Welcome back, my dear readers!

I don't have much to say, except this is where we will start to see some significant deviations from the canonical story.

This is also the final chapter that encompasses the first episode of the anime. The next chapter will roughly be all new content with a lead-up to the start of the events of the second episode. Between giving Alex some breathing room, I've also started expanding on the girls to be more than just the MC's cheerleaders.

In Another World With My Smartphone: The Lost Hero

Chapter Three: Two sides of the same coin

"But love and pain are two sides of the same coin. You can't have one without the other. Sometimes that's how we know we're alive."

-Alex George, Setting Free the Kites

Alex found himself sitting in front of a dying campfire, surrounded by a thick mist of shadow. He couldn't remember how he got here. Still, he instinctively knew this wasn't a safe place as from the corners of his eyes, he could see shadows of nightmarish figures trying to reach out to him. Only the tiny sparks of the flame kept them all at bay.

Embers of the warmth that seemed to keep his very soul from growing cold.

An icy fear gripped the young man's heart as he watched the embers continue to die out, making Alex scramble to keep it going. He started by gently blowing into the flames and trying to pile the tiniest bits of tinder he could muster to fuel the dying pyre. No matter what he did, the fire continued to shrink, and the darkness drew ever closer.

"Pathetic," spoke a familiar voice in a disgusted tone. "Is this really what you've become? A weak, worthless shell of your former self?"

Alex kept his head down, focused on fueling the flames and trying to ignore the voice that drew closer. The mists of shadow began to whip and swirl as though powered by a hurricane, making the young man crouch down, using his arms to shield the fire from the violent winds. Every single instinct told the young American to protect the flame.

Keep the flame or lose yourself to the darkness.

Alex continued to his work, trying to feed the fire and keep whatever warmth and comfort it provided. Refusing to look back, Alex could almost feel the dark mist getting closer while caresses could be felt on his back. Yet, they were far from comforting or enticing; no, they felt sharp and painful as though icy claws raked into his flesh.

"I shouldn't be surprised," the voice spoke again, this time in a more haughty and taunting tone. Alex could see the form of feet standing right in front of him. Feeling a surge to fight back, Alex glared at this unknown adversary, only a tall shadow with a pair of glowing blue eyes staring at him as though it was grinning. "Once a loser, always a loser! The only reason you're here is because the Old Man felt sorry for you! You know don't belong here..."

The shadow extended a hand toward the young man.

"I know your desires, my dear interloper," the Shadow said mockingly. "Your desire to right the wrongs! To quench your thirst with the taste of vengeance! You don't know it yet, but your truest potential has been unlocked! Allow me to show you the way! The truth so you can become the mightiest being in existence! One strong enough to return to your home, where you truly belong! One to go beyond even All Might! Villains would tremble in your very presence, and the people's love will soon follow."

Alex could feel his shaking hands struggling to find an answer.

His wrath wanted to accept the offer! It was way back home! Surely if his power were given by the Almighty, should he have the right to use those powers how he saw fit?! God couldn't return him to his home, but he said nothing about getting himself back by his own means! To use those powers to punish the wicked ones who would use his death for their gain. He could be stronger than All Might! He could finally surpass Lemillion!

'I could become the world's greatest hero...'

The fire suddenly began to spark up, making the Shadow step back.

On the other hand, Alex's wounded pride wanted nothing more than to spit on the shadow's offer. Yes, he was still a stranger in a strange land. But he had already found kind souls that were already showing him a new way. Hell, they were going to help him learn the ways of magic and to teach him how to read a new language! He didn't work this hard all his life just to take the easy way out! Yes, God gave him these powers, but just like a quirk. How one uses their gifts and talents is what truly divides a Hero from a Villain. If he returned to his world as a conqueror, it would defeat the purpose of everything he had worked for...what he died for.

'I gave my life for my juniors...for other future heroes. I didn't die to gain power. I died to protect the future.'

The flames of the small campfire reignited, blasting the Shadow back with a violent hiss. The dark mist retreated back as the hurricane winds ceased, allowing Alex to breathe a sigh of relief and glare down the shadow.

"I see...you've made your choice...for now," the Shadow whispered at the edge of the mist, those glowing sapphire eyes narrowing in anger. "My offer still stands. For now, let's see how much your hollow heart can remain as is...I'll bet you won't last long. All it would take is one bad day..."

