HOLY SHIT.

I am so sorry this took way longer than I had initially expected.

Several things happened between now and August when I had last updated this story. It didn't help that this chapter was tricky to write because of many factors. Namely, that is another original chapter that wasn't covered by canon. But I can assure you that the next chapter should be much quicker to write as we will be covering more canonical-based events.

That being said, I do still find this chapter to be essential for the things to come in the future of this story.


In Another World With My Smartphone: The Lost Hero

Chapter Thirteen: In the Spirit of Service


"The spirit of service is the heart of humanity."

Lailah Gifty Akita


Linze Silhoueska awoke early that summer morning, which she typically did to get an early start to the day. Unfortunately, she awoke to the painful moans and groans of her elder sister, who was still lying in her bed, clutching her stomach. Linze quickly leaped out of bed to tend to her sister. She already knew what was likely wrong with her, though not much could be done until it passed except to help her move around and fetch anything she needed.

"How are you doing, sis?" Linze asked as she checked her sister's forehead, ensuring it wasn't an illness.

"J-j-just p-peachy..."Elze answered with an embarrassed groan before taking a sharp breath. "The pain started about an hour ago...damn it...should have known this was coming after your time passed."

"It always seemed that way, huh?" Linze followed with a nervous laugh as she checked her sister's sheets and quickly found blood. Typically, ordinary people would have found such a scene terrifying. However, for the twins, it was simply routine for the last few years, a sign of becoming a woman, their aunt had once said when their times came upon reaching adolescence. Unfortunately for Elze, her time always seemed to be a little more random and much more painful when compared to her younger sister.

"Damn it...and on the day Alex promised to take us to the Capital guild hall..." Elze followed up with an annoyed whine as Linze quickly got to work to help her sister up from bed. Her pride as the elder sister took a massive blow every time this happened as she simply leaned against the wall while Linze worked quickly to change her bed sheets. "Why did it have to come now?!"

"Better now than if we were in the middle of a job," Linze gently reassured her sister as she finished changing the sheets; having lots of practice made the process pretty damn quick. "Do you want me to prep a bath and get you breakfast?"

"That sounds good," said Elze with a weak smile before realizing something important. "What should we do about Alex and Yae?"

"We'll just tell them that you're feeling under the weather," Linze answered calmly.

'Knowing Alex, he'll want to check up on me,' Elze thought as her face turned a deep shade of red. The last thing she wanted was for Alex to find out about this. Experience with her uncle and her male cousins back on the farm regarding this topic was always uncomfortable. It often made her feel shame for something she had no control over.

"We don't have to go into detail," said Linze as she took a guess at her sister's thoughts while collecting the old sheets and bundled them in a way to hide the blood until they could get washed. It wasn't hard to understand why her sister felt the way she did. "Besides, maybe we can have him use Recovery on you. For all we know, it might fix you right up!"

"No!" Elze shouted with a frown as she watched Linze work. While the temptation was strong to hopefully end her crippling pain early, she was quickly reminded of the last time Alex had used that spell and the nightmares that resulted from it. "Healing magic has never worked on it before, and I don't want Alex to risk his life just to spare me a little bit of pain!"

"Normal healing magic never worked," Linze corrected as she placed fresh covers on the mattress. "Plus, remember what The Royal Mage said? Alex's mana levels were dangerously low when he healed the Duchess. Alex took the day off yesterday, so his mana levels should be just fine to use Recovery without too much risk."

"I said NO," Elze repeated with a sudden hiss as pain shot through her abdomen. "I'll just die if he finds out about this! No, just tell him that I'm just a little bit sick and just go on without me! You guys can take a job in the Capital!"

"I'm not leaving you here alone," Linze said stiffly. "You're in no condition to do much alone. I can just tell Dolan that it will be my turn to help out in the inn between taking care of you."

"I can take of my—isss," Elze initially said, only to suddenly double over in pain. "Alright...what about taking a job at the Capital?"

"Sis, you're the one who wanted to take a job in the capital more than anyone else," Linze reminded her sister as she finished making the bed. While she was interested in expanding their chances for higher-paying work. It was Elze who had been pushing everyone to make their next guild goal to take a job at the capital once Alex had his new weapons and Yae had the experience under her belt. "I'm sure Alex and Yae can make due by taking a job here."

"Alright, but don't wake them up yet," said Elze as she looked at the window and saw that it was barely past dawn.

"Sis, you're the only one who sleeps in," Linze followed up while looking at her sister apologetically. "Alex has been getting up early to exercise and practice sparring with Yae since we returned to Reflet. The two of them should be up training right now."

