Three years ago
The lunch hall was resonating with the chatter of hundreds of employees. At the table, roughly ten colleagues were enjoying their meal.
From across the table, Haru addressed Sora "So, how do you study languages?"
He shrugged "You know, the usual… internet, subtitled movies, books…"
Kai chimed in from his place beside Haru and right in front of Sora "I never managed to learn anything from subtitled movies. The sound is in a language, the text in a different one… I just have to cut out one of the two…"
Sora nodded "Yes, you are right…" he said "… but when I mentioned subtitled movies, I meant that both audio and subtitles had to be in the same language!"
"Oh, I see…" Kai seemed satisfied with the answer, but Haru had another question
"But what do you do when you find a word that you don't know?"
"Then you stop the movie, open a parallel tab and google what that word is. It is also helpful if you write it down, take a couple of minutes to memorize it, or both"
Haru's eyes went wide "Ehm… but how long is it going to take to watch a movie in that way?"
"It depends on how much you already know the language you are studying. If you just started, then maybe you should begin with a very short cartoon for children, and then gradually increase difficulty"
There was a moment of silence as the topic seemed exhausted
"Come on, somebody says something!" Kai urged "We have to keep this going or it's going to be boring!" he then turned to Sora "Come on! Tell us another way of learning languages! Now!" he jokingly pressed him.
"Well, I really don't …" Sora started, then he suddenly remembered something and burst out in laughter.
Kai seemed pleased "You see, there is something more, come on! Entertain us!"
Sora's face contorted in a guilty smile "Uhm… it's better if I don't"
Kai and Haru exchanged a glance "Why not?" the man said
"You are definitely going to disapprove"
Kai tried to make Sora talk "We won't judge, promised"
"You are definitely going to judge" Sora said.
He was certain of it; he always had a fascination with the military, and he realized pretty quickly that that made him kind of an oddball. The story he was about to tell was going to be perfectly fine with his former colleagues in the Army, but he was sure that his new company was made mostly by pacifists. They were going to hate it.
"Is it a … sexual story?" Haru asked
"No, it's a military story"
"Well, that's not necessarily bad" she said, sounding very unconvinced. Kai didn't nod. On the contrary, his eyes got harder.
"Fine" Sora said. It made no sense to just pretend he did not have that weird hobby.
"If you insist, I will tell you. But it is perfectly fine if you don't like it, this is just… a weird thing of mine"
He took a deep breath
"Do you know what the French Foreign Legion is?"
Haru and Kai shook their head
"I heard of it, but I really don't know what that is" was Haru's comment
"It is a military unit in the French Army. Usually, to serve in an army, you need to be a national of that country, or at least to have citizenship, but this unit is composed entirely of non-French soldiers. Whence the name: Foreign Legion"
"What does this have to do with studying languages?" Kai asked
"Well, the story I read is about an English man that moved to France to join the Foreign Legion; his plan was to spend some time in the city around the base to learn French…"
"Wise plan" Haru said
"Indeed. But then he heard that knowledge of French was actually not needed, and so he joined earlier. On his first day, he was put on a line together with all of the new recruits, and few minutes later their sergeant instructor appeared. He gave a quick order in French, that the French-speaking recruit rushed to execute. Our hero and a bunch of other guys that did not understand just remained standing there, so the sergeant went straight in front of him and very angrily repeated the order. As this obtained no result as the first time, the English man was punched in the face, and fell to the ground. The sergeant then hovered over him and repeated the order in French and English, adding a – and try to remember it – before leaving. All of the new recruits uttered a collective – holy shit! – and rushed to obey the order. They all learned French very quickly."
Kai looked like a catholic priest that has caught a boy telling dirty jokes
"And what do you think about it?"
Sora made another guilty smile, but decided not to lie "I think it's a very cool story…" and could not repress a chuckle "… but again, I am weird. Please just ignore it"
Haru had a pained expression on her face "Well, interesting story…" she said, and turned to the other conversation in the table, where Kaede was telling about her woes while trying to join some training course.
"Well, not everyone can be an unevolved barbarian" Kai said. 'Like you' went unsaid
"So true!" Sora answered cheerfully.
Kai was confused "You mean that you agree?"
