I Ran Away

Space racing.

Rapid gathering.

Rush-order potion brewing.

All that race-against-time effort ultimately earned him no honor, praise, or smiles—only a cold "Get lost."

Is this... is this how cold a non-AI world is...?

I really am still too immature.

This real world is far crueler than I imagined!

"Cold, cold icy rain..."

"Cough, cough! Sorry, I got a little too worked up just now. You're back?"

Seeing that AI Rick was clearly in a bad mood, Morty realized he had been too emotional and quickly walked over. One hand pressed down on the other's shoulder while the other rested on the Magic Potion bottle.

Then he explained softly, "To stall for time, I pretended I was going to get married. Don't take it too seriously."

At that, the utterly despairing expression on AI Rick's face vanished at lightning speed, replaced by an incredibly grave look.

"I have something to say too. Idh-yaa isn't dead. We panicked for nothing. She just gave birth, so she was lying on the snowy mountain to rest."

Morty said, "What?! What are you talking about? Why didn't you say that earlier??? Didn't you say she was dead?! Do you know how far I went for this?!"

AI Rick said, "She was at least dozens of kilometers away, completely motionless, and there was some unknown liquid around her. Wouldn't anyone think she was dead at first glance?"

Cthulhu said, "What are you two talking about?"

At some point, Cthulhu had sidled up beside them. He eyed Morty suspiciously, then looked at AI Rick with equal confusion.

Because AI Rick looked exactly like Cthulhu Rick.

Both had Cthulhu's standard art style—octopus faces.

So Cthulhu was very familiar with that face!

Yet many subtle differences in his body language made Cthulhu feel that the person before him was not Cthulhu Rick, but another Cthulhu Rick.

Having already learned from Rick that countless worlds contained countless Ricks, he was not too surprised by AI Rick's sudden appearance.

But the two of them were acting so sneaky.

They were clearly hiding something from him!

Someone died, someone had a child...

Wait...

Wasn't there something wrong with this whole situation?

Seeing that Cthulhu was becoming suspicious, Morty acted first. He took the Magic Potion and stuffed it into Cthulhu's hand, then aimed the Portal Gun in another direction and fired.

After pulling AI Rick through the portal, he did not forget to add—

"This potion can get rid of the child in Cthylla's belly!"

"You and I part ways here. May we never meet again!!!"

When the portal vanished, Cthulhu looked at the Magic Potion in his hand and finally connected everything that had just happened.

"Damn it! Everyone, follow me to Sothoth Star!!!"

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Morty had not even caught his breath when he saw that Rick had already captured AI Rick—not with his hands, but by trapping him inside some kind of electromagnetic energy cage.

Before he could even figure out what was happening, he had already become a prisoner.

AI Rick gave a bitter smile. "We're both Ricks. Why treat one of your own like this?"

Rick shot him a glare. He did not say a word, but his expression said everything.

Who the hell is one of your own?

Dream on!

Does that mean my AI can call me brother too?

Do you have any damn self-awareness at all?

Then he dragged Morty into the garage.

Morty obediently entered the garage, but before he could report what had happened over there, he saw his biological father and mother standing there in a fury.

"Morty! Starting today, you're grounded! For one whole month!"

"Other than school, you're not going anywhere!"

Morty said, "Am I not awake yet, or am I still in the Cthulhu World? Why are you two..."

Next, Morty learned from Rick what had just happened.

A few minutes earlier, when his mother came home from work, she saw the footage on the television in the living room and nearly had a heart attack.

Her precious son was actually adventuring in another world. She had already experienced that sort of thing countless times.

But such an evil world...

A world that radiated madness from every corner...

It was the first time she had ever seen one.

Those indescribable monsters, their hundred-meter-tall bodies, the way a single glance from them made her feel as if she had fallen into an icy abyss...

And her son was actually chatting and laughing with them?

No matter how much parents wanted their children to succeed...

No parent wanted their child to chat and laugh with Cthulhu!

So what came next was perfectly clear.

Grounded for one month. Get an A on your exams, and only then could he go adventuring again.

Otherwise, even if Rick threw a tantrum, he could forget about taking Morty away from her!

Jerry said, "Go, Beth!"

So Morty, who had been in the Cthulhu World just minutes ago, learned that he would now have to face an unbearably boring month of school life...

"Sigh..."

"Sigh!"

Once Beth and Jerry left—

Morty and Rick sighed at the same time.

It was the first time Morty had been able to choose which world he wanted to adventure in himself. He had never expected that after his first self-directed adventure—

he would be facing such punishment.

But he had brought back two incredible treasures!

The Book of Eibon!

The Silent Sword!

Morty could not use the former in his own world.

But the latter? It was the Godslayer Sword!

Forged by Cthulhu Rick, it was, in every sense, a child's first endgame god-tier piece of equipment!

SSS-ranked.

It had targeted attack effects against soul-type creatures!

Having finally obtained his first weapon, Morty thought of this and tossed aside his frustration over being grounded for a month.

Who cared about all that?

Having god-tier gear in hand was something real!

But just as Morty was about to leave, Rick stopped him.

"What?"

"Give me the Portal Gun."

"Heh! At your age, isn't it normal to forget one or two things?"

Morty's little attempt to take the Portal Gun with him was exposed on the spot by Rick.

After handing over the gun, Morty left with the book and sword.

Once he was gone—

Rick threw the Portal Gun onto the floor and crushed it beneath his foot.

Because that Portal Gun had been made in a rush, it could only travel to the Cthulhu World. To him—

it was a disposable item.

Yet he still had no intention of leaving it with Morty.

Because according to his plan, he was unwilling to let such a one-of-a-kind Morty leave his side.

Only by keeping Morty firmly under his control could he be satisfied.

Still, compared to the hypocrites of the Citadel of Ricks—

Rick felt that he was at least an honest villain.

At the very least, he had never intended to raise Morty like a pig.

Everything he taught him was real and practical.

This time, without his protection, Morty had indeed completed every challenge alone according to the plan Rick had laid out.

Otherwise, that planet was so huge.

AI Rick had so many places he could have hidden—so why had he specifically hidden in Arkham Town?

Wasn't it so Morty could stand in as a replacement Rick?

It was just that the ending...

Had not been handled well!

He had not expected Morty to go so far as to marry Enke's two sisters just to delay Cthulhu's journey to Sothoth Star.

That had disrupted the explosive storyline that was supposed to unfold after Cthulhu reached Sothoth Star.

"As expected, there's still even greater potential to be uncovered!"

"Although this attempt to crush his confidence failed—"

"We'll have another contest soon enough!"