After the system's notification, David felt a surge of information in his mind.
He instantly understood the changes in his body and what the control over the four basic elements entailed.
While it will require practice, David essentially doesn't need to use his runes for the four basic elements and can directly create and/or manipulate the learned elements.
David gently lifted Komoe off of his lap and held his right hand in front of him, creating a small orange flame.
"What're you doing, Papa?" Komoe asked, staring at the fire with curiosity.
"Testing my new power."
He then created small, sharp rocks and manipulated the air around them to make them float and orbit around the fire.
He created small orbs of water next, placing them in between each rock and allowing them to orbit the fire as well.
While still focusing on the orbit of the earth and water elements, David started to alter the fire, increasing the temperature bit by bit.
The color of the flame slowly shifted from red to orange, then yellow, white, and finally, it settled on blue.
Next, David altered the core properties of the flame and changed the color of the flame without altering the temperature, turning it from blue to green, then purple, and finally pink.
Once he got a feel for the fire element, he quickly started experimenting with the other three elements, changing their size, shape, color, durability, everything...
It wasn't until a few minutes later did he realize that everyone was still in the room, staring at his hand that was doing something much more impressive than any of the magic they've ever seen.
"Ahem, sorry, I got distracted... Sif, Yuno, I'll send you guys out now," David said with a cough and an awkward smile.
He waved his hand and created a Mist Gate that goes straight to the Rembrandt residence.
"Tomoe and Mio will accompany you two. They'll act as your bodyguards and help explain things if necessary."
Tomoe and Mio looked indignant and quickly refused.
"Young master! You can't seriously expect me to act as a measly bodyguard for them, can you?!"
"That's right, husband! I wanted to stay with you so we could go pick flowers!"
David just stared at them coldly.
"Who were the ones that cared more about fighting with each other than getting me to the clinic earlier? Granted, I would have been fine, but you two didn't know that, did you?"
Tomoe and Mio actually did know that he would've been fine, but they certainly couldn't say it. If they tried, they'd be censored like Chaos-chan said.
Thus, they could only look down guiltily.
"That's what I thought. Toa and Komoe will be the only ones going with me, you two take care of the sisters."
"Yes, young master/husband...," they said in unison before following behind Sif and Yuno through the Mist Gate.
Toa's face was a little flushed as she was both nervous and excited to spend alone time with David, but she was surprised and curious as to why Komoe was coming along.
Komoe was also surprised.
"I'm going, too?" Komoe asked.
David just nodded and patted Komoe on the head with a smile. "Mm, the flowers will be pretty. I think you'll like them."
"Heheh, okay! Getting to pick flowers with Papa and Mama will be great!"
David tilted his head. "Eh? Tomoe is staying with your big sis Sif and Yuno, Toa's the one coming with us."
"Eh? But she's also a Mama, right? I hear her talking about you and how much she likes you all the time in the forest!"
Toa's face turned bright red at Komoe outing her so innocently.
"Hmm, that's just because she's grateful that I saved her, okay?" He said, continuously patting Komoe's head.
⟪ Why was I so against having kids in my past life? I've only had a daughter for a day and I'm already loving it! She's so cute and innocent! Seriously though, she really did Toa dirty. Don't you know it's bad to tell person A that person B is in love with them while person B is still in the room? I know how Toa feels about me, but that's just like, a hero saves the beauty thing, right? She'll get over her feelings for me if I just continue to act like I don't notice. ⟫
Toa narrowed her eyes when she heard that.
[Toa] 'That's what he thinks? We'll see how long you can keep that up, then...'
Sensing Toa's gaze, David knew his little scheme worked.
'Toa definitely took the bait. I feel a little bad for stoking her competitive nature, but it's a little fun watching her fawn all over me. I'll be with her eventually so I'll just have fun teasing her for now, though I shouldn't let it go on for too long.'
David stopped patting Komoe's head and stood up, picking the little girl up and placing her on his shoulders.
