Simultaneous Travel: Becoming a Legend in the Heavens.

Chapter 569 Important things
When Suzuki Satoru regained consciousness, the first thing he sensed was a faint, dim light.

He suddenly opened his eyes and saw flames leaping with the air currents. A huge bonfire was not far ahead, and the heat radiating from it made the exposed skin on his cheeks and arms feel slightly hot.

A large crowd gathered around the bonfire. A goddess with long, light blue hair was performing banquet skills while holding two small fans, and the adventurers around her were exclaiming in amazement.

Upon closer inspection, he found himself still on the massive platform that had landed on the floating island. The ancient and weathered architecture and the continuous, majestic palace complex remained as before, but the original tranquility had been broken, and it had become quite lively.

The long table was piled high with tempting food, the air was filled with the aroma of fine wine, and people gathered in twos and threes, their conversations and laughter blending together. The banquet was in full swing, carrying the comfort and ease that comes after a major event had come to an end.

Suzuki Satoru opened his mouth, but suddenly noticed something was wrong. He felt the vibration in his throat and the rhythm of his breathing. When he looked down, his pupils dilated.

What comes into view is no longer a pale skeleton, but a human body with delicate skin that pulsates with the pulse, full of flesh and blood.

He was stunned for a while before he came to his senses and began searching for Lu Ke's figure, easily finding a rather conspicuous target.

Luke stood in front of the campfire, surrounded by his squad members and a large group of women. Among them were Elsa and Priscilla, who had joined his side earlier, as well as his colleague Zetsumei, a large group of witches he had seen before, and two maids who looked almost identical except for their hair color...

Suzuki Satoru even saw the person he was supposed to rescue before setting off, Albedo, the long-lost steward of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

He let out a bitter laugh, sighing as he looked at the young man who was drawing everyone in like a vortex at the center.

…………

"Is this team building activity over? Should we go back to Axel to rest first, or stay a while longer? Or maybe we should stay a little longer? Didn't the king give us a fiefdom? Shouldn't we go take a look?"

Kazuma Sato nervously rubbed his little hands together, his face hunched as he carefully observed Luke's expression.

Luke, who was leaning against Darkness's lap, opened his eyes, raised an eyebrow, and asked with a hint of surprise, "What, Kazuma, don't you want to go back to your own world?"

"Of course not! I just... I just felt that there might still be some things that haven't been taken care of here..."

"Really?"

Natsuki Subaru clicked his tongue lightly while holding his wine glass: "The natives of this world are so weak that even Kazuma could easily defeat them. He must be enjoying being called 'Lord Kazuma' by a large group of people every day, and there are also many girls who idolize him."

"What do you mean even if it's me? I'm already very strong!" Kazuma Sato jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Lu Ke scoffed, "Fine, pick any member of the team and see who can win."

Kazuma Sato paused, then began to think seriously.

Women are basically out of the running. Those who have been given drugs by Luke experience a qualitative leap in strength. The only one who might have a chance to win is probably... Megumin? But her Explosion Magic is actually instantaneous. She only says those cringeworthy lines because she thinks they're cool. If she's not careful, she'll be blown up into Kazuma-chan.

As for men, Lu Ke goes without saying, but Natsuki Subaru just consumed that platinum armor set and, with Lu Ke's help, even managed to swallow the "Platinum Dragon King" through the connection. His current strength is probably no match for the Sword Saint Reinhard...

Oh no, it seems he really can't beat any of them!
"Pfft, pfft, the useless NEETs really haven't improved at all. After all this time, are they still at the bottom?"

After finishing her banquet performance, Aqua let out a mocking laugh, which made Sato Kazuma's mouth twist in anger. He pointed his finger sharply at the "Forest Wise King" who was eating not far away.

"Who said that? Do you think I can't beat Kurasuke? He's my pet and a member of the team, so I'm not at the bottom!"

The scene fell silent, and everyone looked at Kazuma Sato with strange expressions.

"Poor Kazuma."

Aqua gave her a pitying look. "We went down to the mortal realm together, fought dust together, and went on adventures together. But after all this time, you've been reduced to fighting with pets, while my Axis Cult has taken root in two different worlds. The fame of the Water Goddess has spread far and wide, and countless people have come to believe in her. I guess this is fate."

As a deity whose power increases with the number of believers, Aqua, who is currently only in a mortal state and has been greatly weakened, feels that she has power surpassing that of the divine realm. If she truly returns, perhaps she will be the one to rule the divine realm in the future!

