21 Departure, the beginning of the journey.

"Alright, help me hold this part now, hold that side while I secure this one. I'll need to use my right hand to weld this piece." Kohta and Takashi quickly moved to the left side while I held the right side and started welding.

It was already the next morning. Yesterday, after dinner, the group split up to sleep. The girls took the main bedroom in the apartment, while the two boys and I slept in the living room. Not on the couch, of course. I retrieved three beds from my inventory and set them up for a comfortable night's sleep.

The little girl also slept with the girls. When I went to check on them this morning, I found the little one sleeping between Shizuka and Saya, with her head nestled between their chests. I just chuckled quietly and snapped a photo of the adorable scene before heading outside.

Before going to sleep, I mentioned to Takashi and Kohta that I wanted to wake up early to modify some parts of the car. They both seemed excited and said they wanted to help. I just shrugged and accepted; any help was welcome.

As I finished welding the last plate around the top of the car's bumper, I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand and smiled. It was almost ready.

The car now had additional metal plates at the front, protecting the bumper and creating an improvised ramp in case we needed to run over zombies. On the wheels, I welded melted metal parts to create makeshift spikes and attached them to the hubcaps.

I tried to make the car as secure as possible; I wanted a makeshift tank. I thought about removing the back seat and merging the entire back with the trunk to gain more space, as I practically carried everything we needed in my inventory. But I didn't think it was a good idea in the end.

I didn't want every person in the group coming to me to take something out of the inventory when they needed it. By the way, I tested something: I asked Takashi to try to take something from my inventory, but for him, it was just an ordinary leather pouch.

I even asked him to take the inventory and go far away, but after just ten meters, the VoidBag simply disappeared from his hand and returned to my waist. I'm glad I don't have to worry about losing one of the, if not the most important thing I have now. I don't know if it was always like this or if it was some update, but I wouldn't complain.

"Well... I have a question, Aniki," Takashi, who was drinking water and sitting at the foot of the stairs, raised his hand to get my attention before asking. "What were you doing before all of this?" He pointed to the apartment gate, which was still barricaded from last night.

"Before all this, I guess you mean the apocalypse?" When he nodded in agreement, I continued. "I was a programmer and also in my final year of college. Why do you ask?" He looked at me confused and even a bit incredulous, but it was Kohta who answered.

"Why do you ask, he says?" The group's sharpshooter just shook his head, looking even more incredulous than Takashi. He pointed at the modified car. "You modified an army car using scrap pieces and parts from other cars!"

True, I had taken many of the cars I found on the street too. They were there; I just, you know, stored them in my inventory. You never know when you'll need something like that.

I looked at Kohta in confusion. "So what?" He seemed even more incredulous at my confusion and pointed at the car's engine. "You literally modified the engine! Using a microwave and a refrigerator!" He practically shouted at the end of his statement.

Looking at it that way, it was really weird, but what should I say? That the voices in my head, or in this case, the ones written in my head, helped me with all this? Since I literally didn't know anything about modifying or fixing a car?

[GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: When are you going to praise me? Now both of them think you're some kind of special agent or something, when it was all thanks to my genius! (Iron Man's hand gesture emote). You can thank me later.

[RedHuntressLive]: It was fun helping to modify the car! I've never done that before. Of course, I wish I could be hands-on, but giving instructions was fun too! Is this how teachers feel? (Excited Little Red Riding Hood emote!).

I had started the stream right when I began working on the car. My plan was just to improvise, but Stark and Red took the lead and started giving me instructions. Stark even knew how to boost the engine's power. The car, in its current state on the outside, looked like something out of a post-apocalyptic movie, and on the inside, like a science fiction film.

I would just admit it, they were both geniuses. I wouldn't know where to start without them. Looking at the two teenagers waiting for my response, I just sighed and shook my head.

"I learned a few things from some friends of mine..." It wasn't entirely a lie, as the two friends were guiding me. "I'm really just a programmer; all the credit goes to them." The two didn't seem to fully believe me and just nodded. I don't even want to imagine what's going on in their heads.

[GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: Friend? Do you consider me a friend now, DS? I'm glad to hear that. When are we going out for drinks? Or do you still need to reach the legal drinking age? (Sarcastic Iron Man emote).

[RedHuntressLive]: YAY!! It was nothing, Devas, and I'm glad I remembered. I should be able to send you that printer in about 2 or 3 days. (Dancing Little Red Riding Hood emote).

