John used to be a farmer in a village bordering the forests of Emerald Domain. All the land near the forests of Emerald Domain was very fertile and always had a good harvest. But, as a tax for using the land blessed by their goddess, the farmers had to pay half of their harvest to the taxmen from the Emerald Domain. If you didn’t want to pay, your village would be harassed until you leave.

Still, with abundant harvests, the remaining half was plenty for the farmers to live a good life. But John’s village was a part of the territory ruled by Duke Rainsworth, so their village was also required to pay taxes to the Duke’s estate. The villagers had tried protesting a few times but swords and armor tend to beat pitchforks and sackcloth.

His fellow villagers had long accepted this exploitation as a part of life. Paying most of their harvest as taxes had become natural to them. But John was different from a young age, he didn’t understand why but he always had a nagging feeling that something about this arrangement wasn’t right.

Everything became clear to him on the night John turned 16 and became an adult. That night, in his dream, an old man wearing a white toga appeared before him, “You are my apostle in this world! You will plant the seeds of democracy on my behalf.” The old man declared.

John looked at the man in confusion, “Excuse me, who are you? And what is this place?” John had found himself sitting alone in the audience section of a large open theater made out of marble. And the old man was standing at the podium talking about incomprehensible things.

“I am Cleisthenes, the progenitor of democracy and this is my domain. I brought you here in your dream. I am going to teach you about democracy so that you can forward my teachings to your world.” The old man spoke authoritatively. In John’s experience, if anyone spoke to him in a superior tone, he had to listen to them unconditionally whether he understood it or not.

“Okay, sir. But what is this democracy? Sounds like the name of a demon from the stories my nan used to tell.” John asked innocently.

Cleisthenes sighed. This happened every time he went to a new world. He had to explain everything from the beginning. And if the chosen apostle turned out to be stupid, it was a whole other problem. He thought back to the world where his dumb apostle started a fascist regime due to his misunderstanding.

“Haah… You have felt that something was wrong with the current system right? You do all the work and the King and his people come take it all away in the name of taxes and you get nothing in return.” Cleisthenes started. An apostle is only chosen randomly from youths who felt similar things.

“Yes, yes.” John nodded vigorously. “I always thought that was weird.”

“Exactly. Now imagine a country where the people themselves choose who will rule over them and if you don’t like them, you can always remove them and put someone else in their position. Then, instead of taking all your harvest for nothing, won’t they provide benefits like better roads, soldiers to protect you, and more?” Cleisthenes dumbed down his explanation to become as simple as possible.

John nodded, “It does sound possible. But won’t the King and the nobles get angry about that? I don’t think they will like it if we put someone else in their place.”

“That is the point. You have to educate people and let them know that they don’t have to live like this. If the people come together they can change the world through democracy…” A long monologue began.

And the next day, when John woke up, he first danced with joy at having been chosen by a god for a divine mission. The Church of Cleisthenes was born that day to gather a lot of people to summon the being called democracy. The ritual was weird where you had to conduct something called an election but he was told that when the process was complete, the spirit of democracy would bloom.

The god Cleisthenes had told him about the wonderful world that would come about when democracy was summoned. Everyone would become equal, bad people would be punished, life would be easier, and everyone would be rich. It sounded like heaven to John.

So, John began recruiting followers to spread the word of god and somehow perform the ritual of election to summon democracy.

…..

Although the number of guests had increased since yesterday evening, Richard was diligently doing his work with a smile on his face. Concerned, Willum had even asked, “Did you take more than a drop of that potion? Are you fine?”

Richard answered with casual coolness, “I am perfectly fine. Why do you ask?”

“It’s just that you have had that grin ever since I sent you to clean the rooms on the second floor. You were even skipping around and humming weird tunes just now.” Willum explained while looking at Richard with eyes full of worry. He couldn’t have a sick employee on such a busy day.

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“That was just because I was happy. You don’t have to worry.” Richard answered with an embarrassed smile. He hadn’t realized that he was even singing songs from his past life. He was excited for today after having spent the whole of last night thinking about the bicycle business.

Willum looked at Richard suspiciously. He didn’t know what was there to be so happy about when there was so much work to do. But he didn’t bother to ask. “Just don’t do that in front of the guests. Are you done with the cleaning?”

Richard nodded, “Yes, swept the floor and wiped all the tables.” He then looked at the bubbling pot of sugar plum soup behind Willum, “Is it done? Do you need me to taste it?”

Although he could see Richard salivating, Willum nodded, “Sure if you are going to help me create a normal recipe for it, you need to be familiar with the taste. Just remember not to overdo it.”

