— — — — — — —
"That's true!"
Uchiha Renzo nodded in agreement before adding, "But when I watched anime, those abilities seemed to directly integrate into the body's instincts, like some kind of genetic modification, right?"
"I remember seeing that scene! It shouldn't lead to our worst-case scenario!"
"Um..."
At that moment, Eevee raised a paw and asked, "Could it be that also the Fantasy Creation skill won't work in another world?"
Everyone: "..."
That was a serious bucket of cold water.
So cold it chilled them to the bone.
"Eevee, enough already!" Uchiha Renzo said, exasperated.
"It shouldn't be a problem, right?"
After a brief pause, Hero Renzo awkwardly analyzed, "Since it's a powerful ability granted by a god, it should be like an innate talent rooted in the soul, right?"
"Besides, it consumes mental energy rather than requiring hand seals like ninjutsu, so it shouldn't be affected by different world rules!"
It was like being given a converter that allowed one to transform mental energy into something else.
Anyway, he had already decided to pick this ability.
No matter what, it would work for him—the only question was whether the others would be as lucky!
"That makes sense!"
Gundam Renzo nodded. "Instead of worrying about this, Hero Renzo should hurry back and finalize his choice!"
"Let's set a time—tomorrow, we'll all meet here again, share any new abilities, and then go back to our respective worlds to test them out!"
"Agreed!"
"Sounds good!"
"No objections!"
"I'm out! I have to head back to accompany Cynthia for the Lily of the Valley Conference!"
"Oh? Eevee, not bad! Cynthia is definitely going to be the champion this time! Good luck! I need to prepare for my sea voyage—staying in the Dojo is getting boring!"
"Same here—time to challenge Dugu Qiubai!"
With that, one by one, everyone left.
Hero Renzo also focused his thoughts and returned, arriving once more at the Reincarnation Reception.
"Ahhhhhhhh! Where is he? Where did he go..."
A certain blue-haired idiot goddess was crawling on the ground, patting and feeling around while mumbling something to herself.
Just as Renzo arrived, Aqua's hand smacked against his foot.
That's when she realized something was off. She looked up, her gaze meeting Renzo's as he looked down at her.
Renzo: "..."
Aqua: "..."
"Uwaaaah!"
The next moment, Aqua scrambled backward two meters before finally getting a good look at Renzo.
Then—whoosh!—she sprang to her feet, ran up to him, grabbed his collar, and shook him vigorously.
"What the heck is going on with you?! Did you disappear earlier? How did you vanish? Why could you disappear?! I thought I made a mistake!"
"L-Let go! Let go!"
Renzo immediately pried Aqua's hands off his collar, took a step back, and looked at the idiot goddess. "You didmake a mistake!"
"No way! Don't talk nonsense, or I'll sue you for defamation!" Aqua huffed in protest.
Renzo adjusted his collar, shoved his hands into his pockets, and gave Aqua a sideways glance. "You called me Satou Kazuma earlier, didn't you?"
"Uh..."
Aqua blinked blankly before nodding. "Yeah! What's the problem?"
"Wait a second... now that I look at you, you don't actually look like him! You're way more handsome!"
Aqua examined Renzo closely, puzzled.
"Glad you noticed! And that's a bigproblem!"
Renzo threw up his hands, exasperated. "Because I'm not Satou Kazuma! My name is Renzo! Oh, and by the way, I'm not from Japan!"
"WHAAAT?!"
Aqua's eyes widened in shock. She stammered as she stared at him nervously.
"Y-You're lying, right? Right?!"
"Nope! One hundred percent true!" Renzo answered firmly.
Aqua: "Your name is Renzo, not Satou Kazuma?!"
Renzo: "Correct!"
Tearful Aqua: "You're not from Japan?!"
Stone-hearted Renzo: "That's right! And if I recall correctly, I just went to sleep and then suddenly appeared here! Which means... I wasn't even deadto begin with, was I?"
Renzo wasn't lying. That's exactly how he remembered it.
Though after his visit to the mental space, he did start doubting the reality of it all.
Aqua: "!!!!"
"...I'm doomed."
Not only had she summoned the wrong person, but she had also dragged in someone outside her jurisdiction!
More importantly… did she accidentally killthis guy?
😭.
This was a major screw-up!
"No! I have to cover this up!"
Aqua's brain went into overdrive. In an instant, she composed herself, walked back to her seat, and pretended nothing had happened. Clearing her throat, she put on an air of authority and looked at Renzo with a dignified expression.
"Ahem... Renzo, right? Welcome to the afterlife. I am Aqua, the Goddess of Water!"
"Unfortunately, you have recently passed away. Though your life was brief, it has come to an end."
"It seems a certain immature goddess made an error and mistakenly brought you here. But don't worry! As her senior, I will take full responsibility for this!"
Renzo twitched at her words. "Oi, oi! Do you even hear yourself? You're just making things up on the spot!"
She was the one who messed up, yet now she was pinning it on some imaginary rookie goddess? This was next-level shamelessness!
Was this really the same idiot Aqua?
Since when did she get so crafty?!
But Aqua wasn't backing down. Determined to push through her lie, she continued, "Now, you will be reincarnated as a hero in another world! A fresh start!"
Renzo: "..."
So she just skipped the option of going to heaven, huh?
Clearly, she was afraid that if Renzo went to heaven, her mistake would be exposed.
Aqua carried on, still acting as if she was in control. "Of course, as compensation, I won't be stingy! I can grant you one thing—just one thing—that is unmatched by anyone!"
She grabbed a stack of papers and held them up in front of Renzo. "This power can be an extraordinary ability or a legendary weapon, like this holy sword here."
"Go ahead! Pick whatever you like! Anything at all! You have the right to take one thing with you to your new world!"
"Additionally, if you manage to defeat the Demon King, you'll receive divine rewards from the gods!"
"Now, choose!"
Looking at the overly enthusiastic Aqua, Renzo sighed and asked, "Are you seriously trying to scam me? Isn't this something every reincarnated hero gets?"
Aqua: "..."
"Eh??..."
She took a nervous step back. "W-Why do you know that?!"
"Isn't it obvious? You had this stuff prepared in advance. Clearly, it wasn't because of some 'mistake' that you brought it out!"
Renzo had completely seen through her act.
Aqua: "...😓"
Damn it! She had let her guard down!
Why was this guy so sharp and difficult to fool?!
"Alright, spill it! What do you want? There's no way I can send you back now! I don't even know how! So tell me your conditions!"
Realizing she couldn't trick her way out of this, Aqua admitted defeat and got straight to the point.
"Hahaha! Now we're talking!"
Renzo grinned and held up two fingers. "I only have one condition—give me double the rewards!"
"Huh?!"
Aqua was stunned. She frantically waved her hands. "N-No way! That's impossible! The contract states that each person gets one reward! Just one! That's the rule of the heavens, and I can't change it!"
"Eh?"
Renzo's expression froze. "That's actually a thing?"
"Of course!"
He rubbed his chin in thought. "I guess that makes sense. If there was such an obvious loophole, things would get out of control. Looks like that idea won't work."
.
.
.