Chapter 8- Name Games in a Fantasy World
[https://i.imgur.com/JSXQr87.jpg]
Part 1- Taverns in a Fantasy World
Not long after trying on the hat, Aito had thrown together a little outfit for himself, complete with a cape too. At least one villager also stashed boots in his size. He looked like a little adventurer from a fairy tale, and seemed eager to play the part. He was now comfortably watching the world from Kenji’s backpack and passively recharging. When he relaxed like that, he looked like a normal children's toy.
Kenji was feeling pretty good, and was still enjoying the adrenaline rush of surviving his first real adventure in a fantasy world. Watching the town slowly grow larger as they approached, he decided to keep himself amused by mulling over the power of runes, symbols, and names in this world. After talking with Leader, he started to seriously consider if he could learn to use magic the way the forest creatures did naturally. Maybe he was overflowing with magical power, and just didn’t realize it.
His ability to read runes might be a form of magic as well. Maybe magic could help him guess the names of people by looking at them, or maybe learning ‘true names’ in this world was a source of power, like in ancient stories on Earth. The settlement they arrived at was surrounded by tall wooden walls. Kenji thought the name ‘Wooden Cave’ by Leader was a good one.
It took a little while to get close enough to the human settlement to see the two guards leaning against the open city gates. They were wearing uniforms that were much less medieval than what he saw people wearing in the lakeside village. The uniforms each had a patch that seemed to represent the local lord. They wore simple batons and a small tool, possibly a whistle or noisemaker, on their hips. They reminded him of early-industrial police officers, rather than soldiers ready for war.
[https://i.imgur.com/kOZuqxY.png?1]
Kenji studied the two guards from a distance, one seemed more relaxed than the other, so he decided that their names were going to be Happy and Grumpy. Happy, giving a friendly smile, asked Kenji where he was coming from. Kenji gave himself a point for getting his name right.
“I’m a tinker, and just finished helping the small village by the lake.” Happy accepted the answer and asked if he saw anything unusual on the road. “I ran into some interesting little people with runes on their bodies.” Kenji didn’t provide the full details.
The second guard, Grumpy, spit on the ground and said “Thieves. They are called Rune Rascals. Wander into those woods or camp too close, and they’ll rob you blind. Did they give you trouble?”
Kenji gave himself another point for the name Grumpy, two for two, he didn’t even need magic, he was just good at giving out names.
Kenji replied “There was a small misunderstanding, but we worked things out.”
Grumpy gave a bitter laugh, he seemed to think Kenji was a grump too, enough to share his same definition of ‘working things out’. “Well, their teeth aren’t worth anything, but if you cut a stone or two from their hearts, the Guild office will still pay alright.”
Aito interjected at that statement, “But they were actually pretty nice, except for trying to kidnap me!”
Both guards stared at Aito in shock. After a long moment, Happy recovered first. “How’d you make him do that? I saw the toy, but didn’t realize you could control him. You should have just said you are a puppeteer. You really like to surprise people don’t you?”
Grumpy piped in “Hey, if you’re planning on putting on an act, I’ll bring my kid. It’s been a while since a troupe came through.” He was showing a less-Grumpy side, but Kenji didn’t want to give up half of his points so soon into his mental game.
Kenji apologized for surprising them with Aito, and shoved him head-first back into his bag. Aito mumbled some protests. “I am just a tinker, but I was hoping some uh.. theatrics would help me stand out from the competition in Aurel.”
Happy nodded, still smiling. “You just missed a group heading in that direction, so you should probably wait for the next caravan that comes through town that way. We are far enough out of the way that it might take a couple weeks though”
“Since you’ll probably be here for a while, you probably want that tavern over there for a bed” Happy pointed at one not far from the gate. “Welcome to Greenhold Manor, but everyone just calls it ‘The Keep’, unless the lord is visiting.”
