Chapter 46: Fate/Stay Away

Saturday, November 9th 2024.

Finally, it was the weekend once more.

John stretched and glanced out the window. A thin coat of snow had covered the city overnight, turning everything white. And then with the faint rising sun, everything was stained a warm orange hue.

It was still far too early in the morning. A glance at his phone showed that it was only just about to turn 6 AM.

John stood up from his chair, putting his laptop away in his Heavenly Realm, before turning to look at Alpha.

She was still fast asleep. And, judging from her peaceful expression and slow breathing, it seemed that yesterday’s events had really taken its toll on her.

Beta turned to look at her father, glancing at Alpha with a quizzical expression and whispered, “Is Eldest Sister truly still asleep?”

John nodded and whispered back. “She’s had it rough… though it’s mostly been my fault. I should have realized that she wouldn’t express herself and just hold everything in…”

An almost tragic mistake. If she had continued holding it in like that and bottling up her emotions, when she actually did snap, it would have resulted in her refusing to acknowledge her emotions ever again.

And if that happened, John would have never forgiven himself.

Fortunately, it seemed like John’s karma with women turned in his favor for once and resolved the situation with Alphy before the worst happened.

But, like always, the good came with the bad. And now he was sure that something was going to come bite him in the butt in the near future because he messed with that yakuza heiress and saved her life.

Still, rather than stress about it, John tossed all of those worries aside. That was something the future him could deal with.

After making sure that Alpha was comfortable and casting a formation over her to block noise and light so that she could keep sleeping, John walked over to Beta and said, “Do you want some more coffee or pastries?”

Beta started to nod. But then she paused and narrowed her eyes at John. “Are you heading out?”

“…Is that a problem?”

“Yes. Before you leave anywhere beyond this building today, Father, you need to enter closed door cultivation and reset your karma.”

John blinked and then said, “You know… You’re absolutely right about that. But what about Rin and her lessons?”

Beta made a good point, but even if he worked the fastest he could, it would still take half the day considering the mess his karma usually distorted into. And he had already promised to pick up Rin this morning and help her practice singing and dancing…

“I will take care of them.”

John frowned. “Can you?”

Beta tucked a strand of her crimson hair behind her ear and said, “While I do not possess Eldest Sister’s combat capabilities, I am quite adept at the other arts.”

Oh. Right… Beta liked analyzing various techniques and arts in her spare time. Dancing and singing wouldn’t be a problem for her… and it was also probably better for her to teach Rin the cutesy idol dance moves rather than him.

John placed his hand on his chin to think.

Seeing that, Beta said, “Furthermore, unlike yourself and Eldest Sister, misfortune and ill karma do not attach to me.”

John frowned and then lowered his hand. “It doesn’t?” He tilted his head and said, “Did you master reading the threads of fate or start dabbling in the path of karma along with my wife?”

Beta blinked. “While I do indeed possess some knowledge of those fields, that is not the case.” Staring at her father’s blank expression, Beta let out a long sigh and said, “It seems that you truly have forgotten…”

“Hm?”

Beta shook her head and said, “After the incident where an Eternal Emperor abducted me and attempted to force a karmic connection, you dissolved all of your defensive treasures and helped to instill them into my body.” She paused. “Of course, you and Mistress were fairly preoccupied in the aftermath of that event with starting a cosmic war against that Eternal Emperor’s faction, so I do not blame you failing to recall that fact.”

John blinked. And then he groaned, smacking his head. “That’s right. No wonder that damned necklace wasn’t working…”

Since Beta wasn’t meant to fight, when John saved her from the arrogant noble bastard that kidnapped her, he pulled out every sort of protective treasure he had and dismantled them down to the fundamental principles. After that, he handed them over to Beta and helped her assimilate them so that she would be safe even if all of those old bastards got together and tried something shady.

Which he wouldn’t put past them, honestly.

But in that case-

“Wait.” John paused and then said, “If I did that, doesn’t mean that I don’t have any of the protective charms and treasures to block bad karma anymore?”

