What will you do when you gain the ability to save and load in real life?
Many would say all sorts of things, but eventually everyone will realize…
They literally have all the time in the world to do just about anything. They can do horrible acts without consequences. They can cheat, lie, steal anything to their hearts' desire. They can use their power to help the human race. These are just a few things you can and will probably do, among many, many things.
While you can do anything, you aren't in any urgency to do anything. So, there will come a time you will just say…
"Eh, I'll do it later."
Deep in the snowy woods, in a forest of tall trees, a cottage resided in a glade.
Within it, a young woman was writing a book. Her delicate fingers guided the pen, not a single error to be found on the paper. Nor would there be, she thought.
The woman looked up front, towards the window above her desk. Crimson eyes faintly reflected. She brushed her black hair with her hand, straightening it back to her usual hime cut.
She stood up, still carrying the book, and walked towards the fireplace.
Charlotte threw the book into the fire, watching with mirth as the pages turned to ashes. None would see them.
None, except for her.
She had already saved the moment in time where she finished the book.
This point in time was isolated for the purpose of writing.
Write what?
Well, anything.
Most of the time, it was just the "save files" she felt were important. So that she would remember them when she reread them.
How would the book's progress be saved?
Well, that was easy. Just make another save and forget about the previous one. Of course, simply forgetting something at will was impossible for a human.
But, she would forget about unimportant save files after a long while.
But what if she forgot about this timeline?
This was the reason why she chose this timeline. Because it was saved in one of her favorite places ever. So she wouldn't forget it. She would almost always visit this save file when she got stressed and needed rest. She did this in hopes for it to become a core memory.
All right, but what about if the book became full?
Then she would just go back to the timeline when she began starting the book. On it, she would write the save file memory where she wrote the book until it became full.
This book would become an index of sorts that would lead to another timeline that recorded other timelines.
It was kind of like making a folder in windows and putting your notes in it. And then, putting that folder into another folder of a broader category. The cycle doesn't end. It may sound a bit chaotic, but to the woman, it was as structured as could be.
Charlotte closed her eyes. With a thought, she loaded another save file.
Charlotte was now walking in the streets of Tokyo. She was a bit older here, at twenty five years old. This was the furthest point in time she was into the future. Of course, she didn't know how old she really was with the amount of times she'd been saving and loading.
She was here for a manga convention. The manga volume she'd been waiting for had just arrived. Reloading often made the wait feel much, much longer.
She realized that if she kept reloading, she would never get to experience what would happen in the future.
Sure, there were an uncountable amount of things to do in the past, but there were times she needed something new. Like continuing a book series that was still publishing.
But then, if she were to stop reloading, she would eventually get old. There was nothing more frightening than knowing she would become old one day.
While she was immortal thanks to reloading, she would still age the further into the future she got. There would come a time where she wouldn't be able to go further, because she would be too old.
Charlotte sighed. She hoped humanity would figure out how to become immortal within her lifetime, so that she could experience many more things in the future.
Beep! Beep!
A truck was heading straight towards her. She panicked at first, but soon calmed down.
Should she be put in a critical situation or condition, or should she even die immediately, her power would instinctively load her to the closest safe timeline.
Don't ask her how she knew.
It took a long time for her to finally get used to danger. At first she was almost constantly panicking, likely because of a mental trauma. She couldn't really go see a psychiatrist, since they probably wouldn't understand an immortal timeline jumper's mind.
With enough time, she eventually healed and accepted her fears and pains.
So, this truck that was about to hit her did nothing more than surprise her a bit.
She guessed she would come back around five minutes ago, where she bought ice cream and thought to rewind if she wanted more.
But…
The world suddenly darkened.
This had never happened before.
Being immortal had numbed her fear of death, so she was more curious than scared of the light that suddenly came from beyond.
The light came closer and enveloped her.
"Welcome, heroes!"
When the light receded, she was no longer on the street. Instead, she was now in a white room with tall pillars surrounding her. Beyond those pillars were people in white robes whose positions were in sync.
Next to her were three high schoolers, one male and two females, looking equally confused.
In front of them was a girl who wore a white dress, with a crown on her head.
"We, the kingdom of Azulmolf, have summoned you from another world to help us," said the girl. "Please, exterminate the demon lord and its forces!"
Silence.
"Holy shit," Charlotte muttered. "Isekai is real."
A few hours later found the four earthlings in a wide and grand bedroom. They'd just been debriefed on the situation they were in.
Apparently, they were supposed to train to prepare themselves for war.
War against the demon lord.
The one who summoned them, princess Alesia, made no mention of how to return to Earth.
"How can they do this?! The nerve of them!" shouted one girl with a ponytail as she kicked away her chair.
The other girl, the one with the short red hair, nervously asked the only boy in the room, "What should we do, Kazuto-kun?"
Weird, Charlotte thought. They were speaking English, but they were using Japanese suffixes.
Were they really speaking English, though?
When she looked at their mouths, their lips didn't move according to their exact words. When she concentrated, she began to hear them talking in japanese. Charlotte understood a bit of Japanese, but not to the extent where she could hold a long conversation.
Something was translating their words into her preferred language. Her best guess was that the princess had put some sort of translating spell on them. It would make sense since another world would have a different language.
"...now, we need to follow along. We'll decide what to do once we know more about this place."
The boy named Kazuto looked at the woman sitting on the bed, seemingly distracted by a few thoughts. To be honest, he was a bit shy when talking to beautiful older women, especially foreigners. The woman looked to be mixed between asian and european. Her baggy gray hoodie contrasted with her black leggings.
Unlike them, she was way more relaxed, as if taking everything that just happened in stride.
Kazuto manned himself up and said, "Umm, hello. I'm Kazuto. It's good to meet you, miss…"
The woman blinked.
She looked at him and smiled. "Ah, where are my manners? My name is Charlotte, but you can call me Charlie."
Seeing her carefree attitude, Kazuto couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you worried, Charlie-san?"
"About what, exactly?" she asked back playfully.
"About the fact that you've been kidnapped and are forced to fight against your will," answered Ren, the girl with the ponytail, icily.
"All right. Sorry, sorry," Charlie chuckled. "I was feeling devious, so I feigned ignorance."
She continued, "But, no. I'm not. This isn't my first time, after all."
Her answer shocked the three.
"Y-You've been to other worlds?!" they asked.
She shook her head. "Oh, no. I just found out about this. I was talking about being kidnapped."
Kazuto thought her answer to be even more shocking. From the way she acted to this kind of situation, it was impossible for her to be lying about it. There was definitely more to this woman than what meets the eye.
"Kazuto, was it? Yes, you are correct. At times like this, when you have neither knowledge nor leverage against your kidnappers, it's better to do as they say. Just look for opportunities to gain an advantage over them. But don't worry too much. Each of you are of far too great a value for them to cause you harm or even discomfort."
At her words, the three seemed to relax a little. In an unknown or dangerous situation, younger people tended to look for older and wiser folk for guidance. And Charlotte was not only older, she had experience in being kidnapped.
"I suggest you go do their training. It's good for you to be able to defend yourself, especially with these circumstances."
Ren nodded approvingly. "Indeed. There is no better time than now to learn how to fight."
With that, Charlie stood up from her bed and walked to the exit.
"Where are you going?" the boy asked.
Charlotte shrugged. "Around."
Charlie walked around the hallways of the castle. Though she was alone, she had no doubt that she was currently being monitored somehow. If she had such an important asset, she would always keep an eye on it.
