"Ah, God damn it," Soph heard Lone mumbling as she woke up.

Her head was pounding, but she still managed to roll over to look in the direction that she'd heard his voice.

‘Why does my head hurt so much?’ she thought as she winced and brought a hand up to her forehead.

‘The alcohol, you fool,’ Sophie chastised. ‘One or two sips would have left you in a fairly horrible position, but you downed the whole mug slowly while Lone and the dwarf were conversing. You have only yourself to blame for our body’s current condition.’

Soph closed her eyes, not that they did her much good as is anyway. "Where are we...?" she asked a bit drearily.

She heard Lone stop whatever it was that he was doing. He then approached the bed she was laying in and sat down on its side before he began stroking her hair.

Just the fact that she was on a bed gave her a good idea of her current location, but her head was pounding oh so violently.

“You can’t tell from your Mana Sensing?” Lone asked in a caring voice.

‘It’s sweet how kind he is to me…’ Soph though as she enjoyed the warmth of his palm gently combing through her locks. “My head hurts too much.”

"Ah, that does make sense. We're back at the inn, by the way. You were so drunk that you fell asleep pretty much as soon as we left Grimsley's," Lone explained as he squeezed her a little.

“… Who’s Grimsley?” Soph asked a bit sheepishly.

That wasn’t a name that rang any bells for her. While she waited for a response, she noticed that a couple of tails had made their way into her arms.

She wasn’t one to deny such a generous offer, so she grabbed the fluffy limbs and drowned herself in enjoying their softness.

“Haha, wow. Completely black-out drunk… He’s the guy who’ll be teaching me how to forge stuff while we’re here. Gotta stay here for six months, right? May as well learn something cool to kill time,” Lone said. “Well, alongside whatever we end up doing at the guild.”

“Huh…” It was still hard to focus what with her throbbing headache, but she was trying her best.

“On that note…” Lone said, drawing out his sentence, “what do you want to do, Soph? Sophie too, for that matter.”

“Whatever… I’m happy doing what you want,” Soph replied as she smiled as well as she could.

Lone often complimented her for her good looks and precious smiles though she couldn’t see for herself. It’s not like a mirror was of much use to her, after all. Still, she wanted to fill his heart with warmth as he did for hers.

She felt Sophie tugging for control, so she yawned a bit and let her other personality take over. She’d be better at handing a headache of a physical nature like this anyway.

‘I’m just gonna sleep for a while longer…’ Soph though as she felt her consciousness drifting off.

----------------------------------------

Lone noticed the switch in personality of his girlfriend immediately. Mostly because a good chunk of the sheer exhaustion from the woman laying by his side evaporated.

She let go of his tails and stretched very carefully, resulting in several of her bones popping.

A bit gross in his opinion if not very satisfying to listen to. He could practically feel the tension leaving his own body after hearing such a thing.

‘Shame my Basic Regeneration makes such loud pops impossible for me. I’ve gotta force it just to get something out of my neck,’ Lone sighed mentally.

“And you, Sophie? What do you want to do besides trying your best to hide your growing infatuation with me?” he teased.

Sophie rolled her eyes as she frowned. “This really is a powerful pain. Strong ale. Regardless, no, we care not for you. We only wish to train and grow strong. In more depth? We want to be rewarded by our efforts when we level up. We are far too Magic Power and Luck heavy. Some of our stats are still in the single digits.”

Lone recoiled as if hearing such a thing had injured him. “That’s… Wow. That’s super harsh.”

Sophie shrugged. “Soph cares not but we wish to be more balanced where possible. Apart from that? We, too, are happy to help you in your silly little adventures.”

“Haha, you and Soph are one and the same. One of these days I’ll hear you say something nice about me. Something along the lines of ’I love you. Lone!’” he exclaimed only to be met with a punch in the face.

“Deserved that,” Lone said. “Didn’t hurt though. You need to work harder.”

Sophie scowled deeply. “Indeed, we do. Now, tell us, why were you cursing the title of the man we once slew when Soph woke up?”

"Ah, you heard that?" Lone asked in embarrassment. ‘I thought she was still asleep.’

Sophie simple nodded.

Lone smiled wryly. "Well, I was trying to make a book about magic. My thinking was; if it exists, then surely, I can make it, yeah? I understand paper and ink well enough. Not perfectly, admittedly, but good enough for me to be able to make a book. I was even prepared to have my mana sealed temporarily for overexerting myself, but it just flat-out failed."

"Why would it fail when your skill has a punishment system in place?" Sophie asked as an interested expression surfaced on her beautiful face.

Something about the way she held her chin in contemplation and stared into nothingness while thinking lit a fire in Lone’s heart.

‘… I’m a lucky guy,’ he thought a bit absentmindedly before he got a glare that helped refocus him.

"Well," Lone coughed before continued, "my current theory is that I didn't know the combination of the words needed to make a book about magic. Either that or I didn't know the content and the theories behind the content. I tried to make a gun too, but no dice.”

“What is a ‘gun’?” Sophie inquired.

Lone shrugged dismissively. “Think of it like an easier to use and more compact crossbow. It’s a lot more complex though. I think the complexity is why I failed.”

