Story 2: Graviton
Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.
Chapter 11: Future Paladin
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- Altair -
I flicked my hand out, the blood that was left on my finger from Shigan flying off instantaneously. I stared at my outstretched hand for a few moments, somehow I could still feel the liquid on my finger despite their being nothing there. I shook my head, now wasn't the time to be in my head about all this.
This was just one step of the journey I was determined to take part in. If I couldn't get over this, then I had already failed at the starting line.
My Magic Sense flared outwards. After killing their leader, I had finished the rest of them off as well. I had debated trying to incapacitate the other bandits somehow so they could be taken in, but the simple fact was that something like that was out of my current means. I knew how to kill, that was it.
It was something to look into for the future. Illusion Magic in particular called to me. There was still a childish part of me that longed to be like Aizen; placing people in my illusions, leading them along like puppets without them even realizing it.
Once I was confident that no more bandits were left, I decided to make my way towards the center of the camp where a single lifeform could be sensed.
With each step that I took, I could feel my long unused Destined Guide Skill flare up. I gripped my rapier tightly, realizing what that meant. The girl that was inside of that tent would impact the direction of my life significantly, that was for certain going by the signals my Skill was giving.
Whether that was a good or bad thing was left to be seen.
The tent loomed ahead of me, its canvas walls flickering faintly from the lantern inside. I could still sense the girl's aura, it was steady and far from weak, despite her situation. It was stronger than most I'd met since coming to this world.
I stepped forward, pushing past the flap. I instantly spotted the girl, she was bound in the corner just like Magic Sense had shown me. Chains were around her wrists and ankles, and her head was slightly lowered. However, the moment I entered, her gaze snapped up, and thus my blue eyes met her purple one.
The first thing I noticed was that there was… intent behind her gaze. I could feel some of her aura press into me from that alone. Nothing that could impact me in any way, but a normal human from this world would have taken a step back.
I could just tell this was going to be a pain.
I raised my hands in the universal gesture for surrender. "Peace, I'm not with those guys."
Her eyes lost some of their heat as she took a good look at me. "Y-You're the one they were fighting?" She asked.
I nodded as I slowly approached her.
"Just one person?" She murmured. It was weird that she chose to focus on that when she was the one tied up and in a rather bad situation, but I wasn't one to judge another's coping mechanisms.
I stopped a few feet in front of her, letting my gaze drift to the chains. Up close, they were even more annoying than I expected. The material wasn't anything I recognized, but the way my Magic Sense reacted to it told me everything I needed to know.
The only question was how that guy even managed to get chains like these that could suppress internal energy to a certain extent.
"You're Japanese then?" I asked, knowing the language thanks to Shizu.
Her eyes widened.
"Are you…?"
I crouched down slightly, extending a hand toward one of the restraints, very slowly as I didn't want to spook the girl.
"An otherworlder? Yeah, I am. I'm going to break these now." I said.
"Can you?" She asked, she wasn't doubting me, she was just being direct.
"Should be able to." I responded as I focused Graviton into something finer instead of a burst of raw power. I remembered what happened with the bandits, too much force, and too little control, despite my efforts to fix that.
Normal human beings were just… fragile to one of the fundamental forces of the universe. A thin point of compressed gravity formed at my fingertip, invisible but precise. I guided it toward the weakest structural point I could feel within the chain.
I pressed down, and for a moment nothing happened.
Crack.
A faint fracture spread along the surface, spreading through the entire chain before shattering.
"How did you do that?" She asked as I stood up.
"Skill." I likely could have used Aura to cut the chain in half, but I wasn't certain if my aura would be powerful enough for that, so I played it safe with Graviton. I moved to the next shackle, repeating the process.
Her tension did not leave her, even after learning I was like her, which was fair if her first encounter with another otherworlder was the guy who held her captive.
The girl's eyes widened as she watched me.
She slowly stood up, rubbing her wrist as she did so, then instantly she moved, not towards me, but away, creating distance in a single fluid motion. Her stance shifted instantly, weight balanced, eyes locked onto me.
I raised a brow, easily tracking her movements.
"Bit paranoid, don't you think?"
The girl's fists clenched at her sides. "Should I not be?"
I paused for a moment. "No, you probably should be, but think about it like this, if I wanted to do something untoward towards you, I wouldn't have let you go, right?"