She was currently looking for a library, or something close. She already had the ultimate leverage of being able to move back in time, so all she needed was information.
Eventually, she found it.
The library was a two storey room lit up by magical floating lights.
Magic.
Charlie's pupils dilated.
She wanted it. She wanted it so badly.
She shook her head.
Have patience, Charlotte.
Charlie looked at the tall window. It was currently night. On the sky were three moons. Intriguing, she thought.
"The library will be closing in five minutes," someone behind her said.
On the desk was an old woman. She had to be the librarian.
"You are free to read before this place closes, but you aren't allowed to go to the second floor."
"Really?" Charlotte pleaded, "Can you make an exception, just this time? It'll only be five minutes, right?"
The librarian hesitated. The second floor was reserved for the royal family and guests who had the crown's permission. But, to deny a hero could sour her relationship with the kingdom. Ultimately, the librarian decided.
"All right. But only five minutes."
What could go wrong? After all, five minutes weren't enough to finish even one book upstairs. Unfortunately, the librarian didn't see the grin the so-called hero had on her face.
"Saved," she whispered.
Next morning.
The four heroes were on the training field in the barracks next to the castle.
"Good morning, heroes. My name is Lemount. I will be your instructor for this lesson."
A shoulder length brown haired knight greeted them.
"For now, you will be learning melee combat. It is known that heroes who are gifted in melee will improve at a very rapid pace compared to a regular person. This rapid advancement is also true for heroes who are gifted in other combat talents."
He continued, "Now, who here has either trained or is experienced in melee?"
Two hands rose. It was Ren's and Charlie's.
"Oh?" Lemount was a little surprised. Heroes that were summoned here usually had no combat experience. It was unusual for half of them to know about battle. But, there were those merely trained in combat and never actually fought in a battle to the death.
Fortunately, he had a way to distinguish this.
"Then, to begin, let us spar. Please choose a weapon from the weapon rack."
Ren looked apprehensive. "We're going to use real weapons?"
She hesitated.
Lemount hummed knowingly. As he'd thought, they were just—
"All right, sure." Charlie walked to the rack with an easy going smile.
Ah.
Lemount saw the woman pick up a dagger and pocketed it. Next, she picked up the spear. Lemount nodded approvingly. A spear is one of the best weapons for melee combat. Its range and simple form allowed even regular people to fight dangerously.
But…
Snap!
"I didn't see another dagger, so I'll use its end instead. I hope that's fine," she informed cheerily.
…Those weapons were specifically crafted for very long term use.
Ignoring the pain of the loss of a good weapon, Lemount sighed deeply.
"Come at me!" he shouted.
The battle began.
…only, the woman didn't charge towards him. She was just standing on the other side of the circle with her 'daggers' in each hand, not even in a combat stance. She merely signaled for him to come at her. This annoyed the knight greatly. Not only did she purposely break a perfectly fine weapon, she wasn't even taking this seriously!
Fine. If she wanted a thorough beat down, he would oblige. He no longer cared whether she was a hero or not. This naive child needed a proper teaching.
Lemount charged towards her.
The three highschoolers gasped in shock as the knight unsheathed his real metal sword and swung the blade. They thought Charlie would surely lose, but out of nowhere she threw one of her daggers up, diverting everyone's attention.
Charlotte moved her body and expertly redirected the sword away from her. In the same motion, she lowered herself and continued with a leg sweep. Lemount was now on his back. She jumped onto him and planted her dagger to the ground, right next to his head.
"You… fight dirty," the knight said begrudgingly.
"Fairness dies with good men in the battlefield," she retorted with a knowing grin.
She snapped her fingers.
The dagger that was in the air dropped and pierced the other side near Lemount's head. The knight stared in shock.
"I prefer short, throwing weapons and light firearms. The rest are too much of a hassle to carry around."
Charlie stood up and walked towards a tree at the edge of the field.
"That should exempt me from physical training, right? Wake me up when magic training begins." With that, the woman rested at the foot of the tree.
Kazuto stood in contemplation. Experienced in kidnapping, expertise with daggers, and her words about fairness and good men. The boy began to worry about the woman's prior occupation. Those things when added up don't paint a pretty picture.
Lemount stood up. His face seemed like he woke up to an epiphany.
He coughed and said, "Well said by Miss Charlotte. Demons don't fight fairly, so you shouldn't hold back when fighting them. Now, let's move on…"
Time flew by, and it was now magic training period. The place was still at the field, but their teacher was none other than the princess herself.
A table had been set up in front of them, with five books laid on top.
"Normally, magic training starts from your early childhood, consuming many resources along the way. It is the reason why it is mostly nobles and merchants who are capable of casting spells. Starting any later would produce a less than mediocre mage who can barely cast the simplest of spells. A hero blessed with the gift of magic may start much later and end up as a very capable mage. But still, such a thing would be unfortunate, since fate had denied them their full potential. So, we created these grimoires."
Alesia gestured at the books.
"Each of these magical tomes contain the knowledge and spells of an expert in a single school of magic. Their function is to transfer said knowledge into your mind. You will know the most efficient way to cast spells and what spells would be most effective within the situation, most of the time. The problem is your mana capacity will start the same as a beginner's, so you'll have to train to increase the amount of mana you can store. This should hopefully negate the lack of training you had prior. A hero not gifted in it will still end up an expert, but a hero with the gift of a particular school of magic will eventually reach and surpass the archmage's level."
She pointed at each book. "This book contains the school of elementalism. This one, healing magic. This, alteration school. That one, summoning. And finally, illusion."
Kazuto raised a question, "So, how do we know which school we might be gifted in?"
Alesia smiled wryly. "You don't. To this day, we are still unable to determine which hero has which gifts. Only the gods know. We can only hope you picked the right choice. We'll only know after some time, when we see you improve far beyond your peers."
The boy stared at the grimoires nervously. His hand darted from one to another, unable to choose. Ultimately, the chance to be first was stolen by none other than Charlie.
"I'll pick this, thank you very much." She plucked the illusion book from the table.
"Ah." Alesia warned, "Know that the grimoire will—"
"The grimoire will only work once, then it will dissolve along with the spell that bound it, right?" Charlotte interrupted.
Alesia was surprised for a moment, but calmed down and said, "I see, so that was what you read last night."
The princess of course knew she went to the library. It would look bad if this type of information got under her nose, after all.
The young woman nodded. "Yep. I didn't have a lot of time, so I only picked the book that interested me the most." Charlie wasn't surprised that the letters of the books written last night were completely foreign to her, yet she was still able to read them because of the presumed translation spell.
Alesia thought that there was something fishy when Charlotte said that. The princess was great at determining truths and lies, as a noble and royal should. The statement was logically a fact, yet she saw a hint of deceit within the woman's ruby-red eyes. She eyed her, but Charlotte smiled back.
"Also, regarding the school of illusion. It is part of the reason I brought five books instead of four. While there is nothing wrong with the school itself, it has been proven from time to time to be the least useful of the five in direct combat. I suggest taking a second grimoire just in case."
Charlotte nodded knowingly. She'd read the entire library, and had save points within it too. It was natural that she knew all the schools' strengths and weaknesses. Elementalism was the most straightforward and arguably most useful in direct combat. Healing could mean the difference between life and death in certain situations, and it was also very effective against undead. Alteration basically gave buffs and debuffs to the participants in battle, and it was very useful out of battle too. Summoning helped very much in increasing the party's numbers, giving them the number advantage; the summons could also work as night watch during camping. As for illusion, well, once you knew that there was an illusionist in the opposite party, it would be easier to notice which was real and fake.
