Shishiroka’s funeral was held quietly.
At the funeral, the chief mourner was Raphael.
Shishiroka had been abandoned as a child due to her frail health, and Raphael had taken her in and raised her.
Because of that, she fulfilled the role of chief mourner with dedication.
Shishiroka was buried behind Raphael’s mansion, in a sunny spot.
That day, Raphael drank several bottles of alcohol, something she normally never touched, then passed out.
For some reason, I couldn’t sleep, so I stayed up all night.
And time moved on once again.
Training continued.
My progress in holy magic remained steady.
Still, the seed showed no signs of opening.
Maybe I should just beat the damn thing into submission.
I learned how to create weapons of light from Raphael.
Though what I made couldn’t quite be called a weapon yet, I was starting to get the hang of it.
“Haru, are you okay?”
One day, Raphael asked me.
I looked at her with a puzzled expression.
“What do you mean, okay?”
“Just… I was wondering if you’ve been pushing yourself too hard lately.”
“You’re the one who’s been pushing me, Master Raphael.”
She beats people up every day and then heals them….does she even have the right to say that?
“Hmm, well, if it’s you, then I guess it’s fine.”
“If it’s about Senior Shishiroka, I’m fine. Your grief is much greater than mine, Master.”
Raphiel had raised Shishiroka since she was a child.
Maybe raising Shishiroka had been how Raphael coped with her heartbreak over Old Man Bulldog.
That was likely why Shishiroka’s death had left such a deep void in her.
So I became more active.
If Raphael sank into depression because of Shishiroka and neglected her teachings, that would be a problem.
After all, I had decided to become a great holy mage.
“…Still, don’t push yourself too hard.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You’re holding on to the book Shishiroka was reading, right?”
“Yes. She’d written a lot of notes to make the theories easier to understand. It’s been a huge help.”
Raphael fell silent for a moment.
Then she gently placed her hand on my head and shoulder.
“Good. If it’s helping you, I’m sure that child would be happy too.”
“I’d be grateful if that’s the case.”
Raphael looked exhausted.
Lately, there’d been rumors of trouble at the Grace Magic Tower.
I often overheard servants whispering among themselves in unease.
Because of that, Raphael had been summoned to the tower more frequently.
There wasn’t much I could do, so I simply kept up my training.
In the first place, someone like me wouldn’t be able to do anything about tower affairs anyway.
“Haru.”
“Yes?”
“An acquaintance of mine visited Valtherion recently.”
Valtherion. It was the capital of the human kingdom, Gladeon.
She said an old acquaintance of hers, someone who’d traveled the world for years, had visited there.
“She also took on a disciple around the same time I did. How about it? Want to meet her? She’s a Transporter like you.”
A transporter.
Now that I think about it, I haven’t really interacted with other transporters since I arrived in this world.
More accurately, the situation never gave me the chance.
Transporters were, by nature, objects of hatred and avoidance.
They had to work desperately just to earn their daily bread.
Could people like that laugh and chat comfortably with those around them?
Leisure comes from a full storehouse.
Those with nothing must fight a tearful battle just to survive.
My own circumstances only recently improved—
Up until not long ago, I lived the same kind of life.
It was all I could do to scrape together enough just to eat each day.
So I don’t blame the people of this world here for how they feel.
I looked at Raphael.
In her eyes, I could see worry for me.
She had lost a disciple not long ago, and now she was concerned for her remaining one.
Raphael was one of the few truly kind people I had met in this otherworld.
As her undeserving disciple, I couldn’t let her keep worrying about me forever.
“Yes, please introduce us.”
I didn’t know what kind of person they were,
But if they were a disciple of Raphael’s acquaintance, being moderately polite should be enough.
A bit of color returned to Raphael’s face.
“They happen to be on their way here now, so you’ll get to meet them soon.”
“Then I’d better tidy myself up.”
“No need to worry. I doubt they’re in much better shape than you.”
Raphael laughed as if she could already picture them clearly.
Now I was starting to get curious about who this acquaintance of hers actually was.
***
Not long after, just as Raphael had said, three guests arrived at her mansion.
At the front stood a man with a long sword at his waist.
Next was a man draped in a long robe and rag-like cloth.
And among the long, black hair of the last one, two large horns were clearly visible—
Outer-Horn race.
