"Kurome, eat some vegetables. " Advised Wave, seeing her eating only meat.
'' Leave me alone, fish eater. '' Kurome ordered him, putting her arms around her plate to prevent him from putting vegetables on it.
For his part, having lifted his mask somewhat, Bols ate spaghetti with the help of chopsticks. Only showing the bottom of his mouth, he did not allow anyone to see his face, even when he was eating. However, that did not prevent him from doing an analysis on what he was eating.
'' This mushroom sauce is delicious. '' Said Bols. '' You should give me the recipe. ''
'' You never take your mask off, Bols-san? '' Peach asked.
'' No, I would be remiss if I disgusted you in the middle of a meal. ''
"Koro, stop stealing my food." Ordered Seryu, while her plate was empty once again because of her teigu.
'' Oh my god, it's beautiful. '' Assured Stylish, while pouring a strange golden drink in his glass. '' This drink is worthy of my beauty. ''
"Hmmm, this tea smells so good." Said Run, sniffing the cup he was holding in his hand. '' A peach tea ! It's a delicious flavor. ''
Hearing them and seeing their behavior, Tatsumi looked surprised.
Despite Kurome and Wave's arguments, it was obvious to understand that the Jaegers were a united team, and that they were far from hating eating or having fun together. Even Seryu and Stylish looked like happy companions, now that there was no longer a hint of wickedness in their faces.
" What ... ? These guys ... oddly I would almost want to get to know them. ''
"Tatsumi ... ''
Turning his face, Tatsumi was surprised to see Esdeath stuff a spoon into his mouth.
Swallowing crookedly, the boy coughed, while Esdeath noticed.
'' You too must eat! I refuse that my husband is undernourished! You have to stay in top shape. ''
Standing in front of the duo, Peach couldn't help but blush a little, while she felt that Esdeath and Tatsumi were two people who loved each other madly. She didn't understand that Esdeath's love for Tatsumi was not at all reciprocated.
'' Is there a problem, Princess Peach ? '' Run asked, seeing her staring at her supervisor.
'' Huh ... no ! It's nothing ! I was just asking myself a few questions about you. ''
'' Hum? '' Wondered Esdeath. '' In this case, don't hesitate to ask us! For my part, I too would have questions for you ! Since you are our guest, I'll let you start. ''
" Who are you ? " Peach asked with curiosity. '' What is a teigu? And what is the Empire ? ''
"It's a long story ..." Said Run, taking charge of telling Peach and Toadsworth about the events that happened recently to the Jaegers.
One hour later ...
"Oh my God, and that's why you're here ? " Asked Peach.
"Yeah, but it is impossible to know if this door is really real or if she was the product of our imagination ! Speaking of which, maybe I should start asking questions." Esdeath said as she was ready to question Peach until Wave stopped her.
"General, I don't want to be rude, but I think you should just accept that we are in another world! From what we have seen, it is impossible that we are still in our world of origin. "
"I can only agree with Wave-kun. " Approved Bols. '' Honestly, I doubt our world contains mountains and clouds with eyes. "
"We won't know until someone answed some questions." Esdeath retorted. '' Now Peach, you say you've never heard of the Empire ? ''
"No, not at all ! And yet I know the most important kingdoms in this world." Peach then looked at Toadsworth to see if he knew, but he was also ignorant.
"I knew it. " Wave said, starting to drop his head on the table. '' We are in another world ! Bad luck ! ''
"Is this such bad news ?" Asked Seryu.
''How would that be good news ? '' Stylish asked her.
'' If we were sent here, it is surely for a good reason and not by coincidence! We are surely in this world to help and bring justice here. ''
'' Interesting theory but I advise you to forget it. "Run advised her. '' I doubt this door will help us do good in the universe. ''
'' I approve. '' Tatsumi asserted.
"So you don't know the Empire or the teigus ? " Esdeath mind.
"Not at all. " Repeated Peach. " From what I could understand, these teigus are weapons which give you these strange powers! We do not have any in this kingdom, nor even in this world." Peach answered with a weak smile.
Staring at her, Esdeath could tell that Peach didn't know about the teigus, further proof that Wave may have been right.
"General, I think you should just accept the situation we find ourselves in." Said Run.
"But it is not normal for a door to come out of nowhere and take us to another planet. It is not possible." Said Stylish. '' There is nothing scientific about everything that happens to us. ''
"But it happened, and now we are here in a world far from ours." Kurome replied simply, not bothered by what she had just learned.'' Any leftover turkey? "
'' In addition, nothing in this world can be explained by science. " Cried Tatsumi. " Can someone explain to me how a human became the princess of a mushroom-filled kingdom ? "
" If you give me two hours, I could explain to you in detail the history of Peach-sama's family. " Toadsworth declared.
