A Tangle of Threads: A Slice-of-Life Urban Fantasy

By Egathentale

Trapped in an artificial-reality battle school, a genre-savvy hero is caught between two girls and four supernatural factions, in this slice-of-life fantasy.
 
Leonard Dunning was supposed to be the comic-relief best friend of the hero in a supernatural harem-comedy narrative. Instead, his rebellious attitude, flirtatious nature, and downright bravado have placed him in a starring role in a fantasy simulation where he possesses superhuman abilities, fights otherworldly creatures, and has won the hearts of two high school girls—Eleanor Dracis, a noble family's princess, and Judy Sennoma, a "placeholder" character awakened by Leo's interactions.
 
His antics have brought him the attention of four powerful cabals: the magical Magi, dragon-clan Draconians, angelic Celestials, and demonic Abyssals. Each of them is trying to fulfill an ancient prophecy involving Leo's friend Josh Bernstein—the story's would-be hero—as their chosen one. But Leo's knowledge of the genre's tropes, his array of out-of-context superpowers, and his loyalty to his friends have altered the narrative and made him the center of attention instead.  
 
Now, he's been branded Leonard Blackcloak and become entangled in several seemingly disconnected plots. And when a goofy mad scientist's army of robots attacks Leo's friends, it's clear the simulation is trying to reassert control of the story with a sentai genre shift. With two girls to keep happy, the side effects of his powers wreaking havoc on his body, and numerous new enemies and allies joining the fray, Leo must uncover the identities of those in control—and what their endgame truly is.
 
The second volume of the hit slice-of-life romantic-comedy series—with more than two million views on Royal Road—now available on Audible and wherever ebooks are sold!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Podium Publishing
• Release date: Sep 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9781039411173

Book preview

PROLOGUE

Where the hell is he? bellowed the voice waking me from my dreams of stellar marvels.

It took me some time to reorient myself. I was still in the familiar not-new, not-dark not-room. I tried to turn towards the source of the voice, but then I remembered I had no head to turn. Or body. Instead, the pitch-black space surrounding me twisted around so that the incensed speaker was right in front of me.

It was a gruff, middle-aged man with a thick mustache. It was a dark, barren moon circling a purple gas giant around a pale blue star. It was both, but neither. It was weird.

Then he/it opened his/its mouth again and The Man came into focus, his features rapidly sharpening like I was looking at him through binoculars while adjusting the magnification.

We need to find him! We are running out of time!

Calm down, the strangely familiar ocean of ruby chided him before it took the form of a businesslike young woman. If we rush things, he will just hide even deeper and then jump out to ruin everything when we least expect it. You know how he operates.

I… I’m not sure… whispered The Boy, his image only faintly overlapping with alien skies endlessly raining molten glass.

What are you not sure about? growled The Man.

I mean… The Boy began, then hesitated for a moment. I mean, he really isn’t acting like himself.

He has a point, The Girl chimed in with a tinkling voice.

True, The Woman relented. But then what do you propose?

There was a long moment of silence before The Boy let out a strained cough.

M-maybe we shouldn’t do anything? I mean, just watch for now?

And how is that going to keep him from ruining our hard work? The Man grumbled as he crossed his arms. I tried to do the same, but I didn’t have any. Being disembodied sucks.

It’s worked out so far, The Girl chirped with a grin. Didn’t we all agree that this was one of the better scenarios we’ve put together in a while?

Yeah, but… The Woman paused. Well, I suppose you are right. Maybe he is trying to turn a new leaf?

Are you serious? The Man said, incredulous. I thought we made this scenario specifically to teach him a lesson. You know, because he’s a prick and refused to change?

Maybe it worked? The Woman stated with unusual uncertainty. I mean, he got hit by the last layer of defenses, didn’t he? Maybe he reflected on his actions because of it.

Hehe—someone is unusually wishful today! The Girl giggled, earning a scowl from The Woman, but before she could answer, the Man spoke up again.

I will believe it when ******* turns his ******* inside out!

And with that, he turned around. Or maybe the not-room turned around him? Either way, he left.

W-wait! I’ll help to look for him! The Boy exclaimed, and they both evaporated, for lack of a better word.

Should we go too? The Girl asked, but The Woman only shook her head.

No, we have better things to do.

So saying, the two of them also sublimated away in short order, leaving me all alone. Speaking of which, I had the feeling I had something better to do than listen to the vague discussions between… whatever these people were. After some thinking, I finally remembered. I was still sleeping, wasn’t I?

Not right now, but yet still. It was hard to explain, but I was somehow still aware, and when I tried to remember where I left my body, the dark not-room around me was subsequently replaced with an actual dark room. My room.

I was still lying on my bed, covered to my neck with blankets. According to the clock on the nightstand, it was just a little after 7 a.m. It was usually around this time I took a shower before heading out. Not this time, of course, since, as far as I could tell, I was currently not inside my body, and thus it had no one to drive it through its morning routine.

It was about time I returned, I surmised. I’d rested long enough, though I couldn’t tell exactly how long that was. Time was working weird in the not-dark not-rooms. However, I soon realized there was a minor problem: I had no idea how to get back into my body.

After a little thinking, I decided I would attempt the tried and true spooky ghost method. I floated above my unconscious body (though again, it felt more like the room was moving under me) and then I slowly lowered myself until I overlapped with it. For the first couple of seconds absolutely nothing happened, but then I noticed a strange, white glow coming from my head. My body’s head, I mean, as I still didn’t have one at the moment…

I tried to reach out towards it by reflex, and I could feel something reaching out, though it wasn’t really a hand or a leg. It was weird, but since everything was weird, I figured it was probably normal. Anyways, once I touched that glow, I suddenly felt a strong suction drawing me in, and then abruptly (and quite unceremoniously) the world around me went black again.

