Family reunion and dimensional secrets
After leaving the institute, Ian returned to Floating City. Morgana informed him that others had woken up and took Merlin's medicine to heal their injuries.
"Are you okay?"
"We're fine," Hermione replied, "Oh. This is truly an unforgettable experience."
Snape nodded in agreement. After all, how many people in this world can boast that they have fought with the Almighty God (Jehovah) and not only survived, but even injured him?
This is truly a unique experience.
"When is the next sailing?" Snape asked.
"It depends on the success of Akashic Records Project and after the matter of Interstellar Federation is dealt with. So, it won't take too long."
Snape nodded. Ian then looked at Lily.
"Are you sure you're okay? You look distracted."
"No, I just think it's all too unreal; that's all." She was lying, or at least not telling the whole truth. This return made her realize that she had to make a decision about her love life.
Rather, she had made her decision and just needed to have an honest conversation with a few people.
However, she's not looking forward to dealing with the trouble that comes with it.
If it were up to her, Lily would rather continue doing research. But some things must be done.
Ian guessed what she was thinking. He could only say that as Snape's wingman, he had done his best.
The rest is out of his control.
So, he looked at Hermione and said, "Let's go home. I have contacted Rowena and Luna. They should have gone back now. Have you called your parents?"
Hermione showed a wry smile on his face, "They said they were very busy."
Thinking of Hermione's parents, Ian couldn't help but smile awkwardly, because his relationship with these two people was a bit complicated.
First, they did not approve of his polygamous lifestyle.
In their opinion, their daughter deserves a man who only loves her wholeheartedly.
However, over the years, they have slowly accepted this fact.
Despite this, they rarely appear at family dinners or parties.
They are willing to have dinner with Ian's parents, but if a large family gets together, they will refuse to attend.
The strange thing is that when only Ian and Hermione went to visit them, they didn't mind and were even quite kind to him. Of course, they always hinted that he should make Hermione his queen.
According to the law, Empire does not have an official queen, and all partners have the status of queen or concubine.
However, on an unofficial level, Rowena is recognized as the queen, and she usually performs the duties of the position.
This is not only because she is the oldest, but also because she is the strongest.
When it came to the decision on this matter, Ian wisely chose not to interfere and let them decide on their own.
Shaking his head to get rid of these distracting thoughts, the two teleported back to the palace.
As soon as Ian appeared, his mother Joanna jumped into his arms and hugged him.
"It's only been three years," Ian said, hugging her back.
"Three years is too long."
His father just patted him on the shoulder. Then everyone arrived one after another and the dinner started.
The atmosphere at the dinner table was quite lively. Hermione and Ian talked about their experiences during this trip: from the initial arrival and meeting Frank and Lilith, to experiencing the plot of <The Mummy>, to traveling through the parallel universe, and finally the shocking battle with Jehovah.
"Looks like you guys did have a big adventure," Amelia commented.
"It's too dangerous," Joanna added, "You should be more careful in the future."
"What I'm more curious about is, which woman did you bring back this time?" Rowena asked, glaring at him.
"Not one."
"I don't believe it," Pheobe and Bellatrix said in unison.
"I swear. If you don't believe me, ask Hermione. I behaved very well the whole time."
Everyone's eyes were instantly focused on Hermione. "Although it is unbelievable, he is telling the truth this time."
In fact, throughout the entire journey, Ian was really attracted to only one person: Zi Yuan.
Unfortunately, she was loyal to her husband and Ian didn't even have a chance.
As for Chloe, there is only a teacher-student relationship between them.
Although Ian is a person with a weak sense of morality and does not mind the unequal power relationship, he still knows how to exercise restraint.
Okay, that's a little lie; they did sleep together once, but both agreed that it was a purely physical relationship and wouldn't happen again.
"What a magical miracle," Luna commented.
"You have to trust me more," Ian said helplessly, and then looked at his aunt, "You have to arrange the people I bring back. Their memories have been modified."
