Licia 'The Frost Sword'

After being disappointed by the results of the last roll on the [Skills Banner] the decision to roll on another banner was a mix of rationality and emotion.

I wanted to progress and test what my Gift was capable of, so, getting underwhelming skills seemed to be the perfect storm for me to start trying other banners.

And well, to say that [Faster Tree Climbing] was underwhelming is still and understatement... It would be a miracle to have this become relevant for me even once during my entire life.

Acquiring this skill was the tipping point for me.

Ignoring the [Skills Banner] wasn't wise though, and I knew that.

So I was sure I would go back to it even after being let down.

There was no reason to rush anything, I could just keep at it at my own pace, and if rolling in a banner turned out to be a mistake, I could always just start rolling on another.

With enough levels, I could roll on a variety of banners anyway, so it's reasonable to assume that with enough time I'd be able to win big at any banner.

With this mentality, I ended up doing my first roll at the [Companions Banner], but to be honest, I wasn't sure if it was a hit or a miss.

In front of me stood a girl in quietude. Her hair was a light blue color as if snow had fallen on it, it was thick and long, stretching all the way to her back while some would rest on her shoulders.

It was hard not to take notice of her face, such perfection couldn't be of this world... even a doll made by an artisan would fail to compete, yet she seemed like someone at peace, who wouldn't flaunt her beauty around and wouldn't think of herself as better than someone due her looks.

It was honestly quite mesmerizing, but even if her face was that of a girl that makes you think "No way I'm approaching her, I've got no chance", her body showed no sign of unnecessary fat, even if her breasts and waist are a bit above average, it isn't something you'd call unnecessary by any means.

While I was looking at her, I suddenly recovered a proper state of mind.

it was definitely a bad first impression to be caught looking at a girl's naked body. My only hopes were that thanks to this situation being completely out of my control, she'd forgive me.

But the words that left her mouth at that moment completely shattered my hopes...

???: "...Pervert"

Those are not the first words you wanna hear from a girl.

Somehow, seeing her being spiteful hurt me internally, like venom.

This situation was completely out of my expectations, and so, I first tried to make sense of it and calm her since being alone and naked in a room with a guy must be quite nerve-wracking for a girl.

But even though I thought that, my execution fell flat and I ended up stumbling over my words.

Miwen: "S-sorry I w- I um... was..."

Where would I even begin explaining what happened here to her?

I couldn't think fast enough to both apologize and explain things to her. It was also not helping that her body distracted me even when she tried to hide it with her arms.

I knew I shouldn't look, but it was way stronger than me...

???: "For my body to be defiled by a necromancer, I guess fate really has something against me..."

I felt shivers down my spine.

To be called a necromancer must mean...

She is already dead?

But she looks alive and fine, in no way reminiscent of a zombie or a skeleton.

Also, my Gift never said anything about necromancy, so this must be a misunderstanding on her part.

Obviously, no one wants to have their death defiled, and if this was the case here, I had no intention to do so, as such my first impulse was to deny her.

Miwen: "I'm no necromancer... Y-you're here because of my Gift... I think... I summoned you and you are very much alive."

I could see in her expression that she was distrustful of my words. I needed to convey to her that everything was fine somehow, but it was really difficult to find the right words.

???: "Um... I do feel alive, but I also know for sure I've died. This place is also completely different from where I was before, so I can only conclude that necromancy is at play."

It makes sense for her to doubt me if her memories contradict what I'm saying. It's also a reasonable explanation given her experience.

Even still, I couldn't help but be sad upon being called a necromancer.

It's not really a power I have any interest in. To me, disturbing someone's death is a disgrace. Controlling and robbing someone of even their final rest is as heinous an act as it gets.

Though it's hard to wrap my head around all of this, I've decided to let it go, since the bigger problem at hand was the situation with the girl.

I could think about how unreasonable this banner and the whole prospects of necromancy were later.

For now, the best to do was regain my self-control and put my mind to work on what really matters.

