The knight dragged everyone back to the library, fending off curious stares around them with an apologetic smile. Once they arrived, she locked the door, closed the window blinds and ordered both Ren and Rena to kneel on the floor.
“Why do I have to kneel with him?”
“Keep quiet, you aren't innocent either.”
“Why do I have to kneel with her? I don't remember doing anything wrong.”
“I think lying is wrong, Mr. Ren. Really, why are the both of you so troublesome?”
Rosse paced around, hand on her chin, thinking of where to begin. She snapped her fingers at Ren first.
“Okay, you first. And please, I want the truth. Where did you come from and how are you related to Rena?”
“I've already told you many times, Rosse. It was my spell—”
“Didn't I tell you to keep quiet?”
“Ouch ouch ouch! Understood, understood!”
Rosse squeezed Rena's cheeks until they turned red, and the mage finally piped down muttering something to the floor while wiping away the pain on her cheeks. Although Ren was glad that the attention shifted away from him, it was short-lived. Rosse's purple eyes glared at him next. But mysteriously, he could still feel a slight hint of expectation behind them.
Ren paused. Was it even okay to simply reveal everything without thought? If this really was another world — and it was — then would staining this new environment with knowledge not naturally from here have adverse effects? It was more of a philosophical question than a scientific one, but it was still a valid point of consideration. It was an awkward sense of ethics driven into his mind by his little sister ever since they were kids fiddling with their parents' car.
Those patient eyes of the knight bore through his guilt and drove Ren to a compromise.
“Fine. I'll reveal my secret, and I promise it's the truth. But this knowledge has to stay within the walls of this library. Please.”
“Mm, I'm fine with those terms. I swear by the name of my family, vol Resima, and the sword granted to me by the Goddess, the Sword of Revelations.”
“I'll believe that was a yes. What about her?”
Their eyes all turned to Rena, but she only replied with muffled noises and a big pout. Rosse thought that she was being childish, but allowed her to speak either way.
“Thank you. Like I was saying, it was my—”
Rena was cut off by Rosse's smile. A perfect smile in every way, if not for the fact that her hand was already at the hilt of her sword.
“Like I was saying. I agree with those terms as well.”
Ren was a little doubtful about that last agreement, but he pushed through anyway and explained as vaguely as possible.
“…To sum it up as simple as possible: I am not from this world. Back from where I came from, my friends and I were testing a special machine, but it malfunctioned— sort of. And that malfunction, I believe, is what brought me here.”
“Hold on just a minute, I believe a correction is due there. Your machine-clockwork thing did not bring you here, my Hero Summoning Spell did.”
“Hah, spell? I'm sorry, but arranging letters in a recognizable pattern does not make you suddenly switch realities. Now, where was I?”
“You think my spells are jokes? I'm not the person who make-believes that clocks produce any magical effects other than just make needles spin.”
“And your shmagic magic does?”
“Do you want me to roast your head with a flame spell just to drive a point into your thought-ridden brain?”
“What if I roast your head and that stupid pointy hat with a flamethrower as well?”
Ren and Rena began an intense staredown, sparks flying between them neither one willing to back down on their claims. Ren knew that it had to be his machine that brought him here. Because if it wasn't, then it would feel like someone else stole his questionable success, and that was the worst feeling of all.
“Enough, you two!”
Rosse cut their fight short with a slam of her foot, giving the whole library a slight shake. Ren and Rena snapped back into their apologetic position and silently waited for her next words, but not without giving each other sneaking looks of scorn.
“I can't understand what the both of you are fighting about, but…is Mr. Ren really from another world? That's the point you both agree about, right?”
““That is so.””
Even after being told this to him by both her long-time friend and the person in question, Rosse did not want to believe so. Because if she did, it would be very problematic. It was then that Rena spoke up for her.
“You know, there's a much easier way to confirm this all.”
“And what's that?”
“The Stat Checker Spell, version 3.”
“Right, there was that option as well. But is it okay? Last time we tried it on me, it almost blasted my head off.”
“It's fine, that was version 2. I do believe it's safer than before.”
