Freyja exited the tent, filled with feminine shouts, to find Cali, Shiro, and Yutsuki waiting outside as they were the only ones who had no desire to ‘vent.’

“Will he be okay?” Yutsuki asked, concerned.

“He’ll be fine,” Freyja replied before looking silently at Yutsuki.

“What is it?”

“I’m envious of you.”

“Envious of me? Why?”

“You got to know and spend time with him when you were growing up. You’re the only one of us who has that type of relationship with him.”

Yutsuki nodded, a little embarrassed. “I think Onii-sama only sees me as a little sister.”

“You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Before he ended up coming to my world, he had planned to pursue you when you got older.”

Yutsuki was momentarily stunned as her face noticeably reddened. “Then, Onii-sama likes me?” Yutsuki mumbled in a daze, unable to hide a slight smile on her face.

Freyja gave a slight nod and satisfaction. [Does this make me what they call a wingman?]

“We’re done in here,” Morgan said, which prompted the four of them to enter the tent.

There they found a swollen-faced Marty. Yutsuki, still embarrassed, stayed by the fringe of the tent. Cali and Shiro went over to Miyuki, and the three of them started whispering together. Freyja sat down next to Marty and began to heal his face of the light bruising. “Anything you want to say?” She asked him.

“I deserved it,” Marty replied with a slight smile before he was interrupted by Shiro, who suddenly pounced on him and forced him onto his back. Momentarily stunned as he was caught completely caught off guard, he didn’t notice her intent. He completely froze when he suddenly felt a soft pair of lips on his and only recovered when a small and slightly rough tongue brushed against his lips. He quickly sat himself and Shiro up and separated. “Shiro, what do you think you are doing?”

“Kissing you.” She said with a slight smile and head tilt.

“We shouldn’t do that until you’re old-” Marty began before he was interrupted by Shiro’s sneak attack, which was quicker and left Marty speechless.

“But, I like kissing you now.” Shiro’s said shyly.

[Cute.] Marty thought before noticed the other girls who were all giving him knowing glances, except for Morgan, who looked as if she had a fire behind her eyes.

While Marty tried to shrug off his embarrassment, Shiro happily jumped off his lap and skipped away. This left him open to being tackled again this time by Cali, who only managed to get a quick peck in before Marty separated them.

Cali had a visible pout on her face before she glanced at Miyuki, then turned her hair into blades and pointed at Marty. “I’m going to kiss you.”

“Cali, you’re still too young. When you grow up, okay?” he said to appease her deftly.

“When I grow up?” She asked again, her hair turning back to normal.

“Yes, when you-” Marty began before he stopped speaking out of shock. In front of him, Cali suddenly began to change, as if she was growing exceptionally quickly. The result even dumbfounded some of the girls. 

Cali’s appearance was based solely on her soul. This made it flawless as it wouldn’t have any imperfections that would occur in a biological life form. In place of a young girl now appeared a young woman. Her features almost seemed carved as they were too perfect.

Marty’s brain blanked out of shock. He had a fair amount of resistance towards physical appearances, but this wasn’t fair. In his current slack-jawed state, Cali easily slipped past his defenses. Out of sorts, Marty instinctually returned the kiss, which ended shortly, a sliver of saliva still connecting the two. It wasn’t until a second later that Marty finally regained his senses.

“Cali, you shouldn’t have done that.”

“Did you not like it?” She asked, looking away shyly, her cheeks slightly rosy.

“T-T-That’s not the point. The point is… The point is… Cali, are you blushing?” He asked before he reached out and touched her face. There he found warmth. Typically, her temperature was the same as the air around her. “Cali, your body…”

“I’m strong enough to make a real body now. Now I can have your baby.” She said a shy and cute smile, uncharacteristically not talking in short sentences.

Marty felt as though his heart had been hit with an arrow. If there was ever a time for a nosebleed, this was it. “We’ll talk about that later. Even if you appear older, you’re still very young.”

