3.2

A glitch in the system

Meal time arrived and Hiro made his way to the dining room. After spending the rest of their alone time holding Suiren’s hand, Momo-chan retreated back, there was a lot for him to think about.

All the others were already there waiting. Willow and Malcolm were both wearing something new while Conrad was still in his original clothing minus the helmet.

Owain was setting up the table, the moment he saw Hiro, the man lit up instantly.

“You’re awake, sit down sit down!”

He seemed so giddy, this was the first time they could actually understand each other after all. His mood immediately dampened, however, as Victor entered the room.

“Oh my, I hope I am not too late”

“No no, you came just in time!”

Caron assured the doctor. She didn’t seem to express any sign of disgust toward him unlike the other townsfolks. Even Owain, who seemed so impossibly welcoming mellowed down upon seeing the heretic.

Everyone took a sit at the table which was filled with delicious food. Victor took a look at all the lovely treats.

“Your cooking has certainly improved, Mrs. Pryce”

“I practiced a lot”

“That I have no doubt, you have always been a hardworking one after all”

The doctor gathered his share and took it away. He knew his presence wasn’t welcomed.

“I still need to review some documents, you all have a nice meal”

And with that, he left for the living room. As he closed the door behind him, Caron let out a sigh and looked at Owain. As if she wanted to say something but decided against it.

Now that Victor wasn’t here, Owain was back to his cheerful self.

“So you can understand me now?”

“Yes” Hiro answered, trying not to shrink away against such enthusiasm.

“I have so many things I want to talk, to ask you about!”

“What are they then?”

“Hah, I don’t even remember them anymore, this is all so exciting!”

Owain would hog him for later, there were more people here after all. But still, Hiro wouldn’t mind the chat. He was also in a talkative mode, being stopped by language barrier for so long!

All of this reminded him of something though. The young man turned to Malcolm.

“Um, Burgess-san, can I ask you something?”

“Fire away, Mr. Hiro”

“You have been hiding in the barkeeper’s place since the very beginning. How did you convey your intention exactly?”

To Hiro, asking to hide and provide for someone in secret wasn’t something that was easy to communicate using signals. Malcolm answered without hesitation.

“I talk with him of course, with words”

“Wait, does that mean you understand the language here?”

“Yes and no. The tongue here is rather akin to Welsh, somethings I happened to know”

That name didn’t ring any bell. Was there a language like that? Hiro thought to himself. Needless to say, the young man wasn’t the most knowledgeable about countries around the world.

Malcolm continued with his explanation.

“This doesn’t seem like an ancient variant or anything though, more like a completely different branch. Heck, I could barely understand them”

“Yet you could convey your intention?”

“Just barely, Mr. Hiro. I managed to get across the fact I wanted to be hidden, something that guy performed admirably. That was until he instantly betrayed me under your order, princess”

Willow flinched as she heard those words coming from the youth’s mouth. She gazed upon Hiro, who remains oblivious to that.

Or not, of course he heard that loud and clear when Victor first used that even. He just didn’t want to push her. There must be a reason the girl wanted to hide that from him and he respected her decision.

Malcolm didn’t share that sentiment though. Nevertheless, he stopped digging.

The meal continued in silent, at least until Owain decided to break it. He bombarded all the outsiders with questions about themselves, their place and time of origin.

Hiro tried to answer them at the best of his ability. Malcolm just refused to answer while Conrad remained quiet, he seemed to be shrinking somehow. After a while, Willow also jumped in, although her questions were only directed toward Hiro, however.

___

The time for recovery was over, now was the time for talking business. Everyone gathered in the Pryce’s living room, except for the Pryce themselves.

Hiro could spot a familiar face though, the Cerberus puppy! The small thing was lying next to Victor’s feet, sleeping like a normal dog. The doctor lied back and asked.

“Now, where do you want to start?”

“How about why are we here to begin with” Malcolm replied “The ‘princess’ here said we are supposed to end the monsters but even I can’t see how”

“Well, as you all have noticed, everyone here has what appeared to you as… powers”

“I noticed”

“This world is filled with mana, it is our essence, it makes up everything, from the people to a single rock. Harnessing mana is an incredibly difficult task, especially for us”

“Why is that” Questioned Hiro.

“We are born limited, our ability to comprehend narrow at birth. Most of us could only use mana in one certain practical way and that’s it” Victor petted the creature, one of its head purred slightly… like a cat “We also cannot, in any circumstances, use powers to hurt another being. This limitation is also present at birth”

“How does that work?”

