Throughout his childhood, Kenichi had always been a big fan of traditional rice and vegetables, with maybe some fish or a bit of pork for occasional treats when you weren't eating tofu or beans instead. He was fine with Western Style fare, but it was far from his go to. Still, he'd liked pizza well enough, and it was certainly something he'd enjoyed from time to time.
But sitting down at what was obviously a Pizza Hut, complete with bright red roof, in the middle of a medieval fantasy town for a slice of pie was far and away the second most surreal experience he'd ever had.
The first was probably that whole dying and coming back to life thing.
"So, this is pizza?" Alice said, frowning down at the steaming tray the serving girl had delivered. The staff were dressed in red aprons with black uniforms, and even had on little caps with "Red Roof Pizza" on it.
"Yeah, have a slice," Kenichi encouraged, using a fork to give one to Alice. It was topped with mushrooms and sausage, and looked pretty good, with just browned cheese and a thick but greasy crust.
He took a slice of his own, then paused with it halfway to his mouth as he watched Alice. She was daintily cutting her own pizza with a knife and fork. When she glanced over at Kenichi, she blushed. "Oh, ah, is this a food one eats with one's own hands?"
"Um, I guess? But…you can use a fork if you want to," Kenichi assured her, mouth now watering slightly as he held up his food.
"No, no! I insist on experiencing this food in the proper fashion. Ah, as I recall, the stable boys do often eat with their hands…" she quickly put down her silverware and picked up the slice, then took a small nibble. "Oh! This is quite good!"
"Mhm," Kenichi said, desperately trying to chew and swallow instead of opening his mouth to reply.
"The cheese compliments the sauce quite well, and the bread adds a delightful flavor. I do enjoy the fresh mushrooms and sausage. I've never had ordinary sausage from pigs before." Alice carefully used her fork to pry off a bit of sausage from the pizza, then popped it in her mouth. She put her hand to her cheek and smiled as she chewed, looking rather pleased.
Taking a quick sip of his drink, Alice had been delighted to try "ale" which seemed to be some sort of alcohol, Kenichi managed. "Er, what sort of sausage do you normally eat?"
"Oh, well, I typically prefer manticor sausage, but the chefs do insist on serving dragon sausage. It's a bit too greasy for my tastes, but the flavor is good," Alice explained.
"Are you like…some sort of nobility?" Kenichi asked, finally becoming slightly suspicious.
Alice blushed and pulled her hood up further, as if to hide her blonde hair. "I, ah, am…related to several minor noble families…I myself am no one of real consequence."
"Huh, ok." Kenichi looked around, shaking his head. "Wow, this place really does like it belongs in Japan. The staff are even really friendly."
"Oh!? You are from the ancient and mystical land of Japan!?" Iris gasped, suddenly leaning forward, her eyes bright. "Are you really the legendary Sir Mitsurugi that I have heard of, the man rumored to be the one who will defeat the Devil King himself!?"
"Er, no, but Mitsurugi does sound like a Japanese name," Kenichi admitted, blushing slightly. Alice reminded him a lot of Honoka with her obvious enthusiasm and cheerful demeanor. He suddenly felt morose, and took another bite of pizza to cover.
"Ah, I see. But you are from another world then, if you are from Japan," Iris mused.
Kenichi half choked on his pizza, and had to pound his chest as Alice looked worriedly on. "I, um, well, you see-"
"It is quite alright: it is something of a secret, but the Royal Family and much of the nobility has some Japanese blood. After all, whenever a great hero arises, the nobility competes to see who will wed them and bring their strength to their own bloodline. Why, my Great-Grandfather on my mother's side was named Hideoki Sansano, and defeated the Devil King of his age with the help of the brave Royal Princess, Alice Stylish Sword Belzerg." Alice deflated slightly after that impassioned speech, looking rather dejected.
"Oh, I guess…there's another Devil King?" Kenichi asked. He rubbed the back of his neck and laughed. "Well, I guess I was sent here by a goddess to defeat the Devil King, but honestly I don't have a clue what to do…"
"Truly? You were?" Alice asked excitedly, her eyes sparkling. "Why, our meeting must be fated, then! I may not be as brave as Great-Grandfather and Grand-Mother, but I too wish to defeat a Devil King!"
"Er, really? I see you have a sword, do you know how to use it? Maybe you could teach me, since, well…I kinda don't know the first thing about fighting," Kenichi admitted.
