A cheese wheel. I have to protect. A damn. Cheese wheel. [Exam]

A ton of things happened in the past month without relenting. The Rune Knights, whom were run by the Magic Council, were found to be guilty of corruption in the higher ranks of the order. Fiore's King ordered a Purge on the organization and the ones who were to carry that out were known as the Garou Knights. Hero himself was requested an audience with by an officer from that organization. Though the giant answered the call, he did not accept the invitation to join their ranks. The reason for that? Yamamoto felt that an organization led by royalty was ultimately doomed to corruption eventually and he did not want to commit to a faction that was not going to hold true to their ideals. Hero wanted something more than that, though he did not know or understand what it was he wanted. He did know though that he wanted the strength to genuinely protect those that are, or would be, close to him. That was the main thing spurring him forward currently.

After that whole thing happened, he continued to get mail from their organization regarding the Rune Knights and such though there was nothing substantial yet that drew the giant's attention. Meanwhile, his cousin Elyx had the man go on a little trip for him into this active volcano for a treasure chest. Yeah. Sounds fun, doesn't it? Hero was in there for about an hour and a half before he finally found it, though it was not that simple. It was slightly confusing as well, considering what happened. At first, there was Elyx who wanted to challenge him to get the chest by getting through him first. That was fine and all, but then another Elyx appeared. Yes, there were two of them but then it went downhill from there. The Elyx who had arrived second knocked the other Elyx on the head and then that Elyx poofed into a woman. The woman was explained to be the real Elyx's girlfriend and that she liked playing pranks on unsuspecting people. The man had already figured that something was off about the first Elyx but he never would have thought it was a shape-shifting tanuki woman. After all that nonsense, his cousin explained the reasons behind why he wanted Yamamoto to take this little game of a request and it made at least some sense, though it would have been easier to just ask. The giant had no legitimate reason to deny the offer from his cousin so he accepted and thus joined the legal guild, Golden Phoenix. Hero also obtained an empty bottle from the chest; Elyx said that a good friend of his wanted to know what lava tasted like and wanted the giant to fill the bottle with some lava and take it to the friend. There was a problem with that though: he had no idea where to find that person. His only clue was that she worked as the guild's bartender when she was not out on jobs.

The bottle of lava was still in his house out of sight and it was likely going to stay that way until he knew exactly where to find that friend. If this person was a friend of Elyx, chances were high that they were also very strong though that of course was only conjecture. After that day, it was actually pretty quiet. Since there was no guild hall yet according to Elyx, there was no way for the man to know where that friend lived or worked, which meant he had to either wait for his cousin to give him another hint or try and search for them by going on some pilgrimage to every city and town in Fiore. He was NOT going to do the latter for the sake of one person whom he had never met before. Unfortunately, Hero was not kind enough to do something like that without some more legitimate reason than "they want to know what lava tastes like". There was one thing however that he deduced from that. The friend must have been a Slayer of some type and he also figured that they had to be a Fire Slayer. However, there were three known types of Slayers that they could have been; they were distinctly different in the way the types obtained their power. It was simply a matter that the man was not willing to handle just yet.

Just the day after that, his cousin threw him under the bus metaphorically speaking. Granted he ended up not being alone for the entire ordeal but it was pretty intense. I mean... it was not every day one got to take on a horde of ravenous, bloodthirsty werewolves on a Perfect Moon with three other people until the sun came up. That was a really intense night, though he and the others managed to get through the night with non-lethal injuries, save for himself whom was covered in bruises from the smacks he took by that behemoth of a beast in the village. It would have been a lot worse, had the alpha not been assaulted by a mob of its own kin during the battle. When the sun finally came up, all of the turned villagers returned to normal and the group of four people were thanked by the village elders who knew it was going to happen from the start. All in all, it turned out to be another invaluable experience for the giant.

Then the day after that, which was also pretty fun, he and a fellow guild mate named Luna Jaeger went treasure hunting out in the Ancient Ruins. It did not take us too long to get to the bottom of the whole ideal and found this guy Harper Goldenshine to be extremely troublesome. He was also searching for this treasure and was found to be wanting the treasure for darker intentions, which Hero could not allow. He and the woman found the treasure and then left with Harper in tow to inform local authorities on the matter; later that day, Yamamoto was informed that the Magic Council was thankful for their efforts in protecting the sanctity of the deceased Wizard Saint's tomb. It was a good feeling to do good deeds for the sake of tomb preservation. A thought also crossed his mind while at the ruins. Why were those ruins such a hotspot for all these different occurrences? It was at the very least strange and the giant was very interested in finding out what it was all about.

