Phew.. I don't know what's going on but I'm glad that these people are quite nice. He even said that he would try to send me back home! I'm guessing that he saw a part of my memory that shows i'm not from here.
Speaking of which..
That damned door!
If it wasn't for that stupid door then I wouldn't even be in this situation right now!!
There's a looming question in my head but I swiftly place it at the back of my head for i'm too exhausted to think.
After the man left, the girl faced me and started speaking in a soft and soothing voice.
"Your name is Haruto right? My name is Tifaleiya but you can just call me Leiya"
"Nice to meet you Leiya"
She smiled at me while introducing herself so I reciprocate and smiled back.
"Although my brother was acting kind of weird, he has vouched for your innocence. It seems like you're really not one of them.."
She stares deeply at me but she quickly smiled brightly.
"Let me apologize for my misconduct earlier"
Her fragile appearance bowed deeply at me before giving me another bright smile.
"No no it's ok, really. Although you did try to murder me, you still saved my life back then so i'm actually quite grateful"
"Ahaha.."
I laugh awkwardly.
Sigh..
I plop down to the ground.
She giggled at my conduct and elegantly sat down beside me.
Now that I think about it, this girl in front of me is quite enchanting. She has a tall and slender figure but oddly enough, it looks like it could withstand any weather. Her long, blue silky hair looks magnificent under the luminescent moon as if the midnight seas are basking in moonlight.
"Although you're clearly not one of them, this is still an unprecedented event. Haruto, is it ok if you tell me everything? As in how exactly you managed to enter this forest and where you came from? It should be impossible to enter.."
Her gentle and earnest demeanor almost made me think that the scenes from earlier was just an illusion.
"To be quite frank with you, i'm not entirely sure either. I just finished my exams and went to take a scenic walk in a nearby forest. While walking, I noticed that there was a random door in the middle of the path. I tried to put it away but it was exceedingly difficult. I simply gave up and just went on with my walk. After some time pass, I hear a screech above me and see an incredibly large bird towering above me. While I was confused, the wolf suddenly attacked me then you saved me. If my speculations are correct then the door may have sent me to here.."
She sat there quietly while pondering my words.
I try to rack my brain in order to comprehend everything that has happened so far then came to a conclusion and tell her my opinion.
"This may seem weird but if my speculations are correct, I think I accidentally came to a different world"
"Different world? What do you mean?"
How should I explain this..
"I'm not familiar at all with this place not to mention that i've been confused this whole time. I guess i'm not making any sense.. You see, the world where I came from doesn't have any terrifying beasts like that wolf from earlier or the bird that I saw. The wolf is way too ridiculous! My world does have wolves but not genetically mutated beasts like that one! Where the hell do you find a five meter tall wolf?! Not only that, you guys are just too weird! Instantly moving as if you're teleporting and the fact that you can shoot out beams out of your weapon, that's weird! This doesn't happen in my world!!!"
Haa.. Haaa…
My mind has finally reached its limits. I ended up exploding on her at this point.
"Sorry.. Everything that has happened to me so far is completely unfathomable. I didn't mean to yell at you"
I hung my head down thinking about my actions earlier.
Her smile never left and she shakes her head afterwards.
"It's ok Haruto. So you're really not from this world?"
"It seems like it.."
She inched closer to me.
"Hey hey, so what's your world like then?"
"Huh? ...You believe me?"
She tilted her sideways to give me a confused look.
"Why shouldn't I? I trust my brother and since my brother trusts you, then so do I. Not only that but I just have this feeling. It's hard to explain but my instincts have never lied to me"
She gave me a bright smile while explaining in an orderly fashion.
"Also, since you said that you're from another world then that must mean you're very confused right now. It's ok Haruto, I understand so just let it all out. Don't worry about me since I already know that you're telling the truth and i'm quite familiar with this world. In fact, it should be you who is doubting me at the moment since everything you're seeing at the moment is hard to comprehend"
…
I'm pathetic. This girl is pretty much in the same position as me yet she's handling this situation so maturely. Maybe this is the difference between the two worlds?
