The Mysterious Mansion of Roswaal L. Mathers
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Spiral Flames in Lugnica! Today our hero, and villain, get to meet the happy Roswaal family. Also I'd like to give a shout out to Steeler Steelix for Beta reading this for me, been an interesting learning experience so far. Next, don't forget to check out my book, Plains Riders, on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited! Lastly, with no guest review questions this week, let's dive on in!
Daytime: Country Road in a Carriage
The one thing that wasn't well known about Nejire Hado was that at one point she had put on a cold and distant front during her first year at U.A. High.
It's not that she had been a cold and distant person at the time, but rather her usual personality had driven people away from her because of the way she asked invasive questions and liked knowing more than other people. The other students had assumed that because she had a powerful Quirk, she was looking down on them, but in truth, she just liked explaining things to other people.
It wasn't until she had befriended Tamaki Amajiki and Mirio Togata that she had regained her confidence and returned to her cheerful, endlessly curious was for this reason that despite knowing next to nothing about the world they were in, she felt no hint of frustration.
In all honesty, now that a crazy lady with a funky purple knife wasn't trying to kill them, things were going pretty well. The pair was currently sitting in a fancy carriage across from Emilia and a short, pink-haired girl in a French maid's outfit named Ram.
Well, Dabi was sitting with his chin on his hand staring out the window, at the small liquor cabinet in the carriage itself or literally anywhere else that wasn't their host's location in the carriage. The carriage itself was being driven by a man that hailed from a village that was apparently quite close to Roswaal's mansion who was hired out from time to time when circumstances deemed it necessary.
Nejire, on the other hand, was practically bouncing on her seat.
"So it's really true?" She asked. "This whole place is full of castles and knights and even dragons?!"
"It is." Emilia replied with a smile. "I've heard there are many castles, mansions, and other large buildings spread throughout the land. As far as knights go, Lugnica certainly has them but I can't recall if the other lands do."
"Calling the soldiers of Vollachia as 'knights' might be a stretch." Ram spoke up. "It is known that many battle thirsty fighters hail from that land. As for dragons, I'm surprised you haven't heard of the great dragon that protects Lugnica."
"Well, I do know a dragon of sorts." Nejire replied with a finger to her chin. "Her name is Ryukyu and her Quirk lets her basically turn into a dragon. She's one of the protectors of the city where I come from."
"It must be quite an isolated city." Ram observed. "For you to be unaware of things like the great dragon or the workings of the Kingdom of Lugnica. Where are you from, exactly?"
"Pretty damn far from here." Dabi interjected while still staring out the window. "And we'd like to get back sooner rather than later."
"We'll get back to the Mathers domain as soon as we can." Emilia assured. "Once we reach Roswaal's manor we can look through some of the maps he has and find out where your home is."
"That's…probably not gonna help much." Nejire revealed as she actually deflated a bit. "You see, it's not as simple as us just being far away. Our home isn't anywhere in this land to begin with."
"Hado." Dabi barked while directing narrowed eyes at her. "You really wanna let this cat out of the bag? You know it'll be a headache."
"Headache or not, things will be a lot easier if we tell them this sooner rather than later." The blue-haired girl shot back with a determined look of her own. "Unless you think you've got a better idea."
"I do, actually." The pyrokinetic replied before reaching down and retrieving a bottle of, well something, from the liquor cabinet. "This is alcoholic, right?"
The pink-haired maid nodded in affirmation.
"Thank God." He bit into the cork at the top and yanked it out with his teeth before spitting it onto the floor of the carriage.
"Dabi." The U.A. student chided as she stood up with her hands on her hips. "This is no time to be rude to Emilia and Ram."
"I told you I had a better idea and this is it." He replied before taking a swig from the bottle. "You tell 'em whatever you want while I get hammered."
"That's hardly even an idea, let alone a 'good' idea." Nejire shot back. "What if they want to ask questions?"
"Weren't you listening to the first part?" Dabi grunted in annoyance. "You can handle all the questions. I am going to work on forgetting the last few hours."
The hero girl sighed in frustration. He had honestly been very little help ever since their departure.
