“So Yon, you are a sergeant, does that mean you are part of the military?” I asked. “The guards seem to defer to you.” I was sitting next to Vena at a restaurant table facing Yon and Vals. Louis was in the kitchen helping the owners. Apparently, she knows them very well, a mother and son duo, and she has been learning from them and sometimes helping during the busier days.

“I am part of the freelancer guild. After the rank of sergeant, we technically become part of the military,” replied Yon.

“You are also part of the freelancer guild! Do you know Nakera?” I asked.

“Yes! I worked with her a couple of times! She is a rising star in the guild and would probably make it to sergeant in no time.” he responded.

“How does the hierarchy work in the guild anyway?” asked Vena. “I am thinking of joining.”

“You start as a simple recruit similar to Vals here. As a recruit, if you display great leadership you can become a team leader like Nakera. A sergeant is the first elite rank. You can then get to lieutenant, captain, commander, and general.”

I could tell that those terms were not a direct one-on-one translation and that was my magical ability trying its best.

I wonder… if I had more knowledge of the military would I have gotten some different terminologies. Or if I knew how the Romans ranked their military officers, would I have gotten their ranking instead?

“Does a sergeant have to become team leader first?” said Vena interrupting my musing. “I don’t think I am confident in my leadership ability.”

“No people get promoted by clearing missions? Although team leaders get an advantage because some missions are only given to them.”

Louis and a young man in his late teens or early tweens arrived with our food. From Louis’ earlier description, It was some kind of seeds that were extracted from a pomegranate-looking fruit and cooked with some white meat.

“So how did an arena champion end up fighting on our side?” asked Louis, extracting a chair from a nearby empty table and sitting between me and Yon.

“Hey now, I am no champion, I never ranked higher than 6th,” brushed off the sergeant.

The young man finished serving Vals and Vena and returned to the kitchen but not before he threw a concerned glance between Louis and Yon.

Hehe... So that’s how things are! I will tease Louis later with that information.

I took a bite of the good-smelling food. It kind of tasted similar to peas with chicken.

Not bad!

“But I saw you win that one time,” exclaimed Louis “You even defeated a Lieutenant, the good-looking one.”

“Ah but that wasn’t the championship, it was just a fun event. I can’t defeat either Lieutenant Tenjo or Lieutenant Khoka one on one.”

“Yeah, Khoka that’s his name! He looked really strong,” said Louis in a dreamy voice.

“I remember Ami saying that you are a one-vs-many specialist,” added Vena.

“You could say that since I am not much of a dualist,” shrugged Yon.

“I noticed that during the fight you didn’t pick up a weapon after defeating the first opponent,” I asked, intrigued about Yon’s fighting style.

“Now that I think about it, He didn't use a weapon when fighting in the arena either,” added Vena.

“I have extra strength and toughness as my kindred attributes so training my hand-to-hand fighting skill was the way to go.”

I disagree! Weapons are force multipliers; extra strength would only make a mace strike extra devastating. But his choice seems to be born from cultural factors so I will refrain from arguing the point.

“So what’s the deal with him?” I nodded toward Vals.

Everyone at the table turned their attention to the boy and he started to look uncomfortably embarrassed. Unfortunately for him, I didn’t care about his comfort.

“What do you mean?” asked Yon.

“You are an elite freelancer, a respected individual in this city. What are you doing with the likes of him?” I asked

“Vals isn’t bad,” sighed Yon. “His just an idiot.”

At this remark, Vals started scratching the back of his head like a true stereotypical idiot.

“That doesn’t change the fact that you went the extra mile to protect him,” I insisted.

“I just took him under my wing when he joined the freelancer guild,” shrugged off.

“Why him though I am sure you could have picked anyone,” said Vena while looking at Vals with disdain.

“More than half the people that join the guild don’t finish the year…” hesitated the sergeant.

“And you knew that left alone he was exactly the kind of stupid to get himself killed,” I finished for him.

“Hey!” protested Vals.

“Exactly!” confirmed Yon at the same time.

