Chapter 167: Determined

Yes I did a little time skip, but that was a just a sneak peak of what's to come. There may still be a couple chapters before Naoto sets out.

As always, Giliath demands your power stones!

*

Going back some time.

The night of when Naoto left Leiston Fortress with his teleportation circle.

Grancel Castle.

An identical magic circle could be seen appearing on the veranda closer to the top of the castle, which allowed a full view of Valeria Lake behind it. This particular veranda led right into the private quarters of the prince and princess. Further up from here was the residence of Her Majesty the Queen. Both Naoto and Kloe resided in a floor beneath her, which also acted as the same room to where Naoto currently had his royal harem.

After initiating my first teleportation spell, I was able to quickly trace it back to Grancel Castle. It was quite a distance away from Leiston, considering Leiston Fortress was positioned at the lake, north of Zeiss which was the southernmost reach of Liberl. It seemed I still had enough mana regardless, but after casting it, I did feel pretty drained. It was mostly mental though since my Regeneration had actively healed my body over and over again during Ace's fight.

The giant wound he inflicted on me had healed up entirely. It left a decent sized sword mark over my chest as well. I was considering whether or not to heal this scar, but I decided against it.

I'm a Jaeger. Jaegers like to wear their battle scars with pride. They're basically victory marks to them. On top of that, Jaegers like Randy had several scars over his body that he had accrued over time.

I'm not saying I would have as many as Randy, but I decided on keeping this one. Plus Rean has that puncture over his chest. I didn't think I'd end up in a similar fashion to him, but hey.

At the very least though, I know I had my gamer system and all. My health currently showed it was back up to full and my EP was mostly drained. I did feel pretty tired mentally after having gone through such a battle. I still had thoughts of visiting a hospital, just to make sure my being was fine. They had experts there, and I was no doctor. And where else would I consider than going to St. Ursula for receiving such a checkup?

Thinking that, my body materialized again over the veranda that led into my room. I was immediately greeted with the cold watery breeze since we were still over the lake. I couldn't help but blink my eyes though, as I could see a long blue-indigo haired woman gently leaning over the balcony, seemingly enjoying the early dawn breeze as well. I knew it was well after midnight, and sunrise was soon to appear on the horizon.

Seeing Ennea on the balcony, she smiled as she saw me return. I didn't even do anything before Ennea approached me, leaned in, and planted a kiss on my lips.

"You're finally back. Did the talks go well with those officers?", Ennea asked, welcoming me home with that kiss.

"Sure did. It looks like I'm going to be getting a new secretary too. I am not sure when they will move to the castle to start their job, but I'm planning on having Hilda show her the ropes, since she's good at managing as well.", I said, which drew Ennea's interest.

"A new secretary huh? They will probably be bound to get busy, considering they'll have us wandering the castle on top of managing other staff.", Ennea said, becoming interested with a new person set to arrive at the castle in the near future. Hearing that, I blinked my eyes.

"Are you really set on staying here, Ennea?", I decided to ask, which caused Ennea to blink her eyes. That pause immediately turned into a smile, only to place her hand over my cheek.

"Of course. I am eternally grateful for My Liege giving me a place in the Stahlritter, but I want to serve you, and you alone, Master.", Ennea said with a smile only to lean in again, planting her lips against mine this time. This time, Ennea used her tongue to squeeze her way in, allowing a moment to pass in bliss.

Along with a puff of hot air, Ennea blushed a bit after ending her kiss with me.

"Mmm. I won't steer your resolve like that if you are truly determined. Just note, I currently have some stuff on my mind. I think I have reached a decision myself, so to say.", I said to Ennea after the two of us enjoyed that second kiss.

"A decision huh? As long as it isn't super important, can we talk about it in the morning? I am curious what all of those reward boxes are too. We still have to open those bad boys up, don't we?", Ennea asked with interest.

"We sure do. I also am waiting for Miss Erika to finish upgrading my orbment into an Enigma II.", I said with anticipation.

"That will definitely be something to look forward to. Why don't we head back inside and rest up for now? Also just don't be surprised when you go in, alright?", Ennea suddenly said, which caused me to blink my eyes.

