Sora was happy to live in Jibril's library, and for what he could see, the Flügel was happy too.
They spent a lot of time reading, of course. Both alone or helping each other understanding their respective worlds. They both could read all languages of Disboard; Jibril as a reward for 6000 years of study, and Sora because Tet had conveniently arranged that every language in his new home would look like his native tongue. This said, many of Jibril's ancient text were phrased in a way that made them quite challenging to understand.
When they were not reading, they were playing games. Sora had bought some material and used it to re-create a number of board strategy games, while Jibril preferred Magic Simulations and Materialization Shiritori. To make it more interesting sometimes she added extra rules, for example that players could not use words that were specific of their native world, but were allowed to use those from the other one. In another variation, they had 24 hours of time to prepare themselves, and then they could use only the words that they had learned into those 24 hours. Jibril did not need to sleep, so she had much more time to fill, but Sora thought that it was fair, considering that she was not so lucky to have Earth's words automatically translated.
"Why don't you want to bet anything?" Jibril had asked the first time that he refused to play for stakes
"I hate gambling" he had answered
She had made a sly grin "Not because you are sure to lose?"
He had chuckled "That as well, actually"
"Oooohh! Looks like you actually know your place!
He had jokingly raised his hands in surrender "I was a warrior. I tend to know that"
She had moved closer to him, features somewhat sweetened "I am pleased to hear that. So, how do you see yourself, compared to me?"
"Like your cat, more or less"
She had cocked her head "What is a cat?"
"A pet from my planet. They are small predators, and quite independent pets. They often live with humans, but they mostly mind their own business, and come and go when they want. They do use the house of the master, but in exchange they eat animals that humans do not want running around, so in a way they have a tip for tap with their master"
She had made a small smile "I think that I like cats now, can you find it for me on the tablet, please?"
"Sure"
Every day Sora would go outside for a walk; Jibril would not follow, because she knew the city already. That was probably for the best, as her mere appearance would have been enough to provoke mass hysteria. Instead, the Flügel would teleport somewhere around the world and sometimes Sora had remained alone in the library. He never thought of taking advantage of the situation in any way, but he could not decide how to feel about it. Was he supposed to be grateful that she had trusted him to remain alone with the books she valued more than her own life, or to simply assume that she had some kind of magical safeguard in place?
Then, in the evening, Sora would tell Jibril about Earth, the military and the mock battles with his friends. She would counter with unimaginably epic battles from the Great War. He would listen entranced, and kept repeating how lucky he had been to find the only person in the kingdom that still knew what war actually was; on her part she was amazed that a human could understand and appreciate so many of her most cherished memories.
Sometimes, she would joke about what he said about him being her cat. In response, he would usually meow very convincingly, and then started to 'lick his paws'. She would then pet his head, and he would happily purr like a kitten. And then they would both laugh hard about it.
One day, as he was getting ready to go out for a stroll, he heard somebody entering in the library. His first thought was that he had imagined it. Nobody had ever showed up after he was sent there by his innkeeper. He pondered for a second how likely it was that the man had tried the same trick on somebody else… after all, Sira did not tell him where he was going upon leaving the inn. He went to the entry room.
"Hi Sora" Kai said "Long time no see!"
Sora's eyes went wide "Hi Kai! What are you doing here?"
"Same as you I guess"
Sora made a face "Tet kidnapped you too? Great! I mean … kinda. How did you know I was here?"
"Tet told me where to find you. And other things. Nice place!"
"Thank you... Uhm … we have to celebrate! I was just about to going to a place where the food is great! I am buying, of course!" this said, he grabbed Kai by the shoulders and tried to drove him back to the street, but he did not budge.
"Wait, wait, wait, don't you invite me to come in?"
"Later, I have to talk to you first"
"I am quite tired, you know…"
Sora was starting to get nervous "I am sorry, and I will make up for it, but please trust me; it is really better if you make one last effort and we come back later"
"I think you are just trying to hide your landlady"
Sora's eyes went wide "Eh? Do you know about her?"
