Chapter 4: The Transaction, and Off to Find a Witch
"Traveling."
Having just enjoyed a rather delightful meal, Yumesaki was in an exceptionally good mood, which prompted him to answer Erica's lingering doubt.
"I came to this world purely to travel. To taste foods I've never eaten before and to see sights I've never seen before—that is my only goal."
"Huh?"
Erica couldn't quite bring herself to believe it. A Shinigami from another world had crossed over into her own reality just to take a vacation?
Could that actually be true?
She couldn't help but look at him with deep skepticism.
"You don't believe me?" Yumesaki noticed her suspicion and looked back at her with a meaningful smile.
Erica offered a polite, faint smile, calmly picking up her knife and fork to cut another bite of pizza. She spoke with her usual refined grace, "I simply feel that mere scenery and delicious food aren't quite enough to catch the attention of a God from another world, wouldn't you agree?"
"And what makes you think that?" In that moment, Yumesaki carried the overwhelming presence of a dominant ruler. He casually waved his hand and said, "I find your perspective irrelevant. I don't care about what you feel; I only care about what I feel."
"I feel that beautiful scenery and exquisite food are good things that should never be squandered. A breathtaking view and a wonderful meal are more than enough to capture anyone's interest—including a God's."
As he spoke, Yumesaki quickly finished the rest of his pizza in a few swift motions, then pulled a napkin to wipe his mouth.
Erica remained silent.
Looking at Yumesaki's perfectly calm expression, Erica found herself starting to believe him against her better judgment. "So, Mr. Yumesaki, you truly came here just for the food and the sights?"
Yumesaki nodded. "More or less. Though, if possible, I wouldn't mind taking a few souvenirs back with me—things unique to this world."
"Souvenirs?" Erica blinked, genuinely confused. What could this world possibly have that a deity would want?
"Magic. Your world calls it Mahou (Magic) , don't they?" Yumesaki said plainly.
Realization dawned on Erica. So it was Magic after all. She had just been wondering how simple scenery and human cuisine could possibly interest an otherworldly God.
If it was Magic, then it wasn't that strange... actually, who was she kidding? It was still incredibly bizarre.
Magic was a power wielded by mere mortals. To a true God, such power was utterly beneath notice.
Even if a human were to master every single spell in existence, they would still be nothing more than a slightly stronger ant when facing a God.
Would a God genuinely spare a glance at mortal Magic?
It was like a human studying the collective knowledge of an anthill. It was completely ridiculous.
"Do not underestimate the knowledge of humanity," Yumesaki remarked quietly, as if reading her mind. "All of this knowledge is the crystallization of human wisdom. It may seem like nothing to you, but in the eyes of other worlds, it is an extraordinary treasure."
"From what I know, there is a certain world where magic has developed to such an extreme that if one thoroughly masters it, they can ascend to become a Magic God."
"A Magic God? What kind of being is that? A God of Magic?" Erica asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Something like that," Yumesaki explained. "A Magic God represents a realm achieved after a Magician fully steps into the domain of the divine. Once someone becomes a Magic God, they master all power and can rewrite the very laws of reality at will."
"The certainty that living things must die, that an apple must fall from a tree to the ground, that one plus one equals two... these absolute, unchanging laws of the universe can all be altered on a whim by a Magic God."
"A perfect Magic God controls all the laws of the world. They possess the power to destroy the universe and reshape it entirely from scratch."
"Creation and destruction exist within a single thought. Wiping out the entire world and rebuilding it just to make things they deem unnecessary vanish from history entirely—that sort of thing is just a daily routine for a Magic God."
Erica listened, completely dumbfounded.
After a long, stunned silence, she suddenly slammed both hands onto the table, stood straight up, and let out a loud shout. "Don't think for a second that I haven't read A Certain Magical Index!!!"
The moment the words left her mouth, Erica instantly realized she had lost her composure.
She hurriedly sat back down, cleared her throat with a polite cough, and immediately tried to resume her act as a refined, elegant lady.
Then, a strange detail caught her attention. Despite how loudly she had just shouted, the people at the surrounding tables acted as though they hadn't heard a single thing.
They simply went about their business, and not a single stray glance was cast in her direction.
A shiver ran down her spine as she instantly realized this was Yumesaki's doing.
Yumesaki raised an eyebrow slightly. "So, this world has that book too."
"Of course it does," Erica replied with a slightly strained smile. "Aside from A Certain Magical Index, there are plenty of other famous Light Novels around."
"Then do Naruto and One Piece exist here as well?" Yumesaki asked.
"Naturally," Erica said.
"Then take a look at what this is." Yumesaki casually materialized a Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon, and set it directly on the table.
Erica stared at it, her mind going blank.
Wait, hold on a second...
Her brain completely stalled. What on earth was she looking at? She was looking at a genuine Devil Fruit.
Furthermore, based on its distinct shape and patterns, it was unmistakably the Mythical Zoan type—the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon that belonged to Kaido.
"It has to be a fake."
Erica absolutely refused to believe it. Even if the craftsmanship was flawlessly identical to the source material, how could a Devil Fruit exist in reality? It was an object that belonged strictly in the pages of a manga.
"If you don't believe me, you are welcome to take a bite," Yumesaki suggested, sliding the Devil Fruit closer to her while maintaining his amused smile.
"Of course, if this particular one isn't to your liking, I have plenty of others."
