Just a friendly reminder for those who read the latest update on the Fafnir Knight.
This story will not be affected regardless of the decision made next Sunday.
Don't have much unless to say except enjoy the new chapter!
In Another World With My Smartphone: The Lost Hero
Chapter Six: When habits die hard
"The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken."
-Samuel Johnson
'I know it was somewhere around here...' Alex thought as he wandered the market district of Amanesque town just as the sun began to set.
The girls had decided to retire at the local inn once they had restocked their traveling supplies, not that Alex could blame the twins, as driving that cart seemed like a lot of work. However, Alex had decided to go back to Reflet instead to save money since paying for another inn room for himself was beyond stupid. Yet, before Alex would leave, there was something at the market district that had caught his eye on their way to the local inn. He had sworn that he had seen a sign for some kind of fortune teller services, and curiosity got the better of him. In his old world, there were fortune tellers and soothsayers throughout history; diviners, psychics, and witches, many names for the same thing.
Frauds.
At least, that was the case until Quirks came into existence, as there were indeed Quirks that could see into the future. The fortune-telling industry blew up early in the Quirk Era, with hundreds of people using their apparent future-sight Quirks to tell people's fortunes. Of course, there were still frauds, be they people who pretended to have such powers or whose powers were still greatly misunderstood. Yet, once society got its collective shit together, the world's governments began cracking down hard on such businesses with stringent licensing required for such services.
That being said, this was a new world with access to magic.
While sure, this fortune teller might just be a fraud who uses the illusion of magic, or they might have a new Null magic Alex could learn if they were legit. He could even gain insight into how the locals view superstitions and fortune tellers just by seeing how they operated. After all, Pre-quirk Western versus Eastern diviners had utterly different ways of telling one's fortune. Regardless, he had nothing to lose except maybe some coin and a few minutes of his time.
As Alex walked past stalls, he noticed that many were closed or in the process of closing shop.
'Well, in the worst-case scenario, I can just use Gate to come back on once we're done with the job,' Alex figured as he continued down a familiar road. He had to be close by where he had seen the sign earlier. His azure eyes followed the different shop signs that mostly contained drawings of what services they provided, with only the occasional sign actually containing any writing on it. 'I wonder what the literacy rate is in this Kingdom? Can't be too high if they're still using these kinds of signs...'
'We might not be at the Capital...but I'm learning a lot just by walking around,' Alex observed as he reached the shop he was looking for, and judging from the dimmed lights, they were closed. The young man turned his head to see the sign with the image of a crystal ball and words he could read in Common.
Madam Fortunata's insights into the future.
Love? Fortune? Status?
It could all be yours with the wisdom of lady luck.
'Not a bad slogan,' Alex thought with a smirk. His thoughts turned towards some of the marketing strategies his friends in the Business Course had theorized would be most effective when marketing certain different types of products or services. 'Three of the most common desires all under one roof; who could resist?'
Alex looked at the door again, tempted to knock on it as judging from how most stores were designed, it seemed to indicate that the second floor served as the owner's living quarters. However, Alex ultimately decided against such an action. The last thing he needed was to make a possible ally into an enemy by acting like a self-entitled Karen. Alex stepped away from the door and let out a long sigh as his eyes looked up at the setting sun.
He wasn't used to shops closing so damn early when compared to his original world.
'I guess that's just something else I have to get used to...' Alex thought as he wandered down the road, thinking about his next move as he felt it was still too early to go back to Reflet just yet. 'Hmm... let's see if there is anything new here on the technology front compared to Reflet.'
Unfortunately, it seemed like the two towns were very similar. Both towns were modest, walled settlements with a healthy amount of industry that largely seemed to revolve around trade between larger cities. Essentially, both towns seemed like large supply depots for traders, adventurers, and other professions that traveled often.
'However, it seems like Amanesque is more focused on industries like logging and mining stone. Compared to Reflet, which was focused more on farming,' Alex thought. He had noticed that there had been quite a bit of traffic, with carts filled with lumber or stone coming from the hills or local forest. Otherwise, aside from a few differences in building materials, color schemes, and town banners that Alex assumed were the colors of the town's ruling lord. Both places were pretty similar. 'Damn...I suppose I'll have to wait until we arrive at the Royal Capital to see any differences in things like technology or advanced humanities.'
