Amongst All Other Worlds, Why Did It Choose Such A Clichéd Setting?

After saying my farewells and collecting my thoughts, I once again turned my attention to the noble who was passed out on the forest floor. Looking at him closely, he appeared to be wearing a rather fancy set of clothing. His white dress shirt was ripped and torn from our encounter, while mud and blood had already begun to stain the once pure satin. Though I hadn’t seen many nobles before, even I could tell the clothing was of a high quality.

Using some of my last remaining magic reserves, I cast a small strength boost on myself to help transport his body to a calmer area of the Eldermyst forest. The suns were already starting to set, and if we continued staying near the other corpses, monsters and scavengers were bound to show up and interrupt our recovery process.

While I was lifting him, I made sure to check the area where I had first noticed him. I vaguely remembered him wearing some type of rucksack? Well, it was rather odd in design compared to the ones I had usually seen, it probably fell to the forest floor during our fight with Bandit. Eventually, after looking for a little bit, I found it resting on the dirt. Grabbing it with me, I continued moving ourselves to a nicer area of the forest.

---

Satisfied we were now in a safer area of Eldermyst, I gently lay the noble down next to his traveling bag. Figuring I would have about an hour before he woke up, I decided to sit under the shade of a tree and read my journal.

Flipping through the pages, I was scouring everything I had written down during my studies of magic to try and find any information about this fire laser type spell the man had used! While Felice was a skilled user in all sorts of mana weaving, they had never shown me any type of fire spell that resembled what I saw earlier! Fire Bolt and Explosion were of incredible potency when cast by them, but a thin, powerful beam of molten plasma? How was that possible?

I also began eagerly writing down all of the questions I was going to ask the noble once he woke up! Alright Inari, it’s time to start planning your next move – Mysterious Noble Interrogation Strategy, Version 4!

---

It wasn’t long after I had finished my 30th variation on how I would converse with the noble, when I started to notice he was moving and looking at me! I could feel my tail start to wag at the prospect of finally getting to hear some answers!! Alright Inari, remember– Act natural!

“Oh good! You’re awake!!! I’m super glad your ok!!! Oh!!! I have so many things I want to ask you!! I was absolutely thrilled at the battle we fought together in!!! I had to say, you were weirdly amazing! What kind of magics did you use? Why were you out here? Are you in pain still? Did you—"

Before I knew it, I could hardly contain the questions I was asking him! Thought after thought left my mouth as I eagerly wanted to learn more about this person and why he was in the forest! How did he cast those spells? What is his magical affinity... Anything! However, paying attention to his face, I noticed that it was filled with confusion... Oh no! I was probably upsetting them by talking like this. Quick Inari, you have to apologise!!!

“I’m sorry, I’ll stop with all the descriptions and details… Humans don’t seem to like it when I talk like that so—”

There! Hopefully that’s enough to let them know I’m—

“No, It’s fine.

Let’s just say I’ve had a really, really confusing day. I would be more than happy to answer your questions, but my mind is still a jumbled mess from earlier.”

He’s... He’s not angry at me??? But I thought humans didn’t like it when I talked like this! Wait, his mind is all jumbled? I think I know what that is based on how the fight played out! It’s probably mana shock! Let me ask him just to be sure.

“Hmmm, that potentially sounds like mana shock. Are you experiencing a sense of exhaustion, dizziness, and what feels like bubbles bouncing around in your head?”

“Ummm, actually yes, yes I am.”

It is mana shock! I knew those symptoms sounded familiar! I quickly and happily explained the condition to the confused noble with as much detail as I could! But then I remembered that I was probably describing everything a little too much for his liking, and decided to stop my explanations early. He would probably feel better after some rest. That was the standard treatment besides drinking a mana potion to quickly restore your MP values.

However, the next thing I knew, he was actually asking me if I could describe mana shock further for him! Was this human alright? They were actually interested in my detailed explanations??? Wait...

My name?!?

That’s right! I had totally forgotten to introduce myself!!! Alrighty then, one super fancy and fantastic Inari introduction coming right up!

“Oh!!!! That’s right!!! I had totally forgotten to introduce myself!!!! Well, I mean, we never really did have a proper chance, did we, right? Things just kind of happened and then, well, ya! So, Mr. Mysterious Noble, I am the great Inari Kitsune! Supporter and Healer Specialist at your service!”

Nailed it! I think that was a pretty good summary of myself!

Wait, why are you laughing at me!!! What’s so funny about my introduction Mr. Noble??? My name in your language??? You’re speaking in Solarian, what the heck do you mean!?!? I quite like the name Inari Kitsune thank you very much!

Geez, were all humans this rude? It’s really not nice to make fun of somebody’s name Mr. Noble!!! I made sure to tell him all about my frustration at his disregard for my enthusiastic introduction and for making fun of my name! Seriously, this noble wasn’t very nice at all!

“Hey now, let me finish first haha! So, miss Inari, I have a serious question for you. Do you happen to like…. Tofu? Fried tofu? Perhaps?”

Fried tofu! Oh I would love to have some fried tofu right about now! I was absolutely starving, and having a nice warm plate of fried tofu with veggies from Yarn would be perfect!!!

Before I could even realize it, my tail had already begun to excitedly wag back and forth! This always happened when I thought about eating some tofu because it was the most amazing meal ever!