Mentally, Kenji decided that ‘Wooden Cave’ sounded better than both Greenhold Manor and ‘The Keep’. He thanked the two guards for their help and hard work, and made his way to the tavern that Happy pointed out.
“A Tavern in a fantasy world!” Aito exclaimed, popping his head back out from Kenji’s bag and tapping him on the shoulder.
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Kenji had trouble focusing on the small details of the fort-town, he didn’t think too hard about the technology needed to sew the finer clothes or what powered the street lamps. It wouldn’t be until much later that he would realize the purpose of a fort town’s existence or its relation to the larger political landscape. For now, Aito’s enthusiasm was infectious. Earlier that day, Kenji had outwitted magical foes, made his first Demi-Human friends, and had survived his first small adventure. There were more important things in this world! He was an adventurer now, and it was time to go to the tavern and celebrate!
Not long ago, Kenji was a college student barely old enough to drink, and he had never celebrated that fact by diving headfirst into a bar. A fantasy tavern therefore sounded extremely exciting, he wanted to play his cards just right and make a good impression. “Hey Aito, let me do the talking this time.”
“If you think you can handle this hive of scum and villainy on your own, sure.” Aito was clearly skeptical of Kenji’s social skills, but decided to rest and follow Kenji’s lead.
Kenji sauntered over to the tavern, inadvertently putting a little extra swagger into his walk. No one even bothered to ask for his ID when he walked in. Kenji wistfully wondered if this made him a ‘real adult’ now.
The tavern was cozy and warm, with a large fireplace and several tables. Kenji secretly checked the corners for any mysterious rangers wearing dark cloaks and smoking pipes… none yet. The place was empty except for a man standing behind a bar cleaning out wooden mugs with a dirty rag.
[https://i.imgur.com/6ZdwpmO.jpg]
The tavern keeper was a large man in his forties shaped like a barrel, so Kenji named him Barrelson. He was inspecting the empty mug in his hand; its emptiness was probably symbolic of the lack of solutions to the town’s troubles, and he was undoubtedly hoping someone heroic could help resolve those troubles. He seemed really bored, and would be very eager to share local news and rumors with travelers and adventurers.
Kenji strutted over to Barrelson, and took a seat directly in front of him. This man was the portal to adventure and treasure, so Kenji knew he had to play it cool. Kenji cleared his throat and tried to deepen his voice a little. “Hello there my good man, are things always this lively here?”
Barrelson raised an eyebrow. “Sun’s up.”’ He said mysteriously.
Kenji thought maybe he should reply with something cryptic too, to get access to the ‘good stuff’, or maybe he should just give his best thousand-yard stare and mention the weather, so Barrelson would know Kenji was a person you didn’t want to mess with…
“Yes indeed it is up, right up there in the sky, where it should be.” Kenji immediately kicked himself. ‘But at least the wind is blowing.’ would have sounded much cooler and more mature, and he was barely able to stop his voice from cracking.
Barrelson frowned at Kenji’s nonsense. “Kid, are you trying to get free drinks or something? If you’re looking for your parents, try again when the sun is down.”
Getting called ‘kid’ felt like a betrayal from his fellow adult, he knew he looked young for his age and that he should have gone with the line about the wind. Still, it stung, so he decided that Barrelson’s first name was now Benedict and his middle name was Arnold.
“I was told I could pay for a room here by the guard.” Kenji considered ordering a drink first, but after being called a kid he was worried he would embarrass himself more by ordering something he couldn’t handle and lose his man-card completely.
“Which guard sent you?” Benedict Barrelson asked. It seemed like Kenji had actually piqued the tavern keeper’s curiosity, and was wondering if Kenji could be taken into his confidence.
Kenji didn’t know the guard’s real name, maybe he should have thought about asking for it instead of naming him Happy. “The uh.. happy one that smiles a lot.”
Benedict Barrelson frowned a little, but did seem to know exactly who Kenji was talking about. He leaned in a little, as if he was letting Kenji know about something clandestine. “Yeah, I can clean out a room for you, if you have the coin.” Kenji must have scored some points for being careful enough to not name any names.
