Take on Another World with My Best Friend Vol. I Ch. 11

"Alright. You Have her memory and do you know what you need to do? "Yes, Boss" "Be careful, alright?" "Don't you worry about me, Boss" "Good" The clock is showing 00:00 on the phone. Talos has to sneak into Gregor's Mansion. Due to the curfew is still in effect, He has to be careful no one saw him on the street. Akira walks to Sara's office. Inside, Sara and Shin is already waiting for them. "Good. you're here." "I can't help but this feels...unsettling" "What do you mean?" "I don't know. But I can't shake this feeling" "Nevermind that. Let's see what this man is plotting" Huginn projects what Muninn is seeing. But before anything happens, there's a knock on the door. Shin opens the door slightly. It's The King! "Your Highness. You're here?" "Yes. Sara invited me to see the this. She says I need to see this for myself" "Oh, please do come in, Your Highness" "Please. It's not work hours. Call me Leo. You saved my granddaughter, after all" "Yes, King Leo" "Leo. Not King Leo" "Yes, Leo" Sara gets up to greet King Leo "Your Highness" "Leo" "Leo. Thank you for coming by" "Now. Let's see what is going on" Everyone sits down on the couch. For a few minutes Gregor is just pacing around his office, filing out a report, and looking out the window "He looks so...restless" "What are you planning, Gregor?" 3 seconds in, in comes Talos, disguised as Liana through the secret entrance. "Under a black flag we sail..." "And the seas shall be our empire" "Good. Today at the banquet, we will claim this kingdom. Have you handed the payment to the Corsair Prince?" "It's on our ships. They will came collect them before the banquet" "Great. I will get the sword before the banquet. After this, I will be the one ruling this kingdom. All these riches shall be mine. Use it to expand our territory." "Sure. Just don't forget that the Corsair Prince made this happened. When this is all done, you will be selling your people to us" "Of course. These filthy peasants are getting too complacent with their life. It's time they get back to work" Sara looks horrified, Shin looks concerned, but King Leo looks calm. But Akira knew. Leo is seething. "Overthrowing a king is one thing, but selling my people?" Gregor continues "Oh, speaking of filthy peasant. I know that the Princes told me to keep a low profile. But there is a peasant, impudent one too. He did not adhere my warning. So I order my men to took them and they are on their way" Akira took notice of this. He listens closely "How much do you think 3 beastkind will sell?" Akira stand up and releases his lightning aura. "Akira. If you are the one he's referring to, keep them alive" "Leo" "Please. They act under orders. They don't deserve to die. They are my people. If you are going to kill people, kill the right people" Akira nods and dons his mask. He generate his lightning aura, and moves at the speed of lightning to Mina's store. Once he's arrived, there's no one outside of the store. He barges in the store, which is clean and stocked. "MINA!" Akira searches around for Mina's and her siblings. She was not in her room, and not in the kid's bedroom. "MINA!" No response. But his phone rings. It's Shin calling. "Akira. Mina and her siblings are on the plaza. They are safe, but Gregor's men are approaching. Get there quick" Shin hangs up. Akira run as fast as lightning. Blue light are illuminating his body and leaving a trail of temporal light. His armor is quite heavy. It produces a heavy clanking footstep, but at the pace he's running, he's not going to exhaust himself anytime soon "Come on, COME ON" Akira found Mina with her siblings. They are on a merchant's guild carriage. He approaches her and stops in front of the carriage "Good. You're safe" "Akira. Is something wrong?" "We have to get you to safety. Someone is trying to get you" "Who?" "No time for that. I'll tell you later. Go to the noble district and ask for Minister Sara" "YOU THERE! STOP-" "GO GO GO" "I'm not leaving. I'm strong enough to handle them. I'm a Level 91 assassin" "Wha-" In a flash, Mina move so fast, it's a blurry sight. She moves so fast, yet so graceful that she knocks the guards unconscious without breaking a sweat "See? Thanks to the level up we did on the vehicle, I improve. A lot" "Were you always have an assassin occupation?" "I think so. I never changed it" "You...didn't kill them, did you?" "No. They did nothing to me so I have no reason to kill them" "Good god" Akira plant a comfort kiss on Mina's lips. Relieved that she is strong enough to defend herself "We're still here, you know" "Oh sorry kids" "Nee-san. We better get out of here. Unconscious guard will attract attention" "Garland's right. Tomorrow the His Majesty will hold a banquet. There will be a coup. I need you to stay someplace