Early the next morning, Tsunayoshi woke right on time with his internal clock.
"Good morning…"
The moment he opened his eyes, he lay there staring at the ceiling for a while before telling himself, "Good morning."
"Up we go. This is day one of officially living in another world."
He didn't have trouble sleeping in a new bed. The bedding here was comfortable; the only issue was that it was summer, and getting up felt a bit hot.
He pictured an ice-attribute slime in his mind. At once, an icy blue slime appeared in the middle of the room, and the stifling heat eased.
"Much better."
The cooling from the ice slime worked nicely, turning the muggy room crisp. Tsunayoshi also felt far less sticky.
"I promised Tiona-san we'd start today by getting me oriented to this world. This swords-and-magic place is even more complicated than I imagined."
For example, the great conflict three years ago, and the "Silence" and "Gluttony" Finn mentioned. There was more to investigate than he'd thought.
He needed to grasp the forces at play here; Loki's standing in this city; and the hostile powers opposed to her. Since he'd made a pact with Loki, he had to know these things—he didn't want to make a fool of himself.
Until he had enough strength, he had no wish to provoke Loki's enemies—both to avoid trouble for her and for himself.
Enjoying the cool air, he dawdled a bit before finally sitting up.
Knock, knock, knock!
As he finished changing, knocks sounded at the door. Curious who it could be so early, he went to open it.
"Good morning, Tsunayoshi."
"Good morning, um…"
"Riveria. Riveria Ljos Alf. Just call me Riveria."
With a gentle smile, she introduced herself.
"Riveria-san, did I oversleep? Do Loki's house guards always rise this early?"
Guards, and calling Loki… Riveria had noticed the wording yesterday, and how he addressed Loki. New recruits almost never called Loki by name; usually it was "Lady Loki" or "Loki-sama," and only later did familiarity shift to using her name. Only Tsunayoshi spoke her name directly.
Riveria had realized yesterday that he didn't know about gods and familias—hence the odd address. Which raised another question: where was he from, that he didn't even know about gods and familias?
She'd have a chance to ask today. She was curious about what Loki was hiding.
"Not every day. The familia's been preparing for the dungeon push, so those of us in charge are up earlier lately."
The dungeon push. Tiona had said as much yesterday. But "dungeon" wasn't a term he fully understood, so he'd shelved it. Today, with the chance before him, he asked:
"Riveria-san, I want to understand what the dungeon is."
"Mm. We have plenty of time today. We'll work through your questions bit by bit. But before that, let's get breakfast."
She had time today to answer him—and she hoped to learn some things about him, too. But first, breakfast.
They headed to the dining hall.
Unlike last night's crowd, breakfast hour had only scattered patrons. Among the familiar faces were Finn and Gareth.
With trays in hand, Riveria and Tsunayoshi sat across from Finn and Gareth.
"Kid, how'd you sleep?" Gareth's voice was steady, carrying an elder's calm kindness.
"Very well. I don't have trouble with new beds—just not used to having fewer home appliances in the room."
"Appliances… Ah, you mean things like magic-stone lamps? Does your homeland have such devices? Orario doesn't have these 'appliances' you mention."
"Mm… I suppose that's just a difference between worlds."
The word "world" slipped right out of him, and Finn, Gareth, and Riveria all stiffened. They glanced around, confirmed no one had heard, and relaxed a little.
"Tsunayoshi, don't say something that important so casually next time," Finn chided, worried by how frankly the boy spoke. Too honest for his own good.
"Even if I didn't say it, wouldn't you already have suspicions? I don't know if Loki-san intends to tell you, but I doubt I could hide it from your probing. Better to tell you than be tested. And Loki-san didn't tell me not to tell you—so I think that's what she intended."
The three exchanged looks, each seeing the others' awkwardness. So the "naive little rabbit" in their heads wasn't so naive; he had some sense.
"That's all on my side for now. Some things aren't suited for open talk, and Loki-san probably doesn't want too many people knowing. What I need is information about this place."
"Right now, I know this is a swords-and-magic world, and that there are people like Loki-san who can detect lies. Beyond that, I don't know much."
So that's why he says "Loki-san," Finn thought, starting to understand his mode of address.
"Tsunayoshi, do you know what Loki really is?"
"No."
"Have you tried to guess?"
"I have. I think Loki-san is someone with status here—like a noble lady of high standing. She feels more like a princess: well-informed, unusually bold. She doesn't seem like just any rich young lady."
High praise. Finn agreed with the assessment—aside from being a bit unreliable at times, Loki was very dependable. He was surprised Tsunayoshi read her so well.
"Your read is accurate… but Loki isn't a highborn lady. She's a deity from the heavens."
(End of Chapter)
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