Ruins of the Dragon Palace, Dragon Valley, DesuMachi.
The dining area was dominated by silence, the atmosphere around them was tense enough to make even the lizardkin fidget. Sora and Mei exchanged uncertain glances, unsure how to respond to Akon Kagura's pointed question.
Hachiman leaned back in his seat with a long sigh, rubbing his eyes as the duty of answering her question fell into him. "Sorry, but… even if you ask us how we found your world, we can't exactly answer you."
Akon Kagura's eyes stayed on him, studying every twitch, every breath, searching for a lie.
"The only one who could really answer that," Hachiman continued, lips tugging into a wry smile, "is Noah—our leader. He's the one who found this world… and sent us here."
Akon's brows knit together. "Hmm… Him again huh... I see."
"But I think your barrier still works," he added after a while. "Your world's still invisible to the rest of the universe."
That caught her off guard. "Huh? Just what makes you say that?"
Hachiman tilted his head back, eyes wandering to the ceiling as he exhaled. "Because he sent us here," he said. "To hide us… from something."
"Huh?!" This time, it wasn't just Akon Kagura who reacted but Mei and Sora did too.
"I don't really know what that idiot is planning," Hachiman said, scratching the back of his neck, "but I think he wanted to hide something. Most likely our ship, the Astral Express, from the eyes of someone… or some group."
"Ehh?! What?! W-what's happening right now, Hachi-nii?!" Sora blurted out, panic flashing across her face. "Are Noah-nii and the others in trouble?!"
'Looks like you're right… there really is something going on with the Captain and the others,' Mei murmured inwardly.
'Hmph.' Her Herrscher side only gave a dismissive snort.
"Relax, Sora." Hachiman placed a hand on her head, his voice soft and reassuring. "Whatever's happening, it's nothing they can't handle. Honestly, I think Noah's just being overly cautious. With the strength we have, unless an Aeon shows up personally, nothing can beat us."
Sora frowned, still unconvinced, her voice small. "But still…"
"Hmm. Rather than worrying about whatever trouble's coming their way, we should probably be more concerned about the state of the Express's kitchen after today's episode of Elysia's Channel," Hachiman said dryly, his voice flat but laced with dread.
Sora blinked, then went pale. She quickly turned toward the TV, but instead of the usual cheerful broadcast, the screen displayed a chibi Elysia winking while holding a sign that read: 'Due to Technical Difficulties, Elysia Channel will be out for the rest of the day.'
"Oh no!! Will everyone be alright?!" Sora yelped. "Did they—did they break the 7th dimension again because of another cooking explosion?!"
Even Mei was stunned, her expression twisting somewhere between disbelief and resignation. "…No wonder Bel-san insists on keeping at least two of the maids stationed at the Express," she muttered.
"Right," Hachiman said, resting his chin on his palm as he stared at the screen. "It's a miracle they've survived this long, considering the weekly explosions."
Sora whimpered, covering her mouth. "Do you think the kitchen's still… there?"
Mei sighed softly. "The kitchen's probably gone..... again... But Kiana-chan and the rest should be perfectly fine and already arguing over who and how they will explain to Captain why it got destroyed."
Hachiman simply snots in amusement, a smirk placed on his lips.
——-
"...It seems I won't be able to get the answers I need from you three, huh?" Akon Kagura sighed, her voice laced with a mix of frustration and amusement.
With the talk about potential enemies targeting the Nameless and the chaos in the Express's kitchen finally done and with only Sora's soft mumbling about the destroyed kitchen and dimensional creatures remained. Hachiman glanced at the sulking dragon god, a small wry smile tugging at his lips.
"Sorry about that," he said finally, rubbing the back of his neck. "The three of us are actually new to the team. This is our first real expedition, so… there's still a lot we don't understand about what our leader does."
Akon huffed, puffing her cheeks slightly. "Hmph! I suppose I can believe that. You do feel sincere enough, Hero of the Stars."
"Thanks… I think," Hachiman replied, his tone dry but polite.
Nodding at him, Akon Kagura straightened her posture, the childish air around her fading as her expression turned serious. Whatever she was about to say carried the same importance as their earlier discussion. Mei and Sora noticed it immediately as well, and mirrored her, sitting upright, their attention fully on the dragon god.
"Now then…" Akon began, clasping her hands together before resting them on the table. "Moving on to the other reason I came here, aside from giving you your reward, I actually have a personal favor to ask of you two, Hero and Maiden of Thunder." Her tone was calm and composed, yet Hachiman noticed the slight tremble in her shoulders and the faint nervousness behind her voice.
Mei tilted her head, curiosity softening her features. "A favor? Sure… can you tell us what it is?"
