes. He was here to collect information on you."
"…"
'So poor Paul got NTR'd by an overpowered reincarnator… and the reason was me… Well, Paul deserved it.' Rudeus smoothly closed the case, labeling it karma.
When it seemed like Rudeus and Shun's secret talk was over, a beautiful girl with blonde hair walked over elegantly.
"Excuse me for intruding, please let us introduce ourselves… I'm Ariel Anemoi Asura, Princess of the Asura Kingdom."
"A princess?" Shun didn't remember much about her other than her peeing herself when she met Orsted.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Shun." After that, a round of introductions occurred. No one present mentioned the earlier fight or the Demon King Badigadi being sealed.
'What else are we supposed to do? Arrest Shun-san and put him in a prison? It was a fight between top-tiers, we better stay quiet and live our lives,' Rudeus thought, he was a realist.
The group engaged in peaceful small talk, until three individuals had a different idea.
"Boss! We heard there was a huge fight between a Demon King and the Magic God over us!" Linia shouted with excitement.
"Being this beautiful is a sin," Pursena added.
"…"
"Ah! Shun, go finish what you started," Hilda told Shun, her cheeks blushing as she saw the two beautiful beastfolk girls.
"Huh?"
"People lined up here today to fight Rudeus today, the winner gets those two girls!" Hilda explained. Her request was clear.
"…"
Shun was a bit troubled by this turn of events.
'I'm not a racist, but… I don't feel particular attraction toward beastfolk and mermaids. But Hilda rarely asks for a favor…' Shun sighed and looked toward Rudeus.
"!"
Lilia had asked Shun to protect Rudeus, while Hilda was asking Shun to beat him up…
Rudeus hurriedly waved his hands to show he had no intentions to fight.
"No, I'm not going to fight-!" Before Rudeus could finish, Shun cut his words short.
"Let's settle this quick, Rudeus." Shun created a ring with purple words, it was Freed's word magic.
"Since a battle of power is unfair, let's settle this in a sumo match. The one that touches the purple letters first loses."
Seeing that he didn't have a choice, Rudeus nodded.
'He won't go too hard on me, right?' Rudeus glanced at Lilia, and only now did he truly feel grateful for her.
Before they realized it, Aisha came over with a bell in her hand that she had made with the Arc of Embodiment.
Ding-!
Aisha gave the sign for the start.
Though he thought he probably had no chance, Rudeus used his signature Quagmire magic. Well… he tried to.
"Huh?" Before anyone except Aisha realized it, Rudeus was outside the ring.
Ding-! Ding-! Ding-!
"The winner is Master Shun!" Aisha declared.
Just now, she had been able to see Shun casually lifting Rudeus up in the world of stopped time and placing him outside the ring.
'She can't stop time, but as she is the user of the Arc of Time, she can move in stopped time, huh? Stopping time seems overpowered, but if one has an ability related to time, they can move. It's a bit of a crap ability.'
"Sorry, Pursena, Linia. I lost…" Rudeus said with his eyebrows furrowed as if he were in deep regret, but in reality, he didn't care much.
"Boss… though it was short, we enjoyed our time together—" Linia and Pursena were getting emotional, but they were grabbed by Hilda and hugged tightly.
"…"
'Well, it's probably good for them. Since they're dumb, they need someone they can depend on.' Rudeus' logic was cruel, but realistic.
"Do you guys have school now? I guess we should return then." Shun suddenly mentioned.
"We do, but…"
'Who cares about school?' was what everyone thought.
"If you're going to ditch school, you can come join us for lunch." As Shun finished speaking, his floating house started descending.
——
With Shun's help, the group was able to get inside the floating house.
Currently, Shun's group, plus the two beastfolk girls, Rudeus, and Princess Ariel's group, were gathered in the living room.
Usually, Shun would handle the cooking, but this world had Aisha, so Shun was sitting on the sofa comfortably.
"So… where's Eris?" Shun broke the silence.
Rudeus recounted their experience after parting with Shun's group in Shirone.
——
"So in summary, you got beaten up by your father after separating from us, then you traveled a bit more, then got beaten up again by the Dragon God." Shun didn't hide his amusement as he had a smile on his face.
"…"
"It was quite a traumatic experience for us. Eris and Ghislaine went to train."
"So she is in the Sword God's place, let's visit her later then."
"Yes!" Hilda and Aisha were fond of Eris, so they replied energetically.
Aisha prepared tea and snacks so as not to be too heavy for lunch.