" I'm skipping my turn. " The boy asserted immediately.
Thinking about all this, Esdeath nods in the end.
"Sigh ... All this seems fair to me! We are in another world! But now we have to know why and how to get home. ''
'' Find another door. " Said Tatsumi.
'' How ? " Wanted to know Wave. " How the hell are we going to find that damn door and go back to our world? "
" No one knows the answer to this question. " Replied Stylish. " Not even me. ''
Peach then rose from her chair.
"If I can make a suggestion ... I think I know the person who could probably resolve your situation." Peach said
"Who would it be, Princess Peach ?" Asked Run.
"In my kingdom, there is a wizard named Merlon ! He knows all the legends of this kingdom, and even stories that even I don't know ! H I'm sure he can help." Said Peach.
Simply shrugging her shoulders, Esdeath ends up asking.
"Where can we find him ?"
"I believe he visited Lady Bow in Forever Forest." Said Toadsworth.
"Forever Forest? Where is it ?" Seryu asked.
"It's just east of here. Nevertheless, I advise you not to go there. '' Said Toadsworth.
Positioning his hands in front of his mouth, the toad declared.
'' Once you enter this forest, your chances of leaving it are only two percent. ''
'' That is not much. '' Bols remarked after hearing that.
"Two percent ? " Asked Tatsumi, swallowing his saliva. '' How can a forest in this world be so dangerous ? Are there monsters there ? ''
'' It's a forest where you can get lost very easily! It's worse than a labyrinth ! But don't worry, masters ! We have a map of the forest in our possession ! We'd love to let you use it to overcome this forest. " Toadsworth said as he went to look for the map elsewhere.
Seeing him leave, Esdeath looked disappointed again.
"A forest where we get lost ? Is this really the most dangerous place in this world? Without wanting to be annoying, this world disappoints me a little. "
"The mushroom kingdom is known to be a zone of peace. " Peach taught her, proud of it. '' However, it was not always the case. In a peaceful time, there will always be someone to try to ruin peaceful life. There's one man in particular who's always trying to do it, and his name is Bowser. He would kidnap me whenever he gets the chance. He kidnapped me so many times, I lost the count. "
"Bowser ?" Repeated Seryu, while narrowing her eyes. "Who is he ? "
'' He's a horrible monster who only stirs up the chaos around him. '' Toadsworth taught her. '' He has fun kidnapping Princess Peach, whenever he can. ''
"So how do you always get away from him ? " Asked Bols.
"Well, I'm pretty sure her guards didn't help her. They're too weak to fight anyone." Said Esdeath, in a bored tone. '' Would this Bowser be so stupid that he would be unable to hold a princess hostage? ''
"In fact, there is someone who always comes to save me whenever I am in danger." Peach said as she went to look out the window. "He is the hero of this city ... Mario." Said Peach.
"Mario? A hero?" Repeated Wave.
"I haven't seen him since the Prognasticus incident. I wonder what he's doing right now." Said Peach.
Meanwhile...
"ACHOO !" Mario sneezed as he went to get a tissue. "Somebody must be talking about me right now." Mario said to himself.
Mario shrugged it off and went back doing his daily things.
Back to the Jaegers...
Toadsworth returned with a card.
" Here is the card, Esdeath-san. "
Toadsworth said giving the card to Esdeath.
"Now, Esdeath-san, you need to know that there are ghosts in the forest, but don't hurt them if they scare you ! They just want to have fun with others."
'' Ghosts ? '' Repeated Stylish. '' Are you joking ? ''
'' Not at all ! Why ? Is there no ghost in your world ? ''
'' I don't even want to answer that question. " Said Wave and Tatsumi.
"We don't all have to go. '' Esdeath remarked, looking at the map. '' Who wants to accompany me? ''
"General, I think I'm going to stay here too ! There was something in this city that caught my eye." Said Kurome, referring to the sword she had seen earlier.
" I'm going to stay here too! I think it's time to collect as much useful information as possible about this world. " Said Run. '' Hopefully I might find some information that can help us. "
'' Same thing for me. " Affirmed Stylish. " I don't know how long we will stay in this world, but I want to study and try to understand its logic. ''
"I didn't understand everything about Bowser's story. " Confessed Seryu. " Nevertheless, I will stay here and face him if he decides to kidnap Princess Peach again. ''
Then showing a sweet smile, she said.