"Of course! Also, not everyone can be a useless coward" Sora answered. 'Like you' went unsaid.
Kai's eyes went wide, and he bent forward across the table, as his face assumed an outraged expression
"What? What did you say?" he asked
"I said that not everyone can be a useless coward" Sora replied calmly
Kai bent forward even more "What does that mean?" he asked in an obviously threatening tone
Sora kept smiling, while leaning forward himself
"It means that we are all different …" he said calmly "… you said that not everyone can be an unevolved barbarian, right?"
slowly and carefully, Kai nodded. Sora continued
"You are right. On a similar note, not everyone can be a useless coward"
Kai was definitely not smiling, as he asked "Were you thinking to somebody in particular, when you made that comment?"
Sora turned serious and looked up, as if trying to remember something "No, I wouldn't say so"
"Are you sure?"
"Uhm… yes … yes I am sure … " Sora said slowly while he kept pretending to be thinking it over. Then he straightened up, and looked inquisitively at Kai
"Why, were you thinking at somebody in particular when you made your comment?"
And now, what are you going to say, you asshole? Are you really going to admit that it's you who started it?
Kai's face acted as if he had been slapped. He lowered his eyes.
"… no. I was not thinking at anyone …" he sheepishly replied
"Then we are all good!" a clearly satisfied Sora cheerfully concluded
But their secret scuffle had not been going on unnoticed
"Ehm … guys … is it all good there?" from the other side of the table, a puzzled Kaede was looking at them. Other people also seemed curious about what was going on.
"Absolutely!" Sora said with a smile "But I hope we did not disturb you. You were saying about those training course, right?"
"Well, yes actually … " Kaede was not convinced that everything was fine, but Sora seemed perfectly OK - probably because he was – and so she went back to her point, followed by everyone else. Sora did not pay any further attention to Kai, and the conversation went on without incidents until lunch break was over.
Present
Sora woke up with the first light of the morning "Fifth day" he mumbled to the empty room. He put on his Earth clothes, because the local ones he bought were still drying, ate something and left the room to talk to the innkeeper. In the last three days he had read everything he could find in the inn, but his understanding of Disboard was still sorely lacking. He knew of the sixteen wise races, for example, but found references only to the elfs, dwarfs and humans. And what the hell was Immanity?
On the plus side, he was quite proud of his discovery of a certain way to use the Pledges that nobody at the inn had ever seen; he had termed it: 'swear on the Pledges'. In essence, both parties would agree to rig a game of rock-paper-scissor, where the winning party bet absolutely nothing, and the losing party bet that after their loss, they would answer truthfully to a certain question, or perform a certain action. Many had expressed doubt as to why somebody would agree to lose a game on purpose, but that was not the point. The point was to be compelled in an absolute way to do something that had been arranged in advance, in order to convince the other party of one's good faith and absence of treachery. There were probably ways to come around a 'swear on the Pledges', but all considered Sora believed that it was quite difficult to do it.
He approached the innkeeper
"Good morning Sir, how is it going?" the earthling cheerfully greeted.
The other man gave him a not-so friendly glance "Good morning Sir"
"Sorry to disturb you. Would you know of a public library nearby? I would like to check something there"
The innkeeper turned pensive for a moment, then smiled and gave Sora the information.
As he entered the library, Sora was blown away. It was as huge and beautiful as the largest cathedral he had ever visited, with the difference that almost every wall had been covered with shelves that were suitably stocked with books; even in places that Sora believed were impossible to reach. But apparently, even that was not enough to contain the wealth of knowledge of the library, as also the empty space under the vaults was partially filled with floating cubes made entirely by books. These were placidly drifting around like asteroids in space.
Sora's mouth dropped open, and stayed like that for a while
"What are you doing in my house?"
A clearly angry voice snapped him out of his trance. He looked around, but nobody was there to be seen
"Up here!"
He lifted his eyes to meet gaze with a figure floating right below the vault. It looked pretty much like a female angel, but even from that distance he could feel a certain predatory vibe emanating from the creature, together with a sense of unmeasurable power.
"Ehm… good morning ma'am! I was looking for the public library … but I guess that I am in the wrong place?"
