For a while after that, Akuto once again covered Italy with Create the World, then summoned Heretic Melqart and Heretic Perseus out of mythology and defeated them both.
After continuously absorbing the mythologies of Heretic Melqart and Heretic Perseus, Akuto's base strength rose to Mid-tier Demi-Dragon God. He was now only one step away from reaching High-tier Demi-Dragon God.
...
While Akuto was in Italy slaying gods and usurping the true bodies of deities, the other Campiones and magical organizations around the world were beginning to stir as well.
In America, John Pluto Smith, the Underworld King, together with Annie Charlton, foiled Divine Ancestor Anne's scheme and defeated her incarnation, the Body of Rationality.
In Britain, the Black Prince returned to his beloved homeland, while Princess Alice of White, for reasons unknown, changed her attitude toward him from rejection to cooperation, and began helping him search for the Holy Grail and Divine Ancestor Guinevere.
In Eastern Europe, Marquis Voban only sensed something was wrong when the dragon-vein barrier shattered. By the time he got an answer as to what had happened, Akuto had already defeated Verethragna, Melqart, and Perseus, and was on a plane home.
As an old shut-in who spent his days holed up on an island, Marquis Voban regretted missing the chance to hunt four gods in one go so much it nearly drove him mad.
So after some thought, he decided to offer his wounded little heart a bit of compensation.
Since he had lost the chance to hunt four gods at once, he would just have to summon a new one as compensation.
In Southern Europe, ever since Akuto defeated Doni and stripped away his fate, Doni had vanished without a trace and no longer appeared in public.
In Japan, after receiving the report from her disciple Lu Yinghua, Luo Hao was quite pleased to hear that Akuto had thoroughly beaten Doni down. At the same time, her interest in Akuto deepened considerably.
Akuto, Akuto. That name clearly sounded Chinese.
After ordering Lu Yinghua to investigate, Luo Hao obtained Akuto's information and immediately sent an invitation, demanding that Akuto come to Mount Lu and pay respects to a senior martial king of the same homeland.
...
As for Akuto's side of things, after defeating and usurping the mythologies of three gods, he casually accepted the beauties the Italian magical societies had sent him.
After spending a night in shared bedplay with them and giving a bit of private guidance based on their performance, he handed them over to Erica's management, using them as extensions of his reach to more conveniently rule over Italy's magical societies.
After that, Akuto boarded his return flight.
Only this time, unlike before, he was flying on a private jet generously provided by the Italian magical societies.
Sitting aboard the private jet, Akuto amused himself with Erica and the others while casually rejecting Luo Hao's invitation.
Go to Mount Lu to pay respects to Luo Hao? Had she mistaken him for some junior Campione from the same country?
Akuto understood perfectly well that when dealing with a strong woman like Luo Hao, weakness was absolutely unacceptable. Besides, he had never once taken a weak posture before any woman.
So Akuto directly refused Luo Hao's invitation and told her that if she wanted to see him, she could come to him herself.
Tokyo.
Narita International Airport.
As Italy's "Air Force Three" descended, Akuto finally returned to the Japan he held dear.
(Note: Air Force One is used by the Italian Prime Minister, since Italy is a parliamentary system rather than a presidential one. Air Force Two is used by the Sword King Doni. Air Force Three is used by Akuto.)
...
The atmosphere on the private tarmac at Narita International Airport was subtle and tense.
Shizuka stood at the very front of the crowd, unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes in her hands as she stared at the private plane from Italy that had just come to a stop, her gaze complicated.
Standing beside her, Kaoru's earlier warning still echoed in her ears.
"Princess Shizuka, Akuto-sama is now a Campione who reigns over mankind, a godslaying king. His majesty and power are no longer something we mortals can begin to comprehend. In front of Akuto-sama, we must all be cautious in both word and deed."
"But you are different. You are both Akuto-sama's younger sister and Godou-sama's younger sister. You already stand above ordinary people in Japan."
That was right. Kaoru had already told Shizuka that both of her older brothers, Akuto and Godou, had become Campiones.
There was no helping it. Since they had to come to the airport to welcome Akuto, and since there was no way they could stop Shizuka from insisting on coming, Kaoru could only tell her the truth in advance, just to prevent any trouble the next day.
Watching the private jet land, Shizuka pressed her lips together. She understood Kaoru's awe, but what churned in her heart was something else.
That Akuto-nii she had grown up with, the one who always wore a gentle smile and gave off such a dependable presence, had he really become so impossibly far away?
A king who slew gods was simply too far removed from the life Shizuka had always known.
...