safe" "I'll stay at the Adventurer's guild building. The guildmaster for this city is Ashe's father" "Great. Stay there for the night. Once this is over, you can go back to the store" "Will you be okay?" "I will be. Don't worry about me" "Alright. We better get out of here before the guards came" Mina climbs back into the carriage and heads to the Adventurer's guild. She waves at Akira once more. "Do I need to visit the guild again?" *RING* *RING* "Akira. It's me, Leo. I asked Shin to contact you" "Something wrong?" "We have uncovered the plot to overthrow me. Gregor is indeed behind the theft and how they could enter the country unchecked" "Well, I figured he would do that" "How are the boys you knocked out?" "They are unconscious. My lover knocked them out" "Lover?" "Yes. The Beastkin Gregor mentioned" "Are they safe?" "Thankfully yes" "Praise the Lord. Get back now. We need to discuss our plan" "Got it" "How do you turn this off?" Akira hangs up the phone. He looks up at the midnight skies. The stars are abundant, unlike the earth. He removes his mask, and his armor disappears into the mask. He reaches for his pocket and grabs a cigarette. He lights up the cigarette with his lightning-finger. He decided to walk back to the mansion while smoking. The night before the big event seems so peaceful, so beautiful, so silent. He huffs deeply with his cigarette, calming him down even more. He arrives at the mansion. The guards, even though the curfew is still in effect, let in Akira without much question. He walks back to the work room of Sara's. "You're back. Wait. Your mouth is on FIRE!" "No, Leo. This is a cigarette. We smoked this if we're feeling restless" "Are you restless?" "Yeah" Shin extends his hand, asking for a cigarette. He hands Shin the pack. Shin grabs one and lights it with his fire magic "Can you open the window?" Akira walks toward the window and opens one window. He sits down on the couch and summons a wooden ashtray and places it on the table "Can I have some?" "Do you smoke?" "No. I just wanted to try this 'smoking' you're talking about" "Go ahead, but don't smoke too much. Your lung is still clean" Leo and Sara grab one. Akira use his lightning to light both of their cigarettes "Inhale slowly, savor it, and exhale" Leo and Sara follow the instruction on how to smoke the cigarette. Inhale slowly. Savor them. Exhale. Both Sara and Leo cough "Don't worry. It's normal for the first timers" "This is good, but I still have to get used to this" "Don't smoke too much. You'll develop an addiction" "You mean you both are..." "Yes. We are" "Oh. Well, you're right. This is calming" "Now. Let's talk about the plan" The other scoots in closer "We'll stick to the plan. But we need an extra guest. You both will be there. Sara acts normal around Gregor. We can't have him suspicious." "I have a suggestion" "Go ahead" "I'm sure they have a backup plan. Namely, try to poison you. We would suggest you eat and drink what we cook, and drink the wine we provide you" "That is very possible. I agree. But wouldn't that make them suspicious that I wouldn't eat what the guest eat?" "We could change the menu of the food" "How many foods are being served at the banquet?" "It's going to be a 100 person attending" "Akira. Can you?" "Using magic, yes. But it's better to make some from scratch. I can prepare the ingredient for the banquet, but to control the taste need human supervision" "So, you could ask Girolamo to assist you" "No offense, Lady Sara. The way I see it, Girolamo could be on Corsair Prince's payroll. If I want to do this, I need to do this alone" "Akira. I'm grateful that you do this for me. But are you sure? Nobles taste is higher than standards" "I'm sure." "If you say so, I trust you" "Leo. I also have a suggestion" "What's on your mind?" "I should stay hidden. That way, I could run surveillance on every guest" "Where will you hide?" "I don't. I will be disguised as a guest. I will ask you to put me on the guest list, and give me nobles clothing." "That's a good idea. Sara. Do you have clothing for male noble?" "One of my servants must have it. I will see that he is fitted with the best clothing" "No, no. Don't do that. The reason that I am wearing noble clothing is not to stand out" "I see. I'll do what I can" "Right. The banquet will start at tomorrow on sun's peak. Akira, arrive early. Shin and Sara will arrive together. Now go get some rest. Tomorrow will have to go without a hitch. I'll go home now and get some rest" Akira extends his hand to Leo "Leo. Be careful, alright?" "Don't worry about me, now. You worry about getting some shut eyes" The group disperse. Leo went back to the palace stealthily, Sara cleans up the cigarette ashtray while huffing the cigarette. "Sara. Would you mind if we borrow your backyard?" "Sure, but what