"Damn it," Elze hissed from a sudden twinge of pain and the realization that she couldn't hide for too long. "Fine...but let me at least take a bath and eat breakfast first. Knowing Alex, he'll want to check on me before he leaves, and there's no way I'll let him see me like this."

"Alright, I'll be back soon," said Linze as she carried the bundle of sheets to take to the laundry room and draw up a bath.

After one quick explanation to Mika, Elze quickly found herself back in bed in fresh sleeping clothes after a nice bath and a simple yet hearty breakfast. If she had to face Alex in this condition, she would at least look presentable despite how miserable she actually felt. At least she wasn't dealing with this alone; that would have been an absolute nightmare.

"I'll take care of the laundry today so my dad doesn't find the sheets and freak out," Mika reassured the twins as she collected Elze's breakfast tray.

"Thanks a lot for all of your help, Mika," said Elze gratefully as she settled back into bed and pulled the sheets up to her face.

"No problem, just glad you told me now before things get busy," said Mika with a nervous sigh. "I'll have them and the rest of your clothes done by tomorrow."

"Alright," said Linze as Mika made her exit. "I'm going to go get Alex and Yae now. Do you need anything else before I go?"

"No," said Elze with a groan. "Just don't make a big deal out of it when you tell him, okay?"

"Okay," Linze answered while suppressing a sigh as she exited. Thanks to Alex's influence, Elze had been improving at not letting her pride get the best of her. Yet, she clearly still had her moments of stubbornness. 'I think I'd better tell Yae first. She'll understand the situation better and would likely understand Elze's want for privacy.'

Just like Linze had predicted, she found Yae and Alex outside, still practicing close-quarters combat. Yae with her wooden swords and Alex with the odd-looking wooden spear with a strangely shaped curved bottom. Even stranger was that there seemed to be a wooden practice knife attached to the long end of this unique-looking weapon. She was almost certain this had to be a replica of this secret weapon Alex had said to have been working on for the last few days. Still, it reminded her of the butt-stock of custom-made crossbows she had seen some adventures favor.

Not wanting to interrupt the two mid-match, Linze watched as the two continued practicing.

The younger Silhoueska twin admired how fast and agile Yae could move; she seemed to almost match her older sister's boosted speed despite being unable to use magic. She could see that the Eashen Swordswoman was forcing Alex to remain on the defensive, not allowing him a chance to counterattack. Yet, the two were clearly having fun as they could be heard speaking to each other...in Eashen. Linze knew Alex could speak Eashen after her conversation with Yae before he had healed Duchess Ellen. But this was the first time she had actually heard them speak this strange alien tongue that sounded, unlike any other language she knew of. That being said, her curiosity quickly turned sour as she watched the two speak seemingly so carefree. The familiar hint of jealousy that had gnawed on her soul before returned as she watched Yae being able to share something special with the man she...

"Linze?"

"Huh?" Linze was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts as she saw that Alex and Yae were right in front of her without her even noticing!

"You alright?" Alex questioned with a worried look. "We saw you just standing there...is everything alright?"

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Linze quickly recovered with a red face. "I was just...distracted...yes! Distracted by your practicing! The two of you are quite impressive!"

"Ehh...I wouldn't say that," Alex responded awkwardly as he began nursing the bruises hidden under his clothes. "I didn't even get a hit on Yae."

"To be fair, the odds would likely turn against me if you had used magic," Yae quickly reassured the young man, as she had no delusions of being able to win if Alex wasn't handicapping himself by not using sorcery.

"The whole point is not to make magic a crutch," said Alex with a shake of his head before getting his attention back to Linze. "Anyway, training aside, what's going on? Is Elze finally getting ready for us to head out to the capital?"

"Actually, there's been a change of plans," Linze answered vaguely before turning to face the Eashen Swordswoman. "Yae, can I speak to you privately for a moment?"

Alex and Yae looked at each other with puzzled expressions before turning to look back at Linze.

"Of course, please excuse me, Alex," said Yae with a slight bow as she approached Linze, only for the two to enter the inn together.

"Hope everything's alright," Alex muttered as he was tempted to use the Longsense spell to eavesdrop on their conversation. Ultimately, he decided against it since he didn't want to violate their trust. Wiping his brow, Alex sat on one of the benches outside and got to work to heal all the bruises he had gotten in his latest spar against Yae. "Ouch...even with my boosted stats, Yae is still a tough customer...reminds a bit of Nejire..."

Alex frowned as he took a moment to look at his smartphone after healing his injuries.

