26 Out of the frying pan and into the fire

"Haaa…"

After finding out that he's become famous, Axel slumped into his booth as he covered his face and lamented his stupid past self.

He would of continued to wallow in self-blame if it wasn't for the system notification he just got.

[Second Ranking Quest:

Change the world in any significant way 10 times.

Progress: (1/10)

Reward: 40,000 system points, 20 Status points, ???.]

Axel was excited that he got a new quest. However, after reading the details, Axel decided 2 things. First, this quest was going to be extremely hard and second, he didn't mind being famous. Sure, he knows it's gonna bring alot of trouble but it also brings quite a few benefits. One such benefit being the (1/10) in his ranking quest.

Even though all of this shouldn't be enough to make him depressed, what pushed him over the edge was the person in front of him.

Just after Sae showed Axel the video, she quickly introduced herself before she played the video and said, "My little sister sent me your video and said, 'Sis, check this guy out! He's amazing!' Which surprised me because she usually only messages me about dinner and household supplies we lack."

As time passed, Axel watched as her expression constantly switched between amazement and disbelief.

By the time the video, which was a cut of all his best tricks, ended, she sat in front of him and began asking about how he could do all those tricks like a little girl with stars in her eyes.

Axel honestly felt shocked by the difference in character between her and the video game. However, he knew this was a real world, with real people, and decided that Sae was just overly-curious.

Funny enough, even Sae didn't know why she was acting like this. The moment she watched his 'magic show, she felt something deep inside her had awakened, begging to find the truth to how Axel managed to do those tricks.

Some of his tricks could be explained with slight of hand or training. But when it came to the flower of ice, she had no explanation. Even after trying every logical solution she could think of, it just didn't make any sense.

Her natural curiosity got the best of her as Sae not only sat in the same booth as Axel, she ordered food and coffee for both of them before barraging Axel with questions.

After an hour of talking, even Axel was fired up as they not only talked about his 'magic tricks' but Sae ended up sharing all kinds of stories and gossip.

With a serious expression, Sae looked at Axel and said, "Lately, there's been rumors going around about something called, 'Mental Shut-downs'. They say that the victim would wither in pain before spitting up a black substance. Some say it's blood, others say it's poison. Afterwards, they would collapse and become unresponsive until they eventually die."

Axel mentally thanked Sae for the info because even though he now knows what world he's in, that doesn't mean he remembers everything that happened. Hell, even remembering Sae's name was a fluke.

Unless he buys a skill to remember everything, which he has confirmed does exist but costs an arm and a leg, he won't be able to remember every little detail.

Suddenly, Sae's phone started ringing. Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Sae accepted the call and growled, "What!?!"

A timid voice slowly said, "S-sorry sis. I just called to tell you dinner will be ready soon."

Axel, who could barely hear her speak, noticed that Sae's face went from annoyed to sad as she sighed and softly said, "Sorry, Makoto. I was talking to…" Suddenly, she paused as her face lit up.

Makoto's worried voice called to Sae but all she got in reply was an excited shout as Sae said, "Makoto, could you prepare another serving? I'll be bring a guest around."

Every fiber in Axel's body was screaming to him to leave. However, before he could stand up, Sae ended her call, looked at Axel with a burning stare and said, "Would you like to have dinner with my sister and I?"

Axel was mentally berating himself for not leaving faster as a look of extreme caution appeared on his face. Sae looked extremely offended by his stare but before either of them could say anything, Sojiro chuckled and said, "Axel, you'll be fine. Out of everyone that would do something to you, she's probably the least likely. She's a prosecutor."

Sae nodded at Sojiro's timely assistance before looking over at Axel, hoping he would accept.

What the two didn't know, however, was that Axel knew she wasn't gonna try anything funny. And even if she did, he could easily escape.

No, what he worried about was a never ending amount of questions. Not just from Sae but from Makoto as well.

After a few minutes, Axel sighed and agreed. Sae smiled widely before paying the check and practically dragging Axel out of the store.

However, right before they left, Axel saw Sojiro smirk at him as he mouthed, 'Don't forget to use protection.'

Axel felt extremely frustrated as he knew that Sojiro was messing with him yet no comeback could come to mind as all he could think about was the upcoming battle he was about to face.

After a short trip through Tokyo, Sae dragged Axel to a large living complex. The area surrounding the complex looked relatively private as Axel swore he could see a guard station in the distance.

Sae noticed Axel staring in the direction of the guard station and exclaimed, "Can you see the station from here?"

Axel nodded, thinking it wasn't anything special. What he failed to realize, however, was the fact that hunting had increased his eye sight to be better than the average human. While he could see the guard station perfectly fine, even with the bad lighting due to the time of day, Sae struggled to see it as it was almost 100 meters away.

She pressed the doorbell and thought, 'That's some incredible vision…'

Almost instantly after ringing the doorbell, the door flew open, revealing a beautiful girl. Axel stood dazed because even though he knew he'd be meeting Makoto, he still became captivated.

She had beautiful ruby eyes that somehow enchanted Axel. Unlike her sister, Makoto had short, brown hair that ended just a little bellow her ears. All this was wrapped together with her wearing her signature Shujin uniform.

Makoto looked at Sae with a smile and said, "Welcome back sis."

Sae gave her a small nod. She noticed Makoto was giving her a questioning gaze about the young man she was holding, so she cleared her throat and said, "This is Axel. I met him while I was getting coffee. He's that street magician from that video you sent me."

It took Makoto a couple seconds to register everything she said. However, once she did, a fire blazed in her eyes that made Axel unconsiously take a step back.

Sae chuckled because she saw Axel take a step back from Makoto's stare. She gave him a pat on the back and said, "Come. We'll have dinner then continue that chat from earlier."

With the three walking towards the dinning table, Sae told Makoto that she could join the discussion but she had to go to bed at Midnight, since tomorrow is a school day.

Once inside, Makoto left to do the finishing touches on dinner while Sae dragged Axel over to the lounge.

The two made themselves comfortable on the couch and began their chat from where they left off.

Hearing the constant chatter, Makoto sneakily glanced into the lounge and became stunned by what she saw. Her usually overly serious and strict sister was acting like a teenage girl as she was laughing and smiling while Axel told jokes and stories.

A wide smile appeared on Makoto's face as she thought, 'I haven't seen sis this happy in… forever. I have to thank Axel after this.'

With a smile still present on her face, Makoto peered into the lounge and said, "Dinner is ready."