Devils & Artefacts c89 (Patreon)

Marcus checked hImself in the mirror. He had a thin jacket produced by the wardrobe. As he was doing that, Sirin giggled while checking the menu in the wardrobe.

At the same time, she was filming the options available on the furniture.

“Look, you can even make a Daedalus airship from this! How hilarious is that? It will take months, if not years, to build it from parts produced by this wardrobe!” The girl exclaimed while checking more content.

“Yeah, I didn't bother sorting through all the options.” The Inventor clarified why his wardrobe has so many options.

“I know. But this is funny.” After shaking her head, she looked at him. The beauty took a step and got closer. She proceeded to fix up his collar. She was making him even more presentable.

“Good. We can go now~” 

By this point, she turned off the camera and threw the ball away on his bed. She won't need it for a while.

But then the lion decided that it would be his new chew toy.

“H-Hey!” 

The girl swiftly grabbed it and didn't allow it to be chewed on.

“You need to train this little guy!” The girl complained as she needed to push the golden lion away.

“It's not a dog; you don't just train felines.” He said with an eye roll.

“Yet, you brainwashed it to be a household cat!” She complained to him.

“I didn't brainwash; I adjusted it.* 

“Semantics!” 

“Not semantics. I suppressed certain traits while allowing others to flourish. I didn't turn it into a dog. It's still a cat.” He explained to her as he made the lion float. With a hand motion, he sends it back to the ‘lion’s den’. 

Sirin sighed in relief as she summoned her interface and checked if she had saved the schematics for her floating camera.

Another sigh escaped from her lips as she was relieved that Aurora had saved the schematics. Even though she spent fifteen minutes designing this orb, she doesn't want to lose it! 

She barely has any possessions, so even minor things make her possessive. 

“Come. You can put that camera in your room. Just in case the lion decides to find it anyway.” 

“Alright.”

Sirin agreed with his suggestion. The pair then left the room, and the white-haired girl swiftly went to her room and placed the orb in the wardrobe, just in case.

Marcus smiled, seeing how she was treating her possessions. As a collector and inventor, he treats his items similarly. 

While he does want his enemies to destroy his fighting assets, part of him doesn't want to lose those as they are his items.

It's a thin line of necessary sacrifice and greed. Maybe that is why his first warship could tank gods.

As they descended to the lower floor, the pair walked towards the main doors.

“Where are you two going?” Rose asked the pair as she noticed them dressed up for outside.

“I am taking Marcus to breathe some fresh air.” 

“Great. Make sure my boy shows the town properly to you~.” With a wink, the inventor’s mother motioned for them to get going.

Sirin slightly blushes as there is a strange understanding between those two.

As the pair left the house, he looked at her.

“Any suggestions on what you want to see?” Marcus asked her.

“Hmm. Not really. Anything is fine. You do realise that as Herrscher's personality, I barely have any experience exploring and seeing things.” 

She brushed her hair as she explained things to him.

“I was created for pure destruction. No other purpose Honkai designed for me.” She said this with slightly narrowed eyes.

The girl was angry at that realisation. It is strange, considering she was out of Honkai's influence, so she saw the world from ‘outside the box’ as they say.

This outlook was a new perspective for the girl. She has been seeing a bunch of new things, especially since she has been living with a weeb being who achieved crazy things.

“Then it's a good thing you are here.” Marcus grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to himself.

“In this world, my Sirin is a Queen, and no one changes that.” He whispered to her. The girl’s golden-orange eyes widened for a second. A deep blush appeared on her cheeks.

“In that case, you need to tell me what that form of Kiana Kaslana is.” She smoothly controlled her blush as she mentally focused on the curiosity which she wanted to satisfy. 

“Oh? Is that why you pulled me out of my room?” He changed the theme of conversation as swiftly as she did. 

“Hmph! Of course not! I am simply playing my part. In truth, it should be you who takes me from our house! I did say I want to date you before I join your— harem.” She said the last part while looking away. 

“Hmm? How are those connected? You want to know the form, but what does this date have to do with anything?” 

