Chapter 10
ELAYNA
"And now, tell me who you are and why you know what will happen to Aramia?"
Elayna and I were sitting in her room, where she had brought me after the events earlier that day at Tavna's. She sat perched neatly on the edge of her made bed, without creating the slightest wrinkle, while I sat on the only chair by the nightstand. She had closed the shutters tightly. She had glanced down just before and muttered under her breath, "They're standing guard under the window again! Fools!"
I thought quickly, considering what information I could share with her. Father used to say that when you have too many options on how to act and it gets confusing, proceed as follows: discard what you cannot do, until only one choice remains. It was excellent advice, and I followed it. I couldn't tell anyone here that they weren't real people. That's one. I couldn't tell them that Earthlings had created them for entertainment over two hundred years ago. That's two. I couldn't tell them about Octagon and the all-powerful aliens. That's three. I couldn't tell them where I got the book that describes the future of their world. I couldn't, I couldn't, I couldn't… Too many "I couldn'ts."
"Have you heard of the Red Giants?" I asked, having made up my mind.
"Of course. Who hasn't heard that ancient fairy tale," she replied and, closing her eyes, quoted the "Venda," a collection of myths and legends from the local folklore: "Every thousand years in the crater of an extinct volcano, a Great Evil awakens and comes from across the sea on the night when the red stars fall. Their red armor is invulnerable, their fierce temper is untamable, and each of them is stronger than a thousand warriors and a thousand mages."
"It's not a fairy tale, and it will definitely happen in a month. You will all perish, without killing even three of the hundred giants. I know this for a fact, just as I knew you had a white dog."
She was silent, boring me with her gaze. Elayna believed me, unlike the others; the problem was just something else. What did this information give her? What use was it? Wouldn't it be better to live out the rest of her days in happy ignorance, if the end was inevitable?
"How can it be prevented?" she finally asked.
I was surprised by her composure. A practical person! I had expected accusations of destroying her happy ignorance and hysterics.
"I don't know yet, I need to gather more information. Maybe I'll find a solution. I have a book in which this is all described."
"So it's true?"
"What's true?" I asked. "A book?"
"No, that you're useless in a fight."
"Not true!" I answered hotly. "If I had more time, I could cast cannons, invent gunpowder. Even a small cannon would shatter a giant's skeleton with a five-pound cannonball. Easy as one, two!"
She understood nothing about the book, the gunpowder, or the cannons. But being an extremely practical person, she didn't focus on it. Whoever trained her model was clearly a techie-romantic. Rational to the core.
"Is it true you were the queen's lover? Why did she kick you out of the palace?"
Well, of course! She was interested in the purely female question in the topic.
I briefly recounted the events that had happened to me since I landed on the table during the meal in the throne room. I finished with the words:
"I don't know what got into her. I know the future, so it's extremely unreasonable behavior on this lady's part to refuse my help."
"You offended her."
"What nonsense? How did I offend her?" I fumed. "I saved their diplomacy with Beastland's Lightning, by the way. She owes me for that! And instead of gratitude, she throws me out onto the street! Isn't she a bitch!"
"You should have immediately informed her about your qualities. Then she wouldn't have come to you and humiliated herself by offering her body. How old are you?"
"Almost sixteen."
She smiled.
"That's what those who want to seem older say."
"Why do I owe anyone anything here?" I got indignant, and this time, harshly. "Why is she blaming me for her own overblown expectations? And where is her monarch's composure, to refuse the chance to know the future by kicking out the only person capable of foreseeing it?"
Elayna shook her head, as if dismissing my objections, and explained:
"My magic teacher was a childhood friend of our queen. She sat at the same desk with her at the magic academy in Maramia. She said that Rosalinda is a very impulsive person. She can change her decisions sharply and unexpectedly. Even to the detriment of herself and others. Very proud and self-willed. She came to you offering the most precious thing she has. A woman's honor. And you called her old and rejected her. That would have been fine, she was ready to let that go for the sake of the country and help in repelling the giants. Or pretend to, at least. But then she also finds out that you're useless in a fight. Completely. And you didn't tell her this from the very beginning."
