We observed each other for a good minute. He still had black in his greying hair that went down a little past his shoulders. He had a mole right above his left eye. Additionally, he was wearing clothes you might expect a servant to wear. He was also so broad-shouldered you’d expect him to be a young man, however, his wrinkles here and there gave away his age. He was sitting sideways across his throne with his arm propping his head up.
Besides him, I just knew there was someone to my left. It wasn’t like I saw them or heard them or have some sort of ninja sixth sense where I could feel their presence. But I just knew someone was to my left.
He decided to go first, which is good because there isn’t any way I’m going to go first when dealing with a king. “I’ve heard a lot about you over these years. I also heard my daughter summoned you.”
“I’m confused your majesty, what do you mean by ‘over these years’? Because yes, your daughter summoned me yesterday.” I replied a little more than a bit confused.
He laughed, “Well that’s because you killed someone very important all those decades ago. Then you were seen with some famous merchant that had to meet his end because of you. And you act confused? You’re a legend in this kingdom. But not in a good way.” He gave another sad kind of chuckle at the end.
“Well, those are probably true, however, I did not do anything worth being villainized over. I have literally only been to this world twice and both times I simply tried to protect the one who summoned me… from your country both times.”
He looked at me incredulously, “There have been many more instances of you appearing in this world than twice. James, was it that I heard? Well James, the first instance we have of you is when my older brother, a prodigy in this kingdom’s history, was investigating an emerging cult. He had tracked down the archbishop of the cult to a mountain and when he went to investigate, he ran into a little girl. After some back and forth between the two my brother concluded she was a threat and ordered her to be brought back for justice. That was when we had our first sighting of you. When you slaughtered my brother and his guard. Since then, there have been numerous encounters with each involving multiple people dead. However, the more outlandish moments were when my brother was killed as well as that merchant. And you ask why you are being villainized?” He was actively looking down his nose at me now.
I felt myself get super fucking pissed listening to this grand speech of bull shit. “Ok well, you said more than one thing that is way wrong. The first is the fact that I’ve been here numerous times. Me, Myself, and I have only been here TWICE. The first was when I killed your brother and the second was when I was summoned by the mercenary that was guarding that merchant. Additionally, the second, and more important, thing that was wrong was the sequence of events in which your brother died. I was summoned by a young girl probably not even older than eleven years old. I killed two older men and their familiars before leaving the mountain we were in. I waited in the darkness of the entrance while the little girl, Nateen, left to make sure the coast was clear. Then she ran into your brother, where this ‘conclusion’ was just him ordering his crossbowmen to shoot her dead. I’d kill him again if I was summoned in that same situation, even knowing he was some grand prodigy.” I glared at him as I finished.
The king switched up his position and sat straight up while simultaneously glaring down at me. “Do you even know what you just said? You just said you’d kill my brother to my face. That would be considered treason.”
I lifted my hands while shrugging, “Wow you can hear what I’m saying! I’m impressed! But I’m even more impressed how you just chose to ignore everything else I just said, in my world only the worst rulers had selective hearing. Are you even going to acknowledge what I said?”
I could see his face blush, probably in anger. “What you said is the opposite of what that survivor reported. Additionally, we have more than two encounters with you James, there was even a whole small village that was wiped out before the high paladin went out and exterminated you.”
“Well, that knight was lying,” I hissed out. “And you might have more encounters with this type of creature” I patted my chest hard. “But the familiar named James, has only been in this world twice. I am just a regular guy from another world being summoned in this body. So, stop villainizing us because it is the summoner that’s to blame. Right now, is a perfect example, I could slaughter this whole palace while my current Master is asleep and I would even have more reason to do it right now. But I am actively choosing not to because there is nothing in it for me.”
He looked at me for a good moment while taking some deep breaths. He eventually hung his head and sighed. “Ok, I understand. There is genuinely no reason for you to get so mad over that situation with my brother unless it had happened as you say it did. Additionally, you make a very valid point about the summoner being the one to blame. However, I don’t know if you would be able to kill us all as easily as you think” He raised both hands and pointed to both sides of me.
As he pointed, two guys came from either side of me. The first one was the guy from my left. It was a tall broad-shouldered young man. He had an angular face with a chiseled chin, adorned with black hair. Honestly, he looked a little nervous and I was not intimidated at all. The guy on my right though, was a guy about my height, maybe a few years older than me, on his back he had a long and really wide sword. He had a plain-looking face, if you ignore the scars on his forehead that made an X, but the real thing that stuck out about him was his eyes. They remind me of mine when I look at a mirror, hazel colored, completely relaxed without a care in the world, and they were looking everywhere through constant twitching. Just like how my eyes are, granted mine are like that because of a disease.