"You certainly are!" the crossed angel said. Sora raised a hand to apologize
"I am very sorry for intruding ma'am, my mistake. I will leave immediately…" and turned to leave
"Who said that you can leave? You interrupted my day, take responsibility for it!"
Sora stopped and turned around; the angel was closer to him now
"Well… I guess I don't mind to pay the ticket for entering the place after all…"
"I don't care about money"
"OK… then what can I offer you?" he asked, genuinely trying not to pick up a fight.
Now only a couple of meters away, the angel cocked her head and looked at him inquisitively
"You don't seem afraid…"
"Uhm… I am sorry for the stupid question, but… should I?" she blinked in bewilderment
"Are you insane by any chances?"
"Well, that's a good question but … no, I am not crazy. My family tested me …"
"So… are you simply very stupid?" Sora seemed to mull over the question
"Well, that's always a possibility I guess…" the woman was mystified
"Do you even know what I am?" he shook his head
"No, I am afraid not, ma'am"
"Make an effort!" she pressed him
"Alright… if I really have to, most people from where I come from would say that you are an angel"
That seemed to pick her curiosity
"Angel? What is an angel?"
"They are said to be the helpers of God, and they look a lot like you… the only difference is that they usually have wings attached to their shoulders, rather than their hips … and their halo is a simple ring, and not as elaborate as yours"
"Flattery won't get you anywhere" she said, but she made a little smile nonetheless.
He raised his hand "I am merely stating a fact"
she fluttered around to hide her smile growing wider
"And these… angels that you said?" Sora nodded "… are they powerful?"
"Very powerful, according to legends"
"Could they destroy a human city with a single blow?" she asked with a predatory grin. Sora stroke his chin
"Let's see… according to a book called Bible, there were at least two cities that were destroyed by angels in ancient times… but I don't think it was ever specified how many blows it was necessary for that. Should I assume that you are able to do that?"
"Indeed. But you said something interesting … please tell me more about this story"
And so Sora told her the story of Sodoma and Gomorra, trying to give it a solemn and ancient spin, that he assumed the non-angel would prefer. At the end of the story, she laughed and clapped her hands.
"Bravo! Those were all good answers, and I really liked that story. I was entertained! But for real now, why are you pretending not to know that I am a Flügel?"
"Flügel, you say. So that's what you call yourself, I see" he mumbled.
Her smile faded a little "Ehm… I said that you don't need to pretend anymore…"
he scratched his head, embarrassed "I am very sorry ma'am, but I am not pretending… where I am coming from, nobody has ever heard of the Flügel…"
She made a face
Want to play some more, human? Fine, but don't blame me when it goes badly for you…
"I see. Would you like to know something about the Flügel, then?"
"Yes, please. That would be great"
She made a predatory grin
"Flügel were warriors that used to slaughter their enemies and collect heads in battle, but now they value knowledge above anything else, and they value the books where that knowledge is stored more than life itself. They were, and remain… god-killing weapons, able to single-handedly flatten an elven capital, even if it is protected by 3000 spell casters" she bent forward, giving him a predatory smile "What do you think of this?"
Cower in fear now, human!
He mulled over the question "That's very wise of you" he finally said
She blinked "W - What?"
"I said: 'that's very wise of you'. Knowledge is power after all. It looks to me like you went from wielding overwhelming power in battle to … overwhelming knowledge – that we could call soft power – when fight became impossible" he nodded his approval "Well done, I can relate to that"
Her eyes went wide "Thank you…" she said, taken completely by surprise by his behavior "…what do mean that you can relate to that?"
He shrugged "Well, I also used to be a warrior, but now I am a scholar… not that I am placing myself at your level or anything!" he quickly added.
She blinked again "That's all? Did you understand what I said?"
"Flügel used to collect heads, but now they collect books"
"Yes!" she said exasperated "Don't you have anything to say about the 'heads' part?"
He thought about it "So… your kind used to collect heads… even of humans?"
she smiled
Finally!
"Yes"
"Did you also do it?"
"Yes" she said with a grin. That seemed to catch his attention, and he took one step closer
"So you remember how to fight! Were you fighting in the last war?" his eyes were shining, and she felt a weird feeling in her chest. It was a mixture of surprise, curiosity, and uncertainty that she had never felt before
"I fought in the last war, yes…"
He seemed incredibly relieved
"Oh, thanks God somebody remembers it; I thought that I was the only one in this world! The first guy that challenged me in this city did not even know what war is! CAN YOU FREAKING BELIEVE IT ?" he shouted while clawing at the air, seemingly in a fit of frustration.