Yesterday: Ruins of the Loot House
"So if I'm understanding everything correctly," Reinhard began, "This little one, Felt, stole your insignia and had intended to sell it to another unknown party. You caught up to her, though, and then tried to get answers from the buyer who happened to be the Bowel Hunter, Elsa Granhiert."
"That is correct." Emilia replied with a nod. "We tried to interrogate the assassin but there was very little she could tell us. Then Dabi over there got a little carried away."
"There's no such thing as 'carried away' when you're dealing with a damn regenerating monster." The pyrokinetic countered. "I torched her head and she still kept coming after us."
"I have heard rumors that she isn't exactly human." Reinhard added. "Although, not enough people have survived from her to officially confirm that until now anyway. You did quite well to fend her off."
"It would've been better if we had captured her." Nejire spoke up. "Do you think she'll try coming after Emilia again?"
"It's possible." Reinhard admitted. "I'll alert the rest of the knights in the kingdom to keep a look out for her. The Bowel Hunter has been on our list for a while now so we'll be extra vigilant. But just as an extra precaution, it would be best if the rest of you headed on home, and for you to give back that insignia."
"Oh right." Felt almost laughed as she pulled the item out of her pocket and presented it to Emilia. "And sorry about all the trouble, but at least it worked out for both of—hey!" For whatever reason, the red-haired knight's eyes had widened at the sight of the insignia in Felt's hand before he grabbed her arm and pulled it closer to examine. "Hey what gives that hurts!"
"Reinhard, what are you doing?" Emilia asked as she and Nejire looked on in concern. Dabi simply turned his head to examine the still burning house. He wanted no part of tangling with this knight again.
"Felt was it? Do you have a family name, and how old are you?" Reinhard asked.
"Argh, it's just Felt." She grunted, still feeling a bit of pain from the grip on her wrist. "I don't have anything fancy like a family name. And I'd guess I'm about fifteen, but why do you want to know that?"
"If I'm right then tonight may be our last chance to gaze calmly at the moon." Reinhard replied. "Miss Felt, I need you to come along with me for further questioning."
"That shouldn't be necessary." Nejire pointed out. "The stolen item is here and Felt clearly has no other information to give on the one who wanted her insignia."
"What she said, I haven't done anything else." Felt growled while trying to free herself from the knight's iron grip. "And just because you saved me doesn't mean…uh." For whatever reason, the blonde girl almost immediately lost consciousness when Reinhard held his other hand up to her face.
"I am sorry, but the circumstances we've found ourselves in leave me no choice." Reinhard said as he picked the girl up bridal style.
"Where are you taking her?" Rom asked as he moved in with a large club he had fished out of the rubble while Nejire gathered some energy in her hands. Emilia held up her hand to stop them both. However:
"Sir Reinhard." The half-elf said. "At least tell us: what you intend to do with Felt?"
"You needn't worry, she won't be harmed." The knight assured. "I simply wish to confirm something."
"She's not going anywhere with you." Rom growled. "That girl is my charge and I'm not letting some stranger waltz off with her!"
"You have been caring for this girl?" Reinhard asked in surprise before suddenly bowing. "Then you have my thanks. And the rest of you seem quite concerned about this girl's wellbeing, too, so how about a proposition: Rom here can come along with me to ensure Miss Felt is well. Would such an arrangement be satisfactory for everyone?"
"That…..is agreeable." Emilia said after a few moments. "Just please take care of her wherever you're going."
"You have my word as a knight." He replied with another bow. "And take care of yourselves as well. Now then, we've already wasted a lot of time so let us hurry along, Mister Rom."
"It's just Rom." The large man grumbled as the two headed off with the unconscious Felt.
"Are you sure it was okay to just let him go?" Nejire asked Emilia. "Kidnapping a young girl wasn't exactly the most knightly thing I've ever seen."
"That guy ain't just a knight, he's a damn monster." Dabi spoke up as he finally joined the other two. "He's faster than that Elsa chick we just fought and he's got more than a couple magic tricks going on around him. If you really think you can stop a guy like that go right ahead, but don't drag me into it."
"You seem to know a surprising amount about Reinhard." Emilia noted. "Have you met him before?"
