“Other worlds are purely theoretical. Exactly how would one travel to a theory?”

“Moving between stars? Isn’t that the realm of the gods?”

“No, it’s just not possible, stop bothering me with such nonsensical questions!”

“That’s a question better taken to a Temple than a Scholar.”

And many variations of the same. That was the best we could get out of the intellectual elites within Albeling, if we could even get them to talk with us at all. It was utterly depressing. There were no tales of travelers from other worlds, not even from myths. The closest they got was gods living among mortals on the sly, and that happened so infrequently that many considered them fairy tales rather than historical.

As suggested by the more open minded scholars, we went to the city Temples to see if any of the Priests or Priestesses had ideas. The results were not much better. The most definitive answer we got was from an elderly Priest running a small Temple that went like this:

“Hm? Traveling between worlds? Sure, gods could do that easy. It’s not like they’re restricted by magical laws the way mortals are. The problem is which god did it. Based on the scenario you’re giving me, it’s either a capricious or mysterious god. The first does things for kicks, to amuse themselves, and won’t help you unless they get something from it. And what can you give a god they don’t already have? Tough situation. The second are notorious for talking in riddles and being purposefully vague, which makes asking them almost pointless. Though at least they’ll respond, most of the time. I can give you a list and you can try anyway if you like. My god, by the way, is a respectable harvest god with a solid record of answering prayers. Would you like to buy an amulet?”

We went back to the hotel that night, my spirits at an all time low. All I learned was that I most likely got brought here by a god. And even that wasn’t certain, it was just the best explanation people could think up.

I sat down at the little desk in my room, furry fingers intertwined with my forehead resting on them.

Was I going to be stuck here the rest of my life? Was my old life as a human really over? Would I never see my family again?

My eyes started to tear up at the thought.

“Angie?”

I jumped, startled, and then felt stupid for it. It’s not like I was alone in the room, Dignity, Solomon, and Atlas were with me.

“Yeah?” I responded to Solomon, forcing my voice to be even. I was extremely glad my mask was still on, so no one saw the tears. Having people worry about me would have just made me feel more miserable.

“I think we aren’t going to find any good answers in this city.”

I laughed sourly. “No kidding.”

“We ought to try other cities. Maybe ones that aren’t human majorities.”

“Really? What’s wrong with humans?”

“It’s not humans specifically. Every race focuses on things that directly effect them, ignoring or forgetting anything unrelated to them. If we focus too much on what humans know about the world we will very likely miss something crucial.”

“Ah… good point. Where did you have in mind?”

“I was thinking of heading towards the Southern Mountains, like our Merchant companions. There’s a big dwarven city down there and we could ask around. Then beyond that is Fairy Country and further out is Merfolk Colonies.”

“Eh? What about the elves?”

Solomon scowled slightly. “Yes, yes, we’ll get to them eventually. Even angels if need be, but have some mercy, won’t you? Let me get use to the one elf I’ve already got to deal with before thrusting me into a nation filled with them.”

Atlas had been writing out a math problem on a newly bought chalk board we’d gotten yesterday and looked up at the mention of elves.

“W-we should go w-west for elves.” He volunteered quietly.

“Why west?”

“E-elves that w-way are n-nice. Better t-than Sagewind anyway.”

“I thought it was all human country till you got to the Elderhills?”

“Mostly, y-yes. But there are pockets of e-elves too. T-they travel a-all over and d-don’t really h-have a country, I heard.”

Solomon closed his eyes thoughtfully for a minute. “Traveling elves… they might actually be useful then. And tolerable in small numbers…” He opened his eyes and nodded. “Right, we’ll head west if we can’t find anything in the south.”

Atlas nodded, pleased his suggestion had been accepted and then went back to his math problem.

Solomon had gone from “cover story” to genuine teacher in less than a week. And though he’d probably die before admitting it, I suspected he did actually like teaching the elf, and sometimes even Dignity too. (Though they still argued with each other when given the chance.)

Speaking of cover stories…

“If we’re going south,” I asked. “What’ll happen to our cover story?”

Solomon rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I’ve been doing some reading, and I think we could get away with saying we’re from beyond Elderhills, which is dwarf country. There’s a huge lake over there and a forest, which was producing strong monsters even in my day. I guess the spike in the monster population starting spilling over into Elderhills and the dwarves were having none of that. Now they’ve got fortress cities and towns circling the lake; built by dwarves, populated with humans, to keep the monsters in check.”

“Fortress cities… the people must be really tough.”