Marcus asked her with a teasing voice. Oh, he knows the game, but he is pretending to be clueless. The Inventor wants to see that blushing and stuttering face of the almighty Void Queen.

“Hmph! Let's go!”

She proceeded to pull him towards the main road.

Amusingly, he realised that she knew where she was going. Did the beauty prepare for this beforehand?

Well, he will watch and see. 

~~~~~~Meanwhile, on the Other Side of the ‘Pond’ a.k.a on the Other Side of the Atlantic~~~~~~

It's probably the first time in history that people in the Pentagon are discussing a YouTube video.

Especially the top brass is the ones who start the discussion.

“Does anyone want to say anything about the fact that a teen in his ‘garage’-” The Secretary air quoted the garage part.” harnessed gravity itself? How do those turrets shoot gravity?”

He showed everyone pictures taken by people when the airships opened fire on pirates. Those cannons ripped through literally everything. And there are a bunch of those!

“Not only does he have clones, infinite energy, and robots, but now he has gravity. We were considering a last stand. This last stand will be nothing more like a repeat of what happened to native Indians and Aztecs when the Spanish and British first arrived on this continent. 

We are going to be slaughtered by that army like pigs on a conveyor belt, and this is me not considering that freak gun in space.”

The secretary finished his rant. People noticed that he had more grey hair now. It would seem Marcus Goldman is the bogeyman of their country by this point.

Ahem

“Sir, you forgot a crucial thing. That ‘boy’ is the successor to the man Biblical God taught.

It's not a surprise that with his intelligence, he unlocked secrets of atom manipulation.”

One of the officers remembered this, which made the secretary grimace.

“I tried to forget that.” 

The people around the large table looked at each other. It would seem the man is denying reality by this point.

“Regardless, we have other issues.”

“...Which is?”

“The videos are giving people a different take on Marcus Goldman. I have heard rumours from agencies that smaller countries consider capitulating to Technocracy.”

“!!!”

The officials and politicians looked shell-shocked to hear that. But it only lasted a second or two as they weighed the options.

“To think that people give up their pride and freedom.” The secretary of defence bitterly commented.

“The deal is not that bad. He has the technology to give energy and things for free. The world’s food and energy issues would cease to exist. All he needs to do is say a word.”

“Yes. But we don't know the price. With his flippant behaviour, he can easily take everything away.”

“Indeed. But we need to consider that it is something he created. So it belongs to him.”

“...”

“True.” The Secretary had to agree. But then there was another thing as the official tried to smooth out the circumstances.

“...Sir. Another thing.” After a moment of silence, he finally decided to breach the subject.

“...Say it. No need to mince the words.” 

“...Of course. It's just that even China and Russia have that on their cards.” 

“!!!”

Everyone turned stiff as they looked at the intelligence officer.

“... Impossible! Those are the most annoying and proud nations! How would they consider surrendering!?” 

“Not now. No, they are waiting. This YouTube channel is the key.”

“...Oh. I see. They are looking for a hook.” The Secretary immediately understood what was going on.

It's not a surprise. Both countries are dictatorships—those kinds of nations flock to each other when a common goal and enemy appear.

In this case, they can’t win no matter what. So they will leave it to a YouTube channel to figure out how to manoeuvre around Marcus Goldman.

But then the Secretary of Defence had a look of realisation.

‘Of course! Gifts!’ 

He clenched his fist as the man felt like he had solved the formula of eternal life.

‘Like how in ancient times rulers would gift other rulers all sorts of things! Marcus Goldman is no different! He is still a teenager!’

The politician smiled as he recalled those two videos. He had a car, a suit of those robots under a glass wall and small statues in his room! 

Everything is falling into place.

“I need to speak with the president. The meeting is over!” 

Just like that, he left the meeting without saying a word. The rest of them were confused as hell.

“...so… did we get the budget to rebuild the carrier group?” The officials looked confused.

“Beats me.”

~~~~~~Back With Marcus~~~~~~

“How does it feel to be a celebrity?” Sirin asked Marcus as they had just passed the main bridge and entered the town centre. There are quite a few people who are looking at the pair.

“You think it's only me? I am certain that people are looking at you as well.” The inventor noticed that people were whispering about her, too.

