I have four versions of this chapter that I worked on and reworked until I was happy, and it isn't even for my main project!

Even though this side project has little traction, it's been both fun and I seemed to have garnered a small audience of readers, so that's always great to see for such a niche story.

Hope you enjoy this chapter as the first sample of more complex shake-ups from canon.

In Another World With My Smartphone: The Lost Hero

Chapter Four: The Gift of Letters

"Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts."

–Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind

Dinner at the Silver Moon Inn tonight was met with a little more excitement than usual as Alex had spent most of the day and earlier last night making what he promised to be a fantastic dinner. Between the rich smell and interest in trying something new, the inn's inhabitants were excited and curious to see what the strange foreigner was cooking up. Still, Fleur, the inn's elderly cook, found it to be a welcomed change of pace as she could enjoy a new kind of food. It helped that there were only three guests currently staying at the inn, including Alex. So even if the dish proved unpopular, it wouldn't affect the inn's reputation. This is why Dolan, the inn's owner and Mika's father, allowed his daughter to honor her word to the increasingly mysterious guest they had recently gained.

"This food better be worth it," Dolan commented with an annoyed huff as dinner had to be delayed to let Alex finish up. "Between the table, he broke and making us wait so long. If you ask me, he is starting to become more trouble than he's worth."

"Dad, don't be like that," Mika countered as she jabbed her elbow into her father's side after seeing the Silhoueska twins make concerned expressions. "He's offered to help replace the table and even paid for the ingredients so he wouldn't take from our stores to make this dinner. He's basically paying us to cook for us!"

"I think the wait will be quite worth it," Fleur interjected with a broad smile on her wizened features.

"What makes you say that?" Elze questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Have you tried this French Onion Soup before?"

"No, but after seeing all the efforts, the boy was using to create this dish. I couldn't help but be reminded of my father, who had taught me how to cook when I was but a lass," Fleur answered with a soft laugh. "This Alex fellow has a passion for cooking that few had; that's all I need to be convinced that this meal will be quite the treat."

"I hope so," Linze followed up with an awkward smile. "I don't really like onions, but Alex said they would be tasty in this soup. So I'm willing to try after we got to try that ice cream stuff."

"Soups on!" Alex proclaimed excitedly as he entered the dining room with Mika's food cart, laden with several bowls of piping hot soup. Instantly the room was filled with a rich, hearty scent that made every stomach in the room growl with anticipation. "Sorry for the wait. I had to finish the dessert and leave it to cool before serving the main course."

"Well, it's about time," Dolan said with a huff, only to earn another jab from Mika.

"Trust me, it will be worth it," Alex reassured the man with a happy smile and served him a piping hot bowl first. "Careful, it's pretty hot."

"Wait, is this cheese?" Mika questioned as she began poking at the layer of melted cheese that topped the bowl. "Interesting, it's on top of the bread which has been soaked in the broth."

"Such a rich aroma!" Fleur declared as she poked around her bowl. "Wait, isn't this the old bread from our larder?"

"Yup, I used the state bread to make the croutons," Alex explained as he served the twins. "It's a great way to reduce food waste and makes a great addition to the soup."

"Wait, these croutons things were made using stale bread?!" Questioned Dolan as he poked the now soft brown bread of his soup. "That doesn't sound too good."

Before Alex could say anything, the rest of the table lit up with praise.

"Wow, this is delicious, Alex!" Linze proclaimed after finally taking a spoonful of the dark rich soup.

"Holy crap! I didn't think onions could taste this sweet!" Elze followed up as she quickly blew into the next spoonful so she could take another bite.

"That's the magic of caramelizing the onions," Alex said with a bright grin. "I also added a slight dash of citron to add a zesty aftertaste."

"I didn't think you'd be able to make something so tasty with so few ingredients!" Mika added in amazement as she looked over the contents of her bowl. "You even managed to make stale bread useful!"

"Oh, I knew this would be a fantastic dish," said Fleur as she continued to dig into her bowl. "It all blends so well! From the cheese to the bread and the hearty broth that still has slices of soft onion! Absolutely delicious!"

Dolan seemed at an altogether loss for words as he watched the ladies continue to eat ravishingly. While the young man simply looked on with a proud expression, Dolan finally sighed and looked down at his bowl. Admitting defeat to his curiosity, Dolan dipped his spoon back into his bowl and made sure to get a bit of every ingredient before eating a bite. Instantly his taste buds lit up with delight as the hearty soup was both so rich and yet so smooth.

