A Bard's Tale

By Bubbajack

Beta/co-author: IcySnowSage

Disclaimer: We don't own Shit! We are in no way forced to say this due to the lawyers holding cease and desist papers in our faces.

Ch.2: Questing.

The reincarnator in this new world was awoken by a sudden knocking at his door. "Just a sec!" He hastily got dressed and answered the door. It was Yunyun, she was holding a black cat under one arm and the moment he answered the door, she held it out for him to see. "Izuku look! BB said I get a familiar due to being a Wizard!"

The bard smiled at seeing his first friend in this world being so happy. "You chose a cat huh? Cool, what's his name?"

"It's Mister Tibbles, yes it is," Yunyun cooed while rubbing her face against the cats who purred in response as if agreeing with the rubs of affection.

Izuku reached out and scratched the cat under his chin causing the purring to increase in fervor. "He's a good cat."

"Isn't he just?" Yunyun cooed before her cheeks turned rosy and she said, "Thank you for helping me up to my room last night."

Izuku just smiled. "It was no problem. You were out of it. Wanna go get breakfast before seeing what quests are available partner?"

The Archwizard nodded enthusiastically. "Sure!"

The two made their way downstairs and were met with hostile glares from all the waitresses and even some of the female adventures. It only took Izuku a moment to realize they were directed at him specifically and not both of them. He sighed and asked no one in particular. "Okay, what does everyone think I did? I mean seriously it's only been one night?"

"You monster!" One of the girls yelled, "You drugged Yunyun last night, took upstairs, and then you… you had your way with her."

"I/He did no such thing!" Izuku and Yunyun shouted at the same time. Yunyun continued. "Izuku has been nothing short of a gentleman. He was kind, he wanted me to join his party, he's been my first real friend, he… he…" Yunyun was tearing up unable to continue. She couldn't understand how these people thought someone as sweet as Izuku would take advantage of her. Izuku put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. she practically threw herself onto his shoulder as she cried her eyes out at not only her friend being accused of such a thing but these people thought she was so easily drugged and taken advantage of. She could only cry thinking about the pain she had caused indirectly to Izuku's reputation due to her reckless actions.

Izuku fixed Luna with a glare that caused the waitress to freeze as if the hangman's noose was around her neck almost ready to be pulled. "We'll be taking our meals for the low price of free today Luna-san."

"O-Of course," The blonde agreed, nodding rapidly breaking the illusion she felt and brought her back to reality. If only the other patrons would have been so lucky.. "Go sit down and I'll personally bring you whatever you'd like."

"We'll do that, thank you," He whispered into Yunyun's ear. "C'mon Yun-chan let's go sit down and order a huge breakfast yeah?"

The girl nodded mutely and allowed herself to be led to the same table in the corner as the other day. Only once he was sure she was situated and stopped crying herself hoarse, did Izuku sit down himself. Luna came bustling over notepad in hand, looking contrite. "I'm very sorry about that, but as I said the other day, Bards do not have a good reputation at all. Still, that doesn't give anyone here, the right to accuse you of rape!" She said this while raising her voice and glaring around the hall making the staff wince under her gaze.

"Thank you Luna-san," Izuku said smiling a little glad he had the guild receptionist in his corner.

"So what'll it be you two?" Luna asked.

Izuku didn't need to think too long, "If you've got any more steak, I'll have that with eggs over hard."

Luna giggled a little. "You really like steak huh?"

Izuku shrugged. "I grew up on an island nation, where beef, steak especially, was a delicacy. So yes, I'll enjoy it when and where I can," He turned to his partner. "Are you feeling better Yunyun? Do you want to order something?"

Luna leaned in smiling encouragingly. "Yeah, sweetie! It's all on the house today so order whatever you want."

"Tuna with a saucer of cream for Mister Tibbles," She replied, not looking up and motioning to her cat that was lounging on the end of the table, bathing itself. "As for me, I'll have what Izuku's having."

"Medium for both of your steaks?" They nodded and the guild receptionist walked off.

Izuku turned to his new friend and said gently, "Hey, is everything okay?"

"This is all my fault," Yunyun muttered. "I'm the reason people are treating you so badly," She said more to herself than him, "Maybe it would be best if I kept to myself. I only seem to bring bad luck to those I care about."

Izuku reached out and took her hand. "Don't blame yourself for other people's actions. I've had fun being with you so far and I think that's all that matters."

Yunyun found herself flushing as if the warmth from his hands spread throughout her body. "I… Well, I guess if that's what you think then I guess that's all that matters."

Their food arrived and the two ate heartily, along with Mr. Tibbles. Leaving nothing but slightly greasy bones behind after they'd had their fill, Izuku turned to Yunyun. "Okay, so how does this quest thing work exactly?"

As they walked over to the quest board, Yunyun explained, "We pick out a quest on the board. The number of skulls on the notes shows the difficulty. One skull is for novice, two skulls are for adept adventurers, three skulls are for journeyman, four are for veteran, and five are for master high-class adventurers."

"Well, I just started and you're level ten so…" Izuku mumbled to himself.

"We could probably handle an adept quest. I'd be doing most of the work though… Not that I mind at all!" She said quickly hoping she didn't insult her partner. "You've done so much for me lately that if I can help in any way, I'd be happy to do it."

Izuku shook his head, hands in his pocket. "I just don't like the idea of not pulling my own weight. It has nothing to do with the money, I've apparently got plenty of that."

Yunyun looked over the quests and plucked one. "Oh, how about this one?" She handed it to Izuku who looked it over.

"Giant Toad mating season?" He asked dubiously.

"Oh yes," Yunyun nodded. "They're known for eating goats in nearby farms and small children around this time of year."

Izuku blinked before he deadpanned. "Small… small children?"

Yunyun frowned. "Yes, a lot of small children die every year, unfortunately."

Izuku's green eyes became flinty, as he asked. "Just how many of these things do we need to kill to complete the quest?"

"Five? And they're worth five thousand Eris a head?" Yunyun replied nervously.

The green-haired boy shook his head, "Oh no-no-no… We'll be killing far more than that. In fact, we just be slaying the whole population if we have the chance to."

Yunyun gulped but nodded. Prompting a screen to pop up.

Quest: Slay five giant toads. 0/5

Reward: 200 EXP per toad.

Thus, the duo found themselves out on the grass plains outside of Axel. Now, when Yunyun said they were giant toads, Izuku was expecting something the size of a large dog. He was wrong. So very, very wrong. These toads were twice his size, made the ground shake every time they so much as hopped, and the males had blue skin while the females were bright pink. Loading his hand crossbow, Izuku took aim at the closest giant toad, shooting it in its hind leg. Instead of focusing on one toad, however, Izuku shot another toad, and then another. Each one he shot cried out in agony attracting the attention of the others. Hearing the wails of their kin enraged them and tried to stomp out or swallow the pest that dared trespass on their territory. Now that he had three of them following him he ran towards the lake calling over his shoulder as more and more toads followed the war croaks of rage. "Yunyun, when I give the signal, I want you to electrocute the lake okay?!"

"Wha?!" The archmage called back following in his wake as her partner jumped into the lake and began swimming towards the small island in the center, more than a dozen giant toads now trailing after him completely ignoring Yunyun, as if he were a worm on a lure and that was all they could see. Bloodstained the lake due to the wounds from the legs of the toads Izuku injured. Once Izuku was safely on dry land he hollered over, "Light 'em up!"

'You're a mad genius Izuku!' Yunyun thought as she cast a simple spell. "Lightning bolt!"

A mighty ball of blue lighting formed in her hands and then shot off towards the lake with sparks shooting off in every direction. When the bolt hit the lakes surface lightning arced across and spread throughout the entire lakebed, causing it to glow bright blue-white for a moment and the sound reminiscent of a bug zapper was heard. It was overwhelmed by the death croaks of a dozen toads as their bodies burned and blistered from the condensed heat and energy of the lighting bolt. Once it passed, a dozen giant toads floated to the surface of the lake, male and female both slightly burnt and charred showing how powerful the spell cast by Yunyun really was.

A prompt appeared in front of Yunyun and Izuku

Quest: Slay Five Giant Toads 12/5 Complete!

Reward: +1000EXP +1750 bonus EXP for extra kills.

"Well, that was easy… So how are we going to get all these toads back to the guildhall?" Izuku asked himself. Yunyun then put her hand to her chin and started to brainstorm along with Izuku for a solution to their recent obstacle.

The method Yunyun and Izuku ended up using was tying some logs together to form a raft and, having her use telekinesis to push the corpses onto the raft and then towards the shore. It was a slow, but functional process but eventually they managed to haul in their cargo. Izuku then used prestidigitation to shape the wood on the ends of the raft into wheels so they could get the corpses of the toads back to the guild.

The duo forced the doors open and everyone stared at them and the small mountain of giant toads behind them for a moment. Izuku turned to Luna. "Where do you want them Luna-san?"

The buxom blonde smiled. "The kitchens! We're all going to be dining on Toad legs for a good while it seems!"

"YEAH!" Everyone else in the guild cheered at the chance for something different to eat than beef.

Izuku turned to Yunyun. "Wanna pick up another quest? The day is young after all."

Yunyun nodded. "Sure. You pick out the quest this time."

"Okay." Izuku went over to the board and did some looking. "Oh here's one," He picked up the piece of paper. "Goblin infestation in a nearby barrow," Izuku started rubbing his chin, "Okay so we'll need a barrel of oil or an empty barrel that I can fill with grease."

"Quest: Clear out the barrow of goblins."

Reward: 50 exp per goblin. 30,000 Eris upon completion.

