The two got back to Cinti’s cottage just as the darkness swallowed the hilltops. Cinti disembarked and looked up at the sky, prompting Kuro to follow her gaze. A huge, blood-red moon was beginning its rise. A chill coursed the length of his body as his veins went cold. The deep crimson orb was no moon, but a second sun — this one a red dwarf with furious red rings.

  Although he didn’t understand what he was seeing, he didn’t allow fear to dampen the spectacle. He never thought he would see another planetary object this close, but there it was. Staring at the deep, low red light of this star seemed to be putting him in a trance, as if it was pulling him into its orbit. Suddenly, someone grabbed his shoulder and he snapped back to reality. His heart was racing in his chest and hot flashes made him nauseous.

  “Are you well?” Cinti asked, looking concerned.

  “Yeah,” he panted. “Yeah I’m good.”

  “ Don’t stare at a Blood Moon for too long. It might be pretty, but it can drive you mad.”

  “Seriously? The moon can drive you mad?” he said.

  She nodded gravely.

  “It’s called moon sickness.”

  “Then why were you staring at it?”

  Cinti laughed, and nudged him to get off the bike. As she led the way around the side of the cottage to park it, she explained.

  “I’ve built up a bit of tolerance. If you’re not used to looking, you might be better off in small doses. Moon sickness is temporary and for some, it’s even benign. That's how you get some nutjobs running around bare-assed. Others wake up covered in the blood of their loved ones and find themselves vomiting the rest...”

  Kuro blinked, trying not to look disturbed as she guided him back around the front.

  An awkward silence passed between them as they walked. Cinti put a hand on the door and stole another glance at the sun, then casting her gaze over her shoulder said, “You’re fortunate you didn’t find yourself outside the village walls tonight. The creatures of Dark are empowered on nights like this. Even a lowly goblin can become a formidable adversary.”

  With those words, she pushed inside and gestured for him to make himself at home.

  As he slipped out of his boots, Cinti went straight to the kitchen. The rooms were sectioned off by a maze of walls and archways.He heard her bustling around and poked in his head.

  She was busy putting a pot of water to boil on a low stove. Then, she opened what looked like a cabinet. Kuro raised an eyebrow as frost rolled out around the edges of the door.

  ‘Is that a fridge?’ he thought.

  He was sure that that was cold vapor becoming visible as it hit the warm air outside. Cinti all but confirmed his suspicions when she pulled a few cuts of meat out. By now, Kuro was inside the kitchen, staring in confusion. Things here were both new and familiar at once.

  ‘There’s an oven and fridge in the kitchen, and there are lights on the walls,’ he thought, going over to inspect it for a plug or battery.

  There had to be an explanation for what he was seeing. He could hear a constant beat emanating from the fridge but nothing really discernable as a power-source. Eventually, he turned to Cinti.

  “How do you power the…” he started, and then wondered if things had the same name in his world. “Fridge? And the lights. Do you have electricity?”

  She paused to stare at him raised brows.

  “Electro-what?”

  “Sorry, but I don’t know what else it could be. How do you power all your appliances without electricity?”

  Before she could answer, he shook his head and added, “Wait… Don’t tell me it’s magic.”

  “Well of course, silly!” she said with a laugh.

  “Okay, so… magic, but how does it work?”

  “In the ceiling of the fridge there’s the still-beating heart of a frost wolf, and the walls are lined with tubes filled with its blood. Naturally, the wolf blood absorbs the heat and carries it back to the heart where the heat is cooled and pumped back into the tubes to repeat the cycle.”

  “Right. A Frost Wolf. Of course…” Kuro said, “But how is its heart still beating?”

  Cinti shrugged.

  “Seriously? You don’t have a clue?”

  “You’ll have to talk to an Artificer or an Enchanter for that. Though I doubt they’ll willingly give up their trade secrets.”

  Kuro understood the sentiment. It was like any tradesman back in his reality. You didn't just tell customers how to build and maintain their own devices, otherwise you’d be out of a job. Kuro stabbed a thumb and the lights.

  “What about those? More hearts and blood?”

  Cinti laughed again, evidently finding Kuro’s questions endearing.

  “Not at all,” she smiled. “The lights are made from the extracted cytoplasm of glow slimes. You simply feed the slime a small amount of minerals and they glow for about a day. Then they go dormant until fed again.”

  “Hold on, so they’re still alive?”

  Cinti leaned against the kitchen counter and seemed to think for a moment before responding.

  “Well, yes and no. They don’t have brains, so they’re like the undead. Slimes are notoriously hard to kill, but they’re easy to neutralize.”

  Kuro recalled slimes in video games and TV shows and scoffed internally. Slimes were usually depicted as weak monsters. How difficult could they be if they were practically reading lamps?

  “I know that look,” Cinti interrupted his thoughts with a concerned frown. “Any bit of them left alive and the entire slime will reform. If you put a piece of slime brain in any of the lights, by morning you’ll have several slimes trying to eat you and everything in your house. They’re major pests, so don’t let your guard down.”

