Airi and I said our goodbyes to everyone in the village and started to head back to town. It was late so the path was dark but Airi used some of her magic to make some light as we walked.
“So, those bandits...are they common around here?”
“Unfortunately yes, the village has no one to protect them so they usually just give in to their demands. No one from town wants to help them because of how poor they are. It seems like they won't be coming back anytime soon though, now that you're here.”
I looked down at Trinity and held it in my hand, “Hopefully that'll be the case but, I still don't know how I summoned Trinity. I also had a sudden boost of courage while using it.”
“It must’ve been the soul binding I told you about. When Trinity connected with your soul it sensed great courage within you. Then brought it out in your time of need”
“Yeah, I guess that explains it.”
We continued walking until we pass by the big tree just outside of the town gates. We stopped at a shop to get some ingredients for dinner before we headed back to Airi’s house. Everyone was starting to close up shop for the night, it was getting darker. After walking for what seems like hours, we finally arrived at Airis's place. She made one final check to see if I was injured anywhere and used some healing magic just in case.
“If you want to wash off the bath is over there”
She points down a hallway with a big tinted glass door.
“I'll get you some robes and leave them next to the door for when you get out.”
“Alright, thanks. I could definitely use a bath right about now.”
I walk down the hall with some random towel found in the dresser and walk into the bathroom. The room was huge, it had plants all over the place and the water was warm. It almost looked like a bathhouse, the floor looked and felt like marble but I wasn’t too sure. The walls were made up of white tile. I casually entered the water feet first, then I gently slid down into the water, instantly I felt relaxed. I closed my eyes so I could sit back and relax for a few minutes.
After a few minutes, I started to feel cold, I open my eyes and find myself in the void again. This time, Shinimi was here. I immediately feel my fear rise up and take hold of my body. She just stood there and stared, I can sense her bloodlust. I don’t know what to do, I try to move but I’m frozen again. I finally work up the courage to say something:
“What do you want with me”
She didn’t answer me, only stared at me with that evil look. It was getting colder, and my body was freezing. She raised her arm and lifted her finger, water started rushing from everywhere, and I began to drown. I woke up and rose from the water, I start to cough from the water intake and tried to catch my breath. Why does this keep happening? What does she want with me?
I finish washing off all the dirt and blood stuck to my body and I walk up the little steps out of the bath. I dry myself off with the towel I brought in with me. I look at the glass door and right next to it is a black robe with black pants to go with it, I take the pants and slide them on. They were soft, they felt like bamboo fabric, but I knew it couldn’t be that. I take the robe and put it on, then tied it together so that it wouldn’t fall off. I look down at the pile of my ripped up clothes.
My black hoodie was a wreck, tears through the sides and the hood was sliced up, my jeans were torn up and covered in dirt. My red shirt was completely destroyed, there was a long slash in the middle of it and was covered in blood.
“Great, now what am I supposed to wear…”
I picked up my clothes and opened up the glass door, I walk back down the hallway to my room. I push open the door, throw my clothes onto the bed and jump along with it. I lay there, pondering about what I’ve gotten myself into. During that fight, I thought I could do something. I thought that because I wanted to, that I could beat them. I’m weak, I couldn’t even fight off one bandit without the help of Trinity. I start thinking about how I’m destined to defeat Shinimi. Then start to think about how I’ll never be strong enough to actually defeat her.
I sit up and take Trinity from around my neck, its green highlights still glowing. Why….why did it choose me? I put Trinity around my neck again and lift up my hand, open my palm and try to summon its sword form. I close my eyes and put all my energy into my right palm. I call out its name:
“Trinity”
For a second I feel a slight tingle in my palm but it quickly fades away. I call for it again:
“Trinity, if you can hear me...please come out”
I felt nothing that time, I stare at my extended arm and open palm. I fall back into my bed.
