Kingdom Halaf

After walking for quite a while, I finally arrived in front of the kingdom’s gate. There were two gatekeepers there — one looked sleepy while the other looked bored.

First gatekeeper: “I’m bored, when will my shift end! I want to go home right now!!”

Second gatekeeper: “Stop shouting! I’m trying to sleep! You dumbass!”

First gatekeeper: “Who is that? There’s someone coming here.”

As I was about to speak to them, for some reason my vision suddenly blurred and cold sweat ran down my face.

(Uh, what’s this?)

I couldn’t utter a single word; my heart pounded and my vision was unfocused, I even had trouble breathing. Their gazes felt like they were stabbing me, reminding me of the people in my world — those who looked at me with disgust, who looked at me out of hatred, the ones who made me lose my self-worth.

I gathered all my strength to speak, even though I was talking with my head lowered.

Rei: “He-hello there, I wonder… will you let me enter the kingdom?”

First gatekeeper: “Who are you and where are you from, sir?”

Rei: “I’m from the northern village that was destroyed by a monster.”

Second gatekeeper: “Wait, do you mean Roke Village? That village was destroyed!?”

(So the village was called Roke.)

Rei: “Yes, I am.”

First gatekeeper: “Damn, that’s a rough experience, buddy. You’re welcome to come in. By the way, what kind of monster destroyed the village?”

Rei: “I don’t know its name, but it’s a human-like monster the size of a small house. Also, it has wings.”

First gatekeeper: “I see… it’s ManRaka.”

First gatekeeper: “Hey, Curas! Go to the castle and tell the King that the demon is starting to come into this kingdom.”

Second gatekeeper (Curas): “Yeah, I’ll do that! You guard the gate while I go, Tin.”

First gatekeeper (Tin): “Also, bring this man to safety.”

Rei: “Thank you so much, sir.”

I followed Curas from behind with my head lowered. He tried to make conversation with me, but I only replied with one or two words.

Curas: “Really, this is your unlucky day. I feel sorry for what happened to you, but now you are safe. So raise your head and live.”

Curas smiled as he said that, but seeing the insincere smile and his trembling hands, I knew he was lying. He was afraid of death just like me — afraid of fighting monsters. In the end, I lifted my head and nodded at the statement he made.

I looked around and saw many buildings with colorful medieval Western-style designs. I also noticed that many people were still wandering about at night, so I assumed it was normal here. If not, then the other possibility was a celebration or a festival. The streets I walked along were also filled with glowing orbs bright enough to fight against the darkness of the night.

(This is amazing! The houses are colorful, the streets are full of light orbs. Is this magic or some kind of device? I wonder.)

Curas: “Alright, we’ve arrived.”

Curas: “Welcome to the refugee camp, Jua!”

I saw a huge building that was hard for me to believe. This building reminded me of the apartment I used to live in — big and tall.

(This place is a refugee camp!? This place is too big! It’s probably the same size as my old apartment!)

(This kingdom is definitely rich. I’am glad i go to this kingdom.)

We both entered the refugee camp. Inside, it was brightly lit — as bright as a hotel — and many people were busy with their own activities. Curas guided me around and explained everything about the place. After that, we went to meet the owner of the camp, who turned out to be an adult female sorceress sitting down while using fire magic in her hand.

She was beautiful, with a slim figure and large chest, long blackish-purple hair, and red eyes. The addition of red lipstick made her look even more beautiful.

(Is that magic? Why is she using fire magic indoors?)

As I was thinking that, I noticed several sheets of paper filled with writing and magic circle drawings.

(Is she experimenting with magic?)

Curas: “Lady Fana, could you give this man one of your rooms?

You see, his village was destroyed by ManRake today, and he came to this kingdom alone. So I wonder if you could spare him a room?”

Lady Fana only glanced at us briefly, then handed me a key to one of the rooms before continuing her magical experiments.

Rei: “T-t-thank you, Lady Fana.”

Curas: “Well then, we’ll excuse ourselves.”

We left the place and headed toward my room. On the way, Curas glanced at the key Lady Fana had given me.

Curas accompanied me in searching for room number 23. After a while, we finally found it. When I opened the door, I saw a bed, a table, and a wardrobe inside.

Curas: “Well, that’s it. I hope you enjoy this place. Also, if you want to eat, you need to go back to the first floor. Tomorrow, Tin will bring you some clothes to wear. Hopefully, you’ll get a good night’s sleep. Good night!”

Rei: “T-thank you. Good night.”

Curas then left to report to the king, while my stomach growled instead.

“I guess eating is my priority right now.”

I headed down to the first floor to eat. The dining hall had started to empty, so I could eat peacefully. I grabbed a plate and went to the food counter to get some food. One of the female attendants there told me to wash my hands with the water orb in the corner of the room. When I reached out my hand, the water orb transformed into flowing water, making it easy for me to clean my hands. After that, the attendant gave me vegetable soup and two potatoes to eat.

Officer: “Here you go.”

Rei: “Thank you.”

I sat at a table alone and ate the meal. The taste was rather bland, but since I was hungry, it felt like a luxury to eat. The potatoes, however, were delicious, and they managed to cover the soup’s bland taste.

“The potato really hides the taste of the soup. It’s good!”

After eating, I washed my hands again and returned to my room. I sat in silence, reflecting on everything that had happened today.

“This day has really been a crazy experience for me.

Transmigrated to another world, chased by ManRake, witnessed a monster war, and I’m still alive. Is this because I’m the chosen one? Or am I just lucky enough to see tomorrow?”

(Save the world, huh. That kind of task is far too big for a single human to achieve.)

“I’ll search for more information tomorrow, but for now it’s time to sleep.”

