Awkward Idiots

As Ryuu followed Chloe into the Hostess of Fertility, he couldn't help but be amazed by the extraordinary strength of the waitresses working there. He wondered if they might be part of some secret force, stationed here by a Familia.

Ryuu had passed by many shops on the way to the Hostess of Fertility, but none of them had such a luxurious lineup of employees, each of whom seemed to possess formidable strength. Even the weakest of them could easily overpower him.

"If I still had my previous [Mana Core], I might have stood a chance against them"

Ryuu thought to himself. Despite not having weakened in overall strength, Ryuu's lack of a functioning mana core made him a unique individual. In fact, his newly reformed 'mana core' was unable to store any mana at all for some reason.

Though, refining one's physical body with mana was a tremendously difficult undertaking, and Ryuu knew that even if his power level had previously been at a medium level 6, the absence of mana reduced his physical prowess to that of a low-level 2. Though this may cause despair in many beings, Ryuu could see the bigger picture.

"Now that I don't have to rely on mana to survive, and I have the potential to build the strongest foundation that I couldn't achieve in the past, my meteoric rise to the top is but a matter of time"

Ryuu thought to himself, filled with confidence and determination.

Suddenly, he was jolted out of his thoughts by Chloe's voice, which echoed loudly throughout the pub.

"Boss! This person's bill is on me! Let's serve him our best menu!" Chloe declared.

Chloe's announcement caused a stir among the customers, including the waitresses, who were puzzled by Chloe's unusually cheerful demeanor.

"Is it just me, or does Chloe seem weirdly cheerful today-nya? What happened? The person she's with isn't even her usual type-nya,"

Anya wondered aloud, frowning in confusion. Despite being taken aback by Ryuu's handsome appearance, Anya's focus remained on Chloe's unusual behavior.

"You are right"

A calm and stoic voice echoed in response to Anya's observation. The speaker, a waitress at the establishment, merely glanced at Ryuu for a second before returning to her duties, showing no further interest in the situation. She trusted Chloe's judgment and had no need to concern herself with the details of what transpired If the person in question had no interest in sharing such information with her.

"Ryuu, you're so cold-nya!"

Shouting that, Anya wanted to continue working and ask questions later, however she was puzzled as she saw the man accompanied by Chloe stare at her in confusion.

As Ryuu stared at Anya in confusion, she returned his gaze with a puzzled expression of her own. The two stood there for a moment, looking at each other like idiots, until the "Boss" of the establishment strode in with a gigantic plate full of pasta. Without a care in the world, she shouted out to Ryuu

"Here! Chloe's client! Our special, come sit here!"

Pointing on a clear seat, Mia Grand observed the situation as she saw every single customer looking at Ryuu and Anya, while the two broke eye contact, each lost in their own thoughts.

'W-What did he want from me-nya!?'

'How did she know my name...?'

Ryuu managed to control his expression from twitching as he suddenly felt a faint aura emanating from the boss, who seemed ready to explode if any customer dared to disrespect her employees.

This helped him realize she was on another level entirely, perhaps even equal to his own prime.

Despite suspecting that something was off about the pub, Ryuu chose to ignore it for now. Considering that he had managed to avoid being questioned in a private room this time, he saw it as progress.

While he indulged in the delicious plate in front of him, Anya aggressively questioned Chloe about her behavior, to which Chloe simply glanced at Anya with a teasing smile.

"He was staring at you because you yelled his name out of nowhere. Who wouldn't be confused when he didn't even introduce himself to you...?"

Chloe explained, Anya was shocked to see the similarity between Ryuu and her female colleague, Ryuu Lion, who shared the same name. This was a peculiar sight for Anya, as she had never seen such a situation occur before.

"W-What did you say-nya…?"

Anya asked, trying to piece together the information.

Although she wasn't particularly smart, she was able to easily connect the dots and understand what Chloe was implying, even if she couldn't easily accept it.

However, there was not much she could do, and seeing the teasing smile on Chloe's face not disappearing at all, she knew that Chloe would not tell her anything more.

Pretending to be hurt, Anya decided to just forget about the situation, even though she knew that Ryuu would surely question her. To prepare for this, Anya decided to confess everything to her colleague Ryuu Lion and let her deal with it…

After their short interaction, the two went back to work as they could feel someone staring meaningfully at them, as she seemed to scream inside their mind to finish their shift before indulging in any lengthy conversation, which made the duo immediately do that.

While all this unfolded, Ryuu easily ate the whole dish before releasing a sigh of satisfaction.

'My first meal in this world, I didn't know mere food could taste so heavenly.'

Ryuu almost wanted to curse Hermes when he asked him to try and 'understand' how this world may not feel comfortable to Ryuu, because so far, he was more than delighted to be here.

'It's not like I didn't understand his gap of knowledge, but what does he take the 'Outer' places as?'

He of course didn't lie in his conversation with Hermes in any way, as he knew if he did that, the God would easily sense it and ruin their 'friendship'.

So, he removed pieces and bits of information that may help Hermes understand that maybe, the world outside the [Barrier] was not so unsurpassable as he thought.

The reason? Simple, the more Hermes believes Ryuu comes from a world filled with beings even stronger than gods, the more of an advantage Ryuu will have. This is especially useful as Ryuu cannot accurately observe Hermes, and that is something he cannot accept.

Though many would still curse nineteen generations of his family if they knew he was trying and could roughly analyze a God that lived for Millennia and is known to be as strong as some of the Older Gods…

'The only question remains as to who created the 'Barrier'. Even the Older Gods of this world are powerless in front of it, but did we have such unfathomable being in our ranks...?'

This line of thinking was at the heart of Hermes' theories. If a being was capable of creating such a powerful barrier, it meant they had the power to destroy the entire world with just a single thought. It made Hermes wonder if such a being was simply observing their world as a form of entertainment.

He realized that what he was experiencing was similar to how the Gods interacted with mortals. This understanding helped him develop and strengthen his own divine powers, making him even more powerful than the other Gods of his generation…

Such a thought would terrify any sane being to their core. However, Hermes did not give in to fear. Instead, he continued to search for ways to break the barrier, to overturn fate, to change what he knew was impossible. He was preparing for the moment when the [Barrier] inevitably broke, causing an enormous disaster to descend upon their world.

'He is so generous to me because of it, even allowing me to take my little revenge without an issue.... But well, it's not like I had any deep attachment to my previous World, so I guess I'll fight for this one if my help is required.'

It's because the two of them could understand each other and their goals that they were so 'carefree'. Hermes could put his trust in him, while Ryuu was proud to stand his own against even the most overpowered of beings…

This thinking resonated with his blood, as he will never bow down to anyone, causing unknown reactions to unfold...

After reorganizing his thoughts, Ryuu was prepared to go and question the waitress that shouted his name.

However, the moment he looked up, he saw Chloe's face filling his vision, accompanied by a smile.

"Did you enjoy the meal?"

It was such a light comment that left him surprised. Wasn't she returning to her 'usual' attitude?

Ryuu was able to understand a lot about people based on their interactions, and although he didn't pay too much attention to it, he knew that Chloe was once again being "real" in front of him.

"... Yes. I did, thanks"

Ryuu replied, deciding to reveal a bit of his own demeanor in response to Chloe's openness.

"Good. I'm still here because I saw you looking for the waitress who suddenly shouted your name, and while I'd like to see her distressed face, she's also a friend I treasure, so I guess I'll explain the situation to you and evade any weird misunderstanding..."

Merely raising a brow, Ryuu nodded in acknowledgment of her actions as he was then explained how this awkward event occurred...