The Untrusting Hero From Another World

Five And A Half Months Since Summoning Day, Ryan Age 15

We all stayed in our shared room on the Pyramid, anticipation filling us as we waited for our new Goliaths to finally be completed and sent to us. The week since we captured them was almost up, and frankly, I was itching to get my hands on those 'Hell Heroes' again. We were doing so well, but the moment they needed to go, they one-shot us. It's like they were toying with us. Trying to take my mind off it, I looked to Jaune in an attempt to break the ice, "So, you never told us what happened with that Gorgon."

"Correct, and I never will," He answered, looking like he was about to vomit. Sheesh, a whole week, and he still gets green at the thought? That just makes me wanna know more, "Still, what have all of you been up to? We've hardly talked since we returned."

"Storytime, huh? I'm game."

"Um...Are you sure?" Makoto asked, suddenly getting red in the face. Seriously? The first thing you say to me since the incident, and that's all I get?

"Oh, relax, Queen. I wasn't going to tell them about that."

"St-stop calling me that!"

"I suppose I shall begin," Xandric spoke up, cutting off our bickering

Six Days Earlier, Xandric, Age 116

I had left to visit the Grand Library today. It was a massive building with books lining the walls across multiple floors. It had no shortage of visitors either. I was hoping to find more books on Spirit Magic. Not only would it assist in my training, but I could also find a cure for the Void. If I could fix that, maybe we could end this war without any more fighting. I searched shelf by shelf, hoping to find something, when I heard a familiar flamboyant laugh, "Oh my! I didn't expect to find you here, Xandric!". I poke my head around to see Shay looking up from his book.

"Have you know manners? This is a library," I reminded, prompting him to swiftly silence himself, "What are you doing here? I thought you would be training Eliza."

"We are currently on break, so I came here to enjoy myself. What brings you here? I didn't peg you for the scholarly type."

"I don't see how that is any of your concern," I responded, letting my Void run loose. I doubt a Demi-Human would care too much, anyway. I popped open the book and sat down to read, all while dodging the King's gaze. Slowly, though, he got more aggressive, pushing me away to read.

"Oooo, Soul Manipulation? Isn't that quite advanced for you?"

"What part of 'not your concern' did you not understand!?" I snapped back, desperately fighting him for the book. I even had to shift to pull it from his iron grasp before chucking spears at his robe to pin him in place. However, that didn't work, as he caused an earthquake that sent me to the ground. As a result, however, all the books came crashing down around us.

Current Day, Ryan, Age 15

"So you spent the entire week...Cleaning the library?" I asked, barely containing my laughter

Xandric had a tinge of purple on his cheeks as he answered, "Q-Quite right...". I couldn't stop myself from bursting into laughter as his blush grew with his rage and embarrassment, "B-Be silent!! At least I was being productive!"

"Did you find anything?" Eliza asked, jumping in and earning a glare from Makoto and me, "I would like to end this peacefully as well."

"I can't say for certain. The first step is learning this 'Soul Manipulation.' After that, I can begin testing."

"I would like to help if that's okay," She offered before turning to me, "Now, since you wanted to run your mouth, how about you go next?"

"Me?! Oh c'mon, you know I didn't do anything all that interesting, I just uh..."

Five Days Earlier, Ryan, Age 15

I wandered aimlessly through the streets of Animari City, planning to do the same thing I did back in Eltaria. Since we had been so busy between the Peacock's training gathering Goliaths, I hadn't had a chance to get a feel for what the people think. I snuck out during the night as I remember that being the most lively time around here. Oddly enough, that had me even more on edge. Anything could happen in such dense crowds of dancers, drunks, and just people having a good time. I sat down at a sorta kiosk selling food and drink, "Yo-Ho! Mister Hero walks among the common folk!" A Demi-Human beside me slurred out, clearly drunk, "What brings you out this time of night, kiddo?"

"Just trying to get a feel for this place," I answered, sipping my drink. I didn't want to give too much away and risk some sort of secret police being called on me, "What can you tell me? Anything suspicious going on lately?"