are you going to do with it?" "We're going to sleep in our carriage" "We have beds here" "No. His carriage is different. Come outside with us. Let me show you his carriage" Sara, Akira, and Shin went outside the backyard, which is a lot more spacious rather than the mansion itself, which made Shin wonders, what's the point of a large lawn but not being able to use them. "Akira" Akira nods and lets his RV out on the lawn. Sara is dumbfounded. She has never seen any carriage like this. "Is this really a carriage?" "Well. It's more like a moving house. A vehicle that also acts as a house" "Let's give her a tour inside, Shin" Akira opens the door to the RV, signaling Sara to go inside. Shin follows suit and Akira went in last. She looks around in astonishment "This is a moving house?" "Yes. We have kitchen, bath, bedroom, and dining tables" "I don't see any horse. How is it moving?" "It is fueled by magic, but the one commandeering the vehicle is one of us. Give me the keys, Akira" Akira tosses the keys to Shin and starts the engine. Shin drives around with the vehicle "This is great. Revolutionary, but I don't see anywhere to store your crate or baggage" "We don't need one. We have item box" "Item box? But those are a high level space magic. How did you?" "Don't worry your pretty little head about it, Love" "Nosk. Tell me something" "Yes?" "Are you both a god?" "We're not. I thought I have told you this?" "But your feats, your clothing, your food, everything is different from us." "We would never be a god, nor do we not have any interest in becoming one. Akira hated the concept of being a god due to past... incidents, and I don't know a thing about being a god." "So what are you?" "We're human. Just like you. Just like Leo, Just like his dad. You do know that Master Hull is from another world, right?" "Yes. So this other world is not a world of gods?" "No, We're just human. I believe I have not told you this, but our world is not so different. Well, excluding the fact that there are magics in this world" "But what about your story about the gods earlier?" "Those were even supernatural. Even for us. We make up for our lack of magic with intelligence and technology. This carriage right here, or as we would like to call it RV or Recreational Vehicle, is a mix between magic and technology" "Just one question. How advanced is the world you're from?" "Akira. Are you okay we're talking about our previous world to her?" "As long as she keeps it a secret that we are from another world, I wouldn't mind" "Why is he so secretive about it?" "Akira, mind telling her why are you so secretive about it?" "Oh. I just want to travel and have fun. Have some adventure, without having people expecting something from me" "Why are you so against it?" "I just don't care what people think of me" "You don't care about people?" "That's...one way of putting it" "How would you put it?" "Basically what he's saying is that he doesn't want people to expect him to do anything. Be a hero, do good to others, and always help the helpless. that kind of stuff" "You don't want to be a hero?" "Yes" "Just because you want to travel?" "Just because I don't want to" "But you have done some heroic deeds. You preventing the coup is a heroic deed. Why are you helping us if you hate being a hero?" "Because my father practically builds this kingdom for what it is today. I just want to protect what he built" "That's dangerously arrogant, Kira" "Where this country would be without my father then?" Sara ponders what he says, why would Akira be so arrogant now? "What's your point here, Kira?" "My father was taken from me to be summoned into this country. He was expected to be a hero in this country. Once he's done making this country many times better, all he was awarded was the rank of Marquis. He worked alone to make this country richer than the other countries combined. And he's not even awarded the rank of Duke. Do you understand what I'm talking about?" "You don't want to be a hero because you are expecting some kind of equal reward for the work you have done?" "Yes" "I see" Shin is taken aback by his answer. He tried to look for Akira's emotions and sees that he is lying. "Why would he lied about that?" He caught on and played along. "You're an egoistical man, Kira" "'I see' huh? You didn't get it at all! The point is if you're expected to be a hero, people will just use you over and over until you're dead. That's what I'm telling you I don't want that." "Well, you could just tell me. Dear God, people from another world are so complicated" "No wonder why you people are so simple" "Don't mind him, Sara. He talks like this because he likes you" "Like me?" "Yeah. Like you're one of us. he talks to me like that all the time. That means he acknowledges you as a good friend. He just doesn't want to