"SO GOOD!" Dolan roared out when he finished his bowl. "I haven't had something that tasty in ages!"

"I'm glad!" Alex said with a delighted laugh. "I've got more if anyone wants seconds!"

"YES, PLEASE!" The six exclaimed in unison as they raised their empty bowls.

"Coming right up!" Alex announced as he returned to the kitchen to prep the next bowls. It seems like his first night as a chef seemed quite successful.

The next day came as Alex woke up that morning without so much as a stir. No nightmares to haunt his dreams, and since he avoided any updates about news from his old world. The young man found himself not only well-rested but also in an incredibly good mood, something the young man hadn't felt in a long while. Between that and the general reaction he had received from making dinner last night, Alex was settled on what would be his next move.

'I wonder if I could convince Dolan to expand the Inn so it would feature a full-blown restaurant?' Alex wondered as he began a set of stretches after everything that had happened. The interloper wanted to return to his routine training, which included a set of morning exercises. 'It could help make the inn stand out, and even Fleur said she wanted to learn more! So all I'd really need to do is provide the funds needed to get it done. Plus, I would have to negotiate with the local suppliers and have funds to cover other expenses such as a staff and newer equipment...'

Alex couldn't help but get excited as he could see almost endless potential in this new possible career path.

'In the meanwhile, I can still do the adventuring stuff on a part-time basis,' Alex continued his train of thought as he finished his stretches. 'But before I can make any real plans. I need to learn how to read. Thankfully, Linze will be giving me my first lesson after breakfast today. Maybe I should buy a notebook for notes?'

"I'm so happy that Leopold's latest shipment finally arrived!" Linze sighed to herself as she settled into her bed and had a cup of tea with her newest book. The cover was light green with white accents, forming its title: Magic through the Ages. A compendium of the many uses of magic and its development throughout history. It even featured a whole section of Null Magic spells and the histories of their recorded users.

Given that Alex had an aptitude for all 7 forms of magic. Linze couldn't help but be curious if someone else may have been just as magically inclined in the past aside from the heroes of old or the Gods themselves. "Glad to see those wolves seemed to stop causing trouble for all the local traders."

It had been a little over two weeks since the Silhoueska twins met Alexander Springfield and formed an adventuring party together. The friendly alliance had proven both exciting and quite profitable for both sides. A daily routine of combat training or magic practice had been established, followed by a few guild jobs that had quickly raised them to Green Rank. Which only meant better prospects for higher-paying jobs. Today had once been planned for another reading lesson for Alex. However, upon Linze's first lesson, which consisted of simply teaching Alex the alphabet from the Common Primer, Alex had a rather strange reaction.

Upon learning all 26 letters of the Common alphabet, Alex had to excuse himself and used the gate spell to leave her alone for about ten minutes. On his return, Alex sported an annoyed expression and had a very hoarse voice that lasted a couple of days. As if he had been screaming for hours, but when asked about it, his only answer was...he needed to do some very loud praying.

However, on the bright side, Alex was pretty much able to read Common quite fluently afterward.

So reading lessons were quickly replaced with more combat and magic lessons. The former was taught by Elze, and the latter by herself. Since today was a combat lesson before going to work for the guild, Linze had the free time to buy a new book and read it to her heart's content. At least that was the plan until Elze came stumbling into their room, out of breath and looking extremely worried.

"Lin-Linze! We need help! Alex...Alex's hurt!" Elze managed to cough out, pointing back down the hall. "Something weird happened during training!"

Linze hopped to her feet, leaving the book on the bed and the tea undrunk.

"What's going on?!"

"I-I don't know! Here it's better if you see!" Elze quickly stammered as she grabbed her sister's hand and guided her downstairs and out the backdoor of the Silver Moon Inn. They quickly found a dazed and confused Alex, bleeding profusely from the top of his head and next to a tree with a significant dent on its trunk.

"Did you throw him into it?!" Linze yelled as she rounded on her sister.

"No! He basically ran right into it after he used my spell!" Elze answered with a surprised look on her face. She hadn't expected Linze to speak to her like that, to the point that she felt the need to take a step back.

