Hero From The Toilet

5. My Hero Sigil Is on My Butt

The King gave a small nod, as though that made perfect sense and Rangga continued casually.

"I need an assistant—someone who at least knows how this world works and what's going on around here."

The elderly mage nodded.

"That can be arranged."

"And I need a house or somewhere to stay," Rangga added.

"That has already been prepared," the King replied without hesitation.

Rangga nodded, then added in exactly the same casual tone,

"...Also, I still haven't wiped my ass after taking that shit earlier."

For several seconds, everyone simply stared at him. The young mage immediately turned away, his cheeks turning red. The guard captain covered his face.

"...Gods above."

Several knights finally burst out laughing. The elderly mage rubbed his temples.

"...Very well."

The King let out a long sigh, clearly suppressing a smile.

"That is... an extremely reasonable request."

He then turned toward a woman in dark blue robes who had been silently observing everything from the sidelines.

"Arcelia."

The woman calmly stepped forward.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The King gestured toward Rangga.

"You will serve as the liaison between Rangga and the kingdom. Teach him about this world and show him to his residence."

Arcelia looked sharply at Rangga—Like someone evaluating a particularly unusual research specimen.

"Understood."

She turned slightly.

"Follow me."

Behind them, the young mage whispered,

"...He's assigning him to Arcelia?"

The elderly mage quietly replied,

"...She is the only person patient enough to deal with strange people."

The guard captain added flatly,

"And he certainly looks like a man who desperately needs a bathroom."

Meanwhile, Arcelia had already begun walking toward the castle without looking back and Rangga immediately followed.

His adventure in the world of Aetheris had finally, truly begun and the first thing he needed to do was find a bathroom.

They walked through the castle corridors.

Servants respectfully stepped aside as they passed, while several knights saluted Arcelia, receiving nothing more than a small nod in return.

The woman didn't speak much.

Her steps were calm and measured, and every now and then, she glanced behind her to make sure Rangga was still following.

Several minutes later, they exited the main building.

Within the castle complex stood a two-story stone house.

It wasn't particularly large, but it was clearly comfortable, with a small yard, wooden windows, and a door carved with the kingdom's crest.

Arcelia opened the door.

"This will be your residence for the time being."

Inside was a simple living room with a wooden table, a small fireplace, and a staircase leading to the second floor.

Several servants had already placed a fresh set of clothes on a chair and Arcelia pointed toward the stairs.

"The bathroom is upstairs..."

She paused.

"And yes, there is clean water."

As though she already knew exactly what he was going to ask.

Some time later, after Rangga had finally finished his unfinished business, cleaned himself up, and changed into a simple tunic, he returned downstairs.

Arcelia was sitting at the table with several books and maps spread out before her, apparently reading.

Rangga stopped in front of the table.

"Before we start..."

Arcelia raised her eyes slightly.

"...Yes?"

Rangga scratched his head.

"Sorry if I get your name wrong."

He tried to remember.

"Armelia?"

One of Arcelia's eyebrows rose.

"Artelia?"

The other eyebrow joined it and finally Rangga gave up.

"Yeah, whatever. That one."

Arcelia slowly closed her book.

"...Arcelia," she said flatly.

Rangga nodded casually.

"Alright, explain this place to me. Where am I?"

Arcelia stared at him for several seconds, making sure he was serious, before pulling a map closer and rotating it toward him.

"Very well."

She pointed to a location near the center of the map.

"We are in the Kingdom of Valthera—one of the five human kingdoms on the eastern continent."

Her finger moved across the wider map.

"This world is called Aetheris."

Then she pointed toward a darkly shaded region in the west.

"That is the Dominion of Umbra—the Demon King's territory."

She leaned back in her chair.

"Would you prefer the short explanation..."

Her gaze remained sharp.

"...or the long one?"

Outside, the sun was beginning to set. Rangga scratched his head.

"I'll take the version where you answer whatever I ask and make it easy to understand."

Arcelia let out a small sigh.

"...Very well."

Rangga immediately continued.

"First question."

He pointed at Arcelia.

"Why do all your names have so many consonants stuck together?"

Arcelia blinked.

"It's annoying," Rangga added seriously.

Silence then Arcelia closed her eyes for a moment.

"...They do not have excessive consecutive consonants. They merely sound unfamiliar to you because you did not grow up speaking our language."

