—Cole POV—
Plopping down on one of the new couches, I asked my grandfather how the meetings went. Assuring me that everything was on track, he told me it would be a few months before we got word back. Things were now in queue for review and approval from the city, prefecture, and the national government which took a long time to complete. Knowing full well, having been a Demon Lord and King, I wasn't that surprised we had a long time to wait.
"Did you subdue any more villains today?", he asked me.
"A few but nothing noteworthy, just a couple of purse-snatchers and a thief.", I replied.
"I am going to meet with an old friend in the morning. You should probably introduce yourself to some of the local Heroes.", he suggested.
"I will keep that in mind.", I answered as I pulled up an app to order dinner, "What do you want to eat?"
Suggesting we order some sushi, I found a good restaurant nearby and placed our order. Eating dinner together, my grandfather turned in early as he had a meeting with an old friend first thing in the morning. Telling him good night, I decided to head out for the evening. Jumping around from building to building, I watched the city take on a completely different aura.
Now that night was settling in, people were out with family and friends for dinner. Keeping an eye out for any of All For One's lackeys, I wanted to get an exact location on him. At this point, he should still be laid up from the beating All Might gave him, but that may not be true now. I still hadn't found any signs of problems here so I wanted to know where potential threats were before things got crazy.
'Both All For One and the Doctor are my top priority, they are too dangerous to not know where they are at. Unfortunately, I can't use my magic, or I might blow my cover so I will have to settle for locating their bases of operation for now.', I thought.
Spending two hours scouring the city looking for signs of activity, I came up with nothing which wasn't surprising. Since I couldn't remember the dive bar they hid at or the doctor's actual name my first real encounter would be at UA. With my grandfather's connections, it shouldn't be difficult to get in there.
Jumping down from a three-story building, I walked into a coffee shop to order something to drink. As I walked in, I saw a familiar bunny-eared Hero looking at the menu. Asking her if she was in line, she replied that she wasn't at the moment.
"Hey wait a second, you're that new International Hero everyone is talking about.", Mirko said recognizing my outfit, "Aren't you hot in that thing?"
"No, I am quite comfortable actually.", I chuckled with a smile.
Walking up to the counter, I placed an order for a large White Chocolate Mocha. Paying for the coffee, Mirko asked me what I could recommend as she wasn't used to drinking coffee.
"If you aren't used to it, why are you drinking it?", I asked.
"Because my usual sports drinks are out of stock.", she replied.
"What, carrot juice?", I teased her.
"Yes, my usual shop is out till the next delivery truck arrives in two days.", she answered without skipping a beat.
Asking the lady behind the counter if they could make a Carrot Cake Latte, she gave me a confused look. Telling her the recipe, one that I learned in my first transmigration, she did as I said and handed a cup to Mirko. Taking a sip of it, I watched her ears twitch around with delight before she quickly recovered herself.
"This is pretty good, where did you learn to make this?", Mirko questioned.
"Someone dear to me taught me to make it, it's a variation on her grandmother's recipe..", I replied with a solemn grin.
Sensing that I didn't want to go into further detail, she thanked me for the suggestion. Paying for her drink, I said it was my way of saying hello since I would be here for a while. Telling her I'd see her around, I left with my coffee in hand and took a spot up on a roof a block away.
'It must be a rabbit girl thing, Evelyn loved it when I made her coffee.', I thought remembering my blue-haired bunny girl lover, 'Mirko's ear twitching reminds me a lot of her…I just didn't get slapped around by them haha.'
—Flashback—
It was a cold day in the country of Alestar, winter had come early and everyone was left scrambling to secure enough supplies for winter. The harvest that year was better than the last, but it still wasn't going to be enough to feed everyone. Unfortunately catching up on food production took time, and since the world was in a bad state…there was inevitably going to be starvation.
"Aaron…you shouldn't beat yourself up, we are in a much better place than we were last year.", Luna the Rabbitkin said trying to console me, "A lot more people are going to see the spring because of you. That is something to be proud of!"
"I know…", I remarked looking at the empty food stalls, "It still doesn't change the fact that families are going to have to decide who lives and who dies. Making that call…I don't think I could make that decision. I'd rather starve than watch my family wither away while I watch."
"And that's why the races placed their faith in you.", she replied with a warm smile, "In two years we won't be in the situation anymore, and things can go back to what they used to be."
Giving her a small smile, I thanked her for trying to cheer me up. Seeing children running around playing in the snow, the signs of the famine and plague that had rocked this world for nearly fifty years were still visible. The work I had done had helped bring an end to the plague and I hoped the famine would disappear in a few years.
"Why don't go back to the castle, and make some of that coffee drink?", Luna suggested, "Grandma said her Carrot Tea was good when you were sick, so your Carrot Cake Coffee must make you feel good when you are sad!"
"Haha, I think the real answer is you want something sweet again.", I chuckled as I gave her a hug, "Alright, let's get going. Aria will probably want some coffee too, she's been locked in the library all night."