"I'll take that bet," Alex finally spoke with a grin. "Nothing better than taking a challenge and proving those who doubt you wrong..."

"We shall see..."

Alex slowly opened his eyes as the fog from his nightmare disappeared, and found himself lying alone on his rented bed.

"We shall see..."

The following day had come quickly for the Silhoueska twins. The elder was ready to start her day by hitting the ground running. While the younger was taking her time, going over the Common Primer, she would use to teach Alex the Common alphabet later. Linze was determined to be a good tutor to their new friend/party member.

"You know, I'm really curious to see which aptitudes Alex has," said Elze as she got dressed. "I'm willing to bet he at least has a Light aptitude. I could totally see him as a paladin, you know? It just feels right to me."

"Magic is a fickle thing, sis," Linze cautioned as she pulled out the satchel of Spellstones from their storage chest. "Plus, he's still a bit of an enigma, so there's no real way of knowing his aptitudes just from his personality."

"That's one way of putting it," Elze followed up as she put on her shirt and shrugged. "Still, it should be interesting; we haven't tested anyone's affinities since that one job with the church."

"That was a fun job since the kids we helped test were so polite and cute," Linze answered with a fond smile. "Even if it didn't pay much, we got to keep the extra set of spellstones the priest had."

"Talk about a big break," Elze laughed as she began making her bed. "You ready to go?"

"I am," Linze answered as she grabbed the satchel and left the book on the table. "So, first we get breakfast, then we test what aptitudes Alex has."

"Then we head out to the guild for today's job," Elze interjected as she motioned Linze to follow her. " Have any job preference today?"

"Hmm...anything will do," Linze answered as she closed their room door but then shuddered. "Unless it's Slimes, anything except for Slimes..."

"You don't have to tell twice," Elze replied with a shuddered and began knocking on their neighbor's door. "Hey, Alex, you up yet?"

"Yeah," Alex answered hoarsely from behind the door. "I'll be down in a minute. You go on ahead of me, okay?"

"Are you okay?" Linze questioned with a concerned expression. "You sound under the weather."

"Yeah, just had to clear my throat," Alex retorted in a much clearer voice. "See you downstairs in a sec."

"Alex...are you sure that you're okay?" Typically, Elze would be the kind of person to tell someone who was feeling down to just suck it and keep going. However, seeing the bags under Alex's eyes had grown darker and deeper, even she couldn't help but be concerned. The young foreigner looked beyond exhausted as if he had been fighting a powerful foe all night.

"Yeah...I just haven't been able to sleep well..." Alex answered honestly with a yawn and then proceeded to eat a spoonful of porridge. "Either way, I haven't broken my old record for the longest time of me being awake."

"Maybe you should go back to bed, Alex," Linze suggested with a worried frown. "Magic takes a lot of focus, and if this is your first attempt, it could be risky."

"Life isn't worth living without a bit of risk," Alex answered with a chuckle while dipping his bread into the porridge. "But...I'd be stupid not to follow an expert's advice. So about we compromise?"

"Alright...what do you propose?" Elze asked after taking a sip of black tea, curious to see what Alex had cooked up.

"Just show me the basics," Alex suggested before taking a bite of the soggy bread. "No hard spells that can cause real damage. We'll just focus on learning what aptitudes I have. Afterward...instead of taking a job, I actually want to explore and get to know the town a little more and get a real feel of the place. Once we're done, I'll pay for lunch, and then we'll go our separate ways. You guys can do what you want, and I should be tired enough to go back to sleep."

"Actually, I think that might work for the best," Linze followed up after draining the last of her tea. "We were thinking about taking another guild job. But exploring the town actually sounds like a lot of fun."

"I don't know..." said Elze with a frown. "We just joined the guild yesterday. Fun or not, we might be seen as unreliable if we start being inconsistent in picking up jobs this early in our careers. Plus, since our first job was upgraded, we're much closer to getting promoted to the next tier. I want to use that head-start so we can get to the higher-paid jobs as soon as possible."

"Damn, that's fair," Alex acknowledged as he leaned his chin on his left hand. He personally wasn't that all into the guild, but he didn't want to get in the way of his friends' plans. They were a party, and a team was only as strong as its weakest link.

