Welcome to the Royal Capital

They made for an odd bunch.

A giant blonde carrying on his shoulders what many people believed to be young children.

Well, they were only half right.

Gideon always threw a fit if someone called him a child. One can already predict how often they got into arguments because of that easy misinterpretation given that the youngster was fifteen and appeared to be twelve.

Well, who was he to judge Gideon? Jason did prefer being called a scientist to a lunatic. Hmph, how barbarically single-minded of these people.

Of course, he ignored entirely the fact he pummeled them to the ground.

Elegantly, not barbaric.

Anyways, he's getting sidetracked. The most crucial point is-

"We've reached the capital!" Yes that, thank you, Alex.

After a full day of running, they finally arrived in the city. They took a short break while traveling, fortunately, Jason and Gideon had a lot of "camping" experience and Alexander was familiar with the area.

Wonder where he learned to make fire from scratch?

Jason mentally shrugged, not his place to know if Alex won't tell.

Actually… "Why are you two still on my shoulders?"

"It's so high!" Alex retorted while perched on Jason's right shoulder, swinging his legs and munching on what Jason was quite sure was cotton candy. " I can now finally mock the people below me."

Right, Alex is an extremely proud magic user. Forgot about that.

Turning his head to his other shoulder, Jason raised an eyebrow "And what's your excuse?"

Somehow, Gideon managed to make himself comfortable on his shoulder and was leaning the back of his head on the top of Jason's head.

He's still trying to appear calm and collected, what a try-hard.

…while still laying on his shoulder. Jackass.

"It's surprisingly comfy here." Oi, what is he now? A glorified taxi?

"Oh man, we should look around for tourist places!" Kid calm down.

"We're not here for sightseeing."

"Hmm," Gideon was eying a few meat dishes being sold in tents.

"Don't you fucking agree with him, emo boy."

Said dark emo boy chuckled from his shoulder, sitting up, and stretching his back.

"Jason is right, though; tomorrow is the entrance exam; we need to find a spot to bunker down and unwind." He leaped down, standing around 4'10 now, his red hair flowing a little.

Then, this midget had the audacity to give him a blank gaze, he said, "But, given your propensity for getting into problems, I find that doubtful."

"Oi, don't make it sound as if I look for trouble."

"You don't?" Jason didn't know what hurt the most, the fact that Alex sounded genuinely surprised, or the fact that he already knew him so well.

"Well, not most of the time at least." Hey boy, why are you looking skeptically at me like that?

"But weren't you the one who aggroed that huge swarm of Great Eagles?" The kid didn't even seem bothered by the fact, jumping down from Jason's shoulder and playing a bit with the straps of his bag.

How the kid didn't topple over from the huge bag he was carrying around, Jason will never know.

Oh wait, Gravity magic.

Never mind, now he knew.

Right, Huge Swarm of Eagles, that happened as well. Shit, think of something Jason.

"He was also the one who got us roped into helping the village deal with said swarm." Gideon why are you ganging up on your old friend?! And you want to be a magic knight too, taking care of things like that should be easy!

Unfortunately, they were right. He had been in the middle of experimenting on how far he could push his magic inside a single fireball until it couldn't hold its shape anymore. And while he made good headway to answering that question, the fire brought the attention of a group of Great Eagles passing by.

Huge birds, almost as tall as he was with even bigger wing spans, nasty things had slight influences with Wind Magic, so it was hard to pin them down and a bitch and a half to knock out of the sky.

They were also super aggressive.

With the help of their newest member's Gravity magic, they were able to dispatch the flying chicken with little injury. And learned midway through fighting that all Alex could currently do was increased and decrease the force of Gravity on something.

Kind of terrifying how strong he could be with only these two applications.

When arriving in a nearby village, they were informed by the chief about how most of their cattle and farmers were being attacked by the birds of prey. It turned out that recently, the eagles had been considerably more violent than previously.

Naturally, his broken heart urged him to assist. Also, the money made everything go much more smoothly.

They hauled chicken asses all day, and when they finally left the village, their wallets were heavier and they had picked up a few fresh gashes. At least it made for a good conversation starter.

Plus, twenty gold coins right here baby!

So yeah, place to stay and mend these few new wounds.

"Don't worry, promise not to get into trouble." Jason had a vague impression that his companions didn't actually think he was telling the truth based on their expressions.

Of course, five seconds later the universe turned around and gave him the middle finger.