The reminder of his last failure at love before his death was still an easy way for his mood to turn. It didn't help that the Sports Festival he had been looking for toward streaming had been delayed by two weeks. Likely because of the USJ aftermath, when taking into his future plans, he probably would miss the live stream altogether.

'Oh well, I guess I can at least enjoy the highlights,' Alex pondered as his thumb floated around the many apps on the screen, ultimately settling on Sudoku to pass the time. After a few games, Yae returned, making Alex close the app to focus on her. "So...is everything alright?"

"Indeed," Yae answered as she drew closer. "Elze is feeling ill, but I have provided her with some medicine I made to make her feel better."

"Elze is sick?" Alex questioned, sounding alarmed, but Yae was quick to quell his worries.

"It's nothing serious," Yae answered with confidence. "She just needs some bed rest, and she'll be as good as new in a day or two...hopefully."

'What is she on her period or something?' Alex thought with a raised eyebrow. "I mean...could I just use Recover—"

"No,"Yae answered firmly, though a light blush had formed on her face.

'So Elze doesn't want me to see her...kind of how Lucy used to act when she had her period after I first moved in with her,' Alex thought as he suppressed a smirk. "Alright...fine...so what's the plan now? Elze really wanted to take a job at the capital; it would suck if she missed out today."

"The twins suggested we just take a job here," Yae answered casually. "Linze will stay behind to keep an eye on Elze and work her turn in the inn today."

"Yeah, I guess that works," Alex nodded in agreement. "I did promise Elze that I would go back to the guild once I was done with my projects."

"Alright," Alex followed up as he hopped to his feet and looked at the rising sun. "Let's freshen up a bit, get some breakfast, and we'll head out in a little while. Sound good?"

"Agreed," Yae retorted with a smile at the thought of a hearty breakfast. "I am feeling quite famished at the moment."

"Cool, let's get ready."


A couple hours later

"Ready to go, Yae?" Alex asked as the Eashen girl stepped out of the inn with a small knapsack filled with basic supplies, including their lunch. He waited outside the inn's front entrance to get some sun after giving his farewells to the twins, including Elze, by standing outside her door and promising to make a special dinner for her tonight to make her feel better.

"Indeed!" Answered Yae as the two friends began going to the guild hall. "My apologies for the wait. Oh? You're not taking any other weapons with you?"

"Yeah, just the knife for now," Alex answered as he patted his holstered trench knife strapped on his belt. "Some of the jobs posted at the guild usually sound more like basic chores rather than anything that actually needed a weapon. But if we do get a job that's a bit more dangerous, then I can quickly warp to get my new gear at the warehouse."

"Ah, I see," Yae nodded sagely as she readjusted her knapsack on her back. "I'm curious to see these new weapons!"

"Eh," Alex responded with a shrug; debuting firearms will be tricky no matter what, but he hoped to keep the bandage on that for as long as he could. Besides, ammo was still expensive in terms of material. "So what took so long? Is everything alright?"

"Oh! Yes, everything is just fine!" Yae responded with a motion of her hand as they began walking past the stalls of the shopping district. "I ended up making a few more dosages of the medicine for Elze and instructed her on how to best take it. Thankfully, I had most of the ingredients ready beforehand."

Alex chuckled; it looked like he wasn't the only one who had been prepping for the future.

"I'm impressed, Yae," Alex admired with a wide smile. "I knew you were interested in alchemy, but I didn't expect to be this enthusiastic!"

"Well, I had actually assisted in one of the apothecaries in Oedo in between my time training," Yae responded with a nostalgic smile. "My family, while a minor house of nobility in the service of the Tokugawa clan. My ancestors believed that we were servants to not just our ruling house but to the people of their lands. Thus, our members of our family always strive to serve where we could."

"So you ended up working in an apothecary," Alex guessed with an impressed nod. The philosophy of Yae's ancestors reminded him of All Might, who had always preached about service to the people outside of Professional Heroism. While Alex would be the first to admit that volunteering wasn't the highest on his priority list, he had volunteered during his work studies. Which was mandated, yes, but it was better than nothing!

"It wasn't my only job," Yae added with a shake of her head. "I also helped sew, hunt, fish, and preserve winter food. But working at the apothecary was the one I enjoyed the most. That's why I loved that small alchemy shop back at the Capital. It reminded me of home, though I will admit, the architecture is still quite different."

"So you already had experience making medicine, eh?"

"I a little bit," Yae admitted with a smile. "Most of my duties were actually related to bookkeeping as it helped develop my literacy and arithmetic skills. However, I did not have a chance to learn to mix medicines until about a year before I left Eashen. So, I was taught the basics I would need for my journey. Healing salves, cures for common illnesses, poultices for pain relief; I even learned how to set broken bones and mend long wounds."