Seeing Mei's willingness and that Hachiman didn't interrupt, Akon exhaled softly, as if relieved. "Well, you see," she began, rubbing the back of her neck with a sheepish smile, "my resurrection wasn't… exactly perfect."
That earned a raised eyebrow from Hachiman and Mei, while Sora's eyes widened with concern.
"Normally," Akon Kagura continued, tone a little more serious now, "when we, gods die, it takes time for us to return. It can take anywhere from a year to a thousand years, depending on the way and impact on how we died." She paused, her eyes had a hint of guilt and maybe mischievousness before adding with a small laugh, "But I may have… cheated on the process to speed things up a little."
She took a quick breath before continuing, rubbing her arm nervously. "Because I wanted to meet you two as soon as possible… I may have rushed the process. So right now, I'm only at about one-eighth of my original strength."
"Huh? So that means Akon-chan's really weak right now?" Sora blinked, tilting her head. The dragon god nodded sheepishly.
"Relatively weak," Akon Kagura said with a pout. "I can still demolish a house if I sneeze wrong, though."
Mei gave a short chuckle. "That's what you call weak?"
Hachiman raised an eyebrow, his expression thoughtful. 'If that is her weakened state... then why is her level still not shown properly?'
Akon scratched her cheek, laughing awkwardly. "Ahaha… embarrassing as it is, even though my level's the same as before I died, my stats are practically nerfed. I have this debuff as the result of cheating my way to come back to life. You can even check it yourselves if you appraise me."
She gestured toward them with a grin. "The skill should be in your skill tab, right next to the 'All-Map-Exploration' skill."
Hachiman, Mei, and Sora exchanged a look before turning their gaze back to her. They opened the skill tab, and just as she said, there are indeed two skills there, Appraisal and All-Map-Exploration. Clicking the Appraisal skill opens a pop-up window that explains the skill and a small button where they can toggle it to activate the skill beside another button, Upgrade.
"Hmm, so just like in games, we can upgrade our skills too?" Hachiman muttered, tilting his head as he studied the interface.
"Of course!" Akon Kagura replied proudly, puffing her chest a little. "You'll gain ten points each time you level up!"
"Ohh! So that's why I have 99+ skill points!" Sora gasped, her eyes sparkling in excitement.
"Hmm, I've got the same," Mei added, glancing toward Hachiman.
He nodded as well. "Yeah, same here, I have 99+ points." He hummed, tapping his chin thoughtfully. Turning to Akon Kagura and the nearby lizardkin, he asked, "What is the usual level for the skills of the people of this world?"
Akon Kagura pouted, crossing her arms. "You're too cautious, Hero! Just max-level it already! You can always hide your status later anyway."
Hachiman stared at her flatly. "…You say that it's normal to cheat the system."
"It is normal if you're clever enough," Akon said with a teasing grin.
He sighed, glancing toward Mei and Sora. Mei just shrugged, while Sora nodded eagerly.
"Akon-chan's right, Hachi-nii! This skill's important, we can just… fix the numbers later," Sora said brightly.
"I agree," Mei said with a small nod. "It's better to strengthen it now, it'll help us in the long run."
"...Fine," Hachiman relented with a tired sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We'll max it out for now. But later, we're making it look normal on the public screen."
"Okay~!" Sora cheered.
"Alright," Mei added, smiling faintly.
Akon Kagura just grinned, satisfied. "You should know this by now right? Cheating a little is also part of being a hero."
".... I don't think that's the moral here…" Hachiman muttered under his breath.
The two nodded and upgraded the skill to level 10. Once it finished, a new icon now filling the empty black spaces appeared on the left side of their vision. Curious, they all looked toward Akon Kagura, who was sitting calmly, sipping her drink as if nothing major was about to happen.
"Alright, let's see what this does," Hachiman muttered, tapping the skill.
In an instant, a soft chime rang, and a detailed window materialized before them, revealing Akon Kagura's full status profile.
[NAME: Akon Kagura]
[LVL: ???]
[EXP: 36%]
[TITLE: Dragon God, Ame no Mizuhana-hime. The Strongest Dragon God]
[RACE: Divine Dragon / Goddess]
[JOB: God]
[CONDITION: Status reduced due to incomplete resurrection]
[HIT POINTS: Enough to tank scoldings for being mischievous]
[MAGIC POINTS: Fueled by naps, sweets, and occasional procrastination]
[STAMINA: Like an overexcited child on a sugar rush]
[STR: Can demolish a mountain of pancakes in one sitting]
[VIT: Tough enough not to cry if she steps on a pebble, but not when eating hot food]
[DEX: Can catch thrown candy but still trips over her own feet]
[AGI: Slow as a turtle… until snacks appear]
[INT: Smart enough to lecture mortals, forgets it all when hungry]
[MND: Unshakable... except when praised or offered chocolate]
'...Just what are these stats?' Hachiman deadpanned inwardly. 'Even the system's comments are worse than mine.'
Feeling an odd sense of camaraderie, he looked toward Akon Kagura, who was happily sipping her iced chocolate as if nothing unusual had just happened.
"Hmm? Is something wrong, Hero?" she asked, blinking curiously.
Before he could respond, Sora suddenly burst into laughter. "Pfft—Ahahahaha! Akon-chan, what is this status?!" she managed between giggles.
"I feel like the system's roasting you rather than showing your actual parameters," Mei said with a wry smile.
Akon Kagura only tilted her head. "Eh? But that is accurate. I am powered by sweets."
Sora wiped away a tear from laughing. "Hehehe! Now I'm curious about Mei-nee's status next!!"
Mei's smile froze, her face turning pale. "S-Sora-chan, don't you dare—!"
But it was too late. Both Sora, and a mildly amused Hachiman beside her, had already activated Appraisal at the same time, eyes full of curiosity.
[NAME: Raiden Mei]
[LVL: ???]
[EXP: 17%%]
[TITLE: Herrscher of Thunder, Nameless of Astral Express, Herrscher of Dinner, Queen of Thunder]
[RACE: Herrscher]
[JOB: Trailblazer]
[HIT POINTS: Surprisingly durable even after taking emotional crits ]
[MAGIC POINTS: Powered by pure electro and suppressed feelings]
[STAMINA: Trained through years of martial arts…. and pretending she's fine]
[STR: Can slice a mountain… or tofu with the same precision.]
[VIT: If stubbornness were armor, she'd be invincible.]
[DEX: She wields elegance like a blade, specially in the kitchen]
[AGI: Fast as lightning, but can't escape compliments]
[INT: Strategic, analytical, occasionally too polite to mention she's alright.]
[MND: Emotionally stable… Strengthen by loneliness and trauma]
Sora's smile stiffened while Hachiman's expression softened, a hint of sadness appeared behind his eyes.
"...Mei-nee…" Sora whispered, voice trembling before she suddenly threw herself into Mei's arms.
"S-Sora-chan? What's wrong all of a sudden?" Mei blinked, surprised by Sora's actions.
Hachiman watched them for a moment, then spoke softly. "Raiden… like I said before, you don't have to keep things to yourself. If something's bothering you, talk to us. We'll always be here for you."
"E-Even you, Hikigaya-kun?!" Mei stammered, cheeks flushing slightly. "Just what did the two of you see in my status?!"
As she said that, a window appeared before her eyes. Mei's breath caught as she read the system's blunt remarks about herself, her entire body stiffening.
"Ah… so the system decided to roast me too, huh?" Mei muttered with a shaky laugh, trying to play it off. But her attempt at humor only made Sora sniffle louder.
"Mei-nee…" Sora murmured again, her arms clung tighter around her.
Mei sighed softly and stroked Sora's hair. "It's alright, Sora-chan… I'm fine, really."
Sora reluctantly pulled away, wiping her eyes before glancing at Hachiman, bracing herself for what will come next from her actions.
"Wait—Sora, don't—!" Hachiman's eyes widened as he leaned forward to stop her, but just like with Mei, he was one second too late.
He watched as Sora's expression froze, her eyes moving from left to right, likely reading each line of his status. The further she read, the sadder she became, her lips trembling as pain flash in her eyes. Mei noticed instantly, her own heart tightening before she bit her lip and activated her Appraisal on Hachiman. Within seconds, her breath hitched. Whatever she read left a pain in her chest.
Hachiman sighed softly, leaning forward. He awkwardly raised his arms and pulled Sora close, wrapping her in a protective embrace. "Hey… it's alright," he murmured, voice gentle. Mei stood from her seat, unable to hold back anymore. She joined them, kneeling beside him and slipping her arms around his shoulders, burying her face against his neck as tears began to fall.
"Please don't be sad, Sora, Raiden," Hachiman whispered, his tone carrying warmth. "I'm fine now. That's just this stupid system trying to sound dramatic." He gave a short, humorless laugh, his hand brushing Sora's hair. "Whatever happened before, it's all in the past. And honestly? It's not that bad. I met people who accepted me… who cared. And now, I've got you two as well and those walking disasters we call the crew."
He smiled faintly, his voice softening further. "So don't worry about me, okay? Believe me when I say it, I'm truly fine now."
Mei's arms tightened around him, and Sora's small hands followed, wrapping him in a trembling embrace. The lizardkin standing in the back sniffled softly, overwhelmed by the warmth and sincerity before him. Even Akon Kagura, who merely watched in silence, was also touched by their bond. She had seen the full extent of Mei and Hachiman's statuses, the system might have said it in a sarcastic way but it also narrated their experience that led to such stats. And more than that, she saw their hearts.