Five bloody seconds. Are you fucking serious god?! [DM: *Sneeze*]

"P-please, help me!" The voice wasn't the only one among the many people crossing the street, but it came from precisely behind the three. From a dark lane, only feet away, yells and a cry burst out.

Jason made an effort to avoid the mocking glances from his buddies, but all he could manage was a scowl and a lowered head as he walked toward the scream.

Alexander was skipping joyfully after him into the alleyway, followed by a sighing Gideon.

Why, oh why did he decide to be friends with these folk again?

As they entered the alley, they were met with the classic stereotypical sight of a lone, scruffy-looking man holding a much cleaner gentleman against the wall with the blade resting on his throat.

Damn it, what's up with this cliche event?

"Yeah, how you like that you bastard!" The scruffy thug had a few teeth missing, his words were almost unintelligible.

"P-please, i-it's a misunderstanding." The man held at knifepoint seemed like he was crying with snot running down his face.

C'mon guy, you're an adult get a hold of yourself.

"Hey, why don't you let him go?" The abrupt voice stunned the man, but he quickly turned around, an angry frown on his filthy, revolting face, ready to yell at someone else's face.

"What did yo-!" Except that he wasn't face-to-face with someone.

The filthy thug stared blankly at the torso, which was as huge as one of the biggest trees he'd ever seen. He slowly cocked his head back, blinked, and then leaned it back even more before looking Jason in the eyes.

There was a stretch of silence before he weakly said "A-ah, h-how can I h-help you?"

Jason gave the man a sharp smile, snarling to his face "Can start by letting go of your friend over there."

His face showed a hint of irritation at this gesture, and his brows knitted together in indignation. He was about to yell when his eyes, at last, landed on the figures standing behind Jason. Two tiny figures, one with brilliant deep blue eyes and the other with terrifying purple ones, both eyes seemed to be glowing with murderous intent while trapped in darkness.

Without hesitating, the man removed the dagger and took a shaky step backward whilst slowly retreating.

"Y-yeah, got it. I-i'm sorry about that!" He quickly turned around and fled, acting as though the devil himself was chasing him.

It's strange since he is aware of his threatening qualities, but never quite like that.

It's easier this way, Jason shrugged.

Meanwhile, Alexander and Gideon were giving each other tiny fist bumps behind his back, but he missed it.

"I appreciate it, young man." Oh yeah, this guy was definitely loaded; he took a moment to regain his breath before pulling a handkerchief out of his breast pocket to wipe his face. "Without you, I would be in such a precarious situation," he said.

No way, there really were individuals like this. My guy, you are wealthy enough to carry and use handkerchiefs? He always thought they were myths!

It's time to ask for compensation!

"It's quite alright sir, anyone would have done it." Jason gave the man an innocent smile.

"By the wizard king, how very modest! Truly you are the image of a knight, lad." The half-elf paid little attention to the sardonic looks directed at him by his friend.

The distinguished gentleman took a look over them, noticing the bags they carried on their person and the cloaks around their shoulders

He uttered a fleeting 'Ah' of comprehension. "Could you possibly be travelers from outside the capital?"

Jason was cut off when Gideon walked forward "Yes, we are, now if you don't mind there are other complications which we must attend to if you excuse us."

Man, what crawled up his asshole this morning?

Not that he didn't understand, after all, Gideon had completely different motivations for wanting to become a Magic Knight than the typical "I want to help people" that every other naïve magic user had.

Really, the backstory over here was pretty convoluted, and Jason had absolutely no business even considering it.

Back on topic. Gideon wanted them to be done already, cut their losses and not get into any more trouble, mostly because then it would be faster to find a place to spend the night.

He didn't have much time to think about it anyway, as said dark mage grabbed his wrist and the back of Alexander's neck before pulling them away from the wealthy Gentleman that Jason wanted to scam!

"Wait a moment please!" the man seemed quite startled, and his tone had underlining desperation in it.

Gideon simply sighed in exasperation, but he did stop.

"I'd like to recommend the bar "Boars Hat" if you're seeking a place to stay," the man says with an oddly wobbly smile of relief as he pats Jason on the shoulder.

Alexander asked the man, "Why is it called that?" with a bemused expression.

"Presumably, the owner had some strange stories concerning pigs! Nevertheless, I swear it has one of the greatest housings in the outskirts of the capital," the man chuckled fondly.