'' If I ever meet him, I promise to kill him, in the name of justice ! This will be my way of thanking Peach-san's hospitality. ''
Immediately, Peach and Toadsworth feel slight discomfort, while looking at this woman smiling cheerfully, while talking about murder.
'' In that case, I'll go with you, general. " Assured Wave, while leaving his chair. " I will do my best so that each of us can return. ''
'' Me too. " Adds Bols. " Sooner we find the answer to our questions, sooner I can see my family again. "
With a sigh, Tatsumi finished.
'' I am coming too. ''
'' Oh ? " Said Esdeath, delighted with this news. " You want to stay with me, right ? ''
'' Anyway, if I had refused, you would have forced me to accompany you. ''
Immediately hugging him, Esdeath asserted.
'' My future husband is both strong and intelligent. ''
'' Stop doing that. ''
"I'm going to lead you into the forest, this way." Toadsworth said while driving Esdeath and the three men out of the castle.
Seeing them leave, Run turned to Peach and questioned her.
"Would you mind allowing me to study the history of this kingdom ? ''
'' Of course ! We have various books here! You can read them for as long as you want. ''
Then turning to Kurome, Seryu and Stylish, she asked them.
"Why don't you take a look around the city? I want to give you money to buy things that might interest you."
''You want to give us money ? '' Stylish asked, puzzled.
'' Of course ! My kingdom has a lot more money than it needs. ''
A servant then entered with a block floating in the air.
"This is the block of coins you asked, Princess Peach." Said the servant.
"Thank you, you are excused." Said Peach.
The servant nodded and left the room. Peach then went to the floating block.
" There, you can have all the coins of this block." .
Immediately, Kurome, Seryu and Stylish facing her tilted their heads to the side, while saying.
'' Huh? ''
"How does this block float in the air ? And how are we supposed to get it out?" Asked Stylish, tapping the top. " It has no opening. ''
"Simple, you just hit the block and the coins come out." Peach explained.
"Just hit it ?" Asked Seryu, immediately punching in the cube.
Immediately several coins sprang from the block and dispersed on the ground. Striking again and again, Seryu seemed amused to make a huge pile of coins appear.
"Wow! There are lots of coins."
Having an illuminated look, Stylish suddenly pushes Seryu aside, to examine the floating cube.
'' Perfect ! A cube capable of floating and which can contain an unlimited quantity of coins? It is a simply marvelous object ! Here's the first thing I'm going to look at! Oh yes ! I want to discover the slightest secret of this object! Give me scientific material! My lab! Where is my lab?''
Uninterested in the cube itself, Kurome only picked up the coins and stuffed them into her skirt pocket.
" I saw a huge guy selling various objects, including a sword! I'm going to find him to buy it." Said Kurome.
'' A huge man? '' Peach repeated. '' It must be Wario. '' Be careful ! He's a crook. "
"Do you want Koro and I to accompany you? " Asked Seryu.
"No, that will be fine." Kurome assured her. '' If he tries to swindle me, he's the one who will regret it. ''
Then she left the room to look for Wario and buy his sword.
Seeing her go, Seryu then turned to Run who was talking to a Toad so he could have a few books, while Stylish was tapping the floating block here and there.
"Well, Koro, we are neglected." Remarked Seryu.
'' Your name is Seryu, right ? '' Asked Peach, approaching her. '' You said earlier that you were a soldier of justice. "
'' Absolutely. " Affirmed Seryu, again making her military salute. '' My dream is that everyone can live in peace.''
"Even the bad guys ? " Asked Peach.
Immediately, thinking she was joking, Seryu laughed.
"You are so funny. ''
Then, smiling psychotic, Seryu said.
'' The bad guys don't deserve forgiveness! That's why I would kill them all, until the last. ''
Suddenly, Peach couldn't help but back away. Seeing Seryu's new face, the princess couldn't help but find it more frightening than Bowser's.
'' Who ... Who is this girl ? '' Wanted to know Peach, while Seryu eventually turned to Koro, who was circling around her. " Strangely, I would rather be with Bowser than be alone with her! ''
Meanwhile, ...
Esdeath and her team followed Toadsworth into the forest.
"This place is so weird." Repeated Wave, while seeing a cloud, with a face. '' I seem to be spied on by these clouds. ''
"Yet, even if this world may be weird ... the joy of living seems to reign there. " Remarked Bols, turning his face to see Toads or other creatures, happy, all around them. " To believe that even mushrooms are capable of live better than us. "
'' You take the words out of my mouth. '' Confessed Tatsumi.
Immediately, the boy could hear Esdeath chuckle slightly, when she was the only one to know the boy's past. But, she didn't like this world. The peace that reigned everywhere made her sick.