“Your heart is in the right place” I smiled at Yon. “Are you the protagonist of this story?”

“Protagonist?” said Yon, trying out the unfamiliar word. ”What’s that?!”

It didn’t translate figures…

“You know! the valiant hero of the story with a group of loyal followers fighting evil and stuff,” I exaggerate my speech using grandiose hand jesters.

“I thought Vena was the hero of this story,” challenged Louis. ”She is the youngest cleric of our generation and she also knows how to fight.”

“I am no hero!” denied Vena “I have yet to accomplish anything!”

“You may be on to something, Louis” I played into Louis' game knowing full well that she is an expert in teasing Vena.

“Now that I think about it, Yon fits more into the role of the Big Guy trope plus a true hero wouldn’t have Vals as a follower anyway,” I added.

“Hey now! You are being too harsh on my poor recruit.” reprimanded. ”I am sure he didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt”

“Yeah! I didn't know they were thieves when they asked me to find you!” added a flustered Vals

I noticed that he was getting irritated by my jabs now, instead of being embarrassed.

“Didn’t you?” I asked, “I am sorry, is the freelancer guild giving jobs involving locating and stalking newly arriving San without giving a justification?” I frowned.

“No no! They are not!” denied Yon. “All jobs need to be legal and in accordance with Hano’s laws. I have no idea how he got that job.”

“Zabi took me to the Underguild where I met up with those guys,” said an ashamed Vals

Everyone, except me, scowled at the motion of the Underguild.

“Okay, why are we sharing a table with someone who thinks it's a good idea to work with the Underguild,” asked Louis

“The Underguild! I am really disappointed in you Vals. And since when do you hang out with Zabi anyways,” said a chagrined Yon.

“With a name like that, I think I can guess but I will ask anyway. What is the Underguild?”

“It’s like the freelancer guild but your request doesn't need approval, if you know the right people you can request any job.”

“The Underguild is a joke.” Dismissed Vena “Everyone knows where to find the billboard making anyone who goes there noticed and watched by the guards.”

“Yeah it’s where people go to find Idiot who would do stupid jobs that would probably backfire,” confirmed Yon.

“Is my description on the billboard?” I was uncomfortable with the idea that a lot of people are going to try to steal my money.

“No, the gang leader came to the billboard and personally recruited a couple of people to scout your location,” said Vals.

“That doesn’t change the fact that you are an idiot that is willing to take a job in the Underguild,” scowled Vena.

“Are the jobs in the freelancer guild not good enough for people to go criminal?” I asked.

“The problem with the freelancer guild is that you are required to have The Perfect State Soulbook in your arsenal or you will be kicked out,” sighed Yon. “meaning that each year you need to pay 5 silver coins back to the guild,

“So that’s who they tax you! How much does the average guild member make?” I asked

“Those who make it past the first year make at least 20 to 25 silver” shrugged Yon. ”Elite members make more.

“So with the living expense, fighting equipment, medical fee, food, and the Soulbook tax most members barely manage to pick up a second Soulbook.” I conjectured from the economic information I got from Vena and Louis.

“Exactly!” confirmed Yon.

“I am sorry…” apologies Vals.

“It’s okay, thanks to you we got to know Yon,” I sighed. “And we are probably going to meet again once we join...”

“Would you have fought by our side if Yon didn’t show up?” interrupted Vena.

The boy opened his mouth hesitated then closed it.

“That doesn’t matter, now?” I tried to defuse the morality talk. I frankly wouldn’t have minded a discussion about morality if I had more information about the Holy stand on the matter. And offending Vena’s beliefs is the last thing on my agenda right now.

“Yeah, he didn’t intend for anything bad to happen to you,” added Yon.

“The intent doesn’t matter,” said Vena “The consequence of one’s action is what determines the difference between good and evil.”

Huh… that's a different take on the good vs. evil spectrum compared to the major religion back home which mostly judged people based on their intent.

