Izu's home world – UA Height Alliance Dormitories – Momo's room -
Momo was slowly pacing around her room, nail of her right thumb tightly trapped between her teeth as she lightly bitten down on it while deep in thought; Ochako was sitting in silence on the girl's massive bed and watching her walk back and forth while faintly mumbling to herself, a tiny habit she ended-up copying from her beloved boyfriend.
"…"
"…"
"…" Suddenly Momo stopped and turned sharply to the side to look at Ochako fast enough the brunette herself almost suffered the backlash of the fast movement.
"You are not pulling my leg, right? You actually saw it happen?" She asked.
"I am telling the truth." Ochako answered.
"So Nejire and Rumi have joined forces…" The other said.
"As absurd as it sounds, yes."
"What I don't understand is why Rumi is going along with this. I did expect something as insane as this from Nejire Hado...I did hear the rumours of her tackling Life in her own 'Out of the Box' way. But a prideful woman like Rumi…" Momo muttered, once again pacing around deep in thought.
"Life is about compromises, Momo." Ochako answered, sighing.
"...Sadly true. Why tell me then? Uh?" Momo answered, walking closer to the other girl and leaning down to meet her eyes.
"…"
"Ochako?"
"Because we are friends." She whispered in answer.
Sigh! "Yes, we are."
"Momo...I…"
"Why him? I just want to know."
"It happened. We...We both have a less than stellar background, we both had very few friends growing-up, him because of his Quirklessness and me because...Because I dressed with hand-me-downs or bargain bin clothes…" Ochako answered, sniffling a bit hard out of shame.
"…"
"We both dreamed of seeing people smile and feel safe, and we both got reminded that unless one has a powerful Quirk or lots of money then they won't go far in life. Not nowadays at least."
"That is a very downer way to see things." Momo said.
"We obviously grew out of that way of thinking. Or at least we are trying to."
"Then came similar tastes in Heroes and music, him being supportive and maybe his looks, correct?" Momo asked, arms crossed.
"The whole nine yards or whatever, yes…" Ochako answered.
Sigh! "I don't need this. I don't want this! Did he try to seduce you?"
"NO! I swear!" Ochako answered immediately.
"Then why are you others getting in my damn way!?"
"...It...It just happen-"
"Out. Get out, please...I need...I need to be...I don't think I can take you staying here with me now." Momo interrupted her with a tired voice, and opened the door right after.
"I am sorry, Momo." Ochako muttered while walking out and back towards her room.
"And that is even worse, because I know you actually are sorry." She answered, gently closing the door to then walk to her bed and throw herself face-down on her pillow.
"…" Once silence fell again in her room, she fished-out her phone and composed her mother's number.
"...Baby girl?" Rei answered barely a minute later.
"Hi, Mom."
"Did the talk go bad?" The woman asked.
"Pretty much. She just confirmed every single fear I had." Momo admitted, and she hated how her eyes stung as she said that.
"I am very sorry, Momo. I didn't want this to happen." Inko's voice came in response.
"It's not your fault, Inko-san, and apparently it isn't even Izuku's fault. In the end all this is happening due to other people's insistence." She answered, sniffling a bit.
"Want me to talk with them?" Inko asked with a soft voice.
"No, please. I...We are already putting your family under a bad light, I don't want to add fuel to it…"
"Momo?"
"Your son is not with me for money like the rumours say, right? Y-Y-You are not after our wealth, right?"
"MOMO YAOYOROZU!" Rei roared in fury.
"N-No! We are not that sort of people!" Inko echoed with a scared voice.
"It's just...Rumours keep coming and...and...and I hate it!" Momo admitted.
"Momo. Whoever wants to talk behind your back, whoever wants to spread nasty rumours just wants to ruin things for you and will do it regardless. If they can't attack your looks, then they will attack your wealth, or your friends, or your tastes, or your choice in partners; they don't need real personal motivation either, some people just spread nasty rumours because they enjoy doing it." Rei said with a way softer voice, once again warm and gentle.
"But it hurts! It's hurting us both!" Momo said.
"I know, but you must be strong. Ignore them, focus on yourself, on your happiness and on your Life, if their victims don't show them satisfaction by getting hurt by their words, they will be the one losing. You are a Hero, right? Then show them how you can rise to the Challenge!"
"I...I'll try." Momo said, drying her tears.
"That's my baby girl! Strong and unyielding!" Rei said, proud.
"Thank you, mom." The young woman answered with a tiny, tentative smile.
"…"
"Inko-san?"
"Ye-Yes?"
"Sorry for insinuating your son had an agenda against me, it was uncalled for."
"NO! NO NEED TO APOLOGISE! I AM SURE YOU HAVE HAD MANY SUITORS ONLY OUT TO GET LAID OR MONEY, BUT I ASSURE YOU I RAISED MY ICCHAN PROPERLY AND WOULD HAVE SKINNED HIS BUTT WITH MY OWN TWO HANDS AND THROTTLED HIM IF HE ACTUALLY TRIED COURTING YOU ONLY FOR MONEY SINCE I HATE THAT SORT OF PEOPLE MYSELF AND I KNOW HE TOO DOES AND IT'S UNFAIR TO TREAT PEOPLE BASED ON WEALTH AND-"
"Jesus Christ, INKO! BREATH!" Rei yelled while interrupting the woman's ramblings, probably by covering Inko's mouth with both her hands.
"Huhuhu! Now I see from where my Izu takes that habit," Momo said with a chuckle, still a bit wet-sounding, but for the moment recovering some peace.
"SORRY!" Inko yelled in answer, getting back a new chuckle from both Yaoyorozu women.
"It's okay, he and I will face this hurdle as well, together. But how's Eri?"
"Oh! She's just a sweetheart! A literal angel! We wanted to bring her to the park for some fun outside, but...Well..."
"Are those people still trying to force their way into the Restaurant?" Momo asked, groaning.
"You have no idea! Every ten or so minutes a Pro Hero tries Arresting Blackie and they get swatted away! Your father and few other Lawyers that happen to be regulars here are working overtime to demonstrate that all this is just an escalation of the actions of a moron trying to make a name for himself that then got out of control, instead of Blackie going on a rampage...While sitting perfectly still in front of the Restaurant." Rei answered, sighing, and as if to confirm her words, a far away Boom! Sound followed by a shriek was heard in the background.
"Arresting a dog…" Momo muttered in dismay.
"Yes, luckily several High-Ranking Heroes are trying to stop this mess by reminding them that while smart enough to talk, Blackie is still a guard dog, so as long as they attack he will retaliate, but if they stop he will stop." Rei said.
"I guess they are trying to stop EVERY Hero outside their precious Top 10 from making a fool of themselves by getting shot into orbit by a lazy dog." Inko added, huffing.
"Yes, that sounds legit."
"God forbid they get a big scandal like a measly dog defeating some Mighty Heroes, even if we know Blackie is not a normal dog at all." Momo answered, sighing.
"It's not like we can tell them either, they would pack all of us and toss us into an asylum! Your father heard that even your University is getting involved!"
"UA, mom?"
"Yes! Apparently Nezu himself wants to talk to Blackie."
"...For some reason this piece of info fills me in dread…" Momo admitted.
"I am sure nothing too outrageous will happen. Maybe." Inko answered.
"Fingers crossed, Inko-san."
"Will you be okay, baby girl?" Rei asked.
"I...I will be. As soon as Izu is back I will inform him, and maybe together we will find a solution to this. I just hope Rumi won't try anything." Momo answered, sighing.
"I am sure she is not that devious, young Momo. But now tell us, how's your day? Doing okay in your classes?" Inko answered with a reassuring tone.
"It's going quite alright, all things considered. You see…" Momo started talking with a more relaxed tone, feeling kind of hopeful Rumi won't try anything deranged towards her boyfriend, she wanted to believe the bunny woman was above such a thing!
"She is not trying to seduce him! I know this!" Momo thought in determination!
Other World – Path towards Magenta Coasts City -
Rumi was indeed fully dressed, acting proper and respecting Izuku's personal space and making sure he was not uncomfortable with her even when wearing her Hero Costume…
What? She is not Mineta or another 'Pervert Character Archetype', she is serious about her feelings for Izuku, not just in it for a quick tumble in the sheets! Her goal is honest Romance and Love, she was not into NTR, thank you!
Projecting much?
Both she and Izuku were at the moment catching a ride on a big double-decked carriage pulled by a duo of giant bulky deer-like creatures covered in long curly white fur, all thanks to Thirstruil the dwarf that accepted writing them a letter of recommendation that will make sure another Dwarven Master Brewer will let Izuku use their creation to make another beer-based dish.
"Many say that I am the best Brewer Dwarf when it comes to making beer, well, I believe that is only half-true. While I believe my Dark Beers are second to no one. When it comes to Blond Beers, I have to concede defeat to Miss Drünhkilde Oakbarrel of Gold Port Town." Thirstruil had explained them while writing his letter.
"Two days just to get there…" Izuku muttered with a groan of dismay.
"No aeroplanes in the fantasy land of annoyances." Rumi answered, sighing as well, and keeping herself occupied by relentlessly petting Shiro, and the Ancestral Taotie was all for it and enjoying every second of ear scratches and belly rubs.
"Gold Port Town! Next stop: Gold Port Town! Get ready to get down if you have to!" The tall green-skinned woman with long tusk-like teeth protruding from her mouth announced with a booming voice.
"Well, that's our stop, finally." The young Chef said, elated.
"See? This was not so bad! Let's go!"
"We are almost there, soon I will show you the sea, happy?" An old woman sitting behind them said while holding on the paw of a short cat-like creature walking on its hind legs.
"Hn!?"
"…" The small animal, barely 3 feet tall, had a light-brown coat of fur and ice-blue eyes and walked alongside the old woman without uttering a word and looking at nothing with unfocused eyes.
Sigh! "Little Zephyr, I miss him too, but we must be strong. We must go on!" The old woman said with a voice cracking a bit under her sorrow.
"You okay?" Rumi asked.
"Uh? Aah, don't mind us, please. I am trying to see if this poor Pheline can recover a bit of his old spark with a bit of a holiday by the sea. Even if I do know that it's just wishful thinking on my side." The old woman answered.
"…" The Cat-like being barely moved his head to the side enough to look at the two Travelers, and his completely expressionless face and lack of life in his posture did kind of creep them out, he actually looked like a wind-up doll, more than a living being.
"What happened to him?" Izuku asked, saddened.
Sigh! "…"
"Y-You don't have to tell us, madame." He then said, once noticed the pain his question caused her.
"It's fine, young man. It's not like I can bring my son back from death just by not talking about it…" The woman answered with a low voice.
"Condolences for your loss." Rumi said with a short bow, just like Izuku, while they and the strange duo dismounted from the carriage once it fully stopped.
"Thank you. It happened a couple years ago, during a monster rampage...My son never was an adventurer, you know? He just ran our family's bakery and enjoyed a quiet, simple life." She said while patting the head of the Pheline next to her with extreme gentleness.
"Then one day our Village went overrun by a pack of giant wolves...When...When a group of Adventurers finally managed to force the pack into retreat half the Village had been destroyed...Including our bakery...And they found my boy there, mangled but still keeping the door to the storage room closed so that Zephyr could survive the attack. We found him in there already catatonic, paws broken and drenched in blood from his trying to tear down the door with his claws to break out and help my son. Ever since then he has been...L-Like this." The old woman answered, sniffling.
"Oh...Oh…" Neither of the two had anything to say to even just remotely help the old lady.
"So you kept him alive?" Rumi asked.
"I bathed and force-fed him every day, yes. Zephyr used to help him along in the bakery, they were Partners. By nature, Phelines bond with a Partner on a spiritual level, so when their Partner dies, they in a sense die as well, it's not strange to see Phelines disappear at the death of their Partner so to find a quiet place to lie down and just let themselves die as well. But I couldn't let that happen, so I finally decided to bring him to a family member of mine, hoping that maybe he will find a new Partner there. I-I can't keep him around anymore, just looking at him reminds me of my son's death, but at the same time, he died so that this Pheline could live...And letting him die would mean my son sacrificed for nothing." She answered.
"It's a nice gesture, Madame." Izuku said.
"Does it make me a bad person, though? Giving Zephyr away like this? I will make sure he has a new and good life, but I am afraid my son will hate me for it."
"Maybe it is a good thing to do, or maybe it isn't, but why should you care what others think? You are doing this so that you both can have a new start: this little guy with a new Partner and you without a constant reminder of your loss, as long as you are not just leaving him to fend off for himself, I say go for it." Rumi answered.
"Thank you. Richard promised me the new family he contacted is the nicest you can make it, s-s-so Zephyr will be loved and taken care of…" The old woman answered, hiccuping.
"Then let's go find those guys, come on. We'll accompany you." The bunny girl said.
"Oh! I-I-I can't poss-"
"Yes, you can. Now move! Those guys can't wait forever!" Rumi interrupted her with no mercy, and actually gently pushed on the old woman's back to make her walk instead of standing there sobbing.
"…"
"What?" Rumi asked once seen the smirk on Izuku's face.
"Just as I told you: rude and crude attitude that hides a sweet inside." He said.
"S-S-Shut up!" She answered.
"You are a living chocolate bunny! Bitter at first taste, but filled with sweetness once the first layer is broken."
"Libel! Lies!" Rumi shrieked with a face so red to look about to catch fire.
"Huhuhu! Lovers these days, they use the strangest compliments!" The old lady commented, amused.
"Eek!" both Chef and Hero Student shrieked in embarrassment in answer to that.
Meanwhile – Off the Coasts -
"Another day without a single catch."
"It's okay, my boy! You are doing your best, me and the others know this!"
"I am sorry...I can't hear The Song of the Sea like you do, father...I am sorry…"
"Give it time, it will come to yo-WHOAAA!"
That small fishing boat, just like many others, was roughly pushed away and almost toppled over by the passage of an immense galleon coming from far away moving in a straight line towards Gold Port Town.
It was a majestic ship build in jade-green wood and adorned in extremely intricate carvings filled in pure gold, twelve gold-covered cannons on each side and an elegant male elf statue in pure marble right on the front, and on the giant main sail tensed by the wind had been finely sewn the intricate insignia of the Elven Royal family with emerald-green threads. Nobody would indeed miss the fact that the ship itself was one of the biggest and most powerful warships of the elves.
"Full speed ahead!" The Captain ordered once seen the approaching docks.
"Full speed ahead!" the Second Mate repeated, immediately turning the already busy crew into a frenzy of preparation to reach their destination.
"Unbelievable, all this waste of resources to steal a useless egg," The Captain said with a frown of distaste, although even that expression could not ruin the Elf's 'uncannily-pretty' androgynous looks.
"That useless egg, as you call it, is the key to the Elves finally gaining the power they need to rule over every other race, something we all know we deserve as the one true Race chosen by the Gods." An Elf wearing an overly-decorated silver armour covered in green gems answered while nearing him.
"General Silverwoods." The Captain answered, striking a reverential bow.
"We are moving our best ships to create this convoy. We are hyping-up a mere Human girl to be our scapegoat. And we are making sure to pin all this on both humans and Dwarves so that they will have to deal with the rage of those filthy mermen. THIS is important, Captain! I expect you to take this seriously and act properly!" the Elf General barked.
"Yessir!" the other Elf answered immediately.
"Good. Now make this vessel go faster, we have a schedule to follow and I hate wasting time! The carriage taking that human girl to that dirty human piss-pool called Gold Port Town will be there soon and we still need to organise the second part of this mission."
"Of course, sir!"
"Good. I hope the guys you sent her way to seduce her will then wash themselves properly before rejoining their respective crews, the last thing we need is for them to catch some dirty Human Illness from that ape."