He turned back to Yunyun. "Hey, I've got a quest! Any idea where we can purchase a barrel full of oil or grease? We're gonna need it for this next one."

"Okay!" Yunyun called back.

Once again the two adventurers found themselves outside Axel's walls and heading northwest into hill country. Izuku was carrying a wooden cask full of oil on his back and Yunyun had taken point. "Izuku, what are you going to do with all that oil?"

"I'm fighting smarter, not harder Yunyun. It's a barrow meaning it's likely underground, so all we have to do is find the entrance, I'll poke a hole in the side of this thing, then we send it rolling in and one of us lights it. Then boom. After that, we head in and take care of the survivors."

Yunyun looked uneasy. She scrunched up the hem of her skirt for a moment before she said, "G-Goblins have been known to take people hostage for… breeding and food. How do we know they don't have hostages? I mean the reward was oftly high for a goblin clearing mission."

Izuku paused, scowling. "Can you send in Mr. Tibbles to scope the place out for up before we blow it sky high?"

The heiress of the demon clan nodded. "I can do that." She rubbed the ears of her familiar. "You can do that can't you Mr. Tibbles?"

"Hmm, you know it, darling," The cat purred out in response.

Neither Izuku nor Yunyun said anything for a moment, then they both shouted at the same time, "You can talk?!"

"Of course I can talk, you boobs! I'm a familiar, aren't I?" Tibbles swatted at Yunyun's head. "Do you have more breast fat where your brain should be? I'm your familiar you should know damn well I can talk!"

Yunyun teared up. "Mr. Tibbles is so mean to me!"

The cat licked its paw uncaringly from its spot on Yunyun's shoulder then looked at them showing off his blood-red eyes. "That's another thing, my name isn't Tibbles. It's D'Artagnan."

Izuku put the barrel down and marched up the smart-mouthed cat. "Well listen here little musketeer, if you don't start treating Yunyun better, I'm going to be making myself a new hat out of your pelt, got it?"

The cat's pupils widened until they took over almost all of his eye. While the cat knew the kid could be bluffing he dare not take his chances. After all, one does not live as long as he does by being risky. "Fine message received mon Capitan."

Izuku gave a curt nod. "Good, now once we get to the barrow, you're going down there and scoping things out, understood?"

"Viva la reconnaissance wei," The familiar replied while thinking to itself that at least they weren't asking him anything unreasonable.

Hefting the barrel back onto his back Izuku grunted. "Good, let's keep going, we should be there soon."

The barrow was a circular pit dug into the ground with some stone steps leading down into it. The door was torn off its hinges, and Izuku had no qualms about nudging the cat forward with his foot while he and Yunyun peeked over the edge with weapons drawn and spells at the ready.

The cat turned and glared at Izuku, "I'm going, I'm going, blast you." He turned towards his contractor. "You should be able to see through my eyes if you focus. That way, you'll be able to see what I see. Wish me luck."

"You're a black cat." Izuku muttered, "I'm pretty sure you're considered bad luck."

D'Artagnan didn't dignify that with a response as he walked on his cat's paws through the front door. He looked left then right noticing how the cave was barely lit and what torches were lit were dim and barely bright. Thankfully he could see in the dark. He walked further into this home of the goblins and the first thing he smelt was the iron tang of blood. The first thing he saw was a large stone table that had a mess of human body parts and blood strewn across its surface more than likely whatever humans they captured and saw no need to keep alive. 'Well if I had to guess, the goblins just finished dinner,' the cat thought as it stalked through the shadows. Hearing movement coming off from a door to its left, the familiar made its way through a doorless portal to see what lay within. He kept his body close to the earthen wall and made sure his steps were silent.

It was a mix of torture chamber and nursery room. Female adventurers some alive, some not hung chained to the walls, as the goblins forced themselves upon them, one of the poor women the familiar noticed had glassed over eyes as it gave birth to a goblin baby. The baby then immediately started to defile the mother as its desire to rape and feed overwhelmed its young body. The new mother did not even seem to respond as if the torches were lit but not a soul was home. 'I know you're seeing this mistress, and I'm going to strongly suggest….' D'Artagnan didn't finish as he tucked himself into the shadows, smelling more goblins approaching with their stench of piss, shit, blood, and semen.

It hid in the darkness and watched as they passed. 'I strongly suggest we burn this place to the ground! There is nothing left to save here! Look at their eyes! Grant these damned souls mercy or I shall live up to my name and free them from their suffering myself.' D'Artagnan looked into the eyes of the women, they looked like dark, lifeless pits of despair. 'We'd be doing them a favor. I am no saint but I would grant these poor souls mercy.'

Yunyun who was relaying everything back to Izuku and doing her best not to vomit or cry asked, "What do we do Izuku? I don't know what to do and I am starting to panic!"

The bard punched his fist into the dirt near the entrance and grit his teeth in anger causing his lip to bleed slightly. "I don't know. The hero in me wants to go in and save them but… if what D'Artagnan says is true, then there isn't anything to save but empty husks."

"What do you want to do Izuku?" Yunyun asked seriously, locking her crimson eyes with his green. "I'll back your play whatever it is."

Izuku screwed up his face in anger. "I'm going in. I want you to wait out here, and once you see me give D'Artagnan the signal, I want you to light the oil barrel from here."

"O-Okay, can you handle them all by yourself? Do you want me to come with you?" Yunyun offered.

The bard shook his head, "No I don't want to put you at risk. Not with goblins. You wait here. I got this."

Yunyun felt her face turning tomato red. "L-Let me do something to help you. Umm, I know a spell that could help. Flock of Familiars!" Seven ethereal spiked snakes with shimmering violet eyes slithered out of nowhere and coiled down on their bellies waiting for directions. Directions Yunyun was quick to give. "Follow Izuku, harass the goblins as much as you can. Kill them if able. Make their deaths slow."

"Yes~s Miss~stress!" They hissed as they slithered forward down the stairs. Izuku meanwhile, took out a dagger and stabbed it into the bottom of the barrel that was sideways on his back. "Right I'm going in. When I give the signal light the fuse"

"Be safe!" Yunyun called as he jogged down the steps rapier in hand. Yunyun prepared her nerves for what was to come as the beginning of howls started to echoed from the underground hell.

By the time Izuku had shoulder checked the door in, the vipers had already gotten to work biting and injecting the goblins with their dangerous venom. Many a goblin was already on the floor writhing in agony as they started to foam in the mouth or try to scream in agony. The venom serpents gave was not meant to kill at first but extend their pain as every nerve ending in their bodies ignited and tore nearby nerves causing more pain to spread throughout their bodies like ripples on a still lake. There was no resistance to be had as Izuku made his way to the torture chamber and using his dagger, began freeing the comatose women. He kicked all the goblins into a heap in the middle of the floor right next to the still leaking barrel of oil. Izuku made sure every goblin was now drenched in the growing puddle of oil.

Izuku set the prisoners one right after the other outside the entrance and after he got the last one outside he proceeded to check out the rest of the ruin. Seeing some logs set into the wall in the form of crude steps, Izuku made his way up them finding himself on an upper level with an iron door on his right. Kicking it in, he didn't find more goblins like he thought he would, but something else. Something much more sinister than any goblin.

An emaciated human corpse stood before him with its shoulders slumped and its eye sockets empty as time had eroded away its natural sight, clad in rusting iron armor, with a chipped sword resting in its hand the body stood sentinel over what Izuku realized may have been the treasure hoard of the goblins. Resting around the corpse were sacks of gold, weapons, and staves that looked newer than the corpse guarding them. Izuku saw many precious gemstones like sapphires and rubies mixed in with the gold. Other things to Izuku's horror seemed to "trophies" of conquest of teeth, fingers, and even a bloodied shield. Like they could've belonged to the previous party members but set up as tribute to this rotting corpse that only time kept it company anymore. 'Were the goblins worshiping this thing?' He wondered.

Suddenly an eerie blue light flickered to life in the corpses eyes and it began to move. Its shoulders straightened as it began to stand tall and proud as if some ancient pride returned to its body. The corpse looked across the room at the treasure and its face never changed but when its eyes laid upon Izuku its mouth started to move. A hoarse wail that could have been a roar if its innards were not dust resounded off the walls of the cave igniting the blood in Izuku's veins for the battle that was about to commence. It hefted up its sword in a stance not seen in this world for decades and struck the first blow. Izuku threw himself backward through the door as the rust edged blade came swinging for his head with sparks flying as it ricocheted off the wall and almost cut Izuku's hand. The would-be hero didn't bother with the stairs this time and just threw himself off the stairwell, landing in a roll. He looked up just in time to roll out of the way of this crazy zombie trying to land on top of him, sword blade first. For all its apparent stiffness and looks of decay, the corpse was quite nimble and was ready to fight to the death to protect what now Izuku realized was its hoard of treasure. He just managed to get out of the way in time, the ancient sword meeting stone with a metallic ting sending more sparks across the cavern and bringing light to the ill-lit cavern.

Now on his feet, Izuku draws a dagger into his left hand as the undead chased after him swinging its blade slightly clumsily as it did so. Seeing an opening, Izuku threw his dagger at it and the blade flew true, lodging itself into the creature's chest in one of the holes time had eaten into its armor. It stumbled back a step, then advanced with a growl loosening from its lips as it then grabbed the dagger and pulled it from its chest. The wound did not bleed or even show signs of harm as the undead scourge approached Izuku. The sword moved like a blur in its hands, and Izuku ducked dodged and weaved as best he could to avoid the oncoming assault. When he saw sparks fly from the blade as it struck the stone floor for what felt the thousandth time in this tomb, he suddenly got an idea. He kept backing up avoiding blows and poking at the zombie's defenses when and where he could try to guide the undead warrior to its future destruction.

