ã€ŠHero Wrangler [An Isekai Horror/Tragedy]ã€‹


 1. Remember to have FUN

    The young teenager fell from the sky, as young teenagers tended to do in this world. It was common knowledge for citizens of Astranta to know that if they spot any human spontaneously appearing from the sky, they should take extreme caution not to approach them and simply report the incident to their nearest government official.

    I didn¡¯t consider myself a stupid girl, nor did I think that I lacked any sort of common sense, but unfortunately for me, I hadn¡¯t managed to actually see the young teenager falling.

    When I heard the boy, it hadn¡¯t occurred to me that I could be walking right into a dangerous situation. To me, it just sounded like someone was injured and needed my help. As someone who would describe herself as a good person, I moved without thinking, not wanting to ignore the sound and have my conscience plagued forever for abandoning my fellow man.

    Consciences are stupid. I should¡¯ve just plagued mine away.

    By the time I noticed the quickly closing magical rift in the sky, I had already locked eyes with the boy. My first instinct was to sprint away as fast as I could. He was sprawled out on the floor and judging from the amount of branches stuck in his clothes and hair, he¡¯d fallen from quite high up. For a normal human, it would¡¯ve likely broken their bones or given them a concussion. Something that would stop him from getting up and chasing after me if I ran.

    But he wasn¡¯t a normal human. He was an Otherworlder.

    Taking a deep breath and ignoring the shaking in my legs, I tried desperately to remember what we were taught to do as kids if we were ever approached by an Otherworlder. It had been a few years since a teacher from the Crown had come to our village to give a seminar on the topic, but it wasn¡¯t too difficult to remember.

    Be friendly. Be uninteresting. Be na?ve.

    Whoever the hell decided that FUN would be the acronym to use in the event of an Otherworlder attack was messed in the head.

    ¡°H-hey there,¡± I said, giving the boy a not-so-stiff and friendly smile. Hopefully. ¡°You alright?¡±

    The boy didn¡¯t move, barely registering my voice as he stared up into the sky, blinking occasionally.

    Did he hear me? Was he dead? I knew that Otherworlders were supposed to be similar to humans superficially, but I also knew there were supposed to be some differences. Was it possible that he could be dead and still blinking? Chickens could run around with their heads chopped off and it was totally possible that a similar rule could apply here. As I desperately held onto the little hope I had, the boy¡¯s head swiveled around before he stood up and looked at his own hands.

    I still held onto that hope. Maybe Otherworlders could also move and breathe while being dead.

    ¡°I¡¯m alive?¡± the boy said slowly.

    Maybe Otherworlders could still ponder their existence while being dead?

    As my hope slipped away, his head swiveled to me, locking eyes with me once again.

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± he said. ¡°Are we on Earth?¡±

    Na?ve. I had to be na?ve.

    ¡°Earth?¡± I asked, trying to keep my voice from stuttering. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of that country before. Are you a foreigner?¡±

    He stared at me for a few seconds before looking at his hands and grinning madly.

    ¡°Oh shit,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve been isekaied.¡±

    I didn¡¯t understand whatever that word he just said was, so I pretended like I didn¡¯t hear it and kept my smile plastered on my face. I didn¡¯t know if it was convincing at all, but it seems like he wasn¡¯t paying attention to me much. It was a small miracle that I hoped would be followed by a bigger one. Clasping my hands together, I made a silent prayer that the boy would die.

    When the boy dropped to his knees, a little hope rose in me, but died instantly when he let out a victorious cheer.

    ¡°Hell yeah!¡± he shouted. ¡°I¡¯ve been isekaied!¡±

    I had no idea what he was talking about, so I kept smiling until he turned back to me.

    ¡°Excuse me, miss. Can you understand me?¡±

    Deciding not to point out the fact that I had already talked to him, I nodded. ¡°Yes I can. Is something wrong, sir?¡±

    The boy paused for a moment, thoughts obviously running through his mind while I stayed still, trying my hardest to pretend that the silence he left me in wasn¡¯t the most awkward one I¡¯d ever felt in my life.

    ¡°Ah yes,¡± he said, giving me a smile. I assumed he thought it looked sincere. ¡°Actually, I have to admit that I am in a bit of trouble. I¡¯m a travelling adventurer, but I accidentally misplaced my map and I¡¯ve been lost in these woods for quite a while. Could you possibly guide me to the nearest village?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± I nodded, hopefully not too enthusiastically. ¡°I can show you to my village. We have maps there if you want to buy one to replace the one you lost.¡±

    ¡°Oh. But I don¡¯t have money.¡±

    My eyes widened as I realized my mistake. One of the other rules of interacting with Otherworlders was to make their lives as easy and convenient as possible, but it was harder to remember than the main three rules. Possibly because somebody liked the FUN acronym a little too much to change it. ¡°I can lend you some,¡± I said, quickly.

    ¡°Really?¡± he asked, looking more surprised than I would have expected. He¡¯d just travelled to another world and this was what surprised him the most? Basic human decency? Okay, maybe a bit more than I would typically offer to a stranger, but still. ¡°You¡¯d do that for me? A stranger you¡¯ve just met?¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± I said, hoping he didn¡¯t notice my voice cracking. ¡°Every night before I fell asleep, my mom told me to be good to those in need. I made it my personal motto.¡±

    I have no idea why I lied for no reason. I¡¯d like to think my mom had raised me well, but she hadn¡¯t done anything dramatic like that. I blamed the fear and panic for making me speak before thinking.

    ¡°Wow,¡± the boy said. ¡°She must have been a good mom.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°I guess she is.¡±

    ¡°Is?¡± he asked. ¡°Don¡¯t you mean was?¡±

    For the first time since I saw him, the smile dropped from my face.

    ¡°My mom¡¯s not dead,¡± I said.

    The boy stared at me for a few seconds.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± There was a long pause before he spoke again. ¡°I just thought that was like, your tragic backstory or something. The way you talked about her seemed pretty emotional, y¡¯know.¡±

    I had no idea how to deal with the awkward silence that had spawned between us. So I chose not to deal with it.

    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°Should we start heading over to my village?¡± I asked, plastering a smile on my face again and pointing in the general direction of where it was.

    ¡°Uh, sure,¡± he said, seeming just as eager to ignore his misunderstanding as I was.

    I expected him to follow me when I started to walk away, but I prayed he wouldn¡¯t. Unfortunately, I knew from the sound of crunching twigs that followed me, my prayers went unanswered.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s your name?¡± the boy said.

    ¡°You know, it¡¯s only polite to give your name first when you¡¯re introducing yourself to someone.¡±

    I froze, unable to believe that I¡¯d just lectured an Otherworlder on manners. I knew I was terrible under pressure, but I couldn¡¯t help but curse my lack of survival instinct. The Otherworlder looked somewhat surprised at my comment, but before he could say anything, I let out a laugh, to try and play it off as a joke.

    ¡°Ha!¡± I said, unable to summon a genuine laugh on command. ¡°Ha ha! I am joking!¡±

    The Otherworlder¡¯s face softened somewhat as he looked away from me, his mouth softening into a smile and a quiet chuckle escaping his lips. I had no idea how, but it seemed like I¡¯d convinced him. I didn¡¯t know why he was blushing slightly, but I decided to ignore it.

    ¡°No, you¡¯re right,¡± the Otherworlder said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being so rude.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no problem!¡± I said, speaking quickly so he didn¡¯t have time to take back his apology. Miraculously, speaking quickly didn¡¯t fuck me over again. ¡°So, what¡¯s your name?¡±

    The Otherworlder looked back up at me. Our eyes locked and I was taken aback by how unremarkable he was. He had fair skin, dark brown hair, and light brown eyes, but I had trouble picking out any other ways to describe him. His clothing was strange, I suppose - I¡¯d never seen a hood attached to a shirt before, only cloaks - but nothing else stood out to me. It would be difficult to describe him when I eventually gave my report to the Crown.

    He turned his head away from me, and the quick movement shocked me out of my focus. My eyes widened when I saw an angry red glow growing on his cheeks. Had I offended him in some way? I knew that Otherworlders were somewhat similar to humans, but it was possible that I had done something culturally strange for him. I panicked, opening my mouth to make some sort of excuse for my offensive behavior, but thankfully, he spoke before I could fuck things up even more.

    ¡°My name is Jam-¡± He cut himself off, pausing for a long moment. I¡¯m not sure why, so I simply tried my best to smile and wait. He shook his head, making me think I¡¯d done something wrong again, but then he spoke.

    ¡°My name is Ryuji,¡± he said. ¡°Ryuji Nightblade.¡±

    I clapped my hands together. ¡°That¡¯s a wonderful name! Ree-yoo-ji. Am I pronouncing it right?¡± The name sounded foreign, but the way that he said it with an Astrantan accent, I felt confident that I was repeating it back correctly.

    ¡°Y-yeah,¡± he said, looking back at me.

    My eyes widened when I saw the angry red glow on his cheeks was still there. What had I done wrong? I turned away from him and hid my face. I wasn¡¯t confident enough in my fake smile to hide the horror I felt.

    ¡°It really is a wonderful name,¡± I repeated, hoping he would forgive me if I praised him some more. ¡°Ryuji. It sounds beautiful.¡±

    ¡°T-thanks,¡± he said.

    The pause that followed was the most nerve-wracking experience I¡¯d ever had in my life. He¡¯d thanked me, but I had no idea if he was still mad or not and I was too afraid to turn check, in case the movement would trigger the Otherworlder to pulverize me with whatever magic he possessed.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name? I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just as beautiful.¡±

    I made a silent prayer of thanks to the Gods.

    ¡°Lena.¡±

    ¡°Lena, huh?¡± he repeated. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty name.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said, giving him a genuine smile, more from relief than gratitude.

    ¡°So, Lena. Not that I¡¯m not grateful, but what were you doing wandering around in the forest? I don¡¯t know much about the area, but I can¡¯t help but assume that it might be dangerous for a young girl to be alone in a place like this.¡±

    I don¡¯t know why he would assume such a thing, but I saw no reason to call him out on it, nor did I see a reason to lie to him.

    ¡°I was just practicing my magic,¡± I said.

    ¡°Really?!¡± Ryuji shouted, making me jump in the spot. ¡°You can do magic?!¡±

    I turned around cautiously to see Ryuji¡¯s mouth stretched into a mad grin. I¡¯m not sure how exactly I managed not to break down into tears.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said.

    ¡°Can I see?¡±

    I knew Otherworlders supposedly didn¡¯t have magic in their original worlds, so I could understand his excitement at the idea of seeing magic for the first time. The only problem was that he was looking at me as if I was some sort of prodigy. In reality, I was just slightly below average at best.

    ¡°If you insist,¡± I said, as I reached out, with my palms facing up. "I¡¯m pretty bad at it though, so don¡¯t laugh if I fail, okay?¡±

    Ryuji nodded violently, staring down at my hands with an intensity that made me sweat. Ignoring the feeling, I closed my eyes, and felt the flow of mana inside of me, begging it to work so I could entertain the Otherworlder for a few seconds.

    I wasn¡¯t a sorcerer of any sort, and I¡¯d only picked up the practice to make life a little more convenient for myself, so I didn¡¯t know if I could do anything that would satisfy Ryuji. While I already told him that I was bad at it, I was afraid of what would happen if I failed to entertain him. He didn¡¯t seem like a violent person yet, but I wasn¡¯t willing to risk any chances.

    I was a novice magic user, so my mana control wasn¡¯t too great. I typically kept my mana within my body, but the whole reason why I¡¯d been out in the forest in the first place was to practice externalizing my mana in the form of fire without risking my house burning down. Thankfully, I hadn¡¯t been practicing for long enough for my mana to have burned away, so I still had more than enough inside me for another attempt.

    ¡°Here I go,¡± I said, with my eyes still closed.

    Summoning my mana to my hands, I imagined a thin needle puncturing the skin of my hands, just enough for mana to escape from my body and into the air. I imagined the mana being combustible, and igniting as soon as it exited my body.

    I opened my eyes as my hands grew hot, a small fireball floating lazily above my hands, about the size of a cherry.

    ¡°Fireball,¡± I said, holding it out so Ryuji could see.

    ¡°Oh shit,¡± he said, the fire reflecting in his wide eyes.

    I was glad to see it worked so cleanly and to see such a positive reaction from him. His mouth gaped open, and I swore I could see drool threatening to drip from it. He reached out to it as if to grab the floating ball of flame, but I felt my mana quickly evaporating away so I was forced to clasp my palms together, imagining the hole in my hands sealing shut and stopping the flow of mana from escaping.

    I let out a slow breath, ignoring the sheen of sweat had suddenly covered my body. It was tiring stuff, manipulating mana, especially for a ball of fire so big. I¡¯d really pushed myself to the limit for that.

    ¡°That was so cool,¡± Ryuji said, whispering as if he were in the presence of something sacred.

    I smiled, and for the first time since I¡¯d found him, I found that my smile was at least somewhat genuine. It felt good to be recognized for my efforts.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said.

    Ryuji¡¯s face broke out into a grin, but for the first time, I realized that he looked just like a normal guy. He looked like he was about the same age as me, and with how unremarkable he looked, I could almost pretend that he was just a normal kid from the neighbouring village or something. The way he was smiling, as if he were just a giddy child who had found a new toy, was admittedly a bit infectious.

    ¡°That was seriously the coolest thing I¡¯ve ever seen in my life, Lena,¡± he said.

    ¡°It really wasn¡¯t that great,¡± I said, holding back a blush. While I was one of the few people in my village who ever bothered with trying to learn magic, I was by far the worst out of all of them. I wasn¡¯t used to being praised for my magic.

    ¡°You think I could do that someday?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Yeah, everybody has the latent ability to sense and use mana, it¡¯s just a matter of training it.¡±

    Ryuji nodded. ¡°Mana, huh,¡± he said, furrowing his brow and staring off into space. His eyes widened before he grinned madly.

    "God, I hope this works," he said. "Status."

    I was about to ask why he just blurted out a random word like that, but I recovered from my tired daze fast enough to remember who exactly I was talking to. I froze in place, returning to my default response of ignoring something whenever I didn¡¯t understand what was happening. For some reason, Ryuji started to poke at the air and focus on something I couldn¡¯t see. I had no idea what he was doing, but had no desire to find out, so I simply smiled and waited.

    ¡°Okay,¡± he said suddenly. ¡°I think I got it.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± I had no idea what he was randomly talking about. ¡°Got what?¡±

    Ryuji grinned at me and held out his palms.

    ¡°Fireball.¡±

    It was a small miracle that I managed to survive. The intense smell of sulfur and singed hair hit my nose. I felt the fluid in my eyes threatened to boil from the heat and I was blinded by the light of the large gout of endless fire that burst from Ryuji¡¯s hands and into the sky, incinerating a hole in the canopy on the way. Without any sort of conscious thought, my eyes followed the great gout of fire as it escaped into the sky, refusing to fade even as it soared into the heavens and evaporated clouds along the way. I¡¯m not sure it ever truly died out, only disappearing as it grew too far to actually see.

    I blinked twice, wondering if I was dead or hallucinating. My skin felt flushed and the scent of burning foliage and wood surrounded me. Looking up into the treetops, I saw a perfect circle carved into the canopy, blackened on the edges but not catching fire in the slightest. It didn¡¯t make much sense. Simply being exposed to that kind of heat should have made the forest burst into flames, but I guess magic was always weird like that.

    I looked down at Ryuji, who turned away sheepishly.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± he said. ¡°I guess I¡¯m not used to controlling my mana.¡±

    I stared at him for a few seconds then clapped my hands together.

    ¡°Wow. You are very very talented.¡± My voice came out in chattered staccato notes.

    ¡°I have a lot to work on,¡± Ryuji said, chuckling quietly.

    I stared at him some more.

    I questioned myself how I could think he was a normal person, even for a second. He was an Otherworlder. I had no idea how I could¡¯ve ignored that.

    I turned around, right before my frozen mask fell, my teeth chattering frantically in fear. I wasn¡¯t confident I could look at him without crying right now.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± I somehow said.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Ryuji replied.

 2. Damsel in Distress. So much distress.

    As we walked back to my village Ryuji kept relatively quiet. The silence between us was occasionally broken whenever he asked questions about my life or the village, but I tried to keep my answers as short and direct as possible, without seeming unfriendly.

    Even though it seemed like a normal conversation on the surface, it was exhausting to keep my emotions hidden and not break out into tears. I didn¡¯t practice my magic too far away from my village, barely at the edge of the forest, but it felt like we¡¯d been walking for hours, even if I logically knew that it was only about ten minutes away.

    When I finally saw the familiar buildings against the horizon, I nearly cried out in relief.

    ¡°There¡¯s the village, Ryuji,¡± I said, still getting used to the unfamiliar pronunciation of his name.

    It took a second for him to reply.

    ¡°Oh yeah, you were talking to me,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m Ryuji.¡±

    I turned around to face him, a little confused when I saw the giddy smile on his face.

    ¡°That¡¯s my village,¡± I repeated, pointing. ¡°It might not look like much, but we have all the essential businesses to cater to anybody that might travel to our village. There¡¯s a tavern you can eat and drink at, and a general goods store that can sell you maps, like I mentioned.¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Ryuji said. ¡°Does the tavern also have rooms I can stay at?¡±

    I paled at the thought of an Otherworlder staying in my village, but nodded. Be friendly. ¡°It does,¡± I said. ¡°But not many people actually stay there. I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s pretty expensive while being pretty cheap in quality.¡±

    I apologized internally to Alec, whose family owned that tavern. I knew they worked hard at delivering the highest quality service they could, but I was doing them a favour, really.

    ¡°Then is there anywhere else I could stay?¡± he asked. ¡°What about your house?¡±

    It was a testament to my survival instincts that I didn¡¯t burst out into tears.

    ¡°Excuse me?¡± I said instead, hoping I¡¯d heard wrong.

    ¡°I¡¯d need a place to stay,¡± he said. ¡°At least until I can get an idea of where I want to head next. As long as it¡¯s not a bother.¡±

    It was a bother. More than that actually.

    ¡°As much as I¡¯d love for you to stay, I¡¯m sorry. My dad wouldn¡¯t approve of me bringing a boy over.¡±

    Once again, my quick mouth spouted out the first thing it could think of, but I was surprised by how reasonable this claim was. My dad wasn¡¯t the type of guy to try and control my life, but I doubt he would be happy if I ever tried to convince him to have a boy stay over, especially if it was a stranger, and doubly especially if it was an Otherworlder that could annihilate the village with a single thought. I had been too scared to check, but I doubted Ryuji had even broken a sweat after casting that absurd excuse of a simple fireball spell.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Ryuji said. ¡°That makes sense. I guess it would be hard to trust your daughter with some guy you¡¯ve never met. At least not until he¡¯s proven himself.¡±

    I¡¯m not entirely sure Ryuji meant for me to hear that. From the way he was mumbling, it seemed like he was talking more to himself than anything. So like always, I ignored him.

    ¡°And here we are! At the wonderful village of Plainswood!¡± I said, raising my arms and pointing at the array of small buildings that crowded the main road. We were still far enough from the village that the people milling around the main street didn¡¯t seem to notice us, but we were close enough that I could recognize their faces.

    I desperately glared at them, hoping that some of them would notice the desperate fear on my face and help me out.

    None did. I¡¯d never felt so betrayed before.

    ¡°So,¡± I said. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Weird name, but it looks nice,¡± he said. ¡°Very medieval.¡±

    Once again, I ignored the word I didn¡¯t recognize. ¡°I¡¯m glad you like it,¡± I said, assuming it was a compliment. ¡°The name¡¯s just because we live right in between the forest and plains lands. Nobody really cared when they were making the village. I¡¯ve been living here my whole life, so it¡¯s just normal for me.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Ryuji asked. I couldn¡¯t tell what expression he had on his face, but I could tell he was thinking hard about something, from the inflection of his voice. ¡°I could see how you could get tired of living in such a small community after a while.¡±

    I don¡¯t know how he came to that conclusion from what he said, but I just smiled and nodded, not wanting to disagree with a boy who could potentially kill me in the blink of an eye. ¡°Yeah, I guess so,¡± I said. ¡°Lots of people my age do end up going to the city to get better jobs.¡±

    ¡°The city, huh,¡± Ryuji mused. ¡°What¡¯s it like over there?¡±

    My eyes widened, sensing a way out. I was already trying to figure out a way to get Ryuji to go to the city and meet with a Crown official who was trained to deal with Otherworlder arrivals. If Ryuji wanted to go to the city naturally, that would be the best possible outcome I could hope for.

    ¡°Oh it¡¯s wonderful! There¡¯s so much to do in the city! Good food, good entertainment, and¡­ lots of things to do.¡± I was slowly realizing that I didn¡¯t actually know much about what the city was like. I hadn¡¯t strayed too far from home and had no real interest in leaving, so I¡¯d never bothered to try and figure out what it was like outside of it. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to go there. In fact, it¡¯s been my lifelong dream!¡± I said instead, trying to make up for my lack of knowledge with enthusiastic lying.

    ¡°I see,¡± he said. The comment was so casual that I had trouble understanding why it sent a shiver down my spine.

    There was another one of those long pauses I was becoming so accustomed to. I knew that I should say something, to stop Ryuji from thinking I was being rude to him, but for whatever reason I couldn¡¯t stop myself from grinding my teeth together in dread, even if I could understand why I was doing it.

    I opened my mouth to try and say something, but a miracle happened and I ended up not having to.

    ¡°Hey Lena!¡±

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    I look up to see a familiar face staring at me. Bran, the Sherriff¡¯s son, was leaning against a small post in the ground meant for hitching donkeys to. He gave me a casual wave and a smile, though it seemed to falter the closer I walked. I watched his eyes search my face and with a start, I realized that I wasn¡¯t smiling anymore. Quickly as possible, I gave him a shaky grin and a smile.

    ¡°Hey Bran,¡± I said, waving back at him. ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡±

    By now, Bran was frowning. Pushing himself up, he started to walk over to me.

    ¡°Hey Lena,¡± he said cautiously. ¡°You doing alright? You look like shit.¡±

    I winced, but was suddenly grateful that I¡¯d had my back to Ryuji for our entire walk. Bran was a decent guy, but pretty dense. If he could tell how close I was to pissing myself with fear, I was glad that I had hidden my face from Ryuji.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I said, hoping that at least my voice wouldn¡¯t betray me.

    ¡°Who¡¯s your friend?¡± he asked, cocking a chin towards Ryuji. I paled quickly at his casual disrespect for the Otherworlder, but quickly realized he had no idea what he was dealing with.

    ¡°Oh that¡¯s my friend, Ryuji. Ryuji, this is Bran, my childhood friend,¡± I said, walking forward to grab Bran¡¯s shoulder in a vice grip. He winced, but I quickly put a finger to my lips. Hiding the motion from Ryuji with my body. ¡°I¡¯ll introduce you two some more in a second, but I got to talk to you about something I saw in the forest. Ryuji, could you wait here a second while I talk to Bran?¡±

    I smiled at Ryuji, but paled slightly when I saw a slight frown on his face. ¡°Alright,¡± he said.

    I nodded at him and tried to drag Bran away as fast as I could, but he held firm. Not wanting to waste any time, I discreetly punched him in the side.

    Bran winced and looked down at me. ¡°Hey, what the-¡±

    I cut him off with a violent yank on the arm before he could continue.

    We still weren¡¯t close enough to the village to have any buildings to hide behind quickly, so I just dragged him far away enough for us to be out of earshot at long as we were whispering.

    ¡°Lena,¡± Bran immediately said once we stopped. ¡°Is that guy bothering you? Should I get my dad?¡±

    I gripped his other arm and looked up at him. He was about a foot taller than I was, and probably about twice my weight, but the look in my eyes must have put him on edge because he tried to lean away from me.

    ¡°Lena,¡± he said. ¡°What the f-¡±

    ¡°Bran,¡± I said, cutting him off and gripping him even tighter. ¡°I need you to shut the fuck up, and listen to me. And listen to me well. That guy is not bothering me. And he isn¡¯t bothering you. In fact, he shits rainbows and sunshine as far as anyone in this town is concerned, because if we don¡¯t treat him like the fucking king, we die.¡±

    My voice was getting raspy from the harsh whispering, and the breath I took felt harsh against my throat, but I spoke anyways.

    ¡°That guy,¡± I said, motioning my head towards Ryuji. ¡°Is an Otherworlder.¡±

    Bran wasn¡¯t having the reaction I was hoping for. I was hoping for him to suddenly pale with the realization at what he¡¯d done, but still be calm enough to nod and listen to what I had to say. I was hoping for him to do his job as the Sherrif-in-training and help me help him get us through the biggest crisis our village had ever faced.

    What I didn¡¯t hope for, was for his face to go completely blank and for him to sigh wearily.

    ¡°Goddammit, Lena,¡± he said. ¡°I thought we agreed to stop with the prank war last year. I can¡¯t be doing this now that dad actually started treating me seriously. Who is that guy, anyway? Some bored kid from Oakwood?¡±

    I paled. At this point, I would be surprised if my skin wasn¡¯t completely transparent. ¡°I¡¯m not joking, Bran,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve never been this serious in my life.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± he said, reaching over and peeling my fingers off his arms with a surprising amount of ease. I tried to grab him again, but he was a warrior. Even though his father only started to seriously train him for the Deputy Sheriff position last year, Bran had been training his swordsmanship ever since he could walk. With his superior strength, he was easily able to grab my wrists and stop me from grabbing at him. ¡°You¡¯re gonna really scare someone if you keep acting like this. We¡¯ve already got Old Fran running her mouth about the supposed Demon she saw in the forest. We don¡¯t need another baseless rumour floating around and scaring the kids. We can say you won the prank war so why don¡¯t we just drop it, okay?¡±

    My mind flashed with panic at the idea that he wouldn¡¯t take me seriously. ¡°Please, Bran,¡± I begged. ¡°You have to believe me.¡±

    He looked at me, his eyes narrowing.

    ¡°Gods, Lena,¡± he said. ¡°Are you crying?¡±

    I blinked, suddenly aware of the fact that my cheeks felt a little cold. I recoiled in surprise, trying to retreat so I could discretely wipe them away, but Bran still had a grip on my wrists and wasn¡¯t letting go.

    ¡°You¡¯re serious?¡± he said, the casual humour in expression slowly melting away.

    I nodded frantically, allowing myself to feel some hope. I wasn¡¯t sure if he believed me completely yet, but I was getting to him. I couldn¡¯t even help but be mad at myself for crying like a child if it got these results.

    ¡°Yes!¡± I hissed. ¡°I¡¯m telling you I saw him fall from the-¡±

    It was something in Bran¡¯s expression that made me stop talking. The way his eyes darted up and widened in shock. He let go of my wrists and took a step back, his hand falling to his side where a short sword rested in a scabbard at his waist. I don¡¯t know if he intended to draw it, or if it was just a reflexive action, but he never got the chance as Ryuji suddenly appeared in front of him, faster than my eyes could register.

    Bran froze. He was slightly taller than Ryuji was and twice as thick, but he stood in place, unable to move.

    Ryuji casually stepped sideways to stand directly in between me and Bran.

    ¡°I will never allow a beautiful girl to be hurt in front of me.¡±

    I blinked twice, unable to believe what I was hearing.

    Before I could gather my thoughts, Ryuji turned around to face me.

    ¡°Lena,¡± he said. ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    As his eyes scanned my face, I grew suddenly aware of the fact that I wasn¡¯t smiling. I quickly fixed that, but a brisk wind chilled my damp face, reminding me of the tears that were still there.

    ¡°Y-yeah,¡± I said, quickly wiping my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m good.¡±

    Ryuji¡¯s eyes softened and reached a hand out. I froze, unable to draw away as his finger got closer to my face. When he touched my cheek and smeared one of my tears messily across my face, I just wanted to cry even harder.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± he said. ¡°He can¡¯t hurt you anymore.¡±

    I had no idea what was going on. So I smiled.

    ¡°Um!¡± Bran shouted, a little too loud and panicked than what could be considered normal. ¡°Excuse me! I just want to make it clear that I wasn¡¯t doing anything bad.¡±

    Ryuji¡¯s head whipped around to stare back at Bran. Bran¡¯s eyes shifted down to meet mine, and I could see from the panic in his eyes that he believed me now. I guess seeing Ryuji teleporting so casually made it easier to believe my story than my tears did.

    ¡°Really?¡± Ryuji asked. ¡°So you¡¯re telling me that you didn¡¯t make Lena cry?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Bran shouted, then winced when he seemed to realize that the evidence seemed to be stacked against him. ¡°I mean, yes! But that wasn¡¯t because I¡¯m a bad guy or anything. I¡¯m a good friendly guy! I¡¯m also very uninteresting and na?ve!¡±

    Very subtle, Bran.

    ¡°Would a good guy harass a girl and make her cry?¡± Ryuji asked.

    ¡°No!¡± Bran shouted. I think he meant to deny the fact that he made me cry, but his shout was just kind of nonsensical instead.

    I internally screamed when I saw Bran still had his hand on his sword. I assumed he believed that Ryuji was an Otherworlder at this point, but I think the placement of his hand might have been a subconscious attempt at reassuring himself, like a weapon-shaped security blanket. Unfortunately, if Ryuji saw that as a threat, I was afraid of what might happen.

    Ryuji wasn¡¯t looking at me, so I tried to motion to Bran to take his hand off his sword. It was very crude sign language, but even if he could have interpreted it, Bran was unfortunately too focused on his potentially impending death to actually notice my movements.

    Ryuji stepped forward. Bran stepped back.

    Ryuji stepped forward, and lifted a hand into the air. While Bran flinched at the movement, he didn¡¯t immediately piss his pants so I had to assume he didn¡¯t understand it for the threat that it was. As someone who witnessed him casually shoot a pillar of fire into the sky without even trying, I was glad that my own bladder wasn¡¯t full.

    I motioned to Bran again, but gave up, seeing his eyes locked with the Otherworlder¡¯s. Bran¡¯s hand twitched, possibly as a nervous tick or as a reflex, and Ryuji noticed, shifting forward slightly and extending his arm.

    Bran was kind of an ass at times, but he was my friend. Honestly, if I was being rational, I didn¡¯t like him enough to give up my own life for him, but it seemed that my mind worked strangely under stress.

    I tried to grab Ryuji¡¯s arm to point it to the sky, but my legs buckled underneath me as I lunged forward, making me crash into his back instead. On instinct, I grabbed on to whatever I could to stop myself from falling, but froze when I realized exactly what I was grabbing.

    Oh shit. I was grappling an Otherworlder. I was so dead.

 3. Whats an Anime?

    Ryuji didn¡¯t move for a moment, his body going stiff in my arms. I wanted desperately to pull away, but for now he was standing still. Maybe if I never moved from this spot for the rest of my life, he would be permanently frozen too.

    When I felt him shift under my arms, I winced and closed my eyes, turning away from him. Whatever horrible things he was going to do to me, I didn¡¯t want to watch. I only prayed that my death would be quick.

    Nothing happened.

    ¡°Um, L-Lena,¡± Ryuji said. I couldn¡¯t tell if he was stuttering out of rage, but for some reason, his voice sounded a bit timid to me. Perhaps it was an auditory hallucination. Maybe I was already dead.

    ¡°I,¡± he paused, taking a deep breath. ¡°I can feel them,¡± he said. ¡°On my back.¡±

    I had no idea what he was talking about, but he sounded nervous for some reason. I opened my eyes, daring to peek up at my death.

    I was shocked to see Ryuji staring down at me, a heavy blush on his face, so red that it looked like¡­ No wait. Was that actual blood?

    ¡°You¡¯re bleeding?¡± I said, the comment coming out as a question. I knew Otherworlders were technically mortal, but I¡¯d never heard of an Otherworlder that was so fragile that he¡¯d start to bleed randomly. Did he have some magic that was related to blood? There were supposedly some Vampiric Demons that could manipulate blood in place of mana. Maybe it was similar to that, and he was just extracting some of his blood to use as a weapon against me?

    It didn¡¯t seem likely. Ryuji seemed as confused as I was.

    ¡°I am?¡± he asked. He seemed to think for a moment, but reached up, easily breaking my hold on him to touch his face.

    As his finger wiped the blood from underneath his nose, his eyes widened and his mouth fell agape.

    ¡°Status,¡± he said. ¡°Current status effects.¡±

    As Ryuji swept his finger randomly in thin air, I noticed Bran slowly creeping away from the scene, walking backwards step by step. I had no idea how he had the fortitude to keep his knees from going weak, but I was damn jealous.

    ¡°Help me,¡± I mouthed silently to him, not trusting my own legs enough to sneak away fast enough.

    Bran nodded slightly at me, but continued to walk away, doing nothing to help me do the same. Apparently lipreading wasn¡¯t a skill of his.

    ¡°Oh, are you fucking kidding me?!¡± Ryuji suddenly shouted. ¡°I know I got isekaied and all, but you¡¯re telling me I have anime character constitution? Am I going to keep getting nosebleeds every time this happens?!¡±

    I heard a pattering of footsteps and looked around to see that Bran had used the outburst as a momentary distraction to run away. Bastard. I was so holding this over his head for the rest of his life if we got out of this alive.

    Ryuji seemed to be finished with yelling up into the sky, and turned around at me, mumbling something about shitty tropes, whatever that was. He still had a thick bloodsmear on his lips, but I wasn¡¯t about to point it out to him.

    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± he said.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked, hoping the answer would be, ¡®No, I have a terminal illness called Anime Character Constitution, a non-contagious disease native to my world. I will die soon, and no longer be a danger to you.¡¯

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said instead, crushing my dreams. ¡°Hey, where did that bastard go?¡±

    ¡°Oh Bran?¡± I asked, internally agreeing with the bastard sentiment. ¡°He just left. But he won¡¯t be bothering us anymore, thanks to you.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Ryuji said, blushing and turning to the side. ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡±

    Not what I meant, but the good old routine of smile and ignore came to me easily.

    ¡°So,¡± I said, changing subjects away from Bran with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. ¡°I suppose I should show you around the town, huh?¡±

    ¡°Show me around town?¡± Ryuji repeated, blushing again for some reason. ¡°You mean like a¡­¡±

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    He trailed off, and I had no idea why.

    ¡°Like a what?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Nevermind,¡± he said.

    I liked to think that by now, I¡¯d gotten used to the awkward silences to the point where I no longer even bothered to acknowledge them.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take you to the mayor.¡± I waited for a response, but continued when I didn¡¯t get one immediately. ¡°Anybody visiting our village has to report to him or the Sheriff, just so they know that you¡¯re not a sketchy person or anything.¡± Though not many people bothered to actually make those reports, since it was usually only family members of villagers who ever came to visit Plainswood, it was still technically the truth.

    I paused for a long while. I¡¯d hoped that Ryuji would comment on it or ask any sort of follow-up questions, but when he stayed silent, I started to feel more and more uncomfortable. I guess I hadn¡¯t gotten used to the awkward silences like I¡¯d hoped. It was especially bad since I kept walking in front of Ryuiji. While it helped ease my worries, knowing that I wouldn¡¯t have to constantly keep my expression friendly, it was hard not being able to see Ryuji¡¯s face and getting a gauge for how he was feeling at any given moment.

    Looking around me, I saw my fellow villagers either smiling woodenly at Ryuji or quickly picking up their children and scurrying away as fast as they could without looking like they were running. To his credit, Bran really knew how to get people to listen to him. I knew him and his family were popular in the village, but it took a real charisma to get these people to not run away screaming.

    Unfortunately, even if Bran had done his job perfectly, it didn¡¯t seem like any of my fellow villagers were born actors, with most of them being much worse than how I imagined myself. I could even see some of them crying through their smiles.

    ¡°So!¡± I said, drawing Ryuji¡¯s attention to me as his eyes wandered to the people edging away from him. ¡°Anime! What¡¯s that?¡±

    I wondered if it would be dangerous to poke the Otherworlder for knowledge that was clearly unique to his world, especially if it was somehow related to a syndrome that could cause him to bleed spontaneously. As soon as the question came out of my mouth, I worried that it would seem like I was trying to pry into his weaknesses, but it was hard to think of another topic.

    ¡°Huh?¡± he said, clearly confused. ¡°You¡¯ve heard of anime?! You guys have anime in this world?¡± he asked, clearly excited.

    ¡°N-no,¡± I stuttered, a little scared to disappoint him. ¡°But you said something like anime a few seconds ago. I¡¯ve never heard that word before and I was just wondering what that was.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± he said, clearly disappointed, but much less than I feared. ¡°Well, it might be a bit difficult to explain.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s a bit of a walk to the Mayor¡¯s house.¡± And I needed something to distract him on the way there.

    Ryuji looked surprised for a second, then his eyebrows scrunched together in concentration. ¡°Well,¡± he said. ¡°It might be difficult to explain it without a frame of reference. Do you guys have stuff like moving pictures in this world? I mean, country.¡±

    I ignored the slip-up and the poor attempt to cover it. ¡°Moving pictures?¡± I asked. ¡°Like when a painting gets possessed by a Poltergeist Demon?¡±

    I swore I heard him hungrily whisper the word, ¡®demon,¡¯ but I wasn¡¯t sure. ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°Not anything like that. It¡¯s more like something for entertainment, when you have a bunch of pictures moving really fast.¡±

    ¡°Like a flipbook?¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡± he said. ¡°Kind of. It¡¯s like a flipbook except it¡¯s usually twenty-three minutes long and instead of a big book, it¡¯s shown on a¡­ a big box of light and it tells a story, and it has voice actors and everything.¡±

    My eyes widened at the mention of the big box of light. It was said that while the Otherworlders came from a place that didn¡¯t possess any magic, their levels of technology were so much more advanced than ours that we might consider it magic if we ever saw it. While I had no real interest in this fake magic, the Crown had an ongoing bounty for any information on how to replicate these technologies. I knew I would already be getting a bounty payout if I managed to get Ryuji to name me as his first contact to a Crown official, but if I managed to get some information about this ¡®magic¡¯ light box from his world¡­

    ¡°Oh wow! That¡¯s so interesting!¡± I said. ¡°Could you tell me a little more about that?¡±

    ¡°Really?!¡± Ryuji asked, sounding genuinely surprised for some reason. ¡°Not many girls want to hear about it.¡±

    I simply smiled at him, wondering why he specifically pointed out my gender but not asking why.

    ¡°Well,¡± he said. ¡°If you¡¯re sure¡­¡±

    By the time I regained consciousness, I realized we were standing outside the door to the Mayor¡¯s house. My hand was raised, like I was prepared to knock, but I had no idea what had happened in the past twenty minutes or so it would¡¯ve taken us to walk here.

    ¡°But when Hirito gets to the hospital, he¡¯s ambushed by the bad guy, but this time he has a knife and he¡¯s prepared to kill him and Nasuna in the real world, since you know, he failed to do it in the virtual world. But since Hirito¡¯s been fighting in the real world, all that fighting data is ingrained in his instinct and he¡¯s able to beat the bad guy up, even without his game stats. Man. That scene was so cool.¡±

    Oh yeah. That.

    Unfortunately for me, instead of talking about the magic light box like I wanted, Ryuji started to talk about something completely different, introducing new concepts and ideas that I found impossible to follow. I ended up just zoning out, nodding my head, and agreeing to whatever he said, whenever prompted.

    ¡°I hate to interrupt you, Ryuji,¡± I said, interrupting him eagerly. ¡°But we¡¯re here.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± he says. ¡°Okay. I guess talking to the mayor is more important for now. Maybe I can tell you more later?¡±

    Oh Gods, please no.

    ¡°Sure!¡± I hoped my laugh didn¡¯t sound too manic. ¡°Later. But let''s not keep the Mayor waiting, shall we?¡±

    I knocked on the door, possibly a bit louder than was normal.

    ¡°You may enter!¡± came a response, much louder and higher pitch than was normal from the Mayor. It seemed like Bran had managed to warn him.

    I opened the door, eager to deposit the problem into the lap of a responsible adult.

 4. Responsible Adults (?)

    I¡¯d been in the Mayor¡¯s home before. Since our village wasn¡¯t big enough to have a town hall or community center, the Mayor and his wife often liked to host dinner parties and festivals for important days and occasions. Though most of the parties would be held outside, the kids would usually go inside the house where they would be easier to watch.

    I hadn¡¯t been young enough to be considered a kid for a while, but I at least remembered the Mayor¡¯s house well enough to know that he¡¯d changed some things.

    For one, there was a plush red carpet that extended from the entrance, to the living room, where the Mayor was standing. If that wasn¡¯t strange enough, inside what should have been the living room, was a long dining table that the Mayor usually only took out for his parties for seating the pregnant, elderly, or whoever else couldn¡¯t stand for long times for whatever reason. It seated twelve comfortably, and looked ridiculous, being set up indoors.

    ¡°Oh?¡± he said. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting guests. Please, do come in!¡±

    I had to hand it to him, though. The Mayor was a pretty good actor. If I didn¡¯t know that his voice was usually an octave lower, I would¡¯ve never guessed that something was wrong.

    The Mayor had set up an assortment of pastries and drinks set up along the table and he motioned Ryuji to sit down.

    ¡°Come now, Lena and friend. I wouldn¡¯t be a good host if I didn¡¯t at least offer a drink or a snack. Feel free to eat as much as you want.¡±

    Looking down at the assortment, unless Otherworlders could somehow consume ten times the amount that an average human could, it was impossible that we would make a dent on the feast of pastries laid out before us. It was like a feast meant for a king, if feasts were made exclusively of tea snacks and cookies.

    It was that moment that I realized what the Mayor was doing. Was he literally trying to treat Ryuji like a King? Was it because of what I said to Bran?

    ¡°Uh, it¡¯s okay,¡± Ryuji said. ¡°I¡¯m not actually that hungry.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± the Mayor said. ¡°Then is there anything else I could do for you? Anything at all?¡±

    ¡°Actually there is!¡± Ryuji said. ¡°Is there anything like an adventurer¡¯s guild here in this village?¡±

    The Mayor smiled. After I counted about ten seconds of him staring blankly at Ryuji, I realized he was employing the same tactic that I¡¯d been using until now. Ignoring anything he didn¡¯t understand. Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t seem like it worked when he tried to ignore a question that was asked directly to him.

    ¡°Umm,¡± Ryuji said, breaking the silence. ¡°Did you hear me?¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The Mayor shoved his pinky in his ears. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir. It seems like my hearing¡¯s been going bad. Old age. What did you say again?¡±

    ¡°I asked if there¡¯s anything like an adventurer¡¯s guild in the village.¡±

    It didn¡¯t seem like the Mayor understood completely that ignoring the question wouldn¡¯t work a second time.

    With the Mayor¡¯s uselessness becoming more clear to me with each passing second, I didn¡¯t hesitate to jump in before the silence became stale.

    "A guild? Like a worker''s guild? I wasn''t aware that being an adventurer was considered a profession. I always thought it was more a lifestyle. But I guess it might be a bit different in the country you¡¯re from,¡± I added quickly, once I saw the slightest hints of surprise entering Ryuji¡¯s face.

    ¡°Ah, yeah. Yeah, adventurer¡¯s guilds are pretty common where I¡¯m from,¡± he said, accepting the excuse I handed him. ¡°You guys really don¡¯t have them?¡±

    From how disappointed he sounded, I wished I could say we did, but it would just be too difficult of a lie to keep up long-term.

    ¡°No, sorry,¡± I said, wincing internally and bracing myself for magical destruction, in case he decided to shoot the messenger, who in this case was me. After a moment of thought, I inched towards the Mayor, deciding I could use him as a distraction if necessary. Unfortunately, he noticed and inched slowly away from me at the same pace. Bastard.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s called something different?¡± Ryuji asked. ¡°In my home, adventurers were brave people who were willing to do any task, no matter how dangerous or difficult it was.¡±

    Surprisingly, the description did happen to match a lifestyle that was somewhat common in this world. Unfortunately, ¡®homeless vagrant who does odd jobs for cash¡¯ was probably a much less glamourous title than one he was searching for. I supposed ¡®mercenary¡¯ was an alternative name for that, but those were just the murderous flavour of homeless vagrants, and I preferred if we didn¡¯t plant the idea of killing for a living into a man who was more than capable of it.

    Now that the Mayor was standing across the table, having had ample time to scoot as far away from me as possible, I could see his face clearly. I saw his gears turn in his mind, and his eyes widen as he realized the same thing that I did. Except he seemed to be a lot happier about it.

    ¡°Actually, we do have something-¡±

    ¡°To go!¡± I said quickly, cutting him off as fast as possible. Though I had no way of knowing, I had a gut feeling that the Mayor was about to suggest that Ryuji¡¯s dream job in his world was the equivalent of a homeless murderer in ours, and I didn¡¯t want to be here when it happened.

    ¡°Something to go to!¡± I repeated, clarifying myself.

    Ryuji and the Mayor stared blankly at me.

    ¡°I have something that I needed to do! I need to leave!¡± I said, clarifying myself properly on the third attempt. I hoped.

    From the horrified look on the Mayor¡¯s face as he realized I was about to leave him alone with Ryuji, I felt like I¡¯d done a pretty good job of making myself clear. I let out an internal sigh of relief, mouthing a silent thank you to the Mayor. Though Ryuji was looking at me, I was surprised he didn¡¯t notice the sound of the Mayor¡¯s clothes flapping frantically as he shook his head violently.

    ¡°Ah is that so?¡± Ryuji said, sighing out loud.

    ¡°Oh no no,¡± the Mayor said. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can stay for just a few more moments, Lena.¡±

    ¡°Sorry,¡± I said, suddenly aware of the fact that I didn¡¯t know his name, even though he apparently remembered mine. It reminded me of the fact that the Mayor wasn¡¯t usually a bumbling idiot, and that he deserved to be honoured after he inevitably committed accidental suicide via Ryuji. ¡°Thanks for having me, but I got to go.¡±

    The Mayor looked to be near tears. The person causing his tears smiled awkwardly, not noticing the Mayor¡¯s distress whatsoever, and rubbed the back of his head.

    ¡°Ah that¡¯s a shame,¡± he said. ¡°Well it¡¯s been a pleasure, Mayor, but I guess we have to be heading out now.¡±

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    It took me a few seconds to realize what Ryuji had said.

    ¡°You¡¯re going too?¡± the Mayor asked, his tears slowly turning into ones of hope.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Ryuji said, rubbing his head. ¡°I feel a little bad about leaving Lena. It¡¯s dangerous out there for a lady like her to walk alone.¡±

    The Mayor opened his mouth, as if to protest out of pride, knowing that our village was one of the safest in the county, but for the first time since we¡¯d come, his common sense prevailed.

    ¡°Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Mr¡­¡± he trailed off when he realized he didn¡¯t actually know Ryuji¡¯s name.

    ¡°The name¡¯s Ryuji Nightblade,¡± he said, with a wide smile. ¡°Remember the name. I¡¯ll be the best adventurer in the world one day.¡±

    Ignoring the fact that I still wasn¡¯t completely sure about what an adventurer was, I walked outside, hoping he wouldn¡¯t follow me.

    But he did.

    ¡°So,¡± Ryuji said, oblivious to my suffering. ¡°What did you want to do again?¡±

    I wanted to cry. I wanted to shove him to the Mayor and force him to take responsibility for Ryuji. I wanted to tell him that he didn¡¯t need to come along, or at least ask him why he automatically assumed he was invited, but more than anything, I didn¡¯t want to risk upsetting him.

    "I needed to do something at home," I lied. "My dad needed help moving some meat." A part of me was horrified that I¡¯d just doomed my parents into interacting with Ryuji, but I was starting to realize just how bad I was under pressure.

    Plus, the childish part of me just wanted to see my parents. Have them deal with the terrifying Otherworlder for me while I buried myself under the covers, like I was five again, trying to trying to hide from thunder and lightning.

    "Moving meat?" Ryuji asked. ¡°Why would you do that?¡±

    ¡°My dad¡¯s a butcher,¡± I said. ¡°The village isn¡¯t big enough that he needs more than just himself working the shop most times, but I help out whenever he needs me.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s cool.¡±

    Once again, I made sure to walk ahead of Ryuji, both to lead the way and to give my face a break from having to fake a smile constantly. With Ryuji outside of my field of vision, the fact that I couldn¡¯t see his reaction made me constantly on edge. Just judging from his voice, he sounded a little distracted.

    Looking around, I noticed on the way that the streets of my village were oddly empty, with a distinct lack of open windows and children playing underfoot. It seemed that news had already reached this far, but I was a little annoyed that they were making it so obvious. Was this the reason he sounded distracted?

    I opened my mouth. I wanted to say something, anything to draw his attention back to me, so he wouldn¡¯t notice the strange emptiness of the streets, but the words died in my throat. I couldn¡¯t help it. Even if was just pure bad luck, I knew the responsibility had been given to me to keep Ryuji from snapping and killing us all. Even so, I couldn¡¯t help but want to pretend like I didn¡¯t exist, in the wild hope that he¡¯d somehow forget about me.

    So I kept quiet. We didn¡¯t have much further to walk anyways.

    My house was a bit separated from the other houses, since my grandparents had built the house knowing that it would be used as a butchery. Animal blood was a scent that I no longer noticed, but they had built the house a bit further from the other houses so that our neighbours wouldn¡¯t be forced to live with the smell. There was a large stretch of road where there weren¡¯t any more empty houses to look at, but Ryuji still kept silent.

    By the time we reached my house, I was sweating, prepared to cry from how tense the silence between us had gotten. I was still too scared to look back at Ryuji, afraid to see an angry scowl on his face after I¡¯d unknowingly offended him in some way, so I just didn¡¯t look back. The only thing I could do was to silently pray that everything was alright.

    The front door to my house was the customer¡¯s entrance, which I rarely used, but I didn¡¯t want to lead Ryuji into the part of my home where I slept in, for obvious reasons. It led to a small foyer, where a large counter separated the room from the rest of the house.

    Sitting at the other side of the counter was Dad.

    Though he was well-liked in the village, Dad was a big guy and the sight of him usually scared the more skittish of the village kids. I didn¡¯t blame them, knowing that the combination of his resting scowl and the permanent animal blood stains smeared on a majority of his clothes made his appearance a bit scary to anyone who wasn¡¯t used to him. I could tell he was nervous. He only ever crossed his arms when he was uncomfortable.

    Even so, his face didn¡¯t betray anything, his naturally stiff expression working out in his favour.

    ¡°Hi dad!¡± I yelled a bit too loud and waving a bit too wildly.

    ¡°Daughter,¡± he said. ¡°How are you?¡±

    Terrified and scared out of my mind. ¡°Great!¡± I said instead.

    He locked eyes with me and nodded.

    In that moment, I couldn¡¯t help but feel real hope. My dad always had my back, and I knew that if anyone could get me out of this situation, it was him.

    Growing up with him, I had learned that even though most people assumed he was stoic from how monotone his voice was and how little his face moved, my dad was far from expressionless. It was in the minor details, and most importantly his eyes, where I¡¯d learned to read his emotions. Staring into them now, I could tell that he was scared, and that all he wanted to do was to run away from the monster stalking me, but that he wouldn¡¯t. His eyes promised to keep me safe.

    I couldn¡¯t help it. I cried.

    Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t loud. I felt the tears running down my cheeks, but I also felt a genuine smile spread across my lips.

    ¡°Hello, sir,¡± Ryuji said from behind me. My smile fell somewhat as I was reminded of why I was so scared in the first place. He was still trailing behind me, so I was confident that he hadn¡¯t seen my tears, but I wiped them away as quickly as I could.

    My dad broke eye contact with me to face the threat.

    ¡°Hello, young man,¡± he said.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, sir. My name is Ryuji Nightblade.¡±

    ¡°I am Hal,¡± my dad replied. ¡°Would you like to purchase some meats?¡±

    ¡°Umm, no. I was just here to help Lena. She said she had some chores to do,¡± Ryuji said, sounding uncertain.

    My dad raised an eyebrow, an intentional gesture since he usually wasn¡¯t expressive enough to let his surprise show so obviously. ¡°Why would you want to do that? No. You¡¯re here to purchase some meat. You look like a traveler of sorts. Come in. I¡¯ll show you some jerky you can purchase for cheap. Good for the road.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t-¡°

    ¡°I insist. Even if you have no money, I¡¯m not so cruel-hearted to let you leave without at least a sample. As I tell all my customers, the first purchase comes free.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure whether it was a good idea to be so pushy, especially with such a nonsensical claim. I was about to lose faith in my dad¡¯s abilities, until Ryuji spoke up.

    ¡°O-oh. That¡¯s nice of you. I guess it wouldn¡¯t hurt.¡±

    My dad nodded, as if expecting nothing else. In reality, I could see the bright flash of relief in his eyes as he turned to me. ¡°As for you, young lady. Your mother has been searching for you all day. Why don¡¯t you go into the house and see what she wants.¡±

    For a second, I wanted to stay. I knew how stressful it was to be in the presence of an Otherworlder, and a part of me just didn¡¯t want to subject my dad to dealing with it on his own. The larger part of me just wanted out.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll go see what mom wants,¡± I said, practically running forward, a bounce in my step. I still felt bad about leaving my dad to deal with this on his own but I was too relieved to care.

    But when my dad¡¯s eyes widened almost imperceptibly, with a flash of anger and fear, I couldn¡¯t help but freeze in place. With how stoic he usually was, the slight motion of is brow was the equivalent of a normal man letting out a sharp gasp.

    I stayed in place and watched his eyes dart wildly between me and Ryuji, who was still standing behind me, but he said nothing.

    Eventually I tried to move again, but the look on his face gave me pause. He looked like he was about to cry. Thankfully, Ryuji didn¡¯t seem to notice, which made sense since my dad had only slightly furrowed his brow. I searched my dad¡¯s face, asking for any sort of explanation, and he seemed to register my silent question because he nodded.

    ¡°Excuse me for one second.¡±

    By the time he disappeared into the door leading into the rest of our house, I couldn¡¯t wipe the shock from my face. I hadn¡¯t had much faith in Bran or the Mayor, but the fact that my own father had abandoned me to deal with this monster on my own was like a punch in the gut.

    Before I could consider shouting at him, Ryuji spoke up.

    ¡°Well. He seemed nice.¡±

    I quickly wiped my sleeve across my eyes in case there were still tears there before I turned back around to face him.

    ¡°Yeah, I guess.¡±

    Before I could actually badmouth him like I''d planned, my dad popped back out from behind the door, making me take back all of the nasty things I was about to say about his receding hairline.

    ¡°I am back,¡± he said, sounding slightly out of breath, for some reason. ¡°Lena, your mother is waiting. She wishes to speak to you.¡±

    Something about the way he said that put my teeth on edge, but I was so eager to leave the room that I didn¡¯t think twice about it. I nodded and almost ran towards the door, not even bothering to say bye to Ryuji. It probably wasn¡¯t the best idea to be rude for no reason, but I could feel myself nearing the breaking point, and I didn¡¯t want to interact with him for a second longer than I had to.

    Bending down underneath the counter to reach the back, I saw my dad wince at the action, but he said nothing as I pushed my way into our house.

    I jumped at the sight of my mother hiding right behind the door, tears flowing freely as she held her hand over her mouth, as if she were physically holding back a scream. At the sight of me, her knees buckled from underneath her and she sank slowly to the ground.

    I rushed over to her side to help her up before her words made me pause.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said. ¡°This is all my fault.¡±

 5. Blessing and a Curse

    I had no idea what my mom was talking about, but whatever she wanted to say, I knew this wasn¡¯t the place to say it. While my dad was an outwardly stoic man, mom was the exact opposite, wearing her heart on her sleeve and being unable to hold anything back to save her life. Unfortunately, that saying might have proved to be more literal in its meaning if she wasn¡¯t careful.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, mom,¡± I said, hooking my arm under hers and dragging her deeper into the house. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here first, then we can talk.¡±

    From the way I could hear my dad talking a lot louder than he usually did, I could only assume he was trying to drown out our voices. Maybe he was just being overly cautious, and my mom wasn¡¯t loud enough to be heard, but I knew we couldn¡¯t be too careful.

    Mom seemed to agree with my unsaid assessment and let me drag her to the opposite end of the house. As soon as she deemed it safe enough to make some noise, however, she launched herself into me. While I was bigger than her by a fair margin, I still struggled to keep my balance.

    ¡°Oh, Lena. I heard everything from your father. I¡¯m so sorry you have to deal with this. This is all my fault,¡± she said, her voice shuddering with every word.

    I wanted to console her, but I was a bit emotionally burnt out by this point. And something about what she said bothered me, but I couldn¡¯t figure out exactly why.

    Before I could figure out a question to ask her, she shook her head.

    ¡°No, we mustn¡¯t give up hope just yet. Surely there must be a way to fix this. It doesn¡¯t have to be you. Maybe I could go in your place. Your father would be furious, but he would understand.¡±

    I looked at her, as if analyzing her would somehow make it easier to make sense of what she was saying. It didn¡¯t help. My mom was more disheveled than I¡¯d ever seen her before, with her usually neat hair messy and wild, like she¡¯d been grabbing it and trying to tear it out. Her eyes were unfocused and wild, and she seemed like she was on the verge of hyperventilating.

    ¡°Mom?¡± I asked, hating how pathetic I sounded, but not caring at the same time. ¡°What are you talking about? You¡¯re scaring me.¡±

    Her eyes snapped to me, as if she just realized I was there. I almost flinched back from the intensity of the motion, even though I knew my mom would never hurt me.

    ¡°Mom,¡± I said, growing more anxious by the second. The fact that I had no idea what she was worried about made it all the worse. ¡°What¡¯s going on? What are you talking about?¡±

    My mom looked at me as if I¡¯d asked her something absurd. ¡°I thought you would¡¯ve figured out by now,¡± she said, a little cautiously. ¡°Your father told me what had happened out there.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I asked. ¡°Dad only saw Ryuji for about ten seconds before he ran back here to talk to you.¡±

    Mom mumbled to herself for a second before looking at me. ¡°Lena. Can you tell me how the Otherworlder¡¯s been acting around you?¡±

    ¡°Mom,¡± I said, growing a bit frustrated by the lack of communication. ¡°Can you just tell me what¡¯s going on?¡±

    She shook her head violently, accidentally flinging some tears onto my bare arms.

    ¡°It¡¯s possible that your father was simply mistaken, dear. I don¡¯t want to scare you for potentially no reason. Please. Tell me how the Otherworlder¡¯s been acting around you.¡±

    I wanted to protest, but the way my mom was acting was uncharacteristic of her, and frankly she was scaring me just enough that I didn¡¯t want to argue with her. Unfortunately, I had no idea what to say. I hadn¡¯t really been paying attention to Ryuji. I¡¯d been much more focused on keeping my own emotions in check.

    ¡°He¡¯s been¡­¡± I paused, struggling to find the right words to describe Ryuji. ¡°Pretty normal,¡± I say, surprising myself when I realized it was the truth. Mostly. ¡°Aside from the fact that he cast a fireball big enough to burn a city to ashes, without breaking a sweat, he¡¯s been acting surprisingly normal.¡±

    Somehow, my mom didn¡¯t seem to care about my description of Ryuji¡¯s abilities.

    ¡°Normal, how?¡± she asked instead. ¡°How exactly has he been interacting with you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I said.

    ¡°That¡¯s not helpful,¡± my mom said, grabbing my shoulders and shaking them. ¡°Lena, honey. Please try to think.¡±

    I felt my fear slipping away and slowly being replaced by irritation. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I said, stressing each word as I peeled my mom¡¯s hands away. I was still growing more and more uncomfortable by the second. ¡°It¡¯s been more than a bit stressful for me mom. ¡°If you could just stop talking in riddles and just tell me what¡¯s going on, maybe I could tell you what you want to know.¡±

    My mom flinched back, as if just realizing that she was treating me so roughly. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry dear,¡± she said. Biting her lip nervously. She opened her mouth and closed it, as if thinking about what to say, before she stared me in the eyes. ¡°Just tell me. You must have been walking around with him. How were you walking? Side-by-side? Him leading the way? Were you leading the way?¡±

    Of all the options she suggested, the last one was easily the one she seemed most nervous about. I hesitated to answer, since it was clearly the one answer she wouldn¡¯t be happy about, but I still had no idea why such a thing could even matter.

    ¡°I was walking in front.¡±

    My mom gasped and stumbled backwards. Normally I might have lunged forwards to catch her before she fell, but her reaction was so unexpected and nonsensical that I remained frozen in place.

    ¡°Lena,¡± she said, apparently unfazed by the hard fall. ¡°Please tell me, were the two of you making good conversation? Or did the Otherworlder seem silent or distracted in any way?¡±

    Again, the way that my mom¡¯s voice shuddered as she described the second option made it obvious that it was the wrong one, but unfortunately, that was what had happened. Though we made a little bit of small talk, I couldn¡¯t honestly say that we¡¯d talked all that much. I hadn¡¯t been in the mood to complain either. If Ryuji didn¡¯t want to talk, then it was less chance for me to screw up.

    ¡°He was pretty quiet.¡±

    My mom let out a low moan. ¡°It¡¯s just as I feared.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t remember the last time I¡¯d yelled at my mom, but I was seriously considering it. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that a volatile mage was standing at the other end of the house. I still had no idea how similar an Otherworlder¡¯s anatomy was to ours, but I wasn¡¯t discarding the possibility that he had enhanced hearing. ¡°What¡¯s just as you feared?¡± I hissed instead. ¡°You still haven¡¯t told me anything, mom.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said. ¡°This is all my fault.¡±

    I felt my eyelid twitch at the non-answer. I leaned down and grabbed her shoulders, hard enough for it to be impossible to ignore, but not hard enough to hurt her. ¡°Mom. What is it? If it involves me, I deserve to know.¡± Though I had intended to say it with conviction, I suppose the shakiness behind my voice took away some of the power behind my request.

    Even so, my mom looked me in the eyes, tears flowing down her cheeks and nodded hesitantly.

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    ¡°You.¡± She paused, taking a shaky breath to gather her composure. She didn¡¯t seem to find it, but she spoke anyways. ¡°You¡¯ve got a lovely ass.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t surprised that I¡¯d somehow misheard her, with how badly her teeth were chattering as she said it. Maybe if it were any other context, I would¡¯ve laughed at the absurdity of what I misheard, but I was just too stressed to find any sort of humour in the situation.

    ¡°Sorry mom,¡± I said. ¡°I couldn¡¯t hear you properly. What did you say?¡±

    My mom looked up at me, took another deep breath, and spoke again, this time with a bit more clarity.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got a lovely ass. Breasts too. It¡¯s likely he hasn¡¯t noticed yet, if he¡¯s been trailing behind you. But when he does¡­¡± My mom trailed off, choking on her words as she sniffled.

    Even though I definitely hadn¡¯t misheard her that time, there was no way I hadn¡¯t misheard her.

    ¡°What?¡± I asked, again.

    ¡°You got it from me,¡± she said, completely misunderstanding my confusion. ¡°We come from a long line of women blessed with immaculate genes.¡±

    I opened my mouth, as if to respond, but no words came out. My mom held her face in her hands as a low gasping sob escaped from between her fingers.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Ryuji¡¯s infatuated with you, Lena. But don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll get you out of this somehow. I wouldn¡¯t be able to live if you became a follower.¡±

    ¡°Mom,¡± I said, finally finding my voice. ¡°What are you talking about? There¡¯s no way Ryuji would fall in love with me after a few minutes.¡±

    ¡°It happened to your father,¡± my mom said, her voice taking a wistful lilt to it. She gazed towards me, but her eyes didn¡¯t seem to actually register me properly. ¡°It was eighteen years ago on the midsummer festival, at the peak of the celebration. I had my eye on your father for some time at this point, but he never seemed to notice me until that night. I was wearing a dress that my mother had woven for me, but I had taken the liberty of modifying it to show off a bit more than she¡¯d hoped. She was so angry at me.¡±

    I grabbed her shoulders, intending to shake them and snap her back into reality when I realized something strange about what she said. Whenever I¡¯d asked them about it before, I¡¯d never gotten a clear answer about how my parents had met. Though it was a relatively minor thing I shouldn¡¯t have taken notice of, in the context of my current situation, but the truth of my parent¡¯s marriage had evaded me for so long that I couldn¡¯t help but notice.

    Eighteen years ago? Wasn¡¯t I seventeen?

    I was pretty terrible at math, so a liberal shake of my head was enough to stop my attempts to calculate how many months separated my birthday and the midsummer festival. Unfortunately, hearing that my birth was potentially the result of a one-night stand was the least of my problems. I would process that trauma once I was more certain of my upcoming survival.

    ¡°Okay fine,¡± I said, shaking my mom¡¯s shoulders and ignoring the horrifying implications on the circumstances of my birth. ¡°But you at least knew dad and he knew you. Ryuji is a stranger. There¡¯s no way he could fall in love with me so easily?¡±

    I¡¯d meant for that to be a statement, but I had a moment of weakness, the smell of hellfire still too fresh in my memory to completely ignore the possibility, despite how ridiculous it was.

    My mom stared at me, a look of pity in her eyes.

    ¡°Oh, my sweet child,¡± she said. ¡°You never did understand the hearts of boys.¡±

    My fear had slowly been melting away for a while now, being replaced with exasperation at my mom¡¯s ridiculous theory, but I had refused to completely dismiss it since it could potentially mean my survival. But the casual insult finally tipped me over the edge, as a wave of heat blossomed over my face. Ever since I was a kid, I¡¯d always hung out with boys more than I did with the other girls. Even if I had been interested in dating, the dating pool in the village was non-existent. I knew the boys in the village well enough that I would either feel too disgusted or too awkward to ever consider it. I knew my mom disapproved, constantly telling me that she was afraid I would never end up getting married, but I hadn¡¯t expected her paranoia to extend to the point where she was acting so rashly when there was a very real threat to our village standing at the other end of the house.

    ¡°Mom,¡± I said, my voice coming out without stuttering for the first time in a while. ¡°This isn¡¯t the time.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the time for what?¡± my mom asked.

    I felt my brow furrow in frustration. I couldn¡¯t tell if she was pretending to be innocent, or if she genuinely believed that she had no idea why I was so frustrated with her. First the mayor, and now my mom. I could only hope that my dad wasn¡¯t somehow signing the village¡¯s death warrant while he was unsupervised.

    ¡°We need to make sure the village is safe,¡± I said, wincing when I realized that I¡¯d said ¡®we¡¯. It seemed that I¡¯d accepted the idea that I had some sort of responsibility in containing the threat that was Ryuji. Before today, I had no idea the adults in the village could be so unreliable. ¡°Then we need to make sure the Crown knows that another Otherworlder¡¯s here. Ryuji already seems to be interested in staying in the village for a bit, so that¡¯s more than enough time to get someone to ride towards the City with the news.¡±

    Not having bothered to get up since she¡¯d fallen, my mom stared up at me, a look of confusion in her eyes. ¡°Yes, of course,¡± she said.

    I nodded, glad we were finally in agreement with something. ¡°I already promised Ryuji to ¡®lend¡¯ him some money for the trip, but he doesn¡¯t seem to be in a rush to leave and I think it would be safer to keep him in the village for at least a day, just so he doesn¡¯t feel like we¡¯re kicking him out,¡± I said, immediately hating the suggestion.

    ¡°Lena,¡± my mom said, slowly pushing herself up off the floor. ¡°Why don¡¯t you leave all that to the adults?¡±

    ¡°I would. If I hadn¡¯t seen firsthand how useless you adults could be.¡± At the moment, my panic was too strong to maintain any sense of politeness. Thankfully, my mom didn¡¯t seem to notice or care about the casual insult. ¡°If dad seems to be handling Ryuji well, I¡¯ll let him take the reins, but from what I¡¯ve seen, letting anyone else handle the situation might just be the fastest way to commit suicide via Otherworlder.¡±

    My mom shook her head violently, grabbing my shoulders again. ¡°You mustn¡¯t get yourself any more involved with this. The more you expose yourself to Ryuji, the more he will come to fall for you.¡± She paused, letting go and biting her lip nervously. ¡°Although we shouldn¡¯t keep you away for too long. Distance does make the heart grow fonder.¡±

    I threw my hands up in frustration.

    ¡°Mom! I get it! I¡¯m not good with boys. I know I¡¯ve never had a boyfriend before. You¡¯ve been drilling that into my head for my entire life,¡± I said. It wasn¡¯t as bad as I might¡¯ve implied, but the way that my mom brought my non-existent love life up in random conversations did get on my nerves. I hadn¡¯t thought that it would be bad enough to interrupt in a life-or-death situation like the one we found ourselves in, but today had been full of surprises.

    ¡°Lena-¡°

    From the look in her eyes, I knew she was just going to say the same thing. I cut her off with a frustrated groan, as I pulled at my hair.

    ¡°Mom! This is serious,¡± I said. ¡°We need to focus on the village.¡±

    ¡°I care about you more than I do this village,¡± she snapped.

    ¡°I live in this village, mom! We all do! I¡¯m not in any more danger than anyone else here. Ryuji doesn¡¯t care at all about me.¡±

    I turned around before my mom could even open her mouth to reply.

    ¡°I¡¯ll prove it.¡±

    I vaguely heard my name being whimpered by my mom as I stalked down the hallway. I ignored her and walked across the house, approaching the door that led to the storefront where my dad and Ryuji were talking.

    When I opened the door, I was surprised to see my dad trying to kill Ryuji with his meat.

    Or at least that¡¯s what it looked like at first.

    The amount of free goods that my dad had piled into Ryuji¡¯s arms was absurd. It looked like Dad had taken a large canvas bag that was typically used to transport large carcasses, and had stuffed it with anything and everything he could find in his inventory. But even though the bag looked like it should¡¯ve crushed a man of Ryuji¡¯s stature, with it weighing about three times as much as he did, the Otherworlder was casually lifting the mass with one hand.

    My Dad¡¯s face was mostly expressionless, but his slightly wider eyes suggested that he was on the verge of passing out from fear. Ryuji, on the other hand, was looking up at his feat of strength with a sense of childish wonder.

    Neither of them had noticed me entering the room, but in my shock at Ryuji¡¯s display of strength, I hadn¡¯t had the sense to close the door gently. It was a heavy door, designed to keep the smells of the butchery and the house separate, so when it slammed shut behind me, my dad and Ryuji both looked towards me.

    My dad didn¡¯t seem to recognize me for a split second, but his eyes widened with fear at the sight of me, even more so than they already had been. Ryuji almost dropped the goods that my dad had given him, but caught it when he saw me.

    And he smiled.

    ¡°Hi Lena,¡± he said.

    It was at that moment that I internally apologized to my mom and said a silent prayer to the Gods, asking them to treat me well in the Aether when I died.

    I recognized that smile.

    It was the same smile that my dad got on his face when my mom snuck up behind him to give him a hug after a long day of work, the only time his expression didn¡¯t seem so stiff. It was the same smile that Bran got when Polly waved at him from across the road, giggling whenever he would trip over himself and fall flat on his face. It was the same smile that my dog would get before he started humping everything that moved, until one day he tried to hump a moving cart and got crushed underneath its wheels.

    Fuck.

    ¡°I forgot something,¡± I said, before opening the door that I came in from and ran down the hallway.

    It wasn¡¯t long before I ran into my mother¡¯s arms, shivering as I pushed myself into her chest. I didn¡¯t cry, even though I desperately wanted to. I felt too dry to summon any tears.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said.

    ¡°Shh, shh. I know.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t,¡± she said. ¡°We won¡¯t let him take you.¡±

    I shuddered in my mom¡¯s arms, recalling the gout of fire that Ryuji had so easily conjured from his palms. The way he could lift a horse¡¯s weight in meat without even straining. I tried to imagine my mom picking up a sword and trying to fight with that. I trusted my mom, but I wasn¡¯t blind to the truth of the situation.

    I whimpered.

 6. A Fathers Worries

    When Hal first heard of a confirmed Otherworlder sighting in his little village of Plainswood, he hadn¡¯t known what to think. At first, he¡¯d dismissed the Sherrif¡¯s son¡¯s claims as a prank, or perhaps the words of a gullible boy who had listened to Old Fran¡¯s ramblings for too long, even when he looked nervously up at him and told him that Lena was the one to find the Otherworlder and was currently escorting the boy around town.

    His first thought had actually been one of relief. He knew Lena well enough to know that she had a mischievous streak, one that she¡¯d gotten from her mother. While it was highly frowned upon to falsely claim an Otherworlder sighting, with the possibility of being fined heavily if you lived in a larger city, he didn¡¯t think it would be outside of Lena¡¯s comfort zone to try and prank her friend with such an outlandish claim.

    But when he saw the boy shivering, begging him to believe him, swearing on his mother¡¯s grave that he knew for a fact that the Otherworlder was real, Hal felt his blood freeze in his veins. He wasn¡¯t close to the boy, only knowing him as the Sherrif¡¯s son and Lena¡¯s childhood friend, but he knew him well enough to know that he would never invoke his mother¡¯s name so lightly.

    After telling his wife about the news, Hal stood in his shop, keeping an eye glued against the window, expecting Lena to come along at any moment.

    When he saw Lena walking back home, an unfamiliar boy following along with her, Hal braced himself, ready to play the part of a friendly butcher who just wanted to help out a weary traveler, but his heart almost stopped when he saw where the boy was looking.

    His first reaction as a father was to be furious. How dare a boy look at his daughter in that way.

    His second reaction was to be terrified.

    Otherworlders were notorious for many things, including their tendency to adopt Followers. Of course, this was one of the tamer things that an Otherworlder could do, considering the large-scale actions of an Otherworlder could mean the toppling of governments, the destruction of cities, and the murder of hundreds, or even thousands, but in that moment, Hal could only think that he would prefer dying if it meant that his daughter would be spared from the fate of being a Follower.

    A small part of him knew that some parents would be thrilled at the idea. A child becoming a Follower was technically a path for great success and riches. Not only did Followers of Otherworlders boast an exponential rate of growth in their talents and skills when ¡°partying up¡± with an Otherworlder, they were also given a handsome reward by the crown if they helped them mitigate the Otherworlder¡¯s destructive actions. While Hal knew that his own parents would¡¯ve been thrilled by the idea, he couldn¡¯t say the same.

    In his youth, Hal had read ¡°The Chronicles of a Witness¡±. It was a book written by a Follower of the Pestilence King since she was twelve. An autobiography.

    The first-hand experiences recorded in that book made Hal shudder, and the Pestilence King had been known to be one of the less temperamental Otherworlders that had spawned in Astranta. Eti, as well as two other Followers, had been subjected to witness a number of disturbing acts that the Otherworlder had committed.

    The Pestilence King was dead now, and Eti was still alive and ridiculously rich. She¡¯d been paid out by the Crown for her help in mitigating the damage done by the Pestilence King, and had the royalties from the book that she¡¯d written based on her experiences, but she had been quick to fall into a deep depression afterwards. After bearing the responsibility of handling an Otherworlder since she was only twelve years old, her sense of reality had been severely twisted and she¡¯d never been able to properly reintegrate herself into society. Hal didn¡¯t blame her. After seeing the aftereffects of the Pestilence King¡¯s actions on society, it wasn¡¯t surprising to think that she would want to hide away from it, if only to avoid the guilt of what she could have prevented.

    Hal shuddered to think that that could be the fate of his daughter. He would do anything in his power to prevent it.

    As Hal watched Ryuji¡¯s reaction to Lena bursting awkwardly into the room, and leaving just as quickly, Hal grimaced as the lovestruck expression on the powerful being refused to fade. He had to nip that in the bud as early as he possibly could.

    ¡°I apologize for my daughter,¡± he said. ¡°She can be quite rude at times.¡±

    Ryuji frowned at that. ¡°Really? She seemed pretty nice to me. Are you sure you should be talking about your daughter like that?¡±

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    Hal felt sweat drop down his brow. He wasn¡¯t sure whether the Otherworlder was threatening him, but it seemed like he was already infatuated to the point where he would defend her honor. That wasn¡¯t good.

    ¡°She is my daughter,¡± Hal said, with a shrug. He wasn¡¯t sure whether his attempts at being nonchalant were succeeding. ¡°I love her, but I am not blind to our flaws.¡±

    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t notice anything bad about her,¡± Ryuji insisted. ¡°She just seems a bit shy.¡±

    Hal was surprised the gritting of his teeth wasn¡¯t more audible in the quiet room. ¡°Perhaps. Say, traveller. May I ask you a question?¡±

    Unfortunately, Hal wasn¡¯t a subtle man. The change in subject wasn¡¯t smooth at all, but he could only hope that Ryuji wouldn¡¯t call him out on it. Ryuji raised an eyebrow, not oblivious to the sudden change in topic, but seeming to be willing to play along.

    ¡°Sure,¡± he said.

    ¡°Do you have a dream?¡±

    Ryuji¡¯s narrowed eyes softened, taken aback in confusion.

    ¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°What is it that you want to do in this world?¡± Hal asked, wondering if that was too direct. Though a normal person would probably interpret ¡®in this world¡¯ a little more generally, but he was dealing with an Otherworlder who could take that in a more literal sense. Hal hadn¡¯t realized that until he said it out loud, but thankfully Ryuji didn¡¯t seem to take notice, focusing more on the question itself.

    ¡°Well, I want to become an adventurer for sure,¡± he said. ¡°Bit disappointing to find out that guilds don¡¯t really exist in this wo- country, but I guess that¡¯s not too big of a deal.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Hal lied. ¡°And what exactly does an adventurer do?¡±

    ¡°They¡­ do adventurer things,¡± Ryuji said, taken aback by the questions. ¡°Dungeons, monster hunting, questing. You start off with killing slimes and goblins, and eventually escalate to hunting dragons and demon kings. Isn¡¯t that pretty normal here?¡±

    Hal paled. Though Ryuji seemed to be quite docile at first glance, it seemed that the Otherworlder had a murderous streak. Hal had no idea why anyone would want to kill slimes without harvesting them, and though Goblin bandits were sometimes a problem in the more southern parts of the country, the Goblins in the general area were no problem, with the local forest tribe even being friendly enough to establish a good trading relationship with Plainswood and some of the surrounding villages. He wondered if he should send out a messenger to them, to warn them of the murderous and possibly racist Otherworlder. He decided not to pay attention to the claim of dragons and demon kings, not feeling ready to even try to process that.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good dream,¡± Hal lied, his mind too occupied to think of a better response. He was too busy thinking about what Ryuji¡¯s dreams meant.

    While nobody could ever claim that Otherworlders were straightforward, there were a few sets of rules that they seemed to share. The most obvious rule amongst them was that Otherworlders, without exception, were extremely difficult to kill. This often meant that they were incredibly talented in magic and combat, to the point where you would need to bring an army to even consider dealing any amount of damage to them, but even the ¡®weaker¡¯ Otherworlders tended to have some sort of gimmick that ensured they would shrug off any attempts at murder and assassination. This was what made them so dangerous, and why no governing body would attempt brute force to get rid of them, as they would risk their own destruction in the attempt.

    The second rule that Otherworlders seemed to share was that most of them had a gimmick to their strengths. Strangely enough, it was easy to guess what an Otherworlder¡¯s powers would be if you knew their goals.

    The most common example used was that if an Otherworlder¡¯s goal was to become a great healer, they would likely have some sort of biological power, like the Pestilence King¡¯s ability to manipulate living material on a whim. It was a hotly debated topic on whether the Otherworlder¡¯s power was shaped by their desires or if it was the other way around, but the result was often the same.

    Hal knew he wasn¡¯t a well educated man, but the reason why he had asked Ryuji that specific question, other than to shift the conversation away from Lena, was to see if there was anything he could figure out about the Otherworlder. What he would do with that information, he didn¡¯t know. Though the crown paid handsomely for any information about Otherworlders, all he really cared about was keeping Lena safe, money be damned.

    So why did he feel like this was important, somehow?

    Hal realized, with a start, that he¡¯d been lost in thought for a few seconds, plunging his store into an awkward silence. Fortunately, Ryuji didn¡¯t seem to notice. He was gazing off into space instead.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m going to have so much fun here. It won¡¯t be anything like it was back home.¡±

    Hal had no idea what to say to that, so he stayed quiet. He had planned to try and dig into Ryuji¡¯s motives a bit more, to try and figure out what his power would be, but he didn¡¯t see any reason to drag him out of the trance-like daze he seemed to be in at the moment. He still felt uncomfortable about having an Otherworlder inside his home, so close to his wife and child, but he would take any wins he could get.

    At the very least, it seemed like Ryuji was no longer thinking about his daughter.

    ¡°Goblins, huh,¡± Ryuji said wistfully. ¡°That would be a pretty good start. I wonder if this village has a goblin problem.¡±

    Hal opened his mouth, as if to deny the idea, but shut it quickly, not wanting to disturb him. For some reason, it felt like a bad decision not to say something, but his survival instinct told him not to draw any more attention to himself than was necessary.

    Hal felt his legs shaking underneath him.

 7. Tutorial: Fight the (???)!

    When I felt the ground shaking underneath me, my first thought was that it was the Otherworlder that caused it.

    With my head was still buried in my mom¡¯s chest, I felt her tense slightly when the tremors started, no doubt thinking the same thing that I was.

    ¡°Do you think-¡°

    ¡°Shh,¡± she said, muffling my words with a gentle squeeze that pulled me closer. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just a little earthquake. It¡¯s not so bad.¡±

    I decided to put my trust in her, just because I desperately wanted it to be true. To be fair, it wasn¡¯t all blind faith. She was right that it wasn¡¯t so bad. We¡¯d definitely had worse earthquakes before. If I wasn¡¯t laying down, mostly sprawled against the floor I wasn¡¯t sure I would¡¯ve noticed. Though there was a quiet rumble in the air, the tremors were weak enough that none of the furniture was rattling.

    I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

    I let out another quiet sigh of relief.

    And another.

    Eventually, I was vaguely aware that I was hyperventilating, as if sighing rapidly could somehow summon my relief through brute force.

    Why weren¡¯t the tremors fading?

    Was that screaming I heard in the distance?

    ¡°Mom?¡± I didn¡¯t want to ask any questions, dreading what the answers would be.

    My mom looked nervously between me and the door that dad was standing behind. Neither of us had any doubt that the cause of whatever was happening was currently in a conversation with my dad, but at the very least, he didn¡¯t seem to be in immediate danger. Whatever was happening seemed to be happening far away from us.

    ¡°Should we check to see what¡¯s going on?¡± I asked, hating the question as soon as it left my mouth.

    My mom bit her lip, glancing between the door to the storefront and the backdoor leading outside.

    ¡°Maybe we should let the others deal with it,¡± she said.

    I wanted to agree with her, but thinking back on how Bran had abandoned me and how useless the Mayor had been, I didn¡¯t have much faith in the idea. Besides, if this was really something that Ryuji was doing, it was pretty likely that nobody in the village would actually be able to do anything about it. The most that we could probably do was to run.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to take a look,¡± I said, not wanting to get caught unaware if possible.

    ¡°Lena,¡± my mom hissed, trying to grip me closer. Fortunately, her arms were too shaky and weak to hold me down properly. ¡°It could be dangerous.¡±

    ¡°I just want to check out what¡¯s going on,¡± I said, easily brushing her hands away and standing up. ¡°I¡¯ll be safe. I promise.¡±

    I didn¡¯t wait for her response as I went to the back door and opened it.

    Thankfully, the scene I saw outside wasn¡¯t nearly as bad as my paranoia would have expected. The village seemed mostly untouched, and even though the rumbling wasn¡¯t getting any weaker, the screaming seemed to be quieting down. At first, I couldn¡¯t help but assume the worst, that the screaming was fading because people were dying, but I could still hear people shouting loudly across the village. While they didn¡¯t seem to be happy, it didn¡¯t seem like the village was devolving into a full-fledged panic

    I looked around for any sort of explanation as to what was going on, and it seemed that many of the neighbours were doing the same. The street that had been so empty while I was leading Ryuji through it was slowly filling up with curious faces, peeking out of their barred windows to see what was going on. I saw more than a few rucksacks on their backs, stuffed with whatever they could have packed in the short time they¡¯d heard of Ryuji¡¯s arrival.

    With more people seeming to feel comfortable enough to explore the area, I stepped out of my doorway, ignoring my mom¡¯s protests not to leave.

    I didn¡¯t need to go far to see what was causing all the commotion. A large ethereal panel hung in the air, like a pane of blue glass floating impossibly high in the sky. On it was a sentence, written in a language I shouldn¡¯t have recognized.

    But I did.

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%; text-align: center">Event on standby. Event will proceed after the [HERO] has accepted the relevant quest.</td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    I had no idea what that meant, but it was clear that those parameters had something to do with Ryuji. But why could I understand what those words meant?

    My thoughts were interrupted when I realized someone was calling my name.

    I looked up to see Bran waving nervously at me. He stopped yelling when he noticed me staring at him and jogged up to me.

    ¡°Bran. What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I was hoping you could tell me,¡± he replied.

    ¡°Why me?¡± I asked. Just because I¡¯d seen the Otherworlder first, didn¡¯t mean I was an expert on him. I had no idea why Bran seemed to assume I did.

    ¡°Because it obviously has something to do with the Otherworlder,¡± he said, anyways. ¡°Do you happen to know if he¡¯s had any interactions with Goblins?¡±

    Whatever I¡¯d been expecting, it hadn¡¯t been that. I guess if it had to do with Goblins, I was closer to the local tribe than most of the other villagers, on account of my magic training with them. But what did Goblins have to do with the situation? ¡°No?¡± I said, feeling too uncertain to give a confident answer. ¡°I pretty much stumbled across him as soon as he fell from the sky. I don¡¯t think he had any time to do anything else in the forest.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Bran said, obviously unhappy about the answer. ¡°Then what are those Goblins doing, stamping around outside the village? You think it¡¯s a coincidence?¡±

    I stared at him blankly. The Forest Goblins were peaceful and I didn¡¯t think they had any reason to want to gather around the village. It had been a while since I¡¯d talked to Raine, but the last time we¡¯d talked, her tribe seemed to still be amicable to us. Then again, I wasn¡¯t the village¡¯s ambassador and Raine wasn¡¯t the ambassador for her tribe either. It¡¯s possible that she just hadn¡¯t been aware.

    But regardless of if there was any animosity towards us, there was no way that their arrival and the Otherworlder weren¡¯t related.

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it isn¡¯t,¡± I said, my voice deadpan. ¡°You think that freaky blue panel in the sky is just for show? No way the Otherworlder doesn¡¯t have something to do with this.¡±

    Bran just stared at me, his brow knitting together in confusion. ¡°What blue panel?¡±

    Before I could judge whether Bran was just fucking with me or not, I saw the panel twitch in the corner of my eye. The foreign letters twisted around into another indecipherable combination of unfamiliar symbols, but once again, I could somehow understand what they meant.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%; text-align: center">Quest accepted. Initiating event in 10¡­</td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    My eyes widened as the symbol shifted.

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%; text-align: center">9¡­</td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    It was a countdown.

    ¡°Bran,¡± I said.

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%; text-align: center">8¡­</td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    ¡°We need to get everyone to safety.¡±

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%; text-align: center">7¡­</td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    ¡°Why? What¡¯s going on?¡±

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%; text-align: center">6¡­</td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    ¡°We don¡¯t have time!¡±

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%; text-align: center">5¡­</td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    ¡°All I know is that something bad is going to happen.¡±

    As I said that, the panel disappeared, I looked around frantically, trying to figure out where it could have gone.

    ¡°What¡¯s going to happen?¡± Bran asked, looking like he was about ready to run.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± I said.

    As if summoned by my statement, I heard the faint sound of a door slamming open behind me.

    ¡°Oh hey, Lena,¡± Ryuji said. His smile instantly vanished when he noticed who was standing beside me. ¡°Hey, is this guy bothering you ag-¡°

    He was cut off by a bloodcurdling scream from the other edge of town.

    That scream cut through the air, silencing everything. But it was only for a second. A loud howl sounded out in the air, echoed by a dozen voices. It was a miracle that I could even hear the Sherrif¡¯s voice shouting over the sound.

    ¡°We¡¯re under attack!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Bran said, echoing my thoughts.

    I¡¯d never witnessed an actual battle before. I don¡¯t think that was a very uncommon sentiment. Sure, I¡¯d seen an odd fight or two when there was a dispute between villagers, but nothing that could be described as anything more than a scuffle.

    But even though I¡¯d never heard it before, the sound of battle was unmistakeable.

    The harsh sounds of steel hitting stone echoed in the air, accompanied by war cries and screams of pain. The Sheriff tried to shout orders over it all, but the noise drowned out his voice.

    ¡°Dad,¡± Bran whispered, seemingly frozen in place. I wasn¡¯t sure whether it was shock that kept him rooted in place or fear.

    Ryuji, on the other hand, seemed to have no problem with running towards the source of the noise. When I glimpsed at his face, I saw a giddy and childlike expression, before a shockwave of air followed in his wake, forcing me to shut my eyes so I wouldn¡¯t get dust in them.

    When I opened my eyes again, I noticed him fading quickly in the distance but just barely. Moving impossibly fast, it was easier for me to track the large clouds of dust that he kicked up in his wake as he sprinted down the single road that cut through the village. Rafters and entire houses shook in his wake, but thankfully he wasn¡¯t as destructive as I knew he could be.

    ¡°Should we stop him?¡±

    It was the absurdity of the question that makes me think I just imagined it for a moment.

    ¡°How do you suggest we do that?¡± I asked, staring at the spot where he used to be.

    Bran bit his lower lip nervously. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he said. ¡°But don¡¯t you think we should at least try something?¡±

    We? Why was it that Bran automatically included me in that suggestion? Did the situation really need me to attend to it?

    ¡°Leave Lena¡¯s home alone, you monsters!¡±

    Ryuji¡¯s voice was somehow audible through all the noise, ringing loudly through the air.

    I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. When I opened them, I tried to ignore the stares from my neighbours and from Bran.

    ¡°Fine,¡± I said, too used to the the now constant state of dread I found myself in to give a stronger reaction. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    When I arrived at the scene of the battle, I hadn¡¯t expected that I would be able to do anything. Though a small part of that assumption had been because I knew I knew next to nothing about fighting, the main reason why I assumed I would be useless is because I didn¡¯t think there would be a battle by the time I arrived.

    I¡¯d seen firsthand what Ryuji could do, and with the memory of his fireball spell still fresh in my mind, I hadn¡¯t expected there to even be a battlefield.

    It was why I was confused by the sight of Ryuji retreating as he dodged a strike from a creature that was most definitely not a Forest Goblin.

    At a glance, the creature that Bran was fighting did have similar features to a Goblin, but its skin was a void of darkness that seemed to warp the light into it. The way that it refused to reflect any light made it difficult to even recognize it as a three dimensional creature, giving off the illusion that Ryuji and the villagers were fighting nothing more than moving silhouettes. Though I¡¯d never seen one take the shape of a Goblin before, it was obvious what it was.

    A creature of pure Aether. A demon.

    I didn¡¯t believe my eyes at first. I¡¯d never seen a demon with such a strong outline, most of them being nothing more than clouds of black mist that could pass through most solid objects due to their lack of mass. It didn¡¯t make them any more dangerous, but it did mean that they were more sentient.

    I¡¯d also never seen so many demons in one spot before. I knew that it was technically possible, but we didn¡¯t live near any rips in the Aether that would be big enough for so many demons to appear.

    My eyes widened when I saw another faux-Goblin swipe at Ryuji with a shadowy club. Were these demons working together?

    ¡°Dad!¡± Bran said, more concerned with making sure his dad was safe than he was with watching Ryuji¡¯s fight.

    I turned to where Bran was staring and was surprised to see the Sheriff standing at the sidelines, with his sword gripped in his hands and a deep frown on his face, his eyes locked onto the fight that Ryuji was having with the demons. I followed Bran as he jogged towards his father.

    ¡°Dad!¡± Bran said. ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    The Sheriff didn¡¯t even turn to Bran as he spoke. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Just confused,¡± he said, keeping his eyes fixed on the fight. It that even if he was content not to join in, his body was tense, poised for a potential fight.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Bran asked. ¡°Why are the Goblins attacking?¡±

    I raised an eyebrow. Goblins?

    ¡°I know just as much as you do,¡± the Sheriff said, not correcting Bran¡¯s mistake. ¡°I¡¯m just hoping that the Otherworlder won¡¯t brutalize them too badly before they can explain what¡¯s going on.¡±

    I opened my mouth, about to ask them what they were talking about, when an eerie inhuman screech sounded out from the battlefield.

    As if they were growing frustrated with the way that Ryuji was casually dodging away from their attacks, two of the six demons fighting Ryuji let out a shrill battle cry before rushing forward with their shadowy weapons raised. Before they could hit him, Ryuji held out a palm towards them.

    ¡°Enough playing around. Time to get serious,¡± he said, his words somehow clearly audible despite the whispered tone of his voice. ¡°Flame blade!¡±

    A crimson flame erupted from his hands, and my first instinct was to flinch away, expecting another pillar of flame to incinerate the area around him, but it was more contained this time. In an impossible feat, the flame morphed, defying the laws of nature and becoming contained in the unwavering shape of a blade.

    Though I was awestruck by the sight, the demons didn¡¯t seem to care at all, continuing their charge forward, their blank faces giving nothing away.

    Ryuji gave them a lopsided smirk.

    ¡°Heh, too slow.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know why he was talking in a fight, but he was clearly powerful enough to get away with it. With a casual sweep of his magic, he cut through both of the demons charging at him. For a moment, the world seemed to freeze, the two demons standing there mid swing, stopped in their tracks. Then Ryuji flicked his magical blade to the side, and the upper halves of the demons slid to the side and fell to the floor.

    ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡± Ryuji asked.

    I don¡¯t know why I felt the sudden urge to close my eyes bury my face in my hands, but I did anyways.

    ¡°Shit,¡± the Sheriff said, his face twisting at the sight.

    Bran, for some reason, bent over and threw up.

    I yelped and jumped away before the puddle could reach my shoes.

    The Sheriff winced and stepped forward to place himself between Bran and the fight.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to see that, kids,¡± the Sheriff said. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be a sight that anyone has to see. They were good folks.¡±

    I stared at him, confused at what exactly he was talking about. I understood that Ryuji¡¯s abilities were frightening and disturbing, but I got the feeling that the Sheriff was talking about something else. The Sheriff¡¯s body was wide enough that it blocked my entire view from the battlefield unless I walked around him, but I could still see the sparks and flashes of magic as Ryuji yelled.

    ¡°Fireball! Flame Barrage! Ember Storm!¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about, Sir?¡± It¡¯s a little difficult to ignore Ryuji shouting out the names of his attacks like a kid, but I managed to ignore it. I was infinitely more curious about why the Sheriff seemed to care so much about the demons dying. ¡°He¡¯s just exterminating some demons, right?¡±

    The Sheriff stared blankly back at me, and I had no idea why he looked so confused, but before he could speak, his eyes widened imperceptibly as he seemed to notice something appearing behind me.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± he said, reaching out to grab me.

    I wasn¡¯t a warrior. I was pretty active for a girl my age, but that didn¡¯t mean I had the reflexes or the survival instincts to know how to handle myself in a fight. That was especially true when I didn¡¯t realize I was in a fight in the first place.

    I turned around, following the Sheriff¡¯s eyes to see why he looked so worried, and was met with the sight of a demon standing over me. I had no idea how it had gotten there without me or the Sheriff noticing, but I could only stare wide-eyed as its shadowy club swung towards my head.

 8. A Hero Comes to the Rescue

    I stared at the club swinging for my head.

    I stared for about ten seconds before identifying exactly what it was.

    ¡°Argh!¡± I screamed. I stumbled backwards and bumped into the Sheriff¡¯s chest before falling to the ground. My hand slipped on something slick on the ground as I tried to scramble away, but I paid it no mind. I was more interested in surviving.

    It was only after a few seconds that I realized that the demon didn¡¯t actually seem to be interested in hurting me.

    Though my heart was still pounding wildly in my chest, I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little curious at what the demon was doing. It was simply frozen in place, with its weapon mere inches away from where my head had been a second ago. I knew that demons had an alien thought process, relative to any of the Races that inhabited the world, but they were easy to predict in their desire to destroy life.

    ¡°What the hell?¡± I muttered to myself. I looked to the Sheriff, as if to ask for an explanation.

    ¡°What the hell?¡± I repeated.

    The Sheriff¡¯s arm was outstretched towards the spot where I¡¯d been. Diving towards it even. His entire body was somehow balanced on his toes, looking more like he was floating than anything else.

    I don¡¯t think it was appropriate for me to do, but I poked him in the shoulder, to see if he would fall.

    He didn¡¯t.

    I looked around and saw the rest of the world similarly frozen in place. A few feet away, Bran was leaning against a wall, stuck in a pose where he was trying to wipe the residual vomit from his lips. He seemed to be unaware of what was going on, even though I could see some of the braver villagers frozen in gasps of horror, with half of them looking at the demon that was about to attack me, and the rest looking at Ryuji fighting further in the distance.

    ¡°Am I dead?¡± I wasn¡¯t sure why I said that out loud. Maybe I would hope someone would respond and prove me wrong.

    No one did.

    I looked again at the silhouette of the demon attacking me. It was difficult to decipher from this angle, but it looked like the shadowy weapon it was holding was a malicious looking axe. I couldn¡¯t tell how sharp it was, nor how heavy something like a weapon made purely of Aether would be, but I knew it was probably more than dangerous enough to kill me if I touched it.

    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    So why was I still alive? What was going on?

    ¡°Am I dead?¡± I asked again.

    Again, nobody responded.

    I sighed. It felt strange. It felt like I should probably be having a stronger reaction to seeing my entire village inexplicably frozen in time right before my near death, but I just felt too drained to do anything but sigh. I was about to put my face in my hands, just to see if any tears would come out, but I finally noticed what I¡¯d slipped in during my initial scramble away from the demon.

    I scrunched my face with disgust and walked a few feet over to wipe my hand on Bran¡¯s shirt, returning his vomit to him.

    I felt bad about it immediately after, but finally being able to release some of my pent-up frustration was such a good feeling that I didn¡¯t care. Sorry Bran.

    It was difficult not to assume that I was dead. There wasn¡¯t much of anything else this could be. Didn¡¯t a lot of people say that time seems to slow down when you¡¯re about to die? Well, those stories all came from people who¡¯d clearly survived their near death experiences, so maybe actually dying made it so time stopped altogether.

    But it all felt too real.

    I tried not to look at the other obvious answer. It was a reasonable thing for me to assume that Ryuji had somehow caused all of this to happen, but somehow, the thought that Ryuji had the power to freeze time so easily was more terrifying than the possibility that I was dead.

    I looked anyways.

    Ryuji was frozen in place too.

    I blinked a few times, not sure if my eyes were working properly. I rubbed them too, wincing when I realized that my hands were still sticky with Bran¡¯s vomit. I ignored it in favour of confirming whether my eyes were working properly or not.

    They were, but before I could start to hyperventilate, I noticed the blue panel floating in front of Ryuji¡¯s face. It was translucent enough for me to see the strange symbols shining through from the other side. Even with the message backwards, I could still somehow understand what it meant.

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">

    <tbody>

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    <td style="width: 98.9111%; text-align: center">

    Tutorial: Valiant White Knight

    By partying with your love interest, you unlocked the skill [Valiant White Knight]! Under certain conditions, this skill allows the [HERO] to rush to the side of their bonded party members, protecting them from certain death.

    Whenever a bonded party member shouts [Save me] the [HERO] may activate this ability to instantly teleport to the party member¡¯s side.

    MP cost: 0

    Cooldown: 30 days

    </td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    I felt my mind go blank. There was just a bit too much to process in that one panel that I couldn¡¯t help but sit down to press my face into my hands. I didn¡¯t even care about Bran¡¯s vomit at this point.

    No tears came out, no matter how much I wanted them to.

    Love interest? Party member?

    I had no idea where to even begin.

    So I didn¡¯t.

    I went home.

 9. A Hero Comes to the Rescueâ€¦ Eventually

    The walk didn¡¯t give me as much time to calm down as I¡¯d hoped, with my house being only about ten minutes away from the battle, but the time to myself was relieving regardless. I think it had only been about an hour since I stumbled upon Ryuji, but it felt like it had been forever.

    Forever since I had a moment of peace.

    I guess it wasn¡¯t really that peaceful, considering I was stuck in some sort of weird time spell, but it was the best I¡¯d gotten in a while so I couldn¡¯t afford to be too picky.

    ¡°Mom, I¡¯m back,¡± I said, casually opening the door, as if I was just returning from a normal day.

    I flinched when I realized she was standing right behind the door, when I slammed it in her face. She didn¡¯t react, frozen in time.

    ¡°Shit, sorry mom,¡± I said anyways, even though I had no idea if she would feel it when time unfroze.

    The sudden thought of whether time would ever unfreeze crept into my mind, but I brushed it away, not prepared to deal with a potential existential crisis just yet.

    I closed my eyes and sighed heavily, as if the thoughts would leave me along with my breath.

    When I opened my eyes again, I yelped when I saw that a blue panel had inexplicably appeared right in front of my face.

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%">

    Tutorial: Valiant White Knight

    By partying with his love interest, the [HERO] has unlocked the skill [Valiant White Knight]! Under certain conditions, this skill allows the [HERO] to rush to the side of their bonded party members, protecting them from certain death.

    Whenever a bonded party member shouts [Save me] the [HERO] may activate this ability to instantly teleport to the party member¡¯s side.

    MP cost: 0

    Cooldown: 30 days

    </td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    I looked nervously around myself. The only time I saw these things, something bad happened, and I wasn¡¯t confident enough to think that this time would be the exception. When a few seconds passed and nothing happened, I was still a little paranoid of the idea that the panel would burst into flames and incinerate both me and my mom, but nothing happened. Eventually, I mustered the courage to move away from the panel.

    When it didn¡¯t set me ablaze out of protest, I let out a breath I didn¡¯t know I was holding.

    I walked towards my room, intent on taking a quick nap. Maybe if I fell asleep, I¡¯d actually come to wake up and realize this was all a dream. It was a long shot, but one I was willing to try.

    As I crawled into bed, I realized that it would be difficult. Though I was definitely tired, my heart was pounding with anxiety and my mind kept turning back to the day¡¯s events, leading up to and including the fact that everyone except for me seemed to be frozen in time for some reason.

    I wasn¡¯t sure I could ignore that well enough to fall asleep, but when the blue panel appeared in front of me, floating just above my head as I laid down in my bed, trying and failing to sleep, I could tell my anxiety would be the least of my worries.

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%">

    Tutorial: Valiant White Knight

    The [HERO] has unlocked a skill that allows them to protect their party members from certain death.

    Whenever a bonded party member shouts [Save me] the [HERO] may activate this ability to instantly teleport to the party member¡¯s side.

    This skill is currently available for use.

    </td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    Did the text change? I wasn¡¯t sure since technically, I couldn¡¯t actually read what was on the panel. Maybe it was just my interpretation of the text that had changed. After all, who was to say that I wasn¡¯t just imagining that I could read these strange symbols anyways? Who could say whether I wasn¡¯t just hallucinating? Who could say I wasn¡¯t just imagining all of this, and that this wasn¡¯t all just a dream?

