[AKI'S POV]
"This is such a bother," I told myself as I packed my things.
It's been two days now since Akari and I's duel. We decided to let a couple of days pass before going on a quest to let our bodies recover from the strains and wounds that we got. Plus, Akari has been going ballistic on me, always reminding me that we have to be in our best shape when we go to the Guild because of blah blah blah.
Akari leaned on the doorframe of my room while crossing her arms across her chest. "Well, you gotta learn how to do things on your own. That's called being independent."
I rolled my eyes at her. All of Myr's old dresses were scattered across my bed while I sat on the floor adjacent to them.
Everything looks like a mess!
I'm not used to packing stuff on my own. Akari used to pack for me but that hag won't even help me anymore! Unlike before, she's now preaching about learning how to stand on my own two feet.
Girl, I can STAND on my own! I'm just a bit lazy to move sometimes. Sheesh!
"No. Choose that black dress instead of the white one. It'll be better in a fight because it's short. Plus, it looks more sturdy and versatile," Akari commented while pointing at the black mini dress that had lace lined on the hems of its long sleeves and skirt.
I got the dress and muttered a few complaints while folding and putting it inside the dark brown medium-sized leather bag that Myr gave me.
"You know, you're such a worrywart. Why are you forcing me to pack 5 extra pieces of clothing if we're just going to register and choose an easy mission?" I complained.
She sighed before acting like she adjusted imaginary glasses on her nose. She then proceeded to look at me as if her eyes were sharp. "Well, well, well. I see you've come for my advi—"
I immediately threw one of the dresses at her face before she could even continue. "Don't give me that crap," I said while squinting my eyes.
Akari chuckled while removing the dress from her face. "Fine, fine. I'll be serious. I'm just trying to make sure we'll be ready and safe in case anything happens. What if that easy mission becomes a harder one and we're forced to stay there a few days?"
"That's a one in a million chance, Akari. So don't sweat it, 'kay?" I told her while finalizing the five dresses that I would pack. I have 2 white mid-flow dresses, 2 black mini dresses, and 1 beige casual dress.
After a few moments of folding my clothes and placing them in my bag, I was finally good and ready to go. I stood up and walked towards Akari.
"Everyone ready?" Alrick asked as soon as he spotted us both from my room. It seemed like he's been waiting for us to finish and was hanging around the kitchen to pass some time.
He was wearing his typical outfit—a beige undershirt paired with leather armor on top and black leather pants. A familiar silver long sword was also equipped on his left side and, as usual, a clump of his brown hair was braided and gently placed at the side of his face. What completed his look was the black snakeskin bag strapped to his back.
"Yup!" I responded while giving him a thumbs up and a big smile. I looked at my body again before smiling.
I look hot!
I'm wearing a gold fitted dress that reached my thighs. It had translucent gold sleeves that were loose at its hem. Shimmering crystals were also decorated all over the collar and hems of the dress. But most of all, I had a small knife strapped to my right thigh for protection.
My sister nodded. "Yeah, Aki the slowpoke is finally done. Sorry to keep you waiting."
Similar to Alrick, Akari was also wearing the same outfit I saw her wear 4 days ago—a silver mini dress embezzled with crystals on its sleeves and iron plates as a form of armor. Although this time, her hair was tied in a half ponytail rather than a full one.
"Alright! You three should set out now. It's almost noon." Myr instructed us and jokingly shooed us away. Alrick just held the back of his head and shyly smiled while my sister and I chuckled.
With that, the three of us stepped outside and began our journey.
—————
"Helloooooo, Ceraviiiiis!" I exclaimed as soon as we got closer to the town gate of Ceravis, the royal capital of Panolethria.
I'm pumped right now since our journey towards this place was uneventful. There were no road trip songs or random bandits. Just me and Akari engaging in banter throughout our two-hour walk while Alrick either kept to himself or occasionally laughed.
Thirsty for some action, I gasped and stopped in my tracks the moment I saw the people outside. "There are goblins, dwarves, and lizardmen here too?!" I excitedly screamed.
There was a long line before the town gate where individuals of different races were queued. According to what Akari told me along the way, guards must screen us first and check if we have illegal weapons before we could enter.
While walking, I paid more attention to the goblins since they looked so cool! In line with the popular definition from my old world, the goblins here were about 4 feet tall, had pointed ears, a big nose, and carried large sacks on their back.
Although all of them are not entirely green. The women, who wore rundown animal skin brassieres and cotton mini skirts, had blue skin; while the men, who wore leather vest armors and cotton pants, had green skin.
I couldn't contain my excitement any longer and run towards the line to talk to people! Akari and Alrick tried to call me back but I didn't mind them.
"Hi!" I immediately greeted the female goblin who was standing at the end of the line. She was wearing an old brassiere made out of bull skin and a tattered cotton skirt. She also had a stuffed beige sack on her back while her two boys clung to both of her sides. Her boys were topless and only wore shorts made out of cow skin.
Upon my greeting, the goblin gave me a scared expression before hissing. "What do you need?!" She asked while putting her children behind her back.
I raised both of my hands as a sign of peace. "Nothing. I just wanted to say hi," I truthfully confessed.
The tension in her shoulders lessened before questioning me. "You're not from around here, are you?"
Does she know that I got yeeted out of my old world into this one?! Do goblins here have some sort of omnipotent power?!
I gasped in shock. "W-Well, you see I-I..." I fidgeted with my hands while thinking of a good excuse.
"...I'm blind!" I spat before I could even process what I said.
What?
WHAT?
What in the heck did I just say?!
"I MEAN WAS! Was blind. Yes. Indeed. Was," I added in a panic.
"Blind?"
"Yup! Blind as a blind person was I," I retorted while scratching the back of my head.
"But how can you—" The lady goblin wasn't able to finish what she was saying because Akari and Alrick had just arrived on time.
Akari pinched the right side of my stomach and glared at me before turning her attention towards the goblin. "Hi, I overheard your conversation. My sister was blind before because of a curse. Our family invested in a good mage to break it."
Akari then dragged me away from the female goblin and her terrified children. "Apologies for her behavior. We're still teaching her proper manners," she added while looking at the kids.
Akari pinched my right side harder as if signaling me to reply. I winced in pain before flicking Akari's hand away. "Y-Yeah. You know, old hags love to put them curses! Losing sanity is all they want, am I right?"
Silence.
Silence.
Crickets.
No one even tried to respond or nob to what I said! Unbelievable! Feeling defeated, I lowered my head in shame.
"Okay...?" The female goblin awkwardly replied before holding the backs of her children and turning them away from us.
Once they weren't looking at us, Akari widened her eyes at me and pointed at the goblin. I shrugged my shoulders and feigned ignorance.
"You better explain later," Akari seriously whispered to me. She couldn't raise her voice at me because the goblin family was just in front of us.
Because of my behavior, Akari massaged her forehead. "You're such a problem child."
"I agree with her. Aki, you should avoid acting on your own. You might get into trouble," Alrick butted in.
I waved my right hand around as if telling them to stop caring too much. "It's fine, it's fine. Everything worked well in the end."
Both of them just sighed in defeat. At this point, these two already know how much of a headache I can be.
Well, what can I do? This is how I am as a person!