Arifureta: Similar Story, Different World

by ReavesTheReader

Save the world? Psshhh. Creation god Ehito? PSSSHHHH. Magic and Monsters? PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHIT Just let me go home! (Working Summary. This is an OC. Bear with me.) (Delayed Update: due to, you guessed it, Corona.)

9. Chapter 9

Arifureta: Similar Story, Different World

Chapter 9: Similar Choice, Different Direction

---

The scratching of a quill on paper was the only sound made by the young girl as she sat down in the maid quarters, only partially ready for the start of the day. She had yet to tie her brown hair into a bun as she decided writing her little brother a letter was more important.

'Why?' someone may ask. It was because this was the only day of the month she could have it sent to her family outside the palace.

Because of the strictness of the palace, and due to recent events, security had been raised substantially. It was for the Apostles-sama's sake, the maid imagined. As the recent incidents had transpired, talk amongst the staff that the demons had begun to target god's messengers was rampant. For the Holy Church and the Kingdom to be on high alert was a given.

However, there was little panic even for the lowly servant girl. After all, both incidents had been thwarted with nary a death. Injuries, sure, but they were already taken care of and relatively fine. No one had died, and it was all thanks to one person.

"Haaah," letting out a sigh, she finished signing her letter. Placing the quill and ink bottle aside, she was left to stare at her above average face on the small mirror given to each of the maids. Amber eyes deeply contemplated what she should do for the morning.

'Should I brush my hair a bit more?' she said while checking the mousy brown locks before shaking her head. Cupping her palms, she hid her face in them. 'I wonder if I should just keep it laid back.'

She then refused it a second later.

Due to the lax policies of the maids, it was common for more than a few to leave their hair down or cut it short just above the neck. The young girl, however, sported locks that tended to curl up as they got longer. Right now, it reached her shoulders but spread out around her back in small twirls.

This led to her simple head becoming, as the other maids joked, the soft broom.

The joke wasn't meant to be insulting at all. Her colleagues also received their own nicknames when they were unkempt every now and then. Amelia in particular was known for being a crybaby for wearing her emotion son her sleeves. But her hair posed a bit of a problem. Long as they were now, she would not only catch the wind as sails would on a boat, she would end up obstructing her own field of vision while working.

'Head Maid won't approve of it either.'

What the old hag would say aside, she didn't think changing things would even help her any. She was fine with the neat bun her hair could be put into. But there was still a slight curiosity that burned within her.

'Would he say anything if it changed?'

A small amount of steam puffed out of her ears as she tried to forget what she just thought of. She was grateful to the Apostle already. As a commoner, she knew she shouldn't have thoughts like that. And yet, she couldn't help it.

"Ah, mou. What is wrong with me…" With her lower face covered, her amber eyes spoke to the mirror quietly. Though, the smiling face of her colleague she spotted on the reflection pulled the young maid back into reality. Looking to the door, she tried to stay as composed as possible. She failed. "A-A-A-A-Amelia-senpai! I-I thought it was y-your day off t-today?"

"It is, but I don't have much to do other than a little shopping in town." Waltzing into the room with a simple dress for a commoner, the older girl spoke warmly. "That being said, aren't you supposed to be ready by now, Iselda? Don't tell me. You were daydreaming about the Saint again~~~?!"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Breathing in deeply, Iselda composed herself and looked back to face her desk, specifically the mirror. She started working her hair into a ponytail but was struggling to do so as she forgot to brush. "I was just writing a letter to my brother. That is all."

"Hmmm. How is Leo-kun, by the way?"

Her attempts to ignore the teasing wasn't enough to dissuade her senpai's smile. But Amelia didn't push it. Surprisingly, the taller girl just sat down on her bed, adjacent to the desk Iselda was sat by.

"He's still working as a stable boy. He takes on more odd jobs now, though—ah!"

"Here, let me help you with that." Taking the girl's hands off her own tangled hair, the older maid made to comb it with her fingers before resuming their talk. "Your little brother's such a hard worker."

"He's just a busybody. He can't help but try to do his own thing whenever he sees people hard at work."

"Heheh, just goes to show you how much he's willing to support his family." Amelia chuckled as she straightened the soft curls out with her own fingers. "How would he react if he sees his dear onee-chan failing to take care of her own beautiful hair?"

In all honesty, Iselda neither liked nor hated her mop of a head. She just lived with it and its drawbacks.

Unlike her little brother Leo who's blonde head came from their mother, hers was just a subtle reminder of the father she never knew. Being a sensitive topic, and given their mother's current condition, the young maid didn't bother trying to care for it.

Opting to keep it to herself.

"Stop saying such ridiculous things, Amelia-senpai. Yours is more beautiful."

The long straight brown locks of her senior maid was an eye-catching thing. Despite Iselda needing to tie up her own, her senpai's hair was so tidy and well-kept that tying it down became unnecessary. The dark-brown head of hers gave a mature and motherly air that a large number of the male servants, and a few of the Apostles couldn't help but glance her way when she passed by. Iselda's was closer to orange. Partnered with her shorter height, she was like a child.

Too bad, the actual personalities were reversed in most cases.

"Aww~~~! Iselda-chan, saying that makes your senpai feels so happy!" Letting go of the younger girl's hair, Amelia proceeded to bury her face into the bush and snuggle into it while hugging her, much to Iselda's dismay. "I really am glad I was assigned to be your senior! I feel like an older sister whenever I'm with you!"

'Ah, is that so.' Iselda wanted to reply in a monotonous fashion. However, she decided against it. She knew her senior's affections were genuine. Having lived with the girl for so long in the palace, it was true that they were as close as sisters. Most of the other maids were as well.

But Amelia's case was one of the more sensitive ones.

"Are you planning on writing to him about what happened?"

"… No. Not in a letter." Iselda kept silent for a while before continuing. "Mother always asks Leo to read my letters as practice for his education. But my brother isn't a very good liar. She'll worry if she finds out. I… I don't want to burden her any further."

"Maa, can't say I know what it's like to worry a parent." Amelia's choice of words stung her slightly. "But even I wouldn't want to worry Iselda-chan with my troubles when you are already sick."

Her senpai's sympathy was well-appreciated.

Having only been accepted under the palace's employment due to her skill of healing magic, the orphan girl's salvation began and ended with the staff who gave her a home and a family. Touching on those affections was something that Iselda tried to avoid but appreciated it, nonetheless. There was no downside to having another sibling.

Except for the most annoying of circumstances.

"Senpai."

"Hmm~~? What is it, Iselda-chan?"

"If you mess up my hair any further, Head Maid will be asking questions." She felt her shudder from behind her as the senior maid quickly leapt to her feet and pulled out a brush from nowhere. "Then I'll have to explain as to why I will be late for my duties."

"D-D-Don't worry about a thing, Iselda-chan!" The cheery expression she wore as Iselda glanced up at her was so nervous that it betrayed her hidden fear for the old lady. "Let O-Onee-chan give you a hand! Y-You'll be ready in no time at all! Promise!"

"Haaah, fine." At Amelia's pleading green eyes, Iselda could only smile. "But please hurry it up."

The younger maid was then left to sit still as her senpai brushed and groomed her mane. All the while, the older girl continued to chat.

"So, when are you visiting home?"

"Next week." Due to her new job as a personal maid, she had more duties to fulfill than the norm. Recent events had pushed her thoughts on the upcoming day off back quite a bit. Still, it mattered little as she rarely went back home. "It'll be my first time back to Horaud in three months."

"Hmmm," tying up Iselda's mop into a ponytail, Amelia paused. "Oh? I heard that the Apostles were going to Horaud Town next week as well. Maybe you will get to ride along with them there!"

Iselda's ears perked up at that, but more for her curiosity that Amelia heard about such news.

"Where did you hear about that, senpai?"

"Hm? Oh, Alan-san mentioned it when I went over to the guardhouse to get my gate pass. He says the Apostles-sama will be venturing out for a little excursion in the Labyrinth." The older girl paused for a second, coming to a short realization before continuing to wrap up Iselda's hair into a bun. "Oho, maybe this is a chance for you to introduce your Apostle-sama to your family! Or maybe, you could have a little date! Explore the town during your day—ITA! That hurt's Iselda-chan~~~!"

The older girl was massaging her hand, the one that Iselda managed to pinch in retaliation for the joke. Iselda did so while pouting. Even with her back turned, the moment the bun was in place, the younger girl's fingers snapped to punish her senior for the rude suggestion.

"Please stop making such jokes, Amelia-senpai. Yamamoto-sama is not my Apostle-sama."

"I never mentioned Yamamoto-sama specifically~~~Aaaagh, it hurts! Please stop! It hurts! Iselda-chaaaaan!" The cute pout she made was enough to entice Iselda to pinch her again. This time, she pulled on both cheeks until the older girl was close to tears. Releasing the crybaby, Iselda went back to her preparation. "Iselda-chan's such a bully. Onee-chan feels hurt, y'know."

"It's your own fault, senpai. Such words are disrespectful to Yamamoto-sama. Being our savior, we owe him our lives and respect for eternity. So stop dragging him into the conversation." Iselda paused for a moment before resuming, a little more silently. "Besides, I'm only a maid who is there to serve him."

"Is that really all there is?"

Amelia just rubbed her cheeks as she stared at her kouhai's stooped back. On the mirror, Iselda could see the older girl's emerald eyes make a sad expression.

"Yes," Iselda responded. "That is all."

Suddenly, she felt the older girl's same hands wrap around her shoulders.

"That's half a lie." Amelia's soft voice reassured her. "You may not know it, but I can tell when you're not being completely honest with yourself."

"What are you saying, sen—!" She was interrupted by the hug getting a little tighter, but just enough to be warmer. "Amelia-senpai?"

"As I am, I can't really say or do anything to convince you to be honest. But know that Onee-chan will always here for you. Just like you were for me at that time."

Iselda cupped the older girl's hand in her own. They were warm. Compared to the time they were put on 'trial', they felt comforting. Not cold or afraid of what's to come. Iselda felt reassured by her senpai's gesture.

In a way, Amelia was just doing what Iselda had done for her.

At the time, the older maid was already shook from having a nobleman harass her out of nowhere. Not simple harassment, mind you. Despite being married and already having a child of his own, Margrave Verdoben was the type of noble that Ehito-sama abhorred. The unfaithful and disgusting kind that forced his will upon his more meek and weaker fellows of the faith.

Amelia was one of the would-be victims, caught just as she was delivering more dishes from the kitchen to the hall. Her senpai was only able to escape the man's advances by the passing knight on patrol who noticed a disturbance caused by Amelia's thrashing and the crashing of one of the dishes. But even though she was free from the man at the moment, his influence as a noble was sufficient enough to have them both silenced by fear soon after.

That is, until the sudden news of poisoning. It was a confusing situation. Victims dropping left and right, unknown reasons as to why, the nobles in a panic, Royal Family being in danger. All of that and the news of her friend's assault was enough to throw any normal person into a fluster. Had Iselda been just another simpleton, she might have lost it then and there.

But she persevered.