"Wow...Yae, you have quite the skill set," Alex realized with amazement at the wide range of Yae's abilities.

"Oh! Umm..." The young Samurai blushed at the compliment. "Thank you, Alex. But these are just basic skills! It's nothing when compared to what you can do!"

"Don't sell yourself short, Yae!" Alex emphasized with an honest face. "Remember, I only recently discovered I had these powers. Before that, my skill set was pretty limited and nowhere near as useful as yours."

While Alex had been born with a decent Quirk in his previous life and trained hard with it, Yae was in a different league. In a world of sorcery, much like his world of Quirks. Not having these special abilities could make life much more complex, and while the gap between magic users and non-magic users was much more significant than the Quirked versus Quirkless population. Alex's non-magical skills were better set for a modern first-world country, not a roughly middle-ages era. Most of his first-aid skills still relied on having access to modern tools and medicine. Yae could not only live off the land but also travel such a distance from Eashen to Belfast, primarily by herself, unlike him, who had gone to Japan in the comfort of an airplane, funded by his parents, and had lived with his cousin. Hell, even now, his smartphone was used to compensate for his general lack of knowledge, but that still wasn't enough to replace things such as skill, practice, or experience.

"You really mean it, Alex?" Yae questioned with a surprised expression.

"Of course!" Alex exclaimed with a grin. It wasn't just empty compliments; he was genuine in his praise. In his previous life, he and his family had never believed in Quirk Supremacy; after all, humanity didn't have Quirks for most of their history. Having only made its widely accepted appearance roughly two hundred and fifty years prior to his birth. Before then, humanity and its achievements had been done all without superpowers. Even now, there were Quirkless people with skills and talents that simply couldn't be replicated with superpowers.

"T-Thank you, Alex," Yae followed with a faint blush. "But please be sure not to sell yourself short as well!"

"Huh?" Alex blinked in confusion as he stopped walking to comprehend what she just said.

"Like you said," Yae continued as she managed to control her blush. "You only recently discovered your magical talents. That doesn't negate all of the training, practicing, and studying you've been doing since I met you. Of course, I know from my conversations with Linze and Elze that you've been hard at work since even before then!"

'Well shit...she's got me there,' Alex figured with a blush of his own as he couldn't deny her words without sounding like a hypocrite. Despite receiving his new powers from the Almighty himself, the young man was still plagued with self-doubts. It was one thing to be given a bit of boost, but being given a new game plus without beating life the first time still felt a bit like cheating despite enjoying the benefits of his new powers.

"Yae..."

Unfortunately, before the two could go further into their conversation, Alex was suddenly bumped hard by a man who was walking by.

"Oy! Watch where ya' standin'!" The man yelled at the American, who quickly recovered.

"How about you watch where you're going?" Alex countered with a narrow-eyed glare as his hand quickly formed into fists.

"I ain't the one of two blockin' the street," The man that reminded Alex of a rat shot back as he continued his way forward without looking back at them. "Goddamn foreigners..."

"How rude..." Yae commented with a harsh glare as her hand instinctively moved her katana as she watched the rude man disappear into the crowd ahead of them.

"Don't worry about it," Alex followed up as he double-checked his pockets to ensure the man wasn't a pickpocket. Thankfully, he had everything he had been carrying from the beginning. Coin Wallet, smartphone, trench knife, nothing was missing. Yet something about the man's demeanor felt off; Alex checked the rest of the street. There was plenty of room for people to walk by them, so the man was either not paying attention or had bumped into him on purpose. The comment about them being foreigners may have given him a clue about why the man had such an attitude. "Come on...let's try to pick up the pace and get to the guild."

"Very well..." Yae said with a disappointed sigh as their moment had been ruined. "Hopefully, the rest of the day will turn about better."

The two continued on their way, unaware that they were being watched.

'Just like the description said...an Eashen bitch with long black hair, two swords, and pink with a blue outfit. Plus the plank with blue eyes and short brown hair...If I can find the twins with the lavender hair...I'll hit the jackpot when I tell the boss I found the ones that screwed them over! I have some other boys trail them for the rest of the day...'


The rest of Alex and Yae's journey to Reflect's Adventurers Guild Hall was without any further incident. However, Alex did note that it seemed slightly more empty than the last time he had been there. When the two stepped inside, Alex and Yae found a primarily deserted office, save for Myra, the Guild receptionist who had originally registered him and the twins, and one gentleman with minor gear looking over the job board.