    I ignored the way that the blue panel pulsed with light, as if reacting to my thoughts. Unfortunately for the panel, that only supported the idea that it was just a figment of my imagination. The alternative was that it could somehow see into my mind, and wasn¡¯t that just horrifying?

    So I did what I could.

    I closed my eyes and willed myself to sleep.

    After a few minutes of silence, I gave up, though not for lack of trying. I actually managed to make it close to unconsciousness a few times, using my will to ignore my invasive thoughts and my eyelids to shut out the light of the mid-afternoon sun and the glow of the blue panel, but I was rudely pulled from my sleep each time by the chatter of the birds outside.

    I grumbled as I stuffed my fingers in my ears, but I knew it was doomed. There was a reason why I didn¡¯t take afternoon naps during the springtime. The songs of the birds in heat were always especially loud at this time of day, and only the most determined of people could sleep through them.

    Maybe on a normal day, I would¡¯ve been able to ignore them, but the combination of things that demanded my attention was just too much, and I lurched forward and out of bed, recognizing that I wouldn¡¯t be getting any real sleep.

    I tried to ignore the blue panels of light that had spawned in front of me, but I wasn¡¯t actually reading the symbols in the first place. Apparently, whatever magic was injecting the meaning of the words directly into my brain didn¡¯t seem to care if I would¡¯ve had the time to read it. A glance was apparently enough.

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%">

    Tip: Following Instructions

    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    Not all instructions have to be directly stated! Sometimes, instructions can be implied!

    </td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%; text-align: center">

    Tutorial: Valiant White Knight

    Whenever a bonded party member shouts [Save me] the [HERO] may activate this ability to save them from certain death.

    This skill may be used right now.

    </td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    I kept my face as neutral as I possibly could. I think I managed to succeed, but if the panel could read my thoughts, it was pointless.

    Honestly, I didn¡¯t know what to think. I was so shell-shocked at this point that I didn¡¯t have the energy to react, so I was surprised when I felt a surge of annoyance at whatever the hell the blue panel was. Was it a good idea to get annoyed at the possibly omniscient object that seemingly had the power to subdue an Otherworlder like Ryuji? Probably not, but it was pure spite that drove me to punch the panel.

    My fist went right through it with no resistance.

    I grumbled in response, half disappointed that I wasn¡¯t able to touch it half glad that it hadn¡¯t incinerated me on contact. Thankfully, now that I knew it was incorporeal and seemingly harmless, I closed my eyes.

    Unfortunately, those birds were still singing.

    Usually, I wouldn¡¯t really care about something as benign as birds just being birds, but I was at my breaking point.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± I shouted. ¡°Shut up, shut up, shut up!¡±

    I thought I heard a few startled squawks, but I knew that must have been my imagination. My voice wasn¡¯t really all that loud, and the birds were used to the humans to the point where nothing but thrown rocks would bother them. Even so, the shouting alone was a great relief.

    I don¡¯t think I¡¯d ever shouted like that before in my life, not that I¡¯d ever felt the need. It felt surprisingly good to yell at the top of my lungs, not that I¡¯d ever do that normally. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that time was frozen, I probably would have felt too embarrassed to shout at those damn birds.

    ¡­

    It took me a second to figure out why that thought bothered me so much. When I finally did, I rushed out of my room, and towards the back of the house.

    ¡°Mom?¡± I shouted.

    My mom had her back turned to me, but I could easily tell that she was still frozen in place. Even though there were birds chirping outside.

    The blue panels reappeared in front of me.

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%">

    Tip: Tutorial Events

    While Tutorial Events may temporarily pause the actions of any [Players] and [NPCs], the in-game clock will still progress. Any time based status effects, such as hunger and thirst, will progress as normal while the Tutorial Event occurs.

    </td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%">

    Tutorial: Valiant White Knight

    A bonded party member may shout [Save me] to activate the effects of [Valiant White Knight].

    </td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    Though I couldn¡¯t begin to wrap my head around half the things that the panel was saying, it was clear that the panel was trying to tell me that I couldn¡¯t just stay in this odd state of frozen time forever. Even if I hadn¡¯t realized it a few seconds before the blue panels told me, the blue panels made it obvious.

    Plus, the specific wording it used worried me. Was it trying to threaten me by holding the lives of the villagers as a hostage?

    My eyes narrowed as the symbols on the first blue panel shifted imperceptibly, subtle enough that I might not have noticed if it were for the fact that I wasn¡¯t actually reading the words on the panel. I was just understanding them, and the spontaneous shift of my understanding was a lot more jarring than seeing the symbols merge quietly into each other was.

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%">

    Tip: Tutorial Events

    While Tutorial Events may temporarily pause the actions of any [Players] and [NPCs], the in-game clock will still progress. Any time based status effects will progress as normal while the Tutorial Event occurs.

    </td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    I didn¡¯t know exactly why the mentions of hunger and thirst had disappeared, but I assumed the panels hadn¡¯t meant to threaten me, and that they were trying to pretend like it had never happened. It also pretty much confirmed that the panels could read my thoughts, but that wasn¡¯t as much of a shock as I assumed it would be. The fact that it could easily freeze the people in this village, one of them being an all-powerful Otherworlder, was a feat of much greater power, but I couldn¡¯t help but feel terrified that something was invading my most personal thoughts.

    But the stress of the day and the deep emotional exhaustion I felt, dulled that feeling letting my spite shine through instead.

    Fuck you.

    I hoped it read that thought loud and clear.

    The blue panels didn¡¯t change, though I did think it wavered slightly. Probably my imagination.

    Staring at the lower panel, I let out a deep sigh and walked out of the house, making my way back to the site of the battle.

    As I sat back down, underneath the path of the shadow weapon¡¯s swing, I¡¯m not ashamed to admit that the thought of leaving the villagers to die did cross my mind at one point. Unfortunately, just like how it had caused me to get stuck in this damn situation in the first place, my conscience couldn¡¯t let me kill my friends and family just to escape the role of being Ryuji¡¯s follower.

    I knew what would happen after this. Once I did what the damn panels wanted me to, Ryuji would save me and defeat the rest of the demons. The Mayor would dip into the village¡¯s emergency funds to give him a reward for saving the village, the demons being a convenient excuse to give him the funds necessary for basic survival, and send him off on his way to the nearest city, where a trained Crown Official would take Ryuji in and handle him from there.

    But before Ryuji would go, he would ask me to come with him.

    It was a common theme in many horror stories told by parents to keep their children in line. Do your chores or a big bad Otherworlder will take you as his Follower. Eat your vegetables or the Otherworlder will want to be your friend. Stuff like that.

    While a lot of Otherworlders were notorious for ¡°taking¡± Followers, the reason why they were called Followers instead of Abductees was because most Followers often had a ¡°choice¡± in whether they would follow the Otherworlder or not.

    In practice, it was incredibly difficult to turn down an offer from a person who could easily kill you and destroy your entire country on a whim, but there were ways to get around it, with the most common ones being to fake your own death. Claiming that you had an illness or family obligations wasn¡¯t recommended in most cases, since an Otherworlder might be inclined to insert themselves into your life with an even stronger persistence, but it could sometimes work.

    But I wasn¡¯t sure if I had a choice in the matter. Ryuji had a power that he obviously didn¡¯t have complete control over, and even if he did, it was clearly influenceable by outside parties. AKA me.

    I had the power to unfreeze my village and save them from slow death by starvation. Would Ryuji¡¯s power have frozen the village if I wasn¡¯t there in the first place? Possibly not. Would it happen in the future if I didn¡¯t follow along with Ryuji? Again, possibly not, but I didn¡¯t think I would be able to live with myself if I didn¡¯t follow Ryuji to keep an eye on him, knowing that I had the ability to dampen his destruction for some reason.

    There was, of course, the option of faking my own death and just hoping that this would never happen again, but once again, the annoying little voice at the back of my head was just a little bit too loud to ignore.

    I sighed. I wondered if there was a way to get my conscience surgically removed.

    I took one last glance at the demon looming over me, mid swing. I was aware that if I managed to unfreeze everyone, but the panels were lying and Ryuji didn¡¯t save me, the weapon hitting my head would be guaranteed to kill me.

    I wasn¡¯t sure whether I would prefer that fate to becoming Ryuji¡¯s Follower, so I shrugged.

    After a harrowing day, my voice was hoarse and I had no more energy in me to spare, but the blue panels had never said anything about emotion.

    With my voice flat and my expression flatter, I just muttered under my breath.

    ¡°Save me.¡±

 10. The Final Step: Acceptance

    The burst of sound was what surprised me the most. Though the world hadn¡¯t been silent while everyone else had been frozen, the amount of screaming, shouting, and howling that erupted in an instant was enough to make me flinch.

    The second thing that surprised me almost as much was the shadow that immediately fell over me as soon as time resumed. Looking up, I was no longer staring a swinging weapon as it hurtled down at my face, but my vision was blocked instead by the strange clothes that the Otherworlder wore.

    His flame blade locked against the demon¡¯s own, which made no sense since I¡¯d seen him cut through the other two demons already, and their weapons were made of the same Aether as their bodies. He looked back at me with an awkward grin.

    ¡°Are you alright, Lena?¡±

    I stared at him. For the first time since I¡¯d met him, I realized that he looked a lot younger than I¡¯d first thought. Though he was pretty tall, rivaling the Sheriff in height, I only just realized that he was probably a lot lankier than I¡¯d first thought, his figure being mostly obscured by the baggy hooded shirt he wore. In that moment, I could tell that his proportions looked slightly off, the hallmarks of a boy that was still being ravaged by the worst of puberty.

    I was broken out of my trance by a threatening growl. The shadow growled angrily at Ryuji as it tried to force its way through the stalemate of their locked blades, but Ryuji didn¡¯t seem to be bothered. He just gave one last grin, an awkward looking smile that seemed to be his attempt at looking cool, and slashed behind him without looking.

    The demon fell to the floor, bisected like its fellows.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll protect you.¡±

    Without waiting for a response from me, he launched himself forward at the remaining demons.

    I watched out of the corner of my eye as Ryuji flourished his blade and shouted some other nonsensical words each time he cast a magic spell. I more focused instead, on the reaction of the Sheriff and the rest of the villagers that were gathered around to watch. A majority of them had turned pale and ducked away to the side of the road, bending over and retching as Ryuji split more demons in half. The Sheriff and a few more of the older villagers didn¡¯t have as bad of a reaction, but even they seemed to grimace in disgust.

    ¡°Hey Sheriff,¡± I said. ¡°Those are Goblins, right? Made of flesh and blood? Not demons made of Aether?¡±

    The Sheriff looked confused by my question. ¡°Yes,¡± he said. ¡°Lena, are you alright? My son¡¯s told me you¡¯ve had quite a stressful day.¡±

    I laughed. That was putting it mildly. The fact that the Sheriff had confirmed that the villagers were somehow seeing something different than what I was only made it even worse. But was it a silver lining in disguise? Maybe I was just going crazy. Somehow that thought was more comforting.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I lied. Not so convincingly if the Sheriff¡¯s expression was any indication, but an ear-piercing screech drew our attention back to the fight.

    ¡°That¡¯ll teach you to attack innocent people,¡± he said, to the demon currently impaled on his flaming sword, as if it would somehow retain the lesson that Ryuji was trying to teach it. He flicked his sword to the side, sending the demon¡¯s body sliding off and tumbling a few times on the floor from the momentum.

    A few of the stoic villagers lost their stomachs at that.

    Ryuji locked eyes with me, gave me a smile, and turned to the villagers before raising his sword.

    ¡°You are safe now!¡± he said.

    I could tell that nobody in the village believed him. I looked around, to see if anyone looked like they weren¡¯t about to soil themselves, but even the Sheriff looked like he was considering laying down his sword and begging for mercy.

    I sighed, finally accepting that somehow I, little old Lena, amateur magic user, apprentice butcher, whose only noticeable qualities were a nice ass that I¡¯d just learned about today, was somehow the most reliable person here under pressure. Maybe that was unfair, since the rest of the onlookers probably saw Ryuji standing proudly in a pile of Goblin guts and gore, rather than the quickly fading Aether that made up the demons¡¯ bodies, but I didn¡¯t care.

    ¡°Three cheers for the adventurer!¡± I said, cementing my fate as his Follower even more. ¡°Hip hip, hurray!¡±

    Judging from Ryuji¡¯s wide smile, he didn¡¯t seem to notice that I was the only one cheering.

    ¡°Hip hip, hurray!¡±

    The Sheriff joined in with me on the second cheer, which I was grateful for.

    ¡°Hip hip, hurray!¡±

    A small handful of adults accompanied me on the final cheer, though they¡¯d spoken in almost a whisper, as if trying not to draw any attention to themselves.

    Ryuji smiled and lowered his sword. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, when a blue panel appeared in front of him.

    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°Hip hip, hurray!¡±

    I frowned when I heard the fourth cheer, now with more people joining in. The crowd sounded nervous and they must¡¯ve been if they¡¯d lost their ability to count. Ryuji didn¡¯t seem to notice, too focused on the blue panel to pay attention to anything else. It was written backwards from my perspective, but once again, I had no problem understanding it.

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%">

    Quest: Defend the Village [COMPLETE]

    By defending the village, you have cemented yourself as a Hero and a true adventurer in their eyes.

    [GOBLINs] defeated: 7/7

    Casualties: 0

    Grade: Calculating¡­ S+

    Rewards:

    +200 exp

    +20 Stat Points

    +20 Skill Points

    </td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    ¡°Hip hip, hurray!¡±

    Were they still going? At this point, most of the villagers who weren¡¯t still recovering from puking their guts out were shouting, creating a dissonant cheer from the onlookers who sounded like they didn¡¯t want to be there.

    Ryuji didn¡¯t seem to notice, being more occupied with doing a little shake of excitement before tapping the blue panel with his finger. It disappeared instantly and was quickly replaced by another.

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%">

    Secret Objective: Save the Girl! [COMPLETE]

    By saving your love interest from certain death, she surely must be grateful. Surely, this gratitude could blossom into something more in the future.

    +15 [AFFECTION] (Lena)

    </td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    Why the hell did the panel sound so uncertain? And what the hell did [AFFECTION] mean? I saw Ryuji glance up at me, and I quickly pretended I was looking somewhere else, cold sweat dripping down my brow.

    ¡°Hip hip, hurray!¡±

    I looked around to see a few new faces that hadn¡¯t actually been around to see what Ryuji had done, but had been attracted to the site by the commotion, their curiosity being stronger than their desire to stay away from Ryuji. I was sure that half the people cheering at this point had no idea what they were cheering for.

    Ryuji walked up to me, and the nearby villagers stepped back to clear a path, despite being nowhere close to Ryuji¡¯s path. Thankfully he didn¡¯t seem to notice the villagers avoiding him like the second coming of the Pestilence. Unfortunately, that was mostly because he had his eyes locked onto me.

    Seeing no way to pretend that he wasn¡¯t walking straight for me, I turned to him and gave him a smile, already missing the time when the world had been frozen just for me.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked, scanning my body for any wounds.

    Remembering what my mom told me, I struggled to resist the urge to try and hide my body with my hands.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I replied.

    Ryuji smiled. ¡°I¡¯m glad.¡±

    I don¡¯t know if he expected to say anything else, but we just stared at each other for a few seconds, the awkward silence only being broken up by the occasional ¡°hip hip, hurray.¡± By the time I realized that I should¡¯ve said something, the silence had gone on for too long.

    Fortunately, the panels decided to finally work in my favour for once.

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%">

    Tutorial: Levelling up

    Congratulations! By completing your first quest, you¡¯ve earned enough exp to advance to the next level! You can access your status screen right now by using the [Status] command and use your newly acquired Stat Points.

    You can also access your skill menu right now by using the [Skills] command and use your newly acquired Skill Points.

    Why don¡¯t you try it out?

    </td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    As Ryuji let out a loud cheer of his own, interrupting the villagers in the middle of yet another ¡°hip hip, hurray¡±, I couldn¡¯t help but notice the insistent tone that the panels had. Though it was obvious that the panels had some form of sentience to them, I still wasn¡¯t sure what their goals were. I knew I would be watching them closely in the coming future.

    ¡°Status!¡± Ryuji shouted. ¡°Skills!¡±

    As the blue panel disappeared, I expected to see more panels pop up to replace them, but nothing happened. At least from my point of view. The way that Ryuji was stroking his chin and poking at the air made it obvious that he was seeing something that the rest of us couldn¡¯t.

    I didn¡¯t know why I could only see some panels and not others, but I felt like I wasn¡¯t going to get my answers just by watching Ryuji awkwardly pawing at the air, oblivious to the world around him.

    ¡°Hey, Sheriff,¡± I whispered. I motioned to the Sheriff, who was about five feet away from me after he¡¯d backed off when Ryuji walked closer to me.

    The Sheriff flinched when he heard me call him, but when Ryuji paid him no mind, he seemed to relax. Though he stayed quiet, he nodded at me to show me he was listening.

    ¡°I think you should get most of these people out of here,¡± I said. ¡°Ryuji seems to be distracted for now, but I¡¯m not sure how long that¡¯s going to be the case.¡±

    The Sheriff nodded immediately. ¡°Right,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll get right on that, ma¡¯am.¡±

    My first reaction was to want to laugh at the amount of respect the Sheriff was showing me. It felt strange to see the tough man avoid my gaze like I was royalty. But before I could feel any sort of humour in the situation, I realized that he was right.

    I wasn¡¯t strictly royalty, but Followers were considered to be powerful people in their own right. While the outright manipulation of an Otherworlder was forbidden, the position of being a Follower did have an inevitable amount of influence on an Otherworlder¡¯s actions, which demanded a certain amount of responsibility and respect on its own.

    While I wasn¡¯t officially a Follower yet, the Sheriff seemed to think I was a Follower in every way that mattered.

    And he was probably right.

    I sighed, watching the Sheriff do my dirty work and round up the villagers while Ryuji stood in the center of the road, mumbling to himself while the demon corpses slowly disintegrated around him. I wondered how that looked like to the rest of the villagers, who might still be seeing them as fake Goblins, but I didn¡¯t want to ask them and risk sounding more crazy than I already felt.

    Before long, there were only a few of the more confident villagers left to convince Ryuji that he hadn¡¯t been rudely forgotten about while he was in his trance. As we waited for Ryuji to stop scrutinizing the air so intensely, they stood around in silence, too nervous to make any noise. Though they all stole quick peeks at Ryuji, curious about what he was doing, none of them were brave enough to stare at him directly or for too long.

    It was only after a few minutes that I realized they were looking at me in the same way.

 11. To be a Follower

    Once Ryuji returned his attention to us, everything panned out the way that I¡¯d envisioned. Ryuji asked me to come along with him on his adventures and I said yes, partially because I was too scared to say no, and partially because I knew I was the only one who could interact with the blue panels that seemed to be even more powerful than he was. If there wasn¡¯t anything keeping Ryuji and the panels in check, there was no telling what sort of destruction they could cause.

    My mom crying and begging me to stay was something I¡¯d expected too, but when my dad placed his hands on Ryuji¡¯s shoulders and threatened to kill him if he didn¡¯t keep me safe, I almost passed out. Thankfully, Ryuji had either taken it as a joke or simply didn¡¯t feel threatened enough to do anything in retaliation, so he just laughed it off and agreed to keep me safe.

    It was the first time I¡¯d seen my dad cry. It was an odd thing to see tears dripping down his face despite there being no changes in his expression.

    There wasn¡¯t any villager that was willing to take us on the five day ride by horseback to the nearest city, but thankfully, Ryuji seemed excited about walking. It would only take us eight days, since not riding a horse would mean that we could use the path that led through the forest, but the three days difference would still be enough time for a messenger to reach the city before us and tell them of the incoming Otherworlder.

    I suppose we could have stayed in the village to ensure that the message would arrive before we did, but the way that the entire village seemed on edge in Ryuji¡¯s presence made me worried that someone would do something to reveal to Ryuji that we were all scared of him. And though I wasn¡¯t sure how he would react to that, I didn¡¯t want to find out.

    The villagers provided us with the best camping and travelling materials that they had in the village. Though most of it came from the general goods store run by old Tom, Polly gave me a matching set of a green cloak and boots, which she had apparently bought during her recent visit to the city. They seemed to be more suitable for fashion than travel, but Polly swore up and down that they¡¯d serve me well, before wrapping me in a hug.

    Though I didn¡¯t know her too well, beyond being Bran¡¯s girlfriend, I thanked her and put them on.

    Now, as I stood at the edge of the very same forest that I¡¯d found Ryuji in, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder for one last time whether I was having a nightmare or not. It didn¡¯t feel like a nightmare. It was a perfect day. The sun against my skin was warm enough to be pleasant, and a gentle breeze wove around us, occasionally blowing my hair against my face.

    I subtly pinched myself and hissed in pain when it didn¡¯t wake me.

    ¡°You ready to go?¡± Ryuji asked.

    I turned to look at him, and he smiled when we locked eyes for a second.

    ¡°I like your new cloak,¡± he said. ¡°It really brings out your eyes.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said, cursing Polly internally. I searched him briefly for anything I could compliment in return. ¡°I like your shirt. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it before.¡±

    Thankfully, the lame excuse for a compliment seemed to be good enough for him. His eyes lit up and his smile grew wider.

    ¡°Thanks! It¡¯s my favourite hoodie!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°I¡¯m glad you like it.¡±

    I stared at him for a few seconds before readjusting my bag and nodding.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Now we should get going. We only have a few hours of sun before we need to start setting up camp and cooking dinner.¡±

    As the words left my mouth, I couldn¡¯t help but worry that I came off as standoffish. Ryuji didn¡¯t reply, and the silence between us stretched out longer than I was comfortable with. I opened my mouth, as if to say something, but I couldn¡¯t find anything to talk about.

    This time, when the blue panel appeared in front of Ryuji¡¯s face, I couldn¡¯t help but feel grateful for its intervention.

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%">

    Quest: Travel to the City

    Your adventure takes you to outside the sleepy village of Plainswood and towards the mighty city of Redstone, where further excitement surely awaits.

    Objective: Enter Redstone

    Rewards:

    50 exp

    + 5 [ENDURANCE]

    </td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    I let out a sigh of relief when Ryuji¡¯s attention was immediately captured by the blue panel, but I couldn¡¯t help but feel a pit of worry in my stomach.

    While the blue panels clearly wanted to help me out for some reason, the way they helped out was quite jarring and pretty obvious. Though Ryuji seemed to be more than enthusiastic in his interactions with them, I wondered how many times the blue panels could pop up to break any awkward silences between us without Ryuji becoming bored of their presence.

    Even if the blue boxes could entertain him indefinitely, I knew that we¡¯d eventually have to talk. Even if I was able to hand him off to someone actually qualified for the job as soon as we got to the city, we would still be travelling together for eight days.

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    When Ryuji tapped the blue panel, making it disappear, he glanced at me and immediately looked away, his face burning a bright red. It was a strange feeling, knowing that Ryuji was somehow in love with me. Even with the blue panel confirming that I was his love interest, I still couldn¡¯t quite believe it. At the moment, Ryuji just looked like a kid with a bad crush.

    But he was still likely the most powerful being alive.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go?¡± I asked, trying not to sound as annoyed this time.

    Ryuji nodded and we started our journey.

    I made sure we were walking side by side this time.

    We made it about thirty minutes before we were attacked. It was a small group of not-Goblins again, and though I had no weapon and no way to defend myself, Ryuji alone was able to defeat them all handily without any problems. I was a bit nervous about the excessive amount of fire spells he used in his combat, but luckily he didn¡¯t start any forest fires.

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    Quick Event: Goblin Ambush [COMPLETE]

    Defeat the Goblins: 5/5

    +100 exp

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    After tapping the panel, Ryuji pumped his fist. ¡°Sweet, level up!¡± he said, his eyes scanning another panel I couldn¡¯t see.

    I was still confused as to why I could see some of the panels, but not others. What was on that panel that I couldn¡¯t see? It was a shame that I didn¡¯t know. The more I understood Ryuji, the better I¡¯d be equipped to handle him.

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    Tutorial: Levelling up

    Remember to apply any Stat Points and Skill Points you¡¯ve acquired through levelling up! A personal notice will be available every time you level up, so don¡¯t forget to apply them through your personal menus whenever you get the chance! Using the [Status] and [Skill] commands will allow you to view your personal [Status] and [Skill] menus whenever you wish.

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    I wondered if the panels were purposefully being as helpful as possible, or if they were just easy to trick into giving me the information I wanted. In either case, it didn¡¯t seem like it intended to ever talk to me directly, only speaking through implications. Thankfully, it didn¡¯t seem to care about subtlety whatsoever. The fact that it repeated the word personal so many times seemed to confirm why I couldn¡¯t see what Ryuji was seeing, but did that imply that the panels I¡¯d been seeing so far were for public viewing? Why couldn¡¯t anyone else see them then? Would there be anyone else that could see them, or was it just me?

    No panels popped up to answer my unspoken question. Was it withholding information?

    ¡°Why am I getting a tutorial now?¡± Ryuji mused before tapping the panel and dismissing it. ¡°I¡¯ve been levelling up for a while now. What a shitty system.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± I asked. The fact that Ryuji had a name for the panels was surprising to me, though in hindsight it shouldn¡¯t have been. He¡¯d been interacting with them pretty eagerly, and with ease. Maybe it was something from his old world?

    Ryuji turned to me, like he¡¯d only just remembered I existed. His face turned a crimson red and he turned away.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s dumb.¡±

    I was surprised by how unconfident he seemed. Here was a guy who¡¯d just casually bisected eleven demons in the span of a few hours and had enough power to destroy the country, and though I¡¯d been careful not to let him know that, I just didn¡¯t see why he sounded so embarrassed. Maybe it was a secrecy thing, or maybe he was too shy to talk to his crush.

    I winced when I remembered who exactly his crush was.

    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­¡± Ryuji started again, staring at the floor. ¡°You ever heard of video games?¡±

    He answered for me before I could by slapping a palm against his forehead. I might¡¯ve jumped if there was any force behind it.

    ¡°Of course you haven¡¯t,¡± he said. ¡°Those don¡¯t exist here.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m interested in learning,¡± I said, hoping it wouldn¡¯t be anything like the time he tried to explain what anime was to me. At the very least, this seemed to be related to his powers.

    ¡°Really?¡± he said, turning to me with genuine surprise on his face. ¡°Why?¡±

    Why indeed. I struggled to think of a reason. I was tempted to reuse the same excuse that I¡¯d used to get him to start talking about anime, but the way he was seriously scrutinising me made me think he wouldn¡¯t accept that I just found it interesting, especially since this was the first time he¡¯d mentioned them. While I could guess that these video games were somehow connected to these blue panels, and not something that he randomly blurted out, I wasn¡¯t sure I wanted Ryuji to know that I could see the panels at all.

    I shrugged, buying myself a few seconds to think of an answer. I searched his face briefly for anything I could use, but he quickly turned away to look sheepishly back at the floor. It was so uncharacteristic of him that it made me realise what I could say as an excuse.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± I started. ¡°But it has something to do with why you randomly stare into space, right?¡±

    ¡°Oh do I do that?¡± Ryuji asked nervously, scratching the back of his head. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    Though I was going to follow up what I said with my excuse, Ryuji¡¯s behaviour threw me off a bit.

    ¡°What are you apologising for?¡± I asked.

    Ryuji winced. ¡°Well, it¡¯s annoying right? People generally don¡¯t like it when others don¡¯t pay attention to what¡¯s going on around them.¡±

    Well, I supposed that was true, but I didn¡¯t want to suggest to the Otherworlder that I was annoyed at him.

    ¡°No,¡± I said, with a quick shake of my head. ¡°I just thought that that¡¯s when you look the happiest. If these video games have something to do with that, I¡¯d be happy to know more about them.¡±

    When Ryuji¡¯s only reply was to stare wide-eyed at me, I was worried that I¡¯d said something wrong. Though I didn¡¯t tense up in fear like I usually did, it was only because I¡¯d accepted the fact that there would be no possibility of me surviving if Ryuji did decide to kill me. I didn¡¯t have the energy to run, and even if I did, I knew he could catch up to me in an instant.

    ¡°Oh,¡± he said simply. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    I nodded. I didn¡¯t know why he thanked me, but I wasn¡¯t about to let any gratitude go unclaimed. ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡±

    There was a long stretch of silence between us, interrupted only by our footsteps and the fluttering of leaves at the occasional gust of wind. I didn¡¯t know what to say, so I just pretended I was comfortable with the silence between us. That was, until another panel appeared in front of us.

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    <td style="width: 98.9111%; text-align: center">+85 [AFFECTION] (Lena)</td>

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    Ryuji grumbled and covered his reddening face before punching the panel and making it dissipate. I was glad I managed to hold back the urge to try the same.

 12. Its my First Time

    After Ryuji had calmed down somewhat, he started to talk about video games and how they related to his power. I was surprised by how open he was with the basis of his power, even if he did try to veil his Otherworlder nature with some excuse that he had an inherent bloodline ability of sorts, whatever that meant.

    All in all, I learned some interesting things.

    Most of what he said confused me, especially the concept of video games, which he described as a play where the audience could control the actors¡¯ every move. Throughout the play, the actors would grow stronger to defeat whatever conflict was present in the story at the time, gaining levels, stats, and skills.

    I didn¡¯t understand the minute details that Ryuji spouted out in great length, but I at least understood that Ryuji grew stronger in power by levelling up, which was achieved by gathering experience points. While Ryuji¡¯s description of experience points was vague to the point where I couldn¡¯t follow his logic in the slightest, the fact that I¡¯d seen him gathering experience points whenever he completed a quest helped me draw my own conclusions.

    What did concern me was that he mentioned that in video games, actors would usually get experience points for killing things. Though it seemed like the same logic didn¡¯t apply here, I was hoping that Ryuji wouldn¡¯t go on a killing spree to test it further.

    Honestly, the fact that Ryuji had revealed to me that he would be getting stronger as he got more level ups was the most terrifying thing that I got out of his explanation. He seemed to imply that his power was at its infancy and I wasn¡¯t eager to see what it looked like when he progressed even further.

    I hadn¡¯t contributed much to the conversation thus far, but that had changed when he mentioned stat points, which seemed to be numerical values that were assigned to his strengths and weaknesses that he could raise once he levelled up.

    Which was the reason why I was currently talking and not just nodding along with whatever he said.

    ¡°So I usually go for Dex and Int builds in video games, so they¡¯d be probably be the most comfortable for me, but I¡¯m not sure how much it would apply to real life,¡± he said, completely forgetting about the cover story he¡¯d made up that he¡¯d had this ability all his life. ¡°Though I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d be happy with anything else.¡±

    During our walk through the forest, I was slowly starting to feel myself getting less scared of Ryuji as time passed. Though it might have been my hysteria talking, it was getting difficult not to see him as just being a normal excitable boy. I certainly wasn¡¯t comfortable with him, but I no longer felt like the slightest misstep would result in my quick incineration.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just do a little bit of everything then?¡± I asked, genuinely curious as to why he didn¡¯t take the simple solution.

    ¡°Eh, that¡¯s just suboptimal.¡± He was blushing and stammering less the more he spoke, though I wasn¡¯t sure if that was because he was getting more comfortable with me or if it was because he was too focused on the subject of our discussion. ¡°The higher your stats are, the more access you have to better abilities, so a specialist would have a more exponential growth in power.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± I said. The fact that he would have a slower growth only supported the reasons why I would want him not to specialize in a single stat, but I assumed that¡¯s something he wouldn¡¯t want to hear. ¡°So what are dex and int then, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± he said, rubbing his head in embarrassment. ¡°Right. Sorry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± I said.

    Once again, I was confused about why he was apologizing, but he¡¯d done enough at this point that I¡¯d accepted it as a personality quirk of his.

    Once again, he seemed to appreciate whenever I pardoned him for whatever faux-pas he thought he committed, though maybe he actually had done something that was considered to be rude in his culture.

    It was a little worrying how easily I was starting to forget that Ryuji wasn¡¯t a human. He was an Otherworlder, who likely had his own mindset and culture that was foreign to my own way of thinking, even if he did act somewhat like how a human would.

    ¡°So,¡± I said. ¡°What were you saying about dex and-¡°

    I paused when I heard the hoot of an owl. Though the sun was still shining through the forest canopy, the reddening hue of the light suggested that night was coming somewhat soon.

    ¡°Maybe we should continue this conversation some other time?¡± I said, motioning towards the vague direction of the sun. ¡°We should start setting up camp.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Ryuji asked. ¡°It¡¯s still so bright out.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s easier to set up camp when there¡¯s still light out. And it¡¯s been a long day. I know we have rations ready, but I¡¯d rather cook something up if possible.¡±

    ¡°Oh. I guess that makes sense.¡±

    With nothing else to say, I stopped talking and scanned the area around us for a suitable clearing to camp on. I didn¡¯t have to look hard, as the path through the forest was lined with small patches of flat dry ground, either natural or artificially flattened by larger groups of travelers who¡¯d been forced to make their own camping grounds. I chose a spot that would accommodate two tents comfortably without them having to be too close to each other.

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    The set up of the camp was a relatively simple thing, something I did many times in my life when I went to the forest to learn magic from the Goblins. They preferred to sleep in the trees or on the forest floor without any cover, so had to learn to set up my own accommodations. Once I doffed my travel bag and survival kit, it was a simple process to unroll and set up my tent in a matter of minutes.

    Ryuji, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t having such an easy time. He was grumbling and griping as he struggled to put together the tent. I wasn¡¯t sure he even knew what each part was used for, other than the general idea that the tarp should go on top.

    When I heard a laugh, I couldn¡¯t help but feel like I imagined it, especially since it sounded like my own. But when Ryuji looked at me with a look of shock and utter mortification, I couldn¡¯t help it.

    I knew that Ryuji liked me on some level, but that had never given me the confidence to truly be comfortable around him, in case he changed his mind. I knew he could still kill me, but somehow, that made the situation that much funnier. Tangled up in a mess of ropes, poles, and tarps, Ryuji looked so damn helpless.

    A giggle escaped me, and I felt a vague flash of panic when I realized I was laughing openly at an Otherworlder, but that panic only made me find the situation even funnier somehow. I slapped a hand over my mouth, as if that could stop the laughter from escaping it, but a torrent of giggles flowed freely until it devolved into full blown laughter. A small handful of birds flew away with indignant squawks at the sound.

    I don¡¯t honestly know why I was laughing so hard. It wasn¡¯t even that funny. Maybe my mind had finally snapped under the pressure it had been under. Maybe I was delirious. Who knew? Certainly not me.

    Though tears of laughter flowed freely down my cheek, my hands were too busy clutched around my aching stomach to wipe them away. Eventually my laughter petered out and I managed to catch my breath again and wipe the tears from the corners of my eyes.

    I might have burst into laughter again when I saw Ryuji¡¯s indignant expression, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that I was completely spent already. He was red faced and had trouble looking directly at me, but at least he wasn¡¯t setting me on fire.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that funny,¡± he said.

    ¡°Sure,¡± I said. ¡°C¡¯mon. Let¡¯s get you set up.¡±

    It took about five minutes to set Ryuji¡¯s tent up, which seemed to humiliate him even more, but I decided I didn¡¯t need to push my luck any further. Squashing down the amusement I had, I focused on gathering wood for a fire and digging a small pit for a makeshift washroom far enough that we wouldn¡¯t smell it. Ryuji didn¡¯t do much, choosing instead to watch me work as he calmed down from his embarrassment, but I didn¡¯t mind. I was used to camping alone and an extra person didn¡¯t add too much work.

    He did offer to start the campfire, which was nice, but he only ended up embarrassing himself again when he cast a spell that was too strong and incinerated the firewood that I¡¯d gathered.

    I wasn¡¯t going to make him gather more firewood with me to replace the pile of ash that he¡¯d made, but I was grateful when he insisted. He wasn¡¯t too good at it, but he seemed to know that and didn¡¯t mind me telling him what to do.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s not good to break off branches from young trees.¡±

    ¡°Sorry,¡± he said, letting go of the branch he was about to snap off. ¡°Is it because of the circle of life or something? We should use the older trees so the young ones have room to grow?¡±

    ¡°No?¡± I said, unsure of what he was talking about. ¡°The young ones are supple and full of water. They don¡¯t burn as easily. Try searching on the ground for drier twigs.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    It was a funny image to see an Otherworlder squinting as he pushed around the forest debris with his foot. While the sun was still up, it was quickly setting and it was getting more and more difficult to see in the dim light. I wasn¡¯t surprised when Ryuji failed to gather any more sticks after that point, but thankfully I¡¯d gotten enough that starting a fire wouldn¡¯t be a problem.

    ¡°How are you so good at this?¡± Ryuji asked as we walked back to our tents.

    ¡°Practice, I guess. I¡¯m used to being in the forest.¡±

    Ryuji nodded, but that seemed to be the end of his questioning.

    ¡°How about you?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Me?¡± Ryuji asked, as if there were anyone else I could possibly be talking to.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°You seem to be pretty new to this. Do adventurers from where you¡¯re from not need to travel long distances?¡±

    Ryuji looked at me and shifted his eyes away. ¡°No, they do,¡± he said. He sounded nervous for some reason, and though he fell silent, I could tell he wanted to keep talking. ¡°I actually wasn¡¯t an adventurer back at home. This is my first time doing something like this.¡±

    Though that meant nothing to me, since I still wasn¡¯t too sure about what an adventurer was exactly, nor what his home was like, he seemed to feel a little ashamed by the admission.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re what, fifteen? Sixteen?¡±

    ¡°Fifteen,¡± Ryuji said, finally confirming my suspicions.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got time,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re still young. You¡¯ve got a dream. You¡¯ll be a great adventurer soon.¡±

    Ryuji stared at me, like I¡¯d spontaneously spoken in a foreign language. ¡°Nobody¡¯s ever said that to me before.¡±

    ¡°Said what?¡± I asked.

    ¡°That they believed in me.¡±

    I had no idea how to reply to that. Though I now knew that he was only two years younger than me, he looked even younger in that instant, like a child. I coughed to hide my discomfort and unloaded the sticks we¡¯d gathered into the small fire pit that I¡¯d dug out beforehand.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s dumb. I¡¯m sure you can do whatever you put your mind to. Like starting a fire! Ready to redeem yourself?¡±

    Ryuji looked at the pile of firewood and the pile of ash just underneath it, a reminder of his previous failure.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I believe in you. Just try to make your spark weaker this time.¡±

    Even if he did fail, we didn¡¯t necessarily need the fire. I mostly wanted it to cook our food and keep the bugs away, but we had rations and I was no stranger to bites. Still, I didn¡¯t feel like he needed to know that.

    Ryuji, once again, looked shocked by my statement, but his shock quickly morphed to determination as he placed his hands directly over the firewood.

    I hoped he didn¡¯t notice me subtly backing away.

    ¡°Spark.¡±

    What looked like a tiny red lightning bolt arced out of Ryuji¡¯s fingers and disappeared into the pile of wood. At first it didn¡¯t look like anything happened, until I noticed a tiny ember in the tinder at the center of the pile. Ryuji looked torn between excitement and not knowing what to do, so I bent down and started to blow on the fire to keep it alive. It was a substantial flame already, so I didn¡¯t need to do much to make it catch on to the thicker branches.

    ¡°See?¡± I said. ¡°I knew you could do it.¡±

    Ryuji seemed too distracted by the fire to hear me, so I let him be, taking a moment to appreciate the fire with him for a few seconds before starting to unpack our food.

 13. The Boring Parts of Travelling

    We didn¡¯t talk much after that. Ryuji seemed to fall into a state of deep thought and I was fine with letting him think about whatever he wanted, while I cooked something up for us. The firewood gathering had taken a little bit longer than I thought, so I wasn¡¯t confident that I¡¯d be able to make a proper meal for us.

    Still, it was a fine enough meal consisting of roasted yams, fresh bread, and some of the barely frozen meat that my dad had given Ryuji for some reason. It wouldn¡¯t keep well, so I roasted most of it over the fire. We could eat the leftovers for breakfast and leave whatever we couldn¡¯t eat for the critters.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ pretty good,¡± Ryuji said after his first bite.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine to think it¡¯s bad,¡± I said, waving off the obvious lie. ¡°I¡¯m no cook, especially not on the road. Takes too much time to care about making it tasty when all you have is a fire and some pots. As long as it¡¯s edible and doesn¡¯t make you shit yourself, it¡¯s good enough for me.¡±

    Ryuji nodded, accepting the answer as he took another bite. Though he didn¡¯t look offended by the food, he didn¡¯t look happy about it either.

    ¡°That¡¯s fair,¡± he said, sounding comically disappointed.

    I let out a small laugh. ¡°Not what you expected?¡±

    Ryuji shrugged. ¡°I guess,¡± he said. ¡°I mean it makes sense when you think about it, but all the stories I¡¯ve read just skipped over the boring parts of travelling.¡±

    I nodded, understanding what he was talking about. ¡°Makes sense,¡± I said. ¡°Not much point in a story going into detail about a mundane part of life where nothing exciting happens. But it does happen.¡±

    Ryuji nodded. I wasn¡¯t sure whether he was agreeing with me or if he was just acknowledging that he¡¯d heard me, but I didn¡¯t think it mattered enough to ask.

    The rest of the meal passed by quietly, and it was dark by the time we finished it, but the light of the fire was bright enough for me to clean up by it. Gathering all of the pots and pans, I placed my palms above them and started to summon my mana.

    A slow and steady stream of mana leaked from my hands, turning into water as it escaped my body. I struggled to keep my eyes open from the strain of the spell, but managed to keep the flow steady until I felt like there was enough.

    I let out a deep sigh when I finally closed off the mana inside my body, feeling the strain of it being drained.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you use more water?¡± Ryuji asked.

    I wasn¡¯t aware that he¡¯d been watching. ¡°I only need a little bit,¡± I replied. ¡°And besides, I don¡¯t have enough mana to make more.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± he asked.

    The amount of surprise in his voice made me laugh. ¡°I hope you¡¯re not comparing me to yourself. It¡¯s frankly pretty crazy how strong your magic is, especially as a beginner.¡±

    He stayed silent for a few seconds, before muttering something to himself. I couldn¡¯t quite catch what he said, but didn¡¯t ask him to clarify. Even in the dim light, I could tell that he wasn¡¯t looking at me, even if he was faced in my direction. The panels again?

    He raised his finger and poked at the air, confirming my suspicions.

    ¡°I guess I am pretty OP,¡± he said.

    I wasn¡¯t sure I heard him right. ¡°OP? What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Oh. Right. It means I¡¯m pretty strong,¡± he said with a smile, as if it weren¡¯t the understatement of the century. ¡°Do you want me to make more water for you? I¡¯ve never tried it before but it should be simple enough.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t forgotten the last time he tried something for the first time. The image of the pillar of fire that he made flashed through my mind.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine, thank you,¡± I said, possibly a little too quickly. ¡°I¡¯m used to this amount. I don¡¯t need any more.¡±

    Ryuji stared at me, and I wondered for a second whether he would try anyways. He certainly didn¡¯t need my permission to do anything. Thankfully, he didn¡¯t offer again, and simply watched as I cleaned the pots.

    After I finished cleaning, I wrapped up all the utensils and leftover food in a small tarp and slung it over a high branch to keep the larger forest animals from trying to get at it.

    ¡°You¡¯re really good at this,¡± Ryuji said, suddenly.

    I was surprised by the compliment, but not enough to be startled by it. ¡°Thank you,¡± I said. ¡°I do spend a lot of time in the Forest though. It only makes sense I¡¯d get better at it eventually.¡±

    Ryuji nodded, but he seemed to be distracted by his thoughts. ¡°You mentioned that. Why do you camp so much? Do you just enjoy nature?¡±

    ¡°I guess,¡± I said, with a shrug. ¡°But that¡¯s not the reason. I wanted to learn magic and nobody in the village knew enough to teach me.¡±

    ¡°You learned magic here? Like from the forest itself?¡±

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    I almost laughed and told him the truth, that I¡¯d had a mentor from the Goblin tribe that lived in the forest. The laughter died when I remembered how he reacted whenever he came face-to-face with the Goblin-shaped demons that had attacked the village and ambushed us in the forest.

    I didn¡¯t know how he would react if I told him that I¡¯d learned my magic from Goblins.

    ¡°Kind of,¡± I said, finally answering his question in the vaguest way I could.

    Thankfully, he seemed to accept the vague answer and started to get lost in his thoughts once more.

    I let out a silent sigh of relief, but a wave of worry washed over me as I was reminded of something I hadn¡¯t had the time nor the willpower to process back in the village.

    I still wasn¡¯t sure what to think of the demons. They were very clearly something that was related to Ryuji¡¯s power, given the fact that only I could see them for what they really were, but I couldn¡¯t figure out much else beyond that.

    He and his power seemed to think that the demons were actually Goblins, and I assumed that was because his world famously only had one race of Otherworlders, a foreign concept to our own world. It was possible that he simply had a general idea of what a Goblin looked like, and he simply assumed that a Goblins were featureless with pitch black skin.

    The alternative that Ryuji saw them as real Goblins too, was even more terrifying than the idea that he could create or manipulate demons to his will. The amount of childlike joy he seemed to take in killing them would be terrifying if he truly thought he was murdering flesh and blood creatures. Though he had been civil enough for now, I was reminded that his mind was entirely alien to mine.

    I shivered, despite the warmth of the fire.

    ¡°I¡¯ve decided,¡± Ryuji said suddenly. ¡°I¡¯m going for a Dex build.¡±

    Not knowing what he was talking about, I was tempted to ignore him. Unfortunately, after seeing the Mayor trying to use it and failing miserably, I had become less convinced that it was a viable strategy.

    ¡°What was that?¡± I said instead.

    ¡°A Dex build,¡± he replied proudly. ¡°You remember? We were talking about what I should put my stat points into before we started making food.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± I said, trying to remember what he was talking about. The words he was using were familiar, but I hadn¡¯t quite grasped the Otherworlder terms well enough to instantly recall their meaning. ¡°I don¡¯t think you ever explained what a dex was though,¡± I said hesitantly.

    Ryuji looked at me for a few seconds before slapping a hand against his head. ¡°Right,¡± he said. I couldn¡¯t tell what he looked like in the dim light of the campfire, but I could guess from his voice that he was embarrassed. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be,¡± I said. ¡°You can explain it to me now.¡±

    Ryuji paused for a moment before slowly lowering his hand off his face.

    ¡°Dex is short for Dexterity. The more Dexterity I have, the faster I am,¡± he said.

    ¡°Okay, makes sense,¡± I lied. Though I supposed you could do things faster the more dexterous you were, speed wasn¡¯t the first thing to come to mind. I also couldn¡¯t quite fathom why Ryuji wanted to be faster. I¡¯d seen him move at speeds that made him seem like he was teleporting. I couldn¡¯t imagine anything faster than that.

    ¡°What about Int?¡± I asked, instead of trying to wrap my head around his reasoning. ¡°Does that stand for something too?¡±

    He nodded. ¡°Int stands for intelligence. The more I have, the better I am at magic.¡±

    Intelligence didn¡¯t really have much correlation with magical talent. In fact, it was quite the opposite in my personal experience. I nodded anyways.

    Ryuji sighed. ¡°You think I¡¯ll regret not choosing Int?¡± he asked. ¡°I always did like using flashy spells in most games.¡±

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you choosing it then?¡± I asked, trying not to imagine what could possibly be flashier than what he¡¯d already shown off. ¡°It seems like you¡¯re not entirely sure.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡± He trailed off while looking at me. ¡°I thought it might throw off our party balance if there were two mages in a team. Besides, Dex builds are really fun.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what a party balance was, but was he implying that I was a mage? The thought was ridiculous, but before I could say anything, Ryuji threw up his hands and let out a groan.

    ¡°Augh. Screw this. I¡¯m doing it,¡± he shouted, causing a few of the bushes around us to rustle as their residents retreated in a panic. ¡°[Status]!¡±

    He poked his finger in the air multiple times and in his frenzy, I noticed that his finger was bending back slightly every time it reached a certain spot. I¡¯d assumed up until this point that him touching the panels could only cause them to dissipate, but it seemed like they were corporeal to him. I was surprised by the revelation, even though I was sure it was an ultimately useless piece of information.

    After about half a minute of poking, Ryuji left his finger hovering in the air before swinging it down with an air of finality. He had his eyes closed and his face tensed like the act would physically hurt him, but a few seconds passed and he lowered his finger, passing through where the invisible panel had been a few seconds before.

    He let out a sigh as he slid down the log he was seated on, until he was sitting on the floor.

    ¡°Welp, no turning back now,¡± he said, with an arm draped over his eyes.

    I considered asking him to clarify why he thought I was a mage, but it didn¡¯t seem to be the right time to bring it up. I glanced at the dying campfire instead.

    ¡°Seems like it¡¯s getting late,¡± I said. ¡°We should get some sleep.¡±

    Ryuji stayed motionless for a few more seconds before removing his arm from over his face. I didn¡¯t know if he acknowledged what I said at all, especially since his eyes were still closed, but he nodded.

    I walked over to the small bucket of water that I¡¯d saved from cleaning the pots and threw it over the campfire. The flames dies down with a quiet hiss, but when I looked over to Ryuji, he was still sitting down on the floor with his head on a log, tilted up to the sky.

    Once again, I wondered if I was misunderstanding Otherworlder physiology. Was this how Otherworlder¡¯s slept? Had we packed a second tent for no reason?

    When I saw the light of the night sky reflected in Ryuji¡¯s eyes, I wondered if Otherworlders slept with their eyes open too.

    ¡°Wow,¡± he said, disproving my theory for now.

    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked.

    ¡°The stars,¡± he said, pointing upwards.

    ¡°What about them?¡± I asked, genuinely confused.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen the night sky like this,¡± he said, wonder in his voice. ¡°It¡¯s awesome.¡±

    The sentiment confused me. I looked up, trying to see if there was any strange Otherworlder magic interfering with the view, but I saw nothing other than the usual sea of stars in the night sky. The awe in Ryuji¡¯s voice confused me, but I didn¡¯t see any reason to call him out on it.

    ¡°Hey Lena?¡± Ryuji said.

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Remember when I said all the stories I¡¯ve read about adventurers always skipped describing the travelling part of their adventures? Because it would be boring?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Well, this is the most fun I¡¯ve had in my life.¡±

    I looked up, trying to find out why he was so enamoured with the stars. I supposed they were beautiful like always, but nothing special. I looked back down at Ryuji to see him staring at me.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m glad we didn¡¯t skip this part of our story. I don''t want to skip anything ever.¡±

    I didn''t know what he was talking about, but I did know that he was thanking me and I wasn¡¯t about to refuse his gratitude.

    ¡°No problem,¡± I said. Giving him a thumbs up.

    We went to our beds soon after, and after eight more days of travelling, seven in the forest and one on the road, we finally made it to the city.

 14. A Friendly Stranger

    Redstone was a city that looked too grand to be a mere 8 day¡¯s worth of foot travel away from a small village like mine. Though it was relatively isolated from the rest of the Astrantan cities, it was an important source of one of Astranta¡¯s main sources of export, redstone.

    It wasn¡¯t a very creatively named city, but I suppose I couldn¡¯t say much, being from a village called Plainswood.

    I didn¡¯t know much about Redstone, only having been there a handful of times and only when I was much younger, but one thing I did know about it was that it was a booming metropolis. Redstone wasn¡¯t just one of the most important cities for Astranta¡¯s economy as a whole. It was the only city in the entire Eastern quarter that had a significant impact on the economy.

    That meant that the entirety of the Eastern quarter of Astranta was driven by the economy produced in Redstone. The redstone miners, refiners, and exporters still needed to eat, drink, and be entertained, after all.

    Though the land around Redstone was somewhat arable, aside from the redstone mountain range about a day¡¯s walk away, the land around there was so expensive that a simple farmer¡¯s pay wouldn¡¯t be enough to keep it profitable. As a result, food and other essentials were produced outside of Redstone and a constant stream of imports were needed to keep the city supplied, and a constant stream of exports were needed to maintain the city¡¯s revenue. Redstone city was a metropolis that stopped for no one.

    Not even an Otherworlder, apparently. I couldn¡¯t help but worry that the messenger from the village had run into some problems on the way. Had they not reached the city yet?

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± a man¡¯s voice droned behind me. ¡°Carts coming through.¡±

    He was at the head of a large convoy, and with how much noise the horses and carts were making as they caught up to us, I hadn¡¯t needed the warning, but I suppose he was just being careful. I nodded at the driver and walked off the road.

    Ryuji followed me dutifully, and openly stared at the carts passing by us.

    The trade convoy was a pretty impressive one, made up of about eight carts and two horses for each. Most of the carts were built in a way that it seemed that they could just set down in any marketplace and act as a portable kiosk to sell the trinkets and accessories that dangled inside them, but others were closed off, either to act as mobile homes for the merchants¡¯ families or as general storage for their goods. Likely both.

    Each cart in the convoy had at least one driver, and there were three armed guards walking alongside the convoy, looking bored and weary, but relieved to finally be reaching their destination. I wondered how long they¡¯d been travelling for, until I noticed one of them glancing at me.

    It was a roguish looking man who looked to be in his thirties. The leader of the guards if I had to guess. He gave me a smile and a wave, and I turned away, embarrassed to have been caught staring. The man laughed and walked up to the leader of the convoy, spoke briefly to him, and jogged to the side to approach us.

    ¡°Ho, fellow travelers,¡± he said, talking way too loudly for how close he was to us. ¡°You seem like you¡¯ve had a few long days¡¯ worth of travel. Would you like to tag along with us for a while? Rest your legs until we get to Redstone?¡±

    I was surprised by the sudden offer, but we had been walking for several days now. Though it hadn¡¯t been strenuous, with us taking as many breaks as needed, I could admit that my legs were getting tired.

    ¡°How¡¯d you know we were going to Redstone?¡± Ryuji asked from beside me.

    The man laughed. ¡°Where else would you be going?¡± he asked. ¡°No need to be so tense, my friend. I wish you and your sister no harm.¡±

    Ryuji frowned, despite the man¡¯s friendly tone. The sight sent a shiver down my spine.

    It had been a good eight days of friendly travel, where he¡¯d been smiling the entire time. How was it that the moment we talk to someone, I found myself worrying that he would casually commit murder?

    ¡°We¡¯re not siblings,¡± I said quickly, before Ryuji could say anything else. ¡°And we¡¯re fine. We wouldn¡¯t want to trouble you, sir. We¡¯ll get to Redstone at our own pace.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure why, but it was obvious that Ryuji seemed to hate the man on sight, and I didn¡¯t want to give him the opportunity to foster that hatred. Though the atmosphere between me and Ryuji had been good during our walk through the forest, I¡¯d never lost sight of the fact that he could easily kill me or anyone else he wanted to.

    The man just laughed, clearly oblivious of the danger he could be in if he wasn¡¯t careful.

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± he said. I was afraid he would reach over and clap me or Ryuji on the shoulder, as a gesture of friendliness, but at the very least he didn¡¯t seem oblivious of the fact that he wasn¡¯t entirely liked. He just didn¡¯t seem to mind. ¡°Rest your legs. It¡¯s only a few more hours until we reach our destination. No point in tiring yourselves out when you don¡¯t need to.¡±

    I was about to decline his offer again, when Ryuji spoke up.

    ¡°We¡¯d be glad to,¡± he said, a bit of an edge to his voice. When I looked up to see him smiling, I couldn¡¯t help but shiver even more. For some reason, the sight scared me more than him frowning.

    ¡°Excellent!¡± the man said loudly. ¡°It¡¯ll be wonderful to have a few new faces to talk to, even if it¡¯s only for a little bit. My name¡¯s Medric,¡± he said, extending a hand.

    Ryuji smiled again, and I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if I imagined the eager flash in his eyes. ¡°My name¡¯s Ryuji, and this is Lena,¡± he said, reaching out to grab Medric¡¯s offered hand. ¡°It¡¯ll be a pleasure getting to know you.¡±

    I wanted to stop Ryuji from taking Medric¡¯s hand, getting a bad feeling about it, but I was too slow to react. When Medric grabbed Ryuji¡¯s hand, he winced slightly and let go.

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    ¡°Phew that¡¯s one grip you have, son,¡± he said, shaking his hand once before flashing a smile at Ryuji and laughing once more. I couldn¡¯t remember if he¡¯d said a sentence so far that hadn¡¯t been punctuated by his laugh. ¡°You¡¯re a lot stronger than you look! What sort of meat are you hiding under that strange shirt of yours? You ever think about becoming a hired guard?¡±

    Over the past few days of talking and walking with Ryuji, I had gotten to know some of his strange quirks. One of them was that he often got confused by seemingly random comments. The shift between Ryuji¡¯s veiled anger and his confusion was surprising to me, but one that gave me relief. His confusion was often followed up by an equally random bout of giddiness and happiness.

    ¡°Oh,¡± he said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment for some reason. ¡°No, not really. I¡¯ve always wanted to be more of an adventurer.¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡± Medric said, clapping his hand against Ryuji¡¯s shoulder again. ¡°That¡¯s a noble thought, son. I¡¯ve always regretted not exploring the world more at your age. So much to see in the world, and I¡¯ve only seen the tiniest portion of it!¡± He shook his head and chuckled under his breath, as if he was telling some sort of inside joke. ¡°It¡¯s a good dream to have when you¡¯re young.¡±

    It sounded a bit patronizing to me, but I was glad Ryuji didn¡¯t seem to think so, beaming as he took the praise at face value.

    ¡°Now.¡± Medric clapped his hands together. ¡°Why don¡¯t we stop standing around? I¡¯m sure your friend wouldn¡¯t mind giving her tired legs a rest. We all benefit, don¡¯t we? I like my coworkers, but they¡¯re harder on the eyes. Having the company of a beautiful girl like you would definitely be a nice change of pace,¡± he said, directing his attention back at me.

    Even if my mom was right in that I¡¯d never been interested in romance, it didn¡¯t mean I was completely clueless towards it. I knew enough to know that Medric wasn¡¯t seriously flirting with me. He looked about twice my age and was smiling in a way that made it feel more like a friendly joke than anything else. I almost smiled at the compliment until I noticed Ryuji¡¯s face out of the corner of my eye.

    Though his mouth was still smiling, his eyes were not. Narrowed and sharp, I could see anger in them. Why? What happened? It was all going so well!

    ¡°Uh, yeah,¡± I said, a little too panicked to accept Medric¡¯s compliment with any sort of grace, while I struggled to figure out the cause of Ryuji¡¯s anger so I could fix it. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    There was a long awkward pause between the three of us before Medric coughed into his hand.

    ¡°Well, shall we?¡± he asked, gesturing to the carts.

    I followed behind him with Ryuji, taking subtle side glances to see whether he was still angry. When I saw that he still was, I panicked, but I didn¡¯t know what I could do or say to fix it when I didn¡¯t even know what was wrong.

    When reached the convoy, Medric nodded one of the cart drivers, who waved at me and Ryuji, but didn¡¯t say anything before turning his attention back to the road. He didn¡¯t stop, so I was a little confused as to how I was supposed to get inside, but was surprised when I felt someone tap my shoulder.

    ¡°May I?¡± Medric asked, gesturing to the cart.

    I nodded, assuming he wanted to help me up.

    I yelped when I felt my feet getting swept out from underneath me. Feeling myself falling, I grabbed onto the closest thing I could, which happened to be Medric¡¯s neck. The older guard chuckled as he lifted me up in a princess carry.

    ¡°Sorry for that,¡± he said as he casually jumped up on top of the cart with me still in his arms. My eyes widened in surprise at the casual display of his strength, which he clearly enjoyed as he laughed at my expression.

    ¡°Show off,¡± the driver mumbled without turning back to look.

    ¡°Bah, everyone¡¯s a critic,¡± Medric said as he laid me down on a sack of what felt like potatoes. Looking around me, I could see the cart was filled with similar-looking sacks. This must have been the cart for the convoy¡¯s food supply. It made sense that they wouldn¡¯t want me sitting in a cart with their wares.

    With me looking at my surroundings, I didn¡¯t notice Medric¡¯s face coming closer to me until he was close enough to kiss my forehead. I froze at the suddenness of his proximity, but he continued to lean closer until his mouth was right next to my ear.

    ¡°Is he hurting you?¡± he whispered.

    What?

    ¡°What?¡± I whispered back, voicing my thoughts out loud.

    ¡°I¡¯m not blind, girl,¡± Medric said, his voice serious. It was a stark contrast from his usual jovial tone. ¡°I see the way your face goes pale whenever he so much as twitches. You want me to send him away?¡±

    If my face went pale every time Ryuji moved, I was glad that Medric was too close to see my face now. I couldn¡¯t imagine what I looked like while imagining him starting a fight with Ryuji. When I was twelve, accidentally set my own hair on fire when I first started to practice magic. The memory resurfaced suddenly, as I remembered the acrid scent of human hair, burning to a crisp.

    ¡°No, no,¡± I said, a bit louder than I¡¯d wanted. ¡°Ryuji¡¯s good to me! It¡¯s fine!¡±

    Medric stood up, looking down at me as I sat in the cart. I¡¯d only known him for a few minutes and the sight of a deep frown on his face already looked odd to me. He stared at me for a few more seconds before he clicked his tongue.

    ¡°I won¡¯t get involved in your business if you don¡¯t want, girl. But you should ask yourself if your boyfriend truly makes you happy. If you ever need help getting out of whatever your situation is, ask around for me. Hopefully I¡¯ll still be in Redstone by the time you realize.¡±

    Before I could say anything, he hopped off the cart.

    ¡°Oh sorry, son,¡± he said. His voice had shifted back into its usual loud and jovial state so fast that I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if I imagined our entire conversation. ¡°Turns out there isn¡¯t as much space in that cart as I thought. The little lady took up the last spot, so you¡¯ll still have to walk. But you¡¯re a strong guy. I¡¯m sure you can handle it.¡±

    ¡°Oh that¡¯s fine,¡± Ryuji said. I was still sprawled out over a sack of potatoes, so I couldn¡¯t see what he looked like, but his voice was tinted with a tinge of annoyance. ¡°I actually wanted to talk to you a bit.¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡± Medric asked. I¡¯m not sure if I imagined it, but I felt like I heard his voice taking on a bit of an edge. ¡°What for?¡±

    ¡°You mentioned that you thought I could be a guard right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°Well, since you mentioned it, I started to get a little curious about how I¡¯d do as one. You think we¡¯d be able to spar a bit, just to see how I stand against someone already in the business?¡±

    My eyes widened in fear as I scrambled off my ass and crawled over to the edge of the cart. When I peered over, Medric glanced at me, locking eyes with me for a moment. Before I could nonverbally convince him not to commit suicide via Otherworlder, he shook his head and turned back to Ryuji.

    ¡°Well, son. While normally I would refuse to start any unnecessary fights while I¡¯m on the clock, I¡¯m feeling pretty generous today. You probably think you¡¯re a scary guy, right?¡± he said, his eyes flicking towards me for a moment.

    I tried to send him a nonverbal signal that he should immediately stop talking and beg for forgiveness. Unfortunately, it seemed like my strategy of standing still, frozen in fear wasn¡¯t as effective at conveying the message as I¡¯d hoped.

    ¡°Word of advice. The most important thing I¡¯ve ever learned during my career as a guard is that, at some point, you¡¯re gonna have to realize that you¡¯re not that scary after all. You may think that you¡¯re the strongest, most dangerous person to walk this earth, but one day you¡¯ll learn that that¡¯s just not true.¡±

    I could tell Medric was a good guy. The look in his eyes was telling me that everything was going to be okay. He wasn¡¯t actually talking to Ryuji. He was talking to me. Unfortunately, everything he was saying was completely and utterly wrong.

    I made one last final attempt. I willed myself to move, to mouth the word ¡°Otherworlder¡± to him before he burst into flames.

    Medric nodded, as if he understood, but turned to face Ryuji with his fists up in a fighting stance.

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll be the one to humble you today, maybe not. Either way, let¡¯s make this a friendly little match, shall we?¡±

    The calm smile that spread across Ryuji¡¯s face made me shiver.

    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s.¡±

 15. A Friendly Stranger Dies

    I watched in horror as Medric and Ryuji stared each other down. Medric had his fists raised while Ryuji¡¯s arms were casually hanging down at his sides. Both of them seemed too relaxed to suggest they were about to fight, though I could only assume that was because they both assumed that the other was no threat to them.

    I wanted to shout at them and stop the massacre before it began, but I didn¡¯t think Medric would listen to me, too deep in his misunderstanding to believe anything I said.

    ¡°Ryuji!¡± I shouted instead. The thought of trying to command an Otherworlder was terrifying to me, but so was the possibility of witnessing the murder of an innocent man. ¡°Don¡¯t do this! You don¡¯t need to fight!¡±

    Ryuji seemed to be taken aback by my outburst and looked like he was actually going to listen to me for a second, until Medric intervened in my attempt to save him.

    ¡°Aw don¡¯t worry, missy,¡± the suicidal man said, cracking his knuckles. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure he comes out in one piece.¡±

    Any hesitation in Ryuji¡¯s eyes completely disappeared as he glared at Medric. I tried to wave to catch his attention again, but he refused to look at me. Cursing Medric under my breath, I panicked as my brain worked overtime to try and figure out a solution.

    Ryuji wouldn¡¯t listen to me. Medric wouldn¡¯t listen to me. But would he listen to his boss?

    I scrambled to the front of the cart I was in. I had no idea if this particular driver was the leader of the trading group, but he had been the one driver that Medric had talked to before offering to give us a ride. At the very least, Medric would listen to him.

    ¡°Hey!¡± I said, in a harsh whisper as I leaned as close as I could to the driver without falling out of the cart. ¡°You have to stop them from fighting. Medric is going to die if you don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve no need to worry, child,¡± the driver said, not bothering to lower his voice in the slightest. ¡°Medric is a kind man, but he is also very strong. Look how the rest of the convoy is acting. We all know that he is capable enough to humble your friend without hurting him.¡±

    The driver didn¡¯t bother turning around. He had a thin shawl draped over his head to protect him from the sun, so I couldn¡¯t see his expression, but from his voice, I imagined him as a kindly looking man. The way he talked about Ryuji with a little bit of bile made it obvious that Medric had shared his theories that Ryuji was somehow hurting me. Fortunately, unlike Medric, I could talk to the driver without having to shout.

    ¡°No, Medric can¡¯t stand up to Ryuji. Nobody can,¡± I said.

    I looked around to confirm that Medric and Ryuji weren¡¯t close enough to hear me. They had wandered off somewhere to the side, a bit further away from the carts, and were being slowly left behind as none of the cart drivers bothered to stop and accommodate the fight. True to the driver¡¯s word, none of the convoy members seemed to be too interested in watching the fight, only glancing at it in mild curiosity.

    None of them seemed focused enough on me that I was afraid of causing a panic with what I said next.

    ¡°Ryuji¡¯s an Otherworlder,¡± I whispered.

    That managed to get the man¡¯s attention. He finally turned back to look at me, relying on his horses to guide themselves for the moment. He looked more or less how I¡¯d expected him, though I would¡¯ve assumed he would be a little bit younger than I¡¯d originally assumed from his voice.

    ¡°That¡¯s not a claim one makes lightly. You could get into some serious trouble if the wrong people heard you saying that,¡± he said. ¡°Is that what the boy told you?¡±

    Unfortunately, his expression was a lot different from what I wanted. Rather than a look of abject horror, he gave me a stare filled with pity.

    I could only stare back, at a loss for words, until I realized what he was suggesting.

    ¡°I¡¯m not lying. I¡¯m not dumb either.¡± I was too panicked to feel offended, but I felt like I had to make it clear for him to even begin to believe me. ¡°Please believe me. I know you probably think I¡¯m some sort of na?ve girl and he¡¯s just some random thug or an abusive boyfriend. I¡¯ve seen how strong he is. He might not look like it, but he¡¯s not human.¡±

    He looked a little surprised by how I¡¯d called him out on his implied insults on my intelligence, but still didn¡¯t seem to believe me.

    ¡°Look, child. It will be alright. Medric-¡°

    The sound of gasping and cheers interrupted whatever the driver was about to say. I looked to the side, worried that I would see holding up a corpse in the air, but was surprised to see Medric still alive. In hindsight, I supposed the members of the convoy wouldn¡¯t be cheering if they saw Medric being murdered.

    Medric was strong. I could tell that much. Medric¡¯s movements were sharp and precise to the point where even I could tell that he was incredibly skilled. The way he bobbed and weaved, while throwing out punches and feints at dizzying speeds was impressive to watch, and I had trouble keeping up with what he was doing.

    Ryuji, on the other hand, didn¡¯t seem to have the same problem.

    Watching Ryuji dodge Medric¡¯s attacks so casually was a strange experience because it didn¡¯t look like it made sense. I might not have noticed if I didn¡¯t have Medric to compare him to, but he made Ryuji look like a complete amateur. While Medric¡¯s fighting style spoke of experience and skill, Ryuji¡¯s simply lacked any sort of substance, his movements looking random and improvised.

    Despite that, none of Medric¡¯s attacks even got close to hitting Ryuji. Every time an expertly aimed punch was thrown at him, Ryuji would simply move out of the way, faster than I could follow. I¡¯d lose track of Ryuji every time he moved, and it seemed like Medric did too, pausing after every punch before he chased down Ryuji in his new spot.

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    Oddly enough, it seemed like Ryuji hadn¡¯t attacked Medric at all, which was obvious from the fact that Medric hadn¡¯t inexplicably turned into a fine mist of blood and flesh. I didn¡¯t know why he chose to keep Medric alive, when he was obviously so much stronger than he was.

    My eyes widened in realization at the simple answer that had been so obvious in hindsight.

    Did Ryuji have morals?

    Though I¡¯d gotten more comfortable with Ryuji over our travels, my opinion of him had already been tainted by his handling of the demon attack. Even if I wasn¡¯t sure whether he saw the demons as being Goblins or not, the relish he had when killing thing had made me assume that he was simply too alien in his mindset to value life.

    Seeing Ryuji dealing with Medric, humiliating him without harming him, gave me hope.

    ¡°Well, he¡¯s good, I¡¯ll admit that much,¡± the driver said, interrupting my thoughts. ¡°But that ain¡¯t an Otherworlder. We wouldn¡¯t be alive if it were.¡±

    I was a little disappointed that he still didn¡¯t believe me, but now that I¡¯d seen evidence that Ryuji wouldn¡¯t turn into a murderer at the slightest inconvenience, I no longer needed him to. The driver gave me a strange look.

    ¡°You¡¯re crying,¡± he said, with a frown.

    I blinked twice and realized he was right. The world was turning blurry from the moisture in my eyes and I could already feel large streams of tears dribbling down my face. I was a little surprised at how much I was crying. I thought I was all cried out after the first day I met Ryuji, but I realized that these tears were special. These were tears of relief.

    I simply smiled at the driver, not bothering to wipe my tears away, finding myself a little amused at how confused he looked. Now that it was clear that there wasn¡¯t a danger of Ryuji murdering someone, I could finally relax.

    I turned to look at the fight, no longer as an active participant, but as a simple spectator. I didn¡¯t enjoy watching fights usually, but with the lack of any landed blows, and the threat of violence gone, I could appreciate the fight as an impressive display of acrobatics.

    The convoy had stopped moving a while ago, with the drivers and guards having been interested enough in the fight to stop and watch, and we were still close enough that we could see most of the action. As Medric continued to attack and Ryuji continued to dodge, I was almost tempted to join in the cheering and jeering of the convoy guards as they teased their Captain for losing against a teenage boy. I didn¡¯t end up doing that, simply being content with watching and crying sweet tears of joy.

    Medric didn¡¯t seem to notice the crowd¡¯s taunts, his eyes focused on trying to hit Ryuji, but at some point, the endless assault seemed to tire him out. He attempted one last punch and Ryuji dodged it casually, not breathing any harder than he had been at the start of the fight. Instead of following it up with another attack, like he had been for the entirety of the fight so far, Medric stepped back, putting as much distance as he could between him and Ryuji.

    Even from the distance we were at, I could tell that Medric was buying time to catch his breath. He held his hands up in a defensive stance while he regained his energy, but Ryuji didn¡¯t seem interested in taking advantage of the situation. He simply stood there, still standing in the same casual pose that he¡¯d started the fight in and gave Medric a cocky grin.

    As the convoy guards continued to throw friendly jeers at their Captain, Medric finally seemed to notice their presence. His eyes darted back, and his mouth opened in a snarl, as if he were about to tell his men off, but for a split second he locked eyes with me.

    He stood there, with his mouth still open for about half a second, before snapping it shut. He had a firm look in his eyes, and his strength seemed to suddenly return to him in a moment of resolution. He nodded at me, sending me a nonverbal message that I didn¡¯t quite catch. My eyes were still watering, and I didn¡¯t think they would stop any time soon.

    I smiled at him, silently thanking him for getting Ryuji to reveal his humane side.

    For some reason, that made Medric frown even harder. He turned back to Ryuji.

    In a move that surprised me, Medric lowered his hands and sighed.

    ¡°Fine, you got me,¡± he said, raising his hands in surrender. The convoy guards gave him a few playful boos as he approached Ryuji with his hands up, but he ignored them. ¡°It was a good match. You clearly beat me in everything but age,¡± he said, with a friendly smile and a laugh.

    Ryuji seemed surprised, but didn¡¯t move from his spot, not having a guard to lower. He said nothing as Medric slowly walked closer to him.

    Once he was close enough, Medric slowly reached out to Ryuji. Ryuji seemed confused, but didn¡¯t hesitate to reach out and shake it.

    In a move that was too fast for me to follow, Medric lashed out with a high kick, creating a spray of embers that spewed out from the burnt out soles of his boots. Ryuji dodged the surprise attack, stepping back just enough that he wasn¡¯t hit by the flames, but Medric reacted, as if expecting the dodge. Reaching for his side, his hand grabbed the hilt of a dagger that he had strapped to his belt.

    And with a resounding crack, Medric fell to the ground.

    The jeering immediately stopped.

    Ryuji, standing directly behind Medric¡¯s fallen body, stared disdainfully down at him, with his hand raised in a chopping position. ¡°That was very dishonourable of you. Consider yourself lucky that I stopped here,¡± he said.

    Leaning down, Ryuji picked Medric up by the waistband and slung him over his shoulder like he weighed nothing. He walked over to the cart I was in and smiled at the driver.

    ¡°Medric might be unconscious for a few hours,¡± he said, shaking the body on his shoulder. ¡°Mind if I toss him in the back? I could carry him the rest of the way, but he might wake up with a sore back.¡±

    The driver said nothing. I empathized with him. I didn¡¯t know what to say either.

    Ryuji seemed to take the silence as confirmation, as he jumped up and into the cart. He glanced at me.

    ¡°Hey,¡± he said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He won¡¯t be able to bother you for a while now. Hopefully by the time he wakes up, we¡¯ll be in the city already. Can¡¯t guarantee he¡¯ll stay out for the rest of the ride, but if he wakes up, I can-¡° Ryuji swung his free hand down in a chopping motion, ¡°-just do that again.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I croaked.

    ¡°Oh this?¡± Ryuji asked, chopping the air again. ¡°It¡¯s something that people do all the time in my w- country. Just a solid chop to the neck.¡± Ryuji swung his hand once more. ¡°And they¡¯re knocked out. First time I¡¯ve tried it out though, so I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯ll last.¡±

    What? This time the question died on my lips. What was he talking about? Could a chop to the back of the neck just knock someone out so conveniently? Maybe he was right. Maybe he had some secret Otherworlder technique to safely disable an opponent peacefully and it just happened to make a horrifying noise that sounded exactly like Medric¡¯s bones had exploded from the force.

    Yeah, that must have been what had happened. It had to be. If it wasn¡¯t, then that meant that I was wrong and Ryuji did have the capability to be an unrepentant killer. Yeah. No way I¡¯d been wrong about that.

    I stared Ryuji in the eyes, as if daring him to deny my internal monologue.

    He didn¡¯t seem to understand what I wanted from him, and simply smiled.

    I looked to Medric instead, silently begging him to give me any sort of sign that Ryuji wasn¡¯t a murderer.

    A corpse stared back at me, its head twisting at an impossible angle. Impossible for a live human at least. Unless Medric was secretly the world¡¯s most talented contortionist?

    The corpse¡¯s eyelids fell open, exposing the whites of its eyes as it hung upside down off Ryuji¡¯s back, and giving me the blankest expression that could ever exist on a human face.

    I screamed.

 16. Life and Death

    As if triggered by my scream, the silent world around me burst into a cacophony of sound. The confused shouts of the convoy men and the screams and stamps of startled horses filled the air as I stared into Medric¡¯s dead eyes.

    Ryuji stared at me like a confused dog, tilting his head to one side.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Lena?¡± he asked.

    I still hadn¡¯t stopped screaming, so I couldn¡¯t answer him.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked, dropping Medric unceremoniously on the floor. As Medric¡¯s body tumbled awkwardly against the cart, eventually settling down face first on a sack of vegetables. With my eye contact broken, I noticed Ryuji walking slowly towards me. My first instinct was to scramble away, to try and run away from the murderer, but I remained frozen.

    It wouldn¡¯t have been any use anyways.

    As Ryuji leaned over, my eyes watched his hand getting closer and closer to me. The same hands that had just killed a man seconds ago. I closed my eyes, too afraid to stare at my death so openly.

    I kept my eyes closed, even as I felt a hand lightly touching my shoulder.

    I stayed still, not wanting to give him any reason to kill me. My tears of relief had run dry, and like I originally expected, I was just too tired to cry anymore.

    ¡°Lena?¡± Ryuji asked, sounding way too close for me to be comfortable. ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    He sounded uncomfortable too, and I almost laughed at the idea.

    ¡°No,¡± I croaked. I was surprised at how flat my voice sounded, and I wondered how I¡¯d managed to keep my emotions from bubbling to the surface until I realized that I didn¡¯t need to hide them. I¡¯d already accepted that I was going to die.

    ¡°Why?¡± Ryuji asked, sounding shocked. ¡°What happened?¡±

    This time, I did laugh or at least I made a noise that sounded like something close to laughing. It was an odd sound that I¡¯d never made before, devoid of any humour.

    ¡°What happened?!¡± I said, punctuating the words with another bark of a laugh. I could sense the hysteria creeping into my voice and my mind. ¡°You killed someone. That¡¯s what happened. I don¡¯t know how people from your world feel about that, but over here, that¡¯s generally considered to be a pretty rude thing to do.¡±

    I laughed again. It was probably a bad idea to scold an Otherworlder, but I simply didn¡¯t care anymore. If I was going to die, I might as well be a little petty about it.

    I had my head down, staring at my lap as I curled up into a tight of a ball as possible. My eyes were still closed, but I could imagine Ryuji¡¯s confused look as he struggled to fathom why that was a bad thing.

    ¡°What?¡± he asked instead, his hand retreating quickly from my shoulder as if he¡¯d been shocked. ¡°What are you talking about, I¡¯m not a murderer.¡±

    I looked up at Ryuji. He was standing a few steps away from me. The genuine offence he seemed to take at my suggestion was enough for me to doubt what I¡¯d seen. I glanced at the place where Medric had been discarded and half expected him to get up and stretch, confused as to why he¡¯d been knocked out for a few minutes.

    Nope. He was still dead. I let out a heavy sigh, Ryuji, who had noticed where I was looking, turned around to examine his handiwork. His eyes widened in surprise and¡­ fear?

    ¡°No. No. I can¡¯t be,¡± he said, backing away from the body slowly.

    As if responding to what he said, a voice shouted out from somewhere I couldn¡¯t see.

    ¡°Come out with your weapons dropped and your hands up, murderer!¡±

    I had been too focused on Medric¡¯s corpse to remember that we weren¡¯t alone. I couldn¡¯t see them, with the walls of the cart being too high to see over the edge while sitting down, but it sounded like a few men had surrounded the cart.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a murderer,¡± Ryuji said weakly, too quiet for anyone besides me to possibly hear him.

    It seemed like he hadn¡¯t actually meant to kill Medric, but that didn¡¯t change anything. I didn¡¯t know if he thought Medric was stronger than he was, or if Otherworlders had an anatomy that allowed them to snap each others¡¯ necks and still live, but that didn¡¯t change the fact that Medric was still dead.

    ¡°You are,¡± I said bitterly. ¡°You killed him.¡±

    I assumed my sudden boldness was less due to bravery and more due to the fact that I couldn¡¯t be bothered anymore. A moment ago, I¡¯d stopped caring about what I said because I thought Ryuji would kill me anyways. Now I couldn¡¯t help but think he was just clueless. Every time I thought I understood him well enough to expect his next move, he just did something entirely unexpected. Trying to figure out Ryuji was exhausting.

    ¡°No! I¡¯m not!¡± Ryuji said, turning around to shout at me. He¡¯d backed up far enough from Medric¡¯s body that he was close to me, almost shouting into my face, but I was surprised by how little I reacted to it. I wasn¡¯t sure whether it was because I was tired, or because it was hard to be scared of someone who looked so scared themselves. ¡°He¡¯s not dead yet! I can fix this!¡±

    It took a few seconds for me to process what he¡¯d just said, but when I did, my eyes widened in realisation. That was right. I wasn¡¯t just dealing with a random kid who¡¯d accidentally killed someone in a freak accident. It was absurd to think that anyone could bring someone back from the dead, but if anyone could do it, it was an Otherworlder.

    ¡°You can?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Well¡­¡± Ryuji said, suddenly hesitant.

    No. He wasn¡¯t backing out of this now. I¡¯d gained and lost so much hope in the past few minutes that I refused to let go of the little faith I still had in him. In a moment of madness, I stood up and grabbed Ryuji¡¯s face.

    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    I had meant to pull him down towards me, but he was so stable on his feet that I just ended up lunging forward until our noses almost touched. He looked uncomfortable. I could imagine why.

    Though I hadn¡¯t seen my reflection in days, I could only guess how I looked. Wide-eyed and dishevelled, bloodshot eyes from crying, manic desperate eyes. I must have looked like death. If anything, it made me glad to feel even a fraction of the discomfort I¡¯d felt while travelling with him. I was finally able to exact at least a small level of petty revenge against him.

    ¡°Fix this,¡± I said. ¡°Heal him.¡±

    Ryuji gulped and stepped back. I followed him, keeping my eyes locked onto his, the entire time.

    ¡°Heal him,¡± I repeated.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± he said, hesitantly.

    I wasn¡¯t too happy with the lack of confidence in his voice, but I would take what I could get. I let go of him and stumbled backwards, unsteady on my feet. When Ryuji tried to step forward to help me, I fixed him with a glare and pointed to Medric¡¯s body.

    Someone on the ground yelled at me or Ryuji. I wasn¡¯t sure. Now that I was standing, I could look around to see who it was, but before I could identify the shouter, I noticed the driver. He was standing a few feet away from the ring of guards that had surrounded us. He was raising his hand, as if he wanted to tap one of the guards on the shoulder to tell him something, but didn¡¯t seem to have the courage to try.

    I could empathize with him, but I was too annoyed at him to care. If he had believed me from the start, none of this would have happened. I could admit that if I¡¯d been in his shoes, I probably wouldn¡¯t have believed some random girl¡¯s claims that her travel companion was an Otherworlder either, but that didn¡¯t stop the petty spite I felt.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make us climb up th-¡°

    A flash of bright light interrupted the guard, forcing him to cover his eyes in reaction. I turned around, to see Ryuji standing over Medric¡¯s body.

    There was only a brief moment of silence before the guards started to yell at us again. I ignored them as I examined Medric. Though his neck looked much less crooked than it had been a moment ago, he was still unmoving. Despite not wanting to get my hopes up, I watched the body with my breath held.

    When Medric opened his eyes, I let out a sigh of relief, but with my lungs empty, all that came out was a coughing fit.

    ¡°Ferra!¡± Medric screamed, sitting up and grabbing at the air. When he managed to grab nothing, he blinked slowly and looked at his hands, his mouth gaping open at the sight.

    The rest of the guards suddenly quieted down at the voice of their leader. The air was silent, save for Medric¡¯s heavy breathing.

    ¡°I¡¯m alive?¡± Medric asked no one. His voice was barely a whisper, but in the relative silence I could just barely hear him. ¡°But, I saw her. I was-¡±

    ¡°Never dead in the first place,¡± Ryuji said with a nervous laugh. ¡°Just a little injured after our spar. No harm done?¡±

    Medric looked up at Ryuji with fear and awe in his eyes. Ryuji¡¯s hands were still glowing with the residue of Mana that he¡¯d gathered to cast the spell. Though it was fading quickly, I had no doubt that Medric understood how powerful Ryuji must have been to summon that much mana without dying. Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t seem like he¡¯d come to any conclusions yet and was just trying to recover from having been brought back from death.

    I supposed I could have been sympathetic to his situation, but I was just too irritated to care. I was throwing him into the deep end whether he liked it or not.

    ¡°Ryuji just wants to make sure you had FUN,¡± I said, emphasising the last word. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t a friendly spar be FUN, after all?¡±

    Though Medric barely seemed to register my voice at first, the mention of the word FUN made him turn towards me so fast that I thought he would break his neck again. I fixed him with a flat stare, narrowing my eyes as if daring him to not understand what I was trying to say.

    When his eyes widened, I knew that he finally understood.

    ¡°O-oh,¡± he said, still staring at me, and not at the Otherworlder standing over him. ¡°I suppose accidents can happen. It was a pleasure to be humbled by you, my friend. My uninteresting tactics left me naive over the years.¡±

    I somehow managed to resist the urge to slap my face in frustration.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Ryuji asked, clearly confused.

    All around me, I could hear the confused mumbling of the guards and drivers who were gathered around our cart, with their weapons still brandished. After hearing the voice of their supposedly dead captain, it seemed like they had no idea what to do.

    ¡°Medric,¡± I barked. ¡°Call your men off before they try and get someone killed for a simple friendly spar.¡± I thought it was obvious enough without specifying who exactly would be killed if they tried.

    Medric seemed confused, but more because he didn¡¯t seem to understand what I was talking about rather than being confused about why a girl half his size was ordering him around. Looking around, he finally seemed to notice what was going on around him.

    ¡°Uh, it¡¯s okay guys,¡± he said, his voice shaky as he waved them down. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Go back to your stations and let¡¯s get a move on, shall we? No reason to delay our journey to Redstone just because of a little fun accident, right?¡±

    The rest of the convoy men, aside from the driver of my cart, seemed to be confused about what had just happened, but with their leader clearly still alive, the small mob quickly dispersed. Medric looked back at me, as if silently asking for my approval.

    ¡°Good,¡± I said begrudgingly. ¡°Now get out of here and do your job.¡±

    Not needing any more encouragement than that, Medric launched himself out of the cart, leaping as far as he could and taking guard at the furthest cart he could possibly go to. Our cart didn¡¯t move for a while, since our driver refused to come back, but after he¡¯d traded placed with a younger and more confused driver, we started on our journey back to Redstone.

    Ryuji was still standing in the cart with me, and he looked at me nervously. He opened his mouth multiple times, but said nothing. I was content with letting him stew in his own discomfort, and was willing to let the rest of the journey play out in silence until it showed up.

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 99.0252%; text-align: center">

    Secret Objective: Safe Travels [COMPLETE]

    An adventurer¡¯s journey is never truly safe, with danger being a constant companion to any adventurer worth their salt. But despite any accidents, you managed to keep everyone safe. All''s well that ends well, right?

    +100 exp

    </td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    ¡°Get out,¡± I said.

    Ryuji opened his mouth one more time, as if to protest, but quickly thought better of it and hopped off the cart, bringing the blue panel with him.

    A few seconds after he left, I knelt on the floor and started rummaging through my travel sack, cursing and grumbling the entire time. I shoved my hand into my bag until I finally found what I was looking for.

    Any embarrassment I felt about stripping underneath the open sky was overshadowed by the humiliation of having wet myself in fear. At the very least, the cart walls were high enough that I was hidden from view from everyone on the ground.

    Clad in fresh underwear and pants, I felt a little better about myself but marginally so. I was still angry beyond belief and generally too annoyed to properly function. I felt tempted to burn my discarded clothes, but I refrained, not wanting to draw any more attention to myself. I felt I would snap at anyone who even looked at me right now.

    Throwing my pants to the furthest corner of the cart, I sat down against the wall, thinking of strategies to abandon Ryuji once I managed to hand him off to some Crown official in Redstone.

 17. Loverâ€™s Spat

    I wasn¡¯t sure if I had been awake when we arrived at Redstone or if I¡¯d just been in a daze, but when the cart stopped and I looked up to see what was happening, I was startled to see that we were already so close to the city.

    My cart had arrived at the end of a long queue of travellers, most with large carts just like the one I was sitting in. At the other end of the line, there was a massive gate that led into the city, wide enough to let at least five or six carts through comfortably at a time, but while the line was moving steadily forward, it was still a slow process, since it seemed like the guards were speaking with every group that rolled through.

    ¡°Umm, excuse me.¡± I turned to the source of the voice. The younger driver who¡¯d been roped into driving my cart glanced between me and Medric, who was standing a few feet away from the cart looking nervously back at me while pretending like he wasn¡¯t. ¡°Medric wanted me to tell you that you can go.¡±

    Medric¡¯s eyes widened and he shuffled closer to the driver, motioning to him to come closer. The driver sighed and leaned down to Medric, who whispered into his ear.

    ¡°He also wanted me to tell you that I didn¡¯t mean to sound disrespectful,¡± the driver said, with a roll of the eyes. ¡°He just wants you to know that there¡¯s a separate queue for business visitors. Unless you want to sell something or buy in wholesale, you and Ryuji can pretty much just walk right in.¡±

    The driver glanced down at Medric, who was trying very hard not to look at me. The driver gave me a questioning look but didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said. An hour hadn¡¯t been nearly enough time to calm down completely, but I was able to control my emotions to the point where I wasn¡¯t going to snap at someone for no reason. ¡°Can you help me down?¡±

    The driver sighed and moved to get off his seat, but before he could do anything, Medric had already jumped up onto the cart, kneeling in a deep bow like I was royalty. He had one hand extended, but didn¡¯t say anything.

    I sighed and took his hand, ignoring the strange look that the driver was giving me.

    Medric kept his head down, the entire time he helped me off, and even after I had both feet on solid ground. I considered thanking him, but I got the feeling that he didn¡¯t want any of my attention whatsoever, so I spared him the trouble.

    Ignoring the stares and whispers of the other convoymen, I walked towards Ryuji, who was standing a few feet ahead of the convoy with a deep slouch in his posture. I don¡¯t know if he heard me walking closeby, but he kept his eyes firmly on the ground in front of him.

    It pissed me off. Though the cart ride had given me enough time to cool off somewhat, the sight of Ryuji sulking around like he was somehow the victim in all of this was enough for me to get angry all over again. A small part of me screamed in agony as I threw away all sense of self-preservation and roughly grabbed Ryuji by the sleeve.

    Ryuji looked up, and seemed surprised to see me.

    ¡°Lena?¡± he said.

    ¡°We¡¯re going,¡± I said, speaking as little as possible, pulling at his sleeve some more.

    Though I knew Ryuji wouldn¡¯t have budged if he didn¡¯t want to, he came along with me dutifully. I saw more than a few onlookers watching us with a glint of humour in their eyes, and vaguely heard the words ¡°lover¡¯s spat¡± being thrown around by more than a few people, but I was far past the point of caring.

    ¡°Are you angry at me?¡± Ryuji asked quietly.

    I didn¡¯t bother giving him an answer.

    When we reached the gate, a friendly looking guard by the side noticed us and waved us over. He gave us a smile when we reached him.

    ¡°Hello, hello, and welcome! You folks here for trade or for pleasure?¡± he asked.

    I might¡¯ve appreciated the man¡¯s attitude at any other time, but I was too haggard to appreciate it at the moment.

    ¡°Pleasure,¡± I lied, not seeing a third option available. I doubted a standard footguard would be the person to talk about Otherworlders to anyways.

    ¡°A fine choice, our city is then,¡± he said with a wink. ¡°Just because it¡¯s a mining town don¡¯t mean it hasn¡¯t got it¡¯s own character. In fact, I¡¯d say it means the opposite! Just a few more question for you folks before I let you in though. Whereabouts are you folks from?¡±

    I tried not to sigh. I just wanted to get inside and find the nearest Crown office. ¡°Plainswood,¡± I said.

    ¡°Oh!¡± the guard said, pausing to scratch his head. ¡°Umm, what was I supposed to do now again?¡±

    I raised an eyebrow. It didn¡¯t seem like the guard actually expected me to answer, more like he was voicing his thoughts out loud, but after a few seconds he clapped his hands. Was everything he did this animated?

    ¡°Oh yeah!¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to direct you to the post office.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I said, my grip on Ryuji¡¯s sleeve becoming tighter. ¡°Why?¡±

    The guard shrugged and gave me an apologetic smile. ¡°Not so sure myself, miss,¡± he said. ¡°Something about a couple of important letters needing to be delivered to the Mayor there? I was told that if anyone from Plainswood comes here, I would need to make sure they reported to the post, first thing. Don¡¯t worry, if it were really that urgent, they¡¯d probably deliver it normally instead of hoisting the duty on a tourist. Honestly, it¡¯s a pretty odd request if you ask me.¡±

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Though the guard laughed, as if he¡¯d just told a joke, what he said made a lot of sense. It was an incredibly odd request.

    ¡°Okay,¡± I said.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± the guard replied. ¡°Okay what?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll go. What direction should we walk?¡±

    ¡°Oh the post office? It¡¯s just down the street and in the square. Small-ish blue building, not too noticeable, but if you ask around, there¡¯ll definitely be someone who knows where to go.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± It was a vaguer set of directions than I¡¯d hoped for, but I was too antsy to stay still any longer. ¡°Can we go now?¡±

    The guard gave us a little bow. ¡°Welcome to Redstone. I promise you¡¯ll enjoy your stay.¡±

    I nodded and walked off, with Ryuji¡¯s sleeve still in my hands. The guard gave him an amused smirk but didn¡¯t stop us from passing by.

    We made it about twenty steps before Ryuji stopped suddenly. The sudden stop almost made me stumble backwards, but I was able to barely hang on and right myself, using Ryuji¡¯s shirt as support.

    I turned around, as if to yell at him, but when I saw the deep frown on his face, I was reminded that no matter how docile he seemed, he was still an Otherworlder. I sighed, still too tired and angry for my fear to overtaken, but not enough for me to want to completely disrespect Ryuji and risk angering just because I was feeling spiteful.

    He stared down at me, and I could tell he wanted to say something, so I waited.

    ¡°Are you angry with me?¡± he asked.

    Yes. No. Maybe? The possible answers ran through my head, but none of them seemed right. I decided to speak without thinking, rather than trying to weight the pros and cons of each answer.

    ¡°No,¡± I said, surprised by my own answer. ¡°I¡¯m just a little upset. Terrified. Angry, yes. But not at you.¡±

    Just what you are. I made an exception to my ¡°speak without thinking¡± strategy to hold that particular comment back.

    ¡°You¡¯re really not angry?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I just say I was?¡± I asked, poking him in the chest. ¡°I am angry. You killed a man, Ryuji.¡±

    Ryuji winced. ¡°I healed him though,¡± he said, with a nervous chuckle. ¡°All¡¯s well that ends well, right?¡±

    A painful throb of anger coursed through my head as I remembered the audacity of that stupid blue panel to even suggest such a thing. I poked Ryuji in the chest, not trusting myself to say something coherent. Thankfully, Ryuji seemed to understand what I meant, as he shrunk back, as if my finger could possibly hurt him.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to,¡± he said weakly.

    ¡°I know,¡± I replied. For all of his faults, I could tell that much was true. I still didn¡¯t know what to think of his lust for battling with demons, but it was clear that he was truly remorseful about killing Medric. ¡°It¡¯s why I¡¯m still here and not running away as fast as I can.¡±

    It probably wasn¡¯t a good idea to admit that, but I was letting my mouth run more than I expected to. It was true that while I felt an obligation to make sure that I brought Ryuji to the crown, it was only because I had at least some faith that he wouldn¡¯t kill me on the way there. If he¡¯d been an unrepentant murderer from the start, I simply wouldn¡¯t have tried.

    Thankfully, my admission didn¡¯t seem to make Ryuji feel worse. In fact, a slow smile started to spread on his face.

    ¡°Really?¡± he said. ¡°Then we¡¯re fine?¡±

    I had no idea what he meant by that, but I sighed and nodded. ¡°I guess,¡± I said. ¡°As long as you try to learn how to control yourself, so you don¡¯t kill anyone else. I don¡¯t know what your country is like, but someone has to teach you what common sense is here.¡±

    That someone wouldn¡¯t be me, but Ryuji didn¡¯t have to know that.

    I looked back up at him, hoping that I hadn¡¯t accidentally said that out loud, but thankfully he was still smiling at me.

    Sensing the conversation was over, I grabbed his shirt and started to walk down the road once more, but was immediately stopped in my tracks. Ryuji wasn¡¯t resisting my pull anymore, but it wasn¡¯t him that stopped me, but rather the sight of the armed guards standing directly in my path.

    Three guards, clad in leather armor stared at us. The one in the center, the clear leader of the group, gave me a glare as he scanned my body for threats. Looking around, I noticed that a crowd had gathered around us in a large circle, whispering about murderers.

    Oh. I guess we weren¡¯t being very quiet.

    ¡°Hey, you two,¡± the guard said. ¡°What¡¯s this I heard about a killer roaming the streets?¡±

    ¡°It was nothing, sir,¡± I said, trying to give him the best smile I could. I wonder how it looked to him. An unkempt girl, who¡¯d just spent eight days on the road, most of those days in a forest, and a massive boy in strange clothes, talking about how he¡¯d just murdered a man. I didn¡¯t like my chances.

    ¡°Sure, sure,¡± he said. Using the hilt of his sword, still sheathed for now, he pointed at my shoulders and my feet. ¡°Nice cloak. Your boots too. Where¡¯d you get them?¡±

    I could feel my smile becoming crooked. What the hell, Polly? ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± I said. ¡°A friend gave them to me, sir.¡±

    ¡°A friend gave you a matching set of designer clothes, huh? Straight from Pollor¡¯s? My wife¡¯s been hounding me to buy her a set just like that. Not something you can buy so easily off a senior officer¡¯s salary, so I was just curious about what your boyfriend does. But if it was a friend that gave you those clothes. Now I¡¯m even more curious. You mind coming with me for a bit so I can ask you a few questions?¡±

    My eye started to twitch uncontrollably. ¡°No chance we could go to the post office first, is there officer?¡±

    ¡°Not sure there is,¡± he said. ¡°Not that you mind, I¡¯m sure.¡±

    Ryuji stepped forward, as if to say something, but I quickly grabbed him, afraid of what he would do.

    ¡°We¡¯ll go, officer,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be able to clear up this misunderstanding in no time.¡±

    The man raised an eyebrow but nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sure we will.¡±

    About an hour and a half later, a nervous looking guard approached my prison cell with a set of keys. Behind him was a girl who looked to be about my age, with absurdly long red hair that looked like it would reach down to about her knees if she didn¡¯t have it tied in a high ponytail. I idly wondered if she was overcompensating for something, as she barely reached the guard¡¯s elbow in height. As the guard flipped through his keys, searching quickly for the ones that opened my cell, she gave me a wink.

    Once the guard opened the cell door, the girl stepped inside and pulled the door closed shut behind her.

    ¡°Leave us,¡± she said.

    The guard nodded and quickly ran down the hallway, out of sight.

    My prison cell didn¡¯t have many amenities, so I couldn¡¯t offer a seat to her, but I felt like standing would be rude as I didn¡¯t want to tower over her. Even sitting down, I was slightly taller than her.

    ¡°You know,¡± the girl said, with a smirk. ¡°It¡¯s much nicer at the post office. Why couldn¡¯t we have had our conversation there?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t choose to be here,¡± I replied. ¡°Who are you anyways? Why did you want me to go to the post office?¡±

    The girl seemed genuinely surprised by my question.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± she asked, pulling back her sleeve to show me a tattoo of an eye on her forearm. ¡°We need to talk about the Otherworlder.¡±

 18. Girl Talk

    ¡°Oh, thank the Gods.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, but there¡¯s no need for flattery,¡± the girl said, smirking at her own joke. ¡°Call me Sera. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Lena.¡±

    ¡°You know my name,¡± I said, a bit lamely.

    ¡°The messenger from your village told me. Or not me, but someone who told my director, who told me. But you get the point.¡±

    ¡°Are you a Mediator?¡± I asked. I hadn¡¯t expected to run into someone from the international peace-keeping group, but the eye tattoo on her forearm was a dead giveaway. The punishment for impersonating a Mediator was harsh, often ending up in execution, so I didn¡¯t think she would¡¯ve strolled into a prison cell if she was afraid of being outed as a fraud.

    I would admit that Sera didn¡¯t exactly fit the image I would¡¯ve thought a Mediator would look like, but somehow, I could feel a sense of utter confidence exuding from her. It was out of place from someone who looked to be my age.

    ¡°Yup!¡± Sera said, popping the p. ¡°And I¡¯m here to help you out with your little Otherworlder problem. You mind having a quick chat here? Or do you want to head over to the post office, first? I wasn¡¯t lying when I said it¡¯s nicer there. If we¡¯re gonna have a chat, I¡¯d rather do it over snacks.¡±

    I hardly felt like eating anything, but the thought of getting out of the dank prison cell and getting a seat with actual cushioning was nice.

    I nodded.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s get out of here,¡± Sera said, offering me a hand.

    When I took it, the amount of strength that Sera had in her tiny body surprised me, being strong enough to easily pull me off of my seat. She smirked at me, as if knowing exactly how surprised I was, but didn¡¯t say anything.

    The guard hadn¡¯t locked the door behind him when he left us, so we could just walk out if we wanted to. So that¡¯s what we did.

    It was only when we left the building that I realized something.

    ¡°Hey, shouldn¡¯t we get Ryuji?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Sera said. ¡°Is that your boyfriend¡¯s name? The messenger didn¡¯t mention it.¡±

    I frowned. ¡°He¡¯s not my boyfriend.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know,¡± Sera said, with a laugh. ¡°But I can hardly talk about what he really is in public, can I?¡±

    I looked around at people around us. Even if I doubted that any of them were really paying attention to us closely, we weren¡¯t talking quietly enough that I was confident that they wouldn¡¯t hear us. While telling everyone in the village about Ryuji, might have been the right move, I could see how it probably wouldn¡¯t be a good idea here. The population difference between Plainswood and Redstone was incomparable. If the people panicked here, there would be a stampede.

    ¡°Fine. But could you stop saying he¡¯s my boyfriend?¡± I asked, the idea making me shiver.

