Today was the day the portal opened, the last portal guaranteed to lead to a world that had a Danger Rating of three or lower. Starting with the next portal that limit will increase to four, which opens up some rather interesting worlds. I've been pretty nervous about this, but after today I'm much more comfortable with the idea. We'll be prepared.
As usual we were all standing around where the portal appeared, waiting for it to open. I had my phone in my hand, the portal app pulled up as I watched it slowly count down. I was nervous, I was excited, and I was feeling hopeful.
Uzume and Chiho had moved into our room, officially part of my harem now. They had spiced up our sex life, and while they definitely got their turn with me, they had found their spot in focusing on the girls who I wasn't focusing on myself at the time. But more relevant to the portal trip, it meant that the guest bedroom was empty and we could possibly recruit someone to move into there.
And to help facilitate that I put the credits I had saved up to use and bought Alluring Whisper. It was the only lure I thought I could leverage with the constraints I was working under. Mostly the time constraint, as most of the lures seemed to be intended to be used over multiple sessions for their full effect.
I only had two Credits left after that, but I didn't feel bad about investing in something that would helpfully help me earn more Credits in return.
And I was even less worried when the timer reached zero, the portal opened, and I saw what world we'd be traveling to today.
"Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid," I read out loud as I felt the smile grow on my face. But that smile turned into a frown as I started imagining different scenarios.
"Is that good or bad?" Levy asked.
Matsu cackled. "It's great!" she declared.
"It depends on when we arrive," I clarified. "But just being able to get stamps on one or two of the major characters would earn us a lot of Credits, even if we can't recruit them."
"Are you really going to pass up the chance at Tohru?" Matsu asked, aghast at the idea.
"If she's already living with Kobayashi, yes," I said. "I'm not enough of a dick to steal her away. But if we get there before that happens… that's a different story."
"Those two are pretty cute together," Matsu admitted. "But come on, let's go find out!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me through the portal before I could even resist.
As usual the portal itself barely felt like anything, but the sudden noise of a bustling city hit and the presence of several dozen auras in my range hit me like a truck. I flinched away, not prepared for it, but it only took me a few seconds to get my bearings.
"Dammit Matsu," I grumbled as I felt the others step through the portal behind me.
"That was reckless," Levy chastised her.
"It's okay, we aren't in danger here unless we piss off the wrong person," Matsu replied flippantly. "More importantly, hurry up and check to see who's around!"
I sighed and turned my attention to my phone and navigated to the Mapper app. "I think we're here before they met," I said out loud, mostly to Matsu because the others wouldn't know what I meant. "None of the others are here, just the two of them, and they're not together. Kobayashi is at a bar and Tohru is outside the city limits, in the forest on a hill."
"You think it's when Tohru is hurt and Kobayashi helps her?" Matsu said. "I remember Tohru saying she visits that spot sometimes afterward though."
"This late at night? And before Kanna arrives?" I pointed out. "It's possible, but I think we got lucky."
Matsu grinned, but the others just looked confused. "So uhh… what does that mean?" Uzume asked.
"To give a brief rundown, this world is mostly 'normal', like the last one," I started explaining. "However, there's a world within this local multiverse that is filled with magicians and dragons and all kinds of supernatural things. It's not entirely unlike your homeworld, actually," I added, looking at Levy. "Not exactly the same, it has different rules and such, but similar in nature."
"Though the point is, many of those dragons and other beings are capable of traveling between worlds. One of them, Tohru, flees here, a world that they have designated as a neutral zone not to be interfered with, after being attacked by an enemy faction and dealt a severe blow. Kobayashi, a normal human, finds her, saves her, and then drunkenly rambles on about maids. Somehow this convinces Tohru to repay Kobayashi by becoming her maid, and their fun filled sweet life together starts."
"It's a really cute anime," Matsu agreed with a nod.
"And we've arrived before they met, we think," I continued. "Meaning we can help Tohru out and hopefully earn her loyalty or gratitude, and earn a very powerful and cute family member. And we don't have to worry about dooming the world. Everything that happens here happens because they follow Tohru here. At worst, one office worker stays lonely for a while longer."
And while I liked Kobayashi, I wasn't going to not try to recruit Tohru just so she could have a Dragon Maid she didn't properly appreciate. I was pretty sure her and her coworker had a potential something-something going on as well, so she wouldn't be alone forever. Probably.
I was willing to take that chance. Tohru would be happier with me.
"Okay, here's the plan," I said, looking around at where we were for the first time. It was a small courtyard between what looked like some business offices. "We're going to divide into two teams, one to go talk to Tohru, and one to keep Kobayashi busy. I'll lead the team going to Tohru, with Levy and Bisky joining me. Everyone else will watch the drunk lady and make sure she doesn't follow us."
"Why so many of us?" Uzume asked. "Wouldn't just one be enough to watch her? And isn't approaching a dragon kind of dangerous?"
I shook my head. "First off, no, you need at least two people to watch over a drunk person, and I wouldn't send any of you off on your own. And second, in Tohru's case, fewer is better. If it comes to a fight we're fucked no matter how many of us go, so I'd rather go with a small crew that is less likely to spook her. But I don't think she's dangerous, I'd have to severely fuck up to make her genuinely attack us."
Even in her 'human hating' days she was more of a tsundere when it came to innocent humans who weren't attacking her. She had a sharp tongue, but she was all bark and no bite. So long as I didn't attack or threaten her, I'd be fine.