I was pretty, no super, confident I could kill this guy to my left. But this guy on my right? He felt like a threat, I’ve seen my fair share of guys that could destroy me in the gym, and they all gave off the same kind of vibe this guy does. But looking at that sword… I could probably do a dash inside and then hit the wide side of it to knock it off course way easier than I might expect.
I said it as laid back as I could and ended up speaking quite softly while not a single crack was heard in my voice. “I’m still pretty confident, minus a single factor.” The guy cocked his eyebrow at me. The king bellowed with laughter.
“Ok let us call it a truce”, the king began while wiping his eyes, “I’ll make it to where you don’t have to worry about being attacked on sight in my kingdom. In return don’t go on nonsensical massacres.”
I saluted. And he waved his hand to dismiss me. When I think about it, I don’t think I ever caught his name.
I made my way back to the master’s chambers. Coincidentally she was leaving right as I arrived. She was a little surprised. But as we walked to wherever she was going I filled her in on my nightly adventures and my conversation with her dad. That really made her surprised though and she let out a really enticing genuine laugh rather than that forced giggle she had used when she was gossiping with the other ladies. \
“All right if you’re so confident you memorized this place, take me to the gardens.” She ordered.
I gave a salute and off we went. I eventually took her exactly where she wanted. There were more ladies here again this time, but they were different ones than the ones from yesterday. I was given brief glances of surprise, but they quickly vanished.
While I was at a standstill tuning out Master’s gossiping with the ladies another butler came up to me. His name was Hans. Bro, his name was Hans… that is like a goal off my bucket list. Meeting a butler named Hans really let my guard down. He was also young, probably late teens to his young twenties with red hair and a slim build. He also had quite a number of freckles dotting his face.
For hours, even when the other ladies had swapped out with completely new ladies, I and Hans asked a question each one after another. All of them revolved around each other’s backgrounds and aspirations.
He was from a well-off family of commoners in the capital. His parents owned a fishing group and possessed a monopoly on fish sold in the common marketplace. He himself wanted to be a famous knight commander, and upon a closer look, you could see lean muscle bulging from the tight uniform. He was a servant of the palace during the day and in his free time, he would go to the training grounds where servants were permitted to train with the soldiers. This was pretty smart because even the non-combative personnel could help as a last resort and not be totally suicide.
While I was genuinely interested in his life and whatnot, he was also genuinely interested in my world. I told him fact after fact about just random technologies. Even by the end of the conversation he still didn’t seem to comprehend that I was just a normal regular joe though.
At some point around the afternoon, Hans left me to wallow in boredom. I tried eavesdropping but sadly nothing interesting came about. There was some small talk about the war in the East, but no concrete details. Besides that, just gossip about small-time rumors and the current state of a growing noble powerhouse from the West. That latter part actually sounded interesting however I didn’t quite catch the names of anyone involved.
Eventually, the sun started setting and Isabelle got up and left. I naturally followed her. We didn’t talk, there wasn’t anything worth talking about besides questions that would pile up into me nagging her. Instead, we silently walked with me lagging a very tactical distance behind her.
We went to her quarters where she dismissed me again. Kinda hurts my feelings but ok. It was yet again nighttime. Rather than exploring aimlessly, I decided to go to the training grounds to see if I could catch Hans, or if not, I could still watch the soldiers train.
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I set off to the training grounds very excitedly. I hadn’t been there yet. I had passed by the door that opened up into it of course, but I haven’t yet opened it up and went through. Eventually I found my way to the double doors that had a sword and shield symbol slightly jutting out. One thing I noticed is that rather than having signs and such, the Palace rooms have symbols on them indicating what it was for. For example, the room that I was summoned within has a human pointing a direction and a dog going that way.
I opened the doors into the cool night air. The training ground was a large square with the edges being covered by a stone overhang for shade. Along the edges under the overhang there were racks of a variety of sparring wooden weapons and a few racks with actual weapons. There weren’t any actual training dummies like I was expecting. In the middle of the square, it was a sandy smooth stone floor, which is genius because the soldiers will be used to fighting while on slippery ground. But that could also lead to some bad habits with their footwork. On the opposite side of the plaza was another door similar to what I had just walked through, except there was a knight holding a tower shield. The other trainings ground was reserved only for nobles and knights. Well, all knights were nobles based on what I picked up from Isabelle’s gossiping.