Her mouth dropped open
What is it with this guy?
He seemed to be scared by his own outburst, and made a visible effort to put himself together
"I am sorry … I am sorry … Of course you do… Who knows how long you have been living under this madness. I did not mean to bring back bad memories… I just have to get used to it … I will behave, I promise … " this said, he straightened up, took a deep breath and let out something in between an exhalation and a growl. That seemed to calm him down.
"I apology for my outburst. By the way, my name is Sora"
She seemed to mull it over for a bit "Jibril" she finally said
He smiled "It's a beautiful name"
"Flattery won't get you anywhere" she said for the second time is a few minutes
He chuckled and acted exactly as the first time "I am just stating a fact"
She pouted "Maybe in this instance, but you are still lying to me"
He seemed taken aback "Why do you say so?"
She was serious now "Everybody on this world know about the Flügel!"
He nodded, slowly and seriously "I am sure that everyone on this world know about the Flugel… but I am not from this world. I mean, just look at my clothes!" he added quickly trying to convince Jibril that he was not lying.
She seemed to notice the truth in his words
"Indeed, I have never seen such clothes… But the fact that you are from another world… that is just impossible! Even admitting that other worlds do exist, it would require a gigantic amount of mana to keep you here even only for an instant. Not even the Old Deus would be able to do something like that"
Sora scratched his head again "Well, if I were in your position, I would probably agree with you…" and suddenly, he felt a wave of frustration
"Aaarghh! It's all fault of that little bastard! Damn you, Tet!"
Her eyes went wide "Tet? Did you just say Tet?"
Sora recomposed himself "Yes, why?"
"What do you know about Tet?"
He shrugged "Apparently, he is a little weirdo that likes to kidnap people from other worlds! And from what you just told me, he must be a very powerful wizard!"
She was speechless "Tet is the one true God… and you just called him…"
Sora snorted "Well, if the one true God is offended, it can strike me down with lightnings right now! Oh, no… wait, to kill is impossible in this world… TET, I HATE THIS PLACE !" he shouted angrily, but like the other outbursts, even this subsided very quickly.
"All right… All right … calm… stay calm…" he looked at her "By the way, thank you for the information. I will try to be more diplomatic on the issue from now on"
The Flügel's eyes went wide "Well… you are welcome"
Floating horizontally at his face level, Jibril got closer to him, wearing a very thoughtful expression on her face
"I have never seen a human acting like this… maybe you are indeed what you claim to be!" she fluttered around, then turned to him again "I would like to analyze you, to prove that what you have said is true. Would you consent to it?"
Sora grew a little suspicious "Depends… what does 'analyze' mean exactly?"
"I just need to touch your erogenous zones… and you will have to do the same to me!"
He blushed violently "Ehm… is this really necessary for the test ma'am?"
She nodded "It is. Do you consent to it?"
"Well… fine. And … can you explain to me where I should touch you exactly?"
She cocked her head "Oh, come on! You know that!"
He blushed even more "I know … something about humans. Of my planet. But before today I didn't even know that Flügel existed, so … please tell me, I have absolutely no idea what I am dealing with here"
Few minutes later, with the analysis underway, Sora felt kind of relieved. Given his luck, he was afraid that we would have been forced to stick his fingers into her ears, or nostrils. Instead, it was just her wings and it did not feel bad at all. Even more luckily, her hand did not have to go into any weird place, and was just placed on his chest. She also seemed to be having a nice time, so he didn't find any reason to complain about his fate.
After a while, a flustered Jibril announced the end of the test
"Wow! That was exciting!" she said while pulling away from him
"I can now confirm that indeed I can sense no trace of spirits inside you! According to the rules of this world, you should not even be alive. You are an Unknown! Something completely new and never observed, the matter from which new knowledge is born!" She clasped her hands and fluttered around, allowing to lose herself in the joy of the mistery. But soon enough she came back close to Sora.
"I apology for assuming that you were only a lowly human. You are so much more than that, although you have the same shape of last ranked Immanity!"