"Then why not look for a more local job?" Linze suggested with a smile. "I saw several small jobs posted yesterday that look like they've been there for ages. The pay is super low, but they should be easy and should let Alex get to see the town a little more."

"That's a great idea, Linze," Alex answered with a grin as he finished his food. "We could kill two birds with one stone."

"Yeah, I like that," Elze replied, happy with the compromise. "If we're quick enough, we can do multiple jobs in one day!"

"Yep, which means we could make up the pay difference and get the credit to rank up," said Linze, delighted to see that her idea was met with enthusiasm. It seemed like Elze was willing to listen to her more often when they had a third party to consider. "So, since we seemed to be done with breakfast, should we get started on learning the basics of magic?"

"Yes, please," responded Alex, suddenly looking far more alert and focused.

"Sounds good," Elze followed up, leaning against the table as she watched her sister pull up the leather bag. Opened it and poured out seven multi-colored polished stones on the table.

"These are called spellstones," Linze explained as she began arranging the stones neatly. "They're used to store, release, and amplify magical energy."

"Are they like mini versions of your wand?" Alex asked as his eyes scanned the stones with a mixture of curiosity and hardened interest.

"Yes," Linze answered with a nod. "But they have a very limited capacity compared to my wand. Which makes them ill-suited for general use, but it makes them perfect for testing what aptitudes you have."

"Here's the simplest way to do it," said the younger Silhoueska twin as she picked up the dark-blue stone and motioned it above her empty tea cup. "Come forth, Water."

Alex's eyes grew wide as he saw water start to gently pour down from the stone while his brain was working at a mile a minute.

'Holy shit...I mean, I saw Linze conjure fire and light yesterday, but seeing the process live in front of me is a whole another level! Where is the water coming from?! Is she summoning it from an outside source? Is she converting it from the air? Is the mana bonding the Oxygen and Hydrogen at the sub-atomic level?! Fucking hell! What are the physics at work here?!'

"Now, this is what you would call Active Magic," Linze continued to explain as she finished pouring water from the stone. "Active magic has two primary components, the first is making a command from the element, and the second is channeling mana to cause the desired effect. However, some spells required more complex commands and the ability to visualize how you want the element to work."

'Interesting, summoning the element, instructing the element, and then inputting the energy, ' Alex thought as he nodded along. 'So...these stones and other magical tools like wands seemed to be more like conduits. Likely making magic easier and safer to control, but might not be completely necessary to actually use magic.'

Alex looked at his right hand and felt that foreign power that had been coursing through his body since he met God.

"And by the way," Elze suddenly interjected, taking the stone from her sister and motioning to her own empty cup. "Come forth, Water."

Alex watched intently but was surprised to see that nothing had happened.

"As you can see, I don't have the aptitude for water magic," Elze explained as she placed the stone on Alex's side of the table. "Which makes this as useful as a pebble to me."

'So are aptitudes affected at the genetic level?' Alex wondered as he looked at the sapphire-colored stone and then at the twins. 'Come to think about it...I think they might be fraternal twins instead of identical twins. But in a world of magic, who knows if that theory actually holds any water?'

"So you have a different aptitude?" Alex asked Elze as he picked the water spellstone and held it close to his face so he could inspect it.

"I only have the aptitude for Null magic," Elze answered with a slight frown. "While Linze has aptitudes for Water, Fire, and Light."

"But it doesn't mean that either one of us is more magical than the other," Linze explained as she gave her sister a reassuring smile. "Every living being alive as mana, but it is whether we have an affinity with a particular element that allows us to convert that energy into spells."

"In short, if I can channel mana into any of these stones and cause an effect. It proves I that have an affinity for that element," Alex concluded as he motioned the stone over his empty tea cup.

"Precisely," said Linze, happy to see that Alex seemed to be a fast learner. "Now, simply focus your mana on the stone and say come forth, water, and we'll see what happens!"

"Alright," said Alex as he focused on the spellstone as instructed and noted that the strange power he had been feeling was starting to gather to where his fingers met the stone's surface. "Come forth, Water."

The stone began to glow brightly as a miniature geyser seemed to blast out from the stone, shattering the tea cup and making a hole into the table. The young man yelped in shock as he instantly dropped the stone to prevent further damage. The trio collective found themselves at a complete loss of words as they simply stared at the damage Alex had caused.

