novelraw Chapter 233 – Crocodile Tears Intensifying
Chapter 233 – Crocodile Tears Intensifying
John materialized into a lovely-looking medieval town on what he assumed was a warm spring day. People seemed to be happily going about their business without a care in the world. Buying food from street vendors, chatting with neighbours, basically everything that the people of Meritoni did in The Great Cleric, just with more green spaces.
*SOB*
Still holding Aqua, he patted the goddess on the back while he looked about, wondering what he should do. That other goddess, Eris, seemed to know about DEN. This was a surprise to John in multiple ways. That he started in a world where DEN was already known, in front of beings who knew it, and they seemed to know he was replacing the protagonist. Well, one anyway. The biggest surprise was the fact that he hadn't been given any memories or backstory for this world."
*SOB*
ALEC! I KNOW YOU'RE LISTENING! DON'T TELL ME YOU BROKE SOMETHING AGAIN PLAYING ANOTHER TRICK ON ME!
John focused on that thought, idly rubbing Aqua's back still as her crying intensified.
[Nothing wrong on our end. Just think of this one as a show within a show. Aqua's bosses want to see what happens if their protagonist weren't a kid, too. So you don't need all his memories; if anything they would just be a hinderance. If you are still curious, they are mainly filled with him playing video games and his shut-in lifestyle. So go do whatever you want and have a little fun! - Alec]
"You've got to be kidding me." He murmured while he tried to console this overly emotional goddess. He tried to use Scouter on her, but was rebuffed immediately by a bright light that gave him an instant migraine. Failing to get information the easy way, he had to resort to trying to calm her down. One look at the sobbing mess in his arms told him she still needed a couple more minutes, so he started to look around for a possible destination to get a little privacy.
He could see tall stone walls in the distance, and a more built-up area on the way. He had no idea what he was supposed to be doing, but standing next to this lazy river running through the town wasn't going to get them anywhere.
"Can you walk?" He asked after about a minute, but didn't get a reply other than more sobbing as she grabbed onto his jacket and blubbering out some words he could barely make out. With a sigh, he took his jacket off and wrapped it around her waist to cover her nearly bare ass, then bent at the knee and lifted her up in a princess carry and started to walk towards the main part of the town.
That seemed to snap her out of it, and she looked up at him with flushed cheeks and tears still in her eyes. "*Sniffle* What are you doing? *Sniffle* Where are you taking me?"
"Howdy, darlin'. Glad to see that you can speak again. I have no idea, but hopefully somewhere we can sit down and talk, not to mention give you a little privacy to compose yourself." He said, then nodded towards locals; the stares they were receiving from them were rather awkward.
"Me either, *Sob*, I'm stuck here, and I don't know what to do."
"Well, that other goddess said we had to kill the devil king or something?"
"Damn that Eris, I will make her pay for doing this to me. Wait a minute, she said I was your boon for coming down here?"
"Yeah. Apparently, that Kazuma guy would have taken you as his boon or something like that. Honestly, I have no idea. I am just a reincarnator, sent around several different worlds to entertain some gods. Which begs the question, why did Eris know about DEN and you didn't?"
"I knew about DEN... it just slipped my mind right then. Do you know how many worlds I have to look after? I can't possibly be expected to remember every single thing about them, let alone about a slim possibility of being tossed down to the mortal realm for whatever reason."
"So, you have no idea why we are even here?"
"Well, it would be to defeat the devil king, but I have no idea how to do that!"
"A sword is generally a good way to end anyone, or something bigger if needed. If you had held on a bit while you were reading my memories, you would have seen that I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Speaking of, do you know if Ki or Chi are part of this world?"
"Sorry, I don't. Maybe on the demon king side, but on the side of good, it's mainly magic and skills."
"Darn. Wait, magic? Do you happen to know anyone proficient in healing and arcane magics?"
"Well, that is easier! I am the goddess of healing after all." She said, sounding smug now. "I'm a master of my domains of healing and water magics. Even my touch can purify the deadliest of ailments!"
"Really? Is resurrection magic a thing in this world then?"
"Of course! It's a long and gruelling road of the arch priest class you would need to take to receive that spell, but it can be done."
"Interesting," John said, intrigued at the possibility of gaining that spell here. Granted, the Paladin class in Warcraft already had resurrection built into their spell list; he just needed to level up a few more times in that world to get it. He would have to pick at her mind to see if these healing spells would be worth it, or if he should continue on back to The Great Cleric and gather the tomes there instead.
"So, John was it? Why are you walking around without a shirt? Please don't tell me you're some sort of creep." She asked, looking up at him again.
"I covered your ass so you wouldn't be showing it off to the townsfolk while I carried you. Unless you would rather have your unmentionables out on display to the world."
"My ass? What do you mean?"
