Chapter 830

I Love This World—Provided It Deserves My Affection

At first glance, the statement sounded painfully self-important.

I love this world, but only if it deserves my affection.

It was the sort of thing that made someone sound as though they had appointed themselves God and were now standing above the mortal world, judging it.

But context mattered.

And if anyone had earned the right to say something like that, it was Gabriel.

Once, she had been the Ancient One. Now she was something far more complicated—a fusion of the Ancient One’s memories and personality with Morgan’s cunning and Mordred’s rebellious streak.

She had spent more than a thousand years protecting Earth from one catastrophe after another.

If that didn’t earn someone the right to step back and ask whether the world they had spent centuries protecting was actually worth the trouble, what did?

Besides, yes, technically, everyone living on Earth had a responsibility to protect it.

But responsibility came with rights.

You couldn’t spend a thousand years defending the planet, receive absolutely nothing in return, and then be told, Congratulations. You fulfilled your basic obligation to exist.

The Ancient One’s contribution to Earth had gone far beyond any reasonable definition of duty.

Had she abused her power to collect taxes?

No.

Had anyone paid her a salary?

No.

Had anyone offered her retirement benefits?

Of course not.

In fact, she had apparently been considerate enough not to bankrupt Earth’s various social-security systems by even bothering to plan for retirement.

And aside from the extraordinarily thoughtful Evenson, who had actually considered what she might do after retiring, had anyone given a damn about her future employment prospects?

Absolutely not.

Given the Ancient One’s accomplishments, Earth should have built thousands of shrines in her honor. At the very least, her hometown deserved a temple and a statue.

The Vatican could have canonized her.

The Nobel Committee could have handed her a Peace Prize.

The United Nations could have named her one of the world’s greatest defenders.

And yet, the woman had spent centuries accomplishing all of this without asking for recognition.

Unlike certain modern superhero teams.

They saved a few cities and suddenly had fan clubs, action figures, posters, merchandise, interviews, and enough publicity to make a celebrity jealous. Some of them even flew around in armor that made them look like giant red lobsters while treating their love lives as public relations opportunities.

Compared with that, Gabriel’s attitude was practically saintly.

She had spent more than a millennium quietly burning herself away to keep the world alive.

Now she simply wanted to step back and see what exactly she had been protecting.

Was that really so unreasonable?

"So you’re going to spend your days reading newspapers and studying the state of the world?" Evenson asked. "Maybe develop an interest in agriculture while you’re at it?"

"Actually, I intend to travel."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

"And..." Her smile became suspiciously pleasant. "You don’t happen to want to sponsor my research expenses, do you?"

"You wish."

Evenson nearly slammed his hand onto the table.

The look he gave her changed instantly, as though Gabriel had transformed from his former ally into his mortal enemy.

But after a moment, he sighed and sat back down.

"If it’s just about traveling and clearing your head, then fine. I’ll sponsor you."

He shrugged.

"Think of it as a little filial piety toward my mother-in-law."

Snap.

The files the Eredar Twins were using to work on their hooves both broke at once.

Alythess narrowed her eyes.

"Where exactly are you getting this money?"

Evenson immediately realized what he’d said.

"I’ve accumulated quite a few dividends from the company over the years. I can withdraw a little."

"Hmm."

That answer did not reassure either twin.

If anything, they looked even more dangerous.

It was understandable.

Asking your wife for money, then casually announcing in front of her that you intended to spend it on your mother-in-law from another marriage was exactly the sort of situation that could end in homicide.

"I’m kidding."

Gabriel suddenly smiled.

"I can hardly use their money. I’ve lived long enough to accumulate some savings of my own."

"Really?"

Evenson wasn’t surprised.

Someone who had lived for that long was bound to have accumulated a fortune, regardless of how little she cared about money.

And the Ancient One’s possessions had another advantage.

Anything she had owned for centuries had probably become an antique.

If she happened to auction off the bowl she’d used as a child, there was a good chance someone would pay a fortune for it.