"Izuku," BB suddenly spoke up.

"Not now BB! I'm kinda busy at the moment!" Izuku replied as he ducked under a sweeping blow.

"Did you forget you could use magic?" The AI reminded him.

Izuku rolled between the zombie's legs, "As a matter of fact I did. Thunder Wave!" A wave of pure force burst out from Izuku releasing a thunderous boom as it echoed in the room. The undead was sent flying backward and smacked into a wall causing a human-shaped indent as the walls slightly shook from the force of the collision. Sadly this barely distracted the undead as its body seemed to almost bounce off and out of its small crater, before coming to a rest next to the oil barrel. Seeing his chance, Izuku took it even as BB yelled at him to stop. He pointed at the barrel. "Spark! Mage Armor!"

It was a cantrip meant for lighting candles, but that was all it took. Seconds later a ball of fire engulfed the whole room, and the armor of force enveloped the bard just in time to protect him from the heat but it still hurt like hell when he cracked the back of his head against the stone wall. He soon felt his vision growing dark as the Draugr writhed in the flames as if it hell itself was calling to get its pay and taking its toll…

"...Zuku!" He heard a voice calling his name.

He didn't want to get up. He wanted to sleep.

"Izuku! Please wake up!" the voice cried out urgently.

It sounded like a girl, and she sounded sad. Not wanting her to be sad because of him, Izuku opened his eyes and groaned. His vision was blurry for a moment before it cleared and he saw Yunyun looming above him, with tears softly falling from her crimson eyes even as she smiled down at him in pure satisfaction.

"Thank goodness you're alright!" She said smiling. "I was so worried."

"The… zombie, did I get em?" Izuku mumbled, his head hurt.

Yunyun laughed, "That wasn't a zombie, that was a Draugr Captain Izuku! It should've wiped the floor with you but… yeah, you got him."

Izuku smiled and gave a thumbs up. "Got em all." Then he started laughing and soon enough Yunyun joined in. Once they both calmed down Izuku sat up, causing his head to swim. He quickly realized he'd been using Yunyun's lap as a pillow. Yet he ignored it for the moment to retain his composure and ask, "Are the girls okay?"

"They're okay as they can be, after being held captive by goblins for a week. I was alerted that some of the members were more than likely eaten while the ones you saved are barely able to talk let alone communicate," Yunyun hedged as she helped her partner to his feet, where he swayed a little drunkenly.

"Their… their things are in the room upstairs," Izuku said as he stumbled towards the stairs. "We should go collect them."

Yunyun put a hand on Izuku's shoulder in an almost vice-like iron grip. "You stay here with D'Artagnan Izuku, I'll go collect everything okay? You're in no shape to be climbing stairs at the moment."

Slumping shoulder first against the wall, the bard was forced to admit, "You may have a point."

"You think?" Yunyun replied with a little laugh as she set him back first against the wall doing what she could to make him comfortable before saying, "Wait right here, I'll be right back and then I'll use my gate spell to get us all back into town so we don't have to walk okay?"

Izuku nodded and rested his eyes while Yunyun made her way upstairs. Before he knew it, he was being gently shaken awake by his partner. "Don't fall asleep, not when you have a concussion."

"Sorry, and thanks," Izuku said, doing his best to force himself to his feet. He didn't way as much now but he still didn't feel great. Izuku shook his head and spoke, "We should leave soon."

"I'm on it!" Yunyun replied, she all but sprinted towards the entrance leaving Izuku to look at the aftermath of his hair-brained scheme. In the center of the room was a giant black scorch mark with an identical one marring the ceiling, with the corner of the stone table blasted away. The Draugr Captain's charred corpse was flung into the far corner where only the small bits protected by its armor remained, the goblin bodies were nowhere probably burned away by the inferno, and despite how crummy he was feeling, he managed a satisfied smile.

Yunyun returned shortly after, leading a trio of women by the hand like they were small children. She did her best to smile but Izuku could see in her eyes that behind her smile that she too was disturbed by what happened here. The women looked like dolls with how vacant and unmoving their expressions were. It reminded Izuku of people stuck in a dream and never wanted to awake to the world "Ready to go?"

The Demon Clan heiress nodded. "Yeah, open Gate!"

A swirling blue vortex opened in the air before them and Yunyun ushered the girls through it, with Izuku and herself taking up the rear. All were happy to be rid of this nightmarish place.

Izuku laid down on his bed with a sigh. 'Today was filled with a bit too much adventure for my taste,' He thought to himself as his head throbbed with a dull ache.

"Izu-tan acted very, very stupid earlier," BB said clearly not happy with him at the moment.

The boy grumbled. "I got the job done, isn't that the important part?"

"Not when you almost die again in the process stupid boy!" the artificial goddess rebutted harshly. "BB clearly cannot trust you to be by yourself. It seems I must take matters into my own hands!"

Izuku raised a finger and rebutted. "I have Yunyun you know? She got me back here safe and sound."

"Yes, the little trollop almost let you blow yourself up! No, BB needs to handle this clearly. Accessing Mooncell records for compatible spirit."

Izuku sat up, confused. "What's the Mooncell?" Izuku noticed the moonlight outside of his window was getting steadily brighter as BB kept talking about things he didn't understand.

"Opening transdimensional pathway… accessing Throne of Heroes… Hmm, now who to give my precious little kouhai… A Berserker? No, they might kill you on accident. Casters are too squishy… A Lancer? Maybe. Still, you need a tank for your party don't you kouhai? Then maybe Berserker would be the best choice after all… Nonono! It would be for the best if I just went with Saber! Fufufu! It just so happens I know someone who'll fit right in!"

The light from the moon got unbearably bright blinding Izuku. When the bright flash of white cleared, standing in Izuku's room was a beautiful petite buxom blonde woman with glowing peridot eyes. She was standing there in a crimson gown with billowing sleeves that were trimmed in white lace, the front of which consisted of sheer red silk that he could see through and showed off her panties. In her left hand was a curving jagged crimson sword that was longer than she was tall. She stood in high heeled brass leggings of all things and she had an air of regality about her, like a lioness clad in roses.

To say Izuku was stunned by both her sudden appearance and her beauty would be an understatement. "Who are you?"

"Umu! I am the greatest of all Servant classes so obviously, I am none other than Saber! Umu!" The woman said with dramatic flair. "That clearly makes you the lucky one allowed to be this one's Praetor!"

"Praetor, huh?" Izuku was confused at the term he hadn't heard before. "Um Saber-san I'm sorry but I don't really know what's going on?"

The busty woman folded her arms and nodded. "Umm, I see. Confused, are we? No doubt because you are in my glorious presence! Worry not for I, Saber! Shall enlighten you, praetor!" She pointed at him, "You are Praetor," she pointed at herself, "I am the great N… Saber! And together you and I are to fight in the Holy Grail War for the Moon Cell!"

"There is no Holy Grail War Saber-chan," BB's voice cut in.

Saber deflated like a balloon who had its air slowly let out. "Eh! BB is that you?!" Saber looked around, "Where are you, you little imp!"

BB chuckled. "Fufufu, Saber-chan says the nicest things, but no. No Grail War. I summoned you because my kouhai keeps getting into trouble and needs watching after."

"Ehh!?" Saber looked confused, "You can do that?!"

"But of course," BB drawled, "I am the goddess of the Mooncell after all."

Saber huffed, causing her hanging loose strand of hair to wiggle. She motioned to Izuku, "I see, and what is his relation to you in all of this?"

The virtual goddess was quick to elaborate. "My kouhai and I are… stuck together. He is my container, and I keep him alive. Ours is a symbiotic relationship. "

Saber nodded. "I see," Her green eyes became melancholic. "It reminds me of myself and Seneca after a fashion."

"Yep, yep, so Saber, will you help me look after this troublesome boy?" BB asked faux-pep in her tone though she already knew the answer.

"Very well, I'm curious about this place I find myself in. The mana is thick in the air much like back when I was alive," Saber mused. She proceeded to look around the room and nodded. "These are fine enough accommodations I suppose, and since there is no grail war, I see no point in not telling you my name I suppose…" Saber trailed off nervously at the end, glancing back and forth towards Izuku and the ground.

The bard, for his part, was confused. "What's wrong Saber-san?"

Saber cleared her throat awkwardly. "My name has many negative connotations attached to it. Please do not think too harshly of me till you let me explain!"

Izuku nodded and tapped his bed inviting the Servant as she called herself to sit down, which she did thus making her skirt hike up and confirm to Izuku that she was indeed wearing white panties. She took a breath and turned to face him, peridot eyes determined, "I am Emperor Nero Caesar Claudius Augustus Germanicus!"

Izuku blinked. "Who?"

"The last Emperor of Rome… The Whore of Babylon?!" She said when she saw the boy she was to guard just didn't seem to know who she was at all.

"That last one… it has something to do with Western Religion right?" Izuku said while racking his brain.

Now it was Nero's turn to blink. "You… you truly have no idea who I am? Nothing about my history and how I am known by… most people?"

Izuku rubbed his head bashfully. "Well, before I died it was the year 362 DC, and for about a hundred years, a lot of things were forgotten and or lost when something monumental and world-changing happened. See, these things called Quirks that gave people special powers started popping up, and a lot of historical things like monuments, documents, and history got destroyed and forgotten. They call that time period the Dark Century."

Nero slowly digested this and smiled. This boy whose name she still didn't know, knew absolutely nothing of her past, good or ill. She could start over, with no stigma looming over her head as the Whore of Babylon. She could finally try again. "So what was your name Praetor?"

