A few weeks later they were having lunch at the usual place. Hoban was already into his third cup of wine when Tim spotted Katuski and Yuma. They were following the scent of boiling noodles and fried meet that drifted in plumes down the alley. The dirty little street was the same as ever, littered with trash and food waste. Yuma carefully stepped around the muck while Katsuki sauntered on dauntlessly.

While only being in the city a month, the off-worlders had already found themselves among the nouveau riche. They would never have reason to come to slums and would have problems finding this place if not for the mesh network pinging Tim’s location. It was on Tim’s to-do list to expand the network by installing relays around the city.

The pair had changed a bit from when Tim had seen them last. And right now they looked like a complete odd couple. Katsuki still had his hair up in a pompadour but his brown robes were replaced with stylish back ones emblazoned with silver threading. The sleeves were ripped off and frayed in classic rebel fashion. Yuma looked much more elegant and wore an oversized white robe with lots of blue and gray trim. She held a thin wooden staff in hand topped with a pale blue gemstone. It looked like a rich priestess taking her pet bodyguard out for a walk.

“Hey, guys thanks for coming. This here is Aerith and this is my coworker Hoban. This is Yuma and Katsuki.”

A round of friendly hellos followed. The chef scooped up three more servings from the simmering cauldron and sat them down on the table. Aerith grabbed her second bowl and hid her face behind more noodles. Yuma glared at Aerith who was doing her best to avoid eye contact.

“Hey, didn’t we meet somewhere?” Yuma asked.

Aerith choked.

“Um, no. No. We have never met before. Definitely.”

“No, I remember you, you helped heal Hayata.”

“Nope. Wasn’t me. I can’t use healing magic.”

“No, it was you who came by and helped Sasano’s.”

“Wait, you sent us to a place where you work?” Tim asked

“I’m serious, that wasn’t me!”

“Why bother denying it?” Yuma’s normally sleepy eyes scrunched up with indignation. “I know it was you.”

“No, that wasn’t me! Aerith slammed her chopsticks down. Tears threatening to fall. “I’m not allowed to do healing.”

“Not allowed?” Asked Tim

“It’s… it’s complicated.”

“But…”

“She said it’s complicated. Leave it at that” replied the elf.

Tim, who was never an expert at social interactions, got the message. And while it was clear what not to do, the correct choice of what to do was less forthcoming. Tentatively he reached out and patted the despondent Aerith on the back. This seemed to be the correct response as she lifted her head and started shoveling in noodles again.

While Tim awkwardly attempted to comfort Yuma looked like she wanted to press the issue. But Katsuki, oblivious to the feelings of others abruptly changed the topic. He had noticed pointed ears springing from beneath Hoban’s red hair.

“Wait, ain't you an…

“Yes, I’m an elf. Yes, its noon. Yes, I’m drunk. What of it?”

“Nothing, just thought it was cool, bro. Never met an elf before.”

Katsuki leaned back in his chair and pulled out a hand-rolled cigarette. He lit it off the spark of his finger and took a few deep drags. A strange blue-white cloud escaped his lips and he smiled.

“Is that wilted man weed I smell?” asked Hoban.

“Sure is my man. This stuff expands the mind, helps you see the flow.”

“I’m well aware. But do you know why they call it wilted man? It makes you impotent.”

Katsuki coughed so violently he nearly fell from his chair. He threw the cigarette down in disgust before grinding it under his heel.

“Damn those bastards at the academy, tricking me like that. Damn it I’ll get them!”

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

As Katsuki fumed Tim tried to redirect the conversation to the real reason for the meeting. “I’m glad you came, but are the others busy?”

“They took on a scouting mission. Rumor is the demon nation is setting up to try an invasion again.”

A grimace crossed Tim’s face as he placed his chopsticks on the table. A month in this new world and he was still no good at using them especially on slippery noodles.

“Hey Katsuki could you summon me up some Iron, just a little bit will do.”

“My man that is no problem. I’ve gotten really good at this.”

“Thanks. So they have forgotten our goal?”

“No, I don’t think it’s that they’ve forgotten. But they are really getting into life here.”

“Hey chef, could I get a small chunk of coal from you?” asked Tim.

“And another cup of wine for me!”

“Here you go. Anything for my best customers!”

Tim snapped the chunk of coal in half making it no bigger than the tip of his little finger.

“What are you doing, Tim?”

“I thought we’d be relatively secure here, with the natural walls. Oh, and how about a chunk of chromium about the same size as this?” Tim held up the charcoal.

“Yeah, but apparently demons are like crazy strong my man. Chromium? Never tried that isn’t it like super shiny. I bet we could make some killer bling with that.” Then Katsuki strained as he reached across dimensions. A light sweat formed on his brow and a small chunk of metal plopped down on the table.