CHAPTER 1

PART 1

I opened my eyes and exhaled. Well, it was more of a gasp, really. The breath escaping from my mouth felt heavy, almost like it had been trapped in my chest for months. After refreshing the insides of my lungs a couple times, I closed my eyes again and carefully massaged my temple. I had a feeling I’d had a weird dream just moments ago, but when I tried to recall what it was, it felt like dry sand slipping through my fingers. Something about rooms and heads and stars or something…

Anyways, after a few short minutes, I decided to stop being lazy and I sat up. Since my eyes were already adjusted to the darkness, I quickly found my clock and realized it was after 1 p.m. Had I slept in?

That sounds subtly wrong, I muttered, trying to get my rusty brain to start working properly, and after a few seconds of prodding, it switched into gear.

Right. That made no sense because I never sleep in. As in, it is logically impossible, since I do not sleep. At all. In the past, I stayed awake for more than a month straight. But if so, then why was I sleeping in my bed and dreaming about star stuff?

The answer came to me with a flash of stinging pain in my abdomen. Right, I remembered. I’d poked my nose into a climactic fantasy battle and gotten an ice spike shoved into my stomach for my trouble. I cautiously rolled up my pajamas to check the damage. The injury wasn’t particularly gory to begin with as far as I could remember, and I’d received magical emergency treatment, but something like that should’ve left a mark.

To my sincere surprise, all I found was a single patch of pink skin on my abs. I let out a soft huh. Perhaps magical first aid was even better than I’d imagined. The spot was a little tender, but considering I’d had the equivalent of a spear stuck in there not too long ago, my recovery still blew all my expectations out of the water. I allowed myself a satisfied smile before it withered as a new question appeared in my head: I’d said not too long ago, but for how long was I unconscious?

My first idea was to look the date up on my phone, but I couldn’t find it in arm’s reach. As such, I groggily threw off my blankets and put my legs down the side of the bed. For a moment, I felt a little lightheaded, probably because of the blood rushing to my head after lying down for too long, but I still rose to my feet without much of a problem.

First, I walked over to the window and opened the curtains, then after a few seconds of thinking, I threw open the windows, too. Fresh air never hurt anyone. Since now the room had better lighting conditions, I looked around again and finally found my phone on my desk. I turned it on, and while the battery was low, it seemed to be working, which was surprising after all the abuse I’d put it through that night.

Speaking of that night, what was the date again? That was the whole reason I had looked for my phone in the first place, wasn’t it? After some fumbling, I opened up my calendar and grunted in surprise. It was October 15, meaning I’d been out cold for… let me see… three days? That wasn’t too bad.

Still, it meant I hadn’t showered in that long either. I decided to rectify the situation, which also provided me with a great opportunity to check the rest of my body for scars, so I picked up a clean set of clothes and headed for the bathroom.

My house was incredibly clean, as always. By the looks of it, my theoretical ninja maids had worked overtime even while I was unconscious. First, I headed for the toilet (for obvious reasons), then I stripped down to my underwear and stood in front of the bathroom mirror.

My face was smooth, without a hint of stubble, which wasn’t surprising. I hadn’t had to shave or cut my hair once since I woke up for the first time, so I figured this would be the case. It must’ve been because of the whole either-simulation-or-a-dream-or-whatever nature of this world, and while it brought my biology into question, I had to admit it was convenient. I checked my skin and found that, besides the already mentioned pink spot on my stomach, I had a couple of similarly coloured scars on my left calf and my left shoulder was a little bruised. Aside from these, I was completely fine. I did a few simple warm-up exercises, just to make sure my body was really all right. It was better to be on the safe side about those things.

First, I did a few squats, then I leaned forwards to touch my toes. I circled my waist, then my neck, and then stretched my three arms. Everything seemed to be in—

Three arms…?

I froze mid-stretch and slowly loosened my posture. I looked at my right hand. Yep, that was definitely one arm. Same on the other side. Two perfectly normal human arms with perfectly normal human hands topped with perfectly normal human fingers.

"So what the hell is this?"

I waved around my third arm or whatever, and the longer I did, the more squeamish I felt. I couldn’t see it, either normally or through the mirror, but I was completely aware of its position, the same way I could feel where my normal hands were even with my eyes closed. When I moved it around, I could feel some wind resistance, and I could even faintly hear a whistling sound as it cut the air, though the latter part might’ve been just my imagination. More importantly, whatever it was, it didn’t have any joints. In fact, it felt more like some kind of invisible tentacle than an actual human limb. It could also pass right through solid objects, such as my visible limbs. When I did that, it delivered a strange tingle to my skin, much like being jolted by a mild electric current.

After waving it around a little longer, I realized that either it could stretch a lot, or it didn’t have a spot on my body it actually grew out from, as I could touch anything within a two-meter sphere around me. After a couple minutes, I stopped messing with it and groaned.

This was so typical.

When other people woke up after being asleep for too long, the worst they found was a bump or scar they couldn’t remember. Me? I wake up with an extra bloody phantom limb! And the saddest part? This probably wouldn’t even break the top five on my weirdest stuff I experienced in the last two months list.

Since it didn’t feel like a pressing problem, I decided to temporarily ignore it and enter the shower, but then my ears picked up some sort of commotion coming from outside. I pulled my underwear back up—and just in time, too, as a moment later the bathroom door was thrown open with a bang.

Leo! came the panicked cry from the girl standing in the doorway. I let out another groan and frowned at her.

What is it, princess?

For a few long seconds, the familiar blonde girl only gaped repeatedly like a fish out of water. At last, after an embarrassingly long time, she let out one of her customary cutesy cries, covered her beet-red face with her hands, and hid behind the doorframe. The whole thing felt somewhat nostalgic; she rarely had these kinds of over-the-top reactions anymore. Anyways, at first I thought she might’ve run away, but a second later, she poked her head around the frame while sputtering at record speed.

S-s-sorry! I wasn’t peeping! It wasn’t on purpose! I swear on the name of the house of Dracis! It was a completely honest accident and I…

And so on and so forth, her motormouth kept making excuses without end.

