It’s the Thoughts That Count (1)

4:27 in the morning, outside was a storm of wind and rain, while Rinon was in the kitchen making breakfast.

“Hmm, as expected, spicy lobster dumplings are still the best.”

“…Rinon.”

Rin walked over.

“Hm? Sister, why are you up so early?”

“I woke up half-asleep wanting a cold drink, then smelled something from the kitchen and came to check.”

“I see. I’m making spicy lobster dumplings. Yesterday, I even went out specially to buy dumpling wrappers.”

“By the way, about the other 33 versions of me, how do you plan to arrange them?”

“Let the sisters do whatever they want. Also, about what my clone said—I heard everything, so no need to pretend you don’t know.”

“Then I want to ask, what were we like before we crossed over?”

“About the same as now.”

“If there’s a parallel universe, I’d really like to see it. But since you can keep your memories from before crossing over, can you help me recover mine?”

“That’s not allowed. You told me many times yourself, and even the Queen ordered that we must not restore anyone’s memories from our original era.”

“Then what on earth happened?”

“Just to avoid certain things. I don’t know all the details, but it has to do with you and the Queen. I’m just following orders.”

“So from now on, will you know everything about all the troublesome stuff?”

“Not necessarily. I can see the future, but I rarely look. And back in that era, we only met a few years later, so I don’t know what happened before then.”

“Then in that era, when we met, you also called me sister, right?”

“Yes. Probably too much time traveling caused some kind of butterfly effect. Anyway, I don’t recommend casually messing with time and space.”

“True. I’ll go take a walk outside then.”

“But it’s raining hard out there. And it’s only a little past 4.”

“It’s fine, because I can feel the other me now, and I plan to go check.”

“Alright. But if anyone dares mess with you, they’re probably done for, right?”

“With my personality, as long as they treat me well, I can accept them.”

“Fair enough.”

“Alright, I’m off then.”

6:38

“Ah!”

Celine accidentally fell out of bed and woke up.

“Ouch… Where did Rin go?”

She looked around but saw no one, and couldn’t sense anything either. So Celine got dressed and went downstairs to Rinon.

“Rinon, where did Rin go?”

“Went to find the others, went to play.”

“But it’s raining so hard outside, and it doesn’t look like magic stopped it. Did she go to another planet?”

“No idea. But, Your Majesty, do you want to try my spicy lobster dumplings? I made a huge batch for everyone’s breakfast.”

“Not bad. If they taste good, I’ll take some back for my mom.”

“Sure. Even though they’re spicy, it’s mild enough for kids, so don’t worry about your little sister. Plus, I copied a really good pearl milk tea. But considering Kiana, I changed it to grass jelly pudding milk tea.”

“That’s great. I can spend time with my sister and my mom. I really like this kind of happy family life.”

Seeing Celine like this, Rinon couldn’t help feeling a little envious and smiled.

“Your Majesty, having a family feels really good, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. Even though Cecilia isn’t my biological mother, she’s just as gentle and reassuring. What’s wrong with having a perfect family?”

“True. Unfortunately, I don’t have biological parents—I was born alone. Luckily, I met my future sister when I was little.”

“But isn’t it strange, why didn’t she meet you right when you were born?”

“If that happened, I might never have created other worlds. And sister might not have gotten better in this one… well, not completely better… Anyway, I really like sister and treat her like family. Just like you feel like family to her.”

“Hmm, then I’ll just wait patiently for your dumplings☆”

Alternate World

Thirty-three Aleas and Rin were at Feng Leia’s place eating barbecue, while Feng Leia and Alice felt a little awkward—they never expected Rinon to wipe out all parallel universes and bring so many Aleas along.

“Rin, about what you said earlier, Rinon’s not going to interfere?”

“Not her problem. If her clones caused trouble, she’ll handle it herself…”

“Rin…”

One Alea came over, resting her arm on Rin’s shoulder.

“Come eat dragon meat barbecue with us. It tastes amazing.”

“You all go ahead. By the way, Rinon said one of me is a bad girl—who is it?”

“Probably me? Back then, my cruelty wasn’t any less than yours. Even though you’re the main timeline’s Alea, I really like your current life.”

“Alea-yaa… Are you trying to make me bite my tongue?”

