What In This World! Oh... Wait A Minute. It's Another World.

[Author Note: This is a large chapter]

When we arrived at the castle, we were greeted by father. He had a solemn expression.

"Father?" (Dawson)

He shakes his head, looking down. I think both me and Carmen realized what his response meant simultaneously. At that moment I froze, and Carmen grabbed the front of the collar of my shirt, pulling herself in, and started crying. After a few seconds, I wrapped my arms around Carmen and rested the side of my head on her head, closing my eyes.

Once she calmed down, we changed positions, her leaning and holding on to my left arm.

"When?" (Dawson)

"About the time I received your message that you'd be out for lunch. I heard that she just disappeared, so I waited out here for you so we could confirm what happened by talking to Harrold together. Now, who are these two?" (Ernest)

Said with disdain, "I have not yet been informed on the name of this man," then quickly changing my tone to a polite one, "and this young woman is Ariko Faustina, the one who was being manipulated by that man." (Dawson)

"I was hoping to enlist her as my personal guard." (Carmen)

"Faustina, did you say?... hmm… Well, I'm willing to accept her being such if she passes my butler's test… now I tell you now, princess of the abandoned empire, that such will not be easy." (Ernest)

We all froze in place, none of us knowing how to react to the bombshell that father just dropped.

After about a minute, "Princess?" (Carmen)

"Abandoned Empire?" (Dawson)

"How'd you know that?" (Ariko)

"What is that?" (Dawson)

"I'll explain everything, but first, what's with this man?" (Ernest)

"He manipulated Miss Ariko into doing some sort of musical hypnotism spell. Thankfully, it did not affect me nor Carmen." (Dawson)

"I'm guessing it did not affect him either?" (Ernest)

"No?" (Dawson)

"So, how did you stop this sorcerer?" (Ernest)

"Somehow, when Carmen and I join hands, we can gain some sort of time magic." (Dawson)

"Are you able to show me this?" (Ernest)

"Carmen?" (Dawson)

She nods her head. We join hands then time once again slows to where it is almost a standstill. I then proceed to turn father 180 degrees then stand to what is now his left.

"Okay."

She releases my hand but not my arm. Time resumes.

"Is that good enough?" (Dawson)

"PLENTY!!! THAT'S AMAZING!!!" (Ernest)

"With that ability, we moved Miss Ariko outside and the two guards in front of him, him having already told us that removing Miss Ariko will end the spell." (Dawson)

"Good idea because they are trained to deal with such parties, whereas you have not even finished your basic self-defense training." (Ernest)

"Exactly, so? What is to be done with him?" (Dawson)

"As you bore witness to it firsthand, and I suspect that Carmen would back you on this," Carmen nods, "I will have him immediately sent to the anti-magic section of the dungeon," nodding towards the guards. (Ernest)

"Now, as far as the princess is concerned, I'll explain everything, we just need to first go to my room, so we can sit, for it will take a while."

[Author Note: Info dump incoming]

Us four head to father's room, the butler joining us along the way. Father sits down in the most extravagant chair, Carmen and I sit on the love seat, Ariko sits in the remaining chair, and the butler stands next to father.

"Pardon my manners, your majesty, but how do you know about me, and the kingdom I hail from?" (Ariko)

A large smile crossed his face.

"I know because I was unaffected by the memory manipulation spell that was cast over the world, me and my butler, however, not many were so lucky." (Ernest)

"Memory manipulation spell?" (Dawson)

"Yes, can I explain that your Majesty?" (Ariko)

"Be my guest, you can probably be more through than I could be." (Ernest)

"About 13 years ago, that man, our royal sorcerer, decided that since he was more powerful than our king, that he should be king. He tried to cast a spell that would make everyone forget about the king. His spell backfired, and everyone forgot about the kingdom, thus the land became a land that many lived on yet was controlled by no king. I did not know at the time who did such, but someone persuaded the kings of the countries to let King Dawson have the capital city along with all lands that'd connect it to his kingdom while the others split the rest that bordered it split it evenly. King Dawson then let the forgotten royal family, my family, stay in the castle. For some reason the royal family and all its servants were unaffected by the spell, however, we quickly understood what had happened and that our kingdom was no longer our own." (Ariko)

"Now, you have not yet informed us how you came in service of that man?" (Ernest)

"That's because that is a separate story. I can recount that one now if you'd like." (Ariko)

"Not yet, do you know anymore about the spell, or what happened thereafter?" (Ernest)

"Not really." (Ariko)

"Then I shall explain. After the spell was cast, I realized that my butler and I were of the very few outside of those employed in that castle who were unaffected by the spell, that was after it was brought to my attention by my butler that such a spell was cast." (Ernest)

Turning to the butler, "How'd you know that such a spell was cast?" (Ariko)

"I am a butler that has served No-Shew-Add since its foundation, if I did not know about all goings-on that affects our kingdom, I would not be a good butler to serve the king, now would I?" (Butler)

I think, well he's obviously hiding something, but well, my father trusts him, and so have all the other kings, I guess I should as well. I then hear in my head 'Thank you young prince', so I look at him and see a brief nod. I proceed to laugh internally thinking, 'welp, that's magic for you'.

