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:
2.13 - In Which A Band of Vicious Valley Girls is Repelled
An uncomfortable silence had settled over the pair of warriors, broken only by the clash of metal and the frenetic giggling of the raiders attacking them.
"So..." Ciel said quietly, rubbing the side of her neck. "You ARE the reinforcements?"
Bonbon nodded sheepishly. She felt ashamed, and couldn't really articulate why. Perhaps it was the knowledge that she hadn't really done much to earn the [Gold Rank] title, and that about 99% of the team's power was concentrated in Hiro. Perhaps it was just that she was kind of trash in a fight.
She leaned back as Heart Eyepatch swung at her again, narrowly avoiding the ride-by swing. Things weren't looking great. She was getting low on Mana, and her Stamina was also low. She didn't have any curatives handy, although she did have the [Short Order Chef] Culinary Arte. If she could find an opening, she could make a food, but what? Most recipes only restored a single stat, or gave a buff...
"This ain't working," Ciel grunted. "We can't keep this up if help isn't coming." The Paladin lunged out, swinging at Pigtails as she approached. The raider pulled back to let the swing whiff, wheeling her mount away and laughing. Ciel turned to glance at Bonbon, who was quickly getting weaker, her left arm hanging largely useless at her side. Kelly came swooping in, and Ciel parried a blow that would have caved in Bonbon's head as the elf weakly tried to bring the apron up.
"S-Sorry," Bonbon panted. "Fighting isn't really my... my strong suit."
Ciel shook her head, frowning. "Don't worry about it, Bons. You're holding your own pretty well for a cook. You see that rock face over there?"
She gestured with a nod towards a small alcove in the jagged rocks she'd created with her opening attack's crater. Bonbon saw it. She didn't know if a 'rock face' was the right term for it, and wondered if Ciel was underplaying it, or if she'd forgotten that she'd made it just a few minutes ago.
"Yeah."
"When I say 'go', run for that as fast as you can. I've got a shield [Skill] that can work with the cover."
Bonbon nodded, glancing at the alcove before watching the riders carefully, waiting for an opening. Behind her, Ciel stepped forwards, holding her shield to the side and raising her mace into the air. Heather lunged, rearing back with her mace as soon as Ciel's defense opened. The Paladin stared at her, her pale blue eyes glowing with an intense internal light.
"[Paladin Artes: Divine Starburst]!"
The head of Ciel's mace suddenly flashed with a golden brilliance, blanching the entire sky white as it erupted. The flash of light blinded the raiders, moments before a shockwave sent them reeling backwards, knocking several from their mounts. Bonbon caught just a brief flash of Heather falling back from her saddle before the brilliant light forced her to clench her eyes closed, spots of light dancing in the blackness.
She didn't waste time, running blindly in the direction of the alcove Ciel had pointed out before. The dirt crunched underfoot as Bonbon counted the steps, trying to estimate the distance to avoid running face-first into the rock. She dropped and slid, coming to a stop as her feet hit the rock face. Her throbbing arm complained at her, but some healing would fix that soon.
Wish I hadn't left my [Healing Salts] in my knife roll, she thought. Where was Ciel? Once the Paladin joined her, she could use [Short Order Chef] to fix them up. She had 6 and a half uses left of it today, so she could probably do three healing foods apiece. She hoped the Paladin had a big appetite.
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She squinted, opening her eyes and blinking away the spots. Ciel was... huh? She hadn't moved? The Paladin was facing Bonbon, but was ducked over in an odd way, as if she'd... thrown--
A shield slammed point-first into the dirt from above Bonbon, causing her to yelp and draw back.
"[Divine Arte: Shield of Faith]!" Ciel shouted. At once, the design on the shield's face began to glow, and a sphere of light emanated from its edges, encapsulating Bonbon and ending at the rock wall, rebounding back to double-layer until it met the shield's edge again. Bonbon blinked in confusion.
"W-wha? Pareiso-san, what are--"
The [Paladin] stood up, thumbing her nose as she gave Bonbon a confident grin. "Sorry for gettin' you involved. You're pretty good at fighting, for a cook. My shield's pretty full on MP, so that force field should last a while. Probably long enough for help t'come."
"W-what? But... you... why?"
Ciel chuckled, spinning her mace in a flourish as the raiders circled her, politely waiting for her to finish her monologue. Even bloodthirsty raiders had standards. She shook her head.
"Shield won't last long if I make it any bigger. Besides...