admit it" "That's a weird way of expressing it" "He's opening up to you, isn't he? That means he trusts you" Sara, thinking back that some of the things Akira said does not make any sense, came to a conclusion. "...he's just messing with me isn't he?" "Yep" "Son of a... you mean he's talking all that just to mess with me" "Correct" Both men giggle like a kid after a ding-dong ditch "Alright, alright. The reason I don't want to be a hero is that I wouldn't be able to be there for them all the time. But the reason I mess with you is that the tension is high with this coup thing. We need to have some time to relax for ourselves" "You people are weird" "Alright. That's enough. You guys better get some rest. I will sleep here tonight. If you want to hang around, go ahead. I will sleep in this RV. Goodnight" Akira went into the bunkbed and undressed until he was only in boxers. He set the alarm and tucked in for the night. Shin, on the other hand, opens the fridge and went to get 2 regular bottles of cold beverages. It's Golden Rye! "You want one?" Shin opens the caps of the bottle. "This is our favorite beer. It's not wine, but I hope you'll like it" Shin place a coaster on the dining table and place the beer on top of the coaster. He placed one in front of Sara. She takes a gulp of the beer. A cold, fizzy beer that is unlike a tepid ale from the tavern. She let out an "Aahh" after drinking half the bottle "That was amazing" "Back in our world, this beer is expensive. We have a bigger one, but I don't think he stock one" "The more you talk about your world, the more I'm jealous" "Ah. It's better here. People are more genuine in this world" "What do you mean, 'Genuine?'" "A lot of people smile when they feel angry or sad. They say something they don't mean, or do something they hate. I believe a better term is a hypocritical" "That was the people of your world?" "Now that I think about it, it's not so different from this world. I guess people are hypocritical no matter the time period" "What are you talking about?" "Aren't nobles act dignified in front of others and when their peers are out of sight, they act differently?" "I...guess so" "See. no different" The owls are hooting. They are well off in the dead of the night. "Sara. It's been a long day today. Let's get some rest" "Would you like to...spend the night with me?" "I'm sorry, Sara. But not today. We have to get up early. You get some rest too. You are welcome to sleep here. We have air conditioner" "Air conditioner?" "Making the air colder and more comfortable. Let's just sleep in the master bed" Shin grabs Sara's hand to the master bedroom. She is impressed that they could fit a big bed inside a carriage, or a vehicle. Shin undresses until he's only in a shirt and shorts. Sara, can't really undress since all she's wearing is a dress and underwear. "Oh. Here. I have a spare shirt and shorts. Put this on." Sara undresses and put on the shirt and shorts and lay beside Shin "This clothing is comfortable. The bed is fluffy. This is the best" "Glad you liked it. Let's go to bed" Sara lay down on the bed and scoots over to Shin. They fell asleep pretty fast. In the morning, Shin and Sara hear a sizzling and lovely aroma coming from the kitchen. Shin slowly woke up to the delicious aroma. He wakes Sara up. He checked his phone, seeing that it was 8.00. Shin went to the kitchen and sees Akira cooking. "Morning, shithead. Ready for breakfast?" "What are you cooking?" "Nasi Goreng Sapi. It means beef fried rice. I saw the recipes on the tv before, but I haven't tried them. I wanted to try it" "Smells good. I'll go wake up Sara" Shin went back to the bedroom and woke up Sara. He tells her that breakfast will be ready. They went back to the dining table, and see Akira serving the Nasi Goreng on the table "Hey. You're finally awake. Let's have breakfast" Shin and Sara sit down and taste the food Akira's making while Akira is grabbing a glass and serving cold water for the drink. Shin tasted the Nasi Goreng, and based on how delicious it is, he kept digging in. Sara asks "What is this?" "This is fried rice. Eat up and prepare for the buffet. Today is the day" Sara eats up and her eyes lighten up. She kept digging in. Akira sits down and starts eating. This time, he surprised himself with how delicious his cooking is "Shin. If you have time, please wash the dishes, Leo asked me to come early. I will bring this extra for his breakfast too" "No problem. You be careful, Alright?" "Also, Tell Talos if there's any information that he could do on the Corsair Princes, act on it. Tell him I thank him" "Got it." "Thank you. This is the big one. Act accordingly, and be careful" Akira eats hastily and packs a leftover Nasi Goreng for King Leopold. Shin asks Sara for the spare clothing for the nobility. Meanwhile, Akira