The Start of a Journey

Roze looked around at her cottage and workshop. It had just started feeling like a home to her. But now, she would have to put that life on pause.

She had decided to spend some time advancing her gardens to maturity, so that she could harvest and dry the medicinal herbs for the coming months in storage. She whispered to those plants that it would only be a short while, patting them gently like they were children she raised.

A journey to her clan’s ancestral home, Clockenspiel, was not too far, but it was also not a thing of certainty. It had been long abandoned, as far back as several generations ago. Yet, it stood untouched by society up to this day.

She had only heard stories of it, the grand city that had raised legendary heroes who fought off elder dragons and demon lords, as well as saving the land from the brink of disaster.

Roze couldn’t imagine being there, walking along the same streets as those great people. She stared at a mirror and analyzed herself. A mere town girl with passable ability for magic stared back. Even dressed in traveler’s gear, she looked nothing more than an errand girl on a walk around the countryside. Whatever potential she possessed had been lost through the generations, forgotten over time.

Yet, seeing Gideon brought a stirring in her heart. His power reminded her of what possibilities could be. The sight of a literal army falling in the blink of an eye had made her thirst for that potential. The sweetness of his anticipation that she would be useful enough to ‘help’ him danced on her lips. It was downright humbling that her scant abilities could be seen that way, but she could not feel any deception in his voice.

“Where did he run off to anyways?”

After they left the site of their confrontation with Piazzo, Gideon parted ways with her to make preparations. Roze had to pack as well, but her longest journey had only been to the next town over, where she spent her younger days.

Knowing where to go was one thing. Actually holding the experience to make the trip was another. Relying on Gideon as a guide would be yet another favor stacked on top of the freedom he had granted her.

But as she finished her preparations and started to listlessly tinker with more things to transfer to storage, she started to wonder what was keeping him.

“I should go out and look.”

The door knocked right at that moment, causing Roze to say “come in!” by reflex, meaning not to. She was already less than a step away from its swinging path as the door opened, the white-haired young man charging right into her as he lumbered in.

“Hey Roze, are you- oops?”

Gideon certainly had his moments that took a hit to his dependability. Like the way he acted a bit like an incredible fool. His capricious tone made him hard to read, and his actions questionable to a degree. Yet, his claim of being from another world seemed to smooth over such inconsistencies. She wondered if all of them were this weird.

Roze rubbed her face where she had smacked into his chest. Gideon shot her a look full of concern at that, but she waved to him that she was fine. Rather, another question was on her mind.

“Are you really wearing that clothing for a journey? The way to Clockenspiel isn’t a simple carriage ride through town.”

Gideon looked down at his vest, shirt, and slacks – what he wore in his previous world before he was transported here. He gave a light shrug in response, sighing.

“I would like to change into something cooler, but apparently, I can’t.”

“You can’t?”

“Can’t. Or rather, simply not practical to do so.”

v

“The romance of an isekai adventure was held closely to Gideon’s chest. He had discovered his secret power, put it to work in a possibly not-so honest way, and now, held a bag of coins that would become the ticket to fitting in with the rest of this world.

After all, clothing made the man. And in his mind, he would be a dashing hero that would conquer any monster or enemy with ease due to his cheat skill. He rummaged through the equipment at the local armory, picking out a fancy set of light armor. Sure, the extra weight would take some getting used to, but he would look more the part.

The price tag of it made him wince at how close it was rubbing into his budget. He could have simply activated Time Stop and walked out with the article, but the guilt was already gnawing on him. Not to mention, the shopkeeper had already noticed him. A sudden disappearance of his wares wouldn’t go unnoticed even if he didn’t see the act. The title of ‘Thief Hero’ felt too much of an oxymoron for his liking, so he shelled out almost the entire bag to pay for it.

Still, he was giddy to take on guild missions to recoup his expenses. Tossing his old clothes in some dusty bin in an alley, the clanking of his armor gave hope that he could do something for the world that had granted him such power.

Knowing that he could tackle monsters far beyond the starting adventurer level, he was eager to rise in the ranks now that he could play the part.

Goblins, and hobgoblins, and orcs – he would be a ‘slayer’ of them all!

The world around him froze as he continued his charge through the woods and into an entire troupe of them. He felt the armor jostle against his body uncomfortably, likely made for someone more muscular than him. Regardless, he went around, laughing as he cut into his enemies with a cheap sword. Even if it took a thousand lashes, he could take them down.

When he was satisfied with his handiwork, he finally released time to normal.

Only for an ear-splitting shatter to erupt right on top of him as his body was racked with a barrage of pain all over.

The armor that he wore exploded into shards, essentially disintegrating around him.

“What? What the hell? Why am I naked?! Why does it hurt so much?!”

