23 Prepare to be Amazed!

"Ahhhhh… Now this is living…"

After a long day of talking and shopping, Axel relaxed in his apartment on a new sofa. And thanks to his inventory, he didn't even need to carry anything back or hire movers.

Instead of an empty room, a tv was set in the left-hand corner of the lounge as two sofas were set five meters away in the shape of an L with a large gap where the two lines intersect. In front of the two sofas was a small coffee table while a larger dining table was behind the sofa on the right-hand side.

Pulling out his phone, Axel opened his contacts and muttered, "Good thing I remembered to grab Iwai's number before heading home."

With a short sigh, Axel put his phone away and looked at the sight before him. On a 50 inch flatscreen TV, an online gun match was playing out as Stella was constantly flailing about with a controller gripped between her tail while shouting.

This was one of the items Axel bought today: a gaming console. Somehow, Stella became instantly drawn in once he finished setting it up.

At the start, the pair played together. However, it didn't last long as Axel yawned and told her he was gonna watch. From that point, Stella continued to play single player until she was completely dominating.

Axel found her way of playing… unique, to say the least. She would wrap half her body around the controller and with her tail, she would move the thumb sticks while she pressed the buttons by twitching her muscles.

But fighting the computers became unappealing to her. Pausing her game, she stared at Axel and said, "Master, this is becoming boring. The computer is too predictable. I'd like to try this 'online multiplayer' you were talking about."

After a short talk with the landlord, Axel acquired the Wi-Fi password at the cost of an extra 2000 yen. Once everything was set, Axel watched as a legend was born.

Thanks to the training up until that point, Stella dominated as she somehow always took top of the leaderboard. Occassionally, Axel would have a turn to let Stella rest but the outcome didn't change in the slightest. Well, he actually did managed to beat her score on more than one occasion, much to Stella's annoyance.

And with the aid of video games, a friendly rivalry was born between the two. The duo continued taking turns, trying to best the other.

Shaking his head, Axel stared at the curse-hurling snake and said, "Stella, turn off the game. It's dinner time."

Stella glared at Axel like an enraged beast and growled, "Your only saying that cause your in the lead."

"What? No. Look at the time, I have business tomorrow so early dinner then bed." Said Axel while he was trying his hardest to stop a smirk from appearing on his face.

Stella saw that his face was constantly twitching and thought he was thinking about tomorrow. She felt guilty that she was causing him to worry and said, "Ok… let's have dinner."

Confused about her sudden change of mind, Axel shook his head and waved his hand. A couple burgers appeared as Axel said, "These are from that burger place by Iwai's shop. I think it was called 'Big bang burger'? Meh, doesn't really matter. Let's dig in."

Axel and Stella enjoyed a delicious dinner while the two joked around the entire time, causing dinner to last an extra 20 minutes. After a quick shower and wash, Axel entered his bed and slowly made his way to the land of dreams when his phone suddenly started ringing.

Groaning, Axel rubbed his eyes and grabbed his phone. He looked at the time and thought, 'It's almost 11pm… what does Iwai want.'

Opening his screen, a text appeared that said, 'Come to the store around 6am.'

Wryly smiling, Axel set his phone to wake him at 5am before heading back to sleep.

…

5am, Axel was rudely awakened from his slumber. With a groan, Axel stopped the alarm. He crawled from his new warm and comfortable bed and stretched what remained of his drowsiness out of him.

With a slight yawn, Axel dragged Stella, who blatantly refused to get up, to the bathroom to wash up.

After a freshly made breakfast, Axel packed a small box of food for Iwai and left. The trains were packed again but Axel did everything in his power to protect Stella, even getting slugged in the face by a couple shoulders.

When the train pulled into the station, Axel saw that he had 10 minutes left and hurriedly left to Iwai's shop.

Walking in an alley, Axel sighed in relief as he saw a neon sign that said, 'Unstoppable'. He knocked on the window and said, "I'm here."

A second later, the door opened as a voice from inside echoed, "Hurry up and get in."

Walking inside the shop, the first thing Axel notice was a couple crates on the front counter. Before he could even ask what was going on, Iwai's voice echoed from the back as he said, "Axel, could you come back here and help me."

Axel voiced his agreement and made his way to the back. Once there, he saw 8 other crates that looked just like the 2 up front. Iwai looked over and said, "See that crate by the door? Could you help me by putting it in the corner with the others?"

With a short nod, Axel easily lifted the crate and set it beside the others. Iwai whistled and said, "Hell, didn't think you were this strong. That box was loaded with gun models and vests. It was at least 200 kgs but you made it look freaking easy."

"I'm strong." Replied Axel.

Chuckling, Iwai smirked and said, "Guess so."

After moving all the crates to the corner, Axel and Iwai sat down on the crates, using them as chairs. Suddenly, Axel remembered he packed a box of food for Iwai. He withdrew the food from his inventory and handed it to Iwai as he said, "Here. I made it this morning."

Iwai gave him a funny look as he said, "Why?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Axel said, "Consider it a thanks for the 10,000 yen."

Shaking his head, Iwai ignored Axel as the smell of the food lingered on the box and slowly drew him in. With a pop, Iwai took the lid off and gulped. The food inside appeared to shine as the smell alone was enough to think it was cooked by a talented chef. Half the box contained white rice while the other half had an omelette with vegetables and bacon.

Iwai shakily brought some rice to his mouth and swallowed. He froze for a second before a flash of surprise and hunger showed on his face. Suddenly, Iwai started eating like he was starving. Not even a minute had passed when Iwai put the empty box and chopsticks down.

A blissful smile was on Iwai's face as he looked at Axel with gratitude and said, "Axel, thanks. Really, thanks. That is hands down, one of the greatest things I've ever eaten."

Axel wryly smiled as he said, "It's cool. I'm glad you liked it. Even if you did like it a bit too much."

Iwai chuckled and began telling Axel the plan. He explained that Axel would only have to perform for about four days. Everyday, if he spotted people that looked suspicious, he was to sneakily ring Iwai. In case of an emergency, Axel was to be as flashy as possible so he can distract the police and at the same time, hopefully alert Iwai.

With the game plan discussed, Iwai gave Axel a table with a sign attached and said, "Here. With this, you can set up. Remember, all you have to do is sit out in front of the alleyway and watch for the cops."

Nodding, Axel smirked and said, "Got it. Well, I'll go set up."

In front of the alleyway, Axel set up his table and put a hat on top of it, just in case people wanted to give him money for his performance. Satisfied with his set up, Axel spread his arms wide and with a confident grin on his face, exclaimed, "Prepare to be amazed!"