"I already instructed them, sir. Don't worry." The Captain answered, he too frowned at the idea of an Elf sleeping with a human.
"Good. And...Is the Present for his majesty I had you prepare ready?" The General then whispered with a low tone.
"Everything is in order, sir." The Captain answered with a smirk.
"All as I asked?" The other said with blazing eyes.
"Only the best, I had to...Shake down the owner a bit, but once I had shown him how sharp my crew's swords and arrows are, he handed everything over without too much of a fuss. Honestly, never seen such a glorious shine, we took the absolute best."
"Perfect! Once done here, you will get a very hefty extra added to the payment I promised you." The General answered, smiling pleased.
"Huhuhu! What a beautiful day!" The Captain said, showing a more greedy smile.
At the Same time – Sky -
Moving towards the mountains at the opposite direction from the port city, another ship was sailing, in this case though the thing was sailing above the clouds thanks to the giant hot-air balloon the thing was connected to and taking the place normally reserved to the sails, and under the ship's belly, four giant extendable propellers had popped-out to push the giant vessel forward; this particular ship proudly displayed the Human Royal family flag and insignia.
The Captain of this flying ship was a gruff human with tanned skin and a red military uniform, he was studying a map while sitting at the helm.
"Almost there, we are almost at the first checkpoint." He muttered with a deep voice.
"Are we sure the guy can make it and fight a dragon? He looks dumber than my nephew, and my little Jack is a newborn." The second mate asked.
"The ones accompanying him are Professionals, they only look like freshly-minted adventurers with sub-par starting equipment. They have been debriefed about what to do for this small mission, have no fear, we will be far from any action. I won't put my men or ship at risk just to trick a spoiled brat." The man answered, scoffing.
"Hehehehe! Poor fella, in four days he's going to get the biggest scare of his life! That Dragon is fucking big and evil!"
"A good wake-up call hurts nobody, and gets us paid handsomely. Where is the moron?"
"Down in his small room, I got a wench I know to play the part of our on-board Healer for him to 'Seduce', gotta keep his Ego pretty inflated as they asked!"
"Hahahahaha! Good thinking!"
"Thank you, Captain!"
"Can we trust her, though?" The man asked.
"I paid her twice her usual fee and told her it was a present for a nephew of mine, didn't say a thing about the real reason he is here."
"Good. We are almost to the first stop before reaching the dragon's Lair, make sure he won't be too tired."
"Of course, sir."
Inside the ship -
The young man that had been reborn in that world from his own version of Earth was at the moment half-catatonic after the various rounds the 'Pious Woman' he had seduced managed to wrung out of him.
"Hmmmm…" he groaned in satisfaction and already half-asleep.
"Huhuhuhu! Feeling relaxed now?" She asked while redressing.
"Oooh, yes...I did you good." he answered.
"Yes you did, yes you did. You were incredible." The woman answered with zero conviction while rolling her eyes, by now used to answer like that to that question.
"Wanna do it again later?" He asked, leering at her even though a step away from fainting in fatigue.
"Later, later, you beast!" The fake Healer said.
"Just remember our deal." She then said,
"Of course! I get that stupid dragon egg and bring it to the delivery point for your Elf friends to bring home and I get those two pretty Elf Twins as my maids." He answered immediately.
"Good boy. You will treat them well, yes?"
"Oh yeah! You saw me in action, they will have it good!" The young man answered.
"Riiiight. Just remember the deal." 'Professional' Prostitute or not, even she could not keep her disappointment from showing on her face at that bold and idiotic claim.
"Zzzzz!" Luckily the 'Chosen One' had fallen asleep right after saying that, thus missing her slip.
"Depraved Moron…" She muttered, shaking her head and leaving alone the now snoring pervert.
The Elves had got wind of the King of Man's plans for the dragon, so they decided to add few details: When the Team accompanying the young Hero have their "Tragic Defeat" that will hopefully spur him into training seriously for the rematch against the beast to avenge his honour, a Team of Human mercenaries will distract the Dragon long enough for the guy to steal an egg and bring it to a team of Elves that will then seal it away and bring it to the King of Elves in great secret.
Why do this? Because they knew the dragon will be apoplectic in Rage at seeing somebody stealing one of those eggs, and will stop at nothing to recover it, even killing and destroying everything on its path, and hopefully that will mean that the dragon will chase the Isekai Guy all the way back to Serena City following his scent and utterly destroy the place to recover the egg, killing everybody in there as an added bonus.
"What is happening?!" The Goddess that brought him there shrieked in dismay as NOTHING was going as she planned.
"I don't know! Now shut up! I am trying to fix this!" The God that instead brought into that land the Girl from her own version of Earth answered with an angry roar.
And while all this happened, The System watched in silence the four of them fumble around without Fate, Destiny and the Laws of Cause-and-Effect bending over backwards to have things go their way, all in the name of The System's own entertainment while the Entity waited for its beloved Host Izuku to complete his Mission.
Gold Port Town – The next day -
As every small town living mostly thanks to import-export and fishing, most of its buildings were all located by the coast and close to the various docks, with a constant flood of people coming and going, all of various nationalities and languages intermixing into a chaotic mash of voices, dialects, colourful robes and fragrant spices and more.
"Miss! Look! Original Viera-made jewels! Perfect for an exotic beauty just like you and perfect for keeping part of your beloved Mother Forest close! Maybe one of your own sisters was the one to make this!" One of the merchants said while proudly showing off the golden circlets and tiaras he had on display.
"Not interested, sorry." Rumi answered.
"What about a new set of robes? Your beau will certainly buy you one! A beauty like you deserves only the best!" Another woman said from the stall at the other side of the long road while pointing at a set of purple robes decorated with gold threads.
"No thanks." She answered, annoyed.
"Lots of interesting spices! And fruits too! Too bad our money has no value here, I would love to buy some to bring home!" Izuku said while taking a small sniff of a curious bright green spice the stall owner had set in a big mound.
"This is real Curcumarian Curry! The sweetest curry this side of the land!" The old woman said with smug pride.
"Smells heavenly! And that red spice?" The young Chef said.
"Hehehe! That is a real jewel! Eternal Spice! Made by powdering the peppers that grow in the Demon Lands! They say it never stops burning when you taste it! Three days and three nights of continuous burning guaranteed or I will eat my own money pouch!" She answered.
"Wow!" Izuku answered, chuckling.
"Also, they say that it enhances a man's stamina with his Lover. Just to make everything spicier, young man." The old lady said with a mischievous smile.
"Ok! I heard enough! We are going! And just so you know, he is not a wimp! He doesn't need help!" Rumi said while grabbing his hand to drag him away.
"Tch!"
"Come on, she was just trying to sell her spices, Rumi!" Izuku said, sighing.
"It was a tasteless comment," She answered.
"You are way too tense,"
"That's because we are being followed, Izuku." She muttered.
"...You noticed it too?" He answered with narrowed eyes.
"Yeah, they are good, but they are getting sloppier. And the way they are dressed doesn't help."
"What do you think they want from us?" Izuku asked, stealing a look above his shoulders to see two tall figures in black hooded robes subtly walking faster to keep up with them.
"I think I am their target." The bunny girl answered.
"Maybe they have a thing against Vieras? People keep mistaking you for one." Izuku said.
"My thoughts exactly."
"This way then!" The Chef answered by grabbing her wrist and starting to run, making the two mysterious figures start running as well.
"Pretty fast!" He said, noticing how easily the two were gaining distance.
"Yep! Wanna take them in a more open space?"
"Nope! An alleyway will do! Whitey!" Izuku answered, and to the two figures surprise the chubby harmless-looking robot turned around, shot both arms like a rocket to grab them and threw them into a narrow alleyway with several heavy wooden crates creating a dead-end, the two figures landed with in a heavy tumbling and flowing of robes.
"Troublemakers will be stripped as an example to others!" The Robot declared once both arms reattached themselves at his elbows.
"Damn it!" The figure on the left growled with a female voice.
"The bastard is well protected!" The other answered, she too talked with a melodious voice.
"What do you want?" Rumi asked as she and Izuku entered the alleyway as well.
"Freeing you from slavery! Even if a Half-breed, Vieras stick together!" The one on the left said, removing her robes to show herself a woman with similar bunny ears of Rumi, only light-brown in colour, she was also more than two metres tall and had rabbit feet and more rabbit-eque nose compared to the Hero Student.
"Even if your blood is dirty, you are still part Viera! And as your Sisters it's our duty to protect you!" The other instead had black ears and a lighter skin tone compared to both her companion and Rumi.
"…" Both Chef and Hero student looked at them both in disbelief.
"I am not a Viera, you morons." Rumi said, grimacing.
"We know, but you still have enough Viera blood in you, that's what matters!" Brown Viera said.
"Even if a you are a Bad Copy of our race, we can't let you be enslaved just to be somebody's sex slave!" Black Viera added, unaware of the bubbling rage that was slowly mounting inside Rumi.
"Yes, you are pretty. Yes you have a nice ass. Yes, you probably have only that going for you as a Fake Viera, but we still have to defend the image of our race!"
Both the Travelers' anger kept rising…
"And you! Are you really so pathetic you have to force yourself on a poor oblivious Fake Viera that doesn't know any better? Are you really so desperate for sex to use her naivete and low Intelligence against her?!" Black Viera said with a sneer while pointing an accusing finger at Izuku.
"It's not her fault her dirty blood doesn't make her as bright and smart as a PROPER Viera! She only got the looks, you disgusting pervert loser! What? Are you so eager to lose your virginity to go for an easy lay?! Have you not considered that if you can't get a girl it's because maybe you are just a useless loser?!"
"Easy lay!?" Rumi roared.
"Useless?!" Izuku shrieked.
"It doesn't matter. Air-headed bimbo that got herself enslaved out of stupidity or not, we will beat you black and blue and take her home with us, I am sure one of us will be able to teach her to become a proper Viera...Or at least keep her from spreading her legs for whoever comes around just because they were nice to her and bring shame to Real Vieras everywhere." Brown Viera said as a magic staff appeared in her hands.
"…" Admittedly, The System got a bit worried when Izuku's blood pressure reached critical levels and his eyes got bloodshot.
"Come along, child! Let who knows better, take care of y-"
That was as far as the black furred Viera got before both Izuku and Rumi jumped them with a duo of furious, animal-like roars.
And five minutes later, Chef and Hero student were the only ones to walk out of the alleyway soon followed by Whitey, both were panting, but showed a more relaxed smile as well; as for the Vieras, besides having their magic staff torn from their hands and painfully slammed on their heads hard enough to snap in two, they got the rough beating they had promised to deliver, and their unconscious and battered bodies were now resting at the bottom of a crate that had been filled in fish left-overs still rotting under the scorching sun.
"I shouldn't have snapped like that." Izuku admitted, sighing in dismay.
"Oh, fuck them! They were a duo of bitches jumping to conclusions, racist against members of their own race and so fucking rude I look like a snob princess in comparison! They kept insulting us both every three fucking words and expected us to just take it? TCH! Big fat chance of that happening!" Rumi answered, huffing.
"You are not an easy lay or a bimbo, Rumi. You know this, right?" Izuku said.
"...I know, I know. But it hurts hearing that." She answered, anger fading away into sadness.
"You'll be a great Hero, and show everybody that you are more than your Quirk or beauty! I believe in you!" He answered.
"Gee, thanks!" Finally returning to smile, the girl gave a loud slap to the young Chef's back, making him stumble slightly forward, but smile nonetheless.
"...SO! You do find me pretty, uh? Finally admitting it!" She then said, just a bit of red framing her fanged smile.
"I...I am not blind, you know?" He admitted, lightly scratching his cheek with an awkward expression.
Chu!
"Huhuhu! Thank you, Izuku." Rumi answered, kissing that same cheek and walking slightly forward once seen his face going neon red.
"You are not Useless, you know?" Although she also turned serious before saying that.
"Uh?" dropping the blush, the young Chef looked at the back of the bunny girl in surprise.
"I am sure Momo told you plenty of times, your mother too, but I want to say it as well." She said, turning around to show him her widest, most sincere smile.
"You are not Useless, and never were. You are a great guy that gives his all in everything he does, Chef or Hero or anything else, you have what it takes to get to the top! Just as you are a great Chef now, I know you would have been a great Hero had those idiots given you a chance, and would have shown every naysayer that it doesn't take a Quirk to be great! Because I believe in you! Because you are not Useless, and you will never be." She declared, wind slightly blowing through her hair and sun making her eyes sparkle a bit.
"…" The Chef's face had once again returned flushing red, although his expression soon twisted to the point he looked ready to burst to tears.
"...Izuku?" Rumi said, worried.
"HIC! T-Thank youuu!" He howled while crying.
"ICCHAN!" Rumi yelled with wide eyes while hurrying at his side, she wanted to cheer him up, not make him cry!
He was used to compliments and hearing people cheering him on as Zaus, but as Izuku, knowing there were people honestly believing in him was still a novelty he was not used to.
Some time later – The Drinking Seamen Pub -
Ignoring the pun-tastic name of the place, the giant pub looked surprisingly pristine clean and in order considering the biggest slice of customers were sailors both from that continent and outside, but as soon as Izuku and Rumi started wondering how that was possible, they watched a burly sailor getting thrown out by a stout dwarf woman that had lifted the guy over her head even though he was twice her size to just toss him out like he weighed nothing.
"AND STAY OUT!"
"Uh! Impressive!" Rumi admitted with a low whistle.
The owner of the giant two-story pub was a dwarf woman with curly gold-blond hair, easily recognizable as womanthanks to the more feminine gait she walked with and the rather big chest she possessed even if barely a metre tall; another glaring difference was that contrary to male dwarves she had a not quite so thick beard.
She only sported a goatee tied into a braid with a cherry-sized ruby dangling from it.
"Unbelievable, these newcomers never listen to warnings! Coming to make a mess of my Pub! Tch! Should have torn his balls off and made him eat them before tossing him out!" Drunkhilde said with a sneer before returning behind the counter to finish cleaning her mugs.
"I like her, she got spunk!" Rumi said with a beaming smile.
"And a devastating right hook." A customer added from a side table while nursing a fresh-looking black eye.
"Not her fault if another fool tried making a mess," The same old woman from before, accompanying the small Pheline said while taking a table herself.
"Madame!" Both Teens said in surprise.
"Hello, kids! I am taking little Zephyr here to eat something nice. The menu promised some chicken stew, his favourite, so I wanted to treat him to something nice before leaving him with his new family. They agreed to take him in." She answered.
"That's nice!" Rumi answered.
"It's the small things." The old lady said, smiling sadly.
"It always is," Izuku admitted.
"Are you here to talk with Drunkhilde?" the woman asked.
"Yep!" Rumi answered.
"Then you better be gentle, she will be in a bad mood for a while thanks to that idiot."
"We'll be careful, promise." Izuku answered.
"She is not too bad, for a Dwarf, she just has a very explosive temper when angry."
"We'll remember that, let's go, Izuku." Rumi said.
"Okay."
True to the old woman's words, the Dwarf woman looked straight at them the entire time during their walk towards her with the furious eyes of somebody already wondering how far she needed to throw them out, only to relax ever so slightly once seen how young they actually were.
"Hi!" The young Chef said.
"Uh? Hey, boy! You look a bit too young to be here for a pint! Are you looking for somebody?" Surprisingly, the dwarf woman did not scoff or act rude as they expected, but actually showed Izuku a gentle smile.
"Actually yes! I was looking for you," He answered.
"Oh? You are?...Hohohoho! Another young man falling for me? Oh! The hearts my beauty ensnares! I am touched, my boy, but you are a bit too young for me!" Drunkhilde answered with a coy laugh.