It would seem her channel, which only appeared a couple of hours ago, went viral faster than fire in a dry forest. 

“Whatever. It's not like I am a big shot. You are the one who builds all the stuff!” 

The girl replied with an annoyed tone. She doesn't want fame! She wants to spread misery! That is right! The only reason she made that channel is to make sure people experience his madness first-hand!

“Hehe. You are adorable when you get all annoyed like that.” He used his other hand to poke her cheek.

His actions caused her to move her head in the opposite direction. There is no way she will allow him to do that in public! She still needs to keep her image!

Not that the world knows what is a ‘Herrscher’.

But this was where Marcus decided to wave the info in front of her.

“That form you want to know is called ‘Flamescion’.”

The moment he said that, she snapped her gaze back at him.

“How did she do it!?”

“Oh? Why would I tell it all at once?” He teased her as there was a smirk on his lips.

“...You…”

She frowned and looked away from him as she wanted to move away from him, but he was holding her hand.

“Relax, we are almost there. We should go and get some pizza.” He mentioned that as he looked around at the main crossroads as the centre of the town. 

He can't remember the last time he was in this area of the town.

As they say, he rarely passes the river to reach this area.

Well, technically, he crosses the river a lot as he has his trains, but he never does it on the surface. 

“...Fine. But you are buying. I have no money.” She huffed at him.

“Of course. As the owner of Goldman Industries, I have cash— I think.” 

‘Wait. Did Latia even give me a debit card?’

He pulled out his brand-new wallet and inspected the content for the first time.

He noticed a thick amount of hundred notes of Euros and two cards: a golden credit card and a black debit card.

“...I guess I do have money.” 

“Yeah. That's a lot of papers. Anyway, show me where this pizzeria is.” Sirin poked her head to see the contents of his wallet. It turns out that even without his Technocracy, he is loaded. 

“Right.”

Marcus took her towards the road crossing. They waited for that green light. Void Queen behaved quite elegantly in these circumstances, considering her Empress attitude. But then the inventor recalled that she had Kiana’s memories, and Kiana was part of Japan or the Far East as they call it. Over there the traffic system is strict. People can't cross the street on red even without cars.

After crossing to the other side, the pair turned to the right on one of the old streets. By old this street is around 800 years old. 

The city still uses a section of stones on the main road to point out the oldest part of the town.

Quite an interesting way to pay respect to the past.

Around ten minutes later, they arrived at the refurbished building.

“Feels old.” The first thing Sirin said was that she was gazing at the 18th-century building.

“Because it is old. Suppose my research on this place is right. Then, this used to be a stone barn ages ago. But it was kept refurbished through the ages, and now it was modernised by the company that runs this pizzeria joint.

On top of that, the inside is spacious enough.” 

“...Fine. I am hungry, and I don't care about the details.” 

‘Your Kiana side is showing~’ 

Marcus internally snorted at how that personality was leaking out from her.

As the pair got inside, the smell of food assaulted them. Several TVs showed basketball—the second religion of the Lithuanian people. 

Even Marcus is not immune to that. He remembers a couple of critical basketball matches over the sea of memories of cars, AIs, software designs, and car engines. 

His trip over memory lane ended with the waitress standing there petrified.

“A table for two.” The inventor snapped her out of her petrification.

“R-Right!” 

She swiftly replied and looked around, finding a table for two.

“P-Please follow me!” 

The pair followed her, ending up sitting in comfortable cushioned seats. 

“I will bring the menu shortly!”

The waitress has dashed away. 

“Well, well. You have terrified that girl.” Sirin chuckled as she took a small menu of drinks from the table and inspected the contents.

She immediately frowned when she saw only alcohol on the menu.

“...Ugh…”

“I know. Ignore that. There are soft drink choices on the menu.” Marcus knew why she was grimacing like that. Of course, he ignored her comment on terrifying the girl.

“Right.” 

She then looked at the other side of the small menu.

“Hmm, this looks better. It has desserts.” 

Herrscher started too small as she saw shortcakes, ice creams and other things which would attract the attention of a sweet tooth.