The girl frowned, nodding slightly.
Seeing as she was being receptive, and I wanted to help her, I decided to continue. The girl was clearly a fresh otherworlder, she even had the classic japanese schoolgirl outfit on, meaning she had been sucked into this world very, very recently.
She was doomed if she didn't receive some kind of help. It was rather amusing that I was taking on the role Shizu took on for me. She'd probably get a crack out of it too.
"I'm an Adventurer. If you don't know what that is, we pretty much get paid for doing the kingdom's dirty work."
"Like dealing with bandits?" The girl asked.
I nodded. "Like dealing with bandits that are too far out, or too strong for the kingdom's knights. I was sent here because of that, now I want to help you." I said, slowly making my way towards the tent flap, not because I wanted to block the girl from escaping, but I didn't want her to run out and be met by the sight of limbs, guts, and other parts of the human body scattered around.
It wasn't a pleasant sight.
The girl's eyes narrowed. "And why would you help me?"
"I was like you at first too, completely lost in this new world, and definitely in over my head, but I met someone. Someone that's a bit too kind for this world who helped me along and allowed me to do somewhat well here."
"So you wish to do the same for me?"
"God no." I instantly responded. "What Shizu did was a lot, I don't think I have it in me to mother hen you around. No, I plan to take you to the capital city and hand you over to Shizu." I said with a laugh. "From there you can learn your options, enroll in the academy with me maybe, and become an Adventurer or do whatever it is you want."
"There is no way back to earth?"
I shook my head. "None that are within our means."
She nodded before she took a deep breath. "Very well, I will accompany you." She said after considering it for a few moments.
With that declaration from Hinata, the constant pulse of Destined One faded somewhat, the event it was signaling having passed.
Weird.
"Great, stay here for a moment while I clean up though."
Hinata grimaced as she realized what I was getting at. "D-Do you wish for me to help?" She asked, clearly putting on a strong front. She seemed rather capable from what she'd shown so far, but I wasn't going to ask something like that for her.
"Nah, leave the dirty work for me." With that, I left the tent and got to work.
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"Sorry, I didn't come on a carriage or anything. I didn't expect to have to bring someone back with me." I told the girl.
She shook her head. "It is no problem, I cannot blame you for these… unforeseen events. Not to mention it feels like I have far more energy than ever." She said in a prodding tone of voice.
"If you want me to teach you some basics about this world, you can just ask." I responded to her blatant prodding.
She blushed slightly. "A-Ah, sorry."
"Don't worry about it." With that I began explaining the basics to her as we walked down the path. I told her about Unique Skills, which she seemed to know of going by her lack of reaction. That other otherworlder probably told her.
I told her about why otherworlders were special, as we were Demi-Material Lifeforms by default, capable of channeling our own internal energy. I told her about Aura and fighting spirit before we settled down for the night.
"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Altair, an otherworlder just like you." I told her as I used a spell to assemble the tent Shizu had given me some time back.
The girl blinked. "Ah, my apologies. My name is Hinata Sakaguchi, it's nice to meet you." She said, bowing as she introduced herself.
I froze for a moment. "Ah shit."
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"Is that it?" Hinata asked from beside me as she stared at the large walls that were situated around the capital city of Ingrassia.
"It is." I nodded.
The night I learned that the girl I saved was none other than Hinata Sakaguchi, I overthought things quite a bit, but I eventually settled on doing things no different than I normally would have with her.
I knew a good majority of her story line since most of it was explained early on in the Tensura series.
Her household situation was less than ideal, she was brought to this world as a stray otherworlder with two Unique Skills to boot, Shizu saved her, and then Hinata became attached to Shizu. Hinata feared this attachment so she left to join Ruberious and would eventually rise in the Western Holy Church and become one of its most well known figures.
I thought she was an idiot for leaving Shizu's care and hurting her for such a dumb reason, but in the end it was her choice. Not to mention that was just a story, this was a real world where people made real decisions.
It seemed obvious, but it was important for me to remember that people might not always act the same way a book said they would. It was better to watch and confirm what I knew rather than assuming things off the bat.
"Let's speed up a bit." I told Hinata as I raised my hand, levitating the both of us under my power. So far, we'd been walking for half a day or so. I had to slow my pace down for Hinata, as despite her otherworlder physiology, she simply wasn't as conditioned as I was.
