"Huh... Why do the butlers and maids seem to avoid me?"
Philip and Tenshi walked through the stone pathway that leads to the greenhouse. The distance of the greenhouse from the mansion is a few hundred meters, so they have quite a bit to go
The grass across the backyard is so verdant and every blades of grass are the same height one inch. There were no weeds or herbs present, except for the bushes, hedges, plants, and trees lined up along the walls surrounding the mansion
There are hidden lights beneath the grass for every ten meters and there are yellowish strips of lights that run along the stone pathway for guidance during nighttime. The lights are already turned on since it's almost dusk, around 5:30 pm
Talking and speaking to every person in the mansion really made time fly by for Philip
The lamp on the pillar walls are also turned on with under lights illuminating the bushes and hedges
"Yeah, that's strange... I wonder why?"
Tenshi trailer off as there was an obvious tone on her voice that she was lying. Tenshi wasn't used to lying, especially in front of Philip, because she has to and Philip caught that
Philip was confused. He tried to read her thoughts, but all he could see is Tenshi thinking all about shotguns. Tenshi tried her best to not think about the secret
'I could search for her memories... But I won't do that'
Philip respects Tenshi and all the secrets that she hides. If Tenshi doesn't want to tell Philip, he would just ignore it and move on since it's not his business to pry for Tenshi's life and secrets
This is different from the time Emily hid a secret from him
It's a matter of whose the secret is for and who should know it
If Tenshi and Emily switched places with the secrets that their keeping, then Philip would be angry at Tenshi
Tenshi then immediately tried to change the topic
"The power of the mansion is rising, huh? We have a lot of capable and powerful beings that could almost repel any danger"
"That's right"
"Are you happy?"
"Yes. This is what I wanted... For everyone to be capable enough to protect themselves in case one day I'll be busy, missing, or I disappeared"
"But it's impossible for you to disappear, right? We have Soul Connect and I'll just go to you to retrieve you!"
「 ... 」
『 ... 』
"That's true"
"I wonder who's stronger than the other in the mansion? Do you keep notes of that?"
"Not really, but it should be fun... Should we rank everyone based on their power alone?"
"Yeah sure! We have a few minutes before we reach the greenhouse anyways"
"Let's start with the weakest first"
Philip raised his hand while pointing upwards
"Weakest? Is it alright to call them weakest?"
"Uh... Then we'll call them least powerful"
"I think that's better haha"
~~~
"First on the list is Kyouko"
The reason that Kyouko is first on the list is because Philip has never met her again since the first time meeting her in the dinner party. Philip hasn't learned her power yet and she might be his biggest hurdle yet. Not to mention, he has already confirmed that she's an [Ultimate Sadist], his greatest enemy or ally since he's an [Ultimate Masochist]
"Kyouko? Who's that?"
"So, you still haven't met her even in six months???"
"No?"
"She's one of the residents of this mansion. I don't know much about her honestly. She's been holing up in her room ever since"
"Like a NEET?"
"Yeah, you could say that, but if you see her first initially... She won't give you the impression of a NEET, but an elegant girl that could be the top of her class, a role model, a student council president, like that..."
"Hey! You can't judge them by their looks There are also manga out there that are NEETs but they look dashing and elegant"
"Hm, now that you mentioned it... You're right"
Philip remebered specific manga that has that kind of setting. Most manga have a NEET that looks too degenerate since they've been inside of their rooms for weeks and months without going outside. But there are also some manga that even if they are NEETs, they still looked good for some reason
"Anyways, next should be Satou with his Observe ability"
"Makes sense"
"Third is... I know you might disagree on this, but... It should be Natsume"
"Hm? Why?"
"Her only ability is Fire Nullification. She can't control fire and just nullify all things that can produce fire"
"Hm..."
"Remember, we're ranking them by power... I know Fire Nullification is powerful, but it's not to a degree of being able to destroy"
"Oh! You're ranking everyone by their capability to destroy based on power?"
"Uh... Yes? Also, I'll take consideration between who wins in a battle"
"Mhm, makes sense... So, you think that Natsume would win against Satou?"
"Kinda? I don't know why, but yes"
"Are you taking their potential in consideration also by chance?"
"I think so?"
"Ahhh... Now I understand"
The reason Philip placed Natsume higher than Satou is not only because Natsume is more useful in certain situations with her ability, but also because of her locked potential
He did control her fate by severing her and her sisters' connection to the Natsu Clan and the Fotiá, but that doesn't unlocke her full potential. Same goes with Natsuki and Natsu
He think that if he would liberate the Fire Gnosis at the heart of the Natsu Clan and make the Natsu sisters harness the power directly, their power levels would exponentially increase
Though, that's a plan for the future because he is also planning on visiting the Vampire Kingdom for Alucard
"Next is Clara with her Vitality Enhancer ability"
"Interesting... Why is she above Natsume?"
"Do you remember in isekai mangas... When someone was transported to another world, they gain some sort of ability through natural means, rules of the world, or intervention by a divine being?"
"Oh! Yeah! Do you think it applies?"
"Of course! That's why, depending on the other ability that Clara will obtain, she'll stay in that level in the meantime"
"But it's almost seven months! Don't you think she already has her transmigrated ability?"
"I do have an idea..."
"What's that?"
"When I was talking to her and her sister in their room, she's surprisingly calm about everything, compared to Corleona and Braudain. Though, her emotions were unstable and it changes quickly"
"Do you think she has some sort of emotion ability like your Emotion Manipulation?"