“Does that mean I am being good if I poison a random glass of water and leave it in a crowded street and by luck a murderer drinks from it rather than a child?” I challenged.

I know! I said not to debate the holy girl but I couldn't help myself.

“Yes,” answered Vena nonchalantly “If you are sure that no innocent was harmed, You have done Good.”

I could ask how you define an innocent but that’s a can of worms

“But in the end, he did help! So he is Good,” said Yon, interrupting my chain of thoughts

“No! He only fought after your orders” denied Vena. “you are Good! He is not!”

“But in the end, nothing bad actually happened from his action” I counter-argued, “And we will never know what would have happened if Yon didn’t show up, let’s just say that Vals' morality is unclear.”

“Yeah, easy off on the judgment, Vena. You are a cleric, not a Justicar,” added Louis.

“You are both right... I am sorry,” said Vena lowering her head.

Vals was barely following over the conversation. I think most of it went over his head. Yon on the other hand was contemplating Vena's point of view as if he heard it for the first time. I was about to say something just to break the awkward silence when I was saved by the cook who arrived with some desserts. It was a pudding-looking jelly that smelled like hiking in the forest on an autumn day.

“This is good,” I exclaimed when I took the first bite. “What is this?”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“It’s called a Kanta, it's made from Angron tree sap,” replied the cook.

“This may be the single best thing I have ever eaten!” I gushed over the second bite.

The mood was lifted after the desert and even Vena was smiling when we were done.

“Tell me, Yon. How strong were those guys that attacked us?” I said

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I know you have made short work of 3 of them but how would they fair up compared to a regular member of the freelancer guild.” I elaborated.

“Ah! I don’t know about the one Vena defeated. I would say they are as strong as the average recruit. Maybe the leader is stronger than average with his Metal Manipulation ability. But not as strong as an elite member I think.”

“Yeah, the leader was strong. I was surprised you were able to beat him,” said Vals.

“I didn’t…” I shook my head. “He caught me off guard and almost killed me. I only bested him because he didn’t know about my ability.”

“Still! You have made the best out of a really bad situation and were able to exploit your enemy’s weakness.” smiled Yon. “You would make a good freelancer.”

“I think I had more trouble with the first guy, the one you defeated with one punch.” I laughed. ”I punched him straight to the face just like the leader but it didn’t faze him off.”

“That guy was extra sturdy. But he was overconfident with that fact and full of openings. I am sure you could have zapped him too if you weren't rudely interrupted by their leader,” reassured Yon.

“Can anyone become as physically sturdy as him or is it an ability gained at birth?” I asked.

“I think in his case it’s his kindred attribute but some people have a Soulbook or a bloodline ability that makes them strong or sturdy.”

“I heard dragon meat makes you sturdy too,” said Louis. “I always wanted to try cooking a meal using such a coveted ingredient.”

Wait! Dragons! Do they mean the same thing when they say dragon?! Or is my translation ability playing tricks with me?

“Yeah, but that’s too expensive. With a cost of 1 gold coin per kilogram, no wonder most freelancers die dragon hunting.” Sighed Yon.

“Freelancers go dragon hunting!” I asked amazed.

“Freelancers do pretty much anything,” answered Yon. “I even hunted a couple myself.”

“Can you tell me more about dragons?” I said all excited.

“I know that look,” sighed Louis “You are going to ask him 500 questions as you did with us when we talked about the suns.”

“Of course I am! Those are dragons we are talking about. And...”

“Sadly it’s going to have to wait.” interpreted Vena. “The sun is already setting I am sure Lady Marka is worried about us.”

“Ehh! Please I need to know about dragons.” I begged teary-eyed.

“How about we walk you home and you can ask me any question you want,” offered Yon.

“Oh! What a gentleman!” I said.

As we exited the restaurant I bombarded Yon with questions.

“What’s a dragon? Do they all fly? Are they sentient? 4 limbs or 6? Do they breathe fire!? Do they...”