Alex was about to give up and return to Reflet when he caught something interesting from the corner of his eyes that put him on edge.
A hooded figure had just stepped out of a darkened alleyway. They seemed intelligent enough to pull the I'm walking casually to avoid looking suspicious trick. However, between wearing a hood to hide their face at this time of day and clearly walking a little too fast was a dead giveaway of their inexperience. The young American slowly turned to follow carefully as if not to bring direct attention to himself. His training and experience patrolling the streets of Japan as Pro-Hero Student kicked in.
Something was off about this mysterious figure; despite himself, old habits seemed to die hard.
'A thief? It is getting dark after all...'
"Long Sense," The American whispered the spell he had practiced earlier today. He casually put his hands in his pockets while carefully trailing the hooded figure. Instantly, all of his senses improved. His eyesight focused and honed even in the continuously lower light, making it easier to keep an eye on his surroundings. His hearing range expanded wide as he could pick up his target's nervous breathing. Unfortunately, the spell's drawback was basically sensory overload. Alex had to hone all his focus on his prey to avoid going insane from all the other things his senses were picking up simultaneously.
'And I thought the horses alone smelled bad enough. Goddamn,' Alex thought as he resisted the urge to vomit from all the potent smells from today's road traffic and trash in the area mixing into his nostrils that he could almost taste it. Still, he would bear with the spell's drawback if the results of his little side-quest would pay off.
'Why should you follow this guy?' Said the part of Alex who wanted to stop and return to Reflet. 'You're not a Hero Course Student anymore!'
'Homeboy here could be bad news,' Alex reasoned with himself as he did his best to keep his expression casual.
'You're being paranoid! You don't have proof of the guy being a criminal!'
'Gut instincts exist for a reason.'
'And?! Who cares if they're a criminal! You're not a Hero! Let the local watch handle it!' Alex slowly shook his head, trying to control his darker thoughts. 'I can't...if it turns out to be something really bad and I did nothing to intervene? I wouldn't be able to live with myself...'
'Idiot...if you continue to live in the past, how could you ever truly live here in the present?'
'I can do both!'
'You say that now...but keep pulling shit like this, and you'll regret it. You can't live a double life, not without paying the price.'
Before Alex could retort within the battle of wills, his suspect finally made a turn in an alleyway between two large warehouses. Alex followed suit, but instead of directly following his mark. Alex released Long Sense, and after double-checking his surroundings. Alex silently called out Elze's spell and used it to leap to the rooftop of the rightmost warehouse.
'Looks like all that practice paid off,' Alex realized as he released Boost and reapplied Long Sense. The American crouched down and continued to follow his mark down the alley from above as stealthily as he could.
"You got the message from Paro?" Alex heard a raspy voice speak up from the center of the alley, making him stop and lay flat on his belly.
"Y-yeah, boss, I got it right here," spoke the shaky yet masculine voice Alex assumed came from his mark. The young man slowly crawled to the edge and leaned from the rooftop to get a better look. There was another hooded figure in a slightly darker cloak, reading over a scroll that he must've obtained from his subordinate.
"Good, good...the info checked out, and Corvus is working on setting up the ambush. Heheheh, if the bum can pull this job off, we'll be swimming in cash," the man with a darker cloak spoke with an excited smack of his lips.
"So, once Corvus takes the brat," The younger voice piped up, sounding more confident now that his job was done. "He'll bring her back here?"
'A possible kidnapping?' Alex realized as he grit his teeth.
"That's right. Our employer said her escort will be using one of the longer routes through the southern forest as she returns to the Capital. They're trying to avoid prying eyes," the elder spoke up as he patted his subordinate's shoulder. "Paro confirmed that the kid left Bell Town yesterday, which aligns perfectly with the information we got for the job. She should be at the site the day after tomorrow with her escort. Once Corvus kills her escort and has the girl, he'll meet up with Paro to come back here."
"Do you know if the client will let us have a...little fun with our guest?" The younger man spoke with perhaps too much excitement, making Alex's blood boil. It wasn't hard to figure out what this one wanted to do to their possible target if given a chance. "You know I like 'em young."