But, now I’m really curious... How would he know I liked tofu from my name? Was he using some type of magic to read my thoughts? I wasn’t detecting any type of magic at the moment... So what about my name would—

Confused, I decided to ask him the question myself.

“But, how would you know I like fried tofu? What would have possibly given you that idea from my name?”

“Hmmm, well, I’m not exactly sure how to put this but—”

Seriously! A long, dramatic pause!!! Why would you do this to me!!!! Aghhh!!! I have to know!!!!

But while I was thinking about how my name was connected to tofu, I was in no way prepared for what happened next during our conversation.

“Inari, would you believe me, if I said I was from another world?”

Another world??!??! Ummmm... I think you might have some brain damage there Mr. Noble! It’s impossible for people to be from another world! You probably have acute memory loss combined with the effects of mana shock making you forget what happened to you—

But, as I was listening to him, my acute memory loss diagnosis didn’t make sense for the situation. Well, it kinda worked, but the level of detail they were describing... Cars??? What the heck were those things? Voices in your head?

While he still didn’t answer my question regarding how Inari was related to tofu, I eventually found myself, lost in thought as I listened to the noble rant about how chaotic and eventful their day had been! If I think about it from this angle— And considering his abnormal mana signature...

Pulling out my journal, I energetically began flipping through the pages until I landed on the section I had been looking for! “Forbidden & Forgotten Meowgics!”

While Felice didn’t explain a whole lot about this section, he did mention that there are lots of weird magics in the world of Terra. Almost every action was possible with magic, so long as the caster had sufficient control of the appropriate mana wavelengths, and enough potency to inscribe their will into the particles on the spell’s activation.

Looking up at the noble, he appeared to look rather... Sad? Disappointed? Oh! That’s right! I haven’t said anything to him yet! He also stopped talking a while ago, so he’s probably wondering why I’m not saying anything to him! I should probably let him know my thoughts about his story.

“Hmmm, well I can’t quite say if it’s true of not, but if I examine everything from the perspective of an unknown type of magic’s influence, there is the faint possibility what you’re saying is correct Mr. Noble!”

There! He looked slightly relieved and confused at my response! I wonder if he thought I was going to think him crazy or something? Well, I wouldn’t blame him. This wasn’t exactly a topic that most people would get into. Forbidden magic was really only reserved for magic scholars and researchers to discuss after all!

Wait... His name?

Haha! That’s right! I’ve been calling him Mr. Noble, Mysterious Noble, and Noble this whole time! I never even thought to ask him his name!

Kotato? Hehe! And you said Inari was a silly name! I’ve never heard of any human being called Kotato before! Well, he did say he’s from another world, so maybe humans there are different? Happily, I responded to his introduction.

“Sure thing! Pleasure to meet you Ko!”

Then, he asked me to explain to him in as much detail as possible my hypothesis surrounding this forbidden magic and his abnormal mana signature! No... No ones ever asked me to explain everything like this before!

Alright then Ko, prepare to be amazed by Inari’s super incredible mysterious magic hypothesis explanation! I’ll mention everything!

During my explanation, I started by giving an in-depth overview about how magic is cast. Once I had developed a sufficient base structure, I moved onto how each creature in the world can be identified by their “primary signature”, then further classified into a “sub signature” to differentiate them amongst other individuals of the same class.

Ko appeared deep in thought as I rambled on and on about how his signature, while that of a human, was slightly different, even when compared to humans from the region of Colosseum! This was a whole new type of human classification! He also seemed to grasp the concept quickly that certain magics can have an increased potency if cast efficiently. Felice had mentioned that humans were very “stuck in their ways”, but Ko seemed very open to this idea, almost as if it was something he was already familiar with!

Finally, I ended with the largest evidence I had regarding him potentially being from another world. His appraisal window! None of the information was legible, which was incredibly weird based on how the spell traditionally functioned, even for higher ranks of the spell!

Then, before I knew it, he had actually requested I cast appraisal on him again! Except this time, it would be an experiment to see if he could read the letters on the screen! That... That actually made a lot of sense! If Ko was indeed from another world, perhaps the characters were from that “other language” he was talking about!!!

Excitement started to course through my body as I eagerly waited to perform our experiment! I also made sure to warn Ko that when I cast appraisal on him, that he might feel the effects of the spell. Oh! That’s right! I... I should probably do traditional casting still! Even if they are from another world, I still don’t think Felice would approve of me exposing incantationless casting!

Alright Inari, remember, casting while speaking!

“World reveal onto me the secrets within, show me all that lies inside, Appraisal!”

Just like earlier, those strange characters appeared again in the status window! I excitedly motioned for Ko to sit beside me! I could hardly wait to learn what this silly information window said about him! Was this really another language??! The suspense was killing me!