From assisting Yamamoto-sama to making sure Amelia was fine and ready to help, she kept it together until the summons to the king's audience chamber. By then, Amelia was already nervous wreck. She had tried to assist Nagumo-sama to help the victims. Mostly to take her mind off things. It helped, if only for a little. To be suddenly called for an audience with the king, pope and prime minister present was the tipping point. Especially when the reasons for the order weren't made clear.

Speculations as to how the guests and servants got poisoned were already flying around. Food and drinks and whatnot. The nobles weren't exactly the subtle bunch when they themselves were losing control of themselves. Everyone was already nervous. The aristocrats that decided to embellish the rumors caused the majority of the servants and staff already in a frenzy to get really anxious. When they arrived, all of them were in cold sweat.

Then, the sentence was given. Enslavement and execution. Being told they were to be condemned with nary a chance to defend themselves, the faithful dropped in prayer. The rest were stunned with shock and horror at the Pope's dismissal, citing weak faith.

But her senpai, Amelia nearly cracked.

The blow was heavier for her who only knew the palace as home and her fellow servants as family. For the esteemed leader of their faith to suddenly demand their punishment was nothing short of a devastation to them all. Iselda couldn't even believe her own ears. They all thought that was going to be cruel end brought about by Ehito-sama's final judgement.

But there was the Saint who brought them hope and salvation.

Not only did he give them a chance to prove their innocence, with his wonderous and mystical magic, he guaranteed it. The circle had forced them all to speak the truth and only the truth, proving their innocence. But more than that, he didn't force them to answer questions too personal. Just like what he did with Amelia-senpai's case.

"I didn't do anything, senpai. Yamamoto-sama is the one you should be showing gratitude to."

The news was swift as many victims, as well as the guards he threatened to silence, of the former nobleman all stepped forward with the Prime Minister's investigation. The crimes of debauchery he committed coming to light, a few more on embezzlement within his fief, and bribery to not have the pleap fruit gifts inspected by an Appraiser, the man was doomed as soon as Yamamoto-sama demanded his judgement.

"For my life, yes. And for having justice brought upon that old pervert, yeah. I owe Yamamoto-sama a lot." Amelia's hand tightened as it grasped Iselda's own. "But the amazing Saint-sama wasn't the one to stay by my side through it all. So let me do the same for you."

"In what way, exactly?"

"Let me be there for you when you need a shoulder to cry on. I've never had romantic feelings before so I wouldn't know how you feel right now. But even still, it must be hard on you as things stand."

Iselda didn't move to force her senpai off of her this time. Instead, she thought to herself about the context of those words.

"Your respect and gratitude to Yamamoto-sama weighs too heavily for you to just repay him with your service, no? If you were given the chance, wouldn't you prefer to give back to him with a more intimate solution?"

'Intimate. Romantic? Where these feelings I had stirring inside my chest such? Of course not. I've never been in love. Not once.'

She lowered her gaze. She knew she wouldn't know for sure no matter how much she kept it to herself.

Being a teenage girl who had always been focused with providing for her family, was just a year or so older than the princess herself, and never formed any sort of friendly relationship with boys around her age, romantic experience was nil. There was little chance for Iselda to even consider such feelings as simple infatuation. 'Romantic' was a word too far off than she would use to describe it.

Maybe reverence and respect to an Apostle. Loyalty and appreciation for saving not just her life, but the others as well. Fascination and wonder at his magic and preaching about the selfless god, Anima. A slight hint of physical lure, but she would never admit that last bit as anything more than inappropriate nonsense.

"I'm not sure if it is as you say, Amelia-senpai…" However, if it was… "But if you say so, then I'll rely on Amelia-oneesan when the time ever comes."

Iselda felt the older girl giggle a little before she was released from the hug. It was quite sudden that she failed to notice her own embarrassed expression until she saw it in the mirror. But after replacing it with her composed self, she noticed something else. Something that tossed her calm out the window.

"Senpai! What did you do?!"

"I thought that if you were going to change things up a bit, so I might as well help with that." Gone was the calm and heartwarming moment they shared, replaced by her senior maid's childlike air and smile. "What do you think? It looks good, doesn't it?!"

The bun was there. But unlike the neat and tidy one she usually had, this was a tad bit messier and had more whorls than necessary. Sure it was secure, but it seemed a bit gaudy for a mere maid. Then there was the bangs. Some strands were gathered together and bunched up to cover her forehead and trailed until they hid behind her ears.

In one indiscernible way or another, Amelia had managed to radically alter her plain hairstyle.

"When I went to assist some of the Apostles-sama, they also taught me how they styled their hair during the ball. So? What do you think? Onee-chan's an amazingly fast learner, no?!"

"This is going too far, Amelia-senpai!" contrary to the cheerful onee-chan, the normally composed imouto was frantic. "I thought you said you were going to help me fix my hair? Not style me up like a doll!"

"But it suits you~~~!"

Amelia squeed as she tried to go for another hug.

"I'm sure Saint-sama would appreciate you thanking him while your like this—Owowowowowowow! Give, Iselda-chan! I give!" However, the moment had passed as Iselda struggled back, one hand holding both her senpai's own and the other pinching Amelia's cheek. "What's the deal? If you really wanna thank him, why not do it with your cutesy self to show your genuine appreciation?!"

"That's out of the question and not the problem! Ah, mou! Fixing up this mess will take me even more time! What am I supposed to do now if Head Maid catches me being late?!"

"Oh, come on. It's not even against the rules! Go on, Iselda-chan! Nab him with your newfound adorableness before Liliana-sama can have a taste of his pleap—Gah! MmmMmMMMmmm!"

A pillow smothered her face. Glowing red from embarrassment, Iselda sought to both hide it and punish her senior by suffocating Amelia into her own bed.

"MOU! Why did I ever think you could be normal for more than a minute?! I swear, I—!"

"What's all this now?!"

The sudden interruption by the third person at the door brought Iselda's tirade to a stop. The habitual straight back that followed after unconsciously told her who exactly owned said voice. For the first time in the day, Iselda felt her innards flutter. Not for whatever feelings she had towards a certain someone, no.

This fluttering was the sign of her guts trying to force her to run.

"Not only is it too early in the morning for unproductive shenanigans, you dare to make trouble on your own day off? Explain yourself, Amelia!"

"Gah?! Head Maid?! I, uh, I'm—I was, uhm, Ahem—!"

The Head Maid stomped right into the room. Stern expression in place with her hands crossed under her chest. The pose was enough to silence the stuttering Amelia. And her close proximity allowed Iselda to see the old hag's features up close. Despite calling her 'old hag', it was more of an inside joke amongst the older members of the staff that they, as the younger generation, simply joined the bandwagon on.

There was also the fact that no one ever called her by name. Ever. Maybe it was a sign of respect, or that she observed a decorum of professionalism that prevented any sort of intimacy like personal name calling.

Nonetheless, she was really old. Maybe as much or older than the king, but the Head always had such an elegant face with light-bluish eyes. Greyed as her hair may be, they were still silky and silvery smooth, tied in a bun not too dissimilar from Amelia's blunder on her own head. Being a tad taller than her senpai, who was by far the tallest of the current maids, maybe even above Yamamoto-sama's own height, Iselda could only quake in her boots.

Or she would had she worn them.

The unprepared state she was in was enough to cause her a heart attack as she didn't know just how bad the senior maid would react. Fortunately, the old crone's attention was on Amelia, also standing in attention, however, more disheveled and supposed to be outside of the palace, not causing a ruckus. Unfortunately, Iselda was too stricken with fear, instilled by the Head Maid's strict training, that she didn't dare break posture.

'Ehito-sama, Anima-sama, Yamamoto-sama!' Trapped as she was, she could only pray. 'Please protect and guide me now!'

"As for you, Iselda." She very nearly cringed away and bowed for forgiveness, but the Head simply glanced warningly before eyeing the girl head to toe. "Pass on a message to your assigned Apostle-sama. He has been invited by the Queen and crown Prince for tea at the pavilion this afternoon. Inform Helina that Liliana-sama will go as well. You should find them all near the knight order's training grounds as the princess has gone to attend the Court Mage's lectures alongside the rest of the Apostles."

"Y-yes, ma'am."

Straightening herself up, she made to wear her boots and apron. Already in the black gown uniform, she was ready to adjust her bun. However, she paused. Not wanting to hurriedly disassemble what Amelia had made for her, she contemplated on what to do. To her astonishment, as well as awkward disbelief, another pair of hands assisted her. But they were too wrinkled to be her senpai's.

"This style work's nicely on you but be very careful that your messy front does not obstruct you from your duty." Pulling a wayward strand back to hide behind Iselda's ear, the Head Maid dusted her skirt down and nodded approvingly. A smile was still absent but her stern face didn't seem as cold as it usually was. "Good, now hurry up, child. You are already late for your duties as a personal maid."

"Th-thank you, Head Maid." Nodding her thanks, she rushed as fast and as composed as she could. She didn't want to ruin the rare help she got from the old— from her superior. "I'm going on ahead, Amelia-senpai!"

"Go get him, girl!"

Iselda ignored this advice as she disappeared down the hallway. Left behind with the kind old woman, Amelia sighed in relief before holding her breath at the realization of the situation she was currently in.

"Eheh, good morning, Head Maid. You seem to be in a good mood today!"

Contrary to her words, no sign of such good mood existed. The elder maid's face was void of all expression. Instead, it was a cold glare Amelia received that froze all further attempts to playing everything off as a joke.

"Inciting a fellow maid into an illicit relationship. With a servant of god no less. Haaah, must I use the paddle during your leave as well?"

The tone was void of warmth, and despite being posed as a question, it implied her punishment all the same. Amelia could only pray for Iselda's success by her reprimand's end. Otherwise, the ruined holiday wouldn't be worth it for the wannabe onee-chan.

---

"… Obscure, as I command thee. Smoke Bomb."

In one corner of the room, a gust of smoke gushed out from the activated magic circle. It was a strange sight for the small piece of paper to gush out so much of the grey cloud that the caster couldn't help but look over the thing until it burned into expended magic dust.

"So? Is the spread wide enough?"

The caster gave the boy a curious glance before shaking his head. It hadn't been that long so he still had yet to get used to someone other than Eichirou being fully aware of his presence. But Kousuke didn't mind the other boy's asking. In fact, he quite appreciated the help as he never had the talent for anything other than observation.

"This one's good for close-quarters. But I think I'd feel more secure if I had a wider reach as well. Maybe around," taking a few steps away from the epicenter of his first spell, Hajime noted the difference by using transmutation on the floor to make small bumps as markers before he jotted it down in his notes. "About this far for the outdoor version."

"Three-meter radius, alright. I got it."

As to why Kousuke was busy cooperating with Hajime, it was supposed to be a lecture period for the Apostles to practice magic. However, there was a slight change to the norm in that the otaku was made to join them. The reasons were pretty much obvious though.

"How're you holding up? Shouldn't you be resting a little longer?" His questioning didn't bother Hajime none while the boy resumed his writing and measurements. "Can't say I know what mana exhaustion's like, so I'm not exactly sure."

