Q&A With Eir!

(A/N: Quick note before we begin. The characters I introduce may not be exactly in character as you're used to. I'm not an all knowing anime guru, so there may be some characters that act differently than they're portrayed in their respective original series. Naturally, I could just say that it's an AU, but if you wanted original characters, you'd read a normal novel. So my excuse if someone acts out of character is that the time they spent in The Lobby has changed them. To follow up on this statement, I will be purposefully changing some characters (for better or worse) to match the theme they're in. For example, if I decide to introduce 'Japanese MC-type' characters like Bell Cranel, Shirou Emiya, or literally any harem protagonist, I might mature a bit, unless it's any of those three examples I just mentioned, because that's their entire character (lol)... I won't change the defining traits of a character, but I might change annoying characters like Lili (Danmachi) or Bakugou (BNHA), assuming you guys vote those characters in. This went on for longer than I thought, so just enjoy the chapter now!)

"Welcome..." Eir said, the tiniest of grins forming on her emotionless face as she stepped aside and spread her arms in a grandiose manner, presenting the building behind her, "To the Main Character Hotel!"

While Haruki thought her introduction was a little overdramatic, he did agree that the stunning building absolutely deserved the hype. It resembled The Pentagon that Haruki knew from his past life... except 5 times larger and stacked on top of itself 50 times. It rose into the sky high enough that Haruki had to crane his neck almost 90 degrees just to try to see the top, and even then he still couldn't see the it, as it was being obscured by the the largest clouds he had ever seen, likely due to the size of the planet. The sight left him feeling insignificant, a reminder of small he is compared to everything else.

"Now then, shall we begin the tour?" Eir said, her words snapping Haruki out of his existential crisis.

"Y-Yeah, lets," he replied, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. As soon as they walked in, Haruki was amazed to see hundreds of characters littered around the room, mingling amongst themselves... except he barely recognized any of them at all. He had considered himself rather well-versed in the anime community, but the few characters he did recognize could be counted on one hand. Predicting his thoughts, Eir informed him, "This is the first Common floor. It is mostly filled with weaker characters from non-action series. As the vast majority of what you mortals call 'anime' does not include the action genre, the first 10 floors are almost exclusively reserved for non-combatants."

As he listened to her explanation, Haruki nodded in understanding, relieved he wasn't just lacking in knowledge. He had been more of a battle-oriented anime kind of guy, so he had only watched a scarce few romance/comedy anime. The ones that he did watch were either recommended by a friend or those that blew up on the internet.

As the duo began walking towards the elevator, Haruki took notice of the impressive size and embellishments that adorned the room. Naturally, it was very spacious, and although it reminded him of a high-class hotel, it had a very cozy, homey feel to it. The pair continued to walk, and Haruki started recognizing more people. His smile broadening and his heart beating faster as he noticed more and more of his favorite characters.  Holy shit! it's Komi and Tadano! They look so good together! Although maybe it's just viewer's bias... Oh shit! It's Hanabi! Although it hurts me a bit to see her with someone else, I'm glad she found a man that loves her... Haruki began to call out the characters he recognized in his mind, his heart aching a bit to see the main Heroine from 'Scum's Wish' (A/N: It's massively underrated, but for good reason. Don't watch it unless you want to punch a hole in your wall like me.) with another man.  Hey, wait a minute, doesn't that kid kinda look like Tanjiro?

As he had that thought, they arrived at the elevator. Remembering that the epilogue of Demon Slayer showed the descendants of all the Main characters, Haruki had a thought. "Hey Eir... what time- er- when where- uh..." he tried to ask Eir but wasn't sure how to phrase the question.

Finally locating the correct button from the hundreds of options the elevator made a ding! before beginning to rise. Eir paused and seemingly thought for a moment before answering, "Lord brought copies of the characters in their most ideal form. However, this will more often than not be in their most recent forms. As I assume you saw, that boy was a descendent of a man named Tanjiro Kamado."