"Since you've been doing a lot of good work lately, I'll double-check with the client when I can," the elder assured his younger counterpart. "But until then, she's off limits, alright?"
'Fucking hell...' Alex quickly pulled out his smartphone to check the map.
'Southern Forest Road, Royal Capital, Belfast,' Alex quickly looked up the road they were talking about. 'There it is...now let's check Bell Town. Depending on when they left Bell Town and depending when we leave tomorrow. We might be too late...'
"Alright, you get back to Radig's place and rest up," the man with the raspy voice spoke up again, snapping Alex out of his thoughts. "I'll speak with the rest of the lads who didn't get arrested earlier today at the hideout to get a room ready for our highborn guest."
"Right, boss. Oh...speaking of which...what exactly happened today? When I got back to town, Radig said that Kraus and most of his crew got beaten up by a bunch of outsiders."
"Nothing that a few well-placed bribes can't fix. We already know about the Eashen girl, but we didn't find much info on her new friends, other than, they also seemed to be new in town and a general description. I'm willing to bet they're shacked up at one of the inns. Either way, we've already started on getting our revenge. We just need to get the whole crew together for the fun."
'Oho...' Alex thought as a smirk grew as he watched the two figures split up, and Alex proceeded to follow the boss. 'So it seems like our troublemakers from earlier are part of a much bigger gang. Well, as much as I would like to break the first punk's face, knowing where their hideout is paramount if we're too late to stop the kidnapping.'
Thankfully for Alex, he didn't have to go far as the man simply went into one of the larger warehouses further down the road. One skillful application of Gate to avoid making too much noise later and Alex found himself on the roof of this gang's hideout. He quickly pulled out his phone again to double-check his coordinates on the map and noted where he would need to go. Once he was done, Alex carefully moved around the roof, hoping to find some kind of window or upper entrance. When he found nothing, Alex used Gate again to get back to ground level about a block away. He doubled back to the same warehouse on foot, walking casually as if nothing was amiss.
'Okay, two entrances, no windows, and at least two floors. Suppose we're too late, and we get word of a major kidnapping. In that case, I'll know exactly where to launch a raid...' ' Alex noted as he casually walked by the alleyway the boss had used to enter his warehouse. While far from satisfied and not wanting to risk losing such a potential lead should the worst-case scenario happen. Finally, Alex decided to make his exit, however, instead of returning to Reflet like he had initially planned. Instead, he would return to the girls and move out toward the Capital tonight. 'They know that the girls are here...staying here any longer will only cause us more trouble...especially if the guards here can be bribed to look the other way.'
As Alex casually doubled back to the inn the girls were staying at, he began to mentally collect all of the critical information he would need to convince the girls. Though he hoped that they wouldn't put up much resistance once they learned that the possible victim of this kidnapping was not only a little girl but that much worse could be in store for her.
'The boss said, 'Highborn.' So, their target likely comes from kind of upper-class noble family who is on her way to the Capital. Makes sense; she could be used for ransom or for political leverage. Likely both since these thugs were hired and given the tip of how best to acquire their target. It means it has to be someone who would have knowledge of noble households. And I doubt a commoner would have the cash or influence to pull this type of job.'
Alex's stomach let out a heavy groan between his last (albeit quite filling) meal. The young man was convinced that his constant use of magic had set his metabolism into overdrive. He was constantly getting hungrier and needed more food than he had been used to in his old life. It didn't help that he would be skipping a hot, homemade dinner to get a head start on this new case.
'Sorry, Fleur. I guess I won't be able to try your attempt with my French Onion soup recipe today,' Alex lamented as he continued back up the road.
He was in for one long night.
"Are you sure about this, Alex?" Elze questioned with a tired groan as she remained lying on her rented bed. While Linze and Yae were seated, listening intently to Alex's discovery. "Couldn't we just leave it to the guards?"
"It looks like they're being paid off," Alex countered with a look of disgust as he leaned against the door of their room.
"Those foul scoundrels, have they not a shred of honor?" Yae commented with a sour expression. It was bad enough to see those men as simple hooligans, but for them to be actual criminals like this? "To kidnap a defenseless child, there is to be no mercy given! On my family's name, we will bring these fools to justice on the morrow!"
