A new home

Chapter 14

“So, since we’re not on a battlefield this time, let’s get some proper introductions going. I’ll go first! I’m Clara Halverston, also called Celeste sometimes, but we don’t talk about Celeste. Vanguard and cheerleader of Halo Unit, protecting the innocent and crushing evil one battered skull at a time! Nice to meet you!” She introduces herself with a bright smile and shakes hands with Naoya. He gives her an uneasy smile, slightly worried about the ominous things she included in her introduction.

They were having their morning coffee at a small, cozy cafe near the Order’s headquarters. He was woken up by two Knights from Halo Unit, which he recognized from their first meeting during the capture of Noctis operatives. They invited him for a day out as part of their assignment to help him acclimate to his new life in Valebryn, and Naoya, with nothing better to do, eagerly accepted.

“The cheerleader part isn’t really official, but she does a pretty good job at it so we just let it pass,” Anastacia says, placing down her drink as the aroma of her black coffee wakes up Naoya’s senses. “I’m Anastacia von Skalbjorn, just Ana for short. Recon and fighter for Halo Unit. What else… I like exercising and going to the gym, I guess?”

“Yep. I figured that out easily.” Naoya shakes her hand, feeling a bit of fear as she grabs him; the image of her easily tearing his arm off flashes in his mind. She wore a simple sleeveless shirt, exposing her well-defined biceps. Along with her long brown hair and large frame, she exuded an intimidating, bearish aura, which was fitting given her Bear Faunite lineage.

“Ummm… I actually wanted to ask you a question. Back when we first met, I noticed my friends from Cipher Unit had a weird reaction when they heard your name, so is there like… something I should be aware of?” Naoya asks, not wanting to sound nosy but still very curious.

“Oh, right. You don’t know about that.” She snaps her fingers, and suddenly all sounds around them are muted, leaving only their voices clear to each other.

“Don’t worry about your ears; it’s just to prevent eavesdroppers. To answer your question, they reacted like that because they recognized my last name. I’m actually the third princess from the House of von Skalbjorn, which is basically the reigning monarch of a kingdom in the east called Jaruna. Please keep it a secret, okay? I don’t want my family knowing where I am.”

“Ahhh…” Naoya didn’t know how to respond. “I’m sorry, I don’t know the norms on meeting royalty in this world. We didn’t have those in mine.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just act like I never told you anything, okay?”

He gives her a serious nod, showing his understanding. Ana snaps her fingers again, and all sounds go back to normal.

“Now that I think about it, maybe that’s the reason Sir Valiansteel chose our Unit to teach him the norms of the world,” she says as she takes a sip of coffee.

“I was just thinking that too! We can show him the cultures and traditions, and Tessa can teach him more about magic. Sir Valiansteel really thought about everything, huh,” Clara remarks.

“So what are we learning today?” Naoya asks, eager to learn from them.

“Well, for today I was thinking we could shop for your basic needs and stuff like that since you’ll be starting at the Academy soon. I’ve been seeing you around the headquarters wearing the plainest clothes every time, and I’ve been dying to get you new ones,” Clara replies, and he was glad that someone finally noticed his wardrobe problem.

She wore a frilly dress today, like always, but this one was simpler and less eye-popping than her combat outfit. Her hair is done in her signature twin-tails, and overall she seems fashionable, which puts his mind at ease, trusting that she would help him pick out great outfits.

“If we’re gonna be going shopping, looks like I got Naoya the perfect gift then,” Ana says with a smile. She pulls out a golden card from her pocket and slides it across the table. Clara’s jaw drops, and Naoya, having recently learned this world’s currency system from Astrea recently, had a similar reaction.

“Wha-? Wait, HUH? Wait, wait, wait. Miss Ana, is that actually a Gilded Vaultcard? Astrea told me Vaultcards with this color have more than one million…”

“Two million aurums, actually. I figured you literally have nothing in this world right now since you just woke up in a forest, so here’s my little welcome gift to a traveler from another world.” She flashes a confident smile, feeling great about her generosity.

“A little welcome gift?! This ‘little welcome gift’ of yours is enough to pay for a union tribute if Naoya wanted to marry a noblewoman, AND pay for the wedding! AND he’ll still have savings for years!” Clara snaps under her breath, trying not to catch other people’s attention.

“Oh, don’t make it such a big deal.” Ana leans back on her chair and crosses her arms. “He’s lived in this world for barely two months, and he’s already starting at the Academy soon. It’s important to make a good first impression, you know. Especially with some of the noble children there.”

Clara leans back and thinks. “Yeah, that makes sense. But it’s still quite a lot though… Eh, whatever. Since Ana’s being generous, let’s put it to good use.” She finishes the rest of her drink and grabs Naoya by the arm. “Let’s go shopping!”

Naoya, whose face was still frozen in shock with his sudden increase in net worth, simply got dragged along as they left the cafe.

