My Creations Followed Me to Another World-Chapter 18: Intel

The standoff was over.

The situation was calmer now. Only the muddy trickle of a nearby stream and the Knight’s ragged, embarrassed breathing remained.

Sir Kellen was staring at the [Honey-Oat Biscuit] in his gauntlet.

Hana had offered it to him earlier. Like he was a overgrown child who had just thrown a tantrum.

Alistair the Priest was pale. He was staring at Hana, his mind clearly reeling from the "Holy vs Chaos" worldview revelation.

Kyra the Archer had not lowered her bow, but it was no longer aimed at Dante. It was held in a loose but ready grip, her eyes narrowed in pure confusion.

Sir Kellen, a man of "Lawful Good," did the only thing he could.

He was mortified.

SHIIING.

The sound of his longsword sliding back into its scabbard was deafeningly loud.

"I... I..." he stammered. His entire steel-plate frame seemed to deflate.

He bowed.

"Madam," he boomed, his voice thick with shame, addressing Hana. "And... Sir. I... I have made a grievous error. My zeal...my companion’s Sight... we mistook your party. I beg your forgiveness."

Dante seized the opening.

His panic vanished.

’This was an opportunity! I can learn about the lore of this world from these people.’

He just had to play his part: He will become "a clueless but powerful traveler" kind of background.

"Forgiven," Dante said, his voice level.

He stepped forward, putting himself back in the role of leader.

"But... you must understand our confusion. We are new to this road. Your reaction was a bit extreme."

He motioned to Rin-Rin, who was sulking in the cart, her "mysterious" hood back up.

"My talent is volatile. But she is not a demon. What, exactly, did your companion see?"

Alistair the Priest flinched. He looked like a grad student who had just had his thesis shredded.

"It was... her aura," he said, his voice shaky.

He would not look at Rin-Rin. He was addressing Dante, as one "mage" to another.

"My [Holy Sight] is trained to detect the source of magic. Your companion..." he swallowed, "...she shines, sir. She shines like a beacon of pure Chaos."

"Chaos?" Dante asked, feigning ignorance.

Alistair nodded, his academic nature taking over. He was explaining now, not accusing.

"Magic is not emotion, sir," Alistair said, his voice gaining strength. "As you know. It is science. It is law. The Mage’s Tower in Aethelburg, where I was trained, categorizes all known magical sources into three forms."

Dante listened.

’This is it. The rules.’

"First, there is the Divine," Alistair said, tapping his holy symbol. "The magic of the Justicars. It is Holy. It is Good. It is Order."

He then pointed at Hana.

"What your... ummm friend, or wife... just used. That light. That was Arcane. Orderly and structured magic. The magic of Creation. The Spire regulates and teaches this. It is Neutral."

He then turned his gaze back to the cart. His voice dropped.

"And then... there is Chaos. The third source. Magic of pure emotion. Of the Fae. Of the Void. Of demons. It is unstable. And of course it is illegal."

He looked at Dante.

"Your pink-haired companion... she... she is the purest conduit of Chaos magic I have ever felt. By Spire law, she is a Class-3 Unregistered Anomaly. We are required to report such things."

Dante’s blood went cold.

Illegal.

Rin-Rin was a walking J-Pop-singing felony.

Sir Kellen, seeing Dante’s pale face, stepped in. He clearly felt this was his fault.

"Now, now, Alistair," he said, his voice a low, placating rumble. "The man is new as he said earlier. He obviously didn’t know. And his...ummm friend, or wife?... she is clearly an Orderly mage. It is a bit complex situation."

He turned to Dante.

"You must understand. The Spire... they police magic-users. To prevent another... well...to prevent disasters. They are the Law here."

Dante nodded, processing.

"This Mage’s Spire. They are the magic police, huh."

"A crude term," Alistair said, sniffing. "They are academics. But... yes."

Dante looked at Kyra, the Archer, who had been silent this whole time, just watching.

"And you?" Dante asked. "You’re with the Spire?"

Kyra scoffed. A sharp, dry sound.

"Gods, no. I work for a living."

She tapped the Guild-mark on her leather pauldron. A stylized G in there.