"I guess not…" (Ariko)

"To continue," (Ernest)

"My apologies sire." (Ariko)

"No worries, I too asked the same question and got the same answer," ending that statement with a smile. (Ernest)

"Anyway, after I found that there were not any within the kings that knew about it, and saw that they were just thinking now about trying to get their hands on a land that to their knowledge was left untouched by kingdoms in the past for no reason whatsoever, I decided to try to negotiate peaceful way to claim that land, since I knew that there was no way they would not want to take as much as they can. I was able to get them all to agree to what Princes Ariko said by merely saying 'I'll stick my butler on those who don't agree'." (Ernest)

"Your majesty, I keep telling you, none underestimate me, who has lived over 5500 years, they know that for one to live so long and to still look as young as I, takes high magical skill, so they dare not mess with me. Saying merely is an understatement when using me as a threat, you might as well have threatened them to death from their perspective." (Butler)

"You're right, I was a little ruthless there, but even you'd admit that is what the times called for, right?" (Ernest)

"That's true, your grace." (Butler)

"So, Ariko." (Ernest)

"Your Majesty?" (Ariko)

"About being in the employ of Mr. Majutsu-shi." (Ernest)

"Right, Meiji… wait, you even know his name?" (Ariko)

"Yes, he actually told me himself before he realized that I knew about who did this from my butler." (Ernest)

Ariko looks at the butler as if to say 'are you some sort of spy'?

"Anyway, Meiji Majutsu-shi is the name of that man. He was able to successfully cast a spell on me that made me do whatever he dictated. However, that spell has one major flaw, if he is caught as a criminal, it is destroyed. As proof, he commanded I never tell anyone about this spell, and what am I doing now?" (Ariko)

Father looks at the butler, who nods.

"Well, that sure explains a lot, such magic, of what element was it? Also, do you know what element the world-altering magic was of?" (Ernest)

"I was told that it was a rare combination of two, Void and Dark." (Ariko)

"To combine those, you need one at Master level at-least and one at God level. To think he possesses that power level," shivers after the last word. (Butler)

"It is definitely most impressive, though, not as impressive as you are my butler." (Ernest)

"Please, sire, I am but a mere butler." (Butler)

"Are you not the one that said that me sticking you on them, would be to the likes of sentencing them to death?" (Ernest)

The butler then hung his head in defeat.

"Ha ha ha, you never change, defending those who are weaker than you, while being humble about your ability, most would say how you do it is contradictory, however, you are just trying to be honest." (Ernest)

"Well, to go to another topic, you said you wanted me to test Miss Ariko? What did you have in mind?" (Butler)

"Character and basic ability." (Ernest)

"Character test already passed, however, Miss Ariko, would you indulge me to test your abilities, if so let's go to the courtyard." (Butler)

"Sure Mister…?" (Ariko)

"Just call me either 'butler' or 'the butler'." (Butler)

"Okay butler, let's go." (Ariko)

We all head out to the courtyard. Suddenly along the way the butler attacks Ariko, the only ones being surprised being Carmen and I. Ariko parried the attack with ease.

"What, I thought you were going to test her in the courtyard, what's with the sudden attack?" (Dawson)

"I was wondering how long he was going to wait, he expected me to lower my guard due to that assumption you came up with Prince Dawson." (Ariko)

"It is part of the test, being ready for anything at any time. I'm sorry for the underhanded method, but that is common in real situations, so I use it for training purposes." (Butler)

"Okay, that's understandable then. I just wish I could have known ahead of time, but I'm guessing that could have alerted her that such could be expected, then it would not have been as good a test." (Dawson)

"Exactly, thank you for your understanding young prince." (Butler)

We continue to the courtyard. Upon arrival, the butler once again attacks Ariko without warning.

"I honestly am a bit surprised by this," said while blocking the attack seamlessly. (Ariko)

The butler then backed off and bowed.

