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Chapter 406: The Fox and the Hare

The rest of the meeting passed rather uneventfully. I spent a couple of days with Irena, simply wandering around and playing different games, or enjoying different performances. When that was done, I decided to take Ryone for a date of her own, since we had not really done anything together in a while.

After Ryone, naturally, came Terra. Though, the two of us mostly just moved between the restaurant and performance areas. Given that Terra was a System Companion, it seemed that she was not allowed to directly play any games that gave points as a reward.

Finally, after I had spent a considerable amount of time with all three of them, the meeting came to an end. Oddly, I didn’t see Sarah around during the meeting, but it was possible that we simply didn’t run into each other. As we were sent back, I became aware of how many points everyone had earned.

The one with the greatest earnings this time was, surprisingly Irena. She had earned a total of over six thousand points, with Aurivy being a close runner up at five thousand. Even Tryval had earned enough to fund his own world, though he had come in last. Aside from Terra, at least.

And, with the meeting over, it was time for Balu’s invasion trade to begin…

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“Ah, here we are…” A young man with white fur spoke up as he stepped out of a shimmering blue portal, landing in a grassy field. His eyes were large and black, his ears standing straight and tall from his head. Over his chest he wore a black, button-up shirt with a red vest.

“Let’s see…” Reaching into the pocket of his vest, he pulled out a golden compass, holding it in his large paw. “The nearest town… oh dear, it looks like there are ki signatures from all over the place. I hope I didn’t get sent too far away. It would be quite troubling if I couldn’t make my delivery in time.”

After saying that, a silver aura flared to life around the rabbit man, and he shot into the air like a bullet. As he soared higher and higher, his eyes scanned the horizon. “Hmm, this world is about as same as what I’m used to… Well, no matter. I suppose I can just use that.”

He pocketed his golden compass again, bringing his two front paws out in front of himself. A golden, swirling light shined between his paws, before he slapped them together. As he did, a ripple of energy spread out from his body, and he closed his eyes in focus.

To put it simply, he was using a wide-range scanning ability to locate the greatest source of ki in the area. From his knowledge, that should be the Keeper, so long as the Keeper was truly on this world. However, it appeared that luck was not quite on his side, as he only felt rather normal levels of energy.

“I don’t have any intention to fight, and would happily remain within this world until my end has come.” He spoke, both to himself and as if he were speaking to the world itself. He had been told by his own Keeper that any thoughts of hostility would cause the Keeper to enter a war-like mode, while fully embracing the world would enable him to be found quite quickly.

In truth, he had never felt any hostility towards this world at all, so his words were unnecessary. However, shortly after he said it, a golden cloud sprang into existence in front of him. Shocked, the rabbit jumped back in the air several meters, watching the cloud condense with wide eyes.

And then, just as quickly, it dispersed. In its place, though, it left a grand palace flying atop a floating island. “Aha!” The man spoke up in delight, now able to sense a more powerful ki from within this palace. As he flew forward, he saw a woman with no fur and hair like gold stepping out of the door to greet him. Behind her was a long, bushy tail, while atop her head were two tall ears, like a fox. She wore an odd, black and white dress that seemed to cover the majority of her body, while leaving a significant portion of her chest and arms exposed.

The man gave a small shiver at the image of a fox in humanoid skin, but still flew over to meet her. Thankfully, the shields around the palace parted to allow him passage, and he soon landed on the stone path leading to the palace’s gate.

The woman who came to greet him, held her hand forward, a sliver of silver mist extending towards him. Recognizing this as spiritual energy, the man nodded with a wide smile, meeting it with some of his own.

Apologies, my dear. As you have guessed, I do not know the language of this land. He communicated his thoughts through their connected spirits, causing the mysterious woman to nod.

That is to be expected. I was informed that you come bearing gifts for my Keeper?

Hearing her response, he nodded his head quickly, his ears flopping back and forth. That is correct! If you serve him, would you mind making the delivery on my behalf? I have been told that Keepers are often unwilling to receive deliveries in person.

This was because it was entirely possible for there to be hidden tricks like explosives within the deliveries. Even if the deliveryman himself held no hostility to the world, it was possible for such things to be slipped in without their notice.

That would be appreciated. Tsubaki nodded, moving to the side of the path, a more open and grassy area.

“And with this, my job has been completed.” The man spoke aloud, retrieving a black, spherical stone from his pocket. Pushing his ki into it, he aimed it forward.

