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Chapter 21
Pyraion glanced sideways at Davis.
He was the chief advisor of the empire that Pyraion had annihilated in a massacre.
It wouldn’t be strange if there was lingering resentment.
Yet, to his surprise, Davis was calm.
“You don’t need to watch your step around me, Pyraion.”
“That’s overthinking. Do you really think I’m the type to watch my step around you?”
“Yes, let’s go with that.”
“No, I mean it! I really mean it!”
“Yes.”
Davis lightly nodded.
From a certain perspective, Davis was also a victim.
“Even so, no one has the right to forgive me, Pyraion.”
No one.
If there were someone in the world who could forgive Pyraion, it would only be Chari.
“You did your job, and I did mine. And now… Chari is doing her job.”
“….”
Pyraion hooked pinkies with Chari.
It seemed huge at first glance, but when entwined, it was surprisingly small.
Chari spoke the line she had wanted to say for a long time:
“Pikachu! I choose you!”
“Pyka…chu?”
[Py]raion
[Ka]
[Chu] — it sounded like an abbreviation of Felinstein.
To the Pyraion of another dimension, it was a very cool pronunciation.
Like a name flashing with golden lightning.
“Not bad.”
“You like it?”
“Yes. I want to change my nickname.”
[“The culprit of the massacre. Cursing alchemist” wants to change nickname.]
[“The culprit of the massacre. Cursing alchemist” “Epic PykaChu” – Do you want to rename?]
A notification popped up.
But immediately, a system warning followed.
[Review penalty active.]
[Name change not allowed.]
“Ugh.”
Pyraion frowned.
At the same time, a growl came from his stomach.
“Want some?”
He secretly pulled out a Haribo he had been saving.
But what Pyraion really needed wasn’t physical food.
“No, my soul is hungry. When the review is bad, this happens.”
“Huh? Being hungry when the review is bad?”
“Yes. My soul feels like it’s being torn apart.”
This wasn’t even in the book.
The Chari from the novel, following Medea’s advice, always left heroes “100-line positive reviews.”
“Sorry.”
“No need to apologize. It’s my fault.”
No matter what food you ate, it couldn’t satisfy the hunger of the soul.
The only way to fix it was to improve the review.
Fixing one review required one summoning.
So it would take at least a few days.
But Pyraion suddenly wondered.
Being summoned to serve a child like this… what kind of review did that annoying Davis get?
“Hey, Chief Advisor Davis—or whatever—share your review with me.”
“It’s better if you don’t see it.”
Pyraion felt slightly happy.
Surely, Davis must have gotten a bad review too.
“Ah, whatever. Just share it already. We’re in the same boat, might as well comfort each other…”
[Let’s summarize the facts. Davis is perfect ♡♡ TMI: I went to the Louvre with Davis, and he pretended to be a statue, so I got caught. TMI = Too Much I Loveyou] (100/100)
Pyraion slightly opened his mouth and looked at Chari.
The over-the-top enthusiasm…
Even some spacing was ignored just to hit 100 characters.
“Did you lie about your age, Chari?”
“Huh?”
“Are you a time traveler?”
“Huh, what’s that?”
Good thing Chari had practiced acting innocent.
But Pyraion’s eyesight was sharp.
“You flinched just now!”
Even the pronunciation was unusually off!
“I didn’t flinch!”
“I saw it!”
“No, you didn’t!”
“Liar!”
An alchemist is a scholar who pursues truth. As the conscience of the Kaion Empire, he could not deny what he directly saw as false.
That would hurt his pride as an alchemist…
Yet Chari fiddled with the review window.
“See? You never flinched!”
Nodding.
Encouraged by Chari’s reaction, Pyraion gave her a compliment.
“You’re like a stone Buddha!”
Chari felt strangely proud.
Just like how being called a “Legendary senior” feels good for no reason, this was instinctively pleasant.
With the atmosphere lightened, Pyraion decided to work hard to earn a good review.
“So, what should I do today?”
He still had about three hours left until summoning.
It was time to show continent-level hero-level performance.
The task given to a continent-level hero was surprisingly trivial.
“…Davis, is this really a proper task?”
“It’s an important mission, Sir PykaChu.”
“…Read a storybook to Chari?”
“Yes, Chari enjoys it.”
Davis’ storytelling was great, but Pyraion’s would have a completely different flavor.
“Have you forgotten you’re a continent-level hero?”
“What does that matter?”
“….”
“You only need to read until Chari falls asleep. I’m busy, so I’ll take my leave.”
Davis left, citing work.
Pyraion had no choice but to take a storybook.
It was a story about a brave turtle.
“This is Chari’s favorite story.”
“Why do you like it?”
“Because the sea palace turtles punish the villainous rabbit.”
Villainous rabbit.
The one who spread bad carrots in the sea palace.
The sea palace turtles suffered vitamin overdose from eating the carrots.
“…This is fun?”
“…It is.”
Chari’s face reddened slightly.
Her instinctual delight as a child overwhelmed Pyraion’s high school mind with a sense of inferiority.
“Why is this fun?”
“Anyway, it is fun!”
Chari clenched her fist.
‘So what if it’s fun!’
Pyraion shamelessly decided to just enjoy the moment.
After all, the continent-level hero Pyraion was still a brilliant alchemist.
“Well, I guess I’ll show my powers again.”
“…!”
He took a potion from his inventory and dropped a few drops onto the storybook.
Ssshh—smoke rose, and a magic illusion appeared.
The rabbit and turtle began moving as if real.
“Woah!”
Chari’s heart raced.
She clenched her fist, awed in a different sense.
“The turtle even swims?”
“Yep. Watch closely!”
The turtle swam, the rabbit hopped.
A 3D magical illusion so vivid, it could compete with Disney VR.
“Actually, this isn’t even that impressive.”
“Not impressive?!”
Chari, mesmerized by the illusionary turtle, quietly made a decision.
Today’s review… will be top-notch.
“Chari, have you cleared the tower up to floor 10?”
“Yes.”
“One floor per day?”
“Nope.”
“You could clear one floor per day at least?”
Chari shook her head.
“Davis is strict.”
“Why?”
“It affects physical and mental health.”
“Then why are you mixing formal and informal speech?”
Chari flinched slightly.
She hadn’t thought about it. Subconsciously, she mixed speech styles because Pyraion looked similar in age.
“…A flirty mix of formal and informal?”
“Do you think I’d be flustered?”
“Tch.”
Anyway, Pyraion decided to show the real power of a continent-level hero.
He took out paper and a pen and scribbled something.
“What are you doing, PykaChu?”
“Potion ingredients. Give this to Davis.”
The paper was full of letters like worms crawling.
Chari immediately gave up reading.
“Drink this potion. You can climb one floor a day. Keep your mind clear! There’s only one for now, but I can make more later!”
“Oh!”
“This is continent-level!”
“Ohhh!”
Chari’s enthusiastic reaction delighted Pyraion.
“I create a super potion that builds a mental barrier and protects the drinker’s mind!”
“Ohhh!”
This potion was designed for tower progression. It stabilized both mental and physical health.
Chari’s eyes widened, and she asked seriously:
“Can I really climb every day?”
“Really.”
Chari hesitated for a moment, then silently gave a thumbs-up.
“Efficient!”
Pyraion shivered.
Those shining eyes. The sincere praise from that tiny mouth.
All of it overwhelmed him, and Pyraion’s satisfaction soared.
“I am truly Epic PykaChu. Hehe.”
Even now, it was overwhelmingly a cool new nickname.