I wonder what kind of life she's been living to be like this. She has the demeanor of an innocent girl yet she's so mature. It feels like she's shouldering a tremendous weight on her shoulders.
"Haruto..?"
"Its nothing"
Whoops. I stared at her for too long.
"You want to know more about my world right?"
"Yup!"
Oddly enough, I feel like all of my worries are trivial before her smile.
"Hmm.. I'm not sure how similar our world is but I'll share my experiences so far. The country that I live in is very peaceful. We go to school and study all day. When we're not studying then we're having fun with friends or lazing around doing nothing. That's pretty much my life ahaha. Nothing ever exciting happens but it's nice. I don't have to worry about anything at all"
Sometime has passed and I've explained many things to her like computers, video games, karaoke, and other things that I find fun.
While telling her my story, her eyes have been gleaming this whole time.
"Your world seems so wonderful!"
"I guess it is"
I'm not sure how long it's been but with her around, I've completely forgotten about everything.
"Ah.. Why does it sound like you're complaining about your world.. it sounds so fun!"
"It is ahaha. It's just that I guess I'm so used to it that it wouldn't excite me at this point"
"How nice.. studying, playing around, doing nothing. This all sounds like a dream to me"
While speaking, I see a glimpse of sadness in her eyes.
Why does my heart hurt..
"How about you?"
"You mean what's my life like?"
"Yup"
"It's not as exciting as yours"
She gave me a timid smile.
"Everyday, I train and sleep. When I'm not training, I'm sleeping. When I'm not sleeping, Im training. Until I become strong enough, I must train in order to catch up to my brother. He has it much more rough than I. He's in the frontlines defending our gates every single day. The faster I get stronger, the closer it will be for me to join the war and be of help to my brother"
War? Training?
"War? You're country is at war right now?"
She stared off into distance. She's so close to me yet it feels like she's not really here.
"Its nothing. Never mind that, I want to hear more about your world!"
Looks like she doesn't want to talk about it.
(*)
"So then, we couldn't walk with all the snow and how full we were"
"I wouldn't blame you either ahaha"
While telling her stories, she never once stopped paying attention.
But all of the sudden, she had a serious look in her face.
"Leiya? Is there something wrong?"
She didn't answer. She only stood up and picked up her sword.
"Haruto, don't panic and stay behind me"
I do as I'm told and stand behind her.
In the forest behind the trees, multiple eyes lit up surrounding the both of us. I heard a distinctive noise of howls and see ten wolves walk out.
They're far smaller than the wolf from earlier but still much larger than the wolves in my world.
"Don't panic. As long as you stay behind me, you'll be safe"
I smile and said; "I believe in you"
She smiled back and faced the wolves once more with a cold glare.
Her figure disappeared for a second and appeared in front of me once more.
"All done"
She smiled and put away her sword once more.
Eh?
Done? What does she mean? The wolves are still there.
While being confused, all of the sudden, heads of the wolves started to drop one by one.
Yup. Not weird at all.
"Hey Leiya, how do you that?"
"Do what?"
"Disappearing out of thin air"
"Oh that.."
She giggled and sat back down.
"It's nothing special. I guess one way to explain it is I'm moving so fast that you can't see me"
Geh..
"What the heck.. can everyone in this world do that?"
"Not everyone but when you start training your inner fire, it's one of the basic things that you learn"
That's so cool!
I wanna learn that!!!
"Ahaha… Haruto you're too easy to read"
"But it's so cool! In my world, you can't do that"
"You can learn it too you know"
"Stop joking.. if people from my world can actually learn this, it would have been in the news already"
"I'm not joking! I'm serious!"
She started to pout then her eyes started to light up all of the sudden.
"See! You can do it! Your inner fire is almost non existent but it's still there! As long as you have it then you can train to do it"
"How do you know this though.."
It's not like I want to doubt her but this is just the common sense. Moving super fast can only be seen in manga and anime.
"My eyes can see the arcana flow and the cana essence so I'm certain!"
"If that's true then how do I do it"
"It's a long process but you need to train your body first. If my brother doesn't find a way to send you back then I'll train you"
She gave me a playful expression.
