Chapitre 19: Chapter 19 - Fresh New Clothes
I told the party about my success with my entrance exam, and how I had scored the highest out of all the candidates. They were proud of me, to say the least.
"What, you got first place? That's incredible! Congratulations Yukio!"
"Thanks, Ambrosia, but I have other news to share... I was given a level 3 quest. Hiroki said I need to kill a Scatterwolf."
"Oh, I see. Scatterwolves aren't that bad. They're about the same size as a Malice Fox, standing at around 12 feet tall. But they're fast and evasive. Most of them are level 3, but some are level 2. If you can kill it though, you'll make it into level 2 for sure."
"Well, what if I can't do it? What if I'm suddenly in grave danger?"
"There will be other heroes on standby to apprehend the threat if your life is in danger. Don't worry Yukio," said Ambrosia, Mayumi then spoke.
"I've fought a few Scatterwolves before, they're nothing to be scared of. They move in a predictable pattern, so you should have no trouble dodging out of the way. Just remember what I taught you, go for the gut, and slice them open!"
"I'll definitely remember that. I just hope I'll have the strength to do it. I won't be receiving any of Ambrosia's power, obviously, so I'll just have to rely on my own abilities..."
You'll do fine. I believe in you, but, it's almost noon. We should eat, and prepare you for tomorrow's quest." said Mayumi. Yui added on,
"On the way here, we walked by a place called Kondo. It's a small restaurant nearby, I think we should go there!"
"Hey, that sounds pretty good to me," said Cyprus. Mayumi also agreed. Yukio was quite hungry himself, as he had skipped breakfast that morning, so he was eager to eat.
"Well then, if we've all decided to go to Kondo for lunch, then follow me!" said Ambrosia, leading the party to the restaurant.
They entered the restaurant. It was a smaller, cafe-sized restaurant. It was similar to a fast food restaurant that Yukio would see back on Earth, except it served pretty much everything. The party ordered their food, ate, and chatted about Yukio's upcoming quest, as well as upcoming transfers from Alpha.
"So, where do you think we'll be transferred to after all of this is over?" asked Yukio.
"Well, I have dictation over where I go, so if you guys want, I could convince the admins to transfer you with me. Yukio will probably have to come with me anyway due to our energy infusions," said Ambrosia.
"Well, if you can get all of us together, that would be the best-case scenario," said Cyprus
"Yeah, I'd... I'd like to be with Yukio..too..." said Yui, shyly.
"Yui, Mayumi, you two shouldn't worry. The admins are pretty lenient on groups that work well together. I'm sure we can make some adjustments. But, Yukio, when you become a hero, you'll need to start working extra hard to maintain your strength and position. Don't let up."
"I won't, Ambrosia. I'm going to work as hard as I can!" said Yukio, eagerly.
"That's the spirit!"
The party continued to chat, and eat their food. They spent a good hour and a half in the restaurant, before leaving. While they were in the city, they decided to enter one of the clothing stores to look for a hero outfit for Yukio.
They entered the store, and a woman with black hair and red eyes was behind the counter. She looked sinister, but at the same time, had a friendly aura about her. She greeted the party warmly.
"Welcome to my clothing store! Hey, Ms. Esper Witch! It's great to see you!"
"It's good to see you too, Akira!"
Akira was a little shorter than Mayumi, had black hair reaching down beyond her shoulders, and red eyes. She wore a light gray uniform with a short black skirt and long white socks. She seemed to be running the store on her own.
"Take as much time as you need to look around! If you need help finding something, let me know!"
Akira was very cheerful. It seemed she knew what she was doing, and was eager to help. Perhaps business was slow. Regardless, I looked around for a hero outfit. It didn't take long until I stumbled upon a knight's coat... it was perfect.
It was a silver coat, with a gray armband that had a star on it. It had a beige neckpiece and a maroon cloth that tied it all together. It was calling my name, so I picked it out and went straight to the changing room.
"Well, that didn't take him long at all, did it?" asked Ambrosia.
"He seems to know what he's looking for, I guess."
"Well, let's hope it suits him. He just took off without saying a word!"
Then, the door swung open, and out I came, wearing my newfound outfit. My party smiled unanimously. Ambrosia was the first to speak.
"Heh, you definitely have a sense of fashion, Yukio. I like it, a lot.."
Yui then spoke, with a similar sense of agreement. Mayumi was also pleased with Yukio's new appearance. It seemed that his outfit had captivated all three of them. Cyprus sighed, and smiled, giving his approval as well.
"Well then, how much is it?" asked Yukio, walking towards Akira, who was sorting her cash register.
"Ah, that one. That's a fine choice! That will be $440!"
"Um...psst..Am-" Yukio was then cut off by Ambrosia, who slammed $440 onto the table. She turned to Yukio, and smirked.
"You couldn't have picked a better outfit. But pretty soon you're going to have to start earning money on your own. When you become a hero, you'll start getting paid weekly, but it won't be much until you reach level 5."
"Thank you, Ambrosia. I hate having to rely on you like this, but I appreciate it."
"Heh, no problem Yuki. Alright Akira, we'll see you later! Thank you!"
"You're welcome! Come again if you need anything else!" said Akira. Yukio however, was a bit confused by Ambrosia.
"Yuki?"
. . . . .
The party exited the shop and continued to explore the camp, Yukio showing off his new outfit. As the hours went by, the party made different stops, meeting new people, catching up with other heroes who still remained at the camp, and chatting about their future plans.
When they returned to their hotel room that night, after completing their daily tasks, Ambrosia nudged Yukio's shoulder, and he followed her into the bathroom once more. They closed and locked the door.
"Ugh, not this again, the hell do they do in there anyway?"
