Chapter 2:
The Mansion and its strange Residents
"Oh? My, I never expected to see you again. Are you perhaps fated to die by me?" Elsa cuts the silence in a sultry voice. Reinhard ignores her, his main priority being keeping Emilia safe. I only follow behind him to stay safe.
"Reinhard? And his friend? What are you two doing here?" Instead of answering her, Reinhard gets into a fighting stance and engages Elsa in a close quarters fight. Left with no other alternative, I decide to reply.
"Hey there …Emilia, you don't look too hot, mind if I heal you? No? Great." Crouching down to Emilia's current sitting position, I activate my lesser heal on her injured leg.
-5 Mp…-5Mp…-5Mp
Her wound finally closes after using the lesser healing on her for a while. 'Phew, I haven't even done much but I'm already feeling tired. Maybe I should just run away now, I mean I already helped…Nah, I'm not going to just let all this xp get away.' Looking towards Emilia and the blonde child, I point at the prone figure and ask. "Hey do you two think you can help me with healing that guy?"
Taking a few seconds for it to register in their minds, it finally clicks. "..Uh, Of course!" Standing up too quickly, Emilia nearly falls back to the ground, but with my help, she's able to stand up straight. "Thank you…"
"Don't go thanking me just yet, wait until we all make it out of here alive, then you can go and thank me all you want." Making our way to the bleeding out Rom, Emilia is the one who ends up healing Rom, I am the one tasked with keeping them safe. 'Why am I the one tasked with playing guard dog? The best I can do is be a meat shield, I'm pretty sure the kid could beat my ass if she wanted to.' Turning back to the fight, I can only see a black blur flying around the stationary Reinhard.
Everytime Elsa would go on the offensive, Reinhard would defend perfectly, but over time I realized that while he may be defending, he hadn't fought back once. 'Does he need a weapon?…That's not right, he's got one already.' Reinhard's blade remained at his hip, never being attempted to be unsheathed. Too confused as to why he hadn't pulled his sword out, I ask the elf girl who had just finished healing.
"Emilia? Do you know why Reinhard hasn't used his sword?"
"He hasn't? Oh! It's because his sword, Reid, has declared her not worthy." What is his sword? Mjolnir? (Thor's Hammer)
"So? Does that mean they'll be stuck in this stalemate they're currently in?" Instead of answering, Emilia just gets up and goes to a nearby shelf. Plucking out a sword from said shelf, she just throws it straight at Reinhard. And for the first time, Reinhard moves, stepping backwards, he catches the sword, deflecting an attack with the same sword.
"Ahem, help me get this guy behind some cover." Grabbing their attention, we start dragging the old guy behind the counter.
With all of us finally behind cover, I take a peek at the ongoing battle. Reinhard and Elsa are finally at standstill, with Reinhard having the advantage, but at the same time, it doesn't look like Elsa will give up anytime soon.
"Reinhard Van Astrea, Sword Saint of this current generation. I do believe our bout has reached its end, don't you Bowel Hunter?" Reinhard's calm voice cutting through the silent but tense atmosphere. 'All these titles being thrown around are all pretty intimidating, just what type of end-game bosses have I been involved with?'
My staring doesn't go unnoticed, because the second I look in Elsa's direction, our eyes meet. With a small giggle, she turns back to Reinhard and makes a very strange proclamation. "As much as I'd love to enjoy ripping your innards out, I have a job to complete. So let's finish this as quickly as possible."
"I will not allow any more harm to come to Emilia-sama and the rest. This is the end." Announcing this, Reinhard gets into position for a special technique. How do I know this? Well, I don't think swords just start glowing once you get into a certain position, or they might, this is a new world after all.
Even now, Elsa doesn't seem to try to escape. Hell, she even looks excited for the attack to come at her. '...Isn't it getting a bit too bright? Oh shit!' I duck back down behind cover before I get blinded by the brightening light.
Slight issue though, even with all of us behind cover, we still get hit by the blinding light. This leaves all of us unable to move, I have no clue of whether or not they can move but I can only assume that they can't. The light soon fades out and I soon find all of our cover missing. 'At least it did its job.'
-7 Hp
'Sorta.' Looking back to the fight, I am pleasantly surprised to see Reinhard standing by himself, the crazed Elsa nowhere to be seen. 'Who would've thought that the seductive woman trope could've been so blood thirsty? Actually, now that I think of it, it makes a lot of sense.' Standing up, I head on over to Reinhard. "Yo, Reinhard. Nice one man, really saved our butts there."
