Chapter 271: Returnee

"Mn..."

Shiro woke up from his dreams. It is all about his third life when he did some stupid things as a Beyond Creator. Giving away power randomly, creating a "system" that is an illusion, opening a path to transcendence through cooking, and so on. Though, it did contribute to his world.

A furry canine's ear tickled his nose. He thought that he was hallucinating, but it took him a moment to realize that it is what it is.

"Kal'tsit..?"

The ever-so-serious doctor, the cat-eared woman who kept her stoic expression... is sleeping on top of his chest.

'Am I drunk?'

Well, his next discoveries proved that he was not drunk; that this is reality. To his right, he saw a black cat.

"Shiro..."

He felt Kuroneko's rapid breaths through his arm. Her temperature is slowly rising; her ears are as red as they could be. Hearing her mumbling, he had a slight clue as to what she is dreaming.

Meanwhile, the other person on his left did not lose out to Kuroneko. She showcased her bountiful chest as she pulled his left arm toward her.

Three different scents assaulted his nose, rendering him dumbfounded.

'I am fairly sure that I slept alone. What did just...'

Unfortunately for him, they would spend the entire morning like this.

*****

Shiro slept with women. That was a fact that can't be changed. He knew what his wives sought, thus he gave them it. There was even a time when they got fired up once they knew of Akagi's pregnancy. At that time, he did not get any rest.

While it did not happen in this case, he wanted to genuinely know what happened.

The straight-faced Kal'tsit calmly drank her morning coffee before saying:

"It was me. I wanted to sleep with you once."

"W-wow."

Kuroneko could only admire the woman who confessed everything without her expression changing.

"I-I have also wanted to accomplish that goal!"

For unknown reasons, Kuroneko became bolder ever since her future self came into this world. She does not know if it was her influence or something else, but she had the realization that she would regret not taking action now.

"Isn't it normal back then?" Altair tilted her head with innocence.

""..!""

Though, her innocence shattered the composure of the two.

"Shiro. Is it true?" Kal'tsit asked.

"Well... it is."

Not only had they slept together, but they have also done that. They went straight into the full base in the past, something that nobody else had accomplished except Shiro's current wives.

While the other girls went on the full offensive for him, Shiro has to adjust as well. Formulating a solution that would not hurt them became his responsibility; something that he is glad to carry. He knew that their relationship would not be like the normal lovers out there. It would not be fair for the girls, but it would also be hard for him to be the receiver of immense love.

Still, he deems himself the strongest in this regard. Now that he got his memories back, he had many experiences to deal with it. Even, his expertise beats Romani who only lived for a few hundred years at most.

Being someone with a harem for thousands of years is not a small matter.

"Ahem. I would be visiting my home world for a while."

""Home world?""

Then, the two women recalled his identities.

"Is it that naval world? The one with ship girls?"

"Ah! Azur Lane!"

Kal'tsit and Kuroneko were distracted by this subject.

"The problem there is something that I have wanted to solve long ago." He said. "I would not be able to bring anyone else with me. My world... it is already a torn battlefield."

The situation in the Azur Lane world is as bad as it could be. There are no Beyond Creators in it. Albeit, the invasion that they have been experiencing is of the "law level" where a destroyed world corrodes a perfectly fine world and pulls it along to damnation.

In this case, the leviathans were the product of the destroyed world's 'laws'. It is a carbon copy of its former inhabitants' creations, now used against the KANSENs.

By forcing the way through it, the torn battlefield would collapse. The destruction of the world is something that Shiro would like to prevent. Moreover, rewriting reality would take its toll. Hence, only Beyond Creators could reverse that outcome. Even that requires them to act swiftly—to bring it back moments after its destruction—lest its affected inhabitants would suffer from severe setbacks.

Shiro is not strong enough to resist two worlds. The number of people that he could save is limited as well. Meaning, every other version of the "people" would be obliterated. Once saved, they would still suffer from many setbacks such as the trauma induced by it.

"You don't need to worry. At best, it would take ten seconds."

The now [???] rarity [Genesis Wisdom Cube] has the power to make it possible.

"I see."

"Doing a mission while on a chat group mission... How far would you mess up time..?" Kuroneko jokingly asked.

"I rule over time, so this is alright."

For now, his privileges as [Mysteries] helped him with his shenanigans.

*****

Advanced arithmetic equations surrounded Shiro from all sides. Starting from the "simplest" e=mc^2, it went until the Fermat's little theorem and the likes appeared.

Once they died down, Shiro found himself in a nostalgic place. The scent of the seaside struck him, sending his entire body in shivers. He visited many seas and oceans, yet this sensation could not be easily replicated.

"This..."

The rays of sunlight refracted into the blue sea. Seagulls dove to catch their prey now and then.

Rumble-!

Bam.

The sounds of Manjuus working added to the sensation that he was currently feeling.

"This."

For a moment, he thought that he was transported back in time.

Millions of years' worth of longing exploded all at once.

"I'm back."

His voice became weak; tears started to fall from his eyes. It wasn't out of sadness or exhilaration. It is just his pure longing fulfilled after a long wait.

Suddenly, his body shook. Swiftly, he donned his black robe and started to compose himself.

"Are you alright?"

Long white hair.

Silver grey pupils.

A military coat befitting of the 'strongest' warship in history.

The infamous Grey Ghost that sunk 71 ships and damaged more than 180. Her bomber planes obliterated nearly a thousand enemy planes.

The leader of the Enterprise-class ships, USS Enterprise.

His deep amber pupils met with hers. The woman who became his first girlfriend, the one he sacrificed his life for her to live. Inexplicable feelings emerged deep within him. He knew that the woman in front of him is not her, yet he could not stop his emotions.

"I... I'm... back."