Chapter 467: Nanao's Decision & Worldline Convergence?
Haruto was aware of these situations but couldn't be bothered to address them.
Both his organizations were completely privately owned, operating like conglomerates, and feared no external pressure whatsoever.
Moreover, the core members of Takamine Kasumi's group were all superhumans, and through his diligent efforts, A-rank powerhouses had already emerged.
S-rank represented the pinnacle combat strength in the Human Realm and rarely appeared.
Furthermore, anyone who reached S-rank would inevitably know that Takamine Kasumi and the other women had the Gremory family backing them. Unless they had a death wish, no one would cause trouble.
While some men disliked this company, others appreciated it—especially married men.
Just imagine: having one's wife work in an all-female company provided an overwhelming sense of security.
Moreover, when picking up their wives after work, they could openly admire various stunning beauties.
In addition to ability, appearance was one of the recruitment criteria. While not every employee was a peerless beauty, with proper makeup, they could all be considered attractive.
Haruto didn't intentionally pursue married women, but whenever he visited the company, some would actively throw themselves at him.
It wasn't because they knew his identity—they simply coveted his physique.
Facing such advances, Haruto didn't indulge every time; they had to be sufficiently beautiful with excellent figures.
Though these were merely fleeting encounters, he wasn't someone any woman could easily obtain.
Fortunately, those who met his standards generally had some sense of chastity, preventing him from having romantic encounters every time he visited the company.
After the sports festival concluded smoothly, Haruto made his routine inspection and took the opportunity to thoroughly "nourish" the core female members of the organization.
As the number of Dual Cultivation partners in the mansion increased, the previously established rules became increasingly difficult to enforce.
Fortunately, after Haruto broke through to the god-level, a single session could basically satisfy them for several months.
Otherwise, he would really need to research clone-type magic.
Leaving the thriving company, Haruto contacted Gasper using communication magic and arranged to meet at a dessert shop.
Through persistent effort, the communication magic could now be preliminarily used. Its accuracy and convenience were unquestionable, though its range still needed improvement.
Currently limited to Tokyo, it would require more time to perfect before covering the entire Human Realm, or even all Three Realms.
While it might seem somewhat impractical and less convenient than mobile phones, this magic eliminated concerns about poor signal reception.
About ten minutes later, Gasper and Tachibana Nanao appeared before Haruto.
Casually ordering desserts for both, Haruto went straight to the point: "Nanao, have you decided which gender to choose?"
"Ah..."
The androgynously dressed Tachibana Nanao's hands trembled slightly, surprised by Haruto's directness.
Through Haruto's introduction and with Chisato Hasegawa's help, Gasper had quickly become good friends with Tachibana Nanao.
Both Gasper and Tachibana Nanao were relatively introverted and simple-minded. After spending time together, they basically had no secrets between them.
Considering this, Haruto hadn't asked Gasper to keep it confidential from the beginning.
With Chisato Hasegawa's assistance in mediating, progress in accelerating Tachibana Nanao's gender selection proceeded surprisingly smoothly.
This time when Haruto arranged to meet Gasper, he hadn't expected her to come along too.
Well, due to Gasper's personal example and various considerations, Tachibana Nanao had basically become completely feminized, so Haruto now felt it more appropriate to refer to her with 'she' pronouns.
Of course, such smooth progress was also because Tachibana Nanao herself leaned more towards a feminine personality.
Additionally, her good friend Gasper, despite being a boy, desperately wanted to be a girl. Through daily exposure and observation, she could confirm that Gasper genuinely felt this way from the heart, not just to help Haruto.
This essentially solidified Tachibana Nanao's direction in gender stabilization. Since things had come this far, it was best to settle the matter once and for all.
Nearly a month had passed since the sports festival, and the third semester was already halfway over. Whether Tachibana Nanao agreed to choose a female identity and have Haruto help stabilize it, a conclusion was due sooner or later.