---

Ņ̸͊͂̀́̇̚ą̴̙̳̤̦̱̰͌̋̆̕͝͝m̴̢͕͓͙̻͉͉̦̩͍͌͆̍̓ȇ̶͙̩͙͍̮̱̿̒͗̇̈́͑͜͠͝:̶̢̢̝̦̱͑͗̏̍̓̿̆̏͌̕͝͝ ̶̢̻͔͙͈̝̳̺̭͎̥̞̈́̃̾̅͌͂̉̐͋́͆͠K̶̨̙̪̞̳̙͕̒o̶̻͉͒̇̽̈́̽̐̒͌̽ţ̸̜̰̊̎̓͐ͅā̶̡̫̼͙̠͖̫̆̓̿͊̾̄̚̕̕t̸̫̰̻͆̎͊̌̊̈́̉̚o̷͉̞̻̳̾ ̶̩͓̭̝̥̞̩̱̲̟́̌͋̂͒̓͌Y̶̯̎̉̀͆̎̀̈́͘͝a̷͈̯̮͗̏͊̿̂̀̌̓ṁ̶̡̧̼̺̝͖̃́̂̆̊͑̊̽̔͝ȧ̷̧̧͈̣̤̼̊͑͗͑̇ṯ̴̨̨̧͇̝͓̱͖͋̈́̏̏̕͜a̸͖̜̪̺̺̙͇̪͗́̽̇̒͊̓͝͠ l̸̨̝͇͚̯̺̙͉̫̑̐̈́͑̾ͅe̸̫͈̻͉̝̯̣̠͆́̍̔̔̎̏͗̏̎̄v̸̼̼̟̆̌̌͌̿̂̿ë̶̜͓̲̰͖̪̥̪̈́͑̀̋̉̋̇ľ̸͖̜̘̗͙͖̙̻̀̈́̃̋́́́̐͘͠͝: ?̴̙̦̟͓̘̂͋̀̔͗̿̆̃͆̾̒̋͂͘͝?̵̘͈̺͔̮͚͔͕̻̙̌́͜?̵̡̯̱̼͕͈͔̙͓͔̲͔͎͔͛̑̀̓̄̽̇͝͝

?̷̛̺̳̣͓͉̻̊̾̍̽́͛̅̽͛̊͑͑͋̽̐̓̔̏̃̇̔̃̂̏͌̑̆̓̿̈́̓̉̈͘̕̕̚?̸̨̧̢̥̩͚̖̖̬̻͔͕̱̘͎̦̖͉̯̳̜̻͔̘̺̣͙̝̙̳̭̼͕̟̮̜͖̇̀͋̇͛͗ͅ:̶͇̩̬͙͎̑̆̅̄̊̐̀̈͛̓͆̓̎͌̂̋̏̊̀̍̄̂̅́̏̅͗̈͗͋͂̇̑̎͆̚̚͝͠ ̵̧̡͖͈̼̲̤̪̖̬͎́̅?̴̻̬̺̹̦̞̟̯̩̙̻͂̋̋͋́̐͛͊̽̿̈́͒̐̓̓̅́͠?̴̡̧̧̢̧̧̡̘̯̝͕̬̜̙͍̲̣̩͖̫̣̟̭̭̱̼̪̣̖̤͚͍͈̺͈̰̙͍̇̇̎͛͗̀̈̃̎̕͠͠?̴̡̛̺̥͉̬̣̠̤͙̣̲͚͔̙̻̬̂̆́̾̅̀̐̌̉͑̃͊͘̕͜ͅ?̸̧̧̖͙̞̤̭̤̥̜̼̼͖̮͍͉̭̟͍̤̾̓̐̎̀̈́͊̄̔͂̂̊͑̂̅̎̍͂́̆̀̆̎̏͋̿̎̐ͅ?̴̡͈̻͈̮̱̟͍̤̺̻͎͍̤̺̻͎̈̆̅͋̒̊̾̔̏̆̽̌̓͛̓̈́̀̉̎̕̕͘͠͝͠ ?̵̡̛̬̥̻̬̪̠̱̼̿̀̒͌̈́͂̌̎̂̆̔̈́͛̈̊͛́͗͋͘?̸̡̨̡̢͍̫̙̞̜̱̻͕̺̪̯̥̹̠̘̙̳̰̻̺̪̫̥̎͐̔͛̿͛̀͘̕ͅ:̷̧̢̧̛̼̬̙̘̣̺̤̳̹̫̺̭̳͚͈̱̭̦̻͚͖̏̍̔̇̋̄͊̏̄̃̃͒͜͝͠͠ͅ ̵͚̯̀̽͑̓͊̉̏́͊̏͆̓̆̆̒͌̀̋́͂͛̒̔̋́͗̚͝͝?̴̧̨͙̼͇̙̝͇͓̤͎͓͙̲͚͖̳̞̳͓͇͉̝͚͚̼͉͒̒̂̒́̈́̋͋̀̒̄̅̾̓̆͘̕͠͝?̵̢͈̜̝͕̝͓̟̲̩̪̟̬̝͖̖͖͕̻̻͓̘̺̖͙͚͓̜͂?̵̡̨̧̤̻͔̫͔͎͉̞̤̜͖̹̬̩̥̟̠͕̬̠̩͔̠̦̏̎̾͋͛̀̂̓̑̈?̷̡̛̳̤̬̠̫̳̲͚̹̹̲̫̊̽̽̀͒̈́͆̋̓̋͊̃̏̍͊̓̚̚̕̚?̷̡̡̛̛͙̞̘̹͇͖̜̬̪͎̟͈͖͛̄̒͘̕͝ ?̸̡̛̛̛̣̟̩͍̊̽̽̋̅̇̈͋͑̈́͂̔̏̈́͒͆̇͝?̵̡̧̨̣͇̤̱̠̻̗͈̳͇͈͚͕̬̟̟̳̦̲̗̱͓̖͇̠͍̬̄̏͆̎̏́͌̉͐͌̆̏̋̃̄̀̀͗̈̊̒̕̕̚͜͜͝ͅ:̶̡̧̢̡͕̪͓͍̞̘̭̮̞̗̰̖̝̦͈̻̙̣̭̩̤̺͑̾̇̋̈́́̔̐̈̋̂́͊́̃̈́̚̕͜͝ ̴̥͇̑͂̀̍̈͂̇͘?̶̢̡̨̳̩̯̠͕̖̪̱͍̠̗̣̟͔̝͍̣̱̾̃̃̈́̑̅́̈́̈̃͂̽̔̔̔͑͠͝͝ͅ?̴̨͖̝̗͎̒̓͑̑͆̎͂̊͘?̸̢̯͔̖̺̲̹̬͕͙͈̩̲̲͍͙͎́̓̆̀̔̾̊̽̚͝ͅ?̴̛̲͖͉͇͖̬͇̼͛͑̏̋̏̂͒̓̄͆̀̏̾̀͂̚̕͠?̶̡̧̨̝͇̜̮̲̩̫͙̥̺̭̠̮̖͕̝̯̘̝̥͔͎̩̫̝̃̉̔̔́͊͜͝ͅ

