Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou Zero - Volume 2 - Chapter SS7

The Mascot Killer

“Sniffle... Sob... The ocean’s scary... Sniffle...” Miledi sobbed quietly in a restaurant situated in a quiet corner of the port city of Epona. Oscar and Naiz both gave her looks of pity.

“Cheer up, Miledi. Today just wasn’t your day. I’m sure the next time you go for a swim, it’ll go much better.”

“Do you really think that, Oscar?”

Before Oscar could reply, Naiz interjected.

“How many times have you tried to swim only to be swallowed up by sea monsters and spit back out? There’s no way this is a coincidence, Miledi.”

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Miledi’s sobs grew louder and she flopped down onto the table and thought back to all the horrific experiences she’d had at sea. Like Naiz had said, every single time she’d gone into the water, monsters had flocked to her. They’d stripped her swimsuit off, swallowed her whole, and covered her entire body with sticky saliva. For Miledi, who’d been looking forward to playing in the ocean more than anything, this had been a huge blow.

“I mean, you’ve got a point Naiz, but still...” Oscar muttered. While he didn’t disagree with Naiz, he still wanted to cheer Miledi up somehow. Incidentally, the reason he was so desperate was because Miledi’s whining had prevented them from being able to order, and he was extremely hungry. He didn’t care how it happened, he just wanted Miledi to stop crying. 

“Don’t worry, Miledi. Next time Naiz and I will keep an eye out for monsters. We’ll kill them before they get close, so you can swim all you want.”

“Sniffle... Will it really go that well?”

“Of course it will. Trust us.”

“You sure?” Miledi asked, acting uncharacteristically pessimistic. Her eyes were red from crying, and she lacked her usual baseless confidence. She kept shooting Oscar worried glances, still not convinced it would be fine. Normally, any guy would feel an overwhelming urge to protect her when they saw a girl acting so frail, but Oscar was not just any guy.

“Oh, give it a rest already, Miledi!”

Miledi’s eyes widened in surprise and her unspilt tears went back up her tear ducts. Oscar adjusted his glasses and added, “Stop trying to act all cute! What happened to your normal annoying as hell self!? All that happened is you nearly died a few times, so what’s there to get this depressed over!? Pathetic! Don’t you realize your annoyingness is the core of your identity!? Without it, you’re not Miledi anymore!”

“O-kun?” Miledi said as her eyes narrowed in anger, and a vein pulsed in her forehead. The other guys in the restaurant all glared at Oscar. 

How dare he call her annoying right after she narrowly escaped the jaws of death!?

“Now Miledi, annoy me. If you’re not being annoying, you’re not you. In fact, your name is synonymous with annoying.”

“Hey, Oscar if you—” Miledi started using Oscar’s name, so she was obviously fuming. However, Oscar was unfazed. He fearlessly raised a fist and gave a rousing conclusion to his speech.

“Go back to be being our annoying mood maker. I want to see that stupid, arrogant grin of yours again. Without it, you’re not Miledi. Acting all meek and depressed like a normal girl just doesn’t suit you—”

Heavensfall!”

Oscar squealed as a wall of gravity crushed him. He fell off his chair and was flat on the ground, unable to resist the pressure. Miledi ignored Oscar and turned to Naiz with a sweet smile.

“I’m hungry! Nacchan, let’s order something!”

“S-Sure. By the way, Miledi, Oscar’s starting to lose consciousness. He’s foaming at the mouth and everything...” Naiz tried to suggest Miledi calm down, but she was having none of it. Oscar’s life was only saved because one of the waitresses started screaming when she saw his prone body on the floor. But though Miledi released her Heavensfall, Oscar remained unconscious.

“A-Are you okay!?” the young waitress screamed as she ran over to Oscar. 

“Leave him alone, he’s fine,” Miledi muttered.

“H-He doesn’t look fine at all! He’s foaming at the mouth! Ah, he twitched! Get a hold of yourself, sir!”

