Alise leaned against Rhode's chest, gently sniffing his familiar scent, and murmured softly.
"That's what you say, but it feels like you've been gone for so long…"
"And you've suddenly become much more muscular. You've been secretly working hard where we can't see, haven't you?"
Alise's intuition always inexplicably deduced the truth.
A soft light flashed in Rhode's eyes, and he hugged Alise a little tighter.
Alise squirmed a bit, seemingly a little shy, but the corners of her mouth curved slightly upward.
"If you work too hard, everyone will be sad, you know!"
"En…"
In fact, it wasn't just her; most of the girls had noticed Rhode's abnormality recently, but they tacitly chose not to ask, instead silently supporting him from behind.
Just as he had told Anya, even if their ideals differed, those who could understand and support each other were true family.
Effort would be rewarded, and love would be reciprocated. Feelings were never one-sided; even a one-way arrow in both directions was not a healthy relationship.
Rhode's primary reason for choosing to go to the Demi-Human world first was for them.
The Familia of Justice, like a constellation, was too conspicuous in the dark era, and could face deadly danger at any moment before completely crushing those maggots.
Since it couldn't be avoided in the short term, he decided to give the girls a second chance.
You once saved me, now it's my turn to save you.
"Cough cough....."
Leyla couldn't stand seeing the two of them being so lovey-dovey. Taking advantage of her Pallum size, she squeezed between them, forcibly separating the couple.
"That's enough. Anyone who didn't know would think we'd just been through a life-or-death separation!"
She turned her head to look at the two somewhat nervous girls by the door, raising her chin slightly.
"You said you were going to see a friend off, but you brought back two more girls. Aren't you going to introduce them?"
Leyla's deliberate emphasis on the word "girls" finally shifted the girls' attention from Rhode. They all looked up curiously at Suzuki Jun and Shimomura Izumi.
The two newcomers were nervous for a moment, but under Rhode's encouraging gaze, they quickly perked up.
Suzuki Jun smiled and waved.
"Hello everyone, my name is Suzuki Jun, and I'm Rhode's... attendant, mainly responsible for clerical external affairs ~"
Shimomura Izumi bowed formally to everyone.
"Hello, seniors, I'm Shimomura Izumi, also Lord Rhode's attendant, mainly responsible for combat-related work. Though I'm not very strong..."
Attendant?
Kaguya narrowed her crimson eyes, glanced at Rhode, and a half-smile played on her lips.
"Those names, are you two also from the Far East?"
Shimomura Izumi and Suzuki Jun exchanged glances, seemingly unsure how to answer.
Rhode cleared his throat and spoke up at the right moment, clapping his hands to draw everyone's attention. He said with a serious expression, "About that, I actually have something to tell you... but not here. I'll take you to my Kamui Space."
The first to cheer was the excited Alise.
"Yay! I've always been interested in that legendary place that can fit all of Orario. I even want to live there for a while!"
Rhode shrugged, smiling helplessly.
"Even if you live there your whole lives, I'd agree."
"But I might disappoint you. Although that place is boundless, it's incredibly desolate, with no beautiful scenery."
Alise puffed out her chest, revealing a radiant smile.
"Hmph, it's precisely because it's empty that it'll be even more fulfilling for us to build it into a home together!"
"Just like when Lady Astrea took me in, and then I met everyone, and we went through many adventures together to finally establish the Familia we have now!"
As expected, Alise's whimsical idea immediately sparked a lively discussion among the girls.
"Since that space can sustain life, we really could build a second Court of the Stars there!"
"I think we should just move the forest on the 18th floor directly into the space and make it our private territory!"
"Hmm, is that really okay?"
"Don't worry, the Dungeon will repair itself!"
"Speaking of which, why don't each of us build a perfect little house that matches our ideals?"
"If that's the case, I hope to have a treehouse."
"Hehe, if we live in that space, doesn't that mean everyone lives in Rhode's heart ~"
"L-live in Rhode's heart... That's too, too fast?!"
"Oh my, oh my, hiding all the girls of the Familia away in a golden house, Rhode is truly greedy!"
The girls were all very enthusiastic about this suggestion, and even remembered to tease Rhode.
Even the shyest Leyana, imagining the beautiful future of building a new home in Rhode's exclusive space, proudly sidled up to her fellow Selty and discussed it in a hushed, blushing voice.
"Since we're discussing our new home, you can't leave me out ~"
Wearing clean and modest white clothes, her walnut-colored hair as smooth as a galaxy.
