That Time I Got Sent to Another World Where All of the Girls Are Super Hot and Super Into Me Because I Am Super Strong and Have Very Powerful Abilities that God Gave to Me Because Me and Them Were Friends When I Was in Grade School and God Is Actually A Loli Who is Also in Love with Me Because I Am A Super Epic Person Who Will Defeat The Demon Lord Who Threatens The Entire World but the Demon Lord Actually is in Love With Me and the Demon Lord is a Super Hot Busty Babe Who is Actually Just Trying to Get My Attention Because I Have a Cellphone That Can Contact the Internet and Can Get Anything Shipped To Me Within 2 Days But I Barely Need It Because I Am Actually the Most Strongest Guy Alive Because I Have Super Strong Powers Like Being Able to Lift Your Mom Really Easily Which is Nearly Impossible Because Your Mom is So Fat But is Actually A Secret Anime Busty Babe Who is Really into Me Because I Am Super Cool and Better Than Your Dad Because He is Super Lame Which I Am Not

Reunion 2.27 - That time I was reincarnated into another world and met a familiar face

I slammed down onto the ground, my skateboard sending up gouts of flame as I activated [Blaze Ollie - Lvl 10] just for the cool visual effect it gave. I dismounted from the board, stepping away from the bush and mailman I'd accidentally ignited. I looked up at the building I'd landed in front of, the one which my waypoint had indicated. I opened my [Status HUD], accidentally adding three more waypoints several inches to the left and right of the waypoint before successfully removing all of them. Alright... let's see what this was all about.

I glanced up at the building in front of me. It was a clean white building like most of the others. A waist-high iron fence separated a small outdoor patio from the sidewalk. Planter boxes full of flowers were set under each of the large glass windows. I wasn't sure what kind of building this was, but based on the several people eating at tables on the patio, the several dozen diners inside, and the word 'Restaurant' on the sign, I was guessing this was some kind of bistro or cafe.

I deactivated [Detective Basics - Lvl 3] and nodded to myself. When it came to games and gamelike worlds, asking random drunks at the tavern important plot points was the most reliable and easiest way of gathering information. A restaurant was basically just tavern with less fistfights, drunks, and prostitutes, right? Despite these drawbacks, I'm sure it was also a great place to gather information. After all, I'm sure most people liked to break up the monotony of their intimate meals with friends or family to answer random questions for a stranger.

I felt a sudden prickling sensation, and my harem members skidooed from the Hiro Express, staggering a bit. Wait... I didn't recall having deactivated that Perk.

"Well, one piece of good news, at least," Bonbon sighed. "We found the Emergency Exit."

I gave her a thumbs up. She seemed like she was getting a bit less constantly freaked out about things. That was good, although I was a little disappointed, because she did some of her best retorts when she was panicking.

"A restaurant, wan?" Wanda asked, her eyes sparkling. "Hooray! Time to eat, wan!"

I gave her a headpats for being cute as a button. "Well... I guess we can get some grub too..." I'd mostly planned on just gathering information until they threw us out or we had the Quest hint we needed. I could always just have my Vending Machine (TL Note: These characters are read as "Bonbon A. Petit") print me a pizza or something later. I took a deep breath, collecting various scents from the air through my nose holes.

"Hang on a sec..." Ciel said, her voice slow and suspicious, like a movie theater clerk who'd just realized something about the 8 foot tall guy in a lumpy trenchcoat that she'd just sold two R-rated movie tickets to. She gestured up towards the restaurant's sign. "That name... ain't that one of the [Demon Lord]'s Lieutenants?"

Hm? The sign? I hadn't really bothered to look at it, since I hadn't seen an interact button. But if it had something to do with the [Demon Lord]... wait a minute. This... it couldn't be! I rushed into the restaurant, drawing my sword! I should have realized something was wrong sooner! This smell! This absolutely iconic smell! It couldn't be anything else!

I made a kicking motion to knock the door in, but it was already open, so I just wound up vibe-checking a busser who was walking by. I hopped over him, careful to only land on the relatively clean dishes to make sure I didn't get my shoes dirty. I stared into the depths of the restaurant, screwing my face into a scowl of fury. It was just as I feared. There, on one of the tables... was a [Pepperoni Pizza]!

A pizza that I hadn't made? That I hadn't explicitly ordered Bonbon to make for me, either? This was bad. Somebody had been stealing my recipes! I hadn't even started selling licensing rights or merchandise for pizza! Didn't they know how much work I put into plagiarizing Pizza from John Pizza, or whoever had invented it on Earth?!