“Just teasing. It’s rare for all our parallel selves to gather together. Want to have a big party?”

“For me, it’s just eating, drinking, playing, or fighting. Torturing people doesn’t interest me much anymore—unless someone really makes me lose it.”

“Oh right, I remember you can copy skills. Can you copy me a cup of milk tea?”

“How about chocolate-flavored pearl milk tea? Large size.”

“Deal.”

32 Aleas: “We want one too!”

“…I feel like I’ve become the team leader now.”

“Of course—you’re from the main timeline.”

“So many?! Looks like the end of this planet has come.”

“Don’t think like that. But we used to be enemies, and you dare to come to me—you must need my help, right?”

“Pretty much. Since I’m negotiating with you, I had to prepare some benefits.”

“But how come you’ve gotten bolder? Just now you even dared to flick me with your finger.”

“I’ve lived for quite a few years. If I’m always weak, I’ll get bullied sooner or later—that’s the key point.”

“That also depends on who you’re dealing with. But tell me what you need my help with. It’s fine; it’ll kill my boredom, even if there’s nothing in it for me.”

“Have you ever heard of the ‘Flower of Evil’?”

“No. What’s this flower for?”

“According to the records in the Cosmic History Book, on the Grave Planet there are some strange flowers—the ones I’m talking about. If you drip a few drops of an extremely evil person’s blood onto the bud first, it will bloom into the Flower of Evil.”

“And then?”

“As long as you eat one petal of the Flower of Evil, you’ll become immortal and your strength will increase fivefold. But throughout history, some evil people have tried using their own blood, and they all failed. But if it’s you, that’s another story.”

“So the petal you mentioned—don’t tell me that’s your payment?”

“Yes. One flower has fifteen petals. For me, a fivefold strength boost isn’t useful; what matters is immortality.”

“I see. What do you think, Your Majesty?”

“Sounds good. Bring some back for research—and as many as you can.”

“Understood. Hey, Shrimp…”

“It’s Xiamie.”

“To me, you’re no different from a little shrimp. Anyway, when do we go get them?”

“An hour later. After all, that annoying Cosmic Scorpion is probably active right now.”

“Rin, what’s a Cosmic Scorpion?”

“It looks similar to an Earth black scorpion. Six legs, two pincers, one tail. The tail isn’t venomous, but the pincers are powerful enough to snap super-alloy. The stinger on the tail is extremely sharp—can pierce through many things. As for its shell, anything below 9,000 degrees is no problem.”

“So it’s stronger than my Agatha?”

“You could say that. But for the two of us, it’s no different from a little bug. Eileen, you’ve fought them too, right?”

“For creatures of the mortal world, it’s indeed troublesome. Every otherworld seems to have something like this.”

Konoker was curious.

“Can’t you just stomp it to death? It’s just a scorpion.”

“I forgot to mention. Its shell is extremely tough. Even human artillery won’t work. Its body is over sixty meters long.”

“A monster?”

“For Earthlings, yes, a monster. For us, it’s just an insignificant cosmic bug.”

Xiamie chuckled.

“Eleya, if you plan to kill it, could you try to keep the body intact?”

“Why?”

“We can sell it for money. You know the Cosmic Exchange, right? A creature that big should fetch at least 3.1 billion (Universal Currency).”

“Do whatever you want. I just want to have some fun. Your Majesty, I’ll go with this little shrimp now.”

“Alright.”

“Hey, can you stop calling me shrimp?”

“But your strength really is like a shrimp to me. Besides, we’re not exactly friends.”

“Geez, you really haven’t changed much.”

“More or less. Let’s go. Bella, remember to buy me some chocolate-flavored cookies.”

“Okay.”

♢

“Tastes good.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

At that moment, Rin was over at Anya’s place, eating steak and drinking red wine, looking completely satisfied.

“As expected, drinking wine here is the best. I don’t want my sister to know, after all.”

“If you like drinking, go ahead. I’ve got plenty more. But I want to ask you something—after destroying so many parallel universes, what now?”

“Heaven noticed?”

“Yeah. But I’m curious about Eleya—she could revive after you hit her. What kind of lifeform is that?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. Eileen and my sister claim it’s a positive energy aggregate or an evil thought cluster. But I’m starting to suspect it might be a split of my own good and evil essence.”

