Hello everyone! Letting you know now that after this chapter, it will take some time to complete Ch4-Problems were avoided today. This is because the previous chapters were already completed, they just needed to be changed a little bit. This isn't going to be a dead story, I have already developed a road map and chapters down the line for the story.

Thank you takato for the feedback. But I will continue this set up. I don't have the experience to add descriptions the normal way. I also like to make it organized. I may try it out when I have more experience but not anytime soon.

Also, Rising of the Shield Hero, Fate Multiverse, and Red vs Blue isn't owned by me.

Onto the story!

(Village)

Everyone took turns explaining our history and our world. It took a while and lots of deviations from everyone evolved. We all explained our own perspective on what had happened in our world so it took longer than we thought. We had to stop for lunch. As the cooks and I were making the food, Zelretch was introduced to other villagers. It seemed like he had a soft spot for children. He was very confused why a Filolia and a Dragon were growling at each other but once someone filled him in on why, he was laughed at that.

Time passed and everyone was able to get food, but this time it was heavy on the fruits and vegetables with a lot of seasoning due to the limited amount of meat available within the dome. I am also sure that the monsters don't like it but luckily they are omnivores because a lot of them either evolved into a Raph species or was a Filolia.

Once that was done, I informed everyone of their duties as well as officially introduced Zelretch and that he somehow got in here so he's helping us understand the world we got teleported to. I made sure to leave out that he may be able to open a pathway outside of the dome because if he decides not to, we can still talk and do business without any negative hostilities lingering on our side. Someone did bring up if he is going to get us out and my answer was that we don't know because it was difficult for him to get in in the first place. I didn't lie but said all they needed to hear. Good relationships will help with future business relationships.

After that, everyone was either reassigned or continued their work. There was a project where I needed some mole demi-humans to check how dense the ground is. If we need to destroy the barrier to get out, I'd rather not end up with the entire village becoming a landslide.

Once we came back, everyone continued where they left off and continued until we reached evening.

We omitted some things, like how Alta died. He knew we left some things out but let it slide. At least this guy can read the room. Whenever Alta is slightly mentioned, I can help but reach down and touch the shield. I would think about her and Ost. Both of them were people that helped save me and everyone else, and yet as the shield hero I couldn't protect them and everyone else that died along our journey. I haven't even made a site to honor everyone that died in the fight against the Phoenix. I guess I know what I am doing once the situation cools down.

Once everyone finished recalling what had happened, (dame you Melty!), Zelretch couldn't help but laugh at it.

(Zelretch) "HAHAHA! Yes, yes, I can see why Naofumi believed he could convince me to stay."

(Naofumi) "So, what will it be?"

He gave a long sigh, but had a small smirk with it.

(Zelretch) "All alright, but if you would be so kind enough as to tell me why your request was oddly specific? The part where I have to make the hole go both ways with no downsides? Isn't it a given when creating a pathway?"

(Melty) "Yes, I was curious as to the specific request as well."

(Naofumi) "Because I have a feeling that you would try to pull a fast one on us and make a hole in the dome that is one way and too big to defend." As weird as it is, I had a friend back in my home world that pranks, a lot. It got so bad that I developed a sense of just knowing a prankster when I see them. It's different from when people are going to frame me or when there is a trap.

(Eclair) "I am sure that your worries are for not Naofumi, I am sure that a gentleman like Zelretch wouldn't pull childish pranks, isn't' that-" When she turned to Zelretch, he looked like he was caught with his hand in a cookie jar.

(Fohl) "Eclair is telling the truth, …right?"

At this, he remained silent until he took a sip from his tea cup that has Melromarc's equivalent to orange soda with cherry mixed into it.

(Zelretch) "...this drink tastes amazing, how did you make it?"

If everyone wasn't in their seats, they would have fallen over because of this.

(Raphtalia) "I had thought with his manners that he wouldn't have pulled off childish pranks."

(Melty) "He acts like a noble, but I am more mature than him."

(Itsuki) "This is just sad."

(Old lady) "HAHA! That is one way to live! But I have to admit, even I was not expecting this."

Everyone kept making their own comments, it felt like there were arrows hitting him from all sides from these comments. It was really sad. After recovering from the comments, he cleared his throat.

(Zelretch) *Cough, cough* "I must admit, even though we just met you were able to know about me very fast. Does this mean you're a fellow man of the arts?"

(Naofumi) "No, I just had a friend who is a prankster, so I developed a 6th sense in locating a prankster."

(Zelretch) "I see, is this person in your village by any chance?"

(Naofumi) "No, he is from my home world."

Raphtalia's ear twitched.

(Zelretch) "I see, a shame then. But going back to the main topic, I will make the hole according to your specifications. However there is the matter of the other conditions that you had stated in living here. What would they be?"

From there we argued back and forth in determining the conditions. Some of them he agreed with easily, others he wouldn't budge an inch. So even though we ended up having him as a new resident, I have to be careful about any form of pranks that may occur. Here is a list of rules he agreed to follow.

