At dusk, things more or less calmed down.
Treis returned to his home since he needs rest. He's a living creature with his own life; I won't take advantage of him.
I managed to calm Sonia and Cris down. It was a bit tough, but they're not as scared anymore. That said, Sonia keeps pestering me, trying to talk, apologizing, and insisting that the kiss was just a bet she lost. Yeah, right. I'm naive, I'll admit, but I'm not that stupid to believe that.
We stopped in a forest to sleep. I took my grandma aside to tell her what God told me, since I finally had some time alone with her.
"He's not giving them magic?" my grandma said.
"No, that's why we have to protect them."
"I understand."
"From now on, I'll call you Cristina. It'd be weird to call you grandma in front of others."
"Of course, don't worry, Dani."
I told my companions to call my grandma Cristina and not to tell anyone she's my grandma. I'd rather avoid more weird questions that could jeopardize the fake story I made up.
After saying what I needed to, Sara started a campfire, and we sat around it.
We were all eating what Sara hunted. She took care of draining the blood from the wild boar, and my grandma cooked the food.
It was gross, so I preferred to help by not helping, since my help would just get in their way.
"I feel bad for Liz. She didn't come with us, and she seemed so excited about living with us," Alex said, her tone sad.
Liz is on the King's side; it was obvious she wouldn't come with us.
"She works for the King; it was obvious she'd stay with him. If she wanted to be with us, she would've followed."
"I agree with Daniel. We barely knew her; even I didn't know her, only her sister. Liz is a mystery, and we don't know if we can trust her," Sara said.
Ah, as cold as ever, but I agree; I'm not sure if it's safe to trust her. I think I could trust Rose, though, since I hear she's much more important than the King, and she treated me well. I wonder what that woman thinks about the war.
Anyway, it's best to drop that topic for now and try to relax. Overthinking and not resting will just tire us out unnecessarily. I'll deal with this problem personally once I find a safe place for my grandma. For now, the best thing for them is to rest and not think about it anymore.
I stand up and step away from them.
"I'll make some beds."
I extend my right hand. I guess I won't have any trouble creating beds.
"Retiers!"
I remove a large amount of dirt from the ground.
"Crea!"
I turn the dirt into a huge mattress. Fufu. Ah, thank you, God, for giving me such powerful magic.
"We'll sleep more comfortably this way."
"You're really incredible. I can use that spell too, but I can only create things from the same material. You turn dirt into something completely different," Sara said.
"Thanks, though I don't know how it works. I just imagine what I want it to be, and it happens. I don't need to know how to build it."
"If you tried to use the spell to turn dirt into furniture, could you?"
"I think… yeah… Wait…"
I can create anything… Anything…
I have a great idea. I hope it works.
If it works, I'll create really useful devices, and communication won't be a problem.
I extend my right hand.
"Retiers!"
I pull out some dirt and arrange it into six piles. Time for the moment of truth!
"Crea!"
I turn one of the piles into a phone… I-it worked… Did it work? It worked!
"It worked!"
I immediately do the same with the others. Yes! I solved one of the biggest problems in this world: lack of communication! With this, I'll always know my grandma is safe!
I grab the phones and hand them out.
"Do they work? Please, let them work."
"It works!" Rem said.
"Mine too! This thing's glowing!" Sara said.
Yes! It works! Arghhh! My magic is too powerful! Final boss, please don't be as powerful as a God!
They all work except for Sonia and Cris's.
"Why doesn't mine work?" Cris said.
"Mine doesn't either," Sonia said.
Why don't theirs…? Oh, I remember. Wow, wow. I forgot they run on magic, and God didn't give them magic.
"I forgot, they charge with magic."
I take their phones. They charge quickly, so it won't be a hassle for me to charge them when the battery runs out.
"Wait…"
The phones turn on. Done. Fufu. I'm a walking charger.
"Here, take them."
I hand the phones back.
"I'll explain how they work!"
Ugh, this is going to be boring to explain.
I pull out my phone and point to one of the most important apps.
"We have the map app; open it."
They all open it.
"It's for knowing where we are and where to go. I'll answer questions at the end; listen first."
Sara raises her hand, but I'd rather explain first and then address questions.
I close the map app and open the camera app.
"This lets you capture a precise moment in time and save it."