Beta nodded. “That is correct. You created quite a few counterfeits to fool any that would look too deeply into the matter, but you said that you would rather I remain absolutely protected from ‘sleazy perverts who get off on NTR and forcing themselves on defenseless women’ than you being isolated from troublesome but relatively benign encounters with women.”

“That’s weird.” John frowned and said, “Why would I forget something like-“

A faint memory came to mind. No, a thin wisp of a will that he kept around to remind him of something he purposefully forgot. In short, a copy of him from the past to pass a message to him in the present. And that message was…

‘It’s so that you don’t get sloppy with protecting her, obviously. Just because Betty’s technically safe from those situations doesn’t mean that you should stop preventing her from getting into those situations in the first place! Though I guess that it’s fine now that we’re on Earth… Anyway, this has been a message from the past you to the present you. Don’t forget to read the books on karma that we wrote after you remember this. You’ll need it considering that, you know, you don’t have any karmic protective devices anymore and you’ll keep accumulating all karma, good or bad, until you stop it with techniques.’

“Father?”

John let out a long and suffering sigh before waving his hands. “Nothing. Just suddenly realizing that maybe I haven’t been a complete failure as a father just yet… and realizing that parents really do sacrifice a lot for their children.”

Beta tilted her head, her bright orange eyes staring in confusion.

John waved and said, “Anyway, I’ll be in my Heavenly Realm.” He tossed a jade slip on the table and said, “Let me know if something comes up… and I’ll leave Rin in your capable and karma-unaffected hands today.”

“…So you are leaving me with your work again, Father?”

Sweat started forming on John’s brow. “U-Um…”

Beta laughed.

John froze, caught off guard at the unexpected behavior.

Seeing that, Beta let out a relaxed smile and said, “Do not worry, Father. I jest. You can rely on me to handle today’s affairs. After all, it would be a pity if you accidently steal another young woman’s heart. Mistress- No, Omega would definitely pummel you black and blue if you had.”

“R-Right.” John coughed. “T-Then I’ll be off.”

Beta narrowed her eyes. “Father? What is with that suspicious response?”

“Bye!” John waved and said, “Tell Rin something came up last night but Alphy and I sorted it out! Love you!”

“Father!” Beta stood up. But before she could do anything else, John vanished.

And when John reappeared, he was no longer on Earth.

Towering mountains, carved with the faces of various Hokage, that held all sorts of hidden manuscripts in its depths.

Giant gears floating in an orange sky, perpetually at dawn. Not only that, but an iron castle floated beyond those gears, casting its shadow across a field of countless divine blades and weaponry stretching into the horizon.

Off to the side, marooned on the beach of a glittering blue ocean, there was a ship with a silly lion figurehead that looked like a sunflower and a sun.

And next to that ship stood an intimidating mecha, wreathed in light green flames, with crimson limbs that looked like oni or dragon faces.

Nearby, there was the white Toyota eight-six that he just created the other night. And right beside it, there was a heaping pile of various items that stood almost as tall as the mountains in the distance.

A black notebook with the character for ‘death’ written in white on it. A mask that looked like a skull, with one half pure white and the other with red stripes. A spiked black mask with a single glass panel in front that had a sliding window over the eye. A set of seven orange spheres with red stars inside them. Another set of spheres, six, but with one half white and the other purple with an M stamped on top, that were strapped on a belt. A golden arrow with a beetle design.

And those were only a few of the items that could be seen on the outside of the pile. Considering how vast it was, there were plenty more hidden beneath.

There were also other piles of items as well. Those were more normal, like piles of books, stacks of medicinal ingredients, various ores, and divine elixirs. But that particular pile next to the Toyota eight-six stood out the most. And as for the reason why…

John groaned. “Dammit. I forgot how much of a weeb I was when I designed this place.”

He let out a sigh and then waved his hand, summoning a book from the pile in the distance. That done, he conjured a table and sat down, idly flipping through the book. As for its title?

Flag Breaking 101 and Other Assorted Karmic Defense Mechanisms.

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