6.2

part 2

"A-Aruji-sama!"

…

What is this?

Seriously, what is this?

I want to believe it's Ueraha Rin, it even has her voice and mannerisms, yet my eyes can only perceive a circular lump of fur cloaks, pants, skirts, hats, scarfs, and an upside-down magazine purposefully covering the face.

Rin had reverted back to her timid, stuttering state. This was kind jarring to see after the erotic day we had, where we basically spent all day cropped up inside my apartment talking and… well, and fucking.

During the entire time, she's been the drop-dead gorgeous woman who had full control of herself and was capable of making clear, concise sentences. If we weren't doing the act of course, in those cases, she was a similarly stuttering mess, but the noises she made then were much sulkier. That time was my most prolonged interaction with her, and that took quite a special place in my mind if I say so myself: that show of kneeling down and literally offering herself to me was especially noteworthy.

So, after all of that, I'd frankly forgotten about this other side of her. And now I'm having difficulties connecting the two into one person. There is only so much that anime quirkiness can excuse.

"Ok… Rin, why are you like this?"

"W-What do you mean, A-Aruji-sama?" Responded the woman, still hiding her face behind the upside-down magazine.

I pushed that cover down and stared at the swirly glasses she was wearing. The visible part of her beautiful face immediately lit up in a brilliant red blush. She then let out a shriek and turned her back at me.

Fear of being seen? Fear of leaving her room? What is it?

"Rin," I said to her back, watching the round buddle of clothes tremble. "Are you afraid of me?"

"No!" She declared immediately. I stumbled back as she was suddenly right on my face. "This one would never be afraid of Aruji-sa…sama… G-Guh…" I watched as she slowly realized our proximity, and the healthy blush this fact caused. "Kya!" Aaand she turned her back again, this time kneeling and holding her face. "A-Aruji-sama~~!"

…Ok, she's cute. Confusing for sure, but cute.

Doesn't mean I'd just drop the subject like that.

"Hey, Rin. Tell me what's the deal with you." I knelt down behind her and poked the top of her head through her puffy hat.

"H-Hum?" She dared to turn her face towards me a little. "This one does not understand, A-Aruji-sama."

"You're like two different people. The you of now and the you from before, I mean." She let out an embarrassed squeak at the memory of what 'her from before' had done. "When I first met you, you were also like that, and then you were totally different later."

I could see her fidgeting under my stare though I don't know if this was for my question or solely for the attention.

"T-this one doesn't know." She answered with a whine. "T-This one is sorry, A-Aruji-sama, but she is just acting like normal. Guhhh." She fidgeted some more. "A-Aruji-sama isn't the first one who asked this one a question like that either."

"Really? Someone else noticed this?" Well, it's not like it's hard to. " Who?"

"A… c-colleague…" She answered after some hesitation.

Ah, another Taimanin then.

Taimanin, one of the things I regret is to not focus more on this subject yesterday… but to be fair, I was a piled-up heap of teenage hormones with a woman of Taimanin's standard completely open to my every advance, so it doesn't need saying that I was very, very distracted.

There isn't to say we didn't talk extensively talk about this, though, It's only that I could use some reminders now that my bigger head was in full control, and I didn't have the juiciest pair of breasts I've ever seen right before my eyes.

"One of the ninja girls, eh?" I commented.

"Aruji-sama! N-Not out in the open!"

"Sorry, sorry." I laughed, rising to my feet. "You know what to do, right."

"H-hai!" Rin, sensing the change to a serious topic, also got up from her kneeling position. Though the mighty blush still ever-present and she still couldn't look directly at me without stutter, well, stutter more. "T-This one guarantee that none shall harm Aruji-sama under her watch!"

That was what we planned this morning when I called and set up a meeting with the History Compilation Committee… An organization that indicates that a third anime setting was part of this crazy universe.

The looming presence of Campione! And all its inherited danger was a dreadful prospect to consider, but in the end, there was nothing I could do about it. I could only accept it and move on. Right now, I've confirmed the presence of a coherent supernatural side on this world, and one much more detailed, nuanced and dangerous than the one shown on Ranma1/2. I had to be prepared for it, and that means more than just duck down and focus on leveling up; I needed information, I needed to know what I was dealing with.

The History Compilation Committee, or HCC, was a perfect source of that, not only they are portrayed as fairly benevolent from what I remember of the anime, but they are supposedly deeply involved with the supernatural, or at least the magical aspect of japan as a whole.

Magical… with this I could also address the matter of the rapidly approaching wall on my solo arcane studies, though I was trying to not get my hopes up, this is suppose to be just an introduction after all.

Now, surely on this unknown environment I was about to get into, the first choice for guidance should have been the group that I already know about and is actually indebted to me, but the thing about that 'Heavenly Oni Temple' and the Milf Miko… I was still kind of peeved about the tracking spell!

… Jokes aside, this was rather worrisome, I risked my life to save their Hime and they rewarded me by tracking my location without my knowledge. That showed me that, at the very least, magical relations in this world involved a lot of smoke and mirrors even among perceived allies… and that's if the group from the temple considered me as an ally… don't matter now; excessive paranoia will do me no good.

But at the very least, I had someone I've decided to trust, mostly for our brief but oddly intimate history together, and for the notifications from the gamer system of the great increase in our 'closeness'. As a bonus, that person happens to be the only other that I can't see the level of; meaning she's undoubtedly strong.

"Guhhhhhhhh."

… I watched Rin at a distance; she was badly hidden behind a lamppost, clearly watching at me. I got to say when I requested—and then requested again as a firm command at her panting insistence— her to shadow my meeting and make sure nothing bad happened, I was imagining a badass ninja watching over me without I even realize she was there, not this.

And she's giggling now… well, she makes a darn good impression of a yandere admirer… Hey, maybe this can actually work as a masquerade; there is one in my class, and I'm pretty sure I passed a few women with a 'yandere' title during my morning jogs, so they can't be that rare.