He looked over at Toa and said, "Shall we?"
Toa smiled seductively and, seeing how Tomoe and Mio weren't around, she wrapped herself around David's left arm and nodded her head.
"We shall~," she said.
⟪ Cute. ⟫
David created another Mist Gate and they walked through, arriving at the west entrance to Tsige.
"Let's just grab a quick bite to eat before leaving. I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to eat some inn food."
Toa nodded while Komoe grabbed on to David's hair tighter. "I can't wait! I wanna see what food they have here!"
David just chuckled and patted Komoe's leg as he and Toa walked to the closest inn.
They got fairly lucky with their first pick as it had a nice atmosphere and the food was delicious.
They had meat sandwiches and stew, something Komoe had a ton of fun eating.
The three of them made light-hearted conversation as they chatted, but David was focusing his attention on something else.
With his Sakai expanded to cover the entire city, David had been searching for a certain someone that he didn't want to let run free.
⟪ While she didn't do anything to me, I still feel dissatisfied with the way Makoto handled the punishment of the woman who killed Tomoe's offshoot in the original work. Now that Tomoe's offshoot has grown into Komoe-chan, I can't help but want to severely punish that woman myself... And whether it was due my Goddess of Luck's Blessing talent or sheer coincidence, I managed to find her right next door, heheh~. ⟫
David looked over at Komoe who was sitting in a taller chair at their table, swinging her legs as she started eating her 6th sandwich.
⟪ Yeah, it doesn't matter if it won't happen this time or not, that woman is a shit stain, just like that shitty goddess... ⟫
"Komoe-chan, do you want to help me punish a bad woman?"
Komoe paused mid-chew and looked at David with her cheeks full of food, making her look like a chipmunk.
⟪ Pffft... ⟫
"Bah wuhan?" She asked with her mouth full.
"Haha, swallow your food first, silly. But yes, this bad woman likes to trick people, steal things, and hurt children. I'm going to punish her, but I wanted you to help. You can punch and kick her until her bones are all broken, then I'll send her somewhere really bad forever and ever."
Komoe's eyes brightened, "Really?! Yay! I can help Papa punish a bad person with my punches and kicks! Heheheh!"
[Toa] '...Is she fine with everything David just said? Isn't she just a child now?'
Toa's concerns weren't completely unfounded as Komoe really is just a child now. However, when her Papa asks if she wants to do something, why would she ever say no?
David nodded.. "Mm, once you've finished your food, we'll go punish the bad woman and then we'll head to the forest, okay?"
Komoe bounced up and down energetically. "Okay! I'll finish my food fast!"
David just smiled, watching his new daughter enjoying her food.
Once everyone was done eating, David threw a few gold coins to the owner of the inn and thanked her for the delicious food and peaceful environment.
Seeing the large amount of money she got for a simple meal, the owner wanted to give the money back, but David had already left.
Right next door to the peaceful inn was a rather rowdy tavern.
It was impressive that establishments with such polar opposite atmospheres could exist right next to each other, but here it was...
David looked at Toa and said, "Do you want to wait in the Cradle until we're done? It won't be pretty."
Toa shook her head and held on to David's arm tighter, enjoying the feeling that Tomoe usually gets to appreciate.
"If this woman likes to hurt children, then I'd like to see her get beat down, too."
⟪ Well, I don't know if she likes it per se, but she and her party guiltlessly hurt a little orc girl and killed Tomoe's offshoot in the original work. Either way, I'm sure it wasn't her first time doing something shady so she definitely has this coming... ⟫
"Alrighty, then let's have ourselves a Zetsuya Version 2!"
Toa wasn't sure what he meant by that, but nodded her head nonetheless.
With Komoe on his shoulders once more, David pushed open the door to the tavern and strode in with a chillingly cold look on his face.
Komoe tried to look serious as well, but... It was way too cute.
