I Am the System Creator

Alicia immediately realized she had said the wrong thing and quickly spoke up.

"It's okay..." Hayate's previous dejection vanished, replaced by an optimistic smile.

"How about this, why don't Hayate and I take you home and we can also freeload a meal?"

Alicia hurried over to Hayate's side and grabbed the armrest of her wheelchair.

"Hayate, you can't refuse! You just said we're friends! You've always been alone, right? Now I know where you live, so I can come over and eat often. You can also consider us your family..."

Hayate didn't refuse, she just quietly listened to Alicia's words.

Hayate didn't find the rambling of this first-time friend annoying at all; instead, she felt a special warmth.

Chu Chen followed behind with a light chuckle, unable to help but inwardly comment on how inexplicable the friendship between girls could be.

They had just met, and already they were talking about going to each other's homes. It was truly...

Chapter 49: Yagami Hayate: Alicia, can I touch your... hair?

On the way to Yagami Hayate's home, Chu Chen silently informed Fate and Precia.

Chu Chen had basically learned this telepathic communication after a brief attempt; it wasn't difficult to learn.

Although Alicia might not be home for lunch, which could disappoint Precia, she wasn't so attached to her daughter that she'd keep Alicia locked by her side. After all, everything that needed to be said had been said last night.

Moreover, there was nothing on Earth that could threaten Alicia. Perhaps knowing this, Precia felt very reassured. Besides the Seed of the Holy Stone, there were no other dangerous things on this Earth.

Besides, Nanoha and Fate were already collecting the Seeds of the Holy Stone, so there was no need for them to worry.

Chu Chen and Alicia held the wheelchair's armrests and brought Hayate home.

Along the way, Chu Chen also silently marked Hayate. As long as his system was completed, everything would be fine!

"Alicia, where are you from? Judging by your name, you don't seem to be from this country."

Hayate asked Alicia with great curiosity, and the answer Alicia gave was bound to leave Hayate bewildered.

"Um... I'm from Mid Childa..."

This wasn't entirely wrong. Precia was originally a mage from Mid Childa, but because of Alicia's death, Precia had been searching for ancient secret arts to revive Alicia. However, these secret arts were now considered forbidden arts.

No matter the world, any spell for resurrecting the dead was definitely the ultimate forbidden art.

The Impure World Reincarnation from the Naruto World was the best example.

Look at how many graves in the Naruto World were dug up just to perform an Impure World Reincarnation!

It was hard to argue why such secret arts that disturbed the dead shouldn't be forbidden... although they were indeed very useful!

"Mid Childa? I've never heard of it..." Hayate blinked slightly.

Her memory didn't contain any country named Mid Childa. Regardless, there were so many countries in this world that Hayate couldn't possibly remember all hundreds of them, so it was normal for her not to know.

"Mr. Chu Chen? Your name sounds like it's from a major country across the sea..."

"Yes... If Hayate wants to hear about my hometown, I'd be happy to tell you..."

Chu Chen also liked Hayate very much, but seeing how close Alicia was to her earlier, he didn't want to interrupt.

Along the way, Hayate and Alicia chatted happily, while Chu Chen helped push the wheelchair.

Chu Chen was happy to be a tool for their enjoyable conversation.

By the way, Hayate's house was quite close to Nanoha's house. The house was very ordinary, not a so-called mansion, but it didn't look so impoverished that they had to worry about money...

"Would you like something to drink?" After putting down the vegetable basket, Hayate looked at the two of them, a little nervous.

"I'm sorry, this is my first time bringing friends to my home. Please excuse me if the hospitality is not up to par!"

"It's okay! We're friends, so there's no need to be so formal!"

Alicia put her hands on her hips, looking like she didn't care about anything.

Chu Chen also chuckled, but his gaze was carefully surveying the surroundings of the house.

There was something in Hayate's house that caught Chu Chen's attention: the Book of the Night Sky!

"Perhaps I should employ some special means at this moment..."

Although Caster King Solomon's Item Creation was only C-rank, it was specialized for contracts. Therefore, Chu Chen could use it to transfer the contract of the Book of Darkness to himself, while it would still appear to belong to Hayate.

Linus to me, and Little Lin and the Four Knights to Hayate. Wouldn't that be better? It's better for Hayate to raise the children!

As for the curse of the Book of Darkness, I'm sorry, but with my maxed-out magic resistance, I'm simply amazing!

After looking around Hayate's house, Chu Chen, who knew where the Book of Darkness was, went next to Hayate, who was about to start cooking. Watching Hayate cook, Chu Chen frowned slightly. He didn't have the habit of letting children cook.