"It's delicious~" the princess and the others praised Aisha's skills.
"So, was there anything you wanted from us?" Shun didn't beat around the bush.
"No, I just wanted to have a talk with you." Ariel wasn't foolish enough to ask for a favor during the first meeting.
Ariel wasn't a stupid girl; in fact, she was the smarter type.
'There was a rumor that the Armored Dragon King Perugius and the Magic God fought three years ago. Who was Perugius? He is a legendary warrior famous for his flying castle. The result of their battle is unknown, but the Magic God got his hands on the magic behind the flying castle. That isn't a feat possible if the Magic God wasn't equal to or stronger than Perugius.'
Ariel was the type to overthink things.
'If I can get him on my side as my backer, the throne is as good as guaranteed.'
"A talk? Well, then I'll ask something. Have you heard about a guy named Hitogami?"
At the mention of the name, it felt like Ariel's stare toward Shun became even more intense.
Shun never does it, but this time he used his Observation Haki to sense her emotions.
'A nervousness, a hint of hope, and… she is feeling… horny?!' Shun immediately closed off his Haki.
'I thought only the Greyrat family were big perverts, but it seems to apply to all nobles. The higher the ranking of the noble, the more perverted they are.'
"No, never heard of it."
"I see."
"Miss Hilda, I'm very sorry about the tragedy that happened to Lord Sauros."
"…You don't need to feel sorry about it, I know it's not related to your faction," Hilda spoke, as she had already done her research.
Noticing Hilda's change of mood, from the happiness of rubbing Linia's fur into a gloomy one, Shun couldn't help but suggest
"Do you want me to nuke them?" Shun offered a quick and innocent solution.
"!"
"…Thank you, but it's fine. There are my two sons in the Asura Kingdom, too."
The two were casually talking about outrageous things.
Noticing everyone's gazes, Shun stopped his joke.
"I was obviously kidding. I would only go after the ones responsible and their families."
'That's somehow more terrifying!' Rudeus sighed, then decided to change the topic, otherwise, it might turn into a plan for taking over the Asura Kingdom.
"Shun-san, can you tell me where my mom is?"
"She is on the Begaritt Continent. To be specific, she is trapped in a large mana crystal protected by a quite powerful monster." Shun didn't beat around the bush.
"!"
"Is she safe?"
"Yes, she is in a condition where her time has frozen."
"Do you think I can save her?" Despite acting like scum, Rudeus actually cared about his parents.
"No."
However, Shun completely shut him off.
"It's a hydra that can regenerate itself. If you want a chance of beating it, bring Ruijerd and Ghislaine with you."
'Then can't you just come with us?!' Rudeus wanted to ask, but he couldn't be so abrupt about it. Instead, he stole a glance at Lilia.
Lilia acted immediately. She didn't say anything but grabbed Shun's hand softly.
"…"
"She is frozen in time anyway, you can wait a few more years and train," Shun suggested.
Previously, Lilia would never be so bold as to perform such acts, but the years she had been spoiled by Shun had made her brave. Her grip on Shun's hand strengthened.
"All right, I'll see what I can do after visiting Eris."
"…"
Lilia's expression immediately softened, and she hugged Shun's arm between her chest.
"Mom…" Aisha was speechless. Her strict mother had completely changed lately.
"E-Excuse me…" Lilia said, then went out of the room to refill the tea.
'I said I'd see what I can do, but… it'll be annoying to travel there. The reason this trip was easy is because I took Rudeus' hair and made a Vivre Card without him knowing.'
Meanwhile, Ariel, Linia, and Pursena didn't miss the interaction and already had their plan and imaginations running wild.
Shun noticed their change but didn't mind it at all; in fact, if they were interesting, he wouldn't mind paying them with whatever they wanted.
"By the way, Princess. Do you have a map to the Sword God's place? I want to meet my step-daughter."
"Oh? If I'm not wrong, it's in the northwest region of the Central Continent. I'll tell my assistant to bring it to you later," Ariel responded with a smile. Though small, being able to help the Magic God made her a bit more confident.
"Thanks. We'll go to meet Eris tomorrow, want to come?" Shun's question somehow caused Fitts and Ariel's expressions to turn ugly.
'Seems like because of my existence, Rudeus avoided his fate of ED. Well, I could care less about his love life.'
The group spent time just leisurely chatting.
"By the way, are you not going to meet Zanoba?" Rudeus suddenly brought up a complicated name.