"You mentioned a Guild," Dante pressed.

"Oh yeah. The Adventurer’s Guild," Kyra said, her voice practical. "It’s simple. The Spire handles mages. The Temple handles demons. The Guild handles monsters."

Sir Kellen nodded. "Goblins, beasts, bandits. The mundane threats to the realm. The Guild provides the muscle-for-hire. They are the Muscle."

"And... the Temple?" Dante asked, looking at Kellen’s sword-marked tabard.

Kellen’s face became grim. Pious.

"The Temple of the Justicar serves the Divine. We are the Sword. We hunt the true darkness. The Undead. The Necromancers. The Chaos Warlocks who lose control and eventually will break the world."

Dante felt the floor drop out from under him.

He put the pieces together.

The three main factions of this world. The rules.

The Mage’s Spire (Magic Police): They register and control all Arcane mages. They hunt Chaos mages.The Adventurer’s Guild (Muscle): They kill monsters. They are the quest-givers.The Justicar Temple (Paladin Zealots): They kill Demons, Undead, and... Chaos Warlocks.

He looked, in his mind’s eye, at his party.

Rin-Rin (Idol) is a walking pure Chaos beacon. A Class-A felony. The Spire would want to contain her. The Temple would want to purge her.

Hana (Farmer is an Arcane or Order mage. Her [Crafting] and [Gourmet Meal] skills were definitely magic. But she was unregistered. A rogue mage by Spire law.

Subject 47 (Infiltrator) didn’t even know what her [Optical Camo] was. Void magic? Shadow? But yeah, she was definitely illegal.

Shivvy (Rogue) ...was probably the only "legal" one. Maybe? Was her [Inventory] magic? Or a Rogue skill? He was afraid to even ask.

And him.

He, Dante, was the Creator.

He the one who summoned these beings. He must be a Warlock by their definition...right? He was summoning a Chaos entity.

He was, by his very existence, an enemy of all three.

’Okay, my intel run was a success.’

It’s clear now that he was the Arch-Villain. He was the Boss Monster of this world’s entire lawful system.

"Sir?" Kellen asked. Dante realized he had been silent for too long.

"I... I see," Dante said, his voice a dry rasp.

"We... we did not know. We are all just simple travelers. Yeah, we mean no harm. We’re just trying to get to Aethelburg."

Sir Kellen looked at his party.

At Hana’s maternal face. At Shivvy. At Rin-Rin.

He gave a stiff, formal bow. "The Swords of Dawn are continuing our mission. To Oakhaven. To confirm your report that the Goblins are gone."

"They are," Dante said.

"I believe you," Kellen said.

"Alistair. Kyra. We march."

Kyra the Archer just gave Dante a curt nod, her eyes saying, ’You’re weird, but not a threat’.

Kellen mounted his horse, his face still a little red.

But Alistair... the Priest... he lingered.

He walked his horse over, stopping just beside Dante. He was... pleading.

"Sir," AlistRowair said, his voice low, for Dante’s ears only. "I... I do not know what you are. You command both Order and Chaos. That... that is not supposed to be possible."

"You can said that I’m a manager," Dante said, falling back on his only cover.

"I don’t know what that means," Alistair said, his eyes filled with a new, academic terror. "But they will. The Spire. They will not be as... understanding... as I am."

He looked at the cart. "That Chaos entity... she is loud. Magically. They will feel her from a mile away."

His face was grim.

"Be careful in Aethelburg, Sir. The Spire is not known for its curiosity. It is known for its compliance."

Alistair turned his horse and trotted to catch up with his party.

The Swords of Dawn party vanished around the bend, heading toward Oakhaven.

Dante was left standing in the mud.

His buff was still active. He still felt physically strong.

But his Producer confidence... that was gone.

He was walking into Aethelburg as an unregistered Chaos-summoning Warlock, walking his entire illegal party...

...right into the lion’s den.

He got back into the cart.

"Creator?" Hana asked, her voice full of concern. "You look... pale. Are you feeling agitated?"

Dante just shook his head, his face a grim mask.

"It seems I need to adjust the party"