"…"
"…"
Nobody sane of mind dared comment on that, either because already knowing her temper or having just watched her break a guy way bigger than her for far less.
"Ehm, no. I am not here for that." Izuku answered, awkward.
"Oh…" The Dwarf woman answered, deflating a little, and unknown to her, a member of her staff added a new tally on a secret count they all were keeping behind their boss' back, rounding the number of rejections she had suffered up to a neat one hundred.
"I see." She said, before looking at Rumi from head to toe.
"You are one of those guys that like them thin like twigs." She muttered, sniffling a bit in wounded womanly pride.
"It's not my fault you are built like a tank." Rumi answered, huffing.
"Actually, I am here to ask for a favour. I have here a letter written by Mister Thirstruil about your home-made Blond Beer. Here." Izuku said while presenting her the lengthy letter signed by the Dwarf Master Brewer and his family crest.
"Uhn?! That old fool Thirstruil sent you? Let me see what he wants...A Master Chef of great talent...Dish made with Dwarven Beer...HE WANTS ME TO LET YOU USE MY MOLTEN GOLD BREW?! MY GREATEST CREATION?!" The woman shrieked in anger after reading the entire thing, and her voice made the windows rattle and the other customers to dive for cover, just in case.
"Jesus! Don't scream that loud!" Rumi yelled while covering her ears.
"That brew is my pride and joy!" Drunkhilde answered.
"It was the same with Mister Thirstruil and his dark beer." Izuku, his ears still ringing, answered.
"...One mug. I will let you use ONE single mug just because I trust Thirstruil to not try to fuck me over. Make do with that and do not ruin it or I will use your spine to floss my teeth." She conceded after a long silence where she just tried to glare Izuku into submission.
"It will be enough, and I won't misuse it, promise." Izuku answered, his eyes meeting hers in unwavering determination.
"Very well. Let's go, we'll start immediately." Drunkhilde said, shocking the other customers by opening the door to her pub's kitchen herself.
"Thank you!" Izuku answered.
"What will you make? Let's hear!" Drunkhilde asked with crossed arms and a sneer.
"The original recipe is called Blonde Ale Honey Mustard Wings. But since I am using a beer called Molten Gold, the version I will make with Dwarven Beer can be called: Golden Honey Mustard Wings." Izuku answered while tying a green bandanna on his head.
"Fancy names mean nothing if the food tastes like shit, just show me!" The Dwarf Woman answered with a growl.
"With pleasure." The young Chef replied.
What followed was, for Drunkhilde and her staff, a very surprising show of skills and equipment!
It was not just the Sea Dragon Kitchen Knife moving so fast it was a blur that surprised them, but also watching the Myriad Manifestation Mallet turning from a wooden meat mallet into a thin knife to separate the wings from the kitchen breasts he had been given, the same mallet then turned into a big squared knife he used to cut the chicken breast meat into small bite-sized chunks all identical in shape, and all at high speed.
All this with the strange Pheline looking at Izuku with vacant eyes and probably not missing a single thing after walking to the kitchen door by himself and without help, all for the old woman's surprise.
"You cook with fancy utensils, who's the madman that used that much effort to make them?"
"My sponsor." Izuku answered, seasoning the wings in salt and oil before covering them uniformly in flour. All this while also preparing some stew stock at the same time together with the rest of the chicken meat's own seasoning.
"Why are you making a stew too?" Rumi asked.
"Spiced Chicken Stew was their dish of the day, since I am occupying their kitchen, may as well not be a bother and make sure they can still serve their customers. Even if it's my own version of it." he answered.
"…" The Pheline's ears twitched faintly at hearing that, and actually moved a couple inches upward from their previous folded state.
"Oh!...Thanks." Drunkhilde answered, touched by the gesture.
"My pleasure, now, the beer, please." Izuku answered, having gathered every Ingredient for the sauce that will be the main part of the recipe, but lacking the beer.
"...Careful. Dwarven beer shouldn't be used for cooking, I am already making it a big concession letting a human handle it. Let alone letting you use it for cooking, of all things." The Dwarf woman answered while carefully handing him a full mug of pristine blonde beer with a mesmerising golden colour.
"Trust me." Izuku answered, carefully whisking together the beer with mustard, honey and hot sauce.
"…" The Pheline actually took a couple steps forward towards the young Chef.
"Hey there, the stew is almost ready too. Please be patient." Izuku answered with a gentle smile.
Once done whisking, he delicately added to that beer sauce a mixture of water and cornstarch and stirred it delicately to make it thicken a bit more, before letting it rest aside away from the fire.
"Sniff! I'll be damned, my baby still smells nice! You do know your stuff!" Drunkhilde said, laughing.
"Hoy! My man is a God of Cooking! Respect his genius!" Rumi said, smirking.
"RUMI!"
"He's just shy." She said, and exchanged a round of laughter at Izuku's expense with the Dwarf woman.
"So very shy, girl!" The other confirmed.
"Women…" Izuku uttered in dismay.
"…" The Pheline's ears kept twitching from time to time whenever the young Chef talked, the cat-like being's ears were by now fully back standing high and attentive.
"Zephyr?" the old woman muttered, too low to be heard by anybody.
Some time later -
Once the wings were done turning 'golden' in the oven, the young Chef removed them from the oven and carefully and uniformly coated them in the beer sauce, then he positioned them onto a plate he decorated with chopped celery leaves.
"Here they are! Golden Honey Mustard Wings! Please enjoy them while they are still hot, they should pair well with the same Molten Gold Brew beer I used for the sauce. In the meantime, I will finish preparing the chicken stew. Please enjoy your meal and thank you for letting me use dwarven beer to make this." Izuku declared with a bow, and returning to cook once delivered the dishes he made for Rumi, Drunkhilde and some key members of the kitchen staff.
"Bwahahahaha! I'll be damned, boy! Ol' Thirstruil wasn't pulling my leg! You can use dwarven beer to cook! My baby girl turned these wings from Common to Legendary! Bwahahaha!" Drunkhilde declared with a loud laugh.
"Fuck yeah! I could eat a ton of these and not get tired! Ha-Ah!" Rumi echoed while gorging herself as well.
"B-B-Boss, you are not going to fire us to have him here as Chef, right?" The Spokesperson of Drunkhilde's Pub Staff asked with a very worried tone.
"While tempting, I don't think he will settle down here, is he?" The Dwarf woman answered, sighing.
"Yes, sorry but I can't stay here, my apologies." Izuku answered with a small voice.
"It's okay, it's okay. You did look like one of those guys travelling the world to become the best and stuff. Just remember to stop by here if you happen to pass by Gold Port Town again, okay?" Drunkhilde answered, smiling gently.
"Sure!" Izuku answered, offering her a wide smile in answer.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH"
The idyllic moment went interrupted by a scream of anguish echoing in the entire room from the outside.
"What the hell is happening now?!" Drunkhilde yelled, hurrying outside just like everybody else did to see who yelled and why.
"How dare you attack me, human?!" A elf in silver armour with gold details yelled while tossing again a young human man on the ground, this time though the guy rolled inside the pub from his short fly.
"Y-Your damn ship upturned mine! I LOST MY FATHER BECAUSE OF YOU!" The young man roared in near-madness, but his attempt at jumping the elf stopped when he grabbed him by the neck.
"I won't let an Ape insult me or waste my time. We have a VIP guest to recover, so shut-up and stay put!"
"Hoy, Knife-ears! That's one of my regulars! You are dirtying him!" Drunkhilde growled as she and Izuku with Rumi exited the kitchen.
"What does a Rock-Sucker like you want? Just because you barely reach my belt doesn't mean I won't teach you manners!" The elf answered while throwing the guy away hard enough he broke a nearby table in two with his landing.
"Keep insults to a minimum, fucker. You are outnumbered." Rumi said, cracking her knuckles.
"I am an elf, you wench! While your kind spent their days learning how to suck a dick, we Elves mastered the Art of Magic! Do not challenge me!" The Elf said while summoning a shining greatsword made of condensed golden light in his hand.
"Keep talking, Knife-ears, in the meantime I will teach you how a weapon made in actual Dwarven Steel beats your fancy Conjured Blades everyday!" Drunkhilde said while recovering a big and HEAVY war-hammer from behind the counter she then held it with just one hand and leaned it against her shoulder.
"It's time your kind learns its place under a superior race!" The Elf hissed, brandishing his glowing weapon.
Then his eyes landed on Izuku…
"You…"
"Uhu?"
"I can't sense your Mana or anything else. What are you hiding?" He said with narrowed eyes.
"What?"
"The Elf can see other people's abilities and potential thanks to his equipment to assess their Threat Level. Host can imagine it as him trying and failing to read Host Izuku's Stats like in a video game." The System said.
"You are blocking that?" He asked.
"Indeed, to maintain secrecy as the Host asked." The Entity answered.
"And now it's biting me in the butt." He muttered to himself.
"An unknown threat, able to block a High Level Scan Spell. Normally I would just alert the General and leave the decision to him, but we are at a critical junction of our Mission, so I will have to take the initiative and remove you, hopefully you are nobody important enough, the last thing I need is getting in trouble for a filthy Ape." The Elf said with a sneer, and marched towards Izuku with his armoured boots slamming loudly on the floor.
"LIKE HELL I WILL LET YOU KILL HIM!" Rumi roared.
"TROUBLEMAKER!" Whitey as well yelled with flashing red eyes.
"Hide behind the counter, boy! This' about to get messy!" Drunkhilde as well said, brandishing her hammer with both hands and stomping down with both feet to summon some spell that covered her in a thin blue aura.
"You fools! If I say that Ape will die, he will! I-"
MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOW!
Though in the end none of that mattered as a yowling blur came flying out of the kitchen brandishing a giant frying pan, of all things.
CLAAAAAANG!
The impact was loud, and even if brandished by such a small being as that Pheline, the pan's hit still packed in it enough strength to snap the pan's handle, and even more shocking, force that Elf into a full backflip that made him land face-up on the floor.
"MEOW! (YOU WON'T!)" Unhappy with just one attack, the Pheline grabbed the rim of the bent pan with both paws and started whacking down on the Elf face as soon as the guy tried getting back on his feet.
CLANG!
"MEOW! (HURT!)" Zephyr was now sitting on the Elf's Chest and hammering down the pan on his face, sending blood and teeth flying everywhere at every impact.
CLANG!
"MEOW! (MY PARTNER!)" The Elf's face was already an unrecognisable mask of destroyed flesh and bone, just mangled flesh with every feature completely erased. And yet the Pheline kept hitting.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CL-
"MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOW! (YOU WOOOOOOOON'T!) When the pan finally got bent enough to almost form an imprint of the Elf's head, the old lady snapped out of her stupor and moved, with some help of other customers, to pry the wildly flailing cat-like being from the downed Elf.
"ZEPHYR!" She yelled, and that seemed to snap the Pheline out of whatever vision he was seeing.
"...Meow?" Zephyr muttered while looking wildly around himself, now fully alert with wide eyes and ears moving everywhere.
"The fuck happened?" Rumi asked, taken aback.
"I think little Zephyr snapped." Izuku answered.
"Meow?" The Pheline still looked around, lost.
"It's okay, Zephyr. The wolves are gone, the wolves are gone. You won." The old lady assured the small cat while crying in relief.
"Oh...I think the cat resolved his trauma then…" Rumi commented.
"That's a valid way to do it?" Izuku asked, appalled.
"Dunno, I am not a psychologist!" She answered.
"Uuugh!" It was a surprise for everybody present to hear the downed Elf gurgle in agony.
"Is he still alive?" Drunkhilde asked, amazed.
"Yu...Phucking inf'rior r'aces...Our pl'n 's still in moshion...We'll hve a kr'kn egg soon. We will kill yu all…" The Elf somehow managed to say with a completely smashed skull and destroyed jaw.
"The fuck did he say?" Rumi asked.
"Don't know, too mangled to understand." Drunkhilde answered, unsure.
"Something about a Kraken Egg, and killing everybody with one." Izuku said, even if it was only thanks to The System if he could understand it.
"They want a Kraken pet to use as a weapon? This is insane on every level!" Drunkhilde said in shock.
"Where do they even plan to get one? Nobody knows where Krakens lay their eggs, those Monsters are damn secretive about it!" One of the Customers of the Pub said.
"I know where to find a Kraken and its eggs!" The guy that had first argued with the elf said.
"Uh?"
"An entire damn convoy of Elven Ships have docked not too far from here, and they talked about capturing one of those eggs, I heard them myself! And I talk about warships armed to the teeth! I saw them! One of them upturned my boat! My father drowned because of them!" He yelled.
"So they plan to get a Kraken, and raise it as their attack dog...Utter madness." Drunkhilde muttered with wide scared eyes.
"Hey…" Rumi whispered.
"Yes?" Izuku whispered back in answer.
"That egg sounds like a big deal, is it one of those eggs you need to get?"
"It should be, yes."
"Then I guess we need to find a way to join that convoy and steal it, or even all of them." the Hero student said.
"Steal it?"
"We either do that, and you just get a source of Squid Meat for your Restaurant, or they get it and Elves get a Weapon of Mass Destruction to use against everybody they hate that happens to move by the sea. Think that by his words means: Whoever is not an Elf. Between the two, you are the best option, even if I am against stealing by principle." Rumi said.
"I understand, then I need the kitchen again." Izuku said with his eyes hardening.
"Uh?"
"I will prepare some Berserker Burgers, just in case we will need to fight our way through the Elves both to get the Egg and leave." He said.
"Okay, in the meantime I will try to secure us some transportation to chase those bastards. Can you lend me Whitey?" Rumi answered.
"Sure, I will have Shiro with me still, but be careful all the same."
"I will. Let's go, Whitey!" The Bunny Girl said.
"Understood." The Robot answered.
"Meow!" Surprisingly, Zephyr insisted on following Izuku in the kitchen, and no matter what the old lady said, the Pheline stuck to Izuku like glue.
Thirty minutes later -
When Izuku met Rumi again, he saw, to his surprise, Drunkhilde and Thirstruil waiting for them next to a small and lean fishing boat barely big enough for ten people, the one governing the tiny thing was the same guy from before.
"So this is our boat?" Izuku asked.
"The guy insisted, he said that while he can't kill elves, he will be happy to just steal their treasure under their nose." Rumi answered.
"Name's Portgas. I may not hear The Song of the Sea like my father used to, but I still know these waters like the back of my hand. I asked a friend to borrow his boat for this reason! Once we guess correctly where to go, we will get there faster than them. They have warships armed for full-scale battle, but those are slow and bulky, 'Sea Breeze' here instead once got the right wind, it's one of the fastest boats this side of the continent." The Young man answered, never stopping glaring at the giant Elven Warships that were slowly leaving the docks.
"I hope it's not just bravado talking." Rumi hoped while they all got up the small vessel.
"Song of the Sea?" Izuku asked.
"Host can see it as a Fisherman's version of the Voice of the Ingredients: a rare ability about having the Sea itself tell the User what to do to sail and even fishing." The System answered.
"That would have been a nice extra assurance…" The young Chef admitted with a sigh.
"We'll be fine. Are you ready? We don't have time to waste!" Portgas said with a sneer.
"Ready, ready, boy. Let's go." Thirstruil answered.
"Good." As soon as the fisherman said that, the boat's sail went unfurled and the thing immediately moved to chase the Elves from afar.
"I'll be on the look-out, just in case they spot us." Drunkhilde offered while moving to the front of the boat.
"I'll trust your eyes," Thirstruil answered.
"...Ehm…"
"Yes?" The Dwarf said.
"How did you come here that fast?" Izuku asked.
"Oh, There is a Portal in both mine and Drunkhilde's cellar that connects my Brewery to her pub, makes exchanging beers easier, so I just walked through it and got here in the time normal people need to take a step." He answered.