Though, the pair didn't need to wait long as a pair of large books arrived for them.

For a second, the golden-orange-eyed girl looked at the menu with trepidation. How is she supposed to choose one thing from this many pages!?

She could order several, but she doesn't want to look like a glutton! Sirin is not Kiana, after all!

Regardless, the pair opened the books and proceeded to look.

When she noticed the content, she hissed at him for confusing her.

“This ain't pizzeria! It's a restaurant!” 

“No. The core of this place is Pizzeria. As you can see, the dominant food is pizza. But since this is a small town. Selling only pizza is not profitable enough. So they are selling national dishes and mainstream stuff like chicken and pork steaks.” Marcus smoothly explained to her.

His explanation didn't help her that much. Regardless, she found the pages where pizza starts, which is at the front of the menu. 

“What is with the leather covers?” She asked randomly.

“To save it from wear and tear.” 

“...Oh… from my place, it was all digital. This is my first time holding a menu as a physical thing.” She casually commented, not wanting to pass as a countryside bumpkin.

“You don't need to tell me that. I can pass as clueless, too, if you haven't realised yet. I prefer living in my fortress called home.”

“Yes, but what about your previous life?” Sirin asked him, then she wondered if he had a lover or a wife, or kids!?

Her eyes started to spin as her mind began to descend into a gutter!

“Hah! That expression. I could say this life Serafall corrupted me. Usually, I wouldn't abuse my powers to make girls, but she turned me into a devil. Not in a physical sense but mental.

‘If you want something, just follow your greed’. Though I am sure she is regretting doing all that.” Marcus chuckled as he recalled watching a video where his knights opened fire on the last remaining Satan aboard her airship.

“...Wait, so…” She needed a minute to process what he said.

“...With all your crazy intelligence. You never had a wife or kids?” She squeaked her question.

Snort

“Of course not. Some wanted to touch my sugar.” 

It sounded weird, but Sirin understood what he meant by sugar. It meant his wealth.

“But my natural weeb mentally and love for 2d made me weary of them.” He shrugged without care.

His words made her deadpan at him.

But then she recalled how he acted around Enterprise, Quinella, and Gu Yuena.

Something inside of her clicked. 

‘Those girls were 2d in his previous life! They were human creations, to begin with! Wait then…’

Once again, her reality started to spin around her.

‘What about my reality!? How did he know about it? How does he know the future!?’

Her whole body trembled. She went on memory lane from the perspective of entertainment. Her world would make an incredible drama with sexy girls.

‘Damn…’

“...Haven’t you questioned the idea that we might be in a story of some sort, too?” Sirin randomly questioned him.

“Even if we are, what of it? I am a scientist and inventor. If I flinched in front of every single bad thing, I would still be fixing my BMW in the garage.” 

He scoffed. He already realised that she figured out how the multiverse works.

“That's how multiverse is. It's a cycle. I guess you realised that your Honkai world is from a game, which is true. But it's just a single world from a much bigger multiverse. A world in a specific multiverse in an even bigger multiverse. I am pretty sure there exists another version of me who is speaking with Kiana right now instead of you.

That is why you should not bother with such minor details.”

Sirin slowly closed her eyes before snorting as well.

“When you put it down with such confidence, I have no comebacks. Fine, so it is a game. I suppose I was just an arc villain then?” The girl proceeded to question him.

“I would say arc villain and clutch for character development.” He clarified to her as his eyes went to the pizza choices.

“You can select the sizes. The thick-crust pizza can be chosen as slices, while the thin crust comes in inches.” Then, randomly, he explained about the pizzas.

“So thick one I can order half, while thin ones come as full pizzas, but the radius is smaller?” For a second, she forgot her circumstances and instead looked through the menu. She decided to get the pizza out of the way and then discuss her part in the ‘story’. 

Now, she truly wants to beat up Kiana. Damn the story! Hell, let Marcus bring her over so that she could waste that ‘main character!’

“Hmm… I guess I will go with thin-crust pepperoni.” 

The girl tried not to sound gluttonous, so she went with moderation.

“Great. Then let us order.” Marcus motioned for the waitress to come over.