Apparently, Dragon is a category of creature that encompasses every flying reptile, 4 limbs, 6 limbs, or even no limbs at all, it doesn’t matter if it flies it’s a dragon. Some of them have bloodline magic others have kindred attributes there are even dragons that have access to great dreaming. They are considered beasts and can even be considered monsters depending on locations and/or leaving conditions. Yes, monsters are real too! There are places where the fauna and flora start rapidly breeding and get needlessly aggressive. Those creatures called monsters are heavily magical and are used to make potions, enchanted weapons, armor, and of course Soulbooks.

I was kind of disappointed that dragons are just regular monsters and not some wise ancient race or crafty shapeshifters. But at least I wouldn’t feel bad for hunting them since monsters need to be purged from time to time or else they would destroy non-monstrous ecosystems and threaten settlements.

when we arrived at the temple it was already night and a waxing magenta crescent moon was high in the sky. We bid Yon farewell and He promised to tell me more about dragons when I meet him next.

We waited near the temple until Yon and Vals were out of sight before heading toward the orphanage. Vana was still paranoid and didn’t want to let the boys know where we were staying. That girl has a good head on her shoulders. I was expecting Lady Marca to be waiting for us at the doorstep but luckily for us, she was nowhere to be found.

“She is probably in her office I will go report to her,” said Vena.

“Are you going to tell her about the fight?” I asked in dismay.

“Of course, the temple needs to know about the situation?”

“I guess I am going to get kicked out for causing problems?” I sighed.

“No! That’s not going to happen?” denied Louis.

“You don’t understand the situation, do you?” asked Vena. “What I mean is that you were attacked despite being under the temple's protection. The attacker had confidential information about you, information that they could have only gotten from the bank.”

“Oh shit!” I begin to understand the situation, “The thugs have powerful backers!”

“Yeah probably” shrugged Vena, “And I guess it won’t be the last time we see them too.”

That’s why she was hesitant about healing them. She was expecting them to be out and about in no time being evil and attacking women in alleyways.

“I will report to Lady Marca now. Why don’t you go to bed,” suggested Vena

“The weather is nice today why don’t we set the futon on the rooftop and sleep under the stars for tonight,” suggested Louis.

“Sure, If Alice doesn’t mind,” said Vena

“I would love to!” I smiled.

“Louis, can you please set everything? I will join you in 15 minutes.”

The orphanage was a 3 story building and was the tallest building in the area except for the temple. The view was amazing. It was a mild spring night and the croissant moon didn’t offer much illumination. Despite that, the entire city was not veiled in darkness. The main market street was illuminated with an array of different colored fire lantern poles. The market was still alive despite the late hours and each stall and store appears to have some kind of different illumination. I could still see the magical portal that led to the roundabout I appeared in it looked the same offering a view of the roundabout in daylight as if it was a still image. I don’t know how I missed it before but the portal was also situated at the edge of the city. I could barely see the 20 meters tall city wall extending left and right of the portal. Watchtowers and archery platforms were also highlighted by some lights and I could see soldiers on guard. On the opposing side, I could see some residential areas sparsely illuminated here and there. Despite the darkness, I could tell that the quality of the building deteriorated the further one get from the portal area and the main market street.

Figures… Slums are an inevitable part of a city of that size.

I tried to detect the other portals that lead to the different districts or at least some of the massive buildings I have seen such as the bank and some of the guilds but my vantage point wasn’t high enough.

Maybe if I climbed the temple’s highest tower.

I was still lost in my city viewing when Vana arrived.

“The view is amazing! Right!” exclaimed a smiling cleric.

“Yeah, I can hardly believe this is real…” I turn and notice that Louis had finished making the bed. “I am sorry I should have helped.”

“Don’t worry about it,” shrugged off the brunette who just finished making the bedding. It was a single futon big enough to fit 4 people.

Not what I expected but at least each of us has her separate pillow.

The futon was also placed strategically close to the staircase room so we don’t get blasted by the first lights of dawn which implies that the girls had done this a lot.

It was quite comfortable. The cover was quite thick and warm and the weather was mild with a clear sky showcasing an amazing starry night.

