Once I opened my eyes my head felt like it was about to explode.
(this feeling... It's a hangover, but I don't remember drinking anything)
"where am I?"
Ignoring my headache I sat up and looked around.
The place I was lying seemed to be someone's camp.
"looks like you sobered up a little."
An unknown figure came out from the thick forest with two dead rabbits in hand.
"who are you?"
This person looks suspicious, judging by the voice it's a female, she's wearing a long hooded robe, in fact, because of her hood, I can't see her face at all.
"for you, it doesn't really matter who I am, more importantly, what were you doing with those guys?"
" ' those guys'?"
"you don't know? OK then, do you remember what were you doing before waking up?"
"Hmm... I remember inhaling yellow flower powder, after that... I met some people?"
(Now that I think about it, what was I doing all this time?)
My memories are blurry and the only thing I can remember is several friendly guys.
"so you don't know after all, do you want to know what that yellow flower powder was?"
"yes..."
"you could say it's kind of a drug, when you inhale, it makes you hallucinate, but the most important thing is that under its effects every action becomes devoted of any meaning, it makes you really absent-minded so to speak, after it wears off there is almost no recollection of events that occurred and if there is any it's usually far from the truth, get it? "
"OK wait, you said 'far from the truth' so that means that those friendly guys weren't actually friendly guys, no in the first place who were they? Where are they now?"
"they were criminals"
Oh shit! Unexpectedly that was a dangerous situation
"I received a request to exterminate them from the town nearby"
"there's a town nearby?"
"Yeah, if you follow the river upstream you'll get to it eventually"
Upstream... I was going downstream, so all my progress was actually regressing, damn it...!
"after we rest a bit, I'll take you there and leave you in church or some orphanage, but still what were you doing here, this forest is no place for a kid like you"
"what am I doing here? I was kidnapped, after escaping I was already here"
Now that I think about it, what time is it now? When they caught me it was September 782, a new year here is in spring, judging by the weather it's already late summer, so right now it's 783?
"kidnapped huh, where did they take you from?"
Where? I don't exactly know, I've never seen map, but I did about it
"if I remember correctly it was northeast part of the kingdom, near the mountains"
Hearing my answer she momentarily stopped gutting the rabbits and looked at me.
Somehow this feels awkward
"... What?"
"no, nothing, you're quite far from home, aren't you?"
"wouldn't exactly call an orphanage a home"
"Oh, so you're orphan huh, well that'll make things easier, you'll get used to a new place quicker"
(seems I'll have to go to the orphanage again, what was I even expecting, for a lost child like me it is actually great luck, but it just doesn't feel right..."
After that we rested, had a meal and now we're ready to move
"Hey, what's a town like?"
I asked on the road
"it's... lively, never been there before?"
"no, not once"
What can I say, I'm just a villager from a country-side
For a bit we walked without saying a word, there wasn't anything to talk about, to begin with, until she suddenly stopped
"stand behind me."
She said
I didn't even try to question her and did as she told me
Right after that sounds of low growling could be heard
(the wolfs!!!)
I say 'wolfs' but there's just two of them, I thought there would be many of them but meh, things happen.
back to the point, one of them charged forward and then made a high leap, in response, she lowered her centre of gravity and slashed with a sword that was drawn without me noticing, the wolf was cleanly cut in two.
The second one didn't attack and just ran away, looks like it cherishes its life.
When the wolf was no longer in sigh she sheathed her sword, walked to a corpse and took the small blueish crystal from it
(so this is the so-called magic stone, interesting)
"selling its raw materials would be good but I don't want to stay here any longer."
She said and raised her right hand, right after that the ground completely swallowed the corpse.
(that was magic!)
"all right, let's move now"
"will you become my teacher"
"what?"
"what?"
Shit, I blurted out! Well, she is strong, having her as a teacher would be great, but...
"Okay, I'll take you as my disciple"
"huh...?"
"but let's see... 5 years is the most I can do."
"wait, did you say... 'yes'?
"yeah, so you're on the boat little man."
"just like that?"
"Normally I wouldn't do it but your large mana pool is quite intriguing"
"I see, my mana... wait, how did you know when I'm hiding it"
"don't underestimate me, actually it was rather easy for me to know, well doesn't really matter, for now, introduce yourself"
"Oh right, I'm called Einhard, close friends call me Ein(not that I have any right now)"
"Einhard right? as for my name... I'll probably tell you someday, but before that time comes just call me 'master'"
She said and pulled her hood off
What revealed was probably the most beautiful face I've ever seen in my life.
She had blonde hair and... how should I say it, eyes of the same colour? It's not exactly yellow, should I call it blonde eyes... hehe blonde eyes..., look, I can't tell, in my previous life I was a colour blind and now that I'm seeing them for what they are I'm quite lost, her eyes are the same colour as her hair and that's the end of it.
But what's important is that she has sharp, pointy ears... she's an elf!
"yes, please take care of me from now, master!"
Like this, I got my first teacher in this worl–
"Oh yes, before we end this I have something to say"
"...what is it?"
"cut your hair"
"...."
Like this, I got my first teacher in this world, who is also an elf.