[New Mission Alert]
Side Quest: Gather Ingredients.
Objective:
Obtain Rainbow Fruit from the Toriko world within the time limit.
Difficulty: B
Time Limit: 1 day
Reward:
×1 B Rank Gacha Ticket
+ 200 Star Credits
Restrictions:
No restrictions
Bonus Reward:
??? (Hidden)
Mission begins in: 10 minutes
Accept Mission?
[YES] [NO]
---
Erika looked at the notification window that appeared in front of her in shock.
She immediately asked,
"Selena, what is this?"
Selena's voice replied at once,
"Well, remember the side quest my brother asked about—making his energy bars taste good? This is the mission for that."
Erika frowned.
"But why now? He should be meeting that girl, right?"
Selena sighed.
"I did plan to start it after he came back, but… let's just say the meeting didn't go very well. He said he wanted a break."
Erika tilted her head slightly.
"What happened?"
Selena let out another sigh.
"Well, what can I say… my brother, as usual, said something ridiculous out of nowhere, and Nakiri Erina freaked out. That's all."
Then her tone turned cheerful again.
"So now he just wants to escape that situation, so I started the mission early."
Erika sighed softly.
"…Yeah. Akira is Akira, after all."
Then she asked,
"So is he coming back to the mansion now? Should I go back too, to start the mission?"
Selena answered immediately,
"No. I added a remote function. Now you can start the mission no matter where you are, and you'll be transported."
Erika hesitated.
"But what about the rest of the world? What about people nearby?"
She glanced around.
Right now, she was alone in the student council room.
But what if someone saw her?
Selena reassured her,
"Don't worry. Time will be paused, and the teleportation will be instant. You'll reappear in the exact same place after the mission. No one will notice anything."
Erika nodded slowly.
"I see… that's good."
Then she hesitated again.
"But don't you think it's a bit too impulsive to go on a mission without any preparation?"
Selena replied calmly,
"Don't worry. There are no restrictions for this mission, so you can do whatever you want."
Then she added,
"And my brother said he really, really misses you and wants to see you right now."
Erika froze slightly, a faint flush appearing on her face.
"…If it's like that, then okay."
She pressed—
[YES]
Starting the mission.
Meanwhile—
Akira was still sitting in the private dining room.
Across from him, Nakiri Erina was still losing her mind, repeatedly trying to call her grandfather.
"…Why isn't it going through?!"
Then she tried his other phone.
"…Even this one?! How is he busy on two phones at the same time?!"
Akira watched her for a moment—
Then Selena's voice echoed in his mind.
"Brother. Erika-chan accepted the quest."
Akira replied immediately,
"Finally. Alright, start the transfer."
Then he paused.
"…Wait. One more thing. Don't drop us from the sky like last time."
Selena replied calmly,
"Of course. I'll even add a countdown so you can prepare."
The next moment—
A holographic screen appeared in front of him.
10…
9…
But no one else noticed it because Selena made it so only he could see it.
So Erina, still standing in front of him, noticed nothing.
She was too busy fuming anyway.
"…This is ridiculous…"
She clenched her phone.
"That's it. If I can't reach him, I'll just find him myself."
She stood and walked toward the door.
Akira leaned back slightly.
"Oh. You're leaving already? Good luck."
Erina stopped.
Then turned slowly.
"…What are you doing?"
Akira blinked.
"…Sitting."
Her eye twitched.
"Come with me. We're going to see my grandfather."
Akira shook his head.
"No. You go. I'm still waiting for the food."
That was the final straw.
Erina walked straight up to him—
And grabbed his hand.
"You're coming."
At that moment—
The Ring of Resonance on her finger began to glow, reacting to the ring on Akira's finger.
Both of them froze in shock.
The countdown continued.
2…
1…
0…
Mission start.
And then—
Instantly—
The world around them changed.
Akira blinked.
Nakiri Erina was still in front of him—
Still holding his hand.
But her face—
Was frozen in shock.
"…Wait…"
Akira frowned slightly and looked around.
The dining room was gone.
The air felt different.
Fresh.
Wild.
Dense trees stretched in every direction.
"…Huh."
Then—
"Akira…"
He turned.
Erika stood a few steps away.
Looking between him—
And Erina—
With a completely stunned expression.
"…What is going on?"
Erina finally snapped.
"WAIT—WAIT—WHAT IS THIS?! Where are we?! What the hell is happening?!"
She grabbed Akira's shoulders and shook him.
"Where are we?! What did you do?!"
Akira raised his hands slightly.
"Wait... calm down... I can explain... probably—"
Erika quickly stepped in.
"Wait, calm down!"
She had already recognized her as the girl from the competition back then and one of Akira's fiancées. She had no idea why she was here, but she knew she had to calm her down first.
She grabbed Erina's arm.
"I don't think he did anything—this looks like an accident—"
Erina turned sharply.
"Who are you?!"
Erika hesitated for a second.
"…We can talk about that later—"
A sharp screech cut through the air.
All three of them froze.
Slowly—
They looked up.
Something was circling above them.
A bird.
A huge bird, nearly five meters tall.
Bright red feathers covered most of its body.
Its face, chest, and upper wings had dull beige-colored feathers.
And its beak—
Was rectangular.
Like a duck's.
It looked like a bizarre mix of a chicken, an eagle, and a duck.
Nakiri Erina screamed,
"What the hell is that?!"
Erika blinked.
"A huge chicken… with a duck beak?"
Akira narrowed his eyes.
"I think those are called Flyer Ducks. And they're ferocious…"
He paused.
"…Oh. It's coming."
Just then—
The Flyer Duck let out a loud screech—
And dove straight toward them at high speed.
Seeing that.
Akira stepped forward.
"Stay behind. I'll deal—"
Before he could finish—
Erina ran.
"Wait, why are you running?!" Akira called out.
Erina didn't even look back.
"Who would stay there?!"
The Flyer Duck immediately changed direction—
Locking onto her.
Erina ran a few more steps.
Then slipped.
Her heels betrayed her completely as she fell to the ground.
Akira sighed.
"…Well, that's what realistically happens when you run in high heels."
Erika snapped instantly.
"Idiot, help her!"
"…Fine."
Akira moved.
In an instant, he was standing in front of Erina.
He raised his hand.
"Rho Aias."
A purplish barrier unfolded before him—
Seven-layered petals of light blooming outward.
The Flyer Duck slammed into it—
And was stopped.
Not even the first layer cracked.
The creature recoiled, flapping its wings, trying to escape into the air—
But—
Its leg was suddenly bound.
Red ribbons coiled tightly around it.
"Don't think you can escape."
Erika pulled her hand slightly—
And the weight of the creature increased.
The Flyer Duck was dragged down and slammed into the ground.
It struggled—
But because of the extra weight, it couldn't rise.
Akira raised his hand again.
A spear of ice formed instantly—
Then shot forward.
A perfect headshot.
And the bird stopped moving.
Erika walked over, looking down at the fallen creature.
Then she glanced at Akira.
"…Did you just use Rho Aias?"
Akira shrugged.
"Not the original. Just a barrier I modified to look like it."
Then added casually,
"…But I think it's just as strong."
Erika sighed.
"…Of course you did."
She looked back at the creature.
"So… is it a duck or a chicken?"
Akira nodded.
"I think it's a Flyer Duck. And it's supposed to be really tasty."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Want to cook it?"
Erika shook her head.
"I'm not hungry. You can if you want."
"…HEY!"
Both of them paused.
Erina was sitting on the ground.
Still staring at everything that had just happened.
"Explain. Now."
Akira and Erika looked at each other.
Then said at the same time.
"…Why is she here?"