Twenty-Two Years Past
As I woke up from my sleep, I opened the window, letting the early morning sunlight flood the room and engulf me. Standing there, I prepared myself mentally for the day ahead. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
Taking in the feeling of the morning breeze, I walked over to the door of my tiny apartment and stepped through it, entering my kitchen. I cooked myself a quick meal, then headed to the shower, and afterward, to the closet to throw on my gear.
I wore a one-piece suit over my skin, then put on a simple pair of pants and a shirt. I grabbed my face mask and a thin garment to cover my face. I wore the garment first, then the mask—precautions to make sure no one could see my face and trigger the curse.
As I dressed, I carefully hid the two tattoos on my back and face. One of them was a magic circle implanted on me before my father died in this world. It had the effect of inserting the memories of previous bearers of the tattoo into me, with the side benefit of helping me handle the overwhelming amount of information I was exposed to before I died in my past life. Over the years, I made some adjustments to better suit me, but the core idea remained the same.
The tattoo on my back absorbs all of my mana at the end of each day and stores it so I can retrieve it whenever I need to. It took years to figure out how to make my body accept foreign mana, but when I finally did, it became a huge advantage—especially since I don't have constant access to mana like Rudeus. I've had to find alternatives.
After covering my tattoos, I took the spray I redeveloped in this world and applied it. The spray is unique—it stops my body from producing odor and accidentally activating the curse.
Once I was fully prepared, I stepped outside and headed to Ronoa Magic University to begin work in my lab. This was after the war between the Laniel Kingdom and the Dragon King Kingdom, a conflict that ended with a deal between the Dragon King and Aron, resulting in the unification of both states under the name Laniel Empire.
Though the name suggests unity, calling it a "unification" is just glorified propaganda. It was more like the Dragon King Kingdom got conquered. I was personally present in the meeting where the deal was finalized, so I can confirm—it was just a political stunt.
As I walked into my lab, I saw my materials neatly organized, just like I had left them the night before. Entering, I took the scientist's robe off the hook and walked over to the shelf that held my crystal balls. But when I looked, the shelf was empty.
"Ah… right. I used the last one a week ago," I muttered to myself.
I had been putting off going to her to get a new one for a while now. She's just… exhausting to deal with. But I guess I'm out of options. I'll have to ask her for another crystal ball.
I walked toward the exit of the room without taking off my robe. No point—she's in the same establishment as me. There's no reason to change just to meet her.
Crossing the hallway of the university, I stopped in front of an impressive door and knocked vigorously, waiting for the person inside to answer.
After a moment, a blue-haired young girl opened the door."Huh. It's you," she said, clearly annoyed. "Come inside. I'll get your crystal balls."
She turned and walked away, leaving the door open behind her. I entered in silence, just as I always do. Acting mute makes it easier to avoid talking, and considering my curse, I have very few options when it comes to avoiding people hearing my voice.
The room was a mess. As always.
She never cleaned up after herself—research papers were scattered everywhere. For the life of me, I couldn't understand how someone could live like this. Still, it wasn't my room. It would've been disrespectful to move anything around.
After all, while it might look like a mess to me, to her, it might be a familiar kind of chaos.
I sat down and waited for her to bring the crystal balls, eager to leave as soon as possible.
I needed the crystal to properly experiment with divination magic. Lara Greyrat—the daughter of Rudeus Greyrat—was the only one in the city of Ranoah competent enough to create high-quality crystal balls. As much as I disliked relying on her, I had no other choice. Learning to craft them myself was difficult, and until I mastered it, I had to depend on her.
It wasn't ideal, especially considering she was the daughter of the protagonist of Mushoku Tensei. I promised myself I wouldn't get involved with the main cast—nothing good could come from that. They reeked of problems.
But soon, I wouldn't have to deal with this gremlin again. I was almost finished learning how to craft advanced-level crystal balls myself. I hadn't learned it earlier like Lara did—she studied advanced divination magic at the Magic University in Asura. I, on the other hand, went to the Laniel Kingdom's state school, which gave me a better deal. They offered a scholarship to anyone from my orphanage who wanted to attend.
As I waited, she finally came back holding a crystal ball. She handed it over, and I paid her ten Asuran gold coins—the cost of tuition at the Magic University in Ranoah. It hurt to part with that much money at once, but I had no choice.
I took the ball and left her lab immediately, making sure not to overstay my already unwanted welcome.
As I walked away, I could swear I heard her mutter,"Not even a thank you…"
Like I owed her anything—especially after she basically robbed me.
Considering the materials needed to make a crystal ball, there was no justification for her price. A 1000% markup. She could get away with it because she was the only one in Ranoah capable of producing them. She had a monopoly—and she knew it.
Returning to my lab, crystal ball in hand, I let go of my frustration and placed it on the shelf. I began preparing for the experiment.
A few hours later, I left Ranoah University and headed to the orphanage to check on the kids. I had made it a habit to visit every day. The children loved me, and I was grateful to the place—it had raised me after I ran away from that crazy girl when I was four.
As I stepped inside, I was immediately swarmed by kids, laughing and grabbing onto me like I was a jungle gym. I stood still, letting them cling to me.
Then, an adult male stepped in front of me."Nice to meet you again, Thomas," he greeted with a smile.
I greeted him back with a nod, then placed my hand on my throat and poured magic into it. My voice crackled like static from an old TV."Nice to meet you too, Elder Brother Neir."
Neir had been raised in the same orphanage as me. When the orphanage opened a second branch in the capital of the Laniel Empire, he was the one chosen to run it.
He stepped closer, his expression casual."So, any progress in the romance department, Thomas?" he asked, as if we were just talking about the weather.
I said nothing. Silence was always the easiest answer.