As he spoke, Yumesaki proceeded to pull out a succession of other fruits, placing the Warp-Warp Fruit, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, the Magnet-Magnet Fruit, the Paw-Paw Fruit, and the String-String Fruit neatly on the table.
Erica watched in absolute disbelief as Yumesaki laid out an entire assortment of Devil Fruits.
In the manga, every single one of these fruits already had a canonical owner. How could Yumesaki possibly have them all in his possession?
"I'll say it again. If you don't believe me, feel free to pick any one of them and taste it for yourself."
Yumesaki kept his relaxed posture. Real or fake? The truth would reveal itself the moment she took a bite.
Seeing how utterly confident Yumesaki was, Erica began to waver.
Could it be that the world of One Piece actually existed, and Yumesaki had obtained these fruits after killing their original owners across the dimensional divide?
Yumesaki was a God, after all. Overpowering a bunch of pirates should be child's play for someone of his stature.
But then again, considering Yumesaki's casual demeanor, he didn't seem like the type of ruthless, bloodthirsty Shinigami who would go around slaughtering people for fruits.
A different theory suddenly flashed through Erica's mind.
What if these Devil Fruits were entirely real, but they didn't come from the world of One Piece? What if Yumesaki had created them himself using his own divine powers?
As an otherworldly Shinigami, who was to say he couldn't use his abilities to mass-produce Devil Fruits that functioned exactly like the real things?
There was no rule stating that a Shinigami couldn't utilize magic, right?
It was highly probable that these Devil Fruits were forged through Yumesaki's own mystical arts. That would perfectly explain why he was so incredibly confident.
Yumesaki wasn't actively using any mind-reading abilities, so he didn't know the exact details of her train of thought.
However, watching Erica transition from sheer bewilderment to a sudden look of enlightenment, concluding with an expression that practically screamed 'so that's how it is,' he figured she had rationalized the situation through some wildly inaccurate mental gymnastics.
"Mr. Yumesaki," Erica spoke up, her tone turning serious. "I am willing to believe these Devil Fruits are genuine. With your grand methods, fabricating a set of Devil Fruits that behave exactly like the originals is likely a simple task."
"What I am more curious about is, do you truly intend to just give me one of these Devil Fruits for free?"
Yumesaki shook his head with a chuckled. "Of course not."
Erica let out a small sigh of relief. She knew all too well that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
"You can trade for them using the knowledge held by your Mage Association," Yumesaki proposed. "The more magical knowledge you provide, the more Devil Fruits you can take."
Erica's heart skipped a beat. A transaction like that actually sounded incredibly feasible.
Knowledge was something that could be infinitely copied and shared.
But a Devil Fruit could not.
Once a Devil Fruit was consumed, it was gone, and each one offered an immense surge of power that could drastically elevate her own combat capabilities.
Still, a lingering concern crossed her mind. "Mr. Kusanagi... I mean, Mr. Yumesaki, will your Devil Fruits also carry the weakness of being hated by the sea?"
"They will, but only by the sea within the One Piece world, because the ocean water there contains Pyrobloin and the essence of Seastone."
Yumesaki clarified, "The seawater in this world doesn't contain Seastone properties, so you don't have to worry about losing your strength."
This was a definitive conclusion Yumesaki had reached after conducting his own investigations. As long as the water lacked the unique spiritual or physical properties of Seastone, a Devil Fruit user wouldn't be rendered helpless.
Hearing this, Erica raised an eyebrow slightly.
She had to admit, this Shinigami was remarkably thorough with his world-building explanations. He spoke with such conviction it almost sounded as if he had genuinely visited the world of One Piece.
But that was impossible. One Piece was just a manga, after all.
Regardless, Erica had no intention of calling out Yumesaki's stories. There was absolutely nothing to gain from making a literal God feel embarrassed or defensive.
Instead of arguing over semantics, she wanted the fruit.
After a brief period of intense deliberation, Erica ultimately selected the Mythical Zoan type—the Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Phoenix.
This fruit wouldn't just grant her the ability to transform into a legendary Phoenix; it also bestowed the power of self-resurrection and nirvana. Her survivability would be maximized to its absolute limit.
Even if she were to run into a rogue Heretic God in the future, she could confidently rely on this power to secure her escape. With this hidden trump card, she could afford to act a bit more daringly.
However, the moment she actually bit into the Devil Fruit, Erica nearly gagged and threw it right back up.
It was utterly repulsive. The taste was profoundly, unforgivably foul.
"Mr. Yumesaki... honestly, when it comes to the flavor, did you really have to replicate that part with such agonizing detail?"
Hearing her miserable complaint, Yumesaki gave her a completely deadpan look.
"Devil Fruits are supposed to taste terrible by default. What does that have to do with me?"
"Fair enough."
Seeing that Yumesaki was firmly sticking to his narrative, Erica could only accept her fate with a resigned sigh, deciding not to push the matter any further.
Once she confirmed that she could genuinely manifest the blue flames of rebirth and master the Phoenix's regenerative powers, she faithfully compiled and handed over the entirety of the magical knowledge she had mastered to Yumesaki.
This was a binding agreement between them. She had no intention of breaking her word, nor would she ever dare to.
After all, her trading partner was an actual, living Shinigami. Who in their right mind would try to swindle a deity? She certainly didn't have a death wish.
With the newly acquired magical knowledge safely secured, Yumesaki stepped out of the pizzeria.
Erica quickly kept pace, walking alongside him. "Where are we heading now, Mr. Yumesaki?"
Yumesaki kept his eyes forward. "To find a certain Witch."
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