— — — — — —
A Seven-Million-Person Thanksgiving...
Although Merlin spoke in a rather mysterious tone, in reality, this was just a grand event held in the Black City and the surrounding plains, with over seven million participants.
It was both a farewell to the world and a celebration to mark the end of the seven-year-long war against the followers of the Evil God.
Of course, it wouldn't be entirely wrong to say Merlin's words had some truth to them.
Whether it was due to a divine channel working wonders or the impressive publicity efforts of the Seven Shields Alliance, it didn't matter—somehow, over the course of three days, while Veyron was in the temple meditating on his deeper state of understanding, Larentia and the others had managed to make sure that all seven million people knew about him and understood the changes he'd brought to the world.
As a result, wherever Veyron went, he was greeted warmly by people—often with a level of enthusiasm that made him feel a little uncomfortable.
After taking a walk around, Veyron arrived at the Black City's main gate, where Larentia was waiting for him.
"So, how do you feel about the gift for 'mother'? Are you two satisfied?"
Larentia asked.
"Very satisfied. It was a great help," Veyron and Merlin responded.
"Glad to hear it," Larentia said with a nod. She extended her hands in front of her and summoned a sapling from the World Tree. "The 'shift' is about to begin. Would you two be interested in being among the first visitors to our new home? If all goes well, you might be the only visitors for a long time."
"If it won't be a bother to you…" Veyron replied, "We'd be more than happy to."
The process of transferring the Eos Plains from the doomed Kuroinu World to the newly reborn World Tree turned out to be a lot more peaceful than Veyron had expected.
Maybe it was because the Kuroinu World's will was cooperating, or perhaps because the new World Tree had originally come from the old World Tree that the Kuroinu World was built on.
Maybe the gradual influence of the new World Tree's rules over the last few days had made the transition smoother than anticipated…
Standing close to Larentia, Veyron didn't feel anything unusual, and before he knew it, the barrier above his head disappeared.
Looking up, the clear blue sky of the new world stretched out above the Eos Plains.
Larentia sighed with relief. "Phew, it went smoothly. No problems."
"Can I ask you something?"
Veyron took a moment to sense the changes in the world's rules. The most obvious one was that the corrupting influence of the Evil God, which used to twist people's desires and lead them to become followers of Lust, no longer existed.
Veyron looked at Larentia, holding the sapling of the World Tree in her hands. He asked with a hint of confusion, "So, are you still Larentia, or… that?"
Veyron was referring to the old World Tree, or more accurately, to the will of the World itself.
"I'm both," Larentia answered after a moment of thought. "The goddess Larentia of the old world has already been reincarnated as Celestine. But the one in front of you, holding up this world, is the elf Larentia—the new 'mother' of this world."
So, the world's will had actually become sentient?
Well… logically, it probably first gained sentience and then became the will of the world?
"I hope this new world will grow even better with your care," Veyron offered his blessing.
"Thank you for your kind words," Larentia said with a smile, nodding. "And you're always welcome to visit this world again whenever you have the time."
Veyron was about to respond, but then a system prompt suddenly popped up.
[New Trait Acquired—Friend of the World (Gold)]
["Friend of the World (Gold)"— Grants the ability to place a World Anchor in any world that sees you as a friend.]
Veyron stared at the notification, surprised.
"..."
"Did you notice anything... strange just now?"Veyron glanced at Merlin.
"Something strange?" Merlin tilted her head and tapped her chin with a finger. "What do you mean?"
"What about you? Feeling anything unusual?" Veyron didn't answer directly. Instead, he activated the World Anchor and bound it to this newborn Tree World. Then, he looked toward Larentia, the will of this new world.
Larentia blinked, tilting her head in confusion.
Veyron: "...…"
Right. That confirms it. The Friend of the World (Gold) trait has nothing to do with Larentia. It's entirely the system's doing. Once an anchor is placed, even the world's will can't detect it. Was it because it already saw him as a friend?
After a brief pause, he explained the effect out loud.
So, what does this World Anchor from the [Friend of the World (Gold)] trait actually do?
Simple.
It lets him freely and permanently travel to and from any anchored world, with no restrictions.
And since this wasn't something he intended to hide—especially when people like Merlin from the dimensional chat group or literal world-wills like Larentia could easily notice if anything was off—he decided to just be upfront about it.
"Come and go as you please?" Merlin was so surprised she actually jumped off his shoulder. "Why don't I get anything like that?"
"Tha's not fair~"
Well, no surprise there. You don't have a trait system, do you?
"This has nothing to do with me," Larentia added, shaking her head. "I didn't sense any sort of special connection between you and this world—at least nothing different from what Merlin has."
"But if what you're saying is real… does that mean you'll be able to visit this world anytime you want?"
"In theory, yeah." Veyron nodded.
"Then let me be the first to say—welcome back, anytime." Larentia smiled warmly.
"…If I end up popping in every other day, don't get sick of me," Veyron said, half-joking.
"How could I?" Larentia's laugh was soft, almost musical.
The three of them chatted a bit more. But Larentia could tell from their tone that they were about to leave, so she didn't try to stop them.
...
[Based on your performance in this mission, you've earned 66,666 points.]
Veyron opened up the chat group's mission interface and tapped "Submit."
Seeing the total made him smile.
Adding this sixty-six thousand to the ten thousand he'd earned from the previous Highschool of the Dead mission, plus the steady stream of daily login bonuses—his current balance was pushing past seventy thousand. Almost eighty.
Finally, he could splurge a little in the group's marketplace.
Maybe try his luck again in the Gacha?
— — —
"Welcome home, Dad~"
A voice called out as soon as he returned to Eientei.
Houraisan Kaguya appeared out of nowhere, her presence calm yet striking as always. "Judging by the look on your face, I'm guessing this trip paid off?"
"Oh, absolutely. On several fronts." Veyron nodded with a grin.
From the Gene Lock Tier 4 Gift Card granted by the will of the old Kuroinu World just before departure…To the [Friend of the World (Gold)] trait he got after arriving in the new world…To the massive final payout of 66,666 points…
If he had to sum it all up in one word?
Satisfying.
"Hold on a bit—I've still got something to test," he said, pausing. "I'll fill you in right after."
He casually dropped another World Anchor—this time in the current world, which also happened to be on friendly terms with him.
Then he triggered the anchor he'd placed in the World Tree.
Swoosh—
In the blink of an eye, he returned to the same place he'd just left.
.
.
.