13 A Welcoming

It seems the disappearance of the old Goddess had much less impact on the ongoing of people's daily lives by the looks of it. I stared at the busy crowd in front of me; it was a bustling and lively place. My hand suddenly had more force weighing upon it as the young girl tightened her grip.

"Ah, don't worry, as long as you don't let go, I'm sure no bad uncle will come and snatch you up."

"I'm not worried about that..." Her statements barely reached my ears. Looks like she isn't good with crowds.

I'm quite surprised though, the main reason as to why the disappearance of such a powerful Goddess hadn't impacted these peoples' lives was because of the fact that these things often happened. Litho explained to me that in the past, whenever I was sent out on a mission and was in grave danger, the Goddess would be gone for weeks or even months from her throne.

It was all to save my incapable ass apparently. I questioned this logic though. Couldn't she send the other Champions in her place? Although Litho simply said, 'This is exactly why you're still single all these years.' while shaking his head.

Ugh, I get it. But I simply wouldn't imagine her being docile or even being a good house wife or anything. More than that, her duty as a Goddess should always come first. We can't have someone with absolute power favoring one over the other, otherwise the equilibrium of the world would tilt to one scale. This wouldn't be good for anyone.

And I just don't want to get beat up. Yep, that's the main reason. I couldn't imagine that arrogant flat-chested Goddess to give up her pride back then. Although, now. I'm a bit regretful. Now I feel depressed, internal monologue wins again.

"Hey, hey! Isn't that Alias?!" A woman dressed in white from afar shouts.

Within the large courtyard of shoppers and shopkeepers, they all glanced to where we were. To think of it, wasn't I, a Champion? Although, how could they recognize me so fast despite wearing a hood?

"The youngest and most perverted Champion?!" Another shouts; who was it! Who said that?!

"Oh yeah, come to think of it, it is him! That slim jaw line, those smooth curves and those sweet buns!" You know, I wouldn't mind those words being said to me if you were female. Although since you're a really burly man, I have to hand it to you. You've taken the new high-score for being disturbing as well as being able to easily churn my stomach.

"Very true! He is indeed the most perverted Champion! I guess that's youth for you. Haha!" Another crispy nice shout, I will seriously find you and beat you to a pulp.

"Isn't she a bit young though? Don't tell me he's into...." No way, how about you stop jumping to conclusions and jump off a cliff!

The crowd starts gathering upon us like a pack of wolves facing bacon strips and leftovers.

"Didn't think that going on a shopping trip would be this exhausting." I took hold of Francesca.

"Huh?!" A hint of redness and surprise was evident on her face.

"Grab me tightly otherwise we'll be bombarded with curiosity." Light particles start to swirl and envelop both of us.

"Where did Alias and that little girl go off to?" A baffled observer is evidently, baffled, their disappearance strikes wonder upon the crowd.

Well, I'm just behind you so. Simply reflecting and refracting light is seriously a deadly skill. With this, I can turn invisible and peek into the women's bath all the time! Cough, cough. It was just a joke. Probably..

"I bet you're thinking of doing something indecent with this skill." A grumbling noise. Wonder who said that? Probably just the wind, ignore it.

I was sure that no-one would be able to recognize me in this attire.

"Are you reaaaally sure that no-one would be able to recognize you, O'great pervert?" An irritating noise zooms past my ear. Just passing wind.

I continue holding Francesca as she turns toward the origin of the noise, ah just ignore it, I'm sure it's just the wind.

"H-Hey! Seriously don't do this to me again!" An irritating noise continues to make its way into my ears. This wind is like a hurricane in my head, can't seem to get rid of it. I pass 'it' by.

"I-I won't call you out to the crowd like that again, I swear so please, just talk to me!" Sighing, I finally turn around and greet the buzzing noise.

It was a girl with blonde hair and wore a simple white dress. Her hair was eye-catching and she certainly was beautiful. She certainly wasn't lacking in any aspect, she wins by miles compared to our mighty Goddess. She wore several rings of 'power' these were enchanted rings with mysterious effects. She also wore white socks and shoes. In fact, everything she wore was always white. I bet it would always be a pain to clean stains and dirt off. I once saw her desperately rubbing out this one stain where she accidentally spilled some food dye on it.

"Did you finally rub out that stain?"

"Did you finally rub out that perversion?" Her comebacks were as always, fierce and relentless.