Did you find him?

The question interrupted the princess. She glanced back and nodded twice. A moment later, the face of Judy, my dear deadpan research assistant, also appeared from behind the doorframe. She gave me an outwardly expressionless look-over, though from the way the corners of her eyes twitched and her cheeks got slightly flushed, I figured she was also somewhat flustered. After a long silence, she pointedly cleared her throat and flatly greeted me with, Good morning, Chief.

Back at you, I answered offhandedly as I directed my frown at her. So, what exactly are you doing here?

We were looking for you, she answered immediately without averting her eyes.

Y-yes! The princess nodded repeatedly, and it only just registered with me that instead of her usual ringlets, she now wore her long hair loose. It was a refreshing look that suited her just as well. Then she started sputtering again.

We went to your room to check your condition, but you were gone, and the window was open, so we thought you were kidnapped! I didn’t barge in to peep; I was just worried! I swear!

You know, I’d have an easier time believing you if you would stop peeking through your fingers.

The princess blinked in incomprehension, but after a few seconds, she let out another cutesy yelp and disappeared once again behind the doorframe. I shook my head and returned my attention to the other girl, who in the meantime had come into the bathroom and was earnestly observing my abdomen.

Does it hurt? she asked, poking at the tender scar on my stomach. I let out a hiss, more in surprise than in pain, and she retracted her hand like she had touched fire.

Only when you poke it, I answered, rubbing the spot.

Sorry, she apologized flatly, but I knew her well enough to understand that she was genuinely regretful.

Hey! The princess once again poked her head through the door and she blindly reached out for Judy, as her other hand was firmly clamped over her eyes. After a few misses, she managed to grab hold of Judy’s blouse and tugged on it. No touching! We had an agreement!

What agreement? I asked reflexively.

You don’t have to worry about that, my assistant answered just as quickly as she looked me over again, completely ignoring the other girl pulling on her, and asked, Are you all right?

Mostly.

Does it hurt anywhere?

As we already established, only when people poke me.

So you don’t need help washing yourself?

No, I’m fine.

Are you sure?

At this point, the princess grabbed hold of Judy with her other hand as well and tugged her hard. She lost her balance, and before I could do anything, they both tumbled backwards and fell on their butts by the door.

Ow! the princess whined while rubbing her hip, but then a moment later, she raised her hand and pointed an accusatory finger at my assistant. Stop right there! You cannot offer such l-lewd services! It’s against the agreement!

Lewd? I asked while trying to raise only one of my eyebrows. It was harder than one would think. Anyways, was she talking about Judy’s offer to help me wash myself? I’d say that was a fairly innocent thing to offer someone who’d recently gotten bitten by a monster, fallen off a roof, and then been skewered by an ice spear. But then again, the princess was always easily embarrassed, so maybe she’d read something into it.

Anyways, at this point, I rolled my eyes and said, I would like to have a shower now, if you don’t mind, and closed the door. I could hear some kind of scuffle from the other side, and the princess repeatedly complaining about some kind of agreement, but I decided to ignore them and whatever love-comedy antics they were up to, even if just for a little while.

PART 2

How’s the tea?

It’s good, thank you, I answered before taking another sip from the cup in front of me. I savored the taste as I leaned back in my favourite comfy sofa in the living room, then breathed out in satisfaction and glanced at the young woman in a French maid outfit standing beside me. By the way, what exactly are you doing here?

I’m looking after Lady Eleanor, naturally, Melinda, the princess’s chambermaid, answered with a mild-mannered smile. Meister von Fraenir decided it was improper for our lady to spend the night without supervision.

I see. I nodded before turning my attention towards the lady in question. "Speaking of which, what are you doing here?"

I’m here to look after you, the princess answered with a slight pout, like I’d just asked something stupid.

So am I, Judy added, blowing on the teacup she held.

Which reminds me, just how did you even get into my house? The moment I asked the question, the princess immediately and pointedly averted her eyes. I gave her a scrutinizing look, which only made her act more forcedly nonchalant. "You know, when you act that innocent, it only makes you look more suspicious."

H-huh? She turned back to me with an astounded expression. Really?

Yes. So, do you have something you want to tell me?

After a bit of fidgeting, she gave me a pitiful smile.

Ehehe… Y-you see, I might have been a little spooked at the time, so when we couldn’t open the door, I… I broke the lock a little.

You did what? I raised my voice, and she immediately began waving her hands defensively.

B-but we fixed it! I mean, Ammy fixed it! With magic! It’s as good as new! No, it’s even better!

I kept frowning at her for a while, but in the end, I let out an exhausted breath and took another sip from my cup.

Fine. I’ll let that slide. I will also not ask how you can break a lock only a little, but I cannot ignore how you are still ignoring my original question. What are you doing inside my house on a school day?

There was a short silence, but probably only because Judy was finishing up her tea. When she’d finished, she placed her cup on the table with a clink and pulled out her familiar pink smartphone. A moment later, my phone on the table let out a jaunty little tune, so I picked it right up, opened up the messaging app, and accepted the attachment.

What’s this?

My report. It will explain why we are here.

Oh? I quickly skimmed through the text file and nodded in approval. You are diligent as ever.

Of course. She nodded with the closest thing to a proud smile her face could produce and then added, I want back pay.

Back pay?

For the last three days.

Still in sandwiches?

She nodded, and I could only sigh at her eccentricities.

Fine, my treat as usual. As for this, I paused and shook the phone in my hand while pointing at the screen. Could you give me a moment?

Sure.

So, let’s see… I glanced around the room for a second, then scrolled through the file while holding the phone close to my chest. According to your report, after we left the purple zone, I collapsed. Angie applied healing magic to my wounds, but since I didn’t regain consciousness, you took me home.

Yes, the princess confirmed.

Why not the hospital?

It would’ve been hard to explain where you got your injuries, Judy supplied the answer.