“Indeed. Just the kind of place that would produce a person like you.”

“Like me?”

“Yes, a person who’s obscenely powerful while at the same time completely ignorant of the world.”

“Ha. Ha. Thanks.”

“Everything else can remain the same. Though I think you should study up on monsters. It’d be a good idea to know the most common ones and how to defeat them anyway.” He then walked over to a pile of merchandise he’d bought earlier in the day, most of which were books. He pulled out 5 thick volumes and handed them to me.

I paled.

“You want me to read all of those?”

“Yes, and try to be fast about it. Knowing how to kill monsters may help you out in a pinch.” He paused. “And I suppose it could be useful for saving people since you seem inclined that way.”

I took the heavy stack and looked at the top one: “Monsters: A Beginners Study Guide”. I groaned internally. I didn’t mind reading for fun, but I hated studying. Even if it was good for me.

I’d learned when I met the merchants that I could read the local language just fine, and when I’d gone into the city I’d discovered I could read foreign languages too. I only had trouble with words that had no correlation to the English language and some really ancient texts I’d seen in one of the Temples we visited.

My “Game Fight Skill” got turned into “Game Skill” in my mind after this. It made me wonder what other “cheats” it was giving me that I didn’t know about yet.

The next day we had a knock on our door, and found Mr. Mather’s on the other side. As he’d promised, he unloaded the stock he needed within two days and now had the money to pay us. Apparently he’d gotten more than he’d expected, which made our portion larger too.

Solomon looked immensely pleased, so much so that I wondered about it. Had he meddled somehow in the Merchant’s business interactions to increase his profit return? After all, our pay was only as good as what the Merchant made, and Solomon was a greedy guy so of course he’d want more money. But when did he have the time for it? He was with us all of those two days, so…

We said our goodbyes to the merchant caravan, and I was a bit sad to see them go. I’d learned a lot about the world from them and they’d treated us kindly and paid us more than fairly. I was lucky to have met them, otherwise the trip to the city would have been a lot more difficult.

I almost forgot to mention this too, but we’d submitted our bits of monsters to the local guild the first day we’d arrived. After dealing with them, I understood Ceil’s distaste for how they functioned here. We couldn’t get paid unless we fulfilled an official request, and we’d only get the full amount for completing the request if we were guild members, and we could only be guild members if we paid a monthly fee.

We managed to find a request that worked with our monster kill but skipped the membership and took the reward cut. There was no point in joining if we weren’t staying in the area. And on top of all that hassle, the king taxed what little we’d gotten!

By the time we were done, we’d made enough to take ourselves out for a nice dinner and stay at a hotel. Yay.

Having cold hard cash from the Merchants was wonderful though! You might be surprised by this, but none of my game currency had transfered over. Money in the game had it’s own special location, rather than being in my regular inventory. And apparently if it wasn’t in my inventory, I didn’t get to keep it.

I did have a lot of random valuable stuff, gold and jewel based items, I thought would get us money. But Solomon advised against it after appraising an item I’d given away as a tip earlier. First, they all had strange enchantments on them and somehow that was both dangerous and valuable. Secondly, getting gobs of money in one kind of currency was pointless when you’re “nation hopping”. Exchange rates were a thing here too, and you could lose money if you weren’t careful.

So all my valuables stayed in my pack, to be used for emergencies only, on Solomon’s order. Well, he was the businessman of the group so I wasn’t going to argue!

As for the money we got from the Merchant, Solomon insisted we by local perishable and raw goods that were hard to transport. My pack could perfectly preserve anything put into it, and things of all sizes could be stored too. In his mind, it was the perfect transportation system, and would allow us to keep a steady income without depending heavily on local currency. This took him a few days, since he had to find the goods he wanted and then haggle their prices down to something “reasonable”.

We also bought a lot of other stuff too. The Merchant hadn’t been joking about making a lot more than he’d expected. The more things we bought the more I realized we’d actually done really well for ourselves. Props to you, Solomon!

First, we got a lot of daily necessities. Everything was portable, from a miniature enchanted stove, to sleeping bags. He even found soap, much to my everlasting joy. (I’m not going to even tell you how long it’d been since I had a proper bath or shower at this point.) He also bought books and writing utensils, to get himself updated on current affairs but also to teach Atlas more thoroughly. (And Dignity by proxy, since he listened in on anything “of interest”.)