I take a picture of Alex and show it, surprising the magical girls of this world. My grandma, Cris, and Sonia are from my world; they know exactly how a phone works, so they're not paying attention to me and are looking at their phones, probably figuring out what they can do.
Well, Sonia's also looking at me, but pretending to take pictures of me with her phone. Ugh, whatever, let her do what she wants; I don't care.
"As you can see, the image is captured."
"Amazing, that's me!" Alex said, excited.
"You can switch from camera to video mode."
I show them how to switch.
"It lets you record a moment in time better."
I start recording Alex.
"Say 'hello.'"
"Hello!" she said, waving her arms.
I stop the video and show it.
Ugh, I feel weird teaching them this.
"Amazing!" Sara, Alex, and Rem said, excited.
"Open the menu, and you'll find the flashlight app; I think it's obvious what it's for."
I explained how to turn it on.
Blah, blah, blah… Ugh… Explaining how to use a phone is boring. I just want to sleep.
"Lastly, I'll explain the spells… Though I guess it's not necessary; you can't read our writing, so you won't understand what the spells say. But you can take pictures of the spells and save them, and when you need one and don't know which it is, just open the gallery."
I show where the gallery is.
"And look for the picture. Any questions so far?"
Alex, Rem, and Sara raise their hands… Ugh, this is going to take a while.
•
•
I spent half an hour explaining where the apps were to Sara, Alex, and Rem.
Sara's a smart girl, but even she took a while to understand what they're for and how to use them. Yeah, I know, it's hard to get used to something new. I totally get it.
"Amazing!" the three said, excited.
"T-this does everything! It'd make people's lives so much easier, Daniel!" Sara said, shaking my shoulders.
"H-hey, don't get too close to him!" Sonia said… jealous?
Ugh, before, I'd have been happy and felt good that Sonia was jealous, since it'd mean she cares about me, but now it just makes me feel pity and disgust.
I'll just ignore her and not say anything.
"There's one last function, the most important."
I open the call app.
"This is for calling someone; in other words, we can use this to talk to people from a distance."
"We can talk with this?" Rem said.
"Yeah, look… Shit."
I-I forgot I don't know my number. I never asked God! I didn't know I'd need it. Arghhh! I'm an idiot!
"What's wrong?" Sara said.
"I don't know my number; the one who gave me the phone didn't tell me what it is. Ugh, sorry, girls, we'll leave that for another day."
"It's the first phone in this world; try dialing number 1," my grandma said.
Hmm… Well… Wouldn't that be too simple? It's worth a try.
"I doubt it, Cristina… But I guess I've got nothing to lose."
I try it, and a man's voice tells me the user is busy… Busy?
I-is that really my number?
"Cristina, dial number 1."
My grandma dials, and I get a call… It really worked… This is weird… Really weird… Arghhh! My number is number 1! So short! Goodbye, common sense from my world; I don't understand anything anymore.
"Wow, wow, it really worked. My number is 1. When I'm far away and you need to call me, just tap this button."
I show them where the number is.
"And tap this one."
I show them to tap the call button.
"I want to try!" Alex said.
Alex dials me, and I answer.
"Hello?"
"Amazing! It sounds like you're talking in my ear!"
Well, I think it's best to explain it better, with a better demonstration.
"Arches Nexus!"
I fly far away from them… Alright, this should be enough.
"Can you still hear me?"
"Amazing, I can hear you like you're right next to me!"
Perfect. Does it have a distance limit? That's something I'll need to investigate.
I land and check everyone's numbers… Yeah, simple numbers, easy to remember.
"My number is 1. Cristina's is 2. Alex's is 3. Sara's is 4. Rem's is 5. Sonia's is 6. And Cris's is 7."
I explain the numbers so they won't have trouble and can memorize them, since they might need them in the future.
"Amazing, this is a great invention!" Sara said, jumping with excitement.
And realizing what she was doing and that everyone was staring, she got embarrassed and looked down.
Don't feel bad, Sara; it's cute that you have that adorable side. You're really a smart girl, huh?
"And it's very useful; never lose it. It's late; time to sleep!"
Communication won't be a problem anymore.
And it can also be a weapon, though I need to figure out how to use my phone as one first.
•
•
An hour later, after making sure everyone's asleep, I'm ready to go.
I stand up and see everyone's sleeping… Yeah, none of them are pretending; they're asleep. I don't want to worry them unnecessarily, and I want to go alone.
