"Great to see ya, when you're, you know… not trying not to die." Atlas chuckled.
"Soak it up. You're witnessing the holy grail of social situations." Helix laughed.
Everyone but Kylon burst into laughter.
"Even nowadays?" Atlas asked.
"Especially these days." He chuckled bitterly.
Atlas scanned the expressions of Helix's partners.
They were laughing, but their eyes weren't laughing.
"There's… madness swirling in those eyes." Atlas commented with wide eyes.
"That's because there is." Helix replied with a mysterious smile.
Kylon's eyes widened, and he began sweating.
Helix traveled 1000 miles to the Kozen Peninsula to avoid danger.
If the princess learned that he was in danger—
"Yakuza." Helix called out.
Kylon snapped out of his thoughts.
"You okay? Your eyes glazed over, and we thought the gatekeepers dragged you into the beyond." Helix asked.
The cat gave Helix a wry smile.
"I'm fine." Kylon replied bitterly.
Atlas sighed a breath of relief dramatically with his hand on his chest.
"Thank god. We thought we lost you." He replied.
He had rolled his eyes to the back of his head.
Marie and Riley were doing their best to be polite.
However, they couldn't help but giggle.
Charlotte was grinning from ear to ear.
"Hey, Yakuza. I'm assuming that's your proper title since I hear it a lot." Charlotte called out with a merciless grin.
Kylon's eyes widened in shock at the boldness of the young woman.
His pleading eyes said [not you, too].
The cat looked to Marie and Riley for support.
However, Marie was staring at her nails, and Riley was tactfully looking at Helix.
"My proper name is Sir Kylon or Kylon for short.
These two just call me that because—"
"He showed up to earth looking like the Yakuza to abduct me and sell me into slavery."
Helix finished his sentence casually in an explanatory tone.
He was looking at Charlotte and playing it off like a serious answer.
Well, it was a serious answer.
Kylon started fidgeting at the three women's eyes locked onto him.
"So… Sir Yakuza?" Charlotte asked with her finger to her lips.
"I like that name. It's cute." Marie replied casually.
She played it off seriously, but she was grinning internally.
"I think it's a cool name." Riley commented.
Everyone turned to her.
"It makes you sound… powerful?" She explained.
The group burst into laughter.
"See, told you." Helix said to Kylon with a smug expression.
Kylon was emotionally conflicted.
"It's a pretty big honor." Atlas said with a serious tone.
The cat looked at him with curious eyes.
He was not used to Atlas speaking seriously.
"On earth, when it comes to powerful people that wear suits, the Yakuza are tied with the Mafia and the Triads for second place." He explained.
"So he's calling you super powerful."
Kylon's golden eyes gilded to the left with thought.
"Who's the first?" He asked suspiciously.
"The furry syndicate. However, I'm certain the only reason that Helix chose Yakuza was because the pun was unpleasant."
Helix turned to his partner's mid-sentence with a nod.
The women were trying their hardest to retain their poker faces and sanity.
Kylon turned to Helix with narrowed eyes.
"It's true." He nodded with a flawless poker face.
"I see…." Kylon whispered.
"I'd rather be called a furry than a Yakuza."
Everyone's eyes trembled before they burst into laughter.
The sound burst forth as if it came from a broken floodgate.
Kylon instantly understood he had been duped.
"You tricked me." He replied while gnashing his teeth.
Charlotte shrugged.
"It's true. But… the real meaning is that you're quite…." She began with her right index on her lips.
"Fuckable? I'm not sure if I like that word."
The cart exploded with laughter again.
Kylon's face flushed with embarrassment and anger.
"Now you're just messing with me!" He snapped while standing.
The proud cat standing ramrod straight in his tiny suit caused another wave of laughter.
Kylon started growling.
Riley tried defusing the situation, but it was strategically impossible.
"That's not exactly true." She announced with a gentle tone.
The cat shot her a murderous glance that said, [if you trick me, I'll bring you into this too].
Helix and Atlas chuckled when they saw Kylon's only savior getting mowed down.
"What they're saying is true. However, you're only…."
"A tasty~snack to a select few." Charlotte completed.
Kylon's eyes widened in bewilderment.
He finally understood something important.
"Wait! What!? Are you talking about me being sexually attractive to HUMANS!?" The cat cried.
"Correct." Atlas replied with his right ankle resting on his left leg.
Kylon's rage became murderous, and he almost unleashed his Nightmare reflexively.
"Yakuza Cat, if you don't allow this, you'll only face real trouble." Marie chuckled.
"Real trouble!? Now you're threatening me!?" Kylon yelled.
"That's exactly what's happening." Helix replied with a cold tone.
An icy chill crawled down Kylon's feline spine.
"Good, you've calmed down." Helix sighed before leaning back.
The cat looked around with confusion.
"We're not threatening you. It's a warning to calm down." Marie chuckled.
"But if you don't let Charlotte take out your grievances by dragging Helix here, she will fight you."
"You kids… you have overbearing stats and Nightmares, but you still lack experience.
Don't get too cocky." Kylon huffed.
The wagon fell silent.
Atlas studied all of his friends' facial expressions with interest.
"Trust me, Sir Kylon. You don't want to fight Charlotte." Riley spoke with a gentle tone.
"Yeah. Unlike Marie and Riley, her Nightmare is exclusively tuned for murder." Helix sighed.
"Yakuza Cat. Have you forgotten who we've been living with for the last month?" Marie asked.
Kylon's expression paled.
"That's right. You have no chance, so suck it up, grin and bear it." Helix chuckled bitterly.
"Calling you Yakuza Cat was an official condition for following you into this world.
So it's not like you can complain, anyway."
Kylon's eyes filled with conflicted emotions.
Charlotte shot Helix an excited glance once she saw the cat's expression.
"No, waaaaaay. You made being able to call Kylon Yakuza Cat a condition for coming?" She cried.
Helix chuckled while looking toward the ceiling.
Kylon looked to the floor.
"That's right. I didn't ask for much to not make a scene or ask questions." Helix chuckled bitterly.
"I asked for three things. To call Kylon [Yakuza Cat], be fed immediately, and not get a cringe-worthy title like Helix of Shadow Calamity."
The ex-otaku geeks stared at him in awe.
Charlotte chuckled.
Atlas chuckled.
Marie giggled.
Helix chuckled.
Riley giggled.
The wagon erupted in laughter.
"You… almost… fuck up big time, bro… hahahahaha!" Atlas roared.
Helix gave him a quizzical expression.
"Why?" He asked.
Everyone waited for Atlas' answer with bated breath.
"Why? Haaaaaah. Where's the legendary thinker I know?" Atlas laughed.
Helix's eyes gilded to the left.
His eyes widened a moment later.
Atlas gave him a mocking glance after he got it.
"Half of them would have strangled you immediately if every otaku got a cringe-worthy title and you didn't."
Laughter erupted in the wagon again.
Kylon was so bewildered he forgot that he was angry.
When he did remember the conversation before, he sighed.
It was going to be a long week back to Alzeria.
—
[A/N: Full Atlas character development is a good way out as well, especially watching him fight.
Tinker is in another wagon because it's realistic.
Now watching a person fight because they're in a gambling den is equally realistic.
It's not a joke. He's literally a gambling addict and a degenerate.
He's not a [so talented they don't try but win] character, either.
Atlas is strong for a surprising reason.
He'll come into play when the time is right.]
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