Over our journey back to the capital city of Ingrassia, I had explained some things to Hinata, the same things Shizu explained to me when we first met. In turn, Hinata asked me some questions as well, like if the otherworlder who captured her was telling the truth.
Of course I told her that he was once I learned what he told her. The simple fact was that otherworlders existed in this world to be exploited. They were either exploited, or they would rise to the top themselves, there was generally no other path for them once a group of people found out about them.
Otherworlders could practically be considered a strategic resource, the equivalent of nukes back on earth. I was just lucky that I managed to find myself under Shizu's care, if not I'd be in a very different situation right now.
My Unique Skill: Graviton made me a force of nature from the start, but these kingdoms weren't small fry that could be crushed by a fresh otherworlder.
During the journey back, some trust had built up between Hinata and I, but she still didn't completely trust me, which was only sane.
I did manage to learn what her Unique Skills were though; of course I had to share my own Unique Skills first.
She had the Unique Skills Mathematician and Usurper. Mathematician was an analytical focused ability, it seemed to be a worse Wise Grimoire, as it enhanced Hinata's own analytical capabilities, whereas Wise Grimoire did that and more.
Usurper was the real bullshit Skill she had. It specialized in "robbing," Hinata did not know the limits of it yet, but I did. She could "rob" Skills, summons, and fully analyze Skills and Arts her opponents used. Then she could even copy those Skills or Arts she analyzed directly.
There were conditions to its use, she had to use it on someone stronger than her, and even then it could be blocked by someone strong enough. If she used it on me, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to block it, chances are I couldn't.
"W-What!?" Hinata explained, clearly shocked as I carried us forwards at far greater speeds.
I directly skipped over the line that people had to go through to enter the capital and went to the side door.
"Ah, Altair! Back already?" I heard someone say as I touched down.
"Ah, Gerald, yeah, I'm back."
"Wait, my apologies, I mean Lord Altair." He said with a bow.
I rolled my eyes. "I don't care for that stuff. Can we check in?"
He nodded. "You're good to go, but who's this?"
"Someone the bandits captured."
Gerald frowned, a pitying look appearing on his face. Hinata may not have known the language, but she could read his expression, and I could tell Hinata was annoyed, but I told her to not let anything show. It was best if no one knew she was an otherworlder, at least not yet.
I'd have liked to give her a chance to settle in first and potentially pick a path for herself before that, as being an otherworlder did come with certain expectations. They weren't forced, but it was hard to say no when you could do the work of dozens of knights without any of the bloodshed.
It was why I had been taking so many quests lately.
"Very well, you two can go through." Gerald said after a moment.
"Thanks."
Once we were through I looked to Hinata. "We're going to the guild first, I need to give my report."
Hinata nodded. "That is fine." She said before she went back to curiously looking around.
It didn't take us long to get to the guild office. "We're going to see Heinz, is he free?" I asked the receptionist who immediately nodded.
"Yes, Sir Altair, he is. I trust you know the way."
I nodded before I looked to Hinata. "Can you stay here? If you come Heinz will likely suspect something about you." I asked Hinata in japanese.
Hinata frowned. "Didn't you say he was a good person?"
"That may be so, but we're still otherworlders, we're still resources. Once he learns about you he'll try to form a relationship with you, try to get a better understanding of you to best learn how to make use of you."
She raised a brow. "Are you speaking from personal experience?"
I nodded. "I am. It's not necessarily a bad thing, as you'll have him as a backer and he has quite a lot of influence, at least in this kingdom."
"I would like to come with you then. Having more people who are willing to support me will make things easier for me in this world."
"You can always meet him later, are you sure?"
"I am."
I shrugged. "Suit yourself then, I tried."
We went up the stairs, and with a knock on his door it opened. "Ah, Altair and guest! You're back sooner than I thought. Come in."
I walked past him and took a seat, whereas Hinata just stood beside me, so I gestured for her to take the seat next to me.
"So, what can I do for you? Did the quest go alright?" He asked, a smile on his face, though it was strained, his worry leaking through.
"...Yeah, it went fine. I have the bodies in my Spatial Storage spell if you could help me get rid of them. Not sure how much longer I can maintain the spell."
