Magnus, this time, was not sitting on his throne.
Yay!
Ahem…
Magnus was lying on the floor instead.
Face down. Arms spread out. Dressed in royal pajamas and a cape that looked more like a blanket dragged out of a laundry basket. A cup of half-finished coffee sat dangerously close to his head.
"Progress," Bob muttered, standing nearby with a clipboard.
"Shut up," came Magnus's muffled voice from the floor. "I'm working."
"By collapsing?"
"It's called floor-based strategy planning. Ancient art. Very advanced."
Bob rolled his eyes but said nothing. He knew better by now.
Then the door creaked.
"Your Majesty," came a nervous voice—Sister Marianne.
"What is it?" Magnus turned his head just enough to crack one eye open.
"Well, the tea leaves have ru—wait." She paused mid-step, frowning. "Why's Bob here? Shouldn't he be at the academy?"
Magnus blinked. "Huh… You're right."
Bob stiffened.
Marianne narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me you skipped your teaching duties."
Bob coughed. "It's called a flexible schedule. I'm technically on break."
"It's Monday. And you started working there two days ago."
"A... special break. Emergency leave."
"For what emergency? And where's Renaya?" Her tone softened slightly.
Bob glanced at Magnus, then back at her. "F-For the tea leaves? I thought I should return. Also, Renaya's traveling the city. She said it's her vacation."
Marianne looked between the two of them like they were the dumbest creatures alive. "You're both useless."
Magnus raised a hand from the floor in mock triumph. "Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"Oh…"
She sighed. "Anyway, we've run out of tea leaves. Unless you want boiled sock water again—"
"NO!" both men shouted at once, suddenly wide awake.
Magnus sat up with the urgency of a man who had just been threatened with death. "Dispatch a retrieval squad. Send a raven. Sacrifice a goat if needed."
"There's a shop in town."
"Oh. Well... do that."
"I already did. The new tea supplier is on their way."
Magnus blinked. "We're outsourcing tea now?"
"No, Your Majesty. We're interviewing a new servant. A tea-specialized one."
Magnus slowly lay back down. "Isn't Renaya already the tea-maker?"
"She's on vacation," Bob reminded him.
"When did I approve that?"
The door creaked open again.
In stepped a boy, no older than fifteen, carrying a giant satchel and a polished steel teapot gently steaming in his hands.
He took a deep breath and declared:
"My liege! I have come bearing the elixir of sanity!"
Magnus blinked. "…Oh no. He's energetic."
"Nice to meet you, Lord Sloth! The laziest man in Eryndale! The stupidest thing ever to not walk! The throne itself! The—"
"Okay, stop."
"I understand, my lord. But first, allow me to introduce myself: I am Teagan!"
Magnus and Bob exchanged glances… and promptly burst out laughing.
"Tea?" Magnus cackled. "Your name's literally Tea? Your fate was sealed from birth!"
Teagan's smile didn't budge. "My name means little poet, you lazy f*cker."
Magnus blinked. "Did… did he just swear at me?"
Bob flipped a page on his clipboard. "Yup. Bold words. Let's see how it plays out."
Unfazed, Teagan marched forward and placed the teapot on the nearest table like he was offering a divine relic. "Steeped exactly three minutes. Balanced temperature. No bitterness. I call it—'The Awakening.'"
Magnus squinted at the cup. "It's glowing."
"It does that."
"That's concerning."
"That's artistry." Teagan crossed his arms. "Drink it, and even you might stay upright for more than ten seconds."
Bob leaned in. "I don't think he knows what happens when Magnus drinks unknown glowing liquids."
Teagan raised an eyebrow. "What happens?"
Magnus took a sip.
A long pause.
Then—
He flopped sideways and began snoring.
Teagan stared.
Bob blinked. "Did… did he just fall asleep?"
Marianne stepped closer and inspected the cup. "One sip and he's out. That's a new record."
"I—it was supposed to energize him," Teagan muttered, horrified. "I spent two years perfecting that blend! Ginger, cinnamon, caffeinated sunberry petals from the volcanic isles—!"
"Yeah," Bob cut in, "you gave Magnus Caffeine a supertea. He's not built like us. He's… built worse."
Teagan slumped into a chair. "He didn't even finish the cup…"
Magnus mumbled something in his sleep, face buried in the floor.
"What'd he say?" Marianne asked.
Bob listened, then translated: "'Hire the tea guy… he's annoying… but effective… And… stop calling me by my name, you b*stards…'"
Teagan sat up straight. "That counts as royal approval, right?"
"Unfortunately," Marianne sighed. "Welcome to the castle, Teagan. May the gods help you."
Teagan glanced at the still-glowing tea. "…I'm going to need stronger ingredients."
---
—Later—
Magnus awoke again, this time on his throne.
It seemed the bunny nun—ahem, Marianne—had picked him up and placed him there while he slept.
Then a voice dinged in his head.
He didn't move.
It dinged again. Nothing.
Then it screamed.
[WAKE UP!!!]
Magnus bolted upright. "Gahh! What the heck was that!?"
[Something's wrong,] Myst's voice said sharply.
"What now?"
[Lucain has gone missing. And an anomaly has entered this world.]
Magnus sighed. "What does Lucain disappearing have to do with me? And whatever this anomaly is, I'm sure someone else can deal with it."
[It shouldn't have anything to do with you,] Myst said, quieter now. [But this world… it's stitched too tightly to your existence.]
Magnus blinked. "That sounds like a you problem."
[It was. Until he entered.]
Magnus frowned. "He?"
[The system doesn't recognize him. He wasn't born here, wasn't summoned, wasn't created. He just… appeared.]
"…So a dimensional tourist fell in. We get those sometimes. Send Bob."
[No portal opened. No ritual was cast. Not even a god blinked.]
Magnus leaned back. "You're making this sound way too dramatic."
[Because it is.] The voice buzzed faintly.
He yawned, stretched, and let his hand fall lazily onto the armrest.
It landed on something soft.
He glanced down.
Marianne was sleeping there, her head resting on the throne's armrest, her body curled up on a nearby chair.
"…Doesn't she have her own room for this?" he muttered while pinching her soft, squishy cheeks gently.
Carefully, he pulled his hand back and summoned a slime, sliding it under her head like a pillow.
[I am suddenly filled with jealousy,] Myst muttered. [But that's not the issue here.]
"Huh? What are you jealous about? I can't even care for my subordinates? Huh? You want me to be a bad king?"
Myst thought to herself 'is he pretending or really doesn't know what he just did'..
A light thump echoed in the throne room.
Magnus blinked.
A small white envelope had materialized out of thin air, landing squarely in his lap.
[There's more,] Myst said. [The anomaly… he somehow new the mail system of the constellations, he sent this to me.]
Magnus picked up the envelope lazily, examining it under one eye.
"No name. No seal. No magic signature. Very suspicious." He paused. "I like it."
He tore it open.
Inside was a single slip of parchment. Six words, written in sharp ink:
"You are also from earth, right?."