2 - Pear

I turned towards the voice and felt like my heart had stopped. I’d just met a goddess but this was easily the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. I swear this is the last time you’ll hear me saying that. I swear! My heart belongs to one woman and this is her!

From the darkness of the treeline emerged a cloud, not in colour but in shape. It wasn’t silver and white like the goddess’ hair had been, but pink and curly. I’d have compared it to a sheep but having worked part time on a farm I know how dirty they can get, and how could I compare this delicate creature to anything impure?

Being who I am of course you can assume I’ve never had a girlfriend, aside from one girl who told me she liked me in the 4th grade. She had curly hair too come to think of it. Maybe that’s why I found myself head over heels the moment I saw her.

She stepped towards us, and I could see she had humble clothing on, an old dress and a working apron. Her messy locks bounced as she walked. I couldn’t help letting my imagination run off.

“Amazing, just amazing!”

She was clearly excited, and I struggled to make words come out.

“I can’t believe you defeated the boss all on your own! It’s been terrorizing our village for weeks and no one around here was brave enough to take on such a high level monster.”

I managed to collect myself and redirect some blood back to my brain.

“It was high level?”

What a stupid question. Of course it was, I saw how big that thing was. I’m embarrassing myself in front of my future wife.

“Oh wow! You must battle monsters all the time then! Of course you would if you’re strong enough to have a Spirit partner.”

“Spirit partner?”

“Do you call them something different where you’re from? Clearly you did the ritual if you have the Goddess’ emblem.”

She pointed to the strange charm hanging from Toast's harness.

I decided to let her fill in the gaps on her own since I know nothing of this new world. I don’t want to stick my foot in my mouth again and raise suspicion. I awkwardly nodded along as she spoke.

“I’ve never seen such a cute Spirit before though, usually they’re like smaller versions of legendary monsters, since they have to be defeated before making the contract. This one must have been a God Wolf!”

Toast seemed to like the compliment and puffed out his chest. The movement reminded me of my broken rib and I let out a yelp.

“Oh my goodness! You’re injured from that fight! Oh please come back to the village with me and see the healer, Mr. Hero!”

Mr. Hero? I like that. I have a bad feeling about it but I do like it.

I dropped Toast to the ground and she helped me up. I caught a whiff of her hair and it smelled like fresh pears.

As we walked we talked about various things, and I tried to be vague about my life to keep my cover. She seemed impressed with all the different jobs I’d done part time, and chalked everything up to me being a “Hero”. My bad feeling kept growing the more I lied, but some good feelings were growing too as I had my arm around the girl of my dreams. Judge me all you want, I was in heaven.

Once we arrived at the village my mood lifted. It looked just like a first town in an RPG, quaint and rustic. It must have been late in the evening as most of the windows were dark, but I was itching to explore it first thing in the morning. Toast shared my sentiment and kept trying to wander off to sniff, but I called him back each time and he huffed as he resigned to walking in step with us.

She led us to one of the little wooden houses and knocked loudly on the door. Toast hid behind me. Back home he was startled by loud noises but a knocking on the door always started a barking frenzy. I guess he's not as confident in an unfamiliar place.

"Madam Healer! Madam Healer please!"

An elderly woman answered the door in what I can only call a nightgown that was way too revealing for someone of her...wisdom. She looked quite annoyed.

"What do you need child? It's my anniversary and you're killing the mood!"

Not at all what I was expecting to hear from my first real villager interaction. Killing the mood is right. Be more NPC-like!

"Sorry Madam Healer, I forgot! Has Rupert recovered from his cold?"

Such a caring girl, so pure and warmhearted. No idea how to read a room.

"He's just fine, now get to it so I can get to it!"

Gross. So gross. Surely she must have caught on.

"Oh yes sorry! We will let you get back to sleep-"

Not quite.

"-but I found this Hero in the woods after he fought the Boss that's been hanging around! He's hurt from the battle!"

The old woman looked at me suspiciously, and I was expecting a line of questioning. She lifted her hand to my stomach and a green light softly flashed.

"Great Heal."

And with that she slammed the door. My inner voice slipped out.

"That's it?!" 

"She must have been really tired."

