Chapter 18: An Uninvited Guest?

The orange sun peeked over the horizon, marking the crack of dawn.

Outside the Explorers Guild, Akane, Ayame, the old man, and Meisatsu watched as a horse-drawn carriage appeared in a flash of light a few meters ahead of them.

Two guards wearing full body armor, and an elderly mage in red robes stepped down.

To Meisatsu, the carriage looked ordinary—if you ignore the fact that it had just teleported, and its barred cage glowed faintly with magic.

In between the two groups, Gaspard and Pierre were tied up on the ground, and Akira was being healed by Lysa—Ayame’s attack had nearly turned him to charcoal.

“Oh, you finally arrived?” Akane asked, staring down one of the guards.

The desk at the Guild also served as a communication device. Akane had contacted them earlier.

“Yes, we came as soon as we got your report,” a guard replied. “They shall be taken to the Royal Capital to face judgment.”

The elderly mage then stepped forward, “Thank you Sir Hero. Your aid in this matter shall surely be rewarded.”

“Don’t mention it,” Meisatsu said with a hand wave. “It’s my duty after all.”

I must sound so cool right now! Meisatsu thought.

Lysa had just finished healing Akira. With that, all three of them were loaded into the cage-like structure at the back of the carriage.

“Ayame, are those the Royal Army Soldiers?” asked Meisatsu, eyeing the two.

“Totally, and that guy in red, I think he’s a High-Mage.” She paused for a bit. “Being able to cast Teleport at such a distance. I’m sure of it”

“We’re off!” a guard called out as he flicked the reigns.

As they pulled away, Gaspard crawled up to the bars, glaring at Meisatsu.

“A wise man once said, ‘Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress… I—”

The carriage teleported before Gaspard could finish.

Meisatsu thought for a moment, then asked, “You know, if they could just teleport, why the carriage?”

He didn't give a damn for Gaspard’s speech…

“They won’t just head to the castle directly. As protocol, they only teleport to the city’s edge then complete the rest by carriage,” Ayame answered.

“It’s also to set an example,” Akane added, “To show the people the fate of criminals.”

“Great work ya Hero!” The old man laughed under his Amigasa, slapping Meisatsu hard on his back.

The Night Before…

“Sensei?!” Meisatsu echoed. “What?!”

Ayame jumped on the old man, embracing him tightly.

“Oh right, I never introduced you. He is Master Toshiko Hirano!” she squealed, snuggling him. “Hey, Sensei? Did you see my attack earlier? I’ve been practicing controlling my precision with magic. Wasn’t it awesome?!”

He looked into Ayame’s expectant eyes. “Yes Ayame, it was indeed ‘awesome.’

Shizuka dropped Pierre’s unconscious body on the floor.

“Don’t mention me in the report…” he said, fading away. “Later Sensei…”

“Ahh…” Master Toshiko sighed. “Same ol’ Shizuka. Hates standing out.”

Why is she clinging to him like that? Meisatsu felt his mood stir. Wait! What am I thinking?!

“And why do you look so…!”

Meisatsu thought back to his duel with Umare. The short memory of destroying an old man’s goods during the fight resurfaced.

“It’s you!”

“So you finally remembered, eh?” Master Toshiko tried breaking free of Ayame’s hold to no avail… “Took ya long enough!”

“What’s up with the whole ‘Sensei’ bit?”

“Well you see…” He whipped out a pendent from his pocket.

EXPLORER Level III

“I retired a while back. But before I did, I was known as, The First.”

“What’s that?”

“Short for—The first strongest member of the Guild. I stepped down from the position, for I was surpassed.”

“Alright, but what does that have to do with Ayame?” He pointed to Ayame, still clinging to Master Toshiko’s side. Meisatsu’s uneasiness grew.

Shut it author-kun!

“She joined the Guild, unguided, inexperienced, and utterly reckless. She kept saying how she’d become The First and make her little brother proud.”

He patted her on the head. “She’s one of my most favorite students, out of the four at least.”

Hands off already old man!

“I thought you were a ghost or something.”

“Oh, that was just Mist Walk,” Master Toshiko chuckled.

Mist Walk—An ability most Assassins achieve, allowing the user to conceal their presence, and choose what aspects of them they would like revealed.

They could even choose the number of people allowed to see them.

“If I had shown myself, Ayame would…” He jerked his head at the girl in question. “Along with the rest of the Guild…”

“Fair enough.” Meisatsu shrugged. “So that cool emo dude. One of your students?”

