Chapter 159: Full Experience

Since our time in Gekai, I wondered why Lord Nettesheim mentioned that Miku is a "great miracle".

Going down this line of thought, the feeling of 'discovering' the answer grew stronger.

"The main world… or the ones that existed since the first place holds the greatest possibility of the 'best' ending. These parallel worlds were only the failsafe of the world."

"...As long as we reach the best ending here, we could seal the deal with her existence."

To remove the remnants of the 'bad endings', Miku would serve as the 'great miracle' that merges all parallel worlds into one. That way, there won't be any possibilities of the "end" affecting the world any longer.

Usually, these things are something to be heard by the time it was the final battle, but this strange meeting of ours gave me this information now.

"I don't have time left." The other Nobu spoke as a transparent white jewel emerged from his hand. "It contains all of my memories up until this moment. That includes all the studies and experiences we had against this apocalypse."

Something from the parallel world couldn't affect another parallel world. It is the reason why [Lapis Judaicus] had to indirectly charge the grail through the greater grail. However, since [memories] aren't considered as a 'material', it could be transferred freely back and forth.

The moment I touched the crystal, my sight became blurry. My consciousness started receding.

Vaguely, I saw the other Nobu's mouth talking to someone.

"Until the end… I wouldn't be selfish anymore."

*****

Within the singularity whose end is already guaranteed, the knight-turned-magician made his final performance.

"I've always wanted to control everything… at least the safety of those I care about. But…"

If he didn't take this final step, it would've reduced the world's population by a billion. Worse, he couldn't guarantee who is included within that billion. It could be a random stranger, or it could be his family.

With that kind of possibility, he chose not to risk it at all.

Feeling the presence of two goddesses within him, he knew he could no longer turn back. He was outsmarted by them… by a huge degree.

"From the beginning, I had a feeling you would do something like this."

A soft sigh rang in his ears. It was none other than from his partner, the goddess of stars.

"You are considerate, but this is the first time you've acted selfishly. You thought we'd be fine without you?"

This time, an annoyed voice from a more mature woman resounded.

"Living or dying… it wouldn't matter if we're with you."

He felt as if he was transported back to the past. The number of times he was scolded by his goddess was quite a lot.

"We'll face everything together, Orion."

Just like before, Artemis' hug brought peace to his mind. It was balanced out by another… fiery hug in his other arm.

"...Let's go."

*****

The first thing that I saw was… nothing. My vision was strangely blurry. I could vaguely see the ceiling of the room I stayed into.

I thought it was some form of side effect of that meeting, but I was proven wrong.

With a wipe of my sleeves, my vision became clear, only for it to become blurry again.

It was at this moment did I feel the streak of liquid coming from my eyes.

It was tears.

"...Why..?"

The first thing that came to my mind were the experiences during the apocalypse. Unlike the experiences I gained due to the grail, it was extremely detailed. From my casual times up until that battle, I could clearly remember everything.

That includes the emotions that "I" carried along with these memories.

'Fear of death…'

I died fourteen times. It was something so familiar yet distant. I couldn't truly feel the fear of death due to how I prepared myself to avoid it in reality. The last time I felt this kind of dread was during my fight with Valleta. There was a high chance I'd become a goner at that time.

As I got stronger, there were less and less things that truly endangered myself. Even the Divine Spirits of the twelve main gods of [Olympus] did not make me feel like that. I had many trump cards to spare, more so when they themselves are far weaker than their original [Machine God] selves. They couldn't compare to the goddess that I fought with Suimei.

She was the only 'god' of that world, to speak, so she was able to monopolize it to become her foundation. She was stronger than the God Kings of the spirit realm, but I have a feeling she's still below Him.

This strange feeling continued to spread in my mind. The times when I did nothing but talk with others flashed before that dreadful scenario appeared in my mind.

"...So this is it. The fear of losing everything."

I stared dazedly at the ceiling. I wanted to resolve this feeling as soon as possible, but I am clueless as to what to do.

Just then, I felt a slow breathing in my neck. I finally noticed the thing after snapping out of my daze.

It was Mashiro.

For some unknown reason, she was sleeping beside me. She used me as a sort of body pillow with the way her arms hung closely to me.

My first thought was to get up, but considering her sleeping posture, I chose to remain still.

Ironically, it gave me enough time to mull things over.

It didn't take much time for Mashiro to wake up.

"Mn..?"

"It's still morning."

"Nobu?"

A rare emotion of surprise could be seen in her eyes. Her brain lagged behind the realization that she's sleeping on the same bed as mine.

"I… After I woke up and went to the bathroom…"

Embarrassment must've attacked her when she removed her arms and legs on my body, allowing me to get up from the bed.

