How to be a Hero

The three of us continue to head back to the town chatting about the adventure we just had. It’s kinda refreshing being a group of friends like this again, especially now that Spector has loosened up a little.

We make it to the town center where we find ourselves staring at the bronze statue of Fern the Fearless. Jet’s eyes seem to linger on the figure a little longer than mine. He seems like the type to look up to heroic idols like that, but of course, he couldn’t have known him personally. The events of the book happened way before we all arrived here, so it’s just fiction to us. Then again, most of my role models are fiction too.

“Do you like Fern the Fearless?” I quietly ask Jet.

“Oh I never really read the Emperor of the Lantern books, but I heard many of the legends of him through the townsfolk. He threw a magic lantern into a volcano to stop an evil king. He was never the strongest or the fastest, but he was the brave hero Tauwren needed. I think that’s really cool.”

Aww that’s so sweet. His moral compass is truly admirable. No wonder he got isekai’d here wearing shiny golden armor. The dude is a pillar of true strength.

“You’ve read the Emperor of the Lantern Spector, what do you think?” I ask.
“He’s alright. I was more into Grandof though myself...”

Fair enough. Grandof does seem more like his type. He is pretty cool. Oh and that part when he summoned a bunch of giant falcons in the sky to rescue our heroes? Epic.

For someone who has read the books, I’m kinda surprised that the awe of it all seems to have worn off on him. We’re literally in the iconic hometown setting of Tauwren, but it does nothing for Spector. Some people have said they’ve been trapped here for years, I wonder how long both of them have been here. Oh, and that does lead me to another interesting question that’s been wracking my brain.

“Hey Jet,” I say, trying to interject casually. “How long have you been isekai’d here exactly?”

“Oh I don’t know, probably about five years? I got knocked unconscious.”

“Yeah, Azuki said it happened to you at work right?” I ask.

“Yeah…” Jet’s expression sours a little. His eyes become distant for a bit before he finds a way to change the subject. “Y’know, Spector has been here just as long as me!”

“Really?! What happened?” I asked curiously.

“...I don’t want to talk about it.” Spector responds. Alright. Keep your secrets gray elf. But, I will break you down eventually. I’ll crack you open like a good book!

“Anyways, ‘it’ happened to him on the morning of August 18th at about seven o’clock. Mine… happened at around the same time.” Jet answers.

“That’s what I was wondering!” I responded eagerly. “So pretty much everyone here was isekai'd around mid August. That’s quite the time differential between this world and ours. It's amazing that a few hours there can translate to a few years here! I think I got isekai’d that same day at about four o’clock, after school.”

I’m glad we finally cracked the code. I’d do a little more investigating to find out the exact difference, but I don’t feel like doing the math right now. Besides, I’d have to ask everyone at the Isekai Anonymous meeting tomorrow when they got here and that’s a lot of work.

“Anyways I’m going to go.” Spector says.

“Oh! Before you do, what do we do with the leftover lemon juice?” Jet asks, setting the heavy barrel down to the ground, still full of liquid. From what I gathered, they usually didn’t have any left over when they defeated slimes in the past. What a waste of perfectly good juice!

“I can take this barrel back to the Isekai House,” Spector suggests. “Tomorrow after the meeting they’re raising coin to help the less fortunate. Anything leftover will be donated to Frank’s magic shop so he can buy more wares. Giving out some lemonade to those who donate might be a nice incentive.”

Well that’s a great idea! A lemonade stand. Aww, I’ll have to grab a cup tomorrow if Spector is handing out lemonade like a little kid in culdesac. Not to mention, if some of the proceeds go to Frank, I should probably buy some just to get in his good graces. For my conscience's sake.

Spector tries to lift the barrel over his shoulder like Jet, but it’s definitely more of a struggle for him physically. His grip is a little weak and he’s starting to sweat, but he does manage to pull the barrel off of the ground! Either way, it’s kinda cute, I think he’s trying to show off. Seriously, for who though? We’re the only people here… He’s funny.

“Alrighty. See you tomorrow Spector!” I call out to him as he leaves.

