Chapter 9

"At all times, day or night, I will always serve my master with all my power." Arisa, the lilac-haired girl, made her vow to Satou in front of all of us, bringing an end to the contract ceremony. I feel Satou is going to have his hands full with her. Well, it might actually be better than me. When I asked Peal to help me train, she quickly showed how ruthless she could be.

She has me run in the morning and practise sword forms in the afternoon. Sometimes a few members of the castle guard join us and give me advice, but most of the time, Peal gives them advice. She mentioned being a warrior, but I never expected how skilled of one she was. Every time she spares with me, she wins, and out of the guards, only the strongest can put up a fight against her. At first, they insulted her for being a Demi-Human, but now most of the guards have a deep respect for Peal. They are even coming to her and asking to be trained alongside me.

It wasn't all bad. While training, I learned two new combat skills from Peal and the other guards, and my swordsmanship has dramatically improved. Sharp Edge was the first skill I learned from Peal, and after three hours of practice, I managed to get that skill to level one. It is a simple that increases the sharpness of my weapon that I am sure will come in handy. Parry is the second move I learned, and after an extended amount of training, I also managed to get to level one. Training must be another way to level up skills because my one-handed sword reached level seven after two days of constant training. I am still level thirty, so I am not sure if that will change with training, but I am happy, even if it is just my skills getting better.

On the third day, the Earl Seiryuu had someone begin to teach me magic, but instead, something unexpected happened. When they showed me some magical scrolls and had me cast magic through them to get a feel for them, I found myself able to use the spell just from reading the scroll. No one could explain it, but in the end, everyone believed it was the power of the hero. Earl Seiryuu explained that every hero has unique powers, and maybe this is one of mine. The earl left shortly after to gather more scrolls and left me to read. It was annoying but worth it as I got the skills Fire Magic, Lightning Magic and Ice Magic all to level one.

As for the spells, I learned they were Fire Shot which is similar to a fireball spell I have seen in countless games. Lightning Strike, which reminds me of a thunderbolt attack I remember from one of my favourite childhood shows. I wonder if people would blast off if I hit them with it. The final spell was the most powerful spell I learned. Ice Storm. The spell would send countless icicles towards a target that could piece steel plate armour when used. It is a powerful spell but consumes a lot of MP, so I would have to be careful when using it.

I spent the rest of the third day practising magic, deleting my MP repeatedly while drinking magical recovery positions to recover faster. They tasted horrible. I never thought something so vital in RPGs would taste so bad. The liquid was bitter and slimy, making me wince whenever I drank some. Still enduring the torture of my tastebuds allowed me to get my magic skills to level two. It was then that I noticed the power of the levelling system. After my magic levelled up, my spells were so much more powerful.

At level one, the Fire Shot spell only caused a small fire on the strew target, but now it is rapidly engulfed in flame. At the same time, my Lightning Strike covered a wider area and felt more powerful while the icicles of the Ice Storm spell moved twice as fast. I don't think it will be safe for me to train here once my magic reaches level ten. Magic really is harder to level up as it took a whole day to advance a level compared to only a few hours with my combat skills.

That night I was invited to eat with the earl and his family. I was nervous and scared of messing up, but the earl's daughter Henry calmed me down and reassured me everything would be okay. It is a shame Peal couldn't join us, but she seemed happy to eat with the castle guards. That might be because she is winning a lot of money by defeating the guards in arm-wrestling competitions. Still, she seems to be enjoying herself, so I won't complain.

Henry helped me pick out a dress and guided me to the dining hall. The outfit seems dull compared to hers, but Henry insisted it looks good on me. While Henry wears a light pink dress with frills and embroidered patterns, my dress is a simple black one. At least she let me not wear the high heels after I nearly tripped and broke my neck.

I don't know how I would have survived in this castle without Henry. She helped me adjust to life here, gave me advice and taught me the correct way to act and do things. If it wasn't for her, I am sure I would have embarrassed myself or committed some act that could have led to my execution. I smile as I let her take my hand and guild me through the hall. Henry is the only person I fully trust in this castle other than Peal.

"I am happy you accepted my invitation, Hero Kura," Earl Seiryuu bows along with his son while his wife curtsies.

This is my first time seeing Earl Seiryuu's wife. She is an older version of Henry, only slightly more busty and has a sharp look in her eye. She smiles at me, but I can't miss the hints of suspicion coming from her. Henry did mention her mother worked as an inquisitor, investigating people for treason, so I guess her being suspicious shouldn't be that out of place.

As for Earl Seiryuu's son, I don't like him. He looks a lot like his father, with only fewer wrinkles and the lack of a goaty. He constantly watches me train and doesn't hide his disdain for Peal. If he would quietly watch me like his father does on occasion, it wouldn't be a problem, but his constant insults and complaints are annoying and distracting. But it is also thanks to him I gained the Poker Face skill and levelled up to level three, trying to hide my annoyance from him.