“Wasn't that what you said with the first version and how it almost burned down the whole library?”
“…It's a work in progress. Now, no time to waste. Let's set things up, shall we?”
Ren didn't like the conversation he just overheard, but he had no choice but to go along with these two's whims for now.
[ Chapter 2: A Long Day ]
----------------------------------------
In the center of the library when Ren once woke up, Rena and Rosse set up a rectangular wooden table. It looked eerily similar to an operating table, but Ren shoved that thought aside. Then, copying the contents from a scroll under her robes, Rena began filling the table with uncomprehensible runes and arcane geometric figures using a blue chalk. Rosse surrounded the area with lamps to provide sufficient illumination.
As a finishing touch, Rena unfurled an empty scroll and pinned it just below the table.
“…And it's all prepared, I believe. Well then. Ren, please lay down here.”
“No, I am not laying down on that dangerous looking table.”
“Mr. Ren, please. Believe me, Rena may not seem like it, but she's a gifted mage.”
“I'm an easy man to talk to.”
With slight hesitation, Ren climbed on top of the table and laid down without taking his coat off. Although Rena seemed a bit unstable, he felt he could trust Rosse. It was simply payback for fooling her a while ago.
“Okay Rena, you can begin. But please take extra care.”
“Understood. Beginning the first casting of the Stat Checker Spell, version 3.”
““First?””
Rena closed her eyes and began pouring mana on the table, making the arcane symbols glow in a faint blue light. It was a sight made every hair on his body stand up— his brain understood that this was an unnatural light.
“Shine bright upon the mysteries of this body!”
As those words formed into reality, a bright beam of sparkling blue light gushed forth from the table. He felt something warm on his left arm, but it didn't hurt so he ignored it. Rather, he was too preoccupied with the lights. It was like a front-row ticket to a magnificent fountain lights display.
“Whew, it's over.”
The lights died down, consuming the complex chalk figures along with it. As everything went back to normal, Rena picked up the scroll from under the table and examined it, with Rosse taking a peek from behind as well.
“What do we have here… Oh, my.”
Apparently, something very shocking was written on the scroll, based on the two girls' frozen expression. Rena read it aloud.
“Health, thirty. Mana Pool— one. Heavenly Blessing, none. Continent of Birth, Undetermined.”
Rosse took a few steps back from the shock. She knew how Rena's spell determined the continent of birth. Since each of the five continents in the world had a unique magical signature, the spell would trace what signature was the person's mana most attuned to. It was a foolproof spell Rena stole from the adventurer's guild and improved to include the small scattered islands separated from the main continents.
Having a result of undetermined only meant two things: that this person was born outside of the continents, meaning the sea or the sky — which was crazy considering he had zero mana — or that he was not from this world.
“…But that's impossible. The heroes, they all had blessings. They varied in usefulness, but everyone was blessed by the Goddess nevertheless, no exceptions. Mr. Ren, have you met the Goddess during the transfer here?”
“To be honest, I can't remember. It's like my mind is blocking something out.”
“…But that means, you're from another world, and yet without the Goddess' blessing?… A rogue hero.”
Ren felt he did something wrong, but he didn't know what. He felt lightheaded, and it wasn't just the uncomfortable atmosphere building around the three of them. He tried rising up from the table as it was getting uncomfortable, but then he noticed his left arm was a lot heavier than usual.
“That's strange… Huh?”
Rena and Rosse noticed it as well. On his left arm was a huge gash. Ren admired how clean it was, almost as if it was mechanically cut. Blood was profusely gushing out from that wound, which would probably explain his lightheadedness. He also noticed his finger disgustingly twitching as well.
“Rena! You messed up with the width of the chalk line, didn't you!?”
“A healing spell, he needs a healing spell. I haven't used one in ages. It's— yes, it went like this.”
Rena quickly placed her hand on his gash, but Ren couldn't feel any pain despite his open wound making contact with her skin.
“Blessings be upon you, heal!”
Her hand emitted a strange white light, and Ren could feel the strength flow back to his arm once more. And like magic, his wound was nowhere to be found— not even a scar remained.
