At Vita's words, Su and Kevin, who had merely been anxious before, now had a sharp glint in their eyes.
The two were, generally speaking, good people. But that didn't mean they would be nice guys when facing an enemy.
One of these two, in order to test the Stigmata Project, had directly administered a drug that poisoned King Arthur's countrymen. The other, in order to stop his best friend's atrocities, had directly taken up arms against him.
From this perspective, Welt, who only ever gambled with his own life, was actually the most moderate of the three powerhouses present.
Now, these two Previous Era Flame-Chasers had learned that the disappearance of their fellow Flame-Chaser, Griseo, five hundred years ago, was actually related to the woman before them...
If what Leo brought Vita was endless oppression, then in this instant, what Vita felt from the two men before her was an incomparably intense rage.
She even suspected that if she didn't still have value as an informant, her head would already be on the floor.
*To think I actually wanted to provoke a fight between them and Sa...*
*What an utterly foolish idea.*
*I shouldn't have even thought about provoking this group!*
And now, Vita could somewhat sense just how terrifying Kevin, who had completed his True Manifestation, truly was.
As the first person after Leo to come into contact with Dimensional Energy, Kevin, with his extreme talent, had naturally grasped the essence of Dimensional Energy and True Manifestation Fusion in a short time.
In these few years, as Leo completed his True Manifestation Fusion with the Cocoon, Kevin had also completed his own.
Without having stolen the power of Finality, he might still be inferior to Sa right now.
But Vita knew Sa all too well. With Sa's cowardice written into her core logic, if Kevin appeared in her field of vision, the probability of them fighting was ridiculously low.
Before a fight could even start, Sa would probably calculate 'fighting this person will result in too great a loss, it's not worth it', and then immediately chicken out, leaving Vita to be cleaned up by the enemy in minutes.
As for Su, although his progress in True Manifestation Fusion was not as advanced as Kevin's, after undergoing it, Su, who had further merged with his MANTIS body, had used this method to elevate his psychic power, which was originally inferior to Vita's, to a level far surpassing hers.
In the past, Vita had used special means to attack Su in an attempt to possess him. Now, with new hatred piled onto old, and them being so strong...
"Please, calm down! Miss Griseo is not in any safe—"
"Cut the crap."
Drawing the Might of An-Utu, which was infused with a massive amount of Dimensional Energy, Kevin unhesitatingly placed the greatsword against Vita's neck.
Even though this Divine Key, built from a Herrscher Core, currently contained no Honkai Energy, Vita could feel an terrifying temperature from its blade, ready to erupt at any moment.
"I ask, you answer. Any nonsense, and you die."
"Yes!"
Watching this scene, Welt knew he was no longer needed here.
Kevin and Su would handle the matter of Griseo's safety and Vita's interrogation.
Between the two of them, one had the strongest combat power second only to Leo, and the other possessed incredibly formidable psychic abilities.
Faced with this combination, this woman had no power to resist. Even if she wanted to lie, Su's psychic probing would make it extremely difficult.
He wasn't needed here anymore. So, what he should do was, of course...
—Slack off with peace of mind!
In the eyes of most who knew the truth, Welt Yang was a hero.
But being a hero didn't mean he had no desire to rest during his downtime.
Now, the great war was over. The contingency plans for Leo had all been scrapped after confirming he was normal.
With Schicksal and Anti-Entropy suffering minimal losses in this new era, there were many things Welt no longer needed to handle personally.
With everything looking good, he agreed with Leo's sentiment—resume the music, resume the dance!
Alright, so he hadn't really done much 'music' or 'dancing' before today, but the attitude was what mattered.
As an unlucky bastard who had died and come back several times, now that peace had returned to the world, Welt's heart was set on one thing: relaxing.
After giving the two a slight nod, Welt, completely at ease, used the Quantum Teleportation System to return to his residence.
"Dad."
Seeing Welt return home so early today, a blue-haired child asked, slightly surprised.
"You're off work this early today?"
"No, today... I want to rest for a bit."
Gently stroking the child's hair, Welt, with a relaxed expression, said to his adopted son.
"Little Jo, is there anywhere you'd like to go? You can tell Dad, and Dad will take you."
"Um... an amusement park?"
"Alright, then we'll go to the amusement park today."
Taking out his phone, Welt began to browse nearby amusement parks, trying to pick one suitable for a father-son outing.
But at the same time, out of Welt's line of sight, the blue-haired child also took out his own communicator and sent a message.
"Okay, this one looks... "
Just as he had picked a location, Welt suddenly saw a communication request pop up on his communicator.
And when he saw the name, Welt's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
*T-Tesla?*
*Why would she be...*
With a slightly trembling hand, he accepted the call, only to hear Tesla's clearly furious voice.
"JoachimyouactuallydaredtorunoffafteryoufinishedintheconferenceroomdoyouknowthatifyouleadthewayinskipingworkLittleJowillbepoorlyinfluencedbyyouyou'reafathernowcanyousetagoodexampleforthechildgetyourassbacktoSchicksalHQrightnowthere'sstillsomuchworktobedoneyourunrunrunrunmyass!"
After she finished her rapid-fire speech, Welt looked at the communicator, which she had already hung up, and then turned his gaze-filled-with-nuance to his adopted son, who was looking at him with innocent eyes.
"Little Jo... why did you tell your mother about this?"