Illusion worked much better when not in direct combat, since a number of the spells required concentration that could easily be lost in fear and panic. For someone to effectively use illusion in battle, they had to have extreme focus, nerves of steel, or lack of the fear of death. Charlotte easily fit the third category.
Of the five schools, Charlotte resonated with this grimoire the most. Despite logic telling her to pick elementalism, there was something within her mind telling her to pick it instead.
And besides, who said this was her first iteration of this moment? She had already 'used' all the grimoires. This was the sixth time she chose, and she was going to keep this one. Each of these grimoires was worth an entire duchy, including all of its lands. It was practically priceless.
Charlotte spoke, "I know of its strengths and weaknesses. I can protect myself just fine even without magic, so this is a plus. Plus, I get the feeling the kids are going to need the magic more than I do. And besides, it's not like I can't study other schools."
"Charlie-san," Kazuto uttered.
The boy felt ashamed for accusing the young woman, even if he didn't voice it out.
Maybe she wasn't such a good person before. Nobody knew except for her. But, seeing her put the three's safety before hers made him think that there was way more to her past than what he initially thought. Whatever she was, she definitely had changed for the better. Kazuto could only imagine what kind of suffering she had to go through to turn her life around. He nodded at her in respect.
The other girls were nonetheless bewildered.
Ren remembered how her mother used to halve her own portion of a cake and give the half to the younger her, saying that her smile was sweet enough for her.
At first, she thought that this Charlotte was nothing more than an arrogant and ignorant slacker. That opinion shifted when she saw her battle. Ren narrowed her eyes as she observed. All the woman's moves were carefully calculated, both to distract and deal the enemy with lethal force. Her actions screamed that of a killer's—no, an assassin's. Coupled with her words about good men, it worsened Ren's opinion of her. Assassins were one of the most disrespected occupations to a samurai, primarily because of their lack of honor.
That should have been the end of it, but her most recent action defied all of Ren's expectations. She had the honor of an elder, to protect the young and inexperienced. It made her look back to the words she said earlier. All she had told them were lessons she personally experienced. She told them the best thing to do in a hostage situation, then taught them about the lack of fairness in battle. Lemount told them himself how demons would take every opportunity to bring them down, especially during "fair" battles.
As someone who looked up to the honorable samurai, it clashed with her principles. But, the more she thought of it, it was also honorable to throw one's reputation away for other people, and Charlie had just done that earlier by showing them an unsightly way of fighting. Ren needed to reevaluate her ideals after this.
As for Alesia, she was arguably the most surprised of all. Since she knew about the grimoires, Charlotte must know of their value. Every hero she'd read about never declined a grimoire, much less nobles who usually go to crazy lengths just to obtain one of them. What Charlotte just said was unlike anything else. Was this what a hero's heart was like? Alesia smiled mysteriously.
She said, "You should return to your room before you open the book. The process will disorientate you for a little while. You may come back here later to test your new spells."
Charlotte was laying on her bed. She'd already opened all the books in the last iterations, so she was waiting for the others to wake up.
One of the things she'd noticed was her mana pool, as in her current and maximum mana, stayed the same despite changing save files. That meant even if she had full mana at this time, and in the future she had her mana depleted as she returned to this point in time, her mana would stay depleted.
The reverse also applied. If she was in the middle of battle and ran out of mana, she could just jump to another timeline and rest, then go back to the battle with a full mana pool.
She also discovered magic could only be improved to a certain amount after a period of long rest, as in eight hours of sleep. It would expand the size of her mana capacity and familiarize herself with the spells. How they improved was she needed to deplete her mana a few times and cast an amount of spells until she felt like they wouldn't increase anymore. She read in the library that this 'limit' was reset every time she took a long rest.
She tried to rest and train in a past timeline, but that didn't reset the limit. She would discover that the limit only reset when she rested in the furthest timeline she was in. So, there was no cheating that.
Although, something interesting happened to her when she opened those five grimoires. Like the other heroes, she awoke her magic when she 'read' the book. This in turn opened up her mana pool.
There was just one thing. Her pool 'opened' each of the five times she used the books. That meant she had the mana capacity of five newbies. Without even training, her mana pool was almost on the cusp of an adept mage.
With those five awakenings, if she trained all five schools, she would improve five times. Every school had its own training limit, which meant she could reach the limit five times, improving her mana at a quintuple pace. After training, mana was more than double the amount of an adept mage.
Compared to other schools, illusion was improved the farthest and fastest. It solidified her belief that she was gifted in this school.
It still baffled her how that was possible. The books didn't say anything about multiple awakenings, even though it had information on people who read multiple grimoires. Charlotte's only guess was that since she technically hadn't opened any grimoires prior to the last, her pool still thought it was still closed. Charlotte tucked the illusion book further in her bag—yes, she had brought her bag when she was transported here.
Now, all there was left was to wait for that to come.
The faint sound of scraping was her cue. Charlie threw a dagger at the ceiling, seemingly at nothing in particular, but just before it touched the top, it hit something instead.
A short red imp materialized—or, with her new knowledge, became visible because it failed to maintain its invisibility spell—and screeched in pain. It fell to the floor, where the dagger was pushed further in because of gravity, killing it in an instant.
This little thing tried to kill them in a past iteration. Charlotte was just getting revenge for that. Now, cue the guards in…
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two—
"Heroes, arise! Demons have infiltrated… your…"
Huh. She was off by one second.
Lemount looked at the bleeding lesser demon on the floor, still twitching. A dagger pierced through it.
He looked to one of the beds, where Charlotte was. The woman was humming and balancing her spear-turned-dagger on her finger. He scratched his head.
"Ah, it appears the threat has been neutralized by you, Miss Charlotte."
Charlotte shook her head, still paying attention to her 'dagger.'
"An imp of that size couldn't have snuck all the way in with invisibility. It had to come here with someone else."
Lemount, the court mages, and the other knights tensed, understanding the circumstance.
Someone here had to be a traitor.
"Isn't that right, vice-general Biu?" Her dagger suddenly darted to their direction, towards one of the white-robed mages.
Clang!
A claw deflected the projectile.
A malicious chuckle rang out. Before the others could react, it swiped its tail, knocking most of them out.
The robes were ripped open, revealing a red skinned fiend with dark horns and a pair of wings. Its tail swished around at its back.
"You are quite a knowledgeable one, hero. Since you are, you should know you stand no chance against us. So, why don't you join us? The demon lord would be elated to have you at his side."
Charlotte shook her head. "No, thanks. Sounds like too much of a hassle."
The demon sneered. "To not only throw your last weapon, but to face me when all your comrades are in no position to help you?"
It shook its head. "Truly, no amount of knowledge can fix a true fool like you. What will you do now, helpless one?"
"I still have my magic." Charlotte shrugged.
The demon laughed at her. "With your illusion magic? Surely you jest."
The demon then fired an ice spike at her. It watched in satisfaction as the ice pierced her, only to be shocked to see her form fade away.
An illusion! This entire time?!
Where—
Tap tap.
Biu turned around and locked eyes with her.
"Ah, such a shame. You do know the last thing you should do is look at an illusionist directly in her eyes, right?" she said while grinning madly.
"Humph. As if a newbie like you would have enough mana for anything remotely damaging." Biu wasn't worried. Coupled with that fact she'd already expended her mana from her earlier trick, she would've already depleted her mana.
