Book 1, Verse 7

“Fine; but if I’m missing anything at the end of the day, I’m alerting the authorities and telling them everything I know about you.” Niels said sternly. “And in return, I don’t want to see you here again for at least another month.” He clenched his fist.

“I understand, Niels.” Vivian replied, sounding a little upset. She stepped away from the bar and sat at one of the tables, pulling her cloak over her head.

Niels looked at me from his spot behind the bar and visibly relaxed.

“Vivian tells me you’re a wizard who needs a few lessons in history?” He smiled casually.

Hearing him speak directly to me broke me out of my epiphany.

“Y-yes. I am woefully uneducated with regards to history.” I tried to sound as wizardly as I could. “Dedicated all my time to the magical arts, you see.”

“Don’t worry about it. A lot of people don’t know about history. If you worked where I do, you’d realize that some people even forget their own history.” He gave an angry side-eye at Vivian.

She didn’t seem to notice.

“What do you know about, Mister…” He waited for me to answer.

“Shinko Inori. And you are Niels…” I waited for him to answer.

“Niels Ivyheart.”

The drunken woman snapped her fingers and Niels quickly served her another drink.

“Now, I’m not a scholar, so I can’t charge you for lessons.” Niels smiled playfully. “But I can charge you for drinks. What’ll you have?”

I looked over to where Vivian was sitting. She still had her hood pulled over her head and her frame bent down. It looked like she was deep in thought.

I leaned over the counter of the bar and gestured for Niels to get closer. He didn’t.

“I’m an elf. I can hear you whispering from here. What is it?”

I lowered my voice to where I thought it was barely audible.

“I… I don’t have any money.” I said conspiratorially.

Niels froze, and his friendly demeanor vanished. He was still smiling at me, but it looked like he wanted to punch me in the face.

“No money? At all?”

“M-maybe I could… I could work off the debt?”

Niels smiled at me as a vein popped in his forehead.

Before I knew it, me and Vivian were outside the tavern on our butts sitting next to each other. That guy was really fast; he hadn’t even interrupted Vivian’s brooding.

“Vivian, what do we–”

She started snoring.

I exhaled in surprise before recovering.

“Wake up.” I shook her shoulders gently.

She responded by rolling over and pinning me down to the ground in one fluid motion.

She stared at me for a few brief seconds, her eyes tense and her breathing rapid.

Even though she wasn’t exactly the prettiest girl I’d ever seen, having her this close felt… nice.

“Don’t touch me when I’m sleeping.” She stood up and got off me. “Why did Niels throw us out? Did you tell him you were a prie–”

“No, I didn’t say anything about that.” I got up as well. The two of us were now in the middle of the town standing in front of Niels’ bar. A few people passed us by, including more non-humans.

“Well then why are we out here?” She inquired, yawning slightly.

“I don’t have any money to buy drinks with.”

“What?! You told me you had money!” Any hint of tiredness disappeared from her expression.

“I-I thought I…” I had an idea. My smile went wide. “One moment please.”

I turned around and leaned against the outside wall of Niels’ bar. Vivian tilted her head and crossed her arms.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“I said give me a moment.”

John told me once that prayers didn’t need to be audible. They just had to come from a heart that ‘earnestly desired communion with God’ or something like that; I don’t know, that one seemed like an especially useless speech.

As quickly as I could, I prayed for me to go back home. I opened my eyes.

I was still in a town in a fantasy world, leaning against a tavern owned by an elf.

What the heck?! I scrunched up my facial features and thought about what I was doing wrong.

Eyes closed? Check.

Praying to God? Sure.

What was I missing?!

“Are you done looking like an idiot?” Vivian said unimpressed.

“For your information, Miss Vivian, I was praying.” I said, trying to sound like I wasn’t confused and frustrated.

“Anyway, Niels can help you out with your knowledge deficiency.” She looked around the streets slowly. “So that’s it for you and me.”

“W-wait, are you trying to leave?” I said, surprised.

Vivian turned to look at me.

“Yes? It’s been nice meeting you, but I have… places to go. People to see.” She sounded unsure of what she was saying.

Thinking about this logically, it made sense for her to have to leave. She was her own person, with a life outside of being involved with me.

I took a step towards her.

“Is that so?” I said, trying to sound practical and priestly. “Well. I, uh, I just want to give you a blessing. To say that, I think…” I sighed and collected my thoughts before making eye contact with Vivian. “If you believe that it is time for you to move on, then by all means, go right ahead. I–”

Vivian held up her hand.

“Stop.”

She walked past me into a nearby narrow passage between two buildings and gestured for me to follow. I did so and stood next to her. It was a little close, but not uncomfortable.

“Listen…” She looked at me with her eyes full of conviction. “I don’t know exactly what it is, but traveling with you and helping you out has felt… strangely fine.” She looked to the ground next to us.

“What do you mean?” I asked quietly.

“I haven’t felt that… pull. That weight.” She looked back up at me and her eyes were strangely clear. She put one of her hands on my shoulder and looked down at me with a slightly concerned expression.

“Do you mean guilt?” I asked, confused.

She nodded reluctantly.

“It’s been nice not having it hanging over me. And I’m afraid that once I leave, I’m going to feel it again.”

“Why is that?”

She took her hand off my shoulder.

“You know why. I don’t exactly make my living honestly.” She frowned. “Listen. If I keep helping you out, is it okay if I stay for a while longer?”

I smiled, and a wave of relief mixed with gratitude went through me.

“Of course you can.” I said calmly. “So can you pay for my drinks?” I asked politely. My stomach rumbled. “And maybe some food, please?”

Vivian shook her head.

“Just this once. After that, you’re going to need to get your own money, strange priest.” She walked back into Niels’ Meals, and I followed her lead.