Will she be fine, though? Can she snap back to the other persona in case of an emergency?

I suppose there is only one way to find out, and honestly, I hope we wouldn't need to put that to the test today.

So began my walk over the pleasant streets of Nerima with my ninja doing a yandere-like stalk behind me. As always, a lot of minor quests popped up in a constant stream. I dismissed all of them but the ones I could fulfill on the walk or took no time at all, like helping an elderly gentleman cross the street, or giving information to a Brazilian tourist who almost hugged me for my ability to speak Portuguese.

Eventually, after a short ride on a deceitfully fast metro ride, I exited the station on Higashiōizumi, a district on the far south of Nerima, quite a few miles away from Funrikan. Because there is no way I'm conducting this meeting close to where I live. Hell, I'm even thinking about moving to another place cuz the current one's been tracked.

The cafe Rin had recommended was just as charming and well put together as Hanna Millers back on my turf, but the uniform here wasn't cut so low, and the waitresses aren't as busty, so it's inferior in every way.

I brought the coffee that I'd asked to my lips.

+ 1 Cha.

This place too hãh? This bonus point seems to be available once every 24 hours. I can get it fairly easily by drinking coffee or tea alone on Hanna Miller, something I certainly didn't mind doing because of bouncing boobs and occasional panty shots that place was famous for, but it didn't occur to me that I could try it out on other cafes. Maybe I could organize a cafe rush to grind charisma. That sounds pretty fun; I could call Ranma and grind exp along the way to—.

"Ara, dear client is already here? I'm sorry to keep you waiting!"

By the cheerful female voice, I can see I won't be dealing with that HCC guy from the Campione! Anime.

"There is nothing to apologize. I've come early on my own and..."

My thoughts screeched to a half as I turned to face the HCC representative.

"Oh my, Ōe-san! What a sweet coincidence to find you here!" Seishuuin Shiori chirped in delight.

'Coincidence, my ass!' Were my thoughts as I watched the smiling Miko circle around the table and sitting in front of me.

Also, Miko? She certainly didn't look like one now; she was wearing a cool, stylish outfit that looked right out of an expensive fashion magazine, the only cooperation I could think of was the memories of my new mother wearing similar custom made French outfits, and she didn't fill up nearly as well as Seishuuin Shiori did.

"I have to say Ōe-san, I'd never imagined we would be meeting each other so soon! A pleasant surprise, of course, as I've meant to speak to you." She continued with a smile.

"I'm sure," I said slowly. My eyes sliding to the not-so-inconspicuous Rin, hiding her face on a menu a few tables back. "I don't remember introducing myself to you, Seishuuin-san."

"Shiori, please, and you do not need to worry about your breach of conduct, I forgive you." She smiled magnanimously. "And the reason I know that is because I did a little research on you, I was a little curious about the young man who bravely gallivanted into danger for the sake of my daughter."

Hearing that, I couldn't hold it in. "So much so you saw fit to place a tracking spell on me."

"Ah." To her credit, she actually flinched at my words, and probably at my expression. "I admit that was a rather… harsh action on my part."

'Least she didn't try to deny it.

"Harsh is an understatement. That's not how you build up trust."

"You're right, Ōe-san." She smiled longingly, "I humbly apologize."

Seeing the Miko bowing her head, I sighed and changed the subject. "What are you doing here? I was supposed to meet with the HCC representative."

"Kukuku, you're looking at her, Ōe-san." She declared.

I raised my eyebrow at that, clicking the coffee cup on the little plate and pushing both to the side.

"You work there?"

"In a way." She waved off, "I'm here to explain all Ōe-san needs to know about the world you're getting into." She clapped her hand together. "But first!"

Watched her well-manicured hand slid into… slid into her vast cleavage, making her chest jiggle as she searched for something in there. I moved my eyes to the side because I knew who I was dealing with and waited. Soon, she was holding what appeared to be a card.

"What is this?" I followed it with my eyes as it was pushed in my direction. It was a card, a bit too large to fit comfortably on a hand, and utterly black saved for a narrow white line on the edges.

"It was what remained of the monster who attacked the temple." I sent her a questioning stare. "I feel it's only fair that you have it if you wish to."

"Aren't you going to need it for something," I asked.

"We are investigating the origin of the attack, of course, with great interest. But after countless testing, it was confirmed that there was nothing magical or inherent supernatural about this item in particular. So I figured it would only be fair if I asked you if you wanted to keep it rather than destroying it outright, spoils of war and all."

I noted she was only presenting me after testing out to see if she could extract something from it… but I can't blame her for this one. I'd done the same thing.

Reaching out, I tentatively picked up the thing with the intention to give it a closer inspection, only for a game screen to pop up to the forefront of my mind.

You have found a special magitech artifact of Alien Origin.

Do you wish to assimilate it into the gamer system?

Yes/No

Hohhh, this got potential.

Yet I held back the urge to just accept right there and kept anything from showing in my face. I did this because this Milf is being sneaky again.

She wanted to see if it would react to me in any way.

I looked up to her innocently smiling form.

"I'll take this, thank you."

She nodded, and I slid it into my pocket.

"Now then, shall we begin-"

"How is Ena, by the way?"

The question jumped to my mind so suddenly that I couldn't not ask. Shiori blinked twice, and then her lips spread into a broad smile.

"She is perfectly well. Spent the day asking me when her 'onii-chan' would come back."

"That's good… And the others?"

"The others?"

"The people from the Temple."

"Ah." She let out in a puff of breath, still smiling. "There has been some wounded, but thanks to you, we had time to treat them and keep anyone from dying."

"I see." Something inside me deflated a little bit. "That's good."

Her green eyes twinkled sharply.

"If that's everything, I think we can begin. You'd like an introduction to the…other side of the world right, Ōe-san?"