Miwen: "I'm sorry, I know it's hard to believe me, but I mean you no harm. I can use my system to give you clothes for now, but you'll need to accept being my [Citizen]. I'll unregister you soon after it if that's your wish"

???: "...Citizen? Are you a noble? S-sorry I... let me go...."

All of a sudden she became way more on guard. as if hearing what I said triggered something in her.

Miwen: "No way I am a noble, to be honest, I'm not even well off, I just have enough to live every day. And of course, you may leave, but then you'll have to make do with my own clothes..."

???: "...Umm..."

I try to be as honest as possible, while also giving her space and time to think about it.

???: "If I want to leave, will you let me go at any moment?"

Miwen: "Yes."

???: "Tell me your name, and promise me in your God's name."

Miwen: "I, Miwen, promise that you may leave this house anytime you wish, should I fail this promise, may Catherine strike me down."

???: "...Alright... I'll agree to be your [Citizen], for now..."

To be honest, I'm not really a strong believer in Catherine or any other God, but she at least proved her existence, so I guess it's fine if I swear in her name.

It's good that she agreed for now. Taking into consideration that I was afraid of the loyalty of the summoned companion before, this situation is quite favorable, at least I'm still alive.

For now, I focused on the [Kingdom] menu, and inside it, I found the [Citizens] menu.

By focusing on it I could see myself registered as a [Citizen], and I can also invite someone to be a citizen of the kingdom, though I need to input their name.

Miwen: "For me to register you, I'll need your name if that's alright"

???: "Sure. I'm Licia, 'The 'Frost Sword' from Redrock Village in the North Dowa Kingdom."

I only asked for her name, yet she gave me a full introduction, is this because that's what she's used to, or maybe she trusts me a little bit more?

Also, I don't think the North Dowa Kingdom is something that exists in this world.

I already thought her beauty was something from out of this world, but it seems I was spot on in many ways.

It wasn't good to leave her waiting though, so I focused my mind on the [Citizen] menu and registered her.

Her expression changed a little, a touch of sadness on her face giving way to surprise. Perhaps it was due to a menu pop-up?

Miwen: "Is everything alright?"

She took a second to answer, but thankfully, it seemed like she agreed.

Licia: "Yes, I confirmed myself as your [Citizen]."

I'm curious about what appeared in her pop-up, but if she decides to stay I'll ask her later.

For now, I focused on spending my Kingdom Points which had yet to be used for anything.

It took me 5 points for a full change of clothes for her, since I had 7 Kingdom Points stored this was a good jab at my Kingdom Point savings, but I'll survive.

I left the clothes on the ground and turned around, the moment she started changing her hands would stop covering the parts of her body she didn't want me to see.

Now that my head was working, it was obvious that I should let her be.

Licia: "Thanks... thank you!"

I heard her sobbing while she thanked me.

Did the reality of the situation just hit her? Was she glad for the clothes or for being alive once again? Perhaps, was it due to something else entirely?

I couldn't help but feel anxious and I didn't even know what I should be doing anymore, the situation was so surreal and everything just happened so suddenly that...

In the end, even I know those are excuses. Not to act now would be a big mistake.

No matter what, the first thing to do when you see a girl crying is obvious...

Miwen: "Everything's gonna be alright... "

Her cries continued.

Miwen: "I'll be here for you"

She looks at me, wiping her tears.

Miwen: "You're fine now, you don't need to worry about anything"

I felt those words were needed for her, but I'm also not one to go back on such things.

Even if I didn't have it planned, this was the result of the actions I took, so the least I should do is take responsibility for them.

I may not be a sinless man, but I can't take the image of her crying from my mind. If there's anything I can do to prevent it from ever happening again, then, that's what I'll strive for.

I waited by her side until the crying stopped, Licia seemed to be managing to slowly calm herself down.

Miwen: "Look, I know I said you could leave at any moment, but you can also stay here if you want, you know? At least until you can sort out what you're feeling and decide on what you wanna do..."

Licia: "..."

She didn't answer straight away.

I thought about trying to convince her, but I didn't want to be forceful about it, after all, there was no way for me to understand completely what she was going through.

I could only try my best to empathize with her.