"Whoa...hey guys, what was that nois..."Mika suddenly entered the dining room with a worried expression, only to see the mess that had been made. "WHAT HAPPENED?!"

"Oh crap, we're so sorry, Mika!" Elze quickly apologized. "Alex was just testing what magic aptitudes he had, and we didn't know that this would happen!"

"Couldn't you test that outside?!" said Mika, seemingly exasperated by the mess she would have to clean up, only to point at the red spellstone on the table. "What, did you expect you wouldn't set my inn on fire next?!"

"Actually, that sounds like a good idea," Linze said with a nervous laugh, only to look guilty at Mika's narrowed-eyed stare. "The, we should continue this outside part, not the, burning down the inn part. "

"How about you two go to the guild now and look over those easy quests," suggested Alex with an awkward laugh, rising up from his seat to personally apologize for the accident. "I'll stay and clean up the mess. Once you get back, we'll continue testing my aptitudes outside. Again, I'm so sorry, Mika. I swear it won't happen again, and for any damage, I can't fix, I'll pay for it instead."

"Well..." Mika said with a sigh, seeing the sincerity in the offer. "Since it was an accident, and thankfully, you three are currently my only customers staying right now. So it's not like you disturbed other guests. I'll accept your offer. Just please be a little more careful in the future, okay?"

"Of course," the trio accidentally said in unison to the point that they had even bowed their heads at their inn's manager.

"My, my, my, you three seemed to be joined at the hip already?" Mika said with a teasing laugh.

"A...shaddup, Mika!" Elze inadvertently blurred it out, while Linze and Alex could only blush.

It was roughly an hour later when the twins returned from the guild. Alex had just finished cleaning up the mess and helping Mika reset the dining hall with one table missing. It wasn't until the twins got outside that Alex was surprised by their rather solemn expressions.

"Whoa, what's wrong?" Alex asked the twins as he set up the broken table behind the inn while Mika sat in a chair nearby with a cup of tea.

"As it turns out. Several of our other guild mates heard about our sudden head-start and scrambled to take all of the local jobs," Elze said with a scoff as she folded her arms and began tapping her right foot impatiently.

"It seems like it had been a while since the Guild accepted new members here," Linze followed up with a sigh as she took a seat next to Mika. "So there was a fear that we would start snatching up all of the easy requests. And since we couldn't get any quests that we had agreed to, we decided to come back and let you know."

"I mean, isn't that what you were trying to do?" Mika questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Taking up all of the easy quests, right?"

"Yeah, but it's because those quests had been posted for weeks! They had all the time to do them," Elze vented as she began shadow boxing. "It wasn't until we came along that we got all those lazy bums to actually do some local jobs that the people needed to be handled!"

"It sounds like a form of hazing," said Alex with a frown. "But, I mean, you could have just gotten one of the other quests..."

"Yeah, but it's not what we agreed to," Elze answered with a sigh as she finally calmed down and took a seat opposite her sister. "It wouldn't be fair to you."

"That's right," Linze followed up. "We're a party, and we all agreed to do a local job so we could work, and you'd also get to explore the town a little more."

Alex smiled; he couldn't help but appreciate that the girls were doing their best to do right by him.

'Damn...I got lucky with these two, huh?'

"You know what?" Mika suddenly spoke up as she rose from her seat. "I think I might have a job for the three of you."

"Really, Mika?!" Elze suddenly shot up with excitement.

"Yeah, but I need to check something first," the young woman continued as she walked back into the inn. "I'll be back in a bit. You guys were planning to continue testing Alex, right?"

"Yes, that was the plan," Linze replied as she got out the spellstones again.

"Well, that should give me enough time to talk with a friend of mine who needed help with a project of hers," Mika explained with a grin. "Might not be an official guild request, but I'm sure she'd be willing to pay you for the assistance."

"Hey, there we go!" said Alex with a cheerful grin. "It's better than nothing!"

"Yeah...thanks, Mika," Elze admitted with a small smile. "We really appreciate what you're doing for us."

"Hey, all in the part of good customer service," Mika replied with a wink. "I'll be back!"

"Cool...alright...so we tested Water Magic," said Alex as he joined the girls at the table and saw Linze had sorted the remaining six stones for him. "What's next?"

