With a trembling hand, he touched his chest and then wound a strand of hair around his finger. He noticed that his hands looked frailer and more delicate, with long nails decorated with gems and glitter. There were no more calluses; no hints of the scars he had earned in a dozen other lives.
He was left speechless as he took in his surroundings. He was sitting on a bench in a magnificent garden, wearing a pink gown reminiscent of 18th-century fashion. He could feel a heavy, ornate hat on his head, overflowing with frills, lace, and silk petals.
Now I'm capable of changing genders? To hell with this power, he thought bitterly.
"Excuse me, Miss."
He heard a voice and turned to his right to see a tall, striking man. The stranger had jet-black hair and strangely pink eyes, an unusual color for such a powerful-looking man, yet it gave him a truly beautiful and captivating aura. He wore a crisp white uniform adorned with golden medals and carried a sword at his waist. Amadeus's first thought was that he had gone back to the past.
But that wasn't it. When he looked up, he saw a fleet of military aircraft performing complex maneuvers across the sky.
"..."
Amadeus wasn't fully aware of how stunning he looked as a woman. His lips were the color of a ripe plum, and his skin was so pale it shimmered like a pearl under the sun. He looked amazed and confused at once, his ruby-like eyes staring at the sky with an intensity that made Alistair's heartbeat turn chaotic. If this wasn't love at first sight, Alistair didn't know what else to call it.
"Could I please receive the honor of hearing your beautiful name?" Alistair stepped before the mysterious maiden and knelt, extending his hand toward her.
Amadeus's eyebrow twitched. As he placed his hand in the man's, he felt a wave of disgust; he was a man himself and was obviously not happy with this kind of treatment. But since he was a female right now, in a place he didn't know and governed by this "cringe" etiquette, he figured he should just follow the lead... and maybe gain some information from this creep.
"I'm Medea." He simply replied. When he heard his own voice, he chuckled, it sounded so girly and delicate.
Her laughter made Alistair dizzy, but he had never heard of a noblewoman with that name. He was a Duke and had memorized the face of every noble in the land, yet he had never seen her in his entire life. Perhaps she was hiding her true identity?
He felt her soft hand in his and gripped it lightly as he stood up. "If my lady doesn't have a companion yet for the grand festival, may I humor you with my company? I will do my best to never fall short of your expectations." He smiled softly, helping the maiden to her feet. But the moment she stood up, she faltered, and he instinctively embraced her to keep her from falling.
What the—! This body is too light! And why is this creep hugging me? Amadeus thought to himself, stiffening.
My god, she's so light... she fits perfectly in my embrace. Alistair thought, totally smitten.
Amadeus pushed him away, tilting his head down to hide his genuine anger. "I'm really sorry, sir... the sun must have made me a little dizzy."
"No worries. I'll immediately call someone to bring us some water." Alistair looked toward a nearby tree. A man who had been hiding behind the trunk showed himself, nodded, and vanished like a shadow. Moments later, he ran toward them carrying a tray with a glass and a carafe of water. Alistair poured a glass and handed it worriedly to the maiden.
Amadeus, desperate to know where he was, ignored the "lady-like" rules and gulped down the entire glass of water.
The servant quickly retreated, thinking he had never seen such a rude woman with such poor etiquette. Usually, girls were supposed to sip slowly, and she hadn't even wiped her mouth afterward. He sighed, disappointed that his master had fallen for such a woman.
Alistair watched her every movement, but he wasn't the slightest bit offended. He found it cute instead; her bluntness reminded him of his female comrades from the army.
"May I?" Alistair offered his arm, and Amadeus placed his hand upon it as they walked through the garden.
The entire time, Amadeus remained silent, simply looking around. Everything looked different, from the flowers to the very sky itself. He could see the sun, but there was something else hanging there, something like a moon, but not quite it. He couldn't fully understand its shape.
From the quiet, wide garden, they soon found themselves on a busy street. Everything was colorfully decorated with flowers and balloons.
"What is happening here?" he asked, finally looking at the man whose name he still hadn't heard. Should I ask? He wondered. Is it too late to ask now? He pondered it for a moment but then dismissed the thought. There was no use knowing the man's name when he planned to never stay in this woman's body for more than a day.
Alistair was confused by the question; how could she not know about the festival? However, he found he had more patience with her than he'd ever had in his entire life. "It's about the alignment of the planets. For the next seven days, anyone can attempt a trial to win the favor of the gods and have a wish granted."
Oh... another wish trial... I'm so done with these. Amadeus thought wearily.
"Did you ever participate in one of those trials?"
Alistair beamed, happy that she was curious about him. "Of course. I won when I was twenty. I asked for my little sister to be healed; the gods sent down high-ranking angels to cure her of an illness that had no other cure."