A̸̛̛̼̝̺͕̍͒͐͊͜g̷̜̪͙̯͇̳̹̮̀̓̊͘ě̶͈͠:̵̨̨̯̼̖͌̅̋̈́̈́́̈́͘ ̸̙͓͕̖̭̜̥̤̆?̸͇̙͚̠̥͓͍̱̍͐?̶̧̯͍̹̳̹̬̳̩̎̄̉̆̉̊͛͐̕ͅͅ

P̴̟͙͉̖̩͒r̷̛̗̬̭̬̮̼͙̣̫̅̓̊͐o̶̡̪̭̹͐͌̄̈́̈́͠ͅf̸̧̟̜͔̠̻̦̪͓͉̌́̋͂̌͘͝͠͠ë̷̛̦̙̞̤͖̬̱̤̞̻́́̒̊̔̈́͗s̸̮͔̻̳͖͈̻̖͍̩̈̉͐ͅs̷̨̡̞̝͎̮͎̪̖͔̄͒̈́̅̏̚i̷͓̭͇̭̦̝̻̓̚͜ǫ̴̖̮̣̭̪̹̱͉̀̑̅̃ņ̷̯̫̠͌͐̋̈́͆:̷̙̖̺̠̱̦̊̈́͐̅͋̌̀̔̾͐̚͝ ̸̡̥̟̦̲͉̱̺̗̊̈̿̓̅̊ͅ?̵̣̹̤̭̊̈́͆͋́͛͝?̴̞̙͍̩͖͈̝̝͂͌́̿͂̒?̴̛͚̃͋̄͊?̷̖̮̞̝̐̾̍͒̌̃̀?̷̪̺̯̮͉̝̻͛͗͛̚ͅ?̶͆̾͗̇͆̽̽̚̕͜͠?̴̹͒̉͋̎

S̴̢͓͍̬̳͚̤̈t̵̜͍̭̦̟̖̱͉̗̰̖̅̋̓̉ͅà̷̳͗͗̉̀̀̌̾͋̎̎͘ţ̸̨̢̦̼͍͖̬̭̬̪̀̾͒̐͘ͅǔ̴̞͈̮̿̍͒̃̐͂̐̌̀̑͘ŝ̷̨͔̗͇̮͖̓̓̀͛̋̑́̈͜:̴̤̹̗̃̈́̔̅͗̀͛̎̀̚ Ş̵̮̂̓̐̕͠ţ̸̨̨̜̫̓̓̉͒́́͋̑̈́̈́͛̐r̷͓̬̯̯̩̬̪̫̓̔̉͗͛͌̌͋̉̋̃e̶̼̺̩̗͙͌͒̀͗̚͝ͅn̸̛͖̰̳͆̾͛͑͑͝g̶̡̣̞̼̥̰̝̦̯̥̃ͅͅt̷̙͒̐̆h̴̠͕͛̍̓̉̈́͐͋̊͋͊̎̇:̶̤̞̆̇̊ ̴̙͚̬̙̱͕͋͐̾̄̍̌͌̊͂̕̕͠1̴̢̢͖̙͖͈̹̙͉̈2̷̨̧̱̔̽́̅ ̶͉̍͑̎͐̈͒̃̅̊͋̚͝D̶͉̭̱̗̦͙͖̻͓̳̆̂̇ë̸̢̛̠̥͓͚́͊͑͆̀͘͜͝f̵̲̳̲̗̥͇̳̒̅̾̆́̈́͘͜ę̵̖͉̦̥͚͉͉̒̎̄̃́͜͜n̴̳̯̖̩͚̪̽̓̀͂̂̕ç̶͎̳̠̤͕͌̍͊̈́̾͂͋̐̿͠͝ė̸̢͇͉̟:̵̩̦͔̳̜̜͙͔̰̠̽̉ ̶̡̪̪̜̱̯͚̳̥̪̱͗̊̑̇̿͐͋͘̚1̵̥͕͙̿̋͛̈́͋̓̉̏͆̅̾͝0̸̡̧͓̬̗̜̣̖̹̺̫̃͜