"Pah! If it weren't for Lu Ke, would you be where you are today? You're just a useless goddess who relies on men!"

Kazuma Sato retorted defiantly, pointing at Aqua and turning to look at Riku:
"Hey Luke, I have to say that taking in a goddess with such a dim-witted brain was a real mistake. Even a hopeless woman like Darkness is better than Aqua!"

"How...how rude of me to say I'm hopeless! Ever since I got together with Lu Ke, I haven't even had any crazy fantasies about playing around with him!"

Darkness blushed and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Her beautiful eyes looked at the lazy young man lying on her lap, and she revealed a sweet smile.

After all, she had already experienced it firsthand...

Just then, a folding fan blocked her view.

"That's enough, you knight who likes to be humiliated. My relationship with Luke is based on equality. He is the King of Lugnica, the Kingdom of Dragons, and I am the Queen of Vladia, the Holy Empire. You, a vassal who can be discarded at will, had better not be presumptuous."

Priscilla snorted and took Luke's hand, her arrogance evident on her face. She didn't look down on Darkness, but rather on everyone except Luke.

"Equality...where is equality?"

A seductive voice rang out, and the beautiful, elegant, yet dangerous Elsa licked the Northern Scimitar in her hand.

"If that's the case, I could be considered the queen of the Northern Kingdom of Gustik, wouldn't you say? May I join you, dazzling sun princess?"

Priscilla frowned. "A lowly assassin..."

"Oh dear, I'm so sad. You guys used to praise me as a formidable enemy."

"As an enemy, it is certainly commendable, but on a woman's level, I am not so gentle to those who try to interfere in my relationship with Luke."

"That's so mean~ But you can't refuse Luke, can you?"

"Well……"

Priscilla was momentarily speechless, recalling the night not long ago when Luke had dragged her into a lecture after an argument. Her tense demeanor gradually relaxed; she had to relax, or history might repeat itself.

The two maids, who were watching all this from a slightly different distance, sighed in unison.

"Rem, Rem, did you hear that? It's a fact that Prince Luke is a perverted hentai who likes contrasts."

"Sister, sister, I heard you, but even so, Prince Luke, Rem still likes him."

Ram curled her lip, her wine-red eyes glancing at Zetsuki, the new maid respectfully serving Luke; Shalltear, the vampire progenitor who looked at Luke with jealousy and curiosity; Albedo, the high-ranking succubus with hearts in her eyes; and the restless witches...

Even Echidona, who was originally a "witch of greed" who simply craved knowledge, developed complex and inexplicable emotions in her pure eyes after spending a long time with Luke.

“Me too, but that guy is a complete bastard. He has more and more women around him, doesn’t he know what satisfaction is?” Ram said with a hint of helplessness.

Rem thought for a moment, then gave a warm smile, "No matter what happens, Rem will always love her sister the most~"

"Hmm... a man?"

"Huh!? Well... if my older sister becomes my older brother, that would be really difficult. Rem still hopes that the number one man in her heart is Prince Luke."

Rem lowered her head shyly, seemingly ashamed of her less-than-precise words. "It's not that..."

Ram frowned and pointed to Suzuki Satoru, who was approaching Luke with a nervous and uneasy expression.

…………

"Excuse me, may I bother you for a moment?"

Suzuki Satoru cautiously entered the ecosystem surrounding Luke, and braced himself to join the conversation under the watchful eyes of a large group of people.

"Oh, you're awake. You guys continue celebrating, I'll step away for a bit."

Luke lazily got up from Darkness's lap and walked out before Suzuki could say anything, patting him on the shoulder as he passed to signal him to follow.

The night sky was deep and bright. Looking up from the height of the floating island, there were no clouds to obstruct the view, and countless stars dotted this curtain.

"Ask me any questions now, or I won't wait for you."

After the surrounding environment became quiet, Luke slowly broke the silence.

After a moment of silence, Suzuki Satoru slowly spoke, "Thank you for helping me return to my original body."

Lu Ke readily replied, "It was nothing. I'm not helping for nothing. If you don't want to stay with your floor anymore, then you can be my floor guardian!"

Isn't this considered forced buying and selling?
Suzuki Satoru gave a wry smile upon hearing this. His life had been saved by the other party, so there was no reason for him to object anymore. "Now, who are there any guardians willing to follow me? Haven't they all been turned against me by you?"