"I only did what was right…Ren? Is everyone alright?"
"Huh? Oh Yeah, we're all fine…I think." Looking back at them, I see that the old guy is still knocked out cold. "You should probably go check on them."
"Are you going to be alright?"
"Yeah man, I'll be fine." He doesn't say anything else, he just goes to check on Emilia. Finally being alone, I check my status. 'Status.'
[Status]
Name: Ren "Maxwell" Fujimura
Level: 2 [15/25 Exp]
Fatigue: 52
Job: None
Title: None
Hp: 143/150
Mp: 63/75
Strength: 5
Agility: 2
Sense: 2
Health: 2
Intelligence: 2
Available AP: 0
[Skills]
Poker Face: Lvl Max
Redacted: Lvl Redacted
Lesser Healing (Temporary): Lvl 5
Huma (Temporary): Lvl 5
'Hold on, why isn't the quest over?' Opening up my [Quest] menu, I find the objectives still incomplete.
[Quest]
The Elf's Lost Sigil:
Objective: Help find Emilia's lost belongings. (Incomplete)
Hidden Objective: Survive Elsa Granhiert. (Incomplete)
"Hold on…Um Reinhard? Where's Elsa at?"
"I believe she was caught under som-" He's not able to finish his sentence, but if I had to guess, he was probably going to say she was under the rubble. Because Elsa decided to join once more from under the debris.
"Ren!" Reinhard's shout is the last thing I hear before I'm sent flying backwards into a wall.
-116 Hp
Critical Condition, Fatigue has increased.
Maximum Fatigue has been reached, Player is falling asleep.
Moments before I fall into unconsciousness, I see Elsa making a mad dash towards Emilia, but Reinhard is with her, so I can only assume she'll be just fine.
Roswaal's Mansion, Guest Room
Opening my eyes, I find myself in a different location. 'This isn't my bedroom…Oh right, this isn't even my world. Wait, that doesn't explain where I am!' Scanning my surroundings, I find myself in a very strange room. It seems almost like a European room, the decor is also very European like. '2B? Do you know what happened?'
Yes…
Waiting for her to continue, I'm disappointed by her lack of communication. 'You can't be serious right now. I may be in danger and you still won't answer?'
…
"Tch, I'll figure it out myself. Quest."
[Quest]
The Elf's Lost Sigil:
Objective: Complete
Hidden Objective: Complete
Rewards: 2500 Exp, Random Loot Box, 10 AP, New Skill [Huma]
Hidden Rewards: New Skill [Stealth, New Skill [BloodLust, Elsa's Kukri Knives x2
Claim Rewards?
[Yes] [No]
'How could I ever say no to this?' Accepting the rewards, I go over everything.
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
...
[Status]
Name: Ren "Maxwell" Fujimura
Level: 19 [440/500]
Fatigue: 0
Job: None
Title: None [Available]
Hp: 1000/1000
Mp: 500/500
Strength: 22
Agility: 19
Sense: 19
Health: 19
Intelligence: 19
Available AP: 10
[Skills]
Passive Skills
Redacted: Lvl ???
Poker Face: Lvl Max
Active Skills
Huma: Lvl 1 - Shooting an Ice shard couldn't be easier. Costs 25 MP per Shard.
Dmg: 10 Int 1.5
Stealth: Lvl 1 - Makes you harder to spot whether through Mundane or Non-Mundane means, doesn't make you invisible so don't even think about doing it. Makes you 50% harder to find. Costs 20 MP per minute.
Bloodlust: Lvl 1 - Make Everyone around you piss their pants. You release a strong energy, which causes Fear to be applied to foes, Fear cuts enemy stats by 50%, Fear lasts for 1 Minute. Costs 75 MP.
'Holy…I leveled up 17 times! Three new skills and a weapon. I'll hold off on upgrading my stats for now. Available Title? I'll check on that first.
[Titles]
Available Titles:
Other Worlder - You have traveled across worlds, you gain a 25% Exp gain for Space-Type and Dimensional Skills.
Redacted - ???
The Player - You have become The Player, increase Exp Gain by 20% to both Level Exp and Skill Exp. (Only usable until Level 50)
'Other Worlder is useless to me, Redacted is well, Redacted. The player is just obviously the best choice here.' Choosing The Player, I go to my inventory next.