"You could say I've seen a demonstration of his skills before." Dabi answered. "Anyway, let's get out of here. I don't want to be around in case that regeneratin' bitch comes back."
"Then we should find Ram and take the carriage out of here." Emilia suggested. "Hopefully, she isn't too far from where we parked the carriage."
Present Time
"As I stated before, when you let them enter the carriage," Ram began, "I question your judgement on whether or not it was a wise decision to bring these two with us, especially the 'crispy' criminal over there."
"What am I a donut now?" Dabi retorted while taking another swig from the bottle he had gotten out of the liquor cabinet.
"I'd demand the firing of the chef if he ever produced a pastry such as you." Ram replied without hardly missing a beat.
"And I'd demand your firing for being a little smart mouth." The flame wielder riposted. "Does your master really let you get away with saying shit like that to their guests?"
"Lord Roswaal has a surprising amount of leniency." The maid informed. "And he is generous. He will see that you're properly rewarded if he deems your actions worthy of such."
"Then he'd better have more of this stuff." Dabi commented while taking another drink. Nejire and Emilia sighed but were at least happy that the two didn't bicker long.
"Like I was saying earlier," the blue-haired girl continued from where she had left off, "Dabi and I aren't from this kingdom, this land, or even this world."
"Not from this world?" Emilia repeated with a tilt of her head. "But you're clearly not spirits so what other world could you have come from besides the spirit world?"
"We come from a world known as 'Earth'." Nejire explained. "It's a bit more advanced technologically than this world and instead of magic, eighty percent of the world's population possesses a special power or trait known as a 'Quirk'."
"Are you certain these 'Quirks' aren't simply another form of magic?" Ram questioned with a neutral expression on her face.
"Not as far as we know." The U.A. student replied. "We've determined it to be a type of strange genetic anomaly that started, give or take, a few generations before us. As you can imagine, it was pretty confusing and chaotic for a while with more and more people being born who possessed Quirks until they outnumbered the people who didn't have Quirks. But thanks to the advent of the heroes who rose to combat the villains, order was eventually restored. After that, the profession of 'hero' was created along with specialized academies meant to train future generations of heroes to protect society."
"Heh, that's what the official history is anyway." Dabi snorted. "Wonder how much murder and destruction they covered up along the way."
"Not every hero is like Endeavour and you know it." Nejire shot back with narrowed eyes. "And you're not really in a place to judge after all you've done."
"Someone's got to hold the heroes accountable for their failures." The pyrokinetic retorted. "Who better than one of their victims?"
"I take it the two of you were not originally working together." Ram surmised.
"It's a long story, but let's just say I used to have longer hair before an encounter with him." Nejire replied while crossing her arms and turning her head away.
"And maybe I'll finish the job when we get back." Dabi grunted. "But right now, the circumstances have made things complicated. So that hotshot friend of yours better have a way to send us back."
"I'm certain Lord Roswaal or Beatrice might be able to help." Emilia reassured. "They're some of the best magic wielders I've ever encountered. But it's going to take a little longer to get there, so while we wait, would you care to tell me more about your world?"
"Sure." Nejire said with a smile. "And you can tell us about yours, deal?"
"Deal." Emilia replied with a small smile of her own.
The conversation was carried on mostly by the hero and half-elf after that with the occasional interjection by Ram or, when he was feeling like it, Dabi.
By the time the group arrived at their destination, it was well into the night and the only thing any one of them wanted to do was go to bed. So, after getting some night clothes for the two new arrivals, the group headed off to sleep in their separate rooms. Although, if they thought the morning was going to be peaceful, then they were only half right.
Morning: The Mansion of Lord Roswaal L. Mathers
The sun shone through the window, causing an irritated Dabi to open his eyes and stare at the ceiling.
'I spent the last few months waking up in secret hideouts and underground bases.' He recalled. 'Guess it figures the light coming through the window would seem extra bright.'
Of course that wasn't the only thing that was different. The room he was in could be described as immaculate, possibly even extravagant with gold lines and symbols painted on the walls, two windows with blue curtains, and more than enough space for a person to have a few guests in the room.