“I can’t even summon the one thing that gives me a chance at winning. How am I a hero when I can’t even do something as simple as summoning a weapon”
I remembered the pain that I felt while I was being beaten to death and Airi’s screams of pain. I remember the fear in her eyes the first time I mentioned Shinimi to her. I make up my mind and tell myself this:
”Bull****….I’ll become stronger, and I’ll protect her. She’s the only thing I have in this world. I’ll break through any obstacles in my way and defeat Shinimi”
I spring up from the bed, “You hear me, I’ll get stronger! I’ll train hard and I’ll defeat you once and for all Shinimi!!”
I said that with confidence, nothing is going to change my mind, “And once I learn to summon Trinity! I’ll seal you away for good!”
Someone knocks at the door, “Tsuneo?”, it’s Airi, “Dinner is ready, come and eat”
I hop off the bed, “I’ll be there in just a second!”, I fold my ripped clothes and set them on the side of my bed before leaving. When I open the door, the smell of seared fish and biscuits mixed with other wonderful smells filled the air. My stomach grumbled I haven’t eaten anything since I woke up here.
I strode down the hallway into the dining room, it was beautiful. It was a long wooden dining table with a beautiful swirl design carved into it. The chairs were also wooden and had cushions for comfortable seating. The room was very formal, a giant grandfather clock was up against a wall to the left. Three crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling above the table.
I stroll around the room admiring the various paintings on the walls, “This is amazing." A door creaks open and I see Airi walking through with two other female servants. They wore the casual maid uniform, one had silver hair and the other had scarlet red hair, both long. They pushed serving carts which held two silver platters of food, and the other one that held some sort of cake.
The food smells delicious, my stomach starts to rumble again. The two silver platters had what seemed like fish, mashed potatoes, and Hawaiian buns.
Airi takes a seat at the dining table and motions for me to come and have a seat next to her. I take the seat next to her and sit down. My stomach lets out a loud grumble as the two maids set down the food on the table.
I turn to the two maids, “The food looks delicious uh..” I lean over to Airi and whisper, “what are their names again?”
She perks up, “Oh yes, Tsuneo this is Celeste and Scarlet. They’re servants of the Nakamura family. If you ever need anything and I’m not around, feel free to ask them”
I give her a thumbs up, “Got it, the food looks delicious you two”
The two give me a warm smile as Scarlet steps up and bows her head, “I’m glad you think so sir”
“Oh, call me Tsuneo. No need to be so formal”
She looked surprised, “Oh, forgive me, Mr. Tsuneo”
My stomach started to grumble again, I pick up the silverware from the table and start digging in. It was absolutely delicious. I take a piece of fish and dip it in the mashed potatoes before tasting it. The hint of lime on the seared fish mixed with the mashed potatoes was so flavorful that it almost made me shed a tear.
I swallowed what I was chewing, “This is delicious” I turn to Celeste and Scarlet, “What is this exactly? I know it must be some kind of fish”. Both of them looked glad that I was enjoying it, Celeste especially. “It’s Seared Moon Angel Fish mixed with mashed Roco Potatoes and a side of Orabaco buns”
I turn to Airi, she’s calmly eating her food, I almost don’t want to bother her. But I’ve had this question on my mind for quite a while now. I wanted to know how I was able to summon Trinity, and how I can summon it at will.
“Hey Airi, I wanted to know if you have any idea on what I should do to summon a weapon, in this case, Trinity. I tried earlier while I was in my room but to no avail”
She turned and looked at me “I have no experience in weapon summoning but I believe it would be the same as Spirit summoning. What I do is try to focus all my mana on whatever it is I’m trying to summon. Here, watch me”
She turned looking straight ahead, put her hand on her chest, and closed her eyes. She started to relax her shoulders and release any kind of tension in her body. After a little while, a small little cat poofed out of nowhere. It was a white cat and had a split tail, it was small enough to fit into Airi’s palms.
“Hello, Via. It’s good to see you again!”, Airi says as she smiles
Via rubs her eyes and yawns “Hiya Airi, you’re still doing well I see”
The small cat turns my direction and begins to examine me “Oh, and who might this be?”
I put my fork down to properly introduce myself “ I’m Tsuneo Shimizu, not only am I broke but I can't read a single word here. Nice to meet you, Via!”