Like a missile, she was standing in front of them.

“For my darling, she wants the thin crust double pepperoni with cheese. While I want the thick crust ‘loaded’ edition, all of it.” 

“...All of it?” The waitress needed to double-check what he was ordering.

“Yes. And coke for us both!” 

“...R-Right!” The girl swiftly went to the kitchen while Sirin looked at him weirdly. 

She checked this ‘loaded’ pizza. It had everything on it: Ham, pepperoni, mushrooms, several types of cheese, sausages, and a load of vegetables. 

It was simple: ‘Take everything from the fridge and put it on a patty.’ kind of pizza.

He saw her gaze and looked at her with a questioning look.

“What? I came here to eat. If you are hungry, you can order a big one, too.”

Hearing his answer made her massage her forehead. 

Here she was, trying to act proper, but this guy just pulled out a sledgehammer and broke it to pieces.

‘Whatever, I am not Kiana. I won't fall!’

Steeling herself, Sirin took a deep breath and decided to grill him more for answers.

“Back to the multiverse. So what is this form of Kiana?” She asked with crossed arms as she leaned into her cushioned chair.

“Fine. Since you are dying to know, I will answer your question. It is called Flamescion. It's a form created from several Herrscher cores. 

Gameplay-wise, she deals a lot of damage but, at the same time, damages herself.” 

His answer made her stop for a bit. His transitioning to ‘game’ made her aimless for a second. The line between reality and game for him doesn't exist when it comes to her place.

It made her speechless!

“So it's her Herrscher form. Not something she inherited from the real Sirin.”

“Yep. She wields both void and fire.” Marcus explained to her as the waitress brought their cokes.

The Herrscher looked at the drink he ordered for her without even asking her opinion.

“I see. So what is Honkai?” The Void Queen asked the burning questions. She died without even learning the truth.

“It's a force to counter growth. Without it, life could grow unchallenged. A bud of it exists on the Moon. It's where Kiana sealed herself with 99.99% of Honkai energy. The rest of Honkai used to power the tech since it became inseparable and necessary for human growth.” 

“... That's it?” Sirin ended up disappointed for some reason. She expected—-more.

“I would say it works like a rigorous father, the Asian ones. A failure in exams will mean— death.” Marcus chuckled at the dark joke, which, in a way, was true, at least for him.

While he was laughing, Sirin deflated. She expected something grander, but Kiana sealed it away on the moon. That's it? 

For some reason, she is feeling cheated. 

“In that case, we could visit the moon and take it for ourselves, no? If that doofus sealed it. It would be a piece of cake for Technocracy.” Sirin would not give credit to Kiana; more like if that blockhead could do it, they could do it even better.

“That is true. I suppose you want your closure?” Marcus realised why Sirin was keen on having her answers even after dying.

“Without a doubt! And I want you to help me!” 

There was no hesitation on the Inventor’s side. He simply nodded.

“If this is what you want, we shall do what needs to be done.” He agreed without wasting a second.

Just like that, the fate of Honkai has been decided over a pizza in a small-town Pizzeria. 

When the waitress brought Marcus pizza. This pizza disgusted Sirin just by looking at it! She had never seen such a monstrosity in her life!

“I believe Italians will rebel against you no matter what kind of force you have.” The Herrscher commented on the fat ‘pancake’ in front of her.

“C’mon. It's a dish for hungry people.” As he said that, he proceeded to pour sauce on it.

That action made the girl’s eyebrows twitch. 

“...You are a monster.” 

For the first time in her life, she found out what a real monster looks like! 

She had seen him make proper pizza before, but now she saw the other side of the coin!

The sheer lengths he can go to get a full stomach!

“Thanks. You are adorable as well.” He ignored her comment. Instead, he praised her.