[WiseWizardGleam]: It was fascinating to watch that. Who would have thought something like this could be done with just common materials, without magic. Muggles never cease to amaze me. (Elderly wizard with glowing eyes emote).

There was that too. Stark started calling me DS, in his words, an abbreviation of "Devas Streamer." The guy was a genius in some areas, but in others, he had no creativity at all. But he was right. If I ever end up in the Marvel universe, I'll invite him for a beer. Of course, whether I'd already peed in his cup or not was another story.

Wizard had asked a few questions to the two while they were helping me. He even had some ideas he asked for assistance with to see if they were feasible, something about trying to merge technology with magic. I can't say it wasn't enjoyable.

I'll see if I can do something like that using the runes. Wizard was avoiding testing them before me. Something about how I discovered the runes gave me the right to claim them as a family magic or something. Probably rules or some strange law of his magical world.

Funny that the runes weren't even mine, but if he wanted to wait, who was I to argue? And also, I need to figure out a way to go to Red's world somehow to repay her for all the help she's giving me. She said her world was infested with Grimm, some kind of dark creatures, right?

I'll see if I can come up with something to help. I remember that in Wizard's world, there was a magic that was effective against dark creatures, Expecto Patronum, if I recall correctly. If Wizard or I can replicate that effect using the runes, we could make some kind of holy grenade or something. Not to mention the Terraria items, but well, that was a thought for the future.

I was pulled from my thoughts by the image of Saya appearing at the door while yawning. She was wearing a small top that exposed her midriff and short shorts, nothing too revealing, but the two other guys in the room blushed and looked away in embarrassment.

The funniest part was that her hair looked like a little lion's mane, and she didn't even seem to have noticed.

I just smiled and shook my head at that. Adolescence was a pain, wasn't it? Just seeing a bit of skin could shut down all the body's functional neurons.

Ignoring the pair, I turned to Saya and smiled as I waved. "Good morning, did you sleep well?" Or was it late? I had really lost track of time while working. Quickly checking my phone, it was still nine in the morning. So, it was morning.

She yawned before rubbing her eyes with her hands and waving back at me. "Good morning, Saeko woke up earlier and asked me to let you know that breakfast is ready, just come in." She didn't even seem to notice the other two, just staggered back into the house like a zombie.

[JackMom]: She's not a morning person, I guess. My son is the same; if I don't wake him up, he'll sleep until noon or later and miss his classes. (Emote of a blue cookie with a sighing face).

[GryffinHouseMatron]: I don't like mornings much either, but I try to wake up early; making it a habit is good for your health. (Emote of a black cat waving).

[YellowHuntressLive]: URK! Don't even get me started on mornings. I don't know how Ruby manages to wake up so early every day, and God forbid if I catch her using that damn whistle of hers again! (Emote of an angry yellow bear).

[BlakeHuntressLive]: I hate mornings, plain and simple.

[WhiteHuntressLive]: Do you know where she keeps that instrument of torture, Yang? I couldn't find it!!! (Frustrated Snow White emote).

[RedHuntressLive]: Never! NEVER! THEY'LL NEVER TAKE MY WHISTLE! AND THEY'LL NEVER CATCH ME! (Little Red Riding Hood running with petals behind her emote).

I briefly read the (CHAT) and waved to Saya. "We're heading in now, go wash your face to wake up, little lion!" She just waved without turning and disappeared into the house. I shook my head. It would be funny when she realized how she looked. To me, she seemed even cuter, but I guess she wouldn't like us seeing her like that, as she always seemed so put together.

"I'll go ahead; I'm starving. Clean your hands if you're coming to eat too." They waved, still a bit red.

Saya must be in the bathroom, so I went to the kitchen to wash my hands. In the kitchen were Saeko and Rei; they seemed to be finishing breakfast. Looking into the living room, I could see Shizuka playing with the little girl and the dog Saya found yesterday.

Waving to them, I went to the sink to wash my hands. "Good morning, did you wake up a while ago? You could have gone outside to let us know." I was facing away, so I didn't see that when I passed by them, they blushed a bit, especially Saeko.

When I finished washing my hands, they had already recovered, so I didn't notice anything different. Saeko cleared her throat and replied.

"Rei-san and I woke up a little after you, I suppose. We didn't want to disturb, so we just watched from the balcony." They were watching all this time? Note to self, brain: spatial awareness training. If they were enemies, I'd be screwed.

