A Magic Rabbit

He looks… commiserative.

“Here, take this. Enjoy yourself.”

Another puts a small bag into my hand. Yet another hands me a skin of liquid.

“That’s the best wine I have on me. Take it.”

“I… why are you doing this?”

They look at each other and sigh.

“You must’ve just arrived. You’re the fourth Hero of Light to be summoned during my lifetime,” one of the middle-aged men says. “All of them have met a gruesome end.”

“Huh.”

“Enjoy your life while it lasts.”

“You’re not going to cheer me on for the fight, or anything?” Not that I have any intention of fighting, I add in thought.

“Of course we are cheering for you! It’s just…”

“…there’s precedent.”

“Ah.” 

Of course. Six hundred years of losing. A crowd has formed around us, effectively blocking the road. I feel uneasy with so many people staring at me.

“What’s your skill, hero? Maybe you’re the one to finally push back against the Demon King! Is it lightbeam magic? Light weapons?”

“Sun flares?”

“Holy fire?”

“… I can appraise things.”

“You… That’s it?” The newly arrived woman sounds disappointed and turns to leave again. “Guess we’ll lose this one too.”

Agreeing murmur all around. Some are already moving on. Well. Great start. Some are staying, but their expression is more sympathetic than enthusiastic. I haven’t been here for more than two hours and I’m already pitied. If it’s going to be like that, I could’ve stayed in my old world!

“Mister, can you appraise my doll?”

A small girl stands in front of me, holding up a plush rabbit. It’s nothing like the colourful ones back home, with fluffy fur and gleaming eyes. It’s made of cloth and its eyes are buttons. Still, it’s cute. I kneel down.

“Why do you want it appraised?” I ask.

“Because there’s no one around here who can do it and my mum told me the rabbit is magic… But I’m not sure…”

“Can I hold it?”

“Sure. Just give it back after.”

I carefully take the doll and concentrate on it.

[Protective Rabbit]
Attributes: Light, Wind
Durability: 80/80
Notes: A gift, given by a mother with love. A prayer to the gods manifested in a blessing of protection for a loyal follower.

What do you know… “Yes, it’s actually magic.”

“Really?” The girl’s face lights up as she grabs the doll. At that moment, our hands touch and a text pops up next to her head.

[Shay Efrit]
Attributes: Light
Life Points: 30/30
Skills: Holy Fire, Turn Undead, Light Up, Holy Lance, Light Blade, Stun Flare, Starlight

In shock, I let go of the rabbit and fall over backwards. The kid can do magic?? And light magic at that? These are all the skills the people wanted me to have, and then some.

“Are you… a mage, by any chance?” I ask the child.

“Mage? No. I’m Shay. I live in Atol, but we are visiting my uncle today.”

Two people appear behind the girl and look at me curiously. These must be her relatives. I am about to ask about her skills when I bite my tongue. Should I really? They’re already disappointed. Why would they believe me?

“So her rabbit is actually magic,” I say and Shay beams.

“I told you,” the woman behind her says.

“Mum! Bunny is magic! What does he do?”

“He protects you, just as I asked our Lady Erya. Isn’t that right?”

I can only nod. Lady Erya. I suppose if you’ve never been face to face with her, you’d call her that, Erya being their goddess and all. I stand up and pat the dust from my jacket, as senseless as that may seem.

“I’m just on my way to the city, so I’ll be leaving now… But there are two people with a broken down cart a while back down this way. Is there a craftsman nearby, who can help repair the axle?”

“I can get help for them,” a man in the back row volunteers.

“That would be wonderful.”

The man steps forward, looking at me expectantly. I pat my pockets.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I’ve got any money…”

“I just want a blessing in return!” he says.

“A blessing?”

“The heroes can bless people in the name of their god,” Shay’s mother helpfully supplies. “You must really be new here.”

I wonder how many other things Erya hasn’t told me about. I’ll ask the people at her temple…

“I am new. About two hours, I’d wager. But I’ll try. So what blessing do you want?”

“Surprise me.”

I shrug. “Alright.“

Without actually knowing what to do, I hold out my hands, palms facing the man. Maybe if I concentrate enough, something will happen.

“You expect me to bestow blessings through you after being so rude?”

Erya’s voice rings in my head and I instinctively look up, yet there is nothing but blue skies. The people around me also look up in vain. I’m about to reply when I hear a sigh.

“Well, you are my champion. And my loyal followers shouldn't be disappointed. But don’t go handing out blessings like candy.”

My hands start glowing and the surrounding oohs and aahs show that it’s working. My skin feels hot for a second, as if I put my hands too close to a fire, then the glow jumps from me to the other man. At that moment, a number pops up next to his head, even though I’m not touching him.

[Temporary Buff: Blessing of the Light Goddess]
[Luck +5]

… interesting. So there’s more stats than I can’t yet see?

“Thank you, thank you!” the man says and throws himself on the ground before me as the glow around him dims. “I will definitely fulfil my promise. I’m going to go right now.”

As he darts off, the crowd around me murmurs.

“He really is the Light’s Hero…”

“He doesn’t look like it.”

“He doesn’t seem like a fighter.”

“Lady Erya wouldn’t bless anyone though him if he wasn’t her hero…”

Some look relieved, some still look sceptical. Well, I can’t blame them. I don’t want to be here either. No matter how shitty my last job was, I’d rather be in a world with the internet and without Demon Kings. I look back at Shay, who is still watching me in rapt fascination, clutching her rabbit plush. Maybe in ten or twenty years, she’ll be old and trained enough to go against the Demon King, with all her skills. But… I remember the world I saw from the sky. This city may no longer be in existence by then. I swallow nervously as I look around the people, who are trying to live their life surrounded by demonic forces, on an island of fragile hope.

No. No, I can’t let myself think this way. I can’t do anything for them. I’m not a fighter. Even if I had all of Shay’s skills, I would still be just an HR manager with an aversion to the gym and an occasional alcohol problem. I grit my teeth.

“I have to get to the city. If you’ll excuse me.”

The crowd parts as I walk away. Shay and her mother wave at me, but I pay them no mind. The more connections I have, the more likely I am to do stupid things that will endanger myself. I know the type of person I am. That’s what both made me a great HR manager and a pretty bad one at the same time.