The cabin door opened, and Akuto was the first to step out.
Sunlight fell across him, as though draping him in some indescribable halo.
That familiar, faintly roguish curve still lingered at the corner of his mouth, but his entire presence had undergone a complete transformation.
The Akuto in Shizuka's memories had already been handsome, but now she realized that the Akuto who had returned was even more attractive than the one she had watched leave. Even more enough to make her heart flutter.
Her heart did flutter.
But the moment she saw the whole crowd of beautiful girls behind him, that flutter instantly turned into chest pain.
She could understand someone as exalted as Akuto naturally having attendants around him, but why were all of Akuto's attendants beautiful girls, each one with her own completely different kind of charm?
Could it be those girls were not attendants at all... but...
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Shizuka nearly felt faint.
...
On Akuto's side, he swept his gaze across the welcoming group.
Shizuka. Kaoru. Yuri. Hikari. Touki. Ena. Hikohiko. Touma. And a large number of attendants behind them.
From the look of it, not only had the younger generation of Japan's Four Great Houses come, but their family heads had come as well.
The so-called Four Great Houses of Japan were the four ancient bloodlines that had served the imperial line through their spiritual power since ancient times.
They were the Seishuuin family, the Saya no Miya family, the Renjou family, and the Kuhouin family.
Among them, the Seishuuin family specialized in martial strength and politics.
The Saya no Miya family served as the core strategists of the Official Compilation Committee.
The Kuhouin family was chiefly responsible for guarding the Western Heavenly Palace of Nikkō Tōshō-gū, overseeing the Four Priests, and serving hidden gods.
The Renjou family, meanwhile, specialized in sorcery and commerce.
It could be said that Japan's Four Great Houses each had their own role, each controlling power in a different sphere of the nation.
Of course, when people spoke of "serving the emperor," they meant the Tennō, not any Campione. Until just a few days ago, Japan had still been a country that had never once produced a Campione.
Akuto knew that although the people waiting to greet him were young, they represented the future of the nation.
Ena had already been designated the next head of the Seishuuin family.
Kaoru was currently being trained as the future head of the Saya no Miya family while serving as the chief of the Tokyo branch office.
Hikohiko was also the chosen heir of the Kuhouin family.
As for Touki, although she was on the verge of losing her claim to headship because she could not use sorcery, she still counted as the current heir of the Renjou family.
In other words, all four future heads of Japan's Four Great Houses had come to welcome him personally.
Akuto's deep gaze swept across the waiting crowd. Every person it touched, even capable figures like Touma and Ena, unconsciously held their breath, a tremor rising from the depths of their souls.
This was the absolute pressure of status that belonged to a Campione.
...
"Yo, Yuri, Hikari, Kaoru, Seishuuin, Renjou. Long time no see."
Akuto greeted the people he knew in order of closeness.
Yuri and Hikari were already basically at the point of being fully won over. Kaoru counted as an old acquaintance and half a childhood friend. As for Ena, Akuto had worked with her several times while handling requests, so while they were not exactly close, they were definitely familiar. And Touki? He had only seen her a few times during major holidays.
...
Akuto's voice broke the silence, and the gathered group stepped forward to return his greeting.
"Akuto-kun, you've finally come back. Hikari and I have both been very worried about you," Yuri said softly.
"Akuto-nii! Welcome back!" Hikari called out brightly.
"Akuto-sama, on behalf of the Official Compilation Committee, I welcome you home in triumph," Kaoru said.
"Yo, Akuto-kun, long time no see. I never expected that the next time we met, you'd already have become a King-sama. That really is just like you," Ena said with a grin.
"A-Akuto-sama, Renjou Touki, on behalf of the Renjou family, welcomes your return," Touki said.
Touki's expression was a little stiff and awkward.
Part of that was because, among all the newcomers here, she was the least familiar with Akuto.
The other reason was because... before coming here today, her family had informed her of a major decision. They intended to make her the new king Akuto's concubine.
...
With Akuto's powers of observation, he had already noticed that the way Touki was looking at him was a little off, but he said nothing.
Because there was still one important person he had yet to greet.
His gaze passed over Yuri, Ena, Touki, and the others, before finally settling on Shizuka.
"Shizuka, I'm back."
Looking at Akuto's familiar yet somehow even more captivating smile, Shizuka felt that his smile was warmer than sunlight itself.
Her heart skipped a beat before she could stop it. A faint warmth rose to her cheeks, and the words "welcome back" nearly slipped from her lips.
But in the next instant, her attention was caught by the group of women standing behind him, each beautiful in her own different way.
(End of Chapter)
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