"Ah, it's been a while since I last saw you, Alex," Myra commented with a cheerful wave before her voice became more teasing. "And here I thought that the twins had completely replaced you with Yae."

"I've been busy with some side projects," Alex responded with a chuckle as the two companions made their way to the board, which was quite bare today.

"So I've heard," Myra followed up as she picked up a small blue box from the Parent Cafe. "I heard you were the one that created these!"

"Yeah, I might have had a hand in that," Alex answered with a grin as the straggler from earlier finally seemed to pick a job to take to the counter. Leaving one less option for Alex and Yae to take. Myra, having plenty of practice, had the lad processed and on his way with the job in a matter of seconds. "See any jobs you're interested in, Yae?"

"This one," Yae answered with a frown as she grabbed the post that seemed to interest her the most. "But the issue is regarding the pay. The reward is only five copper pieces."

"I thought you were all about service, Yae?" Alex questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I am," Yae quickly turned to defend herself. "It's just that Elze always tried to get the highest-paying posting when possible."

"Honestly, given the money I take in from my side projects, I don't think it really matters what job we take; reward be damned," Alex reassured the young Samurai as he knew that the twins still tended to focus on getting the highest paying job...unless it had to do with slimes. But even the Mega Slime job was gone from the board. It only left the jobs that basically boil down to chores and errands around town, with the last pest control job just taken by their junior moments ago. "But I am surprised how little work is available."

"It's slowly been getting like that for the last week," Myra interjected with a slightly frustrated sigh as she approached them.

"And we're not the only ones. Apparently, there is something big happening in the capital. So, all of the nobles and merchants are heading there for some kind of meeting with the King. Most of our adventurers here and the other rural towns with a lot of experience are being gobbled up by noble and merchant alike for the time being to supplement the lack of manpower in their lands. Given that nobles and merchants make up most of our highest-paying clientele, we're stuck in a loop that we have to reject jobs because they can't even afford the posting fee. At least until whatever is happening in the capital ends...hopefully."

"Yeah, that makes sense,"Alex commented as he remembered the massive list of servants that the Great Lords of Belfast would bring to the Capital for the treaty and subsequent engagement ball. 'Hire a bunch of temp workers to keep the normal wheels working while the most trusted regulars work on something more vital.'

"I was actually hoping someone would still take these jobs," Myra continued in a much lower voice as she looked over her shoulder while motioning to the remaining postings. "Most adventurers see these kinds of jobs beneath them even though work is work. Given that they all started from the bottom at some point, it wouldn't kill them to humble themselves a little and do something for the community and not just the money."

"Can I see the job posting, Yae?" Alex requested as the Samurai handed him the paper with the details of the job. After skimming over the details, he could understand why Yae would be interested in it. "A missing dog?"

"Indeed," Myra clarified with a long, sad frown as she reorganized the postings on the board. "Poor boy lost his dog a few days ago after someone had left the gate open in the back of his home. He tried looking for him with his father but couldn't find him by the time it got dark. The boy came in two days ago with all of his pocket money to post on the board and offer a reward in the hopes that someone would help him find his dog. I didn't have the heart to tell him that the likelihood of being helped for such a small reward was basically nil."

"Well then, I guess we'll go ahead and do what the others won't," Alex declared with a broad smile as he looked at the other jobs. Just like Myra had said, most of these jobs were simple, if not potentially a bit time-consuming; however, with Yae's reminder of All Might's philosophy and his determination to continue making his place his new home. It felt right to start giving back to the community in more ways than one. "Myra, I'll see that all of these jobs are done before the day's done."

"Really!?" Yae exclaimed with a smile while Myra looked relieved.

"Of course!" Alex responded with a grin. "We were just talking about the importance of selfless service earlier! I think, after taking everything into consideration, I'd even call this a sign. Maybe Elze getting sick was fate's way of letting us know that the people here seem to need our help more than those in the capital for now."

"Great!" Myra said with a happy clap as she quickly motioned the duo to follow her to her desk to formally process the request, likely trying to get them registered with the job before they could change their minds. Just the clockwork, Myra took the posting along with their guild cards and magically stamped all three items in succession. "Alright! You're all set to go! Thank you so much for accepting!"

"Thank you!" Yae said with a smile and happy bow as she returned her guild card.

"One last thing, Myra," said Alex as he stopped to look at the contents of his coin wallet. "How much is the posting fee?"

"It depends on the type of quest," Myra answered promptly but with a questioning expression. "Considering the simplicity of these jobs, they have a posting fee of eight coppers and must have a minimum of a five copper reward."