Though it might be hard for an outsider to believe, I wasn't offering her this because I planned on taking advantage of her.

I also wasn't thinking about doing anything to her, or at least, planning to.

But the moment I thought about things from her perspective...

Whatever must have happened that led to her death... Then, coming to Earth from a different world, with possibly no way of coming back... Having no possessions to your name, no contact with anyone, completely stranded...

I couldn't help but feel extremely guilty about all of this, If I let her go now, my actions would only have amounted to a new tragedy in her life, one that should have ended already.

I couldn't bear to let things be like this, I needed to provide at least the basics for her, at least until she could stand on her own two feet.

Licia: "...What you gave me... the clothes I mean... they suit my taste, is this also thanks to your Gift?"

I didn't think about that at all.

The clothes were a product of my Gift that's for sure, but were they made this way because of her tastes? They did look out of place in the modern world, but I also thought they suited her.

Did they turn out like this because that's what I thought would look good on her, or is it because she wanted them to be like this?

Miwen: "To be honest... I have no idea, they aren't what people usually wear in this world, but I don't yet understand my own Gift very well... It might be a result of my desire, yours, or a combination of both, I'd need to test more before reaching a conclusion..."

Licia: "I see... it's a mysterious but kind Gift... these are very warm..."

Strangely, the clothes I gave her didn't look particularly warm, but I guess wearing any clothing will make you warmer, at least, more than if you stayed naked.

Licia: "So... Can I really stay here? For now, I mean..."

Miwen: "Yeah no worries, as long as you want to"

She seemed to be relieved upon hearing that.

it was a bit hard to read her expressions, but since she's been on a rollercoaster of emotions, looks like even the most minor of things is affecting her.

Licia: "Do you want me to do anything for you in exchange? You've been very kind and... I would like to pay you back somehow..."

I'd be lying to say it wasn't very tempting to hear that coming from her, and frankly, I might never hear it from another girl as beautiful...

But still, it doesn't look like she wants anything like that right now, she probably just wanted to repay me and didn't actually think how she'd do it or what I would ask for.

Her mind might've wandered in the same direction as mine, but she stopped as soon as she realized it.

For me, as much as it hurts to let a chance like this pass, due to the circumstances, it feels too much like I'd be taking advantage of her situation, and that's something that made me really uncomfortable.

Miwen: "Well... My Gift is more useful the more [Citizens] I have, so could you keep yourself registered for the time being?"

Licia: "That's! ...Fine..."

Miwen: "I don't have the power to do so right now, but if you keep your registration I can get you a change of clothes tomorrow that would look more normal for this world..."

Licia: "If you don't mind me asking, how would you do that? I thought you said you didn't understand how your Gift worked."

She went defensive all of a sudden.

I got the same feeling before, but whenever I mention being a citizen to her, she seems to get agitated.

Add to that how she got when she thought I was a noble, and I can already picture a bit of how her past life might've gone...

Miwen: "Well, there are four possibilities for that, either the clothes are completely random, they suit what either of us wants, or alternatively, it's a combination of our desires."

Given what little information I had, I couldn't get any possibility out of the way.

Miwen: "As for how we'll make it so that we get just the clothes we want... well, I'll just show you what clothing looks like here, you decide on what you want and tomorrow we will both wish for the same, unless it's random, it should come out precisely how we want if both of us want the same."

To call it a solution would be a bit extreme, it was mostly a band-aid fix, but it would work 3 out of 4 times at least. 

Miwen: "How does that sound? "

Licia: "Sounds confusing. If you have the clothes to show me, why wouldn't you just let me wear them?"

Miwen: "I don't have the clothes on me, but I can still show some clothes to you... here, You can see them through this glass, look."

I show her my phone screen after searching for online clothing stores.

And I swear her reaction was unbelievable.

I mean, she seems like a 20-year-old, and for a girl like her at that age to not know what a phone is and to react like it's some sort of sorcery... that alone made my day.

She asked me a bunch of questions about it, and sadly I didn't know how to answer most of them in a way that she would understand.