Rei nodded in agreement. "We didn't know you understood, you know..." She gestured as if holding screwdrivers and welding. "Mechanics?" I commented, puzzled.

She clapped her closed hand into the open one while exclaiming, "Exactly! Mechanics! It was really cool to see you fixing the car, you looked handsome, quite manly!" She smiled mischievously and winked at me from behind Saeko.

Where did that come from? She could barely look me in the eyes yesterday, what changed?

I just nodded before hearing a high-pitched scream coming from the bathroom. I dismissed the concern of the two by waving my hand with a smile on my face.

"It must be Saya; she finally realized the state she was in." It didn't take long for the two to realize what I was talking about and chuckle quietly, just before our little lioness returned and jumped on Rei.

"Why didn't you warn me! Look at the state of my hair; I showed up in front of him like this!" She didn't even seem to have noticed me, just jumped and grabbed Rei and started swinging her spear back and forth, while Rei laughed even more before nodding in my direction.

Saya seemed to freeze before mechanically turning her head towards me. I just smiled and waved at her, and I could see her starting to turn red, starting from her neck. I added, "I didn't find it ugly; you look cute like that, like a little lion." That seemed to be enough to accelerate her transformation from human-lion to tomato-lion; she let go of Rei and ran towards the bathroom without even responding to me.

I just shook my head and sat down at the table to eat the sandwiches the two had made. Breakfast didn't take long. Saya returned after a few minutes with her hair fixed and clothes that weren't pajamas. She didn't comment on anything, as if the mishap had never happened.

Takashi and Kohta joined us after a while, and finally, Shizuka and the little human who was sitting on my lap, whom I found out was named Alice.

"Seriously?! You're seven years old? All of this?" I couldn't help but tease the girl, and before she could respond, I wiped her cheek, which was smeared with ketchup, with a cloth.

She just stood still while I cleaned her face before smiling and answering me. "Yes! I'll be eight next month! I'm getting big." She puffed her chest out like a little bird and smiled even more.

I'm glad she's better than she was yesterday. I know she remembers what happened, but it's good that she doesn't focus on it. It's a trauma no child should have to go through.

[JackMom]: You're good with kids; I didn't expect that given your... current appearance, but I guess you can't judge a book by its cover. (Seahorse emote nodding).

[GryffinHouseMatron]: Indeed, it doesn't seem like it. I thought you would be more like Severus, but you're more like Hagrid. (Black cat emote nodding).

[YellowHuntressLive]: AH! Stop, please, the points are going up too fast! How do you expect me to stay mad at you at this point?! (Exasperated golden box emote).

[JiraiyaIsAnIdiot]: It's good to see her smiling like that. No child should lose their parents, especially at such a young age.

Ignoring the fact that it seems the women in the group think I'm some kind of troglodyte. I'm not sure if being compared to Hagrid is a compliment, but I'll take it as one. Yellow was getting irritated about something I didn't know, and our unknown friend returned!

I still didn't know who the guy was; he didn't act like Orochimaru, but at the same time, he did. His words were even more ambiguous; I couldn't see the Snake Sannin caring about any child, but I also remembered that he lost his parents when he was young. Maybe he felt some kind of familiarity because of that?

Looking back at Alice, I could see that she had gone back to eating, just before turning her head when she heard little footsteps running towards the table.

She smiled even more when the little dog came and tried to jump on my lap along with her; he was too small to get the height. I could tell from Alice's look that she saw he wouldn't make it, so before he could fall to the floor, I reached out and held him by the nape of his neck, putting him on her lap.

"Here, did you ask for a puppy to go?" She smiled and nodded several times and held the small animal with both hands as she lifted him in the air.

She played with him for a while before asking, "What's his name? If he doesn't have one, can I give him one?"

Kohta raised his hand and began to speak. "He's Zeke; the name is derived from the codename of the American Army-" He didn't get to finish speaking, courtesy of our lion who threw a spoon at his forehead.

"Of course, dear. What name would you like to give him?" She didn't even seem to care about the looks she was getting from the rest of the group, and by the way, nice aim; Kohta was on the other side of the table, about two meters away. She hit him right in the middle of his forehead.

Alice didn't even realize what had happened and played with the little dog as she thought before responding. "I think Shirou would be nice; he's white and all." She smiled cutely, which didn't stop me from shaking my head in disagreement; there was no way I would let the dog be cursed with that name.

I ruffled her hair with my hand. "How about another name? It's a bit sad to name him after a color, isn't it? What will the other puppies think of him?" She sighed as if she had realized her mistake and nodded in agreement.

