AI: Artificial Isekai

As we are walking, Khi's tail smacks against my waist a couple of times. "You seem distracted."

"Huh?"

"I said, I'm thinking of dyeing my tail bright pink."

"Yeah, it would look good on you."

Khi snickers and smacks me a few more times for good measure. "There is such a thing as being too polite." She grasps her hands behind her back and proceeds to swish her tail around. "Am I the reason for your discontent?"

"Some of it."

"Adding to my previous statement, too sincere is also a less than desirable quality."

"You asked."

"I... I'm sorry, Lucius. I didn't mean to irritate you." The tail droops.

A big sigh lets out as much pressure as it can. "No. I'm the one that's sorry. You are not the reason for the daze I find myself in today, Khi. It's unrelated matters. Personal matters."

"Oh... Anything I can help with?" The tail springs up again.

"No, no. Nothing to worry about. Let's focus on monster subjugation." The tail settles in a middle state.

A dungeon gate comes into view, like a blue splotch on the outside of the city's wall. Coalesced just yesterday. What perfect timing.

When we reach the portal, I enter first and then exit almost immediately. A quick check to see if the dungeon is a trial. With that specific scouted, the other beastfolk join me during my second entrance.

Lumbering ogres inhabit the dungeon. They fall one by one, electrocuted with impunity, Khi pushing more and more power into her attacks, constantly trying to improve her endurance. As we reach the boss, the princess reaches her limit, having been slightly too eager with her improvements. I pick up the slack. The two-headed boss variant ogre is meticulously disassembled by a combination of sword strokes and metal spells. Soon, another dungeon is destroyed.

"It must be really bad," Khi says. "You didn't even enjoy that." I can only sigh in response. She thinks for a moment and then beckons one of the beastfolk tasked with handling teleportations. Kor'To listens in on their hushed conversation, only to let out a sigh of his own. After a few more sentences, Khi smiles and turns to me. "Alright, let's go."

"Go where?"

"Get your mind off of things."

"I'm fine, Khi. You should go rest up."

The princess bounces up and down, any tiredness seemingly having evaporated away. "Someone wise once said that energy is a state of mind."

"No, he was an idiot."

She laughs and grabs me by the arm, pulling me close to the rest of the now grouped up beastfolk, excluding one designated messenger. Clearly trying to squeeze as much pitifulness as she can into her voice, Khi asks, "You wouldn't abandon me, would you?"

I shake my head in exasperation and proceed to reluctantly wait as the beastfolk casting the teleportation spell gathers power for a few minutes.

Without a cue, the dim light of the sun, barely showing between the clouds, moves from low in the east to nearly hidden behind the west horizon, now an orange ember in a clear sky. A gentle whine fills the air, as bugs audibly go about their business. Temperature is just going down, taking some of the humidity with it. Water softly flows, adding the finishing touches to the sounds of nature.

We are on the raised, grassy bank of a small river, not even ten meters across. The remaining security spread around, leaving us to our own devices. Khi approaches the river near a patch of slower flow, and with a flick of her hand, two chairs, sculpted out of stone, emerge from deep within the earth. A pair of thick cushions are teleported out of one of her spatial storages and into her hands and then placed on the newly formed seats. Next, a pair of fishing rods appear. Khi hands one to me, and I take it with interest. She flops on one of the seats and waits for me to join.

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"No magic?" I ask as I sit down.

"No magic. It's a pain, anyway."

I hum and examine the tool I've been given. The shaft is made out of a flexible wood. Near the grip is a rudimentary reel, wound with a thin, braided thread. Following down the thread, there is a bobber painted bright red, a small weight, and a surprisingly large hook. Similar to all of the princesses' possessions, the rods appear to be lightly enchanted. Probably for durability and resilience.

Khi pulls out a bundle out of her spatial pocket. Unwrapping the bundle reveals a piece of bread. She tears out a small chunk and balls it up around the hook of her rod. When the bread is offered to me next, I follow her example.

