For Ethan, binding his personal timeline to that of Harry Potter's world and then spending a few months in another world during the summer vacation was not difficult.
What truly gave him a headache was deciding what kind of world a kid who looked about ten years old could go to in order to pass the time.
Although this problem could technically be "concealed"—either by using illusions or forming an energy body to disguise himself—it still left Ethan feeling unhappy.
"What's wrong with you? You've had a sour face ever since we got on the train."
The people in the compartment were basically "his own," with only Hermione as an outsider. However, Hermione herself didn't realize that. She was simply sitting with her good friend, Rin.
Besides her friendship with Rin, another reason Hermione was here was that everyone else present was a Muggle-born wizard. This year had seen a record number of Muggle-borns, and only now did Hermione realize that this group was actually connected.
Given their backgrounds, it wasn't all that strange. She was just a little curious why Ethan was sitting there looking so grumpy. Did he dislike her?
"I'm trying to figure out how to spend this summer vacation."
"So you don't like holidays either. It would be great if we could just keep studying at school without any breaks."
"..."
Ethan shook his head in silence. He didn't like breaks either, but the reason he studied hard was to become stronger. That was very different from Hermione, who simply enjoyed constantly absorbing knowledge. She was the only top student in the whole school who had been disappointed when Dumbledore canceled all exams.
"You can still study during the holidays, but unfortunately, a lot of things are hard to figure out through self-study alone."
"Then just relax properly. Clear your mind. That way, when the new school year begins, it will be easier to absorb new information."
"Really?"
"Of course not. I was just talking nonsense."
Hermione rolled her eyes. She had thought this top Slytherin student might have some secret study method. She was genuinely curious, because there weren't many students at Hogwarts who could rival her in academics. Harry Potter, the school's most talked-about student, was completely outmatched by her in most subjects, but Ethan was another story.
Most of the time, Ethan didn't stand out at all, but Hermione could tell that wasn't because his abilities were lacking. Rather, it was because he didn't want to be noticed. Only when the professors called on him would he reveal just a sliver of his actual skill.
Whether it was Charms, Potions, or Herbology, whether theory or practice, he handled even the most boring subjects like History of Magic with ease, as if nothing could trouble him.
In a way, Hermione had already seen Ethan as her biggest academic rival. Ethan, however, had no such awareness and was still lost in thought.
"I'm definitely not going to stay here. Instead of wasting a few boring months, I might as well take a trip to the Marvel world."
But then he thought, since he had gotten involved in the Philosopher's Stone incident and caught Dumbledore's attention, was it possible that Dumbledore would have someone secretly monitoring him over the summer?
"Seems likely."
In that case, if he wanted to visit another world, he would need to make arrangements in advance, perhaps using overseas travel as a cover story.
Ethan continued mulling it over all the way until the train arrived at the station, still undecided. After waving goodbye to Hermione, he got into the car that Selene had arranged to pick them up.
"Came alone?"
Sitting in the passenger seat, Ethan glanced behind him. No one else had come with Selene.
"Evelyn, Jonathan, and O'Connell went to Wales. Judging by their travel route, they're probably heading to Scotland and Northern Ireland next."
Selene started the car and drove them away from the station, giving Ethan an update on Evelyn and the others.
His nominal guardians had been traveling all over since arriving. It seemed like they were determined to tour the entire UK, maybe even all the way to Ireland.
"As long as they're having fun."
They had agreed early on that Evelyn and the others were just there to serve as guardians to help Ethan and the group blend in with normal society. After that, they were free to enjoy themselves however they liked. No one expected them to stick around playing guardian all the time.
"Did you go out and have fun?"
Selene, now in loose-fitting clothing and appearing slightly older, looked nothing like the vampire noble from Underworld. With her relaxed appearance, she was completely indistinguishable from any local middle-aged woman.
"I did a bit of traveling while you were at school. I just got back recently."
"Must've been lonely, right?"
"It's fine. I'm used to this kind of life."
Having lived for centuries, vampires like Selene were used to emotional distance. She didn't form close bonds with many of her kind and mostly kept to herself, filling her time with work or travel.
She had long adapted to solitude. A year of living alone was nothing compared to the life she had already led.
Plus, she could travel around the world freely, which was a bonus.
As for fighting? Veterans like Logan and Selene had long stopped romanticizing combat. Even Scáthach, despite her thirst for battle when encountering a worthy opponent, wasn't some warmonger who needed daily bloodshed to feel alive. In fact, she preferred peace.
And with Ethan constantly stirring things up, there was never any need to go looking for action. Even just drifting through space could bring surprises.
Let alone the occasional cross-world excursion that was bound to cause a stir.
So there was nothing to worry about in terms of boredom. Selene was more concerned about how she might have to start acting more like a real guardian now that a bunch of kids was living under one roof.
"Will there be surveillance this time?"
Since getting in the car, Ethan had been talking freely about internal matters, which told Selene there was no one watching or eavesdropping on them at the moment.
"Most likely, yes. I was planning to travel to another world, but now it looks like I can't be away for too long."
At best, he might be able to make brief trips to other worlds to take care of small matters. Spending the whole summer break away was basically impossible.
After returning to their house in this world, Ethan officially entered "vacation mode."
During the day, he acted like an ordinary child: eating, playing, and occasionally reading books to appear diligent.
At night, he would leave this world and return to the Artemis or other worlds to handle minor issues.
For example, he would check on Artoria and Shirou in Arthur's world. He also made a trip to the Type-Moon world to give Kazama Ryu the "tool" he had crafted during his spare time.
He would also arrange Ryu's first mission.
"I can't stay long here, so you need to make a decision."
To make sure that Shirou and the others in this world weren't affected, Ethan was controlling the flow of time for each of his visits.
In the Type-Moon world, only a day had passed since Shirou was brought back, so as far as Ryu was concerned, it had all just happened yesterday.
Ryu didn't know how much time had passed for Ethan. All he needed to know was that his first reincarnation mission was ready.
"In this first world, you'll have enough time to grow your strength slowly. I have no specific requirements. Just surviving and growing stronger is enough."
When Ethan last saw Ryu, he had advised him to carefully choose a world suitable for growth. Although not much time had passed, it should have been enough for Ryu to come up with a plan.
Perhaps it was a bit rushed, but this was also a test. He should have understood that.
"I've decided. The first world I'll go to is Yu Yu Hakusho."
"Oh?"
Ethan hadn't expected Ryu to pick that one.
"Why choose this world?"
"Because it has a low starting point, and the path to strength is relatively clear."
Ryu's answer made Ethan nod. The starting point in Yu Yu Hakusho was indeed very low. The protagonist, Yusuke Urameshi, was originally just a regular high school student—rough around the edges, but good at fighting.
He gradually grew stronger from an ordinary human. Although it was later revealed that Yusuke was a descendant of Raizen, one of the most powerful demons in the Demon World, his early growth came purely from effort and training.
"Are you planning to become Genkai's disciple?"
"I'll try my best."
Becoming Genkai's disciple would mean becoming Yusuke's rival. But even if he failed, as long as he learned how to use spirit energy, that would be enough. What mattered most was having a solid method for growing stronger.
Once he mastered spirit energy, he could break away from being a powerless ordinary person.
"Good luck."
Ethan nodded and, without waiting for Ryu to respond, activated a teleportation spell and sent the transmigrator to the world of Yu Yu Hakusho.
Just like how Madeline treated her own reincarnators, Ethan hadn't prepared anything for Ryu either. This was also part of the test.
"Yu Yu Hakusho, huh? Let's see if this kid can do something interesting."
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
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