"I'm feeling fine, actually. When I woke up a few days ago, it felt like my mind was clear. Nothing heavy or painful. Just… clear."

At Kousuke's head tilt, Hajime struggled to find the proper words.

"It's like that feeling you get when you realize you don't have to go to school tomorrow. Or maybe like when you find out that your parents booked a surprise trip to Okinawa and you have the house to yourself."

"I think only you would enjoy the last one."

A jab at Hajime's otaku nature in enjoying the time alone. The boy wasn't offended, but then again, Kousuke sympathized in not wanting to go to a populous beach with nothing to do. Having such an invisible aura, the sun wouldn't even burn him. Practically just passing through him like he was made of glass, much to Kousuke's aggravation.

If an automatic door can't detect him, what's to say the sun would?

Ah, Kousuke felt slightly pissed now for even letting Hajime explain. Better change the topic.

"So, how does it feel? Getting to kick some ass, I mean."

Kousuke nodded a glance to the four pricks in the back of the lecture room. They had been quiet for the past few days. They joined training but kept to themselves. Perhaps, the shame of their bully victim getting the best of them humbled them a little. Or so anyone like Kouki would think. Hiyama had been sending an angry glare to both Hajime and Eichirou's backs every now and then.

Kousuke wasn't so blind to not notice the subtle hostility directed at his friends.

"Hmmm, can't say I actually enjoyed it." Hajime shrugged. "They were always bothering me before. But now, I actually don't notice them much."

Not since he became friends with Eichirou. A strange thing, Kousuke thought, what having friends can do for a person. Instead of being just a guy you can talk with or hang around with, Eichirou had done a lot to get Hajime on his feet. Being a previous offender to the Hajime's plight by inaction, Endou Kousuke had to concede that he was less of a man than Yamamoto Eichirou.

"Well, if you're alright now, then I guess it's fine. They deserved it too so…"

"I can't have done it without the support of my friends." Smiling, Hajime pulled out an item from his coat's pocket and tossed said item towards the observant boy. "Here. A 'thank you' present."

"This is?" Kousuke asked, sparing what appeared to be a deck of cards a glance.

"Eichirou told me you needed to up your tools since, being an Assassin, you needed more ways to make yourself less obvious. Since you were fine with the initial testing, this should do for now. 'We should give the ninja a smoke bomb so he can master the Shadow Clone Technique', he said."

Kousuke felt a slight annoyance at the jab to his insecurities and combat faults that only Eichirou could exploit. Being so thin, his presence was hardly noticeable until he called people out, but Eichirou was an enigma who knew where he was at all times. Saying he needed tools to be 'less obvious' was just the bastard's way of teasing 'I can see you'.

Kousuke didn't fault Hajime for being the messenger, however. He was just being nice as far as Kousuke's observation of the nerdy otaku went.

"I swear. I'm gonna get his ass back for this."

"You and I both know that's not happening until we master team-fight cooperation, Kousuke-kun."

Hajime simply chuckled as he sat back down on the floor with another batch of paper slips. Unlike the one given to Kousuke, these seemed blank. To prove it, Hajime took one out and started writing on it with something that resembled a pencil made out of rock. Probably something the boy made himself with the Transmute skill.

"So, what's this? Another little project you have going on?" Kousuke asked with a nod to the deck of blanks.

"No, nothing too serious." Hajime shook his head. "Eichirou and Break-san told me to take it easy for a now since I just got out. So I'm just going to be modifying the spell and creating some copies for you."

Kousuke noted the thickness of the deck Hajime had stacked next to him. It didn't seem that much. But when he accounted for the fact that the magic paper found in Tortus was thinner and lighter than normal sheets from Earth, as impossible as that sounds, it was a stack of more sheets than the standard four-suite decks. It was easily triple but only as tall as double.

"So are you planning on writing the new version on all of them?" Kousuke asked.

"… Hm? Ah, no, no. I wouldn't waste too many leaflets for one type of spell. The others or for different spells that Eichirou and I made based on the library's collection. Variation is best, after all."

Seemingly too engrossed in his work to further elaborate, it was pretty clear from the get-go that Hajime was the type to focus hard on things he found fascinating. His hobbies were an example. But as they were stuck in a place without the internet, magic replaced that. It certainly was interesting enough for him to almost forget that he was supposed to explain to the clueless Kousuke.

"Then, what kind of spells do you have in mind?"

"Well, just the basic ones." Hajime scratched the back of his head, a habit of his when he was trying to be humble. Or so Kousuke deduced. "There's the one I used last time, a modified Gust that temporarily makes a smokescreen with low mana requirements. Unlike Smoke Bomb that's a mix of earth and wind, it's purely wind attribute. With my stats, I can't really use more than one at a time, so Eichirou suggested using the modified version in case of emergencies. Then there's the Flashbang hybrid spell. But I can only use them one side at a time or forcefully lower the scale. Then there's…"

He droned on while Kousuke listened quietly.

Certainly, it was true that Hajime's aptitude for magic was pretty much nil. Unlike Eichirou's stats of super high magic power with nary a class to his name, Hajime was made to think outside the box. But Kousuke need not worry nor would he pity the boy ever again.

Listening further, there were more traps and distraction spells than direct ones. A few sounded a bit off like the 'Roaring Thunderclap', a wind-based spell that was the same as the Bang of the Flashbang hybrid, only louder, more deafening, and with a settable duration. There was also the 'Flash Freeze', an advanced magic based on the ice element that froze things on contact with a set surface area.

All in all, they sounded unassuming compared to the Hero's 'Soaring Wings' attack which was 'just an empowered sword swing' according to Eichirou. They also sounded a tad bit vague in terms of purpose. Sure, freezing things in place sounded useful, but what else did it do? Knowing the creator of said spell having a taste of the anime fantasy element of the otaku world, Kousuke could only wonder what Hajime had in mind when he made them.

Or what was going on in Eichirou's mind when he supported the idea.

"You're planning on writing all that down with that deck?" A tone of disbelief escaped Kousuke. "By hand?"

"Nah, that'll take too long." Hajime brushed the thought aside. "I'll just print them on instead. It saves more time that way."

Instead of asking how Hajime would 'print' them, Kousuke remained quiet and watched as Hajime touched to floor with one hand while holding the newly drawn spell with the other.

"Transmute."

The stone floor slowly moved and formed. The tiles moved about and around, changing in shape and structure until there was one thin slab of stone, cleanly cut into a flat square with the sides being half a meter long each and a thickness of about an inch, that separated from the mold. Taking said slab, Hajime repeated the process until he had five of them.

Without missing a beat, he raised the paper slip before his face. His eyes glared at the etchings he made of the magic circle, studying, memorizing it. With a hand to one of the slabs and the stone pencil he was using placed between his palm and the stone's surface, he invoked his skill yet again.

Kosuke watched as a part of the stone pencil shrunk away and was absorbed by the slab. In a matter of seconds, the tile had black etchings of the magic circle repeatedly plastered over it in a grid-like pattern. Before Hajime repeated the process with the others, Kousuke's eyes narrowed, already guessing what the boy was aiming for.

Soon, Hajime was done with the slabs. Lining a slip of magic paper over each circle, following the grid pattern, he then organized the slabs into a neat stack on their own before using his skill once more to press down on them. The light of his Transmutation skill and the oddity of his methods drawing more than a few eyes to their corner.

"You made a makeshift printing press with your Transmute skill. That's… that's pretty smart."

Hajime could only chuckle, abashed at the praise.

Kousuke observed as the boy's Transmutation worked wonders. The stone pencil that he was using a while ago was akin to that of a certain mineral from earth used in a common everyday utensil. Pencil lead. Despite being called that, pencils never used lead. It was the harmless but useful graphite, a mineral that was found easily back home.

As it was a mineral, Synergist Hajime had full control over its properties.

"Using a similar technique I did with the Gust spell, the graphite-like powder flows between slabs and papers. They alternate between each layer and move from the bottom going up." Hajime explained while he worked his magic. "Since I can move minerals at will, I thought I could make it flow along a premade pattern while I squeeze the paper down."

The sound of moving sand was all Kousuke could hear of the press. He noted the escape hole at the side of the top slab as the graphite escaped like a small river and flowed back through the hold on the bottom layer. After a while, Hajime stopped the process.

Taking the first tile off, the results speak for themselves. Each paper that was aligned along the grid pattern all had the magic circle uniformly inscribed into it. It was no different than actually writing it down. The only key difference that Kousuke noticed was that all the writings were uniform. Akin to a laser precision printer that one could find on earth.

"Here. This should be enough for emergency uses." Kousuke accepted the small deck offered to him. "I added a little more so you could practice it a few times as well."

"Thanks, Hajime."

"No problem. What are friends for?"

The boy then resumed his work. Inlaying different circles with the same method and repeating the process all over again. Unlike manual writing, Hajime's ingenuity allowed him to quickly progress through the tedious task faster than the norm. It was a testament to his hard work and training.

"Ohoho, so this is another use for Synergists that we have yet to utilize! Intriguing!"

"With such a method, there would be no need to have scribes waste away copying the same pattern over and over, right, Tear-sensei?"

"Yes. They could then be assigned to study the 'semantic shift and information entropy' theory Yamamoto-sama suggested."

Even the Court Mage and a few of the other instructors were dumbstruck and interested. Disregarding their current lecture, the mages and a handful of the classmates made to crowd in Hajime and Kousuke's previously empty corner.

"Can't all Synergists do the same?"

"Afraid not, Hatayama-sama. The most we have done with the Synergist class is refining metal and minerals for purer equipment processing and sturdier building materials." Speaking for the mages, Tear explained to the short Ai-chan who stood at the fore just between the class and Hajime's back. "Being a part of the non-combat class, we never really expanded upon their uses besides metalworking and architecture. The latter was mostly dedicated to Earth Mages as well, so even that is a minor role at best."

"Hmm, so even Meld-san didn't know what to do when it came to Hachin."

"Well, their technology is basically Medieval. I doubt they even knew they needed to invent stuff beyond what they already have when there's magic."

"Nagumo-kun, that's amazing!"

"Eh? Ah, no. It's nothing, really."

"No. I think the innovation is actually incredible!"

"Kaori, you're bothering Nagumo. Take a step back a bit."

"Thanks, Yaegashi-san."

Kousuke watched as his friends and classmates observed in awe and wonder at the embarrassed Hajime who tried his best to finish his 'printing' of the spells.

The exchange with Shirasaki was a new thing. Apparently, they had gotten close after the saving incident. It was obvious they would, given the context of Hajime saving Kaori's life. But it was still so far from the norm for her to approach him and not receive envious/seething glares that Hajime was not used to replying back.

Personally, Kousuke found this new interaction between them kind of amusing, if not hilarious.

Before, Shirasaki would randomly approach him out of what seemed like misplaced concern. But now, she was doing so with obvious gratitude and affection that the class knew to stop giving Hajime heat for her actions. Even Yaegashi stopped apologizing and started actively socializing with the guy.

