“Don't get used to this.” Blackie felt that he ought to clarify some things, lest his host blamed him for shit identities he will definitely get at some point: “Original owners of your future identities probably won't be THIS similar to you. This world is a special case because of the existence of special powers that are personality-based. If you were born normally in this world, you would have become a Soother. Thus, we could only choose a host body that is either a Soother or a teenager who hasn't awakened his power yet.”
“Oh! Correction – you could have also been a Fluxer. But here you are, a rich second-generation with a prestigious identity and a loving family. You really lucked out this time! Such a peaceful, high-convenience, low-risk world!”
If the future Noah could pitch in, it would be to exclaim in outrage: “You dare call this ‘peaceful, low-risk’?!? If this is peaceful and low-risk, then to what kind of a shithole do you intend to send me in the future?!?”
(ノ꒪Д꒪)ノ︵ ┻━┻
But since there was no time-traveling pissed Noah to correct Blackie, the confident AI continued to preach great wisdom that was actually…true, for once: “I bet the higher-ups chose this as your first mission specifically because it’s such a dumbass easy tutorial-like mission that even a retard can do it. Next time, expect a zombie apocalypse or at least the identity of some poor kid who was sold into slavery.”
Noah: “…” (눈_눈) ‘And to think that for a moment there, I was brimming with hope, gratitude, and faith in your shitty organization…’
‘…But it turns out you just didn’t have the opportunity to fuck me over this time around!’
Blackie, peeking at Levi: ‘Hehe, you are wrong. We did fuck you over. You just don’t know it yet.’
Future Noah would flip his middle finger at that: ‘That beast in human skin is not even the half of it!!!’
Current Noah, however, had no idea of what was to come, and as the owner of a wonderous mind whose innate curiosity could easily bypass all the negative thoughts, his attention was easily diverted to another topic: “What is a Fluxer and what personality trait is it related to?”
“Fluxers are really adaptable, open-minded, and flexible in their way of thinking. Their power is to change the physical state of matter. Like, turning stuff from gas to liquid to solid and vice versa.” Blackie explained.
“Ooooh, neat!” Noah chirped in.
“Yeah, very useful in the chemical industry,” Blackie agreed.
Noah: “I was gonna say that the ability to literally vaporize anything is super cool, but yeah, chemical industry job sounds good too.” (/≧▽≦)/
Blackie: (눈_눈) “So glad Aris’s death was nigh…”
“Such a mean thing to say!” Noah scolded, then added, “What would you have done if there was no appropriate identity available?”
“Urgh, it would have gotten tricky. No good soul-host candidate will fall for the whole 'ok, so, sign here if you agree to die, and don't worry, we'll compensate you in the next life' speak anymore. They hear a voice in their head telling them to die - they go see a psychiatrist. Oh, how times have changed.”
Blackie let out a heavy sigh, practically dripping melancholy, “In the good old days, it was enough to say the word, and they'd be willing to do anything in the name of god.”
Noah: “…” ಠ_ಠ …congratulations, my opinion of you has just reached an all-time low.
Future Noah: Low? Oh, in the future, you’ll look back at it and find out that it wasn’t low at all. When compared for the dive that would soon follow. ಥ‿ಥ
***
After waiting for Trey, who wasn’t expecting to be called over this early, to come over, Noah was finally ready to take his brother-in-law for a refreshing dip.
Concordia was a beautiful and rather idyllic city - bright, clean, spacious. And no place showcased the spirit of Concordia better than the Concordia aquarium resort made by one of the ancestors of the Cordia family.
The resort had everything you’d expect from a famous vacation spot – a large hotel with multiple restaurants, bars, and shops, including all the recreational and relaxing places you’d expect, such as a casino, night club, and spa.
However, the real reason why the resort was so famous wasn’t due to its five-star service, but because the waters in which the visitors could take a dip were a part of an artificially designed aquarium. To be precise, there were two huge aquariums (freshwater and seawater), which nearly formed a circle with the resort in the middle.
Have you ever seen those beautiful pictures of tropical beaches with white sand and sparkling aquamarine-colored water? Yeah, the resort looked just like that – but unlike its tropical, naturally-formed compatriot, it didn’t have any of the less desirable stuff inside, such as sea urchins, jellyfish, sharks, stingrays, and of course, the most horrible thing anyone can encounter in the wild - disgusting brown seaweed.
The resort was simply the incarnation of perfection - it even had sand-free beaches for all the sand-haters who very justifiably raise a fuss over that fucking sand simply getting in everywhere!
In short, whether you wanted to swim or dive, play beach volleyball or water sports, sunbathe, drive a paddleboat or a canoe, slide on one of the many water slides – whatever it is that you could possibly want to do on a beach, you could absolutely do in the resort.
Except fishing.
Because, of course you can’t fish in an aquarium!