"How about Fire?" Linze suggested handing the young man the red stone. "Just make sure to point it away from everyone."

"Yeah, I rather not make Mika madder than she was earlier," Elze joked with a wry grin.

"So...you're telling me that I should burn down the inn, huh?" Alex japed, making the twins laugh. "Alright...let's give this a try."

Alex moved a few steps from the girls and away from any of the nearby buildings. Holding the stone aloft and focusing as he had done before, Alex took a deep breath.

"Come forth, Fire!"

Like before, the stone began to glow brightly as a massive stream of fire blasted forth and into the sky. This time, however, Alex managed to stop producing the flames without having to drop the stone. Unfortunately, he was left with burnt fingertips. The young man tossed the stone to his opposite left as he shook his right hand in pain.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, that damn stings like hell!" Alex hissed as he returned to the table, as he could already see blisters forming on the bright red skin.

"Are you alright?!" Linze exclaimed as she quickly began looking over Alex's hand.

"Yeah, just a little burnt up," said Alex with a painful grin. "Thankfully, it seemed like my fingers were cooked medium-rare instead of well-done."

"It seemed like you have a lot of mana," Elze observed as she watched Alex place the stone on the same. "Far more than the Spellstones could channel at once. You'll need a lot of practice to get a better hang of it."

"Yeah...especially since I'd rather not lose any of my fingers," Alex said with a nervous laugh.

"The good news is that the damage isn't too bad, so I can heal you right up," said Linze with a sigh of relief as she gently took hold of Alex's hand and focused. "Come forth, Light. Heal."

Alex breathed a sigh of relief as the pain disappeared, and his hand looked as good as new.

"Damn, Linze. You're amazing," Alex said with a kind smile that made the younger Silhoueska twin blush.

"It...it was nothing..."

"So are you two gonna stop holding hands and get back to testing aptitudes or what?" Elze suddenly spoke up in an irked voice, making the two scramble to separate.

"Yeah...So it seems like I have two aptitudes," Alex suddenly spoke up as he picked up the next spellstone. "Let's see what else I have..."

Over the next few minutes, much to the twins' shock. Every test with the spellstones resulted in a powerful reaction, thankfully, while Alex received no further injuries. He was getting progressively more exhausted as he drained more and more mana. Finally, Alex placed the dark spellstone on the table and sat to catch his breath.

"Damn...I'm hungry..." said Alex managed to say between breaths. 'Looks like using mana burns calories like crazy. I can almost feel like my pants are loosening up.'

"What the heck are you?!" Elze exclaimed as she finally processed what she had just witnessed.

"Huh?" Alex breathed out, looking up at the elder twin in confusion.

"This the first we've ever heard of anyone who could use all six elements of magic," Linze explained as she held her hand to her chin, clearly deep in thought. "It's common for most mages to only have two aptitudes. Having three or more is already considered quite rare! But you can use them all...albeit you need to work on learning to focus. It's still incredible!"

'Did God make me OP?' Alex wondered as he placed his head on the table as his thoughts returned to his nightmare last night.

"Your desire to right the wrongs! To quench your thirst with the taste of vengeance! You don't know it yet, but your truest potential has been unlocked! Allow me to show you the way! The truth so that you can become the mightiest being in existence! One strong enough to return to your home, where you truly belong! One to go beyond even All Might! Villains would tremble in your very presence, and the people's love will soon follow."

'It wasn't lying...I actually might be more powerful than All Might now...'

Alex's eyes wandered to spot the seventh spellstone, which was almost completely clear as glass.

"What element is that?" Alex questioned as he finally caught his breath and sat back up.

"Null magic," Linze answered promptly.

"Oh yeah, you mentioned using Null magic yesterday, right Elze?" Alex followed up, looking at Elze, who was still staring at him.

"Yeah, my personal spell, boost," said Elze as she rested her chin on her hands.

"Personal spell?"

"Null magic tends to also be referred to as personal magic since it's rare for anyone to have the same spell," Linze explained as she picked up the clear stone.

"There is no singular incantation, and since it varies from person to person with the aptitude. From spell to effect. In the case of Elze, her Null magic is a form of fortification magic, which boosts her physical abilities. There are other examples of famous Null magics like Gate or Power Rise. The former is magic to let the user teleport. The latter is similar to Elze's boost spell and was said to be used by the legendary Swordmaster, Gaiden Shinji."