Second, he invested in a small enchanted wagon. This was the second most expensive thing Solomon bought. I questioned the wisdom of an enchanted wagon, as walking was obviously cheaper, but he insisted it’d make our lives much easier. We could store more things, have a place to go in bad weather, and a safe place to sleep at night. That sounded nice, especially after living in the wilderness for weeks, so I agreed and let him do the shopping (since he’d get the best deal).

I face-palmed when I saw Solomon drive up with his newly purchased wagon.

Utility my furry butt, this was clearly a luxury vehicle! Whereas the Merchant wagons were a sturdy square shape, made of plain wood and tarp, this one reminded me a bit of a boat with wheels. It had a round stylish metal roof, with small round windows, plush seating, and even small enchanted lanterns hanging from the center ceiling inside. It was a dark mahogany color, with accents of red throughout. And it was probably as close to a sport’s car as you could get in this world.

I tried to argue over the wagon purchase and lost horribly. The main reason being you could only return it if it was defective, and it was in tip-top shape (it better be for the price we paid). The other reason was that every single person in my party liked it. Even Atlas got bubbly over it.

It turns out guys across worlds love their version of a sports car.

While the items we’d be reselling were in my Pack, the other things we bought were stored away in our “sports wagon”. This was so everyone could access them as needed. The comfy interior seats could be folded out to make beds while also having hidden storage areas underneath. (At least he got a PRACTICAL sportswagon.)

“Ah, excuse me! Excuse me, miss Knight!”

I’d been putting things away when I realized someone was calling for me. When I turned around, I found myself facing a good looking young man a few years my junior. He had shockingly blond hair, milky brown eyes that dropped, and the sort of face you might see in a shaving commercial.

He ran up to me and started shaking my hand enthusiastically. “I’m so glad I caught you before you left! Really, I thought we’d find you quicker considering the mask you wear, but it still took us a helluva time!”

Who was this person????

Solomon had walked out of the “sportswagon” at the noise, followed by Dignity and Atlas. While the latter were simply curious about the new person who’d arrived, Solomon was frowning and glaring pointedly at the overly familiar handshaking.

“Who are you?” He asked sharply.

“My Lord!” The young man stiffened into a solute, letting my hands go, apparently mildly terrified of my friend. “I am the bard you tipped barely a week ago!”

Woah, seriously?! That scruffy lute player? The one who looked like he’d rolled in a pile of mud? That one??

Even Solomon was surprised, forgetting his annoyance. “Really? You look like a totally different person.”

“I clean up well sir!”

Understatement of the year!

“Introduce me!” A small figure zipped down from the sky and hit the bard on the head.

The bard rubbed his head and said huffily. “I was getting to that!” And then more formally: “This is Cale Aster, my fairy friend and traveling companion. I’m Ben Grave—”

I stopped paying attention to what else he said, my eyes fixated on the fairy.

FAIRY! IT’S A REAL FAIRY! AAAAAAAHHHHH! It’s so small, it’s so cute! It’s eyes are so big and round! Look at the lil’ wings! The little pants! They looked like those pants Aladdin wore! He was like a little Arabic fairy, but red and pink and white and just adorable in every way possible! He was like a living doll!

IloveitIloveitIloveitIloveitIloveit!!!!

And so on and so forth. My hands trembled with excitement. It was like something out of a fairytale, the good kind. I wanted to touch him, pet him, snuggle with him. Dress him in cute little outfits… my inner six year old was struggling to free herself with a vengeance.

Well, it goes without saying I have a weakness for certain mythical creatures (as well as any small fluffy animal). My favorites were (obviously) fairies, unicorns, and dragons. Dragons being the ones I wanted to meet the least here, since with my luck they’d be the kind that terrorize villages and eat virgins.

The fairy Cale Aster floated over to me, apparently aware of my intense scrutiny.

“Nice mask…”

“Y-yeah?” I stuttered, entranced. How did he fly? His wings were too thin to lift his body weight and they only seemed to move when he changed directions. (I want to touch them, gah!!)

“Do you mind…” He was so close I could see the membrane lines on his wings, glistening in rainbow colors. “…if I touch it?”

He then touched my mask without waiting for a response. Too adorable little hands glowed red on contact of my mask.

“Hey you little—” Solomon caught the fairy by the wings, yanking him roughly off. “—what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Cale Aster attempted to look innocent. “Nothin’!”

“Do I look stupid?”

“Naw, you look like a dem—”

Solomon’s free hand shot out and engulfed the fairy, choking off any further comment.

“If I were you,” He said, deathly calm. “I’d ask myself what’s more valuable, my life or saying any damn thing that came into my head?” He then viciously squeezed the fairy, until his cute round eyes started to bulge.