"I'd managed to discover some things on my own," I said, referring to my meta- knowledge in an attempt to not sound like a complete beginner, maybe that's the petulant teenager in me talking. "But yes, a formal instruction would help smooth things out."

"Then," She leans in, and I purposely kept my eyes on her face; better to admire pretty features accentuated by slight makeup, than get lost on vast cleavages, this is an important talk. She opened her mouth, and I prepared to listen and question.

And before I knew it, she was standing up, pushing her tiny purse beneath her arm. "Let's go!" She chirped.

"Oi?" I blinked.

"Well, you didn't think I would dump a long and heavy explanation here, did you? That would be remarkably boring!"

I blinked at her, processing her statement, then I sighed and stood up

-0-0-0-​

"So." Shiori began licking the ice cream she made me buy for her. "You're already aware there is another side to the mundane world, a side where the supernatural, the magical, and the occult dwells."

Wait, is she going to talk about this here? It's the middle of the street!

"Technically this separation is only an illusion, we do all live in the same world after all, but most societies now days have built some pretty good walls between the normal and the paranormal, always with some means of maintaining this secrecy, so it's common to refer to it as two different worlds when talking about the subject. Now, the supernatural side has many names; even within japan there isn't a consensus for it. But recently, an English term originated from South Korea is becoming increasingly popular." She dragged a bit of the cold cream to her mouth in an unintentional lascivious manner, "The Abyss."

"Err, Shiori…-san?" I leaned close, and she nonchalantly latched her arm on mine at this opportunity. I raised an eyebrow at that before continuing. "Is it wise to talk about that here?"

I gestured at the groups of people passing by, the street wasn't crowded, but it was far from being empty.

She sent me a grin. "Do not underestimate a normal person's ability to rationalize the strange. Anyone who hears us now wouldn't think much of it an hour; I could blatantly cast a few cantrips and not raise a single alarm. This is especially true for the Japanese people because they usually have more exposure to aspects of the supernatural than normal."

"So why keep it a secret at all," I asked one of the most important questions for settings… or worlds, I suppose, like this.

Shiori-san lost her smile. "Many reasons, to avoid panic is one of the big ones, we already have our hands full trying to keep a semblance of order within the Japanese's vast and diverse supernatural scene, adding public awareness to it and the usual harsh decision making that it brings, and everything would quickly devolve into chaos, there is historical evidence for this."

I hummed, absorbing the information, "And who exactly are 'we'?"

"I was getting there." The older woman looked up at me, but not by much cuz we're nearly the same heights, and pouted. "Mou, Ōe-san, you're messing with my train of thought!" She complained so cutely I couldn't help but apologize.

"Now, in Japan, the whole mess that is our supernatural scene, or the Japanese version of The Abyss, if you're trying to be more Korean." She chuckled at her own joke. "It's… not regulated, but connected by what is now known of as the History Compilation Committee. We are an organization created in the Heian period by four of the closest families to the emperor, at first, it had the objective to categorize and control the supernatural scene in the country, but after it became apparent that this was a fool's errand, this changed to the modern objective of establishing communication between the many supernatural groups, supervise proper occult usage, and manipulate information to preserve the balance between the mundane and the paranormal." Err, that last one sounded evil. Shiori continued without noticing my expression. "Logically, the vast majority of our members are quite involved with the abyss themselves, with so many arcane practitioners that we are considered a Mage Association to the outside. I, myself, am quite an accomplished one." She bragged.

Quite prideful for a Miko, this milf.

"So, you know about magic?" I asked. Honestly, this was the subject I wanted to know the most as my own limited knowledge is reaching a roadblock.

"Magic… Hum, I'll give you an overview, but it's quite extensive. I prefer to tell you about the immediate danger you might face first."

Ok, that sounds like an interesting subject at least, I can wait.

"Ah!" Shiori squealed suddenly, making me jerk. "There! Let's go there!"

I looked at the big clothing store she was pointing to. "Are you serious?"

"So let's start with broad strokes," Shiori said while racking through the many outfits and dresses. "Humans are not alone in this world, we share a place with many supernatural races and phenomenon's, and as it is with a lot of things, there are many words for them depending on the country or the region, in Japan the most common term is 'Kai': it means anything other than human, and that doesn't belong to a mundane human's perception of normality— Hold this." She pushed a red lace dress into my hands.

I wasn't thinking about it. My mind was in her words. Ever since this whole, Campione thing I've been keeping an open mind to whatever other settings might be combined to this one. Three is a pattern, after all. What's keeping it from having four, or five, or many? I have to stay alert because my meta knowledge might be invaluable.

In this particular case, the word 'Kai' used for supernatural phenomenons and creatures sounded like something from the Monogatari series, which I really hope wasn't part of this because I'm getting enough headaches as it is.

"Are you listening, Ōe-san?" She asked, pushing another outfit onto the growing pile. At my confirmation, she went on. "Narrowing the scope, we have 'supernatural races that aren't human' outside of japan they are called monsters or apparitions. Here, there is one famous word for it." She paused dramatically, looking away from the fabric she was testing with a smirk on her lips. "Yokai."

I tried to not roll my eyes at this showoff.

"Now, Yokai… well, there are Yokai everywhere, you can't really say if they are malevolent or benevolent until you're dealing with one, and you will one-day Ōe-san, I suggest stocking up on lore about the subject… for now though, all you have to know is that they are not always dangerous, but they might be."

I can see the fitting room at the distance, I know what's coming, I'm dreading it… and looking forwards to it.

"Next, we have Akuma… Hmm, to undestand them, you'll have to know a bit about Yokai history."

She closed the door of the fitting room, I relaxed a bit at the pause, but soon after she continued to speak from there. Her voice easily traveling from the closed space to my ears.