Astrea slowly descended from the second floor, her eyes like a sea of stars welcoming Rhode with a smile, her voice like a silver bell.
"Welcome back, Rhode ~"
Suzuki Jun and Shimomura Izumi both felt as if they had been seen through when their eyes met the goddess'.
But that somewhat frightening feeling was fleeting, and the two girls were quickly drawn in by her gentle smile.
"Welcome to you too ~"
A smile involuntarily appeared on Rhode's face.
"In that case, let's all go together."
Although the current Kamui Space was incredibly vast, Rhode had roughly divided it into three concentric circular zones.
The innermost circle was the area where he and his girls would live under special circumstances.
The second circle was for entertainment, and in the future, special scenery from various worlds might be moved here for him and the girls' amusement.
The third circle was for special functions: the east was the storage area, the west was the experimental area, the north was the planting area, and the south was the industrial area.
As for the outermost area beyond the concentric circles, currently, the only parts being used were the prison area, which he had completely isolated using spatial power, and a special area used to store transferred enemy attacks.
This was equivalent to a smaller, independent second Kamui Space, completely separate from the main space.
Nothing in that area could be seen, sensed, or reach the main space.
Rhode led the girls to the innermost circle of the main space.
"Wow, this is Rhode's space?!"
The girls gasped in surprise at the gray, distorted, Another Dimension.
Leyana pulled at her mask, first noticing the hazy sky.
"I can't see blue skies and white clouds; it's like being shrouded in a thick, deep mist..."
Leyla held her head, looking around in confusion.
"Strange, I can't see the sun, moon, or any stars. Where is the light coming from?"
Alise put her arms around their shoulders from behind, forcibly turning their gaze forward.
"Oh, you two should be paying attention to that unique-looking building ahead!"
Nize and Iska had already rushed to the villa and were circling it impatiently.
The two girls touched the smooth glass walls and alloy doors, exclaiming in amazement.
"What exquisite craftsmanship."
"I've never seen this kind of material before...."
By this point, Rhode had no intention of continuing to hide anything.
He smiled and said, "Actually, these are all products from another world."
The girls turned their heads to Rhode in shock.
"Another world?!"
"Actually, I can travel through different worlds, and this building comes from a place where technology is about a thousand years ahead of Orario."
The sudden influx of information immediately caused Leyana's single-threaded mind to overheat and crash. She could only stammer Rhode's words like a broken record.
"Traveling worlds... a thousand years ahead...."
Noin's eyes were wide and round.
"So, Rhode, your hometown....?"
Rhode, however, didn't feel much homesickness. Living with beautiful girls in another world was much happier than returning to modern society as a corporate slave.
"Ah, it's also in another world, but I probably can't go back there."
Leyla, after a brief moment of surprise, murmured in realization.
"No wonder I always felt Rhode had a sense of being out of place..."
"At first, I thought he'd lived in the countryside for too long and wasn't used to Orario life."
Kaguya pinched her brow, a rare expression of something unreadable on her face.
"Turns out he's from another world entirely... And you were secretly investigating Rhode's past behind his back."
"You even worried he had some unspeakable deep-seated hatred and wanted to help him get revenge."
Leyla, whose thoughts had been exposed, panicked for a moment, then immediately calmed down, raising her chin and giving Kaguya a challenging look.
"I wonder who it was, who recently started secretly practicing the sword techniques she used to despise at night, just to be able to teach them better to Rhode."
The older and younger women inexplicably began to dismantle each other, their confrontation even more intense than her previous argument with Leyana.
Normally, Alise would step in to mediate at such times, but the red-haired woman had already dashed into the villa after getting Rhode's permission.
"Wow... this blanket is so soft... the big bed is so comfortable and fluffy... what is this thing that looks like a big mirror...."
Suzuki Jun chuckled as she followed them in, introducing the modern amenities one by one to the girls, who were like country bumpkins.
Thanks to the additional external facilities, most functions were still intact.
The stove in the kitchen that could light without magic amazed the girls, and Alise even let out a small shriek of surprise.
The flawless vanity mirror with adjustable lighting made Iska's cheeks flush with excitement; she almost wanted to take it home with her.
The showerhead in the bathroom with adjustable water temperature and pressure made Leyana and Noin cheer, even wanting to try it out on the spot.
"Everyone, look here."
Suzuki Jun led the girls to the storage room, stepping aside so they could see the items inside, her tone a little envious.
"These are gifts Lord Rhode specially selected for you. Each gift has your name on it ~"
The girls looked at the gift boxes, each custom-made in their preferred colors, their faces filled with uncontainable surprise and emotion.