“Marty, would you prefer she stay like this or go back to her previous form?” Miyuki asked without him noticing her sly smile.

“I think I’d prefer her previous form.”

Miyuki narrowed her eyes. “I’m sure you would, lolicon.”

Marty’s eyebrow twitched. “I am not a lolicon. I want her to go back because I don’t trust myself with her adult form.”

“Sure, sure, and you didn’t enjoy their kisses,” Miyuki replied sarcastically with a nod. 

“In some cultures, family members kiss like that to… and quit acting like you didn’t have anything to do with it.” Martel replied with a glare.

“It doesn’t change the fact that you enjoyed it,” Miyuki mumbled under her breath.

Marty’s eyebrow twitched again, but he took a deep breath to calm down. He then looked at everyone. “Girls, I want to say something serious. I want each one of you to decide for yourself; I want you to decide if you want to go back to your homes. If you want to stay with me, you can. However, you must know that you won’t be able to go back, and I’m not talking about your worlds.”

Several of the girls’ faces lit up at his insinuation.

“Let’s just get it out in the open and say that anyone you take home with you, you are going to marry,” Freyja said with a smile.

“Yeah. So if you need some time to decide-”

“We decided long before you did.” Miyuki interrupted.

“Yeah, I suppose that’s true,” Marty said as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “I’m going to take Cali to see Yggdrasil, but before that, I want to talk to Yutsuki privately.”

“Okay, we will give you some time,” Freyja said as she ushered the other girls out.

“Yutsuki, come sit down,” Marty said.

Yutsuki obliged, and an awkward silence soon prevailed.

“Yutsuki, are you disappointed in me?” Marty asked, finally breaking the silence.

“Eh? Why?”

“About me… Having so many wives.”

“I think… I think it’s a little strange, but if everyone’s okay with that, then it’s okay.”

“Are you okay with someone being a polygynist?”

“Yes, so long as everyone is willing.”

“Even to the point of being willing to marry them?” Marty asked as he looked intently into her eyes. Though he had intentionally separated himself from the question, what he was inferring was undeniable. 

Yutsuki’s face quickly became a shade of red, and she turned away in embarrassment. “I, I, I think that would d-d-depend on the person.” She stammered.

Marty looked at her gently, took a deep breath, and steeled his resolve. “Yutsuki, what about to say is incredibly selfish. I love you; I love you as a friend, I love you like family, and I love you as a woman. If you want me to be your friend, I’ll be your friend. If you want me to be your brother, I’ll be your brother. If you want me to be your husband, I’ll be your husband. I want you to decide. I want you to know that if it were completely up to me, I’d marry you in a heartbeat. Part of me wants to make you mine no matter what. You’ll think about it, won’t you?” He asked Yutsuki, who was still faced away from him. She nodded her head quickly.

“Thank you,” Marty said before he got up and walked out of the tent. He did not turn back to look at her once. If he did, he would have seen her trying desperately to hide her smile and hold back the tears of happiness that gently fell from her eyes.

At the entrance of the tents, Marty found Freyja and Miyuki; the latter entered to speak with Yutsuki.

“You work faster than I thought, I’m glad I took preparations,” Freyja said. 

“What preparations?”

“I might’ve said a couple of things to encourage a good answer. Given the expression I just saw on her face, I think it will go well.”

“Well, thanks.”

“I know how much she means to you, to the point that I’m even jealous.” She chuckled, but the chuckle cut short as Marty passionately kissed her.

“I love you.”

“And this is another reason why I’m okay with sharing. You become much more affectionate when you love freely.”

“I’ll be back in a little bit,” Marty said as he gently stroked her cheek. 

“I’ll be waiting.”

Marty nodded, called Cali over, and they disappeared in a flash of purple.

...

“Hello, Puppetmaster.” Martel apathetically said to Yggdrasil after he teleported himself and Cali within the underground temple.

“Are you still holding a grudge?” Yggdrasil asked.

“Why wouldn’t I? You knew Freyja was going to die, and you did nothing so you could use her life to force me to save your world.”