"I need to see Rose."
She seems trustworthy, and I need her help. She doesn't seem evil. Having her on my side will make dealing with the King easier, and people's lives won't be in danger.
Plus, I'm 100% sure I'll need her help in the future. I can't lose her.
I put on my shoes and head to Sara, who's keeping watch.
"I'll be back. If anyone wakes up and asks for me, just say I went to the bathroom."
"Where are you going?"
"I need to see someone; it's very important. If something bad happens, call me."
"Of course, just be careful."
"I will. Arches Nexus!"
I fly off.
Rose, please, help me.
I have so many problems; I don't want to add you to them. I want you on my side.
•
•
Fifteen minutes later, at the castle.
Liz and Rose are in a room, and Rose is comforting Liz, who can't stop crying.
Liz is very depressed. Being with Daniel guaranteed incredible adventures, her biggest dream. But Daniel left without her, without even asking if she wanted to come, and she considered that abandonment.
"Why did they leave without me?!" Liz said.
Liz is crying next to Rose, who strokes her head, trying to calm her.
"It's your fault; you should've left right away instead of staying to pack clothes."
"I couldn't go on a trip without clothes!"
"Sorry, I don't know where he is. The King ruined everything, as usual."
"Don't stay here with him anymore; every king wants you. Go to King Finder; he'd treat us better!"
"No, there's nothing interesting in King Finder's Kingdom; it'd be boring there."
But what she doesn't know is that things in that Kingdom would soon change, for better… and for worse.
•
•
(POV - Daniel)
Ugh… Ugh… Come on, Daniel, you can do this. Be a ninja!
Sneaking into the castle was easy since I came in through an outer window on the top floor, but I still need to hide from the guards on patrol.
I'm hiding behind a wall, waiting for a guard to pass.
I hear footsteps, so one's coming. Come on, Daniel, you just need to threaten him; that'll be enough. No need to fight.
"What a shift; I just want to go home," a guard said.
Here comes one… He's just doing his job; I won't hurt him.
I grip my sword tightly. T-this is just for threatening, but if he tries to kill me… I'll defend myself.
Please, don't do anything stupid. I'm begging you.
He passes by me, and without wasting time, I hold my sword to his neck.
Huh? Is that…? No, better not think about it; I don't have time.
"Don't talk unnecessarily and just answer my question. Where's Rose's room?"
"M-Miss Rose? H-her room is that one."
He points with his index finger to a door at the end of the hallway.
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
I run off, and the guard shouts almost immediately.
"Daniel's back; he's in Miss Rose's room!!"
"Well, it's his job," I say as I hear him.
I shouldn't hate him for doing his job. He'd probably get punished if he stayed quiet. Don't worry, I understand.
I enter the room and close the door.
"Sorry for coming in without permission, but I'm being chased."
"Daniel?" Rose said.
"You came back for me!" Liz said, excited.
… This is awkward. I didn't think about her… Honestly, I completely forgot about her… She seems so happy… I feel bad.
I'd like to lie, but I won't. I've told enough lies today; I don't want to tell more. I don't want it to become a habit.
"I came for another matter; I thought you wanted to stay with the King."
"No, I want to go with you; I even packed my bag!"
"Wow, wow, alright."
I guess. Arghhh! Don't waste time, Daniel!
I grab some dirt from a potted plant.
"Crea!"
I turn it into a phone. Done.
"Here, Rose."
Rose takes the phone and examines it closely.
"Wow… What is this?"
The guards are trying to open the door. Arghhh! Idiots, do you really not fear me?! I-I need to work on my image.
"It's a phone. Sorry, I don't think I have time to explain how it works."
"Let's get out of here, and you can explain. I'd ask you to kill the guards, but I highly doubt you'd want to. Right, good boy?" Rose said.
"Why don't you order them to stop? You're more important than the King."
"Didn't you notice their eyes?"
"Yeah, I noticed."
That guard's eyes were completely black; it shocked me, but I assumed his race had eyes like that.
"Why are they completely black?"
The door's being broken down. No time.
"I'll explain somewhere else."
The guards break the door down, and I jump out the window without hesitation.
"Arches Nexus!"
The three of us fly off.
I look back at them. All their eyes are completely black. Why?
"I know the perfect place to talk," Rose said.
"I'll follow you."
According to clichés, she'll be very important to my adventure.