"You do well princess Ariko, now for a match of warriors via rules of the abandoned kingdom. You should know these rules well." (Butler)

"You, think you could win against one who has been taught all their life the rules of such, and then for the latter half of it, has been trained how to defend herself and whoever needs her protection?" (Ariko)

"You seem to forget how long this butler has lived." (Ernest)

"Oh, that's right, I had forgotten, well then, this shall be an interesting match, I ask, no matter how easily you may or may not think you'd win, don't hold back for the first round alone, after that, threat the other matches as you otherwise would have." (Ariko)

"If that's your wish, I will honor it." (Butler)

"Match Start" (Ernest)

We know something happened the moment my father finished speaking, not even a second had passed, yet already…

"Winner of this round, my butler" (Ernest)

"H-h-h-h-how, w-why...….HOW ARE YOU THAT FAST?" (Ariko)

"You need to remember who your opponent is, to not be able to be that fast after having lived as long as I would be nonsense." (Butler)

"O-Okay, could you slow down to about the speed you expect from me? So I can fight on more even grounds?" (Ariko)

"As that is what I was already planning, I will gladly oblige." (Butler)

"Round two, fighters ready?" (Ernest)

They both nod in turn.

"Set… Start" (Ernest)

This time we are actually able to see most of what happens. They are still incredibly fast, however, neither of them are moving inhumanly fast this time, just at such speeds that it's hard to tell what all is happening. Too much happens for me to tell what all happened, but I can tell that they are both skilled fighters. Though, I can see clearly that not only in speed but also in skill, the butler is holding back.

"You are holding back and still at par with me, I am not your match, but I hope you are getting a clear demonstration of my skill, can we add magic to this match?" (Ariko)

"Be my guest." (Butler)

I then see her jump back, then while in mid-air she launches a large ball of… well, I don't know what to call it, I could tell it was of the void element somehow, but I don't know how to describe it. The ball did not look as if it could be made of, any of, the other elements. But right before it reached the butler, it disappeared into nothingness… I laughed inside, void ball disappearing into nothingness, hah… After that I saw her use many magical attacks, I think the only elements she did not use were fire and water. I even saw her use a combination spell of light and dark.

"How did you do that, how can you mix opposites like that?" (Carmen)

They continue their fight while the butler explains.

"I can explain that Miss Carmen, there are no opposites when it comes to magic elements as one may expect. I know many would expect water and fire, light and dark, earth and air, to be opposites, however, that is not the case. All elements with exception of void magic are able to be mixed together. Now I did not say that you can't mix void with others, it's just in only takes being 'Taught' in both elements, whereas to combine elements with void you have to be a 'Master' in one of the two and 'God' in the other." (Butler)

"Okay, I guess that makes sense." (Carmen)

"Is it possible to mix three elements together?" (Dawson)

"Yes, however, it takes being 'Master' in two of them and 'Taught' in the third. Now when I say a rank, that is the minimum, if you are higher, you can still do it." (Butler)

"Does that include void?" (Dawson)

"No, to add void to two other elements, you must be 'Pinnacle' in two of the three and 'God' in the third." (Butler)

"So what about the higher amounts of elements, with and without void?" (Dawson)

"To combine four elements without void it takes being 'Master' in all of them, if you include void then it takes being 'God' in all but one and 'Pinnacle' in that one. For five elements without void it takes being 'Pinnacle' in three and 'Master' in the remaining two, however, for five or more with void it takes being 'God' in all of them. For the six true elements it takes being 'God' in all but Dark, and being 'Pinnacle' in Dark." (Butler)

"So the more elements you want to combine the more powerful you have to be, okay." (Dawson)

We then see him seemingly disappear, however, Ariko seems to know exactly where to strike.

"You thought you'd fool me with such a spell, I'm always casting spells to keep me from falling for such when I'm in battle, even if some call it a pointless precaution." (Ariko)

We see the butler appear blocking her attack.

"I did not expect anything, I am just giving you a test." (Butler)

"I see, well, how am I doing?" (Ariko)

"Good, there is just one more thing I need to test, I'm sorry but this spell is impossible for someone at your power to block or counter with magic, it's a test of will." (Butler)

[Author Note: some content that is not good for young readers coming up, just a brief bit tho]

We then see a ball of light surrounding her, it then shrinks until it disappears seeming to have its core at her heart. She suddenly blushes then seems to become angry.