"True, true, I don't want the other puppies to tease him. Bullying isn't cool!" She puffed her cheeks while thinking with a serious look. While this was happening, I could see Rei pull out a cell phone from the corner of my eye and take a picture of the scene, but I didn't mind; Alice was cute anyway, she deserved a photo.

After a while of thinking, she exclaimed, "Okay! I got it, he's going to be called... Zeke!" She nodded with her choice, and I could see that the rest of the table had smiles on their faces regarding little Alice's creativity. The differences were that Kohta looked prouder, and Saya looked like she had sucked on a lemon.

I just smiled and asked, "That's cool, why Zeke? Did you come up with that name?" She shook her head as she swayed her head from side to side. "Mommy used to read this book to me; there was a character named Ezekiel, so Zeke!" She smiled happily and then seemed to wither like a dying flower.

"I miss mommy, daddy told me we were going to meet her, but..." I could see her lips trembling as if she was about to cry. I couldn't let that happen, could I?

Without hesitation, I stood up while putting her on my shoulders and ran through the room, surprising her. It didn't take long for her to start laughing and ask me to run faster. I just hoped Zeke wouldn't throw up on me since Alice was swinging him in the air while we ran.

Ezekiel... I couldn't help but think as I ran through the room with Alice, a biblical name. Her mother must not be Japanese because, if the name Alice didn't give away her mixed origin, the Christian religion wasn't very popular in Japan.

After tiring Alice a bit while we played, I handed the little one over to the girls who were going to take a bath. She just waved to me, following the rest of the girls while holding Zeke.

Being alone with the two boys again, I turned to them with a smile.

"So, do you two want to help me fish?" I chuckled at the confused looks on their faces and the various "?" in the (CHAT) stream. Without answering, I asked them to follow me to the second-floor balcony. Once on the balcony, I took out two knives, two brooms, and some ropes.

Asking them to help me, in no time, we had two improvised spears that I handed to them and asked them to stand ready. Ignoring their puzzled looks, I went to the end of the balcony and looked down; I could see the small sea of zombies that had gathered during the night, there must have been a little more than thirty or forty zombies.

Holding my right arm with my left, I threw my hand down as if throwing a rope. I could feel the familiar sensation of the hook expanding and running up my arm, and the rope being thrown down until it stuck to a zombie.

Planting my feet on the ground, I pulled the rope with force, making the zombie fly into the air until it reached balcony height. Scaring the two, without hesitation, I threw the zombie in the corner of the balcony. While the undead tried to get up, I waved to the two.

"What are you waiting for? An invitation, come on, come on!" They seemed to wake up and killed the zombie quickly by thrusting the spear into the creature's eyes. I picked up the now dead body for the second time and put it in my inventory, then returned to repeat the process.

[GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: Damn! Okay, that's a brilliant idea, now I'm jealous, just a little. (Iron Man emote with envy).

[JiraiyaIsAnIdiot]: Well... that does look fun...

[RedHuntressLive]: Me too! Come on, that looks so cool! (Little Red Riding Hood emote with a lot of envy).

[YellowHuntressLive]: That's awesome! Do you think Uncle Qrow will let us do that with him? You know, except for the part of stabbing in the eyes, of course. (Excited yellow bear emote).

At some point during the "fishing," the situation was so surreal that I couldn't help but start laughing, which soon led to the laughter of my two fishing helpers.

[WhiteHuntressLive]: Boys... (Exasperated Snow White emote shaking her head).

[BlakeHuntressLive]: Boys...

[GryffinHouseMatron]: It seems boys will be boys no matter the world.

[JackMom]: Age doesn't matter, whether it's 8 or 3000, they'll still be boys, apparently. (Wise blue cookie emote nodding).

[WiseWizardGleam]: I don't think Miss Ruby and her sister are boys, but okay. (Phoenix emote nodding with glowing eyes).

It didn't take long for us to clear the entire horde of zombies. In the end, the three of us were sitting on the floor, laughing like idiots. After a few minutes of laughter, the girls showed up and asked what was funny, to which we just shook our heads.

"You wouldn't understand." I spoke for all three of us, and they just looked at me as if I were crazy, which actually made the three of us laugh even more. After we finished this little episode, the two went to take a shower while I helped the girls put things in the car's trunk.

"Aren't you going to take a shower too, Devas? The girls and I managed to sort everything out, you can go." The one who said that was the nurse who was sitting in the back seat of the car with Alice and Zeke.

