LIGHTNOVELONLINE Arc 4: Awakening – Chapter 4
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Cross-over from various games, books, anime, manga, and movies.
The familiar characters you see here belong to their respected authors and owners.
"Speech"
Time*
Arc 4: Awakening - Chapter 4
30 minutes later*
Daisuke rubs his chin with a thoughtful look as he finishes questioning Aqua and Eris. He didn't have many questions, but he was satisfied with the answers he got to the ones he asked out of curiosity.
Especially making it so easy for them to admit they were goddesses; well, it was easy for Aqua to spill the beans because she had too much pride in being a goddess to reveal it in the first place. As for Eris, it took something more threatening to get her to admit it herself, like actually admitting it instead of saying she was because he made her. All it took was for her to transform into her true form, and even giving Aqua a unique alcohol was enough to get her to betray Eris in a heartbeat; showing her a weapon that can kill the gods themselves nailed the coffin shut, and Eris is now 100% under his control.
"This is what we're going to do." Daisuke spoke, making both Aqua and Eris jump slightly out of fear. "You two will do what I say, when I say it, and not complain. Got it?"
"Y-You're not going to rape us, are you?" Eris asks out of fear, causing Aqua to whimper.
"Why would Master want to rape you when he has me and the others?" Artoria said from behind them, causing them both to almost scream if Artoria hadn't covered their mouths with her hands, preventing them from jumping up again in fear.
The crowd was fortunate that Artoria paid no attention to them. So they screamed at Artoria's sudden appearance. Oddly enough, none of the men stare at Artoria with lustful eyes as her maid's outfit shows more skin than any maid should be allowed unless the employer requires them to wear such outfits.
Of course, he knew why this was because of the Succubus Carfe.
Suppose he didn't have his Holy Grail to call his girls for some night activities. He would like to come here to satisfy his sexual needs. But only for a short time since the whole thing is a dream. On the other hand, it prevents him from catching any possible diseases.
"Oh, did something fun happen while we were gone?" Esdeath came through the doors just as the screaming stopped.
"Maybe. Otherwise, they wouldn't have screamed." Scathach came in right behind Esdeath, while Kazuma, Megumin, and Darkness slowly made their way in with painful expressions on their faces.
Well, Darkness' face is the opposite, full of smiles and looking at both Esdeath and Scathach with eyes full of lust, even though she is covered in dirt and has injuries like Kazuma and Megumin.
Yeah, he didn't need to know that Esdeath and Scathach beat Kazuma up, along with Megumin and Darkness, to teach Kazuma one of their skills. All in all, he is surprised that they can still move. The two must have been holding back or had too little time to do more damage. Mostly the second possibility than the first one, going by the annoyed look on the two's faces.
"Oh, right. Here you go, Master." Scathach walks over to Daisuke's table and reaches into her hidden pockets to pull out a folded sheet of paper. "This is the information you wanted me to get while I was scouting the areas outside of Axel."
Daisuke unfolds the paper. He reads what Scathach has written. Then, he erases it by using Omnifabrication to use it as material to turn into the air around him.
"So, what else do you want me to do, Master?" Scathach placed a hand on the table and leaned forward with a small grin that made Daisuke's heart skip a beat.
Before Daisuke or anyone else says anything else to Scathach's question.
"Emergency quest! Emergency quest! All adventurers in town, please gather at the Adventurer's Guild! I repeat, emergency quest! Emergency quest! All adventurers in town, please gather at the Adventurer's Guild!"
A loud broadcast could be heard throughout the entire town.
"Oh, it's cabbage harvest time?" Eris spoke up, no longer feeling deeply afraid.
"Huh? What did you say? Cabbages?" Kazuma looked at Eris, confused.
Soon, many staff members came out with a stack of baskets.
"Great! The season is finally here!" With a weapon in hand, one of the adventurers stood up and went outside, where everyone first gathered before going outside of Axel.
"After a long time, a well-paid quest has come! But it is late!" Another adventurer followed up with their own comment and rushed out the front door.
Soon, everyone was leaving the building, excited about the cabbage harvest.
"I apologize for gathering everyone on such a short notice! I'm sure everyone knows that the emergency is because of the cabbages! It's time to harvest cabbages! The quality's great this year and each one's worth 10,000 eris! We've already evacuated the residents, so please harvest more cabbages and turn them in here! Please take care of your own safety and don't get hurt by the cabbages' counterattack! Also, due to the large number of people and the bounty, the reward will be distributed later!" One of the staff members announced loudly.
Cheers erupted outside the Adventurer's Guild.
"I must say, this is not what I would expect from people who are excited about cabbages." Scathach raised an eyebrow at the excited crowd.
"Maybe it's really delicious compared to the cabbages we've had in the past?" Artoria points out, causing Esdeath to close her mouth before she could make her own contribution, while Scathach looks pensive upon hearing Artoria's question.