"Yes, I can-" Alice paused, glancing out the window. She let out an "eep" and hid under the table.
On the street outside, the blonde woman with the dyed hair and her companion in the blue dress stalked by. The one with the sword, Claire if Kenichi remembered right, stuck her head in the pizza place. "You there! Have you seen a young woman of incredible beauty, with grape hair ornaments?"
"Er, no, nobody like that here," Kenichi instantly called. "I thought I saw a girl like that though, she said she was, um, looking for…ramen?"
"Of course she would be after commoner food like that," Claire grumbled. She nodded to Kenichi. "Thank you, citizen. Your aide to the Crown will be remembered."
Claire vanished, and Kenichi bent over to peer under the table, where a flustered Alice was still hiding. "You can come out now. You're…not just some minor noble, are you? And I bet that Princess Alice was your great-grandmother too."
"She was," Alice admitted guiltily as she got out from under the table. She blushed again, and looked down at the sword at her side. "This was Great-Grandmama's sword, Excalibur."
Kenichi blinked. "Wait, you mean like, King Arthur, legendary knights, that sword?"
"Well, obviously, Arthur was a queen, she helped found the Belzerg line and this was her weapon," Iris said, touching the hilt. It looked somewhat plane, blue leather with a gold tip. But if Kenichi remembered right, it looked EXACTLY like a certain someone's sword, and she had been a woman…
"Don't tell me you're a Saber clone," Kenichi muttered.
Apparently, Iris had good hearing, because she nodded vigorously. "Yes! Just as Arthur Saber Belzerg was a mighty warrior, I am Iris Stylish Sword Belzerg! I have inherited her skills, and will gladly seek out adventure to face the Devil King!"
"Are you sure? I mean, we just met, and I'm just a no name from Japan with no weapons or anything," Kenichi sighed. He pulled out his pockets, showing how empty they were. "I don't have any money, or gear, or anything really…"
"You have me, as your friend," Iris said, putting her hand on Kenichi's. Then she blushed and hastily retracted it. "Um, you should likely continue to call me Alice, however. It is not such an uncommon name…"
"I guess friendship really is the best weapon," Kenich chuckled. "Alright, let's do this, together!"
His stomach growled as he stood, and it was Kenichi's turn to blush as Iris giggled. "Um, right after we finish eating…"
Sometime later, they left the pizza shop, and made their way towards the city gates.
"Claire will probably soon have the guards on the lookout for me. She likely thinks I just snuck out to try some commoner food. She is correct of course, but I have found a new mission now!" Iris explained as they walked.
"Aren't you worried you'll get in trouble or something?" Kenichi asked, though he did also have in mind that absconding with a princess was probably a serious crime in and of itself.
"Ah, well, if we do some suitably heroic deeds, I am certain no one will mind. After all, father and my elder brother are off fighting against the forces of the Devil King, and Jatice has been doing so since he was only a bit older than I am now," Iris explained.
"Er, how old exactly are you?" Kenichi asked. "Are you old enough to go fight monsters?"
Iris gave Kenichi an injured look. "And how old are you, Mr. Kenichi?"
"Well, I mean…I guess I'm only fifteen? But, that's the normal age for shonen protagonists," he said, feeling a little lame.
"And I am not so much younger than you. Come, we shall take a carriage! Here, take this money. Just purchase two tickets for Axel, and say the other is for your younger sister. Axel is the town of beginning Adventurers, and likely the farthest place for Claire to come looking for me."
Iris handed Kenichi a bulging bag of coins, and he blinked slightly at the sum. "Er, how much is this?"
"Oh, it is a paltry sum, only 10,000,000 eris. Well, short what we spent on lunch. I gave the waitress 10,000, she was very pleased! But I do not know how much a carriage ride for two is…"
"Eh, I think this is probably more than enough," Kenichi said, trying not to wince. The prices had been pretty close to what they would have been in Yen, so she'd definitely overpaid by a ton for that pizza, good as it was.
He turned out to be right, as it was only 8,000 eris for two tickets to Axel. He and Iris found their carriage was already occupied, with two young girls already inside. One of them had on a large floppy wizard hat, and both were dressed in robes like wizards, and arguing rather loudly. Or rather, the one in that hat was yelling, and the other was blushing and looking down.
"-don't need you to buy things for me! I'm your RIVAL! We should have had to duel dramatically to see who gets the ride to Axel!" hat girl was half shouting.
"Oh!" Iris gasped upon seeing their travel companions. "Crimson Demons!"