"Wait...what?" Linze suddenly asked, with a curiously and yet confused expression. "He used your Boost spell?"

"Yeah!" Elze replied with a wide-eye look at Alex, who was simply groaning and swaying on his side as his hands clutched his head, clearly in a lot of pain. "But let's get him healed first and ask questions later!"

"Oh! R-right!"

To say Alex went from feeling like shit from one second to feeling heavenly would be an understatement, and this is coming from someone who has literally been to heaven. At least...Alex thought it was heaven. Linze's magic could only be described as heavenly as not only could she soothe his painfully pulsing head with such a gentle touch. But the view of her cute face was far more appealing than any time he had gone to visit Recovery Girl, the elderly UA school nurse, and Pro-Hero. Plus, he wasn't drained of energy after being healed.

The world went from a blurred, painful ring to a clear and serene one with the welcomed sight of Linze's angelic face overhead.

"How are you feeling?" Linze questioned as her hands stopped glowing but remained kneeling over Alex, ensuring there wasn't any permanent damage.

"Loads better," Alex answered, trying to avoid staring at Linze's breasts, which was becoming increasingly more difficult as she continued leaning over him. Instantly his mind was a battleground with conflicting thoughts and willpower.

'Don't stare!'

'But they're so big!'

'CONTROL YOURSELF, GODDAMN IT!'

'I died a virgin! Can I really be blamed for wanting to stare?! PLUS, SHE LOOKS SO CUTE!'

"Are you sure you're okay? Your eyes are literally losing focus in front of me," said Linze as she continued her examination, even cupping Alex's cheek and forcing the young man to focus on her. Once she was satisfied, she helped Alex sit up, albeit slowly. "There we go...now what happened to you?"

The American sighed with relief, though not for the reasons Linze might have been thinking.

"Well...we were practicing hand-to-hand combat, like before," Alex started off before suddenly getting an annoyed look on his face. "Then your sister started cheating by using her Boost spell!"

"Hey! There's no such thing as a fair fight!" Elze was quick to defend her actions.

"You're the one who said no magic before we started to practice!" Alex shot back.

"Cause you're still learning how to control it!" Elze answered with a huff. "I can control my Boost spell just fine!"

"Hey! I've gotten better! At least I don't burn my fingers anymore when using fire magic!"

"Alright!" Linze interrupted with a rare glare filled with annoyance, making Alex and Elze look at her with surprised expressions. "Okay, so Elze started using boost...and then what happened?"

"Ummm...well," Alex stammered awkwardly. "Our training goes from a fairly even match up after spending the last week to finally catch up to her level. But then she pulls out Boost from out of nowhere, and next thing I know, I'm getting beat up right, left, and center!"

"Just keeping you on your toes," Elze interjected as she folded her arms.

"Sis..."

"Alright, alright, geez, Linze," said Elze, instantly lowering her guard. However, she couldn't deny being happy that her younger sister seemed to finally become more assertive. "I'm sorry, Alex. I should have at least given you a head up before using magic."

"Yeah," Alex sighed as he finally stood up. "Anyway, to make a long story short...midway through the one-sided beating, I just had the sudden urge to call out Boost myself. Next thing I know, I feel a huge rush of energy and...and..."

"He started matching my speed!" Elze explained with a frustrated expression. "But then he lost control and basically launched himself headfirst into the tree!"

"Yeah...that sounds about right," Alex finished up with a slight chuckle as he rubbed the top of his head. "Again...I didn't think it would even work. I...I just knew to at least try it out..."

"I see..." said Linze as he put her hand to her chin as she began to theorize something that, if true, could be earth-shattering. "Okay...hey, Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"You've used Gate and now Boost...can you try using that other Null magic I told you about last week? It's called Power Rise, and it should work similarly to Boost," Linze requested as she motioned Elze to step back with her. Alex instantly understood where Linze was going with this and kept his distance from everything else. "Whenever you're ready."

"Wait...Linze, that shouldn't be possible!" Elze tried to interject. "Only the gods and heroes from the old legends were said to use every kind of magic!"

"It should have been impossible for him to use your Boost spell, to begin with," Linze explained as she carefully positioned herself to observe Alex as best as she could while keeping her distance. "If this works...well, Alex might be actually a living legend..."

"No way..."

"Alright, I'm ready," said Alex as he took a deep breath. "Power Rise!"

