Zack Adder exited his room, wearing all his Earth clothes, to find [Maid] Eleanor standing ready to guide him to supper with the rest of the [Hero’s Party].

  “Oh, Eleanor! Just the woman I wanted to see.” He smiled blithely.

  The maid deigned to smirk ever so slightly back at him.

  “I do believe I told you to refer to me as [Maid] Eleanor, young man.”

  “Did you? Must have slipped my mind! Hey, how does one go about becoming a [Maid]? Are there [Butlers]? What about…”

  There was always time to gather information and befriend the service workers.

  Even when they’re spies.

  Especially when they’re spies.

  He chattered on as Eleanor guided him though the hallways, into the nice wing of the castle. With a slightly exasperated tone, she answered his questions.

  No, there were no ‘[Maid] bloodlines,’ they were hired from among the lower city commoners.

  Yes, there were [Butlers], but knights were tended by [Squires].

  No, she would not show him the kitchens and the scullery, even if he asked really nicely.

  As if she was going to let a fox into the henhouse. She was still, in fact, the head [Maid] and responsible for her subordinate maids.

  “We’ve arrived, Sir Zack,” she cut off yet another silly question, and opened the door to the parlor in which sat the other three members of the [Hero’s Party].

  “So we have. Thanks, [Maid] Eleanor.” He smiled and winked, prompting an eye-roll, and then swaggered through the doorway.

  “Hey, Zack! Guess what? I got all the armor skills!” Bradley waved from his seat at the table.

  “Finally you’re here, [Otherworlder],” Maria huffed.

  Rosimund merely nodded to acknowledge his presence, and Zack took his seat at the table. Immediately, supper was served: what appeared to be chicken breast atop pasta.

  Definitely some Italian influence, here.

  Or this other world just so happened to independently invent two different Italian dishes.

  While Bradley chattered on, bragging about his progress in just a single day’s training, Zack scrutinized his dish, looking for certain signs and scents, testing for certain tastes and mouthfeels.

  Zack Adder strongly suspected, based upon some of the text in the book he had studied, that there was a [Poison Detection] skill.

  But, nothing happened.

  He detected none of the signs from the book indicating poison.

  And that made sense.

  They would all be in big trouble if there was poison in the food served to the [Hero’s Party].

  “How is your stomach, Sir Zack?” Rosimund asked. “Is the food not to your liking?”

  Zack paused a fraction of a second.

  What had Barclay reported?

  Bradley looked up, mouth stuffed full of chicken and pasta. He rapidly chewed and swallowed. “Zack, you got stomach problems?”

  Zack smiled and shrugged. “I overate at lunch, and so Barclay showed me to the book room, but then I wound up spending the entire afternoon reading…”

  “Ah, you were nerding out.” Bradley nodded and smiled knowingly.

  “Heh, I guess you could say that,” Zack agreed. “But no, I feel better now and the food is great.”

  He took a large bite to demonstrate.

  “Maybe you should refrain from indulging in your gluttony to the point it interferes with your training, [Otherworlder],” Maria said coldly.

  Zack could only smile and shrug once more.

  “Come on, Maria, lay off of Zack,” Bradley said. “I’m sure he’s doing his best, too.”

  Maria scrunched up her face, but Bradley didn’t notice.

  “So, the book room proved useful?” Rosimund asked.

  “Actually…”

  Rosimund was most displeased when he learned about the ‘book room.’

  “That wasn’t the book room…” he groaned, “that was the outdated book storage room. I’m going to have to have words with Barclay about this…”

  Crap.

  Zack hadn’t wanted to get Barclay in trouble.

  Barclay had already compromised with him about his skills; it would spoil their relationship if Zack then went and stabbed him in the back like this, even if it wasn’t intentional.

  Maria was staring at Zack incredulously. “You didn’t find it odd that a book room lacked chairs and shelves?”

  “Huh, come to think of it…” Zack made a show of stroking his chin and looking up at the ceiling to tease her.

  He could swear he heard her grinding her teeth, even across the table.

  Rosimund sighed. “Well, we still have time, especially since both of you already know how to read…”

  “Why wouldn’t we know how to read?” Bradley asked between bites.

  “It’s not important,” Rosimund hastily answered. “For now, Sir Zack, mind your portions and focus on picking up skills.”

  “Alright.”

