Chapter 1123: Miss System’s Friend

Before accepting the rewards Miss System had mentioned, Eiji deliberately went to another room where he could be alone.

He chose to sit in the study room filled with books, including novels and manga (which he had copied from his memories of his previous life). The women sometimes read those books and knew the storylines of various series,

Including their own respective series, but Eiji didn't forget to modify the content so that the protagonists wouldn't come across as likable. He also removed the romantic and ecchi scenes between them and the protagonist.

[Ding! Due to the previous system's absence, the plot twists or changes you made weren't recorded. So, let's skip the announcement and proceed as usual.]

"Really? You're not just being lazy because you have to make such a long announcement, are you?"

[Of course not, host.]

"Okay, go ahead."

Eiji leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. His gaze was fixed on the system interface.

Miss System continued:

[Congratulations, host, you've received three compensations from the system!]

This announcement sounds strange...

[1. Idle Transfiguration:

A innate curse technique belonging to Mahito, one of the main antagonists in the Jujutsu Kaisen anime and manga series.

It allows the user to reshape their own soul or that of anyone they physically touch. The body's form depends on the soul's form, so if the soul is distorted, the body becomes distorted as well. Therefore, someone using Idle Transfiguration can transform their target's body into something horrific by altering the shape of their soul with just a touch.

This technique can also read others' emotions to a certain extent based on how their souls react. Users can also reshape their own souls and heal any wounds their bodies sustain in battle. This renders traditional methods of harming the user ineffective, as their soul must be attacked to inflict significant damage.

Users can even alter their bodies to gain an advantage, such as growing wings to fly or shrinking their bodies to evade attacks. In the Soul Path, this technique can be used to freely control and manipulate the environment because it consists of matter that is nearly identical to the soul itself.]

"Oh! I know this technique... It really is a great technique. For me, it can be used to have some fun with my opponents."

Eiji thought about transforming Reiji into a hideous creature to make his party—consisting of beautiful women (including the protagonist's childhood friend)—feel disgusted by him.

Reiji: !?

He suddenly felt a chill run through his entire body.

What's going on?

Does someone have evil intentions toward him!?

It must be the Demon King or his hero, the Dark Knight (Kuroki)—they must be jealous of my good looks and my popularity among beautiful women.

There's a specific reason why Eiji doesn't like Reiji. It's because he's even more narcissistic than he is.

[2. The Highest Blessing of the Titan God Noah:

Allows the user to have full access to the weapons and armor left over from the Titan War that she has bestowed upon her followers, such as fragments of the God-Slaying Sword.

The user can also summon and command all kinds of spirits.

Since this is the Highest Blessing, the god—or more precisely, the goddess herself—has bonded with your soul and become your personal familiar/servant, whom you can summon at any time.

(P.S.: Don't worry, this relationship is one-sided, with you completely dominating her. So, she cannot do anything that might harm you, the host.)]

"...?"

This is the first time Miss System has given a reward in the form of a specific person!

And she's made a Goddess his personal servant!

Still, Noah?

Eiji could only recall a goddess from a certain series whose abilities matched the description of her blessing.

Since she's now his Servant, can he command her to do anything?

Miss System really gave him a surprising reward.

"This reward is great, too. Miss System, I didn't expect you to take the initiative to expand my harem."

Miss System was speechless.

She continued with her announcement.

[3. The Highest Blessing of the Sun Goddess, one of the Great Goddesses, Althena of Olympus:

Allows the user to master the Goddess's own <Light Magic> and <Sun Magic>, and increases the user's magical and physical strength by 100% while under sunlight.

Since this is the Highest Blessing, the goddess herself has bonded with your soul and become your personal familiar/servant, whom you can summon at any time.]

"Miss System, I'm happy with all the rewards you've given me this time. But… I'm curious—how did you convince those two women to become my servants?"

Eiji was surprised and curious about how Miss System had obtained these rewards this time.