It looked breathtaking.

I tried to look for patterns in the sky wondering if my world’s sun was among the spread of stars in front of me. Of course, I couldn’t find anything… I studied magic back home I knew a lot more about astrology than astronomy.

“What do people around here think about the stars,” I asked, “Do they have some magical powers around here.”

“Eeeh… they are pretty,” said Louis “and they are used for navigation I guess. You can always find the south by looking for those quartets,” she pointed toward 4 extra bright stars that formed an L shape.

“Do you see that circular constellation over there,” pointed Vena westward toward a halo of stars “That’s the crown of Lady Laurel; It is the only constellation I know of that you can see in every realm.”

"Some people from the bloodline have the star affinity” added Vena “It’s the combination between the light and sky affinity”

“Heh, what does it do?” I asked.

“They summon small balls of light that hit people,” replied Vena.

“That’s somehow disappointing,” I said. “Back where I come from we believed we could divine the future using star constellations.”

“Isn’t divination magic unholy?” asked Louis.

“No, it falls under the domain of the old gods,” corrected Vena. “I believe some people in the Mythic realm still believe in Lady Fate.”

I wonder if magic from my world works here in this magical world. In the mythic realm, a lot of faith-based religions are real and have tangible powers. This could mean different things:

1. All faith-based magic is real in the mythical realm even if it didn’t originate there,

2. Only the faith-based magic that started in the mythical realm is real.

3. All faith-based magic is real if performed by someone from the mythical realm,

4. Only the faith-based magic that has enough followers from the mythical realm is real,

5. You need a god or something of similar power to define new faith-based magic.

This also leads to more questions, is the magic in the mythic realm faith-based, or is it belief-based? Am I jumping to conclusions?

“Hey, Vena is the strength of your miracles based on an abstracted level of faith outside of your control, or is it influenced by your personal belief about the level of your faith.”

“What do you mean?” asked Vena.

“I am sorry… you probably need more context,” I apologized, “Let me give you an example. Suppose a young naive cleric finds a fake holy text that was allegedly written by the lady herself and starts following its teaching not knowing that what she is doing is in fact unholy. Let's say that the text said that it’s okay to have sex if you are blindfolded or something similarly absurd. Would that cleric lose her miracle?”

Louis blinked twice at me then scowled.

“Skyfall! How did you come up with such a scenario,” she shouted at me.

Vena on the other head was seriously considering my question.

“In truth, I don’t know…” hesitated the holy teen “There are records of holy people doing terrible things while thinking themselves righteous but they all date to before the 3rd holy war. Since then, however, the book of Holy was given to us by the Lady and things become more black and white.”

“Does that mean…” I was interrupted by a shoulder check by Louis.

“No don’t ruin the mood with your question this is a sleepover. This is not the time and place” said a disgruntled Louis.

That is fair my obsession with my research prevented me from making long-lasting friendships back home I shouldn’t make the same mistake. Plus, this conversation is more suited to be had with Sir Gray.

“What do you talk about at sleepovers,” I asked

“About found memory, life, and OUR DREAMS,” said an enthusiastic Louis.

“Huh, back home we talked about boys in a sleepover,” I said as I remembered the handsome young cook that seemed to be looking at Louis with hopeful eyes.

“I am a cleric you know,” Vena narrowed her eyes at me.

“This is not about you Vena” I shook my finger at the cleric. “I am talking about Louis and a certain cook in a certain restaurant that makes delicious Kanta.”

“Silnar! What about him?” asked Louis.

“You must be blind to not notice that he is interested in you”

“Really…” asked a now stupefied Louis. She looked at Vena for confirmation.

“Don’t look at me! Reading people is your thing, not mine,” responded the cleric to the unasked question.

“Yeah, I am good at reading people! I would have noticed if he was interested,” said a more confident Louis.

“You are also a modest and selfless girl. I bet you would have noticed if someone had eyes on me or Vena.” I challenged.

“I am not sure about that Marca always calls me vain,” denied Louis.

