In one of the PDT rooms.

“Hey, Ruri. It’s time to go back.”

Ruri stops her training and runs towards me.

“Really big brother Al? Does that mean I’ll get to eat Marianne’s food again?” asks Ruri while drooling like a dog waiting for a bone.

This child. The only thing she can think of is food. Well, I guess it makes sense. All this time I’ve been feeding her grain balls. They have nutrients and are good for anyone who is doing secluded training.

Over this past year (month in the real world), Ruri has grown quite strong. I’m actually proud of the work I’ve done even though some might consider it cruel.

We exit the PDT room and we are greeted by Abaddon and Anne.

“Welcome back my lord.” Says Abaddon bowing his head.

Feels weird every time he says that.

Anne also bows.

“Take Ruri to the castle and have Marianne prepare a grand meal for her.”

“Yes, master.”

Anne and Ruri walk away towards the castle.

“Fill me in on what has happened while I was in the training room.”

“Yes, my lord.” Answers Abaddon as he follows slightly behind me.

“The competition between the guards ended with the Old team taking the victory. The New team did, however, conquer the dungeon you assigned for them.”

That’s good. If I remember correctly, the winner was to receive new equipment and ten barrels of alcohol that I asked Sabrina to make.

“And what of the mines?”

“Pardon me. We managed to sustain a large supply of magic and mana crystals and also other raw materials from them. We also employed a lot of the refugees that have settled here.”

“Good. Have those materials sent to Isaac for magi-craft experimentation and some to Gonz.”

Gonz can use them to create more magic weapons and armour.

“Other affairs?”

“Yes. We’ve officially created our agricultural sector and the greenies are managing it diligently. More merchants have started to visit our village wanting us to exclusively sell our potions to them. We refused them of course.”

“Good.”

Merchants are annoying. Right now, with the amount of money the village has, we don’t really need to sell our potions to anyone. And so far within the merchants, I haven’t seen anyone who is worthy of my friendship and partnership. They are all a bunch of greedy slobs. I wonder how Bran’s doing.

I pass by the training grounds where the guards are gathered. They jump in excitement when they see me.

“What’s going on here?” I ask.

“The leader is back. The thing is we have been waiting for you leader. After the Old team won the competition, they decided to share the booze with us. But we thought that drinking it all when the leader isn’t here would be disrespectful, so we waited for you to come out.” Says Marco drunk.

Waited for me my ass. Half of these idiots are already drunk. I’m not really in the mood to join them.

You should, kid. You’ve got to bond with your people. Otherwise, they’ll think of you as a leader who is always serious and doesn’t know fun.

Hey. I’m fun. I have fun with Stacy all the time.

Yeah, creating potions. I mean real fun. When was the last time you drank alcohol?

I drink wine when I eat at the castle.

I mean real alcohol.

Sigh, I hate you, you know that right?

Yeah, yeah, I know. Now have some fun.

“Very well. I’ll join you.”

***

The sun has already set. Everyone is having fun dancing and drinking. We ended up making it a feast at the village. Meat and alcohol for all to enjoy.

Warning! Warning! Alcohol has reached a substantial level in your body. Beginning detoxification.

“Woah, leader. You can handle your liquor. You’re not getting drunk at all.” Says one of the guards.

I’m awesome.

Awesome my ass. You’re basically cheating.

No, I’m not. I didn’t tell them not to install a protocol in their bodies that could detoxify the body of any harmful ingestions.

Hmph, I bet you wouldn’t last a single minute if you switched off that protocol and drank like a normal person.

Are you challenging me, Ray?

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

What if I am?

Very well. I’ll show you who’s boss. Ariel, deactivate protocol 6-6-5-G-K-1.

Deactivating protocol!

Now, Ray. Get ready to eat my-

And then I black out.

I did a lot of things that night. Things that I’m ashamed of. Things that Ray would show me the next morning so that he could laugh at me. Of course, I got him back. All in all, I never again deactivated my detoxification protocol. In fact, I ordered Ariel to never deactivate it no matter how much I tell her too.

The next day, at night.

I’m in my bathroom taking a well-deserved bath.

Ah, it’s so nice taking a bath at night. There’s just something about it.

I look at my reflection from the water.

Come to think of it. I never actually noticed how handsome I am. Beautiful would be the better word, I guess. My hair is so soft which is weird since I never really used anything on it. Even before I recreated some shampoos, my hair was soft even though I just washed it with water.

My hair doesn’t compare to my eyes though. The colour of my eyes is captivating. It isn’t the dull blue coloured that many people have. They actually look like they are glowing. Like an endless ocean.

I’m glad though that my skin is brown. I was mixed in my past life weighing more on the black side so I’m glad my reincarnation got me the right skin colour. It would have been weird if I was white.

I get out of the bath and Sophie hands me a towel. Sophie is a maid taking care of me for the day. I don’t know why they always change the maids that take care of me. Did Marianne tell them to? Nah, I doubt that. Do they like me or something? Well, with this face, I wouldn’t be surprised.

I think I was handsome in my previous life too. Of course, nobody told me that.

After a few minutes of dressing myself up I hear a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

Gram enters.

“Gram? What are you doing here?”

Gram goes on and sits on the couch.

“I wanted a moment of your time before you disappear again without telling me.”

Do I disappear a lot?

Yeah, you do.

Shut up. You’re still on punishment.

“What did you wanna talk about?”