“Force? I did not force you, and there was nothing you could do to prevent it.”

“You could’ve told me,” Marty replied with a frown as it seemed Yggdrasil was trying to avoid admitting to manipulation and wrongdoing.

“Do you know, of the traitors, who was the closest to Freyja?” 

“Her personal maid,” Marty replied before he came to understand what Yggdrasil was implying.

“Yes, I did not know this information at the time, as what I can foresee is limited in detail. No matter what you did, she would die. The world limits my actions; else, I would have helped you directly.”

Marty frowned at Yggdrasil’s explanation.

“Are you discontent with the results? The one I worked so hard to occur? To call me a ‘Puppetmaster’ is not entirely incorrect.”

“… Why were Freed and I brought to this world?”

“As I said before, you were not brought to this world. The both of you came here of your own volition. At most, I could only prevent your entry, but I did not for the future to occur as it did.”

“What do you mean?”

“Knowing what you do now, what can you interpret from The Hero’s Prophecy?”

“… There are only two places with the prophecy that be explained. ‘Darkness comes for our world; above, below, between’ refers to three different sources of darkness. Above refers to Fafnir, below refers to Nidhogg, and between refers to man with their inherent nature; conflict, greed, war, that bread the negative emotions that facilitated their revival. I defeated the darkness by being victorious against the dragon’s and ending the wars; I became the darkness when I absorbed the dragon’s and took the negative emotions caused by the wars into myself.”

Yggdrasil nodded with a hint of appreciation that could barely be seen through his expressionless mask. “You have also liberated the darkness.”

“How?”

Yggdrasil tilted his head as if he smiled but did not reply to the question. “An additional point I should make is that the prophecy referred to both you and Freed.”

“Are you saying his existence was necessary?” Marty asked with a frown.

“It was. Without Freed, the assassination would’ve still been successful with the main difference that you would not meet her before she died, and it would lack the white fire, which allowed me to save her.”

“How did the fire save her?”

“Because I have authority over time, I could create a door to the past. However, what I can do with the door is limited as I cannot change the future; I can only create a small ripple that the law of time will quickly suppress. By bringing Freyja to the present, the only difference was her ashes no longer existed in the past. Because of the Law of Time, this changed nothing; not your perception of those events, nor the future. This is the reason I could do it; this is the reason why I cannot bring back her parents.”

“So Freed’s existence allowed you to save Freyja from Fate?”

“No, it allowed you to.”

Marty was confused by Yggdrasil’s response but said nothing as Yggdrasil continued.

“Without Freed, you also would not have defeated Fafnir.”

What?” Marty perplexedly asked.

“You did not realize it, but the small wound that Freed caused on the dragon’s neck made a difference. Without it, Fafnir would not have been as wounded and would’ve been able to defeat you. With him, you defeated the darkness; with him, you defeated the darkness he became.”

Marty sighed.

“Do you still have a problem with my explanation?”

“Yes, but that’s not why. Given how apathetically you have referred to me slaying your children, I just think you’re a terrible parent.”

...

After speaking with Yggdrasil for another hour, Marty and Cali visited a town near the border at his(?) request. It wasn’t made exactly clear as to why Yggdrasil wanted them to visit this town. Still, he mentioned it after Marty had chastised him for being such an imperfect parent. They spent some time walking around the small town without much of a goal before Cali finally stopped.

When Marty followed her line of sight, he saw a young woman doing laundry. This woman had a very homely appearance, but Marty could tell she would be quite beautiful dressed up. Moreover, he had a strange feeling that she was familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Cali let go of his hand and walked towards the woman.

“Uh, Hero?” A young and returning soldier asked at attention.

“At ease. Is this your home?” 

“Yes, sir. Mine and my wife’s.”

“I’m glad you made it back.”

“I almost didn’t, if not for Miss Cali.” He replied. Marty noticed that the name Cali seemed to come out heavy from him. However, the next moment, everything clicked. Why Yggdrasil wanted them to come here, why Cali had felt compelled to talk to the young woman, and why Marty had felt the young woman looked familiar.