I wave with my whole arm to the broody little elf. He sets the barrel down to wave back gently with his hand in such a small way it looks like he’s desperately trying to hide it. Or fight it. One or the other. Regardless, I’m glad I’ve gotten through to him, at least somewhat. I like it when he lets his guard down.

Jet and I continue talking for a bit before we depart. After all, it’s a lovely day and the sun hasn’t set quite yet. We happily chat for a while until a small lull in the conversation hits.

“Sorry about how Spector was acting earlier by the way. He’s usually not THAT stubborn.” Jet says.

Me taking near any and every opportunity to vent, I open up my mouth. “Yeah! What was his deal during that whole bounty anyways?! I know Azuki probably told him I wasn’t ready for adventuring, but I held up much better than he thought I would! I should get some credit…”

I’m not really upset anymore, but it does feel nice just to talk to someone every now and then. I never expected Jet to be such a good partner for spilling tea!

“Y’know, I think he just acted stupid because he wanted to protect you.” Jet adds.

I take a moment to think about it while we walk. I guess he has a point? Spector seemed worried when I fell from the roof that day we met and today he was super insistent that I shouldn’t get too close to the slime. He treated me like porcelain. So he IS trying to protect me. Oh crap! Does that mean he likes me?!

“You don’t think he likes me THAT way right?” I ask Jet.

“Oh yeah totally.” He says in response, but maybe I confused him with my wording?

“Wait, totally no or totally yes?”

“Uh… yes?”

Oh gosh we can’t be talking in circles like this for hours! I snap at Jet a little more harshly than I should.

“Jet, does he LIKE me!?”

“...yes?”

My face turns hot and I don’t know what to feel. I must look like I’m freaking out because suddenly Jet starts freaking out in equal measure.

“Uh… wait no! Unless, you don’t like him that way. Then no. Honestly I don’t really know what he thinks. We don’t talk that much.” He says in confusing reassurance.

While that does bring me some relief, my face still feels hot. Unfortunately, that’s not the only thing that’s hot. As we walk further down the east road, we can feel the air getting warmer. I smell a strong burning odor and smoke starts to rise in the distance. There’s a fire.

We run forward to take a closer look. It appears that one of the residents' cottages went up in flames. Flames that burn so brightly I wonder how we’ll be able to put it out. But someone has to do something. Luckily, I have the bravest partner that any fantasy protagonist would be lucky to have!

“Welp we’re not getting paid for this one since it’s not on the job board, but let's give it our best shot! Right Jet?! …Jet?”

I look over to him and he's standing behind me, frozen in place. He stares at the fire with an intensity I can’t quite describe. His eyes are shaking in the haze. A limbo, stuck between determination and fear.

“...yeah. Let’s go in.” Jet says with a quiet focus.

I run over to the house as quickly as I can. Jet however, lumbers slowly behind. His steely gaze affixed to the flames while walking forward at a zombie’s pace. It’s almost as if he’s nightwalking.

I don’t blame him. When we get to the front door, it’s already open with streams of thick smog pouring out into the air. The intensity of the black smoke makes it difficult to see your own hand in front of your face, an unwelcome sensation by any means. I wish I was asleep. That way I didn’t have to see this.

“June, it’s not safe! Let’s go back!!” He shouts.

It’s probably best to wait for reinforcements, but I can’t help but feel that we need to do something before it’s too late. Then, as if on cue, I hear a faint sound crying out from the next room over. There’s a kid in here.

“JUNE, where are you going!?”

“Jet, don’t you hear it? There’s a kid in here!” I shout back. What’s going on with him?! He keeps edging away, but he doesn’t leave. If you’re going to help, please do something!

But as the black smoke thickens the situation begins to look more dire. I can’t stand by and do nothing. Fine then. I’ll do it myself.

“JUNE!”

Jet screams for me, but I can’t let him stop me. I know it’s stupid. I know I’m not a hero. But I am a person. A person that can’t in good conscience leave someone behind. Not like this.

I stumble into the next room coughing and sputtering unsure of where the kid could be. It’s tough to see in here and the place is an absolute mess. I hear cracking sounds from up above me. This place could fall apart at any moment.

“Daddy!” The kid cries out.