Like before, when he used Boost, Alex felt a surge of power spread throughout his body. However, he had already noticed a distinct difference in how they worked. Where Boost felt like a surge of pure energy going into every pore of his body. Power Rise took that same energy surge and used it to surround the outside of his body.

"Whoa..." said Alex as he did his best to concentrate on the spell. Only to look up at the twins, who stared at him with a mixed look of awe and shock.

"I KNEW IT! HE REALLY CAN USE IT!" Linze exclaimed with wild excitement. Alex, however, wanted to test something since he still had the spell active.

"Elze!"

"Uhh...yeah?" The elder Silhoueska answered as she snapped out of her shocked expression.

"Hit me!"

"WHAT?!"

"Hold on!" Linze tried to interject, but Alex held firm to his plan.

"You heard me! I want you to hit me as hard as you can! Trust me, I won't move," said Alex as he braced himself. "I want to test something while I still have the spell up!"

"Are you sure?" Elze questioned as she pulled out her gauntlets and put them on.

"Positive!" Alex answered with a smile. "I think...I can actually practice my magical focus with this spell! But I need to test it first!"

Elze looked at Linze as if to make sure it wouldn't make her angry. However, the younger twin seemed almost engrossed not just by the insane magical display but to see what Alex was talking about. Now that Elze was sure that she wouldn't get her sister's ire, Elze readied herself and focused her mana around her body.

"BOOST!" Elze called out as she felt the mana surge through every layer of her body, helping her hone focus on her opponent. "Last chance to back out, Alex!"

"The hell I will!" Alex responded with a wide grin as he readied himself in a defensive stance. While Elze couldn't help but mirror the expression on her own face. She could respect Alex's determination once he set his mind on something.

"Alright!"

Instantly, Elze disappeared from her sister's side and reappeared in front of Alex with a built-up left hook that was aimed at his face. As Elze's enhanced reflexes detected Alex moving to block, she moved to feint and, with her right hand, aimed a punch towards the young man's stomach. The impact of Elze's punch caused a small shock wave to spread out.

"I thought as much," said Alex as he gently tapped Elze's armored fist still on his belly. He seemed utterly unharmed by the attack. However, he was sweating quite a bit from the amount of mana he must have expended during his test.

"Got what you needed?" Elze asked as she side-stepped back and released her spell.

"Yeah," Alex answered with a nod as he released his own magic. "It seems like Power Rise reinforces the outside of my body with mana, kind of like armor. While Boost makes mana reinforce the inside of my body, enhancing things like my muscles and even my reflexes."

"That makes sense!" Linze interjected with excitement. "Gaiden Shinji, the original user of Power Rise, was famous for never wearing armor, yet had never suffered an injury on the battlefield! This easily explains how such a legend could have prevailed even years after his death!"

"The best part was I could actually feel how the mana flows around my body," Alex explained with an excited grin. "I think I could use it to help hone my magical focus even during hand-to-hand training!"

"Alright, it seems like it was a good thing for me to use my Boost spell after all!" Elze proclaimed with a slightly haughty laugh. "Now we have a way to double down on Alex's training! I...I just can't believe you can actually use all kinds of Null magic. It really is like the old legends..."

"See! I told you, Elze!" said Linze as she looked Alex up and down with renewed curiosity. "I'm sure of it now! You can actually use all of the null magic spells! You're basically the most versatile mage ever! You must be blessed by the gods!"

"Oh shit..." Alex muttered as he looked at his right hand. 'God did make me OP. That could get me some unwanted attention...I should try to keep this better under wraps.'

"Good grief," Elze sighed out. "When someone is that all-powerful, it's just exasperating..."

"But really useful for questing!" Linze continued, only to stop in her tracks as she remembered the book she had just purchased earlier today. "Wait! Hold on, I'll be right back!"

Without another word, Linze turned her heel and practically ran back into the inn, leaving Alex and Elze alone. Each gave the other a puzzled expression.

"Is it me, or has Linze been a little more assertive lately?" Elze finally asked as she finally collected her thoughts.

"I mean, you're her sister," Alex responded with a shrug. "I think you would be the one to know. But yeah, she does seem less shy than when we first met."

"It's a little weird..." Elze followed up, looking a little sad.

