Giliath still appreciates power stones even on days chapters aren't posted!
*****
"Didn't expect to see a second message, did you, Big Brother? This time though, I had zero involvement in this matter. This is a personal gift from Angie. Do not open this one in a public area. It would be best if you are alone, or with someone you trust. Do not let that sparkly princess watch this either.", Kitty said as I read over this message.
"It really is a message from Kitty. It looks like Renne sent you something. It looks like an attachment of some sorts? She said it was a message from Angelica, if I recall?", Tio wondered, trying to recall who Angelica was.
"Oh yeah, you haven't really had a chance to interact with Angelica much, have you, Tio? I could likely say the same to you, Sherryl.", I said, looking at the two girls beside me.
"Mmm. I do recall seeing Angelica once or twice, but it has been a while. Who exactly is she, Naoto?", Tio asked.
"I've also been wondering about that myself. She comes and goes as she pleases back at Grancel Castle.", Sherryl also doubted.
"Haha, I'll just explain it simply then. Angie and I kind of got hitched. Way before father announced my engagement with Alfin. She is the first girl I wound up dating.", I uttered.
"Lecher.", Tio immediately retorted, returning to her normal deadpan look.
"Master...Is dating that girl?", Sherryl frowned. "That won't cause implications now, will it?", Sherryl continued.
"It won't. Grandmother did approve of me in creating a harem. Angie will be a part of that, and Ennea likely will too. She has already accepted me, I just have yet to return her favor...", I began to explain, only to come to a sudden standstill.
"Shit.", I suddenly said, drawing the two girls' attention.
"What is it now?", Tio wondered.
"Everything happened so quickly yesterday that I kind of left things out in the open. I completely forgot about Sara.", I frowned, recalling what had happened after the time I spent at the Vander Dojo.
"Oh...", Sherryl uttered. As if a light lit up inside her head, she finally recalled everything after that as well.
"Sara?", Tio wondered, tilting her head to the side.
"Potentially a new member of the family. I don't know if it was her professing her love to me, but it did end up with a kiss. It's probably safe to assume she likes me?", I wondered that myself.
"Lecher x2.", Tio immediately retorted again hearing that.
"Hey, I can't help it alright? It isn't my fault more than one girl likes me. That is one of the reasons I proposed creating a harem to Grandmother in the first place.", I answered.
"Will you respond to her feelings then, Master?", Sherryl asked, interested.
"I don't know. But at the same time, I don't want to destroy her expectations, you know? I did wind up saving the life of Sara's Grandfather that she cherished when the Northern Jaegers were under siege.", I responded.
"I understand your worries, Master. I will abide by whatever you decide on, but just don't make her cry alright?", Sherryl nodded.
"Mmm. Making a girl cry is the worst.", Tio responded with a firm nod.
"That I don't plan on doing, haha!", I replied with a smile.
"Still, what is it that Angelica sent you, anyways? Renne said you can't open it here.", Tio wondered.
"I am curious as to what Renne sent too. Seems to be a video recording.", I mused, looking at the single attachment. I knew not to open the video itself, but I still had a look at the attachment at least. In my previous life anyways, whenever videos got attached as files, it would share one image from it, so I decided to see if it did the same.
I opened the attachment up, and didn't play the video. Instead my eyes remained on the image it captured. My eyes almost popped out of their sockets again. In the image, it showed Angelica doing a V sign straight into the camera. I could see Ennea glancing at her from a distance. The camera was zoomed in on Angelica a bit, and it revealed her healthy, peachy skin. She was entirely naked, and the image captured enough to where it displayed her pink breasts.
My hand immediately hid the screen from view with a swift blur. Tio was currently leaning into it toward my direction, and her eyes were laid directly on the screen. An empty look appeared in her eyes as she looked up my way. My back began to sweat a little bit seeing Tio behave like this.
"You didn't see that, did you?", I softly asked. But just seeing Tio slant her eyelids halfway down her eyes was enough to garner a response from her.
"You're worse than a lecher. You're a pervert.", Tio retorted with her deadpan stare.
"Ouch, but acceptable.", I retorted back.
Hearing that, Tio suddenly parted from me with a small hop, and began to slowly walk away toward the entrance, taking a few steps before pausing again.
"Still, you're you, Naoto. Even if you end up a pervert, I'm glad you're my friend.", Tio continued.