"I do wish to go back but it might not be so bad to stay here as long as I'm with you"
"Wow what a flirt"
"That's not what I meant.. Fine never mind then!"
"I'm joking I'm joking!"
She started laughing while I pretend to be mad.
"If you truly can't go back then I'll forcefully open your gates for you"
"Gate?"
"It's the Five Outer Gates of the Inner Flames. Normally, it opens by training the body and naturally opening the outer gates of the specific inner gate but with me around, I can forcefully open it and you'll be able to learn it much quicker"
"Where is it located?"
"Here, here, and here. There are other gates as well but they can't be forcefully opened"
She pointed at three different locations on my body.
If she's telling the truth then this is the biggest discovery of mankind!
"Ok then what should I do first!"
"Relax Haruto ahaha. When my brother comes back, I'll tell you"
As my excitement reaches its peak, the leaves on the floor started dancing when a figure of a tall muscular man appeared out of thin air.
"Oh he's back"
Leiyas brother has come back with a complicated expression to his face.
"Brother what's wrong?"
"The elders decided to capture Haruto. A squadron is headed this way right now"
"What?! Didn't you explain to them that he's harmless?!"
"Ya but that stupid brat managed to persuade the elders into thinking he's a spy"
"That bastard.."
Both of their expression looked harsh.
"Not good.. Haruto, we have to get away right now"
Whoosh
A violent wind storm appeared out of nowhere followed by the appearance of five people.
They're all wearing the same outfit with the exception of the man in front.
He's wearing a gaudy armor that looks quite expensive. He has long, blonde hair and emerald eyes.
"Draikho, princess, fancy meeting you guys here. Oh? Is that the human brat who the elders have ordered us to capture? What to do.."
He said so in a sarcastic tone.
"Xanrou!"
Leiya, glared at him with clear intent of hostility.
"My sweet princess, please don't look at me like that. These are the direct orders of the elders so even if it's for you, I can't overlook this"
"Oy brat, if you don't leave right now, don't blame me if you get hurt"
Leiya's brother stood in front and threatened the man named Xanrou.
"Oh? Is that a threat? Are you saying that you would much rather protect a filthy spy than to listen to the elders?"
Even though the brother is rather calm, the same can't be said for Leiya.
"Xanrou! I already know what you're planning you bastard!"
"My sweet princess, please don't make it so troublesome for me.. I'm only following the orders of the elders. Kill him"
Thump
My heart sank after hearing those words.
I step back slowly and hit my back against a tree.
"What do you think you're doing!!"
Leiya fiercely roared and readied her scythe.
"My sweet princess, I don't know how this filth managed to taint your innocent heart but clearly he is scheming against us. He managed to bewitch you somehow and you fell for it. Even though the elders ordered me to capture him, they'll reward me for having the swift mind to end his life before an unforeseeable event happens. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about"
He smiled creepily and licked his lips.
Leiya had a bitter look to her face seemingly as if she recalled a bitter memory from her past.
"I admit, it was my fault last time but it's different now! Brother clearly read his mind and vouched for him!"
"How can you be so trusting. Who's to say that he didn't already managed to trick your brother?"
This guy..
"Oy brat, I'm warning you. If you dare move one more step, I don't care what the elders think. I'll behead you and feed you to the treants!"
The man named Xanrou twitched slightly and had an angered face.
"Ok I see.. so you're confident on going against our tribe huh.. do you really think you can stop all five of us?"
The brother ignored the person and looked back towards us.
"Leiya, protect Haruto for now. After I deal with these insects, I'll go back and try to persuade them once more"
Leiya simply nodded and grabbed my hands.
"Is he going to be ok..?"
"Don't worry Haruto, my brother is super strong"
She smiled without a single shred of doubt in her face.
Whoosh
An incredibly volatile storm appeared in the shape of a sphere.
"Go. I'll deal with this"
I can't see them anymore but the brothers voice can still be clearly heard followed by sounds of metal clashing against one another.
"Haruto, let's go"
After she said that, she picked me up and started running.
Eh…?
Princess carry?
Isn't this the opposite?