"Easy, Ms. Kokonoe," Alex quickly followed up. While he was entirely on board with the no-mercy policy. He knew that they needed to do this the smart way. "We have to consider other factors here."
"Well, they're planning to get revenge on us, and they know that Yae is with us," Linze observed with her hand to her chin. "We don't exactly blend into town either."
"You got that right; we stick out like a sore thumb," Elze said sleepily as she did her best to stay awake. "Couldn't we just...I don't know...raid their hideout tomorrow? You know, strike first to get the jump on them?"
"As attempting as that is, and trust me, it is," Alex answered, reassuring the brawler. "But we need to consider the long game. We know exactly where they will be hiding if we're too late to stop the kidnapping. Plus, again, if they have the guard in their pockets. We might need a higher authority from the Kingdom to act in case the guards get in our way. Otherwise, we'll be in some real trouble."
"Makes sense," Linze interjected while shaking her head. "If we raid their base now, and we don't stop the kidnapping. They could take the girl to a completely different place. Then we might lose track of her completely."
"That would be awful..." Yae followed as she realized that Alex and Linze were entirely correct. As much as she wanted to fast like Elze, they couldn't act too rashly.
"Here's the other problem. Linze and I are both pretty tired, and you don't know how to drive the cart, Alex," Elze answered back as she rubbed the grime from her eyes. "We're in no condition to drive right now, especially in the dead of night."
"While I can't drive the cart," Alex quickly answered as he saw Yae about to interject with a determined expression and motioned to her. "I know that she can."
"Wait...what?" said Elze with a confused stare at the Eashen Swordswoman.
"You have experience with horses, Yae?" Linze questioned with a surprised look on her face.
"Indeed! The equestrian arts were a fundamental part of my training!" Yaw replied with an equally surprised expression but was quick to answer the others. "I don't feel too tired since I didn't do much today. So I can drive the cart tonight while the three of you rest up!"
"That's great!" said Linze; as she began to rise from her bed to start getting ready.
"Aww...man...I really wanted to sleep on a bed tonight..." Elze groaned as she slowly began getting up.
"Actually, I have an amendment to Ms. Kokonoe's plan," Alex added as she motioned the twins to lay back down. "You two can still sleep here. While we grab the cart and head out, I'll pick you up with my Gate spell after the sun comes up. Linze, I'll be counting on you to follow your usual habit."
"Yes!" Elze quickly answered with a delighted grin as she settled back into bed without a word of protest. "I very much love that idea!"
"But that'll leave you without any rest, Alex!" Linze followed up with a concerned look since Alex was definitely looking tired.
"This is nothing. I've pulled all-nighters before," Alex reassured the younger twin. "Plus, unlike Elze, I don't mind sleeping in the cart. So once I pick you up. I'll just sleep in the back of the cart once you two take over for Ms. Kokonoe."
Yae looked like she was about to interject but ultimately decided not to.
"I'm sorry for dragging you guys into this..." Alex sighed as he stood up straight and bowed his head down to the girls. "But...I...I couldn't just let this happen. Not when I can intervene."
"Normally, I'd be a little more peeved," Elze responded as she looked at Alex with a soft expression. "But it's a kid, and while we might take a slight detour, we're still going to the same place. Might as well kill three birds with one stone instead of just two."
"That's right! Knowing that a child could get hurt, regardless of their social standing. I couldn't just stand there and do nothing if we could help it," Linze replied with a kind smile. "We're with you all of the way!"
"I swore to repay your kindness on my family's honor," Yae answered, returning Alex's bow. "You are a good soul that moves to help your neighbors when you can. I would be more than happy to assist with this endeavor."
"Thank you, everyone," said Alex as he stood straight with a determined expression. "If there isn't anything else, ladies. Ms. Kokonoe and I are heading out. We'll see you at dawn."
"Need another pick me up, Ms. Kokonoe?" Alex spoke up after Yae had yawned again. She nodded while continuing to drive their cart in the dead of night with a pair of lanterns gently swaying by the driver's seat to keep them warm and help them see. Thankfully, both could see the first rays of the sun beginning to peak over the horizon. The two strangers hadn't really spoken much. Yae needed to focus on the reigns while occasionally being supplied with Alex's decently brewed cup of black tea to help keep her awake. Otherwise, Alex kept himself awake either by practicing magic or going for an occasional jog next to the cart.