"Japan is somewhat unique from the rest of the world due to the enormous population of supernatural species. It got so bad that by the Sengoku Jidai, Yokai freely prowled the forest, attacked villages, and openly got involved with the local human politics. During these times, the separation between the two worlds was virtually non-existent. This would persist until the Meiji period, where the opening of the country's borders brought new ideas and new ways to suppress Yokai; only then we managed to reestablish the separation… and just in time too."

I was left to ponder that last statement when the door suddenly opened to reveal Seishuuin Shiori with a dress that showed way, way too much skin to be considered proper for her profession.

New skill created: Poker Face, lvl:01

Keeps the effect of emotions from showing on your expression.

This skill is silly, but I needed it, oh god, did I needed it.

"What do you think?" She asked.

I carefully kept my eyes on her face and only on her face, looking down would mean I'd have trouble thinking.

"Beautiful." Was my answer.

Shiori tilted her head. "Really? You didn't even look."

"Oh, I looked, believe me." There are proper ways to deliver lines like this; usually, if you don't stumble all over yourself and transmit security and confidence, you're golden, even in a world of easily pissed off anime girls.

The milf blinked, then gave me a teasing smile. "Perv~," She said and went back into the fitting room.

Minutes later, she restarted like this exchange hasn't happened.

"Of course, just because we'd managed to reassign the balance didn't mean the problem just disappeared, the yokai population continued to grow despite our efforts, until it reached a critical point on the Taisho period, where it threatened the balance again, and that time it seemed like it would be over for good, and worse, it would spread to outside of Japan due to the open borders. Disaster seemed imminent." By the changes in the tone of her voice and the direction she was going, I'd said she was getting into it. "But then, when everything seemed lost, a group of ten DaiYokai took matters into their own hands. Using their combined power, they created an entirely new world where the yokai could live in peace and crafted laws and mandates that would help the relationship between humans and Yokai for the first time in history. Nowadays, the Japanese government even recognizes its sovereignty. So, while it still very common to find Yokai around, the vast majority of them don't live in this world anymore."

Ah, Shiori certainly dropped a lot of bombs there; I can't even fathom the amount of power one must have to create an entirely new world.

Unless she is exaggerating, and it's more like my inventory, a pocket dimension with a lot of space in it. Yet to make a pocket dimension on the size and scale where people�� or at least beings could live in it, still sound like quite the feat.

"Shiori-san," I called over the woman continuing speech, she's clearly passionate about the subject. "What does this have to do with Akuma?"

"Ah!" She made an awkward noise, noticing out now she was derailing things. "A-Akuma are simply Yokai who don't recognize the authority of their own government and cling to the old way. Like I said, the new Yokai government established new rules of conduct when in the human world, but these rules go directly against old yokai habit of eating humans and causing mayhem. Moreover, there are entire yokai communities who see the growing effort to cooperate and blend into the human world as a great sign of weakness and an insult to their species, so there comes the term Akuma, which came to be used when referring to Yokai who refuse to obey the new laws and still act like the Yokai of old."

So, the Sabbat to their Camarilla. Sounds simple enough.

"Ōe-san, what do you think?"

I looked up— Long Chinese dress. Silk spread tautly over unbelievable curves. A long slit on the lower end. Legs for days. Ranma-chan got nothing on this.

"Tasty."

… Wait, what did I say?

Shiori giggled. "Basically, Akuma are Yokai, but they are much more likely to attack you, and rarely consider humanity as anything other than food or annoyances. Any violent Yokai causing trouble is initially considered Akuma before we can clear this out and figure out why it's causing trouble in the first place— And what about this one?"

Poker Face leveled up

A tantalizing short skirt swayed as Shiori skipped back into the fitting room.

"Lastly, we have demons." This milf is doing this on purpose. I know it! "Unlike Yokai and Akuma, demons were never creatures of our world. They stem from Makai, another world that's deeply connected to our own."

The door opened, and she exited with another fantastic outfit, but her eyes were serious and hard, locking themselves into mine intently as she stepped close.

"Demons are direct enemies of mankind. They are evil, Ōe-san, living only to cause pain and suffering. They are also lustful and won't stop until they satisfy their sick desires. Out of all these three beings, demons are the most dangerous, not because they are the strongest or more powerful, but because they are the ones who are almost guaranteed to have the worst intention on their mind."

She stared into my eyes for a long moment to let the message sink deep.

… Then promptly turned around to show me a slender, creamy-white back.

"Would you help me with this zipper, Ōe-san?"

Shiori moved on to other lesser beings and dangers, but she made clear that these three types of creatures are the most commonly found on the abyss side of Japan, and she was quite insistent that I treat them all carefully.

"Next up… I suppose there are Gods, but they… they are complicated, and it's unlikely that you'll ever meet one." The milf continued as she placed her choices on the counter, though 'choices' are a bit of a stretch; she's taking everything she got her hands on.

"Sound interesting." I know a bit about how Campione!'s Gods worked, but not when they are mixed with lores from other settings like this world appears to be.

"It is, admittedly… Gods are… there is no conclusive answer for it, they exist and affect the world, but they also are affected by it, and as humanity is an enormous part of the world, they are directly molded by human belief, yet some part of their power are inherent to them, and they can also empower humans with the power humanity grants them and…" Shiori shook her head. "You stay should away from them, Ōe-san, most mean trouble and considering they are extremely powerful, they can bring a considerable amount to the fold, though there is also-AH!" She cut herself and looked at me. Her eyes widened a bit as she quickly added. "And they can never be killed, no, no, you should never try to kill a God, Ōe-san!"

Oi, oi, what is this? I know for a fact this isn't true, is she trying to keep the knowledge of Campiones from me? But why— Wait does she think I will attempt— What the hell do you think I will try to do Shiori-san!?

There was a cough at my side; it was the clerk demanding my attention. He showed me the price… and the multiple zeros it held.