Heinz's eyes widened. "Of course! You should have led with that!" He pressed a button and a few moments later his assistant arrived. He told him to make preparations for a mass body disposal and to prepare a cart for them.
I felt the pit in my stomach grow as I was reminded of what I did. I had mostly been distracting myself with Hinata's presence until now, but it was thrown back in my face.
I took a deep breath, something Heinz clearly noticed.
He sighed. "I-I'm sorry Altair."
I shook my head. "It's not your fault. I agreed to go on the quest, it's something I need to learn to cope with."
Hinata didn't understand a word of what we were saying, but she was looking at me with a rather concerned expression, which was odd since we barely knew each other. Maybe it was because I was the first reasonable person she met in this world?
Her care for me would likely fade once she met Shizu and had the chance to settle into this world.
"Still, I was the one who brought it up to Shizu, part of me feels bad for making such a young child do that."
I frowned. "Would a child kill dozens of men without flinching?"
Heinz flinched back. "You are right, my apologies, you are no child anymore, Altair."
I sighed. "It's fine."
Part of me was just upset that he referred to me as a child after all I had done. It made it seem less… real.
Hinata's gaze lingered on me for a moment longer, then she looked away, her fingers tightening slightly against her sleeve.
"…You are troubled." She said quietly in japanese.
I frowned at her giving herself away more than she already had. Heinz blinked, glancing between the two of us. For him Hinata was likely just speaking gibberish.
"Do you regret killing them?" She asked, her expression not giving anything away.
I closed my eyes. I had gotten reports about what that group of bandits had gotten up to. Safe to say, they were the scum of the earth. It wasn't the act of killing them that made me upset, it was just how natural, how simple and easy it felt for me to do so.
I suppose part of me was afraid of becoming a Monster, but in the end, I didn't want to be the one that was indirectly responsible for killing others because I caved to guilt against one group.
If I did it once, I'd do it again, and again, and again. In the end, to become strong in this world, you had to become the Monster, there were no exceptions.
"No, I don't." I responded to Hinata.
"I see."
That was it. No judgment. No comfort. Just acknowledgement.
Strangely, that helped more than anything Heinz could have said.
A knock came at the door, breaking the moment.
"Sir, preparations are ready," The assistant called from outside.
Heinz stood. "Right. Let's get this taken care of."
I nodded and stood as well, gesturing for Hinata to follow. "Stay close."
She did, silent and observant as ever as I was learning about her.
The cart was waiting in the courtyard behind the guild. A few workers stood by, trying, and failing, to hide their curiosity. I could feel their eyes on me, on Hinata, on everything.
I exhaled slowly.
"Alright…" I muttered, raising a hand.
The familiar strain of Spatial Storage pulsed in my mind as I released the contents.
One by one, the bodies fell.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The sound echoed heavier than it should have. No one spoke. Even the workers who had likely seen death before looked uneasy at the sheer number.
I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to watch. To not look away.
This was my responsibility. I wanted to burn the sight into my mind, so that even if it was easy for me to take lives, I didn't forget the cost of it all. I knew I'd have to do this again, but I just didn't want to become numb to it as so many others did.
A hand suddenly grabbed my sleeve.
I glanced down; the arm it connected to was Hinata. She wasn't looking at the bodies, in fact it weirdly, or not so weirdly didn't seem to bother her at all.
"…You're forcing yourself." She said in japanese.
Heinz was looking at the two of us, a certain glint in his eye. He likely heard japanese before, maybe from Shizu.
"Yeah, I guess I am."
"Why?"
"Because if I don't face it now, it'll just come back worse later."
She studied me for a moment, then nodded once.
"…That is logical."
Of course that's what she'd latch onto. Still… her grip didn't loosen immediately. What an odd girl.
The disposal didn't take long after that. Heinz handled most of it, giving orders and keeping things moving while I stood off to the side with Hinata.
Once it was done, he approached us again, his expression more composed now.
"I'll handle the formal report from here." He said. "You've done more than enough today."
"Thanks."
His eyes shifted to Hinata.
"…And your companion?"
Hinata met his gaze evenly.
Before he could ask more, I spoke.
"She's someone I found at the camp. I'll be taking responsibility for her for now."
Heinz studied me for a moment, then sighed.
"…I won't press. But be careful, Altair."
"Always am."
He gave a small, tired smile. "No, you aren't. But I suppose you're learning."
