Game Master in Another World

Juliana walked slowly back to the inn with Toby. The townspeople lining the streets were cheering for her, reaching out and trying to shake her hand. Juliana, however, completely ignored them, keeping her head down and simply pushing her way past the crowds.

We arrived at the inn, and Juliana headed straight upstairs to our room. Toby followed quietly. His mood seemed to have plummeted; he was no longer smiling, and a deeply anxious look had settled on his face.

Once safely inside the room, Juliana immediately retreated to the bathroom while Toby sat down on his bed to read. She cast a minor spell, causing the metal basin of the bath to heat up. Once the water was suitably steaming, she stripped off her ruined gear and hopped in. She slowly began to relax, her rigid shoulders finally dropping as her body slumped into the warm water.

I briefly took control of our vocal cords. "I am sorry for summoning the wolves. Next time, I will ensure to summon creatures you would not mind seeing killed."

I released control, and Juliana let out a long, weary sigh. "Thank you, Lord Geoff. You did harm the perspective I held of you today, but I very much appreciate the apology."

We sat in the bath for nearly an hour. The water eventually became tepid, but Juliana remained perfectly still. Finally, she decided it was time to get out. The druidic clothing she had been wearing was torn, bloodied, and filthy from the day’s brutal combat. As Juliana ran the ruined fabric through her fingers, I could feel deep waves of sadness radiating from her mind.

I took control again. "Maybe the concierge could clean and repair your clothes for you?" I suggested out loud.

Juliana nodded hopefully. "A great idea, Lord Geoff. I shall go ask immediately."

She dropped the clothes and immediately started for the bedroom door. I frantically stopped her. You really shouldn’t go down there naked. If you want their help, you should at least wear your nightshirt!

Juliana sighed in mild annoyance. "People are far too uptight about clothing."

She begrudgingly slipped on her thin nightshirt, gathered her ruined gear into a bundle, and headed downstairs. The nightshirt was barely enough to be considered presentable in public, but at least her lack of proper attire could be explained away by the laundry she was carrying.

We headed down to the reception desk. The clerk managed to maintain her professional composure remarkably well as she took in our highly inappropriate attire, though her facial muscles visibly strained to stay completely straight.

“How may I help you tonight, madam?” the receptionist asked politely.

Juliana placed her ruined, bloodied clothing onto the polished wood. “I would like my garments repaired and cleaned if possible, please.”

The receptionist carefully looked over the torn fabric before neatly folding it back together. “Certainly. Are they magical in nature?”

Juliana nodded.

“Very well. We shall arrange for a suitably skilled tailor to look into this for you. However, given the enchantments, this will take at least a day, I’m afraid.”

Juliana nodded again.

“Do you have other clothing you can wear in the meantime?” the receptionist asked delicately.

Juliana thought for a moment about the tailored, heavily restrictive red dress waiting for her up in the room. “Yes. Unfortunately.”

“Excellent. I will have these returned to your room as soon as they are ready. And, of course, due to your immense service to the city today, we are honoured to provide this service completely free of charge.”

Juliana managed a genuine, albeit small, smile. “I appreciate your kindness in this matter.”

We headed back upstairs. Toby was already fast asleep when we returned to the room. Juliana quietly climbed into the large bed, cuddling close to the boy for comfort before quickly falling into a deep, exhausted sleep.

The next morning, Juliana woke up with her familiar smile finally returning. Thankfully, it seemed her divine nature allowed her to bounce back from profound sadness fairly quickly.

“Good morning, Toby,” she said softly, gently waking the boy.

Toby managed a big, sleepy smile the moment he looked at our face.

“How about we go get some breakfast?” Juliana asked.

Toby nodded his head enthusiastically and scrambled out of bed to get dressed.

Juliana then turned to look at the only clean piece of clothing she currently had available to her: the dreaded red dress. A dark scowl instantly returned to her face.

You cannot go down there in a nightshirt, Juliana. You have to wear the dress, I reasoned internally.

Juliana reluctantly pulled the tailored crimson fabric on, her deep discomfort painfully evident in her stiff, awkward movements.

Once dressed, we headed out into the city. The morning air was fresh, and the cobblestone streets were already bustling with people. The atmosphere was vastly livelier and more optimistic than we had ever seen it.

We walked down the street and quickly located the meat skewer vendor from our first day.

“Hi there. How much for a meat skewer today?” Juliana asked cheerfully.

The man beamed. “Only five copper per skewer today!” he said happily.

“That is much better than the other day. Why is that?” Juliana asked.

“Well, the military finally got some supply wagons in! The cost of meat has decreased dramatically in just a single day. It has been absolutely great for business.”

“Wonderful. We will take four, thanks,” Juliana said.

She handed over two silver coins, and the vendor handed her four steaming skewers.

Just as Juliana was turning to hand two over to Toby, we were forcefully bumped from behind. The sudden impact caused Juliana to fumble, dropping all four skewers directly into the muddy street.

Juliana quickly looked around. A frail, elderly man was lying on the ground behind us.

“Oh, I am so sorry, madam. I tripped,” the old man wheezed.

“It is no problem at all,” Juliana replied warmly, extending a hand and helping him to his feet.

The man looked down at the ruined food in the mud. “Oh dear. How about I buy you some new ones to replace them?” he offered.

“Oh, you really do not have to,” Juliana responded.

“I insist! I cannot have you wasting your money on my clumsy mistake.”

He quickly pressed two silver coins into the vendor's hand, gathered four fresh skewers, and handed them directly to Juliana.

“Well, it was very nice to meet you. Please, do enjoy your meal.” The elderly man gave a polite bow before turning and disappearing into the busy, flowing crowd.

Juliana handed Toby his two skewers before taking a bite of her own.

