"Yes, one ticket to the blossom city," Akira told the man in charge of the city's portal station.

 

"The border town?" asked the man, who appeared to be in his thirties.

 

"Is there something wrong?" 

 

"Oh no-no, it's just that a lot of people have been going there recently," the man quickly explained.

 

“So I can go right?”

 

“Sure sure it would be 2 gold coins for that.”

 

"I'd be using this," Akira said, pulling his student ID card from his storage ring.

 

Students at the Origin Academy were given ten free trips from one portal station to another, which was regarded as another luxury provided by the academy given the fee charged for that.  

 

It was especially beneficial to the poorer students who came from the empire's outskirts because the teleportation cost was prohibitively expensive for them and using traditional means of teleportation would require days or even weeks of travel.

 

“Oh you are a student of the academy?” 

 

The man's tone softened, which Akira expected given the academy's reputation among the general public. They were given preferential treatment in many places, but they were also despised in others.

 

“Let me check your ID.”

 

The man took the ID and put it into a small spherical machine which scanned it and soon all the travel information that was linked to it appeared in front of the man in charge.

 

"Hmm, according to this, it will be your first trip of the month, so it is completely free." "Please enter the portal." The man told him and got behind the machines connected to the portal.

 

‘Finally.’ Akira thought as the man was taking too much time with his talking and that was making the people behind him were getting more and more annoyed.

 

He got into the portal which looked almost identical to the one back in the academy and the man said,

 

“May the Goddess Sylvia bless your journey.”

 

‘Hmm that goddess again.’ He thought before his body got teleported out of the place.

 

After Akira had left and the man in charge had finished teleporting others, he quickly closed the portal station and went into his office, frowning. It was as if his entire persona had shifted from that of a regular office worker to that of a trained spy.

 

He took a watch from his table's drawers and performed some hand movements on it, which eventually connected him to another person.

 

“It’s me.”

 

"Yes, I have been doing that.”

 

"So, what is it this time?" The other side's voice was muffled and distorted.

 

"Another one from the academy has gone to Blossom City."

 

"Another one?" the voice inquired, surprised.

 

"Yeah, but don't worry, he's from the E section," the man in charge of the portal station said, his face relaxed.

 

“Hmm, that’s odd.”

 

"Well, I heard there's a three-day holiday for the first year, so perhaps that's why he's going there?"

 

“But still why there and not somewhere else?” 

 

“Oh come on man you know why young people would go there, it’s not like you and I didn't go there back in the day.”

 

“Oh yeah how could I forget that but you know the drill.” the voice on the other side responded.

 

"Yeah, but do we really need to waste resources like that?" inquired the portal station man.

 

“Are you questioning me?”

 

"No-no, how could I have done that? Please forgive me, I will get on it as soon as possible," the portal station man shivered and quickly apologised.

 

“Good.” the man replied and disconnected the connection.

 

"Good my ass!!" yelled the portal station man, slamming his hands on the table.

 

"Why does this jerk have to be my superior?" he yelled again, this time as a helpless man.

 

Back with Akira, he had been successfully teleported to the Blossom city portal station, which, unlike the one in the origin city, was located on the outskirts of the main city and required a few kilometres of walking before reaching the main town. 

 

“Well I can go by a cart or a mana core driven vehicle but it’s better to go on foot.”

 

It would be his first time seeing this city in person, and he was curious to see if there had been any changes from what he remembered from the game.

 

The first thing he noticed after exiting the portal station was that the mana here was thicker and purer than in the origin city, which was to be expected given that the capital was a hub of many economic and adventurer activities, making the mana there slightly thinner.

 

There was another reason why the mana was thicker here, but it was highly classified information that no one knew about, not even those at the top of the administration.

 

And that location was on his list to visit, but for the time being, he was going to explore the main city and take in the sights.

 

“Let’s go ahead.” 

 

The journey to the main city would have taken five minutes at maximum if he had decided to use mana to coat his legs and move at faster rate but then he wasn’t so short on the time.

 

And also it would have been disrespectful to all the developers who had put their heart and soul in carving out the entire city which honestly was beyond beautiful.

 

It was the ideal blend of old and new, with the old being the traditional Japanese-styled architecture found throughout the city and the new being the more modern buildings, streets, restaurants, primary schools, hospitals, and other structures that used mana cores as energy fuels.

 

The people also represented an amalgamation of different cultures that came to the town and settled down, absorbing them and making it their own. Its location near the border and complex history also contributed to that.

But that wasn’t something he didn’t know of or had not seen back in the game when Richard and the other members had come to the city for the next part of the plot. The thing that was disturbing him was the presence of something bizarre.

