South of Haleo Berena was the city of Pakihana. Carriage-wise, it took around six hours, but since they were driving a truck, it only took around forty-five minutes to reach the place. It was the closest and largest city that was available to the public. Any city further north were small villages and towns or places that had been converted to defense centers and military bases.
“...”
Feodora kept a flat expression on her face, although she seemed to be shaking. Lily, on the other hand, held the door handle tightly, a childish, excited smile on her face.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to slow down?”
“Do not worry, William. It is embarrassing if I cannot handle this much.”
"It's fun, right?" Lily elbowed her friend.
"Fun? Umm… maybe…"
Traveling sixty kilometers per hour was the norm on Earth. William didn’t know what Feodora’s past world was like, but it seemed that this was too fast for her. In her defense, they were driving above an unpaved dirt road, so there was a lot of shaking. He had offered to slow down numerous times, but every time she rejected the offer, saying that this was an essential part of training.
Guess you’re not entirely fearless.
Seeing her plant herself on the seat was endearing. It made her look much more human.
“We’ll be arriving soon. Want to increase speed?” he teased. Lily nodded vigorously in response. “Yes, please!”
Feodora looked between Lily and William, before nodding as well. "I… I am sure I will be fine."
He wasn’t expecting that answer, but if the two girls wished…
“Okay!” he planted his foot on the gas. The two let out little squeaks as the speedometer turned to the right, hitting seventy kilometers per hour, sending all of them into their seats. He decided against going any faster.
Feodora held tight to the seatbelt, forcing her eyes to continue watching the scenery zoom past.
* ••
“Are you alright?” William’s voice was filled with concern as he observed Feodora.
“I’m… alright… Thank you…” she wobbled left and right. They parked a kilometer away from Pakihana, the city’s wall visible in the distance. They hid the truck behind some trees, and set out for the remaining distance on foot.
“Would… the truck… be, alright?” Feodora asked. Lily took her hand and guided her to sit down near a tree, resting her back on the tree’s trunk. She then sat down next to her.
“We’ll rest here.”
“But-”
“Don't worry, driving got me tired as well.” William sat down next to Lily.
Feodora looked at him, her sharp violet eyes reflecting the incoming sunlight. She softly exhaled, resting herself on the tree.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Feodora looked up. Clouds floated above the horizon, flying freely in the skies. Lily moved away from the tree and instead lay down on Feodora's lap.
“Are you two hungry?” William asked.
“I have been trained to go for days without eating… but yes, I am hungry.”
“Do you mind me borrowing a bit of money? I don’t have any.”
"So that's your intention." Lily scoffed. "But, well, I guess we can lend you some for your help."
“I promise to return them once I get my own.”
“You do not need to force yourself. You can take mine."
"Don't do that, Feo. You let him off the hook once, he'll continue doing that."
"I won't, although I do agree on not lending your money that easily. Besides, how do you even earn money in this world?”
Lily smirked, patting her chest. “The adventurers' guild is the center of quests. It’s worth visiting if you want to get some money. Sometimes people also invite you to adventure with their party when they need extra members.”
The former was a standard in video games, but the latter was out of the question. He had zero combat skills, and his only weapon was his railgun. He wouldn’t mesh well with a regular adventuring party.
“You two can use magic, right?”
“Yes, but that is partly from my experiences in my previous life. I need to adjust my techniques when I use it here.”
"That's cool. I kept trying, but I just… can't."
"Is magic not common here?" Feodora asked, Lily shook her head.
"It's hard to use, so not many people can use them. Quite an uncommon ability."
“Can you teach us, then?” William asked.
Feodora tilted her head. “Am I not enough?”
If she was someone else, that sentence may be filled with a hint of annoyance or maybe anger, but she said it with no expression or tone whatsoever, as if she was just asking something usual.
“No, it’s not that. It’s just, my railgun can only fire once every hour. Being able to defend myself during that time would be great.”