"Definitely not in Japan anymore." He quipped as he got out of the bed which was large enough to hold at least two people if not more and stepped onto the rug.
The rest of the floor was tile with the rug only being laid out horizontally for someone to step onto the floor without their feet touching cold tile first. Not that he really noticed cold surfaces anyway, but then again the rug wasn't just for him. He quickly adjusted the bluish grey robe he was given to sleep in before opening the wooden door out into the mansion hallway.
"Yep, definitely a rich guy livin' here." He noted as he looked up and down the long, immaculate hallway with an arched ceiling. It was decorated with paintings and small tables topped with flowerpots all the way down. Not knowing what else to do at the moment, the flame Quirk user began walking down the hallway. Then he walked and walked and walked some more.
'The fuck is going on here.' He thought in annoyance while continuing to walk. 'I know it was dark, but the mansion wasn't quite this big on the outside and even if it was, I should've run into some stairs by now.'
The villain then stopped upon noticing the painting of a moonlit forest: the same one he had passed three times now.
'Looping hallway, seriously? Probably that Vainglory Witch playing games again.'
But that still begged the question of what to do now. Ordinarily, he would just torch the place until the one responsible came out and then torch them, but this world still had too many unknowns and he was in no mood to die again. So he did the next best, and far less destructive, thing and opened a nearby door.
To his surprise, the room he found himself in was rather large with stairs leading up to a second floor and multiple tall bookshelves filling it from wall to wall. The one spot that had more for space than the rest was a little past the door where a small table with a tray of tea and a stool was located.
But it was what was on the stool that made Dabi raise an eyebrow. It was a little girl in a heavy, long-sleeved, red dress whose blonde hair was styled into two long, drill-like curls.
"What a profoundly irritating man you are, I suppose." She said in a mature sounding but still childlike voice.
"I'm irritating? You're the one who was looping the damn hallway." Dabi pointed out. "I don't know what game you're playing but it's too damn early in the morning for shit like this."
"You're quite a vulgar man too, I suppose." The girl responded. "But it's no surprise coming from one with a demeanor like yours."
"I don't have to take that from a runt like you." The pyrokinetic said with narrowed eyes. "Just undo your hallway trick and I'll be on my way. If you don't, then I'll start torching the books."
"You wish to leave the hallway?" The miniature lady questioned before raising her hand. "Very well, you were an annoyance anyway, I suppose."
Dabi raised an eyebrow before an invisible force suddenly slammed into him and sent him flying out the mysteriously opening door.
He didn't stop when he entered the hallway, either, instead flying through a window which had been, conveniently or inconveniently, left open. The next thing he knew, he was crashing into a collection of bushes which was part of the mansion guardian.
"Ah! You fuckin' b—!" The flame man cursed as he shot back up, his front now covered in foul smelling, wet soil. "Even fucking toddlers can fire magic in this world?!"
"Oh, good morning Dabi." Emilia said as she and Nejire came walking by. "Are you alright? That fall looked like it hurt."
"Would you be alright if a pint-sized twerp sent you flying out a window right after you woke up?" He replied in annoyance.
"I mean, I would just instinctively float down slowly with my Quirk so I can't really relate." Nejire commented.
She and Emilia had both changed out of their usual outfits. The silver-haired girl was now wearing a more casual pink dress with a short skirt and long sleeves that left her shoulders exposed and would've left her neck exposed if not for the white neck covering.
Nejire was wearing a near identical outfit, minus the neck covering, leading the pyrokinetic to the conclusion that the half-elf had let the blue-haired girl borrow some of her wardrobe.
"You must've run into Beatrice." Emilia noted. "She may look small but her magical abilities are incredible and she's actually a few centuries old despite her appearance."
"That was Beatrice?" Dabi said in minor disbelief. "Great, one of the people who's supposed to be helping us is a pint-sized immortal that still acts like a child. And what kind of fertilizer did you put in this flower bed; it smells like shit."
"Oh, well Rem covered that flower bed with manure fertilizer yesterday." The silver-haired girl replied with an expression on her face that was between apologetic and amused. "I was just about to mention that."
