"Waaah. How sad! Those bastards, how could they do something like that?!"
"Damn it, I'll avenge you, brother!"
After that, Meliodas could no longer refuse, so he accepted before once again extending the offer for them to have dinner at his house.
Something Kaito accepted without any problem.
Which eventually turned into dinner outside so Diane could also be with them.
Liz's sudden new state, with her personality almost completely different, was hard to ignore, so Diane, being the most straightforward one, asked curiously.
And upon hearing the question, Elizabeth did not miss the chance to tell her love story with great excitement and detail.
And so, here we are, with a crying Diane and a drunk Ban swearing revenge for the brother from another mother he met today.
"It can't be! Just because your races have been at war since their creation because they were created for that exact purpose, but you decided to go against the natural state of things, disrupting the delicate balance between your races that existed for thousands of years and risking the fragile peace between you. Just for that, they cursed you like this, it's horrible!" cried Diane.
'No, when you put it like that it actually sounds reasonable' thought Meliodas, unsure whether she was truly sad or just criticizing them.
"Hey, Diane, don't say that!" interrupted Ban. "For love, a man can declare war on the entire world, a mere clan is nothing.
I agree with your decision, brother."
"...Thanks?" replied Meliodas, not really sure what to say.
"By the way, what are you planning to do after this?" Ignoring the two of them, he decided to ask Kaito about his future plans.
"Tomorrow I'll go get the last member of our group and then I'll leave this world" replied Kaito, although in reality he could not leave until everyone finished their trials, but he trusted his luck would take care of that when the time came.
"Already?" King, who was at the side hesitating about whether or not he should drink alcohol, joined the conversation. "What about the magic orb you wanted?"
"What do you think I was doing during the time you were dealing with the Fairy King's Forest?" replied Kaito.
"Wait! You stole a treasure from Britannia's royal mage in a single day?"
"Are you forgetting my speed? With it, I can do it in seconds."
"But you were gone for an entire day?"
"No, I stole the orb in a few minutes. I spent the rest of the time traveling around Britannia searching for our last member until I finally found him" explained Kaito.
"I see... So tomorrow this journey ends."
"It begins" corrected Kaito.
"It sounds strange. Not long ago I was just an ordinary fairy in the human kingdom, then suddenly I regained my memories, remembering my identity as the Fairy King and Helbram's tragedy. And now, only two days later, out of nowhere, I'm about to leave for another world" sighed King.
"As for me, the sooner the better" added Meliodas.
The three fell silent for a moment, each one thinking about their own matters.
"You know?" Meliodas spoke, drawing the attention of the other two. "What the hell am I doing talking with you guys instead of spending time with my girlfriend? I'm leaving, enjoy the night."
After saying that, Meliodas got up and walked over to Elizabeth, immediately starting to tease her in a perverted way.
It should be said that Elizabeth was far more permissive than Liz, allowing him to touch her in public.
But unlike Liz, Elizabeth hugged him affectionately, calming Meliodas down in a different way than hitting him, though just as effective.
"That bastard, he thinks just because he has a girlfriend... Ah, hey, where are you going?"
"With Diane" replied Kaito as he also left.
"What? Then who am I supposed to talk to?"
"Talk to alcohol, it's worked for single people since ancient times" said Kaito from the distance as he waved goodbye.
King lowered his gaze toward his wooden mug full of beer, wondering if he should drink.
"Forget it, what kind of king gets drunk?" he said as he placed the mug on the table. "I spent too much time away from the Fairy King's Forest, let's ask Elaine about some new..."
He stopped halfway through the sentence. He saw Elaine sitting on Ban's lap feeding him by hand while he smiled happily like an idiot.
"Damn it!" complained King as he grabbed the mug and swallowed all the beer immediately before slamming the empty mug against the table with force.
...
"Another one!"
The sound of the mug was barely audible because of the noise, and the man's shout was drowned out by the voices.
Even so, in the tavern, the owner, who also worked as the janitor and waiter, heard the sound and immediately filled another mug to serve him.