Haruto felt that Tachibana Nanao coming to see him with Gasper this time meant she had likely made her decision.
His intentions had never been concealed—he coveted Tachibana Nanao's body, as well as her unique talents and bloodline.
In any world, the True Ancestor bloodline was an exceptionally powerful one.
Haruto currently possessed multiple high-tier bloodlines, but he still lacked that of the True Ancestor.
His passive innate ability, the Root Bloodline, was finally about to receive a long-awaited upgrade.
However, fully completing it still seemed some way off, given the vast and diverse array of bloodlines in this world.
Although completing the Root Bloodline required only the most powerful types, even the easiest-to-obtain strong bloodlines hadn't all been acquired yet.
For instance, the elf bloodline.
Such matters often depended not on effort but on luck.
If he didn't encounter a suitable female elf, even if the purest elf bloodline were placed right before him, he wouldn't be able to perfectly integrate it into himself.
While Tachibana Nanao was lost in thought, Haruto didn't rush her.
As he had mentioned earlier, these things relied more on luck.
In Tachibana Nanao's case, he hadn't invested much thought or time. If she agreed, that would be ideal; if not...
He would find a way to make her agree.
As long as Tachibana Nanao chose to stabilize as female, everything else could be postponed.
Now, it seemed the most critical step had been achieved.
Pulled by Gasper, Tachibana Nanao finally snapped out of her daze.
Her face flushed, she clenched her small fists tightly, trying to look directly at Haruto, but ultimately turned her head away and whispered, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, "I... I hope you can help stabilize my physical state..."
Haruto raised an eyebrow, and a nearly faded memory surfaced in his mind.
So that was it. Although her bloodline was special, allowing her to change genders at will, it wasn't without side effects.
Tachibana Nanao's gender shifted with her self-perception—in other words, it changed according to her mental state.
Conversely, physical instability would also lead to mental instability.
For ordinary people, mental issues were serious problems, let alone for a vampire race.
As she approached adulthood, Tachibana Nanao's mind was indeed nearing its limit. Without stabilization, she risked going mad, degenerating into a mindless monster.
Her maintaining a good relationship with Chisato Hasegawa was partly because being near a deity with a natural affinity aura helped stabilize her mental state.
"I can help you, but I'll only assist in stabilizing you in the female direction."
Although he knew that Tachibana Nanao's request meant she had mentally prepared for this, Haruto reiterated his stance once more.
He certainly didn't want to be disturbed halfway through the stabilization process, or have Tachibana Nanao turn against him afterward.
Well, though the possibility was extremely slim, almost nonexistent.
If Tachibana Nanao had that kind of courage, she wouldn't have lived such a miserable life in the human world for so many years despite possessing formidable power.
A shy blush spread across her increasingly feminine and delicate face as Tachibana Nanao reached up to remove the plain glasses she used to conceal her appearance.
"I... I understand."
Gathering her courage and enduring the embarrassment, she said, "I am willing to offer my body to Lord Haruto, only asking that you continue to protect me."
Haruto's intentions had been directly explained to Tachibana Nanao by Chisato Hasegawa, along with the advantages and disadvantages.
The benefits went without saying, including but not limited to completely stabilizing her physical condition, no longer worrying about being hunted, and rapidly increasing her power.
As for the drawbacks, if one had to mention them, it would be becoming Haruto's woman somewhat haphazardly, with no emotional foundation between them, meaning she would never experience so-called love in this lifetime.
In truth, Tachibana Nanao had never really hoped for love; her hesitation mainly stemmed from shyness.
"Alright, I understand."
Haruto was in quite a good mood. Just as he was about to arrange a suitable time with Tachibana Nanao, he suddenly frowned.
"Sorry, could you wait here for a moment? I'll be right back."
"Haruto, did something happen?" Gasper asked worriedly.
He had never been comfortable in crowded places to begin with, and now that Haruto was leaving, he immediately felt anxious.