A brief discussion on the price of the room in both copper and silver coins helped Kenji quickly wrap his head around the currency. However, he saw that the money he received from the village would only last a few days. Kenji could easily run out of cash before a trade caravan arrived.
“Barkeep, may I exchange monster-teeth with you?” This fantasy tavern did seem a likely spot.
“This isn’t the Guild son, and I trade food, booze, or beds for coin. Why don’t you just go to the Guild instead of trying to scam me with chicken teeth?”
Did chickens in this world have teeth? Kenji ignored that in favor of the more pressing question. “Are we talking about… the Adventurer’s Guild?” Kenji asked.
“Is there another type of Guild?” Barrelson’s frown grew deeper at Kenji’s question.
“Of course not.” Kenji said with an awkward wink. Kenji knew that was a trick question, there was the Thieves Guild, the Assassin’s Guild, the Mage’s Guild, and probably at least half a dozen other guilds competing for control under false fronts, like Cobblers, Fishers, and Brewmasters. Barrelson here was probably running the only neutral ground in town.
Benedict continued, “ If you travel a lot, you should go there before getting drunk.”
Kenji asked for directions, left some coins for the room, and practically skipped out of the Tavern. As he watched him leave without ordering a drink, Benedict promised himself that he was going to have a serious talk with Happy if all his referrals were drunk beggars.
Aito popped out of Kenji’s bag and started walking in front of Kenji. “It’s about time we went to an Adventurer’s Guild!”
Kenji was brimming with enthusiasm again. A world with Adventurer’s Guilds wouldn’t have exciting taverns, all the excitement was at the Guild. [https://i.imgur.com/xCuIWLN.png]
Part 2: Adventurer’s Guild in A Fantasy World
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Kenji and Aito walked up to a large building nestled between the city lord’s keep and the town guard’s barracks. From the outside, it looked rather nondescript.
“Think this will be like a real Adventurers’ Guild?” Aito asked, almost in a whisper. The ‘real’ fantasy tavern they visited fell a little short of expectations. Kenji imagined Aito’s beady eyes were filled with childlike wonder. “I wonder if it’ll be full of hardened thugs living on the fringes of society.”
“I know what they look like in manga, but I have no idea what a ‘real’ one looks like.” Kenji was also excited. Ever since Elara asked him if he was an adventurer on his first day here and he received his first bag of monster parts, events had led to this moment. Like Aito, he was also imagining colorful characters; orphans struggling to survive and become heroes, wizards and witches with pointy hats, gigantic men with massive swords, small girls carrying hammers three times their size, and overqualified but also beautiful receptionists skillfully dealing with veteran killers as if they were just clueless customers.
Opening the door, the two walked in, holding their breaths. Kenji scanned the room, and for a moment thought he might have the wrong building.
There were plenty of people inside, but they didn’t look much different from the people outside of the building, the ones casually walking down the street. They were men and women sitting down, discussing news and gossip. A few were discussing prices and trade. Rather than pointy hats, armor, and swords, only a few even wore daggers, or the leather jerkin that might belong to an off-duty guard or soldier.
Soon, the whole room grew quiet, as all eyes were on Kenji and Aito. Kenji looked down at himself. He was the one carrying a bloodied staff in one hand and a dirty bag of monster teeth in the other. All while wearing a dark hooded cloak, plus all of his worldly belongings were strapped to his back.
Feeling like someone who showed up unannounced to the wrong Halloween party, Kenji seriously thought about turning around and changing out of his costume before proceeding. He wanted nothing more in the universe than to become invisible and escape the current social situation.
Unfortunately, the silence was broken by Kenji’s very conspicuous walking and talking teddy-bear friend. “Don’t worry, I have a lot of data and I know exactly what to do in this situation.” He whispered, but not very quietly.