"Suspicious, eh? Nah, I don't think so. Nothin' all that weird happens around here..." He said it with as much certainty as a drunkard could muster, but I didn't believe it for a second. Sure, this world has proven me wrong so far, but even in Eltaria, there were secrets, such as the truth behind the Demons, even if it was relatively small. Getting nothing from the drunks, I decided to watch the guards. Ryan's first rule, never trust cops, followed by a few other rules about who not to trust. I would continue to watch them throughout the night. Until I felt a metal finger poke my shoulder. Immediately, I turned around to kick the woman in highly decorated bronze armor.

"Careful. You're paying for this if you dent it," She warned as her helmet vanished. Oh great. Nanotech. Rolling my eyes, I try to leave but she grabbed my wrist, "Why are you stalking my men?"

"Your men? Let me guess, you're the guard captain."

"And you're the hero who's always bugging people going about their day. Now answer me."

"You ever think maybe your guards could be corrupted? Taking bribes? Spying for the Demons?" I asked, being very blunt, much to her shock. I continued to watch the guards, continuing to explain myself, "It happens all the time in my world. You can't go a day without seeing it on the news, and I've noticed your guards leaving their posts an awful lot."

"Excuse me?! Preposterous!"

"Watch for yourself, then," I offered, and after some convincing, she followed me around the city. Guards kept swapping around shifts, much to her dismay, "See? You gotta admit, it's pretty weird. Why risk their jobs without some reason?" I asked. She looked to me, rage and determination filling her eyes.

"Let's follow them, see where they're going," she answered, to which I complied. I was never one to accept help, but it was her men, so I figured she deserved to know whatever was going on. The next guard we saw leave, we followed into the jungle. Slowly but surely, we inched through toward a clearing. Multiple guards, both on and off duty, were meeting up, chairs and tables were being placed, and magic was levitating something I couldn't quite make out in the air. I had planned to stake it out so that I could see what was going on, but she quickly stepped out. "What is the meaning of this?" she called out, and I was suddenly met by fireworks that lit up the clearing. A massive banner was floating, saying 'Thank You, Captain.'

Current Day, Ryan, Age 15

I looked around at them all, my face red with embarrassment as they burst into laughter, "Yeah, yeah, big bad Ryan wasted his day following a bunch of guards setting up a surprise party for their boss."

"You have no right to mock my story then!" Xandric managed to get out through his laughter before looking at me confused, "You don't seem too upset, though. Why are you smiling?" he asked, causing everyone's attention to go towards me. I quickly panicked and hid my face behind a pillow while he burst out once again, "I knew it!! You want to be wrong!"

"Y-Yeah!? So what if I do?" He huffed as I felt the pillow pulled away, and I was greeted by Makoto's smile, which made me nearly overheat

"It's fine, Ryan. Sometimes, it's okay to want to be wrong."

"Y-Yeah, sure. Whatever. Can we drop it now? Who's next?"

"How about you, Makoto? I'm sure yo-" Eliza started but was promptly silenced by our combined glare.

"I suppose that leaves two of us," Jaune spoke up, looking around as if a human randomizer, "How about the lovely dove takes the stage?" he suggested, causing Eliza's eyes to widen. I suppose we all have pet names for the people we care about

"I-I suppose I didn't do much all that special. But I'm deducting five points for that nickname!" Eliza declared, causing Jaune to immediately bow and beg for forgiveness. This game of theirs really has ruined the poor guy, huh? Just those words are enough to make such a confident man kneel. Eliza sighed, stepping past him, "Anyway, in between classes with King Shay, I was quite busy..."

Four Days Prior, Eliza, Age 15

"Thanks for the ride," I told Jaune as I hopped off of his Goliath to a small sea-side village. Its buildings were in ruins, and its farms dead. The Demons have been attacking all over, but the heroes can only be in so many places at once, "Don't you have a meeting with the Student Council today?"

