[10]: Level 6, Miku and Tohka

World of Elicia.

Regulus Empire.

In X Village – Village Square.

[***]

The moon shone through the clouds, illuminating a small village in the Regulus Empire.

Despite it being night, a grand banquet was being held in honor of the heroes who had saved them.

The atmosphere was filled with music, laughter, and movement: some villagers danced joyfully, others took care of the food, and children ran everywhere, fascinated by the unusual festivity.

Aiden watched everything from the side, recalling how he had ended up here.

Not long ago, he had been at home after a day of training and hunting magical beasts, his usual routine.

He was spending a quiet evening with his girls when a time clone, always keeping tabs on the world's affairs, alerted him that a village was under attack by the Phrases.

Ever since the first disaster he had barely managed to prevent, Aiden maintained a clone that guarded the book [Rasiel], constantly reviewing information about the Phrases to anticipate future threats.

Those crystal monsters had begun reappearing in the world, relentlessly searching for their Queen.

Aiden knew it was his duty to defend civilization from these invaders.

Yog-Sothoth had ensured that through a contract, reminding him of his part of the deal every time the invisible chains tightened around his soul when he faltered in his duty.

Thus, unable to ignore his responsibilities, he was always ready to act whenever they appeared.

That night, he had arrived at the village just in time and, with his immense power, faced thousands of Phrases.

The battle unfolded far from the village, avoiding any damage to the buildings and keeping the villagers safe and unaware of the lurking danger.

However, some had noticed his presence and understood that he was responsible for their salvation.

"....."

Aiden sighed as he watched the villagers laugh and celebrate.

Three full years had already passed since Aiden arrived in this world, a time in which he had come a long way and grown much stronger.

Although three years had passed, his appearance remained exactly the same, as if time had stopped for his teenage self. He couldn't complain; on the contrary, he liked how he looked.

Thanks to the [Falna], he had reached Level 6, and at each level, he had maxed out all his stats, thus strengthening his entire existence.

But he didn't rely solely on the [Falna]; he also dedicated countless hours to practicing magic and martial arts.

His magic, the [Gate of Babylon], had become a vast collection of high-ranking weapons, forged with the help of the best blacksmiths across the world.

Each of these weapons was enchanted with magic Aiden had created: some pierced defenses with ease, others burned with flames that made the weapons scorching to the touch.

He had also added curses, such as paralysis or poison, making his weapons even more formidable.

In three years, his power had grown exponentially.

However, every time he remembered that he would have to face those crystal creatures for a hundred years, he sighed.

He still had ninety-seven years left before he could travel to another world where, at least, there would be the internet.

"Bring out the best meat! Tonight, we celebrate our hero!" shouted an old man, the village chief, organizing the banquet as a token of gratitude.

"Yes!" the villagers chorused, even the small children celebrating.

"And bring some cooking utensils for Hero-sama's fiancée as well," said a woman upon seeing Mukuro, who was cooking with other villagers.

Aiden chuckled to himself.

He didn't like being called a hero because he was merely fulfilling his part of the deal to have a second life.

Kurumi, who was sitting on his lap, spoke to him: "You don't like being treated as a hero?"

Aiden looked at her and held her tightly, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I don't like being seen as someone I'm not. But I understand, so I prefer not to say anything," he replied while playing with Kurumi's hair.

"Hmm... even if you don't like it, Danna-sama was the one who saved them from disaster. In their eyes, you're their hero, even if you did it for selfish reasons," Kurumi commented, adjusting herself a bit more on his lap.

"Look, all those children over there didn't have to go through a disaster thanks to you. So, even though you didn't save them for noble reasons, it's not so bad for them to call you a hero," she added, observing the children gathered around a voluptuous young woman with long, bluish-purple hair cut in a 'Hime' style.

The young woman, with silver eyes, sang with a beautiful voice that filled the air.

"Suppose you're right, Kurumi, but don't move your hips so much, or something might... wake up," said Aiden with a speechless expression.

"Ara ara~ Danna-sama is such a little pervert," she teased, smiling at him.

Nia was on the roof of a house near the town square, humming Miku's song as she sketched on a sheet of paper. It had recently become one of her favorite pastimes.

Miku, the girl with purplish-blue hair, was singing for the villagers.

She was the <Divine Authority No.9> and, like Nia and the others, belonged to the [Tree of Life/Death Sephira/Qlipha].

"Onee-chan has such a beautiful voice," said a boy, fascinated by the song.