Airi explains to Via that I appeared here yesterday and how I was transported here from another world. She also explained how I had helped the village fend off the bandits. After a while, she asked Via if she knew anything about weapon summoning to help me out.
The small cat licked her fur, then turned towards me, “Weapon summoning is like what Airi does when summoning me, she visualizes her mana and concentrates it until I pop out.”
I look down at my hand “When you put it that way it sounds a little too easy…also, what is mana? I’ve heard both of you say it now but I have no idea what that is?”
Via floats over and lands on my shoulder, “Mana is the attribute given to you at birth, it allows you to use magic and spells. There are four different magic attributes and two special attributes. Water, fire, air, and earth are the four regular attributes and the two special attributes are light and shadow”
“Oh, I get it. So it’s like elemental magic...but, how do I know what attribute I am?”
Via does a little salute “I can find that out for you, just put your hand on my head and I’ll tell you”
It’s a little weird but I want to know what my attribute is, I extend my hand towards Via and carefully place my hand on her head. I feel a little shock but nothing too painful.
Via throws her hands in the air “All done! Your attribute is water, hey that’s pretty cool. There aren’t very many water magic users out there” She scratches her chin, “Hey, I know! You should try to use your water magic with the water in your cup, visualize your mana and concentrate on the water.
“Alright, I’ll try”, I close my eyes and try to visualize my mana flowing throughout my body. I can feel it, opening my eyes I try to make the water float out of the cup. I see that the water has formed into an unstable ball as it rises up. I feel myself getting tired and I let go of the water as it splashes back down into the cup.
“Oh crap, I spilled a little. Sorry, Airi” a small amount of water splashed out of the cup and landed on the tablecloth next to it.
She shook her head, “Nevermind that, what did you feel when using your magic?”
I looked down at my open palm, “It was like a weird tingly feeling, the same as when I tried to summon Trinity earlier in my room”
I start to wonder if I will be able to fulfill my promise about defeating Shinimi. With the progress I’m making right now and not being able to summon Trinity or use magic, I’m at a huge disadvantage.
“So, those bandits...are they common around here?”
“Unfortunately yes, the village has no one to protect them so they usually just give in to their demands. No one from town wants to help them because of how poor they are. It seems like they won't be coming back anytime soon though, now that you're here.”
I looked down at Trinity and held it in my hand, “Hopefully that'll be the case but, I still don't know how I summoned Trinity. I also had a sudden boost of courage while using it.”
“It must’ve been the soul binding I told you about. When Trinity connected with your soul it sensed great courage within you. Then brought it out in your time of need”
“Yeah, I guess that explains it.”
We continued walking until we pass by the big tree just outside of the town gates. We stopped at a shop to get some ingredients for dinner before we headed back to Airi’s house. Everyone was starting to close up shop for the night, it was getting darker. After walking for what seems like hours, we finally arrived at Airis's place. She made one final check to see if I was injured anywhere and used some healing magic just in case.
“If you want to wash off the bath is over there”
She points down a hallway with a big tinted glass door.
“I'll get you some robes and leave them next to the door for when you get out.”
“Alright, thanks. I could definitely use a bath right about now.”
I walk down the hall with some random towel found in the dresser and walk into the bathroom. The room was huge, it had plants all over the place and the water was warm. It almost looked like a bathhouse, the floor looked and felt like marble but I wasn’t too sure. The walls were made up of white tile. I casually entered the water feet first, then I gently slid down into the water, instantly I felt relaxed. I closed my eyes so I could sit back and relax for a few minutes.
After a few minutes, I started to feel cold, I open my eyes and find myself in the void again. This time, Shinimi was here. I immediately feel my fear rise up and take hold of my body. She just stood there and stared, I can sense her bloodlust. I don’t know what to do, I try to move but I’m frozen again. I finally work up the courage to say something:
“What do you want with me”
She didn’t answer me, only stared at me with that evil look. It was getting colder, and my body was freezing. She raised her arm and lifted her finger, water started rushing from everywhere, and I began to drown. I woke up and rose from the water, I start to cough from the water intake and tried to catch my breath. Why does this keep happening? What does she want with me?