"Outstanding, I am covered in literal shit!" The pyrokinetic exclaimed while trying to brush as much of said fertilizer off of him as possible. "What an incredible start to the morning!"
"Well, the good news is Ram and Rem should be taking out the laundry now." Nejire informed. "And this place has plenty of washrooms, so that's something."
"I might actually have a quicker way for the washing part." Emilia offered before touching the green gem around her neck. "Okay, Puck, rise and shine."
A ball of light suddenly appeared on her hand which quickly changed shape until the talking feline himself materialized.
"Good morning, Lia." The spirit yawned as he rubbed his eyes sleepily.
"Good morning to you, Puck." She replied. "Sorry to ask you this when you just woke up, but would you mind washing off Dabi here?"
"Wash him off?" The cat spirit replied questioningly before getting a better look at the currently shit-covered villain. "Oh that won't be a problem at all." He held up his paws and conjured an ornament-sized orb of water in between them. "Here ya go."
Said ornament-sized ball of water then rapidly expanded like the spray of a firehouse, blasting Dabi off his feet before swirling him around as the water spun like a tornado.
None of them could hear what he was saying while he was swirling around in there, but Nejire expected that it was a long string of profanity that would've made that Bakugo kid from Class-1A proud. Before long, Puck broke the spell, dropping the pyrokinetic back on the ground, face up, as the rest of the water spread out on the ground.
"There ya go, nice and clean." Puck said as he put his paws on his hips proudly. "Not bad, right?"
"You damn smug pussy." Dabi grunted while spitting some water out of his mouth. "You did that on purpose!"
"Maybe I did and maybe I didn't." Puck replied while revealing his tongue out playfully. "Either way, you're clean now."
"That's what I get for thinking a guy who takes a bath by licking himself knows anything about washing up." The flame wielder said as he stood up and started heating his body to dry himself with his Quirk. "I should torch you right now just for that."
"Why don't we save starting fires for later?" Nejire placated. "I know what'll cheer everyone up, a good breakfast!"
"It better be a damn feast with the morning I've had so far." Dabi dryly commented before two maids arrived, surprisingly stealthily.
"Lady Emilia." The obvious twins said while bowing. "Our lord and master Roswaal has finally returned home, please come inside."
The first one was Ram, the pink-haired maid that Dabi and Nejire had met before. The other one looked identical to Ram except her hair was blue and, to those who paid attention, her chest was a bit bigger. This one was Rem, Ram's twin sister, and someone Nejire no doubt questioned quite a lot on how she got her bob cut hair to glisten like it did. But those questions would have to wait since it was finally time for the heroine and villain to meet the master of the mansion.
A Few Minutes Later: Large Dining Room in Roswaal Mansion
The maids opened the doors for the trio who walked in and saw that the dining room was indeed large with several massive paintings hanging on the walls. The table was also a good size being a long rectangle with multiple seats, the most extravagant of which sat at the far end of the room, marking the head of the table.
"I've been watching you two from the window." The short blond mage known as Beatrice said while standing off to the side. "And I must say you're quite clueless aren't you?"
"You think we'd be here right now if we didn't have to be?" Dabi shot back in annoyance. "Why don't you run along and play with some coloring books or something."
"I don't know what you mean but it sounds like you're calling me a child." Beatrice replied with narrowed eyes.
"Hey Betty." Puck called from Emilia's shoulder as he and the half-elf girl entered. "It's been four days now, hasn't it? Hope you've been doing well and staying ladylike."
"Hellooooo Bubby!" Beatrice exclaimed like the child she resembled. "I've been waiting so eagerly for you to come home! Will you be able to stay with me today, I suppose?"
"Sure thing." Puck agreed as he leapt into her waiting hands.
"Today's the day we can finally relax together." Beatrice cheered as she did a little dance around the room with the cat spirit in her hands.
"They seem to get along very well." Nejire observed.
"Yes, Beatrice is so taken with Puck she can't get enough of him." Emilia replied with a smile. Nejire might've said more until another eccentric fellow suddenly stepped into the room.
"My, my," the man said in a high class yet goofy sounding voice. "How unuuusual it is to see you here, Beatrice. I'm sooooo happy that you're dining with me as I do so ever love your company and treaaaaaasure our time together."