'Null Magic definitely feels like how Quirks worked back in my world,' Alex realized as he looked at the clear stone in Linze's hand with curiosity. 'I wonder if my quirk could be my null magic?'

"So...how does somebody figure what Null magic they have?"

"It varies," Elze answered in place of her sister. "At some point, the spell's name just comes to you."

"So when did it come you, Elze?"

Linze suddenly began to laugh, while Elze's face formed a mischievous smirk.

"It happened while we were still living with our aunt and uncle," Elze began to explain with nostalgia. "I was nine years old, and it was shortly after our parents had passed, and we were simply doing our fair of the chores around the farmstead. Anyways, my uncle has me help me move a bunch of haystacks for storage. It was rough work, and I really wanted to get it done quickly, so I wished for a boost...and just like that, it clicked. I called out boost, and next thing you know, I'm hauling three super heavy stacks of hay like it was nothing! The look on my uncle's face was priceless!"

The trio shared a laugh. However, Alex did feel for the twins who lost their parents at such a young age.

"So it seems like I won't be able to test if I have Null magic until it pops in my head, huh?"

"No," said Linze with a gentle shake of her head as she offered the stone to Alex. "You can still test if you have an aptitude just by trying it and see if you get a reaction."

"Ah, I guess that makes sense," said Alex as he took the stone and moved back to where he tested the other stones.

"Why not try it by using the Gate spell?" Linze suggested.

"Alright..." said Alex as he held the stone forward and began focusing. "Gate."

The stone began to glow, and a bright light shined in front of him. Suddenly, a tear in space-time opened up and on the other side seemed to be a lonely road. The twins scrambled to see the results, shocked beyond belief that Alex seemed to have access to such a powerful spell.

"No way..." Elze exclaimed as she examined the opening with caution. "Did that actually work?"

"It seems like it..." Linze answered completely flabbergasted.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," said Alex as he moved forward to test out his own handiwork. Of course, he was cautious as he first tested it with his hand. As it passed through the portal, there was a surprisingly refreshing sensation that could only be described as running one's hand through gently cooled air. Feeling a little more confident, Alex stepped through the portal completely and found himself right back where he started his journey.

"Where are we?" Elze asked as she followed Alex through the portal, with Linze following closely behind.

"It's where I met Zanac on my way to Reflet," Alex answered as he took a deep breath of fresh air.

"Well, it was said that gate could only work on places the user had to been to before," Linze explained as she took in the grassy plains of Belfast. "I guess this place was on your mind."

"Yeah...hey girls? Can we go back?" Alex asked as he began to breathe heavily again. "I just realized that keeping the gate open is actually both really hard and very draining of mana."

"Oh yeah, let's go before we end up having to walk all the way to Reflet," said Elze as she quickly hopped back through the portal with her sister. Alex instantly followed suit as they returned to the backdoor area of the Sliver Moon Inn. As the portal closed, Alex suddenly dropped to his knees, completely spent on energy. At the same time, his stomach growled painfully for food.

"Damn...I'm starving..." Alex groaned between deep breaths.

"I can only imagine," Elze replied with a wince. "I get wiped out if I overuse my boost spell. You probably used up most of your mana during testing."

"Still, that's really impressive to have that much mana, to begin with!" Linze exclaimed as she took account of everything Alex had done with magic in such a short time. "Between having every affinity and that much mana, you're like the most versatile mage ever!"

Again, Alex was reminded of what was said to him in his dream last night.

"You don't know it yet, but your truest potential has been unlocked! Allow me to show you the way! The truth so that you can become the mightiest being in existence! One strong enough to return to your home, where you truly belong! One to go beyond even All Might!"

'If I become strong enough...maybe I can find a way back home...'

"I'm back!"

Before Alex could dwell on any possible dark machinations. Mika returned with another young woman in tow.

"This is the friend I was telling you about," Mika stated, oblivious to the shock that the trio were still recovering from. "Her name is Aer, and she helps run that cafe called Parent with her sister."

Aer was around the same height as Mika, with brown hair and pale yellow eyes. She wore what Alex would estimate to be a maid's outfit, but in a dark pink color that was topped off by an orange bow and white apron. The brunette bowed her head slightly as she spoke with an airy voice.