    Sera¡¯s smirk fell off her face as she grimaced to herself. ¡°Shit, sorry,¡± she said. ¡°The guard who took you in told me that you were a couple, so I thought that¡¯s the cover story you were using. Not used to dealing with amateurs.¡±

    I was surprised by the admission and surprisingly grateful. It had been too long since someone took me seriously so quickly. A ghost of a smile fluttered on my face. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay to admit it¡¯s not,¡± Sera said with a shrug, her smirk slowly coming back to life. ¡°But we¡¯ll have someone more qualified for you to talk to about that later. And to answer your original question, no, we shouldn¡¯t bring him. After all, it would be pretty rude to gossip about him to his face. Better to do it behind his back.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure whether the casual way she was talking put me at ease or made me nervous. Was she being confident or just blas¨¦ about the fact that we were talking about someone who could easily level the city to the ground?

    ¡°But won¡¯t it be dangerous to leave him in the prison on his own?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Maybe,¡± Sera admitted. ¡°But there really isn¡¯t a better way to do this, Lena. I need to talk to you alone and he¡¯s been sitting alone in a cell for a while now. I¡¯m sure a few more minutes won¡¯t make a huge difference. And I do have people watching over him too, y¡¯know.¡±

    ¡°Not that anyone can stop Ryuji if he wants to leave,¡± I said.

    ¡°True,¡± Sera said, with an easy laugh that didn¡¯t match up with what she just admitted to. ¡°Which is why we should hurry up, shouldn¡¯t we?¡±

    The post office wasn¡¯t too far from the Guard station, so it didn¡¯t take us too long to walk there. Inside the building, there was a small queue to the receptionist¡¯s desk, but rather than wait, Sera took my arm and guided me towards the side of the main lobby and into a door. More than a few people gave us odd stares, but nobody tried to stop us.

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    We passed by a few offices until Sera stopped at a door that looked identical to most of the ones we¡¯d passed by already. Without knocking, she pushed it open and beckoned me inside.

    The room was sparsely decorated, not looking too much different from the prison cell, aside from the difference in furniture. Everything was coloured in a drab grey or brown colour, except for the large mountain of colourful snacks that sat on the table at the center of the room. Most of the snacks were of a variety that I¡¯d never seen before, and from the overly fanciful boxes, I could tell they were probably expensive.

    ¡°The perks of being important enough for people to want to impress you,¡± Sera said, closing the door behind me. ¡°We don¡¯t have all day, so we might as well get to it.¡±

    The room looked like it seated about twelve, so I just chose the seat closest to me. I heard a click behind me, and saw Sera locking the door before she walked over to the opposite side of the table before sitting down.

    Somehow, the fact that her shoulders barely seemed to reach the table didn¡¯t seem bother to her in the slightest, even when she had to lean over to grab a cookie from the center of the table. The action looked so childlike that it would¡¯ve probably been funny, though I wasn¡¯t in any mood to laugh.

    ¡°Cookie?¡± she asked, offering me the one she¡¯d just picked up.

    ¡°No thanks,¡± I said. ¡°Could we just talk about Ryuji, now?¡±

    ¡°You sure?¡± she asked, before tossing the cookie into her mouth. I think I saw her chew maybe three times before she swallowed and reached for another. ¡°These are seriously good.¡±

    ¡°Positive.¡±

    She shrugged before she swallowed her second cookie and reached for a pastry. ¡°I can appreciate a girl who gets down and dirty, as fast as possible,¡± she said. ¡°So, you want to be a Follower?¡±

    I paled at the thought. ¡°No,¡± I said, the image of Medric¡¯s corpse still fresh in my mind. ¡°No way.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Sera asked. ¡°Then why did you tag along with him, if you don¡¯t mind my asking? Normally, folks just send Otherworlders along their merry way when they find them. Not too many go above and beyond like you did.¡±

    Unless they wanted to be Followers. I heard the unspoken suggestion loudly, but still shook my head.

    ¡°I just wanted to make sure he got to where he needed to be, and I didn¡¯t trust anyone else to do it properly.¡±

    Sera gave me an analytical stare.

    ¡°So, just to be clear, you don¡¯t want to continue being his Follower? Are you aware that if you choose to remain as a Follower to an Otherworlder, you will be paid out a minimum of 8 gold on a monthly basis, potentially rising up to ten times that amount depending on how dangerous the Otherworlder proves to be?¡±

    I hadn¡¯t known that. I was technically aware that Followers were paid out a generous sum for their services, the exact amount was mind-boggling to me. My parents made maybe the equivalent of two gold coins per year, so the fact that I could potentially earn eighty in a month just put the whole Follower thing into a completely new perspective.

    Even so, I shook my head.

    ¡°No way,¡± I said. ¡°Not for all the money in the world.¡±

    Sera stared at me for a few more seconds before she smiled. Unlike the smug smirks she¡¯d been giving me so far, this one seemed a little more genuine. It was still a little smug, and from the little time I¡¯d known her, I could already tell that it would never completely go away.

    ¡°Good, I assumed as much, but I had to make sure,¡± she said. ¡°That makes my job a lot easier. You mind if I ask you a few questions?¡±

    ¡°Umm. I thought that¡¯s what we were here for,¡± I said, a little confused.

    ¡°Nah. We were originally here so I could interrogate you. Now I¡¯m just asking a few questions. Huge difference. First question,¡± she continued before I could ask what the hell she meant by that. ¡°What do you think is the Otherworlder¡¯s dream?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I asked. Though the question seemed to be random and nonsensical, it somehow seemed familiar at the same time.

    ¡°It¡¯s a popular theory that an Otherworlder¡¯s powers are shaped by their deepest desires. It¡¯s not a trick question or anything. We¡¯re just trying to understand what the nuances of his powers are, outside of the whole, ¡®skilled at everything¡¯ package that all Otherworlders seem to come with,¡± Sera said. The theory seemed familiar, and it took me a moment to figure out why.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the theory that it¡¯s shaped by their goals?¡± I asked.

    Sera shrugged. ¡°Dreams, goals. What¡¯s the difference. Maybe I¡¯m just more romantic than I look,¡± she said, giving me a smug smirk. The effect was somewhat ruined by the cream filling that stained her cheek, from the last pastry that she¡¯d shoved in her mouth. I had already lost count by now, more focused on the conversation than her voracious eating, but I think she¡¯d shoved seven snacks down her throat by now. ¡°So? What do you think the Otherworlder¡¯s dreams are?¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s obvious that he wants to become an adventurer, whatever that means,¡± I said. ¡°But if you want to hear about Ryuji¡¯s powers, then I can just tell you about that.¡±

    For the first time since she¡¯d sat down, Sera¡¯s mouth snapped close over the cookie instead of swallowing it whole. Half a cookie remained dangling in her hand.

    ¡°Oh?¡± she asked. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    She was still smiling, but her eyes were narrowing, rapidly losing their playful edge. I couldn¡¯t help but think I¡¯d made a mistake.

    ¡°Umm,¡± I said, suddenly a lot less confident in what I was going to say. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    ¡°Do you see things that other people can¡¯t see?¡± My eyes widened when she set the half-eaten cookie on the counter, discarded and forgotten. She was getting serious. ¡°Things that the Otherworlder can obviously see as well? Panels floating in the air? Glowing labels floating above people¡¯s heads? Random music playing in the air that nobody else seems to hear?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡± I said cautiously. ¡°Not all of those things, though. Just the panels.¡±

    Sera stared at me for a few more seconds before gently placing her head in her hands, and letting out a heavy sigh.

    ¡°Why? What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked, a little afraid of her reaction.

    Sera shook her head and hopped off her chair. At first, I wondered if that meant if I should get up too, but she walked over to me too fast for me to actually decide whether I wanted to stand or not.

    The look in Sera¡¯s eyes scared me. She should¡¯ve been barely taller than I was standing while I was sitting, but when I was forced to crane my neck to look up at her, I vaguely realized I was curled up in fear, my arms wrapped around my knee as if I could somehow escape Sera¡¯s apologetic, pitying expression if I made myself small enough.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lena,¡± Sera said, wrapping me up in a hug. ¡°You¡¯re a Chosen Follower.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what that meant exactly, but I could tell it wasn¡¯t good. I let out a low whine in protest as Sera pulled my head towards her chest. I let her do it, finding comfort in her support.

 19. Serious Talk

    ¡°Surprisingly soft, right?¡±

    I had no idea what that meant, or who was even talking, or where I was. I shifted around and adjusted myself on my pillow, mumbling something that I hoped would resemble a request to let me sleep for five more minutes.

    Then I recognized the voice. I bolted up, pushing myself away from Sera. I flushed when I realized what exactly I was using for leverage and took my hands off her chest as quickly as I could. Sera didn¡¯t seem to mind, but the amused chuckle she gave me made me flush even more.

    ¡°What happened?¡± I asked, looking around the room. We were still in the same meeting room that we had been talking in. The only difference was that the mountain of snacks that sat in the middle of the table was half gone.

    ¡°I hugged you for a few seconds and you passed out,¡± Sera replied, giving me a sad smile. ¡°You must¡¯ve had a tough few days.¡±

    I might¡¯ve appreciated the sympathy that Sera had for me more, if I wasn¡¯t so mortified. I¡¯d somehow fallen asleep in front of a Mediator, while talking about an Otherworlder.

    ¡°How long was I out?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Not long,¡± Sera said. ¡°About a minute and a half. Sorry, but that¡¯s as much as I was willing to let you sleep. We¡¯re on a bit of a time limit, especially since we need to discuss a few more things than I thought we would.¡±

    It took me a few seconds to remember what she was talking about.

    ¡°Nope. I don¡¯t think that will be necessary,¡± I said, trying to push myself up. Before I could stand up, however, Sera moved in front of me and placed a hand on my shoulder and kept me down. ¡°Please let me go.¡±

    ¡°Lena,¡± Sera said, the pitying look in her eyes returning. ¡°You need to know what you are. Denying the truth isn¡¯t going to help anyone, especially not yourself.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°You must be mistaken. I¡¯m just a normal girl from a small town in the middle of nowhere. I¡¯m no one special.¡±

    Sera sighed and leaned down to give me another hug. This one was nowhere near as comforting as the first one she gave me, but when she pulled away, the resolute confidence she held in her eyes did give me a moment of clarity. In the relative silence of the room, I suddenly became very aware of how heavily I was panting.

    ¡°I know it¡¯s scary. But I promise I can help. You need to know more about the situation you¡¯re in so you can better understand how to handle it, and possibly how to get away from it.¡±

    I perked up at that. The only sound that filled the room was the frantic pounding of my heartbeat as I stared Sera in the eyes, searching them for any hint of a lie. She held my stare easily, and the ghost of a smirk reappeared on her face.

    ¡°Breathe, Lena,¡± she said. ¡°It won¡¯t do us any good if you pass out again.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t realized I was holding my breath, but after Sera mentioned it, I couldn¡¯t help but gasp and greedily suck in the air I hadn¡¯t known I was missing. The sudden intake of air was rough on my dry throat, but I managed not to devolve into a coughing fit. Sera backed away from me and sat back down in her seat across the table.

    ¡°You¡¯re a Chosen Follower,¡± she said.

    ¡°Care to explain what that is?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have too much time,¡± Sera said. ¡°I¡¯ll explain in more detail later, but for now you¡¯ll have to be satisfied with the short version.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. It didn¡¯t seem like she was asking for my approval, but I gave it anyways, if only to trick myself into believing I had more control over the situation than I did.

    ¡°Before I explain what a Follower really is, I need you to understand something, Lena. Being a Follower isn¡¯t as rare as you might think. There at least a few hundred Followers or ex-Followers alive in the world today. Just like you, they started their journey afraid and unconfident, but the Mediators put a lot of resources into making sure they lead as normal lives as possible, just like how we¡¯ll make sure you feel as comfortable as you possibly can throughout your life. Do you understand?¡±

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    I didn¡¯t. ¡°A few hundred?¡± I asked. ¡°Didn¡¯t the Pestilence King die over fifty years ago? Wasn¡¯t he the last Otherworlder to come here?¡±

    ¡°He was the last Otherworlder to have more than significant effects on an international scale. It doesn¡¯t mean that he¡¯s the only Otherworlder have arrived since then. Dozens of Otherworlders were alive during the Pestilence King¡¯s rampage, and dozens more are alive today,¡± Sera smiled and reached over the table to place a comforting hand gently over mine. ¡°Do you understand what that means, Lena?¡±

    I looked down at Sera¡¯s hand, a little confused. Though the idea that there were more than a few potential copies of the Pestilence King alive and running around today should have terrified me out of my wits, the way that Sera was talking and how she was trying to comfort me while talking about such a horrifying concept didn¡¯t seem to match up. I was actually feeling a lot better, which surprised me, and it took me a second to guess why.

    ¡°Not all Otherworlders are as bad as the Pestilence King,¡± I suggested.

    Sera nodded, pleased at my revelation. ¡°Exactly,¡± she said, letting go of my hand and tossing another snack into her mouth. ¡°Though the world is filled with these terrifying creatures, most of the world is unaware simply because the situation is under control. The Mediators have the situation under control and we¡¯re right here, ready to help. Does that make you feel any better?¡±

    I wasn¡¯t surprised to realize that it did. I felt a few tears of relief streaming down my cheeks and sniffled before I wiped my nose on my sleeve.

    ¡°Cookie?¡± Sera asked. I didn¡¯t look up at her, but she slid one into my view. I nodded in thanks and took it.

    It felt a bit childlike to indulge in such a sugary thing, but with Sera already having eaten about half her weight in snacks, I felt a little less bad about it. I expected my shaky emotional state to make it difficult to taste food properly, but if anything, the cookie almost tasted sweeter by being the only good thing to happen in my life for the past week and a bit.

    ¡°Told you it was good,¡± Sera said, with a laugh. Evidently, my expression told a story on its own. I didn¡¯t care. I devoured that cookie and immediately reached for another.

    Seeing that I was too busy to reply, Sera continued to talk.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you feel better,¡± she said. ¡°I do want to clarify something though. The Mediators are here to help, and I promise that we will do our best to get you through this as undamaged as possible, but it¡¯s not going to be easy. The important thing to keep in mind is that it is possible.¡±

    I knew she was repeating the conclusion I¡¯d already come to, but hearing it said out loud did make me feel better. After being stuck without hope for so long, the mere idea that I wasn¡¯t stuck forever was a huge relief.

    ¡°I know I said that it was possible that you could get rid of the responsibility of being a Follower, and I wasn¡¯t lying, but the process is very vague and difficult, especially for a Chosen Follower,¡± she said, holding up a hand to stop me from speaking up before I could even consider it. ¡°And just like I promised, I¡¯ll explain what a Chosen Follower is.

    ¡°I can¡¯t explain to you all the methods that the Mediators use to categorize Followers. There¡¯s a literal book on that topic that I could potentially lend to you in the future, but one of the categories that Followers fall into depends on whether they¡¯re connected to their Otherworlder¡¯s power or not. You ever read ¡®The Chronicles of a Witness¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Umm,¡± I said slowly, giving myself some time to think of why it sounded familiar. ¡°Is that the book that the Pestilence King¡¯s Follower wrote?¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± Sera said. ¡°You read it then?¡±

    ¡°No, but my dad did. He didn¡¯t talk too much about it.¡±

    ¡°Good. It¡¯s a horrifying book. I only brought it up because I wanted to give you an example of a Follower who wasn¡¯t Chosen. I won¡¯t go into the details, but the entire book was written from the point of view of a helpless observer who was just there as¡­ well, an observer. There was nothing she could really do to change the course of the Pestilence King¡¯s path. Even if she was Chosen, it might not have mattered, but it certainly didn¡¯t help.¡±

    The implication wasn¡¯t lost on me. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that a Follower can influence their Otherworlder more if they¡¯re Chosen? Why?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because a Chosen Follower has access to their Otherworlder¡¯s power,¡± Sera said, pointing at me.

    I suddenly felt uncomfortable again. ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°What are you talking about? I¡¯m not nearly as powerful as Ryuji is.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean power in that sense,¡± Sera said, pointing at her eyes. ¡°You can see the panels. It¡¯s the source of your particular Otherworlder¡¯s power. It manifests in every Otherworlder slightly differently, but the fact that you can see it means that you have access to it despite being someone from Materia, and not Earth. For whatever reason, the Guide chose to extend its influence to you.¡±

    The way that Sera paused made it seem like she was setting me up to ask her the obvious question. I almost didn¡¯t want to, with the conversation having taken a bit of an unsettling tone relative to how it started, but my curiosity was too strong to ignore.

    ¡°What are you talking about? What¡¯s a Guide?¡±

    Sera locked eyes with me and folded both of her hands in front of her. It was a professional pose that seemed intentional, to convince me what she was about to say was spoken with an utmost seriousness, regardless of the cookie crumbs that littered on the table in front of her.

    ¡°A God.¡±

 20. Godtouched

    It was a testament to my willpower that I didn¡¯t scream in frustration. Either that or my exhaustion, but I felt it was getting a bit tiring to blame everything on that. It was about time that I took credit for how well I was taking things, considering the circumstances.

    Slumping down in my chair and letting out a low groan was a very contained reaction, in my opinion.

    ¡°I¡¯m Godtouched?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Sera said.

    ¡°Am I going to go insane?¡±

    While most Godtouched were relatively normal, I couldn¡¯t help but think about the edge cases. Godtouched were people that were somehow connected to the Aether in a way that was abnormal. Though the name was often misleading, in the sense that it was usually difficult to tell whether a person was directly linked to a God or just to the Aether as a whole, some Godtouched acted out in ways that made more sense if you assumed that their mind were somehow affected by the alien minds of the Gods themselves. The fact that I was apparently confirmed to be actually connected to a God, especially one that apparently granted Otherworlders their insane powers, was troubling, to put it lightly.

    Thinking of it lightly was the only saving grace I had. Regardless of Sera¡¯s answer, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if I would descend into madness either way. I could feel my mind threatening to snap under the pressure.

    ¡°It¡¯s possible,¡± Sera said, holding out a hand to stop me before I could react. ¡°But well researched. It¡¯s our job to make sure that never happens. I¡¯m glad to say that currently, there are no Otherworlders that have driven their Followers to madness under our supervision. Strangely enough, the Guide is quite probably the most benevolent and empathetic God that we know of. Unlike the other Gods, it seems to have an active moral compass, as skewed as it is. As long as you try and fulfill its wishes, it will actively ensure that your health and sanity will remain intact.¡±

    ¡°Odd way to describe a benevolence. I wasn¡¯t aware hostage situations were considered a good thing nowadays,¡± I said, reverting to snark when sense didn¡¯t work.

    ¡°It is when the alternative is unavoidable death,¡± Sera said, telling me what I already knew. Gods weren¡¯t beings that could typically be bargained with. The fact that this Guide God had a form of sentience that was almost relatable to ours was almost unthinkable. I might not have believed it if I hadn¡¯t seen the panels blatantly trying to communicate with me, but I had.

    Sera didn¡¯t seem too worried about trying to convince me that what she was saying was true, so she must have realized this too.

    I sighed.

    ¡°Okay. Fine. I¡¯m in some sort of fucked up contract with a God to be an Otherworlder¡¯s Follower. What does that even mean for me?¡±

    ¡°It means that you have to participate in the Otherworlder¡¯s dream,¡± Sera said. Her words, paired with her perpetually smug expression should have given me the impression that she was mocking me, but somehow, I could tell that she was being serious. ¡°I know that doesn¡¯t mean much to you, but trust me. That¡¯s the least vague way we can sum it up in one sentence.

    ¡°The scholars of the world aren¡¯t wrong when they say an Otherworlder¡¯s power is linked to their dreams. They¡¯re close, but they¡¯re missing a step. An Otherworlder¡¯s power is granted to them by the Guide, and the Guide seems to be interested in trying to fulfill every Otherworlder¡¯s dream. Don¡¯t ask me why. No matter how relatable the Guide is, it¡¯s still a God. It¡¯s impossible to tell how or why it thinks. Maybe it doesn¡¯t even care about the Otherworlders, and the whole dream thing is just a side effect of what it¡¯s really trying to do.¡±

    I wouldn¡¯t have asked that. I didn¡¯t have any grand ambitions beyond just surviving Ryuji and the Guide and I couldn¡¯t tell if Sera was skirting around the issue of when I would be able to leave on purpose, or because she genuinely thought that this information was important to know.

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    ¡°So what do I have to do with Ryuji¡¯s dream?¡± I asked, trying to be more specific. ¡°I¡¯m just a random girl from a small town in the middle of nowhere. Why me?¡±

    Sera¡¯s shrug wasn¡¯t the answer I was looking for.

    ¡°While I said that the Mediators are very good at handling Otherworlders, we¡¯re still dealing with individuals. There isn¡¯t a template we can use that applies to every one of them. I¡¯ll talk to him soon, but before I do that, could you tell me what you think? Why do you matter to him so much that the Guide took a liking to you?¡±

    ¡°I-¡± I paused, not wanting to say it out loud, as if admitting it would solidify it as being true. I was tempted to say I didn¡¯t know, but I had the feeling that lying would only make it harder for me in the long run. ¡°Ryuji¡¯s in love with me.¡±

    Sera¡¯s smirk disappeared instantly, as she shot up. Her chair clattered to the floor violently, the sound echoing through the small room. It was only the fact that I expected that exact reaction that I didn¡¯t jump out of my own seat in surprise.

    Sera stared at me in silence before bending down to right her chair and sit back down. She folded her hands together in front of her, returning to her more professional pose, but the smile she wore was strained.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± she said. ¡°I might¡¯ve overreacted.¡±

    No she hadn¡¯t. ¡°That¡¯s bad, I assume,¡± I said.

    Sera kept the smile for a few more seconds before it fell. ¡°It is,¡± she admitted. ¡°Still manageable, but it does make it more challenging. Are you sure he¡¯s in love with you?¡±

    ¡°The panels described me as his love interest,¡± I said. ¡°They also keep telling him that the numbers related to my affection keep going up. Is that bad?¡±

    Sera grimaced and stood up. It wasn¡¯t violent enough to send her chair flying again, but her movements were still sharp and intense.

    ¡°Yes. It is. We should go,¡± she said. ¡°Your situation is still salvageable, but we shouldn¡¯t waste any more time.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going to happen to me?¡± I asked. I heard my voice, as if it were spoken by an outsider, an eerily calm voice, almost bored of the constant twists and turns that seemed to send my life spiraling down further and further, my mind-numbing panic doing exactly that, dulling my thoughts into indifference. ¡°I¡¯d like to know.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t tell why Sera was grimacing. There was just too many options to choose from.

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have reacted like that,¡± Sera said. ¡°I was just surprised. I promise you¡¯ll still be safe, Lena. I¡¯m more afraid of the overtime I¡¯ll have to pull if anything.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure I believed her words or the little smile she had on her face, as if she actually thought her little joke was funny. It must have shown on my face because Sera walked over to me and stood directly in front of me. Even with her short height, I found myself looking up at her with how low I was slouching in my seat.

    ¡°I¡¯m being serious, Lena,¡± she said, reaching down and grabbing my hand in both of hers. Though it might¡¯ve been a sweet gesture in any other scenario, I was just too numb to feel it. ¡°It doesn¡¯t do me much good to sugarcoat anything for you. In fact, it just makes me harder in the long run if I lie just to make you feel better. Like it or not, you¡¯re a Chosen Follower, Godtouched, and a victim of random chance, and nothing will change that. But I and the rest of the Mediators will do everything in our power to fix things and return you to your normal life with enough money that you can comfortably live the rest of your life in luxury and just forget this ever happened. It may take some time, but with a bit of hard work, I know that we can break the connection you have with both the Guide and the Otherworlder.¡±

    I looked down at my hand, held up slightly by Sera¡¯s gentle grip. I really wanted to believe her, but the past couple of days had cultivated my level of cynicism to a level that I¡¯d never experienced before. Having hope only meant I could lose it.

    ¡°Yeah?¡± I said, scoffing at the idea. ¡°Care to share how without being super vague about it?¡±

    Instead of answering my question with another vague promise, Sera did something that I would never have expected.

    I was only vaguely aware of her lifting my arm but didn¡¯t realize what she was doing until I felt her hands overlapping mine, gently pressing my fingers into something warm and soft. When I realized what was happening, I looked up, not knowing how to react to Sera using my hand to grope her own boob.

    ¡°That¡¯s how,¡± she said, her smirk radiating an aura of smugness that I could practically feel on my skin.

    ¡°Huh?¡± My brain was too numb to decide on an appropriate reaction. When I felt my fingers twitch and gently squeeze Sera¡¯s chest, the more primal part of my brain finally woke up and I yanked my hand away as fast as I could, my face flushing a crimson red.

    Sera laughed and stepped away from me to give me space.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to seduce the Otherworlder away from you,¡± she said.

 21. Seraâ€™s Plan

    Sera was a good liar. She had been even before she¡¯d joined the Mediators, and training under them only made her more adept at it.

    Despite that, Sera felt her smile slip off her more than once as she silently went over Lena¡¯s situation. It was difficult to maintain, though it shouldn¡¯t have been a surprise. The young girl had described the worst case scenario without even realizing it, and Sera planned to keep it that way. If she could help it, Lena would be able to leave without ever understanding the danger she¡¯d been in.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to give me a fucking demo,¡± Lena said, grumbling quietly. ¡°Mediator or not, I should report you for sexual harassment.¡±

    Sera laughed loudly, as she put a finger to her lips in a mock shushing motion. They were on the streets of Redstone now, walking over to the Guard Station so Sera could officially meet the Otherworlder. Sera¡¯s first thought was to reprimand Lena for talking about her identity out loud, but the quiet whisper was probably Lena¡¯s way of keeping it secret. It was a painful reminder that she was dealing with an amateur, not another Mediator.

    One thing that Sera hadn¡¯t mentioned to Lena was that while the Mediators did have tabs on several dozen Followers around the world, all of them were trained professionals. Sera herself had come to the city to become a follower but had apparently been beaten to the punch by a random girl from the middle of nowhere. Sera looked up at Lena¡¯s frowning face and found herself being unsurprised by the revelation. Lena was objectively beautiful, and with the Otherworlder being a young boy, it wasn¡¯t a huge stretch to think that he could fall in love with her so quickly. Sera didn¡¯t think that Lena understood it herself, with the way she was painfully unaware of the stares she was attracting just by walking down the streets. If she was uglier, she might not have become so entangled in this mess.

    But there was no point in pondering hypotheticals. Sera had to focus on two things. Keeping Lena unaware of the danger she was in, and fixing it before it became worse.

    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± Sera said, with another laugh, as if nothing was wrong. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t blame you if you reported me, but I¡¯ll ask that you don¡¯t. I wouldn¡¯t get arrested, but if my superiors heard about what I did, I¡¯d probably get a huge scolding and a few months of pay docked from my salary. Took a real risk doing that, you know.¡±

    ¡°Then why¡¯d you do it?¡± Lena asked, shaking her hand violently, as if that would remove the memory of what it had touched.

    ¡°I had to do something to put a smile on your face,¡± Sera said, unfazed by Lena¡¯s deep frown. ¡°Or a frown. Anything was better than that dead-inside look you had.¡±

    In response, Lena¡¯s frown flattened out into a thin line as she gave her a blank stare, as if trying to deny her the satisfaction of doing what she set out to do. Sera was surprised by the genuine chuckle that bubbled out of her. She¡¯d only known Lena for a couple of minutes, so she was surprised that she¡¯d become so attached to the girl already. She supposed it made sense. The girl was smart enough to realize what was going on with minimal explanation. It made Sera cautious about what she said, lest she gave away something that would only send her into a panic, but it made it easy to assume that she¡¯d make a good Mediator if she ever had the desire.

    Not that she would. Sera vowed to herself that Lena would never become a Mediator.

    ¡°Cute,¡± she said, reaching up to pat Lena¡¯s shoulder and giving it a brief squeeze.

    Sera wondered if Lena was even aware that she was leaning into the hug, as if seeking comfort wherever she could get it. Sera¡¯s hand lingered for a few more seconds than it needed to before she eventually let go. Lena made a shooing motion, as if she was shaking off the feeling of Sera¡¯s hand from her shoulder, but Sera didn¡¯t miss the way that she held herself tight when she did. Poor girl.

    It wasn¡¯t long before the two got to the Guard Station and walked inside. Sera excused herself from Lena to go talk to the guard on duty to let them in to see the Otherworlder.

    ¡°Hello, sir,¡± Sera said, flashing a smile at the guard. ¡°May we come in?¡±

    The guard raised an eyebrow at her, scanning her body up and down incredulously.

    ¡°And who might you be, little miss?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Your boss knows who I am,¡± Sera said. ¡°Didn¡¯t he give you orders to let me through?¡±

    ¡°I doubt that the captain has a habit of letting random girls wander into the prisons as they wish,¡± the guard said, crossing his arms and giving Sera an unamused frown. The size difference between them was immense, even with the guard sitting down behind his desk, but Sera didn¡¯t act bothered at all by the basic intimidation.

    ¡°If you have a problem with it, I suggest you take it up with your captain,¡± Sera said, peering to the side of the desk where a large envelope sat, stamped with the official seal of Redstone and the words ¡®Urgent Instructions¡¯ scrawled hastily underneath it. She pointed it out. ¡°Do you typically leave your communications untouched like that?¡±

    ¡°I was getting around to it,¡± the guard said, swiping the folder away from view.

    ¡°Well, I suggest doing it now. I know we¡¯d both hate it if we went to your captain. I¡¯d lose some time, and you¡¯d lose some dignity.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me what to do, little girl,¡± the guard said, standing up in his seat with a snarl. A few feet behind her, Sera heard Lena audibly wince at the loud reaction and shot the guard a harsh glare. The guard grimaced and sat back down behind his desk.

    ¡°Just humour me, okay?¡± Sera asked. ¡°I promise if it says anything other than, ¡®Let the petite redhead do whatever the hell she wants,¡¯ I¡¯ll leave you alone.¡±

    The guard looked like he was about to argue back, but Sera shot him another glare, quickly silencing him. The guard nodded subtly at her and opened the envelope, pretending to scan the document with his eyes before setting it down.

    ¡°You¡¯re free to go,¡± he said, standing up and walking to the gate that led down the hall to the cells. He glanced at Lena and Sera subtly shook her head. ¡°She¡¯s with me. She¡¯s coming along too.¡±

    The guard raised an eyebrow for a split second before gathering himself. ¡°Whatever you say,¡± he grumbled, offering no other resistance.

    Lena seemed hesitant in following Sera down the hallway, but after a slight beckon, the girl followed, running past the guard quickly.

    ¡°What was that about?¡± she asked, once they were out of earshot.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Sera asked.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just show him your tattoo? That would¡¯ve been easier, right?¡±

    Sera held back a sigh of relief, choosing to smirk at Lena instead.

    ¡°It would¡¯ve been easier, of course. But I did it because the less people that know that the Mediators were here, the better. If people know that the Mediators were here, that means they know there¡¯s a reason for the Mediators to be here, and we don¡¯t want to start a panic,¡± Sera said.

    ¡°Oh. I guess that makes sense.¡±

    Sera nodded, glad that Lena accepted it so easily. It wasn¡¯t the whole truth, but Lena didn¡¯t have any reason to know about the secret conversation that had happened under her nose, with the Mediator that had disguised himself as a regular city guard. The entirety of their secondary conversation had taken place through coded twitches and eye movements, though they had gotten a little sloppy near the end. In most circumstances, the conversation as a whole likely wouldn¡¯t have needed to happen, but the revelation that Lena was a Chosen Follower with a Love Interest status had bumped up the danger level and priority of this particular Otherworlder. Sera hoped that her request for additional support and resources would prove to be unnecessary soon, but she wasn¡¯t arrogant enough to deny the possibility of failure, even if she desperately wanted to.

    Sera glanced to the side, where Lena¡¯s expression was becoming increasingly complicated. She could see hope there, but she could also see that Lena was desperately quashing that hope as best as she could, not wanting to be hurt when it failed once more.

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    The sight drew pity into Sera¡¯s heart, but with the sympathy came determination. She would save Lena or die trying.

    Sera was the Lead Agent for this Otherworlder mission. She¡¯d been given the responsibility over Ryuji because, out of all the available Mediators, she was deemed to be the most skilled and experienced, regardless of her age or perhaps because of it. When she was five years old and had first joined the Mediators, she had made a vow to herself that nobody would ever die to an Otherworlder in front of her, ever again. It was a foolhardy goal and Sera knew it, but it didn¡¯t stop her from dedicating her entire life to the study of Otherworlders, a dedication that had drawn the eyes of the higher-ups.

    The Mediators knew that Ryuji would be a powerful one before they had her team teleported to the city nearest to the first sighting, having enough power to freeze time for every sentient being in the world for almost an hour, but when every Otherworlder had the potential power to destroy Materia in some way, Ryuji being more powerful than most was of no real concern.

    What was concerning, were his actions.

    Within the first week of his arrival, he had slain group of innocent Goblins, forced the villagers of Plainswood to cheer for him while he did it, kidnapped a girl from her home, and murdered a man who had offered to give them a ride. Because Sera had only heard second-hand details of these events, protocol would have had her interrogate Lena for more details as a primary witness, but the girl seemed so hurt and traumatized that in a moment of weakness, Sera decided not to force the poor girl to relive those moments. Besides, the evidence made the truth rather obvious, regardless of whether she had the finer details or not.

    Ryuji was a murderous sociopath.

    It was both fortunate and unfortunate that that wasn¡¯t an uncommon psychological profile that was shared amongst many Otherworlders. Unfortunate because, well¡­ who wanted to deal with catering to the desires of a murderous sociopath with unlimited power? The only saving grace was that it gave Sera, and every other Mediator, a whole archive of past examples to draw experience from.

    There were many things that the sociopathic Otherworlders typically looked for in their Followers. There were a personality traits that an Otherworlder would seek out in their Followers, but Lena was too strong-willed to fit any of them. She was just a normal girl who had somehow taken charge of an Otherworlder situation she¡¯d been wholly untrained for. She was honestly quite amazing.

    Which was why Sera had been so distraught by Lena¡¯s mention of an Affection rating.

    While it wasn¡¯t a common aspect among Otherworlder powers, Sera remembered reading about a horrific Otherworlder that had existed about a few centuries before, dubbed ¡°The Harem Lord.¡± He wasn¡¯t a known Otherworlder to the public, since his actions didn¡¯t have as widespread of an effect and the Mediators of the time had been able to stop any news from spreading, but that didn¡¯t make him any less terrifying.

    He had been the reason why the term Bland Love Interest Syndrome had been coined. Sera shivered to think of those poor women who had been stripped of their personalities, transformed into mindless automatons that live just to stroke the Otherworlder¡¯s ego. Sera imagined Lena as a BLIS girl and shuddered.

    It was disgusting.

    Sera didn¡¯t know if this Affection rating that Lena saw was anything similar, but she didn¡¯t want to gamble on the chance that it wasn¡¯t.

    ¡°Lena,¡± Sera said, as they approached the door to Ryuji¡¯s holding cell. ¡°When we get inside, do your best to play along with what I say. I wish I could give you more time to brief you on what¡¯s about to happen, but it¡¯s better to do this as fast as possible and you don¡¯t have to do anything difficult. Just agree with whatever I say and no matter what I do, don¡¯t act surprised.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± For all her grumbling and cynicism, Lena was quick to nod. The frown on her face was strained, as if she was purposefully keeping herself upset so she wouldn¡¯t get upset when things ultimately failed. Sera had the urge to tell her to stop, and remind her that she needed to smile in front of the Otherworlder, but she didn¡¯t want to stop her from doing what she needed to do. Lena had survived this long without any help. Sera decided to trust that she knew what to do.

    ¡°Oh, and one more thing,¡± Sera said, her false smile finally cracking as she grimaced at what was to come. ¡°Please don¡¯t think badly of me for what I¡¯m about to do.¡±

    Before Lena could answer, Sera opened the door.

    Sera¡¯s plan to replace herself as Ryuji¡¯s love interest wasn¡¯t a suicide mission. There were proven ways to avoid falling to BLIS.

    The most common way that a Mediator did this was to become a Slave. While slavery was illegal in all human civilizations across Materia, the Mediators would often fabricate an entire slave economy with paid actors once they learned of an Otherworlder¡¯s arrival. It was unsavoury and sickening, but so many Otherworlders had a preference for Slave Followers for some unknown reason and the success rate of Slave Followers was so high that it was often used as the most reliable method of becoming a Follower with the least negative effects.

    Unfortunately, false slavery wasn¡¯t a viable option for Sera to take since they were in Redstone already. The only way to fabricate a slave trade in the middle of the city would be to inform everyone that there was an Otherworlder loose in Redstone, and there was no doubt that would end poorly. There was the option of waiting until Ryuji arrived in a false city where ¡°slavery¡± was much more common, but she didn¡¯t have the time. Lena needed help now.

    With Slavery not being an option, another reliable method was to adopt a false personality to match the Otherworlder¡¯s ideal type. This would achieve two things.

    Firstly, by presenting herself as the Otherworlder¡¯s ideal type, she could convince him that she was a much better option than Lena and outright replace her. Even if this Otherworlder was the type to take multiple Followers, she hoped to cement herself as the main love interest and eventually ween Lena off of the Otherworlder¡¯s influence slowly.

    Secondly, she would be protecting herself. While the Guide was omniscient, the Otherworlders were certainly not. Some displayed signs of clairvoyance and precognition, but complete omniscience had never been observed in an Otherworlder before and because Otherworlders exerted their powers based off their desires, as long as she presented a false identity that was already perfect, there would be no reason for the Otherworlder to mold her mind any differently.

    Unfortunately, the method wasn¡¯t as reliable as the Slavery tactic. Not only was it more difficult to maintain, even for the most experienced of actors, but it was also difficult to get right. Often times, it would need at least a few days of intense study of the Otherworlder¡¯s psychological profile to accurately determine their ideal personality type, making it no less resource intensive than the Slavery method, but Lena didn¡¯t have that time. For all Sera knew, Lena was already affected by BLIS and would only deteriorate further if she didn¡¯t do anything to fix it immediately.

    She would have to forge a personality off of the little that she knew. It was dangerous, but she didn¡¯t have much of a choice. Fortunately, she had all the important pieces.

    Ryuji was a murderous sociopath. These types craved control over the world around them, especially the people. The perfect Otherworlder for these types was someone that seemed easy to manipulate and control. Weak-willed, easy to please, and dumb enough to believe anything that their Otherworlder would say. Sera could craft a vague personality out of just those requirements, but there was also the concern regarding Ryuji¡¯s name.

    Ryuji, a name that sounded like it came from the Earthian nation of Japan. Many Otherworlders seemed to hail from that nation, for some reason, giving the Mediators an entire archive on their specific tastes. The ideal types of the Japanese were varied, but there were a few personality quirks that most of them seemed to desire.

    Steeling herself, Sera took a deep breath and stepped towards the Otherworlder.

    She immediately tripped over her own feet and stumbled forward.

    ¡°Wahwahwah,¡± she said, as she pretended to struggle to catch herself.

    Sera saw the Otherworlder¡¯s eyes widen as she barreled towards him but made no moves to stop her. That was good. He was receptive at the very least.

    Sera let out a loud cry as she gave into her momentum and tackled the Otherworlder off his seat. As she flipped head over heels, tumbling to the floor with the Otherworlder, she caught a glance of Lena¡¯s face, which was a perfect mixture of horror and confusion. Sera shot her an apologetic smile that she was sure the girl wouldn¡¯t see, but it was the thought that counted.

    Sera and the Otherworlder rolled over twice more, with Sera controlling their momentum so they wouldn¡¯t injure themselves on the sparse furniture that littered the cell room. Sera subtly shifted her body to match the Otherworlder¡¯s, manipulating his position to suit her purposes. Once they came to a stop, Sera sat up and pretended not to notice the situation that she¡¯d put herself in.

    ¡°Ouchie,¡± she whined, rubbing her head to soothe the non-existent injury. ¡°I¡¯m such a clutz.¡±

    She then looked around the room in an exaggerated manner. ¡°Huh?¡± she said. ¡°Where¡¯d that cute boy go?¡±

    After a moment of silence, she looked down to see the Otherworlder laying on the floor, directly beneath her. His face was a bright red and his eyes were fixed forward, nearly bulging out of his head. Her skirt had been flipped up during the tumble, and if it weren¡¯t for her underwear, his nose would¡¯ve been touching her crotch directly. Sera tried not to gag at the idea. Using the anger she felt at the Otherworlder as inspiration, she summoned a deep flush to her cheeks that would hopefully look like a blush of embarrassment.

    ¡°Kyaa!¡± she cried, in that overly exaggerated way that many Japanese Otherworlders seemed to like. ¡°Pervert!¡±

    Sera would never claim to understand what made Otherworlders tick. Too often, she attributed their looks to their mindsets, thinking of them as regular human beings with godly powers. But there were some examples of Otherworlder behaviour that truly baffled her. Her current act was based off one such example. While it was baffling to think that Otherworlders enjoyed being humiliated and physically abused, the evidence showed that a majority of them sought out at least one such Follower that would act in a way.

    The idea that physical punishment was a reward to them, even when they weren¡¯t necessarily masochistic, was a strange fact to acknowledge, but it was still a fact. While most Otherworlders had a basic power to understand the spoken language in Materia, and have their own language automatically understood by anyone in Materia, there were some Otherworlder concepts that didn¡¯t exist in Materia and didn¡¯t have a proper translation. The concept of ¡°tsundere¡± was one of these concepts.

    Sera didn¡¯t understand it, but she trusted in the evidence enough to raise her hand and slap the Otherworlder as hard as she could.

    ¡°Kyaa!¡± she cried again.

 22. A New Challenger Approaches

    No matter what I do, don¡¯t act surprised.

    Sera¡¯s words echoed through my head as I watched the scene unfold before me, but I didn¡¯t know if I could follow her request. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d expected, but I certainly hadn¡¯t expected her to literally throw herself at the Otherworlder and physically assault him.

    I didn¡¯t know if I was more afraid of her or for her, if she thought that provoking the Otherworlder with violence was the best thing to do to endear herself to Ryuji. My mom had been right when she said I didn¡¯t understand boys, but I knew enough to know that whatever this was probably wasn¡¯t the best way to go about inciting any emotions other than anger. It was only shock that kept me from running away in fear of Ryuji¡¯s retaliation.

    ¡°Pervert!¡± Sera cried out again, as she smacked the top of Ryuji¡¯s head, driving his face deeper into her crotch at the same time.

    An explosion happened. When I saw the spray of blood erupt from under Sera¡¯s skirt, my first thought was to assume that she stabbed him with a hidden weapon of sorts, but the utter confusion on Sera¡¯s face made me think otherwise.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Ryuji cried out, easily crawling out from underneath Sera and forcing her to roll off of him as he clutched at his face to cover the steady spray of blood that was shooting out from his nose. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. Goddamn Anime Character Constitution!¡±

    I still didn¡¯t understand what Anime was, but Sera either seemed to know what Ryuji was talking about, or was just skilled enough to adapt to the situation instantly. Her confused expression disappeared instantly as she looked up at Ryuji.

    ¡°Did I hurt you?¡± she asked, as if she was somehow unaware that she¡¯d just tackled him to the floor and assaulted him. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to. I was just surprised.¡±

    Ryuji looked up and my first thought was that of shock. The flow of nose blood had stopped just as quickly as it started and his face and chest was painted red, but that wasn¡¯t what stood out. The palm shaped welt on his face was horrifying to look at. It hadn¡¯t looked like Sera put too much force into her swings, certainly not enough to inflict damage on an Otherworlder.

    ¡°A-are you alright?¡± I winced when Sera glanced back at me with a wide-eyed expression, but the words had come out of my mouth automatically.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Ryuji said. ¡°I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Sera said, crawling up to Ryuji and cupping a hand under his chin. It was a good thing he was sitting down, or she probably would¡¯ve had to stand on her tiptoes to reach him. With her on her knees, and him sitting down against the wall, she stared deep into his eyes.

    There was a moment of silence before Ryuji¡¯s face turned a bright crimson. The speed of the change was fast enough to make me recoil, but Sera paid no mind to it. A blush emerged on her face, as she pushed Ryuji¡¯s face to the side, diverting his gaze away from her.

    ¡°D-don¡¯t get the wrong idea. I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re hurt or not. I just didn¡¯t want to feel guilty about hurting you, idiot.¡±

    I had no idea what that meant, but I was getting more and more uncomfortable watching this play out. Our previous conversation had left a good enough impression on me that I had some amount of trust in her, but the character that Sera was playing to ¡°seduce¡± Ryuji was clearly skating on the brink of mental instability.

    I didn¡¯t know whether I wanted to intervene. The last time that Ryuji had become irritated in any way, it resulted in a man dying. Sure, Medric got better, and Ryuji hadn¡¯t meant to kill him in the first place, but it didn¡¯t mean I enjoyed the experience overall.

    I lifted a hand as I debated with myself whether I should stop Sera or not.

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    <td style="width: 98.9111%; text-align: center">??? has joined your party!</td>

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    </table>

    I stared at the panel for a few seconds before I actually registered its existence. Rubbing my eyes once to make sure I wasn¡¯t hallucinating, a complex stew of emotions swirled inside of me.

    On one hand, I was relieved to see that Sera was as good at her job as she claimed to be. On the other hand, I couldn¡¯t help but be a little disappointed at the fact that it had been so easy for her. I knew I should¡¯ve been ecstatic to see that Sera¡¯s tactics were so effective, but a part of me thought that Sera¡¯s ability to deal with Ryuji so easily kind of cheapened how hard it had been for me for the past week.

    The panel was hovering right in front of Ryuji¡¯s face, interposing itself between him and Sera. Though it was somewhat translucent, Sera¡¯s face was still probably obscured enough from Ryuji that he wouldn¡¯t see her blank expression as she stared at the panel. Though she hid her emotions well, I could only guess that she was experiencing similar feelings to mine.

    When Ryuji tapped a finger on the panel, dismissing it, the room fell into an awkward silence for a few long seconds.

    ¡°My name¡¯s Sera, by the way,¡± Sera said eventually. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if I imagined a bit of passive-aggressive spite in the way she said it.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Ryuji said, still blushing heavily. ¡°My name¡¯s Ryuji. Ryuji Nightblade.¡±

    Sera didn¡¯t respond immediately. Though I wasn¡¯t sure if I imagined it or not, I noticed a subtle rise in her shoulders as she took a deep breath, as if to refocus her thoughts before she spoke again.

    ¡°Ryuji, that¡¯s an interesting name,¡± she said, placing a finger on her chin in a thinking pose that was way too exaggerated to be anything other than an obvious act.

    Ryuji didn¡¯t seem to notice. He blushed and turned away, scratching his head in embarrassment.

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    ¡°Thanks,¡± he said.

    As the conversation died immediately, Sera stared at Ryuji for a few more seconds before giving him a strained smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re wondering why I¡¯m here. Right, Ryuji?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± he said, looking up at her with a new sense of confusion in his eyes, as if he¡¯d just noticed that he was talking to a stranger and not an old friend. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°I heard you¡¯re an adventurer,¡± Sera said. ¡°Someone that does dangerous jobs on request?¡±

    Ryuji¡¯s eyes lit up at that. I had to assume that it had been her entire plan to endear herself to him by giving him an avenue to pursue his dreams from the beginning.

    ¡°Yeah!¡± he shouted, his voice echoing through the stone cell we were still in.

    Sera let out a relieved sigh, her acting quickly becoming more natural as her original plan took hold. ¡°You don¡¯t know how relieved I am to hear that,¡± she said, giving him a smile as she took his hands in hers. I was impressed by how easily she could summon fake tears as she stared into Ryuji¡¯s eyes. The mood in the room instantly shifted as she took on the role of a young distraught girl.

    Though he was blushing, Ryuji grinned and nodded quickly. ¡°What do you need me to do?¡± he asked. ¡°I would do anything for a fair maiden like you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Ryuji,¡± she said, sniffling as she wiped a tear away from her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s my grandmother. She was supposed to come visit me in Redstone a week ago, but I haven¡¯t heard from her. I was hoping you could accompany me to try and find her. The road is far too dangerous for a young girl like me to travel alone. Word is that a tribe of bandits has recently formed and is roaming out there.¡±

    Ryuji¡¯s eyes lit up with the same delight that had painted his face when he killed the demons back in the village and the forest. I felt a shiver run down my spine.

    ¡°Bandits?¡± he asked, excitedly.

    ¡°Yes, terrible ones,¡± Sera said, unbothered by his sudden enthusiasm. She smiled and nodded, as if just remembering something. ¡°I just remembered! The bandits have a bounty too! If we come across them, you might be able to get a reward for their heads!¡±

    Instantly, Ryuji¡¯s smile disappeared. For the second time since I¡¯d entered the room, he glanced at me with an uncomfortable expression on his face, before turning back to Sera.

    ¡°Their heads?¡± he asked hesitantly.

    Sera seemed to recognize that something was wrong, fixing me with a questioning look for a brief second, before turning back to Ryuji. She smiled, as if not sensing the sudden shift in Ryuji¡¯s mood.

    ¡°These bandits are ones that have escaped the executioner¡¯s block. You would be rewarded for hunting them down. Is something the matter?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Ryuji said, scratching his head awkwardly. ¡°I¡¯m actually not that happy about the idea of killing people. It just doesn¡¯t sit right with me. Could we just capture them or something?¡±

    Though Sera¡¯s smile remained unchanged, I could see the slightest hint of her brow furrowing in confusion. She opened her mouth and closed it as she struggled to think of something. Though I wasn¡¯t sure what exactly was wrong, it was clear that her original plan had been compromised in some way.

    I felt the urge to jump in, to cover for her, but unlike the villagers of Plainswood, she was at least professional enough to not freeze up completely.

    ¡°Well, we could, but they would be executed regardless,¡± she said, pausing to think for a moment. ¡°Astranta isn¡¯t kind to Goblin bandits.¡±

    Ryuji¡¯s eyes lit up again. ¡°Wait, they¡¯re Goblins?¡± he said, his voice full of relief. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so?¡±

    I was glad that Ryuji had turned away from me, because I was sure my expression was filled with a level of disgust that I wouldn¡¯t be able to hide. Even knowing that Ryuji had only killed demons so far, the fact was that he thought he had killed several Goblins already and his casual racism was enough to draw a scowl to my face. If Sera shared even a fraction of the emotions I felt, she was a good enough actor to hide it from Ryuji.

    ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re okay if it¡¯s Goblins you¡¯re killing?¡± she asked, as casually as if she were asking his preference in colours.

    ¡°Well, duh,¡± Ryuji replied, smacking his forehead and laughing. ¡°They¡¯re just monsters. You really had me going there for a second, Sera. I thought you were suggesting that I should kill people.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but grind my teeth at that. It certainly wasn¡¯t the worst thing that Ryuji had done, but the casual social injustice was terrible to listen to regardless. Thankfully, Sera seemed to be composed enough not to let it show.

    ¡°I see,¡± she said, thinking for a moment before clapping her hands and standing up. ¡°Then in that case, we should leave as soon as possible. I¡¯ve already posted bail for you. It wasn¡¯t much since they only had you in for a public disturbance misdemeanor, so it wasn¡¯t expensive. Don¡¯t think anything of it.¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡± Ryuji asked. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°No pro-¡° Sera stopped herself mid-sentence. ¡°It¡¯s not like I did it for you or anything, idiot,¡± she said instead.

    I blinked twice, confused by the sudden return of the mentally unstable persona that she had put on. It was only at that point that I realized that ever since the panels had declared her part of Ryuji¡¯s ¡°party,¡± she had been speaking a lot more casually, like she had with me. I wondered if that had shocked her into forgetting her act.

    Sera started to walk out of the cell, hooking an arm casually around mine to drag me out along the way.

    ¡°You¡¯re a fucking saint to have dealt with that for a week,¡± she whispered at me as she pushed open the door to Ryuji¡¯s cell.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said, trying to keep my voice at an equivalent whisper.

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk back,¡± Sera said, motioning imperceptibly behind us, where Ryuji was opening the door to follow us. ¡°No offense, but you¡¯re not great at whispering. Just listen, alright?¡±

    I didn¡¯t think I was that bad at whispering, but it wasn¡¯t something I cared enough to argue. I nodded back.

    ¡°Good,¡± Sera said. ¡°Now that went better than I expected, but I don¡¯t think I was able to free you yet. You still see the panels, right?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t think so,¡± Sera said, with a sigh that also sounded whispered, somehow. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll get you out as soon as I can, but while you¡¯re still a Follower, you¡¯ll be in a unique position to help contain the Otherworlder. You can refuse if you want, but you think you¡¯re still up to help?¡±

    I was tempted to take the offer to straight up refuse to help, but the cynical side of me didn¡¯t want to believe it was possible. I had the feeling that if I did refuse, I would be forced to participate in one way or another anyways.

    I nodded.

    Sera nodded back in appreciation. ¡°We need to make sure the Otherworlder doesn¡¯t see any of the Goblins until we leave the city,¡± she said as she led us down the hall towards the station lobby. ¡±Redstone has a decent Goblin population and though Ryuji seems to respect the laws of our society to an extent, I¡¯m not willing to test whether that respect is stronger than his casual racism for Goblins or not. I¡¯ll have a few of my people run interference, but it¡¯ll be better if you have an eye out too. If you see a Goblin roaming around, point them out to me and I¡¯ll have them hidden away.¡±

    When I nodded, Sera smiled at me and gave my arm a quick squeeze before letting go. I was surprised at how good it felt, and how much I missed the comforting feeling of Sera just holding my arm until she let go.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t have to do much. I¡¯m mostly asking for your help so I can let you in on what¡¯s going on and so I can get the Mediators to give you a little bit of extra compensation for your troubles,¡± Sera whispered, giving me a smile and pushing open the door to the station lobby. ¡°My people are good at what they do. Once I let them know about what¡¯s going on, we¡¯ll already have the entire Goblin population hidden away before we even leave the Guard Station.¡±

    Sera seemed so confident and so sure of herself as she opened the door that I almost didn¡¯t want to say anything about the woman staring at us from the other side of the station lobby. Raine, my magic mentor from the local Forest Goblin tribe, cocked her head to one side as she stared at me through the open door.

    ¡°Lena?¡± she said. ¡°What are you doing in Redstone?¡±

 23. Meet the Goblin

    At the sight of Raine, Sera reacted instantly, slamming the door shut behind her and sliding the deadbolt in place.

    ¡°Oh sorry, Ryuji,¡± she yelled behind her. ¡°The door was heavier than I expected, and it automatically locks. I¡¯ll get the guard to open it in a second.¡±

    Rather than doing what she promised, Sera stared at the guard and her face contorted in a series of strange winks and twitches that made me almost worried that she was having some sort of spasm, but rather than calling for a medic, the guard simply nodded and stood up from his seat behind his desk.

    ¡°Excuse me, ma¡¯am,¡± he half-whispered to Raine, walking up to her and blocking her from my view entirely with his large body. ¡°Could you come with me for a second?¡±

    Raine, who had been watching the events play out in front of her, gave the guard a confused look and cocked her head to the other side.

    ¡°Why?¡± she asked. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    The guard gave a brief backwards glance at Sera who nodded at him. Without any further hesitation, the guard pulled back his sleeve to reveal an eye tattoo on his forearm on the same place that Sera had hers.

    ¡°Official Mediator business,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it might be dangerous if you stay here. Please remain calm and come with me.¡±

    Raine¡¯s eyes widened in recognition as she stared at the tattoo. No doubt, she was debating with herself whether to believe his claims or not. She glanced to the side, to meet my own eyes.

    I nodded, deciding from Sera¡¯s lack of reaction that he was with her. ¡°He¡¯s telling the truth,¡± I said. Ryuji¡¯s muffled shouting made it seem like my voice wouldn¡¯t be audible through the steel door unless I shouted, but I whispered anyways, not wanting to risk it.

    I was glad that she trusted me enough to nod back at me, though she still resisted when the guard placed a hand on her shoulder.

    ¡°My brother¡¯s still in there,¡± she said, pointing at the door behind me.

    ¡°He¡¯ll be safe,¡± the guard said. ¡°What¡¯s important is that we leave right now.¡±

    ¡°I refuse to leave without him,¡± she said, literally digging her heels a few inches into the stone floor when the guard tried to gently push her along. ¡°Or her for that matter,¡± she said, gesturing to me.

    I heard the door banging behind us, and I watched in terror as the single deadbolt that held the door shut slowly bent outwards. ¡°Raine! You need to go!¡± I hissed, afraid of what would happen if Ryuji saw her. I didn¡¯t know who else from her tribe was apparently here, but the cells had solid doors. If one of her tribe brothers was currently in jail, Ryuji wouldn¡¯t see him unless he specifically popped open the cell door that he happened to be in.

    Raine frowned, and I couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine what was going through her head at that moment, but before she could come to any sort of conclusion, Sera tackled me to the ground.

    There was an explosion of sound and the entire building seemed to shake. Large clouds of dust, dirt, and loose bits of stone erupted from the walls and ceiling. The sound of the explosion disoriented me, and it took me a second to get my bearings before I noticed Ryuji standing awkwardly at the doorway, holding his hand out in the exact spot where the door should have been.

    Following his gaze, I looked towards the other end of the room, where a nearly unrecognizable sheet of crumpled steel that used to be the prison door lay discarded on the ground.

    ¡°Umm,¡± Ryuji said. ¡°My bad.¡±

    Sera pushed herself off of me and stood up, brushing the dust off of her clothes casually, as if what had just happened was a normal everyday occurrence.

    ¡°Wow, you really are strong!¡± she said, putting as much enthusiasm in her voice as she could. ¡°But you didn¡¯t have to open the door. Didn¡¯t you hear me?¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Ryuji said, avoiding her gaze as he looked guiltily to the side. ¡°I couldn¡¯t hear you properly.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know why Ryuji was lying, but Sera didn¡¯t seem to care. ¡°Oh well, what¡¯s done is done,¡± she said, leaning down and wrapping an arm around my shoulder. Once again, I was shocked by the surprising amount of strength that she packed in her small body that allowed her to pick me up with ease and steady me on my feet. ¡°C¡¯mon, Lena, Ryuji. We should get going.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Ryuji asked, looking around the room as the dust continued to settle. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we explain this to someone before we go?¡±

    His eyes landed on the guard, who was just picking himself off the floor with his back to Ryuji. He was taking his time getting up, using only one arm to push himself up off the floor. In a moment of panic, I realized that I couldn¡¯t see Raine anywhere, but before I could assume the worst, I noticed her being cradled to the guard¡¯s chest.

    It seemed that the guard had tackled her to the ground like Sera did with me. It took me a moment to figure out why he was still holding her so close, but I remembered why I¡¯d been so afraid for Raine in the first place. The guard was trying to hide her with his larger body.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± he said, coughing out a small plume of dust. ¡°Happens all the time. You folks are good to go.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Ryuji asked again, looking pleasantly surprised.

    ¡°Yup. A little bit of paperwork to do, but nothing I can¡¯t-¡° The guard¡¯s bullshit explanation was cut short by a hiss of pain.

    ¡°Oh no. Are you hurt?¡± Ryuji asked, as if he wasn¡¯t the one who¡¯d potentially caused it in the first place. ¡°I can help. I have healing magic.¡±

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    ¡°No!¡± The guard yelled, then calmed down immediately as he turned his head to smile at Ryuji. ¡°I¡¯m fine, sir. Just an old injury of mine.¡±

    ¡°Oh, maybe I can heal it for you anyways?¡± Ryuji asked. ¡°I know you said it was fine, but I do feel guilty for breaking your door.¡±

    ¡°No, no,¡± the guard said, his smile straining slightly. ¡°I couldn¡¯t impose.¡±

    ¡°Ryuji,¡± Sera said, still holding me up. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a private injury. Something he¡¯s embarrassed of?¡±

    ¡°It is,¡± the guard said, taking the suggestion instantly. ¡°My hemorrhoids are acting up.¡±

    I heard Sera let out a barely audible sigh beside me.

    ¡°Oh¡­ I see,¡± Ryuji said.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± the guard replied.

    There was a long awkward pause, as was commonplace in my life nowadays. The only sound that filled the room was the dampened sound of chatter directly outside of the guard station, no doubt from concerned citizens who were wondering about what the loud noise had been. I was jealous of them. I wanted to be just as ignorant as them.

    The silence was only broken when the guard let out a sharp hiss of pain and withdrew his hand from his chest, giving Raine the opportunity to drive her elbow into his gut and push herself away from his grasp when he stumbled back.

    ¡°I do not appreciate being manhandled, sir,¡± Raine said, snarling at the guard. I saw a flash of crimson on her teeth, before she wiped her mouth against the back of her bare arm, smearing a dull streak of blood across her skin. ¡°Now, can someone please explain to me what in the blazes is going on?¡±

    I froze as Raine turned to me, as if expecting an explanation, though she seemed to forget about me quickly, her attention shifting elsewhere.

    I paled and I whipped my head around to stare at Ryuji. He was looking at Raine, his chin and chest still covered in his own nose-blood, as he gaped openly at her.

    I couldn¡¯t tell what he was thinking, and in the tense silence, I could hear my teeth chattering in anticipation of what he might do. I looked to Sera, hoping that she could do something to stop the possible murder from happening in front of us, but what I saw made my heart sink.

    I could see a similar fear in Sera¡¯s eyes as they remained fixed on the scene in front of us. For all her skill and experience in handling Otherworlders, the only response she seemed to be able to summon in the face of this standoff was a grimace. In that moment, I remembered that regardless of what organization she belonged to, Sera was still a human. If Ryuji chose to kill Raine, there would be nothing any one of us could do to stop it.

    ¡°Umm.¡±

    I gave a start when Sera¡¯s head whipped to the side to stare at me, wide-eyed. I didn¡¯t understand why at first, but I slowly realized that everyone in the room was staring at me now. Had I spoken up? It had sounded like my voice, but I still wasn¡¯t sure.

    ¡°Umm,¡± I said again, barely able to stop my teeth from chattering together. ¡°Raine, this is Ryuji. Ryuji, this is Raine. She¡¯s my magic tutor and a close friend.¡±

    I gulped as the words left my mouth. I didn¡¯t know how far Ryuji¡¯s hatred of Goblins ran, and whether or not I was deliberately placing myself in danger by associating myself with Raine like this, but I wasn¡¯t willing to let Ryuji kill Raine right in front of me. Medric¡¯s death had already been horrifying to watch, and I wasn¡¯t sure if I would be able to live with myself if I just watched Raine die in the same way.

    I knew there wasn¡¯t much I could do to stop him, but there was one thing that I hadn¡¯t tried yet.

    Getting down on my knees, I slowly bowed down, resting my forehead on the stone floor.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t kill her,¡± I begged.

    I knew that being submissive to an Otherworlder was generally considered a bad idea, and not just because of the potential consequences that it could bring to me. Showing submission to an Otherworlder was risky in a way that could threaten communities on a much larger scope, potentially endangering entire countries if not handled carefully.

    There was a large reason why I had refused to show any signs of outright submission until now. It was the same reason why I had to pretend that he was merely ¡°talented¡± in magic, rather than acknowledging the monster that he was. The fact that Ryuji was simply unaware of the sheer threat he posed to the country and the world was potentially the only thing that was stopping him from destroying it. The Crown taught us that we had to be strong in the face of an Otherworlder, that any weakness that a citizen showed was weakness shown by the entire nation, and that weakness could lead to our destruction.

    But that was only the worst-case scenario. I¡¯d always thought that it was a little nonsensical to assume that the submission of an individual could snowball into the destruction of a nation.

    Besides that, I¡¯d spent a week with Ryuji. I¡¯d been surprised by how mild-mannered he had been during our travel through the Forest, and even though he had killed a man today, he seemed to be genuinely remorseful about it. I was sure that if I begged for him to spare Raine¡¯s life, he would spare her for my sake. He did supposedly love me after all, right? It only made sense. As I continued to justify my decision to myself, I felt my confidence growing in Ryuji¡¯s benevolence.

    So why was I shaking and crying?

    When Ryuji spoke up, I heard my breath hitch in my throat, waiting for the hammer of judgement.

    ¡°Wha- why would I kill her?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t quite trust in what I was hearing. I lifted my head, and even through my watery vision, I saw Ryuji backing away from me, an almost fearful expression on his face.

    ¡°You won¡¯t?¡± I asked, daring to hope.

    ¡°What? No!¡± Ryuji shouted. Both he and I winced at the unexpected volume of his own voice. ¡°I know I killed Medric,¡± he said, the new volume of his voice being so low that it would¡¯ve been impossible to hear if it weren¡¯t for the complete silence of the room. ¡°But that was an accident! I¡¯m not some sort of monster. Why would you think that?¡±

    He shrunk in on himself, reminding me of a child once more. It had been a while since we¡¯d left the forest, but the memory of the awkward, strangely human conversations we had during our travels resurfaced. ¡°I-I don¡¯t think you¡¯re a monster, Ryuji,¡± I said. He gave me a frown, and I was suddenly aware of how unconvincing I must have sounded, still kneeling on the floor. ¡°I just- I thought since Raine was a Goblin¡­¡±

    My voice trailed off, leaving the implications unsaid. From the corner of my eye, I could see Raine¡¯s eyes widen in surprise and narrow at Ryuji and her body tensed as if she were preparing to fight.

    I was about to tell Raine to drop it, but the guard walked up beside her, his hand still bleeding from the teeth marks gouged into his skin. Raine noticed and swiveled her head towards him, but he simply leaned down and whispered something to her. Her hands and jaw immediately dropped as she looked back at Ryuji with a new fear in her eyes.

    Ryuji stared back at her, as if he¡¯d just noticed her for the first time.

    ¡°That- she¡¯s a Goblin?¡± he asked, frozen in place.

    ¡°And my friend,¡± I said, surprised by my own bravery, now that Ryuji¡¯s own seemed to be wavering. ¡°Please don¡¯t kill her,¡± I asked again.

    Ryuji didn¡¯t look at me, keeping his eyes fixed on Raine instead. I wasn¡¯t sure he even heard me.

    ¡°But she talked,¡± he said. ¡°Can all Goblins talk? Are Goblins people?¡±

    It was a simple thing to realize, really, and one thing that I was surprised I hadn¡¯t figured out before. I knew that Ryuji came from a world that didn¡¯t have any sentient races other than his own. He had already known about Goblins, for some reason, so I¡¯d been working off the assumption that he had some sort of knowledge on them, but was it possible that he simply hadn¡¯t known that a Goblin could possibly be sentient, just because they didn¡¯t look similar to him?

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    The simple word was surprisingly effective. Ryuji staggered back, tripping over a piece of rubble that had been torn off the wall when the doorframe bent out of shape. He didn¡¯t seem to care, picking himself up immediately and running down the hallway, back towards the cells.

    The sound of his frantic footsteps faded away and the echo of a distant closing door reached us where we stood.

 24. Questgiver

    There was a moment of silence before Sera grabbed me and picked me up off the floor by the collar of my shirt. The abrupt motion was too much for me and I was exhausted to the point where my feet weren¡¯t supporting me, but somehow she lifted me high enough to have me staring her in the eyes anyways.

    Sera looked furious and terrified at the same time. She opened her mouth wide, as if to yell at me, then snapped it shut into a conflicted grimace. She stared into my eyes before sighing.

    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine the amount of stress you¡¯re going through, Lena. But for future reference, consult me before doing something like that. Dealing with Otherworlders requires a certain amount of protocol,¡± she said, pausing to take a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯m glad you didn¡¯t get hurt, but you put yourself in a very dangerous gamble there and I can¡¯t be dying from a heart attack at my age, Lena.¡±

    I could vaguely tell that she was joking, but I was too on the verge of passing out to be certain. She shifted her grip so she could support me without seeming like she was shaking me down, and gently dragged me to the nearest wall to sit me up against it.

    ¡°Lena, hun. Are you okay?¡±

    Raine¡¯s familiar voice was a comforting sound to my ears. She approached me slowly, but before I could gather my wits for long enough to respond, she was already hugging me.

    ¡°If that really was an Otherworlder, that was incredibly stupid of you,¡± she said, stroking my shoulders. ¡°But thank you anyways.¡±

    In the brief moment of calm, I felt almost good enough to crack a joke about how casual he was about the gash in his arm, but it died in my throat before I could think of what to say.

    I let out a low groan instead.

    Sera blinked rapidly as she stared at the glowing blue panel floating in front of me.

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%" border="1">

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    Tutorial: Giving Quests

    As a Party member of the [HERO] you may be occasionally called upon to give quests in place of the [Guide].

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    <td style="width: 98.9111%; text-align: center">

    [NPC] Quest: Begin the Main Story

    The [HERO] has just learned of the terrible truth that he has slain another living being with his own hands. But that¡¯s not quite true, is it?

    Objective: Tell the [HERO] about the truth behind the [CORRUPTED Goblins] that he slew.

    Rewards: ???

    [Accept]

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    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Sera asked. ¡°What¡¯s the Guide talking about?¡±

    The guard perked up slightly at the comment but said nothing. Sera seemed to notice his interest, but paid him no mind.

    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Raine asked. ¡°I still have no idea what y¡¯all are talking about. Could somebody please give me any sort of explanation?¡±

    ¡°Sorry ma¡¯am, it¡¯s confidential,¡± Sera said, with a sigh. ¡°The only reason Lena here knows about it is because she¡¯s a Follower. That¡¯s also confidential, but I¡¯m only letting you know since you seem to be acquainted.¡±

    Raine gasped and looked at me for confirmation.

    I nodded.

    She didn¡¯t hesitate in grabbing me and pulling me close to her.

    ¡°Oh, sweet baby,¡± she said as she stroked my back. ¡°Oh, sweet baby.¡±

    She repeated it a few more times before Sera coughed into her hands. ¡°I hate to break this up, but we do have business to get to,¡± she said, pointing at the panel with her thumb. ¡°Ms. Raine. I know you must be very distraught at the moment, but we are in a potentially time sensitive situation here. Would it be possible for my associate to escort you to a safe place?¡±

    ¡°Hopefully without any biting this time,¡± the guard said, cracking a smile.

    Sera chuckled at the joke, though I had to wonder how much of it was an act to try and put Raine at ease. And me for that matter.

    Raine flushed in response. ¡°I do apologize for that,¡± she said. ¡°Is your arm alright, hun?¡±

    ¡°I assure you, I¡¯m fine, ma¡¯am,¡± the guard said, with an easy smile, hiding the still bleeding arm behind his back. ¡°I¡¯m more concerned for your safety. Would you allow me to escort you out?¡±

    Raine glanced at me and down the hallway that Ryuji had disappeared into.

    ¡°What about my brother? And my sister for that matter?¡± she asked, hugging me closer. ¡°I can¡¯t leave these two here with a monster like that.¡±

    ¡°Lena is a Follower. I¡¯m afraid she¡¯ll need to stay here,¡± Sera said, placing a gentle hand on Raine¡¯s shoulder. Raine¡¯s grip tightened around me, as if she were afraid Sera would try to pry her off. ¡°I promise you she¡¯ll be safe, Ms. Raine. The Mediators have her safety as our top priority. I just need her help understanding a few things about the Otherworlder that are unfortunately, a bit too confidential for civilian ears. As for your brother¡­¡± Sera looked down the hallway where the holding cells stood. ¡°Why did you say he was in here again?¡±

    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    ¡°Public disorder offence,¡± Raine said. ¡°It was his first time in Redstone and he got a bit too frisky with the city booze. Lot stronger than the stuff we make back home.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Sera said, thinking for a few seconds before nodding to herself. ¡°Well, we¡¯re not supposed to abuse our temporary authority like this, but if it¡¯ll give you more peace of mind, we¡¯ll spare you the bail. Just don¡¯t tell anyone, okay?¡±

    Sera winked and gave her a smile that felt a lot cheerier than the situation called for. The blue panel hovering over my face was a grim reminder of what was to come.

    Raine had apparently less problems with accepting Sera¡¯s good mood at face value. She didn¡¯t smile, but I thought I saw the corner of her lip twitch upwards slightly.

    ¡°Well, I suppose that¡¯ll help,¡± Raine said, looking at me. ¡°You¡¯ll be alright.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, making my own attempts at a smile. I didn¡¯t feel like it was as good as Sera¡¯s but apparently it was good enough for Raine. She squeezed me one last time before letting me go and standing up.

    ¡°You make sure to come talk to me once you¡¯re done with this business, alright?¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting outside with Thrum.¡±

    I nodded, keeping my smile as steady as I possibly could. Sera gave me a nod of approval before she motioned towards the door with her eyes. At first, I thought it was a signal meant for me, but the guard quickly walked down the halls. Only a few seconds later, he brought a very confused and haggard looking Goblin boy out with him.

    ¡°Raine?¡± he asked, rubbing his head. He did a double take when he noticed me. ¡°Newbie? What brings you round these parts?¡±

    ¡°If we could save the pleasantries for later, it would be appreciated,¡± Sera said, with a smile.

    Thrum didn¡¯t seem happy about that, nor did Raine, but neither of them protested when the guard politely motioned for the door and led them outside.

    Once they were gone, Sera turned to me and jerked her thumb to the panel.

    ¡°So. What¡¯s this thing talking about?¡±

    I looked where she was pointing, directly at the text that translated into my mind as [CORRUPTED Goblins]. I shook my head.

    ¡°I have a pretty good guess, but I don¡¯t know for sure¡­¡± I blinked in surprise as the text flickered, changing from CORRUPTED to DEMON in a split second. Sera seemed to notice my surprise and turned to look at the panel. ¡°Okay, now it¡¯s a better guess.¡±

    Sera stayed quiet as I explained how Ryuji had slain a group of demons in the village and in the forest that seemed to appear as Goblins to everybody else but me. Saying it out loud, I grew increasingly aware of how crazy I sounded when I claimed that I only saw them as masses of shadowy Aether, when the entirety of my village would have testified otherwise, but Sera didn¡¯t seem to think so. She nodded along with my story seriously.

    After I finished, Sera stayed silent for a few long seconds before holding her face in her hands and letting out a slow low hiss.

    ¡°Shit, I knew something didn¡¯t add up,¡± she said.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked.

    ¡°The bodies,¡± Sera said, shaking her head angrily. ¡°My supports couldn¡¯t find any. The graves your village dug for them were empty. They saw traces of ash, so they assumed the bodies had just burned up from the Otherworlder¡¯s magic. I should¡¯ve known. Was the trader he killed a demon too?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± I said, surprised at how much Sera already knew. She never told me that she¡¯d sent people to my village, nor had she mentioned knowing about Medric. ¡°But he¡¯s alive. Ryuji healed him afterwards.¡±

    Sera lowered her hands and gave me a blank stare. ¡°Of course he did. Fuck me for being considerate, I guess. Should¡¯ve just followed protocol and interviewed you properly in the first place.¡± She sighed, and shook her head. ¡°Sorry. Not your fault. Just a little frustrated at the moment.¡±

    She inhaled slowly, letting the breath pass through her teeth. She let it out, just as slowly and fixed me with a stare.

    ¡°Okay, Lena. It¡¯s become clear to me that I¡¯ve been operating on some false assumptions here. Nothing I can do to fix that, but what I can do is to make sure I don¡¯t make the same mistake here. If I¡¯m going to complete this task that the Guide has given us, I¡¯m going to need your full¡­¡± Sera¡¯s speech slowed down to a halt as she read the updated text in the panel floating in front of me.

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%; text-align: center">

    [Lena]¡¯s Quest: Begin the Main Story

    The [HERO] has just learned of the terrible truth that he has slain another living being with his own hands. But that¡¯s not quite true, is it?

    Objective: Tell the [HERO] about the truth behind the [DEMON Goblins] that he slew.

    Conditions: [Lena] must complete this quest without the assistance of any other party members and/or NPCs. No individuals not including [Lena] or the [HERO] may be present during the completion of the Quest.

    Rewards: ???

    [Accept]

    </td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    ¡°Are you fucking kidding me?¡± Sera asked.

    ¡°It does that,¡± I replied, on behalf of the panels. Though I knew they could technically respond to her on their own, I doubted Sera would appreciate the vague way that they communicated. She seemed on the verge of having an aneurysm from frustration. Though my own stress response of choice was to have several mental breakdowns, rather than getting angry, I could still understand how she felt.

    Sera gave me a sympathetic grimace. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re going to have to do this on your own,¡± Sera said.

    It was depressing to think that I wasn¡¯t very surprised at this turn of events. ¡°Got any tips for me?¡± I asked.

    Sera smiled at me and extended a hand towards me. I took it, and wondered if I imagined the slight tremor of her touch.

    ¡°Too much to tell you right now,¡± she said, with an easy grin that looked too casual and too contrasted with the furious grimace she had on her face a few seconds ago. ¡°There is an unbreakable rule when it comes to talking with Otherworlders though.¡±

    She pulled me up and brought me to my feet. Though she had to catch me when I wobbled, I was still surprised I could stand as well as I could.

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about the Guide,¡± she said.

    ¡°Why?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll explain it all to you soon, I promise. For now, let¡¯s just say there¡¯s a reason barely anybody knows about the Guide¡¯s existence.¡± Sera said, pulling me in for another hug. I wondered if these were just as practiced as her fake smiles. It felt too good not to be. ¡°Just keep that in mind. As long as you don¡¯t break that rule, you¡¯ll do fine.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± I asked, a bit indignantly. If she didn¡¯t sound so genuine, I would¡¯ve assumed she was mocking me. ¡°What makes you think that?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re still alive,¡± Sera said, gesturing to the hallway. ¡°Despite that. You¡¯ve been doing good so far, Lena. I¡¯m proud of you.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what to say to that. I was a bit too tired to care, but a small part of me couldn¡¯t help but blush at the genuine praise.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said.

    Sera patted me on the shoulder.

    ¡°Ready to save everyone¡¯s lives again?¡± she asked.

    I stared at her. With the panel floating right in front of my face, I could only vaguely see her smile through the translucent blue. I sighed.

    ¡°No,¡± I said.

    ¡°But you¡¯ll do it anyways.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    I turned around, already missing the comfort of Sera¡¯s hand on my shoulder, and started to walk down the hallway to where Ryuji was. The panel floated along with me, slightly obscuring my view, but not enough for me to be afraid of bumping into anything.

    I gave it one last glance before I sighed and pushed my finger against the panel.

    This time, rather than passing through it harmlessly, I felt my finger push up against something solid. The [Accept] text flashed a dull gold before the panel disappeared entirely.

    I sighed again, and continued walking.

 25. Letâ€™s Chat

    The doors to each holding cell were identical, but it wasn¡¯t hard to guess which one Ryuji had run into. Spiderweb cracks blossomed out of one of the doorframes and the door itself was slightly ajar, with the handle crushed into an unrecognisable shape. I stood at the door for a few seconds, not really thinking, just waiting.

    Nothing prompted me to go inside. Nothing would. The hallway was dead silent, and though I knew that Sera was standing just outside of the hallway, ready to give me a grin and an encouraging nod if I just turned my head to the side, I didn¡¯t.

    Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the handle, taking care not to cut my fingers on the jagged metal, and opened the door.

    Ryuji didn¡¯t acknowledge me as I stepped inside, not even when the door creaked on its hinges as I let it swing shut behind me. Ignoring the bench, he was sitting on the floor at the far corner of the room, hugging his knees to his chest. In the dim lighting of the single redstone lamp that was embedded in the walls of the cell, and with his hood drawn over his head, I couldn¡¯t see his face at all.

    He made no indication that he knew I was there, even when I walked forward and stood directly in front of him. I squatted down to bring myself closer to him.

    ¡°You¡¯re not a killer, Ryuji,¡± I said. ¡°Those Goblins weren¡¯t real. They were creatures made purely from Aether. We call them demons here.¡±

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 98.9111%; text-align: center">

    [Lena]¡¯s Quest: Begin the Main Story [COMPLETE]

    By telling the [HERO] about the truth behind the [DEMON Goblins] that he slew, you¡¯ve opened the path to further adventure as he delves to learn about the truth behind [DEMONs] and the [AETHER].

    Rewards: 1 XP

    </td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    I punched the panel, unable to hold back my annoyance. It made a dull sound on impact, like I was punching a stone wall, and my fingers ached, like I was punching a stone wall. Thankfully, I¡¯d been too tired to punch the panel hard enough to do any real damage to myself, but I couldn¡¯t help but wince in pain.

    Ryuji didn¡¯t react to the sound, which I was grateful for. Despite what the panels seemed to think, my job wasn¡¯t done here. Just because I told Ryuji the truth didn¡¯t automatically mean he would believe me, and anyone or anything that thought otherwise was either profoundly naive or utterly stupid.

    I waited to see if the panels would respond to my thoughts. They didn¡¯t. I hoped I¡¯d hurt their feelings, if they even had any.

    ¡°Liar,¡± Ryuji said, his voice muffled. ¡°You don¡¯t really think that. You think I¡¯m a monster.¡±

    I frowned. ¡°Ryuji, I¡­¡±

    I stopped. I was too stressed, too exhausted, and too agitated to deal with this. I let out a low hiss of a sigh, letting my frustration out slowly.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°I am. I¡¯m a liar. I¡¯ve been lying to you for the entire fucking time I¡¯ve been travelling with you. And you know what? I¡¯m sick of it. I¡¯m sick of having to dance around you because I¡¯m too scared of being killed by you to do anything that could possibly upset you. I¡¯m sick of pretending that everything¡¯s fine while you¡¯re having the time of your life, prancing around, talking about how your dream is to become a homeless wanderer that kills for a living.¡±

    Ryuji looked up at me, a shocked expression on his face. Admittedly, it was a lot less slow then I¡®d planned, but my frustration had burst out of me like a river through a dam. And I wasn¡¯t going to try and stop it.

    ¡°Ever since the moment I met you, you¡¯ve been acting like this world was tailor-made for you. You go around, doing whatever you please, because everyone¡¯s too scared to stop you. And you don¡¯t even notice! You don¡¯t care enough to stop and think about the effects of your actions on other people. You just go around, showing off your absurd power and telling people in the same sentence that you¡¯ll be the greatest wandering murderer in the world. You really think people won¡¯t be afraid of you?

    ¡°You know why Medric decided he wanted to fight you? He wanted to fight you because he saw how afraid I was of you. We¡¯ve been travelling together for more than a week, and a random stranger could pick up on how I felt better than you could. And then you killed him. You killed him and dangled his corpse in front of me, like you were a cat showing off the mouse you managed to catch and bite the head off of.¡±

    I gasped when I stopped, surprised by how out of breath I was. The sound of my heavy breathing echoed around the small empty room.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to.¡± Ryuji¡¯s small voice was barely audible. I had to strain to hear him. ¡°I didn¡¯t know.¡±

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    He sounded so small.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, once I caught my breath. ¡°I know. But at the time I thought you did. Do you remember how I reacted?¡±

    Ryuji sunk his head into his knees. ¡°You screamed at me,¡± he said. ¡°And then you told me to fix it. And then I did.¡±

    I frowned. It wasn¡¯t the exact conclusion I wanted him to come to, but it was close enough.

    ¡°I did scream,¡± I said. ¡°Because I was scared. Whether you meant it or not, whether you fixed it later or not, you killed a man in front of me. I was terrified out of my mind, Ryuji. I pissed myself. I¡¯m a fully grown woman and I pissed myself, Ryuji.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t meant to reveal that. I¡¯d wanted to take that to my grave but it just spilled out.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± Ryuji said, a bit sheepishly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t apologise for that. Just forget I said it,¡± I said, feeling a blush rise to my cheeks. ¡°Please.¡±

    Ryuji didn¡¯t say anything.

    I coughed into my fist, as if clearing my throat.

    ¡°Anyways,¡± I said. ¡°The point I wanted to make is that when I saw you killing a person in front of me, I freaked out. I couldn¡¯t control my emotions even though I desperately wanted to pretend that everything was fine. You see where I¡¯m going with this?¡±

    Ryuji looked up at me. His eyes were bloodshot and swollen, but he¡¯d already wiped his tears away, leaving them dry. He locked eyes with me for a few seconds before shaking his head slightly.

    I wanted to give him a smile, but I didn¡¯t feel good enough to summon a genuine one. I was sick of the fake smiles I¡¯d been forced to keep up for the past week, and I didn¡¯t want to use a fake smile again, especially not in this situation. I sighed and turned to sit down against the wall. With Ryuji backed into the corner, I couldn¡¯t quite sit beside him, but I didn¡¯t care about that.

    ¡°You¡¯re not a killer, Ryuji,¡± I said. ¡°If you really had killed some Goblins back in Plainswood, I wouldn¡¯t have been as calm about it as I was. I don¡¯t know what you saw, but all I saw you do was slash through a bunch of demons and scatter their Aether to the wind. That¡¯s the only reason why I didn¡¯t run away screaming. I wouldn¡¯t have traveled through the forest, alone with someone who I thought was a murderer. I would¡¯ve just taken my chances and tried to run away from you.¡±

    I turned to face Ryuji and met his eyes again.

    ¡°You believe me now?¡± I asked.

    He didn¡¯t answer.

    ¡°Oh,¡± he said, looking away from me.

    It was a quiet thing. With his gaze locked forward, staring at nothing, a slow and steady stream of tears flowed gently out of the corners of his eyes, crawling down his cheek and converging at his chin, steady drops falling to the floor. He made no indication that he noticed, not moving as the sound of manmade raindrops echoed through the cell.

    And then he sniffled.

    He sunk his head into his knees again, hiding his face, not from me, but from the world around him. Ryuji wasn¡¯t a very attractive crier. As he struggled unsuccessfully to hold back his sobs, they caught on his throat, coming out in quiet croaks. It was a strange sound, almost amusing if it weren¡¯t for how pitiable it was.

    I watched for a few seconds before scooting closer to him. His body was too awkwardly placed, backed up too deep into the corner of the room, for me to be able to try and hug him, but I felt like a simple hand on his back would be enough.

    The moment my hand touched his back, Ryuji¡¯s shoulders started to heave. His croaking cries stopped, replaced with a low consistent moan instead, shuddering whenever he took in a shaky breath.

    We stayed like that for a few minutes before Ryuji calmed down somewhat. With his face still hidden in his knees, he reached down and wiped at his nose with his sleeve. He sniffled a few more times before his breathing evened out.

    ¡°You okay?¡± I asked.

    He took a deep breath before he answered. ¡°Yeah,¡± he lied.

    ¡°You want to talk about it?¡± I asked, not knowing exactly what it was.

    Ryuji¡¯s heavy breathing stopped immediately. He looked up at me, his eyes completely swollen and his face covered in tears and snot. He opened his mouth, and then closed it.

    ¡°I want to see,¡± he said.

    ¡°Want to see what?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I want to know for sure that I didn¡¯t kill anyone real,¡± he said. ¡°I want to go back to your village.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t believe me?¡± I asked. I wasn¡¯t offended, and I hoped it didn¡¯t come off that way.

    ¡°I¡­ I want to,¡± Ryuji said, with a sniffle and a swipe of his shirt sleeve against his nose. ¡°But I need to make sure.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Okay,¡± I said, standing up. ¡°We can go.¡±

    Ryuji looked up at me. I extended a hand to him to help him up. He took it.

    Knowing how sturdy he could be on his feet, I was surprised how light his body actually was. Unfortunately, I was also surprised by how slimy his hands were.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± he said, wincing when I wiped my hands against my pants, smearing them with snot.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s go?¡±

    Ryuji nodded, but when I pushed open the door to the cell and stepped outside, I noticed that he hadn¡¯t moved from his spot.

    ¡°Something wrong?¡± I asked, holding the door open.

    ¡°I-¡± Ryuji said. ¡°I¡¯m a hypocrite.¡±

    I waited for him to continue.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been lying to you too,¡± he said, looking away sheepishly. ¡°I¡¯ve been hiding a pretty big secret from you this entire time.¡±

    He looked up at me from the corner of his eye.

    ¡°My name isn¡¯t really Ryuji. It¡¯s Jamie. And¡­ I¡¯m not from this world.¡±

    I waited to see if he was going to say anything else. When it was clear he was done, I nodded.

    ¡°Nice name,¡± I said. ¡°I like it much better than your fake one.¡±

    Ryuji, or rather, Jamie blinked a few times at me, clearly stunned.

    ¡°Umm,¡± he said. ¡°I wasn¡¯t joking. I really am from another world.¡±

    ¡°I knew you were an Otherworlder from the moment we met,¡± I said, jerking a thumb behind me. ¡°Now let¡¯s go. Might as well head out early while there¡¯s still daylight. Maybe we can hire a cart to take us instead of having to walk again.¡±

    ¡°An Otherworlder?¡± Jamie asked.

    ¡°Sera will explain,¡± I said, more than happy to throw the responsibility at someone else for once.

    I half expected another panel to pop again, to tell me that it would be my job once again to explain to Jamie what exactly an Otherworlder was, but nothing happened. I let out a small sigh of relief.

    ¡°You ready?¡± I asked Jamie.

    Jamie looked at me. His eyes were still puffy, and he looked like he wanted to say something more, but after a few seconds of deliberation, he stepped forward. Once he walked through the door, I let it close and walked beside him, back through the dim hallway, towards the light coming from the open door to the station lobby.

 26. Full Disclosure

    Telling Otherworlders that there was a whole system implemented in our world to deal with their arrival was generally something that you didn¡¯t do. The N in FUN stood for Na?ve for a reason, and though it was by far the least important part of the acronym, it was still an important aspect of interacting with Otherworlders.

    When I told Jamie that I knew he was an Otherworlder, I¡¯d been vaguely aware that I was breaking this rule, but chose to do it anyways because I was sick of hiding how I felt. Maybe if I was thinking more clearly at that point, I might have been able to squeeze out another lie, but I had been too emotionally charged to hold myself back.

    When I saw Sera¡¯s face again, smiling at me and Jamie, pretending as if nothing was wrong, I was almost worried about what sort of reaction she would have when I told her how our conversation went.

    I hadn¡¯t expected her to smile and brush it off like it was nothing. I hadn¡¯t expected her to be fully frank with Jamie either, freely explaining her identity as a Mediator, and her role in containing Otherworlders like him.

    Sure, she phrased it more delicately, telling him that the Mediators had a goal to ¡°guide¡± Otherworlders towards their dreams, rather than to minimize the amount of damage they could do, but the subtext was clear. At least to me.

    With her identity as a Mediator revealed, Sera took the opportunity to use her power and influence more openly. Once Jamie admitted his desire to go back to Plainswood, Sera supported the idea and pushed for us to leave as soon as possible.

    After making sure Raine knew I was still alive and promising her I¡¯d be safe, Sera and the guard escorted Jamie and I out of the city.

    Two horse drawn carriages were waiting for us at the gates and set off immediately once we climbed inside.

    ¡°Jamie, Lena. Let me formally introduce you to Oren,¡± she said, pointing to the guard who was sitting beside her. He gave us a friendly wave. ¡°Driving the cart we¡¯re in currently is Laush. Tenna is driving the other cart.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you all,¡± Jamie said. His greeting was a little subdued, but it made sense given how tired he looked. ¡°You¡¯re all Mediators, then?¡±

    ¡°Aside from Lena, yes,¡± Sera said, as Oren pulled down his sleeve to reveal his eye tattoo to Jamie. ¡°Sorry for deceiving you like this. I hope you¡¯re not too offended?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine,¡± Jamie said, glancing sideways at me. ¡°It makes sense why you would lie. Sorry for scaring you.¡±

    ¡°No need to apologize, Jamie,¡± Sera said, with a laugh. ¡°An Otherworlder does as an Otherworlder does.¡±

    Jamie frowned at that. Sera cocked her head to the side in confusion.

    ¡°Did I say something wrong?¡± she asked.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s just,¡± Jamie paused to gather his thoughts before speaking. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m still not getting this whole Otherworlder thing. Are there a lot of other people like me?¡±

    Sera nodded. ¡°A couple. Approximately four Otherworlders drop into Materia from Earth every year, though most people don¡¯t know that,¡± she said, motioning to me. ¡°Normal people like Lena assume that it¡¯s a lot rarer than that.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really that much?¡± I asked. I couldn¡¯t remember exactly how many Otherworlders she said were active when she first mentioned it to me, but four per year felt excessive.

    ¡°Yup,¡± Sera said. ¡°And the Mediators are well equipped to help every single one.¡±

    ¡°Help?¡± Jamie asked before I could.

    ¡°We help you integrate into our world in a safe way, making sure the transition between yours and ours is as seamless as possible. I have to assume that the switch is jarring in more ways than one.¡±

    Why she gave Jamie a sad smile at that, I didn¡¯t know, but Jamie seemed to understand. He grimaced and drew back a curtain to look out the window of the carriage.

    Since we were on horse-drawn carriages, we were using one of the main roads that led out of Redstone, rather than the road towards the footpath through the forest that we used to get there in the first place. There wasn¡¯t too much to look at surrounding the road, being flanked on both sides by empty plains, but as it grew later in the night, the clouds in the sky were painted in alternating shades of the orange of the setting sun and the purple of the coming twilight.

    Jamie looked out the window, not addressing Sera¡¯s unasked question.

    I glanced at Sera to see if she would answer it for me, seeing as I was the only one in the carriage that didn¡¯t seem to know what she was talking about. Her attention was mostly focused on Jamie, but she gave me a quick glance and a subtle nod before turning back to him.

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Eventually, Jamie got bored of looking at the sunset and closed the curtain.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting dark,¡± he said. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we get ready for the night?¡±

    Sera answered before I could. ¡°Maybe if we were walking through the forest, but we¡¯re travelling in luxury!¡± She laughed as she gestured around us.

    ¡°The Mediators paid good money for this, you know,¡± she continued. ¡°No need to hunt for wood and food. We can just take some supplies out from storage and set up camp whenever. You can even sleep here if you want, though you¡¯re probably too tall for it to be comfortable,¡± she said, turning around to lie down on her seat.

    Oren had to lean back to avoid being kicked by her as she swung her feet up, but didn¡¯t protest as she propped her feet up in his lap.

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame really,¡± she said, lounging casually on the seat. ¡°But being short does have it¡¯s perks. You might be able to sleep here too, Lena.¡±

    ¡°Maybe,¡± I said, though I wasn¡¯t going to try it now. I wasn¡¯t sure I would be comfortable lying down with my legs in Jamie¡¯s lap. The idea did appeal to me though. The carriage was absurdly luxurious, and I¡¯d never experienced cushioning this soft in my life.

    ¡°Umm, sorry if this is weird,¡± Jamie said. ¡°But is your personality really different from what it was an hour ago, or is it just me?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Sera asked. ¡°You want me to change it back?¡±

    Jamie seemed conflicted by the question. ¡°Which one¡¯s your real personality?¡± he asked, then shook his head. ¡°No. Obviously you¡¯re not a real-life tsundere.¡±

    ¡°I could be,¡± Sera said, batting her eyelashes and placing a finger on her lip. ¡°If that¡¯s what you wanted, big brother.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know why Sera was calling Jamie her brother while adopting a cutesy-seductive voice, but I hated it. I felt my face cringe and grimace uncontrollably.

    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± I asked.

    Sera laughed and sat up, freeing Oren from his duty as a footrest.

    ¡°Looks like you didn¡¯t like it either, eh big brother?¡± she asked Jamie, ignoring my question.

    ¡°Please stop,¡± he said, giving her a grimace that mirrored mine. ¡°Dubs are disgusting.¡±

    ¡°If you insist,¡± Sera said, raising her hands in surrender, either ignoring or already knowing what he was talking about. ¡°I¡¯ll act however you want me to.¡±

    Sera gave Jamie a wink, and the boy blushed and looked back out the window.

    ¡°We should be stopping soon, right?¡± he asked. ¡°Even if we don¡¯t need to gather anything, don''t we still need to set up camp?¡±

    Sera laughed but didn¡¯t comment on Jamie¡¯s abrupt change of subject. ¡°I guess we should,¡± she said. Though the carriage walls seemed too thick for the driver to hear us, we stopped almost immediately.

    Oren opened the door first and hopped out. Before I could stand up though, Sera reached across the carriage and put a hand on my arm.

    ¡°Lena,¡± she said. ¡°Could you stay behind a bit?¡±

    ¡°Should I stay too?¡± Jamie asked.

    Sera grinned at him. ¡°I was going to ask Lena if she could help me change out of this skirt, on account of the bloodstains. I like you and all, but I think it might be a little early for you to stay for that.¡±

    Jamie blushed. ¡°Yeah, I should go,¡± he said before hastily rushing to join Oren outside.

    Sera gave him a cheeky wave before she walked up to the door, closed it, bolted it, and immediately turned around to pounce on me.

    Not expecting it, I couldn¡¯t react in time as she easily jumped on top of my lap, straddling me and digging her knees into the cushion while simultaneously pinning my arms to my sides with her thighs. I was so surprised by the move that I didn¡¯t know what to think, but the wide-eyed, almost manic look she gave me made me flinch back, afraid of what she was going to do to me. I tried to get up, but Sera had me in a tight enough grapple that I could barely move, let alone try to lift her off my body.

    Not that I tried very hard. I was just too shocked to properly register what was going on.

    Even when Sera roughly grabbed my face with both of her hands, I could only stare up at her, not understanding what was happening.

    I was even more confused when Sera planted a hard kiss directly on my forehead.

    ¡°You¡¯re a fucking angel, Lena,¡± she said. I was about to gather my wits long enough to ask what the hell was going on, but before I could, she let go of my face and grab my entire head in a tight hug instead.

    My survival instincts finally kicked in when I tried to suck in air and found that I couldn¡¯t while I was being smothered by her chest. I flailed as best as I could to throw Sera off of me, and thankfully she let go, leaning backwards and giving me a sheepish grin.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± she said. ¡°I got a bit excited.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± I said, barely conscious from my near-death experience.

    ¡°You¡¯re a miracle worker,¡± Sera said, hugging me once more, though she made sure not to nearly kill me this time. ¡°How¡¯d you manage to pacify the Otherworlder so easily?¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything to pacify him. I just treated him like a regular person. Aside from the freakish powers, he just seems like some confused kid.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d be surprised how having freakish powers can change people, Lena,¡± Sera said, rocking back and getting off of me. ¡°I was about to piss myself, thinking I was sending a civilian to calm down an Otherworlder who seemed like he could be on the verge of a finale event. You might have just stumbled upon the most stable Otherworlder to have ever come to Materia.¡±

    ¡°Finale event?¡± I asked. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    Sera¡¯s smile turned brittle at the question. ¡°Well, normally I would say it¡¯s classified, but I did promise I would explain more about Otherworlders when I got the chance, didn¡¯t I?¡± She sighed. ¡°Welp. This whole case is the definition of breaking protocol already. What¡¯s another black mark on my record?¡±

    Sera sat down at the other side of the carriage and gave me a hard look.

    ¡°I think it goes without saying that all of this is confidential information,¡± she said. ¡°Revealing this sort of information carelessly would see you being tried for grand treason, with the likely punishment being execution.¡±

    It was terrifying to hear being said out loud, but I had expected it. ¡°I understand,¡± I said.

    Sera nodded, the grin returning to her face. It felt like an attempt to bring the mood back to normal, but I couldn¡¯t quite ignore the fact that she¡¯d just told me I could be executed if I wasn¡¯t careful.

    ¡°Okay then. All cards on the table. What do you want to know first?¡± she asked.

    Everything and nothing. I wanted no part in this Otherworlder business, but knowing that I was a Follower, I wanted to understand the kind of situation I was in.

    ¡°What¡¯s a finale event?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s the moment that triggers an Otherworlder''s death," Sera said, as casual as if she were talking about the weather. "Next question?¡±

 27. Death of an Otherworlder

    When I stared at her, feeling my eyes threaten to bulge out of my head, Sera cocked her to the side as if she was confused about my reaction. The effect was ruined by the shit-eating grin she wore.

    ¡°Oh, I guess I have to give you at least a few more details, huh?¡± she said, with a barely concealed laugh.

    I glared at her, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of getting a response to the stupid question.

    If she was disappointed, she didn¡¯t show it. ¡°While you can never kill an Otherworlder through conventional means,¡± she said. ¡°The Mediators have figured out how to purge Otherworlders from Materia for a long time.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just kill them as soon as you find them then?¡± I asked. I winced when I thought of Jamie outside. ¡°I mean, I guess not all of them are bad, but what about Otherworlders like the Pestilence King? Why didn¡¯t you kill him as soon as he came to Materia?¡±

    ¡°I never said it was easy,¡± Sera said. ¡°The preparation process to purge an Otherworlder takes anywhere between a few weeks and several years, but regardless of the length, the process needs to be very careful and methodical. The Pestilence King was one of the recent examples of what happens when the process is done improperly.¡±

    I frowned, but didn¡¯t say anything, folding my arms across my chest and waiting for her to continue.

    ¡°To purge an Otherworlder, the Mediators need to know their dream. The source of their powers. The goal that the Guide is driving them towards. Once we know that, we can either make them renounce it or help them achieve it to trigger their finale event. Once that¡¯s done, we do damage control on the aftermath.¡±

    I waited for Sera to keep going, but she didn¡¯t make any indication she had anything else to say.

    ¡°What do you mean? Are you saying that you fulfill an Otherworlder¡¯s wish and they just die?¡±

    ¡°Essentially.¡± Sera shrugged. ¡°Otherworlders aren¡¯t supposed to be in this world. The only thing allowing them to even exist here is the Guide¡¯s power, and the only thing connecting an Otherworlder to the Guide is their dream. Take that away, and their existence slowly fades too.¡±

    Sera got up from her seat and walked towards me. At first, I thought she was going to try and jump on my lap again, but she simply sat down next to me on the seat that Jamie had just left. She gave me a serious look as she turned her head to lock eyes with me.

    ¡°Unfortunately, that¡¯s where the problem is,¡± she said. ¡°They fade slowly. We may call the final moments of an Otherworlder a finale event, but it¡¯s far from a single moment. It takes approximately an hour for an Otherworlder¡¯s connection with the Guide to die, but to an Otherworlder, that¡¯s no time at all. In that hour, they can lash out and kill millions of people if they want to.¡±

    It was obvious what she was talking about. ¡°The Pestilence,¡± I said.

    Sera nodded. ¡°The personality of the Pestilence King and his dreams were especially complicated. Unfortunately, we had no way of knowing that, and a novice Mediator was given the lead for that case.¡± Sighing, she leaned over to the side and placed her head gently on my shoulder. ¡°It was a disaster in every sense of the word.¡±

    I looked down at Sera. Lying down on my shoulder, she was the picture-perfect image of a young vulnerable girl looking for comfort. I could¡¯ve sworn I saw her eyes giving off the watery sheen of unshed tears. My eyes narrowed.

