NOVEL NEXT 234. Talks With Richard PT.2 (Book Four)
"I appreciate what you said here, Richard, but I don't take credit for all of that. All I did was tell a couple of people what to do, and it kind of just worked out from there with the hard work of everyone else. In fact, I have no idea what the rest of these cities really look like, and I barely know what Black Cove City looks like, let alone all of Earth. So I think most of that credit goes to the people who actually chose to do these things and make some of what you're saying happen.
"And you're right. No one should be forced to cultivate. It should always be a choice. Choose to do this, choose to do that, and be man enough to live with the consequences of whatever happens. So it's not on the past anymore. I'll be leaving, Richard, like more than I've ever left before.
"In fact, if you don't cultivate and get a little stronger, this could be the last conversation we have because I will get that strong, and I have no idea when I'll come back here. But I hope when I come back, there's at least one person remaining from Outpost G.
"Whether it's you or Brandon or someone else, I hope one of you can reach the same levels as me, even if it takes a longer time. Keep Earth warm for me until I come back because I will come back.
"In the meantime, I'll go out there, see new things, do new things, meet a bunch of weird looking people, and truly learn not just about this world but about myself as well."
"Well, I can't promise you I'll be around when you come back. I don't even know if I want to live that long. It's a long time to live, especially if it means outliving my wife. If she wants to live that long, then maybe I'll try, but if not, then I highly doubt I'll be there. Though the same might not be said for my kids.
"Perhaps they'll want to chase legends and one day reach the peak of this world or something like that, I don't know. But I'll make sure they know about you, and that they make sure to let their own kids, if they have any, know about you as well.
"At some point, someone down the line will be able to welcome you back, that I promise. And even if they all forget to pass it down, I'll make sure to leave records of your existence in Black Cove City. That's my promise. You won't be entirely foreign to the people who remain here. Earth has been your home for as long as you've been alive, and I don't think it will ever stop being your home, especially since you'll still be the Planetary Lord. So they'll know that.
"All aside, though, I truly hope you find what you're looking for out there. And while Earth will always be your home, I don't think your people are here. Not only are they with you, but they're on another planet.
"Perhaps being amongst people you share a race with will help you better understand things about your life and what you want to do with it. In the meantime, yeah, I'll keep Earth warm for you. Me or someone else, it will be here waiting for you."
We talked a little bit after that regarding a bunch of nothing, just small talk about how his life had been in the last few years, because it truly had been over a decade since we returned from the Tutorial. It's a very long time, especially for people who chose not to progress past Body Tempering.
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Anyway, we weren't going to sit here and talk forever, so eventually our talk came to an end, and I brought him back to the city. There was no one else I really wanted to talk to, even though I had relations with quite a few people there. But it had been over a decade since I'd spoken to any of them apart from Richard. There wasn't going to be any need to close the doors on anything there, so with that being said, for now, I was done with Earth.
Two days later, the guest I was waiting for arrived, Sendoira.
She was tall, but not quite taller than me, roughly six-foot-two, thereabouts. She still had four arms, and she still had that beautiful orange hair, the type of hair that any redhead would be jealous of, and she had the eyes to match.
You know, before this, I don't think if someone had asked me if four arms on a woman would be attractive, I'd have been able to say yes, because I'd likely have been picturing that one guy from Mortal Kombat. But with her body, it worked.
She was dressed in leather armor with a chest plate, pants, shin armor, and bracers on her arms, all four of them. From her shoulders down was bare, and the tone of her arms was on display for all to see. They were ripped with muscle but not so bulky that they looked out of place on her slender yet toned frame. The arms fit.
Of course, I was standing there waiting for her when she arrived, and after taking a look around and tilting her head this way and that, she finally locked onto me and then strolled in my direction, a delicate yet determined stride. This was not a woman raised in a glass house, unaware of the problems of the world. This was a warrior, one that sought to free herself from her shackles.
"I have arrived. Thank you for having me. When do we leave?"
For some reason, the straightforwardness of her opening statement made me smile ever so faintly.
"Well, you were the last thing we were waiting on, so I suppose that means we'll be leaving shortly."
And that we did. Myself, Sendoira, and a few thousand Infernals all gathered together and stood just outside of the Infernal District as we waited for our ride.
A ride that I would assume would come and land before us, since there were thousands of us waiting to be picked up. But no, similarly to when I went on Elder Zal's ship, we were teleported. Every single one of my Infernals and my fellow Planetary Lord teleported and reappeared in a hall, a great hall.
All around us, massive walls of water could be seen. It was like we were in a small pocket of air, but a large pocket of air in the middle of the ocean. There were different marine creatures swimming and moving around in the walls of water. I called them marine life because I couldn't quite name anything I was looking at. They didn't look like fish or sharks or anything I really recognized, so I'll stick with marine life.
Then I heard a voice in my head, one that I recognized.
'Attendants will soon come to show your people to their quarters. You may join them, or you may join me up on the bridge. The choice is yours. Select an attendant and let them know your wish.'
And just like she said, a group of other mermaid-looking people, both male and female this time, appeared in the room from the water around us, landing on the floor without a single drop touching the ground. Of course, my Infernals did not just get up and walk away with them, and only after I gave them the order to follow did they start moving about. Vrusha, of course, did not move a single muscle.
I watched as one of the mermaid people approached me and very respectfully asked where I would like to be taken.
Not wanting to hold anyone up I only gave it a moment's thought before deciding on the bridge. I had a few questions for the owner of the ship.