"And she's so pretty; she looks like a fairy," added a girl, staring at Miku with sparkling eyes.

"Hero-sama is also so handsome…" sighed another girl, enviously eyeing Kurumi and Aiden, who were laughing while hugging.

Miku smiled, enjoying the attention. Singing was one of her passions, inspired by the songs from Aiden's previous life.

"Un un, this is delicious!" exclaimed Tohka, a stunning girl with long dark purple hair, as she devoured plate after plate.

She was the <Divine Authority No.10> and, like Miku, had gained a physical body. Now she dedicated herself to enjoying endless food, much to the villagers' amazement.

"Is this real?"

"How can she eat so much?"

"She's already eaten 20 different dishes…"

"Where does she put all that food? I'm so jealous!"

"The chef fainted!"

Tohka paid no attention to the comments and happily continued eating. The villagers, moved by her joy, kept serving her more dishes; after all, she was one of those who had saved them, and if making her happy was a way to show gratitude, they were more than willing to do so.

At that moment, Nia, having finished her sketch, jumped from the roof and approached Aiden and Kurumi, who were enjoying the moment together, much to the envy of the village girls. She nestled beside Aiden, resting her head on his shoulder.

Aiden and Kurumi looked at her.

"Finished drawing?" Aiden asked curiously.

He greatly enjoyed Nia's sketches, which seemed like an album of his life in this world.

"Yes~ This time I drew all of us celebrating with the villagers. Look!" Nia showed him her work.

Aiden examined the drawing, noticing everyone smiling alongside the villagers, and smiled.

"Nice."

"Un," Kurumi agreed, gazing at the sketch.

"I made it to remember this," Nia explained happily. "It would be a shame not to capture these joyful moments, don't you think?"

In the drawing, beside them, there were blurred silhouettes of five girls.

"These?" Aiden pointed at the figures. "Are they the others who haven't awakened yet?"

Nia nodded, and Kurumi also looked on with interest.

"Yes, I drew them as I imagine them. I don't want them to feel lonely or left out when they wake up. After all, they're my little sisters," Nia explained with a tender smile.

"Ah… sometimes you're really sweet and adorable," Aiden said, kissing her cheek.

"Don't worry, you'll have time to draw all of us when they awaken. Then we can hang that picture at home," he added with a smile.

"Yes, and when they all wake up, we can also marry Danna-sama. A drawing of all of us in wedding dresses would be beautiful," Kurumi said, smiling.

"… I don't mind marrying, but how do you know the other <Divine Authorities> from the Tree of Life are girls like you?" Aiden asked, confused.

Kurumi and Nia exchanged glances and laughed.

"Instinct," they answered in unison.

"For some reason, I just know all my sisters are girls," Kurumi hummed.

"I feel the same way," Nia agreed.

Aiden was speechless but eventually believed them; after all, in this strange world, that made sense.

[***]

End of the chapter.

(•_•)

A/N:

A calm chapter, and two more members for the harem!

The next chapter will continue with this, featuring a town feast, and then I'll do a time skip of 97 years to a battle against millions of Phrases.

After that, the protagonist will say goodbye to this world and head to either DxD or DanMachi… I haven't decided yet.

Why not both?

I'll see what I do; the protagonist can travel to any world whenever he wants, so there's no issue managing two worlds at once.

Maybe he can even bring characters from DxD or everyday life to receive [Falna] in DanMachi. Well, I'll see.

Here are the protagonist's basic stats from when he leveled up from 4 to 5; his level 6 status will be posted in the author's notes in the next chapter.

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[Level]: 4

[Basic Skills]:

-Strength: (I) 0→(Ex) 3999

-Endurance: (I) 0→ (Ex) 3999

-Dexterity: (I) 0→ (Ex) 3999

-Agility: (I) 0→ (Ex) 3999

-Magic: (I) 0→ (Ex) 3999

-Reiryoku: (I) 0→ (Ex) 3999

[*]

[Level]: 5

[Basic Skills]:

-Strength: (I) 0→(Ex) 3999

-Endurance: (I) 0→ (Ex) 3999

-Dexterity: (I) 0→ (Ex) 3999

-Agility: (I) 0→ (Ex) 3999

-Magic: (I) 0→ (Ex) 3999

-Reiryoku: (I) 0→ (Ex) 3999

[*]

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[Image of Miku] ←

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[Image of Tohka] ←

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Thanks for reading~!

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