The woman on the throne was among the most beautiful Dante had ever seen.
But it wasn't just her looks. There was something special about her, a kind of aura.
Maybe that's because she's a mage?
The guards pushed Dante forward. He stumbled and fell to his knees before Raya Frostmoon, the leader of the Frostmoon family.
"Who is this?" she said, gazing down toward Dante's face.
"My lady," the guard stepped forward, bowing his head and placing a hand on his heart, "we found him while patrolling the forest. He's not from around here. At least I had never seen his face."
None of the guards had seen his face before. Since the town was small, they recognized almost everyone who lived there.
Raya frowned as she looked at Dante.
"Are you a spy?" Raya asked.
The room grew tense and quiet, with only their breathing breaking the silence. Dante's heart pounded. He had no idea how to explain himself.
An idea came to him. Maybe he could bend the truth.
"I honestly don't know," Dante said.
One guard yelled, "bullshit. You know exactly what you are doing here!"
The captain of the guards shook his head.
"Don't yell in front of the lady, Marcus."
Marcus finally realized what he had done and apologized to Raya. She didn't seem to mind. Her gaze was focused on Dante.
"Continue," Raya demanded, "tell your whole story, and I might think of letting you go. Or at least spare your life."
Dante bowed to her, "Thank you for giving me a chance to explain."
He stood up. His knees were starting to hurt.
"A wizard teleported me to this place. I don't know what happened. There's a magical circle in the forest, near the place where your guards found me. I can show it to you."
Dante realized he had to do more to convince her. His life was truly at risk.
"I mean no harm. I cannot even use magic." He stopped for a second, then added, "I can work for you as a servant, if that's what it takes for me to get my freedom."
Raya stood up from her throne, catching the guards off guard. She walked over to Dante.
"My lady, be careful," the captain warned her, "we don't know for sure he's not dangerous."
Even though he warned her, the captain didn't try to stop Raya. She was their leader and, more importantly, a powerful sorceress.
The guards were supposed to protect her, but she was much stronger than all of them put together.
"I'll touch your body to check if you can use magic or not," Raya explained, "and then you can show me where this magical circle is. If everything is aligned, then I'll hire you as a servant for the time being, if that's okay with you."
People in the region knew Raya Frostmoon as a leader who treated everyone under her command with respect, whether they were guards or servants.
Everyone wanted to work for her. The pay was good, and the area was safe, too.
Some people would probably be jealous of how easily Dante got the job.
Dante stayed still and let Raya do what she needed to do. She placed her hand on his chest, right over his heart.
Since they needed direct contact, Raya asked him to take off his shirt. Dante complied.
Raya's eyes widened when she saw his body. He was muscular and lean. Back on Earth, Dante hadn't done much, but he had always looked after himself.
He noticed the way she looked at him, even if it was just for a moment, and it turned him on.
Don't look at me like that…
It became even harder for him when she touched him with her soft hands. Dante tried to focus on his breathing and keep himself under control.
As she infused her mana to check for a magic core, Dante's system began to react on its own. Even without thinking of doing it, Dante automatically sent his unique aura through the touch, slowly taming Raya's heart.
She was a powerful sorceress, so it would take a lot of effort for him to truly win her heart.
[Raya Frostmoon (Five-Star Mage)]
[Link: 5%]
Raya felt something as well. The connection was weak at just 5%, but she could still sense it.
She pulled her hand away from his chest and said firmly, "Put your shirt back on."
Raya glanced at everyone in the room, from the guards to the counselors, and said:
"He has no magic core. He can't harm me. We'll check the magical circle together."
The captain frowned at the suggestion, and a few counselors looked uneasy too.
"My lady, are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Why not? Did you all forget who protected this place? Or are you calling me weak?" Raya snapped.
No one responded. Raya's power was obvious. She pointed her finger, summoned an ice spike with her frost magic, and sliced through the ropes around Dante's wrists in one swift move.
"Try anything, and you die," she warned.
Dante nodded.
They left the mansion together and made their way back to the forest where Dante had first shown up. The townspeople stared at them in disbelief as they passed.
Earlier, the townspeople had seen Dante enter as a prisoner. Now, he was leaving the mansion with their lady. How could that be possible?
"Do you remember where the circle is?" Raya asked.
Dante had walked a long way with the guards. Since he couldn't talk to them, he spent the time looking at the scenery, so finding his way back wasn't hard.
"I think so," he said.
Raya kept watching him as they walked.
"Your clothes look weird. Are you from another kingdom? But if so, then how can you speak my language? Did you study it?"
Dante had no idea what to say.
"Well, since I don't have a magic core to practice magic, I focused on studying instead. Learning languages became one of my hobbies."
"I see."
Dante found his way back to the spot where he had been summoned. Luckily, the magic circle was still on the ground.
But some of the runes were fading, as if someone had tried to erase them. Because of this, it was impossible to study the whole spell.
Raya frowned when she saw it. It was definitely a magic circle, but it didn't look like any she had seen before.
She crouched beside the circle for a closer look. Dante stood off to the side, watching her. Then he noticed something.
Raya wasn't wearing any pants! When the wind blew through the forest, Dante saw everything down there.