Indirectly, this made Kousuke a mutual close friend of theirs as well as the others including Jugo and Ayako. But as he didn't really have personal feelings for either of the class idols, he didn't really care as much as he thought he would and just enjoyed Hajime's reaction to the dual bishoujo's attention.

Hajime didn't like it, but Kousuke sure as hell enjoyed the comedy.

From the corner of his eye though, he noted that Hiyama was getting even more frustrated that Hajime was getting attention. His own group's instructor had abandoned them to join the observing crowd after all. That, and there may be another factor. But as it stood now, Hiyama and the other bastards could only sit still and self-study.

Kouki as well remained a little off to the side where he sat with Ryutarou, practicing a spell but seemingly too distracted to even succeed in casting it. The brawn-for-brains Monk, on the other hand, just sat down meditating, not even bothering with magic.

For these two, Kousuke didn't understand why they stayed away from their usual company. Well, in Sakagami's case, it may have been that what Hajime was doing bored him or maybe he just didn't want to leave his best friend without company.

Kouki, however, was a bit lost. He sent glances towards the girls every now and then, seemingly lost in thought. Kousuke would have thought it jealousy before. Now though, it was… strange. Kouki had never looked so… clueless as what to do. He seemed conflicted about something but couldn't decide if he should speak up or not. In the end, he remained in his seat and attempted to cast a practice spell with some success this time.

Ever since the heated argument Kousuke spotted him having with his other friend, the de facto 'leader' of the class lost his confident aura. Right now, he looked just the handsome kid. All air of assurance and willpower was wavering.

Off to the other side of the room, said friend was busy and happily giving a lecture of his own to another group. Apprentice mages about their age, some younger, were joined by a handful members of the class like Yoshino and Tsuji. Most notably however was the presence of a newcomer, the princess, in that group. Kousuke watched as the young lady Liliana listened intently to Eichirou's words, maybe even more so than her fellow students.

She may have just been a hardworking student, but even the zero-romantic-experience Kousuke could tell that Liliana Heiligh was enamored by her instructor's words, if the gleam in her eyes was anything to go by. Her personal maid, Helina-san, who stood by would probably agree with Kousuke as well. Spying her from the sidelines, she formed a smile every now and then when Liliana shot her hand up to answer questions. The maid's smile turned into a sigh for every gleeful face Liliana made when her response was correct.

Whatever lesson Eichirou was teaching, it did not include the magic spell he had cast upon the girl.

"Yamamoto-sensei, I'd like to ask a question. If it's alright with you."

Approaching his friend as soon as his lecture with the mostly-Tortusian group ended, Kousuke noticed a roll of eyes as Eichirou's brow rose up sarcastically.

"Really? Ruina-san is one thing, but I don't want to deal with you as well."

"Then, could you tell me, sensei?" Kousuke took pleasure in how Eichirou's eye twitched. "Why did you accept being a teacher if you're too embarrassed to be called one?"

A sigh escaped his pal's lips. A shaking of his head as he turned to gather his materials was his initial response. While everyone was busy studying on their own, Eichirou's low voice was heard by the silent ninja and the ninja alone.

"It's kinda fun sometimes, you know." He smiled nostalgically. "I used to tutor my siblings and their friends before I came to Japan. It was nice and all, until their friends' parents started demanding I tutor their kids as a side job."

The look in his eyes was that of exhaustion or something akin to trauma.

"Ah, juggling lessons with actual tests was a nightmare. I quickly ran out of time to do my own thing. I honestly felt like I became an actual teacher whose only salvation was the short summer break." Hiding his face with his palm, he reminded Kousuke of those war veterans reminiscing something horrible. "But even then, I got swamped with tutoring requests and more that I couldn't even take a breather."

"I didn't take you for the instructor-type, Yamamoto-sensei."

A scroll flew into his face. Catching it, Kousuke peaked behind I, expecting another one. But all he got was a smile with a gaze aimed at the ground instead. His expression looked a bit sad.

"Our parents weren't always around, and the twins never really liked strangers coming into our home. So I volunteered to teach them. Granted, I wasn't the best. They had a few failed tests because of my inexperience. But it was a hobby I grew to enjoy. For the most part, anyway."

The sad smile remained as Eichirou's eyes were drawn to the students, slowly landing on Yoshino assisting the struggling Tsuji with drawing a spell as Liliana sat next to them offering advice.

"I couldn't really turn down Liliana's request when she and the teaching reminded me so much of home."

Which meant his friend only did it out of nostalgia and sentimental values. Something Kousuke couldn't fault him for even if he could tease the guy with it. It wasn't surprising, though.

There were times when Kousuke would wander off, take a tour of the palace on his off time and explore. Being so invisible, he could get away with mindlessly wandering wherever. It was an aspect of his that he exploited back on Earth as well.

Although, the fact that he couldn't even be detected by dogs and persistent charity workers was a good thing, automatic doors were a bit inconvenient when he needed to take a leak or was really hungry. Passing bikers, drivers, or even policemen was more of a danger hazard, sure. But the point still stands.

Even Kousuke couldn't help but do what he usually did when he was back home. His habit of wandering gave him a sense of catharsis. Seeing Eichirou as he was now, he could relate.

"Well, at least you're having fun. Thanks for telling Hajime, by the way." He said so while waving the deck of magic circles he was given. "I'll make sure I put this to good use. Stabbing you in the back, that is."

Referencing a ninja or assassin as a joke may have been somewhat threatening. But as it was Eichirou who he was giving the threat to, it was just a joke. Or a reference to getting even soon. Who knows?

"Eh, I meant it more of a prank—Gah!" Eichirou yelped slightly as a jab landed on his side.

"I know. What the hell is 'Shadow Clone Technique'? This better not be another ninja joke."

"Funny you should ask that—Gah! Hey! Enough with the poking! My Vitality doesn't match with your Strength, remember?"

"Don't worry about it. Your Resistance should be able to take the hit."

"That's not how that stat works!"

Eichirou hissed as he rubbed his side. However, Kousuke was hardly remorseful as he was always the butt of the jokes for the past few weeks. He was just getting a little payback since he could hardly match up to Eichirou in armed combat. A funny fact when the guy only had high magic and resistance stats and mediocre everything else.

'It's probably just the self-defense lessons he learned in Earth.' Kousuke decided attacking him when he didn't expect it was a better form of retaliation.

Huh, strange how he didn't think to try that from the start, being an Assassin and all.

"Yamamoto-sama?"

Standing at the entrance of the lecture hall, a panting maid called out to her charge.

"Ara, what's the matter… Iselda…-san?"

Unlike the usual Iselda, Kousuke noted her hairstyle change. The usual bun was now a bit messier, combined with bangs and a pair of locks that were pulled back behind her ears. All that partnered with her above-average beauty made her indistinguishable from the western models on fashion magazines sold in Earth's convenience stores.

By how Eichirou's question ground to a slow halt, Kousuke knew even he noticed the change. Not enough to be charmed himself, mind you. But enough that he hesitated until the tired maid straightened herself up before them.

"Forgive my rudeness for interrupting your lesson, Yamamoto-sama."

"A-ah, not to worry." Eichirou smiled and shook his head. "We were just finishing up. You seem to be in a rush. Is something the matter?"

After letting the girl catch her breath, she gave the boy her message. Unconcerned, Kousuke waited for the boy to respond as he himself stood by and observed his expression.

"I see. I guess this means my afternoon is booked by Her Majesty and Master Lundel. Thank you for passing on the message." The courteous smile he gave the girl caused a slight blush, though ninja observer attributed that to Eichirou's passive charm. "You should take a seat and rest while I tell Liliana-sama and Helina-san about it."

"Oh, no, please!" The maid protested. "Such a thing, please do not trouble yourself, Yamamoto-sama. It is my duty to—"

"It's fine, Iselda-san. Take a breather. It wouldn't do for you to collapse before the day even ends." With both his hands on her small shoulders, he sat her down on the nearest chair. Giving her a smile, he nodded to Kousuke before turning towards Ayako's direction near the back of the hall, where Liliana was currently doing a demonstration. "Oh, one more thing."

At his words, the sighing maid turned curiously.

"That change of style suits you. It brings out more of your womanly charms."

Kousuke did not miss the steam that escaped the young maid's ears. Nor did he fail to see the reddening cheeks she tried to hid by turning to face the front of the room. Being invisible to most, Kousuke was practically privy to the girl's embarrassment. As was Eichirou's confused look at the attempt of a compliment.

Maybe, to him, it was strange to get the cold shoulder after praising her change. But Kousuke knew the words were super effective. The fidgeting of the maid in her seat only accentuated the critical hit he scored.

'Seems like it's not only the princess he's caught in a spell.'

Unable to say anything lest he embarrass the girl further or confuse his friend, Kousuke sighed at the guy's natural playboy appeal right as he spoke with Liliana. He managed to get a blush just by speaking to her, a surprised face as she listened to the message Iselda passed, then an eager yet childish expression as soon as he asked to escort her to tea later.

Sure, as a Princess, Liliana managed to get herself composed and formal once more with her signature poker face. But there was no denying that for a second, she broke character. Something only Kousuke, Helina, and the ones seated next to her noticed.

The cause of the problem merely gave his formal thanks, claiming it as an honor before bowing and turning back to return to Kousuke's side.

"So, a special date with Liliana-sama, eh?"

"No such thing. Luluaria-sama merely wants to have tea with her children and invited me along as a formality to check on her children's well-being."

"I thought the whole poisoning business was already sorted out."

"Yeah, it was. But Luluaria-sama is quite the worrywart over the kids. She insists that I do regular checkups every now and then ever since Lundel-sama got a cold just after the incident."

The informality of his words might've upset the Tortusians or maybe draw attention from the Church, but to Kousuke, it was merely proof of Eichirou's closeness to the family. A vague proof that may be misunderstood by anyone else, but Kousuke could tell that Eichirou was still keeping the Royals in arm's length.

"Isn't she overreacting a bit over a little cold?"

"Not when a recent incident nearly took their lives," Eichirou shook his head. "As an older brother, I can sympathize with how she worries over her children. I wouldn't put it past her to try make me become a permanent physician if anything else ridiculous happens to them."

The way Eichirou brow furrowed as he sighed told the silent boy that it wasn't simple frustration of being tied down that worried him. It was within the Queen's right to worry about her kids, but if it ever got to the point that her worries intruded on Eichirou's personal life out of necessity, he wouldn't be able to do any research or study Tortus' magic.

"But there's nothing to worry about. I've been monitoring Lady Liliana and Master Lundel's condition with the help of the court physicians and nurses. Given time, Luluaria-sama should calm down and all of her worries would blow over. Once that's done, I wouldn't be needed to report to her every so often while we have tea."

So he says, but then again, Eichirou was the only Apostle to ever have the honor of dining with royalty alone. King Eliheid always ate dinner with the classmates when he could, but he did so with them as a group. As the Apostles. Not a single one of the other Earthlings ever did so as the King's friend.

Even if Eichirou was doing all that under the guise of reporting on their health, he still spent more time telling the Crown Prince stories and taking breaks with the Princess than he did socializing with the other classmates. A fact that Ai-chan-sensei always tried to address but could not convince the others to converse with the guy.