"The God-slaying weapon? Yes, and I heard that she is a real beauty, I'd like to meet her"
"She is a real beauty, and I will introduce you to her, but later. Now, please …"
"What is going on here?" a voice came from above and behind them. Sora froze, deadpanned, and swallowed hard. When he turned to face the Flügel, he had the most nervous smile imaginable.
"Jibril-sama! So sorry that we disturbed you… we were just about to leave so don't worry, we will not impose ourself"
She raised her eyebrows
"Why are you calling me Jibril-sama?"
Sora looked at her as if begging for his life after committing a heinous crime "Please be patient"
She was perplexed "…OK…" and then she finally seemed to notice Kai "The clothes of that human… Is he also from Earth?"
Sora swallowed, but put on a cheerful façade.
"Yes, he is my friend Kai. He just arrived and knows nothing of this world. Humans on Earth have a huge range of different opinions and many are used to say just what they think, no matter how uncommon their views may be"
She looked at him as if he had gone completely mad "That was… very specific. Is something the matter?"
Sora looked down and clasped his hands "Please be patient. It's only for today… please"
Puzzled, she gave him one last look before turning her attention to Kai. She smiled and acted exactly like a lady welcoming a knight into her castle
"My name is Jibril, of the sixth Exceed, I welcome you here in my humble abode. I hope that your travel to this world was enjoyable"
human was unperturbed
"I am Kai. The One True God told me that you treat my friend like a cat"
She blinked, and slowly turn her eyes to Sora, as if she had suddenly realized the reason why he had been acting so strangely. He looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him.
Jibril returned her attention to Kai "Well, in a sense that is true…" she said
"Have you ever asked him how he feels about it?" he asked, as if he was the prosecutor and Jibril the defendant
"If he does not like it, I am sure that he would say so…"
Sora was quick to chime in and raised his right arm "I swear on my head that I am perfectly happy the way things are!"
Kai seemed to ignore him and kept pressing Jibril "What you are doing is completely unacceptable on my world" he said while pointing the finger to her.
Sora almost jumped on him, grabbed Kai's wrist and lowered the finger "On Earth, maybe! But we are not on Earth now. We are just guests here!"
"Don't you believe that there are things that are universally unacceptable?" Kai asked the Flügel
Jibril gave Sora a perplexed glance
"He is not serious… right?"
Sora barely dared to look at her
"I am afraid… that he is"
Jibril gave Kai a threatening look
"You are very lucky that this world is ruled by the Pledges"
"Actually, for today the Pledges won't be enforced" Kai said casually
"What?" both Sora and Jibril said in unison.
Kai shrugged "The guy that brought me here told me so"
A horrible feeling of dread washed upon Sora; he had never been so scared in his entire life. He grabbed Kai's arm
"Kai, you must apologize! Now!" he begged his earthling friend
"No. I have the moral high ground"
"This is not our country!" Kai ignored him and turned to Jibril
"I know what you have done. You have slayed countless beings and single-handedly destroyed entire cities. Do you deny that?"
"Of course not! I am proud of it!" she answered
"I think that what you have done is absolutely unacceptable, and I think it would be about time that somebody held you accountable for your actions"
She gave him a very sarcastic glance "And who is it going to do that? You?" she taunted him
"There are things in this world that are more powerful than you. Things that are like gods"
Jibril's tone was dangerous now "Are you threatening me, human?"
Sora basically jumped in between them "He has just arrived! He doesn't know anything! Please let me talk to him!"
"He seems to know enough!" she was looking at Kai the way a snake looks at a mouse
Kai also seemed annoyed "Sora, what are you doing?"
"That's my line!" the man yelled "Get out of here, and wait for me in the street!" Sora then turned to his landlady "Jibril… I am very sorry…"
"Why are you apologizing to her?"
