◉◉◉◉◉
"Since we cannot rule out the possibility that Heaven has spies, I may only be able to meet the higher-ranking Seraphs when the time comes."
Anos thought for a moment before speaking.
That was right.
There were spies in Heaven as well.
Although planting spies in Heaven was far more difficult than planting them among devils or fallen angels, they did indeed exist.
Besides, Anos did not actually want to permanently devote part of his power to activating Heaven's reincarnation function and maintaining the system.
That was not a big deal for the Biblical God, but for the current him, it still counted as continuous heavy pressure.
"I understand, Holy Child. Then I will only arrange a meeting between you and the other Seraphs. That should be the most suitable thing to do right now."
Michael nodded firmly.
It really was as Anos said. Heaven was not without spies.
Some time ago, Michael had already faintly noticed this, but what he had not expected was for Anos to point it out so directly.
As expected of the Holy Child.
The Holy Child even knew about Heaven's hidden dangers. Then, when the Holy Child truly returned, that would be the time to purge every flaw and sweep away every obstacle before them.
What Michael did not know was that the so-called spies did indeed exist, but they were also only Anos's excuse for temporarily not going to Heaven.
If Anos wanted to know exactly who the spies were, he only needed to make a simple judgment.
"In that case, Holy Child, I shall take my leave. May fortune in battle be with you."
After giving Anos one final bow, Michael transformed into particles of light and gradually vanished from the shrine.
Only Anos remained, still drinking his tea.
"..."
"The wind rises before the storm."
Anos looked into the distance.
It was not that he had actively tried to provoke anything. Rather, fate and the state of the world had pushed him to this point.
Perhaps that had already been decided from the moment the Ark Sphere descended.
...
The next day.
Anos woke up as usual.
Rias had not spent the night at his house.
Because Parent Observation Day was coming, Rias had to properly catch up on her studies so that when her family compared her with her boyfriend, she would not look too embarrassing.
"Master, breakfast is ready."
The moment Anos opened his eyes, he saw Mana, the Dark Magician Girl, wearing a maid outfit.
She seemed to have changed jobs and become a cook.
Because she had discovered something.
Researching modern cuisine might be just like researching ancient magic. It was an endless and profound field.
"Mm. Thank you, Mana."
Anos smiled, then, under Mana's expectant gaze, stroked her magic hat.
Yes, that was right.
Although she had partly changed jobs and become a cook, Mana's essence was still that of a magical girl. As a magician, how could she possibly take off her magic hat?
"Mm..."
Feeling Anos's aura, Mana revealed a happy and satisfied smile.
For her, this kind of ordinary but very real daily happiness was already enough.
"Tiamat, can you eat a little more gracefully?"
The moment Anos went downstairs, he saw that Tiamat had already finished her portion at incredible speed.
Even if she was a dragon, did she really need to eat like that?
Anos had at least educated Tiamat before, and this kind of thing had been included in that education.
But he could not say there had been no results. If it had been before, Tiamat might have chewed up the plate along with the food.
"I... I understand. Next time, definitely."
Tiamat answered instinctively.
As a dragon, she naturally did not like anyone nitpicking while she ate.
But if it was Anos...
Uh...
In Tiamat's heart, Anos was not a person.
He was basically a humanoid tyrant dragon, so it was fine for him to nitpick.
"In that case, Mana, Tiamat, I will head out first. I'll leave the house to you."
After eating breakfast and briefly freshening up with magic, Anos spoke to the two of them.
"Mm..."
Tiamat, sprawled across the sofa like a dead dragon, replied weakly.
Eating and then sleeping was only natural.
If Anos had not still been there, perhaps she would already have fallen asleep long ago.
"Master, leave it to me."
Magical Girl Mana gave a confident guarantee.
"Mm."
Anos smiled and nodded.
In any case, safety could be left to Tiamat, and everything else could be left to Mana.
"Hm?"
Halfway to school, Anos ran into Koneko.
Koneko very naturally walked to Anos's side and silently tugged at his sleeve as they headed toward school.
Walking Koneko to school.
Daily random event on the school route, completed.
However, today's walk to school did not seem very peaceful.
"Senior Anos, what are you looking at?"
Koneko asked curiously.
