Arc 6. A seemingly endless loss
Road to a Hero:
Three Chances in Another World
Chapter 42. Uncanny Valley
Peter, filled with stress, fear, and embarrassment, runs as far away as he can, back to his safe house. During the twenty hours he spent preparing for the now-lost fight, he had also purchased a room in a cheap inn which is placed right above a blacksmith's shop. Amongst a hard rain and cold air, fresh and ready for the coming winter. His face is leaking blood, his eyes are bloodshot, his clothes are torn, and he’s out of all of his tools. His wounded appearance draws the eyes of passersby as he sprints to his home, and once he finally reaches it, the old man who’s working there stares at him.
Old man: “That fight didn’t go so well huh, want something to eat?”
Peter: “Sorry sir but no, thank you for the hospitality though.”
He attempts to go up the stairs but is stopped by the old man's partner, who is also an elderly man.
Another Old man: “Come on, it’s dinner time.”
Peter looks at the both of them, and their hopeful aged eyes are too much for him to handle, so he accepts their offer. In their kitchen, Peter’s met by a dinner of mainly seafood, lots of fish. Peter sits there and stares at it, long enough that both men realize something is going on below the surface, so the other old man leaves it to his partner to help him. So he picks up everyone’s plate, other than Peter’s, and leaves the room, kissing his husband on the way out.
Peter: “Oh, sorry, I’m just not hungry…um…sorry, I don’t know your name.”
Hubert: “My name’s Hubert, and you seem distracted. I’d offer to take you to the doctor, but I don’t have much money to spare.”
Peter: “It’s alright, I have money on me. And thank you again for letting me stay in your guest room, I just had to get out of where I was…”
Hubert: “Well as you can see, my home is very welcoming. You’ve met my husband, Juval.”
Peter’s stunned by Hubert’s reveal, as it’s extremely uncommon for gay relationships to be as open as Hubert making his seem in this world, as was on earth around this time frame. Peter’s not concerned or baffled by it, but it’s just new, as they do not have anything to tell them it’s bad other than the disdain of others.
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Peter: “I’m happy you’re so welcoming, but I’ll be gone as soon as I can. I’m here with friends…and I’m kinda hiding out from them.”
Hubert: “So you’re a run away huh? I was in the same position once. Sorry if I’m wandering off into my own story, but I’ve noticed you like to build. My nosey partner saw you working in your sketchbook earlier this morning, and honestly, I see a bit of myself in you.”
Peter: “Um…I like..girls…”
Peter awkwardly stares at Hubert while Hubert begins breaking into laughter, Juval does as well from the other room.
Hubert: “No silly, I mean in the love of creating. My father was a blacksmith, so I followed his teachings, and I like it. My father didn’t approve of my choice of partners though, so I left when I just turned fifteen. I fled here with Juval, to the holy land of Constal, and I’ve never looked back.”
Peter looks around the cozy home, being placed above their shop. It’s tight, made of a mix of wood and stone, and there are little trinkets everywhere. Jewelry, paintings, books, notes, candles, and small toys. It’s not much, but it’s home for them, and Peter feels like he’s been in a similar place before, which he has, his past home in Constal.
His father was also a blacksmith, his mother a librarian, and their home was built on top of their shop as well, it’s almost uncanny. Peter looks at the chopped-up and well-cooked fish, gobbles it up, and quickly stands up.
Hubert: “Are you okay?”
Peter: “Can…Can I stay with you guys until New Year?”
Hubert: “Never said you couldn’t, and hell I’ll reduce your pay, as long as you help me in the shop, I’ll teach you tomorrow.
Peter: “Really!? Thank you so much! And you can skip the training, I’ve got some already.”
Hubert: “Really? Who taught you?”
Peter: “My father, and a dwarf named Rick.”
Hubert: “RICK! LIKE BROTHER OF VARGAS RICK!? THE LEGENDARY BLACK SMITHS!? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU KID!?”
Peter: “Peter, Peter Day, one of Walgonia’s Heros.”
Hubert turns to see the shocked look on Juval's face, and they both jump for joy.
Hubert: “You start tomorrow!”
Peter enters his room and begins flipping through his sketchbook, looking at new designs for his tools. And he spends the next few days helping in the smithing shop with Hubert and Juval, getting even better at it than he was before, he even teaches them a few things. He uses the materials in their shop and shops for various more things to begin creating new tools to help him if he ever battles again.
His pellet-sized poppers don’t pack much of a punch, being more of a deterrent than an actual weapon for attacking with. And the actual baseball-sized explosives he made were not only heavy, but they packed almost too much of a punch when shot out of a heavy weapon. The fact he had to bury the explosive launcher adds to the fact he can’t carry that many things on him at once, or he falls into the issues he had when he wasn’t able to move as quickly as he should. His mobility was hindered, and when he was slammed on his back his rifle was utterly destroyed, making that weight he was lugging around useless.
He’s light, weighing one hundred thirty pounds with a height of five-six, just three inches taller than Soku and six inches smaller than Gray.
He spends his days just building and thinking, keeping in mind he has a time limit, because they leave after New Year, giving him about two weeks to get his mind in order. He wasn’t strong enough to stop Edward’s only photo of his mother get stolen, got them kicked out of the mayor's office for who knows how long, made a fool of himself by losing against Lance, and has been as far away from everyone as possible the entire time they’ve been in the country of Valatrocitus.
Peter Day, the inventor, the boy who ran away, bullied until failure, and forced to feel like he didn’t belong. With Hubert and Juval, he feels he can finally stay somewhere and not be looked down upon. Even if most of his feelings are just that, feelings and nowhere near what Gray and the others really feel about him, it doesn't really matter at this point, no words can make him do what they want, he is in control of his own life. And when you have complete control with no guidance, you may stay stagnant.
End of Chapter Forty-two