"Fret not, Alexander," Yae answered with a vigorous shake of her head to wake herself up. "I hadn't done much during the day, and knowing that a child is in danger is more than enough to keep me going! On my family's honor, we will save her!"
"You can just call me Alex," the young man suggested with a nervous laugh as he handed her a canteen of fresh water.
"And you just can call me, Yae," the Samurai answered slightly concernedly before staying a swig from the canteen.
The swordswoman had noticed that the young man seemed aware of some of her native customs compared to the twins. She suspected he knew she was a Samurai and had used this knowledge to show that she had training in the equestrian arts. Alex continued to address Yae by her family name, which, while the standard back in her homeland and a sign of respect. That wasn't the norm here, yet Alex seemed insistent on following her customs.
"I mean...isn't that a little too...informal for you?" Alex followed up with an embarrassed expression, confirming Yae's suspicions.
It's not like she believed Alex had any ill will toward her, quite the contrary. Alex had proven to be an interesting fellow from his actions earlier today when they first met. To her conversation with the twins, she had before the young man's return to inform them of his discovery. However, he was clearly knowledgeable enough about Eashen Culture to understand what it meant for two people to use their given names to each other who weren't members of one's family.
"You seemed quite...versed in Eashen Culture, Alexander..."
"Is this enough proof Kokonae-san?" Alex spoke in a slight accent and informal but still understandable Eashen. "I've been a bit out of practice, but I believe these are the right words."
"You speak, Eashen!?" Yae yelped with a blush as she realized the implication. Alex was not only aware of her culture but even knew her language. So she couldn't just brush it off as simply a difference in the custom if Alex was not only actively aware of it but had likely lived there for quite some time.
"So you could understand me, huh?" Alex followed up with an awkward chuckle. "Yes, I speak...Eashen...You could even say I lived in Eashen for a brief while."
"Oh wow...whereabouts in Eashen did you live?" Yae quickly asked with renewed curiosity. 'He must have been well-trained to address Eashen people so formally! That explains why he continues to address me by my family name!'
"It's been... a long time," Alex answered with a sad sigh while pretending to forget where he lived in Japan. Hoping to pass it off as being younger when he had visited. "I might not even remember the name...Kyoto?"
"Ah, the old capital," Yae confirmed with a nod, much to Alex's hidden frustration. "Your family must be well connected to have such strong inland ties."
"More like my family's employers did," Alex quickly corrected, as he didn't want to be seen as nobility after seeing the twin's earlier reaction. "My family just joined them when they had done some prior dealings. Again, it's been a long time, but some things are easier to remember than others."
"So that's why you keep addressing me so formally," Yae finally voiced her conclusion.
"Ye-yeah, I know you're following the western way," said Alex with an awkward laugh. "But old habits die hard. I just didn't feel right about calling you by your given name until I cleared the air. Otherwise, it just seemed like I was just being rude to you."
"I...I appreciate it, Alex...ander," Yae said with an awkward but soft sigh. It was nice; she had been away from home for so long. It was nice to have such an unexpected but nonetheless pleasant reminder of home, even if it did come from such an unexpected source. "You have my thanks for being so considerate of my native customs."
"I do my best, Ya-Ya...Ms. Kokonoe," Alex quickly corrected himself, still unable to call the Eashen lass by her first name.
Alex was reminded of some rather harsh comments spoken behind his back when he had arrived in Japan. About the stereotypes regarding ignorant Americans. While far from a weeb, Alex at least did his best to respect most of the Japanese's native customs when he was a guest in the country. Albeit, there were several things Alex thoroughly detested about the way certain things were done that he considered largely backward when compared to the rest of the world at large. Ultimately, it didn't matter how hard he worked to avoid cultural faux pas. Some people always treated him like a stupid, ignorant American.
Yae couldn't help but giggle a bit at the young man's habit. "We'll both work on it."
"Y-yeah, we will," Alex agreed with a gentle nod as the sun finally peered from the horizon. "Let's stop here for a moment. Let the horses rest for a spell while I pick up the twins from the inn."