The quiet girl blushed and looked down, apparently embarrassed, but hat girl cackled maniacally. "HA! Then you knew to fear us!"
Kenichi wasn't certain about traveling with supposed demons, but before he could do anything, Iris flung back her hood, drew her sword, and posed with it raised in a high guard. "BEHOLD! I AM ALICE, WIELDER OF THE SACRED BLADE, AND SHE WHO WILL ONE DAY MASTER THE DANCE OF SWORDS AND DEFEAT THE DEVIL KING!"
The little outburst made Kenichi blink. Weren't they supposed to be keeping a low profile?
But then Hat Girl jumped out of the carriage, raising aloft a wizard staff, and putting on a red eye patch. "BEHOLD! I AM MEGUMIN! FOREMOST GENIUS OF THE CRIMSON DEMON CLAN, AND SHE WHO IS MISTRESS OF EXPLOSION MAGIC!"
Then both Megumin and Iris turned to Kenichi, apparently expecting him to introduce himself.
"Um, well, I-" Kenichi thought back to middle school, and he imagined how Kazuma would have introduced himself when he was going through his chuunibyo phase. He planted his hands on his hips and bellowed out, "I AM KENICHI SHIRAHAMA, HE WHO WAS REINCARNATED BY A GODDESS, AND IS DESTINED TO DEFEAT THE DEVIL KING!"
The quiet girl hastily scrambled out of the carriage, drawing a silver dagger and holding it to her forehead as she stammered, "B-behold, um, I-I am Yunyun, s-she who has d-defeated a demon, a-and will one day b-be chieftess of the C-Crimson Demon Clan…"
"Er, it's nice to meet you both," Kenichi said, and hastily bowed.
"SHUT UP YOU DAMN RED EYES! GET IN THE CARRIAGE OR GET OUT!" the driver shouted.
"Hmph. Outsiders have no sense of style," Megumin huffled. She raised her rod. "I should let loose an Explosion upon these fools, and prove the might of the Crimson Demon Clan!"
"B-but we already bought the tickets, a-and I don't have enough money for more," Yunyun said, looking worried. "W-we should just go…A-Axel is the only place for us to find a party together…"
"I REFUSE TO BE IN YOUR PARTY! THERE IS ROOM FOR BUT ONE ARCHWIZARD IN A PARTY!" Megumin shouted, but she got back in the carriage, with Kenichi and Iris hurrying in after her.
As soon as they were in, the driver cracked his whip, and the carriage took off down the road, following after a train of other carriages and wagons. Most of them were pulled by oxen or horses, but Kenichi caught sight of huge predatory birds, giant lizards, and even one wagon pulled by what looked like two giant earthworms.
"So, er, are you two, um, beginning adventurers?" Kenichi asked, trying to strike up a conversation as Megumin fumed and Yunyun tried to hide behind a book she'd taken out of her bag.
"No! I am no mere beginner," Megumin bragged. "I am already level five, and an Archwizard who knows the GREATEST AND MOST POWERFUL of magics: EXPLOSION MAGIC!"
"Oh, uh, that's cool. I…don't know what level I am," Kenichi admitted.
That made Yunyun gasp and drop her book, while Megumin snorted. "Then you are clearly a fool. Who does not know their level and amount of Experience? Do you even HAVE an Adventurers card!?"
"Why, my Big Brother is just joking," Iris said, taking Kenichi's arm and smiling happily. "He's level one, of course. We're both going to become Adventurers, and one day defeat the Devil King! We would be most honored to form a party with two Crimson Demons. All know of the might of your clan, and of your valiant work against the forces of evil!"
Megumin preened, while Yunyun started to look suspicious. "M-most outsiders d-don't like Crimson Demons. Um, we're a bit reclusive, and, er, well…p-people think we behave strangely…it's very rare to have an outsider who knows h-how to give a proper greeting."
"Bah, most outsiders are fools and extremely boring!" Megumin declared. "I call them as my party! You have to find your own, Yunyun! What class are you, Kenichi? And you, Iris?"
"Er…" Kenichi glanced at Iris, totally lost.
"Big Brother is currently an Adventurer, as he's still deciding what class he wants to be," Iris explained. "I am a simple, um…knight."
"That's not a class," Yunyun said, her eyes suddenly glowing and making Kenichi lean back. "If you're trying to hurt Megumin…I only know Intermediate Magic, but I won't let you hurt my friend!"