While Richard was getting lost in the taste of the sugar plum soup, the sound of the front door opening made the two of them alert. They exchanged glances and Willum handed the tray with the soup pot to Richard. When Richard saw the old witch, his happy mood collapsed instantly.

In front of Grandma Holly, Richard was reminded of his uncertain aptitude for magic. Going by what Billy had told him, right now there was a greater chance that he didn’t have any magical aptitude even if he was a soul from a different world.

Noticing the change in Richard’s mood, Grandma Holly asked, “What is it? Why did you become so glum after seeing me? Are you upset with me?”

Although there was nothing in her voice or words that would indicate any threats, Richard’s hair stood up and he felt goosebumps all over his skin. He felt like a grave danger was approaching him.

“No, no.” He flailed both his hands in denial. His face looked like he could burst into tears any second. “I was thinking about something else. Your hat reminded me of something. That is all.”

Grandma Holly tilted her head slightly and looked at Richard, “So? What is it? What did my hat remind you of that changed your mood so drastically?” The expression on her face was conveying the horrors that Richard would face if he did not answer her honestly.

It took a second for Richard to decide whether to say it but the decision had already been made for him. He answered glumly, “Well… the hat made me think of magic and how I can’t learn it. I was sad because of that. It really had nothing to do with you.”

“Why are kids so fixated on learning magic anyway? The flash and pop are just for show. Actual magic is not like what you think. Especially the kind of magic that the wizards teach and research in their fancy schools and universities.

It is mostly old men discussing and arguing about the same useless thing for years until their death. Then a new guy comes up with a new theory discrediting both of them. It’s the same over and over again”

Granny Holly once again openly displayed her disdain for wizards and their magic. To Richard, it seemed that it was something personal. Like she had been personally hurt by a wizard in the past. But he wisely caught this train of thought in the middle and locked it up in the basement of his subconscious.

The old witch then looked at Richard with a look that said if there was nothing else, he should run along and let her enjoy the soup. Not wanting to anger her, Richard turned to leave but stopped after taking a step. He then turned to look at the old woman sipping on the green liquid. Whatever he wanted to say got stuck in his throat and he continued walking again.

During his slow walk back to the kitchen he had already glanced back thrice. And on the fourth glance, he saw the annoyed eyes looking back at him. “What is it? That thing you are doing with your glances is annoying. Just spit it out already. What do you want to ask?”

A heavy weight like an invisible blanket made of iron enveloped Richard all at once. It felt like the air was viscous enough to suffocate him. “I- I wanted to ask if you can check my magic aptitude.”

“Haah.” Grandma Holly sighed in frustration. The weight bearing down on Richard evaporated as if it never existed in the first place. “This is why I don’t like children. They never listen to your advice. Don’t eat the chocolate house you tell them and they eat through your door. Anyway, didn’t an idiot wizard come by last year to check your aptitude?”

“I didn’t get checked that day,” Richard answered honestly. He hadn’t been checked since he wasn’t in this world. Grandma Holly looked at Richard with suspicious eyes. But she gave up since she couldn’t find any lie in his words.

Although she was annoyed, she was somewhat interested in Richard as well. She had already had a feeling that Richard was somewhat special. The way he acted so mature despite his age was also interesting. And as a witch, she could feel magic in the air densely surrounding Richard. It wasn’t as dense as a witch or a wizard but it was still significant for a kid with no magic knowledge.

Grandma Holly felt that it could be interesting to see how Richard’s aptitude test would turn out. So she reluctantly agreed, “It is a hassle to get the clunky device that the wizards use. But I can probably find an Aruten Crystal from among the witches' circles. It should be enough to measure your aptitude even if you won’t get numbers to quantify it like the wizards.”

Richard’s face brightened instantly. He bowed and repeatedly thanked the old woman. “Thank you, thank you, Grandma Holly. If there is anything I can help you with, please let me know. I will help you to the best of my abilities.”

“Tch. Why are you thanking me when I haven’t even found the crystal yet? Will you curse me if I don’t find any? And what help can I get from a pipsqueak like you? Just go do your work. Don’t disturb me while I enjoy my soup.” Grandma Holly chased Richard away with an annoyed hand wave.

Richard didn’t care. He was just happy to get the agreement from the old witch. It didn’t seem like Grandma Holly was a person who would go back on her words. So Richard was certain that she would find that Aruten Crystal thing. He just had to wait patiently.

Realizing once again that Grandma Holly wasn’t as scary as she looked on the outside, Richard walked back to the kitchen with a skip in his steps. In the corner, where no one was watching, there was a very slight smile on Grandma Holly’s face as she watched Richard’s receding figure.