Heading to the Castle's Kitchen, Luna ran off to fetch Aria while I got to work brewing coffee. When I arrived in Alestar, coffee was almost completely unheard of and wasn't cultivated anywhere. I introduced coffee to the public and it became an overnight success. Since coffee pots weren't a thing here, I had to resort to the old fashion method of drip coffee.
Using the spell Summon Merchant, I used gold to buy several syrups and carrots from the vendor. Summon Merchant was a spell that only the Hero could use, and it allowed me to buy goods from my previous world for use here. Since electricity wasn't a thing all electronics were out of the question, and bulk food simply cost far too much so feeding the public wasn't an option. That said, all the seeds that were being used by farmers were purchased through the Merchant so it did help us out that way.
"Aaron!!", Luna grunted, "Aria…was asleep on the…floor…again…"
Dragging the sleeping Kitsune into the kitchen, Luna started shaking her to wake her up. After a few minutes of shouting, Aria woke up and smacked Luna away. Picking herself up, she demanded to know why she was in the kitchen and why her head hurt.
"Wait...did someone help you carry me down the stairs? The library is on the third floor.", Aria pointed out.
"Hehe…no one helped me at all.", Luna said nervously, "If you weren't so heavy I might have been able to carry you."
"What was that!?", Aria hissed grabbing her by the throat, "I am not fat!! Don't you ever say that again!!"
Aria and Luna were best friends…though they had an odd way of showing it. Laughing at what I was seeing, I told them that everything was ready now. Sliding their coffee mugs to them, Aria dropped Luna and walked away like she wasn't just strangling her friend.
"Mmm, your coffee is good as always.", Aria told me.
Pulling herself up off the ground, Luna leaned on the counter trying to catch her breath. Once she had recovered, she took her cup and stood next to me for fear Aria would resume choking her after she finished her coffee. Taking a sip, she grew a big grin on her face as her rabbit ears started spinning around like a helicopter blade.
"Luna…your ears are acting up again.", Aria stated.
"I can't help it!!", Luna shouted, "It's so good!!"
"At least stop hitting Aaron!", Aria protested.
Realizing that she was hitting me, she stepped just out of reach for her ears and continued drinking her coffee. Taking the opportunity to get me caught up on her findings, Aria took the next thirty minutes going over various places the Kingdom of Dorn had been hemorrhaging coin.
—Flashback End—
Recalling those days, I missed the time I spend with my lovers. Things may have not always gone to plan, but we always had each other's back no matter what. Stopping my walk down memory lane, I continued my patrolling for another hour before calling it a night.
—Next Day—
Getting up at 8 the next morning, grandpa was already gone for the day. Leaving me a note saying he was having breakfast with his friend, he told me to do as I pleased today. Deciding to explore the city more, I got dressed and headed out for the day. Locking the door behind me I only got a few steps from the house before someone started calling out to me.
"Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to be Lightning Jack's grandson would you?", a voice said from the gate.
Glancing over in that direction, I saw Nezu standing there with a smile on his face. Walking over, I confirmed that I was his grandson and asked how I could help the principal of UA.
"Oh, so you already know who I am, that makes things easier.", Nezu stated, "I was going to ask if your grandfather and you wanted to come to the test we are holding today. You are going to be needing able-bodied people to work in your branch here, this is a good opportunity to see the next generation of Heroes."
'Ah…', I thought, "Unfortunately my grandfather is out with an old friend of his, but I can certainly attend if that is alright."
"We can head out now if you are ready.", he told me.
Telling him I could get us there quickly, I took his hand and zipped into a power line. Getting us to the school in less than a second, Nezu looked around in confusion and then at me.
"What did you just do?", he asked.
"I turned us both into pure energy and transmitted us through the power lines.", I chuckled with a smirk, "So do you want to show me where the testing area is?"
Nodding his head, he snapped out of his daze before taking the lead. Pointing out the state-of-the-art facilities they had at UA, Nezu proudly told me about the success rate for graduates of the school's Hero program. Taking me to the replica city they had onsite, he led me to the command center where the staff and a few Pro Heroes were already gathered.
"Whose this kid?", Endeavor asked pointing at me.
"The name's Kessler.", I replied.
"Ah, the newest generation of the Bolt Family…", Endeavor grumbled looking back at the screen.
'You better watch it old man, I might put you into retirement earlier than you want.', I thought before turning my attention to All Might who was walking over to me.
Shaking my hand with a loud laugh, he greeted me with his signature big smile.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, your grandfather Lightning Jack was an excellent mentor during my time in the States.", he told me, "I may have only spent a few weeks at your family's agency, but your grandfather had a big impact on my career. My condolences on the passing of your grandmother, she was a lovely lady as well."
"Thank you.", I replied, 'He was mentored by grandpa!? What the hell!?'
Introducing me to everyone else, I felt Midnight looking me over with a smile. Interested in what she saw, there was nothing about her I wanted a part of. Sure she was good-looking, but I wasn't into BDSM. I once made the mistake of dating a woman into that stuff, and that is a mistake I will not repeat.
"Alright everyone the test is about to begin.", Nezu stated as the monitor flicked onto the starting line.