"I mean...didn't you say that you wanted Linze to become more assertive?" Alex questioned, confused by the conflicting reaction and remembering how the elder wanted the younger to become more confident. "I thought you'd be glad about it."

"I am...maybe I just didn't expect her to stand up to me like that," Elze answered with the same look of sadness and maybe just a little pride.

"She's growing up," Alex said with a slight chuckle. "Which is funny to me since you're twins, and I'm older than both of you."

"Shut up," said Elze with an indignant click of her tongue, making Alex chuckle harder.

"I'm back!"

The duo turned to see Linze return with the new book she had just purchased earlier today. Despite being out of breath, Linze quickly handed the book to Alex and pointed out the section with the history of Null Magic. While Alex could now read Common. It was more accurate to say that Alex simply mentally decoded the text into English letters rather than directly reading it.

"I see...so you really think I can use all of these?" Alex questioned as he continued flipping through the pages with various null magic spells.

"After everything I've seen," Linze said between heavy breaths. "It couldn't hurt to try."

"She's right," Elze followed up as she put her hand to her chin. "It's already rare for anyone to use more than two null magic spells. Let alone three! Plus, when you add the fact that you can also use all six natural elements. I think Linze might be on to something here. You really might be a living legend."

"Alright," said Alex with a quick frown as he studied the pages while Linze took a seat with her seat. However, the spells Alex would find mainly were what he would describe as junk spells and a short history of their users.

'Seriously, making a stem float in the middle of tea? Well...that might work for a conman posing as a fortuneteller or a soothsayer. Well...with a name like Scanlan the scammer, it actually seems quite apropos.' What Alex found interesting was that Null Magic did remind him of Quirks. There were examples of specific spells that would follow a family line. In contrast, others would show up randomly to a person without any known mages in their families. 'Some quirks were completely tied to genetics. But I remember there were also the occasionally random mutations that could lead to a completely different quirk being developed. God did say that Quirks might be seen as a form of sorcery in other worlds.'

"Okay...I think I actually found something pretty useful," Alex finally spoke up as he decoded a rather interesting-looking spell.

"What's it called?" Linze asked as she sat straight and interested to see if her theory was correct.

"I think it's called, Aports," Alex answered as he double-checked that he was reading the letters correctly. He also took a moment to take out a gold coin from his pocket and tossed it to Elze.

"What's this for?" Elze questioned as she examined the coin for any unique properties.

"For the test," Alex retorted as he raised his right hand to focus his mana and the coin as he called out the name of the spell. "Aports."

Instantly, the coin disappeared from Elze's grasp and reappeared in Alex's hand.

"WHOA!" Elze yelled out, almost jumping out of her seat. "A little warning would have been nice!"

Alex simply gave the lass a mischievous grin as he played with his teleported coin with his fingers.

"Oh, ha, ha," Elze breathed out with another indignant huff. "I said I was sorry!"

"See!" Linze exclaimed as she hopped to her feet out of sheer excitement. "You really can use all of the Null magic spells as long you know the spell and how it works! So I'm assuming that spell lets you grab things from a distance?"

"Well..." Alex looked back at the tome to review the finer details about the spell and its history.

"Aports: last known user was a master thief by the name of Garrett, who had used the spell when on the job. The spell allowed Garrett to teleport objects of currently unknown dimensions and unknown distances to his hands. Known objects he had successfully stolen ranged from coins to precious jewels the size of large chicken eggs. Most scholars proposed that the object couldn't be bigger than a fist. However, others speculated that the object(s) instead must not exceed a certain amount of mass as Garrett had reportedly managed to steal several tomes, scrolls, and portraits with this spell."

"That's a rather unnerving thought," Elze commented with a suspicious glance as Alex finished reading. "Especially since you said the spell would be useful."

"You know that stealing is wrong...right, Alex?" Linze followed up with an edgy look as she realized what her sister meant.

"Oy, don't go giving me the shifty eyes," Alex called them out with a frown as he pocketed his coin. "I think I should remind you how we first met? I'm not a thief, and I wouldn't steal unless it was absolutely necessary. A spell like this could be useful to disarm an opponent with a knife or even a wand. I can think of dozens of reasons to use this spell without doing anything illegal. Sure the spell might have been once used by a thief, but it doesn't mean I will become a thief."

"That's...a fair point," Elze admitted with a guilty expression. "I didn't think about it like that...sorry..."

