Chapter 449: with translation of chapter title

"It seems you've realized how to truly change the course of history; you're quite clever, girl." Jiang Xia glanced at the still-shocked Gao Siwu and spoke softly.

"Mm, I think the person who can truly change the future is right before me; he will lead Helheim Forest to open a new era." Gao Siwu lifted Jiang Xia's broad palm and gently placed her own hand over it.

"Now, the Origin Girl has acknowledged you; go fight, defeat all enemies, and become a true god."

"That's natural, but you are currently in a state of exile; besides me and the snake, probably no one can perceive you, and you alone cannot affect the world." Jiang Xia gently took Gao Siwu's small hand, covering her with his own power so she could touch objects in this world, "If you leave my side, the force of spatiotemporal rejection will likely exile you again; in short, you cannot leave me now."

"I understand, this is my choice." Gao Siwu looked at the man before her, feeling that warm power continuously transmitted from his palm, like a furnace in icy snow—warm, scorching.

She couldn't help but admit that, although they had only known each other for a short day, she felt as if she had been reborn, independent of the world, like being at some unknown edge of the universe, with only their mutual connection; this did not mean loneliness, and she even enjoyed being able to rely on him without reservation, without worrying about anything.

"Sorry, I currently have no way to hand over the golden apple to you." Gao Siwu pursed her lips, feeling a bit disappointed.

This is completely different from her earlier thought of refusing to hand over the fruit; just a few minutes ago she didn't want to give such power to a man she had just met, but a few minutes later she was eager to give it to him, yet had no way to do so.

"It's fine; the human's golden apple isn't it safely kept in Bai Ya's hands? Just find a chance to take it back." Jiang Xia gently comforted the disappointed Gao Siwu, speaking as if it were as easy as picking up a delivery downstairs.

"However, I just thought of a problem even more serious than obtaining the golden apple." Jiang Xia said solemnly.

"Huh?" Gao Siwu widened her eyes, unable to comprehend what could possibly stump Jiang Xia, who could stubbornly withstand spatiotemporal rejection to keep her in this world.

"Do you have any money on you?" Jiang Xia rummaged with his free hand, showing Gao Siwu his empty pocket containing nothing.

He also felt helpless; that damned dimensional wall had assigned his identity as belonging to Helheim Forest, which, strictly speaking, is part of the Gaim world, so his identity had already been set.

Have you ever seen someone needing to pay for food in Helheim Forest? In Zeya City, Jiang Xia merely had a handsome face, but his pockets were empty, and he was moreover an unemployed vagrant with no identity or job—basically a loafer.

"Um, I have some; when I became the Origin Girl, I still carried quite a bit of money, so if you need money, just come to me." Gao Siwu immediately understood, flashed a light smile, took out a few bills from her pocket, and handed them to Jiang Xia.

When she became the Origin Girl, although her clothes changed from her usual street-dance outfit to a white robe, her belongings were undamaged.

Gao Siwu felt that this mysterious man had suddenly come alive; he was no longer some lofty figure who crushed enemies with absolute violence amidst clamor and gunfire, but rather like a child who hadn't grown up.

Although he is the person closest to a god, he still needs to borrow money from a girl when buying things.

Moreover, it's an open-and-above-board loan, and you can't refuse.

How to put it? I actually quite like it.

The person she chose is not an emotionless god who views everything indifferently, but someone rich in feeling who lives his own life.

After all, gods are merely lifeforms with a higher degree of evolution; they weren't always standing aloft from the start, and occasionally they come down to experience life.

After Jiang Xia led Gao Siwu to pay for the dessert, they left the sweet shop with its circular fruit bar.

Jiang Xia and Gao Siwu wandered around Zeya City for a while, then sat side by side on a park bench; during their stroll, Gao Siwu also revealed some detailed future information, such as the truth of the world, news about the World Tree Group, and the fixed-seed used by both Kamen Rider Gaim and Kamen Rider Duke, in short, she handed over all the future knowledge she possessed to Jiang Xia.

He also listened seriously, but the useful information among those was little; perhaps what he already knew exceeded what Gao Siwu, desperately trying to glean future intel to boost his combat odds, possessed, so he really had no need to listen.

But some words aren't suited to be measured by value; listening attentively is a courtesy, and moreover you can feel the expectation that you will succeed and win—this isn't idle talk, but a blessing from the heart.