He was definitely the kind of man who would stand out in a crowd with his long dark blue hair and a comically small purple hat on his head, white makeup with purple marks around his eyes, a purple outfit that looked like the unholy union between a jester's uniform, and Victorian fashion along with a large blue and purple cape that had a crooked high collar. In short, he looked ridiculous to Dabi while Nejire, well…
"Oh my goodness!" She exclaimed with practical stars in her eyes. "You didn't tell me that we would be having a clown joining us today!" The U.A. student rushed over then as her usual line of questions began. "Do you do your own makeup? Is that your natural hair color? Are you just here for the day or do we have you all week? Do you only do one show or can we expect multiples? Are you a one person act or do you have assistants? And do you have a comically small carriage for your clown family?!"
"Uh, Nejire." Emilia spoke up. "That's not a clown, that's actually—"
"Oh, it's quite alright Miss Emilia." The man assured. "Please allow meeee to handle the introductions." Nejire gave them both a confused look before he continued. "I am in fact the lord of this manor, Roswaal L. Mathers, so very pleaaaased to make your acquaintance. Nejire Hado and Dabi, correct?"
"Oh I'm so sorry!" The blue-haired girl apologized while bowing repeatedly.
"That's what you get for shooting your mouth off without thinking." Dabi dryly commented. "So you're the big boss of this place?"
"You could most ceeeertainly say that." The now named Roswaal replied. "But why don't we discuss this over breakfast. I'm certain you're all quite hungry." No one argued with that as the group sat down at the table with Emilia sitting in between Dabi and Nejire. Today's menu item turned out to be a type of potato soup that at least most of them found quite appealing. Although, Dabi still insisted on some extra sides to compensate for the morning he had been having so far.
"This is good, which one of you made this?" The U.A. student asked.
"The meaaaal in front of you, as well as all others, are prepared by Rem here." Roswaal replied, indicating the blue-haired maid standing on his left-hand side. Ram stood on his right.
"Guess that means I have the pink-hair over there to thank for washing my outfit." Dabi commented while indicating his usual attire that he had recently changed back into.
"Ram does assist with the laundry, yes." Rem affirmed. "She also participates in the cleaning of the mansion."
"A good division of labor helps things go smoothly." Nejire said. "One of you has more practice cooking while the other has more practice cleaning."
"On the contrary, I am more skilled in all household tasks than my sister including cleaning." Rem revealed.
"Wow, after talking all that smack yesterday, it turns out that you're not even the head maid, pinkie." Dabi retorted.
"Incorrect." Ram stated. "I am the head maid in charge of this mansion and have full permission to refer to you, honored guest, as 'crispy criminal' if you insist on calling me 'pinkie'."
"Oh now I know why this guy keeps you around." The burnt man shot back. "That mouth of yours and all its 'various uses'—"
"Aaanyway." Nejire interrupted. "We're both incredibly thankful for your hospitality, Lord Roswaal. If all goes well, then we shouldn't be imposing on you for too long."
"Think nooooothing of it." The head of the mansion replied. "Even if you weren't instrumental in the retrieval of Miss Emilia's insignia, I wouldn't have passed up the chance to speak to two iiiiiiiinteresting individuals such as yourselves."
"What have you heard exactly?" The pyrokinetic questioned while sipping some of his soup.
"Two individuals from another world." Roswaal began. "It sounds fantastical and yet it makes a surprising amount of sense based on what Ram and Miss Emilia have told me. You appear to have no knowledge of this land, the nature of its magic, the races that live here, or the written language. Strangely, you're able to speak and understand the language itself."
"We're still trying to understand that ourselves." Nejire added. "However, we got sent here and were apparently granted the ability to speak and understand the language. Another thing I don't understand, though, is why that insignia was so important that an assassin was hired to get it?"
"Ah, you really doooooon't have knowledge of this land's situation." The eccentric man almost laughed. "You see, Lugnica is currently in something of a disagreeable state. Little surprise given that it is currently without a king."
"It's what now?" The U.A. student asked as a sudden nervous expression crossed her face.
