Crossing Over Again

With Broly's return, good days arrived on Vampa as well.

Normal, delicious food brought Paragus to tears as he ate.

"Damn Vampa Spiders, never show up on my menu again!"

Paragus was so excited that he even hurled the spiders he had hunted with such difficulty toward the distant horizon.

And happy days passed quickly. More than half a month soon went by.

When Broly discovered that his Happiness Points had dwindled to only twenty thousand, Paragus realized the seriousness of the situation.

"Broly, how long until you can go to the Other World and find a wife again?"

Taking a small sip of Happy Water, Paragus asked.

"According to the Crystal Palace's prompt, if we wait for the Space-Time Energy to gather naturally, it will take five years."

Broly answered truthfully.

"Five years? Is there no better way?"

"Yes. Mobile Charging can speed up the energy collection process. Every time I run across one light-year of space, the Space-Time Energy increases by one year's worth. That's what the Crystal Palace said."

"One light-year?"

Paragus froze at those words.

"Can you take a Spaceship?"

he asked.

"No. My body has to directly come into contact with the changing space outside for it to count."

Broly replied.

Paragus was at a loss for words. It was only because they did not have a Spaceship to begin with; otherwise, he would have been even more disappointed.

"Father, is one light-year very far?"

Broly asked. He could also sense how quickly their Happiness Points were decreasing.

A Saiyan's appetite completely surpassed that of an ordinary human. Even if Food did not cost many points to exchange, the two Saiyans' unrestrained consumption was still too much to bear.

"One light-year is very far. Without a Spaceship, if you rely solely on your body to run, no Saiyan could cover such a vast distance in an entire lifetime."

The strongest Saiyan Paragus knew of was King Vegeta, but could King Vegeta travel one light-year by relying on his body alone?

Obviously not. They might be Saiyans, but Saiyans were still people, and people had limits.

Before distances measured in light-years, even Saiyans like them were incomparably insignificant.

"The Crystal Palace said this function can be upgraded with Happiness Points. Each upgrade halves the distance required for Mobile Charging."

Because of Paragus's words, the Crystal Palace provided an explanation of the Mobile Charging module that accelerated Space-Time Energy charging through movement. Broly merely repeated the information that had appeared in his mind.

"Huh? It can actually be halved?!"

Paragus was delighted, but when he remembered that the original distance was measured in light-years, he quickly calmed down.

"It's useless. Even halved, it's still an unreachable distance."

"It can be upgraded again after being halved. After upgrading, it can be halved again."

Broly continued.

"Ah, that kind of halving?"

Paragus stroked his chin and asked, "Then how are the points for upgrading calculated?"

"One Happiness Point for the first time, ten for the second, one hundred for the third, one thousand for the fourth..."

"Increases by ten to the power of N minus one? With your current Happiness Points, you can upgrade at most five times. That means reducing one light-year to one-sixteenth of the distance. It no longer sounds quite so unreachable, but it's still a terrifying distance."

After thinking for a moment, Paragus said to his son, "Broly, upgrade this function. If we can never leave Vampa in the future, then your Crystal Palace will be our hope for whether we can live happily on Vampa. And with functions like this, the earlier we improve them, the greater the benefit."

Broly was not very good at math, but he felt that running a shorter distance to speed up the collection of Space-Time Energy had to be a good thing. So he followed Paragus's suggestion, spending half of his remaining twenty thousand-plus Happiness Points to upgrade the Crystal Palace's Mobile Charging function.

Mobile Charging: Run, Host. Time flies, and when you are fast enough, you will be able to catch up to time.

Currently, every one-sixteenth of a light-year traveled can charge the Space-Time Energy Slot with one year's worth of Space-Time Energy. Current energy collection progress: 0/5. (Note: You do not need to travel one-sixteenth of a light-year before it is calculated. As long as you physically move through space, the absorption of Space-Time Energy can be accelerated.)

"Tomorrow, I'll go get some Ba Ya Blood. You can use the Ba Ya Blood and Vampa Spiders to trade for spider eggs."

Paragus suddenly said.

It was easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury back to frugality. That was their current situation. Father and son had no choice but to change their somewhat extravagant lifestyle of stuffing themselves with normal Food.

"Of course, from now on, you should eat the Food you exchange by yourself."

Paragus added, somewhat afraid that his son would lose his temper.

"We should still eat together."

However, Broly did not get angry. After eating half of his Pork Cutlet Rice Bowl, he handed the Lunchbox to Paragus.

"I'm going to charge up."

