One Week Later

After doing his daily quests, Alex sat down on a stall in the ramen restaurant he found around Planeptune's downtown district a few weeks ago and waited for his order.

"Here ya go sonny!" Said the shop owner while placing a bowl filled with pork in front of Alex. "Thanks" He replied before picking up his chopsticks and splitting them in half.

Eating with those two little pieces of wood seemed hard at first, but it was actually easier than one may think. It took him some trial and error, but Alex eventually managed to get the hang of it. Of course, he was more used to eating with fork and knife, but most restaurants in Planeptune served food this way, and those few that didn't were either a tad too expensive for daily visits or simply didn't have anything on the menu that caught his interest. And on the bright side, this was a good chance to try out new food. Pork bowls in particular were a dish he developed a taste for, but there was just something about that mildly sweet sauce and that pork that was just irresistible.

Once he was done eating, Alex placed down the chopsticks, pulled out a few credits from his pockets and placed them next to the bowl before getting off the stool and walking away. "Come back soon!" Said the owner.

He got out of the store and looked at the sky. It's been already a week since the fight against Black Heart, and although there was an uproar regarding Alex's Mangekyou Sharingan abilities, which obviously never existed in Gamindustri, things calmed down after a few days. According to Histoire, the only downside the goddesses suffered from their defeat at Kenji's hands was a moderate downfall in shares. Even Noire, who had won her fight, lost shares as well due to her fight having a dusty finish when Alex suddenly collapsed. However they already had seemed to have recovered mostly. Either through quests or the development of some product that became quickly popular among the people of their nations.

While wondering how to kill time until night, Alex felt a vibration coming from his pocket. He placed his hand inside and took out a portable device, similar in appearance to a portable game console.

Because of his habit to walk out of Planeptune tower and wander off without telling anybody, Histoire gave him one of Nepgear's old portable devices to keep in touch with him in case anything happened. It was a few years old, but still looked almost new and was in top-notch condition thanks to the CPU candidate's careful care. Nepgear's care and communications aside, Alex accepted it mostly because he could download and play games with it.

Neptune even suggested he should call it the A-gear, but her idea was bluntly ignored.

(Alex: That was dumb.)
(Neptune: How dare you! It's a good idea!)

After pressing the x button, an image of Histoire appeared on the screen.

"Hello?" "Alex, I'm sorry for calling you all of a sudden, but I need you to return immediately" "Okay..." He replied with a monotone tone before raising an eyebrow "...why?"

Alex couldn't help but feel curious about this sudden call. Ever since he got this device, He wouldn't get a call unless it was already getting late or to check up where he was, but he never received a call from Histoire requesting for him to return in a rush. "There's someone here that wishes to speak with you in person." "I see...I'm on my way."

And with that, the video chat ended. Alex then stored his portable device back in his pocket and turned his head to look at Planeptune's tower. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was an odd feeling of unease coursing through the back of his mind right now.

'I've got a bad feeling about this…' He thought while sweat dropping

(Oh he doesn't even know.)

After half an hour or so, he arrived. When going through the door and into the living room, the first thing Alex saw were three women arguing about something.

"He'll choose me…I'm certain of it" "Don't be fools; it's obvious he'll choose me, I'm the best choice after all." Said Noire with a confident smirk while placing one hand on her chest. "You're both naïve, It's a given he'll choose me. I have the best chest, after all."

Blanc faced Vert with an angered expression and yelled at her. "What do your tits have to do with all of this!?" Vert smirked and looked at Blanc. "You see, when it comes to enticing and persuading men, breasts play quite an important role…" She replied before her eyes diverted towards Blanc's chest "…well, not like you would be able to understand it"

Without any warning, Blanc suddenly transformed into White Heart and pulled out her axe as a shadow fell over her eyes. "That's it! I'm gonna rip those udders off of you right now!" In response to this violent threat, Vert transformed into Green Heart and looked at White heart with a condescending smirk. "I'd like to see you try it if you can!"

"Nepu! They're going at it again!" Said Neptune with widened eyes and a notable panic in her tone. "Abababababa! Blanc, Vert, please don't fight inside the basilicom!"

Histoire tried to calm down the two goddesses and prevent them from going on a rampage, but it didn't seem very effective. "If Alex doesn't get here soon, things will spiral out of control..." Said the tome while sweat dropping. "Erm, Histoire..." Said the CPU candidate, causing the tome to turn her attention to her "If you're looking for Alex, he's been standing over there for nearly a minute already" She explained while pointing.

Both Histoire and Lastation's CPU turned around and saw him standing at the place Nepgear pointed. "Alex, you're finally here!" Said the magical tome while flying towards him. "Yeah...I am…" Said Alex before looking at the scenery around him

Noire, who had been quietly standing up with her arms crossed, looked at him as well. She didn't exactly seem happy to seeing him, but not angry either. He then diverted his eyes to look at the other two goddesses fighting while Neptune and Nepgear tried to calm them down "Soooooo...What did you need me for?" He asked while looking at the tome once again.

