Is she trying to kill me!?
At the end of the path was a large encampment. Tents of red and white colors occupied the region, and beyond that, some kind of war was going on. He couldn’t really see much, but he did see two flying things floating about, fire coming out from their heads. Arrows streak toward them, and the two beasts dance in the sky.
Dragons?
They looked similar to it, and considering the circumstances, it was a possible explanation. A little twinkling sound came from his left. A white book appeared above the dark gray passenger seat.
“Is this…?”
Written on it were the words ‘railgun guidebook’ in large letters and a smaller ‘the next episode’s starting, so don’t bother me’.
Such a thoughtful Goddess. He thought, bringing his truck to a halt.
He opened the book, looking at its contents. It had a quick rundown on the details of his vehicle. The truck itself had a length of six-thousand-thirty millimeters, a height of two-thousand-sixty, and a width of one-thousand nine-hundred forty-five. Everything about the truck seemed to be the same as his old truck. At the end of the page, she included two ‘minor’ differences.
One, this truck ran on water, as in regular water, the kinds he could find in rivers and lakes.
That’s really convenient.
As long as he could find bodies of water, his truck could run. It even stated that the truck had a filtering system added in, allowing it to run on dirty water. Two, this truck had self-fixing features, so he didn’t need to worry about maintenance, as long as he didn’t try to actively damage or take a particular part off the truck. She even added a little ‘be grateful to me, okay?’ at the end of her message.
Those two things don't feel like minor differences…
It did make things easier, especially since it looked like this world hadn’t reached that level of technological advancement yet. The following pages gave him the details of his railgun.
The railgun had a length of seven-thousand five-hundred millimeters including the turret with a caliber of sixty millimeters. There was another note at the end.
‘I’m too lazy to put much thought into this weapon. I put some low-power, fire magic shells in your truck, but ask a magic user. They’ll explain it in detail. For now, just shoot some demons. They’re low-power shells, but they can still deal significant damage. The destruction area is around 5 meters. PS: try hitting some flying targets. Everyone will freak out once you do.’
William stared in disbelief at this Goddess’ writing. The next page described the instructions to operate the weapon. The turret could be accessed through a gunner seat inside the metal box. A shell dispenser was located to the side, while an automatic reloading system could be used to load the shells. Put a shell in the turret’s ‘hand’, and the turret would load it into the gun automatically. The railgun had a limit to one shot every hour, to prevent him from exploiting the weapon.
She’s that lazy…
William then noticed two knights clad in metal armor approaching him, their swords brandished as they stared at the truck. Their eyes stared at him, their faces tense. Behind them, the war raged on. They slowed down, preparing to attack, watching his truck as if they were looking at some majestic beast.
Rearguards?
William lowered his window.
“Hello-” he said.
“Hello? Who are you? Why are you here? What is that thing?” The guard spent no time, striking him with a sea of questions.
William then realized that he understood the language, so he changed the way he spoke.
“Hello,” he repeated his greeting. He was surprised at how the knowledge of this language had occupied his mind. He understood everything, as if he was a native of these lands.
“You- So you understand us,” the knight replied, looking flabbergasted. His friend approached him and elbowed him, knocking him back to his senses.
“I’m sorry, but there’s a battle taking place near here. It’s very dangerous. If you are not our enemy, then please turn back!” the knight pleaded. From the tone, it was a desperate plea. The knight probably didn’t want to be dealing with another enemy at the moment.
“Against demons?”
“Bah!? How do you know!? Actually, who are you!? I have never seen such a carriage before!” The knight lost his cool again. This time, though, his friend didn’t elbow him. Both of them stared at him with suspicion and disbelief.
“... I can explain later,” William said while waving his hands. “Anyway, are those the enemy?” He pointed toward the dragons that flew above the battlefield, burning everything below them. Flames rose to the sky behind the tents, painting the area in its reddish glow. Panicked screams resounded in the skies above the camp.
“Yes, Sir. Now please, turn back!” The knight yelled desperately. They were clearly worried about their fellow knights. William realized that this was a chance for him to see the railgun’s capabilities.
He opened the door. The knights stepped back and readied their weapons. William ignored them and made his way to the rear cargo door. He climbed up to the box, finding the interior as described in the manual. There was a circular structure underneath the railgun’s turret with a little mechanical ‘hand’, like a small bed for railgun shells, at the center of the structure. On the front right side was a small terminal, featuring a screen, a keyboard, and a control stick. He sat down on the chair in front of the terminal.