"They already expect me to be late. It's a side effect of the President being a hero," Jaune jokingly lamented with a dramatic sigh, causing me to giggle, "Still, I don't know how much I can do."

"You don't need to do much. You're just here in case my father hears about this," I answered as we walked along. The first thing I noticed was a large number of injured people. Immediately, I rushed ahead, despite Jaune's protests, to find an elevated point. I then sat down in a meditative position. To my shock, I saw the spirits this time, not just felt them, and sent them out to heal. I could hear many sighs of relief as they stood up, all perfectly healthy. Before long, I was surrounded by people of all races, asking what I did and why? Before I could answer, Jaune hurried to my side.

"Okay, everyone, relax. This lovely lady can only answer so much at a time," He tried to assure, only to be swarmed in turn with questions. Eventually, I managed to work up the courage to speak.

"Everyone, I am Princess Eliza Udonna Matis, Princess of Zordonia! I have heard about the state of your village and came to help."

"Ah! So the King heard our requests?" One citizen asked, an elven woman whose arm was missing, though the wound had been healed by the spirits

"He has, but that aid is weeks away. I could get here faster, so I did. Tell me what needs to be done, and I will do all I can to make it so," I insisted. The swarm of requests seemed unending, but with my magic, I managed to fix it with some ease. Dead crops, revived with water magic. Destroyed buildings, rebuilt with nature magic. It was an exhausting day, to say the least. Eventually, nightfall came, "Owwww, I feel so sore! I see why Shay said Spirit Magic requires a strong body."

"Perhaps you should get some rest? Thundaga's wings make for a pretty big tent, you know," Jaune offered, but I shook my head in response.

"No thanks. I think I'll sleep in the shelter. I don't want to act like I'm somehow above them by sleeping in the wings of a giant robot". With those words, we parted ways. They had a large shelter to hold the homeless. Despite that, it was surprisingly comfy, if a bit cramped. I fell asleep in no time.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Until the next morning, I slept peacefully, only to wake up, forced to sit upright. I groaned as my eyes fluttered open, only to find myself bound in tight ropes, "What on earth?! Who did this?!"

"That would be me," A voice answered as a young man came out. He was surprisingly big, and muscles on top of muscles made him look more like a monster than a man, "Pretty bold for a princess to declare herself. Sorry, but giving you over to the Demons could protect this village much longer than any charity from you". He did have a point, and honestly, I expected something like this. Crime does tend to rise when people are desperate. There was a flaw in his idea, but I wasn't going to lecture him because I just got kidnapped! Could you imagine my excitement? It was just like in the old stories and something that rarely happened in reality. Taking advantage of this, I clear my throat and prepare the biggest puppy dog eyes a girl and let out the loudest scream a girl could muster

"Oh, someone help, please!!" I begged in a way that was obviously fake as the Storm Goliath ripped the roof off my kidnapper's house. It was quite unfortunate how quickly it happened, but I can't play games forever. Jaune dropped down, already in hero form, and cut my ropes. I then pinned the kidnapper to the wall by stabbing his clothes with icicles. I could've just left, but instead, I approached him. He glared at me with a fire in his eyes, "You know, you do have a point. The Demons would leave you alone if you gave me to them, for a while at least. But what about when they come back? Will you give them something else, then? How much will you give until you're left with nothing?"

"If that's what it takes. What other option do we have?"

"You can fight, can't you? You seem like a strong guy," I suggested, "I can only help you all so much, and there are only four heroes. You all will need to be your own heroes, sometimes". I then sat down, drawing little mist and stick men, "When those icicles melt, tell everyone who can lift a sword this. If you can't use magic, avoid the Shadows. You can't hurt them. Go for the Demon Commander, and if he goes big, the weak points will be the same. They're just a bigger target," I explained, wiping all the dust and cobwebs off my dress as I looked to Jaune, "We should go. Maybe we can still make it to class for once."