Shiori smiled at me, expectantly.

… Fine, it's not like money is hard to get anymore, it's quickly becoming the things I care less about.

"Not even a hint of hesitation!" Shiori exclaimed. She had latched herself amorously on my side. We had briefly ducked into an alley so she could store all her new clothes on her tiny purse. All while I kept a hungry stare at the bag of holding. "As expected from the direct heir of the Ōe zaibatsu!"

Another sign that she'd did her homework when it comes to my past; I don't know how to feel about that— Wait, direct heir? Didn't this body's memories show that Ōe Hiroshi had an older sister and an older brother for that matter? How can I be the direct heir then!?

I kept that to myself, of course. I wasn't about to talk private matters with a third party, no matter how hot she was. But I made a note to call that legal representative guy to talk about the state of my family later.

"So, can we talk about magic now?" The subject I'm most interested in.

"How impatient~" She teased with a chuckle, drawing herself even closer, which I can't say I don't appreciate. "Very well then, but the thing about magic is… AH!" She suddenly squealed and pointed at an area behind me. It seems to be a toy shop… with a claw machine beside the entrance.

"Ōe-san, get me something from that thing!" She demanded enthusiastically

"You're serious?" The sparkling green eyes told me that yes, she was serious.

New Quest: defeat the claw god and claim the toy from his toy throne!

A sexy woman is demanding a cute pushy toy, be a man and give her some.

Reward:

50 exp.

Increase closeness with Seishuuin Shiori.

Increase closeness with Seishuuin Ena.

Accept/Refuse

I even got a quest for it! I'm honestly amazed.

Well, it's not like it's a bother, and it does give out some pretty high exp for this level of difficulty. And there is also the fact the quest implied she would give the toy to her daughter… Yeah, I saw no problem with accepting it.

"It's difficult to talk about magic because there are hundreds, if not thousands variation of it." Shiori began with her face pressed on the machine's glass panel, watching me fail at claw. "At its core, magic is the manipulation of reality in accordance with one's will, and this phenomenon is fueled by a mystical energy that's thought to be part of the foundations of the world. This energy is present everywhere, but when inside a living being it takes a more tangible form. The western world, which utilizes this version of the energy more prominently, calls it 'mana'."

Nothing she said was really surprising if you think about, but hearing her put it to words was comforting like it was reassuring my discoveries.

"Using mana to cast spells is the most popular form of casting, I won't go into details because, frankly, it's impossible to go over everything even if I talk for a day, hell, maybe even for a week." She made a cheering noise when one of the toys approached the wining hole, but sighed once it fell. "Here in Japan, and the east in general, magic has taken a lot from Shintoism and the Daoist Arts, we tend to utilize a bit more than Mana on our spells and rituals… but going into Spiritual energy now would be opening a much bigger can of worms." She muttered that last part, but I managed to hear it. I made a note to look for that later.

I saw some kids looking at our direction; a 'grown-up' trying to win at a claw machine does attract some attention, I guess. This is bad because they would come over and probably take their parent with them, which could silence our conversation temporarily.

Thinking about ways I could beat this quest quickly, I come to a decision that's been slipping from my mind all this day and brought forwards my status screen. Dumping all my ten available points in Dex to equalize it to the other physical attributes, I finally got the last edge I needed.

Sure enough, my coordination and ability to gauge distances with my eyes greatly sharpened, it was a piece of cake putting the claw precisely on top of the blue penguin plushy I was aiming for.

It still took me three tries because the cheating machine was programmed to gradually lessen the strength of the claw as it made its way to the hole. But it was just a matter of persistence.

"Yay! Thank you, Ōe-san!" Shiori said cheerfully, while she rubbed her fluffy penguin against her cheek, the expression on her face made her look like a teenager for a moment.

Quest completed!

50 exp.

Your closeness with Seishuuin Shiori has increased.

Your closeness with Seishuuin Ena has increased.

"Is there something more you can tell me about the subject?" I asked.

Her green eyes gleamed mysteriously. "Well…"

She started breaking down the many styles of magic she knew about, but only gave me general information that while useful to know, it wasn't what I wanted. I kept my mouth shut about that, however; it was obvious that what I needed was a full blown magical teacher, and this meeting was strictly to introduce me to the basic of the abyss itself, not solely magic, details about that would have to wait until I found someone to teach me, or, if possible, I reach some kind of understanding with Shiori later.

Then, while we were crossing a relatively isolated street, a body fell out of an alley.

I flinched, but it was clear that it wasn't related to us, it was just a beaten up teenager being cornered by five bigger ones.

"Stop! I give! I give! Please no more!" Said the smaller teen, crawling backward while the others laughed and loomed closer.

"Oh, dear. Youngsters these days are so wild!" Shiori said more like an old lady than the young milf she was.

By now, I was used to all the random quests popping up in my vision. I don't even flinch when they pop up anymore, and I got good at reading them on the fly. But I never noticed the sheer amount that assaulted me every day before today, when I tried to actively ignore it to focus on Shiori.

However this; this is ridiculous.

It's like fate itself was changing the world to give me random encounters and quest opportunities, kinda like Ranma and the way cold water always seems to find him. This got to be the most blatant quest bait I'd ever experienced.

"W-What are you doing, no, no, my legs, please stop that!?"

"Shut up! That's what you get for going against Ragnarok! Break it guys!"

I sighed; might as well accept it, more exp this way.

"Excuse me for a moment," I said to a softly smiling Shiori

New quest: Magnificent debut of the— A quest screen predictably popped up, I just accept it without reading it, I didn't need to.

Literally twenty seconds later, I was flatting the face of the last one of the delinquents under a palm strike. The speed that I managed to finish that fight honestly scared me.

