The sound of whistling air came from the arrow Martel fired before it struck the target downrange with a *thwomp*. The makeshift range had seen much practice over the last couple of weeks. Shiro, Freyja, and Morgan watched Martel and Duran practice.
“You are a monster,” Duran said to Martel as he shook his head in disbelief. “Accurately hitting the target 225 meters away when the average marksman can barely hit a target 175.”
“Well, I’ve fired them before, and it helps that the targets aren’t moving. But if I do this.” He drew the bow and put his Ki into the arrow, which helped the arrow cut through the wind before it struck the target 250 meters out.
“Okay, now you’re just showing off.”
“I can control it a little with my Ki. Although it did take me over a week before I could do it.”
“At any rate, I don’t think there’s anything more I can teach you with the bow. I don’t think anyone can teach you more with the bow. First, the spear, and now, this. Next thing you are going to tell me is that you’ve found a practical use for the chakrams.”
“I… I kinda have.”
“Seriously? Then let’s have at it, sword versus chakrams.”
The two of them got their weapons ready and took their stances.
“Be careful not to hurt each other.” Freyja reminded them.
[That’s strange. It looks like Martel is using Lightning Magic. I can see sparks going off between his fingers.] Morgan thought, seemingly the only person who noticed.
At an ungiven signal, Martel quickly threw his chakrams. Duran deflected both of them and sent them flying away.
“And now you’re wide-open,” Duran said as he approached while he made an exaggerated swing. A small smirk appeared on Martel’s, and with a ‘ting’ one of the chakrams captured Duran’s sword.
“What?” The shock caused Duran to freeze.
“You are the one who is wide-open,” Martel said as the other chakram flew right over Duran’s shoulder and landed cleanly in Martel’s outstretched hand.
“How?” Freyja asked with a look of astonishment on her face.
“I use Lightning Magic to manipulate a natural phenomenon called electromagnetism. A compass needle points north because of the naturally occurring magnetic field. On the same principle, I can draw metals and, utilizing Lighting Magic, control the strength and direction so I can do things like this.” Martel said before he threw the chakrams in the air and started to juggle them with no hands.
“So cool,” Shiro said as her eyes sparkled.
“I’m only manipulating and amplifying what’s present. Otherwise, I’d run out of strength quickly. By the way, Duran, it’s convenient for me that you’re wearing armor. Would you like to fly?”
“Huh? What are you talking abooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuttt!” With some gusto, Duran suddenly took off from the ground.
“Oh, my,” Freyja said with a small laugh.
“Okay okay, you’ve had your fun. Now let me down!”
“But this is such a rare opportunity,” Martel said with a mischievous smile.
“What are you… Whoa!” Duran started to twirl about in the air.
The three women started to laugh uncontrollably. After about a minute, Martel let Duran back down.
Martel pointed at the three girls who were red-faced from laughter before he spoke to Duran. “Thank you for your sacrifice,” He said with a smile.
Duran had a pale face and looked like he was about to throw up. “Don’t… Don’t do that again.”
“Fine fine.”
“Remind me never to make you an enemy. Even after being up there for so long, I couldn’t even think of a counter.”
“Yes, it is quite problematic in that regard, and more tiring than I expected it to be,” Martel said with a pale face from fatigue and sweat trickled down his body.
“Well, now there isn’t much else I can teach you with weapons. I get the feeling you surpassed me long ago.”
“Experience and abilities aren’t all that mattered in a fight. Even the weak can take out the strong.”
“This is true.”
“Would you two like a drink?” Freyja asked after she had recovered.
“That sounds great,” Martel said as he walked towards the three women.
“I probably shouldn’t,” Duran said as he clutched his belly.
Martel sat down and started to drink. Very quietly, Shiro got up, walked over to him, and promptly sat down on his lap.
“Shiro! What do you think you are doing!” Morgan exclaimed in surprise.
Martel also has a surprised look on his face.
“Well… Papa used to let me sit on his lap.” Shiro said as she looked up at Martel very cutely. “Is it no good?”
