5

Chapter 5: Hero's Promise

Notes:

Magnus: I'm sorry for the delay, but I had to deal with an episode of depression. Remember to visit my profile to vote for Izuku's pairing. Voting took place at fanfiction.net

Disclaimer: This is an experimental story, why do people expect this to follow canon and not have OOCness?

Edit: This chapter was edited by Vandenbz.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

A Hero's Promise

Izuku was having trouble getting to sleep, turning on his spot in the stables. He had more than enough money to rent a room in the inn, but thanks to the two new additions to his party, the inn keeper had to refuse to rent them a room… at the very least, he explained that an inspector from the capital was staying for the week, and said inspector was an adamant enemy of one of his new friends.

Turns out, the goddess Eris hates harpies.

Unable to send the bird girl alone to the stables, he opted to have them all together, with him, as he couldn't bear staying in a comfortable room while these two had to make due with a pile of hay…

But both were soundly asleep while he was the uncomfortable one.

'This… is a horrible world…' Izuku thought as he turned to look at the black harpy, who was sleeping with a cute smile on her makeshift nest, seemingly uncaring of the horrible things she had endured so far, 'I promise I'll find a way to let you fly again, Chika.'

Chika was the name he had given to the black harpy. It was simple and unimaginative, and the girl was incredibly happy for it… even when Aqua pointed that it sounded like a pun. It was just after giving her this name that Izuku learned the horrors that she had to endure since birth, starting with a mandatory mutilation.

According to the teachings of Eris, a harpy that is going to live amongst humans must have her tail and the thumb-claws of her wings cut, so they can't either fly nor learn to use human tools. Izuku's heart ached at knowing this unethical practice, a religious practice nonetheless; he just couldn't believe that a goddess so loved by the masses could be so cruel.

'A religion that practices such horrible things can't be a good one.' Izuku thought as he turned around, this time looking at the reptilian girl, a member of the lizardfolk, 'And I will find a way to heal you too, Liza.'

Liza, the name he gave to the now identified gator-kin girl; while the name was an even worse pun than the one given to the harpy, this time Aqua hesitated to laugh… apparently, gator-kin are a sub-species of lizardfolk that far exceeds their cousins in strength and toughness, giving them muscles capable of bending iron barehanded, and resisting normal strikes with little damage, however, they were incredibly easy to anger, prone to violence, and apparently dumber than bricks.

According to Chika, Liza was unable to follow the script given to her by the slave trader, not able to lie about her heritage, as the slaver wanted to pass her off as a regular Lizardfolk to a hunter. Her acting was so bad, that the slaver opted for cutting her tongue in an attempt to make her look like her submissive cousins… Dronya was still able to see what she truly was, giving her the upper hand in haggling for her price. Since the vile woman just needed extra bodies for her mission, she got her regardless of the possible hazards.

'Why can't the goddesses show a little bit of kindness?' Izuku nearly screamed in his head, unable to cope with the fact that he had to travel with such an insensitive goddess, 'Is it too much to ask for some healing?'

While Aqua seemed to enjoy being uncooperative, Megumin showed a curious level of helpfulness; the explosive Arch Wizard, noticing Izuku's need for an explanation, went into a long winded retelling of the war of a thousand years ago.

The story told about a war that engulfed the entire continent, where demi-humans attempted to wipe out humans, elves and dwarves. The favored races fought separately in the beginning, none wanting to shame themselves asking for help, until the Avariel (a winged subspecies of elf) and the Duergar (a dark-skinned subspecies of dwarf) went extinct due to the cunning of the harpies and the lamias.

It was at that moment that he learned that the Avariel were the beloved children of Eris… meaning that from that moment onward, harpies became the direct enemies of the 'benevolent' goddess.