The boy bowed politely. "Midoriya Izuku, nice to meet you Nero-san."

"You as well Praetor Izuku, so what can you tell me about this world I find my magnificent self in?"

The two talked long into the night, and come morning Izuku was tired but happy, and pretty sure he'd made a new friend. He couldn't wait to introduce her to Yunyun.

"Where did you find her exactly?" Yunyun asked, releasing a long-suffering sigh as Nero had jumped upon the table they usually sat upon and declared her greatness to all.

"This one is Emperor Nero Claudius Augustus Germanicus and she is the greatest warrior, artist, and singer this land shall ever know! Umu! Be grateful, for I shall allow you to bask in my magnificence even if for but a moment."

"Nero, get off the table, they can all see your panties," Izuku said with a sigh, a blush on his face.

Nero smiled down at him confidently and corrected. "It is not that they can see my panties, it is that the glory of my panties are allowed to be seen, Praetor."

Izuku decided if she was okay showing off, well who was he to stop her? So he answered Yunyun. "I didn't find her. BB summoned her to be my protector because she seems to think I'm too reckless."

"Ah. Yeah, that makes sense," Yunyun said, nodding.

Izuku was thrown for a loop. "You think I'm reckless too? I thought BB was just being overprotective or paranoid."

"While you did beat the Draugr Captain, single-handedly which was amazing, don't get me wrong," Yunyun quickly hedged, "You gave yourself a concussion to do it," She sniffled a bit, "I thought I'd lost the first friend I'd ever really had and I was so scared."

Now Izuku felt like crap for worrying a nice girl like Yunyun. "Sorry I didn't mean to do that. I was just put in a bad situation and I didn't even expect the Draugr to even be there. We were supposed to be dealing with goblins after all. So when he woke up I had to improvise and fast."

Yunyun nodded. She understood what he meant. "True. So what are our plans for now?"

"Honestly, I think we should take it easy for at least a week," Izuku said, sighing and leaning back with his hands folded behind his head as he gazed at the ceiling of the guildhall. "I almost died on that last quest and I'd like to not repeat that for a bit."

Yunyun was in full agreement. "That's fine. What do you want to do in the meantime?"

Izuku glanced at Nero who had yet to get down from the table. He whistled, getting her attention. "Would you like a tour of Axel, Nero?"

The petite woman hopped down from the table exuberantly. "Umu! Yes, let us go forth and spread my glorious self with others! Umu!"

The trio walked the streets of Axel with Nero getting a lot of appreciative looks from the men due to her revealing attire. Izuku felt an odd protective feeling every time some random stranger leered at Nero, however, Izuku realized that Nero could protect herself so he let it go. Izuku led the trio to Wiz' quaint little shop, hoping they would like it as much as he did. Izuku held the door open for the other two, getting thankful smiles in response. Yunyun and Nero 'ooh'd' and 'awed' at the various wares present, Yunyun more than Nero, with the Archwizard going through items like a kid in a candy store saying, "These are some high-level items! What's she doing selling them here in Axel? No one here could possibly use them. Plus I'm fairly certain some of this gear might be cursed."

"R-really?" Wiz' voice came from the back of her shop. She was surprised since no one told her how she might not be able to sell these wares due to price. The curses she already knew about.

Izuku called out. "Hello, Wiz! It's me Izuku, do you remember me?"

"Oh of course!" Wiz poked her head out of the backroom and smiled at the helpful young boy who entered her shop. "Hello again!" She gave him a once over, "I see you managed to get outfitted properly by the blacksmith."

Izuku nodded. "Yes, you said next time I stopped by you'd make tea. Is now a good time and do you have enough for my friends Yunyun and Nero as well?"

Wiz quickly dashed into the back room, with a quickly muttered "Of course!"

"You don't need to inconvenience yourself any! Not on our account!" Izuku called out.

The brunette smiled at him warmly. "It's no trouble Izuku~Oh!" Wiz tripped and fell on her butt. Prompting the bounty hunter to sigh a bit.

"I think I'll give you a hand after all if that's okay?" Izuku kindly suggested as he made his way over to help Wiz up.

The busty wizard graciously accepted his help. "Well if you don't mind brewing the tea, I'll finish the pie I was baking."

Izuku was quick to nod. "Sure."

Izuku found himself in the back of Wiz's shop for the second time watching a metal kettle as it boiled over an open flame. He then added a handful of tea leaves and allowed his nose to tell him that Wiz had a very good smelling apple pie in her oven. He glanced over at the shop owner who was gingerly taking the still warm pie out of her oven. She smiled warmly at Izuku. "How's the tea coming along?"

Izuku glanced into the kettle. "Almost done."

Wiz began slicing the still-warm pie and placed large slices onto pewter plates. She handed one to Izuku, "Here you go."

"Thanks, Wiz, this smells great!"

The former adventurer smiled warmly. "Thank you Izuku, I hope you like it. I don't usually have the money to buy ingredients to bake with, but I've been told I'm good at it."

Izuku collected some cups and divided up the tea to the waiting Nero and Yunyun while saving a glass full for Wiz and himself. Passing everyone their portion, Izuku and the others all tried a bite of the pie at the same time.

"UMU! Is this the ambrosia of the Gods?!" Nero praised as she kept spooning forkfuls of pie into her mouth. "Praetor, is she a Lares? One of the goddesses of the kitchen, or perhaps Vesta or Juno in disguise?"

"I don't think so Nero, but I agree, this is very good pie Wiz-san," Izuku complimented.

"Pho goo!" Yunyun praised through a mouth full of food as tears of joy fell from her eyes at the pure delicious divinity she was eating.

Wiz smiled bashfully. "Thank you, everyone, I'm glad you like my cooking."

Nero continued her praise. "Umu, if you had been a chef back when my empire still stood, you'd have had a kitchen worthy of a goddess! Any and all ingredients would've been at your disposal! It's a shame you're not cooking fulltime."

"Yeah you've got a talent for baking Wiz," Izuku told her, "Also no offense, but your shop doesn't seem to be doing too well."

Yunyun had just finished licking her plate and piped up. "Yeah, all the stuff you have in here is either cursed or too high level to be of any use in Axel. It's a town for beginner adventurers."

Wiz frowned. "Is that so?" This surprised Yunyun as this should have been common knowledge since Axel is known as the town of Beginnings with its high rate of new adventures.

Yunyun nodded. "Unfortunately yes. You'd be lucky to sell any of it here," The princess of the Crimson Demon Clan glanced at her partner who was grinning devilishly himself. "Izuku?"

Izuku was stroking his nonexistent beard when he asked, "Yunyun, tell me… can items be broken down for parts to be resold?"

Yunyun slowly nodded. "Yes, why do you ask?"

Izuku continued, "Does the local smith offer this service?" Again, Yunyun nodded. Izuku glanced at the overstocked shelves full of magical items. He had a plan. He turned to Wiz. "Wiz do you think you can trust me for a little bit? I think I've got a way you can make some money off these cursed over-leveled items, but for it to work I'll need to take some of them. If this works like I think it will, not only will you be able to get rid of all of this stuff," Izuku gestured at all the stuff that wasn't selling and just sitting languishing in her shop, "But you'd have more than enough money to start a restaurant if you wanted to."

Wiz clasped her hands in front of her bountiful chest, her singular brown eye was filled with hope that she wouldn't have to live off of sugar and water. "Really Izuku? Do you mean it?"

The curly-haired boy nodded. "I'll do the best I can but if it works the way I think it will, you should have plenty of money."

Wiz was silent for a moment before she nodded. "Alright," She motioned to a shelf off to her left. "Take anything off that shelf, it should go for quite a bit."

Izuku picked up a golden locket with a snake made out of emeralds on the front, a convex round shield that looked to be made out of tarnished brass, and a gem that was shaped in a five-pointed star. "Right we'll start out with these," Izuku glanced at his companions, "You coming or do you want to stay here and help Wiz-san sort things?"

"Umu! I'll stay behind and help with sorting! I have an eye for art after all Umu!" Nero replied as she then grabbed Wiz and took her to the nearest shelf to sort out the goods.

"I-I'll come with you!" Yunyun replied quickly, getting to her feet and following him out the door.

Smith Black looked up from his counter, having just finished forging a custom order for Mitsurugi Kyouya, Axel's Ace adventurer, when he saw the newbie walk into his shop along with the one he heard rumors about, the girl called the 'Solo Hunting Rookie Super Archwizard'. He grinned. 'Did she finally manage to form a party? Good for her.' Smith leaned on the counter with one meaty arm. "Hey kid, back again huh?"

"Yes, Black-san…" Izuku placed his magical items on the counter. "I've got a proposition for you."

Smith crossed his arms and smirked while looking over the clearly high-quality magic items. "Oh really now? I'm listening, kid."

"I'd like you to break these items down, and then I'd like to sell you their crafting ingredients, ingredients which can probably be used by someone like you to make some fantastic gear right?" Izuku said with a knowing grin on his freckle spattered face.

The blacksmith burst out laughing. "You're one smart cookie kid. Yeah, alright, I'll deal with ya, but I got a few questions and conditions first."

"Go ahead," Izuku said.

Hands-on his hips and shaking his head, Smith asked, "Firstly how'd you convince Wiz to part with her items eh? These clearly came from her shop and I've been telling her for a while now that her shop was a money pit but she just wouldn't listen to me."

Izuku smiled a bit. "I just convinced her she's a better chef than she is a salesperson which is true by the way, have you had her pie?"

"Pie," Yunyun said dreamily, a bit of drool trailing down her chin.