"We are here." Toadsworth said he was pointing the area where they could see the Forever Forest very close to them.
In front of a forest, a Toad soldier saluted the guide.
"Hello, Toadsworth. I just got your message from a castle guard. It's the pirates who want to go into the forest." Asked the guard.
"For the last time, we are not pirates. '' Wave roars. '' We are the Jaegers! Elite Special Group. ''
" I never heard of it. "
Immediately, a black cloud appeared above Wave's head, who became depressed.
"Merlon looks like this." Toadsworth said while giving a photo of Merlon to Esdeath.
He has a white mustache that goes to the ground, he also has a blue cape with a hood covering his head, that you can only see his eyes.
"Thanks ! Let's go find this Merlon guy! Come on, everyone. " Said Esdeath.
"Always." Said the rest of her team.
They then crossed the forest, except Tatsumi. Glancing behind his back, he couldn't help but look one last time at Toad village, where everyone seemed to live happily there. This world had nothing to see with the Empire.
'' A problem ? '' Asked Toadsworth.
'' No nothing ! It's just ... you're lucky to live in this peace world. ''
'' That is true. '' Assured the mushroom, in a vain tone. '' It's thanks to the great work of princess Peach ! But I bet your world is a place of peace too. ''
'' Unfortunately, it is not the case. " Confessed Tatsumi. '' It is even the opposite. "
'' Hum? What do you mean ? ''
"Tatsumi. ''
Coming out of the forest, Esdeath's hand gripped the boy's clothes, before forcing him to come with her.
Meanwhile...
Kurome continued to search for the zigzag mustache type as he passed through town. But all she saw was only toads, okra, koopas ... apart from Peach and this obese man, there was not the slightest trace of humans here.
"Hmm ... weird city." That's all Kurome said before continuing to look for the guy with the zigzag mustache.
Kurome then saw the zigzag mustache, arguing with a client.
"Are you kidding !? This quantity of coins is enough to buy a mansion." Argued the customer.
"I don't know why you're so crazy about it. It's one of the unique items that you can never find anywhere in the world." Said Wario.
"It's a dried mushroom! We find it in a trash can." The angry customer said.
"This is no ordinary dried mushroom! This mushroom can immediately send you to a great place you would never want to leave."
"Are you saying this thing could kill me ?!" Asked the client.
"Ummmm ... right?" Replied the mustache man. The customer leaves.
"Man, maybe selling goods was not a good idea after all." Said Wario.
" I will need one of your items." Said Kurome approaching the inexpensive vendor.
"Huh? A purchase?" Asks the zigzagged mustache man, rubbing his hands. '' But of course, pretty young lady ! What would you like ? Jewelry, clothes, kitchen utensils? The great Wario has it all. ''
"Earlier, I saw that you had a sword in your bag. I want it." Said Kurome.
Hearing her, Wario looked surprised.
'' Sorry ? ''
'' I want your sword. " Kurome repeated, pointing to the weapon.
Wario immediately sneered, like a whale.
'' Hahaha! It's a great joke. ''
'' Why are you laughing ? ''
''A woman who wants to fight with a saber? '' Wario wondered, while continuing to laugh. " Hey, what are you doing with it ? Cut your finger and cry ? Or break your nail ? Haha! As if a little woman could fight! Women are made to cook or the laundry! Go back to cleaning. ''
However, all the toads near Wario eventually heard him moan in pain. With an incredibly calm face, Kurome had let Wario speak, before simply lifting her leg and kicked him in his genitals. Eyes wide, Wario crashed forward, putting his hands on his crotch.
"Dirty ... bitch. ''
While Wario was moaning on the ground, Kurome started walking on him until she reached his bag. Rummaging through it, while stepping on Wario's back, she grabbed the sword. Then looking at it, Kurome glanced at the blade.
"It is quite sharp, although I question its durability. The previous user must have had a tough battle to make the sword look wor !. It will have to do it for the time being."
"The pleasure of doing business with you." Kurome said before leaving with her new sword, while Wario still had his face on the ground.
"Okay, now to get the castle back. How was it again? ''
Beginning to look around, Kurome suddenly fled when she saw a store that looked like a restaurant. Since she received her sword for free, she still had money on her. Therefore, having a little hunger again, she entered in the building.
Getting up a few moments later, Wario had a hard time hiding his growing anger when he roared.
'' I'm going to kill this woman! How dare she humiliate me and rob me? ''
Wario then ran to his motorcycle that was nearby and drove off to find Kurome.
"I'll show that little bitch not to steal from me!" Wario yelled as he drove away.
TO BE CONTINUED...