The rest of the day was spent walking through the busy streets of Valebryn and touring the city. They visited several stores to purchase his necessities, while Naoya was completely distracted by the city’s elegant designs and countless magical contraptions. Something would catch his eye every so often, and he would ask the Knights about it, who found his childish curiosity funny. They brought him to some of the city’s major attractions, including a vast, maze-like restaurant grounds where countless stalls prepared and served all kinds of food and drinks, from Valebryn’s own cuisine to all kinds of dishes from foreign countries. Naoya witnessed giant crabs being butchered by several people, massive fires boiling large pots of thick, aromatic soups, and entire houses made of desserts, where people can pay an entrance fee to enter and eat whatever they can find inside. Naoya and the Knights ended up spending several hours, and a few thousand aurums, in the culinary plaza, trying out anything that interested them.

…

As the sun sets over another peaceful day, a massive suit of armor made of dark metal lands in front of three people in a park. They were all slumped on the bench with uncomfortable looks and holding onto their stomachs. One of them, a girl with twintails, opens a small portal beside her and throws up into it, before slumping back on the bench.

The armor’s chestplate opens, revealing a lady sitting inside, looking at them with a baffled expression.

“So this is why I couldn’t contact you guys?” she asks her teammates.

“Sorry, Tessa. We kinda got carried away at the plaza,” Clara replies with a weak smile.

“Unbelievable. With Naoya I can understand, but I can’t believe professional Knights like you got affected by the plaza’s charms,” she sighs.

“Wait, we were charmed the whole time? Is that why the food tasted so good?” Naoya asks, looking queasy.

“No, they taste genuinely good, but there’s a weak charm all over the plaza that makes customers crave more food to drive up sales. Most people should have enough tolerance for it, so how…? Even you, Ana?”

“I found mushroom pies from Jaruna. I couldn’t resist, okay?” Ana replies, her massive form still slumped on the bench.

“I can’t believe this,” Tessa says as she climbs out of the suit. She wore an unbuttoned coat used as formal attire by Knights over her plain tank tops, as well as baggy cargo pants with lots of pockets. Her outfit looks like it was cobbled together last minute by an engineer hurrying to leave their house.

“I only went here to give Naoya something, but now I have to take care of you lot too.” Her suit of armor raises its hands towards the bench and starts pouring out a green mist, which slowly heals the group.

“Awww, thanks, Tessa! You’re the best.” Clara happily jumps and embraces her teammate, finally relieved of their stomachache.

“Thank you, Miss Tessa. I’m Shiranui Naoya,” he says as he stands up and extends a hand towards her.

“Tessa Lockrow, Halo Unit engineer and artillery,” she replies, briefly shaking his hand. “I read everything in your file. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of a visitor from another world, so you’ve piqued my interest. And for that, I decided to make something to help you adjust to this world. You guys haven’t bought a focus yet, right?” She asks them as she turns back to her armor.

“I mean, that isn’t really something you buy on a whim, is it?” Ana replies.

“What’s a focus?” Naoya asks.

“It’s an object that people use to improve their control and manipulation of magical energies. Not really needed, though. Just a matter of preference to help with magic casting,” Tessa explains, and she turns back to the group, now holding a black fingerless glove with a white, translucent crystal embedded on it.

“This is a custom focus I made. It’s comfortable, efficient, and it even comes with a manas crystal. It’s mostly used to store energy, but it can also be a resting place for spiritual creatures like… them. What’s your fairy friend’s name, by the way?” She asks, pointing at the creature beside him.

“Oh, I haven’t introduced her yet. This is Ori, my fairy companion.”

Hello, Miss Tessa!

She suddenly jumps, surprised by the voice in her head. “What the f-! Was that you?”

Oops, sorry. I gotta remember not everyone’s used to a fairy speaking in their head. She guiltily replies. The other knights could be seen stifling their laughter at Tessa’s reaction.

“Whatever, I just wasn’t ready for it. Here, try this on so we can get this over with.” She hands him the glove, her face turning red from embarrassment.

The soft material comfortably slipped into his left hand and fit perfectly, almost as if he was wearing nothing at all. Naoya examines the strong, dark fabric and the crystal in the middle, already feeling stronger as he wears the focus. He holds out his hand, and Ori slowly disappears into the crystal, leaving the origami on top and turning it a bright pink color. He felt a cold wave of energy spread through his body.

“Wow, this feels great. And I feel more… magical, somehow? I don’t know how to describe it,” Naoya comments.

“That’s because the glove powers you both. Ori can tap into your energies and use it to grow and cast her magic, while she improves your magical senses and shares some of her attributes with you. It’s a perfect design, really,” Tessa explains with a proud smirk.

“It’s like I unlocked some endgame gear from a video game. Thank you, Miss Tessa!” He gratefully bows to her. “So, ummm… what do I owe you?”

“Ah, don’t worry about it. I only made that so Captain Eiren can’t say that I’m slacking off on the Unit’s assignment… but now that I think about it, I might have the perfect idea. What did you say getting the focus was like again?”

“I said it was like unlocking gear in a video game?” he replies, a bit confused.

“What’s a video game?”

“It’s a kind of entertainment back in my world.”

“Now that’s interesting.” She smiles and climbs back into her massive armor. “I’ll call you to my house whenever I’m free. I want you to tell me more about your world. That’ll be your payment.”

“Uhhh, okay! That’s great! Ummm… Where’s your house though?”

“I’ll tell you when I’m free. See you guys later.” The chestplate closes, and the massive armor jumps high into the air, sending dust flying everywhere.