When Kalistra returned to the dojo, she saw her papa meditating in front of the pond. As she approached Kalistron, the daughter realized that he was sitting near the spot where Lawrence had vomited; she involuntarily winced at the memory of the human's disgraceful act.
“Welcome home, daughter,” the father said without opening his eyes. “Did your new pupil get home safely?” he asked.
“Oh, um, yes, he did,” Kalistra admitted as her ears bent down. If papa knew that she had followed the stupid human home, then Kalistron would be aware of how she had purposely drove Lawrence into physical exhaustion. Her eyes stared at the ground as she waited for the inevitable scolding from papa.
Yet, the grandmaster did not speak a word of her harsh method of teaching her pupil. He was content with the fact that his daughter followed her Honor. It would sully the Honor of both the teacher and the dojo itself if the new pupil did not reach home safely.
“Um, papa, why did you assign me to teach that stupid human?” she asked.
Kalistron finally opened his eyes and looked at her with disapproving eyes. “The student reflects on the teacher. If your pupil is stupid, then you have a responsibility, as his teacher, to correct him and to teach him properly. You should think of Lawrence as a ‘smart human’ because when you are finished instructing him, Lawrence will be the smartest human in Tregome,” he said as the trace of a smile began to creep into his otherwise stern facial expression.
The daughter pouted at his admonishment and decided to change the topic. “Well, Lawrence is an interesting human,” she admitted. “He’s actually stuck at level one. Can you believe that?" she exclaimed incredulously and shook her head. "His Intelligence score is fairly high; he would make an ideal mage, to be honest. I’m not sure it’s worth his time to study swordsmanship under me when he could find a mage to study under instead. Oh, and one more thing—Lawrence claimed that he arrived here this morning. I hope he isn’t going insane,” she complained. "But then again, considering that he seems to be middle-aged, perhaps it's only a matter of time before he joins the mental ward," she added.
Kalistron’s ears flickered at something his daughter had said. “Lawrence is at level one?” he asked. His whiskers and tail twitched slightly, but Kalistra did not notice.
“Yup,” the daughter replied.
“And he claimed to be from another world?” the father pressed.
“Well . . . he didn’t make that claim, exactly. I jokingly asked if he arrived in this world yesterday. He said he arrived this morning. And he seemed to be very serious when he said it,” she recalled. Perhaps her new pupil WAS going crazy.
“I see,” Kalistron was lost in thought for a moment. He looked up at Kalistra. “I would like you to continue pushing Lawrence as hard as his body can endure. If he’s only at level one, then it would be dangerous for him if other people become aware of this fact. People may challenge him to a duel and use that as an excuse to kill him and take his money and gear. However, if Lawrence is officially enrolled in our dojo, then our excellent reputation in swordsmanship will make people less likely to challenge him.”
“Yes, papa,” Kalistra bowed obediently.
#
I ate my dinner in eerie silence. I wasn’t kidding when I told Gendun during lunch that I preferred to eat with company. Back on Earth, I would get my random dining companion by simply eating at a fast food joint. I would eat slowly while eavesdropping on conversations and observing other patrons. It was a great way to get new ideas and inspiration for characters for my books. Also, I admit that I had this irrational fear of becoming one of those social deviants who stay shuttered indoors and avoided human contact; in Japan, these folks were called "Hikikomori," or people who were withdrawn from society by voluntarily confining themselves. Thus, I made a conscious effort to mingle in public at least once daily as my mental health apparently depended on it.
Tonight’s dinner was chicken leg over corn and bread. Unfortunately, the drumstick was a tad burnt and I had to use my fingers to pull the burned skin off. My drink was honey mead which actually went quite well with my meal. I wondered if Amelica had chosen my drink. The good thing about eating alone, though, was that I didn’t need to use utensils to eat the chicken. I couldn’t imagine trying to cut the drumstick with a fork and knife like the nobleman that I was pretending to be. Thank God for small favors.
Suddenly, I smacked my forehead. SMACK! "Why did you tell Amelica the truth, Larry?" I chastised myself for my folly. By revealing that I came to this gaming world this morning, I had inadvertently put myself at a severe disadvantage. In America, a family member or other related person could petition a court of law for a "Legal Guardianship." If the court can be satisfied that a person is mentally unable to care for himself or arrange his personal finances, the court can appoint another person to serve as legal guardian to manage both living and financial affairs. By indicating that I was a new arrival in this land, a scam artist could use this claim as a basis to make a petition to a court to find that I was mentally unstable and then issue a decree allowing the petitioner to manage my financial affairs. Since Amelica knew how many platinum coins that I was carrying, she could bribe a judge to issue this decree in her favor, take away my entire wealth, and toss me into a mental institution. And this would be entirely legal, too.