I activated [Chef Detection], and at once a ping appeared behind the closest door. They had a [Culinary Power Ranking] of 6100... well beyond your ordinary line cook. This was going to be a tough battle!

I kicked in the door, revealing a clean, orderly kitchen, staffed completely by skeletons. The boney boys bustled about the bistro's kitchen, each wearing adorably spooky aprons and hats. One of them was sliding a combination pizza into the oven, while another stirred a wide pot full of marinara sauce, ladling some onto a plate of ravioli. A third was expertly chopping garlic and onions. My hand began to shake, and a cold sweat went down my back as I politely stepped out of the path of a skeleton carrying a sheet tray of freshly-broiled meatballs.

This... this was worse than I thought! Whoever this chef was... they also had a savvy business sense! If you hired a bunch of skeletons to work in your kitchen, you could get away with paying them a fraction of what you'd pay a regular cook! Most restaurants had to use illegal immigrants or Class-P citizens for that!

I searched around the kitchen for the chef. It was hard to tell with this many people in it, but I noticed that one of the cooks had a much larger hat than the others, a more intricate coat, and also skin, hair and muscles. That must be him! I shook my fist in his direction. You bastard! Who do you think you are?!

He was a moderately unattractive dude, with slicked-back black hair, gold chains, and a greasy-but-charming appearance in general. There was something vaguely familiar about him, but I couldn't quite place it. Still, I had to know what I was up against before I sentenced him to death for stealing my stolen recipes. I activated my [Appraisal (but secretly infinite knowledge)] and appraised him.

♥ LOVE LOVE APPRAISAL ♥

(Appraisal-Generated Depiction) (Not to Scale) Name Skeletony Cornea Level 54 Personality: Bold and Brash Blood Type: AB+ Zodiac Sign: Horse Height: 6'0" Bust: 40 Waist: 36 Hips: 36 Likes: Good Food, Kind Girls, Gold Chains, Necromancy Dislikes: Bullying, Pineapple, Weak-Willed Men, Taxes Finishing Move: Bone Zone

Huh... That picture was very, uh, forgiving of his actual appearance. But more importantly, I'd forgotten to change my [Appraisal (but secretly infinite knowledge)] skill back to its normal mode! I quickly swapped it out and Appraised him again:

Name: Skeletony Cornea

Active Title: [Restaurateur]

Faction: [Sea Vista Small Business Owners Council]

Race: Skeleton

Level: 54

EXP: 7380/15000

Skill Points: 50

Gold Stars: 2

Gacha Coins: 36

HP: 4250/4250

MP: 103/215

SP: 1050/1200

FP: 3/3

Attributes:

Stranth: 198

Dexterity: 150

Swoleness: 175

Magic: 72

Karma: -1285

Mojo: 6500

Luck: 55

Skills:

[Jumping Mastery - Lvl 3] [Swagger Supremacy - Lvl 10] [Advanced Swagger] [Running Basics - Lvl 9] [Climbing Mastery - Lvl 2] [Crawling Basics - Lvl 4] [Swimming Supremacy - Lvl 10] [Motorboat Legs] [Cooking Supremacy - Lvl 4] [Punching Super-Resistance Lvl 2] [Slashing Super-Resistance Lvl 6] [Dark Resistance - Lvl 2] [Stabbing Invulnerability] [Vulnerability - Light] [Vulnerability - Pineapple Pizza] [Shame Invulnerability] [Stubbornness Lvl 7] [Greater Swordsman Lvl 5] [Stunning Slash] [Skeleton Command] [Skeleton Cloak] [Skeleton Warp] [Skeletal Form] [Disguise Lvl 5] [Steal] [Business Owner - Lvl 2] [Greater Skeleton Magic] [Lesser Dark Magic] [Magic Conscription] [Magic Perception] [Magic Casting] [Lesser MP Regeneration] [HP Regeneration] [SP Regeneration]

Spells:

[Summon Skeleton Lvl 10]

[Summon Tons of Fucking Skeletons Lvl 6]

[Bone Zone Lvl 5]

[Skeleton Sword Lvl 3]

[Darkbolt Lvl 2]

[Imbue Flavor: Oregano]

[Temperature Stasis]

[Summon Wooden Spoon]

Titles:

[Elite Four] [Skeleton Lord] [Italian] [Swordsman] [Villain] [Human Killer] [Iron Chef] [Demon Lord's General] [Bully] [Thief] [Small Business Owner] [Restaurateur]

Wait a minute! I did know this guy! I thought I'd killed him, but somehow he'd returned to life?!

"Skeletony!" I shouted, "I should have known it was you!"