For once, Martel seemed to be a loss for words. “Depending on the time and place I don’t see a problem with it,” He replied with a smile. Shiro’s face lit up as she hugged Martel. He started to pet her head as a pleasant sound comes from within her. “Shiro, you can purr?” He asked with a look of surprise. She nodded with a smile. “That’s so cute,” He said with a smile as pet her more.
“Hey pervert, if you do anything to Shiro you’ll regret it,” Morgan said to him with a look of contempt.
Martel smiled at her. “I’ll hold you to it.”
End of Day -247
Freyja, Shiro, and Morgan were together in Martel’s headquarters. *Bang!* “Hiiii!” The Lightning struck nearby caused Shiro to wince as she covered her ears.
“You really can’t handle lightning very well, can you?” Morgan said affectionately.
“I don’t like loud noises. I went through a couple of storms on my own. It was so cold and scary.”
“It’s okay, we are here for you,” Morgan said as she held her. Shiro snuggled up against her cutlery.
“It’s a little strange how most of the lightning seems to be striking in one area,” Freyja observed as she looked outside a window before she went back to her sewing. “Shiro, does your name have any special meaning?”
“Huh? What do you mean?” Morgan asked in confusion.
“Well, you know how Martel isn’t his birth name, right?”
“What? It isn’t?” Shiro asked.
“No, it was a name he gave himself. Apparently, in a language from his world, it means hammer and a famous person also had it in their name. He said your name fits you perfectly, so I assume he had some reason for it. Do you know?”
Shiro nodded her head. “He said it was a word from a language in his world that means white, so it fits perfectly because my coat is pure white.”
“I see, that does seem like something he would say. I also think it fits you perfectly.”
“I also agree,” Morgan added.
As Freyja continued her sewing, the ball of string happened to roll onto the floor. With extreme speed, Shiro jumped from where she was and landed on all fours on top of the ball. She batted it back and forth a couple of times. After a few seconds, she stopped. “Huh? What am I doing?” Shiro asked with an adorable look of confusion.
“So cute!” Morgan said as she ran up to and hugged her.
“Make sure you keep that down Shiro. If someone sees that, they might get suspicious.”
“I… I understand.”
Morgan moved the ball of string with her foot which Shiro quickly pounced on again.
Freyja gave a soft sigh. “Geez, what am I gonna do with you two?”
End of Day -245
In the early afternoon, Freyja had a concerned look about her due to the troubling situation she found herself in. The Hero of Carlisle made an unannounced diplomatic arrival and claimed they desired to meet Martel. Freyja, who had already sent for him, made her way to greet them.
[As if our relations with them weren’t bad enough, now we have to see what they are really after.] Freyja thought with a sigh.
Freyja entered the room where the representatives waited and recognized two of the men as diplomats who had come before. Their expensive clothing exuberated a life of money and all that it comes with. Between them was a young man with blond hair dressed all in white. The most notable aspect Freyja noticed was that his Ki flame was easily four times larger than the average person. His build was, and, at first glance, he looked handsome though she felt something about him seemed off.
“Greetings delegates from Carlisle. I am Freyja, Princess of Camelot and the chosen diplomat of the Hero Martel. I trust your journey here met no complications.”
“What is the meaning of this! No welcome? No greeting? No accommodations? You claim this man to be a hero, yet he cannot extend the simplest courtesy!”
“We received no notification of your intention to meet us. I believe it is standard practice to inform the party when diplomat’s.” Freyja replied.
“Oh, that’s quite alright.” The blond man said as he approached her. Before she could react, he came up to her side, took some of her hair, and inhaled deeply. In a shocked stupor, Freyja’s mind went blank, and she couldn’t move.
Stolen novel; please report.
“So tell me, Princess,” He said with a perverse smile. “How good is your hero with his ‘sword’?”
Freyja couldn’t move and wasn’t looking at him, so he put his hand to her chin and forced her to look up at him. “Did you not hear me? I asked how loudly he makes you moan in bed.”
He continued with a smile that warped his face and wreaked of perverseness.