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A part of me tried to reassure myself that Amelica was an angel and she wouldn't do something like that. But another part of me pointed to the fact that she was a single mother of a young boy, Gendun, and if circumstances arose where it was a matter of her son's life versus my money and freedom then she would choose to save her son's life. And I wouldn't blame her for making that choice, either. Knowledge was power and I stupidly gave Amelica power over me. I shook my head at the magnitude of my folly.
But then again, even if I DIDN'T commit this major mistake, one could argue that Amelica already had power over me. Just one complaint to Vern or any of the patrons smitten with this beautiful woman would cause these admirers to come down on me. Hard.
I gulped the last drop of the honey mead as I turned my attention to a related matter. What exactly did Amelica mean to me? She was an extremely attractive woman with a good heart; she was the mother to a fairly well-behaved son who would grow up to be a fine young man under proper adult supervision. There was something about her that drew out the good in people. She made me feel relaxed and less guarded; perhaps, that was why I slipped and gave away my "secret origin."
Regardless of my relationship with Amelica, I needed to make sure that other people in this town didn't know about where I came from. The common folk was superstitious and I didn't want them to burn me at the stake as a demon.
I got up from my seat, took the tray and left it in the hallway in front of my door. I didn't want Amelica to worry about me and check up on me again. Perhaps, I should get a "Do not disturb" sign to put on my door. Who knows? It could be a best-selling product if I commissioned a local craftsman to make a bunch for resale to taverns and inns. Now, that’s a business idea!
I climbed on my bed and recalled my player screen. The middle column read: "Name: Lawrence Eugene Mulligan, Race: Human, Alignment: Neutral, Profession: Undecided, Level: 1, Experience: 754/1,000, Reputation: 52, Attack: 27, Damage: 3-5 (Unarmed), 4-7 (Dagger), Critical Attack: 2%, Critical Damage: 250%." On the right side of the screen were my player attributes: "Health: 28, Stamina: 15, Magic: 27, Strength: 13, Intelligence: 17, Wisdom: 8, Dexterity: 14, Constitution: 15, Charisma: 8. Innate Ability: Navigation-Sense (Level 1)."
When I saw my 2% rate for a critical attack, I was immediately reminded of Amelica's observation that Lady Luck had blessed me during my street fight with Ebenthal. My headbutt into his face had caused 10 points of critical damage. Along with the made Dexterity saving throw, I was blessed twice during that encounter. Oh, I almost forgot about Kalistra’s intervention. If she had walked by the street even one minute sooner or one minute later, the cat girl would have missed my fight with Ebenthal and failed to intervene in time. And then the bandit would have ended my life. Thus, I was thrice blessed by Lady Luck. If I ever visited her shrine I will have to make a big donation to the goddess for saving my life.
Looking back on the day's events, I realized that I had a very hard and trying time for the first day in this new world. I was very surprised to see that I was 75% of the way to level two. But then again, my experience gain was a fair reflection of what I had endured today. However, I still needed two more points in Strength and one more in Dexterity to reach the prerequisites to officially enroll in the school.
Honestly, I really wanted to quit on Kalistra. Her holier-than-thou and it's-for-your-own-good attitudes badly reminded me of my editor-from-hell back on Earth. However, from the way she was following me home, I realized that she cared about me in her own way. And I could certainly do much worse than having a master swordswoman follow me around on the street. Especially a cat girl, at that. Thus, I resolved to continue with the harsh training under Kalistra.
Hearing the bell tolling ten times, I dismissed the player screen, blew out the lamp, and slept.
#
Shortly after the bell tolling twelve times, Amelica quietly left her room. She wore a black silk nightgown and carried two keys—one to her room H and the other to room F. As luck would have it, her own room was only two doors across the hallway from Lawrence's. She had taken the tray that the strange man had left in the hallway; she wanted to check on his condition again but apparently, he had chosen to retire to bed early.
Amelica walked barefoot along the hallway until she reached room F and unlocked the door with her duplicate key. She entered the room and closed the door behind her. By the illumination from the moon through the window, the woman saw the man's sleeping form on his bed. She set her two keys on the nightstand. She quietly climbed into his bed and snuggled against his strong, masculine back.
Amelica gently touched Lawrence's sleeping face. You remind me so much of my first love, Gendur, she thought. She kissed the man softly on his forehead and fell asleep next to the mysterious but kind man.