[https://i.imgur.com/tLznXxK.png]
If the room was quiet before, the presence of a talking bear sucked the atmosphere completely out of the room. Even the fires from the candles seemed to freeze in place. All Kenji could hear was the sound of his own heart skipping beats.
Aito pulled himself up onto a nearby chair, and then onto a nearby table. For a moment, it looked like he was breathing in before addressing the crowd, as he puffed up his chest.
“Listen up you slack-jawed yokels! I can already see your brain-cells rubbing together trying to create enough friction to have your first idea this month! Knock it off! This man here is Kenji Sato, he isn’t some wide-eyed newbie for you morons to try and rip off. He won’t be intimidated or tricked, and if you think you can take him, go ahead and form an orderly line on this side of the room!” He gestured with his right paw. “But let’s get the ugliest and most inbred to the front, so we can start with the mouth-breather in charge first!”
Kenji was the only slack-jawed yokel in the room. His slightly-above-average brain cells were unable to create the smallest spark of a coherent thought. He was watching a train wreck in slow motion that he was powerless to stop. But just when it couldn’t get any worse, Aito finished warming up.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
“Now, while I’m busy knocking out some extra teeth for our collection, my friend Kenji Sato here needs to take care of some Guild business! He’s been through hell lately, and he doesn’t have much luck with women, so make sure to bring out the prettiest receptionist you have before he gets angry. He really just wants to talk with a girl for once before he has to scrape you all off his shoe, the last one fainted at the sight of all the blood!” Aito looked back at Kenji and meaningfully held up a paw waist-high. He didn’t have thumbs, but Kenji knew he was receiving some kind of thumbs-up sign from his self-appointed wingman.
“Alright handsome, come on over here, I’m the prettiest face you’re going to talk to here today.” Of course, the person who said this was a middle aged man with a beard. His simple outfit was adorned with the city emblem, showing that he was someone on-duty.
Aito visibly shrugged at this development in Kenji’s love life, and the room erupted in laughter and applause. This was the most embarrassing moment of Kenji’s life. People got up out of their seats to marvel and stare at Aito. They were tripping over themselves to hang on his every word and catch his attention. Aito didn’t miss a beat, gleefully and fearlessly insulting his audiences’ hygiene, parentages, and lack of manners, all while making sure they addressed him as ‘boss’ and fully memorized Kenji’s first and last name.
Kenji had never before been so expertly thrown under the bus before. All the most awkward days of middle-school combined couldn’t have prepared him for this situation. He pulled up his cloak over his head and tried to hide his face as he went up to the gentleman who seemed to be working.
“I was told you might buy some monster teeth.” He mumbled, holding out his bag like an orphan begging for porridge.
[https://i.imgur.com/vXILsFg.png]
“I’ve never seen an act like yours! A puppeteer that uses a golem, wow!” The man took Kenji’s bag, inspected the teeth, weighed it briefly on a scale, and handed it back to Kenji filled with copper and silver coins. “Standard price.” The whole transaction took less than a minute. By the time Kenji turned around, the crowd seemed to have doubled in size.
[https://i.imgur.com/0Hl4vOC.png]
Kenji took the bag without a word and tried to sneak out the door. Aito saw Kenji about to leave and yelled “Wait for me buddy!” He was carrying a hat between his hands that someone had thrown in his direction, it was full of mostly silver coinage with a few small gold bits as well. He was also proudly wearing a new dagger he had been gifted.
As if on cue, the entire building shouted “Bye Kenji Sato!” and waved as the two left.
“That was awesome! A real Adventurer’s Guild!” Aito said looking in his new hat. “We showed them who the bosses were, and even collected some tribute. We’ll be running this town in no-time.”
Kenji didn’t say a word the entire way back to the inn. He was wistfully imagining hacking the time-space continuum to erase what just happened from history, getting caught by vengeful angels, and having his soul blissfully deleted as punishment. When it was discovered that he unleashed a rogue AI on this world, Heaven would probably send a team of fully-trained Champions to expedite Kenji’s doom. That nihilistic thought cheered him up slightly.