"It's nothing major, just a little ant that needs dealing with."
Haruto reassured him, "Why don't you head back first? Nanao, you should go home and wait for me too."
He had originally planned to pick a time, but since he had nothing else scheduled for the rest of the day, he decided to handle the little ant first and then proceed directly.
"Okay." ×2
The two introverts answered instantly, quickly finishing the remaining snacks before promptly leaving.
Meanwhile, Haruto had already arrived at Aiho Academy. Gazing at the familiar gates, a peculiar feeling welled up inside him.
The last time he came here was shortly after entering the hidden world. The hypnotic glasses incident had been resolved smoothly, but the process hadn't been perfect.
If it were him now, he had at least three better solutions.
Unfortunately, time couldn't be reversed.
But this time, he wouldn't leave any regrets.
With a flicker of his figure, transparent spatial ripples shimmered as Haruto vanished from the gate and instantly appeared in a music classroom.
In the center of the room stood a grand piano. Besides Haruto who had just teleported in, there was an unconscious female teacher and a mechanical angel poised to deliver a fatal blow.
The sudden spatial fluctuation made the humanoid mechanical angel covered in green magic circuits instinctively turn its head. Before it could speak, Haruto spoke first, "Long time no see, Ornis. You're still as ugly as ever."
"It's you! Red Dragon Emperor!"
The mechanical angel named Ornis darkened its expression, "Why are you here?"
"Hey, hey, hey. You're causing trouble in my territory, attempting murder, and planning to replace someone - you tell me why I'm here?"
"Are you going to stop me?"
Haruto: "..."
After giving Ornis a speechless look, Haruto had lost all desire to communicate with it.
"Before I kill you, do you have any last words?"
Looking at Ornis before him, Haruto couldn't help but recall the Three Faction Summit from back then. Both Zolgear and Ornis who had caused trouble back then were 'acquaintances,' and Haruto had considered then that they might bring him trouble later. Unfortunately, his strength at the time didn't allow him to eliminate the threats in their infancy.
It was purely because of insufficient strength - definitely not because all his attention had been focused on capturing that dark-skinned beauty Katerea at the time.
Zolgear had at least managed to make some presence later - though Haruto didn't often use that special telekinetic magic, he had never stopped training it.
But looking at Ornis now...
Its only purpose seemed to be providing him some amusement.
Ornis's expression stiffened, and it subconsciously tightened its grip on the hostage. But before its threatening words could leave its mouth, it suddenly found it couldn't even move a finger.
Ornis was still only Satan-Class, while Haruto had now reached Quasi-Dragon God Class. Just the pressure from his realm alone was enough to make movement difficult for it.
Not to mention that to protect the female teacher, Haruto had also employed formless, intangible psychic telekinesis.
After mustering all its energy only to find it couldn't even self-destruct, Ornis finally gave up.
"Truly worthy of being the strongest Red Dragon Emperor in history. Your rate of power growth is truly remarkable."
"Thanks for the compliment."
Haruto said calmly, "So, is that all for your last words?"
Though already resigned to its fate, Ornis still wanted to die with understanding.
It had just emerged from another dimension, decided to kill a female teacher and assume her identity to slowly scheme, only to be immediately apprehended by Haruto.
"How did you discover I was here?"
With Haruto's current strength, spatial teleportation was nothing difficult, so there was no need to ask how he arrived so quickly. The problem was that it had concealed its aura perfectly, yet was discovered almost instantly.
The reason for saying "almost instantly" was because before killing this female teacher, it needed to read her memories, otherwise its subsequent impersonation might reveal flaws.
The time Ornis took to read memories happened to be exactly the time Haruto received the report and rushed over.
About ten seconds.
One could only say Ornis had chosen a bad location. Of all places, it had to pick Aiho Academy.
Aside from the two major organizations' bases, Aiho Academy was one of the ordinary gathering places Haruto paid most attention to.