Well, other than Jugo, Kentarou, Tsuji, Yoshino, Hajime, and Kousuke himself, very few even tried approaching. They all kept their distance as if he was some sort of celebrity they didn't know how to talk to. In Hiyama's posse's case, he was avoided like the plague. But that was already a fact even before Hajime kicked their ass.

Back to the uneven treatment by the kingdom's top brass, besides once, with Kouki accompanied by the Pope, not one of the so-called Apostles ever got the honor to be called in for tea by the King or Queen. For that matter, the ministers all considered them children so no contact there.

There was one that approached Hajime. Kousuke remembered it was around the time he was injured. A minister by the name of Decorose. It was surprising to see some old man apologize to the guy, but after a while, the man just gave Hajime a box, wished him well, and was off. Of the thirty or so classmates, only two ever got a real conversation going with the king's officials outside the political mumbo-jumbo of their disaster of a welcome party.

In summary of Kousuke's observation, Eichirou was the strange exception by his close ties to the royals and ministers, the animosity between him and Ishtar, as well as all he had achieved ever since they got here.

Thinking of the basic template his little sister's RPG games went, Kousuke considered the drastic difference of treatment between Eichirou and the rest of the class.

"Makes me wonder who the real 'Hero' is…"

"What?"

"Just talking to myself," Kousuke merely smiled and chuckled at Eichirou's bewilderment.

Keeping the thought to himself, Kousuke resumed a casual banter with his pal all the way until lunch break. As the chance to talk about trivial things was rare, he might as well enjoy it until the guy was whisked away by the crushing maid and overly-attached princess.

Left with nothing else to do for the day, Kousuke decided to wander the palace a bit more.

---

"This… 'Semantic Shift' you say? It is quite an interesting theory, Eichirou-sama."

"I agree as well, mother. Magic lessons have become more fascinating now that Eichirou-sama took interest in developing it further."

"Your praise honors me, Luluaria-sama. Liliana-sama."

A short nod while my cup was once again refilled by the ever-prepared Iselda. The girl's new hairstyle looked cute as can be. If I could be a little honest, I wished to test doing the same with my own hair at least once.

'Don't even think about it.'

Sadly, the grouchy owner was having none of it. He was my host, therefore, his word was law. Or so it may seem.

'Just make up your mind already if you don't want me thinking like a normal girl would.'

Being sentient but not bound by the same laws, I believe I had the right to disagree or show some displeasure.

'I will soon. But don't get distracted. Especially when you're addressing the Queen!'

'Fiiiiine!'

Tea with the royal family was becoming a routine affair. A fact that Eichirou was getting annoyed with. I could tell since we live in the same body. It's not that he hated to socialize with them. But rather, he wanted more time to deliberate on Eliheid's request.

Fortunately, I was there to take his role for the day. Or longer. I wouldn't complain if he decided to kickback for a month or more.

'Ahem. Still here.'

I audibly sighed as I tried to focus according to Eichirou's complaints.

"Is something bothering you, Eichirou-sama?"

"Not at all, my Lady." I made my best polite impression. The princess didn't seem to think anything was off so I guess my acting did well. "I was just feeling a bit more relaxed after taking a sip of this tea. The aroma reminds me of peppermint yet the taste is closer to that of green tea."

"Are those a sort of herbs in your world, Eichirou-sama?" The Queen seemed just as interested as her daughter. I guess they had a lot of interest in Earth and just decided to ask us now.

'More like they're using it as an excuse to keep us here.'

'I thought you needed time to think? You're wasting it again by talking to me.'

'…'

With his silence, I took that as him going back to do what he was supposed to be doing.

"As a matter of fact, they are, Your Highness. Warm drinks such as these are enjoyed by many of the commoners on Earth. Those in colder climates similar to Heiligh in particular."

"There are places similar to the Kingdom?!" The way the princess' eyes popped open as she asked revealed more of the child she truly was. A simple 'ahem' from her mother, however, had the young girl returning to composure. Sad, but she needed to keep up appearances for her mother's sake after all. "My apologies. How unladylike of me."

"Please, no need to be so harsh on yourself, my Lady." I gave her a smile, the same that Eichirou would, and casually resumed the conversation. "On my travels, I visited many places that resembled Heiligh in a few or so ways. Based around a sacred mountain site, large agricultural lands, even having such abundant choices of tea flavors. In my world, there are tens of countries with such similarities but varying cultures to boot."

Liliana's eyes shone with interest while Luluaria observed her child with a disproving smile. To wear her heart on a sleeve may have been something she was trained to not do. But when it came to chatting with Eichirou, in this case, me, Liliana was an open book.

"Eichirou! Eichirou!" Her brother, on the other hand, had no sense of formality at all as he dashed towards my seat with childish excitement. "I did it! I did it! I managed to cast the wind spell 'Flowing Breeze'! Just like you showed me!"

"Kora! Lundel!" His sister, though, was having none of it. "You have to remember to show respect when addressing Eichirou-sama! He's an Apostle, you know!"

"I could say the same about you, my dear daughter." The Queen reprimanded her child. But doing so while hiding a smile behind her fan told me she was merely teasing the girl. "Despite being a reverential Apostle-sama, you've been clinging to him all day long. Hora, like you're doing now."

Snapping her paper fan shut, she pointed out Liliana's small hand which clung to my sleeve. I had already noticed her unconsciously done so as she spoke to Lundel across my other side. Looking at the cherry red face she was making, it was obvious she didn't even notice what she was doing.

"I-I-I'm sorry for my rudeness, Eichirou-sama!"

I found it hilarious. The girl had grown attached to the guy in less than a month and yet her fumbling about made for such an amusing show. Truly, teenage romance was a wonderful form of entertainment. I could see why Eichirou enjoyed Sumire's shoujo manga.

"There's no need for such formalities, Liliana-sama." Turning to the Queen, I added. "It may seem presumptuous of me, but there's no need to reprimand her for such. I trust Liliana-sama didn't mean any harm or disrespect in anyway."

"But for me to cling to Eichirou-sama, such an arrogant behavior is—"

"Liliana-sama, while I appreciate your respecting me as an Apostle, I actually preferred it if you chose to treat me like your friend." Grasping her hand, I stared deep into her eyes. "Your gentleness reminds me of my family. Being so far away from and unable to contact them, I doubt I could have lasted long if not for the kindness you and your family had shown me."

"No, I was… merely doing my best."

Slowly, she took her hand back and plopped into her seat. I didn't need to see her expression to know she was glowing red. Giving the trio the maid's a clueless smile, I played it off as not understanding Liliana's reaction. Lundel was 'similarly' confused while the Queen and the maids bought it.

His memories on acting where coming in handy.

'Don't make it worse, Mia. As it stands, the princess' attraction to me is the last of our worries.'

'At least let me have some fun while I play you.'

'Your 'fun' could hurt the child's feelings! Enough. Or else I'll put you back here.'

Well that stunk. Recently, Eichirou and I had been testing this two-minds-one-body thing out. We realized we could swap out whenever, but in most cases, Eichirou could forcibly swap in with me while I was in control. Supposedly, it may have been on his authority as it was his body to begin with.

In any case, I didn't like that threat being enforced. It would take away from my free time with having a real body, after all.

"Lundel-sama, it seems Liliana-sama is feeling a bit under the weather." I turned to face the youngest child. "Would you mind showing us your new accomplishment."

The boy turned to face the open air of the pavilion. The garden was splayed before the boy as he chanted slowly, getting the words properly and carefully as he swished the wand I borrowed from the mage's training equipment and altered with a weak wind spell.

"Stream as I direct, move like a river, be still as a draft, yet free to roam the sky! Fly, as I command thee. Flowing Breeze!"

The air that escaped the wand's tip flowed steadily and down onto the floor. Slowly following Lundel's waving, the small current flowed across, dragging loose or fallen leaves and flower petals into the air. He played around with the wand like it was a ribbon streamer baton. The wind and its passengers followed suite, dancing in the air and trailing after the tip of the wand.

Given a minute, Lundel managed to neatly pile up all the loose leaves and petals into a circular ring around him as he slowed his waving and released the spell. With a smug look begging for praise, I acceded and gave him an applause, as did his mother, sister, and the maids.

"Wonderful concentration, Master Lundel. With such talent, and a little more practice, I doubt there would be a spell you won't master in the future."

"But only if you keep practicing, Lundel. You shouldn't neglect training no matter how talented you become."

Liliana's words were drowned out as soon as he heard me speak. My complimenting him alone was enough to have the boy dancing and cheering for joy. The child he was on full display seemed to please the Queen as well as the minorly ignored Liliana.

"Liliana, I think Lundel's magic training should begin in earnest." I guess teaching him some tricks was a good thing if he was going to be the heir to the crown, at least, by the Queen's approving smile. "Such a talent should not go to waste."

"I agree as well, Okaa-sama." Taking her mother's cue, Liliana stood up and approached her little brother. "Lundel, do you want to join me in magic lessons from now on? It should be less boring than having only general studies and knightly exercises, no?"

The kid was more than jubilant. He was celebrating like there was no tomorrow. By his eager insistence, Liliana was dragged away a little further out into the garden to demonstrate the spells she already learned from her lessons. Maybe he was hoping to see more amazing magic. Or maybe it was just his curiosity of wanting to know his sister's current skill. Going by Eichirou's memory of his own siblings, the boy was exhibiting signs of the former.

"Haaah, such children." The Queen sighed as Helina-san poured out tea for her charge's parent. "I do apologize for the display, Eichirou-sama."

"As I said, no need to worry, Luluaria-sama." Speaking for Eichirou, I shook my head and smiled warmly. "I'm not bothered at all by their antics. If anything, they remind me of my own siblings."

And oh do they weigh heavily on Eichirou's thoughts. So much so that it was hard to go to bed without him checking the family photo every so often. Even I would fall asleep just by looking at their picture for so long.

'What're you getting at?'

'Nothing, jeez.'

"You must miss them so," the Queen snapped both of our attention to her. A sad expression took over her but was soon replaced by a dignified and regal one. "As a mother, I feel guilty of having torn you away from your cherished family."

"Haha, Luluaria-sama truly is Liliana-sama's parent." I chuckled along with Eichirou as we both agreed on that point. "It's an honor for me to have heard it from Your Highness, however, my Lady Liliana-sama has already told me the same. I see where her thoughtfulness comes from. In addition to her beauty."

'Ey, ey! Don't hit on the Queen, you idiot!'

"You certainly do have a way with words, Eichirou-sama. I can see why my children enjoy your stories. As well as your company." The Queen herself smiled and chuckled in response while I returned the grin. "I see. My daughter's already grown so much."

Luluaria paused for a few seconds. Her gaze was directed towards the two now practicing a water-wind hybrid spell Eichirou designed to create bubbles. Waiting for the Queen to continue, I remained quiet with Eichirou doing the same. Finally, she looked to me warmly and spoke with a dignified air.

"I have to thank you, Eichirou-sama."

"For what, if I may ask?"