Sophie shook her head. “We do not get it. We assume you shall figure it out eventually, just as you will your dozens and dozens of other problems and theories."

"I dunno if your sass makes me more or less attracted to you,” Lone commented in a serious manner as if he were truly troubled by this.

Sophie sighed heavily. "It matters not to us either way, you know this."

Lone grinned. "So you claim. Anyway, I tried to make a blank book first. Y’know, to see if I could simplify it by making it a step-by-step process, yeah?”

Sophie nodded. “That makes, sense, yes.”

“Right? That went well. It was a bit pricey MP-wise, but I was able to make it without getting a seal slapped on me. After that, I tried to basically create the book's content word for word. That, however, did not go very well," Lone explained.

"And why is that?" Sophie asked.

"Well, a single word costs me 500 MP is why. That's just insane. Books have hundreds of thousands of words in them, maybe tens of thousands if the info is sparse but even that's still a big fat waste of my mana,” Lone said in a defeated tone.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“And what if you lose focus and end up with a novel that had no cohesive plot or structure, making it useless? If you are only making one word after the other instead of a collective whole, we imagine that could be an issue,” Sophie pointed out.

“I thought of that but didn’t expect you to reach that conclusion so quickly. Gorgeous, enough personality that you’ve got two of ‘em, and a big ol’ brain? What a keeper,” Lone noted with an appraising look in his eyes.

“You can ‘keep’ your flirting with your girlfriend, not with me,” Sophie retorted. “What will you do from now? Continue trying to slowly create a book?”

‘Like I keep saying, you’re one person with two sides,’ Lone thought as he shook his head. “I'm gonna have to shelve the idea in favour of grinding my Lightning Bolt. I can only hope that the bookstores and the library have the kind of information that I want but can’t easily create."

"That sounds wiser,” Sophie agreed.

----------------------------------------

A few hours later, a knocking at the door roused Lone from his slumber.

"It's me, Phil. Pa just got home. I told him you wanted to talk to him, so he's in the back room on the ground floor waiting for you,” the man called through the wood before Lone heard him walk off.

Slowly opening his eyes, Lone stretched. He uncoiled himself from Sophie and kissed her on the forehead. ‘Verbally deny involvement with me all you want, you still happily snuggle up with me in bed, don’t you?’

He chuckled a bit and said, "Teleport to me if something happens while I'm away, 'kay? I'm counting on you, Sophie."

She rolled over and mumbled, “Yes, yes. Leave us then if you must meet the man’s father. Soph is awake in our mind now so she can handle babysitting you. We, on the other hand, shall sleep some more.”

“Haha, okay,” he replied with a smile.

Lone then got dressed and quickly made his way down to the inn's ground floor. He gave Phil's sister - Grella - a polite smile when greeting her at the building’s reception. He then entered the back room.

Once there, he saw several seats and couches as well as a single chess table in the centre. Sitting next to the chess table as he arranged the pieces, was the man who was presumably Phil and Grella's adoptive father.

Lone approached him carefully as he studied his features. 'Is that bark, not skin? So a Lesher is a type of sapient tree? He's surprisingly well dressed for a tree person. Doesn't that suit chaff against his bark?'

"Oh, hello there. I didn't hear you coming in," the Lesher claimed as he slowly stood up and bowed his bark-covered head. "It is my honour and pleasure to meet a fabled nine-traited beastkin. My name is Lefakern, but please, call me Kerny."

He moved his twiggy hand as he gestured to the chess table. "Care for a game? The rules are very simple, I assure you. We can talk as we play if you don't mind."

Lone took the offered seat and glanced at the chess table in confusion. "What's this game called and how do you play it?"

"Ah, my son did say that you and your companion are on the start of a worldwide journey. If it pleases you, Ninetails, I'd be more than happy to explain," Lefakern said.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Acting] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 2.

'Nice. I'm not sure if chess is normal on this planet, but a level-up was definitely worth the risk of looking like an idiot. Anyway, 'Ninetails' again, huh? The elves called me that too, but Grimsley didn't. I wonder why? Is it because he's a more city-lived demi and the term 'Ninetails' is a more traditional form of respect for someone with, well, nine tails?' Lone wondered and he pretended to be interested in Lefakern's detailing of chess's rules.

Several minutes passed like that until Lefakern was done with his retelling of how the game worked and was played.

"Out of curiosity, Kerny, who invented chess? It's such an interesting game from what you've told me, so whoever created it must have been a genius of some sort, no?" Lone asked.

Lefakern stroked his leafy beard thoughtfully. "I wonder about that. The man who created this game was said to be an incredibly powerful demi who lived over a million years ago. Apparently, he was a hero."

"A hero?" Lone asked as his mind wandered. 'A million years ago? That's a really fuckin’ long time ago. So, chess has been here longer than it has been on Earth? It's a pretty big coincidence that two completely different worlds both created the exact same game, isn't it?'

"Yes. One of the heroes of Earth. Much like our own current hero, however, this fabled one was supposedly a powerhouse amongst powerhouses. It's a shame that he wasn’t very long-lived despite being a demi. At least according to the records kept at my clan’s hometree," Lefakern lamented sadly.