Current Day, Ryan, Age 15

"You were only pretending to be scared?!" Jaune exclaimed in outrage, borderline tearing up

"Could you blame me? It's not every day that a princess gets kidnapped, you know!" Eliza argued shamelessly as Makoto and I stared dumbfounded. Kidnappings are genuinely scary, yet she was treating it like some exotic event like a blood moon or shooting star! In response to her bizarre excitement, Jaune grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her in an almost cartoonish fashion.

"You fool, you could've been seriously hurt or worse! You could've...."

"Oh? So now you care about me for more than just my title?" She teased, gently pushing him away, "It's not like I would've died, so it wouldn't have affected our deal. So I wonder, why do you care?" she asked, and while clearly joking, Jaune just stared in silence, before forcing a smile

"Anyway, I suppose that leads us right into my tale. It would seem saving the world doesn't exempt one from their duties on the Student Council."

Three Days Prior, Jaune, Age 15

After saving Eliza from what was apparently the best moment of her life, I was met by....paperwork. Lots of paperwork. Mountains of it laid on my desk, leaving me in a state of shock. Sonya looked at me with a mischievous smile as if knowing this would be my response, "You've been gone for quite some time. Did you expect any less?"

"N-Not, really, but I was hoping you'd lighten the load a bit. I did leave you in charge."

"This is the lightened load," She assured, bursting into tears as she tried to contain her response to my seeming second death. Reluctantly, I drag myself off the ground and into my desk, inspecting each paper with meticulous detail. The whole time, Sonya would taunt me, "Heavy is the head that bears the crown. That's a good lesson to learn if you wanna marry Eliza."

"I thought you were against that?"

"Well... I'm still not sure but, there's not much I can do to stop it," She answered. She seemed almost sad as the words left her lips, "Just answer this, how do you really feel about her?"

"What do you mean? She's a valuable ally and is helping me achieve something great. I can't ask for more."

"I see. So you don't love her?" She asked, and I fell silent. I can't really say. I had flirted with a fair share of women back home but never felt genuine love. Still, it didn't matter because...

"That was the one rule". I left it at that and stood up, "How about we go for a walk? I noticed a lot of these are complaints about missing items. You can interrogate me further while we work if you like," I offered and walked out with her following behind me. We began asking around the student body. The diversity of students and the stolen goods shocked me. Dwarves complained about stolen family weapons and blueprints, Demi-Humans lamented missing clothes, and Elves begged us to hunt for their lost jewels. Obviously, there were outliers, but it was like putting a microscope on the values of the different races. Slowly, we managed to gather more and more evidence, but nothing concrete. I sighed and sat down on one of the many benches that lined the campus, "It seems like our little kleptomaniac doesn't truly have a type. There's no true pattern."

"Not exactly. Think about it for a second longer. What do weapons, Demi-Human fashion, and jewels have in common?"

It took me a moment to understand, but in a flash, I realized the answer. They were all shiny, "Could our culprit be an animal? I hear they like shiny stuff."

"Only one way to find out," she responded, and sure enough, using generously donated jewelry, the trap was set. We waited in a bush, hoping sometime during the night, something would take the bait. Just when I was about to let my drowsiness take me, I saw a slim four-legged creature rush by, snatching the jewels off the ground. "Did you see that?"

"Yes, hold on!" I ordered, grabbing her and Storm Stepping to catch up to the beast. It already had quite the head start but even out of hero form, few things can match my speed. Chasing it eventually lead us to small hole in the wall. Sure enough, there was a small treasure trove of stolen goods and the culprit was...a weasel, "What am I looking at?"

"A Ko Weasel, an invasive species from Dai Shi. Guess this one found itself here and felt compelled to collect all the shiny things it found," Sonya guessed and picked him up, "We should probably get him shipped home." That idea made sense, but...I had a better idea. The next morning, one of the younger classes was introduced to their new pet. Consider it probation

Current Day, Ryan, Age 15

"Wow, that sounds... sorta sadistic. Isn't that an abuse of power?"

"Of course not! Turns out he likes attention more than shiny objects," Jaune assured, unable to hold back his chuckling, "Still, it wasn't quite as fun as some of your stories, and I was hoping to do some digging into Cass."