"You have not only saved my children but helped them grow as well." Her eyes moved to the two playing around again. "Liliana was always the hardworker ever since she was small. As her mother, I was always proud to have been blessed with such an earnest and gifted child."

A sigh escaped said mother's lips.

"But I was afraid she wouldn't stop or slow down to enjoy herself a little more. I was afraid she would grow into a princess who never had time to live her childhood happily. I have you to thank for opening her heart up even a little. To fun and other things as well."

"Lady Liliana has done all of that on her own. I have nothing to do with her growth—"

"Let's not mince words, Eichirou-sama. My daughter wouldn't have gotten this far had it not been for your presence. Please take credit for your achievement."

The knowing smile Queen Luluaria gave me was akin to an obvious secret. I politely returned it with a clueless and questioning grin even though I knew it was true, but I could feel Eichirou facepalming inside. I could also feel his embarrassment at what he'd done by accident.

"Lundel is a special case, however. Did you know that I nearly lost my son many times before the poisoning incident?"

That… was news to me and Eichirou. Shaking my head, I listened intently.

"Lundel was born sickly. He had just learned to talk and he'd already been infected by some unknown disease. At the time, we dearly prayed to Ehito-sama for guidance. We were given salvation though Ishtar-sama's healing magic. It happened a second time when he was just five years old. Had it not been for Ishtar-sama's healing once again, I truly thought I would lose my child. However, he said it would be the last time he would be able to save my baby boy."

Being just a voice in his head, I wouldn't really know how that feels. But judging by the emotions I could sense from Eichirou, he sympathized. In a way, I could emulate and understand her point.

"Because of that, I tended to spoil my son. I allowed him to do what he wanted, for fear that if I changed anything, he would have been put in great risk once again. As a mother, I was afraid."

The corner of her eyes were moist. She was sincere.

"But then that dreadful poison made its way into the palace and Liliana collapsed."

Her brow furrowed. The regal face of the Queen replaced by a mother in distress.

"I had truly felt despair take over my being. 'If not Lundel, would I lose Liliana instead?' so I asked myself. I tried to remain calm with my husband's support. But after realizing what the cause was, I sunk even deeper knowing my boy wasn't safe. When Ishtar-sama stepped forward to intervene, I almost believed that Ehito-sama had abandoned my children."

I closed my eyes. I could feel the Queen gaze in my direction as I listened to her cracking voice.

"But you saved them. You saved my children."

"I did nothing, Luluaria-sama. It was by Anima's grace they be saved."

"Regardless," she shook her head. "If it wasn't for your involvement, I wouldn't be able to remain sane at all. I wouldn't be able to enjoy tea like this with my family. For that, I thank you, Eichirou-sama."

She was already tearing up. I would have offered a handkerchief, but Helina beat me to it by handing her own to the Queen.

"I may have had a hand in saving their lives. But that does not warrant much, in my eyes." I made a face that Eichirou would have in this situation. A sad smile aimed at the ground, trying to be humble. "To save their lives was something I thought to be the norm. I did so because I believed it was the right thing. Not for Your Highness or Eliheid-sama to bow your head so."

"Such words, even though your becoming a part of their lives has changed them for the better. Your humble nature is truly a character to behold, if you don't mind my saying, Eichirou-sama."

"No offense taken."

In the silence that followed, I glanced over to the garden. The two children were now finishing up their bubble play as Liliana moved on to barrier magic. From where I sat, I could see Lundel taking great interest as his sister showed a variant of the Pentashell spell, the Trishell.

"Liliana aside, your stories have touched my son to his core. He has shown more interest in things like magic and knight training. He claims he wishes to be a greater hero than those of your stories. In particular, he wishes to surpass the 'Idealistic Copycat'."

'Oh god…'

Eichirou verbally, mentally, reacting was enough to keep me listening. Another thing he did at the spur of the moment managed to cause some form of unintentional change in another of the Royal's children.

"I've only heard the general summary from my Liliana after you told the same story to her as well, but to think such a fictional character would inspire Lundel to change from the simpleton he was to an 'Ally of Justice' from a mere story. As a mother, I feel slightly peeved that you've done more to raise my child than I have."

Her expression of a teasing smile was enough to make Eichirou exude regret within us both.

'I do apologize for that.'

"I do apologize for that."

Voicing out his words, the Queen heartily chuckled.

"You are forgiven, Eichirou-sama. In fact, I should be grateful you've accomplished what I, a mother who only managed to spoil her son, couldn't do."

The children were smiling, laughing. They were having so much fun, it seemed the past incidents happened so long ago. The Queen's glances at them showed a mother's calm. Luluaria was content with observing her kids. But there was a hint of envy within.

"What I've done is not perfect, Luluaria-sama." I decided to remedy that fact. "Lundel-sama is still but a child. He will need his mother's guidance, no matter his current goals in life. No one can take that honor away from Your Highness."

Just giving her a nostalgic smile, I thought back to the memories Eichirou had with his own siblings and felt what he did at the time.

"As an older brother, I know this to be true. It is by Luluaria-sama's right to have that sort of happiness raising her children and watching them mature even further."

"My happiness aside, what of your own, Eichirou-sama?"

"Hm?" 'What?'

The question caught both of us off-guard. We weren't expecting an inquiry as a response.

"What do you mean, Your Highness?"

"While I do appreciate your thinking of my family's happiness, I have grown concerned as to what Eichirou-sama has been doing as of late." Gone was the motherly warmth, once again replaced by the regal dignity of a Queen. Changing faces was a talent I had to give her credit for. She really was Liliana's mother. "How goes your research on finding a way back to your world?"

A heavy gloom assaulted my core. It wasn't me but Eichirou who was feeling down from that statement.

"By your expression, I can tell it's not progressing as originally expected."

"Just a minor setback, Luluaria-sama. I'm sure I will find a lead soon. It's nothing serious."

'It is serious.'

.

.

.

Well, yeah.

It was causing anxiety that Eichirou very much shared with me via our mental bunk. With my state, it was amplified so much that I decided to take a break or nap whenever he decided to go back to the library.

Most of the time, I wished there would have been some lead or factor we missed and could find soon. More in wanting him to cheer up as opposed to actually finding one. His souring temperament was stifling me by the day.

"Forgive me for saying so, Eichirou-sama. But it appears to me that you haven't done enough to achieve your goal."

"Eh?" '?'

"I understand that you've been staying cooped up in the library for your research. But as someone who has gone through that entire collection since I was just Eliheid's fiancé, I can guarantee that the Great Library of Heiligh does not contain all the knowledge in the world."

I would have been shocked had I not known about why.

Despite it being similar to the libraries of old in Eichirou's world and magic to preserve them like the modern era's tech, there were still factors like neglect, censorship, and more. Their contents might've also been outdated while some could be falsified reports and research data.

The mere fact Eichirou and I had manipulated Tortusian magic in a way different from following the textbooks was proof that some knowledge was lost to time as traditional methods overshadowed innovative study.

"I am aware of this problem, Luluaria-sama." Admitting the truth was the only choice. Saying otherwise would make us sound immature or in denial. Can't have them thinking depression got to Eichirou's head. "I have been for some time already."

"Then, knowing this, Eichirou-sama, would you truly wish to remain perusing through the countless tomes instead of other things?"

"What might you be suggesting, Your Highness?"

I knew what she was trying to say. Eichirou did as well. Clear as day. Considering what we were currently deciding upon and the position of who was currently asking, it was pretty much spelled out for us.

"Would it not better suit Eichirou-sama to find more information outside of the palace? Perhaps, by—"

"Exploring the Great Orcus Labyrinth, is it?" Interruption may be rude, but Eichirou had already instructed me what to say if this was brought up. Though I disagreed, it wasn't my body, therefore not my decision to make. "Luluaria-sama, though I appreciate you doing this out of goodwill, that option is still not something I wish to take. With insufficient information about the Labyrinth available, going there would be the same as walking blindly into a forest."

Details of the Orcus Labyrinth were vague. Cave systems and traps were nice and all but only if they were fully explored, mapped out, quarantined, disabled, etc. Eichirou had a lot to say about it. Despite enjoying spelunking with his family in the past, diving into the unknown was a big 'no'.

'If you think I'll willingly walk into a deathtrap, think again.'

'But if it's the only way to find a clue—'

''No' means 'No', Mia.'

I internally pouted. The cave systems were something I would like to see in person. That and a many other things from Eichirou's memories. But ever since my, as he calls it, inception, I hadn't been able to witness anything new other than these cold stone walls and dreary floors. The gardens were nice and the sky so free. But as I didn't own this form, I can't do anything to change the status quo.

I was practically caged with only his eyes as my windows to an open world. That sucked. SO BAD!

He was already cautious about the lack of details. A mention of monsters completely shut it down as his anxiety multiplied. Exponential for myself even though I was still curious and wanted to know more about this world.

Eichirou wasn't a coward. He just didn't like taking unnecessary risks.

'After all we've found out about this world through their shoddy books alone? I disagree that walking into a hole filled with beasts that hunt humans is even remotely a sane idea.'

It wasn't just the books that clued him in.

From the training style the knight order had been drilling the classmates in to the simplicity of the magic being taught by the mages, there was a clear hint that the enemies those techniques were supposedly used against were considered simpleminded and basic prey. Quarry that one can take down given they work together, stay calm, and hit with their hardest attacks.

This also clued them in with how simplistic the adults were taking the kids from Earth. Giving them a weapon and speed-leveling them to be able to his as hard as someone who trained for years in a matter of just days. It was enough for Eichirou to think the gap in culture was a major factor.

'They fight for survival in a world where monstrous beasts are the norm. We came from a place of peace. Telling them to kill animals may be easy, but none of these kids have ever gotten into a life-or-death fight with a fellow human being or something that is smarter and more dangerous than a rabid dog. Even if the knights were there to watch our backs, we'd still be risking ourselves by going into the Labyrinth.'

Was his explanation to me beforehand. It was pretty much a logical observation on his part and something that I agreed with.

They were all children given power buffs but not the experience or discipline to wield them effectively. There were a handful who got the gist of what they would be facing and how to carry themselves. Sadly, that handful didn't even include a third of the group, further putting Eichirou firmly against going.

In the end, it was all for naught. My dream to explore the outside of the palace, it was just that. A dream.

"Eichirou-sama." Luluaria snapped me from my silence. Her eyes were warmer than I noticed. Like she was pitying me. "I wish to confirm something. Please, be honest with me."

"What is it you ask of me, Your Highness?"

Despite sounding more like a personal request, I still had to follow protocol and treat her like royalty.

"Finding magic to open a path between dimensions to request aid from your world is your goal, yes?"

"That is correct."

"Then, if I may be frank." I didn't expect the words that followed. And neither did Eichirou or the maids. "That goal is merely your official statement. In truth, you wish to return to your world and be free of the responsibility of saving Tortus."

"Eh?!" "?!" "?!" 'How did she—?!'

Iselda was pouring me tea as the Queen spoke. Before she knew it, my cup had overflowed and nearly spilt off the saucer if not for her quick recovery. Her shock remained, however. Helina, like me, didn't say anything. Her expression, however, was worried. More for Liliana's sake, I could guess. The maid was like a second mother or older sibling to the princess. It was obvious she would be worried for what the princess would think if she heard her dear Eichirou would want to leave everything behind for the sake of returning.