Where do I start?
He tapped on the screen, turning it automatically.
“Nice,” he muttered to himself. The knights peeked through the opened rear door.
“Sir? What are you doing?”
“I suggest you go out and watch,” he said with confidence, while at the same time praying inside to the Goddess, asking her for her blessing.
They gave him dubious looks but did as they were told.
How does the physics even work on this thing?
If this was Earth, a single fire from the railgun would probably be enough to tear the box truck apart. This box should be able to hold it together unless the Goddess wanted him to be dead that badly. He aimed toward the flock of flying dragons, putting the center of the screen, the crosshair, on one of the dragons.
“Now you stay there,” he murmured, before pressing the trigger on his control stick. He couldn’t see what was going on above him, but he could hear a zing sound ringing louder and louder. The crosshair turned from green to dark red, with a small number in the corner of the screen ticking down from three to zero. After three seconds, the sound spiked noticeably. The vehicle shook but remained in place. The camera was covered by smoke, preventing him from seeing anything.
“WHAT!?” the knights bellowed.
He heard loud screams coming from the outside. He hurried off the truck’s box, looking at where he shot. The entire dragon was gone, flames and smoke underneath where it once flew. The second dragon floated above the battleground, before turning around and making a run for it. It flapped its large wings, flying as fast as it could. William closed the box, smiled at the gaping knights, climbed onto his truck, and turned around, leaving the scene.
* ••
HEL- I MEAN HEAVENS YEAH!
He let out a fistbump. He finally had one. A railgun, a freaking railgun. He shivered at the thought of getting to fire it so often. He needed to wait an hour for its cooldown, but the sheer power of the weapon gave him excitement. He realized that he was driving much faster than normally, to dangerous speeds, so he pushed the brakes and slowed down.
William managed to find another dirt road, this one larger than before, and parked his truck there, away from the commotion. He leaned back on his chair and brought his legs to the dashboard, taking a quick rest.
He struggled to contain his excitement. He pulled to a stop, slapping his cheeks. He realized that he was basically drunk at this point. Drunk with happiness, with excitement. Firing the railgun filled him with so many emotions.
No wonder she said to fire it at something flying
Based on her words, magic users existed here. If they were anything like all the anime he watched, they would be ranged units. Whether they could shoot something as powerful or as far as him remained a mystery. Maybe that was why she told him to shoot at something flying.
So what now?
The Goddess told him to fight the demons. With such a powerful railgun, he couldn’t say no. What other way would allow him to fire his railgun without consequences? The vibration, the power, he could feel his adrenaline rushing from just that one shot. It sucked that he needed to be inside his truck when firing. He wanted to witness that incredible sight from the outside.
So does that mean I need to search for companions?
It felt like the only path he could take from here. The other option would be to find the knights or any official soldier, but that would mean dealing with politics. He spent most of his past life enjoying a peaceful routine of delivering stuff and building model kits, he didn’t need politics to be introduced into his routine.
But finding other people to travel with wasn’t easy, either. For one, he didn’t know how things in this world worked.
What kind of guild system do they follow? What did their culture look like? What did they believe in?
He also needed an excuse. He couldn’t go around telling people that he came from another world. The truck and the railgun served as proof of that statement, but if people did believe him, they may try to capture him. Best case scenario he could be questioned, worst case scenario he would be in prison, being blamed as a spy, while these nasty people went all over his truck, examining every detail of it, taking it apart to try and duplicate his weapon.
All this thinking made him hungry, but he didn’t even know where the closest village was. The truck still had half of its tank left, so he should still be able to travel quite far. William pulled his foot away from the dashboard and turned on his truck, following the dirt road.
* ••
So how do I approach this?
He looked at a small village in the distance. The village was surrounded by wooden walls. A single guard stood by its gate, his head staring downward. He wasn’t sure if that was a pose a guard should be having. There didn’t seem to be a lot of people around there. He backed the truck away from the road and into an open space near two trees, using their leaves and large trunks as cover. He got off, made sure the truck was locked, and headed toward the village.
As he passed the gate, he noticed that the guard was sleeping. He stood there, for a moment wondering if he should wake him up and tell him, but quickly decided against it. He walked past the gate and into the village.
Woah… it's a real fantasy world.