"Cass? What for?" Eliza asked, suddenly tensing up. Still, that didn't stop Jaune from answering.

"She knew about our deal somehow. I think there may be a spy at the school," He answered, not really sounding all that serious about it before shooting up and running out, "That reminds me! I need to let your dad know. I'll be back soon!"

Xandric sighed, "He's so scatterbrained when it comes to his priorities. Still, we should all get to bed. Your Goliaths should be ready tomorrow." He then stood up and went to bed, too, followed by Eliza, leaving me and Makoto. We sat there in awkward silence until she finally stood up.

"I'm going to go out into town for a bit."

"I'll come with you. I know my way a-"

"No thanks. I would rather be by myself for a bit," She insisted, her tone cold enough to freeze anyone's heart. Did I really screw up that bad? That's all I could think as she left.

One Day Earlier, Makoto, Age 15

I sighed as I sat back in the Soul Chamber, watching Ryan as he trained with his Heroic Spirit. Turns out, the two make excellent sparring partners. He was quite slow on the uptake when it came to powers but when he needed to hit something hard, he pulled through so I'm glad he has something to compete with now. While I watched though, I felt a cool breath whisper into my ear, "Enjoying the show?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin, clinging to the door outside, "E-Eliza! What are you doing here?"

"Oh, nothing much. I just came to get you two for dinner only to find you once again watching him like a love-sick puppy."

"I-I was not!"

"You do it all the time. At least he's not shirtless; otherwise, you would be drooling. And heaven forbid he call you that nickname. What was it? Qu-?" She started, but I quickly covered her mouth

"Okay, fine. Maybe I'm a bit interested. Can you blame me? He's kind of cute when he stops acting like a cornered kitten and acts like himself," I argue, ignoring the blush on my cheeks as I slowly back away.

"And apparently, you both have a weird need to cover my mouth instead of simply letting me finish," She mumbled, seeming annoyed. Did I miss something? "Still, it's not my place to judge. You should go ahead and ask him out."

"I-I said I was interested, not that I like him."

"Do you?"

"I-I don't know! I've never had time to focus on that."

"Great, so I'm the only one of us who knows about this sort of stuff," She said, playfully rolling her eyes, "Nobody's asking you to commit yourself to him, but if any small part of you thinks that may be what you're feeling, it's best to do it before it's too late" she suggested and began to take her leave, only for me to swiftly grab her wrist.

"W-Wait! You've had a girlfriend before, right? Think you can, you know...?" I asked, visibly embarrassed. I didn't know what to do for a date. Like, we saw the Qraptor races together but that was just us hanging out. She nodded before quickly dragging me out to her room.

"Sit," she demanded, and to my confusion, I obeyed, "Okay. What does Ryan like? What are his favorite foods?" she asked, to which I blinked and tried to think.

"Well, I know he likes anime and Tokusatsu. His favorite food, though, I'm drawing a blank. I did see him eating fried crocodile one time, and he seemed to like it, but I don't know if it's his favorite."

"Hmmm, not a lot to go on, but I think I know the place!" Eliza answered before scrambling under her bed and pulling out a poster and a couple of wigs, "Behold, Heroworld! The newest, coolest theme park on the Island of Light! Located on the western coast of the island, citizens can enjoy fun rides, good food, and lavish prizes alongside the Heroes of Old!"

"Huh? Hold up, you're using heroes who live and die for this island for money?"

"Of course. How do you think we fund you guys? The treasury is used to improve the day-to-day lives of civilians, so we needed another source." She reminded me before passing me the flyer, wigs, and clothes, "Here. You're going to need this if you don't want to be noticed."

"Thank you, Eliza."

"You can thank me by getting a move on!" She ordered, aggressively shoving me out of her room and slamming the door, ensuring I could not return what she gave me. At the point of no return, I had no choice but to return to the Spirit Chamber. Inside, Ryan was taking a break, sipping down on a bottle of water.

"Are you done for the day?"

