CHAPTER 2 (Part 2)

(Pov- Daniel.)

Wow, wow. I feel weird with all the eyes on me, but I'd better just ignore them. I can't get nervous; I need to stay focused on Sara's words.

Sara and I walk through the village. The village is really lovely. It smells nice, and the people seem friendly.

Ugh… Starting a new life is a good idea.

I'll miss Cris and Valeria, but I need to leave my old life behind.

Sonia, my ex-girlfriend, she's the only one I won't miss… Why did she cheat on me?! What did I do wrong?! And why did she cheat on me with that idiot?! Ahhhhhhhh! Just remembering it fills me with rage!

But I need to let that go and forget everything.

I'll make new friends here… But not a girlfriend.

I won't get a girlfriend… And if any girl falls for me, I'll reject her immediately. I don't care if she's the most beautiful and kind woman in the world; I won't accept her. I don't want to suffer again… I don't want to.

"I can't believe you have all types of magic but only know three spells."

Sorry for being new to this.

Literally today, I found out my girlfriend was cheating on me, tried to kill myself, and now I'm in a magical world with demons and adventurers. Does that make sense or have any logic? Not really, but I won't think about it. It's not worth trying to find logic in this.

"It's a long story."

"Can you tell me?"

"Someday, I'll tell you."

Maybe… If I don't die, I'll tell you… I'll probably die in this world… And I don't say that because I want to die, but because I feel like I will.

I was already prepared to die… I'm not afraid of death.

Besides, what's the point of staying alive? Is it worth living? I want to stay alive to complete the mission God gave me, but that doesn't mean I want to stay alive after my mission.

I think my life has no meaning… The only thing keeping me alive is my mission. If I fail or succeed, it'll lead to the same result: my death.

Without my grandma, life has no meaning.

"So, you've never had a girlfriend? It's rare to meet someone so powerful with that mindset of yours."

"Well… Yeah, I had a girlfriend. I've only had one girlfriend."

"And why did you break up with her?"

"I'd rather not talk about that, please."

"Alright, no worries."

Sorry, Sara, but just remembering what Sonia did to me makes me furious. I'd rather not remember and just try to forget my past with her… Oh…

"Wow, wow. Wait for me, please."

I quickly approached a small boy selling some kind of meat skewers. The food smells pretty bad and weird, but this boy looks thin. He's probably poor.

He reminds me of myself as a kid. I worked as a kid too. I sold flowers on the streets until my grandma forbade me from working after I told her a woman had touched… my private parts… Ugh… Yeah… I'd forgotten that part. I'd better not remember it.

This boy smells bad too, and his clothes look very worn. Yes, he's poor.

"Hey, little boy. What are you selling?"

"Skewers of… cow!"

"Liar. It's rat meat," Sara said, standing next to me.

… Ugh… Rat meat… Ugh…

"Rat meat, huh?"

The boy got nervous and started trembling under Sara's intimidating glare. Even I feel scared. I'd better never make her angry.

"The smell is rat. Scamming people, huh? I'm going to report you."

The boy is about to cry from Sara's threat, but I quickly grabbed a skewer and shoved it in my mouth.

I chewed it as fast as I could and swallowed.

I admit it tasted disgusting, but food is food. Food can't be wasted.

"Mmmmm! It's delicious! I'll buy them all!"

"Huh? What?" Sara said.

"R-really?! All of them?!" the boy said, his expression changing from sadness to joy.

How cute.

I'll give him… Hmm… I still need to donate, and he's just one person… Hmm… I think a handful will be enough. Besides, one coin is enough for a meal; this will be more than enough for him to survive a couple of months.

I took a handful of coins from the bag and gave them to him.

"Here. And if anyone tries to steal them, tell them Daniel, the adventurer who defeated Sandro and the Black Demon, gave them to you. If they steal them, I'll find them and kill them."

That's not true; I won't kill people, not yet; I'm not mentally prepared. But it'll work as a threat.

"T-t-t-thank you so much, sir!!"

Ouch. I'm still young! But it's cute to see him so happy. Ah, the innocence of a little boy.

"You're welcome. Thanks for the food."

"Enjoy!!"

I took the skewers I bought and walked away. I took them not only because I bought them but also to keep him from eating them. I want him to stop eating rats and eat healthier things.

Besides, I'd feel guilty if I didn't eat them. I told him they were delicious; I don't want him to think I'm a liar.

"You can throw them in…"

"Throw what?" I replied to Sara.

"That trash."

"Where? I don't see any trash. If you mean me, that's pretty harsh of you."

"I mean the rat meat."

"It's not trash. Besides, food isn't wasted."

I started eating… It really tastes disgusting, but I don't want to throw away food a little boy sold me.

"Your eyes are teary, probably from the disgust you feel. If it grosses you out, don't eat it."

"I'm just cleaning my eyes with tears."

"Couldn't you come up with a better excuse?"