Instead, I focused on teaching her how to look for other options and categories, really basic stuff that I would never have imagined I'd teach someone else. I also told her that tomorrow I'd use my Gift to manifest them.

Miwen: "...I forgot to ask, but what is your level? The higher the level of my citizens, the more I can do with my Gift."

Licia: "I am lev-.... I was level 83. Now I am only level 1, as for my skills, well... I don't have any outside the ones from the Gift I got when I was born..."

There's a lot to unpack here, first of all, she lost her levels? I don't think I've ever heard of something like that happening, so it's probably a side effect of being summoned.

But what takes the cake for the strangest thing said in her sentence was definitely...

Miwen: "When you were born? Do people get Gifts at birth in your world?"

Licia: "Yes, of course! Is it different here?"

Miwen: "We only get them at age 18 here..."

Licia: "That's... how do your people fight monsters without Gifts? How have you survived until 18?"

Yeah, I don't think I can explain to her that we just shoot them with guns without getting bombarded with a lot more questions...

It's also not completely true since I myself never shot any.

First of all, in cities such as the one where I live, one rarely has to worry about monsters since the dungeons where Rampages happen are often contained.

And then if a Rampage does happen, people in the area of risk would be notified and strong adventurers and the army would be sent to deal with it.

Normally one is only at risk at the sea, in desolate or hard to get to places, and even then, most of these places have restricted access nowadays since we know of almost all dungeon locations.

So yeah, surviving to age 18 is not that big of an achievement... at least when it comes to monsters. Surprisingly enough, more ordinary things are the ones that tend to get in the way of this challenge.

Miwen: "Well, we have some weapons that are effective against most monsters as long as their level is not too high, and we also have a way of knowing where Rampages are happening, so people often evacuate safely and we manage to keep our distance from monsters in everyday life, outside of exploring dungeons of course."

Licia: "Hm... I've never heard of a world capable of that... but that seems nice... forgive me for being a little lost, this is quite different from where I came from."

Miwen: "It goes both ways, I'm also quite surprised by you being level 83 in the past, that would put you among the strongest in this world."

Licia: "Really? I was only a B-rank adventurer in my world... I had a bit of fame in the areas close to where I lived, but my name wasn't even worth mentioning at the capital, I doubt anyone would recognize me there..."

Incredible, she could easily be a celebrity with that high of a level. I don't think even then top parties here on Earth would have refused her either.

Miwen: "I'm curious now, what was the level of the strongest in your world?"

Licia: "I don't know about the entire world, but at the North Dowa Kingdom the strongest was Sir Varehan Of The Silent Magic, he was level 143 and was capable of firing any magic spells without them making a sound, they were unusually fast too."

High speed and no sound... Was this sorcerer breaking the speed of sound with his magic?

It would make sense for someone who doesn't understand the concept to not fully associate the sound that comes after the visuals, even more so if this sound isn't really noisy or is being muffled.

There's also the possibility that his spells were really devoid of sound, making him an excellent assassin if you ask me.

Miwen: "I see, did you know him personally?"

Licia: "Not at all, he worked at the royal court, and since I never managed to go to the capital..."

It didn't look like she wanted to continue. Seemed to me like she probably couldn't go on without mentioning her own death, so it was probably better to leave it at that.

Everything that has happened today managed to even make me forget about my mana depletion, up until it wasn't even affecting me anymore.

But since it's getting late now I'll go take a shower, make dinner, and then sleep...

Which reminds me that I need to teach her how to use the shower.

I asked Licia to accompany me as I showed her around the house.

When inside the bathroom, I turned on the shower and explained that she could take a bath if she wanted to.

I also did try my best to explain how the toilet functions and got her to promise me she'd do her business there at the very least. I can just take care of it later for her anyway, although it would be better if she learned it as soon as possible.

After a bath and making dinner, I let Licia sleep in my room since there was no way I'd let her sleep on the couch.

As for me, the couch it is.

I went to sleep without doing any rolls in the [Mana Banners], it wouldn't be good to have mana depletion, and I could keep focusing on increasing my mana pool at a later date.

It wasn't very urgent since I only got rings and at most a dagger in that menu.