It took a little more convincing, with Matsu backing me up that Tohru wasn't going to attack us unless we attacked her first, but we did eventually put our plan into action. I gave the others my phone so they could keep track of Kobayashi and headed to Tohru's location with Bisky and Levy.
A train ride out of the city later, I discovered that the 'hill' she was on was more of a mountain. Which Bisky decided was a good chance to do some training, so she hopped on my back and forced Levy and I to run up the mountain path.
It wasn't hard, actually. Bisky was pretty light, and between Body Tune Up and the invigoration of my aura, it was about as tiring as lightly jogging on a flat track. Levy had even less trouble than I did, practically not noticing the slope.
Aura sense isn't like a radar in that there's no exact distance I can sense it at. It's more of a gradient and the closer an aura is to me, the better I can sense it. Of course, as I discovered, the aura matters as well. The stronger it is, the further away I can feel it from.
And I felt Tohru's before we were even halfway up the mountain, a significantly further distance than I've ever sensed an aura.
As we got closer, it became clear just how strong her aura was, like spotting a shining light in the distance and approaching it to find out it's a raging bonfire. She exuded so much life energy that it was like a beacon on top of the mountain. And that was with her injured and on the verge of death.
At my jogging pace it didn't take too long to reach the spot where Tohru was, a level section that was actually a bit below the top of the mountain. We had switched to walking as we approached, not wanting to give her the impression we were rushing at her, and we had to leave the main hiking path to follow a trail that led into a thicket of trees.
We had already hashed out a plan on the train ride over, though that makes it sound more involved than it was when the plan was just 'hang out close by while I pull the sword out of her and stamp her before talking to her alone'. Which required more convincing, but I was able to impress on the two of them that she was basically a wounded animal that we didn't want to spook.
So as the clearing where she was came into sight, the two of them stopped as I continued forward alone. I wasn't sure how good her senses were, but we didn't try to hide. In fact, I was hoping that two of us hanging back made it clear that we didn't come for a fight.
And so, a little nervous, I entered the clearing and got my first good look at Tohru.
She was massive, a small hill made of beautiful green scales towering above me that shifted as she breathed. She wasn't quite as round as I remember her looking in the anime, but she was certainly stocky rather than a more streamlined look. I spotted the gleaming sword sticking out of her back, and the blood that ran down her side from where it was stabbed into her.
But most of my attention was on her face, her head larger than I was, and her eyes staring straight at me.
"A human, out here?" a low voice grumbled, though Tohru's lips, or mouth I guess since I wasn't sure she had lips as a dragon, didn't move. "You should have no reason to have come to this place."
"Your arrival wasn't exactly subtle you know?" I replied. "At least, not to those who know what to look for."
"Those who know what to look for also know better than to approach a dragon so casually," Tohru growled. "Those that do so anyway are either arrogant or fools."
"I may be a bit of both," I admitted. "But I have an advantage most don't. Allow me to introduce myself." I activated Alluring Whisper, infusing my voice with some kind of power that I could use instinctually despite just obtaining it. "My name is Roland, and I'm a world traveler from well beyond this world or yours. I have knowledge of the future, and I'm here to save your life."
Tohru stared at me for an awkwardly long moment. "I was wrong, you are neither arrogant nor a fool. In truth, you are a mad man who believes he's from the future."
I was hoping for a more overt reaction to Alluring Whisper, but expecting that much in this context was probably too much to ask for. Tohru was pretty anti-human after all, and reading the expressions of a dragon was difficult. "Not from the future, I just have knowledge of it," I said, keeping up the effect, planning on wearing her down over time. "I could prove it, but I think it's better if I do so after pulling that sword out of you."
"Do not attempt to do so, the power of it will burn out your mind," Tohru warned me.
"Worried about me?" I asked, flashing her a smile as I approached. "Don't worry, it won't be an issue." I didn't remember that actually, because as far as I knew Kobayashi was perfectly fine, and I was banking on that being the case for me. Of course, I also had Mind Defense, which should protect me long enough to yank it out at least.
"Fool," she denied. "I simply don't want my final moments to be in the presence of the corpse of an idiot who tampered with things he didn't understand."
"I'll be fine, don't worry," I replied casually as I reached up to pull myself onto her bulky form.
"Who gave you permission to touch me, you filthy ape?" she protested as I started climbing her. She shifted slightly under me, but not nearly enough to unbalance me.
"Well, I don't have telekinesis, and I'm much smaller than you," I said. "So I gotta get close. Complain all you like, but only after you're not about to die."
She growled, but didn't try moving again. "Do not die while on my back. The humiliation of bearing your corpse would kill me faster than that accursed weapon."
"Yeah, yeah, you big tsundere," I muttered as I pulled myself on top of her.
"Tsundere?" she repeated, confused, but I ignored her and focused on the sword in her back.
It was surprisingly simple looking for a holy dragon killer. There was no ornamentation, just a blade that was probably as big as I was and a hilt to match, both made of what looked like normal metal and leather. Whoever wielded this sword was either a brute on the level of Guts, or at least twice my size.
Wary of whatever mental effect might trigger, I wrapped both hands around the hilt of the sword and quickly pulled at it, sliding it out of her flesh and revealing the tip. I felt something tingling in the back of my mind, so I immediately let go, letting the sword tumble through the air before it disappeared in a flash of light.
Which explained what happened to it in canon, I had wondered about that.
"You are still alive…" Tohru observed. "Did you use some kind of protective magic? I did not feel anything of the sort though. Perhaps your faith is lacking?"
