Aki nodded, still not completely comprehending what he meant. It all sounded like the setting to some role-playing video game.
The Hero’s Right-hand and the Dark Lord’s Right-hand, huh? In other words, we are like indispensable assistants to them? Now that I think about it, the Dark Lord called Nako his fiancé. Was that his exaggerated way of calling her his Right-hand? …I kind of have a grasp on why they summoned me to this world, but how much does Nako know about all this? Will we have to fight each other with me on Elias’ side as the Hero’s Right-hand and Nako on the Dark Lord’s side as his Right-hand? Cold sweat trickled down Aki’s cheeks.
…But wait, there’s a chance Nako only heard the obscure explanation of being the Dark Lord’s fiancé and knows nothing about being his Right-hand or having to fight Elias. In the first place, she isn’t the fighting type. I don’t think she’d happily go along with them if they said she had to fight. But Nako didn't struggle or resist when the Dark Lord took her. Does that mean he tricked her? I can’t let Nako stay with the Dark Lord. It’s my job as her older sister to protect her.
“That reminds me,” Elias spoke up, “I had Leo summon you for me, but you said the Dark Lord went directly to pick up your sister and brought her here.”
“Oh, now that you mention it, that’s true… Can he freely travel between your world and my world?” Aki asked.
Leo placed his hands on the side of the altar and unsteadily climbed to his feet. He stretched his right hand in front of him and ran his finger through the air like he was drawing something on an invisible canvas. A faint blue light connected a line behind his finger’s movement, eventually transforming into a magic circle not unlike the ones Aki had seen in books.
Leo waved his hand after finishing the circle, erasing it. Wind swelled up around him, lifting him into the air. He airily floated toward Elias and Aki before landing smoothly beside them.
Wow! Leo can fly! Is this the power of magic too?
Leo casually adjusted his clothing and faced Aki, whose eyes sparkled over seeing magic done right in front of her. “There you have it. This world has a power known as magic, but the magic that allows someone to travel between worlds, World Transference Magic, requires enormous magical power that’d kill the average Mage. So, in general, only the Dark Lord can make use of it. Dark Lord has a monstrous amount of magical power, even for this world.”
“Really? Is it impossible for the Hero Elias as well?”
“Yeah. In stark contrast to the Dark Lord’s outrageous levels of magic, the Hero has zero magical power. Instead, the Hero is blessed with strength surpassing the bounds of human logic and catlike reflexes,” Elias explained.
“I see.”
So that’s why he was able to easily catch me while I was falling. Still, his slender and not particularly muscled physique doesn’t fit the image of someone with super human strength. Maybe it’s a latent ability that doesn’t need to be shown physically.
“…Aki.” Elias gingerly scooped up her hands. Surprised, she looked from their hands to his serious face. He earnestly stared right into her eyes. “I’m sorry you girls got pulled into our mess. I promise I will definitely rescue your little sister. So won’t you please trust me and come with us?”
“Elias…”
Being with another world’s hero greatly increased the likelihood of rescuing her little sister. But Aki had lived until that day as an ordinary office worker. She didn’t have any special powers suited for traveling in another world. The thought of only being a burden to Elias and the others during their travels niggled at her mind.
“Um, it would be really reassuring for me too if I could join you on your journey. But I don’t have any powers or anything…”
“What?”
Elias and Leo exchanged looks.
“You don’t have any powers?” Leo’s eyebrows knitted in disbelief. The two men were acting strange all of a sudden. Had Aki confessed something absurd to them?
Elias reservedly placed his hands on her shoulders. “Aki, you weren’t endowed with some sort of special ability when you came to this world?”
“What kind of special ability?”
Am I supposed to say what I’m good at here? Like cooking, cleaning, and laundry? But being the average office worker I am, I don’t really have any special skills worth mentioning. How should I answer him?
Leo scratched the back of his head at a loss over her downcast silence. “You see, the Hero’s Right-hand is supposed to be endowed with a special ability by the Goddess when they’re summoned to this world. Did you not meet the Goddess?”
Goddess? The only people I have met from this world so far have been the Dark Lord, Elias, and Leo. I assume a Goddess is a woman, but I have no memory of meeting any women since leaving my condo. Is the Hero’s Right-hand supposed to have received a special ability the moment they were summoned to this world? Aki bit her lower lip.
She didn’t want to be in their way, when they were helping her rescue her sister. It didn’t matter how trivial it would be, but she wanted to find something she could do to be of use to them.
What is something a paralegal can do? A great idea suddenly seemed to come down from the heavens.
“Oooooh! I just came up with a great idea!”
“Whoa! What’re you suddenly shouting for? You scared the living daylights out of me!”
Aki ignored Leo and stepped forward with cheeks flushed red from all the excitement. “Um, you know, I served in a position known as a paralegal, or what you might call a secretary, in my own world! I predominately organized my boss’—or perhaps superiors would be easier to understand in this world—schedule!”
“I-I see. So?” Elias responded, lifting both hands in the air, signaling his complete confusion by what she meant and her intensity.
When I think of a hero’s adventure the first thing that comes to mind is traveling to different towns greeting the people in power, reserving transportation between continents, acquiring last-minute inn rooms along the way, and things that all require managing the time and schedule. Having served as both a paralegal and secretary in the law firm, I’m more than skilled at managing that kind of work.
Aki looked up at Elias who waited for her reply, and took a deep breath before loudly proclaiming, “Elias! Please make me the secretary to the Hero!”