"Now there's no need to be alarmed." Roswaal assured them. "Eeeeeeeeveryone is well aware of the situation that has befallen the kingdom."
"I'm amazed there's not complete anarchy." Dabi noted. "Whose running things if there's no king?"
"A council of wiiiiise men is currently acting in the king's stead." The head of the mansion informed. "The circumstances were ceeeertainly strange. Roughly around the same time the king and his family went into hiding, an epideeeemic began to spread throughout the castle. The king and his children are the last of his line, so the council is now in the process of selecting a new king."
"Wow, so the country's kind of in a transition right now." Nejire surmised. "We went through something similar back in our world when the number one hero had to retire. A whole lot of villains started getting bold and coming out of the woodwork before…wait a sec, you don't think we have something to do with any of that, do you?!"
"It iiiiiiiis quite suspect when we look at the facts." Roswaal pointed out. "Two mysteeeeeeeerious individuals from lands unknown who make contact with Miss Emilia here almost immeeeeeeediately upon arrival. This has also facilitated a connection to my household. Quite a dilemma, wouldn't you agree?"
"You think that we came all the way from our own world just to screw with someone else's world?" Dabi asked incredulously. "I've heard plotlines like that before, but let's be real here: The chatterbox and I stand out way too much, and from what I hear the knights defending this place are even scarier than that regenerating psycho we took on yesterday."
"Indeed, Lugnica's knights are of a hiiiiiiigh caliber." The lord agreed. "I heard you even met Sir Reiiiiiiinhard yesterday."
"Yeah, we did." Nejire acknowledged. "Before he ran off with Felt, the weird thing is: he did it after seeing the insignia on her hand, which we still haven't heard why it's so important?"
"I can explain that." Emilia offered. "To start with, I should give you my official title. I am a candidate for the position of 42nd ruler of Lugnica with the backing of the honorable Lord Margrave Roswaal."
The hero and villain did a spit take of their soup and drink upon hearing this revelation.
"You're a fucking princess?!" Dabi blurted out. "I knew you were probably rich but seriously?!"
"I wouldn't say I'm a 'princess' exactly." The silver-haired girl replied before setting the insignia on the table. "This is a ceremonial touchstone that is used to determine whether or not one is worthy to sit on the throne and rule the nation."
"So you basically got your ticket to rule the kingdom stolen from you." Nejire surmised. "Jeez, no wonder they sent someone so dangerous after it."
"And what a dreaaaadful scenario it would've been had the thief succeeded." Roswaal said. "Even if Miss Emilia lived through the ordeal, the belief would becooooome that one incapable of protecting even a tiny iiiiiiiinsignia has no business ruling an entiiiiiire kingdom and thaaaat would've been the end of it."
"That explains why you were being so secretive about the situation." Dabi noted before smirking. "And it means you owe us big time."
"Dabi." Nejire scolded. "Don't even think about trying to exploit them!"
"I ain't no saint, you know that better than anyone here," The pyrokinetic replied with his arms crossed. "And in case you haven't noticed, there aren't any government agencies here that'll pay you for hero work, so unless you feel like joining the knights, we can't exactly turn away a good payday right now."
"It's really alright." Emilia reassured them. "You're both my saviors, so please, ask me for anything."
"You heard the lady." Roswaal said while holding his hands up dramatically. "Aaaaaany reward you desire shall be yours, just name it!"
"Then I have two." Nejire spoke quickly while holding up her fingers. "Help us get home and, if possible, teach us magic!"
Dabi frowned before gulping down the rest of his drink. "What she said." He affirmed.
'So much for soaking in the moment.' The flame wielder mused.
On the upside, at least they were finally making some progress on getting out of this world and with their current arrangement it should be sailing pretty smoothly. Or so they thought.
And so it has been decided! Now Nejire and Dabi will take their first steps in understanding the nature of magic in this new world, along with a couple of other unexpected lessons. Of course, that's for the next chapter, in the meantime feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Also, don't forget to check out my book, Plains Riders, on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited! Finally, be sure to stop in next time as our heroes adjust a little to life in a mansion full of magical characters! 'Til then.