"Ahhh!" Yelled Nepgear in surprise "Nepu! Blanc, don't swing your axe around like that! You nearly gave me the game over message!" Yelled Neptune while dodging the giant axe "Ah! Vert, Blanc, please stop!" Yelled Histoire while turning around and heading towards them. "Maybe we should wait until those two calm down first…" Said Noire while sweat dropping

After nearly twenty minutes of both women going at each other's throats and nearly destroying the living room with the constant swinging of their weapons, Vert and Blanc finally calmed down and reverted to their human forms. With everyone now in a proper condition to hold a civilized conversation, The CPUs sat down on Neptune's couch while Alex sat on a chair in front of them.

'I knew I should have listened to my gut and walked the other way when I could' He thought while closing his eyes and sweat dropping. "Well then, now that everyone's here, we can start."

"In that case, Leave the explanations to me" Said Noire while getting up with a smirk and looking at Alex "And you, you better listen well...I'll only be explaining this once"

Although there was something to be said about that last part of her comment, Histoire agreed to let her do the explaining and the other two CPUs didn't seem to mind either. Alex didn't feel like starting another round of fights, so he simply chose not to say a thing and let her go on.

"Now then...Due to our…Unfortunate disagreement with you." She said with some difficulty in her tone.

'She can't bring herself to admit I came close to kicking her ass in front of everyone, can she?'

"our shares went down considerably, which forced us to focus our efforts on regaining them." She explained while crossing her arms and opening her eyes to look at him. "While working on it, though, we had time to rethink some things, mostly things regarding you."

Blanc then turned her head from Noire and looked at Alex.

"Although we were angry with you at first, we had to admit that you won fair and square against me and Vert, and gave Noire a run for her money." "And because of that, we have acknowledged your strength and decided to make you an offer" Added Vert with a smile. "An offer?" Asked Alex as he raised an eyebrow. "Precisely!" Answered Noire with more confidence than before "We have decided to let you join one of our nations as a fully-fledged citizen and work directly under us!" "Say what!?" Yelled Neptune while getting up "No way! Ally is part of MY nation already!"

Alex turned his head and looked at Neptune with a popped vein mark on his forehead. "I never joined your nation to begin with! and it's Alex dammit! ALEX! A-L-E-X!" "No way!" Said Neptune with a shocked expression. "What are you so surprised about? It's a given he wouldn't want to live under a lazy goddess such as you" Said Noire.

Neptune turned her head and looked at Noire with an irritated expression. "I bet he doesn't want to live under a lonely goddess like you either!" "Who are you calling lonely!?" Snarled Noire with an angry expression before brushing the insult aside and looking at Alex once more.

"Anyway...Putting this idiot aside, go ahead and choose who you'll go with. I mean, of course I know you will choose me, but not asking for your saying would be unfair to the other two" "I-" "Damn it Noire! Why are you already assuming he'll go with you!?" Shouted Blanc. "Hm? Isn't it obvious?" She said as she turned her head and looked at Blanc as if she were asking an obvious question "I'm not only the strongest goddess, but my nation, Lastation, is the greatest among the four landmasses"

Judging by her tone, Noire was speaking as if she were saying facts rather than reasons or oppinions. "That attitude of yours really gets under my skin…" Said Blanc while a vein mark popped on her head. "Actually, I'm-" "You girls are very mistaken if you think he'll go with either of you" Said Vert with a confident smirk before looking at Alex.

"Alex...If you choose to go with me, you'll get to live in a beautiful mansion filled with luxury, attend to the concerts of some of Gamindustri's greatest idols, play the best MMOs whenever you want, and most important of all…"

Leanbox's CPU took a short pause as she leaned her upper body forward towards Alex and placed her arms together to push up her breasts, making an even greater emphasis on them. "My full, undivided attention. Something many men would give their lives for."

(Me and Alex: THOT ALERT! THOT ALERT!)

It was clear as day that she was trying to entice him with her breasts, and it might have worked a lot better if it weren't for the fact Alex heard her planning it when he entered the room.

'Damn that Vert, she's just doing that to piss me off!' Thought Blanc while clenching one fist before taking a deep breath and turning to face Alex and speak to him with complete confidence while keeping her eyes closed to avoid visual contact with Vert.

"Please, Ignore her and her sacks of fat...If you go with me, you'll get to live in a beautiful castle, eat many quality foods, play lots of family games, and have an endless supply of novels and books for you to read whenever you want." "I'm trying to-" "Oh, please, you two...Vert's mansion is filled to the brim with Yaoi and all sorts of questionable merchandise, and the most interesting thing you can find in Blanc's old-styled castle is an endless pile of her rejected novel ideas" "How about you point fingers at others AFTER putting your own offer on the damn table!?"

Noire looked at Blanc and scoffed.