̷̯̀͊̅̄̀̑̋̋̑́͝͝ ̷̢̰͖͕̯̫̻̠̓̃́̎̄̍͗͝͠͝ ̷̖̪̙͖̼̝̰̟̅̔̈́̂͝ ̸̺̝̳̥̖̮̓̌̓̈́̔̅́̏̋̎͘͝M̸̫̟̱̎a̷̡̢̺̗̬̰̤̦̗̮̜̿̒̂̑̓̄ͅg̶̨͖̗̮̮̠̠͙̺̯̈͌̈́̏̃̓̈̑͛i̴̢̛͙̚c̸̩͖͎͍̥̰̫͚͙̞̐̇͊̈́̋͆̊̇͘͝͠:̵̤̙̗̆̈́͒̈́͊̆ ̸̧̛̮͙̞̟͍̻͍͚̃̍̃̋̑͊͜6̶̨̠͔͕͕̤̳̺͕̀ ̷̛̛̣̮̘͇̃͊̏̒̅͐̈́̾͘̕D̴̤͎͓̫̜͕͚͖͔͕̫̈́́̂̇̌͒̌͜͝ê̷͍̮̣̻̐̾̄̂̐́́̌͝x̴̝̻͇͍̫̞̗̠̻͕̄͛̈́̓͑̋̚͜ͅt̶̢̧̥̙̭͔̺̤̍̿͑̽̿͘͝é̶̘͇͈͚̈́͗̏́̎̃̈́̚̕͠͠r̴̢̤̫̩̺̹̠̠͚̽̃͋̑̀̆͐̎͐i̵̛̼̊̐̀t̷̼̉͂̄͒̉̈́͛̍̽͘͝y̷̡̟̣̻̰̻̘̙͓̔̋̒̃̅̉̕͘͠͝:̴̬̩̼̓̾̄̃̒̑̓̚ ̴̨̜̮̤͈̙͙͙̙͝1̷͓̟͚̯̙̪̟͎̙͋̅̀̓̿̓̕0̷̡̪̮̙̻̞͍̾͛͋