When the young woman noticed Cali walking over, she didn’t overthink it. She felt happy for a reason she couldn’t discern. When the girl introduced herself as Cali, she visually trembled but managed to keep her nerve. As they spoke, she couldn’t help but feel as if part of her that was missing filled.

Marty looked at the young soldier. “You probably shouldn’t call her Miss Cali. As you might’ve noticed, she can’t quite be called human. I use the word ‘quite’ because, while her body isn’t human, her soul is. You see, her soul was taken from a stillborn child not long ago.”

The young man froze for a moment before he dropped his baggage and started to hyperventilate. “You mean?”

At this time, Cali had reached out and touched the young woman’s stomach. “Mother.” She said gently.

When the young man heard this, he bolted to them and embraced them both, and the three of them stayed there, weeping tears of joy at the impossible reunion that they felt from their soul was true.

Not wanting to overstay his welcome, Marty made his way to a lone tree where he found a small grave and grave marker. He smiled when he saw the name because it was not ‘Cali’ but ‘Kally.’ 

“How appropriate. Kally, meaning the fairest or most beautiful.” He said to himself as he thought about Cali’s adult form. “I should give them some time.”

With a flash of purple, Marty appeared in the war camp and made his way to the King’s tent. There, he found the royalty for both kingdoms as well as Caelia and Shiro. The latter quickly jumped into his arms and gave him a quick kiss.

“Is Cali not with you anymore?” Caelia asked.

“I’ll tell you after I do something important.”

“And what’s that?” She asked and was then quickly caught off guard when Marty kissed her.

“I’m going to need a quick favor,” Marty said after he finished his kiss with Caelia leaving her with red-tipped ears and ignoring her father’s thumb up. He then went on to explain what had occurred with Cali to give her father a better and safer position. Given that there wasn’t a dry eye in the room after his explanation, the request was quickly accepted.

“By the way, when you got back, we were all going to get together to talk about some things,” Caelia said as they exited the tent.

“Okay, let’s do that,” Marty replied.

...

“So, why am I being made to seiza?” Marty asked in the tent now surrounded by all the girls minus Cali.

“We made some rules that you’re going to have to follow,” Freyja said as she waved a piece of paper.

Marty’s face went black when he read the title: Rules Regarding the Future Acquisition of Marty’s Wives. “I don’t plan on having any more wives. I’m over satisfied.”

“Sure, sure.” Several said while nodding their heads, apparently not believing him.

Marty’s eyebrow twitched.

Freyja smiled. “We all believe that you have no intention of increasing your harem, just as we believe that it will undoubtedly increase. We all talked about it and accepted it as an inevitability, which is why we made this.” She said as she handed him a piece of paper.

“First: ‘You are not allowed to marry someone with which you do not share mutual affection (the exception being the second stipulation).’ No marrying based on appearance or one-sided love.

“Second: ‘If you sleep with a woman, you have to marry her. I know you internally equate sex as marriage.’ Just in case, this is so that you don’t equate the freedom to expand your harem as to sleep around freely.

Third: ‘You’re not allowed to marry a slacker.’ What I can gather is the level of danger on Earth is escalating, and I can’t guarantee that it won’t happen for other worlds. Thus, we must strengthen ourselves as much as possible to protect ourselves and each other. Someone who marries you expecting you to be a golden goose will not be tolerated.

Fourth: ‘You’re not allowed to marry anyone who insists on replacing or abandoning any of us (If the second and the fourth stipulations appear simultaneously, the fourth takes precedent).’

“‘Besides the second and fourth, the other two have exceptions. Exception A: when someone’s life is on the line. Exception B: When there is a good enough reason which is accepted either by the principal wife or a majority of the other wives.’

“We’ve already signed it, now only you have to,” Freyja said as she handed him the paper.

“Is this necessary? I don’t intend for any more women.”