I finish washing off all the dirt and blood stuck to my body and I walk up the little steps out of the bath. I dry myself off with the towel I brought in with me. I look at the glass door and right next to it is a black robe with black pants to go with it, I take the pants and slide them on. They were soft, they felt like bamboo fabric, but I knew it couldn’t be that. I take the robe and put it on, then tied it together so that it wouldn’t fall off. I look down at the pile of my ripped up clothes.
My black hoodie was a wreck, tears through the sides and the hood was sliced up, my jeans were torn up and covered in dirt. My red shirt was completely destroyed, there was a long slash in the middle of it and was covered in blood.
“Great, now what am I supposed to wear…”
I picked up my clothes and opened up the glass door, I walk back down the hallway to my room. I push open the door, throw my clothes onto the bed and jump along with it. I lay there, pondering about what I’ve gotten myself into. During that fight, I thought I could do something. I thought that because I wanted to, that I could beat them. I’m weak, I couldn’t even fight off one bandit without the help of Trinity. I start thinking about how I’m destined to defeat Shinimi. Then start to think about how I’ll never be strong enough to actually defeat her.
I sit up and take Trinity from around my neck, its green highlights still glowing. Why….why did it choose me? I put Trinity around my neck again and lift up my hand, open my palm and try to summon its sword form. I close my eyes and put all my energy into my right palm. I call out its name:
“Trinity”
For a second I feel a slight tingle in my palm but it quickly fades away. I call for it again:
“Trinity, if you can hear me...please come out”
I felt nothing that time, I stare at my extended arm and open palm. I fall back into my bed.
“I can’t even summon the one thing that gives me a chance at winning. How am I a hero when I can’t even do something as simple as summoning a weapon”
I remembered the pain that I felt while I was being beaten to death and Airi’s screams of pain. I remember the fear in her eyes the first time I mentioned Shinimi to her. I make up my mind and tell myself this:
”Bull****….I’ll become stronger, and I’ll protect her. She’s the only thing I have in this world. I’ll break through any obstacles in my way and defeat Shinimi”
I spring up from the bed, “You hear me, I’ll get stronger! I’ll train hard and I’ll defeat you once and for all Shinimi!!”
I said that with confidence, nothing is going to change my mind, “And once I learn to summon Trinity! I’ll seal you away for good!”
Someone knocks at the door, “Tsuneo?”, it’s Airi, “Dinner is ready, come and eat”
I hop off the bed, “I’ll be there in just a second!”, I fold my ripped clothes and set them on the side of my bed before leaving. When I open the door, the smell of seared fish and biscuits mixed with other wonderful smells filled the air. My stomach grumbled I haven’t eaten anything since I woke up here.
I strode down the hallway into the dining room, it was beautiful. It was a long wooden dining table with a beautiful swirl design carved into it. The chairs were also wooden and had cushions for comfortable seating. The room was very formal, a giant grandfather clock was up against a wall to the left. Three crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling above the table.
I stroll around the room admiring the various paintings on the walls, “This is amazing." A door creaks open and I see Airi walking through with two other female servants. They wore the casual maid uniform, one had silver hair and the other had scarlet red hair, both long. They pushed serving carts which held two silver platters of food, and the other one that held some sort of cake.
The food smells delicious, my stomach starts to rumble again. The two silver platters had what seemed like fish, mashed potatoes, and Hawaiian buns.
Airi takes a seat at the dining table and motions for me to come and have a seat next to her. I take the seat next to her and sit down. My stomach lets out a loud grumble as the two maids set down the food on the table.
I turn to the two maids, “The food looks delicious uh..” I lean over to Airi and whisper, “what are their names again?”
