Lothar opened his eyes as his nightmares left him. Groaning, he lifted his body up and stretched, a popping noise coming from his back.
'Ugh… Nightmare after nightmare… At this rate, I'll grow used to them… Except for the void…' Lothar shivered as his thoughts brought him back to the void. This might seem like excessive whining to the man, but what could he do?
His body was literally hard-wired to fear that void. Thanks to Millana, though, he was able to find a solution to overcome his trauma, and maybe one day, wield it as his own.
Getting out of bed, he left the blankets as is, since the maid would clean them up later anyway. He might as well get everything he can out of his stay.
He headed to the bathroom, took a quick shower and a dump before going out in only his shorts.
While drying his hair with a towel, Lothar heard a knock coming from the door. Already expecting the person from behind, he opened it without any hesitation.
"Good morning, Ashryn." Lothar's lips twitched upward slightly as Ashryn gave him a bow.
"Good morning to you as well, Sir Lothar." Lothar raised an eyebrow when he heard his name. Ashryn had never said his name before.
"Come in." Inviting the elf into his room, Lothar quickly dried his hair and put on a shirt. Ashryn followed soon after, pushing a trolley with his steaming breakfast.
Once again noticing it was soup-based, Lothar thanked the elf, who responded with a quick welcome and quickly began tidying up the room.
"By the way." Lothar suddenly piped up as he slowly shoveled less than a spoonful of soup into his mouth. "Can I ask you something?"
"Ask me anything, and I'll answer to the best of my abilities." Ashryn all but bowed, and Lothar chuckled mentally at the sight.
"Why do the elves in this village hate me?" At his question, Ashryn stood stock still, her body still in her bowed form. "I just arrived in this village a few days ago, and yet, the moment I stepped foot in this village, I had a target painted on my back. Why?"
Ashryn raised her head and looked out the window at various elves, young or old, male or female, going about their day. Sighing, she turned back to meet Lothar's eyes before opening her mouth.
"To be frank, Sir Lothar, we elves hate humans in general." Ashryn pointed this out with an expressionless gaze. "Humans have been nothing but a threat to our way of living. They would either kidnap some of us as slaves, or just plain out disrespect our home."
Lothar listened intently, his hand having already stopped feeding him when he heard Ashryn speak.
"I guess the stigma of the human race is still carried to this day." Ashryn gazed pityingly at Lothar, who felt his pride sting. "I understand why you wouldn't know. I assume that you were someone who didn't know about the happenings between us elves and your race?"
Lothar nodded dumbly and could only stare in shock at the maid.
'Well… This answers many things, then…' Lothar then sighed before continuing to eat his breakfast slowly.
"… Thanks… For telling me." Lothar put down his spoon as the bowl lay empty. "I appreciate it."
"As a guest, it is but a maid's duty to fulfill his orders." Ashryn bowed once more before a smile graced Lothar's lips. "Now that you've finished eating, Lady Millana is waiting for you at the training field."
"Oh, fuck me…" Lothar mumbled out as the memories of him being physically abused by the drill sergeant from hell came to mind.
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"Can… Can we take a break…? My legs are ki-killing me…" Lothar exhaled deeply as his legs gave out. Beside him, Elora narrowed her eyes.
"Your legs have given out, but not your arms. Push-ups, now." Groaning, Lothar could do nothing but follow her orders. He was pretty sure this wasn't what a person would do when just starting working out, but hey, fantasy world.
Also, he had a System. He hoped that the System would give him some kind of advantage, other than his plot-armor, of course.
Pushing his body up and down with trembling arms, Lothar crashed to the ground a few more seconds later.
Gasping out the air in his lungs, Lothar couldn't move even a single inch of his body.
"It appears a rest is in order. In ten minutes, we'll go again." Elora stated, which made Lothar cry inside.
While Lothar was having his rest on the ground, his back itching and his body still refusing to listen to his orders, they heard a commotion from outside.
"What's happening?" Millana called out to a maid who was hastily moving about.
"There's been a break-in, Lady Millana." A maid, who Lothar noticed to be the one who Ashryn kept on calling to clean up after his breakfast, replied. "The guest room where your human guest has been staying has been completely vandalized, with vulgar words spread across the walls."
"… I want whoever is responsible caught and brought before me." Millana ordered Elora, who nodded and followed the maid who led her back to Lothar's room.
Lothar, meanwhile, could only hear their chat from his prone position, a heavy feeling falling on his gut.
Millana then approached Lothar and bent down, her hand gliding across Lothar's hair.
"Don't worry, Lothar. I promised that I would protect you while you're here." Millana then sat beside Lothar, all the while her hand ran through Lothar's head. "I will not go back on my word."
His face planted on the ground, Lothar could only smile weakly at the tone Millana was giving him. He knew she was 100% authentic in her statement, but it could not dissuade him from the feeling that something big would happen in the coming days.
'Is it my gut talking? Or my plot-armor… If it's the latter, then I hope it isn't anything too bad.' Lothar grimaced as he took in the air. 'On second thought, if plot-armor is telling me something bad will happen, I'd better get ready then…'
"In the meantime, you'll be staying in my room." Millana's next words threw him for a loop.
'Excuse me, whaaaaaaaaat?'