"Come on, are you ready, Fujimaru?"
Steve smiled as he pulled a pink door from the white pocket that seemed connected to infinite possibilities.
Under the fantastical light of the wandering sea, the doorframe looked out of place, yet it somehow evoked a sense of comforting everyday routine.
"This is... one of Steve's Noble Phantasms, the Anywhere Door?"
It wasn't the first time Fujimaru had seen this item, but every time she laid eyes on the door that defied the laws of space, she was genuinely awestruck.
Today, she had changed into a special casual outfit: a white knit sweater paired with a deep blue long skirt. The ensemble made her look both gentle and energetic, clearly showing the careful preparation she had put into this "secret date."
"Exactly. As long as you remember the destination, all you have to do is open the door and you'll be there."
Steve grasped the doorknob gentlemanly and turned it gently. "Now, on the other side of this door lies our destination—Xianyang of the New World."
"Mm-hmm!"
Ritsuka nodded vigorously, reached out expectantly, and took Steve's hand.
But just as the two were about to step over the threshold—
"Wait! I want to come too!"
A purple figure leaped down from the ventilation duct in the corridor like a cheetah hunting its prey.
The alchemist Sion, known for her calm and collected demeanor, had dust-covered hair and a homemade tactical periscope in hand. Desperately—almost suicidally—she rushed toward the closing door.
"Don't even think about leaving me behind! As your Master, I have the right to monitor the whereabouts of my Servants! You have to take me on the date too—"
Her calculations were extremely precise, and her movements were astonishingly fast.
According to the laws of physics, even with a gap of just thirty centimeters, she should have been able to slip through before the door closed.
However... she was facing a man with extraordinary wisdom and knowledge regarding causality.
"Oh dear, that would be a problem."
Not even a wrinkle formed between Steve's brows; his face showed no sign of disturbance whatsoever.
The moment he stepped through the door, he casually flicked his wrist.
Snap.
The pink door did not close like an ordinary door—it vanished without a trace.
To be precise, Steve had, at a speed beyond human dynamic vision, yanked both himself and the entire doorframe into the four-dimensional pocket in his abdomen.
BAM——————!!!
Sion's determined leap ended with her grasping nothing but cold, hard air, followed by a violent collision with the corridor floor.
"That hurt..."
Sion lay on the ground, clutching her injured nose, and stared blankly at the empty corridor before her. She was completely frozen in shock.
"It disappeared?! Without a single trace?!"
She reluctantly stood up and frantically scanned the spot where the door had been with her ether analyzer. "Where are the spatial coordinates? Where are the remnants of the spiritual particles? Why is it completely severed?! That bastard... that bastard hid the entrance?!"
Yes, that was the harsh reality.
The place known as the New World was, in fact, inside the model of Earth Chaldea.
In the normal flow of human history, entering that place required waiting for Lev Goetia—to open a passage to Singularity X in Fuyuki City.
It was a massive super-project involving planetary surface substitution, spiritron transfer technology, singularities, and interference in higher-dimensional space.
Even for Sion, a genius of the Atlas Institute, breaking through that wall on her own without critical data and the necessary medium was nothing more than a pipe dream.
Steve had turned that insurmountable wall into a gate to his own backyard with nothing more than that ridiculous pink door.
"Steve, you tricked me—!"
A piercing scream echoed through the Chaldea corridors, startling the passing Fou.
...
Unlike the chaos and confusion on the Chaldea side, the world beyond the door was peaceful and magnificent.
When Ritsuka opened her eyes, a familiar majestic city greeted her.
Most of the buildings still retained the architectural style of the Qin Dynasty—black tiles, red walls, overhanging eaves, and brackets—but flowing between these ancient structures were visible light-blue data streams.
The massive Epang Palace floated overhead like a heavenly palace, surrounded by countless automatically moving mechanical statues. They were meticulously repairing the traces of yesterday's battle.
"Where... where is this...?"
Fujimaru's mouth hung open in shock. "Is this really the same ruins as yesterday?"
"To be precise, this is the result of His Majesty's fine adjustments," Steve explained with a smile. "Most of this area is still under restoration work, but he specially opened up this scenic spot just for us."
"After all, His Majesty is quite the hospitable host."
"That's amazing..."
Ritsuka looked around.
There was no war here, no smell of gunpowder smoke. Only a timeless tranquility and prosperity.
On both sides of the street, shops (most of them disguised as vending machines) were packed with all kinds of exotic treasures, and a faint fragrance drifted through the air.