“Don’t hurt him!” I cried out, alarmed. Nooo! My first fairy encounter can’t end with the fairy being squished like a bug!

“My Lord, have mercy!” Ben had collapsed on the ground, bowing so deeply his forehead touched the ground, grabbing Solomon’s shoes. “He didn’t mean anything by it! He’s just a fairy, he can’t help it! Please! Sir!!”

The disguised demon eyed the grovelling bard, me, and the fairy. He gave the fairy a calculating look. “Since we understand each other’s nature, let’s come to a… mutual understanding, shall we? You keep what you know to yourself and I’ll refrain from popping you like ripe fruit, sound good?” The fairy nodded quickly, clearly fearing for his life. Solomon opened his fist, releasing the fairy, apparently satisfied with the agreement.

The fairy hastily flew out of arms reach from Solomon, wobbling and wheezing as he went. Once he was a safe distance away, he started cursing in a very un-fairy-like manner. “************! This is why people hate you ********! Can’t take a ********* joke to save your lives! ***** ****!!!”

Ben shakily got up, looking intensely relieved the worst was over. “Thank you, sir. He can be careless sometimes but I swear his heart is in the right place.”

I smacked Solomon on the shoulder, upset. “What the heck, man? WHAT THE HECK??? REALLY?”

He was totally unphased by my nonsensical protestations.

“The only way to get fairies to listen to you is through brute force. I did what I had to.”

Cale Aster made an ugly (but adorable) face at Solomon, but didn’t dispute what was said. I had an uncomfortable feeling there was some truth to Solomon’s method.

“Also,” The demon turned to Ben, changing the subject. “I’m not a Lord. I’m a traveling merchant.”

“What? Really? But you have that air of nobility!”

This seemed to please Solomon immensely, for he rubbed his chin and chuckled slightly. “I do, don’t I?”

“Setting that aside,” The demon cleared his throat. “What was that about hiring Angie?”

Eh, had he been saying that? I suddenly felt guilty for not paying proper attention.

“R-right!” Ben nodded, more than ready to move the conversation along. “We’ve been seeking an exceptional strong warrior, enchanter, or mage for quite some time now. After we met in the square, we made some inquiries. I had no idea Holy Knights could be women, but her reputation is stellar: wiping out a whole group of bandits and five mid-point monsters! I also heard she’d laid to rest an entire town up north. A truly compassionate individual!”

I got the distinct feeling I was being buttered up. I opened my mouth to clarify that I hadn’t done all of that on my own but Solomon spoke first.

“You do realize that hiring someone of her reputation will cost you.”

I looked at him in surprise. He was going along with this, seriously?

“O-of course, sir!” Ben put down his backpack, which I only then noticed had his lute slung across it. After some digging around in the backpack, he withdrew a rather heavy bag that jangled loudly. “This is all my money. If you’ll help us, you can have it all, upfront.”

A look of greed slide across Solomon’s face so quickly I almost missed it. Oh boy. Outside of myself, the only other thing that seemed to motivate Solomon was acquiring boat loads of money.

Solomon took the bag from Ben and opened it, eyebrows shooting up. He picked out an almost pencil thin piece of metal and examined it closely. “Oh, not coins but bars. Gold bars. Very nice! But they’re no good to us,” He put the gold bar back before continuing, “Trying to exchange them for actual currency will be difficult. We don’t know the right people…”

The fairy spoke up: “We have a contact in Stenfistung, it’s along the way.”

Solomon looked at me, eyes shining in a way that made me suspicious. “Let’s listen to their request. For such a sum, they must be in dire need.”

In case you’re wondering (because I was and asked about it later), gold bars could be used as an alternative to currency, but it was only used for buying in bulk or shady black-market deals that wanted to avoid being traced. Stores wouldn’t take them because of their high currency value. So you needed a Lord, Wholesale Dealer, or Bank to exchange them for anything, and all those people would charge you out the nose for the privilege if they didn’t know you enough to trust you.

All that aside, I was fairly certain Solomon just wanted the gold, period. I suspected he was very wealthy prior to being cursed and he was eager to regain whatever wealth accumulation he’d lost in the past 200 years. (Also: greed. Plain ol’ greed. I mean, he is a demon…)

“What would you need us to do?” I asked Ben & fairy-friend politely. I planned on giving Solomon a stern talking to later for letting himself get carried away with his own avarice.

“Right!” Ben answered eagerly. “Fairies are being enslaved by a Witch in Fairy Country. We’re trying to get rid of her and free everyone.”