"...Then why didn't you let us use it to come here?" Rumi asked, growling.
"Because dear Drunkhilde would have killed you on the spot once she saw somebody else other than me walk through it, you wouldn't even have the time to take a breath out of the portal before her precious hammer Matilda exploded your heads." He answered, laughing.
"Charming…" Izuku answered, he and Rumi were completely not amused at the idea.
Meanwhile -
While the Chef and his friends were slowly and carefully following the Elven Warship convoy, the Human flying ship had finally reached the first checkpoint in its travel towards the Sky King Dragon's lair, and the crew was at the moment taking care of maintenance of ship and propellers while collecting more fuel and other necessities.
At the same time, the Isekai guy John (Hunter Drake Armageddon Hellblaze) was instead having a secret meeting with yet another faction.
"So the Viera Tribe wants the egg too?" He asked.
"Yes. It is time me and my sisters seek vengeance against all the people that only see us as Sex Dolls! And a Dragon five times the size of a common one sounds like the right deterrent, able to make others actually stop and listen to our demands!" The statuesque and, unfortunately, barely-dressed bunny woman said, unaware that with how minimal her clothes were, every tiny movement she made practically resulted in her flashing everything to whoever watched.
"And what's in it for me? The Elves promised me quite a lot, and not just gold!" He answered, literally drooling at the sight of her, and his hands acting suspiciously while shoved deep in his pockets.
"I am aware of what those Effeminate Tree-Huggers offered you, And I came prepared." The Viera answered, and turned around to recover a scroll from another bunny woman accompanying her, and we will not describe in detail what the guy did while ogling her butt.
"Eeeeh-"
"Here."
"Uh?" He said, immediately stopping so as to pay attention as soon as she turned back to face him, all under the disgusted looks of the other Vieras.
"This permit will let you build a brand-new mansion on the outskirts of our territory. If you promise to NEVER leave, we will leave you food and water right outside the door and ignore every form of depravity you will go through with whatever wench you will surround yourself with. Tell you what, I heard the Elf Princess is rather pretty, for a Knife-Ear; Help us and we will...Convince her and a few other Elven girls to live there with you to do as you please. Everything you please. Do we have a deal?"
"We have a deal." He answered, nodding rapidly.
"Very well, just remember to grab the very last egg the Dragon will lay, not the others. The very last one!" She said, stressing that detail as much as she possibly could.
"I will, I will. Relax!" He answered, huffing.
"They all keep telling me to take only the last one. Why? Do they really want it THAT fresh? Bunch of idiots. Eggs are all the same." The guy also thought, annoyed by that strange reminder being thrown his way every three sentences!
Some superstitions were just plain stupid, if you asked him.
"Good to see you understand. Be fast and precise and I will let you have a Fake Viera too, there is one in our forest that is just Dumb...Just Open-minded enough to actually consider Humans appealing." The Viera Envoy added, and her companions didn't even try to hide their snickers of derision, too bad that to the boy they sounded like shy giggles instead.
"NOW I AM MOTIVATED!" He answered.
"Then off you go! Get us the egg, and you will get your Sex Mansion and the rest of your life to enjoy it!"
"YES! I'LL BE BACK SOON!" The young man yelled while running away at high speed.
"Can we trust him?" One of the Viera guards asked.
"Not at all. But we have a deal, and I will see to it that it is fulfilled, for the Good of our Mother Forest." The Envoy answered, shuddering in dread as soon as she met the eyes of the hidden human in torn black robes and a pale face hidden under his hood.
"Remember well indeed, Viera. We Necromancers never forget, if you fail, we will burn your precious Forest down with you all in it." The Hooded Human answered, fading into the shadows and disappearing.
"...Will we be safe?" Another Viera asked with a small voice.
"We did as asked, we followed orders to the letter. Even if that moron fails and dies, we won't have anything to fear...I hope…" The Envoy answered, shivering again.
With faces full of dread and despair, the group of Vieras silently returned home, hoping with all themselves that this small act of Evil won't cause the end of their poor race.
Two Hours Later – With Izuku – Middle of the sea -
"OKAY! I EXPECTED RESISTANCE, BUT THIS IS INSANE!" The Elven General shrieked while holding for dear life on the warship railing.
The sea was literally boiling! Then there were waves dozens of metres tall that kept battering the warship convoy from every direction, and actually kept changing direction so abruptly the entire storm looked like a giant "screw you" to the laws of physics.
Then came insanely-fast opposing winds, a downpour with fist-sized raindrops falling down thick enough to almost form a literal wall, and among that Nightmare, the Fishmen guarding the Kraken laying its eggs kept popping in and out of the water by the hundreds and dashing any notion of them being a Primitive race thanks to the absurdly-well-coordinated hit and run tactics they were deploying.
Many elves had fallen already, either thanks to the insane storm or the sudden appearance of a Fishman soldier or three that would jump out of the water, skewer the elven soldiers alive like a pincushion, and then dive back into the water barely a second later.
"BOAT! BOAT AHEAD!" An Elf soldier managed to scream loud enough to be heard over even the eardrums-shredding loud howl of the wind.
"BOAT!? HERE!?" The General wobbled his way towards the soldier, to watch in astonishment as a fishing boat a fifth of the size of their warship was bravely, or insanely, braving the storm thanks to a white chubby automaton manually handing the only sail thanks to a duo of ropes he held in his big hands, literally Kiteboarding with the boat!
With Izuku -
"I AM HERE! I AM HERE, YOU FUCKING ELVES! HEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!" Portgas bellowed with a mad laugh, holding onto the boat's wheel and governing the thing with Whitey's help through that hell of water.
"Stop screaming and man this damn boat!" Rumi, soaked to the bones like everybody else, kept kicking whatever Fishman that came too close to her, sending them flying on the notes of their breaking bones.
"I admit I underestimated what it meant fighting on the sea!" Thirstruil admitted with a shriek, barely avoiding a spear-thrust and answering with an overhead downward hit of the morning-star in his hands that slammed the Fishman down face-first with a sickening crunch noise.
"We are Dwarves! Of course you hate fighting on the sea, you fucking moron!" Drunkhilde answered with a mad roar, and with her own war-hammer snapping in two the spear and spine of the Fishman in front of her that tried parrying her attack.
"Keep pushing them back! We still have to find a way to find that egg!" Izuku answered, grabbing the Myriad Manifestation Mallet and mentally commanding it to enlarge until the head was as big as his torso and covering it in fire thanks to its ability.
"Bodhisattva Mallet: Scorched!" Using it then to hit a Fishman in the chest with an upward, baseball-style, slam that covered the Monster in fire and sent the guy flying like a comet.
"Kyuuun!" Shiro himself kept swallowing whole every Fishman that tried to sneak on both Izuku and Rumi, luckily for the Monsters though, the Ancestral Taotie had been asked not to eat them, so he merely spat them out right after, although with enough strength the Fishmen went sent flying FAR from the boat.
"This is insane! How are we supposed to catch that damn Kraken and its eggs?!" Rumi yelled.
"GUAAOOOOOOH!"
A loud wail echoed everywhere, so intense the storm seemed to slow-down for an instant before its power increased tenfold right after, to everybody's horror.
"The Kraken has finally started laying its eggs and has lost control of its powers, The Host is required to capture both Kraken and every egg." The System alerted him.
"Every one? Why?"
"Krakens are an invasive Species, host. A species that isn't supposed to be in this part of the sea at all.
The Fishmen brought one Kraken Egg here to worship the newborn animal as a God one hundred years ago, and a single Kraken is already a threat to the ecosystem of this part of the ocean; if another one, or all the ten eggs it will lay, hatch, the swarm of Krakens will destroy this ecosystem completely in a way it will take thousands of years to recover. It's a necessary evil, host.
The Restaurant Storage will give them proper housing and food without the risk of the Ecosystem collapsing completely." The System explained.
"Fuck! Things are so bad?!" Rumi said, shocked.
"Indeed."
"Then how do I do this!? With this storm I can't even run on water to look for it!"
"Run on what?!" Rumi shrieked.
"For a fee the System will force the Kraken to show itself, but capture will still be up to Host Izuku."
"GUH! How much?" He asked.
"The cheapest option costs two thousand Experience Points, this if Host Izuku still wants to gather enough Experience Points to level-up at the completion of this Sortie." The System answered.
"...Let's go with that." Izuku answered, sighing in dismay.
"Understood. The Whirlpool will open in three…"
"WHIRLPOOL?!" Rumi and Izuku shrieked in horror at the same time.
"Two...One...Opening."
"THAT'S NOT A WHIRLPOOL! THAT A FUCKING MAELSTROOOOM!" Portgas yelled in terror as a Hole opened instantly in the sea, the water in the whirlpool was spinning so fast the cone of the thing reached all the way down on the ocean floor several hundreds of meters down, the mouth alone was insanely huge as well and at the very bottom, resting on the now dry seafloor, a very confused giant Kraken looked upward as if to check where in the name of God all that water went all of a sudden.
"There it is!" Several voices yelled as one.
"System! GODDAMNIT! CHEAP DOESN'T MEAN THIS CHEAP! YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Rumi also yelled.
"I don't know how that whirlpool opened, but besides showing us where the beast is...How the fuck do we get down there?!" Thirstruil yelled while holding onto the railing to not be thrown overboard like many other poor Elves had been from the now insane rocking the whirlpool's own current caused on the boats.
"I can't control the ship! It's sucking us in! The current and winds are too strong and pointing straight at it!" Portgas yelled in fear, anger and vengeance forgotten in face of his incoming death.
"If we don't do something the currents will crush us!" Drunkhilde yelled, she was holding onto Whitey, but her legs had already started losing grip on the ship's deck as the thing had started leaning to the side.
"SYSTEM! SEND RUMI HOME! I'LL CONTINUE ALONE!" Izuku said immediately.
"NO!" Rumi answered.
"Ru-"
"I WILL STAY BY YOUR SIDE! THROUGH GOOD AND BAD, THROUGH PEACE AND WAR! I AM NOT HUNTING YOU DOWN JUST FOR A FUCK, YOU MORON! I LOVE YOU! AND IF I HAVE TO FIGHT A FUCKING KRAKEN TO STAY WITH YOU, THEN I WILL FUCKING DO IT!" She yelled, grabbing onto him so that both could help each other to hold onto the boat and not fall into the sea.
"Rumi…"
"I am not going anywhere. I'll walk by your side, always." She said, and even if it looked a bit over-dramatic, the setting did give extra weight to the kiss she stole from him.
"We are going somewhere instead! Crashing onto the sea-floor!" Thirstruil yelled, utterly afraid.
"Father...Father I...I disappointed you...As a Man, as a son and as a man of the sea...I-I can't hear the song...I failed you…" Portgas in the meantime was crying his eyes out in despair…
"…"
"Uh?" It was then that he heard...Something…
"…"
"I…I…I…"
"…"
"Over there, my boy...Follow the Song…"
"I KNOW WHAT TO DO!" The young fisherman yelled, grabbing the wheel with renewed vigour.
"You sure?!" Rumi, finally stopping kissing Izuku, asked in elation.
"NO! BUT THE SEA IS! THIS WAY!" Showing a mad smile, Portgas gave a wild turn to the wheel, and directed the ship directly towards the Maelstrom.
"HE SNAPPED! THE MAN GUIDING OUR SHIP HAS GONE INSANE!" Drunkhilde yelled in fear.
"I am sure he-"
"HAHAHAHAHA!
Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
One day, when the tonguing is done
We'll take our leave and go!"
"NO! YOU ARE RIGHT! HE HAS GONE INSANE! HE IS FUCKING SINGING WHILE KILLING US ALL!" The Male Dwarf shrieked in answer once seen Portgas man the wheel with unblinking eyes and a smile too happy for the catastrophic situation they were in, he was actually singing a damn sea shanty too!
"OVER THERE! The sea is telling me what to do! LET'S GOOO!" A soon as the boat's front leaned down, Portgas gave a sharp turn, and managed to keep the boat glued to the whirlpool water thanks to the current and the winds themselves tensing the seal held by Whitey to the very limit.
The small ship was now sailing on a vertical wall of storm water, leaning enough to the side its mast was perfectly perpendicular to the ground below, and slowly descending downwards.
"IF I TELL THIS TO ANYBODY, THEY WILL NEVER BELIEVE ME! Our boat is sailing on a sheer vertical wall of spinning water! What the fuck is happening?!" Rumi yelled, she and the others were forced to stand precariously on the railing as the only flat surface now remaining for them to use.
"I CAN HEAR IT! I CAN HEAR IT! THE SEA IS SINGING TO MEEEEE!" Portgas yelled in glee while managing the insane feat and navigating the thing all the way down towards the furious Kraken already waiting for them with a very obvious glare.
With the Elves -
"CHASE THEM! CHASE THEM!" The Elven General yelled in mad fury.
"How?! Our ships are too big and heavy to do that! I am not that insane to try it!" The Ship's Captain answered.
"I don't care how! Just do it! And where is that Human bitch and the Team we sent to retrieve the Eggs?!" He answered, his own furious spitting getting lost in both rain and splashes of sea water.
"Over there! I can see the bubbles that contain their own ship! They are breaching the maelstrom border!" The Captain answered.
Following the direction the Elf pointed at, the General found the giant black shadow barely visible under the dark waters, vaguely shaped like a giant warship encased in a giant bubble permitting it to sail underwater.
Boom!
As soon as the ship broke-through the maelstrom border to surface in the wide area left behind by the furious spinning, the magical bubble itself burst and the warship landed heavily on the muddy ground, barely few feet away from the Kraken and its nest.
With the Elves -
As soon as the ship stopped shaking from the sudden landing, the Elves on board immediately snapped to action, dismounting from the thing in full battle asset, followed by a human girl in an outrageous pink frilly dress even the author of the most crappy Magical Girl Anime would have found excessive and refused to use.
"Wait for me!" The girl living her own Isekai yelled shrilly, jumping down the ship to follow the elves while waving around her magical staff to be seen.
"The plan has gone to waste, do we still need to drag that thing along, Captain?" One of the soldiers asked.
"A plan never survives its enacting. We will need to improvise, we have come this far and we can't back-down now! The plan remains unchanged: Grab the eggs, leave the human woman behind for the Mermen to capture and, hopefully, kill. And remember to leave behind the proof to pin all this on humans." The Captain answered.
"Yessir!" The Elven Soldiers answered as one.
"Wait for meee!" The human girl said, finally reaching the elves and splashing mud everywhere with her arrival.
"Don't worry...We know we can't do this without you...My dear." He answered, all while doing a truly titanic effort to turn his frown into a passable smile, the Elf Captain managed to ignore the disgust washing over him at looking at her and at the mud she splashed on his once pristine armour and robes enough to not eviscerate her on the spot.
"My beloved needs my help to recover those filthy eggs to save the Elven Kingdom, and I won't fail!" She answered, still following the Plot of the game that she thought she entered, unaware of her losing her Protagonist role thanks to the System.
"Yes, yes. Let's go." The Captain answered, he and the other Elves rolling their eyes in annoyance.
"SHIP INCOMING!" An Elf soldier yelled with wide eyes while pointing upward.
"Ship incom- HOW?!" The Captain shrieked at seeing Izuku's own ship sailing down along the sheer wall of the maelstrom until they too landed heavily on the ground. At the opposite side of the Kraken nest.
"…"
"…"
Now there they were: Humans on one side and Elves on the other, and in the middle a giant Squid-like Monster ten metres tall surrounded in eggs looking like perfectly-spherical pearls as big as a car.