Megumin then got to the part that marked the turn of the war, and the beginning of the age of heroes, as it was at that point that a human hero appeared and united the three races against the demi-humans, earning victory after victory, pushing the threat back until they no longer had the numbers to continue… then… the hunt continued until the strongest races of demi-humans went extinct, and the remnants were forced to live in small tribes that had been hunted down by slavers to this day.

Izuku was horrified by this information, and while he could understand Eris' anger, he could not condone this barbarism; he, being Japanese, knew better than anyone else that this hatred was wrong, because condoning it would be like saying that it's alright to wipe out from existence all of the German and Japanese people as retaliation for the Second World War.

Once all was said and done, Megumin asked something that made Izuku smile with sadness.

"You bought them so they won't suffer in the Empire, right?"

The petite Arch Wizard didn't wait for an answer, and instead said that she will get him a book that will help in dealing with the girls… then Aqua asked about the sleeping arrangements.

'I will not share my room with someone like her!' Izuku mentally screamed as he forced his eyes shut.

The next morning…

'This is bad!' Izuku thought in panic as he took notice of his situation, 'THIS IS REALLY BAD!'

As usual, at least since he became a Druid, Izuku woke up with the first light of the morning; unlike before, he did so today with two female bodies hugging him. At some point during the night, Chika and Liza moved to the sides of the now flustered teenager, hugging his body and using his chest as a pillow. It wasn't uncomfortable at all, but it was incredibly shocking for the green haired boy.

While thinking on how to get out of this situation, Izuku felt how Liza's tail moved, coiling tighter around his waist, moving up and down his crotch… making his already awkward morning wood even worse.

"Err… girls? Could you please wake up?" Izuku asked, unsure if he should just shake them awake, or be kind and gentle about it… then he felt Chika's feathers gently caressing his abdomen as if she was placing a blanket over him.

"Never mind. Wake up already!" Izuku finally moved with the intention of waking the girls up, and while he raised his voice, he couldn't bring himself to yell.

"UWA?!" Chika was quick to open her eyes in alarm, taking a second to look at her new master with a little bit of fear, as if expecting a beating… seeing it wasn't coming, she relaxed, "Morning."

Chika did her best to step away from her master to avoid getting in his way, rising to her feet with the little grace she could muster, obviously awaiting orders; Liza, however, seemed to have trouble disentangling from the warm body she had latched onto, her cold blooded body demanding more cuddle time… that this was the first time a human had given her such a level of warmth wasn't helping her cause.

"Come on, Liza!" Izuku raised his voice just a little more, barely earning a reaction from the gator-girl, "We have a lot to do today!"

Seeing that kind words weren't enough, and feeling his body starting to react the wrong way, he decided to take things into his own hands… or rather, vines.

Liza finally woke up with a start as she felt her heavy body being forcefully lifted from her warm bed, only to discover that she was being held up by vines that looked way too close to whips for comfort. Izuku locked eyes with the albino reptilian, and after a second… he gently placed her on the ground, standing, and without following retaliation.

"Now that you two are awake…" Izuku addressed the slaves with a serious voice, making the poor girls go stiff at the idea of being disciplined, "Get dressed. You need to get your adventurer cards today, and I'm sure you'll want something solid for breakfast."

The girls blinked in surprise, finding it hard to believe that their new master hadn't approached the morning as they expected, for he neither tried to use their bodies for pleasure, as they were trained to accept, nor attempted to hurt them as retaliation for inconveniencing him. The fact that he was giving them privacy was also of note…

Later at the guild hall…

Izuku was proven yet again that this world was twisted and dark.

"This is ridiculous!" Izuku muttered at himself as he looked at the cards in his hand, "What's wrong with these rules?"

When brought to the counter and the registration artifact, Luna indicated that the two demi-humans would not get adventurer cards like him, instead, they will be registered like add-ons of his card; the cards in his hand were actually slave cards, meaning that he would be responsible for their growth and actions while adventuring. To make things worse, these cards actually had cost thrice as much as his own registration… almost as if it was meant as a deterrent to see demi-humans grow stronger.