“At least Cocytus is willing to follow you, and Sebastian probably is too. He only betrayed you because he hoped you would turn over a new leaf, and Demiurge as well…”

Lu Ke paused for a moment, then said casually, "Right now, seeing you probably causes him both physical and psychological pain, but deep down he probably still hopes to be with you, out of loyalty..."

These words seemed to make Suzuki Satoru feel a little better. He didn't ask the other guardians who had betrayed him what their reasons were, but nodded and changed the subject.

"So, everything that's happened to me lately is your... way of having fun?"

"Your time travel has nothing to do with me, but most of the other things were indeed arranged by me, to prevent your Great Tomb from doing something that would anger me and lead to its complete annihilation."

Lu Ke was too lazy to explain, so he simply packaged up the original world's plot and sent it to Suzuki Satoru, plunging him into an even deeper and longer brainstorming session.

"Without you, I would become like that..."

Suzuki Satoru stared blankly at his original self, who, in the original timeline, regarded the Guardians as objects of protection, decided to eliminate all beings that could threaten the Great Tomb of Nazarick, and relentlessly invaded, expanded, and indiscriminately killed enemies without even hindering his plan to still order the massacre of cities.

From the perspective of the undead, this is indeed quite normal, but since his original soul was human, it is somewhat chilling that he did this so calmly.

At first, it still had goodwill towards humans, saving the villagers of Carne Village and the warrior captain Gazef, and even showing some affection for the adventurer team it was doing quests with. But over time, it gradually became a monster that lost its humanity and was only focused on its target.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Luke!"

Suzuki Satoru thanked him again, his tone becoming more solemn.

"You're welcome. My friends and I are very good at maintaining humanity. We can have fun and do good deeds at the same time, so why not?"

Lu Ke shook his head, stopped, and glanced back at him. "Has the name been decided yet?"

"Pretty much... I want to change my name to Ainz."

"Oh, so you're still calling yourself Ainz Ooal Gown?"

"No, it's Ainz, there's no more after that."

Satoru Suzuki explained, "Just like 'Momo' is the change of 'Momon' after removing the last syllable, 'Ainz' will no longer be 'Ainz Ooal Gown'. This brand new name is like a condensation of my previous experiences. I'm welcoming a new beginning with a new name."

Lu Ke nodded, offering no opinion, but simply asked again to confirm, "Have you made up your mind?"

"It's decided!"

Ainz smiled and replied, then asked with a hint of curiosity, "Have you ever changed your name?"

"No, Luke will always be Luke."

Lu Ke answered without hesitation, his tone indifferent.

"What are your plans next? If you want to go back to your original world, I can send you away. If you want to stay in this world, this floating island can send you to rebuild your base. But no matter which choice you make, if you go back to your old ways and do something bad, you won't want to know the consequences."

"I'm just an ordinary office worker, I wouldn't do that kind of thing."

Ainz hesitated for a moment, then boldly asked, "Can I join that adventurer team formed by Kazuma-san and Subaru-san, the one made up of reincarnated individuals?"

"You mean 'Otherworld Duet'?"

"Yes! I also want to experience different worldviews!"

"It's not impossible. Kazuma and the others are already thinking about recruiting teammates in different worlds to expand their team. They probably won't object if you join."

Lukemo stroked his chin as he answered, "But it doesn't seem so good that this other world team is all men. How about we send them to a new world where the reincarnated ones are women?"
Three men and one woman... that doesn't sound too good.

Speaking of which, there's also a final installment in the "Isekai Quartet" series called "Saga of Tanya the Evil," which tells the story of a man who is tricked by a god named "X" and reincarnated as a young girl.

It feels pretty good, quite suitable for real people...

Luke's lips curled into a pleased smile, which made Ainz feel a chill run down his spine, as if he had a fishbone stuck in his throat.

"Speaking of which, it seems you sped up your arrangements for me quite a bit afterward..."

"Oh, that. Your matter was just for fun, and you can do it anytime. But something important happened in the middle, so the subsequent handling of you was a bit hasty," Lu Ke replied casually.

Ainz tentatively asked, "Can I know what it is?"

Lu Ke gave him a deep look: "The world you built from your memories, the name of the game company that published YGGDRASIL, a name that... a friend of mine seems familiar with, and I feel it's something worth investigating."

Ainz racked his brains for a moment, then surprisingly read out the name of the game company.

"You mean..."

"Cosmic Wonders Games Company?"

(End of this chapter)