Edited by: Kuro and Lille
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After resting for a few days, the day Grey met the children of the royal family arrived. From Ren's memories, Grey knew that the Hansferd family was very close with the Royal family. It wasn't surprising that they wanted to meet him and welcome him back to the capital.
Moreover, Grey had a feeling that one of the siblings was God System. He suspected that the first prince, Prince Alastair, was God System.
Hopefully, in this world, God System remembered everything, not just from the worlds they have been to together.
Just before lunchtime, the royal princes and the princess arrived at the Hansferd estate.
They were brought to the parlor room where the Hansferd family greeted guests. The room had large glass windows that overlooked the beautiful garden. The sofas had a light brown, wooden frame with blue cushions. There were also lots of green plants and flowers around the room, brightening the whole space.
In the center of the room, there were four sofas and a coffee table in the middle. On the table, some snacks were already placed on the table and tea cups filled with tea. The food was already poison tested by the royal family's servants, so the siblings could enjoy their meal without harm.
The royal siblings sat on one couch together. They were seated from eldest to youngest.
"It's been a long time since we have been to the Hansferd's estate," Natalia spoke up when all the Hansferd servants left the room. She grabbed a cookie and started to munch on it. Gracefully, of course.
Zyair nodded while grabbing a slice of a sandwich. "Probably because big brother would throw a tantrum, crying that Ren isn't at the Hansferd family 's house so he kept saying 'what's the point?' over and over again. We eventually just stopped coming over…"
Alastair didn't look embarrassed but there was no way he could tell Ren that! "That… Let's not tell Ren that."
"No promises," Natalia and Zyair said at the same time with no hesitation.
As Natalia and Zyair continued to tease Alastair, Ren was being instructed about Alastair and how to avoid him. Well, it was because of the proposal done by Alastair when Ren was only 5, which immediately made him an enemy.
After what seemed like forever, Ren was finally able to join Richard and Gary at the parlor where the royal siblings were.
When Ren entered the room, he saw the siblings sitting on the couch in front of the door. Their backs were toward the door and there was a guard to the side that was wearing the royal knight's outfit.
The royal siblings stood up when they heard the door and greeted them. Ren and his two older brothers also followed suit.
Ren's eyes seemed to be stuck on Prince Alastair's face. Yup. That was his God System. He could just tell by looking.
Ren and his two brothers sat down and Richard was the one who spoke as he was representing his young siblings.
Richard started, "To what pleasure does the Hansferd family have to be visited by the Princess and Princes?"
"Oh, no need for formalities, Richie," Princess Natalia replied with a smile on her face, "Our family and the Hansferd family are friends. We came over because we heard that Little Ren had returned home safely and we wanted to greet him and welcome him home."
Since Princess Natalia didn't want any formalities, the Hansferd siblings were a bit more relaxed.
"Thank you for showing care to our youngest. He's been resting and healing well."
"That's good." Then Princess Natalia turned to Grey. "Are you adjusting well? If you need any help, please let us know. You know, Alli was so worried about you that he cried every time he visited here previously. We eventually had to stop and wait for you to come back. It's a relief to see you again."
"Natalia!" God System acted embarrassed but in all honesty, he didn't care too much. It wasn't him and he knew that Grey knew that.
"Alright, let's stop embarrassing big brother. He's in front of Ren so we should at least spare him this time."
Seeing the three royal siblings teasing each other, Grey couldn't help but laugh softly. He was relieved and happy that God System had a decent family this time around too. He didn't know exactly what the King and Queen were like, but with the way the Princess and Princes acted with one another, it seemed they were showered with lots of love.
Everyone was a bit surprised to see Grey laughing so comfortably, especially after the whole kidnapping and imprisonment he had faced. It was only a soft laugh, but it was gentle and happy.
Grey ignored everyone's stares and then looked at Prince Alastair. "Prince Alastair, is it alright if we talk privately? There's something I want to talk with you about." He was a bit more casual with Alastair because that's how it was before Ren got kidnapped.