"Nope."

I finished all the skewers as fast as I could… Ugh, I want to vomit… Don't vomit, Daniel! Bear the disgust… Ugh… Rat meat is gross.

I tucked the wooden sticks in my pocket. I'll throw them away when I see a trash can.

"Phew. I'm full… Ugh… I forgot to offer you one, Sara. Want me to buy you something?"

"No… You're too weird, Daniel."

"I know."

"The boy wasn't even looking at you. Why not just throw it away if you didn't like it?"

"My grandma taught me not to waste food, no matter how gross it is. Besides, Sara, you shouldn't be so aggressive. That little boy was just trying to earn money to survive; you shouldn't have threatened to report him."

"Because of kids like him, people get sick from diseases rats carry."

"Yes, but there are more peaceful solutions."

… That's right, rat diseases… Ugh… Well, if I get sick, it'll take time to take effect. I have time to find a spell to cure diseases. I shouldn't worry.

"Ugh, whatever, it's your body… Alright, we're here."

We stop in front of a small one-story house, and it's pink, my favorite color.

Cute house. Hmm… Now that I notice, this residential area is very nice. It must be expensive to live here. I wonder if I'll have enough to buy a house… No, I'd better stay at an inn or rent a house. After all, I don't plan to stay here long.

"This is where I live."

It's a cute house. It has a small garden with flowers… It's really lovely.

My grandma would've loved living in a place like this. She loved gardening, but since we couldn't afford to waste water, we didn't have a garden at home.

… Daniel, stop thinking about the past… Live in the present… Live it.

"Nice house, Sara."

"Thanks."

She's so young… Does she live with her parents or grandparents?

I'm curious.

"Do you live with your parents?"

"I left my parents three years ago. I live alone."

Wow, wow… I wasn't expecting that answer… She says it in a cold tone, and that makes me a bit angry… I don't have parents; they died… But I can't express my anger; I can't judge someone for their actions without knowing the context.

Besides, asking her would be disrespectful on my part. I'm a stranger; I can't meddle in private matters.

"S-sorry…"

"Don't worry, let's go in," Sara said.

Ugh… I hope she doesn't try anything weird. I've had weird experiences with women in these kinds of situations.

We enter her house.

Wow. Her house is like a library; there are tons of books on shelves and on the floor. She seems like a very intelligent girl… I like that. I really like intelligent girls. They're more pleasant and less annoying.

Though Sara is a bit aggressive and rude… Well, she was just worried about me with the rat meat.

So many books everywhere. My head hurts just imagining that Sara has read all the books in this place. My respects, Sara. I got so lucky meeting you. You saved me a ton of valuable time. Time I'll invest in becoming stronger.

"Wait… Hmm… Here it is."

Sara picks up a black book from a table and hands it to me.

Wow… Ugh… It's more like a notebook than a book. It's not that thick. I think it has about 200 pages, maybe 300. I thought magic books would have thousands of pages.

"Here they are. There are 113 spells I've written down."

"Huh?"

Ugh… Wow, wow… So few? Well, it's a lot, but I thought she'd have more.

I admit I'm a bit disappointed.

I thought I'd get at least 1,000 spells, but I got only 113. I'm not complaining; it's a lot, but considering she's a professor, having only 113 spells available to teach is kind of weird. Really, just 113? Is it that hard to find or learn spells? Ugh, I feel like my workload just got heavier. It'll be even harder than I imagined to get spells.

"Wow, wow… Just those? I thought you'd have thousands. Well, it's just… You're a professor and all."

"These are the only ones I've been able to hear about and figure out their functions and activations. Some spells are known only by a few people."

"Why?"

"You're a bit ignorant… The royalty and nobles know many spells that us commoners aren't allowed to know."

Sara explained that there are thousands of spells, but she only keeps the most useful or easiest-to-learn ones. It'd be pointless to keep spells that would be impossible to learn. Ugh, I wish she'd at least written them down; they would've been useful to me. I suspect I only need the spell's name and what it does; I don't need to practice.

Nobles know more spells, but she's never had the chance to learn more about those spells. She needs to know the spell's name, what it does, and how to learn it.

… Ugh… I didn't want to get involved with snobby rich people, but I have to. I just hope I don't have to see nobles using slaves as servants, or sex slaves… Or maids who are raped by their bosses.

I guess I'll have to make noble friends. I need to investigate first and find a noble family that's kind, or at least less evil.

"Wow, wow… I see. Anyway, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. This will be a huge help to me."

I open the book and can't understand the writing.

Ugh… I need to learn their writing. It'd save me a lot of trouble.

"Could you read them to me? I can't read."

"Y-you can't read?" she said, confused.

I feel like an idiot, but it's not my fault; I'm new to this world!

How hard will it be to learn…? Huh? Something's vibrating…? Oh…

My phone started vibrating, and I take it out.