S̵̨̨̖͎͖̝̜̏̀̊̆̒̓̊̈̾̽̇̈́͒̾̕̕͝ḱ̵̢̡̺͇̮̼̞̈́̂̒̉͛̕͝i̷̧̡̖̫͈̭̟͈̱̹̻̳̲̰̐͑́̌̅̐͠ͅļ̸̢̲̬͈̭̝͂l̸̨̧̟̥̺̭͉̲̳̞͖̙͈̥͙̟͐̔̇̈́̆͆̋̇̊̓̕͜ͅ ̸̛̝͙̀̿͆͒͒͑̕P̵͉͇͌̓r̵̺̫̪̩͚̤͎̘̙̮̪̘̋̓̄̍̂̐̽͒̀̐͗̐̏͘͝o̷̡̢͕̲̞̤̩̳̬͓̙̳̖̲̯͊͗̈́̎͜f̵̘͌̐͛͝i̸̧̧̧͖̱͚͈̪̫̤̠̠͖̦̣͊͜ͅc̷̛̞̟͆̀̋̊̅͂̐͐̍̀̀̓͑͐͑i̶̳̲͌̓͒̒̌̿̽̂̏͌̚e̴̘̘͕̓̅̐n̶͔̪̯̝͊̈̒̑̚̕͝c̴̨̛̖͔͓̻̩͍͎͇̄͒̌͋̄̑̌͋̇̅̾̄͌̚̚į̵̫̞̙͈̰̆͌̏͘ͅe̵̘̗̤̼̜̼̻̱͓̙͗͗̈́͌́́̈̊͋s̵̡̢̧̩͕̹͕̖͊̿̊̒̊͌̿͌́̊̃̔́͝͠͝:̵̛̬̪̱̥̦̱̓̓̋ͅ ̸̺̩̜̝̣̠̻͌́̓̐̀̊̑̂̉̅͝[̴͖̖͙̥̠͖̫͇̓̒̏͗̇̃̒́̅́͌͘̚̕͝͝Ȟ̴͎͙͌e̷̜̯̱͉͍̳͔̙͈̿́͜a̷̛̼̙̞͊͆̌͊̓̑̃̒͒̾̒͝͝͝ͅv̵̨̛̛̮̭̻͈̻̩͙̙̤̥̪̻̩̺̩͖̊͑̋͂͝ȩ̷̧̮͖̳̜̫̲͙͎͇̬͔̏̍͜n̸̡̻̪͇͕̩̼͖̯̥̥̺͖̋͗̾̈́̂̋͗̑̐̚̚ͅl̶̢̢̧͎͓̙͉̟̼͍̘̯̘̹̮̫̫̄̂͂̐̐͌̽́̀͝ͅý̷̢͓̼͖̫̫̮̣̈́̃̋̀̎̋͝ ̸̢̢̡̢̧̛̠̩͕̘̱̌̽̄̀͆̊͂̾̌̓̓̚͝͠͝F̸̘̥̌̌l̸̟̯̪͇͓͓͖̮͍̙̫̋̉́͋́̏͆̉̽̈́͝͠ą̸̢̘̜̲̱̹͎̭̬̙̅͘ͅm̵̧̹̳̭̰̟̝̼͇͕̘̝̓̌̄̔̌͒̈̏̒̐̂̓̚e̸̗̙̻̙̖͓̜͕̟͙̥͚͕̟̖͉͖̠̽͗̾̃́̑͒͘̕]̶̡̹̺͍̱̝̖̖͍͎͚͍̙͚͎̬͑̅̏̐̅ ̵̧̢͖͚͓͉̳̣̼̣̯̹̙͍̟͇̎͊͂̂̏̎̈́̀̿͌͆̐̉̀͌͑͝[̴̨̛̛̛̞̣̱̘̖̉͋͛͛̋̏̓͐͛̀̓̕͘͝͝Š̴̡͔͔͎̭͔̤̼̥̳̣͂̈͛w̸̨̢̛͖̮̦͇͂͂͘͝o̷̡̡̠̺̫͍̰͌͗̄̀̇̋̊̀̇͘̚͘͝ŗ̸͉͙͇̬͎̬̱̦̟̦͌͒́̀̿̓͑̌̈̓͐̊̈͜d̷͈͙̝̗̻͕̟͊̀̏͜͠ș̵̡̈̽ ̶͍̟̤̗̙̯̱̣̒̎̈́̾̋͗̏͋͘–̴̢̛̱̼̳̤͍͔̥̺̙̙͎̈̾̊̍͊̍͗̄̌̽̓̈́͂̊̏ ̸̫̋̂̅?̶̨̢̮͇̮̤̳̻͍͓̫̿̉͂̋́̊̌̕̕͜?̸̡̼͌͛͆̏̄́̔̈́͋͑̎̅̀͊͝?̶̛̙̭͔̻̠̼͚̺̈́̋̾̓̚]̸̡̨̢̛͖͔̳̠͉̦̪̳̠̹̰̙̜͇͒̆̏͐͐́̃̌͆͋̓̍̅́́͘͝ͅ ̵̛̛̬͑͒͂͗̊̃̈́̓͛́̈́̇̕̚͘͠[̷̡̨̬̺͉͈̙̱̣̩̱͔͔͓͕̣̒̃̄̀̓̂̓͆̃̎̑͑́͘͘̕͠͝ͅR̵̪̓͊͊́̑̒̐͗̿̃͋͒̆͂̿̇͘e̶̖̙͗f̶̖̠̽̃̀l̸̨̛͚̝̪͈̣̩̞̠͎̈́̾͊͗̈́́̎̏̀è̶͔̜̗͚̈x̴̛̲̺͑͌̌͐͒̀́̿́̀̍͝͝ę̷̱͉͙̠̲̭̪̬̱̜̲́͂̈́̋͆̾̍́̌̕͜͠ş̴̡̼̱͍̯͝͝]̵̧̹̬̟͇̟̮͍̞̞̱͎̦͋̄̌ ̴̧̛̦̋̏̾̉̄̈́̚͝͝[̵̡̖̠̪̱̺̩̺̘͖͓̗̜̀̈́͗̽̾͠F̶̢͕̣͇̪͖̣͒̈̾͊̄̐̄̓͌̈́͌̓̚̕a̵̟͎̘̾͒̈̇̀̈́̈́̑̚ṣ̷͈̳̙͎͑̀̆̋̑̓͋̃̑̌̇̂̽t̷͇̞̥̠̠̾̐̔̑̔͊̄̃̈́͗̋͋̍̌ ̶̡̖̳̃̾̅̀͑͋̔̓́̊̍̅̌̒̚͘͜͠G̷̨̧̻̙̪̠̞̱̤̘̅̏̋͛͐̅ͅŗ̶͇̱̞͎̠͆̓̓̒͋ͅo̷͓͓͖̼̱͖̺͊̃̂̾͊̎̀̃͘͜͝ẅ̷̞̥̌́͑̏͊̍͒t̸̨̧̳̹̘͍̬̱̱̹͉̞͗̂̈̌̽͒̓̀͗͗̕͝͝h̸͇͈͈̄̓̈̂̆͝]̵̡̘͎̪͈̟͉̫͖̣̻̹̺͚̀̊̓̊́͊͊͐̌̋̎̑͑͠ͅ ̵̨̧̲̰̣̥̖̳̓͂̐͠[̴̢̖̹̥̖̤͍̬͓̝̮͉̮͔͔̦̳̥̔̎͒̆̌̀̅͛͊̈́̀͆͆̅̀̈́͘͝Ş̴͕̙̦̬͎̦̤̼͊̿̅̋̑̾̿̐̉̐͗̚ữ̷̧̛͇͇͈̺͖̘̞̳̠͖̰̣̳̓̈̂̎͐̓͛͋̑͆ͅm̵̨̜̺̬̞̠̤̜͓̩̼̥̞͚̰̜̖͒̀́͂̀̇̚͘͘̕m̶̼̲̥͍̫͎͚͈̘͚̹̮̱̺͓̤͊̓̋́̾̈̊̈́͜o̶̧̢̜̙̺̦̳̗̳͍̬̩̫̼͐͒̏̀͘̕͜n̴͓͓̬͇̫̟̄̾̓̓͛͊̄̀̄̈́͜e̷͈̫͈̞̬̩̩͔̺̬̣̲̦͓̦͆͊̏̍̊́͗̏̈́́͌̀̊́̚d̸̨̨͇̠̲͚̹̲̘̓̎͋̐̒̀͑̇̈́̎́̾̕ ̷̧̡͇̮̤͇̲̦͖͔̰̈́̈́̈́́̆Ḩ̴̛͖̞͓̭̮̤̪̹͚̟̲̜̩̦̻̈́̓́͆̄̅͋̊͆̑́̋̾̚ȩ̸̦͇̳̥͉̣̰̙̱̤̲̞͌̈́͌́̐͌̾̊̄͂̌̈́̀͊̕͠r̸̨̧͓͉̣̗͇̬̤̺͍̝̩̺̫̲̝͋̅̽̂̿̍͐́̊̉̀́͌͜͠ǫ̸̢̧̮̖͎̩̳͇͚̙̘͕̦̺͙̦̠́̾͗͒]̸͍͚̍̽̔̌͑̆͝͝ ̷̗̤̰̉̈́̄̎̿͛̓̊̉͑̄̄[̷̀̀͐̔͗̍̅̍͋͋̉͑͗͘͜͜͝͝W̴̧̢̧̤̞̼̭̙̹̻̲̦͇͊̈́̆̍͌̇͋̾͑̊̌̒̾̓̊̉̍ö̴͓͇̪́̂̈́̌͛̎͆̕͜ȑ̵̢̧͇͔̮̫͍̣̪͔̩̭͈̠̼̖͓̍̇͑͑̌͛͒̊̃̈́́́͊͝͠l̵̡͙͒̈̈́̀̔̄̉̀̓͑̄̑̽́̊́̚͠ḑ̸̟͕̤̬͇̲̖̰͚͍̳̍̂͂̉̔̅̉̌͒̓͛̕̚͜͠ͅͅ ̸̣̖̥͇̰̪̫̻͆̌͒̋̀͜S̵̡̛̻̲̣̯̦̠̒̏̉̀̆̅̓̃̀͊̀̋̓͜͠͝e̸̘̯͉̟͊̐̉̿̀̀̌̍̋̕͝r̴̼̙͂̐̈́p̸̞̹̤̲̬̤̯͇̖̞̰̂̎͒͊̎̋̑̓͂̈́͜͝͝e̴̢̢̬̩͕͇͙͔̺̘̝̠̦̫̰͙͠ǹ̵̨̦̰͚͙͙͖̻̆̎̋̑̉͒̾̍͌̓̉͝͝t̶̨̡̯͔̰̞̺̩͚̺̙̞̱̯͕͍̗̑́͐̆̽̌ͅ’̴̧̛͕͉̦̼̪͓͖̥̬̳̯͍̹͉̰̬̈́͋̅̍̾̀͐́̀̆̂͋ș̴̡͕̹̼̭̤̳͚̟̤͉̙̰̓͒͛̐̈́̀͌̈̈͒̊̈̕̚͝ͅ ̸̡̡̨̤̭̗͖̪̯̤̗̣͑̐̕Ą̵̧̛̙̦̮̻̪̫̺̖͇̦͚̹̼̞͙̑͒́̓̓̆̿̀̒̇̎͐͝͝͝p̸̛̥̭̆̇̍̐̍̇̏͗̀͂̚͠ỡ̴̡̺͓̙͙̩̰̟̰͙͇̦̜̒̔͂͛̔͠ş̸̧̥͔̑̐t̸̨̼͎̹̲͕̳̥̩̰̟̦̙̾͛̒͗̀̾͜l̴̺̰͉̐̀͋̇e̵͙̳̖͖̬̪̥͂̿̑̓͆͆̔́͐͛̌͗̔̿̓͛ͅ]̶̛̫̌̍̇̾̈́͆̏̅̈́̀̋͜