At the bar, a blonde woman who could be considered attractive was sitting with her party members, enjoying a drink and having a good time.
David snapped his fingers and created a barrier around the tavern. The snap was crisp and loud, causing many patrons to focus their attention on him.
David didn't pay any attention to these people and directly walked up to the blonde woman at the bar.
Hearing David's footsteps and feeling his presence, the blonde woman turned around with a shocked expression.
"My! You're so handsome! Come, join me for a drink!"
Ignoring both Komoe and Toa, the blonde woman directly invited David for a drink.
David looked at the party members and without giving them so much as another thought, he immediately cast his Flames of Punishment spell on them.
"AHHHH!!!"
"HELP!!!"
"WHY!!!"
David ignored the screams and turned his attention back to the blonde woman.
Her face revealed a look of fear as she tried to back away, but was stopped after a few feet by an invisible barrier.
"Elaine, correct?"
The blonde woman, Elaine, tried to think of who this man was and if she had wronged him in the past, but she knew that she'd definitely remember someone as handsome as him.
"What do you want?" She asked, trying to keep her composure as cold sweat dripped down her face and fear gripped her heart.
"You like to swindle people, right?" David asked, stepping closer to her slowly and releasing a massive wave of mana, causing her to feel suffocated.
"You like to lie, cheat, and steal, right? You believe hyumans are above all others and that you can look down on demi-humans, right?"
David was less than a foot away from Elaine at this point, looking down on her with a cold smile.
Unable to back away at all, she quickly shouted at the other patrons around her.
"Hey! You all know me! Are you just gonna let some strange man kill me?!"
The patrons looked at each other and then looked at Elaine, but nobody said anything or made a move.
After all, they could hear the bone-chilling screams her party members emitted when they were dying.
David's expression changed completely as she said that, switching from cold and serious to jovial and playful.
"Hahaha! Who said anything about killing you?" He asked, waving his hand as if Elaine had said the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard.
"You would just wish you were dead, haha! Komoe-chan, go have your fun, but don't kill her. You need some practice with humans anyway."
"Okay, Papa!"
Komoe excitedly jumped off of David's shoulders and, without giving Elaine time to process the situation, she punched out toward Elaine's right shin.
CRUNCH!
"KYAAA!!!"
Komoe shattered Elaine's shin with ease, eliciting a scream that sounded like music to David's ears as she lost her balance and fell to her knee.
Not satisfied with her single punch, Komoe threw her fist out again, this time with a little bit more force, aimed at Elaine's right elbow.
SHAAA!
"GYAHHHH!!!"
Elaine screamed once more as her entire right arm was turned into a blood mist.
"Oops, sorry, bad woman! I used a bit too much force!"
David held back a laugh as he looked at Komoe's genuinely guilty-looking expression.
"You little shit! I'll kill you!"
Elaine came back to her senses as her adrenaline started pumping, reaching for the dagger at her waist.
However, how could Komoe let her opponent get a weapon?
Launching herself forward with her right leg, Komoe used her left leg to kick Elaine's left arm, mangling it completely, and landing on Elaine's left leg, crushing it into meat paste.
"AHHHH!!!"
"Papa, should I do more? I might accidentally kill her."
Komoe looked back and asked David with the most innocent expression he had ever seen.
⟪ Wahhh! My daughter is amazing! So ruthless, hahaha! ⟫
"Hmm, how do you feel about it? Do you want to do more? After this, she'll be even more miserable, so it's up to you."
Komoe copied what she'd seen her Papa do countless times and put her hand on her chin while she thought.
"Hmm..."
Komoe cast a glance over at Elaine who kept screaming in the background, crying about her missing or broken limbs.
"I think it's okay, she can have fun with Papa now!"
"Haha, if you say so."
David snapped his fingers again and pulled out a familiar glass orb with a flat bottom.
"Just like another scumbag adventurer, your punishment is one that will last for eternity, Miss Elaine. I hope you enjoy~!"
