Well...there were only a little over twenty hours left until the return, so, Alvin still wanted to fullfil some of the wishes of these two sisters, after all, who knows what kind of situation he would face next.
That's why, even thoygh he still had no idea what Artoria wanted with his dragon scale, he gave her one anyway.
In the last stretch of time before his departure, he also went to see Ishtar.
"..You actually came to say goodbye… I thought you'd just go back without a word."
Ishtar sat in the garden under the sunlight, her long, shapely legs elegantly crossed. Her arms folded across her chest, and she glanced at the boy with displeasure.
Alvin casually stepped into the garden, taking a seat beside the goddess of the heavens and said with a smile.
"..You got back even faster than I expected. Seems like you beat me by quite a bit."
After all, considering she had been attending the wedding in Millennium City not long ago, it would normally take at least half a day to travel from the royal capital to there.
"Hah. And what do you think my mount is, exactly?"
Ishtar snorted proudly. "..Well, are you satisfied now? You actually married the Moon King… You're a celebrity in Britain now. Those other transmigrators will probably be gossiping about you for weeks after they return."
After all, it wasn't every day that the origin of the True Ancestors, a UO of the Moon, married an ordinary boy for no reason.
No matter who it was, they would not be able to ignore it.
And of course… Ishtar herself couldn't ignore it either.
But from the moment Alvin confirmed the wedding to the very end of the ceremony, she never stepped forward to stop him.
Their relationship had always been a little ambiguous in the past, but it had never quite crossed into romance.
Even in front of Alvin, she had always referred to him as her "vassal" rather than her lover.
If they weren't lovers, then she had no right to object to his marriage.
And besides… even King Artoria, the "official" one, hadn't said a word, so it was naturally inconvenient for her to intervene.
Alvin looked at her quietly. "..So what did you think of the wedding?"
"Of course, I—"
Ishtar was about to blurt out her answer but caught herself at the last second.
Her pride forced her to bite back her words, replacing them with an indifferent, casual tone:
"..Of course it doesn't matter. It's not like we're lovers or anything, right?"
As she spoke, there was a mischievous, devilish smile on her face.
"..Though I would've loved to see King Arthur's face. Bet she's been crying into her pillow every night these past few days, huh?"
Not bothered, huh?
If you really weren't bothered, why are you wearing such a "heartbroken" expression?
Alvin squatted down to take a look at Ishtar, then reached out and held one of her small hands.
She instinctively tried to pull it away, but Alvin held on firmly, refusing to let go.
Seeing this, the goddess shot him a sharp glare. "..Alvin, you're married now. Show some restraint!"
Alvin was stunned for a moment. "..So I can't even hold your hand like before?"
"Of course not. After all, you're a married—"
But then she paused as she saw Alvin's expression dimm slightly, and his hand loosening its grip as if all strength had left him.
Ishtar was stunned and remained silent, but her thoughts were like a churning sea in her mind.
He… looked genuinely disappointed.
It was the first time, she had seen such a lost expression on her face.
…Did he really value her that much?
Even after marrying Arcueid, instead of rushing back to his bride, he came here to see her first.
That alone spoke volumes about the young man's feelings.
For a brief moment, Ishtar's heart wavered.
But then she shook her head, banishing the thought.
No, no. Get a grip, Ishtar.
Of course Alvin came to see you. Why wouldn't he? You're Ishtar, the most beautiful goddess of Uruk.
So what if he got married?
After all, it's just a title.
'With you charm, wouldn't it be easy for her to make a mere Alvin fall in love with you?'
Once she thought it through, all of Ishtar's frustration over the past few days seemed to vanish like mist.
She glanced at the boy beside her and said softly, "You don't need to look so dejected... I never said I wouldn't hold your hand. I just wanted a moment to myself."
"Really?" Alvin's head immediately lifted, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes.
"..."
"Don't look at me like a pitiful little puppy… When has this goddess ever gone back on her word?"
Feeling his gaze fixed so intently on her, Ishtar turned her face away, doing her best to keep her voice calm.
