"Is it finally over? Looks like the promise has been fulfilled." Kevin let out a long breath upon hearing the news. His entire body relaxed unconsciously, and a single unidentified droplet slid down the corner of his eye.
"So the Collapse has ended? That means now we only have one thing left to consider..." Otto's expression remained calm and unsurprised. He glanced subtly at the two women beside him.
Karen and Sakura Yae, upon hearing the news, threw their arms around each other in pure joy, paying no attention whatsoever to Otto's presence.
"I've got three words in my heart, but I'm not sure if I should say them." Otto's face was twitching as he stared at the two, all his cultivated composure vanishing like smoke in the wind.
"Hey, bird's nest head, what do you think we should do with Anti-Entropy now?" Tesla asked adorably. "What if I open a Titan delivery service? Sounds fun, right?"
"The cost of producing a Titan is ten million dollars. A single delivery earns around ten bucks. After deducting electricity, rent, and other expenses, you might make two bucks per order. You'd need to complete five million deliveries just to break even. At that rate, you'll die of old age before you see a profit," Einstein calmly analyzed, finally concluding, "I think you just have way too much money and no idea what to do with it."
"..." Tesla's face turned red with embarrassment. She felt like grabbing a bomb and taking Einstein down with her.
"Can't you two go a day without arguing?" Planck stood to the side, helplessly watching the pair. It seemed they physically couldn't go a day without bickering.
"Titan delivery? No way I'm supporting that. Besides, this battle pretty much wiped out all of Anti-Entropy's Titans," Walter joked as he approached. The end of the Collapse had loosened something deep within him, and he couldn't care less about the lost Titans.
"Those things were outdated anyway. We might as well take this chance to build something even stronger," Einstein added.
"Good point," Tesla agreed.
"Hey there! How about a party at the guild hall later?" Garp walked over with a smile.
"Sounds great," Walter replied, smiling.
"Alright, it's settled then! I'll go invite the others." Garp laughed and left.
Later, when the people of this world learned the Collapse was truly over, many broke down in tears, finally releasing years of pent-up despair.
At that moment, the guild hall was bursting with laughter as the members held their very first party.
"Cheers!"
Everyone clinked their drinks together, laughing and boasting as they celebrated.
"Edward!" Garp shouted mid-drink, "I'm telling you, if I hadn't held back so you wouldn't feel bad losing, you'd have gone down instantly. Those two Herrschers? I don't even need three seconds!"
"Tch! You?" Whitebeard scoffed. "More like they wouldn't need three seconds to beat you. If I got serious, I'd wipe them out in one glance!"
"I don't even need a glance. Just standing there is enough to kill them from the pressure!" Garp bragged shamelessly, prompting a round of boos.
"Do these guys have negative IQs?" Einstein muttered, rubbing her temples at the nonstop nonsense around her.
"That's just how they are," Rimuru said beside her, sipping some fruit juice.
"Why aren't you drinking alcohol? Allergic or something?" Himeko asked, swirling a bottle.
"Nope. I just don't like the taste," Rimuru replied, taking another sip of juice. Yep—juice was way more his style.
"That's a shame. You'll never understand the beauty of good alcohol," Himeko said with a sigh, taking another deep gulp.
"Don't drink so much, Himeko!" Theresa sighed as she watched Himeko chug like her life depended on it.
"Give it a rest, Auntie," Kiana laughed as she hugged Theresa from behind. "It's a happy day—let Himeko Auntie enjoy herself!"
"Sigh... at this rate, all the work for the next few days is gonna fall on me again, isn't it?" Theresa glared at Himeko.
"Those who can, do more!" Himeko patted her on the shoulder, not at all bothered, earning herself several eye-rolls from Theresa.
Meanwhile, Roger and Otto were having a private conversation.
"You're saying... you actually have a way to make Karen fall in love with me?" Otto asked skeptically.
"Come on, look into my sincere eyes. Do I look like someone who would lie?" said Roger, eyes practically flashing "professional con artist."
"Sorry, but I find that really hard to believe," Otto deadpanned.
"Don't be like that. Just hear me out. First, Karen is in love with Sakura Yae. Sakura is a woman. Karen doesn't love you. You're a man. Am I right so far?" Roger explained.
"Where are you going with this?" Otto started getting a bad feeling.
"So from this analysis, we can conclude: Karen is into women. You're not a woman. Hence—Karen doesn't love you," Roger said confidently.
"So what should I do?" Otto asked hesitantly, clearly getting swept up in the logic.
"Behold!" Roger pulled out a small bottle filled with a strange glowing liquid. "This is something I got from spending ten thousand crystals—a rare item: Feminization Spring!"
"You want me to... turn into a woman?!" Otto stared in shock at the bottle.
"Bro, let me ask you something. Do you love Karen's body... or her soul?"
"Of course her soul," Otto answered without hesitation. If it were just her body, he could have built dozens of androids to replace her.
"Exactly! So what's the big deal about changing your body? As the saying goes, hetero love is for reproduction, but same-gender love is true love. Drink this, and Karen will finally understand how deep your love runs," Roger said temptingly.
"You know what... that kind of makes sense," Otto said, wobbling on the edge.
"Go on then. Drink it! One sip, and you'll finally be with Karen." Roger was practically bouncing with excitement. Finally, someone had fallen for his trap! What happens after this wasn't his problem—guild members can't harm each other, after all! What're you gonna do, sue me? Hahahaha!
Completely unaware of Roger's inner darkness, Otto stared at the bottle in his hand, clearly torn.
"Drink it. Then Karen will love you," whispered a seductive voice in his mind.
"Just chug the damn thing already! Quit stalling!" barked another.
"Let me think this through," Otto growled, grabbing the bottle from Roger and marching quickly into the next room.
"No way, is he really going to drink it?!" Walter exclaimed, shocked from his hidden vantage point.
"Hahaha! Roger, you're evil!" Veldora cackled, thoroughly entertained.
"Can't believe how easy it was to trick him," Roger stroked his beard, watching Otto go. "But I gotta admire the guy—willing to become a woman for love. That's what I call a real iron-blooded man."
"I don't even know what to say..." Rimuru muttered, twitching at the mouth. He suddenly had the overwhelming urge to beat the living crap out of all these lunatics.
Author's Note:
Suddenly I feel kinda embarrassed writing this chapter... but it was too fun to stop! I can't help but want to write more about Otto and Karen's "development," hahaha! I've decided—I'm going to be a devil!
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