Chapter 2

Kenji stands there in shock as blood pools around the guard's motionless body, eyes glazed over. He takes a step back, another. What the hell just happened? A man just slit his throat right in front of him. This isn't happening. It's just a dream. Where's my billionaire wife? What-

Footsteps sounded outside and brought Kenji back to reality… Or whatever this was. With no time to think, the only thing on his mind now was to run. Figuring out what just happened could come later, but if someone caught him now, bloodstained and wanted by the king, it would spell the end for him.

He swerved on his heels and took a run for it in the opposite direction of the approaching people. The palace was so vast and confusing that he thought he might be running in circles. Where's his MIT graduate wife when he needed her the most? Every corner he turned, there was just another seemingly endless corridor with a set of doors on each side. Running around aimlessly would've eventually gotten him caught, so he decided it was best to go inside one of these rooms, recover and think.

Obviously, he picked the largest door, which was most likely to have a large bed inside. If he's gonna get killed, he deserves to go out big, he thought. As he opened the door, his worst fear came to fruition: a completely naked woman was in front of him, with beautiful long black hair,captivating blue eyes, and a supple pair of breasts. This, of course, meant he had been spotted, but at that moment, something flashed in Kenji's mind. If the guard killed himself after Kenji suggested he should, maybe he had the power to control minds.

"You should take me out of here." - Kenji begged.

"Get out of my room! I'm not giving you permission to look! Even though you look very handsome and smart, despite a few bloodstains on you…"

"Get me out of here, now." - Kenji tried formulating the sentence differently, to see if it made any difference.

"No! Why should I even help you?"

Clearly, he just didn't have any mind control magic as he thought he did. Whatever had happened earlier just remained unexplained in his mind.

"Please. I know what this must look like, but I was summoned here away from my beautiful wife. All I want is to see her again."

Something seemed to click in the woman's face as soon as Kenji said that.

"Hmmm…" - she pondered - "You know what? I wish every husband was like you, and not some deadbeat loser. Alright handsome, I wasn't convinced when you walked in on me naked, but give me a second. Let me get dressed, and I'll help you out of this castle."

Whoever that woman was, and for whatever reason, Kenji's motivation was enough for her to agree to escort him. Luck could still be on his side, after all.

"I'll stay on your rear, in case someone comes from behind" - she said

"May I ask for your name?" - Kenji asked.

"Mizuno."

Kenji smiled. "Well, Mizuno. Just tell me where to go."

Kenji followed her instructions diligently. She would tell him where to turn and where to keep going, and soon enough, they had reached the palace's main doors. As luck would have it, as soon as he approached them to finally leave the castle, a guard stopped him.

"Identify yourself!" - the guard looked at him strangely, and then continued - "Hey, something is off about you. Why are you covered in blood!?"

Before Kenji could even utter a word, the guard had drawn his sword.

"Explain yourself at once!"

"He's with me." - Mizuno's small frame appeared from behind Kenji.

The guard stuttered and stepped away to make a path. "Yes, your Majesty. I'm really sorry for the confusion."

Kenji couldn't hide the surprise in his expression. She was the king's wife? Why was she helping him?

As he and Mizuno walked away from the guard and stepped outside of the palace, Kenji was about to open his mouth, when she interrupted him, reading his mind.

"My husband is not the good man everyone says he is."

"No shit." - Kenji muttered under his breath but let Mizuno continue on.

"He's been so consumed by his ambition and desire to be the only ruler in the Harem Islands that he pays little heed to me…"

"He also probably pays little head to you…" - he muttered again.

She spoke with such casualty, but Kenji could see the hurt in her eyes. How could this bald, toothless bastard marry such a beautiful, smart young woman and neglect her needs like that? Kenji balled his hands in a fist. He was summoned here against his will to complete a task he didn't want to do, fight enemies whom he had no qualms with.

"That's why I wanted to help you."- Mizuno continued on. "I was inspired by such a beautiful, loving husband. All I want from him is to be a bit more like you. And I want to help you get back to your wife, too. Every wife deserves to be happy."

"I really appreciate your help, Mizuno. I'm in an estranged world, and I'm wanted by the king and his men. If not for you, I'd probably be dead already."

"I wish I could have a handsome, sensitive man like you for myself, but alas, you're already taken…"

"Actually, my wife doesn't mind me having sex with other women, I just haven't been ready for that yet."

Mizuno stopped in her tracks. "She- she doesn't?"

Kenji shook his head. He wanted to change the topic, but he didn't know what to say, instead he opted for silence and followed her as they approached the stables. Mizuno went ahead and spoke with one of the guards. The guard eyed Kenji suspiciously as Mizuno told him some made up story, but he didn't say anything and began readying two horses. Soon, they would be out of this God forsaken place, and Kenji could start thinking about how to get out of the Harem Islands and back to his own world, back to his billionaire supermodel wife with a registered IQ of 193. He knew she missed him just as much as he missed her.

Before they knew it, they had taken off. As they rode across the city, many looked at Kenji weirdly, and it wasn't just his good looks. Clearly, the first step was to find a clothing store.

"Let me pick something for you." - the queen insisted.

"I would appreciate it. My billionaire supermodel wife always picked my clothes, since I have no sense of fashion."

"How's this?" - she held out a simple, black shirt. It was sure not to be too flashy, and Kenji didn't want to attract any attention towards himself.

"Let me try it on." - as he took off his bloody shirt, his glistening six-pack mesmerized Mizuno, as she licked her lips in desire, before quickly turning her red face away in embarrassment, pretending to peruse the dresses, her fingers absentmindendly feeling the hems and the fabrics. Kenji could not help but notice how delicate her slender fingers were. A lewd thought flashed in his mind and he quickly shoved it away.

"It's perfect. Thank you so much for your help."

She blushed a bit more. It was a rare occasion for her to be able to spend some time with a smart, handsome man.

"They must be looking for you too." - Kenji continued. "The queen is missing, and that handsome man Kenji took her." his lips quirked. "That's probably what's going through their minds. Maybe it would be best for you to choose something for yourself, too."

Mizuno produced a soft chuckle. She readily agreed, and went looking for something for herself. It wasn't long before she came back to Kenji with a dilemma.

"Which one do you think would suit me more?" - she asked, holding both a red dress and a white dress in her hands.

"I think you'd look stellar in anything you wear." - she blushed as he said that - "But if I had to pick one, I think the red dress would look perfect on you."

"Okay, give me a second to try it on." - she withdrew herself into a small dressing room and closed the curtain. Kenji leaned on a wall with his arms crossed, waiting. After a short while of shuffling, Mizuno withdrew the curtain looking irritated. "Could you help me with this?"

Her back was turned toward him in anticipation. He hesitated, but stepped into the tiny space and it was already too cramped for the two of them.

Kenji gently pulled the zipper on the back of her dress. He wasn't sure why, but after he was done helping, it took a moment too long for him to step back. When he looked up his gaze locked with hers in the mirror. A beat passed before she turned around and left the dressing room. "We should keep moving. Staying too long in one place would surely get us caught."

Kenji blinked. "Where are we going, actually?"

As they exited the shop, Mizuno gave him a smile. "You must be hungry. I know a place. While we're there, I'll tell you where you actually might be able to get some answers."

"Answers?"

"Yeah. On how to get back to your original world."