"Thanks, thanks, keep being this efficient, owner, take some coins as a reward." After returning the empty mug, he thanked the owner and gave him a few coins as a tip while also patting his back several times with his palm.
But even though he did it in a friendly manner, the owner was so thin and weak that he stumbled from the man's strength.
Used to it, the owner stood back up and picked up the coins that had fallen, stored them in his pocket, and headed toward the next customer calling him.
After another productive day at his tavern, he finally closed the establishment, ready to count his money.
He stopped when he heard footsteps outside the building followed by soft knocks.
"Excuse me, but we're clo..."
Before he could finish speaking, his voice stopped, his eyes widened at what he saw, and he stepped back in fear.
But it was useless.
Because what stood outside the door was what he feared most, what he had been hiding from for years.
"Impossible, it's nighttime, how can it be there..."
"The sun?" Kaito entered the establishment and finished Escanor's sentence.
"It's not exactly the sun, I replicated its structure and conditions on a miniature scale with magic, I was wondering if this would work.
I see it does."
Kaito observed as he spoke, watching Escanor's body begin to grow at an incredible speed, changing from his weak human form into what looked like a muscular god in only seconds.
He grew so much that his shirt was completely destroyed, fully exposing his muscles, and although the effect on his legs was not as exaggerated, his pants still nearly tore apart completely, looking like shorts now.
"Young man, I do not care who you are, but you should know that under the sun's heat, you stand no chance against me" said Escanor with his deep voice and absolute confidence. His timid and nervous personality was gone, as if it had never existed.
"It's fine, I didn't come here to fight" said Kaito.
At the same time, he focused the Demon King's aura on Escanor, not treating him as an enemy but as an ally.
"Oh? What is this? My mind is being polluted with weak thoughts?... No, I am simply maturing, I see it now, there exists the possibility of losing against stronger enemies. And many times, defeat can come from arrogance" said Escanor in surprise.
'Good, both worked, I've been lucky lately' Kaito smiled in satisfaction.
"Now tell me, young man, what did you do?"
"I calmed you down a bit. I wouldn't like talking to an arrogant person who refuses to listen to anyone, though I also wouldn't like fighting you. I already fought King and Meliodas before, it would be too repetitive to do it again" replied Kaito.
"You speak in a strange manner, young ma..."
"Kaito."
"Very well, Kaito, what do you want from me?"
"I want..." Kaito decided to deactivate the miniature sun before speaking, returning Escanor to his skinny, weak, and timid form, who immediately tried to cover his chest, but then his excitement overtook him and he forgot about it.
"Y-you said Kaito, right? How did you do it? I managed to control my thoughts even under the sunlight. You... can control my curse?"
"Alright, let's start from the beginning, you don't have a curse, it's a power, how you use it depends on you" said Kaito. "On the other hand, I would like you to work under me. Of course, it won't be for evil things."
"Impossible" Escanor shook his head. "I only hurt others in that form."
"Don't worry, didn't you already see that I can make you calm down?"
"Even so, that was a weakened version, the sun you created was not strong enough to fully transform me."
'I figured as much' thought Kaito.
"Alright, Escanor, listen!" Kaito decided to be direct, remembering that Escanor was not that difficult to convince. "You do not have a curse, you have a power. I know you are afraid of using it, but I need you to use that power to help me, no, to help everyone.
The world is facing a terrible threat, in such a situation, would you truly refuse to step forward despite the power you possess? Not doing so would be cowardice.
Of course, I will not force you, it is still your decision in the end, but I hope you consider it.
Even if you do not want to fight, I promise I can find a way to remove that power from you and give it to someone else.
What do you say?"
After his improvised speech, Kaito looked at Escanor, who to his surprise was crying.
"I'll do it!" he declared as he stepped forward with determination. "Even though I do not know what is happening, if there is a threat, if there is a situation where the power inside me can help instead of hurt others, then I can only step forward."
'I remember he was easy to convince but... this easy?' thought Kaito in surprise. 'No, it's because we're in this era, knights are popular. Even so, I feel like I just tricked a child.'
Despite his thoughts, outwardly Kaito simply smiled and accepted Escanor's declaration.
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+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)