"Your dress, while cute, doesn't hide much. Even less if you are not standing up."
"But you're practically naked now!"
"True, but I'm not a young woman, and I didn't know if you would dress like that in public or just the comfort of... wherever we were before being sent down here. Would you rather have me put you down so you can walk?"
"No, I could get used to this. Having one of my followers carry me around from place to place is amazing. I can't believe I didn't think of this before!"
"Hah, sorry to burst your bubble, but that isn't going to fly. First, I'm not your follower, and second, I was only carrying you to get you somewhere more private until you managed to get yourself together."
"You sure? I could use a big, strong man like you to carry me around. I mean, look at your torso, you almost look like a god yourself." She said, running a finger along his chest to his abs. "This is a limited-time offer! Being the mule-, I mean, being the personal attendant of the great goddess Aqua. It can't get any better than that!"
"Alright, if you can run your mouth that much, you can walk yourself now," John said, and tried to set her down. She clung to him like a spider monkey, refusing to touch the ground.
"NO! Please don't put me down, John. *Sniffle* C'mon, is it that big of a deal? I don't wanna be here, and you're taking away the one good thing that's happened since we got here! *SOB*" She begged, the tears starting to flow again.
He just looked at her a moment, quickly coming to the conclusion that she might be a touch disingenuous. He laughed at that generous observation; she was obviously trying to be manipulative now. "We have barely been here for five minutes, and you've already caused two scenes. If you are going to be this much of a brat, go back to where you came from, and I'll deal with this devil king myself. I have no patience for this kind of drama, mainly not from someone who is supposed to be a powerful goddess."
"Haven't you been paying attention? I can't go back, that's the problem! I'm stuck here, and I don't know what to do!!!" She said, sobbing into his shoulder from the awkward position she had scrambled to.
My god, she is clingier than Rei is.
"Sure you do. You have a church with followers here, don't you? Just head there, I'm sure they will take care of you, you are their goddess after all."
"What about you then?"
"I'll go talk to a town guard and get some directions, find out more about this devil king and go from there. I was going to ask you, since that's apparently your job, but I'm not going to bother you further if you really can't stand being here. So let go of me, and let's part ways amicably. I got things to do, like apparently making some money for food. Unless I'm mistaken, neither Eris nor you provided me with any funds before coming down here, and I have no intention of selling my equipment."
"No. Nor do I have anything. I was pulled away so fast I didn’t have time to get my purse. Wait, what equipment? You mean that sword? I didn't give you a sword. Where did you get it?"
"Did you forget I am from DEN? I have much more than a sword on me. Now, get off before I take you off."
"No! Please! I'll be good! I promise! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" She said, starting up the crocodile tears again.
"Get off me, or I swear, I am going to spank you bare assed in front of everyone around us and give you a reason to cry." He growled, noticing the gathering crowd of onlookers from the scene she was making.
"You wouldn't dare! I'm a goddess, and you are nothing but a servant." She replied in a normal voice, calling his bluff. There wasn't a tear or a sob to be heard. Unluckily for her, it wasn't a bluff.
*SMACK* *SMACK* *SMACK*
"EEEEKKKKK!!!"
John lifted the back of his jacket and smacked her silky smooth ass a few times with as much force as he could muster from the awkward angle, causing her to jump off of him in pain and shock. He tore the jacket from her waist and proceeded to put it on as she rubbed her ass and started to cry again. "You may be a goddess, but I am too old to put up with this sort of attitude from an adult. Now, if you can stop being a brat, you can tag along. Otherwise, go find your church and see if they will put up with your nonsense, because I won't."
He activated his armour, then walked away from the goddess, who was still fake sobbing on her knees behind him. She started to crawl after him, tears flowing down her cheeks, which made him feel bad for a moment. Then he realized she was probably just trying to gather sympathy from the crowd; he didn't smack her that hard.
"Get up and walk, goddess. I said I wasn't going to put up with this sort of nonsense, and I meant it."
"Leave me alone then, you one-eyed bully."
"Fine then. Goodbye, Aqua, take care of yourself." He replied and continued on, leaving her behind. Goddess or not, he just didn't have the bandwidth to deal with someone who weaponized tears to get what she wanted. It was bad enough when his daughters did it; he wasn’t going to put up with it from a stranger.
She will be fine once I'm out of sight. She is a goddess after all. Hopefully, that is all the nonsense I have to deal with in this world.
He put her out of his mind, having much more important things to do. Like finding work and feeding himself. Unless the devil king was directly outside of this seemingly peaceful town's gate, he wouldn't be defeating him anytime soon.
Axel's Adventure's Guild
It didn't take long for John to find a bored-looking city guard, who, after one look at him, directed him to the Adventure's guild so he could pick up some work. He had to walk past an open-air market to get there, where there were plenty of food vendors selling some of that cartoonish meat that he saw in The Great Cleric. The smells from some of the stalls were delicious, and he was thankful he had filled up before coming to this world; otherwise, he would be salivating now.