"Hmph! If you really must know…" She said before looking at Alex with a confident smirk "Now listen well... If you go with me, you'll get to live in Lastation with me and my little sister in our basilicom and have a simple, yet practical and spacious room of your own to decorate as you see fit. You'll also have a stable and well-paid job right under me as your boss, and you'll even get to access the most advanced technology Gamindustri has to offer, made through the master craftsmanship of Lastation's top professionals!"

While pride seemed to swell up in the chest of Lastation's CPU, everyone else remained silent until someone finally spoke again.

"That was the dullest one so far…" Said Blanc while sweat dropping. "Indeed" Added Vert. "Well, what do you expect? It's Noire we're talking about here" Said Neptune with a smile. "How was my offer dull!?" Yelled Noire while looking at the three CPUs "You literally offered him just a place to stay and some of your nation's gadgets…" Said Vert while looking at her. "Hardly different from what Neptune already gave him for free" Added Blanc. "That's right, that's right!" Said Neptune while frowning.

Noire sweat dropped. On hindsight, they were right.

(Alex: Guess you really aren't that smart after all.)
(Noire: S-SHUT UP!)
(Keep on saying the truth Alex.)

"Ah, th-that's…" Stuttered Lastation CPU as she tried to come up with something to say and eventually found out what to say "Well of course I wouldn't say everything I'm planning to offer to him! That would spoil the surprise!"

At first there was silent while Noire let out a forced laugh, until Neptune spoke with a shocked expression. "No-Noire…It couldn't be you…" 'Di-Did Neptune figure out my bluff already!?' Tought Lastation's CPU with worry while suddenly stopping her laughing.

"You'll give him +18 service!?"

(Me and Neptune: Foreshadowing.)

"...Eh?" Said Noire with widened eyes.

"That's right!" Said Neptune while pointing at her "You'll probably do things like let him watch you dress and undress while doing your cosplay, or even do all sorts of risky and sexy cosplay for him! And every night, you'll totally let him get all over you and do all sorts of things I can't say without making the writer change the story's age rating to M!"

"EHHHHHHH!?" "I never thought Noirewas that kind of person" Said Nepgear with a surprised expression and widened eyes. "I-I must hand it to you, I doubt I could go that far" Said Vert while sweat dropping. "What an unbelievable pervert" Added Blanc with certain disgust in her face.

While everyone took a step away from Noire, she turned her head from one side to the other to look at everyone while trying to explain in a panic. "Wa-Wait a second! That's not what I meant! Oh, seriously now! Why are you people always like this!?"

Knowing things would either spin out of control again or just keep going nowhere unless someone did something, Histoire decided to floated into the scene and ask for everyone's attention.

"Everyone...If you'd listen to me, I think I have a way to fix this situation" She said as everyone turned heir heads to look at the tome "It's true that your nations have a lot to offer, but Alex can't possibly decide if you force it upon him so suddenly like you are right now. So how about you let him know what it's like to live in each nation?" "What do you mean by that, exactly?" Asked Leanbox's CPU

"I'm saying that maybe you should let him spend some time in each nation. With maybe three weeks. I'm sure he'll be able to choose without doubts once he's gotten a good feeling of how's life with each of you, " Explained Histoire before turning around to look at Kenji "How about it, Alex?"

At first Alex wanted no part of being forced to move again and he probably would've fought them again, but then, he remembered something. Alex looked at Histoire, then at the four CPUs. All of them had their eyes fully focused on him, all awaiting for his answer.

'This might be my ticket to nab all the emeralds back so I can go home! I can't let this chance go away!' He then made his decision. "Ok...I'll do it..."

"Perfect..." Replied the tome as she looked at the CPUs "Anyone has an objection?" "We-Well, I guess I'm ok with it" Said Noire while crossing her arms and looking sideways. "Fair enough..." Replied Blanc. "I have no objections either" Said Vert with a smile before turning her head to look at Histoire "But with that said, how will we choose which of us he goes with first?"

Histoire then placed her finger on her chin and thought long and hard about it. The four CPUs had many ideas on how to solve it, but they all decided to go with the simplest one and chose Neptune's suggestion of using rock, paper, and scissors.

After nearly twenty ties, the one to win was Vert.

"I won!" She said with a gleeful expression. "Tch, I should have used paper…" Muttered Lowee's CPU while looking at her clenched fist

"Well, It's been decided. Alex's first destination will be Vert's nation, Leanbox." Said Histoire.

Vert transformed into Green Heart. "Want me to carry you there Alex? Don't worry. I won't bite~." Unfortunately, to the shock of all the girls present in the room, they saw Alex sitting on the back of a

"IS THAT A PHOENIX!?" Shouted Noire. "Yeah it is! Now come on Vert! Let's get going!" Said Alex his Phoenix flew odd towards Leanbox leaving Green Heart shocked.

(Vert has no idea what's she getting into.)

Next Time: The Land of Green Pastures, Leanbox