Chapter 1: The Hero Candidate

In the castle town of Paluma—the Royal Capital—the market workers’ carts were lined up in the loading area as they were every day, either carrying goods to the wholesalers or gathering up purchased merchandise. This was the great metropolis that stood at the continent’s center, bringing unity across all lands. Here, the traffic of countless people and wagons continued day and night in the hopes that the city might continue to prosper.

Demihumans were rare, as the church of Böbelbaum and their doctrine of human supremacy enjoyed great patronage in the city. Most demihumans ended up as slaves, while the rest made a meager living out of sight in the back streets. It was a far cry from the distant frontier, where humans were a rare sight.

Banaza of the Spade Mercantile Association was busily making his usual rounds in the loading area. He was simultaneously directing the workers packing merchandise meant for their carts, and overseeing the work of loading and unloading the carts that had just arrived from the frontier. It was a great volume of merchandise that could only be expected of a large company like the Spade Association, but Banaza made it look easy.

Banaza was born and raised in the Royal Capital. He had always excelled at arithmetic, so much so that even as a youth in the lower grades of his school, he had grown famous throughout the city. Indeed, he was taken on by the Spade Association the instant he graduated. He proved more than just a mathematical mind, however, developing great business sense. He was both a merciless negotiator with flawless prowess of discernment for goods on sale, and a person who, by nature, could relate to anyone without discrimination. Not only did his superiors in the Association think of him favorably, but even people in rival firms took a liking to him. He was a true rarity.

As if that wasn’t enough, Banaza was blessed with a face so beautiful that many would take him to be a woman at first glance, as well as with an attractively proportioned body. There were many women who harbored amorous feelings for him, but he always put work above their invitations, staying late every day, laboring ceaselessly. To put it simply: he just enjoyed his job.

In one of the groups loading freight into the cart, there was a kijin in black armor. When he caught sight of Banaza, he called out, “Hey Banaza, how many more boxes are we loading?”

“Ah, Mister Kuro. Fine work,” Banaza replied, still looking over his papers. “Oh, would you load one more stack of five boxes over there? And, depending on how the sales talks go, we might need you to load four or five more. I’m very sorry, but could I ask you to wait for us while you take your lunch break?”

As he said this, Banaza took a gold coin from the bag on his waist and handed it over to Kuro. The merchants all started to gossip at once.

“Look at that! Is he giving money to a demihuman?”

“Like it isn’t bad enough that we have to see those things walking around in broad daylight.”

“Honestly! There’s gotta be something wrong with him.”

As the people around them whispered on, Kuro lowered his head, distressed. “Banaza, it’s not like I don’t appreciate it but...I’m a kijin, you know? A demihuman. You really shouldn’t be so polite.”

But Banaza smiled calmly at Kuro and forced the coin into his hand. “And what difference does that make? I’d only be bothered if you didn’t let me do at least this much. Do you think I want my partner in this exchange to do everything just because it’s convenient for me?”

This didn’t seem to satisfy Kuro. “Um, well, but...”

Just then, a female merchant walked up to the two of them, smiling. “Mister Kuro, you should know full well that Mister Banaza will never change his mind once he’s made a decision,” she said. “Just nod your head and go get some food at the Five Dragons or somewhere with the rest of the caravan.”

“R-Really? Well if you say so, Quinn, I guess I can’t refuse Banaza’s kindness. He really does treat us well...” Kuro turned towards his team. “Hey, you lot! Lunch is on Banaza today! Say thank you nice and proper, and follow me!”

Laughing with a mighty “Gah ha ha,” Kuro walked off towards the other side of the road. The rest of his team of kijin all stopped working the carts at once, and came over to thank Banaza before hurrying across the street after Kuro.

“Thanks for everything, Mister Banaza.”

“Thanks for the grub!”

“I owe you one!”

Banaza saw them off with a smile, and then turned to look at the merchant standing next to him, who went by the name of Quinn. The only daughter of the president of the small mercantile firm Quinn Company, Quinn had already completely taken over management of the company’s procurement at her young age. Like Banaza, despite being born and raised in the Royal Capital, she associated freely with demihumans without prejudice. Indeed, she attracted a great deal of scrutiny for her habits, such as her practice of hiring only kobolds to be her subordinates. She was good-natured and beautiful, with an excellent figure, but even so it was not uncommon to hear words of ridicule such as, “Are Quinn and Banaza dating? They’re both strange, after all.” Quinn paid them no mind.

“That was a big help. I’ll have to thank you properly at some point, Quinn,” said Banaza with a calm smile, pressing his palms together.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, grinning back. “It was nothing.”

The people around them were whispering to each other, not hiding the distance they seemed so desperate to keep. The two of them both faced odd looks and scorn for refusing to discriminate against demihumans: Banaza, who spoke to them so easily, and Quinn, who hired them not as slaves, but as full employees.

Banaza turned, glancing at the crowd, his smile now looking forced. “I don’t see what’s so strange about treating demihumans with respect.”

“I don’t think there are many humans in the Royal Capital who would say that,” Quinn replied, the same strained smile on her face. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the two of us were the only ones in this whole market.”

“I hope, one day, maybe... One day, it won’t matter if someone is a human or a demihuman. One day, we’ll see a world where all people are treated as equals.” Banaza looked to the sky, a slight wistful look in his eyes.

Quinn, too, turned her gaze upward. “Yes,” she said, with a hint of humor. “And it’s not going to happen unless we—the younger generation—make it happen... So, where shall we start?”

Banaza fixed his gaze intently on Quinn. “Yes... What can we do...” Even as he said that, something about the palms of his own hands caught his eye. Something strange was happening. “What...?”

His hands looked like they were glowing. Was he imagining things? He blinked his eyes, and looked again. The light had spread, suddenly enveloping his whole body. “What? What?!”

Just as suddenly, the light vanished, taking Banaza with it.

“Oh, by the way Banaza,” Quinn said, turning her gaze bashfully to where Banaza had been, “next time...”

But Banaza wasn’t there.

“Banaza?”

Puzzled, Quinn scanned the area. There was no sign of him anywhere. She called out for him again. “Banaza?”

But there was no response.

◇Klyrode Castle◇

“The 198th Hero candidate summoning is a success.”

...Excuse me?

