“Your Highness, there is a guest here to see you.” One of the maids called out to Bria, who was sitting in her office and going over her paperwork. She furrowed her brows, feeling that there had been more and more noblemen coming in recent weeks. Ever since the emergence of the new goddess, everyone wished to requisition funds for new cathedrals. Though, a large portion of those funds would surely be bound for the pockets of the noblemen themselves.

“Who is it this time?” She asked in exasperation, standing up and moving towards the door. When she opened it, she was greeting with the sight of a ginger kitsune smiling back at her, wearing a simple black uniform.

“Well… their identity seems to be a bit special…” The ginger maid said, her smile becoming a bit more complicated. However, this only confused the queen.

“Special…? Is it a God that has come?” She knew that it wouldn’t be one of the Major Deities, as any of them that wished to visit could surely just appear in her office as Udona did on many occasions. Similarly, the Keeper himself would surely not be bound by the normal practices of calling for the local royalty.

“Not quite… I think, at least. However, he claims to be an associate of the Keeper.” Bria’s eyes grew more stern when she heard that. There were many people who had once claimed such a thing, looking for personal benefits. Some even claimed to be the Keeper themselves. However, none of them had a happy ending. Many times, they would meet with misfortune even before the authorities had the chance to take action.

“Have you notified the Citadel?” When someone appeared and falsely claimed a direct connection to the Keeper, there was always one person interested in showing them the error of their ways.

“Yes, your highness.” The servant nodded her head quickly. “In fact, Lady Tsubaki has already arrived. However, she was… unable to deal with him.”

Bria’s eyes went wide in shock when she heard that. Even other gods would not easily challenge Tsubaki, and yet she couldn’t deal with this person? “Has she been injured?”

“Not… physically…” The servant gave a wry smile. “However, I feel she may have suffered from some emotional trauma. Regardless… before she left, she said that this man did have the right to claim to be an associate of the Keeper.”

That doesn’t sound like her. Bria thought to herself. Lady Tsubaki was proud of her position as the Keeper’s Servant, and shouldn’t so easily be swayed even if she suffered a defeat. Shaking her head, she smiled towards the servant. “Very well… I suppose that we should hear him out.”

“Tsuba?” Dana called out, knocking on the door to Tsubaki’s room. Since the latter didn’t need to sleep, the room was very rarely used, but at the present moment it was locked. As soon as she returned back from her trip, she had rushed into her room as if hiding.

“I-I’m okay, Dana.” Tsubaki muttered weakly from inside, brushing her tails with a shaky hand. When she had arrived before the stranger, she had felt his power. She had even prepared herself to battle the man to the death in order to uphold her honor as the Keeper’s Servant.

However… she had been unable to touch him, despite using her domain to become far faster than the opponent. He had some sort of soft barrier that weakened her attacks before they reached him, allowing him to narrowly dodge.

At first, she felt that something was odd, he didn’t seem to be fighting back, and was only staring behind her. She saw his lips moving, as if he was silently counting, before she heard him say… “Nine.”

Suddenly, she felt as if her entire body had frozen, and he appeared next to her in a flash. Immediately, he began petting her tails, commenting on how soft and well-kept they were. He rubbed his face against them and brushed through them with his fingers, yet she was restrained by his pressure.

In the end, she gave in to the embarrassment, and pleaded with the Keeper to save her. She had never done so even in the most dangerous battles, and would sooner die than place him in harm’s way. Yet before the ‘terror’ that was this man, she shrank away like a frightened child.

And the result…? She learned that the Keeper really did know him, that they had no reason to fight in the first place. With a bright red face, she delivered this news to the nearby servants before burning her domain at full power to flee the scene.

Now, she was carefully brushing her tails, trying to fix the ruffled fur that had been disturbed by this stranger. She did care for her tails quite a lot, as she had been told by a goddess that they were symbols of beauty and power. If it weren’t him, but instead…

Tsubaki shook her head to dismiss those thoughts, her face bright red as she redoubled her efforts.

“To what do I owe the honor of this visit, Sir…?” The queen asked as she moved to sit on her throne, looking towards the dark-skinned human curiously.

“James. Just James is fine, ma’am.” He told her with a bright smile. “And, in truth, I’m here to help you. The Keeper assigned me to this world in order to act as a researcher.” For some reason, he seemed incredibly refreshed as he spoke.

“A… researcher?” Even though she had heard that Tsubaki herself claimed his words were true, she had a hard time believing it. “Why would the Keeper ask a researcher only to aid this one world? Would not your talents be best suited by helping all worlds equally?”