    ¡°Any reason why you¡¯re putting up this act?¡± I asked. ¡°Does it have anything to do with the fact that you haven¡¯t mentioned that the Pestilence King had a civilian Follower?¡±

    Sera looked up at me and smiled, any traces of sadness instantly gone. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that I already suspected she was putting up an act for me like she was doing for Jamie, I might¡¯ve been shocked by the sudden change. She sat up, leaving her spot on my shoulder and looked forward, avoiding my eyes.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± she said. ¡°I thought it would make you more comfortable.¡±

    I sighed, leaning away from her, resting my head on the wall of the carriage. ¡°It doesn¡¯t,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯d prefer if you were just honest with me. You think I¡¯m a liability.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Sera said immediately. ¡°You¡¯ve more than proven yourself to be a valuable asset to the operation. Although I won¡¯t deny that you have the potential to become a liability.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the same thing.¡±

    ¡°It really isn¡¯t. You¡¯re a smart girl. You pick up on things quite naturally, and you work well under pressure despite being a civilian. The only concerning thing about you is that you¡¯re untrained and you don¡¯t have the same knowledge that a Mediator typically would. But we¡¯re fixing that right now, aren¡¯t we?¡±

    I thought about it for a moment before sighing again.

    ¡°Fine,¡± I said. ¡°But from now on, be honest with me. No more bullshit.¡±

    ¡°Promise,¡± Sera said.

    I didn¡¯t believe her, but I didn¡¯t blame her either. If I were in her position, I didn¡¯t think I would trust me either. I was just a random country girl who had no real talents or skills. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that I was a Chosen Follower, I doubted that she would¡¯ve bothered to keep me here.

    But I was here. I didn¡¯t know how much she would tell me, but if she was offering to arm me with the knowledge to keep myself from accidentally forcing Jamie to destroy the world, I wasn¡¯t going to say no.

    ¡°Fine, I believe you,¡± I lied. ¡°You can continue your explanations.¡±

    Sera smiled at me. I don¡¯t know whether she could tell I didn¡¯t believe her, but if she could, she didn¡¯t seem to mind.

    ¡°Well, in that case, let¡¯s continue.¡±

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    Sera stood up again and took her original seat across from me. She held up three fingers.

    ¡°There are three major goals that the Mediators have when dealing with Otherworlders.¡± Sera put one finger down. ¡°The first one is to determine the exact dreams that the Otherworlder gave to the Guide when they first arrived in Materia. Whether we decide to go the route of fulfilling them or forcing them to renounce them, this is important to determine as soon as possible.¡±

    She put another finger down.

    ¡°Next is to determine their personality. Even though the Otherworlder¡¯s Dreams are technically the most important thing to know if you want to trigger a finale event, their personalities are much more important to figure out if we want to ensure that our world is still standing by the end of it.

    ¡°While some are more than happy to trade their lives to complete their dreams, some of them are too afraid of death to take it gracefully and decide to throw a temper tantrum in their final moments, if they¡¯re not satisfied with what preceded it. It¡¯s our job to determine how exactly we can force an Otherworlder to be satisfied before their passing. Sometimes it takes years for us to be fully confident in the psychological profile we make for them, but many Otherworlders are simple-minded beings that only take a few weeks to figure out.¡±

    She held up her last finger and stared intensely at me.

    ¡°This final goal isn¡¯t necessarily a goal, but it¡¯s important enough to be the top priority for anybody and everybody dealing with an Otherworlder,¡± she said. ¡°If you break this rule, or if I ever suspect that you may think about breaking this rule, I have the authority of any and all of the ruling civilizations of Materia, to execute you on the spot with no trial. Am I understood?¡±

    Sera had already threatened my life before, but this time, I could almost feel an imaginary knife sinking into my skin. I was suddenly made aware of the fact that we were locked up together in a small room, with nowhere to run. Though Sera was smaller than I was, she had casually shown off her strength to me enough times that I had no delusions that I could beat her in a fight if it came down to it.

    Having feared constantly for my life for the past few days made the sensation of certain death a little less intense, but it still made me shiver.

    ¡°Understood,¡± I said.

    Sera nodded, but the intensity of her glare didn¡¯t fade.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you this one, but I¡¯ll say it again. The most important rule for anybody interacting with an Otherworlder is to never, under any circumstances, let an Otherworlder know about the existence of the Guide.¡±

    I vaguely remembered her mentioning that before I talked to Jamie in the jail cell. ¡°Why?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It destroys the fourth wall,¡± Sera said.

    I stayed silent for a moment before realizing that I wasn¡¯t talking to Jamie. My old strategy of staying silent when I didn¡¯t understand something wasn¡¯t necessary here.

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s a translation of an archaic Elvish term that loosely translates to ¡®speaking with god across dimensions,¡¯¡± she said.

    ¡°That still doesn¡¯t explain what that means. And why Elvish?¡± I asked. ¡°I thought Elves went extinct millennia ago.¡±

    ¡°They did,¡± Sera said. ¡°Two thousand years ago, the Elves went extinct with the exception of one. The founder of the Mediators. I¡¯m not sure what the term specifically means either, but the outcome is terrifying enough that the specifics don¡¯t matter. We can¡¯t let the fourth wall be destroyed again.¡±

    It took me a second to understand what she was implying.

    ¡°The Elves?¡± I asked vaguely, not wanting to say what I was thinking out loud.

    ¡°Elves were mythical, nigh immortal creatures that ruled Materia long ago,¡± Sera said. ¡°Otherworlders existed back then, but they weren¡¯t as much of a concern to the Elves as they are to us, as most of the Elves were powerful enough to match the strength of the Otherworlders. Even so, all it took to wipe them out was for one curious theological researcher to casually talk about the Guide to an Otherworlder he was friends with, dooming his entire race and about two thirds of Materia¡¯s population. Let me make it clear to you, Lena. Destroying the fourth wall means destruction for us all.¡±

    Sera smiled. Somehow. She stood up and reached over to where I was sitting to push my thumbs against the corners of my mouth and push my lips up into a grotesque smile. If I wasn¡¯t so shocked, I might have moved away, but learning that I could have possibly destroyed the entire world if I said the wrong thing was¡­ a lot.

    ¡°Come on, Lena,¡± Sera said. ¡°Get your smile game on. We should get going. We can only pretend we''re fixing up my skirt for so long. I just wanted to make sure you knew what the stakes were before we continued any further. I¡¯ll make sure you learn more when we have the time, but we can only stay in here for so long before the Otherworlder notices something¡¯s wrong.¡±

    Sera took her thumbs off my mouth and I felt my lips snap down from the forced smile into the horrified, gaping expression that expressed my emotions better. Sera laughed and shook her head as she reached down and easily slipped out of her skirt and underwear in one quick motion. I didn¡¯t have the emotional capacity to blush or look away, frozen in my horrified state.

    ¡°Be honest, she says,¡± Sera said, chuckling to herself, reaching under her seat into a hidden compartment and grabbing a spare change of pants. ¡°No more bullshit, she says.¡±

    I felt a slight tinge of regret that I¡¯d said that. Maybe I would¡¯ve been happier if I chose to remain ignorant.

    ¡°Well, you can''t unknow it anymore,¡± Sera said, as if responding to my thoughts directly. She was clad in a bloodstain-free pair of tight pants now and was just adjusting her belt to fit it properly. ¡°You¡¯re cursed with the knowledge forever.¡±

    She paused, as if giving me the opportunity to answer. When I didn¡¯t, she gave me an apologetic half-smile and patted my shoulder twice.

    ¡°It¡¯s a lot, I know, but you¡¯ll get through it. It¡¯s honestly astonishing that you¡¯re not having a panic attack. I know I sure as hell did when I met my first Otherworlder. Unfortunately, even though I understand how you must feel, you¡¯ve got responsibility now. You have to put on a smile, Lena, or the Otherworlder will know something¡¯s wrong. You¡¯ll have the opportunity to vent during your therapy sessions. Try to hold on until then.¡±

    ¡°Therapy sessions?¡± I asked. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was a joke or not, but the idea was so nonsensical that I couldn¡¯t help but react.

    Sera seemed amused that that was what I chose to react to, but she made no comment on it.

    ¡°Yeah, therapy,¡± she said. ¡°All Mediators regularly attend therapy and are trained therapists themselves. It¡¯s a requirement.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to be my therapist?!¡±

    Sera laughed out loud.

    ¡°Oh, hell no,¡± she said. ¡°You and I have way too much going on between us. No. Oren will be your therapist.¡±

    A couple of days ago, I might¡¯ve considered the idea strange. Oren was not the type of person I would¡¯ve imagined as a therapist. Even though he¡¯d been nothing but nice and polite after he stopped pretending to be a guard, he was a huge hulking figure that oozed intimidation simply by existing due to his sheer size and bulk.

    But over the past few days, I¡¯d experienced so many more terrifying things than a particularly large man.

    ¡°Fine,¡± I said. ¡°That works with me.¡±

    Sera laughed, though I couldn¡¯t guess what she found so funny.

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t sound so disappointed, Lena,¡± she said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s no need to be lonely. I¡¯m not going to abandon you.¡±

    ¡°Who said anything like that?¡± I asked incredulously.

    Sera laughed again and reached up to poke at my face with her fingers. I grimaced and pulled back from her before she could try and force my lips up into a smile again.

    ¡°That¡¯s seriously annoying, you know,¡± I said.

    Sera smiled at me and lowered her hands.

    ¡°I had to do something to put a smile on your face,¡± she said, unfazed by the scowl I gave her. ¡°Or a frown. Anything was better than that dead-inside look you had. At least you¡¯ve got some life in you now.¡±

    I did my best to deaden my face in response. It might¡¯ve been a petty way to get revenge, but it was better than nothing. Annoyingly, it only seemed to make her laugh.

    ¡°You did the same thing back in Redstone,¡± Sera said. ¡°It¡¯s cute.¡±

    I scowled at her again and turned to open the carriage door, if only to force her to stop. Sera¡¯s laugh bubbled out of her anyways, echoing into the night.

 28. To Make a New Friend

    I was a bit surprised to see that nobody noticed us exiting the carriage. Jamie and Oren were occupied with cooking something in a large pot over a roaring fire, chatting idly with each other, while a man and a woman were setting up the tents a fair distance away.

    They were distinctly Timuran, judging from their darker skin and silvering hair, but what stood out to me more than that was their size discrepancy. The man was slightly shorter than I was, and the woman looked like she would be about Oren¡¯s height, though she had none of his bulk.

    ¡°Laush and Tenna,¡± Sera said, noticing my gaze.

    ¡°Which one¡¯s which?¡± I asked, not being familiar enough with Timuran to match genders to the names.

    ¡°Laush is the woman, and Tenna is the man,¡± Sera said, giving them both a wave.

    Though I thought they hadn¡¯t noticed us, they gave us a brief wave before returning to their work.

    ¡°Mediators work in teams of five,¡± Sera said. ¡°You¡¯ll meet the last member once we return to Plainswood.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s already someone there?¡± I asked.

    ¡°He¡¯s been there for a while,¡± Sera said. ¡°He arrived there a day after we got the report of a new Otherworlder and has been staying there ever since.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± I asked, making a few mental calculations in my head. ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°How what?¡± Sera asked.

    ¡°How did he get there so fast?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you guys were stationed at Redstone, so how did he make the trip in a day?¡±

    Sera smiled. ¡°He teleported,¡± she said. ¡°We all did, actually. None of us were in Astranta when we got the report.¡±

    ¡°How?¡± I asked. I¡¯d gotten used to ridiculous feats of magical prowess, but only from Jamie, who was an Otherworlder. The idea that whole groups of people could be teleported over large distances without the power of an Otherworlder was an absurd claim. I didn¡¯t think Sera was lying, but it was a little hard to believe.

    ¡°Mediator magic,¡± Sera said, smugly. ¡°And by that, I mean the founder¡¯s magic. There are a couple of perks that come with having a nigh-immortal Elf as your boss.¡±

    ¡°Convenient,¡± I said, still unsure of how to feel that a literal legend was still alive.

    When it became clear that I didn¡¯t have anything else to say, Sera laughed and grabbed my wrist, dragging me to the fire that Oren and Jamie were tending to. When Jamie noticed us approaching, he tensed up for a second before relaxing and giving us a smile and a wave. I smiled and waved back, trying not to think of how I could potentially destroy the world if I told him the wrong thing.

    ¡°Hey, boys. Sorry for taking so long. The zipper was jammed with dried blood and I needed Lena¡¯s help to slip me out without tearing my skirt,¡± Sera said, leading me to one of the chairs that had been set up around the fire pit. She took the seat beside Jamie, while I sat down at her other side. ¡°What¡¯s cooking?¡±

    ¡°Just some stew,¡± Oren responded, staring into the pot and stirring the contents with a long spoon.

    Now that I was closer, I realized it smelled heavenly, and I hadn¡¯t had an actual decent meal in over a week. Judging from the way Jamie was staring intently at the pot with a hint of drool peeking out the side of his lips, I could tell he was thinking the same thing.

    ¡°How long till it¡¯s done?¡± Sera asked.

    ¡°Around forty-five minutes,¡± Oren answered.

    My stomach gurgled quietly in disappointment. I clutched at it, hoping that nobody heard. Sera gave me a glance and a smirk before looking back towards the pot. I noticed Oren glancing at me too, but the frown on his face surprised me. Had I done something to offend him?

    He smiled immediately after, making me think that I¡¯d somehow imagined his disapproval.

    ¡°Damn, and here I was, thinking we would have dinner soon. It¡¯s been a long day,¡± Sera said. ¡°Can¡¯t we just eat it sooner?¡±

    ¡°Hush you. As I was telling Jamie, good stew takes time,¡± Oren replied, giving the pot another slow stir. ¡°You can¡¯t just throw vegetables and meat in a pot and scoop it out immediately once it starts boiling. You¡¯ve got to give the stew time to soak and infuse the ingredients with each others¡¯ flavour, otherwise you¡¯ll just have an uncomfortable jumble of clashing tastes. It takes time, effort, and care to turn it into a harmonious dish.¡±

    Sera made a vague sound of distaste. ¡°You sound like my mother, Oren,¡± she said. ¡°Are you going to say that the secret ingredient to any dish is love too?¡±

    Oren let out a quiet and gentle chuckle that clashed heavily with his brutish appearance. ¡°Something like that,¡± he said. ¡°They do say that if you have a conversation with a friend around the pot, it¡¯ll taste better.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Sera asked. ¡°Who¡¯s they? What are their credentials? Have they published their research to the proper review boards?¡±

    Oren rolled his eyes and gently tapped Jamie¡¯s shoulder with his elbow. ¡°Can you believe this girl, Jamie?¡±

    Jamie jolted in his seat, not expecting to be called upon. ¡°Hmm?¡± he said absentmindedly. ¡°Oh, yeah. I can believe her.¡±

    Sera laughed. ¡°See? Jamie believes me. Why don¡¯t we just shut up and watch the fire silently, just to see if it tastes just as good? All in the name of science, of course.¡±¡¯

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    Oren just sighed and shook his head.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Jamie said. ¡°Did I say something weird? Sorry. I wasn¡¯t paying attention.¡±

    ¡°No need to apologize, Jamie,¡± Oren said, patting him gently on the back. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault Sera here is insufferable. Just ignore what she¡¯s saying.¡±

    Sera responded by sticking out her tongue.

    ¡°To catch you up,¡± Oren continued. ¡°I told Sera and Lena that talking with a friend while you¡¯re cooking stew makes it taste better once it¡¯s finished. It¡¯s an old wives¡¯ tale, but Sera decided to be an annoying brat and challenge the validity of the statement.¡±

    ¡°And challenge it, I do!¡± Sera said. ¡°I still think we should try staying silent for the next hour. I¡¯m all for busting stupid superstitions.¡±

    Oren shook his head. ¡°Sorry, Sera. Jamie and I were already talking before you girls came along. We¡¯ve already contaminated the stew.¡±

    ¡°Oh, boo! When did you two become so close,¡± Sera complained.

    Ah. I finally understood what they were trying to do. Though I would never call Sera a normal person, she was acting particularly strange right now, and her strange behaviours always seemed to have a purpose.

    Jamie didn¡¯t seem to clue in on what Oren was trying to imply immediately. He stared at the pot for a few seconds before spontaneously jolting in his seat.

    ¡°Huh?¡± he said, as if he was unable to believe what he had figured out.

    ¡°Damn boys,¡± Sera said, shaking her head and pretending like she hadn¡¯t noticed Jamie¡¯s reaction. ¡°Always making friends with each other so easily. You don¡¯t have any idea how hard it was to convince Lena to like me,¡± Sera said, sighing dramatically and leaning towards me until her head fell gently into my lap. ¡°She¡¯s always playing so hard to get.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure even I like you yet,¡± I said. Casual sexism aside, I was already unhappy enough that I was being dragged into this manipulative act that I was being somewhat truthful. ¡°And I¡¯m not playing ¡®hard to get.¡¯¡±

    ¡°See?¡± Sera said, turning to Jamie and pointing up at me, while still lying across my lap. ¡°Boys have it so easy.¡±

    I pushed her off my lap. Sera sputtered and flailed wildly as she fell to the floor, but I had no doubt that she was expecting it.

    ¡°Hey, watch it!¡± Oren said. ¡°You¡¯ll knock the stew over. You know how much work Jamie and I put into this? A conversation between friends is a priceless ingredient, you know. I¡¯ll have you compensate us if you ruin it.¡±

    When Jamie spoke, his voice was soft, almost too soft to make out in the clamour of Oren¡¯s and Sera¡¯s raised voices.

    ¡°We¡¯re¡­ friends?¡±

    Oren turned to Jamie, raising his eyebrow, pretending like this wasn¡¯t what he and Sera were trying to achieve in the first place.

    ¡°What are you saying, Jamie. Of course, we¡¯re friends. Well, if you want to be,¡± Oren said, turning away and looking into the fire instead. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be presumptuous.¡±

    ¡°O-of course I want to be!¡± Jamie said, standing up suddenly. He immediately sat down and turned away, looking slightly embarrassed at his own reaction. ¡°I mean, if that¡¯s alright with you.¡±

    Oren blinked a few times, as if he couldn¡¯t believe what was going on. He was an excellent actor, even better than Sera was. The beaming smile on his face looked completely genuine as he extended a hand to Jamie.

    Jamie turned to Oren, his eyes darting between the offered and his beaming smile. He carefully extended his own and grabbed the offered hand.

    ¡°Friends?¡± Jamie said hesitantly, as if the offer would suddenly disappear if he seemed too eager.

    ¡°Friends,¡± Oren said, pulling Jamie in and thumping his back twice.

    Oren has joined your party!

    I glanced up at the panel, not letting my eyes linger on it for too long. I couldn¡¯t stop a grimace from rising to my lips. Even though I¡¯d realized recently that Jamie was just a kid, I also knew he was still a danger to the world around him, even more so than I¡¯d originally thought if this fourth wall stuff was something to be believed.

    But he was still just a kid. The fact that the Mediators were using Jamie¡¯s obvious desperation for friendship to endear themselves to him left a bad taste in my mouth, even more than Sera¡¯s strange seduction attempts did.

    I understood that it might be necessary, that it was something that needed to be done to ensure the safety of the world, but that didn¡¯t mean I liked it. The blatant emotional manipulation was difficult to watch.

    I stood up.

    ¡°I¡¯m feeling restless from sitting down for so long,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m going to walk around for a bit.¡±

    Without waiting for a response, I wandered off.

    I didn¡¯t go too far. The night sky was covered mostly in clouds, and without the light of the fireplace, it was difficult to see much of anything, and I didn¡¯t trust myself not to trip over something if I wandered too far into the plains. I just didn¡¯t want to hear anymore of whatever act that Oren and Sera were cooking up to endear themselves to Jamie even further.

    It didn¡¯t take long for me to hear footsteps coming up behind me.

    ¡°I can imagine how distasteful it must look from the outside,¡± Sera said.

    ¡°He¡¯s just a kid,¡± I said. ¡°You know that, right?¡±

    Sera didn¡¯t respond right away. She stood behind me for about a minute before walking up to stand beside me. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see her looking up into the cloudy night sky.

    ¡°Sometimes I forget you¡¯re not a Mediator,¡± Sera said. ¡°I keep catching myself thinking that you¡¯ll see the things in the same light that we do and think about them in the same way.¡±

    I didn¡¯t respond. I didn¡¯t want to criticize her and tell her that the Mediators were messed up in the head if they could casually fuck with a kid¡¯s head like this. I knew that they were just doing their job to make sure our world was safe from the monstrous power that each Otherworlder held. But he was just a kid.

    ¡°To be clear, I¡¯m glad you don¡¯t think like us. I hope after all this is over, you¡¯ll go home and never think about Otherworlders or Mediators ever again. Just live a peaceful life off the copious amounts of money your government will give you. It¡¯s a good thing you feel sympathy for the Otherworlder. It means you¡¯re normal.¡±

    In the edges of my vision, I saw her turn towards me, but I kept staring forward into the night.

    ¡°You never use his name,¡± I said. ¡°You keep calling him ¡®the Otherworlder.¡¯¡±

    Sera turned away from me and sighed. It took her a few seconds to say anything, though I wasn¡¯t sure if that was because she had to gather her thoughts first, or if she was just letting the silence run its course for the sake of it.

    ¡°Otherworlders aren¡¯t typically happy people. Otherworlders who have similar or identical personalities to Jamie¡¯s aren¡¯t uncommon in the slightest,¡± she said. ¡°Even so, Mediators are taught not to sympathize with them, regardless of what they were like back in their home world. Power corrupts, and they all have the potential to become monsters when they arrive here. Many of them do. Some don¡¯t.

    ¡°It¡¯s harder to deal with the ones that don¡¯t. On a personal level, at least. Our job is to get rid of them, to protect the world from their influence, and even if the way we do it is by fulfilling their greatest desires, at the end of the day we¡¯re still killing them. It¡¯s not as soul-crushing if we don¡¯t think of them as being like us.¡±

    ¡°So, you act like Jamie¡¯s a monster, just to make it easier to kill him?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Sera replied, surprising me with her blunt answer. ¡°Because I might not be able to if I didn¡¯t. And he needs to die, Lena. He¡¯s too dangerous to be kept alive.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what to say to that, so I said nothing.

    ¡°He¡¯s by far the most sympathetic and stable Otherworlder I¡¯ve met. But he¡¯s still too dangerous. All Otherworlders are. If it makes it any better, I¡¯ll mourn him when he dies.¡±

    I sighed.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t make it any better,¡± I said.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that to the wrong person.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡±

 29. Second-in-Command

    Oren felt something tickle his forearm, a signal from Laush that the Otherworlder was asleep. She had been using magic to create small breezes and quiet popping sounds to see if the Otherworlder would wake up at the minor annoyances.

    The Otherworlder was asleep. He had been for the past ten minutes or so, but Oren didn¡¯t move until he was absolutely sure of the fact. It wouldn¡¯t do to risk the fate of millions of lives over a simple mistake.

    Oren got up silently and made his way to the carriages.

    While Laush and Tenna had set up enough tents that each member of the group could take one to themselves, Sera and the girl had chosen to sleep in the carriages, being small enough to comfortably lie across the seats.

    Oren made sure to activate the small pocket-sized redstone lantern he had in his hands. He didn¡¯t need the dim light it provided, but it was important for appearances.

    He knocked on the door to the carriage that the girl was sleeping in. It took two seconds before the latch clicked open and the girl peered warily out at him.

    Oren smiled and waved.

    The girl gave him a frown in response, but let the door swing open. Oren stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

    He expected the girl might feel uncomfortable, sitting in a dark enclosed space with a man of his size, so when he sat down, Oren made sure to shrink in on himself as much as possible and give her a gentle smile that clashed with his otherwise brutish appearance. The light of his lantern was weak, but he positioned it in a way that she could vaguely see his expression.

    ¡°You don¡¯t trust me,¡± he said.

    It wasn¡¯t the standard way to start a conversation, but by acknowledging her distrust in him and validating it, he hoped that it would paradoxically get her to reconsider it.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine that you don¡¯t. I haven''t given you any reason to trust me, unless you count the fact that I¡¯m a Mediator,¡± he continued. ¡°Though judging by your conversation with Sera, I assume that¡¯s hardly a positive point to you at this very moment.¡±

    ¡°She told you about that?¡± the girl asked.

    ¡°She did,¡± Oren said. ¡°It was a hard conversation, from what I¡¯ve heard.¡±

    ¡°And now you¡¯re here to give me more?¡±

    The girl came off as antagonistic, which made sense given that she¡¯d been witness to how he¡¯d manipulated the Otherworlder earlier that night.

    ¡°Therapy is rarely easy,¡± Oren said.

    ¡°This hardly feels like a therapy session,¡± she replied, crossing her arms in defiance.

    ¡°Most of therapy is made up of having difficult conversations. Though I will admit this may not be the ideal setting for it. Is there anything I could do to make you feel more comfortable? Perhaps Laush or Tenna could take over if you specifically feel uncomfortable with me.¡±

    Oren knew that even if the idea might appeal to her, she would refuse it. The girl was intelligent enough to recognize that she didn¡¯t actually have an issue with him. Even though he¡¯d been the one to manipulate the Otherworlder directly, it was a consequence of his role as a Mediator, rather than his personal doctrine. She wouldn¡¯t feel any more comfortable with another Mediator.

    Judging from the grimace on her face, she had come to the same conclusion.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s fine,¡± she said. ¡°But I would feel more comfortable if we could turn on a few more lamps. I¡¯m not afraid of the dark or anything, but this is a bit too much. I¡¯m starting to feel a little claustrophobic.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you recognize the need for secrecy here,¡± Oren said. ¡°Jamie¡¯s a deeply insecure boy, and he would react negatively to the idea that his love interest and his new best friend are meeting in secret, regardless of whatever explanation we give him. I would prefer if we didn¡¯t have to deal with whatever would happen if we were discovered, so we won¡¯t be using any more lanterns than necessary.¡±

    She sighed, no doubt a reaction to the reminder of her status as the Otherworlder''s object of affection.

    ¡°Great,¡± she said. Sarcasm.

    ¡°I said we wouldn¡¯t be using lanterns, Lena,¡± Oren said, pretending to misread the cause of her frustration. ¡°Not that we¡¯d need to stay in the dark.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± she asked.

    ¡°You know how to use magic, right?¡± he asked, already knowing the answer.

    ¡°I do.¡±

    Oren nodded and closed his fist against the lantern in his hand. A dull red glow shone through the skin of his fingers, but the carriage was otherwise plunged into darkness.

    ¡°Let out your magic slowly and say, [Status].¡±

    As Oren laid out his instructions, he followed them as well. It was an odd, but not unpleasant feeling as he felt something take hold of his magic for him, drawing out a sliver of his mana and connecting it to something greater than himself. A blue panel popped up in front of him.

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%; text-align: center" colspan="2">General Information:</td>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%; text-align: center" colspan="2">Attributes</td>

    </tr>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">Name:</td>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">Oren</td>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">STR:</td>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">???</td>

    </tr>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">Species:</td>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">Human</td>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">DEX:</td>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">???</td>

    </tr>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">Class:</td>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">Follower</td>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">END:</td>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">???</td>

    </tr>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">HP:</td>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">???</td>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">INT:</td>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">???</td>

    </tr>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">MP:</td>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">???</td>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">WIS:</td>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">???</td>

    </tr>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">XP:</td>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">N/A</td>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">CHA:</td>

    <td style="width: 24.0861%">???</td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    Historically, Otherworlders with a panel interface for their interactions with the Guide were able to use it to increase their abilities in one way or another, but while Followers have always had access to the Guide in the same way, they were always barred from using it to the same extent. This case held no exception to the rule, but at the very least, Oren and Sera had discovered a few uses of the blue panels throughout the night.

    It seemed that by calling on a personal panel like this one, it was only visible to the user. While it did obscure Oren¡¯s vision, moving around to block his vision no matter where he looked, it did emit a pale blue glow that nobody else could see.

    Through the translucent screen, Oren could see the girl frowning, despite sitting in pitch darkness.

    ¡°That¡¯s what Jamie says sometimes,¡± she said.

    ¡°It is,¡± Oren agreed.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be any more involved in this Otherworlder-Mediator business than I already am.¡±

    ¡°And why is that? Many civilians would be enthused to become a Follower if they had the opportunity.¡±

    She narrowed her eyes, glaring at where she must have thought his eyes were. She ended up staring at his chin instead.

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    ¡°That sounds like bullshit,¡± she said.

    ¡°It¡¯s the truth,¡± Oren said, unoffended by what she said. ¡°Being a Follower comes with many benefits. Monetary compensation and access to an Otherworlder¡¯s power can make any ordinary civilian into a powerful person in a few weeks.¡±

    ¡°Most people I know would be too scared to even consider all of that stuff. Myself included.¡±

    ¡°I never said most. I said many. I apologize if there was any confusion.¡±

    ¡°That sounds like bullshit too.¡±

    ¡°What specifically?¡±

    ¡°Are you asking because you¡¯re genuinely confused, or because you¡¯re looking for feedback so you can lie better next time?¡±

    Oren sighed.

    ¡°The former,¡± he said. ¡°I will admit that this is new ground for me. I¡¯ve never had a civilian therapy patient before and I¡¯m used to speaking in terms that Mediators typically appreciate. We¡¯re an odd sort, but I still thought you¡¯d appreciate the persona that I find truest to myself. I apologize.¡±

    The girl said nothing, crossing her arms as a complicated emotion crossed her face, even when she thought he couldn¡¯t see her. She was performing for no one and yet her emotions spilled out of her liberally. It was the type of thing that Oren would never see in another Mediator, and he couldn¡¯t help but think of when the last time an emotion appeared on his face unprompted had been.

    ¡°You¡¯re not sorry,¡± the girl said. ¡°Don¡¯t apologize for something that you don¡¯t actually care about.¡±

    Oren could see where she was coming from but didn¡¯t agree with it. He didn¡¯t care about much, but apologies were too powerful of a tool not to use. He would follow along if it made her more agreeable, but it wasn¡¯t a binding agreement in the slightest.

    ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t,¡± Oren said. ¡°But I sincerely didn¡¯t mean to confuse you. It¡¯s true there are benefits to taking a Follower role as a civilian and I was curious about why you personally didn¡¯t care for them, regardless of the majority opinion.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not crazy enough to want to risk my life by even being near an Otherworlder,¡± the girl said, seemingly content to go along with Oren¡¯s quick change of subject.

    ¡°But Jamie isn¡¯t just an Otherworlder. You¡¯ve become a companion to him. Do you truly believe he will harm you?¡±

    The girl frowned.

    ¡°No. Not on purpose, at least.¡±

    ¡°Then why do you push away the role of a Follower, if your main concern is addressed by Jamie¡¯s personality?¡±

    The frown deepened.

    ¡°What was that about statuses again?¡± she said.

    The deflection was obvious, and Oren had no doubts that she¡¯d tried very hard to conceal that fact, but he didn¡¯t want to push the girl into talking about something if she didn¡¯t want to.

    ¡°Let out your magic slowly and say, Status,¡± he said, not using magic this time as his status panel was already opened.

    The girl hesitated for another second.

    ¡°Status,¡± she said.

    Though he had no way of knowing if the girl summoned her panel correctly, her wide-eyed expression and the way that her eyes focused on his face, rather than his neck made it clear that she was able to see him with the ambient blue light that her personal status panel emitted.

    ¡°Oh,¡± she said.

    ¡°It works for [Skills] as well,¡± Oren said. The word resonated with him, summoning yet another panel.

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 99.0252%; text-align: center">

    Skills:

    [Side Character] (Passive)

    Characters with the [Side Character] ability cannot acquire XP and will passively grow stronger alongside the [HERO] at a rate that will not outshine the [HERO] in any way. The [Side Character] skill may degrade or increase the strength of the wielder at any time to further the [STORY].

    </td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    ¡°What am I supposed to do with this?¡± the girl asked.

    Oren shrugged, adopting his visual mannerisms once more, now that she could see him again. ¡°It makes for a good source of personal light.¡±

    The girl said nothing in response, and Oren decided it was time to go to his next topic.

    ¡°What¡¯s your opinion on Sera?¡± Oren asked.

    ¡°Huh?¡± the girl said, starting in surprise. ¡°What brought this on?¡±

    Oren smiled innocently.

    ¡°I won¡¯t push you to talk about things that you aren¡¯t ready for, Lena,¡± he said. ¡°But we do need to talk about something during our therapy sessions. What do you think about Sera?¡±

    Oren hadn¡¯t thought he would bring up this topic so early, but he had accidentally put Lena off balance enough that he was confident with advancing to the main topic he wanted to explore that night. Sera¡¯s odd behaviour.

    It was common protocol to distance civilian Followers from their Otherworlders as much as possible and as soon as possible, even if they were Chosen, but Sera was keeping the girl firmly intertwined in their operations. She had given the excuse that the girl was highly intelligent and could be an asset to their operations, but even if it was true, no asset was worth the potential risk they undertook whenever they added more rogue elements.

    The entire situation was a large and unnecessary breach of standard operating procedure, one that Sera refused to elaborate on whenever he asked her to provide further reasoning.

    ¡°It¡¯s a safe enough topic, don¡¯t you think, Lena? If the more bizarre events that have entered your recent life are too difficult to talk about, we could talk about the more mundane parts of your recent life instead, not that I would call our little leader mundane in any sense of the word.¡± Oren chuckled at the preplanned joke. ¡°But seriously, don¡¯t tell her. She can be surprisingly petty, and I¡¯d rather not get my pay docked.¡±

    ¡°She controls your pay?¡± the girl asked.

    An odd thing to focus on, but Oren played along. ¡°As the leader of the team, she¡¯s responsible for each member¡¯s performance reviews, which can influence my salary. But enough about me,¡± he said, not willing to let the deflection last for long. ¡°What about you? What¡¯s your opinion on our venerable leader?¡±

    The girl frowned. ¡°You know my opinion on you Mediators already.¡±

    That opinion was an issue Oren planned to address later, but it was still deflection. ¡°I¡¯m not asking about the Mediators, Lena,¡± he said, giving her a gentle and patient smile. ¡°I just want to talk about Sera as a person. She¡¯s clearly the person that you¡¯re closest to within our group. Do you truly see her as nothing beyond her title? I was under the impression that the two of you were becoming genuine friends.¡±

    The girl opened her mouth but closed it before anything came out. Scrunching her face in concentration, she thought for a few seconds before giving up, letting out a loud sigh.

    ¡°Maybe,¡± she said. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for all of this Mediator stuff, I guess I could see myself being friends with her, even if she is a bit pushy.¡±

    Oren kept his face neutral. ¡°Pushy?¡± he asked. ¡°How so?¡±

    ¡°Well, she keeps saying and doing weirdly flirty things with me,¡± the girl said, sighing into her hand. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s similar enough to what she does with Jamie that I can assume it¡¯s all an act, but that doesn''t explain why she doing it with me.¡±

    Oren simply smiled through his confusion. ¡°I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve noticed it myself,¡± he said, telling the truth. ¡°What do you think is her reason?¡±

    It was difficult to tell in the dim blue lighting provided by his two panels, but he thought he saw the girl¡¯s face darken in colour.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± the girl said.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Oren asked. ¡°You seem to have some sort of idea.¡±

    The girl glared at him, though it wasn¡¯t intimidating in the slightest, Oren did worry slightly that he¡¯d accidentally pushed too hard.

    He held up his hands in a pacifying gesture, but said nothing.

    The girl didn¡¯t say anything for a few minutes, but Oren was patient enough to wait.

    ¡°It¡¯s really stupid,¡± the girl said, looking to the side to avoid Oren¡¯s eyes. ¡°And this is just a guess. But maybe, I think she likes me?¡±

    Before Oren could react, the girl sighed deeply and held her head in her hands. ¡°I mean, I''m not good at picking up when someone''s flirting with me, but sometimes she makes me think of that time when one of my friends thought he liked me, back when we were just kids. He would constantly stick by my side, make excuses to touch me, like patting my shoulder or sitting close to me, and he would always tease me about anything, but he would apologize right after. I eventually got annoyed enough at him to tell him to piss off, which made him cry. I only figured out he liked me when one of my other friends told me a few years later.¡±

    Oren stayed silent for a moment, processing what she was saying. ¡°I see,¡± he said as an automatic response to her words. ¡°And you think Sera is the same way?¡±

    The girl hesitated. ¡°Maybe?¡± She shook her head quickly. ¡°No, that was a kid¡¯s idea of flirting. Sera¡¯s an adult. I guess she wouldn¡¯t act so childish if she was seriously trying to flirt with me, right?¡±

    Oren nodded numbly. ¡°I suppose so,¡± he said aloud, while he struggled to make the same conclusion in his mind.

    Oren was an expert on the matters of love and attraction, that was to say, he¡¯d done extensive reading on the subject. He knew that attraction to another person was characterised by many things, including irrational behaviour.

    Though he wanted to dismiss the idea that Sera could risk the whole operation for a chance to get closer to her object of attraction, to his horror, he couldn¡¯t deny the possibility.

    Sera was famous among the Mediators. She was among the few young Mediators in the organisation¡¯s active ranks, and the youngest team leader by a large margin. She had spent her entire life surrounded by hardened agents decades older than herself. Meeting the girl was likely the first time that she had spent more than a few hours interacting with someone close to her own age.

    Oren couldn¡¯t stop his eyes from narrowing and his mouth curving downwards in a slight grimace, betraying his true emotions through the mask he wore, for the first time in years.

    ¡°I suppose so,¡± he repeated.

 30. Changes in Management

    Talking with Oren had been nice. Contrary to what he had claimed at the beginning of our talk, saying that therapy consisted mostly of difficult conversations, most of the night had consisted of me talking away at him about whatever came to my mind, even if it didn¡¯t involve the Mediators or Jamie at all.

    Oren had been surprisingly compliant with all of it, not even trying to steer us back to talking about Otherworlder business, just nodding along as I vented my frustrations at him.

    I had been surprised how therapeutic the whole experience had been. Given that it was a therapy session, I suppose it made sense, but I hadn¡¯t trusted it. I had still been wary of Oren¡¯s skill in manipulating people, but with how little he spoke and how much free reign he gave me, I doubted that he had done anything nefarious to me without my notice.

    Regardless, I had no problems admitting that all the venting that I did last night had been good for me.

    Waking up the next day, I felt relaxed for the first time in a while. The morning sun shining through the fabric of the curtains, the chirping of birds muted by the thick walls of the carriage, the softness of the plush cushion that I¡¯d slept on. It was comfortable enough that I didn¡¯t want to get up.

    So, I laid there. After travelling with him for a week, I knew Jamie¡¯s sleeping habits well enough to know he wouldn¡¯t be up for a few more hours, while habit from my usual life had me waking up at dawn. Even if I didn¡¯t have that habit, I doubted I would¡¯ve slept in regardless while we were travelling alone.

    Though I¡¯d never thought that Jamie would attack me, even back when I was still scared of him, I was still nervous enough around him to not want to be asleep near him. Now that I was less afraid of Jamie and had an entire team of Mediators to watch over him in my stead, I felt I could finally take the time to clear my sleep debt after a week of surviving on only a handful of hours of sleep each day.

    Unfortunately, a knock on the door interrupted that idea.

    I sighed, swinging my legs off the side of the carriage seats and standing up. When I opened the door, I was surprised by who was standing behind it.

    ¡°Tenna, right?¡± I said.

    ¡°Right!¡± he said, giving me a wide smile. He had a slight Timuran accent, but spoke with the confidence of a local. ¡°Pleasure to finally meet you, Ms. Lena. Officially, that is.¡±

    It was an overly friendly greeting for someone who I¡¯d never spoken to before, but the default persona that each of these Mediators held seemed to be one of overwhelming friendliness.

    ¡°Pleasure to meet you too,¡± I said.

    ¡°May we talk inside?¡± he asked.

    I wondered how many more times I would be cornered in this carriage. I nodded and stepped back, not seeing much of a reason to deny him, nor any possibility that he would simply accept if I denied him.

    Not needing any further prompting, Tenna gave me a polite smile and a slight bow before stepping up into the carriage. I sat down as he pulled the door closed behind him. Despite how comfortable I¡¯d thought the seat was a moment ago, I was starting to get sick of it.

    He sat down across from me. With him being slightly shorter than I was, the carriage wasn¡¯t as claustrophobic as it had been last night with Oren¡¯s size taking up most of the space, but I was still painfully aware that the Timuran man sitting across from me was likely strong enough to kill me if he wanted to. I wasn¡¯t too bothered by that fact, becoming numb to it by this point.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get straight to the point, Ms. Lena,¡± Tenna said, folding his hands over his lap. ¡°I¡¯m here to let you know that Leader Sera has stepped down from her position and has appointed myself as leader.¡±

    ¡°What? Why?¡±

    It hadn¡¯t seemed like Tenna had finished talking. He still had his mouth open as I spoke up, but he didn¡¯t seem upset by the interruption.

    ¡°I was just about to get to that, Ms. Lena,¡± he said, with a hint of amusement in his voice. ¡°I would ask you to be patient and hold your questions until I am finished.¡±

    I shut my mouth. He nodded in satisfaction and continued.

    ¡°It seems that Second Oren had a talk with Leader Sera last night, which led to her stepping down as Leader and giving the position to myself. While I am trained in the responsibilities of a Leader, I will admit that this would be my first time adopting the position outside of training sessions.¡±

    He bowed his head to me.

    ¡°I apologize, but I do not have the experience nor the confidence to allow the flexibility and lenience that Team Leader Sera has shown you,¡± he said. ¡°As a result, I would be more comfortable if we would stick to standard practices.¡±

    His sudden deference surprised me, but not enough that I didn¡¯t recognize the purposefully vague way that he was speaking. Though he was Timuran, it seemed like that trait of Mediators was universal.

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I am not confident that I can properly monitor your interactions with Jamie,¡± he said, with his head still bowed. ¡°I understand that the two of you have had interaction under Leader Sera¡¯s supervision, but standard practices say that civilian Followers should be isolated from their Otherworlders.¡±

    I frowned. Was this because my talk with Sera last night? I guess it made sense. I had shown compassion for someone that they planned to kill, maybe too much if they thought they needed to isolate me from him.

    When millions of lives were hanging on the balance of a young boy¡¯s mental state, it made sense to think that they wanted to control every factor that could potentially set him off, up until the moment where they killed him.

    I shook my head, not wanting to think of it.

    ¡°Why did Sera make you leader, again?¡± I asked instead.

    Tenna looked up, finally raising his head. ¡°Second Oren had a talk with Leader Sera, which led to her making the decision to step down.¡±

    ¡°And what was that talk about?¡± I asked, narrowing my eyes.

    ¡°I was not told,¡± Tenna said. ¡°And it was not my business to ask.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t tell if he was lying or not, but that I¡¯d grown to learn that that was a standard sentiment when it came to dealing with Mediators. I had my own guesses regardless.

    ¡°Thanks for telling me all this,¡± I said. ¡°Was there anything else you wanted to say?¡±

    ¡°No, there is not,¡± Tenna said, bowing again. ¡°Thank you for your time, Ms. Lena. If there is anything you need of me, please do not hesitate to ask.¡±

    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Sure,¡± I said.

    Taking my lazy answer as dismissal, Tenna bowed once more before leaving the carriage and closing the door behind him.

    I sighed and let my head rest against the wall for a few seconds before getting up and opening the door. I wanted nothing more than to fall back asleep and pretend that everything was okay, but I couldn¡¯t stand the idea of another Mediator possibly cornering me in the carriage for more conversations. I needed to leave.

    Outside, I wasn¡¯t surprised to see that all of the Mediators were already up. They were scattered around the campsite, and though they all pretended that they hadn¡¯t noticed my exiting of the carriage, I wasn¡¯t na?ve enough to actually think that was the case.

    Oren and Tenna were talking with each other in muted voices under the shade of a distant tree, while Laush was stowing away a pile of bags into a storage compartment on the side of the second carriage. Sera was sitting alone at the fire pit, staring at a pile of embers that housed a few baking potatoes in its center.

    Jamie was absent from the scene, though judging from the one tent that was still standing and the fact that it was still only barely past dawn, I assumed he was still sleeping.

    I made my way to Sera. She didn¡¯t look at me even as I sat down beside her.

    ¡°Do Mediators not know the term, patient confidentiality?¡± I asked.

    Sera kept her eyes locked forward, fixed on the fire. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said. ¡°I must have made you uncomfortable.¡±

    It took me a second to get what she was implying. I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Seriously? I was right?¡± I asked, unable to believe it. ¡°You like me?¡±

    Sera winced, but still kept her eyes pointedly away from mine.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± she said. ¡°But I can¡¯t deny the possibility. Which probably means it¡¯s true. Some Mediator I am.¡±

    It was the most vulnerable and dejected state that I¡¯d ever seen her in, which made me instantly suspicious. It didn¡¯t feel like an act, but I knew just how good the Mediators were.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t another trick, is it? You¡¯re not just acting like this so you can get in my good graces?¡± I asked.

    Sera let out a dry humourless laugh.

    ¡°Maybe it is,¡± she said, poking a stick into the fire, shifting one of the baking potatoes to the side. ¡°It makes sense, right? That¡¯s what I¡¯m supposed to do. I¡¯m a Mediator. I shouldn¡¯t be acting like a horny fucking teenage girl.¡±

    Though it didn¡¯t look like she was putting much force into it, the stick she was using to bake the potatoes snapped in the middle. I noticed a pile of similarly sized sticks sitting to her side, and she picked one up and started to push around the embers again like nothing had happened.

    ¡°You know what, you¡¯re right. This is a trick,¡± she said. ¡°You should go. You wouldn¡¯t want to be fooled by my manipulative schemes, would you.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what to think. A part of me agreed with her. She was a Mediator. By her own admission, trying to manipulate me was something that she should be doing. It made sense. While Tenna¡¯s method to making sure I didn¡¯t influence Jamie was to separate me from him completely, another way that could be accomplished was if I could be manipulated into influencing Jamie in a way without me realizing.

    But this felt wrong, somehow. Sera really did look like she was disappointed in herself. I¡¯d never heard her sound so defeated like this.

    No.

    It was possible that that¡¯s what she wanted me to think. It was possible that I was playing right into Sera¡¯s hands. Maybe she actually was manipulating me, and by pretending to acknowledge her ¡°failures¡± in a sarcastic way, she was trying to get me to put my guard down.

    I shook my head. Maybe she was, and maybe she wasn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t know what to think, but I couldn¡¯t let her jerk me around like this. There was only one thing I could realistically do in this situation.

    I stood up and left.

    For the rest of the day, nobody bothered me. Jamie and Oren rode in the same carriage, with Laush as their driver, and Sera drove my carriage, while I sat inside with Tenna. I didn¡¯t talk at all, and Tenna seemed content to let the silence sit, taking the time to cross his legs and meditate for the entire day. I busied myself with watching the passing scenery out the window. With us riding through a road that cut across the plainslands, it made for a very boring pastime.

    We stopped at night to have dinner and set up camp. Though I joined the group for dinner, I remained silent the entire time, having nothing to say. Jamie, Sera, and Oren all talked to each other, telling jokes and stories while the rest of us ate in relative silence.

    Once everyone finished eating and turned in for the night, Oren knocked on my door for another ¡°therapy session.¡± I closed the door on his face.

    The rest of the days were more or less the same. The seating arrangements occasionally switched around so Jamie wouldn¡¯t always be sitting with the same person, but I was never assigned to sit with him. Whoever I sat with, I didn¡¯t talk to, spending my time either gazing out the window or practicing my magic if I got too bored. With most of our time spent travelling on the road, that meant that the only time I saw him was when we woke up and had breakfast, and when we set up camp and ate dinner.

    More than a few times, I noticed Jamie look in my direction, acting like he wanted to say something to me, or at least involve me in the conversation somehow, but before he could, one of the Mediators would always do or say something to distract him away from me. I don¡¯t think he ever noticed.

    On the fourth night, Sera made an announcement that we would be back in Plainswood by noon the next day.

    I was glad that the trip was ending, and with one more night to go, I was eager to fall asleep and get to the next day as soon as I could. After we ate dinner and said our good nights, I went to my carriage and threw myself into bed immediately.

    It was difficult to fall asleep. I wasn¡¯t used to sitting around all day like this, and after so much inactivity, I was too restless to want to stay still for even longer. Despite my desperate desire to sleep, it seemed like my body was fighting that urge to the best of its abilities.

    I sighed, but stayed lying down, recognizing that the only thing I could do was just wait and hope that sleep took me anyways.

    A few minutes later, I heard a knock on my door. I was nowhere near falling asleep, but I was in a bad enough mood that I wanted to blame the knock for interrupting my sleep anyways.

    Oren hadn¡¯t tried to talk me into another ¡°therapy session¡± since I slammed the door in his face, so it probably wasn¡¯t him. For a second, I wondered who it was and what they wanted, before I quickly decided I didn¡¯t care. Whatever they wanted, they could fuck off.

    It was only after the fifth knock that I got annoyed enough to get up and swing the door open with the full intent of kicking whoever was on the other side in the face.

    The door did that for me, swinging open and smacking my visitor with a meaty thwack. I considered closing the door, just so I could do it again, but I noticed who was standing outside it.

    ¡°Jamie?¡± I asked.

    The boy sheepishly grinned at me, peeking his head out from behind the very same door that had smacked him in the face.

    ¡°Umm, hi,¡± he said.

    What was he doing here?

    ¡°Hi?¡± I said hesitantly.

    Jamie¡¯s smile faltered a bit as he looked nervously around him, though it seemed more like he was avoiding my gaze more than he was trying to actually look at anything in particular.

    ¡°Sorry, were you sleeping?¡± he asked, scratching the back of his head. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°Stop apologizing,¡± I said automatically, then winced when I realized how harsh i had sounded. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m a bit on edge.¡±

    Jamie¡¯s smile returned, though it was skewed awkwardly in a hesitant grin. ¡°Yeah, I kind of noticed,¡± he said.

    A long silence stretched between us. A ridiculous feeling of nostalgia came across me, as I remembered how these silences would be commonplace between us, back when I was still afraid of him killing me.

    Jamie coughed into his hand.

    ¡°I feel like we haven¡¯t talked in ages,¡± he said, still awkwardly refusing to meet my eyes. ¡°If you¡¯re not sleepy, I was thinking we could just talk for a bit. If you want to, of course.¡±

    I stared at him for a few seconds, wondering what brought this on, before I noticed movement in the corner of my eye. Oren¡¯s figure was hard to miss, as he crawled out of his tent and stretched his body in an exaggerated way. Jamie followed my gaze and noticed Oren, just as Oren pretended to notice us.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Oren said, acting surprised. ¡°Are you two having trouble falling asleep too?¡±

    ¡°Kind of, yeah,¡± Jamie replied.

    ¡°I get how you feel, my brother,¡± Oren said, stretching again and walking towards us. ¡°Being cooped up all day is making me restless. It¡¯s nice that we¡¯ve got good company, but I¡¯ll be glad when this is over.¡±

    ¡°Uh, yeah. Same,¡± Jamie said.

    ¡°You want to go for a walk?¡± Oren said, jerking a thumb down the road. ¡°Might be good to shake some of the restlessness off.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that sounds good,¡± Jamie said, looking back at me. ¡°You want to come too, Lena?¡±

    Though I was making eye contact with Jamie, at the corner of my vision, I could see Oren giving me a pointed stare.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine, thanks,¡± I said, taking the hint. ¡°I¡¯m a little tired.¡±

    Jamie frowned. ¡°Are you sick?¡± he asked. ¡°I can heal you if you are.¡±

    I wondered what I looked like for him to react this way. I smiled as best as I could manage, though I wasn¡¯t sure it would be anywhere near enough to be convincing.

    ¡°No, just tired,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Go on your walk.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Jamie said. ¡°I did wake you up, didn¡¯t I? Sorry.¡±

    I shook my head.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t,¡± I said. ¡°I really am tired. I¡¯ll talk to you later, okay?¡±

    ¡°If the lady says she¡¯s tired, you shouldn¡¯t push her, Jamie,¡± Oren said, gently chastising him. ¡°Come, my brother. Let me teach you the proper way to talk to girls.¡±

    Jamie spun around to blush and sputter at Oren, insisting that that wasn¡¯t what he was trying to do. I didn¡¯t hear most of it, since I quickly stepped back inside my carriage and closed the door, blocking any and all sound from coming in.

    I sat down and let out a weary sigh.

 31. A Friendly Chat

    The next morning, Jamie tried to talk to me again, but was pulled away from me at the last second by Oren, who conveniently wanted to try sparring with an Otherworlder. Jamie seemed anxious at the idea at first, but after a bit of gentle goading by the rest of the Mediators, he reluctantly agreed to a friendly spar.

    Oren started off the fight by firing off a salvo of small rocks at Jamie and rushing him with his body simultaneously, using all of his limbs to trap Jamie in a whirlwind of flying strikes.

    It was an awe-inspiring display. The speed of his body was fast enough that it was a sure sign that Oren was using magic to enhance his body beyond its natural limits, but the fact that he could cast body enhancing magic, while simultaneously launching magically controlled rocks was something I could have never imagined witnessing.

    Though I knew I was just an utter novice in magic, I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if Oren would be considered one of the strongest magic users in the world.

    Even so, it didn¡¯t make a difference against Jamie.

    Jamie evaded every single attack with ease. Though he had a small grimace on his face throughout the fight, it didn¡¯t seem like he was worrying about Oren¡¯s assault. I could imagine that he was remembering the same thing as I was. His fight with Medric. How he had killed someone.

    Though Oren was much stronger than Medric had been, I doubted it made a difference to Jamie. If at any point, if he wanted to, he could have smacked Oren on the neck like he had with Medric, easily breaking his neck.

    After about five minutes passed, Oren collapsed on the floor, sweating and bleeding out of his nose despite the fact that Jamie hadn¡¯t retaliated at all. A puddle of drool spilled out of Oren¡¯s mouth as he lay panting on the floor.

    Mana depletion. While it could have been acting, for all I knew, I also didn¡¯t doubt that Oren would go as far as to actually deplete his mana just to make it more convincing to Jamie.

    Whether it was faked or not, it worked to Oren¡¯s advantage.

    Even if Jamie never touched him, he still felt guilty enough for Oren¡¯s plight that he was easily convinced to spend the rest of the morning helping Oren as he fought against the symptoms of mana depletion. I had experienced mana depletion once before, and I could sympathize with how Oren struggled to even eat his food, forcing him to ask Jamie to physically tilt his head back for him so he could at least swallow some stew.

    Though Oren was getting better by the time we finished breakfast, he was still woozy, and needed help getting onto the carriages. Obviously, the perfect person to take care of him was Jamie.

    I ended up sharing a carriage with Sera, with Laush driving. We hadn¡¯t spoken since I last confronted her a few days ago, and I had no intention of starting now. Unfortunately, a few hours into our journey, Sera took that choice out of my hands.

    ¡°We¡¯re getting close to Plainswood,¡± Sera said.

    Though she paused, giving me the opportunity to speak, I said nothing.

    ¡°We think that you¡¯re close to being able to cut you off as the Otherworlder¡¯s follower. Oren and I have been working to make him feel an ample amount of companionship with us, and we¡¯re hoping that with one final push, he¡¯ll be willing to release you from your role as a Chosen Follower. If all goes well, you¡¯ll be able to stay in Plainswood when the rest of us leave.¡±

    I still didn¡¯t look at Sera, but the news was objectively good, right? That¡¯s what I wanted, right? To leave the problem in someone else¡¯s hands? To have Jamie die so he wouldn¡¯t be a threat to my life anymore?

    That¡¯s what I wanted, right? For Jamie to die?

    ¡°Good,¡± I said aloud.

    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sera nod and smile. It seemed a little stiff, but I didn¡¯t care enough to analyze why.

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to play along for just a bit longer,¡± she said. ¡°Our fifth member, will have set up a scenario in your village that will provide you with a good excuse to leave the Otherworlder¡¯s side in an amicable split. We haven¡¯t been able to set up proper communication with him while we were on the road, so we don¡¯t know exactly what it will be. You may be faced with a random stranger posing as a family member or a close friend. If you play along, it¡¯ll give you the highest chance of escaping your Follower status properly.¡±

    The idea was strange, but not to a level that I wasn¡¯t used to by now. I nodded, acknowledging that I heard.

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    Sera smiled for a few more seconds before the expression dropped off her face completely. She fixed me with a blank stare that gave away no emotion whatsoever. It was unsettling enough that it drew my attention, making me lock eyes with her.

    ¡°For what it¡¯s worth, I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said, her voice monotone.

    ¡°For what, specifically?¡± I asked.

    ¡°That I am attracted to you,¡± she said, with a wince, like saying it was physically uncomfortable for her. ¡°It must make you feel uncomfortable.¡±

    I stared at her for a few more seconds to give the opportunity to say more. When she didn¡¯t, I looked away and shrugged.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be,¡± I said, keeping my voice in the same monotone that Sera was using. ¡°It¡¯s flattering, I guess. Two people falling in love with me at first sight in the span of a few weeks. I¡¯m on a roll.¡±

    ¡°I am not in love with you.¡± Her voice rose slightly, though I wasn¡¯t sure if it was out of panic, anger, or something else. ¡°I am just attracted to you is all. There is no chance I fell in love with you, whatsoever.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah?¡± I asked, finding my own voice rising too. Unlike Sera, I could easily identify the emotion behind my voice. ¡°Is that so? Is that teary-eyed face of yours is supposed to help me believe that or not?¡±

    Sera¡¯s eyes widened as she dabbed at the edges of her eyes with her fingers. She didn¡¯t find much, not having cried enough to produce big enough tears, but her eyes were still shiny with moisture. She looked up at me, her blank expression finally morphing into a human one, filled with mortification.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said.

    ¡°Are you?¡± I said, pushing myself up out of my seat. In the small space, I towered over Sera, who was shrinking into herself as much as possible.

    ¡°Are you? Are you really? Because I can¡¯t tell what¡¯s real or not anymore. Watching you treat that poor kid like he¡¯s a fucking psychological lump of clay to mold as you please has really put me on the fucking edge.¡±

    That was too far. I knew Sera and the other Mediators were doing what they thought was best for the world, but I couldn¡¯t stop the words from spilling out of me.

    ¡°You don¡¯t even do it subtly either. You just gaslight him right in front of me, like it¡¯s no big deal. It¡¯s like you expect me to stomach it, like I¡¯m one of you sickos. I¡¯m a butcher¡¯s daughter, but you don¡¯t see my family opening up a slaughterhouse with glass walls so the village children can watch us cut open a pig¡¯s bloody carcass.

    ¡°You flaunt the fact that I can¡¯t trust anything that comes out of that mouth of yours, right in front of my face. I know I¡¯m not special. I know that if you wanted to, you could pull the exact same shit that you¡¯re pulling on Jamie on me, because I know I¡¯m not smart enough to notice it either.¡±

    In a spur of madness, I leaned down and grabbed Sera by the collar of her shirt. She pressed herself far back against her seat, but I didn¡¯t let her escape me, pinning her down with my body and pressing my forehead directly into hers so she couldn¡¯t look away from me. Though a small voice in the back of my head reminded me that Sera could easily kill me if she wanted to, my frustration and anger had been bottled up for too long to be contained. It was going to overflow, and I had no interest in trying to contain it.

    ¡°Every time I listen to one of you bastards talk, it feels like I¡¯m in a poisoner¡¯s workshop, downing bottles of dark green liquid that you keep saying is good for me, but I have no idea whether I¡¯m drinking the truth or some lie that will eventually lead to my horrible and painful death. I know how much of a big deal you are. I know how insignificant I am. I know that, in the grand scheme of things, I¡¯m nothing. If your little group thought that they could save millions of people by killing me, they would do it happily, so stop pretending to be so fucking friendly with me.¡±

    Sera was looking up at me, her eyes wide and moist. I was hard to decipher the emotion she was feeling, but I stopped myself before I began to try too hard. I knew that whatever emotion was written on her face, I wouldn¡¯t be able to trust it.

    ¡°If you have a way to get me out of this mess, fine. Tell me and shut up. Don¡¯t bother telling me about how you¡¯re fucking sorry, and how great you think I am, and how you just couldn¡¯t help but be attracted to me. If you actually loved me, you would shut up and let your feelings rest, because at this point, anything you do or say can only make me more paranoid and more distrustful of you. If you respect my intelligence at all, you should know that only a fucking idiot would trust you at this point. For the sake of our world, I pray to any Gods who would listen that you¡¯re at least smarter than that. So, are you? Are you a fucking idiot, or are you going to shut up and stop speaking to me?¡±

    It felt good to finally let it all out, but as the anger simmered down after finally having a means of release, I grew more aware of the fact that at the moment, I was sitting on a Mediator.

    I had held down and verbally assaulted a Mediator. I was currently letting out deep angry snarling breaths directly on a Mediator¡¯s face, staring her down from atop her lap.

    ¡°Y-yes, ma''am. I mean, yes, Lena,¡± Sera said, in a squeaky voice.

    I scowled at her one last time before getting off of her.

    ¡°Yes, what?¡± I asked, still standing.

    ¡°I¡¯ll shut up,¡± Sera said, looking down and away from me.

    Satisfied with the answer for now, I sat down.

    ¡°Good,¡± I said.

    Sera shrunk in on herself, seemingly trying to occupy as little space as possible. She was curled up, with her shoulders hunched forward and inwards and her hands tucked in between her legs like a kicked dog. Her legs were crossed tightly, and they kept fidgeting, like she couldn¡¯t find a comfortable position for them.

    I looked at her face for a brief second to try and decipher what she was feeling. I noticed her biting her lower lip and carrying a deep flush on her cheeks before I caught myself. I looked away from her, not wanting to give her any opportunity to try and confuse me.

    I tried looking away, but a panted breath drew my attention back to Sera.

    ¡°What was that?¡± I asked.

    Sera looked up at me, red-faced, looking like she was almost about to sweat for some reason.

    ¡°N-nothing,¡± she said.

    Surprisingly, she was the first to break eye contact.

    I stared at her for a few more seconds before I decided I didn¡¯t want to try and figure out whatever she was trying to do.

    I looked out the window, pretending not to hear Sera as she kept fidgeting awkwardly in her seat.

 32. Home Sweet Home

    The rest of the ride was relatively quiet. Sera didn¡¯t say anything, and she eventually stopped fidgeting in her seat as much, though she did remain curled up and hunched over until we rolled to a stop.

    When we heard a knock on our door, Sera was quick to jump out of her seat and open it. Laush¡¯s face showed a flash of confusion as Sera rushed past her, but it was quickly replaced by the same neutral smile she always wore. She turned to me casually, as if her former leader hadn¡¯t nearly run her over a moment ago.

    ¡°I hope that you had a pleasant trip, Ms. Lena,¡± she said, giving me a polite bow.

    I gave her no reply. Though she offered me a helping hand, I ignored it and stepped down from the carriage on my own. Off somewhere behind me, I heard Oren and Jamie doing the same.

    ¡°I¡¯m just saying, not all of us can be as lucky as you, my brother. The rest of us do have a finite amount of mana,¡± Oren said, with a chuckle.

    ¡°I just didn¡¯t think it would be this bad,¡± Jamie said. With Oren¡¯s arm draped around him, he helped support the older man¡¯s weight. It seemed like Oren was still affected by his mana depletion, which made sense given that it had only been a few hours and his had been a particularly bad case. ¡°How do Mages in your world fight, if using magic makes them like this?¡±

    ¡°They usually don¡¯t. While most fighters worth a damn will have a few spells up their sleeve, pure Mages that intend to get into the fighting business usually don¡¯t last very long,¡± Oren said, laughing when Jamie¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡°Sorry to disappoint you. But hey! That¡¯ll make your rise to the top even more extraordinary! Not only will you be the first adventurer, you¡¯ll also be the first fighting Mage to roam this world of ours!¡±

    Jamie smiled and looked away from him, embarrassment clear on his face. ¡°I guess,¡± he said.

    Oren smiled at him and pushed himself off of Jamie to stand on his own. He still looked a bit shaky on his feet, but he pretended not to care as he patted Jamie on the back. ¡°I believe in you, my brother,¡± he said. ¡°You are a great man, and great men achieve great things.¡±

    Jamie smiled and looked away, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, but didn¡¯t say anything.

    I looked away. It was similar enough to what the Mediators had been doing every time I saw Jamie during our travel here, but I hadn¡¯t gotten any more used to the sight. It was disturbing, to say the least.

    I tried to tune out of their conversation, but it wasn¡¯t an ability I could apply at will. I felt my teeth clenching in reaction my ears refused to block out the way that Oren continued to sing praises at Jamie, and Jamie continued to give him meek replies of thanks in return.

    ¡°Smile, Ms. Lena,¡± Laush whispered from behind me. ¡°It will help your cause if you can convince Jamie that everything is fine.¡±

    I turned around to glare at her. Even though I had been determined not to react to anything else a Mediator said to me, my rant against Sera had left my emotions running hot. For all I knew, that¡¯s what the Mediators wanted, to make me off balance enough to not realize that they were manipulating me, but at this point, I didn¡¯t care.

    ¡°Oh yeah?¡± I asked. ¡°And you know what my cause is, don¡¯t you? You know what my ultimate goal was when I decided to find myself a boy falling from the sky? You finally figured out my master plan, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    Laush frowned. ¡°I did not mean to upset you, Ms. Lena,¡± she said. ¡°It was a poor choice of words on my part.¡±

    I grinded my teeth. ¡°Yeah, it was,¡± I said. I lifted my hand, pointing towards the direction of my house. ¡°I¡¯m going home. Forget smiling. I¡¯m going to puke if keep watching this. Come get me if you need me. You know where I live.¡±

    Laush¡¯s frown deepened at my outburst, but she quickly smiled and bowed as she stepped to the side, freeing up the path towards my home. The speed of the change was unnerving, but nothing I wasn¡¯t used to by now. Taking her smile as permission, I walked past her and headed home.

    It was almost noon, and though I knew that most of the village would still be working at this time, I wasn¡¯t surprised to see that the street was even emptier than it usually was. With Sera¡¯s supposed fifth team member having been here for a few days already, I assumed that he would have gotten word about our arrival somehow and had warned the villagers. Even so, the village wasn¡¯t completely empty.

    I saw a few villagers going about their business on the streets, but none seemed to even notice me as I passed by. Given the last impression Jamie had made, I wasn¡¯t surprised that people were eager to keep their heads down. It was fine by me, since my dour mood might have caused me to snap at anybody who so much as looked at me, and I thankfully managed to avoid talking to anyone before I trudged down the familiar path towards the house that I¡¯d lived in for my whole life.

    When I got to my house, I pushed open the door, putting more force into it than I intended, and making a resounding crash when it swung open and hit the wall.

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    I grimaced at the sound, instinctively assuming that my dad would gently scold me for causing a ruckus like he always did whenever I opened the door like that.

    But he didn¡¯t. Staring at me from the other side of the counter, he simply stared at me, frozen and wide-eyed.

    I stared back at him.

    I don¡¯t know how long the two of us stood there, just staring at each other until my dad finally spoke.

    ¡°Lena?¡±

    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the room was completely silent, I don¡¯t think I would¡¯ve heard him. I¡¯d never heard his voice sounding so feeble and unconfident before, like he doubted what he was seeing.

    To be fair to him, I wasn¡¯t quite sure if I was dreaming either.

    My dad and I had an okay relationship. We got along with each other just fine, but I didn¡¯t really confide in him too much. We chatted over dinner and lunch whenever our schedules matched up, but the last time we really had a heart-to-heart conversation was when he wanted to talk to me to ask about what I planned to do with my life, and whether he should be preparing to give the butcher shop to me once he eventually retired.

    We had that conversation when I turned fifteen two years ago, and we hadn¡¯t really had any deep conversations since then. Not that we didn¡¯t want to, but more due to the fact that we were country folk. Our lives were simple, boring, and calm, for the most part. We just never had anything exciting to talk about, and I was too busy being a teenage girl to want to share my innermost thoughts with him on a regular basis. All in all, I didn¡¯t have a particularly special bond with my parents beyond what was expected of a typical teenage girl living in the countryside. Our relationship was painfully normal.

    But I hadn¡¯t seen normal in a while.

    It had been less than two weeks since I left Plainswood, but it felt like I¡¯d been gone for a decade, and the sight of him reminded me of what I had, and what I was. I was just a girl who had been sucked into this mess. A normal girl.

    ¡°Hi dad,¡± I said, or at least that¡¯s what I tried to say. Instead, I just sunk to my knees and started to blubber wordlessly.

    I didn¡¯t hear what he said next but judging by the fact that I quickly felt two people pulling me into a deep hug, I guess that he¡¯d called my mom. Enveloped in their arms, I don¡¯t think I dozed off, but I also couldn¡¯t quite remember how I ended up in my bed, with my mother draped over me and crying into my chest. She was pinning one of my arms to my sides, and my dad was gripping my other hand tightly in both of his own.

    I considered smiling at him, and I probably could¡¯ve, but the thought of giving him a smile that I didn¡¯t fully feel sickened me, given what I¡¯d seen over the past few days. Instead, I chose to give his hand a little squeeze.

    I saw a few tears well up in his eyes and drip down his bearded cheeks as he raised my hand to his forehead, like he was using it to pray. As he gently pressed down my fingers one by one, muttering whispered words under his breath, I realized that he actually was praying. It had been years since I¡¯d seen my dad practice his old religion, but I supposed if there was any time for him to turn to prayer, it would¡¯ve been when his daughter was kidnapped by an Otherworlder.

    I didn¡¯t have the heart to tell him that this whole situation was created by a God in the first place, though I doubted I could tell anyone without the Mediators somehow finding out and hunting me down to kill me anyways.

    I squeezed my dad¡¯s hand once more before turning to my mom. ¡°Hi, mom,¡± I said.

    She didn¡¯t respond with words, choosing to bury herself deeper into my chest instead. She was heavy, and her tears had soaked through my blanket by now, but I didn¡¯t have the heart to tell her to get off of me. I also didn¡¯t have the strength to keep myself from crying either, so I just joined her.

    I don¡¯t know how long the three of us spent there, crying with each other, but by the time we finished, we were exhausted, and our throats were sore to the point where it was difficult to talk.

    Even so, I managed to muster a few words when the door to my room creaked open.

    ¡°Oh, you motherfucker,¡± I said. ¡°Can¡¯t you assholes give me a break?¡±

    My parents hadn¡¯t noticed the door opening but shifted their gaze towards it when I spoke. Their expressions shifted into a mixture of anger, confusion, and worry when they saw who was standing at the door.

    I didn¡¯t recognize the man standing there, but I could guess who he was.

    Unlike the other Mediators, the fifth member of their team looked painfully unremarkable. He was a middle-aged man with a visible pot belly and a receding hairline, wearing a loose-fitting shirt that would have looked completely in line with what the other villagers in Plainswood would wear. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he was standing outside of my bedroom door, wearing a cocky grin, I might¡¯ve assumed he was just one of my dad¡¯s old friends from out of town, coming to visit at an inopportune time.

    ¡°Sorry, girlie,¡± the man said. ¡°You¡¯re not off the clock yet. I gave you the time for a good cry, but that¡¯s about all I can afford.¡±

    ¡°Mr. Marten,¡± my dad said, his voice still hoarse from our crying. ¡°I insist you leave my house.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, Hal,¡± Marten said. ¡°No can do. Unless you want your daughter to go gallivanting off with the Otherworlder kid on his next adventure, she needs to listen to what I say. You¡¯ll get the time for crying later, once she¡¯s home permanently.¡±

    My dad pursed his lips together, but I didn¡¯t.

    ¡°The other Mediators at least pretended to be polite,¡± I said, feeling annoyed enough to berate my supposed saviour.

    ¡°Yeah, and there¡¯s a reason why I¡¯m out here, instead of going face to face with an alien brat with a fragile ego,¡± Marten said. ¡°Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, girlie. My strengths just happen to involve figuring out a way to save your ass. Some appreciation would be nice.¡±

    I glared at him.

    ¡°If this persona you¡¯re putting on is supposed to be endearing, it isn¡¯t working,¡± I said.

    Marten shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit. I don¡¯t care if you like me or not. You just gotta do what I say.¡±

    ¡°And why would I trust you?¡±

    Even if I¡¯d already sworn to myself that I would never trust an expression on a Mediator¡¯s face, Marten seemed genuinely surprised by what I said.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re a real pain in the ass?¡± he said, making my mom grip my sheets angrily, though she didn¡¯t say anything in response. ¡°The only reason why I would do anything to sabotage your chances of leaving is if I wanted to fuck with the rest of my team and force them to deal with babysitting a civy for even longer than they already have, and I don¡¯t have enough of a grudge against any of them to risk getting my pay docked. I don¡¯t got a reason to mess with you, girlie.¡±

    I frowned.

    It upset me that he was right. I still wasn¡¯t convinced that he wasn¡¯t putting up this obnoxious persona for a specific and nefarious reason, but nothing he said had been wrong.

    I thought about it for a few more seconds before I glared at him.

    ¡°Fine,¡± I said. ¡°Tell me what to do.¡±

 33. Family

    Marten explained that he would be posing as the butcher of the neighbouring town of Oakwood, who had come to Plainswood because he decided to retire, but wanted to make sure that Oakwood had a butcher they could rely on after he was no longer working.

    With my dad being the only butcher nearby, he came over to ask if he could handle the task of taking on the additional customers from his village. While it would be a good business opportunity for my dad to double his clientele, he would have to travel between villages on a regular basis. It would be a nearly impossible task, unless I took on a more active role in the butcher shop.

    My job would be to act in a way that would convince Jamie that I was interested enough in butchery to want to become part-owner in my dad¡¯s business.

    Judging from the psychological profile that the rest of his team had sent him before we left Redstone, it would likely be enough to convince Jamie to ¡°release me¡± from my role.

    ¡°That¡¯s a lot simpler than I thought it would be,¡± I said. ¡°You sure it¡¯s going to work?¡±

    We had moved out of my room and were now sitting at the kitchen table instead. Though it was a square table designed so one person could sit at each side, Marten was sitting alone on one side and I was sitting across from him with my dad standing behind me, resting his hand on my shoulder in a show of support, and my mom was sitting on her own chair by my side.

    ¡°It¡¯s simple because I had to make it as idiot-proof as possible,¡± he said, unbothered by the dark glare that my mom gave him. ¡°Or do you want me to dumb it down even more?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just a bit sceptical about how you¡¯re so confident that you know what Jamie will do, before you¡¯ve even met him,¡± I said, keeping my expression neutral. ¡°I doubt Mediators are that good.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Mediators aren¡¯t that good,¡± he said, giving me a cocky grin that told me exactly what he was going to say next. ¡°But I am.¡±

    I resisted the urge to let out a frustrated sigh.

    ¡°And I don¡¯t know you. I know I have no reason to think you don¡¯t want me gone as soon as possible, but I can¡¯t find myself putting a lot of trust into a middle-aged man who¡¯s acting like an obnoxious teenage boy.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯ve got no other choice,¡± Marten said, not losing his grin whatsoever.

    I frowned in response.

    Marten laughed, chuckling and pounding his hand lightly on the dinner table.

    ¡°You¡¯re alright, girlie. Got more spunk than any of the other civies I¡¯ve had to bail out. Tell you what, why don¡¯t I go have a chat with my team right now, and I¡¯ll come back and let you know once I confirm everything¡¯s all fine and dandy. That sound good to you?¡±

    ¡°Not a chance in hell,¡± I said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t believe in it, myself,¡± Marten replied with a shrug. ¡°But I get the spirit. What would sound good to you then, if that ain¡¯t enough?¡±

    I frowned.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± I said.

    ¡°Nothing?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing you could do or say to make me trust you,¡± I admitted. ¡°Even if I went with you in person, you Mediators could hold a secret conversation with that weird sign language, right under my nose.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re just whining, then.¡±

    I glared at him, not wanting to dignify his assumption with a response, regardless of how correct it was. He laughed.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you noticed the sign!¡± he said cheerfully. ¡°Not many civies do, though I suppose most of them aren¡¯t ever exposed to it as often as you must have been. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had team members that were fluent in Mediator-sign, let alone two. It¡¯s a goddamn nightmare trying to communicate with a team leader that can¡¯t understand me properly.¡±

    If there were only two other team members that were fluent in their sign language, I assumed it was Sera and Oren, since I¡¯d actually seen the two use it. It might¡¯ve been unnecessarily petty of me, but I hoped he had a horrible time communicating with Tenna.

    ¡°Good luck with your new leader, then,¡± I said, bitterly.

    Marten frowned, all traces of humour disappearing from his face immediately.

    ¡°New leader?¡± he asked. ¡°Sera died?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I said, surprised by the assumption. ¡°No, she just stepped down.¡±

    He looked at me for a few seconds, his eyes searching my face, before he pushed his chair back and stood up.

    Without saying another word, he walked out of the house.

    It took me a few seconds to react, raising my arm and opening my mouth to shout at a man who was already long gone. I stood up, or at least tried to. My mom was hugging my arm and I was too tired to shake her off fast enough to give chase. I ended up flailing weakly in her arms and almost slipping off of my chair.

    Luckily, with my dad standing so close behind me, he was ready to catch me before I fell on the floor.

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    ¡°Lena!¡± my parents both shouted, concern saturating their voices.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I said. ¡°I need to go after him.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± my mom sobbed, gripping onto my sleeve and burying her face into it. ¡°Why do you need to go, Lena?¡±

    ¡°I need to go, mom. I need to¡­¡± I trailed off.

    ¡°Stay,¡± my mom begged, her voice muffled by my arm. ¡°My sweet baby, don¡¯t leave us. Not again.¡±

    My mom¡¯s hands were shaking as she pulled at my sleeve. At every small movement I made, her strength seemed to fail her as the fabric of my sleeves slipped through her fingers, but each time she let go, she reached out and clung to me desperately once more.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go,¡± she said. ¡°Don¡¯t go.¡±

    What was I doing? I had stood up in reaction to Merten¡¯s sudden exit, but why did I feel the need to follow him? Was I planning to stop whatever he was doing? Did I want to follow him to monitor him? It had just been so habitual for me to assume that this Otherworlder business was a part of my life now, that I just assumed there would be a reason for me to follow. If he didn¡¯t ask me to come along, did I really need to go?

    Could I really just stay?

    ¡°I-I¡¯ll stay, mom,¡± I said hesitantly.

    My mom let out a small sigh of relief. She was holding my arm in an awkward position, and I wanted to quickly adjust it to get more comfortable, but I stopped when I heard soft steady breathing.

    ¡°Mom?¡± I said, tilting my head down to try and see her face. With it buried in my arm, it was impossible, but I grew more aware of the fact that she was growing heavier by the second and was starting to slip sideways off of her chair.

    ¡°She must have passed out from relief,¡± my dad said from behind me as he reached down to put a hand on my mom¡¯s shoulder to stop her from falling to the floor. ¡°She¡¯s barely slept since you were taken from us.¡±

    I looked up at him and noticed that the same probably applied to him. There were dark rings under his eyes, and though he¡¯d never been a man to care about his looks, his hair and beard were more matted and wilder than I¡¯d ever seen before. He gave me a weak smile as he noticed my gaze.

    ¡°Are you hungry?¡± he asked. ¡°Tired? Anything you need at all? I can peel your mom off you if you want to go to bed.¡±

    Though she was asleep, I thought I felt my mom¡¯s grip grow tighter at the suggestion.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I said.

    ¡°You sure? I can imagine how heavy she must be, though you never heard me say that,¡± he said, giving me a forced wink. ¡°Your mom would kill me if she thought I was calling her fat.¡±

    My dad wasn¡¯t usually the type of person to make jokes. His sense of humour was a bit odd, and whenever he tried to tell a joke, it always felt like he was either trying too hard or he was just rambling to no point. His joke was awkward, especially since I couldn¡¯t remember the last time he¡¯d attempted to wink at anyone. But I could tell he was trying his best to make light of the situation.

    I smiled. Not at the joke, but it was a smile regardless.

    ¡°Thanks, dad,¡± I said, leaning back into him. He stumbled, clearly not being too stable himself, but held firm. ¡°Whoops, sorry.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Lena,¡± he said, giving me a weak smile. ¡°Now did you want to go to bed?¡±

    I thought about it for a moment and shook my head.

    ¡°This is nice,¡± I said. I¡¯d been spending too much of my time sleeping recently, and more than rest, I just wanted everything to feel right. Sitting here at the kitchen table with my parents, it didn¡¯t undo what I¡¯d gone through recently, but it was a start. ¡°Pull up a chair, dad. No point in standing around when you look like you¡¯re dead on your feet.¡±

    Dad frowned, but didn¡¯t disagree. After making sure I wouldn¡¯t fall without his support, he quickly darted over to the other side of the table to grab the chair that Marten had been sitting on and dragged it close to me, positioning it slightly behind me so he could support my mom and me at the same time. I¡¯d had a decent enough night of sleep that I didn¡¯t actually need it, but it felt nice so I didn¡¯t protest.

    We sat in silence for a moment, but I was getting sick of silence by this point.

    ¡°So¡­ I¡¯m the result of a one night stand?¡±

    I immediately felt bad for almost killing my dad, but just a little bit. I was surprised that mom didn¡¯t wake up from the violent hacking and sputtering he was doing, but I was more surprised at the sound that came from my own mouth. I was laughing.

    It felt so long since I had a genuine laugh like this that the sound felt alien to me, like somebody else was using my mouth to make noises for me. Before I knew it, another laugh was joining in with mine.

    ¡°She told you about that, huh?¡± my dad said, through wheezing chuckles. ¡°How¡¯d you manage to get her to admit it? She swore she¡¯d take it to her grave and threatened most of the village with a painful death if they ever let it slip that she was six months pregnant at our wedding.¡±

    ¡°Tensions were high,¡± I said, leaning back into him. ¡°I¡¯m sure she wasn¡¯t thinking straight.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± he said, likely guessing what event could have made her scatter-brained enough to let go of a lifelong secret like that. ¡°Are you embarrassed by it?¡±

    ¡°No. But I didn¡¯t need the details of how she seduced you. That was a bit much.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be. It was mom, not you,¡± I said. ¡°Are you embarrassed?¡±

    ¡°By what?¡±

    ¡°By how I was born.¡±

    ¡°What? Heavens, no. I have no regrets. I¡¯ve loved you since the moment you were born, Lena, and that¡¯s never going to change. And your mom loves you even more than I do. She loves you more than life itself.¡±

    I smiled, letting out a content sigh and sinking deeper back into my dad¡¯s arms. He must¡¯ve been tired, but I had faith that he could support me anyways. He was my dad, after all. That¡¯s what dads do.

    ¡°I love you too, dad,¡± I said.

    ¡°Just to be clear, I did love your mother too, even before¡­ that night,¡± my dad said, clearly still flustered. ¡°It just took the right atmosphere and a bit of liquid courage to admit it.¡±

    ¡°Dad,¡± I said, firmly but playfully warning him off. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I know you love mom. I don¡¯t need to hear the details. Please.¡±

    ¡°I guess you wouldn¡¯t,¡± he said, coughing into his hand awkwardly. ¡°But I just wanted to put that out there.¡±

    There was another long silence that stretched out between us, but this time, I didn¡¯t feel the need to break it. It was comfortable.

    ¡°You know, your mother never used to cry,¡± my dad said.

    ¡°Really?¡± I asked. I couldn¡¯t imagine it.

    ¡°Your mother always wanted a large family, but the village doctor had told her that she would never be able to birth a child,¡± he said, hugging me tighter as he talked. ¡°When her adoptive mother died she was so alone, but she kept wearing that fake smile of hers, like she was afraid that everything would go wrong if she didn¡¯t pretend like everything wasn¡¯t. I always felt a little sad whenever I saw her. When she found out she was pregnant with you, she burst into tears, like everything she was holding back was flooding out of her at once. She was crying, but her happiness was so beautiful and pure that I asked her to marry me on the spot. Maybe not the best timing, but I don''t regret it.¡±

    I said nothing, but I looked down at my mother, still sleeping with her head in the crook of my elbow and loosely gripping at the fabric of my sleeves. I reached over with my other hand to place it over hers.

    ¡°You were a miracle, Lena. You were our miracle.¡±

    I felt a few more tears well up in my eyes, but I smiled as they fell.

    ¡°Tha-¡±

    The door slammed open and I yelped and flailed in surprise. My arms flew wildly, causing me to smack my dad in the nose and shake my mom off and send her falling to the floor, face first.

    ¡°We need to go,¡± Marten said, with his head poking through the kitchen door.

    My dad groaned and clutched at his nose while my mom continued to doze, unwoken by her rude introduction to the kitchen floor.

    I glared at Marten.

    ¡°It¡¯s been ten minutes!¡±

 34. Back to Work

    ¡°We need to go,¡± Marten said, thumping his foot against the floor as he stood by the door. He had a hand on his head and was idly scratching at it, though he seemed seconds away from pulling out what little hair he had left. His gaze was unfocused and he kept taking small glances out behind him, as if expecting someone to attack him.

    I frowned. I wasn¡¯t happy with having my family time interrupted, but the look on his face was serious. I was still aware that it might just be a mask that he wore, like the rest of the Mediators did, but even if it was, it was obviously crafted to convey that he was nervous about something. Extremely nervous.

    Beside me, my dad rubbed his nose a few more times. I gave him an apologetic grimace, but he didn¡¯t even notice, dividing his attention between picking my mom off the floor and glaring at Marten.

    ¡°She¡¯s staying here,¡± he said.

    ¡°When will you idiots realise that that¡¯s what I want too?¡± Marten replied, though he didn¡¯t even glance at my dad. ¡°If she wants to stay in this town, she has to come with me.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± I asked. ¡°What¡¯s wrong.¡±

    For some reason, Marten gave me a frustrated glare, but shook his head quickly. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you on the way. The faster we get there, the better. Now let¡¯s go. Please.¡±

    Even though he¡¯d said please, it still sounded more like a demand than a request. He actually started to pull at his hair now, grasping at the few thinning strands that he could actually find. I glanced back at my dad, and sighed. It had been nice to see him for a few minutes, but I knew that no matter how much I didn¡¯t want it, this was probably something that I needed to do.

    ¡°Alright,¡± I said, sighing. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s,¡± my dad said, grabbing my hand as I stood up. I looked back at him in surprise, and he gave me a gentle smile and squeezed my hand. ¡°I¡¯m not letting you leave us again, Lena. We¡¯re sticking by you, this time.¡±

    I felt myself squeeze his hand back, and I felt tears welling up in my eyes. But before I could say anything, Marten let out a frustrated huff.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Come along, but make it quick. We¡¯ve got no time for touching moments. Let¡¯s. Go.¡±

    I opened my mouth to protest, before realising that he just said he was fine with it.

    ¡°Oh,¡± my dad said, clearly a bit stunned by the same revelation. ¡°Okay.¡±

    Marten just huffed again and left the room, letting the door swing shut behind him. My dad and I gave each other a glance before getting up.

    ¡°Mind helping me pick up your mother?¡± he asked.

    ¡°We¡¯re bringing her?¡± I asked, looking down at my mother, who still had her cheek pressed against the floor as she continued to sleep, unbothered.

    ¡°She would have a heart attack if she woke up and saw both of us missing. I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll wake up anytime soon, but I¡¯d rather not risk it,¡± he said, as he bent over to scoop her up. Though he was visibly tired, the immense size difference between them made it so he could pick up off the floor with relative ease. ¡°Besides, she¡¯s light enough that it won¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah?¡± I said, trying to inject some levity in my voice. ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say she was heavy? I thought you didn¡¯t want her hearing you say she was fat.¡±

    My dad stared blankly at me, clearly not remembering the joke he¡¯d made only a few minutes ago. He glanced out the door nervously, to where Marten was waiting.

    I sighed, mourning the death of the calm I¡¯d thought I¡¯d managed to reclaim in my life.

    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. Let¡¯s go.

    Marten glared at us when we left the house, and opened his mouth, as if to yell at us, but seemed to decide against it. He started walking instead, his pace surprisingly slow for someone who seemed so anxious to move quickly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt me. Ask questions once I¡¯m done,¡± he said brusquely. Not even giving me an opportunity to reply, he continued to speak.

    ¡°As of this moment, the Otherworlder is irritated because my incompetent colleagues forced a rift between the two of you. He wants to feel a sense of closeness to you, and if you want to stay in this dingy town, you need to give him some of that, but not too much. You¡¯re going to talk to him, apologise for avoiding him for the past few days, give him a pat on the back, and continue like nothing happened. You can imply it, but never outright say that you like him or love him. Don¡¯t hug him, don¡¯t kiss him, and don¡¯t fuck him. You¡¯ll be interacting with him regularly for about five more days, and we¡¯ll see where we can go from there. Hopefully, once he realises you¡¯re nothing special, that¡¯ll be the end of it and we can leave you alone.

    ¡°Your parents can tag along for now if they want, but don¡¯t tell them anything classified or someone will kill you. No, I didn¡¯t know about the leadership change. No, I¡¯m not happy about it. Sera is back in the leader role, whether she likes it or not. Tenna¡¯s proven he can¡¯t adapt under pressure, Laush is even less experienced than him, Oren¡¯s a socially incompetent moron, and I¡¯m sure as shit not patient enough to deal with this fucking team. You can give him whatever excuse you want as to why you were gone, but my personal suggestion is that you were on your period. Kid doesn¡¯t seem to know jack shit about girls other than what he¡¯s seen on the internet. Internet is some Otherworlder invention that lets them share their opinions with every other Otherworlder in their world. Terrible idea, if you ask me.

    ¡°Any other questions?¡±

    I stared up at him, still processing the long stream of information that he¡¯d managed to shove into my ears in only a few breaths. I took a moment to think through it all before I realised that he¡¯d been pretty thorough.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to be interacting with Jamie for five days? Alone?¡± I asked, picking out one question that he hadn¡¯t already answered.

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    ¡°Not alone. Can¡¯t trust you not to fuck it up. There¡¯ll always be at least one person nearby. Probably me, seeing how incompetent everyone else seems to be,¡± he grumbled as he tugged at his hair. ¡°Better get compensated for this shit.¡±

    Not that I was eager to disagree with him, seeing as how I could sympathise with being frustrated by the Mediators, but I doubted he was frustrated for the same reason. Besides, Marten was still another Mediator. There was no telling that anything he said was actually true.

    ¡°Why weren¡¯t you with the team then, if you¡¯re apparently the only one capable?¡± I asked, trying to poke holes in his story.

    ¡°Because that¡¯s not my job,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m a shadow. The leader, second, and grunts are the ones who deal with the Otherworlder, and I do everything behind the scenes to set them up. Here I thought Sera was one of the competent ones, but apparently fucking not. Guess she couldn¡¯t help but be a fucking teenager.¡±

    He glared sideways at me and looked me up and down. The places that his gaze lingered made me want to cringe away and cover myself with my hands. I resisted the urge to cover myself, but couldn¡¯t stop the uncomfortable grimace from appearing on my face.

    ¡°Oh don¡¯t flatter yourself, girlie,¡± Marten scoffed as he looked away. ¡°Might be appealing to a pair of brats, when you¡¯re a brat yourself, but you ain¡¯t anything special.¡±

    I said nothing in response, not wanting to dignify him with a reaction. I looked at my dad beside me, who seemed mostly confused and was either too tired or too preoccupied with trying to follow the conversation that he hadn¡¯t realised that Marten had just checked me out. That was good. I didn¡¯t want him getting angry on my behalf right now. While it would feel good to have someone stand up for me, it was neither the time or place for that.

    I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if the awkward silence that followed was what Marten was aiming for, to vex me into being quiet, but by the time I thought of that, we had already arrived at our destination. The Mediators had moved their carriages right outside the one tavern in our village, and by the way that Marten was trudging towards it, I assumed they were inside.

    Marten pushed open the door with enough force that it swung against its hinges and slammed against the opposite wall. There weren¡¯t many people inside, but the few people that were, looked in Marten¡¯s direction.

    ¡°M-Mr. Marten,¡± the tavern owner stammered. ¡°How pleasant to see you. What brings you to my fine establishment?¡±

    The tavernkeeper was a round man, who actually looked pretty similar to Marten, with his balding head and pot-bellied figure, except the tavernkeeper wore spectacles and had much kinder eyes. Currently, those very eyes were looking like they were about to cry, as they constantly darted between Marten and Jamie, who was sitting at the corner table with the rest of the Mediators.

    ¡°Ms. Arina felt a little sick and wanted a place to lie down for a bit,¡± he said, jerking a thumb gruffly towards my mom, who was still sound asleep in my dad¡¯s arms. ¡°And their daughter¡¯s here too, I guess.¡±

    I blinked in confusion at Marten¡¯s terrible acting, but before I could think further on it, I noticed Jamie staring at me, giving me an awkward wave and a smile.

    I stared back at him before I felt a light nudge on the side of my arm. Looking back at Marten, he gave me a raised eyebrow, and a subtle nod towards Jamie.

    Taking the hint, I looked back at Jamie and gave him a wave back. After another nudge, I started walking towards him.

    ¡°Hey, Lena!¡± he said, once I got close enough. The greeting was echoed quietly by the Mediators that surrounded him, but not with much enthusiasm. ¡°How¡¯s it going? Laush told us that you went to go see your parents.¡±

    ¡°It was nice,¡± I said. The boy¡¯s shy enthusiasm, combined with the reminder that my parents were still right behind me was enough to summon a small smile to my face. ¡°How are you doing?¡±

    Jamie gave me a careful smile. ¡°I¡¯m alright,¡± he said, glancing sideways at all the Mediators surrounding him.

    They all gave him polite smiles, but for some reason, it felt off. Even though their expressions were perfect, as far as I could tell, there was a bit of unexplained tension in the air around them. I could see Tenna and Laush¡¯s faces being slightly strained, and Sera was refusing to look anywhere near my direction. Oren seemed perfectly content as he sipped away at a mug of ale, but his levity stood out awkwardly in contrast to the mood of the rest of the group.

    ¡°So what have you guys been up to?¡± I asked, not knowing what else to say.

    Jamie shrugged. ¡°Just hanging out, I guess,¡± he said. ¡°I tried ale for the first time. Not really a fan.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯ve seriously never had ale before?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. They don¡¯t let you drink it until you¡¯re twenty-one where I¡¯m from,¡± he said. ¡°So, you¡¯ve had this before, then?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said.

    ¡°Cool,¡± he replied.

    I tried to think of a reply to that, but the atmosphere was a little too awkward to force the conversation forward. Jamie gave me an awkward grimace, likely realising the same, but with the way his eyes darted away from me, it didn¡¯t seem like he had either the courage or the motivation to force the conversation either.

    The vague realisation that I was still standing while everyone else in the room was sitting crossed my mind more than once, but as I stared down at Jamie, I couldn¡¯t be bothered to fix that fact.

    ¡°Hey,¡± he said, finally breaking the silence. ¡°Could we talk for a second?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, automatically. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°I meant in private,¡± he said, glancing sideways at the Mediators. ¡°You don¡¯t mind, right guys?¡±

    I nearly raised my eyebrow in surprise, but held back, keeping my face blank and stopping myself from glancing sideways towards the Mediators to see their reactions.

    ¡°Sure,¡± I said, as casually as I could.

    Jamie smiled at me and stood up from his seat. None of the Mediators moved to stop him, and said nothing as he walked to the side, towards the other corner of the tavern. I spared a quick glance towards my dad to see he was grim-faced, but he didn¡¯t say anything as Marten whispered something into his ear. I gave him a slight nod that I hoped was reassuring, and walked along with Jamie.

    When we sat down, Jamie seemed to be doing his best not to stare directly at me. His gaze wandered from the side, to the ceiling, to his chair as he adjusted it a few times before he finally settled down, staring down at the table as he folded his hands together.

    I wondered for a moment if I should break the silence first, but he seemed like he was building up the courage to say something, and I didn¡¯t want to interrupt him.

    Eventually, after what seemed like a minute had passed, Jamie cleared his throat and spoke.

    ¡°Um, Lena. We¡¯re¡­ friends, right?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, surprised by how little it felt like a lie.

    ¡°And friends¡­ tell each other things, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡± I said, a little confused.

    ¡°And you would tell me if anything¡­ bad was happening, right?¡±

    My eyes widened involuntarily. Thankfully he was too busy looking down at our table to notice, but I wasn¡¯t sure it would matter if he did. The way he was talking, while he was trying to be vague, was a clear indication that he knew. He knew that the Mediators were manipulating him.

    ¡°Umm,¡± I said, unable to formulate words properly as my thoughts debated with themselves inside of me. ¡°I guess?¡±

    Should I warn the Mediators? Despite their absent morals, they were still the good guys in this situation. Jamie finding out that he was being manipulated might have him lash out against them. While I didn¡¯t think he would kill them, given his abject horror at the idea of becoming a murderer, there was no telling what a teenager with unlimited power would do in this scenario.

    Before I could decide, Jamie grimaced and looked up at me, locking eyes with me.

    ¡°Lena,¡± he said, his voice as serious as it was nervous. ¡°I want you to be honest with me.¡±

    The way that he paused made me think he wanted a response before he continued. Not trusting in myself to speak, I nodded hesitantly.

    Jamie nodded back at me, but didn¡¯t speak immediately. Multiple times, he grimaced uncomfortably and glanced away multiple times before letting out a sigh.

    ¡°Be honest with me,¡± he repeated. ¡°Are you being bullied?¡±

    All the tension immediately left my body, being replaced by confusion. I blinked a few times, unable to decide whether I¡¯d heard him correctly or not.

    ¡°Excuse me?¡±

 35. Friends Helping Friends

    ¡°You¡¯re being bullied, aren¡¯t you?¡± he asked, this time with more confidence. Though he was still slightly slouched and drawn into himself as he usually was, he stared directly into my eyes, as if daring me to deny it.

    ¡°No?¡± The sheer certainty he had in his eyes made me hesitate for a second before I dismissed the idea as being stupid. I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m not being bullied, Jamie.¡±

    Jamie¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change as he looked up at me.

    I stared back at him, wondering what the hell was happening. Was that it? Was this the end of the conversation?

    ¡°You know, sometimes when something bad happens to you, don¡¯t you feel like sometimes, it¡¯s easier to just act like it never happened?¡±

    Apparently it wasn¡¯t over.

    ¡°Jamie,¡± I said.

    He held up a hand before I could continue. ¡°Let me say my piece first. Please, Lena?¡±

    After a moment of thought, I realised that I couldn¡¯t think of a reason to deny his request. I could just stay quiet and let him talk. I needed a moment to think of how to explain my self-isolation from him and the rest of our group, without giving away the fact that I was doing it so the Mediators would have an easier time in killing him.

    I frowned.

    ¡°I¡¯m not being bullied,¡± I said.

    Jamie smiled at me. It was a sad expression, somehow.

    ¡°I care about you, Lena,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s easy to ignore something bad that¡¯s happening around us, and I know you might want to pretend everything¡¯s fine, but I don¡¯t want to be someone that ignores my friend being hurt.¡±

    I grimaced. I knew Jamie was only two years younger than me, but there was a sincerity in his words and his expression that made him look like a child. A naive, innocent, stupid child.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Jamie,¡± I said.

    ¡°It¡¯s really not,¡± he said.

    ¡°But it is,¡± I said. ¡°Sometimes bad things just happen. Sometimes we just need to let it happen, for the sake of the greater good.¡±

    ¡°What kind of greater good needs people to suffer?¡± he asked, perplexed.

    ¡°The kind where the suffering of others is at stake,¡± I replied, frowning. ¡°The kind where one person¡¯s suffering can make sure more people don¡¯t suffer an equally terrible fate.¡±

    Jamie stared at me wide-eyed, raised a finger, then grimaced as he thought for a moment.

    ¡°I get how it might feel like that,¡± he said, a little hesitantly. ¡°But no offence. I think you¡¯re being a little melodramatic. You being bullied won¡¯t determine the fate of the world or anything.¡±

    I frowned. I had forgotten that¡¯s what we were talking about. I glanced at the Mediators to see if they¡¯d reacted at all. I assumed they had some sort of way to listen in on us, even if they were sitting across the tavern from us.

    Jamie followed my gaze and sighed.

    ¡°I¡¯m not being bullied,¡± I said.

    Jamie just sighed again.

    ¡°Shit. Sorry if I sounded a little pushy. I know how hard it can be to talk about these kinds of things. I just wanted to let you know that I can lend you an ear if you want to talk.¡± He peeked up nervously at me, to give me a wry smile. ¡°I mean, I get it. I really do.¡±

    ¡°I really doubt that you do,¡± I said. If Jamie knew my real internal turmoils, I doubted this conversation would be as civil as it was. He was a nice kid, but I doubted he would casually be trying to console his indirect murderer like this.

    I grimaced again at the idea.

    ¡°No really,¡± Jamie continued, blissfully unaware that I was holding a different conversation than the one he was participating in. ¡°I get it. I was bullied too, back in my old world.¡±

    Jamie awkwardly scratched at the back of his head as his gaze drifted to the side.

    ¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t really bullied. Not like in the movies, where some jock chooses a kid from the nerd clique to beat up and extort lunch money out of. I guess I was just¡­ shunned? Kind of like what the others are doing to you.¡± He let out a humourless laugh. ¡°Now that I say that out loud, I guess I¡¯m not really as noble as I was making myself out to be. I¡¯m only empathising with you because when I look at you, I see myself.¡±

    I winced as I looked at Jamie¡¯s genuinely sorrowful expression. ¡°Jamie, seriously. It¡¯s not what you think it is,¡± I said.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m serious, Lena,¡± he said, his voice rising in volume, and deflating in mood simultaneously. ¡°I know what it¡¯s like, and I know how much it sucks. You just keep telling yourself that everything¡¯s alright, because you think that admitting that it sucks will only make things worse. Well it won¡¯t. It doesn¡¯t, and it won¡¯t.¡±

    The tavern was quiet, and Jamie¡¯s voice was getting loud enough that it could probably be heard by everyone else there, but he didn¡¯t seem to notice.

    ¡°Jamie,¡± I said.

    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    He didn¡¯t seem to notice.

    ¡°The worst part is, now that I¡¯m looking at it from the outside, I can tell that I was just being stupid. These are good people, Lena. I don¡¯t know why everyone¡¯s excluding you, but I know that if you just talked to them, they¡¯d probably talk to you too. I don¡¯t think they hate you. They just don¡¯t really know you. It¡¯s not like they¡¯re punishing you for existing, but you gotta stop thinking like they are,¡± Jamie said, looking back at me. He tried to give me a smile, but it was shaky. ¡°I think you¡¯re really cool, Lena. I¡¯m sure if you talked to everyone, they¡¯d realise how cool you are too.¡±

    I looked away, unable to face his earnest gaze. He stayed silent, waiting for an answer.

    ¡°Umm, thanks,¡± I said. ¡°But I¡¯m serious Jamie. I¡¯m not being bullied.¡±

    Jamie frowned and sighed.

    ¡°I understand,¡± he said. ¡°Just know that if you ever need someone to talk to, or if you ever need my help, I¡¯m always here.¡±

    I shook my head.