Oh, and they were half-healed, too! the princess added, desperate to contribute to the conversation. It would’ve been impossible to explain those.

I see, I said, then returned to the text. So you took me home, where I was put to bed. I stayed unconscious until just this morning, and you two stayed over to watch over me.

Indeed! the princess declared proudly, for some reason.

Did I really need guarding?

Yes, Judy stated emphatically. Amelia said that the mages would suppress any information about what happened in the Restricted Space, but some people might still try to take advantage of the situation and try to kidnap you.

You already said that when you barged in on me in the bathroom. When I mentioned that, the princess instantly flushed red to her ears, but I ignored her and continued, Who would kidnap me? The Abyssals are gone, aren’t they?

Not all of them, Judy stated, and it took me a moment to catch on to her meaning.

Speaking of which, how’s Snowy?

The three women in the room sent meaningful glances at each other, immediately raising the warning flags in my head.

Is she all right?

We don’t know, Judy answered dryly. After she woke up, she ran away, and we couldn’t find her.

Judy! the princess hissed while glaring at my assistant, then whispered, We agreed not to tell him yet!

I can hear you, I interjected, but I got totally ignored. Judy just shrugged.

The Chief would find out in no time, anyway. I told you.

But he is still injured! What if he tries to find her and gets into a stupidly dangerous situation again? the blonde girl loudly whispered.

"I said, I can hear you," I told her again, this time a little more forcefully, but I was still ignored, so while they continued arguing, I simply closed my eyes and slipped into Far Sight.

My extrasensory ability, which I still didn’t completely grasp due to my lack of understanding in regards to magic in this world, quickly found purchase on the red dot in the distance. After a split second, I could feel my vision blur, as if I was being dragged across space itself, through walls and everything, and after another split second, I found my disembodied consciousness in a small room.

It was a tidy place, a fairly high-class hotel bedroom by the looks of it. The curtains were closed, but I could still make out the shape of a human sleeping in a fetal position on the large bed. She had several blankets piled on her, so only her head could be seen, but it was obviously Snowy. Her pure white hair was hard to mistake. Her sleep was somewhat shallow, and she tossed and turned twice while I studied her. At first, I thought I might’ve woken her, but then I remembered that I could only observe things like this, without affecting them. Speaking of which, spying on a sleeping girl longer than absolutely necessary was rude, so with a flick of my mind (don’t ask me how that worked; it just did), I was back in my body.

I opened my eyes and beheld the two girls in front of me, still glaring at each other. Well, okay, in Judy’s case it was more of a tiny frown, but considering it was on her normally deadpan face, I judged it had about the same severity as the princess’s scowl. I let out a long breath and reached for the teacup on the table, which had been refilled during my time out. I gave Melinda an appreciative nod, then took a sip and cleared my throat.

She’s fine for the time being, so don’t worry, I won’t rush out the door and get into any ‘stupidly dangerous situations’ just yet.

The princess twitched and gave me a skeptical look, ignoring the way I threw her words back at her, before muttering a similarly critical, How do you know that?

Before I could answer, Judy let out a satisfied huff and answered in my stead: I told you he would figure it out in a moment.

But why is he so certain about—?

I cleared my throat again, this time a bit harder.

Excuse me. I’m still in the room. Stop talking about me as if I’m not here. To my sincere surprise, not only the princess, but also Judy had fallen into a sheepish silence. I shook my head and continued with, So you two have been keeping an eye on me because you thought she might try to kidnap me? Really?

Technically I was only keeping an eye on Eleanor, my assistant objected.

Hey! What is that supposed to mean? the princess flared up again and pointed an accusatory finger at the other girl. If anything, I was the one who had to stop you from u-undressing him all the time!

I was only wiping his sweat, Judy retorted with the frown back on her face.

I let out a long sigh and gestured for the maid to get closer.

Were they like this the whole time I was asleep?

Melinda pondered that, then showed me one of her businesslike smiles and whispered, Milady and Miss Judy actually get along very well. After a brief pause, she leaned a little closer and added, I believe they are only expressing their relief this way.

I see… I think.

She gave me another smile that felt maybe just a little bit mischievous. I’d never seen this side of her, though to be fair, I’d only met her a couple of times before. It was oddly refreshing. Anyways, I cleared my throat for the third time and waited for the two girls’ attention to return to me.

So, back to the report and what happened while I was out cold. Where are the others?

Amelia was only lightly injured, so she’s already back at the School, Judy answered after sending one last pointed glance at the other girl. The last time we talked, she said she was writing official reports about the incident.

I see. Now that you mention injuries, what’s my cover story?

The two of them blanked out on me for a moment, but then the princess quickly spoke before Judy could answer, apparently still desperate to be a part of the conversation.

We said you had the flu! After noticing how loud she was, she toned her voice down a little and repeated, We told them we had the flu.

We?

You, me, Judy, Josh, and Angie, the princess spoke while counting on her fingers in a surprisingly cute display.

So I was out, you two were keeping watch, Snowy is in hiding, and… I scrolled through the text file before glancing up in surprise. Angie is under house arrest? The two nodded in unison. By the mages? They nodded again, and I let out a troubled breath. Another thing to fix. Great. What about Josh?

You can ask him yourself, my assistant stated, earning a raised brow from me. She turned her phone towards me and added, I messaged everyone that you got better. He said he’s coming over.

I wanted to ask when, but then I remembered I had a better way to learn these things. I swiftly entered into the first stage of Far Sight, the radar mode in which I could sense the rough location of people I could observe. To my surprise, I found Josh’s dot coming over at a very high speed, and when I got out of my trance, I could already recognize his moped’s thrum.

I stood up at once and, walking through a crossfire of confused gazes, headed for the front door. I stood there for several long seconds, but just as the princess was about to ask me what the heck I was doing, I casually opened the door. Unsurprisingly, as per the unwritten laws of convenient timing, Josh was already standing in front of it, one hand raised, ready to knock.