As we chewed, the taste was distinctly... off. It was just slightly more bitter and metallic than it had been the first time. Had the vendor used some different seasoning today?

Suddenly, Toby dropped his food. His small face began to violently convulse, a pained, rigid grimace locking his jaw. His eyes widened in absolute, suffocating fear as he choked, desperately trying to speak. His spine bowed unnaturally as his muscles seized, and he collapsed heavily onto the hard cobblestone.

Quick, Juliana! Cast Cure Poison on Toby, immediately! I screamed in our mind.

Juliana gasped in sheer panic. She dropped her skewers, fell to her knees beside the boy, and rapidly chanted a druidic incantation. A warm, green light washed over him. Almost instantly, Toby’s rigid little body began to relax, and the sheer, agonizing terror on his face slowly subsided into exhausted gasps for air.

“You are okay now, Toby. I am so sorry my presence caused you to be targeted like this,” Juliana said kindly.

She conjured a small stream of pure water and gently washed the mud and poison residue from his hands.

We quickly scanned the bustling street for the frail elderly man we had seen earlier, but he was nowhere to be found. He had vanished completely into the crowd.

“Let us take these skewers to Lady Evelyn. Can you stand, Toby?”

Toby nodded weakly before carefully climbing to his feet.

The street vendor stood frozen, looking absolutely horrified at what had just transpired. “It couldn’t have been my food! People have been buying my skewers all morning without any of that happening!” he pleaded, his hands raised defensively.

“Well, how about you come with us as a witness to the event?” Juliana suggested.

She carefully gathered the dropped skewers from the mud—both the poisoned batch we had just bitten into and the clean ones that had been knocked to the ground earlier—before turning toward the Mage Tower.

The vendor was understandably unhappy about leaving his cart unattended, but thankfully, he didn’t take much convincing. It wasn’t long before we were once again standing before the receptionist in the Mage Tower lobby.

“How may I help you today, Lady Juliana, Toby, and... friend?” the receptionist asked, eyeing the nervous vendor.

“There was an attempt on my life, and I would like an official investigation conducted if at all possible,” Juliana stated simply.

The secretary blinked, her professional composure slipping for a second. “Oh. Right. Is the man with you the would-be assassin?”

The vendor instantly began to protest. “No! I didn’t try to kill that boy!” he shouted in panic.

Juliana quickly shushed him.

“I do not believe so, but I suspect these skewers should prove his innocence,” Juliana said, her serene smile firmly back in place.

“Okay, I will send for someone to assist you.” The receptionist hastily scribbled a note and passed it to a waiting page boy, who immediately sprinted up the spiral stairs. “In the meantime, please have a seat.” She motioned toward the plush chairs.

We sat down on the sofa. Beside us, the vendor was growing increasingly nervous, his foot tapping a frantic, repetitive rhythm against the marble floor.

It wasn’t long before Lady Evelyn appeared in the lobby.

“I gathered the gist of the situation from the receptionist's note. Would you all please follow me?” she instructed briskly.

We followed her up the winding stairs, soon finding ourselves back inside her private office. As we entered the room, Lady Evelyn immediately pulled several empty glass vials from a cabinet and lined them up on her desk.

“Now, Lady Juliana, what exactly were the symptoms that afflicted Toby?”

Juliana explained the harrowing medical event in precise detail, from the rigid, bowing spine to the suffocating panic.

“I see. I have a strong suspicion regarding the poison used. Could you please break off a piece of each skewer and drop them into the separate vials? Make sure to conjure water to wash your hands after handling each piece to avoid cross-contamination.”

Juliana carefully deposited the meat samples exactly as instructed.

Lady Evelyn then retrieved a stoppered glass dropper of clear acid from the shelving behind her desk and meticulously squeezed a single drop into each sample.

After a tense minute, the liquid inside four of the vials violently hissed as the acid reacted with the meat, rapidly turning a dark, sickly purple, while the others remained perfectly clear.

“It is exactly as I thought. Strychnine,” Lady Evelyn stated grimly. “You are incredibly lucky to be alive, young man. And since only four skewers were tainted, I think we can safely rule out the vendor as the culprit. Sir, you are dismissed.”

The terrified vendor took the opportunity to immediately flee the office, his footsteps echoing rapidly down the stairs.

“This specific type of poisoning has become far more common as of late, typically targeting political leaders and competent military commanders,” Lady Evelyn mused, her eyes narrowing at the purple vials. “Our current working theory is that Forlinth is systematically eliminating anyone who could be a threat to their siege. But the truly odd thing is... the leaders who were preaching peace were targeted far more heavily than the ones clamouring for war.”

She looked up. “Did you happen to get a good look at the likely assassin?”

“Yes, but he just looked like an ordinary, frail elderly man. He had no noticeable or defining traits,” Juliana replied.

Lady Evelyn nodded slowly, almost as if she expected that exact answer. “Professional shape-shifters or illusionists, then. Well, they likely know that the attempt on your life was thwarted by now. I will ensure we ramp up your security detail immediately.”

“Thank you,” Juliana replied sincerely.

“With that out of the way, you may leave the evidence with me. I strongly suggest getting Toby some rest for now. He looks like he is still in deep shock.”

Juliana took the moment to look down at Toby. His small face was deathly pale, and he was staring blankly at the floorboards, completely unable to focus on the conversation.

Juliana gave a sad, forced smile. “I shall do exactly that. I wish you all the best with your investigation into this matter.”

We left Lady Evelyn’s office and headed quietly back to our room. Being actively targeted by professional assassins didn’t leave me worrying for Juliana’s safety. With her max-level stats and immunities, she was virtually invincible. Instead, a cold dread settled in my stomach for Toby. He was just a normal boy who did not possess a constitution quite like ours, making him the ultimate, fragile target.

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