Nobody moved, not even the Kraken, everybody was waiting for the others to make the first move, too focused on gauging the opposition to actually break the stalemate…
"What are we waiting for! GRAB THE EGGS!" fortunately, or unfortunately, the Isekai Girl decided to move first and to scream the very worst battle-cry, because the Kraken seemed to understand Human Speech enough to catch her intention.
"ROAAAAAR!" A tentacle wrapped around the eggs, while the others started whipping around trying to squish and crush everybody around its nest.
"Goddamnit! That idiot had to tell the thing she wants its eggs! Stop her!" Drunkhilde yelled while jumping down the ship together with Thirstruil to fight-off the giant tentacles.
"Isn't she the girl we met before? The one we saved from the bandits?" Izuku asked, recovering Shiro, to put him on his shoulders and then join the battle.
"The very same moron! Let's go save her from her stupidity, again!" Rumi answered, joining the Chef in fending off the tentacles.
"Take this!" The girl said while shooting small pebble-sized magic bullets at the tentacles with no effect.
"ROAAAAAR!" The Kraken shrugged-off the attack and moved one of its massive tentacles down to squash the girl.
"KYAAAAH!"
"Vajra Filleting!" Izuku yelled at the same time, and literally filleted the entire giant tentacle in an instant before it could touch the girl.
(Vajra – in sanskrit: Thunderbolt. So: Thunderbolt Filleting)
"Who...IZUKU! MY HERO!" The girl said in glee, and tried to glomp on the Chef to hug him.
"This is not the time and place, girl! Focus!" Rumi barked in answer, happy to see Izuku dodge the girl with ease.
"Piss off!" The other answered.
"Not now, we'll talk later," Izuku said, dodging again the girl's jump to focus on the Kraken that was now glaring daggers at him for the loss of a tentacle.
"Here it comes! Get ready!" Rumi yelled, jumping away.
Boom!
"EEEK!" The Isekai Girl shrieked in shock at feeling Izuku grab the back of her dress to drag her to safety and avoid the heavy tentacle slamming down so hard it formed a crater.
"You saved me again! You must really love me!" She gushed.
"FOCUS! There are people dying! This is not a game!" Izuku snapped angrily, especially at seeing several Elven Soldiers being battled away and sent flying.
"It is a game! My game! Everything will be alright if I am here! Look! Magic spear!" The girl yelled with crazed eyes before shooting from her staff a foot-long spear of shining magic that exploded one of the Kraken's eyes.
"GYAOOOOOOOOOH!" With a shriek of agony, the Kraken focused its remaining five eyes on both Chef and Isekai Girl in complete hatred.
"NO!" Rumi yelled at seeing every tentacle the Monster possessed coming down all at once on the two.
"Aaah!" Uncaring of his own safety, Izuku threw the Isekai Girl away and braced himself from impact.
"KYUUN!" For Rumi's relief, the Ancestral Taotie reminded her that the Chef was never really defenceless, as Shiro used the hair-like tendrils from his mouth to grab and stop the tentacles' descent.
"VAJRA FILLETING!" Soon followed by Izuku moving the Sea Dragon Kitchen Knife in a flash to cut them all into precise chunks, and just like before, the System promptly transported those chunks to the Restaurant's Island Storage.
"You...You are safe...You are safe…" Relief washed over Rumi as for an instant she thought she was about to lose him, she felt fear filling every corner of her being! Down to the last cell!...Wait...
"W-Wait!" That was a moment of clarity that made the bunny girl's eyes widen, she had felt terror with literally every cell of her body!
"IZUKU! THAT BERSERKER BURGER! NOW!" Rumi yelled while running towards the Chef.
"HN?! O-Okay!" Izuku answered, summoning from the Space Pocket the System connected him to a perfectly-cooked, and still smoking, hamburger patty on a plain white plate.
"Still warm?" She asked, just as the Kraken shocked them all by having new tentacles burst-out from the stumps with several splashes of blackish blood.
"The Pocket keeps everything in stasis...Why?" He asked.
"Just curious, but it doesn't matter! I finally understood how to use Enbu!" Rumi answered with a savage smile, swallowing the burger whole in just two bites.
"Wha?"
"YYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!" As soon as the patty reached Rumi's stomach, explosive power flowed in her veins like fire, making her entire body flush red so much her caramel skin resembled hot metal straight out of a furnace, so much thin strings of smoke wafted up from random areas of her back and limbs.
"WATCH THIS, BIMBO! THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT! THIS IS MY KICKFUL OF LOVE!" Voice booming, Rumi dashed forward with such a strength the ground under her feet exploded and she appeared in front of the Kraken in an instant.
"ENBU: SAMSARA MOONRISE!" She yelled, and she could feel every single cell of her body move in unison towards a single, unanimous goal: KICK!
BOOOOOOOM!
A kickful of Love! That's how she called the upward kick she delivered to the Kraken's body with the power of every single cell she possessed cooperating together (All 60 trillions of them) further strengthened by Izuku's Utility Dish, all focused on her right foot now burying itself deep into the Kraken's gut.
"…!" The Kraken's beak mouth was wide open, but no sound came as every eye it possessed turned lifeless on impact.
"FLY AWAAAAAAAY!" Rumi roared as the full power of her kick sent ripples along the Kraken's body and faintly pushed the thing's chitin skeleton straight out of its back a couple inches.
And the 30 metres tall (not counting the tentacles) and many tonnes of giant Squid Monster achieved sub-sound velocity as it flew upward.
All for the shock of the Elves stuck at sea level still fighting against the storm that saw a dead Kraken fly high in the sky, for a total height reached from the starting point at the sea-floor to when it started descending five miles. Complete insanity that needed to be seen to be believed.
With Rumi -
"I DID IIIIIIIIT!" Rumi yelled in glee while letting herself fall down to the ground from her high jump, all the while smiling wide.
"OOOF!" And as a welcomed extra, Izuku himself caught her in his arms to cushion her fall in a splendid bridal carry.
"You were amazing, Rumi. That was a perfect Enbu Kick." The Chef said with a proud smile.
"Hehehe! That burger made me super tired, but it was worth it, that was so fucking awesome." She answered, not even trying to get off his arms.
"It was," He answered, laughing.
"STOP TALKING WITH THAT BITCH! I AM YOUR WOMAN!" The Isekai Girl yelled.
"No, you are not." Izuku answered, gently setting Rumi back to her feet and walking towards the eggs.
"Stop right there! Those eggs are ours!" The Elven Captain yelled, unsheathing his sword.
"Unfortunately I need these for my Restaurant. So you will have to do without your Weapon of Mass Destruction." Izuku answered, uncaring.
"NEVER! WE WILL KILL EVERY HUMAN THAT WILL STAND IN OUR WAY! I HAVE PUT-UP WITH A SPOILED APE TOO LONG TO STOP NOW THAT THE EGGS ARE IN FRONT OF ME!"
"A-A-Ape?" The Isekai Girl muttered, shocked by the insult.
"Yes, that is another reason I went along with this thing, even just to stop a megalomaniac from killing whoever is not of your race. Now, sorry, but I have eggs to collect." Izuku answered, putting his hand on the first egg.
"STOOOOOOOOOOOP!" The Elves yelled, frantically running towards the Chef.
"Oh for fuck sake! WHITEY!" Rumi groaned in annoyance while sitting down on a rock.
"TROUBLEMAKERS!" The chubby robot stopped mounting guard to Portgas and assaulted the Elven soldiers, soon littering the ground in their shredded armors and clothes as he stripped them all before slapping them unconscious.
"NO! NO! NOO! This is not what is supposed to happen! I am supposed to be a Hero! To get a Harem! To live my life surrounded in hunks and in endless orgies!" The Isekai Girl shrieked in madness.
"...What...What the hell are you saying?" Izuku asked, appalled, he had just finished touching every egg to send it to his Storage and was now looking at the girl in shock.
"This is just a game! A stupid Romance Game I entered! I am the Main Character! Why am I in a cold, muddy hellhole fighting a monster?! Why am I being insulted!? I am supposed to be the girl that can have every man drooling after her! It is finally my turn to be beloved by everybody! I want the dicks I was denied in my previous life! I deserve it! I deserve everyt-"
SLAP!
The back-handed slap Izuku gave her sent the girl rolling on the floor, ruining her frilly dress into filthy rags thanks to the mud pool she fell into.
"This is not a game, you spoiled brat! People die and get hurt here! Stop pretending the world to bend over for you just because you want something! They were using you exactly because you think everybody owes you something!" The Chef yelled, furious.
"I...I...I…" Hic! "Nobody loved me back home! They always made fun of me and my looks because I was not a big-tittied bimbo with a slim waist! But here I will be loved by everybody because I am the Protagonist! I will have a boyfriend! No! Twenty!" The girl yelled while crying, snot, tears and mud mixing on her face into a disgusting muck.
"There are no Protagonists here. This is Reality, not a fantasy, it's time to face the truth, you can't force people to love you," Izuku answered.
"SHUT UP!" She yelled, grabbing her magical staff and pointing it at Izuku.
"LOVE ME! YOU ARE JUST A GAME CHARACTER! YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO LOVE ME! DROP YOUR PANTS AND FUCK ME!" The deranged girl shrieked.
In answer the Chef simply pulled the staff out of her hands faster than she could react and snapped it on his knee.
"Ah…"
"Stop whining and start acting like an adult, it's about time you drop this Power Fantasy of yours. This is no longer a Game, but Real Life. It's time to grow-up." The Chef said, throwing away the two halves of the broken staff.
"I...I…" Hic! Hic! "I am a protagonist…" Hic! "This is my world...Mine…" Hic!
"She is hopeless." Rumi said, sighing.
"She will need to grow-up fast, if she really came here from another world, this is no longer her game, but her Life. If she doesn't understand this, her future will be very bleak." Izuku answered.
"Should we help her?" Rumi asked.
"How, though? We will leave as soon as the Mission Timer runs-out or I collect the Ingredients required. How do we help her, especially since she doesn't want to get help yet?"
"I...I don't know…" Rumi answered, looking lost.
RRRRRRUMBLE!
"That talk will have to wait! The Maelstrom is collapsing!" Thirstruil yelled while finishing loading Portgas' boat in chests.
"What are those?!" Rumi asked while she and Izuku boarded the thing.
"Spoils of war! While you were talking with that psycho, we helped your automaton load the unconscious elves back on their ship, we also collected a couple souvenirs!" Drunkhilde answered as water started falling down to fill again the hole opened by the giant whirlpool.
"Oh God! What do we do now?!" Izuku asked.
"Trust me! I can hear the Sea, I will take us to safety!" Portgas answered.
"The System is making sure the water is refilling the hole in a way that will permit the two ships and their crews to float to safety. As part of the Service the Host paid for." The System explained.
"Uh! Almost makes the price you paid worth it." Rumi muttered, pleased.
"WAAAAAH! WAAAAAH! I WANNA WIN! I WANT MY HAREM! MY DICKS! I WANNA BE THE PROTAGONIST!"
"Wait! That idiot is still down there crying!" Thirstruil yelled.
"Oh, Goddamnit!" Izuku yelled while jumping down the ship.
"Izuku!" Rumi yelled with wide eyes.
Luckily, the Chef could still move fast enough to run at the crying girl and bring her back on their boat even with the rapidly rising water, and once unceremoniously dropped the wailing moron in a corner, the small crew held tight to the boat's railing while Portgas manoeuvred the boat on the wild waters all the way to the surface while waiting for the whirlpool to fully collapse and return the sea to normal.
And as they all could see, at the defeat of the Kraken the storm had stopped abruptly, with the sea now calm and still since no longer influenced by the Monster's powers.
"There is our Kraken!" Rumi said in relief once seen the enormous Squid Monster still floating in the sea.
"Is it dead?" Izuku asked.
"Almost, that kick really fucked it up," Drunkhilde answered, noticing only one eye of the thing still had enough Life in it to look towards them.
"Put it out of his misery, boy. Even a Monster deserves some respect." Thirstruil said.
"You are right, give me a minute…" Izuku answered, climbing on the Kraken's body as soon as Portgas neared the thing.
"One down...We need to find two more and we are done." Rumi muttered with a sigh.
"Two what?" Drunkhilde asked.
"Two more Ingredients. Izuku and I have been sent here to look for four things: Dwarven beer, the Sea King and its eggs, and that is this Kraken." The Hero student answered.
"And the other two?" Thirstruil asked.
"Besides a Sky King, we have no idea what it is. The easiest one would ideally be the other one: the Elven wine, we are just supposed to get some of the grapes needed to make their Liquid Gold Wine…" She answered.
"Huhuhuhu!" Both Dwarves chuckled at that.
"Uh?"
"You mean these grapes?" Drunkhilde said, and opening with a kick one of the treasure chests she and Thirstruil pilfered from the Elven Warship.
SHIIIIIIINE!
"HOLY SHIT!" Rumi yelled in awe while shielding her eyes, the grapes filling that giant chest seemed made of pure gold and they SHONE.
"Yeah, I could recognize these grapes anywhere, especially since their shine is what inspired me to make my golden beer. There should be enough samples here to start your own wine yard back home!" Drunkhilde said, laughing.
"And we can keep these?" Rumi said.
"Yep! Consider it your and Izuku's part of the spoils, Ah-ha!" Thirstruil answered.
"THOSE ARE MINE!" The Elven General shrieked in anger.
"Not anymore!" Rumi answered.
"What did I miss?" Izuku asked, having returned from painlessly putting down the Kraken and sending its corpse to the Restaurant Storage where he will later work on it.
"A big hit! We got the Elven grapes!"
"Really! YES!"
"NO! Those are mine! I need them to bribe our King into letting me get into early retirement! Sink that ship! Kill them all! Recover my Elven Grapes!" The Elven General ordered, and as one every ship of the convoy converged on the tiny boat of Izuku's group.
"What now?! We are not equipped for naval battle! Unless this boat has a cannon stashed somewhere." Drunkhilde hissed.
"Unfortunately not, this is a mere fishing boat. No armour or cannons anywhere." Portgas answered between clenched teeth.
"I guess this is where I jump in." Shiro said with a tired sigh.
"UH?!" The others not in the know, Isekai Girl included, uttered as one in surprise.
"Don't kill them!" Izuku yelled with wide eyes.
"For you, my Partner, this esteemed Taotie will show restraint and just scare them a little." Shiro answered, jumping on the railing to look at the approaching ten warships.
"Thank you." The Chef said in relief.
"Beware, Elves! This is a mere warning shot! The next one will strike true!" The Ancestral Taotie declared with a booming voice echoing everywhere and yet still holding regal composure.
"KILL THEEEEEM!"
"Hn! You all are shameless! Well, this Esteemed Taotie warned you!" Shiro said while dark energy started mounting in his tiny mouth until a swirling sphere of living shadows interspersed with pure-white lightning circling around it was formed in his maw.
"I appreciate your Pet's conviction, but a magical projectile that small won't even dent-"
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
BOOOM!
The sea parted!
The Earth trembled!
The sky went ripped apart!
Everything was engulfed in light!
What was once a mighty force of ten giant worships strengthened by ancient Magic ceased to exist in an instant as an awe-inspiring mushroom cloud covered the sky as soon as the blinding explosion of light that Rumi feared blinded half the planet and went noticed from space as well, disappeared.
"…"
"Done!" Shiro said, proud of himself.
"ON WHAT SCALE THAT IS CALLED RESTRAINT?!" Izuku shrieked.
"To me it was, Partner! I barely used an infinitesimal fraction of my powers to shoot that small thing! It was mostly pretty lights, I calibrated it so that the power would be just enough to destroy the Enchanted ships without hurting the crew. Not too much at least."
"I told you to not kill them!"