Miss System told him that she simply made them an offer they couldn't refuse. Just as she had done with Shadow Garden, whom he had known for a long time.

In fact, Noah and Althena literally couldn't refuse. Thanatos forced them to serve her apostle.

She had also implanted a mental block on them so they couldn't reveal any details about it to Eiji. Even if her apostle read their memories, he wouldn't find any recollection of their conversation.

Eiji fell silent for a moment.

At that moment, he could sense two people connected to his soul, which automatically allowed him to communicate with them.

Just like what happened with Leme.

{Um... Hello, I'm Noah. Nice to meet you, Eiji Seiya! I've heard a lot about you and think you'd be perfect to be... I mean, a goddess like me would be happy to bless you and become your servant.}

Noah's beautiful, childlike voice echoed in his mind.

In a mindscape that stretched white as far as the eye could see, a goddess with silver hair, sapphire-blue eyes, and a figure that could be described as petite yet utterly enchanting—Noah stood there, smiling sweetly.

Her appearance was exactly the same as the Noah Eiji knew from a certain series!

Still, if she's now his personal servant, that means she's only here to serve him. What about that protagonist named Makoto? Had Noah already been his goddess before this?

Eiji used Rasiel to check the timeline in the original work.

The result was that Makoto had never been Noah's apostle.

"You already know a lot about me and agreed to become my servant? How exactly did that happen?"

{About that, Eiji~ After being freed from the temple where I'd been sealed for thousands of years, I accepted the system-like interface's offer to become your servant!}

{Hehe, even though I'm a goddess, I'm humbly willing to pay for my freedom by becoming your servant.}

{You're also more handsome than I expected! This deal isn't actually that bad. I'm sure I can help you in many ways!}

Noah put her hands on her hips and patted her not-so-big chest proudly.

But she suddenly got nervous; she tugged at her dress and said shyly:

{B-But if you want to do perverted things… or ecchi things. I hope we can wait a little longer to get to know each other first!}

Eiji gave a blank expression.

Did he look like someone with poor self-control when it came to sex?

[Yes.]

He ignored what Miss System said.

Before he could answer, another voice spoke up. Unlike Noah's, Althena's voice sounded more mature.

In another mindsape, she also looked more mature and more alluring than Noah.

She was a stunning blonde goddess.

Eiji wondered what her expression would be like when he ejaculated in her nursery.

{Noah, stop thinking about dirty things!}

Althena scolded the other goddess who was her neighbor.

{Althena, were you eavesdropping on our conversation? Eavesdropping isn't nice!}

{Do you think I wanted to hear your conversation?! This place isn't soundproof.}

{Oh, really?}

Althena ignored Noah and turned her gaze as if she were standing face-to-face with Eiji.

Her expression was still serious, but she had to admit that Eiji was incredibly handsome! As a goddess who always chose her followers based on how good they looked, the problem now was that she'd been kidnapped and had to humble herself to become a servant.

However, she couldn't tell Eiji about this.

She could only help him as much as she could until he himself brought her back to her own universe.

{May I call you Eiji?}

"Sure, you must be Althena. Just like Noah, you're also very beautiful."

Eiji casually complimented both women's appearances.

{Kyaaa! Eiji-kun, you have a way with words. 85 points for you!}

Noah cupped her cheeks with both hands, looking overjoyed. She didn't seem to really think she'd been kidnapped or forced like Althena.

Althena wasn't satisfied with her.

Even so, she pretended to cough to hide her embarrassment.

{Ahem! Thank you.}

{Don't be fooled by Althena's serious demeanor, Eiji. Right now, she's probably a little embarrassed.}

{Noah, shut up!}

{Hehe~ What if I don't want to shut up?}

{You... If only our minds weren't separated, I'd hit you...}

{Too bad, that's not going to happen! Fuhuhu!}

Noah laughed; she seemed to enjoy teasing Althena.

Althena was so annoyed that a small vein stood out on her forehead.

