To Become A Proper Citizen

The central city was full of life, much like any other day.

I woke up at around 9:00 in the morning, or so I wished to believe by the position of the sun. I took a nice, long bath, and put on a white shirt I still had from when I left for the war. It still fit, somehow, but it was tight around the arms.

I stretched my legs to adjust the length of the black pants I was wearing. Sadly, I had to wear the same boots I'd been wearing for a while now. In fact, they were the same ones I've been using ever since I got sent to Erilis.

Due to an accident of flying too close to the sun, I ended up taking a whiff of the boot's insoles and I'm pretty sure I passed out. I can't believe the first thing to come close to killing me was my own shoes.

Going back to my beautiful morning routine, I shaved my unkempt beard off after who knows how long, I washed my teeth, and even had the luxury of using my father's cologne, which he bought after months of arduous work.

Prepared, I finally left the house to meet up with Elisa.

She said she'd wait for me at the main plaza. If I ran there I should be able to arrive in probably 40 minutes, and if I walked probably an hour. Or so I thought.

I walked through the repetitive and dirty slums, looking out for any shady person on the way.

Eventually, I reached the gate that led to the inner city and was stopped by the knights at the entrance. I took a 'Veteran's Honor' medal from my pocket, which I received when I got to my second year of the battle.

It was kind of sad that one could be considered a veteran for serving for only two years, but I didn't complain. I didn't have an I.D. so it was a good way to prove my identity.

They looked at each other before shrugging their shoulders and letting me pass.

And now---

''Shit, now that I think about it, where the hell is the main plaza?''

I scratched my head. I was a fool to think I could get there by myself.

Because I wasn't used to walking through this place, I ended up getting lost and I had a hunch I wasn't anywhere near the main plaza.

''Tsk, might as well check every damned corner.''

I walked and looked through every place I came across. I walked through alleys, and merchant streets, and looked behind large buildings, behind small buildings, maybe it was hiding there?

I turned every damn rock and didn't find a single thing.

I was about to give up and just ditch the meeting altogether until I reached a very, very familiar-looking zone.

''Is this for real...?''

I caught a glimpse of a magnificently built plaza.

Surrounded by large and beautiful stone buildings, and brightened by the sun, the plaza was adorned with a very 'classical-era' facade. The thing is, such a thing did not exist here.

I drew closer and saw, in the center of the plaza, a stunning fountain that spat sparkling water high into the sky before it fell down onto the pool below. The entire place was surrounded by lush and green gardens of flowers, where children and parents walked leisurely, pleased by the sweet and relaxing scent.

And I stood at the entrance of the plaza, with a bitter smile.

''These guys really didn't leave anything new for me to do...''

This was, without a single doubt, built by someone from another world. The entire place screamed 'victorian era'. I sighed and entered the plaza, looking for the blonde woman.

I decided to appreciate the plaza's beauty while I walked.

I was sort of frustrated that this guy got to have fun and build this while I struggled for my life every day, but I was also thankful. It really was a relaxing place that stuck out amidst the chaos of the city, and it was surprisingly quiet and empty. Most people here were old married couples or parents and children. The cozy atmosphere made me almost instantly relax.

''You're late.''

Until I heard the obnoxious voice of a certain woman.

''Did you just think something bad about me? I'll kill you.''

Now she's a mind reader?! This place just keeps surprising me. The city is truly amazing place.

''No, I was just surprised by your amazing and soothing voice... Elisa?''

I raised my head to look at Elisa, but her face was sort of... weird. No, it was definitely weird. Her eyes were puffy and her hair was messy.

''Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something you wanna say?''

''...No, not really.''

I was smart enough to not provoke her now.

She was wearing a beige dress with short sleeves and a long skirt. If it weren't for her messed up face, she'd sure look the part of a noble's daughter.

''So, what're we doing here?''

She frowned even further at my words. Do you just not get tired of frowning? I can almost see a six-pack forming right in the middle, you sure like to use the muscles there.

''You said you didn't want to be a knight anymore, right?''

''I didn't say such a thing, but if you wanna word it like that then sure.''

''Whatever. The thing is, some... things, happened, and I can't help you out with money for your family and you anymore.''

'Some things'? Did she actually get disowned? No, she said if something as drastic as that happened she wouldn't be here, so I'm guessing it was something else.

Well, she was doing me a favor and my guess was that she was the type of person to keep her problems to herself, so I wasn't going to press any further.

''However, I did promise to help you, so I'll still try and get you out of there.''

''...I'm assuming you're not gonna be enlisting anymore, right?''

She looked away from my eyes and crossed her arms.

''I learned the hard way. The battlefield wasn't any place for me. I freeze too quickly, and even when the time came, I couldn't bring myself to kill a human being. It's by pure luck that I am alive right now. So I won't be doing something that foolish again.''

She spoke in a quiet and melancholic tone. I always thought about what happened when we split up, but I should've guessed as much.

''Aha, I see, so it's only me that you can attack with the intent to kill. Mhm, I see how it is.''

''You beat me to a pulp and broke my teeth and nose! I just wanted to get back at you for that, I obviously wasn't trying to kill you!''

I looked at her with the most 'If-you-say-so' expression I could muster. She gritted her teeth, but in the end, let out a deep breath.