“I really wonder where all this comes from?” mused Tim as he collected the ingredients.

“Woah, that was, like, harder than expected. Next time I’ll…”

Speech was robbed from everyone as Tim began to knead the metals and charcoal together. Everyone except Hoban.

“You know, he’s not wrong. Even the civilians are as strong as ten men. Plus, they’ve been blessed by the gods of magic. Even the Arch Wizard couldn’t stand up against one of their veterans.”

“Are their spells just that powerful, or are they advanced too?” Asked Tim

“Both”, replied Yuma, “although I hear they are not particularly good at divine magic. What are you doing?”

“Are they every friendly towards humans?”

“Not that I have ever known. It is said they were created to remind the other races of their weaknesses. In their eyes, we are all little more than bugs to be squished.” Hoban replied as he swished his wine cup. “And they do enjoy reminding us of our inferior nature. Occasionally powerful organizations or individuals will make deals with them. But only after they prove their strength. And then it never lasts long. There is always a stronger demon waiting to disrupt things.”

But they aren’t good at divine magic,” interrupted Aerith. “It is to teach the other races to pray more earnestly. To make us more dependent upon the gods. That is how it works. We pray and we are strengthened in battle. We pray and injured are healed. We are weak, but through the blessings of the Aamond can we survive.”

Tim continued to mix the metals in his hands.

“What about you, do you worship these same gods?” Katsuki asked Hoban.

“No, elves worship trees.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“I am. Personally, I prefer to worship this wine. Have a cup. To Tam!”

“To Tam!” Katsuki replied. In his youth, he didn’t care that he didn’t know who Tam was. He only cared for the excuse to inebriate.

“You did tell the others to keep an eye out for you know what.”

“Yes, they are aware,” Replied Yuma. “But… But I don’t think they are really searching for it. I’m sure if they encounter something they will let you know. It’s more like that’s not where their hearts are at right now. I think they are starting to enjoy life here. The boys seem to be focused on testing out their strength and skills. Emi, well, I think she’s been hanging around Randal too much lately. McKenzie has taken to following them around and causing problems. I think she’s acting a little jealous.”

“Don’t you be talking about my McKenzie,” Katsuki muttered his face flushed from wine and embarrassment.

“She’s not yours. Although she’s just as crazy… Genzo has been relishing his role as a berserker. It’s like nothing can strike him down now. He has been challenging everything and everyone he can. He disappears for days on end only to show up at odd hours covered in blood.

“Hayata has recovered and has been trying to keep up with Genzo. But, with Genzo gone so often, he has been taking tons of extra guild quests. So many he’s already made it to C rank.” Yuma sighed deeply, “At least it looks like you are doing well.”

“Yeah. It’s raining gumdrops here. I’m glad they’re happy. But I gotta find a way back home.”

“I’m all with you man. If even half of what I learned carries over, da-ham bro.”

“What exactly are you looking for?” asked Aerith.

Tim, who had prepared an answer beforehand gave his vague response. “I’m looking for any magic that involves space, distance or time.”

“Why would you need that to get back home?”

“My country has a large ocean on either side. And I don’t think any ship here is capable of taking us home.”

“So like someplace over the edge of the map?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh. That is tough. I’m not sure what magic could take you home, but knowing you, you’d figure it out.” Aerith said with a reassuring smile.

Feeling finished with the process Tim pressed his newly created fork into the noodles. Finally, he was able to slurp them up with satisfaction. The rich meaty broth warmed his stomach.

“What is that?” Asked a puzzled Katsuki.

“A fork, obviously.”

“But that’s not iron! You mixed everything together….”

“And created stainless steel.” Tim slurped up another big pile of noodles. “I think I will start investigating this so-called divine magic next.”

“But how? Shouldn’t you need like, a forge or something?”

“This is going to blow your little mind. Tell him, Tim.”

“I made a shape earth ring. Only minus the earth part.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Well, with Hoban’s help we were able to develop a universal function. So with matching elements, I can freely mix and shape them. Pretty cool, hunh?”

Suddenly the elf set down his wine cup. “Actually that gives me an idea. I think I know how we can get insanely rich.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, next day off we’ll work on it. We might even be able to buy our freedom.”

Soon empty wine cups littered the table as the party chittered on happily. They talked about useless and trivial things; memories of their old home and quirks of the new. They rambled about the big things; finding a way home and the nature of magic. Hoban waxed philosophical on the interwoven nature of the universe. They laughed. They toasted to Tam. And in the midst of the merriment, Aerith leaned over and whispered in Tim’s ear.

“If you’re not busy, maybe we could go for a walk?”