Eiji felt the inside of his head getting noisier from now on. Fortunately, he could cut off communication between them at any time.

Over the next ten minutes.

He also asked Althena why she was willing to become his servant. Her answer was different from Noah's and quite surprising.

She said that sooner or later, the universe she came from would need a hero to save all the worlds within it from destruction.

She herself didn't know the details very well because it was just a prophecy.

Miss System's interface happened to pop up, offering to help her find the hero she was looking for.

However, she herself hadn't expected that she would have to become his servant.

{I also didn't expect Noah to be here, either. This is kind of annoying.}

{What!? Althena, you're cruel. I'm your childhood friend—how can you feel that way around me?}

Ignoring the argument between the two goddesses that was about to escalate, Eiji stroked his chin with a pensive expression.

The things Noah and Althena said about why they were able to become his servants sounded like something only Miss System could do.

Instead of becoming their apostle, he ended up becoming their master.

Whether that was true or not, Eiji was still happy with the rewards he'd received this time.

He also told Althena that it wasn't impossible for him to save her universe. However, he still needed to wait because he had many other things he had to do.

Althena didn't mind that. After all, she didn't think her universe was really in any great danger.

Neither she nor Eiji knew that, following Thanatos's intervention, the universe they were discussing was actually in grave danger due to the disappearance of Althena and Noah.

That was all part of her plan and the stage she had set for her apostle.

...

At the same time.

The camera pans to an endless expanse of clouds.

Mountain peaks resembling the snow-capped Alps can be seen rising from that sea of clouds.

They look like a chain of islands floating in the ocean. On the summit of a mountain towering high among them stands a castle.

A sacred place in the sky, glowing white. This structure bears a close resemblance to the Parthenon in Greece, but this sacred place is far larger and far more magnificent than that. From the mountain's slopes all the way up to the summit, a sacred site with a total of twelve floors has been built, reaching a height of over one kilometer.

At the highest point of the sanctuary stood the Deus ex machina—Thanatos. Seated on her throne, she is now staring at the system interface in front of her.

"Good. Those two women have successfully convinced my apostle and made him take a liking to them."

"Next, I just need to do things as usual."

A satisfied smile spread across Thanatos's face.

She was about to pop a potato chip into her mouth, but she suddenly sensed that someone was on their way to her residence.

Only the other three Deus Ex Machina and a certain someone could teleport to her private residence.

Whoever it was, Thanatos hurriedly tossed her bag of potato chips into another dimension and checked her system interface.

She immediately propped her chin up with one hand and gazed at one of the windows displaying the blue sky stretching above the clouds.

Like a drama queen, her previously relaxed and rather cheerful expression turned melancholic.

*SRING!*

From a teleportation altar in one corner of the room, a wall of light appeared, revealing the figure of a stunningly beautiful woman.

"Thana-chan~ I'm here to play!"

She had golden-blonde hair like Althena's, but it was wavier, and her breasts were also larger. Just like the color of her eyes, she was wearing a blue dress with gold detailing.

She wasn't one of the Three Machine Goddesses.

She was one of the Great Goddesses of the same universe as Althena. She is Althena's younger sister, Eir Olympus.

Also known as the Goddess of Water.

She walked toward Thanatos as if it were her own home.

"Play? Eir, if you came here to ask about your older sister, Althena. All I can say is that she's fine and is helping with my experiment in a certain way." Thanatos glanced at the woman and immediately guessed the reason for her visit to her residence this time.

Under normal circumstances, others wouldn't be able to come to her residence, which is located in a dimension far higher than her own universe.

But because of their past encounter that had made them friends, she had granted her the right to teleport to her residence.

"Huh? I've been found out~ But it's true that I also came here to play, and I've missed Thana-chan~ By the way, I also want to thank you and your friends for only destroying a few planets earlier."

Eir smiled gently at Thanatos.

She knew that with the power of Deus Ex Machina, any one of them was capable of destroying the universe.