For the last time, David snapped his fingers and activated the orb as well as removed the barrier around the tavern.
Different from the previous time where it was instant teleportation, this time, Elaine was visibly deformed as the Desert Land of Repentance sucked her in, causing even more pain and agony.
David turned and faced the patrons, ignoring the barkeeper who was only a few feet away from everything, looking extremely terrified.
"Alright alright, don't look at me like that. You all are good and upstanding people who would never turn to criminal activities, right?"
The patrons all nodded their heads like chickens pecking rice, not wanting to know what would happen if anyone answered in the negative.
"Wonderful! Then you should have no issue with what just happened, right? Eh, it doesn't really matter if you did, but if you reported me, you'd just be wasting people's time. That wouldn't be very conscientious of you all, would it?"
Once more, the patrons nodded their heads vigorously.
[Patrons] 'Who the hell would be dumb enough to provoke you after witnessing that?!'
Satisfied, David cast a cleaning spell on Komoe to get rid of the blood and placed her back on his shoulders.
"Papa! Are we going to the Tinasomething Forest now to pick flowers?"
"Mm, we sure are!"
David smiled up at Komoe before looking back at the patrons.
"Hahaha, I appreciate your hospitality, folks! My name is David Star and if you ever have problems with criminal scum that would harm children, you can ask around for me. Chances are you won't find me, but you may get lucky! Anyway, have some drinks on me and relax!"
David laughed and threw out a pouch of 50 gold coins in the middle of the tavern and left, heading to the western entrance once more.
...
It wasn't until a few minutes after David left that everyone finally came back to their senses.
"Should we take the pouch...?" Someone timidly asked.
"You can take it if you want it, who knows when that madman will come back..." Another said.
"Madman? That man was awesome! I've been irritated with that Elaine bitch for years, but I could never do anything because of those lovestruck men with her! They all got what they deserved!"
While there were some that were scared of David, there were others that were genuinely happy with his actions, yet there were none who were angry or indignant.
After all, with the power that David displayed, nobody there was foolish enough to try and cross him.
"He said his name was David Star, right? Hahaha! I'll have to remember that!" A burly middle-aged man laughed and picked up the gold pouch on the floor.
"Alright, drinks are on David Star this afternoon, boys! Let's drink up!"
With one brave person leading the charge, the others quickly followed suit, cheering and shouting David's name.
However, not even ten seconds after everyone was cheering and getting ready to drink did the doors to the tavern slam open, revealing a beautiful silver-haired woman with a massive sword on her back followed by a blonde-haired boy.
Sofia had a big smile on her face as she looked around, but she couldn't find the man she was looking for.
She didn't know what David looked like, but she knew he was just here, he was strong, and he would most likely have a special aura around him.
"Where is he?!" She asked with an excited expression, looking rather frightening to most of the patrons there.
They looked around at each other and weren't sure exactly who she was talking about, though they had a pretty good guess.
The burly middle-aged man who took the gold pouch earlier looked at Sofia and said, "He? Are you talking about David Star?"
Sofia thought for a moment and realized... He never said his name! She only knows the names of other people around him, but not his own name.
"I don't know his name, but he should have just been here, okay? He probably had women with him, maybe, but he definitely had his daughter named Komoe with him!"
The man chuckled and said, "Haha, young lady, I don't know what you want with him, but I'd advise you not to cause him any trouble. All he did when he was here was snap his fingers and a few men burned to death in what seemed like a very painful manner. Then, his daughter beat up a trashy woman, punching and kicking her so hard that her limbs were either mangled or exploded into blood mist! And after that, he pulled out a glass orb, snapped his fingers again, and the woman was easily sucked into it!"
Sofia walked closer to the man and grabbed him by the collar.
"Yes, that has to be him! Where did he go?!"
The man was startled at first, but could tell Sofia was just excited and wanted to meet him.