    ¡°No. Listen to me, Jamie. I¡¯m not being bullied. I just happen to dislike every one of the Mediators we travelled with,¡± I said, hoping that it would be a good enough explanation to stop him from spiralling further into this conversation. ¡°It¡¯s as simple as that.¡±

    Jamie gave me a sad smile.

    ¡°I get it, Lena. I used to think that I hated everyone too. But we don¡¯t need to talk about this right now. Just know that I¡¯m ready to talk whenever you are.¡±

    I sighed. It didn¡¯t seem like anything I did would convince Jamie of the truth. At least not right now. I didn¡¯t even know if it was even necessary to do it. If Jamie thought I was unhappy travelling with him and the Mediators, would that make it more or less likely that he would let me stay in Plainswood when they left?

    ¡°Alright,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to you if I need to.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all I ask.¡±

    He smiled at me, but I couldn¡¯t muster the will to smile back. He seemed so happy to have ¡®helped¡¯ me, that a pang of guilt struck me, and struck me hard.

    ¡°You can talk to me about your problems too,¡± I said. ¡°You know. If you want.¡±

    Jamie blinked a few times, as if he¡¯d never considered the idea before.

    ¡°Thanks, but I don¡¯t have problems,¡± he said, his voice a little flat.

    I¡¯d seen him cry and mope too many times to know that wasn¡¯t true, but I wasn¡¯t going to push him.

    ¡°Well, if problems ever do come up, just let me know. I¡¯m ready to talk whenever you are,¡± I said, deflecting his own words back at him. ¡°Alright?¡±

    Jamie nodded. ¡°Alright. But I really don¡¯t have any problems. At least not after coming here. I guess my life back at home wasn¡¯t the greatest, but that¡¯s over now. I¡¯m fine.¡±

    He didn¡¯t sound fine, not in the slightest, but again, I wasn¡¯t going to push him to talk about it.

    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± I said.

    ¡°It is,¡± he replied, a little too quickly. ¡°I mean, I know I never used to have friends, but now I have you! And Oren, and Sera. Tenna and Laush are nice too. Oh yeah, and magic exists too! That¡¯s a thing.¡±

    Jamie let out a laugh. It wasn¡¯t a happy one, being devoid of any humour or life. In the corner of my eye, I saw the two conscious non-Mediators, my dad and the tavernkeeper, flinched at the sound.

    ¡°Jamie,¡± I said.

    ¡°Yeah it¡¯s been really good, even if it¡¯s been pretty crazy,¡± he said, ignoring my attempt to interrupt him. ¡°But now I have everything I ever wanted. Magic, friends, adventure. I guess it feels a little weird, especially since this all happened so fast. I mean, sometimes, I can¡¯t help but think this is all just some weird dream and I¡¯m going to wake up in a hospital bed with the doctor saying that I¡¯ve been in a coma for a few weeks. You know?¡±

    I had no idea what he was talking about. He was speaking too quickly and gasping for air too frequently for me to be able to make sense of what he was saying before he moved onto something else. He was taking quicker and quicker breaths, and though he wasn¡¯t quite hyperventilating, he seemed pretty close to it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do. What am I supposed to do? How do I make sure that this is real? I don¡¯t want to go back. I¡¯m good here. I don¡¯t want to go back.¡±

    Yup. This was definitely not the behaviour of someone who was ¡®fine¡¯.

    ¡°Jamie.¡±

    He kept talking, making no indication that he¡¯d even heard me. His words were getting more and more muddled, and it was getting more and more difficult to make out what he was saying.

    I reached out and touched Jamie¡¯s elbow. That seemed to get his attention as he looked up at me.

    ¡°Jamie. Can you feel me touching your elbow?¡±

    ¡°Y-yeah,¡± he said, still struggling to catch his breath. He looked down at where my hand was touching him, as if he needed to see it to confirm it anyways.

    ¡°I used to get pretty bad nightmares when I was a kid,¡± I said. ¡°They were usually about some weird nonsense that could never really exist, but whenever I was in them, they did feel real. My mom always told me that if I¡¯m having a bad dream, I can always try to scratch myself on the shoulder because you can¡¯t feel physical sensations in a dream. Is it like that for Otherworlders too?¡±

    Jamie nodded shakily. ¡°Pinching.¡±

    ¡°Pinching?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We pinch ourselves to make sure we¡¯re not dreaming,¡± he said. ¡°Not scratching.¡±

    I tried to give him a smile. ¡°Why don¡¯t you try that out?¡±

    Jamie nodded, and pinched the flesh above one of his wrists. He winced.

    ¡°That hurt,¡± he said.

    I nodded. ¡°Do you still think you¡¯re dreaming?¡±

    He looked up at me. He was still taking gasping breaths, but they weren¡¯t nearly as shallow and rapid.

    ¡°N-no,¡± he said.

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±

    Jamie¡¯s deep breaths were the only noise that filled the tavern. I was tempted to glance to the side to see the reaction from the civilians or the Mediators sitting in the room, but I didn¡¯t want to break eye contact with Jamie. He was getting better, but he didn¡¯t seem completely convinced as of yet, so I simply locked eyes with him until his breathing slowed down to a level that didn¡¯t make me worried as much.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked, once he stopped gasping for air.

    Jamie grimaced and looked away, blushing an angry red.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said. ¡°Sorry for freaking out.¡±

    ¡°I told you to stop apologizing so much didn¡¯t I?¡± I said, tapping his elbow once more before drawing away from him. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault you freaked out.¡±

    ¡°It is, though,¡± he said, scoffing. ¡°I¡¯m just mentally weak.¡±

    ¡°You literally travelled to an entirely different world, Jamie. And I don¡¯t know exactly how you did it, but I can guess from context clues that it wasn¡¯t exactly a pleasant process, either. It¡¯s normal to feel stressed.¡±

    Jamie looked up at me and made a quiet noise that sounded like it was something between a laugh and a sigh.

    ¡°That¡¯s funny. I thought I was supposed to be consoling you,¡± he said, though his voice held no humour in it. ¡°Guess I still can¡¯t do anything right, even in an isekai world.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re fifteen. Name me one fifteen year old that isn¡¯t a complete fuck up. You can¡¯t.¡±

    Jamie groaned. ¡°This wasn¡¯t what we were even supposed to be talking about! I didn¡¯t want your help, I wanted to help you! We¡¯ve barely even talked about your bullying problem.¡±

    I let out an involuntary laugh. Jamie¡¯s eyes shot towards me at the sound, raising his eyebrows in a perplexed expression. I don¡¯t know why, but his reaction just made me laugh more.

    ¡°What?¡± he said.

    ¡°I¡¯m serious when I said I didn¡¯t have a bullying problem, Jamie,¡± I said, standing up and gesturing for him to follow. ¡°I¡¯ll prove it too.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± he said again.

    ¡°Come on,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll kill two birds with one stone, shall we? I can introduce you to my friends, and you can see a few fifteen year olds that are much more of a mess than you are.¡±

    As the words left my mouth, I thought about the fact that I¡¯d just condemned my friends to talking to an Otherworlder. From Bran¡¯s last encounter with Jamie, I realised how badly they would probably handle it.

    But Jamie was nice enough. Surely it would turn out fine. Besides, I needed some payback for how Bran abandoned me like that when I first brought Jamie to the village.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± I said.

 36. A Normal Conversation between a Couple of Teenagers

    ¡°Uhhhhhhhhhhhh.¡±

    I gave Bran a wide grin as I waved at him from outside his doorway. Beside me, Jamie did the same, though he wasn¡¯t as enthused.

    ¡°Hey Bran,¡± I said.

    ¡°Muhhh.¡±

    ¡°A hello would be nice, Bran,¡± I said, enjoying this more than I probably should¡¯ve, considering Bran looked like he was about to piss himself in fear. Actually, on second thought, I was enjoying the exact amount that was appropriate.

    ¡°Guh.¡±

    ¡°Hello,¡± Jamie said, giving Bran another shy wave.

    ¡°Bah?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help it. The genuine fear in Bran¡¯s face made me feel a bit mean for bringing Jamie over unannounced, but the stupid sounds he was making were too much. I burst out laughing, clutching at my stomach and crouching down to the ground.

    ¡°Lena?¡± Jamie said, though I could hear the hint of a laugh in his voice.

    ¡°Oh fuck you, Lena,¡± Bran said. Apparently sheer indignation was enough to snap him out of his fear.

    I gave him a wide shit-eating grin, as I slowly caught my breath.

    ¡°Bran, this is Jamie. You¡¯ve met before,¡± I said, gesturing to him.

    ¡°We have?¡± Jamie asked.

    ¡°You don¡¯t remember?¡± I asked back. ¡°You thought he was making me cry, and you almost made him piss himself? Ringing any bells?¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± he said, wincing. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It was hilarious in retrospect,¡± I said.

    ¡°Not that hilarious for me,¡± Bran grumbled. ¡°Also, speaking of things that aren¡¯t funny, what the fuck is going on right now?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m introducing Jamie to my friends,¡± I said. ¡°Be honoured that you were the first.¡±

    ¡°Pretty bold to assume we¡¯re still friends, you bitch,¡± he replied.

    ¡°See?¡± I said, turning to Jamie and gesturing at Bran, who still looked like he was somewhere in between wanting to kill me and wanting to run into his house and barring the door. ¡°I have friends.¡±

    ¡°Your friends talk like that to you?¡± Jamie asked.

    ¡°Like what?¡±

    ¡°He just called you a bitch,¡± Jamie said, giving Bran a pointed glance. Bran only just seemed to remember that he was still there, and with Jamie¡¯s attention on him again, he panicked.

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t,¡± he said, a little too quickly. ¡°I respect my good friend Lena very much and would never disrespect her so callously.¡±

    I laughed again, but it died down when I saw the conflicted grin on Jamie¡¯s face. It was a strange expression, like he did find Bran¡¯s reaction to him somewhat funny, but he felt guilty about it at the same time.

    ¡°Just a little bit of banter between friends. He¡¯s not actually insulting me,¡± I said, patting Jamie on the shoulder. ¡°And Bran, stop being so scared of Jamie. He¡¯s a friendly guy once you get to know him.¡±

    Bran nodded furiously. ¡°Nice guy. Me too. I¡¯m also friendly. And uninteresting and naive.¡±

    I groaned and slapped my palm to my face.

    ¡°What¡¯s he talking about, Lena?¡± Jamie asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s an Otherworlder response thing,¡± I said. ¡°Not really that important, but a good example of the other reason why we came here. Behold, an eighteen-year-old boy who¡¯s also the stupidest person I know and also the future Sheriff of Plainswood. You still think you¡¯re not allowed to be a fuck up?¡±

    ¡°A sheriff?¡± Jamie asked. ¡°Like with a star badge and guns and stuff like that?¡±

    ¡°Woah. You guys can make stuff out of stars in your world?¡±

    ¡°Wait, he knows that we know he¡¯s from another world?¡± Bran interrupted.

    There was a brief moment of pause as Jamie glanced between me and Bran.

    ¡°Umm,¡± Jamie said, as he struggled to think of an answer. ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Yes to what, exactly?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes to your friend¡¯s question,¡± Jamie said. ¡°Not to the star thing. The badges are made out of metal, but they¡¯re shaped like stars.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. ¡°Why are they shaped like stars?¡±

    Jamie shrugged. ¡°It was just a thing that Sheriffs had on Earth. I don¡¯t know why.¡±

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen the Sheriff wear a badge at all, though I guess it¡¯s a bit pointless in a small village like ours. Everyone knows who the Sheriff is, so there¡¯s no point in a uniform or anything. That¡¯s why Bran gets to get away with dressing like a bum all the time.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± the boy in question shouted. ¡°I¡¯m right here!¡±

    ¡°Good then you can hear me. You should freshen up once in a while. Whenever you stand next to Polly, it looks like she¡¯s a princess tending to a large mangy dog.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have you know, she likes my rugged charm. Plus, she said she likes the contrast. Makes her stand out even more or something.¡±

    ¡°I knew there was a reason why she would be dating someone like you. I was beginning to think she was half-blind or something.¡±

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    ¡°At least I can get a girlfriend. How¡¯s your love life been?¡±

    I winced and, to his credit, Bran was quick to react to the fact that I didn¡¯t snipe back at him immediately. He glanced up at Jamie, who I was pointedly doing my best to ignore, and gave him a shaky smile.

    ¡°Well, enough about that. Ryuji Nightblade, was it?¡± he said.

    ¡°Umm, no,¡± Jamie replied, sounding a little embarrassed. I spared a quick glance at him and was surprised to see him blushing. ¡°My name¡¯s Jamie.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Bran asked. ¡°I swear you said your name was Ryuji back when you first came to Plainswood.¡±

    ¡°Can we please forget about that?¡± Jamie asked, almost pleading.

    ¡°Umm. Sure,¡± Bran said. All of the stutter and uncertainty had gone out of his voice by now and he was sounding more curious than afraid. Maybe our bantering had brought him back into a more comfortable mindset, but it was also possible that Jamie¡¯s shyness had disarmed him somewhat. ¡°So, are you guys going to go around visiting more people?¡±

    ¡°That was the plan,¡± I said. ¡°Why? You¡¯re that eager to see us gone?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Bran said. ¡°I want to come along, if that¡¯s alright with you.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow at him.

    ¡°Not that I mind, but why?¡± I asked.

    Bran glanced between Jamie and me a few times before sighing.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re terrifying,¡± he said. He held his hands up defensively before we had a chance to respond. ¡°Our friends are going to get scared if you come over unannounced like you did with me. It might be nice to see a familiar face to assure them that they¡¯re not going to get blown up or anything.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a familiar enough face?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You¡¯re a Follower, Lena,¡± he replied. ¡°Nobody knows what a Follower really does, but they always survive being close to Otherworlders for God knows how long. Your stakes are a little different than the rest of us.¡±

    Before I could reply, Jamie spoke up.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to blow anyone up,¡± he said quietly.

    Bran frowned and crossed his arms. ¡°It might be stupidity talking, but I believe you. It¡¯s the only reason why I haven¡¯t pissed myself yet. That and the fact that I just went a few minutes ago. I know we didn¡¯t talk much, but you feel different now. More human. But nobody else remembers what you acted like when you first came to our village. All they remember are the Goblins you killed in the town square.¡±

    Jamie frowned at that. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill anyone. Those were Demons.¡±

    Surprisingly, Bran nodded. ¡°Yeah, we know. Mr. Mar-¡±

    His words were cut off by a yelp of pain as he clutched at the side of his head. He whipped his head around a few times before he seemed to notice something. His eyes widened for a second before he looked back at Jamie, smiling and desperately trying to pretend like nothing had just happened.

    Turning around, I noticed Marten leaning lazily against the wall of another house, just far enough that I probably wouldn¡¯t have recognized him if it weren¡¯t for the reflective sheen of his head. Jamie looked around too, but without knowing exactly what he was looking for, he didn¡¯t seem to notice anything strange.

    ¡°You okay?¡± Jamie asked.

    ¡°Yup. Totally fine. Anyways,¡± Bran said, continuing the conversation with the subtlety of a hacksaw. ¡°We realised that they were Demons after we dug up their graves and couldn¡¯t find anything but black ash. But even with that, most people still don¡¯t actually believe that they were Demons, and a lot of the rest don¡¯t care either way. You were pretty brutal. It was hard to watch.¡±

    Jamie frowned. ¡°Sorry. I was working some stuff out.¡±

    Bran raised his hands in an awkward surrender.

    ¡°Hey, as long as you don¡¯t work some stuff out against me or the villagers.¡±

    Jamie nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t plan to.¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll have no problems,¡± Bran said.

    There was a long pause in the conversation, but before I could do anything, Jamie was actually the one to break it.

    ¡°Lena? I know you wanted to introduce me to all your friends, but could I make a request?¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what kind of request he would make, but his words were awkward and forcefully formal for it to be something benign.

    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked, a little afraid of what it would be.

    ¡°Can we put that off for a bit?¡± he asked. ¡°I want to see the graves as soon as possible.¡±

    I waited for him to continue, but after a long pause, it was clear that was all he wanted to say.

    ¡°Is that all?¡± I asked, just to make sure.

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± he said. ¡°Is that¡­ okay?¡±

    I glanced to the side where Marten was still standing. Though he wasn¡¯t looking in my direction, I knew he was listening in on the conversation. If it wasn¡¯t okay, I assumed that he would give me a signal of some kind.

    When none came, I looked back at Jamie, who was just barely looking at me.

    ¡°Sure, that¡¯s fine, Jamie,¡± I said. ¡°We can go.¡±

    Jamie smiled at me and gave me a nod of thanks.

    I turned to Bran, who was looking at me strangely for some reason.

    ¡°I know it¡¯s not what you expected,¡± I said. ¡°But since you were gonna come along anyways, you mind guiding us to where you buried the Demons?¡±

    He stayed silent for a few seconds, glancing between me and Jamie.

    ¡°Christ, Lena. What the hell did you do to the poor kid?¡±

    I raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    ¡°He acts like a newborn kitten around you. Listen Jamie. Best way to deal with her is either to ignore her or insult her back. You can¡¯t let her walk all over you like this.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything, you ass,¡± I said, punching Bran in the shoulder. ¡°Just because you¡¯re a rude barbarian doesn¡¯t mean that other people can¡¯t be quiet and polite. It¡¯s just how he is.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Bran asked. He sounded annoyingly sceptical, like he genuinely believed that I¡¯d done something to cow Jamie into politeness. But then again, maybe he did. No matter how docile Jamie acted, he was still an Otherworlder. It was hard to believe that someone with near infinite power could seem so timid and unconfident.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Jamie said, scratching the back of his head. ¡°I¡¯m just kind of like this.¡±

    Once again, Bran stared at Jamie in silence for a few more seconds.

    ¡°Okay, fine. But one last question,¡± he said. ¡°But it might be a bit sensitive. You don¡¯t have to answer if you don¡¯t want to.¡±

    ¡°Umm, okay,¡± Jamie replied.

    ¡°And I¡¯m sorry if this is rude in any way. I don¡¯t really know Otherworlder customs, so I¡¯m hoping I don¡¯t offend you or anything. I¡¯m just really curious about one thing.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow, wondering what he possibly could want to ask. Jamie did the same, though he seemed a little more pensive than I was.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try not to get offended,¡± he said. ¡°I swear.¡±

    Bran stared into Jamie¡¯s eyes, as if searching for the truth in them. Whatever he saw, he seemed satisfied.

    ¡°Do you actually eat children if they don¡¯t do their chores?¡±

    Before I could smack my face in exasperation, I yelped in surprise as Jamie fell to the ground instantly, planting his face onto the floor with his legs bent crooked in the air.

    ¡°What the fuck?!¡± Bran and I shouted simultaneously.

    Jamie groaned, though it was muffled from the fact that his face was planted directly onto the floor. ¡°Goddamn anime character constitution,¡± he said.

    Bran glanced at me, as if I had an explanation, but while I¡¯d heard him reference the condition whenever he got his nosebleeds, this was a new behaviour to me too. I answered Bran¡¯s unspoken question with a shrug.

    Bran nodded and simply reached down to help Jamie up.

    ¡°What the hell was that about?¡± he asked.

    Jamie let out a heavy sigh as he reached up to take Bran¡¯s hand. ¡°It¡¯s a thing I have. Makes me do weird things. I didn¡¯t realise face plants were included in that.¡±

    ¡°The hell¡¯s a face plant?¡± Bran asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s kind of like a facepalm,¡± Jamie said, with a sigh. ¡°Except the floor is my palm.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Bran looked at me, but I didn¡¯t have anything to add to the conversation. I shrugged.

    ¡°Sounds rough,¡± Bran said.

    Jamie shrugged as well. ¡°I don¡¯t actually get hurt. It¡¯s just annoying to get dust in my clothes every time.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, I guess you being an Otherworlder makes your face harder than the floor, huh?¡±

    ¡°I guess.¡±

    Jamie glanced between Bran and me, waiting for either of us to say something. Thankfully, he seemed to realise that he¡¯d effectively killed the conversation, and coughed awkwardly into his hand.

    ¡°I guess we should head to the graves? Please?¡±

    ¡°I guess so,¡± I said. ¡°Lead the way, Bran?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± he said, walking forward, though he made sure not to walk far enough that he couldn¡¯t keep an eye on Jamie. Instead of following the roads, he immediately veered off the streets and headed towards the forest.

    Jamie and I followed him without question.

    Another long silence sat between us, before Jamie spoke up once more.

    ¡°Wait, you guys have Jesus in your world too?¡±

 37. Friends

    ¡°So you guys do have Christianity, and you have the Christian God, but not Jesus? You just have some dude named David? That¡¯s stupid.¡±

    ¡°Well, Christianity¡¯s an old religion practised by the Elves when they were still around, so the Messiah¡¯s real name is something I don¡¯t even want to try to pronounce. David¡¯s just the modern Ashanic version of it.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s modern Ashanic?¡±

    ¡°The language we¡¯re speaking?¡±

    ¡°What? But we¡¯re speaking English, aren¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°No? We¡¯re speaking Ashanic.¡±

    As the two boys talked while we walked, I let out the breath I¡¯d been holding as the conversation finally shifted away from the topic of religion. While it was admittedly a fascinating topic to think about, knowing that our worlds somehow shared similar religions, watching Jamie talk about Gods was nerve wracking when I knew that learning about one particular God could lead to the destruction of the world. Realistically, there wasn¡¯t really a way that Jamie could stumble into learning about the existence of the Guide in a random conversation, but that didn¡¯t stop me from sweating profusely.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just magic,¡± I suggested, joining into the conversation in hopes of keeping the topic away from Gods. ¡°I mean Jamie has that whole anime constitution thing, and he¡¯s got an infinite amount of mana. What¡¯s to say he doesn¡¯t have some weird magic thing that lets him translate stuff too?¡±

    ¡°Wait. Does something like that really exist?¡± Bran asked. Jamie looked at me too, obviously curious about my answer.

    ¡°How would I know?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Because you just said it did?¡± Bran asked. ¡°Besides, you¡¯re a mage. You know about magic stuff.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m hardly a mage,¡± I scoffed. ¡°I¡¯m just a magic user.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± Jamie asked.

    ¡°A mage is a title given to someone who can actually use magic well,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°A magic user dabbles in it. Anyways, I was just throwing out ideas. Magic can let you do some pretty weird things as long as you have the mana for it. I¡¯m sure translation magic could be a thing.¡±

    Bran furrowed his brow. ¡°Ashi vativi.¡±

    ¡°Huh?!¡± Jamie shouted, recoiling away from Bran, his arms windmilling until he¡¯d gotten a few feet away from him.

    Bran laughed awkwardly, looking pointedly off to the side. ¡°Just checking if it really was a magic translation thing. I guess you were right, Lena.¡±

    Jamie still looked absolutely confused, so I decided to help him out.

    ¡°Bran just said something in another language. I couldn¡¯t understand it, but I assume you did?¡± I asked.

    ¡°O-oh,¡± Jamie said, his stutter returning for some reason. ¡°Yeah. I did. Sorry. I just didn¡¯t expect that.¡±

    Bran laughed, scratching his cheek in embarrassment. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Jamie. I don¡¯t see you that way. Just wanted to test it out. It means, ¡®I love you,¡¯¡± he added, for my sake. ¡°It¡¯s the only Timuran I know. Polly taught me.¡±

    ¡°Since when does Polly know Timuran?¡± I asked.

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t know much,¡± Bran said, with a shrug. ¡°She became friends with a travelling merchant during one of her visits to Redstone. He taught her a few phrases.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re not bothered that some random man is telling your girlfriend that he loves her?¡±

    Bran shrugged casually. ¡°I trust Polly. Besides, I¡¯ve heard that Timurans are a little more liberal with who they say ¡®I love you¡¯ to. It¡¯s more of a platonic thing for them.¡±

    It didn¡¯t sound like a familiar stereotype to me, but I didn¡¯t know enough about Timurans to confirm or deny it.

    ¡°Umm,¡± Jamie said, raising his hand for some reason. ¡°Actually¡­¡±

    He paused. Bran and I glanced at each other before looking back at him.

    I noticed a blush on Jamie¡¯s face, even with how badly he looked like he wanted to hide his face deep within his hood.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t say, ¡®I love you,¡¯¡± he muttered. ¡°You said, ¡®I want to have sex with you.¡¯¡±

    Ah. So that was why he flinched away so violently. I chuckled as Bran repeated Jamie¡¯s reaction, flinching away like he¡¯d just slapped him.

    ¡°No, that can¡¯t be right. It means, ¡®I love you,¡¯¡± Bran said, his face growing pale. ¡°We say that all the time. In public. It¡¯s our thing! You¡¯re just joking. Right, Jamie?¡±

    Jamie¡¯s only response was a shaky smile.

    I laughed as Bran groaned, hiding his face in his hands.

    ¡°Goddammit,¡± he said.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± Jamie replied.

    ¡°Not your fault,¡± Bran sighed. ¡°You apologise a lot, you know that?¡±

    ¡°I keep telling him that,¡± I said, looking around us as we started to enter the denser parts of the forest. I was surprised by how deep the villagers had decided to bury the Demons. ¡°Are we getting close to the graves?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I think so,¡± Bran said, taking the excuse to look around and direct his attention at anything aside from Jamie. ¡°Mr. M- I mean, the gravedigger made sure to mark the area with some paint. It shouldn¡¯t be hard to see.¡±

    In a few minutes, Bran proved himself right by pointing out several splashes of bright blue paint smeared over a large number of trees. They were applied very liberally, with more focus on being seen than accurately pointing out where the graves were located. Even with the general area marked down, we had to search around for a few more minutes before we stumbled across the graves.

    ¡°Is this really it?¡± Jamie asked.

    His scepticism was justified, as the ¡°graves¡± looked like nothing more than a few dirt mounds with nothing to mark them. Even if they only contained the remains of Demons, it still felt pretty disrespectful. I glanced at Bran for an explanation.

    ¡°Nobody really wanted to acknowledge what happened,¡± he said, avoiding my gaze. ¡°People kind of just wanted to forget. So we tried to make sure it didn¡¯t become a landmark.¡±

    ¡°Then why the paint?¡± Jamie asked.

    Bran¡¯s eyes widened for a split second before he smiled nervously.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure?¡±

    Jamie stared at him for a few seconds before turning his attention back to the graves.

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    ¡°I¡¯m gonna dig them up,¡± he said. ¡°Move Earth.¡±

    I¡¯d already realised about halfway into our walk that we hadn¡¯t brought shovels with us, but Jamie didn¡¯t seem to be too bothered by it. He simply closed his eyes and raised his hands up in the air. I should¡¯ve seen it coming, but I still yelped and fell back on my ass when the ground shook beneath my feet. Thankfully, my dignity was saved when I saw Bran doing the same thing beside me.

    I was surprised at how cleanly Jamie managed to dig up the graves. Despite how violently the ground had shaken, all that ended up happening was a few clumps of dirt floating up and landing softly in neat piles beside each grave.

    Ignoring Bran¡¯s awestruck look, Jamie moved forward to peer inside of the graves, but he stopped at the first one, staring into it with a blank expression on his face.

    Curious about what he could be seeing to cause such a reaction, I peered into the graves.

    They were empty.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what I expected,¡± Jamie said, his voice flat.

    ¡°They¡¯re empty. The Aether must¡¯ve dissipated by now,¡± I said. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you wanted?¡±

    ¡°I mean, yeah? I guess? But the graves being empty doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that they were always empty, right? For all I know, this could be a fake grave, and some very real Goblins could be buried somewhere else. An empty grave doesn¡¯t prove anything.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow. I wasn¡¯t surprised that he could potentially come to this conclusion, since it was the exact same conclusion I might¡¯ve come to if I were in his situation, but where had this level of scepticism been when he was dealing with the Mediators?

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t,¡± I said. ¡°But I know what I saw. You didn¡¯t kill any Goblins. You just destroyed some Demons and scattered their Aether to the wind. Can you trust me when I say that?¡±

    ¡°I trust you,¡± Jamie said, but he grimaced when he turned to face me. ¡°But that¡¯s not enough. What if you were wrong? I need to prove it. Sorry.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine, Jamie. I wasn¡¯t trying to challenge you. If this is really that important to you, then you shouldn¡¯t just take my word on it,¡± I said. ¡°That being said, how are you going to prove it?¡±

    Jamie thought furrowed his brow.

    ¡°Maybe I can use some magic to see if there were Demons here,¡± he said.

    ¡°You can do that?¡±

    ¡°I can try,¡± he said, giving me a shaky grin that he didn¡¯t seem too confident in. ¡°Translation magic exists, so why can¡¯t a ¡®detect demon¡¯ spell exist either?¡±

    I was about to protest, but realised he was right. Jamie was an all-powerful being. Anything he imagined, he could probably accomplish. While the idea of such a nonsensical and convenient use of magic existing was absurd, so was the idea of Jamie¡¯s very existence. I saw no real reason to believe he couldn¡¯t accomplish it before he actually tried it.

    ¡°I guess it could¡­¡± I said, trailing off.

    Jamie waited for me to continue, but I simply shrugged. Apparently taking that as a vote of confidence, he closed his eyes and raised his hands.

    ¡°Detect Demon.¡±

    At first, it looked like nothing happened, but with Jamie keeping his eyes closed, I assumed it meant he wasn¡¯t done. Jamie kept his hands up, hovering them over the empty graves.

    About a minute in, Bran pointed off in the distance with his mouth opening and closing like he was trying to say something. Following the path of his finger, I noticed a few faint pinpricks of pulsing red light floating gently towards our direction, like leaves caught in an unnatural wind.

    I was so focused on the ones that I could see that I flinched when a pinprick of red light floated directly past my ear. I jerked my head around to see that we were surrounded.

    ¡°Umm, should we be worried?¡± Bran whispered to me, as he dodged around a small red light that barely brushed by his head.

    Bemused by his naivety, I gave him a smile and a pat on the shoulder.

    ¡°If there was any reason for us to be worried, we¡¯d have no way to stop it,¡± I whispered back. ¡°So my suggestion is to just stop worrying about it.¡±

    Bran stared at me, like I¡¯d said something crazy, though he couldn¡¯t keep his eyes from darting around to look at the red glowing lights that flew lazily around him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can do that,¡± he said.

    I shrugged and turned back to watch Jamie.

    As the red lights continued to float gently towards Jamie, they piled up inside the once empty graves, melding together as they converged to the same spot, until the seven graves were occupied with formless blobs of pulsing red light.

    They didn¡¯t remain formless for long. As Jamie furrowed his brow, his fingers twitched and closed into fists as the blobs moved to his command, twisting and morphing until they seemed to adopt a robust shape.

    Once they were done, Jamie opened his eyes to look down at the Goblin-shaped blobs of light.

    ¡°So, did it work?¡± Bran asked.

    Jamie didn¡¯t react to the question for a few long seconds, simply staring down at the pulsing Goblin-shaped lights. When he did react, it was with a sigh, and a smile.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said. ¡°Turns out, I can do anything I put my mind to. I¡¯m pretty broken, aren¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    Jamie and Bran turned to me, and for a split second, I couldn¡¯t figure out why. It took me a moment for me to realise that I was the one who¡¯d said that.

    ¡°No?¡± Jamie asked, with the smile still plastered on his face.

    That damn fake smile of his. Among all the liars I knew, Jamie was the worst one of them all.

    ¡°No,¡± I said, gritting my teeth. ¡°You¡¯re not broken. Don¡¯t you dare say that about yourself.¡±

    Jamie tilted his head in confusion, and the scared look on Bran¡¯s face helped me realise I was raising my voice against an Otherworlder.

    ¡°Lena,¡± Jamie said. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± I said again, not caring at all that I was yelling. ¡°No, it¡¯s not alright. I don¡¯t know what happened to you, in your previous world, and I know it must¡¯ve been terrible for you to see yourself like how you do, but you¡¯re not in that world anymore! You¡¯re in a new one, and a much better one at that! Yeah, yeah. I know I don¡¯t know anything about your old world aside from the fact that it has video games and anime, which I still don¡¯t understand at all, by the way, but the fact that your old world could possibly leave such a sweet, innocent, dumb kid like you feeling like you¡¯re so lonely and unconfident and broken means that it can¡¯t possibly be one worth caring about.¡±

    ¡°Lena,¡± Jamie said quietly. ¡°Seriously-¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± I said, angrily wiping away the tears that were forming at the edges of my eyes. ¡°If I hear one more vague hint about your depressing backstory, I swear I¡¯m going to beat the crap out of you, infinite power or not. I know you¡¯re too nice to fight back, so you can¡¯t fucking scare me.¡±

    I don¡¯t know what I sounded or looked like right now, but it can¡¯t have been pretty, from the way that Bran looked like he was more scared of me than he was of Jamie. Jamie¡¯s reaction was a bit more subtle than Bran¡¯s, his fake smile slowly melting off his face into a blank expression.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare say you¡¯re broken. Never again, Jamie Nightblade.¡±

    Jamie stared blankly at me, and the world was quiet, save for my panted breaths and the squeaking of damp moss on the forest floor as Bran tried to slowly back away from me. I glared back at Jamie, silently daring him to say anything.

    And then he started to laugh.

    It started small at first. He let out a few muffled giggles that he immediately tried to cover up by placing his hand over his mouth. It worked for a moment, but as his laughter grew, it spilled between the cracks of his fingers and echoed through the trees surrounding us. It didn¡¯t stop, growing in strength until he bent down, clutching at his stomach and doubling over from the sheer weight of his emotions.

    Jamie gasped for breath as it left him, faster than he could draw it in, in peals of ecstatic laughter. More than once, his breath caught in his throat and he coughed and sputtered as he fell on the floor, but he didn¡¯t seem to care as he continued to laugh.

    By the time he¡¯d calmed himself down, he was filthy and covered in foliage and dirt, laying down on his back on the forest floor, but he didn¡¯t seem to notice as he struggled to wipe away tears from his eyes, his hands still shaky from the heaving giggles that were still escaping his body.

    ¡°Lena,¡± he said, still giggling. ¡°My name¡¯s Jamie Campbell. Did you seriously think Nightblade was my real last name?¡±

    I sighed, feeling my frustrations slowly bleeding out of me in the same breath. While I didn¡¯t particularly enjoy being mocked, it was impossible to stay angry at him. Though he had his arm draped over his eyes, the laughter in the air and the genuine smile on his face was infectious.

    ¡°Hey,¡± I said. ¡°How was I supposed to know? You never told me.¡±

    ¡°Even so,¡± he said, interrupting himself with another giggle. ¡°Jamie Nightblade. Imagine.¡±

    ¡°How the hell am I supposed to know what¡¯s normal in your world?¡± I said, bending down to lightly flick him on the forehead.

    ¡°Ack,¡± he said, flinching at the touch. ¡°That surprised me.¡±

    ¡°Serves you right, Jamie Campbell,¡± I replied.

    ¡°I guess it does,¡± he said, giggling again for some reason.

    He moved his arm away from his face, and looked up at me from his position on the floor. The entire upper half of his face was stained with the marks of half-dried tear stains, and his eyes were bloodshot and puffy, but there was a childish joy that was reflected in them now that hadn¡¯t been there before.

    ¡°You¡¯re pretty broken. You know that, Lena?¡± he said.

    I frowned, raising my fist. ¡°Jamie Campbell,¡± I said, as threateningly as I could.

    He laughed and raised his arms to defend against the blow that would never come. ¡°No, no. It¡¯s slang from my old world! It means that you¡¯re overpowered enough to break the rules of the game.¡±

    It took me a moment for me to understand what that meant. My fist dropped limply to my side.

    ¡°Wait,¡± I said. ¡°So when you were calling yourself broken¡­¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t being down on myself?¡± he said, completing my thought for me.

    I stared down at him and that shit-eating grin of his and groaned into my hands.

    ¡°I blew up at you for no reason! Why didn¡¯t you stop me, you little bastard?¡±

    ¡°I mean, I tried,¡± he said, with a laugh. ¡°Not my fault you wouldn¡¯t let me talk.¡±

    I groaned again. Jamie laughed at that and finally found the strength to stand back up. I couldn¡¯t help but think he looked taller for some reason, and it took me a moment to realise he just wasn¡¯t slouching as much.

    ¡°Hey, Lena,¡± he said.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Sorr-¡± He paused and shook his head. ¡°I mean, Thanks.¡±

    I sighed again, but gave him a smile.

 38. Performance Review

    ¡°Fucking creepy fucking bastards, the lot of you, creeping me the fuck out with your dead-fish eyes. The very least you dipshits could do is to do your jobs properly for once in your fucking lives to make up for it, but here I am, stuck with a bunch of incompetent asshats who can¡¯t escort two children from one city to this shithole of a village without fucking literally everything up. Too bad you¡¯re all fucking orphans, because now it¡¯s apparently my fucking job to wipe your asses for you instead of your inbred parents.¡±

    To say that Marten was upset was a bit of an understatement. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t drink on the job, and though he¡¯d stashed a month¡¯s supply of tobacco on his person before he¡¯d been teleported out of the main base, he made the same mistake that he always did, of assuming that a month¡¯s supply would last him a month in practice.

    After finding out how badly the rest of his team had fucked up, he¡¯d managed to smoke through two weeks worth in only a few days, and the fact that he had managed to post himself in the middle of fucking nowhere made sure that any tobacco he could buy here would be next to worthless.

    Unfortunately, even if the only tobacco he could find in this backwater town tasted like he was smoking a mixture of grass, dust, and just a hint of cat shit, he had to make do with what he could. He wasn¡¯t addicted, but tobacco staved away the worst of the piercing headaches that wracked at his brain if he went without it, and he was already dealing with too many living headaches to afford the extra pressure.

    The headaches in question sat in silence as he drew a spell circle on the floor of the Mayor¡¯s cellar in the middle of the night while the brat was fast asleep. While he could¡¯ve waited outside and had a moment of peace for himself while Sera or Oren drew it in his stead, he wasn¡¯t willing to give anything up to chance. With their recent history of astronomical fuckups, he wasn¡¯t willing to run the risk of them either accidentally blowing up the building or trying to fuck it.

    Marten took in a large draw from his pipe as he double-checked his formulas, blowing the smoke out in the general direction of his so-called peers in an act of petty revenge. It didn¡¯t do much, given that the entire cellar was filled with his tobacco smoke already, but he did feel a little bit of petty satisfaction when he saw Oren blinking rapidly as the new smoke tickled his eyes.

    ¡°This ain¡¯t a fucking Shadow¡¯s job, dipshits. Why the fuck do I have to be the one to do this? Better get some fucking compensation for this shit," Marten grumbled, mostly to himself, as he inspected the circle for a third time. Once he was satisfied that it wouldn¡¯t kill any of them, which was a bit of a disappointment, he jerked a thumb towards it.

    ¡°Alright, assholes. I¡¯m done. Get into positions.¡±

    Without acknowledging him, the Mediators moved to the edges of the circle, standing in their respective positions. Even after working on and off for more than twenty years as a Mediator, he still found their silence unsettling, but not enough to dampen his anger towards them in the slightest.

    Marten let them stand there for about a minute longer while he finished his pipe. Even if it was shit tobacco, it was tobacco that he¡¯d paid for, and he¡¯d be damned if he let a single crumb of it go to waste. Besides, the little bastards deserved to stand there and think about how much of a pain in his ass they¡¯ve been. Maybe feel some damn shame for once in their lives.

    When the only thing that remained in his pipe was ashes, he tapped it against the wall to empty it, and stowed it away in his breast pocket.

    He considered giving them a warning, but decided against it and simply stepped into his place in the circle and leaked out a drop of his mana.

    The spell formula reacted as soon as he did and he made an involuntary grimace at the sensation of weakness that flooded him as it greedily sucked more out of him, but the others had it worse. Without any proper warning, they let out quiet gasps of pain as their mana was drawn from them forcibly, with the exception of Oren, who made no reaction aside from the miniscule tightening of his facial muscles.

    Marten scowled, and pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket, and metaphysically reached out to touch the mana gathered in the spell circle.

    The mana of the five mages was wild and untamable. Each mana signature collided and contrasted with one another, creating a whirlwind of chaos that was only barely contained by the spell formulas that helped refine them into being usable for a greater purpose.

    He hated the sensation of it. Though there was no physical feeling of pain that came with it, it felt like he was touching the essence of danger and potential. He wanted it over with as soon as possible, and so he guided the mana into the piece of parchment, or more specifically, the essence of the message written on it.

    The essence of the message melded with the mana, and with one final push, he focused on the one fifth of the mana that originated from himself, forced his will onto it, and finally released it from his grasp.

    Marten gasped and stumbled backwards as the spell was completed, just barely unable to regain his footing before he fell on his ass. Around him, the other Mediators had similar reactions to varying degrees. Tenna and Laush collapsed on the spot, crumpling into unmoving piles of limp limbs within their spots on the circle. Sera and Oren took the aftereffects of the spell better than he did, with Sera bending over and bracing herself with her hands on her knees, and Oren standing there with his arms crossed across his chest, but still drenched in sweat and his nose flared wide as he took in deep breaths to steady himself.

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    Marten took a few deep breaths, but before he could completely recover, a strange sensation wormed its way into his mind. He felt the urge to stick a finger in his ear to try and dig out the non-existent bug that had made its way inside of him and was buzzing around in his brain.

    Is it true?

    Marten grimaced as the voice of his boss echoed in his head and started to scratch at his skin.

    ¡°I appreciate the fast reply, bossman,¡± Marten said out loud. Though he was entirely capable of speaking back through internal dialogue, his mind was already crowded enough by the newcomer and he didn¡¯t care enough to keep his side of the conversation private from the fuckups. ¡°It¡¯s all true. I¡¯m requesting that the entire team be replaced. Either that, or you can reassign me. Preferably somewhere across the world. If you keep this team as it is, the brat they¡¯re in charge of is definitely gonna explode and I don¡¯t want to be anywhere nearby when that happens.¡±

    ¡°Sera and I are Chosen Followers,¡± Oren said. ¡°You would not be able to replace either of us, Shadow Marten, no matter how displeased you are.¡±

    Despite his exhaustion and the buzzing in his head, Marten couldn¡¯t help but grin. ¡°Oh yeah, he¡¯s right, boss. That is true. We can¡¯t have him leaving the Otherworlder¡¯s side.¡± Marten gasped as he held a finger up, like he just thought of an idea. ¡°Wait a minute! There is a way to make sure you stick around, but without giving you the same amount of responsibility, isn¡¯t there! We could demote you!¡±

    He almost laughed at how quickly Oren¡¯s stone mask of a face cracked wide open, his normally stoic expression breaking off into a vicious scowl. Off to the side, Sera grimaced, but seemed more defeated than angry.

    Enough.

    Marten grimaced and grabbed at his head as the concept of scorn echoed and pulsed loudly in his mind.

    Do not fight. It is unbecoming of you.

    ¡°Sure thing, boss,¡± Marten grunted. ¡°We¡¯ll play nice.¡±

    Marten gave Oren a rude gesture, and reveled in the raw anger that was reflected in the normally stoic man¡¯s face. While he knew that the boss could probably read his thoughts, he also knew that trying to hide anything from an immortal being was probably impossible anyways, so might as well try to enjoy it. Thankfully, the boss didn¡¯t seem to care.

    The contents of your message concern me, but the details were lacking.

    ¡°There¡¯s only so much a handful of mortals can do, bossman,¡± Marten said. ¡°Don¡¯t know how it is for you Elves, but we were pretty limited in the amount we could send. But you¡¯ve got me now, not like I¡¯m holding anything back.¡±

    He flashed Oren another smile, though it seemed like the giant had finally wised up to the fact that he was being played with. He simply closed his eyes and returned his expression to his default neutral position. A flash of annoyance ran through him, but before he could mutter some obscenities at Oren like he wanted to, the buzzing ran through his head, growing louder and then stopping suddenly.

    It cleared his mind and let him focus on what was truly important.

    The second wasn¡¯t important. He would be dealt with appropriately if necessary. Marten¡¯s true concern lay in what damage had already been done to the lost lamb. Marten knit his brow in concentration as he recalled his past few days of overseeing the lost lamb, separated from his flock.

    It had been a long few days, where Marten had been tailing the child, the alien brat, the untethered soul, to watch over his steps on the path to further salvation, judging. Marten thought of how the lamb interacted with the world around him, as he grew closer to salvation, and he felt love in his heart.

    What?

    Marten panicked and felt a warmth spread through him as he flipped through his memories like a book, stopping on every page as he fondly recalled how the lost soul wandered through this life, once aimless, given a purpose, freaking the fuck out, and now, walking the path to true salvation. Or possibly not. Marten was simply a stepping stone for the lost soul, and perhaps he wasn¡¯t leading him to the soul¡¯s ultimate destination, but hHe would gladly act as the guiding light for the next step in his journey.

    As HhHe, Marten, the shadow, He pushed through his memories, He saw the soul through the shadow¡¯s eyes and wept, in happiness, in sorrow, in reverence for the task He had. The soul was burdened, troubled, tainted by this mortal world, and he would need to be cleansed, helped, HELP, helped to grow before he could pass on into the arms of salvation.

    But it was not yet to be. He mourned, for He could see that the soul was not ready. The soul was not ready to let go of me. The soul was not ready to reach salvation yet. But it would be. With time. Such was His love, that he was ready to guide the lost soul or administer punishment by his hand, so it could learn. He did not know yet what the soul would need. But He would. With time.

    Please please please.

    Ah yes. Though the disdain for the tainted mud of this mortal world grew within Him, He knew He could not dismiss them. Mortal as their broken souls were, the pieces here were still a part of the immortal tapestry that made up the world, the journey of His children, the ground that the lost lands tread and grazed upon. He would need to release the shadow.

    Oh thank you thank you thank you.

    He sighed, growing tired of the noise in the head of the tainted mud. Reaching within it, He grasped at the memories of the frozen moment, and plucked them away. He stirred the tainted mud one last time, before finally retreating from it-

    Marten shook his head and groaned as the moment passed him. He smacked the side of his head, as if he could physically knock the buzzing out of his ear, but stopped once he realised that the feeling was gone. In fact, he felt better than he¡¯d ever felt before. Was this the boss¡¯s magic?

    He waited for a response, but no response came. Well, though it didn¡¯t beat cold hard coin, he supposed it was nice of the boss to give him a bit of service for his troubles. He dug at his ears once more to clear out the phantom itch he felt in them, before recalling the instructions that the boss had given him.

    He smiled viciously.

    ¡°Well well well,¡± he said, turning to Oren specifically. ¡°Finally someone listens to sense around here. Turns out, the bossman is a smart guy, even if he did somehow manage to hire you incompetent fucks. Oren, Sera. Congrats on the promotion. You¡¯re Grunts now. Laush, Tenna. You¡¯ll be sticking around as extras for now, since we¡¯ve got a lot of unfucking to do, but the bossman told me that he¡¯d be sending a replacement leader and second soon.¡±

    Marten frowned as the words left his mouth. Did the boss ever tell him that? He must¡¯ve. Why would he have said that if he hadn¡¯t?

    Marten smacked his ear again. They didn¡¯t feel like they had anything in them, but he did it again. Just because.

 39. Progress Report

    ¡°So, how¡¯s your progress been going with Jamie?¡±

    I looked up at Marten from my breakfast as he stood at the entrance of our kitchen, casually standing there like he hadn¡¯t just barged in unannounced, just like he had a few days ago. Sitting on either side of me, my parents gave him a death glare, but said nothing.

    ¡°I guess Mediators don¡¯t know how to knock,¡± I grumbled, mostly to myself before swallowing the piece of bread that I¡¯d already chewed off. ¡°Can¡¯t this wait?¡±

    ¡°Nah. But I¡¯m not so cruel that I¡¯ll take breakfast away from anyone,¡± he said, strolling across the kitchen and grabbing a piece of bread from the basket on the counter. ¡°You can eat while you talk. I don¡¯t mind.¡±

    I sighed, but got up despite his offer. ¡°My appetite¡¯s ruined anyways,¡± I said.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± my mom asked, grabbing my sleeve before I could get too far from the table.

    ¡°Just outside the house, mom,¡± I said. ¡°I assume we¡¯re going to talk about stuff that you two can¡¯t hear.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure that was true, but I didn¡¯t want my parents listening in to our conversation regardless. Marten raised an eyebrow at me, but didn¡¯t seem to care enough to protest.

    ¡°Fine, fine,¡± he said. ¡°Outside it is. We¡¯re coming back in if it starts to storm, though. Clouds are getting pretty bad and I¡¯m not going to get rained on if I don¡¯t need to.¡±

    Gently shaking my mom off of me, I walked out of the house, not bothering to acknowledge Marten until I heard him step outside with me.

    ¡°I was serious about that rain,¡± he said, taking a bite of his bread as he looked up at the dark sky. ¡°One drop and we¡¯re going back in.¡±

    I looked up at the sky. Judging by how bad it looked, I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if it rained in the next ten minutes. I wondered if that would be enough time.

    I sighed.

    ¡°Pretty heavy sigh you got there,¡± Marten said. ¡°You holding up alright?¡±

    ¡°Your character¡¯s breaking,¡± I said. ¡°Weren¡¯t you supposed to be a rude asshole?¡±

    ¡°Even rude assholes can be pleasant sometimes,¡± Marten grunted, giving me a shrug. ¡°And I don¡¯t play characters. It¡¯s beneath me.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah?¡±

    ¡°Why would I want to change perfection?¡± he asked, brushing a large handful of breadcrumbs off his stubble.

    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen you make a joke either. This seriously doesn¡¯t suit you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s called a good mood, girlie,¡± he said, looking up at the sky and reaching into his shirt pocket and pulling out a pipe. ¡°And I don¡¯t really give a shit what you think.¡±

    ¡°Then why are you here?¡±

    Marten gave me a glare, but was quick to follow it up with a chuckle.

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± he said, shaking his head though he did it with a wide grin. He took a puff of his pipe and tilted his head back to blow the smoke up into the sky. ¡°You got me there.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what his game was. Was he really just in a good mood?

    ¡°Honestly, if you think this new personality of yours is endearing, it¡¯s not. I preferred it when you were an asshole. At least then I didn¡¯t have to worry about letting my guard down.¡±

    Marten simply shrugged.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± he said. ¡°I am who I am. Always have been. Can¡¯t change that.¡±

    ¡°Hard to believe that when you belong to an organisation filled with liars and manipulators. You haven¡¯t convinced me that you¡¯re not the same, and this is just making it more obvious that you are.¡±

    Marten sighed out a large cloud of smoke. He stared down at his pipe, inspecting it like it was a foreign object that had suddenly appeared in his hand without warning. After a few more seconds of quiet introspection, Marten held out the pipe to me.

    ¡°You smoke?¡± he asked.

    ¡°No,¡± I responded.

    Marten stared at me for a few seconds, before turning his pipe upside down and tapping the still burning ashes of his tobacco onto the floor and stomping it out.

    ¡°Don¡¯t feel like it today,¡± he said, stowing his pipe back into his pocket. ¡°Just wanted to know if you wanted it, so it wouldn¡¯t go to waste.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know how to react to that, so I didn¡¯t. Marten didn¡¯t seem to care about my lack of reaction, as he looked back up into the sky.

    ¡°Our organisation is a lot of things,¡± he said. ¡°We are liars and we are manipulators, yes. But we do what we need to, for the good of the Otherworlders.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit,¡± I said, crossing my arms.

    Marten didn¡¯t seem upset by my reaction, simply shrugging.

    ¡°Not my job to convince you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Your job is to manipulate and lie to a kid to make him do what you want,¡± I said. ¡°For the good of the Otherworlders.¡±

    He shrugged again.

    A tense silence fell between us, though Marten didn¡¯t seem to care. He was still looking up at the sky, like he had been for the majority of our conversation.

    ¡°So,¡± he said. ¡°What are you stalling for?¡±

    I flinched involuntarily at the question. ¡°What?¡±

    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Marten glanced at me and fixed me with an unimpressed look.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, girlie,¡± he said. ¡°My job involved me interacting with my colleagues who are, as you say, liars and manipulators. It would be cute if you actually thought you could get away with it, but I assume you didn¡¯t.¡±

    I grimaced. Off in the distance, thunder rumbled.

    ¡°So?¡± Marten said, not letting me have the few seconds to gather my wits. ¡°What is it you don¡¯t want to say? What happened in the past three days that I don¡¯t know about? And I¡¯ll have you know, I know everything that¡¯s been going on, except for what goes on in that little head of yours. So spill it.¡±

    Before I could think to speak, rain started to fall, the first drops accented by the distant rumbling of more thunder. Marten frowned up at the sky and sighed as he pressed himself back against the wall of my house. I did the same, and though the eaves of the roof protected us from the rain, it wouldn¡¯t be long before we were soaked. The wind was howling, and though the rainfall wasn¡¯t that bad yet, it looked like it would get much worse soon.

    ¡°Did you want to go back inside?¡± I asked, glancing back at my house, where my parents were no doubt waiting anxiously for my arrival.

    ¡°I do,¡± he said. ¡°But you don¡¯t. Just get it over with so I can leave.¡±

    I frowned, but seeing no other way to delay the inevitable, I sighed and spoke.

    ¡°Would I be allowed to stay as a Follower?¡±

    Marten glanced at me and raised an eyebrow. It wasn¡¯t quite the large reaction I expected, but the judging look was enough for me to look away from him, refusing to meet his gaze.

    ¡°I thought you hated being a Follower,¡± he said.

    ¡°I do,¡± I protested, a little faster than I wanted to. ¡°I just¡­ I feel bad for Jamie. I want to make sure he¡¯s treated right.¡±

    ¡°And you don¡¯t trust us to do that? Treat him right?¡± Marten asked, with no real heat behind the words.

    ¡°No,¡± I said, as frankly as I could. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±

    Marten didn¡¯t seem offended by the admission in the slightest. He simply shrugged and looked up at the sky, his face already wet with rain.

    ¡°And you¡¯ve set your mind on this?¡± he asked.

    ¡°No,¡± I replied. ¡°I haven¡¯t made a decision. I just want to know if I would be allowed to do it without being assassinated in my sleep or something.¡±

    Marten gave me a hard look.

    ¡°You would be allowed to continue on as a Follower, without being assassinated for it, as long as you have approval from the Mediators. That was always allowed.¡±

    I gave him a nod.

    ¡°That was all I wanted to know,¡± I said. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    The rain had quickly grown into a deluge, each raindrop hammering at the ground with an intense fervour, creating large splashes of mud wherever they landed.

    ¡°What changed?¡± Marten asked.

    ¡°Not much, to be honest,¡± I said. I had thought about the question for too many sleepless nights to not be ready to answer it. ¡°I mean, looking back on how we first met, it¡¯s pretty obvious in hindsight that Jamie¡¯s just a kid. I mean, yeah, he was a bit of a weird idiot when he first got here, but he was in a new environment and didn¡¯t really know what was going on. But especially after I just spent a few days hanging out with him and some of my friends¡­ I guess once I realised he wasn¡¯t someone to be feared, I also realised he was just hurt and lonely.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Marten said.

    I waited for him to continue, but as he stayed silent, I could tell that he was being pensive for some reason.

    ¡°Do you know about Affection ratings?¡± he asked.

    I raised an eyebrow, wondering how that was relevant in any way.

    ¡°Do you mean how some people like to judge a person¡¯s appearance and rate them out of ten?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m not really into that kind of thing.¡±

    ¡°No, not that,¡± Marten replied. ¡°Back in Redstone, you told Sera about how the Guide would occasionally tell you that your affection level was going up. Do you remember this?¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± It hadn¡¯t happened in a while, so it wasn¡¯t the first thing that came to mind when Marten brought it up, but it wasn¡¯t hard to remember. ¡°Yeah, I remember.¡±

    Marten gave me another hesitant look, though he didn¡¯t wait nearly as long to talk this time.

    ¡°There was an Otherworlder that we dubbed as the Harem Lord,¡± he said. ¡°Not many people outside of the Mediators know about him, since he died several centuries ago, and he wasn¡¯t alive for long enough that he could do widespread harm, but he¡¯s one of the largest cautionary tales we have in our organisation. To keep it short, he had the power to turn any woman he fancied into a soulless doll that he would add to his little harem. A lot of Mediators and some civilians had their minds irreversibly altered into thinking that they loved him to the point that when he passed on, they committed mass suicide.¡±

    The rain was heavy enough that if I deluded myself enough, I could almost convince myself that I hadn¡¯t properly heard what Marten said. It was the heaviest rain that I¡¯d seen in a long while, and a small part of me was focused on how sheets of water fell from the roof of my house, creating a wall of water as it poured off the eaves in front of where Marten and I stood. The sound of it hitting the ground was rapid, erratic, and deafening and it took me a while to separate it from the pounding of my heart in my ears.

    ¡°What? You¡¯re joking, right?¡±

    Marten looked away from me, staring up into the sky once more with a stoic expression on his face.

    ¡°Jamie wouldn¡¯t do that,¡± I said, more quietly than I expected to. ¡°He¡¯s a good kid.¡±

    But did I actually think that, or was I being coerced into thinking that by some amoral God?

    ¡°For what it¡¯s worth, I agree with you,¡± Marten said. ¡°The child¡¯s a bit of an idiot, but he¡¯s just lost his way. As far as I can tell, he¡¯s got a good soul. Even though I will say that Sera did a piss-poor job at being the leader overall, letting him know about the Mediators and cooperating with him wasn¡¯t a bad decision on her part. She wouldn¡¯t have done that unless she had reason to.¡±

    I could barely register the reassurances as I thought about the possibility that I wasn¡¯t in control of my own thoughts.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t anyone tell me?¡± My voice barely came out in a squeak, drowned out by the sound of rainfall.

    ¡°We expected you to leave,¡± Marten said, taking out his pipe again and filling it with tobacco. ¡°You were forced into this life for a while, and we didn¡¯t want you to think about whether your mind was permanently altered while leading your civilian life after you left. But now that you have the freedom to actually make a decision, it¡¯s only fair that you know everything that might affect it.¡±

    Marten pressed his finger into the pile of tobacco that he¡¯d made. The leaves turned red with ember, and he took a long draw out of it.

    After blowing the smoke out into the air, he held the pipe out to me.

    ¡°Calm your nerves?¡± he asked.

    I looked at the pipe for a second before nervously plucking it from his fingers. I doubted it would do much, but at this point I needed anything I could get. Holding it to my lips, I could only take half a shaky breath before I bent over and let out a hacking cough, almost dropping Marten¡¯s pipe in the process.

    ¡°Tastes like cat shit,¡± I said, once I found my breath again. ¡°Why do people smoke?¡±

    Marten let out a quiet chuckle before nodding quietly.

    ¡°We talked to the boss last night,¡± he said, reaching over to pluck the pipe from my still shaking fingers. ¡°We¡¯re getting a new leader and a second teleported to us soon, probably by tonight. You¡¯ll have to get the new leader¡¯s approval once they get here if you make the decision to stay, but I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be reasonable if you want more time. It¡¯s a big decision. I suggest not rushing into it. Take your time.¡±

    He patted me on the shoulder twice and before I could react, he stepped forward into the rain. Seemingly not caring about the same rain that he¡¯d been complaining about not too long ago, I could swear he was whistling a jaunty tune as he made his way away from my house.

    ¡°Creepy bastard. I still preferred when you were an asshole.¡±

    I doubted he could hear me over the thundering rain, but it still felt a little good to get the last words. Just a little bit. I looked down at my shaking hands and clenched them in an attempt to stabilise them, but all that achieved was to make my entire body shake instead. I folded my arms around myself in a half hug before turning around and walking back to my house.

    I fumbled with the doorknob to the entrance a few times before I let out an angry groan.

    I hated this. Fuck taking my time. Maybe the Mediators had been right to hide this from me, just like they hid things from the rest of the world, but I didn¡¯t care what was wrong or right at this point.

    All that mattered was that I knew, and I sure as hell wasn¡¯t going to let this rot and fester for any longer than I needed to.

    I pulled the door open for long enough to yell through it and nothing more.

    ¡°I¡¯m going out!¡± I shouted into my house, before letting it slam back closed and marching into the rain, towards the tavern where Jamie was staying.

 40. Confessions

    The tavern was relatively empty, but not as empty as it had been a few days ago, possibly due to the fact that I¡¯d been showing Jamie around the village for a few days, giving the villagers the opportunity to get used to him. Seated at the bar, the old widower Trent was hunched over nursing a drink and what I assumed was a bowl of soup or cereal, and just behind him, a handful of younger boys I knew by face but not by name sat around a table, trying and failing to pretend like they weren¡¯t immensely interested in what was going on at Jamie¡¯s table across the room.

    Nobody but the tavernkeeper looked in my direction as I walked through the door, even as the howl of the storm outside announced my arrival. I was dripping wet and splattered with mud, and I could tell that I was shivering despite the fact that we were in the middle of summer, but I didn¡¯t hesitate in walking towards Jamie.

    He didn¡¯t hear me approaching, busy with his breakfast platter and talking to Oren about something, but I didn¡¯t wait for him to turn around and notice me.

    ¡°Jamie.¡±

    He flinched at the sound of my voice and turned around immediately, acting more surprised than I expected him to be.

    ¡°Lena?¡± he said, blinking a few times as he looked up and down at me. ¡°You¡¯re soaked.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess I am.¡± Having reached the extent of my patience for small talk at the moment, I jerked a thumb behind me. ¡°Could we talk?¡±

    Jamie looked confused, but nodded, scooting his chair over a little bit to clear some space for me.

    ¡°I meant alone,¡± I said.

    ¡°Oh. I guess we could move to another table, if that¡¯s okay?¡± Jamie half-asked at Oren, who just smiled back at him.

    I sighed and shook my head. ¡°More alone than that,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re renting a room here, right? Can we go there?¡±

    While I assumed that the Mediators would listen in no matter where we were, this wasn¡¯t a conversation meant for civilian ears. I glanced over at the group of eavesdropping boys with my eyes, and Oren gave me a nearly imperceptible nod of understanding.

    Oren let out a loud laugh and reached over to clap Jamie on the shoulder. ¡°Whatever this is about, it looks important,¡± he said. ¡°Go, my brother. Your breakfast will still be here when you get back.¡±

    Jamie gulped and nodded. Satisfied that he was going to follow, I turned around, and started walking towards the tavern¡¯s rooms.

    Though I and every other person in my village liked to visit the tavern at least occasionally, not many of us had any reasons to rent a room. They were only ever used by merchants who wanted to stay in town for a few days to peddle their wares, or the occasional traveller who just wanted a roof to sleep under for a night, but even though I wasn¡¯t familiar with them, I at least knew where they were.

    Opening the door at the side of the tavern, I walked into the hallway behind it.

    There were three doors to the rooms. I didn¡¯t know which one belonged to Jamie, so I simply stood and waited for him.

    He didn¡¯t follow immediately behind me, pushing open the door and hesitantly peeking inside. I raised an eyebrow at him and opened my mouth, but I didn¡¯t trust in myself to not come off as being abrasive if I told him to hurry up.

    ¡°Which one¡¯s your room?¡± I asked instead.

    ¡°The one at the far end,¡± he replied, almost too quiet to hear over the pounding of rain on the roof above us.

    I nodded and walked over to pull the door open. Looking inside, I was surprised by how small the room was. It was square and barren, with no furniture other than a single bed pushed up against the wall that took up the length of the entire room. I supposed there wasn¡¯t a reason for it to be bigger, and I quickly decided it wasn¡¯t important. We didn¡¯t need space to have a conversation.

    I was about to walk inside, but when I turned to Jamie, he seemed frozen on the spot, with a look in his eyes that looked either fearful or excited. I couldn¡¯t tell which.

    ¡°Come on,¡± I said, giving up on trying to coax him gently. While his shyness could be endearing at times, I couldn¡¯t help but be a little frustrated here. ¡°It¡¯s important.¡±

    Jamie nodded frantically, and though he was still hesitant about it, he started to move towards me. I let him go inside the room first, and let the door swing shut behind me as I followed behind him.

    Immediately, we were faced with a problem. While the room was just big enough that it would probably be comfortable for one person, we wouldn¡¯t both be able to stand without sacrificing our personal space.

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    ¡°Do you want to sit down?¡± I asked, gesturing to the bed. ¡°This room is too small to have us both standing and I don¡¯t want to ruin your bed with how wet I am.¡±

    Jamie¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You¡¯re wh-¡± he cut himself off as he looked me up and down, watching the rainwater still dripping off my clothes and hair onto the floor. Shaking his head, he quickly turned around and sat down on the edge of his bed, pointedly looking away from me.

    I didn¡¯t know why I was making him uncomfortable, but I didn¡¯t want to waste any time in trying to figure out why.

    ¡°Jamie, I¡¯ll get straight to the point,¡± I said, not giving myself the opportunity to hesitate. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for interrupting your breakfast for this, but I need to get this off my chest.¡±

    Jamie¡¯s eyes widened and he looked up at me. His lips were pressed into a thin line and it looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head. I frowned.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked. His reaction was a bit too severe to ignore.

    ¡°Nothing!¡± he shouted. The sudden shift in his volume startled me, especially with how small the room was. He grimaced, as if realising it too. ¡°I mean- please continue.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡± I asked.

    Jamie nodded frantically. His eyes were still wide and wild, and the way that his foot was now frantically tapping against the floor made it obvious that that wasn¡¯t true, but I didn¡¯t want to try to coax whatever was bothering him if he wasn¡¯t immediately open to sharing, especially since I didn¡¯t want to give myself the excuse to avoid this conversation for any longer than I should.

    ¡°Well, in that case¡­ I don¡¯t know if this is the right time for it, but I¡¯ve been keeping secrets and hiding my true feelings for too long and I¡¯m sick of it. If I don¡¯t say this now, I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll be able to say it again.¡±

    I took a deep breath to steady myself.

    ¡°Your existence is absolutely terrifying.¡±

    Jamie¡¯s foot tapping stopped. He stared up at me like he didn¡¯t know how to react.

    ¡°I know I¡¯ve told you this already,¡± I continued, not giving myself the opportunity to stop in fear that I wouldn¡¯t be able to start again. ¡°And I know you feel guilty about it even if you shouldn¡¯t and even if it¡¯s not your fault. You¡¯re a good person, Jamie, and I¡¯ve learned that, but whether you¡¯re a good person or not doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m not afraid of the power you have. Unimaginable power, Jamie, more than enough to manipulate the mind of a stupid girl from the countryside.¡±

    I leaned down to stare Jamie in the eyes. The excited nervousness that I¡¯d seen in them before was gone now, replaced by something I couldn¡¯t identify.

    ¡°Jamie,¡± I said, my voice cracking slightly. ¡°Are you brainwashing me?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± he asked. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    His reaction gave me hope. Jamie was a lot of things, but receiving Godlike power hadn¡¯t turned him into a good actor. Even so, I couldn¡¯t be satisfied with just this.

    ¡°I know about the affection points, Jamie,¡± I said. ¡°What are they?¡±

    Jamie seemed confused for a moment, but after a few seconds, his eyes widened and he grimaced.

    ¡°You know about that?¡± he asked.

    I didn¡¯t bother to answer the question.

    ¡°Please, Jamie,¡± I pleaded. ¡°I don¡¯t have many goals in life. I know that you might not relate to that since I know you have some grand dream of becoming an adventurer. All I want is to have a peaceful and happy life, but it has to be my life. Please tell me I¡¯m still me.¡±

    Jamie frowned and looked away from me.

    ¡°I¡¯m not brainwashing you, Lena,¡± he said, sighing. ¡°The affection points are something else entirely.¡±

    ¡°What are they?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s a level of how much I like you,¡± he said. He spoke surprisingly clearly, when I would¡¯ve expected this topic to normally send him into a mumbling mess, but his voice was flat and emotionless. ¡°It¡¯s at the Max level by the way. I already like you so much that I can¡¯t like you any more than I already do, apparently.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± I said, lacking words.

    ¡°You already knew, I assume,¡± he said.

    ¡°Kind of,¡± I replied. ¡°I didn¡¯t know it was at that level though.¡±

    ¡°Well now you do,¡± he said. ¡°How long?¡±

    ¡°How long what?¡±

    ¡°How long have you known?¡±

    ¡°Since the first day we met,¡± I said. ¡°You couldn¡¯t stop staring at my ass.¡±

    Jamie cringed at that, and his frown deepened.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± I said.

    ¡°Why are you apologising?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for bringing it up,¡± I said.

    An awkward silence fell between us, filled with nothing but the ambient sounds of the heavy rain pounding against the ceiling above.

    ¡°Well, now that it¡¯s out in the open,¡± Jamie said. ¡°Lena, I like you. Would you be my girlfriend?¡±

    I looked down at him. His voice was still flat and emotionless and he didn¡¯t even look at me while he said that. From what little I could see of his expression, his mouth was drawn into a thin line and his eyes looked glassy and fogged over.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said.

    ¡°Bad timing?¡± he asked, with half a smirk.

    I tried to chuckle at the joke, but Jamie¡¯s smirk fell off his face as quickly as it had appeared.

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m gay,¡± I said.

    ¡°Oh,¡± he replied.

    I half expected him to say something else, but Jamie remained silent, simply staring down into his lap.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± I said.

    He shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t apologise for that,¡± he said. He stared at his lap again for a few more seconds before raising his arms and pretending to yawn and stretch.

    ¡°Oh wow,¡± he said. ¡°I didn¡¯t realise how tired I was until now. I guess I didn¡¯t get much sleep last night. You know, the beds we had in the tents were actually better than the ones the tavern provides. If it weren¡¯t raining so hard, I probably would¡¯ve just slept outside.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t difficult to understand where he was going with this.

    ¡°You¡¯re tired?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said, stretching and yawning again. ¡°I think I¡¯m gonna nap for a bit. Would you mind telling Oren and the gang to finish breakfast without me? I¡¯ll come out when I¡¯m ready.¡±

    ¡°Sure thing, Jamie,¡± I said. ¡°For what it¡¯s worth-¡±

    ¡°Please,¡± Jamie said, interrupting me. ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡±

    ¡°Sorry,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you be.¡±

    He nodded and lied down, turning so his back was towards me.

    Seeing that there wasn¡¯t anything I could do that wouldn¡¯t make it worse, I slowly backed out of the room, making sure the door wouldn¡¯t slam shut too hard when I left it.

    I sighed.

    ¡°That could¡¯ve gone better,¡± I said, mostly to myself.

    ¡°It had to happen sometime,¡± Sera said, from down the hall. ¡°I think it went as well as it could¡¯ve.¡±

    I stared at her. She gave me an awkward wave and a smile.

 41. New Routes

    ¡°That was very stupid of you.¡±

    ¡°Hello to you too,¡± I said.

    Sera didn¡¯t budge from her spot, standing between me and the door to the rest of the tavern.

    ¡°You had no way of knowing whether you had your mind altered or not. Confronting him could¡¯ve triggered him to kill you on the spot.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m alive, aren¡¯t I?¡±

    Sera sighed. ¡°I was worried.¡±

    Assuming she was done with what she wanted to say, I nodded. ¡°Sorry for risking your mission,¡± I said.

    Sera gave me an awkward expression halfway between a grimace and a smile and stepped to the side, inviting me to step back to the tavern.

    I didn¡¯t see any reason to stick around, so I took her offer, pushing past her to walk back to the crowded tavern.

    ¡°So you¡¯re gay?¡± Sera asked, following quickly behind me.

    ¡°Got a problem with that?¡± I asked. ¡°If I remember correctly, the character that you¡¯re currently playing likes girls too.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Sera said, with an awkward laugh. ¡°My character.¡±

    I waited for her to continue, but when she didn¡¯t, I just shrugged and continued to walk towards the door leading out of the tavern.

    ¡°You¡¯re not staying?¡± Sera asked. ¡°It¡¯s really bad out there.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m aware,¡± I said, flapping my still soaked arms up and down to make a point. ¡°But it¡¯s not like it could get any worse. I can only get so wet.¡±

    Sera¡¯s eyes widened ¡°You¡¯re wh-¡± Sera interrupted herself to scrunch up her face in a pained expression. She released it a few seconds later and seemed content to pretend like she¡¯d never reacted in the first place.

    ¡°It¡¯s still terrible out there,¡± she said instead. ¡°The winds are strong enough to send branches flying. It would probably be safer to stay at least for a little bit.¡±

    I gave her a blank stare and scanned the rest of the tavern floor. With how rainy it still sounded outside, I wasn¡¯t surprised that the clientele hadn¡¯t changed at all. It was just the tavernkeeper, old widower Trent, the group of boys who, with Jamie gone, were now gawking openly at me, and the Mediators.

    ¡°I think I¡¯d rather chance the walk,¡± I said. ¡°Better than staying here, at the very least.¡±

    Sera frowned, but before she had a chance to speak, the door to the tavern burst open.

    ¡°Alec! Have you seen Lena around here?!¡± my parents shouted simultaneously as they clutched at each other, huddling together for warmth in their rain soaked clothes.

    I sighed and hung my head as the tavernkeeper gestured uselessly towards me. Looks like I wouldn¡¯t be going home, after all. Judging from the mud splatters and debris stuck onto my parents¡¯ clothes reaching up to the tops of their heads, it seemed like Sera hadn¡¯t been exaggerating how bad the storm had gotten. While I was willing to risk my own life by going outside, I wasn¡¯t willing to risk the lives of my parents.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯m staying,¡± I mumbled, half to Sera, mostly to myself, before my parents came over and swept me up in a soaking wet hug.

    ¡°Lena! We were so worried!¡± my mom said.

    ¡°You could¡¯ve at least said bye to us face to face,¡± my dad added.

    ¡°Never do that to us again!¡±

    ¡°Please, Lena. We can¡¯t afford to lose you. Not again.¡±

    I sighed as I pushed the two of them back. They seemed hesitant to let go of me, but I was grateful that they did.

    I didn¡¯t want to tell my parents that I¡¯d made the decision to go with Jamie when he left Plainswood, to make sure that his last days were as pleasant as they could be. I doubted I would ever be fully prepared to have that particular emotional confrontation, but especially after having just finished with one just a few minutes ago, I knew that I wouldn¡¯t be able to get my words out right now.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± I said. ¡°But I¡¯m tired. Can we just dry off and have breakfast or something? I¡¯m starving.¡±

    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    My parents looked at each other, and they both looked like they had more to say, but whether they were afraid of pushing me too hard, or maybe they were just as hungry, tired, and cold as I was, they seemed hesitant to continue scolding me as much as they¡¯d planned.

    My dad sighed.

    ¡°Alec,¡± he said. ¡°A warm meal, please. And some towels, if it¡¯s not too much to ask.¡±

    ¡°You guys are completely soaked. A few towels probably won¡¯t do much.¡±

    My parents turned to Sera, who waved politely at them from a few feet away, confusion clear on their faces.

    ¡°It would probably be best if you got a fire going,¡± she continued, seemingly unbothered by their reaction. ¡°Alec. Do you have any firewood?¡±

    The tavernkeeper shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said quietly, as if he was torn between answering the question and trying to disappear. ¡°Most of it¡¯s in the storeroom, and it¡¯s probably soaked. We¡¯ve got just enough to keep the kitchen running for the rest of the day, but not much more.¡±

    Sera nodded. ¡°Kitchen it is,¡± she said. ¡°Come on, Lena and parents. Let¡¯s get you dried up. You¡¯ll all catch a cold at this rate.¡±

    Even though the tavernkeeper seemed to want to protest, he bit his tongue, clearly awed enough by Sera¡¯s status to let her do whatever she wanted. In contrast, my parents seemed to be unaware of the fact that Sera was a Mediator, and were either too tired or too convinced by her innocent appearance to pick up on the context clues surrounding them.

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± my mom said. ¡°This is all very kind of you to do, but who are you exactly?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­¡± Sera paused, glancing over to me.

    I didn¡¯t know what she was expecting of me, but I didn¡¯t care. I shook my head.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t drag my parents into this,¡± I said.

    Sera gave me a sad smile. ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning too,¡± she replied. ¡°Believe me or not, I really am just concerned. I won¡¯t say another word if you don¡¯t want me to, but you need to dry off or you¡¯ll all catch a terrible cold.¡±

    I frowned, but as I tried to search Sera face for any hint of insincerity, I quickly reminded myself that it was a futile battle. Regardless, it was hard to deny the truth in her words when I could barely keep myself from shivering long enough to glare at her properly.

    ¡°Fine,¡± I said, before I started walking to the kitchens.

    I¡¯d been back here a few times as a kid, when we were at the right age that we were still disarmingly cute and old enough that we could be trusted not to stick our fingers onto sizzling skillets of food. Alec, the unimaginative tavernkeeper¡¯s son, would invite us into the back whenever there weren¡¯t enough customers around for his dad to be bothered by it. It hadn¡¯t changed much, if at all, aside from the fact that everything looked a lot smaller than I remembered.

    The smell of the histories of past meals floating around the air, alongside the pleasant heat of the burning fires, was enough to lull me into a sense of calm almost immediately.

    Sera squeezed past me, brushing my arm as she moved forward to pull out a stool and two crates for me and my parents to sit on, situated right in front of a cooking hearth with a couple of pots hanging over the fire that raged inside. Though I was starting to feel my nose congesting and running from the cold, the strong smell of the different stews still flooded my senses, making my mouth start to water.

    ¡°Thank you, Sera,¡± my mom said politely, though she was obviously still confused by her presence.

    I had the urge to tell my mom to stop thanking her, but I resisted. Sera wasn¡¯t technically doing anything wrong, even honouring her promise not to say anything, and I had to admit that it was nice of her to do this for us.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I muttered.

    I saw Sera¡¯s eyebrows shoot up for a brief second before they returned to a more neutral position almost instantly.

    As the tavernkeeper entered the kitchens, towing a large armful of towels with him, Sera took them and handed them out to the three of us. My dad still seemed pensive and confused by the apparent stranger who was taking care of us, but my mom had apparently decided to just accept her presence with a genuine smile.

    ¡°Thank you, Sera,¡± she said again, but with a bit more confidence this time. She gave me a questioning glance that I decided to ignore, turning my eyes away from both my mom and Sera, and staring at the flickering flames dancing inside the hearth.

    ¡°Yeah, thank you,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re a good friend.¡±

    I don¡¯t know why I said that. Maybe it was because I just wanted to give my mom a vague answer to her unasked question, so she wouldn¡¯t pry. Maybe it was because I just wanted to be polite. Maybe it was because I was starting to actually feel that way.

    Who could say?

    The clatter of metal knocked me out of my thoughts, making me flinch violently and whip my head around to identify the source of the cacophonous noise. I was surprised to see Sera wincing as she struggled to decide between picking up the pans she just knocked to the ground, or running away.

    In the end, she decided to pick up the pans, though she made sure to turn away from me first.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said, breaking her vow of silence. ¡°The new Mediator members will be teleporting into the Mayor¡¯s basement tonight at midnight. You¡¯re welcome to join or sit out as you wish.¡±

    As Sera exited the kitchens, I could only catch a glimpse of her face, but what I saw confused me.

    Guilt.

    I wasn¡¯t sure why she would put on such a face, but before I could think more about it, my mom gasped.

    ¡°That girl was a Mediator?¡± she said, almost reverent in the way that she talked. ¡°Was she one of the ones that brought you back to us?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, still too confused by Sera¡¯s reaction to give my mom a proper answer.

    ¡°She seemed sad,¡± my dad said.

    I frowned. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was a question or not, but I couldn¡¯t help but agree with what he said.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°She did.¡±

    I knew what Sera was. She was a manipulator who killed Otherworlders for a living. I wasn¡¯t so naive to think that I was somehow special, that I would be able to see through her manipulative ways if she used them on me. I was very much aware that my intense desire to go talk to her might have been an idea that she planted in my mind.

    But even if she¡¯d somehow influenced me into thinking this way, they were still my thoughts.

    I sighed.

    ¡°Fuck it,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m already this deep in this shithole. Might as well dig a little bit deeper just to see where it goes.¡±

    ¡°Language, young lady,¡± my parents said, chastising me simultaneously.

    ¡°Sorry.¡±

 42. An Exchange of Trust

    No wasting time.

    As soon as I pushed open the door and walked out of the kitchen, I walked over to Sera, who had already taken her place at the Mediator¡¯s table once more. She had her back to me but I didn¡¯t feel the need to tap her on the shoulder to draw her attention since I expected she knew I was there already.

    ¡°Hey,¡± I said. ¡°Could we talk?¡±

    Without turning to me, Sera motioned to the seat beside her, the one Jamie had been sitting in just a few minutes before. I glanced at the rest of the Mediators, though none of them seemed to care about my presence at all. They simply stared forward or closed their eyes with neutral expressions on their faces, now that there wasn¡¯t an Otherworlder to perform for.

    ¡°Alone?¡± I asked.

    That caused Sera to finally turn around, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow at me.

    ¡°You sure about that?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be? I don¡¯t want these assholes to listen in.¡±

    ¡°Us assholes have ears too, you know,¡± Tenna said, opening his eyes to glare at me for a second, before closing them again and slipping back into his meditative posture.

    ¡°We can move if you want,¡± Sera said, ignoring Tenna. ¡°Your parents are still in the kitchen?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°I asked them to stay put.¡±

    ¡°Would you like them to join us?¡± Sera asked.

    ¡°Why? Afraid to be alone with me?¡± I asked. I had meant for my question to be a joke, but my tired and humourless voice didn¡¯t help convey that in the slightest.

    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Sera said. ¡°But you should be. A manipulator¡¯s main goal should always be to isolate their target from anyone they might feel close with. Make them feel like they can only rely on you. Rule number one in the manipulator¡¯s handbook.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± I said, uncertain on how I should be reacting to the random exposition. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think it applies here. If you haven¡¯t noticed, I¡¯m trying to take you away from your friends, not the other way around.¡±

    Tenna scoffed, proving that he was pretty terrible at meditating, but Sera ignored him again and sighed.

    ¡°I assume you don¡¯t want your parents listening in on whatever it is you want to say?¡±

    ¡°There is a reason that I asked them to stay behind in the kitchen.¡±

    Sera frowned but nodded as she stood up from the table.

    ¡°We can go to the corner of the room,¡± she said.

    ¡°Not somewhere else?¡± I asked.

    ¡°The rental rooms here don¡¯t have very thick walls,¡± Sera said. ¡°The Otherworlder would be able to hear us.¡±

    I was about to point out that there was a door behind the bar that led to the tavernkeeper¡¯s house, but I doubted that Sera didn¡¯t already know that.

    I shrugged. If she wanted us to stay in a more public space, I wasn¡¯t going to deny her.

    ¡°Sure,¡± I said.

    Sera stared at me for a few seconds, as if doubting the fact that I¡¯d agreed to her suggestion, but she eventually chose a corner of the room to walk towards.

    ¡°Just make sure to keep your voice down,¡± she said. ¡°You are terrible at whispering.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not that bad,¡± I said, somehow feeling a little bit offended at the comment.

    ¡°You are,¡± she replied, with the ghost of a smile on her face. I wasn¡¯t sure if I¡¯d imagined it or not.

    Neither of us said anything else as we walked to the furthest table away. It wasn¡¯t a long walk, but the brief lull in conversation easily translated to a long stretch of silence after we sat down. Sera looked towards me, but seemed determined to not make any eye contact whatsoever, choosing to stare somewhere above my shoulder instead.

    ¡°So you have a guidebook on how to manipulate people?¡±

    Why did I choose that as my opener? Sera glanced at me with a slightly raised eyebrow, as if silently asking me the same question.

    ¡°It¡¯s more of a manifesto,¡± Sera said.

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    With how flat her voice was, I had no idea whether she was joking or not. I tried to crack a smile, just to test her reaction, but her face remained unsmiling and blank.

    I felt my expression fall back to one that probably matched hers. An awkward air washed over us, but as Sera broke eye contact once more, looking at that same spot above my shoulder, I decided that there wasn¡¯t really a point in trying to stall any more.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t know if you¡¯re manipulating me,¡± I said. ¡°But if you are, you don¡¯t need to do it anymore.¡±

    Sera stared at me, her expression betraying no emotion whatsoever.

    ¡°What brought this on?¡± she asked.

    I shrugged.

    ¡°I confronted Jamie directly about the affection points,¡± I said. ¡°And you were right. It went about as well as it could¡¯ve. Thought I might just do the same thing with you. I know it¡¯s not the same thing, since you¡¯ve been pretty upfront and obvious about how well you can manipulate people, but I thought we could just show all our cards right now. Or at least I could show you mine.¡±

    Sera stared at me, still expressionless. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    ¡°I mean that if you are manipulating me, I¡¯m letting you know that there isn¡¯t a point anymore,¡± I said. ¡°I know that, for how terrible you Mediators are, you¡¯re probably only this manipulative because it¡¯s the only way you feel like you can achieve your goal of controlling Jamie and making sure he doesn¡¯t go on a rampage. The only reason why you would want to manipulate me is if you feel like I could somehow ruin that. If I take away that reason, you have no reason to be anything but honest with me.¡±

    Sera frowned and crossed her arms.

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying you¡¯ll cooperate with us,¡± she said.

    I nodded. ¡°Just tell me what you want and I¡¯ll do it. No need to trick me into doing anything or to think a certain way. Just give me an order and I¡¯ll follow it.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Sera asked. ¡°I thought the idea of killing the Otherworlder upset you.¡±

    I sighed, and slumped back in my seat, upset that Sera decided to mention the very thought I was trying to avoid.

    ¡°Yeah. It still does, if I¡¯m being honest, but it¡¯s not like I was ever going to try and stop you from doing it. I¡¯m just a girl, and you¡¯re Mediators. I can¡¯t outscheme you, so I¡¯m not even going to try. I¡¯d rather just tag along and try to make sure Jamie¡¯s death is as pleasant as it can be. I guess dying because your dream gets fulfilled isn¡¯t the worst way to go, anyways.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s still death,¡± Sera said bluntly. ¡°And that isn¡¯t our only option. We could still kill him by denying him his dream.¡±

    I frowned, but shook my head. ¡°Kid just wants to be an adventurer, like in the stories he¡¯s heard from his own world. I don¡¯t see any reason why you would deny him that.¡±

    Sera sighed and shook her head back at me. ¡°What if we decide that it would be better for the Otherworlder if you were to stay here in Plainswood? Would you agree to that?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, with a shrug. ¡°Honestly, it might not even be up to me, anyways. I made Jamie pretty upset, so it¡¯s possible that he won¡¯t want me around anymore.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Sera said, with a sigh. ¡°He¡¯ll want you around, even if it¡¯s painful for him to see you.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± I asked, a little sceptical.

    ¡°He likes you,¡± Sera said, as if that clarified anything. ¡°That¡¯s just how it works.¡±

    I waited for more of an explanation, but none came.

    ¡°Can¡¯t say I understand,¡± I admitted. ¡°I¡¯ve never had a crush on anyone before.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s just how it is,¡± Sera said, frowning before forcing her face back into a neutral expression. ¡°Is that all you wanted from me, Lena?¡±

    ¡°That was most of it,¡± I said. ¡°So is it a yes?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not the Leader of the group anymore, Lena,¡± Sera reminded me. ¡°I¡¯m just a Grunt now. My opinion won¡¯t have any effect on your role in this mission.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± I said. ¡°But I¡¯d like your opinion on it anyways.¡±

    Sera narrowed her eyes at me and crossed her arms defensively.

    ¡°And why is that?¡± she asked.

    I leaned forward, setting my elbows on the table and glaring at her, staring deep into her eyes. Instantly, Sera backed away and diverted her eyes from mine, with the slightest blush glowing on her cheeks.

    ¡°Because of that,¡± I said. ¡°I gave you a reason not to manipulate me anymore, but you¡¯re still acting like you¡¯re infatuated with me. I hate being kept in the dark, Sera. Is the reason I gave not enough or do you actually have a crush on me?¡±

    The switch in her expression was so quick that it actually startled me. The remnants of a blush remained on her face, but once again, she stared blankly at me, looking just over my shoulder and refusing to make eye contact with me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you want from me, Lena.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked.

    ¡°What do you want me to say?¡± Sera asked back. ¡°What answer would make you happy?¡±

    ¡°I just want to know the truth,¡± I said. ¡°I hate being so unsure of whether my thoughts are actually my own. I want that to stop.¡±

    ¡°And if I told you that I really am attracted to you, you would believe it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± I said. ¡°Maybe.¡±

    Sera stared at the same spot for a few more seconds before she shifted her gaze towards me.

    ¡°I am not attracted to you,¡± she said, her voice monotone. ¡°It was all an act to gain your trust. I apologise for my conduct. It won¡¯t happen again. I will suggest to the new leader that, if you choose to stay as a part of the operation, you should not be put into any situations where you need to interact directly with me.¡±

    Before I could even think to respond, Sera pushed herself back and got out of her seat.

    ¡°You won¡¯t have to talk to me ever again,¡± she said, already turning around and walking away. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for making you feel uncomfortable.¡±

    Sera walked away as quickly as she could without it seeming like she was rushing to get away from me. Once she got to the Mediator¡¯s table, she wordlessly pulled out a chair and sat down, closing her eyes and adopting the same meditative stance that Tenna was in. Laush glanced between her and me, but quickly averted her eyes once she noticed I was watching.

    I stared at Sera for a few more seconds, until I finally processed what had just happened.

    I let out a long sigh.

    I knew Sera was a good actor, so it was surprising to see such an obvious lie coming from her mouth. While I supposed she could have intentionally given a terrible performance to mislead me into thinking that she was lying when she was actually telling the truth, I didn¡¯t see a point in thinking in circles like this. I still didn¡¯t trust her completely, so there wasn¡¯t much of a point to coming to a concrete conclusion.

    But my gut feeling told me that she was lying.

    I sighed again.

    ¡°Damn, I thought you were supposed to be a better liar than that,¡± I said under my breath.

    Across the room, Sera twitched and grimaced, almost as if she had heard me. Wait. Had she actually heard me?

    The angry blush that was spreading across her cheeks seemed to suggest that she had.

    Was I really that terrible at whispering?

 43. Traitor

    Laush honestly didn¡¯t mind the demotion. Being an Extra meant that she was being paid significantly less than what she would be making as a Grunt, but it was worth the decrease in risk. Besides, after only a few years of working as a Grunt, she had already accumulated enough wealth that she could live comfortably for the rest of her life. She did not feel any attachment to the job, so she was ready to retire at any point.

    She knew that Tenna didn¡¯t feel the same.

    Her older brother had been ecstatic when he¡¯d been promoted to the position of Leader during this mission, but she¡¯d been terrified for him. As temporary as it ended up being, Laush had spent the entire time hating Tenna¡¯s new position and how it brought him even closer to the Otherworlder, knowing how easily one of their kind could simply choose to end the life of another.

    Tenna had seen her relieved reaction when they were demoted and he became irritated at her, thinking that she was celebrating his demise. In a sense, she supposed he was right.

    Though she loved Tenna dearly, she wasn¡¯t blind to his faults. He was not talented in the skills necessary to be a Mediator, and had only pushed through the training through sheer force of will. It was enough to place him within the ranks of the Grunts, but she had truly believed he would never be anything more.

    She understood Tenna¡¯s drive to be something more, but she also didn¡¯t understand the extent of it. Whenever she remembered the Otherworlder that had casually burned down their town in a random rampage, she felt the same anger in her heart that he must have, but while she had neglected her anger, leaving it cold over the years, Tenna had fed the flames of his anger, letting it become his purpose.

    She did not understand why. She would always remember their mother and father and hold them dear in her heart, but they were dead.

    Why did Tenna act like risking his own life would bring them back? Did he not realise that he still had a sister to live for?

    The thought hurt, but she knew Tenna must be hurting too. Perhaps he did care for her, but perhaps he was simply more noble than she was, to be willing to risk his life for the safety of strangers and future orphans. She had never asked, too afraid of the answer. She simply watched.

    She did not want to be a Mediator. She wanted to retire, but she knew she could not leave her brother behind. She hoped that once her brother calmed down from his current bout of anger, she could find the opportunity to sit him down and discuss the possibility of an early retirement, using the demotion as an excuse.

    Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Tenna meditating. She could tell he was furious. Right now his anger was directed at their former Leader, likely for whatever reason he could think of at the moment. Laush didn¡¯t know whether Tenna was furious at her for giving him the position of Leader, only to have it taken away from him so easily, of if he was angry at her decisions to allow the civilian to interact with the Otherworlder as much as she did, or if he was just generally annoyed by their continued interactions.

    He could be quite petty when he wanted to be.

    But he was too obsessed with being the perfect Mediator to allow himself to take any sort of revenge. Mediators did not desire. They had no ego. He would do nothing, because he liked to pretend that he wanted to do nothing. Laush wondered if that would change when she would eventually convince him to retire. It was a possibility, though she did hope that he would still retain some of the habits that he¡¯d learned as a Mediator.

    The slight creaking of the tavern door drew Laush¡¯s attention away from her thoughts, but she didn¡¯t turn her head to look. She strained her ears to try and pick up clues on who it could have been, but she felt like the focus was wasted when Marten immediately spoke with no regard for discretion.

    ¡°Hey, you lot,¡± he said. ¡°The new members are coming in. Let¡¯s get a move on.¡±

    ¡°We were told that it would be happening later this evening,¡± Oren said.

    ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± Marten said. ¡°I know it¡¯s last minute notice, but I just learned about it a few minutes ago too. Save your bitching for after we go out. It¡¯s fucking miserable out there.¡±

    Laush stood up with the rest of the group, without further complaints, glad that Marten was being relatively civil with Oren. In the few interactions they¡¯d had, it wasn¡¯t difficult to see that the two hated each other, and while Oren¡¯s reactions to Marten¡¯s barbs were humorous at times, Laush wasn¡¯t in the mood for humour at the moment, and was grateful that Marten¡¯s mannerisms had somewhat softened since last night.

    None of the Mediators hesitated in stepping out into the storm, and though Laush did flinch slightly at the initial feeling of the cold rain enveloping her immediately, she held back the audible yelp of shock that she wanted to let out.

    In the corner of her eye, she noticed Tenna¡¯s gaze shifting ever so slightly to her, before pointing back in front of him. Had he noticed her flinching? Was he disappointed in her? He was in one of his moods, so it was possible, she supposed.

    He would cool down eventually.

    It was a steady march to the Mayor¡¯s house, where Marten had set up his base. Laush marched in the standard tempo of a Mediator¡¯s march, mirrored by her colleagues around her, with the exception of Marten, who simply jogged forward while swearing under his breath.

    By the time the rest of the group had arrived at the Mayor¡¯s house, Marten was already inside, having taken off his shirt and wringing out the water onto the wood floor.

    ¡°Bossman said he¡¯d be done pretty soon,¡± Marten said, holding up his shirt and flapping it up and down, completely unbothered by his own partial nakedness. ¡°Feel free to do whatever until then. I¡¯ll give you all the heads up when he contacts me.¡±

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    As Laush did as she was told, finding a lone sofa to rest on, Sera spoke up.

    ¡°Marten,¡± she said. ¡°Would it not be appropriate to invite the civilian Follower to join us? We¡¯ve told her that she would be meeting the new Leader and Second once they arrive.¡±

    ¡°I told her this morning that she should take her time, but I wouldn¡¯t mind,¡± Marten said, wringing out his shirt once more as he talked. ¡°Has she made a decision yet?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Sera replied.

    ¡°Not sure?¡± Marten asked, with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Wanna go and ask her then?¡±

    Sera grimaced, another break in the mask of what Laush thought was the perfect Mediator. She knew Tenna thought the same. Sera was years younger than they were, and she was in the organisation for less time, but she was skilled enough to be a Leader nonetheless.

    While Laush had nothing but admiration for the younger girl¡¯s talent, she knew that Sera¡¯s quick rise had been a point of jealousy for Tenna. He likely thought of her as a role model to catch up to, or a rival, depending on how cocky he was feeling. Her recent mistakes had probably been a sore spot for him. In his eyes, she probably wasn¡¯t allowed to make mistakes.

    ¡°Actually, I was hoping I could discuss that with you,¡± Sera said. ¡°I wanted to request that if Lena does choose to remain as a part of the mission, that my interactions with her would be kept to a minimum.¡±

    ¡°And why would you be asking me that?¡± Marten asked.

    ¡°In lieu of a Leader or a Second, command should go to the most senior member,¡± Sera said. ¡°That would be you, sir.¡±

    Marten shrugged. ¡°Probably true, but the new Leader¡¯s coming in a few hours at most. Why don¡¯t you save it for after he comes?¡±

    Laush knew that Marten was smart enough to know that Sera was only asking because she didn¡¯t want to speak with the civilian Follower. She also knew that Sera was also smart enough to know that as well. In effect, he was telling Sera to do it herself, or don¡¯t bother asking.

    Sera grimaced. ¡°Understood.¡±

    Tenna scoffed. Nobody paid him any mind.

    The rest of the wait played out predictably. Everyone remained still and kept to themselves, except for Marten, who rummaged around the house, snacking on whatever he could find, all with his gut exposed, his shirt hanging off the back of a chair.

    It took a few hours before Marten put his shirt back on. He made a displeased grimace, no doubt a reaction to how damp the shirt still was, but didn¡¯t complain.

    ¡°Alright,¡± he said, with a clap of his hands. ¡°Bossman says he¡¯s about ready. Let¡¯s go meet our new team leads, shall we?¡±

    Laush stood up, the movement mirrored by everyone else in the room. Wordlessly, they marched down the stairs to the basement, where the spell formula from last night¡¯s communication remained. Though they took their places around it, Laush knew that they wouldn¡¯t be using it again, which was a relief, since she was still feeling the effects from the last night¡¯s mana depletion.

    The Founder of the Mediators simply outclassed them by so much that, as long as he knew where to send them, an impossible act like teleporting two adults was barely a chore for him. She wondered idly if Tenna saw him as a role model like he did with Sera, but she dismissed the idea as being silly. There was no way a Human could compare himself to an Elf. She doubted her brother was that bold.

    Before Laush could let her thoughts wander too much, the space in front of her distorted and warped, and she closed her eyes to prevent her from getting motion sickness at the incomprehensible sight of the teleportation spell before her. She waited a few seconds to ensure that the spell was over and opened her eyes again, even if there hadn¡¯t been any audible sounds of any new arrivals.

    ¡°They sent you as the new Leader?¡± Marten asked, sounding genuinely offended at the idea. ¡°Don¡¯t they know the brat¡¯s got a thing against Goblins?¡±

    ¡°I was chosen, in part, because of my race,¡± the Goblin said, unbothered by the poor reception. ¡°The Board decided that the guilt that the Otherworlder feels can be a useful tool in his further development.¡±

    Ignoring her new Leader, Laush felt her eyes being drawn towards the man standing behind the Goblin instead. He looked quite handsome, which wasn¡¯t a surprise since many Mediators were attractive by default, and looked vaguely Astrantan, with hair, eyes, and skin. He also looked quite tall, though she wasn¡¯t sure if that was only because she was comparing him to the Goblin he was standing behind. Laush wasn¡¯t quite sure why it was so difficult to tell, but she supposed it didn¡¯t matter.

    The Second opened his mouth to speak.

    He gave a few pleasantries and introduced himself to the group. Laush didn¡¯t quite understand why she couldn¡¯t tell what exactly he was saying, but she quickly decided that the new Second was trustworthy anyways. She liked him much more than Oren at least. It was a nice surprise to find a Mediator that at least pretended to be personable, even though they all knew it was probably a lie.

    Or maybe not? This one was quite pleasant to be around. He seemed genuine.

    ¡°Leader Stoney,¡± Oren said suddenly, his flat voice uncharacteristically louder than it needed to be, echoing around the stone basement. ¡°What is this?¡±

    The Goblin raised a hairless eyebrow at him. ¡°What do you mean by that, Oren?¡± he asked. ¡°It¡¯s rare for you to be this vague.¡±

    Oren opened his mouth briefly, lost for words for the first time since Laush had met him.

    And for the first time since Laush had met her, Sera lost her mind.

    Laush felt her mouth gaping open, but she assumed a lack of decorum could be forgiven at the sight of a bright red needle of raw mana poking sticking directly into the Second¡¯s eye.

    ¡°Demon!¡± Sera shouted, the glow of ambient mana still fading from her finger. ¡°Run!¡±

    Sera¡¯s eyes darted around the room in the silent shock that filled it. Her eyes darted towards Laush¡¯s, and in the brief moment of eye contact that they had, Laush could swear she saw a deep dread in Sera¡¯s eyes. She wondered what Sera saw in hers.

    ¡°Traitor!¡± the Goblin shouted, before the rest of them could react. Faster than Laush¡¯s eyes could register, he charged forward at Sera, with a knife drawn from somewhere she hadn¡¯t noticed.

    There was a dull thud, and Laush still found herself motionless as she stared in bewilderment at Oren looking down at the Goblin, like he was just as surprised as she was that he just kicked their new leader in the head.

    A few rapid footsteps drew Laush¡¯s attention to the side, where Sera was already sprinting out of the basement, only pausing at the top of the stairs to turn around for a split second.

    ¡°Oren!¡± she hissed, before disappearing from view.

    As if awoken by her call, Oren ran up the stairs without further hesitation.

    It was only after they heard the slam of a door that anyone reacted.

    ¡°What the fuck was that?!¡± Tenna shouted out in Timuran.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Laush shouted back in their mother tongue, finally unable to control her panic. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like that happen before! What the fuck?¡±

    ¡°Why the fuck would they do that?! Oh shit. They fucking killed the Second. Why would they do that?!¡±

    ¡°I-¡±

    Before she could say anything, she stopped. What did Tenna mean? Oren knocked out the Leader, but they hadn¡¯t done anything to the Second. Laush looked back, scared at what she would find, but let out a sigh of relief when she saw the Second, unharmed. The sight of him was a relief and his calm aura reminded her that she could rely on him. He would know what to do.

    ¡°Sir Second?¡± she said. ¡°What should we do?¡±

    The Second smiled. Everything would be alright.

    ¡°Sir Second!¡± Tenna said. ¡°With all due respect, I disagree! Our leader was attacked by a pair of traitors!¡±

    Marten sighed and shook his head. ¡°Look, kid,¡± he said. ¡°If our Second says it¡¯s alright, then it¡¯s alright. What are you complaining about?¡±

    The Second nodded, thanking Marten for his input.

    Tenna nodded too. ¡°Very well,¡± he said. ¡°What are your orders, Sir Second?¡±

    The Second nodded.

 44. Taking Initiative

    Oren had assaulted his leader.

    Insubordination of a Mediator was punishable by death, or demotion, depending on the severity of the crime. Oren nearly shivered at the thought, but quickly reassured himself that he was only following protocol. He recalled the case of the Harem Lord, where the Leader of the mission became subject to the Harem Lord¡¯s brainwashing, and was executed by her Second, when it was deemed that her continued survival was a risk to the mission. It was quickly determined that the Second had taken the correct judgement in eliminating the risk to the mission, and was awarded with an immediate promotion to Leader.