It felt like a weird thought to have. Of course, he was in another world, but the fantasy of it was only fantasy when he looked at it from the perspective of someone from Earth, someone who lived in the modern era. The village was real, no fantasy involved. The village consisted mostly of simple wooden buildings, but that wasn't the interesting part.
Beastmen, elves, and various other different races occupied the village, going about their day. The village had a surprising amount of variety for a place so small, but it worked to his advantage.
With this, he wouldn't look out of place in this place. With renewed confidence, he stepped forward, only to feel a chill run down his spine.
Someone's following me
He hadn't even spent five minutes in the village, and he already felt someone's sharp eyes on him. He looked around him, but none of the passersby seemed to pay him any mind.
He hastened his steps, heading deeper into the village. Using the crowd, he hid himself among the people. He searched for anyone selling food, fully intent on getting food then jumping out of there immediately.
He saw a merchant selling some bread next to a wooden house and approached him.
"Welcome, good sir, what will it be? We got normal bread, sweet bread, chocolate-filled-"
"Chocolate!"
The merchant was taken aback at William’s sudden excitement.
"I'll take the chocolate bread, please!" he said with sparkling eyes.
"That- That will be ten thousand Karape, good sir."
"Al-"
Right…
He took a look at the waist bag he carried with him. It was empty. His wallet, or anything else for that matter, wasn't transported with him, it seemed.
"Umm…"
He didn't even know how much ten thousand Karape cost, or if it was an appropriate price in the first place. As he thought of what to do, he sensed someone approaching. This person had the same aura as the person who went after him.
But I just fired the railgun once! I can't die here!
He thought of a way to escape. His stomach growled, but this wasn’t a good time. He had neither the money nor the time to be thinking about food.
“Master.”
He heard someone saying that. A calm, soft voice from a girl, but it sounded weirdly flat, as if there was absolutely no emotion under it whatsoever. He still sensed that stare, thus he didn’t dare to look.
“Master,” she called again, her voice growing stronger. The shopkeeper's eyes went from him to whoever was saying this word.
“... Master? Is that girl with you?” he asked. He braced his heart and turned around, finding a girl standing right next to him with another one walking up to her.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
She's cute!
“Come on, Feo, calling someone master when you just met them is so weird…” the girl farther away said. She had orange hair tied in a ponytail, her arms crossed and her bright red eyes eyed William. She didn’t have human ears, instead, her ears existed in a form similar to a fox’s. She did have a human’s nose, albeit looking a bit sharper compared to William’s. She had a fluffy orange tail that appeared from her back, through her clothes.
The girl next to her, the one standing next to William and the one that called him master, had short black hair with dark green lines. Her cute but sharp round eyes observed him, as if she was evaluating him. She kept her face expressionless. She had cat ears on her head and wore brown and dark green leather armor, similar in color to the ones modern military used.
Who is she?
“I shall explain that later. For now, Master, do you want that bread?” the girl asked, addressing William directly.
“Master? You mean me?” he pointed toward himself. The girl nodded in response.
“What do you mean master? I never even saw you.” Not in his last life, nor this one. The girl let out an ah before turning toward the shopkeeper.
"Three chocolate breads, please," she said, her expression as flat as ever.
Just who is she…?
She handed over the money and received the three chocolate breads from the confused merchant.
"Please follow me, Master," she said to William, turning around and began walking away. The girl with orange hair gave him a side eye, but said nothing else. He followed the two, while wondering if he made the right choice. These two girls had appeared out of nowhere, presumably spied on him, called him master, bought the chocolate bread he wanted, and asked him to follow her. Suspicious, but saying that he wasn’t curious would be lying.
Are they a part of the knights?
Only the two knights knew about his railgun. Based on what he saw so far, this world shouldn’t have firearms. Some random person on the road shouldn’t know about the railgun. Heck, even the truck would feel like some magic item for the average person.
But he wasn’t sure about the magic in this world. There may be some kind of telepathy magic, or some way of communicating between the knights fighting the battle and the people in this village. Maybe this girl was told to look for him. If that was the case, however, she shouldn’t have been calling him master.
The brown-haired girl led them out of the village, heading straight toward the truck. William panicked inside, struggling to hold the flat expression on his face.
She knows?
He refrained from saying anything else, hoping that he misunderstood and that they were heading to some other place. She took one of the chocolate bread and handed it over to William, then gave the other one to the orange-haired girl.