She grabbed the mace with both hands and activated her [Divine Power] skill. A pulse of energy shot through her as Kamiko's symbol began to glow on her sash. Her hair floated up, the underside glowing with a sky-blue radiance that matched the light now filling her eyes.
"I already said, didn't I?" she asked, her voice reverberating slightly as Kamiko's boon empowered her. "I can't let them get away again."
She roared, charging at Heather, who spread her arms wide, welcoming the attack. Kelly and Becky lunged in to intercept, swinging their weapons at Ciel. The Paladin leapt up, twisting horizontally between the swings while kicking out, knocking Kelly from her mount.
Ciel landed on her back, lifting her legs before doing a kip-up, and transitioning straight into a vicious overhead swing, slamming her mace down on Kelly's face with a loud crunch. Heather swung down at her, and Ciel twisted, blocking the mace with one glowing arm. Heather stared in shock at the arm, her face paling. Ciel grunted, and a single trickle of blood ran from the point of impact.
Heather watched it silently, the awe draining from her face and being replaced with the dark realization that her enemy was still mortal. She withdrew as Ciel swung at her in a counterattack. Heart Eyepatch, Pigtails, and the last raider who had yet to be named came at her from various angles, having since resaddled following Ciel's attack.
Bonbon could only watch in horror as the cool anime battle took place. Ciel was strong, but there was no way she could win against the five remaining raiders. Bonbon grit her teeth, her eyes tearing up. It wasn't like it was her fault personally, but Ciel had gotten into this mess assuming that they would be a team of actual seasoned warriors.
Why had Hiro gone and frozen himself or done whatever bullshit he'd done? Bonbon wasn't that weak, but Hiro was something else entirely. Why had somebody like him been gifted with all that power? Together, they were a 'Gold-Ranked' team, but it was all Hiro, really. Bonbon had a few tricks, but Hiro could cast [Meteor Storm] without breaking a sweat. That spell usually took multiple people to cast! Hiro had [Absolute Invulnerability], which Bonbon hadn't even heard of before!
She fought back tears at her own powerlessness, watching as Ciel took a hit from behind, staggering forwards before wheeling around to counter with her mace, at an enemy who'd already moved out of range. Bonbon, in comparison, was good at cooking. Hell, even in that, Hiro was better than her. He knew recipes she'd never heard of. He could make food that gave people superpowers, for crying out loud! How could she compete with that? Hiro could...
Bonbon froze, her breath catching as realization struck her.
Hiro could make food that gave people superpowers.
She'd SEEN Hiro make food that gave people superpowers.
She knew how it was made.
Bonbon stood up, doing her best to ignore the throbbing of her broken arm. She focused, calling on the divine spark of her [Chosen of Flavos] title deep within her. Soybeans. Fermentation. She hesitated. Dirt, apparently? She wasn't sure if that was right, but that's what Hiro had done, at least. She raised her right arm, drawing it back, and took a deep breath. This was going to hurt, but she had to stay focused!
She lifted her left arm, the pain screaming through her brain as she held onto the process in her mind's eye, taking the 'flaming energy ball' martial arts position that signalled the start of her Culinary Arte. She held her palms close together, picturing the ingredients and cooking process as divine energy coursed through her arms. Soybeans. Fermentation. D...dirt. Bonbon hyperventilated, taking a series of short breaths to brace herself before snapping her arms forward, feeling something twist unnaturally in her left arm.
"[Short Order Chef]!" she screamed, trailing off into a shout of pain as a bowl of Natto formed and sprang forth from between her hands. It landed gently on the ground in front of her, skidding slightly. She quickly used her [Food Critic Basics] to analyze it.
Natto
Level 99 Food
Effect: [Bestow Random Superpower]
Flavor Profile: [Unique]
Healthiness: 75%
She panted, collapsing in pain in front of the Natto. She'd done it. She looked out at Ciel, who was straddling Becky and bashing her head in with her mace, while two raiders rained blows on her from behind. Each hit was deflected by her Mojo, but the field was already starting to waver. Soon, she'd have nothing but various pieces of metal armor to protect her.
Bonbon looked down at the Natto. Random superpower... There was no guarantee that what she'd get would be useful. In fact, she was pretty sure she'd watched a couple people kill themselves eating this stuff. Still... she couldn't just stand here and watch Ciel die. She had to help!
Bonbon lifted the bowl, staring at the strange, stringy mess contained within. She closed her eyes, deadened her tastebuds, and tipped back the bowl into her mouth.