“This is not important now, Are you interested?” I redirected the conversation to where I wanted.

“I don’t know I never thought about him this way.”

“He would make a good husband for you,” approved Vena, “He is well off and you get to work in your own restaurant once you get married.”

I sighed of course we are directly talking about marriage those are holy girls after all.

“But… but… he is not a Faithful,” hissed Louis “His mother is kindred and his father was a Dreamer.”

“You are allowed to marry non-Faithful you know,” frowned Vena. I didn’t expect the cleric to be arguing that point.

“I know but it’s safer to marry a Faithful. You can always tell if your husband is… you know…” insisted Louis.

“No, I don’t know!” I interrupted. “You can be blunter! You are among friends,” even Vena didn’t seem to understand what Louis was trying to say.

“Adultery,” blushed Louis.

“Ah! now I understand,” exclaimed Vena.

“I don’t, please elaborate.”

“Faithful people can detect other Faithful,” explained Vena. “There are actions that are considered taboo and would result in breaking your Faithful status”

“Actions like sex,” I asked.

“While sex outside of marriage is unholy and would weaken your faith it is not a taboo, Adultery on the other hand is a deal-breaker.”

“Oh shit! So if someone finds out that their partner is no longer Faithful, chances are that the said partner was unfaithful.” I deducted.

“Exactly!” nodded Louis

“That’s not a reason de dismiss a man completely,” I shook my head. “Not everyone that isn’t Faithful will systematically commit Adultery.”

“I know… I know… it’s unfair of me to assume the worst in people,” said an abashed Louis. “Silnar is a good man and I would never attack his honor. It’s just that I always assumed that I would marry a Faithful.”

“Do you have another suitor in mind?” I asked.

“No… and considering my situation maybe I shouldn’t be picky,” Louis lowered her head.

“You can be as picky as you want?” denied Vena “With your new Soulbook you will find a job and be independent”

“But I don’t want to be independent,” responded Louis. “I am not you! I want a family and children of my own.”

“Aren’t you… too young for that?” I asked hesitantly.

“No, I am not I am 16 I had my first flower 5 years ago,” refuted Louis

“Please tell me people aren’t marrying 12-year-olds.” I scowled.

“People are not marrying 12-year-olds,” reassured Vena then hesitated and added “most of the time.”

Of course, there are exceptions but it appears that the age of consent was roughly 15 years old with large age gaps being frowned upon in mythic and kindred societies.

Technical with the year being

“So who do you do it?” I asked. “You find someone interesting and directly ask them for marriage.”

“No! We don’t do that!” denied Louis “Normally a girl would ask… her mother…”

Oh shit!

“Normally, If you like someone you ask your mother who then goes to his mother,” elaborated Vena who seemed more at peace with her situation. “If the Match is approved you then proceed to have in-house dates as long as a married person is there to chaperone. In our case, lady Marca can feel up that role.”

“Skyfall! I would never talk to Marca about a boy,” cringed Louis.

“I am 7 years your senior. I could represent you if you want.”

“You could,” nodded Vena “And with you being a San and all it would probably help her odds.”

“So think about your prospects and if you want to do it I will be there for you,” I smiled.

“Thank you, Alice! You are a real friend!”

I am glad to be your friend too!

We lapsed into a companionable silence and before too long I could hear the girls softly breading in their sleep I kept watching the stars for a couple of hours thinking about my new life and how lucky I was to be here.

It was kind of stupid of me to jump headfirst in a new world I could have been isekai’ed in a world full of cannibals or something.

I was interrupted by my musing when I saw a shooting star! By reflex, I was going to make a wish when I felt it. A warm feeling filled the core of my being as if the emptiness inside me was replenished, a feeling that I could be anywhere right now.

Wow is this related to how I came here? Do I have innate magic of my own related to the stars? Can I go back home if make a wish on 14 stars again? I can still feel the new power inside of me it is weak but not gone.

That night I fall asleep from exhaustion trying and failing to look up more shooting stars.