"I am not your friend, we're RIVALS!" Megumin snapped.
"Um, I…I'm a Rune Knight," Iris said timidly, half hiding behind Kenichi's arm.
Megumin and Yunyun both blinked in shock, while Kenichi just nodded. "Er, yep, that's Alice! She just, um, prefers to say she's a knight! Always reading old stories about King Arthur…"
"Queen Arthur," Yunyun corrected as Iris opened her mouth. Yunyun cocked her head to one side. "That is an Advanced class. You, um, well…I-I don't mean to offend you, but…you look younger than M-megumin and I. How are you, well…already a Rune Knight?"
"She's got blonde hair, duh," Megumin said, pointing. "She's obviously a noble."
"That doesn't e-explain him then," Yunyun said, still frowning. "H-how is his little s-sister a Rune Knight, b-but he's just an Adventurer?"
"I'm adopted," Kenichi said hastily. "We're not blood siblings."
"My family, ah, took Kenichi in when his parents passed away tragically," Iris said hastily. "They were our family retainers. I think of him as like my own Big Brother though."
That had to be the most contrived, overly dramatic sob story Kenichi had ever heard. There was no way anyone would ever buy it.
"That makes sense," Megumin said, and Yunyun nodded in agreement. "Being a tragic orphan is a very interesting backstory, I'm very happy for you."
"Um, s-sorry about your parents though," Yunyun stammered, giving Kenichi a timid smile.
Suddenly, Kenich felt as though he couldn't breathe, and he felt something splatter on his chest. He realized he was sobbing, and that Iris was hugging him tightly as he cried. "I miss them so much! Mom, dad, Honoka…they haven't even been gone so long, but I'm dead, and I'll never see them again."
"There there, Big Brother," Iris said gently, patting his head.
Yunyun gave Kenichi a hankie to dry his face with, while Megumin looked slightly embarrassed at her earlier comment.
When he'd calmed down a little, she reached into her robe and pulled out a small black kitten. "This is Chomusuke. She is my familiar. If you promise to be gentle, I shall allow you to hold her."
Accepting the cat, Kenichi placed her in his lap, and stroked her while Iris made cooing sounds. "Thanks, Megumin. Um, and you too, Yunyun. We, er, we are looking for party members…you're both Archwizards?"
"Yes, that's a very powerful class, but all Crimson Demons are archwizards," Iris hastily explained before Kenichi could show off his ignorance. "Most of them learn Advanced magic, but Megumin has specialized in Explosion. It is, perhaps, the most singularly powerful spell in existence, able to wipe out entire armies, or slay the mightiest beast! Yunyun seems to also be somewhat unusual for her people, and has chosen to take a variety of utility spells. They would actually compliment each other quite well in a party, fulfilling different rolls. Megumin obviously is hampered by her spells enormous cost in mana and casting time-"
"I am not hampered! Explosion is the most glorious of all spells, and it's destructive majesty is what I have dedicated my life to!" Megumin argued. But then she blushed. "But, um, thank you for not calling me a gimmick…"
"I, um, I will learn Advanced Magic!" Yunyun said earnestly. "But, um, I…I did need to take Intermediate magic, to um…it's n-not important…"
"Huh, so they're like, a nuker and a red mage," Kenichi mused, rubbing his chin. "Do Arch Wizards learn healing magic?"
Yunyun blushed and shook her head, and Megumin scoffed. "Of course not! Only a fool takes healing magic! The best way to stay alive is to kill your foes with destructive power before they reach you!"
"M-make them react to you, n-not you to them," Yunyun agreed. Then she glanced at Megumin and smiled. "But, um…w-we would make good party members…Alice thinks so…"
"I'm not having anyone steal my glory, or experience!" Megumin snarled. Then she blushed. "But, um…do you really think we'd work well together?"
"Oh yes!" Iris said eagerly. "There is a rare spell called Mana Siphon, that lets an Archwizard give mana to their party members! Most do not bother to learn it, as after all, who better to use mana than an arch wizard! But, if one Archwizard specialized in Explosion, the downside is the limited ability to cast it due to mana requirements. But, if their ally were to buff them and funnel them mana-"
"I-I can help Megumin!" Yunyun said eagerly. "T-that's what friends are for!"
"Maybe I could get some skills that would help you all with mana recovery as an Adventurer," Kenichi suggested.
Soon, all four were planning their future together as party members. And for some reason, the Devil King started shivering.