What is this door? I noticed that everyone passing by seemed to completely ignore it. It was about two meters tall, oval-shaped, and emitted a soft, blue-green glow. Out of curiosity, I pulled out a coin and tossed it through. To my surprise, it passed straight through and fell to the ground on the other side.
The people around me glanced at me strangely, then walked away, unwilling to interfere. Feeling a little unsettled, I leaned closer and put my hand into the opening. The moment my fingertips touched it, a chill spread through me, like dipping them into water. Suddenly, an immense force tugged at me, pulling me into the doorway.
I struggled and shouted, "Help! Somebody help!" but it was useless. I was dragged in completely, my body vanishing into the air. Passersby pulled out their phones, snapping pictures, probably thinking it was some special effect. It felt like being swallowed by a vortex, spinning and falling endlessly… until I lost consciousness.
"Who are you?"
A sweet voice woke me. I opened my eyes to see a girl with long, soft peach-red hair, glossy cherry-blossom lips, and big, sparkling eyes—utterly adorable.
My first, irrational thought was to kiss her. Acting on impulse, I reached out, placed my hand on the back of her head, leaned close, and pressed my lips to hers.
Her eyes went wide in shock. Her lips were soft, warm, and inviting… and I lost control, trying to deepen the kiss.
Suddenly, sharp pain shot across my face as she shoved me to the ground. She was furious, stammering, "Y-you… you…" and kicked me again. I rolled aside and scrambled to my feet, dodging her furious attacks.
Looking around, I saw others standing nearby, all dressed in black cloaks with white linings and pentagram buttons on their chests. The girls wore gray pleated skirts, the boys black pants, and they laughed as they watched.
"Kissed by a commoner, Louise!""Poor thing, Zero Louise.""A lifetime of shame!"
So her name was Louise? She shot back, her voice clear and melodic: "He's just a familiar. Don't you want to kiss him?"
"Familiar? No matter how you look at it, you're just a commoner," someone sneered."You're scared you won't survive the call of spring, so you had to hire someone to make up for it," another added."Exactly! How could Zero Louise even summon a familiar?"
Louise waved her hands in frustration, "I didn't cheat! I summoned him myself."
But the others didn't believe her, and her face flushed bright red with anger.
I glanced around, taking in the classical white stone castle, the green lawns, and the clear blue sky. This wasn't Earth; no place on Earth had skies this vibrant. As a part-time online novelist, I was more open to strange things, so I walked into the crowd and tried to speak with them.
"Hello, where is this place?" I asked. Oddly, I wanted to speak Chinese, but the words came out in another language entirely.
The girl I had accosted lowered her head and replied, "Trestain School of Magic."
Even though it was a language I had never learned, I understood it perfectly.
"I see… and the academy itself?" I asked."The Kingdom of Torristine.""Kingdom of Torristine?""The mainland of Harukenia."
The girl looked at me strangely. "Are you really a commoner? This is common knowledge.""Oh, I'm from a world called Earth, so it's not surprising that I don't know the basics here," I explained.
"Hey!" she shouted in surprise."Hey, what are you doing?" Louise scolded angrily. "Don't harass other students, you bastard.""I'm not harassing, just talking," I said.
"You still dare talk back? As your master, I have to teach you a lesson." She raised her eyebrows in a different sort of intensity.
"Master?" I retorted confidently. "I don't have a master."
Louise's anger flared, and she bent the stick in her hand as if she could snap it.
"I'm disgusted, Louise.""Civilians wouldn't want to be her familiar anyway.""Zero Louise, Zero Louise!" someone repeated, and soon the crowd joined in, laughing.
Louise charged at me, stick raised. "Disobedient familiar!"
I grabbed the stick, confident in my reflexes from regular training, and wrestled it from her. She looked at me, red-eyed and tearful, crying, "You too… aren't you my familiar? Why are you bullying me?"
Seeing her tears, I released the stick, feeling helpless. She threw herself into my arms, hitting me fiercely.
A balding middle-aged man stepped forward. "Ahem, Louise has summoned a familiar, so let's end today's lesson."
The others laughed as they left, leaving Louise and me alone.
A light rain began to fall, soaking us. I removed my shirt to cover Louise's head. It didn't help much, but I couldn't stand to see such a beautiful girl drenched. Exhausted from crying, she fell asleep in my arms.
Powerless, I wondered what I should do with her. Sighing, I picked her up and carried her toward the castle.
There were many students like Louise in the castle, so I asked a nearby girl, "Is there anyone close to Louise? I need someone to help with her."
She shook her head, looking troubled. "Are there any friends of Louise?"
Still shaking her head, I muttered, "Forget it. It's a school, right? Where is Louise's dormitory?" I hadn't expected her to be so unpopular, so I had no choice but to carry her myself.
The girl finally gave me directions and showed me the way. I ran to the dormitory downstairs in the rain, but the building manager stopped me.
"You can't bring her in like that," she said firmly.
Before I could argue, a striking red-haired woman approached, her fiery waves bouncing, her figure prominent even in uniform, and healthy golden-brown skin glowing in the rain.
"Isn't this Louise's familiar?" she asked.
She said a few words to the manager, who glanced at me and finally opened the door. "Thank you," I said, moving past her as she followed.
I found Louise's dormitory and entered. The bed was large and comfortable. I was about to lay her down, but her wet clothes pressed to her skin made me shiver slightly. Trembling, I reached out instinctively.
"What are you doing, familiar?" the redhead called from the doorway.
I pulled back immediately. This was dangerous territory; Louise was too cute.
"You know Louise, right? Help her change and get her to bed," I said.
The redhead paused, slightly stunned that I was asking a Zerups family woman to help a Valriel family girl. Interesting. She laughed, shut the door, and helped Louise change.
Leaning against the door, I reflected on the past hour. The glowing portal was the medium of the so-called "summoning of the familiar." Louise had summoned me to this different world. Another world… not bad. I write online novels all the time, but I never expected to become the protagonist of a time-travel adventure. I'm alone on Earth, with nothing holding me back. Since I've been given this chance, I will live in this new world—and I can't help but smile at the possibilities.