Then there was the matter of the friend of Elyx's he was supposed to find on his own. He did end up eventually finding her on an island off the coast of the mainland, Crescent Island the resort, and goodness she was a beauty. It was at first strange to watch her drink down that bottle of lava like it was some kind of alcohol. Though the thought was a little funny and ironic because the friend was a bartender. Turns out the friend was also a woman, in case one had not noticed. Long blonde hair and the kind of body that just about anyone would fall to their knees for. The more important thing was getting that lava to her though so that was a success at the very least. Her name was Venir RuLush and she was an S-class wizard part of the same guild as he, Golden Phoenix. Hero himself was on vacation yesterday, so most of the time was simply spent at the resort talking with the woman. Though if that were all that happened, he would have been lying. That day turned into a run-in with an extremely large Dark Guild known as the Syndicate, which was run by these people called "executives" whom were the top ranking members of the guild. It was a hard-fought battle, since it was ten against three. Another member of Golden Phoenix, Leila Vergious, had joined both Hero and Venir on the task and they all managed to pull through it without fatal injuries, save for Hero, whom got cut up pretty bad by the boss of the guild, Doflamingo.

Then there was that little adventure in Kyoka, where he teamed up with an old colleague from the Rune Knights, Isaac. Despite the fact that Hero did most of the fighting, it was a very strange day. The two men were led around by this dim wisp-like orb through dense fog to fight a bunch of creatures who were native to the land.The giant spoke with a talking wolf, which was also strange on its own, and then after over one hundred creatures later they came to a large castle where they met the “Forgemaster” and got sent back to the mainland because they did not have all the items the blacksmith needed, though he did take the two items they did retrieve and thanked them. A little adventure born of a whim and curiosity due to a dream ended up being mostly fruitless aside from getting some target practice.

After that, not much happened over the next few days. The giant traveled to his home village in the mountains with a woman by the name of Leila Vergious, which went well despite the mob of bandits and that storm they had to fight against. That same day, when they returned from said journey, Hero received an “official business” letter from his cousin Elyx. The letter stated that he was eligible to become an Ace of Golden Phoenix. It was a rather high honor for someone who only just recently found cause for attaining different kinds of strength, even though the road was a lot more bumpy than he made it sound. Of course he responded immediately and had it sent off the same day he received it; to his surprise, Elyx accepted what the man wrote and thus Yamamoto became the Ace of Diamonds.

Along with that return letter from Elyx came another letter, from a high-ranking restaurant owner who resided in Meshi. Meshi was a land based entirely around food, from the land itself, to the animals that lived there, to the jobs people had. The letter said that they had heard a lot of good things about him from the Magic Council and wanted his assistance on a matter regarding a… cheese wheel? Without questioning that part for the time being, the giant left immediately for the Wakusei Portals. It was enough that someone required his help. It was probably going to be an interesting day, considering this was the first time he was actually going to visit that place. There was an address to the restaurant placed in the upper left corner of the envelop, which he kept on hand for the sake of not getting lost. If only the giant knew that today was not going to be anywhere near as normal as anything else he had ever done before.

WC: 1,836
Total WC: 1,836
WC Goal: 5,000

The run to the portals was quiet and relatively quick. There were no distractions, no brief stops, and all lights were green. The time was 0830 when he left his residence, so the weather was still a little on the cool side, which was perfect for the traveling he was currently doing. The giant’s steps were light on the ground due to the speed at which he was running and the wind kept his body at a soothing, frosty temperature. In fact, he spent more time gliding through the air than actually touching the ground, which made the run very relaxing despite the long distance. The giant wondered what this was going to be about. He was not going to decline either way but if it was to take place in a land made entirely of all sorts of different food, then of course he was going to question what was going on. From the sounds of the letter, a cheese wheel was in need of protection and to be taken somewhere. That was what he could glean from it but it stated that the rest would be explained once he arrived. Upon first read, protecting some cheese wheel sounded quite ridiculous, which led the man to believe there was something else bigger going on behind the scenes. In hindsight, however, it did not really matter what the deal was with the cheese wheel. His sole duty from the sounds of it was to protect that wheel and that was really all he needed to know.