My heart throbbed for this innocent soul standing next to me. 

I stood up straight and pressed my fingers into my side, and realized all the pain had vanished. I was disappointed to remove my arm from the nirvana of shoulders, but excited at the prospect of my first experience with magic. I needed to check if Toast had anything like that in his skill tree.

"I'm sure you're tired too, the Inn should still be open since everyone drinks there 'til morning"

Nice RPG setting!

She led me to a larger building a ways down from the healer's house. Toast trotted along just behind and I noticed she kept looking back at us smiling. Are you looking at me or the dog? Please let it be me!

Just as I'd hoped for, the warm lights welcomed us into a tavern where a rowdy crew was drunkenly singing about heroes and legends. There were stairs to the left of the bar and a portly woman wiping the counter. We approached and Toast sniffed a stool and lifted his leg. I pushed him away with my foot and he huffed at me again. 

Be cool dude.

"Ruth! I'd like you to meet someone! He's a Hero!"

The tavern quieted a little as the rowdy crew stopped their singing, likely to listen in. Ruth looked surprised to just hear the word.

"A Hero?! In my tavern? There's no way."

"It's true! He defeated the Boss in the woods! It was chasing me but got its antlers stuck on a tree and gave me enough time to hide, and when I came out it had already been defeated by him! I saw it!"

"I mean that is certainly worth celebrating! You defeated that awful thing? I'm sure the whole village would love to buy you a drink!"

"We need to reward him better than that! He's a true Hero, Ruth! Show her the Spirit!"

Anything for you. 

I bent down and hoisted up Toast, showing him off like a rare item. Ruth's eyes sparkled the same way the neighbourhood ladies' did when we'd run into them on walks, but she quickly suppressed whatever she was feeling.

"My! What luck we must have to receive a Hero!" 

I learned Spirits were no joke around here. She accepted everything instantly!

Ruth spoke loudly enough that everyone in the tavern rushed over with curiosity and excitement. I held Toast close to me as we were surrounded by villagers, congratulating us and thanking us for saving their village. Normally when we're rushed by people they make a grab for Toast, trying to pet him, telling him he's a good boy, etc. These people kept a respectful distance despite being close enough that we could smell the alcohol on everyone's breath. They directed everything at me, slapped my back, laughed loudly and heartily. It felt...nice.

Things escalated at breakneck speed from there. I was whisked away from the inn and taken to the largest house in the village. The villagers brought me every luxury they had, almost like offerings to a god. They filled the front room with alcohol, fabrics, food, and gold. They even offered me women! 

I bonded with the villagers like a new family and they welcomed the "Hero" with open arms. A sturdy man with thick glasses poured beer into my cup after every sip. A rough and tumble man sized up my feet and was diligently fashioning custom boots on the spot to replace my dirty sneakers. A woman with big... hands... rubbed my shoulders and offered her daughter to me like a prize. I was being treated like a king and it felt wonderful. Toast was clearly happy as he absolutely destroyed something resembling a smoked ham. The offerings kept coming well into the night, even as the villagers returned home one by one, lavishing me with compliments and praise as they left.

At some point the only ones still with me were Toast and my angel. She stood at the front door and smiled, then gasped.

"Oh my goodness! I forgot to introduce myself, Mr. Hero!"

She pinched the sides of her dress and gave me a small curtsey. I melted.

"I'm Kana! It was lovely to meet you today. If it isn't a bother can I come back tomorrow to check on you?"

I just nodded. Hearing my angel's name for the first time combined with exhaustion of the night's events broke everything inside me. 

She spun around with another smile and left the house. I was smitten.

I'd somehow floated my way upstairs to a regal room with a bed big enough for 6 people and the comfiest pillows I'd ever felt. They would have cost a fortune in my world for sure. Maybe even a full month's rent. The luxury of this place didn't match the vibe of the village at all but I was too tired to nitpick any more RPG tropes.

As I finally laid down after my first night here, Toast jumped up and settled himself near my feet as he usually did. For a moment, I really thought things had changed for me and we could live a cozy pampered life. I thought about Kana as I fell asleep, blissfully unaware of the chaos to come the very next morning.