I was planning to make this one of those amusing how did you know situations, but my intent flew out the window when I actually saw him. Josh was, frankly speaking, haggard. His short brown hair had a serious case of bed head and his wrinkled clothes suggested he’d just put on whatever was at hand. As far as I knew, he’d done just that. He also had black circles under his eyes, and as our gazes met, he let his arm down but his entire body tensed up like a piano wire about to snap. He took a deep breath, then said in a hoarse voice, Leo, we need to talk.

I couldn’t help but smile at his overly serious tone. I stood aside and gestured for him to enter.

Yes, we do.

PART 3

There was a heavy silence in my living room. I was sitting in my comfy chair, and since the girls were still on the sofa, we brought in a wooden chair from the kitchen so Josh would have a place to sit. Once we all got comfortable (or at least as comfortable as we could get under the circumstances), I lightly cleared my throat to break the ice.

So, I guess you want me to explain what the hell is going on, right? I asked as cordially as I could.

Yes. Josh nodded, but then his eyes seemed uncertain. He added, If you are well enough to talk.

Oh, I’m fit as a fiddle, I told him with a reassuring smile. Thanks for the concern.

I was tempted to say he looked worse than I did, but I refrained. During that brief pause, he clasped his hands in his lap and said, "You told me that once I got roped into this mess, you would finally spill the beans. I think I am very much roped into… He hesitated, looking for the right words, but in the end let out a feeble groan and settled on, … into this weird-ass nightmare."

Now, now, I soothed him with a raised hand. It’s not that bad.

Giving me a flat look, he crossed his arms.

Dude. I got kidnapped from my own bathroom by a literal demon, I was tied up and gagged with invisible rope, then I was nearly dragged to literal hell until the people I thought were my friends showed up and turned out to be… His mouthed worked soundlessly. Then he let out another groan. "The point is, my reality is literally falling apart, and you are telling me it’s not that bad."

I ignored the barbs in his voice and answered as evenly as I could.

First off, let me correct a few misconceptions: You were kidnapped by Abyssals, not demons.

What’s the difference?

I’ll be damned if I know, but apparently there is one, I answered nonchalantly, which earned me another flat look. Second, you were not going to be taken to literal hell, but the Abyss.

Again, what’s the difference?

Oh, I can actually answer that: Hell doesn’t exist, but the Abyss does. It’s something like a pocket dimension copy of this island, and it’s a prison for the Abyssals. Kind of. Anyways—I raised my voice before he could interrupt again—as for your third misconception: the people who saved you are still very much your friends.

Josh twitched. He gave me a dubious look at first, but then slowly exhaled, and I could see the tension leaving his body like an overwound spring finally finding release. He closed his eyes for a moment and then gave me a look that was decidedly less dubious.

I get it, he said softly. I’m listening.

Good! I answered with a grin and leaned forward. I’m glad we cleared that up. However… I stood up at this point and gave a meaningful look to the maid by the couch. Before we continue, since these are confidential matters that could land Josh in quite the pickle, I’d like to ask everyone not directly related to leave the house.

The clock ticked.

Melinda cleared her throat.

I presume that refers to me, she said.

Indeed, I answered.

Wait! the princess interrupted with a fierce glare. Melinda has been my chambermaid since I was eight! She is completely trustworthy!

I gave her my best imitation of Josh’s brand of flat looks and shook my head.

This is not about trustworthiness. While I’m sure she would not gossip about what I need to say, she is still part of the Dracis family.

So am I!

Yes, I answered and raised my hands to indicate she should calm down. However, you are the heiress. You can say no if, say, a nosy old butler tells you to expose everything said in this room. She can’t.

The princess opened her mouth to reply, but before she could say anything, the maid took a step towards the door before she turned on her heels and gave us a small bow.

I understand. I shall return to the mansion and tell Meister von Fraenir about your recovery.

I gave her a small smile and an appreciative nod in return. Thank you for your cooperation and give my greetings to the old man.

Melinda returned the nod and then faced the princess. Milady, I shall go ahead. I’ll make sure your dinner will be ready by the time you return.

Y-yes, the princess answered, seemingly dazed by the maid’s decisiveness. I waited for Melinda to grab her bag and leave, and only let out my pent-up breath after I heard the door click shut.

Well, that’s one down, I said as I stood up.

One down? Judy repeated, looking over us and pointing at the princess. Do you want her to leave too?

What? the blonde girl snapped back. If anyone should leave, it’s you!

Hush, I interrupted them while gesturing for them to be quiet. Then I walked up to Josh and whispered, Could you stand up for a moment? I need the chair.

Um… sure? he responded a touch uncertainly as he got to his feet.

I grabbed said chair and, while being followed by three pairs of skeptical eyes, I moved it to the corner of the room. In said corner, just under the ceiling, floated a small, softly glowing green eyeball. Well, not a physical one—that would have been creepy—but more of a magical… something. I was still not certain of the terminology, but I’d seen enough magic lately to recognize the glow. It was apparently another unique ability, as others weren’t able to see magic, at least not in the way I could. Either way, the stupid thing had been bothering me for a while, but I couldn’t do anything about it while Melinda was around. Call me paranoid, but I decided to start playing my cards close to my chest. The fewer people knew about my unusual abilities, the better, especially since even I didn’t know how they worked.

But I digress. At this point, I positioned the chair just under the curiously swiveling translucent eyeball, then using another of my currently still unexplored abilities, I took a deep breath and extended two fingers before I made a quick cutting motion through the eye. There was a numbing tingle on my skin when I made contact, then it faded as my fingers passed through the eyeball, and as they did so, it disintegrated into green smoke. Then that dissipated too, leaving no trace behind. I let out another breath and got off the chair, returning it to Josh, who was giving me a weird look.

He wasn’t the only one, as the princess was looking around the room with a strange expression on her face.