arrives at the King's Chamber. His Majesty already woke up. Akira gives breakfast to the king. He loves it and asks if this can be added to the menu. He asked what His Majesty would like to have his guest eat. "The menu will depend on you. As long as it's tasty and plenty. It's good enough for me." Akira nods and leaves the room, but before King Leopold stops him "Akira. This will be a formal setting in the banquet. Be sure to address me as His Majesty, or Your Highness" "Yes, Your Highness. Can I ask all of the cooks and the waiters to leave the kitchen and don't allow anyone to enter?" Akira made a peculiar request, but His Majesty does not question it. He just called on the Head Maid and orders them to let Akira have the kitchen and none shall enter. "Thank you. Now, if you allow it, I will start preparing for the banquet" Akira went to the kitchen and was accompanied by the head maid. They ask all of the occupants to leave the room, by His Majesty Order. They drop whatever they are doing and leave the kitchen. He closes his eyes. He imagines creating a semi-sentient clone that is similar to him unlike Talos, was not permanent. He ended up creating 20 clones "Alright fellas. We're going to separate you into 5 groups. We're going to prepare the ingredients until it's ready to cook. Our Menu will be quite a lot. We will be making Fried Rice, Pizza, Hamburgers and Fries, Hors D'oeuvres, and Dessert. For Fried Rice and Pizza, you can vary the ingredients. Create different stuff for the Hors D'oeuvres. Deviled Eggs, Scotch Eggs, bruschetta, whatever. Made a lot of it. For dessert, we will be making pies and parfait. Blueberry, Apple, Pumpkin, anything. If there are any lacking ingredients, take this money, disguise yourself and go shopping. Make sure everything is perfect and tasty. Go" Akira puts his money bag on the counter. All 20 disperse into a 4-person group. They checked the ingredients in the pantry and sees grabs everything that was needed for the recipe. There are several things missing, so one clone grabs the money bag and dashes toward the market. All of them go to work and Akira went to the pantry. This time, He creates a lot of alcoholic beverages. A ton of it. He went to the nearest maid that he could find and asked him to tell His Majesty that we will be serving alcohol from Akira himself. The maid acknowledges the order and went to the King's Chamber. The shopping clone is back and brings a lot of missing ingredients. The clone reports that he's spending 55 gold coins on the ingredients. Akira nods and takes the money bags back and the clone works with precise and masterful teamwork. Some of them are done with the preparation, and some of them are still preparing the ingredients, like the dessert team. "Alright, team. For you who have done. Place the stuff in the pantry. I will turn them into a refrigeration unit temporarily. Once you're done, line up on your respective team and on your station. Be ready to cook" The clones nod and Akira checks the time on his phone. 11.00. One more hour until the banquet starts. Akira approaches the Head Butler and asks if any guest has arrived. "None has arrived yet. But they should arrive within 30 minutes" "Great. Can you inform us when the first guest has arrived?" "Of course" "Oh. One more thing. Come with me" The Head Butler follows Akira to the pantry. To feel the pantry is cold and full of stuff that was not here before "Once the guest has arrived, this will be the alcoholic beverages we will be serving. Take everything. The king should also drink from this. Under no circumstance, he will receive food or drink that is not approved or made by me. Understand?" The Head Butler gives a reassuring smile. He called his subordinate to move the alcohol into the ready room. The ready room for this castle is where the food and beverage are prepared before being served. Akira has some time before the first guest arrives. He checked his phone. His phone is empty. No messages, no social media notifications, and no missed calls. He decided to take out his armor mask, and his silver-titanium alloy katana and enchant the katana so it would be fitted into the mask. He slims down the design of the armor until it does not have any necessary parts that make his armor bulky, Once he's done, he stores the mask back into his item box. *KNOCK* *KNOCK* Akira opens the door and the Head butler is behind the door. "The half of the guest has arrived together" "Got it. Thank you" Akira closes the door. He turned around to see his clone lining up in their group and on their station "Alright, fellas. It's go time. Let's cook. One person from each team will be the leader of their team and arranges the food on the metal cart. Go, go go!" One clone from each team moves forward and takes command of their team while