"It's not exactly wrong." Megumin, who was by his side while sporting a frown, said in apparent response to his quiet muttering. "Demi-humans under the adventurer status tend to grow faster than humans, meaning that if left unchecked they can become a threat."

Megumin's explanation may have held true, but that didn't change the fact that Izuku hated how restricted these two girls were.

When he had finished registering his slaves as part of his adventuring party, he had met with the petite Arch Wizard, who true to her word, had brought a book that detailed the biology and roles of demi-humans in society. The book also contained the basic set of rules to follow with the ownership of these slaves on the different regions of the continent, as well as suggestions on how to deal with their instincts.

Needless to say, Izuku wasn't pleased with the new information…

"So…" Megumin continued as she came to the realization that Izuku was not going to follow her previous statement, "What do you intend to do with them?"

Megumin's question was aimed to help her understand the green haired Druid, his heart and inclinations, and if possible, proclivities. The Crimson Demon had become really interested in the young boy before her, especially the way he gave her attention… attention that was diminishing due to the new additions to the party having it instead of her.

"I'm going to find a way to restore their bodies." Izuku answered without missing a beat, making Aqua choke on her drink, and Megumin to slightly pout, "Then I'll teach them to be self sufficient."

"You do understand that no priest is going to help you with that, don't you?" Aqua asked, feeling amused at the spirit of the boy, and sickened by how pure his intentions were.

"According to the library, I can learn restoration magic if I become an Arch Druid." Izuku's word cut deep into the goddess' pride, as she believed herself to be the only one the druid could turn to, "That also means I can ask other Arch Druids for help."

Aqua actually felt hurt by Izuku's words, she had been thinking on offering her help on that regard, after making him grovel and beg for it, of course.

"Don't you think you are going a little too far for just two demi-human slaves?" Megumin asked, trying her best to hide her growing annoyance. "I think it would be easier if you just looked for some noble or guild attendant to take them off your hands… even an inn or tavern may do so if they prove to be skilled enough."

Chika and Liza watched as the conversation kept going, knowing that these girls were talking about them, with no little animosity toward them, obviously wanting their new master to get rid of them; they also paid attention to how Izuku's face had been contorting in an odd mix of anger and sadness.

Chika was a step shy of hugging him to calm his mind, for she had felt that he didn't dislike her feathers.

Liza was getting ready to bite the one who was annoying her master the most.

Then someone else arrived at their table…

"I just happened to read your recruitment poster." A dignified voice made the party turn to meet the new arrival, who turned out to be a young woman, "I was wondering if you still have space in your party."

The young woman was tall and looked fit to be a warrior, her long blond hair was tied in a tall ponytail and had bangs over her forehead, making her look beautiful and serious. Her fair skin and chiseled features could easily make most guys fall for her. The new arrival was wearing a long yellow coat with pieces of armor that gave credence to her strength, although her asymmetrical shoulder pads confused the young Druid a little bit.

"Yes, we are still recruiting." Izuku replied with neutrality, internally grateful that this new arrival was wearing something that would cover her sensitive parts unlike others he had met before.

"Advanced job classes only!" Aqua immediately added, not wanting any more weak members in her party.

"Don't mind her." Izuku cut in just as fast, knowing better than to let the poor excuse of a goddess take the reins, "Common sense is more than enough to get in."

"A modicum of skill would be appreciated too." Megumin joined too, suddenly thinking that Izuku was weak to girls needing rescue.

Suddenly, the dignified female warrior seemed to be replaced by someone completely different.

"There is no need to worry; I'm a Crusader of the Eris faith." The young woman replied, making two of the assembled party wonder why she didn't say anything about common sense or skill first, "My name is Darkness… and I would like if you let me j-join your p-p-p-p-party!"

Izuku's mood was soured when the Crusader declared her faith; he would have loved to give her a chance regardless of the lack of mention at skill levels or common sense, but now he feared that she would try to do something against Chika, who was now cowering behind him.