Currently in the common training grounds there are a few servants training. I don’t think they were soldiers because their forms are shaky. Their swings look sloppy and it’s like they lacked aim. Looking to my right though I saw Hans. He looked like a soldier. He swung a long wooden sword in horizontal swings. Focusing on it with my good eyesight it didn’t waver at all. Every swing took the same path through the air without deviation. I leaned against a pole in the shadows of the overhang and just watched.
I don’t know how long I was here, but I was mesmerized by Hans. It would feel disrespectful to talk to him after being so mesmerized so after an hour or so I left. I found my way to my oceanside balcony and looked over the waves once again and got lost in thought.
I feel almost guilty. I was subconsciously looking down on Hans because he was some servant aspiring to be a knight. But watching him made me realize something: if I didn’t have this super strong crystalline body, he would be able to absolutely obliterate me in a fight.
It’s not like I’m a bad fighter either. I’ve spent a large chunk of my life fighting in different gyms. Krav Maga, Muay Thai, Karate, Boxing, and even some basic Wrestling are all skills in my arsenal. Granted I haven’t been to a gym in like three years since I started with my current company, but I’m still in good enough shape to be able to hurt most grown men.
If we fought with my actual body, I’d be able to slip past maybe one or two of his swings to get up close with my hands and possibly choke him out or shatter an elbow. But The difference is my fists versus a longsword, and additionally he was diligently training while I just work and play games and write.
This thought swirled in my head all night that night and I would constantly be hit with tinges of guilt. Eventually the sun rose, and I made my way back to the master’s quarters.
Apparently, she got up early that morning and was waiting for me at her door. I was promptly given a mission for the day: to be a bouncer. She had appointments throughout the day with a lot of different women and I was to make sure their guards and any other tag along did not enter with them.
The job was cool. I planted my feet wide and crossed my arms and threw back my chin to look like the stereotypical bouncer. Multiple times men tried entering with their mistress, and every time I would throw out my hand and stare them down without saying a word. One guy even tried reaching for his sword, but his mistress went deathly pale and screamed at him. By this point I was bored of the act and was kind of hoping to beat him but sadly his mistress was too smart.
Throughout the day there were probably thirty women who went in and talked to the princess. Some were young and some were sporting wrinkles. But alas all good things came to an end and eventually Master also came out of the room.
“Hungry?” She asked while stretching.
I patted my belly. Ya’know now that I think about it I haven’t felt a single pang of hunger in this world. I haven’t eaten a single thing. Naturally, I replied, “I’m famished.”
She gave a sly smile that honestly made her even hotter. I see her force a smile all day with the other ladies but a genuine smile like that made me really infatuated. Sadly, I can’t get what I want in that type of relationship.
We set off at a brisk pace. Took a couple of turns and eventually arrived at the dining room. It’s a nice change of pace considering she has either eaten in her room or with the ladies in the garden.
We opened the door that had a plate and silverware icon and entered. The room was massive, just like what I had seen in movies. There was a huge table in the shape of a U. At the end was the king, seated next to him was that angular-faced man from earlier. His other, left, side had an empty chair. Down the two sides were nobles of all shapes and sizes. Some were fit young men, others were built like bowling balls, there were young pretty girls, and there were also old wrinkly hags. In between the table, nobles were standing and mingling, while Butlers were masterfully weaving between them with trays that you might see a server wield in a restaurant. I even saw Hans in the middle.
I almost didn’t notice him but that man with the X scar on his forehead was lurking behind the king’s extravagant throne chair. We locked eyes and he gave me a smile and a nod. I guess he’s pretty cool.
I followed Isabelle around the edge of the room until she took her seat, where I stood behind her. On the way there I was popular, it almost made me blush, I would get a glance and that would quickly be followed by some hush-hush whispering between two or three people.
When Isabelle had taken her seat, her dad cleared his throat and stood up. The room grew quiet. He immediately went on to make some grand speech about how he couldn’t be prouder of his daughter for summoning such a powerful familiar as well as his son who recently became a high paladin. When he said that he gestured at the guy with the long face. Ah, that makes sense now. He finished and people gave a hearty round of applause. I went to join in but my claps literally sounded like shooting a pistol and I quickly stopped. I bowed my head and apologized to a silent room while the king bellowed with some genuine laughter. Even Isabelle was smiling ear to ear out of amusement.
Throughout the whole two-hour-long banquet nobody approached Isabelle. It got so depressing I weaved my way through the crowd and grabbed Hans by the arm that was carrying a tray. He looked at me with such an astonished look that it almost made me laugh. Much to his protests, I dragged him with me which attracted a fair bit of ogling from irrelevant nobles. While dragging him I pulled an empty chair with my other hand. I pulled him all the way to Master who looked at me with a very confused look. I plopped the chair down next to her and forced Hans to sit in it. I commanded them to talk, “because she looks far too lonely for such a pretty lady”. I HAD to resist the urge to do the Mike Tyson ‘Now Kith’.