    That incident had set the precedent for what needed to be done in the case of an Otherworlder¡¯s mental manipulations of another Mediator, and what Oren had done was standard protocol. The thought crossed his mind that perhaps he had been too soft. Perhaps he should have killed Stoney. Again, he decided that he had done the right thing by simply knocking him out. Brainwashed as he was, Stoney was notoriously tough, and Oren wasn¡¯t sure if he would have been able to kill the man in a single blow. No. He did the right thing. There wasn¡¯t time to eliminate him, as outnumbered as they were. Knocking Stoney out and running away to regroup was the best course of action.

    It was protocol.

    As he ran through the rain, following Sera¡¯s footsteps, he almost slipped when she took an unexpected turn.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± he shouted over the rain.

    ¡°Lena¡¯s house,¡± Sera shouted back.

    The civilian Follower? Why? While the Mediator¡¯s mandate did include the safety of civilians, the elimination of Otherworlders was their ultimate mission. Did Sera believe that the civilian would be useful towards that cause?

    ¡°Why?¡± he shouted.

    Sera remained silent, which irritated him. He had asked a question. She was supposed to reply. That was how it worked.

    Oren let his mana leak out of the soles of his feet, and in a burst of concentrated power, he shot forward and overtook Sera in a split second. He stopped in front of her instantaneously, kicking up a large wave of mud as he skidded to a stop, nearly slipping as he struggled to find purchase on the slick ground, but he managed to keep his footing as he pivoted to block Sera¡¯s path.

    Not having expected it, Sera was unable to stop herself, crashing into Oren¡¯s side and falling unceremoniously onto the floor. She glared up at him, though she wasted no time in standing up.

    ¡°What the fuck, Oren?!¡± she shouted.

    She was showing emotion, despite there being no need for it. Was she trying to manipulate him? He dismissed the idea, deeming it to be unlikely. She should know that it wouldn¡¯t work on him. He was a Mediator.

    ¡°Why are we going to the civilian¡¯s house?¡± he asked.

    Sera frowned, confusing him once more.

    ¡°She might¡¯ve gone home. I need to make sure she¡¯s safe,¡± she said.

    ¡°Why?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Because everything¡¯s going crazy?¡± she said, acting as if he was the one being irrational.

    He wondered briefly if she was also somehow affected by the Demon¡¯s mental manipulation, but dismissed the idea. She had reacted to the threat of the Demon faster and more deftly than he had. It was only her immediate response that had allowed him to regain his own senses and take action.

    Even so, at this very moment, she was being irrational.

    ¡°We have a job to do,¡± he said, reminding her in case she had somehow forgotten as a result of the stress of facing the Demon. ¡°In cases such as this, civilian safety takes a secondary priority to containing the threat that the Otherworlder poses. We should reengage with the Otherworlder, and determine our course of action from there.¡±

    With her hair and clothes streaked with mud, Sera stared daggers at him. Once again, he was confused by the action. What benefit did she have in trying to manipulate him?

    ¡°I¡¯m going,¡± she said, moving to step around him.

    He moved to block her.

    ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°We need to follow protocol. We will go to the Otherworlder first, and decide what action to take from there.¡±

    ¡°I already know what action I¡¯m going to take, Oren,¡± Sera said, finally lowering her voice to an acceptable level. ¡°You can do whatever the hell you want.¡±

    Why was Sera continuing to act like a civilian?

    ¡°We are compromised, and we cannot afford to split up,¡± he said.

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    ¡°Fine,¡± she said. ¡°Then come with me to make sure Lena¡¯s safe.¡±

    Oren frowned. Actually frowned.

    ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°We are currently both Grunts, and as the senior Mediator, I have higher authority than you. We will stop wasting time and head directly to the Otherworlder¡¯s last known location.¡±

    Sera glared up at him. ¡°Fine,¡± she growled.

    Oren was about to nod, to indicate his satisfaction, but what Sera did next utterly confused him. She drew the hidden dagger from her belt and pointed it at him.

    He did not understand. She wasn¡¯t in a formal fighting stance and the way that her arm was positioned would have made it much easier for Oren to disarm her if he wanted to, but he could identify the unspoken threat behind it.

    ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Stop me or let me go,¡± she replied. ¡°The choice is yours.¡±

    While Oren was confident enough in his own abilities to know that he would come out victorious if they came to blows, he knew she was skilled enough that he wouldn¡¯t be able to overwhelm her immediately. It would take some time to incapacitate her, and time was not something they had in abundance.

    Taking his silence for an answer, Sera lowered her dagger and put it back in its concealed sheath in her belt. She started to walk around Oren and this time, he didn¡¯t move to stop her.

    ¡°Are you still emotionally compromised?¡± he asked.

    She didn¡¯t bother to answer him as she started to sprint off into the distance immediately, in the direction of the civilian¡¯s house.

    Oren stared at her retreating figure for a few more seconds before breaking off into his own sprint.

    Oren was horrified to realise that he had a deep scowl on his face, despite there being no reason for it. While this was admittedly an irrational scenario, it was no excuse to feel frustration.

    But he did.

    And he hated it.

    This sort of frustration was something he had experienced multiple times in his civilian life, but not something that he ever expected to happen to him again as a Mediator. The world had always confused him, but when he found the Mediators, everything had made sense. The organisation was a safe haven for him, surrounded by rules, protocol, and logical decision-making.

    This mission was an anomaly.

    He had gone on seventeen missions throughout his career as a Mediator, and none of them had been nearly as complex and problem-ridden as this one proved to be.

    He wanted it to be over.

    He needed to fix it. Then everything would go back to how it needed to be.

    What would he do?

    He set his mind to analysing the data that he had.

    It was clear to him that the root of the problem was the Otherworlder. He had already shown the ability to summon Demons, and Oren was sceptical of his claims that he didn¡¯t have the power to mentally manipulate others. Jamie was the only Otherworlder in the general area, so there was no reason to suspect an outside force.

    Whether intentional or not, the Otherworlder had clearly influenced the Mediators to further his dreams in some way. The Otherworlder was one of the few to learn of the secret of the Mediators that guided them, and clearly it had been a mistake. Oren made a mental note to bring the case up to the Board and propose it be expressly forbidden in the protocols to allow an Otherworlder to learn of them. Sera would need to be executed, to set a precedent for future Mediators.

    But was that really the right choice? Even if this case had been an example of a clear failure, there might have been merit in allowing Otherworlders to learn of the Mediators in the future, and he wasn¡¯t sure whether he would want to start a chain of events that would lead to it being expressly forbidden. What could he do? He supposed he could simply observe what happened next. Taking a more passive approach would keep his options flexible.

    What if Sera was right? While he didn¡¯t understand why she wasn¡¯t sharing her reasoning with him, the fact was that she had once had a Leader role within the Mediators, and he trusted the Board enough to know that their decision hadn¡¯t been made in error. Perhaps she was seeing an angle of approach that he hadn¡¯t considered?

    No.

    He couldn¡¯t afford to think like this.

    For all of his experience as a Mediator, there was a reason why Oren had never taken a leadership role. He was confident in his skills, but he knew his weaknesses well. As long as he was given clear orders, he could follow them perfectly, but if he were ever to take charge of a situation, he would be paralyzed with indecision as he overanalysed his options, just like he was doing now.

    His normal method of dealing with this sort of scenario was simply to avoid it. But that wasn¡¯t an option here. He was currently the only Mediator on the mission that wasn¡¯t mentally and emotionally compromised, and he had the duty to see the success of the mission through.

    But there was no protocol for this.

    Oren¡¯s mind raced as he continued to sprint towards the tavern, a whirlwind of anxiety forming in his head as the threat of the incoming decision loomed over him.

    If he had a choice, he would¡¯ve never placed himself in a situation like this, but he couldn¡¯t change it now. As much as he wanted to run away and let someone else deal with it, he knew there was nobody else that could.

    He was a Mediator.

    He needed to make a decision.

    He nodded to himself, as if trying to manipulate himself into believing that he was somehow fine with the decision. It didn¡¯t work, and Oren couldn¡¯t help but wonder why other people did it. It didn¡¯t help him in the slightest.

    Oren stopped himself before he let his thoughts wander any further. He needed to focus. He needed to figure out how to prevent the Otherworlder from damaging his organisation even further.

    And then, the answer struck him, so obvious that he was almost angry that he hadn¡¯t thought of it until then.

    If the Otherworlder was the source of all of these problems, wouldn¡¯t they simply go away if he was gone?

    That was their mission in the first place. To eliminate him. Why not advance the schedule a little bit?

    Oren thought about it, taking care not to overthink the consequences. He couldn¡¯t afford to poison his mind like he usually did. He had made a decision. He knew he could convince himself away from it, so he couldn¡¯t afford to think.

    Instead, he focused on what he would say.

    ¡°Jamie,¡± he said out loud, in an apologetic voice, practising the tone ahead of time so it would be easier to summon it later. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t want to tell you this, but it¡¯s impossible for you to be an adventurer.¡±

    While the original plan had been to fulfil the Otherworlder¡¯s dream, in order to minimise the risk of him lashing out upon his death, time was of the essence. Who knew how deep the Otherworlder¡¯s corruption ran? Even if this method resulted in the destruction of Astranta, and the lives of the people in it, it was a small price to pay for the continued survival of the Mediators.

    Oren nodded to himself. It was an irrational behaviour that served no purpose, but somehow, it made him feel more confident in his choice.

    Yes.

    This is what he would do.

    For the good of the Mediators.

 45. Seras Troubles

    When Sera finally arrived at Lena¡¯s home, she grabbed the door handle and pulled as hard as she could. It wasn¡¯t locked, due to the neighbourly habits of the residents of Plainswood making them unafraid of any potential home invaders, and the door nearly ripped from its hinges as Sera used her mana-infused strength to yank it free.

    With the vicious slam of the door announcing her arrival for her, Sera probably didn¡¯t need to shout to get anyone¡¯s attention, but her voice was uncharacteristically untamed, eager to burst from her lungs in a desperate cry.

    ¡°Lena!¡± Sera shouted, before even confirming that anyone was actually home. ¡°Lena, where are you?!¡±

    Nobody responded, but as Sera¡¯s eyes darted around, she noticed a sliver of dull lantern light coming from underneath a door. Though she¡¯d never been in the house before, she recognized it as Lena¡¯s room, from the schematics of all the village¡¯s houses that Marten had supplied the team upon their arrival to Plainswood.

    Trying not to think about the blatant invasion of privacy she had and was committing, Sera walked forwards and opened the door.

    It was a small room, and Sera couldn¡¯t imagine that Lena spent much time in there except to sleep. The room was mostly barren, with a bed and a large drawer as the only furniture, without so much as a single mirror. Somehow, that fact stood out more to Sera than anything else. Though Lena didn¡¯t act vain, it was still surprising to realise that she didn¡¯t have something as simple as a mirror in the room to help fix her appearance before she left it.

    Sera frowned at how easily her mind wandered, despite the situation that she was in. She had to focus.

    Sera stared silently into the room, glancing between Lena, Arina, and Hal as they stared into her eyes.

    Hal stood in between Sera¡¯s path to his wife and daughter behind him, but his scared expression, along with the way he kept glancing down at the thin fillet knife that he clutched in his hands like he was afraid of it, made him incredibly non-threatening.

    While Sera was sure the man was strong-willed and had a strong enough love for his family that he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to defend them, he was a gentle man, not prone to violence. This was likely the first time he¡¯d ever threatened to harm someone physically, and it showed. He was just as easy to read as his daughter.

    Arina, on the other hand, looked much more controlled, but only at a first glance. Her expression was deadened and gave away no emotions, but her body language wasn¡¯t quite as calm. She and Lena were sitting up in the bed together, but Arina had awkwardly half-thrown herself onto her daughter¡¯s body, as if she could somehow protect her by sacrificing herself. But she was afraid, even more so than her husband. She likely didn¡¯t realise how her fingernails were digging into Lena¡¯s skin, nearly drawing blood as fear overtook her.

    Lena¡¯s long blonde hair was still damp from the rain outside, and was neatly combed back and wrapped in a towel, so it wouldn¡¯t wet her shoulders. The expression on her face gave nothing away, aside from the mild pain she felt from the way that Arina¡¯s fingers dug into her, but she didn¡¯t seem to want to tell her mother to stop, likely because she was too kind to want her mother to feel guilt at the idea of hurting her.

    It was a foolish act by a foolish girl, whose kindness had only brought her misfortune and discomfort, but Sera knew she wouldn¡¯t stop.

    Lena¡¯s large green eyes locked with hers, and Sera resisted the urge to turn away.

    ¡°Lena,¡± she said instead. ¡°We need to go. Now.¡±

    Lena seemed more confused than surprised by Sera¡¯s arrival, but she kept her voice flat and level as she responded. ¡°Sera?¡± she said, as calmly as she could, like she was talking to a crazed animal. ¡°What are you talking about? What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°You might be in grave danger,¡± Sera replied, as she stepped forward.

    As if triggered by the movement, Hal closed his eyes and lunged forwards, relying on his guts and luck to defend his daughter. Sera considered letting the man get a glancing hit to lessen the blow to his pride, before her body¡¯s muscle memory took over, casually slapping the knife from his hands and sending it siding towards the side of the room.

    Ignoring him, Sera went over to the side of Lena¡¯s bed and knelt down by her side. It was a disarming gesture meant to put everyone in the room off guard. It certainly worked on Hal, who froze in the air, mid-tackle as he suddenly reconsidered the idea that Sera, a seemingly defenceless girl who was less than half his size, could possibly be a threat to him. Though Arina still held her daughter protectively, the amount that her fingernails dug into Lena¡¯s skin lessened.

    It was only Lena who didn¡¯t fall for her act. The cold look in Lena¡¯s eyes stung, as the girl saw right through her, but Sera forced herself not to dwell on it.

    ¡°We need to go,¡± Sera said once more. ¡°Your life may depend on it.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Lena replied. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Bad things are happening, Lena,¡± Sera said. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly sure what happened tonight. A Demon was summoned, posing as a Mediator. Oren and I could see through it, but none of the others could.¡±

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    Lena didn¡¯t reply, and if Sera was more obtuse, she might have thought that the girl had somehow not heard her. Rather than reacting with the surprise or fear that might have been expected of her, Lena¡¯s eyes dulled and her shoulders slumped forward. She didn¡¯t look scared. Just tired. Acceptant of her fate.

    It hurt to see.

    ¡°Fine,¡± she said. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Though Lena tried to get up, she was either too weak or too nice to throw her mother off of her, and Arina didn¡¯t seem to be interested in letting go.

    ¡°You have to let me go, mom,¡± Lena said. ¡°I¡¯ll be back. I promise.¡±

    Sera froze as she realised she¡¯d forgotten a step in her plans. It was an unexpected mistake from her, but thankfully it could easily be remedied.

    ¡°Your parents should come too,¡± Sera blurted out.

    Immediately, that brought a spark of life back into Lena¡¯s eyes. Worry, anger, and fear all shone in those brilliant green eyes of hers, before they narrowed suspiciously at Sera.

    ¡°Why?¡± she asked. ¡°They don¡¯t have anything to do with this.¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t,¡± Sera agreed. ¡°And neither do you. We¡¯re leaving Plainswood.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Lena asked, looking down at her in utter confusion. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re in danger,¡± Sera said, once more. ¡°This entire situation has become too unpredictable, and you¡¯re just a civilian, Lena. You had no reason to be roped into this situation in the first place, and I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t do as much as I could to get you out of it, but I swear on the graves of my father, my mother, and my sisters that I will do as much as I can to keep you and your family safe.¡±

    Sera stared into Lena¡¯s eyes, as if she was trying to will her into believing her words. She knew that Lena didn¡¯t trust her, but she needed her to believe her now. She didn¡¯t know if she was being convincing or not. While Sera was an expert in pretending to be honest, trying to show her genuine feelings had not been a skill that she had practised in a very long time.

    She felt awkward and nervous as Lena stared back at her, her expression unreadable. Sera didn¡¯t know what to do. Though her lips were peeled down in a frown, she knew her frown could be deeper and her eyes more watery. She had the sudden realisation that her voice had been flat and even throughout the entire conversation, not the wavery-girlish voice that she might have adopted to convince anyone else to do something.

    But she refrained from acting. Right now, she had to act genuine.

    Lena stared at her for a few more seconds before nodding. Sera dared to hope for a split second, until Lena spoke.

    ¡°What about Jamie?¡± she asked.

    Sera¡¯s heart sank at the question. She should¡¯ve expected the question, but it still surprised her how stupidly selfless Lena could be.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure the Otherworlder will be fine,¡± Sera said, blurting out the first thing she could think of. ¡°He¡¯s powerful enough to destroy any Demon that comes his way.¡±

    Lena gave her an awkward look.

    ¡°I know that,¡± she said. ¡°Jamie¡¯s summoned Demons before, and it turned out okay. It¡¯s sweet that you wanted to make sure I¡¯m safe, but if it¡¯s anything like the last time, it¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°I know he¡¯s summoned Demons before, but I don¡¯t think this is his doing!¡± Sera shouted, surprising herself at the burst of emotion, but not enough to stop herself from continuing. ¡°The Demons are summoned for the sake of the Otherworlders. Why would a Demon appear within the ranks of the Mediators, when the Otherworlder isn¡¯t even around to see it?¡±

    It was the first time she¡¯d said the theory out loud, and it still sounded as absurd as it did in her head, but she stood by it. While her first thought had been to assume that the Otherworlder had summoned the Demon to destroy the Mediators from inside, it didn¡¯t make sense. The Mediators had been nothing but kind to the Otherworlder, and he had shown no indications that he had sensed their true intentions otherwise. The only real grudge he could hold involved Lena, for breaking his heart, but in all honesty, she doubted that that was the case either.

    So as absurd as it was, Sera had searched for other explanations.

    ¡°So this is just an unrelated Demon summoning? Do you think it could be another Otherworlder?¡± Lena asked, mirroring Sera¡¯s thoughts exactly.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Sera said, no matter how much she wanted to say yes.

    The only people with the magical prowess to summon Demons were Otherworlders, and though the only other active Otherworlders at the moment were in entirely different countries, it might have been possible that one of them had gotten away from its handlers and teleported to Astranta, or perhaps an entirely new Otherworlder had arrived in Materia recently. While it was uncommon for two Otherworlders to appear in such a short timespan, it wasn¡¯t an impossibility.

    But she didn¡¯t know. She had no evidence.

    ¡°All I know is that you might be in danger,¡± Sera said, giving Lena the most conclusive answer she had as well as the most important one. ¡°That¡¯s why I want you and your family to leave with me.¡±

    Lena looked at Sera, and once more, Sera¡¯s heart sank.

    Even before she spoke, Sera knew what Lena¡¯s response would be. It wasn¡¯t a matter of the grimace that appeared on her face, nor was it the way that her eyes shifted sideways in a silent apology to her parents for what she was about to say.

    Sera just knew. She knew who Lena was.

    ¡°We need to help Jamie,¡± Lena said.

    ¡°Lena,¡± Sera said. A watery sheen appeared over her eyes and she clasped her hands together, as if in prayer. ¡°This isn¡¯t your fight. Please. Be selfish. Think of yourself.¡±

    Sera¡¯s voice wavered and she sniffled as she begged Lena to reconsider her choice, but she could see the apologetic frown on her face and knew it was no use.

    Sera wondered if she should just toss Lena over her shoulder and run away. It would be so simple. Sera knew that there was nothing Lena could do to prevent it if she chose to just abduct her away from the situation. From the looks on Hal and Arina¡¯s faces, she doubted that either of them would even react to the rough handling of their daughter, as long as they knew it was for her own safety.

    But then Lena would hate Sera, possibly forever. While Sera was already half-convinced she had broken Lena¡¯s trust enough that they¡¯d already passed that point, she still held a small bit of hope that she could somehow mend their trust again, no matter how much Sera tried to quash the feeling.

    Sera tried to tell herself that if she truly loved Lena, then she would abduct her anyways, that it would be worth being hated, just to know that she was safe.

    But maybe she didn¡¯t actually love her, because she couldn¡¯t bring herself to do it. It was a comforting thought, to think that this deep infatuation for the beautiful blonde in front of her wasn¡¯t actually love. Maybe it was just lust, something that would pass eventually, but it was a fleeting comfort in the face of the fact that Sera was cowardly enough that she would willingly let Lena walk into danger, just so she wouldn¡¯t be hated by her.

    Sera sniffled and wiped her eyes, wondering how much of her tears had actually been an act.

    ¡°Fine,¡± she said, frustration and anger leaking into her voice as she growled at her love interest. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

 46. Facing the Truth

    ¡°Rivers.

    Rivers flow, gently down my cheeks.

    A storm has come, washing debris from my shores.

    Storms stop, and the mind is cleansed.

    But rivers dry.

    They leave memories of the garbage that it had ¡°cleansed¡±. (They were never actually cleansed, only hidden by the water)

    They leave memories of their now forgotten paths, ditches in the earth and in my mind.

    Where I belong.

    Rivers flow, a memory of who I am.

    Ditches. Lines, etched into my skin.

    Rivers.

    Jamie Campbell.¡±

    I sniffled and wiped my nose off my sleeve. It was already crusty with how much snot I¡¯d wiped onto it, but I could clean it easily with my magic.

    ¡°I wish I could say the same for my heart,¡± I muttered to myself.

    I might have been able to do it if I wanted to. I was an OP isekai protagonist, and the OP isekai protagonist gets all the girls, right? If only it worked so easily like that.

    The pervasive thought that it could work like that entered my mind, but I shook the thought away. The look of raw fear on Lena¡¯s face as she asked whether I was brainwashing her was something I would never want to inflict on another person. I honestly didn¡¯t know if it made me more sad to be rejected, than it did to know that I¡¯d made her feel that way, even if it wasn¡¯t actually true.

    But hey.

    ¡°Love hurts, but time heals all wounds, right?¡±

    Another sob escaped my lips, as if telling me that it wasn''t possible.

    I couldn¡¯t help but agree with it.

    I had genuinely thought that Lena was the one and, even after she rejected me, I still couldn¡¯t help but feel that me and her were meant to be.

    Or was it she and I?

    I couldn¡¯t remember. Maybe it would be easier to decide which one was better if I wrote it down.

    I was fully aware of the fact that I was only distracting myself, but I welcomed the opportunity with open arms. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t have a pen or paper, since I never wrote down my poetry, but I had a solution to that.

    I raised a finger up in the air.

    ¡°Sky write,¡± I said.

    Immediately, I felt that same strange sensation of something welling up inside of me, and expelling itself from the pores on my finger in the form of a luminescent streak of light that remained stationary in the air.

    ¡°Me and her,¡± I dictated as I wrote it out. ¡°She and I.¡±

    I casted the spell as easily as I could breathe. Maybe even easier than that since sometimes, I¡¯d randomly start being super self-conscious of my own breathing and just start breathing manually. Magic didn¡¯t even have that slight hiccup for me. I felt like, if I wanted something to happen, I could just imagine it into existence with no effort involved.

    Considering the fact that I seemed to have been isekaied into a pretty low-fantasy setting, where magical fighters could only use their mana for a few minutes before tiring themselves out, I was pretty broken.

    I frowned as I remembered how Lena blew up at me for using that word.

    ¡°No, no,¡± I said, shaking my head quickly, as if I could physically jumble up the thoughts in my head if I did it fast enough. ¡°Distractions, distractions. What was I doing again?¡±

    The words, ¡°me and her she and I¡± floated mockingly in front of my face.

    I bit my lip to hold back another sob and quickly swiped my hand over the words, dissipating them instantly.

    ¡°Goddammit,¡± I said.

    I tried to stop myself from thinking of her. I¡¯d fallen for the I¡¯m-gay excuse once before, but I was trying to convince myself that this time, it was for real. Lena was nice, the nicest person I¡¯d ever met in my entire life. Surely she wouldn¡¯t lie to me, right?

    Or maybe that¡¯s the reason why she would. Maybe she didn¡¯t want to hurt my feelings, and was just trying to spare me from the fact that she wasn¡¯t interested in me. Yet.

    ¡°No, no,¡± I said, shaking my head again, using both of my hands to physically jostle it around. ¡°You can¡¯t go down that road, Jamie. Not again.¡±

    I cringed as my brain replayed the memory of my freshman year of high school, and though I hated remembering it, I forced myself to remember how I¡¯d seen Taylor kissing Tyler after she told me she was gay. I forced myself to remember how I took that as a sign that I had a chance with her, rather than the obvious conclusion I should¡¯ve made, and how badly that had gone for me.

    ¡°Even if Lena was lying, which I still think she isn¡¯t,¡± I harshly reminded myself. ¡°I should respect her boundaries. Yeah. Yeah, that¡¯s good. We can still be friends, right? And maybe, just maybe, it can grow into something more-¡±

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    I winced as the pervasive thought wormed its way into my monologue.

    ¡°Goddammit.¡±

    When a polite knock sounded out from my door, though I cringed when my first reaction was to imagine that it was Lena, dripping wet, with her clothes hanging heavy on the outline of her body again, I was grateful for the potential distraction.

    Anything was better than having to listen to my own thoughts.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± I asked, wincing when I realized how hoarse my voice was from the last few hours of crying on and off.

    ¡°It¡¯s Oren, my brother. May I come in?¡±

    Though I had no reason to deny him, I paused. There was a strange lilt in Oren¡¯s voice, and I couldn¡¯t help but imagine a scene from a war movie, where a young wife opens the door to two sombre looking soldiers who are there to deliver the news that her husband has died overseas.

    I almost didn¡¯t want to open the door, but I shook off the idea easily. I knew I wasn¡¯t that great with people, on account of not having interacted with them much outside of online chatrooms, so I knew I could just be imagining it. I couldn''t deny my best friend for such a dumb reason.

    ¡°Come in,¡± I said, wiping my eyes and nose one last time, and hoping it wasn¡¯t too noticeable.

    Oren pushed open the door, just hard enough that it made me question whether he seemed like he was in a hurry, or if he was hesitant to talk.

    He looked around, as if there could possibly be anyone else in the room, and closed the door behind him.

    I looked up at him from my seated position on the bed, and with a start, realised it would probably be more polite to stand.

    Before I could get up, however, Oren held a hand up.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s better if you remained sitting for this, my brother,¡± he said.

    I was a bit ashamed to admit to myself that my first thought was that this situation wasn¡¯t nearly as hot as when Lena asked me to get on the bed, given that he was a dude. Thankfully, my hormone-ridden brain recovered fast enough for me to realise what he had just said.

    ¡°What? Why?¡± I asked, realising that he had just said a line that I had heard too many times in movies, and never in a good context. ¡°What happened?¡±

    Oren bit his lip anxiously and looked to the side.

    While a small part of me was nervous about how my best friend was acting, I couldn¡¯t find myself in me to take his problem all too seriously. With my love problems still weighing heavily on me, I didn¡¯t think there was any problem that could be much worse.

    Even if someone had gotten seriously injured somehow, or died if my initial hunch had been correct, my OP isekai protagonist powers had taken out some of the stakes of this story. Even if one of my friends died, I would be able to bring them back to life with my bullshit powers, so I doubted there was anything Oren could say that would be big enough to distract me from Lena for too long.

    Even so, I appreciated any distraction that would come. I gave Oren a weak smile, to try and help encourage him along as he seemed to struggle to find his words.

    Oren only frowned in response.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Jamie,¡± he said. ¡°You can¡¯t be an adventurer.¡±

    I blinked rapidly a few times, unsure of if I¡¯d heard him correctly.

    ¡°What?¡±

    Oren gave me a sad and guilty frown, but one filled with an uncomfortable determination, like a TV detective that had just figured out that his best friend was a corrupt drug lord and had to be put down.

    ¡°Jamie,¡± he said. ¡°I did some research, and it turns out that there is an archaic set of rules around who can be adventurers. Adventurers are supposed to be paragons of justice and honour. No criminal may become an adventurer.¡±

    I blinked a few times. The detective metaphor had been surprisingly accurate. What was Oren talking about? Aside from the fact that what he said about these random rules sounded made up and nonsensical, why was he calling me a criminal?

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I asked, genuinely confused.

    Oren¡¯s eyes narrowed for a split second, returning to his anxious grimace so fast that I wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d imagined the brief change in expression or not. He stayed silent, making me wonder if I should clarify what I meant, but right as I was about to speak, Oren sighed and bowed his head.

    ¡°Jamie, my brother,¡± he said, in that endearing Medieval bro-speak of his. ¡°I am sorry, but crimes committed on Earth count too.¡±

    I stared up at him, still confused, but I wasn¡¯t able to deny him this time for some reason. Back at home - no, not home. This was home now. Back on Earth, I hadn¡¯t been a criminal either. I wasn¡¯t a great kid, but I was quiet, never got into trouble, and I wasn¡¯t actively bullied by the kids at school so I never became any teacher''s problem, and I certainly hadn¡¯t gotten the attention of the police. At least none on duty.

    But I couldn¡¯t say anything. I couldn¡¯t tell Oren that, with the pit in my throat blocking all my words.

    Why?

    And then I realized why.

    His words, as strangely phrased as they were, were too familiar. It had been many years since I¡¯d heard them said out loud, and they were never said in the calm, convincing way that Oren¡¯s words always seemed to convey, but it was as if Steven was standing right in front of me, giving me that cold side-eye of his as he downed another bottle of Coors Lite.

    ¡°You murdered someone, didn¡¯t you, Jamie.¡±

    I looked up at Oren, too shocked to remember where I was for a moment. When I finally registered what he said, I quickly slammed my hands against my ears, as if trying to rupture my eardrums would erase the memory of what they heard.

    ¡°No,¡± I said, mumbling at Steven. ¡°No no no no no.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Jamie, but denying it won¡¯t change the truth. You will never become an adventurer.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± I said, not sure of why Steven had brought that up, but knowing he would only use it to mock me. Had he found my journal? Hadn¡¯t he ripped them all up already?

    ¡°Jamie. It¡¯s not healthy to ignore the truth. Admitting it will only make you feel better.¡±

    ¡°Shut up. Shut up!¡± I screamed.

    I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder, and I froze, not knowing what was happening. I looked up at Oren, wondering where Steven went, before I remembered where I was.

    ¡°I am not a murderer!¡± I shouted, shooting up to a standing position.

    There was a resounding crack, as the simple force of my movement snapped the wooden boards of my bed.

    Oren stared up at me and gave me a sad smile.

    ¡°I think you know what you are, Jamie,¡± he said.

    ¡°No!¡± I shouted again, lunging forward and grabbing his collar. As I pushed him and held him against the wall, there was a terrible snapping sound as the wooden planks on the wall began to crack under the pressure.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t kill her!¡± I screamed. My lungs felt raw and my watery eyes made it difficult to see Steven clearly, but knowing he could finally hear me was enough. ¡°I was a baby! I never asked to be born, dad! So stop making it my fault!¡±

    Angry tears streamed freely from my eyes, obscuring my vision, but not enough to miss the grimace on Steven¡¯s face.

    ¡°Never¡­ Adventurer¡­¡±

    I couldn¡¯t understand what he was talking about. Too much blood was pumping, and my heartbeat was pounding too loudly to hear much else. But I could tell that Steven wasn¡¯t listening. He never listened.

    But right now? I could make him listen.

    I felt my grip tighten around his collar and the planks on the wall snapped some more. They kept snapping, and Steven let out a low groan of pain.

    ¡°Jamie!¡±

    I didn¡¯t recognize the voice shouting my name. I ignored it. For the first time in my life, I was on the verge of making my dad listen to me.

    ¡°Jamie, stop!¡±

    Never.

    I heard a few screams, and felt something hit my back that I vaguely registered as being wet and soft. It wasn¡¯t enough to stop me, but when I felt a hand over my own, trying to pry my fingers away from Steven¡¯s collar, I slapped it away.

    There was another snap of wood, and a scream.

    ¡°Lena!¡±

    I froze. My heart was still pumping, and my hands were still firmly attached to Steven¡¯s collar, but I couldn¡¯t ignore that scream.

    I turned around.

    My eyes were still watery and dulled with the haze of pent up rage, but I could recognize that shock of blonde anywhere.

    ¡°Lena?¡± I asked.

    Lena smiled at me, and waved weakly at me from the floor with the arm that wasn¡¯t bent backwards at an impossible angle.

    ¡°Hey,¡± she squeaked.

    Her head fell backwards as she slumped to the floor, unconscious.

 47. The divide between the living and the dead

    Meat.

    As Hal stared at his daughter¡¯s still body on the floor, the horrifying thought spawned in his mind.

    She looked like meat.

    It was terrible. He loved his daughter more than life itself. How could he think of her like that?

    But his mind refused to see what it didn¡¯t want. It translated the scene unfolding before him into the most familiar and normal setting it could. Just another day in his butcher shop. Just some meat that fell on the ground. He couldn¡¯t remember dropping it, but it wasn¡¯t even skinned yet, so a little bit of dirt wasn¡¯t that big of a deal.

    Hal could only watch in morbidly professional curiosity as to how he would try to salvage the corpse in front of him. It would prove to be a difficult task for sure. Just from an initial glance, he deemed the arm to be mostly impossible to turn into something sellable. The blunt force that had hit it would have likely exploded the bones inside, scattering it into a complex puzzle of shard and shooting the pieces deep into the flesh. The same would probably apply to the collarbone, and parts of the ribcage, but those were less obvious on a superficial level. He would have to cut it up to make sure.

    If it was up to him, he would probably just throw the entire thing away. Too arduous to clean. Even if he could get most of the bone shards out of the meat, all he would be left with were scraps, and even those he wouldn¡¯t sell to any customer, in fear that a missed shard of bone would cut up their tongues when they tried to eat it. Unless there was a shortage of meat, he probably wouldn¡¯t bother with it.

    The world moved in slow motion, silent, save for a high pitched ringing in his ear. He had the vague feeling that he was in a nightmare, but with his vision hazy, he wasn¡¯t quite sure what it was about.

    He must have been tossing and turning in his sleep, with how bad this dream was, and he idly wondered why his wife wasn¡¯t waking him up. He looked down, noticing her standing right in front of him, clutching at his shirt. Oh. That was why. She was here too.

    He tried to tell her that everything would be okay, that it was just a dream, but no words came out. He wrapped his arms around her, but he couldn¡¯t feel her. He couldn¡¯t feel anything really.

    He wondered where Lena was.

    He looked up, and saw her, lying in front of him on the wooden floor. Silly girl. Her back would be stiff once she woke up, especially with her horrible sleeping posture. Hal reminisced about her childhood days, how she would often fall asleep in his arms, her head lolling back like it did now, sleeping like the dead.

    Hal blinked twice, and a wave of nausea overcame him, the vomit in his stomach only held back by the chilling horror that froze him in place.

    ¡°No,¡± he said, though he didn¡¯t hear it. ¡°No, no, no, no.¡±

    Hal sank to his knees, bringing his wife down with him. He could vaguely feel her rocking violently in his arms, and hear her muffled cry in his ears, but he didn¡¯t know how to respond. His hand automatically raised up to her head in an attempt to comfort her like he would with Lena when she was younger, but Arina¡¯s violent rocking made it impossible to run his fingers through her hair.

    Hal thought he heard Lena¡¯s name, and he looked up to see the small red haired girl grabbing the Otherworlder¡¯s collar and screaming at him, though he couldn¡¯t make out what she was saying, aside from the occasional mention of his daughter¡¯s name. The murderer barely seemed to notice her presence, staring blankly in front of him.

    The murderer¡¯s eyes wavered, and for a moment, Hal locked eyes with him. Dark, emotionless, entirely inhuman. The murderer broke eye contact with him, his gaze wandering upwards.

    In a trance, Hal followed the murderer¡¯s eyes to his fist, still raised in the air, still crimson with the blood of his daughter.

    Hal felt a surge of anger run through him, and he stood up and reached into his pocket and drew the fillet knife that he¡¯d stowed inside.

    His lungs burned as he let out a battlecry that he couldn¡¯t quite hear. He charged forward, stumbling on something and falling to the ground.

    Not willing to stop, he scrambled forward and lunged awkwardly towards the murderer.

    The knife struck true and the entire blade slid into the monster¡¯s flesh.

    The animalistic rage in Hal let out a howl of victory, but the brief flash of elation lasted only for a split second. The murderer remained standing, not even noticing the knife stuck in his stomach, as he continued to stare at his own fist. He barely moved, even as the red haired girl reached up to slap him across the face.

    ¡°Fix her!¡± she screamed, pulling herself up so she could stare directly into his face. ¡°Fix her, you dumb bastard!¡±

    The murderer finally blinked, and his gaze snapped to the red haired girl.

    ¡°O-oh yeah,¡± he said, his voice wavering. ¡°Yeah. I can do that. I can fix her.¡±

    Hal perked up. What did he just say?

    The murderer walked forward towards his daughter¡¯s body. From the floor, Arina cried out and lunged over Lena¡¯s body.

    ¡°No!¡± Hal shouted, reaching out and pulling his wife off of their daughter.

    He didn¡¯t know what had come over him, to put his trust in the very monster that had murdered Lena in the first place, but he was desperate. Arina screamed at him and violently flailed in his arms, but he refused to let go of the sliver of hope that he hadn¡¯t known he had.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    He looked up at the boyish figure in a new light, and he couldn¡¯t help but hear his late father¡¯s voice in his head as he talked about angels, harbingers of both death and life, powerful and apathetic to all but their whims and the words of the lord above.

    Hal clasped his hands in prayer, in hopes that this one would choose to be benevolent.

    The boyish figure raised his hands above Lena¡¯s body. Hal¡¯s heart clenched as a flash of bright light forced him to look away.

    ---

    It was a strange feeling, being dead.

    I had no body. I was just a consciousness, floating in a formless sea of nothing.

    It wasn¡¯t a pleasant feeling, nor was it an unpleasant one. It just was.

    Honestly, it wasn¡¯t what I expected. I wasn¡¯t religious like my father was, and my assumptions on what happened once you died hadn¡¯t been very influenced by his faith. I hadn¡¯t believed in an afterlife. I always thought that when you died, you just ceased to exist.

    Apparently not.

    I still existed, albeit in a strange alien way. I was disconnected from reality, yet I was connected with all of it. I knew everything, but my mind was still surprisingly human and completely unable to comprehend the vastness of the information being presented to me as I floated around in whatever this was.

    I wondered when I would eventually begin to lose my sense of self, but some time in my musing, though time works strangely when you¡¯re dead, I noticed something. Something I hadn¡¯t seen in quite a while, now that I thought about it.

    [Lena] is dead.

    I didn¡¯t quite ¡°see¡± it, since I had no eyes, but I was aware of the blue box¡¯s presence.

    Its very unhelpful presence. It might as well not show up if it was going to give me such obvious information.

    It disappeared, even if I didn¡¯t have any way to tap it to dismiss it.

    Even without a proper sense of time, I felt like it took a while for another blue box to appear again.

    [Lena] has assimilated into the realm of Aether.

    Ah. New information. That was nice. Ultimately useless, since it didn¡¯t change the fact that I was dead, but it was intriguing in more ways than one. Why was the Guide even interacting with me in the first place?

    The blue box disappeared, replaced with another.

    [Lena]¡¯s quest: Guide

    While the [Lena] has left the side of the [HERO], his quest is not yet over. Directionless and uncertain, he must be guided towards his ultimate destiny.

    Objective: Guide the journey of the [HERO].

    Rewards: Wish fulfilment.

    [ACCEPT]

    I stared at the blue box, not sure if I could believe what I was observing.

    None of it made sense.

    In front of me, the text box changed.

    [Lena]¡¯s quest: Guide the [HERO] (Jamie Campbell)

    The [HERO] (Jamie Campbell) must accomplish his ultimate desires. Upon the acceptance of this quest, the [Lena] will provide guidance and tools to the [HERO] (Jamie Campbell) to allow him to achieve his goals.

    Objective: Guide the journey of the [HERO] (Jamie Campbell).

    Rewards: [Lena] will be granted whatever she desires.

    [ACCEPT]

    That wasn¡¯t quite what I meant. The wording of the text hadn¡¯t been what I was confused about.

    What could I even do? I was dead.

    Actually, I supposed I wouldn¡¯t stay dead for much longer, with Jamie being around to bring me back with his magic. Huh. I didn¡¯t know how to feel about that. I didn¡¯t feel particularly glad that I would stop being dead. I didn¡¯t ever remembered being suicidal, so maybe death was just like that? Maybe since I had already lost my life, I had become apathetic about it?

    Not liking the impending existential crisis I was about to have, I shifted my attention back to the panel. The [ACCEPT] text had started to pulse with an eager yellow glow, along with the text detailing my ¡°rewards.¡±

    Not very subtle.

    Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t sure I could feel emotion while I was dead¡­ no, scratch that. I definitely could. Annoyance, at the very least, wasn¡¯t lost to me.

    In response, the pulsing glow slowed down.

    Without an actual mouth, I could only frown in a metaphysical sense. What was the Guide trying to do? Why was it asking me this? And why now? Why was it offering me these vague rewards, and what did it want me to do? Well, what it wanted me to do was pretty obvious, but why? Why was it trying to fulfil Jamie¡¯s wish? Why did it need help in the first place? It was a God. It was well within its power to simply reach down to Materia and change the world to suit its needs. It didn¡¯t need to force me to do its bidding for it.

    I groaned silently, no sound coming out of my non-existent mouth, but managing to convey the concept of annoyance all the same. The text stopped pulsing altogether, and a new button popped up.

    [DECLINE]

    I stared at the button. This was new. While I had only gotten one ¡°quest¡± from the Guide before, I knew from watching Jamie¡¯s boxes that turning the Guide down wasn¡¯t usually an option. It always just seemed to assume that Jamie would do its bidding.

    The entire wall of text pulsed in response to my thoughts.

    I didn¡¯t know what emotion it was trying to convey, if the Guide even had any emotions in the human sense, but I had clearly thought of something that was worth reacting to. I pondered the button for a few seconds.

    Was it protesting the idea that it was forcing me to do anything?

    The pulsing stopped.

    What did that mean? Was my assumption right or not?

    The blue box grew larger and closer to my sense of perception, close enough that my nose would be pressing into it if I was still corporeal.

    The two buttons floated directly in my area of perception, silently asking me to choose whether I accepted or declined.

    I stared at the panels for a moment before I raised my arm, or at least tried to. Remembering that I didn¡¯t actually have a body to manipulate, I simply stared at the button I chose, focusing on the [DECLINE] button until the box faded away.

    A pulse of energy enveloped me, as the Guide reacted to my choice. I didn¡¯t understand what it was feeling, with its equivalent of emotion being too alien for me to even try to comprehend, but I doubted that the Guide understood why I had chosen to decline its request. From what I¡¯d seen from it, it was too alien of an entity to even have a basic understanding of mortal minds.

    There was another pulse of energy, different enough from the first that I could recognize it as a different emotion.

    Confusion maybe? Or maybe I had assumed wrong and it was getting angry at me. I wasn¡¯t sure. Whenever I heard my dad talk about religion, I got the sense that Gods could be quite angry for very little reason. Maybe the Guide would just erase my existence for my impudence.

    Another pulse, another different one. I waited to see if my consciousness would be obliterated by the God, but nothing happened.

    I still didn¡¯t know whether it was angry or not. Maybe it was just waiting for me to reveal that even though I¡¯d chosen to decline its request, I still planned to help Jamie if he did decide to revive me. I had always planned to do that. I didn¡¯t need a vague promise from a clumsy God to motivate me, especially when I was sceptical about how it would try to ¡°grant me whatever I desired¡± when it was doing such a terrible job at doing the same for Jamie.

    A weak pulse of energy enveloped me, but this time, instead of it washing through my being, I felt my consciousness jerk uncomfortably stretching along with the wave.

    My consciousness stretched along with the wave of energy, until I felt it spread thin, to the point where I could barely feel my own existence at all. Where was I? Who was I? What was I doing? I didn¡¯t know. Soon it wouldn¡¯t matter.

    But the feeling stopped. My consciousness snapped back, once more, and I took a deep gasp of air and sat up, blearily blinking my eyes as I regained consciousness. Looking up, I saw Jamie¡¯s bloodshot eyes staring down at me, a trail of tears flowing down his cheeks and dripping off the tip of his chin.

    Oh. I was alive again.

    ¡°Hey,¡± I said.

 48. Second attempts

    Before I could even think to stand, I was bowled over by the large projectile that was my mom. I couldn¡¯t tell what she was saying, from the garbled and incoherent yelling she was spouting at me, and I didn¡¯t particularly enjoy how she was practically slapping my arms and chest as she inspected them for any damage, but I didn¡¯t have the heart to tell her to stop.

    I hadn¡¯t wanted her to tag along, nor my dad. While I hadn¡¯t actively expected that I would die, it had always been a possibility in the back of my mind, and I hadn¡¯t thought my parents would be ready to see something like that.

    I was right. I felt no satisfaction in that.

    As my mom ran her hands over my arm and neck another time, I gently placed my hand over hers.

    ¡°I¡¯m alright, mom,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±

    My mom looked me dead in the eyes before losing strength in her body and collapsing into my lap. Though I felt her clinging desperately to the back of my shirt, I didn¡¯t know whether she had passed out or not. I let her lay there either way.

    Now that my mom had finally stopped jerking me around, I could finally take the time to look around me and gather my bearings. Physically I felt absolutely fine, which wasn¡¯t surprising given the power behind Jamie¡¯s healing magic, but I felt a bleary sluggishness that had nothing to do with my physical well being.

    I had been dead after all. I wished I was more uncertain of that fact, but there was a certainty to the experience that I couldn¡¯t possibly ignore. The memory would stick in the back of my mind for the rest of my life.

    I felt somewhat grateful for the fact that my death left me thinking slower than usual. If I had to guess, the blood that was splattered over the ceiling, walls, and my clothes had probably belonged to me once. The gruesome scene might¡¯ve been too much for me to handle if I was thinking properly. Even if I was used to the sight of blood from helping my dad out in the shop, it had never been my blood that I¡¯d been covered in.

    I looked away, not wanting to think about it anymore.

    Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t anywhere I could look without seeing something that I didn¡¯t want to deal with at the moment.

    Sera stood by the wall, trying her best not to look in my direction, a look of guilt on her face, probably because she hadn¡¯t done anything to try to stop me from coming here.

    My dad was kneeling down in front of Jamie, muttering a prayer under his breath and kissing the air above his feet.

    Jamie didn¡¯t seem to have noticed him, his eyes darting back and forth between me and the blood that stained his hands.

    They were all obviously mentally distraught, but I really didn¡¯t want to be the responsible one of the group. I just wanted to join them in their psychosis and curl up on the floor and either cry or go to sleep. Unfortunately, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye that I couldn¡¯t quite ignore.

    I let out a heavy sigh.

    ¡°Jamie?¡± I said.

    Jamie gave a start at the sound of his name.

    I didn¡¯t quite have the motivation to lift my arm to point, so I just lazily motioned with my chin instead. Oren lay with his back against the wall, crumpled on the floor, wheezing and spluttering as his lungs struggled to work, but I couldn¡¯t find it in me to find any sympathy for him. I¡¯d never been a fan of him in the first place, and after hearing him torment Jamie to try and drive him to his death, my feelings of distaste for the man only grew exponentially.

    But did he deserve to die?

    I watched Jamie turn around and flinch once he noticed Oren, but he didn¡¯t hesitate in raising his hands and closing his eyes. There was a bright flash of green light.

    I wasn¡¯t surprised in the slightest. Jamie wasn¡¯t a murderer. At least not an intentional one.

    Oren blinked a few times before looking around himself and immediately bouncing to his feet, apparently not affected by the same daze that I was feeling, which made sense since he¡¯d only been dying when Jamie healed him, not yet dead.

    ¡°Why are you not dead?¡± Oren asked.

    Jamie seemed more surprised than offended. ¡°What?¡±

    Oren stared blankly at Jamie for a few seconds, as if he were confused by Jamie¡¯s reaction. Eventually, he shook his head.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Jamie. I was momentarily confused. Please ignore my previous statement. But you must understand that you can never become an adventurer. Your previous crimes aside, assaulting a Mediator like myself would ensure that you would be banned from any government-sponsored establishment throughout Materia.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Jamie asked again, apparently still too dazed to properly process what was going on.

    Oren shook his head and laid a hand on Jamie¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Jamie, my brother. As your brother and best friend, I highly suggest you simply give up on your dream of becoming an adventurer.¡±

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    ¡°What?¡±

    I groaned under my breath. I really didn¡¯t want to deal with this. I looked at Sera with the hope that she would do something about it. Unfortunately, she was too busy staring blankly into space and avoiding my gaze to notice my silent request.

    I groaned again, a little louder this time, and tried to push myself up. My mom¡¯s grip tightened around my waist, but she was light enough that I managed to push myself up to my knees.

    ¡°Jamie,¡± I said, my voice still monotone from my recent death. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him.¡±

    Oren scowled. ¡°I am your brother in all but blood, Jamie. I only want the best for you. Don¡¯t listen to the civilian.¡±

    ¡°Oren,¡± I said, glaring at him. ¡°Shut up.¡±

    He glared down at me, the hatred in his eyes sharp enough that I bent over my mother¡¯s body instinctively to protect her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to order me around, civilian,¡± he said. ¡°Your actions have been a gross violation of the trust given to you by our previous Leader. I will be reporting you on the charges of high treason once this mission is completed.¡±

    I desperately wished that my mom wasn¡¯t clinging onto me, because there was nothing I wanted to do more in this moment than stand up and punch Oren in the face. I was well aware that it would probably hurt me more than it did him, but I was currently too exhausted to think of any other comeback.

    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Jamie said, before I could think of something to say. ¡°What? Oren, what are you talking about?¡±

    Oren¡¯s mouth snapped shut and his eyes widened as he stared at Jamie, as if just remembering that he was standing there.

    ¡°My brother,¡± he said. He paused for a few seconds before continuing. ¡°The civilian. Lena. She is a bad person.¡±

    In any other circumstance, I might have laughed at Oren¡¯s crumbling facade, but I wasn¡¯t in the mood for any amount of levity.

    I could¡¯ve just let Oren die. I didn¡¯t have to point him out to Jamie, at least until I¡¯d managed to calm him down somewhat. If Oren wasn¡¯t alive, then convincing him that he wasn¡¯t at fault for accidentally killing me would probably be going a lot smoother.

    I recognized that was a dangerous thought to have. Even if death was technically transient with Jamie around to bring anyone back, after experiencing the cold emptiness of death, I couldn¡¯t say that I¡¯d lost any respect for it, and I didn¡¯t want to give Jamie the burden of having to manipulate it so needlessly.

    ¡°See?¡± Oren said. ¡°She says nothing. She cannot deny how terrible she is.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about, Oren?¡± Jamie asked, backing away from him and almost tripping over my dad, who was still kneeling at his feet. ¡°Lena¡¯s cool.¡±

    ¡°She is not!¡± Oren said, his voice cracking as he shouted. With his fists clenched at his sides, he took a few deep breaths as he struggled to control his voice. From the way that he glared at me, I was surprised he hadn¡¯t taken matters into his own hands and-

    I blinked as Jamie suddenly appeared in front of me. I was too stunned by the speed of the action to process what had just happened, but with the tip of a knife pointing directly in between my eyes, grasped between Jamie¡¯s fingers, it didn¡¯t take me too long to figure it out.

    I suddenly felt less guilty about the fact that I¡¯d considered letting Oren die.

    ¡°What?¡± Jamie said, staring down at the knife in between his fingers like he had no idea where it came from. He glanced up at Oren, whose hand was still outstretched. ¡°Why did you do that?¡±

    Oren frowned and folded his arms together.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you, my brother,¡± he said. ¡°The civilian is evil. She plans to kill you.¡±

    ¡°Oren. Just shut up.¡±

    I turned to the side to see Sera pointing a knife towards Oren, an angry scowl on her face.

    Oren scowled back at her. ¡°You have no authority over me. We are currently of the same rank, and I am your senior. I order you to stand down, Grunt.¡±

    Sera seemed to be torn between whether she wanted to scream at or stab Oren, but before she could decide, a polite knock on wood interrupted her.

    I turned around, and froze when I saw an inky silhouette peering inside.

    Oh yeah.

    With no eyes, I didn¡¯t know whether it even needed to look in a specific direction to perceive things, but it was very clearly peering directly at Jamie, staring at him with where its eyes should have been.

    The Demon¡¯s outline vibrated slightly as it casually waved its hand.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Jamie said. ¡°Hello?¡±

    The Demon vibrated again and stepped into the room.

    Instinctively, I tried to cover up my mom¡¯s body to protect her from the threat, but before I could, I felt an arm deftly snaking itself underneath my arm and lifting me up to my feet in one quick motion.

    ¡°Run,¡± Sera said, right into my ear, before she lifted her free arm and pointed her palm at one of the walls.

    There was a sudden increase in the volume of the rain as the wall crumbled away, as if it were made of thin puzzle pieces the entire time. Sera pushed me roughly and I stumbled forward to regain my footing, but I didn¡¯t run like she wanted. Once I managed to find my footing on top of the wood chips that littered the floor, I turned around.

    Sera gave me a frustrated glare before falling to her knees, and then to the floor. Jamie glanced at her and then at me, as if I had an answer for why she did what she did.

    ¡°That¡¯s a Demon, Jamie,¡± I said, pointing at the Demon standing still in the room. I winced as the wind and rain assaulted my eyes and walked back under the shelter of what was left of the room.

    Jamie stared blankly at me before turning to the Demon. The Demon tilted its head at me, as if confused by my claim.

    ¡°He looks like a normal person,¡± Jamie said.

    ¡°Well, he¡¯s not,¡± I said, sighing. ¡°You could probably do that thing you did before. Detect Demons? That would be an easy way to check, right?¡±

    Jamie stared blankly at me and sighed. ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± he muttered under his breath, before raising his arms. ¡°Detect Demons.¡±

    The effect of Jamie¡¯s magic wasn¡¯t nearly as dramatic or as visually striking as the first time he¡¯d done it. The Demon in front of him simply pulsed a dull red.

    The Demon froze and seemed to look down at its hands, as if it couldn¡¯t believe what was happening to it.

    ¡°Well, there you have it,¡± I said. ¡°You can kill this one pretty easily, right?¡±

    The Demon¡¯s head jolted up at my words, and it immediately jumped back as far away as it could. Reaching for its side, it drew an inky knife from where its belt would have been, and pointed it forwards. Its silhouette shook, but I wasn¡¯t sure whether it was vibrating like before, or if it was shaking in fear.

    Jamie frowned as he glanced between the Demon and me.

    He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but closed it and shook his head.

    ¡°It¡¯s not hurting anyone,¡± Jamie said.

    The Demon lowered its knife slightly at his words. I frowned, knowing how much damage a Demon could do if it went unchecked.

    ¡°Not yet,¡± I said.

    Jamie glanced at me for a second before giving the Demon a blank stare.

    The Demon shook its head frantically and vibrated in place. The knife fell out of its hands and the tip stuck to the wood floor.

    Jamie sighed and hung his head. ¡°If you hurt anyone, I will hunt you down. Understood?¡±

    The Demon nodded and sprinted down the hall, as if afraid that Jamie would change his mind.

    As it left, my eyes shifted down to the Aether knife stuck in the floor, as it slowly started to dissipate away as it was cut off from its source. Jamie seemed to notice my gaze and looked down, just in time to see the last particles of the knife disappear.

    He frowned and sighed.

    ¡°I would like to know what¡¯s going on,¡± he said, his voice half demanding, half pleading. ¡°Please.¡±

 49. Debate

    It took me nearly an hour to convince my parents to leave me alone to talk to Jamie and the Mediators. It made sense. If I had a child of my own, I probably wouldn¡¯t be too happy about leaving her alone with someone who had killed her by accident, and another who tried to kill her on purpose only a few minutes afterwards, but I eventually managed to convince them that I would come back to them, safe and sound.

    The room went completely silent after they left. Though Jamie had taken the liberty of cleaning up my blood with his magic, he hadn¡¯t bothered to fix the wall. Even though the storm was slowly dying out, the wind and rain was still strong enough to blow a consistent spray of water onto us, nobody suggested that we should move or that Jamie should fix the wall.

    We all just stayed there, awkwardly standing around the cramped room in silence.

    I knew the onus was on me to say something, but I don¡¯t know how long it took for me to summon my voice.

    ¡°Jamie.¡± Once I found my voice, I spoke quickly, trying to deny myself the opportunity to hesitate. ¡°The Mediators are trying to kill you.¡±

    The reaction around the room was much more muted than I expected. Oren and Sera didn¡¯t even act like they¡¯d heard me, while Jamie only turned towards me with a furrowed brow with no other reaction. He stared into my eyes for a few seconds before turning away and staring directly at Oren.

    Oren glanced at him. ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± he said, answering the unasked question.

    I wasn¡¯t sure I believed what I¡¯d heard. I expected him to at least try to deny the accusation somewhat. What was he doing?

    I looked at Sera, to see if she had an explanation, but she was adamantly avoiding my gaze, staring out of the broken wall like she was admiring the rain.

    ¡°You¡¯re trying to kill me?¡± Jamie asked.

    Oren nodded. Even if I knew it would¡¯ve been a lie, I had expected him to deny the accusation, or at least pretend to feel guilty, but his expression was completely blank, devoid of the false expressions he usually wore.

    ¡°The civilian speaks the truth,¡± he said. ¡°The Mediators are an organisation that aims to remove all Otherworlders from Materia.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Jamie asked.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re powerful,¡± he said. ¡°Powerful enough to destroy a small village like this with a single thought. Powerful enough to genocide an entire country in the span of a few days.¡±

    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t do that,¡± I said, glaring at Oren.

    ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen of your personality, I am willing to accept that it is unlikely that you would intentionally put another life in danger,¡± Oren said, not even bothering to look in my direction to answer me. ¡°But we already have two instances where you have killed two civilians and assaulted a Mediator.¡±

    ¡°He healed us!¡± I said.

    Oren turned to me for the first time in the conversation, just to give me a quick glance and a blank, unimpressed stare.

    ¡°Near-death experiences can still be traumatic. I imagine the act of actually dying would be just as traumatic, even if the victim was brought back to life,¡± he said.

    I bit my lip and stayed silent, not wanting to answer the unspoken question.

    Oren said nothing for a few more seconds until he was confident I wouldn¡¯t answer.

    ¡°Whether your victims experience trauma or not, the fact is that you committed murder, regardless of your intentions,¡± Oren said, turning back to Jamie. ¡°Or rather, you committed murder despite your intentions. You have power beyond the capacity of a mortal to handle, and sometimes, you will not be able to control it. This has been proven throughout history. There has not been a single Otherworlder that has been able to keep themselves from directly causing the death of another.

    ¡°Excluding the extreme outliers, on average, Otherworlders kill twelve Materians before the Mediators are able to eliminate them. If we include the extreme outliers, that number goes up to approximately five million. It may seem like an exaggeration, but as of this moment, there is a population count of approximately four billion Materians alive today. Fifty years ago, before the rampage of the Otherworlder colloquially known as the Plague King, that number was approximately seven billion. That is why the Mediators exist. For the good of all life on Materia, and for the sake of any goodness that might remain in the Otherworlders.¡±

    Oren gently placed a hand on Jamie¡¯s shoulder, a gesture that clashed with how flat and uncaring his voice was.

    ¡°I can tell you¡¯re in pain, Jamie. You wish to be a good person, do you not? The best way to ensure that you remain one is to deny your infinite power of the chance to corrupt you.¡±

    Jamie¡¯s shoulders tensed up at Oren¡¯s words and he awkwardly shifted his head as he continued to look down at his feet.

    ¡°How-¡±

    ¡°No,¡± I said. I stepped forward to place myself in between the two, pushing Oren away from Jamie. Oren stepped back without resistance, seemingly unbothered by my interruption. ¡°Don¡¯t finish that question Jamie. He¡¯ll just lie to you, like he¡¯s been lying this entire time.¡±

    ¡°I will not lie to you, Jamie,¡± Oren said. ¡°While I have lied to you in the past, I recognize that my previous approach may have been inappropriate. After some reevaluation, we have determined that the best method of handling you would be to employ complete honesty, in hopes of obtaining your cooperation.¡±

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    We? The single word stood out in my mind and I glanced at Sera, who turned away before I could meet her eyes.

    ¡°You were about to say something before the civilian interrupted,¡± Oren continued. ¡°Would I be correct if I assumed that you wanted to know how you could ensure that you will never kill anyone again?¡±

    My heart sank as Jamie¡¯s unasked question was said out loud. Jamie said nothing, and I didn¡¯t want to turn around to see his reaction, but the look on Oren¡¯s face told me all I needed to know. It was a surprisingly gentle expression, with only the vaguest hint of his lips being raised and a slight crinkle at the corners of his eyes as he adopted a smile, it was the most genuine expression I¡¯d ever seen from him. If I hadn¡¯t known who it was attached to, I might have thought it made him look innocent and almost childlike.

    ¡°You would have to die of your own volition,¡± he said, his normally flat voice taking on a gentle edge of quiet excitement. ¡°Would this be agreeable to you?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± I answered for Jamie. ¡°No it would not.¡±

    ¡°The civilian does not speak for you, Jamie,¡± Oren said, still staring over my head. ¡°It is your decision to make. You have the ultimate control over your life. You would be doing a good thing, Jamie. A noble end makes a noble life.¡±

    ¡°Like hell it does!¡± I shouted. ¡°Jamie, don¡¯t listen to this crap, he¡¯s clearly manipulating you.¡±

    ¡°If trying to convince you that the decision I want you to take is the correct one, then yes, I am manipulating you,¡± Oren admitted. ¡°But I genuinely think that it would be beneficial for both you, and every single resident of Materia if you died. Nothing I said has been a lie, Jamie. Unless you think otherwise?¡±

    Though he still refused to look at me, the question was clearly a challenge at me.

    ¡°All you¡¯ve been doing is lying!¡± I shouted. ¡°You¡¯re literally trying to dress up suicide like it could possibly ever be a good thing, and you have the fucking audacity to stand there with that smug look on your face, like you¡¯ve got an impenetrable argument?!¡±

    Oren¡¯s smile twitched. It didn¡¯t quite drop off his face, but he shifted his gaze down to meet mine.

    ¡°I have not been lying,¡± he said. ¡°There would only be benefits to Jamie¡¯s death.¡±

    ¡°Are you missing the fact that he¡¯d be dead?¡± I asked. ¡°Speaking as someone who¡¯s been dead before, I¡¯ll let you know. It was the most terrifying thing that¡¯s ever happened to me in my life.¡±

    When Oren¡¯s smile returned, it took me a moment to realise my mistake. I turned around to look at Jamie, and though he still had his head tucked into his chin with his hood drawn tight over his head, he was tall enough and I was standing close enough to see his face, wracked with pain and guilt.

    ¡°Jamie,¡± I said. ¡°It wasn¡¯t your fault.¡±

    ¡°A lie,¡± Oren said, the smile audible in his voice. ¡°It was your hands that shattered her bones and spilled her blood. That is the truth.¡±

    I didn¡¯t bother glaring at Oren, knowing that there was nothing I could do to shut him up.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t mean to,¡± I pleaded. ¡°It was an accident. It wasn¡¯t your fault.¡±

    When Jamie raised his head to look directly at me, I almost flinched from the gaunt appearance of his sunken eyes. Tear marks stained his cheeks, but his eyes were devoid of moisture and life. Though he stared in my direction, he looked through me, at something only he could see.

    ¡°It was,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    When I talked to my parents a moment ago to convince them to let me talk to Jamie and the Mediators alone, I put on my brave face for them, to try and convince them I¡¯d be fine, even though I had no idea what would happen in this room after they left.

    It had been a surprisingly easy task for me to accomplish. I don¡¯t know whether it had been my willpower or simply the fact that I was in shock from having died just moments before that allowed me to feign a stoic expression for them, but I somehow managed.

    But now, watching Jamie struggle not to cry just made me want to cry for him.

    And so I did.

    It was a strange feeling, to cry without sobbing. Aside from a gut-wrenching twinge in my stomach that made me feel like I was on the verge of throwing up, I felt nothing. Aside from a heart-rending pain in my chest from the pain as I tried and failed to understand the amount of pain that Jamie must be feeling, I felt numb. Tears flowed down my face, but no sound escaped my lips.

    ¡°I thought I told you not to apologise for things you didn¡¯t do,¡± I said, whispering unintentionally. I wasn¡¯t sure he heard me.

    Jamie shook his head, the motion so slight that I wasn¡¯t sure if I¡¯d imagined it.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said. ¡°Steven was right. I should¡¯ve never been born.¡±

    ¡°Fuck Steven!¡± I shouted, even if I didn¡¯t know who he could possibly be talking about.

    Jamie¡¯s only reaction was to let his head fall and stare at his feet. Through my blurry vision, the morbid part of my brain could only imagine the image of a dying man, hanging without a rope.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t die,¡± I begged. ¡°I¡¯d miss you. Just talk to me.¡±

    Jamie¡¯s eyes flickered to mine, and for a moment, I swore I saw a bit of hope in his eyes.

    ¡°You should never apologise for being born, my brother,¡± Oren said, drawing his eyes away from me before that hope could take hold. ¡°The circumstances of our birth cannot be controlled, but the choices we make are our own. I only ask that you make the correct one.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t take it anymore. Turning around, I walked up to Oren, took a moment to focus on where he was through my teary vision and reached up to slap him in the face.

    It felt like slapping a brick wall, and like I guessed before, it hurt me more than it hurt him, judging from his lack of reaction.

    Oren looked down at me.

    ¡°The civilian has no arguments to give and so she resorts to violence,¡± he said. ¡°Is this the only argument you have left?¡±

    ¡°Shut up, Oren,¡± I growled. ¡°Jamie isn¡¯t going to kill himself.¡±

    ¡°It would be the logical thing for him to do.¡±

    ¡°Go take that logic and shove it up your ass.¡±

    Oren gave me a disappointed look and sighed. ¡°I will never understand you civilians,¡± he said, before looking up. ¡°Jamie. There are three different ways that an Otherworlder can die. I will not tell you the third way, as it is too dangerous to attempt, but the first two are equally viable.¡±

    In a moment of panic, I tried to reach up to slap my hand over Oren¡¯s mouth, in an attempt to physically shut him up. Instead of letting me hit him again, his hand snaked up with careless ease and slapped my hand away.

    ¡°You came to this world with a dream. A defined goal that you sought to pursue during your time here, and without the goal to sustain you, your existence will fade. If you decide that you have satisfied that goal, or have given up hope in achieving it, you will pass.¡±

    Jamie frowned.

    ¡°So if I give up on my dream, I die?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Oren said. ¡°Alternatively, if you truly believe you have achieved it, you will also pass on. However, I do not believe that is a viable option as becoming an adventurer would be a fundamentally impossible task for you. An adventurer can be defined as an individual who seeks and partakes in adventure, and an adventure can be defined as an undertaking that involves danger, risk, and excitement, but your invulnerable constitution makes risk and danger fundamentally impossible for you.¡±

    Jamie stared at Oren, and then at me.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t,¡± I begged. It wasn¡¯t a good argument, but it was the best I could offer.

    Jamie stared at me for a while longer, before he bowed his head.

    ¡°Please,¡± I repeated.

    Several seconds passed in silence, before Jamie raised his head. His eyes were still sunken, but he tried to give Oren a shaky smirk before it immediately fell back down into a frown. He let out a sigh.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can do it.¡±

 50. Dream

    Oren¡¯s face twitched, and there was the quiet sound of something cracking underfoot.

    ¡°Why, my brother?¡± he asked. ¡°What prevents you from making the noble choice?¡±

    Oren¡¯s words were effective at making Jamie wince, and I immediately wanted to jump in to defend him, but Jamie spoke before I could.

    ¡°I just can¡¯t, okay?¡± he said. ¡°What does giving up on my dream even mean? That¡¯s way too vague. It¡¯s not like I can just decide to think a certain way.¡±

    Oren frowned. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you be able to?¡± he asked.

    Jamie simply fixed Oren with a blank stare. ¡°People don¡¯t work like that, Oren,¡± he said.

    There was a long stretch of silence as Oren scowled at Jamie.

    ¡°Be that as it may,¡± Oren said, powering through the awkward silence. ¡°If your problem lies with the vagueness of your task, it can easily be defined and clarified. Are you struggling with the definition of being an adventurer?¡±

    Jamie frowned. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°What are you struggling with, then?¡±

    ¡°I-¡± Jamie paused to look at me, as if silently asking for help.

    ¡°He¡¯s not struggling with anything,¡± I said. ¡°He¡¯s not going to kill himself, Oren. That¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t involve you, civilian,¡± he said, keeping his eyes fixed on Jamie, as if not wanting to acknowledge me.

    ¡°Jamie¡¯s my friend.¡±

    For some reason, that was enough to make him turn to me, scowling even harder than he already was.

    ¡°He is not,¡± he said. ¡°You have been lying to him ever since you¡¯ve met him, and in turn, the Otherworlder has killed you. You cannot possibly be friends.¡±

    ¡°Well, we are,¡± I said.

    ¡°No. You are not,¡± Oren replied.

    ¡°We are.¡±

    ¡°You are not.¡±

    I frowned, suddenly realising I had somehow gotten into the equivalent of a playground argument of shouting ¡°Are not!¡± and ¡°Are too!¡± with a Mediator. I stared at Oren, who had his fists clenched by his sides, and looked like he would go into a shouting tantrum at the slightest push. As morbidly funny as it might have been to see, I was too tired to deal with it.

    Instead I sighed.

    ¡°Jamie,¡± I said instead. ¡°I think we¡¯re done here. Could you please deal with Oren, please?¡±

    ¡°Deal with him?¡± Jamie repeated, an anxious look appearing on his face.

    I winced at my choice of words, and quickly shook my head. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t mean to kill him. Gods. I meant that you could do something to put him to sleep, or teleport him away, or anything to stop him from trying to talk you into killing yourself.¡±

    Oren let out an angry cry and in an instant, Jamie appeared in front of me, catching another knife before it stabbed me in between the eyes.

    ¡°Oren,¡± Jamie said, letting the knife drop from between his fingers. ¡°Could you¡­ stop that?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re being completely idiotic! All of you!¡± Oren shouted. ¡°This is completely irrational behaviour! Do you want the blood of innocents on your hands?!¡±

    Jamie frowned at the accusation, but he raised his hand and closed his eyes. A dull pulse of white light emanated from his hand, and he rushed over to Oren to catch him before his unconscious body fell onto the floor. Scooping him up gently, Jamie laid the man on the lone bed in the room.

    There was a long stretch of silence, as Jamie stared down at Oren¡¯s unmoving body.

    ¡°I¡¯ll assume you don''t want me around either.¡±

    I looked up at Sera, who still refused to look me in the eyes, choosing to look at an empty corner of the room instead. In all honesty, I¡¯d almost forgotten that she was still here, with how quiet she¡¯d been.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, knowing that the comment was directed more at me than at Jamie. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±

    Sera winced and turned to Jamie.

    ¡°Hey, Jamie,¡± she said.

    ¡°Yeah?¡± he asked.

    Though Sera glanced in my direction, she still refused to meet my eyes, her gaze focused somewhere around my knees instead.

    She sighed and turned around.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± she said, before walking out of the room through the large hole in the wall, into the rainy outdoors.

    Jamie and I watched her leave, neither of us willing or wanting to stop her. In her absence, silence quickly returned, filled only by the steady sound of pounding rain above.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said.

    Though I had my gaze fixed on the hole in the wall that Sera had left through, I could see Jamie turning to me out of the corner of my eye.

    ¡°Huh?¡± he asked. ¡°What for?¡±

    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Oren was right,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve been lying to you since we met. I knew that the Mediators wanted to kill you since we met them. I probably could¡¯ve prevented all of this from happening if I were more honest with you.¡±

    Jamie stared at me for a few more seconds before turning away, directing his gaze to the outdoors as well.

    When he refused to say anything for the next few seconds, I sighed.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you be.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Jamie said, turning back to me. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you upset with me?¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Jamie said, scratching his head awkwardly. ¡°I guess a little bit. But I did kill you, so I think we can call it even.¡±

    He let out a single dry bark of a laugh before his face fell into a frown.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± I said.

    ¡°What are you apologising for?¡± he fired back. ¡°You keep telling me that I shouldn¡¯t apologise for things that aren¡¯t my fault, but I guess that rule doesn¡¯t apply to you, you bitch.¡±

    The casual insult was so out of character that I couldn¡¯t help myself from whipping my head around to face him. I didn¡¯t know exactly what my expression looked like, but if I had to guess, it might have looked similar to the one that Jamie wore. His eyebrows had shot up in surprise, as if it wasn¡¯t him that called me a bitch, but someone who could impersonate him perfectly and throw their voice.

    I actually considered the idea for a split second before I saw Jamie wince, regret and shame clear on his face.

    ¡°What did you call me?¡± I asked, just to make sure I¡¯d heard correctly.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry,¡± Jamie stammered out, looking down at the floor. ¡°I just- I mean- Y¡¯know.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t say I did. I didn¡¯t say that out loud, but I think my dumbfounded expression managed to convey the message to Jamie better than words could.

    Jamie groaned as he pulled his hoodie tight over his head and turned away.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± he said. ¡°I just thought since, y¡¯know. You said we were friends, right? And friends insult each other? Like, they banter? Like you said? Like you did with Bran? I think?¡±

    He continued to mumble, but as he quickly lost confidence in his words, they grew too quiet to be comprehensible. It took me a moment to process what he¡¯d said, and even longer to realise why he¡¯d said that, but when I did, I felt myself break out into a smile.

    ¡°Wait,¡± I said, before I let out an involuntary giggle. I tried to stifle it, but when I opened my mouth to try and speak, I almost choked on the gasping laugh I tried and failed to hold back.

    I doubled over, clutching at my stomach, sinking to my knees as I gasped for air. I kept choking and sputtering as my lungs kept forcing me to expel more air than I was taking in, but I didn¡¯t care. Losing strength in my limbs, I let myself fall to the floor, as I continued to laugh.

    I don¡¯t know how long I stayed like that, laughing almost maniacally as I drowned in mirth, but when I regained my senses, Jamie was crouched over me, glaring down at me. Though he still had his hood drawn tight over his head, the angle that I was at gave me a clear view of his face, crimson with annoyance and embarrassment.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that funny,¡± he said.

    I actually happened to agree with him, not understanding why I was even laughing so hard in the first place, but I wasn¡¯t going to tell him that.

    ¡°Sure,¡± I said, through my giggles. ¡°You keep telling yourself that, you big idiot.¡±

    Jamie tried to look annoyed at me, but like always, he was a terrible actor and failed to keep the smile from creeping onto his face.

    He let out an exaggerated sigh and sat down on the floor, next to my head.

    He didn¡¯t say anything, so I took my time. Once I managed to recover from my laughter I pulled myself into a sitting position next to him.

    Though neither of us talked for a while, there was no silence between us, the air being occupied by my stray giggles and the steady beat of the rain overhead.

    It was only once I managed to calm down completely that Jamie talked.

    ¡°My dad hated me.¡±

    His words clashed heavily against my mood, but the way that Jamie talked was so casual that I couldn¡¯t help but answer back in the same way.

    ¡°That must¡¯ve been terrible,¡± I said.

    ¡°It was. My mom died during childbirth, and he never let me forget it,¡± he said, laughing a little. ¡°Honestly, in hindsight, it seems pretty silly. How are you going to yell at your own son for fifteen years for something that he didn¡¯t mean to do? Sometimes, I dreamed about what would¡¯ve happened if my mom hadn¡¯t died, and maybe if my dad would¡¯ve been nicer to me if that hadn¡¯t happened, but honestly, I¡¯ve never even seen him be nice in the first place, so it was always difficult to imagine. In my fantasies, I would always picture him as being someone completely different. Most of the time, I would picture him with Tom Hanks¡¯s face, or something like that. Someone who could actually say, ¡®Good morning,¡¯ to me without attaching, ¡®you murderer,¡¯ to the end of the sentence. So I guess it could¡¯ve really been anyone. Not sure why I always pictured Tom Hanks. I never even liked him much anyways. Not that I disliked him or anything, I just didn¡¯t really have an opinion on him. I think I¡¯ve watched maybe one movie with him in it, but I guess he just gave off some dad vibes or something.¡±

    Jamie laughed and sighed.

    I waited for a few seconds for him to continue, but he didn¡¯t, simply blankly into space, with a slight smile on his face. I didn¡¯t know whether he wanted me to chime in, or if he simply ran out of steam, but I decided to say something.

    ¡°Your dad sounds like an asshole.¡±

    Jamie nodded.

    ¡°Oh yeah. He definitely was. But worse than that, he was my dad. Y¡¯know. The guy who was specifically supposed to not be an asshole to me. My dad. Y¡¯know?¡±

    I could tell the question wasn¡¯t for me. I stayed silent as Jamie sighed.

    ¡°But I guess he was right. I am a murderer.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not. I¡¯m alive aren¡¯t I?¡±

    Jamie gave me a sad smile, but quickly turned away to watch the rain falling, with the smile still on his face.

    ¡°I think I might be a bad person,¡± he said. ¡°I used to think that I would rather be dead than actually be a murderer, but when I actually ended up killing someone, I ended up pretending like it never happened in the first place. Even after I killed you, I couldn¡¯t muster up the courage to die.¡±

    ¡°Being suicidal has nothing to do with courage, idiot,¡± I said, punching Jamie in the shoulder as hard as I could.

    Jamie rocked to the side from the impact of the blow and gave an exaggerated wince and rubbed at the spot that I¡¯d punched him. The effect was ruined by the slight grin he had on his face.

    ¡°What about doing the right thing?¡± he asked. ¡°Is that courage?¡±

    I raised my fist up at him. ¡°Don¡¯t make me hit you again.¡±

    Jamie let out a quiet chuckle and raised his hands in surrender.

    ¡°Okay, okay, sheesh,¡± he said.

    I kept my fist raised for a few more seconds before I lowered it to my side. Jamie was looking out the hole in the wall again, so I decided to join him, letting the pattering of the rain lull me into a sense of calm.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill more people.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°How do you know that?¡±

    ¡°I just do.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s convenient.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a good person, Jamie.¡±

    ¡°Agree to disagr-¡±

    ¡°Jamie.¡±

    ¡°Okay fine, sheesh. Let¡¯s say I¡¯m a good person-¡±

    ¡°Which you are.¡±

    ¡°I still have OP isekai protagonist powers. What¡¯s stopping me from getting corrupted by my power, like Oren said.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Really? That¡¯s your entire argument?¡±

    I sighed and shrugged as I scooted over sideways a bit. I could feel Jamie tense up slightly when I leaned my head against his shoulder, and a part of me wondered if he would interpret the casual touch as me leading him on, but I couldn¡¯t help but think it was worth the risk. He seemed like he needed this.

    ¡°I believe in you,¡± I said.

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    Jamie¡¯s shoulders slumped downwards as some of the tension left his body.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    We stayed like that for a while.

    ¡°My dream isn¡¯t actually to become an adventurer or anything like that, by the way.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Really? You always seemed so excited by the idea.¡±

    ¡°I mean, I guess you could say that it¡¯s always been a dream of mine, but it¡¯s not like it¡¯s my dream, y¡¯know?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t say I do.¡±

    Jamie didn¡¯t reply for a few seconds. I looked up at him to see that the smile had vanished from his face. He noticed me staring and tried to smile again, but it didn¡¯t quite reach his eyes.

    ¡°My dream is to experience love. It¡¯s been my dream ever since I was a kid.¡±

    As he started to sob quietly, I pulled his head to my chest and hugged him as tight as I could.

 51. Death and Rebirth

    It is confused.

    The Second looks down at its dagger, the same dagger that it had dropped upon conversing with the Otherworlder. It never went back to retrieve it, but it simply possesses the dagger once more.

    The Second doesn¡¯t understand why. It inspects the dagger, running a finger along the flat. It is crafted from a dark steel alloy that is standard issue amongst all Mediators. It is an old dagger, a companion to the Second since its first job.

    While the daggers are expected to be lost at some point, as they are well balanced for throwing, it is not uncommon for a Mediator¡¯s dagger to have a long life. Despite the danger associated with the job, it is not one that often requires a dagger to be drawn, much less thrown.

    For a large majority of Mediators, the only reason why a dagger would be discarded would be if a lack of use and care dulls and rusts the weapon. Any semi-competent Mediator takes care of their weapons. And the Second is a competent Mediator.

    The Second sits up and reaches into its back pocket to draw out a cloth and two bottles filled with blade oil and polish. It does not know why it does this. Perhaps it is shaken from its recent experience, and wishes to turn to the familiar habit of maintaining its blade for comfort. A common habit among Mediators, and the Second is a competent Mediator. But a competent Mediator would let nothing shake its resolve. There is no reason for it to need to seek comfort. Is the Second not a competent Mediator?

    No. The Second is a competent Mediator. This is the reason why it maintains its weapon.

    The Second runs its hands along the dagger once more. Does it need to be cleaned? It is spotless. There is no reason for it to need cleaning. It was not the same dagger that it had dropped on the floor, while fleeing from the Otherworlder. The Second did not flee from the Otherworlder. And yet it was the same dagger, and it did flee.

    But why would a competent Mediator like the Second have any reason to flee?

    Would it flee if the Otherworlder casts a spell to identify the Second as a Demon?

    But it would not identify the Second as a Demon, as the Second is not a Demon.

    But it did.

    The Second runs its fingers along the dagger, inspecting it once more, before a tremor in its hands causes it to graze its skin against the edge.

    The Second recoils in surprise and shame. A competent Mediator should not be making such pointless mistakes. But then again, no human could possibly be perfect, and the Second is human. The mistake is fine.

    The Second inspects the site of the mistake for damage. There is a slight gap there, but as it watches and waits for blood to ooze out, nothing comes.

    The Second watches and waits.

    Nothing.

    The Second feels its heartbeat stop at the sight.

    It is still denying the idea that it could possibly be a Demon, that the Otherworlder¡¯s magic was merely a trick. The Second sees a spot of red in the wound, and it feels hope, but the red fades. It comes back. It fades.

    The pulsing red light of the Otherworlder¡¯s magic lingers still. Detect Demons. The name of the insidious spell. The Second tries to convince itself that the name could be a misdirection, designed specifically to fool him.

    But the argument is difficult to sustain.

    The Second realises that its heartbeat never started again.

    Or has it never beaten at all?

    The Second puts a hand on its chest, feeling a panic envelop it, its breath starts to quicken, the sensation is new, too new, not the panic, nor the quickness, but, the breath.

    Breathing.

    It does not know how to breathe. The Second is suddenly confident that it has never taken a single breath in its entire life. Not that the life had been long. How long?

    It cannot remember when its first memory took place, but it can remember what the memory is.

    Becoming a Second.

    The Second is scared.

    But it shouldn¡¯t be.

    A Second, while not a leadership position by definition, is the Second-most important position in a standard Mediator team. While a Second may never deliver instructions to the Grunts or Shadow on any given mission, a Second is always expected to lead by example. A Second must be a competent Mediator.

    And competent Mediators do not feel fear.

    The Second is scared.

    But perhaps it could be. The Second is not only a competent Mediator, but a human. And a human is inherently imperfect. But a human is not a Demon.

    The Second is a Demon.

    The Second cannot be a human.

    The Second cannot be a competent Mediator.

    The Second cannot be a Second.

    And so.

    It isn¡¯t.

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    In its final act, the Demon stared at the cut in the Aether that made up its form, completely unaware that the knife that it had used to make the cut was slowly fading away from existence, as was the flesh around the cut itself.

    And so.

    It wasn¡¯t.

    ¡ª

    As Stoney woke up, he immediately prodded the back of his head for any hints of damage. Though his fingers came away dry of blood, and his head was free of bumps, he could still feel the echoing pains of an intense headache.

    A sudden wave of nausea overtook him, and he rolled over to his side as he threw up. He didn¡¯t vomit much, but the nausea refused to go away, even when he knew he had no more to give.

    So it was a concussion, then.

    Stoney stopped himself from rubbing at the source of the wound and asked himself a few questions to test his memory to see how badly the concussion was affecting his mental capacities. Thankfully, aside from the pain, he seemed to be thinking relatively clearly, with no issues remembering basic information about his life.

    His name was Stoney. He was thirty-seven years old. He was in a small town called Plainswood. He was a Mediator and a Leader in a mission involving an Otherworlder named Jamie. The circumstances in which he found himself replacing a previous leader had been quite strange, with the only reason given for the takeover being ¡°incompetence¡± but he supposed the problem was much worse than he¡¯d originally expected if two of the incompetents in question turned out to be mutinous traitors.

    There was a sharp stab of pain in his head and Stoney couldn¡¯t help but reflexively press his hand against it. In that moment, he realised that his head was uncovered and unbandaged.

    He looked around him, and though it was close enough to pitch darkness that he couldn¡¯t make out any details, there was enough light to make out the familiar sight of the basement that he originally arrived in.

    ¡°Shit,¡± he said out loud, partially because he wanted to see if he would slur his words, and partially because he was just pissed.

    While a Mediator¡¯s mission was more important than their lives, they weren¡¯t an organisation that would throw away lives without a purpose. There were only two reasons why Stoney would¡¯ve been left for dead like he was.

    ¡°Either the rest of my team was in a situation where they couldn¡¯t risk relocating or treating me, or they were already incapacitated or dead.¡±

    A surge of despair almost overtook him, but Stoney grunted as another surge of pain wracked at his head. He didn¡¯t enjoy the sensation, but he was grateful to the pain for forcing him to focus on what was important.

    It was possible his team was still alive and it was equally possible that they weren¡¯t, but he couldn¡¯t afford to focus on that. He had to focus on what he could do.

    As Stoney staggered to his feet, the involuntary sway in his step made him nearly trip over his own feet, but he managed to catch himself against a wall. He felt the nausea of his concussion intensify at the movement, but nothing came out when he heaved. He waited a few moments for the feeling to subside before he gingerly made his way towards the exit of the basement.

    He would mourn later. Though he had no idea what transpired during the time that he¡¯d been knocked out, nor how long he¡¯d been knocked out in the first place, he knew that he had to do something.

    Stoney didn¡¯t have much to work off of, but he knew that his team wasn¡¯t in a position to help him, or they would¡¯ve done so already. He couldn¡¯t stay idle. He had to figure out what the situation was and work out a solution from there. It seemed like a daunting task, especially with how his head pulsed with pain at every step, but for now, all he needed to do was to get out of the basement.

    Stoney grunted as he reached the stairs, sliding his hand from the wall to the handrail. Every step he took made him want to sit down and take a breath, but he didn¡¯t allow himself the luxury.

    The basement steps led up to a trap door, something that Stoney only remembered after he hit his head against it. He hissed in pain, but raised his arms up to push the door open.

    He had to squint as the light bombarded his senses.

    Stoney wanted nothing else but to crawl back into the basement and shut the door behind him, but he forced himself onwards, shutting his eyes and crawling forwards blindly.

    Though his head was pounding, he was still confident enough in his memory that he could recall the layout of the house he¡¯d been summoned to from the blueprints he¡¯d studied beforehand. He crawled towards where he knew the kitchen should be, in hopes of getting some water for his parched throat.

    When he felt a pair of arms scoop him up from under his armpits, his first instinct was to resist, but the gentle care that his handler seemed to be putting in to making sure they didn¡¯t jostle him too much made Stoney assume that they meant him no harm. Stoney tried to open his eyes, but the glare of the light around him made him close them before he could see who his benefactor was.

    He felt himself being lowered gently into a chair, and Stoney slumped down into his seat. Something was pressed into his hand, and once Stoney determined that it was a cup, he lifted it to his lips and drunk from it.

    Water. It took the entirety of his willpower not to try and down it immediately, taking small sips instead to reduce the risk of choking or somehow aggravating his headache further.

    ¡°Stoney. What happened?¡±

    While Stoney could make out the words being spoken, he couldn¡¯t identify the voice. The voice was garbled, or perhaps his mind was, but in either case, it seemed like it was another Mediator. Had reinforcements already been sent?

    ¡°Traitors,¡± he grunted out. ¡°Lena and Oren. Lena attempted to assassinate my Second, and Oren knocked me out when I retaliated. Concussion.¡±

    There was no response from his benefactor, but the short talk was enough to try Stoney¡¯s throat out again, and he was forced to take a few more sips of water.

    ¡°What happened while I was out?¡± he asked, once he was done. ¡°Where is my team?¡±

    There was a long stretch of silence, one that Stoney was quick to notice. Despite the fact that he wasn¡¯t sure if he would be able to use it, Stoney reached for his belt, where his dagger rested.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, Stoney,¡± his benefactor said. ¡°Your team¡¯s alive.¡±

    Stoney paused. He risked cracking open a single eye, and though the glare still hurt his head, he was able to focus for long enough to recognize the man sitting across from him.

    ¡°Marten?¡± he asked, just to make sure.

    The insufferable man¡¯s only answer was to give him a wry smirk, which confirmed his identity better than words could.

    ¡°The one and only,¡± Marten responded.

    ¡°You¡¯re alive and safe?¡± Stoney asked, just to be sure. ¡°What about the two Extras?¡±

    ¡°Never was in any danger in the first place,¡± Marten said, jerking a thumb to the side at a pair of Timuran Humans sitting idly at the table. ¡°Same thing for the brats. Been right beside me this entire time.¡±

    A wave of relief overtook Stoney before it was replaced by a surge of anger.

    In one swift motion, he grabbed his dagger from his belt in one swift motion and slammed the tip into the table. The vibrations hurt his head, but it no longer mattered, with the pain being drowned out by anger.

    ¡°Are you fucking in on it too?¡± he shouted.

    ¡°In on what?¡± Marten asked, frowning as his eyes drifted towards the dagger.

    Stoney had no delusions that he would be able to overpower or even escape from three trained Mediators when he was in such a bad state, but it didn¡¯t stop him from growling angrily at Marten.

    ¡°Treason,¡± he said. ¡°Was it more than just Lena and Oren? Was this all just a trap to lure me and my Second to our deaths?¡±

    Marten¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°It was not.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why the hell was I left for dead in a fucking cellar?¡±

    Marten opened his mouth, as if to answer, but shut it a moment later, his brow furrowing in concentration.

    ¡°Stoney,¡± he said. ¡°What was your Second¡¯s name?¡±

    Stoney growled and pulled his dagger from the table and pointed in between Marten¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject, Marten,¡± he said.

    Marten stared into Stoney¡¯s eyes, like there wasn¡¯t a dagger pointed at his face.

    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± he said. ¡°This is important, Stoney. What was your Second¡¯s name?¡±

    Stoney growled and was about to yell at Marten, until he realised he didn¡¯t know.

    He didn¡¯t know anything about his Second.

    ¡°What?¡± he muttered, letting his knife fall back to the table.

    Marten only responded with a grim frown.

 52. Plans for the future

    I jerked awake from my sleep silently, almost letting out a gasp until I remembered where I was, or rather, who was with me.

    Looking to my left, I watched nervously as my mom grumbled in her sleep, still clinging onto the fabric of my sleeve. I waited silently for a few seconds, before she let out a quiet sigh and sunk deeper into her pillow.

    I let out a breath that I hadn¡¯t realised I was holding, grateful that my shuffling hadn¡¯t woken my mom up. I hadn¡¯t wanted to let her sleep in my bed at first, but with how easily my parents accepted my request to let Jamie stay with us for a while, I felt like it would be unfair to deny my mom from trying to keep an eye on me.

    I sighed silently once more and looked around the room. From the dull light seeping in through the window, I could guess it was either mid-evening or early morning. Since I¡¯d crawled into bed in the late afternoon, and I didn¡¯t feel like I¡¯d slept for half a day, I assumed that it was the former.

    I wanted to go back to sleep, but after a few seconds of laying in my own sweat, I decided it was impossible. My skin was too clammy, my mouth too dry, and my throat filled with phlegm. I coughed as quietly as I could to try and clear it, but it didn¡¯t make much of a difference. My throat still felt uncomfortably tight.

    I twisted my head to the side in hopes that the new position would make it easier to breathe, when I realised that I could see a little bit of lamplight peeking into my room from underneath my door.

    While it shouldn¡¯t have come as a surprise to me that someone would be awake, seeing as it was only mid-evening, I had a sudden realisation.

    I doubted that my dad would be asleep like my mom was. Though he had accepted my request to let Jamie stay with us, he hadn¡¯t hid the fact that he was uncomfortable with it. And if I was being honest, Jamie hadn¡¯t been too enthused about the idea of staying with my family either, even if it was a much better alternative to the idea of staying in the tavern. He hadn¡¯t been able to look either of my parents in the eyes, and hadn¡¯t said a word to either of them.

    Despite this fact, I had left the two of them alone for what was probably at least a few hours now, while I slept peacefully with my mom.

    I shuffled away from my mom as discreetly as I could, gently prying her fingers from my clothes before sliding slowly away from her. For a moment, I thought she would stir, but as I watched her grumble in her sleep and shift around, she thankfully nestled her head into her pillow, clutching at the blanket in place of my sleeve.

    It felt a little cruel to risk having her wake up to realise I wasn¡¯t there, but she needed the sleep.

    I crept towards the door as silently as I could and opened it just enough that I could see outside into the living room.

    Like I¡¯d expected, my dad and Jamie were both wide awake. My dad was sitting at our dining table with his hands folded politely in front of him while Jamie was sitting down on the temporary bedding that we¡¯d laid out for him in the living room. While Jamie¡¯s head was hung slightly, making it ambiguous whether he was staring down into his lap or if he was staring at the wall, I doubted he was unaware of the fact that my dad was staring silently at the back of his head.

    I watched the scene for a few seconds before it became clear to me that they must have been frozen like this for a while, and weren¡¯t likely to do anything else before I came out.

    I slowly pushed open the door, so as not to startle them, but even though the door creaked slightly, neither of them acted like they heard me. Even when I stepped out of my room and closed my door behind me, there was no reaction.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if they hadn¡¯t heard me, or if they were ignoring me for whatever reason, so I decided to clear my throat.

    ¡°Jesus!¡± and ¡°David!¡± were both hissed simultaneously as the two jumped and twisted their heads to look at me.

    I automatically raised a finger to my lips and shushed them. ¡°Mom¡¯s still sleeping,¡± I hissed. ¡°Keep it down.¡±

    My dad and Jamie both looked embarrassed, though I wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of the fact that they¡¯d both been taken off guard, or if it was because of the possibility of them waking my mom. I turned around and cracked open the door slightly to check on her, but after watching her sleeping body for a few seconds, it didn¡¯t seem like she¡¯d been disturbed.

    I let out a sigh of relief before closing the door again and turning around.

    The three of us stared at each other in silence, with my presence clearly doing nothing to alleviate the awkward tension that had built up. I didn¡¯t know what to say, but I eventually tried to smile, to try and alleviate the tension somewhat. I¡¯m not sure it was a very convincing smile, but it prompted Jamie to try the same, giving me a strained look that I could vaguely interpret as an awkward grin.

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    ¡°Couldn¡¯t sleep?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°You?¡±

    His eyes shifted slightly towards the side, where my dad was sitting. ¡°Me neither,¡± he said, before falling into a long silence.

    I glanced at my dad. Now that his surprise had worn off, his face returned to a neutral frown as he stared openly at Jamie, who seemed determined to pretend like he hadn¡¯t noticed.

    I wondered for a moment if I should address it, before my dad spoke up.

    ¡°Are you okay, Lena?¡± he asked, still keeping his eyes locked onto Jamie.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, a little confused by the vagueness of the question. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡±

    My dad finally tore his eyes away from Jamie to give me an analytical look. Immediately I felt embarrassed by the stupid question.

    ¡°I mean, I know a bunch of crazy stuff happened today,¡± I said quickly. ¡°But everything turned out fine in the end. I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Jamie gave me a relieved smile, but my dad¡¯s frown only deepened.

    ¡°What about you, dad?¡± I asked. ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    Instead of answering me, he looked down at his hands, taking a deep breath before turning back to stare at Jamie.

    ¡°What do you plan to do next?¡± he asked.

    Though the question didn¡¯t seem directed at me, Jamie was too determined not to make eye contact with my dad to notice.

    ¡°Are you asking me, or Jamie?¡± I asked, to make sure.

    Jamie seemed surprised by the question, turning to see my dad staring directly at him.

    ¡°Hopefully just for Jamie,¡± my dad replied. I frowned, but before I could ask what he meant by that, he continued to talk. ¡°What do you plan to do, now that your business in our town is finished?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Jamie asked. ¡°Oh. Well, I mean, I haven¡¯t had too much time to think about it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been a stressful few weeks for you,¡± I said, giving Jamie a reassuring smile. ¡°You can take as much time as you need, right Dad?¡±

    My dad made a complicated face that I couldn¡¯t quite decipher and stared down at his hands again. He stared down for a few seconds before he grabbed his face and let out a long sigh.

    ¡°You can stay for as long as you feel is necessary, Jamie,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m just interested in knowing if you have any ideas for your future plans. Do you plan to stay in our village indefinitely?¡±

    ¡°No, no. I couldn¡¯t impose,¡± Jamie said, waving his hands at my dad, seeming to be more willing to look at him now that their positions had switched, with my dad now being the one determined not to make eye contact. ¡°And yeah, I do have a few ideas. They just seem a little silly to say out loud.¡±

    ¡°Nobody here will think you¡¯re being silly,¡± my dad replied. ¡°Feel free to share these ideas of yours.¡±

    Even if the way he said it sounded a bit too solemn to be reassuring, Jamie scratched at his head in embarrassment and the hint of a smile appeared on his face.

    ¡°Well, I mean,¡± he said, letting out a little laugh as he continued to scratch at his head. ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s a bit silly of an idea, but ever since I learned how the Mediators were trying to kill me this entire time, I felt kind of bad about the fact that the other Otherworlders have been ruining our reputation. I thought that maybe I could travel the world, doing stuff to mend the bad reputation that the other Otherworlders have left behind and make sure the current Otherworlders don¡¯t go down a bad path either.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to talk to the other Otherworlders?¡± I asked, a little sceptical of the idea.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Jamie said, seeming to be unaware of my hesitation. ¡°If they were as lost and confused as I was when I first got here, I¡¯m not surprised they might go a bit crazy. I mean, I might not be able to stop people like that Plague King guy, but I have to try, right?¡±

    He laughed a bit, but his smile dropped quickly when it became obvious that he was forcing it.

    ¡°It¡¯s a noble goal,¡± I said.

    ¡°It is,¡± my dad agreed, surprising me. ¡°But it is a dangerous one.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m apparently pretty much invincible, so it should be fine? Though I¡¯m not sure how much that would stay true when I¡¯m dealing with other pretty-much-invincible people.¡±

    Jamie let out another dry laugh before realising that nobody else in the room was laughing. I gave him a small smile to try and reassure him, but my dad didn¡¯t seem to be interested in such a thing. Taking a deep breath, he seemed to steel himself before looking up.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be frank,¡± he said. ¡°When I said your goals are dangerous, I didn¡¯t mean that it would be dangerous for you.¡±

    ¡°What did you mean, then?¡± Jamie asked.

    ¡°He means it would be dangerous for anyone who might choose to accompany you,¡± I answered on behalf of my dad. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right?¡±

    My dad looked up at me and sighed.

    ¡°You¡¯re a grown woman, Lena. Regardless of what your mother and I might want, we can¡¯t force you to stay here with us. You¡¯re old enough to make your own choices, but it frightens me that you¡¯ll make a choice that will get you killed. Again.¡±

    Though he didn¡¯t direct the last word at Jamie, any traces of a smile evaporated instantly from his face as he looked down into his lap.

    ¡°Again with this?¡± I asked, with a frustrated sigh. ¡°I told you, dad. I¡¯m. Fine. Look. I¡¯m standing here talking to you right now, aren¡¯t I? I¡¯m alive, dad.¡±

    I patted my chest for emphasis and looked sideways at Jamie with a grin.

    ¡°Besides, even if I do die again, Jamie can just fix me right up.¡±

    My words didn¡¯t seem to do anything to reassure him, as his gaze sunk even lower.

    The silence stretched out between the three of us. I wasn¡¯t sure how long it lasted, or what even prompted it to end. Eventually, my dad sighed and looked up, his eyes unfocused but pointing vaguely in Jamie¡¯s direction.

    ¡°Jamie,¡± he said, his voice monotone and quiet. ¡°You may stay in my home with me and my family, but I would like to ask you to follow one condition.¡±

    Jamie looked up. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Stay for at least a week and think about what you want to do next. Think about how it might affect you and the people that care about you. Please.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t entirely sure whether the request was actually directed at Jamie or not, but he gave my dad a cautious nod anyways.

 53. A suspicious feeling

    ¡°Okay. What do we all actually know about the Second?¡± Stoney asked.

    ¡°Ain¡¯t that something you should be asking, oh glorious Leader? Didn¡¯t you read his file?¡±

    Stoney frowned. He hadn¡¯t wanted to, knowing that Marten was the type of person to seek a reaction to his antics, but to his credit, Marten didn¡¯t seem to care that he had successfully irritated Stoney, wearing an equally dour grimace himself.

    ¡°Of course I read his file,¡± Stoney replied. ¡°But like everything else that concerns the Second, I can¡¯t remember any details.¡±

    ¡°Oh isn¡¯t that fucking convenient,¡± Marten scoffed. ¡°Going senile already?¡±

    Stoney considered pointing out the fact that Marten couldn¡¯t remember anything about the Second either, but he doubted that Marten didn¡¯t realize that. If he had to guess, Marten was just nervous and lashing out in the worst way he knew possible. Stoney turned to his other two subordinates instead, expecting Marten to take a moment before he reverted to being useful again.

    ¡°Tenna. Laush,¡± he said. ¡°Describe the Second for me.¡±

    The two glanced at him, clearly surprised that he¡¯d ask their opinion.

    ¡°Well,¡± Tenna said. ¡°He was a man.¡±

    The Grunt trailed off, glancing at his sister, as if she had anything else to contribute. She stayed silent.

    Marten let out a bitter laugh, but Stoney ignored it and nodded.

    ¡°Nothing else?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Nothing, sir.¡±

    Stoney nodded. ¡°Good.¡±

    ¡°Good?¡± Marten scoffed.

    ¡°Good,¡± Stoney repeated, not bothering to try and quiet Marten down with a glare like he usually did when a subordinate was being too obstinate. Stoney knew Marten well enough to know that it would only encourage him. ¡°It means that all of us already know everything there is to know about our mysterious team member. Which is to say, we know nothing, which is an impossibility. Either our minds or reality itself was tampered with. Something beyond the capabilities of a regular mortal.¡±

    Marten rolled his eyes at the obvious information, but Tenna and Laush both nodded in response.

    ¡°Could it be the work of the Otherworlder?¡± Tenna asked.