"Thank you. Ehm… do you mind explaining me what Immanity actually is?"
She seemed to be taken aback "Ehm… how would you call your race?"
"Human-ity… because I am human?"
"That's silly! Your race is Immanity … because you are human!"
He rolled his eyes "Let me guess… it's the One True God that decided that, isn't it?"
She nodded "Yes, I would say so"
He groaned "Why am I not surprised at all?" he sighed "Fine! Immanity it is. When in Rome…"
She almost jumped onto him, eyes shining "Rome? What is that? Is it from your world?"
He smiled, and gave her a quick summary about Rome.
"But enough pleasantries!" he said at a certain point "I would like to stress that it was not intentional, but apparently I bumped into your house and interrupted your very important daily business. That is unforgivable. So please tell me ma'am, what can I do to pay you back?"
She blinked "Why are you bringing that up?"
He shrugged "Shouldn't I?"
"I was going to let you off the hook!"
He leant forward and made a face like the cat that ate the bird
"Meaning that you were just pretending to let me off the hook, and bide me farewell, and then at the very last moment before I could get out, appear in front of me and demand reparation?"
She blinked. That was indeed what she had been thinking… before finding out that he was from a different world. Now she was just very interested in him and his world. Anyway, the conversation seemed to be taking an interesting direction, so she decided to play along.
"That was indeed what I had been thinking… and so?"
He shrugged, but kept smiling "I guess that I am happy that we understand each other… at least a little bit"
She looked at him intently
"Maybe we do, after all. But was that the only reason? Because you believed that I was going to do press you anyway? Or is there something else as well?"
He pondered the question
"There is a more important reason actually"
"What is it?"
"My world is called Earth. On Earth, there are no elfs, no dwarfs, and no Flügel… rather than sixteen wise races, there is only one… humanity"
"Immanity"
"It is Immanity on this world… but on mine, it is humanity" he politely corrected her.
She thought about it for a moment "Very well, I will allow you to collectively call the humans of your world as humanity. Go on"
"Thank you. As I said, there is only one wise race on my world, and so the entire planet is ruled by humans. And I really would not want you to have such a poor first impression of the masters of the Earth"
She was impressed
"Oh… I like your motivations! Fine, tell me another story of your world, and I will forgive you for barging into my house"
He seemed satisfied
"Deal! Then I will tell of that time when the Mighty Thor, God of Thunder, got married!"
Floating horizontally, Jibril crossed her arm under her chin like a child listening to granpa's story and waited for him to start.
"So, what do you think?" Sora asked after he finished
She had loved it, but decided to play the though audience
"I am not sure… it was different than the other one"
Sora acknowledged it "Yes, that's true"
"And some things did not make any sense"
Again, Sora agreed "Very old stories like that often have some issue with the plot"
Jibril got curious about something, but she pretended to be angry "So you told me a bad story on purpose?!"
He held his ground "I really don't think that that is a bad story. But I am fine if you say that you did not like it"
"Tell me, why did you choose that story?"
"Uhm… I wanted to tell you and ancient story about Gods and Giants… things that I thought you could rely to. I know plenty of stories with a strong plot but… the focus is entirely on humans!"
Jibril did not seem too thrilled about the idea "I see. Thank you for considering my preferences then, I appreciate it"
Then she tapped her cheek, pretending to think again about the story
"I liked the ending, I would say"
"And the ending is paramount!" Sora declared solemnly "But seriously, only the ending? I think that there is some very good comedy in there!" and this said, he went through some of the funniest bit, and at a certain point, the Flügel just had to burst into laughter.
"Yes, I have to admit it, there were some funny bits too..." she seemed to take a decision "But where are my manners? Come, let's have some tea!"
In a more internal room, the landlady started to prepare the tea. Sora offered to help, but she insisted that the guest did not have to do anything, and so he took the chance to look around, admiring the incredible library.
"What do you think of my house?" she asked upon returning
"This place is beautiful!"
She beamed, as she set the table "It is. I won it from the king of Immanity... and very easily!"
He smiled "I am not surprised. Are there other Flügel living in this city?"
She shook her head "No, not that I know…" she grew serious "Where you really just looking for a library or did you come here on purpose?"