Prince Alastair looked over at Richard and Gary who were glaring at him but he still nodded. He also needed to talk with Grey.
"Prince Alastair, I hope that you will keep an appropriate distance from Ren." Gary finally said something because he was a bit worried about Ren and Prince Alastair being alone together.
In this world, magic was used to create babies, meaning that anyone of any gender could have babies together with any gender. That was why everyone was worried about children who were easily taken advantage of.
"Big brothers, don't worry. He won't hurt me, not in the Hansferd estate. Besides, we won't take too long."
"Okay, but be careful. If anything happens, scream our names and we will come running." Richard patted Grey on the head and let him go.
Princess Natalia and Crown Prince Zyair didn't mind Prince Alastair leaving and wished him happiness. It seemed to be a way to tease Alastair.
Grey and Alastair left the room together with a guard from each of their families. This was normal and they paid no mind to it.
Grey led Alastair into the garden where there was a gazebo next to the lakeside in the backyard. The lake was man-made but there was a flourishing ecosystem in and around the lake. It was one of the highlights of the garden.
The guards stood some distance away so they couldn't eavesdrop, but they could still rush over to protect the two if needed.
When they were finally alone, Grey and God System gave a relieved sigh.
"Grey, it's a relief that we got to meet so early." To God System, it was only a few months, for Grey, it felt like a couple of years.
"I wish I had met you sooner… It was a rough several months. There were many moments when I thought I was going to die…"
God System wanted to know what happened so Grey told him to the best of his abilities. God System was angry, but he knew he couldn't do anything now. He was just glad Grey was still alive.
He also told Grey about recovering all of his memories. He knew who he was and the life he lived before they met. For Grey, this was a relief. With God System having all of his memories, his soul was just about healed.
As long as Grey completed this world, God System's soul would be as good as new.
God System couldn't help but close his eyes and contemplate his existence. Grey let him talk.
"When I became God System, I never thought I would be able to go to different worlds like this, living long lives with you, someone I love dearly. When I was a System, the host I took care of wanted to complete the 100 worlds as quickly as possible to reincarnate. I didn't even have the chance to think of loving someone, nonetheless taking in the many worlds around me. Then, I applied to be God System to help govern the Systems and Hosts at the Command Center…
"Me and a few other Systems had to go through 13 worlds to become God System. If we failed one world, that was it. I was the only one who was able to complete all 13 worlds. I didn't realize that System 001 would harbor so much resentment toward me and the UniOrb. He failed the 11th world due to miscalculations on his part. Now, he's the creator of the Villain System, taking those thousands of years of resentment and turning against the UniOrb…
"If the other Systems didn't push me out of the command center, I would have succumbed to injuries on my soul and perished. I can't thank them enough. If not for them, I wouldn't have survived, but most importantly, I wouldn't have been able to meet you…"
"Hmm… We should thank the other Systems, especially System 225 when this is all over."
"I agree. I'm thinking of passing on my title as God System to System 225 when this is all over. I've been God System for long enough. Whatever you decide to do Grey, when this is all over, I will follow you."
"If you won't be God System… Do you have a name I can call you?"
"A name? Hmm… I don't remember any particular name so if you want, why don't you give me a name? It will be more meaningful to me that way."
Grey really liked the idea of naming God System! In every world so far, Grey just went with the name of the body that God System was occupying. Grey was like that at first until Emery and Nora named him.
"Alright, I will think up an amazing name and I will get back to you on it!"
Seeing Grey so excited, God System couldn't help but chuckle and bring Grey into a hug. "Alright then, I will be waiting, but don't rush. We have plenty of time in this world."
"I can't wait to hear the name you have come up with. I will make sure to keep it forever etched into my soul."
Their talk was a few hours long, but to them, it was like time passed by slowly. They only realized they talked for a long time when both their siblings came looking for them.
From here on out, God System and Grey would train as much as possible.
When Grey turns 18 and God System turns 20 years old, that's when the Hero would be decided by the Gods…