She perks up, “Oh yes, Tsuneo this is Celeste and Scarlet. They’re servants of the Nakamura family. If you ever need anything and I’m not around, feel free to ask them”
I give her a thumbs up, “Got it, the food looks delicious you two”
The two give me a warm smile as Scarlet steps up and bows her head, “I’m glad you think so sir”
“Oh, call me Tsuneo. No need to be so formal”
She looked surprised, “Oh, forgive me, Mr. Tsuneo”
My stomach started to grumble again, I pick up the silverware from the table and start digging in. It was absolutely delicious. I take a piece of fish and dip it in the mashed potatoes before tasting it. The hint of lime on the seared fish mixed with the mashed potatoes was so flavorful that it almost made me shed a tear.
I swallowed what I was chewing, “This is delicious” I turn to Celeste and Scarlet, “What is this exactly? I know it must be some kind of fish”. Both of them looked glad that I was enjoying it, Celeste especially. “It’s Seared Moon Angel Fish mixed with mashed Roco Potatoes and a side of Orabaco buns”
I turn to Airi, she’s calmly eating her food, I almost don’t want to bother her. But I’ve had this question on my mind for quite a while now. I wanted to know how I was able to summon Trinity, and how I can summon it at will.
“Hey Airi, I wanted to know if you have any idea on what I should do to summon a weapon, in this case, Trinity. I tried earlier while I was in my room but to no avail”
She turned and looked at me “I have no experience in weapon summoning but I believe it would be the same as Spirit summoning. What I do is try to focus all my mana on whatever it is I’m trying to summon. Here, watch me”
She turned looking straight ahead, put her hand on her chest, and closed her eyes. She started to relax her shoulders and release any kind of tension in her body. After a little while, a small little cat poofed out of nowhere. It was a white cat and had a split tail, it was small enough to fit into Airi’s palms.
“Hello, Via. It’s good to see you again!”, Airi says as she smiles
Via rubs her eyes and yawns “Hiya Airi, you’re still doing well I see”
The small cat turns my direction and begins to examine me “Oh, and who might this be?”
I put my fork down to properly introduce myself “ I’m Tsuneo Shimizu, not only am I broke but I can't read a single word here. Nice to meet you, Via!”
Airi explains to Via that I appeared here yesterday and how I was transported here from another world. She also explained how I had helped the village fend off the bandits. After a while, she asked Via if she knew anything about weapon summoning to help me out.
The small cat licked her fur, then turned towards me, “Weapon summoning is like what Airi does when summoning me, she visualizes her mana and concentrates it until I pop out.”
I look down at my hand “When you put it that way it sounds a little too easy…also, what is mana? I’ve heard both of you say it now but I have no idea what that is?”
Via floats over and lands on my shoulder, “Mana is the attribute given to you at birth, it allows you to use magic and spells. There are four different magic attributes and two special attributes. Water, fire, air, and earth are the four regular attributes and the two special attributes are light and shadow”
“Oh, I get it. So it’s like elemental magic...but, how do I know what attribute I am?”
Via does a little salute “I can find that out for you, just put your hand on my head and I’ll tell you”
It’s a little weird but I want to know what my attribute is, I extend my hand towards Via and carefully place my hand on her head. I feel a little shock but nothing too painful.
Via throws her hands in the air “All done! Your attribute is water, hey that’s pretty cool. There aren’t very many water magic users out there” She scratches her chin, “Hey, I know! You should try to use your water magic with the water in your cup, visualize your mana and concentrate on the water.
“Alright, I’ll try”, I close my eyes and try to visualize my mana flowing throughout my body. I can feel it, opening my eyes I try to make the water float out of the cup. I see that the water has formed into an unstable ball as it rises up. I feel myself getting tired and I let go of the water as it splashes back down into the cup.
“Oh crap, I spilled a little. Sorry, Airi” a small amount of water splashed out of the cup and landed on the tablecloth next to it.
She shook her head, “Nevermind that, what did you feel when using your magic?”
I looked down at my open palm, “It was like a weird tingly feeling, the same as when I tried to summon Trinity earlier in my room”
I start to wonder if I will be able to fulfill my promise about defeating Shinimi. With the progress I’m making right now and not being able to summon Trinity or use magic, I’m at a huge disadvantage.