Chapter 616: The Ferryman’s Legacy, the White-Haired Little Girl

"All right, that’s taken care of."

Elias clapped his hands and yawned again.

According to the Ferryman’s own request, Elias had already sent the bastard on his way using the cruelest and most painful method possible.

With that, the Ferryman had repaid perhaps one ten-thousandth of his sins.

Forget ashes. There wasn’t even a speck of residue left of him now.

If that guy could somehow still pull off a resurrection after this, Elias swore he would eat the Hyperion: Moonlight Throne ARK on the spot!

"Ai, go retrieve the data from the other ship."

"Understood, Captain! More useful knowledge for me~"

The twin-tailed cabbage-headed AI girl skipped toward the Ferryman’s Hyperion. Although the man had been an utterly unforgivable criminal, he had still left behind quite a few useful things.

And the battered, dilapidated Hyperion before them was the Ferryman’s most valuable legacy, containing precious records of the decades he had spent sailing through the Sea of Quanta.

Moreover, although all of his Ether Anchors had been burned away, the Ferryman had spent years exploring bubble worlds, and Ether Anchors hadn’t been the only things he collected. He had amassed many other treasures as well.

The Herrscher of Finality’s World-Destroying Divine Spear was one of them.

There probably weren’t any other treasures comparable to the World-Destroying Divine Spear, but Elias was certain there had to be plenty of other good stuff.

Putting aside the fact that the Ferryman had already given everything aboard his Hyperion to Elias before dying, even if he hadn’t, Elias never would have planned on letting all these things go to waste.

"Consider it compensation for the emotional distress this whole incident caused me. Hopefully this guy’s inheritance is ridiculously good."

"Indeed. Though I never expected that merely entering the World’s Interstice would change Miss Luna so drastically. What a shame... Ahem, I mean, how surprising."

"Hm?"

Elias turned his head and discovered that, for some reason, Rosemary was staring at Luna with a complicated expression and had even sighed.

Seeing her reaction, Elias couldn’t help raising an eyebrow.

He suddenly remembered that his maid seemed to have a bit of a fondness for little girls. Normally, after Rita finished the housework in the dorm, aside from sticking close to Elias, she would usually go after Theresa.

Without Judah, the little white-haired puffball stood no chance of escaping Rita after she became a MANTIS, and Theresa was treated like a doll every single time.

(Uh... Rosemary doesn’t have that same preference too, does she? No way, right? So is she actually disappointed because Luna grew up and isn’t a little girl anymore?)

Cold sweat appeared on Elias’ forehead as he prayed it was only his imagination. He really hoped his beloved witch wouldn’t shatter the perfect image she held in his heart.

"Hehe~ That’s right. I’ve grown up now. I’m even bigger than Rosemary and Big Sister!"

The vampire girl proudly thrust out her chest.

She had already reached a size that could proudly overlook nearly every other woman.

With proportions like these, even compared to the female Flame-Chasers, who were generally quite well-endowed aside from Fu Hua, only Aponia, Vill-V, and Eden could rival Luna!

Elias was really looking forward to seeing Theresa’s reaction when she met Luna later. It was definitely going to be hilarious!

Just imagining it made the corners of his lips rise uncontrollably, but soon, the irresistible wave of drowsiness struck him again.

"Haaah~ I’m sleepy. I’m going to get some rest first."

"Human, I’ll go with you."

"Lord Captain, would you like someone to accompany you while you sleep?"

Luna and Rosemary each hooked one of Elias’ arms from either side.

"Uh, I’ll pass."

Himeko looked at the two girls with a speechless expression. As a fellow woman, she could tell that Rosemary and Luna were already beyond saving, especially the vampire girl. Her illness was love, and there was no cure!

If the object of their affection were someone else, Himeko would probably feel that they were wasting themselves.

But since it was Elias,

all Himeko could say was that this guy absolutely deserved to be popular!

(Sigh~ I’m kind of jealous. It’d be nice if I could find a boyfriend this outstanding someday... Uh, forget I thought that. That’s probably impossible in this lifetime.)

Himeko smiled bitterly and patted her forehead.

Find a boyfriend as outstanding as Elias?

Hehe~ Even searching the entire Sea of Quanta might not be enough to find one.

She was starting to worry a little.

Had meeting Elias already ruined her chances of ever settling for anyone else?

After all, even setting aside his personality, abilities, wealth, and everything they had been through together, that face alone was far too unforgettable!