"No."
'Zanoba, the prince of the Shirone Kingdom. Him and his brother… their character development made me really like them in the original timeline, but… when I met them in person, their current personality pissed me off so much that I didn't talk to them at all. They seemed to notice it, too, and avoided me.'
After an hour, the group decided to go back.
"Then, Shun-san. Please drop by my office later, I'll have the map ready," Ariel smiled gracefully. Through the chat, she had reached the point where she could stop using too much polite language.
"Sure," Shun said, then enveloped them in the paw bubble and slowly floated them down.
Now, Shun was left with the original group. Rudeus wanted to stay but was forced to go with Fitts by Ariel.
"You guys really going to stay here?"
"…I don't know. We beastfolk are attracted to strong people."
'I don't know how to deal with them, I'll just let Hilda handle them.'
"Well, let's go look around the city and buy some groceries," Shun suggested.
"Yes!" Thus, a group that radiated nobility decided to grocery shop around the common area. Even Pursena and Linia were considered quite high-ranking among their tribe.
The group bought groceries and some accessories for Aisha. They wanted to leave, but Linia and Pursena wanted some too, so Shun bought them a necklace as well.
'Those two shameless girls somehow remind me of the bird pet Snake got from Shiki's island. His name was Biri, I think.'
The group decided to head back home.
"All right then, Chief, we'll go home for tonight and prepare our belongings." Before Shun could refuse or accept, the two beastfolk girls left.
"…"
"I'll go get the map to Eris' place," Shun said, and left the floating house.
'If Ariel didn't have the map, I was planning to follow the blue-haired girl who kept appearing from time to time during the duel with Badigadi. She is the Sword God's daughter, I guess I'll use her to mess with Gal Farion, aka The Sword God.' While planning his next victim's fate, Shun headed to Ariel's office. Apparently, she was the student council president.
——
Knock-! Knock-!
"Please, enter." Ariel's soft voice was heard from the other side.
When Shun entered, Ariel was sitting in her seat, while a man named Luke Notos Greyrat and a self-proclaimed man named Fitts were standing to her left and right.
"Hello again, I came as promised." Shun waved lightly and took a seat on the chair without waiting for a response. Normally, such acts would be frowned upon in the presence of a princess. But this time, it was different to no one's surprise.
Ariel pulled out a paper from her drawer and got up.
She took the seat next to Shun and presented the map.
"Thanks." Shun took the map and sent it to his armor space, which was Erza's magic. It stored all of her armors. Shun liked using it as an inventory lately; he even had the Mother Flame stored there.
"Glad I was able to help," Ariel showed the perfectly trained etiquette of a princess.
"If you have anything that you need my help with, you can tell me now."
"!"
Hearing that Shun was willing to pay for the map with his help, the guy named Luke's expression changed visibly as he stared at Ariel, hoping for something unknown to Shun.
'A foolish person would really ask for something here, but not me,' Ariel was overthinking to herself. Shun would have really agreed here if she wanted to use his name to strengthen her poor faction for the battle for the throne.
"Then, can we drink some tea and talk a bit more? I really enjoyed talking earlier."
"Is that so? Then let's do it." Shun agreed, while it seemed like Lilia was fired up for tonight. For tonight, Shun was more interested in what this girl planned.
"Fitts." Ariel called out to her subordinate. Fitts, for some reason, had blushing cheeks as she nodded and went to prepare tea.
"What should we talk about?" Shun didn't beat around the bush.
"Hmm, is there anything you want to ask?" Ariel asked back.
"Then, who was the one who framed Hilda's family leader, Sauros?"
"That is…"
——
The two kept talking, mostly about the Asura Kingdom.
'So Hilda's two sons were taken to the main branch of the Greyrat family. So that's why she had a bit of a grudge against Rudeus being free while her sons were taken away.'
Creak-!
Before long, Fitts arrived with two cups of tea.
"Ariel-sama, I brought the tea." Fitts still had the suspicious blush on her cheeks.
"Thank you, you two leave now," Ariel suddenly ordered her servants.
"Yes…"
Before leaving, the man named Luke stared at Shun with sharp eyes.
Shun didn't turn away from his gaze; any longer and Shun might have started acting like a delinquent from a previous generation.
"Cough, cough, Shun-san." Ariel forcibly attracted Shun's attention, which ended the small staredown between the two.
Ariel stared sharply at Luke, making him leave the room.