  Kuro scratched the back of his neck as if he were a child caught with a hand in the cookie jar. Cinti returned to her cooking and he came up to inspect the stove with its little bubbling pot.

  “Frost wolf blood and slimes, huh? Is the stove heated with crushed dragon eggs or something?”

  “What?” Cinti snapped.

  She swung around with eyes and mouth agape. Kuro backed up a little, raising his palms defensively.

  Cinti blinked and placed a hand on her chest as she regained her composure.

  “Forgive me, I — I know you must only be joking.”

  “Sorry,” Kuro said.

  She shook her head.

  “No, you told me you aren’t from this world. It makes sense that you wouldn’t understand how things work here,” she said, and with a sigh added, “Dragons are sentient creatures. Even the thought of using their eggs in such a manner is unconscionable. It’s equal to killing human infants for their fat.”

  Kuro couldn’t help blinking back shock.

  “There are people that do things like that. Steal dragon eggs and human babies, anything with magic, to use in the creation of magical items, potions, and elixirs. It’s one of the reasons I became an adventurer. To stop evil people.”

  There was an awkward silence before she smirked.

  “You’re not feeling too good about coming to this world after all, huh?”

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  He shook his head. “Every place has its darkness.”

  The sound and smell of sizzling meat drew Cinti’s attention back to the stove. But Kuro still hung around. He watched her as she flipped the meat on a skillet and prepared a broth in the pot.

  “Back on the bridge,” he said. “You called me a Slave Lord? Why?”

  Cinti’s shoulders dropped slightly, but she didn’t look at him anymore.

  “You have a particular magical affinity. Everyone does…”

  Before he could ask any more questions, she pointed to a large wooden tray on the countertop.

  “Could you get that for me?”

  He grabbed it and brought it over. Cinti promptly loaded it up with utensils, bowls, and plates.

  “Set the table will you? Food’s almost ready.”

  Kuro hurried around the corner to what he hoped was the dining room and found a small table. He placed everything as neatly as he could. Then he was back at his hostess’ heels.

  “You never explained what a magical affinity was,” he pressed.

  She waved flippantly.

  “It’s a frequency band of magical energy that resonates with a person. The orb following you around gives you away as a summoner, an ancient class that’s been corrupted. In the old days, summoners only bound animals, beasts, and monsters to their will. But after the corruption, they started binding sentient beings as well, which greatly increased their power. One summoner could gain the skills and spells of all classes by controlling them.”

  “So a summoner can enslave anyone?”

  “Almost. It’s dangerous, and certain conditions must be met. But you can see why most people simply refer to them as the Slave Lord class.”

  Kuro wondered why the administrator would ever give him a power like this. In fact, he wasn’t so sure if the administrator even had a hand to play after all. Maybe abilities like these were given out at random in this world. But he had no proof of anything.

  “Let’s eat!” Cinti said, pulling him from his thoughts.

  She brought the pot to the table where she spooned out the soup into the bowls and then went back for the skillet.

  The meat was still popping and steaming as it touched the plates. Finally, she placed a small lamp at the center of the table and sprinkled a little dust over it. Suddenly, it glowed to life with a low amber light. They sat opposite each other and he looked over the meal. Two thick cuts of meat made his mouth water, even though he didn’t know what it was. All he knew was, he was hungry and it was juicy, its sauce running into the nearby fried vegetables. Next to that was a bowl of creamy white broth and a cup of water.

  “What exactly am I looking at?”

  Cinti was already eating, and placed a hand over her mouth as she giggled.

  “Would it matter if I told you? You have no reference, so just eat it.”

  He swallowed hard and reached for a fork.

  “Bon Appétit,” he said.

  Cinti shot him a confused look and he smiled.

  “That basically means, let’s eat!”

  He tried a piece of the meat, raising an eyebrow.

  “It doesn’ taste like anything I know, but it’s good.”

  Cinti beamed.

  “It’s greater muskrat.”

  “Rat?!” Kuro coughed, wiping his lips with his sleeve and looking sheepishly at her.

  “Yes...”

  She spooned another bite into her mouth. After the initial shock, Kuro took up his utensil hesitantly, thinking about the fact that despite his prejudices, the meat really was delicious. And Cinti was eating it just fine.

  “Well, it’s good,” he said.

  There was an apology in his tone.

  Resuming his meal, he tried the vegetables next.

  “Um, this is a bit of an acquired taste… It’s got a bittersweet flavor, with a kind of tangy hit.”

  Cinti swallowed before responding.

  “That's beny beny, and trust me you will be eating a lot of that here, so might as well get used to it. It's basically the national dish!”

  “Looks like I'll be losing some weight here,” he mumbled.

  Cinti snorted, bursting into laughter. Kurto grinned. He was happy he could make her smile so easily. As she composed herself, he shovelled down what looked like peas, but suddenly stopped chewing. A wave of excitement flashed over his features and he snapped his fingers.