"Good to know," said Alex with a nod of satisfaction as he pocketed the pouch. He had plenty to spare before his next round of passive income from his business partners in town. "Alright, Yae! Let's head out!"

"Right!"


Elze Silhoueska awoke again much later that afternoon, feeling much better thanks to the efforts of her younger sister and the medicine Yae had provided her. She allowed herself to stretch her limbs and found that there was no longer any sharp pain, though the bloating that made her feel fat still lingered. That was enough to give Elze the confidence to leave her bed and move around independently.

'I wonder if I can get a snack to hold me over until dinner,' Elze wondered as she checked the window to see that the sun would soon reach the evening hour. 'Hopefully, it's not too busy downstairs.'

Once Elze took a few gentle steps, then a handful of normal ones. She was relieved to find herself without the crippling pain to accompany every step; the elder Silhoueska twin breathed easier as she began performing a few more stretches to warm up her lazy limbs. Happy with the result and making sure she hadn't bled into the sheets again. Elze found herself ready to step out of her room.

"Thank you for your patronage; please come again!"

Elze heard Mika say as she descended the stairs and into the main hall.

"Well, well, I see you're finally up and about," Mika observed from the front counter. "Feelin' better, Elze?"

"Much better," Elze responded with a renewed smile, only to turn around and find a nearly empty dining room, save for Linze, who was busy servicing a recently emptied table. "I'm surprised to see the place being so...empty."

"Yeah, I knew this was bound to happen, considering how many people are leaving for the capital at the moment," Mika commented aloud as she checked the ledger and the late afternoon sun. "If we don't get another customer soon, we'll just call it quits early. Otherwise, we'll start to bleed whatever profit we made today."

"It was the same thing at the Adventurer's Guild," Elze observed with a frown. "Mostly just lame jobs that weren't even worth looking at. Though Linze and I were lucky to get some of the last good ones yesterday."

"So that might explain what I saw earlier," Mika hummed with some amusement at Elze's response.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Elze questioned as she leaned on the counter opposite of Mika.

"I swore I saw Yae and Alex chasing after a dog earlier today while I was out shopping for some cleaning supplies," Mika answered with a smirk as she made a few notes to the ledger after checking the money drawer. "Seems like they ended up with one of those lames jobs you mentioned."

"Good grief," Elze said exhaustively as she resisted the urge to facepalm herself. 'I knew Alex wanted to keep his powers low-key, but this is ridiculous!'

"Anyway, you wanna eat?" Mika asked as she finished looking over the ledger. "Or did you just want to check how things were going?"

"I am hungry, but I just wanted a snack to hold me over until dinner," Elze answered as she looked back into the dining hall and saw Linze gingerly trying to carry a tray of plates and cups back to the kitchen. 'Please don't drop anything again...'

Compared to Yae, who seemed like a natural when it came to providing good customer service that could disarm even the most frustrating patrons. Meanwhile, Elze herself, who, while not the best when it came to dealing with customers, was good at balancing trays and had no trouble keeping the occasional customer who wanted to be testy with the staff in check. Linze, on the other hand, while good at taking customer orders, neither had Yae's grace for service nor Elze's balance and intimidation. Instead, the younger Silhoueska twin had the occasional stutter and spill that led to embarrassing messes. Thankfully, today, Linze had managed to reach the kitchen without so much as spilling a drop of water from any of the cups, much to Elze's relief.

"But I was also wondering if Alex and Yae were back yet?" Elze added as she hadn't noticed them back.

"They did swing by earlier," Mika answered promptly with a hidden smile. "To drop off their weapons, but that was before I saw them chasing after that dog."

'It shouldn't have taken that long,' Elze pondered as she couldn't help but feel a little anxious about how long the two had been out. 'I know I pushed him to get back to work...but that was assuming there was any work worth doing!'

"I wouldn't worry too much, Elze," Mika continued as she rechecked the time. "Those two can handle themselves even without weapons. Why don't you take a seat? I think I have the perfect snack to hold you over in the meantime. Just give me a moment to start closing up shop."

"Alright," Elze agreed, seeing there was very little else she could do today. The elder Silhoueska twin quickly reached the closest table in the nearly empty dining room. Meanwhile, Mika flipped the sign at the entrance to inform any other possible patrons that the kitchen would be closed for the rest of the day. Elze allowed herself to relax, happy to just be able to move about without pain.

"Sis!"

Elze turned to see Linze emerging back from the kitchen with a look of surprise on her face.