It took him an hour on foot to reach the nearest portal for travel into Meshi. A feeling of triumph and pride washed over Yamamoto for a moment. It was not so long ago when he was simply living day to day with no goals in mind for his future. Now he was receiving letters for requests of assistance due to his good deeds for the people across Fiore, which some of said deeds even reached the ears of the Magic Council. The giant’s growth was noticed by many more than he thought and the letters he received this morning were proof of that fact. In the best of was, the man was humbled by such positive opinions; it was an honor he was glad to accept even if he was not used to that kind of attention. In the back of his mind, he knew this was the first step toward his new goals. The only way for Hero was forward, and with that in mind, he walked through the portal with a serious expression on his face.

Welcoming the giant was a woman who wore clothing fit for the adventuring type, though said clothing was a bit… revealing. She walked up to Yamamoto with her hands behind her back and proceeded to look him over by walking around in a small circle around. Yamamoto’s immediate reaction was one of confusion but that changed to a more unamused demeanor. The girl was fairly young, probably just barely twenty with strawberry blond hair, an almost mirror of Venir which took him off-guard for a brief moment. It was quickly realized that they were different people and he relaxed. The girl eventually spoke and her tone was one of approval, though it had a hint of disbelief.

“So, you must be Hero. I’ve heard a lot about you and honestly I’m in quite a bit of shock. You really are gigantic! Pardon my manners, though~! The name’s Audrey Ackerman and I’m your partner for the day. Nice to meet ya!”

The woman brought a hand forward in a motion for a handshake while finishing her last sentence. The giant then met halfway and shook her hand before speaking in retort.

“I did not know I was to have a partner, but regardless, it is nice to meet you as well. Since you were waiting here, I take it you’ve already been to the restaurant. That would save me the trouble of getting lost in this place.”

“Hmm, you’re more talkative than I imagined but you definitely are the serious type. I like serious men. We’ll get along just fine! Let’s be on our way then, lest night fall down upon our heads.”

The woman winked at him before turning around and walking ahead first, with Hero walking steadily behind. His eyes were locked straight for the sake of not lingering to places he should not have. There were a couple of times Audrey giggled without any prior reasoning, and though the man was curious, he said nothing. For the time being, what was more important was getting to the restaurant on time despite there not being an arrival deadline. Every once in awhile, Audrey looked back at the giant and then quickly turned back around straight; it was kind of strange but he continued to say nothing. After some time, they came upon a large modernized city which was gated and protected by local police. In most cases, dealing with local police was a hassle to get through but this time they let both of them through without a single question and both officers saluted Hero as he passed on into the city. Of course something like that made him wonder what the hell was going on. Who wouldn’t have? There was no way he could have become so popular among the people. Out of courtesy he did nod to them as he walked through and then waved without looking backward.

“Ms. Ackerman, I would like to get to the restaurant ahead of schedule if that is alright with you.”

“Audrey. Call me Audrey. You’re so formal, Hero. Seems not everything changes as you grow older~.”

While the last comment did make him pause for a moment, he sighed and then took a few steps forward. Without warning, Yamamoto picked up the woman and sighed once. “So be it, Audrey.” After saying that, the giant darted off in the direction of the restaurant; the lift-off caused a ripple effect on the ground behind him as he immediately took off at full speed. In no time at all, the two arrived in front of the restaurant. He set Audrey back on the ground, whom was dizzy and her hair was a complete mess. She did smack him once on the shoulder, not that it affected him, and sighed before leading the way into the place. Hero held open the door for her and then walked in just behind when they were met with a man in rather fashionable white chefs’ garb.

“You’re early, as I expected of you! Let’s get right down to business!”

WC: 1,108
Total WC: 2,944
WC Goal: 5,000

The chef held out a hand toward the giant, as a welcoming handshake gesture and Hero responded by shaking that hand. With welcomes out of the way, both Yamamoto and Audrey followed the chef to a maple-wood table near a wall far from the restaurant’s entrance. The giant let Audrey sit down first and then he followed to sit next to her while the chef sat across from them. There was a brief moment of silence before a woman came to the table with a large tray that had plates of food on it. In front of each of them was a plate of the same meal and it smelled delicious. Not a single time in his life did the giant ever get to eat food like this. The woman who walked to the table bowed and stared at Yamamoto for a moment before walking away once again. Finally, the chef spoke in a polite manner to the two of them.