The king was howling with laughter at this point. This guy really laughs way too hard way too fast. He waved his hand, “I permit the servant to sit up here.”
For the next two hours of the banquet Hans and Isabelle held a very sophisticated discussion, very contrary to my expectations. The entire conversation seemed to be about the differences in their standings and the struggles that the common folk were having to deal with due to the conflict in the East. Listening to their conversation told me a huge detail that I should’ve been told much sooner. The war in the East was against Elves. Ok now this world is heating up, nothing beats a race war for sparking up tensions between two groups of people.
Eventually, Hans asked if he could leave and rather than Isabelle saying anything, the King dismissed him for her.
Finally, at long last it was time for dessert. Well, it's not like I’ll be eating any, I didn’t even try to eat the food that was being served. They brought out individual servings of the dessert. The dessert itself looked like a bread size shiny piece of chocolate donned with like a weird white puff with an orange sauce glazed over it. This thing looked good.
At this point, about half the original banquet participants had retired to their rooms and the remaining ones had all been seated. I watched as everyone greedily devoured their desserts like pigs and their pig slop. No one talked while they were eating, I guess it was just that good.
I was watching the others and then I got hit with a huge wave of light headiness. At the same time as this, I heard coughing from right next to me. Master was coughing hard, I scrambled and saw her pale face growing even paler. The king noticed almost immediately and shouted for the doctor.
There was but a brief second where her coughing subsided and I locked eyes with her. I saw fear in her eyes. It was the same look the newbies at the gym would give when they would be instructed to spar with me or other more skilled opponents. I felt so guilty while at the same time, pity welled up inside me in that moment. At this point everyone was voicing their opinions and Nobles were summoning priests.
After a minute or so, something that felt like an eternity, three people in those same robes as the ones that had been there when I was summoned, hurriedly entered the room and sprinted down. These guys were all old men when you looked at their faces. One of them stood in the middle of the two more forward in a spot of authority.
By this point, Isabelle was coughing up a storm while being cradled on the ground by her father. The main priest grabbed her by her shoulders and made her flat against the floor. He shook his head and announced they weren’t useful in this situation. And turned around to walk away.
When he turned around, he broke into a smile though. Wow… I immediately grew heated in anger.
I laughed, and this attracted a lot of attention. “Your old ass really couldn’t stop that smile from breaking out? Or was that meant for me to see?”
He looked surprised, “I-I-I don’t know what you mean.” His eyes were glaring right down his nose at me though.
“Not a single soul in this room can stop what I’m about to do now that my master can’t order me around ya’know.” I said this very softly. While this was a warning for what I was about to do I could feel myself growing weaker by the second. I had to do this fast.
Before anyone could do anything, I spun around and sent a jab-cross combo straight into the other two priests' throats. I quickly spun around again and as he was opening his mouth I grabbed him by the bottom of the face and slammed him into the ground. He reacted kind of quickly and he glowed with the same golden light as that arrow from when Sebastian has his life ended. He slammed into the ground and it faded.
“But… I didn’t do anything wrong…” He croaked out.
“We’ll see about that buddy.” I hissed out.
The next five minutes consisted of him screaming and begging for me to stop. Everyone in our modern society knows basic torture methods like they’re everywhere in all forms of media. I methodically broke his bones starting at the fingers. After all the joins and bones that I knew of were snapped, I ripped them off joint by joint. As I was about to start pulling his left hand apart, he fessed up. His higher-up, which was the equivalent of a pope, ordered it due to Isabelle not being a form believer of the church as well as royalty. They refused to let a royale go without consequence for not being a devout follower like every other member of the royale house. I was the last straw and made them speed up their plans.
The king’s face was furious; rather than the happy smile that led to his loud laughter, it was a different face entirely. His teeth were clenched, his eyes were slit from anger, and it even looked like his mole might pop. Moles don’t pop though I thought.
Isabelle stopped coughing and I could barely stand at this point. I fell down right next to her, feeling satisfied. I looked at her though and it made me feel like I was in some sort of tragic romance movie. She had tears coming out of her eyes.
The last thing I saw before I saw black was those bright red lips mouthing something at me.
I was back at my computer. The same episode of anime was playing. I didn’t feel nauseous or sick. I just felt numb. Like what was I supposed to do to shield my master from that? It was as sudden as the other two times, but this wasn’t violence. This was just poison from a trusted source. It's not like I would taste-test it either.
I shook my head and got ready for bed. I had work the next day. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any sleep that night.