Chapter 3 : Welcome to Elaris

Volume 1: The Boy Summoned by Mistake
Episode 3: Welcome to Elaris
The enormous gates of Elaris stood before them.
Kazuki stared at them.
"..."
"What's wrong?" Lyra asked.
"I'm thinking."
"That worries me."
Kazuki pointed toward the walls.
"How tall are those?"
Kael answered without stopping.
"About forty meters."
"Forty?"
"Maybe fifty."
"FIFTY?!"
Kazuki raised his head.
The walls seemed to reach all the way to the clouds.
Watchtowers stood every few meters, and enormous blue crystals floated above them.
"I'm definitely not in Japan anymore."
A group of soldiers approached.
"Stop!"
Kael raised a hand.
"I'm Kael Stormblade."
The soldiers froze.
One of them opened his eyes wide.
"Stormblade?"
"Yes."
"Wait! The legendary Kael Stormblade?"
"The same."
The soldier became nervous.
"Open the gates!"
The enormous gates began to move.
Grrrrrrr...
Kazuki watched them open.
"Do they always welcome people like this?"
Lyra smiled.
"No."
"Then..."
"Kael is famous."
Kazuki looked at the old man.
The man walked calmly, as if nothing had happened.
"Why didn't you ever tell me you were famous?"
Kael shrugged.
"You never asked."
"How was I supposed to ask?!"
The three of them entered.
Kazuki stopped.
The city was enormous.
People walked through the streets.
Carriages powered by magic crystals moved along the roads.
Shops displayed strange objects.
Mages practiced spells.
Warriors walked around in armor.
There were even small fairy-like creatures floating between the buildings.
Kazuki kept turning his head.
"Is that a dragon?"
"No."
"What about that?"
"A wyvern."
"And that?"
"A cat."
"Oh."
The cat walked past him.
It had two tails.
Kazuki looked at it again.
"That cat has two tails."
Lyra shrugged.
"It's normal."
"For you guys."
Kael began to laugh.
"You'll get used to it."
"I hope so."
They walked for several minutes.
Then Kazuki noticed something strange.
Several people were looking at him.
Some were whispering.
Others discreetly pointed at him.
"Why is everyone staring at me?"
Lyra became serious.
"Because you're with us."
"Is that bad?"
"That depends."
"On what?"
"On how much they know."
Kazuki frowned.
"I don't understand."
Lyra stepped closer.
"Your arrival has to remain a secret."
"Why?"
Kael answered this time.
"Because if word gets out that a human from another world has appeared in Astravia..."
He paused.
"They'll come for you."
Kazuki felt a chill run down his spine.
"Who?"
Kael looked directly at him.
"Everyone."
They arrived at a three-story inn.
A wooden sign showed a dragon drinking from a mug.
Kael opened the door.
"We need rooms."
The woman behind the counter looked up.
"How many?"
"Two."
Kazuki pointed at Kael.
"I'm sleeping with him."
Kael nearly choked.
"What?"
"I'm joking."
"Don't do that again."
Lyra covered her mouth to hide a laugh.
"Three rooms," she said.
The woman nodded.
"Five silver coins."
Kael placed the coins on the counter.
Kazuki looked at the money.
"How much is that worth?"
"You don't have any money," Lyra replied.
"I already figured that out."
"You'll have to get a job."
Kazuki's eyes widened.
"A job?"
"You can't live for free."
"I just arrived in another world!"
"Exactly."
Kazuki dropped into a chair.
"I haven't even been here for a day, and I already have to work."
Kael sat across from him.
"Welcome to adulthood."
"I don't want to grow up."
Lyra burst out laughing.
"That was surprisingly honest."
A few hours later.
Kazuki sat by a window.
The city glowed beneath the light of three moons.
It was beautiful.
But it was also strange.
Far too strange.
He rested his forehead against the glass.
"Mom must be worried."
His chest tightened.
"My friends..."
He lowered his gaze.
"I want to go back."
A voice answered behind him.
"You will."
Kazuki turned around.
Lyra was standing in the doorway.
"Really?"
"I can't promise that."
She walked closer.
"But we'll find a way."