The light armor set that he had forked his money over – it had been utterly destroyed. He was flabbergasted at the sight of it, no longer feeling so thrilled about his powers.

v

“It took me a while to get it, but no matter what clothing I bought after that, it was the same issue. Whenever I used Time Stop, moving too much or too far broke them. Any action that I did during frozen time exerted a force on it – every bump and every pull. They all tore through like how my strikes worked on enemies. I thought it was a punishment for pinching funds from people, but even honestly-earned coin didn’t work!”

“Did you not move me in frozen time? I felt perfectly fine from that.”

“About that. It’s not like I just threw you over my shoulder and plopped you back down. You’d probably be feeling the vertigo from that. No, I slowly shifted you back into your initial position each time. It’s a real pain to move such short distances and with such care that you don’t feel the effects. So that’s why I gave up and went back to that dumpster in the back alley to retrieve my old clothing.”

Roze held a finger to her lips, thinking how bizarre Gideon’s circumstance was. That seemed to solve her initial question but raise another.

“How strange and inconvenient. I wonder why it is only your current clothing that doesn’t get destroyed by your ability.”

“It probably has something to do with it being brought here from my previous world. But honestly, I like to think that whatever deity in this world who arbitrarily set up my powers did that to mess with me for shits and giggles. But regardless, I won’t be wearing anything else for the time being, or else my ass will be hanging out in the battlefield.”

Roze chuckled at the misfortune of it all. Hearing him talk about his fashion worries made her a little bit less self-conscious of her own appearance. She slung her travel bag onto her back and did a stretch.

“Well then, shall we start?”

“Ladies, first.”

Gideon opened the door and followed behind her. Walking side-by-side, they passed through the town square, taking a short glance at the damage that they, or rather, Gideon did. It had only just happened yesterday, but Roze knew that she would remember it for quite some time.

As they started to walk again, a blond knight approached. It was Rafaello from the previous day. He waved at them to stop and have a chat.

“Heading off on a journey? That’s not a bad idea. Even with the ruckus being mostly the fake lord’s fault, there will still be those who won’t see you as completely innocent. Best to lay low and wait for the rumors to expire of interest.”

Rafaello turned to Gideon with a glance of intrigue.

“Who’s your travel companion?”

“Ah, this is Gideon… He’s my… uh-”

“Chef.”

The man in question cut her off, making up a back story on the fly.

“Miss Campanella and I are going on the road to find some exotic herbs. I tagged along because someone would need to make sure she doesn’t lose herself in her work and chew on nothing but raw mushrooms for sustenance.”

“Is that so? Well, good luck on your journey.”

Rafaello walked up close to Gideon. The sound of his sword hilt rubbing hung in his ear. It made Roze jump but Gideon took an extra second to register the action, which made Rafaello smirk. He patted Gideon on the shoulder and said in a low voice.

“You helped Miss Campanella out, didn’t you?”

“I-I don’t know what you mean,” Gideon responded, stiff as a board.

“Very well. I will not question you further. Do be careful. And protect the lady the best you can.”

Rafaello walked off, dropping the issue, but Roze shot Gideon a look of worry. He looked a bit annoyed instead.

“Dang it, why does he have to be so sharp all the time? I can’t even give him the fake out! At least, I can tell you that he doesn’t wish for any harm to us.”

“I assume you’ve crossed paths.”

“I’d rather you laugh at the details another time. We shouldn’t keep them waiting.”

“Who? Who is waiting?”

As the two of them approached the entrance to Corleone, a small group of people waved at them. Roze recognized many as customers of her apothecary. It was quite the surprise as she hadn’t spoken of her journey with anyone else but Gideon. She turned to him with a leery gaze.

“Isn’t it kind of sad if you leave without saying goodbye? I know I would if I didn’t get the chance to see off a nice girl like you. And I didn’t even get any treatment!”

Roze knew now why Gideon had been so late. He must have asked around, seeing who appreciated the handiwork of the newbie supplier of medicines. She had to admit. It brought a warm feeling to her chest.

The efforts of hard work didn’t elude Gideon’s eyes. He had been part of such a system as well – hard work getting buried by a few but silently appreciated by others. The little bits of appreciation from his co-workers kept him going whenever he found it, even as he was yelled at by his boss.

“It takes a normal person like me to notice how much your work has helped. Even when things don’t go your way, you keep trying. But when they do work out, we have to celebrate. We wish each other luck in our next venture. It makes what we can do, however small it may seem to us, important.”

Roze had to poke fun at Gideon for that.

“You? Normal? Well, I suppose I’ll have to strive for your definition of ‘normal’ then, now don’t I?”

“How’s that for a start? As the saying goes where I come from – power to the people.”

Gideon pointed to a fallen statue that was shortly within town limits. Someone had knocked it over after the news had spread about Piazzo’s false leadership. The head of the gold statue had split off, revealing a broken neck of rock inside the thin coating of gold on the outside.

It seemed oddly fitting for the occasion.

Roze turned back as Gideon guided her to the townsfolk. It seemed like their journey would be delayed for just a little bit longer.

She didn’t mind it at all.