Freyja rolled her eyes. “Once again, we believe you. But I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me if you end up going to the same world Shiba did, which you probably will, that you will not make a Demihuman slave harem.”

Marty was surprised before he looked at Freyja square in the eyes. “I will not make a Demihuman slave harem.”

At this point, Kuromi, who Marty had not noticed, was missing, appeared behind him. In a swift motion, she grabbed his hand and quickly brought it on the open to reveal he had crossed his fingers. A barrage of narrowed eyes immediately greeted Marty.

“I-I-I.” He stammered.

“It was one of his main fantasies of his adolescent life thanks to Japanese culture,” Freyja explained with a sigh.

At this point, Marty had steam coming out of his ears from embarrassment. It seemed that sharing their memories was coming back to bite him quite hard, not that he would change it if he could. He was about to say something, but Freyja interrupted him. 

“Yes, I am aware that your having a harem does not mean you would be romantically involved with any of them. But you are such a softy I’m sure it would happen anyway.”

Marty sighed. “Do you think it is necessary to make something that seems so legally binding?”

“It’s not necessary, but it is a way to ensure that we all understand we’re getting into and gives us some peace of mind.”

Marty nodded as he went over the paperwork. When he saw that Yutsuki had also signed it, his heart nearly leaped out of his chest, but he didn’t show it. “Well, if we are going legal, I’ll sign this if you sign something of mine,” Marty said as he took some paper and began to write.

After he finished, he cleared his throat. “I understand that this is probably unfair and hypocritical of me, especially compared to your stipulations, but I’m honestly unsure I can accept anything else.

“First: ‘You are not allowed to marry other men.’ I’m not okay with sharing any of you.

“Second: ‘You are not allowed to divorce me.’ Marriage, to me, is a lifelong responsibility and promise. I hope that I would never give you a reason to divorce me. I hope you all help keep me in line and happy.

“Third: ‘No cheating.’ This falls under my being unwilling to share you. ‘If cheating does occur, punishment will be decided by my other wives via voting.’

“Fourth: ‘You must strive to get along with my other wives to the best of your ability. Sabotaging relationships or causing harm in any way will result in a punishment that will be decided by my other wives via voting.’” 

As he spoke, Marty was nervous because he did feel that what he was asking for was unfair. He tentatively looked at the girls.

“Is women marrying multiple men a thing?” Shalgana asked in confusion.

“What’s divorce?” Lucibelle asked with a head tilt.

“Trust me, no one will want to cheat on you,” Miyuki said with cloudy eyes as she licked her lips, fantasizing about something.

[Yeah, this isn’t a group of women that I have to worry about when it comes to these things.] Marty thought.

“It seems fine to me. Why do you think it’s unfair and hypocritical?” Caelia asked.

Marty was going to respond, but Freyja answered for him. “What we stipulated could be considered very selfless as we are willing to not only share him but include others in the future. His is just the opposite as he is unwilling to share us, which makes it hypocritical.”

“I understand, but I don’t mind. It makes me happy that he wants me all to himself,” Caelia happily replied with a slight blush.

The other girls nodded in agreement.

Freyja looked over to Marty. “We just have a different perspective and way of thinking.”

Marty nodded and signed it, and the girls all signed the other one. The last person to sign was Yutsuki. When she did, it was noticeably sloppy due to her embarrassment. After she finished signing, she turned and looked at Marty. “Onii-sama, you told me to choose, and I chose, but I can’t tell you.”

“Why not?” He asked.

“Because… Because there is something that I want to hear you ask me.”

Marty’s eyes lit up when he realized what she meant. “I will definitely ask you in the future.”

After everyone finished and had sat down, Marty turned to look at everyone. “Well, we have some time on our hands. Do any of you have any questions? Any topic is fine.”

Morgan fidgeted in her seat. “Marty, since you saved Freyja, is it possible that you could…” She began but stopped as she was afraid to ask. Freyja’s ears perked up.

Marty sighed, made his way to her, sat between the two sisters, and embraced them both. Realizing his unspoken answer, the two of them softly cried.