"Come on, Kazuma! We have to get those cabbages!" Aqua suddenly appears next to Kazuma and pulls him along with the crowd.
"We'll have to teach her and the other one not to run off without our permission." Esdeath stares at the runaway Aqua with Eris, where both of them thought that they could sneak away unnoticed, with a sadistic grin that promises a world of torture.
Suddenly, the crowd splits, immediately avoiding the vicinity of Daisuke's group upon sensing Esdeath's malevolent aura.
Soon, everyone goes outside. In the sky, green objects fly in the distance, where they are just about to fly over the town.
Not too far away, Daisuke's group can see Kazuma's group, and Aqua starts explaining the ridiculous sight going on in front of them to Kazuma.
"The cabbages of this world can fly. When their flavor ripens during the harvest season, they fly through the cities, across the plains, across the continent, and to the ocean, unwilling to be eaten. That's why we have to catch the cabbages and eat them while they're still delicious."
Daisuke looks around and notices that none of the locals seems to have noticed a keyword that Aqua just used in her explanation.
"This world is crazy." Artoria said what was on everyone's mind. "However, this is something I welcome." She begins to drool.
"Well, it's better than what I've had to face in the past to fill my stomach." Scathach said dully. "Hunting cabbages will be a first for me, though."
"You're telling me. As a child, I've hunted dangerous creatures to feed on their flesh, but flying cabbages? This is ridiculous." Esdeath looks like she is rethinking her life.
"Honestly, I don't mind picking the cabbages this way. Much more fun this way, in my opinion." Setanta said to everyone, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. "Oh, yes. Here you go, Master." He handed Daisuke a small wrapped package in the shape of a box.
Daisuke quickly tore off the wrapping and took out what was inside—a Manatite. A heavy mineral with the unique ability to store the mana needed to cast magic. It's usually found deep underground, with higher purity. Manatite is even able to power Explosion Magic. It is often used as a replacement mana source for mages, but due to its one-time use and high price, most adventurers prefer to use other magical items.
But in the hands of Daisuke. It can be used for much more; he only needed one.
Several symbols begin to cover the Manatite due to the influence of Omnifabrication. Once that's done, Daisuke quickly stores it in the Gate of Babylon.
"So, Master. What was the point of having Setanta, Altera, and I to search for this mineral?" Justeaze asks Daisuke as she appears with Altera and Setanta, ignoring the cabbages around them as the adventurers try their best to catch them.
"Just to create my own personal mineral that will produce more of itself for me to use." Daisuke replied, knowing that in future worlds. There is a high chance of ending up in a world without mana or non-mundane influence. The modified Manatite is the answer to this problem. "Anyway, everyone can go get the cabbages. Make sure to get lots, I like to have enough to eat them for a while."
As soon as they get permission to move, both Artoria and Altera spring into action. Followed by Esdeath and Scathach, with the last one to move is Setanta. Mainly being the slower one in the group, other than Justeaze, who didn't bother to move at all.
"Are the cabbages in this world that good? I mean, no one else would really want to get the flying cabbages. Well, except maybe Artoria, Altera and Setanta. Esdeath would find it pointless, but is willing to do it for a few minutes out of curiosity. Scathach might do it for a few minutes just for the experience. But she will stop when she gets bored with how easy it is to catch the cabbages." Justeaze tilts her head at Daisuke.
A few hours later*
"Holy cow! Stir-fried cabbages are so tasty!" Setanta ate all the dishes made from cabbages that all the adventurers caught.
Artoria and Altera nod in agreement; they're eating so fast that it's taking a few staff members of the Adventurer's Guild to bring 60% of all the served dishes to their table out of everyone else.
Still, the other 40% of the people are adventurers outside of Daisuke's group. They didn't seem to mind, not with the presence of Esdeath and Scathach.
"No wonder you wanted us to catch more than everyone else. Truly, it would be a shame if we couldn't eat this kind of cabbage in the future." Justeaze calmly took her time to enjoy her cabbage soup.
"Master, are you planning to become a foodie?" Esdeath asks this due to how much Daisuke is eating a lot, but not at the same rate as the three other foodies at their table.
"Maybe. Not too sure yet." Daisuke replied while he happily ate a fork of coleslaw from Scathach, who took more pleasure feeding than eating herself.
Of course, Scathach would take a few bites herself, but would concentrate more on feeding Daisuke.
"Hm." Esdeath squints her eyes at Daisuke and starts eating her cabbage-type food, which is a cabbage-wrapped burger.
"So what's our plan after this? You have gathered us all in a group again, Master." Scathach asks Daisuke, causing almost everyone to stop eating momentarily, but they decide to listen while eating.
"I have no idea. I just felt like having company." Daisuke didn't say outright that he was conducting an experiment with all of them here in the name of finding his true calling. And surprisingly, he got many results. Still, he wants to find out more and may not have found his true calling, as Esdeath mentions.