Kamar-Taj had also been sitting in an exceptionally convenient location for centuries, positioned between the Tibetan Plateau and India. Just a little of the historical wealth passing through the region would have been enough to make an enormous difference over a millennium.

And if the Ancient One had ever decided to indulge in treasure hunting...

There was no telling what she’d accumulated.

Evenson couldn’t help feeling jealous.

"There’s one problem, though. You probably shouldn’t show your face at Kamar-Taj right now."

Gabriel nodded.

"But that’s easy enough. Just tell me where you’ve stored your valuables. I’ll have Claire retrieve them."

"Hmm."

Gabriel gave him a look that said absolutely not.

"Do you really think I’m letting the two of you anywhere near my treasure?"

She smiled sweetly.

"Besides, my valuables are in a bank."

"A bank?"

"Swiss banking has a reputation for discretion. The year the Swiss bank was founded, I sold a few things and deposited one million pounds."

She shrugged.

"With interest, it should be worth quite a bit by now."

Evenson’s eyes widened.

Then Gabriel casually continued.

"I believe I also deposited quite a few other things there."

She tilted her head, apparently searching through her memories.

"There are some early American government bonds. I think I also stored a handwritten copy of the Heart Sutra that Thaddeon Veyr brought back from his pilgrimage."

Evenson’s expression gradually became one of horror.

"The final king of Zhangzhung once gave me a gift. I also kept one of the ceremonial gifts presented to guests when Songtsen Gampo married Eleanor."

She paused.

"Oh, and there are the jewels I wore back when I lived as Morgan."

Another pause.

"The oath written on parchment when Arthur established the Knights of the Round Table."

Another.

"Lancelot’s love letter to Guinevere."

"And..."

"Stop."

Evenson held up both hands.

"Please stop."

Tears of envy had begun to gather in his eyes.

If Gabriel liquidated even half of that collection, she’d probably shoot straight to the top of the Forbes rich list.

And once she did, he suspected nobody would catch her for at least the next century.

"Swiss banks are reliable," Gabriel said with a shrug. "I’m sure my possessions are perfectly safe."

She smiled.

"Either way, with my assets, I should have more than enough money to travel around the world."

Evenson sighed.

There was really nothing he could say to that.

Once he’d recovered from the financial trauma, however, he looked at her seriously.

"If you want to travel and relax, I support it. But if you’re planning to go around judging the world, I don’t think there’s much point."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

"I don’t see the value in wasting time and money on something that won’t accomplish anything."

She had every right to examine the world.

She had the money to do it, too.

But Evenson doubted she’d find anything particularly useful.

Human nature hadn’t changed nearly as much as technology had.

The world could transform itself every few decades, but people remained people.

Humanity’s greatest lesson from history was that humanity had apparently never learned anything from history.

As long as the fundamental rule remained the same—the strong exploiting the weak—everything else was little more than refinement and cosmetic improvement.

And Gabriel possessed the Ancient One’s memories.

She could simply look back at the world as it had been when the Ancient One first decided to devote herself to protecting it.

If she could accept that world, then the modern world’s improvements and imperfections wouldn’t matter much.

But if she had begun doubting that earlier world—if the foundation of her belief in protecting humanity had started to crack—then no amount of modern progress was going to fix the problem.

"I believe seeing is better than assuming," Gabriel said stubbornly.

"I need to see it for myself."

"Then go."

Evenson didn’t argue.

His mother-in-law wanted to travel the world, and she was paying for it herself. What exactly was he supposed to do—stop her?

Gabriel was already preparing to leave when Evenson suddenly remembered something.

"There’s one more thing."

She looked back.

"The Ancient One was a woman who kept her word."

His expression became serious.

"Can you do the same?"

The Ancient One had always been reliable.

If she promised something, she did it.

But Gabriel wasn’t simply the Ancient One anymore.

The Ancient One was only one part of her.

There was also Morgan’s cunning.