"I'm sorry too," said Linze as she realized that she did basically just judge Alex's character in the worst way possible.

"Accepted. Seriously guys," Alex continued as he crossed his arms. "I'm all for being called out if I do something wrong. But calling me out like that when I've done nothing to deserve it is just messed up since I've been doing right by you since we all met."

An awkward silence had formed between the trio. Sure there may have been some playful banter and teasing between the trio, mainly between Alex and Elze. Yet, this was the first real shake-up that could hurt their alliance together. It was a painful reminder of his old world for Alex as he remembered the concept of Quirk discrimination. Those with strange or, in other cases, "villainous" quirks that could be viewed with suspicion despite never doing anything wrong. While it was overwhelming for the girls to know someone with so much potential power, they were surprised that he wasn't abusing it. Given their knowledge of the legends and tales passed down through the ages. Of powerful mages who shaped the course of history, all of them bringing untold wisdom that advanced the world.

However, many also brought calamity with them.

"I have a question," Alex finally spoke up to break the silence between them.

"Yes?" Linze answered as she looked away from Alex with shame.

Alex closed his eyes and put his hand to his chin while still holding Linze's book in the other. "Are there any superstitions regarding magic? Like signs of good mages and bad mages?"

The twins looked at each as if they were carefully considering their words.

"Dark Magic is viewed unfavorably," Elze answered carefully with her tone and expression. "Mostly due to its association with Darkness. Plus, it doesn't have many uses outside combat or darker deeds such as theft or assassination. It doesn't help that those who only have Dark Aptitudes might also be known as Dark or Shadow Souls. It's not a title that many would want to have."

"Fire Magic doesn't have the best reputation either," Linze followed up, looking a little more confident. "It's difficult to control, let alone master. While it can serve many practical uses. It is said that Fire is the living embodiment of chaos. There have been countless mages with only Fire Aptitudes that lose control of themselves...only to be consumed by the flames they created."

"I'm going to assume the same applies to certain Null magics," Alex responded as he kept his eyes closed.

"Y-yeah...Some Null magics are seen as signs of the user's potential and future," Elze answered as the twin with Null magic. "My uncle called my Boost spell a sign that I could be a great fighter one day."

'Just like some quirks...' Alex thought with another sigh. "What about the living legend comment?"

"There are accounts of many mages throughout history that shape our world to how it is today," Linze answered again, as history was her strong suit. "Many legendary heroes were said to be blessed by the gods in our time of greatest need. Of course, those are just the legends that may have blended with elements of the truth. Of course, some who we considered heroes eventually turned and brought death and destruction to the world. One example was the destruction of the Parthenos Empire, the civilization that was said to predate ours by millennia. It was said to be the greatest civilization to have ever existed, as it was said to be the height of our progress with magic and technology. Scholars to this day lament all of the priceless knowledge we lost when it fell to some mighty mages that were said to almost bring the end of the world."

"I see..." Alex said as he looked at the book still in his hands as he remembered the offer from his nightmare.

'God said that others had taken the offer before me...but he never mentioned if he had sent others to this world before I arrived. Then again...I didn't ask him about it. But it would explain some pseudo-modern technologies and concepts that took longer for my world to develop. Or...could it be that others from other worlds entered my original world and kick-started some of our own developments? I remember history class talking about the explosion of humanity during the Pre-Quirk era, especially from the start of the 20th century of the old calendar.'

"Hey, Alex?"

The young man was snapped out of his thoughts and looked at a still guilty-looking Elze.

"Again, we're sorry for how we reacted to you with your new spell," she said with as much honesty as she could muster in her voice. Considering that Elze was clearly very prideful, not unlike Alex himself. He could relate to how much of a struggle it is to admit when you're in the wrong. "You were right, it was out of pocket of us to look at you like that when you've been nothing but good to us."

"It just a lot to take in," Linze followed up while bowing her head. "To meet someone like you and...being able to do all these amazing things without it going to your head."

'She's not wrong on that part,' Alex had to painfully admit. After all, he used to be full of himself before he had arrived at UA and would have loved to flaunt such abilities to further make a name for himself in the public sphere. However, that wasn't him anymore...well, not entirely, as he still loved to perform for an attentive audience. Alex had to grow up and mature quickly once he had been humbled by life.

