The Cost of Saving the World

Guy and Olivier rejoined the others and saw spells they had uncovered. Guy looked at each of the spells and then keyed in on the spell Diggory found. He knew at once, this was the spell that solves all of their problems. He didn't hesitate to memorize and cast it as the others were voting on the spells. He spoke out loud, "Return." He watched as the room slowly came to a stop and turned black and white. Then everything faded to black.

*****

Ito Aoi stood at the crosswalk, his music blaring in his ears. He turned his head and looked and saw an older delivery truck. Rather than step out, he waited at the curb. The truck passed by and then he walked across the street to get the yakitori he wanted. As he stood there the gravity of what he had just done started to weigh heavily at him his heart tightened painfully. He had saved that world from his ideas and interference but the cost was that his wife, the woman he loved would never have been saved from the awful ending she would have at the hands of the Second Prince and his people. In exchange, she would never have to see her country, her people suffer at the hands of the monster he created without understanding the consequences. Guy knew that he saved millions from the worst fate possible, but each time he pictured her face, remembered her laugh the feel of her skin. It was like a part of him was slowly dying.

As he looked around at the area around his father's dojo it all seemed nostalgic, but the world just felt colorless. He hadn't really been Ito Aoi in years, would even be able to remember his old routines. Could he just pick up his old life as if the last years never happened? Even more horrible, Aoi realized that even if he went back to that world now, the life he had led before wouldn't even exist there. Madeline wasn't in love with him anymore. She would be just a stranger even if he went back now. He thought, 'now that I avoided the trouble that brought me there, none of that even matters. Guy de Montfort should be dead now.'

Aoi found that he was so used to be Guy de Montfort, that even the way he walked and talked had changed. He accidentally discovered that his inventory worked. He was still a mage. Aoi had a status board in his inventory from when they had last tested new students, so he pulled it out to just have a peak. He touched the board and his jaw nearly dropped at what he saw on it.

[Name: Guy de Montfort (Ito Aoi)] [Class: Magic Swordsman] [Level: 37 XP: 1267/100,000,000] All of his stats and his name were still in place. It made no sense, it should be impossible for him to return to Madeline's world. He didn't worry too long about it and just accepted it. In the back of his head, he knew that this must mean there was still a way to return to her, he just needed time to sort things out. Thanks to the habits he built as Guy de Montfort, Aoi started researching all sorts of topics he might use as Guy de Montfort. Thanks to his enhanced intelligence he was able to store all sorts of information with his eidetic memory. Politics, economics, chemistry, physics. He studied as much information on as many topics as possible. He also borrowed reference books from the library on an assortment of topics from metallurgy to advanced subjects like medicine and law.

Aoi occupied his mind in order to not think about her. Her scent, the softness of her skin, the way she would whisper to him when they woke. Three months after coming back, he couldn't take it anymore and decided he had to see her again, even if she wouldn't remember him at all. He decided that the way to see her again was to go back and allow himself to be hit by the truck. When it came time to cast the spell though, he couldn't do it. He saw his father and sister and couldn't hurt them like that again. So he tabled the idea for another time.

Years went by in the real world. Aoi used his new abilities and stats to set himself up with a comfortable business but the loneliness remained. He tried to date a few times but always felt like he was cheating on his wife. He lived as Ito Aoi for ten years before his heart ached too bad for his wife. He had to see her, he had to hold her again. No matter what. Without thinking much about it he thought of that spell and said, "Return."

*****

He had been here for two years already, this time rather than start the Ito Conglomerate, he only helped the Montfort family by enriching Montfort Industries with a few hygienic products. He figured that it was better if he didn't make too large a splash this time. He would only rise with his personal deeds and court Madeline as a top student rather than as a business tycoon. As he approached the Academy his heart began to pound in his chest. He couldn't wait to see her, it was going to take everything in him not to grab her in a hug and kiss her on the lips. After perfectly passing the entrance exam and the swordsmanship exam, guy headed to the library. As passed through the familiar halls he saw the steps of the library.

There she was sitting out front reading a book. She had beautiful red hair that was twisted into looping curls on either side of her face, her emotionless face looked as if it had just a hint of makeup. She looked bored as she flipped through the pages of a book. He walked up and tried his best to recreate their first meeting exactly. She saw him and then put the book down angrily and said, "It's about damn time. How long were you planning to make me wait?"

He looked confused and then asked, "Madeline?"

She sighed and started to cry, "How could you just decide something so important like that on your own? We thought you died." She ran into his arms and held him so tight he thought his ribs would break.

He kissed the top of her head and said, "I'm sorry, I just wanted to save the world."

She wouldn't stop holding him and said, "I cast the same spell, I had to see you again, even if it meant it wasn't the same you."

Olivier, Diggory, Alicia, Doreen, Algernon, and Ella all cleared their throats. Diggory said, "Yes, it seems we all had the same idea and came back at different points to the past."

Guy looked at them and asked, "How far back did you call go?"

They all had guilty faces when they said, "Well, we all kind of had things in our pasts that we felt like changing, so we have mostly been here around two years."

Guy laughed and said, "It's the same for me. I can't believe none of you thought to come to tell me before this..."

Olivier had his normal goofy smile, "None of us realized we had all chosen to come back at first. I just happened to enter Ella's shop last week and then we all started realizing that we were here."

Algernon cleared his throat and said, "Um, yes, I was just worried about Mage Leon, and wanted to see if I could help her through her crisis."

Doreen snorted and said, "So obvious."

They all looked at Diggory who said, "I have been here ten years, I'm still the Royal Alchemist in this timeline."

Alicia said, "I just wanted to avoid causing trouble for Madeline. I have only been here since this morning."

Guy sighed and then said, "Well, I have a lot to tell you all and share with you. I brought a lot more knowledge from my world. With your help, I think we can make this world better a little at a time. I didn't create the Ito Conglomerate this time, instead, I think the things we started to do with the Council of Magic might be the better way to proceed. I won't make that decision alone, I think we should all be unanimous with the path we take, anything else, I am afraid none of us would feel right about the future of mankind."

Madeline started by saying, "There will be an airship. I know that much." She gave Guy a no excuses can be made face.

Guy chuckled and nodded at her. Then Olivier said, "I think for the safety of the world, we need to keep magic out of the hands of others. That means none of us must reveal the secret of magic this time."

They all nodded and Diggory smiled before he said, "I have already taken the liberty of keeping magic out of the hands of Wütendes Menschenreich and Pays Des Abrutis. All of the books of magic ended up in my inventory, oh, that is to say, were destroyed in that tragic fire."

Guy grinned and said, "It seems as if we have all been busy." He gave Madeline a deep passionate kiss and then said, "I guess all that remains now, is to get married and change the world!"