The Otherworlder
"So," Osmon said, smiling with genuine pleasure at the rare company, "you mentioned there was something you wanted to ask me?"
"Yes. I heard at the Adventurers' Guild that you're from another world."
"Ah. I see."
The easy warmth drained from his face the moment the words left Huey's mouth. His smile faltered into something quieter, heavier.
"If it's about my homeland, I'm afraid I don't have much to offer…"
"I'm from another world too."
"…What?"
Osmon stared at him, startled. Watching that reaction settle, Huey began to talk — about the world he had come from. About Earth.
"Earth," Osmon murmured.
"Yes."
He sat with the word for a long moment, turning it over in silence.
"It's been forty years already since I fell into this world."
He leaned back against the sofa and tipped his face toward the ceiling.
"Creatures I'd never seen. A language I'd never heard. Enough time for all of it to become more familiar than home ever was."
A bitter little smile crossed his mouth.
"The one thing I could never forget was the blue of my homeland's sky. Everything else has faded by now. But that… that stayed."
"Osmon."
"Still," he went on, voice soft with old memory, "I can tell you one thing with certainty."
He looked at Huey.
"My homeland and yours… they aren't the same world."
Korea. Earth. Both names were strangers to him. He had never heard either one.
"I… see."
Huey couldn't quite hide the disappointment.
"You're looking for a way home, then?"
"Yes."
"I once traveled for the same reason. Searching for a way back."
"…"
Something distant and wistful had entered Osmon's voice, as if he were turning over the memory of those years. Huey found he had nothing to say. The man sitting in front of him was already the answer to how that journey had ended.
"It won't be an easy road."
"…I know."
"I hope your ending is different from mine."
"I'll do what I can."
Osmon smiled at that — a gentle, satisfied smile.
"Since you've come all this way, why not stay the night?"
"If you'll have us, we'd be grateful."
"There's a spare room upstairs. The ladies can use that one."
At the word ladies, Huey shot a panicked glance at Ren —
"Hwaaam…"
— who was already yawning, looking thoroughly uninterested.
"Please, rest. I'll see to dinner."
"Ah — if it's cooking, I can help —"
"No need. I may not be able to see anymore, but I have plenty of friends who lend a hand."
As Osmon rose from his seat, the air around him began to gather and take shape. A great wolf of wind formed at his side, and beside it a beautiful woman stood as if to steady him.
"A high-rank wind spirit mage."
"Ren?"
The spirits had barely finished materializing when Ren — who had been half-asleep and yawning only a moment before — spoke. Huey turned toward her in confusion, but she ignored him entirely, watching Osmon through half-lidded eyes.
"Mid-rank spirits take the form of animals. High-rank ones take human form. Isn't that right?"
"Yes, exactly. Not many people know that much about spirits. You're quite well-informed."
"I know a spirit mage. An acquaintance."
"Haha. Is that so? Would you tell me about them over dinner?"
"If you want to hear it."
With that, Ren settled back against the sofa. Osmon disappeared into the kitchen.
"Ren. That presence you said you felt earlier — was it…?"
Luciella asked, frowning slightly.
"No. It wasn't."
A flat denial. Then Ren closed her eyes completely. Luciella tilted her head, puzzled.
"She looks exhausted. Just let her sleep."
"Fine by me."
Losing interest, Luciella drifted over to Huey.
"By the way — is a high-rank spirit mage actually that impressive?"
"Hold on. I don't know much about spirits either. Let me check the notes I took a while back."
They moved to a corner table so as not to wake Ren. Huey pulled a small notebook from his coat and flipped it open.
"Let's see… Spirits are beings that possess one of four attributes — water, fire, wind, or earth — and are ranked lower, mid, high, and supreme. People who form contracts with them and wield their power are called spirit mages."
"Ren already covered what mid-rank and high-rank spirits look like. What about the other two?"
"Lower spirits are said to look like fairies small enough to fit in your palm. Almost no one's ever seen a supreme spirit, so there's no real information."