“Emo…? You mean Shizuka? Yes he is.” He stroked his chin, then muttered to himself. “I wonder how the others are doing.”

“You knew about Gaspard’s plan the entire time, didn’t you?”

Ayame finally released Master Toshiko, darting into the sky with a body covered in flames.

Where’s she going now? Meisatsu watched her fly off.

“Shizuka told me he found traces of magic in their stuff, and I did some digging.” He smiled. “I would have handled it myself, but, it seemed like a valuable training opportunity for the young Hero.”

“You call that training?!!!”

“Yup!” Master Toshiko flashed a thumb. “I’m sure you’ve learnt some valuable lessons.”

“……” Meisatsu then asked, “What was Gaspard’s deal anyway?”

“I believe he fell prey to a fanaticism of some sort.” He twisted his upper body, resulting in some disturbing popping sounds.

“When he found out about my new trade, that’s when I think he snapped.” Master Toshiko continued, “The real question is, how he found out.”

“Wasn’t he all buddy-buddy with Explorers?”

“That’s true but, we Explorers have an unspoken rule. We never reveal another’s given role without permission.”

Within the Explorers Guild, when one becomes a member they can claim their role as an Explorer, regardless of the original.

Assassins in particular prefer this, so as to avoid causing unwarranted fear or prejudice.

“Could you imagine the trouble it would cause if everyone knew I was a Level 80 Assassin?” He laughed heartily.

“Level… 80?!!”

Mater Toshiko grinned smugly. “Surprised, ain’t ya?”

“Man, that grind must have been insane!”

“Grind?! You’re nothing like the previous Hero.” He jabbed a finger on Meisatsu’s chest. “But, that’s good.”

“How would you know? Didn’t he die like a thousand years ago?”

“True. ‘How would I know?’ is right.” He smirked. “It’s about time you turned them in”

He gestured at Pierre—lying face down on the floor.

And that’s how they carried the defeated group back to the Explorers Guild to turn them in.

By the time they had gathered all three of them, morning approached.

Ayame was already done giving her report as well—leaving Shizuka’s involvement out of it.

“Guess I’ll see ya around!” Master Toshiko began fading away in a mist of black. “And say hi to that slime of yours for me.”

“No…” Meisastu said.

He was gone

“I still got questions for that old guy…”

“Oh, so you’ve met him before?” Ayame asked as they walked back home. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to sound like a crazy person…”

As they followed the dirt path home, Meisastsu’s eyes caught a glimpse of a temple standing just off the trail.

The temple’s domed roof gleamed in the sunlight, and its thick marble pillars stood guard at the entrance.

It was lined with dozens of porcelain-colored marble statues, all depicting a beautiful young woman with long flowing hair. Each one having a different pose.

Hmm... she kinda looks like that goddess I met that one time, doesn’t she? Wait…!

“Thank you goddess!” he cried, facing one of the statues, on his knees, hands clasped..

“Since when did you care about religion?” Ayame asked, suspicious.

No way in hell I can tell her, “Oh yeah, I kinda got shot this one time, met this goddess. And I reincarnated as the Gun Hero in another world!”

“I was just so… moved…?” He grinned awkwardly. “What’s her name by the way?”

Fifteen years of living in Asturia, and not once had he bothered to find out anything about the religion or culture of the world.

Zip it author-kun.

“She is the goddess Lyrica-sama, worshipped in all of Asturia.”

I’ll be forever grateful Lyrica-sama, Meisatsu prayed silently.

In the clouds a faint image of the goddess holding a thumb up with a wink hovered above them.

Their house could be seen in the distance—two worried parents hurrying toward them, accompanied by a bouncing Simuru.

“Thank goodness you two are alright!!” Ragan boomed, embracing them firmly.

Leina appeared and disappeared in short flickers around the two. The speed at which she checked for bodily harm was simply astonishing…

Simuru plopped down atop Meisatsu’s head.

As the family chattered amongst themselves, narrating their ordeal, a trail of dust was fast approaching.

Meisatsu quickly alerted everyone at the encroaching body.

Ayame placed a hand over her eyes, squinting, “Is that… A Magi-Mobile?!”

Meisatsu’s mind flipped when he finally saw the contraption pull out from the dust.

“Isn’t that a Corv—”

“Dorvette D7?!!” Ayame blurted. “What’s it doing here?!”

Hmm?!! Meisatsu’s face twisted at the glaring similarity in the name.

The vehicle skidded to a stop, and a young man leapt out of the driver’s seat.

“Sup my love?” He winked as he hopped down. “Miss me?”