Planet Master

“Have you come to a decision?” Tatsumi asked.

Ame, on the other hand, had a knowing smile on her face.

Tetsuya was stunned for a moment before he nodded with a determined expression. To Tatsumi, it looked like his son was protecting Rihana.

“Hmm. Well, it is not my place to comment too much on your relationship. When it comes, you'd better distinguish it from temporary feelings that appear and are gone just as quickly.” Tatsumi opened his mouth after seeing the determined expression on the two.

“But this will be difficult. You know that your beloved is the princess and the priestess of the Elven race. Can you shoulder the responsibility to bear that weight as well as the Elves who will speak ill of you?” Tatsumi said.

“Can you also cater to her in difficult situations and when there is some crack in your relationship?” Ame opened her mouth this time and looked lovingly at Tetsuya.

“I am willing to do that. After all these years of confirming my heart, I become certain that this is the decision I have to make.” Tetsuya said while slightly trembling due to his trepidation toward his parents’ opinion.

“Uncle, Aunt, please don’t pressure him too much. He is willing to do so much for me. As a proud Elf, I can only be by his side to repay him.” Rihana spoke and used her soft voice to plead on Tetsuya’s behalf.

Tatsumi looked at the two with an indifferent expression which caused Tetsuya to be nervous.

Then he snorted and a small smile appeared on his face.

“Our son has been considering this for a long time. Can we just give him our blessing?” Ame said while shifting her gaze between Tatsumi and the two.

“Of course. But he took too long for this. Decades, that’s how long he has been thinking about his feelings. I only took a week to consider, on the other hand.” Tatsumi said with a slight dissatisfaction.

Tetsuya realized what his father had said was true and wanted to reply but he could only open his mouth before closing it since it was all true. He took too long a time, or maybe he was slightly influenced by the Elves’ sense of time.

“I’m sorry for worrying you two.” Tetsuya could only say this.

Rihana then stepped forward and stood beside Tetsuya and grabbed his hand. Her expression was one of a determined person.

“Alright. Don’t worry about what has passed.” Tatsumi stepped forward and then placed his hand on the two’s shoulders.

“We will give you our blessing so that you can be together forever.” Ame said as she knew that Tatsumi had given them his permission and blessings.

“Thank you!” the two said at the same time.

They had even considered the possibility that Tatsumi and Ame would be tough on them but to think that they would get the blessings from Tetsuya’s parent easily.

Tetsuya and Rihana knew that the moment Tetsuya’s parent gave their blessings, they could proceed further into considering making their wedding a grand one.

After all, this marriage was between the son of the strongest transcendent of the Cerulean Planet and the princess of the Elves.

“Don’t worry about it. We will talk with your father regarding this. I can only hope that everything will go smoothly.” Tatsumi said to Rihana.

-

After making sure that the new Ether Producing Formation was strengthened to the new version that could produce thrice the Ether, Charlene and Ivana rested.

While they rested, Tatsumi and Ame gave them the news about Tetsuya.

“We must congratulate him, then.” Charlene said after hearing all the details from the two.

“So, brother will marry Sister Rihana. That’s good.” Ivana responded with that.

“Yeah. But it means that our stay here will be extended. Can you accept that?” Tatsumi asked.

“It’s fine. This is a happy occasion so I can permit it. After all, this will affect Tetsuya’s growth as a person. Might as well give him my blessing too.” Charlene replied with a calming smile.

“Right. There is also some good news from me.” Ame suddenly talked about the recent thing she had done.

Tatsumi wanted to say something so as not to surprise Charlene, but Ame interjected quickly due to her familiarity with Tatsumi.

“I become someone with a Perfect Connection to the Afterlife, just like Husband.”

Hearing this, Charlene was slightly surprised but happy to hear that. After all, one of her research was regarding the connection to the Afterlife.

“Really? But I am not able to do that just yet.” Charlene was surprised to hear this.

“It’s true. I even get to know about the Memory Assimilation process directly. It feels like I have been living as that person.” Ame explained a bit.

“I need to check you two for comparison.” Charlene’s eyes glimmered as she tried to get as many instruments as possible to check the two for similarities.

“Should’ve expected it.” Tatsumi shook his head, also wanting to know whether the current technology could detect something that might be the reason behind the connection between sentient beings and the Afterlife.

Then Charlene was back with the large helmets, which functioned as a brain scanner. Tatsumi and Ame then put it on while Charlene tried to connect the helmet to the device she had brought.

Tatsumi felt like his head was being watched closely, while Ame felt like a small prickling on the top of her head.

Ame blinked a few times but she was still relaxed like Tatsumi. Tatsumi on the other hand felt something flow from the helmet to his brain starting from the top.

He looked at Ame as she also felt similar. The two understood that the brain scanner had been upgraded and could even detect what was happening in their head.

“Until when will we be wearing this?” Tatsumi asked.