Yet…
"Oh yeah? How about you come at me, then?"
The demon growled, but as it tried to move, it realized it couldn't. It finally realized it was stuck on a cross, with its hands and feet tied by metal chains.
This spell!
Impossible!
An adept would not even be able to hold this spell for one second with the amount of mana they lacked!
Biu tried to snap itself back into reality, but it couldn't.
This spell… What it does is lock the caster's target in its own mind. The target won't be able to do anything since its thought process has been increased to extreme speeds, making it seem like its body slowed down to a halt. Hours within this illusion wouldn't even count as a second in the real world. The caster will then be able to summon anything they wanted, put their target in any situation they desired, and harm them to their heart's content. They are basically the god of that illusion 'world.'
A truly evil spell. One that should not have been used by a hero.
"I, I am Biu! Vice-general and right hand of General Abu! One of the five great demon generals under the demon lord! Your threats do not affect me!"
"We'll see about that." Charlotte popped her fingers, summoning three wooden stakes.
One to the palm.
"Gah!"
Second to the other palm.
"Rah!"
And the last one… hmm.
To the groin.
"Kyaaaa!" A high pitched scream resounded.
Charlotte had read about most if not all torture methods and devices in the bible. After crucifixion, the bronze bull was her most anticipated method.
This spell Charlotte realized was nearly the perfect copy of a certain jutsu by some quiet emo kid. The mana needed to maintain this spell was astronomical. Fortunately, she was still able to save and load within someone's mind.
…Back in the real world.
Kazuto and the girls were awoken by a guttural scream. At the entrance was a big red being facing away from them. It was truly imposing. Its size made them feel small. Its claws made them feel helpless. Its tail made it seem like they were trapped in a room with a wild beast.
It stepped back.
Then another step.
And another.
Then, it fell on its back.
Black blood poured out from all its orifices. The thing was dead.
At the entrance, they saw Charlie standing there. She yawned.
"Well, that was a huge headache. I'd sleep here, but that demon already stank up the entire room. I'm gonna go explore. See you guys later."
A while later, the three heroes, Lemount, and a court mage were in the princess' office.
"So, you're saying she killed a greater demon by herself, using a single illusion spell?" The princess asked.
The court mage who had seen it happen before his eyes nodded. "Yes. Sir Lemount and my colleagues who stayed awake can attest to it."
Said knight grunted in agreement.
Alesia ran a hand through her golden locks.
"Do you know what spell she used?"
The mage nodded. "The most probable conclusion is that she used the master level illusion spell, Tsukuyomi—"
He was interrupted by the gasp of one of the female heroes.
"Th, The evil moon god," the girl with short red hair muttered.
Alesia was surprised. "I'm sorry? Care to elaborate more, Miss Aki?"
The redhead named Aki shifted uncomfortably at the sudden attention, but a single hand on her shoulder by Kazuto calmed her down. Kazuto nodded at her.
Aki took a deep breath and explained, "Tsukuyomi, literally meaning moon-reading, is the name of the god of the moon. He is known to be evil from surrounding folklore. The spell you just mentioned, does it by any chance trap the victim in his own mind, within an illusory world of the user's control?"
The court mage was now surprised. "Yes. That's exactly what it does."
Kazuto spoke up, "By any chance, was the spell's creator…"
Alesia nodded, "She was a hero of the past who was summoned here."
"I didn't know there was such deep lore within the illusion spell! Truly, all heroes are meticulous, even in spell-making!" The court mage shot up in glee. "Can you tell me more regarding it? Like how it was used and who used it?"
Aki, who now seemed more open, smiled and spoke up with more confidence, "Yes. According to the manga– I mean stories I read, this jutsu– err, spell, was created by a man who killed his entire family and clan. He first used the Tsukuyomi on his little brother to torture him."
Lemount was appalled to hear it. "My word! What a murderous coward! To torture his own sibling and kill his entire family? Simply demonic!"
Aki was a bit indignant hearing Lemount. "He's not actually a bad man. He had been forced to do so by an evil man. And the Tsukuyomi doesn't always have to show bad experiences. It can give good ones, too. For example, he put his lover under Tsukuyomi for decades in under the span of a few seconds, showing her the world she had always dreamed of. She died happily in the dream, along in real life."
"Fascinating. I'd thought it would be a story of the dark rise of a tyrant, but it turned out to be more complicated than that." The court mage scribbled on his notebook.
Aki heard her friends laugh and turned around.
Kazuto said mirthfully, "You're cute when you get riled up talking about manga."
"Y-You guys…" The red head blushed up a storm.
The princess coughed. "Sorry to ruin the moment, but may I ask where Miss Charlotte is?"
"Eh? Oh, last I heard she said she was 'gonna go explore,' or something," said Kazuto.
"Explore? Explore where?"
The capital city Azule was bright and shiny. The building had that sort of gothic feel to it, but with much warmer colors. Charlotte browsed through the sprawling marketplace, looking at the new things.
How wonderful, she thought. Getting holed up in that castle since yesterday had almost made her forget she was in another world, but this place reignited that wonder and splendor. The guards had tried stopping her at first, but after another iteration, she decided to use an invisibility spell to get through them.
Her sightseeing led her to a large building with a sign that said, "The Adventurers' Guild."
The sign had an upright staff, with swords crossed in the middle, and a shield to top them off.
The inside was exactly what she expected an adventurous guild to be. A hodge podge between a tavern, waiting room, and a teller at one end. On a wall was a bulletin board filled with missions.
It might not be realistic in Earth's standards, but to hell with realism. This was a different world to begin with!
Charlie sat at the bar counter and ordered some ale. She didn't have any money, but she'd just reload in case she got caught.
The double doors of the entrance were pushed wide open, hitting the walls, attracting the attention of many. A white haired boy cheerily walked into the building.
"Today, I turn thirteen! That means I can register, right?!" He shouted as he ran to the teller's counter.
Several people scoffed and laughed.
"It's Phantom's little brother."
"A spoiled brat, as always."
"Watch it. You don't want Phantom hunting you down, do you?"
The teller had a troubled smile on her face. "Sorry Aren, but you will have to wait."
"What?! Why?!" Aren cried out.
"Phantom told us to wait until she gets back before you can register."
"Aww! First she misses my birthday, then she tells me to wait?!" The boy fumed. "Why does she get to boss you guys around?"
"When you're the greatest adventurer in the world, people are bound to kiss your ass!" A drunk man a few seats away from Charlotte shouted.
"But not me! I don't care whether your sister's a five star adventurer or a one star whore between my thighs. You better pipe it down, or I'mma beat the shit outta ya!" He massaged his temples.
Aren shouted back, "Oi! Watch what you call my sister, punk! It's not her fault you're just too weak and jealous of her!"
"Why you…!"
"You're seriously losing hair over that fact, aren't you?" Aren pointed at the man's balding head and laughed.
A series of laughs and chuckles resounded.
In his anger, the drunken man threw his ale at him. The mug was about to hit the boy, when it was suddenly bounced off by another mug. The bald man grinded his teeth, looking at the young woman sitting not far from him.
Charlotte walked to Aren.
"T-Thanks, lady," he stuttered.
She smiled. "You can thank me by paying for my drink."
"Huh? Why should I?"
"What? You won't even compensate me for sacrificing my drink to help you? So this is how the Phantom's little brother acts." Charlie shook her head and walked away.
"W-Wait! Damn it, I'll pay." The boy strutted to the other counter. "Keep the change."