"A bit of both, maybe," I guessed with a shrug. I watched as the wound where the sword was started to close, and knew that was my cue to get off of her. I reached into my pocket to palm my Stamp, holding it between two of my fingers, and I pressed it against her as I climbed down, disguising the action as me using her to support myself.
Once the Stamp took hold I dropped down to the ground and turned to look at her. "There. Now that you're not dying, we can talk all we want."
"So your plan was to get me in your debt before making demands of me?" Tohru asked, her voice more animated now.
"No, just an offer," I replied. I was a bit more nervous now that she was able to move, but I knew she wouldn't attack me, even if only because I just saved her life.
Watching her stand up was rather intimidating though.
"Speak your offer then, so I may leave," she demanded.
"Like I said earlier, I'm also a world traveler," I said, starting my pitch with Alluring Whisper active. "I'm building a world of my own. Right now it's a small island floating in a sky that extends infinitely in every direction, but one day soon it'll be a massive city. To do that I'm traveling from world to world, collecting resources, exploring, and recruiting companions. And I'd love it if you could join our family."
"You…" she started, staring at me. "You are making a world? Are you not human after all?"
"No, I'm human, but the people I work for have that kind of power."
"So you are just a servant bowing to a higher power," she sneered, contempt clear in her voice.
"I'm more of a freelancer, doing odd jobs in exchange for improvements to my Skyblock, and to my family," I argued as I remembered that she was part of the 'Chaos' faction, which meant they didn't like authority. Or something. I couldn't remember how detailed the anime was about that. "I'm free to choose my jobs, or do none at all. It's a mutually beneficial alliance."
"But you are still borrowing power instead of forging this world on your own," Tohru pointed out. "Even if you are not blindly following them, you rely on them to reach your goals."
"Is that so bad?" I asked. "I know you're skilled, but surely there are things you cannot do that your friends can. Asking for help from your allies, especially when it's a fair exchange, is what allies are for. Besides, they made the world but they only offer small upgrades. Me and my family are the ones that have put in the blood and sweat to improve it."
I was downplaying the Company's role, but the conversation was heading in a direction I didn't like and I was scrambling to keep her from bailing.
Unfortunately, I was failing.
"Enough," she said with a growl. Her wings spread wide, releasing a short gust of air that forced me to take a step back. "I am grateful for your aid, and I will repay that debt, but I have no interest in joining a family," she said that last word with disgust, "that relies on a higher power than their own. If you do not have the strength to reach your goals without aid, then you should aim for more realistic goals."
Her wings, far too small to realistically support her bulk, started flapping and she started lifting up. "Wait!" I called out, panicking a little. "It's really not like that, I-"
But she ignored me and took off, headed straight up into the sky. A hole appeared, darker than the night sky and absent of any stars, and she slipped through it, disappearing from sight.
I stared up at the sky as the hole closed behind her. "Fuck."
A few moments later, I felt Bisky and Levy approach me. "Things didn't go well?" Levy asked.
"I fucked up," I admitted, still staring at the sky. "I thought she would be an easy recruit, but I forgot that it was Kobayashi that mellowed her out. Or rather, I guess I thought it was less severe? I didn't think she'd be this loyal to her faction and their mindset, which I also didn't remember very well."
"Did you use the Lure?" Levy asked.
"I did," I replied. "But if it had an effect, she didn't show it."
"Then the problem was that you went in without proper consideration and planning," Bisky criticized. "Or that it was impossible for you in the first place."
"No, it was the first one." I sighed and turned to face them. "I went in half cocked with half-remembered information. But, on the bright side, I did get the Stamp, so I'll still get the Credits. And with any luck, she'll track us down later. She's a multiversal traveler after all, she could show up in any of the other worlds we visit. Or, if she can't travel that far, we can pay the cost to come back after the Stamp has run its course a bit."
The two of them nodded. "That could work," Levy agreed. "It's a shame she didn't join us now, but it's not a total loss. What about the sword?"
"Disappeared as soon as I pulled it out, probably returning to whoever made it, or just ceasing to exist," I reported with a sigh. "That was another thing I was hoping to get, but oh well."
"At least we're getting some Credits," Levy tried cheering me up. "How many is she worth anyway?"
"She's a T8, so 120 Credits," I said. "Enough to get quite a few useful upgrades."
"See? That's a windfall compared to the amounts we've gotten in other worlds," Levy pointed out. "And we'll get Tohru herself eventually. So today was still a win."
I nodded. "You're right. Not a complete win, but still a win." I looked around, looking for anything else amiss, but all there was was a flattened section of grass where Tohru had been. I shook my head. "Come on, let's go back to the others."
A trip down the mountain later and we were catching a train back into the city. I was surprised that the trains were running so late, but I chalked it up as one of those little differences between worlds and didn't worry about it.
As we rode the train I pulled out the spare cell phone Matsu had given me. I recognized it as the one Kuchou had been using back on Sekirei, before I forced her to drop it in our scuffle. Matsu said she picked it up then, just in case it came in handy.
When we arrived she did something so that the local phone network would recognize it and work, so I sent a message to my Company phone asking them for their location. A moment later I got a reply from Matsu listing the address with a message attached.
"You'll want to come quick, it's getting pretty fun ;)"
I had no idea what that meant. The address she sent me was some kind of formal wear clothing boutique, which only confused me further as I wondered why they took Kobayashi there? Or did she take them there?