"His daughter said they were heading to the Tinasomething Forest to pick flowers, but she probably meant the Tinarak Forest. They just left a few minutes ago so you can probably easily catch up to them."
Sofia smiled even brighter and set the man down before patting him on the shoulder.
"Haha, thank you for the information! Here, drinks are on me today! If anyone ever tries to mess with you in the future, tell them that I, Sofia Bulga, will kill them! Hahaha!"
Sofia tossed a pouch of gold at the man and ran out of the tavern, heading to the west entrance.
"..."
The burly middle-aged man looked at the second pouch of gold in his hands and was stunned.
"Sofia Bulga? The Dragon Slayer?!"
The patrons were in an uproar.
Not only did they witness something absolutely horrifying a few minutes ago, but the world famous Sofia Bulga showed up as well!
Crazy! Tsige is totally crazy today!
"Alright, boys! Drinks are on David Star and Sofia Bulga this afternoon! Let's drink up, hahaha!"
The patrons erupted into cheers once more, hoping another big shot would come by and ask for David's location.
...
As David was leaving Tsige and going west/southwest toward the Tinarak Forest, Komoe started squirming on David's shoulders.
"Komoe-chan, what's wrong?"
Komoe leaned her head down and whispered in David's ear, "Papa, I have to go to the toilet..."
⟪ Can dragon-human hybrids still go to the toilet? Wait, since Komoe is a product of me and Tomoe, that does make her a half-dragon, right? ⟫
Suddenly curious as to how other races go to the toilet, David reached up and grabbed Komoe before gently setting her down on the ground.
"Do you want me to drop you off at the mansion?" David asked.
Komoe nodded and whispered, "Yes, please..."
David chuckled, "Haha, you don't need to be secretive about it. Toa is a woman, too. She isn't a stranger to going to the toilet, right, Toa?"
Toa blushed. "David, you can't ask a woman about those things!"
"Hmm, you may be right... Anyway, can you accompany Komoe-chan to the toilet in my mansion? I'll just keep going until I get to the forest and then I'll wait for you two."
Toa nodded and took Komoe's hand. "Not a problem. How will I contact you when we're ready to come back?"
David thought for a second and then pulled out a palm-sized box with a button on it covered with a glass lid.
"I was experimenting with ways for people to contact me and came up with this at first. Just press the button and it'll show me your location and situation. It's a little bulky, but I just haven't thought to work on it more. I'll have to add it to my to-do list."
It must be known that David's to-do list is more like the 100 open tabs in someone's web browser that they say they'll get to, but then they never do, and then when the browser closes and they lose their tabs, they freak out because they were "definitely going to browse those tabs"...
You know who you are...
Toa took the box and smiled, thinking about how she might be able to call David for help in the future if she needs it.
"It's only good for a few uses since I didn't really add an 'infinite power'-type function to it... Probably should make a permanent one or something similar in the future."
"Got it," Toa said, a little sad that it's not an endless 'contact David' button.
David opened a Mist Gate to his manor and watched as Toa and Komoe entered, with Komoe doing a potty dance.
⟪ Komoe-chan can brutalize people and not flinch at the gruesome sight of their dismembered and bleeding body, but she still does a potty dance when she needs to go to the toilet... I know I keep saying it, but my daughter is so CUTE!!! ⟫
Smiling to himself, David launched off the ground and manipulated the air element to allow himself to fly, shooting toward the Tinarak Forest at high speeds.
⟪ I feel like this day has dragged on for a long time, but now I can finally get the flowers and recruit Shiki and the Forest Ogres! No more interruptions, woohoo~! ⟫
[Congratulations! You have earned Title: 'Jinx'!]
'Eh?'
David landed right on the inner boundary of the Tinarak Forest and checked his status.
'Status!'
