Once David was almost home from his visit to discuss business with Sonoko, he decided to visit the local Maruetsu Petit to buy ingredients for more flavorful pancakes in the future, something he promised Komoe.
He still hadn't gotten over how he spoke about Utaha so the shopping trip was a blur. All he knows is that he got what he needed when he had left, such as frozen blueberries, frozen strawberries, chocolate chips, and a few more sets of milk, eggs, flour, and baking powder that he decided to keep in his inventory so that he could make pancakes wherever he was.
Rice, noodles, bread, meat, fish, oil, and many other things were purchased as well, though they were all impulse buys that David didn't see the need for--he was just lost in his own thoughts.
When he left the store and stowed everything into his inventory, David walked into an alley and stepped through a Mist Gate.
On the other side of the Mist Gate was the garden in his estate.
There was a luscious green lawn covering the estate with flower beds and hedges placed neatly throughout.
After spotting a suitable location in the grass that was surrounded by colorful flowers, David wordlessly walked over and fell to the ground.
"Ugh..."
Ignoring the pain of having his face pushed into the ground thanks to gravity doing its job, David rolled over onto his back and stared up at the beautiful blue sky.
⟪ Even in the Cradle, my mind is still running rampant... ⟫
'Chaos-chan, shouldn't you have stopped me from broadcasting what I was thinking the moment I started going too far?'
[What the hell do I look like, your babysitter? I'm glad you're feeling guilty, this will let you think about how you treat people from now on in the future. Even when you go to worlds that haven't changed much, you should still treat people like real people because even if they're exactly the same as their characters, that would change as soon as your influence takes hold.]
'...'
[You know I want nothing but the best for you, but if I see you start turning into someone you wouldn't like, I'm going to call you out on it. If you were to come across someone who did exactly what you did, but they judged Marin completely wrong and made her upset, what would you do?]
'Kill 'em.'
[Exactly. Now I'm sure others wouldn't be so extreme as to want to kill them, but you should realize that while your inner voice can be a tool used for gaining the affection of various women, if used wrong, it could also gain their disdain. I mean, you saw how Sonoko reacted to you, right? That was 100% because of what you said about Utaha.]
'...Is there a way to salvage things with those two? While I don't want to deal with the Saekano franchise anytime soon, I still don't want Utaha to be upset over what I said.'
[...You encountered Megumi Kato twice already... If that's not "dealing with the Saekano franchise," then I don't know what is. As far as Sonoko and Utaha go, just don't be a dick anymore and you'll be fine. I've said this before, but I'll support you no matter what happens. While I mean that, if I see you turning into someone you'd hate, I'll call your ass out 10 times out of 10.]
'You already said that...'
[And I'll keep saying it until you get it through that thick head of yours! I swear, sometimes you act mature while other times you act just like a little ass kid. Mental Reboot is either working too well or hardly at all, fuck...]
David smiled at Chaos-chan's words and decided to take what she said to heart as he basked in the sun.
He ended up falling asleep due to the comfortable weather and it wasn't until a few hours later that he woke up.
He was still on the grass, but this time he wasn't alone.
Standing around him were Shiki, Sif, Yuno, Mora, and Emma.
David turned his head to the side slightly and saw Sofia laying down next to him while wearing a sports bra and tight shorts, seemingly enjoying a post-workout nap with her sweaty skin glistening in the sunlight.
⟪ Who the hell said Sofia was a ferocious beast, huh? She looks like a sweetheart to me. ⟫
"David-sama!" Sif and Yuno shouted.
Shiki and Emma turned their heads to look at David and bowed their heads before respectfully saying, "Good morning, young master!"
David, seeing a nice pillow nearby, shifted his position until he was laying his head against Sofia's soft thighs.
"Mm, it's a bit late in the day to say good morning, but greetings nonetheless... I've only been gone for a few hours, has anything changed since I left?"
Shiki looked toward Emma, prompting her to step forward and report to David.
"I've begun basic maid training for Sif and Yuno, but we'll need to find someone to properly teach them as my knowledge is insufficient. Mora's mind has cleared further and while she's still upset about the loss of her dragon from yesterday, she has slowly started to accept her situation and is treating Yuno as her big sister and wishes to become a maid alongside her."
David looked over at Mora and saw her lower her head and hide behind Yuno.
⟪ As long as Mora has a happy life here, that's all I could ask for from her. Even if she doesn't know it, her life will be a million times better here than it would've been in the Empire. ⟫
"Understood. Anything else, Emma?"