Ţ̸̲̻͔̫͉̦͇͓̠͍̿̆́́̓͝͝į̶̯̞̝̱̮̣̝͕̉̓̓̑̍͛͋̅̇͂̌̆̃̎̔͝t̵̨̨̼̫̰̰̮̺̬̤̲͇͕̪͙͐͐̒̾͒̌̂̀̃̌̎̈́̍͐͗̚̚ͅͅl̴̩̺̱̪̺̘͓̱̮̯̆̎ẹ̸̬̓͑͂s̷̢̞̯̙͈̳̗̪͖͍̮̮͔͚̤̗̯͉̋̐̀͒͛͂̆́͌̊͝:̷̞̩̦͙̟̝͚̖̹̄̇̔̀͛̍̆̓̒̆͊̊͂̒͜͠ ̴̡̺̳̪̗̥͇̯̙̬̙͌̎̉͊̓̄̃̾̃̿̚͜ͅ?̵̡̧̜̭̦̰̰̟̥͙͈̤̹͚̏̑͋̋͋̉̾̽̈́̋͑̕?̶̡̛͕̲͚̑̎̅͊̐͗́̈̍̈́͆͌̏͐̀̕͝?̷̖̪̫̗̳͇̥͐̊!̸̡̨͙̼̯̯̲͓̝̠̩̤̞̣̰̰͝?̷͕̦͙͉͕͛́̿̈́!̵̧̣̲̤̤̥͎̜̰̘̪͒̕͘͜͝͠ͅͅD̸̡̧̤̬̩͓͓̪̝̼̋̅̾̎͂́́̄̎̿̄̈̆̾͝!̴͓̭̫͈̖͖͔̻̘͈͉̫͕̘̀̑̇͂͒̓̕͝!̸̡͍̣͇̬̣̦͓̯͈͔̪̉͗̑D̴̫͓̲̯̳̹̭͖̪͇̱̠̣̝̭̄̌ͅG̴̢̪̮̭͎̭̗̫̺͕̩̫̱͓͒̒̐̓̏́̽̋̈̑̾̒̒̋̈́̅͘ͅͅS̴̛̰͇̝͍̦͚̮̀̌͛̄̀̃̈͛̔̇̄̋̓͝͠F̵̨͎̦̲͙̂̐̓́̀͠Ğ̷͈̜̖͚̙͖͇̬̠̻̝̱̤̮̗͈͗̔̏̃A̷̡̖̘͍͎͖̯̲͉̻͔͙͖͎̟͌͆̐̿͜͝D̸̢̢̞̩̩̫̰̠̤̈̀́͗͋̿͐̒̈́̀̾͒̑V̷̛̮͎͉͉̫̼͚̩̝̘̈́̾͑̆͆̉́͒̋̂̑̍͌̚͠͝͝ͅD̴͈̯͔͚̫̀́͛͑͆̎̉̈́̇̓͒̎̏̋̎͝ͅS̷̡̢̡̲̱̬̬̄̈́̀̄̈́͘A̵̧̬̠͍͉͍̣̣̙͊̔͛̎̾̊́R̸̡̡̛̛̩͉̬̗̼̳̱̣̞͂̈́́̈́̂̎̏̔̉̓͊̉̅̃̕!̸̯̦͙̼̳͉̫̘̟̘̹͈̖̬̆̽?̶͉̺̺͉͇̼̼̭͚̬̄̀̄͛̏̀͆̃̋͜͝!̶͕̯͈̞̬͍̟̹͚͙̑̃̈́̒͆̓́̚͘͠

