Arata awoke early in the morning, first getting changed into something comfortable. He slowly undresses, looking over his new, muscular yet lean physique. Oooooh, one month can really make that much of a difference… I guess not technically a month from my original physique, since I got a head start in the physical department when I first came into this world.

  Arata makes his way out to the barracks, where he sees the five knights fall into order. They shout, “Greetings, second in command Arata! Captain Morgan awaits you in the office. Everything has been prepared for our departure!”

  Second in command… They won’t stop calling me that since I get special treatment. Not sure if I’m a fan of the inside joke. Arata opens the door to greet Morgan.

  “Captain Morgan… I wanted to make one more request before we depart… I wanted to check on… that. If I may?” Arata pleads with Morgan for a few seconds.

  Morgan silently nods before adding, “I wanted to stop by myself, very well. It’s already been a month, hasn’t it? We depart for the great forest in an hour. You can go ahead and meet us there. We’ll reach the frontlines in a few days. You don’t know how to ride a horse, do you?”

  Shit! That’s one skill I never learned… ugh, that’d make things so much easier. Wait- “Hey, I’ll just run, I don’t know how to use a horse. Since I can’t run and carry some other supplies, I’ll be on tent construction duty for the whole journey in exchange.”

  Arata is quickly dismissed after that. He had other work to do, making his way back down into town. Staring into the windows of shops, he spots it. “Good morning, Madam Kovalenko. I was wondering, some of Selena’s old stuff is still in the attic. I just wanted to bring something along with me for the journey, if that is ok, of course?”

  Madam Kovalenko chuckles, “Of course, I won’t be there, so I have to send you off somehow… many of the girls here want you to visit them. You’d get a nice discount too.”

  Yeah, no… Ravenna reads my memories. I’d prefer not to. She would not be happy. Arata quickly makes his way upstairs, not humoring that point in the conversation. Madam Kovalenko leads him into the room, Madam Kovalenko’s own memorial of the girl. He sees on the drawer a small photo, Selena and her father.

  They have cameras in this world? It’s a bit too early for an invention like that, I’d say, but I’ll take it, I guess? Arata climbs his way back down the stairs to get to the front of town. Right at the gate, he sees men, women and children preparing a celebration. Shops are busy and crowds chatter.

  He watches as a group of ladies, all wearing a nun uniform, wave at him, the church mother, Alma, waving goodbye. She asks him quietly, “You’re leaving before the festivities? We were going to all bid well to you and the other soldiers. Isn’t it a bit cold to leave without a goodbye? I suppose it is the hero’s party that will get the most lavish goodbye.”

  Arata simply waves, “I got a visit I have to make, planned on going ahead of Captain Morgan. I can still tell the sentiment even if I am not around to witness it. I wonder… can the dead feel the same?”

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Mother Alma pauses a little, sweating a bit, “I must confess… I used to believe in such kinds of faith. Yet these days it seems no one in the church can be quite sure. I suppose a miracle isn’t needed to get a kind gesture across.”

  Arata smiles and nods, using Demiurge Foundry to augment his systems, and begins his jog outwards. Galloping his way out of the city gate. He dashes down a path before turning right, a small patch of trees on the side of the road. He sees Clemence, she’s standing in front of a small stone, her head down in silence.

  Arata sneaks up behind her, “Whatcha doing! Clemence?”

  “Kyaa! What the hell Arata! At least warn me?!” Clemence jumps back a little, angry for just a second before seeing him set down a picture in front of the rock.

  “A photo? Strange that Selena has one with her old man.” Clemence points out in confusion.

  Then how do you know about them? Arata rebuts her, “Then how do you know about photos, considering you think they’re so strange?”

  Clemence explains, “Remember, I’m part of the hero’s party now, I’d know because she’s from another world like you. I’m the only other girl of the party, so we’ve been getting along. Much better than with the other two of the party that is.”

  “You came out here quite a bit earlier? I didn’t think the rest of your party would be out that soon?” Arata points out, brushing a bit of the hair from her face, looking at the dark bags under her eyes.

  Clemence groans a little, “We’re taking another path anyway, we’re not using horses, we’re taking the shortcut. You and Morgan get to go around the mountains, but we’re going through them to ensure we reach the battlefield quickly. I’ll actually need to get going soon so I can head to my rendezvous point. See you there, Arata.”

  All alone here… I still wish Selena had a body to bury… I tried asking Ravenna to go back using the theater’s ability to replay the past, but I still couldn’t see where the corpse had disappeared to. Arata clenches his fist a little. He was frustrated over that fact.

  Arata hears the galloping of horses, hearing Leon shout, “Hey, Arata! It’s time to get moving! We’ve got quite a distance to cover today!”

  Arata’s Other World Logbook entry #7: One month in another world, retrospective and training

  It’s been a month spent in this unforgiving, cruel Isekai. Sent to save the people of this world, I found myself dying over and over again just to scrape by. Meeting the residents of the world, it has become clear that happiness is a luxury that you either have at birth or you don’t. However, I want to save everybody. Heroic, idealistic, unrealistic? Yes, but I need to in order to return home anyways.

  Upon confronting Beelzebub, it quickly became apparent, what I have isn’t enough; I’m simply not strong enough to do it. Luckily I have two training sources, I am building up my skill by killing monsters using Rachamah’s hunting guide. Secondly, Ravenna is making me train my supernatural abilities through using the scripts for sparring old opponents. I don’t have to worry about getting my ass beat… sometimes I feel like my mind is slipping when I use that power but the theater, it at first felt subliminal and creepy but the place is oddly comforting. It can recreate objects from my memories, forms of entertainment so I didn’t go insane in a timeless space.

  I have got down temperature, failed to recreate my ability to control air pressure without a sufficient source of mana. I’m working on gravitational force but I haven’t been making too much progress on dispelling spells. The problem has to do with timing, I am too slow to properly dissipate the spells. One ability I have acquired is using the ambient thin trace of mana in the surrounding environment to strengthen pre-existing forces. I can strengthen my aerobic system or increase my physical output of force.