"I don't think that's a good idea…" Megumin was the first to pass judgment, earning a sad sigh from the green haired Druid.

"What are you talking about?" Aqua spoke in uncharacteristic empathy, "She is a Crusader, an advanced elite class!"

"She can be a Knight Commander and it would still be a bad idea to let her join." Izuku passed judgment now.

While he loathed showing prejudice to someone based only on faith, this time he felt as if not needing to risk his friend to receive more suffering.

"What?" Darkness seemed to be distraught by such rejection, "Why?!"

Darkness was despairing, wondering if rumors about her had reached this new party already, or if she had said something wrong. A new girl appeared behind her and tapped her shoulder, earning her attention.

"Didn't I tell you to not be so pushy?" The newcomer asked with a friendly voice, earning the party's attention.

The girl was shorter than Darkness, her silver hair was cut before reaching her shoulders and her purple eyes seemed rather playful. Izuku took notice of her rather daring outfit, leaving way too much skin exposed, although it was less outrageous than some others he had already seen… her demeanor and the dagger she kept at her back screamed 'thief' to the Druid's mind.

"Besides, why would you join someone with that kind of baggage?" The new girl continued, this time pointing to the cowering Chika, who tried to become even smaller behind Izuku's back.

Even with the knowledge and understanding that this prejudice was inevitable, Izuku found himself tensing at the words of the newcomer. There was no need to ask, it was obvious for how they interacted that both shared the same faith, and in his mind, it would be logical to think that they would try to start a fight in order to show the strength of their belief.

Megumin noticed how Izuku tensed, aware of the situation that would probably develop, then she noticed Liza tensing, as an obvious result of her master getting ready for a confrontation… After a moment, she became aware that she was now gripping her staff as well.

"Who is being pushy now, Chris?" Darkness replied, apparently oblivious to the tension in the air, and apparently being more open minded than what Izuku thought, "The harpy seems well tamed; there is no need to denounce her as evil."

Denouncing Chika as evil? That made Izuku frown.

"That is still a harpy." Chris pointed out, not ready to drop the subject, "They are cunning and manipulative; why don't you ask her owner to show her stats?"

"I don't want to, and I don't have to." Izuku was quick to put a stop to the two ladies in front of him, making Megumin blink in surprise at how angry he sounded, "Please, find someone else to bother."

Izuku had had enough of these people, in fact, he'd had enough of this world. Last night he had the fleeting thought of parting ways with Aqua and make do with Megumin and the slaves, and now, that fleeting thought was beginning to take root.

"Attention to all adventurers, please head to the main gate for the compulsory harvest event!"

The announcement, coming from the loudspeakers, was enough to break the tension. Izuku was understandably puzzled by the sudden call, especially when everyone ignored him to walk towards the gates of the city. Having no reason to refuse a compulsory quest, he and his slaves follow the others to see what was happening…

Later at the gates of Axel…

Izuku was, for lack of a better word, dumbstruck. All around him, the veterans and green adventurers were busy trying to fight off the swarming enemies, trying their very best to rack up kills as quickly as possible; it didn't matter if the adventurer was small and nimble, big and slow, or adept with magic, all of them were doing their best to deal with the numerous enemies.

"I… don't understand…" Izuku muttered to himself, his brain having trouble to accept the scene unfolding before him.

The massive army swarming the gates of the city consisted of… flying cabbages; plant creatures that had no other way of attacking but to use their own bodies to tackle whatever stood on their way. They weren't intelligent either, as they blindly moved forward with absolute disregard to their own health.

"I'LL PROTECT YOU!" Darkness' shout reached Izuku, who turned her way to see her being constantly hit by cabbages while using her body as a shield to protect a couple of adventurers that had fallen to the constant attacks of the little creatures.

