NOVEL NEXT Chapter 310: Side Quest
(3rd's pov)
The Haki Ryoto unleashed could be felt in the whole Chaldea organization, and some recognized the feeling.
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"Grandfather?" A petite blonde asked no one in particular as she stood up and headed toward the feeling.
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"Gramps back!" Another blonde woman, although more wild-looking one that could be called a tomboy, yelled in excitement as she jumped out of her bed to run towards her Grandpa.
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"That feeling. Is he already back?" A petite green-haired woman with animal characteristics said with a small smile as she set her sights on her next target.
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The woman in the room said nothing as she felt domination through her whole body and through all of her senses. The only thing she did was to let out a battle-hungry smile.
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"Hmm?" A beautiful woman with gorgeous long hair felt something familiar in the air. As her eyes were covered by a blindfold, she felt it even more than other people. Despite the feeling of danger, she smiled warmly.
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"Oh? If it isn't, darling. He came back much earlier than I thought he would, but he tends to surprise people." She said as she cupped her cheek with her hand.
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"So the bastard is back. *Tsk* He is lucky that he didn't take a long time. Otherwise, I would burn him." A pale woman with long white-blonde hair and yellow eyes commented as if trying to convince herself.
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(Ryoto's pov)
"Stop! Stop! Stop! Ryoto, fighting in Chaldea is forbidden unless in the training area!"
A red-haired girl jumped in between me and the beast. She was pretty brave for doing that when I was ready to attack at any moment, but this allowed me to take a moment and think about my situation. What I did was purely instinctual. I could feel the danger from that fluffy creature, but it was only the feeling I got. It didn't have any intention of attacking or fighting me or anyone. It's just a passive aura that he possesses, and apparently, only I can feel it. It may be because of combined power of Spider-Sense and Haki.
I finally relaxed and let go of my Zanpakuto.
"Sorry about that. It looks like your... pet, scared me a bit. How did you tame it, by the way? I doubt you just fed him and it just followed." I relaxed a bit, but I was still feeling tense. I could still feel that it could kill me at any moment if he wanted.
Suddenly, I felt a body hanging on me. I looked down to see the redhead with a big smile.
"It's really you, Ryoto. I mean, you said that you would return, and I believed you, but it was much faster than I thought. I'm so happy that you are here." She then started whispering. "I don't know how long I would be able to handle all these Servants without you. They get lonely really easily and have issues with the capital I."
I am so lost, but I have an idea or two. First, I picked the girl up by her the collar of her shirt and put her down. Then I took out a lollipop and gave it to her. She talks too much. Maybe it will keep her quiet for a while.
I looked at the murderous machine in the form of a small pet, and it looked... amused and smug.
He knew what he had done, and he wasn't sorry at all. Little bastard, he won't get any lollipops from me. We'll see how he behaves when I start cooking.
"Can we start introducing ourselves? We told you our names, but we still don't know yours."
Rin made a reasonable suggestion. I may have recognized these two, but their names somehow slipped my mind. I almost always call them cute eggplant and gacha addict.
"Well, we know Ryoto *Slurp*, and you have his surname. Slurp Are you his sister? Slurp" The red-headed maniac said in between licks.
"I'm his partner." / "What do you mean, you know me?" / "Are you cheating on me again!!? Ryoto!!!"
Three voices, three questions, and one surprise arrival.
We all turned our heads to the source of the third voice. It was a beautiful woman wearing dark armor, a pale complexion, yellow eyes, and a pissed-off expression. I kind of remember her but never met her.
I turned my head to Rin who raised her eyebrow as she crossed her arms.
"I've never met that woman in my life," I defended myself as I pointed at the pale woman. This caused eggplant and my summoner to flinch and create some distance between us. At the same time, the angry woman clenched her fist to create fire and threw it at me.
I may have been cursed by some kind of fire god because I keep getting attacked by fire. Sucks to be him. He can't do anything to hurt me.
I raised my hand and, with gracious movement, took over a fireball and allowed it to keep burning over my hand. My maneuver was done with ease, but it made me reveal my left side and the lack of my arm. Everyone in the room was shocked by the revelation, but I didn't focus on them, so I turned to Rin.
"Aren't you a little heartless, Rin? Allowing an attack on your poor partner?" I asked as I exaggerated my movements, to which she rolled her eyes, slightly amused.
"You know that I know what you feel at all times, and you weren't worried for a moment. You are mostly confused, just as I am." She then turned to the other people in the room. "Can someone explain how everyone here seems to know Ryoto?"
"Who is the bitch or bastard who did this!!? I'll burn them!!! I'll burn them all!!! Was it that harlot next to you!!?" The pyromaniac screamed. Ahh. A tsundere. It explains some things, but it is better to have a name to call her, so I opened my eyes and used something that I hadn't ever done. I know that I could.
All Seeing Eyes of God were made to perceive the 'Truth' of the world, whatever it means, so I could see a person's true name if I tried hard enough, and that's what I did. Above her head, letters appeared and started forming a name: Jaunne D'Arc (Alter).
Right, Jalter. How could I ever forget?
"Apparently, we won't get any answers any time soon." Rin mumbled under her breath as she massaged the bridge of her nose.
I would try clapping to gather attention, but I would miss something vital for it to work. That's why I settled for the next best thing. I made the fire in my hand light up to a dangerous degree, only to make it disappear moments later. The contrast of light made everyone's attention shift to me.