The railgun’s destructive power would also be overkill for a lot of cases. If he needed to fight off some weak bandit or a drunk adventurer, blasting them with his railgun would be far from ideal.
“If that is the case, then yes, I can teach you.”
“Thank you. Don’t worry, I’m not interested in replacing you.”
"Already making moves, eh?" Lily raised an eyebrow. "Still. Magic is something hard to learn. I gave up on it a few years ago."
“But you also say you're an adventurer, what do you use, then?" He addressed Lily.
"A bow, originally, but I sold mine when I stopped adventuring."
"I see…"
"I will do my best to teach you two how to use magic."
“Should we continue to the city?” William asked, rising from the ground. Feodora pulled herself up. “I am ready.”
Lily looked up at her. “Are you sure?”
Feodora nodded in response. Lily then stood up and followed after the two, heading into the city. Even though they were still far from the place, they saw several people already. Many were farmers, wearing large round hats over their hats, shielding themselves from the sun as they worked their land.
“It sure is hot…” Lily flapped her hand, pushing cool air toward her face.
“Please wait a moment,” Feodora's hands moved and glowed. One glowed light green, while the other glowed white. A cloud appeared far above the three of them, blocking out the midday sun, while a gentle breeze caressed their hair. The sudden shade caused the farmers to look up in surprise. They exchanged glances between one another, shaking their heads before returning to their work, not realizing the one that just created the cloud walked right past them.
“That’s impressive! Thanks a lot!” Lily beamed.
“No problem,” Feodora replied, a faint smile on her lips.
“Come on, smile more. You look prettier that way.”
Feodora turned away at William’s compliment, her cheeks tinted with the slightest bit of red. “I’ll… I’ll try my best.”
“Really trying to score those points, huh, mister?”
“Oh shut up.”
They went past the main gate. The knight that stood guard took a quick look at them. William looked back, thinking that the knight would call him for identification. He didn't have any, but he figured that now that their eyes met, acting worried would only make him seem suspicious.
Thus he stared back at the knight. The knight stood straight and saluted him. He saluted back, but since the knight didn't seem to be interested in him, he, Feodora, and Lily passed the gate without trouble and went into the city.
"I thought he was going to call us."
"Maybe they are just city guards?"
“What kind of world did you two used to live in? Do they call random people there?”
William heard stories of authorities harassing civilians before, but that was on the extreme side. Usually, there would be quick security checks when you entered a building, like a shopping mall or a bank for example. He had assumed there was something like that in this world as well, especially since he came from another world.
Neither of the three of them carried anything with them, so the guards may assume they were just someone returning to the city. Regardless, that bit wasn't important. The three went deeper.
"Where should we head first?" William asked.
"You interested in the adventurers’ guild? Or maybe look for some food first?"
"The guild didn't have a tavern?"
"They do. Want to eat there?"
"... Is it expensive?"
"If it is about money, then I will pay for your meal.”
Lily turned to her and grabbed her shoulders. "Feo, I said this before, right? Don’t just give him everything."
"I agree with her. What you earn should be yours, and I just want to borrow it. I’ll return it. I'm not the Goddess, you shouldn't offer me anything."
"Very well... But we are a party, are we not? Should I not help a member of my party if he needs it?"
"Oh… if that's your argument, then yes. But you need to make sure that he pays you back.”
“I will pay you back, and I won’t accept no as an answer.” William reaffirmed Lily’s words.
Feodora let out a cute little chuckle, a bit more emotion put into her voice.
"Very well, let us search for food."
They made their way to the city's market. A sweet scent filled the air in the food section of the market. It looked similar to a festival in the modern era, with many different tents and stalls specializing in different dishes. William had expected to see more people utilizing magic, but to his surprise, most of the people there used normal kitchen tools instead.
"They're not cooking with magic?"
"What makes you think that magic is an integral part of our life? I mean, there are some adventurers that can wield them, but most people don’t use magic.”