"!!IF YOU THINK SUCH AN ATTACK CAN WORK ON ME FOR MORE THAN A MOMENT, YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER THING COMING!!" (Ariko)

"Like I said before, I'm just testing you." (Butler)

Then out of nowhere, the butler's hands are on Ariko's b.r.e.a.s.ts. And she m.o.a.ns, seemingly due to the stimulation.

"W-w-w-what are y-y-you d-d-doing to her-r!?!?" (Carmen)

"Sorry Miss Carmen, this is a test of fortitude, very few people get 100% on this test, but I am just trying to see if she will pass." (Butler)

About 10 seconds after he started groping her b.r.e.a.s.ts, she came back to her senses and flipped him in front of her.

"Now as penance for my actions, I will stand here and take your beast strike, I am not without honor." (Butler)

With a flushed face, she hits him so fast I don't even see her move until after I see him flying through the air. I then see him stop in midair.

"You have passed every part of my test well, the last part is the one you were closest to failing, but that's not a bad thing, it shows you are true to yourself while being able to identify what is really your own emotion, and what's being given to you" (Butler)

"What would it take to pass your last test with 100%?" (Carmen)

"It would take having no reaction to the spell itself, which makes it feel like you are in love with the person who cast it on you and makes it to where any stimulation is 30 times as effective as it normally is. Then when I add some stimulation, you immediately try to stop me." (Butler)

Ariko, Carmen, and I blushed.

"Has anyone ever got 100% on that test?" (Carmen)

"Yes, a 'true god'." (Butler)

"Well, since you passed his test Ariko, if you truly wish to be my niece's personal guard, I am all for it. Though, are you satisfied with such a lowly position?" (Ernest)

"I have done many vile deeds under the order of that man, this is the least I could do as penance for my actions." (Ariko)

"Understood, well, onto another note, I think it's time to go to see Harrold." (Ernest)

"Pardon me, who is Harrold?" (Ariko)

"Harrold is the husband of the one who passed away in our care, Honey." (Carmen)

We, led by father, went to the room in which Honey breathed her last. When we arrived we saw Harrold asleep sitting on the floor with his head and arms on the bed. And on the bed were the clothes that Honey was wearing like she just vanished from within her clothes.

Keeping my voice low, "Should we wake him?" (Dawson)

"I understand he's been through a lot, but he was the only one in here when it happened, I heard that she awoke and asked for the maids to leave for 10 minutes, so she could be alone with her husband, we don't know what happened during that time, but when the maids returned, she was gone." (Ernest)

The butler nods and goes to wake Harrold.

Lightly shaking his shoulder, "Mister Shew, Mister Shew…" (Butler)

Harrold awakes.

"I apologize Mister Shew, we need to speak with you though," gesturing towards us. (Butler)

In a solemn voice, "I… I understand, what can I do for you, my king?" (Harrold)

"This is not more than a request, you have every right to deny it… that said, would you be so kind to enlighten us to what happened to Honey?" (Ernest)

"Could we go somewhere else where we could all sit?" (Harrold)

"Follow me." (Butler)

We all follow the butler to what seems to be a small conference room. Once we are all seated, including the butler this time, there are two seats free.

"Okay," takes a deep breath, "A little before lunchtime today…" his stomach grumbles, he scoffs, "Oh, yeah, I haven't eaten since breakfast…" (Harrold)

"Shall I have dinner prepared and brought here?" (Butler)

"I don't like talking while eating, can we finish this before we eat?" (Harrold)

"Go have them start preparations for dinner, to be eaten in the dining room, we'll go there when we finish." (Ernest)

"Right away." (Butler)

He leaves to do such.

"Thank you, your majesty." (Harrold)

"It's nothing." (Ernest)

"Well," takes a deep breath, "like I was saying before, a little before lunchtime today Honey woke up. Upon waking up she smiled then asked the maids to leave for 10 minutes." (Harrold)

He paused for about a minute then continued.

"Once the maids had departed, she told me that she knew she was about to leave this world," a tear rolled down his cheek, "she continued to tell me that she was happy with the time we spent together, and wanted the last sound she heard to be our song… so she asked me to sing it for her. I obliged and when I was about halfway through she started to disintegrate, I could tell that she was not in any pain and knew that these were her last moments. She died with a smile on her face." (Harrold)

Once Harrold finished, he broke down crying with his arms crossed on the table head in his arms.

"Thank you, Harrold, no one has ever seen someone die from that spell before, so I wanted to know what happens, and also I was hoping that she at least died without pain, I'm happy to hear that such was true." (Ernest)

We then waited until Harrold had calmed down, then went to have dinner.

______

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