Pranking is allowed outside of the kitchen, working, and events.

He must work in the village.

He will give us knowledge of a situation if he is asked by us.

Other than that, he was given a house, furniture, 3 meals per day, and some money that is used here. He was already determined to be a lab assistant to Rat in studying the bioplants and their applications. Rat was happy to have a third pair of hands.

Zelretch, after we got some snacks, went in depth about the creatures that live nearby and about the war that's happening right now on the continent.

It was here that Ren choked on his drink.

(Ren) "*Cough, cough,* hold on *cough* you mean to tell me *cough* that King Arthur is real!?"

Yep, not only did we time travel into the past of a Earth, but King Arthur was real. Go figure.

(Fohl) "Why are you so surprised?"

(Itsuki) "On my version of Earth, King Arthur was considered a story made up by folk tales to entertain children. Is it the same for you Naofumi?"

(Naofumi) "Ya, that's right, but my version was rooted in some truth. There were some customs from an old empire called Aoem that shared parallels to King Arthur's story."

(Ren) "I never heard of Aoem."

(Old lady) "Different universe, different stories from what I am hearing. Is that why your so shocked, because Arthur was a myth but turns out to be true?"

Ren nods.

(Fohl) "I see."

(Zelretch) "This is correct, however head my warning. Just because your universes may have similar stories of King Arthur doesn't mean they are facts. It's best to use those stories as guides."

I looked over at Itsuki and Ren. They both nodded their heads. Good, they learned their lesson.

From there, he explained that the war is coming to an end. The point of the conflict was that Arthur was fighting his Uncle because of the oppression he was putting on his people because he wanted to preserve the 'mystery'. He explained that it is a requirement in preserving the strength of magic. More something is explained in depth, the more mystery is lost. Sounds like an inverse relationship but he explained that it requires the knowledge to be wide spread for the mystery to be lost. \

Melty asked if a family keeps the knowledge exposed to a limited number of people, will the mystery remain the same? Zelretch said yes and further explained that that was the strategy that all magus, that is what they call themselves, do in order to have spells become powerful in both mystery and knowledge.

(Naofumi) "So a guy wants to oppress people to preserve the unknown despite the fact that humanity is all around the planet?" Is this guy an idiot?

(Zelretch) "Yes."

Well, apparently he really is an idiot. He is fucking worse than Trash when we hated each other. No, wait, he was a pain to me but not all of his people. This bastard is in his own category of shittery. I can't even use bastard now because its definition is different now.

(Itsuki) "Naofumi, may I suggest a name to call Vortigen from now on?"

(Rishia) "Mister Itsuki! Are you planning to pull a Naofumi?"

(Naofumi) "What was that?"

(Rishia) "FFfffffeeehhhhhh!"

(Itsuki) "I know that there is a limited number of insults you can name people after. Some of their meanings may have been different due to the era in which they were made. So I suggest one that comes from my world."

(Naofumi) "And that is?"

(Itsuki) "A Shisno."

(Fohl) "What's a Shisno?"

(Itsuki) "It is from a made up story that. In that story, it is considered the worst smell in the galaxy."

(Raphtalia) "What's a galaxy?"

Oh no, this is going to be a long conversation.

(Ren) "A massive collection of astral bodies in space. Astral bodies are worlds, and the collection equals the number of grains of sand on a beach."

Or not. That was very simple, and it seems like everyone was nodding their heads like they just uncovered the hidden truth of some deep wisdom.

(Melty) "I know that other worlds exist due to the summoning ceremony, but to think the number is that big."

(Old lady) "Yes, the more you know I suppose."

So, officially calling the Bastard a Shisno, Zelretch then explained that King Arthur is currently fighting Vortigen and his army in order to reunite the country whole once more. He is currently 2 years into the war and they are on the winning side.

Everyone was relieved by this, so was I. Once Arthur wins, we may get some help from another wizard to help figure out how to get back home.

That is when I remembered something, and I hope this isn't true.

(Naofumi) "How do people treat Fea, Women, and Men in Arthur's country?"

Everyone looked at me bewildered but upon looking at my face, they knew it was an important question. Everyone except Zelretch, like he was waiting for it.

(Zelretch) "*Sigh* Not so good for Fae's and Women, I am afraid. You see, this Earth has males as the leading group in almost all societies except for some small villages and communities. But none are in the situation you find yourselves in. The Fae's, however, are seen as evil beings that must be killed or captured due to their exotic features. I don't exactly blame humans for this considering that Fae's have been treating humans as their personal entertainment and food supply. However, the majority of Fae's over the globe actually left to the reverse side of the world. Think of that as a layer of reality where magically born beings can go to and live there. Those that remain either really care about humanity, hate it, or are hoping that their era will comeback."

Well, shit, I hope this wasn't the case but it is, and worse because of the information regarding Fae.

(Melty) "Raphtalia, Naofumi, how long can a Raph-chan maintain an illusion over a small part of a person's body?"

(Naofumi) "I don't know, from what I have seen, it was usually limited to small battles and over the entire body. What about you Raphtalia?"