"Why are you still here?" Sora shouted at him
But Kai had no intention of leaving "Do you understand what is going on here?"
"Yes, I do! It's you who does not understand! As per usual!"
"What she is doing to you is absolutely unacceptable"
"Says who? It is my life! And it was me who asked for her hospitality!"
Kai was mystified "Why are you bending over in front of this monster?"
Jibril narrowed her eyes, and Sora covered his face with his hands. It was done. What he had tried to avoid since he had seen Kai in the entrance, had just happened. He felt a chill, as if the temperature had suddenly fallen by several degrees. He tried to look at his landlady, but he barely dared to look in her general direction.
"I… I… I am mortified… there are no words to tell you how ashamed I am. Please … let me try to explain to him … I don't know what Tet told him … Please give me one chance to make him understand…"
The Flügel gave him a sternly look "And if I give you that one chance, can you guarantee that he will make it right later?
Sora opened his mouth, but he felt it completely dry; he could not speak. Jibril continued "Think carefully before you answer, because if you give me your guarantee and then you fail, I will hold you as accountable as him" Sora could only swallow, and Jibril spoke again, "I will ask again, can you guarantee that he will make it right?"
Sora felt as if he was falling from the sky for the second time. He knew that there was no reasoning with Kai. No compromise. Only his giant pride and self-righteousness. Sora lowered his eyes.
"No. I cannot guarantee you that he will apologize. I am sorry"
Jibril narrowed her eyes "Tell me, Sora. What do you think that I should do with both of you?"
He swallowed
"If you want to kill him… I totally understand. If you want me to kill him as a prove that I do not think anything of what he said, I will do it. If you want to kill me as well, because I am from the same planet…" he swallowed again, and his hand involuntary went to his throat "… I understand that as well. Just, I beg you…" and here Sora fell on his knees, and prostrated in front of the simmering Flügel "… don't exterminate the humans of this world. They did nothing to offend you. As they are from this world, they certainly do not need to be reminded why Immanity is last ranked, while the Flügel are very close to the top"
Jibril's eyes were cold as steel, as she looked at him from above
"And you believe that your life is as valuable as that of millions of Immanity? That is very arrogant of you"
"I have nothing else to offer. You know that. Please, take what I have, just do not kill those that did nothing to you"
Kai looked at him with disgust "Is that your power as a soldier? Where is your pride now?"
Sora remained silent
"Hey! I am talking with you"
Jibril turned her attention toward Kai, that suddenly suddenly felt crushed by a gravity force that was three times the usual. He felt on his face the burning heat of a bonfire, and when she spoke it was like a thunder echoing in a cave
"Silence, human whose name does not matter anymore! If you dare to utter another word without being explicitly interrogated, I will turn you into a cloud of dust so fine that even I won't be able to detect it! And don't believe for a second that it is going to be quick. Oh, no! I will start disintegrating your body one centimeter at the time, from the feet upwards. Skin… muscles… bones… everything except your neural centers, so that you will be able to feel everything until the very end, when you will finally have my permission to vanish into nothingness!"
Stammering, the earthling backpedaled, until he tripped and landed on his rear. When Jibril turned to Sora again, she was her usual self
"What do you think of what he said?"
"Unless you want me to answer him, what he said is completely irrelevant to me" he said while still looking at the floor
"Answer him, please"
"The pride of a warrior is to protect, and this is the only way I have a chance of doing it. Jibril-sama, you once said that you value knowledge more than life. I agree with that. But I also value life more than pride"
Her expression sweetened
"You don't even like humans"
"I do not hate them either"
"You said that any single human that you met in this world tried to harm you"
"That's true, I am an idiot. But please do not kill them"
"This is not your world. You have no obligation to protect anyone here"
"I still want to, please let me do it"
"Are you really sure?"
"I am"
Jibril gracefully landed just in front of Sora
"Stand" her tone was commanding, but somehow gentle and dignified. When he raised his head, Jibril was giving him a kind smile.