"Very well," Yae answered with a nod as she gently began guiding the horses to pull off to the side of the road and into the soft green grass of the southern plains. It was time for the next phase of their rescue plan to begin.
Alex was self-aware enough to know that one of his greatest faults was being quite prideful. This knowledge allowed him to curb some of his worst habits when handling continuous blows to his ego. However, there was another flaw Alex had, but unlike the first, this one was far easier to miss. Complacency, Alex had the recurring habit of constantly becoming a little too comfortable once he settled into a general routine that didn't result in a potential backlash.
Until it was too late.
The signs began shortly after Alex had picked up the twins from Amanesque town. When their cart started to groan under the strain of their shared weight. However, since the coach continued to drive without incident into the next day without much concern. It was casually dismissed. At least until they began to try and speed up a bit to hopefully make it to the site of the possible kidnapping. Then there was a sudden crunch of wood followed by a loud crashing sound as the cart suddenly lurched and collapsed on its right side.
Alex who had been napping at time after another round of magical practice with Linze. Found himself piled awkwardly underneath Yae, Linze, and the rest of their supplies, which, while not much, was still uncomfortable to be under. Meanwhile, Elze, who had been diving. Had safely managed to jump off her seat to maintain control of the horses attempting to flee out of terror.
"Are you guys alright?!" The trio could hear the semi-muffled voice of Elze calling out to them from outside the cart.
"I think we're alright..." Linze managed to answer as she assessed the damage. While Yae kept making a mixture of awkward laughter and oddly adorable yelps as she tried to get off of the struggling young man who was currently being smothered under her bosom. The only thing Alex could do was try and climb out despite everything on top of him. "Oh no!"
Linze forgot about the pain and managed to hop out of the cart to try and help Yae get up. Alex finally managed to free his face to take a breath, only to find himself face to face with an extremely red-faced Yae and an awkwardly staring Linze. It didn't take long for Alex to realize that he had got a literal faceful of the Samurai's breasts, and as much as his young hormones wanted to celebrate this...achievement? The adrenaline was pumping hard in his veins as Alex's trained Hero instincts kicked in, overruling his mild arousal and ignoring the stares.
"Is everyone alright?" Alex asked in a slightly more authoritative tone that snapped the girls out of their embarrassing funk and managed to step out of the wreckage. While the endorphins worked their magic, Alex's back was still aching.
"I'm fine, and so are the horses," Elze answered while giving each horse a gentle brush to ease them down.
"I have a few bumps and bruises, but otherwise, I'm alright," Linze replied with a relieved sigh.
"It seems I have escaped without injury," retorted a still-blushing Yae as she gave herself a once-over. "W-w-what about yourself, Alexander?"
"Well, my back is killing me," Alex answered with a brave grin as he took a moment to stretch, only to turn around and examine the damage. "But I'll live...shit, look at this mess..."
"What happened?" Linze asked as she came along to inspect the damage with the American.
"I...I think we've been sabotaged..." Alex replied stiffly after a few minutes of carefully studying the damage.
"What?!" Elze yelled in disbelief as she and Yae got closer to see why Alex would say such a thing.
"Take a look," Alex pointed out the wooden support beams of the cart's wheels.
While far from an expert on things like wagons or woodwork, Alex was smart enough to see the clues once he spotted them. There were signs of light sawing all over critical parts of the wooden joints, enough to weaken it without outright breaking it. Instead, the damage would simply hasten the typical wear and tear of the cart until it finally broke. "See where the short, smooth cuts that are followed by the splintering?"
"They're here too!" Linze exclaimed as she pointed at the damaged parts on the other wheel.
"Let me check the other side!" Said Yae as she quickly moved to the opposite side to confirm Alex's suspicions. "Here as well!"
"But...how?"
"Shit! It was them," Alex yelled out, making everyone jump as he remembered what the boss of the thugs had said.
"We already know about the Eashen girl, but we didn't find much info on her new friends, other than, they also seemed to be new in town and a general description. I'm willing to bet they're shacked up at one of the inns. Either way, we've already started on getting our revenge."
"Alex, what's going on?" Elze questioned with concern while Linze and Yae looked on with worry.
"I thought they were going to ambush us outside the inn!" Alex answered as he slammed his fist to the ground. "They have the guards in their pockets! Of course, they would have others on their payroll too!"