I didn't bother responding to that. I knew Heinz wouldn't leave Hinata just like that, but he was seemingly content to give her some time.
We left the guild not long after. The streets of Ingrassia were just as lively as always.
Hinata turned slowly, taking it all in.
"…It's loud." She murmured.
"You'll get used to it."
"…Will I?"
I glanced at her. There was something… distant in her expression, it wasn't fear or anything like that.
"You adapt fast, you'll be fine." Judging Hinata by her light novel counterpart was wrong, but everything I'd noticed about her so far aligned with what I knew about her.
She looked at me again. "You speak as if you know me well."
"I know your type." I said vaguely.
"Oh?"
"Smart. Cautious. Independent. A bit too quick to cut ties if you think they'll weigh you down."
She went still. "…You're making a lot of assumptions."
"Probably." I shrugged. "Am I wrong though?"
"...No. Is there some other Skill you have? A mindreading Skill perhaps."
I smiled. "Nothing like that, let's just call it intuition."
We walked in silence for a bit before Hinata spoke again.
"You mentioned… Shizu earlier."
"Yeah."
"She is the one who helped you?"
I nodded. "Saved me, more like."
"…Is she strong?"
I snorted. "Stronger than you. Stronger than me, for now."
Hinata's eyes sharpened slightly at that. "…Good."
I raised a brow. "Good?"
"If I am to rely on someone, even temporarily, they must be worth relying on."
I frowned at the way she was thinking of Shizu. "Don't think of Shizu as a mere resource to take advantage of. She's a person dear to me, even if you don't respect me, respect her." I said, a certain steel in my voice that I was surprised by.
Hinata paused for a moment. "You are right, my apologies." She dipped her head slightly.
"Just don't do it again. This is a real, breathing world. Judging people by their value to you makes for a lonely path."
Hinata didn't respond.
Before long we arrived at the academy. I directly went through the side entrance instead of the main gate after scanning my card.
The moment I entered the main lobby Shizu greeted me with a smile.
"Altair!" She said as she rapidly approached me.
"Eh? Were you waiting?" I asked as she quickly hugged me.
She nodded. "Mhmm. Heinz told me that you came by, I guessed coming here would be your next stop and I wished to see you."
I nodded. "Thank you for caring then."
"You don't need to thank me for that, Altair, it's my responsibility." Shizu huffed.
I smiled. "Still, thank you."
"I imagine you experienced quite a lot." She said as she guided us towards a few seats.
I just nodded in response. "We can talk about it later if you want."
"Of course I will want to discuss it." Shizu frowned. She then looked to Hinata who had just been quietly sitting next to us. Shizu raised a brow. "And this is?"
"She's an otherworlder I found."
Shizu merely nodded, likely having expected it from the aura Hinata was passively giving off.
Shizu smiled. "It's nice to meet you. You look japanese, can you understand me?"
Hinata nodded.
"Excellent, my name is Shizu."
"I am Hinata. I have been in Altair's care since I arrived to this world, thank you for teaching him." Hinata said as she dipped her head slightly.
Shizu raised a brow. "Ara, she has manners, perhaps you can learn something from her, Altair."
I rolled my eyes.
"I will make arrangements for you to settle in first, Hinata. Then we can discuss what it is you wish to do." Shizu said.
Hinata nodded, a ghost of a smile on her face. "Thank you, Shizu. I would like that."
With that Shizu gave me a look saying that we would be talking later before she left to make arrangements.
"She seems nice." Hinata said after a few moments.
I nodded. "She's the best."
"You seem to look up to her." Hinata stated.
I shrugged. "Hard not to. She taught me almost everything I know, she's guided me in manners far beyond the scope of a mere teacher, and she's always been there for me when I'm in a pinch."
Hinata nodded. "I understand."
With that, we settled into a comfortable silence before Shizu returned, taking Hinata with her.
Shizu said we'd speak tomorrow, so I decided to get some rest.
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"I am sorry, Altair. I wish you did not have to do what you did." Shizu apologized.
It had been a day since I got back from my quest, during which I'd mostly been bed rotting, but I felt like that could be excused with all my productivity as of late.
"As I told Heinz, it was my choice."
Shizu looked sad but nodded. "I know, I just wished we didn't live in a world where such actions were expected of you. I won't call you a child anymore, but you are still young, far too young."