“Sorry about that. So... Anything you like? I’ll eat whatever you two eat."
"Hmm…" Lily’s sharp nose twitched. It looked quite similar to a human’s, although sharper compared to his own and Feodora’s. She then began walking down the street, heading toward one of the stalls. William followed after her while looking at the food around him.
Some of the food items looked similar to the food back on Earth, yet they seemed different at the same time. Maybe a difference in the ingredients or how it was cooked caused the slight but noticeable visual difference. Even though it felt unfamiliar, the smell alone was enough to make his mouth water.
"They all look delicious, I want all of them."
"You cannot eat through all of it?"
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"Yeah, I can't. The truck didn't have a refrigerator either."
"I see…"
"I see?"
"Back in my previous life, the military officers would often have high-level banquets reserved for the people of their rank. Their lavish banquets would be full of food, and we can eat from the leftovers."
Lily and William stared at her, finding themselves once again baffled by Feodora’s past, and how seemingly unaffected Feodora by all this. William let out a deep sigh, containing his anger for her officers deep in his heart.
"I'm not your military officer, so once I get my money, we're eating together-"
He heard a sharp cry coming from behind him. William jerked his head, turning around. He wasn't the only one to hear this, as the rest of the crowd also looked that way.
"Should we?"
The girls nodded and the three stepped toward the direction of the sound. They ran in between the stunned crowd, careful to not hit anyone. The crowd surrounded a small stall on the side of the road.
"Excuse me, excuse me," William whispered as he cut through, the crowd becoming denser the closer they were to the source. It took a while before he could finally reach the front.
A small man with green skin stood in front of the stall, covering a smaller, shaking woman.
"Are they goblins?"
The goblins shared similar features to the ones in fantasy. Sharp teeth, short stature, pointed ears, and green skin. They wore tidy, leather clothing, covering most of their body.
"And them?"
"Goatmen."
The one in the middle had a pointed face similar to a goat's and wore a high-quality tuxedo.
William couldn't actually tell whether it was high quality or not, but it did look expensive. Very expensive, the kind of stuff only high-ranking people wore.
Beside him were two normal-looking humans with tattered clothes, one carrying an ax and the other a rusty sword.
"Come on, come on, didn't we have a deal? You're going to back out of it now with all these people watching?" the goat spoke with a heavy voice.
"But that part of the payment isn't in the contract!" the goblin replied, glancing at the crowd. For a brief moment, his eyes landed on William. There was a faint shine on the underside of his eyes. Tears. He was begging for help.
"Now, now. Isn't it listed that there may be extra fees depending on the delay? Don't say you forget about that."
"But it's only late for a single day! There's no way the fee is supposed to be that high! That's unfair!"
"It is listed in the contract, is it not?" the goatman said with an icy tone. One of the humans behind him took a step forward, smacking the flat side of his ax into his palm.
Seeing the two bickering, William was reminded of his own life back on Earth. He truly regretted some of his past decisions, getting into trouble here and there. He came here hoping for peaceful days, so engaging in politics or fights with others was undesirable. If possible, he wanted to continue looking for food, but…
She's angry.
Feodora wore the same flat expression on her face, but from the way she clenched her fist, he could tell that she had something to say on this matter.
"What do you think?" he whispered into her ear.
"Some adventurers said that there's a scam spreading around. They get desperate people to sign a contract, but in the contract, there's a lot of vague things that were designed to be overlooked.” Lily kept her voice low enough so that only he and Feodora could hear her.
"That being one of them?"
"Correct. One adventurer lost all of his belongings because he didn't pay in time. The contract didn't specify the amount, but the debt collectors bring tough people with them, so the victim is forced to pay. There were cases where the victim tried to fight… it didn’t end well for them"
"That's unfair."
"I know." Lily continued eyeing the group.
"... You didn't help?"
Lily shook her head in shame.