If someone confessed to her in the future, the moment she remembered Elias’ face, she would probably reject them outright.

After seeing the sun, how could anyone still be captivated by a candle?

"Himeko, what are you thinking about?"

"Uh, nothing, nothing. Don’t worry about it."

"All right then. Hehe. Later, I’ll introduce you to the Himeko from the Proper World. I guarantee you can’t possibly imagine just how incredible and beautiful you’ll be ten years from now!"

Elias gave her a thumbs-up and praised her without holding back.

"You really like the other me?"

"Of course! But it isn’t like. I love her!"

Elias answered without hesitation.

"!!!"

Himeko’s heart instantly lost control, and her cheeks flushed red. She couldn’t help feeling a little envious of her counterpart in the Proper World.

(Everyone... I’ll be back soon.)

Elias looked into the distance and spoke silently in his heart.

Spending ten thousand years inside the World’s Interstice had once again pushed the capacity of his brain and memories close to its limit. And this time, without an ability like [Heart of Eternity],

Elias’ heart itself had suffered a considerable degree of wear.

Even so, Elias still remembered every little moment he had shared with the girls. The greatest reason he had decided to temporarily end his journey through the Sea of Quanta and return to the Proper World

wasn’t because he was tired, but because he missed Elysia, Mei, Himeko, Kiana, Eden, Bronya, Cecilia, and so many others.

The longing that had already built up to the point of bursting had pushed Elias to the limit of his endurance. During those ten thousand years, he had managed to suppress it by focusing all his attention on Luna alone.

But many emotions only grew stronger the more they were restrained, and when they finally erupted, the result became even more terrifying.

All that could be said was that the girls of the Proper World had better prepare themselves.

As for what they needed to prepare for...

Naturally, being loved to death by Elias!

"I really want to see everyone as soon as possible. Tell Ai that once she’s finished retrieving the data and items, we’re immediately initiating a jump home."

"C-Captain! Hurry over here! Ai found something incredible! You’re definitely going to love it!"

The AI girl suddenly contacted him, making Elias pause.

Something he would definitely like?

Now he was interested!

If even Ai was describing it that way, Elias was already getting impatient. As expected of someone who had spent so many years wandering the Sea of Quanta, the Ferryman really did have a ridiculous number of good things.

Could there actually be a second collectible on the level of the World-Destroying Divine Spear?

Elias located Ai’s position and casually opened a spatial portal, teleporting himself, Luna, and the others over.

"Ai, where’s this incredible thing? Hurry up and let me see! Hiss... Th-This is!"

"What do you think, Captain? I told you you’d like it!"

"..."

Elias stared speechlessly at his cabbage-headed AI and suddenly felt the urge to reset her to factory settings.

Meanwhile, Rosemary’s eyes widened in astonishment as she stared fixedly at the existence before them, even her breathing becoming heavier.

"Ai, this is the good thing you were talking about?"

"Yep~ What do you think, Captain? Isn’t she adorable? She’s practically even cuter than Miss Luna was when she was little!"

"Don’t talk nonsense. My Luna is the cutest! And there’s Griseo, Bronya, Kiana, and little-girl Mobius... Forget that last one."

"Human, who are all those people you just mentioned?"

"Uh, I think we should focus on what’s in front of us right now. Why is this little girl on the Ferryman’s ship?"

Himeko dragged the topic back on track, and everyone’s gaze immediately turned forward. Standing before them was an unbelievably, absurdly, insanely adorable little white-haired girl, staring blankly at Elias and the others.

This was the "thing" Ai had said Elias would definitely like.

Although Elias had no intention of denying it, he happily decided that he would definitely teach his cabbage-headed AI a proper lesson later.

Starting tomorrow, Ai’s lunch would be stir-fried shredded cabbage every day for an entire week!

And also...

"I’m contacting Finality immediately and having her reverse time to resurrect the Ferryman! Then I’m killing that bastard another thousand times! Destroying worlds was already bad enough, but this asshole actually kidnapped a little girl!"

Elias spoke through gritted teeth.

That damned ant!

"Y-You... Who are you?"

The white-haired little girl looked timidly at everyone and subconsciously curled in on herself, obvious nervousness visible in her eyes.

"Huh? That reaction..."

Elias blinked and froze.

For some reason, he suddenly had a feeling.

This white-haired girl was definitely a legal loli!

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