"I am happy to hear your training has been proceeding so well," Earl Seiryuu continues as he raises from his bow. "It is rare to see someone improve at the rate you have been. Normally it would take months to do what you have in only a matter of days."

Was it really that fast. I thought it was normal, but after talking with Satou, it does make sense. We both can learn skills faster and level them up cheaper than everyone else. Now that I think about it, I don't think he knows you can level up skills through training. I'll mention it when I next see him. Maybe he just doesn't know about this.

"Thank you for the invitation Earl Seiryuu," I curtsy. It is still not as elegant as Henry's but still not terrible. "It is a pleasure to be invited."

"The pleasure is ours," Earl Seiryuu smiles alongside Henry. The only ones not smiling are his son and wife. "It is not every day we get to share a meal with a hero. Please have a seat."

The table is smaller than I was expecting. It is a small one instead of a long table like I expected, and we all sit close together. The earl takes his place at the head of the table, and his wife and son sit on one side while Henry and I sit down on the other side. Mades quickly comes in and gives us wine to drink while a try is brought in, and a butler serves the first course. A brightly coloured soup is placed in front of me. I can see multiple vegetables floating in the red liquid. When I tried it, the red liquid was surprisingly sweet, but the vegetables were a bit tough for my liking. But since I don't see anyone else complaining, I keep quiet, assuming this is the way this soup is meant to be in this world.

"I hear that you used to be a mon hunter," The earl's wife says halfway through the course.

"Yes, I used to travel and hunt monsters as I went," I answer, seeing her staring at me.

"I'm surprised you would come to this territory,"

"Dear, now isn't the time,"

"I don't see why not," She counters. "I am not the only one with suspicions about her. I and a few others find it strange that the demon attacked shortly after you arrived. It is a strange coincidence that you happened to be one of the people pulled into the labyrinth. And then you, alongside some masked stranger no one can identify, happened to be at a greater demon."

Everyone looks to the earl's wife than to me, waiting for my response.

"It was just bad luck," I tell her. "I was passing through this territory when the star fall caused some monsters to attack me. I lost my papers and most of my supplies, so I was only here to get them reissued and replace my lost items. And it was more bad luck that I ended up labyrinth. I was just buying lunch at a food cart when that priest started trying to rip people off. I wish I was elsewhere at the time when the demon appeared to be spared the hell of what it was like down there."

"Then how about the lack of cores you collected?"

"I was alone down there, so I avoided fights," I answer. "Even when I did meet up with Peal, we still continued to avoid fights where we could. We had no medical supplies or any idea how long we would be down there, so we only fought monsters we couldn't sneak past. If we fought every opponent, we would have risked being poisoned or any injury we sustained becoming infected."

She seemed happy with my answer, so we finished the course and moved on to the next. We are given some grilled cheese like meal called Gebraten Milch. It tastes a lot better than the soup, but I was expecting something fancier for an earls meal. I mean it, too. It really is good and tastes better than the grilled cheeses my roommate used to make me. Those were more poison than food and always came out burnt.

"Hey, why do you keep your pet around?"

This time it looks like it is the earl's son that will question me. He glares at me from across the table while his father and sister shoot him a stern look. This is pretty normal for him. Ever since Peal came back to the castle with me, he had always tried to get rid of her.

"Because I trust her," I answer quickly. "We went through a lot together, and if she was going to betray me or kill me, she would have done so already."

"People like her can't be trusted," He hisses, ignoring his father's command to be quiet. "Her kind are nothing but thieves and murders. Just having her here in the castle is a ticking time bomb. I am getting sick of having to constantly keep an eye on her and enduring the stench."

"Enough!" He is lucky his father stopped him. Any longer, I would have thrown something at him. "I am sorry about my son." The earl looks to me. "I hope you can forgive him."

As we move on to the next course, I am not sure I can. This time it was a simple salad we were given. This course ends peacefully with Henry talking about her lessons with her tutor and the earl telling me about the shortage of scrolls in his city after the shop selling them was destroyed by the labyrinth. It is a shame I will not be learning any new spells, son, but at least I would be spared from having to read a mountain of scrolls.

The next course is a shrimp dish served with plenty of vegetables and more wine. This time, it is another peaceful course. The earl tells me about the Saga Empire and their way of summoning heroes. According to him, they summoned one a few years ago who made a name for himself across the world. His name is Hayato Masaki, and from how the earl describes him, he appears to like children. I never thought I would be so suspicious of a person visiting so many orphanages until now.

The empty plates are taken away shortly after the story ended and replaced by a bread basket along with butter and a knife. At first, the earl's son complained about sharing a knife with me, claiming I could pass on an illness Peal has in his mind to him, but the earl shuts him up. He is fortunate he can still move his jaw to eat. But still, the bread part of our meal came to an end without any jerks being punched. Unfortunately.