The guild wasn't as impressive as the one in Meritoni, with cream coloured brick walls and a steeply sloped red stone roof; it looked more like an oversized stone house than a small castle, but it was well-maintained at least. Stepping inside, he almost laughed. It had a similar design to the mercenary guild in Infinite Frontiers, except instead of metal, it was mostly green stone and wood. There was a booth where an attendant was dealing with adventurers, and a full restaurant and bar to one side of the room. There was even a job board in a similar spot.
"Oh, welcome!" A rather attractive young woman said in front of him. She was wearing a barmaid's dress and holding four mugs of beer in her hands. "If you're here to eat, grab a seat where you can and if you are looking for work, head on over to the counter." She continued, then turned away before he could reply, busy with her customers.
He thanked her, then proceeded to the counter where another very attractive woman was standing. She had golden, shoulder-length hair, fair skin, and yellow eyes. The white-and-black dress she was wearing was rather odd and overly revealing, with bare shoulders and a plunging neckline that showed more of her rather ample bosom than it hid. She had a red bow tie with an odd white collar around her neck. It was reminiscent of Kururu's from the healers' guild in The Great Cleric, looking both professional and provocative at the same time.
"Hi, how can I help you today?" She said, smiling at him warmly.
"Good morning, Ma'am. I'm new in town and looking for some work." He said, taking off his helmet. "I can fight, or I can heal, and have some limited magic at my disposal as well."
"I can help with that. Are you already registered at an adventures guild? If not, if you pay the registration fee, I can get your paperwork started."
"I am, but not here, sadly. And I'm a bit short of coin right now."
"Do you have your adventurer card?"
"Nope, left it in my other armour." He replied, which was technically true. His disco ball armour held his adventures card, just not one from this world.
"I see. Well, I can't do anything about that then. I can direct you to a nearby construction site that hires adventurers as day labourers, but otherwise, you will need to pay your registration fee before you can take on any actual jobs at the guild.
"That's fine. How much is it?"
"1000 Eris, or 1 silver coin"
He had no idea how much that was in this world, but it seemed reasonable enough. "Easy enough. Where is this construction site? I'll be back once I have the fee."
"Just head straight out of the guild, then turn left once you find the river. Follow alongside that road until you get to the wall. You can’t miss it."
"Thank you, Ma'am. My name is John, by the way." He replied.
"Luna."
"A beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Well, Luna. It's been a pleasure. I hope to see you soon." He said, putting his helmet back on.
"Wait! Do you plan on remaining here in Axel long?" She said, making him turn back towards her.
"I'm not sure. It will depend on a few things. Why?"
"I... I'm not supposed to do this, but I could lend you the fee."
He just looked at her a moment, confused at the offer. "I'm not against it, but why?"
"I..." She started to say, but then the guild door swung open with a slam, and Aqua rushed into the room. Her dress was torn in several places, and she was covered in dirt and scrapes.
"JOHN! I'M SORRY!!! I WON'T DO IT AGAIN! I'LL BE A GOOD GIRL, I PROMISE. JUST DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE AGAIN!!! WHAANNN!!" She sobbed, clinging to his armour.
"We have been separated for less than an hour! How did you do... all of this? How did you even find me?" He said, trying to dislodge this unwanted spider monkey. She had apparently found some goddess-like strength from somewhere, because he couldn't get her to let go.
"It was horrible. I went to my church, and they wouldn't believe me that I'm me. They just kept asking me for a tithe to the goddess as penance for trying to claim I am me. Then they tossed me out. So I went and started to beg for alms, and I got stuck underneath a wagon that dragged me through town without stopping, no matter how much I screamed. The guards took pity on me, and when I described who I was looking for, they sent me here."
"I see."
"Please! I'll do anything, just don't leave me alone again!!! This world is scary."
"I take it you know this woman, John?" Luna said behind him.
"Yeah. We just met recently, but apparently, I have been saddled with her care for now." He replied, looking up at the receptionist for a moment. She seemed... disappointed for some reason. He looked back at Aqua. "Now, let's get you cleaned up. You won't be able to work like that. Heal!"
"Ohhh!?!?!" Aqua screamed as she writhed against his leg, pinching her legs together as pleasure went through her body unexpectedly as his magic healed her wounds. Eyes from around the guild were trained on them right then, all wondering just what in the hell was going on over there.
What the hell? My bloody healing magic even gives a goddess of healing an orgasm? Alec, you know how damn inconvenient this ability is on a daily basis?
Far off in the Omniverse, Alec just sat there watching, a broad smile on his face at John and Aqua's predicament. He knew, and he was there for it.