Banaza didn’t recognize the voice he heard. He began to open his eyes, and then widened them in shock. He should have been in the loading area packed with carts. He was just there, working, chatting amicably with his friend Quinn. But instead he saw an enormous room, one that looked to him like some sort of church. Banaza was standing somewhere near the middle. Around him were many women who looked like witches. They were chanting, and at their words a great magic circle slowly revolved around Banaza’s feet. (By the way, magic users in this world were referred to by different terms depending on their gender. Men were called magi, and women, witches. The exception was those who had reached the utmost pinnacle of magic—they were permitted to use the title of Grand Magus, regardless of gender.)

Wh-What in the world...? Where am I?

Completely disoriented by his new surroundings, Banaza stood still in shock. A woman dressed in maid-like attire came up to him and curtsied gracefully.

“Welcome to our world, Milord Hero Candidate. Would you be so kind as to come with me?” She gestured with her right hand, beckoning him to step forward, but Banaza did not move. Not understanding that the woman’s words were meant for him, he continued to stand motionless.

Banaza was in the middle of what he took to be an altar. All around him, people who looked like priests and magi continued to chant, casting some kind of spell. The altar was set in the middle of a larger building. With only the sunlight filtering in through the stained glass windows for illumination, Banaza could not see all the way to the end of the room.

“Milord Hero Candidate, it is almost time for the next candidate to be summoned. Please hurry, and come with us.” The maid took his hand—he was still looking around the room, dazed—and pulled him down from the magic circle. She then turned again to face him properly, and gave a respectful bow.

“Milord Hero Candidate. We, the Magical Kingdom of Klyrode, humbly thank you for answering our summons. I apologize for the inconvenience, but please allow us to perform an evaluation of your abilities.”

I “answered their summons”?

The maid’s words only made Banaza more bewildered. She smiled sympathetically. “I can tell you’re confused. That’s perfectly understandable. I know this is all very sudden. If you will accompany us to the Crystal Chamber, I will give a short explanation of our situation as we walk.”

As she led him away, she began to elucidate. “The Magical Kingdom of Klyrode is a nation in a world other than the one you hail from. We are a great kingdom in the middle of the world, boasting the largest domain of any nation. Our kingdom has formed pacts with many of the smaller countries, and governs the affairs of our world as the head of an alliance.”

They came to a turn in the corridor, and the maid led Banaza ahead. He followed behind, taking stock of his surroundings as he listened to the maid’s speech. He had visited the royal castle in Paluma due to his work from time to time, but the difference between that castle and the one he was now walking through was like night and day.

I can hardly believe it. This maid must be telling the truth—I must really be in another world.

He followed after the woman, nervous sweat on his brow. She continued:

“Under the guidance of Klyrode, our world enjoyed many years of harmony... But then the Dark One came and took those peaceful days from us.” She lowered her head as she spoke. “Long ago, the Dark One was vanquished by the Hero of Legend, leaving none to succeed him. It was thought that the line of Dark Ones had died off. But now... Now, the Dark One has suddenly reappeared, in all his terrible strength. He declared his intention to conquer the world, and launched a massive invasion. The Dark Army is very powerful, you see—it has trampled through cities all over the country in no time at all. To overcome this invasion, we of Klyrode invoked a spell passed down to us from ancient times to summon worthy heroes from other worlds to oppose him.”

“Excuse me,” Banaza interrupted, “I don’t quite understand. Ancient magic or no, why would you summon people from other worlds? Wouldn’t it be better to send your own kingdom’s knights, adventurers, heroes, or what have you? You would know their strength better; surely they must be more reliable...”

The maid nodded her head. “Well, according to the ancient legends, almost everyone summoned from another world carries the blessing of the gods of the Celestial Plane. This blessing, the Divine Revelation, gives them strength that no ordinary human could match, even if they trained for a thousand years. It will give us a hero much stronger than any we could marshal from the fighters of our own world.”

“Indeed, the hero summoned to this land to defeat the Dark One a hundred years ago came with extraordinary ability scores even at Level 1, with a score of 999 in all five of the major categories: Strength, Defense, Speed, Magic, and HP—and was equipped with many powerful skills.”

According to the maid, an average ability score for a person in this world was 10, a number that would increase as they gained levels. For someone to have 999 in all abilities at Level 1 was so rare that it could only be called a miracle. Furthermore, when someone leveled up, it was typical for the increase in their ability scores to be more significant the higher their base scores. The last Hero of Legend had reached scores so high they could no longer be calculated by the time they were Level 48.

As they stepped into the room, Banaza met the woman’s eyes, distressed. “I see,” he said, “but then, why would you summon me? I’m only a merchant. I do somewhat know how to use a sword, but I’m not enough of a fighter to take on a beast or anything... I must have been summoned by mistake. I’m no hero.”

The woman smiled. “I believe you do not know the power you possess. It’s not uncommon. It is said that the former Hero of Legend was originally a failed soldier.”

“Now, let us take the measure of your abilities,” she said, directing him onward. “Lord Banaza, please hold your hand to the crystal.”

Where the maid was pointing there was a platform, coming about to Banaza’s waist in height. On top of it, a blue crystal shone with divine light. “Like...this?” Hesitantly, Banaza reached towards the crystal. The maid bowed respectfully to Banaza, and went to peer into the depths of the crystal.

“This can’t...” The maid blinked in surprise, stepping back from the crystal and rubbing her eyes before taking a second look into the crystal. “Wh-What is the meaning of this?!” Her shoulders trembling, she covered her mouth in an unconscious gesture, completely at a loss for words.

Copying her, Banaza looked into the crystal while holding his own hand to it. Inside, he saw lines of letters and numbers, and understood the reason behind the maid’s speechlessness:

Lv: 1

Strength: 9

Defense: 8

Speed: 6

Magic: 1

HP: 10

Skills: Arithmetic, Business Sense

If he understood the maid’s explanation correctly, the ability scores reflected here would be utterly typical for an average person in this world. His skills, too, must have been what he had originally brought with him from his world, not anything granted from the gods as Divine Revelation for the summoned hero.

“No trace of Divine Revelation... It can’t be... I’ve never heard of something like this. This...isn’t supposed to happen!” The maid looked like she couldn’t believe her eyes. Noticing her reaction, two women in the same maid uniform as her, and two in witch-like garb gathered around them to check his scores for themselves. They were visibly distraught. Before he knew it, Banaza was surrounded by a small, gossipy crowd talking in quiet voices.

“A failure... We must send him back to his world.”

“No, we should investigate further. It’s uncanny for there to be no evidence of the blessing whatsoever.”

“But the gate is going to close...”

Suddenly, there was a voice from nearby. “Ah! Splendid! We have summoned one with power rivaling the Hero of Legends!”