Rosse gave Rena a huge scolding after that, but it all passed by Ren from one ear to another. He rubbed the arm where the wound was supposed to be, but it was as smooth as it always has been. To see was to believe, and he just witnessed an impossible spectacle.
The realization finally sunk in.
“…This really is a fantasy world. Huh. Wait a second.”
He noticed something wrong, terribly wrong. Almost half of his arm was almost cut, but he didn't feel any pain. Even when Rena touched the wound, there was nothing but numbness.
“No, no, no. This will get me killed in no time.”
“Mr. Ren? What wrong?”
He lightly pinched his cheeks, and he indeed felt a soft pain spreading.
He then tried driving a punch into his gut— much to the surprise of the two unsuspecting girls. He felt nothing but hollow numbness no matter how many times he punched himself, even to the point of coughing up blood.
“Hey, stop it! What's wrong with you!?”
Rosse forcefully restrained Ren's hands, and he could do nothing against her vice-like grip.
“…I've lost my sense of pain— specifically, extreme pain. I promise I won't do it again, so you can release me now.”
The knight slowly eased her grip. Feeling that he had no intention of repeating that shocking spectacle, she completely released him. Rosse then struck Rena with a dangerous glare, but the poor mage girl stood her ground.
“N-no, it wasn't my spell! You know this, Rosse. If I did, in fact, make a mistake, which I did not — maybe a little — then forget about his sense of pain, his whole body would've been fried together as well.”
That questionable explanation somehow convinced Rosse.
Ren hypothesized that it was during the world transfer, but he couldn't prove it, and whining about it wouldn't do anything about it. Being unable to feel pain might sound cool, but it almost got him killed of blood loss.
Although hesitantly, he asked Rena if the possibility existed that magic could heal him back to normal, to which she answered with a shrug.
“I'm not that good with complex healing magic, especially when it comes to the brain. But it is possible. Do you want me to try?”
“No thank you.”
----------------------------------------
All three of them returned the table and the lamps back to their places. With Rosse's spell, every drop of Ren's spilled blood soaked up on a rag she prepared, which was then unceremoniously dumped into the trash bin. Rena thought of tiptoeing back to her room, but Rosse swiftly grabbed her robes and ordered both her and Ren back to kneeling on the floor.
“We weren't done with this?”
“No we aren't. We aren't, sadly.”
Ren felt that behind Rosse's resolute purple eyes was fear.
“…Mr. Ren really is from another world.”
Rena smiled in pride of her spell, but Rosse replied with a grim look.
“You understand as well, don't you? The act of summoning great heroes to this world, that's a right only reserved to the Goddess. Rena, if Mr. Ren really is from another world, then… you have performed heresy of the highest order.”
Silence befell upon the whole dimmed library. With a serious look, the mage replied.
“I know, Rosse. I am perfectly aware of what I am doing.”
“If the church— no, if anyone in the kingdom hears about this…you'll be tried for heresy, and the law shall cast you into a burning stake!”
“I know. I know. I know, and I understand. But I shall stand by my claim. Magic is not a force limited by anything in this world, even by the Goddess. To think so otherwise would be heresy upon the act of Magic itself.”
“Rena! I'm the Captain of the Knights of the Holy Kingdom of Sephir, and I'm obligated to arrest you for heresy! Don't you understand!?”
For the first time, Rena flinched. Realization finally dawned on her.
“A-ah, that is troubling indeed.”
It all fell down on Rena.
She didn't like the fact that she was forcing her friend in a difficult situation. But the other path led her to deny the accumulation of her lifelong dream as well. The mage couldn't decide. Two sides kept raging on within her.
Ren somehow understood a bit of the situation, based on the snippets of dialogue between the two. Basically, Rena's spell was something very illegal, and Rosse had to arrest her because she was captain of the knights or something. It was a plot straight out of a fantasy book.
He sighed, and his enormous pride took over.
“Ladies, what are the both of you arguing about?”
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“Mr. Ren, please stay out of this.”
“That's right, just kneel like a good hero.”
