And his vision became light, well filled with light as his eyes fluttered open.
"...did anyone get the number of the truck that hit me…?" Kris grumbled as he came to consciousness, head resting on something… soft and fuzzy?.
"What's a truck?"
Kris suddenly remembered what he'd been doing, looking to the side to a see brown fur, and then up to see the face of Griselda looking down at him curiously, his head resting on her lap.
"Horseless carriage made of metal that hits like a you." Kris explained, furiously trying to bury the blush at the position.
"Ahhh," She responded. "...You feeling better now?"
"...Yeah, actually." Kris said as he sat up, looking at his hands and grasping the air curiously. "...I feel the calmest I've been since I got here, really."
"Hmm, that's good I think," Griselda replied, sounding still very nonchalant.
"Yeah… yeah I think you're right." Kris said, before smiling at Griselda. "Thank you. I really appreciate you helping me here like this."
"You're welcome, just helped out a fellow bear," She replied.
"Heheheha, yeah, I guess you did." Kris chuckled. "I can bearly believe this even happened."
"Hehe that was a beary good one," Griselda joked back.
"Thank you, I'm beary proud of myself." Kris said with a grin.
"You should be, pride is important to have," She said wisely. "It and the others are what keeps us going, they are only bad like everything else when they are done in excess."
"Ah, truly enlightened you are." Kris said in agreement.
"Beary much so," She said back. "Ahhhh!" She yawned. "I am tired, see you some other time Kris."
"Yeah, I'll see you around Griselda." Kris said as shakily got to his feet, the absolute thrashing he'd taken what couldn't have been too long ago having left his whole body sore. Likely a side effect of having the Divine Fury literally beat out of him. "I'll take my leave now, but in the future, if you ever need my help, I'll be happy to give it to you."
"I will be sure to remember that," Griselda replied as she walked to her little grotto, her hips moving with a natural eroticism as she did.
Kris shook his head as he pulled his gaze from the hypnotizing sway, before looking up to check the time. The sun was definitely starting to set, so now was the time to head back.
He felt a moment of confusion, before with a huff of breath he activated the feeling he used to trigger the Divine Fury of the Chief God, and while he felt himself grow intensely focused and his body surging… it wasn't accompanied by that painful light.
He laughed at the revelation as it faded.
And so, with a 'hup' of exertion, Kris ran up into the air, before beginning the trek back towards Leodonia overtop the forest.
He easily made it back in time, rejoined with the others -who he assured he was fine despite looking like he'd gone three rounds in a boxing match- and had a nice, mediocre dinner that was a great comfort after the nice, long day.
He then parted from his companions, heading back to his room.
And with a grin, pulled out the wrapped book from the chest, and began unwrapping it.
The aged tome of gold-embossed red leather crackled as he opened it, a giddy giggle escaping Kris's lips as he did.
This was, after all, his ticket to magic.
He wasn't going to waste time in figuring out how to use it.
And so, he continued his now nightly efforts in deciphering the book's texts for anything actually useable.
The easiest were the two written in common near the front, seeming to be the latest (yet still ancient) additions. One to identify the purpose of magical items, the other to summon a familiar.
He was quite eager about the latter, as having a familiar would be fantastic.
Not to mention, of course, the sheer fact of he was going to cast magic.
There was no doubt in Kris's mind of this fact.
He was going to decipher the book.
He was going to learn its secrets.
He was going to be a mage.
…Which meant he needed to start actually understanding the damn formulas.
…And work on his penmanship.
…He'd figure it out.
Once he got Identify figured out, he was pretty sure it would get a lot easier.
…But where was he going to get a pearl…?
—
Turns out there were various jewelry shops in the Noble Districts.
So he had quickly gotten one worth 100GP, as the spell had demanded for it to work.
Now he just needed to practice drawing the ritual circles, and he would be able to cast his very first spell.
But first, he needed to figure out to make it so his clothes stopped ripping…
"Kris, what can I help you with today?" Captain Titus asked as Kris entered the office of the Head-Captain of the Order.
"Two things, sir." Kris said. "One, I was looking to see if you knew a way to make my outfit tougher or even indestructible. It… holds a lot of sentimental value, and I don't want to stop wearing the only clothes that actually fit me at the moment to keep them safe."
"I see, yes there are ways of applying such an enchantment to even basic clothes," Titus said. "What is the other thing?"
"Well, sir, I was wondering if there was anything I- we could do to help out around here." Kris said. "It… doesn't sit well with me, not helping when I could be."