Smith shook his head. "I have not, but I really want to now. Secondly how much do you want for these materials?"

Izuku took the fact that these were high-end materials used to create high-level items, as well as the fact that this was a beginner town. "Does six percent per material sound good?"

Smith grinned. "Why six?"

"Finder and deliverer fee Smith-san," Izuku replied with cherubic innocence. "Besides it would be a shame if a certain secret of yours got out wouldn't it?"

"Grab me by the balls why don'cha kid?"

Izuku shook his head. "No thanks but if you're really into that kind of thing, I think I know a guy down by the docks who swings that way. He was giving off vibes at the very least."

"Go soak your head," Smith shot back with a smirk. "Alright, six percent it is." He then added while pushing a cloth-wrapped bundle towards the boy. "Additionally I need you to deliver this to the town ace, Mitsurugi Kyouya. Think of it like a show of goodwill yeah?"

Izuku picked up the bundle. It felt light like there was cloth in it. "Okay, where is he?"

"Check the guild first, if he isn't there, then he'll likely be at the Gold Goblet Inn. It's one of the fancier inns in town."

"Okay," Izuku left the items he'd taken from Wiz' store on the counter. "I'll go do that while you break those down."

Smith gave a brisk jerk of his head. "I should be done by the time you get back."

"Yunyun?"

"Y-Yes?" The Crimson Demon Heiress asked, almost jumping upon being addressed.

"Do you want to come with me, wait here, or go back to Wiz shop?" Izuku asked, the package tucked under his arm.

Eyes aglow with excitement, Yunyun replied, "I'll come with if it's all the same to you, I'd like to meet this Ace of Axel."

"Right let's get going then," The bard said, opening the door for his partner as they headed back to the guild.

"Mitsurugi Kyouya?" Luna said, her finger tapping against her chin in thought. "No, he hasn't been around lately Izuku. He went out on a quest to slay some Lizard Men and hasn't been back in a couple of days yet, sorry."

"That's fine Miss Luna, thank you," Izuku said with a bow, "I've just been asked to deliver a package to him by the local blacksmith is all."

"Ohh," Luna cooed. "You're so sweet and helpful Izuku," Luna playfully pulled at his cheek. "Such a good boy," She sent him a flirtatious wink, "Women like that in a man you know?" She then held her hands out, "You can leave the package with me and I'll be sure Mitsurugi gets it okay?"

"Really? Thanks, Luna-san," Izuku said with a grin while handing over the package that while large Luna seemed to carry the object with ease.

"No problem sweetie, anytime," Luna said, giving him a smile over her shoulder as she walked off.

The two left the guild and Yunyun glanced at her partner. Then back forward, before back at him again. It took a moment for Izuku to notice but once he did, he asked, "Is everything okay Yunyun?"

"It's nothing," She said with a quick shake of her head, her cheeks flushing, "Nothing that's any of my business anyway."

Izuku stopped walking and looked at her, asking point-blank, "Are you sure everything is okay, Yunyun?"

"Y-You did know Miss Luna was f-flirting with you back there r-right? I-I'm sorry! It's really none of my business!" She apologized quickly before she tried rushing ahead only for Izuku to place a hand on her shoulder stopping her dead, she turned to face her partner.

"S-She w-was?! I… I had no idea. W-what do I do?! How do I respond to this? Should I just ignore it or would that be considered…" He trailed off into a fit of mumbled nonsense.

"Oh my goodness… that is… so cute!" Yunyun squeed after a moment.

Izuku blinked. "Cute? I've been told it was annoying and creepy sometimes, but it's never been called cute."

Yunyun was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, eyes aglow in giddiness. "Yeah, well I thought it was cute."

"Thank you?" Izuku said while cocking his head to the side as if unsure whether he should be offended or not.

"You're welcome," She suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him along, "C'mon we should get back to the blacksmiths," Yunyun said, not wanting to talk about Luna's attraction to him for some reason it made her heart constrict and acid fill her belly and she didn't know why.

The tinkle of a bell announced their return to Smith Black's shop. They arrived to see him working at his smelter with what the two assumed was the metal of the shield being broken down into metal ingots while the leather strap and gems that made up the crystal were sitting on his counter.

Smith glanced up when he heard his doorbell jingle. "Back sooner than expected. Did everything go okay?"

"Miss Luna at the guild said she'd make sure Mitsurugi Kyouya got his package," Izuku informed the smith.

"Good, good, Luna's a dependable ole gal," Smith replied.

'But she's not that old,' Izuku thought to himself. 'She's also very pretty,' He cleared his throat. "Anyway, how much are we looking at here?"

He pointed at the gem shards. "Those are grand Enchanter Shards, worth half a million Eris a piece, and you've got eight of them here. So you're looking at two hundred forty thousand Eris here."

"Cool and the locket?"

"It's a cursed item meant to make a person feel like crap when they wear it, but it'll also save them from death if they die. Kinda like a lich's phylactery. So I pried the emeralds out and melted down the gold. You've got eight hundred twenty-eight Eris coming from the emeralds and quite a bit coming from the gold. Now as for the metal that shield was made of… that was Deep Metal from the Dwarves. That'll net you fifteen hundred Eris. For a grand total of two hundred forty-two thousand three hundred twenty-eight Eris."

Izuku nodded smiling and holding out his hand. "Alright, it's a start. I can bring more things over today if you'd like? As soon as you pay me of course."

Smith smirked. "You're a smart kid, I like that about you." Smith sighed, "Unfortunately I don't have that much money on me at the moment."

Izuku's eyes narrowed. "You could've mentioned as much in the first place."

Smith held up his hands defensively. "Easy kid, easy, I'm good for it all I promise. Just go to the market tomorrow and tell em' to put it on my tab alright? They all know I'm busy here a lot and also know I'm good for whatever I send people for."

Izuku nodded slowly, deciding to take the man at his word. "Alright. I mean, if it doesn't pan out, I always know where to find you, or your brother."

The blacksmith shuddered at the bounty hunters' words. He's heard the rumors from his brother Griff about the kid, how he was a hardened Bard of the darker persuasion. He didn't believe it as some people were all bluster and no bite… till now, that is. The way he talked just then, so casually sent a shiver of fear down his spine. He nodded briskly. "Don't worry kid, I'm good for it I swear."

"I'm sure it will Smith-san," Izuku bowed respectfully, "I hope we continue to have a mutually beneficial business arrangement," He turned to Yunyun. "Let's go, partner. We've got food to get for a restaurant."

Yunyun held her tongue while she and Izuku were at the market, not wanting to make a scene in front of everyone there and cause a disturbance, but now that they were heading back to Wiz' store, their arms full of packages and baskets full of eggs and bread, she reached out and grabbed his cloak, causing him to stop and turn to her questioningly. "Yunyun is something wrong?"

Screwing up her courage she cried out, "Y-Yes! Why did you threaten the blacksmith? He didn't deserve that! He didn't do anything wrong, you didn't need to scare him like that."

Izuku looked surprised. "Did I really scare him? I wasn't trying to do that. I just meant it wouldn't be hard to find him since we can always ask his brother where he might be if we couldn't find him for some reason… I mean the guy practically lives at the guild from what I've seen."

"Ohh~ that's what Izuku meant! Hahaha, you were scary for a moment there!" Yunyun said laughing while rubbing the back of her head. "I'm glad it was all just a misunderstanding though. Izuku doesn't seem like the type to rough people up for no good reason."

The wanna-be hero shook his head. "No not me."

"I thought it was kinda hot personally," BB chimed in.

'BB there you are, where have you been?' Izuku asked.

"Setting up this," the Artificial Goddess replied. She sounded quite proud of herself.

"Quest: Help Wiz turn her failing Item shop into a restaurant."

Pt.I: Find a way to get rid of her inventory +100 EXP

Complete!

: Buy Foodstuffs +125 EXP

Complete!

Pt. III

Buy cooking supplies +150 EXP

Izuku blinked as he looked at the screen. "Well, I guess we need to go buy cooking supplies now?"

Yunyun nodded. "Looks like it," She continued, "I think we should drop all of this off at her store first before we go out for more things though."

Izuku nodded. "Yeah."

They returned to Wiz' shop to find it a total mess… well, more of a hurricane type mess than the cluttered mess it usually was. Items both valuable and cursed were scattered about all over the floor and the small table Wiz kept for guests. Standing amidst the chaos like a commanding general was Nero her hands on her hips as she cast her gaze impiously about the carnage.

"That one there!" Nero said pointing at a staff that was in the shape of a giant rose. "It'll be worth quite a bit. I feel it is of high quality."

"Umm, what's going on in here?" Izuku asked, stepping carefully over objects lest they be cursed.

"Ah, Praetor, you've returned!" Nero said a smile on her face upon seeing him. "Umu this is good!" She said nodding to herself. "Wiz and I were just going over the choicest bits of her inventory. With my impeccable eye for art, it was easy for me to separate the wheat from the chaff, umu!"

"Great job Nero," Izuku praised, causing her to posture happily. "We just stopped by to drop off food, we're about to go out and pick up cookware."

Nero crossed her arms and nodded. "Umu! This Nero Claudius will accompany you, for naturally, only the best quality items will do," She turned to Wiz. "While we are gone Vesta, get this place ready for renovation!"

Wiz looked around her now messy shop with a small pile of goods on one side and everything else spread across the floor haphazardly. She sighed exhausted just from imagining the task ahead of her, "Yes ma'am."

It didn't matter because Nero was already gone with Izuku and Yunyun in tow.

