The Grand Magus sat down across from the king, in the same room where Alaric had briefed the king a day prior. The isolated room was a good spot to have private conversations.

“Well?”

“Sire, I have several things to report. The first is regarding the gift we received from the hero on two separate occasions.”

“Gift?” The king was clearly not expecting that word choice. “Are you sure that’s how you want to refer to… something so gross?”

“I had them scattered in the royal herb garden.”

“The Chief Herbalist must not have been too thrilled.”

The Grand Magus nodded. “I merely invoked your name and she relented.”

“Don’t use my name without telling me! Did you get some type of results, at least?”

“Yes, Sire. The next day, we brought Lyria Moonseeker into the garden. She reported that the concentration of magic within the herbs was clearly elevated.”

“So soon? How long until we can test the herbs?”

“Just a few more days. She estimated we’ll see a drastic increase in potion effectiveness, although it’s not truly her specialty.”

The king tapped his finger on his armrest several times. “It’s a pity that source has been cut off. I can’t exactly request the hero continue depositing his waste into our summoning chamber."

“Just think, Sire! Given what we’ve seen so far, if he came across with his entire body, how powerful would he become!?”

“Our records of previous heroes are very limited. We can’t be sure. Further, Grand Magus, we must tread very carefully. Based on Alaric’s report, if we are too forceful with the hero, he could consider us enemies.”

“On that note, Magus Elizabeth’s visit went well.”

“Ah, she returned from bringing the dog back?”

“Yes. Apparently, the hero was very appreciative of how promptly we gathered the dog and returned it, unharmed. As thanks, he showcased some of his world’s technology to Elizabeth. I made her explain it all to me in detail.”

“Good. There’s no magic in his world, so I’m guessing they’ve compensated in some very interesting ways.”

“It appears so, Sire. Despite having no magic, his people somehow constructed vivid recreations of pretend magic battles in a manner that allows for showing a memory of the event later. Elizabeth watched one such scene.”

“Memories?” the king repeated back. “How does that work?”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“I’m not sure, Sire. According to Elizabeth, the hero has a device he calls a phone which fits in the palm of his hand and allows displaying recreations on various subjects. He also played a song that was performed by other people on a previous date, without doing much of anything himself.”

“Ah. I’m very interested in learning more about that item, but we’ll need to be careful not to seem desperate.”

“I agree, Sire. Interestingly, the hero doesn’t seem to have full control over his tools. His was providing him some type of unsolicited advice about erectile dysfunction, if Elizabeth’s memories are to be trusted.”

“…Erectile dysfunction? Is that what I think it is?”

“We can’t be sure, Sire. Perhaps the hero is not fertile?’

“That would be a pity, but let’s not jump to conclusions.”

“Of course. Also, Elizabeth learned a bit about the hero’s everyday life. Apparently, in that world, it is common to focus on nothing but studies until late teens or even the person’s twenties. The hero is one such person, although despite being around twenty, he has not even picked a specialization for his learning or future trade yet.”

“That is strange, is it not?”

The Grand Magus felt the same way. “I cannot fathom why his country is like that, but there is much I don’t know. Perhaps it will make more sense in the future.”

“If not for this everlasting war, I’d be more than willing to test their style of upbringing. Alas, we don’t have that luxury.”

“There is one other thing, Sire.”

“Hm?”

“The hero has requested we send someone tomorrow for further discussions, but Sylara Whisperwind has been nagging me for permission to go today. She insists she wants to catch her own dog of the type that came through the invisible door. Of course, I’ve been—”

“Wait.” The king brought his hand to his chin in thought. “The other kings have been hounding me to get things moving…” His face lit up. “You didn’t just tell me that. Inform Sylara Whisperwind that she has not been selected to join the next group through the invisible door. Reveal nothing else.”

“Sire, do you intend to keep her from meeting with the hero again or… are you, perhaps, intending for her to go through of her own accord?”

“Whatever are you talking about, Grand Magus?”

----------------------------------------

At the Royal Gateway Inn, a short distance away from the palace grounds entrance, a party of four famous explorers sat in the tavern enjoying food and drink. Due to their fame, they were granted the private room in the back, but the occasional ‘lost’ person would stumble in and insist on introducing themselves since they were already there anyway.

“So who d’ya think they’re gonna send through next?” asked Thane Stoveson, the dwarf who now spent his days trying to figure out how to reproduce a Long Island Iced Tea.

“Probably people with political or diplomatic experience,” said Lyria.

“I can hardly blame them,” added Sir Alaric Carnall. “We’ve already explored the hero’s home well enough. What they need to do now is negotiate, not impress the hero with martial prowess or magical ability.”

“Ya sure about that last part?” said the dwarf.

“Hm.” Alaric gave it some more thought. “No, perhaps they really should bring Lyria along again. I heard the hero informed Magus Elizabeth that he was interested in learning more about the magic of our world.”

“Oy, Lyria, if you do go, bring me back more information about drinks if ya can. Also, I kept quiet last time ‘cause Alaric said to, but find out more about their crafting techniques! Especially melee weapons!”

“I’ll do what I can Thane but don’t expect much…”

“Thanks.” The dwarf turned to Sylara. “Lass, you’ve been quiet…”

Lyria gave Thane a warning glare, but he just shrugged it off.

“I want a dog like that…” the rogue muttered to herself.

Thane took a big swig of his mead. “You sure it’s just that little dog you have on your mind?”

“Thane, this is a very—“ Before Alaric could finish, Sylara stood up.

“I’m going to the royal library to study dogs.”

The other three watched her walk out. Her plate was empty so they didn’t think much of it.