"Well... Sofia has been rather excited about being able to see your world and spend time with you, but Shiki and I have been able to keep her calm for now. She sparred with a few of her Mistio Lizard friends after you left until you came back a couple of hours ago. After that, she said she was going to sleep next to you and didn't want to be disturbed. Seeing as her situation is a little special, we decided to just leave her be," Emma said a little hesitantly, motioning toward Sofia's sleeping figure.
David smiled and turned his head slightly to look up at Sofia's face. Or rather, he tried to, but all he could see were her thighs, her ass cheeks peeking out of her shorts, and her breasts.
⟪ Sofia's body is dangerous definitely dangerous. Also, it's surprising that Mora is here, but Toa isn't. I wonder if she and her party are out having fun or something? ⟫
David didn't want to search for Toa as he didn't want to look like a creep, but even if he had, he'd have seen that he was spot-on. Toa was indeed with her party, out exploring dungeons.
"How has Rinon been?" David asked.
"Ah, she has been helping Sayo run her shop when Toa isn't around," Shiki said.
"Mm, good. I want everyone to enjoy their lives here, but I worry especially about those sisters. Make sure to help them out whenever they need it, yeah?"
Shiki bowed and said, "As you wish, young master."
David reached behind his head and fluffed his 'pillow', eliciting a slight moan from Sofia.
He just smirked and rested his hands on his chest as he closed his eyes in relaxation once more.
"Do any of you need anything while I'm here? I just came here to clear my mind and I'm feeling much better so I'll be heading back soon."
Sofia moved her hand down and placed it on David's head as she gently stroked his hair.
⟪ Eh? Now I know how Rangiku and Marin feel when I tease them instead of the other way around. It feels nice... I'll say it one more time, Sofia is definitely not the vicious girl everyone made her out to be. She has a sweet side and it's very attractive... ⟫
Emma, Shiki, Sif, Yuno, and Mora were all stunned silent by Sofia's actions, but the Dragon Slayer kept her eyes closed and pretended like she wasn't doing anything.
"Ahem... The only thing we need from you is for you to explore the 49th floor in the Goblin Warrens dungeon and investigate the barrier, but as it poses no immediate threat, it can be done whenever you're available," Emma said.
David just raised his thumb in affirmation as he enjoyed the out-of-character gentle caress from Sofia.
⟪ I wonder why Sofia is acting like this right now? ⟫
Sofia still said nothing and continued her actions.
[Sofia] 'I just thought I'd try doing something more girlie and it seems like it worked, haha! His hair is so soft and warm though, I'm probably enjoying this just as much as he is.'
After waiting for a few more moments in silence, Shiki said, "I believe that's all, young master."
David gave another thumbs-up and let out a gentle smile.
"Alright then. Emma, you're doing a great job here, thank you. Sif, Yuno, and Mora, you three just relax and take things slowly. I said I'd take Sif and Yuno as my maids, but I don't want you two to overwork or stress yourselves out when I'm spending most of my day in my home world anyway. I'll change that in the future, but for now, just take things as they go."
He leaned up and lifted himself off of Sofia's thighs before patting them gently.
"Sofia, up you go. I know you're awake."
Sofia groaned in displeasure slightly, but sat up nonetheless before crossing her arms under her breasts.
David looked over at her and just chuckled. "Haha, you're playing a dangerous game, Sofia. If you're not careful, I'll snatch you up and bring you to my bedroom."
He stood up and dusted off his sweatpants as he looked over at Shiki, ignoring Sofia's fiery gaze.
"I'll be working on some projects at home when I go back, but I wanted to take you back with me. You can either watch me while I work, explore the city a bit, or just hang out. Tomoe has just been watching TV the entire day and Mio has been helping around the house or relaxing near me. Even though we don't share the same connection that the other two and I do, you're still under my care and I wasn't lying when I said I would show you the world you so desperately sought."
Shiki's eyes reddened. "Young master...!"
David just smiled and waved him off. "Emma, I'd like to show you around my world, but if you come, you'd have to stay in my home until we either find a way to get you a human form disguise or non-humans become commonplace in my world. Either way, I'll figure something out for you. Sif, Yuno, Mora, I'll invite you to my world in the near future if you want."
The girls were full of gratitude, except for Mora who still wasn't completely sure how she feels about what David did, though she is becoming more grateful as the day goes on.
"Anyway, that's all. I'll check in whenever I check in!"
David waved his hand and opened up a Mist Gate to the living room in his penthouse before quickly appearing next to Sofia and picking her up in a princess carry.
"Ah!" Sofia yelped in surprise, instinctively wrapping her arms around David's neck.
