It was around noon when I woke up.
Honestly, I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep, but as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out.
I must have been tense without realizing it.
Well, it’s not like I’m made of steel.
At best, I’m just a guy who died and came back to life a few times.
I got up with my hair a mess and brushed my teeth with salt toothpaste.
It was been about a hundred years since Transporters started appearing in this world.
Thanks to all the “Huh? What the heck is this?” moments they had, some of their everyday items became surprisingly widespread.
Of course, complex devices like computers and cell phones couldn’t spread into general society.
There was a major war after the Transporters appeared, and infrastructure like power grids requires massive national resources.
Naturally, those resources were concentrated among the natives who had lived here for a long time.
There was no way they’d willingly share them with us outsiders, the Transporters.
Especially in a world where magic was more advanced than science.
Even with all their knowledge and abilities, the Transporters couldn’t gain the upper hand in the war against the natives.
The gap between the two sides was too deep for the Transporters’ knowledge to spread widely.
Still, fortunately, people in any world were drawn to useful things.
Starting with simple tools like toothbrushes and toothpaste, all the way to clothing, Transporters managed to spread various aspects of modern knowledge.
Just a hundred years ago, people here were using primitive toothpaste made from burned animal bones mixed with herbs.
Long live Transporter knowledge.
After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I felt refreshed.
Even the strangely heavy feeling I had last night was swept away by the new morning.
When I stepped out of the bathroom, I saw Aransel running toward me.
Things were a little awkward because of what happened yesterday.
“Haru, Master and Lady Raphael are here.”
But once I heard what she said next, all my worries vanished.
I quickly followed Aransel out to the entrance, and there they were…So-woon and Raphael.
Sohan was also standing beside So-woon.
“Lady Raphael?”
“Haru!”
As soon as Raphael saw me, she shouted and ran inside, pulling me into a tight embrace.
For a moment, I was nearly smothered to death by the soft heaviness.
I already knew this, but her chest had terrifying destructive power.
“Thank goodness. I’m so relieved.”
Raphael let out several deep breaths as she sighed in relief.
Only then did I realize. She had come all this way because she was worried about me.
She had been the one to send me out on an errand in the first place, even though she was already swamped with work.
She must have heard about the airship crash too.
And yet, worried about me, she had dropped everything and come running.
I knew very well just how much that meant.
“Aransel.”
“Master.”
As Sohan closed the front door, Aransel stood before So-woon at his call.
He gently placed his hand on her head.
“You did well.”
He didn’t say much more.
But even just those few words were enough. Aransel looked on the verge of tears.
Though she had endured it all with strength, each moment had been a matter of life and death.
Now, in front of her Master, she became like a child again.
“Lady Raphael, I’m fine. I’m not hurt anywhere, see?”
“Of course! You’re a holy mage I raised myself. If you’d come back injured, I would’ve scolded you.”
Let’s keep the fact that I died a secret.
“Yes, you really did raise him well.”
Just then, a familiar voice sounded, and Liliran appeared from inside the house.
When our eyes met, she smiled softly.
It looked like she had safely returned the Essence of the Breathing Tree to its rightful place.
“Raphael, So-woon, it’s been a while.”
“Liliran.”
Raphael finally let go of me and wiped her eyes.
She had grown more tearful with age.
“That boy helped me a great deal. You’ve raised a fine disciple.”
Raphael looked at me with a puzzled expression.
She still didn’t know exactly how I had helped Liliran.
Meanwhile, I glanced briefly toward Aransel, then stopped myself.
“Liliran, I heard the Great Sinner of Sloth has appeared.”
It seemed So-woon had already been informed.
Liliran pulled out a new pipe.
“Yes, I was involved in this incident, and there’s something I need to explain. The Great Sinner of Sloth targeted my life, and they probably believe I’m dead now.”
Both Liliran and Cosmic Zak had ended up at the bottom of the deep sea.
From anyone’s perspective, it would’ve been assumed they were dead.
And now, with the involvement of the Great Sinner of Sloth, it was clear that there were others working behind the scenes.
“That’s why I think it’s best to let the world believe I’m dead for a while. It will create more confusion. I’ve also kept it hidden from most of the fairies, save for a few I trust. I plan to make use of that.”
Liliran didn’t explain how she had faked her death.
She only gave me a brief smile.
That was her way of showing she had kept our promise.
It meant I could trust her going forward.
“I’ll tell the rest of the story once we get to your side.”