I looked at the droplets of blood on my palm, the same palm that has been injured by Ryoga's umbrella early today. I was lucky I chose to start with the strongest of them, some level 13 dude with a fancy title, my punch had sent him flying into a dumpster but thankfully didn't kill him. After that shock, I realized I had to hold back to deal with the rest; otherwise, I might have honestly crippled them.

I was still able to bring everybody down in seconds… was I this strong already?

Quest completed!

30 exp

Your closeness with the Viper's gang of middle school hooligans has increased.

You have made a debut into the Tokyo's delinquent scene.

Vipers? Is this guy part of them too? Heh, he also looks like he is thirty—Wait, debut to what!?

"W-Who… Who are you?"

I turned to the Viper guy on the ground. He was looking up at me with literal stars in his eyes.

Oh hell.

"Kyahhh, Ōe Hiroshi-kun~!" The mindboggling hot milf latched herself onto me, dragging her very prominent curves against my side "You are sooo cool-desu! Let's go to a love hotel right away!" She cried in an obnoxious female tone that didn't fit her at all.

The guy did the impossible and managed to add even more stars to his eyes.

Urg.

"That was horrible." I said to the milf after I finally managed to get the Viper guy to go on his way and stop bothering us with his 'nii-san!' bullshit.

"Sorry, sorry, I couldn't resist!" Shiori placed a hand on her cheek satisfyingly. "Playing with youngsters is so fun!"

I grumbled. I'm letting this go cuz it was my own fault in the first place.

Shiori chuckled, "I was serious, you know, that was an impressive display of physical prowess. Ōe-san, you might have a talent for martial arts."

I directed us to walk across what it seemed like a beautiful natural park. The late afternoon sunlight shone over us. "And what about Martial Artists? What can you tell me about them?"

"They are weird," Shiori answered immediately but chuckled soon after. "Though I suppose we are all weird in our own ways." She rested her head on my shoulder as we walked. "They are warriors that enhance their bodies with the raw energy of life itself, tempered within their bodies and expressed in their techniques, at first glance they are less flexible than mages but the sheer variety of styles and what they can accomplish may cast doubt on that, especially among masters. Their community is the one who is the nearest to the edge of the abyss; it's impressive who much absurdities a normal person can accept if it comes from martial artist, especially in Asian countries." A cold wind blew past, making her snug closer. "Maybe this is because they were always in the public eye, one way or another."

I thought about that. True, even back in my world, everybody knew or heard about martial arts, it's a practice that's been around forever, and it's accepted it could make a person do some crazy shit like breaking bricks with their hands and endure a great amount of pain. This is true for this world too, only here, a martial artist is capable of unleashing a lot more destruction and do a lot more impressive feats than back there.

I actually blinked when the realization came; if there have always been martial artists like Ranma or Ryoga who could causally break boulders with their hands, then I could see why it never raised much of a big deal. Hell, back in my world, someone like Ryoga would end up on the news for sure, but here nobody does anything more than look over curiously.

Holy shit, I never thought about that.

"Kukuku, Ōe-san looks interested." Shiori laughed, "You're in luck then; Japan, and Tokyo especially, have one of the biggest concentration of martial artists in the world, I wouldn't go so far to say that you're able to find masters in every corner but they are definitely around if you look for them. In fact…" She hesitated. As if she was deciding if she was going to share this or not, but she continued in the end. "Right now in the city there is a particular organization that's highly regarded as the strongest under the mountain, where a group of masters who reached the peak of their art gather. But." She placed a finger over her puffy lips. "I'm not allowed to tell their location. But I'm sure you'll be able to find them if you really try, those people are pretty noticeable."

Again, I made a mental note to look at that, it was not exactly what I was looking for, but it was interesting. Although… "The strongest under the mountain? That's an odd title."

"Ah, well… let's just say in the martial artist's world there is a… impossible mountain that nobody is capable of climbing. The rest just fight for the place under that said mountain."

Now, that sounded cryptic, but I had a fairly good idea of what she might be talking about. Considering that Campiones are a thing, and one of them, that Chinese chick I forgot the name off, was a Campione and a martial artist, it becomes pretty clear who this 'mountain' was.

"Ah, there! Let go there next!" Shiori suddenly called.

I sighed at the sight of the movie theater.

From then on, the conversation waved across various topics. It was indeed an 'introduction' to the more supernatural aspects of society; she kept things as general as possible so she could have time to touch on other subjects, the reason for this entire discussion really seems to be informing me about the supernatural dangers I might face rather than truly instruct me into a deeper meaning of a particular subject.

It was slightly disappointing, but I've been expecting this. This is only an introduction, after all. Frankly, the fact that the HCC is taking the time to tell me this speaks wonders about their organization.

That said, I have no doubt they could also help me more, provide me with knowledge and means to walk whatever path I take… But I'm not naïve enough to think that would come without strings attached.

It was well into the night by the time we reach the entrance of the park where Miraidochi-ji, the temple that Shiori is head Miko off, was located.

I have no idea why it isn't called Temple of The Heavenly Oni by the official sources, but I didn't make a comment in the case this was secret information that the Gamer displayed for me.

Shiori threw her arms up, stretching her back with a hum. "Mmm, time sure fly when you're having fun!"

"I'm glad you enjoyed this date then." I chuckled.

The milf snapped her eyes to me, staring me for a long moment before pouting. "… I wanted to see you squirm when I finally pointed that out."

"Sorry, but I'm not that naïve." I let out a breath. "It was fun, though."

"Definitely." She stepped close. I was preparing for her to step all the way to give me a kiss of the cheek like the last time, but instead, she surprised me. "Here."

From her cleavage pocket, she took out a small, thin book with no words in the cover.

"What is this?" I said, dismissing the message to absorb the information to look at it.

"It's a standard guide the HCC gives to every newbie like you. It has everything we talked about and more!"

Oh…

…

"Wait. Then, couldn't you just have given me that is the first place!? What was the point of all of that!?"