cooking. They are so fast and precise, it's hard to think that they are not professional chefs. Within 15 minutes, each team completed the first round of food. the sous chefs are plating the food and placing them on the metal cart. Akira hands the food to the ready room. Akira sees a maid carrying the food cart and placing them on the buffet table. The food keeps coming out and the maids keep serving the food. The guest sees peculiar foods on the tables, but are not hesitating to taste them. At the first glance, they are disgusted that they think they are being served garbage food. But one guest, whether she is hungry, or curious, tasted one of the Hors d'oeuvres and loved it. She tasted each one of the hors d'oeuvres and loved them even more. the other guests are naturally curious and started eating the food with joy on their faces. his Majesty Leopold also tasted the food Akira (or rather Akira's clone) made and fell in love, particularly with the pizza. By the minute, the guests are pouring in, and among them are Sara, Shin, and The Wilhelms. The food keeps coming out and the Banquet hall are packed with a delicious smell and pleasant conversation. Akira feels that has been missing Mina, asks each team to make one takeout serving for each food, and delivers them to Mina at the adventurer's guild. he created a delivery clone and ask the delivery clome to deliver the food once the food is done and disapparate once the deed is done. A few more minutes pass by. Akira can hear a commotion outside. "Sous Chefs. You take over here. I'll be outside for a moment He goes to check it out and asks one of the butlers what has happened. "It's the Defense Minister Gregor and the Corsair Princes. They are asking for the audience's attention" "Oh? This should be good" Akira telepathically messages Huginn and Muninn "Guys. Get over here, now. Hurry. It's happening" "Oh crap. On our way" Huginn and Muninn fly as fast as possible. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please. May I have your attention for a few moments over here?" All eyes are directed toward Gregor. "I have some announcements to make. It is a shame for me to inform you that Leopold is not the true king of Theovan. He is just an impostor. A usurper of the thrones" His Majesty Leopold is watching this farce. But he is calm and composed. Smiling, even "Thanks to our friends, the Corsair Princes, who helped me discovered these truths for me" Olivia seems livid at this accusation, but King Leopold stops her. Smiling, he calmly approaches Gregor "My friend Gregor. Would you mind telling us what these truths are?" "Gladly" By this time, Huginn and Muninn are hopping on Akira's shoulder "I have received a letter stating that I, Gregor von Belmark am the rightful king to the throne. With the letter, a sword is also sent to me, by the Corsair Prince, who kept this heirloom safe" He pulls out his "Theovan" sword. He raises the sword high, with a smug smile on his face. Weird, but King Leopold doesn't seem too concerned "Hmm. That's weird. Because I have the Theovan Sword right here" King Leopold grabs the sword from behind the throne. Gregor, dumbfounded, is at a loss for words. "Hmm. Seeing the sword, it is almost identical" "How did you have it?" "What are you talking about? It has been on the treasury for years" Gregor glances at the Corsair Princes, who grew restless. "I have an idea. Do all of you here remember the legend of Theovan Sword?" Most of them nod except for Gregor, the newcomers, and the Corsair Princes "The sword will glow blue and it will increase the durability of the sword when magic is poured into it. So, why don't we pour our magic into the sword?" Gregor, increasingly worried and desperate, is reluctant to agree. "What's wrong, My friend? If that sword is the real sword, you don't have to worry, right?" "I-" "How about this? We'll ask for a neutral party to flow the mana into the sword. That way, the result would be fair, right? Your Majesty Malik ibn' Yahya, may I ask you to flow your magic into both swords?" "Oh. No problem. So I just need to flow magic into the sword?" "Yes. Please pick a sword" Malik grabs both swords in each hand. "Alright. So I have Minister Gregor's sword in my right hand and His Majesty Leopold in my left. Ladies and gentlemen, please pay attention" Malik flows his mana equally. On his left hand, the sword glows blue and it grew heavier due to increased durability. Meanwhile, the sword in his right-hand shatters into pieces. Gregor's heart almost stops when he sees his sword shattered. Malik drops both swords and King Leopold grabs his sword "It's such a shame, Gregor. I always thought you were a great friend. *sigh* Do you know what this means?" Gregor looks at the King that he once served, trembling and sweating bullets. "It's high treason"