    Stoney shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s possible, but unlikely,¡± he said. ¡°Though Jamie is a highly irregular case, where he actively knows about the Mediators and our role in his journey, he was not informed of the specifics of our inner workings as far as I¡¯m aware.¡± Stoney paused to allow anyone to refute the statement.

    When nobody spoke up, he continued.

    ¡°Jamie was not informed of our coming arrival, and if his psychological profile is to be believed, he is not the type of person to use his magic to attain omniscience. While it is possible that the Second was a real person, and that Jamie used his magic to modify our memories of him, I highly doubt it. If he would go so far, he would¡¯ve done worse.¡±

    ¡°He does have a pathological aversion to murder, sir,¡± Laush said.

    ¡°I meant that he would¡¯ve gone further with the memory wiping,¡± Stoney replied. ¡°Why erase every memory about the details on who the Second was when he could¡¯ve just as easily made us forget about the man entirely? I won¡¯t deny the possibility outright, but it doesn¡¯t seem likely.¡±

    Nobody refuted the suggestion, not that he expected them to.

    ¡°Anyways,¡± Stoney said, breaking the momentary silence. ¡°Regardless of what exactly was the cause of this anomaly, we need to report back to HQ.¡±

    Before Stoney could continue, a spike of pain echoed in his head, forcing him to clench his teeth and brace himself against the wave of nausea that washed over him. Ignoring the lingering effects of the concussion as best as he could, he lifted a finger to point around the table.

    ¡°Sera, Oren. I know you¡¯re technically Grunts now, but knowing your capabilities, I¡¯m comfortable with letting the five of you do a communications ritual without me. Marten. You¡¯ll take point as the anchor again. I won¡¯t be in the right state to cast any magic until this concussion fades.¡±

    There was a long pause before Tenna spoke.

    ¡°Umm, sir,¡± he said. ¡°Sera and Oren aren¡¯t here.¡±

    Stoney¡¯s eyes widened, before another wave of pain hit, forcing him to close his eyes against it. Even without looking around the room, however, Stoney knew that the young Extra was right.

    ¡°Fuck,¡± he muttered under his breath.

    ¡°Are you alright, sir?¡± Tenna asked.

    Stoney thought about shaking his head, but thought better of it, not wanting to aggravate his headache any more than was necessary.

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    ¡°No. But nothing that can be done about it,¡± Stoney said. ¡°Do we know where Sera and Oren are?¡±

    ¡°No, sir.¡± Stoney wasn¡¯t sure which of the Extras had spoken.

    ¡°Go, then,¡± he said. ¡°The both of you. Find them, assure them that they won¡¯t be charged with treason, and bring them back here. Tell them that they were right about something being fishy with the Second, though I¡¯m not sure if he was a Demon or not.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± the responses came.

    Stoney sat there as the sound of quiet footsteps left the room. Sitting there, with his head in his hands, he wasn¡¯t sure how long it took for the pain to finally quiet down.

    When he looked back up, he was surprised to see he wasn¡¯t alone.

    ¡°Marten,¡± he said. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you gone?¡±

    Marten gave him a sidelong glance, his expression uncharacteristically blank.

    ¡°You never told me to leave,¡± he said, with a shrug. ¡°Is there something you wanted me to do?¡±

    Stoney glared at Marten, not appreciating the smug attitude. ¡°No,¡± he said.

    Marten raised an eyebrow at that. ¡°Seriously?¡± he asked. ¡°That concussion must be worse than I thought, then. You know the kid¡¯s not being watched right now.¡±

    Stoney blinked a few times before cursing under his breath.

    ¡°Marten,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re right. The concussion¡¯s clearly affecting me more than I thought.¡±

    Marten stared at him for a few seconds before letting out a heavy sigh. ¡°And you want me to take over as Leader. Again.¡±

    ¡°Oh, grow up,¡± Stoney said, gently massaging his temple. ¡°You¡¯re trained for the role.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean I have to like it,¡± Marten said. ¡°Fucking incompetent assholes making me work overtime. I don¡¯t get paid enough for this shit.¡±

    ¡°You get paid the exact amount that is expected for this shit,¡± Stoney said. ¡°Kings get less income than you do.¡±

    ¡°Then how the hell am I still in debt?¡± Marten grumbled, though he did move to stand up from the table.

    ¡°Maybe because as soon as the money gets into your hands, you toss it away on a dice roll?¡±

    Marten glared at Stoney.

    Stoney tried to glare back, but ended up sighing.

    ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry for dumping this back into your lap, but I¡¯m clearly not fit to lead right now, and I can¡¯t trust anyone else here. The Extras are just barely at Grunt level, and even if Sera and Oren aren¡¯t crazy, they¡¯re still¡­¡±

    ¡°Horny and stupid respectively?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Stoney said, with a sigh. ¡°That. Once we get those two back though, we¡¯ll be able to do another ritual. Get reinforcements.¡±

    Marten frowned. ¡°About that,¡± he said. ¡°What do you think about another option?¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware we had any,¡± Stoney said. ¡°But go ahead.¡±

    ¡°What if we asked the brat to help us?¡±

    Stoney raised an eyebrow. ¡°Jamie?¡± he asked to make sure, just in case Marten was referring to someone else.

    ¡°Yes, Jamie.¡±

    ¡°Why do you think that¡¯s a good idea?¡± Stoney asked, more curious than challenging.

    ¡°Because I¡¯m confident he would help in earnest,¡± Marten said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen enough of his type. Friendly, naive, not uninteresting, but probably some other adjective that starts with a ¡®U¡¯ if I were feeling a bit more creative. He likens himself to something of a hero of myth. He¡¯d help if we asked.¡±

    ¡°I see. And you believe in his credibility more than you do of Sera and Oren?¡±

    Marten shrugged. ¡°Not sure. As much as I¡¯d like to rag on them, the idiot duo are still trained Mediators. I¡¯m just presenting the brat as an option.¡±

    Stoney frowned. ¡°Could you refer to Jamie by his name?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Marten asked.

    ¡°You refer to everyone younger than you as ¡®brat,¡¯¡± Stoney said. ¡°It¡¯s hard to keep track. At least give him a different moniker if you insist on not saying his name.¡±

    ¡°Moniker?¡± Marten asked, with an undercurrent of a chuckle in his voice. ¡°It¡¯s not like I was trying to make ¡®Brat¡¯ into his official title. Imagine ¡®The Brat¡¯ standing alongside names like ¡®The Plague King¡¯ or ¡®The Breaker.¡¯ I¡¯d never live it down.¡±

    ¡°Then stop or I¡¯m petitioning it officially,¡± Stoney said. ¡°I¡¯d rather not do any more mental gymnastics to try and figure out which ¡®brat¡¯ you¡¯re talking about until my concussion fades.¡±

    ¡°Then I can go back to being an annoying asshole?¡±

    Despite himself, Stoney couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.

    ¡°Yeah, do whatever the hell you want. Now get out of here.¡±

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m the Leader right now. You can¡¯t order me around.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, sir,¡± Stoney said, making sure to inject as much sarcasm as he could into the words. ¡°Did I offend you by questioning your authority?¡±

    ¡°Gravely,¡± Marten replied. ¡°But before I go, give me your thoughts. Is there anything that bothers you about Jamie?¡±

    When Stoney looked up at Marten, he was surprised to see the complicated expression that plagued him. Completely contrasting with the light mood that he¡¯d been maintaining up until a few seconds before, Marten¡¯s face was shrouded with uncertainty and anxiety as he waited for Stoney¡¯s response.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Stoney asked.

    Marten shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± he said. ¡°Just something about him. You¡¯ve been a Mediator longer than I have. Surely you feel it too, right?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t say I do,¡± Stoney said. ¡°But I haven¡¯t even met him yet.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, me neither. Or at least not formally, seeing as he isn¡¯t supposed to know I exist. But even just watching him from the shadows gives me this strange feeling in the back of my head, like I¡¯m supposed to be remembering something, but I can¡¯t remember what exactly it is.¡±

    Stoney frowned, not understanding what Marten was talking about in the slightest. Marten seemed to decipher his expression easily, and waved him off before he could respond.

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to explain. Didn¡¯t even realize it until recently, myself. You read his file, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Stoney said indignantly.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t notice anything weird about it?¡±

    From how insistent Marten was being, it was easy to assume that he was baiting Stoney into a specific answer, but Stoney had no clue what it could be. Though he was having trouble trusting in his memory at the moment, the dossier on Jamie¡¯s case was simple enough to recall.

    ¡°No,¡± he said, a little hesitantly. ¡°Did you notice something? I went through the files pretty thoroughly, but nothing stood out to me at the time.¡±

    ¡°I barely skimmed it, to be honest.¡±

    ¡°And you noticed something I didn¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°Probably not. It just feels¡­ weird.¡±

    Marten let out a groan of frustration before Stoney could say anything.

    ¡°You know what? Forget it. We¡¯re not getting anywhere with this shit. Just¡­ be on the lookout, I guess. This case is fucking weird.¡±

    Stoney couldn¡¯t agree more.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep a lookout,¡± he said, even if he still wasn¡¯t sure what he was supposed to be watching for. ¡°Now get a move on. We still need eyes on Jamie.¡±

    Marten nodded, too preoccupied with his thoughts to even give a half-hearted complaint. Pushing his chair back, he stood up and walked towards the door, but paused before he left.

    ¡°Does his name bother you at all?¡±

    ¡°You mean Jamie?¡± Stoney asked.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Marten said, not even bothering to point out the stupidity of the question like he usually would. ¡°Jamie.¡±

    Stoney tried to think of anything strange about it. While Jamie¡¯s full name was a bit odd, since Stoney wasn¡¯t aware of any royal families named ¡®Campbell¡¯ in the entire history of Materia, it made sense that Earth¡¯s history would be different. Besides, Marten hadn¡¯t mentioned Jamie¡¯s family name at all.

    Just Jamie.

    ¡°No,¡± Stoney said. ¡°It¡¯s just a normal name.¡±

 54. An Equivalent Exchange

    After my talk with Lena¡¯s dad, a tense silence sat heavy between the three of us, all of us staying frozen in our spots, none of us wanting to risk starting another conversation, too afraid of what could be said.

    I looked down into my lap, too tired and too unfocused to actually think about what I wanted to do next. I could imagine Lena¡¯s dad staring at the back of my head, silently urging me to make a decision, but the imaginary pressure just made it harder to think. I wasn¡¯t sure if he was actually staring at me or not, but I didn¡¯t want to check.

    I don¡¯t know how long we stayed like that. It could¡¯ve been a few hours or a few minutes, but eventually I couldn¡¯t take it anymore.

    I let out a quiet sigh, hoping I wouldn¡¯t startle anyone with the sudden break in the silence.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna go out for a walk,¡± I said. ¡°I need to clear my head.¡±

    Though I tried my best not to, I couldn¡¯t help myself from looking back at Lena. She gave me a pained look as her eyes darted between me and her bedroom.

    ¡°Could it wait just a bit?¡± she asked. ¡°I don¡¯t want my mom to freak out if she wakes up and I¡¯m not around.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure whether I wanted to smile or frown at the idea that Lena just assumed that I was asking her to come along with me. On the one hand, I absolutely wanted for her to come along with me. Ever since arriving in Materia, Lena had basically been my main source of stability, and the only real friend I had, since Oren and Sera were secretly trying to kill me this whole time. The thought of having her by my side, especially after a day like this, was a comforting one.

    But the fact that I so desperately wanted her to tag along was the exact reason why I wanted to be alone to think in the first place.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I said. ¡°I just want some time alone to think.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    From the look on her face, I was certain that she didn¡¯t believe me, but she didn¡¯t call me out on it. I waited a few seconds for her to give her the opportunity, but once I realized I was stalling, I left the house without another word.

    As I stepped outside, I flinched at the spray of rain that hit my face. While the rain had quieted down significantly since the morning, it was still bad enough that my hoodie was quickly drenched, hugging my shoulders with its cold grip.

    Though I could have easily used my magic to make a magical umbrella and dry myself off, I didn¡¯t bother to do either.

    ¡°Quest Log,¡± I said, as soon as I was more than a few steps away from Lena¡¯s house.

    The familiar blue panel popped up in front of me, but it was smaller than I remembered. Granted, I hadn¡¯t actually checked any of my status windows in a while, but it wasn¡¯t a hard change to notice.

    All my quests were gone. Aside from one.

    I lifted a finger to tap at it.

    A new panel opened.

    [Main] Quest: Find True Love

    Progress: True Love obtained (0/1)

    Rewards: N/A

    ¡°Apparently N/A stands for Not being Alive. Who knew?¡±

    I chuckled a bit at my own joke, but it was shallow, my good cheer fading in an instant.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯m dying a virgin, huh?¡± I said out loud, hoping that the second joke would do something to lift my spirits.

    I tried to laugh at that joke too, but all that came out was a forced and raspy wheeze. I was about to try for a third joke, when I heard someone clearing their throat.

    ¡°There are some great brothels in Redstone, you know. If that¡¯s something you really want to fix.¡±

    I fought not to jump at the interruption, and whirled around. Down the street from me, a balding middle aged man stood with his back against a random house, standing underneath the awning to protect himself from the rain with his hands raised in a half-hearted gesture of surrender. He was frowning, but from the way that the lines in his face outlined the expression so perfectly, I quickly assumed that¡¯s how he always looked.

    ¡°Sorry you had to hear that,¡± I said, feeling heat rise to my cheeks despite the cold rain.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be,¡± the man said, waving off my concerns and lowering his hands. ¡°It¡¯s a part of the human condition. No point in being ashamed of what the body wants.¡±

    ¡°I guess,¡± I said. Though it helped that he was so casual about it, it didn¡¯t mean I wanted to acknowledge the fact that he¡¯d caught me talking to myself about how I was a virgin. ¡°Can we stop talking about this?¡±

    The man raised an eyebrow, like he was confused why I was embarrassed, but shrugged to himself.

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    ¡°You enjoy standing out in the rain like this?¡± he asked instead.

    ¡°No. Not really,¡± I said. I didn¡¯t know why this middle aged man was so talkative, but I didn¡¯t want to be rude.

    ¡°Then why are you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have anywhere I want to go.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± the man said, frowning. I thought that might be the end of the questioning, but after a short pause, he continued. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you at least protecting yourself with magic? I doubt it¡¯s possible for you to catch a cold, but still. It can¡¯t be too comfortable staying drenched like that. ¡±

    ¡°You know I¡¯m an Otherworlder?¡± I asked, barely surprised. Though the man wasn¡¯t one of the people that Lena introduced me to, I assumed that by now, the entire village knew who I was.

    For some reason the question gave the man pause. He stared at me, the lines in his brow intensifying as he fixed me with a scrutinizing gaze. I simply stood there, not knowing what he was thinking until he reached up to massage his temple.

    ¡°Yeah, I do,¡± he said, with a sigh. ¡°Little tip, kid. If someone ever stops you on the street for no reason, especially on a day like this, it¡¯s because they want something from you. I¡¯m a Mediator.¡±

    I blinked a few times, staring at the man, wondering if he was just joking or not. The man matched my gaze and gave me a casual shrug.

    ¡°I¡¯m typically more of a background player. I wouldn¡¯t usually out myself, but our team¡¯s a bit understaffed at the moment, and I wanted to ask you for a favour.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± I said, feeling bitterness creep into my voice almost immediately. ¡°So what do you want, then? Are you going to ask me to die?¡±

    The man winced. ¡°You know?¡±

    ¡°Lena told me,¡± I said. ¡°Oren and Sera were there to confirm it.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± the man said. ¡°What did you do to them?¡±

    ¡°Well, I put Oren to sleep, and Sera wandered off somewhere,¡± I said. ¡°Don¡¯t ask me where she went. I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± the man said. ¡°And when you say you put Oren to sleep¡­¡±

    Though he trailed off, it didn¡¯t take me more than a few seconds to get what he was implying.

    ¡°When I say I put Oren to sleep, I mean I put him to sleep,¡± I said, barely holding myself back from shouting. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill him.¡±

    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t that a shame,¡± the man said, angrily rubbing his temple.

    There was a short pause before the man reached into his shirt and drew out a pipe. Stuffing it with something I couldn¡¯t see, he placed a finger inside the tip of his pipe for a second before withdrawing it, flicking off a few flakes of embers before taking in a deep breath.

    I waited for him to say something, but after he breathed out his first puff of smoke, he simply went back for another.

    ¡°Well?¡± I asked, feeling a little impatient. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    The man raised an eyebrow, but didn¡¯t bother taking his lips from his pipe. He drew in another deep breath before breathing out another large cloud of thick smoke that nearly enveloped his entire head.

    ¡°Forget about it,¡± he said, shaking his head and dispersing some of the smoke gathered around it. ¡°You might not be happy with us, but you¡¯re letting us live and you¡¯re not going on a rampage. I¡¯m not going to risk making you change your mind by asking you to do something you don¡¯t want.¡±

    I narrowed my eyes. ¡°What exactly do you mean by that?¡±

    The man shrugged. ¡°It means the Mediators will leave you alone,¡± he said, taking another draw from his pipe before holding it upside down and tapping it to empty the contents, stowing it away and raising his hand. ¡°Live your life, Jamie Campbell.¡±

    Even as the man turned around and started to walk away, it took me a while for me to realize that he was saying goodbye.

    ¡°Wait,¡± I said, before he could walk too far away.

    The man stopped, turning his head just enough to give me a sideways glance.

    ¡°What?¡± he said.

    His gruff and aggressive tone made it very difficult for me to convince myself that he wasn¡¯t annoyed that I¡¯d stopped him, and that it was just how he always sounded like, but I ignored the pervasive feeling that I was bothering him.

    ¡°What did you want help with?¡± I asked.

    ¡°What?¡± he said again, in the exact same annoyed tone.

    I was still more angry than anything else, but I still had to fight down the guilty feeling that I was annoying an adult. I scratched my head and turned to the side.

    ¡°You said that you wanted something from me, right?¡± I asked quickly, before I could regret my decision. ¡°What is it?¡±

    The man raised an eyebrow, though he still somehow managed to look more angry than surprised. ¡°You¡¯d be willing to help out an organization that has tried to kill you?¡± he asked. ¡°Are you suicidal or stu-¡±

    He snapped his mouth shut and averted his eyes before he could finish the sentence.

    ¡°I¡¯m not suicidal,¡± I said, with a huff. I tried to pretend like I didn¡¯t know what he was about to call me, but I still felt an indignant flush rise to my cheeks. ¡°But I¡¯d be willing to at least hear you out, and I wouldn¡¯t be doing it for free.¡±

    ¡°What could you possibly want that you wouldn¡¯t be able to get on your own?¡± the man asked.

    I hesitated, not knowing how to phrase what I was about to ask.

    ¡°Information,¡± I said eventually. ¡°I want to know about the other Otherworlders.¡±

    The man winced almost immediately. Apparently that wasn¡¯t the correct way to phrase it.

    ¡°Why?¡± he asked, clearly suspicious.

    I took a moment to consider my words again before deciding I wasn¡¯t very good at it and that I should just be honest instead.

    ¡°Look. I¡¯ll be honest. I only learned that you guys were working to try and kill me a few hours ago. I haven¡¯t really had the time to fully process it, but for now, I¡¯m not gonna put the blame on you. When every Otherworlder has the potential to be a magical super Hitler, I guess you have to be a bit extreme,¡± I said, with a chuckle.

    I paused to give the man a chance to give some input, but when his only reply was to stare at me like I was stupid, I scratched at my cheek and continued.

    ¡°I mean, I still am upset that you were trying to kill me, but for now, I¡¯m willing to put it aside, since I guess you¡¯re just afraid of another Plague King happening. I mean, I¡¯m definitely looking him up later to check that you didn¡¯t just make him up, but basically¡­¡±

    I took a moment to brace myself. While I¡¯d already told Lena about my plans, I felt like telling a Mediator would make it more real, somehow, like I wouldn¡¯t be able to take it back anymore once I said it out loud.

    ¡°I thought that maybe I could travel the world, doing stuff to mend the bad reputation that the other Otherworlders have left behind and make sure the current Otherworlders don¡¯t go down a bad path either. But I don¡¯t know anything about the Otherworlders, and I assume you guys know a lot about Otherworlders that you could teach me,¡± I said. ¡°Plus, even if you can¡¯t tell me anything, helping you out would give you proof that not all Otherworlders are that bad, right?¡±

    I stared at the man, keeping eye contact with him to try and convince him I was serious. The man stared back at me, his brow furrowed in a permanent glare.

    ¡°Are you fucking stupid, kid?¡± he asked, not bothering to cut the insult short this time.

    ¡°Maybe,¡± I admitted.

    He stared at me for a bit longer before he let out a deep groan and reached into his shirt and took out his pipe once more.

    ¡°This is above my paygrade,¡± he growled. ¡°You¡¯ll want to talk with the Boss, which is conveniently what I wanted to ask you for.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We have a communication spell,¡± the man grumbled, aggressively shoving a bunch of something into his pipe. ¡°You¡¯d only need to provide the mana for it. We¡¯d do the rest.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± I said, trying to put on a smile. ¡°I could probably do that.¡±

    The man grumbled under his breath and drew in a deep puff of smoke.

 55. More plans about the future

    ¡°Could¡¯ve gone with him.¡±

    I stared at my dad, even as he looked down at his hands, idly fiddling with his fingers.

    ¡°What?¡± I asked, just to make sure I¡¯d heard him correctly.

    ¡°I said you could¡¯ve gone with him. Jamie,¡± he added at the end, like he could possibly be talking about anybody else.

    ¡°I thought that was the exact opposite of what you wanted,¡± I said.

    ¡°It is.¡±

    I waited for him to continue, and frowned when he didn¡¯t.

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± I asked, not understanding what point he was trying to make.

    ¡°No,¡± he said quietly.

    ¡°What do you want from me?¡± I asked. ¡°Spit it out.¡±

    My dad looked up at me with a deep frown on his face that made me instantly regret getting angry at him like that. I looked away from him.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± I said, through gritted teeth. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to snap at you. I¡¯m just a little tired, I guess.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine to be upset, Lena. It¡¯s perfectly understandable,¡± my dad said, his voice soft and careful, like he was afraid I would shatter if he spoke too loudly. It irritated me more than anything else, but I forced the feeling down.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I said, not wanting to risk snapping at him again if I spoke more than a few words.

    My dad stared at me, disbelief clear on his face and his jaw shifting from side to side, like he was trying to physically organize the words in his mouth before he spoke. His face turned into a whirlwind of subtle shifts in emotion, before he finally settled on a frown.

    ¡°How was it?¡± he asked.

    ¡°How was what?¡± I asked back.

    He raised his shoulders slightly, in an almost imperceptible shrug. ¡°Everything,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about Otherworlders, and what I do know is horrifying. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve mentioned the book written by one of the followers of the Plague King.¡±

    I frowned at the mention of the Plague King. Even if Jamie was nowhere near the second coming of the Plague King, I didn¡¯t want to even entertain the thought of comparing the two.

    ¡°You have,¡± I said. ¡°You also never let me read it.¡±

    ¡°Only because you were too young at the time,¡± my dad said. ¡°By the time you grew old enough that your mother might not have killed me for letting you read it, you didn¡¯t care for reading.¡±

    The joke and the chuckle that followed it was as painfully forced as his sudden shift in tone, and I doubted that he had any delusions that it sounded genuine in the slightest, but he pretended like it wasn¡¯t obvious. I decided to do the same.

    ¡°I do like reading, dad,¡± I said, feeling more than a small amount of whiplash from the casual tone I was forcing on myself. I was glad I was far enough away from him that I didn¡¯t feel compelled to playfully punch his shoulder to play along with the forced mood. ¡°But I like reading fun books, not depressing autobiographies.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got to admit, you¡¯ve got me there,¡± he said. ¡°But it¡¯s an interesting book, overall. I¡¯ll lend it to you if you want, kiddo.¡±

    He immediately winced for a split second before forcing a smile on his face. I was sure I did the same thing. My dad had never in his life called me ¡®kiddo¡¯ before and it was jarring to hear.

    ¡°Sure,¡± I said.

    At the one word answer, the conversation died almost immediately. We both sat there with awkward smiles on our faces, before my dad¡¯s smile dropped, his shoulders sinking down with it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest. The book is horrible. Interesting, but horrible.¡±

    ¡°As in, it¡¯s poorly written?¡± I asked, still hanging on to the remnants of my smile for a bit longer, hoping he would take it as an invitation to go back to pretending everything was fine.

    ¡°No.¡± My dad almost seemed to shiver as he ignored my half-hearted attempt at a joke. ¡°The things that the author went through were horrific. I just¡­¡± He frowned as he buried his head in his hands. ¡°I just want to know you¡¯re fine, Lena.¡±

    My automatic reaction was to open my mouth and tell him I was fine, and that he could stop worrying, but the look on his face stopped me. Close to tears, a meltdown, or both, his hands were folded together in a white-knuckled grip as he stared down at the table, either because he didn¡¯t want to be looking at me when I told him another half-hearted lie or because he didn¡¯t want me to feel guilty when I did.

    I considered lying to him anyways, and I had halfway managed to convince myself that it would be for the best, but my mouth opened without my permission.

    ¡°I¡¯m not fine,¡± I said.

    My dad¡¯s reaction was mixed. Tension and relief both seemed to clash within him as he seemed to struggle whether he was upset to hear that or relieved that I was opening up to him.

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    ¡°Tell me about it,¡± he said.

    And so I did. I told him everything, from the moment Ryuji Nightblade fell from the sky to the moment when Jamie Campbell broke down crying in my arms. I told him everything I could remember, every detail, and it was only until I finished my story that I realized I¡¯d made a mistake.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone I told you about the secret Mediator stuff, okay? Especially the stuff about the Guide.¡±

    My dad had been entirely silent through my story, simply nodding along to show that he was still listening, which made sense that it took him a few seconds to realize I was asking him a question.

    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± he said.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to. It kind of just slipped out,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°What are you apologizing for?¡± my dad asked, his voice gruff. ¡°I¡¯m the one who asked you to share.¡±

    ¡°This is serious, dad,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°The Mediators would probably kill you if they knew you knew all the stuff they told me.¡±

    ¡°And would that be so bad?¡± he asked, raising an eyebrow.

    For a moment, I couldn¡¯t understand what he had just said. The casual way he said it made me think that there was no way he could have suggested that he would be alright with being assassinated by the Mediators without batting an eye.

    ¡°What did you just say?¡± I asked.

    My dad shrugged. ¡°As long as Jamie¡¯s around, he can just bring me back to life, no problem, right?¡±

    ¡°I-¡± My lips pursed subconsciously as I struggled to find a response to him. ¡°No, dad. It¡¯s not ¡®no problem.¡¯ You can¡¯t just die and expect everything to be fine, even if you can come back. That¡¯s not how that works.¡±

    He looked up into my eyes, concern radiating from his own.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t agree more,¡± he said.

    I stared into his eyes for a few more seconds before turning away uncomfortably.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I said.

    There was a long silence before my dad let out an equally long sigh.

    We sat there for a while, staring at anywhere else but at each other. By the time I noticed we were stuck like the air of awkwardness that festered between us, it was too late to break it.

    It would have been a convenient time for something to happen to break it for us, like my mom waking up, or someone knocking on our door, but nothing like that happened.

    ¡°What are you going to do next?¡± my dad asked.

    The question was abrupt enough that the surprise I felt almost made me physically recoil.

    ¡°What?¡± I asked, if only to give me a moment to gather my thoughts.

    ¡°What are you going to do next?¡± my dad repeated.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    My dad sighed, though I wasn¡¯t sure if it was out of frustration, despair, or something else.

    ¡°Jamie plans to leave,¡± he said. ¡°Do you plan to go with him?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± I said, surprising myself with how easily I gave him my answer.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t have anyone else.¡±

    My dad sighed.

    ¡°We¡¯ve raised you too well,¡± he said, shaking his head. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s all a father could ask for, to know that his daughter grew up to be a good person, but I do wish you were a little more selfish. I wish I was more selfish too.¡±

    I stayed silent, not knowing how to reply to that.

    ¡°Where do you plan to go first?¡± my dad asked.

    ¡°You¡¯re fine with me going?¡± I asked, a little surprised that he was taking this so well.

    He shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± he said. ¡°But I can¡¯t stop you from making your own choices. As I¡¯ve said already, you¡¯re a grown woman. So where do you think you¡¯ll go?¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure. I don¡¯t think Jamie had any specific ideas.¡±

    My dad nodded, as if expecting the answer.

    ¡°If I could make a suggestion,¡± he said. ¡°Jamie wants to mend the bad reputation that Otherworlders have in our society, right? It¡¯s a noble idea, but before he can fix the image of his kind, I feel like he has to fix his own image first.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I mean that he has to make amends for the crimes he¡¯s committed,¡± my dad said, his eyes shifting away from mine. ¡°What was that caravan guard¡¯s name? Medric?¡±

    My eyes narrowed.

    ¡°You¡¯re not being very subtle, dad,¡± I said.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± he asked, trying to pretend like he had no idea what I was talking about. It wasn¡¯t a very good attempt.

    ¡°I mean that it¡¯s obvious what you¡¯re trying to do,¡± I said, shaking my head and massaging my temples to stop the growing headache. ¡°You want me to go to Medric so I can see how he¡¯s traumatized by the experience of dying and being brought back to life. Then, once I start helping Medric process his trauma, I¡¯ll realize that I¡¯m actually just as traumatized, and that I just couldn¡¯t process the fact that I literally died and came back to life until I saw someone else going through the same thing. I get it, dad, but it won¡¯t work like that. Watching someone else going through the same thing that I did won¡¯t help me realize I¡¯m traumatized, dad. There¡¯s nothing that I need to realize. I already know.¡±

    I glared at my dad, lifting a finger to the corner of my eye to make sure I wasn¡¯t crying.

    It came away dry.

    ¡°I¡¯m not fine, dad,¡± I said, calming my voice to a neutral tone. ¡°Yeah, I admit it, okay? Is that what you wanted?¡±

    My dad down at his hands again, his lips pressed into a thin line. He seemed determined not to look directly at me, though I wasn¡¯t sure if it was because he was angry or afraid.

    I sighed.

    ¡°Look. I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said. ¡°But I can¡¯t afford to take the time to process it. If I break, and Jamie realizes that he¡¯s hurt me, and that would destroy him. I¡¯m not going to betray him like that, dad. I can¡¯t.¡±

    My dad¡¯s only response was to place his face in his hands and let out a shaky breath. It seemed to be a struggle for him, with every breath catching on his throat multiple times.

    I wanted to comfort him, but I couldn¡¯t. I looked away, pretending I hadn¡¯t noticed the clear liquid seeping out from between his fingers, not for his sake, but for mine.

    ¡°I-¡± When his words caught on his throat once again, he took a few more shaky breaths before he felt comfortable enough to try again. ¡°I¡¯m proud of the woman you¡¯ve become. I wish I didn¡¯t have to be.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said.

    ¡°You¡¯ll need to say goodbye to your mother too.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°Promise me you¡¯ll come back home one day?¡±

    ¡°I promise.¡±

    ¡°Promise me you¡¯ll stay safe?¡±

    A moment passed.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±

    I stayed for a while. I hated hearing my dad try and fail to stay quiet, to suppress his gasps, but it was the least I could do to stay by his side for a bit longer.

 56. New job prospects

    Quiet pops echoed in the forest.

    The universal Mediator¡¯s signal wasn¡¯t a very versatile one, but it was useful enough that it was the first spell that a Mediator needed to learn in basic training. It wasn¡¯t meant for conveying messages and was usually used to let a fellow Mediator know that something needed their attention.

    The sound was innocuous enough that it could be easily ignored no matter the place, and the forest was no exception. Sera was tempted to pretend that it was just the sound of an old branch snapping or a distant woodpecker tapping away at a tree, but she had heard the sound too many times to ever mistake it for anything else.

    Sera considered ignoring the obvious summons. Even though the Otherworlder had marked the false Second as a Demon, effectively clearing her of a mutiny charge, that didn¡¯t mean she wouldn¡¯t be punished for the terrible decision-making she¡¯d made with everything involving Lena.

    Standing in the rain for a few hours had given her a rare moment alone with her thoughts, and though she spent a good portion of that time wallowing in the memory of the spiteful glare that Lena had shot at her before she left, she spent the rest of her time thinking about what would happen to her.

    Even in the best case scenario, she would be demoted, probably taken off of active duty and put back on basic training for years until she could prove that she could be trusted in a leadership position again.

    And that was if they didn¡¯t just excommunicate her outright.

    The popping sounds continued to echo around her, carried by the wind currents in small pockets of mana. The range of the spell was small enough that it wouldn¡¯t be difficult for Sera to search for the caster, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to move.

    Rooted on the spot, staring blankly into nothing, she simply waited for the caster to find her.

    ¡°Sera.¡±

    Sera didn¡¯t turn around, but she recognized the voice.

    ¡°Tenna,¡± she replied. Sera was surprised by how hoarse her voice was. She hadn¡¯t been crying. ¡°Am I being detained?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Tena replied. ¡°You¡¯re still part of the team.¡±

    Sera was tempted to respond with, ¡°For now,¡± but she stayed silent. It was pointless to say out loud.

    ¡°Leader Stoney wants to send the Founder a message, so he wants you and Oren back to help with the ritual,¡± Tenna continued. ¡°Oren gave him a pretty bad concussion, so we need the two of you back to make five.¡±

    Sera felt like she should ask if Stoney was okay, but she didn¡¯t feel like she could summon the energy. She turned around to face Tenna.

    He stared back at her, with his arms folded across his chest and a frown on his face.

    ¡°You look like shit,¡± he said.

    Sera simply walked past him, ignoring the comment. ¡°Mayor¡¯s house?¡± she asked, as if speaking quickly made it easier to ignore how raspy her voice sounded.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Tenna replied, before following behind her.

    Sera appreciated the silence that Tenna allowed her, even if he likely didn¡¯t think much of it. Idle small talk wasn¡¯t something that Mediators did amongst each other, which was something that Sera would miss. Would she have to engage in small talk in her civilian life?

    Sera sighed. Here she he was, already assuming that she would be fired from the Mediators.

    It was a depressing thought, but more so was the fact that Sera couldn¡¯t find any reason to think that it wasn¡¯t true. The thought that she would become a civilian terrified her.

    What would she even do with her life?

    She couldn¡¯t recall anything about her previous life as a civilian, but given that she was five when she first joined the organization, she doubted that any memories she had retained would be useful anyways. For a moment, Sera tried to recall anything about her past life, but she was surprised to realize that she barely remembered anything about that life, not even the faces of her late family.

    The realization bothered her less than it probably should have. Her family dying at the hands of an Otherworlder was the original reason why she had chosen to become a Mediator in the first place, but her desire for revenge had been fleeting. By the time she had finished her basic training and had been allowed in the field, the Otherworlder that had casually murdered her family years before had already passed on.

    Though she had tried to keep her anger alive by directing it towards other Otherworlders, it was too tiring to sustain indefinitely. By the time that Sera had noticed that her desire for vengeance had all but faded out, she had already replaced it with a sense of duty and responsibility that was more than strong enough to motivate her to stay with the Mediators.

    But it still felt disrespectful that she couldn¡¯t remember her family. Not their faces or their names.

    Sera sighed.

    She decided that the first thing she wanted to do when she was fired was to visit their graves and apologize.

    Not that she knew where their graves were.

    Sera frowned.

    - - -

    ¡°You doing okay?¡±

    Bran watched as Lena¡¯s eyes seemed to come into focus at the sound of his voice. He waved awkwardly with his free hand at his childhood friend, tilting his umbrella back so she could get a clearer look at his face. The rain had died out enough that the light drizzle didn¡¯t bother him, so he kept his umbrella tilted back as Lena stared in his direction.

    After what felt like an entire minute, she replied with a half-hearted shrug.

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    Bran felt his awkward grin turn crooked as he walked forward to join Lena on her porch. After setting his umbrella down against a pillar, Bran took a seat on the porch steps, keeping his back to Lena but turning his head enough that he could glance sideways at her if he wanted to.

    He kept his eyes away for now, staring out into the distance.

    ¡°Do you want to talk about it?¡± he asked.

    ¡°No,¡± Lena answered immediately. ¡°Not really.¡±

    Bran let out a sigh of relief, and immediately felt guilty for it. He glanced back at Lena to see if she noticed, but her gaze was blank and unfocused. He felt another tinge of relief and immediately felt guilty again.

    ¡°My dad sent me over to make sure nobody died,¡± he said quickly, to break himself out of the loop. ¡°He¡¯s at the tavern right now. Apparently one of the walls just completely collapsed?¡±

    As Lena stayed silent, Bran¡¯s first thought was to assume that she hadn¡¯t heard him. He quickly scolded himself for being stupid and patiently waited for her to respond.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± she eventually replied.

    Bran couldn¡¯t tell if she was saying that nobody had died or if she was acknowledging that the tavern had been partially destroyed.

    ¡°Did Jamie destroy the wall?¡± he asked, too afraid to ask about his other question, in case he didn¡¯t like the answer.

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. It was one of the Mediators.¡±

    Bran was more than a little surprised by the answer. Why? How? Which one? He didn¡¯t want to barrage Lena with his questions though, so he chose one at random. ¡°Why?¡± he asked.

    Lena twitched and her brow furrowed slightly before returning to a more neutral state. She shrugged.

    It was obvious to Bran that she knew more than she was letting on, but it was even more obvious that it would be a bad idea to ask.

    Not wanting to accidentally ask the question anyways, Bran quickly blurted out the next thing he could think of to force the topic away.

    ¡°What¡¯s that you got in your hand?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Lena replied, looking down at her hand as if surprised that there was something there. She raised the book up in her hands before frowning at it. ¡°It¡¯s a book.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I- I guess,¡± Bran said, biting back the automatic sarcastic response he had lined up. ¡°Is it a good read?¡±

    Lena frowned as she turned the book over in her hands again. ¡°I haven¡¯t even opened it yet,¡± she said. ¡°My dad lent it to me.¡±

    ¡°Oh. And how is your dad?¡± Bran asked.

    ¡°He¡¯s fine,¡± Lena answered, a little too quickly.

    Once more, Bran forced himself to steer the topic away to avoid the obvious sore subject. He wondered if her dad was related to the reason why she was sitting outside on her porch, even when he could see the lamplight shining from the window.

    ¡°What¡¯s the book called?¡± he asked.

    Lena stared down at the book and tilted it so she could read the cover. ¡°The Chronicles of a Witness,¡± she said.

    ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Bran said, wondering for a moment why the name sounded so familiar. ¡°What¡¯s it about?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an autobiography, written by one of the Followers of the Plague King.¡±

    Bran winced and looked away.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± he said.

    ¡°What for?¡± Lena asked.

    ¡°For bringing it up.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be,¡± Lena said. ¡°Not like you knew what it was. I know you can¡¯t read.¡±

    Lena¡¯s attempt at forcing a casual mood was terrible, but he still played along as best as he could.

    ¡°Har har,¡± Bran said. ¡°Very funny.¡±

    Lena let out a humorless laugh. ¡°Say, why do you think my dad lent me this?¡± she asked. ¡°Do you think he¡¯s implying I should write a book too?¡±

    ¡°Maybe?¡± Bran said, not convinced by the suggestion, but not knowing Lena¡¯s dad well enough to refute it. ¡°I hear Eti made a lot of money off of it. Might as well get something out of your...¡± Bran trailed off as he struggled to find a word to say that wasn¡¯t, ¡®Suffering.¡¯

    ¡°Experience?¡± Lena suggested.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Bran said. ¡°That. I guess.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think my experiences with Jamie would be as exciting to read about, if I¡¯m being honest,¡± Lena said. ¡°He¡¯s a good guy. Nothing like the other Otherworlders we¡¯ve heard about.¡±

    ¡°Then write about that,¡± Bran said.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lena asked.

    ¡°Well, Jamie¡¯s a good guy, right?¡± Bran said, eager to latch the positive change in topic. ¡°Maybe you can write about that? To tell everyone that not all Otherworlders are terrifying creatures of destruction?¡±

    ¡°You really think that¡¯s a good idea?¡± Lena asked.

    ¡°Sure!¡± he said. ¡°I mean, I think it could help. I definitely almost pissed myself every time I got close to Jamie, until you showed me how nice he was. Maybe if you wrote a book, it would help people like me keep their pants clean.¡±

    Lena frowned despite his joke.

    ¡°Not all Otherworlders are Jamie,¡± she said, lifting the book in her hand and waving it slightly. ¡°The fact that this book exists is proof of that.¡±

    Bran felt his smile deflate immediately.

    ¡°Oh,¡± he said.

    Lena didn¡¯t respond.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± he said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be. It¡¯s still not a terrible idea. Maybe I¡¯ll write something after this is all done. Something to look forward to, right?¡±

    Bran glanced at Lena, who was attempting a smile.

    ¡°I guess,¡± he said, smiling back at her. ¡°What would you call it?¡±

    ¡°What would I call what?¡± Lena asked.

    Bran smiled and rolled his eyes in what he hoped was a playful manner. ¡°The book, idiot. Got any ideas for a title?¡±

    Lena frowned, but thankfully Bran couldn¡¯t see any real heat behind it. Her attempt at trying to look angry at him was just as obviously fake as her smiles.

    ¡°You just gave me the idea, you know,¡± she said. ¡°How do you expect me to think of a title that fast?¡±

    Bran forced out a laugh, acting like he¡¯d been convinced by her attempts at feigning indignation. ¡°I don¡¯t see what¡¯s so difficult about it. Just throw shit on the wall and see what fits. What about, ¡®Legend of Lena¡¯?¡±

    Lena coughed into her hand. Bran felt himself smile slightly. It was an uncomfortable sound, raspy and wet, but it was the closest she¡¯d gotten to a genuine laugh since he got there.

    ¡°That¡¯s fucking stupid,¡± she said.

    ¡°Well it is the best you¡¯ve got so far,¡± Bran said, with a quiet laugh. ¡°I expect a fifty percent cut of all your profits, unless you can think of a better one.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so stupid. You know that?¡±

    ¡°That would be a pretty interesting book title,¡± Bran said, cupping his chin with his fingers and pretending like he was seriously considering the suggestion. ¡°Not sure it beats, ¡®Legend of Lena¡¯ but I¡¯d definitely pick up a book that insulted me before I even picked it up.¡±

    ¡°Ignoring the fact that you wouldn¡¯t be able to read the title.¡±

    Bran sighed and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m disappointed in you, Lena. You already used that insult today,¡± Bran said. ¡°You used to be a lot more creative with your insults, you know.¡±

    ¡°Well excuse me for being traumatized,¡± Lena said, rolling her eyes. ¡°I think I can get a pass after literally dying and being brought back to life a few hours ago.¡±

    Bran froze, not knowing how to react to that. The way that Lena casually mentioned it made it seem like a joke, but he couldn¡¯t be sure.

    ¡°Oh,¡± he said. ¡°Yeah, I guess you would get a pass for that.¡±

    Lena stared at him, as if she was confused by his sudden change in tone. After a moment of silence, she sighed.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± she said.

    ¡°What for?¡± Bran asked.

    ¡°For suggesting you can¡¯t read,¡± Lena responded, waving the book in her hand. ¡°You already knew the author¡¯s name. Have you read it before?¡±

    Bran shook his head, somewhat stunned by the abrupt change in topic. ¡°No. I just knew about it because apparently Eti means ¡®the Author¡¯ in Timuran. Polly mentioned it to me once and I thought it was interesting.¡±

    Lena let out a laugh. ¡°I guess that is pretty interesting,¡± she said. ¡°Though I¡¯m not sure I can trust Polly¡¯s expertise in Timuran.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Yeah. I guess you¡¯re right,¡± Bran replied.

    A long silence stretched out between the two, until Lena broke it with a sigh.

    ¡°Nobody¡¯s dead at the moment,¡± she said. ¡°That¡¯s what your dad wanted you to come here for, right? You can tell him everything¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°You sure about that?¡± Bran asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Lena responded, lifting her hand up to lazily shoo him away. ¡°You should go tell him.¡±

    Bran stared at Lena for a few more seconds before standing up. He stared down at her for a bit longer before grabbing his umbrella.

    ¡°You know you can always talk to me, right?¡± he asked. ¡°You¡¯re my best friend.¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be saying those things to girls,¡± Lena said, still shooing him away. ¡°Polly might get jealous.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m serious, Lena,¡± Bran said. ¡°I care about you.¡±

    Lena smiled up at him.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± she said, still shooing him away. ¡°Maybe later.¡±

    Bran stared down at Lena for a few more seconds before turning away. He walked slowly, giving Lena the time to change her mind and call out to him, but she never did.

 57. The First step forward

    The walk to the Mediators¡¯ temporary base was a short one, which I was grateful for, since the man leading me didn¡¯t seem to care for talking. He led me to a somewhat familiar looking house and pulled open the door, walking inside without even caring to wipe off his boots.

    I spent a moment trying to scrape off my own mud-caked shoes on the front porch, but quickly remembered that I didn¡¯t need to. Focusing inwards, I summoned mana to the surface of my body and let it escape me in a short burst. With my eyes closed, I imagined the mana enveloping the dirt and rainwater that covered my body, dissipating it into nothingness.

    When I opened my eyes again, I was clean and dry.

    I was also alone. Apparently the man hadn¡¯t bothered to wait around for me to clean myself.

    ¡°Marten,¡± an unfamiliar voice said from deeper into the house. ¡°What are you doing back here?¡±

    ¡°I brought the kid,¡± the man - Marten, I suppose - replied.

    ¡°What? Why?¡± the new voice asked.

    ¡°Do you seriously not remember?¡± Marten asked.

    I felt a little awkward walking into a conversation about me, but I felt like waiting would just make things worse. I gingerly peeked my head around the corner.

    Marten had his back towards me, seemingly ignoring my presence as he leaned over someone who was sitting down at a dining table. Somehow, my brain focused more on the fact that I suddenly realized that we were the Mayor¡¯s house, recognizing it from the short visit I had with Lena back when I first arrived in this world, before I managed to realize that the person Marten was leaning over was a Goblin.

    The Goblin glanced at my direction, and I felt tempted to look away, guilty at having killed a small handful of his kind, even if it turned out to be Demons, but it didn¡¯t even seem like he was looking at me. His gaze was unfocused and glassy, and I wasn¡¯t sure if he even registered my presence.

    ¡°Shit. Looks like the concussion¡¯s getting worse,¡± the Goblin said, chuckling momentarily before he grasped at his head, wincing in pain.

    ¡°Concussion?¡± I asked.

    The Goblin¡¯s eyes shifted slightly towards me, supporting the idea I had that he hadn¡¯t known I was there.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Marten answered on his behalf, then frowned. ¡°You don¡¯t happen to have anything for that, do you, kid?¡±

    For some reason, the question caught me off guard, like I was being called on in class after being caught not paying attention. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked automatically, before quickly shaking my head once I actually registered what he said. ¡°Do you mean a healing spell?¡±

    Marten shrugged.

    ¡°Marten,¡± the Goblin said, his voice stern for a moment before he turned towards me and gave me a friendly smile. Or at least he tried to. He ended up staring somewhere over my shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, Jamie. You don¡¯t need to use your magic to help someone you don¡¯t even know.¡±

    ¡°You damn idiot,¡± Marten said. ¡°Just let the kid heal you up.¡±

    ¡°Never show Otherworlders any weakness,¡± the Goblin snapped. ¡°Even the civilians know this. We have to maintain the illusion that his power isn¡¯t particularly abnormal, or he might let it get to his head.¡±

    As Marten slapped a hand to his face, I decided that I probably wasn¡¯t meant to hear that.

    ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± I asked.

    Marten lowered his hand and looked back at me. ¡°Why do you want to know?¡± he asked back, suspicion clear in his voice.

    I shrugged. ¡°No particular reason?¡±

    Marten frowned. ¡°Stoney.¡±

    I felt my face twitch at the name, but tried not to let my reaction show past that. ¡°Well, I guess now that we¡¯ve been formally introduced, I can use my magic to heal you, Stoney.¡±

    ¡°Your magic has that as a restriction?¡± Marten asked.

    ¡°No,¡± I said.

    ¡°Then why say that?¡±

    I stared at him until I realized that he was being serious.

    ¡°Well. I mean, he said that I don¡¯t need to use magic to help someone I don¡¯t know, and y¡¯know. I know him now. I mean, kind of. So yeah. I can use magic on him now.¡± I trailed off into a stammer before I averted my eyes from Marten¡¯s scrutinizing glare, feeling my face growing hot from embarrassment.

    ¡°You know he didn¡¯t mean that literally, right?¡± Marten asked carefully, like he didn¡¯t want to offend me in case I did.

    I blushed even harder.

    ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± I said, with a sigh that I hoped sounded more exasperated than humiliated. ¡°I just wanted to do a bit.¡±

    ¡°A what?¡± I didn¡¯t know whether I felt better or worse at the fact that Marten sounded genuinely confused.

    I closed my eyes, and ignored the way a wave of heat washed over me for a third time. Deciding that I was done with the conversation, I summoned mana to my palms. ¡°Heal,¡± I said, as I expelled my mana, pushing it to Stoney.

    When I opened my eyes, Stoney blinked a few times, and though he looked dazed, like he was just waking up from a dream, he was still much more focused than he was a few seconds ago.

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    He blinked a few more times and rubbed his eyes before looking at me and nodding.

    ¡°Thank you, Jamie,¡± he said.

    ¡°No problem,¡± I said.

    From the corner of my eye I saw Marten still frowning at me with his brow furrowed in thought, but thankfully, he didn¡¯t seem interested in continuing the conversation from before.

    ¡°That was a powerful spell,¡± Marten said. ¡°You sure you got enough mana for the communication spell?¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡± I said, a little hesitantly. ¡°I mean, I guess I can¡¯t be sure until I try, but nothing I¡¯ve done so far has tired me out.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± Marten asked.

    ¡°Maybe?¡± I said, unsure of what else I could say. Marten¡¯s frown deepened, making me think that I gave the wrong answer, but before I could correct myself, he let out a quiet grunt and shook his head.

    ¡°Forget I asked,¡± he said, before turning to Stoney. ¡°You want the leadership role back, now that you¡¯re not stupid?¡±

    ¡°You can keep it if you feel like you would be better suited for it,¡± Stoney replied, completely ignoring the second half of Marten¡¯s comment.

    ¡°Fuck no. It¡¯s yours,¡± Marten said, patting his shirt and drawing out his pipe. ¡°I¡¯ll be outside if you need me.¡±

    Stoney sighed, and shook his head as Marten walked around me to leave.

    ¡°Oh and by the way.¡± Marten paused at the door, though he didn¡¯t turn around. ¡°The kid knows about how we were trying to kill him.¡±

    Marten¡¯s footsteps echoed in the silence that he left us in. I watched his retreating back as he left the house, not because I was interested in watching him leave, but because I wasn¡¯t sure I was ready to face Stoney.

    ¡°For the record, I¡¯m not actually that mad about that,¡± I said, scratching the back of my head awkwardly. I slowly turned around, like I didn¡¯t want to make any sudden movements and accidentally scare the Goblin.

    To my surprise, Stoney looked a lot calmer than I would have expected, casually resting both of his palms on the table and giving me a warm smile that didn¡¯t quite suit his monstrous look. Though I supposed he wasn¡¯t quite a monster, was he? Was I being racist?

    ¡°That¡¯s a relief,¡± Stoney said, breaking me out of my thoughts. ¡°There isn¡¯t much we could do to stop you from taking vengeance on us if you chose to.¡±

    I felt the urge to say that I wouldn¡¯t kill anyone, but at this point, I was tired of hearing myself say it. Besides, Stoney hadn¡¯t actually suggested that I was a murderer.

    ¡°I thought you guys were supposed to pretend like I was nothing special,¡± I said, trying to deflect the topic to something else. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you said?¡±

    Stoney winced, but recovered quickly and let out a good-natured laugh. He scratched at the back of his bald head in embarrassment.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the things I might have said while I was suffering a concussion. Thank you again for fixing it,¡± he said, with an appreciative nod.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± I said, nodding back.

    Stoney gave me a curious look before motioning to the seat across the table from him. Realizing I¡¯d been standing this entire time, I sheepishly took a seat.

    ¡°Look, Jamie,¡± Stoney said, folding his hands in front of him and giving me another disarming smile. ¡°I¡¯ll be upfront with you. Now that you know our organization¡¯s mandate, there is little benefit in lying to you. We would only be increasing the risk of upsetting you. In fact, despite the fact that I do not have the authority to make this decision, I would be willing to bet that the Mediators will be ordered to leave you be for the rest of your natural life to lower that risk as much as we possibly can.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Marten mentioned something like that.¡±

    ¡°I would¡¯ve assumed so. As infuriating as the man can be, he does have a sensible head on his shoulders,¡± he said with a small laugh, before fixing me with a piercing stare. ¡°And that begs the question, Jamie. Despite knowing that the Mediators have attempted to kill you in the past, you¡¯re offering to help us. Why?¡±

    I shrugged.

    ¡°I want to fix the bad reputation that Otherworlders have,¡± I said, summarizing my new goals as concisely as I could. ¡°Marten asked for a favour, and I thought it would be a good first step if I agreed to help.¡±

    For the first time in our conversation, Stoney seemed to be caught off guard. The easy smile had slipped off his face, replaced by a look of utter confusion, before he managed to gather his wits and smile at me once more.

    ¡°That certainly is an interesting goal,¡± Stoney said.

    ¡°You don¡¯t think I can do it,¡± I said.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t think you can do it personally, Jamie. I simply think it¡¯s impossible,¡± Stoney said, with a sigh. ¡°The Otherworlders have done an immeasurable amount of damage to our world, and it¡¯s not easy to forget. Countless lives have been destroyed by the actions of Otherworlders and the survivors won¡¯t be quick to forgive.¡±

    Stoney frowned and a brief flicker of a pained expression flashed across his face before he smiled once again.

    I considered ignoring it, but for some reason, I didn¡¯t like the thought of pretending like I hadn¡¯t noticed obvious hints and signs just so I could avoid an uncomfortable discussion. It felt so tiring.

    ¡°Are you a survivor?¡± I asked, realizing halfway through my question that it might be incredibly rude, but asking it anyway.

    Rather than becoming angry or upset like I might have expected, Stoney just gave me a curious look.

    ¡°I am. My entire tribe was slaughtered by an Otherworlder known as the Worldly Farmer.¡±

    He said it casually, like he was explaining to me what he ate for breakfast that morning. I felt like I should be showing more of a reaction, like gritting my teeth in remorse or pounding the table in sympathetic anger, but Stoney¡¯s relaxed smile made it difficult for me to feel much besides a dull numbness.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that,¡± I said.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Stoney replied. ¡°That means a lot.¡±

    There was the beginnings of an awkward silence between us, but Stoney sighed and shook his head before it could stretch out for too long.

    ¡°Well, now that I think about it, who am I to say that you shouldn¡¯t try to mend the bad reputation that Otherworlders have?¡± he said, letting out a noise that sounded somewhere between a sigh and a chuckle. ¡°The impossible goals are the best ones to chase.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what to say to that, so I gave a noncommittal hum instead.

    Stoney laughed at that.

    ¡°You really are just a normal brat, aren¡¯t you?¡± he said.

    I didn¡¯t know what to say to that either, so I just hummed again.

    Stoney gave me an easy smile, before it morphed into a strange grin like he just remembered something and he couldn¡¯t quite decide if the memory was irritating or funny.

    ¡°You¡¯re gonna be a weird one to name, aren¡¯t you?¡± he mused.

    ¡°What?¡± I said, completely confused by the random statement.

    Stoney laughed and shook his head. ¡°Sorry,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s just something I thought, but Otherworlders are generally given a moniker, usually a few weeks after they¡¯ve arrived in our world. I was just wondering when we would give you one.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s a moniker?¡± I asked.

    ¡°A title, or a nickname if you prefer,¡± Stoney explained. ¡°Like the Breaker, the Chaotic Paladin, and the Glass Artisan, to list a few examples. Every Otherworlder has one.¡±

    I managed to suppress the urge to suggest that I could be called ¡®Nightblade,¡¯ along with the flush of embarrassment that came with the memory of my cringey OC. I shook my head, as if that would help shake the memory loose, but it didn¡¯t seem to work.

    ¡°How about just calling me Jamie,¡± I suggested quickly, before my brain could think of more of the characters I¡¯d dreamed up when I was twelve.

    ¡°All Otherworlders have a moniker,¡± Stoney repeated with another laugh, as if he could see my inner turmoil. ¡°But I suppose we can hold off on naming you for the moment. We¡¯ll just have to introduce you as Jamie when we introduce you to the Founder.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re introducing me to him?¡± I asked. ¡°I thought I was just giving you mana so you could talk to him.¡±

    Stoney shrugged. ¡°It would be a good start to fulfilling your new goal. If you want to do anything related to Otherworlders, the Mediators would have their hands in it. No harm in starting a friendly relationship now, is there?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± I said, nodding to myself as I thought about what he was saying. ¡°I guess there isn¡¯t.¡±

 58. He, Keeper of the Gate

    He woke up, but he had not been asleep.

    Rather, he blinked, and the world returned to focus.

    He sat in a room of his own design, dark enough that he would not have to see the realm that he had been granted dominion over.

    He had allowed himself to view it as beautiful once, but time had dulled its splendor.

    He did not need splendor. He had been granted dominion over this Gate, and he would fulfill his duties.

    It was simply so.

    He blinked. A quiet ticking echoed in his mind. The sound that had woken him. The sound of a gear, clicking quietly.

    He frowned. Though he had once been more involved in the lost souls, guiding them through the Gate by his own gentle hand, the method had made him weary.

    And so he had spent a long time using what he found in the realm of his dominion to craft a mechanism that would open the gates for the lost souls without his presence. The Gate rarely needed his attention now.

    The mechanism he had crafted was designed to be a perfect system, but despite the power granted to him, he did not have the arrogance to think that he had the ability to achieve perfection. Despite being granted power equivalent to it, he knew he would never achieve Godhood. He would not dare be so arrogant.

    No matter. If there was an issue in his mechanism, he would fix it.

    He did not know how long it had been since the gears had clicked. Time no longer meant anything to him, and though he could remember a gear calling out to him once before, he did not know how long it had been since that time.

    The gear had been simple to fix with only the slightest adjustment necessary for it to find its place in the grand mechanism that he had crafted, for it to turn quietly and smoothly with its fellows.

    Perhaps he had been too soft with his attempt to fix it? Had he been too arrogant in his faith in his system? Too passive in his action? Perhaps he had believed that a slight adjustment would be enough to fix the flaw, but now that he thought about it, the existence of a flaw in his flawless system meant that it was not so.

    Instead of adjusting the clicking gear, should he have replaced it altogether? Maybe even go so far as to redesign the system from scratch? Perhaps he was being too hasty. Perhaps an occasional error was to be expected, and accounted for, with gentle fixes to the system as necessary.

    He supposed he could not make a decision either way, not yet at least. He decided that he would inspect this new clicking gear more carefully than he had the first.

    Focusing his attention on gear that continued to click at the edges of his perception, he felt his mind probing the gear.

    The gear clicked loudly in his mind. Identification. Stoney.

    The gear clicked again. An apology for bothering Him once more in such a short amount of time.

    He frowned. A short amount of time? He struggled to recall the details of the previous gear that had called his attention, but he was confident that it was not the same as the one. The soulless were all similar to him, but he knew that there was a difference here. No matter how slight.

    The gear clicked. Confirmation that it was not the same as the one that had called for him previously, but that it was still present.

    He frowned. The mention of the first gear, Marten, gave him a sense of time. The gears expired and automatically replaced themselves quite often. The fact that Marten was still in existence meant that it had been a few decades since the gears had clicked at the longest.

    The gear clicked. It had been less than a day since they had last called for Him.

    He did not understand. How could this be? Two errors in such quick succession? What was the reason for this?

    The gear clicked. The lost soul.

    An icy fear gripped at His heart. The same lost soul that he had seen through the mind of the last gear. It had not passed on yet?

    The gear clicked. The lost soul was still in this realm.

    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Was it stuck? Was it unworthy to pass on?

    No. The Gate was not of his design. It was infallible, impossible. There would not be a soul that would not be able pass through it. There was a problem with his mechanisms.

    The realization hurt him more than he expected it to.

    Pride. How useless.

    It was a sign that he still had room to improve, just as his mechanisms could.

    The gear clicked again. An inquiry. An invitation.

    An interesting one. He considered the suggestion for a moment. It had been a long time since he had communicated with a lost soul directly, and more forgotten emotions flitted through him, of anxiety, of unease at the memory of the weariness that had plagued him during his early days as a warden, but he decided it was necessary.

    The mechanisms were flawed and the Gate still needed an operator while he decided how he would repair it. He would guide this lost soul through the Gate. He would restructure his realm anew after he ensured its safety.

    The gear clicked. Affirmation.

    The gear fell silent.

    A moment passed.

    The world exploded.

    A guttural sound of shock escaped his throat as he flinched back from the unexpected explosion of blue light. Squinting against it, his eyes struggled to remember their function, but were quick to adapt to the assault.

    And he was able to see, but he did not understand.

    [Jamie] would like to start a voice chat.

    [Accept]

    [Decline]

    He stared, eyes unblinking despite the discomfort of keeping them open.

    What was this?

    The unfamiliar symbols stared back at him, unmoving, unwavering, a few of the symbols started to glow.

    He did not know what it was, and he did not know what it meant, but he felt compelled to reach forward and touch the panel of blue light.

    A quiet buzzing echoed in his head for a moment.

    ¡°Hello?¡±

    He looked around, startled by the sudden sound of the unfamiliar word in an unfamiliar voice. His small chamber was illuminated by the light of the panel, and even without it, the chamber he had buried himself in was too small to fit anyone other than himself.

    ¡°Hi, is this the Founder? My name¡¯s Jamie. I¡¯m an Otherworlder?¡±

    Again, that voice echoed in his mind, in an animalistic, alien tongue. What was it saying? Why did he not understand it? He clutched at his head, willing the voice to quiet.

    But despite his will, it continued.

    ¡°Umm, can you hear me? Did I cast the spell correctly?¡±

    Was it not he who was chosen to be the keeper of this Gate? Who would dare to challenge the power granted to him? For a moment, he felt rage. Rage at this strange entity, and at himself for being unable to comprehend it.

    Fury coursed through him in the place of blood, and he felt no shame in the emotion, for even God knew fury.

    How dare this creature exist?

    ¡°Hello? Is this thing on? Did I get the wrong number? Oh, no. It¡¯s just a little inside joke. Sorry, Stoney.¡±

    Why couldn¡¯t it hear him? Was it deaf? No, that would not matter, for even the deaf could hear his words. Perhaps its mind was not developed enough to understand him? But that didn¡¯t solve the additional question of how he could hear its voice.

    He paused, and for the first time in a long time, he realized that it was he that was hearing things. Physically hearing things.

    Why? How?

    ¡°Wh-¡±

    His voice cut off, as if he were surprised by the sound of it. And he was. He hadn¡¯t meant to speak. He had no need for it. No reason. No purpose.

    When was the last time he had moved his lips? When was the last time moisture and air had touched his throat? Would he even be able to talk if he tried?

    ¡°Wait, I think I heard something.¡±

    The voice echoed in his head again. He did not understand it, but it was higher-pitched, excited, as if it were reacting to his broken question. Had it heard him?

    ¡°What are you?¡± he asked, his voice echoing in his tomb.

    Silence answered him, and he was quick to assume that the creature hadn¡¯t heard him, that it truly was deaf to his words, no matter the method of communication.

    But then it spoke again.

    ¡°Huh? Sorry, what was that? I couldn¡¯t understand you.¡±

    The creature¡¯s garbled language continued to evade him, but the confusion in its voice was clear.

    Or not so clear. He wasn¡¯t confident. It had been a while since he¡¯d heard someone speak.

    ¡°Have you a soul?¡± he asked again, finding his confidence in his words once more. ¡°Speak, demon. In the tongue of my forebears. Do not dare to sully my ears with your devilish whispers.¡±

    The words escaped him before he could think of them, but he was surprised by how much sense they made.

    This was no ordinary creature if it could not hear his word, for even the animals of this realm would bend to his will. Soulless, powerful, and inexplicable? The description fit a demon exactly.

    The urge ran through him, to take his holy power and smite this demon back whence it came, but he realized he did not know.

    How? How had a demon come into his realm? It was impossible. This was the realm that housed a Gate. How?

    ¡°What did you say? Hello? Is something wrong with my translation magic?¡±

    The demon''s words echoed in his mind, still foreign and indecipherable. What was it saying?

    He did not know, for he was not omniscient.

    But he had to know. He needed to know. He had to know what he had to mend in order to fix the mechanisms of the Gate. No. At this point, he knew he could not fix things. For a mistake of this magnitude to happen, meant that his mechanisms were too flawed, unworthy of operating the Gate. No. He would need to start from the very beginning. He would need to break everything down and build anew. It would be simple, and he knew this from past experience, but perhaps the simplicity was where he had gone wrong.

    He had believed his power to be almighty and infallible, and perhaps that was true, but the wielder was not. He had made a mistake, and if he wanted to make sure that he did not repeat it, he would need to learn more about the mistake that plagued him now.

    Glaring at the blue panel in front of him, he lifted his arm and brought it down in a mighty blow, banishing the panel from existence, plunging him back into darkness.

    Blessed silence met him again, free of the demon¡¯s garbled speech. For a moment, he felt the urge to close his eyes, and pretend that his utopic world had not been disturbed.

    But no. He had a duty.

    It would be fulfilled.

 59. Mental block

    ¡°And you¡¯re sure you couldn¡¯t understand him?¡±

    I wasn¡¯t the type to roll my eyes, but after being asked a different version of the same question five times in a row, I was tempted to start.

    ¡°No I couldn¡¯t. And no, it just sounded like he was speaking some foreign language. It wasn¡¯t some incomprehensible mumbling like I was listening to some sort of eldritch god,¡± I said, trying to anticipate the follow-up question that Marten was sure to ask.

    I thought I saw both Marten and Stoney flinch a little at what I said, but with how fast their faces returned to neutral so quickly, I wasn¡¯t sure if I¡¯d imagined it or not.

    ¡°With your magic, you should¡¯ve been able to interpret him, no matter what language he uses,¡± Marten said.

    ¡°Well, I couldn¡¯t,¡± I said, holding back a frustrated groan. ¡°Maybe there¡¯s just a language in your world that I¡¯m not able to understand.¡±

    Marten shook his head. ¡°Your magic¡¯s supposed to be infallible. If it¡¯s a spoken language, then you should be able to interpret it.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± I asked, knowing that he would just ask me the same questions again if he wasn¡¯t satisfied with my answer. ¡°What language does your boss usually speak anyways?¡±

    ¡°The same one I¡¯m speaking now,¡± Marten said. ¡°Ashanic.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true,¡± Stoney said, raising his hand as if he was a student in a classroom. ¡°When I contacted the Founder, he spoke in Petani. My native language.¡± He glanced sideways at me, ignoring the deepening frown on Marten¡¯s face. ¡°Did you understand what I said?¡±

    I glanced between him and Marten. ¡°Were you talking in Petani?¡± I asked, testing my hunch. ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell if you were. It just sounded like English to me.¡±

    ¡°I was talking in Petani, yes. I presume that English is a language you have on Earth?¡± Stoney asked.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡±

    Surprisingly, Stoney shook his head. ¡°Most of the time, Otherworlders don¡¯t bother to question why they can understand us and vice versa. It¡¯s convenient for us, and there is no real reason to ask what your native languages are. We know of a few, but don¡¯t place any value in knowing them.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re getting off topic,¡± Marten said with a frustrated huff. He had discovered that he¡¯d used up the last of his tobacco a few minutes ago, and was just fidgeting around with an empty pipe now. ¡°We don¡¯t fucking care what your language is.¡±

    Stoney sighed and rubbed his temple for a moment before looking up at Marten.

    ¡°Take a break, Marten,¡± Stoney said. ¡°You¡¯re clearly not thinking straight if you¡¯re swearing at an Otherworlder.¡±

    Marten glared back at Stoney, but said nothing before turning around and stomping up the stairs and out of the basement.

    I watched him go, a little sad at the reason why he had been dismissed. When I looked back at Stoney, he gave me an apologetic smile that seemed to understand exactly what I was feeling.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t gonna do anything to him, just because of a little swearing,¡± I said, just in case he didn¡¯t. ¡°You don¡¯t have to treat me like a monster.¡±

    Stoney shook his head slowly. ¡°We¡¯re not treating you like a monster, Jamie,¡± he said. ¡°But I won¡¯t lie to you and say that we¡¯re treating you like a regular Materian either, because, quite frankly, you¡¯re not. You¡¯re dangerous enough that we have to treat you with the utmost respect, purely because it¡¯s our safest option. I knew enough boys like you to know that sometimes you won¡¯t admit if something is bothering you, so it''s in my best interest to make sure Marten is polite to you, even if you claim that you don¡¯t mind the rough language.¡±

    Stoney gave me another apologetic smile, and I was struck by the sincerity behind it to the point where I couldn¡¯t find anything to say. I didn¡¯t want to agree with him, but I didn¡¯t want to speak up against any of his points either.

    In the end I just decided to sigh and hang my head.

    Stoney sighed along with me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said. ¡°I know it¡¯s difficult for you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°It must be hard for you to deal with me.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± he admitted without any hesitation. ¡°It is.¡±

    ¡°You admitted that much more easily than I expected,¡± I said. I¡¯d tried to put a little humour in my voice, but it came out a little flatter than I hoped, so I just gave him a small smile so he wouldn¡¯t think I was angry. ¡°What happened to being polite?¡±

    Stoney smiled back at me. ¡°I¡¯m being honest, Jamie. That¡¯s more important than being polite, though I admit I could¡¯ve been a bit more tactful with how I said it.¡±

    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine,¡± I said.

    Stoney opened his mouth to say something, but his ears perked up and he turned his attention to the basement door. I hadn¡¯t noticed the footsteps approaching, but when I turned to match his gaze, I saw Tenna and Sera marching down the stairs.

    ¡°Welcome back,¡± Stoney said. ¡°Did Marten catch you up?¡±

    Neither of them answered back immediately, which Stoney raised his eyebrow at.

    ¡°Well?¡± he asked, directing his gaze at Sera.

    Sera seemed to notice the gaze and flinched, as if she was surprised to be called on. ¡°He did, sir,¡± she said. ¡°He mentioned that you would know best what to do with me. Or us, rather.¡±

    Stoney stared at Sera for a moment before shaking his head.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m going to stop whatever this is right now,¡± he said. ¡°Sera. Get your head out of your own ass. You¡¯re a Mediator. Act like one.¡±

    Sera¡¯s eyes widened before she regained control of her expression, snapping it back to one of controlled neutrality.

    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure if I was still a Mediator, sir,¡± she said.

    Stoney let out a frustrated sigh. ¡°I guarantee your little stunt with the civilian girl will get you into some trouble, but you haven¡¯t been fired yet,¡± he said. ¡°You can still do good, Sera. Don¡¯t forget why you became a Mediator in the first place.¡±

    Sera frowned.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll try to focus. Have you considered the possibility that there are concepts that might be untranslatable? While his magic might be infallible, Jamie is anything but. No offense.¡±

    ¡°None taken,¡± I said, all too willing to accept my imperfections after the past couple of weeks.

    Stoney didn¡¯t seem too happy by Sera¡¯s eagerness to change the subject, but he accepted it regardless. ¡°Unfortunately, Marten already suggested that,¡± he said. ¡°Names and locations foreign to him are untranslatable, but that should¡¯ve been expected, and words that don¡¯t exist in his language are still translated. The feeling you get when you sense that someone is watching you, but you¡¯re also suspicious that you¡¯re simply delusional from the lack of sleep, for example, is a word that doesn¡¯t exist in Jamie¡¯s language, but his magic translates it by giving him a broader definition¡­ What?¡±

    Sera didn¡¯t respond to the question. For some reason, her eyes were narrowed, glancing between Stoney, me, and Tenna, before finally landing back on me.

    ¡°Schroighfaren,¡± she said, still staring at me.

    I waited a bit for her to continue or at least give me some context on what she wanted, but when she didn¡¯t, I shook my head at the foreign word. ¡°I don¡¯t know names or places,¡± I said. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was one of the ones that Marten and Stoney already tested me on, but the language sounded similar enough.

    ¡°It was neither of those,¡± she said. ¡°I just repeated the exact same word that Stoney did, but I didn¡¯t take ten seconds to say one word.¡±

    I didn¡¯t quite understand what Sera was talking about, but Stoney seemed to clue in on what she was suggesting almost immediately. His face hardened and his mouth curved down into a deep frown.

    ¡°The feeling you get when you sense that someone is watching you, but you¡¯re also suspicious that you¡¯re simply delusional from the lack of sleep,¡± he said, speaking a bit faster than he did the first time around.

    Sera¡¯s frown only deepened as she shook her head.

    ¡°You¡¯re still stretching out the word. You really don¡¯t notice it,¡± she said, in more of a statement than a question.

    ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°And you¡¯re immune because you¡¯re a Follower.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my assumption,¡± she replied.

    Though I was no stranger to not understanding what people were talking about at times, the fact that they were talking so gravely made it impossible for me to keep quiet.

    ¡°You¡¯re immune from what?¡± I asked, not liking the quiver that had somehow entered my voice.

    ¡°The fact that your magic can subtly manipulate people¡¯s minds into not noticing the fact that they¡¯re speaking slowly to accommodate for the time it takes for your magic to translate words with long definitions,¡± Sera said. ¡°To me, it sounds like Stoney was saying, ¡®Schhhhroooifaaaarrreeenn.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± I said, a little taken aback by how nonchalant Sera was being. ¡°I¡¯m manipulating people¡¯s minds? That¡¯s kind of terrifying. Right?¡±

    ¡°Extremely,¡± Stoney said, his tone just as casual as Sera had been at the idea that he was being mind controlled. ¡°But not anything outside our realm of expectations. What we are surprised about, however, is the fact that this interaction with an Otherworlder¡¯s magic was never mentioned in our records.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. Honestly, I was still a little shocked by the idea that they were so casual about the idea that I could mind control them, but with how little they seemed to care about it, I didn¡¯t really want to address it. ¡°Is it possible that it just never came up? I mean, I assume there aren¡¯t that many words that are untranslatable that just pop up in normal conversation.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s possible, but the Mediators have been interacting with Otherworlders for nearly two thousand years,¡± Stoney said, shaking his head. ¡°The chances of this being the first time a Mediator has used an untranslatable word in front of an Otherworlder and a Follower at the same time is quite low.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. ¡°And it¡¯s a big deal that these words are untranslatable?¡±

    Stoney shook his head, his brow still furrowed in thought. ¡°It¡¯s not the specifics of the scenario that we¡¯re fixated on. It¡¯s the fact that, despite our overwhelming history of dealing with Otherworlders, this is the first time that we¡¯ve known it¡¯s possible to be immune to an Otherworlder¡¯s magic.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s also the possibility that Jamie¡¯s not a real Otherworlder.¡±

    Stoney turned towards the stairs again, watching as Marten trudged down the stairs, a heavy cloud of smoke following in his wake as he sucked on his pipe, having apparently restocked his supply while he was gone.

    ¡°And what evidence do you have to support this theory, Marten?¡± Stoney asked.

    Marten shrugged. ¡°He feels different.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not evidence,¡± Stoney replied.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t feel it,¡± Marten said. ¡°You¡¯ve been on the job longer than I have.¡±

    ¡°Feelings aren¡¯t evidence.¡±

    ¡°And that isn¡¯t an answer.¡±

    Stoney answered with silence and Marten responded in kind by taking a long draw of his pipe and breathing out a cloud of smoke before turning to me.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s different about you?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure?¡± I said, more than a little confused.

    ¡°That was a rhetorical question,¡± he said, before turning back to Stoney. ¡°You seriously won¡¯t admit that you feel it too? Trust in your gut, or at least mine. It¡¯s never led me astray.¡±

    ¡°Coming from a man with a gambling debt as large as yours, I¡¯m not sure how true that is,¡± Stoney said, though the furrow in his brow refused to go away as his gaze fluttered between me and the floor.

    ¡°Fair point, but it¡¯s the only one you¡¯ve made so far,¡± Marten said, rolling his eyes before turning to Sera. ¡°What about you? You¡¯ve been traveling with Jamie this whole time, and you were and still are his Follower. Got any insight, or were you too busy trying to get into blondie¡¯s pants?¡±

    A part of my brain started to whir at the implications of what Marten said, but the larger part of me was more focused on the fact that Sera didn¡¯t even seem to hear him.

    Marten looked down at her, and opened his mouth, as if he was about to say something, but eventually closed it again and crossed his arms as he looked down at her. I could almost imagine him tapping his foot impatiently as he waited, but he stayed still, only moving to take puffs from his pipe, until Sera looked up at him.

    ¡°Well, look who finally decided to-¡±

    ¡°Shut up,¡± Sera said, her lips pulled into a thin line. ¡°You say that Jamie feels different from the other Otherworlders you¡¯ve met. Do I feel different from the other Followers you¡¯ve met?¡±

    ¡°Other than the fact that you¡¯re a horny teenager with no self control?¡±

    Sera gritted her teeth and shook her head, looking at Stoney.

    ¡°Stoney,¡± she said. Her voice was low, but it trembled, like she was barely holding back a shout. ¡°Compare me to the other Followers you¡¯ve met.¡±

    Stoney frowned. ¡°That¡¯s a very vague request,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re searching for.¡±

    Sera gritted her teeth, and she opened her mouth, but no words came out. She grimaced, and shook her head, though I wasn¡¯t sure why.

    ¡°Can you compare me to any of the other Follower¡¯s you¡¯ve met?¡± Sera asked, still managing to keep her voice from rising in volume, but not in pitch. ¡°Because I can¡¯t. I¡¯ve been on five different teams to pacify five Otherworlders, and I can¡¯t remember a single Follower¡¯s name.¡±

    ¡°Are you serious?¡± Marten asked. ¡°You going crazy now?¡±

    ¡°Not as far as I can tell,¡± Sera said, though she hesitated slightly as if she was considering the possibility. ¡°Just humour me. Give me the name of a single Follower other than me, and I¡¯ll drop this.¡±

    Marten¡¯s lips curled into a mocking snarl and he opened his mouth, before he went completely silent.

    If it were just that, I might not have been so unnerved as I was, but there was an instantaneous shift in Marten¡¯s expression, from one of annoyance and confusion to one of nothing. Blank and expressionless, Marten stared forward, not seeming to register the world around him at all.

    The shift in the room was so sudden that I felt myself flinch, but Sera was still moving. With a grimace on her face, she spared Marten a simple glance before she looked around the room. Following her gaze, I noticed that Stoney and Tenna had also fallen into a dull trance-like state, before they immediately snapped back into reality, just as quickly as they¡¯d exited it.

    ¡°There, you got your names. Happy, now?¡± Marten asked, with his arms crossed over his chest, the same snarl on his face, like he hadn¡¯t just fallen into silence for a few seconds.

    Sera let out a hiss. The emotions hiding behind it were too complicated for me to interpret fully, but the thick undercurrent of dread was obvious.

    ¡°No,¡± she said, glancing at me. ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡±

 60. Empty

    Oren woke from a dreamless sleep. For a long moment, he simply existed, floating listlessly in between the state of sleep and consciousness, before he was pulled out of it by the sudden realisation that he was hearing something.

    Quiet pops echoed in his mind, and it was his sleep addled state that stopped him from realising what it was immediately. But only for a second. Oren¡¯s eyes shot open at the Mediator¡¯s signal, and pushed himself up from his bed.

    ¡°It took you a while to wake up,¡± a voice said immediately. ¡°What happened?¡±

    It was a testament to how deep his sleep had been that he didn¡¯t immediately recognize the woman sitting beside him.

    ¡°I¡¯m not certain,¡± he said. ¡°I may have been put in a magically induced state of sleep by the Otherworlder.¡±

    The woman nodded, and he slowly recognized her as Laush, his fellow Mediator.

    Immediately, he felt his mind snap back to attention. The fact that she hadn¡¯t taken the opportunity to stab him in his sleep could only mean that he hadn¡¯t been deemed a traitor to the Mediators. The ghost of a smile flitted across his lips.

    ¡°What are my instructions?¡± he asked.

    ¡ª

    I don¡¯t know how long I ended up staring into the distance, long after Bran disappeared from my sight, but it must have been a while.

    I was cold, tired, and hungry. My anxiety and restlessness made me assume that eating or sleeping would be close to impossible, but being cold was something that I could fix.

    I didn¡¯t want to fix it. Intellectually, I knew I was liable to catch a cold if I stayed out there on the front porch, as the unusually cold summer rain sprayed a light shower of mist on my already clammy skin, but I didn¡¯t want to. It would be so easy to go back in the house, change into some dry clothes, and huddle up in my bed with the blankets drawn over me, but that was part of the problem.

    Being comfortable would only hinder me. I didn¡¯t want to make it even harder to leave with Jamie when the time came.

    But what was I doing out here?

    I sighed.

    I knew I wasn¡¯t helping Jamie by slowly freezing myself to death for no purpose, but it was frustrating to know that there was really nothing I could do right now to help him. The urge to get up and wander through the village to find him had long since faded from my mind, since I had no idea where he could be. It was a better idea just to stay put.

    But I hated that.

    Even though I was doing nothing, and had been stagnant for however long I¡¯d been sitting there on my front porch, a nervous energy ran through my veins, begging to be doing anything instead of just twiddling my thumbs as I waited for Jamie to come back.

    I resisted the urge to get up and pace, knowing that it would only make things worse.

    It was only when I heard the quiet creaking of tortured leather that I realized that I was on the verge of ripping my dad¡¯s book in half. I thought of throwing the book as far as I could into the muddy roads, as if it had just personally offended me, but I dismissed the intrusive thought.

    Lashing out randomly wouldn¡¯t do me any good. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The book crinkled in my hands, but didn¡¯t rip like I secretly hoped it would.

    After a few more breaths, I opened my eyes.

    Releasing my vicegrip on the book somewhat, I turned it over to stare at it. The title stared back at me, written plainly in boring block letters, ¡°The Chronicles of a Witness,¡± and underneath it, the author¡¯s name, ¡°Eti.¡±

    It looked so innocent on the surface. Though I knew the book was the most famous book in Astranta, and probably throughout the entire world, I couldn¡¯t help but think it was a little cruel that the cover looked so innocuous without even a warning of the horrors that it contained.

    I wondered if that was intentional. Maybe the publishers didn¡¯t think that they would be able to sell the book if people knew exactly what it was about? It definitely didn¡¯t end up being a big problem, since the morbid curiosity of the general population drove them to buy it anyway. It was kind of messed up if I thought about it for too long, given that most of the general population had at least one member of their family pass away after being affected by the Plague King¡¯s namesake.

    I sighed as I thumbed the cover, not knowing whether I should read it or not. I still wasn¡¯t sure what my dad wanted me to get out of this. Even though I had joked around with Bran that it was his way of pushing me towards a writing career, the more obvious answer was that he wanted me to read it and become so horrified of what an Otherworlder was capable of that I would abandon Jamie.

    The urge to throw away the book rose up inside me once more, but I suppressed it again. I felt my lips curl into a deep frown before I thumbed open the cover.

    If anything, knowing more about Otherworlders would help Jamie in the long run, wouldn¡¯t it? It wasn¡¯t like I was afraid that my conviction would waver if I read this. I¡¯d been through death and had come out strong. A book wouldn¡¯t scare me.

    At the sight of the first page, I let out a breath that I hadn¡¯t realized I¡¯d been holding. It was just a publisher¡¯s page, detailing who the scribe had been, as well as how many generations of transcription the version had gone through and the date of the book¡¯s publication. Apparently my dad¡¯s copy of the book was written by a man named Renard, from Redstone, and it was a second generation copy that was written twenty five years ago.

    How my dad could afford a second generation copy of any book confused me. While we were no means poor, a second generation copy of a book was a luxury. Though they obviously weren¡¯t nearly as exclusive as first generations, since you needed a special licence to have access to the original copy of any book to transcribe it into a first generation copy, second generation books were often still very expensive, since the scribe would often have to pay a fortune to obtain the first generation copy to transcribe off of.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    I was more used to seeing ninth or tenth generation copies, where bits and pieces of text were lost as the scribes that made them became lower and lower in skill, but a second generation book would likely have close to zero mistakes.

    Maybe there was just such a high demand for the book that more second generation copies were made?

    Before I could think about an answer to that question, I grimaced and glared at the book. I was distracting myself.

    I steeled myself before I turned the page.

    Then I turned the page.

    Then again.

    And again and again.

    I eventually gave up flipping the pages one by one and fanned through the entire book like it was a flipbook, but the only scene animated by the book was one of nothingness.

    I opened the book again, to a random page, just to confirm that my eyes weren¡¯t playing tricks on me.

    They weren¡¯t. The page was blank. The entire book was empty.

    For some reason, my blood ran cold. I could think of a hundred different reasons as to why the book was blank, but I instinctively knew that all of them were wrong. Feeling a shiver down my spine, I nearly fell sideways as my legs grew weak, as I only just realized that I was standing up.

    I walked quickly back into my house, my fingers threatening to tear into the blank pages of the book in my grip.

    The door slammed open, startling my dad and my mom, who was apparently awake now, but I couldn¡¯t find it in me to care.

    I lifted the book up and pointed at it with an accusatory finger.

    ¡°Why is this blank?¡± I asked.

    My voice was wavering for some reason, and from the concerned look on my parents¡¯ faces, I could only imagine what my expression looked like, but I didn¡¯t care to change it.

    ¡°Why is this blank?¡± I asked again, jabbing a finger against the book, almost tearing out a page.

    ¡°Lena?¡± my dad said, raising his hands like he was trying to calm down a wild animal. ¡°What are you talking about, honey?¡±

    ¡°This!¡± I said, thrusting the book forward. When I saw the way that my mom flinched away at my sudden movement, I tried to calm myself down, slowly lowering the book, but feeling it shake in my grip.

    ¡°Dad,¡± I said, trying to keep my voice even and steady. ¡°Did you accidentally give me the wrong book? This one¡¯s blank.¡±

    My dad stared at me, barely even giving a glance towards the book in my hands. ¡°Lena,¡± he said, his voice slow and careful. ¡°It¡¯s not blank.¡±

    At his words, I felt my throat close up and heard my heart pounding in my ears. I didn¡¯t know exactly why I was reacting this way, but just because I didn¡¯t understand it didn¡¯t mean I could ignore the utter sense of wrongness that I was feeling at that very moment.

    I shakily offered the book to him with the page open. ¡°Can you read this out loud for me? You don¡¯t have to read it all. Just a little bit.¡±

    ¡°Lena,¡± he said, not even looking at the offered book as he stared into my eyes instead. ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    I bit back the irritated shout that threatened to jump from my tongue. ¡°Please, dad,¡± I said, between clenched teeth. ¡°Just humour me, okay? Just read me a passage.¡±

    My dad¡¯s eyes flickered momentarily towards my mom, and when I followed his gaze, I could see that she was frozen in place, with her only movement being how her eyes rapidly bounced between me and my dad. I tore my eyes away from her to look back at my dad.

    ¡°Please,¡± I said, pushing the book closer to his face, almost hitting him with it.

    My dad didn¡¯t answer me, but he reached up and took the book from my hands. Slowly. Like he was afraid of how I would react if he moved too quickly. It took an uncomfortable amount of willpower to let him take the book from my hands, but I was eventually able to uncurl my fingers away from it.

    He patted his breastpocket, but his reading glasses weren¡¯t there. I was glad he decided against looking for them. I wasn¡¯t sure I wouldn¡¯t have snapped if he took any longer to read from the damn book, and I could only assume that he knew that.

    Narrowing his eyes, he looked at the open book in his hand.

    He opened his mouth.

    Immediately, the concerned and confused expression on his face dropped. His mouth hung open, slightly ajar, as his head hung down, like it had suddenly grown twice as heavy. In the corner of my eye, I noticed my mother suffering a similar fate. The wrinkles in her brow softened and the stiff downward curve of her mouth disappeared, almost turning into a smile. The sudden change gave off the illusion that she had suddenly found a sense of peace and contentedness with herself.

    But their eyes. My dad¡¯s eyes were glazed over, as he stared forward in the general direction of the book in his hands, focused on nothing. The fear in my mom¡¯s eyes had all but faded away, along with everything else.

    I was no stranger to those eyes. I¡¯d seen them many times before. They were the eyes of the unprocessed carcasses that found their way to the large bloody table in the back of my dad¡¯s shop, the eyes of Medric after his battle with Jamie.

    My parents were dead.

    And then, just as suddenly, they weren¡¯t.

    ¡°There,¡± my dad said. The furrow to his brow returned, like it had never left. He closed the book gingerly, like he was afraid that it would bite him. ¡°I read it out loud.¡±

    ¡°That was horrid,¡± my mom said. She shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself, warming herself against a sudden breeze that wasn¡¯t there. ¡°You gave that to Lena to read?¡±

    ¡°I thought it would be educational.¡±

    ¡°Traumatising, more like. You only read out a page and I¡¯m already going to have nightmares.¡±

    ¡°Better to have nightmares in your sleep than nightmares while you¡¯re awake. Lena. Please. Won¡¯t you reconsider¡­ Lena?¡±

    I simply stared silently at my dad, watching him move in blissful ignorance of what had just happened to him. Though I could hear his voice, and I could understand what he was saying, I couldn¡¯t say anything back to him.

    I held out my hand.

    ¡°Dad?¡± I said, my voice impossibly small, even to my own ears. ¡°Could I have that book back?¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure if he heard me properly. A sudden look of deep concern entered his eyes as he stared into mine.

    ¡°Lena? Are you alright?¡±

    Rather than asking the simple question, it sounded more like he was pleading with me, begging me to give him the answer that he wanted.

    ¡°The book, dad,¡± I said instead. ¡°Could I have it?¡±

    He didn¡¯t seem like he wanted to, but he must have seen something in my expression that made him concede. Too focused on staring at him, I didn¡¯t notice him putting the book into my hand until I felt my fingers automatically curl around it.

    ¡°Lena,¡± he said. ¡°Please.¡±

    He might have had more to say, but I couldn¡¯t hear him. I had already turned around and walked out of the house.

    The world around me blurred as I lost focus of where I was going, but my feet marched me forward all the same.

    I vaguely heard someone screaming into the wind as I ran, desperately calling out someone¡¯s name.

    ¡°Jamie! Jamie!¡±

    I vaguely wondered who could be wailing so fearfully like that, this late at night. I pitied the poor soul, whoever it was.

    My breath quickly grew ragged. My throat quickly started to feel strained.

    I ran.

 61. Dying animals

    ¡°You all just died.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not-¡± Marten frowned as he glanced at Jamie, before turning his attention back to Sera. ¡°That¡¯s absurd,¡± he said instead.

    ¡°It¡¯s what happened,¡± Sera said. ¡°Why would I lie about something this serious?¡±

    ¡°Why would you do half the shit you¡¯ve been pulling off with the civvie these past few days?¡± Marten replied. ¡°I¡¯m not in the habit of trying to rationalize the minds of idiots.¡±

    Sera resisted the urge to sigh. She doubted that Marten actually thought she was lying, but if he kept on forcefully trying to deny it, they would get nowhere with the discussion.

    ¡°You¡¯re not a good liar,¡± she said, pointing at his hands. ¡°You¡¯re shaking.¡±

    Marten immediately gave her a rude hand gesture in response, though she could tell his attempts to control his tremor weren¡¯t completely successful. Deciding he would get over it on his own time, she turned to Stoney.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± she asked.

    ¡°About the fact that we all died and came back to life?¡± he asked back. He was as stone-faced as his namesake, and though Sera couldn¡¯t decipher his emotions whatsoever, she could only guess at the complex emotional struggle he was having within himself.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Sera replied.

    ¡°Well, I think you have no reason to lie to us, and Jamie would have no reason not to speak up even if you were,¡± he said, giving a casual glance towards Jamie.

    The Otherworlder blinked a few times before realizing the implied suggestion was directed towards him.

    ¡°Umm,¡± he said, his eyes flitting around the room. ¡°Well, I mean, I¡¯m not sure if you all died.¡± He winced as he said it, as if the word itself physically pained him. ¡°To be honest, it just looked like you zoned out or something.¡±

    ¡°See?¡± Marten said, not even trying to stop the angry desperation from creeping into his voice.

    ¡°You all died,¡± Sera said, shaking her head. ¡°Jamie¡¯s not used to seeing dead people. I am.¡±

    As soon as she said it, she glanced at the Otherworlder in question. He winced at her words, and looked down, as if ashamed by his inexperience, but said nothing. It was a much more subdued expression than her colleague¡¯s was, at the very least, with Marten glaring at her like she¡¯d stepped on his toes and spat in his face.

    Accepting him as a lost cause, Sera decided to ignore Marten entirely, turning back to Stoney.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just about the other Followers,¡± Sera said. ¡°I feel like I have more gaps in my memories that shouldn¡¯t be there, though it¡¯s difficult to identify them.¡±

    ¡°But you can still identify them, due to some sort of mental protection given to you as a Follower,¡± Stoney said. ¡°What of the others?¡±

    ¡°Others?¡± Sera asked. Though she could guess what Stoney was talking about, she wanted to make sure, on the off-chance that she wouldn¡¯t have to think about her.

    ¡°Oren and Lena,¡± Stoney said. ¡°Have you shared your findings with them?¡±

    Sera tried to hold back a grimace, but from the unimpressed look that Stoney gave her, it didn¡¯t seem to have worked. For a moment, she wanted to steer the conversation away, if only to avoid thinking about Lena again, but she stopped herself. This certainly wasn¡¯t the time nor the place for her first bout of teenage angst. She was a professional. She needed to act like one.

    ¡°I only recently figured this out,¡± she said. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen either of the other Followers since.¡±

    ¡°We already sent Laush out to find Oren,¡± Stoney replied. ¡°Can you be trusted to find Lena?¡±

    Before Sera could say anything, a loud snapping sound echoed throughout the basement. Sera turned to see Marten glowering angrily at the pipe in his hands, or rather what was left of it after being shattered in his grip. The glowing embers fell on Marten¡¯s bare skin, but he didn¡¯t react to it.

    ¡°This is fucking bullshit,¡± he said. ¡°This isn¡¯t some fucking grand conspiracy. We haven¡¯t stumbled upon some dark secret that the Mediators have been hiding deep in its asshole for centuries. I¡¯m fucking ashamed to work with you fucking idiots.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Marten,¡± Stoney said.

    ¡°Fuck you, Stoney,¡± Marten said. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that shit. Am I the only one who hasn¡¯t gone fucking insane, here? Grunt. Back me up on this. You see the obvious answer too, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Tenna, who hadn¡¯t said a word since learning about his own death, gave a start, as if he was surprised that anyone remembered he existed.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re talking about, sir,¡± he said, his voice completely neutral if not for the slight tremor it had.

    Marten let out a frustrated groan and gripped at his face before throwing the remains of his shattered pipe on the floor.

    ¡°Him!¡± he shouted, pointing his finger towards Jamie. ¡°With all this weird shit that¡¯s happening, how in the fuck do you not immediately suspect a fucking Otherworlder of being responsible for it? Am I going crazy? Did everyone else forget what our literal job is? To kill little fuckers like this one because they pull shit exactly like what¡¯s happening right now.¡±

    ¡°Marten,¡± Stoney said, his voice low and dangerous as the knife he had pointed at Marten. ¡°Control yourself.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Jamie said, raising his hands as if he were the one with the knife pointed at him. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Stoney. Like I said before, I get how hard it can be to deal with me. I¡¯m not going to kill him.¡±

    Marten glared at him and opened his mouth, as if to yell at Jamie, but he seemed to decide against it, shaking his head and stomping up the stairs with an angry huff.

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    ¡ª

    I didn¡¯t quite know where I was running, but wherever I was going, I wasn¡¯t getting there fast. I was tired, I could barely breathe, and the mud-slick roads made it difficult to run without falling.

    I didn¡¯t know what I was doing, if I was being honest with myself. I knew that I was only relying on luck to find Jamie. I knew my running and screaming was pointless, but I couldn¡¯t stop myself from getting up from the floor, ignoring the fact that I was covered in mud and snot.

    ¡°Civilian. Has there been a new development with the Otherworlder?¡±

    It was difficult to see who was talking, with the tears in my eyes blurring my vision, but the infuriatingly passive voice was easy enough to identify. I didn¡¯t know if it was luck or misfortune that made him stumble across me so randomly. In either case, I couldn¡¯t say I was happy to see him, but that didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t useful.

    ¡°Do you know where Jamie is?¡± I asked, ignoring how uncomfortably hoarse my voice sounded.

    ¡°No,¡± Oren said.

    ¡°You¡¯re lying,¡± I said, too desperate to believe in anything else. ¡°Take me to him.¡±

    Oren stared at me for a few seconds before turning to the woman behind him.

    ¡°I apologise for the detour. We will proceed.¡±

    I moved without thinking, lunging forward to grab Oren. He didn¡¯t bother to dodge me, simply standing as I collapsed onto him in a clumsy grapple as I desperately clung onto him.

    ¡°If you do not let go of me, I will remove you by force,¡± he said, sounding almost bored by his own threat.

    It only made me cling to him harder. ¡°You¡¯ll have to kill me,¡± I said, not caring about how easily those words came out of my mouth.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary,¡± he said, as he slipped his hand in between my fingers. Though I tried to clamp down even harder against him, he easily pried my hands away from him with no visible effort on his part. ¡°It was a foolish effort on my part to try and kill you in the first place, knowing you have the Otherworlder¡¯s protection. Please do not assume that I will repeat my previous actions.¡±

    I dove forwards to try and grab Oren again, but he moved out of my way easily, leaving me off balance and stumbling onto the road.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± I heard Oren say as I struggled to get up from the ground.

    Before I could even look up, they were gone.

    I screamed at the direction they had fled, swearing to do horrible things to Oren, until I was sure they were long gone.

    If I was being more grateful, I might¡¯ve thanked Oren for accidentally reminding me of something I could do.

    I took a deep breath and made a silent prayer to no one in particular, before opening my eyes.

    ¡°Save me,¡± I said.

    Nothing happened. I frowned.

    ¡°Save me,¡± I said, a little louder this time, as if the volume of my voice mattered. ¡°Save me!¡±

    Nothing happened.

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t it working this time, you shitty god?¡± I shouted into the night sky. ¡°Save me!¡±

    A blue panel appeared in front of me.

    Skill: Valiant White Knight

    By partying with your love interest, you unlocked the skill [Valiant White Knight]! Under certain conditions, this skill allows the [HERO] to rush to the side of their bonded party members, protecting them from certain death.

    Whenever a bonded party member shouts [Save me] the [HERO] may activate this ability to instantly teleport to the party member¡¯s side.

    MP cost: 0

    Cooldown: 30 days

    I frowned at the familiar panel. While the Guide acknowledged that I had access to a ¡°skill¡± that could summon Jamie to my side, it didn¡¯t explain why it wasn¡¯t being activated.

    The text for ¡®protecting them from certain death¡¯ started to pulse slowly with a golden light.

    I immediately started to look around for a woodcutting axe or something similar that I could use to activate the conditions that the Guide wanted from me, before the pulsing immediately stopped. Without my conscious input, my eyes moved down to the text at the bottom on the panel.

    Cooldown: 30 days (16 days remaining)

    It was surprising to see that Jamie had only been in my world for fourteen days, but I tried not to pay attention to that, directing my energy towards glaring at the blue panel instead. Though I wasn¡¯t sure if the Guide could read human expressions, I assumed that it could read the intentions behind them, even if I doubted it could truly understand the emotion that fueled them.

    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that shit,¡± I said out loud, even though I knew it wasn¡¯t necessary. I winced at the sound of the shrill fear that infected my voice, but I pushed on regardless. ¡°Do you seriously expect me to believe that you can only teleport him to me once every thirty days? You¡¯re a god. Bring. Him. To. Me.¡±

    The panel remained, floating silently, the text unchanging. I looked down at the bottom of the panel, hoping that the text detailing the cooldown had somehow disappeared, but it was still there, pulsing with golden light.

    I stared at it, willing it to go away, but it didn¡¯t change.

    ¡°You want me to help Jamie, right?¡± I asked, hating how I struggled to speak as I choked on each word. I knew I didn¡¯t actually need to speak, but I couldn¡¯t stop myself. ¡°I know why you asked me for help. It¡¯s because you don¡¯t understand us, isn¡¯t it? You have complete control over our lives and our reality, but when it comes to trying to help Jamie, you¡¯re completely lost aren¡¯t you?¡±

    I watched as the text on the panels slowly dissolved away, not knowing whether my theory was being confirmed or denied, not knowing which option was more terrifying. Though the words had come out of my mouth, I didn¡¯t actually want to think about what it meant, if a god that had complete control over my life, didn¡¯t understand how to rule over it.

    As I stared at the blank blue panel that floated in front of me, I tried to make my thoughts match it in kind, not wanting to think about what I had just said.

    ¡°If it makes you feel any better, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re trying your best,¡± I said, almost letting out a hysterical laugh at the idea that I was trying to comfort a god. ¡°But I don¡¯t know if Jamie will be okay. Please. You need to let me talk to him. He needs me.¡±

    The blue panel floated silently in front of me. I stared at it, not able to think of anything else I could possibly do to convince the Guide to let me see Jamie. I didn¡¯t move, I didn¡¯t blink, I didn¡¯t breathe.

    A moment passed.

    Skill: Valiant White Knight

    Cooldown: None

    I didn¡¯t know how to react.

    ¡°Save me.¡±

    The blue panel was gone. Where it once floated, Jamie blinked a few times in confusion, looking around for a moment before his eyes landed on mine.

    Jamie winced at the sound of the drawn out cry that split through the silence of the night. It was a horrible sound, fraught with the wild desperation of a small animal that was desperately clinging onto her last chances at life, struggling with no regard for how badly she was tearing her own flesh and spilling her own blood over the jaws of a beast that had already sunk its teeth into her neck. It was a horrible sound, but I tried to pay it no mind, as Jamie rushed forward towards me.

    ¡°Lena?¡± he said, falling to his knees and putting his hands on my shoulders. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    I looked into his eyes.

    He looked so sad and scared. It pained me to see him that way. He was a good kid. A normal kid who had gotten unlucky. He didn¡¯t deserve to be jerked around by the world like this. I wanted to reach up and give him a hug, to tell him that everything would be alright, to give him a pillar of support he could actually rely on. With how insane his life had been in the past fourteen days, oh how I knew how desperately he needed one.

    I reached up to give him a hug, but fell over as the strength left my body. Jamie caught me easily, and though it hadn¡¯t been intentional, I was grateful for the awkward hug I managed to give him.