"Nonono! We simply must have the finest silver for the new dining establishment!" Nero argued with the wears merchant, a rotund man in a garish purple and yellow striped outfit with a ruff around his neck who was supposed to be delivering his wears to the royal castle in Belzerg. In the end, however, he couldn't say no to Emperor Nero's charisma, and before he knew it, he ended up parting with his wears for a pittance of just a few Eris.

"Umu!" Nero said, nodding. "All is going well. Soon we shall have Wiz' shop up and running. Umu."

" : Buy tableware Complete!" +150 EXP

"Pt V: Find a large oven." +175 EXP

Izuku blinked at the next quest objective. "Aren't these quests going in reverse order of importance? Shouldn't we have gotten the oven first and then got the cutlery, then got the food?"

"I'm new at this kouhai so work with me here," BB complained while trying to implement more quest parameters while also looking into a side project for herself.

'Sorry sorry,' Izuku replied contritely. He turned to Yunyun and Nero. "Where are we going to find a large oven?"

"I… might be able to help with that," Yunyun replied unsure.

Nero and Izuku looked at the Demon Clan heiress. "How?" They said in stereo.

Now back at Wiz shop in the back room, Yunyun explained. "Though I specialize in lightning magic, I do know some simple earth spells like shape earth. If Wiz wants a stone oven, then I've got plenty to work with right here." She stomped on the boards beneath their feet. "I just need to make a square hole in the floorboards," She looked at Wiz, "Is that okay?"

Wiz opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, Nero had cut a wide square five by five-hole in the floor and cut a two by two-hole in the roof for the oven's chimney with her crimson sword. She then nodded, happy with herself. "Umu, there it is done, proceed Yunyun."

"Thank you?" Yunyun replied. She then cleared her throat and incanted. "Shape Earth! Transmute Earth to Stone"

The earth beneath the shop rose up and formed itself into a beautiful large and deep brick oven that then solidified and hardened into the brick it was once imitating. It's chimney poking out of the hole in the roof. The only thing it was lacking was doors to keep the heat in, and something to provide said heat in the first place. Izuku with Yunyun using shape earth again was able to jury rig some to fit.

"Pt.V: Find a large oven. Complete! +175 EXP!"

"Pt. VI: Find a fuel source for the oven +200 EXP."

Izuku wanted to sigh, but this quest was pretty easy and it was giving basically free experience and he was able to help out a friend so he held back. Even though he was basically just doing a bunch of busywork. He turned to Wiz asking who was fretting about how Nero tore up her precious shop, "Do you have anything in here that you can burn? Like chemical ingredients?"

Wiz being snapped out of her mild panic clapped her hands and smiled. "That's a great idea Izuku! I can create an oil potion and use that to cook with! I've got plenty of ingredients here so I'm plenty stocked already."

Izuku smiled. "Happy to help, could you, by chance teach me the alchemy skill?"

Wiz bounced up to him with certain parts of her anatomy actually bouncing. She was so happy someone actually saw a purpose for her that she could provide "Of course. Observe."

He watched as Wiz gathered ingredients, a mortar and pestle, and alembic, retort, calcinator, and began mixing ingredients together as she explained. "Starting out, you'll need to either buy books on alchemy, learn through creating potions, or if worse comes to worst, use the art of wortcraft which is eating the ingredients and seeing what they do." As she said this she crushed various plants with her pestle in her mortar. She then transferred them to retort where the mash was allowed to boil down. "A retort allows you to sus out the magical properties of plants more than just crushing them in a mortar would." After a time, she poured the bubbling concoction into her small iron calcinator and added water and she cooked them down, explaining. "Using a calcinator can be used to extend all effects of potions good or bad." She then collected the liquid mess with a simple levitation spell and transferred it into her Alembic, where it began to heat up and refine even more, "Using an alembic, you can remove the negative effects from potions. It's not all that useful for poisons though." Shortly afterward she filled five small vials with an oily substance and sealed each one with a wax stopper before smiling at Izuku, "There, and that's how it's done."

Izuku reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his adventurer card. Sure enough, an Alchemy skill was now present there. He tapped it then tapped the side profile of a head on a guess. It was like a thousand lightbulb moments going off in his head at once. Suddenly knowing alchemy was just encoded into his very DNA. "Woah that was weird."

"Was that your first time using the skill gain feature of your adventurer card?" Yunyun asked.

Izuku nodded slowly, dazed. "Yeah, it was… weird. It felt weird."

"You get used to it," Yunyun told him. Patting him gently on the back.

" : Find a fuel source for the oven Complete! +200 EXP!

"Pt. VII: Spread the word about the restaurant's impending opening. +250 EXP. Tell five people 1/5 told.

"Ah, I mentioned this to the blacksmith so that's why we've got one already," Izuku noted. He turned to Yunyun and Nero. "I've got a plan, let's head back to the guildhall. We need to get Nero registered there anyway."

The girls nodded. Izuku turned to Wiz who looked so happy. "Wiz, we're going to spread the word about your new shop at the guild, how soon do you think you'll be ready to open?"

The woman tapped her finger on her chin, "In a day or so with all the work the three of you have done for me today," She bowed to them causing more of her to jiggle, "Thank you all so very much, I, unfortunately, don't have much to pay you with."

"Just keep us a table in reserve and we'll call it even," Izuku replied.

"Umu! Agreed that would be more than enough reward," Nero added, nodding imperiously.

"Yeah!" Yunyun agreed, her eyes gleaming at the thought of always being able to find a table at Wiz' place.

Izuku held the door open for his companions. "Well, we'll be off Wiz."

"Goodbye Izuku! Come by again soon!" Wiz called after him as he left, the lich felt a clenching in her heart as he walked away from her soon to be restaurant, and she clasped her hands together and smiled serenely. Though he said all he wanted was a table reserved for him, Wiz decided that if her business did well, he'd get something a little extra for all of his efforts. Now to just decide on what.

Izuku and co entered the guildhall, and as usual, it was filled with people. He quickly spotted Luna and made his way over. "Hey Luna-san, we're helping Wiz turn her shop into a restaurant do you mind if we make an announcement to the guild?"

"Of course not, handsome, go right ahead," Luna said with a wink, before asking curiously, "Is she a good chef?"

"Her apple pie is to die for," Izuku said honestly. "Her opening her place might affect your business a bit…" Izuku mumbled to himself, "I'll see if she can send some pies your way so that if her place gets too crowded and I think it will, they can come here for some of her food."

Luna grinned. "You're cute and clever Izuku. Tell Wiz I'll pay for a bakers dozen of her pies okay?"

He smiled at the buxom blonde. He honestly didn't know how to take her teasing, so he decided to ignore it. "Will do. The guild comes with an announcement system, right? Can I use that?"

Luna's grin became impish. "You are a clever one aren't you? Alright sweetie, I'll let you use the guild's intercom," She held up a finger, "On one condition."

Izuku gulped. "Which is?"

She pointed at him with the same finger. "You," She pointed at herself, "Take me, on a date."

"A-A date?!" Izuku stumbled over his words.

"Mmhm," Luna looked hungry, almost predatory in that moment. "Have you never been asked out before Izuku?" The bounty hunter nervously shook his head making the guild mistress curious. "Whyever not, you're perfectly handsome enough."

"I-I was considered weak in my hometown incapable of a specific feat my people were known for. So I was looked down on by most shunned by a few, and treated outright hostility by a couple." Izuku spoke a half-truth hoping few questions would be asked.

Luna frowned and grasped his hands in her own. "Oh, that's terrible!" She smiled at him, "Well, I'll be sure to take really good care of you when we go out okay?" She continued to smile at him in such a warm way he couldn't help but find attractive.

He nodded. "R-right! Um, we need to get Nero an adventurers license too please."

"Of course right this way," She said motioning him towards the back with a finger, a sashay in her hips as she walked away catching Izuku's attention as they jiggled and accentuated that she was indeed a fine woman.

"Umu, Praetor has an eye for art too it seems umu!" Nero commented. Izuku had been so engrossed in his talk with Luna he forgot his other two companions were present.

"Um, art?" Izuku asked as they made their way to the back desk.

Nero swept her hand across the hall in grandiose fashion, her sweep crossing over Luna, and Yunyun, "Is Praetor not a collector of beautiful women? I assumed he was, for I had most often seen him in the company of the most stunningly beautiful of ladies. Beauty is art, art is beauty, it matters not what form it takes," Nero said in boastful boisterous fashion.

The muttering began again, Izuku could hear them.

"Guess he is just your typical bard. Sleazebag. He's going after Miss Luna and the Top Rookie, the monster!"

"Umu Silence!" Nero barked and all the mutters ceased as if a monster just roared in their midst. "This Nero Claudius Augustus Germanicus will not allow her Praetor to be slandered by you useless layabouts! So what if he is a man of passion? Better to have passion, to love, and be loved in turn than to be a coward who never had the guts to even admit that love in the first place! I loved my homeland. So much… but they did not understand my love. The more I gave, the less they returned," Nero looked physically hurt as she continued, "In the end, it cost me everything! My subjects, my family, my throne, everything! Yet I would not trade that love for the world! To love and to be loved that is human! And to me, that is what it meant to be born Emperor Nero Claudius Augustus Germanicus!"

Everyone was silent for a moment, and then they started clapping, Nero bowed. Unknown to Izuku and his party a new rumor would bloom into a tale of how a bounty hunter saved a tragic Empress from her collapsing Empire and whisked her away to safety in a foreign land. "Thank you, thank you, you've all been a grand audience. Perhaps if you are kind to Praetor I'll sing for you all sometime at his request."