“Because there’s the contract, as vague as it is, the guild cannot get involved. But those bastards… It made me angry just thinking about what they did.” She gritted her teeth. William then turned to Feodora.
“Something tells me that you know about this case as well.”
“I heard about the case from Lily.”
“Is that so? You helped?” William asked, despite already knowing the answer.
"No.” Feodora shook her head.
“Why? You’re not affiliated with the guild, are you?”
“I am under no orders to do so."
"Is that the only reason?"
"... No. I am worried that getting into trouble will hinder me from completing my tasks."
The Goddess only ordered her to defeat demons, not solve human problems. To do that, she spent all her time in this world gathering intelligence, learning about the ways this world works. In her eyes, helping with this issue would only create unnecessary hindrances. So, despite wanting to help, she forced herself to look away.
William then glanced at Lily. “You’re no longer affiliated with the guild-”
“That’s an excuse.” Lily let out a sigh. “I want to help, but I’m not great at close-quarter combat. I’ll just embarrass myself…”
Neither Feodora nor Lily dared to be the first to plunge in. There must be some other reasons they didn’t want to be involved, William assumed. They did live here longer than him, so there was probably some kind of unwritten rule that he didn’t know about, but he knew that deep down, they wanted to help. Someone needed to take the first step, and he knew just the right person to take that task.
"Feel free to follow me, if you want,” he whispered as he took a step forward, much to both of the girls’ surprise.
"Sorry, can you repeat?" Feodora asked, blinking her eyes.
“You’re not…” Lily gasped.
William gave the two a smile and stepped forward, not answering their questions. Her arrival in the field was unexpected, to say the least. Everyone there turned toward him. He stepped forward, fearless.
"What do you want?" the goatman asked him, his cold eyes piercing William’s skull. William almost froze from the sudden glare, but he forced himself to move. He needed to appear strong, after all.
"Let's calm down. You discussing matters here is blocking the road, you see, so maybe we can discuss this issue in another place? Maybe the knights’ headquarters?"
It was a dumb move, he knew. He knew little about this world. He didn't know whether a police force existed here or not. He didn't know whether the knights here bothered with these kinds of civil issues or not. He didn't even have a way to defend himself in case things went awry.
Wish I had a railgun right now…
Or maybe a chocolate bar? Does this world have chocolate bars? Maybe everyone will slow down if they eat a chocolate bar?
An ad popped up in his mind, but he shooed it away immediately. He probably wouldn’t see that brand ever again, so it didn’t matter. Without that ad, though, his mind remained empty. He didn't have a plan. He wasn't the greatest when it came to coming up with proper plans.
"Huh!? This got nothing to do with you!" the goatman roared. William stood tall, putting a smile on his face.
"But you're blocking the road, so it does have something to do with me," William said casually, as if stating the obvious.
"You're looking for trouble with me, aren't ya!?" the goatman yelled, clearly pissed. William wavered a bit, but considering the crowd behind him, he couldn’t just turn around and run. Besides, it would absolutely destroy his non-existent reputation, so he decided to hold his ground.
Also, isn't anyone going to call the knights? Police? We’re going to just keep staring at each other like this!?
He began regretting his decision. Not even a minute had passed since he came into the arena. The three stared at him, their piercing glares sending shivers down his spine. But he mustn’t waver, he told himself.
“Well, if our guy here wanted to play the hero, why not pay the fee?” the goatman challenged.
“Yeah… sorry about that, but I don’t bring any money.”
I didn’t have any in the first place.
“Well, if that’s the case, then no money no play. Take him,” the goatman signaled. One of the guards standing next to him stepped forward, swinging his ax. Gasps came out from the crowd behind him. William prepared his stance, although he wasn’t sure what to do. He simply brought his center of mass lower to the ground, bringing his body closer to the floor. He wasn’t sure what that was for, but he saw it a lot in anime.
