The Problem with Having Too Good a Reputation
I woke up around lunchtime. Honestly, I thought I wouldn't be able to sleep, but the moment my head hit the pillow, I was out cold. I must've been more tense than I realized. After all, I'm no iron man—just some guy who's died a few times and clawed his way back.
With my hair a complete mess, I dragged myself up and brushed my teeth with salt toothpaste. A hundred years had passed since the first transmigrators appeared in this world. Thanks to them casually dropping phrases like "Ah, this is what that's called," quite a few modern conveniences had taken root. Of course, complex devices like computers or cell phones never spread to the general public. After the transmigrators arrived, a massive war broke out, and things like power grids and electricity required enormous national resources—resources that naturally stayed concentrated among the natives who'd lived here for ages. They had no reason to share with outsiders like us. Besides, this was a world where magic had advanced far beyond science. Even with our knowledge and abilities, we couldn't gain the upper hand in that war. The rift between natives and transmigrators ran too deep for our knowledge to spread easily.
Still, people from any world covet useful things. Starting with simple tools like toothbrushes and toothpaste, transmigrators had spread all sorts of modern knowledge, even into clothing. A hundred years ago, they were apparently using primitive toothpaste made from burnt animal bones mixed with herbs. Long live transmigrator knowledge.
After finishing my teeth and washing my face, I felt refreshed. The strange, heavy feeling from last night had been washed away by the new morning. When I stepped out of the bathroom, I saw Aransol running toward me. Things felt a bit awkward after what happened yesterday.
"Harua, Master and Lady Rapiel are here."
But the next words blew every worry out of my head. Following Aransol in a hurry to the entrance, I found Soun and Rapiel waiting. Sohan stood beside Soun.
"Lady Rapiel?"
"Harua!"
The moment Rapiel saw me, she shouted and dashed inside, wrapping me in a tight hug. For a second, my face was buried in something heavy and soft—I nearly died of suffocation. I'd known, but her chest really packed terrifying destructive power.
"Thank goodness. I'm so glad you're safe."
Rapiel kept murmuring in relief, catching her breath over and over. Only then did I realize she'd come all this way because she was worried about me. She was already swamped with work and had sent me on an errand. She must've heard about the airship crash. Yet she'd dropped everything and rushed here out of concern. I knew exactly how much that meant.
"Aransol."
"Master."
While Sohan closed the front door, Aransol stepped forward at Soun's call. He placed a hand lightly on her head.
"You did well."
He didn't say much, but that alone seemed enough for Aransol. Her expression crumpled with emotion. She'd endured everything with strength, but each moment had been a fight for her life. In front of an adult, she became a child again.
"Lady Rapiel, I'm fine. I didn't get hurt anywhere."
"Of course not! I raised you as a holy mage. If you'd gotten hurt, you'd have been in trouble with me."
Let's keep the fact that I died a secret.
"Yes, you really raised him well."
At that moment, a familiar voice rang out as Ririran appeared from inside the house. When our eyes met, she smiled gently. It seemed she'd safely returned the essence of the Breath Tree to its place.
"Rapiel, Soun. It's been a while."
"Ririran."
Rapiel finally let go of me and wiped at her eyes. Maybe it was her age—her tear ducts seemed weak.
"I received a lot of help from that boy. You've got yourself a fine disciple."
Rapiel looked at me with a puzzled expression. She still didn't know how I'd helped Ririran. Meanwhile, I glanced toward Aransol and stopped myself.
"Ririran, I heard the Great Sinner of Sloth appeared."
Soun spoke as if he'd already heard the news. Ririran pulled out a new pipe.
"Yes. I have something to discuss regarding this incident. The Great Sinner of Sloth came after my life, and they probably thought I'd die too."
Both Ririran and Cosmic Jack had been buried at the bottom of the deep sea. Anyone would have assumed they were dead. And now the Great Sinner of Sloth—clearly, there were more people behind him.