Seeing this, Alvin quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Ishtar was different from the others. From the beginning, she had always been supremely confident, never believing that anyone could be more beautiful than her. And to be honest… she was right.
When she invoked Beauty Manifestation (EX), her presence alone carried an irresistible charm that overwhelmed anyone who looked upon her.
Now, with Gaia's interference gone, even the could no longer maintain that state indefinitely, but it hardly mattered, after all, this appearance...with her familiar proud Tsundere attitude was really his type, at least one of.
But in short, thus goddess might seem "difficult to please" on the surface, but Alvin knew that, she was actually the type who would not waste her energy on internal things, and once she sorted out her feelings, she would never wallow or cling.
One thought, and her entire world shifted.
Still… there was one more place he had to visit.
After chatting with Ishtar for a little while longer, Alvin excused himself at just the right moment.
Even if this "game's" heroines had all been tossed into Britain, nearly giving him a heart attack in the process, he couldn't just leave things to chance.
He had to keep the "pond" calm.
A qualified time management master must make predictions in advance before the Shura field breaks out and stabilize their emotions.
Leaving the garden, Alvin strolled down the corridor, heading straight for Tiamat.
Even though no time would pass in Britain while he was gone, he still missed her ver much.
Everyone else seemed to want his body, but Tiamat was different.
Her feelings for him so pure that they couldn't be purer.
Of course, that didn't mean that other's feelings were not pure or anything..after all, even he was the same.
Although he did develop deep feelings for Artoria, Morgan, Arcuied and even Ishtar...but all this started because he was greedy for their bodies.
If they weren't beautiful, there would be no love between them.
A love born from physical atrraction to the heart and sould, was no less weaker than anything.
Not to mention, he was actually proud that they were interested in his body, after all, that proved that he was a charming man, and which guy wouldn't want to be charming.
Nevertheless, what he meant to say was that, while others shared romantic attraction towards him, Tiamat's love was pure.
She only wanted to dote on her child.
As the thought crossed in his mind, Alvin pushed open the door, and was greeted by the sight of the adorable, blue-haired goddess sitting on a small chair.
She was staring straight ahead, completely still, as if lost in thought… or perhaps watching something only she could see.
She didn't even seem to notice Alvin approaching her.
Alvin walked up to her, crouched down, and followed her gaze. But all he saw was an empty door.
"What are you doing?"
Tiamat blinked and slowly turned her eyes toward him.
"Aaaa~ (Nothing)~"
She murmured, shaking her head. Then, gazing at him, her lips curved in the faintest hint of a smile.
"Aaaaa~ (Your magic… it tastes even better than before.)"
Of course, it was only natural.
The White Dragon's Core could endlessly devour and refine magical energy, and in recent days, Alvin had absorbed a lot of power.
First from the Primordial Goddess Tiamat's and then from Arcuied.
Add in his passive ability, "Innate Charm", and the result was even more obvious.
Now, the situation was so gone that, for any being sensitive to magical presence, Alvin was practically irresistible.
But Alvin wasn't about to dwell on this. Instead, he smiled and asked, "Have you been comfortable here in Britain, Mother?"
Tiamat gave a small nod. "Aaaaa~ (Everyone has been very kind.)"
She had been worried, at first.
As the Primordial Mother Goddess herself, wouldn't her mere existence terrify the people of Britain? Wouldn't they reject her?
And yet, to her surprise, her time in the royal palace had been nothing like that.
Every person she met treated her with deep respect, and the kitchens never failed to provide her with abundant, delicious food.
Everyone here spoke gently. They smiled at her.
It was… a warm place.
Alvin chuckled softly. "I'm glad to hear that."
Of course, he knew better.
Whether it was the Round Table knights or the palace staff, their "kindness" came less from friendliness and far more from fear.
After all, this was Tiamat, an unpredictable living calamity.
After all, if something were to go wrong with this manifested avatar, her true body in the Imaginary Numbers Sea would be provoked into awakening…
If such a huge creature were to land in Britain...the danger it would could would make even Arcueid pale in comparison.