"Let's drink." Ariel changed the subject before it even started.
"Sure," Shun replied, and stared at the tea.
'This tea… something impure is mixed in it. An aphrodisiac?' Shun was speechless, not only because of this bold move but because both of their teas were mixed with it.
Even Ariel couldn't help but blush a bit before saying, "Let's drink."
"…"
'When I was a kid, I got the Poison Dragon Slayer Lacrima implanted in my body by Grandma Porlyusica, meaning I'm completely immune to stuff like this. Now then, what should I do?' Shun was met with difficult choices.
He could just decline and go home, or he could repel his own immunity toward poison for the night and go along with her plan.
'Hmm…'
After thinking for a bit, Shun decided to go with choice three.
"Sure. Let's drink."
Gulp-! Gulp-!
Immediately, Ariel's face started to turn red. Meanwhile, Shun wasn't affected at all.
"…It's getting a bit hot here…" Ariel muttered softly as she unbuttoned her uniform and showed her bare shoulders.
"It sure is," Shun agreed, and opened his arm to hug her by the waist.
"!" Seeing Shun's action without any hesitation almost sobered Ariel up. But once again, her cheeks reddened completely, falling under the effect of her own drug.
Princess Ariel often read R-rated books in her room and often had many imaginations running wild in her mind, but she never expected to do it with a man she met on the same day. Even more so considering she was a princess, but… her logic was…
'It's worth it! Him being handsome is a plus too.'
Despite being under the effect of her drug, Ariel was still calculating.
"It's still hot…" Ariel said again.
"Really? I guess I'll have to help you too."
Rustle-!
To Ariel's surprise, Shun's help involved lessening her clothes even more until she was in her underwear.
"…"
'It's not hot at all, it was more cold than hot, but since it seems like her playstyle, I'll play along,' Shun thought innocently.
Due to Shun's actions, Ariel felt a sense of rivalry and decided to undress Shun too, as she sat on Shun's lap.
"Are you sure?" Shun asked. Not expecting much from her drugged self, he asked just to help her settle her mind.
"Yes," Ariel muttered softly, then stuck her pink tongue out a bit between her lips as she approached Shun's.
"…"
'What the heck is this supposed to be?' Shun was confused by this sight.
'Is she actually just all talk with no experience?'
But he didn't complain and took her tongue between his lips.
——
Next morning, Shun woke up in Ariel's room.
The two, after some time, had changed their location from her office to her house. Ariel didn't stay in the girls' dorm as her status was special.
When Shun looked to his side, he saw the usually elegant Ariel in a completely messy state. Ariel's body had red marks all over, and her hair was messy as if she had been electrocuted.
'But she still has a smile on. So, all good.' While Shun was reviewing their time, a voice called out from the other side.
Knock-! Knock-!
"Ariel-sama, it's morning…" it was Fitts, aka Sylphie.
After knocking, without waiting for a response, Fitts entered inside, only to meet eyes with Shun.
"…"
"Morning." Shun had no shame at all as he greeted her. If it were Luke, he would have sent him away to the Shirone Kingdom, but it was Sylphie.
'In a situation like this, the one who gets embarrassed first loses!' Shun's logic was flawless as Sylphie's face started to turn red.
"G-Good morning, you two really did it…" Sylphie didn't forget her manners.
Due to all the noise, Ariel woke up in her completely messy self.
"Sylphie…?" Ariel's mind still hadn't caught up with her new reality after her mind had cleared up from the drug usage out of her own volition.
Soon, all the memories started to return.
"!"
"Morning," Shun greeted again.
"G-Good morning. Excuse me, but can you leave?" Before everything else that happened yesterday, all Ariel wanted now was to avoid being seen with her current messy hair and body.
Ariel covered her body with the blanket.
"No." However, Shun's reply left no option for her.
Shun used Shiki's Float-Float Fruit as telekinesis. He lifted the blanket away from her and floated her body too until it landed on his own.
'Shiki from Hell would surely smile at me for using his power in such a creative way.'
This sudden turn of events shocked the two girls.
"Sylphie! Leave!!!" Ariel panicked the most she ever had in her life as she shouted. She even forgot to use Sylphie's fake name.
Slam-!
Sylphie ran and closed the door behind her. Sylphie was going to run away from this even if she hadn't been told.
'…Are they really going to do it again?' Out of curiosity, Sylphie placed her long ears against the door. Only to hear a sound she never imagined she would hear from her princess.
"Agh~!!"