The next course is a chicken dish. I was expecting a lot of food but not this much. Back in Japan, I would usually eat the same amount of food I ate tonight over the course of two days. Still, I won't complain since it tasted so good. Still, I could have done without the earl's son commenting on how he wished we were eating rabbit instead of this chicken. Then finally, we move on to the dessert, where the maids serve us all a strawberry tart. It tastes fattier than I am used to but is still enjoyable.

"Thank you for inviting me," I tank the earl and his family as soon as the meal ends.

"The pleasure was ours," The earl replies with a bow before leaving.

The only person who didn't stay to say goodbye was his son. It is probably for the best. The earl's wife seems less suspicious of me but still doesn't fully trust me. His daughter Henry I have always got along with, and as for the earl, I don't have any complaints about him. Oh, there's that strange bird again. It must be the earl's pet because I have been seeing it watching me as I trained. I don't know why he would have a pet like that since it creeps me out, but I am sure it must be a rare bird or something like that.

<0>

"Well, are you still suspicious of her?" The earl asks his wife as soon as the hero is gone.

"Yes," She nods her head. "She is hiding something, but I think we can trust her."

"Hero Kura isn't a bad person," Henry's outburst spurious her parents as the usually quiet girl. Normally she would wait for her turn to speak. "She is a kind person who even treats her Demi-Human slave with respect."

"We are not saying she is a bad person, honey," Her mother assures her. "We are just debating on what kind of person she is. One thing for sure is that you plan to have her and our son marry is no longer viable."

"Marriage!" Henry shirked before lowing her head and apologising in a shy, embarrassed tone as her parents stared at her. "Your right. Hero Kura shouldn't marry elder brother."

<0>

I fall asleep nearly as soon as I get into bed, but this dream is weird. Nothing like any dream I have had before. I am standing in some shine I have never visited before and standing in front of a girl I have never met. It is strange. She is standing right in front of me, dressed as a shrine maiden and smiling like we have known each other all our lives. I am pretty sure I would remember meeting a girl with rainbow coloured hair and bright fiery red eyes.

"Welcome, Hero Kura," The girl bows. "I am Akon Kagura, the Dragon God."

Her voice is so soft and friendly, yet she sounds so wise at the same time. I can't even bring myself to doubt her claim of divinity. Something deep inside me is telling me this girl is speaking the truth. I stare at the girl or goddess, feeling oddly calm and awed by the sight of her.

"It is about time we met," The goddess smiles. "I have been meaning to apologise. You see, it was my fault you ended up in this world. I only meant to summon that boy Satou but accidentally brought you along with him. I am sorry about that, but I can't send you back since the two of you have somehow become linked, and Satou must remain in this world."

"So I am stuck here,"

"Yes, you are," The goddess casually replies. "But to make it up to you, I will give you two new skills. The Fast Learner skill will increase the speed you level up your skills, and the Fortune skill will increase the amount of good stuff you find. I hope you will be able to forgive me in time, but now you need to wake up."

<0>

What was with that dream? When I wake up, I still feel like I am in a daze and I am shocked to discover I really do have two more unique skills. Was that even a dream at all? I don't think so. I quickly run over to a bucket of water and splash some water onto my face. I have no idea what happened last night, but I think I should tell Satou about this. I wonder if the earl would let me take the day off training and go visit him. But it might be a little early for a visit. The sun hasn't risen yet, and it looks like a terrible storm is hitting the city.

CRACK!!!

What is that?! I jump back and instantly draw my sword at the figure standing before me. A dark black hooded robe covers them from head to toe as they tower over me. I can't see anything under the hood other than a pair of purple flames that I assume is eyes.

CRACK!!!

A skull! With the light of the lightning, I can see the skull under the hood. It stares at me with those purple flames as eyes while dark shadowy appendages appear all around him.

"Great hero of the Shiga Kingdom," The monster stretches out its hands. "I, the Undead King Zen, come to challenge you. Win, and you will be greatly rewarded. Lose, and you will die."

"Master!"

"Hero Kura!"

Peal and Henry suddenly burst into my room. I can understand why Peal is here holding a sword, but she just called me master. That is the first time I have heard her call me that. No, that isn't important. What is essential is that Henry is here, pointing what appears to be a metal wand and the undead king.

"So both have you have chosen to stand with the hero," Zen looks over his shoulder at the girls. "So be it. You will all come with me."

"Get out of here!" I yell out, but it is too late.

Before I can even finish my warning, a black shadow engulfs us all. When it is gone, I am stood beneath a giant tree with Satou of all people while Peal and Henry lay at my feet. Satou's eyes widen as we both wonder why the other is here.

"Hero and want to be hero you challenge lies before you," I can hear Zen's voice like he is speaking over an announcement system. "Conquer the Cradle of Trazayuya and defeat me to earn your prizes."