Tiamat's Sea of Chaos could erode minds, twisting anyone into a monster.
But Alvin naturally didn't say any of that.
Firstly, it would be cruel.
After all, Tiamat had only just begun to see this world as something warm and worth loving. To crush that fragile hope with brutal truth? He couldn't.
Secondly… even if it was a comforting lie, he felt that, as long as it gave her, the one, who was originally disappointed at this world, the strength to keep believing in the world, then it was worth it.
"Are you going to leave?"
However as such thoughts crossed his mind, Alvin blinked, feeling a gentle poke against his cheek.
He turned his head and saw Tiamat holding up a small notebook where she had neatly written her question.
He couldn't help but smile, shaking his head. "What are you saying…? I'm not leaving Britain."
"But… you're going back to the modern world, aren't you?" she asked softly.
For a moment, Alvin's smile froze.
The words struck him like a storm and he stared at her in shock.
"Return to the surface world"—for the transmigrators and magi in Britain, the phrase was familiar.
Everyone knew that when the countdown reached zero, the transmigrators would go back to their original world.
But Tiamat?
She had only just arrived and almost never left this room.
She shouldn't even know what the countdown was.
So…who did she hear that from?
Tiamat's crimson eyes stared straight into his, unblinking, as if she could see through him.
It wasn't until what felt like an eternity that Alvin finally came back to his senses, as he reached out and gently stroked her silky blue hair, and spoke in a warm, soft, almost coaxing tone.
"It's alright. I really will return to the surface for a few days… but for you, it will only feel like 0.1 seconds have passed."
"So, you can just think of it like I'll be back… in an instant."
"Aaaa…"
Feeling the warmth of the boy's palm, Tiamat leaned in and nuzzled against it, almost like a cat. A faint, soothing fragrance seemed to linger around her, soft and calming.
Yet even so, her crimson eyes carried a trace of unease.
Even if Alvin claimed it would only be "0.1 seconds" for her, some part of her was still a bit worried.
What if this time, he never came back?
Although this woman was powerful enough to destroy the world… her heart was so very small.
Although Alvin and her had only known each other for a very short time..but all these countless ages, she had known no one—no one but him.
Alvin was the only one who had ever been willing to burn his own magical energy, every hour of every day, just so her spirit form could remain here.
The only one who wanted her to see the world's beauty.
The only one who stayed with her.
For Tiamat, she had no one expect him.
Alvin obviously noticed the anxiety and worry flickering in her gaze.
He knelt down slightly so his eyes were level with hers, and with a gentle smile, he spoke:
"Don't worry. I'll be back before you even notice I'm gone. Besides, there are plenty of people in Britain who'll keep you company, right?"
Tiamat blinked, then reached for her little notebook and scribbled a single sentence:
"They are them. You are you."
Alvin froze for a moment, then chuckled softly and said
"Fair enough. After all, we do have our contract, don't we?"
In fact, when he returned to the modern world, even if for only a "moment" from her perspective, she would technically lose the magical energy that tethered her to this realm.
But it would only be for an instant, so, her spirit wouldn't disappear.
Tiamat hesitated for a moment, then wrote another line:
"What does the present world look like?"
She had seen Britain in the Age of Gods.
She had even glimpsed Crimson Moon's Millennium Castle. But those places, for all their wonder, were still echoes of a mythic age, familiar to her in a way.
The modern world, however… although she had heard about it a bit from Alvin but, she had never seen it.
After all, in the original work, Tiamat was completely erased before she lived to the modern era because she hindered the development of human nature.
Alvin sat beside her, and while the countdown ticked away, he began to describe it:
"The modern world isn't like Britain in the Age of Gods. It's… different.
By the way, the age of gods have completed faded, so, no magic in the open. Instead, humans built their own civilization—machines, cities, technology that stretches to the sky…"
He spoke of televisions and computers, of endless clothing shops, of traffic lights and glowing screens.
He even threw in a few stories about the Clock Tower, like how half the professors were bald, and that Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, the infamously arrogant Lord, was actually a henpecked husband.