She sensed that Anos was looking in her direction, but there did not seem to be anyone there.
"I'm looking at a new friend."
Anos smiled.
In truth, he was mainly looking at the silver light flashing in the distance.
That was the light of a treasure chest, and he basically knew who the treasure chest was on.
[Ding.]
[Congratulations, host. A treasure chest has been triggered.]
[Treasure Chest Level: Silver.]
[Treasure Chest Unlock Condition: Listen to the Old God's Lingering Will.]
[Directly experience the lingering will of the Biblical God.]
"A treasure chest like this would only appear on a very limited number of people."
Only holy relics such as the Holy Grail, the Holy Spear, and the Sacred Cross contained the lingering will of the Biblical God.
Sure enough.
When they were not far from school, Anos saw a man.
A man silently leaning against a wall.
Cao Cao.
Anos knew his name.
As though he had finally waited for the person he wanted to meet, Cao Cao opened his eyes and walked toward Anos.
"Senior Anos, this person... is not simple."
Koneko narrowed her eyes, and her white cat ears and tail instantly emerged.
She sensed a faint hostility and a subtle dangerous aura coming from this person.
Under Anos's guidance, her senjutsu attainment had already become quite deep. She could clearly sense the danger of the man before her.
"No need to worry, Koneko."
Just as Koneko became vigilant, a warm hand appeared on her head at some point.
As that hand stroked her, Koneko subconsciously withdrew her cat ears and tail.
She did not know why.
It seemed...
It seemed to be because her senior was patting her head.
"I am Cao Cao. It is my honor to have heard your name from my comrades and through various channels."
Cao Cao bowed slightly and curved his lips as he spoke.
His "comrades" referred to Jeanne.
As for the various channels, he had gained even more information from there.
Jeanne had indeed made a promise to Anos that she would not reveal his identity in front of Cao Cao. But now that information about Anos had already reached Cao Cao's hands, there was nothing Jeanne could do about it.
At present, however, whether Cao Cao had taken an interest in him or not, Anos no longer cared very much.
In fact, Cao Cao himself had not even appeared in Anos's plans.
Anos did not care much about Cao Cao, but Cao Cao cared greatly about Anos.
After all, this was the person who had defeated Vali after he used Juggernaut Drive.
Vali in Juggernaut Drive was someone Cao Cao believed to be weaker than himself using Truth Idea, but not by much.
A human compatriot with this much talent, and Cao Cao had never heard of him before?
That was right.
Cao Cao directly judged Anos to be human.
Because according to the information, Anos should be the Red Dragon Emperor.
If he possessed a Sacred Gear, then was he not human?
At the very least, he should have human blood.
After further investigating Anos's family information, Cao Cao confidently judged him to be human.
"Cao Cao, is it? Cao Cao of the Hero Faction. I have also heard your name through a few channels."
Anos smiled and shook his head.
Cao Cao.
At least now, he was no longer someone Anos placed in his eyes.
Cao Cao mainly relied on his own wisdom and the overwhelming power of the Holy Spear.
But no matter what kind of wisdom or combat skill it was, before the judgment of Absolute Dichotomy, all beings were equal.
As for the Holy Spear, that was even less useful.
In the end, the Holy Spear was merely powerful holy energy.
The current Anos already possessed talent and essence surpassing the original Biblical God, combined with the divine nature of the Biblical God. One could say that holy relics had almost no effect on him at all.
"I heard you have a little broken spear. Can you take it out and let me have a look?"
Anos said with a smile.
"Oh? This is the first time I have ever heard someone call the True Longinus a broken spear. Are you trying to make me verify whether you have the right to say such words?"
Cao Cao was in a good mood.
An unprecedentedly good mood.
Although he spoke in a tone of anger and rage, his mood was indeed excellent.
At the very least, Anos, who could perhaps be called a candidate for the strongest human, or even very likely to become the strongest human, had not let his spirit go to waste.
In Cao Cao's eyes, the matter of a ruined spirit was very serious.
If one did not possess the heart to become a hero, then merely having talent was not enough to qualify as a hero in his eyes.
Unfortunately...
Cao Cao did not know.
Anos had never once been interested in titles like hero or feats of heroism.
◉◉◉◉◉
~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◉◉◉◉◉
For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!