But Thanatos must have held back because of their relationship, right!?

As for her worries about her older sister and even her friend (Noah)? Since Thanatos said Althena was fine, the same might apply to Noah.

Even so, she was curious about something.

"Noah is fine, too. She and Althena are working together right now." Thanatos continued to answer before Eir could ask.

Eir's lips twitched.

"Can you pretend you're not reading my mind, Thana-chan?"

"I just wanted to keep our conversation short. Besides, I'm busy."

Eir puffed out her cheeks.

"I can guess! This must be about your apostle, right? I know it! So, how far have things progressed between the two of you~?"

Remember that friend who gives Thanatos all those silly ideas?

That was Eir.

Thanatos didn't change her expression and simply replied calmly, "That's none of your business."

"Mooou~! Thana-chan, you're so stingy! I want to know! I want to know!"

"Even if you whine, you won't get anything out of me."

"That's so mean! It's obvious I'm the one who gave Thana-chan those ideas!"

"Stop calling me Thana-chan, and absolutely not."

Thanatos refused to give Eir any information about her apostle.

Even though she knew Eir wasn't her enemy like Naia, she didn't want her to do anything that might interfere with her experiment.

Eir pouted.

"Since you refuse to tell me, I'm also refusing Thana-chan's request."

"How dare you."

"I dare!"

If it were anyone else, Thanatos would have killed them by now.

But Eir? Her tolerance for her is the same as her tolerance for the other three Deus Ex Machina.

"By the way, my father has sent my brother, Neptune, to lead the army. They're looking for you and your friends to reclaim Althena and Noah. Not only that, but my father also..."

Eir hesitated as she said the last part, her gaze fixed on the stunning figure of Thanatos.

Thanatos's gaze turned cold.

She knew what else Jupiter wanted.

"Eir, you don't really care about your father and brother, do you?"

"That's… How could that be? Thana-chan, I'm not that heartless of a woman~"

Eir smiled, but her eyes were indifferent. She didn't want to admit that she didn't care about her father and brother.

In fact, Eir was known for her cruel nature because she didn't really care about human well-being. Even though she was on the humans' side, she treated the war between humans and demons as if it were just a game, and didn't really care which side would win.

The same applied to her lecherous father and her brother. If they die, she might only worry about who will become the next leader of the holy gods.

That would most likely be Althena.

But now that Althena is in Thanatos's hands, the only most likely candidate to become the leader is...

It's her, and that's a problem.

Thanatos knew what Eir was thinking and gave her a faint smile.

"Don't worry—the one who will become the leader of the holy gods and the King of the Gods in the Divine Realm isn't you. That person... I'll send my own apostle to your universe when the time comes."

"Ehhh!? Thana-chan, you want your own apostle to...!"

Eir didn't finish her sentence because she wasn't sure what to say. I mean, to become the King of the Gods, doesn't that person have to be a god themselves?

Not only that, but he should also possess power equal to or greater than her father, Jupiter.

And maybe they'd have to marry one of the Great Goddesses so that the many holy gods wouldn't oppose their status.

Thanatos stared at Eir as if she were an idiot.

"Eir, do you think my apostle is inferior to your father? Well, one of his traits is comparable to his. But more than that, he can also be called a god, and he's no weaker than your father."

"Thana-chan's apostle is a god, and he's that strong!?"

Eir was shocked.

After all, the apostles she knew couldn't possibly rival the gods—especially the King of the Holy Gods—under normal circumstances.

But before this, she'd forgotten that the woman standing in front of her wasn't normal. Why did she even think her Apostle was human?

"As for the political marriage? That will be resolved naturally by him."

Thanatos was very confident.

But the only thing that made Eir uncomfortable was the way she was looking at her right now!

Who would marry the apostle of Thanatos?

This woman... There's no way she'd force her to marry her apostle, right?

Thanatos thought Eir was still a bit naive.

Why should her apostle have to choose just one when she can have them all?