The crowd of people surrounded him. Considering that they were willing to harm him, running toward the crowd was probably not a good idea. He didn’t want to involve innocents. Should he run toward the stone building nearby? Would he be able to climb in the first place?
I wish I had my railgun!
Before his mind could float any farther, however, Feodora stepped forward. She stood in front of William, protecting him behind her.
You should have done that earlier!
William thought, yet he grinned like a little child.
Glad you decided to do that on your own accord.
He felt safe standing behind her, despite never seeing her fight before. He felt excited as he waited for the battle. Feodora stood straight, her ears flat and her gaze sharp.
“I suggest you to not touch my partner,” she said, betraying no emotion like usual, yet her voice sounded soothing to William. The voice of a hero coming to rescue the weak.
“Partner? Partner!? Hahaha!” the goatman laughed loudly. His laugh caused the two goblins to shrink in fear, yet it had no effect at all on Feodora. Feodora flicked her fingers, and a green dome appeared, covering her and the three people standing before her.
“... Wait wait wait!” William banged on the dome, realizing that she left him out. On purpose. The crowd let out a woah after seeing Feodora’s display of magic, even Lily was staring at her, mouth agape. William didn’t have time to be paying attention to that, however. He wasn’t expecting Feodora to go this far.
Yet Feodora betrayed no fear. She simply glanced back at him, her gaze firm.
“Trust me on this.”
“Well, if you say so.” William took a step back, distancing himself from the shield dome. The dome left out William, the two goblins, the crowd, and all the buildings and tents surrounding them.
Must be to prevent damage to the outside. William assumed. The fact that they were this long into the argument and no knight came charging through made him worried about this world’s security system. Then again, this wasn’t the first time this case happened. That and there was the contract. Maybe that contract was the thing stopping the knights from helping.
“Well well, interesting dome you have here.” The goatman approached one side of the dome, using the back of his hand to tap on it. William expected him to yelp in pain after some kind of magical attack harmed him, but nothing happened.
“You think closing yourself from the outside will help? Boys, prove her wrong!” the goatman pointed forward. The two humans did as told, sprinting straight for her. They brought down their weapons, striking the ground below Feodora at the same time, sending smoke and dust up to the sky. The coordinated strike was so strong that William felt the vibrations outside the dome, although he wasn’t sure if the dome only affected above ground, or if it was a full circle. The dust inside soon settled, leaving the three beings inside.
Feodora?
She disappeared. The two guards searched for her, but there was nobody in the crater they just left. The goatman started frantically looking around, only to find Feodora standing on the other end of the dome right behind him, her hands extended. Her right palm glowed light blue, her left purple. The right hand spewed out an intense water jet, the left hand sending lightning through the water. The water jet pushed the goatman and the rest of his crew to the dome, the intensity enough to glue them to the walls.
“URGH!” the three wriggled their bodies, unable to move, purple sparks on them. Feodora pulled her hand, stopping the water jet. The three fell to the ground. Her left palm continued glowing purple and spewed out a ray of lightning bolts. It stunned the three beings, causing them to collapse, lying motionless on the cracked cobblestone road. Feodora waved her hand, and the green dome disappeared.
The second the dome disappeared, the shocked crowd roared.
“Unbelievable!”
“Did you just see that!?”
“This is awesome! Those bastards are finally gone!”
The group of people clapped, celebrating Feodora’s victory. Feodora ignored them and went straight toward William.
“Are you alright? Did you get hurt?” despite her voice being devoid of emotion, the way she ducked down and closely examined William proved that she was truly worried.
“I’m alright, not even a scratch, thanks to you. You did a great job,” William said.
“Thank you.” Feodora then went to Lily, making sure that Lily was alright.
“FEO THAT WAS AWESOME! You’re so quick! One second you’re there, the next second you’re gone! Oh, and the way you blast them, that’s unbelievable! That magic attack is so strong, and you’re not even using a magic weapon!” Lily said excitedly. Feodora simply nodded. “Thank you.”