"So for now, it's better if I stay 'dead.' It'll cause more confusion that way. I've hidden it from the fairies too, except for a few I trust. Let's make use of that."
Ririran didn't explain how she'd faked her death. She just gave me a brief smile. It was her way of showing she'd kept her promise. I could trust her going forward.
"We'll continue the rest of this conversation at your place."
Ririran landed lightly between us.
"Let's go."
With those words, a magic circle appeared beneath our feet and the scenery shifted. Before I knew it, we stood at the entrance of Rapiel's mansion. Space magic never failed to leave me dizzy. To think we'd struggled so hard to get there, only to return this fast. No wonder Cosmic Jack had been so obsessed with Ririran—her space magic was downright cheating.
As if expecting us, the butler was already waiting at the mansion entrance. He smoothly guided Soun and Ririran inside. While they walked off talking, Rapiel came to stand beside me.
"I heard about the airship."
"Did it sound a little cool?"
"I was thinking of scolding you."
Doing something good only to get scolded felt unfair. But instead of lecturing me, Rapiel placed a hand on my shoulder.
"You did well, Harua. Thanks to you, a lot of people survived. I'm proud to have you as my disciple."
Rapiel smiled softly. It had been a long time since I'd seen her smile like that, free of exhaustion. That alone made everything worth it.
"I should've gone around shouting that I'm Rapiel's disciple, Harua."
"If you did that, I'd be too embarrassed to show my face anywhere, so please don't."
Rapiel started to walk past me.
"Lady Rapiel, do you think war will break out?"
I asked the question that had been bothering me. Her shoulders flinched. The possibility of war—though I didn't know exactly between whom. Still, it felt like an extension of the old war between transmigrators and natives. She turned back to me with a bitter expression.
"There won't be a war."
That was why Rapiel was staying up all night working. Bringing in powerhouses like Soun and Ririran was probably for the same reason.
"So Harua, don't worry about it. Just focus on learning holy magic."
This was the calm before the storm—anything could explode at any moment. To survive, getting stronger was the only answer. There was a resolute weight to Rapiel's retreating back. She carried the burden of an adult to keep us from inheriting the painful era she'd lived through. Even in this world, living as an adult wasn't easy.
* * *
Shishiroka's grave, prepared inside the mansion. I stood before it and quietly told her everything that had happened. Maybe because I'd gotten used to talking to her, there were days when I felt the urge to share big events like this. She had to lie there all the time—it must get boring. I hoped my stories brought her at least a little entertainment.
After brushing off my pants while looking at the white flowers on the grave, I spotted Aransol approaching.
"Harua."
She no longer stiffened when she saw me. Instead, she simply offered a gentle smile.
"You were talking to Shishiroka, weren't you?"
"I've already told her everything, so you'd just bore her."
"That's fine. You're better at talking than I am anyway."
Even the natives acknowledged my way with words. Aransol gently stroked Shishiroka's grave. Maybe because it was still summer, sweat beaded on her forehead. She was still weak to heat.
"The Star Cluster Meeting is happening this time."
"What's that?"
"It's a gathering for disciples of the Lords or those of equivalent standing."
A meeting between disciples, huh. Well, the disciples of powerhouses like the Lords were basically elites. They'd all end up in important positions someday, so getting to know each other made sense. But in dramas, these kinds of gatherings never went well. Modern society was the same—why would this world be any different? It reeked of a cutthroat networking society.
"Well, have fun."
Why was she telling me this? Aransol stared at me with a strange look before speaking again.
"Harua, you can go to the Star Cluster Meeting too."
Oh, right. I was Rapiel's disciple. I'd forgotten.
"So... you want me to go with you?"
"Remember what Lady Ririran said about war possibly breaking out?"
Of course I did. It was the first thing I'd asked Rapiel about when we got back.
"If we go to the Star Cluster Meeting, we might learn a lot of information."
Disciples raised by powerhouses from all over the world. They probably had ears everywhere and had heard all kinds of things.
"Maybe we'll even find a clue that could stop the war."
