Proofread: CBRRacer, Azcheron

Betrayal. Some of you might think of it as a strong word, for others, it might not be the case, and I fall into the later. Cause, betrayal is too meek to describe the feelings and emotions I am having right now.

And my betrayal came at the hands of something I always believed to be my greatest ally, my common sense.

I felt like my knees were losing all its strength and turning numb with every passing second. My jaws fell open and eyes widened as I was left bewildered by the indescribable and unbelievable sight.

With his right hand stretched away from his body, the youth stood still. On his hand was the reddish stone that he had snatched away from me moments ago. But what has me so shaken to the core was the existence of something on his left hand.

On his left hand was a raging red flame. Its color was so vibrant I could help but stare it in wonder. He then placed his left hand on top of the reddish stone and in the next instant the stone was enveloped by the red-hot flame. I mean, the freaking flame was coming from his left hand.

How is he even able to hold the burning-hot stone in his hand without getting burnt? Was this why the grandma was worried? My first emotion was fear; like any normal human, fear of the unknown. But soon the fear was replaced by a strange thought. I don't understand myself why such a thing surfaced in my mind, I truly don't.

‘Such potential’

That was what I thought. Like I said, I don’t understand at all why I had such a thought or what I saw potential in? For a moment, I thought it was sensei who said those words, but those were without a doubt my own genuine thought process.

‘Sensei, just what is going on?’

‘M..M..Magic? That’s impossible. Sensei, are you telling me that the laws of physics that govern us are that easy to break?’

What does that even mean? Where is the energy to sustain such a flame even coming from? Ah! I can feel my common sense stabbing me from behind, another betrayal.

‘So, he can create fire out of nowhere? How is he even holding it? From how the stone is glowing red, I am sure that the flame is really, really hot.’

Mana? So something like that really exists eh? Somehow I can relate to that, even though it's outside the boundaries of my common sense. Maybe because I am someone who used to enjoy anime and manga. But in all other world transportation novels, an ability similar to that of the youth didn’t exist.

And as I kept watching, the red flame suddenly dies out. The boy named Euthe then began carefully inspecting the stone for some time and when he was done with it, he then began walking towards us. My mind was still numb from all the events that had expired and my eyes were still focused on his hands..

“Euthe, Euthe!”, suddenly from the crowd, a woman’s voice echoed loud. It was her worried voice that woke me up from my daze. I turned my head to the direction of the voice and I saw a woman dash out of the crowd. Her face seemed distressed and filled with worry. And immediately behind the woman was a little girl with a face that had turned red and tears streaming down violently. The girl was clinging to the woman with one hand while the other hand was Reaching towards the youth, yelling ‘Onii-chan’ multiple times. The mother-daughter pair was wearing the same attire as the grandma and just like the old lady, their clothes too were covered in dirt. And unlike the youth and grandma, the two had normal black hair. Even their faces were similar, slender and beautiful.

But before the two distressed damsels could reach the boy, Euthe, with his left hand, gestured the two to stop and warned, “The stone is still hot! Mother, don’t approach me carelessly”. His voice was a little cold, but it didn't fail to carry his concern for the two in it.

The woman hesitated, she was torn between her desire to rush to her son and her wish to protect her daughter. It was evident that she wanted to rush to the boy, but in the end, she decided to stop. She then held the girl’s arm and hugged her close.

When he made sure that his mother and sister had stopped approaching, Euthe then turned towards me. With large strides, he quickly approached me and just like before began to stare at me intently. His golden eyes even felt a little threatening.

“How did you know about this place?”, Euthe asked with a stern tone. It was as if he was warning me not to lie, I felt power in that deep voice of his which made me doubt his age for a moment.

In the end, it came to that after all, huh. Well, I was expecting such a question to come at some point of the time and while on our way here, I have been thinking about how to tackle it.

“I said it before, right?. I suddenly woke up at a place little away from here. And since I didn't know where I was and where to go, I started wandering around a lot before I reached your village. And while aimlessly wandering, I came across this place, just as how I stumbled up on your village.

What? Don’t stare at me so much, you bastard. Even if you stare daggers at me, there is nothing more that you will hear from me.

After a brief session intense staring, he slouched his shoulder and then sighed deeply. He then turned towards the grandma and then nodded his head at her. This gesture from the boy was witnessed by all those who had gathered, and one after the other they started giving out expharated sighs. All of them had a look surprise and joy mixed on their faces, some were even jumping up and down non-stop. The grandma's face showed a variety of emotions; happiness, surprise, sadness, anger. God, that’s a hell lot of emotions at once, calm down obaa-san, or else you might get a heart attack.

“I..I..It’s really iron ore?” with a voice that cracked here and there as if a shiver was running down her spine, the old woman asked. Her hands stretched forward as to grasp something invisible and her golden eyes began to tear up too.

“Yes, grandmother. It really is iron ore”, and I saw the youth give a warm smile at the tearing old lady.

And suddenly cheers erupted around me. All the women and children were hugging each other as tears began to roll down their cheeks. Laughing and crying at the same time. That was a peculiar sight for me who couldn't understand what was happening at all.

Oi, Oi! What is with this over reaction? Amused by all the hype, I couldn’t help but smile watching the scene. It carried a certain warmth, a warmth that I had forgotten for a long time, the warmth of a family.

And while I was busy enjoying the warmth around my, a sudden pain followed by a bang attacked my back. The bang was then followed by a hearty laugh and when I looked back, my vision was blocked by the old lady who now had a big smile on her face.

“Haha! You are a lucky charm. You rascal!” saying so she once again hit my shoulders nonchalantly and then began laughing out loud.

Eh? Eh? The hell. What is major personality change? She is treating me as if I am her grandson’s best buddy. Just what in the name of God happened in these few moments for things to get so chaotic.

“Well! It seems like you were saying the truth. So I guess we can shelter you with us. Or why don't you live with us from now on? Right everybody?” and while she was still laughing the grandma spouted something that I wasn't expecting at all.

And the cheers erupted once again. Hell, the ladies even surrounded me and started thanking me profusely. Some even hugged me a few times. I even got an array of kisses on my cheeks.

And thus, I was allowed to stay in the village for as many days as I wanted without not even knowing what had actually transpired in the span of few minutes..

But is this ok? Really? Letting a complete stranger like me stay over so easily. I am beginning to wonder if I should have come here in the first place.