Izuku's image of the Crusader had made a massive shift in the few minutes that he had seen her in action; buried now were the fears of having to deal with some sort of inquisitor, for even him, with his natural inclination to see the good in the people, couldn't help but to notice the face of pleasure that the Crusader was making at being constantly hit while pieces of her armor were being ripped off from her attire… she was a masochist… a very perverted masochist.

"This is stupid…" Izuku muttered as he gave up on making sense of this insanity.

According to what he could understand, this was a yearly event in which adventurers aimed to kill and collect the cabbages, earning money as they were considered a valuable ingredient of the region… there was also lettuce flying around, and Izuku was surprised to hear that it was considered a subpar ingredient.

"Got one!" Chika's whispery voice announced her participation in the event, if only because a stray cabbage was flying at her absentminded master.

Izuku had no real intention of partaking in such stupidity, but he still head-patted the black harpy for her effort at keeping him safe. The young Druid was also thinking about the thief's request to see the stats of the harpy, and that made him uncomfortable; he had noticed it the instant he got her slave card, her intelligence was high, high enough that Luna had advised him to keep her away from any magic tomes or artifacts. It was an unfounded fear though, how was she supposed to apply the somatic components of the spells?

Speaking of magic…

"EXPLOSION!"

Megumin fired her signature spell… right on top of the masochistic Darkness. Izuku had to admit that it was a sound tactical decision, because Darkness was being assaulted by what amounted to 80% of the cabbage army, and by how she was able to remain standing, it had been obvious that she was right to believe that the Crusader would be able to tank it… Izuku was exceptionally grateful that the booming sound masked the sounds of an orgasm.

"Maybe I should invest in a carriage…" Izuku muttered as things seemed to wind down, earning tilted heads from Chika and Liza, "If I stay here, I won't become strong… and I may end up snapping at someone."

The moment the words left his lips, Liza grimaced, as if expecting herself to be the reason for her master's distress. Upon seeing this, Izuku decided to scratch her jaw-line, making her return to a neutral expression… Izuku didn't fail to notice her tail waving, signaling her happiness at receiving positive attention.

"SECOND WAVE!"

The sudden scream made Izuku turn and look for the danger, feeling extremely irritated by the situation; he could have simply left the area, but upon noticing Megumin's limp body, and Darkness kneeling down gasping in ecstasy, he decided to become a shield for the dozen adventurers that were out of commission.

"This is ridiculous." Izuku said to himself as he began to expand several vines around him, quickly intertwining them to make a large net.

"Why do I have to be the only one to come with a plan to protect everyone?" Izuku asked to no one as the net was completed, then he spent a large amount of mana to reinforce it.

"Because Master is a hero?" Chika asked, her whispery voice unheard by the rest of the adventurers, but her words carried enough weight to hit the young Druid.

Izuku didn't know it, but he had talked in his sleep, seeing the academy he wanted to attend, and the title he desired so much. Liza of course didn't know what all that meant, but Chika was quick to take those words to heart, after all, belonging to a hero was quite a lofty goal.

"I… like the way that sounds." Izuku replied with a smile as he raised the net, just as the second wave of cabbages arrived at the gates.

Much to everyone's surprise, the net worked, preventing the passage of a massive quantity of cabbages, preventing more injuries among the already downed adventurers. They were so surprised that no one moved to make a kill of the stuck cabbages, and soon the sheer numbers of the little critters began to move the net.

"Liza! Let's help master!" Chika cried in distress, not wanting her master to carry all the weight.

Izuku almost lost concentration when Chika raised her voice; the high pitched sound was almost like nails on a chalkboard, making him understand why she was so whispery. The Gator-girl was quick to act though, grabbing one end of the net and applying all her strength and weight to prevent it from moving any further, while the harpy took the other end with her talons, furiously flapping her wings to aid in such endeavor.

"WHAT ARE YOU ALL WAITING FOR?! PICK UP THE STRAGGLERS!" Izuku shouted to the gawking adventurers, who immediately snapped out of their stupor.