A few minutes later found the two walking on the streets of the market area.
"Why are you following me?" Asked a confused Aren.
Charlie, with both hands behind her head, shot back a question, "If I told you I was going to kidnap you, what would you do?"
Aren scoffed. "I'll pray that my sister gives you a quick death, out of mercy. You still haven't told me why."
"Well, I think you're pretty interesting." And you seem rich, but Charlie left that part out.
"Are you new around here, miss…?" Aren looked at her clothes. He didn't recognize where they might originate from.
"Charlotte, but call me Charlie. And yes, this is my first day out in the city. Won't you show me around?"
At her answer, Aren nodded excitedly. "All right! But first, you gotta try the snack from that stall! It's…"
And so the two went sightseeing and buying food from stalls. Aren was the one paying, of course. He was baffled that the woman seemingly had no money on her. He first thought she was lying, but after seeing her quirks, he began to think that she was just some big idiot. A likable idiot, but an idiot nonetheless.
A bit later, the sun was starting to set. Charlotte gasped at the sight of the city bathed with orange hue.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Asked the boy.
The young woman nodded.
"Say, don't you need to get back home?"
Aren shook his head. "I live with my sister near here, but she hasn't come home yet. Late as usual. So, I'm practically free on what to do around here."
Suddenly, from an alleyway.
"Help! Please, help!" A girl's shout was heard.
After getting out of his stupor, Aren dashed towards the sound.
Charlie followed him out of curiosity.
"Ack! Let go!"
Within the alleyway, Aren was grappled and tied. A bald man, the same one from earlier, paid a little girl some money before telling her to leave. She had been the one screaming for help.
It had been a ruse. A trap laid for the boy. The man had brought his adventuring party for this.
"When my sister finds out, she'll—"
"Don't worry, kid. I won't hurt you," the man said with an evil smile.
The man wasn't stupid. If he really did hurt the boy, Phantom would be out for their blood. But still, he had to teach the boy a lesson.
"Move, bitch! Or I'll cut you down."
Charlotte walked slowly into the alleyway. Behind her was one of the bald man's men. He was pointing at her with his sword.
"W, What are you doing?!" Shouted the boy.
The man cracked his knuckles. "Teaching you a lesson, kid. Just because you're safe because of your sister doesn't mean other people are safe because of you."
The boy's eyes widened.
That was right. The man was going to beat the woman senseless for helping the boy. It would set an example for the boy. Since they didn't do anything physical to the boy, Phantom wouldn't have a strong reason to deal with them. Coupled with that, the guild wouldn't stand by when a higher ranked member bullies a lower ranked one without good reasoning, especially if said member was a multi-star veteran. There were some kinks to be worked around with, but that was what bribes were for.
"Wait, stop! Your problem's with me! She has nothing to do with this!"
"Shouldn't have crossed me earlier, kid."
He walked towards the young woman. "Are you scared?"
She grinned. "If you mean by your receding hairline, then yes. I'm mortified."
"You bitch!"
He swung his fist, hitting her in her face.
"Gyah!"
The man held his hand, face portraying a pained expression.
"Steelskin spell?! Shit! She's an alteration mage!"
The situation suddenly became more dire for the group. Being experienced in battling mages, they all charged at her. But one by one they were knocked out by her.
Aren gasped at the sight.
She made it look so easy, as if she didn't even try. She dodged merely inches from the attacks that should've landed, and made it look like she was barely moving. With a spell-enhanced fist, she mowed them down until only the balding man stood.
"Tch." He unholstered both axes on his hips.
The man threw one of them, which the woman easily dodged.
"Look out!" Aren shouted.
The throwing axe she dodged bounced off the wall behind her and headed straight back at her.
The woman was wise enough to heed the boy's words, as she ducked down, allowing the axe to return to its owner.
It was then Aren began to realize who this was.
"Y, You're…"
The bald man grinned savagely.
"Finally understanding who you're dealing with, eh, kid?"
"Axemaster…" Aren paled.
He was a four-starred adventurer, considered by some to be on par with five-star adventurers in terms of pure combat power. The only reason he was still at four stars was because of his misconduct towards several important clients.
"Run, Charlie! He's too strong!"
Said woman didn't hear him this time. Axemaster took this as a sign of fear and laughed.
"No need to be afraid, woman. If you lick my boot, I might let this slight slide." Seeing her not moving, he shrugged.
He paid more attention to her. His malicious grin turned into a lecherous one. "...or, if you're not up for that, just show me a good time. You can start by stripping. Slowly."
Charlotte smiled sweetly. "You flatter me. Unfortunately, I'm not into exposing myself in front of little children."
"Oho? I can blindfold the boy if you want." Axemaster was excited.
Aren was absolutely flabbergasted. His mouth opened and closed like a fish, face all red.
Charlie shook her head, chuckling. "I meant that 'little boy' between your legs."
Axemaster snarled. "You really are a bitch…"
To that, she added, "The biggest, baddest bitch of them all."
He threw both his axes. This time they ricocheted chaotically all over the walls of the alleyway.
"No!" The boy shouted in worry.
As they bounced straight toward Charlie, Aren closed his eyes shut, waiting for the worst.
Only…
"H-Huh?"
Smack!
When the boy opened his eyes, the Axemaster was already out cold on the ground. Standing behind him was Charlie, in a punching position.
"Wha…?"
Charlotte moved towards him to open his bindings. But, before she could, a blade was pressed to her throat.
Fast!
"Get away from my brother."
Charlotte looked to the side. There was a white haired woman in a dark hooded cloak, wearing a blank mask with only slits for eyes.
"Penelope! Wait! She was trying to save me!"
The short sword retracted.
Soon, the boy was unbound and standing between them.
"You saved my brother. You have my thanks," said Phantom flatly.
Aren smiled wryly. "She may sound monotone, but she really feels thankful for what you did."
With stars in his eyes, Aren exclaimed, "You were so cool! When you used that alteration spell to defend your face, acting like it didn't feel anything, it was so awesome!"
"Spell? You're a mage?" Asked Penelope.
Charlotte nodded.
Silence briefly prevailed as Phantom observed her, as if trying to dissect her to find out something.
"Then, can you show me your mage's identification?"
Charlotte silently cursed. She forgot that all mages were supposed to have an identification with them. Without one, they would be recognized as…
"You're a rogue mage, huh?"
Hearing his sister say that, Aren was torn between who to help.
Charlotte thought, how many reloads would it take to beat the greatest adventurer in Azulmolf?
Thankfully, Aren's worries were proven futile.
"Hero! We've finally found you!"
The knight Lemount ran into the alleyway, leaving his group behind.
"You're the hero?!" Aren looked at Charlie bewilderedly.
"One of them, yeah." She nodded.
"The heroes have already been summoned?" It was clear from her tone that Phantom hadn't been expecting that. "How come they're allowed to wander off before even being announced to the public?" She didn't sound amused.
The knight smiled apologetically. "Sorry, the heroes are supposed to be announced once they've received proper training. Miss Charlotte just went off on her own."
Everyone looked at her. Said hero was currently searching through the stuff of the fallen men.
"Umm, what are you doing?"
To that, her answer was, "Taking my victor's spoils of course."
She took their gold and other valuable things. And finally, she took the twin rings in each of the Axemaster's hands. When she wore them, the throwing axes flew into her hands.
"Sweet!"
Charlotte then looked at Lemount, pointing at Axemaster. "This man tried to sexually harrass a hero. The boy is the witness. I hope you deal with him accordingly."