"Yes, but it's more powerful than that..."
"..."
"Empathy... An ability that can absorb the emotions of other, spread those to others, and amplify or mitigate them"
"Hmmm... That's a little troublesome if she won't be able to control it"
"I know... But trust me, I know she will. Also, I have Emotion Manipulation"
"Wait, you don't mean?!"
"..."
Philip just smiled with a slight pain behind and Tenshi could see it
[Empathy] is an ability that's one of the most powerful emotional abilities, but Empath's greatest enemy are people who can manipulate their own emotions, like Philip
If Clara were to lose control and affect everyone around him, sharing all sorts of painful emotions, Philip can make Clara aim all those emotions towards Philip and he'll manipulate it and throw it down his own bottomless well of negative emotions
He's willing to sacrifice himself for Clara's stability, which in turn will help Sai. Everything will be according to his plan
"Okay... I trust you... But don't overdo it. You have me now, so allow me to share the burden with you"
"I appreciate it"
Philip smiled
'But I'm sorry, I won't allow that... The last thing that I want for you is to get hurt... That's just what I am'
Philip muttered in his head and Tenshi doesn't seem to hear or see it
"Alright, next is Mei'er... Her power level is subject to change though after we see her"
"I understand... Her ability is something close to flowers right?"
"Obviously?"
"Just confirming..."
"Yeah, her flower ability is different though since not only flowers that follow her command, but herbs and plants also, maybe trees... All kinds of fauna"
"We'll see it later"
"Yup! Above her is Corleona as first ever Rapier King in the universe and her hidden transmigration ability"
"Hm? She's this low even though she's a Rapier King? Surely she's somewhat special since you emphasized her as being the first ever in the universe?"
"If she fixes herself and finds her own motivation or conviction, she'll be elevated"
"I see... You have any idea about her transmigration ability?"
"Hmmm... I think so? It's faint, but I saw a glimpse earlier"
"Really? How?"
"She keeps feeling that danger is approaching her. She's too paranoid, like her awareness is too high... I think she has Elevated Sixth Sense or Premonition"
"Interesting..."
"Yeah, with that ability... She could become a very powerful rapier user as well as alert us if there were to be something dangerous approaching"
"..."
"Above Corleona is Sheena as a Peacemaker with her Touch Upgrade ability"
"Has it been confirmed that she's actually a Peacemaker?"
"Yes. She's a variant of a Peacemaker, similar to Mathilda. Though, she only has a support class compared to Mathilda, which is an all rounder... Well, technically Sheena can be an all rounder if she tried hard enough with her upgraded super magnets"
"I understand... She's almost basically useless if she has no tools or technology next to her"
"Those are some harsh words considering both of you were squadron members but... Yeah, you're right"
"It's okay to be brutally honest sometimes..."
"Anyways... Above her is Natsuki with her Solar Prominence ability"
"Understandable... If she's capable enough, she could burn the whole world"
"Exactly! If she replicated the arcs of prominence from the Sun, she could literally chop Earthenmana into half"
"But of course, that's her true potential with the Fire Gnosis, right?"
"Yep! Same to Natsu, who is above Natsuki, with her Corona Radiation ability"
"She has the ability to turn the world into a nuclear wasteland with the radiation that she'll generate, right?"
"Yup! Very dangerous. Since she deals with radiation, she'll be immune to Natsuki's prominences"
"Seems about right"
"Next is Rue with her Ruination ability"
"Rue?! That's surprising"
"Well, her Ruination ability is different... It just doesn't bring anything into ruins, it will literally bring anything beyond ruined. It's almost like Disintegration, but it will ruin the entire connected concept without restrictions"
"I see... So, that's how she erased the shield around me during the mock battle in the military base"
"Yes... She's very powerful and hard to deal with since everything around her will crumble and collapse once she activated her ability
"Okay"
"After her... You won't believe it... It's Alucard"
"Alucard?! Really? Hm... If I think about it more, it makes sense"
"Do you have any idea?
Philip asked Tenshi and tried to test her deductive skills
"You liberated the Pureblood from him to save him from his fate and destiny... He's now a normal pureblooded vampire and the first pureblooded Vampire King that doesn't have the Pureblood. Even if he doesn't have the Pureblood, he's still powerful as the Vampire King. Also, after a few a while that you took the Pureblood from him, the Pureblood has been imprinted on him, so possess a pseudo-Pureblood... A weakened Pureblood, a Partial Pureblood if I do say so myself"
"Yes, you basically got everything right... He still has potential for a power up though... Well, more like an evolution?"
"What's going to happen?"
"Since the Pureblood has detached itself from me and made an ego in a form of a marble, it became its own concept... A Pureblood that's not exclusive to the pureblooded vampires. Therefore, the concept of the original pureblood that belonged to the vampires was returned to him... By the Four Absolute Rules of the universe... It won't be called Pureblood for him now, it will be called Bloodborn... Well, that's Pureblood's words anyways"
"I see I see... Will he have the same 100 Pureblood abilities in the form of Bloodborn abilities?"
"Yes. The system will help with that indirectly... Also, if we let Alucard read the Book of Perfect Blood, he might receive enlightenment or more power"
"I see... That would be great for him! So, he'll be temporarily at that rank for now?"
"Yes, else, he will be very powerful"
At this point, Philip and Tenshi already has passed the halfway point towards the greenhouse