“Thank you,” the girl said, stuffing it into her mouth. William took it into his hand and examined it closely before bringing it into his mouth.
"Delicious! Thank you for this!"
"I am glad Master likes it," the brown-haired girl said before she began eating the bread.
"... Who are you? Like, seriously, I don’t know you,” William stated in between his bites. He appreciated the free food, but he couldn’t for the life of him remember who she was. He never had anyone call him master in his life before this, especially not someone with cat ears.
The girl stopped and pointed toward where his truck was hidden.
So she does know
"The Goddess sent me," she continued walking. William fell silent. The Goddess said nothing of this to him. Was she talking about the Goddess of this world? Was it the same Goddess, or a different one? But she clearly knew about the truck. He couldn’t just go up and running now.
And he wasn’t the only one surprised by this turn of events.
“Goddess? What Goddess?” the orange-haired girl asked, but the brown-haired girl didn’t answer immediately.
“It is hard to explain…” she muttered, approaching the truck.
“Woah, what’s this?” the orange hair exclaimed after they arrived. The brown hair stepped to the side and started looking for something.
“What are you doing?”
“Refuelling,” she stopped in front of the truck’s fuel tank and kneeled down. She reached her hand out and spun the fuel cap open.
"Wait a minute! What are you doing!?" William extended his hand in front of her. His sudden yell stopped her. She dropped the fuel cap to the ground, startled. She quickly retreated.
“Ah, I’m sorry-”
She shook her head and stood up. She then bowed.
“I am terribly sorry, Master. I had acted without command. I will accept whatever punishment you see fit.”
“Wait, what? Hold on, how did it get to this?”
“Feo, who even is this!?” the orange hair jumped in between the two, William stepping backward.
“Let’s calm down. We need to get on the same page.”
The orange-haired girl growled at him, baring her fangs.
“It is alright, Lily.”
At her commands, the girl called Lily backed down, still alert.
“Please explain from the get-go. Why are you calling me master, and what are you trying to do?”
“Didn’t you hear her? She literally said she wanted to refuel your… thing!”
“No, that’s not what I mean. I mean, you don’t just approach someone’s truck and then refuel it.”
“I’m terribly sorry.” The girl called Feo lowered her head. She spoke with a flat tone, but William could tell the clear regret in her voice.
“Ah, it’s fine. I was just surprised, sorry for yelling at you.” William scratched his cheeks. “Lift your head… Feo, isn’t it? I’m not angry, and I won’t punish you. I just don’t understand.”
Feo finally pulled up her head. “The Goddess told me about it.”
The Goddess? Why does she tell her more about my truck than myself?
To be fair, William knew how to refuel a truck, but he didn’t get why the Goddess would teach that to a random person. Could this be someone he knew? But he didn’t remember anyone that looked or acted similar to this girl. He just couldn’t remember anyone. To make matters worse, he didn’t have that many acquaintances in the first place. If someone acted like her, he must have remembered, but he couldn’t.
“... Is that so? Then can you help me, please?”
“Right away, Master.”
“Ah, I’m William. I don’t get why you’re calling me master, but you don’t need to continue doing that. Actually, don’t do that. Just call me William.”
“I’m Lily,” the orange-haired girl added in, still looking skeptical at the boy in front of her. She folded her hands, retreating to the sides.
Feo kneeled next to the water tank. She peeked inside, before moving away. She closed her eyes, bringing both of her hands forward. Her hands glowed light blue, water appearing from her palm.
“Seeing you use magic is always a treat, Feo.”
The water flowed into the fuel tank, filling it up.
She took the cap and shut the fuel tank before moving backward. William opened the door and climbed up to the driver’s seat. He turned on the vehicle. The little screen next to his speedometer lit up. On it was the fuel indicator, showing that the truck’s tank had been filled. He reached out to the passenger door and pushed it open.
“... Umm… you two can come onboard.”
“Yes, Sir William.”
“Just William is fine.”
“If you say so… William.” She then reached upward and climbed into the cabin. She slid to the middle and sat down, Lily following behind her. Lily stared at the door before pulling it shut. Feo then pulled the safety belt, putting Lily in much confusion.
“What is that?” she asked, pointing toward the black belt that ran across her chest.
“This is a seat belt. It is used to prevent you from dying in an accident.”
That’s way too vague!