"I really was looking for a library; as I am sure you have noticed, there is a lot that I don't know about this world" Sora straightened up "Will you let me read some of your books if I tell you more about my world?"
"Uhm… I am very possessive when it comes to my books… but I guess I can let you read one or two if you tell me everything that you know about your world"
"Seems fair … and what if I told you that some of the books from my world were also teleported together with me? Would you let me read something more, if I let you read mine?"
She kept her excitement under control and kept drinking her tea in very lady-like way
"That's fair, I suppose. And how many do you have with you? Something like… five?
"Forty thousand"
She spat all of her tea into Sora`s face. As she cleaned her mouth with her wrist, she was trembling and basically unable to contain her joy.
"F-forty thousand you say… from a different world? Where? Where?"
He wiped his face and handed something to her "Here, in this tablet"
Jibril jumped on the table and lounged at the tablet. She looked like a child into a candy store.
Sora found her absolutely adorable… until he had to point out that she was drooling on the precious item. She quickly recomposed herself.
"My apologies for being carried away. I am indeed interested… but I am afraid that I do not own myself 40,000 books to exchange with you. What else can I add?" she wondered aloud.
Sora mulled about it himself, and suddenly had a crazy idea "Then… will you let me live here to make up for the difference? Only if you are fine with it of course"
She raised her eyebrows
"Do you want to live… with me?"
He blushed
"Ehm… I would like to live in the library. I have no intention to disturb you or interfere with your life in any way. If this place has a small room that is unoccupied, that will be enough for me"
"And why do you think that it would be a good idea?"
He raised his shoulder
"If we decide to become book buddies… this tablet is very easy to be carried around, while my hotel room could hardly contain a fraction of your collection. Also, if you are reading my books there may be something that you don't understand – feel free to ask me anything – and if I read your book there will be definitely something that I don't understand – I hope you don't mind if I ask you sometimes. What do you think about it?"
"That all makes a lot of sense… but it's not enough"
He felt a little sting at the rejection
"OK… then I guess I can just drop by here every day…"
"I did not say that you cannot stay here"
He was confused now "Uhm… could you elaborate please? I don't understand what you mean"
"Make me feel something. What you said is all cold and rational, and perfectly balanced like everything you said since we met… it says nothing of what you actually are. I want you to make me feel something"
Sora adjusted on the chair, uneasy
"Uff… that really is not my specialty…"
"You have one minute"
He sighed "Such a demanding landlady… I really don't …" his eyes lightened up "Oh wait! I think I have something!"
She smiled, and waited expectantly
"There is this song on my world, it is called: 'If a coin'. it goes like this:
If a coin I give to you
If a coin you give to me
Both with one coin we will be
But if an idea I give to you
And if an idea you give to me
Both with two ideas we will be"
Sora ended the song and looked at Jibril, that nodded with a smile "I liked that song. You are welcome in my house"
He bowed slightly "I am honored"
"Good evening, Sir!" Sora cheerfully greeted the innkeeper, that grimaced internally
Damn, he is still alive!
"I really have to thank you for the information… the library really was beautiful!"
the innkeeper tried to remain impassible, but he was confused; if Sora had found the library, then he must have met with… her!
"I am happy to hear that, Sir"
"Only one thing…" said Sora as if he just remembered something of little importance "… the library was not actually public, but private"
"Was it?" said the man, hesitantly
"Yes. The landlady was very angry at the beginning, and wanted to absolutely know who gave me such misleading information to teach them a lesson!"
The innkeeper deadpanned
"And… did you…"
"I said nothing… for now" said Sora with a predatory smile. The innkeeper was now sweating, and swallowed hard
"W-well… it Is said that silence is golden…" he said with trembling voice
"Indeed" Sora's eyes were hard as stone "And how much gold would you be willing to pay to avoid that nice landlady to know who she should come to complain to?"
The innkeeper was about to have a panic attack
"I-I-I don't…"
"Five golden coins, nothing less. And you are lucky" Sora declared, inexorable
"B-B-But…"
Sora's face turned deadly calm
"Do you thing that a Flügel would be as understanding as me? OK. Goodbye" and turned to leave
It was too much for the innkeeper. A bag full of golden coins landed beside Sora, that smiled and collected it without turning around.