Stopping the war. Hearing those words, I looked at Aransol. As always, her eyes were sincere. She genuinely wanted to prevent war. Of course, I didn't want war either. But I still didn't understand why she was bringing this up to me.
"Aransol, I told you last time—I'm not the type to throw my life away to save someone."
Maybe because I'd saved her once before, Aransol kept misunderstanding me. My goal was just to protect myself. I had no grand ambition to save the world.
"Stopping the war would benefit you too, wouldn't it?"
No one wanted war. Only those in power and the idiots they manipulated ever did. Just like she said, I absolutely didn't want war either.
"I don't think the disciples will have that kind of information, though."
"Yeah, it's just a possibility. But there'll also be disciples of people who don't cooperate with Master or Lady Rapiel."
Even as I stayed uncooperative, Aransol calmly tried to persuade me. I couldn't figure out why she was going this far. Maybe because I'd been there when she decided on her life's goal. It felt like a stray cat that wouldn't let anyone near suddenly clinging after you fixed its injured paw.
Aransol grabbed my collar tightly.
"Let's go together. Please?"
This fox-like girl. Seriously, just because she was pretty didn't mean she could hit me with those big eyes. She knew exactly how attractive she was. Whenever attention turned her way, she'd subtly straighten her back and show off. So she knew how to use her looks too. A faint trace of coquettishness seeped from her, teasing my eyes.
Before the incident with Cosmic Jack, Aransol had kept her distance from me. So there'd been no reason for her to use her appearance. She had zero reason to look good in front of me. But after what happened with Cosmic Jack, things between us had changed. I still hated natives. Aransol still hated transmigrators. Yet transmigrator Harua and native Aransol were slowly becoming separate concepts. We didn't have to hide the fact that we hated certain groups from each other. Maybe that was why Aransol's true personality was starting to show around me.
"Fine. I'll go. If that's what you want."
Anyway, I'd already decided to start building connections properly. If they were promising up-and-comers, I'd at least get something out of it.
"Great!"
Aransol beamed with excitement. To think this girl who smiled so easily had spent so much time looking expressionless in front of me.
"Hey, Aransol, Harua."
At that moment, Sohan appeared, yawning. He smelled of perfume—probably fresh from sleeping with some woman again. Aransol's face instantly turned to ice. Incredible speed. Even Cosmic Jack couldn't match that. She'd known Sohan longer than me, yet she was always cold to him.
"An invitation came for the Star Cluster Meeting. How about it? Want to go together?"
Sohan showed me the letter. It had a flame pattern embossed on it—the host's seal, probably. He sidled up to me and whispered.
"By the way, there are a ton of pretty girls there."
Same old guy. Aransol stared at me as I talked with Sohan. For some reason, a mischievous impulse struck me. If your reputation's too good, people get mad when you do something bad. But if you're known as a bad guy, doing one good thing makes people see you differently.
"How pretty are we talking? As pretty as Aransol?"
I needed to lower Aransol's expectations a bit. She flinched, then subtly straightened her back, proudly showing off her figure. It reminded me of a sparrow puffing out its chest—somehow funny.
"Harua, let me tell you something in advance."
Sohan spoke with a serious face.
"There are almost no girls in this world as pretty as Aransol."
At Sohan's earnest words, Aransol frowned and hunched her back again. She didn't seem to like his compliment.
"Well, there probably aren't many people as pretty as Aransol."
When I echoed the sentiment, Aransol's face brightened and she straightened up again. Why did the same words get completely different reactions? Following Sohan's lead didn't help at all.
"Anyway, I'll assume you're coming."
Sohan left without noticing Aransol's reaction, looking like he was heading back to sleep.
"Aransol."
"Yeah?"
The sparrow-chested Aransol turned to me with a bright smile. I could feel the trust in her eyes.
"......Never mind."
Lowering my evaluation in her eyes seemed like the wrong move. I could only hope that someday she'd understand who I really was and not be too disappointed.