"Maaa~ I sure had fun today, this old lady feels ten years younger~," Said the milf with one hand innocently draped over her cheek.

I sighed. Fine, it's not like I mind having a curvy woman rubbing herself on me all afternoon.

"Then, if that's all."

"It's not, there is one last thing we have to talk about."

Eh?

Her tone is different; it grew heavy and serious, not at all like the cheerful woman I just had a date with. It was the tone she used when I first met her.

My shoulder stiffed suddenly as I noticed the change in the atmosphere.

"Ōe Hiroshi-san." She intoned. My name rang oddly on her lips. "I speak to you now not as a representative of the History Compilation Committee, but as the second daughter of the Seishuuin clan."

"Hai," I responded seriously. Trying to match her.

"Thank you."

"Eh?"

"You have done a great service to us by safeguarding the life of one of our own... The clan's elders have spoken and reached the unanimous decision to grant you a boon. Anything you ask, as long if it's within the realm of reason, the Seishuuin clan will do everything on its power to give it to you."

If I didn't realize right away how serious this was, the atmosphere would certainly give me a hint, I didn't know who the Seishuuin clan was, but they must have some weight behind their names if their second daughter is the leader of a huge supernatural temple with an army of mikos at her disposal.

I also didn't miss the implication of this, the clan was in my debt, and I was an outsider, I'm sure that while they may be thankful, they do not want the current state of affair, and asking me directly what I want was the shortest road to change that.

Still, this was an… invaluable opportunity.

This is it. This is what I wanted, the opportunity to get a magic teacher, and even better; this would come from a 'boon'. It would be the closest thing to a non-strings attached deal I could get in this still mysterious society.

So I open my mouth to ask for just that.

… And then I close it.

Opening again and… close it.

Crap.

My shoulders slumped and I closed my eyes. This was indeed the perfect opportunity, but everything I could think of was…

"I got this friend…" I opened my eyes, setting my voice. "He's been cursed. Could you cure it? Or at least do something about it?"

The night washed silently over us, crickets sounds filled the place.

"…Y-you're using a boon from the Seishuuin clan… for a friend?"

Something inside me squirmed, Urgggggg, It hurt so much hearing her putting like that!

Suddenly, Shiori starting laughing; A beautiful bell that rang musically in the cold night air but still gave me the embarrassment of the ages. I could feel my cheeks heating up.

"Sorry—"

"Yes! Of course, you would!" She giggled and raised a finger. "One week."

"Sorry?"

"Curses are not my specialty, but I know some of the best curse breakers in the country. Give me one week to prepare, then bring your friend to the Temple. We'll deal with it then." She beamed.

"Ah-I…" Well, it is done, sigh, Ranma better do something nice for me. "Thank you."

"Now, if this is everything."

Her green eyes shimmered. I recognized that look she held it before when… Yep, stepping close, she mashed her breast on my pectoral and tilted her head up to give me the same kiss from before.

Not this time!

"Mn!"

Was her surprised hiccup when I suddenly turned my face and met her lips with my own, circling my arms around her waist to keep her in place. After a moment of shook, her green eyes closed, and she mewls into the kiss, her hand wrapping around my shoulders.

There was no tongue, of course, no gentleman does that on the first date, but it was deep. Our bodies were close enough to share our warmth. I could feel Shiori's fragrance, her taste. It was intoxicating, but I've managed to keep a level head; my body wasn't as piled up as before.

When we separated, Shiori kept her lips pushed and eyes closed, and there was a faint blush painting her face. I felt good about this… purely for payback, of course!

"Ah." She let out as her eyes blinked open, seeing my boyish grin. "Ah… I… N-Nooo, I can't~ what would my husband say!?"

A scratching sound exploded in my head. "Hold on, what!?"

Shiori stumbled backward, her hands holding her brightly blushing cheeks while her mouth fought a growing smile. The light of a nearby post reflected over the golden ring on her left hand—Where the hell did that come from!?

"D-Darling, a handsome young man is trying to steal me away! What should I do!? What should I do!?" She wiggled her body from side to side, the silly smile still in place.

"Ah, I-I—Wait!" I hold up a hand, but she turned around and began hopping way.

"Darling, Ena-chan, save me~!"

And off she went.

I… I don't know what happened.

"Grrrr." I groaned, massaging my temples. "That sneaking Milf!"

"Aruji-sama."

"Ah!" I quickly snapped my head around to find Rin on my side, the night casting a long shadow over her clothed figure. "R-Rin!"

"Aruji-sama, this one has been trained in the arcane arts for a bit, she will be most happy to pass on this knowledge if needed." She said without a hint of stutter.

"Ah, yes, I mean, yes, thank you, that would help out a lot." Her sudden apparition made me think back about the day. I realized something. "Man, I really forgot you're watching us, I guess no matter how you are, your ninja skills are always top-notch."

"Guhhhhhh!!!"

"Rin? Wait, why are you pouting?"

-0-0-0-​

I let out a satisfied sigh, softly thumping the back of my head against the wall of my apartment.

At the far corner, which wasn't really that far, was a recently bought tiny television prompted by a steel frame with shelving space for a cassette player; it was turned on a late-night anime show that I didn't recognize. At another corner, fixed close to the base of the kitchenette, was a small squared table where I have my dinners on, it still had the plastic remains of the convenient store bentos over it. The curtains and the glass door to the narrow balcony were open and half-open respectively, letting in the chilly night inside while letting the previously cramped air out. It still smells like sex a little, something that caused the moe ninja to let out no shortage of amusing reactions.

"Guhhhhh."

And speaking of the Taimanin, her embarrassment had reached critical mass a short while ago, making her sense go haywire. She then collapsed comically on the tatami floor, and I took the opportunity to peel out some of her clothes, not nearly enough to threaten her modesty, but enough to let her sweaty skin breathe a little.