  “Sir Bradley, we’ve wasted enough time on armor skills, don’t you think? I know you wanted to meet with [The Shield], but I think your time would be better spent on practicing your [Swordsmanship]…”

  “Hmm…” He hummed as he chewed, visibly thinking. “I still think Zack has a point though, you know, from lunch. Defense is really important, even if Maria can patch me up with healing magic.”

  “Healing miracles, Sir Bradley, miracles. Not magic. Healing magic is taboo, and doesn’t work anyway.”

  Zack schooled his expression to avoid reacting.

  “What’s the difference?” Bradley asked.

  “The human body is too complex for mere magic to repair,” Rosimund explained. “It is only by the Goddess’ divine wisdom and power that a body’s wounds and illnesses may be healed. Attempts to heal with mere magic often go disastrously awry.”

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  Healing only by miracles?

  Zack decided that it was probably worth making an effort to get on the Goddess’ good side, even after his bad first impression.

  Maria, eager to show off, explained further. “It’s like with elemental magic: either the mage must be intimately and exceedingly familiar with the element of her spell, or a spirit must mediate on her behalf to ensure the spell’s success. The human body, created in the Goddess’ likeness, is far too complex for a single person to understand such that healing magic would work, nor are their any spirits for the human body: only the Goddess can mediate, and she does so via miracles.”

  “And the strength and speed buffs we talked about?”

  “Sir Bradley!”

  Rosimund cut him off and his eyes flicked to Zack, who raised an eyebrow.

  “Oh, please, I’m sure Zack knows about this stuff already, from our world.” Bradley turned to him. “You know, like in video games?”

  Zack nodded. “Yeah, I’ve heard of that stuff.”

  Maria sighed. “Sir Bradley, they are called ‘blessings,’ not ‘bluffs.’”

  “Buffs.”

  “Blessings.”

  Then it was Rosimund’s turn to sigh. “Sir Bradley, such blessings are not widely known in this world. Please, keep in mind who’s around when you talk about such things.”

  “This is why we shouldn’t eat with the [Otherworlder]…” Maria muttered under her breath.

  Defense, healing, and buffs…

  “Brad, are you trying to make a tank build?” Zack asked.

  The [Hero] snapped his fingers and smiled. “I knew you’d get it, Zack!”

  “A what?” Maria asked.

  Rosimund pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “Like a paladin!” Brad said proudly.

  Zack nodded sagely. “Very fitting for a [Hero].”

  “Right?”

  “What’s a tank?” Maria asked.

  “The important thing is, that I want to focus on shoring up my defenses and [Divine Favor]. [Holy Strike] is going to be my best attack, right?”

  “Hmm…” Rosimund hesitated to answer.

  “So the strat is going to be to stay in the fight, hit ‘em with [Holy Strike] once they’re softened up, and then, bam! We win!”

  “Still, you need some skill with fighting, Sir Bradley,” Rosimund insisted. “Else how will you raise your level?”

  “We can just grind that out, can’t we?”

  “Grind?” Maria couldn’t keep up with the gamer lingo.

  “And you called me a nerd,” Zack quipped. “Were you a big gamer?”

  Bradley flushed a bit, reddening his cheeks. “Er, no… But I played games with Charles, you know?”

  “Ah, okay, that makes sense.”

  “Gamer…?” Maria muttered.

  “So, it’s very important that I meet with [The Shield],” Bradley declared authoritatively.

  And Rosimund surrendered. “I’ll see what I can do, Sir Bradley.”

  They finished eating, and Rosimund clapped his hands in a particular rhythm. Maids entered the room which had, until then, been empty save the [Hero’s Party], and cleared away their dishes.

  “Well, if that’s all, I will take my leave for evening prayers…”

  Maria attempted to leave.

  “Nope, sit down, [Priestess],” Rosimund ordered. “You need to instruct Zack in [Prayer].”

  “Sir Rosimund!” She protested, but the [Guide] wasn’t having it.

  Zack pursed his lips, keeping quiet while the two natives to this world argued.

  It was only the [Hero]’s intervention that ended the argument.

  “I want to learn [Prayer], too. At least how to do it.”

  “Of course, Sir Bradley!” Suddenly, Maria was all smiles, and she immediately launched into her explanation. "So basically, you're talking to Goddess Arianna with [Prayer]. By sending her your thoughts and feelings and requests, she can then use her divine power to grant miracles, such as healing or strengthening. But it's not a simple trade, or like doing magic where if you perform the spell you automatically get the result, okay? The Goddess has to actually like you which is why—" she turned towards Zack, "—this is basically a waste of time since the Goddess doesn't seem to acknowledge you hardly at all." Rosimund started to say something but Maria quickly continued. "However, for the good of the [Hero] and the party, I will now teach you the correct way to pray."