"Thank you for hearing out my request," Aer said as she addressed them. "Mika told me that you're adventurers, correct?"

"Yeah, so what can we help you with?" Elze quickly asked while Linze helped Alex get up to his feet and sit him down by the broken table.

"I was hoping you could help us expand our menu," Aer explained her case. "I thought since you were adventurers, you might have tried all sorts of food in your travels."

Alex's eyes and ears perked up at the mention of food, but his mind began to process all kinds of different answers.

'I think I can rope her into a business deal like I did Zanac...'

"Well, what kind of foods were you looking for?" Linze followed up as she put her hand to her chin again.

"Our cafe is renowned for our selection of sweets," Aer answered promptly. "Nothing too heavy, but I wanted to at least make a new dessert that wasn't just another cake."

"How about you, Alex?" Mika interjected, seeing that Alex had remained quiet this whole time. "Got any ideas?"

"A few things come to mind," Alex answered with a grin. "However, mind if we head to the cafe before I answer? I want to see exactly the type of items you carry. Plus...do you have coffee?"

"Yes, we do; it's a little expens-"

"Sold!" Alex interrupted as he rose from his seat at the table. Only to plop straight down to the ground as his knees buckled from the lack of energy. "Damn...I'm still staving...can I get a little help...please?"

"Whoa, are you okay, Alex?!" Mika exclaimed with a jump, while Aer looked nervous.

"Oh yeah, he's fine, just tired from using a lot of magic!" Elze explained away with a laugh. "Boost!"

"Whoa! I guess I'm to be the blushing bride today, huh?" Alex joked as Elze held him in a princess carry, which was all the funnier when you considered the height difference between them. Alex had estimated that the twins were 5'3 at best compared to his 5'10.

"Don't make me drop you, honey," Elze retorted sarcastically as she began following Aer and Mika. They were simply laughing at their antics. Regardless, Alex didn't mind; he was just glad they were finally going to get some food.

A short while later, in the back room of the Parent Cafe.

"AH...that hit the spot!" The young man exclaimed after consuming several slices of various cakes and cups of coffee until Alex was as good as new. Much to the shock, awe, and minor horror of everyone who had seen Alex being able to eat that much in a single sitting.

"Alright, between the samples and now that I got my energy back. I definitely have some solid ideas that can work for you, Aer!"

"Really?!" The young woman exclaimed with excitement as she began to listen intently.

"So while the cakes are great. You're lacking some simpler pastries that are easier to eat and still go great with coffee," Alex started off. As he had noted that there wasn't anything like donuts, eclairs, boston cream pies, or even cream puffs. "But if you really want to stand out from the crowd, you should try ice cream."

"Ice cream?" Aer questioned with a confused expression. "Frozen cream?"

"What's that?" Mika questioned as she put down her coffee cup.

'Alright, so Ice Cream doesn't exist yet, eh?' Alex figured with a nod as he watched that everyone here seemed lost on the concept. "It's a delicious treat; if you make it just right, it's sweet, light, and soft. It would contrast well with the coffee, perfect during those sweltering summer days."

"That sounds perfect!" Aer exclaimed as excitement reignited in her eyes.

"Oh, now I'm curious to see what you mean by that," Elze followed up with an excited grin.

"Alright, give me a second," Alex had been in such a better mood that he didn't realize that he had casually pulled out his smartphone to start looking at recipes. Only to notice another video in the recommended section that made him pause.

"Alexander Springfield Sanction Vote Results!"

"What is that, Alex?" Linze was quick to question as she had never seen anything like it before but was the only one who could actually see the screen from where she sat. "I've never seen such a device before."

"It's a magical item from my homeland," Alex quickly answered as he mentally berated himself as his thumb continued to look over ice recipes and ignored the video. "It's basically a custom multi-tool tied to the user. It's basically how I did minor magic tricks before you taught me real magic."

He gave his phone two hard shakes, and the flashlight came alive. To the rest of his audience, it was seen as magical. But Alex already knew the basic science behind how his phone worked.

"Huh, interesting," Elze commented as she rubbed the bottom of her chin with interest.

"Yeah," Alex said nervously as he shook the phone to turn off the light. "It also stores important information like a map and other helpful guides. Which includes the recipe for ice cream. Anyways, before we get carried away, Linze, can you make ice with magic?"