"Come on, the date has only just begun."
Steve naturally took Ritsuka's hand and led her on a stroll through the miraculous city.
For Fujimaru Ritsuka, this day felt like a dream.
She had no idea where she was or what kind of world this was.
To her, it was simply a secret base that Steve had specially prepared to make her happy.
They visited a supercomputer said to be capable of calculating the fate of nations, and Ritsuka drew a jackpot and rejoiced like a child.
They tasted Qin Dynasty cuisine cooked programmed by the First Emperor himself. The flavor was a bit too technical, but the novel experience was unforgettable.
They even visited the railgun terminal on the Great Wall under repair... of course, Steve explained to her that it was a device for launching fireworks.
There was no heavy burden of saving the world, no life-or-death crises.
The two held hands and shared pure joy in this forgotten corner of time.
...
Sunset at the Waterside Observatory
Before they knew it, the sun had begun to set.
The artificial sunset in the New World wrapped the entire city of Xianyang in a warm orange-red hue.
Swirling seas of clouds glowed with golden light, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.
Steve and Ritsuka sat on a bench at the observatory, gazing at the magnificent view. Neither spoke a word.
"Steve..."
Ritsuka broke the silence and turned to the man beside her.
The light of the setting sun illuminated his profile, highlighting a golden outline.
In that moment, he looked incredibly handsome, yet somehow distant.
"What's wrong?"
Steve turned to her with a gentle gaze.
"Thank you."
Ritsuka said from the bottom of her heart, "Today... was really fun."
"Since coming to New Chaldea, this has been the happiest day I've had."
"Really? That's wonderful."
Steve smiled, but soon let out a small sigh. His body swayed slightly, as if he had lost his support.
"Steve?!"
Ritsuka supported him worriedly and asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"No... I'm just... a little tired."
Steve's voice was slightly lower than usual, carrying an uncharacteristic weakness. "I expended a bit of magical energy to maintain the stability of this space."
"And... I've been thinking a lot about the future lately, so I'm mentally exhausted."
This was a lie.
With his advanced technology capable of generating nearly infinite mana and his extraordinary wisdom, there was no way such a trivial matter would tire him.
However, this was more than just a lie.
For tens of billions of years, he had fought alone, bearing the heavy burden by himself.
He was a leader, a pioneer, a legendary figure.
But there was one thing they all had in common... he had never once had the chance to experience a spoiled, carefree childhood.
"Um... if it's okay with you..."
Seeing his slightly weary expression, a strong sense of sympathy welled up in Ritsuka's chest.
She bit her lip, gathered her courage, and lightly patted her thigh.
"It might not be very comfortable... but if you'd like a lap pillow..."
The girl's face turned as red as a ripe apple, but her eyes were unusually resolute.
Steve was momentarily stunned.
He looked at the girl before him.
She wasn't strong. In fact, one could even say she was quite weak.
Yet the warmth radiating from her... that all-encompassing aura reminded him of a distant, hazy memory from before his reincarnation.
A girl named Lalah Sune.
A maternal woman capable of embracing, accepting, and guiding all the whims, weaknesses, and dark sides of those she loved.
"In that case... I shall humbly accept."
Steve did not refuse.
He obediently turned sideways and gently rested his head on Ritsuka's lap.
It was soft, warm, and carried a faint scent of shower gel.
In this moment, all schemes, power struggles, and grand narratives seemed to vanish into the sea of clouds along with the setting sun.
"Steve..."
Ritsuka sat stiffly, her hands hovering awkwardly in the air, unsure where to place them.
"Like this... is fine."
Steve closed his eyes and let out a satisfied sigh. "Ritsuka... your presence is truly reassuring."
"It's almost like... a mother."
He silently added the latter half in his mind.
After a brief pause, Ritsuka smiled gently.
She softly placed her hand on Steve's short black hair and stroked it tenderly, as if soothing a tired large cat.
"Then, please take a nap, Steve."
The girl's voice was as gentle as a lullaby. "No matter what happens outside, at least for now... I'm here with you."
Bathed in the sunset, their shadows stretched long across the ground.
In this new world that he himself had guided and rendered powerless and un-interferable, the Supreme Commander of the Human Federation—who had always plotted from behind the scenes—had finally found a place of rest called maternity and could lower his guard.
Meanwhile, far away in Chaldea, Sion stared at the dark monitor screen, shedding tears of despair…
PS: This guys is freaking Homelander.
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