"Wait...do you mean at the stables where we stored our cart," Linze questioned with a horrified expression. "They were the ones who did this?"
"Either them or the bastards simply paid them for the info about us and looked the other way," Alex deduced as he pulled out his phone to see how far they were from the Capital's southern woods. 'The stable boy didn't seem suspicious, or could it have been the owner himself? Shit...and we're still at least three hours away!'
"But why the cart?" Yae questioned, with a hand to her chin. "Surely it would have been easier to simply attack us outside the inn?"
"Even with the guards in their pockets. Blatant public attacks can't be swept away so easily, not at least without attracting greater attention," Alex took a guess. Using his knowledge regarding corruption in law enforcement, be they Police or Pro-Hero. "Instead, they would likely have spotters outside all of the inns."
"Amanesque seems to be a common rest stop for travelers, so they knew we would likely just leave the next day. With or without Ms. Kokonoe," Alex stood up while putting his phone away, and began pacing in order to think. "So instead, they found our cart, sabotaged it, and would have likely staged an ambush around dawn just outside of town once we were spotted leaving the inn. My best guess? They were hoping we'd run away and make the whole cart collapse on us, hoping for an easy fight."
"Those rotten punks!" Elze yelled out in frustration. It made perfect sense, and while they couldn't confirm everything Alex said, there was no questioning the sabotage. Between this, their mission, the possible kidnapping, and the deposit she had put down to rent the damn cart. Elze was ready to lay the smackdown on those responsible. "Just wait until I get my hands on them!"
"I suppose we should count ourselves lucky," said Linze, trying to see the brighter side of things. "Alex's plan to leave early actually worked out. I think we still would have won if there had been an ambush. We might have been in a worse situation injury-wise."
"Indeed, however, what do we do know?" Yae asked as she looked at their surroundings. Nothing but grassy plains, the occasional tree and the lone road for as far as the eye can see. "Do any of you have any experience in repairs?"
"I wish," Alex commented as he shook his head. The irony of coming from a family of engineers and technicians was not lost on him. Hell, his father did woodworking as a hobby! Yet, he just never had the interest to learn more about it. He knew enough to perform some essential maintenance on some motor vehicles after cross-training with the UA Support course when he was a Liaison. And guns from his Uncle Barry. "If I had the tools and time, I could maybe jury-rig something. But it wouldn't last ten minutes, let alone the hours it would still take to reach our destination."
"Same thing," Elze answered for herself and her sister. "One of our cousins was an apprentice to the local blacksmith. So I did learn a thing or two about fixing things like horseshoes. But nothing like this."
"Well, can't we just get a new cart using Alexander's Gate spell?" Yae suggested with a hopeful expression.
"Can't; I rented the cart and horses from a friend," Elze explained with a long sigh. "And trust me, he made me put down quite the deposit on it. If we returned the cart like this, we'd likely lose the confidence of others to let us borrow their carts as well."
"Reflet is largely a farming town. So carts are always in demand for work," Linze followed up nervously, even though their employer Zanac was very generous regarding funding. The short man wouldn't surrender the use of his own carriage for their journey. "And considering Alex's suspicion regarding Amanesque, going back there for a rental or repair wouldn't be wise."
"I see..." Yae commented as she saw their points. "How about doubling up and riding the horses until we reach the Capital? Then we can seek repairs there!"
"We could, but between not having any saddles and our weight with the supplies. We would have to push the horses hard to reach our destination to stop this kidnapping could outright kill them!" Elze replied after crossing her arms with an annoyed expression while looking at the horses that were happily grazing the fields. "Let alone reaching the Capital, which is at least another hour after the forest! And if the horses die, forget the cart deposit; we'll be in debt for at least half a year to pay their owners back!"
"I could just square away the debt when we get back, Elze," Alex followed up with a motion of his hands, hoping to calm Elze down, but she wasn't having any of it.
"We can't just rely on you for handouts from you forever, Alex!" Elze snapped at the young man.
"Calm down, sis," Linze spoke up as she saw Yae and Alex take a step back, clearly wary of her frustrated elder twin. "We'll figure something out!"