I didn't know what to say to that, so I just shrugged. "Sometimes you just need to close your heart, the world is dark after all."
Shizu's frown deepened. "The fact that you are right is what troubles me." Shizu sighed. "Still, I wish to be here for you. I remember what my first kill was like, and to this day my actions still haunt me."
"What was it like?" I found myself asking.
Shizu closed her eyes.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." I added.
Shizu opened her eyes, shaking her head. "No, I brought it up. My first kill was my friend. We were both summoned to this world by Leon. I was being trained to be his personal guard, and she was being trained as well. Ifrit was not cooperating with me, and I feared its power. Long story short, Ifrit took me over and burned my friend and her pet to cinders."
I frowned, not remembering that bit from her story. Maybe it was revealed later on. "That's not your fault though."
Shizu shook her head. "It was, but let us leave it at that."
I opened my mouth to respond before closing it. Shizu was multiple decades old at this point. Me casually saying it wasn't her fault wasn't going to help her.
"What did you think when dealing with those bandits, Altair?"
"I thought it would be harder. That I would feel some sort of deep sense of wrongness, or guilt. But what stood out to me the most was that I didn't feel anything at taking all those lives. It felt like just another day."
Shizu nodded, clearly not judging me. "You are not the first to have that kind of reaction. They were clearly bad people, perhaps that had something to do with it."
I shrugged. "Perhaps."
Shizu watched me for a moment longer, as if weighing something in her mind.
"…And does that trouble you?" She asked quietly.
I leaned back slightly in my seat, staring up at the ceiling.
"…I don't know."
That was the honest answer. I wasn't wracked with guilt, nor was I proud. If anything, the absence of either felt more unsettling than anything else.
"I thought it would," I continued. "But it doesn't. Not really."
Shizu folded her hands neatly in her lap. "A lack of reaction can be its own kind of burden."
I let out a small breath. "Yeah. That's what I was thinking."
Silence settled between us again, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Shizu had always been good at that, letting silence exist without forcing words into it.
"…Altair." She said after a moment.
"Hm?"
"Do not grow accustomed to it."
I glanced at her.
"If taking a life ever becomes easy," she continued, her voice steady but firm, "that is when you must be most careful. Not because you are irredeemable… but because it means you may stop questioning yourself."
I huffed lightly. "So as long as I keep overthinking things, I'm still on the right track?"
A faint smile touched her lips. "In moderation."
"Figures."
She stood then, smoothing out her clothes. "You should not isolate yourself too much. Even if you feel fine now, the weight of your actions may come later." I doubted it.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"I mean it."
"I know."
She gave me one last look, gentler this time before turning to leave. "…And Altair?"
"Yeah?"
"I am proud of the person you are trying to become."
I froze slightly at that, caught off guard. By the time I looked back at her, she had already stepped out of the room.
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"Altair, remain after class." Shizu called out. I nodded.
Hinata gave me a passing look before walking past me. It had been almost two weeks since I returned from the quest where I found Hinata.
Hinata had ended up deciding to stay at the academy, she had even gotten sponsored by the Mutual Aid Association like I had been. From what Shizu had told me, Hinata even approached Heinz. If there was one thing I could give her, it was that she knew what she wanted, and at this current point, that was strength at any cost.
She had managed to get private lessons from Shizu as well, and according to Shizu was adapting at an incredibly fast pace, faster than I learned even, which made sense when Usurper was brought into consideration.
But while Hinata could copy whatever Shizu showed her, that didn't mean she instantly mastered the things she copied, so that was where Hinata had been lagging behind. She was a jack of all trades with no mastery at the current point, but I knew that would change.
Though she had distanced herself from me, which I expected. So far, this Hinata lined up with the version of Hinata that I knew from the light novels, and at this point she was still likely afraid of attachment.
It wasn't my job nor desire to "fix" her either. I had done what I could and given her some of my wisdom, but if she chose to take on the same path, then that was on her.
Not to mention, despite my earlier resolutions, I was slightly worried what would happen if Hinata veered off the path I knew she would take. The whole time loop in this world was very confusing; the main thing I was worried about was if Hinata not going to join the Western Holy Church would somehow cause the Time Hero Chronoa to not be born.