"Tio...", I uttered. I only saw her frail back, but behind that back, Tio's smile remained.
It was then I heard a notification sound off inside my head, causing me to get distracted.
[Ding! Tio's curiosity in Gamer Naoto has reached its peak after learning more about Gamer Naoto. Favorability has reached 100%. A new parameter is now eligible. Gamer Naoto will have to meet a certain criteria to unlock it.]
[Ding! Tio's Blessing has been granted to Gamer Naoto.]
[Ding! Master Quartz Criminal - (Time) has been deposited into Gamer Naoto's inventory.]
[Tio's Blessing]
-Special Effect 1: +1000 EP.
-Special Effect 2: +30% ATS.
I wanted to suck in a cold breath of air seeing this display before me. I wasn't expecting Tio's Blessing to suddenly trigger like this. My Favorability with Tio was already pretty high, but just having this short conversation, and the fact I returned here to Crossbell City to see Tio again, was enough to push it to the max, huh?
Or maybe Tio just really wanted to see me again?
Doesn't matter either way, I enjoy being around Tio, but it did irk me of that second line the system gave. What did it mean that I have to meet a certain criteria to progress the Favorability with Tio more?
Perhaps it was because Tio was still too young to be considered a romance partner?
I couldn't help but wonder.
Still, her Blessing gave me quite a spike in power. A full thirty percent to boot...
That was reminiscent of how strong Tio was in the games. She peaked in Azure, she was by far the best caster in Azure.
It took several games to nerf Tio down to where she wasn't used much anymore. She sat on the bench by the time Reverie came, which was one of the series greatest disappointments in my opinion.
Thankfully I don't have to worry about any power creeps. Well, maybe I'm wrong in interpreting it that way. I do have a sinking feeling the Vermillion Trials are either going to scale my power to fit what challenges it has in store for me, or it will power scale to what strength I currently possess. Considering I'm nearing Reverie-scaled power, the latter might be far more worrisome if I am to take in my party members for consideration.
A worry I will have to deal with soon, but in regards to Tio, I do not know how strong she presently is, or if she's received any form of training for that matter. She expressed her interest in joining my party, so I will have to see where her stats truly laid. She was still young and did not fight during our time spent in the caves, unlike Ennea. Ennea assisted me much more during that.
So it was possible Tio hasn't received any combat training. She does have an orbal staff now which is used for testing, but does that count as experience gained?
I'm not sure, but if Tio is truly at a blank slate right now, that means I'll have to do a big power leveling session with Tio, and anyone else who is lacking. For those like Zin and Kilika, I don't need to worry about them at all, I can trust in their own strength.
This will let me explore more of the party system I have. Will I be able to give all the experience to her so she can power boost?
With that in mind, I took another look at the blue-haired girl before me who went silent after saying that to me. I decided to speak out to her.
"Say Tio, are you really that serious coming back to Erebonia to partake in my trials?", I decided to ask.
Tio nodded her head as she turned around again, looking back at me with a look of anticipation in her eyes.
"I do. You'll be fighting lots of monsters inside it right?", Tio asked.
"Yeah. There will be a lot of risk involved, and you're really young. I'm still hesitant to let you in it.", I said with a worried look. Tio's determination remained, unwavered.
"This is something I want to do, Naoto. I have not much experience in combat, so you can train me. I'll handle it.", Tio responded with a firm nod.
"Are you sure?", I asked.
"Uh-huh.", Tio nodded. "Renne is going to be with you too, right? Fie and Emma too. They're around my age but they know how to fight monsters already.", Tio continued.
"We'll see how the party ends up, but that is the tentative plan. I don't know who all are going to be in it, but I'm expecting at least eight to ten people.", I said. "So you don't have to worry about shouldering the entire thing, okay? If you do enter, know when to call it quits.", I said with a serious tone.
"Mmm.", Tio nodded.
"Good.", I replied with a smile. "I think we've chatted long enough, don't you think? I don't want to attract gazes here, so why don't we move on?", I asked the two.
"Okay.", Tio nodded again. "While we walk on the way, can you tell me about that harem you're making and who is in it?", Tio asked with a look of interest.
"Oh...", I uttered. "You really want to know about that?", I asked with a hesitant look again.
"Mmm.", Tio responded.
"Well, alright. But let's get Sherryl first. You with us Sherryl?", I said, only to turn toward my right, only to see Sherry's head turned toward an entirely different direction...