What did you do? she asked, fidgeting. I got goosebumps all of a sudden.

Still hush, I repeated, and she slapped her hand over her mouth. I gestured for everyone to stay put, then I left the living room to systematically check every part of the house, which took about ten minutes. The results were two more green magical eyeball things, seven tiny balls of blue fire, and something that looked like three oscillating white rings turning around each other like a gyroscope. After I got rid of them all, I returned to the living room and fell back onto my comfy chair with a tired sigh.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, the princess (who, for some reason, was still covering her mouth) asked the question that seemed to be on everyone’s mind: What were you doing just now?

I shrugged. I just dispelled some magical surveillance. Or at least I guess that’s what they were.

Wait, since when can you do that? And how?

I raised my palms once again, and after she quieted down, I used them to point at my increasingly confused friend on the chair next to us.

We’ll discuss this in detail, but I think we should get Josh up to speed first. For a moment, she looked like she might object, but then she glanced over to Josh and nodded. Leaning forward, I clapped my hands to punctuate the change of topic. Now then, here’s the CliffsNotes version of this whole mess. I glanced at Judy, then added, You may interrupt if I miss something.

Mm, Judy mumbled with a nod while she fished her phone out of her pocket and began poking at it.

What about me? the princess interrupted with an indignant frown, but I simply ignored her. Hey, don’t you ignore me!

I let out a short sigh and nodded towards her with, Naturally, you can do that, too.

Elly puffed up her cheeks in an admittedly adorable display that didn’t really fit her age while mumbling something about not being an afterthought, but by that time, I’d returned my attention to Josh.

So, let’s start at the beginning, shall we? First off, as you might’ve noticed, there’s a bunch of supernatural stuff in this world. You didn’t notice it, because there is a masquerade in effect.

Masquerade? Josh interrupted as he masterfully raised a single eyebrow.

Damn, he made it look so easy.

Anyways, back to the exposition: Simply put, the supernatural power blocs are trying to keep a low profile because of various reasons. These power blocs are the Magi, the Celestials, the Draconians, and the Abyssals, along with a few minor factions. In detail: The Celestials are definitely-not-angels with a bad reputation for manipulating people. Then we have the Magi, who are bureaucratic magical researcher types who keep the other factions from running amok. Next are the Draconians, who are aristocratic dragon people with more money than common sense.

Hey! At this point, the princess interrupted me with a scowl that was completely ruined by her still-puffed cheeks, so I smoothly ignored her once again.

Now where was I? Oh, right. The Abyssals. Who are definitely-not-demons exiled into the Abyss which, as I previously explained, is not hell. Any questions so far?

Josh’s hand shot up like we were in school, but he caught himself halfway and crossed his arms again.

I have one. Draconians can turn into lizard-people, right?

"It’s called the draconic form," the princess interjected, pouting.

Josh uncertainly glanced up at her and then back to me. What she said.

Right. They get scales and horns and tails and the whole package.

Like I did that night, Josh muttered before his eyebrows joined into a frown. Does that mean that I am a… Draconian too?

Right, that’s a good question! Elly interrupted again, and now that she’d stopped puffing her cheeks, I could take her seriously. I wanted to ask about that too!

No, it’s a bit more complicated, I said. Let’s leave that for a little later. First, we have to discuss how this all relates to you.

I suppose, Josh conceded.

So, first off, I suppose you already know this, but for clarity’s sake: The princess is a Draconian, along with her family and the maid who just vacated the premises. Angie is a Celestial, as you probably already guessed from the wings and all, while the class rep is a Magi. As for Snowy, by process of elimination, she is obviously an Abyssal.

And you are? Josh interrupted me once again.

I am Leonard Dunning, I answered reflexively, earning a skeptical look from my friend.

"I know that. I was asking which of these… what did you call them, power blokes? Anyways, which one do you belong to?"

I paused for a moment, ignoring the princess’s intrigued looks, and theatrically rolled my eyes.

Damned if I know, I answered with a bit of self-derision. You of all people should know better than to ask something like that.

What do you…? he began, but then realization dawned. Right, I forgot about your… erm… condition. He sheepishly scratched the back of his neck, only to realize what he was doing and hastily crossed his arms in front of his chest again.

Condition? the princess echoed him with a raised eyebrow of her own.

I quickly brushed her off by muttering, It’s irrelevant for now, I’ll tell you later.

You will? This time the surprised question came from my assistant, but now it was her turn to be ignored.

Anyways! I raised my voice to get the discussion back on track. You’re probably wondering why all of these supernatural people are crowding around you, right? The reason is a prophecy. Or rather, a bunch of vague prophecies that probably apply to you.

Right, you told me there was more than one, Elly murmured, looking at me at least as attentively as Josh.

Yes, it’s as I told you. Each of the factions has a prophecy about Josh. In no particular order: The Draconians have a prophecy about a human restoring the old bloodline, meaning it would allow them to be more like dragons with all the benefits. The Celestials’ prophecy is about their dear leader from a few thousand years ago being reincarnated as a human, coming back and ushering in a new golden age for them. The Abyssals’ prophecy, on the other hand, is about a human who can absorb the power of the Abyss, and in doing so would allow their own dear leader to come back and wage war on the rest of the world again. As for the mages… well, I haven’t asked the class rep yet, so I don’t know, but I would bet they have something similar too.

A moment, Judy interjected, and a few seconds later my phone jingled. I glanced at it and then told her with my eyes how she should continue the explanation while I read it. She didn’t seem too thrilled by the idea (or maybe she just couldn’t read eyes), so in the end, I had to do it myself.

So, I began after skimming through the text, "according to what my taciturn assistant discovered from some really old documents in the Dracis library, although they didn’t say anything about the mages’ prophecy beyond the fact that it exists, we know that the Knights-with-the-long-name who are the sworn enemies of the Draconians also have a prophecy. It’s about a young man who would pull out some very elaborately named magical sword from some equally magical stone and then go and beat down all the bad, bad dragons. Kinda clichéd, if you ask me, but if that is what’s written there, then that’s the prophecy."