She certainly was very beautiful and great looking but unfortunately... Her personality isn't very 'white' or pure. In fact, she loves arguments and retorts. This is exactly why she's also been always single. I sure as hell am not into those kinds of punishment 'games'. I once saw her as a kindred spirit but now, she's more or less a thorn.

"Syveria, there's a reason why you're still so beautiful yet so single. At this rate, you'll become one of those old cat-loving women, you know?" I simply state facts.

"Ugh, don't wanna hear that from a virgin of similar state."

"Okay, I'm leaving." I turn away and start walking.

Francesca looks confused. I shake my head. Absolutely, definitely do not make any contact with her, you'll be hindered in your progression to become a fine and morally upright person. In short, she's a huge hurdle to my Goddess Raising plan. A huge bad influence.

"I just want to see the new Goddess that we're to serve is all!" She runs after me.

That's right, she's one of the Champions of Light and she gives us a bad name. In fact, outside of Light Goddess Domain and towards other Paths, we're often called the 'Degenerate Four'. Seriously.

"No way, Go back to the front lines!" I start sprinting and enhance my body by using particles.

"That place is cold and always so boring! Nothing but old men, uptight officers and grumpy veterans! It's so much more fun being around you because you're a magnet for trouble...!"

It's not like I wanted to be a magnet you know! Francesca starts to look concerned. Yeah, don't worry, I'm sure we can lose her... Probably..

Syveria was known for her speed and agility in combat. There is no way of beating this monster in speed. So why don't we even the grounds a bit? I have one of the densest particles out of all the Champions. Why don't we form the particles into solid form and throw it at her? Heave-ho!

"A BOULDER, SERIOUSLY?!" She starts complaining.

"Go away! My mission to take care of the Goddess starts two days from now and we're departing then! Why don't you sit tight and suck your thumbs instead of making such a huge racket?" I basically issue a type of 'command' line to the particles. To hit her and disperse if it is in contact with anything else. This is an innate skill to me. I've recovered a fair bit of my abilities when I woke up. I can treat the particles inside me as another entity and can input reasonable commands. Such as 'harden' or 'disappear' and such.

Of course, I can't order it such complex lines like 'kill the enemy' or 'distract!' She wouldn't die from this level, although it would hurt like hell.

"Fine, you leave me no choice!" Here it comes!

Syveria's innate skill, 'Accelerate'. It doesn't accelerate her at all, rather it slows down the movement around her. This is done by essentially distorting the perception of time of the people around her. While she moves normally, other people would be like snails, their manipulation of particles would be hindered. However, my particles act independent of my consciousness. I was within her kilometer range. It was insane, she had such a far reach. Even worse, her area of effect was nearly tripled within the domain of the Light Goddess.

Thus, when she started to close the distance to a hair's breadth and attempted to grab Francesca, the area around her suddenly starts to act up and form an extremely solid wall. With all her momentum and force behind the reinforcement of her body to boost her speed, the result of an unstoppable force against an immovable object was evident.

There was certainly a big bang. It wouldn't kill her but probably make her dizzy for a couple minutes. This canceled her ability and allowed me to escape from her field of view and her reach.

"Was it fun?" I put Francesca down and pat her head.

"She was a bit weird but the chase was exciting!" The young girl bounced up and down in enjoyment. "So people like her serve under the Goddess huh? She's very strong! Of course though... You're much cooler and stronger! I kind of feel bad for her and it would have hurt but... Victory belongs to us!"

"You mean that people like her serve under you. You're the new successor for the Goddess and I will raise you into a great one! A Goddess so great that you'll be standing much higher than what us Champions can reach." Although, I was still a bit uncertain whether or not I truly want her to become the new Goddess, still, I wanted to have this path available to her.

"As long as you're with me..." She looked down and then up towards me. "You are going to be with me right?"

"Yeah, of course." I nodded. As long as I'm with you... Huh? She suddenly grasped my hand.

"Make a promise! I know that Alias will always keep promises." She had a serious face on.

I kneel and take her hand, "Yes, I promise you that I, Alias, the Fourth Champion of the Light Goddess, hereby make a promise to you. I will be with you as long as time permits."

"O-Oh, O-Ou! Yes, indeed! Thank you, my loyal knight!" Her face suddenly had an unexpected longing for something.

Oh? Isn't this the scene where the knight kisses the princess' hand? Yeah, no. I have no intention of sitting behind bars anytime soon. Haha! Catch me another time, Military Police of the Light (MPL)!

I stand up and pat her head.

"Guuuh.... I guess this isn't so bad either..." She beamed at me and looked satisfied.