Leyana's was a specimen of a rare plant, Alise's was a small MP4, Nize's was a hair care set...
They were all inexpensive little things, but they deeply touched the innocent girls.
Iska stared blankly at the cosmetics in her hand. Her eyes, which had just been full of smiles, suddenly welled up with tears. She turned her head and threw herself into Rhode's arms as he had just entered the room, hugging him tighter and tighter.
Unlike her often overly enthusiastic fellow members, although Iska usually appeared very open, her emotions were somewhat reserved.
However, this time, Iska whispered softly into Rhode's ear, bravely overcoming her shyness to say, "Don't leave later, wait for me."
After speaking, Iska wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, winked playfully at him, and used her lips to remind him not to forget, then ran off excitedly to ask Suzuki Jun for makeup tips.
Perhaps Rhode was a bit greedy, but he was different; he understood her!
After the girls had held their respective gifts, comparing, laughing, and playing with them for quite a while, they reluctantly gathered in the living room to listen to Rhode discuss serious matters.
"In the world I traveled to this time, I gained the ability to bring people back from the dead, and now I intend to share this ability with all of you."
The girls suddenly fell silent.
It wasn't pure shock. In fact, after learning that Rhode could travel between worlds, they almost believed he had the potential to become a god.
They just suddenly realized that Rhode had specifically traveled to other worlds to protect them.
Maliu looked at him with heartache, gently holding Rhode's hand, their fingers intertwined.
Resurrection from the dead. Just acquiring such forbidden power was enough to imagine how dangerous the process must have been!
And Rhode had even found a way to share this forbidden power with others.
He must have gone through many life-and-death crises, probably without even time to rest....
Rhode tilted his head in confusion, finding Maliu's gaze a bit strange.
"What's wrong, 470?"
Maliu jumped, quickly covering her face with her left hand to hide, and shook her head.
Still playing dumb now, is he trying not to make us worry?
Rhode, you really are too gentle.
We should be even gentler with him. I wonder what position Rhode likes, ah, no, what things he likes!
Seeing Maliu's face suddenly turn red for no reason, Rhode was a bit clueless, only able to sigh inwardly that a girl's thoughts were harder to guess than those of major villains.
If he knew what the girls were thinking, he probably wouldn't be able to keep a straight face.
Life-and-death crises?
Ah, yes, there were indeed life-and-death crises, but for others.
No time to rest?
That's true, because he's usually on an adventure of exploration with the two little maids.
While the other girls were somewhat tempted, they were more concerned about whether this would require Rhode to pay some price.
In the end, Alise took a deep breath, drawing all the girls' attention.
She didn't ask any questions, just showed a natural smile on her face.
"Since it's a power Rhode worked so hard to find for us, of course, we'll accept it without hesitation!"
"After all, no one would decline something from their closest family, right!"
Upon hearing this, the girls' internal struggles immediately vanished, and they revealed smiles of relief.
Following that, Alise continued to speak.
"However, if possible, we hope Rhode can take us with him when he goes to other worlds."
"After all, we also want to spend more time with Rhode. And if no one is watching you, I always feel like you'll do dangerous things without regard for your own safety!"
Meeting Alise's worried gaze, Rhode pondered for a moment, then nodded with a smile.
"Sure, in other worlds, everyone can also gain new powers."
"However, to bring people across worlds, I must sign a subordinate contract with them, and the terms of this contract are a bit harsh.... Once signed, you will probably be unable to separate from me for all eternity."
Alise extended her hand without any hesitation, her face full of smiles.
"Forming a Familia for life? There's actually such a good thing, Rhode, you should have said so earlier, you're so stingy!"
Resisting the urge to retort to Alise, Layla, usually the most rational, shook her head with a wry smile, and was the second to extend her hand to the center, gently placing it on Alise's.
"Together for all eternity.... Heh heh, I wonder if we'll have a big fight by then because we've grown tired of each other."
"But before that, let me look forward to such a future."
Following that, all the girls stood up, one by one, placing their hands together with smiles of trust and anticipation.
They looked at Rhode, who seemed completely unprepared for this situation, with smiling eyes, and urged him with a chuckle.
"Hurry up, Rhode!"
You fool, if you can risk your life for everyone, what does it matter for everyone to offer their body and soul to you?
Rhode rubbed his nose, felt the girls' intentions, chuckled, and stood up, placing his right hand on Maliu's hand.
"Then..."
"Wait, you forgot someone!"