Lahnthean Aria

9

Kiran frowned. He didn't look like he was going to tell her anything else about it.

"You said 'ritual,'" she began, hoping to learn as much as she could about her situation. "k********g people from another world is a ritual here?"

He flinched, uncomfortable at being called a 'kidnapper' though he had to admit it technically described what he had done. "It's an important rite of passage in my family. When we reach a certain age, we are tasked with the mission of summoning a maiden from your world."

"To test your magic skills?"

"To secure an Aria."

"An aria? A song?" Wasn't that what an "aria" was?

Mr. Kidnapper bitterly turned away.

Kiran realized that saving Alessa might have put the lives of the young man and his people in danger. "I'm sorry. I made things more difficult for you and your people by being here instead of Alessa. But I'm still not okay with your k********g approach.

Did Alessa know that you were coming to ask for her help? From what little I remember about my last moments in my world, she was genuinely scared and confused at what was happening.

Do you even really have to summon people that way? Couldn't you just travel to our world and take a more diplomatic approach in asking for help?"

He smirked. "First of all, your world barely has enough particles to sustain magic from this world. If we transported ourselves there, we wouldn't be able to use magic to return home. We would be stuck there forever. If we do it the other way around, we can still potentially send you back.

Second, the responsibilities of an Aria isn't exactly something that can be explained through a simple conversation. It's too complicated for even me to explain everything about it."

Kiran frowned. She probably shouldn't judge him and his people for their culture, just because they were from a different world than her. Isekai novels themselves usually didn't have a fair reason for suddenly uprooting people from their loved ones.

"So does the Aria have to beat monsters like those guardians?" she asked. "Does she become the most powerful person here and destroy a demon lord?"

He stared confused at her. "What's a demon lord?"

"Oh…so you don't have demon lords. A demon king? An evil army trying to conquer your land? A monster commanding a horde of monsters attacking your people? A big bad boss threatening the peace?"

He studied her expression for a moment before snorting. "You're weird."

"What does the Aria fight then?! How does she become a hero?"

He looked away, crossing his arms over his chest. "The Aria doesn't slay any monster. She doesn't even fight anything. She just sings."

Kiran smirked. "It's a good thing I'm not the Aria then. I can't carry a tune to save my life." She wasn't sure if Alessa could carry a tune though, not that she should care about it.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing! I uh…just found what you said interesting."

He looked doubtful at her for a moment before rising to his feet. "Let's head to the bottom of the mountain. The sooner we get down from here, the sooner we can head to the other mountains and send you home."

"Um…I'm afraid of heights…so…I can't just jump from one step to another. I might slow us down."

"It's alright. The mountain limits the ways that it can be navigated, but I can still use simple spells to hike down the steps faster than walking or running. I'll just carry you. It will also be safer to cross the domain of the winged serpents that way."

"I-if you say so. I'm pretty heavy though."

"Nothing a strength spell can't fix."

Kiran's jaw dropped. Did he just call her fat?! Sure, she was embarrassed that she had weight problems but he could be kinder about it, right? Were everyone in that world insensitive like him?

She then noticed the clouds around them had begun to thin out, revealing what seemed like a vast expanse of land meeting a vibrant blue sky. She gasped as the colors of the land seeped through the fog revealing patches of blue, purple, brown and gray.

Nothing was green.

The young man noticed the way Kiran was gaping at the scenery. "Oh right. I haven't properly introduced you to my world. Welcome to Lahnthea. You can call me Noorh."