[Status]
[Name: David Star]
[Age: 15]
[Title(s): The Creator, The Lonely One]
[Race: Human]
[Chaos Points: 205,500]
[Classes: Shinigami - Ichigo Kurosaki]
[Abilities: Heaven's Eye, Harem Frequency: ON AIR, Sweet Body, Sovereign's Bond, Sovereign's Cradle - Eternal Domain, Sakai]
[Talents: Mental Reboot, Goddess of Lust's Blessing, Overflow-class Mana Core, Perfect Househusband, Computer Whiz, Super Soul, Harem Protagonist Halo, Goddess of Luck's Blessing, Translator, Divine Deception, Goddess of the Forge's Blessing, Web Daddy]
[System Functions: Royal Empress Adaptation (Passive System Function)]
[Chaos Elements: Water (Elementary), Earth (Elementary), Fire (Elementary), Air (Elementary)]
'...You liar, I didn't get a new title.'
[No, but you might as well have. Seriously, either 'Jinx' or 'The One Who Raises Flags' would be perfect for you.]
David wanted to tell Chaos-chan that she was being paranoid, but... of course she wasn't.
"HAHAHA, I FOUND YOU!"
"?!"
David jerked his head behind him, going on guard against the loud voice that was filled with fighting intent toward him.
⟪ Why the hell didn't my Predator's Reflex go off?! ⟫
[...Because it's not an attack and she's not hostile.]
He was about to question Chaos-chan, but decided to quickly expand his Sakai first.
⟪ Eh? Sofia Bulga...? Damn... She doesn't lose out to any of my wives as far as looks go. I'm surprised she isn't in a relationship... Actually, no I'm not. With her past, it only makes sense she'd just focus on getting stronger. Still, why is that stupid lizard with her? His baseless arrogance always irritated me. Maybe I should sneeze and accidentally kill him... At least then he'd give his power to Sofia and make her stronger, right? I'm sure I could talk my way out of it if Sofia gets mad... ⟫
As Sofia kept getting closer and closer, her smile kept getting wider and wider.
[Sofia] 'It's him! It's really him! Hahaha!'
David stopped where he was and just waited for Sofia and Mitsurugi to approach.
When they finally arrived, Sofia stood only a few meters away from David, looking at him with a face full of excitement.
"Your name is David Star, right?"
David raised an eyebrow, genuinely confused.
'I'm certain I never said my name in my inner voice, so how did she know?'
Before he could ask, Sofia said, "Haha, wonderful! The guy at the tavern told me what happened there and your name. I'm glad I finally found you!"
'Ah...'
⟪ Eh? Was Sofia looking for me? Why? ⟫
Sofia put her left hand on her hip and said, "Because I--," but she was cut off, just like when she tried telling Mitsurugi about things in David's inner voice.
[Sofia] 'I can't even talk to David about it?! Dammit! How am I supposed to ask about the goddess?!'
⟪ Hmm, is she okay? ⟫
"Um, are you okay, Miss? Do you need some water?"
David manipulated the water element and created a cup made of ice and filled it with cool, refreshing water.
Sofia wanted to refuse, but when she saw how flawlessly David created the cup and water, she was impressed and could only swallow her words. Plus, no matter how focused she is on getting stronger and how much she ignores romance, she had to admit that David was pretty damn attractive.
Thus, she ended up nodding slightly, took the cup, and drank it down in one gulp.
"Now then, to answer your question, yes, I'm David Star. Can I ask who you are and why you're looking for me?"
[Sofia] 'Eh? You know who I am already!'
Sofia wanted to answer with that, but she knew it was impossible.
"My name is Sofia Bulga and I wanted to have a spar with you."
⟪ ...What? ⟫
David looked confused, but then just chuckled. "Haha, I don't mean to be rude, but you would lose before taking a single step. It would be better not to waste your energy."
Sofia wanted to insist, but Mitsurugi interfered before she could.
"Tch, just empty words from a weak looking hyuman. I don't feel any power from him at all, I'm certain he's just a good talker. This is the man you've been searching for, Sofia? I'm almost embarrassed."