“That’s awful! How many need saving?” I was genuinely appalled. Even if they’re adorable in every way and you really want to keep one as a pet, they’re actually people. You can’t go enslaving people, no matter how tempting!

“All of them. The entire fairy population.” Cale Aster interjected, looking genuinely heartbroken. “She’s one helluva Witch, let me tell you. She even got me for a time. Ben’s the only reason I got free.” He floated over and patted the Bard on the head affectionately.

“I didn’t really do anything.” Ben objected, looking embarrassed.

“You did enough.” The fairy smiled whimsically, and then switched to a more business-like expression. “Well, will you help?”

“Er, that’s, um, that’s a lot of people to save…” I hesitated. It’s not that I didn’t want to save them, because I did. It’s just… well… look, nothing I’d battled so far indicated I was so awe-inspiring powerful I could stop a Witch who’d enslaved an entire population. In the game I could resurrect when I died, but there was no such assurances here.

Ben saw my hesitation and grabbed me by the hands, eyes round and pleading. “I believe you can do it!”

That’s some entirely unfounded faith you’re putting in me, I thought panicking. I glanced at Solomon, seeking a sensible voice, and was horrified to see him looking thoughtful. He was seriously considering this request!

“Exactly how did she enslave them?”

“Music. Enchanting, spell binding music.” Cale Aster scrunched his bright eyebrows together in anger, even as he joked.

“Ahh…” Solomon nodded in understanding, and then added as way of explanation for me: “Fairies love music. They’ll come to listen to anyone singing or playing. If you’re really good they sometimes reward you for your performance. But they’re also very clever and powerful, even if you now they’re weakness it doesn’t mean you can exploit it.” He cocked his head. “To enslave with music… she must be a very skilled mage and enchantress. And very powerful, if she’s got the whole fairy population under her control.”

“I did say, didn’t I? I know my enemy at the very least.”

“Angie’s strengths don’t lie in breaking enchantments of that sort.”

Phew, he was speaking sense! Finally!

The fairy gave Solomon conspiratorial wink. “Even if she can’t, I bet you can...”

Solomon gave the fairy another calculating look. “True, I most likely could. But you only asked to hire Angie, not me.”

I started tugging on Solomon’s shirt sleeve, a sinking feeling developing in my gut at the direction this conversation was going.

“Eh?” Ben spoke up, confused. “But Cale Aster, what can a Merchant do against a Witch?”

Cale Aster and Solomon ignored us both.

“Aw come on, you’re traveling with a Holy Knight! Act a little holy why don’t you!”

“You know perfectly well I don’t work for free, ever.”

The fairy pouted cutely. “Fine, fine, but I’m not selling you my soul.”

“Only gods need souls, I want something useful.”

Cale Aster rolled his eyes, “Right right, just tell me what you want.”

“I want your loyal service.”

“My what?” The fairy’s whole body tilted in the air, surprised.

“You want to free the fairies, and I—” Solomon glanced at me. “—have my own “quest” to complete. I would request your whole hearted support in completing it.”

“I go free after the quest is complete?”

“Yes.”

The fairy righted himself, and gave the Demon a hard searching stare. I thought I saw his eyes flash bright, similar to Solomon when he appraised something. His face split into a huge, knowing grin.

“Oh my, oh my! How many different things are tying you down right now, eh Mr. Merchant?” He cackled evilly at Solomon’s sour expression and then paused, asking, “All the gossipers call you Solomon, is that your actual name?”

Solomon folded his arms, holding his head high in an attempt to look lordly. “It is.”

“OH MY GODS!” The fairy was laughing so hard now he was actually tumbling around in the air. “THE Solomon! For real?! HAHAHA!”

“I don’t get it, what’s so funny?” Ben complained, feeling left out. I felt for him. I didn’t understand either. I knew I was “tying” Solomon down, but what about those other “things”?

After a solid minute of hysterical laughter, Cale Aster managed to calm himself down.

Wiping tears from his large yellow eyes, he sputtered out: “I’ll do it! I’ll do it! This is the best entertainment I’ve had in ages! THE Solomon! Unbelievable! I’ll even throw in my silence for free, just for laughs!”

Solomon grimaced, but nodded, raising his hand—

Uh oh! I tried to interrupt: “Solomon, wait a—”

—he snapped his fingers, the now familiar sound of a match lighting accompanying it. “Deal. Your service will be appreciated, even though your attitude is sure to be annoying.”

My mouth fell open. He’d just agreed to us both fighting the Witch without once consulting me.