Good ol' switcheroo

(Lex POV)

I made my way up the stairs of the tower, it surprised me that there wasn't an elevator invented yet... I don't have time but if I can come back to this world later I'll learn the knowledge on Earth then invent it here.

'Would probably make for a very~ decent buck.'

The air here was clean and everywhere maintained a like warm temperature. Like those in science labs that have to maintain perfect conditions to perform experiments.

There was a smell of herbs lingering behind each door, up till I reached the 17th floor, Roydan left me on the 15th I didn't get a glimpse of who he was going to meet in there. In the 17th floor Arlan stood there silently... alone. Looking outside a singular window I looked at his back that felt like it was being burdened by something.

"Master I've finished my business at the tailor's."

He turned his head slightly, looked me up and down with a slight nod.

"Much better, now you're at least presentable under me. How much did your part of the transaction cost?"

I responded with no hesitation.

"205 Yerin was the amount."

From what I assumed is a spatial pocket in mid air, he pulled out a wallet and floated it to me. With quick hand movements I counted the currency bills and questioned.

"Umm... master I count 500 Yerin in here is this a mistake?"

I was confused, was I getting a raise already for my high quality morning service? ...that sounds wrong.

"No it isn't a mistake, a mistake is what I did last night THAT was a mistake, I relaxed too much I forgot how my life had been so far."

Last night huh? There seems to be some of that heavy lore behind Arlan I should probably read up on it or should I ask him directly?

"Master about last night... what exactly happened I've noticed everything was a bit off."

Arlan finally turned around and sighed,

"A secret organization intruded into the castle and killed a lot, and I mean a lot of the nobility and mages who lived and worked here."

I doubt he'd be so solemn about any random nobles or mages death... I've only seen him interact with little... I mean sir Harper, could something have happened to him?

"Sir did something perhaps happen to... sir Harper?"

He looked at me surprised, and chuckled,

"Hehe I knew you had a good head on those shoulders but to come right to that conclusion, you almost seem... experienced in this sort of area."

Experienced? Screw being experienced I'm simply an avid reader with decent facial reading abilities, but it is true that I am a lot smarter than I was back then... in Earth. I guess my situation and fused personalities have increased my 'willingness' to think. I forgot Arkan was looking at me while I was dazed and coughed,

"I'm just a bit of an... out of the box thinker master."

He nodded simple and matter of factly and asked,

"Do you have any idea about what happened last night? Your etiquette already seems to have improved after one day did you receive help?"

"No master I was just up the entire night before coming to serve you, I'll sleep today."

"I see, I see but are you really so dedicated to your work that you'd stay up all night focusing on one subject, most mages don't have that sort of patience."

Innocently I replied,

"Well you see ma-"

"And also about the fact that you seem different today than you did yesterday, everytime I see you you're doing something that surprises me. Your presence is so vividly chaotic that it's almost as if I'm facing someone of the state rank! Then you have those weird glove artifacts, that even magic can't study!"

He was suddenly on a rant and I was about to interject about this sudden outburst but he continued,

"You know? When I first met you I tried reading your mind? Yep it was difficult to pull off with only being able to use magic but I'm one of the few able to. I was trying to find your memory of the town to open a portal there but you know what I found first?"

Shit this conversation is not going in a good direction, back then I don't have the [No thoughts] skill to prevent someone breaking and entering into my brain. I don't know how many details he or Roydan have got from me...

"I saw a world, different from this one a world layed to ash and a monsterous ball of fog looking thing. I know for certain it isn't this world and I ALSO found holes in your memory. Things that we're patching up as time went by. As if hiding broken glass under a rug while it took its time fixing something that had been broken."

He saw Kim Oh-Jin? Then What about me as Lex?

"Those are things not of this world and you know what? I was excited, finding this knowledge felt like my key to breaking through to both the 8th circle and entering the domain of the continent rank!

Something that I had been seeking to accomplish for I've 60 years! 60! The amount of things I've sacraficed Lex, the things the history books won't tell you those were the realest moments that always stuck with me."

What is actually going on? I now know about the assassination attempt but is he planning to tell me his back story and also force out the mysteries in me?

Not going to happen! Arlan lifted his head and peered into my eyes.

"So tell me Lex..." He takes a step closer.

"Who are you? Are you one of those [otherworlders] that have been prophesied? Did you come here early? What is your objective and what can you give me?"