He then walked through the Mist Gate, followed by an over-excited Shiki, and closed the Gate.
When David came back to the living room, he threw Sofia onto an empty couch and plopped down right next to her before lifting her legs up and placing them over his, gently caressing them as payback for her earlier actions.
"David--," Sofia started, but she was silenced by David moving his hand up further and squeezing her thigh.
"You got to caress my head, it's only fair I get a similar experience, no?" He said with a mischievous smirk.
Sofia gave a rare blush and just leaned her head back on the armrest of the couch with a false look of defiance on her face.
Meanwhile, Shiki wasn't even paying attention to the two lovebirds as his gaze was drawn to the rest of the penthouse before finally landing on the big glass door leading to the balcony.
Without hesitation, he opened the door and stepped outside, admiring the view of the city with teary eyes.
"It's... beautiful!"
Tomoe noticed David's arrival and rather than interrupt his time with Sofia, she followed behind Shiki out to the balcony.
"Although there are apparently many hidden dangers here, his world is indeed rather beautiful."
Shiki just nodded absent-mindedly and leaned over the balcony, feeling the slight breeze blowing through his long red hair.
"Our world was controlled by an awful goddess and corruption was everywhere. I'm sure there will always exist places like that, but this world has a separate charm to it that I already find myself admiring."
"At least the young master's Cradle is free from corruption," Tomoe said with a smile.
Tomoe looked out at the city with Shiki for a few more moments before she walked back inside and looked over at David and Sofia.
"..."
Wanting to assert dominance, Tomoe walked over and stopped right behind David. She leaned down and turned David's head toward her and pressed her lips against his, wrestling his tongue with hers in a passionate kiss.
A vein bulged on Sofia's forehead as she realized what Tomoe was doing, but since she wasn't in that type of relationship with David, she could only endure and wait until her and David's flirting escalated to something much more.
David grabbed Tomoe's chin and pushed her back a bit before looking into her crimson dragon eyes and smirked.
"Is the one who ignored everyone in favor of the TV feeling jealous?"
Tomoe sulked and pushed her face closer to David again before sticking her tongue down his throat once more, wanting to savor the taste of David's saliva longer.
David chuckled in his head before he reached back behind the couch and smacked Tomoe's ass.
*SMACK!*
"Mmn!"
"Chu~..."
David pulled back and gently rubbed his thumb on Tomoe's lips. "It's still early. If you want to go further, just come to my room tonight."
He then leaned in next to her ear and whispered, "I'm feeling rather pent up..."
He licked her ear lobe gently before fixing himself back in his previous position and started rubbing Sofia's legs again.
Tomoe shivered and felt extremely excited for tonight.
『 Tomoe (Feudal Fangirl): I'm having sex with the young master tonight. I don't care who else joins, but I get to go first. He's flirting with Sofia right in front of me and I know he's teasing me! Nobody will stop me from getting my fill tonight! 』
Mio--who happened to be playing with Komoe upstairs in David's bedroom--saw Tomoe's message and resisted the urge to run downstairs and pull Sofia away from David.
『 Mio (Hungry Masochist): I'm coming, too! I miss my husband's warmth~! 』
『 Marin Kitagawa (Foxy Otaku): Heheh~, just wait until I tell hubby about what we did today~. I'm sure he'll be extremely happy! 』
『 Tomoe (Feudal Fangirl): Wait, no! I'm soaked right now, don't take this away from me, you damn fox! 』
『 Marin Kitagawa (Foxy Otaku): Heheh, I won't, calm down~! I'll tell him about our day today, but I'll make sure you get to go first. I've never had sex with a group of girls other than my clones before so I'm excited to experience it! Though to be fair, David and I have only had sex two times, eheheh~. 』
『 Mio (Hungry Masochist): That's more than us, we've only had sex with him once and we've technically known him longer than you! It's not fair! 』
『 Marin Kitagawa (Foxy Otaku): It's so weird, it feels like we've been together for a long time, but it's really only been a few days... 』
『 Tomoe (Feudal Fangirl): The young master has a special aura around him that lets us feel closer to and safer with him, I can tell. That's probably the cause of us feeling so close to him than we normally would. It's a pleasant feeling though, I didn't know I could fall so deeply in love with someone. 』
『 Mio (Hungry Masochist): Oh~? Judging by our Seal Stages, it seems Marin and I love him more than you, though? 』
『 Marin Kitagawa (Foxy Otaku): Hey, let's not go there, Mio. 』
『 Marin Kitagawa (Foxy Otaku): I like teasing you girls just as much as David probably does, but let's not question each other's love for him, whether you're joking or not. How would you feel if I rubbed in your face the fact that I have a higher Sync Rate than you? While we technically have a numerical value assigned to our love for David, we shouldn't try to use that against anyone. We all love him and he wouldn't like his Empresses trying to compete with each other over something like that. 』
Mio was silent after being scolded by Marin, but she realized that she was right.
