Chapter 3 — From One Centimeter to Royal Dinner

"Rudolf, I'm here!"

"Oh… Leo!"

The king smiled broadly when he saw the man enter.

A short man with curly brown hair walked in confidently. 

Who is this guy?

The two immediately started chatting like old friends who hadn’t met in a long time.

Soon after, the king called me over.

"Leo, this is Haruto. Haruto, this is Leo—currently the best Skystride trainer in the kingdom."

"What do you mean by 'currently,' Rudolf?! Are you trying to pick a fight?!"

He said it jokingly.

"So this is the guy Celine was talking about? You’re short too, huh? Lacking calcium?"

Wow. Cocky guy alert.

"How tall are you?" I asked.

"No idea. Celine, measure me."

Celine smiled and measured him. "156 cm."

"Hero Haruto, would you like to be measured too?"

"Sure."

Turns out I was 157 cm. One glorious centimeter taller.

I stepped closer and smirked at Leo. "I win by one centimeter."

"You’re only one centimeter taller, don’t get cocky!"

"What’s that? I didn’t hear you," I teased, leaning forward. "Maybe I should crouch a bit so I can hear you better?"

Leo’s face twisted in frustration. I felt incredibly satisfied. The king burst out laughing, and Celine hid a small smile.

---

Not long after, I asked the king what was going on, but he simply waved me off and told Leo to explain.

"Alright, listen up," Leo began. "This world has five basic elements: earth, wind, lightning, water, and fire. But there are two forms of magic above them all: light and darkness."

"Darkness? You mean that glowing red thing from earlier?" I asked.

The king nodded.

"Exactly."

Celine clapped her hands gently. "Since Hero Haruto has just arrived here, why don’t we let him rest for now?"

After being escorted to my room, I froze. This room… it’s bigger than my whole apartment back on Earth!

The bed was massive and ridiculously soft. I laid down for a moment… and fell asleep instantly.

---

The next day, I went to the market with Celine. It was almost lunchtime.

"Cheap or tasty?" I asked her.

She tilted her head, confused. I explained what I meant and pointed to the busiest stall.

When we went inside and sat down, the smell hit me instantly—rich and mouthwatering, definitely from the kitchen.

But then Celine looked at the menu and gasped.

"What?! Why is it so cheap?! How can a place that smells this good charge so little?!"

I just chuckled.

We stayed there for quite a while, eating and chatting, then went to shop for clothes. Honestly, I felt like I was cosplaying.

Before I realized it, the sun was already setting, so we headed back to the castle.

---

At the castle, the staff welcomed us and told us to wash up before dinner.

When I entered the dining hall, Celine was already there along with the king, a regal woman in extravagant clothes—definitely the queen—and two young twins, a boy and a girl.

"Hello, Hero Haruto," the queen greeted warmly. "I am Seraphina von Calvessia, queen of the Calvessia Kingdom."

Called it.

"Hello, Hero Haruto! I’m Cecil von Calvessia!"

"And I’m Cilla von Calvessia!"

They were so adorable I almost wanted to kidnap them and take them back to Earth… not that I would, of course.

Dinner was relaxed and full of conversation. Eventually, the king spoke up:

"Tomorrow, you’ll meet Leo again. Training begins."

Training, huh…? Somehow, I’m not ready for this.