Liliran lightly landed between us.
“Let’s go.”
And with that, a magic circle appeared beneath our feet, and our surroundings shifted.
Before I knew it, I was standing at the entrance of Raphael’s mansion.
Spatial magic really does leave you speechless every time.
To think Aransel and I had struggled through all that just to get there, and now we were back in an instant.
Now I understood why Cosmic Zak had been so obsessed with targeting Liliran.
Her spatial magic was practically cheating.
As if expecting our arrival, the head butler was already waiting at the entrance.
He smoothly guided So-woon and Liliran inside.
While the two of them chatted as they walked ahead, Raphael came to stand next to me.
“I heard about the airship.”
“Was I… a little cool, maybe?”
“I thought I should scold you.”
Getting scolded for doing the right thing…it was a little sad.
But instead of scolding me, Raphael placed her hand gently on my shoulder.
“You did well. Haru, thanks to you, a lot of people survived. I’m proud to call you my disciple.”
Raphael smiled warmly.
She, who was usually buried in exhaustion, hadn’t smiled like this in a long time.
Just that alone made everything I went through worth it.
“Maybe I should’ve gone around shouting, I’m Raphael’s disciple, Haru!”
“If you did that, I’d be too embarrassed to show my face. So please don’t.”
With that, Raphael began to walk past me.
“Lady Raphael… do you think there will be a war?”
I asked the question that had been weighing on me the most.
Raphael’s shoulders halted for a brief moment.
A war might break out.
But who exactly the war would be between…we didn’t know yet.
It was clear that this was merely a continuation of the war that had once occurred between the former Transporters and the people of this other world.
She looked back at me with a bitter expression.
“I won’t let a war break out.”
To prevent that, Raphael was working tirelessly, staying up night after night.
Calling in powerful people like So-woon and Liliran was probably part of that effort.
“So Haru, don’t worry and just focus on learning holy magic.”
An era like the calm before a storm….you never knew what might explode.
If you wanted to survive, getting stronger was the only answer.
There was a sense of solemnity in Raphael’s back as she walked away.
It was the figure of an adult bearing the burden, trying not to pass on the painful era they had once endured.
Even in another world, living as an adult wasn’t easy.
***
The grave of Shishiroka built within the mansion.
I sat before it, quietly sharing the story of what had happened this time.
Maybe it had become a habit of mine to talk to Shishiroka.
Whenever something significant happened, there were days when I just wanted to tell her.
Shishiroka must be bored, just lying there all the time.
I hoped my stories gave her at least a little entertainment.
As I brushed the dust off and stood up while looking at the white flower placed on the grave, I saw Aransel approaching from a distance.
“Haru.”
She no longer stiffened her expression when she saw me.
Instead, she simply gave me a gentle smile.
“You were talking with Shishiroka, huh?”
“I already said everything I wanted to, so if you talk now, it’ll probably be boring.”
“That’s fine. You’re better at talking than I am, anyway.”
Even someone from another world acknowledged my way with words.
Aransel gently stroked Shishiroka’s grave once.
Maybe because it was still summer, beads of sweat had formed on her forehead.
She was still weak to the heat.
“There’s going to be a gathering called the Star Cluster Society.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a gathering of the disciples of monarchs or those of comparable rank.”
So, a meeting among disciples, then.
Well, disciples of powerful figures like monarchs were basically elites, so that made sense.
Someday, somewhere, those people would each hold important positions. So it was probably good for them to know each other in advance.
But then again, sometimes in dramas, gatherings like that were rarely portrayed in a positive light.
Modern society was like that too. So why would this other world be any different?
It all felt like one big, toxic web of connections.
“Yeah, have a good trip.”
I wondered why she was even telling me this.
Then Aransel gave me a curious look and said again,
“Haru, you can go to the Star Cluster Society too.”
Ah—now that she mentioned it, I was also Raphael’s student.
I had totally forgotten.
“So you’re saying we should go together?”
“You remember what Lady Liliran said. That a war might break out.”
Remember it? Of course I did.
It was the very question I asked Raphael as soon as I got back.
“If you go to the Star Cluster Society, you can learn a lot of information.”
They were the disciples raised by powerful figures from all over the world.
Those people surely had ears everywhere and must have heard a lot.
“There might even be a clue to stop the war.”
Stopping a war.
Hearing that, I turned to look at Aransel.
But, as always, her eyes were sincere.
