On our ride back to the mansion, Katsu explained the whole deal to me.

In a nutshell, the hell bringers basically tricked James into thinking their cause was good, that way he’d support them. But Katsu spilled the truth about them to him. After hearing what their real goal was, James vowed to put an end to all supplies and weapons he’d been giving them. He also gave Katsu a ton of valuable information on the Hellbringers strongholds and such.

First thing tomorrow morning, Katsu was gonna head to the castle and tell the king about all the details. When that happens, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before the knights are sent to deal with them. Knowing Katsu though, we’d likely be on the battlefront when it all goes down.

“I’m guessing this brings us one step closer to finding the Shadow orc. Doesn’t it?”

“I’m not sure yet.” said Katsu, his eyes on the road, “The hellbringers allied themselves with someone or something powerful. I can’t be sure until I get my hands on their leader. However, until then, the hellbringers are the priority.”

Which did make sense. Slaying monsters was his specialty, so it’s natural that he’d go out of his way to bring those hobgoblins down. Not to mention, we’d probably run into them either way, so I guess it’s better we deal with them.

BUTTT, we’ll worry about them when the time comes.

I shifted the topic.

“Anyway. Is this what I think it is?”

I held the flintlock rifle that James had given Katsu on our way out. At least... I think it’s a flintlock rife. Not sure.

“Seems like it.” Katsu replied, “It resembles a flintlock a little too much.”

It was kind of crazy to think about. A medieval world was finally developing firearms. I mean, it’s just a flintlock but someday It might spark the creation of assault rifles. Where did James even get the Idea for this?

“He says it’s a prototype for a new weapon he’s developing.” Katsu added, “Figured I’d take one for myself and make my own adjustments.”

With knowledge from his past life, I’m surprised Katsu didn’t think of inventing this first.

“I wonder if it’s loaded.” I only gently touched the trigger....

Then BOOM! A loud gunshot roared through the air; my eardrums rang.

“...Oopsies...” I nervously laughed before Katsu reached back and snatched the flintlock from my hands.

“You clearly never touched a gun in your life. Finger off the trigger.” He shook his head. His tone sounded like a very disappointed father, “...At least you weren’t pointing it at anyone.”

The rest of the ride home was a little awkward...considering the fact I very well could’ve shot him by accident...

Oops.

But it wasn’t long till we made it back to the mansion.

Katsu went straight to his room like usual. Meanwhile I just sat on the living room sofa, staring up at the ceiling. Every other day has been an adventure, full of monsters and crazy situation.

I mean, seriously. Talking to a goddess, embarking on a quest to save the world, fighting hobgoblins, infiltrating a building. Felt like I was in a movie sometimes. It was exhausting...but at the same time I enjoyed it. It’s like I’m living the life I never knew I wanted. But now I’m sure of it. Being an adventurer, this is who I want to be.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“What a life.” I muttered to myself.

A familiar voice spoke, one that I feel like I haven't heard in a while. It was Emi’s voice. And she spoke formal, like she was testing her acting skills.

“Hello mada’m. Would you like some tea?” she asked, setting down a steamy cup of tea on the table next to me.

There Emi was, standing in front of me, dressed up as a maid. For reasons unbeknown to me.

“Oh! Emi! Hi?” I said, “...What’s with the costume?”

Emi shrugged, “Dunno. Was bored. Found it in one of the rooms so, I decided why not play a little dress-up.”

With how busy I’ve been lately; I’ve haven't really had the chance to interact with her. And even when I was around, she was nowhere to be found in this giant mansion. Guess I know why, seems like she’s had a lot of time to explore the place.

I raised the warm cup of tea to my lips and began sipping. And my tastebuds nearly blew me away. It was sweet, but not incredibly sweet. I could taste honey, as well as the flavor of the tea itself, which I wasn’t sure how to describe...but it was GREAT.

“Wow. When did you learn how to make tea this good??”

“Lily taught me. I gave it a couple tried before perfecting it.” hands on her hips, she proudly smiled, “I’m just a natural tea genius.”

I wouldn’t doubt it. Did taste a tea genius made this.

“I have no doubt about that.” I replied.

Emi took a seat next to me, a smile like she was almost happy to finally be able to talk to me.

“By the way... Where’d you and Katsu go earlier? You guys seemed in a hurry.” her head titled and her ears perked up.

“Ohhh....yeah...that.” I wasn’t sure how to really explain that we broke into a building...but, I guess simple was the easiest way to go.

I answered, “Well...we kinda broke into a building, knocked out a few security guards, and interrogated the CEO of the place. Then after all that, I guess he decided to help us? Yeah, so now he’s basically a friend of ours now.”

“Eh?...” Emi’s expression frozen was confusions. Like every single braincell of her’s was trying to comprehend what I just said. It took a few moments to come up with the words to say, “You did what now?”

I waved my hand back and forth, deciding to move past this topic, “Uhhh...just forget I said anything. ANYWAYS, anything new going on lately?”

“OOH!” Emi stick her finger in the air with excitement, “Yes, actually. I’ve been hanging out with Lily a lot. She’s been trying to teach me some wind magic.”

I didn’t even have to ask for a demonstration, she was already on it.

“Look! Just watch for second.” Emi held out both of her palms out towards the table, where my empty cut sat. Her eyes were closed tightly, like she was trying to harvest every bit of concentration for this.

“MMmmmmmmmmmmm.” the noises she was making almost sounded like she was trying to rev and engine, “MMMMMMMMMM”

Seconds and seconds passed, nothing happened.

“Ummm....What’s supposed to be happening?” I asked.

“Shhhh. Let me focus I almost got it.” Emi replied.

She continued to make her loud humming noises, “MMMMMMMMMMMMM”

I could feel the wind in the room start to pick up, increasing by the moment. It was wind magic, and she was using it steadily lift the teacup into the air.

“Look! I did it!” Emi shouted with excitement.

But it took a turn for the worst when she lost control.

SWOOSH!

The cup launched directly towards my face, with crazy force. In a last second reflex, I leaned to the side, watching the cup go flying past me, shattering against the wall.

The aftermath was the mutilated corps of the tea cup, scattered across the floor.

I could see the embarrassment on Emi’s expression, a single sweat trickling down her cheek.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen...”

“I mean...I would hope you didn’t mean to launch a cup at my face.” I giggled, “...Maybe...we should stick to magic use outside only...”

Emi sighed, her head lowered in disappointment, “I still have a lot to learn...”

It was that time of night. Emi went off to her room to get some rest, and it was time I did the same. I changed into my pajamas and tucked myself into bed, getting as warm and comfy as I could.

“Please let tomorrow be a good day.” I said to myself.

My eyes shut, and I felt my consciousness spin as I slowly drifted off to sleep.