[Inventory]
High Quality Fountain Pen - A fountain pen, what did you expect?
[Sell]
[Take out]
Elsa's Kukri Knives x2 - Knives wielded by Elsa Granhiert, The Bowel Hunter, said to be her weapon used for cutting open stomachs.
Attack: 40
Effect: Chance to trigger Poison, will cause foe to lose 1.5% Health per second.
[Take Out] [Sell]
'The attack seems pretty meh, but I don't even know how much damage I can even do without them, so I'll use them for now. That's if I can actually use them.' Finished with everything, I close the screen.
Standing up and out of the bed, I head for the door. Being greeted by an empty and quiet hallway, I take a right in hopes of finding someone, anybody. The sound of my footsteps on the floor echoing throughout the hallway.
Tap…
Tap…
Tap…
[Notice]
You feel as if you have walked past this set of doors before.
Huh…Well, would you look at that? I would have walked right past this door over and over again without noticing if it weren't for the system. Thank you system.
Opening the double doors, I find myself in a library, a big one at that. And in the center of the Library sits a little girl, her blonde hair in a drill-like fashion. "Who are you? I suppose."
"I'm Ren Fujimura, and you are?" Getting closer to the child, I extend my hand out for a shake, which she ignores.
"Betty is Betty, In fact." Standing up, she starts getting closer. "Now, stand still. I suppose." She says, placing her hand on my abdomen. I soon start to feel itchy.
[Notice]
Your MP is being drained.
-5MP…-5MP…-5MP…
"Hey, watch it!" Moving backwards, the draining stops.
"Betty has determined you to not be a threat, in fact. You may leave now if you'd like, I suppose." 'Like hell I'll leave, damned kid just took my MP. Actually… Judging off her nametag, she'll probably end up killing me if I piss her off.' Picking up a book off one of the shelves, I start to read in silence.
[Notice]
Lide's Blessing of Literacy: Allows you to read and write in any language.
'That's very nice, but is there any way to mute these messages? The dinging is getting on my nerves.'
Mute [Notices]?
[Yes] [No]
'Yes.' Going back to reading, I find myself absorbed in this book. After a couple minutes of reading, I am interrupted once more. "What are you doing? I suppose."
"What does it look like? I'm reading obviously, you said I could leave if I wanted to. So I just chose to stay and read." She accepts that answer, begrudgingly from what I can tell.
So I read, sitting down on one of the stools, I'd raise my head every once in a while to check on the librarian. Other than that, I would end up finishing the book after 2 hours or so. 'Unmute Notices.'
[Notice]
Intelligence has increased by 3
'Isn't that convenient.' Looking back at the book I just read, I start going over what I learned. 'If this isn't just some fairy tale, then there should be a dragon on top of a tower somewhere in this world. I'm guessing I won't be meeting said dragon until later on though, I mean there's no possible way I could take on some dragon god at my level.'
'Speaking of high-level, what level could she be?' Directing my gaze towards the Librarian child, I try to find something that can give me more information on her. 'There's nothing really special about her, her fancy dress makes her look more like a doll or princess than a librarian. Nothing about her makes her look like a threat other than her red name tag.'
[Notice]
New Skill has been learned.
Due to repeated actions, you have learned [Observe]
Observe - Activating Observe on a target gives a brief synopsis of the target.
Costs No MP.
'Neat.' Laying my eyes upon the Librarian child once more, I activate my new skill.
Name: Beatrice
Level: 250
Race: Artificial Spirit
Strength:???
Agility:???
Sense:???
Health:???
Intelligence:???
Due to differences in Level, the information provided is limited.
'Why thank you system, I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't said something.' I think sarcastically.
"Why are you staring at Betty? If you have something to say, then say it. I suppose." Her voice irritable.
"My bad, I was wondering if you knew where we were?" I ask.
"We are currently in the Forbidden Library, now is that all? I suppose." That's not what I meant.
"And where exactly is that?"
"The Forbidden Library is a sub-dimensional space, it can go wherever I want it to…" That's not what I meant either. "But based on the look on your face, I suppose you are asking who's mansion this may be. In fact." Nodding, she goes ahead and explains it to me. "You are currently in Roswaal's Mansion, in the Mather's Domain. Now, I have been nice enough to satisfy your curiosities, Leave, I have things to do and I'd rather you not be here. I suppose."