"All the small stuff is taken care of by those whose job it is to do so, you as the Hero should not be burdened with trivial tasks," Titus stated. "Which is why I am working on readying your next assignment which should go live by the end of the week."
"Oh! Okay, yeah that works." Kris said. "I just uh… I don't wanna be just… wasting resources, if I'm not doing anything anyway, but if you have a mission in the works then that's different." He said, perking up. "Any details I can be privy to now, or?"
"A few, this assignment you will assist in shutting down and arresting the mastermind of a trafficking operation that has managed to operate behind our backs for far too long." The man said with a grim face.
Kris's jovial, eager face fell into cold rage. "How can I help?"
"You and your team four days from now will go the mansion of the Merchant Astron Bullivile, and arrest him for the trafficking and prostituion of smuggled in Mamono."
"Is the target powerful, or simply holds power?"
"He simply holds power, but he employs well trained individuals so you might encounter some hired mercenary," Titus informed him.
"Mhm." Kris hummed neutrally. While he had power, his training was likely vastly insufficient compared to the actual warriors of this world. He could hold his own, certainly, but if it came to a matter of skill, he didn't like his odds at the moment. "I'm assuming we'll have people surrounding the place, right? While my team heads in?"
"Yes, a few teams will be covering exits to prevent escape, but the majority of the Knights and Guards, along with myself will be raiding his… holdings."
"Ah, I see. Divide and conquer." Kris said with a nod. "Hit all the locations simultaneously so he won't be able to fight back."
"Exactly!" Titus replied with a vicious smile on his face.
Kris matched his smile tooth for tooth.
"Now as for the enchantment for your clothes, you can get that as a pre-payment for the job," Titus stated.
"Oh, that would be excellent." Kris said with a more natural smile.
"Now would Adamantine suffice?"
"...That's an option?"
—
"...and so instead of using flint and loaded powder, the hammer itself triggers the explosion and launches the bullet out of the cartridge."
"I see… firearms have come a long way in your world, or maybe they have here and things just regressed due to the various Demon Lords," Ziro stated as they listened to Kris's words.
"Yeah, I mean even what I explaining right now is relatively outdated by my world's standards, but not have revolvers not changed very much because they are just that good, its the one whose mechanisms I know the best." Kris explained. "Like, we have guns back home able to shoot thousands of times per minute."
"Incredible." Ziro's eyes shone with wonder as he explained.
"Though really, to call that a gun is an understatement, their official designation is 'rotary cannon'." Kris explained, loving the fact he had a captive audience. "Those mighty beasts that can could never be wielded directly by human hands."
"Very different from the cannons on ships and the walls," Ziro replied.
"Oh, absolutely." Kris agreed. "Those shoot cannonballs, or maybe grapeshot. Mighty munitions nonetheless, they're considered ancient artifacts in my time- outdated."
"Truly amazing," The newly born gun nut said.
"Yes, and my country in particular is known for its firearms, the birthplace of wonders like the revolver, the revolving cannon, the double-barreled shotgun! Truly, America is the land of powder and tears, blood and steel!" Kris said, gripped with patriotic fervor.
Ziro's eyes had become stars.
"The land of the Free! The home of the brave!" Kris continued, before he realized what he was doing and coughed. "...And also one wrought with strife and prejudice due to a history of slavery and xenophobia."
"...Not every place is perfect my Lord."
Kris nodded in agreement. "Truly, truly… oh, that reminds me though, there was something I wanted to ask you Ziro."
"What is it, my Lord?"
"That."
"'That' what my Lord?"
"That. That word you're calling me."
"My Lord?"
"I hold neither title nor nobility, land nor servants." Kris pointed out. "Hence, I am no Lord."
"You are the Hero and I am currently in your direct service."
"Hm." Kris hummed. "I don't like it."
Ziro blinked their silvery-gray eyes in confusion.
"Being called a Lord, that is."
"Why?"
"As I said, I am no noble, I have no knighthood. I have no land, and calling you a servant is a gross underestimation of your worth." Kris reiterated. "I am, possibly, the least lord-like person I know."
"But you are the Hero?"
"...I'll meet you halfway here." Kris said after a moment, a mischievous glint in his eye.
"How so?" They asked.
"Referring to me as 'My Lady' would be far more palatable."
"If that is what you desire, then I shall refer to you as my Lady," Ziro replied without question.
Kris smirked at the rush of euphoria at the words. "Yes. I do desire it. This form is, after all, only temporary- my true form shall be unleashed, and then none will be able to deny it."
Ziro just blinked in confusion, looking like they did not know how to respond to that.