The three of us got off the train a few stops later and headed for the address she sent me. The trains weren't the only thing running late, because all of the stores we passed were still lit up and open, with a decent number of people on the streets as well despite being close to three in the morning. It seemed like this city had quite the active nightlife.
We entered the building that Matsu had directed us to and I was immediately treated to a wonderful sight. Four pairs of eyes turned to face us as we entered, all of them belonging to my girls, and all four of them wearing maid outfits.
Kobayashi was there too, with her back to me as she fussed over Chiho's skirt. "It's- it's too short!" she drunkenly slurred. "Why are your legs soooooo long? It's indecent! It's lewd!"
A woman in a business dress was next to her. "Kobayashi-san, her legs aren't that long, that's a normal length for that skirt."
"Her ankles should be covered!" Kobayashi drunkenly insisted. "She- she needs to be a maid, not… not just some harlot in fetish wear!"
The insult, if you could call it as such, slid off of Chiho as she just sighed. It seemed as if they had become well acquainted with Kobayashi's feelings about maid outfits. Even Uzume took the comment in stride. "Looks like you girls are having fun," I said.
Kobayashi, and who I assumed was the store attendant, finally turned to look at me. "Whozzat?" Kobayashi asked as she squinted at me.
"A friend of the four girls you've apparently been dressing up," I replied. "I gotta say, you've got good taste. They look very nice."
"Maids are da best!" Kobayashi agreed with a forceful nod. It was about then that I noticed the smell of alcohol wafting from her. She really was incredibly drunk.
"I'm sorry sir, is there anything I can help you with?" the attendant said, addressing me.
"No worries, I just came to pick those four up," I said, indicating the ones in maid outfits. "Though not before purchasing those outfits, as well as one for my other two companions."
Kobayashi cheered, either having forgotten about or forgiving the maid outfits for being 'fetish wear'. Uzume and Matsu grinned, Kusano beamed at me, and Chiho was too busy looking down at her legs, pressing the skirt against them to see how far down the edge was. And I didn't look behind me to see how the other two reacted, but neither protested.
If the attendant had any feelings about calling six girls my 'companions' and buying maid outfits for them, one of whom was Bisky who looked like a child, she kept them expertly hidden behind her mask of professionalism. "Would sir like an outfit as well? We have a matching butler one."
"Yes he would!" Matsu and Kobayashi said in tandem, and suddenly I knew exactly who to thank for this situation. I gave Matsu a look that said as much, but she just winked at me.
I rolled my eyes and turned to the attendant. "Looks like that's a yes," I joked.
But she took it in stride. "Right away sir, if you'll follow me so I can get your measurements."
Half an hour later we were walking out of the store, the girls changed back to their normal clothes and the maid and butler outfits safely stored in Levy's backpack. Kobayashi left with us, having calmed down some. And by calmed down, I mean she was on the verge of passing out, finally hitting her limit with one arm slung around Kusano's shoulder.
"Let's get her home then we'll figure out what we're doing for the rest of the day," I said.
Thankfully, Kobayashi lived relatively nearby, just a few stops away on the same train we had taken out of town. While we were on the train I traded phones with Matsu, getting back my Company one, and confirmed that Tohru was a T8 and was no longer in this world, but there were no issues with the Stamp.
Speaking of targets in the world and the Stamp…. Kobayashi was sitting next to me, passed out on Kusano's shoulder. With a shrug, I pressed the Stamp against the back of her hand, capturing her with the intention of making her a Familiar. Free Credits were free Credits, even if it wasn't many.
But rather than the T2 capture I was expecting, the app said she was a T3. I hadn't looked at her Tier before then, so I was surprised. I knew she was a good programmer, but she shouldn't be at the T3 level. Was there something else in the manga that she showed or developed? Neither Matsu nor I read it, and it wasn't one Matsu had downloaded on her laptop.
Either way, I'll gladly take a few extra credits. I considered trying to recruit her after all, but I never really found her especially cute and she'd be totally out of her element on the Skyblock.
I also checked the missions, but I didn't like any of them, and they offered rewards too small for me to want to bother with. I was getting 125 Credits for this trip already, getting an extra five didn't feel worth the effort.
We finally get Kobayashi back home and I let the girls make sure she gets in bed and her alarm is set. Kobayashi herself was fully passed out, requiring us to look at her ID for her address and dig through her bag for her keys.
It felt weird to interact with a main character like that. I can't quite put it into words, but the whole thing was strange. She was the main character of this world but she was secondary to our plans, a side objective at most. And as drunk as she was, she probably wouldn't remember much of what happened.
But I didn't want to recruit her and there wasn't anything else that needed to involve her, so I ignored that feeling and we left once the girls got her in bed. And we, of course, hopped back on the train and headed back into the city. It was almost 4am by this point, and while we were on the train I caught everyone up on what happened with Tohru and we made plans.
"Unlike last time, we don't really have any shopping to do," Levy mused. "We need to stock up on groceries and a few basic supplies, but that shouldn't take long."
"Another short trip then?" I asked out loud. "Is there anything anyone wants to do?"
Kusano raised her hand. "There is something special I want to get," Kusano said. "I want to keep chickens on the farm, so we can harvest eggs."
"Eggs are a great source of protein, and would offer us a lot more cooking options," Bisky added.
I rubbed my chin, thinking about it. "You'd probably have to give up one of your fields. Unless I buy another block, but the Credits we earned today are already planned for other things."