I put down my phone, only to notice that Josh had raised his hand again. I gave him the go, so he let it down and asked, So… you’re saying all five of those are about me?

I involuntarily raised my brows derisively at the question, then I quickly forced my face into neutral gear and chided myself for being insensitive. It should be laudable that Josh could keep up with the conversation so far without freaking out on us; I shouldn’t fault him for not yet realizing just how absolutely bonkers this world was. That said, I cleared my throat and answered, Yes.

All of them!? the princess exclaimed. You mean, all of those are really about him?

Yes, I repeated.

But… they contradict each other!

Obviously, I answered with a shrug.

So… um… Elly stammered. Okay, so how does that work?

Well, I began, focusing on Josh again, in practice, it means all the prophecies are practically meaningless. Looking at their confused expressions, I steepled my fingers in my best all-knowing mastermind impression. Listen. If there was only one prophecy, then we would have a problem. Prophecies, by nature, tend to throw free will right out the window. If that happened, I would be already working on breaking said prophecy to pieces just on principle. I raised a hand and slowly opened it. However, thankfully we have five prophecies, and at least four of them are contradictory. Based on the track record, I guess we can probably go five out of five. This means that for one of them to be true, four have to be wrong. Saying so, I closed my hand in a way that only my index finger remained outstretched. That means that any single prophecy has an eighty percent chance of being wrong. At that point, either one of them is as good as complete bunk.

But… the princess stammered again as she looked at me with a weird expression. But wouldn’t that mean that our prophecy… it’s wrong?

Wrong? No, not necessary. I told her, which for some reason seemed to immediately reassure her. Now, when you think of prophecies, you think of ironclad predictions of the future, right? What if we look at them differently? What if all of those prophecies are just possibilities, and depending on your choices, you can fulfill or avoid any of them?

Ah! came a soft exclamation from my assistant. Then she stated, They are routes.

"Routes?" Josh repeated after her, a question mark proverbially hanging over his head, but I waved it away.

It’s not important, just terminology Judy and I use, I sent a meaningful look at my assistant, but she was too busy taking notes and didn’t react. So, this actually ties into a previous question. Josh, remember how you turned Draconian that night?

My friend shuddered and answered, How could I forget…

Yes, but can you do it now?

Josh furrowed his brows, then shook his head.

Elly raised a hand. I have a better question. How did it happen in the first place?

All right, let me explain from the beginning, I said, resuming my mastermind pose. We are clear on the prophecies, right?

Everyone nodded.

We are also clear on all of them being bunk, right?

I got another, less enthusiastic nod this time.

"However it also means they all have the potential to be true, right? This time I only got confused looks, so I put extra emphasis on my words. What I’m saying is that if we presume that Josh can fulfill any of those prophecies, it means he must have the prerequisites to fulfill each one separately. Out of all of them, the one that I could confirm for sure was the Abyssal one. According to Snowy, on your first meeting, you showed a reaction when you made physical contact."

Josh visibly twitched at the mention of physical contact, but he remained calm enough to ask, What does that mean?

Well, for a start, the Abyssal prophecy said that their own, I made air quotes with my fingers, "chosen one will absorb the power of the Abyss. According to Snowy, that’s what happened on your first exchange of bodily fluids. Now, that got me thinking, and while I never had the opportunity to confirm it until the incident, my hunch was right. I paused again, this time not for dramatic effect but to take a huge breath, and then pointed at Josh. The thing that makes you special is that you can absorb the powers of others. This is the reason why you can fulfill all of their prophecies: so long as you have someone belonging to the supernatural guys next to you supplying you with some kind of bodily fluid, you can become one of them, even if temporarily."

Combat transformation? my assistant asked as she glanced up from her notes.

We’ll discuss that later.

Wait, let me see if I get this straight, Josh interjected. So I turned into a human dragon because… ?

Because you were given some of the princess’s blood.

So I need to drink their blood to… transform?

I stifled a snort and shook my head. You weren’t paying attention. Remember how I told you that Snowy knew you were their chosen one by kissing you?

So saliva works too? Josh blurted out, earning him a nod from me.

Apparently, though, you probably need a lot more. You didn’t transform on the street when you first met Snowy, right?

"Right, but… what exactly do you mean by ‘a lot more’?"

Probably a French kiss.

A… French kiss?

Yeah, a vigorous one. Seeing that Josh’s ears were getting redder by the second, I couldn’t help but want to tease him a bit. So, for example, if you want to get some fancy angel wings and a halo, all you have to do is get Angie, and then—

Stop! Josh exclaimed. His breathing was strangely ragged. "You keep saying probably, probably. Does that mean you don’t know for sure? Why is it me? Why did all of this happen to me in particular? Why aren’t you telling me that?"

Well, we never had the chance to actually experiment with your ability to transform, so I don’t actually know yet, but— I began, but then I noticed the severity of the looks everyone was giving me. What?

Leo, Josh spoke in a quiet but unusually hard voice. "You didn’t really know, did you? You didn’t even know if this… this transformation would be permanent or not, and yet you gave me Elly’s blood?"

Well, excuse me! I raised my voice in response to his accusing tone. We were in a tight spot, and if I didn’t do that, Snowy would be dead right now. Hell, we might all be dead!

My words hit Josh like a bucket of cold water and he awkwardly averted his gaze, but then he looked back up. Speaking of which, how’s Lili? I haven’t seen her since that night.

She is fine, I told him offhandedly. She seemed a little rattled, but safe. I’ll go and visit her today after we—

Hold on a second! Elly interrupted me while leaning forward, hands planted firmly on the coffee table between us. I already asked this, but how do you know that? You just woke up! Not to mention, you promised you wouldn’t go after her!

No, I chided her, "I promised I won’t do anything stupidly dangerous."