To Alvin, these were all trivial stories. But Tiamat?
Tiamat listened with rapt attention, her eyes wide, her head tilted in childlike wonder.
When he mentioned his teacher, she even tilted her head and asked more about him.
She had been in the palace for so many days, but had never seen Kayneth, and she had no idea what the henpecked monarch, whom Alvin described as particularly powerful, looked like.
[Through your idle chatter, Tiamat's curiosity about the world has deepened.
Her hostility toward humanity has slightly diminished.
Congratulations—Special Achievement Unlocked: "Mom! (Gold)"]
[Mom!: The apex predators in your fish pond might all want to devour you… but your mom is different. She only wants to dote on her child.]
Alvin stared blankly at the panel.
…What the hell kind of achievement is this?
And why… why did he have so many apex predators in his fish pond?!
Well...if girls like Gray or Reines were "small fish." Manageable.
But Artoria? Tiamat? Morgan? Those were not fish.
Those were great white sharks.
How could he, the owner of the fish pond, afford to raise so many huge sharks now...
And if one day they decided to bite down—well, even he wasn't sure he'd survive it.
Still… at least these "sharks" were confined to Britain.
When he returned to the modern world, such dangerous things would calm down—right? Right?
When Alvin thought of this, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and his usual smile returned to his face.
In these final hours, Alvin stayed with Tiamat, chatting and laughing until the countdown ticked down to its very last digit.
On the day of his return, Alvin sat alone in the room, silently counting down the days.
And then—
Buzz.
As the number hit zero, a brilliant white light engulfed him.
When he opened his eyes, the gilded halls of Britain's palace were gone.
He was back.
A modest, cozy room surrounded him.
The familiar hum of his computer greeted him.
No doubt, the other transmigrators were already losing their minds.
After all, this time, everyone knew exactly who had just married the True' Ancestor.
Perhaps, the Monarchs of Clock Tower were holding an emergency meeting as he sat here.
Alvin thought of all this… and ignored it all.
Instead, he powered on his computer.
Whatever political storm awaited him could wait. For now, he only wanted to see one thing—
It was all good...the computer was in a good condition, expect … the icon for "Playful Type-Moon" was gone.
He frowned, checked his desktop, then the drive.
Nothing.
Just as he was about to start searching, his fingers brushed against something small, a thumb-sized USB drive plugged into the PC.
Before he could pull it out, it dissolved into a cascade of glowing motes… and sank into his hand.
Pain lanced through his head. And then, before his eyes—
[Do you want to open personal interface?]
[Yes / No]
Alvin froze for a moment.…When he had first crossed into Britain, he had seen this exact same deep-blue interface in front of him!
Without a second thought, he chose "Yes."
In that instant, the personal interface quietly appeared before his eyes.
[Name: Alvin]
[Strength: A++]
[Endurance: A] [Agility: B]
[Mana: EX]
[Luck: E]
[Magic Resistance: A+]
[Current Noble Phantasm (Selectable): Mom! (By invoking the incantation "Mom," summon a phantom of the Primordial Mother Goddess)]
[Note: You may freely select any Noble Phantasms you have obtained (multiple selections allowed)]
'Looks like I really did inherit the White Dragon's status panel in the modern world… 'Alvin fell into thought.
And it was far stronger than it had been when he had first arrived in Britain.
Especially the White Dragon Furnace Heart, while it was still listed as "EX," with the magical energy he had received from Tiamat and Crimson Moon, it had reached an almost perfect state of evolution.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that even in the modern world, while Alvin's mana might not be infinite, but it was more than enough to handle most magi… and even some Heroic Spirits.
The only question was whether the Counter Force would take issue with him.
After all, Alvin's current power was far too abnormal. If he acted recklessly, it might even disrupt the proper development of human history.
While he was still mulling over these messy thoughts, he suddenly noticed something else on his personal interface—
A second tab.
With a thought, the display shifted to the next page.
And at once, over a hundred CGs appeared before his eyes…
.
.
.