For a minute, or maybe even longer, during which Arthur’s metaphysical brain underwent a full reboot, an awkward silence settled over the two sides. Or, well, not quite silence. Athena simply couldn’t keep her amused chirping under control.

  Betrayed by his own drone…

  Once Arthur somewhat regained his bearings after being called a birdhouse, he tried to come up with a proper response to the misunderstanding. Or at least, that was the plan. Now that he was closer to the Narians, a certain detail pulled his attention away.

  Huh… they are pretty small.

  He hadn’t noticed that when looking through Athena’s eyes, but now it was obvious. Sure, the aliens weren’t dwarf-sized, but by the look of it, even the tallest among them looked a good head shorter than an average human male. It was that, or Arthur’s understanding of proportions got messed up after becoming a tank.

  Now, if that weren’t enough, a quiet voice in the back of his mind also kept insisting that the Narians reminded him of something from his old life. He quickly searched through the little he remembered of his time as a human, and yeah, there it was.

  He couldn’t recall the name, but there was a particular movie he had watched as a kid. Pretty popular one too. Maybe. Hard to say, really, with all the gaps in his memory.

  Either way, that movie had aliens, too. The skin color and height were off, but the rest? Almost perfect match.

  How the hell do I remember that and not the important parts of my life? Arthur grumbled. Doesn’t make any sense.

  Irritated, he shoved the thought aside and refocused on the group in front of him. A half-remembered movie didn’t matter right now. He had to somehow introduce himself to the Narians without starting a fight.

  Just another day in my new, completely normal life…

  Arthur quickly sent a mental glare at Athena, forcing her maniacal giggling to stop, and took control of Voice Projection again. What he planned now would be much harder than simply shouting ‘friendly.’

  Please work.

  “I. NOT. HOUSE,”—well, technically not at least—“I. ARTHUR. BIRD. ATHENA.”

  It wasn’t perfect. He had skipped a few words despite the deliberate pauses, but it was better than nothing. Though given the synchronized head tilts from over half the Narians, he wasn’t entirely sure how much they had understood.

  “Arthur? Athena?” the girl at the front murmured. Her eyes widened. “Oh! I get it! Those are your names!” She spun toward the taller alien beside her. “Garth! It has to be a spirit, right?! Must be trapped in the metal box!”

  Garth—as that had to be his name—looked from Arthur’s vessel back to the girl. “It’s possible, I suppose,” he said, keeping his voice low. “The Mother works in m—“

  He never got to finish. The girl pumped her fist and rushed forward.

  “Great, I will introduce us!” she called out before stopping a few meters away from Arthur. She pointed at herself. “Me. Nadia.” Gesturing to the tallest Narian, she continued, “That. Ga—”

  “STOP,” Arthur interrupted. Honestly, why did she think she needed to copy his way of speaking? “I. TROUBLE. SPEAKING. NOT. HEARING. I. UNDERSTAND.”

  Nadia froze, her hand dropping as she scrunched up her face. “Should have said so from the start.” She crossed her arms, pouting. “Now I look stupid.”

  Arthur considered pointing out that this was entirely on her, but wisely kept his mouth shut. Besides, the girl didn’t stay mad for long. As if a switch had flipped, her grin returned, and she gestured back toward the rest of her group.

  “Anyway. Like I said, the tall guy is Garth. He’s the leader of our squad.”

  She pointed to a pair of archers next. One had a long scar running across his face, while the other’s hair was like a shadowy mane. She was also the only woman here, aside from Nadia, of course.

  “That’s Leon and Asteria. Best bows in the kingdom, I tell you.”

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  Finally, Nadia turned to the remaining four Narians, who stood close to each other. To Arthur, they all looked the same. Short hair. Plain, almost expressionless faces. And identical swords sheathed at their hips.

  “And those four are Maki, Daki, Paki, and Baki. They don’t really talk much, so don’t mind them. They’re plenty good with swords, though!”

  Arthur would have raised an eyebrow if he had one. Very interesting names. He was almost afraid to ask if they meant anything special.

  Unaware of his thoughts, Nadia pressed on, or tried to at least. When she opened her mouth again, another voice stopped her from continuing.

  “That’s enough, Nadia. Get back,” Garth said, stepping forward himself.