Just then, I saw her current appearance from a "better" angle. Her pajamas was slightly looser than I thought. Her collarbone was easily revealed with a single movement.

Going down…

'...No.'

I was too preoccupied with the lingering emotions that I felt a while ago. Now that I came out of it, my heart began to flutter.

It didn't help that I was "recalling" every single time that we had… across all iterations. I don't know why the grail designated such scenes as "combat experiences". Moreover, Mashiro was something else when it came to that thing. 

That was something I came to know about when I received the entire memories of the fifteenth iteration. Once again, I don't know why, but "I" did so many things within those four to five months.

Like…

'What was I thinking..?!'

In the end, I was forced to maintain my calm look.

"I'll check outside first. Others might think something else…"

"What's wrong with sleeping with you?"

"Hey..?!"

Her cluelessness regarding this aspect slipped out of my mind. The Mashiro in my memories was already sensible enough.

"There's a lot. You know that there's another thing people could do instead of sleeping. That's something done to people whom you treat dearly."

"Mn… then? Nobu is someone I cherish. You are not only a friend."

"???"

Wait…

She shouldn't be talking to that…

"You're my only best friend."

"...I see."

I opened the door to take a peek outside. Coincidentally, I saw Percival standing outside.

"Oh. I was about to call you for breakfast. Hm..?"

The moment he saw Mashiro inside my room, we fell into silence. It felt quite awkward to see him stare at me with his usual 'understanding look'.

"I see. Though it might not be appropriate, I believe in you, Galahad. As long as you make your lovers happy and harmonious, there shouldn't be anything wrong with your love."

For some reason, he fell into a strange line of thinking.

"Since you're aiming for polygamy, just do it better than Lancelot and Tristan. Don't be a scumbag who hurts other women, alright?"

"...Yes."

I couldn't even refute everything he'd said.

*****

The rest of the vacation became a tour around Kuala Lumpur. Since there's still school tomorrow, I went back to Japan with Mashiro and Bocchi-chan. 

By the time we arrived, it was nighttime.

Bocchi-chan had to go back to the Gotou household, thus it was only Mashiro and I.

"Do you want to eat outside? I can also cook if you don't want that."

"Your cooking."

"Alright."

There are still a lot of ingredients left in the refrigerator. That should be enough…

"Hm..?"

On the gate of the house, I saw a familiar acquaintance staring at me from a distance.

"Satoru-san."

"Yo."

The white-haired man with shades walked in a chill manner.

"If I hadn't seen it personally, I wouldn't have known."

"Should I say, as expected of Satoru-san?"

"Who's to say about that? Tsk tsk, you really became a monster. You could off me in a second, right?"

What a strange comparison…

"But to think you're living with someone. Why are all the people around me romantics?!"

"Because they're still normal… and not crazy."

Although he had a stunning look that'd make most women head over heels over him, Satoru-san didn't have any girlfriend or even a wife. He's about to turn thirty, too.

"Anyways, I wouldn't be able to see you if it wasn't for the black hole around you."

I see.

Although I have concealed my cursed energy within my dreamland, it couldn't hide the 'small effects' it brought into the real world.

With his [Six Eyes] who could see things very well, it wasn't strange those 'little things' became magnified in his eyes.

I'll fix this one later.

"Before I leave, mind if you tell me your cursed technique? Of course, you're not obliged to do it. Feel free to tell me if you want."

"I understand."

Picking a small pebble from the road, I threw it at Satoru-san. He was bewildered when he saw it but didn't choose to avoid it. Instead, he 'targeted' the item and activated his [Infinity].

Click.

Within a second, the pebble surprisingly hit him despite his efforts.

"Huh. It's a strange one. Your cursed technique bypasses mine."

"It's more of choosing a probability that you were hit by it. Although it is close to impossible, that small chance is still there."

"...Damn! I am really growing old, aren't I?" He muttered as he left.

Satoru-san…

The potential within the strongest contemporary sorcerer is very high. He could deal with gods who came down from the spirit realm, though he'll fall short in the face of the real one due to the lack of output.

In fact, the biggest problem faced by sorcerers were their 'human bodies'. They have strong cursed techniques, yes, but their body couldn't handle it properly. There's even Mahito who I am currently experimenting with. His ability to manipulate 'souls' is even more proficient compared to most magicians.

Then again, he falls short when it comes to those who have a high enough level of dream organs.

If their 'base stats' could actually be upgraded…

More terrifying sorcerers would be born.

"I really have to push forward with my projects…"

Improvements of sorcerers, establishments of planetary defense, giving the entire world a basic magic system…

It seems that there are a lot on my plate.