[https://i.imgur.com/zvnekVt.png]
Part 3: Fake Tattoos in a Fantasy World
By the time they got back, the tavern had a few early-birds knocking back drinks. Kenji sadly, finally realized that they looked more like alcoholics than adventurers. Still, the day hadn’t been all bad, and there was still one more thing he had been dying to try.
Benedict showed Kenji his small room. It shared a wall with the large fireplace in the main tavern, so it was warm and cozy. It was probably about half the size of his old dorm, but it was still just large enough to fit a nice hardwood table and an extra stool.
Once Kenji sat down on the stool, Aito climbed onto the table, and leaned against his money-hat. “You’re going to try putting one of those runes on yourself, aren’t you?” Aito guessed.
Kenji nods, “I want to give the ‘Strong’ rune a try on one of my arms.”
Aito, ready to help, produced his small tool, the one used for etching metal and stunning fish. “I have plenty of data on how to do prison tattoos, and I was thinking about melting down my share of the silver coins to rig up some sterile needles anyways.”
“How the hell do you know anything about that, and why were you already thinking about it?”
Aito thought the answer was obvious, but he explained anyway. “A couple months ago, when you got accused of hacking into a bank, my ‘old-self’ downloaded plenty of information that might help you survive life ‘on the inside’. Luckily I also downloaded all the manga you might be allowed to read, and who knew those would be so useful!” Aito gestured at his little dragon-hoard.
Aito continued, “So, I was thinking on the way over here that tattoo needles might come in handy when we take over the town. Our gang’s symbol should be two snakes living in a bear skull. Totally badass.” Aito was particularly enthusiastic about that last part.
[https://i.imgur.com/sJK2Q71.png]
Kenji had been thinking about symbols and names all day, and wondered if there was some deeper meaning behind Aito’s seemingly random tattoo design. “I was just planning on using my marker though.”
Aito, obviously disappointed, reached into Kenji’s bag and produced the trusty marker and sticky-notes. Despite representing an existential threat to all sentient life, he was surprisingly handy with knowing where everything was stowed in that big bag.
Kenji drew the ‘strong’ symbol on the sticky-note and stuck it to the table. “Think you can help me draw that on my upper arm?”
Aito seemed happy enough to help, and had no trouble copying the symbol exactly, using the sticky note as a reference.
Not feeling any difference, Kenji tried to imagine sending magic into his arm. For a moment, he thought it might be working, so he immediately gave the table a hard chop with the side of his hand… and instantly regretted it. “Ouch!” Kenji started nursing his hand, “That really hurt!”
Aito fell over laughing, a very human-like reaction at Kenji’s suffering. He grabbed his sides and started rolling on the table. He accidentally rolled off the table with a ‘thud’ as his metal frame bounced on the floor, the coin-hat fell on top of Aito, scattering silver everywhere.
The two of them looked at each other, and both started laughing at the same time. This continued for some time before Benedict Barrelson banged on their door. “Keep it down in there!”
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Part 4: Business Meetings in a Fantasy World
Kenji wasn’t sure exactly when he fell asleep, it had been a busy day. He was having another dream, but this one was not terrifying like the last one.
He was standing in a white room that seemed to expand forever in all directions. It seemed familiar, and he realized why as he spun around and noticed someone sitting at an old desk with two chairs, one of which was occupied by a white-haired woman in a dark business suit. Her hair was up in a smart bun, and there was a stack of plain white paper in front of her. He knew the empty seat was for him.
[https://i.imgur.com/ZZ7f3Uu.png?2]
“Have a seat Kenji, we need to talk.”
Kenji sat down and looked at Omnistra, this was not how he imagined speaking to her again, and he wondered why she was dressed like that.
“Because I can’t have you become a quivering wreck every time you receive very simple instructions. I know a little bit about your world, so I want you to feel comfortable and relaxed.”