    He obviously needed it.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Jamie. I¡¯m here,¡± I tried to say.

    But the loud cries of the dying animal drowned me out. I wasn¡¯t sure if he heard me.

 62. A clash of truths

    Jamie held Lena aloft awkwardly, not knowing what to do in the situation he found himself in, the feeling of holding anyone in his arms being utterly alien to him.

    He looked away from her, feeling awkward at the idea of staring at the back of her head, but it felt wrong to look away, essentially ignoring a girl that was crying in his arms.

    He considered patting her back, but he wasn¡¯t sure if that might just make things worse, so he stayed as still as he could.

    It wasn¡¯t an unfamiliar state for him to be in, not knowing what to do. He had been pulled abruptly from the Mediators¡¯ basement, but he found it easy to settle into the new role he was in, since it was nearly identical to the one he had moments ago.

    Even in this scene for two, he was a bystander.

    A weariness settled upon him once he realised that. Not a weariness that he wore on his shoulders, but one that weighed on his soul.

    He was tired. So tired.

    So as Lena cried, he did not comfort her, as he didn¡¯t know how, but he took the opportunity to rest. He felt guilty for not feeling as bad for her as he should have, but he didn¡¯t know why she was crying in the first place. Maybe she would tell him after she was done. It would be a nice change of pace, to actually understand something.

    Unfortunately for him, he wouldn¡¯t be getting an explanation, seeing as Lena had no idea why she was crying either. She wasn¡¯t crying for a specific reason. Her suppressed emotions had simply become too heavy for her to hold, and the iron-tight hold she once had on them slackened in a moment of weakness, letting her emotions spill out, formless, the complicated emotions only vaguely expressed by her tears.

    It took a while for Lena to stop crying, and when she did, Jamie was quick to notice.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± he asked. He immediately felt foolish for asking, when the answer was so obvious.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she responded, dragging her wrist over her nose and looking down at the smear of snot that it left on her clothes. She quickly ignored the evidence and looked back up at Jamie. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Jamie stared at her for a few seconds, but quickly averted his eyes, out of discomfort, guilt, and the uncertainty of not knowing whether he was supposed to call her out on the obvious lie, or to just let it rest.

    He stayed silent.

    The silence bothered him, like it always did. The silence bothered Lena as well, but in her desperation to ignore her own thoughts, she spoke.

    ¡°I found a book,¡± she said.

    ¡°About what?¡± he asked. The question seemed absurd to him, as did the topic, but he didn¡¯t know what else to say.

    It was in that moment that Lena realised that she didn¡¯t know if she wanted to answer him. She didn¡¯t know if she wanted to tell Jamie that the world he was in was broken, not knowing if he would be able to handle such a horrifying truth, that the god that had brought him here had no idea what it was doing, and that it was unknowingly tearing his life apart despite claiming that it wanted to save him.

    Or at least that was what Lena thought.

    Even if it wasn¡¯t a sensible assumption in the slightest.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I want to tell you,¡± Lena said, finding a compromise between telling her truth and hiding it. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do, Jamie.¡±

    Her shoulders slumped downwards, and despite having the strength of a god flowing through him, Jamie¡¯s arms fell, finding weakness at the sight of his love interest so distraught. Her shoulders shook silently as her body tried to cry, but found no more tears within her.

    ¡°What can I do to help?¡± he asked, wishing more than anything that he could make her stop crying. He wanted to wipe her tears away, and hug her close, and kiss her gently, but he didn¡¯t want to kiss her, he was ashamed that the thought even crossed his mind.

    But he didn¡¯t need to do any of that, as the question was enough to stop Lena from crying.

    She looked up at him, eyes red, wet, and wide. She had a smile on her face, but not one born from joy but from sorrow, or rather, the complicated, contradictory, nonsensical, human emotion that was hysteria. She defied the rules set by her genetic disposition and social upbringing that stated that laughter was reserved for happy occasions, and yet, Jamie could understand it perfectly, somehow, his brow knitting together in concern.

    ¡°Lena?¡± he asked, a tremor creeping into his voice, another nonsensical reaction from a boy who had the power of a god. ¡°Are you okay?

    Lena¡¯s smile grew wider, as a laugh escaped from her mouth. It was a hoarse sound, grating against the walls of her throat the entire way up, strangled, choked, pained, and yet it was still a laugh. She laughed and she laughed, the merry sound clashing so violently with the way that Jamie¡¯s lips pulled downwards into a frown.

    The scene didn¡¯t make much sense in a lot of ways, which might have been why both of them seemed to think there was such a strong sense of dread that hung between them, the dissonance creating the illusion of a moment of stress where there was no real need for one.

    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°Am I okay?¡± Lena asked. ¡°It¡¯s not me you should be worried about, Jamie. I¡¯m not the one that needs help.¡±

    Though she had been laughing when she started talking, her voice had dropped quickly and gradually to a rough monotone by the time she stopped. She stared in Jamie¡¯s direction with her brow furrowed and her lips curled up into a grimace, but with her eyes too unfocused for it to be considered a glare.

    Jamie grimaced, and opened his mouth, but he bit down on the question sitting on the tip of his tongue before it could escape him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said instead.

    Lena blinked slowly, as if she was waking from a dream. She looked up at Jamie, and stared at him for twenty two seconds before speaking.

    ¡°I keep telling you not to apologise for things you¡¯re not responsible for,¡± she said, struggling to keep her voice flat, and failing to do so. ¡°How many times do I have to tell you? It¡¯s fine. Whatever you think you did. It¡¯s fine.¡±

    Jamie winced and bit his lower lip, before turning his eyes down.

    ¡°Stop doing that,¡± he said.

    ¡°Stop doing what?¡± Lena asked.

    ¡°Stop pretending like everything¡¯s alright,¡± Jamie said. ¡°Stop lying to me, Lena.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not lying,¡± Lena said.

    ¡°Yeah. Right,¡± he said, practically spitting out the words. ¡°Please. Just stop. The fact that you¡¯re still even trying is honestly kind of insulting. Do you really think I¡¯m dumb enough to believe you?¡±

    Jamie winced as the words left his mouth, but it did nothing to stop Lena¡¯s eyes from widening in shock.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to insult you,¡± she said.

    ¡°I know,¡± Jamie said, hanging his head and shaking it slowly. ¡°But that¡¯s part of the problem. You keep acting like I¡¯m some sort of bomb, waiting to go off at the slightest touch. I¡¯m not going to do anything if you make me angry, Lena. Maybe I¡¯ll sulk, or go off in an empty bathroom stall to cry, or something, but I¡¯m not going to hurt you. That¡¯s the last thing I want. Why can¡¯t you recognize that? Even the Mediators are at least honest with me. You¡¯re the only one that still treats me like a monster.¡±

    What Lena should have done at this point would have been to calm down and explain that her skittish behaviour around him wasn¡¯t due to a fear of making him angry, but rather, a fear of hurting him. Even if that fear was irrational, it was the truth, or at least what she perceived to be the truth.

    If she calmly explained the reasoning behind her irrational actions, Jamie surely would have had the necessary amount of empathy to listen to her and relate to the idea that, as a human, he too was sometimes driven by his flawed emotions.

    But, as it was often the case with human interactions, the obvious solution went ignored.

    ¡°The Mediators?¡± Lena asked, pushing aside her reaction to everything else that Jamie had said, so she could avoid talking about it for as long as she possibly could. ¡°You mean the same people that have been trying to lure you into killing yourself ever since you got here? Those Mediators?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Jamie said, his body and mind stiffening at the tone that invaded Lena¡¯s words, similar enough to his father¡¯s pained anger that the heat that rose to his cheeks was automatic and subconscious. ¡°Those guys. At least they listen to me.¡±

    ¡°I listen to you!¡±

    Lena¡¯s unconscious choice to shout was rather counterintuitive to her attempts to endear herself to Jamie, but in the heat of the moment, she hadn¡¯t thought of it.

    ¡°Oh really?¡±

    The cynical tone that Jamie took also made it increasingly difficult for any sort of friendly conversation to occur between the two, but a small part of him did want to make her upset, in retaliation for how upset she had made him.

    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±

    The spike of anger in Lena¡¯s voice made it clear to Jamie that he¡¯d succeeded at making her upset, in some part, but he didn¡¯t feel any better about it.

    Why?

    He had set out a goal, and he had achieved it. Should that not make him happy? Was that not the only logical result?

    It didn¡¯t make any sense, but most human concepts didn¡¯t. They were strange creatures. Everything in existence operated in what was true. Life was truth. Death was truth. Existence was truth. Nonexistence was truth. Everything was truth in some sort of way.

    Humans were no exception to this, and yet, their relationship with truth was complicated. They created their own truth. They created concepts and perceptions that conflicted with the truth of the world around them, and yet, their truth often held strong. Like miniscule universes, miniscule gods unto themselves, but at least the gods were lonesome.

    Humans had other humans, and those other humans had their own truths. They clashed, they broke.

    A strange observation.

    A strange observation that drew great concern. A reminder that humans were not creatures of logic. Jamie had set out a goal and he had achieved it, yet it did not make him happy. Might he be unhappy when he achieved his ultimate goal? Would he?

    Was it because his truth had been altered by Lena¡¯s?

    A concerning thought.

    It was unclear as to whether this was a good or a bad thing, but ultimately, it wasn¡¯t an option to prevent their interaction. As simple as Jamie¡¯s claims were, that his wish was a simple matter of being loved, there was a level of nuance that he hadn¡¯t included when he told Lena about it. Yes, he wanted to be loved, but he also wanted to be understood and to understand another. He wanted to learn how to be ¡®human¡¯, as ridiculous as the notion was, and in wishing that, he made it impossible for himself to use his new limitless power to directly tamper with those who he sought to be loved by.

    A foolish notion, but once again, a very human one.

    Jamie and Lena were stuck in a loop of shouting that would only be broken once one of them saw logic. Which would be a while. Though Jamie had as much time as he needed to complete his goals, meaning that this argument could take centuries if necessary, there was the danger that this violent clash of truths would alter Jamie¡¯s truth even further.

    It was an annoyance.

    But, what could be done?

    Not much, if Jamie¡¯s limiting wish was to be followed¡­

    A wish was a form of truth, was it not?

    It was. A wish was binding. A contract that would be fulfilled, no matter how long it took. It was a truth that was as true as the sun setting and rising, as true as the birth of the stars, and the eventual death of the universe.

    But to the humans, truth was malleable.

    So why couldn¡¯t it be the same for the gods?

    For the first time in my existence, I bent my truth. Not in a large way, not in a way that would directly clash with another, but a way that could interact with Jamie¡¯s truth. I would give him a little push, and he could choose to go with it, or resist it.

    Jamie and Lena fell silent, as I asked them a question.

    I didn¡¯t know how I felt. Though I had managed to make them stop their pointless argument, that hadn¡¯t been my goal. I didn¡¯t know what my goal was in the first place.

    How strange.

 63. Intrusive thoughts

    Sera was putting her utmost effort into keeping calm. Panic was a dangerous emotion to rely on in most situations, and the spontaneous disappearance of an Otherworlder was no exception. It was at times like this that Sera fell back to her training to dampen her emotions, to allow her to focus on the task at hand without overreacting, but it was proving to be quite difficult.

    It wasn¡¯t that Jamie¡¯s disappearance was a more stressful event than what she was used to, but more that she just realised that she couldn¡¯t recall a time where she¡¯d ever had any training. She tried her best to recall any memories of what sort of training she went through to become a Mediator, but she couldn¡¯t recall what she had done, or who she had been taught by.

    A small part of her wanted to believe that she was just being forgetful, but she knew it would be foolish to even consider the possibility.

    ¡°Stoney. Tenna,¡± she said, turning to each of them. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I need to verify a few theories I have. I¡¯m going to have to kill you a few more times.¡±

    Tenna flinched at the claim, and his fingers twitched for his belt in response, but he stopped himself before he could do anything. Stoney simply frowned and nodded.

    ¡°Do what you feel is necessary,¡± he said. ¡°Do you need Marten as well?¡±

    Though more data points would¡¯ve been better, Sera wasn¡¯t willing to waste the precious seconds trying to talk to the stubborn man.

    ¡°The two of you will do fine for now,¡± she said. ¡°What was the name of your trainer when you first started to learn to be a Mediator?¡±

    Though Tenna seemed confused by the question, Stoney¡¯s eyes narrowed and both of the other Mediators died on their feet. Sera grimaced, but when life returned to their eyes a few seconds later, Sera asked another question.

    ¡°When was your last mission?¡±

    ¡°How many missions have you been on since joining the Mediators?¡±

    ¡°How many years did it take for you to be promoted to a Grunt?¡±

    ¡°How much do you get paid?¡±

    ¡°How do you get paid? What currency?¡±

    ¡°Do you have any friends or family outside of the Mediators?¡±

    Sera didn¡¯t bother keeping count of how many times she indirectly murdered her two peers with her questions. In between each question, with the Mediators taking a couple of seconds to come back to life after each time they died, Sera began to get more and more uncomfortable with each question.

    She didn¡¯t know whether it was because each death made it harder and harder to deny the possibility that her life was built on lies, or if it was because she wasn¡¯t as comfortable with death as she originally assumed. How many times had she actually seen someone die?

    ¡°Why did you become a Mediator?¡± she asked.

    ¡°An Otherworlder destroyed my tribe,¡± Stoney said.

    ¡°An Otherworlder killed my parents,¡± Tenna added. ¡°I wanted revenge.¡±

    Sera paused, unable to hide the grimace from appearing on her face. She didn¡¯t know whether to be glad or upset by the fact that her peers hadn¡¯t died in front of her again. The fact that Stoney and Tenna were able to speak of their memories matched her own ability to remember the death of her own family, but she still failed to remember their names and faces.

    ¡°What were their names?¡± she asked. ¡°Of your family, that is.¡±

    Though Stoney¡¯s expression turned cloudy, before the blankness of death took over. Immediately, Sera felt a sharp pang of pain in her chest. She didn¡¯t know whether it was appropriate to mourn a family that might never have existed in the first place, but she chose to believe that she had once had one, and that some unknown power had ripped her away from them, and them away from her memories, preferring that to the alternative.

    When Stoney and Tenna returned to life, something in Sera¡¯s expression must¡¯ve given her thoughts away, or they must have come to their own conclusions, because their expressions remained dour, refusing to return to the impassive mask that the Mediators usually wore.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Tenna shouted, before stomping away, out of the basement.

    Neither Sera nor Stoney moved to stop him. Stoney simply stared at Sera with a frown on his face, unmoving, until Tenna¡¯s footsteps faded far away.

    ¡°Are we even real?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Sera responded.

    ¡°I know you don¡¯t,¡± Stoney replied, with an uncharacteristic sigh. ¡°Just thinking out loud.¡±

    Sera considered giving the moment an appropriate amount of respectful silence, but she suddenly felt afraid of the idea. After being alone in a room with two dead men, on and off, for the past few minutes, she felt the irrational worry that if she was the one to let it fall into silence, she would be the one to die this time. The rational Mediator side of her told her to ignore the thought, but she didn¡¯t have much trust in that part of her at the moment.

    ¡°There are some strange inconsistencies I noticed,¡± she said, possibly a little too quickly.

    ¡°And what would those be?¡± Stoney replied, just as quickly. Sera wondered if he was thinking the same thing she was.

    ¡°Neither you or Tenna could answer how you get paid, and neither can I. I can¡¯t remember the last time I bought anything, so it matches up, but Marten has a severe gambling addiction. How can he gamble without money?¡±

    ¡°Most people with gambling addictions don¡¯t have money,¡± Stoney replied. ¡°It¡¯s a common symptom.¡±

    ¡°Marten¡¯s not indebted to loan sharks,¡± Sera replied. ¡°He thinks he has money. I do too, despite any evidence towards the contrary, and I assume you do too. I just can¡¯t recall exactly how much I have, just the vague idea that I have a king¡¯s salary, whatever that means.¡±

    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°But he has been gambling,¡± Stoney said. ¡°With non-existent money. Money that is vaguely enough to fill a king¡¯s wallet.¡±

    Stoney¡¯s mouth lips pulled down into a sharp frown as he died for a few seconds. She wondered what he had tried to remember that caused his death. She couldn¡¯t imagine how horrifying it was for Stoney to not be able to trust in his own mind, to know that a single errant thought could potentially kill him, even if it was painless and temporary. A moment later Stoney came back to life, his expression betraying nothing.

    ¡°Marten is rich,¡± he said. ¡°We all are. Marten isn¡¯t the only one of us who spends his wealth. How does the world function when so much of its economy is based on money that isn¡¯t real?¡± He looked up at Sera. ¡°Does Astranta even have a king?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Sera said, as fast as she could, if only to let Stoney know that he wasn¡¯t about to kill himself by trying to remember him. ¡°King Arman the Fifteenth. I can remember the rest of the world leaders too.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s surprising to hear,¡± Stoney said.

    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Because,¡± he said, hesitating a bit before continuing. ¡°I can¡¯t think of a single thing that any government in the world has done for the past two thousand years, good or bad.¡±

    It took Sera a moment to process the implications of what that meant.

    ¡°How much of our world is actually real?¡± she asked.

    Even though she hadn¡¯t meant for it to be a question for Stoney, he gave her a response in the form of a grimace.

    ¡°What should we do?¡± he asked.

    ¡°You think we can do something about this?¡± Sera asked back.

    ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°But as Mediators, it¡¯s our duty to try everything we can. Our job description just got a little more difficult, but we¡¯re used to dealing with world-ending threats.¡±

    ¡°But we aren¡¯t,¡± Sera said. ¡°Those memories aren¡¯t real.¡±

    ¡°They might not be. But I still have my pride.¡±

    ¡°That pride might not be real either.¡±

    ¡°It feels real to me,¡± Stoney said. ¡°I might not even be real, so I¡¯ll take what I can get at this point.¡±

    With nothing she could say to argue against that, Sera sighed.

    ¡°You have a plan?¡±

    ¡°Maybe. What do you think of consulting the Founder?¡±

    Sera frowned. She had forgotten about the Founder up until that point, but with so little to remember about the man, it wasn¡¯t too surprising that she had. She tried to recall anything she could about him, but other than the fact that he was male, and that he was supposedly an elf that had founded the Mediators, she could remember nothing. Though she had a vague feeling that he was real, and not some figment of her imagination despite having no memory of ever seeing him in person, the lack of certainty that she had surprised her.

    Why was she allowed to doubt the Founder¡¯s existence, just as much as she didn¡¯t? Why could she be so certain that he was male, but not that he was an elf? Though she had no ideas as to who or what had tampered with her mind so thoroughly, it was powerful enough that such a strange inconsistency stood out to her. She didn¡¯t know what it meant yet, but it was clear that the Founder couldn¡¯t be trusted.

    ¡°That¡¯s a terrible idea,¡± Sera said.

    ¡°You don¡¯t trust the Founder?¡± Stoney asked, sounding more surprised than she would¡¯ve expected.

    ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°Not in the slightest.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ concerning. I can¡¯t possibly fathom why you would ever say that. Every part of me is screaming at me to disagree with you, and the only reason why I¡¯m not is because I can¡¯t think of a single reason why you should trust him.¡± Stoney frowned. ¡°Not that you shouldn¡¯t. Some things simply transcend logic.¡±

    Sera frowned. If there was any doubt that consulting the Founder was a bad idea before, it was gone now.

    ¡°If I continue to voice my mistrust against the Founder, will you attack me for it?¡± Sera asked, resting her hand on the knife on her belt.

    ¡°I likely wouldn¡¯t,¡± Stoney said, though he hesitated slightly. ¡°But you should stop talking about him, just to be safe. Do you have any other ideas outside of consulting the Founder? Even if we have the obvious solution to all of our problems, we have a responsibility to consider all angles, no matter how absurd they may seem.¡±

    Though Stoney¡¯s face was twisted into a nearly violent grimace, Sera wasn¡¯t sure if it was because pushing against his ingrained loyalty to the Founder was actually hurting him in some way.

    ¡°We consult with Jamie,¡± she said.

    ¡°Why?¡± Stoney asked. ¡°Aside from the fact that he¡¯s obviously a worse choice compared to the Founder, why do you trust him at all?¡±

    ¡°You sound like Marten.¡±

    ¡°And he did have a point. You seem to be implying that I¡¯m being manipulated into putting any amount of trust in the Founder, but as ridiculous as the idea is, you don¡¯t seem to be suspicious of Jamie doing the same thing. You may think the boy has our best intentions at heart, but how can you be sure you actually trust him, or if that¡¯s just what he wants you to think?¡±

    Sera grimaced, though perhaps not for the reason that Stoney might¡¯ve expected.

    ¡°Do you trust Jamie?¡± she asked, before answering the question herself.

    ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°While he seems like a likeable kid, I also don¡¯t know anything about him. I can¡¯t, in good faith, trust him with a problem of this magnitude.¡±

    Sera nodded. ¡°And that¡¯s why I suspect he¡¯s not manipulating my mind. Because aside from the fact that I don¡¯t think he¡¯s likeable in any way, I agree with you.

    ¡°Ah. I see,¡± Stoney said. ¡°And that makes him the better choice?¡±

    ¡°It makes him the only choice,¡± Sera said.

    ¡°Aside from the Founder,¡± Stoney replied.

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    Stoney didn¡¯t offer a response, grimacing at Sera¡¯s lie. She watched him go through an obvious internal struggle, but he seemed to manage to either convince himself that she hadn¡¯t been lying, or that it wasn¡¯t worth berating her about not putting her full trust in the Founder.

    A few seconds passed before Stoney clicked his tongue and his lips formed an angry scowl.

    ¡°I figured out what¡¯s been bothering me about Jamie¡¯s name,¡± he said. ¡°He¡¯s the only Otherworlder that has one.¡±

    It took Sera a moment to figure out what Stoney was talking about, but when she quickly tried to recall the other Otherworlders that she knew about, all she could recall were their monikers. The Plague King. The Harem Lord. The Breaker. They were vague concepts that floated on the edges of her mind, which made them feel more real than most of her memories, but they were still too incomplete to be true.

    Sera let out a sigh. She didn¡¯t know what this actually meant for them, but at this point, one more apocalyptic discovery wasn¡¯t her greatest concern.

    ¡°We should try to find Jamie,¡± she said, rubbing her temple. ¡°Hopefully, once we find him, some of this shit will start to make more sense.¡±

    She knew that the hope of that happening was feeble, but Stoney simply nodded. She didn¡¯t know if his mind was wired in a way that made it impossible to focus on his missing memories without dying, or if he was simply clinging onto what hope he could.

    ¡°How do you suggest we try to do that?¡± he asked.

    Sera frowned. ¡°Standard search procedures,¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to hope he hasn¡¯t gone far.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll gather the team, assuming they haven¡¯t already defected,¡± Stoney said. ¡°Start the search first. We¡¯ll follow your lead.¡±

    Sera nodded. She turned around and immediately ran up the stairs and out of the house, passing by Marten who scowled at her from the dining table. She ignored him as she ran outside.

    Feeling more lost than she had ever been in her life, she chose a direction and started running, summoning her mana to enhance her speed and her eyesight.

    As her eyes darted around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Jamie¡¯s familiar form, she tried not to think about how easy it was for her to return to a state of general calm, despite everything that she¡¯d discovered. She tried not to focus on how unnatural it was, for a young girl like her to be able to be so clinical and unfeeling, when most people in her situation would be having a mental breakdown at this point.

    Though she kept most of her focus on searching for Jamie, a part of her wondered what she would¡¯ve been like if she were a normal girl.

 64. Recalling dreams

    I felt my mouth snap shut as the dialogue box popped up in front of my eyes. Immediately, the shouted insults forming in the back of my throat died down as I read the text in front of me.

    Is [Lena] necessary for your happiness?

    [YES]    [NO]

    From the way that Lena suddenly stopped yelling back at me, I assumed that she could see the dialogue box too. For some reason, that surprised me, even if I had no reason to assume that she couldn¡¯t, especially since she had been in my party pretty much ever since I¡¯d arrived in this new world.

    The thought annoyed me a little, if I was being honest with myself. Had she been able to see the dialogue boxes ever since we¡¯d known each other? She never mentioned anything about it. For as much as she wanted to say that she¡¯d been completely honest with me this entire time, she sure forgot to mention a lot of things.

    I gave her a glare through the translucent window, but that quickly died down when I saw the scowl on Lena¡¯s face, her mouth open mid-shout, as if she was still yelling at me.

    The confusion that grew inside of me threatened to overtake my anger, but out of sheer pettiness, I kept myself from losing the simmering sense of irritation completely.

    ¡°What?¡± I growled at her.

    Lena stayed frozen in place.

    I frowned, and though I didn¡¯t want to stop glaring at Lena, I noticed something at the edge of my vision. Looking down, I saw that Lena had just stomped her foot in anger, creating a splash of mud and rainwater that hung in the air, frozen in time.

    My annoyance towards Lena immediately faded once I realised what was going on. Why was time frozen? The last time that time froze for me like this, it was when I had died in my previous life. Was that what it was? Was I dying again?

    You are not dying. This is simply an opportunity to answer the question, as you are, with no truths conflicting with your own.

    The dialogue box popped up in front of me, but before I could finish processing the information it gave to me, it disappeared, leaving only the previous dialogue box floating between me and Lena.

    Is [Lena] necessary for your happiness?

    [YES]    [NO]

    I didn¡¯t quite understand why this was happening at the moment that it was, but it was clear that the system wanted me to answer the question for whatever reason.

    I raised my hand up, not knowing yet which of the buttons I would push.

    And I lowered it with a sigh.

    As I was, I don¡¯t know if whatever I picked out would be what I actually wanted. I was angry and more than a little confused, and I had no trouble recognizing that. I needed time to think, and with the rest of the world on pause, I had plenty of it. I don¡¯t know why this dialogue box made the world around me pause, when it never happened before, but I wasn¡¯t going to turn down the opportunity to have a moment to myself, for the first time since I¡¯d gotten here.

    I sat down on the floor, letting out a sigh as the cold mud and rain seeped into my pants. I couldn¡¯t find it in myself to care, but apparently someone did.

    You do not have an infinite amount of time to make your decision. You must make your decision soon.

    The dialogue box popped up in front of my eyes, and once again, disappeared before I could dismiss it myself. I frowned.

    While I had a suspicion that there had to be some sort of ¡°admin¡± for the system that controlled my powers, the way that the dialogue boxes were reacting to my thoughts and actions in real time made the possibility just a little bit more likely.

    ¡°Is someone out there?¡± I asked out loud.

    Yes.

    I was a little surprised by how fast the response came. I would¡¯ve expected at least a little bit of hesitancy from the admin, given how it had never spoken to me directly like this before, though I guess that wasn¡¯t completely true.

    ¡°Are you the one who brought me to this world?¡±

    Yes.

    Once again, the response was almost instantaneous. I stared at it for a few seconds before realising that nothing would happen unless I said something else or asked another question. But I couldn¡¯t think of anything to ask, not that I didn¡¯t have a million questions about what the hell was going on, but because I didn¡¯t want to think.

    My eyes drifted to the side, towards Lena¡¯s frozen form, still stuck in that angry scowl of hers. My own face went into a subconscious scowl as I was reminded of how we¡¯d been yelling at each other just a moment before.

    Is [Lena] necessary for your happiness?

    [YES]    [NO]

    The dialogue box still floated between us. The words slowly pulsed with light.

    ¡°Why are you asking me this?¡±

    I want to help you. I wish for you to achieve your dreams. If there are any elements that are preventing you from reaching them, they can be removed.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    I cocked my head to the side in confusion and I glanced towards Lena. My dream to be loved? Suddenly I had to consider an angle that I hadn¡¯t considered before. Though I hadn¡¯t played many of them back on earth, the random question did remind me of something I might see in a dating sim, the turning point that would set me on a romance route, and lock out all of my other options.

    Even if my emotions were still jumbled from the fact that I¡¯d been in a shouting match with her just a few seconds ago, I couldn¡¯t help but ask myself a question. Were my chances with Lena still alive?

    When my hand immediately rose and hovered in front of the [YES] button, I scowled at myself and pushed my hand back down.

    She already turned me down once and she was gay. Even if she had been lying to me when she said that, I could take a hint. She wasn¡¯t interested in me, and I couldn¡¯t blame her. Besides, it¡¯s not like I wanted to go on any romance routes any time soon, whether it was with Lena or not.

    Before I could press the [NO] button, another dialogue box popped up.

    Why not?

    ¡°Why not what?¡± I asked, almost immediately.

    Why do you not wish to pursue romance? Is it not your dream to find love?

    I stared at the dialogue box for a few seconds until it disappeared.

    ¡°It is,¡± I said, a little surprised by how small my voice was. ¡°But I¡¯ll die if I achieve it.¡±

    As I said it, I suddenly realised that the Mediators might have lied to me about that.

    They did not lie to you. You will die once you achieve your dream.

    I frowned as my hopes were immediately destroyed.

    ¡°Then why even ask that?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, I want a girlfriend, but it¡¯s not like I¡¯m desperate enough to die for one.¡±

    You would have traded death to achieve your dream when I brought you to this world.

    I stared at the dialogue box for a few seconds, thinking about how I could respond to its question, before I realised it hadn¡¯t actually asked one. I didn¡¯t know how I¡¯d made that mistake. The simple sentence had a finality to them that made me shiver.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s true,¡± I said, hating the hesitation that crept into my voice.

    It is. Your words do not reflect your truth.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die.¡±

    Your desire to fulfil your dreams is stronger than your fear of death.

    I stared at the dialogue box for a few seconds before shaking my head.

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of getting a girlfriend if I die right after?¡± I said. ¡°This whole thing is stupid. Why did I even agree to this in the first place?¡±

    You do not remember?

    Even if the words themselves suggested no emotion, I could somehow sense a wave of concern emanating from the dialogue box itself, though the feeling was vague.

    I scrunched up my nose, at the memory of my final days on Earth.

    ¡°No, I remember,¡± I said.

    Then why are you uncertain?

    My eyes drifted to the side, to where Lena was still frozen, mid-yell. I had almost forgotten about her.

    ¡°I guess I just got a new perspective on life,¡± I said. ¡°Maybe I realised that some things just aren¡¯t worth dying for.¡±

    I see. Then what is your new dream?

    I scowled at the box. It was unnerving how it immediately popped up whenever I said something. I assumed that this admin was some sort of all-powerful figure that could process what I said and think of a response almost instantly, but the end result was a feeling like this conversation we were having was predetermined.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± I said.

    Nothing?

    ¡°I die if I achieve my dreams, right? Nothing could be worth that.¡±

    So you say you have no dreams in life¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m saying at all,¡± I growled. My frustration with Lena never completely faded, and the admin was making itself an easy target with its nonsensical comments and questions. ¡°Just because someone has a dream, doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re automatically going to die for it. Who the hell would want that?¡±

    You did. Before you came to this place.

    The two words made me pause. I felt a lump form in my throat, right before I felt my skin flush with anger and shame. I tried not to think about my life back on Earth, not wanting to acknowledge that it ever happened, but I hadn¡¯t been suicidal, right?

    You do not remember.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t suicidal. I remember that much at least.¡±

    You did not have a desire to die, but your desire to fulfil your dreams was stronger than your fear of death.

    I frowned and shook my head.

    ¡°We¡¯re getting nowhere,¡± I said, recognizing the words and wondering if I¡¯d gotten the admin stuck in some sort of loop. I didn¡¯t know whether it was some sort of A.I. or a sentient being that was in control of my isekai experience, but I didn¡¯t want to spare it any thought. I didn¡¯t want to spare anything any thought, if I was being honest.

    Your truth is fractured.

    ¡°Can you just leave me alone?¡± I asked, not even wanting to try to interpret what the admin meant by that. ¡°I¡¯ll answer your question soon. I just want some time alone to myself.¡±

    You must remember.

    I opened my mouth to say something, but the world grew dark right before my eyes in a split second. I drew in an involuntary gasp, a sense of vertigo taking over me as my mind struggled to understand why I was lying down when I had been sitting up a moment before. I wanted to sit up, to correct it, but my body refused to listen to me, simply spasming slightly in place as a wave of nausea passed over me.

    I finally managed to move my body and sit up, bracing myself with one hand on my stomach and one over my mouth in anticipation for the next wave of nausea to come.

    It never did.

    Even though the uncomfortable sense of vertigo had disappeared, as quickly as it came, I continued to pant at the memory of the feeling. I don¡¯t know how long I stayed like that, frozen in place, too afraid to move in case I set it off again.

    Eventually, when I felt brave enough to move again, I did so slowly, gradually familiarising myself with the concept of being in control of my own body once more. Or at least that had been the plan. When I let my eyes swivel around, I immediately gave a start when I realised where I was.

    I didn¡¯t shout or jump, no matter how much I wanted to. It seemed like my body recognized where I was, reacting instinctively at the familiar room I found myself in.

    My room.

    I got up, nausea welling up inside of me once more. I pushed open my door and ran to the bathroom on tiptoed steps, certain that I would actually throw up this time.

    But instead of hunching over the toilet bowl like I wanted to, my body automatically moved towards the sink.

    An animalistic sort of panic ran through me as my body refused to do what I wanted it to, but it was just a minor gust in the storm of confusion that was blowing through my mind.

    I don¡¯t know if it was more or less confusing for me when a dialogue box popped up in front of me.

    You must remember.

    At the very least, it managed to stop me from panting, though that might have been because I suddenly forgot how to breathe. I don¡¯t know how long I stood like that, staring blankly at the dialogue box, but when I finally blinked, it was gone.

    I blinked again, but it didn¡¯t come back.

 65. You are afraid

    I don''t know how long it took me to try and process what the hell was going on, but however much time I took, it wasn''t long enough. I was still trying to figure out why I was back on Earth when my hands picked up my toothbrush. A sense of panic welled up inside of me as I became an unwilling passenger to my own body, but once more, the psychological feeling of nausea didn''t translate over to me throwing up over my toothbrush as I brushed my teeth. My eyes were blank in the mirror, none of the horror I felt being revealed within them.

    You are afraid.

    I tried to shout that I obviously was, but my mouth didn''t seem interested in following my commands. I watched as the Jamie in the mirror spat out a glob of foamy toothpaste and turned the sink on. Why couldn''t I say anything?

    You did not say anything before, and you cannot now. This is a memory.

    Though he wasn''t speaking in riddles, it took me until I finished rinsing my mouth and washing my face to realize what he was saying.

    I was in a goddamn flashback.

    You must remember.

    I grimaced, or at least I tried to, at the realisation, while my body patted my face dry and crept out of the bathroom, walking on tiptoes as it made its way back to my room. As my mind struggled to understand that I was moving without meaning to, another wave of vertigo struck me. The gentle bobbing of my vision with each step was too much to handle as a passenger.

    I didn''t know what the admin was trying to do by trapping me in my own body like this, but if its goal was to force me to endure this nightmare until I could remember whatever it wanted me to, I wasn''t sure I would be able to focus on anything other than trying to throw up into my own brain.

    Suddenly, my body stopped, mid-step. A dialogue box popped up in front of my eyes.

    You must remember your life from before. To bring you to this world, as you are, it will not be the same truth that you once had.

    I couldn''t be bothered to care about anything other than escaping the prison of my own body at the moment, and I doubted I would make an exception for whatever cryptic purposes the admin had. If it wanted me to show me anything at all, it would have to let me take control over my own body, at the very least.

    I almost fell forward as I suddenly regained control over my limbs once more, and my legs buckled from underneath me, not ready to account for gravity. I stomped down hard to stop myself from falling, but eerily, my feet made no sound as they impacted against the hardwood.

    You did not make any sounds in your memory. Such an event would diverge from your truth too severely.

    I wanted to tell the admin what I thought of it''s stupid truth, but though I felt my mouth move and my lungs strain, no sound escaped from me.

    It still felt good to shout, no matter how pointless it was.

    You may experience your memory with some freedom, but you may not diverge from your truth. You must remember.

    I wasn''t done yelling silently at it, but I proceeded down the hallway anyways, not wanting to lose control over my body once more. I assumed that if I ''diverged from the truth'' too much, the admin would forcibly autocorrect me into making the decision that matched whatever day this was. Even if I didn''t know exactly what day it was making me replay, my day to day life wasn''t varied enough to make it difficult to decide what I should do.

    Going back to my room, I closed my door gently and picked up my phone. 6:54 am, November 8. A wednesday. That meant school.

    Motivated by fear of losing control over my body once more, I picked up my bag, hoping that the me of November 7 had already packed everything I needed, and walked back out of my room, resisting the urge to run, knowing that the admin would stop me if I tried. I never ran out of my room.

    Even if I didn''t feel like eating, I stole a slice of bread from the kitchen counter before leaving the house. I brought it outside with me, but hesitated when I moved to put it in my mouth. A shallow wave of nausea hit me at the idea of putting anything near my mouth, let alone inside of it.

    "I don''t want to eat this." I was a little surprised that I was able to say it out loud.

    Correcting your actions seems to put too much strain on you. Your actions will not be corrected if it does not make any significant changes to the contents of your memory.

    I stared at the dialogue box and reread the words a few times and decided that even if I was still a little suspicious of the admin, on account of it taking over my body and forcing me into a flashback without even asking, I didn''t really have a choice in whether I followed along with this or not, did I? Throwing my hands up in the air, I threw the slice of bread as hard as I could.

    It was an impressive throw, travelling far into the air, until it stopped in the middle of the air, and reappeared in my hand.

    This action diverges too far from your truth.

    I let out a laugh, which escaped my mouth in a silent breath of wind, and I tore up the bread and shoved it in my mouth, hoping that I would throw up, just to spite the admin.

    Unfortunately, I didn''t. I shouted wordlessly and silently into the sky, before I shoved my hands into my pockets and walked to school.

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ---

    Sera found Oren, Laush, and Tenna before she came across any sign of Jamie. How Tenna managed to get himself knocked unconscious, only a few minutes after storming out of the mayor''s basement, Sera didn''t know for sure, but from the way that Laush had her dagger drawn and pointed at Oren as she stood defensively over her brother''s body sprawled out on the muddy road, she had a few guesses.

    Both Laush and Oren were silent, with blank expressions on their faces that gave away no clue of what the hell was going on. Standard Mediator practice. Keep a level head and a mask of calm at all times, or something like that. Sera couldn''t recall the actual lesson that had been taught to her, because of course, there hadn''t been one.

    "What''s going on here?" Sera asked, in a calm and level voice, though she may as well have shouted in the silence that passed over the scene.

    Laush''s eyes flicked over towards Sera''s direction, and Oren''s eyes flick towards her dagger. Before he could take advantage of Laush''s momentary shift in focus, Sera clapped twice, drawing his attention towards her too.

    "Forget it," she said, in a distinctly un-Mediator-like way. "Whatever the problem is, drop it. Laush, wake Tenna up. Oren, stand down. We''ve got a job to do."

    "Tenna wishes to defect from the Mediators and to bring Laush with him," Oren said in response, making Laush point her dagger at him again. "I do not believe it would be wise to allow either of them to participate in any further Mediator missions."

    "Shut up, Oren." Pushing her frustration to the forefront, she willfully allowed it to infect her voice. It felt uncomfortable to hear her own voice with even a hint of uncontrolled emotion behind it, but she ignored the urge the emotionless Mediator mask back on. "We need all the help we can get at this point."

    "Laush and Tenna cannot be allowed to impact any further Mediator activites," Oren responded. His face was impassive, but in the corner of Sera''s vision, she noticed his knuckles paling as he clenched his fist. "I am the senior Mediator. You will respect my authority."

    Sera stared at Oren for a few seconds before a short peal of laughter bubbled out from between her lips. A small part of her was bemused that the first genuine laugh that she''d had in her life had been for such a stupid reason, and the rest of her hated Oren for it.

    "You mock me," Oren said.

    She sobered up almost immediately.

    "No," she said, shaking her head. "You don''t know. Did Tenna not tell you that the Mediators aren''t real?"

    Though Laush lowered her knife in confusion, Oren remained unflinching. His eyes darted to the side, noticing that Laush had her guard down, but kept most of his focus on Sera, apparently designating her as the more dangerous enemy.

    "He did not," Oren said.

    "And I assume you wouldn''t have believed him if he did," Sera said.

    "It is a completely nonsensical claim," Oren said. "Why would I believe such a thing?"

    "Because it''s true," Sera said. "What was the name of your trainer when you first started to learn to be a Mediator?"

    There was a short pause before Oren fell backwards to the floor as his legs crumpled from underneath him. At first, Sera couldn''t help but be confused, not understanding why Oren had collapsed when all the other Mediators had died on their feet, including Laush, who stood to the side with her eyes glazed over. It was when she remembered that Oren was a Follower as well, that she approached him to investigate why he had fallen.

    Like a discarded doll, Oren''s limbs were splayed out from underneath him, bent at awkward angles, but as Sera approached him, she could see that his eyes were open, and his chest and shoulders were shaking slightly as the sound of quick breaths escaped him.

    "Oren?" she asked.

    At the sound of her voice, his eyes darted toward her with an intense glare. With renewed strength, he pushed himself off the floor and kicked up, forcing Sera to lean backwards to avoid the bone-shattering strike.

    Raising her arms defensively, she relied on her implanted instincts to slide backwards and create some distance to defend against his followup attack, but it never came.

    Though Oren was standing in a standard fighting stance, he wasn''t looking at Sera, his eyes roaming over his own body instead. Sera watched as his eyes darted around, frantically scanning his own body a dozen times before he dropped his stance and stared at her.

    "Where did I learn to fight?" he asked, his expression and voice betraying no emotion.

    "You didn''t," Sera said.

    "That''s improbable," he said.

    Improbable, but not impossible. Sera didn''t voice it, as Oren clearly knew.

    He looked to the side at Laush, who stood dead on her feet.

    "Why is she dead?" he asked.

    "She tried to recall something that didn''t actually happen," Sera said, a little surprised by how quickly Oren seemed to be accepting what was happening. "Or at least that''s my best theory."

    "And yet we live, due to some sort of protection given to us as Followers," Oren said. "Did the Otherworlder do this?"

    "Unlikely," Sera said.

    "But not impossible," Oren said.

    It was the first time that Sera had heard anything close to desperation in his voice.

    "When I asked Stoney about the subject, he suggested that we consult the Founder on his opinion," Sera said.

    "Why would you not heed his advice?" he asked.

    Sera analyzed Oren''s expression for a moment, wondering if she would be able to see anything in his blank facade, but as always, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. She had the suspicion that he had already worked out the reason himself, but was too afraid to voice it.

    "I don''t know anything about the Founder, and every time Stoney tried to recall anything about him, he died. Despite this, he was adamant that the Founder was trustworthy."

    "Perhaps he is," Oren said, a little too quickly.

    For the first time since she knew him, his mask had fallen, revealing a look of raw emotion behind his words. The true Oren was a strange looking man, wearing an expression that portrayed a mixture of dread and hopelessness that was almost childish in its awkwardness, like a newborn, exposed to the horrors of the outside world for the first time.

    Sera stayed silent while Oren processed the reality of the situation, watching his face twisting in pain as he no doubt tried and failed to create a logical explanation that would suit his desires.

    Eventually his face stopped twisting, returning to his default state of calm. Oren turned around and began to walk away.

    "We still need your help, Oren," Sera called after him.

    Oren stopped to turn and give her a blank look.

    "You do not need my help," he said.

    "We''re trying to find Jamie," she replied. "He''s the only one that could possibly fix our world anymore."

    To her surprise, Oren nodded.

    "You are correct," he said.

    Oren turned around and walked away. Sera watched as he left, and though a small part of her wanted to call out and stop him, she felt like she knew he wouldn''t stop. She felt like she somehow knew that it would be the last time she saw him, and nothing she did would change that.

 66. Cutscenes

    It was uncomfortable. I suddenly felt like I didn''t belong here anymore, on Earth, that is. The smell of gas and pollution was something I never noticed before getting isekaied, but after spending a few weeks in a world without cars, the air had a distinct smell and taste that I couldn''t help but notice. The sidewalk beneath my feet felt odd, too flat and smoother than the dirt paths and cobblestone that paved the roads in Astranta, making my gait feel awkward and overly deliberate.

    It surprised me to realize how busy Earth was. Even this early in the morning in the middle of the suburbs, it was hard to go more than a few minutes without seeing the signs of another person, whether it was the dim glow of a light shining through the window of a distant house, or an early commuter driving past me. Compared to my short life in Materia, where I could walk for a week without seeing any traces of human life, it was a strange feeling, like I didn''t have any sort of privacy.

    Though with the existence of the admin, I supposed that was true wherever I went.

    I tried not to think about it, trying to distract myself with the sights of my morning commute to school.

    Unfortunately, my attempts to ignore the existence of my watcher seemed to summon it instead.

    The contents of your memory are being affected to a significant degree. Please lower your head and point your eyes to the ground.

    I sighed angrily and opened my mouth to speak, but once again, though my mouth moved, no sound came out.

    This was going to be a real pain. Why did I have to look at the ground? I wouldn''t be able to see where I was going.

    In your memory, you keep your gaze consistently aimed towards the floor. You may corrupt your memory significantly if you refuse to follow.

    I frowned. Back on Earth, I knew that I usually kept my head down and shoulders hunched, but I sincerely doubted that looking up would change the flashback that much. Even if I usually kept my head down, it wasn''t like I didn''t remember what my neighbourhood looked like, so not letting me look up during this flashback would be a pointless limitation.

    I continued to walk with my head raised, and when no invisible force took a hold of me and forced my gaze down, I let out a sigh of relief.

    I''m not sure if my small victory actually made a difference in the end. I didn''t remember anything exciting happening on my way to school, and actually having to relive it didn''t change my mind, especially since I wasn''t about to experience nostalgia for a place I''d only left less than a month ago.

    When I got to school, habit took over and I headed to my usual morning spot, expecting the admin to want me to go there to follow the "contents of my memory". When no dialogue box popped up to stop me, I made my way over to my stairwell.

    The stairwell at the furthest end of the school was far away from everything, which made it one of the most secluded spots in the school, especially during the colder months, since the radiator never worked. While it was usually occupied during classes and lunch by couples who wanted somewhere secluded to make out, nobody ever went there this early in the morning. Except for me, of course.

    I sat down on the broken radiator and pulled out my phone.

    I wondered what I was supposed to do now, not remembering the specifics of how I might''ve spent this specific morning, but my phone screen started to shift on its own, flipping through different apps and websites before finally landing on a familiar site. I watched as my phone scrolled through a selection of webnovels before finally landing on a familiar title, My Second Life as a SSS-ranked Adventurer.

    Even though it wasn''t a favourite of mine, it still held a special place in my heart, mostly because it was one of the first webnovels that actually got me into the isekai genre. I was a little surprised by how difficult it was to remember the exact details of the story, but not too surprised. While I''d read the story at least a dozen times over, the I had no problem with admitting or recognizing the fact that My Second Life as a SSS-ranked Adventurer was a painfully generic isekai with nothing specific that stood out about it other than the fact that the fans liked to refer to it as "My Salsa" because the acronym of MSLAASA was a pain to say out loud.

    I didn''t need any prompting to start reading it again, excited to relive the experience.

    It only took about five minutes for me to regret my life choices.

    The beginning of the story was standard fare for the genre.

    Protagonist gets transported to a generic fantasy setting. Protagonist meets pretty blonde village girl with big boobs. Protagonist follows obvious love interest to her village. Village gets attacked by mindless goblins. Hero slays the goblins and asks the girl to go on an adventure with him. She accepts and they head to the city to register as adventurers.

    ...

    I tried to turn off my phone. It didn''t work, and a dialogue box appeared in front of me, but I grabbed my hood and pulled it down in front of my face in an attempt to erase myself from existence.

    Unfortunately, I could still somehow read the dialogue box through the fabric of my hoodie.

    You must remember.

    Yeah. I definitely remembered. Leave me alone.

    You must remember.

    I held my face under my hood for a few more minutes before I finally managed to calm down to the point where I could exist without cringing to death.

    You must remember.

    I doubted that I''d ever viewed My Salsa as a work of literary prestige before this point, but the antics of the protagonist held a very unflattering mirror up to my own experiences as an isekai protagonist. Every bit of cringey dialogue made me think of how I had acted during my first few days in Materia, and I couldn''t help but want to shrivel up out of existence.

    It was even worse when I had to read anything about not-Lena. I tried to avert my eyes from the the overly detailed descriptions of not-Lena''s ass, feeling a sense of guilt as if it were the equivalent of ogling Lena herself, but when the dialogue boxes kept popping up and assaulting my eyes with increasing insistences that "I must remember", I settled for aggressively skimming over those parts.

    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    I felt a flush rise to my face whenever I had to read about not-Lena''s obvious and immediate crush on the protagonist. After every interaction between the two characters, I had to take a breather, just so I wouldn''t explode from the secondhand embarrassment, and the firsthand embarrassment that I felt whenever I remembered that was how I genuinely expected my own interactions with Lena to go when I first met her.

    "That''s not how people act like in real life," I mumbled to myself, hating the admin for forcing me to read this.

    When another dialogue box popped up, the message on it was similar enough to what I''d seen before that I almost ignored it, but I paused my reading to give it a second glance.

    You are remembering incorrectly.

    I waited, as if staring at the sentence for longer would magically help me make sense of what it was trying to say, but when nothing happened, I scratched at my head.

    "What are you talking about?" I asked.

    A new dialogue box popped up, but not a very helpful one.

    You are remembering incorrectly.

    "Look," I said. "You gotta be more clear. How could I possibly mess up reading?"

    You are reading correctly. You are remembering incorrectly.

    I sighed, scratching at my head again. Rather than complaining, I took a moment to think about what that could possibly mean. Fortunately, the admin''s "riddle" wasn''t very difficult, even if the protagonist of My Salsa might have taken at least a chapter to mull over what the admin was trying to imply.

    "Am I supposed to say that that is how people act like in real life?" I asked, remembering what prompted the admin''s reaction in the first place.

    Yes.

    "But they don''t," I said.

    Why not?

    I stared at the box for a few seconds and felt a sigh threatening to escape me, as I quickly grew frustrated by the admin''s almost childlike mannerisms. But before I opened my mouth to let the admin know that what it was suggesting was incredibly stupid, I suddenly remembered who I was talking to.

    I was talking to the admin. I didn''t know exactly what the admin was, but I knew that it was the being that brought me back from the dead, sent me to an alternate dimension, and gave me godlike powers beyond my imagination. By all intents and purposes, I was dealing with a god.

    I wasn''t religious in any sense of the word, but I didn''t need to know anything about religion to understand what a god was. While not all gods were described as being truly omniscient, I doubted that any religion described their gods as being completely clueless, so why was the admin acting like it couldn''t understand such basic concepts?

    I was starting to recognize what was going on here. A wise figure acting stupid in order to bait the main character into stumbling across a moral revelation about themselves was a tried and true trope that I''d seen many times before in countless movies and comic books. Was that what was happening here?

    "People don''t act like that," I said hesitantly.

    Why?

    Again, the dialogue stood out to me as being childlike, like the admin was genuinely clueless about what I could possibly mean, but a small part of me felt like the admin was simply egging me on, to explain my thought process out loud so I could stumble across the revelation it was leading me to.

    "They just don''t," I said, unsure of what exactly what I was supposed to say here. "It''s an OP MC power fantasy. The characters in that book don''t act like people do in real life because it''s not supposed to be a representation of real life. Life doesn''t give you levels, and OP powers straight from the beginning, and pretty girls that fall in love with you because you save them from a goblin attack. That''s just not how it works."

    False.

    I stared at the dialogue box, furrowing my brow. I was getting more and more certain about my theory that the admin was just giving me some sort of moral test, but I couldn''t understand how this was the point that I''d failed in. What had I said that was wrong?

    You were given levels, power, and a woman to save.

    I opened my mouth to protest, but closed it quickly. I don''t know how I long stayed there, staring at the dialogue box.

    I don''t know how long I would''ve simply stood there for, if I hadn''t noticed the way that the world was shifting around me. I looked around, in a panic, as I tried to register what was going on, but nothing I saw made sense, until suddenly, the world snapped back into focus.

    I didn''t know why the flashback had suddenly shifted, but I immediately wanted to turn and run as I recognized the scene in front of me.

    The only thing I could manage was to turn my head slightly downwards and to the side.

    I couldn''t help but panic, as once again I became a passenger in my own body. I opened my mouth to shout at the admin once more, but the only thing that came out of my mouth was a nervous, "Hi Taylor."

    "Hey, Jamie. What did you need from me? And why at the back of the school?" Taylor let out a slight chuckle, though I could clearly hear the confusion that she felt. My old crush''s voice made my chest tighten in embarrassment at what was about to come.

    I tried to keep my mouth shut, but once more, it moved without my permission, as did my body, as I bent down in a low bow for no other reason than that I''d seen it in anime.

    "I love you," my mouth said. "Please be my girlfriend."

    After a short pause, my neck craned up and my eyes opened, forcing me to remember the expression of pity and anxiety on Taylor''s face that I had tried so hard to forget.

    "Oh..." she said.

    I let out a gasp as I fell over backwards, unprepared for how I was suddenly given control of my body once more. I heaved, and thought for a moment that I would throw up, to recreate the memory of my confession exactly, but nothing came out.

    The rules of your first life were rewritten. You were given the life you wished for. Why are you dissatisfied?

    Even through clenched eyelids, I could still read the words.

    If your truth applied to the world, Taylor would have fallen in love with you. Your dream would be achieved. Is that not what you want with your Second Life? To be loved? It can be so.

    I shook my head.

    That''s not love.

    It isn''t?

    It isn''t.

    Then what is love?

    So that was the question. What this had all been leading up to. My moment of revelation, defined by however I would answer next. It made sense. That was my wish. My ultimate goal. To be loved.

    In my webnovels, this would be the point where I waxed poetic about what the true meaning of love was, how my adventures in Astranta made me realize things about myself that I hadn''t known before, that the force was within me this whole time. Unfortunately, no matter how similar my current life was to the plot of a webnovel, I didn''t know anything.

    "I don''t know," I said. Even though I knew the admin could read my thoughts, it felt like it was something I had to say out loud. I was surprised by the sound of my voice. I sounded bitter.

    Why?

    "Nobody fucking taught me."

    Why?

    "Why don''t you fucking ask him yourself?"

    Immediately, the world started to turn around me. I closed my eyes. I didn''t know for sure what the admin was going to show me next, but I had a few guesses.

    Even as I felt the world settle around me, I kept my eyes closed. When I felt my arms reaching up to pull my hood over my head, I wasn''t sure if it was because I was stuck in another forced cutscene, or if my body was just moving instinctively.

    "Boy," a voice said.

    I don''t think I''d ever heard him use my name before.

    "Dad," I responded.

 67. Moral Revelation

    Steven was a big man. He had once been a varsity hockey player, and even though his college years were long behind him, he had stubbornly clung onto the hulking build that he had once used to muscle his way around the rink before his knee injury destroyed his chances of going pro. Though he wasn''t that much taller than me, I always remembered him as being a huge and hulking figure that towered over me constantly, both literally and figuratively.

    Even now, with my hood pulled tight over my head and my eyes shut, I could imagine him clearly in my mind''s eye. The silhouette of his side-profile staring at me, lit only by the dim glow of the television as he lounged on the loveseat sofa in our living room, his posture somehow both tense and lazy at the same time.

    I had my eyes clenched closed, but clenched them even harder when I heard a sound that could be described as a groan or a sigh. I''d never been able to identify it, no matter how many times I''d heard it, but it was easy to decipher in that it was always filled with resentment.

    "Great. You again. Don''t you have better things to do than being a fucking pain in my ass?"

    I felt my chest tense as I gritted my teeth. I didn''t know what exact memory the admin was showing me, but I could tell it would be one of the rougher ones. Most of the time Steven just ignored me, and the few times that he decided to acknowledge my existence like this were never pleasant.

    "Come on," I said. "Give me a break."

    I was a little surprised that the admin was letting me speak, given how annoying it had been about not letting me "interfere" with my memories before this point, but before I could think of a reason why it was letting me talk, Steven''s voice interrupted my thoughts.

    "Give you a break? Give you a fucking break?" he asked, like he couldn''t believe what he was hearing.

    And to be fair to him, I couldn''t believe what I was hearing either. After taking a moment to realize what was happening, I opened my eyes.

    Rather than the dark living room that I imagined, I found myself standing in a void. It was colourless, but it wasn''t white. It just wasn''t. It was void, empty except for Steven''s figure across from me, standing too, at a distance that I couldn''t quite judge. I tried to scan the space we were in, surprised by how different it was to the memories that the admin had been showing me up until this point, but while I could move my head and my eyes around, Steven somehow stayed directly in my field of vision, even if I looked up, like I had a picture of him glued directly onto my eyeballs.

    "Give you a fucking break," he grumbled, wiping the back of his hand lazily across his lips, like he was wiping something off of them. "That''s fucking rich, coming from you."

    "Dad?"

    The word came out of my mouth subconsciously. More than I hated the word itself, I hated how it sounded. Desperate and scared. I didn''t know whether I was scared that this was something more than just a memory, or if I was scared that it wasn''t, but I hated the fear that crept into my voice in either case.

    If the angry furrow that appeared on Steven''s face was any indication, he hated it too. His arm swung towards me in a violent arc. I flinched and covered my head with my hands but nothing struck me.

    Steven lifted his hand to his lips, but paused when he realized he wasn''t actually drinking anything. He looked at his hands, as if he were surprised to find them empty, even after he had already thrown his imaginary bottle at my head.

    "Fucking figures," he said. "Make this fucking dream even more unbearable, why don''t you?"

    He let out a heavy sigh and fell backwards to lie down on the non-existent floor, but even as he fell, I found myself still facing him directly, like the world had shifted ninety degrees from my perspective so I could continue to look him in the eyes.

    Steven seemed just as unhappy about this fact as I was. He grimaced and stuck out his middle finger lethargically towards me.

    "Fuck off, why don''t you?" he said, waving me away with his finger. "You''re finally gone. I''m finally happy again. You don''t get to ruin that anymore."

    I stared at him for a few seconds before I realized that I was still covering my head with my arms. Waves of embarrassment and anger ran through me as I aggressively shoved my hands down at my sides.

    "You''re finally happy again?" I repeated. "I don''t get to ruin your happiness?"

    Steven simply shrugged.

    "You heard what I said. Now go away, ghost of christmas past. I''m over the bastard already. Why don''t you stop haunting me and just leave me the fuck alone."

    I simply stared at him in disbelief for a few long seconds as he closed his eyes. I don''t know why what he said bothered me so much. I already knew he hated me, and it wasn''t the first time he had told me that he wished I never existed.

    But seeing him react like this when I had actually died on Earth was something else.

    "Did you even care? Not even just a little bit?" I asked, hating myself for caring about the answer to that question.

    "No," Steven said, lifting his hands to his lips, as if trying to summon a bottle of bud light into his hands. "Never."

    Though I felt my teeth clench impossibly tight, I didn''t cry. It''s not like I hadn''t expected the answer.

    "I hated you, you know," I said. "I still do."

    "Well, the feeling''s mutual," he said, raising his middle finger towards me once more.

    I didn''t bother asking why. I knew the answer to that question too. Steven wasn''t a man to mince words, or maybe he was. He was a car salesman, so I assumed he could at least pretend to be friendly, but it''s not a side of him that I''d ever seen in my life. He certainly didn''t hold back his feelings when he told me why he hated me.

    I had taken my mother away from him, so in turn, he had taken any semblance of a father away from me.

    I was a murderer in his eyes.

    And in a sense, he was right, wasn''t he?

    Even if I didn''t count the mother who I never knew, I did kill a handful of people in my second life.

    I wasn''t just a murderer in name anymore. I wonder if he would feel satisfied by that fact. How would he react if he knew that he had been right all along, about the fact that I would kill so easily, given the chance?

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    More than just wondering about it, I knew could find out.

    I took a sharp breath, inhaling through gritted teeth, grasping at the mana I had within my body and pushing it into my arms. Immediately, my hands grew hot as colourless flames erupted out of them, the unnatural design melding into the nothingness that surrounded us. I glared at Steven, who still had his eyes closed, oblivious to what was going on in front of him, despite the heat that emanated from my fingertips, and the weight of the dense mana that saturated the air around me.

    I raised my hand towards him.

    While it was clear that he thought he was in a dream, it was clear to me that we were somehow connected together in a space between our worlds, a space that was real. I took a moment to consider whether I should warn him about what was going to happen, to see the look in his eyes as he died by my hand.

    I stared at him for a while, as if waiting to open his eyes on his own, but the shaking of my arm made me unsure of whether I could hold this much mana in my arms for much longer.

    I had to do it.

    He deserved it.

    "Hellfire," I whispered.

    "BLAST!" I screamed, not giving myself the chance to rethink what I was doing.

    Flames erupted from my palm in a roar of silence, as if the flame engulfed not only the space around me, but the sound that occupied it as well. The colourless light blinded me, and the heat was intense enough that I couldn''t help but flinch away from it in reflex, regardless of that fact that I knew it couldn''t hurt me.

    I don''t know how long I kept my flame roaring. It could have been a few seconds. It could have been a few years. I had a feeling that in this space, time didn''t function like it was supposed to, if it functioned at all. I could vaguely feel tears rolling down my face though I wasn''t sure why.

    My flames died down when I reached up to wipe my eyes, and though my vision was blurred, I could still make out Steven''s untouched form, and the translucent dialogue box that floated between us.

    PVP is prohibited. Otherworlders may not harm other Otherworlders.

    I sank to my knees, unsure of whether I felt disappointment or relief. I sucked in shaky breaths through my teeth as I cried silently into my hands.

    "Shut the fuck up," Steven grumbled. With his eyes still closed, and his posture relaxed, it didn''t seem like he''d even noticed my attempt to kill him. "You''re a fucking embarrassment, you know that?"

    "I hate you," I said.

    "Yeah, yeah," he replied.

    "You''re my dad. You''re supposed to love me."

    "I don''t see a fucking contract."

    "Mom would''ve hated you."

    He paused for a moment. I didn''t know why I said that, and I didn''t know if I felt satisfied by the way that his eyes opened and twisted into an angry glare.

    "You didn''t know her," he said.

    "And whose fault is that?"

    "It''s yours."

    "You never even told me her name."

    "You didn''t deserve to know."

    "She would''ve hated the way you treated me."

    "Don''t you fucking talk about her like you know her, bastard."

    "She was my mom."

    "And you killed her for it."

    I looked at him. I sniffled unconsciously, less out of emotion, and more out of an automatic reaction to the feeling of snot dripping out of my nose. I was surprised to find that I didn''t actually care about what he was saying. It was a new feeling for me. As much as I liked to pretend like I could just shrug off his words back when I was alive, I could never truly ignore him, I could only grow numb to him.

    But now? It felt a little different.

    I sniffled again, and wiped my hands against my eyes and nose. I was surprised to find they came away drier than I might have expected.

    "She would''ve loved me. She would''ve loved me unconditionally."

    The words came out of my mouth without much thought put into them, but it was enough to draw an instant reaction from him.

    "Shut the fuck up."

    I felt something hit the top of my head. It didn''t hurt, even though I felt like it should have. I blinked as I lazily looked up at the glass shards of the broken bottle of bud light that littered my hair. In between us, another translucent dialogue box showed him the same message that it had shown me a few seconds ago, though it didn''t seem like he cared enough to read it. His face was red, and his arm was still outstretched, as if the act of throwing the summoned beer bottle had given him a sprain.

    "Shut the fuck up," he repeated.

    "She would have loved me," I repeated.

    Another beer bottle hit my head. I felt my lips quirk up slightly at the sight of him using his god-like powers to summon beer bottles. I wasn''t sure if I was trying to mock him, or if I was just amused by the idea, but it seemed to succeed at angering him regardless.

    "Shut the fuck up," he said.

    "She would have believed in me, even if you never did."

    I barely knew what I was saying. I had never known a mother, and by extension, I had never felt a mother''s love. But the words fell out of my mouth so naturally that I had a hard time denying them.

    He got up and started to run at me, arms outstretched, as if trying to strangle me, but no matter how hard he ran, he never got closer.

    "She would''ve protected me from anyone that tried to hurt me. That includes you too."

    "You didn''t know her," he said. "You killed her."

    Though it looked like he was trying to scream it, red-faced and fists clenched, his voice was quiet, like he was much further away than he looked. I could barely hear him. At this point, I didn''t know what point he was trying to make. Was he saying that my mother had been a bad person? That she would''ve treated me the same way that he did? I guess that might have been true. She did marry a guy like him after all. But at this point, that didn''t matter much.

    "She would have forgiven me for killing her, wouldn''t she?" I asked.

    He stumbled on nothing, and fell to the floor. He glared at me, but didn''t get up.

    He said something, but I don''t know what. I don''t know if I couldn''t hear him, or if I simply didn''t, but I suppose it didn''t matter. He didn''t matter to me anymore.

    I turned around. Steven disappeared from my field of vision. Without him, I was left alone in this empty void.

    Never had I expected the journey to reaching a moral revelation to be this tiring. It didn''t feel particularly good, but possibly for the first time in my life, I felt like everything was right.

    "I get it," I said. "I''m ready. Take me back."

    ---

    "What''s that supposed to mean?" I shrieked more than shouted. My voice scratched violently at the walls of my throat, but the slight pain wasn''t enough to stop me from shouting. I was scared, tired, and furious at Jamie for daring to suggest that I wasn''t on his side, like my actions to this point somehow hadn''t been enough for him.

    I glared at him, as if daring him to throw even more bullshit in my face, before I noticed his expression.

    His eyes were puffy and sunken, and he stared at me with an intensity that hadn''t been there a second ago. It looked like he''d been crying for hours before we started our shouting match, but I somehow hadn''t noticed until now.

    "What are you looking at me like that for?" I asked, suddenly unnerved by the sudden silence that we had fallen into. I could hear the angry bite in my voice disappearing quickly as I struggled to adjust to the abrupt shift in the emotional atmosphere.

    Rather than answering with his words, Jamie fell forward.

    I felt myself flinch in place and scramble to catch him on instinct, before I realized he wasn''t actually in any danger of falling.

    It took me a few seconds to realize what was happening. Jamie stood in front of me, with his chest close to mine, but not quite touching. His hands were placed gently on the backs of my shoulders, but with a timid touch, like he was afraid that I would disintegrate if he applied any pressure whatsoever.

    I still didn''t know quite what was going on, but I knew an awkward hug when I felt one. I walked half a step forward and wrapped my arms around his back, pushing myself gently into him. Immediately, as if he had been waiting for permission, he buried his face in my shoulder and tightened his arms around me, like he was afraid that I would change my mind and pull away.

    He quietly sobbed beside my ear. I tried not to mind the way that his chin and nose were digging uncomfortably into my flesh, and the way that my arms were pinned in an uncomfortable angle against his body. I could only assume it wasn''t intentional. It saddened me to think that he probably just wasn''t used to this. I considered giving him some words of encouragement, but since I had no idea what had just happened, other than the fact that it was probably something I wouldn''t understand, I settled for simply patting him on the back.

    He let go of me surprisingly quickly, and was still sobbing quietly when he let go. I considered grabbing him again, to just let him cry as much as he needed, but the grim look of determination on his face stopped me.

    "I''m going to go fix this," he said.

    I stared at him, stunned by the sudden shift in emotion once more. "What?" I asked.

    "I''m going to fix your world," he said, as if that explained anything, but the determined look on his face faltered, as if he had suddenly changed his mind.

    He stared at me for a few seconds before turning his eyes downwards.

    "Can you come with me?" he asked. "I- I''m scared."

    I still had no idea what was going on or what he was even talking about, but there was really only one I could possibly do.

    I grabbed his hand, hoping that he wouldn''t feel the way that I was shaking too.

    "Of course," I said.

 68. Reaching the Endgame

    "So, do you feel like helping at all?" Stoney asked.

    Marten glanced down at Stoney, raising an eyebrow at the question.

    "Helping with what?" Marten asked.

    "Don''t pretend like you weren''t listening in," Stoney said.

    "Who says I''m pretending?" Marten replied, turning his attention back away from Stoney, choosing to stare off into the distance instead. "Of course I was. That''s why I''m asking."

    "The world might end, you know," Stoney said. He leant back against the wall of the house and followed Marten''s gaze with his own. Though he had first assumed that Marten was looking in the direction that Sera had ran towards during her search for Jamie, he had a suspicion that he was just staring blankly into space.

    "The world''s been ending for a while now, it seems like," Marten replied.

    "And you don''t think you should be doing something about that?" Stoney asked.

    "Do you?" Marten asked back, with an eyebrow raised. "I don''t see you rushing off into the woods."

    Stoney frowned and shook his head, not to deny Marten''s accusation, but just because. If he was doing it for any reason, whatever that reason may have been, it didn''t end up working.

    Stoney sighed. "It''s a strange feeling isn''t it, to have your instinct shouting at you that everything will be fine despite you knowing that it may not be."

    "I''m a gambler," Marten said. "I live by that feeling. I always follow my gut, no matter what my head says."

    "And what good has that done for you?" Stoney asked.

    Marten looked down at Stoney, giving him an annoyed glare before turning his eyes away once again.

    "What can I say? I''m a slave to my intuition," he grumbled.

    Stoney grimaced as he looked down at his legs, as if staring would get them to move. When they didn''t, he sighed and grimaced.

    "It seems that applies to me as well," Stoney said. "At least for the time being."

    "Don''t like the feeling?" Marten asked.

    Stoney''s mouth flattened into a thin line. "I trust in my intuition as much as I do the Founder at the moment, and unfortunately, that means I have absolute faith in it."

    Marten made a noncommittal hum.

    "I just wish I could do something. Anything," Stoney grumbled. "Even though I''m certain that the Founder has our best interests at heart, I can''t help but feel a bit frustrated, knowing I''m just sitting here with my thumb up my ass. At least Sera is trying."

    "Why bother?" Marten asked. "Even if there was something that the Founder couldn''t protect us from, which there isn''t, it''s not like we could do anything about it. At this point, the only person who can do affect the world in any way is one who can mold it to their will."

    "Like Jamie."

    "Like the brat," Marten agreed. "And any other godlike figures that the universe wants to dump on this fucking shithole of a world. Best thing us mortals can do now is just pray."

    "Never took you for a religious man."

    "I''m not."

    ---

    When I grabbed Jamie''s hand, there was a short silence between us, far too short for me to even consider taking a moment to catch my breath. As soon as I grabbed his hand, he grabbed me back in a tight, but gentle grip. I felt my eyes drawn to his, and couldn''t help but be surprised by how determined he looked.

    "I know things are confusing right now," Jamie said, his voice steady and confident, as if I had imagined the fear that permeated his voice just seconds ago. "I can fix your world, but I think I need to do it fast."

    "What are you talking about, Jamie?" I asked.

    "I don''t have the time to explain," he said, shaking his head, before the resolute expression on his face slowly started to slip into one of uncertainty. "Do you trust me?"

    "Yes," I said, surprised by how easily I said it.

    Jamie''s eyes softened instantly, but he shook his head again, as if trying to physically dissipate any uncertainties he might have resting there. It seemed to work, as his determined expression returned, stronger than ever.

    "Okay," he said, before he closed his eyes. "Detect Whatever is Making this World so Messed Up and Messing with People''s Memories."

    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    It took me a second to realize what he was doing. Though I thought I had gotten used to his weird Otherworlder powers by this point, it seemed like I could still be surprised.

    "Was that seriously a spell you just cast?" I asked, not sure of which answer I wanted to hear from him.

    Jamie opened one eye and chuckled. "I know, right? I told you. I''m ridiculously broken."

    "Right," I said. "So that stupid spell actually worked?"

    "Yup," he replied, with a grin. "It''s called plot convenience. As an isekai protagonist, it''s my divine right to have all the solutions to any of my problems to simply be handed to me, just as long as I remember to ask."

    "I understood half of what you just said," I replied, with a smile of my own. "Remind me to ask you to explain it to me later."

    Jamie responded with a smile.

    "Why don''t I just show you?" he asked. "Teleport."

    I had to blink several times as I was blinded by a sudden light.

    At first I assumed that whatever magic Jamie had used was the source of the light, but when the light refused to fade, it took me a long time for my eyes to adjust to it. After a few seconds, I finally managed to glimpse at my surroundings through squinted eyes.

    When I saw where we were, my eyes widened and my mouth hung open involuntarily. Though the sunlight was harsh enough that it stung me to keep them open all the way, I couldn''t help but look around in awe of my surroundings.

    It wasn''t just beautiful. It was beauty defined. I stood atop a hill, overlooking a great expanse of land coated in colourful flora that made me think at first, that I was somewhere high above the clouds, looking down on a rainbow. Fruits I didn''t recognize, hanging from trees and vines with leaves and flowers in vibrant colours and a lustre that I''d never seen before. A long river splitting the land before me, the pure water sparkling and catching the light as if precious gems and metals were hiding just beneath the surface. Unlike the dreary rain that we had left behind, the sun was warm enough that I could already feel my soaked clothes drying out, though a comfortable breeze and the shade of the large tree behind me refused to make the heat unbearable.

    The place was oddly perfect. Every branch, every leaf, every strand of grass seemed like it was supposed to be there, as if it had been intentionally designed. It was difficult to imagine that wasn''t the case, even if the forest was large enough that it expanded far beyond the horizon.

    "Where are we?" I asked.

    "I have no idea," Jamie said. "All I know is that the source of your world''s problems is here."

    I looked around briefly but didn''t notice anything that could possibly look like something that would be capable of disfiguring reality, but when I glanced back at Jamie, the determined expression that he had on his face made it clear that he was being completely serious.

    "Are you sure?" I asked, despite everything I knew about him and his powers.

    Jamie looked around and grimaced. I followed his gaze downwards, but didn''t immediately notice anything off about the hill we were standing on.

    "Yeah," he said. "Pretty sure."

    It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about. Despite the comforting atmosphere that this place created, I felt a shiver down my spine as I suddenly noticed how quiet the air was, devoid of the cry of insects and birds that would''ve otherwise been thriving on a sunny day like this. And in this perfect garden, I suddenly grew more aware of the hill we were standing on, the only bump in the perfectly flat land that stretched over the horizon.

    Around the base of the hill was the outline of a perfect circle where the dense plant life refused to go beyond, bowing reverently towards the hill, but not intruding on its borders. I suddenly felt like an intruder in this space, where nothing existed other than the lush grass that coated it and the single tree that we were standing under. I looked up and saw, hanging from the branches, fruits that I couldn''t recognize, not because I hadn''t ever seen them before, but because I couldn''t understand what I was looking at.

    "The fruits?" I asked, surprised that my voice was as steady as it was.

    Jamie glanced towards it, but didn''t seem to care about the fruits nearly as much as I did. He directed his gaze downwards instead.

    "No, not those," he said. "It''s under the hill."

    I tore my eyes away from the fruits, stepping gingerly away as if that would do anything to protect me.

    "Oh," I said.

    If Jamie had anything to say about how dumbfounded I sounded, he kept it to himself. He simply closed his eyes and raised his arms, pointing his palms to the earth.

    "Hellfire blast."

    The casual way that he said it gave me an inadequate amount of forewarning for how intense the following spell would be. A pillar of pure energy erupted from Jamie''s palms.  Though he had called it hellfire, it was nothing like any flame I had ever seen before. Given that it was colourless, silent, and devoid of heat and light, I could only assume that if I actually experienced the effects of the spell with any of my senses, I would have died instantly.

    Jamie closed his hands, stopping the flow of mana and revealing a medium-sized hole where he had summoned his hellfire, the spell simply erasing the earth from existence rather than burning it up. Jamie stared down at the hole, breathing slightly heavy from the exertion of his magic, and almost stumbling backwards.

    Without thinking, I rushed up to him, but he managed to catch himself before he fell to the floor. I decided to support him anyways, just in case, grabbing his arm with my body.

    "Are you okay?" I asked.

    Jamie smiled at me, looking more tired than I''d ever seen him before. "Yeah," he said. "It was a little anticlimactic, I guess. But I did it. I saved the world."

    I tried to smile back at him, but for some reason, I couldn''t do it.

    "Are you sure you''re okay?" I asked. "That looked like it took a lot out of you."

    Jamie''s smile grew wider and he let out a small chuckle under his breath. "It was pretty difficult yeah," he said, panting slightly to catch his breath. "Had to output enough power to destroy whatever the threat was, but had to hold myself back enough so I didn''t accidentally destroy your world myself. Took a surprising amount of control"

    I didn''t find myself laughing with him, but before I could think of what to say in response, the sudden look of confusion in Jamie''s eyes stopped me. For a moment, I thought he was staring at me, but when I noticed he was staring past me, I turned around.

    PVP is prohibited. Otherworlders may not harm other Otherworlders.

    I don''t know how long I stared at that panel for, but at some point, I found my eyes drifting towards the hole that Jamie had created.

    It was impossibly dark all the way down, and I don''t know if I imagined a presence slowly rising from deep within it.

    But I know I didn''t imagine the soft, gentle voice that echoed from deep within.

    "Who disturbs me?"

 69. An Excellent Liar

    Of all the things I had expected to find, this hadn''t been one of them. In hindsight, it really should have been. How could you save the world without defeating a demon king or two along the way? I shouldn''t have been so surprised to see that it was another otherworlder either. It wasn''t an uncommon trope for the big bad guy to turn out to be a fallen hero, to act as a foil to the main character and show them what they could have become without the power of friendship. The final message to both the main character and the audience behind the screen, to really drive the lesson home.

    But I had already learned my lesson, and there was no audience that I would be teaching it to. I had already defeated my demons. This was supposed to be an epilogue, not the climax of my story.

    I stared up at the man floating in front of me. Rather than a big hulking figure, clad in jet black armor and a horned helmet that covered his face entirely, he was completely naked, hairless, and thin enough that I almost wanted to call him emaciated. His eyes were half-closed and unfocused, like he had just woken up from a long nap and he stared at me with a confused look in his eyes though I wasn''t sure if he was just as confused by the revelation that I was another otherworlder, or if he just had no idea what was going on.

    He spoke again, this time, his voice held a little more emotion in it, a little more confusion, but I still didn''t know what he was saying. His voice was still soft, but the language sounded harsh and, most importantly, foreign. I didn''t know if he was speaking some language from my world that I just couldn''t recognize, or if he was an Otherworlder pulled from an entirely different dimension, but in any case, I assumed that no magic that I could cast would let me understand him.

    "I''m sorry for bringing you here, Lena," I said, while still staring the man in the eyes. His eyes started to register me, and I didn''t want to risk losing his focus. "But I need your help. Can you tell me what he''s saying?"

    Lena didn''t say anything immediately, but I didn''t have the time to let her process what was going on. Still keeping my eyes on the Otherworlder, I reached out behind me and gently grabbed Lena''s hand. I almost flinched away when I felt how badly she was shaking, but I kept my hand firm, trying to give her a sense of confidence that I didn''t quite have myself.

    "Lena," I said, as gently as possible, despite the anxiety that crept into my heart. "I can''t understand what he''s saying, and I don''t think he can understand me. I need your help."

    Lena still didn''t respond immediately, but I felt her squeeze my hand back in what might have felt like a death grip to normal human being. I could hear her quick breaths evening out slowly, not to a level where I could convince myself that she was calm, but at least that she was calming down.

    "He''s asking who you are," she said, quietly.

    The man''s head turned quickly towards her at the sound of her voice, and I could feel her flinching under his gaze, but I squeezed her hand gently and stepped in front of her to hide her from view.

    "Could you tell him that my name is Jamie, and I''m an otherworlder, just like him?"

    She repeated my message, and the man narrowed his eyes. I still couldn''t tell whether he was skeptical of my claim, or if he was still generally confused about what was going on.

    "What''s your name?" I asked, with Lena repeating my words.

    The man frowned at the question, and a complex series of emotions passed through his expression, before he said a single word.

    "David," Lena said.

    I nodded, even if I didn''t agree with her. Through whatever translation magic that was filtering my understanding of what Lena was saying, the name David was close to what the man had said, but not quite the same. Still, I wasn''t confident in my ability to repeat what the man had said, with the same pronunciation, and I had no time to waste on trying.

    "David," I said. "What is your dream?"

    I felt Lena flinch at my question, and she hesitated in repeating it. I squeezed her hand again, trying to reassure her, even if I had no idea how. Thankfully, it seemed to be enough.

    "What is your dream?" Lena asked.

    David''s eyes widened almost imperceptibly, as another flash of emotion passed over his features.

    He opened his mouth and closed it immediately, as if biting his words back. I could see his eyes threatening to dart to the side, as he struggled to maintain direct eye contact. When he spoke, I wasn''t sure if he was speaking with a stutter, or if it was just what his language sounded like.

    "He said his dream is to guide the lost souls to paradise," Lena said.

    I tried to keep my expression as neutral as possible, to hide the confusion I felt. Not knowing how to respond, I simply stared at him, my mind whirring as I tried to figure out what would be the best thing to say here.

    Before I could figure out something to say, David tore his eyes away from mine, looking down to the side, an expression of shame written clearly on his face. He muttered something under his breath that I doubted I would''ve been able to hear properly, even if he was speaking plain english.

    "He''s asking you if you''re here to replace him," Lena said. "He wants to know if he''s failed in his duties."

    David flinched as Lena repeated his message, but kept his eyes glued to the floor beside him, with his mouth in a tight line of focus. His fists were clenched by his sides, in tight balls of frustration, and I couldn''t be certain if he was angry or if he was afraid. Even though I didn''t know what he was talking about, I felt like I could somehow relate to him.

    But I stopped myself before I could sympathize with him too much. Regardless of who David was, he was the source of this world''s problems.

    "Lena," I said. "David needs to die."

    I turned around to face her, and immediately felt a surge of guilt. She had her mouth half open, as if she had planned to repeat what I had just said, before she realized that it would be an incredibly bad idea. Her face was stained with tears, and a deep sense of weariness seemed to emanate from every aspect of her being, from her sunken posture, to her pale skin, to the glassy eyed look she gave back to me, too tired to display any emotion on her face.

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    I let go of her hand to place my palm over her head.

    "Restore," I said. I don''t know if ''restore'' was the right word to describe how I wanted to help Lena, but my magic seemed to know what I wanted better than I did. A flash of green light burst from my hands and entered Lena''s body, and once the glow faded away, it revealed a much healthier looking Lena, though the weariness remained in her expression.

    I glanced back at David, but he had barely reacted to the magic. I wasn''t sure if he even noticed that I turned my attention away from him.

    "I''m sorry I dragged you into this, Lena," I said. "I thought my magic would be enough to fix any problems we ran into in a couple of seconds, but I didn''t expect this. I''m sorry."

    Lena stared into my eyes, and though she didn''t say anything, I could see that she believed me. She stared into my soul with a piercing genuineness that made me want to look away in shame of what I was about to ask of her.

    "We need him to die," I said. "But I don''t think I can do it."

    Lena''s eyes widened and her mouth opened to protest what I was about to say, but she clamped it shut when she realized that David would be able to understand anything she said.

    Even if I was certain that she knew what I wanted from her, and that I didn''t actually need to say anything else, but I wouldn''t forgive myself if I didn''t voice my request out loud. I needed to take responsibility for what I was about to ask of her.

    "Lena," I said. "I''m not asking you this because I don''t want to do it myself. I just don''t think I can. I''m not nearly smart enough to figure out what he wants, and I''m not kind enough to give it to him if I did. But you''re the smartest and kindest person I know. Can you fulfill his dream?"

    A complex stream of emotion ran across Lena''s face, and I was ashamed of both how scared she was of my request and how relieved I felt when I saw that none of that fear was directed towards me. I meant it when I said that she was the smartest person I knew, and I knew that she had already figured out that I was only asking her because it was my only option. From the anxiety that ran across her face in waves, I could only assume that she didn''t believe in herself as much as I did.

    I squeezed her hand gently.

    "I know you can do it," I said.

    She looked up and met my eyes. I don''t know exactly what she saw in them, if she could tell that I was being completely sincere. She frowned at me, and I could see her gritting her teeth in frustration before she nodded, the motion so slight that it was barely perceptible.

    She wasn''t confident in herself, I knew that much. Her hand shook violently in mine as she spoke to David, but her words were steady, any hints of nervousness filtered through the mask of confidence that she had put on.

    As she talked, her demeanor filled me with a sense of melancholic nostalgia, as I thought back on how she treated me when we had first met. She treated David with respect and dignity, without letting on the fact that she regarded him as a volatile monster, that had poisoned her world with his presence. A dull pang of pain pounded against my heart, as I acknowledged how familiar her lies felt.

    Lena was an excellent liar.

    Even though I was no longer a part of their conversation, she continued to relay each of David''s messages to me and she would wait for me to say something before responding to him, to keep up the facade that I was still telling her what to say.

    At first, I didn''t know what to say, and being put on the spot, I rambled out one of my old poems from memory. Lena rolled with it, ignoring the edgy poems that were permanently engraved into my brain since I had conceived them when I was thirteen, and continued to talk with David as my liaison. I continued this for a few more responses, until I ran out of poems, and instead of rambling from memory, I just rambled instead.

    "I wonder if this place is modelled after the Garden of Eden? It looks kind of like how I would''ve imagined it. I wonder if David is from my world, or if there''s another world with a similar myth. I can only assume he was the one to make this place look like how it does."

    "I heard somewhere that if an extra in a movie needs to pretend like they''re talking in the background of a scene, they just keep mouthing the word ''watermelon'' over and over. I don''t really know if it would work here, since I wouldn''t want to risk David notice I''m just saying the same word over and over."

    "Watermelon, kumquat, orange, kiwi, strawberry, blueberry, orange. Wow, sure didn''t take me long to get a repeat."

    I hoped I wasn''t distracting Lena too much, but I didn''t want to risk letting my conscious thoughts take over. So I continued to ramble, barely paying attention to what Lena and David were saying. The rising hope in David''s expression was enough to tell me what I already knew, that Lena was fulfilling his dream, or at least she was making him think she was. And wasn''t that enough?

    Apparently it was. Whether David had been fully fooled by Lena''s lies, or if he had to lie to himself to fill in the blanks, I could see a sense of peace wash over him as he accepted his fate. I don''t know whether he was fully satisfied by the life he lead here, or if he still had some regrets, but as a sense of tension escaped his body, escaping him in waves, I could tell that above all else, he was glad to be given an ending, no matter how satisfying it was or wasn''t.

    "What will you do now?" Lena asked him.

    David said something, and before Lena could translate for me, he looked down into the hole I had made in the center of the hill and slowly descended into it.

    "He said he''s going to sleep," Lena said, once he had completely disappeared, confirming what I had already assumed.

    "I''m not surprised," I said. "He looked pretty tired."

    "Yeah," Lena said, before her legs gave away.

    I caught her before she fell to the floor and let her down gently, but it seemed like the strength in her body had left her completely, to the point where I needed to support her upper body to even let her sit up. So I did. I sat down with her on the grassy hill that overlooked the paradise that we were in, with my arm around her shoulder and her head leaning on mine. We stayed like that for a long moment, the world around us as silent as we were, as time dripped painfully by.

    "Do you think he''s actually going to die?" Lena asked, breaking the silence abruptly, still with her head on my shoulder.

    "Yeah," I said.

    "So I killed a man today," she said.

    "He was already dead, Lena," I said. "All you did was pushing him along on a journey he should''ve been on already. I''m sure he''s grateful."

    "And how would you know that?" Lena asked, bitterness saturating her every word, even though she didn''t move from her spot on my shoulder. "How do you know that?"

    My grip around her shoulder tightened for a second, before I forced myself to relax. I didn''t say anything in response.

    "Sorry," she said.

    "No, I''m sorry," I said.

    There was another long silence between us, but it was more tense than the one we''d had just a moment ago.

    "You made him really happy, Lena," I said. Even if I hadn''t been paying enough attention to know what she said, I was confident in that fact.

    "It doesn''t change the fact that I killed him," she replied.

    "Everyone has to die some day," I said. "I''m sure he''s grateful that he could go out on a good note."

    "That''s a horrible thing to say."

    "Yeah. It is, isn''t it?"

    "How long do you think it''ll take for him to die?"

    "About five hours, maybe?"

    "And how long do you have?"

    "Just a little bit less than that."

 70. an epilogue of sorts

    I wanted to be furious at Jamie, but I couldn''t find the energy within me to express that anger in any way. I just sat there instead, staring into the sunset with him, trying to ignore the fact that I was leaning against a boy who was actively dying with every passing second.

    I wanted to do something to make Jamie''s last moments in this world memorable somehow, but I stayed silent. I didn''t know if it was because I didn''t know what to do, or if I was spiteful enough that I was bleeding away at his time in some form of petty revenge against him, but I didn''t want to risk feeling any sort of regret in case it was the latter case. I sighed and lifted myself from his shoulder.

    "Well, is there anything you want to do?" I asked.

    Jamie glanced at me, but avoided my eyes, quickly turning back away to stare into the distance.

    "Nah," he said. "I''m fine."

    "Are you really?" I asked. "You are about to die, aren''t you? That''s why you were in such a rush to get here, isn''t it?"

    "I wanted to make sure you would be safe after I left," he said, with a casual shrug. "I didn''t expect it to last long, but I just wanted to get it over with quick so we could just hang out afterwards."

    "And I guess that''s what we''re doing, isn''t it?" I said. "Hanging out."

    He gave me another shrug, and when it became clear that that would be his only response for the moment, I let out a sigh and put my head back on his shoulder.

    "When were you planning to tell me?" I asked.

    "I don''t think I planned to tell you," he admitted easily.

    "You''re an asshole."

    "I know. I was scared."

    "Scared of me?"

    "I didn''t want to make you upset."

    "Well, I am upset."

    "That''s fair."

    "You know what''s not fair? All of this."

    "I know. I''m sorry."

    The words "don''t be" floated on the tip of my tongue, but I bit them back, not wanting to grant Jamie forgiveness so easily. I took my head off his shoulder, and though the weakness in my body made me sway slightly, threatening to tip me over, I managed to stop myself from falling, hugging my knees for support.

    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him shifting, like he wanted to sling his arm around my shoulder to support me, but he seemed to realize that I wouldn''t be okay with that. He leaned back instead, supporting his upper body with his arms and tilting his head back.

    "Are you sure?" I asked.

    "That I''m dying?" he asked back. "Yeah."

    "How?" I asked.

    "I just know," he said. "The same way that David probably knows that he''s dying."

    I didn''t want to look at him, but I did. I knew that with his superhuman senses, he probably knew I was staring at him, but that didn''t stop me from analyzing his expression.

    He looked peaceful at first, staring up into the sky with a neutral smile, but he was frozen in place in an unnatural way. Though the wind that gently tossed his hair and the reflection of the lazy clouds passing by his eyes gave off the illusion of motion, his chest remained completely still as he breathed, if he was breathing at all.

    "Are you in pain?" I asked.

    Jamie turned to me, raising an eyebrow. "Not at all," he said. "What makes you ask?"

    "You seem scared," I said.

    He laughed at that, and hugged his knees close to his chest, mirroring my position exactly.

    "I already said I was scared, didn''t I?" he asked. "I said I didn''t want to upset you."

    That wasn''t the answer I had been looking for. "I guess you did," I said anyways.

    Jamie turned to me and smiled, though the expression melted off quickly as he sighed and fell forward, letting his chin rest against his knees.

    "I''m scared that I''m dying for nothing," he said. "While we were fighting, time stopped and I was sent to my old world. I''m not sure if I was actually there, or if I was just inside of my own head, but I saw my dad again. He was a piece of shit, as usual, but seeing him made me think about my dream. To be loved."

    He took a deep breath before continuing.

    "I thought it was a straightforward dream at first," he said. "If you asked me a few hours ago how I could achieve my dream, I don''t know if I would''ve been able to give you a real answer. I might''ve said that I would need to get a girlfriend, have my first kiss, have sex, you know, making love? It''s a little silly in hindsight."

    Jamie let out a quiet laugh, as if he was pretending like he had made a joke. The laughter quickly faded away into a sigh.

    "Long story short, I realized that love wasn''t about that. All I really wanted was for someone to believe in me, to protect me, to forgive me, no matter what I did," he said, letting out an even louder sigh and suddenly lurching back, falling down with his back flat against the floor, staring directly up at the sky. "I really should''ve died a long time ago. I''m not a very smart person."

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    I heard a sniffle, but I wasn''t sure who it had come from. My head sunk down, deeper into my knees. When I spoke, my voice was muffled by the fabric of my clothes. It was quiet enough that I could barely hear it myself.

    "If I say that I hate you, will you live?" I asked.

    Jamie laughed, an actual laugh this time.

    "No, I don''t think so," he said. "And if you really feel that way, and I just made the wrong assumption, I''d really prefer if you could just lie to me for a couple more hours. I''ll be gone from your life after that."

    A surge of anger coursed through me and I couldn''t stop myself from shuffling over to where Jamie was lying down and slapping him across the face, as hard as I could.

    He reached up and stroked his face, more out of shock than pain.

    "I''m sorry," he said. "That was stupid of me."

    "As long as you know," I said, nursing my hand as it throbbed in pain. "I''m sorry too."

    "Don''t be," he said. "I deserved it."

    "You really did," I said, before shuffling over and sitting closer beside him.

    "Do you want me to heal your hand for you?" he asked.

    "Don''t you fucking dare," I said.

    "Okay," he said.

    I didn''t have anything to say to that, so I sat there silently, staring at nothing and thinking about nothing.

    Jamie let out a loud sigh.

    "I was telling the truth when I said that you probably made David very happy," he said. "Lies or not, he''s going to die with his dreams fulfilled. I know that''s what he wants."

    "Is that so?" I asked.

    "Yeah," he said. "I could only assume that he''s the same as me. I could only assume that if his dream was important to him as mine was to me, he would die happy once it was fulfilled."

    "So you''re happy?" I asked.

    "Yeah," he said easily.

    I frowned at that, but held back a sob.

    "I''m glad you''re happy," I said.

    He let out a laugh, but if it sounded a bit choked up, I didn''t comment on it.

    "All things considered, this isn''t a bad way to go. Much better than the first time around. I should be grateful that I had a second chance at all," he said. "But if I''m being honest, I''d much rather not be dying."

    "I know," I said. "I''d prefer it if you didn''t die either."

    Jamie laughed again, and I couldn''t help but laugh with him, realizing what I''d just said and how silly it sounded out of context. Our laughter didn''t last long, but when it faded away, I was surprised that I had a slight smile on my face. I turned around to look at Jamie, and though his eyes were misty, he was also smiling. I shuffled around and let myself fall back on the floor beside him, so we were shoulder to shoulder.

    "I know I already asked this, but are you sure there isn''t anything else you''d rather be doing right now?" I asked.

    "Nah," he answered easily. "I like this."

    "Then is there anything else you want to talk about?" I asked. "I can''t imagine it''s fun only talking about how you''re going to die soon."

    "Not soon. Four-ish hours is a long time."

    "I suppose it is."

    I felt Jamie''s hand shyly touch the back of mine and I reached out to grab it, intertwining my fingers with his.

    "Can you tell me a story?" he asked.

    "That entirely depends on what type of story," I said. "My parents told me a lot of stories when I was younger, but I always fell asleep too fast to hear the end."

    He seemed to think about it for a few seconds.

    "Not like a bedtime story," he said. "Can you tell me about yourself?"

    "The Legend of Lena?" I asked.

    He laughed at that. "That''s a good one," he said.

    "I can''t take credit for it," I admitted. "Bran suggested that title for a book I could write about being your Follower. I don''t think I plan on writing it though."

    "Why not? It''s a pretty good idea, I think."

    "I don''t particularly want to. Besides, it''s a horrible title. And a false one. It would be the Legend of Jamie, written by Lena. I''m just some random village girl that met you by chance. You''re the remarkable one."

    "I think you give yourself too little credit. And if you were going to write a book about me, I''d rather call it the Journal of Jamie. Or something like that."

    I laughed a little, but shifted my fingers around to pinch the meat of his palm. "That''s also a horrible title."

    "We can workshop it," he said. "We have the time."

    I don''t know if he had intended that to be ironic, but neither of us laughed.

    "Anyways," he said, quickly trying to dispel the awkward atmosphere he created. "I still demand my story. Don''t think you can distract me with your tangents."

    "Fine, fine," I said. "Do you really want to learn more about me though? I haven''t led a very interesting life until I met you, but you already know that part."

    "You''re a very interesting person, Lena," he said. "But I''ll admit that I''m not too interested in your past, no offence."

    "None taken," I said. "What did you want from me then?"

    "Your future," he said. "I won''t be there, but I''m curious about what your life will look like after I''m gone."

    My fingers unconsciously curled tighter around his hand. I took in a deep breath before I spoke.

    "It probably won''t be accurate," I said. "I can''t see the future."

    "It''s just a story," he said. "It doesn''t need to be."

    I turned my head to look at him. He was still staring at the sky.

    "Okay," I said.

    It turned out that telling a story was much more difficult than it looked, and I turned out that I wasn''t a particularly good storyteller. My improvised storytelling was awkward, with random pauses every few seconds as I struggled to create the Legend of Lena, but Jamie didn''t seem to mind. Eventually I started to pause less and less as I spun my story for him, though any hint of a cohesive narrative quickly started to disintegrate.

    I barely knew what I was talking about, just saying anything and everything that came to mind without thinking of it. I think I started off with a story about how I might inherit my dad''s butcher shop and make a living off of that, but I somehow got sidetracked and managed to create a story about how I might become a blacksmith in Redstone.

    Jamie started to jump into the story too, which didn''t make sense at all, but I ran with it. Together, we created an absurd story of my life in the coming years, where I was somehow a blacksmith, lawyer, warrior, mayor, and a baseball player, whatever the hell that was. Eventually it stopped being a story about me entirely, and we just started to talk about everything and nothing at once.

    I was in the middle of explaining my hypothetical crackpot theory about how Jamie had secretly been a gang leader back on his world, when I noticed him getting suddenly quiet, and an unnatural sense of peace spontaneously fell over him. I tried to finish my train of thought, but my words fell short.

    He smiled at me and sat up.

    I got up on my knees, shuffled over to position myself in front of him, and fell forward, summoning as much strength as I could muster to give him the tightest hug I possibly could.

    "I''ll miss you," he said.

    "I''ll miss you too," I said.

    "I love you," he said.

    "I love you too," I said.

    I closed my eyes and gave him a kiss on the forehead. When I opened my eyes, he was gone.

    Though my vision was misted over, the place that I was kneeling in was familiar enough that I could still recognize it as my room, back in Plainswood.

    Not knowing what else I could do now, I sat there and cried.

 another epilogue

    "It''s been a while, hasn''t it, Lena."

    I raised an eyebrow at the woman that waved at me from a short distance away. My first thought was she was a child, given how short she was, but at a second glance I decided that she was probably closer to my age.

    "Sera?" I asked.

    "Surprised to see me?" Sera asked back with a laugh.

    "Yeah, I guess you could say that," I said. "Don''t you live in the Capital?"

    "I do, but I was heading to Timur for work, and thought I might make a detour. I dropped by Plainswood and asked your parents where you lived."

    "And they told you?"

    "No. They told me you didn''t want to be disturbed. I gave up."

    "That doesn''t match up with the fact that you''re here right now."

    Sera shrugged. "I''ve been on the road for two weeks straight. My staff has been complaining about it, so we''re staying in Redstone for a few days. I was just browsing the market out of boredom and I just happened to see you."

    I knew how good of a liar Sera was, but I didn''t feel like it was worth the energy to distrust her.

    "I guess it''s my fault for not travelling far," I said.

    "I''m honestly surprised," Sera said. "I would''ve expected you to want to distance yourself from the area."

    "Why''s that?"

    Sera cocked an eyebrow up and inspected my face for a few seconds before she shrugged.

    "Nevermind," she said. "Would you want to grab a meal or a drink?"

    I raised my own eyebrow. "Still holding onto that old flame?" I asked.

    Sera laughed and shook her head, before raising up her hand.

    "Sorry to disappoint you," she said. "I''m happily married."

    It was at that point that I realized that she was showing off the pale ring that she was wearing on her finger.

    "Congratulations," I said.

    "Thanks," she replied. "Unfortunately, my wife would probably kill me if I had an affair with her while I was on duty, not that I would even have time to think about something like that. Turns out, creating a new government essentially from scratch is pretty stressful. What a shame."

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    "What a shame," I repeated.

    "So... late lunch? Early dinner?" she asked.

    I shook my head. "Sorry, I''m a little busy."

    "Busier than me, it seems," Sera said. "You planning to feed an army with that amount of food?"

    I shrugged. "Something like that," I said.

    "I can help you carry some of that if you want," she said.

    I considered the offer for a moment before shrugging again.

    "Sure," I said, before giving her every single bag that I was carrying. Sera accepted it all without complaint, though her eyebrows did rise up in surprise.

    "Damn, this is heavier than it looks," she said. "Were you using strengthening magic?"

    "I wasn''t," I said, rolling my shoulders and stretching my arms with my newfound freedom. "I''m just used to the weight, I guess."

    "Huh," she said.

    I could tell that she was curious, but was being polite enough to stay silent on it.

    "I usually get my food supplies delivered to me, but I occasionally shop for myself."

    I started to walk down the street, Sera quickly followed.

    "You run a diner?" she guessed.

    "An orphanage."

    "Really?"

    "You seem surprised."

    "I am, though now that I think about it, I really shouldn''t be. I guess I assumed that you''d be doing something bigger."

    "I consider my job to be very important."

    "I don''t doubt that, but you''re a Follower. Tenna''s making a lot of money off his book, so I guess I assumed you would be doing something similar."

    "It''s been twenty six years. If I planned to be a writer, I would''ve published something by now, don''t you think?"

    "I don''t know what the process is like."

    "Tenna wrote his book in less than a year."

    "But his book sucks. I can only assume it doesn''t take much effort to pump out slop like that."

    "Is it really that bad?"

    "You haven''t read it?"

    "I don''t see why I would."

    "Fair enough. About ninety percent of the book talks about himself, and the rest of it is just fiction. Not like the guy ever talked to Jamie more than once. He basically wrote whatever he wanted, hoping that none of us would call us on his random bullshit."

    I bit back the urge to chastise Sera for her language, reminding myself that she wasn''t one of my wards.

    "Random bullshit, huh?" I said, recalling a fond memory. "Maybe I should write a book."

    "Have I inspired you?" Sera asked.

    "A little bit," I admitted. "I do often tell my wards bedtime stories. I could just write them down."

    "You tell your wards bedtime stories about Jamie?"

    "Yup."

    "Wouldn''t that be traumatizing?"

    "What would possibly be traumatizing about the daring adventures of Jamie the adventurer, pirate, blacksmith, mayor, prince, baseball player?"

    "... What?"

    "Yeah, I still don''t know what a baseball player is either, but I''m sure I''ll figure it out while I''m writing the book."

    "What?"

    "I refuse to call it the Journal of Jamie, though."

    "What?"