On the park bench, Acheron was sound asleep, holding Vera tightly in her arms.
Her smooth, purple long hair draped in front, mixing together with Vera's white hair. Under the bright moonlight, the two strands shone with a captivating glow.
Emiya gently brushed his hand over Acheron's brow. He realized it was much more relaxed than when he had first seen her.
Was it him who had given her a sense of safety, or Vera who had given her the warmth of a home? Emiya didn't know.
He only knew that from this moment on, these two, one big, one small, were both his to protect. Whether Aeons or any other gods, none of them would ever hurt them again.
"Tomorrow, we'll rent the house and start the mission. The sooner I can exchange Vera's god-slaying spear, the sooner I can kill the Nihility Aeon..."
Mumbling under his breath, Emiya leaned against Acheron's side and slowly fell asleep. He didn't notice the faint blush that swept across Acheron's pale face.
———
Early the next morning, Vera pulled Acheron over to the washbasin to wash up carefully. By the time Emiya woke, Vera's long hair, once loose over her shoulders, had already been tied up into a bun by Acheron.
"Lord Emiya, what's wrong?" Sensing Emiya staring blankly at her, Vera asked curiously.
"It's nothing. I just think you two really look like a mother and daughter by blood."
"Please don't say such awful jokes again!" Vera raised her little fists, her face showing rare anger.
"And in the future you must never say that to the Guardians who are born later either. Otherwise, if you get beaten up, I won't step in to stop it!"
"Huh? Is it that serious?" Emiya scratched his head awkwardly and looked to Acheron, hoping she would explain what was going on.
"Haha, a girl's thoughts aren't something you'll understand. Just listen and do as told!" Acheron laughed heartily, holding Vera's hand as they walked out of the park, leaving Emiya behind with two cool and graceful silhouettes.
———
At exactly seven o'clock, the streets were already lively. Breakfast vendors shouted loudly, the bustling crowds hurried onto buses and rushed into subways.
"Lord Emiya, let's make do with a simple breakfast first, then we can take some time to look around."
Vera bought each of them a basket of steamed buns, a fried dough stick, and a bottle of soy milk, then continued forward.
"This place may be similar to your homeland, but you probably don't have much experience with ordinary people's jobs. It's better to get familiar first so you can adapt faster."
"Wait, isn't money directly given after finishing a system mission?" Acheron was stunned.
Seeing how the system had given them identities and money before, Acheron instinctively assumed Emiya would get paid for completing missions. She hadn't expected he actually intended to work ordinary jobs to earn money.
"Working ordinary jobs wastes too much time. If we really need money badly, we should just take down some crime syndicate instead!"
Acheron always felt that those who achieved great things shouldn't be bound by trivialities. Eliminating crime groups was a huge good deed.
If they contributed so much, taking a little of the illicit money as payment would be good for everyone.
With the time saved, Emiya could train Vera together with her, and while Vera was still young, he could properly spend time with her, leaving the little one a beautiful childhood memory.
———
"I'm sorry, Lady Acheron, I forgot to explain the system's daily tasks to you."
Vera pulled Acheron to sit on a stone bench by the roadside, carefully explaining the basics of the system and the Guardians.
"Simply put, Lord Emiya's system tasks are to make him work like an ordinary person. That way he comes into contact with all kinds of ordinary people. Making money is just a side result."
The Imaginary Tree used imaginary energy to give birth to the real-number world.
In the real-number world, the nature of imaginary energy changed, becoming gentler and easier to absorb.
This imaginary energy also had another trait, it was more active when in contact with intelligent life.
The missions the system gave Emiya, at their core, were to make him experience the many aspects of the world and collect the imaginary energy samples released by intelligent life in that process.
It's worth noting that the mission targets were basically all ordinary people. The imaginary energy samples from them were closer to their original form.
Also, this way the Guardians born from it would carry more human emotions, rather than becoming cold, world-ending weapons.
After collecting enough imaginary energy samples, then using Stellaron Cores and Herrscher Cores, plus special nutrients given by the system, the life that would be born was the Guardian.
Because of various factors, Guardians would display traits of one or several Paths. For example, wisdom from the Path of Erudition, fragile but explosive bursts from the Path of Hunt, or healing from the Path of Abundance.
It must be emphasized that the Guardian's power is not the same as the Aeons' Path power. It's only superficially similar.
The Aeons, being the most mysterious and powerful beings, even the system cannot confirm whether they can see through the essence of a Guardian. So it's best to avoid attracting direct attention from a Aeon.
———
"Don't you need Stellaron Cores and Herrscher Cores though? But I remember Emiya said you were directly from..."
"I'm special. You'll understand once you meet the Guardians." Vera reached out to cover Acheron's mouth, dangerous light flickering in her blood-red eyes.
"And as for where Lord Emiya brought me from, that must never be spoken of to anyone. Remember this."
"Alright, I'll remember." Acheron placed Vera's hand over her heart. "Thank you for trusting me, for telling me these secrets. I won't let you down."
"It's me who should thank you. Thank you for believing in Lord Emiya. One day you'll be proud of this choice."
Off to the side, Emiya watched the two of them chatting so affectionately, and his awkwardness almost got the better of him.
Calling out for them to keep talking at their own pace, he wandered off alone through the city.
The sights all around were both familiar and strange. Especially when he glanced through the high school gates and saw the energetic students inside.
Memories that had nearly faded from his mind in his past life surfaced once more.
'Rin... That idiot hasn't caused you any trouble, has she?'
———
At 8,30 in the morning, the three of them impatiently headed for the real estate agency, planning to ask if they could view the house earlier. But the place was already in chaos.
That fat bastard who harassed Acheron last night had brought along two burly men in black suits, black sunglasses, and neat crew cuts to block the agency entrance and shout.
"Hey, move aside, don't block other people's business!" Emiya stepped in front of the two burly men. At 187 cm tall, he was still a full head shorter than them.
"That's the brat, grab him!"
Tony roared, ordering his men to seize him. But he hadn't expected that Kobayashi, the agent who had shown Emiya the house yesterday, would rush forward to shield him.
Kobayashi was less than 170 cm tall, thin and scholarly in appearance. It was obvious Tony's two men had scared him badly, his body shook uncontrollably, but he showed no sign of leaving.
"Mr. Tony, grabbing people in broad daylight is illegal. I've already called the police!"
"Kobayashi, have you forgotten what happens when you cross us?!" Tony jabbed his finger at Kobayashi's nose, arrogance overflowing.
"I remember you still have a daughter, don't you? For her sake, you'd better get out of the way!"
"Oh? Interesting." Emiya's face darkened completely. For the first time he looked directly at Tony, memorizing that fat, ugly face.
"Mr. Emiya, you need to run, I'll hold them off!" Kobayashi's pain was clearly triggered.
Tears streamed down his face, but still he refused to back down. He desperately shoved at Emiya, trying to make him leave quickly.
"Take your wife and daughter and get out of here. This city, no, this country, is not safe!"
"Mm. Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Kobayashi." Emiya patted Kobayashi on the shoulder, then signaled for him to turn and look.
"This... what the hell!" Kobayashi's legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground.
The once-arrogant Tony and his two henchmen were now all lying on the ground like dead pigs, motionless. Acheron lazily dragged them one by one and dumped them into the roadside trash bins.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kobayashi." Emiya helped him up from the ground, brushed the dust off his clothes, and smiled. "This mess started because of me. I'll take full responsibility."
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