"That's fine," Kusano agreed excitedly. "Since I use my power to instantly grow our food anyway, I don't need to occupy all of that space with crops. I could make do with a lot less, so I don't mind converting one or two sections to coops. And I can fence in the rest of the garden and let them roam around there without risking them falling off. And I can grow the feed for them and if we get a rooster we can also get more chickens for more eggs and I'll take really good care of them!"
I blinked at her sudden deluge of arguments. "You've thought a lot about this, haven't you?"
Kusano nodded. "I studied from the books we got last time," she said. Despite not being totally needed because Kusano's power was a cheat, among the reference books we had purchased were several farm related ones. We got them just in case, and for the stuff we couldn't cheat our way past.
I spent another moment thinking about it before smiling at Kusano. "Okay, we'll go get some chickens."
"Yay! Thank you Onii-chan!" She leaped at me and threw her arms around me in excitement. I laughed and hugged her back. When Kusano finally let go of me, she didn't move far though, instead just turning around and sitting on my lap. She wasn't the literal child she was in canon, but she was still the youngest of my group, both in actual age and mannerisms.
"Anyone else?" I asked.
"I wanna do date stuff!" Matsu, my second most childish Sekirei, said. "Like go to the movies and the amusement park and stuff."
I nodded. "That sounds fun." We'd been too busy in the last world to do much of that kind of thing, and who knows what kind of worlds we'll end up on in the future? Today might have been our last chance in a while to kick back and have fun. "Once we get the chickens we'll spend the rest of the day having fun."
In the time it took us to get back to the main part of the city, most of it was quiet and dark, having finally closed their doors for the night. Thankfully that didn't include the trains, and it didn't include old reliable, the humble manga cafe, where we spent the next couple hours planning the rest of our day. Also Matsu and I slipped out again to rob more ATM's, same as last time, walking away with a nice little chunk of cash.
I expected to have to devote most of the day to getting the chickens, but a bit of googling revealed that I wouldn't even have to leave the city. There were three different stores, all of a different kind, within the city that could sell us either live chickens or fertilized eggs.
I let Kusano choose as she researched the breeds available and which one she wanted us to get and instead turned to help the others plan out the rest of the day. There was a considerable amount of debate about what we should do, because we only had so much time to do it. I ended up having to be the one to make the decisions, trying to find a good balance of activities.
Once the plans were made and stores started opening up again, we picked up some groceries before heading for a hardware store on the edge of the city. They had lots of chickens available, since apparently it was the best time of year for purchasing them, and we didn't have any problems picking up the ones Kusano wanted.
We ended up with six hens and a rooster. The rooster was a little young, but the hens were old enough that they had started laying eggs. And of course, we also ordered a ton of supplies for each, including feed.
Kusano wanted to make her own feed, but that turned out to be more complicated than expected. We couldn't just feed them corn all the time. And they couldn't exactly be free range chickens considering our complete lack of insect life on the Skyblock, and I didn't want to introduce insects into our home without expert aid. I knew better than to introduce a new species into an ecosystem without considering how they'd be balanced, even something as simple as worms or grasshoppers.
So we settled for buying a bunch of feed in bulk, months worth, and Kusano said she'd start working on figuring out how to make it ourselves. Luckily we could produce the bulk of what they needed by growing things, so there were only a few obstacles to overcome.
All of those supplies, chickens included, were stored in my Pocket Space as soon as we purchased them and got out of sight of the store. Rather than return home and set them up, we decided to let them stay there, where time wasn't passing, until tomorrow, when Kusano would make the coop.
After that we got brunch at a nice cafe with outside seating that overlooked a small park filled with flowers. Our group of seven was a little large and difficult to accommodate in a small cafe like this, so we ended up splitting into two tables. Uzume, Chiho, and Bisky were at one table, and I was at another with Matsu, Kusano, and Levy.
Brunch was nice, and it was a good chance to get some coffee for the first time since I had woken up on the Skyblock. I had never been a daily coffee drinker thankfully, so it wasn't like I had been missing my fix. But I did enjoy a cup of coffee on occasion.
And also waffles. Waffles are great. I'll have to add getting a waffle maker to our shopping list for the next world we go to, unfortunately I didn't think of it before we left, and the portal is about to close as I write this, so it's not worth the risk of it closing while I'm on the other side.
After brunch we headed straight for the amusement park, where we spent most of our day. None of my harem members had ever visited anything like that. The Sekirei because there wasn't one within Shinto Teito, Chiho because she was sickly, Levy because her world never had them, and Bisky just never had, though she knew of them.
So I made sure to show them everything. Roller coasters, cotton candy, a maze of mirrors, ring toss, bumper cars, those spinning tea cups, and about a dozen other things. We forgot about our troubles and just spent a day having fun. And between Matsu and the Contractor paycheck I'd be getting tomorrow, I had enough cash that I didn't even pay attention to how much I was spending.
Of course, we ended things on the Ferris Wheel. I probably should have realized something was up when I was dragged into line, and then pushed to the back of it with Levy instead of the others arguing over who got to ride with me.
At the time, I didn't even notice the lack of debate and just went with the flow. I only noticed something was strange when I went to follow them onto the ferris wheel carriage and the attendant stopped Levy and I.
"Sorry, only five people per carriage," he said as he pointed to a sign that said as much.
I looked in surprise to the ones that had already boarded to find them grinning at me. The door of their carriage closed, leaving just me and Levy to get on the next one, and I realized they had planned this.