"And what was the trial about?" Amadeus asked. He stopped to pick up a journal from a young boy selling them on the street then he kept walking, but Alistair stayed behind a moment to hand some coins to the poor kid who had just been robbed.
"For noblemen, the trials usually involve surviving fierce battles or dangerous, alien environments. Mine was to be sent to the planet Mythara to fight against beastmen."
Amadeus listened while flipping through the journal, but he couldn't read a single word. The script was unlike anything he had ever seen, which made him wonder about his own abilities.
"Hey." Etiquette had completely left his mind. "What's written here?" He pointed to the title on the first page.
Alistair was left speechless once again. His first love couldn't be that stupid, right? "It says: 'Anomalies Appear Once Again.'"
Seeing the look on Alistair's face, Amadeus realized he must have been speaking different languages all along without knowing it, just as he had with the fairy on a previous planet or back in Vexis. There surely was no "international language" that spanned every world. But what shocked him most was that he held a journal discussing Anomalies, yet he was illiterate in this world's tongue.
[Let me fix that. You look stupid.]
The moment the notification appeared, Amadeus's head was flooded with knowledge. It felt as if an entire vocabulary was being shoved into his brain by force.
He clutched his head and crouched down in pain. "My lady, are you okay?"
Alistair's hand was immediately on his waist, pulling him protectively against his chest. Amadeus nodded weakly, his head still throbbing. "I need a place to sit for a while... I need to read this."
Alistair led him toward a coffee shop and settled "her" onto a couch. He called for someone to bring tea and appetizers as he watched the maiden read the journal. He sighed in relief that she could at least read; otherwise, he might have thought she came from the slums and was only pretending to be a lady, something he still wondered about.
The journal spoke of mysterious signals from Anomalies appearing at random on various planets: first on Earth, then on Mythara. They had even found one within The Engine Games, but all the soldiers they sent had died. The few who arrived after the first squad saw the Anomaly jumping into the lava.
It was a short article, but it was on the front page as it was the most important news ever. As he flipped through the journal, he saw pictures of villa structures, and on the next page, high-tech skyscrapers with advanced technology.
After reading several pages, he finally realized he was on a totally new planet: Astralys.
It was the richest planet and second only in power within their solar system. It was also the planet he hated the most. They were far ahead in technology and weaponry, and they possessed magic. They were always watching over Earth to ensure the humans never developed anything that could challenge them. They suppressed Earth in everything, ensuring they never entered a futuristic reality; even virtual games were prohibited there!
He also discovered that the Exotrack are people from Astralys. Maybe he should stay a few more days here. Thanks to the black liquid the fairy had given him, he would be safe as long as he didn't draw too much attention.
On the last page, he saw two faces he knew all too well: a boy and a girl smiling. Under the picture, it said that two brave scholars had participated in The Engine Game. Jane had done it for her sick mother, but Ryan had entered to gain wealth.
He chuckled once again as he looked at the picture. "May I ask for a pair of scissors?" she asked a maid who was walking by. Then, he cut the corner of the picture, folded it, and tucked it inside her bra.
Then she looked at the man sitting beside him, who blushed madly, and winked at him with a grin before standing up ready to leave. Such an easy man.
"It was a pleasure meeting you... ugh, sir, but I have to take my leave now." Since he had found 'friends' in this world, he decided he would use them instead of this creepy man.
"My lady, please. From what I've seen so far, you don't know the local etiquette, and you seem estranged by this place. If you let me, I would love to ensure your safety to wherever you want to go."
Alistair was a Duke and a General; of course, he wasn't stupid enough to be completely blinded by love. He could tell that the lady was not from here, maybe she came from another land, or perhaps from the slums...but his fascination with her was already immense. It wasn't just her beauty that captured him, but everything from her laughter to her very strange way of doing things.
Amadeus furrowed his eyebrows. He wasn't a truly frail woman, but he didn't know where to go or where to stay. He wasn't even sure if Jane and Ryan would welcome him in this world.
So, he reached back into his bra, pulled out the piece of paper, and handed it to the man. "Could you please help me find these two people? They are my friends, you see."
Alistair hesitated to take the paper that had just been hidden against her skin, his face turning a shade of red that rivaled a ripe tomato. He took the scrap and opened it, momentarily distracted by the flowery scent lingering on the parchment.
"So? Will you help me or not?" Amadeus asked, growing impatient.
"O-of course, my lady. Please, I'll take you to my villa for now. It will take some time to locate them, as these two are not actually from here."
"Mmh? Not from here? What do you mean?" Amadeus tilted his head.
"They are from the... slums." Alistair wanted to find a better word but didn't know what else to call that place. Since she had mentioned they were her friends, he was now certain the maiden had come from the slums herself.