If I ignore the cliché of falling in love, she'll be very useful.
But if she says she loves me, I'll reject her. I don't want a girlfriend. I don't want a wife… I don't want anything.
A minute later, we arrive at the Silent Forest. Ah, nostalgia… Even though it hasn't been long since I was here.
"It's safe to talk here."
"So, what's with the eyes?"
"You really pissed off the King; he even dared to disobey me. If his blood weren't special for my experiments, I'd have killed him already. He used one of my control experiments to force all the guards, mercenaries, and even adventurers to obey only him, to stop me from preventing them from killing you. Most of the Kingdom's adventurers are probably under the drug's effect by now, except Sandro. He was the only one who refused to take it; he even fought all the adventurers who tried to force him and beat them."
"Fighting all the adventurers and winning, even in his current mental state… Sandro's impressive, as much as it pains me to admit."
"Yeah, no doubt, he's interesting. I don't know if I'd call him good or bad. Aside from his constant sexual harassment of women, he donates a lot to orphanages, and I even heard he eats the rat skewers the poor sell."
"He did that?"
"From what I heard, he always does."
"Aren't those just rumors he spread to make himself look good?"
"My sources are reliable, so no, they're not made-up rumors."
…
…
…
Ugh… I need to sit down.
I sat under a tree and sighed… Sandro, seriously, what are you? As a warrior, you have my respect. You can defeat demons and gave me a better fight than the Black Demon, even managing to hurt me, someone who can see attacks in slow motion.
But as a person, you're disgusting… Or so I thought.
The sexual harassment, well… I don't know… I don't know… I mean, since I got here, tons of women have offered their bodies to me and shown me their bare chests and butts without any shame. Most people here are perverts, including the women.
There are even brothels with male prostitutes for women, and I saw women going in there.
Most people here are perverts, so I can't blame you too much for being one. Sexual harassment is disgusting; it's the only bad thing about you, and I already fixed that by killing you… Or I hope so.
And if what I heard from Rose is true, Sandro, you… You're… A good person? Or at least someone generous.
And I… killed someone who's done so many good things…
"Ugh! Sister, he's vomiting!"
"Daniel, what's wrong?"
Ugh… S-shit…
"Water."
I used water magic to create water from my fingers and clean my mouth. A simple spell.
My stomach churned remembering Sandro's death.
I killed… someone that kind to others… I-I judged him without fully knowing him.
Because of my anger, I killed him… I let my emotions control me… And I abused the power God gave me.
N-no… I promised myself power wouldn't change me, but I abused it… I abused my power.
Sandro, all I heard about him was his strength and bad reputation as a womanizer, but I never heard about the good things he's done. Sandro was even supported by the village men when we fought. I thought they did it out of jealousy because the women supported me, but why support someone like Sandro, who's known as a womanizer and supposedly has all the women in love with him? At least I have a reputation as an innocent guy, but they chose to support him. Why?
I think because… he's someone admired. The women supported me for my looks, but they genuinely supported him because they admire him, and that's why most bet on him, even though I defeated the Black Demon and have all types of magic.
Sandro is someone admired… A person worthy of admiration… And I killed him.
I killed him… Instead of just knocking him out or something, I chose to kill him.
I-I told myself I did it to stop him from sexually harassing my grandma or trying to assault her, but if what I heard is true, he wouldn't be capable of that…
"Rose, don't lie to me and answer, please. Has Sandro ever assaulted anyone?"
"Not that I know of. Sandro always ends up charming them with his words, and if they don't pay attention to him, he just tries with another girl and moves on."
"Ugh! Sister, give him medicine or something; he's still vomiting!"
I-I… I-I judged someone without knowing them… I-I let my prejudices against sexual harassers guide me… I judged him without knowing him… I let Sara's words sway me… I let mere rumors, which I didn't even confirm were true, guide me.
I judged him… without giving myself a chance to know him.
I judged him based on rumors… Because of my prejudices, I killed Sandro, and I stole his chance to come back to life in the future. I killed him and used the one-time resurrection spell on him out of mere… hatred… For a tantrum… A stupidity… Because of my prejudice, I took away his chance to be resurrected in the future and forced him to use it to satisfy my bloodlust. To satisfy my hatred… My rage.
I-I abused my power…
"Daniel, stop crying."