It felt funny in my pocket. It feels nice to have a smartphone.

Hmm… Oh, I got a notification… Ugh…

"A notification from the 'Tutorial' app?"

It says a new function is available. Awesome! I wonder what it's about.

I open it, and a message appears.

"To save spells, just take a photo of the spell, and it'll automatically be saved… Awesome, this will make things so much easier!" I said, excited.

God, thank you for so much help! This will save me weeks of study! Thank you so much!

… Ugh… It's also bad to get too much help, because it means my enemies are way more dangerous than I imagine… Ugh… Well, as long as I try and do my best, it doesn't matter if I fail or succeed; at least I'll have tried.

I can't be optimistic about this situation. If I die, all the worlds will disappear, but it won't be my fault. I'll do my best, I promise, but if I fail, I shouldn't feel guilty; I did my best, I tried, I shouldn't feel bad about the outcome if I gave it my all.

If I die, oh well, I failed, and all the worlds will disappear, and millions will die. A possible horrible future, but I'll do my best to defeat that demon. If I think about the consequences of failing, it'll just give me headaches.

Ugh… Daniel, don't think about those things yet.

"… Daniel…"

"Yes?"

Wow, wow. Sara's looking at me, confused. It seems she finds my phone curious and interesting. I hope she doesn't ask too many questions about it; I hate lying.

"What's that?"

"It's a phone."

"Phone?"

It's hard to explain… I'll explain later. I need to come up with some origin for this phone.

"I'll explain what it is later."

Alright, I just need to take photos of the pages. Easy.

I open the camera app and start taking photos.

Wow. Each page is full of information and drawings. I think magic is represented with black circles. I'm sure that represents where magical power needs to gather to cast the spell. I think each page is a spell. I see, I see.

Wow, wow… There are even mathematical formulas. I think learning spells in this world is even harder than I imagined.

I wonder what the most powerful spell in this book will be.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm taking photos of the book."

"Photos?"

She doesn't know what a photo is? This world is a bit ignorant. I thought photography at least existed, but I guess not yet.

"Wait…"

To keep her from worrying, I'll show her what a photo is.

I open the gallery and show her a photo.

"This is a photo."

Sara rubbed her chin while staring at my phone's screen.

"Interesting… Is it like a painting?"

"I guess something like that."

"How does it work exactly? How did you get that to appear on your device?"

"Ugh… Well… I'll explain later. It's complicated."

"Alright, I'll wait."

Thanks. I need to come up with a story for this!

…

…

…

Hmm… And done.

I took photos of all the spells.

"Alright, I think they're saved."

I need to confirm. I go to the main menu and… Yes!

A new app appeared called "Spells."

Thank you, God! This will make everything so much easier! Though my good memory would've served the same purpose… Well, at least this app will help me know the magical attribute each spell needs… I think.

"Awesome!" I said, excited, since I now have over 100 spells at my disposal.

I open it, and tons of spells are there. They're sorted alphabetically, and next to each spell is a different color.

I guess the color indicates the type of magic. Red must be fire, blue water… Hmm… Is white wind? I'll investigate that part better later.

Now comes the most important test. If this works, everything will be much easier.

"Which is the hardest spell to learn or cast? I want to test something."

If I can use the hardest spell on the first try, I won't have trouble with any of them.

"Hmm… The hardest… Hmm…"

She thinks for a couple of seconds.

"I think it'd be… The spell called 'Bolflou'… Well, I suppose; it's the spell that took me the longest to learn."

Sounds weird… Is it a powerful spell? Also, it's just one word… Well, I'd better not criticize; maybe that's how spells work in this world, with short words.

"What does it do?"

"When you use the spell, a fireball comes out of your mouth."

Ugh… Wow, wow… Sounds basic… Is it at least powerful?

"Is it powerful?"

"It works well against wild beasts."

So it's powerful. I guess wild beasts in this world are very strong since I think they also have magical power.

I have to try it!

"I'll try it! Bol…! Hmmmmh?!"

She covered my mouth with her right hand, and I got nervous. M-my face feels hot… This is a bit awkward… But her hands are soft and smell nice.

"Not here, outside! You're a really weird guy, so I don't want you casting spells in my house!"

I don't know if being considered weird is good or bad… Hmm… I think it's good.

I nodded, and she removed her hand from my mouth.

"O-okay," I said nervously.

I hope I can pull it off.

•

•

(Pov- God.)

Daniel… He has a lot of potential, but… Why did the Supreme God force me to send him to that world? I know Daniel has a beautiful soul… It's the most perfect soul, but… That world needed a warrior with more experience… I hope everything turns out alright.

"Daniel, you made a mistake facing that demon without preparing, but it all worked out… You were very lucky."

If the Supreme God forced me to send you to that world, it means you're important to the future of all worlds… I trust you, Daniel.

"But… Why does that boy remind me so much of Kei Molfer? I need to investigate further."