They were a horned, non-human race whose horns grew from their heads, and they mainly lived in a country called Wolun.
Until just a few centuries ago, they had even spoken a different language from humans. Though their faces resembled humans, their cultures and way of life were vastly different.
Their horn size changed with age.
At that size, he had certainly long outlived the average human lifespan.
On top of that, the aura emanating from him was anything but ordinary.
This guy…..he was a monster.
I had spent a lot of time around Old Man Bulldog and had seen quite a few pioneers.
Among them were monsters known as hero-class pioneers.
Even Old Man Bulldog used to tell me not to make eye contact with those types.
But now, the aura I felt from this man was even more dangerous than those hero-class pioneers.
It reminded me of the time I saw that bishop from the heretical cult who had cut off all my limbs.
I instinctively avoided eye contact.
I had no idea how Raphael knew someone like that.
Next to him stood a man who looked Middle Eastern.
With his short-cropped black hair, dark skin, and thick eyebrows,
It was obvious at a glance who Raphael had meant by the Transporter.
Lastly, there was a girl who was also one of the Outer-Horn race.
Her hairstyle was long and tied back, and her hair was uniquely two-toned. It was white on the inside and black on the outside.
Between strands of that hair, two modestly sized horns were visible.
She was beautiful enough to resemble a celebrity.
“So-woon, it’s been a while.”
When she greeted him, the Outer-Horn man called So-woon gave a slight nod.
The Outer-Horn race used a different language from the humans.
But to me, their language felt like Chinese characters.
Transporters had looked into this once. They said that upon getting transported to another world, the local language is received according to one’s level of knowledge.
Of course, no one really knows how that works.
They just say it is, so you accept it as such.
I wasn’t a linguist or anything, so I didn’t particularly care.
I just figured this world was fantasy and the other one was a moorim world or something.
That was about the extent of my understanding.
“Raphael.”
Soon after, So-woon spoke.
“I heard there’s been a commotion at the Grace Magic Tower lately.”
“Don’t go swinging your sword around for no reason.”
“I’m not some brainless brute, you know.”
Unfortunately, So-woon seemed pretty close to a brainless brute.
“If anything happens, let me know. I owe you.”
“Yeah, I will.”
Raphael gave a short smile.
I didn’t know exactly what kind of relationship they had, but it was clear they’d known each other a long time.
“We came today because of Black Dawn.”
“Haah… those guys, huh.”
Black Dawn.
I heard of them during my time as a pioneer.
Transporters had long been discriminated against by the uncivilized people of this world.
Some tried to get along with the locals, but others who were disappointed by the prejudice went in a different direction.
A terrorist group of transporters who believed they, as intellectuals, should place these uncivilized otherworlders beneath their feet.
That was Black Dawn.
“I heard the Grace Magic Tower’s issues are tied to Black Dawn too.”
“…It’s not entirely unrelated.”
As expected, the Grace Magic Tower seemed to be facing serious trouble lately.
There wasn’t much I could do with the information, so I turned my eyes away from So-woon.
And then, I locked eyes with the girl.
When she saw me, she smiled softly.
She gave a smile that seemed genuinely friendly.
“This might take a while. Want to wait outside for a bit?”
Raphael asked in our direction.
She meant the two of them had something to discuss and wanted us to step out.
My eyes met Raphael’s.
She gave me a look filled with multiple meanings.
She probably wanted me to take the opportunity to get to know So-woon’s disciples.
It was a request from my Master, Raphael.
I might as well go along with it.
“Go wait outside.”
At So-woon words, the girl and the man answered in unison and stepped out.
I exchanged a silent nod with Raphael and followed them outside.
As I stepped out, I glanced back at the two of them.
Just as I was about to say something—
I froze in place.
The girl who had smiled so brightly at me earlier—
Her expression had completely changed into a blank stare.
It was cold enough to come across as hostile.
“You.”
She spoke.
Her voice carried a chill, cold and sharp.
“Raphael told you to try getting along with us, right?”
“Uh, yeah.”
The moment I answered, she turned her body with that same cold attitude.
“I don’t really plan on being friends. There’s no need to force it. Just pretend we got along. That’s easier for everyone.”
Wow. What a brat.
Where did that sweet, smiling girl from earlier go?
Guess she acts all friendly in situations where she’s supposed to be but hides her real personality.