'What?... What?! Heroes from Earth?! That's a thing?!' Lone was incredibly interested by this.

"We have a hero? Forgive my ignorance, but I'm new to Milindo, as you already know." Lone was hoping that the hero was exclusive to Milindo or at least lived here so he could meet them.

Lefakern nodded as he moved his first chess piece, a knight.

"I believe his name was Daisuke Tamiko. I may be misremembering. From what I know, he's not the nicest man to have ever existed, especially to demis. He's fond of slaves, you see. Particularly of the sexual kind," the Lesher expressed. “The younger the better, too. Truly, a deplorable person, but the world is what it is, sins and all.”

"I see..." Lone spoke plainly.

He, of course, had strong views about this matter but he had no idea how the topic was viewed in this discriminatory kingdom as a whole. Lone felt it was wiser to simply keep his mouth shut when it came to such a sensitive thing.

So, instead, he chose to keep the discussion centred on the hero himself as he moved his own chess piece, a pawn. "Why was he summoned? Is Milindo in danger?"

Lefakern's face cramped up in surprise before he laughed softly. "No, it's not. I see you are from a very remote part of Altros as my son claimed."

Lone raised an eyebrow. "It isn't? Then why did they summon a hero?"

"Oh, many reasons. Many reasons indeed. I suppose you could boil it all down to political power, though. It's practically a show of wealth and strength to summon a hero from Earth at least once every century for a certain group of human-run countries. Few of them have the mental fortitude to extend their lifespans by ranking up beyond C-rank. As a result, they are rarely actually used as pawns of war, but more as trophies for international meetings and the like," Lefakern explained.

Lone slowly nodded as he responded to the Lesher's advancing knight. "I suppose that makes sense. It's rare for the ruling caste to not feel the obligation to puff out their feathers to their rivals, I guess."

"Indeed. It is a bit of a shame though that this century's hero is a philanderer. He also has a very weak unique skill from my understanding. A shame indeed," Lefakern expressed.

'This 'Daisuke' guy has a unique skill? He might know a bit more about my and Sofia's situation then... Damn. I'm kinda torn. Do I go meet him to investigate, or do I avoid him since, from what I’ve heard of him so far, I might open the conversation with a Glasgow Kiss?' Lone contemplated.

After that, he and Lefakern focused on their match as they exchanged small talk.

"Checkmate. That was a great game, Ninetails. For a beginner, you really had me on the edge of my seat," Lefakern praised honestly.

The host has developed the passive skill [Chess Mastery].

Passive Skill: Chess Mastery

The road to conquering the board is long and not for the weak minded.

Expands the host’s processing capabilities by 5% when playing chess.

Cost: N/A Mastery: Beginner Level 1

'I really should start expecting damn near everything having a skill linked to it,' Lone thought before he swept back his hair with one hand as he stretched the other. "I can't believe you thrashed me with only your knights. I never knew that was even possible."

"It was risky. I didn't expect that you would capture my queen and a rook. It's been a long time since I last considered using other pieces, to be perfectly honest. You had me very close to using my bishops there, Ninetails, which is honestly very rare," Lefakern admitted humbly.

Lone couldn't help but wonder if the Lesher seated across from him was actually an expert at the game with an exceedingly high level in the Chess Mastery skill, or if his own skills were just horrendous.

Regardless, he stood up and bowed his head lightly. "Thanks. It was fun and informative. I'm glad to have had the chance to meet another demi, especially one so well-lived."

Lefakern shook his head. "The pleasure was all mine. I'm just an ageing tree while you are a young nine-tailed Golden Foxkin. It was truly the highlight of my life to meet you, Ninetails."

Lone laughed a bit awkwardly. "My name's Lone. I know 'Ninetails' is a respectful way to address me, but please, just 'Lone' is fine."

"Just 'Lone', then," Lefakern said as he smiled faintly. "Shall we play another match tomorrow evening? I'd be glad to have another conversation with such a polite young man again."

Lone grinned. "I'd love that."

With the conversation ended, he left the back room and returned to his and Sofia's room before he went to sleep.

----------------------------------------

"Are you sure we should trick him like that? Grandmother definitely said that we need to make a good relationship with him," Trella said to his sister.

She was a spitting image of Trella save for the fact that she had a long, braided ponytail and a slightly rounder face. "Yup! He'll understand after we reveal ourselves anyway, so it'll be a-okay!"

Trella frowned. "Okay, but if he gets upset, I'm snitching on you to Grandmother."

"Boo!" Tiera jeered at him. "He's a foxkin. Sure, he's not a crimson one like us, but he'll understand! There's no better way to introduce yourself to family than by tricking them!"

Trella just held his forehead and prayed to the Primals that the nine-tailed Golden Foxkin had a forgiving heart. The Azure Foxkin their clan was having a mock war with certainly wouldn’t be in his place.

Once Tiera had an idea in her head, nothing short of the matriarch herself could stop her, so the best he could do was go along with her and try to smooth out any ruffled fur she might cause.