"Well..."
Listening to Tesla's North American rapid-fire speech, the child said quietly, his eyes innocent.
"Doesn't Big Sister Isla have to report to her mom every time she goes out to play?"
"I thought... that was the correct thing to do."
"...No, you did the right thing."
*It* was* the correct behavior.*
*The timing was just a little terrible.*
"Alright, Dad has to go back to work overtime today. I'm sorry about the amusement park."
"It's okay, Dad. Just focus on your work."
*Sigh, it seems I really can't relax until the work is actually finished.*
*Perhaps Mr. Leo's way of life is actually more correct than that of a supposed adult like me.*
.....
After dumping Vita in front of Kevi and Su, Leo didn't worry about that side of things anymore.
It would be troublesome if Kevin and Su were in conflict, but if those two worked together seriously, Leo felt they could solve the problem.
Besides, it wasn't like they were mutes. If they needed Leo's help, they could notify him at any time.
When they had just met, Leo discovered that Kevin and Su's True Manifestation Fusion progress was already ridiculously high.
Now, with Su's psychic power significantly enhanced by the fusion, although Su couldn't communicate across dimensions like in the original story, making a long-distance call to summon people was still no problem.
If they really had to fight Sa, just *one signal flare, and the Cocoon of Finality will come to the rescue.*
A future fight is a future matter. At least for now...
In her room, Yuna looked at Leo, who had just appeared, her expression truly nuanced.
Just a moment ago, when Leo said 'go back and wait for me, I have a few small things to take care of', Yuna had felt a little bit resentful.
Although Leo's actions were very 'Leo', the problem was—right after confessing and exchanging their true feelings, he ran off to work?!?
If Yuna didn't know this was just how Leo was, her resentment probably would have tripled.
But *because* it was Leo, Yuna, though slightly resentful, was mostly relieved.
*Thank goodness, Senior is still the same Senior. This way...*
*...everything should be fine.*
*Besides, he said to wait 'a bit', and he really meant just 'a bit'.*
*Also, no, wait. Something feels off...*
"Senior, don't you think something is wrong?"
Yuna, realizing what Leo truly intended to do, suddenly took a step back.
"Everyone knows you're back. If you don't go see Kiana and the others right now..."
"What's wrong?"
Cutting off Yuna's question, Leo closed the distance to Yuna with a smile.
"Usually, you're the most poised and graceful one of the group. But now..."
"—At a time like this, you're actually shy?"
"...I'm a girl too. Isn't it normal to be shy?"
*Besides, in my original plan... I never would have had the chance to be in this kind of relationship with you.*
*All this time, I've been operating under the assumption that 'if Senior has more people who love him, I can rest a little easier'.*
*And now, the female lead of this stage play is supposed to be me?*
*I never heard anything about this!*"Alright, don't worry so much, Yuna."
Gently embracing the girl before him, Leo whispered in her ear.
"I'll be very gentle."
"Bullshit, I don't believe you."
Although she didn't struggle out of Leo's embrace, Yuna, whose attention had been successfully diverted by Leo, retorted huffily.
"You think I haven't asked Kiana, Mei, and Anna? You look like a perfect gentleman on the outside, but when it comes to *that*, you're as rough as a beast!"
"About that..."
After thinking for three seconds, Leo said with a strange expression.
"You're not going to believe this, but I was doing that to help them suppress their Herrscher Personalities and calm their hearts."
"Mhm, I believe you. So..."
At this moment, Yuna said to Leo the one endearment she had always wanted to say, but never dared to.
"Do as you please, Dar~ling~"
.
AlmostS at the same time. Kiana's Room.
In Kiana's room, Isla looked at her mother, Kiana, and her aunt, Bianka, feeling that their moods were a bit off.
She knew that her dad's harem was in a state of stable harmony, but now...
*—Wait, Mom, Auntie, you're not upset at all that Dad went to sleep with another woman right after he got back??*
As a child who had self-studied many subjects, Isla deeply felt just how abnormal her family was compared to conventional ones.
"Isla, are you letting your imagination run wild again?"
Seeing her daughter's drifting gaze, Kiana lightly tapped Isla on the head and said with a grin.
"You think we should be jealous right now?"
"Shouldn't you be?"
"If it were someone else, I might be jealous."
"But if that person is Yuna..."
"—Sigh, I just feel that this day came a little too late."
*?*
Seeing the confusion in Isla's eyes, Kiana said helplessly.
"Years ago, before Senior went to settle things with the Cocoon of Finality, everyone wasn't stupid. We could all see how Yuna felt about him."
"And in our daily lives, they're so in sync they're practically an old married couple. They have feelings for each other and they're a good match. In my eyes, this should have happened long ago."
*Ah, that's one way to put it, but it still feels a bit weird.*
"Um..."
Seeing Isla's eyes turn to her, Bianka asked, slightly confused.
"Should I have an opinion?"
"He rushed into imaginary space for everyone's sake and solved the disaster brought by the Cocoon of Finality. After all that, all he wants to do is embrace a woman."
"And that woman is a lover worthy of his embrace. At a time like this... even if he and I share the same relationship, I don't think I should be angry."
"Besides, compared to these minor things..."
At this, a look of relief appeared on Bianka's face.
"He came back safely. That's enough."
"As for everything else..."
"—It's really not that important."
..