I stayed quiet. Expressionless. I slipped up by flinching at her words, but I remained calm and steady. But there was another who's emotions were going haywire and was on high-alert. The only reason I was still in control was because he was too stunned at Luluaria's perceptiveness to even jump back in control.

"Your silence is telling." Satisfied, she took a sip of her tea. "I apologize if I may have offended you. But I assure you that I do not wish to blame you, tell you off nor inform anyone else about this. By all rights and as an Apostle of a world above our own, you are entitled to such an action."

I took a sip as well, composedly ignoring the pool of tea that collected on my saucer.

'It wouldn't do to lose focus here, wouldn't it?'

'No. It wouldn't.'

'Then, how should we proceed, Eichirou?'

'Stay in control. I… I'll give us away… if I face her as I am now…'

Noted. The moment the Queen stated the truth, I felt Eichirou's heart start beating erratically. Being found out was bad. But it was a good thing I was in control to keep his expressions in check. Mostly.

As soon as I received his instruction, I calmly replaced my teacup back on the saucer. The maids didn't say anything, but I could feel Iselda's eyes on my back. It felt like she was trying to deny it by willpower alone. A shame. The girl deserved a real hero.

'Not us.'

Breathing in as if to agree, I faced the warm expression of the Queen head-on.

"How long have you known?"

"The moment you told me my children remind you of your own siblings. The sadness in your eyes reminded me of my own feelings when both were about to die."

The Queen's gaze didn't drop from mine. But I could feel Eichirou facepalming at the realization. Perhaps I played him a little too naturally that I gave away his thoughts at the time I said as much.

"Please forgive my revealing this. I only wished to understand Eichirou-sama, so that I—"

"You are forgiven."

"—Ah? Might I ask, why?"

"Because it's the truth." Iselda held her breath. Helina remained silent but directed her eyes to the floor. "Revealing truth is not considered a sin. The only thing to be judged here is you intentions. You wanted to understand why my stance runs counter to your earlier suggestion, correct?"

"Yes, that is correct." Her expression remained true.

"Then, knowing my true motives now, do you understand the reason why I do not wish to go to the Labyrinth?"

"Your survival takes priority. You wish to return safe and sound, not for your sake, but for the family that must be worrying for you."

'Dammit…'

"Correct." Eichirou didn't object, but he cursed the insightfulness of the Queen. "Some may call it cowardice, others selfishness. But if there's one thing I'd rather not do, it's to die in some godforsaken world without my family ever finding out the truth."

"You believe Ehito-sama has forsaken Tortus?!"

"Please, calm yourself, Luluaria-sama. In my world, it is an expression we use to describe a place where hope is nowhere to be found. I'm not referring to your deity's lack of aid or proper guidance."

'But it might as well be.'

His side comment was only for the both of us to hear. Being kidnapped by a deity wasn't exactly what one could call 'proper aid' therefore, it stuck. But to these people, Ehito was their hope. To take it away from them was the same as spitting on their face. So a sense of propriety should be observed.

"Regardless, my family is above your world in terms of priority. I would rather return their half-dead than not at all. At least, they would have something to bury."

"The way you put it, Eichirou-sama, have you already planned for what should occur after your own demise?"

"Would you prefer leaving this world without a word to Liliana or Lundel? Or Eliheid for that matter?"

The woman's silence was telling. She sympathized with my words. Though her expression was now that of great concern. Even the maids stopped breathing for a good two seconds.

'To be fair, I know my way of thinking is somewhat excessive when it comes to my own family.'

'I highly doubt her expression is just because it was 'excessive'.'

"Ahem, Eichirou-sama." Collecting herself, Luluaria straightened her sitting posture and returned her eyes to mine. "I will not see your love for your family as cowardice or selfishness. As a mother and wife, I know what it's like to worry for your children and husband. Like you, I want to prioritize their happiness over my own."

Her smile grew sad. Her once stern eyes were now afraid.

"But do you think your mother will wish the same from yourself?"

I felt something twitch. I didn't notice when, but I felt Eichirou's fingernails dig into my right palm. I didn't even know how that started, but the moment she stated the words 'your mother', Eichirou went dark. My mind was empty.

It was as if I was alone.

'Eichirou?'

"Do you think your siblings will want you to live a life of insecurity and fear?" Luluaria continued, oblivious to my plight. "Do you think they would want you to remain still and waste away without even taking a chance?"

'Oy! Eichirou?!'

"From where I stand, Eichirou-sama, you don't seem to be as happy as you let others think. You keep your worries to yourself. Letting them stew within. All the while, unable to share your true feelings, you wallow yourself in anxiety and distress."

'Eichirou!' His fingernails were close to drawing blood. A new emotion was seething within me. Something deep and heavy, amplified even more into my own head as a silent sound. Yet, he still remained unresponsive while I struggled to stay calm. 'Why won't you answer me?! Oy!'

"As someone who was saved by your actions, I wish to offer my opinion. As a mother who worries for her own child, I only ask that you consider it."

Her pleading face was blocked out as I covered my face with trembling hands. I managed to pry the clenched right grip open, but the hand refused to stay calm without something to grab onto. It settled for the upper half of my face's right side.

"And what, pray tell, would that be?"

I didn't even notice when we had swapped. One moment, I was feeling the heavy weight drag me down, now I was afloat and a passenger once more. Eichirou was still seething with an unknown emotion. Neither his nor my memories told me how it came to be. It was a blank all over again.

Just like the time after the trial.

"My suggestion is to go further beyond the Labyrinth." Her smile that I could see from between his fingers sent a warm feeling into our chest as we both basked in her motherly gaze. The heavy feeling wavered slightly. "Your options are not limited to just the palace and the Labyrinth. Tortus is vast and it's people numerous. We may seem primitive to an Apostle such as yourself. But I can promise you, there will be something out there that none of us would have expected."

"Hmph. You wish for me to form an attachment with this world." Eichirou scoffed but did so with a smirk. "You wish for me to change my mind and decide to give my all into actually helping you over abandoning your kingdom?"

Quite a deceptive tactic. But it wasn't bad. If Eichirou had a reason to stay, not only would he get off of his depression, he might even choose to pour all his effort into their salvation.

"If I may be frank, Eichirou-sama, I'm only saying this much because I wish for you to be happy." That wiped the smirk off Eichirou's face. "You have given me another chance to be a mother. You have saved my family. Asking you to save my people as well is something I don't have the heart for. I'm not my husband."

Her dignified yet humane expression certainly was conveying her affection as a parent. Even as a mere voice, I could tell her words and intention were genuine. Eichirou did as well.

"It feels shameful for me to keep demanding more from you as an Apostle. You may have done a lot for us, but that doesn't mean I wanted for you to continue doing so."

I couldn't look away. Eichirou didn't either. But he wasn't convinced. Guessing the same, Luluaria turned to face her children once more. Both Liliana and Lundel dropped the magic lessons and were already playing around the garden, enjoying themselves.

"From what I hear about your stories from my husband and son, the core moral sometimes involved doing what one believed to be right and just. Not relying on god or waiting to be given salvation, but by taking the first step on their own." Her eyes returned to ours between the finger slits. "It is my personal belief that letting Eichirou-sama do something for his own sake for a change is justified and correct."

"… I…" was speechless. We both were. Her genuine honesty was intoxicating. The way she was beaming like the sun, despite being a mere human sat on a tea table, Luluaria was genuinely acting like a true mother would and wishing us well.

"You have done my family a great service. If you wish to explore the world of your own volition, for your own purposes, I will support you and make it happen."

Meaning, she would be okay if we decided to forgo the Labyrinth for less hazardous means. As long as she knew Eichirou would be satisfied with the method.

"You do realize this goes against what your husband, or the Church, wishes, correct?"

"Repaying my children's savior is something I wish to do myself. The Church was only ever involved with intervening and my husband has the responsibility of the kingdom. Ehito-sama would surely agree with me that this is the right path and task that I have given myself. I will consider it done until you yourself are truly happy, Eichirou-sama." Tracing the edge of her teacup with a finger, she lifted it and emptied its contents before settling it back down on the saucer. "I owe it to you and your family for what you are and what you've done for us. And also, as a mother, I wish to scold you on your perspective."

"Huh?!"

"No parent would ever want to hear their child talk of death and bodies to bury. More so when that child is talking about their own I'm sure your siblings would say the same." For a second, her eyes turned stern before warming up once more. I really thought she resembled a mother, even if such a person was absent from Eichirou's memories apart from his stepmom. "Refrain from ever doing so again. It would not be just your family to grieve your passing."

Her gaze briefly returned to the children then back to us. We both understood the hidden meaning. Eichirou nodded as the Queen, satisfied, decided to stand up. He tried doing the same but was stopped by Luluaria's hand to his shoulder.

"Please, Eichirou-sama. Stay and rest a little while longer. Take this time to contemplate on my words as well as my husband's. Decide on one or both. It is your choice." Her smile turned serious once more. "But please, promise me your decision would be made with your best interest at heart. I do not want you to stay as you are. Not after all you have given to me and my family."

Perhaps it was his memories of hi stepmom, or maybe the common sense he grew up with on Earth. But looking at the woman, at the mother before us, I could feel sadness from her expression besides the concern. It was like she saw Eichirou as more than an Apostle.

To me, it felt… strange.

"I shall see you at a later date." Curtsying, Eichirou could only nod back. He thought that if he stood, Luluaria would push him back into his seat. She then turned to face the maids. Whispering something inaudible to both me and Eichirou, Helina gave her a nod before stepping back with her head held low. "Until then, not a word to anyone about this matter. That goes for both of you. This is a personal affair between Eichirou-sama and I."

Her tone dropped several degrees that even I felt the chill.

"Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-yes, Your Highness!" "Understood, my Lady."

"… Good."

Two maids quickly nodded in affirmation with Iselda in a slight panic. Neither left their stations. They remained awkwardly standing as Queen Luluaria disappeared back into the palace with a few escorts meeting her partway.

No one else remained at the pavilion except for us and the maids. Any and all guards were too far away from earshot and the royal children were still having fun.

The silence was awkward. Iselda continued to pour tea for Eichirou every so often, but her gaze remained largely on the teacup and avoided his eyes. From the corner of his eye, I could see her neutral expression falter ever so slightly. Helina was the same, except she periodically sent a glance towards Liliana. The gloomy look on her face was enough of a dead giveaway to her similarly conflicted feelings.

Perhaps, Luluaria chose to expose Eichirou's true goals to these two for a reason.

I could guess Helina was for Liliana's sake. Being the princess' aide as well as her caretaker, it was obvious the Queen wanted to make sure that Helina at least was aware of Eichirou's situation. The girl's attachment to the guy was basically a detrimental factor. If she were to find out, she would be heart broken. But if her feelings were imposed on the guy, he would be burdened.

Knowing that Helina was more on Liliana's side, she would have to control or stop Liliana from delving further than she already had, for both her and Eichirou's sake.

