Chapter 60

After a good night's rest, Ethan and Arthur resumed work on their hut as planned when the sun rose. They were set on staying in this location for the next month.

In this world, there were plenty of valuable opportunities, but most of them were either out of reach or lacked concrete clues to pursue. Rather than wasting energy chasing something uncertain, Ethan chose to remain here and focus on organizing his existing resources.

For a while now, Ethan had been searching for a suitable plane to study space-time energy in-depth. So far, he hadn't had much luck finding the right opportunity, but unexpectedly, this island presented him with an ideal environment to do so.

Initially, Ethan had believed the Amazons would not allow him to remain on Paradise Island, so he had prepared to relocate to a nearby area and spend the month quietly. But circumstances had shifted in his favor.

Now, there was even a possibility that Hippolyta might ask him to take Diana away.

"If she does ask… should I agree or not?" Ethan pondered the dilemma.

He leaned toward refusing. Diana was still a child, what would he do with her? Furthermore, life in the Sea of Calm wasn't necessarily safer than on Paradise Island. Ethan couldn't guarantee that Diana would have a better or more secure life if she left with him.

His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice calling out from the woods.

"Ethan! Arthur! I'm here!"

It was Diana, the mischievous child who seemed to ignore all rules.

Her mother might have been hesitant to let her approach them at least until she made a decision but Diana clearly had no intention of obeying. Even with guards stationed nearby to intercept her, the girl had managed to sneak through the woods and find Ethan and Arthur's temporary residence.

"Good morning, Diana," Arthur greeted warmly.

He was dressed casually, wearing a T-shirt and jeans instead of his usual silver armor. The clothes had been brought back from the Resident Evil plane, and after experiencing how comfortable and practical modern attire was, Arthur rarely wore his old clothes anymore.

"Good morning, Arthur," Diana replied cheerfully, her eyes briefly examining his outfit with curiosity before shifting to another topic.

"Can you teach me swordsmanship again today?" she asked eagerly.

Arthur, ever the polite knight, smiled and nodded. He didn't mind teaching her. After all, he and Ethan were technically guests, and providing lessons for Diana felt like a reasonable way to repay their stay.

Through the brief session the night before, Arthur had already noticed that Diana had an impressive natural talent. She picked up the fundamentals quickly and could absorb key points with just a little guidance. Given the time they had, Arthur believed he could help her build a solid foundation by the end of the month.

"I'll teach you more of the basics," Arthur said, gesturing to their unfinished shelter. "But you'll have to practice on your own afterward. We still need to finish building our home."

Diana glanced at their makeshift cabin, its rough structure almost pitiable in its simplicity. "Why don't you just borrow my hut? You don't need to build your own," she offered.

"Ah, that won't work," Arthur said with a gentle smile. "You know we agreed with your mother not to leave this area or venture into other parts of Paradise Island."

"Oh… right," Diana muttered, frowning slightly. She didn't fully understand why her mother had imposed such restrictions but knew it was nearly impossible to change her mind. Reluctantly, she abandoned the idea of inviting them to her secret hut.

"Then I'll help you build it!" she declared instead.

"No, no," Ethan interjected, shaking his head. "You should keep learning swordsmanship with Arthur. He's an excellent teacher, especially when it comes to the basics."

Ethan gave Arthur a meaningful glance, signaling him to keep Diana occupied.

"I'm going to look around for materials to reinforce the cabin," Ethan said casually before heading off into the woods.

Once inside, it became evident that he wasn't actually searching for building supplies.

"Your Majesty, I believe this location is far enough that Diana won't notice our meeting."

Hippolyta emerged from behind a large tree, her figure no longer concealed by the forest. Once they had reached a safe distance, she made no effort to remain hidden.

"Young magician, did you expect me to come looking for you?" she asked, her tone calm but deliberate.

Ethan nodded. "After my conversation with Antiope yesterday, I had a feeling you might seek me out sooner or later. I just didn't think it would happen this quickly."

Hippolyta regarded him thoughtfully, recognizing that magicians often possessed sharp intellects. It wasn't surprising that Ethan could deduce her intentions based on his exchange with Antiope.

