Fedal

For the first few minutes after we abandoned Carr with the crying princess, Celle and I laughed together as we ran away from the theatre. There was something so satisfying about running away from our responsibilities like that due to such a petty reason. I don’t think I ever had such a long conversation with her. It was something I missed, I realized, having conversations. Even back on Earth I’d talk to people regularly, even if only online.

For some reason, ever since coming here, I had tried to give myself a sort of ‘detached’ vibe and I could not tell you why. Perhaps I had assumed that ‘cool’ guys had a lone-wolf sort of atmosphere about them, and that when I became the hero I should try to heroically walk by mysel, act as if I was beyond their understanding, and that others would instinctively understand my coolness and follow me. Yeah, so, that didn’t happen. When I acted like I didn’t want to talk to people, turns out people didn’t talk to me. Funny how that works. Even after joining up with this group it took me a while to really be part of conversations—god, it felt like every word out of my mouth could’ve been a mistake.

Lately I felt more confident saying things. “You think he’s gonna be okay? Handling the princess, I mean.” I asked.

Celle’s smile faded from her for a minute, a guilty expression about, but she shook it off—though her new smile didn’t seem as genuine as the old one. “I’m sure—it won’t be too bad. He’s…gonna be fine.” She laughed, but it was a short laugh, almost forced. Hesitantly, she asked, “You think he’s going to be mad at me?”

“No—yes?” I told her, uncertain. “I think he’s going to be pretty mad at you…but that he’s going to forgive you nearly instantly, if that makes sense.”

“He is, isn’t he?” Her sheepish grin broadened. “Guess it wasn’t that bad.”

Something about her reaction prompted me to ask—“Are you two…together?”

I expected a radiant blush, an exaggerated denial, perhaps even anger directed at me for posing such an outrageous question at her. But people didn’t really act like that, and I would have known if I talked to them more often. Instead, she considered the question and brought her index finger just below her lips thoughtfully. I wish it didn’t take being brought to a goddamn different world for me to interact with real people more frequently. “Not…really? Not…yet?” She appeared to be searching for the right qualifier. “We enjoy each other’s presence and find each other attractive so—that could work, right?” Don’t ask me. I have no idea. “But he has a lot of trauma to work through right now and I can tell he’s trying not to get too attached too quickly, so we’re just taking it slow.” For a moment there appeared to be a twinge of annoyance in her voice, but then she added, “Well, I have my own share of trauma to consider too, so honestly taking it slow might be a good idea. Just day by day and see where it goes.”

Mental note: delete crush on Celle. I also wanted to make a mental note to mourn my ridiculous crush—this was the first time I was even talking to her alone, on what grounds had I conjured up a crush on her? That she hadn’t talked to me with contempt or—okay, she looked really pretty, that was part of it. And I hated myself for that. Change the subject before this depresses you more. “What trauma do you have?” Smooth, Fedal, real smooth.

Surprise passed by her eyes when she looked at me. Clearly not a question she had been expected to be asked, yet it did not appear as though she was wholly against answering it. After a moment of consideration, she shrugged and said, “My hometown…I abandoned a lot of things to become head detective. Then I abandoned that to solve this stupid case…just lost a lot, you know? Didn’t really have much to go back to, so I clung on to the case because, well, what else did I really have going for me? And…I still don’t know the answer to that.” Her smirk had a sort of blaze to it, but her voice was quiet.

“You have Carr, right?” I told her. “Whenever this is all done you two can—I don’t know, you have each other.”

“That’s not really an answer, though. I mean, sword boy is pretty cute and I might end up going for him, but if my whole life was just the time I spent with him it would be a pretty shallow fucking life. If I don’t have anything going for me other than my partner, can’t say it would be too healthy for either of us, you know?”

I nodded, but frankly that seemed like brand new information to me. I had always sort of assumed that getting a partner would solve most of my issues. That in a romantic sort of way, even if I were to be an abject failure it would be fine so long as we had each other—me and my hypothetical partner, whose sole known quality in my head was “someone who loved me.” Guess it’s not really like that. “Yeah, I know what you mean,” I lied. “Do you have any hobbies or—I don’t know, something like that?”

She hesitated. “Well, I do like exploring. I used to sneak out of my city’s walls and venture out into the wild for a bit. Some friends and I even camped outside the city once, you know?” Celle giggled at the memory there. “Just for a bit. We were so scared something was going to go wrong!”

We’ve been fugitives for so long I nearly forgot….but it’s illegal to leave your city without approval from your local City Lord. In fact, this was what had gotten Celle and Carr into trouble initially, from what I heard. Even your travel path is pre-approved by them…usually by ship. What’s up with that? I decided to just ask. “Why is it illegal to leave your city?”

