Chapter 33: Argentum
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- By the way, Alice, you should get used to speaking English now. Everyone speaks it here," I told her, to which she just nodded.
After that I decided to have breakfast, seeing that Alice doesn't want to talk until I eat. Apparently she wants to gauge my reaction to her food. Unfortunately, she'll have to be disappointed, because I'm a war-hardened soldier, and some taste of food can't impress me....
- Fucking hell! - I said as I ate a bite. My body was filled with strength, and the taste of the food hit me in the heart. This is divine nectar, not food. I take it back, it's divine!
- Ahem, sorry about the mate! I was just blown away by the flavour of the food Alice cooked. It's really good, thank you! - I said, still amazed that anime conventions work in our world as well. Food really can be overwhelming....
What if we feed Darkseid Alice's food when he comes to our planet. And while he's stunned, kill him quietly from behind. Sounds like a plan.
All right, stop! No more crazy ideas. I may have enjoyed it a lot, but it's a dark god. Stop thinking about all that wild stuff!
- Thank you for the food," I said to the girl after I'd eaten my breakfast.
- I'm pleased that you appreciated my cooking," she said, turning to Semilia and me.
- And you seem to be enjoying the new world," I told her, trying not to talk too much about her past. I don't think it would be too pleasant to remember.
- Yeah. It's just like my old world, but with a lot of amazing people. There are those who can fly or travel at incredible speeds. I've always dreamed of something like that, so I love it here. And you, Ed, are also amazing. You have powerful superpowers, and you can also summon people from other universes, literally saving them from death," she said, gesturing happily.
- Yeah, but there are too many people like that in this world, and a lot of them aren't particularly nice people. I'm not very happy with that state of affairs, and that's why I want to change this world. I want to build a world where children can walk the streets without fear, and passers-by can walk the streets at night without fear for their lives. Not a perfect world, but calm and safe. There are too many people bothering me now, but in the future... My dream can come true if I put a lot of effort into it," I said, trying to convey my thoughts. Still, I'm doing all this for a reason. Money, fame, reputation and power are secondary. How can you strive for that when the world around you is literally rotting?
I'm going to get the idyll. I don't care much about the means. If I have to resort to brutality, the end justifies the means.
- Wow, you're a real hero who strives to do everything for the good of others," Alice said with open eyes.
- 'Ahahaha, I'm not like that at all. I do it for myself first and foremost, and then for others. I myself want to live in such a world, and live long, so I strive for it, - I answered her.
This girl was quite interesting. Positive and a little naive, she still had a good intellect. Yes and insight also she didn't have a slip of the tongue. So she's an interesting conversationalist.
We talked for a couple of hours, neither I nor Semilia touched on the subject of her past world, but talked about her in general. We didn't want to disturb her memories.
But it was time to get down to business. Leaving it to Semilia to prepare for the trip to Smallville, I set off for downtown Metropolis, on my way calling places that could help me get a flat.
After about an hour and a half, I was already standing in the middle of a rather large flat that I had managed to rent at a discount. The discount was immediately given to me by the owner of the flat after he found out who exactly wanted to rent a flat in his house. Yes, he owned the whole building, and apparently he was going to use my name to attract clients.
Well, I got the discount, so I'm happy. Now it's time to summon the remaining characters. I'll start with Kayaba.
The character is summoned into the world.
The character is entered into the universe.
In front of me appeared a middle-aged man with a pained expression, dressed in a hospital gown. And yes, I will now just ignore that flash of light.
- So, I got a second chance," he said rather calmly, looking around and staring at me, "Hmmm, I take it it's thanks to you, Head," he finished, looking me in the eye.
- That's right. I have summoned you to the new world. And in the old one, I think you died or were on the verge of death? - I asked him.
- Yes, the experiment didn't go as planned and the government got rid of me before I could begin my final step," he said calmly, not too upset about his failure. I gave him a second chance myself, though, so he should be able to do a lot more.
- You'll be working for me now. Although you won't be able to realise your previous plan, I'll give you what you crave most, time. You'll have plenty more of it now," I said. I think the problem with his illness can be easily solved, if it exists at all. The system could just cure him on its own, but even if he is sick, there are plenty of ways to cure him in this world.
- Wait a bit for now, I need to summon another spirit man," I said, launching the next summon. You can summon the next Fujisaki.
A summoning into the character's world is performed.
The character is entered into the universe.