"And I didn't! When they land back down in the water, they will be still alive. With every bone in their bodies turned to dust and most organs bruised, but alive. By then the last remaining ship, the one full of naked elves, will collect them, heal them and bring them home ready to tell stories about mine and your greatness for millennia to come!" Shiro answered, calmly returning to lie around Izuku's neck as if nothing happened.
"...Let's just...Let's just return home…" Drunkhilde muttered.
"Ye...Yes…" Portgas answered, guiding the small boat back towards Gold Port Town.
The whole trip Izuku had only Rumi by his side, everybody else was just huddled in a corner as far away as physically possible from the tiny Taotie wrapped asleep around the Chef's neck; they all also ignored the shrieks of pain of the various Elves literally raining from the sky all around them that had survived, even if barely, the fly and the insanely-big explosion only thanks to their ships' enchantment taking the brunt of the attack.
Two days later – Mountains -
Time to shine! The second Isekai-ed guy was now reaching the last stop before the Dragon's nest where he will find the egg he needs for his Mission(s)! A couple hours and he will get all the treasures Humans, Elves and Vieras promised him!
"This is indeed the first Event of the Plot! My very first Big Victory that will put me on the path towards the Chad Harem Ending of those crappy animes those losers weebs back home were so fixated about! Hehehe! Those Betas wouldn't know what to do with all this wealth, good thing an Alpha like me has been sent here instead!" He said in glee while dismounting the flying ship.
"Remember! While this dragon is a weak one of its species and will be even weaker after laying its eggs, we must be cautious." The pretty girl in plain Wizard attire said with a cautious tone, too bad he still didn't manage to see what was hiding under all those layers.
Eh! Just a matter of time before the inevitable Love Scene! He felt like trying The Butt Experience with her, she looked like one of those girls enjoying it.
"Have no fear! We came prepared! We will pull through no problem!" The Annoying Paladin guy added, smiling that infuriating wide smile of his.
"Sorry, but I don't accept 'Rivals'. At the first occasion, an accident will happen and you will die, after all, the Hero needs his Dramatic Dead Friend Scene to boost his powers and show the Harem how cool, dashing and manly he is! And since I don't like you...You will need to fill the role of the dying 'Friend'." John thought in malice.
"We have Sir John with us! Of course we will triumph!" The chubby boy acting as the Team's Healer instead kept acting as the Isekai Guy's Hype man, gaining brown points for the young egomaniac.
"You, I will keep you, instead. A good Simp is always welcomed to boost my image! Just keep me alive and keep telling everybody how cool I am." The guy thought, pleased.
He was completely unaware that who was accompanying him was not a group of "Newbies", but a full-fledged Team of Pros that knew what they were doing and how to stroke the Ego of their charge so that he was so full of himself to not notice how much he was being played.
They all knew how to do it because it was not the first "Chosen One" they screwed over! The King of Men had specifically requested their help thanks to their experience in finding new Adventurers blinded by dreams of glory and swindling them with fake Prophecies they just so happened to discover so to lead the Victim into situations where they either died or went arrested while the Team ran away with the loot.
And as soon as the King captured them, he offered them a deal: They would help him trick John, and in exchange the King wouldn't hang all of them for their crimes, of course those guys couldn't agree fast enough once they saw the eager look of the Executioner waiting for them…
OF COURSE the King of Men expected them all to die fighting that dragon he purposely described as a runt, instead of a Legendary 'World Destroyer', but at least their deaths would actually serve a purpose instead of being a mere execution hosted on a Friday evening to entertain the masses, like usual.
Only John was required to survive, and the small group of soldiers secretly following him and his friends would make sure of that.
Two hours and a LONG walk through the mountains later -
The group of Heroes was now facing a tall mountain littered with hundreds of similar openings, and yet, even with all those caves, there was an eerie, unnatural silence all around them, as if something BIG had scared everything in the area so to be the only occupant of the mountain.
"There. That system of caves. The rangers sent by the King saw the dragon fly into one of those." The Rogue of the Team, a red-haired girl John could not wait to bend over, said while donning the hood of her form-fitting robes.
"We'll do as we planned: John and I will take the front, Patty and Stevie will take the middle while Kat will cover our backs. You ready?" The Paladin asked.
"Standard formation, of course!" The Rogue answered.
"Ready!" Healer and Mage chorused.
"We'll pull through, girls. Trust me!" John said while flashing what he believed was a blinding and charming smile.
"We trust you!" the girls answered, returning his smile with a sweet one of their own.
"God, what a moron." The Mage sent her friends through their shared telepathic link she had set-up.
"But a Moron we need, we either do this or we get the rope! And I am too pretty to die!" The Healer answered, talking with a more crude and insufferable tone than his character would have suggested.
"Debatable." The Rogue said.
"Screw you, bitch!"
"You weren't talking like that when I was riding you, cretin!"
"Enough! We have our lives on the line! It's not just money like usual! We need to play this perfectly, because I won't die for a cretin they need to scare into compliance!" The 'Paladin' roared, silencing his pals.
"Sorry, Boss!" The Team answered as one.
"Good! Remember your roles and our Mission: We get in, help the Idiot steal the right Egg and deliver both Egg and Idiot to the soldiers, then we fake our deaths and start again in a different continent. WITHOUT getting caught this time. Got it?!"
"Yes!"
"Good! Remember our body doubles, we have stashed in Patty's Magical pouch, we need that dragon to char them just enough they can't tell it's not us."
"Of course!"
"Hey! Ready to go?" John asked.
"Of course! Lead the way!" The Paladin answered aloud, and flashing the guy his middle finger as soon as he turned around.
"Don't worry, I bet that thing will die just by spitting on it! Stay behind me and I will deal with it by myself!" The Isekai Guy declared, flashing once again a smirk to the girls of the group.
"Gods, please! Make it so that even if a moron, he won't be so stupid to ruin a Mission THIS easy!" The Team of fake Adventurers thought in chorus at the same time.
One Hour Later -
"AAAAAAH!" John was running for his life, scared out of his mind!
ROAAAAR!
Behind him the biggest, foulest, most evil and scary dragon human mind could conceive was demolishing the tunnel in its haste to chase the guy and eat him, all to recover the giant egg the Isekai Guy was holding in his arms with all his strength and the ONLY reason why the dragon had not started vomiting fire on him once it had finished tearing apart and eating the fake Adventurers, all without giving those guys enough time to prepare their body doubles either.
The battle had started fairly normally: the Mage and Paladin kept hitting the Dragon in turns to attract its attention while the Healer kept them alive, all the while John and the Rogue sneaked past it to reach the eggs right after the Monster finished laying them so as to steal the very last one.
Everything was going smoothly...Too smoothly in fact.
John had seen how dashing the Paladin was being while guiding the operation, and that caused his barely-buried Inferiority Complex he took along from his previous life to flare-up and have him jump out of cover to face the Dragon himself and out-stage the Paladin, unfortunately while still holding the egg in his arms.
Once seen and understood what was really happening, the dragon stopped 'Playing with its food' and just went for the kill, and after a single slice of its massive claws moving at the literal speed of sound, the Monster slaughtered and devoured the fake Adventurers before focusing on John that had started running away in fear as soon as he saw the first splash of blood, never once looking back to check on his supposed friends. And now here he was, being chased.
"The exit! I am safe!" John yelled in relief once seen the cone of light created by the sun outside enlarging the closer he got.
ROOOOAR!
"GO AWAY! GO BURN A VILLAGE OR SOMETHING! STOP CHASING ME!" The Isekai Guy yelled in tears while pushing forward just a bit faster while ignoring his muscles burning in fatigue.
"A stupid egg! Just a stupid egg and I will retire in luxury and Women! You can do it, John! YOU CAN DO IIIIIT!" He yelled, psyching himself up for the last push, and with a long tumbling, he threw himself out of the small opening in front of him to roll on the floor to safety.
Boom! ROOOOOAAAAR!
An opening barely big enough for the Dragon's massive head and long neck to pass through, but not the rest of its wide body, even if by the big cracks rapidly forming around the hole, the Monster was pushing with both front claws and back legs and will soon dig its way through the rock.
"Ah-ha…AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Screw you, lizard! I outsmarted you! Ha-ah!" John said, laughing at the struggling monster.
ROAR! ROAR! CRAAACK!
"KYAAAAAH!" Just as the dragon was about to finally break through the rock and fully get out from the cave, two things happened:
The Isekai Guy shrieked in fear with a high pitch.
"SAMSARA CUT!" And a young man in green Chef attire appeared out of nowhere to decapitate the dragon with a single swipe of the kitchen knife in his hand, sending the massive head of the Monster flying high in the air with a wide spray of smelly blood and the head crushing down behind John with a thundering boom that made the ground shake heavily after two whole seconds of flying.
"Oh yeah! This is definitely a Sky King! Way bigger than those other dragons we found!" Rumi said, amazed.
"It is! This one is at least five times the others!" Izuku said while sending the now dead dragon to his Storage.
"Good think Drunkhilde and Thirstruil managed to talk those Dwarves into letting us board their flying ship and come here, two days of travel well worth the effort!"
"And with all the dragons we collected, the one from the egg will have plenty of mates for me to use to get a steady supply of Dragon meat! This was a huge success!" Izuku answered, smiling wide.
"About the egg...Where is it?" Rumi wondered.
"Here, Host. This man collected it for us." Whitey in the meantime had took the egg away from John's hands and handed it to Izuku.
"Are you sure we can take it?" Izuku asked.
"Yes."
"Awesome! Thank you, kind stranger!" Izuku said, grateful.
"THE EGG!" The Isekai Guy shrieked, horrified at seeing the egg disappear once Izuku touched it.
"It's okay! It has only been stored away," Rumi answered, unaware of the real reason for John's shriek.
"Congratulations, Host. With this you have successfully completed the Mission the System gave you!" The Entity said with a happy victory fanfare only the two Travelers could hear.
"With this we are done, we can finally return home!" Rumi said with an elated tone.
"PARALYSIS!" It was then that a duo of light bullets hit them, freezing them on the spot.
"That was my egg, fucker!" John screeched with blood-shot eyes.
"Whatever, it doesn't matter, there are other eggs for me to deliver, but since you had to dare to steal from me, I will steal from you…" He said with a sneer.
"…?" Unable to talk, the two just looked at him in confusion.
"I am tired of coming second! Tired of seeing others being acknowledged instead of me! 'Not smart enough!', 'Not Muscular enough!', 'Not rich enough!', 'Not with a dick big enough!'! Always put aside! All because those whores were convinced they deserved more! I deserve more! And when I got here, like in those Anime those Beta losers Weebs wank about, I understood! It is finally MY turn to WIN! I can finally get what I deserve, starting with having women do the only thing they are good for: spread their legs!"
"The System believes that this is enough, both Host and Guest heard what the Maniac plans to do. Please feel free to administer Justice now, thank you for your patience." The System said before undoing the paralysis spell holding Izuku and Rumi frozen.
"Now watch as I fuck your woman and make her MINE! That ìs what they all are good for anyway, to fu-" BOOM!
"RUMI!" Izuku yelled with wide, scared eyes upon seeing the young woman deliver to the guy's face a knee hit that disintegrated his jaw and teeth in an instant.
"YOU! ARE! A! FUCKING! PIG!" Each word of Rumi was accompanied by a savage stomp on the downed John's body, breaking bones as easily as one snapped a twig.
"I-"
"It's not dick size! It's not wealth! They were ignoring you because they saw what a piece of shit you are!" Rumi was relentless, stomping and kicking brutally, even when the guy rolled on the floor to cover his head with his arms and folded himself in a protective foetal position.
"I AM NOT A SEX DOLL! I AM NOT A WALKING ASS! I AM NOT A HORNY RABBIT YOU CAN FUCK JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE A DICK! I AM NOT! I AM NOT! I AM NOT!" Rumi screamed, a furious snarl on her face while she cried.
"Rumi! Rumi stop. Rumi, look at me, stop." Izuku said, tearing her away from the guy and grabbing her by the shoulders so as to turn her towards him and force her to knee on the floor with him.
"I-I am not a sex doll! I am not a horny rabbit, I swear." Rumi said, sounding frantic.
"I know, I know."
"I wanna go home. I hate it here, whoever we meet keeps implying I am easy to fuck, it's my high-school all-over again!" She said, hiccuping.
"They kept making crass comments?" Izuku said, hugging her, uncaring of her running nose leaving a trail on his shoulder.
"They always accused me of seducing their boyfriends, my PE Teacher kept suggesting ways to increase my grades...I hate it! I am more than a pussy!" She said, hugging him as tight as she could.
"I know. You are an amazing woman, I said so before, and I will keep saying it as long as you want me to." The Chef said, caressing her head slowly and gently.
"Then why don't you want me? Why can't I get the Love of the guy I want if I am that good, hn?" Rumi said, pulling back to look at him and watching him avoid her eyes.
"…"
"Izuku?"
"…" To her surprise, he did look guilty though, even while avoiding meeting her eyes.
"You do feel something! Isn't it?!" Rumi said with a wide smile.
"I can't betray Momo. And I don't want to string you along." He muttered.
"In order for you to string me along, you would have needed to be the one hitting on me while not telling me you were in a relationship already! You keep pushing me away instead, even if there IS some spark and shit buried deep!" Rumi said, voice both elated and victorious.
"Rumi, I-"
"You won't break-up with Momo. Never. I will make sure of it! You will be together!" Rumi declared.
"...Eh?" Now, that was confusing.
"New plan! I am not stealing you away from Momo! I am joining!" She said while hauling him to his feet.
"I-I-I don't underst-"
"Which arms does she prefer?"
"The right one?" He blurted-out without thinking.
"Good, I'll take the left one." Rumi said, moving at his side to grab his left arm in both of hers.
"See? Two arms, two girls. If you can't choose, you don't! You get two!" Rumi said.
"Y-Y-You are the one not letting me choose!" He said, frantic.
"Don't mind the semantics now! Momo will learn to accept this, she is a determined bitch, just like me." Rumi said.
"Ru-Rumi! You are making no sense!"
"Love doesn't make sense! That's why it's awesome! You can make-up the rules the way you want! And I want a Boyfriend and a Girlfriend now! A Chef and a Hero Student to be exact, and would you look at that! I do know a Man and a Woman that fit the criteria!"
"H-Help?"
"You will get used to this, don't worry! It's all a matter of being open-minded enough to try new things!"
"I don't know-"
"It will be fine! Having two girlfriends never killed anybody! At least you are in a situation where both girls know the other exists, so you won't risk maiming either!"
"I won't, but you-"
"Oh, if dear Momo needs a fist-fight with me to resolve the few kinks of my new plan, we can do that too! I do love a good brawl! And I heard make-up make-out sessions feel nice!" Rumi answered, looking unable to drop her smile.
"Let's...Let's just go home for now...Please…I wanna go home..." Izuku begged, too overwhelmed to think about a solution and just longing to return to his personal safe haven, his Restaurant's kitchen.
"You'll see! You and Momo will see things my way soon! Let's go, Zephyr!" Rumi answered, and at her call the Pheline they met came out from hiding while carrying a huge backpack.
"Meeow!"
"Uhu?!" Izuku gurgled, confused beyond words.
"The guy wants to come with us, he chose you as his new Partner and now he won't listen to reason, but follow you back home, so I told that old woman we would take him in. You do need an assistant in the kitchen, yes? And they say he is a tiny Master in bread-making, and very good at cooking in general, so it will be fine!" Rumi explained.
"I...I don't know...I...Home...I…" Izuku mumbled, completely lost.
"I think he means he is happy to have you and that he welcomes you as a member of his Restaurant Staff." She said,
"MEOW!" The Pheline said with a blinding smile, hugging Izuku's legs as hard as he could while purring.