James shook his head. “The research I conduct here won’t solely benefit your world. However, there will be a certain degree of focus. As for why… the Keeper has placed a treasure within this world that I absolutely cannot refuse. For the sake of that treasure, I will do everything in my power to aid this world’s progress.”

A treasure? Despite his assuring words, the queen was actually a bit more cautious when she heard that. She felt that this man might abandon their research halfway through, once he obtained his treasure. If his intentions were bad enough, he might even sabotage the research at the last stage.

Seeming to understand her worries, James let out a light laugh. “You don’t need to be so cautious. The treasure I’m talking about is… a woman I once thought lost to me. The Keeper is allowing her to be reborn within this world, so that we may spend our time together again. According to my calculations, it should only be a couple weeks away… Though I should probably wait at least six years before meeting her, so that her mind is able to fully awaken within the body.”

“I see… and what field does your research specialize in?” Regardless of the ultimate outcome of this ‘treasure’, she had to first ascertain where she could put his talents to use.

“Energy manipulation and conservation, with a specialty in void-folding mechanics. Though, I also dabble in genetic engineering, planetary array configuration, and quantum mechanics.” James recited his specialties, and the queen didn’t know what to make of them. Perhaps those names meant something in another language, but she couldn’t understand beyond a select few.

Instead, she cleared her throat. “Perhaps it would be best if you explained them? I fear we might not have similar terms to define our fields of research.”

As if understanding, James nodded his head. “First, energy manipulation and conservation. This field is one focused on exactly as it says, analyzing the fundamental energies of the universe to manipulate them in specific ways and preserve their power.”

“Void-folding mechanics, by comparison, is a far more advanced field. With the proper technology and application, it is possible to manipulate the endless void beyond the planar boundaries. This manipulation can be used to create independent spaces, or harvest materials that can be taken out of the void. From what I’ve seen of your world, you don’t have the means to do this, yet.”

“Genetic engineering… after taking a close look, this is an unexplored field in this world. It is the practice of manipulating the genetic code of an individual to enhance or alter certain characteristics that can be passed down to future progeny. For instance, a passion project of mine is to create a racial gene within the kitsune that will allow them to grow additional tails to store excess energy.”

There was a gleam in the man’s eye that sent shivers down Bria’s spine. Rather than letting him linger on that topic, she gestured for him to continue.

“Planetary array configuration… I’m not sure how suitable this one is for your card magic. However, I’ve noticed that you also use an array-type magic system as well, so it would be useful if I focus on that field. In essence, it is a field of research to create spells that can cover an entire planet. This is most commonly used for defensive spells, to prevent meteors or interstellar monsters from attacking the world.”

“Finally, quantum mechanics is the fundamental study of the universal laws on a macroscopic and microscopic level. A practical application of this field would be a warp drive.” After giving the descriptions of each field of research, Bria felt both more relieved and more confused at the same time.

“I see… going by your descriptions, I believe I understand.” In truth, most of those fields were entirely unexplored. Not only for Deckan, but for all of the Keeper’s worlds. Who would delve into altering the genetic code for such a long term project when it is more efficient to devise a training method to simply reach a higher level?

While the prospect of energy-storing tails did indeed intrigue the queen, something about the way that the man looked at her when he mentioned it made her cautious. “I feel… the best use of your talents should be in your first field, regarding the energy of the universe.”

“This is an age where gods are beginning to appear among the masses, ascending from common mortals. So as not to be completely at the mercy of one who arises with ill intent, I would like to ask you to aid us in this field.”

When James heard that, his expression turned more sullen. “Can I pursue my passion project on the side? I will use as little funds as possible, and I believe that it may ultimately align with the goal you gave me.”

Bria thought about that for a long moment, seeing the pleading look in his eyes. “Very well… However, any experiments have to receive approval before moving forward.” She couldn’t risk the chance that he might simply capture a helpless young kitsune to study her genetic data.

“Of course!” He jumped with joy when his project was approved. “And don’t worry, I won’t slack in the primary goal. For that, though… are you looking for restraint methods, or a more permanent solution?”

“Simple restraint should be enough.” Bria assured with a relieved smile. If they truly needed to kill a god, they could ask Tsubaki for help until they had the strength to do it themselves. For now, it would be fine as long as they were able to subdue and imprison them. With the growth in personal strength, the ability to properly subdue criminals had been struggling to keep up.

Nowadays, it wasn’t uncommon for criminals to be able to use their own power and escape local prisons in smaller settlements. At least… in other worlds. When it came to Deckan, they had a… unique method of handling convicts to ensure that they would not easily be able to escape.