Iselda, on the other hand, was Eichirou's aide. If she was made aware to what plagued her charge, she could better assist him if needed. But the way the girl was reacting, she knew she had to perform her duty as his caretaker but may have felt conflicted in aiding someone who didn't want to help save their world.

I wouldn't know what the girl would feel about this other than being bewildered.

Honestly, the situation was so messed up that even I felt like I had a migraine. What was the word Eichirou used to express his frustrations again?

'Fu—!'

'Don't. Say that…'

'Shi—?'

'That too…'

'How else am I supposed to vent then?'

'… … … take over for a second…'

Doing as I was told, he relinquished control over to me. Our body slumped ever so slightly and I leaned over the table to play it off as being tired. Once there, I felt a hand ruffle my head. Strangely enough, it was my own right hand that came to give me a head pat.

'This is… not what I was expecting…'

'You want me to stop?'

'… no.'

To the others, it might just seem like Eichirou was scratching his head while he thought to himself. To me, it was a strange sensation, being touched by someone who wasn't myself. It was a hand of the body I inhabited, but the intention didn't belong to myself. It was a new experience. Not the kind I wanted, but still.

My frustration seemed to wane slightly.

The time passed us by in relative silence. Left with nothing to do, I decided to ask him after nearly an hour had gone by.

'Do you think she's telling the truth? About not telling anyone else?'

'… Most probably…'

'What if she tells the king? Or Ishtar?'

'… Then we run… Or fight… Either way, Luluaria's serious about wanting to help us. And unlike Eliheid, she's pointing us in the other direction compared to Ishtar.'

'What should we do?'

'What we should have from the beginning.'

'Which option do we take?'

Eichirou remained silent for a several minutes.

The King wanted for us to assist the others in power leveling. It was for safety against would-be assassins like the demons and maybe a little artifact hunting if the Labyrinth would actually have some hidden in its already explored floors. With the information Eichirou gathered stating that the floors only maxed at a hundred and about half had already been explored, Eliheid may want to rush it to find anything that would boost the Kingdom's arsenal.

Going in there to maybe find an artifact for interdimensional travel or control of space was the selling point for Eichirou.

The Queen had suggested we not do the Labyrinth and find another way. Simply put, she didn't care about the Kingdom's military asset deficit. She just wanted to find a way to repay Eichirou. As she already surmised his reasonings and knows the risk Eichirou didn't want to take, Luluaria opted for an excursion to anywhere except the Labyrinth. As a Queen, it was irresponsible for her to say so. She was putting her people on the line. It was basically treason for her to even suggest that.

But maybe, her guilt of having someone save her family yet not being able to meet his own weighed too heavily for her heart, prompting her to at least give Eichirou a chance to find a way out.

This gave Eichirou two paths to consider. Whatever he decided, I would be forced along for the ride.

After a while, Eichirou's thoughts spoke to me.

'… No opportunity should be wasted… I've decided.'

'But the Labyrinth has the highest of risks' Being a sentient voice in his head, I picked up his decision even before he told me. 'I thought you said you didn't want to take it?'

'Risk or not, we need to do what we can. I've been staying idle here in the palace for far too long. Magic training or no. I haven't accomplished anything to help my agenda. All I've done is draw the Church's attention and may have caused a crack between the theocracy and monarchy. Whatever I do from here on out, I will have enemies.'

'This wouldn't have happened… had you chosen to stay quiet from the very beginning…'

'… … yeah… I know… But do you think I would be alright with accepting their orders when I knew what I was getting myself into by saying 'yes'?'

No.

That much was obvious. I had gone through his head so many times while he slept. I had seen a majority of his memories, shared a lot of his experience, though in passing and not living through them. He had always stayed true to what he wanted. Be it to have fun with his family, pursue his interests, or to stay out of trouble.

If I were to describe it, Eichirou lived life of his own free will.

His decisions were selfish and sometimes exaggerated or excessive, but they were never forced upon him. Anything he may not have wanted to do, he had to be convinced by someone else. Someone close. Otherwise, he would stand firmly against it, preferring to remain on the sidelines, indifferent to whatever may happen.

A life driven purely by his own will, not altered or dragged around by anyone else.

How envious.

'You could've chosen to remain indifferent even when the children and servants were in danger. Had you not been involved in their saving, you could've avoided getting Ishtar mad at—'

'I told you once before, Mia. I'm not abandoning those close to me. I'm not—!'

Hesitation, then silence. I felt a twinge within. Something that was neither anger, dejection, nor fear, but an amalgamation of all three. It soon dissipated, but the impression it left remained. It was a horrible feeling as I received it tenfold.

I decided not to probe into what he would've said. It was better to not poke into his memories too much. Despite being able to share memories and experiences, there were gaps here and there. Gaps I was sure were something I didn't want to touch.

If they caused him this much pain, I don't want to know what they would do to me.

'But… are you sure…? There's another less dangerous option, Eichirou... Wouldn't that be more appropriate as a first choice?'

I was still skeptical. I may have wanted to explore the outside world as this place was a bit stifling. Being isolated in someone else's head and only seeing what he saw more than annoyed this inner urge of mine. Regardless, Eichirou made his point to go through with his decision.

'Even if it is dangerous, I can't just sit around and wait for things to happen, Mia. Going with Luluaria's option first is dicey. Not just to me, but her and her family as well. The Church would be really curious as to why the sole reluctant Apostle who refused to fight decided to go out and explore the world.'

'Can't you just make up an excuse?'

'Without actual cause? No. If I said I wanted some information from outside the kingdom, I wouldn't be surprised if they offered it to me censored or watered-down. Staying put leaves me under their palm.'

It was very much obvious that Eichirou was still skeptical of what info was made available to him. Apart from the magic, which he was able to test and confirm its validity, their history and culture was judged by what he saw. This applied to what they stated with their religion and views on the other races or political entities.

They were supposedly the true religion in the world. Eichirou thinks it's overexaggerated. Why else would they be in conflict with groups that didn't believe in their own and still not win?

They were the supreme race above all else because they could use the blessing of god. Then, what did that make the demons who could do the same but even better?

The magic lessons they teach was inefficiently static. An otherworlder like Eichirou had went against their traditional use of it that had been going on for around a thousand or so years, but he still managed to use it in a way that defied their logical understanding.

There was a huge lack of information and a large amount of bias. As Eichirou had feared, ever since he got here, the Church had a tight noose on how the people think and had been controlling them for so long, it may have been for centuries if not more.

As someone who could openly view his memories, I knew what he did and didn't like the situation we were in either.

'Leaving isn't any better though. Declaring that it's to help with the war effort is just too ambiguous without evidence or proof. Rather than 'helping', they might call it 'running away'. Supporting my departure is the same as saying she backs me in my escape more than she does in aiding the war against the demons.'

True, no sane pope would just willingly let what amounted to a divine asset leave their watch. Even if he didn't like Eichirou or want to keep him around, killing him off or just letting him go would make Ishtar not just a fool. He would be an idiot. The risk of a runaway Apostle was too much of an oversight that whoever did it would be labeled as the most stupid person ever placed in a high ranking position.

No one would ever let an all-powerful tool out of their sights. Ever.

'So you would consider Eliheid's option as… the better of the two?'

'Somewhat,' he seemed doubtful. At least, that's how I felt his emotions ripple. 'With everyone with us, we have safety in numbers. If I say I may have found a lead outside the palace, then it could be used as a viable excuse to get out of this hellhole. At any rate, I can delay risking Liliana and her family.'

It appeared Eichirou had made up his mind. Despite the idea always being present as a last ditch option, he always hesitated in leaving the safety of the palace. I couldn't fault him. I too thought that leaving was a scary thing. It was just that my curiosity of the outside world trumped my fear.

Regardless, it wasn't about me but Eichirou's indecision.

These recent events had been pushing his stress to the limits, but now was not the time to remain idle. If he wanted results, he needed to step up his game. Risks and caution aside, he wouldn't find what he was looking for by staying here.

And neither would I.

Relinquishing control to me, I spoke for the both of us.

"Iselda-san."

"What is it, Yamamoto-sama?"

The maid nearly jumped out of her spot. Truly, her new appearance was adorable in its own right, but I couldn't help but feel sad for the trouble we must be bringing her. Despite the short time I've existed, empathy was something I knew well. Eichirou felt the same after all.

"Please prepare a message to Eliheid-sama for me." Her hazy eyes seemed to widen in shock. She was quick to understand. Or maybe my making Eichirou's serious expression caught her unawares. "Tell him I shall accept the invitation to the Great Orcus Labyrinth."

---

And here it is.

A little early (or late if you wanted one last week), but I have a presentation to do tomorrow, so I can't do anything but focus on that. :(

Also, internship requirements compel me to be busy this entire week. I could do a chap for next week, but it would become even more of a hassle if internship hours start getting recorded. So, no, I will not attempt a mental breakdown by forcing myself if I can't make the time. Sorry about that.

Anyways, I decided to take someone's advice and split this off from the next incident which will center around Horaud, the Labyrinth, and the aftermath. I'm sure it'll be better than mashing it up with next chap's first scene as continuity will better serve a more free-flowing plot.

The last bit here with Luluaria may have been a bit of a woozy as I did that in the late hours of Saturday… Or was it early hours of Sunday? Either way, please forgive that if I made some errors. Note it down if you need me to clarify some points. :3

Shout out to CodeTalker69 (nice :3) for making a TVTropes page for this fic. I didn't know such a hobby existed nor did I know it could bring a smile to my face until now. Thanks!

On a final note, holy crap. The amount of people following this story has grown. You guys are weird but amazing. XD

---

Minor rant.

Kouki gets flak for being what he is. Some people say he's like the spear dick of Shield Hero. I disagree and say it's reverse. For all three, not just the one. Let me briefly explain.

Spear prick is like Kouki in that he is egocentric and wants to please everyone, but only because he craves attention. He was killed by his ex-gfs, cheating on multiple girls simultaneously. If that isn't an attention whore, I don't know what is. (Kouki is often portrayed in the web novel as an attention seeker and will feel annoyed that the focus isn't on him at important times.)

Sword baby is basically the stubborn, thickheaded jackass part that refuses to change his mind. Even though this dude takes it all like a game, it's just in his nature to be persistent. Kouki is persistent, but only because he believes he can do no wrong. (Mind you, the guy has a warped sense of right-wrong and sees the world in black or white.)

The all-mighty, absolute JUSTICE and expectations to be thanked goes to the last one, Bow bitch, since being in the RIGHT was his shtick, even if he was doing so for the glory and not the actual justice part. (The only difference between him and Kouki is that he thinks he can be a hero by doing it Assassin's Creed style, e.g. "I save people but don't say it's me, therefore glorify me for I am a true vigilante hero!". Kouki prefers the obvious spotlight and still expects gratitude.)

This is just my little piece on Kouki though. A victim of neglect and parental/friend's ignorance. He may be a little shit, but I actually pity him more than hate.

---

Credit to dragonngo for suggesting and advising me to reedit the Luluaria segment for clarity reasons and minor details.