Though she was a god, she too felt the pull of love and family. A figure appeared in her mind, someone she had loved and waiting to reunite with for countless years. Watching the three before her, sharing the same emotions she cherished, brought a faint, gentle smile to her lips, an expression befitting a god revered by mortals.
"You truly care for your companions, hero?" she asked softly, her voice carrying warmth.
Still holding Mei and Sora close, Hachiman turned toward her with a smile. "Of course I do."
Their eyes met, and for once, Hachiman didn't hide behind dry words or guarded sarcasm. "They… and everyone I've met along the way, those who've accepted me, believed in me, and stand beside me, they're the 'genuine' I've been searching for my whole life."
His tone softened as old memories stirred within him, faces and moments flashing in his mind: his parents, Komachi's bright smile, Mana Nagase and her little sister Kotone, his teacher Hiratsuka Shizuka, Yukinoshita Yukino, Yuigahama Yui, Isshiki Iroha from the service club, Sakayanagi Arisu who truly believed in his potential., all those who once reached out to him in his home world, teaching him what it meant to be cared for.
Then came the crew, Noah, Hajime, Tobio, Kouki, his brothers-in-arms who followed him through chaos and absurd adventures alike. Kiana, Elysia, Lumine, Sirin, Gabriel, Alice, Anisphia, Euphyllia, Sona, Lavinia, Sagiri, Ingvild, Ophis, Patricia, Belfast, Villhaze, Ram, Rem, Natsume, Sae, and Shigune, each one someone he trusted completely. They would guard his back just as he would guard theirs.
And then there were Mei and Sora, the family he'd found during his time as a Nameless. They weren't just comrades; they were the proof that the 'genuine' bonds he once doubted could exist were now real and warm in his arms. Every one of them was precious, and he'd do whatever it took to protect them.
"That's why," Hachiman said, his voice filled with conviction and resolve, "I'll protect them no matter what. I swear it, in the name [Guardian] Hachiman of the Astral Express. I'll make sure our Trailblaze keeps moving forward. Nothing will stop it, not even the Aeons themselves."
Akon Kagura let out a deep breath, her chest rising and falling as she tried to calm the emotions his words woken in her. Hearing such determination made her heart race in a way she hadn't felt in ages. Closing her eyes for a moment, she smiled faintly, unable to suppress the warmth blooming within her.
"Ehehehe… As expected," she whispered to herself, her voice carrying a mix of pride and wonder. "I'll never regret this decision of mine."
She slowly opened her eyes, meeting Hachiman's eyes directly. "As I mentioned before," she began softly, "because of my imperfect resurrection, my power has nearly vanished. Right now, I'm barely stronger than some of the more powerful humans of this world… and that's why I wanted to speak with you both—the Hero from the Stars and the Maiden of Thunder."
Hearing her words, Mei gently released her hold on Hachiman, wiping the faint traces of tears from her cheeks. Sora followed her lead, rubbing her eyes with small trembling hands. When both finally looked up, Akon Kagura's calm but resolute expression met theirs.
"To fix this," Akon continued, her voice gaining a quiet determination, "I plan to complete my resurrection but in a slightly different way." Her eyes never wavered from the three before her. "I intend to do it through reincarnation."
Hachiman's brows rose, while Mei tilted her head in confusion and Sora blinked rapidly. None of them interrupted her, they simply waited, letting the dragon god explain to them her plan.
"Although this method will fix my soul and restore my power, perhaps even make me stronger than before, it will also erase the being known as 'Akon Kagura.'" Her tone was even, but there was a faint tremor in it, the kind that revealed she had already accepted this fate.
A sharp gasp escaped Mei and Sora, while Hachiman closed his eyes, understanding all too well what those words meant. The lizardkin behind them lowered his head, his expression solemn, silently mourning the loss of the god he served. He understood her decision. Just like him and the rest of his surviving kin accepted it and silently vowed to follow their god's will.
"Since that's the case," Akon continued, standing from her seat, "I wanted to take all the advantages I could get." She stepped forward and extended her small hands toward Hachiman and Mei, her eyes hopeful. "Therefore, as a personal favor… will you, Hero—no, Hikigaya Hachiman and Raiden Mei, the two who fought me in equal and the one who defeated me..... grant me the honor...... of becoming my newborn self's parents?"
The room froze.
For a long second, no one spoke.
As if the time itself stopped.
Like reality hits the pause button.
Then—
""WHAT?!"" Mei and Hachiman shouted in perfect unison, their stunned voices can be heard through the entire room, while Sora blinked in disbelief.
It seemed their day had just reached a whole new level of absurdity.
======