(This is a bonus chapter, so you guys better give me powerstones. This week's goal is 500 Powerstones)
"Maybe, though I don't think anybody can control somebody fully unless it's a magic spell. Even then, there would be complications. We can still see the signs of whether the other party has some semblance of control over themselves by seeing whether they have any individuality left. Maybe it acts as a subtle manipulation, like a person's goal is this, irrespective of who they are," Akeru said with known information he had and with a bit of meta-knowledge.
"I see."
"Anyway, are you going to buy only two of the stones?" Akeru asked Kaiser.
"Yeah, I don't have many people who I am close to," the latter shrugged.
"I can understand." Akeru nodded, and both of them continued scouting their part.
They met the other two during dinner as this city was considerably larger than the previous one.
"Any luck?" Akeru asked them.
"Nope, what about you guys?" Akeru just shook his head.
"We bought some mage stones as souvenirs when the boss insisted," Kaiser made sure to say the "boss" in a slightly higher tone than other words.
"Wahhh, that's not fair, we were doing the hard work, while you were playing around, boSS?" Erza asked with a serious expression.
Akeru internally cursed Kaiser. "Well, we still scouted the whole part. plus, it would have been a waste if we didn't buy the famed mage stones, no?"
Erza's stare only intensified at his excuse.
"Oh, I also came across a pastry shop. This is the speciality found here," Akeru said while taking out a pastry box and handing it to Erza.
"Ohh, you should have told from the start!" Erza's face immediately changed when she took the box.
'When did he buy that?' Kaiser thought while sweatdropping at how fast Erza's mood changes when food is involved.
'Note to self - if somebody tries to bribe me with food, don't become biased towards them,' Akeru thought while looking at Erza.
He felt like he could almost see the future of what would happen if he changed his and Erza's positions.
'Then again, you can't really blame me for being biased towards them if they bring an exotic delicacy. I guess I am not really suitable to be a judge. You really need to put your desires before that unbiased facade,' Akeru thought while looking at how Erza started devouring it on the spot.
She did, for the sake of politeness, ask Ren whether he would like to try it, but the latter shook his head after seeing the expression on Erza's face.
It was quite contrary to her words.
'No wonder that Kira judge seems like he has a stick up his ass. I guess that's the sacrifice you need to make,' Akeru internally joked.
The next day, for a few hours, the group scouted the area a bit more, mainly so that Ren and Erza could buy themselves some souvenirs.
They moved to Amber Wind next.
It was the city where various traders from all over the country came to sell and exchange items.
The most popular things sold here were none other than artifacts.
To put it simply, artifacts are devices that allow one to use some form of magic with the expertise required by the wielder to range from none to a certain level - which depends on its purpose.
For example, an artefact in the form of a sword, let's say, has a property for its temperature to drastically increase, which is dependent on the control and amount of fire created by the user.
"How about we change the team layout this time, with me tagging along with you, boss?" Erza asked after they had entered the city.
"I don't think that's ideal-" Akeru started, thinking of counter-arguments, but he was beaten to it.
"I have heard that pastries that we got from Topaz Gorge are supplied from here, and this city's fame is such that it has another name for denoting its status for artefacts," Erza said with a grin.
"Though it might not be ideal, I believe that some change is required so that it's not monotonous and boring to keep our mental state at an all-time high and performance at its peak," Akeru said without an ounce of shame betraying his expression.
The other two only had a look of shock at what happened.
It was very similar to the encounter of yesterday, except the people had switched.
With that, Erza and Akeru went towards many restaurants in the name of scouting.
They were going through the highly-rated restaurants first, so after going through three restaurants successively, the following restaurants on the list were actually expecting them to come and had reserved seats for them.
And that was how the rumour of two gluttonous siblings with cyan-coloured hair raiding top-rated restaurants in the city spread.
"I am finally full," Akeru said while patting his tummy.
"Though I could eat more, I would rather not, as that would affect my combat capabilities," Erza said while looking normal.
'Why do I feel that she is not even halfway there? She would really be good friends with Charmy, probably... or maybe enemies. That would be a really interesting interaction,' Akeru thought internally about the possible encounter.
"Boss, how about we look there? I think that kind of place has a really high chance that both of them could go," Erza said while pointing towards the tower that was in front of them.
Akeru read a signboard outside. 'The Tower of Eternity - if you go with a partner, it's highly likely to become a couple for eternity.'
He rolled his eyes. 'Highly likely? No guarantee? Sounds like a scam. The latter wouldn't have been in business if an opposing case came, so "highly likely" is used as a diplomatic word here, though that makes it less credible.'
"I don't think we will f-" Akeru's words were caught in his mouth as the bracelet he was wearing vibrated.
Both of their eyes widened, and they started briskly walking towards the tower.
'I didn't expect to find them this soon, though we need to hurry. It seems that they arrived just now with spatial magic directly on top of the tower. I don't know how long they would stay,' Akeru thought while looking at Erza.
The latter had the same thoughts as him.
He had sensed their position with the help of '3D Witness', so the other party was unaware that they were somebody's target.
Erza and Akeru hurriedly reached the top floor and opened the large door while knocking out the guy who was outside.
Currently, only a blue-haired individual was inside the room.
She seemed to be around 20 years old and was wearing a tight bodysuit, which didn't hide any of her sinful body.
Her body was enough to make somebody turn back to properly get a look when they glanced at her.
Akeru was not any different.
'Though I don't know whether Takuma is a superficial person or not, I can really see how he got seduced,' Akeru activated Still Spectator.
However, he then realized something.
'Why is everyone... beautiful? Why am I the only one who is average-looking?' Akeru internally cried at the unfairness.
'Though, the only good thing is that males I have seen till now don't have that... groundbreaking bodies compared to female knights I have seen, though maybe I am being biased due to being attracted to females?' Akeru wondered while analyzing the girl in front of him.
A gun appeared in Erza's hands just as she shot, followed by a water hand swatting away the bullet near Miko.
'Oh, the room is soundproof, which means that Takuma won't know that we are here,' Akeru thought with a smirk.
'Just have to capture her. Capturing Takuma would be pretty easy after that.'
Just as Akeru was moving the mana of his mana zone, suddenly his body froze.
His eyes lost their focus, and it seemed like Akeru was in his own world, thinking something.
Just like how an average student is when he is in class.
Erza, who was preparing a big one, noticed this.
"Got you. That would have been dangerous if you had unleashed that. Now come here," Miko said with a smirk.
Akeru started walking towards Miko, such that now he was on the path between Miko and Erza.
Erza's eyes showed confusion; however, in the next instant, she felt something affecting her focus as she looked at Miko.
However, she easily broke through it, jumping aside just to dodge a wave of water.
"Tch, as I expected, my Charm magic won't work on people of the same gender if they are close to my strength. Oh well, it wouldn't really matter now that I have this guy under my control."
***
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