'I understand she wants privacy but did she have to say it so rudely?' "Alright I'll go, thanks for the help Betty." Leaving the library, I go back to the room I woke up in.
'What a strange girl, shouldn't she be playing with dolls at her age? Maybe spirits age differently, she even looks different compared to the little orbs from before.' Thinking back to my contracted spirit, I check my current contracts.
There are no active contracts at the moment.
"I don't have the lesser healing in my skills tab anymore, so I'm guessing the little guy just up and left me when I passed out." Now, onto waiting for whoever decided to kidnap me…
…
…
'Yeah, I'm bored already. What can I do until whoever kidnapped me wakes up? Training my new magic inside seems like a good way to get sued for property damage, so physical training seems like the way to go.'
[Saving]
"85, Huff…86, huff…87, huff…88…" it's been roughly two hours or so since I've started, the sun's already risen and still no signs of anybody. 'Guess I'll just keep on working out.'
…
…
…
"Haah…That was pretty exhausting, it feels like my body is on fire." Having finally finished my endurance workout, I sit down at the desk that has been here since the beginning…I think.
Closing my eyes, I try to relax on the very uncomfortable chair. Of course the very uncomfortable chair ends up being too uncomfortable for me, so I decide to just take a quick nap.
Standing out of the chair, I find myself in the gazes of two maids. "Huh? …Who the hell are you two?"
"Rem, Rem. Guest-sama has released his beastly urges and is planning on violating us." The one on the left with the pink hair says. '…The hell? What're they on about?'
"Nee-sama, Nee-sama. Guest-sama is ripping off his clothes and coming towards us." The blue one says.
'Oh. That's what they meant. It makes sense considering I'm basically half naked.' Putting on the robe I woke up with back on, I look back towards them and ask. "So can the two of you explain how I got here? It's not everyday you pass out and wake up in another place." Actually, this is the second time this has happened to me, so it's not as strange.
"You are currently in Lord Roswaal's Mansion, you were brought here by Emilia-sama." The pink one responds.
"Emilia? As in the elf girl?"
"Yes, the Half-elf." Is there really a difference?
"I see… What about Reinhard? Where's he at?" My question seems to confuse them.
"Reinhard? Oh, you mean the Sword Saint. According to Emilia-sama, he has returned to his estate near Flanders." I don't even know where that is. I need a world map of sorts, maybe Beatrice has one in her library.
"Oh…Okay. So where is she now? I'd like to speak with her."
"She should be studying around this time, I can fetch her if you'd like." The pink one explains, the blue one quietly observing the whole time.
"No, I can wait. If you don't mind, could I get my clothes back? I feel a bit embarrassed wearing only a robe and underwear."
"My apologies, Guest-sama, but the clothes you came with are beyond repair." You can't be serious, those clothes were my only belongings from back home…Tch, no point in crying over spilled milk. "But if you'd like, we could provide something for you to wear."
"Alright then, thanks."
~Loading~
Putting on the clothes they gave me, I get a good look at myself in the mirror. 'I look like an idiot. I look like one of those magicians that pull rabbits out of their top hats. Well, at least I don't actually have to wear a top hat, and the outfit itself is pretty comfortable.' (AN: Just think Joker's metaverse outfit from Persona 5)
'At least those maids are finally gone. Ram and Rem, huh? In their profiles, it said they were both onis. Despite my very Japanese sounding name, I don't know too much about Japanese culture or mythology. I guess that's what happens when you live in isolation your whole life.' Sitting down at the desk from before, I start to drum my fingers as I try and remember something about Japanese mythology.
'But if I had to guess based on what I know, they're demons of some kind. Said demons are probably commonplace in this world…Never thought I'd ever think that…
…
…
Where is that girl? I've been awake for longer than 6 hours and nothing, nada, absolutely zero sign of the elf girl. At this point I might as well just go to her instead. I mean seriously, what is wr-' A faint knocking breaks me out of my little rant.
"Yes? Come in." At least whoever this is knocked, those maids just went in and out of here without even a hello or goodbye.
"I'm sorry, I had completely forgotten I brought you here with me. If Puck hadn't reminded me tha-Huh?" My small chuckle at her scrambling to apologize seems to snap her out of it. 'Wow, she acts kinda like how a child would.'
"Good morning, Emilia. How's the leg?" I ask the still confused elf.