"Wan!" Wanda added as she walked in eating a piece of garlic bread she'd found somewhere. "Your name was on the sign and everything, wan!"

"Y-yeah..." I coughed. "Here I thought it might have been some other Skeletony, but I should have figured you'd be behind it!"

The fiendish [Italian] turned from his current crimes, brandishing a knife in one hand, and a poor, defenseless roast chicken in the other.

"Who th'hell's shoutin' out there? Did one'a you boneheads forget the-"

He froze when he saw me, his eyes widening. The skeletons around us hesitated, glancing between us as if they were waiting for us to throw down.

"Hiro Protagonist," he murmured, his hand tightening on his knife. "I was hoping I'd run into you again..."

I dropped into a combat stance, bringing my katana at the ready. Behind me, my harem members also took battle poses, which was super cute, because they expected they'd be able to do something in a fight against this guy.

The Skeleton-Man set his knife and bird down without turning away from me. He wiped his hands on his apron, before chuckling. "I never properly thanked you from what you did, back there in the Starter Town."

I blinked at him. I was a little upset that he'd only said part of the name of the Kickass Isekai Gamelike Fantasy RPG Starter town, but more importantly... he wanted to thank me? Was... he not an enemy? I stood up warily, lowering my katana, but not sheathing it.

"Back there... you took everything from me. My pride, my position in the [Elite Four], and even my health insurance. Don't think I haven't forgotten." He clenched his fist and grit his teeth, the glare from the copious amounts of hair product casting his eyes in relative shadow.

D-damn it! Looked like this was going to be a fight after all! I raised my katana, crouching back into my battle stance.

"All that stuff... was taking me down the wrong path. And I can see that now. You really opened my eyes, Hiro. If it weren't for you, I'dda still been a total schmuck."

I cocked my head to the side, glancing back at Wanda, who was the closest thing to a moral compass I had. She simply shrugged at me as she dipped her fist into a nearby pot of bolognese, pulling it out to lick sauce off her knuckles. I nodded sagely and followed her advice, dipping my own fist in a nearby pot of alfredo sauce. It was delicious... but I still wasn't sure what this guy's deal was.

"I've turned my life around, Hiro. I'm a new man..." he smiled, but then unsmiled, shaking his head and lowering his voice. "But don't think that I'm just gonna forget about everything and leave it at that. I'm a firm believer in tit-for-tat." He turned, grabbing a knife and giving a hand signal to one of the skeletons in a sous chef outfit.

Suddenly, I realized I was surrounded! Skeletony... controlled [Skeletons]! I couldn't believe that I'd forgotten. These weren't just normal day laborers! Each one of these [Skeletons] was a match for your average untrained child with a big stick! And there were between five and fifty of them in this room alone!

I crouched again, raising my katana with one hand while I wiped my alfredo-soaked hand on Bonbon's apron. She yelped, slapping me in the face on reflex before leaping backwards.

"H-Hiro-san! W-what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm gomenasai..." I told her. "I don't have an apron."

"W-well, ask first!" she scolded me. "And even if you do have to use my apron..." she blushed, glaring figurative daggers at me. "A-at least use the tail of the apron, and not the chest part."

I nodded to her. I wasn't sure why she was making up arbitrary rules, but whatever. We had more important things to worry about! I turned to face down the [Italian] before me.

He was leaning back against the counter, grinning a friendly and/or vicious smile, as if he was waiting for something. He glanced to the side, and his grin intensified. I followed his gaze to see the Sous Chef skeleton coming back, with something in its hands. Suddenly, realization hit me. My eyes dilated and my pulse picked up, as I felt a heat rising through my entire body.

W-wait a second... the chest... that's where boobs are! That means... that I hadn't even realized it, but I'd touched Bonbon's bonbons! D-damn it! Why hadn't I been paying more attention? I didn't even register what they felt like! I'd read on the internet that they felt like warm apple pie, but still! To think my first time touching the real deal would have me distracted by something unimportant like a potential fight to the death!

The skeleton arrived in front of Skeletony, and I saw that he was carrying some kind of bottle.

"I'll make sure to pay you back in full for what you did to me..." Skeletony chuckled, grabbing the bottle in one hand. With a sudden blurring movement of the knife, he sabered the bottle, popping the cork out and spraying champagne foam into the kitchen.

"And make sure you guys get the five-star treatment you deserve!" He said happily.

I blinked at him in confusion as Bonbon visibly relaxed, and Wanda did a little dance of celebration. Ciel was still a bit wary, but was slowly relaxing.

"Welcome to my new restaurant: "Skeletony Cornea's [Italian] Restaurant and Bistro!"

Wait, what?

Huh?