I nodded. It became clear. I had provoked the embarrassment myself. The queen snapped. Lost control. Feelings took over reason. How could a useless teenager refuse the queen herself? Unheard of! And then turn out to be useless in a fight!
"And how old are you?" I asked, just in case, already knowing from the book that she was nineteen.
"Nineteen."
"You are very reasonable and smart," I praised her impulsively, not knowing why myself.
A blush immediately flared on her cheeks, and she shyly looked away. Apparently, it was a compliment that touched her heart. Everyone had only given her compliments on her appearance until now. And here... something unfamiliar. However, she didn't accept my compliment and shook her head negatively.
"I'm a fool. A complete one. The guys almost died because of me. Not only that, I understood that those blockheads could pull something like this. And yet, I didn't want to believe it. Just a complete fool. I'll never forgive myself for this!"
She cursed herself, not daring to turn her gaze, covering her face with her hands in belated shame. She began to cry quietly. I tactfully remained silent. If I were older and bolder with girls, I would have tried to hug her, pat her on the head to comfort her. But I didn't dare to experiment, not knowing how she would take it. Although a vivid picture of how it could have happened had formed in my head.
"If you need to cry it out, I can wait outside so as not to embarrass you," I offered, not knowing what to do at all. It was the first time girls had cried in my company. Once at school, I had stumbled upon a crying schoolgirl and her friend from our class comforting her. That was my entire experience with crying members of the opposite sex.
She shook her head no.
"Just a moment," she reported, smearing her tears with her hands, wiping her face and sniffling.
I looked around and, seeing a clean towel over the washbasin, I stood up and handed it to her. She noticed the gesture, nodded gratefully, and wiped her face. A minute later, she had completely calmed down. I felt genuinely sorry for her. Yes, she was a fictional game doll from a virtual world, not a human, but still. It was somehow awkward, I felt sorry for her. Elayna, meanwhile, stood up, washed her face, and sat down on the bed again. Again with that super-girlish neatness, smoothing her skirt. At the same time, she was clearly expecting some guidance from me. Like, I was supposed to offer her some kind of plan.
"Do you have money?" I asked, clearly without thinking.
Her face changed at once, looking at me suspiciously. Why am I asking this, was written in her gaze.
"I have some savings. Beginner adventurers don't earn very much," she said.
"I'm saying this because you need something to live on, now that you're not going into the dungeon anymore. Here, take this." I took a large gold coin that I had received from the system out of my pocket and held it out to her.
Her face immediately took on a surprised look. Her eyes widened. The suspicion disappeared without a trace.
"This is a lot, I didn't get this much in a month in the squad! Are you... rich?"
"Rich?" I repeated and thought. Well, yes, my father probably has hundreds of millions in his account, if not billions. And the system would be able to convert this money into local currency without any problems, within reasonable limits, of course. Otherwise, I would ruin the local economy by causing hyperinflation.
"Yes, you could say I'm very rich," I confirmed.
"Then why don't you hire an army of mercenaries to fight the giants? Teach them how to do it. You could surely hire several thousand, if you're not stingy. People can be found from Aramia, and Maramia, and the River Kingdom."
I thought about her words. Plans for creating an army of legionnaires spun in my head. Indeed, I could create an army, teach it advanced formation combat with long spears and shields. Something like a phalanx wouldn't let itself be destroyed so easily by the giants. If I also supplied them with some ballistas with winches and powerful iron bows. In my imagination, I could already see crossbows on platforms, like the ones the Romans and the French used in the Middle Ages. But I immediately cut off these pointless fantasies. No time. The events of the seventh chapter are coming soon. The treachery of this game is not only that the player must neutralize the invasion using the means of the locals, but also in preventing deaths in each chapter. If I spit on these deaths and start preparing an army, which has no chance of resisting the giants anyway, ignoring the tragic plot, then this somehow worsens the situation with the giants. I suspected this from the beginning. The story with Beastland's Lightning and Elayna showed this. In the game, the player must both save people and prepare to meet the giants. Because the people he saves in each chapter are important for repelling the giants' attack. It can't be any other way. This is its trick and the trap for the player. If you save people from the sad stories of each chapter, you won't have time to prepare for the invasion; if you only prepare for the invasion, you'll lose someone important in preventing the invasion. A setup! A damn setup!