“No, I believe it is the both of you who should be staying out of this. My machine brought me here into this world, an unfortunate freak accident indeed. But it was my machine that worked— not Rena's spelling bee. Just a reminder.”
As expected, the both of them were quick to catch up on what he was implying. Rena slammed the floor she was kneeling on in anger.
“You… bastard. Lunatic! My spell… it was my spell…”
Rena stole anxious glances at Rosse, who was looking at Ren with a sorry look on her face. The knight did not speak up like she normally would and just waited for Rena's reply.
The mage looked as if she just ate a bunch of sour grapes.
“…By admitting that his machine dohickey alone did summon him here, means that my spell didn't do anything. Which means that Rosse has no reason to arrest me. That's…just cruel.”
Rena didn't want to accept it. For her, it felt like someone else stole her success, and that was the worst feeling of all. But the pleading look of her childhood friend, the one person that took care of her after all these years, melted her pride.
“Tsk. I won't say anything at all. I don't know about his claims, but for now, I am not claiming anything. Is that satisfactory?”
“Thank you, Rena. I… don't want to arrest my only friend. It really means a lot to me.”
Ren could feel the deep sentiments shared between these two friends. Rosse tried drawing Rena into a hug, but she declined. Once Rosse remembered that a man was watching the whole thing, her whole face burned red and gave up on the hug as well.
----------------------------------------
Rosse temporarily banned Rena from continuing her research on the Hero Summoning spell.
“But why?”
“Do you really have to ask? No means no! And I better not catch you doing anything suspicious.”
“Aww…”
Rena gave out her usual cute pout and retreated back to her room, her imaginary puppy ears and tail down as well.
It was already dark when both Rosse and Ren left the library. The knight locked library door with a mysterious spell and smiled wryly at the open lights on the second floor as if to offer a silent apology. Quite a lot of time has passed, and Ren felt his stomach rumble.
“Do you drink alcohol, Mr. Ren?”
“I believe so, yes.”
“Then follow me.”
Rosse led Ren into a tavern. Even deep into the silent night, the spirited noises of merriment leaked outside the establishment.
Inside was a circus. There were tough men of all sizes laughing, clanking their ale-filled mugs without a care in the world. Many of them wore heavy armor, some with robes— others even without anything on their upper body. As soon as they caught sight of Rosse, everyone without exception raised their mugs in the air.
“““Cap'n!”””
“A-aha, please continue. Don't mind me.”
A bald muscular man clad in full body armor, pushing the limits of his wooden chair as he reclined on it with his feet on the table, gave Rosse a whistle.
“What's this? Bringin' home a bride, cap'n? The good girl's finally turning bad? This calls for a celebration. Lads, what do you say? A toast for the newlyweds!”
“““Cheers!”””
“Vice Captain Lucks! Anyways, everyone, may I have your attention?”
Ren expected her voice to drown from the noisy cheers, but they surprisingly died down. All eyes were now on the young knight girl.
“Men, let me introduce to you a friend. He's… a distant relative of Rena the Mage, Ren. If you see him around, please help him out, okay? That's all, carry on.”
“Not only is he the cap'n's bride, but a brother to Miss Rena as well? Lads! Two cheers for Ren!”
“““Cheers!”””
The rough knights burst into laughter, but Ren was too intimidated to speak up. Rosse swatted everyone's questions away and brought Ren to a silent corner in the tavern. Without even taking their order, the waitress set down two mugs of ale and a plate of fried chicken.
Ren blinked his eyes. The chicken looked more like a giant rat with a cut tail, but he tried to push the thought out of his mind. He was starving, and its chicken-like aroma tickled his nose. That was more than enough.
“Shall we start eating?”
“…This is chicken, right?”
“You haven't tasted fried ratt meat yet? Then you have to try this. And you lost a lot of blood earlier, this should help you recover as well.”
Ren convinced himself that ratt was this world's term for chicken. Surprisingly, it really did taste like chicken, even if the meat had a weird rubbery texture. He took a swig of the ale to drown that uncomfortable feeling.