After spending a short time consoling them, Marty began to explain. “I talked to Yggdrasil about this earlier today. There are three basic ways that the past can be changed; changing the present, changing the past, and changing your past. Think of time like this rubber band.” He said as he brought out a rubber band and stretched it between two of his fingers. “Assume that this rubber band represents the time of one of the realities. There are two types of changes that can occur, internal and external. 

“Internal is when someone within the timeline changes the past. External is when someone from outside of the timeline comes in and changes it, like how I have done. If an external change is made, the rubber band is exchanged with no stretch or negative consequence. However, if it’s internal, there can be massive repercussions.

“Changing the present can have little to no consequences, changing the past can have repercussions, and changing your past can have catastrophic repercussions. What I did with Freyja was changing the present. 

“Originally, Freyja’s body was cremated to the point where even her ashes could not be found. Bringing her to the present meant that her remains would not be there. We would not perceive any difference. This results in a small pull of the rubber band as nothing changed other than Freyja’s existence being removed. As you can see, when you pull the rubber band, it wants a snap back into place, and it does so. What was changed was so minuscule that there were no noticeable repercussions. The rubber band, our timeline, remained the same. 

“Changing the past would mean stretching the rubber band to change it. With all the travel between worlds, any change could cause a domino effect, hence massive repercussions. Moreover, the more times you change the past, i.e., stretched the rubber band, the more likely it is to break. I don’t understand what happens if the timeline breaks, but from what Yggdrasil told me, it’s terrible, so changing the past is not recommended. In other words, traveling to other worlds, a parallel jump is fine. However, using time as a variable, as I have done before, does leave a small possibility of massive repercussions.

“The last one should be avoided at all costs, and its repercussions are the most obvious, changing your past. This falls under what happened with Shiba and me. Luckily, not only did things turn out all right, but they turned out to be near perfect. It’s a rare occurrence. You should know that it is impossible to change the past within a single timeline internally. The only exception is the sentient presence that is in charge of the timeline, like Yggdrasil or the consciousness of time itself, and even they are limited. This is enforced by the fact that I cannot enter a timeline further back than the last point that I existed within it. The only reason why it worked is due to a loophole. 

“Only my soul existed; I was technically dead. As such, the rule of the world recognized us as two different entities. It’s one of the few ways that one can change their past, the safest for the timeline, and the most dangerous. It can only occur if a large number of variables occur. Moreover, it requires the user to be able to bend space-time between worlds, like I do when I travel to a specific point within a timeline. 

“If the past is changed, time sends a ripple which replaces everything that happened. For example, the fact that Shiba and I fused means that there is no longer any reason for me to travel back in time. This means that Shiba never existed, resulting in the future resting, also known as a time loop. Because Shiba used time as a variable when he went to Miyuki’s world, the time loop broke. From that point on, Shiba was separated from any changes in my current self’s timeline.

“The reason why I explained all this is because saving your parents would be changing all of our pasts. Firstly, Yggdrasil is unable to make such a massive change making it impossible. Even if he could, it would be an enormous pull on the rubber band. The snapback would be that they would still have a high probability of dying regardless. If they didn’t, the rubber band, our timeline, would be changed. In other words, we would suddenly find ourselves with no knowledge of this timeline and only knowledge of the new one, and there’s a major problem with that.  

“The way everything happened was a happy ending. If we change something as major as your parents dying, there’s a fairly good chance that I wouldn’t have met some of the people here, and we could all be dead currently. That’s the biggest repercussion. Changing your past should only be done when the result is the worst possible end. Even then, it should still be avoided.”

“I understand,” Morgan said meekly. “Then, is it possible for you to do the same for them as you did for Freyja?”

Marty hesitated briefly before answering. “It’s not possible. Significant things occurred after they were discovered dead, and their bodies were recovered.”

Tears renewed in Morgan’s eyes. “It’s because I saw them. You can’t save them because I saw them.”