  The girl pouted at him, but a glare answered it.

  “Now,” he added, finally getting the message across.

  Once Nadia returned to the rest of the squad, Garth turned back to Arthur and, to his surprise, bowed.

  “Forgive her, oh Great Spirit,” Garth said. “Nadia is a fine warrior and scout, but she is young and excitable. She meant no disrespect by addressing the Great Spirit so informally.”

  Now, it was Arthur’s turn to be confused. Informally? Disrespect? Great Spirit? Just what the hell was going on? Had he really jumped from one misunderstanding straight into another?

  …Yeah. He had. And he could use it.

  Obviously, spirits meant a great deal to these people. If playing along helped him earn their trust, so be it. Besides, were they really wrong? In a way, he was a spirit, just with a tank as his vessel.

  Let’s go with that. Now, to calm the guy down.

  “I. Don’t. Mind,” he spoke, finally getting some control over the volume. “Formalities. Unnecessary. Call. Me. Arthur.”

  Garth still bowed. “As you wish, oh Gre—Arthur,” he corrected himself at the last moment. From the grimace on his face, it looked like addressing Arthur so casually caused him actual pain.

  Whatever. They would all learn sooner or later.

  “Is there anything we can help you with?” Garth continued. “Do you require our assistance to free yourself from this box of nightmarish steel?”

  “NO,” Arthur answered, perhaps a bit too quickly. “This my. Vessel. Body. Weapon against. Demons.”

  Garth’s eyes went wide. “Great Spirit! Are you saying you fight against the forces of Hell? Outside the Forest?”

  And you lost me again, Arthur thought, staring blankly at the Narian. System? I would really appreciate a quick tutorial about this world right about now.

  Of course, there was no answer.

  Great.

  It seemed it was time to use the best tactic known to man. Fake it till you make it.

  “The Forest?” Arthur asked, working overtime to control Voice Projection. “What is. That? I fight. Since birth. Here.”

  Somehow, Garth’s eyes widened even further. A quick glance at the others showed they weren’t faring any better, even Nadia.

  “A newborn Spirit…” Garth whispered. “One who fights against Hell. Oh Father! You have finally returned and sent us your warrior! What a blessed day!”

  Hold up! Arthur yelled inwardly. We are getting way ahead of ourselves! Don’t turn me into a religious figure! We just met!

  But it was too late.

  Even when he tried to say something, his words were swallowed by their growing excitement. Garth pretty much rushed back to his team and pulled the two archers into a tight hug. Within seconds, every Narian present was celebrating as if it were the greatest day of their lives.

  Well, almost every Narian.

  Nadia slipped past everyone and approached Arthur again, a sly grin on her face.

  “So, oh Great Spirit,” she began, amusement clear in her voice. “You must be strong, huh? The Father’s warrior, fighting the forces of Hell all alone.” Her eyes suddenly went wide. “Wait! Don’t tell me. You’re the reason the corruption here is gone.”

  Arthur exhaled inwardly. At least one semi-normal person.

  “I am,” he replied, doing his best to keep his robotic voice low. “I destroyed. The tree and. Gate.”

  “So cool!” Nadia gushed. “Only the Kingdom’s best squads have ever managed that on their own. Can you show me?”

  “Show you?” he echoed.

  “How you fight!” she clarified, her hands clasped together. “Please, oh Great Spirit.”

  This girl… Arthur rolled his nonexistent eyes. Still, a small show of power couldn’t hurt.

  Probably.

  “Fine,” he said.

  Nadia squealed. “Awesome!”

  Ignoring her for the time being, Arthur loaded a single HE shell and rotated his turret toward a nearby dead tree. After a brief adjustment of his aim, he pulled the trigger.

  The explosive shell connected with the target, pretty much erasing it from existence and leaving a small crater behind. Proud of his work, Arthur turned to look at Nadia and the others in the distance.

  He froze.

  Every single Narian was staring at the impact site, mouths hanging open.

  It was then that Arthur realized he might have been better off starting the show with his machine gun. Or at least he could have warned them about what he was capable of.

  Oh well. Shock and awe works, too, right?

  Athena’s laughter echoed through their link.

  It didn’t help.

  Not at all.

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