278 Boner In Front of Step-Son

"This isn't awkward at all."

JoJo jested while Elizabeth averted her gaze. It was already dawn and the sun was about to grace this side fo the planet with its presence. Of course, this meant that it was the time to leave.

To leave with the mother who forced to bring him alongside his new... stepdad...

Even Sakonji had a strange expression while the other pillars gathered aside from Caesar— The pillar of flame, mist, thunder, wind, and water— had quite a relaxed expression at the strangeness of the scene and Nik could swear that he could smell the overlapping scent on all the pillars except for Caesar, making Nik conclude that Ray had cast a net wider than he could have expected.

"So? How does it work? Should I call you— Father?" JoJo smirked and the moment Nik opened his mouth, JoJo exclaimed, "You are going to say— Don't spout nonsense"

"Sure, call me whatever you like," Nik spoke up alongside JoJo's exclamation expression turned and strange as he looked at the speechless JoJo.

Not only JoJo, even Sakonji, and others, who were gathered to see the group off gazed at JoJo with a strange expression.

He really wasn't going to call a man just about his age his stepfather, would he?

As this particular question lingered in their minds, Elizabeth coughed softly. She had only decided to bring JoJo alongside them the moment Nik informed her that he was more than capable of taking JoJo away with them the moment he left the world. With the restriction of Harem removed after he successfully evolved out of his incubus lineage, he could bring anyone with himself as long as they were willing.

But of course, he couldn't bring these people out from his harem, not until they were a part of the system like his Lust Recruiters.

"We should leave. than you for the hospitality."

Elizabeth nodded at Sakonji before signaling Nik to depart to avoid any more awkward instances.

"Bye-Bye, Caesar!"

JoJo waved his hands in exaggeration while holding onto a napkin.

***

As Nik was informed by Elizabeth, the journey was long and JoJo got bored easily. So, this led to a chain of awkward conversations that Nik would have loved to avoid.

"You know, I could easily hear you guys last night. Just like others."

JoJo muttered with his arms behind his head as he followed Nik and Elizabeth with a carefree gait. Hearin JoJo's words, Nezuko walking beside him hummed in approval as she muttered, "Elizabeth loud... Nik likes loud."

No! This isn't awkward at all!

Keeping a straight face, Nik screamed internally while Elizabeth's face had long turned crimson.

The worse part was, Nik was once again feeling the drain on his body and god forbid that he had to walk with a bursting boner in front of the youth whose Mom rode Nik all night!

As the instances of last night started to flood Nik's consciousness, he instantly snapped a decision and sat down right in between the patched pathway, attracting the remaining trio's gazes.

"I am taking a break."

Nik spoke calmly and addressed the situation to Elizabeth to make her take care of Nezuko while he hurriedly connected his consciousness to the [Tome of Battle]. While the tome itself was a treasure trove for philosophical battle maniacs, Nik could only focus on the contents to clear his thoughts out.

But that wasn't all.

To keep his consciousness away from any thoughts that will bring forth his boner once again, Nik pressured his own body with 17 strands of gravitational force. According to his estimates, a total of forty strands of gravitational force could bring the effect of twice the gravity of the planet he is currently residing at, that meant that Nik had already reached the physical capacity to at least handle the increase of gravitational force by almost half the natural gravity of the planet.

With his clouded thoughts slowly clearing up by the amount of raw data with the potential to enlighten Nik with every single word, things turned for the better. He could finally focus on the tome and once again explore his own deficiency in battles.

Not that he was particularly interested in battles, he just felt the need to adjust his mindset when it came to necessities and desires.

Nik desired to find a passion that could keep him occupied when he wasn't accompanying anyone. Mitsuri enjoyed cooking, Shinobu enjoyed planting flowers, Shizuka enjoyed the study of medicine, and the same could be said for others he had come across. Nik was even certain that Nezuko would soon find a passion she could focus on quite soon, too.

When it came to battle and skills required to fight, Nik knew that Saeko was particularly interested in all of it. The only thing Nik actually enjoyed was petting. To take care of pets and raise them while keeping them healthy and happy.

But this passion couldn't be accomplished, not if he could open a zoo in the [Transmigration Paradise] or find another way that allowed him to keep his contact with his pet, or pets, even when he was traveling.

The sudden thought made Nik temporarily stop contemplating the [Tome of Battle] as the name of a particular place flashed across his mind.

[Monster Paradise]

Taking a deep breath, Nik focused on the information that Nirdai left him with and found a peculiar bundle of knowledge to his interest.

In all the paradises, there exists certain acknowledged [Professions] that could provide the hosts with various skills and pool of expertise. For instance, Nik knew that there was a specific Blacksmith Association within the [Transmigration Paradise] that constituted all the hosts with the profession [Smith]. Not to mention the loose band of merchants that specifically traded goods to other hosts in real worlds at a higher price with [Trader] profession under their wraps.

'A tamer, huh...'

Nik recalled the information about a slightly more support type profession. The thing with the profession was that once someone got a profession, their approach to rising higher in their corresponding paradise changes drastically.

The [Smiths] just had to forge various goods to increase their experience, earn stats and skill points before attempting for a Rank-up quest. [Traders], on the other hand, had the capability of openly producing and trading goods from one world to another, without any restrictions.

Similarly, [Tamers] were not restricted to bring their tamed pets alongside the world travel without any restriction.

But even all the knowledge couldn't change the fact that to become a professional, Nik had to trade atrocious amounts of resources to buy a single profession scroll.

With a gloomy sigh, Nik once again focused back on the [Tome of Battle]. Thinking about matters unaccomplishable at the moment wasn't something Nik was willing to do.

What he was willing to do, however, was to suppress his boner while contemplating the way of battle.

***

Dawn signaled the time of her patrol and as frivolous as she was, slighting her duties was something Shinobu abhorred. Like usual, she woke up with a lazy but soft smile on her face. Nik would arrive today and it was a cause of celebration for her.

Unlike others, Shinobu knew how different Nik was from his true self due to untold reasons. How much of a glass-hearted being he was and how easily he was shattered in his past life. That particular mistress of star explained everything to her when Nk was viewing her memories.

And that is why Shinobu appreciated Nik's concise effort to try to get better.

Tying her hair up, Shinobu patched her tits with the usual sticker before tying her bosom with a single-fold sarashi to keep her breasts in place. With Nik gone for a day, the girls had to visit the onsen last night to clean themselves.

Honestly, Shinobu shared Shizuka's appreciation to wake up all clean in the morning, but her gravity-defying breasts made it harder for Shinobu to actually agree with the buxom cultivator of health in front of her.

Useless thoughts aside, Shinobu carefully thought on her next move. Kanao was going to tag alongside her now, that was one complication removed from her hair, but she still needed to make things right for others stemming from her estate.

All these thoughts were interrupted once she heard the light knocks on her door.

With a frown, Shinobu hustled into her clothes and quickly buttoned her shirt up before walking towards the door. Opening it slightly to identify the wanderer disturbing her in the morning, Shinobu found a slightly reserved Aoi waiting for her.

With a short smirk reaching her lips, Shinobu opened the door and welcomed the poor fawn with narrowed eyes.