"… You guys are noisy," Leon sighed. "I should have known you two aren"t the type who can keep secrets…"

"The h.e.l.l are you talking about?" Yuki asked. "Why would you die?"

"What kind of joke is this, Leon?" Ren asked.

"It"s not a joke; I just have some information that makes me believe that I will die," Leon explained. "Why, how, and when I don"t know. I"m only sure that it will happen, that is why I hurried to create those rings."

What kind of information is that?" Yuki asked.

"I cannot tell," Leon said. "No matter what, I cannot tell."

If Leon reveals more than that, perhaps soon everyone would forget his death since something far worse could happen. Certain things can"t be played with no matter what, and Leon didn"t want to risk anything, only his life since he was already in dire straits.

"It"s because of cause and effect law…" Yuki concluded. "Are you certain that you will die?"

"I"m not that certain… it is just the most obvious outcome." Leon explained. "If I"m lucky, maybe I will just disappear."

"Disappear to where?" Yuki asked.

"… Do you enjoy putting me into a difficult spot all that much?" Leon frowned.

"A little… anyway, how can you just disappear?" Yuki frowned. "You can fly over big distances in an hour, the only way to disappear is if you get lost in another world by using the purple crystal. In that case, you just need to avoid dungeons."

"You are so naïve… the possibilities of how I can disappear are endless." Leon sighed. "You just can"t imagine because our knowledge of magic is still small… Anyway, if I can avoid it, I will, but I don"t think I can. So, I"m counting you two to watch over my family and friends in case something happens to me… by the way, don"t tell the contents of this conversation to anyone. Well, you can tell them if something big happens soon after I disappear."

"Hah… I don"t know what to think about this anymore." Yuki sighed. "You look like a spooked child who just woke up after having a nightmare. Anyway, I also intend to help my allies, so I won"t just stand and watch if something happens to your family and friends."

"Yes, you can count on me, since you helped me a lot," Ren said.

"… Thank you for understanding my position." Leon smiled.

Leon left Tokyo and flew toward Las Vegas. That voice bothered him since the first time he heard it, and after hearing such ominous things, Leon couldn"t help but work himself almost to death to prevent any regret. Leon wished that he had more time to create good magic items for everyone, but in order to create those rings that would keep them alive while also giving them the chance to grow, Leon had to consume the mana of the other magic items he created. Besides, too powerful magic items would make them stand out too much; something small and less flashy like rings was the best option. When Leon returned, everyone was having dinner. Since he appeared so suddenly, they looked at him, surprised.

"Brother! You arrived at a good time!" Amanda got up and smiled. "Look, for a change of pace, I made a lemon pie! It is your favorite, right? Join us."

"Sorry, I"m a bit tired, so I"m going to pa.s.s." Leon showed an apologetic smile. "Here, I made those for you guys."

"The world is really ending…" Hector said. "Leon just refused to eat a lemon pie… Holy c.r.a.p! How did you manage to create those rings?"

"Unbelievable… we don"t have to meditate anymore?" Betty asked, shocked.

"Yes, I got lucky when I found those effects," Leon answered. "Anyway, this will help a lot of muscle heads like you and Hector."

"What did you say?!" Betty got up.

"Thank you for the gifts, Leon, I will treasure them." Sasha smiled.

"Thank you for everything, master," Gisela said.

"It was nothing; I wish I had time to create weapons and defensive gear���" Leon said. "But I guess that will have to wait for the next time."

Are you fine giving that to me?" Lennart asked. "I"m pretty sure I don"t deserve something like this…"

"That"s true, we only know each other for a while, and you didn"t do all that much to earn my trust," Leon said. "But you can show me that you deserve those rings from today onward."

"Got it." Lennart nodded.

"I"m going to sleep now… ah, give this to Maya when you see fit, Amanda." Leon said and pa.s.sed another ring to his little sister. "I bet she will find it more enjoyable flying alone than with me."

Steel Ring V (Wind)

It grants you the skill Fly Lv 50

"Brother, you are scaring me now…" Amanda said.

"Sorry… see you guys later." Leon forced a smile.

Leon headed to his room, the most boring place in Amanda"s house since it only had a bed, a closet, a table, and a chair. None of those had been used since the time Leon arrived at Las Vegas. Even the bed, Leon, most spent his nights sleeping on the floor… but that day, he was so tired that he felt the tension fading away the moment he threw himself on the bed.

"I did everything I could… now I don"t have to worry anymore, right?"

Leon understood the meaning behind those words the moment he heard them. He wouldn"t be around forever, so he had to find a way to help his family and friends while he can to make sure that they would survive even without his help. He was satisfied with what he had done, even though they probably couldn"t exert the same influence Leon had, they will eventually have the power to do, he was sure of it because he already saw with his own eyes their potential.

"… Now what? I just have to wait?"

The hooded figure warned him about a possible future, something that would happen, which was beyond his control. That was why that person warned him to work hard to change that possible future…

Regardless, while Leon was waiting for something to happen, he fell asleep. However, when he woke up, he wasn"t on Earth anymore. The owner of the voice was right again, he wouldn"t be around forever, and Leon had no idea when he would return…