“Why suspect that?”

“I remember when I was first born, I split into two forces—one black, one white—and they turned into light particles and disappeared. So I’ve always wondered.”

“What about your counterparts in other universes?”

“Well, our world is the main timeline. The others are weakened versions of me. When parallel universes are destroyed, their power returns to me.”

“So Rin and Eileen are special, which is why they survived?”

“Probably. I can’t get too involved over there. If I annoy my sister, I’ll feel awful.”

“You’ve really got it tough.”

“It’s nothing. Also, your Heaven is quite a mess. I’m planning to help clean it up.”

“No need, I think. If you get involved, everyone will panic.”

“But Eve and Konoker are my sister’s friends. Judging from things, some gods definitely need to be disciplined. And if I want to do it, do you think you could stop me?”

“…Fine. But can you do me a favor? If my daughter goes wild, I hope you’ll stop her.”

“That’s no problem… Hm?”

“What is it?”

“My sister seems to have gone to outer space with someone. I can feel it.”

“Want to go check?”

“She’s not a surveillance target, and she likes her freedom, so whatever. More importantly—do you know any good restaurants?”

“If we go by my taste, sure. But I don’t know yours.”

“As long as it’s delicious. Just no bitter melon juice or chili water.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Half an hour later, Rin and the others didn’t find the scorpion—instead, they went straight to the flowers.

Although the area was covered in sand, the twenty or so flowers in the center glowed with a purple light. They were still in bud form, but very beautiful.

“Next, I just use my blood, right?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. I’ll give plenty then.”

Rin chopped off her left hand with a hand-blade, but instantly regenerated a new one. She poured the blood from the severed hand onto all the buds, and they began to bloom, radiating intense red light.

“Looks like I was right to find you. But cutting your hand and regenerating instantly—doesn’t it hurt?”

“Not at all. It’s faster than blinking. Want me to chop you up and see? I really feel like eating you.”

“You’re not seriously thinking of eating me, are you?”

“Unless you provoke me. So, what do we do with these flowers?”

“Just eat one petal. I only want one. You can take the rest if you want. After all, according to records, once picked, they take 300,000 years to grow back.”

“Alright. But once you eat it, you’ll be immortal, right?”

“Yes. That way I can live carefree forever. Maybe rule some low-level planets and be a king.”

Rin smirked wickedly.

“Extra meat sounds nice.”

“Do you always joke like this?”

“Depends. But don’t forget, we were enemies once.”

“Not anymore, right? We don’t have any real grudges now.”

“Forget it. Let’s eat and head back.”

Rin ate a petal, and immediately her pupils turned vertical, releasing a powerful surge of energy.

“…This feels amazing!”

“Are you a monster? Is that life force energy?”

Rin laughed loudly.

“Rather than a monster, call me a demon. But eating this petal makes me crave blood.”

“You’re not planning to go after me, are you?”

Xiamie felt uneasy, remembering Eleya’s terrifying past.

“I told you—unless you provoke me. And now, my name is Rin.”

“Rin? On my planet, that means evil.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure. By the way, I’ll take a petal to the trading market. There’s a god there who can verify it’s real, and I can auction it for a high price.”

“Immortality must be worth a lot.”

“Of course. And now you understand the concept of money too, right?”

“Sort of. Though I can just make some.”

“Cheat mode. Anyway, now that you’re immortal, what’s your plan?”

“Learn more magic. Even though I’m partly formed from countless evil gods’ grudges and can use their techniques, my defense magic is lacking. To be safe, I’ll master every magic—defense, offense, everything. If Rinon resists everything, I need something that can break through.”

“True. Perfect defense means no fear of most attacks, especially sealing techniques.”

Suddenly, Rin transformed into a new form and patted Xiamie’s head.

“Fun. So, after you eat, can I test if you’re really immortal?”

“…Could you not?”

“Why?”

“If this immortality thing is fake, I’m dead.”

Rin thought that made sense. But then an idea popped up:

“Since we have so many petals, how about testing on small animals? Lizards, frogs, snakes…”

“What about cats or dogs?”

“No. I like cats and dogs. They’re humanity’s best friends.”

“You’re not human.”

“…Shut up, or I’ll eat you now.”

“Fine.”