''In, and out...''

She muttered in a quiet voice and calmed herself down. She moved her arms around and stretched herself. Do I really anger her that much? It was fun to tease her, but I guess I'll have to tone it down a bit.

Or not, I probably won't, but it's good to keep it in mind!

''...So, I need you to tell me something. Do you know how magic works?''

''Magic?''

''Yes, I need to know if you know.''

''...Well, I can't use magic, so I don't know too much. As far as I'm aware, it's a talent people are born with and their strength depends on how talented they are.''

''Hm, sort of right but also very wrong! Follow me, we'll talk as we walk.''

She turned around and walked out of the plaza. I followed behind her and attentively listened to her:

''Magic isn't actually an innate ability for most people. Only extremely talented people can use magic from a young age, for most people, you'll have to slowly and very patiently study its fundamentals to be able to use it. And even then, you might still not be able to use it.''

...Really? I suddenly regretted having said things like 'not impressive' in my head when I saw magicians on the battlefield. I thought I was just unlucky for not being able to use magic, but I guess I'm just one more of the bunch.

''Because of this, mages are pretty rare and valuable. Most mages can only cast basic spells like <Sphera>, so those who are talented enough to cast spells like <Consume> or <Hunde> are highly sought after.''

''Right, but why are you telling me this?

''Because your only realistic option to leave the battlefield is to become an adventurer, and to do that, you must know certain things.''

That again. I did want to stop being a knight, but now that I thought about it, wasn't this just switching to another battlefield? I'll end up having to fight either way, just with monsters this time...

''However, it'll take a very long time, and sadly I believe you may not be able to do it while you're on leave.''

''Ah, don't worry about that. I didn't take a single leave for 2 years so I have around two to three months of leave remaining.''

''...Not once?''

''Nope.''

Her eyes widened in disbelief. True, I didn't take a single day of leave during my two years of service. Not voluntarily, but rather, because the empire was in such disarray that they just refused to let the knights rest for even a single day. And since I was illiterate and didn't know how to write and didn't have anyone to do it for me, I ended up working for two years on end with no rest!

''I-I see, then you might be able to do it.''

''Of course. Now that you've stopped rambling, where are you taking me? Just so you know, my family's poor and I'm even poorer...''

''What the hell are you saying... anyways, you're gonna have to take a physical and written exam to become an adventurer, and if I'm guessing right you're kind of illiterate, aren't you?''

''Yeah.''

''Then, to begin with, we're going to---''

She stopped her sentence midway and turned around, with her left hand outstretched and pointing at something.

I followed her hand and my eyes met with a large staircase that led to an equally large stone building. The towering structure seemed to reach up into the skies, and I had to bend my head to properly observe it. I knew what the building was.

It was the largest building in the empire, and one of the most important ones: Belica's National Library for Education.

''--Study!''

''...Ah?''

I turned to look at her. Grim memories of sleepless nights struck me for a split second.

''I don't know what you're making that face for, but if you want to become an adventurer you have to be an educated man.''

''I-I see...''

Knowing this I felt like I could sort of understand where the adventurer's sense of superiority came from, and why Samuel was angry at her words. Now it made sense: He just wanted to really punch a scholar in the face, but the university wouldn't allow him to, so he used the first chance he got to do so.

This fucker, he actually did drag me into that because of his own grudges!

''Do you know how to read?''

''Sorta.''

''Do you know how to write?''

''...No''

This world's language wasn't exactly difficult. It was similar to Spanish, which I already knew, and other romance languages like Latin and French. The problem was, I never had the time to learn it properly, so I could only speak it but not read it.

Thanks to Samuel and Chris's help, I managed to learn how to read a bit, but I still had a long way to go.

''I see. then, let's go in.''

I grimaced, but follow behind her anyways.

As we went up the stairs and got closer to the library, I couldn't help but be amazed at the sheer size and detail that went into making this building.

Intricate and complex carvings were etched into the marble walls, which sometimes gave the illusion of depicting the beautiful flow of a river. As we reached the top of the stairs, we saw the two ornated silver doors.

She pushed the doors open and a wave of cold air hit my face. I couldn't help but gasp at the interior. The place had what looked to be more than twenty floors, with towering bookshelves filled to the brim with books of every size and color imaginable. It was nothing like the libraries in my past world.

The sunlight beamed through the stained-glass windows at the very top of the building and bathed every corner of the place.

We walked further into the room, and eventually reached a wide wooden desk.

''Welcome, is there something specific that you're looking for or would you rather look by yourselves?''

A bronze-skinned man asked from behind the desk. He had long, jet-black curly hair, and was wearing an elegant and detailed orange suit. His manner of speaking and body language gave away that the man was a scholar himself.

I turned toward Elisa, who had her eyes closed in thought.

''I got it. Give me 'Basics of Writing and Reading in Arvarian' and 'Principles of Magic'.''

''Sure thing!''

He smiled and left from behind the desk, disappearing between the gigantic bookshelves. Did he actually know where to find them between all of this?

''Since you don't know how to write and just barely know how to read, we'll start with that!''

---The memories of sleepless nights haunted me yet again. It seems I'll have to remember how to properly study again.