(Raphtalia) "If anyone were to know about Raph species, it would be you, Rat, and Ruft."

(Fohl) "If I recall correctly, you and the Raph army hold the line to prevent Alta from going inside brothers bed while he was asleep. And yet, everyone was having difficulty in doing so. So much so that everyone became stronger because of it."

(Raphtalia) "...Raph's can hold down the illusions for a long time but it has to be simple, and if its over a small area then the amount of time increases. If it is over ears and tail, then the time extends to about a week. However, tails have to not move. If it is over a body, then the illusion can be extended to 3 days. This is not counting potions that extend the amount of mana in the body."

I knew it, not going to say it out loud because she is giving me a death stare, but I knew it.

(Raphtalia) "I know what you're thinking Naofumi."

I had to look away and not try to laugh. At this point, I am just accepting that people can read my mind.

Everyone sighed at my response.

(Melty) "Well, that handled our difficulty in passing off as humans. If we are going that route. What I am more concerned with is the gender issue."

(Sadeena) "We could hit people if they try anything funny."

(Fohl) "IF it is a noble?"

(Sadeena) "Hasn't stopped us before."

(Naofumi) "As much as I want to, we will probably be hunted down by the country, and since our village is inside said country we will have difficulty in getting additional help. That is if Zelretch isn't willing to help us get back home?"

(Zelretch) "As of right now, I don't know the original cause of this phenomena. I will need to do research on this in order to figure it out. Oooo, something I don't know. This is going to be fun."

(Naofumi) "So, in the meantime, we need to investigate. And to do that I recommend trading. We get food, money, information, and get the lay of the land. This will also help us get foreign items to upgrade our weapons and increase the variety of food we can grow."

Everyone turned serious. We all know that just because we are in a different world doesn't mean we can slack off on our training. Now because we are fighting a false God.

(Raphtalia) *Sigh* "Back to merchant life, must say, it's been a while since I sold stuff."

(Fohl) "That is a great idea brother. If someone is not going to trade with us because of our sex, we can just not sell them the items."

(Naofumi) "We don't even need to do that. I have a strategy to force them to sell to us despite our sex."

(Melty) "I see that look, I know it all too well."

(Itsuki) "I am sorry for his targets."

(Risha) "Ffffeeehh!"

(Naofumi) *Tch* I didn't even come up with it! "I will tell you guys the plan later, once we actually determine who is selling and who isn't. Back to the main topic, I guess it's safe that we are not going to get an audience with the King."

(Eclair) "I am surprised that was even an option, most of all from you Naofumi."

(Naofumi) "It isn't him I was after. Zelretch, is there a wizard named Merlin? If so, is he able to help us with getting back home?"

(Zelretch) "Merlin does exist and he is very capable of helping to get you all home."

I twitched.

(Naofumi) "...What is his personality?"

He remained quiet.

My gut dropped.

(Zelretch) *Tch* "Your sense's are sharper than I anticipated. *Sigh* He is a womanizer."

(Raphtalia) "Magic Motoyasu, that's not good."

Everyone looked at Raphtalia, myself included with wide eyes. Did… did she just?

(Fohl) "Sister, did you just… pull a Naofumi?"

Her eyes widened and she had a far away look into her eyes. Hold up.

(Naofumi) "Ok, what's up with this "Pull a Naofumi" crap? I am not that bad.``

What I was expecting was for them to calmly try to refute my statement. What I wasn't expecting is for everyone to look at me with a deadpan look, then go back to Raphtalia. She was unresponsive.

…

…

… I am not that bad, am I?

Over the next couple of hours, everyone agreed that interacting with the King is a no go. Zelretch was willing to teach us how to wield magic from this world. He told us that he is willing because the village we are in can prevent mana in the air from dissipating but only in exchange for learning how to use our brand of magic.

We explained that the deal won't work because the mana he uses is limited to his world and the magic we know is dependent on the mana a person has, or rather uses a different type of mana.

He explained that the type of magic he is willing to teach is common knowledge in the magic community. Specifically, mystery that ties into the passage of time within an item. He points out that because our weapons have been passed down from person to person, and little is known about them, magic can be invoked from our weapons. The mana, however, is tied to how the world works. He explained that the world works based on who is the dominant species. Magic from the Age of Gods is based on miracles from Gods. Magic from the Age of Fairies is tied to nature. Magic from the Age of humans rapidly depleted because their logic is based on science.

It wouldn't hurt to try, but the mana and spells situation was still going to be a problem for Zelretch to learn because they are location dependent. That is, until the old lady recommended teaching Zelretch the Hengen Musou style.

Everyone agreed to that but Zelretch was still skeptical. He wanted to know if life force being manipulated beyond that of how magus can manipulate it can be useful. So the Old lady did the only thing she knows how. She asked for a spare. I of course allowed this because I also want to see how Zelretch fared as a fighter. He agreed to the request but for some reason I could have sworn I saw Green fire around Old lady and a White fire behind Zelretch.

Why does it feel like I made a mistake?