I walked into the playroom with the children, letting the noise and laughter drown out any awkwardness. As we entered, Sister Lily waved at me."Did you hear anything from Sara?" she asked.
Sara… my student. I had practically raised her since she was four. We went through the war between the Laniel Kingdom and the Dragon Kingdom together. After the war, she became a private tutor for one of Ariel's children in the royal palace. I rarely heard from her these days.
"No, I haven't heard anything yet," I answered calmly.
My relationship with Lily wasn't as tight as the one I had with Neir, even though we were raised in the same orphanage. I think it was because of that one time I told Neir she had a crush on him. Things got awkward between them for a while. Not that I regret it.
Who did she think she was, trying to steal my older brother for her dumb games? He promised we'd play capture the flag with the village kids that day. She was basically begging for divine retribution.
After playing with the kids for a while, I left the room and headed to my final destination of the day—the café.
After leaving the orphanage, I made my way to the café—a two-story building with a massive underground layer. As I entered, I saw Doron and Luna chatting at the counter.
"Doron, stop chatting and get the materials ready," I called out. "The night shift is about to start. Get everything in place. Luna, if you want to stick around, head upstairs. Don't disturb the work."
"Okay, boss," she replied, waving me off casually as she made her way to the second floor.
I turned back to the main floor."Alright, staff—get ready. We're starting the night shift in twenty minutes!"
The café wasn't ordinary. Neither was the staff.
There were five members on duty during the night shift:
Doron, the bartender—someone I met during my time in the Shadow Slave universe.
Olivia, an android waitress assigned to me by her kind to monitor my wellbeing after I visited the Nier/Drakengard universe.
Samuel, a slave I hired from the Mushoku Tensei verse while I was traveling. Originally, he worked as a cleaner, but in my absence, he could step up as a cook.
And finally, the twins from the Deldarosa universe, a fantasy world from a webnovel published in 20156 on the Kakoon site. It was once the #1 webnovel, even getting a manhwa, game, and anime adaptation.
The twins, Charlotte and Andrew, handled the café's underground areas—the library, the smithery, the mystical concoctions lab, and the rental rooms. It sounds like a lot for just two people, but you'd be surprised how efficient they are. Plus, they have their familiars to help, so technically, they're never alone.
Twenty minutes later, the café entered night shift mode.
A flood of customers poured in. Most of them headed straight for the library upstairs or the underground facilities—smithery, potion department, and so on. When the surge ended, only ten people remained on the first floor. That was the usual number.
I made my way to the kitchen, waiting for the first orders to roll in.
When they came, I got moving immediately.
First order: cheesecake.Probably Michael—he was a regular and came from the same world as the twins.
Second order: crackers.I grimaced. Who comes to a café and orders crackers? Probably Luna. She was here for advice from Daron, not the food.
Third order: medium latte with whipped cream and a cherry on top.That had to be the Angry Shadow. He usually showed up whenever Daron was around. Their relationship was complicated—Daron was kind of like his caretaker.
I quickly prepared the orders, three at a time, and by the time I reached the sixth, I was already winding down. I sat in the back on one of the chairs, waiting for the next set.
In the meantime, I walked to my private quarters deep in the lower levels and looked over a contract sent to me by Indroxen, a god of Absolute Rank 2.
Every being in existence falls within the hierarchy of Absolute Ranks. Each rank grants a level of omnipotence over beings below it. For example, humans—and anything that shares their Absolute Rank—don't possess any form of true power over others. To attain that kind of dominance, you need to be at least Absolute Rank 2.
There are ten Absolute Ranks in total.
At the top—Rank 10—there is only one being. The One True God. He holds absolute power over everyone and everything, and no one can surpass Him. There are theories, of course—rumors that there might be a level beyond even Him. But we don't really dwell on it. We're part of the lowest rank, after all. From our perspective, anything higher is just speculation.
Most people don't even know about this system. And they don't need to. Think of it like this: beings in Rank 1 don't possess absolute power over anyone, so this knowledge doesn't matter to them. It's not a tightly guarded secret—just irrelevant to most.
My verse, however, falls under the dominion of a Rank 2 god named Dethraxen.
Strangely, my curse works even on gods. For some reason, Dethraxen has taken a particular interest in me—though I'm still not entirely sure why. Maybe it's curiosity. Maybe something else.
He occasionally sends me contracts—requests from other gods who want things done in lower worlds. The gods of higher ranks aren't allowed to interfere directly with the lives of lower-ranked beings. It's one of the commandments laid down by the One True God. So they need middlemen.
That's where I come in.
The contract I'm currently reviewing is from a god requesting me to head into the High School DxD world.
There aren't many details. As usual, the moment I step into that universe, the god will gain fate-level control over me. I won't need to make decisions—they'll already be made through divine influence.
The contract states I'll be inhabiting the body of a male until the age of eighteen. There's no time dilation set between the DxD world and this one, which means I won't appear to have vanished or returned instantly. However, it does mention I'll be able to continue managing the café remotely from within that body. That made the offer a bit more appealing.
This wasn't my first jump across worlds. Since I'm a fusion of two souls, I can send one of them while the other remains behind to keep things running.
But still… I'm cautious.
I fear that the original soul of this body—the one that's stayed dormant—might start developing unique thoughts, emotions, and a worldview while I'm gone. After all, I've been in this body since birth. It's the most comfortable one I've ever had. It feels like me. If I leave, and the soul buried deep inside begins to stir, I might return to a version of myself that no longer feels like mine.
Even so… I think I'm going to accept the contract.
After the night shift ended, I walked to my bed, preparing myself for what was to come.
I lay down.
I closed my eyes.
And the next moment…
They opened again.
Just not with two souls inside anymore.