 

And the strange thing was the overt display of religion; people wore sun symbols around their necks, there were synagogues and churches with huge sun symbols on top, and men and women were walking around the city in white clothes and prayer beads.

 

They were also chanting some mantras, and it all seemed normal because the other people treated it as if it were a normal part of their day.

 

"What in the world is this?" he asked no one in particular after seeing the massive structure smack dab in the middle of town.

 

The structure resembled the Notre-Dame cathedral in France; its facade was symmetrical about a central axis with a clear tripartite division, both vertically and horizontally. There were three sets of entries, each with its own specialty.  

 

The outer walls were intrinsically carved and filled with mellow looking sculptures and designs, it was as if they were made by a divine entity. The imagery depicted must have been linked to the religion and it’s iconography that these people were practising.

 

“Oi kid come here.” Akira gestured to a little kid that was playing on the outer courtyard of the cathedral.

 

"Huh? Me?" The boy asked, he looked no older than six or seven, had a sweet and charming face with tomato-red cheeks and big eyes twinkling with curiosity.

 

“Yeah come here.”

 

“Okay mister.”

 

Akira bent down and ruffled his hair while asking, “what’s your name?”

 

“Theo Bright.”

 

“Do you like chocolates, Theo?”

 

“Yeah I love chocolates, especially those round ones from the capital.” His tone was childish and the honesty in his answers made Akira chuckle.

 

“Haha, you are so cute. How about this, you tell me something about the town and I would give you some chocolates.” He said while bringing out some of the famous chocolates from his storage ring.

 

"Wow, mister!! You have so many chocolates.” At this point, Theo's eyes were literally shining, and his voice was so loud that it drew the attention of the other kids in the area.

 

“Hey mister, do you have chocolates?” 

 

“He doesn’t look like from the city.”

 

“Maybe he’s from the capital.”

 

“Umm we shouldn’t disturb him, mommy said it’s a bad thing.”

 

“But he has the chocolates.”

 

The other kids quickly swarmed him and started talking amongst themselves, attracting the attention of adults, which Akira didn't want; he just wanted to ask the kids some questions and move on, but things aren't looking so easy now.

 

"All right, everyone, look at me. We'll play a game in which I'll ask you some questions and whoever answers correctly gets a chocolate." He raised his voice and put an end to the uproar.

 

"Yes, mister," they all agreed.

 

“Good.” 

 

"But mister mommy said not to accept things from strangers," Theo explained, and the other children nodded.

 

Akira was speechless at that and couldn’t help but facepalm himself.

 

“You are remembering that now??” He asked.

 

“Hmm.” they all nodded.

 

“It’s fine, I am a good guy.”

 

"You are?" they were a little sceptical, but the chocolates were too good to pass up.

 

“Good, my first question- what is this place for?”

 

“It’s the place we go on Sundays and make our prayers.” Theo answered.

 

“I kinda guessed that but it’s okay. Akira tossed a chocolate towards him and asked the second question.

 

“Who do you pray to?”

 

"Huh? Mister, you're bigger than us but don't know anything about God?" 

 

“Do you want the chocolates or not?”

 

"Yes, yes, yes."

 

“Then answer my question.”

 

"It's the God of Light."  

 

“And what’s his real name?”

 

"His name is Apollo, but mommy said not to use their real names and to always address them as the God of Light."

 

“So all those who are wearing white clothes, chanting mantras and holding a rosary bead in the hand are devout followers of him?”

 

“Yeshh my father is also one.” One of the kids replied while munching on the chocolates.

 

“But your father is the follower of the apostle Lisa.” Theo said in between.

 

“Wait apostles?” Akira asked, surprised.

 

“Is there a problem mister?” Theo asked.

 

“Oh no no, but what are these apostles?” 

 

‘Sigh’

 

“I think the mister is a stupid guy.”

 

"Yeah, he doesn’t even know about the basic stuff.”

 

“Do you think that his mommy had kicked him out of the house for that?”

 

“But he’s wearing good clothes and has chocolates.”

 

“You guys do know that I can hear you right?” Akira asked, feeling somewhat annoyed.

 

“Teheee…” The kids only laughed at that. 

 

The kids didn’t know much about apostles and more detailed stuff. The only information that Akira could get out of them was that there were three apostles of the God of Light which had their own factions and at the head of all this was the Saintess Maria.

 

She was the highest authority among all followers of God of Light, and because so many people believed in that religion, her words carried a lot of weight. Every new emperor that was going to be crowned needed her blessings and support to survive.

 

And from the way how these childrens described her it seemed like she was actually revered as a mother goddess or something. There were also several instances of her performing ‘miracles’ which even by this world’s standards were too bizarre to believe.

