Framework of the Frontier, Sain Artwell [read me a book .TXT] 📗

your folk to make reparations for what the others did. Come now, introduce yourself.”

“My folk?” William blinked.

The Letter King’s thin silvery brows tightened. “The four who came before you, and exhausted my patience for strangers who believe they can feign ignorance before me. Answer the question.”

So they are alive. They were here. But what the hell did they do? Crap, I should’ve thought things through on the walk. He didn’t trust his ad-lib to spin anything these people would buy. Consternation began bubbling up in William’s guts as his mind ran off towards the darker corners. He thought about it, stirring in the worries and uncertainty.

Not much else to do here than to be honest, is there? Besides, If I end up living here, I might as well build it on truths.

It clicked in his brain. Not in a sense that he figured anything out, but as a breath of freedom. Weight melted from his chest as William straightened his back, holding the Letter King’s gaze locked with his own.

“Okay, this is going to sound like nonsense to you, but I swear on the grave of Stubs, the best boy of all the good boys to ever have wagged his tail, that it’s all the honest truth.

”I’m William Adams, a mall cop from Earth, which I imagine is either a different solar system or a dimension or something along those lines. Yesterday, I met up with four friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen in almost a decade. They came to cheer me up over grandpa’s death, toss some dice, chill, and have a good time. Man, that had to have been the cringiest and most uncomfortable game start ever, but I guess that’s what separation does. Anyhow, Mitchelle read some lines fromEden’s Gate campaign as the opening for our game, we introduced our characters, and a weird thing appeared that killed us one by one. I thought it did. And then I woke up, walked here, and your goons — sorry, I mean lovely and helpful soldiers some of whom are attractive ladies — rounded me up. Shit…” William trailed off, thoughts racing as he reached a realization, or rather a whole bunch of them at once.

William was starting to realize his body was exactly as he’d imagined he would be in the game. More importantly, that had to mean that he was a Radiant Paladin now.

Fuck!

I should’ve asked Abbie to make me an overpowered build. Oh, God, I’m stuck with a shitty buff boy powers now? William groaned. If only he had known.

“You seem distressed,” observed the Letter King.

“Yes, very. I wish I had picked a different class before coming here.”

The Letter King rubbed her temple, struggling to maintain a composed face. “How is it that you speak Nibir and gibberish simultaneously so fluently?”

“It’s English.”

“Hah, English. Is that what they call it these days? I suppose, I ought to commend you for the honesty at the very least.” She sighed, straightening her back. “I find it hard to believe that there exists a realm with wizards casually teleporting across the realms as part of ‘a game’, but yet here you are — an impossible man. Now tell me, what do the words ‘is-sekai’ and ‘ex-pea’ mean?”

As William stared at her in stunned amusement, he noticed weapons rising around the room. Dozens, no, hundreds of ghostly hands lifted spears and swords, pointing them at him.

What is this, a captcha quiz?

“Firstly, the teleportation across ‘the realms’ was more of a panic accident than casual, secondly this reaction is absolutely ridiculous.”

“My safety is my greatest concern, far above your sensibilities. Now answer the question,” Letter King’s voice tensed.

William blinked. “Just saying, you don’t need to be such a jerk… Isekai means ‘in another world’ in Japanese and ex-pee is a short for experience points.”

Letter King’s brows tensed as she leaned forward on her elbows. “And these words do not induce an uncontrollable murderous urge in you?”

“What the fuck? No.” William couldn’t help but snort. “Why would they?”

The room around him seemed to relax, if only slightly. Weapons withdrew into the shadows of the room. Letter King sank in her chair, her pose of cool disinterest giving way to a look of genuine relief. “Thank the gods, this one is not utterly mad. Now, why don’t you explain to me what this ‘mall cop’ is.”

“Oh, I was basically a… you have Ranger’s as the lawmen here right? Well, I was that, but for a two hundred thousand square feet shop.”

“Two hundred thousand… You lie. I have not heard of shops so vast.” Letter King leaned back on her throne. A murmur of disbelief traveled through the room.

William pursed his lips. “I was pretty decent at it.”

The only thing I was ever good at.

“Letter King, how about we give him the benefit of the doubt, and treat him as any traveler. I have a feeling he’s not going to stir trouble, are you William?” Lidarein gave him a hopeful look with a twinge of apology, perhaps feeling guilty for the way they had treated him. He wouldn’t hold it against her. Whether a lowly mall guard or a Ranger, your duty was to protect others.

“No, I’ve no such intention.” William felt a small grin tug on his lips.

Not only was she attractive and willing to protect her people, she seemed to be a generous judge of character, and outspoken in her observations. A sexy combination of traits in any woman, doubly so in an elf fit enough to be an olympic swimmer.

“Also…” peeped a smaller voice of the faun. “I also think so, he was so worried before if we would be fair.”

“Yep. Seem sane to me,” agreed a gravelly voice of a tall troll-like man. Rest of the squad murmured their agreements after him.

With a thoughtful look, Letter King measured William for long moments,