“Is this how you treat a foreign princess, Freed?” A cold voice emanated from behind Freyja, which finally snapped her back to reality. When she freed herself from Freed’s grasp, she saw Martel. The expression on his face was the darkest she had ever seen. He forcibly made his way between Freyja and Freed. When he did so, Freyja finally was able to come out of her stupor. Her mind had cleared when she saw Martel’s back as her fear transitioned into security. As she calmed down, she noticed that Martel’s Ki flame was smaller than usual, and his Ki felt cold.
“It’s been a while,” Martel said with furrowed brows.
“No way,” Freed said in disbelief as his perverse expression disappeared. “Haha, Marty? Is that you? How did a loser like you and end up here?”
“And? What business do you have with me?”
“I just came to see the person claiming to be a hero. Checking out the competition if you would.”
“You must be quite disappointed then.”
“Not at all! I was expecting some phony; someone who they put up to be their hero. Instead, I find you. Someone even less than phony! Now I know for sure, someone as pathetic as you can’t be the hero. I am the hero this world needs. There’s no way it can be someone like you, Mr. Fake Hero. Say, Princess. Compared to my Ki, this guy’s nothing. Why don’t you spend some quality time with me and I’ll show you what a real hero is.”
“Our kingdom officially recognizes Martel as the ‘Hero of Prophecy.’ However, given the circumstances, I’m sure we could provide some support for you if you require it.”
“The insolence!” One of the diplomats said. “We will take no less than you recognizing Freed as the true hero!”
“Even if I desired it, I do not have the authority to do so,” Freyja replied.
“I suggest you take your leave now,” Martel said coldly.
“How dare you!” One of the diplomats exclaimed.
Freed noticed Martel’s calmness and frowned for a moment before he broke out into a smile. “Oh, it’s quite alright. We’ve accomplished our goal. This Fake Hero isn’t even worth our time. It just may take the other kingdoms a little time to realize it. Let’s go back. Excuse us, Princess.” He began to walk off before she stopped and continued with an evil look in his eyes. “When I become the true hero, I hope you don’t regret not keeping me company, Princess.”
Freyja and Martel watched the three of them leave in silence. A few seconds after, Martel found a nearby guard and sent a message to Duran and took Freyja to a nearby sofa. The entire time, Freyja didn’t say anything as she could see he was agitated. For a time, neither spoke as they both calmed down.
“I’m sorry to put you through that,” Martel said as he broke the silence.
“No, not at all. It is my job. Thank you for coming.”
“I was afraid something like this would happen.”
“So, he was someone you knew? From your world?”
“Unfortunately.”
“It seems you have some history with that… Man.”
“Unfortunately.”
“Do you not wish to talk about it?”
“No, I don’t. However… Given that you may have to deal with him in the future, I suppose I should. What you just saw was his real nature, though he was acting a bit strangely. I had a circle of friends back in my world. After a short time, a young lady joined with whom I got close to. Freed… Wanted her… He slowly joined my circle, built up a reputation, and promptly began ostracizing me. He effectively sabotaged my social life to the point where very few of them would even talk to me anymore while making it appear as if we had a natural falling out. He is the type of person who knows how to sweet talk to get what he wants. However, this does not mean that he will not stoop as low as possible as well. He will go below what is societally right, but not enough to break any law.”
“I see.”
“Unfortunately, he must be getting quite the royal treatment as he seems drunk on his position and is being far more open to his desires because of it.”
“I guess… Let’s be thankful that we got you.”
“Believe it or not, I am too.”
“I should hope I will never see him again.”
“Believe me; I thought the same when I last saw him. For your sake, I hope you are not as unlucky as I.”
The ponding of hurried footsteps reverberated into the room. “What happened?” Duran asked with a huffed breath.
Martel motion for Duran to take a seat before he narrated the events that happened.
Duran’s eyebrows creased along with his frown as he heard the previous events. “This ‘hero’ is going to be a problem.”
“I agree, but in what way are you referring?”
Duran cocked an eyebrow at Martel. “Were you not bothered by the way he treated Freyja?”