Certainly, he was feeling more confused right now than terrified or awed.
“Good, then let’s proceed. So, Kenji, would you mind please explaining what you are doing settling down at that Keep?” She was doing her best to be relatable.
“It was recommended that I should wait for a caravan in order to reach Aurel safely.”
“And what were my instructions to you Kenji?” As she said this, a hint of her wrath slipped out from behind her carefully crafted persona.
“Go to Aurel and fix the issue with the System.”
“Or?” She said meaningfully, waiting for his response.
“Or die in the attempt.”
“Or perish horribly in the attempt!” She snapped. She paused and collected herself, Business-Omnistra took a visible breath, clearly trying to avoid snapping Kenji’s psyche in half. “I thought haste was well-implied in my instructions, and that your personal safety is of secondary concern.”
Kenji had briefly considered leaving immediately, but thought that even if he walked the whole way, it would still be faster to wait for a carriage.
Omnistra pulled out a pair of black-rimmed bifocal glasses, put them on, and studied a piece of blank paper she picked up from the desk. Her nose was still pointing toward the paper when she glanced up at Kenji. She began to speak slowly, as if he was remarkably dumb. “When you think of two things, do you always give up before you think of a third? Your file here says you should be a little smarter than that.”
Normally, Kenji would be offended at having his intelligence insulted, but he really didn’t get what she was implying. “Besides traveling by foot and horse, what other options exist in this world?”
“Painfully few, but I see that your thinking is even more limited than I suspected. Did you see any horses in the settlement you are in now? Or in the fishing village?”
Kenji thought about it. There was a donkey or a mule somewhere in the fishing village, but he already received a lot of goodwill from them. Now, with the haul Aito brought in combined with his teeth-money, they could maybe purchase a horse at the keep. “But I don’t really know much about taking care of horses or riding them, or if we could even afford one.”
Omnistra’s eyes pierced his soul, but it was her turn to look confused, and she tilted her head. “Your machine-bear mentioned you were a bank-robber in your old world.” She studied the blank paper as if it was a job application. “You never considered stealing a horse? Or convincing someone to help you under threat of violence?”
“I’m not a bank robber!” Kenji blurted out.
“Because you got caught before the bank was robbed.” Omnistra concluded with a nod.
“Because I didn’t do it! I tinkered with a little code that someone else used to rob a bank!”
“So you didn’t do it yourself, it was someone else?”
“That’s right!”
“So you only commit theft when you can trick others into taking the blame for you. I’m surprised you didn’t receive the Criminal Mastermind title from your world.” She shook her head slightly and squinted at the blank paper more intently, looking for that section of his résumé
Kenji’s dream-self was dumbstruck. It was his turn to stare at Omnistra and try to figure her out. He knew she could read his mind, so he did his best to imagine clearly the sequence of events that led to him being falsely accused of hacking into a bank.
As he slowly walked through the steps mentally and remembered each event that led up to the accusations that cost him his scholarship, Omnistra’s gaze didn’t change. Kenji realized she had a peculiar blind-spot. The specific crimes he had been accused of, hacking and aiding cybercrime, simply didn’t exist in her world. If the crimes didn’t exist, then the small technical details proving his innocence would also be meaningless.
“But we do have banks and money.” Omnistra was watching Kenji carefully, waiting for him to say more.
“I’m not a thief, I don’t go around stealing from people, that isn’t who I am.” He said, plainly.
Omnistra nodded, thinking she understood, “The Kenji who doesn’t think about everything ten different ways before speaking is easiest to work with.” She leaned in, tapping her stack of papers, as if ready to do a little bit of negotiation. “So you want to assist me while acting like a hero and helping everyone you meet along the way. Is this correct?”
“I at least don’t want to hurt the people I meet.”
“Even with your existence at stake, this seems important to you.” She touched the tips of her fingers together, as if considering an offer. “I have a suitable compromise then this time, but I will not always be able to help you like this in the future. Next time, you may need to think about the entire world that is at stake when measuring your definitions of good and evil.”