I shook my head with a smile as our carriage slowly moved upward, stopping every few seconds to let another group on. "I guess the others decided to give us some alone time together."
"I guess so," she said. She was sitting next to me and she reached over to take my hand, interlocking her fingers with mine. She looked up at me and gave me a sweet smile. "I'm certainly not complaining though."
"Me neither," I agreed before leaning down to kiss her. As always, her lips were soft and warm and so very kissable. I ended up kissing her for quite a while, enough for us to get halfway up the ferris wheel, only stopping because I knew if I didn't I wouldn't be able to stop myself from escalating.
In retrospect, fooling around on a ferris wheel could have been fun, but it wouldn't have fit the mood.
So it was with great reluctance that I ended our kiss, but I was rewarded with the sight of Levy, her face tilted towards mine and her eyes closed as she offered me her lips. Her eyes slowly opened, her expression sultry as she registered that we weren't kissing anymore. It was a beautiful moment, made better by the backdrop of the city behind her.
"I love you," I told her. "I know I don't say it often, I'm not used to putting my feelings into words like that. But it's the truth, and I want to make sure you know, that all of you know."
"It's okay, we know," she reassured me. "We don't need to hear you say it, it's clear as day to us in all of the things you do. The way you speak to us, the consideration you show us, how hard you work to provide for us, and everything you do for us." She grinned. "Though I admit, I do like hearing it."
I chuckled. "I'll work on saying it more then."
"But not too much!" she warned me. "It feels more special like this, when it's so rare."
I rolled my eyes, but my smile didn't leave my face. "We wouldn't want to devalue my 'I Love You's after all."
"Of course," she agreed with a playful grin.
A beam of sunlight fell across my face, pulling my attention to the horizon and the view of the city and the greenery beyond it. Levy followed my gaze, and we spent a few moments just drinking in the sight.
"In some ways, this is a lot like my world," Levy commented. "People fill the streets, and shops line them selling both necessities and novelties. People work and have families and goals. But it just looks so different, so fantastical compared to mine. There are massive buildings made of steel and glass, sparkling like monuments, and the streets are made of one seamless stone instead of dirt, stones, or bricks. There's no magic, but the things these worlds have accomplished without it are striking."
"Ironically, any of the people here would probably say something similar about your world," I said. "This is normal to them, and to me as well. It's your world, one filled with magic and wonder, that would amaze them."
"I guess it's just a matter of perspective then?" Levy concluded. "You grow up with something and it becomes normal, but the unfamiliar is new and filled with things to discover. But we're lucky. We get to see a new world every week."
"Yeah, we really are," I agreed. "This is already the fourth world we've visited. Four worlds that we've explored, some more than others but we still experienced them all. Four weeks since the two of us woke up on the Skyblock together and our journey started."
"We've come a long way since that first week," Levy said. "We have a house, our family is much larger, and we even have a nice and large bed. Our lives are comfortable."
"And yet we've only just begun growing." I pointed out. "This was the last world guaranteed to be 'safe'. Starting next week we'll lose that safety net, and the worlds we visit will become more dangerous. But… they'll also become more interesting, more unique in nature, and have a lot more opportunities for us."
"We'll be ready," she reassured me. "You've seen us this far, you'll see us to the end."
"Maybe," I replied, feeling the ferris wheel start to move again as we headed back down. "I almost got us killed in Sekirei. I could have used Bounty Tracker to figure out where the Disciplinary Squad was. And I failed to recruit Tohru today."
"You're not perfect, no," Levy said. "No one is. Not me, not Bisky, not any of the others. We don't blame you for making mistakes, or for failing. Because you try. We see you constantly worry and plan about the future, we see how much work and thought you put into everything that you do. And when you fail, you admit your mistake and you correct it. And to me, and the others, that's a far more admirable trait."
I felt my cheeks warm up and I avoided Levy's gaze. "I guess," I replied awkwardly, not knowing how to respond to praise like that. "It's just… the consequences for failing could be bad. Really bad."
"And that's why you have us," Levy insisted. "We'll work together to make sure that even if one of us fails or makes a mistake, someone is there to pick them up, and we can face the consequences together."
I nodded, but I wasn't totally reassured. Not when the consequences I had in mind included them dying.
But she wasn't totally wrong either. I was already working hard on keeping everyone safe, and with the credits I'll get from Tohru, I can make even larger strides in that direction. And things are going to get more dangerous, but only by a little. Hopefully by less than we can prepare, especially with the ideas I have in mind.
"You're right," I finally said after thinking about it. "We'll take on these new worlds together. And it's not like we're only going to get dangerous worlds, we'll still get worlds like this, where we can spend all day relaxing and doing fun activities."
We were almost at the bottom of the ferris wheel now, the people just a few carriages ahead of us getting off. "That's right. I won't tell you not to worry, because I know that won't work. But I will tell you not to worry too much, because you have us, and there's nothing we can't overcome together."
I kissed her then, the moment feeling right, and didn't stop kissing her until the attendant cleared his throat to get our attention so we'd get off the carriage and let the next people on.
We exited to find five smug smiles on the faces of the others as they watched us.
"You guys are sneaky," I told them. "But thanks."
"It was Onee-chan's turn to get spoiled," Kusano said as if it were obvious. And perhaps to her, and the others who nodded in agreement, it was.
"And she certainly did get spoiled, judging from that kiss," Matsu commented. "Have a nice talk?"
"We did, actually," Levy said. "But since you were so kind as to give us some privacy, I think I'll keep what we talked about private as well."