"No problem. Our population has increased dramatically recently, so we have become very skilled at accommodating large numbers of immigrants."
"Oh, what happened?"
"Yes. Milky Way Galaxy seems to be in turmoil, and many places have begun selling slaves in large quantities to reduce the burden. We bought a large number through Dumbledore."
"Is everything going well?"
"Some Council members wanted to give these people second-class citizenship like Fae, but I vetoed it. Everyone gets free life and full rights."
"However, it will take some time to change their previous thinking patterns and concepts to adapt to the Empire. Therefore, they are temporarily in isolation until they complete their education through Skynet."
"You did the right thing," Ian said. The reason why Fae was designated as a second-class citizen was purely to wash away their hostility, and more importantly, to scare the monkeys.
In the future, only those races that harbor deep hatred for the Empire will receive this kind of treatment.
"I have a question that I really want to know," Olivier suddenly said, "You said you were close to death. How did it feel?"
"Why do you ask this suddenly?"
"That's the answer."
Ian paused. "To be honest, after thinking about it carefully, I found that I only felt calm."
"Apathy?"
"Cousin, this sounds very worrying," Susan said.
"She's right, son," the father also said.
"No, it's not what you think. I always thought that I was as afraid of death as Voldemort, so I prepared so many Resurrection means just in case."
"But now I realize that if death is really unavoidable, I will feel calm about the final outcome and accept it calmly. I will never actively seek death, but if it is inevitable, if all my efforts are of no avail, I will accept it."
"As long as your mental state is normal," Amelia said, "Always remember that there are still people who love you and are counting on you. To be honest, without you, this Empire will collapse faster than anyone can say 'Oh, Merlin'."
Everyone at the table nodded, but Olivier didn't seem satisfied.
"I'm still a little worried. Why do you feel this way? Is there a reason?"
"The reason? Probably because I have already died once."
"What did you say?"
"Oh, didn't I tell you about Primordial Earth? I think there is no need to hide it now. Anyway, you will be involved in these troubles sooner or later. Why not be mentally prepared now."
Then, Ian told them about his death and reincarnation, old Merlin and Solomon, Primordial Earth, and the war that may break out in the future.
"This dinner contains too much information," Amelia said, rubbing his temples.
"Wait, so what you're saying is that we are just characters in a book?" Susan shouted with some collapse, "And that author, that J. K. Rowling is essentially God, who not only created us, but also Overlord determined our destiny?"
"Don't worry about these little details," Ian replied.
"This is no small detail! I'm beginning to doubt the meaning of my existence."
"It's not as simple as you said," Ian explained, looking at his cousin who was about to have a nervous breakdown.
"Many of the stories on Primordial Earth were not created by the author, but the universe itself exists, but some people over there are connected to these stories through dreams or imagination."
"As for whether our universe was created or existed originally, I'm not sure. Moreover, even if it was created, the author can only control the main timeline and cannot affect us here."
Susan was relieved, but still not happy.
"If you are so worried, then try to reach Twelfth Tier. Then I can take you to Primordial Earth. That way you can not only control your own destiny, but you can even meet the author and talk to her."
"Is it really possible? You didn't lie to me, did you?" Susan asked.
"This is what Merlin told me. The minimum requirement to return to Primordial Earth is Twelfth Tier."
"No problem. Isn't it Twelfth Tier?"
Although the others knew that the matter was not as simple as Ian said - especially the other peer issues involved when reaching Eleventh Tier - they did not say anything.
They don't want to discourage the little girl; it's always good to have motivation.
"What about your parents over there, are they okay?" Joanna asked; she didn't care that Ian was the reincarnation.
As far as she knew, had it not been for Ian, she, her husband and sons would have been doomed to die in First Wizarding War.
"I have asked Merlin to send a clone of my body to take care of them. With a little knowledge brought from the Empire, it should not be a problem for them to live a healthy life with no worries about food and clothing."
"That's good."