"Ah yes, Good morning. There's no pain anymore, so I'm fine. Thank you by the way, you didn't have to go out of your way to help someone like me." Huh? What does she mean by that?
"Uh, yeah, no problem. If you don't mind my asking, what happened back at the loot house after I got knocked out? Actually, why were you even fighting to begin with?"
"Um, I don't really understand why she attacked me either, but if I had to guess it probably has to do with me being a half-elf and something else. And about what happened was that she somehow healed herself back to normal, and Reinhard and her fought again…but when I started helping she soon ran away. By the time I made it back to you, your spirit had already healed you back to normal." She explains with a small nod at the end as if to say "Yup, I'm pretty sure that's how it went."
'So that little spirit ended up healing me? And here I thought it just left me to the wolves, guess I was wrong.'
"Did you end up finding what you lost?" I ask.
"Yes, I did. And it wasn't lost! It was stolen." Sure it was.
"Alright, alright. So can I ask why you brought me here?"
"I had asked Reinhard if he knew where you lived, and he explained to me that you had just arrived here in Lugnica. I assumed that you didn't have anywhere to go, so I thought of bringing you here as a way of saying thank you." Most of her logic makes sense, and the fact that I had a roof to sleep under isn't all that bad.
"You're welcome? I didn't do too much, Reinhard was the one who fought her off. All I did was play guard dog, and even then I still got hurt."
"Even then, you still healed me and you were completely uninvolved in this, so please just accept my thanks." Guess she really is that nice of a person.
"Haah…Alright." Accepting her thanks, I start to feel a bit hungry. "I know this may sound a bit rude, but do you think I can have something to eat? I'm kind of starving over here." And I really was. The last time I had eaten was back in my original world, I had gone through all of yesterday without a thing to eat or drink.
"Yes, of course! Ram and Rem have probably already finished making breakfast, so we should head down and get ourselves something to eat!" Why'd suddenly get so excited? I only asked for food.
"Lead the way I guess…"
Dining Room
'This entire place is filled with a lot of strange people. Both of the maids are demons, there's a sub-dimensional library that's managed by a single librarian who has the stature of a 10 year old, and the Lord of this place is a literal clown with a few screws loose, based off his manner of speech at least. The only normal one here is Emilia, and even that's debatable. She'd probably be more normal if it weren't for childish way of acting and speaking.' Too immersed in my own thoughts, I barely notice Roswaal, the lord of the mansion, speaking to me.
"So you say you are a foreigner, Ren-kun? I must say, you couldn't have picked a worse time to travel here to Lugnica." (AN: I'm not even going to try and attempt to do his way of dragging out his words.)
"Huh? Why do you say that?" Confused by what he's getting at, I ask the clown what he means.
"Oh? You mean to say you don't know? I suppose it would make sense as to why you would travel here if you didn't know."
'How about instead of talking in circles, you tell me?' His way of dragging his words irritates me more and more the longer he takes.
"Allow me to explain then, Lugnica no longer has a ruler… The Royal family has passed away from an incurable disease that only affected them. With no one to rule, the Wise Men have temporarily taken control of the country. Said Wise Men have also been informed by the Divine Dragon of five potential successors to the throne. Only four have been found at this time, until the fifth is found, the Royal Selection will not start." Most of this makes some amount of sense… "Of the four found, one of them is Lady Emilia herself. Without your help Lady Emilia surely would have been disqualified from the selection."
'…Ok, Wow. I'm actually speechless, what am I supposed to say to that?' Still registering what he said, I finally understand everything he said. "Wait, you lost something that important?"
Instead of answering me, Emilia looks away in what I can only assume is embarrassment. I do however have to listen to the clown's stretched out sentences once more. "As I said, Without you there to help, Lady Emilia's campaign would have ended before it even began. As her sponsor, the least I can do is reward you for your actions. I will grant you any wish you may have, as long as it's within my power of course."
'Any one wish, huh? What could I possibly wish for? I don't necessarily need anything at the moment…Actually, I guess I do need that…' Thinking about my current situation, I remember something I'll be needing for my entire stay in this world.
"Alright then, My wish is to be made a permanent guest here."
[System Offline]
That's all for this month's update! Don't forget to point out any typos or mistakes.
In the future, I'll be writing the status at the end, but for now this'll be it.
Goodbye and Good Morning!