Chapter 74: Whether You Understand It or Not, Just Call It Good Tea

The uppermost level of Heaven was even more deserted than the ones below. There were only a few simple buildings here—and nothing else. But Takumi could clearly sense it. Above this level, there was likely yet another layer. That must be the domain where God once resided. Now that God was dead, apart from the Heavenly System, that place was probably empty. Takumi was led by Michael and the other angels into a spacious hall. "This place is a bit plain. Please forgive us." Michael invited Takumi to take a seat, then personally prepared tea for him. He handled everything himself. This Archangel was surprisingly easy to get along with. "Try our Heaven's tea. It's brewed with holy water." Takumi's eyes lit up at those words. "Thanks~!" He gratefully took a cup and drank a sip without hesitation. The taste... was quite good. Better than those mass-produced Oriental tea leaves. "Good tea~!" Whether or not he understood tea didn't matter—so long as he called it good. Michael smiled gently, then began making small talk. "Mr. Takumi, would you mind telling me about other worlds?" "When my Lord was still alive, she warned us that our world might one day be invaded by others." "Frankly, we're in a pretty precarious situation right now." Michael sighed. God had long warned them to be wary of outside invaders. But Takumi didn't seem like one of them. If he were a true invader, he wouldn't be this friendly. "Your world is indeed in a dangerous spot." "The evil gods from neighboring worlds are eyeing it greedily." Takumi fully agreed. Danger loomed on all sides. The Great Red being slain in one strike? Could you believe it? Michael was shocked by this statement. "Mr. Takumi, you know about our world too?" It seemed Takumi had quite a grasp of the outside situation. "Sort of. In the future, your world will definitely face invasions." "Some of those gods have already arrived." "Some of your own even dream of conquering their worlds." "But unfortunately, the power gap is just too big." Takumi couldn't help but chuckle, thinking of a certain devil who had grand ambitions. And then got instantly crushed. Michael's expression turned serious. "Mr. Takumi, would you be willing to share more details?" There was no choice but to take this seriously. "Mm... Actually, I'm planning to go check that world out myself soon." "I already know a fair bit. Let me tell you." "The gods there are all mechanical life forms." And now, their ships were already on the far side of the moon. They also lurked deep beneath the oceans. Takumi began explaining the EXE world and what he knew. As he spoke, Michael's face grew graver by the second. Evil gods from another world were already here? Hiding among them? On the moon's far side? In the ocean depths? Now the angels were starting to panic. Not a single native god had detected anything. "You don't need to panic." "They still fear your world." "Apparently, some high-ranking spirit gods once made contact with Earth, so they're cautious." "It's not too serious yet." "You just need to hold out for a while longer." ... Still, now that they knew, who could really sleep peacefully? The enemy was already among them. Gradually, Michael calmed himself and turned to Takumi. "Mr. Takumi, may I ask why you plan to visit their world?" He was curious—there had to be a reason. "Mm, just to see if there's anything worth picking up." "Since I've come to your world, I can't leave empty-handed, right?" "I'm mostly interested in the Sacred Gears and your magical systems." "Once I get those, I'll head to their world." "And collect all their knowledge about creating life." "Their civilization is rather fascinating." Mechanical civilization advanced to this level—wasn't that something? Takumi had once considered developing mechanical civilization himself. But he had dismissed it instantly. No fun. Even if he could craft paper-waifu robots, it'd be boring. Nothing beats real humans. Especially girls from other worlds. Wouldn't it be best to just bring back a few he liked? Despite gaining overwhelming power, Takumi was still, at heart, just a normal guy. He did what he wanted when he wanted. ... Hearing that Takumi just wanted to loot the place, Michael was at a loss for words. The angels exchanged bewildered glances. Michael mulled it over and then continued. "Aside from Sacred Gears, you also desire magical knowledge, correct?" Takumi grinned. "Correct~!" He could more or less guess where this was going. "We can help with that." "If you don't mind, we have a vast collection in Heaven." "My Lord gathered extensive divine and magical knowledge." "If you're interested, it's all yours." Michael looked seriously at Takumi. Gabriel and the others immediately understood what Michael was implying. "You want me to help resolve your world's crisis, don't you?" Takumi sipped the holy water-infused tea and calmly stared at Michael. Michael nodded. "Yes." "From the way you spoke earlier, it seems you don't consider them a threat." He was confident about this. Though he didn't know Takumi's full strength, judging by how casually he spoke about the EXE gods, it was clear he didn't fear them. And he knew so much already. So Michael wanted to ask for his help. Takumi nodded. "I really don't see them as a threat." "After all, they're just mechanical life forms..." Against the Herrscher of Corruption, they were doomed. Were they even worth taking seriously? Destroying them? Takumi was planning to do that anyway. He simply hadn't intended to get involved with Earth's matters initially. But now that Michael had asked... Well, that opened a lot of possibilities. For Takumi, this was something easily handled with a wave of his hand.