And Mordred’s rebelliousness.

Could this new person be trusted in the same way?

"A promise?"

Gabriel tilted her head.

"Under normal circumstances, I keep my word."

"That’s all I needed to hear."

Evenson slapped his thigh and stood up.

"You remember this, don’t you? When I first met the Ancient One, she promised to invest in my company and support our cause."

He smiled.

"That investment still hasn’t arrived."

His smile widened.

"So, since you’re a woman of your word..."

He leaned forward.

"When are you transferring your money over?"

Gabriel’s eye twitched.

You shameless bastard.

So this was what he had been after.

All that talk about securing Earth’s future and strengthening the world’s defenses.

All that talk about cooperation.

Maybe the real reason he’d resurrected her was because she still owed him money.

"You’ve got some nerve."

Gabriel folded her arms.

"The Ancient One made that promise. Why are you asking Gabriel to honor it?"

"You two are the same person!"

Evenson immediately realized she was trying to escape the bill.

"And you literally just said you keep your promises. How can you change your mind five seconds later?"

"I said I keep my promises under normal circumstances."

Gabriel lifted her chin.

"If you don’t like it, sue me."

She smiled wickedly.

"I’d love to see which court is going to recognize a verbal contract made by a woman with multiple personalities fused into one person."

Evenson stared at her.

"I have to admit, I’m looking at you differently now."

He shook his head.

"No wonder people used to call Morgan the Enchantress."

The title suddenly seemed perfectly appropriate.

"You’re barely reborn, and somehow you’re already planning to make your first reputation a deadbeat debtor."

Gabriel casually brushed her hair back.

"Do you think I care?"

Her expression became proud.

"I’ve already survived being called an enchantress, a rebellious daughter, an adulteress, and worse. You think being called a deadbeat is going to bother me?"

Evenson could only sigh.

Then Gabriel’s expression changed.

She frowned and rubbed her temple.

"Though there is one unpleasant thing about combining multiple personalities."

She sighed.

"I keep finding myself arguing with myself."

She considered the matter for another moment.

"Fine. I’ll invest."

She pointed at him.

"Consider it medical compensation for curing my psychological problems."

"But I’ll decide the amount."

"Of course."

Evenson’s attitude changed so quickly it was almost impressive.

He smiled warmly.

"Investment should always be voluntary. Otherwise, that’s called robbery."

"As long as it isn’t less than what the Ancient One promised, I’ll leave the amount entirely up to you."

"Hmph."

Gabriel clicked her tongue.

She had barely gotten a second chance at life, and her first major expense was already staring her in the face.

Then Alythess finally spoke.

"Are you two finished?"

She and Sacrolash tossed their worn-out files into a nearby box.

It was already overflowing with broken tools.

"Because there’s something we’d like your opinions on."

"What is it?" Evenson asked.

"Our daughter, Angelica."

"What?"

Gabriel’s head snapped around.

"You two have a child?"

Before Evenson could say anything, she turned on him.

"You have children with them? Does Claire know about this?"

Alythess covered her forehead.

"She’s not his."

Gabriel blinked.

Then she looked at Evenson again.

The anger disappeared.

It was replaced by something far worse.

Pity.

Your home life is this chaotic, and you’re still standing here calmly discussing my retirement plans?

You really are something.

And honestly, considering he’d managed to juggle three relationships, perhaps he deserved whatever happened to him.

"Don’t look at me like that!"

Evenson immediately jumped to his feet.

"I know exactly what you’re thinking."

He pointed at the twins.

"She’s not their biological child either. They adopted her."

Gabriel smiled.

"Sure."

She patted his shoulder.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"She’s human," Sacrolash explained with a weary sigh. "We’re just her godmothers."

Gabriel froze.

Then gave an awkward smile.

"Forget I said anything."

Evenson remembered the girl.

Angelica Sasseris—her full name was absurdly long, though he couldn’t remember every part of it—had been rescued by the Eredar Twins during one of their outings.