William was wearing his seatbelt when he died, after all.
“The Goddess told you about that as well?” William asked. Feo nodded in agreement.
“Yes. She said that it is an essential safety feature, although she said that I should still be careful.”
“I see. My name is William Ari. Nice to meet you.”
“My product number is NY-1L. Feel free to use me as you wish.”
“... What?”
“I told you not to say that.” Lily slapped Feo’s back. “She didn’t have a name, so I just called her Feodora, or Feo, for short.”
William thought that he misheard something, but at the same time, it was almost impossible to mishear that, especially with Lily’s affirmation.
“Umm… NY… what?”
“My product number is NY-1L. I am under your service.”
William gawked at this introduction.
"Product number? Service? What are you talking about?"
"The Goddess told me to help you in your mission to destroy the demons.”
“Okay…?”
The Goddess did write something about finding a magic user, but nothing more.
"Are you a magic user?"
“My official role is a scout caster."
"Official role…?" William only felt more confused at her every word.
“... Why do you look confused, William? Is something troubling you?”
You are.
Nothing she said made sense to him. Was this some local custom? But from the way Lily was facepalming, that didn’t seem to be the case. If anything, Lily and Feodora didn’t seem to know each other all that well.
“Sorry, but I really don’t understand anything. Are you from this village?”
The two girls shook their heads.
“She claimed she came from another world. At first, I didn’t believe her, but… after seeing her use magic. By the way, about this thing…” Lily touched the dashboard, letting her hand run down the smooth black surface. “You’re also from another world, aren’t you? William.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” William nodded. The Goddess didn’t ban him from speaking about it, just that people coming from other worlds were uncommon. Lily already knew about other worlds, so it should be fine. “Still, I never heard anything about real girls with cat ears in my previous life, especially not with a product number.”
“I believe we may have come from different worlds. In my previous life, I was a genetically engineered human designed for war.”
What she just said made even less sense.
“... You didn’t say anything about this…” Lily murmured, looking as surprised as William was. For a moment, William turned her attention to her.
“Quick question, who are you, then? You’re from this world?”
Lily nodded. “Used to work in a local guild when she arrived. I taught her some things and she told me some… weird things, but I got curious. It had been a while since my last adventure, so I thought why not and followed her.” Lily shrugged.
“I see. Anyway, back to the topic. Feodora, can you elaborate on what you meant?”
“I’m curious as well.” Lily chimed in, moving a bit closer.
“In my previous world, I was a human created with magic. I have better eyesight compared to normal humans and increased hearing capabilities. I was also trained from birth to serve as a fighter.”
“A soldier…” William murmured.
“Yes. I am a skilled magic user, so I hope you find my service satisfactory.” She bowed her head.
“Wait, wait, wait, your service? Did the Goddess tell you that as well?”
“The Goddess asked me if I wanted anything. I have no answer.”
“Why?”
The girl cocked her head.
“Desires only limit my effectiveness.”
“Not everything can be seen through that lens!” Lily said with exasperation.
“I don’t see a reason to keep something that can reduce my usefulness.”
“Usefulness…”
It was pretty heavy stuff, especially for the first day. William lost things to say, staring emptily at the girl in front of him.
“... So… how did you end up here?”
"I died during a battle, and my soul fell into a rift. The Goddess said that if I come here and fight demons, I can have anything I want, but I want nothing. So she asked if I wanted to help with fighting the demons here."
“And you agree without asking anything in return?”
“It is a soldier’s duty to sacrifice their life to the people. If I can be of use, that will be enough.”
Lily winced. “That’s not enough! You should treat yourself better! Even the soldiers fighting the demons have something they’re fighting for!”
William nodded, folding his hands.
“Is that so? I do not understand. I am sorry.” Feodora looked down, looking apologetic.
“It’s alright. Why are you even sorry for that?”
“If this is a battlefield, such failures of understanding can kill. I am responsible for making sure everyone is safe. If you are harmed because of me, then I have failed my duties.”
“Sigh…”
It would be a different thing if she chose this path out of her own will, William thought, but the current her didn’t have an option. She never knew about other options. He glanced at Lily behind her, who shrugged in response.
“So, she assigned you to me?”
“Yes. The Goddess said that I can help you.”
Is this all real?
"It’s real, don't worry about it."
He heard the Goddess' voice. He looked around, not finding her figure.