Sofia was a little irritated.
Did Mitsurugi not hear what the guys at the tavern said? Moreover, his inner voice couldn't lie and he was saying some pretty convincing stuff! Did you not feel the massive wave of mana coming from the tavern's location earlier? And are you blind or did you just choose to ignore how easily he created that cup and water?!
She wanted to refute Mitsurugi and talk some sense into him, but she felt a massive pressure pressing down on her body.
It wasn't enough to put her on her knees, but it was enough to stop her from moving entirely.
"Heheh..."
David snickered as he released less than 30% of his Reiatsu, using a part of it to halt Sofia's movements while using the rest entirely on Mitsurugi.
"Mitsurugi, or Lancer, right? The Greater Dragon of Swords... This situation is what I like to call an 'ABC'."
Mitsurugi's face was pale as he felt every cell in his body screaming out in pain.
He tried to summon his swords or change his form, but it was all pointless. He couldn't move any part of his body at all; the pressure on him was too great.
When David mentioned 'ABC', Mitsurugi's expression shifted slightly, as if he was asking what David meant.
David casually walked up to Mitsurugi with his hands behind his back.
"Curious as to what 'ABC' means?"
David manipulated Mitsurugi to make it look like he was nodding as the back of his head touched his back and his forehead touched his chest, causing massive damage already.
"It means that this is an A and B conversation, C your way out of it, haha!"
David laughed with a genuine smile as he snapped his fingers, causing Mitsurugi to explode on the spot into a bloody mist.
Honestly, David didn't need to snap his fingers because all he did was inject a bunch of pure Reiryoku into Mitsurugi's body and focus his Reiatsu inside of it, pushing from the inside out and causing an explosion.
Because he was irritated as well, David threw a soul-erasing rune at him as he was dying, preventing him from reincarnating as an egg in the future.
David really just likes to snap his fingers when he does things...
⟪ Sorry, Root, but you've got one less dragon now. Though, it's not like you care. ⟫
He looked over at Sofia and pulled back his Reiatsu.
"Sorry about that, Miss Bulga. There's only one dragon in this world that I'll acknowledge and that pest wasn't even close to her level..."
Sofia wasn't sure what to do at this moment.
[Sofia] 'He just killed Mitsurugi so easily... Did he really take control of the goddess...? But, how would I be able to find out? I can't ask him about it...'
David waved his hand in front of Sofia's face.
"Hello~? Sofia Bulga, are you alive~?"
Sofia snapped out of her reverie and looked at David with a heated gaze.
⟪ Oh not again... ⟫
Sofia quickly clasped David's hand in both of hers and said, "Please let me follow you!"
⟪ ...I just killed your partner, you know? Granted you got stronger, but the dude is dead. Donezo. I obliterated his soul so he ain't comin' back... And you want to follow me? ⟫
David tried to gently pull his hand back, but Sofia was gripping it like a vice.
He could only sigh.
"Haaa... Why would you want to follow me when I just killed your buddy?"
Sofia's mouth moved and tried to form words, but she couldn't.
[Sofia] 'Dammit, dammit, dammit! This is so stupid!'
"I want to kill the goddess!" Was all she was able to say in regards to her true objective.
David tilted his head. "Okay? What does that have to do with you following me?"
[Sofia] 'Stop acting! Just help me do it!'
Holding back her frustration, Sofia said, "You're strong enough to kill Mitsurugi without breaking a sweat. I feel like you're much stronger than you let on and that you have the power to kill the goddess!"
David nodded. "Mhm, I do indeed. But, why would I do that? You know this world needs her in her position to manage the place, right?"
Sofia snorted, "Pfft, manage? What the hell is she managing? She only cares about looks and nothing else!"
"And what, you just want to kill her and end her life just like that? Then what, the world goes to shit even worse than it already is?"
Sofia couldn't think of a response to that.
"I'll let you in on a little secret, Sofia..."