Good, please keep talking. It will make finding you easier. I listen once more and spot the source of the voice. In a corner of the room a toddler is crouched underneath a table, black smoot covering their face.

“Hi I’m June! I’m going to get you out of here okay?”

The kid doesn’t seem to understand and looks afraid of me. The overturned furniture, the wide open door, the size of the fire? Putting the pieces together, I sense that this fire was no accident. This was an act of arson. No wonder she looks so scared of me.

Since this might have been the work of bandits I try my best to change my approach. I need her to cooperate with me. Otherwise I won’t be able to carry her out.

“Hi I’m June. I’m not a bad guy I promise. I’m here to get you to your daddy.”

I reach out my hands and she retreats further under the table. Come on, please work with me kid.

I’m a wizard, see?” I point to the hat above my head. “Here, you can take it.”

I hand her the hat which she clutches onto tightly. I hope this keeps her calm. It’s not her dad, but I think giving her anything to hold onto would help me gain her trust.

Sure enough, it works. The little girl crawls out from under the table and I scoop her up into my arms as quickly as possible. The sound of wood snapping stops me dead in my tracks. A beam starts crumbling from above us, but we can’t make it forward. I turn around holding the girl tight to my chest, lowering my body to the ground, bracing for impact.

But the impact never comes. I open my eyes and look behind me to see Jet holding the support beam with his back, giving us enough time to pull away from the wreckage. Jet came back for us!

Underneath the heavy beam, his strength begins to waver. He lets go of his hold and dashes towards us. Right when I think he’s going to make it, the wood cracks once more crashing down onto Jet’s foot, pining him down.

He wails out in agony as tears stream down his face. I have never seen a more pained expression. A look that I so desperately wish I could erase from my memory. But I have a feeling any time I see Jet after today, I’ll remember this terrifying moment.

I lower myself down to the ground to Jet as smoke swirls around his body. In the shimmer of the fire I see flashes of what the man used to look like in a previous life. A tattered uniform of black with reflective yellow stripes, a section of flesh reveals his spine. With his back braced a myriad of scars dance across his body. No doubt, those are burn scars.

Jet was a firefighter in the real world. It makes so much sense now. He mentioned before that he got knocked unconscious while at work when he got isekai’d here. Is he in a coma from an incident like this? Oh God. I just made him relive that horror. We’re getting him out of here.

With adrenaline coursing through my veins, I use all of my nonexistent strength to lift up the support beam crushing Jet’s foot. I can only manage an inch, but it’s enough. He crawls forward to us finally free. Now we just need to get out of the house.

“Jet, can you walk?”

I shout to him, but he doesn’t reply. He just sits up on the floor for a moment stunned. His eyes caught in a different time and place entirely. The girl sees Jet and crawls towards him. I think this is the first moment he’s really processing that a kid was here this whole time.

“Daddy?”

She’s so young and the fog is so thick she must be confused. But that didn’t matter. To her that was him. She crawls into his lap, leaning on his chest. Jet gently wraps his hand around the little girl and holds her in his arms. His eyes fade back into the moment. This simple act, just a hug, gave them both strength to push on.

“Alright, we need to go. Ready?” I ask.

Jet nods with a determined look on his face. I help him up as he clutches the little girl tightly. His foot is injured pretty bad, so getting out of here might be tricky.

I climb over the crumbled support beam first then reach out my arms to help lift Jet and the kid. He hobbles one foot, afraid to put too much weight on the other lest he collapse with her in his arms. He occasionally frees his hand to steady himself, guiding it along the wall to get to the entrance.

We walk out the door in the nick of time. Seconds after we leave a massive piece of the roof falls below so big it would have crushed all three of us. We’re lucky to be alive.

It’s not long before folks come rushing to the site. The isekais rush forward with buckets upon buckets of water to stop the spread of the fire. A town representative asks a woman questions regarding the incident, from the sounds of it, her husband may have made enemies with a criminal gang. I hope whoever caused this rots in prison for endangering this precious baby girl.

About an hour passes and the father rushes back to the home. He was just getting back from a business trip. Jet hands the little girl over to the father who thanks him profusely. She must still be so scared, but her face lights up when she sees her daddy again. I’m glad she’s safe.