Gram’s face turns serious.

“I see you as my own son, Allen. I love you more than anything in this world but it’s time for you to tell me something.”

Oh, I see. Is she going to ask who I truly am? I always thought that this conversation would come up eventually but not this soon. Gram is smart. I’m sure she has already figured out the true identity of the Pillars and the demonic maids. Should I tell her the truth? Is she going to be alright with it though?

“What are you planning to do with the power you have built?” asks Gram.

What?! I thought she was going to ask me about who I truly was? But instead… well I guess her question makes sense. If I were to look at my ‘power’ now excluding my own. I have the Pillars, the demonic maids, the guards, magic weapons that Gonz creates on a daily basis, and I also have the monsters of the forest kept away in some of the pocket dimensions I’ve created. I also have a ton of money and materials too. It would be weird if that kind of strength didn’t raise questions. Should I lie to her? No. She would know immediately.

“I’m going to use this power to conquer the world.” I answer with a solemn look.

My initial goal was to build enough strength to protect myself and what’s dear to me and also to look for my mother. But that plan changed when Amy was kidnapped. And having to hear Ruri’s painful story, I can’t ignore that kind of inhuman act to continue.

“To conquer the world? So, are you planning to wage war on all the kingdoms then? Or are you planning on doing it yourself? I’m sure it wouldn’t be hard for someone who defeated the Demon Lord.”

Of course, she knows about that. Maybe Uriel told her, knowing how much she enjoys boasting.

“Waging war against every kingdom would be bothersome and inefficient. That’s a last resort. There are many ways to conquer the world without having to wage war.”

“You do know that will bring enemies at our doorstep.”

She is right. But enemies are already at our doorstep because I killed the Demon Lord.

“Are you doing this because of your mother?” asks Gram with a sad look on her eyes.

“No. I’m doing this for everyone. Let me ask you, Gram. What do you think is the problem in this world?”

Gram pauses for a moment and then answers.

“There are many problems in the world. Poverty, war, discrimination. I could go on and on.”

“Yeah, you are right. There are many problems in this world but those are just breadcrumbs compared to the true problem.”

“Breadcrumbs? Then what is this ‘true problem’ you’re talking about?”

I pause as I walk towards the window. The rain falls gently towards the window.

“The true problem in this world is that there are just too many leaders.”

“Leaders?” says Gram confused.

“Yes. There are too many leaders in this world. Every ruler has their own beliefs. And every ruler believes that they are right. That’s because they have the power to destroy any that oppose what they believe in and thinks it’s right. That’s why we have wars. People start wars just because of a simple disagreement. Some want to show off their power. And while they are busy doing that, do you know who suffers?” I say as I turn to face Gram before continuing.

“The common people. People who just want to live their lives. They are affected by the decisions of greedy leaders. After all, if you want to destroy the world, then give a fool enough power. Somewhere out there, there are people dying just from hunger, something that can be solved with just a piece of bread. Somewhere out there, there are people who are being slaughtered and having their homes burned down. Somewhere out there, there are children sold like they are nothing more than an item. And what of the leaders? What of their kings whom they worship like gods? They stay in their cosy castles, eating lavish foods and drinking their wines and they don’t bat an eye on the screams and suffering of their people.”

Gram’s face starts becoming gloomy as she looks at me, who is furious.

“But… if there was one leader. One king, then no one would suffer. Poverty would end. Wars would stop. Crimes and any sort of greed and discrimination, all would crumble down like flames to a dying fire. I am the only person who can do that Gram. I’ll extinguish anything toxic in this world and rebuild it anew. So that no child will ever shed tears because of hunger or having everything he loved taken away from them. And in order to make that dream a reality, I’ll crush anyone and anything that stands in my way. I’ll show NO MERCY until every single one of my enemies are dead on the ground.” I say as thunder crackles from the sky.

At different points in the castle. Smiles creep on the faces of some of the Pillars. They had just felt their creator’s conviction and drive. They now knew their end goal. They now knew their existence to the world. And that was to serve their creator and help him achieve his goal.

My face that is filled with rage and fury drowns in sorrow.

“Do you hate me after hearing me say this? Do you feel ashamed?”

It would be best if she did. Many people will die on my grand conquest. My hands will be stained with blood of thousands. That I know. She probably knows that too. It would be easier if she does hate me. Because I’m not gonna change my mind on this matter. And I don’t want to hide my true self from her. She’s the last person I would do that to.

Gram chuckles slightly before standing up.

“I could never hate you or be ashamed of you. You are my baby boy and I’m proud of you. When I found you that day, I knew that you were destined for something. I might not know if it’s the path you’ve decided to take or not and I don’t care.”

She walks closer to me with tears in her eyes. She put her hands on my face and stares deep in my jewel-like eyes.

“All I want for you is to not be alone. I don’t want you to isolate yourself from us. From me. So, I want you to lean on me from now and again. Lean on all of us. We are here for you. You don’t need to take all the burden yourself. You are my child and I love you… more than anything is this world.”

Gram’s hands are so warm. They remind me of that fateful day. That cold day. The moment she held me in her arms, all that coldness disappeared. She was so warm that I ended up falling asleep in her arms.

“Thanks Gram.” I say with tears in my eyes.

“For what?”

“For not hating me.”

She laughs as she embraces me in her arms.

I’m glad that she doesn’t fear or hate me. I’m glad.