[Secret my ass.]
'Shut your mouth.'
David walked closer to Sofia, placed a hand on her shoulder, and whispered in her ear, "That shitty goddess is under my control and her life in hell is just starting. You probably have good reasons for wanting her dead, but isn't it more fun to torment her and force her to change her ways? That way, the world will get better, that shitty goddess will spend eternity in suffering, and the non-hyumans can finally live without goddess-approved racism."
Hearing David's sweet whispers of persuasion, Sofia had to admit that it did sound good.
[Sofia] 'But what about everything I've done so far to get stronger? Is that just going to be useless...?'
She looked over at David and was startled by the close proximity of their faces, but she still voiced her doubts nonetheless.
"If you won't kill the goddess and you won't allow me to kill the goddess, then what am I supposed to do? Just wait for this world to get better?"
David made his thinking face and looked up at the sky as if he was actually contemplating it.
⟪ Hmm, should I invite her to the Cradle? Everyone's friendly there, she could use her strength for the community, she could get even stronger, and she could even come to Earth if she wanted. She would probably like some of the shounen manga we've got in Japan... Plus, I can help her with revenge whenever she wants. ⟫
Hearing David's thoughts, Sofia was at first hesitant, but that hesitation only lasted for a millisecond before she decided she really did want to follow David, rather than using that as a pretext to approach and kill the goddess.
"How about this... You come stay in my land for now and when you're stronger, you can take care of whatever grudge you have. However, you need to show me how strong you are and tell me who your grudges are against so I can judge whether you're strong enough to deal with them or not."
Sofia smiled and clenched her fists in excitement. "Deal!"
"Great, I'll send you to my land now. Just look for a Highland Orc named Emma and tell her your situation. Actually, tell her to get you a room in my manor. You can live there and act as a bodyguard, though you don't really have much to guard against. Tell Emma if you have any problems and say that I told her to help you with whatever you need."
David nodded to himself, satisfied with his words, and immediately teleported Sofia to the Dimensional Gate Plaza as that was the area where Emma was.
⟪ She seemed like more of a brute in the anime, but look at her now. She just looks like a cute woman who went through a bunch of shit and had to adapt to a toxic world... Mm, I'll help her take care of her grudge with Root when the time comes. If she wants to kill him endlessly, I'll make it so that he'll revive right after his death. If she just wants to talk to him, I'll be a mediator. Of course, I'd be taking my wife, er, my bodyguard's side over some bored dragon like Root. ⟫
Sofia, who was about to ask around for Emma, immediately got flustered when David 'slipped up' and called her his wife.
[Sofia] 'This guy really moves too fast!'
Everyone else who heard David thought the same thing and just shook their heads, slowly getting used to it.
Shortly after Sofia arrived in the Cradle, Toa pressed the button David gave her and after waiting for a second, she and Komoe were directly brought out of the Cradle, appearing in front of the Tinarak Forest.
"We're back, Papa!" Komoe said as she jumped on David's back and crawled up to his shoulders.
"Mm, welcome back, Komoe-chan," David said.
He then looked over and said, "Welcome back, Toa."
Toa blushed, but then wrapped herself around David's left arm again and said, "I'm back."
⟪ She seems quite bold now. I don't dislike it, heheh. Wait, no, I was playing hard to get earlier, right? ⟫
David put on a straight face and spread out his Sakai, covering a large portion of the Tinarak Forest.
It didn't take long for him to spot a patch of forest that had shiny red flowers growing.
He was also delighted to see two 'familiar' faces.
⟪ Heheh, ambrosia field spotted. Eris and Aqua also spotted. Oh please, gods of whatever or whoever, please let Eris be just as funny as she was in the original works! ⟫
Not letting his excitement show, David just nodded and said, "Let's go."
Toa rolled her eyes and followed along while Komoe swung her legs side to side, excited to finally be able to pick some flowers with her Papa.