What a coincidence, huh? Jason can recall reading a tale in the library that was similar to this—it was an action-adventure tale in which the hero had to gather his companions who had been separated to combat the forces of evil that threatened the world. 'Boars Hat' was also an establishment owned by the main character.

…it couldn't possibly be the same tavern right?

Jason acknowledged the high likelihood that the books within that prison held true tales from parallel universes, but, he never completely pondered if counterparts of people he read about lived in his present reality.

God, if even a fraction of the people he read about existed in this universe then he could only pray that they don't have the same capabilities as their other selves.

Yeah, that is a conceptual maze that is not worth exploring.

Anyways, while Jason had his head stuck in the possibility of cross events between universes, the man finished giving directions to his companions.

"Once again, allow me to express my gratitude for your help, I wish you all success in your future endeavors." with that the man gave them a bow, and walked out of the alleyway, giving furtive glances around the area.

Poor guy, probably scared of being attacked again.

Gideon could only frown to the side as Jason grinned smugly at him. Alex started to smirk mockingly at the dark wizard after comprehending the assignment.

This little boy was in fact deserving of the moniker "Annoying little piece of sh*t" or else better known as "Little Brother."

Ha, always knew that helping people caused good things to happen. Just like his mother said, "Help someone, and one day it will come to repay you."

Following behind the cheerful grey-haired kid, and the midget with burn-red hair, Jason reminisced about his foster family.

He couldn't have asked for greater parents; they were there for him and that was all he needed. His mother constantly took care of him whenever he was hurt or became unwell, while his strong father taught him everything he could about fighting. His parents taught him the true meaning of kindness. They had the greatest influence on him, even though he was familiar with these concepts from the many books he had read.

"Never stop trying to be nice, but always attempt to be kind." She would say as she ran her fingers over his hair while flashing a slight smile.

"Remember this Jason, hate is always foolish, and love is always wise." His father could never harbor resentment and always had this silly smile on his face.

Damn, now he was feeling homesick. It's been a while since he sent a letter home, should probably get around to doing that.

"I wanna go there!"

"We are not here for sightseeing you, stupid kid!"

"Don't call me a kid, we're the same height!"

"You calling me short?!"

"And what if I am?!"

Well, even if he felt homesick, that was fine. Staring at the two bickering in front of him Jason's melancholic expression broke into a smile.

"Alright, alright, everyone calm down. How about we visit it only for a bit, we still have some time until lights out."

"Wohoooo! Dad said okay, let's go!" The kid didn't need another word, sprinting towards a large fountain with many small attractions around it.

"Wait a second you little-" The ironic statement was never finished as Gideon gave chase, running after him.

Yeah, he didn't feel as homesick as before. After all, what were friends but another type of family?

===================================================================

Non-canon Omake: What the hell god?!

"I'd like to recommend the bar "Boars Hat" if you're seeking a place to stay," the man says with an oddly wobbly smile of relief as he pats Jason on the shoulder.

His friends entered the conversation, but Jason's mind was in a completely different head space.

Boars Hat?

Boars Fucking Hat?!

Looking up at the sky, Jason screamed "Are you fucking kidding me?!"

There was silence, the three people in the alleyway simply looking at him in bafflement.

"We literally have to deal with not only thousands of devils hellbent on destroying the world but a whole different crossover with even stronger devils and other races with bullshit abilities?!"

There was no answer, however, Jason was very aware of how the clouds formed together to create a hand showing him the middle finger.

Jason replied by sending the bird towards the sky as well.

"What the hell are you on about man?" Gideon was the first to break the silence.

"Oh shut the hell up, we are about to meet the guy your appearance is inspired by." Of course, he didn't say more than that, simply walking away, no need to give his friend multi universal identity crisis.

"What do you mean by that?" There was no response. They watched as he walked away.

"What the hell did he mean by that?" Turning around Gideon tries to ask the man they saved, only to see the same man with a blank expression walking into a wall.

He was behaving as if he was a lagged NPC whose program can't identify a wall.

"What in the fu-"

Then Alexander T posed and began levitating into the air.

======================================================================

Yeah, the OMAKE was basically me breaking character and calling out the DM for using Meliodas in Black Clover.

The rest is just my friends fucking with Gideon's player while he is trying to keep composure and roleplay going.

Then Alexander began T posing and he lost it as well. We re-did the scene and actually roleplayed but that was a good twenty minutes after we finished laughing.

Thanks for reading, Hope you enjoyed it!