Izuku watched the rest of the adventurers go… just to notice that instead of helping him, they all went their separate ways to rack up separate kill counts. It was madness, stupidity at its worst, and Izuku was tired of it.

"Master!" Chika's horrendous voice rang yet again, this time accompanied by a pained face, obviously she lacked the strength and endurance to keep up with such a monumental task.

"Fine! I'LL DO IT MYSELF!" Izuku shouted as he activated spike growth, turning the net into a wall of extremely long and sharp thorns, skewering all the cabbages in an instant, which made the net fall, full of impaled cabbages.

The sounds of the battle stopped, and everyone turned to see the image of an angry Izuku watching over an impaled army… all the spell casters were wondering what kind of spell he had used, as they couldn't recognize such an effect.

Later that afternoon, at the guild hall…

Izuku found himself baffled yet again; apparently, cabbages were worth good coin, especially this year after such a bountiful harvest, not to mention that the second wave he stopped seemed to be of better quality than the first, earning him more money than what the guild could handle in a single transaction.

"Master, did we do well?" Chika asked, for herself and for Liza, who looked expectantly at the green haired Druid.

"You did fantastic." Izuku replied as he head patted the two girls, "Both of you."

Both girls enjoyed the attention like a drug, neither used to getting praised or rewarded; it didn't help that Izuku ordered both fried toad and cabbage stir-fry to reward them. Izuku had to admit that watching Chika and Liza being happy was filling his heart with a sense of accomplishment, their smiles felt like a curative balm that was easing the pain produced by the world around him… he still wished Megumin could stop glaring at him whenever she thought he wasn't looking.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M GETTING NO MONEY?!"

Aqua's screech, while not as harmful as Chika's unfiltered voice, still made Izuku cringe, forcing him to look at the ex-goddess as she continued to shake poor Luna, who was doing her best to avoid her breasts becoming exposed due to the manhandling of her clothes.

For what Izuku managed to understand, Aqua managed to catch mostly lettuce, of poor quality to make it worse; being an ingredient that was not sought, she was offered what amounted a pittance for the bulk of it. By the end of it, she turned to look at the young Druid with nothing but anger… then her face erupted into a cute smile with sparkling eyes.

"Izuku! Izuku!" Aqua called in a cutesy voice, approaching the Druid like he was her favorite person in the world.

Izuku found the scene sickening.

"How much did you get for your cabbages?" Aqua asked, probably trying to sound friendly, not that Izuku didn't notice her greedy eyes. After all, he had a rather large bag full of coins in the table before him.

"Two million." Izuku deadpanned, deciding to come clean and say what he had at hand to test the integrity of the goddess, not that he expected a good outcome from her.

Silence filled the guild hall, every pair of eyes were glued on the Druid at the mention of such an outrageous amount of money in a single pouch; Izuku wasn't being honest though, while the bag in front of him indeed held two million eris, his pocket contained a note for another two, meaning that he had quite enough money to live without trouble for a time. The idea of not working was quickly erased from his mind though, as he needed to get equipment for himself and his girls… he still had trouble referring to Chika and Liza as 'his'.

"Two… two mill…" Aqua seemed to be at a loss for words, and then she tried to hug him, "Izuku! My dear friend! My dear, handsome and…"

"What do you want?" Izuku was not amused in the slightest by the obvious greed in the eyes of the blue haired Arch Priestess.

"Lend me some money." Aqua nearly demanded, although she looked actually distressed.

"No." Izuku deadpanned, obviously not wanting to feed whatever vice pulled at the heart of the selfish goddess.

"Please! You have to help me!" Aqua resorted to wailing now, crying as she clung to Izuku's clothes, making quite the scene in the guild hall with murmurs being quick to start all around, "I took a large loan thinking I would hit it big with the harvest. How was I supposed to know that I'd only catch filthy lettuce?!"