His praise didn't mean a thing when she saw that slice of pizza full of sauce!

~~~~~~Next Day~~~~~~

The group were back at school. Marcus was quite excited for today. He finally got some pictures of Venus and Mercury.

The probes are already in the orbits, and with Ars Almadel Salomonis’ improved tech, the transmission speed is even faster.

Two days from now, he will have his first pictures of Mars, and in another two more, he will have photos of Jupiter.

Just for this, he created a custom Laptop so that he could use it in school. He decided to design based on the Acer Predator series.

But instead of being Acer, he went with the actual ‘predator’ using its head as a symbol. He decided on that because it looks cool. Nothing more, nothing less. 

“Do you think it's a good idea to get a laptop for class?” Sirin asked with an amused tone. She knows his homeroom teacher, and she no doubt will complain to Marcus’ mother.

“No problem. I will only use my laptop between classes.” He explained, and then he remembered something.

“More importantly, Athena got the maths job. I will finally see her in a professional suit.” Marcus directed the attention to more important things.

“Perv. But it's quite something to learn maths from a Wisdom Goddess. Is there some magical effect when you learn from a God like that?” The Herrscher asked him curiously.

“I suppose there is a chance to create great characters? Semi-heroes? I don't know. It's good potential for an experiment, now that you mentioned.”

“Hnnn.” Sirin nodded aimlessly. She was still baffled that Marcus didn't do anything to her after the date!

‘To think that Gu Yuena was right.’ The Herrscher was slightly sour. She thought that as one of his creations, she would have an edge, and he would push her down. But now she needs to go on offence herself!?

It feels like a loss to her.

‘But on the better side. At least I know that I have the full might of Technocracy!’ 

She can't wait to see Kiana Kaslana’s face when she returns with a massive armada which can block the sun and turn day into night. Cast a shadow so dark people will question the day and night cycles!

All her muddiness disappeared as she imagined that girl’s expression.

“Someone sure is happy,” Enterprise commented as she saw Sirin’s smug smile. The Aircraft carrier is wondering if the whole date thing was that good. 

Now she wants to go on one! 

“Hmm?” The Herrscher wonders what they are on about!

“Yeah, I want to. And I am considered the original.” Quinella commented with a frown as well. 

“Hmm!?”

“I had semi-one when we were travelling in the submarine.” Gu Yuena added her two pieces.

“I wouldn't mind a proper one.” The Dragoness added her two pieces.

“I would join as well if the admiral would want.” Tirpitz softly added her two bits.

‘What is going on? What are they talking about!?’ 

The Void Queen was confused!

Eventually, the group arrived at the school. Marcus noticed quite a bit of foreigners. 

He never expected to see some in his rural town. But then he could guess that his ‘umbrella’ was the best.

‘Well, let's see how many of them will save themselves before the fateful day.’

One could say Marcus is giving a period of grace before the hammer descents.

As they were walking, some students were whispering about Sirin. 

The golden-orange-eyed girl’s lips twitched as she could hear everyone talking about her as if she were a celebrity.

“Hehehe. I wonder how long it will take before people ask for your autograph.” Marcus teased her. 

“What are you two talking about?” Quinella chipped in as she noticed the whispering, too.

“Sirin is a Youtuber.” The inventor revealed without beating around the bush.

“...Huh? Since when?” The Assistant, with a confused tone, asked. This news was the first time she had heard about that!

“Since yesterday.” 

With raised eyebrows, Quinella checked her HUD and saw only two videos on Sirin’s channels, but both videos have over a hundred million views combined. 

And the number is rapidly growing alongside those subscribers.

‘All she does is show our place! That's— boring!’

The girl frowned as she dismissed the HUD and shook her head. Why would it be that interesting?

Regardless, the group arrived at the first class, which was history. 

Marcus was paying extra attention to his favourite classes. Well, his curiosity is moving towards if he wants to visit these places once he gets the time travel all fixed up and ready for proper use.

‘Maybe guided tours with some cloak of invisibility.’ a stray idea popped into his mind. But he brushed it aside for now. Instead, he decided to solve some equations on dimension travelling. He needed to start thinking about how to invade Honkai's world.

‘Speaking of Honkai, I need Latia to show me the lands I own. I need to place that Entertainment Dome.’

As he was thinking about that, the teacher walked into the classroom and started the class. That was the third day in a row that Marcus was attending all of his classes.

One could say that teachers are surprised that he is planning along this kind of level.