Thus Ren and Rosse drank and feasted into the night. No words were exchanged between them, perhaps both drained from the long eventful day. It was a great thing that Ren could handle his alcohol well, thanks to being trained by his perpetually drunk Russian master.
He found it funny that in contrast to Rosse's ladylike appearance, she ate like a beast, to the point where they needed a fourth serving of fried ra— chicken. Also, Just as Ren, Rosse showed no sign of being affected by the alcohol.
When all was said and down, the merry laughters gradually died and the rowdy knights retired to their homes for the night one by one.
Light from the silver moon streamed through the window, giving Rosse's bluish-white hair a magical shine.
“Mr. Ren, I know this is a bit late, but thank you for what you did back at the library.”
“What do you mean?”
“About being responsible for your arrival here. I wouldn't know what to do if I really had to arrest Rena… I'm not strong enough. My heart wouldn't take it, and I might… I really might betray this kind kingdom.”
“Is that so? I don't understand your sentiments because I didn't do it because of you both. I have pride in my invention, even if they produce mistakes.”
“You really do sound like Rena. You must be her equivalent in your world, I think. Rena's hero equivalent… yes. Also, I'd like to say sorry in advance.”
“Because I have to be as discreet as possible in this world?”
“…So you do understand the situation. If people found out that you're from another world, the church would hold an investigation. And if they trace it back to Rena, then I don't think they would listen to any of her excuses and have her executed immediately. The kingdom doesn't take heresy lightly.”
“Well, you don't have to worry about that.”
In the first place, Ren's sense of ethics didn't allow him to stain this environment with outside knowledge.
“…As for a place to stay, I'll give you some money to stay at an inn. But do you have any plans for the future?”
Ren was a scientist at heart. This whole convoluted mess of a situation started with a goal, and he was dedicated to ending it with the same goal in mind. There was no other path.
“Of course I have one.”
He told the noble knight his plans, to which she expressed her intention of lending her help along the way.
----------------------------------------
Rosse left Ren ten silver coins and went on her way back to her house since she still had to wake up early for the knights' morning training. She also gave him a map of the city with the inns encircled in chalk.
Leaving with an apologetic gesture, Rosse left Ren alone in the dark cobblestone streets, illuminated by the soft yellow glow of the lamps overhead. Ren snuggled deep inside his long winter coat as he walked.
There were no convenience stores to wander to, despite this being the time he felt lost more than ever. It was a shame. Still, his habit kicked in and he refused to retreat for the night. Thus he drifted around the empty streets with no destination in plan. Ren amused himself in reading the welcome signs of the shops all over the place. It was interesting to note that everything was conveniently written in his language.
He met some knights patrolling along the way.
“Hey, you're that guy together with the cap'n. It's pretty cold out now, eh? Probably gonna snow in a couple of days. Anyways, don't go into the alleyways, you hear?”
Ren took his advice to heart. Eventually, Ren ended up on the outskirts of the city. He found a nice spot to rest: a small hill with a giant tree, overlooking a small field of blooming sunflowers.
It was winter in this world as well, so seeing sunflowers in bloom at this time of the year was as eerie as it can get.
He sat on the hill and leaned his back on the tree, and after making sure that nobody was around, began checking the tools under his coat.
He had his pocket notebook, a mechanical pencil, three rolls of duct tape, his trusty Swiss Army knife and his smartphone that wouldn't turn on. He tried slamming it on the ground several times, but nothing seemed to work. It must have been busted during his world transfer.
There was something else bothering Ren. His curiosity couldn't be held. He took his Swiss Army knife and popped out a pointed needle. He took a deep breath, held it in— and dug the needle straight to his thumb. Blood oozed out the wound, but he felt no pain. Why? He could still feel the cold winter winds and small pain, but his sense of extreme pain was completely broken. He wanted to perform more experiments to check how high his tolerance was, but someone else interrupted him.
“You're here as well?”
Rena appeared out of nowhere, complete with her robes and her pointed witch hat, carrying several sticks of skewered meat. Ren quickly hid his tools and his bloody thumb under his coat and gave the mage a questioning glance.
“Aren't you supposed to stay in the library?”