"Hayate, go play with Alicia. Leave this to me..."

As he said this, Chu Chen intended to take the kitchen knife from Hayate's hand, but—

"No, how can I let a guest help me cook..." Hayate quickly shook her head.

"You silly girl, I'm an adult here, it's not your turn to cook. Or are you afraid I'll make some culinary disaster and you won't dare to eat it?" A playful smile appeared on Chu Chen's face.

A flustered expression appeared on Hayate's face, and she instinctively loosened her grip on the kitchen knife.

"Of course not... How could I dislike the food Mr. Chu Chen makes..."

"Don't call me Mr. Chu Chen anymore. It feels like you're making me sound older. Let's go with Chu Chen big brother. Alicia and Alicia's sister both call me that! It's decided then..."

"Mmm... Chu Chen big brother..." Since Chu Chen had said it, Hayate could only respond to him like this. Alicia, meanwhile, chuckled and pushed Hayate's wheelchair.

"Hehe, I knew Chu Chen big brother would let you come down, Hayate..."

Alicia said with a light laugh, sitting down beside Hayate.

Hayate couldn't help but glance over, then curiously asked Alicia, "Hey, Alicia, how do you know Mr. Chu Chen... big brother?"

Hayate, who had no older brother, was still a little unaccustomed to the term "big brother."

"This... it's because of some special circumstances. Big brother saved my life back then, so Mom very enthusiastically hosted Chu Chen big brother, which led to Chu Chen big brother taking me out to play... Yep! That's how it happened!"

Alicia tried her best not to mention the word "System." Also, not wanting to hide anything from her friend, Alicia recounted the events between herself and Chu Chen as they truly happened.

Hayate nodded slightly, not overly keen on digging into the details of Chu Chen and Alicia's past.

However, Hayate did bring up another matter, which was—

"Um... Alicia, can I touch your..."

Hayate's gaze first swept over Alicia's chest, seemingly with a hint of disappointment. Her gaze then shifted to Alicia's golden hair before she continued.

"Can I touch your hair?"

Chu Chen: "..."

Chu Chen, who had just walked over, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow upon hearing this.

Hayate, you've changed! Shouldn't you have asked if you could touch my chest?

However, after a quick glance at Alicia's flat chest, Chu Chen let out a sigh.

She's like a flat board, not much to touch!

Alicia: "I feel like I've been offended!"

Chapter 50: Chu Chen Has Other Ideas

At this moment, Chu Chen was half-crouching, his right hand resting on Hayate's legs, looking as if he were taking advantage of her.

In reality—

It was mainly because Alicia, worried about Hayate's legs, had asked Chu Chen to examine Hayate's condition.

Of course, to enhance his credibility, Alicia had even put on a little magical acrobatics to demonstrate her status as a Magister. However, what left Chu Chen speechless was that Hayate was only slightly surprised.

Are the children in this world this carefree? In the original story, Nanoha's two good friends were also surprisingly carefree after getting involved in the incident. It seems the psychological resilience of children in anime is truly remarkable.

Now that she believed Alicia and Chu Chen possessed extraordinary abilities, Hayate couldn't help but feel a flicker of anticipation.

Chu Chen had indeed thoroughly examined Hayate. In fact, if he simply gave Hayate Magic Resistance EX, her legs would likely be mostly healed. After all, it was due to the Book of Darkness that Hayate's legs were in this state.

Of course, Chu Chen could also use "Rule Breaker" to directly sever Hayate's connection with the Book of Darkness, and then Hayate's legs would gradually recover. However...

The main reason Chu Chen chose to let Hayate have the apparent contract with the Book of Darkness and have the Four Knights stay by Hayate's side was that it wasn't suitable for them to stay by his side. Hayate's personality was more suited to making the Four Knights feel like they had a home.

All he wanted was the power of the Book of the Night Sky. Just as every mage has the heart of a warrior, the reverse is also true; every warrior secretly desires to be a mage...

However, seeing Hayate's current state, Chu Chen had some other ideas...

Why can't I resolve this matter in advance? I could take the Book of the Night Sky now and let the Four Knights stay by Hayate's side to protect her. As for Hayate's power, I don't need to worry. I've already prepared a Check-in System for Hayate, so she basically won't lack power in the future... But I still need to get Hayate's opinion...

Of course, the primary reason for doing so was that Chu Chen didn't have much time to stay here and didn't want to spend too much thought on these matters.