"I wish I could have your optimism, Linze!" Elze shot up with an annoyed expression. "But it's not like there's a magic spell that could just fix all of this..."
There was a sudden pause as Elze trailed off as her eyes turned to look at Alex, and then back at Linze. "Is there?"
"Wait, what do you..." Linze realized as she instantly scrambled back into the wreckage. "The Null magic book!"
"Wait, was there a Null magic spell that could fix things?" Alex questioned with wide eyes. He hadn't completely finished the History of Magic book yet as he did find some of the stories for some of the spells to be quite engaging. Plus, Alex tended to focus on magical control over just constantly learning new spells. After all, you could have as many tools or weapons in your arsenal, but it wouldn't matter if you had too many with little knowledge of how to use them correctly.
"Found it!" Linze proclaimed as she quickly returned with the book in hand. Her green eyes already scanning the pages they haven't read yet in the hopes of striking gold. "If any luck, Alex might have a new and handy Null Magic spell."
"Wait...I'm confused; what are the three of you talking about?" Yae questioned, confused not only by the sudden emotional shift. But the topic regarding something that should be impossible. "New Null magic? I don't know much about sorcery, but I thought Alexander's Null magic was Gate?"
"Oh...right...I don't believe we told you..." Elze spoke up as she gave Alex a worried glance.
While Linze briefly stopped looking over the book to see what they'll do next with Yae. Alex had requested both the twins and the staff at the Silver Moon Inn to try and keep his abilities secret, barring some kind of emergency. This was understandable to an extent, as much Elze envied the idea of having such a power. She knew it could also bring him a lot of trouble if word got out. However, after a moment's hesitation, Alex finally gave both twins a nod and stepped up to speak about his secret.
"It might be hard to believe," Alex said with a quick exhale before pointing at Linze, who had returned to searching the tome. "But I can actually use multiple Null magic spells. We don't know to what extent it goes, but so far. I've been able to use every Null magic spell I've neither encountered or discovered in Linze's book."
"My instincts tell me to refute your claim," Yae finally spoke after blinking several times in disbelief. Yet, after seeing Elze's expression and the trust, she wanted to continue having in Alex after their conversation last night. "However, as unlikely as it sounds. I believe you. After all, it would be quite easy to disprove such a bold claim."
"Even without the hopeful fixing spell. There are plenty of other Null magic spells I can use to show you I'm not lying," Alex suggested. He was surprised that Yae would accept it without proof.
"No need," Yae replied with a gentle shake of her head before giving the young man a soft smile. "I...I trust you, Alex."
"Uhh, oh," Alex realized as Yae finally addressed him with his nickname. "Ummm...Thank you...Yae."
'What's going on?' Elze questioned as she felt a familiar yet uncomfortable sensation in her heart as she observed how the two interacted. 'When did they...'
"I found something!" Linze proclaimed with an excited smile that snapped the rest out of their thoughts as she ran up to show Alex her discovery. "It's a spell called modeling! It's not a repair spell per se, but when I read its history, it was used to make repairs on both wood and metal!"
"Alright!" said Alex with a renewed and determined grin as he instantly went back into Hero mode as he read the entry. "Come on, guys, let's get started! It will be easier and quicker with everyone's help!"
"R-right," Elze replied as she saw Alex and Linze get to work. Only to give Yae a confused look, wondering what could have happened during their last night alone. Yae, in return, looked away with an awkwardly red face but quickly recovered to begin doing her part to help fix the cart.
'I...I don't like this feeling...why am I...?'
Author's Commentary
Ah, Tsunderes one of my least favorite tropes in Japanese media. They are rarely done right and often cause more trouble than they're worth, but I hope to change that up a bit more soon. Initially, I had planned to take this chapter much further. However, it was getting a little too long, so I cut it short here. I wanted to give the thugs of Amanesque town a little more depth. This new plot line will be relevant when introducing the Belfast royal family. Again, I wanted to avoid falling into the same trap of the team just stumbling into rescuing Sushie.
Instead, I wanted the group to take a more active approach to certain things and events, with not everyone always on board for one reason or another. While I might have pushed Yae's relationship ranking with Alex just a little quickly here. The pacing of that relationship will slow down to take its time as the story continues.
Anyways, that should cover things for now!
Until next time!
-ZX