"W-Welcome on board...I guess…" Izuku said while mechanically patting the cat-like thing's head.
"Very well, Zephyr the Pheline is deemed a worthy member of the Restaurant Staff. The System congratulates the Host for actually finding a kitchen helper ahead of time. As a prize, the bonus for that small mission's competition will be released as well: The restaurant main area will be enlarged to add two new tables, so, more possible Customers. Congratulations!" The System said, with another round of victory fanfare.
"Hurray?" Izuku said, unsure, and let Pheline and Rumi guide him towards the extraction point to return home since he was still lagging behind due to the insane speed things had started moving at.
"…"
"...Is the psycho bitch gone?" John asked with a trembling voice after waiting a couple minutes after the trio's voices faded away.
"…"
"Okay...Okay, she is gone." The Isekai Guy muttered to himself while painfully returning to his feet.
His body was one giant bruise, and a broken ribs, but nothing a couple potions and healing spells won't fix. The problem was the egg…
"I mean...An egg is an egg. They didn't explain to me the superstition around getting only the last one, but as long as I don't tell them I am giving them one of the others, they will never know."
Once gone through every healing item and spell he had at his disposal, sadly not enough to fully fix everything, John secured the other five eggs the now dead dragon left behind and set to get all the payments he was promised by the various groups that called him, all at once.
The Vieras -
"So this is the last egg of the dragon?" The Viera Envoy asked, tense.
"Yes, yes! Still warm from its ass! Stop asking!" John answered, annoyed.
"Just making sure...Listen…"
"What now?!"
"Calm down. I just wonder if you can give us one of the others as well," The Viera Envoy asked with a sinister smile.
"Yes? What's it? A prank you want to pull?" John asked.
"You can say so," She answered.
"Okay, give me a minute and I will get one. But you better make it worth the effort, these blasted eggs are a metre tall and weigh a ton!" He answered before running away to collect the second egg.
"Thank you! You will appreciate the extra in our payment!" The Envoy answered.
"...Do you plan to give the other egg to that monster?" One of the Viera accompanying her asked.
"Yes, let's see if he will act like a big shot after that!"
"Hahahahaha! Good thinking! And as a bonus, we will get the scary dragon to use as a way to finally get some respect here! It's time for the Vieras to shine! Can't wait to enslave all those ugly races outside the Forest."
"Finally time for the TRUE Supreme race to rule, yes!" The Viera Envoy said with a sneer.
The Elves -
"SO! The last Egg. You really managed to deliver it." The same Elven General that lost the entire fleet to Izuku and Shiro asked when he met John at the accorded point.
"Never underestimate me, my Dude!...By the way...What happened? You look like something chewed you up and shat you out," John answered, carefully closing the lid of the ornate chest the elves prepared for the egg.
"I don't want to talk about it. This week has been a nightmare! First my hair-stylist ruins my hair, then my favourite armour gets destroyed, then my favourite warship gets destroyed, a bunch of savages steals my present for his majesty and forces me to swim back to shore and finally my subscription to Elf Weekly expires. Your Egg Delivery is frankly the first nice thing that happened to me. I just want to deliver this, go home and collapse on my bed and forget everything about this week." The Elf answered with a miserable, feminine-sounding whine.
"Damn, dude. You got it rough." John commented, grimacing and almost feeling bad about giving him another egg instead of the one he was told to get. Almost, he really wanted those twin Elf maids.
"You have no idea! Luckily I have an appointment for my weekly manicure, that usually calms me down. Let's go!" The General answered while mounting the majestic Stag he used in place of a common horse, and guided his small entourage away in a pretty flamboyant jumping procession of deer riders and their long flowing elf hair.
"I am straight as an arrow...But DAAAMN if they have nice hair!" John admitted.
The Humans -
"So the adventurers are dead?" The Captain of the human royal guards asked once he and the other soldiers finally met with John.
"Yeah, they didn't make it. Sorry if I am late, I wanted to give them a proper burial." The Isekai Guy answered, actually doing a great job at looking miserable while telling that lie.
"It's okay, nobody should feel guilty about mourning. So the dragon is gone?"
"We managed to wound it pretty badly, so it flew away, we don't know where it went." He answered, knowing well that nobody would believe if he told him it was dead without a corpse.
"I understand. What about the eggs?"
"What about them?"
"Have you seen them?"
"Yes?"
"...Would you be able to recognize which is the last one?" The Captain asked with a casual tone.
"Oh, yes, sure. Want me to bring it here?" John asked, already smelling extra payment.
"Why not! Studying it will teach us how to kill that thing! We will set-up the ship for the trip back, you go collect it!"
"Yes! Immediately!" He answered, eager.
Now, you must be wondering, why did they all insist on asking for the very last egg and not the others?
Evolution!
While dragons are mighty forces and a suicide to fight, eggs are still eggs, ergo, defenceless! So a daring predator could still steal and eat the eggs of a dragon after distracting the nesting mother...Or it would have had the dragons not learned to lay decoy eggs to hide the real one the mother usually kept closer to herself while leaving the decoys as easier targets.
What was special about those decoy eggs? Simple: once the shell cracked, they exploded! Same goes if the decoy eggs were put in a furnace to simulate the Mother Dragon's fire to help it develop and hatch, like whoever got an egg from John started doing as soon as they got home with it.
Each decoy egg was in reality a giant sphere of condensed Fire-Element magic pressurised to its limits! And eggs as big as the ones John foolishly handed around (1 metre tall for 1 metre wide at its widest point) each packed inside an astounding explosive power! How much?
Think Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Then multiply by ten.
It was a bit of Dragon's biology Trivia John learned only ten days later when the news of several colossal explosions ERASING the capital of the Elven Kingdom, the Capital of the Viera Forest Kingdom, an entire floating island that used to house a coven of Necromancers, the capital of the human kingdoms of the North and the beloved King of the North and even more than half a mountain range once an incautious young dwarf cracked open the last egg left, reached every corner of the continent.
John was thus thrown into the dungeons of Serena city, stripped of every noble title and everything he owned and closed into a humid and tiny cell together with another crazed girl that was discovered conspiring with the now pulverised King of the Elves.
Both Isekai Morons kept saying that they were Protagonists and so not supposed to be treated like this, but nobody cared and just left them there, forgotten.
As for the Gods that brought them there...Since their value as entertainment for the System expired, the Entity simply devoured them, just in case they tried pulling more bullshit like that.
With Izuku
About the young Chef instead, his return was celebrated WILDLY by both Inko and Eri that missed him greatly, along Zephyr's introduction to the family that was welcomed with open arms by everybody, except Blackie, that as any good dog was not exactly thrilled to see a Cat, or similar beings, join the family.
A bit harder was explaining to Izuku what happened with Blackie while he was gone, why several Pro Heroes now avoided the Lord Dog whenever they visited the Restaurant and why the new trending sensations were the hashtags:
#LordDog
#SentFlying
#MightyPaw
and
#BlackieAirlines
The only saving grace was that Saito and the other lawyers managed to prevent Izuku from being drowned in lawsuits against his invincible Guard Dog, a miracle in itself, and only thanks to them exploiting the wording of several laws and the pride of the Pro Heroes sent flying that didn't want to bring too much attention to how a simple dog humiliated them that badly.
On a lighter note, the new utensil Izuku unlocked thanks to his latest Mission was the so-called Star-Eating Turtle Wok, a wok made by carving it out of a MASSIVE plaque coming from the shell of a giant turtle so big the thing fed literally on stars as big as the sun planet Earth orbited around, not surprising since the wok was a perfect copy of the one coming from the God of Cooking of the Giants' World.
It had the power of sedating every and any Animal/Ingredient that went inside the wok, even outside of cooking, also able to enlarge and shrink following the Owner's will, increasing its weight at will so that ONLY the Owner could lift and use it, and, more astoundingly, decreasing the time needed to cook food in it by manipulating Time inside the Wok, powers as insane as expected from Godly Equipment of a supposed God of Cooking.
The only problem is that the Wok needed a very special kind of fire to work properly as a kitchen utensil instead of a weapon/shield, but the System assured Izuku that the chance to get that special fire will come to him, eventually, and to not worry about things too far away in the future.
At the moment though, Izuku was lying in bed and hugging Momo with all his strength, clearly in distress and needing his girlfriend's presence and Love, and Momo was ready to DROWN HIM in all that for as long as he wanted!
"He looked lost and in doubt...Nejire and Rumi must have planned for this to happen!" Momo thought with narrowed eyes, returning the hug of the now sleeping Chef with all herself while he buried his face in her neck.
She recognized how needy her beloved Izuku had been while cuddling and then later when they made Love again, it felt like he needed reassurance of her presence at his side! To see her confirm that she belonged to him and him only just as he belonged to her! And even if ashamed of it, Momo found herself glad he felt he needed her at his side that badly.
Both Izuku and Momo were afraid of losing each other to somebody else 'Better than him/her'.
Both were ashamed to show themselves to be that needy and scared, to the other.
And both feared that telling the other how much they were afraid of losing him/her would have weirded-out the other.
Insecurity meshed badly with Love, that was certain, luckily they were truly in love with each other, and only needed a last push to defeat that hurdle too!
UA University – Nejire's Room -
Nejire was more observant than people believed, that was why she noticed Momo and Ochako talking in hushed tones right after Izuku had left with Rumi for his trip in another Dimension, and planned her successive moves accordingly.
And now she had just finished reading the detailed message Rumi sent her where the girl retold, and bragged about, all that happened in that sortie in another world, her small down moments and Izuku's heartfelt rescue every time she opened up to him about her insecurities comprised, and that meant one thing for Nejire.
"Time to start Phase 2 then. Everything is ready." She muttered, pleased.
That same night – Secret Location -
"How is your Experiment going, Garaki?" All for One asked.
"Pretty smoothly, Sensei. I unravelled a few other kinks in my formula just recently." The old man answered, pleased.
"Good. How long before we can try that Perfecting Operation on Shigaraki then?" The Villain asked.
"Eh...About that…" The Doctor answered, annoyed.
"Yes?"
"I can't do it if your protegee keeps getting mauled by a Dog! I once again had to patch him up!" Garaki said, grumbling in annoyance.
"What?" All for One hissed.
"Yes, apparently just one hour ago he sneaked out again, without even waiting to be completely healed this time, hoping that with the cover of darkness he could attack that dog that he thought would have been tired after dealing with Pro Heroes for the whole day.
Kurogiri just brought him back with his everything broken. AGAIN! I can't work with a body that is not perfectly healthy, and Shigaraki seems determined to cripple himself! Make him stop!" The Doctor said.
"…" That bit of news made the mysterious Villain get up from his Life Support chair to walk, hands behind his back, towards one of the giant tubes containing a new Nomu floating in a dark green culture bath, and barely seeing it, and everything around him, thanks to a combination of Echolocation Quirks and few others he collected through the ages, and yet old man Garaki could tell that the man was subconsciously narrowing his non-existent eyes while deep in thought, mostly thanks to the creasing of the scarred featureless upper part of his face that once had eyes before All Might simply erased his face with a punch.
"Sensei?" Garaki asked.
"...When you look at me. When you look at yourself in the mirror. And when you look at all this…" All for One asked while opening his arms wide and slowly spun around, indicating everything inside the small Laboratory they were in.
"Do you see a joke?" He asked, honestly curious, even if with a cold voice.
"NO!" Garaki answered, angry.
"I see a great man that wants and deserves to take the reins of this rotten society! I see my genius, finally free to unravel the mysteries of the human genome and of Life itself, and I see the most beautiful example of both your Ambitions and my Genius working together! How can everything we have achieved, everything we have worked on, be a joke?! It is not possible! It is far too preposterous to even think about!" The old scientist answered.
"Then why, tell me, are a Chef without a Quirk and a mangy dog standing in our way! If we and our work of a lifetime are not a joke, then why is that Quirkless Brat treating us like one?!" All for One demanded.
"We did send somebody to remove him," Garaki said.
"And nobody ever saw them again! They entered that Restaurant and never got out. I was of the idea that the people working for me were not useless morons!" On the notes of his rage, the Nomu All for One was looking at was eviscerated by a spike of bones exploding out of the man's arm in a shower of gore and shattered glass.
"I say we merely underestimated the difficulty of the thing. Trial and Error is a scientific method too, even if a crude one. We now know that the common, nameless street thug is not a force great enough to remove the obstacle in front of us. I say that if we just increase the said force, we will finally take care of the Chef." Garaki said.
"And that Dog?" All for One asked.
"What about it? It's a dog, while strong, at the end of the day it is still an animal, its alliance is first and foremost to itself. Those Heroes wasting time and effort going against it showed me that he is far too self-conceited to make the first move, preferring to just counterattack, and only if it looks like something entertaining enough. So I say we just ignore him and go after the Chef. Without the Owner, the thing will probably just wander off looking for a new one." Garaki answered.
"I can't believe I have to waste resources to deal with a Quirkless boy. Life really is full of surprises." All for One admitted with a dry chuckle while returning to sit on his chair and reconnecting the life support to his body.
"It would be boring if things were too easy, Sensei. Should I call a couple of our Cleaners?" Garaki asked.
"Let's try those, yes. And I hope they will be enough, otherwise I fear our little Annoyance will see himself rise higher and higher on our Priority List, and even I would feel bad to see him face some of our more...Feral...Acquaintances." The Villain said with a cold chuckle.
"Although, watching them tear him apart would give me some interesting data about the breaking point of human flesh. Hohohoho! But I guess that should such a thing happen, then that little Chef will only have to blame himself." Garaki answered.
"Well said. Keep a tube of those empty, we may need to fill it up soon with a VIP Guest." All for One said, with a smile full of malice.
"There are indeed fates worse than simple death, yes." Garaki answered, amused at the idea of working on a Quirkless for his next creation. Without anaesthetics, of course, just to see what would happen.
While all this happened, in America a brand new Luxury Restaurant was almost ready for its grand opening with the workers of the construction company hurrying through the last steps while under the vigilant eyes of its owner, and a bunch of High-Profile Villains had just received detailed information about their next Mission and their Target from their boss all the way in Japan.
Omake
– The Divine pie that defeated a God! -
Arena – Infirmary -
"What do you mean: A guy healed them all?!" A woman wearing a white military-like uniform shrieked in annoyance.
"Sister Brunhilde, please calm down…" The short girl with her, wearing more casual clothes, begged.
"I AM CALM!" She roared.
"Bwhahahaha! Come on! You can't expect me to stop somebody from healing who is in need! Especially if there are Enlightened and used macaroons to do that!" A guy in a very revealing tank top and with very long earlobes answered, laughing uproariously.
"...Macaroons?" Brunhilde asked, confused.
"Who was it, great Buddah?" the short Valkyrie, Goll, asked.
"Hahahaha! Who else? A God of Cooking, of course! Well, a Candidate, but they are a very good one!" Buddah answered, chuckling amused.
"A God of what?" Goll asked.
"WHERE DID HE GO?!" Brunhilde yelled, actually shaking Buddha like a ragdoll.
"That way. He said he was gonna heal Tesla and Belzy so that neither of the two would die from their wounds." The Shaken deity answered while pointing out of the room.
"LET'S GO!" Brunhilde yelled, grabbing Goll by the back of her clothes to drag her out.
"C-C-C-COMING!" the short girl yelled, shaken, before finally starting to run with her own legs to chase her sister.
What they found, partly thanks to Brunhilde uncanny ability to smell good food from several miles away, was the two most recent fighters in their small Tournament for the sake of mankind sitting to two beds close to each other, but instead of being both at death's door, thus literally pausing the Tournament until one of the two died for the wounds so to declare a winner, both were sitting on their own bed slowly removing the bandages covering them to show the complete lack of wounds under it, and both looked far too healthy for being two dying warriors that had just finished trying to kill each other!