“It means that if we have any intention of hurting others, even monsters, in our mind, our powers won’t manifest. Even if the damage will be done indirectly like throwing a boulder”

Victor threw a small ball made of black smoke which soon dissipated “Of course, we could still just go all physical but punching a huge angry monster isn’t my idea of fun”

“Then what about the ‘princess’ here, her flame could burn. That is if she could even hit anyone”

“Hey, that’s not necessary” Slamming the table, Hiro stood up and faced Malcolm. An act which confused even him. While he certainly didn’t enjoy seeing Willow mocked like that this reaction was still a bit much… for him at least.

It was actually Momo-chan, who unconsciously took control of his body.

“It’s alright, Herald, I still have much to learn. But still, thank you” Willow looked at him and smiled bitterly “I guess I owe you an explanation. I am a daughter of Gottfried von Brandt, the Divine that rule over the South of Eden. Because of that, I am not born with the limitation that bounds my people”

“Then I assume we are the same?” Questioned Malcolm with no hint of mockery in his tone.

“Yes, but you are all so much more. Your bodies are crafted from pure concentrated mana, made to channel it as efficient as possible. The power a true Herald could manifest is immense”

“So you are saying that I could shoot fireballs if I want to?”

“With great practice, yes”

Willow answered with great certainty which didn’t last long as Victor chimes in.

“Actually, not really” The doctor said “Due to the glitch, your body is a complete copy of the original so you can’t channel mana”

“Geez, you had my hope up for a bit there” Malcolm replied casually, he didn’t seem to care much about that “But still, may I ask what glitch is that?”

“Well, how do I say this… One of you wasn’t chosen to be summoned, but a mistake occurs so that person is brought here anyway”

Hearing that confirmed Hiro nagging doubt. That would explain why someone like him was here at all. Willow also looked surprise, this information is new to her.

The young man couldn’t look at her without feeling bad. She put so much faith into him, that he was capable of greatness. Even though there was nothing he could do about that, Hiro couldn’t help but feel like he had let her down.

“That person is Conrad”

“EH!” Hiro accidentally reacted out loud. He hung his head low in embarrassment.

“Oi oi oi, is that real?”

This fact was rather absurd, even Malcolm questioned it. Among them, Conrad was no doubt the most formidable, physically at least. Victor was adamant though.

“There is no mistake here, Conrad IS the glitch”

“And here I thought it was strange for me to be chosen”

Malcolm tipped down his hat and muttered. It was no mean a dig at anyone but Hiro still hurt a bit. The youth did manage to keep that Roman at bay for quite a while. That was league better than him who could only hide behind Willow and Suiren.

Conrad looked at them and said his first word ever the battle “Sorry”

“There is no need for that, it wasn’t your fault” The doctor replied.

The vagabond remained silent for a while before looking down and said “Sorry” again.

For someone so fearsome in battle, he was certainly timid, Hiro thought to himself.

Meanwhile, the Cerberus middle head was yawning. It looked to the one which was purring in confusion. The thing decided that it was probably a dream though and continued to sleep. Victor petted the creature gently before continuing.

“Well, when I said earlier that your bodies are direct copy, it isn’t really correct. There is something different about you Mr. Hiro”

“Eh?”

“Or to more precise, your right arm. The mana channels within are abnormal, which might explain your ability to affect the masked Fallens”

“Is that so?”

“I believe so, but that is just a speculation. I must do some observation to be sure. And for that, can I cut your arm open?”

“Well, it’s al… Wait what?”

“I need to do a surgery to observe the mana channels. Only then could I deduce its function more accurately”

Victor held up his hand, the black smoke came out and soon condensed into a scalpel. He looked at Hiro and smiles gently, holding up the item which was still emitting a dark fog ominously.

Before the young man could react, Willow jumped in.

“No! I won’t let you heretic cuts up the Herald!”

“Don’t worry, he won’t feel a thing. It is just an observation, no more, no less”

“And who knows what you would do. You would just perform one of your ghastly experiment!”

“… Perhaps”

“You! If you dare touch the Herald!”

“What if he wants another hand or something”

That was obviously to rile Willow up and it certainly worked. She was even more determined now if that was even possible. This was still Hiro’s arm though and he didn’t mind the operation. But still, while Victor certainly seemed trustworthy it was still too soon. His title literally was the ‘heretic’ and there must be a reason for that.

And so, Hiro and Malcolm sat back and watch Willow flared off against Victor who was still deliberately provoking her with his jokes. Meanwhile, Conrad was having his eyes fixed upon the sleeping Cerberus.