Surprise briefly flitting across his face, Haruki opened his mouth to ask what happened to the original Tanjiro, but Eir expected him to ask this and spoke before he could. "Tanjiro Kamado is currently living peacefully with Kanao, who is now his wife. They were pulled roughly four years after the events of the series, which would put him at twenty years old. As for his life span, Lord decided it would be a good idea to 'Cure' him of the penalty on the demon slayer mark, so he should live a long life. That dumb goddess favors characters she likes, which is simply unfair to the others that have similarly tragic pasts..." As Eir grumbled about the selfishness of Lord, Haruki's respect for the latter shot up by leaps and bounds.

As the elevator came to a stop, the doors opened with a ding, and Eir stepped out of the elevator, gesturing for Haruki to follow behind her. "This is the 25th floor, known as The Sanctuary, which is divided into five regions." She explains as she leads him over to a map of it on a wall. She pointed to what Haruki assumed to be the first region, the one they seemed to currently be in. "This is The Lounge. It's where people primarily hang out and chat." As she said this, Haruki looked around the spacious room. There were easily hundreds of people mingling and chatting, though it surprisingly wasn't that loud. Yet again, Eir noticed his expression and informed him before he could ask. "The noise of the room is monitored by Calliope over there," she said, pointing to a woman sitting in a booth-like structure attached to the wall on the other side of the room. Turning his gaze towards her, Haruki immediately had four thoughts. Holy shit! It's a Mega MILF! The type you can't tell whether she's in her early 20's or late 40's, but you can somehow tell she's older! This is the stuff of legend!

The stunningly beautiful woman had auburn hair that came down to her waist and honey-brown eyes. She wore an outfit that reminded Haruki of a guild receptionist commonly shown in isekais. Her breasts, which seemed to try and rip their way out of her clothing, were large enough to contest even Aurora's, and her hips were wide enough for Haruki to wonder if it caused her problems in her day-to-day life. If Eir had told him right then and there that she was the Goddess of MILFs, Haruki would believe her. Seemingly noticing the pair's gazes, Calliope turned to them, a small smile on her face as she gave a small wave. Holyfuckingshit, that was the most milf-like wave I've ever seen. I think I've fallen in love. As you can probably tell, Haruki really likes his MILFs.

"Although her appearance makes her seem like an ordinary housewife, she is likely one of the five most powerful people in the building." Eir informed him, breaking him from his MILF daydreams. Surprise apparent on his face, Haruki turned to Eir. "Top five? Doesn't this building house every important character? Does that not include characters like Rimuru, Anos, Akuto Sai, and Shido Itsuka?"

Eir nodded, a bit surprised as he listed off four god-level characters. "You are indeed correct. In fact, this building houses more than just main characters, it includes characters like Aijumu Najimi, Gilgamesh, and Sinbad. Calliope is just that powerful. The only reason she isn't the strongest is due to unfathomable existences like Featherine. Even Lord had trouble getting her here."

Holy shit... Haruki thought.  Lord is way stronger than I thought... (A/N: I'll explain more details like how Lord got the characters to The Lobby at the end of the chapter.) As Haruki ponders this, Eir leads them into the next room.

"Moving on, this is The Cafeteria. The food here is quite literally god-like, as even Lord frequents this place. Due to this, it is one of the most popular places throughout the whole building. Our most popular cook is Tonio Trussardi, who does seem to be on duty at the moment. How about we grab a bite as I continue the tour?" Eir asks him, the tiniest bits of excitement and anticipation in her otherwise monotone voice. Instead of excitement or anticipation, concern flashed across Haruki's face. Eir, yet again, noticed this and informed him. "Lord made a modification to his stand, so instead of gruesomely replacing your body with newer body parts, it simply slowly heals your body to an ideal state. Did you really think it would be this popular if people had to puke their own guts every time they ate something?"