“Of course I was. However, he was acting a little strangely, even for him.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if he wanted Freya, he wouldn’t use this approach. He’s manipulative, not stupid. Acting so abrasive towards her would only push her away.”
“Why do you think he acted the way he did?” Freyja asked, though the light in her eyes she may have already concluded the reason.
“Because I changed my name, he had no way of knowing it was me. Most of his information about me would be secondhand, so he only knows that I’m close to Freyja. In other words, his behavior was not directed towards you, but at me.”
“Why is this?” Duran asked with a frown.
“As I said, Freed is manipulative. The heroes prophecy implies that there is only one hero, and most believe that. Because of this, Freed sees me as an enemy and will have to discredit me to secure his position as the hero. The simplest way to do so is for me to do something that is not hero-like against him, which would put him in the moral high ground.
“I believe his act was an attempt to rouse me to attack him. If I did so, unlike his sexual harassment, which has no proof other than hearsay, it would leave physical evidence. Then, he’d go around showing the physical damage and claim that I was unreasonably aggressive in a meeting with a hero that only desired peace. Next thing you know, he adds inflammatory claims, like I am the darkness that he is the hero and turn public opinion, and thus the world, against me. I believe this is the case because as soon as he saw he it was me, he gave up and started to act differently. He knew full well that that little act would do nothing to me as I knew what he was doing. Additionally, he can be quite cautious, so I doubt he will try to frame me for fear it will backfire.”
Duran nodded. “I understand why you didn’t beat him up. I’m glad I wasn’t here otherwise I would’ve made a mistake.”
“Yes, and knowing him, he’d probably still claim I told you too.”
“It still bothers me that he is with Carlisle.”
“Are there any other causes for concern?”
“Well, we do know he has been meeting with representatives from Celwig, so they may be working towards friendly relations, which is not good news for us. Additionally, if we did do anything to Freed, that would only give them justification for war.
“Even with his provocation, given his position, he hasn’t done anything that we can hold him for. Additionally, it’s not just if we do something, but if anything happens to him, we will be held liable.
“If Freed disappears, especially in Camelot’s territory, we will be suspected as we have the most to gain as I will have no one to oppose me for the position of ‘hero.’ This is true even if he disappeared in Carlisle. While I doubt Roxburoghshire would do that, Celwig could do so to provoke a war between Camelot and Carlisle to weaken both sides. In the worst-case situation, even Carlisle will kill Freed off if they want to provoke a war with a justifiable reason.”
Duran suddenly broke out into a cold sweat. “I’ll inform my parents to ensure that they guard the diplomatic party until they leave our borders. What do you think about his threat on a military level?”
Martel casually shrugged. “When compared to me, he isn’t training is hard. Carlisle is probably insisting that he train, but I imagine he’s living in hedonism. However, I’ve noticed that training doesn’t seem to increase my strength greatly. It’s a slow and automatic process. In other words, training lets me stay stronger than him, but not by much. My magic should also be more versatile than his based on what I know about him, but he could also be quite gifted and that area. Overall, I should be stronger than him, but not by a tremendous amount. If you were to take him out, it would probably take a good number of soldiers to do so, but Ki is not an infinite resource. He would eventually lose in the fight of attrition.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. It seems that his claim on being the hero is the real problem.”
“Yes, and there is not much we can do. I want to avoid war is much as possible, and he isn’t worth it. It seems I will have to go out of my way to ‘play hero’ and not do anything that could be misconstrued. Well, try to keep an eye on him.”
Duran frowned. “We will, but we’ve already lost almost half our spies, and it seems Carlisle is stepping up their anti-spy network so I cannot promise anything.”
“That’s understandable. On his own, he isn’t much of a problem. The real threat is Carlisle behind him as his existence may give them the confidence boost to make some rash actions. Once again, I do not wish to see war.”
“Very well. I’m going to go and inform my parents.” Duran said as he quickly got up and left.
Once Duran left, Martel turned to Freyja. “I’ve got some free time. How about you?”
Freyja smiled. “I think I could work a little time into my schedule.”