The knight straightened. "I shall do so immediately. But, please, return to the castle with us."
She nodded.
"Well, let's go out some other time, kid. It'll be my treat, next time," she said to Aren.
"We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know…~" sang the hero as she walked away. "—some sunny day~!"
As the group left, Phantom looked at the unconscious bodies. "So, this is what an untrained hero is capable of."
Aren was so shocked at the fact of meeting face to face with a hero from another world that he didn't catch what his sister said.
Charlotte was led to a large room within the castle not unlike the room she'd been summoned in. Covering the further half edge of the room were tall desks and seats. Kind of like a judge's seat in the courtroom, only that there are many, and lined in a circular pattern.
Princess Alesia was standing on a raised dais in the middle of the room, facing towards the elderly people sitting on those high seats.
To the side was where the other heroes were, surrounded by soldiers and guards. That was where they led her to.
"...the greater demon. After that, a hero was let to wander off into the streets. All of this happened right under your care," said the elder in the middle seat sharply.
Alesia stared at the old man, her azure eyes cold and sharp as steel.
"My councilmen, with respect I ask you, how much better would you have fared had you been in place of myself?"
The council elders murmured amongst themselves.
"With proper protection for the heroes, the attack would've been dealt with before it even got close to the heroes. Add to that, the guards wouldn't have let their sights off the heroes, preventing them from going out of the castle and getting themselves into danger, which as I've just heard, Miss Charlotte had indeed gotten herself in."
Everyone looked at Charlotte, who just shrugged. "I've already dealt with it. Your point is moot."
The middle elder furrowed his brows, but before he could respond, Alesia cut him off.
"So, you're saying that we should surround the heroes with guards every single waking moment, showing our distrust and discarding the comfort and privacy of the heroes?"
Alesia drawled deliberately on the last part.
The councilmen bristled. Indeed, it didn't sound good when she put it. One of the elders foolishly took the bait.
"Preposterous! You twist our words! We only intend to show our utter care to the esteemed heroes!"
Alesia held back a smirk and gestured towards the heroes. "I see. Let's see how the heroes think about it."
The three younger heroes were already looking at the guards with suspicion, while the older one was chuckling, nodding at the princess in approval.
Seeing at the heroes' reaction, the elder slowly sat down in embarrassment.
The leading elder coughed and continued, "In any case, the results of your management has shown you are unfit—"
"—But I was the one who summoned them. They should be in my care." Alesia couldn't quite hold back her mouth anymore.
The elder narrowed his eyes and continued, "...you are unfit to take care of them. Hence, the council has decided to take matters into our own hands."
"I refuse," Charlotte stated.
"I'm sorry?"
The young woman smiled. It was one that didn't quite reach her eyes. "That girl was the one to drag me here. I refuse to have her burden lessened just because she can't take care of me."
"I'm sorry, hero. But you are not in any position to change that." The elder tried to put her down.
But…
"It may be so, but the choice to help this kingdom is my own."
The elder narrowed his eyes. "What are you trying to say?"
Charlie smirked. "You already know what I mean."
Though her words were a bit jumbled, Kazuto was sure Charlie-san was trying to back the princess up. Nodding at her with a smile, the boy stepped up.
"If the princess' position as our caretaker is changed, then I will also refuse to help."
First, the red head Aki followed. "I-If Kazuto-kun doesn't want to fight, then I also refuse…!"
Ren, who had been frowning this entire time, said, "I refuse to be coddled and watched over like a little child. If you do this, then I will not help you."
Seeing such a rebellious group, the elders bristled.
"You…"
The elder spoke much more coldly, "If you all refuse to help us, then you are of no use to us. Let it be known that we dispose of useless assets very quickly."
The situation was tense. It was so quiet that the faint noise of a fly could be heard.
"Are you threatening me?" Asked Charlotte, surprisingly with amusement in her voice.
It was as if the air had chilled. One couldn't help but shiver.
Kazuto looked at the woman before him. Even though he knew who she was, his instincts told him that the person known as Charlie was no longer here.
Charlotte suddenly spoke, "Twenty six, fifteen, seven, one hundred, ten, one, five."
They all looked at her confusedly. Had she lost her mind?
"I'm sorry…?"
She looked at the guards. "There are twenty six guards here, and fifteen mages—seven who are hidden from view."
She looked back towards the elders. "A hundred years is how long it takes to convince an old man in something he doesn't agree with. Ten minutes is the maximum amount of time I need to disarm the guards and knock out the mages without killing them, one minute if I use lethal force. And five seconds is all it takes for me to kill every single councilman here."
"Hah." One of the guards pointed in ridicule. "You've got it wrong. There are twenty seven guards here."
They laughed at her.
"Ah, right. I forgot about the spy."
"The wha—" The earlier guard didn't get to finish his sentence, because an axe had lodged itself into his face.
All the guards pointed their weapons at her. Mages started casting spells, some appearing from thin air. The elders began to panic.
Even the three were shocked. Kazuto became sick seeing the body slump down, dead.
Only…
It wasn't until the corpse changed shape did people stop to turn their heads.
On the ground was a red skinned demon, replacing the earlier fallen guard.
"Twenty six guards and fifteen mages," Charlotte repeated.
Kazuto quickly did a head count. Indeed, there were seven mages that popped out of nowhere.
The axe flew back into her hand with a light sound, making everyone look back at her.
"I may be tolerant, but know this: if I was forced to choose between waiting for a hundred years, or acting for five seconds to achieve the same result, I'd choose the latter option."
It appeared that the council got the message.
"R, Right. We understand. Princess Alesia, you need to take full responsibility for your summoning."
Whispers echoed from the seats, before landing on the leading elder. At first he was surprised, but then had a very satisfied look.
"But, in exchange for your request—" Ren scoffed. They'd considered it 'taking responsibility' a moment ago, but now they were calling it a request? Just what were these fogies up to?
"—it is imperative that your courtship begins immediately, so that your burden may be lessened significantly."
It was Alesia's turn to be befuddled. "But, I still have time—"
The elder interrupted her, "Wasn't it you who said we had no time, resulting in you summoning the heroes? If so, then you also don't have time to wait in finding yourself a hand in marriage."
"But, but, but…" she looked towards the heroes.
Charlotte didn't seem to care much, and while the others looked in sympathy, they didn't step up for her.
The princess lowered her head in resignation.
Later that night, in the heroes' bedroom.
There was a pregnant silence.
Kazuto was looking back and forth between Charlie and the floor. He wanted to ask her why she didn't help her, but in the end he already guessed the reason.
There was really no reason for her to help her, was there? In fact, Charlie-san had already helped enough. When she wanted to help, Charlie acted. Unlike him, who just stood by watching a girl be forced to be with a person she didn't want.
"...I should've helped her."
Aki, who was beside him, smiled. "You're a good person, Kazuto-kun."
Charlie, who was playing with her illusions—which were of little people fighting each other to the death—looked up at Kazuto and said, "No, you shouldn't have. You made the right choice by shutting up."
Kazuto wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Aki, who was acting uncharacteristically.
"How could you say that, Charlie-san?"
Charlotte raised her brow and replied sarcastically, "With my mouth."
Aki grit her teeth. "We didn't speak up because we weren't sure we could help her. But you could've. It was obvious you would have solved the problem."
"You really think threatening people will solve it?" She inquired.
The redhead twisted her tongue. That wasn't what she meant.
"What do you think people would say if I did something like that? What do you think will happen because of that?"