Jet hobbles back over to me. I’m amazed he was standing for so long with a busted foot. I should help him down to the ground to rest. While I approach him, I see the strong resolved face he held while caring for the little girl fade to emptiness as soon as they disappear. Anxious words come spewing out as the eye contact he usually holds so well, is fixed to a spot on the ground.

“I’m so sorry, June. If I had known there was a kid in there I would have… I would have done something. I would have moved. But I didn’t hear anything… I didn’t… I’m so sorry…”

I cut him off sharply. It hurts me to hear him talk like this. “Hey, Hey! I believe you!! It was kinda hard to hear her anyway. Her voice was quiet and the fire… the fire wasn’t. Waiting for others would have been a smarter call.”

“But it wasn’t the right one.” Jet says. “You’ve got guts June.”

His voice shakes as he tries to put the spotlight back on me. Despite how broken his words are his face still holds his trademark smile. But his eyes. He’s dying inside. I have to ask him about it. For his sake.

“Hey Jet, I just saw a vision of you in the real world. You were a firefighter right?”

His face drops and he nods solemnly.

“You don’t have to tell me the whole thing, or anything if you don’t want to, but… how did you get isekai’d here?”

He’s not one to dwell on details, so he keeps it short and sweet. The gist of it is pretty much what I expected, but I’ll let you hear it from him.

“That morning there was a fire. It was the biggest call we’ve ever had,” Jet explains. “An apartment complex went up quickly and we tried to do everything we could. I was inside when the exit got blocked. I got trapped underneath a stairwell. That was the first time I ever felt the flames touch my skin like that. I got knocked unconscious and boom. Now I’m here.”

“Jet…” I pause before finishing my thought unsure if I should continue. Is it wrong to ask? Maybe. But I’d rather say too much than too little.

“Do you think… you’re alive Jet?”

“Yeah… maybe? I don’t know for sure.” He tries to stay hopeful. “The fire was pretty rough so the odds are against me. Most of the other isekais I talked to think I might be in a coma. Maybe I'm one of the lucky ones though and when we escape I’ll go back to my old body in the real world!”

From what I saw however, that body was horribly scarred from the incident. If he goes back, he won’t have the same pristine condition he has here. He may have to deal with health complications for the rest of his life. As if the scars weren’t enough reminder of that terrible day. I wouldn’t wish this fate on anyone. Of all people, why does it have to be a good man like him dealing with something horrible like this?!

Seeing my furrowed expression flipping between frustration and anger, Jet changes the subject. For MY sake.

“You know Azuki the cat girl?” He asked.

I nod. He continues, “Well, one time she was spying on a group of thugs from that old maple tree there. Problem was, she couldn't get down from the tree. Since she was stuck, your friendly neighborhood fireman had to come to the rescue.”

“Oh God, poor Azuki…” I can't help but smile at the thought. “Seriously though, how often does that happen? How many cats do you rescue from trees?”

“In a typical week… about seven.”

“No!” I am astounded there's no way that number is real!

“Nah I'm just messing with you!” He laughs and I find myself laughing too at the absurdity of it all. The sound of his bright bellows are so infectious that I can't help but join him. I think we both needed that.

But when I look into his eyes, I can tell that his mind is focused elsewhere. The man before me always puts on a brave facade despite the countless tragedies and bad memories he likely hides. The burden of such a tortuous life hidden behind a big heroic grin. But even heroes have their pitfalls.

I wish Jet wouldn’t force himself to stay smiling through everything, but I guess that’s not something I can fix with a magic staff. I just have to let him know I’m here for him by extending my heart. Hopefully, he reaches back out and accepts the invitation.

“Hey Jet, if you ever need to talk... I’m here for you.”

I reach my arms out for a hug if he wants one and to my surprise, he accepts. His strong arms squeeze a little too tightly for my body to handle. OW! Take the pain June, you need to be a good friend!!

Jet finally relinquishes, backing away. He has a gentle smile on his face. Not quite as happy as his typical big broad grin, but genuine. And that’s what matters.

“Thanks June.” He says wiping a single rogue tear still hiding in his caramel-colored eyes. “See you at the next Isekai Anonymous meeting?”

“Yeah. See you then!”