"Hey, little sis," Elze greeted her younger sister with a simple wave and sported a warm smile for her.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Loads," Elze answered with a nod. "Whatever was in that medicine Yae made really helped me out."

"Good to know for the next time this happens," said Linze with a lower voice. "You going to order anything?"

"Mika already has it covered," Elze followed up with a casual nod.

"Indeed I do," Mika suddenly interjected as she arrived with a small plate of cookies and tea. "I've got the last table covered, Linze. We're done for the rest of the day, so you can take a load off."

"Oh! Thanks, Mika," said Linze with a sigh of relief as she sat opposite her sister at the same table. "Though to be fair, it wasn't too bad today considering how busy the inn usually is. When you said business would be slow today, I didn't expect it to be like this."

"Don't worry about it. It's still better than before Alex came into the picture," said Mika as she placed down the tray. "I just hope that whatever is going on in the capital is done with soon so we don't end up going into the red. Regardless, I know neither of you are the biggest fans of the job."

"Truer words have never been spoken," said Elze while Linze laughed nervously. Mika was right; neither of the twins actually liked being waitresses for the inn. But considering the money they were saving on rent alone and they only had to help out occasionally, that allowed the two to bear with how frantic the work could sometimes be.

As Mika returned to her duties, the twins relaxed and enjoyed their snacks.

"I'm surprised Alex and Yae haven't returned," said Elze after mulling over their tea and cookies for a few minutes.

"You think they got held up by a job?" Linze questioned after taking a moment to ponder her sister's words.

"I hope not," Elze retorted with a breathless sigh. "But considering Alex's usual antics..."

"They did come by to drop off their weapons here about an hour after they left," said Linze after another cookie. "So it's unlikely they went on any dangerous jobs."

"Mika didn't tell you about what she saw earlier today?"

"No?" Linze said with a raised eyebrow.

"She said that she spotted Alex and Yae chasing after a dog...sound familiar?"

"The lost dog quest..." Linze realized as she remembered seeing the job posted the last few times they were at the guild. Only for her to giggle a bit as she pictured the two chasing after the lost pooch. "Well, you did push Alex to get back to work."

"Yeah, but for a job that was actually worth it..."

"It might not be worth the pay," Linze admitted as she looked at her reflection in the tea. "But it still might be worth it to help those in need. Knowing Alex and Yae...no, especially because it is Alex and Yae...I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to do as many as possible...even if the pay was so low."

'Yeah...the more I think about it...the more that makes sense,' Elze admitted to herself as she began mulling her tea. She had been doing her best to change some of her habits when trying to curb what she saw as her greedy nature. She had cut what she considered generous deals with the merchandise she had brought to the capital and had even donated some of the profits at the local chapel that served as an orphanage for the town. 'Uncle was right...old habits do die hard...'

"Phew, that was quite the workout!" The twins almost jumped in their seats as the door almost flew open as Alex and Yae finally returned, though they couldn't see each other from their spot in the corner.

"Welcome back, you two," Mika quickly greeted them before the twins could, only to give them a knowing glance. "I'm going to assume a good bath is ordered before dinner?"

"Indeed!" Yae responded with a slight blush as she wiped some brew from her nose, only to stain it with dark soot.

"Well, the good news is that I already had the water drawn up," Mika continued as she resisted the urge to laugh at the new stain on Yae's face. "But one of the baths is already occupied. So one of you is going to have to wait."

"Ladies first," Alex instantly offered to Yae with a playful bow.

"Oh...are you sure?"

The twins felt their hearts skip a beat when they heard Alex respond to Yae's question in Eashen. There was something about the tone in the strange tongue that was undoubtedly warm and friendly, even intimate. It didn't help that Eashen girl's response was to giggle like a love-struck schoolgirl. Elze could feel that tightness in her chest that was underlined by anger; however, she wasn't the only one. Elze could see that her sister must have reacted similarly as the cookie in her hand was unceremoniously and subconsciously crushed while carrying a blank expression with calm fury behind her eyes.

"Wakarimashita," Yae answered instinctively before addressing Mika. "Please excuse me, Mika."

"Look at you, Prince Charming," the twins heard Mika say with an underlying mirth.

"What?" Alex answered in an incredulous tone. "I'm being polite!"

"Sure...whatever you say," Mika quickly followed up in a tone that made the twins picture her, rolling her eyes.

"I was!"

"Hey, you don't have to convince me!"

"Whatever...how is Elze doing?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself? She's in the dining room with her sister right now."

"Huh?"

The twins turned their heads just in time to see Alex turning the corner, looking more tan and covered head to toe in stone dust.