"All I ask is for a little more trust," Alex requested with a sad smile. "After all, I've placed most of my trust in you two to help me here. And so far, that trust has been well-placed. I was just hoping it was a little more mutual after working together for the last two weeks."

"Agreed," Elze answered with a tiny smile. "How about we finish today's lesson, take a lunch break, and see if the guild has any interesting jobs for us today?"

"You know what? Yeah, I think that sounds like a good way to blow off some steam," Alex replied as he handed the book back to Linze. There was nothing like an excellent team-building job to restore shaken morale.

"Ah, I was hoping you would show up!" Exclaimed Myra, the guild receptionist, when Alex and the twins arrived at the Guild Hall. "I was actually about to send a runner to your inn within the hour to see if you could come in today!"

"Is something wrong?" Elze asked as she served as the team's de facto leader.

"You've been directly requested for a job," Myra explained as she pulled up the request and handed it to Elze. "Well, to be more accurate, it was Alex who was requested. But the client didn't mind when I told him that he was part of a known team."

"Zanac Zenfield?" Elze questioned as she read the client's name.

"Oh!" Alex let out with a smile. "Yeah, I know him. He actually gave me a ride into town on the day we met."

Alex intentionally omitted the fact that Zanac was also his business partner in case the guild found an issue with a possible conflict of interest. Considering that he was more interested in his arrangement with Zanac than the guild, he would be willing to take a chance on it. Plus, there must have been a reason he didn't just come directly to Alex and go to the guild instead. After all, why go through a middleman if you could get access to the same person already?

"So, what's the job?" Linze asked as Elze continued going over the details.

"It's a delivery job...all the way to the Royal Capital?!" Elze yelled out as she read their destination. "He's even willing to cover our travel expenses! The payment is nine silver pieces!"

"I always wanted to go to the Royal Capital!" Linze exclaimed with glee. "Think of all shops they could have to upgrade our gear!"

"How long is the journey from here to the Capital?" Alex questioned, while he was certainly willing to take the job to remain in Zanac's good graces. He would have to account that his rent was due in a few days, so he might have to pay Mika earlier before setting out to do this job.

"It depends," Elze answered as she thought about it carefully. "While we've never been there before. I know from talking to others that walking could take between a fortnight and a month. But we could speed it up if we had horses; do you know how to ride horses, Alex?"

Alex shook his head in embarrassment. 'I know how to drive a car...'

"Okay, so we need a cart with those horses," Elze quickly noted as she did some mental math. "So...four to five days if Linze and I take turns driving the cart in shifts. There is also Amanesque Town along the way where we could stop to resupply and spend a night to rest up."

"Alright, so we'll need to prepare for the journey," Linze noted. "Thankfully, Mr. Zenfield said he was willing to cover the cost, which should make things easier."

"What are we delivering?" Alex followed up as he imagined transporting several dresses or suits.

"It doesn't say, but does say that should meet Mr. Zenfield," Elze explained as she laid down a general. "So, we'll meet up, see what we're transporting, go over details such as a possible time limit. If it goes well, we'll spend the rest of the day getting ready and head out tomorrow. Sound good to everyone?"

"Yeah, I can work with that," Alex agreed as he got a little excited to see more of the world he now lived in. 'It helps that we can use my gate spell to go back and forth when it gets dark. Then we could just continue our journey from where we left off.'

"Yes! I can't wait to see the capital!"

"Alright!" Elze exclaimed as she turned to face Myra and handed the post back. "We'll take the job."

"Excellent," said Myra accepting the sheet and filling it. "Good luck out there!"

"Damn, today was interesting, to say the least," Alex mumbled as he settled into bed. All of the preparation made to set out early tomorrow morning, he was actually looking forward to the road trip. He pulled out his smartphone to look over the map and found both Amanesque Town that, like Elze said, was along the way to the Royal Capital. "Yeah, we're in for quite the journey...so, that'll give me a chance to catch on some of my favorite shows."

As Alex continued looking over and marking what to watch, he found another video that made him pause. Unlike all of the previous ones, this one...actually looked like good news. The video title read A Hero Goes Home, while the thumbnail showed a coffin draped with a US flag and carried by familiar-looking people in their Hero Costumes.

'Is that me?' Alex wondered as his thumb hovered over the video. 'I wasn't sanctioned?'

