Chapter 0148: The Epilogue of the Bone King Arc
Sky City, First Layer Outskirts, Garden Area.
"Come, everyone, relax today—just relax—"
Hayashi looked at the assembled guests before him and flashed a warm smile.
From the Kingdom—
The old king, the second prince, the warrior captain, Princess Renner, and Climb.
From the Empire—
The Bloody Emperor, the Four Knights, and Fluder.
From the Theocracy—
The High Priest and all members of the Black Scripture.
From the Holy Kingdom—
Holy Queen Calca and Holy Knight Remedios.
From the Council State—
All members of the Argland Council State.
From the Elven Nation—
The new Elven King and his new Elven Guard.
Incidentally, the previous Elven King and most of the mentally unstable elves had been crushed to death by Antilene. The surviving members of the Elven Nation were all elves with sound minds, which was why they were spared.
To put it bluntly—if Hayashi suddenly went mad today and hurled a Kamehameha into the courtyard, the entire continent would be plunged into chaos for at least a decade.
At this moment, the reason Hayashi was hosting this banquet was twofold: first, to allow the leaders of various nations to bond, and second, to flex his might a little further—just to keep certain ambitious individuals in check (yes, we're looking at you, balding Bloody Emperor).
To drive the point home, he had even draped the skinned hides of several Dragon Lords—scales and all—along the city walls as a display, sending shivers down the spines of every guest who entered.
"Lord Hayashi—"
The Bloody Emperor took a sip of wine from his glass, then glanced at the dragon hides on the wall and said, "Are these the so-called 'evil Dragon Lords' who dared invade Sky City, as mentioned in your invitation?"
"Mhm—"
Hayashi nodded, sighing with emotion. "You know, the Platinum Dragon Lord was even hailed as one of the 'Thirteen Heroes' among your people—what a shame. He was just too weak. Didn't even last five minutes before coughing up blood and dying."
"..."
Nearby, Heathcliff—who was munching on a dragon-meat-stuffed bun—rolled his eyes. 'Getting ganged up on by the four of you and still lasting five minutes is already impressive, okay? He really tried his best to survive—'
Seriously, Hayashi wasn't just a max-level player—he was a monster who could perfectly harness every ounce of his strength, amplifying it twofold or even threefold using the martial techniques taught by Akisame Kōetsuji.
The Platinum Dragon Lord really did his best.
...
...
"As expected of Lord Heathcliff—"
Among the Theocracy's delegation, Antilene cradled a fully solved Rubik's Cube in her hands, gazing with intoxicated eyes at Heathcliff as he happily devoured his bun in one hand and sipped juice with the other. She murmured, "Even the way the grease drips down his chin is so dashing."
"..."
The captain exchanged glances with his companions, the second and third seats, then silently lowered their heads, focusing on the meat slices in their bowls—they knew better than to look up now, lest Antilene, lost in her lovesick daze, bombard them with all sorts of bizarre questions.
For example—
"Do you think mine and Heathcliff-sama's child will be a boy or a girl?"
How the hell should I know? Can't you just have one of each?
"Do you think mine and Heathcliff-sama's child will become the new strongest in the world?"
How the hell should I know? What if your kid hates fighting and prefers raising pigs?
"Do you think mine and Heathcliff-sama's child will inherit his looks?"
I admit he's handsome, but what if your kid's a girl? Do you really want her to be so dashing that she becomes the continent's top tomboy?
Seriously, what kind of questions are these?
The captain shook his head in exasperation. No wonder the Eight Great Gods once left behind the famous saying, "Love makes fools of the wise." How true! Just look at Antilene—once so composed and formidable, now reduced to a lovesick fool!
...
...
At another table, the emperor of the empire and Fluder, the king of the kingdom and the second prince, the highest pontiff of the Theocracy and the five great priests, the king of the holy kingdom and the saintess, the councilors of the council state, and the new elven king of the new elven nation were all seated together.
"This scene truly feels like a dream," the king remarked after taking a sip of wine, sighing. "I never imagined that one day, all of us would sit at the same table, conversing so harmoniously."
"Indeed," the highest pontiff smiled faintly, glancing at the king. "By the way, Your Majesty, thanks to Hayashi's efforts, the kingdom's situation has improved significantly."
"Hahaha, that's absolutely true." The king laughed heartily at the topic. "I never would have thought that the noble issue plaguing our kingdom for so many years could be resolved so swiftly by Hayashi. Truly admirable."
The Bloody Emperor sulkily downed his drink—damn it all! Our empire spent generations painstakingly purging those greedy nobles, and the kingdom just waltzes into a solution?