“Well, would you be interested in my experiences with art?”
Freyja’s emerald eyes sparkled. “You draw?”
“And paint.” Martel replied with a chuckle.
End of Day -238
Martel’s frown betrayed the situation he had found himself in. It was time for the bimonthly ball. He found himself dressed in unbearable fashionable clothes provided by the Royal family. To make matters worse, when he went out, he found himself surrounded by nobles. Some of them had questions, while others wanted to introduce their daughters. A few asked him to dance, which he politely refused. Some of the young men asked if he had any adventures of grandeur or what his level of strength was. Because of this, he was very grateful to Freyja, who helped him deal with them.
While conversation was one of Martel’s strong suits, the intricacy of diplomacy was unfamiliar and tiring to him. He felt fortunate to have such a competent woman at his side. The sun started to set as he made his way outside to the terrace where guests were not permitted to enter. As he looked from the terrace, he began to recall the long three or so months since he arrived.
This time felt even longer to him because of his lack of needed sleep. However, he had not been bored with this time. Most of that time was used to train his body while he explored and discovered new possibilities with his new abilities. Martel smiled as he realized he seemed to have become one of the characters from the manga or light novels he used to read so much. Unfortunately, his problems had also followed him here. While these thoughts crossed his mind, Freyja walked up and stood beside him while she too looked out into the dusk.
“You performed admirably,” She said with a smile.
“I would not wish to embarrass my hosts,” Martel replied, returning the smile.
“Oh? Did you take such consideration? I thought you were just a natural, given that you were so skillful with the young ladies.”
“Oh? Do I detect some jealousy?” Martel replied with the mischievous smirk.
“Perhaps if you had danced with one of them, which you always so politely refused,” She said, returning the grin. “You left many a disappointed young lady in there. Tell me, why did you turn them down?”
“… You won’t laugh?”
A look of surprise came over her face. “No.”
“You promise.”
“Yes.”
“I… I never learned how to dance.”
Freyja gave him a blank look, which slowly started to build up to laughter as she desperately tried to hold back.
“So much for a promise,” Martel said sarcastically.
“I’m sorry. Haha. I’m sorry. You made it sound so serious, so I wasn’t expecting something like that.” The adorable expression she made stunned Martel for a moment. “So, did I accidentally stumble upon the chink in the armor of the perfect hero?”
“It is hardly a weakness; I never learned how. Also, contrary to popular belief, I am far from perfect.”
“Oh? You could’ve fooled me.” She sarcastically replied as she extended her hand out to him. “So, would you like to learn?”
“Yes.”
“Now listen carefully.”
They danced together for several minutes.
“You do pick up things quickly, don’t you?”
“Complements to my teacher.”
Soon, the two of them danced to the music under a setting sun. The warmth of her hand in his brought Martel much joy. “Thank you for keeping an eye on me tonight Freyja.”
“Of course. It is my job, after all. I should be thanking you. Given your presence, most of the young men left me alone. Most of the time, they are always trying to get me to dance.”
“Oh? You don’t like the attention?”
“Perhaps if they wanted to be with me. The person they want to be with is the next Queen, to gain her favor so that they may one day be king.”
“I see. You want someone to see you, not the position you hold.”
Freyja nodded and lowered her head. “Hey… Do you want to be king?”
“Nope,” Martel respond immediately.
Freyja face showed her surprised at his response. “Why not? Do you not want that power? Do you not wish for the luxury the comes with it?”
“With that power comes responsibility; a responsibility to the people that I do not want. I would rather be free to do what I want. As for the luxury, in all honesty, the standard of living is much higher in my world, so I do not see this as particularly luxurious, just different. The only luxury that I can see worth it would be that you would be my Queen. Although I’m not keen on changing my last name.”
Freyja got flustered by his response. “I… I… I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I know. You asked me an honest question, so I gave you an honest answer. It’s hard enough pretending to be a hero; I do not wish to pretend to be a king.”
“Somehow… Somehow I knew that too.”
In silence, they continue to dance even after sunset until, in the darkness, the music went silent.
End of Day -231