Izuku pulled Nero close as the applause continued, "That was amazing Nero! You were incredible... "

"Thank you, Praetor… do you have something you wish to add?" Nero inquired upon seeing his hesitancy.

"I… I also think you're very pretty too," Izuku mumbled just loud enough for her to hear.

Nero smiled and put a hand to her chest bring attention for even though she was not very tall she was quite gifted in other areas. "Does Praetor wish to add this Nero to his collection of beautiful things?... Hmm, I may just allow it. For I too enjoy beautiful things, including people, be they male or female." Seeing Izuku's surprised face Nero nodded, "Indeed, my only preference is beauty and you've a fine eye for it," Nero replied as she walked up to the strange device Luna was motioning towards and put her hand over it.

It started to glow and once it finished Luna read off, "Strength, Endurance, Agility Intelligence everything is off the charts! You could pick any class you wanted Miss Nero!" Another round of cheers followed this announcement.

Nero just nodded. "Umu, I am one who will protect her comrades and both gives and follows orders. What class is best for this one Luna?"

"It sounds like you'd want a Centurion," Luna replied.

Nero nodded again, "Then a Centurion I shall be! Umu!" This proclamation was met but another round of cheering as energy coursed through the card and fused into Nero granting her class skills and also freeing what tethers kept her as a spirit and not a flesh and blood human.

The members of the guild hesitantly gathered. Griff Black commented, "Well girlie, you might just have a shot at beating the Demon King after all."

"Yeah, a Centurion, and Archwizard in the same party, pretty good combo," Another guild member praised.

"She keeps em' busy while the Wizard Rookie fries em sounds like a plan." Another said while he bumped fists with a friend.

"Um, Izuku is also a part of our group, in fact, he's our leader," Yunyun tried to say but she was so shy and soft-spoken around large groups of people that her words were drowned out by the crowd.

"Miss Luna, would now be a good time to use the announcement system?" Izuku asked, saddling up to her and whispering in her ear.

"You bet, follow me cutie," She led him behind the desk where she turned on the announcement system… for the entire town. "All yours cutie, and remember our deal."

Izuku silently nodded and cleared his throat, "Ahem, attention everyone. This is an announcement that Wiz Magical Tools and Goods is soon to be replaced and going to be turned into… ah… Wiz Bakery and Carryout Delicaticent. It will have its grand opening in two days. Please come and show her your support, thank you."

It was only after he finished speaking that he noticed the popup.

25000/5 people told about the shop.

+250 EXP and +0.25 EXP for every extra person told.

"Luna-san... does the intercom not just work inside the guildhall?" Izuku asked, slowly turning his neck to look at the innocently smiling woman.

"Nope," She said, popping the 'p'. "It's magically connected to the phonographs up on the tower out back. So now the whole city knows about Wiz' shop."

Izuku was stunned by her kindness. "Wow, thanks Luna-san."

The guild receptionist just winked at him again. "Don't mention it cutie, just take me to Wiz' place when it opens, m'kay?"

Izuku nodded dumbly. "I can manage that." He turned around to see Nero smirking at him and Yunyun looking upset. "Is everything okay Yunyun?"

The crimson eyed girl just looked to the side, her eyes glowing like a hunter's moons at emotions she did not expect started to boil and almost became too much for her. "No, everything is fine."

The boy wasn't convinced. "Are you sure? Wiz, Nero, and you are the only friends I've got so I'd hate to find out your upset."

Then BB piped up. "Well Kouhai, it's not like you were just asked out right in front of her or anything. Also, it probably has nothing to do with the fact that you are Yun-chan's first friend, and the only person to ever let her in their party. No, that likely has nothing to do with it. I'm sure you being the first person to accept her for who she is has absolutely nothing to do with how she's feeling right now. Nope, not at all. She probably hasn't rapidly developed feelings for you or anything of the sort."

'Must you be so sarcastic, sempai?' Izuku thought as he sighed.

"Must you be so dense kouhai?" BB rebutted in a saccharine tone so sweet diabetics dropped dead.

'So, how do you suggest I handle this?' the bard inquired.

BB was quiet for a moment before she replied, "Talk to her privately. Let her know that this date doesn't mean anything serious. Then maybe take her somewhere nice. It's not like you're hurting for cash so you can afford to splurge. You gained about sixteen gold in Eris at Reaver's brothel the other day so you've got thirty-two gold in your pouch at the moment, plus what you've had Luna convert over for you."

"That's a lot," Izuku muttered to himself.

"In Eris yes, but you still couldn't afford a single one of Wiz' items in her shop. They would go for thousands of gold and millions of Eris."

Izuku took a breath. He then said to Yunyun, "Wanna take a walk with me?"

Hesitantly, the dark-haired girl nodded. "Sure."

So the two found themselves out on the streets of Axel once again, only this time, there was an awkward tension between the two of them. They would each cast glances at each other as they walked and when they caught the other looking they would hastily look away. The awkward silence got too much for BB to handle and she shouted at her undergrad in life. "Well, say something, you idiot!"

"Um, so," Izuku began awkwardly, "We did good work today don't you think so?"

"Oh y-yeah!" Yunyun's head bobbed up and down like a bobblehead. "We sure did."

The two trailed off. Izuku took a breath and tried again, "You know Yunyun, I'm not really sure how I feel about this whole 'date' thing with Luna-san."

"R-Really?" Yunyun sounded hopeful for a moment then dialed it back, "What do you mean, do you want to call it off?"

Izuku shook his head, "No, that would be rude to do after she went through all the trouble of helping us advertise Wiz' new shop. So I'm going to do this… though I've never been on a d-date before," Izuku finished nervously. He turned and looked at the Crimson Demon Clan heiress. "You wanna go somewhere?"

"Go somewhere?" Yuyun echoed. "Like where?"

Izuku shrugged. "I dunno," He turned on his heel, "I think we've earned a real reward after everything we've done over the last couple of days. We've stopped a succubi smuggling ring, fought Goblins, Draugr, helped establish a new shop, I think that's worthy of something don't you?"

Yunyun nodded slowly. "Yeah. We should get Nero too though shouldn't we?"

Izuku just smiled. "I think she's the type who'll be happy doing whatever. Since you know the area better than either of us, why don't you choose?"

Yunyun pointed at herself while bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Me? I get to choose?"

Izuku nodded. "Yeah go ahead."

"Then can… can we go to the hot springs?" Yunyun asked.

Izuku blinked. "There are hot springs nearby?" Seeing his partner nod, he smiled. "Sure."

Nero was thrilled to hear about this. She adored hot springs, as it turned out. So the trio headed out. Izuku wouldn't mind bathing in an onsen, of course, it would feel quite good. He was actually looking forward to it. All the way up until he actually got to getting into the bath.

'This might've been a bad idea after all,' He thought. He didn't know it was a unisex onsen.

"C'mon kouhai, be a man!" BB egged. "Fufufu! Don't tell me you're scared of seeing girls naked?" She teased.

Izuku shook his head, "Not exactly no."

"Well then, get in there," BB ordered.

Izuku sighed, 'If I get slapped, I blame you sempai.'

So Izuku marched to his perceived death with what little pride and dignity he could muster considering all he had on his person was a towel around his waist. The steam rapidly disappeared revealing his companions were already in the onsen covered only in towels themselves; Nero in rose red, and Yunyun in a light pink. There was another woman present, with ruddy red hair, a pale complexion that was slightly flush from the heat of the onsen and what looked to be a chakra in the middle of her forehead. She was also rather well endowed.

The moment Yunyun saw him she stuttered out an apology, "I-I'm s-so sorry Izuku! I didn't know this was a mixed bath."

'Don't faint, don't faint, don't faint,' He repeated to himself as if it were a holy mantra. "It's fine Yunyun, you couldn't have known."

"Umu! Praetor is taken with our beauty is he not? As well he should be. The three of us are stunning lilies floating in a heated pond, no?"

Izuku opened his mouth then closed it, then opened it again. He honestly didn't know how to respond as if he said yes, they might get offended if he said no, they still might get offended. What added to his hesitancy was the unknown third woman in the bath.

The redhead, whose name he didn't know flushed a bit, "Nero, are you fishing for compliments from... Izuku was it?"

Izuku inclined his head politely, "Yes, nice to meet you, Miss."

"Wolbachia," The woman said with a warm disarming smile. "You'd best get into the bath before you catch a cold."

"I am not fishing for compliments," Nero complained, "I merely wish the truth of what Praetor thinks of our combined beauty. We are equal to the Hesperides surely?"

"T-The three of you are v-very pretty," Izuku mumbled out.

Nero smiled happily, as Yunyun and Wolbachia flushed. "There now, was that so hard Praetor?"

Izuku sighed, "No I suppose not." He then sunk up to his chin in the bath. He considered drowning himself to escape this situation.

"No, you can't do that kouhai. Fufufu, consider this a type of training," BB commented. "What good is a bard that can't flirt?"

'I'm not that type of bard though.' Izuku retorted.

"Praetor!" Nero said suddenly standing up, her damp towel clinging to her body and making the other two stand with her. "We require your input! Which of the three of us is the most beautiful?"

Izuku blinked, "What?"

Nero smiled. "Which one of us is the most stunning?" We were comparing sizes before you arrived and though my glorious self is smaller than Wolbachia, I'm bigger than Yunyun, yet I've decided you get to decide in the end which of us it the comeliest. So what say you?"

Izuku's mouth fell open. 'She's kidding, right? Right?! I'm pretty sure something like this happened before and said person was named after a country in Europe. Paris I think it was.'

"That's right Kouhai! Paris of Troy did have to choose between three goddesses and choose the most beautiful one. In the end, he chose Aphrodite, and she promised him the most beautiful woman in the world in response… that incited the Trojan War. Fufufu, so choose your words carefully, would you?"