But—

As for how I know, it’s a secret, but if you really, really want to know, I can tell you after we finished discussing things with Josh.

You will? Judy inquired incredulously from behind her phone.

Yes. She gave me a weird look, but I refused to elaborate. Instead, I turned back to Josh and inquired, Any further questions?

PART 4

As it turned out, Josh had many questions, most of which were still about the very basics of the supernatural part of this wonderful, weird, and horribly inconsistent world we lived in, and I tried to answer them all to the best of my ability. Before we knew it, the sun was already near the horizon, though it didn’t seem to bother the others.

So, as I said, I’ll get Snowy today, and then we’ll look into getting Angie out of house arrest tomorrow. I may ask for your help with the latter, you would probably have a better chance persuading the class rep. I finished recounting my plans to Josh. Maybe it was all too much for him to take in at once, but he actually looked visibly worse than when he first arrived, to the point where I worried about his health.

He kept staring at me with a difficult expression, and in the end, he let out an audible groan and massaged his temple while tentatively asking, So, what should I do?

I glanced back at him and told him the first thing that came to mind.

Get a good night’s sleep. You look bad.

That’s not what I meant, he responded with a critical look. "You explained a lot of things to me, and you told me what you’re planning to do, but I still have no idea what I’m supposed to do! Angels, demons, dragons, prophecies—I don’t know what to do with any of this crap!"

I shrugged. Let’s start here, then. First, go home, take a hot bath, get some shut-eye. The Abyssals are out of town, the Mages are neutral, the Draconians won’t bother you because of the princess, and the Celestials are… I paused for a moment and peeked at Judy. She noticed my gaze, and after a moment she shook her head, so I let out a small sigh and told Josh, The Celestials are none the wiser for the moment. You should be safe. Go home, calm down, and sleep. Meanwhile, I’ll try to get everyone together tomorrow and we’ll come up with a plan together, okay?

Josh still looked wary, but ultimately he hung his head and told me, Fine. I really feel like crap, to be honest. He looked up and added, Leo… can I trust you to keep me in the loop?

Of course. You are the center of the loop. It would be impossible to keep you out at this point.

Josh let out a derisive chuckle. You are not making me feel any better, man.

But a good night’s sleep will.

I suppose… With that, he wearily stood up from his chair and stretched. I followed suit and walked over to him. After a moment of thinking, he seemed to reach some kind of decision and offered me a hand. I didn’t actually thank you for saving my skin back there. Thanks.

You’re welcome, I told him as I accepted the offered hand and shook it. I’ll have your back in the future as well.

That’s… Huh. My friend raised a surprised eyebrow and let out a dry chuckle. You know, that’s actually very reassuring.

I couldn’t help but smile at his response.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. After saying so, I waved for the girls to remain seated (not that it seemed like they wanted to go anywhere) and I led Josh to the entrance of the house. Once we were outside, and I made sure there were no magical eyeballs peeping on us, I patted him on the shoulder and told him, Don’t worry, things are not as complicated as they first seem.

He didn’t answer at first, but then he looked behind me as if to check if the girls were in earshot before he asked, Leo, why didn’t you tell me about this ahead of time?

I had my reasons, I told him, then I shook my head and added, You probably wouldn’t have believed me, anyway.

I might have, he answered with a huff. It would’ve at least prepared me.

Trust me, Josh, I knew about this for two weeks, and I still wasn’t prepared.

My words got a surprised frown out of my friend, and he looked me over with dubious eyes.

"Did you just say two weeks?"

Yup.

"And you figured all of this crazy stuff out in just two weeks?"

What can I say? I’ve been busy. I also had Judy to help me. As I said that, I glanced back into the house and then my shoulders sank. Speaking of which, I have to sit down and talk with her. The princess too.

About what?

I debated whether I should tell him, but considering the cat would be out of the bag very soon, I decided to come clean.

About our relationship and stuff.

Hearing my mumbling, the corners of Josh’s lips finally rose a little. He shook his head. You know what? I’m glad that, even when my entire world turns upside down, there is at least one fixed point that never changes.

Me? I ventured a guess.

You. Josh nodded, and added, And your womanizing.

I was tempted to punch my smirking friend on the shoulder, but considering how exhausted he looked, it could keel him over, so I just pointedly shut the door on him, earning me a displeased Hey! from the other side. I didn’t care though, as I turned on my heel and marched back into the living room, where my assistant and the princess were sitting still like mannequins. For a moment I thought they might have overheard what I was saying to Josh, but then again, the princess was way too calm for that. Ultimately, I walked over to my usual comfy chair and sat down with a quiet sigh.

So, I said, slightly awkward, it’s just the three of us now.

Yes, Judy nodded and then raised her phone. Chief, about the prophecies being routes—

Not now, Dormouse, I interrupted her, causing her to twitch.

The princess raised a curious eyebrow. Dormouse?

My assistant shot her a slight squint (translation: bone-chilling glare), which she subsequently aimed at me.

Chief, I thought we agreed you wouldn’t call me that in public.

We are not in public, I told her flatly while I gestured for her to calm down. It didn’t work right away, but then she softly clicked her tongue, which I decided to interpret as her taking a step back. I took a deep breath in turn and looked the two girls in the eye (though not at the same time; that would’ve been hard) before I spoke up again. Since it’s just the three of us, I wanted to have a serious talk with you two.

The princess inaudibly swallowed before she linked her fingers in her lap and insecurely asked, About… what happened at the school?

I shook my head.

No, it’s about the three of us. The moment I said that, the air suddenly became heavier in the room, so I lightly cleared my throat. You know, I just went through a near-death experience, right? I… would like to say it opened my eyes to certain things, but the truth of the matter is that I’ve been aware of our ambiguous relationship for a while.

You mean our love triangle, Judy stated expressionlessly, earning a small gasp from the princess and a silent chuckle from me.

Exactly.

My assistant tilted her