I simply wasn't knowledgeable enough to know if the time loop taking place in this world was a closed or open loop; thus part of me was content to just leave her be. Whether I'd keep thinking like that was the only question, as despite everything I didn't want Shizu to be hurt again like she was in the light novels.
She deserved better than that, but I just wasn't sure how I could even get through to a stubborn woman like Hinata.
Once the class cleared out, Shizu pulled up a chair in front of my desk.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Nothing, I just wished to ask you about Hinata. I'm curious about your opinion on her since I want to teach her more closely, like I did with you and Yuuki."
"She's weird." Is what I ended up saying.
Shizu raised a brow. "Oh? How so?"
"She just appeared in this world, and was kidnapped by a group of bandits, and yet she's acting like everything is normal. It's offputting."
I wasn't one to talk seeing as I killed dozens of people and brushed it off, but it was still weird to see from an outside point of view.
Shizu sighed. "There are some people who are just like that, Altair. People who adapt quickly, or their method of coping is to hyperfixate on the actions they can actually take instead of worrying about something they have no control over. Perhaps Hinata is a bit odd for the intensity in which she copes, but it does not make her any lesser for it."
I shook my head. "I don't think she's lesser for it, in fact such a way of thinking is likely going to help her in this world, at least at the start."
Shizu smiled. "Good, then let's leave it at that. Hinata is Hinata, and you are you. You both have your own paths to take, and I will support the both of you in them."
I nodded, not knowing what to say in response to that.
Shizu smiled mischievously. "Though she seems to have latched onto you quite hard."
I rolled my eyes. "She's just curious about her savior, nothing more."
"Yes, yes." Shizu drawled on.
I raised a brow. "She has distanced herself from me, you know." I said, wanting to nip these thoughts of Shizu's in the bud.
Shizu nodded. "That may be so, but she stares at you quite a lot when you aren't looking, and asks me about what you have been doing in this world since arriving."
I shivered slightly. Weird.
"It's not what you think it is." I sighed.
"And how do you know that?"
"I just do, trust me on that."
Shizu rolled her eyes. "Very well, I will say nothing more about it then. Are you prepared for the banquet in the palace? It is taking place in a few days, I will be accompanying you as well."
I shrugged. "As prepared as I'll be? I just have to speak to some people and let the king introduce me, right?"
"That and choose a last name, do you have any ideas?" Shizu asked.
I frowned. I didn't have a last name in the world of Black Clover as I was a peasant, and using the last name from my time on earth felt wrong. I wasn't that person anymore.
"No idea, but I'll think of something."
Shizu nodded before pausing for a moment. "If you'd like, you may take on my last name." She said, slightly nervous.
My eyes widened. "You want me to…?"
Shizu smiled. "I would, I already see you as someone I want to look after, someone I want to watch grow. And I plan to stick around to see where you end up anyway. I think something like this would only make things official, no? It has been quite some time since I had family."
I found myself smiling. "I'd like that then."
Shizu smiled happily. "Altair Izawa it is then."
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Author's Note:
Sup everyone, back with another chapter of Graviton. Slightly shorter than usual, but I found a good place to end it so I just went with it.
Altair finishes off the bandits and meets with a certain future paladin, I'm certain that definitely won't have certain butterfly effects. He was the one to save Hinata instead of Shizu finding her like in canon. I've pictured this scene almost since the start of this snippet, so I'm glad to have finally reached this point.
Things should be picking up the pace here soon now.
As for Altair's reaction to killing people, I hope it made sense when reading. I didn't want him to come off as a cold blooded killer, but I also didn't want him to be overly emotional, and I hope that was the vibe the chapter gave off. I more wanted him to be concerned about his lack of emotions and what he did, as in the end, Altair is just a guy from earth. He may have been double isekai'd, but he still has his roots, and we're taught in society that killing people is bad, that we are supposed to feel guilt, that we should feel bad. I wanted to show that by not seeming to dwell on it much, Altair is already being influenced by the negative, dark side of the Cardinal World. A bit of a different vibe from 'I'm a Daemon, so what?'
Then some more wholesome Shizu interactions, with Altair basically being adopted by her. I know some of you shipped them, but I just didn't get that vibe from them and didn't want to write that kind of relationship between them, so I didn't.
Anyways, thanks for reading, peace!
Thanks to @Salante and @Flowerman for beta'ing this chapter.
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