"Yeah. The old Spirit got bored, so we called it quits for now? What are you doin' back her?" He asked, prompting me to gulp. A thousand different ways to ask him ran through my head, my cheeks warming as I did so before I finally just held out the flyer.

"W-Would you wanna go out?!" I blurted out, throwing caution to the wind. The deafening silence almost made me want to run after asking such a stupid question but if I'm going to find out how I really felt, I had to try. He stared at me for a moment before taking the flyer from my hands, "I-It's not the same as what we have back home, but I thought you'd like to try it."

His confusion slowly faded away, replaced by embarrassment, "Wh-What? Like a date or something?"

"Y-Yeah... Is that an issue?"

"Well, not really. You're just the first girl to ask me out who wasn't a total moron... Alright. Let's give it a shot." I should have been annoyed by the back-handed compliment, but I was honestly just relieved that he agreed. I then passed him his disguise as well, prompting a raised eyebrow, "What's this for?"

"So we don't get noticed. You really want to go into a den of your fans?"

"Fair enough," he admitted, and once the two of us got changed, we met up outside the Pyramid. He looked almost like a different person; his messy crimson hair was now black and combed neatly to the side, and his outfit looked much more fitting to this world with a long black coat that was red on the inside and a light gray undershirt and red tie underneath, "This outfit ain't too bad. I should wear it more of...ten..." He slowly teetered off before looking at me. I was already fairly unsuspecting, but I had been given extensions that made my hair appear longer, going down my back. Clothing-wise, it seemed like Eliza gave me a dress from her closet, though this one was more of a light blue with small bits of white. I looked to Ryan with confusion, causing him to snatch himself away, "W-W should get going."

"Y-Yeah..." I muttered, and we mounted Mera to fly there. At his speed, we should be there fairly quick as we made our way to the coast, then traveled along it. We landed just far enough outside for nobody to notice us as we approached. It looked like a massive castle with a roller coaster going all around it. When we got inside, it was like a small town all its own. Employees dressed in various Hero suits from across the ages walked along the streets, taking pictures with anyone who wanted it. This was something Ryan took full advantage of, catching as many pictures as possible with the Car, Space, and Lightspeed Heroes and doing the poses we saw at the temple. It was cute how excited he got. Beyond that, it was a long night of fun. We played all the games until we had collected just about every stuffed Hero we could get before filling ourselves with the many different vendor foods. It wasn't hard to find something we liked. Even with different ingredients, there was a lot of overlap, especially the sweets. We last made our way to the Callo Wheel, a large wheel that went around from all angles. It was slow, but going from rotating like a typical Farris wheel to spinning horizontally almost made me sick at first. Once I got used to it, though, it was calming. We even got to watch fireworks shoot off in the shape of our suits.

"That's impressive. How do they even get them like that? Gotta be some kind of magic."

"There are shaped fireworks in our world too, you know," I remind him with a chuckle, much to his embarrassment, until finally, I asked him the big question, "Ryan. Do you have any interest in me? Beyond just as a friend or teammate?"

"I truly don't know," He answered softly, gently reaching for my hand, "I've never had real friends, let alone someone I liked like that. I could never bring myself to trust someone to care about me without any condition. Yet, you just stumbled into my life and told me everything I needed to hear when I needed to hear it. You made me feel calm, comfortable. I don't know if that makes sense, but..." he slowly inched closer, his lips pushing against mine. My eyes shot wide before I pushed him back. He looked stunned, but I couldn't do that. I didn't want either of us to make a mistake. I tried to smile, reassuring him through my rosy cheeks.

"Think it over, more. It's okay..."

Current Day, Makoto, Age 15

Was that really the right move? Maybe I pushed him further away. I just didn't want to take his first kiss unless he was certain. As I thought of this, I sat down in a restaurant, "May I take your order, young lady?"

"Have whatever you like, my treat" another voice said as young Demi-Human sat across from me, a dark skinned young man with lion ears and a tail. His voice was sweet, almost intoxicating. It was like I was trapped. What has he done?