"Huh? What are you talking about Cyprus?" said Mayumi, turning around. Yui followed suit.
"Yukio and Esper Witch. They're doing their energy infusion. Let's just wait for them to come out, I guess." said Cyprus. Yui looked concerned.
"Wait, were they in there last night too? I was passed out drunk, so I don't quite remember."
"Yeah, they were."
"UM, YUKIO, WHAT?" said Yui, clearly angered. She walked over to the door and put her hand on the doorknob. But immediately after she did, she felt a burning sensation, as if the doorknob had been heated. The doorknob had an orange glow around it. Ambrosia didn't want anyone coming in.
"Dammit. Ugh that Esper Witch is so annoying," said Yui, grimacing as she walked back to her bed.
"Just let them do their infusion. They just need a quiet space... it's okay, Yui." said Cyprus.
Meanwhile, inside the bathroom, Ambrosia and Yukio were doing another energy infusion. They were sitting on the side of the bathtub, next to each other. Ambrosia grabbed one of his hands, and they locked fingers. Then, she slowly glided her other hand down his jacket, until it met with his other hand.
"You know, you look really good in this knight's coat."
"Thanks, I think it fits me pretty well. When I saw it hanging on the wall, I knew it was the outfit for me. It just called my name."
"Well, you made the right choice for sure, Yuki," said Ambrosia, chuckling.
"There you go again calling me Yuki, what's up with you?"
"Oh nothing, I just think it sounds nice... Hey, let's do an infusion, okay?"
"..Okay, that sounds nice.."
Ambrosia giggled and began to glow once more. This was going to become a regular routine for them, as it was required to bring out Yukio's hidden strength.
"Ah, there's that nice feeling again. You seem to be doing it differently each time. This time it feels more evenly spread throughout my entire body."
"I decided this time, that it might be more useful to just infuse your entire body, rather than your upper torso like last time. Plus, this generally feels better."
"Wait, you mentioned how I was fusing with you too, right? Does that mean you can also feel what I'm feeling?"
Ambrosia's eyes were closed, and she was smiling. It appeared that she was enjoying the connections between her and Yukio's energy. They were both rejuvenating each other, transferring energy back and forth between major organs, cleansing them, and strengthening them.
"Yeah, I feel it too. We're fusing with each other, essentially becoming one pool of energy. The release and capture points are in our hands, so that's where most of the energy is being channeled through."
"Wow, I never considered it that way," said Yukio, enjoying the bliss of it all.
"Yeah, I've never done energy infusions like this before, so it's a new experience for both of us. I just hope that it's having an effect on you and that you'll become stronger."
"I'm sure it will work. We just need to keep doing it, and I'll start my training after my quest."
"Mmm, sounds awesome.." said Ambrosia, resting her head against Yukio's shoulder. Yukio sighed and thought to himself.
"Ugh, this reminds me of those harem novels I used to read on Earth... but I don't really mind it. I never really had many connections with girls back on Earth, so this is pretty nice."
"Yuki, what's a harem?" asked a half-asleep Ambrosia.
Yukio once again forgot that Ambrosia could read minds. His eyes widened, and then Ambrosia spoke once more.
"Ah, I see. You're thinking the answer, but desperately trying to change it so it doesn't sound bad when you speak it. I understand. You know, if you want, I can gauge how Mayumi and Yui feel about you."
"I don't think that would be necessary at the moment. I'd rather not deal with that kind of stress."
"I get it... You know, Yukio, you're tall, you're handsome, you're not from here, everyone can tell that by now... but they can't lay their finger on it, except me of course. It's understandable how you'd be desirable to them."
"But what makes you different to me, is that I know where you're from, and know just how amazing you can be. I hope this doesn't bother you, Yukio."
"..Ambrosia, I'm sure by now that you've gauged everything you can about me, through your esper abilities. You seem to be advancing very quickly onto me. Do you feel something? Back at the billboard, you seemed very cold towards me."
"Well, I took the time to gauge who you were and learn about you. I'd say I know almost everything about you at this point, believe it or not. You're right, it's only been a little over a week since we first met at Theta, but even then, I learned so much about you."
"Even at the billboard, I was excited to see you at Camp. I could sense the power residing in your body, and knew for sure at that point, that I would have to help you bring it out. Plus, you're just a nice guy in general."
"I hope it wouldn't come as a surprise if I said I was catching feelings, but I'll suppress myself."
Yukio's adrenaline immediately started to rise. He had now confirmed that Yui and Ambrosia were into him... but he would have to put his feelings on hold, at least until he completed his quest, and became an official hero.
He knew that he and Ambrosia would be stationed together, due to their need to transfer energy every day, but he wasn't sure if Yui or anyone else would be transferred with them. Until everything was sorted, Yukio would focus on himself.
"Ambrosia..." said Yukio.
"It's fine. I already know what you're thinking. I don't want to confuse you or stress you out. I at least hope we can continue to bond over these energy infusions if things don't work out."
"But, we should probably get some rest. I'll cease the infusion. That felt really good tonight. How was it on your end? Did you feel like you were getting stronger?"
"Yeah, I can definitely tell that it's working... also, don't worry Ambrosia, I'll figure things out," said Yukio. Ambrosia smiled, and the two of them got up, exited the bathroom, and approached their beds, ready to get a good night's rest, in preparation for Yukio's quest tomorrow.
Yui, Mayumi, and Cyprus had already gone to sleep, leaving Yukio and Ambrosia as the only two left awake. They seemed to have spent another 40 ish minutes infusing energy with each other. They both climbed into bed.
"Goodnight, Ambrosia. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Goodnight, Yuki... Good luck tomorrow, you got this..."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone