The Yukinoshita Family's head forced a dry laugh: "W-Wife, th-there's no need to be so..."
"Shut up. Have you done much more for the family than she has?"
Mrs. Yukinoshita asked coldly, directly silencing the Yukinoshita Family's head.
Although he occasionally attended Hero Association meetings on behalf of Mrs. Yukinoshita, everyone knew the real person in charge of the Yukinoshita Family was that noble lady.
When Mrs. Yukinoshita attended meetings, people like Kashiwazaki Tenma and Yuki Shouzou, though they might not think much of the mere real estate developer Yukinoshita family internally, would still give her some respect on the surface and exchange a few words with her.
But when the Yukinoshita Family's head came-
He was truly like a ghost, and no one paid him any attention.
Mrs. Yukinoshita opened the Universe Chat Room and clicked into the private messages.
What appeared before the family of four was a message from Nakano Maruo, another member of the Hero Association's highest management committee, sent to Mrs. Yukinoshita:
[Ms. Yukinoshita, the Association signed an employment contract with you on February 26, 202X, establishing a cooperative relationship.
However, during the contract performance, the Association found you incompetent in your role, with poor work ability.
Furthermore, due to your misconduct, you have caused losses to the Association. The Association has decided to dismiss you and terminate the cooperative relationship with you.
Please report to the relevant department of the Association to complete the resignation procedures after receiving this dismissal notice.
Simultaneously, after receiving this dismissal notice, you are not to conduct any business activities in the name of the Association. Otherwise, you will bear all consequences caused thereby.]
The Yukinoshita Family's head and his two daughters were all dumbfounded.
"Tell me, Miss Yukinoshita Yukino, now that the family is facing a crisis, how will you solve it? With your so-called justice? Or with your top-of-the-year grades at Shuchi'in Academy, demanding the Hero Association retract its decision?"
Mrs. Yukinoshita closed the chat page, narrowed her eyes, and questioned.
"I... I..."
Yukino hung her head low, silent.
Her hands tightly gripped her skirt.
For the first time since leaving the Service Club, she felt how insignificant she was.
"Haruno, prove to me that you are still useful."
Mrs. Yukinoshita coldly looked at her eldest daughter.
…
In a hotel restaurant in the X City that wasn't too badly damaged-
Lott and Erina were separated by a kitchen counter.
Erina was showcasing her skills enthusiastically on the other side of the kitchen counter, sweating slightly as she served Lott one high-class dish after another, allowing him to eat heartily.
"Lott-san, please try this."
Only when the plates beside Lott were piled almost to the point of having no space left.
Erina then placed a plate of grilled steak in front of Lott that looked quite ordinary compared to the previous dishes.
"This is?"
Lott's gaze shifted slightly.
"I, I made it using the Kuku Kuku no Mi's ability."
Erina said somewhat awkwardly.
While Lott and Genos were having their training session earlier, she had been practicing her ability on scattered stones, steel, and other things around.
Just as Lott had told her.
Saiyans have Saiyan talents, chefs have chef talents.
She would continue down the path of a culinary artist.
Using the God Tongue and the power of the Kuku Kuku no Mi to become the best chef in the world... no, in the entire universe!
And she wanted the man before her to taste this first dish she made with her own ability.
Seeing the girl's serious expression and noticing the barely concealed nervousness in her violet eyes-
Lott, for once, didn't swallow it whole as he usually would.
Instead, he used chopsticks and a fork, took a bite, and chewed carefully, savoring it.
"The texture is considerably worse than the previous dishes. Even an amateur like me can tell the issue is with the ingredients, not you. But you just got this ability, so keep it up."
Saying this, Lott swallowed the remaining steak in two or three bites.
"Mm!"
A barely noticeable curve appeared at the corner of Erina's mouth as she prepared to showcase her skills again.
Just as Lott put down his chopsticks-
A graceful figure suddenly entered the restaurant and sat down beside Lott.
"Could I offer you a drink, the strongest man in the universe, Lott-sama?"
The mature woman who sat down revealed a captivating smile and pushed a glass of champagne towards Lott.
Erina, who had just picked up a napkin to wipe the sweat under her chef's hat, raised her delicate eyebrows.
'Who is this woman with the obnoxious smile?!'
'Wait, she looks familiar. Where have I seen her before?'
"The younger sister didn't work, so the older sister comes?"
Lott didn't even touch the champagne, casting a look at Haruno as if watching a circus performance.
This woman was quite a heavyweight in many Fanfictions in his previous life.
Her status was comparable to Shanks in One Piece Fanfics.
Her attribute was 'troublemaker', the kind who had to get involved in everything.
You couldn't even figure out why she was there.
But this time, Haruno's purpose was very clear.
"Please forgive Yukino's rudeness, Lott-sama. As her older sister, I'll punish myself with a drink first on her behalf."
As Haruno spoke, she downed her own glass of champagne first.
'Oh my, she's deeply mastered the essence of drinking culture.'
But Haruno's words left Lott full of question marks.
'Yukinoshita Yukino's rudeness?'
'What incident?'
Lott wasn't playing dumb, as he genuinely hadn't seen what Yukino said in the chat group before.
He didn't usually participate much in group chats, and even if he paid attention-
He would only focus on the messages from capable people like Goku, Frieza, Aizen, etc.
What a low-level girl like Yukino said, Lott wouldn't waste a single second on someone like that.
"You mean... that matter before?"
Lott thought for a long time before coming up with one possibility.
It was Yukino's 'offer' two hours ago.
"Please forgive her, Lott-sama. If there's anything, direct it at me, her older sister. I'm willing to take the punishment for her."
Haruno stood up and bowed.
She was referring to her sister's casual remark in the chat group earlier.
The two were having a cross-frequency conversation.
Lott rubbed his chin, his half-lidded eyes gleaming strangely.
"So, you're here to offer yourself too?"
'Offer herself?!'
Hearing these words, Erina, who was preparing dessert, shuddered.
Her hand slipped, and hot oil splashed onto the back of her hand.
Then the girl screamed in pain.
Lott glanced at the golden-haired girl clutching her hand, tears welling in her eyes from the pain.
"Come here."
Upon hearing this, Erina, holding her already blistered hand, walked over to Lott.
For a Saiyan, even paying attention to an injury of this level was an insult to the word 'warrior'.
But for a girl not yet twenty, it was a big deal.
"I don't know how to heal, so I can't..."
Noticing the two large blisters raised on the back of Erina's right hand, Lott thought for a moment, then held her delicate hand with his left, pointed at his forehead with his right, and glanced sideways at Haruno.
"Although I don't know what madness you sisters are suffering from, I can tell you one thing... Someone of your level doesn't interest me enough to sleep with."
The next instant, both of them vanished from the spot.
Haruno stared at the now-empty spot where Lott and Erina had been standing, not reacting for a long time.
Only one sentence from Lott kept echoing in her mind-
'You, someone of your level?'
That's right, Haruno truly didn't meet Lott's standards.
Unless you sisters come together... Oh no, even as a sister pair, Lott felt they can't compare to the Nakiri Sisters or the Nakano Sisters.
Unless... cough, it's better to stop right there.
Some things are better kept to oneself.
…
Planet Pokémon, border region of the South Galaxy, leaning East Galaxy.
Summit of Mount Coronet.
"If you don't like our world, you can choose to leave on your own! Go to another timeline! Or another planet! Just because of your own dissatisfaction, you want to deny everything about this world... Such behavior is just... too selfish!!"
Faced with Team Galactic's boss, Cyrus's attempt to use Dialga and Palkia's power to destroy the Planet Pokémon-
Cynthia, the Champion of the Sinnoh League, showed unprecedented anger as she condemned him.