After all, the numerous conflicts in the original story were mainly due to information gaps...

If Nanoha and Fate could have met Hayate earlier, gotten closer, and then shared information about the Book of the Night Sky with her, explaining things clearly, there wouldn't have been so many troublesome issues...

"Hayate, the reason your legs have become like this is mainly due to a vast amount of curse-like magic eroding your body, thereby stealing your originally healthy bodily functions. The medical standards of this world are incapable of treating your legs. As long as we sever the connection between you and the magic of this curse... it's that book in your room!"

"That book? What's wrong with that book?" As she said this, Hayate, with a look of confusion, took down the Book of Darkness from her room. She truly couldn't imagine how a book could have such an effect on her.

"In the endless dimensional worlds, there are countless dangerous items. Can you imagine a small item, like a stone, possessing the terrifying magic to destroy an entire world? You mustn't underestimate it just because it's a book! This book's name is the Book of the Night Sky. Of course, it has another, more famous name: the Book of Darkness!"

As he said this, Chu Chen looked at Alicia.

"If you ask Alicia's mother—Aunt Precia—about this name, perhaps she will know a lot!"

"Book of Darkness?" Alicia and Hayate tilted their heads, completely bewildered.

Silently, Chu Chen proceeded to educate the two before him.

"The Book of the Night Sky was originally created as a grimoire that traveled with its master, intended for the collection and research of the techniques of great Magisters from various worlds. However, due to modifications made by a certain past owner, it transformed into the Book of Darkness, which now possesses a terrifying reputation."

"Due to the changes in its magical programming, its world-traveling function and its ability to automatically repair damaged data became uncontrollable. It then evolved into 'Reincarnation' and 'Infinite Regeneration.' Furthermore, the Book of Darkness has a total of six hundred and sixty-six pages, and its pages are replenished by stealing the magic and magical aptitude of Magisters or other creatures. When the last page is filled, the Book of Darkness's collection will be complete. It will then use the absorbed magic as a medium, and all collected magic can be utilized by the Book of Darkness, unleashing its true power—a power great enough to cause dimensional interference phenomena."

"But the most terrifying aspect is the change in its nature with its master. If it doesn't collect within a certain period, it will begin to erode the master's own magic and magical aptitude. Once the Book of Darkness is completed, it will drain the master's entire magic and use it for rampant destruction. Once the destruction begins, the Book of Darkness's berserk power will erode the master's strength, devouring their existence. Therefore, no past master has met a good end."

Alicia couldn't help but gasp, while Hayate showed a hint of sympathy.

Originally, it was a book that accompanied its master on journeys, but it turned into this...

Moreover, faintly, a girl with long silver hair emerged in Hayate's mind.

That girl always watched her whenever she fell asleep. Despite having such a beautiful face, why did she always wear such a sad expression? Why... was she always crying?

Hayate understood to some extent… subconsciously, she clutched the book in her hands tighter…

"Since Chu Chen-niichan said it, he must have a way…"

Even though it was their first meeting, Hayate was surprised by how much she trusted him.

But she didn't dislike this feeling; once she decided someone was her friend, she would definitely trust them.

Chu Chen took out his "Rule Breaker" and then—

"This small knife in my hand can sever all magic, even magical contracts. As long as I make a cut on the Book of the Night Sky with this, I can directly break the contract between you and it. This way, your connection to the Book of the Night Sky will be completely severed, and it won't continue to erode your body… How about it?"

Upon hearing this, Alicia quickly nodded. She didn't want her friend to end up like this because of the magical device.

However, Hayate hesitated for a moment and slowly asked Chu Chen before her.

"Then what will happen to this book? Will this child… repeat that kind of sorrow?"

Chu Chen couldn't help but let out a wry smile. This girl was something else, thinking about such things at a time like this.

"The contract will transfer to me. My magic resistance is maxed out, so the erosion from the Book of Darkness is completely useless against me. You can rest assured about that. Now, it's up to whether Hayate, you can bear to part with it…"

Chu Chen didn't hide his intentions. He definitely had his eyes on the Book of the Night Sky.

Suddenly, Hayate fell silent, her gaze lingering on the Book of Darkness in her arms for a moment.

Chu Chen didn't say anything more, just waited silently for Hayate's answer.

Alicia also knew that it wasn't the time for her to say more, so she just stood by.

After a long while, Hayate looked at Chu Chen.

Then, she nodded.

Chu Chen immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Under Hayate's gaze, he plunged the "Rule Breaker" in his hand into the Book of Darkness.