"Put another way, I seek magic -or science, I'm not picky- to allow one to permanently change their form." Kris said. "I've been… cursed since birth with some… unsightly imperfections that must be done away with."
"I see, though sadly I know of nothing that can accomplish that task outside of the legendary spell known as True Polymorph but no one has been able to cast that for decades," Ziro stated.
"Well, worse comes to worst, I already have something in mind, though it is a bit long-term." Kris said. "But, for now, keep an ear out for such things, Ziro. I know you have much better ears than I do."
"I will try my Lady."
"Now, for more interesting matters for you, the mechanism of a bullet and a cartridge…"
—
"...and while I've never been very good at painting, I've always been keen on photography."
"Photography?" Lily asked as they walked through the city.
"Yeah, its uh… here, lemme show you." Kris said, pulling out his phone and turning it on. "You've seen me hold this before, right?" He asked as he waited for it to power on.
"Yeah your weird little metal box," Lily said.
"Super-weird little metal box, yup." Kris said as it turned on, and he quickly pulled up the camera and pointing it at her, making sure she didn't see the screen. "Hey, real quick, can you smile for me?"
"Oh, sure," She said as she did so.
Kris took a moment to snap a few pictures, before finding the best looking one. "Okay, so, check this out." He said, before turning the screen towards Lily, showing her own smiling face… well, her entire form, really, but the smile was the focus.
"...Oh wow, an instant painting?" She asked in amazement.
"Basically." Kris said with a shrug. "Actually, here, lemme show this." He said, before going back to the camera and switching to the selfie cam before getting next to her and holding it out.
"It's also like a mirror?" She asked.
"Just watch." Kris said. "Look at the box and say 'cheese'!"
"Waa?" She asked with confusion.
And Scctt got the perfect selfie with her confused look, his own face in a mischievous grin. "And boom, photo." He said, clicking on the reel and bringing up the new selfie to show her.
"Ohhhh, that is so cool, so I guess this replaced painters in your world? I hope that doesn't happen here."
"Oh no, painters are definitely still a thing." Kris assured. "If anything, art like yours has gotten more advanced because of it. Since, you know, everyone has one of these in their pocket nowadays."
"Everybody has a magic item like that?" Lily asked in shock.
"Ah, not magic. Science." Kris corrected. "And basically, yeah. I ran the numbers and, based on the price of bread, they only cost about 1 and third gold apiece." He paused. "Maybe up to like… five gold for the really expensive ones."
"Damn that is cheap," Lily replied.
"Yup. They also work like unlimited use sending stones, allow access to a massive library of potentially forbidden or dangerous knowledge, let us share music, allow for the capturing of moving pictures with sound and everything and then the sharing of those across the world… the smartphone basically changed how my world worked, and they've only existed for about a decade."
"Cool… does it have porn on it?"
"I did say potentially forbidden knowledge, didn't I?"
"Nice, smut on the go must be great."
Kris shrugged. "I guess. I don't really know, I never used it for that."
"Yeah you kinda don't do the whole sex thing," Lily said.
"Yup." Kris said. "I don't like the idea of it, I don't wanna participate in it… like, I don't even masturbate-"
"Ahhhhh!" Look of horror on Lily's face was palpable. Like she had just heard somebody had never tried ice cream before.
…Oh god, she never had ice cream before, had she?
"Oh come on, don't make a big deal out of it." Kris said, rolling his eyes.
"But it is, like you need to masturbate to get all the lust out of you if you don't have a partner, like I would be going mad if I didn't have Big Anthony."
"...Please tell me that's a sex toy and not your paint brush."
"Of course, I have a completely different brush for that."
"Oh okay go-... ew."
"I keep it clean, and the way it tickles my cli-"
"Cease."
"Fine you prude… can't believe a person like you can exist, but I guess anything is possible," Lily said.
"Heeeey." Kris said defensively. That wasn't the first time that phrase had been directed at him, but it was the first time in this context. "That's not nice."
"Hmm?"
"...Nothing. Normally when people say stuff like that, they are a lot more… angry." Kris said after a moment, realizing she hadn't meant it like that.
"I am just saying you're weird, but you're not from this world so I guess it makes sense why you would be," Lily said.
"This is… relatively uncommon in my world too, actually." Kris said. "Probably not to my level but… well, I've always been abnormal, so it's nothing new."
"Not that that's bad." Lily said with a downer smile. "Just different."
"Yeah." Kris said. "And that's not to say I don't appreciate pretty people, you know. Like you're objectively adorable,"
"Yes I know."
"Hilda's literally an angel," Kris continued.