They currently stood since it was more comfortable that way in the trunk of the Royal Sacred Tree. Ivana, on the other hand, checked the progress of the device as the brain scanners were attempting to map and organize what they had discovered into tangible data on the device.

“Mother, the progress has reached the critical point.” Ivana reported.

Charlene nodded solemnly as she then input something to the device that connected to the brain scanners without wire. Wireless connection was the most common thing used in human civilization so it was no different for this.

“Alright. Record all the data. I want all the details to be recorded.” Charlene said while keeping watch of the two.

Tatsumi blinked his eyes as he felt the brain scanner working according to its function. He also hoped that everyone could connect to the Afterlife fully and not just a faint connection.

Seeing Ame could do that rekindled that hope.

Then a large voice could be heard from the brain scanners.

Charlene then removed the brain scanners from the two’s heads. Tatsumi then stretched himself because he had stood for quite some time. Ame also did similarly to him while touching the top of her head.

Ivana kept recording the data even though the process was long done. Her eyes were focused on the data that appeared on the device, trying to record it as objectively as possible.

“How’s the data you collected this time?” Tatsumi asked while glancing at the device which showed some sort of information he barely understood.

“It is good.” Charlene said with a grin. She felt like discovering something critical and wanted to further study it in case this was the possible answer for the connection to the Afterlife.

She then flipped the records that Ivana had done until the very end and looked for the similarity in it. Wavelength, possible mental power as well as the slightly intangible things that became tangible…that was the factor that Charlene sought in the data.

“Ah, so that’s what it is.” Charlene had a thoughtful look on her face. She had searched for the similarities and even spent some time creating her own custom-made device which could read various data of the brain.

She believed that the brain was the gate which the intangible like Nafs, could connect to the Afterlife. This, she believed to be the case. But only now that her thoughts were verified.

“What did you find?” Tatsumi went to her quickly since he realized that Charlene probably discovered something crucial.

Ame also followed since she was also curious about the result of the test conducted.

“Well, I discovered the key to this mystery.” Charlene proudly puffed out her chest.

“Is it the synchronization between the brainwave and the mental power at a certain interval?” Ivana said for confirmation.

“That’s right. The increase of mental power helps in a certain sense, but not absolutely. For example, your father has been a Perfect Connection ever since he was aware of himself. Remember that at that time, he was not even developing his mental power yet he could connect to the Afterlife perfectly.

“Furthermore, he could shoulder the burden of what he called the Memory Assimilation which caused the memory of the deceased to be imprinted in his brain. The brain is clearly the gateway to the Afterlife so I am thinking what if there is some sort of synchronization between different factors that not only overlap but also strengthen the connection, causing us to be able to communicate and exchange knowledge with the deceased people?”

Charlene became more spirited the more she talked about this point of knowledge.

‘As expected from your wife, kid. She inspires us right away.’ Kudungga commented.

‘Wait, that means others can strengthen their connection to the Afterlife?’ Tatsumi quickly grasped the situation and knew that this was big news, big enough that it could affect the way of life itself.

‘Yes. With this knowledge as the foundation, there will be technology to be able to emulate the Perfect Connection like you, ultimately leading to many people learning about the unrecorded history and a certain truth. This is a leap forward for not only humanity but other sentient beings.’ Goto added.

‘But it needs a slight mental power to emulate this, right? Therefore, the question now is that, the cost of the mental power required.’ Chi You posed a question.

‘I’ll relay it to her.’ Tatsumi said in his mind.

“So how much does someone need their mental power to be able to emulate this?” Tatsumi asked.

Charlene knew that the question did not come from him solely and then explained.

“A certain manipulation of mental power, along with the brainwaves, will result in the Perfect Connection to the Afterlife. All this time, I am trying to get a certain mental power emulated but it needs to be done in a three-dimensional simulation and the current device and brain scanners are what I am used to catching these factors.” Charlene said all at once.

Tatsumi nodded since the three forefathers also agreed in his mind. Ame seemed to understand things better since she could understand the device and the brain scanner functions better than Tatsumi.

“That and the spiritual silence. That is why we remained silent during the test. We focused on hearing those voices that were so faint it felt no different from the soft whisper near your ear. You probably know about this.” Tatsumi said.

“The training of spiritual silence is for you all to be able to synchronize your brainwaves and the mental power you have. That is why this requirement is necessary.” Ame added.

“Yes. You often mentioned that. To think that these are all related makes me happy. Should we publicize this to the rest of the civilization?” Charlene asked Tatsumi, since she was only building from what was available when Tatsumi discovered it.

Basically, she was building on the foundation that was created by Tatsumi.

“Spread it. The spread of knowledge can be halted for days, weeks, months, years even decades or centuries but it will not be stopped. Basically, it is inevitable.” Tatsumi said with a grin on his face.