"YA! This is it! Perfect Burek Sa Sirom like the one they used to sell next to my laboratory! Vrlo Dobro!" A man with overly-energetic eyes and bandages around his chest that were coming loose, said in amazement. (Vrlo Dobro! Very Good! In Croatian.)
"I made some Cevapi too if you want, Mister Tesla!" A young man with green hair and dressed in Green Chef attire said, smiling happily while serving the same plate to poor Beelzebub, still completely covered in bandages so unable to move by himself.
"Thank you…" The brunette with blush markings with the Chef muttered, a bit ashamed to see her forced to clean his chin for him due to his bandaged arms.
"It's okay." She answered, smiling gently.
"Wooo! It Tastes like home! Both Croatian and Serbian cuisine taste so good! I almost regret ignoring them while studying!" Tesla said, smiling wide and wolfing down every plate he was given.
"You don't mean it, doctor, I know." Tesla's Valkyrie companion answered, chuckling a bit while feeding him.
"Why are you helping me?" Beelzebub asked, eyes still red from his recent crying fit.
"Because while I can't legally be a Hero, I still want to be one in my actions, and once seen you reduced like that, I could not in good conscience let you die." Izuku answered, showing him a gentle smile.
"You humans are supposed to hate me and be scared of me…"
"I know the connotations tied to the name Beelzebub, like that 'Lord of flies' name...But still, had I not helped you, I would still never forgive myself. Especially since you did not feel Evil to me, just lonely." Izuku answered with a small voice.
"...Thank you…" The lonely God muttered, unable to meet the Chef's eyes, and finally freeing a single hand so to eat by himself.
"YOU!" Brunhilde yelled.
"Ye-Yes?!" Izuku yelled, scared.
"Hmmmmmmm!" The Valkyrie hummed aloud, grabbing his shoulders and looking into his eyes with a scary and INTENSE glare.
"He does have...How do I call it...Feeling of a deity...But it's faint." Goll said.
"You really are a Candidate!" Brunhilde said.
"Ye-Yes?"
"GOOD! SO FUCKING GOOD!" Brunhilde cheered while stealing Tesla's plate to try the food.
"HEY! NO! NEIN! That's not what a Lady should do!" Tesla yelled, annoyed.
"P'rfect! You're wh't I ne'd!" Brunhilde said, while still chewing with her mouth still full.
"Sister...Swallow before talking...Please…" Goll begged with a groan.
"What do you need Izuku for?" Ochako asked, confused.
GULP! "I need him to save the Human Race from extinction!" Brunhilde, once swallowed the last morsel of food, chirped with a wide smile.
"…"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"
One hour later -
As the assembled Gods and Humans (as in EVERY HUMAN THAT EVER EXISTED ON EARTH) started getting vocal about their being tired of waiting for the latest fight result, the short God acting as commentator Heimdall addressed the audience.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Gods and Mortals!...This is Awkward." He admitted, immediately silencing the arena.
"It seems like the battle has ended as a draw, with both fighters luckily recovering from their wounds! Somehow." He said, sounding completely uncertain.
"So! The dear Valkyrie offered a way to resolve this, a new fight!"
"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The audience went wild in expectations.
"And-"
"AND I WANT THE GODDESS HESTIA, GOD OF THE HEARTH, AND FOOD, TO FIGHT FOR THE GODS SIDE!" Brunhilde yelled with a wide, cruel smirk.
"ME!?" A woman was heard shrieking in horror.
"Hohohoho! And let's hear! Who is the Human facing her?" Zeus asked, laughing amused.
"The Greatest Chef of Mankind! That's right! We are resolving this Draw with a Cooking competition!" Brunhilde answered.
"!" The roar of the audience was deafening at that point! Why such a strange match?
"Cooking? Against a human? So be it! I may not be a fighter, but when it comes to hearth, fire and food, I am second to none!" The Goddess Hestia answered, a smile reeking of pride.
"Oh well! If the Gods are okay with this, who am I to go against it? LET'S GOOO!" Heimdall declared with a wild scream that managed, somehow, to increase tenfold the already insane amount of hype of the audience.
Just a few minutes for the Goddess to get to the entrance door to the arena floor reserved to the Gods, and she was ready for her introduction.
"Fighting for the Gods in this special make-up fight! The Guardian Goddess of the Hearth, the overseer of all sacrifices, the only woman that looked at both Lord Poseidon and Lord Apollo and outright refused their advances! The Motherly Beauty of Olympus, the Forever a Maiden! She who is the closest to being a God of Food: LADYYYYYYYYY HESTIAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Heimdall yelled, hamming up his introduction speech like usual and prompting fire to erupt from around the door the Goddess walked out from.
(Hestia, Greek Goddess of the Hearth)
She was truly a Goddess whose beauty was simple and humble, compared to outrageous beauties like Aphrodite or Eve, and yet, nobody could blame other Gods from trying to conquer such a splendid woman; she was carrying above her head a giant plate made of gold full to the brim in Ingredients, once she reached her side of the arena, a giant stone table prepped for cooking surfaced from a trap-door on the floor.
"Amazing! And who is the Challenger instead!? Is he Joel Robuchin, THE greatest Chef in the world following the Michelin Star Ratings with a yet undefeated 31 Stars under his belt? Maybe the legendary Alain Ducasse? Or maybe Marie-Antoine Careme, the man who WROTE the very Laws and Rules of French Cuisine and was considered the King of Chefs? Is the Challenger Paul Bucose 'The Chef of the Century' many considered to be THE Chef? Who of them dares to challenge a God in the art of cooking?" Heimdall asked aloud.
Human side of the audience -
"Wait...We are all here...Who the fuck is down there cooking?!" Gordon Ramsay yelled, furious, like only a Chef version of Katsuki could.
"I don't know, my friend. I hope the Valkyrie won't start trying to screw us over." Bucose answered, actually sounding scared.
"They are fighting for us, I trust they choose somebody good enough. I trust them." Marie-Antoine answered.
Down the Arena -
"Read this, please. Here is your presentation." Brunhilde said, waving around a small card for Heimdall.
"Tch! You may give me the text, but I will put in the Hype!...Damn Valkyries…" The Norse God muttered while returning to float above the arena.
"Ah-Hem! The Challenger for the Human Side! The man who discovered the Preparation Method for the Special Ingredient known as the deadly Detonating Nuclear Sea-Urchin! The Chef that alone prepared the seven hundred dishes for the marriage Ceremony for the King of Jelal! The King of Cooking! The Chosen by the Ingredient! And proud owner of Green Cloud Restaurant! Izuku Midoriya! The...The…The…" Heimdall faltered a bit while reading the last paragraph, with his face becoming ashen in colour.
"THE CURRENT CANDIDATE FOR THE TITLE OF GOD OF COOKING?!" The God shrieked with bulged-out eyes.
"You tricked meeee!" Hestia shrieked.
"Bleeeh!" Brunhilde, very maturely, blew a raspberry towards the Goddess.
Under the confused mumbling of the audience, Izuku and Ochako made their way towards the young Chef workstation, where he unsealed the Sea Dragon Knife, the Myriad Manifestation Mallet and the Star-Eating Turtle Wok, along the Ingredients he had planned to use.
"He is...SO young…" Ramsey said, shocked.
"Why was the guy so shocked to learn he was a Candidate for the title of God of Cooking?" Robuchin asked.
"You Humans really are ignorant! He is basically THIS CLOSE at Ascending to Godhood and becoming a God himself, if he manages he will be THE God overseeing the Art of cooking." A lesser deity that sat close to the line separating the Human side from the Gods' one, explained while holding two fingers so close they almost touched.
"Like that Hestia Goddess?"
"No...Unfortunately, for us, those are two different things. Hestia-sama presides over sacrifices, the hearth and the inner workings of a house (Family), but a God of Cooking is the literal God of Cooking: he rules over everything about Cooking and Food, in that Realm he outranks everybody, even Hestia-sama. That Valkyrie has somehow found a Candidate and decided to screw us with that...Clever girl." The deity said.
"Oh!" The Chefs of Humanity muttered as one in surprise.
Down in the Arena -
"So you are a Candidate, hn? I finally met one!" Hestia hissed.
"Ehm, nice to meet you, Miss." Izuku answered, unsure.
"I heard the rumours, of a Candidate being able to Ascend to godhood if they are mortals so as to sit on the throne as the good of Cooking and Food. Well, I think that is supposed to be MY Throne! As the Goddess of the Fire of Sacrifices and the Family, fire used for cooking, I am the only one suited for that Title!" The Goddess answered.
"Listen, I am just here because my Sponsor wants me to gain a steady supply of your Apples of Eden and other fruits." Izuku answered, scratching his cheek.
"WHAAAAAAAAT!? THOSE FRUITS ARE ONLY MADE TO FILL A GOD'S PLATE! NOT A MORTAL'S!" Hestia shrieked, and many other Gods roared in anger as well.
"Preposterous!" Ares yelled in rage.
"Bwahahahaha! Humans keep being so outrageous! I really like them!" Loki added, looking at the Chef in great amusement.
"Hohohoho! An Old One took interest in this human, hn? That's why he is here?" Zeus said while looking at the sky, and the sky rippled a little under his gaze.
"Awww! Always the shy one, System-chan! You know I love your style! If only you were more friendly, Hee-Hee-Hee! Come oooon! Come sitting on my lap! Let me see your smile, at least once!" The old geezer God said with a lecherous smile.
"Keep it in your toga, old fart." The Entity answered.
"Oh! Friendzoned again! Hohohoho!"
"We are not friends."
"BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Always a riot to talk to! HEY, BOY! IF you win you will have your fruits and much more, but if you lose, you'll die!" Zeus declared, laughing just as loud as the lightning he could command.
"EEEEK!" Both teens shrieked in horror.
Down the Arena -
"Izuku!" Ochako yelled in fear.
"It's okay, I will die, not you, you need to stay calm." He answered.
"Stay calm?! You want me to stay calm after hearing that man say they will kill you if you lose?!" She answered.
"Then I won't lose." Izuku said, grabbing her hands in his.
"Please do. Please." Ochako answered, kissing him.
"Such intense Love. Impressive." Aphrodite admitted, impressed.
"Do your best then, boy. At least you will lose with dignity!" Hestia said, smirking.
"I am ready!" Izuku said, looking at her in determination.
"What will you make? My dish will be Honey Glazed Prawns following the Traditional Greek Recipe of ancient times!" Hestia said.
"Then I will make a dessert, a Mango pie." Izuku answered.
"Wait…" Brunhilde said.
"Uh?"
"Since you are an official part of the Tournament, for now, We need to do things properly!" The Valkyrie said.
"How?"
"Sister! No!" Goll yelled from the Valkyrie seats.
"Just do as we practised. Are you ready?" Brunhilde said, smiling and presenting her hand.
"O-Okay!" Izuku answered, shaking her hand and taking a long breath.
"VOLUNDR!" Both Chef and Valkyrie yelled together, and in a blinding explosion of light, Brunhilde fused with Izuku's arm to then form a second kitchen knife.
"Wow!"
"Ready?" Brunhilde said inside his head.
"Y-Yes!" The Chef answered, rapidly recovering his composure.
"AMAZING! Our beloved Brunhilde is betting her own life on this! We can only expect to be amazed! READY!?" Heimdall asked.
"Ready!" Both Izuku and Hestia answered in chorus.
"Then the make-up Cooking Challenge for this Ragnarok Tournament Staaarts...NOW!" Heimdall yelled as hard as he could.
"Mangoes!" Izuku asked, presenting his hand.
"Yes!" Ochako answered, immediately preparing the fruits and handing them to him.
In the meantime Hestia summoned living prawns from the giant golden dish and threw them onto the oil of her pan to saute them.
"The boy is finished! I am the God of Cooking! It being an add-on to my role changes nothing! What can a human possibly do to defeat a GOD!?" Hestia said to herself with a savage smile.
Forty Minutes Later -
"My Dish is ready! Here is my Royal Mango Pie!" Izuku declared, presenting his creation.
(Picture of the creation of the user TheRuffiansss of Reddit. Thank you for letting me use your amazing pie for my story!)
"MY FUCKING GOD! HE COOKS LIKE THAT?! HOW?!" Ramsey screamed with wide eyes.
"That technique! So sublime! He really is a one-of-a-kind Prodigy!" Robuchin admitted in awe.
"If only we met when I was alive! Imagine the ideas and knowledge we could exchange for the betterment of cuisine!" Careme said with a tone of deep regret.
"BEING AWESOME-LOOKING MEANS NOTHING! IT HAS TO TASTE BETTER THAN MINE!" Hestia screeched.
"Th'n Ta'ste it, It's ama'in!" Brunhilde, having undone her fusion with Izuku's body to grab a giant slice, declared with a near-orgasmic expression while eating.
"Tch! How good can it be!" Hestai answered, annoyed, and tearing off from Izuku's hand the plate the Chef handed to her.
"…"
"So?" Ochako asked.
"…WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The way the Goddess started wailing and ran away in tears clearly told everybody who the winner was.
"Unbelievable! A win for humanity! This means that thanks to Chef Midoriya, the victory in the fight between Tesla and Beelzebub goes to Mankiiiiiind!...Damn this really tastes good." Heimdall declared, still with a smudge of cream on his nose from cleaning his plate.
"YEEEEEES!" Brunhilde cheered loudly, while behind her Ochako tackled Izuku to try to tear off his tonsils with an outrageous deep kiss.
"Eeeeeh…As promised, we will set-up a delivery service for every fruit produced in the land of the Gods, our prized Apples especially...Congratulations…" Ares told Izuku with a tone that made it clear he was contrary to the idea with every fibre of his being.
"Thank you!"
"It's amazing! We did it! And there isn't even a single Goddess out to get you! The Curse is broken!" Ochako said with a squeal.
"Yes! Finally I am fr-"
"Very impressive. And I am not talking about cooking only. That kiss showed skills I am very interested in." A sultry voice said from behind the two.
"Oh, no…." Izuku muttered, already in tears.
"Too bad I saw him first, oh great Aphrodite." Brunhilde hissed, getting on the Goddess' face to better glare at her.
"Out of my way, Valkyrie." Aphrodite answered.
"I-"
"RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!" Izuku didn't even want to wait for things to get messy, he just grabbed Ochako's wrist and pulled her away to run.
"GRAB HIM!"
"SYSTEEEEEEEEEEEM!" Izuku and Ochako yelled.
"COME BACK HERE! YOU DEFEATED ME IN COOKING! IN MY DOMAIN! NOW TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND HEAL MY SHAME BY MARRYING ME!" Hestia yelled, joining the chase.
"KYAAAAAAAH!"
"Ohohohoho! So amusing!" Zeus commented, laughing hysterically at the Chef's misery.
"You have other things to worry about." The System said.
"Like what?"
"Like the System opening tear in Niflhel to release the souls of the ones deceased during the Tournament. Except Poseidon."
"WHY?!" Zeus screeched in horror.
"Just to annoy you. Now deal with the hassle of giving them all a body back. And knowing that your psychotic brother is the only one that remained dead. Farewell." Just as the System's presence faded away to follow Izuku back home, a tear in the sky opened to let everybody that died in that Tournament fall back down in the arena, and they all looked extremely confused.
"...I knew my constant teasing them through the ages would have come back to bite me in the ass one day…" Zeus muttered in dismay, and getting up to personally corral those dead Gods and Humans somewhere private to try and fix this giant mess that utterly fucked-up the Rules of Death.
All this while a three-way glare war between Brunhilde, Aphrodite and Hestia kept going unwavering, signalling that Izuku's misery from those three was far from over…