Another person had entered the room, and had just finished holding his hand to the crystal. In front of him, a different woman in the same maid outfit was weeping joyfully.

“Is something wrong, Chihaya?” The maids surrounding Banaza rushed to gather around the other maid called Chihaya, and followed her gaze into the crystal.

The newcomer’s ability scores were displayed:

Lv: 1

Strength: 999

Defense: 999

Speed: 999

Magic: 999

HP: 999

Skills: Pre-Mastery

Banaza recalled from the maid’s speech that these were the same scores as the hero who was summoned a hundred years prior to defeat the Dark One. The man in front of the crystal certainly looked the part: with his chiseled physique and ornate armor, it was easy to imagine him as a knight of some faraway land. At the same time, he had fair looks that could captivate even a man’s heart, with beautiful almond eyes and long golden hair.

“I see. Then this means that I have been chosen to save this world,” said the man.

“It does! Please save us, O Hero!”

At some point, even the maid who had accompanied Banaza had rushed to the golden-haired knight’s side, celebrating out loud.

As rumors spread, more and more people entered the room. Each one would look at the knight’s ability scores, and then, without exception they would cry out in joy and weep with emotion. Soon, the room was full of people loudly celebrating the golden-haired knight. Banaza, who had been pushed into a corner by the wave of bodies, was watching out of the corner of his eye, still shaken.

◇Klyrode Castle—Throne Room◇

“Father, we must speak.”

A woman walked briskly into the throne room and knelt before King Klyrode, the master of the castle.

“What is it, Princess?” said the king. “I am quite busy, you know—I am meant to attend the feast celebrating the advent of a new hero.” He rose from his throne, but the princess took to her feet, rushing to the front of him and blocking his path.

“Would you at least reconsider sending more heroes after the Dark One? We’ve summoned nearly two hundred candidates and sent anyone with even a little promise on this mission. Not a single one has come back to us. To continue sending them off to pointlessly die would be—”

“And what do you mean, ‘pointless’?! You’ve heard the rumors that the Dark One is abdicating in favor of his son. One of the heroes we summoned must have defeated him. There’s no other explanation!”

“Perhaps, but friend or foe, there are also rumors of a demon uprising, angry with the atrocities committed by the former Dark One.”

“Oh, shut up!” Enraged, the king struck his daughter out of the way, knocking her off her feet. She fell to the floor with a cry. “They say the candidate this time has the same potential as the Hero of Legend!” the King spat, looking down at his daughter. “This one is sure to slay the Dark One or his son or whatever, and put an end to all these summonings.”

Having said his piece, he made for the back of the throne room, pausing to beckon one of his aides. “Instruct the witches to continue with the candidate summonings,” he said, pressing close to whisper in the aide’s ear.

“But... The hero this time is—”

“Don’t be an idiot. We can’t know for certain that this hero will defeat the Dark One either. Until we hear that the Dark One is dead, the summonings will continue. Understood?”

After a pause, the aide bowed his head and dashed off down the hallway. The King watched him go, and then started off in the opposite direction. The princess peered at her father from her position on the floor, lying where she fell.

“Your Highness!”

One of the lady knights in the princess’s entourage rushed to her side to help her up, but the princess held up a hand, warding her off, and slowly pulled herself to her feet.

What now...? What must I do?

Hunching her shoulders, the princess departed from the throne room.

◇Klyrode Castle—Dignitary’s Hall◇

“Lord Hero, savior of the land, thank you for coming to the aid of our world!”

The king was facing the golden-haired knight sitting next to him, grinning so broadly it seemed to take up his entire face. They were in the castle room used for entertaining dignitaries, right at the center of a great banquet attended by the whole castle—the Feast of the Hero’s Advent. The king was seated at the same level as the new hero, drinking and drinking without stop, his spirits high.

Suddenly the king shot to his feet, holding drink number who-knows-how-many aloft, surveying the assembled crowd.

“Hear me! This golden-haired knight is hereby appointed the Hero of our world. Let all of us lend him our aid—not just those of Klyrode, but the whole Alliance!”

An enormous cheer met the king’s proclamation, threatening to bring the hall down on everyone’s heads.

“Long live the King!”

“Long live King Klyrode!”

“Long live the Hero!”

“Long live the Golden-Haired Hero!”

The cheers and toasts carried on as the golden-haired knight, newly appointed as Hero, stood smiling and waving to the crowd.

Banaza, meanwhile, was hiding in the corner.

He had been pushed out of the room by the crowd of people gathered around the golden-haired knight back in the Crystal Chamber. With no plan and no direction, he wandered around Klyrode Castle trying not to stand out, until he accidentally ended up lost in the crowd of banquet guests.

I guess this is some kind of feast... If they notice that I’m here, they’ll kick me out for sure.

Uncomfortably aware of the line of sight of the people around him, Banaza quietly approached a table lined with food, grabbed several plates, and hurried back to his corner. Sighing with relief, he hid himself from sight and slowly took a bite of the food.

Oh, this is good stuff!

It was the first food Banaza had eaten since being summoned to the world, and he stuffed more and more into his mouth. Once his empty stomach was filled, he felt much calmer. He gradually resolved to at least take a look around the banquet.

“There’s so many people here. I bet I can learn something,” he muttered to himself. “Someone here might know how to get me back to my world...”

“Excuse me for a moment!” he said, trying to get the attention of a group of people nearby. He tried another, and then another, but everyone he spoke to brushed him off with a brusque response, such as “I’m quite busy welcoming the Hero, you know!” or “I have to speak with the Hero! Don’t bother me!”

The Feast of the Hero’s Advent continued on for three days and three nights. Fortunately for Banaza, the door was left unlocked the entire time, so he spent the days sleeping on a sofa in the corner. He kept trying time and time again to get someone’s attention, but nobody bothered to listen.

And then came the night of the third day. “Well then, everyone, let’s give our Golden-Haired Hero a big round of applause!” The king gave these final words and brought the banquet to a close. The guests started to leave, and before long, the staff began to clean up as well.

Banaza was sitting on the sofa like he had been for three days, when he caught sight of someone in a group of stragglers. His eyes went wide—it was the maid who had shown him to the Crystal Chamber on the first day. He hurried to her in a panic, catching her before she left the room. “E-Excuse me, can we talk?”

“Ah... Yes? What is it?” The maid stared blankly at him, confused.

“Do you remember me? I was the Hero candidate you summoned...”

“The...Hero candidate? It can’t be. You’re Lord Banaza?!” Her eyes shot open in recognition, her face losing color as the memory came back to her. “But, you... What are you still doing in this world?”

“Don’t ask me. Nobody’s told me anything...”

Somehow the maid’s face went even paler. For a while she just stared at him in shocked silence, both hands covering her mouth. And then, slowly, she spoke. “Summoning a Hero candidate is very difficult magic. It’s not at all uncommon for us to summon someone with low aptitude as a hero. Usually in such cases we send them back to their world within the day they’re summoned.” She paused for a moment, distressed. “Which is to say, the gates we use to summon you... They close within twenty-four hours. And once a gate is closed, finding the same gate is supposed to be almost impossible...”

At the maid’s words, Banaza, too, was stunned into silence. It was the third day since he had been summoned to this world.

For a while, the two of them just stared at each other, at a complete loss.

◇ ◇ ◇

Banaza was taken to a room in the castle, led by the maid from earlier. “Please, um, wait here. I’m going to talk to my superiors about this,” she had said, leaving him waiting for her to return. It was already around two in the morning.

What’s going to happen to me? Banaza thought, a tinge of fear on his face.

Eventually a group of witches entered the room, along with a man who seemed to be some kind of castle official. The man approached, and stood facing directly towards Banaza, while the witches lined up on either side of him. As they completed their formation, he began to speak. “Mister Banaza, was it? We of the Magical Kingdom of Klyrode would like to express our deepest apologies for our grave error, and the enormous trouble it has caused you,” he said, and deeply lowered his head. The witches at his sides followed suit.

The official explained that Banaza had been deemed unfit as a hero candidate, and was meant to have been sent back to his world on the same day he arrived. However, due to the timing of the Golden-Haired Hero being summoned at almost the same time, the castle staff had all forgotten themselves in celebration of the arrival of a hero with the same abilities as the Hero of Legends, and completely neglected the issue of Banaza.

When the castle witches had received the maid’s report, he said, they searched as hard as they could for a way to return Banaza to his world. However, as there existed an infinite number of worlds, they were unable to locate a gate that led back to Banaza’s world, now that the one that brought him here had been closed.

“We had every witch in the castle looking...” said one of the witches standing next to the official, unable to make eye contact with Banaza.

“N-No...” Banaza stumbled. “Then... What’s going to happen to me?”

Banaza was so pale he looked almost devoid of life.

◇Klyrode Castle—Throne Room◇

The next morning, Banaza was taken to the castle’s throne room. Before him sat King Klyrode on his throne, elevated a level above the rest of the room. The king hadn’t uttered a word since Banaza was brought into the room. Banaza lowered his head slightly, but the king gave no reaction, only regarding him with a steady gaze. His chin rested on his hand, and his right elbow was propped up on the armrest. Banaza thought he looked somehow displeased.

After some time, the king turned to the aide standing to his side, seeming to signal something with only a glance. The aide, who had been waiting his turn, stepped between Banaza and the king. He faced Banaza and lightly cleared his throat, opening a paper he held in his hands.

“To the Hero candidate Banaza who has visited us from another world, the words of the king,” he began. “As concerns our failure to return you to your world, being deemed unfit as a Hero candidate, we acknowledge our error. This failure reflects on the whole of the Magical Kingdom of Klyrode, and we apologize with all our heart. Therefore, you shall be granted special permission to reside in this world. However, due to certain concerns, you are not to reside in the city. This permission only extends to the Delaveza Forest north of the castle. You may come and go from the city if you like, but you are strictly forbidden to speak about any of what has occurred.”

“By way of restitution,” he continued, “you will be granted an appropriate sum of money, as well as such items as are necessary for life. That is all.”

As the aide finished, the king stood up from his throne and left. During the whole time he was there, not once did he show any contrition.

One woman stepped out from the row of people who had been waiting behind the king. She followed after him, saying, “Father!” Before she left the room, however, she turned back to look at Banaza and bowed her head deeply.

The aide placed the paper in his breast pocket. “There’s a carriage waiting to take you to Delaveza Forest. They’re arranging for your restitution to be given to you there. You will set out immediately.” With that, he left the room by the same door the king had earlier. At least he had addressed Banaza directly.

The people lined up behind the king, too, followed after.

“What? Wait, hold on!” Banaza tried to get in front of the departing crowd, calling out in a panic. But not one of them seemed inclined to listen.

A guard walked into the room through the same door that Banaza had used to enter. “Lord Banaza,” he said, “please come this way,” indicating the door with his right hand. He rushed Banaza along, clearly wanting him to leave quickly. The whole affair had a strong atmosphere of coercion, but Banaza could do nothing but follow the guard’s instructions.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Circumstances be as they may, Father, I believe that was far too cruel.”

The princess rushed after the king, who was walking down the hallway. At her words, he stopped in his tracks, glancing at her over his shoulder. “And what exactly did you think was so cruel, my eldest daughter? I went to the trouble of making a personal appearance to pass a decree to that wretch—that failure not even fit to be a hero candidate. Is that not altogether more than he deserves?”

The king looked forward and started again down the hall, but the princess walked up even closer to him, speaking urgently. “It was we who summoned him to our world, for our own purposes...and it’s because of our mistake that he cannot return. Are you really not going to say a single word to him? Not show him any remorse? Is that kingly conduct?”

The king continued down the hallway, not sparing a glance in her direction.

“Furthermore, sending him to live in the Delaveza Forest is excessive. There have been reports for some time now of sightings of demons thought to be in the Dark Army. There are even rumors that they are constructing a forward base there. Sending him to live in such a place... Father, do you intend for that man to die?!”

At this, the king stopped. Slowly, he turned towards the princess, who also stopped in her tracks. He was smirking. “And what if I said yes. What then?”

“Father! You can’t!”

Before her father’s icy gaze, the princess was fixed to the spot, at a loss for words. With a glance back at her, the king once again continued down the hallway. The princess could only stare, dumbfounded.

“Your Majesty.” As the king left his daughter behind him, the aide who had read his pronouncement to Banaza caught up. He fell in place at the king’s side, and continued on alongside him. “Arrangements have been made to see the man to a carriage bound for the Delaveza Forest.”

The king nodded slightly, only turning his eyes towards the aide. “And is his Bottomless Bag set with our little surprise?”

“Yes,” he said, grinning. “Everything is in order.”

A grin spread over the king’s face as well. “If one is to vanquish a Dark One, there are certain unavoidable expenses, I suppose,” he said. “What a pity.” And he laughed, a self-assured “Wah ha ha ha ha!”

The laughter echoed through the halls, strange and uncanny.

Banaza had been led away by the guard, straight to the castle entrance. Just as the aide had said, there was a carriage waiting for him.

The guard opened the carriage door. “Lord Banaza, please board here.”

It didn’t seem like he was being given a choice. All he could do was get in the carriage.

They’re really just going to send me away like this, without explaining anything?

Banaza knew full well what was going on—this was all just a polite way of getting rid of someone they had decided was trouble. A “failed hero” being allowed near the castle must have been inconvenient for them, somehow.

Still, they could at least tell me a little about what’s going on.

As he was thinking, the door suddenly slammed shut. There was an ominous clatter from just beyond the carriage walls. Banaza tried pushing on the door, but it wouldn’t budge. It appeared to be locked from the other side.

Banaza unconsciously knit his brows and sank into his seat, sighing heavily. It wasn’t that he’d had any mind to run away, but to be treated like some kind of criminal...

Suddenly, and with considerable speed, the cart began to move. Banaza looked out the window, his gaze transfixed on the castle as it got smaller and smaller in the distance.

There was a small window at the front of his compartment, which Banaza opened. “Excuse me,” he said. “Coachman?”

“What is it?” the man asked with no trace of amity in his words. “I’ve been told not to speak with you, I’m afraid. No idle conversation.” True to his words, he went silent.

Banaza was a bit offended by the man’s attitude, but did his best to put on a cheerful tone. “There’s no need for that,” he began. “It’s just that I don’t know anything at all about these lands. You know, I’m being sent away against my will to some faraway place. Would it really be so wrong to talk to me, even just to kill time until we get there?”

It was some time before the coachman responded. “Just a little, I guess,” he said brusquely.

For the rest of the trip, Banaza and the coachman exchanged words, and little by little he got answers to his questions. The coachman told him that it would take at least twenty days to reach the Delaveza Forest, even by carriage. It was a wild land, far from any human settlements. “It’s just a rumor,” he explained, “but they say the Dark Army has been seen around there lately. Be careful.”

Banaza was dumbfounded by the coachman’s words. Twenty days from the castle... No human cities in the area... How am I supposed to live somewhere like that? He sighed deeply. Even if I am just a nuisance to them, would it really be so much to expect just a little more than this? Couldn’t they have made arrangements for me to live somewhere? Maybe not in the castle itself, but in the castle town, or one of the nearby villages...

He had a feeling that if he were to voice his dissatisfaction, though, he would find himself locked away to die in the castle dungeon. At least, he told himself, he still had his freedom.

After twenty days, the carriage arrived in the Delaveza Forest.

The coachman let Banaza out in a grassy meadow in front of the forest itself. “This is where I take my leave, Milord,” he said. For the past twenty days, this man had been with him constantly, not letting him leave the carriage except to relieve himself (and even then, he had to do his business with a straw rope tied around his waist).

Banaza stepped out of the carriage and began to thoroughly stretch his aching body. From the meadow, he could see the thick foliage of the forest before him.

“That right there is the Delaveza Forest. You are expected to make your home somewhere inside. And, finally, I’ve been instructed to give you this.” The coachman handed him a small bag.

“Is this...a Bottomless Bag?”

“You know about them?”

“Yes, well,” Banaza answered, “I used them sometimes in my previous job.”

Bottomless Bag: a magic item with the power to store items of a considerable size. Although it appeared small on the outside, the inside was as large as a treasury. Bottomless Bags existed in Banaza’s world as well, and as a merchant he had used them often. He had never owned one himself—they were very expensive magic items, after all—but had borrowed them from his employer.

“Well, you might not need it, but it comes with an instruction manual,” said the coachman. “And I’m gonna need you to sign the receipt.” He handed Banaza a piece of paper, with “receipt” written at the top, and one item listed below: “Bottomless Bag.”

“If it’s all right with you, I’d like to confirm the bag’s contents,” said Banaza.

The coachman folded his arms and replied, curt as ever. “That one paper was all they gave me. Sorry.”

Ah well, I guess I’ll see what’s inside for myself, and then sign the receipt.

Banaza reached for the bag, but the coachman pushed his arm down, suddenly flustered. “H-Hey! Wait!” he shouted. Banaza looked up at the coachman, startled by his sudden change in behavior. The coachman met his eyes. “P-Please... You can’t look until I leave,” he said. “Those were my instructions.”

Banaza was suspicious—the coachman sounded agitated. They must have cheated him of something, or else why would the coachman act like this? But the coachman was stubborn on this point, only repeating himself over and over. In the end, Banaza relented, and signed the receipt without checking.

The coachman took the receipt from Banaza and hurriedly boarded the carriage, barely saying farewell as he took off. Banaza waved goodbye, calling after him in a loud voice. “Thank you for looking after me!” But the carriage sped away, sparing no reply. Before long, it had vanished behind a hill.

Banaza watched it leave with a strained expression and took the bag from where he had stowed it on his belt. I hope this works the same as Bottomless Bags in my world, he thought, slowly bringing his senses to focus on the bag. As he did, he felt like he could see a window appear in midair. On it was text, showing a list of what he supposed was the bag’s contents. Relieved that the bag seemed to operate like the ones he was used to, Banaza took in the information displayed in the window.

Bottomless Bag:

◇100,000 gold
Legal tender of the Magical Kingdom of Klyrode.

◇1 set of Magic Homesteading Kit
Creates a house in the desired location. A Magic Item with remodeling, recovery, and reuse enabled.

◇1 Bag of Endless Water
A Magic Item that produces unlimited potable water.

◇99 Simple Preserved Rations
Preserved meals.

◇20 Garments
Full outfits suitable for an adventurer.

◇8 Armaments
Sets of weapons suitable for an adventurer.

◇3 sets of Agriculture and Construction Tools
General tools used for agriculture, construction, and excavation.

Banaza folded his arms, reading the list several times as he considered what he should do next. In any event, it looks like I can set up a house easily enough, so I don’t need to worry about where I’m going to live. They gave me plenty of food too... He sighed in relief and closed the window.

Hm? Just then, Banaza caught sight of something strange. Something was flying out of the Delaveza Forest, hurtling in his direction. On closer inspection, it was a slime. A slime charging right at him, unwavering in its path.

Banaza hastily looked around, trying to find somewhere to hide, but there was nowhere he could possibly conceal himself in the flat grassy meadow.

Am I going to have to fight this thing?

He rushed to draw a sword from his bag, but when he set eyes on the weapon, he was dumbfounded. “Oh no. This sword is terrible!”

In his time as a merchant, Banaza had excelled at discerning the quality of weapons, and all it took was a single glance to see the sword was an inferior item. Meanwhile, the slime was almost upon him.

It’s all I have. I guess I’ve just gotta make do.

Banaza steeled himself and readied his blade, preparing to receive the slime’s attack. The slime sprung from the ground, flying at him, its body spread wide like a net.

“A-Aaah!”

Banaza was afraid, but he swung his sword all the same, frantic and desperate. He scored a lucky hit! His sword pierced the slime’s core, and the monster fell to the ground, defeated. It quickly vanished into thin air.

Banaza stared at it, panting and still on guard. “Ah... Thank goodness. I got it. Somehow.” Relieved, he plopped to the ground. Another window suddenly appeared in his field of vision. It spread open before his eyes like the one from before, but the text in this window was different. This window told him that he had leveled up, and displayed his attributes as they increased.

But what Banaza saw made him tilt his head in confusion.

Level Up!

Lv: 2

Strength: ∞

Defense: ∞

Speed: ∞

Magic: ∞

HP: ∞

Skills: ∞

“I get that I went up a level,” Banaza said aloud, uncomprehending, “but... What does this mean? What does this symbol mean?” He racked his brains, but it was no use. No matter how hard he thought, no answers came to him.

The ∞ symbol appears when someone’s attributes have grown past the upper limit, and can no longer be displayed. When Banaza was Level 1, his attributes were completely typical of an average person in this world. However, as soon as he reached Level 2, every one of his attributes rose higher than any hero in all of history. Even the Dark One would be nothing to him as he was now. Furthermore, he had instantly mastered every spell and every skill that existed in the world. This was the true blessing the gods bestowed on him upon his summoning: “Transcendence.”

Banaza, of course, had yet to realize this. He kept checking his status and pondering fruitlessly.

◇ ◇ ◇

Banaza continued to stare at his ability scores for a while longer. “I guess if I don’t know what it means,” he muttered, “I’m not going to figure it out by thinking about it.” He sighed quietly and turned to look in the direction of the forest. “Either way, I need to figure out where I’m going to live, don’t I?” He looked at the bag on his belt. With the construction magic he had, all he would need to do was decide where he wanted to put his house, and the magic would do the rest. Banaza looked around, trying to decide on a location, when yet again he saw a window appear. This window, however, was clearly different from the ones he had seen before—its border was flashing red.

“Wh-What is it this time?” Banaza swallowed unconsciously.

Warning: Concealed enchantment detected in item in your possession!

High possibility of danger to holder!

Bottomless Bag:

◇Location-Tracking Magic
Reports location of holder to spellcaster at regular intervals.

◇Forced Recovery Magic
Compels item to return to spellcaster upon holder’s death.

◇Monster-Luring Magic
Enchants item to automatically lure monsters.

Force Dispel?

◇Yes
◇No

Banaza felt himself break into a cold sweat.

The Homing and the Forced Recovery enchantments were innocuous enough, but the third item on the list, the “Monster-Luring Magic,” was another matter entirely. There was no other explanation: whoever enchanted the item could only have been trying to make monsters attack him. The slime earlier, who attacked out of nowhere, must have been affected by the spell.

Basically, they want me to hurry up and die. Banaza was stunned. “But...” he glanced at the last line in the message. “I can...force it to dispel?”

As if in response to his words, another window popped up.

All enchantments can be dispelled.

Force Dispel?

◇Yes
◇No

Well, Banaza thought as he read the new window, that would be “yes,” I suppose.

The instant he had the thought, the bag on his belt started to glow faintly. The windows vanished, and a new window appeared:

The following enchantments have been forcibly dispelled:

◇Location-Tracking Magic

◇Forced Recovery Magic

◇Monster-Luring Magic

Banaza cocked his head in thought again as he read. “So, the hidden enchantments are gone now?”

Another window appeared.

The following spells are in constant effect in your vicinity. Among these, the spells Magic Vigilance and Dispel Magic have been activated.

◇Magic Vigilance
Displays a warning when encountering spells or enchantments holding hostile intent.

◇Dispel Magic
Removes spells or enchantments holding hostile intent at the caster’s discretion.

◇Magic Radar
Detects the presence of traps or beings with hostile intent within 100 kilmas.

◇Auto-mapping
Automatically creates a mental map of the area within 100 kilmas of the caster. Corporeal manifestation is possible.

Continue to next page?

◇Yes
◇No

Banaza continued as he was prompted. There were six pages total, he learned, all filled with passive spells that were constantly active in the area around him. In total, there were forty-six. But before he looked over all of them, Banaza found himself thinking again.

There’s no reason I should be able to use magic at all... Why would there be all these passive spells affecting me? Am I the one casting them? What’s going on?

Banaza folded his arms and thought as hard as he could. After a period of intense contemplation, he came to the following conclusions:

One: I have just reached Level 2.

Two: In this world, this level of magic is typical for anyone who has reached Level 2.

“Yeah,” he mumbled. “Yeah, that’s gotta be it.” He nodded his head several times as if he had come to an understanding.

Incidentally, passive spells were magic skills available to spellcasters who had mastered over eighty percent of all spells in existence. In the entire world, there were only twenty people who had access to them. Among those twenty, even the person with the greatest number of passive spells had no more than four. All that is to say that having reached Level 2, Banaza was without a doubt the greatest magic user in the world. This too was an effect of the blessing of Transcendence. Some passive spells would cause windows to appear from time to time, magically displaying information in response to the caster’s needs. If the caster wished for it, however, there was also the option to turn off the display.

Banaza would never have thought of himself as any kind of exceptional person. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined the magnitude of the powers he now had.

“Right, I was going to look for a place to live.” Banaza had been lost in thought for a while. He let out a breath, and began to walk towards the forest.

As he did, yet another window appeared. This one was the same kind as the one from earlier, with the flashing red border. “Oh, what is it now?” Startled, Banaza took a look.

Warning: This forest suffers from heavy malicium pollution.

Use Purification?

◇Yes
◇No

This sent Banaza back into confusion. Malicium? What in the world? In response to his thoughts, another window appeared.

◇Malicium
General term referring to liquid or gas containing elemental particles of dark magic, highly toxic to humans. Chiefly spread or generated by powerful demons.

Banaza nodded along as he read. “Well, in that case, I should do something about it if I can.” Mentally, he selected “yes.”

Another window appeared.

Notice: This spell will use 1/3 of your total magic power.

Cast spell?

◇Yes
◇No

I mean, I didn’t have any magic power at all, originally. One third of my total magic can’t be that much, so this must not be that big of a deal, right?

Banaza selected “yes” again, in part just to spite the notice. A brilliant light emanated from the area around him. At once, the light began to expand, quickly spreading out before his eyes until it encompassed the vast Delaveza Forest in its entirety.

“Wh-What the—?!”

For a while, Banaza could only stare in amazement at the overwhelming vastness of the light. Before him, the dazzling radiance shrunk and vanished. It only took five seconds. The Delaveza Forest seemed altogether unchanged.

“Oh,” said Banaza. “I guess that spell doesn’t actually do much.”

Somewhat relieved to see the forest unaffected, Banaza called up his status screen and checked his magic. There didn’t seem to be a numerical value displayed, but he saw a bar that he assumed indicated his total magic power. One third of it had gone black. I suppose that’s the magic I spent casting Purification. He nodded. The black portion of the bar was gradually filling in—it looked like it would be fully restored in two minutes.

“That makes sense. I don’t have a lot of magic, so the third of it I used is going to recover pretty quickly.” Banaza smiled wryly, perfectly ignorant of the extraordinary recovery abilities that came with Transcendence.

◇Meanwhile, in Klyrode Castle◇

The Department of Magic was located within Klyrode Castle. There, magi and witches worked day and night to develop detection spells in order to descry the magic used by the Dark Army, and to observe their movements. At that moment, however, the whole department was in complete disarray.

One mage, clearly agitated, was reporting to the department head. “Chief!” he exclaimed. “There’s trouble! We’ve confirmed the signs: someone just cast the spell Purification, the absolute apex of Holy Magic!”

The department head was an old man with a white beard and an extravagant robe. At the mage’s words, his face seemed to light up. “Ooh! That must be the Golden-Haired Hero on his quest to vanquish the Dark One—make no mistake! They say he’s one-in-a-century, after all. Only he could have managed to reach the pinnacle of magic so quickly!” He spoke excitedly, making a tight fist with his right hand. The mage who had made the report, however, looked troubled.

“W-Well, Chief, that is... The Hero is supposed to have set off for the south. But it seems that the spell in question was cast in the far north...”

The department head looked astonished, and fixed the mage with a sharp look. “Don’t be ridiculous, boy! You must have made some sort of mistake. You know that Purification is our ultimate weapon, our last resort, a spell that takes the combined powers of every mage in Klyrode! If not the Hero, who else could have possibly cast it?”

“Yes,” said the mage, “yes, well...”

The two of them stared at each other in silence, and the Department of Magic continued in its disarray.

◇The Delaveza Forest◇

Yet another window appeared after Banaza cast Purification. It seemed like he had leveled up again, but when he read the details, he was once again left confused.

Lv: 367

Strength: ∞

Defense: ∞

Speed: ∞

Magic: ∞

HP: ∞

Skills: ∞

“...Excuse me?”

Banaza was sure he had been Level 2 after defeating the slime from earlier. But this new window was telling him that he had jumped all the way to Level 367. “All I did was use that Purification spell. It’s not like I defeated any monsters...”

Troubled, Banaza again turned to his thoughts, trying to figure out the cause of all this. But no matter how much he thought, nothing came to mind.

The truth was, a division of the Dark Army had concealed themselves deep in the Delaveza Forest. The malicium Banaza had detected was their handiwork. When Banaza had used Purification, the entire division was caught in the spell and annihilated. Banaza, who defeated the demons, had gained an army’s worth of experience, his level skyrocketing to dizzying heights.

In fact, the army stationed in the forest was led by one of the Dark One’s Infernal Four: Fengaryl, the Wild Wolf. Fengaryl was a legendary demon who had slain tens of thousands of soldiers of Klyrode with his own hands, feared as the greatest of the four.

Banaza, of course, had no idea his spell had done any of this. As hard as he tried to deduce the cause of his rapid level up, he found no answers—only frustration.

After thinking and thinking, and thinking some more, Banaza reached the following conclusion:

“I must not be good enough at magic. I think it isn’t displaying things correctly.” He nodded his head several times, trying to convince himself.

In the end, Banaza decided that he couldn’t trust the level-up notices and switched the display settings to “off,” never to open them again.

I really can’t keep on worrying about this.

Banaza glanced at the forest, leaving the issue to take care of itself. It had been purged, true, but up until just a moment before, this forest was polluted with dark energy. Banaza found himself hesitant to go in. But they said I’m not allowed to live in the city. I mean, they sent me off to die. If they find out I’ve been going into towns, they might arrest me, right? What am I supposed to do...

As he folded his arms in thought, a new window appeared:

Suggested Spell: ShapeshiftChanges the appearance of your body.

Cast?

◇Yes
◇No

Banaza inclined his head. I see... If I change how I look, they might not realize that it’s me in town. He selected “yes” and a new window came up.

Sex?

◇Male
◇Female

Height?

◇Tall
◇Average
◇Short

Race?

◇Human
◇Demihuman
◇Demon

...

......

.........

Oh dear, this looks like it’s going to be a bit of work...

Banaza went through the options one by one, a wry smile on his face. It took a considerable amount of time, but he finished his selections and ended up transformed into a pretty regular-looking person: male, human, and average height. He looked nothing like his original slender self with a beautiful face that people often mistook for a woman’s.

“And now I need to figure out what to wear...” Banaza mumbled to himself as he took several outfits out of the bag. Just like the sword, however, they were all of abysmal quality. There was one that had ripped before he’d even had the chance to wear it.

I knew it. There’s no way I can wear these. He had just started to worry himself about the state of his clothes when another window appeared.

Restructure Clothing Spell can be used to redesign this outfit.

Cast?

◇Yes
◇No

Oh? I can change clothes too? Banaza mentally selected “yes.”

Please visualize the form you would like the outfit to be restructured to.

Following the instructions on this new window, Banaza imagined a set of clothes styled for an adventurer. In a second, the clothes in front of him transformed to look exactly like the image in his mind. “Okay, this works!” Banaza pulled forcefully at the fabric, testing its strength. When he was sure there was nothing wrong with it, he put it on. And, thinking that it would be dangerous to go by “Banaza,” he decided to borrow the name of his old pet dog, Flio.

“All right, I think I’m ready. But the real problem is the sheer distance.” Banaza (or rather, Flio) looked in the direction the carriage had vanished in and sighed. It had taken him twenty days by carriage to come here. How long would it take on foot? Flio crossed his arms, and, once again, a window appeared.

Travel to Castle Town using Teleportation?

◇Yes
◇No

“Teleportation?” Flio looked perturbed.

I’ve heard of that spell before... In my world, it’s high-level magic. Doesn’t it let you instantly travel anywhere as long as you’ve been there before?

As he was thinking, a new window appeared.

◇Teleportation
Teleports caster to a location previously visited with pinpoint accuracy. Others in the range of effect may be brought along at the caster’s discretion.

Oh, huh! Flio thought. It’s the same as my old world.

Flio selected “yes,” and instantly found himself in the town of Klyrode Castle. His eyes went wide. “Wait, I-I’m really in the city?!” Flio had thought the idea that a spell he could cast would actually let him teleport like this was too good to be true. He was shocked that it had actually worked.

Incredible... So this is Teleportation. I really traveled the distance of a twenty-day carriage ride in a single second...

As worked up as he was over the spell, Flio didn’t want the people around him to take notice. Doing his best to appear calm, he hid himself within the crowd on the city streets, wandering aimlessly. I should find an inn to stay at, he thought, and while I’m here, I should try to learn about this world. I can figure out what comes next later. He began to look for an inn as he walked.

He caught sight of one off the main street—according to its sign, it was called The Jewel’s Blessing. “I guess I’ll try this one,” he said.

There was a restaurant on the first floor of the inn. It was midday, and there was a small crowd of humans and demihumans here for lunch. The innkeeper—a woman who looked from her face to be in her early forties—was cooking. “Welcome!” she said in a cheerful voice. “I haven’t seen you before. Are you new to the city?” She gave Flio a calm smile.

“Yes, I’m a novice adventurer from a small village to the east. My name is Flio. I’m looking for an inn. Do you have rooms available?”

The innkeeper smiled at Flio’s words. “Oh, yes, no problem! We have rooms open at the moment, as it just so happens. You’re more than welcome to stay.”

She quoted him a price, but prices here were different from Flio’s world and he had no sense of the value of his money. Regardless, he took one of the coins out from his bag and gave it to her.

“I wouldn’t have guessed you were nobility from looking at you!” The innkeeper laughed. “That’ll be enough to cover our best room for almost half a year.”

“I, umm,” Flio began, trying to come up with an excuse to keep up appearances. “M-My party and I managed to strike it rich... I’m on my way home now...”

The innkeeper accepted his money without inquiring further. “Your room is on the second floor, furthest to the back. As I said before, the amount you’ve given us is good for a half-year stay. I’ll return your remaining balance when you check out, but I’m hoping you stay with us for a while!” She gave him a wink. Flio could only return a strained smile.

With the room key he had gotten from the innkeeper in hand, Flio followed her directions and entered the furthest back room on the second floor. Inside, there were two very big beds, and even a bath. In Flio’s world, if an inn room came with a “bath,” most of the time it would consist of nothing more than a bucket of hot water and a rag to wipe your body with. With that as his baseline, this really did seem like the image of an inn’s “best room.”

After taking stock of the room and a short rest, Flio decided it was time to get ready to venture forth into the town and gather information. Thinking he would like to present himself as a mage, he reached into his bag and removed a splintered plank he had found on the roadside.

“Okay,” Flio muttered, turning his focus to trying to transform the wood with magic. “Let’s see how this goes.” He thought about what he wanted, and as he did, suggestions appeared telling him what spells to cast. Flio was starting to get a good handle on this, and he found the work quite easy. In no time at all, the plank of wood had become an ornate magic staff. “Yeah, this’ll do, I think.” Flio gave a satisfied nod and descended the stairs to the first-floor restaurant, staff in hand.

Flio’s plan was to eat a meal here, and at the same time, see what he could learn. As he took a seat, the innkeeper quickly hurried to his table with a drink of water. “Well, if it isn’t Mister Flio. How are you finding the room? It’s our best, you know, since you’re a VIP and all.” She brought her lips close to Flio’s ear and whispered. “And let me know if you’re ever looking for a girl. I’ll be happy to give you our special service.” As she withdrew, she gave him a mischievous wink.

“Ah ha ha,” Flio laughed, forcing himself to smile again, “you have quite the sense of humor, miss.”

The innkeeper smiled brightly. “It wouldn’t hurt you to live a little, you know. If you’re interested, I certainly wouldn’t mind.”

Still with a forced smile on his face, Flio ordered the lunch special, mostly as a ploy to escape this topic of conversation. The innkeeper took his order and headed to the kitchen. Flio watched her leave. Finally, he thought. Free at last.

Internally breathing a sigh of relief, Flio brought his focus in on his sense of hearing. While he waited for his lunch, he set to listen in on the conversations around him, hoping to see what he could learn. As he did, windows kept popping up telling him about all kinds of skills and spells that had to do with eavesdropping, several of which he used.

In the end, Flio learned the following: the Golden-Haired Hero had departed for the south, some mysterious great magic was used in a forest to the north, many people were complaining of goblin damage, and the quality of slaves had worsened as of late.

“Sorry for the wait.” Flio had been pretending to stare out the window as he listened to the conversations around him when a dog-type demihuman came up to him with his order. She seemed to be a worker here.

“I’m sorry if this is a rude question,” Flio said, smiling at her, “but are you contracted here as a slave?”

“Oh, we don’t do things like that here,” she replied. “The landlady treats us all like family.”

Flio made an astonished noise without meaning to. This really is another world. Free demihumans working in the castle town... In his world, human supremacy pervaded everything. If you saw a demihuman working in a restaurant like this, without exception they would be a slave.

“I really can’t stay and chat,” said the dog girl. “I don’t want to get scolded.” She bowed deeply and returned to the back of the shop. Flio thanked her and turned his attention towards the meal.

The meal consisted of two rolls of bread, a hearty vegetable soup, and a heaping plate of stir-fried meat and potatoes. It was good, simple fare, and Flio felt like he could understand why this place was still crowded even though it was already a little past midday. He had eaten nothing but tins of poor-quality preserved food the coachman had given him during his trip to the Delaveza Forest; presented with food like this, he ate voraciously. It didn’t take him long at all to finish.

“Thank you for the meal!” Flio said, addressing the innkeeper, who was still busy in the kitchen. “My compliments to the chef.” She smiled giddily.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it! Dinner’s going to be even better, so you’d better stick around.” She gave him another wink. Flio managed to return her smile, with just a bit of embarrassment.