We emerge on the small plain outside the mansion garden, me facing it but they have their backs to it.
Perfect
"Alright open your eyes"
Sneakily, without then noticing, I pull out a high tech, state of the art camera that I "borrowed" from one of the Naberius clan mansions, from out of who knows where like fucking Dora*mon and point it at them, beginning the recording.
Quickly, the pure and abundant mana in the surroundings sweep towards them providing them with bilssful and comforting sensation. Pure mana does that, I would know since I lived with it for a whole year.
They quickly open their eyes and the sight before them leaves then stunned and slack jawed.
Beautiful green forest as far as the eye can see with vines intertwining throughout.
Off in the distance, a grand mountain range with snow capped peaks decorate the background and a steep cliff proudly displays the grand waterfall pooling into a lake at its base.
I did some slight editing to the land so I could make it more pleasant looking, a few lakes here, a few hills there and now everything looks a little better. I need to have the best home for my best waifus.
Minutes of silence go by as they observe the sight before them before finally coming back to themselves.
Cracks begin to form on Shirone's blank face before finally crumbling, a pure innocent smile of wonder and excitement comes over her.
Kuroka seeing this, allows a smile of happyness to cover her face.
She looks back to me and seeing me holding a camera realizes I know have blackmail material for the future, ie loli Shirone happy face. Useful for bribes.
Kuroka: "What is this place? Where did you bring us nya?"
A mischievous smile mars my face.
"Turn around for now, explanations later. Hurry, hurry"
Shirone doesn't hesitate to turn around while Kuroka looks at me suspiciously before turning around only to freeze again.
This is the moment I've been waiting for. As fast as I could, I dash to their front, camera pointed and at the ready and I am not dissapointed.
Kuroka is frozen stiff in dumbfounded silence with her jaw on the floor, some drool managing to escape, more blackmail material, at the garden before her and the path leading to the gorgeous Victorian era mansion at the end of the gravel path meanwhile . . .
Shirone.ExE has stopped working.
Another minute passes before Shirone reboots and if her smile earlier was the brightest in the world, then the one currently adorning her adorable face is the brightest in the universe.
Shirone: "Waaaah, so pretty!!"
The adorable lolita takes off into the garden frolicking through the abundant colors of the flora dotting it, dashing around with the expression a child her age SHOULD have, of innocence and joy.
Damn it, I wish I had more cameras. For the time being, I make sure to capture every moment of her having fun dashing through the garden and kicking up the water in the small stream.
Hearing a silenced sniffle from my side, I look over to Kuroka, tears of love and joy falling at the sight of the joyful loli before speaking to me.
Kuroka: "I don't know where we are, who you are, or if I can so much as trust you, but just this once, I will. For allowing me to see the childish side of Shirone once more, I will place my trust in you, if you ever dare to betray my trust, I will rip you apart limb from limb."
That started good but it got a little scary at the end. Overprotective nekomimi Onee-san is scary. But this is progress so I'll accept it.
"You can try, but I'm not going to sit there and take it. Shirone is one thing, but I saved your ass and I was rewarded with malice. And I am one to hold a grudge."
I respond to her with equal intensity, she may be a waifu candidate, but I'm not foing this for free. Honestly, I don't intend to get on her bad side at all or I'll risk her joining Khaos Brigade like in the canon and that might destroy the little bit of solace that Shirone has in this new timeline compared to the anime.
This is just the beginning of my world changing, timeline diverging shenanigans, there are quite a few things I want to accomplish before the start of the canon timeline, among them being my Pendragon waifus out in the world, recruiting a certain blond haired, black hole making devil, and reappropiating a certain sacred gear from one of the Principal clans in Japan.
Shirone: "Nee-chan, come here the water is cool!! And it tickles too hehehehe!"
The smile of pure joy and innocence on the loli's face is priceless, it's unfortunate that it may only last the next couple of minutes before her emotionless mask comes back.
I'll make sure to capture it all though, Loli must protecc.
Kuroka looks at me with an unreadable expression before she turns her focus back to Shirone. She doesn't hesitate to join Shirone in splashing and playing in the stream flowing through the garden.
I enjoy the sight of a cheerful Shirone and an awkward Kuroka for a while before walking over to the fountain in the middle of the garden. Kuroka aside, I eant to protect Shirone's smile, she suffered enough in the cannon timeline but I will do my best to make her smile.
For the sake of my future and the future of my waifus, I have to be strong enough that no one will want to get on my bad side, like Shiva. No one fucks with Shiva, except for Indra of course.
The girls continue to play for a little while more before Shirone slowly tires out and starts to get sleepy. Kuroka picks her up and carries her over to me by the fountain in the middle of the garden.
I nod to her and gesture for her to follow me down the path and over to the mansion. The enitre way, she's looking around at the garden before she finally speaks in a hushed voice.
Kuroka: "This place is pretty and all but, it's empty, there is no life here. What gives nya?"
I figured she would find the problem, a nekoshou's senses are really sharp and it's not exactly easy to hide the fact that we are the only living beings here.
The reality marble that ROB gave me cannot produce life beyond plants, so any birds, insects, fish, and other animals that I want in here I have to go out and collect on my own. A little annoying but I guess that keeps me from building an over inflated ego and playing God with the life that I would create.
Though I do wonder, in this universe, dragons are beings of pure energy and mana, would my reality marble be able to produce one through some interferance from my side? I'll probably try it later when I meet a genuine Dragon, probably Tiamat.
For now I'll just answer with the truth, and if needed, some half-truths
"Well we are the only true living beings in this place, not counting the trees. When, not if, I head to the human world, I intend to bring some life to this place; birds, wolves, snakes, rabbits, bear, fish, some endangered species too if I feel like it- I'll fill this place with some of each, there is 200 kilometers of space to go around and none of it but the 10 kilometers in the dead center of this place is claimed.
Though if I can get my hands on some beasts unique to some pantheons like the Greeks' Nemean Lion, then I will not hesitate to bring it in."
I think that somewhat convinced her but she still has some questions about the whole situation she's in, though I'm not going to let her ask. We arrived at the front doors of the mansion and I open with no hesitation.
Kuroka looks in at the lavishly adorned mansion and the grand chandelier above the entrance hall and is once more left in awe for a couple seconds.
"Pretty cool huh, there are 19 rooms on the second floor and above, take your pick, take a nap.
I'll be down in the basement training for a bit. The kitchen and pantry is in the first floor and is fully stacked with food and spices and the best oven, stoves, microwaves and whatnot incase you want to make yourself and Shirone something to eat.
If you want to take a shower, there is one in the rooms, or if you prefer a nice large bath, they're at the end of the halls on the second floor."
I continued listing some of the features of the house to the black haired nekoshou and where some facilities are, all while once again admiring the mind blowing work that the Reality Pearl did with the mansion.
Though I finished explaining everything a minute ago, she still hasn't made a sound or left my side. Odd.
Looking over to my left, I see a frozen, blank faced nekoshou.
"Hellooo? Earth to Kuroka. You there?"
I waved my hand infront of her face but she still didn't respond.
Hmm, camera, and *CLICK*.
Kuroka.ExE has stopped working.