No matter how many sincere blessings you hear, you'll never grow tired of them, even if you already possess all of this.

At dusk, Gao Siwu led Jiang Xia to a remote residential area; nearby there was a small activity spot, with a tall ginkgo tree, its withered yellow leaves spread on the ground, the already somewhat dim sunlight filtering through the branches and shining upon them.

Although the place is remote, the residential complex is still quite new, its exterior architectural style uniform, giving the feeling of living in various tiny cages.

The hallway had no clutter, clean and tidy; bright incandescent lights shone on the floor tiles, clearly reflecting those vague shadows.

Finally they stopped before a brownish-red door bearing a blue sign, with another note reading "Gao Si" attached beside the door.

Next door came the rich aroma of food and children's excited shouts; likely they were watching TV after finishing homework after school—this is just an ordinary person's day, plain and warm.

"Is this your home?" Jiang Xia asked.

"Um, I haven't come back in a long time either; I recall I should have some savings, not much, but enough." Gao Siwu took out a key chibi-fruit charm from her pocket, inserted it, and slowly turned it.

"It seems the first step to changing the future is settling our living expenses here." Jiang Xia watched Gao Siwu open the door, "Looks like I need to think of a plan."

In an instant, various money-making methods recorded in human history flashed through his mind; it should be fairly simple.

He himself doesn't really need money, or rather, one person doesn't need it much, but for two people it's quite different.

"No need, I'll handle this; you just need to focus on fighting." Gao Siwu reached out and lightly pressed her hand against the door.

This is the home where she lived for over a decade; after the Helheim Forest invasion incident, she hardly had any chance to return, but now she wants to borrow some things from her past self.

Although borrowing money from her past self feels odd, she has no choice, after all the money she carries can't cover the daily expenses of two people.

The door opened, everything unchanged; behind the door, the living room still held her favorite dance mat, sunset streaming through the window. The fiery sunset shone on the mat, making her suddenly want to hop up and down twice—she loves dancing—but after thinking it over, she dismissed the idea.

It wasn't because she feared her other self might suddenly return, nor would she be unable to move freely, but because dancing upstairs would disturb the other residents; that's why she chose to train in the garage belonging to the Gaim team.

Jiang Xia also entered Gao Siwu's home; most things here are rather cute, her room has a large pink bed covered with all sorts of stuffed toys.

Of course, in the closet beside it were neatly arranged dance outfits; Jiang Xia even saw a scarlet shrine maiden outfit hanging there, this garment is somewhat different, a bit small compared to the present Gao Siwu. As Gao Siwu rummaged for things, her gaze met Jiang Xia's lingering on that shrine maiden outfit, and she spoke up:

"Those are my childhood clothes; I used to be a shrine maiden at the Gao Si Shrine, and perhaps that's why I grew to love dancing, though because of the World Tree the shrine closed down, I still truly miss that time."

"Then it looks like I'll build a shrine dedicated to you." Jiang Xia said, sizing her up.

"My time as a shrine maiden is long past, and besides, I am now a divine shrine maiden, right?" Gao Siwu pointed at her own clothes and chuckled; then her hand seemed to feel something in the wardrobe, her eyes lit up, and she slowly pulled it out—a bank card.

"I found it; we should probably make a quick escape, otherwise if I'm blocked at the door we'll be in trouble." Gao Siwu half-jokingly handed the bank card in her hand to Jiang Xia; it contained all the money she had saved in the past.

"Then we'll have no choice but to jump out the window and flee." Jiang Xia gave a silent smile at the open window in the room.

He watched as Gao Siwu tried to hand him the bank card; he took the warm-feeling card, lightly placed the savings card on a nearby cabinet, accepted it but did not take it away.

"Why?" Gao Siwu looked at his action, somewhat puzzled.

"What's with all the whys? As long as I'm willing, every bank in this world will be my ATM; moreover, this is the money your past self painstakingly saved—if it disappeared, she'd surely be heartbroken." Jiang Xia lightly tapped her head.

"I'm not that fragile." Gao Siwu whispered; she is herself, there's no distinction between past and future, spending her own money is fine—this too is a contribution toward changing the past.

"La la la!" At that moment, a cheerful, rhythmic footstep came from outside the door, sounding like a very lively, happy girl humming a tune while pulling out her key to unlock the door.

"Oh no, I'm back." Gao Siwu directly switched off the bedroom light, and the room instantly dimmed.

