Chương 5

So, I've been fucking transmigrated. That much was obvious. The reason why this happened, though, not so much. I could assume that a god of sorts had realized that magic didn't belong on earth and had retrieved my mana core back where it belonged. My memories had maybe been kept as a pure accident? That was all speculation. I needed more information to come to any conclusions. For now, the mystery of my transmigration probably had to be pushed aside for more pressing problems.

What's the chance that Trina is on the same planet as me? I submerged deeper into the water, sighing. Her presence pointed out in space. I felt my core get pulled in the same direction. It's safe to assume she was also transmigrated. Given the size of the universe, I still couldn't confirm whether Trina was on the same planet or not. I could hope and assume that the world had some sort of plan for us, but reality was often more nuanced. Trina could be here, or she could be on another planet in the same direction.

I didn't have her belongings anymore to cast another tracker spell, notwithstanding the risk of attracting more astral god-like threats if I cast another long-distance tracker. I needed a plan. Both a short-term plan to survive as Vora, and a long-term plan for my personal goals as Leon Sinclair from earth. Can I keep acting as Vora, or should I reveal to the government that I've been transmigrated? I snorted at that thought. Vora had just robbed a noble house and killed a member of law enforcement.

I probably didn't want to get in contact with them. If I was caught, I was looking at a death sentence. The approach of staying low and trying to blend in seemed like a safer option for now. I'm a murderer now, I thought. Self-defense or not, I had killed a person. One could present a moral dilemma that I didn't deserve to be in this bath at all right now, but frankly, I'd be dead if I hadn't fought back. I had no interest in serving a sentence for Vora's crimes.

I wasn't about to give myself in, and I wasn't going to lose sleep over accidentally killing a corrupt mage cop. That meant I'd be escaping death row for the foreseeable future. If possible, I'd need to figure out what crimes Vora had committed before I took control of his body. One positive: Vora had never heard of the concept of DNA, nor fingerprint reading.

The lack of surveillance technology reassured me at least a little, but those facts did not dismiss the possibility of a powerful mage hopping in to track me down from a strand of hair, or more simply, it didn't stop Vora's accomplices from getting caught and slipping my name. Why were you there in the first place, Vora? I wondered. Your home has a more luxurious bath at home than what modern Americans have. You were expelled from school? So what? Entry level jobs exist here.

Your parents would have been more than happy to see you working at a bakery. What was it that pushed you to such desperation? His memories didn't answer. I'd need to find clues on my own. While I tried to pry into Vora's mind for answers, receiving nothing, a feeling in the magical realm broke my thought. The walls and doors around me hindered my senses, but I vaguely felt the ambient mana up to the apartment complex's hallway. That feeling grew, the mana in the apartment increasing in density.

I paused, focusing on it. The lock of our apartment clicked. As the door opened, the sensations became clear, and someone's mana core entered our apartment. Oh, fuck. I very nearly splashed water in out of surprise, but contained my panic by freezing on the spot instead. I had no escape routes. The bathroom didn't even have a lock. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. My mana reserves had recovered by a tiny margin, enough to just barely cast Conceal Core.

The spell veiled my core in a tiny layer of mana, just thick enough to block any from flowing outward. The layer worked almost like a mirror, or camouflage. It had been enough to make Trina say, " Wait, where's your mana core?" but she saw through it after a second look. I also couldn't cast other magic without breaking the effect. Not that my drained core had any mana left to spare anyway.

"Welcome home!" Mom said.

"Food's ready. It's a bit cold. You're later than usual." A grumpy man's voice responded, "Crazy fucking mages in the city again. I might be working overtime for the next month."

"Oh," Mom said, tone low and sympathetic.

"I'll reheat the soup for you. You can join Vora in the bath." Oh no, I thought, realizing the reason why Vora's family could afford this bath at all. The bathroom door opened, and his dad stepped in. With a frown on his face, he unbuttoned his uniform—grey with a lot of red. The insignia of a blooming fireball was proudly on its shoulder. Dad left it neatly on the hanger, then undressed his shirt and pants.

With no fear of showing his privates, he climbed into the bath, just barely fitting on the opposite side as we sat. My dad was a mage officer, and not a bad one either. The presence of his core was a little stronger than the flamethrower mage's that I'd killed, and his uniform almost had more red than grey. He glanced at my clothes on the ground. Then his large nose and thick eyebrows turned to me.

"Jogging pants?" An awkward laugh came out of my mouth.

"Yeah, I'm starting it as a hobby!" Vora was also an awkward person. Thank God for that—my response should probably fit in.

"A new hobby, huh," my dad said.

"I guess jogging is not the worst way to waste time. Just pick your streets carefully. There's been a lot of mages out lately." He didn't seem to see through my concealment, having no reason to believe his coreless son had suddenly learned how to cast magic. Camouflage worked for now.

"Mhm," I said.

"You do know that you're lucky to still have the right for hobbies," dad said.

"You'd be homeless if you'd been born a hundred miles north."

"Yes, dad, I'm grateful," I said. He studied my face.

"And what would your plans for a career be after getting expelled?"

"I'll look for entry-level jobs tomorrow." That term seemed to also work here.

"Maybe a clerk's position at a store." His judgeful stare was genuinely uncomfortable to be on the other end of.

"You won't afford a proper bath with a job like those. You'll be lucky if your apartment has a bathhouse at all. You'll struggle to gain raises as a clerk without education." Dad's words prompted the relevant details to appear in Vora's memories, leading me to form a sentence he could have replied with in this situation. He'd have said something like, " Every apartment has a bathhouse today, even the cheap ones." His tone would have been unconfident and his head low.

I didn't like that his answer missed his dad's point entirely. I said, "Any job is better than no job. And it'll help pay for the tuition." Dad studied my expression.

"I'm not upset at the tuition money. It's gone. We don't need to think about it. I'm more upset about the way you've treated your future for the last three years, son." Vora had been studying material physics in Saint Aster's University. A rather expensive school, though it wasn't a magic academy. Those didn't seem to exist here. The reason Vora got expelled was simply failing too many tests, lacking results, and generally falling too far behind on his studies to recover and catch up. Vora felt ashamed about it.

The emotion fit the situation, so I lowered my head, despite not feeling any of Vora's shame myself.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"I haven't been myself lately…"

"Have you still been thinking about Qani?" The mention of her sent a sharp, painful memory into my head. Qani was one of the most important names Vora knew. A childhood friend, and a girl he still thought about every day. He used to have a crush on her. In its place was now a deep, endless void. Not because Qani rejected him. She hadn't. In fact, the day he'd asked Qani out had been the happiest day of his life. Vora's girlfriend, Qani Hailman, had been missing for three years.

"I'm starting to get over it," I managed to say. Dad nodded.

"House Ellaris will make Asterra into a safe city again. Disappearances like these won't ever happen again." That didn't reassure Vora. The exact opposite. He had an almost visceral reaction to hearing dad connect Ellaris with safety. Very interesting, I thought. Vora doesn't seem to trust his dad?

"Just know that we want the best for you," dad said.

"We're not upset at you. Or if we are, it's because we wish you'd try harder."

"Thanks, dad," I said.

"I'll go hunting for jobs tomorrow." He smiled for the first time. A tiny smile, and it lasted for just a few seconds. We sat silently in the pool for a moment longer, moving to the dinner table to eat carrot soup, which was delicious, well up to modern standards—before I excused myself to my first night of sleep in this new world.