Celle frowned—not in irritation, but in an effort to remember the answer, as though she had never really questioned it before. After a moment, “As I understand it, cities used to do that to keep monsters from getting in hundreds of years ago. Nowadays it’s to avoid spies since war wasn’t too long ago and—honestly, a mix of tradition and helping the Empire control its citizens more is my guess.”

An idea crept up on me. “Do you think maybe there are still monsters—”

“No,” she replied promptly. “Merchants still break rules all the time and travel out, you know? Smuggling, searching for rare things to sell…and they have yet to come across a monster. Wild animals? Sure. Some weird creatures? Here and there. But monsters? No.”

“Ah.” Looked like all sorts of romantic dreams I had were going to be crushed today. “I see.”

“Not like I can make exploring into my life after this whole thing is done but—ah, who cares, right? I’ll figure it out. Part of the fun is not knowing what the next step is, right?”

No. That’s the terrifying part. That’s the part that keeps me awake at night. “Is this what we’re looking for?” I asked, gesturing at what appeared to be a large building before us.

It was large enough to make us forget we were aboard a ship. It didn’t feel like it was even part of the ship, that large structure of white bricks seemed almost like it was build atop of it, a traditional looking Portuguese cathedral, including a huge golden bell at the very top. “This is definitely it,” Celle said. “Doesn’t look like there’s anything going on right now, no one praying or anything…sounds good.”

Did people here pray to this mysterious god, the one who had a human shape, the same way we prayed to God back on Earth? It occurred to me that I had never really bothered to find out. I had been traveling across the Empire’s cities since I came to this world, but somehow it never occurred to me to find out more about how it operated. Guess ‘been treating this world like a theme park, haven’t I? Just exploring the parts that I enjoy, using it to fill my ego…but I haven’t really been treating it like…a place where people live in. Haven’t been trying to really understand it.

Then again, was that any different from how I treated Earth?

Huge light brown double-doors were already open before we walked into the cathedral. I had never been inside a place like that before, but my first thought upon entering it was that I understood why so many had made structures like this their religious site. It wasn’t the stained glass windows, beautiful as they were, or the incredible paintings on the incredibly high ceilings that shocked me. It was the sound. Our footsteps echoed in a way I didn’t realize echoes could even work. It felt as though the sound repeated itself once, then twice, then it hit my ears, like a strong, physical sensation, as if someone had struck me. If I were to stay here while they play music…I wonder what that would feel like?

It was a nice voice that broke my concentration. “You come here on a mission?” It was a man dressed in white, face shadowed by the very light shining through the stained glass above his head.

Celle stepped up. “I do, my priest.”

“What need you?”

“I need the grace of our lord to change my [Skills].”

“Then, to the Lord’s chambers,” said he.

Without waiting for a response, the man turned around and pressed his hand at the stained glass—then, to my surprise, walked through it, as if it were a portal. I gaped at it, open-mouthed, until Celle tapped me on the shoulder. “I’ll be right back. [Skill] swaps usually take around half-a-hour, so just grab a seat or something. I’ll try to hurry but I usually mess up the prayer once or twice.”

I nodded and watched her go through the portal. She didn’t hesitate, look back or act like any part of this shocked her. It was something normal in this world.

And now I just have to sit here in silence and wait until she gets back.

“Yeah, right,” I said aloud. When my loud declaration echoed twice, I turned around. “You’re here to kill us, aren’t you?”

The double-doors leading into the church swung closed.

A man clapped slowly and sarcastically by the doorway. He had a bowler hat shadowing most of his face and wore a light brown trench coat that seemed more similar to a cape than an actual coat, as it swayed in the face of a nonexistent wind. Notably, he wore two brown leather gloves of a much darker shade than his coat, standing out to an uncomfortable degree.

And around his waist was a long, sheathed sword.

“What gave me away?” the man asked.

“Nothing,” I replied frankly. “I just figured someone was following us and if I was going to be alone in an isolated space like this for a while, somebody would attack.”

The man laughed. “And you were willing to risk looking foolish were you wrong?”

“Dude, I don’t think you understand how desensitized I am to that at this point,” I told him. “You’re here to kill us on Johan’s orders, aren’t you?”

“I’m here to kill most of your group, yes. Not you, though. My lord wants you brought back alive.”

I flinched. Johan found out about my [Heroic Rising]. That’s why he wants me alive. It wouldn’t have been hard to find out—I had loudly told anyone who was willing to listen about it, almost as a boast. If Johan captures me…if he can get my special ability…there will be no one in the world who can stop him anymore. This was bad. My nerves, which had been steady up to this point, started to fail me. I hadn’t been concerned when this strange man walked in—if he managed to kill me, that was that. No one else was around. Celle would be safe, too. But if he could take me to Johan…if he could take my ability….

What the hell is wrong with you? I thought to myself, tightening my hand into a fist. Why are you already assuming you’re going to lose? At some point in my life, I had told myself that I wasn’t going to be like those arrogant assholes I met every day. Somehow, this got converted into me thinking I had to not only prepare myself for the worst scenario, but assume it would come true. It was beyond not having confidence in myself; I had some confidence alright. Confidence that I would lose.

