52: First Meeting With a Demigod

When they returned to the car, they found Ai curled up in the back seat, clutching her head. When she saw them, she peeked out from between her arms and said, "You came back."

"Yeah, did we scare you?" Natsuo glanced toward the back seat and spoke in a gentle voice. Ai had never been on a mission before, and she had probably never seen people die in real life. It was understandable that she would be frightened after witnessing a group of human beings being massacred right in front of her eyes.

"A... a little bit. I'll be fine." Ai nodded her head, then quickly shook it before forcing a smile.

The scene she had just witnessed was too shocking and frightening, especially seeing Natsuo casually cast a fire spell that exploded into a massive pillar of flames.

"Here, have a Coke. You'll feel better." Kana threw a can of Coke to her. She knew how terrible it felt to witness someone die for the first time, but she had no idea how to comfort her.

"Hmm, thanks..." Ai held the can with both hands and thanked her with a forced smile.

Just like that, silence descended upon the car as Natsuo started the engine and began driving past the dead bodies and debris.

According to what the bandits had told them, they were actually quite far from the capital and Alnus Hill. It also seemed that the Empire had already lost the war against the Green People, which was what the locals called the JSDF from Japan.

"We'll have to spend a couple of days getting to the capital." Natsuo glanced at the setting sun. It was getting late, and the Empire's territory was enormous, almost comparable in size to the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous empire in history.

Fortunately, none of the three were in a hurry. The quest was to make the Empire great again, which meant they had to help the Empire defeat Japan and, more importantly, reform the Empire itself. This was obviously going to be a long quest.

As for the Flame Dragon, that was a much simpler task.

...

"♫ My mommy ordered pizza cause we didn't have a meal, but when the driver got right here, she made a secret deal. ♫"

"♫ She couldn't find her wallet, so she told him with a sigh, I have no cash to give you for the cheesy pizza pie. ♫"

"♫ The driver smiled and said to her, I have another way. If you can eat my extra sausage, you don't have to pay. ♫"

"♫ He walked her to the bedroom to unpack his heavy meat. My mommy must be starving cause she dropped down to his feet. ♫"

"♫ I heard her say she likes a deep pan crust inside her mouth, but she was making choking sounds and things were going south. ♫"

"♫He gave her all his special sauce; it got right in her hair. I'm glad she got a free lunch, but she didn't even share. ♫"

"♫ When daddy came home from his job, he asked what we had bought. I told him about the secret trick that mommy had been taught. ♫"

"♫ I said she earned a free lunch with the jumbo sausage slice. She ate it on her knees and said the special sauce was nice. ♫"

"♫ My daddy was so happy that we saved a lot of cash. He said, I'll use that coupon too; I'll do it in a flash. ♫"

"♫ So daddy called the sandwich shop to bring a footlong sub. He asked for the delivery guy who works down at the pub. ♫"

"♫ The sandwich man arrived, and daddy told him with a grin, my wife has taught me how to pay, so let the meal begin. ♫"

"♫ Then daddy dropped right to his knees upon the wooden floor and asked to see the heavy meat the man brought to the door. ♫"

"♫ The sandwich guy looked really shocked, but then he locked the room. And now I hear them wrestling with the banging and the boom. ♫"

"♫ Our family is so clever with the secret deals we make, but next time they get hungry, I just hope they buy a cake. ♫"

As night fell, it became harder to drive with only the car's headlights, so after entering a forest, Natsuo stopped the car and gave Kana a speechless look. "What the fuck is wrong with this song?!"

"What? It's funny." Kana shrugged her shoulders before asking, "Do you have a power bank?"

"Yeah." Natsuo took a power bank out of his Inventory and handed it to her before turning toward Ai. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah." Ai nodded with a smile. "Natsuo-san, you really are a good guy."

"Pff! Hahaha!" The moment she said that, Kana burst out laughing and pointed at him. "She gave you the good guy card!"

"..." Natsuo felt that replying would only lower his IQ, so he got out of the car and began setting up their campsite.

Before setting anything up, Natsuo checked the area for potentially dangerous animals, such as snakes and poisonous insects. Only after making sure the surroundings were safe did he light a fire and take out an electric lamp to illuminate the area around their campsite.

He then took out a barbecue grill, chairs, tents, a table, and plenty of other supplies.

His Inventory had a capacity of 500 cubic meters, giving Natsuo more than enough space to store practically everything he might need, including medicine, fuel, electronic devices, weapons, food, and countless other necessities.

"Shit, you really are prepared!" Kana stared at the scene with wide eyes. She looked down at the bag she was hugging and suddenly felt that, compared to him, she was far too unprepared. She had only brought a school bag with some basic supplies.