"Hey there! Feeling better, Elze?"

"Yeah," Elze promptly answered as she gave Alex a once-over while doing her best to keep these strange and frustrating feelings at bay. "Busy day?"

"Yeah..." Alex answered with a cough that shook a thin layer of dust off his body. "You can say that it was pretty fun, though."

"I didn't think chasing a dog would result in you ending up like that," Elze commented with a smirk.

"Huh? Wait...you think..." Alex started, quickly fixing himself up. "Oh...no, no, the dog was caught pretty quick. This is from the last job we took at the Stoneberth warehouse. The Lead Stonemason's wife is pregnant and needed much of her stuff moved around while her husband and his apprentices were off in the capital for a big job."

"Seems like that's the case everywhere," Elze followed up with a nod.

"So, do you think you'll feel better to finally head out to the Capital tomorrow?" Alex questioned gently.

"Oh yeah," Elze responded with a confident grin. "I'm feeling loads better."

"Good...good," Alex said approvingly before turning his attention to her sister. "You alright, Linze?"

"Huh?" Linze spluttered out after taking a moment to realize she was being addressed. "Oh! Yes! Yes, I'm fine!"

"You sure? You kind of zoned out there..."

"Oh, she's fine," Elze quickly interjected to save her sister the embarrassment. "I just stumped her with a riddle I remember reading about before you came."

"Ah, one of those brainteaser things?" Alex said with a laugh. "Like the good old, is wet water or not?"

"Pretty much," Elze responded, though now she was questioning whether water was actually wet or not. 'I mean...it makes things wet...but does that actually make water wet or...?'

"Alex, the first bath is free again," Mika called out from the main hall.

"Thanks!" Alex answered back before turning back to the twins. "Welp, I'm off to get cleaned up. I'll start dinner after I finish."

"Alright," said Elze as Alex walked away and returned her attention to Linze. "You okay, sis?"

"Yeah...just...a bit...distracted," Linze answered after a moment to clean up the crushed cookie from her hand. "I was just...thinking."

'If she does feel the same way I do? Is that good or bad? Yae's our friend...but...Alex...he's...' Elze took a moment to look at the setting sun. Trying to find her resolve for a future that has yet to pass. 'Focus...you're heading to the capital again, hoping for a big job. We can't afford distractions...but...maybe...I can talk to Linze and Yae...to see...where...where we all stand...'


Author's Commentary

Now, to give you an idea of why this chapter took so long.

This chapter had 12 different revisions before I finally settled on this one, which is a massive hybrid that took elements of all of the previous versions. Initially, I had planned to use this chapter to introduce the newest girl in the harem. (In theory, she is Leen's replacement. In practice -and because the two characters share English VAs, she's Sushie's replacement.) She is an import character from one of the tagged anime this story is crossed over with. However, when it came to introducing her...it was very convoluted and felt forced, for lack of a better term. (This effort took 6 different versions.) Finally, after re-watching both In Another With My Smartphone and The anime, this character is originally from. I decided to drop this story element to instead build up Alex's relationship with Yae a bit more before introducing any new girls into the mix.

After watching/rereading the series again, I found Yae as a character to be the most underutilized, not just in the anime. In my opinion. But in other fan fiction, as well. This allowed me to realize that I was starting to make the same mistake and now moved to correct this while giving Yae's back story more depth. (I hope this will also make the Eashen visit far more interesting when we get there.)

Now, another fun detail was what happened during September. I had gone on a brief vacation to Las Vegas with my family and had a wonderful time.

(I won a few hundred bucks playing blackjack...which was almost immediately spent at a fancy restaurant and at this really cool gun range that had the most extensive selection of guns to choose from! If you're ever in the area, give Battlefield Vegas a chance! It was a ton of fun!)

Anyway...to my dismay...after I had returned from my Vegas trip, there was a massive thunderstorm that caused a power surge in my home that fried my PC's PSU the day after I returned home. (For the record, I do have a surge protector, which I believe is why my whole PC didn't get fried.) Thankfully, all it took was replacing my PSU and buying a much better surge protector. (Plus, a brand new GPU because why not?)

All in all, it took almost three weeks for me to get back on track with the stories. Add that I needed to renew my license last month (I still work in health care and had to do 40 hours of Continuous Educational Credits to, do. Which, while manageable, is time-consuming.) You can see that shitty timing and luck, combined with the effort to make a quality chapter was the reason for the long delay. I do hope not to have a repeat of this and wish to update far more regularly in the future to come.

Thank you again for your patience, my dear readers.

Until next time!

-ZX