『 Tomoe (Feudal Fangirl): As expected of the first wife. (thumbs-up.jpg) 』
『 Mio (Hungry Masochist): I understand. I apologize, Tomoe. I went too far and if David found out, he would definitely feel upset about it... 』
『 Marin Kitagawa (Foxy Otaku): As long as you know. I'm sure you heard what he said earlier about that Utaha Kasumigaoka girl, right? He said some nasty things and it wasn't until Chaos-chan scolded him that he realized he was wrong and felt guilty about it. I'm certain that this Utaha girl could hear him as well which is probably part of the reason why Chaos-chan scolded him, but words spoken can't be taken back. Don't make the same mistake that he did with each other, okay? 』
『 Mio (Hungry Masochist): I understand, Marin... 』
『 Tomoe (Feudal Fangirl): Were you always so thoughtful, Marin? From what I heard from the young master and our interactions thus far, I thought you'd be a bit more of an airhead... 』
『 Marin Kitagawa (Foxy Otaku): Hey! I have my moments, okay~? Anyway, just think about what I said. The girls and I are still out shopping and will be back later tonight. 』
『 Tomoe (Feudal Fangirl): Have fun. 』
『 Mio (Hungry Masochist): Stay safe~. 』
Tomoe left the spot behind David and sat back on the couch in front of the TV, continuing her show.
A few minutes later, David pinched Sofia's thigh and moved her legs off of his.
"Alright, it's almost 5:00 so I'm going to get some work done upstairs before I start on dinner. I won't have the time dilation barrier activated so if anyone needs me, come find me in my office. If anyone wants to hang out in there with me, just come in whenever you want."
Sofia felt reluctant, but didn't say anything and just watched as David stood up and went upstairs.
When David was gone, Sofia stood up and moved to sit next to Tomoe.
"Tomoe, I need your advice," she said with a stoic face.
Tomoe raised an eyebrow and turned to look over at Sofia. "Oho~? The great Dragon Slayer is asking for help from a Greater Dragon such as myself?"
Sofia bit her lip. "...I'm not asking advice from a dragon as a dragon slayer, I'm asking for advice from David's wife as a woman who's falling in love with David."
"Pff, you're barking up the wrong tree," Tomoe scoffed as she turned her attention back to the TV.
Sofia wanted to lash out at Tomoe, but controlled herself.
"Look, we're in David's world now. He accepted me for who I am and easily got revenge for me, at least part of it. The more time I spent in the Cradle yesterday and today, the more I had time to think about my life. I wasted so much of it fighting and trying to get stronger so that I could face off against Root and the goddess. Seeing how easily David handled the goddess made me feel like what I did was pointless and I could've spent my time better..."
Tomoe didn't look at Sofia, but was listening.
"I made friends in the Cradle and felt what a peaceful life is like, and that was only for one day! I thought about what it would be like to experience it for the rest of my life and it made me genuinely happy and excited to look forward to the future. David is the one who helped me see that and I feel like if I'm with him for the rest of my life, the peace I felt will follow."
Still looking at the TV, Tomoe just crossed her arms and leaned back as she said, "We all have different circumstances concerning the young master, but if you just want to be with him because you think he'll give you a peaceful life and you don't have any actual feelings for him, you need to rethink things. I think the young master deserves true love, not something shallow that you conjured up on a whim."
Sofia looked at Tomoe in stunned silence as she contemplated whether she was starting to chase after David due to the idea of a peaceful life or because she actually felt something for him.
She stood up and went back over to her previous couch and said, "Thanks, Tomoe. I'll give it more thought."
Tomoe just waved her off, "Eh, do whatever you want, I don't care. As far as I'm concerned, you're just a brute that's only starting to regain her clarity. So long as you don't threaten the young master's peace, I don't care what you do."
Sofia didn't say anything, but just smiled slightly, knowing what Tomoe was really trying to say.
[Sofia] 'Figure my shit out before I start chasing after David, huh? Fine, I'll do just that then.'
Their interaction ended with the two of them silently watching period dramas on separate couches while Shiki continued staring at the skyline outside.
...
In David's office, David left the door open as he unlocked his computer and opened up all of his tools.