“Morgan, it’s not your fault. Your grandmother was also there. The mere fact that your parents’ bodies would’ve disappeared would’ve caused enough of a deviation in the timeline still causes major problems. Freyja was a fluke, the luckiest fluke. I wish I could bring them back, but the current result is too good to risk. Moreover, Yggdrasil can’t do it.”

Morgan nodded.

“I love you, Goldie, I’ll always be here for you,” Marty said gently.

After consoling the two sisters for a few minutes, Marty once again asked for any questions.

A few less-import questions were asked and answered.

…

That evening, they shared a celebratory feast with everyone. All the major leaders of the force from the different worlds enjoyed each other’s company. Thankfully, there wasn’t a communication barrier thanks to the number of Rings of Understanding that Marty and Cali created. Marty specifically spent much time appeasing his multiple in-laws to the happiness of his Mesdames. These in-laws also included Cali’s newly discovered parents.

End of Day -1

 

The next morning, everyone was sent back. The group of mesdames spent the rest of the day waiting for Marty, Cali, and Morgan to recharge after casting so many large Dimension Doors. Eventually, Marty Dimension Doored them in front of his mansion.

As he looked at the girls who were all relaxing, he felt a sense of peace and serenity. That feeling was fleeting. 

Marty knew full well just how precious they were to him. If his strength was not enough, there was a good chance he would be unable to protect them as David, one of the most powerful beings currently on Earth, had hinted at. He needed the strength to keep them safe. Not only them but the world they lived in so they could be happy and worry-free.

The moment he decided this, the air in the city changed. With a bang, a heavily damaged spaceship suddenly appeared floating above the city. Marty, momentarily stunned by what had suddenly appeared, couldn’t help but sigh as his most recent conviction was already being put to the test. [Well, ‘there ain’t no rest for the wicked.’]

Freyja furrowed her brows. “Marty, I don’t recall this,” She said, referring to Shiba’s memories they had shared.

“I don’t recall this either,” Marty replied. “Even though my memories are not complete, this period is fairly well preserved, and I have zero recollection of it. In other words, this should be a consequence of changing the timeline.” Marty said as he mentally gave Anna some orders.

“Are you sure that it is a result of your actions?” Miyuki asked.

“99% sure. The ability to change the timeline is rare, which makes it improbable to be someone else.”

“What could have caused this,” Miyuki mumbled.

Marty’s eyes turned dark. “Not what, but who. My timeline changed, starting from when I entered your world. From that point, anyone who was both influenced by my presence and can go to other worlds freely should be responsible.”

“Legion,” Freyja realized.

Mary nodded. “After Nero was killed, the police got a video from Legion addressed to me. In it, he said that the ‘game’ was fun, and he admits his loss so he won’t interfere in that world anymore. This means he has moved his focus to a different world. Given the tech of that ship, it’s most likely from the one where Nero’s plasma pistol and shield came from.” Marty replied. What he did not tell them was that he had also been invited to ‘play’ again by Legion. In all honesty, one of the last things Marty wanted was to get the attention of someone with a god complex.

“That doesn’t look good,” Freyja stated as she saw some debris falling from the ship into the city below.

“Do you girls want to help?” Marty asked as Anna came out of the house with a bag. 

The girls all nodded and stated they would help if Marty allowed. Marty didn’t mind the slightest. He knew the girls were all good-natured, and he didn’t want to be overprotective and shelter them. He took the bag from Anna and began to distribute the items. “This is an emergency permit, so you have some authority in emergencies like this. If someone tries to stop you, you can show them this, so you shouldn’t run into any problems. This is a communicator you put on your ear so we can keep in contact. Anna will be responsible for dispatch and transportation, okay?” Marty asked before he turned to Freyja. “Sorry, I don’t have one prepared for you.”

“That’s alright; I probably couldn’t help much anyway,” Freyja replied with a meek smile.