Later, they returned to Earth and went to a market looking for test subjects, but couldn’t find any good ones.

“…Rin, is there anyone you want to kill?”

“No. How about I slice you instead?”

“Stop joking. Do you hate me that much?”

“Hate? More like I see you as a toy. Forget it, I’m going home. I have a sister who can analyze this.”

“Fine. I’ll wait at Belyara’s place for your news.”

“You know her?”

“A business friend. We’re both greedy. But Belyara may be an evil god, yet she’s easy to get along with.”

“I agree. Alright, I’m leaving.”

“Okay.”

Rin teleported home, only to get slapped in the face.

“…?”

It was another version of herself.

“Sorry, a mosquito slipped in.”

Rin sighed.

“Can’t you use magic? Don’t tell me you don’t know Mosquito-Repelling Magic.”

“I don’t.”

“I do.”

“Me too.”

Two other Eleyas spoke up.

“Looks like we all learned different things. Has Her Majesty come back yet?”

“No. By the way, I discussed something with all of me. Each of us has skills the others lack. If we merge into one, could we share everything?”

“I’ve heard of something like that. Up to 50 people, but power only adds up 1+1. Can’t remember who said it.”

“Should we ask Rinon?”

“Yeah, let’s. I want to try merging and see how strong we’d get.”

“Sounds fun. I’ll text Rinon.”

Within a minute, Rinon replied ‘OK’.

“…”

One Eleya on the sofa suddenly thought of something fun and went to Rin.

“Rin, can you absorb planetary energy?”

“Yes. Not as ridiculously as Belyara’s tree, but I can absorb most of it.”

“I know. Rinon fed us that fruit. The good thing is, now we all have divinity.”

“Doesn’t matter to me. I still like the title of Witch. But why ask about absorbing planetary energy—planning to power up?”

“No. I want to create a cute girl. So back in my world, I stored a huge amount of energy inside me.”

“Is this like turning an object into a living person?”

“Exactly. I saw that magic on another planet, so I learned it. That way I’ll have a loyal companion.”

“How do you decide her appearance?”

“Just imagine it. Voice too. As for personality—absolute loyalty.”

“Sounds good. But I’m fine. I already have plenty of cute girls. Noker and Bella are great. Though playing with a version of myself could be fun.”

“You’re not planning to use me as the model, are you?”

“Sort of. But since you’re from a parallel universe, I can’t guarantee the same personality. Eleya over there is my past self.”

“With your past personality, seeing all of us would shock you.”

“Probably interest me. Also, I’ll ask Rinon to set the fusion time to 24 hours so we can really experience it.”

“Feels like the same body anyway. Might as well call it the Abyss Witch’s Ultimate Awakening…”

Then—whoosh—Rinon appeared.

“Big sis, the apartment at Anya’s place is sorted out.”

“Thanks. By the way, I got a flower petal—can you check if it grants immortality?”

Rin handed the petal to Rinon.

“This is a Flower of Evil petal, right?”

“You know it?”

“Yes. It grants immortality, but to bloom it needs the blood of an extremely evil person. And this one smells like someone else—did someone give it to you?”

“Just a former cute enemy. Name’s Xiamie.”

“Sounds like someone unusual, if they could make this bloom…”

“No, I watered it with my blood. The quality should be the best.”

“If it’s you, no wonder. No one’s more evil than you—even if your personality’s changed.”

“So, you know all the effects of this flower?”

“Yes. And by the way, human records are wrong. The Flower of Evil not only grants immortality but also boosts combat power tenfold, gives regeneration, and prevents illness. Too bad the blooming condition is so strict—besides you, maybe three people in all worlds could do it. But with all your selves, that number has skyrocketed.”

“Can you copy it? Including the effects?”

“Sure. And at the Cosmic Trade Market, one petal could buy an entire solar system in gold.”

“If people found out this makes you immortal, they’d go crazy.”

“Probably. By the way, you feel stronger than before—did you already eat one?”

“Yes. But honestly, only the strong can benefit. The weak would just be punching bags—or lab rats.”

“Big sis, about the fusion you texted me—I can do it now. Power 1+1, duration 24 hours, right?”

“Yes. I want to see how strong we all are when combined.”

“I’ll tell Eleya and Eileen then ♪”