Rangga shrugged.

"Yeah, but they're still hard."

Arcelia ignored the comment.

"Next question?"

Rangga pointed toward the map.

"If there are five countries... are the others helping?"

"Yes," Arcelia replied without hesitation.

She pointed toward several other territories.

"The threat posed by the Demon King affects every human kingdom."

Rangga leaned forward slightly.

"And please don't tell me they all have complicated names too."

Arcelia paused.

"...Sylvaris, Kardun, Eldoria, and Tarenholt."

She looked directly at Rangga.

"I have simplified the pronunciation for you."

Her tone remained flat but there was just a hint of sarcasm underneath. She returned her attention to the map.

"The five kingdoms formed the Eastern Alliance. If the Dominion of Umbra breaks through Valthera..."

Her finger rested on the border.

"...a full-scale war will begin."

Arcelia then crossed her arms and looked at Rangga.

"Now I have a question."

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Earlier, you mentioned tanks, jets, and uranium."

She lightly tapped the table.

"Those sounded like weapons."

Her gaze sharpened.

"Can you explain them? A tank?"

Rangga thought for a moment.

"It's kinda like a wagon..."

Then he casually added,

"...except it has a huge weapon on it."

"An armed wagon..." Arcelia repeated.

She gave a small nod. That was still something she could imagine.

"Yeah," Rangga continued, spreading both arms wide.

"...except it's shaped like a big metal box. The whole thing's made of metal, and it can move through swamps, mountains, regular terrain..."

Arcelia's eyebrows rose slightly. Now she was genuinely paying attention.

Rangga pointed toward the wall of the house.

"And it's got a weapon that fires something kind of like that water thing I did earlier—but imagine the projectile being about the size of your head and moving way faster."

Arcelia fell silent for a moment, trying to comprehend the scale.

"...That is not a wagon," she said quietly. "That is a moving fortress."

Rangga immediately continued, moving one hand through the air as though it were flying.

"And a jet... well, imagine something like a flying tank—except really fast, and it shoots similar kinds of stuff."

This time, Arcelia went completely silent. Not because she didn't understand but because her mind was clearly trying to calculate the implications.

"If such things truly exist in your world..." she finally said, "...then warfare there must be horrifying."

Rangga leaned back casually in his chair.

"Uranium's a secret."

He grinned and Arcelia narrowed her eyes.

"...Now I want to know even more."

But she didn't press him and returned to the main topic.

"Magic is supposed to be elemental, right?" Rangga asked. "What elements are there?"

Arcelia picked up a book from the table and opened it.

Inside was a circular diagram containing several neatly arranged symbols.

"There are six fundamental elements," she explained, pointing to them one by one.

"Fire, water, wind, earth... followed by light and shadow."

She partially closed the book and looked at Rangga.

"Most mages can use only one element. Those with exceptional talent may possess two."

Her expression shifted slightly.

"But what you did earlier..."

She paused.

"...was not elemental magic."

Another brief silence.

"It was more as though you forced the world to follow your logic."

Arcelia then pointed toward Rangga's palm.

"What truly interests me, however, is your Hero Sigil."

She narrowed her eyes.

"You haven't seen it yet, have you?"

Something in a rather private area of Rangga's body still felt warm.

"It's supposed to be here, right?" he muttered. "Let me check."

Rangga looked at his hands then his expression stiffened and Arcelia immediately noticed.

"Is something wrong?"

Rangga scratched his cheek.

"...It's not on my hand."

Arcelia blinked.

"It isn't there?"

Rangga quickly shook his head.

"Nope."

Silence then Arcelia waited.

"...It's somewhere else," Rangga continued quietly.

One of Arcelia's eyebrows rose.

"The Hero Sigil almost always appears on the hand..."

She paused.

"Where is it?"

Rangga clearly didn't want to answer and aeveral seconds passed. Arcelia slowly closed her eyes.

"...Please don't tell me."

She opened them again, her voice completely flat.

"...It appeared somewhere embarrassing."

Rangga said nothing. Arcelia stared at the ceiling for a moment before letting out a long, exhausted sigh.

"...The gods truly have a terrible sense of humor."

"It isn't particularly important," she continued, seemingly trying to convince herself more than Rangga.

"As long as the mark truly exists."