Haruki nodded in understanding, somewhat relieved. Eir promptly grabbed his wrist and practically dragged him into the lavish room filled with overwhelming scents that surpassed any 5-star restaurant he had been in. The room was lavishly adorned with paintings of what Haruki assumed to be Gods and Goddesses, judging from the many pictures of Lord. Eir approached a floating screen with text that certainly wasn't English, but Haruki was able to read it perfectly as "Please wait for an available seat." the screen had numerous icons that were all shaded red, which seemed to be in the same position as the other seats in the room.

As they waited to be seated, Eir pulled out another map on a futuristic tablet-like device, pointing to the third section. "This is The Gym. Naturally, it's where training mainly happens. Duels are also very common here, and due to the speed and strength of some more powerful beings, Lord displaced the space around it from the inside, allowing the room to be much larger than logic should allow it to be."  My head hurts... (A/N: Mine too, Haruki...)

As she finished explaining this, one of the red seats flashed green. Eir immediately tapped on it and another window popped up, but Eir clicked it faster than he could read, as she did with the next dozen to pop up. And she did this with her characteristic blank face that offers no hints as to what she's thinking of. So fast... I thought I wouldn't be surprised since I saw it so much in anime, but moving at high speeds is way cooler in real life...

The next thing he knew, he was sitting at a table. Haruki's surprise was likely apparent, as Eir promptly noticed and informed him. "Trying to find your table through the hundreds here is rather inconvenient, so it's easier if they just teleport us here." As she says this, she hands him a menu, being a list food items on another futuristic tablet.

They both take several minutes to decide what they want from among the many options, but Eir just picks something she's had before and Haruki picks something rather simple. Eir picked a dish called Linguine alle Vongole Veraci, an Italian pasta dish that includes Al dente linguine noodles that are paired with Veraci clams, which are small, sweet, and incredibly tender. The dish is infused with a fragrant blend of garlic, red pepper flakes, and fresh parsley, all sautéed in high-quality olive oil. The clams are steamed in white wine until they open, releasing their natural juices and adding a delicate brininess to the sauce. The linguine is then tossed in this flavorful clam sauce, creating a harmonious balance of textures and tastes. 

Haruki picked a popular steak dish, Bistecca alla Fiorentina. A thick, prime cut of T-bone steak from the a breed of cattle called a Chianina, the dish is seasoned generously with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. The steak is then grilled over an open flame or hot charcoal until it achieves a perfect sear on the outside while retaining succulent juiciness inside. Accompanying the steak are side dishes like Tuscan white beans, roasted vegetables, or a fresh green salad. (A/N: I don't even like Italian food that much, but now I'm hungry...)

After several minutes of waiting, a handsome man in a waiter uniform appears before the duo with their food. Looking at the man, Haruki thought,  I guess that explains why there are so many middle-aged women here, this guy looks like the love interest in a female lead romance manhwa... Haruki began to feel the stares of many of the women around him, whom he assumed to be staring at the waiter. He then turns to Eir, expecting her to be staring in the same way. Haruki is then surprised, as, while she is blushing while wearing an excited smile, this expression was directed at the food in his hands rather than the man himself. The waiter expertly places the food in front of each of them, keeping each dish perfectly level the entire time.

"I recommend doing 10 push ups before you go to bed tonight, trust me on this one," the waiter says as he gives Haruki his food, and promptly offers him a dazzling smile that threatened to to alter his sexuality. Before he could respond, the waiter simply disappeared. Haruki thought about his words for a moment, but after seeing Eir cry tears of joy while eating her food, Haruki gave in and began to dig in himself.

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"As I was saying, The Gym is primarily a training are to increase your strength. It is equipped with numerous types of training equipment from various different worlds designed to strengthen each stat. It is easily the best way to increase your strength in the multiverse. Not because the growth is extremely fast, but because the training here always works no matter your level of strength."

As Eir finishes her explanation, they walk into the room. A soon as they entered, Haruki felt a small wave of nausea wash over him, before the room seemed to expand before his eyes. As the nausea left him, the room had expanded to easily ten times what it should have been. There was countless types of training equipment, from weights to large crystals which Eir explained to be an Aether measurer.