Thinking that, the two of us enjoyed the nice cool breeze for another moment before using the sliding door, and headed back into the room we were headed to. It really was a long day. I am not sure how the Reinford Group will handle the aftermath, but at the very least, it seemed the RMP came to help with the cleanup. Back in our room, toward the center I could hear peaceful snoring. I saw a bright purple haired woman and a violet haired girl sleeping peacefully further inside, together with a snowy-white fox who had six tails on her now.

However, my gaze seemed to be immediately distracted, as I could hear very fast typing over to my left to where my desk was. Wasn't that where I kept my orbal setup and laptop?

With that thought, my gaze shifted toward my desk, and I currently saw my chair occupied with a rather petite figure.

"Hmph, took you long enough to come back, Big Brother. I was so bored that I started upgrading your security system on the orbal network you installed. It really was quite pitiful.", The petite figure said to me. She was still quite small, and she sported very similar purple hair to me, as did the other two girls who were currently sleeping. Her appearance seemed quite funny trying to sit back typing away in the large padded chair that I had.

"Oh, and it seems you have the beta version for Pom, so I went ahead and added my account info as well.", The petite figure said with a smile as she welcomed me. "Still, you really should get a better password.", The petite figure said, revealing a grin as she finished. The petite figure then closed the laptop, and jumped down from the chair, only to reveal a girl no younger than eight wearing a rather frilly purple and white dress.

I couldn't help but twitch my cheek a bit.

"So you hacked me.", I said, revealing an awkward smile the moment I saw the figure sprint into a dash my way. It didn't take long before I felt an impact strike me, reaching her arms out, giving me a big hug. A grin appeared on her face.

"It's the skills you lack, Big Brother, but I am quite skilled in that area specifically. I even met a new online friend not too long ago. Seems their skill in network diving isn't too bad, comparable to my own even.", The petite figure said with a smile.

"Haha, I think I may know who you are referring to. Still, you finally decided to make your way back here, Renne.", I said, seeing Renne now before me.

"Yep! A couple of Ouroboros members were quite curious to see how your mission turned out, so The Fool was pretty quick to react seeing the mission result. Remember that extra reward he mentioned? You tasked me with becoming an Enforcer, so now we can spend more time together!", Renne said as he happily hugged me.

"Well, it's already been a super long night as it is, and I'm still recovering from it--?", I tried to say, only to get distracted by Ennea again. She began to strip her clothes, letting her bountiful breasts come into play, which only caused me to blink my eyes.

"What?", Ennea said, tilting her head a bit as she looked my way.

"Nothing.", I retorted, only to look back at Renne hugging me still. "You do know where you're currently standing in, right, Renne?", I asked as I squinted my eyes a bit.

"Oh yes, I am not that oblivious you know. You've formed a nice harem here so far.", Renne said, changing her smile into a grin. Yet hearing that, I couldn't help but scratch my cheek a bit. "Renne knows this quite well. You needn't worry, Big Brother. That nice maid already offered me a room I'll start using from here on.", Renne explained from her side.

"So that happened, eh? I guess you'll be here for the time being.", I answered with a smile of my own. "Still, I am super tired, I'm sure Ennea is too. We can chat more in the morning, alright?", I said, only to ruffle Renne's hair a bit, giving her a headpat.

"Of course, Big Brother.", Renne said, and parted ways. The two of us saw Renne do a curtsy of her dress, and shortly dismissed herself afterward. It appeared she already knew where to go, so I didn't need to worry about guiding her.

Still, seeing Renne here now, it seems she really did complete what I asked of her to do. Either way, regardless of her presence, I knew I became determined on what I should do next after having that fight with Ace.

But before I can start thinking of that, I definitely had to check all of the rewards that I have accrued so far, and check in on Erika's progress on the Enigma II model. After reaping them, I'll discuss it with the rest of the girls, but the next stop in mind is to pay a visit to St. Ursula.

Which only begs a question as Ennea and I climbed onto the bed, trying not to wake up Angelica, Kloe, or Tama. Though as if sensing us, I saw a smile appear on Kloe's sleeping face as I felt my head plop down next to Ennea, to which she brought my head into her embrace, letting me feel her large two soft mounds as I soon saw myself drifting off into dreamland.

For the question in mind, is that crazy head priest already lurking around in that hospital?