"Aww, no fair!" Matsu pouted. The others laughed at their antics, and we continued with our day.
We left the amusement park shortly after that, only stopping to hit up the gift shop. We ended up buying matching shirts with the logo of the park on it.
After that, the last thing we had planned was to go see a movie. We had no idea what movies were playing and hadn't seen any trailers, so when we arrived at the theater we had to decide based just on the title and the posters out front.
As we were looking at the posters for the movie, I spotted a flyer that someone had stuck on the wall for an upcoming festival. Sadly, it wasn't tonight, instead being scheduled for a week from today. But it did get me thinking, and a quick google showed me that I was in luck.
"You guys pick a movie, I'll be right back," I told them. Barely waiting for their reply, I headed around the corner and down a block, entering a small shop that google had directed me toward that was conveniently nearby.
Seven minutes later I was leaving and heading back to the theater, a bag of purchases stuffed into the small remaining space left in my Pocket Inventory.
"Was it a number two?" Uzume asked me with a grin as I joined up with them in front of the theater. "Or was there just a line?"
It took me a moment to realize that they had assumed I was in the bathroom. "A line," I said, wanting to keep my purchase a surprise for now. "I thought about looking for a different toilet, but didn't want to risk it." I clapped my hands. "So, did we pick a movie?"
They had, and had purchased tickets and refreshments already. They also didn't tell me what movie we were watching, but it was kind of fun going into a movie with zero expectations. In the end, it was a horror movie that took place in a hospital at night, featuring a virus that puppetted the people it infected. It was interesting and did a good job maintaining tension.
Maybe too good of a job, considering Kusano, Uzume, and Chiho all spent the entire movie clinging to me, Kusano in my lap again to make room. I don't know how they ended up picking a horror movie when half of them were scared by it, but I wasn't exactly going to complain about three pretty girls wanting to get as close to me as possible.
By the time we got out of the movie the sun had set. Out of curiosity I checked my phone to see if Tohru had come back, but she didn't appear. There were a couple of other characters that appeared, including Kobayashi who was in her home, but I wasn't interested in any of them.
Most of us were pretty tired from the near twenty hours of running around the city, so we decided to call it a night and head back home. We made our way to the portal and returned once more to the comforting silence of our home, the Skyblock.
But we weren't done yet.
"Before we start turning in for the night, I have a surprise," I announced, gaining all of their attention. I pulled my secret purchase from earlier out of my Pocket Space. "Fireworks!"
Seeing the poster for the festival had put me in the mood for them, and when I saw that we couldn't go to the festival, I decided that we'd just fire them off ourselves. Of course, tracking down big fireworks like that in Japan wasn't easy, but I was able to get my hands on some classic smaller ones, and even a few bottle rockets.
"Fireworks?" Kusano asked, confused.
"The legendary fireworks?!" Matsu asked, excited.
"Oh that's right, I guess you two never got to see any, did you?" Uzume commented. "MBI was hardly going to take you while you were being adjusted, and Matsu had to hide from MBI."
"I remember the fireworks we watched together from the park," Chiho commented as she reached out to grab Uzume's hand. "That was the first time I saw them since I was a kid."
I looked over to Levy and Bisky, who hadn't said anything. Bisky rolled her eyes. "I know what fireworks are, yes. They're common in the summer in my world. In most countries at least."
"We had them too," Levy said. "Natsu could also make them with his magic, so we at Fairy Tail saw them often."
"Well, I wasn't able to get any of the big ones, but I wanted a little something to celebrate the Skyblock turning a month old," I said. "And this seemed like the best way to finish off the day. Especially since we have a nice big sky to fire them into."
Levy smiled at me. "I think that's a great idea."
We released Tinks and VV from their balls, quickly catching them up to what happened. I feel a little bad that they haven't been able to even come out of their balls in the worlds we've visited, but as the Danger Rating of the worlds increases, so should their tolerance for 'strange' things.
It was dark on the Skyblock. The lights inside the house were off, and the only source of light from the sky was the faint starlight from the distant stars. I found myself wondering if they were real, if there were stars in this infinite space, or if they were just an illusion made for our comfort.
Artificial or not, the starlight barely provided enough light to see. So when we started lighting sparklers and passing them out, they shone brightly, like beacons. Shadows danced across the lawn of our skyblock as Kusano and Matsu ran around with their sparklers, chasing each other, and their laughter filled the air.
Uzume and Chiho were holding theirs close to the other's, competing to see whose sparkler could last longer. Levy was helping Tinks and VV with theirs, VV having to hold it awkwardly in his mouth, but both of them seemed to be enjoying it.
"Not going to light one yourself?" Bisky asked from where she stood next to me as I watched the others. She had one in her hand, but wasn't paying much attention to it.
"Nah," I replied. "I think I'm having more fun watching the others enjoy them so much than I would with my own sparkler."
We watched as VV shook his head in all directions, his sparkler leaving a trail of light as it bounced around before the motion proved too much for it and it went out. He let out a whine, so I knelt down and offered him another one. He dropped his old one on the pile of discarded sparklers and happily took the one I offered him, holding still as I lit it.
"Be more careful with this one, they lose their light easily," I warned him. He nodded, carefully, and ran back to Tinks and Levy.
Bisky smiled. "They are an entertaining bunch. I'm glad they can have fun like this."