As Eir explained each various equipment Haruki had never seen before, they came across one of the only people in the more modern, strength section of the gym. A boy with red eyes and black hair is bench pressing a weight with 500 marked on the sides. The boy notices them, and sets down the weight before sitting up, panting and glistening in sweat. He nods towards Eir, and says,

"Mornin' Eir"

"Good morning to you too, Cid."

Hearing Eir mention his name, Haruki's eyes widen.  Cid!? Like Cid Kagenou!? Haruki was so caught up in meeting his favorite isekai MC, that he didn't even realize that they were speaking fluent Japanese and he understood them perfectly.

As they walk away from Cid, Haruki notices that most weights don't go over  2K, which makes no sense considering characters like Saitama. So he asks,

"Hey Eir, is the number on the weights measured in pounds or kilograms?"

"Tonnes," Eir answers in a matter-of-factly tone that implied it was obvious.

Tonnes!? Did she say tonnes!? So Cid is benching 500,000 Kilos!? (1,102,311 pounds) How the fuck did he get so strong!?  (A/N: Some of you might be saying that it's only natural Cid is this strong, but you have to remember he's only human (after all). He's not using any mana or Aether to increase his strength, just pure muscle. Although he technically used mana to mold his body to the most perfect form, it's still only the most perfect among humans)

"As it would take far too long to show you everything in The Gym, I'll  send you an encyclopedia of each piece of equipment." Eir said while swiping away at her tablet. Although her voice was just as monotone as usual, Haruki noticed exasperation in her voice. "For the last 2 rooms, a tour isn't necessary. I'll send you some information about them, but they're pretty self-explanatory."

As she continued to swipe furiously along her tablet, she led him towards another elevator. She tapped a few more times on her tablets before clicking on one of the higher floors. "We're gonna be here for a while. For some reason, Lord decided that elevators are better than setting up portals, and USR characters are only in the upper floors, so use this time to get used to your phone or something."

Haruki simply sighs and opens his phone, downloading apps he thinks will be useful. However, he quickly grows restless. Not because the games on his new phone were boring, but because it was November when he reincarnated. Almost the end of it, in fact. His only thoughts were... 445551... 401540... 474230... 449412... 392224... FUCK CAN WE GET THERE ALREADY!? That's right folks, he's unbelievably horny! Not only because of the 29 days of November he experienced before he died, but because the horniness that's finally kicking in from when he saw Mirabella exposed from before he received his body! The only thing he can do to maintain his sanity is to recite codes he had memorized!

Meanwhile Eir giggles at whatever she's watching on her tablet, blissfully unaware of Haruki's predicament.

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Q&A time! Here are the questions Haruki didn't ask Eir, but needs to be addressed to avoid people dropping my book!

Q: How did Lord get the characters to The Lobby?

A: For most of them, she split their souls in half and then filling both souls with what they were missing. Creating a body from there isn't that difficult, this way (most) characters don't have an identity crisis or worry about the people they left behind in their world. They know that an exact copy of themselves are in the worlds they originated from. For characters like Featherine, even Lord can't casually split her soul without experiencing resistance. So she challenged Featherine to a fight, and if Lord wins then she gets to split Featherine's soul. So after kicking her ass, Lord split her soul and filled it up, which takes a marginally longer time compared to the rest, but isn't a problem as Lord literally transcends time. This is also the case for any characters stronger than Anos Voldigoad, any weaker and they can't resist, she's too strong.

Q: What will the size of the harem be like?

A: That pretty much depends on you guys, but no matter what, more than 10 is too much. I myself don't like harems very much, but it's impossible to choose with every waifu at our disposal. Which waifus we choose is also up to you guys, but there are a couple in my head that are pretty much guaranteed to be waifus. I won't spoil too much, so just read the book

These are the questions I can see being asked the most, but if you have any more questions, just ask and I'll answer, unless the answer would spoil the plot too much.