"I see."
Luciella nodded. Huey turned another page and spoke again.
"Ah — here. Someone contracted to a high-rank spirit is at least Gold-rank by adventurer standards. In a small country, they'd be treated like a court mage."
"So he was far more impressive than he looked."
"Apparently."
Both of them glanced toward the kitchen with a touch of newfound awe. They kept talking about spirits for a while after that —
"Haha. You two seem to have a great many questions about spirits."
"Ah — Osmon."
— until Osmon appeared beside them, sounding thoroughly pleased.
"Dinner is ready. Perhaps the rest of this conversation can wait until after?"
He asked them to bring Ren and join him in the kitchen, then headed back that way. Huey turned toward the sofa.
"Ren! Wake up. He says dinner's ready."
"…Nngh—!?"
The word dinner hit her like a spell. She bolted upright with a truly bizarre noise.
"Pfft—!"
"A textbook food-obsessed specimen, I see."
Huey burst out laughing. Luciella just shook her head.
"Nngh… That was a good nap…"
"You that tired?"
"Not really. The wind just felt nice. Made it easy to fall asleep."
She stretched hard, joints popping —
Crack.
— and Huey, watching her profile a little too intently, earned a look of pure contempt from Luciella.
"…Pervert."
"I— I was not—!"
"Huh? What, you like this that much?"
Ren gave them both a blank look and lazily flapped the front of her clothes. The fabric shifted, and the full, generous curve of her chest flashed into view. Huey choked.
"Pff—! Cough! Ghk—!"
"…Ren."
"What? It's not like it wears out."
"I'm not going to ask you to act more feminine. But at the very least, could you show a little respect for the body you're in?"
"Tch. I'll try."
The three of them arrived in the kitchen.
"Ah. There you are."
Osmon smiled as they came in.
"I'm sorry I couldn't put out a more lavish spread."
"No, no — this is more than generous."
Steam rose from a pot of potato soup. Beside it sat dark rye bread and a rabbit roast, browned and fragrant. A simple table, warm with care. Huey waved off the apology at once.
"I hope it suits your taste."
"We'll eat gratefully."
"Ren, can you manage?"
"This much is fine."
Soup she could take bowl and all. Bread and rabbit she could hold with a wing and tear into. Ren set to work without further ceremony.
"In my case, it felt like the ground just opened up under me and I dropped straight through."
"Ah. For me, I closed my eyes and when I opened them…"
Before long, Huey and Osmon were deep in each other's stories, completely absorbed.
"…Everyone's off in their own world."
Luciella watched the three of them and could only shake her head in disbelief.
After a dinner filled mostly with Huey and Osmon's lively conversation, Huey emerged freshly washed, lighter clothes on, towel-drying his hair as he sank onto the sofa.
"Haa… A proper hot bath after so long really hits different."
"Welcome back, Master."
"Osmon said he has things to sort through until tomorrow, so he'll be in the study."
"Hmm. Even without his sight, he's quite the industrious man."
"You should wash up too, if you want. There's still plenty of hot water."
Lucy considered it for a moment, then lifted an arm and sniffed herself a few times.
"…I suppose I should."
She wrinkled her nose at the earthy smell clinging to her clothes and stood.
"Come to think of it, where did Ren go? Already off to bed?"
"I'm not sure. She said she was going out for some air."
"Did she?"
"Yes. And that she'd be back a little late."
More precisely, she'd said she was going to the lake for a swim — but it amounted to the same thing, Lucy figured.
"Thanks."
She disappeared, visibly looking forward to a long soak in warm water. Huey sat with the towel still draped over his head, thinking.
"…The wind in this forest really was nice, though."
Maybe it was the dense spirit energy, but the air here felt cleaner, cooler, more inviting than anywhere else. Since the opportunity was there, he might as well take a slow walk down to the lake and enjoy the view.
He stood.
"I think I'll go get some air myself."