Not only were the Takamine Sisters and Tsubaki there, but due to past incidents, many other girls at this school had also had relationships with him.
Ornis had hidden its aura well, but while it concealed its presence, it hadn't concealed its physical form.
Ordinary people couldn't see Him, but unfortunately, there were quite a few extraordinary individuals at Aiho Academy.
It happened to be Obata Yui who discovered the 'monster' and immediately notified Haruto.
To those unaware, Ornis's appearance truly resembled a monster.
However, this monster had distinct features. As soon as Obata Yui described it, Haruto immediately knew it was Ornis and rushed over without delay.
Ornis paid no attention to his surroundings. Obata Yui's B-rank strength was no different from an ordinary person or even an ant to Him.
Moreover, Obata Yui used a covert communication magic that hadn't yet spread widely, so He remained completely unaware that His presence had been exposed.
After briefly answering Ornis's question and leaving Him stunned, Haruto asked, "I've answered one of your questions, so I hope you'll answer one of mine in return."
"What do you want to know?"
Suppressing his fear of death, Ornis forced himself to remain calm.
"Simple—why have you come to the human world, and why are you impersonating that female teacher?"
According to Haruto's memory, Ornis should have descended to the lower world for Afureia's sake—that is, Chisato Hasegawa.
But now, Chisato Hasegawa's divinity had already been stripped away and had likely returned to the hands of the Ten Chief Gods. So why would Ornis still descend?
Additionally, originally He should have killed a scumbag male teacher who targeted female students, but that scum had already been dealt with by Haruto beforehand. Why then did He choose an unrelated female teacher instead?
Could it be that even at this point, the worldline was still converging?
Ornis fell silent, which didn't surprise Haruto.
If He had been fully cooperative, that would have been more surprising.
"You don't have to answer, but that would mean you'll have to endure some hardship."
Haruto was now quite skilled in mental magic, and with his Quasi-Dragon God Class strength, searching the memories of a Satan-Class being required no effort at all.
After rescuing the female teacher from Ornis's grasp, Haruto glanced at her—she was quite young and beautiful, and her face seemed unfamiliar, likely a new hire.
Placing the young teacher aside, a pale purple magic circle appeared in Haruto's palm.
Just as he was about to act, Ornis finally spoke.
Remaining silent would only mean more suffering. Just the sight of that glaring purple magic circle told Him He couldn't resist Haruto's forced memory extraction.
"I came to the human world to ask why Lady Afureia, Lady Frigg, and Lady Sif abandoned the divine realm and us."
"And then?" Haruto raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't just return after asking, would you?"
"..."
After a moment of silence, Ornis slowly said, "After their divinity was stripped, the three ladies' strength should have fallen to the Satan-Class. I planned to find an opportunity to forcibly bring them back."
"Is this your personal action, or..."
"It's my personal action."
Ornis continued, "I know what you're going to ask, but the Supreme God has already decreed that the matter of Afureia and the others' defection will not be pursued. The divine realm's top priority now is to find new successors for the Chief Gods and fill the three vacant divine positions as soon as possible."
"I see. Then, personally, why do you want to bring them back?"
Haruto watched Ornis with keen interest. He had initially thought this guy was just infatuated with Chisato Hasegawa, but it turned out he was obsessed with any goddess.
Ornis remained silent this time, but his silence spoke volumes.
Haruto had no interest in pressing further and changed the subject: "Next question—why did you choose this place, and why this female teacher?"
"Nothing special. I thought a female appearance would make it easier to approach Lady Afureia and the others. As for this location, it's simply because it's nearby."
Aiho Academy was the closest high school to Kuoh Academy and not far from where Haruto lived, so the reasoning made sense.
As for the female teacher, it was purely bad luck—she happened to be alone and was targeted.
After answering all the questions, Haruto's doubts were largely resolved.
He swiftly eliminated Ornis, ensuring minimal pain, as a gesture of gratitude for his earlier cooperation.