"Now that everyone is listening, I'll explain a few things. First, this is the first time I've been here. If you somehow know of me, it was not the current me. Second, the arm is not an issue. Don't ask. And third, can we finally introduce ourselves, or were manners not invented in this world?" I pointed at the redhead. You. Name. Now."
Under my commanding voice, she straightened her back and saluted. It was funny, so I didn't comment on it and allowed it.
"Ritsuka Fujimura, humanity's last Master of Chaldea!"
I turned my eyes to the cute eggplant.
"Mash Kyrielight! I'm Senpai's Servant!"
And lastly, I turned to Jalter.
"...Jeanne D'Arc Alter. I'm called Jalter by some... and I'm supposed to be your lover."
...Now, this is awkward. I don't even attempt to explain myself because Rin knows that I know nothing about it, thanks to our connection. But not everyone here knew about it, so I tried explaining myself, but a new person entered the room before I could.
"The genius Leonardo Da Vinci-chan can explain everything and clear everyone's confusion." Mona Lisa look-alike, also known as Leonardo da Vinci, busted into the room and started explaining with visible excitement. "But first, we should make sure that this Ryoto is the one we know and that we can accomplish it easily with one simple question. Ryoto, can you show me your arm?"
I'm not sure where this was going, but I did what I was asked to do and flexed my biceps, which caused my sleeve to burst open, revealing my arm in the process.
Everyone in the room instantly crossed their arms over their chests and nodded their heads.
"Yup, it's him.
"No mistake about it, Senpai."
"Only this idiot would do something like that." It seems my fame precedes me. Not that I'm complaining.
"Now that we have confirmed the identity of our dear friend here, let's talk about why he doesn't seem to recognize anyone here. The answer is simple to someone like me. Ryoto once shared with me that there is a special being and there usually is only one of him, so that means that before us stands is from the past. A younger Ryoto Yuuki! This is exciting to see with my very own eyes!"
"Younger Ryoto? So how are you right now?" Jaunne asked me.
"I'm about 286 years old."
The eyes went wide, but I just shrugged and turned to Leo.
"I would ask you not to allow anyone more to meet me and also don't spoil my future. It either won't matter, or everything will be fucked, and I would rather not take any chances."
"Right ahead of you. I warned every Servant and even some staff members that you were close with. Your summoning was a surprise to everyone, and I was lucky enough to observe the attempt. Our dear Alter here was just too fast, even for a genius such as me. Now, I would guess you want to start your cooking adventure in Chaldea.
I was curious how she guessed my purpose here, so I asked. The answer made me laugh out loud because it was so obvious.
"That's simple. You'll tell me.
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True to da Vinci's words, I haven't met a single soul after I left the summoning room. I went to the kitchen, and with the help of Rin, we made a feast with requests we received through da Vinci. I'll say that cooking with one arm still is a small challenge, but Rin was there to help with anything I had some difficulties with. Our coordination was even more perfect than it used to be, and we finished cooking dinner and baking desserts in record time.
With this done, we were finally sent home.
(3rd's pov)
"Is he gone?"
A man with fluffy hair tied in a ponytail leans out of the corner, but before he gets his answer, he is kicked in the back, causing him to fall to the ground.
"Stop acting like a clown Roman. Our systems said that his signature vanished already." A white-haired woman with amber-colored eyes in her early 20s said. "And as much as he was the cause of my many headaches, he was smart enough to stop learning about his possible future. If not for him, Chaldea as a whole may have possibly been destroyed and, with it, humanity's future. I wouldn't want to take any unnecessary risks if failure means the end of humanity. And without him, you wouldn't work half as hard as you did."
"Oh, don't be like that. I bet you wanted to meet your hero~ in his younger days." The redhead tapped the young woman with her elbow, and she had a smug expression plastered on her face.
"Fu-ji-ma-ru! Do you really want to be on cleaning duty from now on?" She warned humanity's last Master, and Fujimaru quickly stopped her teasing.
"I didn't say anything. Oh, look at the time. Mash and I had a scheduled training session for about now. Bye!" The redhead grabbed her kouhai and escaped, while Roman snickered secretly until he stopped when he was discovered. However, as he was lecturing, he realized something.
"Do you think that Ryoto asked to bring Fou at every summoning just to scare his younger self?"
Silence prevailed in the hallways until the scream could be heard by the whole organization.
"RYOTOOOOOOO!!!!!!"
"Gramps!!!" The wild looking blonde entered the room with her sword in her hands, ready to fight. Not seeing the person she was looking for she looked around. "Where is he?"
"Modred, he already left. Either way he wouldn't recognise. He was Ryoto from before he arrived to Chaldea." The white haired woman explained.
"Oh man. And I wanted to spar..." Modred turned from her cheerfulness to being downcast.
"I for one am happy he left so fast. I can never guess what's inside his head. Any attempt at doing that would cause me immense headache. Not to mention his cooking pranks are annoying even though Servants clothes can be regenerate with ease using a bit of mana its still like playing Russian roulette with his food."
A man with white hair slicked back, black upper body armour and red shroud said as he entered the room shortly after the blonde knight.
"You are just saying that because he took your job from cafeteria and criticised your cooking." Mordred said as she stick out her tongue at which the man sighed.
That day in Chaldea a feast worthy of festival was held and Servants parted like there was no tomorrow with a lot of females Servants had happy expressions eating familiar food once again.
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END
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