"Yeah, you're supposed to be a warrior; don't cry! Right, sister?"
"No, Liz, even the strongest have the right to cry to let it out."
I wiped my tears… Daniel, the past can't be changed; what I did can't be undone. As much as it hurts to admit, my mistake can't be fixed. I'll have to live with that guilt for the rest of my life.
Sandro… forgive me.
I promised power wouldn't change me… and I want to keep that promise.
I made a mistake, but I won't make the same one twice… Mistakes let us move forward… We learn from mistakes… Daniel, it's not worth dwelling on the past; keep moving forward… Keep going.
"Will the adventurers attack the demi-humans?"
"No, Sandro stopped it. After defeating them, he used antidotes I gave him to bring all the adventurers back to normal. I think only 32% of the adventurers agreed to go to war for money."
"Wow, wow. I see… Whose side are you on?"
"The one that benefits me most."
"That answers everything… Alright, I'll explain how to use it."
I just want to go and get a hug from my grandma.
It didn't take long to explain; Rose is very smart and quickly learns the phone's functions.
As expected from a woman like her.
"And finally, the call function."
I open the call app.
"Press this number."
I point to number 1.
"And then tap this."
I point to the call button.
"Try it."
Rose does it right; I get the call and answer.
"It's very useful."
Hearing my voice through the phone, she looks at me with sparkling eyes and says just one word.
"Amazing," Rose said.
"Arches Nexus!"
I fly away.
"You can call me even if I'm far away."
"This device is truly incredible. How did you know how to create it?"
"It's a secret."
I land and rejoin them.
"I want one too!" Liz said.
No problem with that.
I make a phone for Liz.
"I assume you know how to use it."
"Yeah!"
"Your number is 8. Liz's is 9."
I show them where each number is.
"And mine is 1. Any questions? I need to go."
"Why are you giving me something so incredible?" Rose said.
"I'm going to King Finder's Kingdom. I won't be able to visit, so I gave you a phone to stay in touch in case I need help."
"Of course, no problem, but why go there? There's nothing worthwhile."
"They say it's the only Kingdom not fighting the demi-humans. That's why I'm going. I need to go now."
"I'll go with you!" Liz said.
"Grab your stuff quick."
"Yeah!"
Liz casts the spell and flies off.
"You really surprise me, Daniel. No exaggeration, you're the most surprising person I've ever met. All types of magic, defeating a demon in one hit, defeating Sandro, using special and unique Royal family spells as a mere commoner, and you're the most handsome guy I've ever met," Rose said.
"W-well, I…"
She caresses my cheek, and I feel the blood rush to my face. W-why am I so hot?
"Huh?!"
She leans in and kisses me on the lips… She's kissing me?! She's kissing me!
Uwaaah! She caught me off guard! Did fate know I planned to dodge all romantic advances from girls and catch me off guard?! That's not fair!
"You can consider it a thank you for the phone. It wasn't my first kiss, but it was the first kiss I gave to a real man."
… W-wow, wow.
My face turns completely red. She's so beautiful… So beautiful… Too beautiful… No, Daniel, don't fall for the love God's trap! There's no such thing as love at first sight! She's only interested in my power and looks, not my feelings! I'd never fall for someone like her! I need to reject her immediately!
"N-no p-problem, d-don't w-worry."
Uwaaah! I can't bring myself to reject her! I'm an idiot!
"You look even cuter when you're nervous."
"R-really?!"
No, idiot, don't fall for her trap! Arghhh! Why am I such an easy guy?!
•
•
(POV - Rose)
Fufu… So this is what it feels like to kiss a real man? It feels… delicious.
I've only kissed two people in my life: my teacher and Daniel… Though my teacher kissed me when she was drunk and spent the next day apologizing for ten hours straight, begging me not to report her for kissing a ten-year-old girl. Fufu.
Daniel has a mysterious past, equally mysterious and incredible power, and a promising future.
If I help him, my days of boredom will end.
If I make him fall for me, that'll guarantee I'm by his side when the fun stuff happens.
My sister isn't the only one who wants excitement in her life.
… Besides, my warrior blood can't help but be drawn to him… I want powerful children… And Daniel can give me what I want.
Fufu. Daniel, don't disappoint me.
I had planned to go after Sandro, but just as I was about to set my plan in motion, you came into my life. It's not a coincidence; it's fate, and I don't plan to let you go.