Her unconscious form mewled a little against my leg as I lazily worked my fingers on her scalp; I find it cute that she unconsciously drew close to me when I sat next to where she was lying.

This place has quickly become home.

Ahahh, I don't want to move! But I've certainly been tracked there, having this kind of information around, especially after the talk I had and the guide I absorbed sounds a bit too risky for my paranoia's sake, and that's not even counting the hassle I'll have to go through with my family agent; he definitely going to see it as me trying to weasel out from the tradition, I wouldn't be the first Ōe who tried.

… But I guess these are worries for the future, right now I had something much more interesting to try out, something that I've been itching for, ever since my 'meeting' ended.

The mysterious card easily slipped out of my pocket. The size of the thing should have made it difficult to fit in a pant's pocket in the first place, but I had been able to slide inside just as easy as a car key or a small wallet. In fact, it should have been bothering me all day by scrapping against my leg or at least making itself noticeable, but it didn't. It impossibly fitted inside the smaller compartment without much difficulty.

A gamer screen interrupted my musings about spacial anomalies.

You have found a special magitech artifact of Alien Origin.

Do you wish to assimilate it into the gamer system?

Yes/No

The implication of this sentence made me literally drool, and it provoked a pang of dread to traverse my system. After all, I had found out today, all the politics, different races, secret groups, and supernatural dangers, I still have to take freaking Aliens into consideration. That was what the gamer was implying, at least.

On another hand, I had a piece of magitech around my fingers, a perfect combination of technology and magic. A better, more capable man than me would've been able to experiment the fuck out of it, and learn it's secrets, or at least figure out what the fuck it does. I, however, am not capable of that, so I went with the next best option.

As soon as I hit 'yes' an honest-to-god progress bar appeared, it took a few seconds to fill up, and as it did so, the card slowly dissolved into specks of blue light.

And then finally…

Nothing.

… More nothing.

I thumped my head on my wall again, sighing. Well, good try, I guess.

Skill created through special action: Summon Cardian lvl 01.

Allow you to summon a servant construct of the Sylvan race. The max level of the Cardian is tied to the level of this skill.

Active Summon slots: (1/1)

Cardian available:

Unnamed of The Strength

Skill created through special action: Cardian Refilling lvl 01.

Allow you to refill a cleansed Cardian in exchange for MP.

The appearance of the two special skills made me jerk upright.

"Ouww."

"Sorry Rin," I said to the woman on the floor, but she just continued to sleep, at least she seems to do so.

I turned my attention back to the screens, carefully reading the contents. Then a grin threatened to split my face.

That's a summon, right? I just got a summon creature skill, basically the ability to summon someone to have my back in a fight. Fuck, that could change everything about how I do combat, the possibilities alone would— I have to try it out! Ludicrous amount of Mp cost no standing.

So I did, I activate the skill, and it immediately became apparent that I wouldn't be able to use this in the middle of a fight.

Not only the Mp cost was immense, but also the progress bar that popped out on the corner of my vision told me I would need a full minute to summon that thing.

This realization would come to me later, right now I was busy trying to translate whatever the fuck my Mana was doing into less mindboggling terms. The skill has taken control of my reserve like I was doing a default spells, but I can't for the life of me figure out what the heck it was doing, only that my mana was being used, somehow.

It was disconcerting, like, if a master martial artist grabbed your arms, tied your legs to his own, and then forced your body into complex movements to beat an alley full of enemies. You still feel the movements, you still watch the process, and you still achieve the objective, but you can't really process how.

"A-Arujin-sama! Get back!" Rin suddenly put her body between me and the center of the room. Where a bunch of my mana had somehow ended up and… Oh, they were condensing into a pretty evil-looking mass of darkness.

It just occurred to me then, what I was summoning. That monster, that furry cow woman thing that fought through an army of mikos and priest to kidnap or kill a little girl, I remembered how vicious she was in a fight, how mercilessly she brutalized me, and how she seems to enjoy the dread and hopeless she provoked on the girl as she slowly walked to her defenseless target. That thing wasn't something a morally upright person would use.

This was too close from demon summoning from my taste, and just after I absorbed a guide detailing why that was such as stupid idea in the first place.

The game system didn't care for my sudden pang of regret; it dutifully finished the progress on the bar, and stop gnawing on my Mp at the same time.

"MINON!"

The roar shook the apartment, bashing both me and my taimanin with an almost physical shockwave of air that knocked down most of the things on my apartment, including my brand new television. One more, my ears were assaulted by that joyful sound this monster always…

Hold on, joyful?

I lowered my arms from my face and blinked my eyes open.

She stood in the center of the apartment, a 2 meters tall, California tanned, hourglass figure of considerable muscle definition. A combo of reddish gauntlets and greaves covered her arms and legs, a metal bikini top tried to hold her massive breasts, a similarly metallic thong did a better job with her modesty, though the short leather curtain they had didn't do anything about the naked thickness of the thighs. A cloud-like mass of spiky golden hair fell to her back, save for a pair of pink bangs among the ones that fell over the attractive face that was locked into an expression of pure excitement. She would have looked just like a normal woman, albeit Amazonian tall, amazingly proportioned, enviably muscular and wearing a high-quality barbarian cosplay if it wasn't for the inhuman traits: An pair of huge dark brown horns on top of her head, and an equally large bovine tail flapping from her lower back.

Definitely not the blue and red monster that I faced before.

"GREETINGS MASTER! I AM READY FOR YOUR COMMAND!" She can talk now too!? "TELL ME WHAT TO SMASH, MINON!"

Unnamed.

Cardian of The Strength

Level 05.

And that was when Rin threw a shuriken at her forehead, which made her yelp, flinch back, and pierce her horns through the walls of my apartment like it was made of paper. She then proceeded to curse like an angry sailor in full volume.

I can feel my headache growing.