Unless there is a fish overpopulation issue? 🤔
A-Anyway, the best part of it all, was that, as the owners of the resort, Cordias had 24/7 access to several private beaches in the best locations. Such as the very special one that Noah was looking forward to showing his brother-in-law.
When Levi saw what kind of place his baby brought him to, he instantly got a very bad feeling.
On the one hand, the only thing better than getting to play with his wet and nearly naked baby is to get to ‘play’ with his wet and completely naked baby. But on the other hand, his overly excitable member definitely couldn’t handle that much stimulation!!
For goodness sake, he was getting surprise boners with the little kitten fully clothed! Expecting his lower regions to not react to his baby while he was very not-clothed was like expecting a hungry wolf not to eat a perfectly juicy piece of meat sitting right in front of it! Even if you used your feet to think, you’d know exactly what would happen!!
Therefore, Levi was…
In deep shit!!
How the fuck is he supposed to go through this without his baby noticing his imminent lower tent?!?! QAQ
Luckily for Levi, the three first went to visit one of the stores because, unlike Noah, who had brought his swimming trunks from home, Levi didn’t even know they would be going swimming, so he naturally didn’t bring his.
So now, Levi had exactly one-minute time, while his baby was preoccupied looking at the inflatable goods, to find a solution to his “big” problem.
Levi was in luck, for Noah was indeed very preoccupied browsing the inflatable goods side of the store.The city he had been born in on Cradle wasn’t near the seaside, and the river that passed through it was not suitable for taking a dip in. The city had many swimming pools, but one needed to pay for entry, so Noah had rarely had the opportunity to play in a swimming pool.Besides the two times he had managed to go on a school excursion to the seaside due to the
“No!” Noah quickly realized that the other might have misunderstood, “What I meant is that I didn’t recognize you because I…uh…I haven’t seen you for a long time.”Teagan Peyton was shaking in outrage as he shrieked, “What the fuck do you mean you haven’t seen me for a long time?!? My picture is all over the news nearly every day!” – That much was true, even Levi, who avoided socialite gatherings like the plague, could recognize Teagan Peyton on sight – “My picture was in yesterday’s New-fucking-Times right next to yours!!!!”
What the hell just happened? Noah stared at the now empty space in front of them in a daze. This Peyton guy came and went like the hurricane. Noah simply couldn’t keep up!From start to finish, this entire encounter was a one-man clown show! He couldn’t fathom what the other was thinking. Did he pop up just to pull some aggro, say some classic villain lines, and then run away with his tail between his legs?Noah felt as if a significant number of his brain
As a famous aquarium with an artificially maintained temperature all year round, the huge beaches that the visitors of the resort could freely enjoy were packed 365 days a year. However, taking into account Levi’s preferences, it was clear to Noah that taking the man to a palace with many other people wasn’t the best idea.That’s ok. There was nothing wrong with liking one’s privacy - that’s why the resort also had many private beaches that could be rented out. And then there were the super-private Cordia-only beaches like the one the trio had just arrived at. This particular beach looked like a small tropical pa
Noah was neither skinny nor short for his age, however, when compared to the two full-grown men belonging in the extra tall category who exercised regularly, he looked especially slender and delicate.His facial features still retained that youthful, soft look, and his skin was as smooth and white as that of a newborn. His legs were long and slim, his waist thin and flexible. His stomach and chest muscles were not prominent but were clearly there, outlining a vague but beautiful curve.
Levi revealed a helpless look filled with doting as he gazed down at his baby, who was trying hard to hide his self-satisfied smirk as he handed Levi a large white t-shirt. Printed in the middle of the shirt was an adorable cartoon cat with a pink ribbon surrounded by several floating hearts.Trey’s stifled guffaw could be heard in the background.Noah expectantly peeked at Levi’s expression in, what he thought to be, sneaky manner, but in Levi’s eyes, it was just adorable to the max.What could Levi do but play along?
“Gyaah!” Noah yelped as he was abruptly tackled off his feet into the water.He flailed about trying to get back on his feet and out of his assailant’s grasp. His long shirt floated up in the water. Levi’s arms found their way around Noah’s waist, his fingers sliding over supple, naked flesh.A shiver ran through Noah, and his breath caught in his throat. Wherever those callused fingers touched, felt hot and itchy, yet the sensation wasn’t unpleasant. On the contrary, when they slid over Noah’s smooth skin, it felt stimulating. As if suddenly his senses became more acute, allowing him to feel every little thin
Noah covered his still very itchy and sensitive belly with his hands protectively.“Brother, you are too much!” he indignantly splashed some more water towards Levi. “You can’t do this kind of thing! I’m no longer a child!”However, to Levi, his mewling sounded coquettish instead of reprimanding.“Mn. I know,” Levi lightly sprinkled back.Seeing that the only reaction he got bac