Aki thought for a little, before answering, "They will say that the hero saved the princess?"
Charlotte laughed. It could easily be mistaken for ridicule, but for her it was a genuine laugh.
"I like your optimism, Aki." All traces of mirth suddenly vanished, along with her illusions. "But no. I've read the records of the kingdom. Should the throne be empty with only a female heir, the heiress needs to find a proper suitor and candidate for the king's throne."
She continued, "What I'll do will be interpreted as a treasonous act, preventing the kingdom from finding a potential ruler. They will hail me as an oppressor who threatens those that stand against me."
Aki shook a little. "But, didn't you threaten them?"
Charlotte shook her head. "I was warning them. They were the ones who threatened our lives first. I only showed them a possible outcome for that. I'm not one to use violence if I can get my way. And believe me, I have many ways to get what I want."
Aki bit her lip. "Then, are you afraid of ruining your reputation? You're too afraid of being embarrassed to help someone in need?"
"Contrary to expectations, I do care how I like to be thought of," Charlie amended. "Everyone should."
Hearing her words, Aki became indignant. "Then you're just some selfish b-bit— person who only thinks about herself!"
Before she could continue, Ren added in, "Aki-chan. It's wise to care about your honor."
"So, you think letting someone's fate be determined by other people's whims is honorable?" The girl shot back with a venom she had not intended.
Ren made a face and answered, "Aki, if Charlotte-san threatened them, what do you think will happen to us?"
Aki was confused. "What do you mean?"
"Since Charlotte is a hero, then won't they also label us the same way?"
The red head's eyes widened. The dots were starting to connect.
"Everyone should watch over their own image. Because it not only affects them, but also the people they associate with," finished Ren.
Kazuto had also only realized just now. Charlie-san wasn't just thinking about herself, she was thinking about their safety as a group! The boy was embarrassed of his earlier assumptions.
Whatever Charlotte was about to be said next was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Excuse me…"
A short while later, the room was back into the overbearing silence.
Because…
"Miss Charlotte, I need your help," pleaded princess Alesia.
Currently sitting on the couch in their room was the princess of the kingdom. She had lowered her head just for the request.
"First of all, you should know that you have nothing worth offering to me. I've read about everything that you and your kingdom have."
Alesia smiled weakly. "So you do have a way to read everything on the second floor." She had suspected it, since Charlotte was too confident in everything she was doing, and looked like she could expect what outcome would come from her actions.
Charlotte didn't lie. "Indeed."
Alesia took a deep breath.
"What I can offer you is something you all want—a way to return to your home world."
Charlotte narrowed her eyes. "That isn't written anywhere in the library."
The princess looked at her with both incredulity and amusement. "You think we store all our information in a place easily accessible by most everyone in this place?"
Charlotte stumbled on her words, her cheeks faintly but obviously dyed in a tinge of red. It was the first time Kazuto had seen Charlie-san outsnarked. He almost laughed. It was cute, in a way.
A week later found the heroes and princess Alesia in the training grounds.
"Hyah!" Grunted Ren as she swung her burning Katana forward.
Ren's family owned a dojo that trained Kendo. It was a given that she herself learned the way of the sword.
Katanas surprisingly were a thing here, though with heroes getting summoned from Earth, it supposedly was inevitable. The embers coated the metal blade. While Ren quickly discovered she wasn't particularly skilled in magic—she was fortunately gifted in melee—she was able to use spells that clad elemental effects to her favored weapon. So, picking the elementalism grimoire wasn't a waste.
As the blade made contact, it bounced off metal armor. With her newfound strength, it wasn't hard for her to cleave through even the toughest armors of both medieval and modern day. But, the person she was sparring with wasn't normal either.
"Oof."
Kazuto shrugged off the attack and moved back. His footwork was unnaturally nimble for someone wearing nearly full steel-plate armor, with leather armor covering a few parts. This was the effect of Featherwalk, an alteration spell that lightened the burden of the caster.
When he swung his mace, the very air around it almost bursted. Kazuto had been very lucky with his choices. He was gifted in both melee and alteration magic. As of now, he could maintain both the Steelskin spell—a spell that hardened both the caster and his equipment towards melee attacks—and the Featherwalk spell for long enough to last a battle.
Although he was gifted in melee, he was nowhere near the level of Ren, which was understandable since Kazuto hadn't trained to fight before he came here.
Off to the side, three arrows flew and landed into three targets, all hitting the bullseye.
Because of her timid nature, Aki was very grateful for being gifted in ranged combat, mainly archery. She had also been the one to receive the two last schools of magic, healing and summoning, which worked perfectly with her role out of the brunt of a fight.
"Phew," whistled Charlotte in wonder.
So, this was how other people felt when they saw her seemingly become an expert in something right after trying a few times. She had to admit, it felt like a punch in the gut. While she could virtually master anything within a second because of her ability, she still had to spend countless hours and iterations to achieve the same results.
She flung her axe repeatedly, playing with it. People had mistakenly thought she was gifted in weapon throwing. From her personal results, it took her more than dozens of tries to finally get the hang of the axes. There were quite a few times throwing these axes resulted in a terrible accident.
Sometimes losing her fingers to it, a few times chopping people by accident, a couple of times killing herself with it, and there was this one time the axe flew so perfectly that it accidentally decapitated Kazuto.
Charlie couldn't help but chuckle at that particular iteration. The look of everyone's faces was just priceless. She'd made a save for that timeline just in case she wanted a good laugh, or see what would happen if she continued.
In her amusement, Charlotte lost concentration, resulting in her middle finger getting chopped off.
"Ah, fuck."
Snap.
Three arrows flew and landed into three targets, all hitting the bullseye.
Thankfully, she'd saved before playing with her axes. Remembering to save every so often, especially during risky stunts, was very important.
Her ability had instinctually reloaded her to the nearest save file when her finger was cut off, preventing the pain from reaching all the way to her brain. Charlotte rubbed her previously severed finger. It wasn't always like this. At first, it was almost completely manual. It wasn't until her first death did her ability start to adapt to her danger prone nature. She shivered thinking of her early days, which had usually ended with pain.
Thank goodness she was past that, though. Losing a finger or two still hurt, but she wouldn't cow over it. Losing a limb was surprisingly more painful than being cut in half horizontally. She supposed the quick loss of blood attributed to losing consciousness faster.
Don't ask her how she got into those situations.
Alcohol was a hellish beast, especially when one lived near a train station.
"Miss Charlotte, I don't mean to intrude, but wouldn't it be better to prepare yourself for the tournament?" Asked princess Alesia nervously.
Charlotte had agreed to her request. They had started planning that night, which resulted with the so-called tournament the princess mentioned.
Their arrival had been notified all over the kingdom the day after.
"Within a week, a tournament will be held. Those of you who wish to go toe to toe with the heroes will be able to do so in this event. Those who show promise in this event may be invited to join the heroes' party, receiving the same privileges as the heroes in turn for helping in the subjugation of the demon lord. In addition, the person who gets first place will receive a noble title along with rulership over a piece of land."
That had been the arrangement. It was all a front to give Charlotte a noble title, so that they could proceed with the next phase of the plan. It was essential for Charlotte to win this tournament.
"That is indeed a wise proposition." Despite what she said, Charlotte continued playing with her axes.
Alesia sighed. She had already put all her trust in this mysterious woman. What more could she lose if she let Charlotte do whatever she wanted?
The princess didn't dare cross the hero.
