Chapter 51: Civilization is Civilization, Strength is Strength

Liliya cried—truly cried, with tears practically pooling on the floor. "(ˉ『ˉ) Aba Aba..." Takumi, clearly in a very good mood, said cheerfully: "From now on, you're under my protection, sweetheart." "Behave yourself, alright?" "I'm not some kind of devil. As long as you listen, there's no way I'll let you go hungry." Liliya wiped her tear-streaked face. "Waaah! You're the worst!" She was fuming. This guy was too much—did he just forcibly overwrite her will? "Bad guys get the girls. You seemed to enjoy it earlier." "So why cry now?" "Come on, send out the notice. You're all moving." "I'm planning to scrape the land clean and take it with me." Takumi rolled his eyes and patted her head, then signaled for her to hurry up and prepare. At the same time, Takumi used his powers to "heal" her. What did he heal? If you know, you know. After saying all that, Takumi walked toward the archive room where Liliya kept her data. He wasn't afraid of her saying no—she didn't really have a choice. Liliya's lip twitched. Damn scumbag. Was he seriously just walking away like nothing happened? She stared after him, eyes filled with resentment. But with a sigh, she stopped thinking about it and got up. A new world, huh? She didn't know much about it, but as long as Takumi was there, it should be fine... right? Thinking about Takumi's overwhelming power... Thinking about the implanted commands in her mind... Her cheeks flushed crimson. Better get moving. Though she still wondered—how exactly did Takumi plan to take all of Veyrie away? Curious or not, no one was explaining anything to her now. Meanwhile, Takumi had arrived at the archives. By this time, the robots had nearly finished scanning. There was a lot of data, but Takumi's robots scanned much faster. He began downloading the uploaded information. A massive trove of knowledge streamed into his mind. And with it, Takumi gradually grasped countless types of magic. He became more and more excited. As expected, these spells were a huge boon. It felt incredibly satisfying. The more he understood, the stronger he felt. After a short while, Takumi had finished scanning the entire massive archive. He also fully grasped the production methods of the Magitek weapons. If necessary, he could even create them in various forms. Not bad at all. Once everything was processed, Takumi turned and left. Liliya, on the other hand, was delivering a speech. In a moment, all of Veyrie would undergo an earth-shaking transformation. They would be migrating to another world. She urged everyone not to panic. In Veyrie, the queen's orders were absolute. Though many people were confused, no one dared question her. Well, almost no one. Eriel, for example, was completely dumbfounded. What the hell was going on? As the homeroom teacher at Matraiz Magic Academy, and the only Magitek girl in Veyrie wielding two Magitek weapons, she was baffled. Wasn't there an intruder? Where was the intruder now? Before she could get any answers, a mysterious force blanketed the entire world. No one could use their magic. Everyone had effectively become ordinary people. The queen came out to calm them. Then disappeared. And when she returned two hours later, she announced: "We're moving. We're leaving this world." What kind of fantasy plotline was this?! What the hell was going on day by day? Had Liliya finally gone off the deep end? Eriel was lost. Liliya didn't bother explaining. "This is a command—not a negotiation." So, everyone had to prepare to change worlds. She also ordered all the Magitek girls to return. Everyone, including those currently abroad, had to go. Once everything was arranged, Liliya returned to her palace. After issuing all those commands, she finally exhaled in relief. And upon entering her chamber and seeing Takumi waiting... Her face turned bright red. Suddenly, she felt awkward and fidgety. Remembering how she'd been... stuffed with cream puffs just earlier... She couldn't help but squirm. "All set, sweetheart?" Hearing Takumi call her that made her twitch. Sweetheart? What sweetheart?! He had no shame! "It's done..." Though she felt helpless, she didn't dare object. She walked up to Takumi obediently. Once she got close, Takumi pulled her into his arms. "Once all the Magitek girls are back, we can leave." "Let me tell you a bit about my world." "Just so you can mentally prepare." And so, Takumi began explaining. Liliya listened attentively. Once she had the full picture, she asked in surprise: "You mean... your world only has a million people?" "And all of them were brought from other worlds?" What kind of world was that? A million people? That's not even a proper city. Could it really accommodate all of Veyrie? "Yeah." "Thing is, humanity in that world went extinct ages ago." "I only arrived there by accident." "And then I got bound to it." "If I want to grow stronger, I have to develop that world." Takumi told her everything. After all, she was going to be his pillow companion—she needed to know. "Tied to an entire world?" "Doesn't that mean your power is limited by it?" What if that world got destroyed? Would his power disappear too? Takumi only smiled. "My strength is related to civilization, but also separate from it." "If civilization grows, I grow stronger." "If it gets destroyed, I still stay strong." "Otherwise, I wouldn't be this powerful here." He had already visited two worlds—both the Black Bullet world and this one. And his power hadn't waned at all. The Cocoon of the End had fused with him. Even if he left that original world, the Cocoon was still part of him. If the civilization advanced, he got stronger. If it was destroyed? Just rebuild. No big deal. So, civilization is civilization. Strength is strength. The two are not the same thing.