After saying that, the Boy ran outside, gathered his Qi, and flew toward the distant horizon.

Inside the cave, Paragus looked at the half-eaten box of rice his son had left behind, and something stirred in his heart.

His feelings were complicated. Family Affection among Saiyans had never been particularly strong. Savagery, selfishness, and fighting over War Trophy were commonplace. Sharing something good, even between relatives, was rare.

Paragus suddenly felt fortunate that his son had always been a boy with his own ideas. He had not turned out like an ordinary Saiyan child just because he had received traditional Saiyan upbringing at a younger age.

At that moment, Paragus, this traditional Saiyan Old Father, felt what Family Affection was. His son, who had nearly beaten him to death two years ago, no longer seemed quite so terrifying.

On Vampa, as long as no sandstorm was raging, the night sky was beautiful and pristine. Starlight fell freely upon this Barren Planet without any obstruction, and beneath that lovely nightscape, Broly flared his Qi and moved through the air.

He had no idea how long he flew. Only after fatigue and hunger gradually set in did he stop atop a mountain to rest. Just then, a blue trail streaked across the sky before dawn. Carrying a Saiyan child named Kakarot, a Spaceship passed by Vampa on its way toward Earth in this world.

In the days that followed, Broly lived a plain, unadorned life: trading spider eggs, using Mobile Charging after eating his fill, and returning to the cave to rest only when he was exhausted.

Vampa Spider eggs tasted as awful as ever. Occasionally exchanging for normal Food to share with his father became what Broly looked forward to most.

As for why he did not keep it all to himself, Broly had never thought carefully about it. He simply felt that doing so was right.

Just as when he Went To the Type-Moon World, where even his Wife had been willing to give him Food to eat, he was also happy to share Food with those around him.

Time swiftly came to Age 739. At the edge of Vampa's atmosphere, a teal figure flew around the entire planet. Its speed was terrifying, circling the planet again and again in a brief span of time.

Space-Time Energy is fully charged. Begin traversal now?

Only when the Crystal Palace, silent for two years, displayed another prompt did the teal figure stop.

Seven-year-old Broly stood half a head taller than he had at five. A teal skirt made from Ba Ya Beast Fur hung around his waist, making him look like a little wildling again.

"Whew, whew~"

He panted at the thin edge of the atmosphere as traces of golden light faded from the depths of the boy's pupils.

Over the past two years, he had pushed himself frantically to become faster, Breached his own speed limits every day.

After more than two years of hard work—nearly three years—he had finally filled the Crystal Palace's Space-Time Energy. Looking at the mere 18 Happiness Points he had left, slowly generated while his Wife was in a state of happiness, Broly felt tears welling up in his eyes.

Finally, he could set out for the Other World again and earn Happiness Points.

But before leaving, he needed to tell his father.

Broly rapidly descended. He had climbed so high only to make himself faster.

Soon, at the edge of the pit where the Ba Ya Beast usually stayed, he found his father, Paragus.

This Saiyan father was using Ba Ya Beast Fur to weave clothes for his son.

Life on Vampa was harsh, and he could not bear to let his son spend Happiness Points on anything other than Food. Thus, things like clothes had to be made by Paragus from whatever materials he could find.

Over seven years, this Saiyan father had taught himself how to weave fur garments. Though the things he made were not especially sturdy, they were already decent local Specialty Products of Vampa—handmade fur goods.

"Eh, Broly, are you planning to rest today?"

When he noticed his son arrive, Paragus asked curiously.

"Not resting. It's enough."

Because he had spent so much time flying for Mobile Charging, Broly had spoken very little over the past two years.

Now, his pronunciation sounded somewhat rusty.

"Enough?"

Paragus froze at first, then broke into delighted surprise.

With a tug, the fur garment he had yet to finish was torn apart.

"The clothes," Broly reminded him.

But Paragus waved it off.

"Who cares about clothes right now? Broly, when you traverse to the Other World this time, make sure you find Wives there. The more Wives you find, the better.

"But don't forget to raise their Happiness Value. Any enemies who dare stand in the way of you finding Wives and raising your Wives' Happiness Value—don't hesitate. Kill them all..."

Who knew how long Paragus had waited for this moment? During that time, he had constantly helped his son devise plans to maximize the Happiness Points he could obtain.

"Broly, remember this. After meeting a Wife, don't rush to bring her into the Crystal Palace. Raise the Happiness Value of every Wife you meet to the limit, then invite them into the palace when you return at the final deadline."

"Mm."

Broly listened to his father's instructions and nodded, remembering each one.