“No, I'm not supposed to perform any spells.”
Silence befell the both of them as Ren took sat down and leaned on the tree as well. Rena ate her skewered meat with an angry look on her face, having no intention of offering Ren any.
“…This is supposed to be my secret spot.”
“Is that so?”
Ren gazed at the sky, and the thousands of stars sparkling above him. It was winter, but the gray clouds haven't thankfully eaten up most of the sky. A warm feeling spread within Ren the moment he saw that the stars were exactly the same from the world he came from. It gave him something familiar to look at. He was grateful for this moment.
“…Is your thumb bleeding?”
Ren was too caught up in his emotions and let his hand slip away from his coat. Rena took the thumb without indignation and cast a healing spell on it— and like magic, the wound disappeared without a trace.
“There… I believe it wasn't only your sense of pain that was damaged.”
“…”
“Hey, I propose a ceasefire between us.”
“A ceasefire?”
“That's right. Neither of us shall claim that our creations worked. And in exchange, I shall help you along in this world. I imagine it must be harrowing being suddenly thrown into this new environment.”
Ren thought about her offer. She really couldn't take that blow in her pride, so she opted for a compromise with him. Although Ren didn't have any reason to accept, Rena reminded him of himself. She had a face desperate to keep face. She had to stand strong, or she would be engulfed by her own drive.
The both of them, for better or for worse, were one step away from being villains.
It was strange, but Ren understood her feelings.
“I'm alright with that. I don't have any people to impress here after all.”
“…Then that is all.”
Rena stood up, patted her robes, and threw Ren a single stick of her meat skewers. Before she left, she turned to him one last time.
“There's always a place in my library to crash. But only do so in the library proper.”
She left as silent as she arrived. Once again, Ren was left alone.
He went back to his discussion with Rosse, about his plans for the future. He couldn't stay here too long. It was an interesting world, Ren admitted, but it wasn't his. He wasn't done discovering new impossibilities back in his world.
He had to end this with how he started: Building the Harmonics Box.
It was possible. Even with only raw materials, Ren could rebuild that machine. And he had his knife and duct tape with him as well. He came through the box, he was going to get out through the box as well. He did not want the help of magic or any other force— he wanted to be brought by a phenomenon he understood: Science.
“…Still, being unable to feel extreme pain would be troubling.”
If he wasn't careful, he could die of blood loss without him noticing. And to die in this world was acceptable.
As a final experiment, Ren thought back to the events a year ago, the day he got rejected by Lily. The events were so clear in his mind that it felt like yesterday.
“…Ah, what do you know? I can still feel extreme pain. There really is no perk to this condition.”
The pain was too much. Ren decided to continue the rest of his experiments tomorrow. It was time to rest from this long day.
----------------------------------------
(Optional) After-chapter Skit!
[ Welcome to the After-chapter Skit! ]
Rosse: Welcome to the after-chapter skit! I'm Rosse vol Resima, Captain of the Knights of the Holy Kingdom of Sephir.
Rena: And my name is Rena, a mage. A talented mage. It says so in the story description.
Ren: I see, so this skit is supposed to be an outside commentary on where the story is. But why us? Why not the author himself? And my name is Ren, by the way.
Rosse: Um, it says here in the memo that the author was bored. In return, he paid me five gold coins.
Rena: What? I was only paid two silver coins!
Ren: You people are getting paid for this…?
Rosse: Anyways! We shouldn't get out of track. Let me read the agenda of this chapter. By an unknown reader. “Shouldn't this story have the Gore and Secret Identity tag?” Good point.
Rena: A good point indeed. Ren, as the subject of this accusation, what can you say?
Ren: I couldn't feel the gore, to be honest. And as for the Secret Identity tag, wouldn't those be normally given to superheroes?
Rena: But why? Heroes are already super in their own right.
Ren: Yes, but… well, how would I know? I have never seen your heroes.
Rosse: Let's just end it here before you guys go off-track again. Anyways, this is the after chapter skit, thanks for listening!
Rena: Wait! The author still hasn't explained why my pay is lo—