"Sit down. We're having a barbecue tonight. Let's celebrate Ai joining us!" Natsuo said as he began placing the steaks on the grill while preparing skewers of meat and vegetables.

His movements were incredibly fast and precise, flipping the steaks at exactly the right moment, adjusting their positions across the grill to control the heat, and threading the skewers as if he were a barbecue shop owner with thirty years of experience who had inherited the craft from his veteran grandfather who had served in the Vietnam War.

"I thought you were going to hunt some wild animals for food." Kana watched him cook with her chin resting on her hands, her elbows propped on her knees. She felt that he looked especially handsome when he was focused on something and working seriously.

"You've never hunted prey before, so you don't know that fresh meat doesn't taste very good and is difficult to chew," Natsuo said without turning around. "Meat isn't fish, after all."

Eating meat immediately after killing an animal isn't as delicious as movies and anime make it seem. Freshly killed meat is usually tough, and it needs time to rest and age for about a day before it becomes tender. After the animal dies, its muscles go through rigor mortis, causing them to stiffen. Over time, the muscles gradually relax as enzymes begin breaking down the tissue, which is why properly rested and aged meat is much more tender and flavorful.

"I didn't know that." Kana didn't try to argue with him this time. "Since when did you become such a good cook?"

"I bought a Cooking Skill from the Chat Group's shop." Natsuo flipped the grilled meat one last time before placing it onto plates. He then walked over and handed a plate to each of the two girls.

"It's delicious! Hmm~!" Ai took a small piece of meat and put it into her mouth. Her eyes widened as she savored the flavor, feeling as though she had been plunged into an ocean of rich brown sauce that stimulated all her senses.

"Natsuo, you're so good!"

"That's what she said." Kana didn't miss the chance and snickered.

As usual, Natsuo ignored her and pushed a drink and a plate of salad toward Ai. "Eat as much as you want. You don't have to worry about your weight."

"Why?" Ai asked.

"Because if I see that you're getting fat, I'll make you follow us on foot!" Natsuo replied with an evil grin.

"Ehh?! That's unfair!" Ai shouted. She felt as though she were facing an evil devil tempting her with delicious food, only to make her run tirelessly like a slave building the pyramids!

"Jokes aside, you have Martial Arts skills, so as long as you do some practice routines every morning, you should be fine." Natsuo chuckled and patted her head without even realizing it.

When he realized what he was doing, he calmly retracted his hand and started eating as if nothing had happened.

Ai lowered her head and blushed.

"..." The corner of Kana's eye twitched as she watched the scene.

"Meat is delicious! It's been such a long time since I've eaten meat this good." Ai closed her eyes and held her cheek with a blissful expression. "Things haven't been going well lately. I barely get to eat meat once a month. Maybe one day, my career will take off, and I'll be able to eat as much as I want."

Idols might look glamorous from a distance, but very few of them actually make it in the long run. Most are quickly forgotten, and even those who manage to stay in the industry often have to endure a difficult life. Ai was still young and incredibly cute, so she was bound to become famous eventually. Even if she couldn't make it as an idol, she would never have to worry about her future with the Chat Group.

"Who is there?!" Suddenly, Natsuo turned around and cast Icicle Break. Immediately, several large, sharp icicles shot through the trees behind him, tearing through the foliage as they flew toward whoever was hiding there.

A small shadow suddenly leaped high into the air from behind the trees and laughed.

"Ara~? I got discovered. Interesting!" From the person's voice, it was clear that she was a woman. Her voice was languid and flirty as she spun gracefully in midair before shooting straight toward them.

Worried that the two girls might get hurt, Natsuo decided to protect them first. He slammed his hand against the ground, and a huge wall of earth erupted from the ground, blocking the unknown woman from reaching them.

Without even looking back, he shouted, "You two stay here!"

"Natsuo, be careful!" Kana gripped her two guns tightly, biting her lip as she shouted.

"I will." Natsuo jumped over the massive earth wall and charged toward the unknown woman.

Bang!

"An Earth and Water mage... hmm~! I've never seen spells like these before. Who are you?" The woman crashed into the wall with her weapon, the impact making the massive barrier tremble and crack. However, she didn't continue attacking. Instead, she lowered her large halberd and rested it against the ground, staring at Natsuo with a look of interest.

"I should be the one asking you that question." Natsuo glared at her.

The girl standing before him looked even younger than he was. She wore a black dress decorated with red frills, black stockings held up by garters, and red boots. Her eyes were as red as the frills on her dress, while her long hair was styled in a hime cut.

The most amazing thing about her appearance, however, was the enormous halberd she was holding, which was nearly twice her height.

"Me?" The goth girl pointed at herself before speaking with a seductive smile and a languid tone.

"I am Rory Mercury, the Apostle of the great God of Darkness, Emroy."

...

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