The other three female members looked at her incredulously and shook their heads. I just declined and replied, "Nah, I'll go later, we need to speed things up, I don't want to lose daylight."

It was partially true, as I really didn't want to waste time, but the main reason was my stinginess in spending 500 SP to end the stream.

[YellowHuntressLive]: What's the matter? Too shy to take a shower? Come on, take a chance, maybe the stream has censorship, the worst that can happen is you giving us a show! (Laughing gold box emote).

[RedHuntressLive]: (Little Red Riding Hood emote peeking between fingers).

[GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: Speak for yourself, I don't want to see the worm he calls a dick, thank you very much! (Iron Man emote with disgust).

"Testicular torsion," will be the name of the first spell I'll invent, and I don't even need to say on whom I'll test it, do I?

Anyway, Yellow may be teasing me, but she was right; the stream did have censorship, but as with everything in this damn thing...

(Censorship:

Nudity: 15000

Gore: 10000)

It was paid; everything in this damn stream was paid, and I needed to unlock it, and even if I wanted to unlock it now, I didn't have the fifteen thousand SP.

(SP: 13982)

That was the current amount of SP I had; I even found it strange. It should have been much more with the number of zombies I killed, but it seems the SP from the kills will only count when I finish the mission, which means I'm currently stuck with the SP I earn from the stream and donations.

Of course, I could ask for donations, it was the sensible thing to do, but there was no way in hell I would do that; Stark would hold this shit over my head forever, and even with censorship, just knowing that people are watching me while I take a shower makes me uncomfortable.

Of course, I had put on deodorant and cologne to mask the sweat smell, and since the girls didn't comment on anything, I guess I did a good job of that. Anyway, we finished putting things in the car's trunk just before the two of them came out of the shower.

Before Shizuka could even think about dreaming of driving, I practically threw her in the back seat with Alice on her lap. She pouted because I didn't let her drive.

"Shizuka," I began. "You're a good person, I'm sure you're an excellent doctor, but even if they pointed a gun at my head, I wouldn't get into another vehicle where you're the driver." I was dead serious.

Her pout grew even larger, but she just turned her head to the side and didn't respond. Ignoring her childishness, I turned to the group.

"Come on, choose your seats, or go to the bathroom while you have time; we'll leave after I remove the barricade."

Having said that, I went to the gate while they organized themselves and started removing the things I had placed there last night. I even checked to see if there were any zombies nearby, but it was all clear.

Returning to the car, I could see they had already chosen their seats, in this order. Shizuka sat in the back seat by the window with Alice on her lap and Zeke on Alice's lap. In the middle of the back seat was Saeko, and on the side was Takashi with... Kohta on his lap?

The two of them just looked at me embarrassed while Rei had a bitter and victorious smile on her face, a strange combination.

"We bet on rock, paper, scissors, if they won, I would sit in the back with Saya on my lap, if they lost, they would sit." She gave me a "V" sign with her hands and stuck her tongue out, but couldn't hide her sulky look. "I won, partially..."

Partially? Why partially?

I didn't ask, just shook my head and sat in the driver's seat. Right after that, Rei sat in the front passenger seat. Speaking of which, where's Saya?

My thought was interrupted when I felt what could only be the tsundere's butt sitting on my lap. I looked down and could see that it was indeed Saya. She had a victorious smile on her face and gave me the same "V" sign with her hands that Rei had given me earlier, then said with a cheerful and proud voice.

"I won, unlike her, everything!" She rubbed her butt over my crotch a few times before getting comfortable and laying her head on my chest.

I had to count to three before opening my eyes and starting the car; I could already sense that this trip was going to be a long one...

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Well, here is today's chapter. It was supposed to have started the action already, but I couldn't skip this part. I felt it would be somewhat empty to just leave the apartment with nothing between the departure. Anyway, the next chapter should have more action and will start speeding up this part of the story, as much as I enjoy slice of life, my fingers itch to write about the upcoming worlds. As always, if you find any mistakes, please comment on where they are, and I'll correct them. If you like it, comment. If you don't like it, comment on why. I'm reading all the comments. If you have questions, want to make guesses about the next worlds (the next three are basically confirmed), try to guess something about the story, or want to give opinions on quests, worlds, or characters you want to see in the story, just comment. That said, good night, everyone, and happy reading.

I edited the chapter, and the comments got deleted. I didn't know that would happen. Sorry D: