That had to be Daniel. William couldn’t even imagine the confusion he must’ve had waking up as a chick. Despite that, he felt a twinge of jealousy upon hearing the way Daniel had handled himself, setting himself up and immediately figuring out others would follow no less.
Ember continued, “On the ninth of Sapphire, as Narasei predicted, the third flash of starlight brought with it another traveler. He was a tall human man with a gray pointy hat. He seemed confused at first, but, after a brief chat with Narasei, calmed down, introducing himself as Abraham the Gray—”
William snorted the last spoonful of soup out his nostrils. Snickering, William wiped his face clean. “Haha, excuse me, my bad.”
“Something funny?” Lidarein asked.
“No, it’s a dumb joke. Please go on, Ember.”
“Well, the two of them re-introduced themselves as traveling wizards from a few realms away. They kept mostly to themselves, and out of trouble, and my Sorcerer’s Eye confirmed that they possessed an incredible amount of magic, so it seemed like the truth. Things were pretty normal until the fourth arrived…” Ember described how the late Chief Ranger had his neck slit to the spine before anyone could react.
William sombered, straightening in his seat. No. This is ridiculous. It can’t be them. No matter how much the last decade changed them. He can’t have gotten that bad. Can he?
He listened how Daniel and Abraham had tried to calm Thomas down, while he babbled maniacally about Isekai, demons, and ex-pee. It sounded like he had thought the satyr had been a demon and killed him in hopes of acquiring experience points. When Lidarein had demanded him to be turned in to face justice, Abraham and Daniel had stepped up in Thomas’ defence, attacking the party with powerful magic, killing thirteen and wounding eight. That was the last that New Ea had seen of the mysterious travelers, until now.
Can’t believe it, William thought. Thomas being unstable I can get, but surely neither Abraham or Daniel would knowingly commit murder even in defense. Daniel would’ve talked his way out of it.
There had to be a reason.
They had to have been confused by their magic and simply misjudged their power. They had been confused by dying and arriving to a new world. Anyone would be! The crime Thomas committed sounded like a stroke of bad luck and a momentary delusion than a known act of evil. Despite what it might seem to these fantasy people, none of them were psychopaths.
Yet, whatever their intention, they had killed and fled. William couldn’t claim he knew the races of this world, but if kids played like they did back home, they couldn’t be all that different. They had souls like humans of Earth. “I’m not sure if I can believe it, but… For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for your losses.”
His company accepted the apology with solemn murmurs.
Lidarein patted William’s shoulder. “The blood is not on your hands, but your friends’.”
“I guess…” Sure, logically speaking none of it was his fault, but in a strange way he felt responsible for his old friends, both their safety and their mistakes.
I just hope that’s the only time, the only accident. Don’t get into deeper trouble, please. Mitchelle in particular worried him, with her character revolving around that Soul Eater trait. Would this world turn her into some hideous soul vampire?
I need to find them, he decided.
After the dinner at the Sleepy Fountain, most of William’s escorts left them with amicable grunts and ‘see you arounds’. Before they left, Lidarein used the backside of her five-pronged silver star to punch shimmering pearlescent stamps on little notebooks they carried.
William grew curious and asked her about it on the way to the Ranger’s office.
“Well, the Empire can’t spare forces to the Cursed Frontier, but we have to maintain peace and safety with one Ranger. So, the adventurers gain hefty tax exemptions in exchange for the draft days. It works, but it’s not a perfect system. Heck, there’s lots of abuse going on with it back in Nibir, where ex-adventurers are getting hired as pretend merchants by the big Spire Lords. It’s ridiculous. We could fund proper guards with a fraction of the gold those bastards embezzle.”
“We had plenty of those guys back home too.”
“Um, about that home.” Ember inched closer to gain William’s attention. “Would it be okay if I continued with questions?”
“Of course.” He couldn’t say no to that face.
Fuzzy ears perked up as Ember’s warm brown eyes smiled with excitement. She flipped through her sketch filled notebook. “Okay, where was I. Hum, hum… So the realms bordering Earth are Mars, Venus, and the Moon? It’s a triangular realm then. Interesting. Which portals did you pass by to reach the Cursed Frontier?”
“Um… Portals?”
“The gateways that link the edges of the realms,” Ember explained.
“Planet. It’s the planet Earth — a planet is a round ball without edges.”
“Might’ve been a bit hasty in declaring you sane.” Lidarein unlocked a reinforced wooden door with a large decorative star painted on the stone above it. “Alright, spare sandals are there…” She pointed to a huge urn in the corner. “And there’s clothes in the ones next to it.”
“Are they washed?”
“Why don’t you give them a sniff and see.” Lidarein snickered. “I’ll come back in a