Earthen, yellow lights began flying out from the stone, wrapping around a wide patch of land a dozen meters squared. As the lights rose higher and higher, shapes could be seen within, red and golden carpets stack atop each other several meters high. Each one seemed to contain a small pulse of ki, causing the man to nod.

However, he was not done yet. Moving further off to the side, he retrieved another stone of similar shape, the first having crumbled to dust after use. This time, the objects that appeared were rows upon rows of tall bookshelves, with completely identical books. Every tome had a dark purple cover and a silver lock binding them shut.

Now, if you don’t mind. The man began, once more turning to face the golden-haired woman. My mission has been completed, and my time is running out. Could I trouble you to send me somewhere with a decent view?

The woman’s eye gave a small twitch as she heard that request, before nodding politely. Very well, honorable rabbit. I thank you for your service. With a wave of her hand, she opened a green and black swirling void next to her, which the man did not even hesitate before walking through.

The area that he arrived in was the bank of a river, surrounded by a vast, lush forest. He could hear the sound of crashing water off to his right, and turning his head allowed him to see a majestic waterfall. At the base of the waterfall was a rainbow which captivated the eyes, and all around his feet were brilliantly colored flowers.

Ah, this is splendid. He nodded to himself, sitting down and letting his legs splay out. He took a long breath, his eyes closing. With every moment, he could feel his heart beating more slowly, his mind growing weary. His very soul itself was deteriorating, scattering into nothing and leaving him as an empty husk.

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“My Keeper, the young lord has left.” Tsubaki spoke as she entered the throne room, her words catching me by surprise.

“The young lord?” I think that this was the first time that she had ever referred to someone other than myself or one of the gods in such a way.

“Yes, my Keeper.” She nodded respectfully. “I cannot show dishonor to one who would carry out such a task for their lord, knowing that both success and failure will mean a certain death. As he bore no ill will to you or your people, and endured the pain of a broken soul to complete his mission, I truly believe that he is an individual worthy of being called a young lord.”

I gave a small nod at her appraisal of his character. It was likely that Balu personally broke his soul before sending him, or that they possessed a technique to do so. Even in death, it was possible to interrogate an individual for information about their home world, so such measures would be necessary to stop that spread.

Honestly, I had expected that she would just send a single dying animal with the various books and cultivation mats. But perhaps that was a mistake, given that it was possible for such things to be damaged before they were properly delivered. If that was the case, then it made sense to use a living middle-man.

“Have you retrieved the items outside?” I asked, leaning forward in my throne.

“I have, my Keeper. As instructed, I have divided them into two groups. Two of each item will be kept here, while the rest will be distributed among the various national research institutions of your worlds.”

I had asked her to keep one of each for my own personal use, and at the same time one to send back to Ryone and Tubrock for them to study. The recursive properties of the tome in particular were worthy of considerable attention. “Thank you, Tsubaki. Once you have finished, you can go back to your game.”

Tsubaki cleared her throat, glancing awkwardly to the side when I said that. Even though she did enjoy playing Vision Expanse, in her heart she was still a Servant first. Being called out of the game to perform her duties must have been quite embarrassing for her. “Very well, I shall begin at once.”

As she said that, she produced one cloth bag from her…hand? It looked like it just came from her hand, and she gently tossed it towards me. This was no doubt the one containing the objects for myself and the gods. Afterwards, she offered a polite bow, turning and walking out of the room once again.

Seeing her leave like that, I let out a small chuckle, leaning back in my throne. You already took one of each from this bag, didn’t you? I whispered mentally towards Ryone.

Dale, I took them before she even passed you the bag~. She responded in a playful tone. Really, this book is something else. It’s quite simple, but at the same time beautifully crafted. This should keep me busy with my research for quite a while.

I’m glad to hear that. Just make sure that you send off the mat to Tubrock. Something like that will be especially useful for him to study.

There was a brief pause after I told her that, before she responded that she had done so. Hearing that, I nodded, once more leaning back in my seat. Thinking back, it should be about time for the second world of Vision Expanse to appear. Once that happened, I planned to celebrate by introducing another world to my main group of worlds.

Still, whether it was Spica or Kione that I brought in was still a matter of internal debate. Spica was, honestly, more thematically appropriate. However, their magic system would likely cause chaos in the other worlds if I performed a law merge. Kione, on the other hand, was safer but less appropriate for the occasion.

I suppose it will be time to find out what happens when I do not perform such a merge… I thought inwardly, shaking my head. Not performing a merger meant that my power would be on a different level between each world. Though, from what I knew, I should still maintain my divinity in both, so it was not too difficult to adjust.