I lay down and fell asleep.

When I opened my eyes, a new day had already begun, and I heard knocking at my door.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

I quickly opened the door and found Tin, the gatekeeper from yesterday, bringing me clothes.

Tin: “Good morning! Doing well?”

Rei: “Ye-yeah, thanks to both of you.”

Tin: “Hahaha, don’t mind it. We really should help each other — we’re human, after all. Anyway, here are your clothes and a little money from the king.”

I was shocked to be given money by the king. It amounted to three coins: one gold and two silver. Was this because I had informed the king about the monster’s arrival, or was there another reason behind his action?

Tin:”Anyway, i have something important do so I’m gonna leave now, Take care.”

Rei:”Thank you once more,sir Tin!”

Tin:”Sure but please stop calling with sir I'm not used to it.”

Rei:”Alright,Tin.”

Tin:”See ya.”

I only nodded and watched Tin leave. Then I looked at the clothes he had given me. There were two sets of clothing and a pair of leather shoes. When I tried them on, I found the clothes were too big for me, and even the shoes were loose.

“Well, I managed to wear the clothes, but they’re too big for me. I really shouldn’t complain since I got them for free.”

“Maybe I’ll find a tailor in this kingdom who can adjust the size.”

I changed back into my old clothes and decided to go for breakfast. But when I went downstairs, I found the dining hall crowded with people. My heart started pounding irregularly, and I lost my appetite.

(I’ll eat later.)

I went outside and began walking around the city. The streets were still fairly quiet, which made it comfortable to wander around.

(I guess many people are still eating breakfast. That’s why there aren’t many people outside right now. I wonder what time it is?)

I saw many shops selling weapons, clothes, and potions. I also noticed a tavern that seemed quite lively. Walking around the city filled me with excitement to the point where I didn’t even feel tired. After walking for quite some time, I arrived at a tree located far from the residential area, where I could clearly see the view of the city. The tree also bore pink apple-shaped fruits that tasted like avocado. After picking a few of them, I relaxed under the tree, enjoying the scenery of the kingdom while eating the fruit.

I organized my thoughts and made a plan for the day.

“Firstly, I’m gonna learn and practice my ability, then find information about this world, and lastly go home when night comes.”

I searched for subjects for my experiment and managed to catch two blue-eyed squirrels.

“I’m sorry, little ones. I promise I’ll let you go after this.”

I began my experiment, and the first thing I worked on was how to activate and deactivate my ability. Second, how to exit the illusion.

I touched one of the squirrels and tried to give it an illusion that made it wag its tail — but that didn’t work. After some time, I drew conclusions about how my ability works.

First, to activate my ability I must focus and have the will to use it; to deactivate it I must do the same thing but with the will to turn it off.

Second, when my ability is active, my entire body becomes the conduit. That means as long as there is physical contact, I can plant an illusion into my opponent.

Third, the illusions I create have no set duration; exiting the illusion is done by my will.

Fourth, I can also use my bodily fluids as a conduit to plant an illusion, although that power only lasts for 10 minutes.

(I guess that’s enough for today. Let’s search for information for the rest of the day.)

I released the two squirrels and left the place. On my way back to the city I felt like someone was watching me. I quickly looked around to see who it was, but no one was there.

I tried to calm myself and immediately ran away from the place. While running I considered every possibility about who might be watching me, and after running for quite a while I finally stopped to catch my breath. Suddenly I was startled by a young girl.

Mysterious girl: “Boo!”

Rei: “Uwahhh!?”

I fell to the ground and saw the woman giggling. She was about 167 cm tall, with short wavy white hair. Her eyes were purple and she wore latex clothing with a small armor around her chest.

Mysterious girl :”Hihihihihi, you overreacted.”

Rei:”W-who are you!? Why are you chasing me!”

Mysterious girl:”I’m Maia. What yours?

Rei:”Uhh… Rei.”

Maia:”What are you doing with that squirrel?”

Rei: “Why are you chasing me!?”

Maia:”You asking the same question twice.”

Rei:”Just answer it!”

Maia:”Well i do my walking routine then found you put squirrel in your belly so i try to asking you questions but you ran away.”

Rei:”I see.”

Maia:”So,what are you doing?”

Rei:”Practice.”

Maia:”Magic or special skill?

Rei:”Ummm……”

Maia looked at me with a curious gaze. At this point, I couldn’t reveal my real ability—especially since she was a stranger—so I lied to her.

Rei: “Animal telepathy. I can communicate with animals using telepathy.”

Maia: “Great! But do you know that place is off limits? 

Rei:”Offlimit?”

Maia:” Yes, that place is sacred, and only royalty are allowed to eat the Diava fruit. If someone eats it without permission, they’ll gonna cut off your man thing, burn it, and bury it near that tree.”

Rei: “…………………………”

I started imagining what would happen to my future. Cold sweat began dripping from my head, and I instinctively grabbed my crotch.

Rei: “Please tell me you’re lying.”

Maia: “It’s true… 300 years ago, to be precise. Today, that’s not gonna happen.”

I clenched my fists, holding back my rage. This girl was saying it with a smile, acting like it wasn’t a life changing moment.

(Hold on, Rei. Patience is key.)

Maia: “Hahahaha, You look funny, Rei. Can I help you?”

I decided to use this chance to get the information I needed.

Rei: “I-I need information.”

Maia: “Let’s go to the tavern then. I’ll accompany you so you can relax a little.”

Rei:” It’s simple information so I only need you to answer it!”

Maia:”I think it’s better if you just got all of your information in one go. So, lets go to Tavern!”

Maia smiled and grabbed my hand. We headed toward the tavern.

By running.