"I am so moved Sora. Only because of what you said, I will spare the lowly Immanity. Of course, I won't harm you either" Sora stood up.
Then the Flügel's turned towards Kai, her face clouded "But that one crossed the line"
The air around her started to crackle with power, and the floor started to tremble. Both humans were completely paralised, and unable to move a muscle. Then something incredible happened.
A voice came booming from all directions "Ending conditions have been met. The simulation will now terminate".
The objects around them started to turn into shiny dust, that raised up twirling towards the ceiling. Sora saw Jibril turning transparent, and raised a hand towards her. He shrieked, when he saw that the hand that he raised was also transparent. Then everything turned black.
Sora woke up in the guts of the library, laying on a sofa. His memories had been returned, and now he could remember that the entire episode with Kai was nothing more than one of the Magic Simulation games that he liked to play with Jibril. She was floating above him, and looked concerned
"Are you alright? I had no idea that this time it would be so difficult. The spirits really found some tricky memories to set the scenario"
He smiled weakly and turned to sit "It's all good, thanks for asking. My brain works in a quite contorted way, so it is not too surprising that sometimes weird stuff comes out from it"
She slowly landed on the sofa, kneeling beside him "I want to tell you that I really was moved by the way you handled it. And surprised. I know that most humans in this city would think the same as your friend. Why would you act so different?"
He shrugged "I am a weird human, Jibril. Always been, and always will be, most likely. Even on my planet, I can count on the fingers of my hand how many people actually understood me. To an extent. On this planet… it's even worse. I don't think that there is a single person here that could possibly understand basically anything of what I really am…"
He made a smile "Not a single… human person, that is… but you are different"
She made a face "Are you trying to flatter me?"
"Except from the fact that you are the only one in this kingdom that actually remember how to fight… you are the only person I met here that did not try to rob me… or worse. And for what I could see you never even tried to cheat when we play…"
She crossed her arm in protest "Of course not! Cheating is for weaklings!" she scoffed
He nodded "Yes! I agree! See? You understand me! But not many would agree with that… even on my world!"
She was impressed
"Are you sure that you are not the reincarnation of a Flügel?"
He chuckled "Quite sure, but how would I know?"
"Fair point. Tell me, is there anything that can I do for you?"
Sora raised his hand "I am all good, thanks for asking"
She leant forward "I insist. It was only a simulation, but you basically saved all of Immanity. I would like you to ask me for something. And if I think that it is a reasonable prize to save all of the humans of Disboard, I shall grant it to you"
Sora made a face "You are very wise at not giving a blank check… and I guess it would be rude to refuse. Ok then, what about an 'I am forgiven' ticket?"
She cocked her head "I am not sure what that is…"
"It is going to be a piece of wood or metal that says 'I am forgiven'… and if one day I will drive you angry, I can give the ticket to you and … I will be forgiven"
Jibril seemed suspicious "And why would you want something like that?"
Sora sighed and raised his shoulders "It's in the nature of humans to screw up"
She made a face "So you are not planning to do something fishy and then use the ticket?"
Sora seemed appalled "No, absolutely not! I can swear on the Pledges if you want to…"
She pondered about it
"No need, for now. And will I have to swear on the Pledges to honor that ticket?"
Sora waived his hands
"No, not at all. If I really do something awful… just do whatever you want. I was imagining that ticket just as an informal agreement between… lady and gentleman. What do you think?"
She thought about it for a moment "You actually seem sincere. Very well, I shall grant your request. And as you have been so earnest, I want to give you some extra guarantee too"
She smiled
"I know that I have been testing you a lot, and sometimes I have been creepy. I want you to know that it was all just to tease you. I consider you as my ultra-rare and valuable pet from another world; I care about you! So don't worry too much about driving me angry"
Sora laughed "That really is a relief! Thank you Jibril, I appreciate it!"
None of them made a word of what would have happened if the simulation had stopped only a few seconds later. Because certain things are just better forgotten.