"That she is, but she is kind of a strange one."
Kris continued as if she hadn't interrupted. "And Ziro's got that androgenous charm and that like… the vibe of a loyal puppy."
"Yeah, I don't think it would take a lot for them to be fully dedicated to you," Lily stated.
"Not sure how to feel about that part." Kris said. "...There's something I want to try with them after the mission actually… well, could be everyone, I'm not picky."
"Well count me intrigued, and I am stoked for that mission, gonna show that loser you shouldn't do that to Mamono," Lily said as she shadow boxed.
"Heh, cute." Kris noted.
"You betcha!"
About half an hour of walking later, they'd found a nice, scenic view of the fields in the second layer of the city, and Lily had begun setting up while Kris sat back on a nearby bench and relaxed, enjoying the view.
Zettai ryouiki, something he never thought he'd see in real life. B-grade, perfect ratio. Not as good as Ziro's perfect, A-grade, but Lily had a general cute-charm about her that it only enhanced.
Not to mention the wings softly buzzing- nowhere near as fast as they should be, there was definitely something magic there- that added to her ethereal, pixie-esque charm, the alien nature of the extra limbs continually interesting to Kris.
Oh, and the wheat was cool too.
"So while you don't like sex, you still check out girls?" Lily asked as she continued painting.
"And guys." Kris agreed nonchalantly. "Like I said, I appreciate a fine view. Aesthetics."
"Well how do I look to you?" She asked. "I've got a big butt, but no breasts."
"Yeah, but you've got that rare cute-charm accentuated by your fashion." Kris started. "The artsy look, the white knee socks, the b-grade zettai ryouiki, you're practically painting a picture of cuteness with your outfit, turning you from 'adorable' into 'dangerously adorable'."
"Dangerous charm is something all Mamono have," Lily said.
"Yeah, but with them I have to worry about something happening to me… or Ziro." Kris said. "You're the kind of cute I have to worry about something happening to you."
"You don't have to worry about me," She replied as she continued to paint, a painting that even after a few minutes was starting to look like a masterpiece, showing that Lily had serious skill.
"Wow." Kris said in awe. "You're not even done yet and I can tell this is already better than most of the million dollar… uhh, thousands of platinum pieces back home."
"Thanks, I hope I will be able to sell it for good money one day," Lily said as she continued.
"Yeah, hopefully." Kris said. "This city's full of rich people, you're in the Hero's party, and it's damn good art, shouldn't be too hard."
"You think so?"
"Absolutely." Kris said. "If nothing else, Shez probably knows some people who know some people, you saw all the jewelry on her she's got to have connections."
"Yeah she was fancy, and all stuff was the real deal," Lily replied. "Yeah we can talk to her about it after we're done with the job. Which is again so cool, it reminds me of some of the books paa have."
"Yeah, I know what you mean, but you have to remember something." Kris said. "These are real people, in real danger."
"I know."
"But with that acknowledged, it is pretty cool." Kris admitted.
"Yeah it is," Lily said back as she went back to focus on her painting.
Kris watched her paint for a few minutes as a thought percolated around in his head as a shape came to mind. "Hey Lily?"
"Yes Krissy?" Lily asked.
"Do you wear underwear?"
"...Uhhhh!" She asked in shock and surprise as she turned around to face him.
"Undergarments, you know, clothes you wear under your other clothes?"
"I-i-i," She stuttered. "I know what that is, but why are you asking me?"
"Well we were talking about that stuff, and so I ended up looking at your butt and I can't tell and it was bothering me." Kris admitted, face steadily reddening as he really hadn't meant to ask in the first place.
Damn mamono charms.
"Well if you want to know I am, I don't like it sinking into my pussy." She answered.
"So did someone in your village make those? Cause like, I've actually been wondering how clothes get made here especially for people of different sizes."
"We kinda make it ourselves for the most part, like maa, made this for me and taught me how to make more, for my own kids."
"Oh, so do you make your own underwear to-dammit mouth." Kris growled in frustration.
"Yeah, they are covered in apples if you want to know, magic makes it easy to do so," She answered. "Though I don't wear bras."
"Mhm, noted." Kris said. "Excuse me, I'm gonna go bash my head into the city wall for a bit for even starting this conversation."
"Why? It's perfectly normal to talk about, just got caught off guard, because it's well you," Lily said with a blush on her face.
"Yeah, it's me, you see how I'm going red right now?" Kris pointed out. "Inside, I'm screaming right now. A lot."
"Oh."
"So if you'll excuse me, I'll be back in a few minutes."