The waitress lifted Oscar’s head up and rested it in her lap. What a kind girl. Her dark brown hair was tied up with a scrunchie, and she looked like the epitome of a nurturing young woman. Plus, she had quite a sizable bust. When she knelt down to nurse Oscar, her two melons quivered, attracting the gaze of every man in the room.

“Ugh, where am I...”

“Ah, thank goodness you’re awake! Should I call for a healer?”

Oscar stiffened up for a second when he saw an unfamiliar face, half-hidden by boobs, looking worriedly down at him. But a second later, he grasped the situation and relaxed.

“Oh, sorry for worrying you. I’m fine, though. Thank you so much for looking after me...” Oscar said as he got to his feet, brushed himself off, and bowed to the waitress. His impeccable manners left the young waitress flustered.

“O-Oh, I didn’t do much...”

“No need to be humble. Your kindness is much appreciated. Allow me to give you my thanks. Someone as beautiful as you must surely be this establishment’s mascot?”

“I-I’m not...really...”

Oscar flashed the waitress a dazzling smile. Still sitting, she covered her cheeks with her hands as a blush spread across her face. Oscar held out a hand to help her up. Feeling like a noble lady being escorted to a ball, the young waitress took Oscar’s hand and gracefully got to her feet. Oscar then tried to pull his hand back, but the waitress wouldn’t let go. It was then that Oscar realized everyone in the restaurant was staring at him. His two comrades appeared to be glaring at him as well. 

Huh? After a brief moment of confusion, Oscar realized what this scene reminded him of. Back in Velnika, the atmosphere had often been like this whenever he’d helped his favorite restaurant’s mascot, Aisha, out with something. Feeling a little awkward, Oscar yanked his hand back. Naturally, the waitress refused to let go, and as a result, he pulled her closer to her, causing her to grow even more flustered.

“Um... Is something wrong?”

“A-Ah, no! My name is Meenu. I’m nineteen years old and don’t have a boyfriend! Also, my shift ends in an hour!”

No one asked you any of that! Oscar thought. And all of the other patrons, including Miledi and Naiz, were thinking the same thing. 

Meenu looked up at Oscar, her eyes twinkling with anticipation. She clearly wanted Oscar to invite her out on a date. However, Oscar fell silent, and he heard a number of people clicking their tongues within the crowd.

“Hey, Nacchan, how come O-kun manages to be popular even after passing out in a restaurant?”

“I guess his looks plus his attitude?”

Oscar’s outfit made him look like a young nobleman, and the fact that he was courteous to everyone, even insignificant waitresses, made him seem approachable and kind. On top of that, he looked both intelligent and handsome.

“Actually, whenever we stay at an inn that has a young girl working there, she always asks me to pass on notes to Oscar.”

“What, I never heard that before!”

“Well, they’re always trying to be secretive about it. I’m thinking before I joined your group, they just went up to his room to give him those notes directly. Everyone’s pretty wary of you, you know that Miledi? They all think you’ve claimed Oscar, so they only make moves whenever you’re not paying attention. A lot of them have asked me about your relationship along with more info on both of you.”

“Wow, I never even noticed! Also, how come all these restaurant and inn mascots know all these high-level strategies anyway!? O-kun’s too popular for his own good!”

Meenu seemed to have overheard Miledi, as she turned to the leader of the Liberators with tears in her eyes. Apparently, while Naiz and Miledi had been having their hushed discussion, Oscar had firmly turned Meenu down. Seeing as she didn’t stand a chance, Meenu focused the brunt of her jealousy and disappointment on Miledi, who she believed was responsible for her defeat.

“Waaah, I can’t believe you’re so close that you call him by nicknames like O-kun... I should have known I never stood a chance! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Chef, they want three daily specialllllllllllls!”

“Oh god, I’m getting deja vu!”

Incidentally, Oscar had placed the order, and he’d been as nonchalant about it as back in Velnika. Seeing the same scene play out again, Miledi quietly muttered, “From now on, I’m calling you the mascot killer.”