She walked away just like that.
I silently watched her go, then turned to look at the guy still standing there.
He slowly stroked his chin.
“Not only Lady Raphael, but even cold Aransel is sexy.”
Just another flirt.
He even looked manly. Like he was overflowing with testosterone.
He turned to me and gave a sharp smile.
“Sorry for the late introduction. I’m Sohan. That girl just now was Aransel.”
As he said that, he glanced toward where Aransel had walked off.
“Don’t judge her too harshly. It’s because of Shishiroka.”
Sohan and Aransel knew about Shishiroka.
“Why? What about Shishiroka?”
“She… ended up dying, right? Aransel was close to her.”
So Aransel was the friend Shishiroka had mentioned.
Sohan looked on with a hint of sadness in his eyes.
It wasn’t for Shishiroka; it was for Aransel.
“Aransel thinks Raphael brought you in as a replacement for Shishiroka.”
Ah, now I understood Aransel’s attitude earlier.
For someone who’d been close to Shishiroka, it made sense she wouldn’t be too happy.
“And Aransel doesn’t really like Transporters.”
I wasn’t curious enough to ask why she hated Transporters.
I had too many reasons for disliking otherworlders myself.
“She’s not a bad person, though. You don’t have to try too hard with us. Our master doesn’t stay in one place for long anyway, so you’ll be gone before you know it.”
There was no need to force ourselves to be close.
That thought was oddly comforting.
I guess it was Sohan’s way of being considerate.
“You must be having a tough time too, with Shishiroka’s death.”
“I’m fine. I didn’t know her that long anyway.”
“Still, someone you knew died. That stuff gets to you, whether you realize it or not. Don’t try to pretend it doesn’t.”
Maybe he’s a bit of a flirt, but he’s not a bad guy.
I didn’t know about Aransel, but Sohan seemed like a decent one.
“Sohan, do you have feelings for Aransel?”
“I like any girl who’s pretty.”
Wow. He was brutally honest.
“But ever since I came to this other world, it’s gotten way worse.”
“You’re saying your thing for women got worse?”
“You know that No-Names can lose parts of their bodies, right?”
With No-Names, it wasn’t just their names that disappeared. Sometimes their physical bodies were affected too.
A simple example would be losing a finger or something like that.
But “body parts” didn’t only refer to external limbs.
There were cases where internal organs disappeared as well.
In fact, there was once a No-Name found with part of their brain missing.
That person ended up in a vegetative state, unable to do anything.
Still, even if a part of the body vanishes, it doesn’t lead to death.
It just means that part no longer functions, but the person is very much alive.
A number of investigations have been conducted on this, but there haven’t been any meaningful results yet.
Compared to Otherworlders, Transporters were already a small group.
And No-Names were an even smaller minority.
It’s no wonder proper research was difficult.
“I’m pretty sure I lost whatever it is that suppresses sexual desire. At least, that’s my theory.”
Sohan was a No-Name like me.
And “body part” could include hormones too.
If he lost a hormone that suppresses libido, then his condition actually made sense.
“Still, I try to draw a clear line. If a girl doesn’t like me, I don’t touch her. Same goes for someone else’s girl.”
There was a deep conviction in his eyes.
I guess he was living a life of self-restraint, in his own way.
If he’d really lost a hormone that reduces sexual desire, then it could be considered a medical condition…something like hypersexuality.
That takes a lot of mental strength to manage.
“This is who I am. So let’s just try to get along while we’re stuck together.”
Sohan gave a broad, easy smile.
Was that his own way of trying to get closer?
Yeah… he really does seem like a decent guy.
“Well, I’m busy, so I’ll get going.”
And with that, Sohan left.
Since he said not to worry too much about them, I figured it’d be fine.
Might as well get some training in.
That’s what I thought until I got to the training grounds.
“Ah.”
Aransel was there.
She froze for a second when our eyes met.
Looked like she was about to train, checking over her sword.
The mansion wasn’t exactly small, but somehow we kept running into each other. What a pain.
“…I was here first.”
So basically, she wants the Transporter to scram.
The way she stared at me, completely expressionless, made it clear. She really couldn’t stand me.
Sorry, Raphael, but I don’t think I’ll be able to keep that promise.
“This is our training ground, you know?”
Screw that.
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