Chương 84

And unlike the times when he had gained access to more chakra and other bodies from his own origin world, he felt much calmer this time. Unlike pain or dizziness, there was nothing but warmth and vitality. Thor meanwhile was still looking at him with curiosity.

"You look strange."

"I feel strange." That was the best way Rei could describe it. But he knew that he had fundamentally changed.

"So now I can go to your place?" Thor asked.

"Yes, you can, but right now is not a good time to arrive in our world. We have chunin exams on the horizon and one of the biggest criminals of our home is lurking around. So after this problem is over, I will invite you myself." Rei said.

"A criminal? Don't you want my help in catching him?" Thor was excited as he thought he could go and help Rei catch a criminal and thus would actually be able to pay him back for the help that Rei had provided before. Rei could only roll his eyes. If this guy was required to catch a criminal, then it was better to just close shop and be done for the day.

"No.. We will handle it ourselves. I will call you when the coast is clear." Rei said. Right now Rei didn't want to handle the logistics nightmare that would occur once Thor was in his origin world, as that would be both a funny affair and a massive headache. Thor got deflated a bit but he was okay with waiting for his first travel, and thus later both of them returned to the banquet. Team 7 had immediately noticed the change in Rei after the return.

Thankfully, the clothes he was wearing, which were Asgardian attire, fit him well and didn't look like stretched clothes over the new muscles. And Sakura also noticed that Rei had become a bit more handsome. Not only in the muscle department but also in the face department. It was very subtle but Sakura felt it when she saw Rei. It was as if she was having butterflies in her stomach.

She had always been after Sasuke since the beginning, but once she had joined Team 7, she had started to realize that Rei was the brightest of them all. And the way things were, Rei would only continue to shine brighter in the future. But the new feelings that came budding in Sakura made her embarrassed as she had always been after Sasuke and if she changed her attraction that would be like cheating on her supposed boyfriend. For the first time in a very long time, she felt her own morality was failing her a bit.

Though she wasn't that self-aware to understand and diagnose her own feelings, it did force her to think beyond Sasuke for the first time in her life. The influence of two worlds had started to finally leave its imprint on her as she had started to introspect her own life, and maybe this would lead to a different world story in the future. Rei, of course, had no idea what was going on in the mind of Sakura, and even if he did, he wouldn't care either way. He never saw her as more than a friend who was flawed.

Meanwhile, Kakashi had returned from meeting Odin and he too noticed the change in Rei and congratulated him discreetly.

"So you want me to send Harry to another adventure inside his own school?" Laura couldn't help but frown a bit when Rei was explaining the story.

"Yeah, a story needs an antagonist, and in this book it will be about a Basilisk." Stolen story; please report. Laura stared at him for several seconds after hearing that.

"A giant snake?"

"A giant magical snake." Rei corrected.

"That somehow lives inside a school."

"Yes."

"And nobody notices."

"Correction. They do notice, but once you do, you are half dead." Laura pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You really like making children suffer, don't you? Just like your friends." Rei didn't pay attention to the last tease and just continued.

"The Chamber of Secrets is supposed to be a mystery first and an adventure second. Harry shouldn't immediately know what is happening. Strange attacks start occurring around the school, students begin getting petrified and everyone starts suspecting different people."

"That actually sounds interesting."

"It is. More importantly, you need to make the diary suspicious."

"The diary?"

"Yes, make sure to make it seem as if the diary is special. It will tie up in the story much later down the line."

"How special?" Laura was intrigued now, but Rei didn't add more to the story. It was good to keep her in the dark, as it would stop affecting her way of writing. Rei had returned the next day after the banquet with the rest of Team 7 and Kakashi returned back to their origin world while Rei chose to be here. After what he had done in the second phase of the exam, it was better to lay low in the origin world. In fact, Rei was also doing so for the safety of his parents.

He had always been a bit paranoid and so he had his father and mother keep an eye around and if there was any source of danger they should escape to the MCU to save themselves, even if they were in Konoha. This was Orochimaru and Danzo they were talking about. They would do anything to achieve their ambitions. Thus he was on standby in the MCU to make sure his parents were safe and there would be a response if anything went to shit in the origin world.

Not that Rei was required to be in the MCU to make sure that they would travel to the MCU in times of emergency, but Rei wanted to be there if they needed any medical attention. Confronting Orochimaru while making him know about his identity was kind of stupid, but there was no other way to get around that.

So he was here in this world, and while he was getting used to the new strength which needed more delicate handling rather than raw practice, which was for his chakra control, Rei had decided to give Laura the second book. She had just arrived from a book tour of the first one and in the interviews she had promised to deliver the second one. So Rei didn't mind sitting down and talking to her about the second book. Laura meanwhile felt like she was living in a dream.

She had not expected a children's book to become a phenomenon. More than six months had passed since Rei had first described the story to her. With a complete blueprint already laid out before her, the actual writing process had been far easier than Project Hail Mary. Three months of work, revisions and edits later, the manuscript had landed on the desks of her publishers. Thanks to the success of her previous novel, they trusted her enough to push the project forward quickly.

Another three months later, the book finally released. [A/N: It probably takes more time but let's assume that it was fast here since Rei had already told her the whole story] And then the madness began. The first week exceeded expectations. The second week shattered them. By the end of the month bookstores were struggling to keep copies on shelves as children, teenagers and even adults became obsessed with the story of a young wizard attending a magical school. Reviews poured in from every direction.

Parents were buying copies for their children. Teachers were recommending it. Book clubs were discussing it. The publishers watched the numbers climb higher and higher and slowly came to a horrifying realization. She was printing money faster than she could count, and this made her both proud and happy. Rei was their golden goose and now they would probably defend him more than Rei's actual parents. But of course, the couple knew who was the boss here and thus they always respected her.

Rei was having a good time discussing things with Laura and it was one of those rare days where Daniel wasn't at home and had gone to Hammer Industries to oversee the operation of the total takeover that was happening between Hammer and Allied. Though the deal had been done, that didn't mean that the total takeover could be completed within a day or two as a proper audit had to be done and the valuation of such a massive company was taking place. So Daniel had been running around a bit these days.

As Rei was discussing the Chamber of Secrets, he suddenly turned his head and looked towards the direction of the gate of his home. His Mind's Eye of Kagura had already noticed that someone was approaching the gate. Normally, Rei wouldn't bother as there were many people who would pass by on the footpath but this man was approaching the gate. And since the man didn't have chakra it was hard for Rei to discern who it was. Soon he reached it and pressed the buzzer. Once the video showed up, Rei's eyebrow twitched.