Did he just say otherworlders... in English? A prophecy? An objective? Live peacefully and make my enemies kneel at the sight of me... I guess? How should I answer?

"...Master before I tell you what you want to know how about you take a seat?"

Arlan seemed surprised by my calm tone of voice, and to be honest I was too but I've got no complaints. He stared at me as if to tear me skull open but he complied. I peeked outside the door and caught some lackey roaming,

"Hey you! Could you get my master 'Arlan Schmidt' some tea to calm down?"

I spoke more roughly than I intended and sounded a bit arrogant but the guy just bumbled a bit and nodded.

I went back in a sat quietly on a stool infront of him and he ordered,

"Tell me what I want to know."

"...No"

Soon I felt the slave mark under my glove begin to burn intensely like a scolding hot iron that steadily rose in temperature.

"Aggh! Kekh!"

I grabbed it tightly to no effect and clarified my sentence when I saw Arlan smirking at my grimacing face.

"I mean I'll answer what I can!"

It calmed down as if it was never there in the first place and it left no sign of happening underneath my glove.

Silently I look at him, provoking him would do no good and with this mark there wasn't really a way out. It was unlikely that he'd let me use tik many loopholes since he managed to discover my secrets to some degree it'd be easy to see if I'm lying.

"Phooo..."

I breath out and look at him,

"Let me start by introducing who I 'also' am."

"...also?"

I nod,

"Yes also you see I am as you have described I'm an [otherworlder] or in this worlds language an otherworlder (A/N weird sentence)."

He looked at me bewildered,

"As in person from another world?"

"Yep that's exactly right, to be more specific the method was my memories transmigrated into Lex Armines body..."

I was going the half-truth route for this one, activate [Crocodile tears]!

"I-I was from a world called Earth, an immense cataclysm happened and instead of dying it seems I've ended up here... in this world."

Speaking from the last memories as Kim Oh-Jin this continued to be the truth,

"It seems there might have been an issue though, as my memories of the time before coming here are fragmented."

"I see... then are you the one that can be said to be prophesised to come here?"

"No, I don't believe I am, I haven't even heard of this prophecy until now..."

Arlan pondered,

"I can't tell you the contents of it as I am bound by a magic contract but it would seem you are right, because the prophesised ones are to come later this year. In a fourth of the year to be exact."

'Why'd he have to say it in such a convoluted way? Is this another part of the contract? A quarter of the year... wait isn't that three months from now? When I am supposed to leave?'

"Actually master, that's interesting because I am supposed to leave this world because of a certain... message I received in my head that gave me this information."

"What! You're supposed to leave in that time? That's definitely not a coincidence..."

"Doesn't sound like it."

We continued to discuss the possibility but there wasn't anything else I could he sure of and I pretty much told him the parts he wanted to know he even asked my name so I gave him 'Kim Oh-Jin' which he described as 'exotic'.

"I see this is all very interesting information I wonder if you are an experiment of sorts for the gods?"

I shrugged not giving a clear answer,

"Then the last things I asked about your gloves and your... abilities they don't seem to use magic, aura or creatine."

"I don't know their energy source either, these are just abilities I am getting that I had back on Earth."

"Ok then... is there anything that you personally believe that I should know?"

You shouldn't have to know any of this it's just plot armour is on and it seems my luck may have been 'too good' for me to have to expose myself so much out of nowhere.

I pondered if there is anything that I could say to earn some benefits and I may have thought of something brillant, (A/N yay to me)

"Master you know how I'll be leaving in three months? How do you think the slave mark will react?"

Arlan got startled by the question but quickly understood what I meant, when I go back to Earth, how will it react?

"You see the slave magic sigil is actually one of the most perfect magic circuits in the world. It works as long as the slave is able to hear it's master, but to go to another planet it's likely both the connection and anything else I could add at my current level would be stretched too thin maintain."

"So you're saying it'll break off when I return?"

"Yes, that's exactly right..."

"Then master would you be interested in coming to my world to study our abilities, for such a passionate magus such as yourself wouldn't you like to experience the abilities and study them beyond the confines of this world?"

"Are you hinting that there's a way to do that?"

I give him my affirmation and he asks how to do it, I give him the most evil and conniving grin I didn't mean to muster,

"Master you could... become my slave."

***

(A/N haha uno reverses Arlan, get baited how does it feel? Lexy boy is about to try and make big boy Arlan into a bodyguard)