"Oh! Umm...of course," Linze answered quickly. "Ice is just another form of water, after all!"

"Perfect!" Said Alex as he turned his attention to Aer. "Now, Aer, do you have these ingredients?"

Over the next hour, the five worked together to try and make ice cream. While there were a couple of failed attempts, they were ultimately successful in making the frozen treat.

"This is amazing!" Mika praised as she took another spoonful of the ice cream.

"Indeed! We could even make this our signature dish!" Aer proclaimed as she playfully stirred the ice cream in her bowl.

"It just melts in your mouth!" said Linze, delighted by the frozen concoction.

"Damn, from magic to food, it made me wonder what else you have up those sleeves," said Elze with a teasing laugh.

"Oh, I have yet to scratch the surface of what I have at my disposal," Alex answered with a wide grin. "Anyway, Aer. I'll give you this recipe for free, but for anything else. I'd have to charge you or come to some mutual business agreement."

"I think we can come to some agreement for future endeavors," Aer followed up with a slightly more sly smile. "With any luck, I might be able to have a little more control of the cafe over my sister."

'Oh shit...Aer might actually be more devious than I thought...good to know,' Alex thought as he took pour himself another cup of coffee. 'Oh yeah...that's that good shit!'

"Maybe I should try selling this back in my inn?" Mika wondered aloud as she stirred the ice cream around.

"Actually, Mika, I have a different idea in mind for you," Alex interjected as he took his chance to hopefully make dinner one of these nights.

Alex was in a surprisingly good mood as he lay in bed that night.

Unlike the last two days, today has been quite fun! Sure the trio didn't do everything they wanted today, but they still got a lot done and learned more about each other. Mika even agreed to let Alex cook dinner tomorrow, which the young American looked forward to.

'There was something about seeing everyone enjoy the ice cream that reminded me of why I wanted to be a Pro-Hero,' Alex thought as he stared at the ceiling. Remembering his time with his favorite work-studies mentor. 'Especially when I got to be on the Animal Buddies TV show, entertaining the crowd was always fun. Adventurers seemed to be a dime a dozen, but this place lacks some of my favorite foods...Maybe I should become a chef instead? Less risky, I easily cut labor and shipping costs with magic once I have enough practice. I also have a solid source of local ingredients thanks to the farms nearby...'

The more Alex thought about it. The more he was beginning to like the idea of doing something new and, in his mind, far more rewarding than being just another Adventurer. Opening a restaurant that could serve food from his world just sounded not only fun but something he could see himself doing and enjoying. 'I don't have to worry about Karens...at least I think I don't. Either way...I might only keep up the adventuring gig until I have the cash to open my own place.'

Alex pulled out his smartphone, only to stare at the darkened screen.

He thought about looking up that video he saw briefly while looking at the ice cream recipes. The temptation, however, wasn't as strong as it was before...after all, what else should he expect by now except more pain? The young man shook his head and simply put the phone on the stand by his bedside.

'I...I need to let it all go...' He thought as he turned around to get comfortable, his heavy eyelids getting the best of him.

Author's Commentary

One of the first things I wanted to tackle for Alex and the girls was their overall goals.

Being an Adventurer is one thing, but what is the endgame of being an adventurer? Is it just for the money? What's the goal with that money? For the girls who are still young, I think it's okay for them to still be thinking it over.

For Alex, however, who had his whole life turned upside down. I could imagine him wanting to step away from such a lifestyle since he had a similar one in his previous world. There may be some influence from one of my now favorite animes: Restaurant to Another World. (Which came in the same year as In Another World with My Smartphone back in 2017) Alex did know how to cook and with the general lack of his favorite foods, opening a restaurant that features cuisine from his world seems like the thing to do. Now he just needs funds and connections to make it happen.

The first scene is the beginning of what I could describe as the central conflict of this story. This entity is trying to tempt Alex with his own found powers. While God gave Alex the ability to use magic, he did not give Alex the natural talent to use magic as he did to Touya. Because I actually want Alex to grow with his new set of abilities that are so different from his old ones. As we can see both from his lack of control, he still uses his intelligence to break down magic via scientific means.

This has been proving to be quite a fun project, and I hope you guys have enjoyed it as well.