Was I okay with that?

Maybe if I lose on purpose I can be dragged into the castle and look for Duartes—he’s definitely still alive, so…

NO! I was trying to find excuses to lose already. To protect my ego from trying my best and coming up short one more time.

There’s no one coming to help me.

There’s nothing good that’s going to come out of this if I lose.

There’s absolutely no option but to win.

There’s no one to blame but myself.

There’s no guarantee I can win.

I bit my upper lip. EVEN SO, I’M GOING TO WIN!

“To points or to [Death]?” I asked. My voice was steady enough, but I could already feel sweat dripping from my forehead. “I’m ready to do this if you are.”

“[Death] will do. So long as I keep you from going into the negatives, I can keep you from really dying and take you back to Lord Johan.”

“As if I’ll let you!” I roared back.

Yeah, it was an empty threat. I knew that. I was trying to convince myself moreso than him. Still, I wasn’t going to back down. Not anymore.

[Martim the Sinner]

[Level]: 18

[Swordsmanship]: 634

[Sword]: 402

[HP]: 149

[Skills]

[Restoration]: 421

[Rock]: 342

[Poison]: 1012

[The Unicorn Murders]: 1321

[Diplomacy]: 124

[Writing]: 630

[Blessings]

Johan’s Favour

[Curses]

Johan’s Favour

[Equipment]

Reven Katana

[Status]

Normal

His stats were no joke…this guy seemed more powerful than the one Valle fought just now. No. Don’t chicken out. And don’t assume numbers tell the whole story...you know better. Even if his numbers are higher, there’s no guarantee that Mauro was stronger than Martim. Keep cool. Think about this logically…

What were my biggest concerns? First of all, there was that legendary skill, [The Unicorn Murders]. What did it do? What were its activation requirements? No. I can’t know that for sure…until he gives that away. I shouldn’t worry about it. Whatever it is, he can’t activate it unless he hits me. But that [Poison] skill…I knew people of this world were more prone to having incredible high amounts of it, but that was absurd! Is he just immune to it, or can he imbue his attacks with poison? If so, I’ll be dead from one touch! And finally, there was that weapon.

A katana…I haven’t seen one of those since I came to this world. Why would this world have its equivalent of a katana, anyhow? Is there a Japan equivalent or—no, that’s not important. I have to remember….

I remembered, vaguely, having a conversation with Carr about them during training at one point. What he said about using katanas?

“Fucking don’t, you weeb,” Carr had said. “Pick a weapon I can actually teach you how to use.”

I took a deep breath and looked at the still sheathed sword around my opponent’s waist. Thanks Carr, very helpful.

I withdrew my new weapon.

“Oh?” Martim appeared surprised, though unconcerned. “Is that a smallsword? I thought you fancied a broadsword.”

It had been a matter of practicality. It wasn’t as though I knew much about how to use a broadsword, and Carr was a better smallsword teacher anyhow. More importantly, it was lighter and allowed for me to thrust it more times in a day, which was good for my [Heroic Rising] and allowed me to increase my stats faster. That Carr had lost his shit with me once or twice when seeing my windup for cutting motions also influenced my decision to switch to a mostly thrusting weapon.

“Very well then,” Martim said, as he stepped forward. One of his hands held his still sheathed sword, and the other hovered around the handle. His footwork was different from what I was used to—it wasn’t the fencing stance I had come to appreciate. “Begin.” Yet he did not draw his sword.

I took a deep breath.

Valle had started his fight so confidently, so pridefully…he refused outside help and walked in there knowing he would win. Likewise, Carr had waved us off and fought off the Longswordsman by himself. I wasn’t even sure Isabella could feel fear anymore.

I wasn’t like them.

If someone stepped in or asked if I wanted help, I would accept it. I didn’t care about things like honour that much. If I had the chance to fight against Martim two-on-one, I would have happily taken it. I wasn’t confident I could win. And I was afraid of dying.

But strangely, a part of me welcomed this. Somehow, it felt like all my doubts would disappear soon. Like everything would work out, one way or another, and I wouldn’t have to worry about anything else anymore. I just had to give my best right now, win or lose, live or die. I’m not Carr. I’m not Valle. I’m not Isabella. But I’m me…and I have skills nobody else has. I’m the only person in this entire world that can land a strike from a distance with a sword. I can control the very air with my blade. Even if this guy knows some swordsmanship…I have the advantage. I’m going to attack from a distance and see how he responds. I won’t let him close in and use his poison or his skill. Keep him at bay, slow him down, learn how good his fencing skills are…then respond in kind. I wasn’t confident in my skills. But I was confident I could drag him down to my level.

“Either I defeat you and surpass myself or I’ll leave you with no choice but to kill me. Either way, I’ll be out of my misery."