“What you see before you is one of my restaurant’s most popular dishes, but there is a problem you see. What I am lacking is cheese, but not just any cheese. Every ten years, there is a cheese that is perfect in every grade-able aspect. I have one such cheese wheel but I am incapable of preparing it. The reason for that is...”

Audrey interjected after the chef stopped speaking to look over in her direction.

“The restaurant is currently under siege from lactose intolerant customers who refuse to allow one of their favorite dishes to be ruined by a dairy product. Recently, their voice has gotten more violent. That is where we come in.”

“That’s right, Ms. Ackerman! I need you two to stay here overnight and ensure that no one gets in before the cheese wheel has been cut and prepped. In return, I’ll let the two of you have my specialty plate with a cut of its center as its primary ingredient. It does not need to be said, but you will also get a lifetime discount to this restaurant and quite a boost to your reputation among the high majority of locals here who prize masterful ingredients and creativity!”

Well, there was really no reason for the giant to decline the offer even if it came with no reward at all. When it came to helping people in need, the pay-off was not in material things but in the successful completion of a task.

“Normally, I wouldn’t mind doing such a request for free. However, since you insist, I will oblige you. No one will get into this restaurant until you have finished with preparations. But for the sake of curiosity, might we see this cheese wheel?”

Surely if it was supposedly so valuable, it must have looked and smelled unique among other cheeses. Hero was not a gourmet by any means but he did know his foods rather well considering he had to watch what he ate in order to maintain his low body fat content while at the same time eating just enough to keep himself balanced out. The chef smiled and then clapped his hands twice; moments later, the same woman from earlier came walking out with a clear glass container which held the cheese wheel in question. Honestly, it did not look like anything special but the smell was very unique and full of different layers of seasons.

“That’s wonderful! Thank you very much!”

Audrey’s eyes also lit up when the giant agreed to take on the task but he mostly ignored it and retorted with a question.

“When do we start?”

“Immediately, of course! If you want to be the first to try this dish, it has to be done by this evening. I’m getting to work on it right away! Good luck to you, Mr. Yamamoto!”

Hero closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He was given an important task; he needed to ensure that he remained vigilant so that no one would get in before preparations were done. Meshi really was an interesting place to have been run solely by uncountable varieties of foods, to the point where bodyguards were necessary to keep the peace in times of ingenuity and experimentation. Eventually, he arose from his seat and walked over to the entrance where he could get a good look of the outside. Beside him was Audrey Ackerman who had quickly followed suit. The scantily-clad woman looked over at the man again, which he noticed from the corner of his eye, and then inched a bit closer to him. After a few minutes passed with pure silence, the woman began to speak.

“So, uhm… got anyone special back home?”

The question came completely from left field in all honesty but it was not as though he had anything in particular to hide. Then again, Hero wasn’t entirely certain what the girl meant by it.

“Well, I do have a cousin if that is what you mean.”

“That’s… not really what I meant but it’s nice to know there was at least someone still around.”

The last few words were mumbled so he couldn’t tell what she said but then he decided to retort.

“If you mean special as in relationships, no I suppose I don’t. Then again, I’m not someone who generally looks into his own emotions. I’m always too busy for that sort of thing anyway so it never actually crossed my mind.”

The woman giggled for some time and then it fell silent again. Some many more minutes passed by when finally there were footsteps headed in the direction of the restaurant. The giant walked outside to see who was coming and much to what he guessed, there were a bunch of people headed this way with intent to cause trouble. If luck was on his side this time, the group of people would not be violent which was what he hoped for. Before long, the mob arrived and one of the people immediately started talking loudly about protesting the use of cheese in the popular dish. Honestly, the giant did not know how to respond to all of it but he did the best he could to reveal his own perspective on the matter. Something he never really did.

“I can understand why you all are frustrated by this change. However, let us look at this a different way. Just because the head chef is adding cheese to a dish, it doesn’t mean the original is being scrapped entirely. Instead of resorting to physical protests like this, why not start a petition to keep the original dish as well, so that for example people who are lactose intolerant or are otherwise allergic to dairy products can still enjoy the previous meal. The chefs would not have to fear being attacked, and you loyal consumers can all get what you want with little to no struggling.”

Hero’s argument was logically sound and it appealed to both sides. Ultimately it was a win-win situation, which did not occur very often. After talking amongst themselves, the mob decided that would be an acceptable course of action and separated. Then he walked back inside, where the young woman applauded lightly and gave the man a hug.

“Good work, Hero! I knew you could handle it without me. You were always the thoughtful type.”