A second later, there was already a guy standing in front of us... wearing women's clothes. Honestly, if I didn't know he was a guy, I would have thought it was a girl. We'll have to at least put him in men's clothes.
- А!? What!? - he said with panic, looking round until he bumped into me, "Big brother? - He asked, looking at me.
Fuck!!! Trap is calling me Big Brother. I feel weird. I need to change him into men's clothes immediately. It's one thing to watch anime with traps and laugh about it, but it's another to meet a trap in real life. That's not fucking funny. Not at all!
- Ahem, yeah. Did you die in your world? - I asked him.
- Yeah... I was sitting quietly and working until suddenly something strange started happening on the internet. People in all parts of the world were writing that their loved ones had gone mad and wanted to kill them. And at first I thought it was someone's stupid joke, but after a couple of seconds my security guards burst into my room and killed me. I didn't even realise what exactly happened before I died," he said bitterly.
I wonder. The same thing happened to him that happened to Mukuro. So they're most likely from the same world, not different ones of the same variation. What if I later summon a character from the same world as someone I lived in before? Will they be summoned from an alternate or the same world? Okay, that's not that important.
- You can wait for now. I need to summon one more person," I told him, pointing towards Kayaba. The man walked over to him rather fearfully and stood beside him, still looking at him awkwardly. Poor Kayaba, is he that suspicious?
I inwardly wished to summon Arima Kosei, and the system immediately fulfilled my wish.
A character is being summoned into the world.
The character is entered into the universe.
A young boy with a confused expression looked at me with his eyes open in surprise. He looked rather dishevelled, and he was puny. He looked like a normal Japanese guy, though he wore glasses.
- Um, thank you, Master! - he said, bowing.
- Are you dead? - I asked him bluntly. Still, he's not a pretty girl for me to show miracles of tact.
- Aye. All I had time to notice before I died was a large nuclear mushroom. My world was over. Nothing was keeping me there, though," he said, relaxing. And apparently, his world had suffered the most banal kind of apocalypse. But his fate is the same as the rest of the summoned.
- Well, let's not talk about the sad stuff. Let me explain to you exactly why you've all been summoned here. You three are professionals in your specialities, geniuses even. And I need your talents! - I said, smiling broadly.
- Our talents? - Chihiro tilted his head questioningly.
- Yes. I want to create my own company and you will be its foundation. Your talents, as well as your knowledge of your worlds, will help make a huge amount of money. We will specialise in entertainment content, namely games, mostly computer and mobile games," I started to say what I had planned, "Kayaba and Chihiro have a lot of experience in this, and by combining your skills you will be able to create a masterpiece. However, there is no point in starting with such a thing. First you will study all the existing and famous games, and later compare them with the games of your worlds.
- Why? - Fujisaki asked me. I can already see from Kayaba's eyes that he understood everything.
- Our worlds are different, which means that your games should have popular games that aren't here. And you two will have to take those games and copy them," I said cheerfully, forcing the little innocent trap to plagiarise. That's what all trapped people do, but I have too little time for that, so I'll make my subordinates plagiarise. Isn't that brilliant?
- But it's plagiarism? - Chihiro spoke indignantly, even causing Kayaba's face to show a feeble smile.
- No, what kind of plagiarism is it if it never existed in this world? You're not plagiarising, but merely expanding the culture! You don't want a lot of masterpieces to just never come into existence, leaving them to exist only in your heads, do you? - I said with the same smile, looking at the guy. We have capitalism here, so we have to take advantage of every opportunity, even if it's not very ethical. But everything is within the law, we're not some criminals....
- But... But... Okay," the guy tried to object, but under my gaze he gave up and lowered his head.
- And you will do the same, but in music, - I turned to Kosei, who was standing a little aside.
- It's good that you understand everything. While you work here, all the equipment will be delivered to you soon. The money for other things I've transferred to Kayaba's account, as the only adult among you. Unfortunately, we don't have an office yet, and I haven't officially registered the company yet, so you will live for the first time. But in the future, we will definitely be the best in the world. There will be many geniuses working in our company, and we will move the entertainment industry all over the world, but it is you and me who are at the heart of it. Remember this moment! - I said with pathos, looking at my three subordinates.
- And what will be the name of our company, Head? - Kayaba asked me.
- Name? Hmmm, I think the perfect name would be Argentum," I answered him with a smile.
With my connections and powers, it won't be difficult for me to legitimise the company. So you could say that this is where my career in entrepreneurship will begin. I wonder how much money it will bring me?
***
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