"Let's eat in the guild hall," I suggested instead of an answer. "And take the coin already."
She shook her head.
"I was just testing you. I have enough savings, you'd better pay for dinner since you're rich, we'll eat and discuss what to do downstairs."
The guild cafeteria was noisy and crowded. Elayna took a table at the very edge, away from the others, and I understood her. All eyes stared at us, an unnatural silence fell.
"Maybe we should eat somewhere else?" I whispered quietly, leaning slightly towards her ear. She was almost as tall as me, but because of her heeled boots, she seemed a little taller. She bit her lip and then answered decisively through her teeth:
"No. I'm not going to hide from anyone. Let them put up with it!"
As we crossed the hall, I searched for the members of the Twilight Blades, but they weren't in the hall. But I did notice Taithia. I recognized her purely from the description and the pictures in the manga. In person, she was much prettier, and the beast-girl ears and tail suited her very well.
"Elayna-san, dear, who is this with you?" asked the waitress, taking the order from our table.
"This is my fiancé."
I choked on my glass of water.
"What an ugly guy!" someone remarked from the next table.
I didn't let it slide.
"You're the ugly one!"
"But he's rich," Elayna added phlegmatically, piercing the speaker with a sharp, judgmental gaze.
I really was unattractive by the local standards. Try to put a normal person in an environment where large eyes, neat little noses, and unnaturally bright colored hair are the norm. Where the artists tried to make everyone as "kawaii" as possible to attract the public, and you'll understand what I'm talking about. I'm not an anime game character, I'm an ordinary person.
"Don't pay any attention to them. They're just jealous of you," she told me. "That one"—she pointed her finger at the adventurer who had insulted me—"hit on me twice. Even begged on his knees in the backyard. A wimp and a crybaby!"
Everyone who heard us turned towards where she was pointing. The adventurer turned deep red and, unable to stand the public's stares, hastily ran out. The other members of his party looked at Elayna reproachfully, but she waved them off. "Shouldn't have called my fiancé names!"
"Why did you make up the fiancé thing?" I asked in a whisper, covering my mouth with my hand and leaning across the table.
"I need to explain why I'm with you."
I nodded. No argument there, I was flattered by how fiercely she was defending me from her own colleagues. However, my problems didn't end there. Instead of our order, the restaurant owner himself approached us. In his hand, he held a yellow sheet, a poster with my image on it. Greatly exaggerated, that is, I looked even more unattractive there than in real life.
"Is this your image, Emissary-san?" he asked. I looked him over. A hefty, bald brute in a greasy leather vest over a gray shirt with rolled-up sleeves. And an apron. Apparently, he was also the chef here.
I glanced at the image and reluctantly nodded. It was stupid to deny it, what good would that do?
"Your artists are terrible. I could have drawn it much better."
The owner ignored my remark.
"Leave. We are a respectable adventurers' guild and we do not serve public enemies of Her Majesty."
I cursed the moment I had blurted out those words to the queen. There was no such expression in Kunisada's novel. Neither the words nor a similar concept. Why was she using it? To spite me?
"Do you even know what that means, 'public enemy'?"
"My business is small, I don't need to know. Leave or..."
"Or what? You'll throw me out?"
"Yes."
It was already starting to get dark outside. The street lamps, powered by magic crystals, began to light up, flickering timidly, not quite sure if it was time yet.
"It seems your wealth is useless here."