Izuku gulped as he stared at the three women before him. Each of them was stunning he had to admit. Wolbachia was the largest in the chest and she was flushing as she waited for him to reply, her hair a messy crimson red, along with her eyes. Nero stood there confidently, her body as if carved flawlessly from marble, hair-like silken gold, eyes like peridot emeralds, with her arms wrapped around the other girl's arms, and a smirk on her face. Yunyun too was blushing; she kept her gaze on the onsen, refusing to meet his gaze. Her hair was in wet black strands on her head, and Izuku was sure if she did meet his gaze he would see two ruby-red eyes.

Izuku stood too if only so he could bow in apology. "Sorry but it's impossible to choose between the three of you. You're all so stunning it's an impossible task to pick just one of you. Again, sorry!" Izuku then sat back down.

Instead of being put out, Nero grinned, "You answered the question properly Praetor. Umu!" She all but dived back into the onsen, hugging his arm between her breasts as she rested her head on his shoulder, making Izuku's whole body stiffen like aboard. She looked at the other two challengingly.

Wolbachia smiled a little and said, "Well I can't just not take a compliment like that laying down now can I?" She maneuvered herself behind Izuku and pulled him against her from behind; he was using her cleavage as a pillow.

"W-What is going on?" Izuku managed to stutter out.

"We are simply letting you enjoy our beauty up close," Nero informed him. It is fine, is it not?" Nero then turned to Yunyun who was still standing there, statue still. "Well, are you going to join us or not Yunyun? Don't tell me you're not up to the challenge?"

Hearing that, Yunyun's head snapped up, her eyes a blazing crimson. "I am so!" She stomped over and plopped herself on Izuku's other side and pulled his other arm into her bountiful valley. She then snapped at Nero. "There, see I did it!" She then flushed, realizing what she'd just done. "I-I'm sorry Izuku! Do you want me to stop?"

I...Um… no?" Izuku managed to get out, his head was spinning "Not unless you want to?"

That must've been the right thing to say, because Yunyun smiled seemed to squeeze him tighter in response, "Then I won't."

"Hey, Kouhai," BB called, "I hate to ruin the breast time you've likely ever had in the bath, but you should know something about the woman whose boobs you're using as a pillow."

Izuku sighed, he was just now starting to relax due to the predicament he was in. 'What is it BB?'

In response, a Wanted poster with her name and face on it popped up in front of his vision, saying "Wolbach Demon King General, wanted dead. Reward: 990,000,000 Eris."

'Crap.' Izuku thought. He then looked up at the face of the redhead who was smiling down at him.

"Comfy?" She asked, still flushing a bit.

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, but I gotta ask…. What's a general of the Demon King doing in the hot springs?"

You could practically hear the record skip. Nobody moved or did anything for a moment, then Wolbach sighed, "I'm bathing, I enjoy hot springs. Are you going to turn me in?"

Izuku's reply was prompt. "That depends, are you planning on blowing this place up?"

Wolbach shook her head. "No."

"Then no, we'll call it a ceasefire for now. As long as you don't start anything then I won't have to go out of my way to stop you," Izuku replied looking up into her crimson eyes, surprising her.

Upon hearing this Wolbach wrapped her arms around Izuku's torso from behind and leaned down, planting a kiss on his forehead. She pulled away, his vision full of nothing but her own eyes as she stared into his. "I think," she muttered, "I'm quickly growing quite fond of you Izuku. First, you call me pretty then you figure out who I am and decide not to turn me in," She pulled back a little, and curving horns sprouted from her head. "Is that okay? Are you okay with an evil goddess being friends with you?"

Izuku nodded. "That's fine."

She smiled. "Great!" This earned him another kiss on the forehead. He was beginning to realize Wolbach was very physically affectionate.

"Praetor prefers beauty over money, Umu! Truly a man of taste," Nero nodded appreciatively.

Wolbach turned to Yunyun and smiled at the girl who was looking at her, scared stiff. "How've you been Yunyun?"

"H-How do you know my name?" Yunyun asked.

Wolbach cocked her head to the side. "Don't you remember me? You helped seal my other half away after Megumin accidentally unsealed the both of us."

"Um, do you mean that time we were both attacked by demons?" Yunyun asked with a shudder racing down her spine.

Wolbach nodded. "Yeah, that's the one. You did great too! How is Megumin-chan?"

Yunyun shrugged, "Good as far as I know. She only uses Explosion and she can only use it once a day, so…"

Wolbach shook her head, "That girl."

"Yo Kouhai," BB interrupted, "Can your super awesome Sempai come out and play for a bit?"

"How?" Izuku asked.

"I can manifest using the same method that Nero used. She doesn't need it anymore, due to being held in place due to the Adventurer system. So can I come out?"

"What's going on Praetor?" Nero asked.

"Fine, but be nice," He turned to Nero, "BB wants to come out and…"

There was a sudden flash of light and when it cleared, BB was sitting across from them wearing nothing but a lavender towel around her inflated airbag of a chest. She smirked at Izuku, "You look pretty comfy there Kouhai."

"Believe it or not I find this predicament I'm in right now quite stressful, no thanks to you sempai."

BB faked hurt putting her hand over her forehead. "KYA! My kouhai blames me for putting him in booby hell…" She then moved her hand so she could look at him with one eye and stuck her tongue out at him childishly, "I think I'll get over it somehow."

Nero pulled Izuku closer to her, protectively. "BB,"

"Saber-chan," BB said with a nod. "Having fun with my Kouhai, I see. Not too much fun I hope? I don't think either he or Yun-chan, have the emotional strength for an orgy quite yet."

"O-Orgy?!" Both Yunyun and Izuku sputtered out.

"I'll ease them into it umu. Now, what did you want?" Nero asked, cutting to the point and resisting the urge to draw Aeastus Estus, her crimson blade, and cut the little imp down, flooding the onsen waters crimson.

BB pointed at Wolbach, grinning like the devil she was. "BB had a preposition for Wol-chan."

Wolbach pointed at herself. "Me? What kind of preposition? As no offense but I'm not in the mood for sex right now."

"Fufufu, not that, later maybe," BB said with a shake of her head, "No I wanted to offer to fix your missing divinity. It is missing right, you're at the threat of falling apart and fading away at any given minute right?" BB could feel it, Wolbach's divinity was like a flickering flame, it could go out at any moment. The closest thing she could describe it too was a Servant's damaged spiritual core.

Wolbach's eyes became flinty and her tone hard. "What do you want in exchange? Better yet how do I know you can even do it?"

"Nothing much. I just want you to swear your eternal loyalty to my Kouhai here," BB waved a hand In Izuku's general direction, "You know, the one you had no qualms of being a breast pillow for? Him. Also, I am a goddess of the moon myself!"

Wolbach looked down at Izuku, and he looked up at her. Both wore looks of surprise on their faces. The Demon General looked back to BB and nodded seeing no deceit in BB's actions or speech. "Alright."

BB clapped her hands. "Excellent! See Kouhai, your party just gained another member thanks to your amazing senpai. It's alright to praise me!"

Wolbach looked at the "goddess" in question. "So how exactly are you going to fix my divinity. I am pretty sure you don't just so happen to have my other half on you. Do you?" Wolbach asked, perplexed.

BB could only smile in a way that to anyone else would be terrifying, "Oh no no no-no-no. I do not have your other half but I do have access to information on the divinity of many goddesses of history long past. You could say it is almost out of this world. Now we just have to pick a goddess essence that you have the most compatibility with so you do not lose your sense of self and collapse from the pressure of foreign divinity. What by chance were your aspects as a god?" BB politely asked.

"Violence and sloth," Wolbach replied matter of factly with a bitter tone since those aspects make people assume she is "evil".

BB's smile could only grow wider, " Well I know exactly what goddess to fit you. Now hold still this may tingle a bit."

Izuku was very confused at what she meant and spoke up, "BB what are you going to …." He stopped mid-sentence as an orb of light appeared in BB's hands that shined like the morning sun but also pulsed like a heartbeat. BB slowly walked up to Wolbach and gently pushed the orb into her abdomen where the orb phased into her body where a brief golden glow formed over her body. The only difference Izuku noticed after the light show was that Wolbach's horns no longer looked like they had the tips cut off and that her hair now reached to the middle of her back. Her eyes were glowing red with gold centers. She looked at BB in awe and whispered, "I feel…. Whole. I feel complete. Thank you." Wolbach then turned to Izuku and bowed as best she could without getting her new long hair in her face.

"As part of our agreement I am happy to serve you master." winked Wolbach as Izuku got a full view of the curves of her breast and realized that his adventures in this new world was about to get much more complicated.

Word Count: 15,569 words Number of Pages: 36 Date Completed: 6/13/2020

AN: Hello everybody, Bubbajack here! Welcome to chapter two of A Bard's Tale! We do hope you all enjoyed and if not well… them's the breaks, we can't please everybody, and we'd make the story worse overall for trying. That aside I hope you all did like it and let us know what you thought. Now, I'm gonna hand the mic over to my coauthor Snowy, take it away buddy!

I have to say that this chapter was fun to write and already we see cracks in this semi sweet world. What else will Izuku find in this world. When will aqua show up. Will Kazuma actually be a thing in this story? The world may never know.

Mysterious as always snowy thank you. Till next time ladies and gents, Fave, Follow, Review, donate to my if you feel like it. I'm not too pushy. But I Snowy, am. Support this author if you have money to spare! And till next time, this has been a Bubbajack and IcySnowSage Production. Peace!