How infuriating is that?
What's even more frustrating is that, given the current trend, this world might soon become "nominally ruled by several nations," but in reality, "all nations will share a single leader."
In other words, no more wars.
...
...
The banquet concluded smoothly, with representatives, heirs, and top-tier fighters from each nation exchanging greetings. While they weren't exactly close, they at least became familiar faces.
"Ah, perfect!"
Hayashi flopped onto the bed, then casually rested his head on Erina's smooth, fair thighs—she was only wearing a T-shirt on her upper half—and sighed contentedly. "While rubbing against pantyhose has its own delightful charm, bare legs are just as amazing. As expected of Erina—irresistible in any form!"
Hisako clapped her hands as usual, sighing with heartfelt admiration, "As expected of young master, easily accomplishing what we couldn't!"
Referring to how effortlessly he made Erina blush with just compliments.
"Hayashi, you're truly a hopeless leg fetishist—"
"No, you're wrong!"
"Hmm?"
"I'm not just a leg fetishist, I'm also a foot fetishist, hand fetishist, waist fetishist, back fetishist, chest fetishist, collarbone fetishist—"
"Got it, you're just saying you're a total pervert, right?"
"No, I mean I love every part of you, so I'm obsessed with everything."
100% true damage, plus a critical hit, dealing 250% damage—Erina was instantly KO'd.
"Mmm—"
She covered her face with both hands and burrowed into the nearby blanket, leaving only her big purple eyes peeking out, blinking at Hayashi.
"Erina..."
Hisako shook her head in exasperation, saying, "You two are already like an old marr... oh wait, not quite yet! You're so natural together, I almost forgot."
"Ahem—"
Hayashi awkwardly rubbed the tip of his nose, saying with feigned restraint, "Don't worry! It won't be long now! Once we return to the Shokugeki world, I'll make it official—I swear, not even the old man can stop me!"
"Young master, so domineering!"
"Hehehe, I'm gonna lick Erina clean!"
Hisako gasped sharply, covering her nose with both hands, feeling her loyalty to Erina overflowing again.
Erina, hiding under the blanket: "???"
Haven't you already done that... ugh! How can you say such things in front of Hisako! You idiot, pervert, lewd monster!
"Pervert—"
Unable to resist, Erina stuck a foot out from under the blanket and kicked Hayashi's side in frustration. But the soft attack felt more like a playful tease—the gentle touch of her foot made Hayashi's heart itch, and he couldn't help but flip over and hug it to his chest.
"Eek—"
Erina let out a startled cry, flustered as she said, "Let go!"
"No!"
"Let go already!"
"No can do!"
"Hisako is right here, you know!"
"Right, Hisako, maybe you should step out for a bit?"
"???"
Hisako, sitting at the foot of the bed, stared at Hayashi in shock. She pointed at herself with her right hand, as if asking for confirmation—Young master, say that again?
"Ahem, alright, alright, enough joking."
With a tug, Hayashi dragged Erina out from under the blanket amid her surprised "Wah!" and casually pulled her into his arms, grinning as he said, "Let's summarize recent events, shall we?"
Erina huffed and punched Hayashi, but realizing his current thick-skinned state made her efforts futile, she puffed her cheeks and lightly bit his shoulder instead.
Hisako felt so sour it was like she'd eaten a ton of lemons. She clicked her tongue and said, "The Dragon Lords have all been dealt with, and the corrupt nobles in several countries are deader than dead—honestly, as long as the nations can coexist peacefully from now on, there's hardly anything left for us to do."
"Then..." Hayashi tightened his grip around Erina's waist slightly, his voice tinged with anticipation as he said, "Does that mean we can go back now?"
Hisako blinked and stole a glance at Erina, who was pretending not to care but had clearly perked up her ears. Suppressing a smile, she replied, "It's not impossible! As long as we leave the follow-up work—specifically preventing certain countries from reigniting war—to Mr. Heathcliff."
Of course, that was assuming Heathcliff himself was willing to stay.
"I think that works! Should I go ask him tomorrow?" Hayashi's eyes lit up, and he excitedly rubbed Erina's thigh, saying, "Finally, we can go back! I'm so looking forward to it!"
'Wh-what is he looking forward to?' Erina's eyes began spinning in a daze. 'Is it what I think it is? It must be what I think it is, right? Gah! This guy—I mean, I'm looking forward to it too, but you can't just say it out loud like that!'
Hayashi: Hooray! We'll be heading to a new world soon! I'm so excited for the new world!
Thankfully, Erina couldn't read minds—otherwise, she'd have tied Hayashi to the bed and stepped on him with her silk-clad feet.