"Come on, let's go to my place." Jiang Xia casually slashed at the space before him; the surroundings instantly split open a spatial rift, whose connection led to Helheim Forest.

However, unlike ordinary Helheim Forest, Jiang Xia's connection to Helheim Forest actually had houses growing on the trees—that is, treehouses.

Beneath the treehouses were wooden cabins made from plants of Helheim Forest.

And at the edge of the treehouse, a bluish-green monster lay prone on the grass, using its sharp claws to dig the soil.

Upon seeing Jiang Xia, the monster halted its digging, sprinted over quickly, and lowered its head like a servant, showing submission.

"Is it... could it be Yuye?" Gaosi Wu stared in surprise at this fierce monster.

"Well, he is Jiaoju Yuye, though he has temporarily lost his mind due to the Helheim Forest; if we can expel or evolve the power within him, he can likewise regain his self-consciousness." Jiang Xia rubbed its head, "Not only Jiaoju Yuye, even humans infected by extraterrestrial beings can be saved likewise."

"So as long as they aren't killed by people, I can turn them back, though large-scale treatment still requires the power of the Helheim Forest."

After soothing it, the extraterrestrial being that Jiaoju Yuye transformed into ran off to the side; he is now merely a beast, and aside from showing submission to Jiang Xia, he hardly has any intelligence.

Afterwards, Gaosi Wu followed Jiang Xia into the treehouse; although there appeared to be nothing inside when looking at the doorway, the moment the light source was illuminated, various familiar things appeared out of thin air—pink big beds piled with all kinds of dolls, cabinets full of identical outfits, and even the wall covered with dance-related stickers were exactly the same.

"What is this?" Gaosi Wu covered her mouth; if she hadn't just passed through the Spatial Portal, bringing the Helheim Forest, and if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would have thought this was the very room she had just left.

Everything was replicated one-to-one; this was exactly the room she had just left, except that Jiang Xia had recreated it right before her eyes—this went beyond mere happiness, and she even felt like crying.

Yet through the window she saw a scene that made her heart race: in the swiftly green forest, a shrine silently rose; opposite the shrine, beneath a massive cherry tree, a shower of cherry blossoms—originating from who knows where—drifted down on a breeze, like pink snow.

The scarlet torii gates unfolded layer by layer, and on the wooden plaque above them were carved the characters "Gaosi Shrine"—characters she knew all too well; before it was torn down, she had gazed at them countless times.

"The reconstruction is passable." Jiang Xia nodded at this girlishly filled room; although he had only been there once, he knew every detail by heart and could recall them at any time. As for the shrine, he had looked it up in the Earth Library; although she laughed and said she didn't mind, her heart was full of regret and longing.

So he chose to fulfill the girl's wish, treating it as if he had bought it with the money from that bank card—he had indeed accepted it, merely not taking it away.

Do you still remember that saying? Equivalent exchange, the principle of Alchemical Art.

Exchanging sincerity for sincerity—that is the most genuine and also the most precious transaction.

He possesses the ability to construct all things; recreating a mere room and shrine is a trivial task, requiring no effort at all.

That's why he doesn't really need money—once he has seen something, he can roughly reconstruct it using his power, and even 3D printing would not be difficult.

As for why money is needed at the dessert shop: because the money he creates is identical to real money, yet it is counterfeit.

However, whether money coming from the future is counterfeit is still uncertain; for now, let's treat it as genuine.

"Well then, good night. This area is my turf, so I can keep you from being exiled; you can move freely here, and if anything comes up, just call me in your heart." Jiang Xia looked at Gaosi Wu, who stood by the bed with a somewhat excited expression, and said.

She needed to calm her emotions, so it was better not to disturb her for now.

Just as Jiang Xia was about to push the door open, the light in the sky gradually faded, and the night of the Helheim Forest slowly descended; that azure light was about to fall to the ground, the final green glow illuminating the scarlet torii, and as the moonlight grew richer, Gaosi Wu gently closed her eyes—yet when she opened them again, her pupils shone with extraordinary brightness.

She turned and walked toward Jiang Xia, then gently closed the door that had already been opened.

"You?" Just as Jiang Xia was puzzled, Gaosi Wu opened her arms and embraced his neck.

At that moment night fell completely, and the luminescent trees bloomed across that meadow.

Two different shadows intertwined, and the jade-green leaves on the treehouse also drifted down slowly. (End of chapter)