Kazuki smiled slightly.
"Thanks."
Lyra sat beside him.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
"Kazuki."
"Yeah?"
"About what happened in the forest..."
"The explosion?"
"Yes."
Lyra clenched her hands.
"Don't use that power again without telling me."
Kazuki raised an eyebrow.
"How am I supposed to tell you if it suddenly appears?"
"Then try to control it."
"And how am I supposed to do that?"
"..."
"Exactly."
Lyra sighed.
"Tomorrow, we'll go to the Imperial Academy."
Kazuki blinked.
"Academy?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"To find out what kind of magic you possess."
Kazuki thought for a moment.
"What if I'm bad at using magic?"
Lyra smiled.
"Then you'll learn."
"What if I can't?"
"Then you'll learn even more."
"What if I explode?"
Lyra looked at him seriously.
"We'll try to make sure you don't explode."
Kazuki smiled.
"Good plan."
Elsewhere in Elaris...
A dark chamber.
A long table.
Six people sat around it.
A man in a black uniform placed a document on the table.
"We have confirmation."
A woman raised her gaze.
"Speak."
"The violet rift appeared this afternoon above the Lumina Forest."
Silence.
"And?"
"The same magical signature was detected at the center of the forest."
One of the men clenched his fists.
"That can't be."
"We thought that magic had disappeared."
The woman remained calm.
"Who was there?"
The soldier swallowed.
"Kael Stormblade."
Several people reacted.
"Kael?"
"What was he doing there?"
"And who else?"
The soldier lowered his gaze.
"A young woman identified as Lyra."
The woman frowned.
"And the third person?"
The soldier took several seconds to answer.
"We don't have an identity."
"Age?"
"Approximately sixteen years old."
Silence.
The woman picked up the document.
There was an incomplete drawing of the boy.
Dark hair.
Violet eyes.
"Find him."
"Alive?"
The woman raised her gaze.
"Of course."
A smile appeared on her lips.
"I want to meet the boy who awakened the forbidden magic."
That same night.
Kazuki was sleeping deeply.
For the first time since arriving in Astravia.
His breathing was peaceful.
But inside his mind...
The enormous black door was still there.
Knock.
Kazuki opened his eyes.
"Again?"
Knock.
The door trembled once more.
Kazuki approached it.
"Astra."
No one answered.
"Are you there?"
Silence.
Then he heard something.
A voice.
But it wasn't Astra's.
It was a woman's voice.
Very faint.
"Kazuki..."
He froze.
"Who are you?"
The voice spoke again.
"Don't open it..."
The door began to crack.
"What shouldn't I open?"
"The door..."
Kazuki stepped backward.
"Why?"
The voice whispered:
"Because when you do..."
CRACK.
A small part of the door broke apart.
Two violet eyes appeared behind it.
Kazuki stopped breathing.
The voice finished the sentence.
"...he will awaken."
Kazuki's eyes snapped open.
He sat upright in bed.
"Ah!"
He was breathing heavily.
He looked around.
The room was empty.
Everything was normal.
"It was just a dream..."
Then he heard a sound.
Knock. Knock.
Someone knocked on his door.
Kazuki swallowed.
"Who is it?"
Lyra's voice answered from the other side.
"Kazuki, get up."
"What's happening?"
"We have a problem."
Kazuki opened the door.
Lyra was standing there.
And behind her were five soldiers.
The soldier in front drew his sword.
"Kazuki Aoi."
Kazuki felt his heart stop.
"Yes?"
"By order of the Astravian Empire..."
The soldier raised his sword.
"You are under arrest."
Lyra stepped in front of Kazuki.
"No."
The soldiers raised their weapons.
"We don't want to fight you, Miss Lyra."
"Then leave."
"We can't."
Kazuki looked down the hallway.
Then at the soldiers.
Then at Lyra.
"Hey..."
"Yes?"
"Is this normal?"
Lyra tightened her grip on her staff.
"No."
A violet spark appeared in Kazuki's hand.
The soldier stepped back.
"It's him!"
The others raised their weapons.
Kazuki swallowed.
"And I thought tomorrow would start peacefully..."
The violet spark grew brighter.