"Go and eat by yourself," I said to Elayna, who had followed me out in protest, holding out the coin to her a second time.
"I'll do just that, but not right now. I don't eat at night anyway. I've noticed I gain weight from it."
I involuntarily glanced at her figure and then looked around; the street was deserted at this hour. Everyone was mostly in cafes and restaurants at this time or having dinner with their families at home. As soon as I say the code phrase. The local time will stop for this world to fulfill the request of a citizen of the Galactic Union!
"I'll show you a trick now, just don't tell anyone. Timm Taler, go to hell!" I whispered the command to the system.
"Yes, Citizen of the Galactic Union, what do you want?"
"The locals refuse to feed me. I demand that my rights as a citizen of the Galactic Union be respected and that I be given food."
"What would you like to order."
I thought. No way! I can order any food! Here in a world god-knows-how-far from Earth, I can order any Earth food!
"Two large hamburgers, french fries, and two large Cokes."
A vortex immediately spun in the air and a cardboard box with the order fell out of it. I deftly caught the box. And the time of this world started up again. An amazing feeling, the stopping of an entire world to fulfill a trivial wish. Although, it could also be that the time of this world didn't stop, but I received superspeed in a section of spacetime allocated for me.
Finding a bench in the park, I opened the box and handed the shocked Elayna a hamburger. "Dig in!"
...
She really liked the hamburger and french fries, but she liked the Coke even more.
"Wow, Emissary-san! You can conjure things!" she marveled.
"This is food from my world," I said proudly. I was finally, at least partially, no longer considered useless. "By the way, I have a name. Don't call me Emissary. I'm sick of it."
"And what is your real name?"
"Timm Thaler."
"Very pleased to meet you, Timm Taler-san. My name is Elayna Winkelbaum," she stood up and gave a flawless curtsy, like a proper court lady from a historical film.
Oh, God! These non-existent German surnames again. What's with you, Japanese people? Why not Elayna Tachibana?
"Did you say something?"
"No."
Does she hear thoughts, like the Goddess on Batteries? Unlikely. She's a mediocre mage.
She slowly sipped her Coke through a straw, enjoying the taste and sweetness that was unusual for her. Coca-Cola is capable of taking anyone who drinks this beverage for the first time hostage.
"What does your name mean?" she asked, having apparently gotten into the spirit of playing the fiancé. It was like we were on a date.
"My adoptive father gave me this name. It's from a book he loved to read as a child. About a boy who sold his laugh to the devil because he was from a poor family. He traded it for luck in bets, to get rich at the racetrack."
Her pupils dilated, and she turned to me. The moonlight reflected in her large eyes. She was clearly curious about such a plot. There weren't many books here, and something new and unusual was an extremely entertaining thing for the locals.
"Oh! Tell me! Tell me! I absolutely love stories like that!"
"There's no need to tell it, I can read it to you. System, I want the book by James Krüss, 'Timm Taler, or The Boy Who Sold His Laugh' in Japanese."
I opened the book, noticing that the light from the crystal street lamp above the park bench was sufficient to read comfortably and, suddenly, I stopped.
Elayna froze in anticipation, with a slight smile.
What am I doing? I have no time at all!
"Elayna-san, I'm an idiot! A complete one, too. We don't have time to read books. In two days, the tragedy at the Lake Castle from the seventh chapter will happen. We have to prevent it! We can read for pleasure later. If there is a later."
Her face expressed disappointment, but not at all displeasure with me.
"Tell me," she said, with the already empty plastic cup in her hand, which she was apparently going to keep as a souvenir. However, all the high-tech trash disappeared immediately after it was used, so I wasn't surprised when she "yipped" at the sight of the cups and the rest of the containers for the burgers and fries dissolving into thin air.
"This, I can also read, not just tell. This book has what will happen in your world within a month written in it in advance. Don't be surprised."
I took out my volume of Kunisada with the strange property of updating chapters as they changed and began to read from the seventh chapter, translating the English text into Japanese for Elayna on the fly.