  “I know this! I've tasted this before…” he said, struggling to recall the flavour. “It’s… cream of wheat! Yes, finally. This is good stuff.”

  “I'm glad you like it. Is that a food item where you lived?”

  He nodded. “We used to eat it as kids— me and my brother I mean. It's been ages since I’ve had it though.”

  Slowly, he lowered his spoon and found himself staring at it. In the next beat, he was downing all of it.

  “Missing your family?” Cinti said, hinting at nostalgia. “Wishing you could go back?”

  That humiliating event instantly flew through his mind.

  “Nope! No way.”

  His response came out sharp. Almost too quick. A twinge of guilt in his chest was quickly replaced by the heart-wrenching feelings that came along with worldwide shame.

  Cinti tilted her head, shooting him a confused expression before finishing her last bite with a shrug.

  “Thank you, Adonai,” she said, shutting her eyes briefly.

  Kuro stared at her curiously.

  “Is that your God?”

  Cinti smiled, seeming pleased for a chance to discuss her beliefs.

  “The god of all things. The creator of land, sea, and sky. Do you have a god?”

  Kuro made a face. That was a tough question.

  “Yeah, but most people just say God in their own language. It’s kind of understood who you’re referring to since there’s only one. But we call Him by personal names too.”

  Cinti blinked, trying to understand.

  “Oh, so you only have one god in your world and your people are united in worship.”

  He shook his head furiously.

  “There are… many different beliefs. I mean, when I left people were still coming up with new religions, so no. Not united at all,” he said with an awkward laugh.

  She looked a little disappointed. But as she gathered the dishes, she added, “We have that in common. I stopped following any religion years ago. I know there is a god, but I just can’t accept that he is found in the temples. But tell me, Kuro, what is your world like?”

  They trailed back into the kitchen to wash up as Kuro regaled her with facts about the solar system, the lack of magic, and floating orbs, and even the use of technology.

  Cinti was fascinated that no magic or magical items existed on Kuro’s Earth. The only time she cut in was to say, “That's amazing… It's kind of like the stories of a salary man and his office adventures."

  Kuro nearly spat out the glass of water he was sipping. Choking, he placed the cup on the counter before pausing to recalibrate.

  “The adventures of what?”

  Cinti shook her head and smirked playfully.

  “I’ll show you,” she said.

  Wiping her hands on a towel, she took his sleeve and led him to the main living space. There were shelves of books on almost the entire surface area of the walls. Cinti tiptoed to reach for a line of books. As she did, kuro realised he was staring at her back. And her butt. He didn’t want to turn away though. She was stacked.

  Suddenly, she whipped around with her arms full of books and a huge grin on her face. Kuro snapped his eyes up, blushing. She didn’t seem to notice his discomfort.

  Cinti laid the books out on a low table, displaying the covers proudly. One prominently featured a typical Japanese Salaryman looking into the distance heroically and framed by a modern-day skyscraper. The title, which he surprisingly could read, was “The Salaryman & the Corporate Tower In Peril”. Kuro burst into a laugh, clutching his waist. He picked it up and thumbed through the pages, giggling at a story that seemed to depict the corporate struggles of a Salaryman.

  “Um…” he started, swiping at tears, “Yeah, this is my world.”

  Cinti lit up.

  “Wow! Were you a Salaryman as well? Did you work for a grand CEO master?”

  He sputtered again.

  “A grand… this is crazy.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he thought about the best way to answer her. “Sure, but I was only a junior. I had just started out, then my life changed.”

  “What happened to put you here?” Cinti said, looking concerned. “You mentioned it was traumatic.”

  “D-did I?” he said, avoiding her gaze. “Haha, anyway forget about that! What about you?Tell me about yourself.”

  She blushed suddenly, reaching to twist a lock of hair.

  “What do you want to know exactly?”

  Cinti’s shy reaction sent Kuro’s chest thumping away. He wondered if it was possible to get over one relationship and be into someone else this quickly.

  “How,” he started, swallowing a lump forming in his throat. “How old are you? I mean, it’s just that, uh… you seem a little young to be living on your own. Yeah…”

  She waved him aside.

  “I’m already sixteen.”

  Kuro almost spat again.

  “What? That’s way too young!”

  Glancing around like there was someone watching them from the shadows, he took a steadying breath.

  “I mean, it’s too young to be living on your own.”

  She chuckled, but he could hear bitterness behind it.

  “It’s not by choice.”

  A cold expression slipped over her face. Obviously, he’d touched a nerve. Not wanting to dampen the mood with difficult topics, Kuro steered the conversation back to himself.

  “You mentioned I was part of a summoner class, but how many classes are there?”

  “Don't you worry,” she said as a tiny smile peeked through again. “You’ll learn a lot more tomorrow.”

  “What’s happening then?”

  Her smile turned into a slightly sadistic grin.

  “You can’t survive on Kovceg without training.”