"Yeah," I agreed. We fell quiet for a few moments then, just watching the others and enjoying the moment. But, of course, my mind wandered, thinking about the future. "Tomorrow won't be a rest day," I told her.
"Oh?" Bisky asked.
"Today was a vacation, essentially," I replied. "But it also got me the credits I need to take our training to the next level. You'll have a lot to do tomorrow, because I'm going to need everyone's aura awakened while I work on Gyo, or whatever technique you think I should learn next."
She gave me a look. "Is that so? Worrying about the future?"
"A bit," I admitted. "I talked to Levy already, she's made sure I'm not stressing over it. But part of that is properly preparing, and I want everyone to be able to at least hold Ten without having to think about it before we go to the next world. Depending on the world, I won't take anyone who can't."
She was silent for a moment. "I see. That's not unreasonable. Fine. I wanted to spread things out a bit, but that was working under the assumption that I would have continued Awakening people immediately after you. If you want them all to be ready by next week, then I agree that we'll have to do them all tomorrow."
"I also need to learn how to fight," I continued. "I've never been in a fight more serious than a schoolyard brawl, I don't know anything about how to."
"Hmm… I'll figure out a training plan for that as well."
I relaxed a bit, the act of solidifying plans to prepare relieved some of the stress I was feeling. "Thanks Bisky. I really appreciate it."
"You can show me exactly how much you appreciate it later," she said playfully. "Again and again and again-"
Her teasing was cut short as her sparkler went out. I chuckled. "Do you want another one? Or do you want to try one of the others? I have the kind that spins and makes a noise, though I'm not sure how well it will work on grass."
"I wanna try that one!" Matsu interrupted as she approached, Kusano close behind her. Both of their sparklers were out as well.
"Let's try them in the sand at the forge," I suggested.
We played like that for a while, going through all of the fireworks I bought, making sure everyone who wanted to use them got a chance to do so. The air quickly filled with the nostalgic smell of smoke and gunpowder, pulling me back to summers as a kid.
We ended it with the bottle rockets, lighting them up and shooting them out over the edge of the Skyblock. It was a very different experience to see fireworks like that, in a truly empty space instead of high up in the air. I wouldn't call it better or worse though, just different.
Shortly after that the others went to bed, tired from the day's activities. I didn't follow them, instead staying outside, enjoying the night air and the lingering scent of fireworks as I started writing this journal.
It's hard to believe a month has passed. It feels like it's been longer than that, but at the same time it feels like just yesterday that we started.
But it's impossible to ignore how far we've come in that time. Or how lucky I've gotten.
But I think the most important thing is how much fun I'm having. I was worried at first, when I was hired'. I hadn't put much thought into my request for a 'Skyblock' mode. I just knew that the default options offered me too much right out the gate, and I wanted to savor the experience as I put in the effort to grow.
And so far, I had zero regrets. It wasn't like the skyblocks I had played, but it scratched that same itch. I could look at my home and my companions and say that I did all of that. That I took it from almost nothing and got it to this point. And that is satisfying on a very deep level.
But we're not done yet. We've only just finished the tutorial. Things will get more hectic from here, with more options becoming available to us.
But Levy is right. We've prepared, we have each other, and we can handle whatever comes our way.
Together we'll make this Skyblock a home fit for Gods.
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AN: This chapter was delayed because work was too hectic for me to write like I normally do and at home I've been obsessively playing Terraria again. Master Mode sure does kick your ass at the start.
Dragon Maid get! Well, sorta. Sadly, not even a supernaturally sexy voice was able to seduce Tohru. She doesn't trust humans, and really only trusted Kobayashi because she was so unique and interesting. Roland came off as, well, a human trying to trick her into something. So Roland secured the Stamp on her, but didn't manage to recruit her. But she is a dimensional hopper, so not all hope is lost.
Of course, the real reason he didn't get Tohru, or any of the others, is because it would ruin all of the tension up until this point. The dragons are simply too OP for this point in Roland's journey. Even Lucoa, who doesn't fight, would make certain things too easy for him with her magic. But he still came out with a bunch of sorely needed credits, and manga readers might realize something else occurred. But that's a secret for now.
Kobayashi is a T3 because of manga reasons. Rating her was kinda hard actually, and I almost made her T4, but certain circumstances had me settle on T3. I won't spoil why here though. Instead, go read the manga. The art is a little rough at first but it gets better near where the anime left off and the plot and worldbuilding is interesting.
I didn't originally plan on doing all the date stuff, but I decided that it suited the mood better than jumping immediately to the purchases and upgrades I had planned. Those will be taken care of in the next chapter. I realized that this was an important milestone in their journey, and I wanted to spend some time reflecting, and the date was a good way to do it. Also, the movie they watched isn't real, at least as far as I know. I made it up.
If I were to separate this story into arcs, then this would be the end of the first one. Roland has changed and grown, getting over his hesitation over capturing, largely thanks to Levy whispering in his ear, reassuring and corrupting him. Not that it's presented as corruption, but that kind of subtle and reasonable-sounding corruption is what the Catalog is all about, and writing that process was a delight.
The harem has grown too, mostly in one large burst which was a little concerning in terms of waifu bloat, but things worked out well with two worlds in a row where no one came back with them, and Uzume and Chiho having their romance delayed. I'm hoping that the next world, which I haven't decided on as of the time of writing this, will have someone we can recruit though.
Anyway, I'll stop bloating this AN with my random thoughts. Thank you all for reading up until this point, and I hope you continue to enjoy it, because I certainly enjoy writing it.