"Of course, if you encounter an overwhelmingly powerful enemy, preserving your life is the most important thing. At worst, you can come back to Vampa and gnaw on spider legs for a few more years."

Traversing the Other World—who knew what might be there? Paragus passed on to Broly the experience he had gained from visiting dangerous, unfamiliar planets in the past.

The core of that experience was that Saiyans could bend when necessary. If they truly encountered an enemy they could not handle, they should run. There was nothing shameful about it.

"Got it."

Broly agreed on the surface, but inwardly, he had no desire to gnaw on spider legs.

No matter how powerful an enemy he encountered, he would fight to the bitter end.

With that thought in mind, Broly used his remaining Happiness Points to leave Paragus a full Pork Cutlet Rice Bowl before choosing to traverse.

At the edge of Jiffonora Sea Tree Forest, Imperial Soldiers drove a group of children purchased from Slave Traders down from transport wagons.

After handing each child a small knife, a man who looked like an officer stepped onto a platform made of stacked wooden crates and shouted at the sallow, emaciated children below, "Do you want to eat your fill? Do you want to live? Both are possible here.

"See that forest over there? As long as you can make it through alive and reach the clearing at the heart of the forest, you'll get to eat your fill and stay alive."

The children looked in the direction the officer pointed. Though it was broad daylight, the forest appeared somewhat dim.

The occasional beastly roars echoing from within filled many of the children with fear, and some even burst into tears.

Most of those crying were children who had not yet received many lashes from the slave traders before being sent here directly.

"You may enter now."

The officer paid them no heed and directly gave the order.

"No, those are the sounds of Danger Beasts! I've heard them before! I'm not going in! I want to go home!"

A larger boy cried out in terror and ran away from the forest.

Bang!

A gunshot suddenly rang out. A spray of blood blossomed from the escaping boy's back, and he fell stiffly to the ground.

The boy wailed in agony, but he was not dead yet. The officer who had fired the shot jumped down from the platform and walked over.

"What an idiot. If you enter the forest, you can at least gamble on the chance that you won't encounter a Danger Beast."

The officer drew the sword at his waist and, without the slightest hesitation, chopped off the boy's head.

"I'm giving you fifteen minutes. After fifteen minutes, if anyone is still here, we'll kill them."

"Older Sister..."

Within the crowd, a little girl clung to the side of an older girl, frightened.

"Don't be afraid, Kurome. Your older sister will protect you."

Akame took her younger sister's hand and offered a word of comfort before following the crowd into the forest.

They had not gone far when a snake-like Danger Beast dropped down from a tree and bit one of the children at the front.

The children traveling together screamed and fled for their lives. Before long, they had scattered throughout the Danger Beast-infested Jiffonora Sea Tree Forest.

Akame tightly gripped her younger sister's hand and ran toward places that looked as safe as possible.

At the center of the forest, Imperial Soldiers were clearing away some Danger Beast carcasses. On a high cliff nearby, a bald man looked at the forest, where beastly roars were growing more frequent, and suddenly asked the man lying on a rock behind him, "Goeschi, how many children do you think will qualify this time?"

"Who knows? But with several hundred children thrown in there, there should be at least a few with enough potential and decent enough luck to make it out alive."

The long-haired man had a blade of grass between his lips and looked utterly unconcerned.

And he truly was unconcerned. Those children were expendable materials.

"By the way, Goeschi, what's the most children you can train?"

"Let me think... Hmm, seven at most."

"Fine. Then I'll leave the seven best-performing children to you. As for the rest who make it out, I'll take them all."

"Bill, do you really think training a group of children for assassination now will actually be useful in the future?"

Goeschi suddenly asked.

"The Empire is like a dry grassland right now, with smoke rising everywhere. But when it comes to putting out the fires, people's loyalties differ, and it's impossible to tell who the enemy is.

"Still, if we train assassins to put out those fires, they should be of some use eventually."

The bald man replied.

"But at their age, it'll take at least seven or eight years to train them to the point where they can be useful. By then, the Empire might not even exist anymore."

"Haha, Goeschi, I think you're worrying too much. No matter how corrupt it becomes, the Empire has endured for a thousand years. It can't just collapse within the next few years, can it?"

"I hope so."

Goeschi spat out the blade of grass and drew his sword as he turned around.

A bird-like Danger Beast that had swooped down from the sky, having taken him for prey, was sliced in two—claws and body alike—by the Demon Sword in his hand.

"As expected of someone who came from the Rakshasa Four Demons."

Seeing this, Bill offered a word of praise.