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Unable to contain my excitement, I quickly asked him to hurry up and explain what the silly characters meant!

“So, can you read them??? Oh I can’t wait to find out what these silly characters mean!!! This is such an incredible discovery!!! Ko!!! Please!!!! What do they say!!! Tell me!!!”

I... I think I sounded a little too desperate there. But it wasn’t my fault!!! Seriously!!! I was just really, really curious to learn more about this!!

Hmmm... Well that’s unfortunate. And here I was hoping to finally learn what those characters meant! But that’s interesting. I like his thought that there is the potential for an incompatibility! That’s an interesting perspective to approach the problem from! Maybe... Maybe I should bring them to Felice! They are the strongest mana weaver I know of!!! They are also probably worried sick about me!!! Oh... I hope they aren’t too angry with my running away and ignoring their advice!!!

So, I decided to mention to Ko that we should probably visit Felice. If anyone, they would be the most resourceful and knowledge about his “other world” situation! But, after agreeing with me, he asked me about the other adventurers I was with. While I was still sad, I did my best to explain how we ended up in that situation. I couldn’t change the past, but I would learn from this moment to grow stronger.

“I see, thank you for sharing. I appreciate it.”

Yes, I... I think I needed to speak my thoughts as well. I feel better now.

Ummmm... Oh no! He... He just asked me about incantationless casting!!! What do I do?!?!? I... I mean, I’m pretty sure he did that himself during the fight! But Felice said I wasn’t supposed to tell humans abou— Quick! He’s staring at you Inari! Say something!

“Incan.. Incantationless casting?? Heh, what do you mean casting spells without saying their incantation, nobody can possibly do that Ko!”

Nailed.... It? Geez, I hope that was enough to convince him!!! Oh no! He saw me doing incantationless casting during our fight with Bandit?!?? What do I do!!!

My ears started to droop as I looked around for anything to help me out of this conversation! Maybe, I should just deny it? I mean... It was really hectic during the fight, so it wouldn’t be totally unexpected if he didn’t hear— That’s it! I was—

“Nope! Definitely wasn’t me, well, I mean, I did cast those, but I was totally saying the words! I was just.. Super... Quite???”

I don’t think that worked either!!! Now he’s really looking at me. I... I totally wasn’t convincing... Was I?

Oh! That’s Right!!!! Quickly!! Change the conversation!!! Ummm— His backpack!

“Oh, ummm your backpack! Yes!!! Ummm, I think I brought it with me, it should be over where you were lying down befor—”

Thank goodness! Ko finally stopped asking me about the incantationless casting! They did look very excited about finding their backpack though. Did they have something important inside it?

Wait... What the heck was that?! Lots of mana particles just suddenly flooded around him when he placed some... Small object on his head??

!

His— His wounds are all gone!!! What type of magic was that!

While I was still in shock seeing Ko’s instantaneous recovery, he started to ask me a question:

“Hey, Inari, you’re still injured from our fight with the bandits, right?”

Still injured???! What the heck do you think?!?! Why would you ask such a silly question! Why of course I’m still injur—

“Good!”

Then, without warning, he slapped one of those strange brown things onto my forehead as well! What the heck did you do to me Ko!?!? I did not consent to this!!!

While I was still shocked and annoyed at spontaneously being assaulted by the strange human, I suddenly felt the same, abnormal surge of mana particles gather around me as well! In an instant, all of my wounds had healed, restoring my HP to full! Additionally, my MP values had also been replenished as well! And... And my fur! I— I felt clean! All of the blood had disappeared, leaving behind my beautiful fur coat! I— I felt amazingly soft!!! I... I like this! But... But that was still wrong of him to do this! What if something really bad happened to me?!?!? Happy, but annoyed, I made sure to tell him I wasn’t pleased with this! I also asked him what the heck he did to me!

“Hahaha!!! Lets just say it’s magic from another world!”

...

Magic— From another world...

...

Eventually, I sighed, then suggested we best get going to meet with Felice. Leading the way, I started walking towards the Tavern with Ko beside me.