⟪ Okay, time to work on Final Fantasy VII. I want to have voice actors and actresses, but I don't want to go through the trouble of finding the right people for it... Could I just make some dolls that can speak and use them instead? Hmm, I wanted to work on dolls in the future anyway so I'll just add that to the to-do list. The first thing I need to do is work on the game engine first which will probably take me a few days to a week if I focus completely on that and nothing else at full-speed... ⟫
David started typing away in his IDE as he started to work on a new 3D game engine for the next few games in the series.
He turned on some relaxing music as he worked with his earbuds in, feeling totally relaxed and letting all of today's worries wash away.
Being so engrossed in his work, he didn't notice when Mio walked in holding Komoe in her arms as they stood behind him and watched him work.
Komoe cupped her hands to Mio's ears and whispered, "Mama Mio, what's papa doing?"
Mio gently pulled a chair from another desk in the office and took a seat with Komoe in her lap.
"Your papa is working on something entertaining it seems. I saw some of his memories about video games in the past and they look like a lot of fun to play. I think he made some other games before this one, but I haven't seen them nor do I know anything about them."
When Komoe heard that it was something fun, she started bouncing up and down in excitement.
"I wanna play papa's games!"
Mio rubbed Komoe's head and continued staring at David's computer screens as he worked with a serious look on his face and his fingers moving at an incredibly fast speed.
It wasn't until about 5 minutes later that Komoe lost her patience and jumped out of Mio's lap and ran up to David.
She gently tugged on the hem of David's t-shirt and looked up at him with puppy dog eyes.
David took out his earbuds and looked down at Komoe with a fatherly smile.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" He asked as he picked Komoe up and placed her in his lap.
"Um... Mama Mio said that you're working on something called a video game. Can I play the games you made before...?"
Komoe asked with a hint of apprehension as she twisted her fingers together and looked down.
"Hahaha, of course. You know that you can ask for whatever you want, right? I have a computer set up over there with a controller," David said as he pointed to the desk next to his current workstation.
"I can make an account for you to play games on the PC and add my games to your library if you want?"
Komoe clenched her little fists and said, "Yes, please, papa!"
"Haha, come on then, let's get you all set up."
David rolled his chair over to the computer he showed Komoe and scooted the other chair out of the way before positioning himself and Komoe right in front of the computer.
"First, let's get you an account on the computer itself created, then we can make you an account on a platform called Steam."
He went through the process of creating Komoe an account on the computer as he showed her how to maneuver the computer and use it properly. Then, just as promised, he created her an account on Steam with the username "Papa's Sweetest Daughter", added his own username "Dry Tavern" as a friend, then proceeded to set parental controls and added the first six Final Fantasy games he published to her library.
"If you don't like the username 'Papa's Sweetest Daughter', you can change it whenever you want."
Komoe crossed her arms in an 'X' and said, "No! I'm always going to be papa's sweetest daughter!"
David laughed loudly and rubbed her head. "Mm, you will indeed. Which one do you want to play first? I'll teach you the controls and let you play as much as you'd like."
Komoe stroked her invisible beard and made a humming sound as she thought with furrowed brows.
"I'll just play the first one!"
David nodded, "Mm, a good choice indeed. I will say that the stories get better around the 5th and 6th games, but my favorite ones are going to be the 7th and 8th games. I have the stories all planned out, but I just need to create them, heh..."
Komoe's eyes sparkled as she waited in anticipation for the game to start.
David launched Final Fantasy I and handed the game controller to Komoe while also putting big headphones on her head, causing her to look absolutely adorable with the oversized controller in her hands and oversized headphones on her head.
Mio sat back and observed the entire process from start to finish with a gentle smile on her face, planning to make an account of her own so she can play games in the near future as well.
David spent the next 10 minutes explaining the controls to Komoe and introducing her to the turn-based combat that's common in JRPGs.
After Komoe got the hang of it, she had her full attention on the game and had fun in each and every battle, relishing in the feeling of leveling her characters up.
⟪ There's a special feeling watching your daughter play something you made and enjoy every second of it. There are so many games from my past life that don't exist in this world that I want to bring to life. While I didn't originally create these games, I'm glad to see Komoe enjoy the same games I did in the past... ⟫
With warmth in his heart, David opted to stop working on the game engine for the night and just watch his daughter play one of his favorite games.
⟪ I should use some spatial runes to expand the office so I can add more computers in here. I'll create a computer for everybody and they can do whatever they want. I don't want Komoe to become spoiled by devices, but if she keeps her cute and pure personality, I'll give her whatever she wants. My family gets whatever they desire, no questions asked heheh... ⟫