"How is that my problem?" Izuku's question felt like cold water, for he sounded as if uncaring of her problems. Izuku had no intention to help the goddess with her petty problems, she had done more than enough against him and his poor heart to have him not wanting to waste his efforts on her.

"B-because…" Aqua started, quickly showing a fearful face and a hesitant voice, "I already spent all the money, and they want their payment today… and they'll take it in whatever form they see fit if I don't have the money…"

Aqua explained as she turned to look at a group of thugs, one of them was already licking a dagger while leering at her.

Izuku sighed, hating himself for not being able to turn her away even when she didn't deserve any mercy for her behavior, especially because she had denied her help at healing Chika and Liza.

Healing Chika and Liza? That gave Izuku an idea.

"Fine, I'll help you." Izuku replied with a sigh, not failing to notice Megumin pouting again; a simple head pat was enough to calm her though.

"YAY! You are the best!" Aqua cried in joy while extending her hands, obviously expecting Izuku to handle his humongous bag of coins to her; Izuku instead motioned for the thugs to approach their table, much to Aqua's confusion.

"You don't trust her, do you?" Megumin asked with a smug face. When she first joined, she had assumed that the Arch Priestess was close to Izuku, but just two days had been enough to prove the contrary. Of course, she wouldn't mind if the blue haired girl were to leave the party, giving her more time with the green haired boy.

"Not in the slightest." Izuku replied, earning a click of the tongue from Aqua, who of course had expected Izuku to be naïve enough to hand her the bag without asking for a specific quantity.

"Are you in need of a loan, kid?" The leader of the thugs asked in an all business voice, obviously noticing the large bag full of coins, "Or did the big spender convince you to help her with her debt?"

Izuku threw a glare at Aqua upon hearing the moniker, wondering just how much trouble the girl had stirred.

"Not exactly." Izuku replied while holding a hand up, demanding to be heard, "She is a member of my party, and I can't have her missing right now. Of course, I can't condone her bad habit of wasting money, so, instead of just paying her debt, I want to buy her debt."

The thugs and Megumin were not expecting that response.

Izuku had read enough to know that people like this worked within the limits of the law, meaning that the loan was given upon signing a magical contract; this magical contract gave them the rights to the winnings and savings of the adventurer until the debt is fully covered, and while they were unable to force the person into unsavory things like thievery or prostitution, it didn't stop the person from falling into such practices to pay the money. Izuku fully intended to make use of said contract to force Aqua to bend to his demands.

"I… we are not against such a thing…" The leader replied after finding his voice, returning to his business visage, "But you must be made aware that this little bitch took a lot of money, and we have to charge a little extra for the transference of the contract."

"How much?" Izuku asked, already feeling a knot forming on his stomach.

"Including the transference cost and the guild fee for the transaction of the magical parchment…" The leader took a moment before delivering the number, "One million, two hundred thousand Eris."

Izuku and Megumin were frozen on the spot as the reality of the size of the debt hit them, even the slaves seemed horrified by such a large number for just a simple debt.

"What?!" Megumin was the first to recover, glaring at the Arch Priestess as if the money had come from her own pocket, "How? On what did you waste all that money?"

"Fine, I'll buy her debt." Izuku replied after a few seconds, standing up to follow the thugs to a private room in the back of the guild, "I'll be getting my money's worth in favors before the day ends anyway."

At Izuku's words, Aqua paled, unable to imagine what kind of favors the green haired Druid would ask of her that would be worth such money.

"Why do I suddenly feel like cattle?" Aqua's question was left unanswered as Megumin focused on her meal, even the slaves were more interested on looking at their plates than paying attention to the ex-goddess.

Little did Aqua know that Izuku's plan included breaking her spirit and pride to get his way.

Notes:

Magnus: If you expect this story to follow canon, you are going to be dissappointed, because I intend to go all the paths the original story didn't follow.