WC: 1,228
Total WC: 4,172
WC Goal: 5,000

Again the woman said something strange, as though she actually knew him before this. Hero was very certain that he never met her before in his life and yet at the same time there was something oddly familiar about her. Was it because she looked a little bit like Venir? Perhaps not. The giant became puzzled by her way of speaking, and did not understand why she was trying to flirt with him. Sure the man did not express much in terms of emotions but he was not dense; he clearly noticed Audrey’s small advances and all the childish giggling. The girl’s personality was nothing at all like Venir’s, though her fashion sense was somewhat similar. Did young women this day and age genuinely not have any modesty? Of course that could have applied to Hero as well considering he often wore minimalistic clothing. However, he was a male. It was not a necessity to keep his body concealed in legitimate clothes. Yamamoto was not the type to judge a book by its cover though. It mattered little what people wore on the outside but rather what they wore on the inside. The woman seemed nice enough and she was definitely one of those super positive types.

“So… what kind of girls do you like? Do you even have a type? I’d bet you like the serious ones.”

The woman giggled after speaking and then there was some silence. The giant was not sure how to respond to that comment and question. He did not think she was being rude. In fact, she was probably still flirting. There was nothing wrong with talking though. Hero needed to practice conversing with people anyway, considering he was only going to get more… popular, which was a very strange and foreign thought still. The man thought up what he wanted to say and finally broke the silence with a much more smooth voice.

“Just because I’m serious doesn’t mean I would want to be with someone who is also serious, you know. I suppose I would like to be with a girl who is firm in her ideals. Knows what she wants. Someone who can handle themselves in a fight but at the same time someone who wouldn’t mind being protected. The world can be dangerous and being around me usually means being exposed to danger. They’d have to be willing to accept that.”

Ackerman stopped her smiling and looked deep in thought. Yamamoto did not really have a true type of girl he would want to be with in all honesty though he did leave one thing out; he remedied that just after realizing it.

“Someone with a sense of humor and someone who is fun to be around would be a bonus. I’m more often quiet and distant than not, so someone who can drag me into fun things would make things more interesting.”

What he said was true. He did not always want to be distant from others, but he did so regardless out of habit. Someone who could change that would have been the ideal woman for him. Someone closest to resembling all of that would have been Venir, though he was not sure if it was even alright to pursue something like a relationship. Hero’s path was bound to lead him through a lot of fighting and he was bound to take on plenty of things alone. It was not the right time to think about finding a woman to court. Out of the corner of Hero’s eyes, he noticed that Audrey’s face was slightly flushed pink. Right when he was about to get her attention though, the head chef and owner of the restaurant came out from the kitchen and announced that the cheese wheel had been cut and prepped.

“I suppose our job is done for the evening. Let’s go sit at the table. We have a meal to eat.”

“Y-Yeah, let’s do that.”

Yamamoto walked over to the table and allowed Audrey to sit down first before he did so. Then some moments later, the head chef and the other female chef walked out with two dishes that were made with some of the prepared cheese wheel. One plate was set in front of each of the wizards who were sitting across from each other before the two chefs backed away a few steps. The owner of the restaurant then spoke happily to the two seated people.

“Thank you both again so much for allowing us to prepare the cheese! I sincerely hope you enjoy this new dish. You two will always be welcome here.”

The chefs left then and silence fell on the man and woman sitting at the table. For the time it took them to eat, silence remained though the first and last bites of the dish were truly enchanting. Yamamoto felt rejuvenated and almost enlightened. It was the feeling a musician got when they had officially attained mastery of their instrument. Before the giant stood from his seat, he took a piece of paper from nearby and wrote down an address and an iLac number on it. He then slid it over to the woman across from him.

“If you want to work together again, give me a call or come by my home. I would be happy to oblige your company. I have to leave for now, though. I hope we may meet again in the near future, Audrey. For now, I bid thee adieu.”

The woman opened her mouth but her voice did not sound for a few moments. She then smiled and stood from her seat to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you, Hero. I have no doubt that we will meet again.”

While he did not express a reaction, his heart skipped a beat but he did not stick around for the woman to notice. As soon as he walked out of the restaurant, Yamamoto darted away at full speed toward the Wakusei portal. The giant felt lighter on his feet and yet each footstep on the ground left large prints; he grinned for a moment. For just a moment, Hero felt as though he could take on the world.

WC: 1,036
Total WC: 5,208
WC Goal: 5,000