In between the clapping of the crowd, William heard the sound of two footsteps approaching them. He thought the three somehow rose up, but soon realized that he was mistaken.
“Umm… thank you very much for your help!” the two goblins approached and bowed down before them.
“Don’t worry about it,” William waved his hands and elbowed Feodora. The slightly confused girl looked at him before back at the goblins.
“You do not need to bow before me. I am simply doing what I can.”
“That’s, that’s not true!”
“Ah, she’s not too used to receiving thanks, I hope you understand,” William covered for her. Feodora looked at him but said nothing. Instead, she just nodded, as if confirming his words.
“Is there anything we can do for you?”
Feodora shook her head. “Do not worry. I am fine.”
“Ah… again, thank you very much!” The goblins bowed again and left. Feodora waved to them as they stepped away.
“You can ask for some vegetables, you know,” Lily whispered. “But oh well, that’s the kind of person you are. Good job.”
“I do not deserve such high praise.”
“Oh, what are you talking about?” Lily patted her back. “You deserve all the praise, Feo.”
“Are such things a custom for the people in this world?”
“Praising someone for a job well done should be the custom for all worlds,” William said. For a moment, he thought about asking what it was like back in her world, but quickly decided against doing that. Instead, he turned toward the goatman and his two goons, lying on the ground. They didn’t seem to be dead, just stunned.
“Is that lightning magic?”
“Yes. It is lightning magic. They have stun effects but, as long as I keep them at low intensity, they should be safe.”
“I see…”
None of the crowd that surrounded them commented anything. They turned around and started walking away, only there to witness the fight.
“Umm… hey?” William asked weakly, but none of the crowd seemed to care.
Had these people made so much trouble that people didn’t care if they died?
That may be the case, although he really didn’t need a murder case on his list. A group of people wearing green clothing came into the scene, a crest on their right chest. They didn’t have to push anyone around, as most of the crowd watching had dispersed. One of them took the initiative and approached William with rugged breath.
“Are you alright?”
“Sorry… Please… wait a moment…” he took a breather, his men coming behind him. He then straightened himself and did a formal salute. Lily replied to the salute, prompting Feodora and William to do the same.
“My name is Captain Daven from the Pakihana Sheriff. We heard- WAIT, WHAT'S GOING ON!?” the Captain let out a sudden scream. It seemed that he only noticed the three people lying motionless on the ground.
“Captain!” the goblins returned, a wrapping on the male’s hand.
“Yes, what is it?”
“These people are my rescuers.” The goblin pointed toward William and Feodora.
“We were charged more than the contract, and they came to help protect us from those debt collectors.” The goblin then handed over the little wrapping to Feodora.
“This is a little gift from us, as thanks.”
“You do not need to-” Feodora was about to reject it when they all heard William’s stomach grumble. The atmosphere felt awkward all of a sudden. William could only scratch his cheeks. Feodora let out a faint chuckle.
“... Thank you very much,” she said, accepting whatever was inside the wrapping. It felt a bit rough, something with a tail. A fish, probably.
“Thank you.” William bowed his head.
“It seems that you’re hungry,” the sheriff commented. William could only give him a wry smile. The sheriff then shook his head. “We heard of these issues regarding this contract. I apologize, but can you please come to the sheriff’s headquarters with us? We have some questions we wanted to ask.”
“The three of us?” William pointed to himself, Feodora, and Lily.
“Correct.”
“I don’t mind as long as we can eat. I’m hungry. How about you, Feodora? Lily?”
“I will go where you go, William.”
“Isn’t that sweet? Anyway, I’m in the same boat as Feo.”
“That’s decided, then,” the sheriff called another sheriff, traded words with the goblin and his subordinate, then returned to William.
“My subordinate will collect the details of the case from the goblin’s perspective. Now, please follow me.”
“Alright.”
The group set off for the sheriff’s headquarters.