A flimsy cast drops her float only a few meters out. Khi leans back in her stone chair and sighs with so much pleasure I'm afraid she might melt away. She then rumbles out, "This is what it's all about."

I emulate her cast, my own float joining hers. "Is the current depth optimal?"

Khi produces a condescending chuckle while shaking her head. "Listen well, Lucius. There's two types of fishing."

"I'm pretty sure there's a lot more than two."

She replies with ultimate conviction, "No, just two. There's fishing for fish. And there's fishing for the sake of it."

"I fail to see a significant difference between your two examples."

"By the end, you will." I think over the ominous statement, turning back to my float bobbing gently in the water. After a few minutes of staying with her eyes closed, not even looking at her float, Khi speaks up again, "Go ahead."

"What?"

"Say the first thing that's floating on top."

"{Water strider}."

Khi opens a singular eye and turns it to me. "Try again." The eye closes back up.

"Where do you draw the line?"

Without opening her eyes, Khi flicks her rod up, pulling out the thread. Apparently judging only by its weight, she determines that the bait is still sufficiently intact. It is. Another cast puts the float at exactly the same spot. Impressive.

"Wherever I please," she says.

I give my rod a few tugs, repositioning my float. "And what if your choice hurts someone?"

"Every one of my choices hurts someone, Lucius. What is best for our people is not always best for everyone else. I am next in line to be Sovereign. I will be responsible for every single person that calls Querin their home. If I cannot draw the line wherever I want, I do not even deserve to breathe the same air as they do."

"What happens when you step over the old line to draw another?"

Her eyes snap open. She turns to me and studies my face. "Can I have more context?"

"We have all the context we need."

"Ah... I see." Khi takes in a deep breath, relishing the warmth surrounding us both. "The world is cruel. If you are not strong enough, it will take everything precious away from you. Your possessions. The people you care about, the people you love. Your life." Khi closes her eyes again and tugs at her rod before a fish can get hooked, scaring it away. "But... the world is also compassionate. If you are strong enough, you can protect those who can't protect themselves. Nothing is ever absolute. There are no lines."

"That is a dangerous way of thinking."

"It is."

I stare at the meandering water, trying to put my thoughts in any order that fits. The final rays of the sun dance across the surface. Together with the warmth of summer, contemplative silence envelops us, too.

After some time, a curious fish starts nibbling at my bait, making the float bob rhythmically in the water. Finding the bread utterly appalling, the fish soon loses interest. I taste test the remaining loaf. Seems fine to me. Quite pleasant, actually.

The princess softly laughs. "You'd be a prized catch. Not as big as some of my best but still sizeable."

"What do I do?"

"Do what you want."

"And if what I want is wrong?"

"Doubt without analysis is nothing but fear. If you fear everything, you will accomplish nothing. Doubt your decisions, but do not be afraid to act."

"I will always be afraid."

"Then you will never act. And you will always fail."

I reel in my empty hook and secure it in place, placing the rod on the grass to my side. "Thank you for the advice, Khi."

"You are welcome, Lucius."

The beastfolk continues to occasionally recast and reposition, but she does not find any luck. As the sun hides behind the horizon, leaving the sky filled with still dim stars, the princess sighs with some regret and reels in another empty hook for the final time. Her items are stowed away, and the environment is restored back to pristine.

The spread-out security return. By the looks on their faces, our little excursion back to Querin, and back to summer, has revitalized them from a wear they hadn't known they'd carried.

After another teleport, the sun is fished back out, and the chill bites at us in its stead. We are back in Harthes and right next to their residence.

Khi stretches, taking a deep breath in. "Warmth has its attraction, but I do prefer the cold. Did you enjoy one of my favorite pastimes?"

"I think I did," I reply.

"If you ever want to go fishing again, you know where to find me." Kor'To clears his throat less than politely. "Ice fishing, that is." Nice save.

We bid our goodbyes, the beastfolk entering their house, and me heading on to the Guild. While Khi was satisfied with our hunt till now, I am only getting started.