They had eventually become her godmothers.

There was, however, one thing Evenson had always wondered about.

"Speaking of Angelica..."

He looked between the twins.

"Which one of you is her head godmother?"

Both women pointed at themselves.

"Me."

Evenson blinked.

"Then who’s the second godmother?"

The twins simultaneously pointed at each other.

"Her."

Evenson scratched his head.

That only made the situation more confusing.

"Wait. Which one of you is older?"

"We’re twins."

They looked at him as though the answer should have been obvious.

"So we’re the same age."

"Twins aren’t literally the same age!"

Evenson’s eyes widened.

"Whoever was born first is the older sister. Unless you two came out holding hands."

The twins exchanged a glance.

Then smiled.

"Our mother hated pain."

Alythess shrugged.

"So she didn’t choose a natural birth."

Sacrolash nodded.

"Otherwise, we actually could tell who was older."

"Even with a C-section, somebody has to come out first."

Evenson stared at them.

"Whoever gets carried out first is older. Unless the doctor somehow pulled you out simultaneously."

"You were born by C-section!"

Alythess immediately bristled.

"Your entire family was born by C-section!"

"Actually," Sacrolash said, "when our mother was carrying us and the time came, she had our father use a teleportation spell to remove us directly from her womb."

She smiled.

"So we were literally born at the same time."

Evenson stared.

"...You can do that?"

"It was quite fashionable among the nobility in our day."

Sacrolash lifted her chin proudly.

"Argus was once the magical jewel of countless worlds. Did you think that reputation came from nowhere?"

Evenson was speechless.

Even Gabriel, who had lived through an absurd amount of history herself, looked genuinely stunned.

Evenson recovered first.

There was one detail in particular that bothered him.

The twins referred to their mother as Mother with almost ceremonial reverence.

Their father, meanwhile, was simply Dad.

So apparently the family tradition was to put the daughters above everyone else.

Probably even above him.

"Never mind that."

Alythess waved the subject away.

"The real problem is this."

She sighed.

"A few days ago, when we were rebuilding New York’s defensive core, Angelica saw us doing it."

Evenson immediately understood where this was going.

"Now she’s demanding to become a magical girl."

She looked between Evenson and Gabriel.

"What are we supposed to do?"

"That’s it?"

Evenson waved a hand.

"Just teach her."

He couldn’t see the problem.

"You two are already teaching her magic. What’s difficult about it?"

Then he thought about it.

"Actually, I can handle the basics."

The twins exchanged looks.

Evenson continued.

"You two are basically graduate-level instructors. Trying to teach a child with no magical foundation is probably a little awkward."

He brightened.

"I happen to have a set of Fel-based function exercises."

Alythess stared.

"Fel trigonometric functions, linear single-variable functions, and several higher-order multivariable equations."

He smiled.

"Why don’t we let her try those first?"

Just thinking about them made Evenson’s soul ache.

Those concepts were among the foundations of Warlock magic.

They had also nearly convinced him to abandon magic entirely and open a small shop somewhere quiet.

It was no wonder so many Warlocks preferred stealing life energy, converting it into power, or pledging themselves to powerful demons.

Actually studying this stuff properly was not a reasonable way for a human being to live.

"Why would we need you?"

Sacrolash snorted.

"We have Shadow Sequences and Fel Calculus."

She smiled sweetly.

"Perhaps you should try those first."

Evenson’s expression went blank.

Good lord.

They actually knew magic that terrifying?

No wonder they were demons.

"That’s not the problem."

Alythess rubbed her temples.

"The issue is whether you would let your own daughter become a Warlock if she had another choice."

Evenson fell silent.

There was a difference between knowing Warlock magic and wanting someone you loved to dedicate their life to it.

Fel ruined lives.

Warlocks ruined bloodlines.

And if Angelica had a choice...

Would he really recommend that path?

Evenson couldn’t answer.

For once, there was no joke to make.

...