During their talk, Charlotte had said, " Just know that if you lied to me, if you don't know the way back, then you won't even know what to regret once I find out. You won't only not know what you'll lose, you also won't know what you could've had."
It was an odd choice of words, but the way she said it made the hairs of Alesia's body stand on end. Those crimson eyes that contrasted with her own appeared to swallow up the color of the world for a moment, before it returned normal.
After the heroes finished their training, they gathered together.
Alesia started, "Tomorrow, you shall walk down the streets of Azule and head towards the event. I will be putting my future in your hands, so please, take care of me. In return, I will do all that I can to take care of any of your needs." She put her hand to her chest.
Kazuto gulped. He shook his head, clearing away distracting thoughts.
When he realized the others were looking at him weirdly, he blushed and stammered, "Y, Yes. We'll do what we can, Alesia-sama."
The princess smiled and said, "Thank you Mister Kazuto." Kazuto's blush deepened.
Unbeknownst to the rest, a certain redhead furrowed her brows at the sight.
It was lively on the streets of Azule city today. The citizens were talking excitedly about the heroes.
"Did you hear? A hero went to the city secretly a week ago. Said he beat up some punks."
"That's hogwash. People have already disproven that rumor."
"Still, though. What if one did? What if he fell in love with a girl? What if he fell for me at first glance?"
"Now that's just delusional and offensive. What's wrong with me being your husband?"
"You're you. That's the problem."
"Why you little…!"
Aren giggled as he heard the conversation. Few knew that the rumors were indeed true. Fewer knew that 'he' was actually a 'she.' And only he and Charlie knew that they had fun exploring the city that day.
He pulled at his sister's arm. "C'mon, Penelope! We're going to miss them at this rate!"
Phantom sighed. "Didn't you already meet one of them? Wasn't that enough?"
Penelope held her tongue. She had unwittingly said that. Of course it wasn't. Especially not to a kid. Seeing her little brother take a deep breath, most likely in preparation for the storm of words about to come out of his mouth, she sighed in resignation.
Trumpets sounded from the castle gate as it opened. Walking to the city street surrounded by guards was the princess, accompanied by the supposed four heroes.
The first and only male of the group was a young man in plate and leather armor, on his waist a dangerous looking mace. As he waved and smiled at the crowd, the women swooned.
Following him was a young woman in red samurai armor—a piece that was said to originate from the heroes' home world—though she forwent her helmet. The high ponytail and the sharp eyes, accompanied with the sheathed katana on her hand, made her appear like a stoic maiden of battle. Men gasped in awe, and even a few women blushed at the sight of her.
Behind her, with a timid gait was also a young woman. She wore a white coat, with a bow slung to her back. As she was walking with a nervous smile, she stumbled a bit before righting herself. As she continued on, trying and failing to fight back the blush rushing to her face, the onlookers sighed in adoration.
And finally…
The people murmured in slight confusion. Though all the heroes and the princess were escorted by guards, the last hero's guards gave a far wider berth for her than the others for their respective heroes. Unlike the confident guards up front, these ones almost seemed nervous, looking back and forth between the road and said hero. The keener ones took note of this.
The last hero wore surprisingly normal clothing—a long sleeved shirt and pants—with black and white palette, and a hooded short black cowl. If it weren't for the short axes on her hips, she would easily be mistaken as a peasant.
As she lowered her hood, they finally got to see her face. Some gasped at her beauty that was comparable to the other two women. Her red eyes shone like jewels, her hair akin to the finest black silk. She looked a few years older than the other three, but she could still be called a young woman. And with that playful smile on her face, it made her look even younger, comparable to the other three's age group.
A few also gasped, but for something else. The adventurers who were at the guild building the day before the announcement had remembered seeing her! They saw the axes holstered on her hips and wondered, before realizing. There was a rumor going about where a hero beat up some punks who were trying to harass a woman and a child. From the fact she had the axes, they realized she had actually beaten up the Axemaster!
The Axemaster and the hero had a brief scuffle in the guild, involving the Phantom's little brother. Most just thought that the Axemaster suddenly losing his rank and going to jail was attributed to said boy. Only now did they realize it was another thing entirely.
With that revelation, some faces paled. They were the ones planning to join the event. Everyone knew the Axemaster was as strong as a five starred adventurer. In fact, he indeed was. It was only because of his misconduct during a royal decree that his rank was lowered by the guildmaster himself.
For the woman to have beaten him meant that the heroes were already on the level of five-star adventurers.
Many changed their thoughts about participating. There would be fewer who would join, but those that would were among the higher ranked and were powerful.
Many began to further anticipate the following event. No matter the outcome, everyone knew—it was going to be a bloodbath.
The arena was actually closer to a colosseum, Charlotte thought. Only, it was more gothic in design instead of Roman.
The first round of the event went without much going on from the heroes' side. It was a free-for-all, a common way to weed out the weak by pitting everyone together within the arena floor. Alesia had stopped them from joining, telling them that it would be too chaotic for them to show off the heroes' might. The crowd wasn't too disappointed, since that only meant more stronger opponents would come out of this round that would face the heroes in the next rounds.
Aki, on the other hand, wanted to abstain entirely from the tournament. She didn't like the idea of fighting in the tournament. The princess gave a good excuse to the crowd.
" The hero Aki will abstain from joining the tournament to fight another equally dangerous battle. She will be doing all she can to heal the injured. Please give your support to her."
That had won her over the crowd and participants alike, much to Aki's embarrassment.
"Lady Aki is so kind!"
"She's sacrificing her part so that other people can fight more spiritedly, being less worried about potentially killing their foes!"
"You're so great, lady Aki!"
" " "A-KI! A-KI! A-KI!!" " "
"I want to be treated by you in the infirmary!"
"Idiot, you only get to go to the infirmary if you lose!"
"What are you saying?! Getting healed by lady Aki is a win by itself!"
"This guy is hopeless…"
"Please marry me, lady Aki!"
Said hero wanted to find a hole to hide herself in. Indeed, she was gifted in not only archery, but also healing magic. Her efforts would be of huge help within the infirmary.
After this was when the tournament would actually begin. The second round was where all participants were put in a one-on-one battle.
Ren was the first among the heroes to participate. She'd made a quick show by cutting off the bindings of a man's armor with her katana, with the help of the wind element.
The crowd was quick to cheer.
Then, came Kazuto's turn. Charlotte had to admit, the boy knew how to look and act flashily.
The boy jumped high into the air, almost six meters above ground, then drove his mace into the enemy's chest, instantly knocking them out and cracking the floor in the process.
The arena was quickly fixed by elemental and alteration mages.
It was now Charlotte's turn.
From the princess' high platform, Kazuto observed Charlie walking down onto the arena.
He remembered what Alesia had told them during their training.
" While it is announced that fighters will be pitted at random, it is actually the council who decides who fights who. I don't know who exactly you will fight, but I know the general arrangement. Kazuto and Ren, you will each be faced against opponents you have an advantage against. This is so that you can put on a showing of power, to boost the kingdom's morale. You will likely face easy opponents until nearing the finals. As for you, Miss Charlotte, the council has deemed you a threat, and will try their hardest to ruin your public image. They will pit all but the strongest participants against you from the first opponent you fight. Our plan solely depends on your skill in battle. Good luck."
Ren had been very unhappy hearing the unfairness, and to be honest, he was too. But, for the sake of morale, they had to follow the arrangement.
On the arena floor, Charlotte was faced against a woman with sunkissed skin in sandy colored clothing.
(This is where I stopped.)