As someone who often communicated with the deceased, he knew very well the spread of knowledge could only be slowed down but inevitably would spread regardless of the covering and butchering of the intended knowledge.

At this moment, he decided to spread it to the people so that they could benefit from the process. Although there was possibilities that the people also looked for something nefarious but there would be people who would look for something that would benefit not only themselves but also the people around them and ultimately civilization.

“This data is the most valuable thing right now. Even after centuries, I only managed to get it due to you two.” Charlene looked at Tatsumi and Ame with a grateful look.

After all, the research of the mind had been steadily increasing after the discovery of the mind aspect that could affect transcendents. Charlene knew that what could affect a transcendent could affect everyone.

“This is due to your relentless effort in researching the domain of the mind. After all, you and Mister Charles has found the second Psyche-Locks while Mister Maito has found the location of the next gate. I say that we have improved from our previous ignorant self.” Tatsumi placed his hand above Charlene and comforted her.

“Seeing as you try to comfort me, I will process this data and then publish an article about it later. You don’t mind, do you?”

“No, not at all.” Tatsumi and Ame replied at the same time.

‘I also want to know what he has shouldered and perceived.’ Charlene thought as she turned around.

“Dad, Mom, don’t ignore me~” Ivana said with a begrudging look.

“Hahaha.”

-

On the other side of the Royal Sacred Tree. At the trunk which even the sunlight barely reached through the canopy.

Tetsuya and Rihana were walking around, enjoying the sensation of the blow of the wind on their skin. Tetsuya also used his mental power to scan the inside of the tree, trying to feel his parents' and sister's presence to make sure that they were fine.

He did that while enjoying a walk with Rihana.

Rihana on the other hand, was outwardly elated that Tetsuya’s parents had given her the blessing for their relationship.

“You seemed happy. What, are you that elated by my parents’ blessing for our relationship?” Tetsuya slightly smiled and teased her.

The Elf Princess smiled which looked like a hundred flower bloomed and a faint blush was on her cheeks.

“Of course, I am happy. After all the things you have done as well as what your parents have given to us, this is probably the best thing to repay them.” Rihana said while placing her hands behind her back.

“I told you already, you should not think of our relationship like that.” Tetsuya tried to told her this for so many times but she did not listen.

“Well, that is one factor. The other is that I truly feel this way with you. But I am also someone in the Elf race who can affect my people. That is why the pretext is also important.” Rihana replied.

Tetsuya then turned his head to look at Rihana.

His eyes gleamed with happiness that he barely concealed. It may take a long time for him to realize but he felt his heart beat faster and his mind focused on her whenever he was with her like this.

“Hah. I can’t really put my mind in it. I guess in life you have multiple role and you need to form a balance so that one will not mistake one role for another.” Tetsuya said.

He knew that to be true since he was also the son of one of the most influential transcendents in the Cerulean Planet too so he could not really blame Rihana for using her role as a princess to do things.

After all, she was also the priestess of the Royal Sacred Tree which was an extremely important role for the Elf race.

Then someone came. Tetsuya felt familiar with the presence along with Rihana.

“Are you enjoying your quality time?” Sybil walked in the scene as he asked this.

“Royal Father, I am just spending time with him.” Rihana said while greeting her father in a respectful gesture.

“You are not just spending time with him. You are enjoying your time with him.” Sybil corrected her. He had been waiting for Rihana to be mature enough and seeing that the girl had received her first feeling of falling in love, Sybil sighed inwardly but still happy for her.

‘But the relationship between different races is rare but it happened. I can see clearly that she is infatuated with the kid.’ Sybil thought in his mind.

As a father, how could he not see it? The girl he had spent time with now had become a young maiden who could fall in love.

Then Sybil shifted his gaze toward Tetsuya. He had short brown hair along with his brown eyes that stared back at him, trying to get clarification about the relationship between him and Rihana.

“You youngsters need to cherish her.” Sybil then moved closer to Tetsuya and grabbed his shoulders tightly. His tone was deep and he was serious about this one.

“I will not hinder her in her role. Well, to be honest with you, I think it is me who is slightly inadequate.” Tetsuya said what was on his mind.

“You are qualified. What are you worrying about?” Sybil felt like something big had been in Tetsuya’s mind but he could not say it in front of his own parents.

“Shouldn’t you confer with your parents regarding this?”

Tetsuya was silent for a while before he looked determined.

“I took a long time to reciprocate Rihana’s feelings. As a man, that makes me slow and dense which is not a good quality to someone who need to be considerate toward my beloved. My parents probably knew this but still supported my decision.” Tetsuya confessed.

It was indeed the case but for Sybil, it was actually the time it took for Tetsuya to be honest with his feelings and it was not long for an Elf.

“Alright. You don’t need to worry about it. I’ll say it again, you are qualified.”

Hearing that caused Tetsuya to feel liberated from his heavy burden.