"Where are you?" His question caused the two girls to look around them as well. William could hear the slightest bit of giggling through the Goddess’ voice.
"That's not important."
"What do you mean not important!?"
"By the way, you and beastmen like her are both humans with minor differences, so if you're worried about having children, don't."
"We literally just met!"
"I'll be back, promise. Ciao."
"Please give me more explanation! Please come back now!" William shouted, but no reply came. Feodora looked blankly at him, Lily staring at him with a slightly disgusted expression on her face. “Are you delusional?” she asked, but William didn’t find a need to answer that question. Instead, he turned toward Feodora.
"You didn't hear her?"
"I am sorry-"
“Don’t apologize, especially when you didn’t do anything wrong. Not everything is your fault.”
"... As you wish. No, I did not hear any voice.”
William took a breather. “Anyway, let me tell you something. Let’s call it… rules. You have rules back in your army, right?”
“Yes. Rules are important in making sure everything goes as planned.”
“Okay, first rule,” William brought her index finger up.
“I’m not going to allow you to just accept everything. If you want to serve- no, help me, then you need to speak up. If you disagree with something, say it. Don’t just blindly follow me around.”
“That’s obvious-”
“Are you sure? Orders are absolute.”
“... Okay, maybe that’s not as obvious to her.” Lily shook her head.
William continued. “I’m a human. I don’t care what your previous superiors are like, but I’m not perfect and I will make mistakes. I want you to speak up when that happens.”
“If you say so, then I shall follow it.”
William felt unsure how to react to this. If she followed him just because of her sense of responsibility, then there would be no point.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go off on your own? You’re free now, right? And you have Lily who can help you out.”
“That’s right, Feo. I’ll make sure you get the best of things out here.” Lily said it with pride, but Feodora shook her head.
“Thank you very much for the offer, Lily. But I do not dare- no, I do not want to go against the Goddess.”
“Oh, come on. She’ll let you do anything,” William said, unsure whether it was right or not. No divine punishment came upon him, though, so he assumed it was fine.
“But… even then… I do not know what I want.”
“Fine, then you can stick with me for now. But promise me you will tell me if you want anything, alright? Even if you want to part ways. Promise?”
“Anything?”
“Anything. If you feel uncomfortable talking to me, then you can talk about it with Lily.” He didn’t actually know the girls personally, but he imagined talking to another girl would be much more comfortable compared to talking to him, a boy.
“... Alright. I will make sure to do that.”
“Great. Two, all of this applies to personal things and tastes as well. What you want, what you like, what you dislike, say it. Say everything. I know you just said that you don’t want anything, but I will make sure that changes. You will value yourself more. Got it?”
“But that will only hinder my performance.”
“So be it. I’m not going to treat you as a weapon or a tool. If I ever turn into that kind of person, leave me. I hate the very idea of it.”
“But-”
“I won’t hear any excuses, alright? You’re an intelligent being, Feodora. You should treat yourself like one.”
Lily gave him a glare, William unable to decipher its meaning. She eventually let out a sigh.
“I agree with him. If you have anything you want, you should tell us. Don’t keep it to yourself.”
“Even if I become less effective?”
“Even if you become less effective,” William answered.
“Right, you’re not a tool, Feo. We won’t throw you away just because you’re useless. Besides, based on the magic you showed me earlier, I doubt you’ll be useless, so there’s no need to worry.”
“... I will try my best.” Feodora nodded meekly. For the first time, it looked like her flat expression wavered, looking slightly softer.
“Maybe try smiling more? I think you look cuter that way.”
Lily clicked her tongue. “You’re weird.”
“Come on, I’m just stating a fact,” William retorted. Feodora, meanwhile, gazed emptily at him.
“Cute-” she let out a tiny smile, before covering her mouth. Her cheeks reddened. She then let go, looking at him.
“You think I am… cute?”
“Yes.”
“Is cute not the word you use to describe friendly people and animals? I can do nothing else but kill. I do not believe myself deserving of the word cute.”
“I’ll teach you those other things.”
“... Thank you,” her smile widened a bit.
William extended his hand. “Glad to have you onboard.”
Feodora looked at it. “... How am I supposed to react?”
“Like this.” Lily slid closer and took his hand. “I’ll be in your care.”
“Me as well,” William replied, shaking Lily’s hand. Lily then let go and pushed Feodora closer. Feodora extended her hand.
“I… I will be in your care.”