 

“Okay kids thank you so much for playing this time, and since you guys were so good here’s your treat.” He said while throwing several of the chocolates in their direction which  made them even happier than before.

 

Akira had obtained the information he desired, so there was no point in remaining there, and there was also the fact that he was in a high-profile area that was constantly guarded and under surveillance, so remaining there would have been a bad choice.

After a while, the kids noticed his absence and asked each other, but because they were all too busy eating those chocolates, they couldn't see him leave. Theo, in particular, wanted to thank him for playing with them and giving them the treats.

 

“Hey Theo, who was that mister?” Another kid asked him.

 

“I don’t know.”

 

"What? You didn't know him?" The other kids were astounded.

 

Theo had always been someone who wouldn't talk to strangers, let alone accept anything from them; after his parents died in a mana beast attack, the church adopted him and placed him in their orphanage, along with several other children.

 

For the first few months, he was in deep shock and refused to accept the reality that his parents had died; he refused to play with other children, he refused to perform well in school, he refused to participate in mana or swordplay classes, he was a social recluse.

 

It wasn't until Saintess Marie sent her daughter to help him that he was able to overcome his situation and mix with others. At first he also rejected her but given her adamant behavior he had to relent.

 

The Saintess daughter only saw her as a helpless child who needed her help but with time she had also developed a strong bond with him and offered to teach him both magic and swordplay, something she had never done for anyone else.

 

So when the other kids got to know that he didn’t knew that guy and readily accepted the chocolates given to him they couldn’t believe their ears.

 

“He said he was a good guy.” Theo defended himself.

 

“Yeah and I am the elder sister.” A little girl said.

 

"Oh, you want to be me?" a sweet voice from behind them drew their attention.

 

"Elder sister, it's you," Theo said as he ran up to her and hugged her.

 

"So, what am I hearing, little Theo?You made a new friend?” the girl asked.

 

"Uhh, elder sister, mister was not my friend, but he did give all of us chocolates," he said while playing with his hands.

 

"Oh, can you show me?" she asked softly, ruffling his hair.

 

"Hmm, look these are the same ones you brought us from the capital."

 

"Yes, it is from the capital; everyone return to their rooms; I need to speak with Theo alone."

 

"All right, elder sister," they all left, leaving only her and Theo behind.

 

"Theo, haven't I told you not to accept anything from strangers?" Her tone was clearly angry and disappointed.

 

"I'm sorry, elder sister; I didn't want to do it, but he wasn't like the other people you'd told me about." 

 

"Did you check his aura like I taught you?"

 

“Yes, yes I did.” Theo was happy that her elder sister wasn’t going to punish him.

 

“And?”

 

"He seemed shiny and orange, but I couldn't concentrate because something was interfering with the technique you taught me."

 

"What?" the girl exclaimed, stunned by the discovery.

 

Back with Akira, he was currently sitting in one of the ramen restaurants; he chose this location because the developers of the game had created it with the premise of being the best eatery in the entire town.

 

However, they had designed it in such a way that it would not become too well-known, allowing it to remain a hidden gem until the protagonist and the main cast made it their preferred location for dining in town.

 

“This is so good.” He said while slurping on his third bowl of ramen.

 

“And that kid was really doing something sneaky with his eyes, good thing that I had my concealment spell, even kids these days can’t be trusted.”

 

“Ahh why this world is hell bent on fucking me up in every way possible.” 

 

He had read everything there was to know about the God of Light and the Saintess, the apostles, their history, their place in society, the supposed miracles, and everything else. 

He asked the children because he knew they would give him honest and straightforward answers that he couldn't get from anyone else, and it wouldn't be wrong to say he was even more perplexed than before.

 

"So many new things are appearing one after the other, and the worst part is that they have nothing to do with the game that I played. Is this the same world I remember, or has something changed?"

 

‘Sigh’

 

"What is perplexing is that these new Gods who appeared thousands of years ago died in battle." 

 

“Were they really Gods or something else?”

 

“Bahh Whatever! Why should I think too much about it? All I want is to do my job here and get back to the capital as soon as possible.”

 

He began eating his ramen and left all the troubles for his future self to handle, but what he did not anticipate was the arrival of the protagonist and his crew in the same shop at the same time.

 

“Welcome to our little eatery, let’s get you all some place to eat shall we?” the shop owner said to the new customers.

 

“Please do that, I am starving!!” An excited and familiar voice reached Akira’s ears and all the hell broke loose in his mind.

 

“Onee-san what are you doing? We are standing in front of our juniors.”

 

“But I am hungry and this place serves appa pies.”

 

“Umm can we go ahead please?”

 

Sirens wailed, and adrenaline began pumping insane amounts of itself into Akira’s body, prompting him to choose between fight or flight.

 

“I am fucked.”