Kenji was surprised that a god was telling him to break the rules like that, not to mention suggesting to him that the ends would justify the means.
“You are getting my rules confused with someone else’s. I appoint a Saint every generation to deal with the minor details, and it’s worked well enough so far. But I did hear that the people of your world were particularly difficult to deal with and needed everything written down.” She was drumming her fingers on the desk, clearly Kenji was living up to the rumors she mentioned. She seemed momentarily lost in thought as her gaze drifted behind Kenji.
Her gaze prompted Kenji to glance behind him. Kenji tried to imagine what stories the gods of different worlds swapped. He looked around the white void. If he fixed the System, would this place get a water-cooler where Omnistra could hang-out and gossip with the Others?
Omnistra took a breath and she leaned back in her chair as if they had just reached an agreement. “It is done. Less than half a day’s walk to the east, a carriage has just lost its horse. The travelers are poor innocent people who will die violent deaths if you do not save them. You can repair their carriage and prevent their deaths, all while being a hero and gaining transportation in the correct direction.”
Kenji worried about what she had just done.
“Did you just kill their horse?” Kenji asked, afraid of the answer.
“I told you Kenji, I don’t strike people dead, that includes horses. However, even animals need to sleep, and time within a dream can feel so much different than reality. And it really is only a matter of time before a mortal creature loses its sanity. That horse was very strong and brave, but once driven mad, it was more than capable of freeing itself and crippling the driver. Humans should be thankful they eat grass, although that one probably won’t anymore.” She straightened up the papers into a neat pile on her desk and put her bifocals back into her pocket.
“Don’t worry Kenji, your hands are clean, just the way you like it. You can wake up in the morning and heroically save that man and his companions and fix his carriage. Don’t make that face, you’ve eaten plenty of animals. Perhaps you are curious to know the uniqueness of each of their journeys onto your plate, and how it made them feel.”
Kenji decided that Omnistra trying to be relatable was the most frightening version of her. “After I fix the carriage, will the horse return to pull it?”
“Hopefully you won't cross paths with him, as putting things like that back together is no easy task, even for a god. So I hope his sacrifice is not in vain. No, you shall use your skills to fix up one of those horseless carriages they have on your world.”
“I’ll find a Mana Stone and leave town immediately.” Kenji knew he didn’t have the luxury of doubting his skills.
“Don’t worry Kenji, I know you are still struggling with irrelevant things like money, finding a soft bed every night, the suffering of beasts, and whose rules you need to follow… so I took care of it. When you go there and offer aid, the people will be so happy, they will give you everything you need out of sheer gratitude, including Mana Stones. If you don’t arrive on time, well at least you won’t be hurting anybody when you take what you need at that point.” She paused. “Remember Kenji, after tomorrow, you’ll need to figure things out on your own for a while. There are more frightening things than myself, and they know that I rarely speak to anyone other than my Saint, and never the same mortal three times.”
She stood up and pushed in her chair, Kenji reflexively did the same. Omnistra took a few steps around the desk and shook Kenji’s hand firmly. “I look forward to working with you in the morning. But tonight, get a good night’s sleep, you’ll need it.”
With a very professional pat on the shoulder, the white room faded to black, and Kenji fell into an even deeper sleep.
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That morning, Kenji and Aito packed up quickly, wasting no time cleaning up. They had been intending to stay longer, so there may still have been a few coins spilled on the floor from the evening before.
The tavern keeper came in later and saw the yellow sticky-note left on the table. He peeled the curious paper off and inspected the symbol. A moment after removing the symbol, the table collapsed, cut neatly in two large pieces. He promised the next time that smiling idiot of a guard came by, he would be paying for a new table.
[https://i.imgur.com/TSJwXjK.jpg]
End Chapter 8: Name Games in Another World
Next: Chapter 9: Omnistra’s Gifts