Even though she brushed it off, Marty saw that she seemed to have a small inferiority complex towards the other girls. “Nonsense, you’ll be plenty of help. You were in my head, so I’m sure you are more than capable of using your magic for medical treatment. Plus, you will catch up to them very quickly in terms of strength, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”

“Thanks,” Freyja replied, having been reassured.

Anna brought the car around, and soon the girls were on the way to help. Anna was made up of two parts, the AI, which primarily dwelled in a hyper-advanced supercomputer within Marty’s bunker, and her android body, which served as a maid for the household. The supercomputer was based on technology from another world, making it more advanced than anything Earth currently had. It also had its own AI, which would be working on the dispatch.

Marty did not join them because he needed to go down to his bunker to change. His target was the spaceship itself, and that could draw them into the public eye. Being someone who always wanted to have several trump cards, he hid his identity as one of them. He only showed a certain level of strength far below his actual power. The primary reason for this is so that he would be underestimated by anyone who wished to cause him harm. 

With a flash of a magic circle, Marty appeared within his bunker in a room where there were several closed compartments. He walked up to one, which he opened using his mind. This was because of his mental ability to integrate with computers. Thus far, he had yet to meet a computer with which he could not connect with including the supercomputer with the other world’s tech. He was somewhat eager as he wanted to see if he could connect with any computers aboard the spaceship as they would have a vast amount of knowledge.

Marty very quickly began to get changed. It was a black colored minimalist military suit with headgear and a plain mask to hide his features. The main parts of the suit had a thin plate of adamantine in critical places. Adamantine was abnormally heavy compared to its size. Any more than the thin plates would’ve been too heavy for practical use. 

Marty chose this outfit because he believed that they had plasma weaponry. As an accident, he knew that adamantine reflected plasma, and he didn’t want to test to see if his Ki could block it.

When he was halfway getting dressed, his communication device went off.

<Anata, why are there so many people running around in weird costumes?> Miyuki asked.

Marty thought about it a couple of seconds before he facepalmed. “The Hero Association.”

<The Hero Association? What’s that?> Lucibelle asked.

“A few months after The Convergence, the beginning of the Abductions to other worlds, a wealthy person brought the idea of a Hero Association to the government. The concept was a simple one. Since superpowers were showing up, why not have real superheroes? At this point, the government was wondering how to deal with the SUPERs, those with superpowers. The government was also aware that it would be inefficient to meet the immediate need, so they adopted two ideas. The first was to make schools a place where SUPERs would reintegrate into society and ensure they had control over their power. The classes that we have been going to is an example of that. 

“The government’s second choice was to accept the creation of the Hero Association. The Hero Association is considered to be a private organization contracted with the government. Those within the Hero Association are heavily regulated and cannot act independently except in times of emergencies or when requested by police. Thus far, several first world countries have branches of the Hero Association. The idea of having SUPERs using their powers to enforce the law and justice.” Marty said, his expression and tone of voice seemed slightly annoyed. 

<It sounds as if you don’t approve,> Miyuki said.

“I naturally don’t. ‘Justice’ is one of their primary mottos, and it has always been a trigger word for me along with ‘Hero.’ On top of that, the primary motivation and its creation is greed. Upon joining the Hero Association, a person signs away their likeness. The person behind the creation of the Hero Association fully realized how lucrative it would be. You see, comics and figures of made up superheroes is a massive industry. So what would happen if these industries started portraying real ones? The answer is money. Even though these heroes risk their lives, they only get a small commission; the majority goes to the leaders of the Association. 

“Additionally, in response to the Hero Association, a Villain Association popped up. Especially early on, there was a fair amount of crime being committed by SUPERs. The Villain Association used the creation of the Hero Association as a call to gather those who use their abilities for darker purposes. A classic case of escalation, though I won’t blame them for that.”

<That doesn’t sound good,> Morgan said.

“Indeed. I find this whole thing somewhat unsettling.” Marty said as he narrowed his eyes, fully intending to investigate now that he had time. By this time, he had finished getting dressed, replaced some items in his Storage Ring, and disappeared from the bunker with a flash of a magic circle.