  She then described several methods of prayer: the quick method of genuflecting and focusing on your feelings and desires of the Goddess and how much you love her; the full blown rituals of the Church that require being in a Church or Cathedral; how to pray at shrines and make offerings, and which offerings to make depending on the season or time of day. There was also apparently different prayers and offerings for holy days and festivals but Maria glossed over these and Rosimund didn't stop her.

  After Zack demonstrated that he knew how to genuflect and pray, although he didn’t need anything at the moment, Maria stared pointedly at Rosimund until he sighed.

  Bradley was also praying, and—

  “Whoa!” For a moment, he glowed with bright golden light.

  “Wow!” Maria clapped her hands together. “What did you pray for, Sir Bradley?”

  “A defense boost,” he said, glow slowly fading.

  “Excellent!”

  “Good job, [Hero],” Rosimund added. Then he turned to Zack, still genuflecting, still not glowing with holy light. “And you, Sir Zack? Did you get the skill, perhaps?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Hmm…” Rosimund furrowed his bushy eyebrows, and his mustache twitched back and forth.

  “Man, your cheat skill really sucks, huh?”

  Zack became aware of a semi-transparent eyeball in the corner of the room, which turned to fix its gaze on him.

  He sighed, and said a quick [Prayer].

  Goddess Arianna, I’m seriously not going to say anything. Can’t we let bygones be bygones?

  No answer.

  “It’s not a cheat skill,” he said, belatedly. “Goddess Arianna was extremely clear on that point.”

  Maria and Rosimund both gasped loudly.

  “Huh? What?” Zack looked back and forth between them. So did Bradley, still glowing faintly from his blessing.

  “How did you do that?!”

  “[Priestess],” Rosimund said gravely. “I thought that only those the Goddess favored could speak Her Name.”

  Huh?

  Zack was bewildered.

  “But Maria’s said it a bunch of times, and so has Brad.”

  “Of course I can say Her Name!” Maria exclaimed loudly. “I’m one of her only [Oracles]! And Sir Bradley is the chosen [Hero], who was tasked by her directly to fulfill Her will!”

  Rosimund’s mouth flapped open and close for a few seconds, then he closed it and rubbed his jaw with his hand. “Hmm…”

  Zack and Bradley shared a look.

  “Maybe it’s because you met Her face-to-face?” Bradley posited.

  “Maybe…”

  “But, but, you have no place in Her plans!” Maria protested.

  “Well, She is the one who told me it was an accident…”

  “That’s preposterous!”

  “And yet he can say Her Name,” Rosimund said. “That being the case…”

  “No. As the [Oracle], I’m declaring this matter a Church Secret.” Maria made a serious expression unlike any Zack had seen her make before. “Zack Adder,” she faced him directly, “you are to refrain from speaking the Goddess’ Name from now on, and you shall not tell other people you can do so. Understood? This is an order from the Church.”

  “...Okay.”

  “Sir Bradley, this is serious. You may not talk about this, at all. Understand?”

  “Uh, sure, okay.”

  After dinner, the ‘core’ members of the [Hero’s Party] retired to a small room to discuss secret information about the [Demon King] and his armies.

  A new [Maid], a beautiful woman in her late twenties named Abigail, who was quite interested in his Earth clothes, showed him the actual book room. There was easily ten times as many books in the larger room, with shelves and chairs and desks at which people could read. There was also a [Librarian] on duty, clad in scholar’s robes and armed with a club not unlike a police baton, keeping an eye on things.

  “Are you sure you don’t mind?” Abigail asked.

  “Not at all, if you want to check out the stitching on my clothes tomorrow morning while I’m training, feel free. I’ll leave them on my bed in the morning.”

  “Oh, thank you, Sir Zack!” Stars sparkled in her eyes.

  Figuratively speaking.

  Abigail walked away as though she was walking on clouds, and the librarian made a note in his duty log that the [Otherworlder], Zack Adder, had permission to enter the bookroom and research as he wished.

  But Zack Adder, at least for tonight, had other plans.

  He needed to speak with Barclay, immediately.

  Currently, he would be off-duty. Probably.

  Zack turned to the librarian with a casual grin.

  “So, what’s there to do for fun around here?”

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