After handing over the antiques he'd brought from Saeko's world to Dr. Stern, Kevin Cross left the matter entirely in his hands.
Kevin had never been one to meddle in such details anyway. The antiques were meant for Dr. Stern from the start, and with Dr. Stern under the influence of Amatsu Kami, there was no question of his loyalty. Letting him handle the sale was probably for the best.
As for which auction house Dr. Stern would choose, how the items would be sold, or even how much money they would fetch Kevin honestly didn't care.
After all, those antiques came from the Tokyo National Museum. They weren't just expensive; they were priceless.
…
"I'm feeling a little annoyed."
Saeko's message popped up in the group chat out of the blue.
"What happened? What happened?" Kumoko replied almost immediately.
With nothing else to do, Kumoko practically lived in the group chat. She didn't have a phone, computer, internet or even another person to talk to. Outside of leveling up and hunting monsters, the chat was her only form of entertainment.
"Takagi's parents are really getting on my nerves. They're trying to set me up with some guy," Saeko grumbled.
"What? They're matchmaking you?! @Kevin Cross. Kev, Kev! Get in here! Your girl's about to be stolen!" Kumoko spammed the alert.
"Huh? What's going on?" Kevin responded after the notification pulled him in.
"Takagi's parents are trying to pair Saeko with someone else. They're about to steal your wife, dude!" Kumoko beat Saeko to the punch.
"Takagi's parents?" Kevin frowned.
"Since my abilities have grown significantly, I've become more... noticeable. I caught their attention. They said they wanted to 'cultivate' me. But the thing is... they're not too fond of foreigners. When they found out you were from China, they started getting ideas," Saeko explained.
Kevin vaguely remembered something about Takagi's parents from the anime. Weren't they part of some group? The Ishin-kai or something? Maybe they even founded it? But back when he watched the show, he was just in it for the action. He barely paid attention to the plot details.
Still, things were different now. This wasn't just fiction anymore. This was reality.
Kevin felt a flare of irritation. Someone was trying to move in on his girl.
"Saeko, I trust your judgment. Do what you feel is right," Kevin replied.
After all, Saeko was Japanese, and Takagi was her teammate. Kevin couldn't just tell her what to do. He'd take note of Takagi's parents for now. If they died like in the anime, fine. But if they didn't...
"Don't worry, Kevin. I'll handle it properly," Saeko promised.
Putting the drama from the chat aside for now, Kevin turned his attention to the giant golden sphere sitting in his living room. He couldn't just leave it there forever.
After a bit of thought, Kevin got to work reshaping it.
First, he carved out a large portion of the golden mass and forged it into a bed.
That's right. As someone who'd lived broke for most of his life, Kevin had always had one ridiculous dream: to sleep on a bed made of money.
A solid gold bed was close enough.
Next, he crafted a golden toilet for his bathroom.
Between the gold bed and the gold toilet, the stash of gold he'd brought back from Saeko's world was almost used up.
A ton of gold only took up about 0.05 cubic meters. Even a few dozen tons wasn't as much volume as it sounded like.
Lying on a gold bed, relieving himself on a gold toilet... Kevin couldn't help but feel like some kind of nouveau riche king. It was tacky, extravagant, and undeniably satisfying.
…
Apocalypse High
Saeko had planned to leave after Takagi's parents tried to force a matchmaking situation on her.
She never imagined it would come to this.
Narrowing her eyes, she stared coldly at Takagi's parents and the young man standing beside them, whom they clearly intended to pair her with. Her expression darkened.
"Saeko, you must understand. Foreigners can't be trusted. And someone like him isn't worthy of"
"So, that's why you drugged me?" Saeko interrupted, her cheeks flushed and eyes narrowed. There was a strange, unnatural heat in her voice.
"This is your fault, Saeko. You're being too stubborn. He's just some outsider, yet you're so loyal to him you'd even consider leaving," Takagi's mother said, her tone full of false righteousness, as though this betrayal was entirely Saeko's doing.
"Saeko, you're the only woman in our entire community who could become a true Sword Saint. If not for that, you should at least marry someone appropriate. You can't possibly consider throwing that all away for him," Takagi's father said, firm and resolute.
In the original storyline, Saeko and the others left Takagi's estate without incident. That was because, back then, they weren't especially powerful. Just a handful of high schoolers. Even if Saeko had some skill with a blade, she was hardly a major threat.
But now? Now she was different.
She had grown so strong she could cut down a hundred zombies alone. Whether or not she held the title of "Sword Saint," she was easily on par with a master swordswoman.
Takagi's parents knew it too. They couldn't just let someone like her walk away.
So they chose this method: drug her, then pair her off with a man of their choosing. Their goal was clear break her connection to Kevin and keep her within their base.
And so, here they were.
Saeko's face grew redder by the second. Her breathing was uneven. Her eyes started to glaze over.
She looked around the room.
Takagi Saeko and Rei Miyamoto both averted their gazes. One was the daughter of this household, the other had been roped into helping and had even been the one to drug Saeko.
Only Shizuka Marikawa seemed confused, staring at the scene before her without fully understanding it.
But she knew enough to see that Takagi's family meant harm.
"You can't do this. This is wrong!" Shizuka stood up and stepped in front of Saeko, her usually soft and dreamy eyes now filled with anger.
"We're doing this for her own good, Shizuka-sensei," Rei said, grabbing Shizuka's arm to stop her from interfering.
"Let go! Rei, let go of me!"
…
After watching Record of Ragnarok… honestly, it left a bad taste in my mouth.
Thirteen humans fighting thirteen gods, with the fate of humanity on the line.
The first two fights were losses Lu Bu, Adam fine, that's how it goes. Tragic, but understandable. But then the third match? Sasaki Kojiro wins?
And not just wins completely dominates Poseidon? Evolving mid-fight like some anime protagonist leveling up in real time?
It was ridiculous. Like Sasaki started at level 10, and Poseidon at 99, but halfway through the fight, Sasaki magically became 100.
So dumb.
Then they started bringing in inventors and scientists to fight gods. Seriously?
This isn't Fate where legends can ascend into heroic spirits. It's just a mess.
Also, the animation? Terrible. Choppy, cheap, no fluidity at all. Felt like it had zero budget.
And the designs? Most of the characters were just ugly. Only a few looked decent. The gods had zero dignity, and honestly? They didn't even seem that strong. Just kind of… mid-tier.