"Then, can you also guess why I've come to see you?"

"I have a rough idea," Ethan replied cautiously.

Hippolyta briefly recounted the Amazon's long-standing conflict with Ares, the God of War, though she deliberately omitted Diana's true identity as Zeus's final weapon against him. She explained that Ares could attack Paradise Island at any time and that no one on the island was capable of standing against him.

Because of this, Hippolyta requested that Ethan, with his ability to traverse worlds, take Diana away when the time came to a place where she could live in peace.

"It doesn't matter which world," Hippolyta continued, her voice tinged with resignation. "As long as she can escape the conflict and survive."

She wasn't asking Ethan to care for Diana indefinitely. In her eyes, Diana's divine lineage was more than enough to ensure her safety in any world, so long as she avoided direct confrontations with other gods.

This explained why Hippolyta, who had long opposed Diana's training, hadn't intervened when Arthur began teaching her swordsmanship. In her mind, Diana's training was now a necessity. If Diana were to leave Paradise Island, she needed to be a capable warrior first.

Hippolyta believed her request wasn't excessive. For someone who could move between planes of existence, it was a relatively small favor. The only potential risk was drawing Ares's ire, a negligible threat since Ares couldn't breach planar barriers.

But to her surprise, Ethan shook his head.

"Your Majesty, I believe you're misunderstanding something," Ethan said.

"Misunderstanding what?" Hippolyta asked, her tone cautious. She had assumed Ethan's hesitation stemmed from a fear of offending Ares, but his response suggested otherwise.

"My plane-traveling magic isn't stable or refined," Ethan explained, spreading his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "That's why I ended up on your island in the first place. If my magic were truly reliable, do you think I wouldn't even be able to choose my destination?"

Hippolyta frowned slightly, trying to process his words.

"This magic of mine is still in its experimental stages. I can't control which world I end up in, nor can I determine how long I'll stay there. I can't even predict when I'll be able to use this magic again."

Everything Ethan said was true, though he left out certain details.

"What I do know," he continued, "is that I won't be staying here much longer. At best, I'll remain on this island for a month. At worst, I could leave in just over ten days. Either way, I don't have the ability to decide when or where I'll go next."

Ethan's tone grew serious. "So if you want me to take Diana to another world, it would have to happen within this month. Otherwise, I can't guarantee when or if I'll return to this world. It could be a year from now, or ten years, or even a hundred years. And by then, who knows what Ares might have done to Paradise Island?"

Hippolyta fell silent, the weight of Ethan's words settling over her. She hadn't anticipated this.

Ethan's explanation overturned her entire plan. She had viewed Ethan as an insurance policy, a last resort for safeguarding Diana. But now, she was faced with a much harder decision: send Diana away within the month or risk everything by keeping her on Paradise Island.

Sending Diana away so soon was a painful thought. And yet, the idea of staying hidden indefinitely, hoping Ares wouldn't find them, was equally unrealistic.

"So that's how it is…" Hippolyta murmured, her expression conflicted.

"Yes," Ethan said firmly. "In fact, this month, I planned to focus entirely on improving this magic. I stayed on Paradise Island because this is where I landed. If you had refused us yesterday, Arthur and I would've left immediately to find another place to stay."

Hippolyta nodded, finally understanding the circumstances that had led Ethan to her island. She could also see that he truly had no ulterior motives. Yet this knowledge only deepened her frustration.

Still unwilling to let go of hope, she asked, "Is there really no way to stabilize your magic? Or leave some kind of communication method we could use to contact you?"

Ethan resisted the urge to laugh bitterly. If he were someone like Merlin, such feats wouldn't have been a problem. But for someone at his current level, a novice mage dabbling in dangerous and experimental magic, it was an impossible task.

However, instead of outright rejecting her request, Ethan softened his response. "If my magic were to make significant progress, there might be a chance. But for that, I would need an immense amount of space-time energy to support my research…"

At that moment, both Ethan and Hippolyta thought of the same thing. Something on Paradise Island that could provide the energy he needed.