She truly wanted to prevent the war.
Of course, I didn’t want a war either.
But even so, I didn’t understand why she was making this proposal to me.
“Aransel, like I told you before, I’m not the kind of person who lives to throw myself into danger to save others.”
Maybe because I had thrown myself in to save her once—
Aransel seemed to keep getting the wrong idea about me.
My goal was to take care of myself.
I didn’t have some grand resolve to save the world.
“Stopping the war benefits you too, doesn’t it?”
Nobody wanted war.
The only ones who did were the ones in power and the fools who were swayed by them.
She wasn’t wrong. I absolutely didn’t want a war either.
“I doubt the disciples would have that much information, though.”
“Yeah, it’s just a possibility. But even disciples who don’t associate with Master or Raphael will be participating.”
Despite my continued uncooperative attitude, Aransel calmly tried to persuade me.
I still didn’t understand why she was trying so hard to convince me.
Maybe it was because I was there when she decided on the goal of her life.
It felt kind of like when a stray cat that never let anyone near suddenly clings to you after you treat its injured paw.
Aransel gently tugged at the hem of my sleeve.
“Come with me. Please?”
This sly little fox.
Honestly, with that pretty face, don’t go sticking those big eyes in my face like that.
Aransel knew full well that she was beautiful.
Whenever attention turned her way, she subtly straightened her posture and showed off.
And because of that, she knew how to use her looks to her advantage.
The subtle seductiveness that clung to her teased my eyes.
Up until what happened last time, Aransel and I had kept our distance.
So, there had never been any reason for her to use her appearance on me.
She had no need to make a good impression on me and that was only natural.
But after the Cosmic Zak incident, things between Aransel and me began to change.
I still despised otherworlders.
And Aransel still hated Transporters.
But “Transporter Haru” and “Otherworlder Aransel” were slowly starting to become separate ideas.
We didn’t need to hide the fact that we each resented someone.
Maybe that’s why I started to see Aransel’s true personality.
“Fine. I’ll go. Happy now?”
I had already decided to start building connections anyway.
If these were promising candidates for the future, I might as well knock a few down.
“Great!”
Aransel beamed with excitement.
She smiled so easily now, but she used to keep a blank face around me all the time.
“Yo, Aransel, Haru.”
Just then, Sohan showed up, yawning.
He smelled like perfume. He probably just came from another night with a woman.
Aransel’s face instantly turned ice-cold.
Her speed was incredible.
Not even Cosmic Zak could keep up with that.
She’d known Sohan longer than she’d known me.
And yet, she was always cold to him.
“The Star Cluster Society sent an invitation. What do you say, want to come with me?”
Sohan showed me a letter.
It was an invitation stamped with a fire-shaped emblem.
The emblem must’ve been added by the hosting organization.
Sohan leaned in close and whispered,
“Just so you know, there’ll be a lot of pretty girls there.”
Same old Sohan.
At that, Aransel gave me a long, quiet look as I spoke with him.
For some reason, a sudden impulse came over me.
When people think too highly of you, they’ll turn on you the moment you do something bad.
But if they think you’re no good to begin with, even one decent act can change how they see you.
“How pretty are we talking about? As pretty as Aransel?”
Maybe I needed to lower Aransel’s expectations of me a little.
Aransel flinched at my words.
She darted her eyes slightly, then subtly straightened her back.
She was proudly showing off her appearance.
It kind of reminded me of a sparrow puffing out its chest. It was oddly funny.
“Haru, let me be clear,”
Sohan said and his tone suddenly turned serious.
“There are barely any girls in this world as pretty as Aransel.”
At his earnest words, Aransel frowned.
Then she lowered her posture again.
It seemed she didn’t like Sohan’s compliment much.
“Well, yeah. Not many people are as pretty as Aransel.”
I added casually, and her face lit up.
She straightened her back once more.
Why did she react so differently to the same compliment?
Copying Sohan clearly wasn’t the right approach.
“Anyway, I’ll take that as a yes.”
Sohan who was completely oblivious to Aransel’s reaction walked off casually.
From that yawn, it looked like he was heading straight back to bed.
“Aransel.”
“Mhmm?”
The little sparrow puffing out her chest turned back to me with a cheerful smile.
I could see the trust in her eyes.
“…Never mind.”
Seems I failed to lower her opinion of me after all.
I just hope that when she eventually figures out who I really am, she won’t be too disappointed.
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