At last, Alex clicked on the link and held his breath. The video started with footage of a hearse with an escort diving towards Tokyo International Airport with an unseen narrator speaking in the background.

"Today, Japan says farewell to a beloved hero and friend. After the landslide vote not to sanction Alexander Springfield following the widespread outrage of the Japanese and American public. Only further crippled the Neocon Alliance as they were forced to expel Representative Kimura from the alliance just to save face. However, between calls for the Prime Minister to dissolve the Diet and hold a new round of elections. The Neocon Alliance seemed to be scrambling to prevent such action or try and mitigate with renewed discussion on other concerns."

Alex smiled with watery eyes as the footage showed thousands, if not tens of thousands of fans in Japan and the US protesting the vote to sanction him. He even saw some of his fellow foreigners, ranging from adults to students, with signs that threatened to resign from their jobs and/or schools to return to their homelands if the vote went through. After all, none of them would be safe if Japan continued down this xenophobic path. In a time that Alex remembered when both used to make fun of him, it was nice to see that they were willing to fight for him in the end.

"Following the vote. An arrangement was made between the Springfield family, UA, and the heads of Tokyo and Washington. That permitted Alex's body to lie in state on the UA campus. Allowing mourners their chances to pay their last respects for one week as UA began the Golden Week holiday. From there, the body was transported to the home of Lucinda Barton. Alex's cousin and legal representative in the country prepared to send her cousin on his final journey home. There the two were protected by a Pro-Hero honor guard. Today, the United States dispatched an Air Force unit to collect her fallen son."

Alex watched as, as the narrator said, lines of mourners came to UA to pay their respects. His heart began to hurt upon seeing his weeping cousin, Lucy, sitting next to his coffin while being attended by his friends and teachers. The footage finally returned to the hearse that was now parked nearby, a massive USAF plane that Alex was unfamiliar with as it seemed a little much for just transporting his body.

'Hard reflex... but yeah, that sounds like the 'merica I know and love,' Alex couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he wiped a tear from his eye.

The footage zoomed in on the pallbearers, which consisted of the remaining male members of the Big Five, along with his friend Akagi from General studies. It was topped off by Eijirou Kirishima and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, all wearing their UA uniforms with black armbands on their left arms. Heading over their charge to a unit of airmen in their service uniforms that would carry and load the coffin into the plane itself. The video ended with the students returning to their transports before the plane took off.

Alex lowered his phone with a bittersweet smile.

The video was much better than the ones before. Sure it was another reminder of his previous life, but it also had an air of finality to it. His legacy would be preserved, and all of his hard work would live on to inspire others to follow in his footsteps. It also helped to see while they were hurting, his friends and family could start to heal and that it was okay for them to move on from him.

And that it was okay for him to finally begin living his own new life here.

He was safe, with good people, and he was starting to find happiness again in this new life. Tomorrow in his old world, his body would return for the last leg of its journey. While tomorrow in this world, Alex would be setting out on a new adventure with the twins.

The die had been cast, and all Alex could do was carry on.

Author's Commentary

Well, this was an interesting chapter for me as it featured new things and elements to help the world-building because Patora is completely shit at it. But to also foreshadow the newer elements that will serve as the new point of conflict for our heroes.

Anyone reading the AO3 version may have noticed some new tags.

Namely Dark Souls and Lord Aldia from Dark Souls 2.

While not directly crossing over, we will have elements from the Dark Souls universe that began to leak into this story. (I only recently got into Dark Souls, and this was before Eldin Ring, mind you.) I found things from Dark Souls that fit well with my plans for Alex in his journey, as featured when the topic of magic came up earlier.

I'm very much looking forward to the next chapter as we introduce Yae and...well...I won't spoil what else I have in store, but I'll be covering something that really bothered me in the anime that no one ever brings up.

The Fafnir Knight had some delays due to a pacing issue I found with the latest chapter, and I'm working hard at fixing it. (Mind you that I'm almost finished building my new PC. I'm just waiting for my new GPU to come to arrive. If you're curious, I'm replacing my GTX 1660 Ti with RTX 3060 Ti) so there might be a slightly longer delay as I back up my files to begin the migration between this pre-built to my custom setup.

That about covers it! Hope you've enjoyed the chapter! If you do, let me know! Reviews always help to let me know that you guys have continued interest in this story.

Until next time!

-ZX