"Do you think you can find your way home on your own?" I asked, waiting for her answer. If she knew the way back, that would be the best outcome. If she didn't, then the responsibility for her would fall on me. After all, I couldn't just leave her alone in the forest.
"..." Panic took over her, tears welled up in her eyes, and both her hands clutched my shirt. She didn't say anything, but her reaction was clear.
"Alright, alright. Just don't cry," I sighed, ruffling her hair before smiling. "Let's find the way home together, okay?"
She nodded her head vigorously, making me chuckle. I scratched my nose and, after giving her instructions to stay in the wagon for a while, I went to gather everything we needed. The large backpack was filled with a tent, a waterskin, and dry rations I had taken from the slavers.
I had piled the bodies of the slavers in one spot, and the mana-beast that had been pulling the wagon had managed to escape somewhere.
In the midst of all this, I remembered the ring I had found on the corpses when I first opened my eyes.
Checking my pocket, I made sure the ring was still there. Earlier, when I had covered my body with mana, I had noticed the ring trying to absorb some of it.
Intrigued, I decided to inspect it more closely. When I infused mana into the ring, it glowed faintly, but nothing happened. This was clearly no ordinary item — it had some kind of activation structure.
Closing my eyes and focusing, I continued holding the ring in my hand. Suddenly, it hit me. How had I not realized it earlier? This was a spatial ring.
As I held the ring, I felt a small pocket dimension hidden inside it, and with a small exertion of mana, I pulled out its contents. Various items began to appear in front of me, as if I were drawing them from the void.
Looking over the items, I realized with disappointment that most of them were useless. Letters with worn seals, old jewelry obviously taken from other victims, and a few sets of spare children's clothes. None of it was of any real value at the moment.
However, among all this junk, I found a few things that could be useful in the future. A small pouch of money was hidden between the clothes and bundles. A modest pile of gold and silver coins — not much, but enough to get by in a city.
Throwing away the unnecessary items, I kept only the pouch of coins and then glanced at the large backpack nearby. I moved it into the ring, then called the girl over and handed her some new clothes from the ring.
"Once you're dressed, we'll leave," I said as she inspected the clothes. She nodded quickly and hurried to the wagon. A few minutes later, she emerged wearing baggy clothes. At least it was better than the scraps of fabric barely covering her intimate areas. "Alright, come here."
After washing her snotty and dirty face, I looked closely at her. This girl had long, silver hair that elegantly cascaded down to her shoulders. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the hair wasn't entirely silver; it had a slight bronze tint to it. Combined with her unique almond-shaped turquoise eyes, this elven girl gave off a mysterious aura. Her pert little nose was slightly red from crying, and her pink lips trembled, standing out against her fair skin.
"What's your name, girl?" I asked as we walked. The question came out unexpectedly, even to myself. And what was my name?
"Te...Tessia," she stammered, as if trying to remember. I stopped abruptly, and Tessia almost bumped into my back. My eyes widened in surprise as I turned to her sharply. Silver hair framing a cute face, and those turquoise eyes… and her name — Tessia. The name pierced through my thoughts, and I swallowed hard. Tessia Eralith.
But how? Wasn't Arthur supposed to save her? If he hadn't, where was he now? Had he met Sylvia the dragon and been transported to the Elshire Forest? Had I changed fate too much with my appearance, as the god had warned?
My intense stare made Tessia take a step back.
"W-what's wrong?" she muttered, her voice faltering slightly. I realized I was frowning, and my jaw was clenched. Trying to calm myself and push away the flood of questions, I forced my face into a more relaxed expression.
"Nothing, it's just..." I mumbled with a strained smile. Then, with a hint of sarcasm, I added, "The name doesn't really suit you. Tessia — such a beautiful, warrior-like name, not one for a crybaby."
"That's not true!" she protested sharply, furrowing her brows. We walked in silence for a while. I was grateful for the quiet, as it gave me time to think. Could it be that my actions had disrupted the original plot where Arthur was supposed to appear and save the little princess? If so, when was he supposed to rescue her, and where was he now? But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't find answers to my questions.
Tessia occasionally huffed in irritation after my tease, but eventually, she calmed down and walked silently beside me, to my left.
"What's your name?" she finally asked with a hint of curiosity, looking at me intently.
"Lucius," I replied, having long since come up with and accepted that name. It felt like a part of me. The name brought a familiar feeling, as if it truly was mine.
We continued walking, engaging in light conversation. Tessia was reserved and shy, which didn't surprise me — in the novel, she was always overly polite with strangers. The elven princess who would one day become a vessel for the Legacy. Fate had placed a heavy burden on her.
When reading chapters from her perspective, I used to feel annoyed. She always seemed too naive, immature, especially compared to Arthur and other characters. But now, seeing her in front of me, I realized: she was just a girl. Expecting maturity from her was unfair, considering her young age. Demanding the kind of maturity Arthur had was too much, since she was only a teenager with unrealistic expectations and nothing more.
Tessia would be barely over eighteen before she made her share of mistakes, and now, seeing her fears and doubts, I could justify her actions. After all, she had no idea what lay ahead of her. Compared to Arthur, who was living his second life, and other adults, she might have seemed foolish, but that didn't make her bad. She was just different, and that was okay. Unfortunately, I knew someone who would turn out to be far more foolish than Tessia... and that would be the Legacy itself.
As we chatted, night fell, and I set about pitching the tent. Without a pole, I simply tied a rope between two trees and weighed down the edges of the tent with stones to hold it in place. Once finished, I pulled out two rations and handed one to Tessia.
"Thank you very much..." she said quietly, accepting the food.
"You know, you don't have to be that polite with me," I said, chewing on the dry food. "I'm only two years older than you, and besides, I'd feel a lot more comfortable if we treated each other as equals."
Again, I had the same strange feeling as with the name. How did I know my age? Did I say it based on some fact, or did I just make it up? Maybe this body and brain had some kind of physical memory of the previous owner and gave me hints that I unconsciously spoke aloud?
Tessia hesitated for a moment, clearly struggling with her ingrained politeness, then nodded and responded unsurely:
"Okay, I'll try."
At that moment, her face relaxed slightly, and she even seemed a bit more at ease. I smiled, realizing that speaking as equals would help us both cope better with the situation.
"Good! You'll get used to it," I smirked, wiping my mouth.
After a brief silence, Tessia asked:
"What do you dream about?"
I hesitated, unsure of what to tell her. My role in this world was still unclear, and I didn't know how long I would live here. Thinking about what I dreamed of seemed like a luxury to me. However, if I thought about it, my dream had already come true — I was reborn in another world. So what now? Having achieved what I wanted, what did I desire next?
"That's a 'light' question you've asked," I chuckled, scratching my cheek. "I guess my dream has already come true or, more accurately, has set into motion."
This was just the beginning. This world was a battlefield, and strength was the only resource one could fully utilize in this universe. I needed to become stronger.
For some reason, Tessia blushed at that moment, clearly imagining something in her mind.
"Can you tell me what you know?" I asked, hoping to learn something useful. "Like about humans, us elves, and the dwarves."
She raised her eyebrows, thinking for a moment.
"I don't really know much about humans, how many there are or where they live. But I do know that human men are perverts and have multiple wives."
I choked on my own saliva in surprise. This girl...
"About dwarves, I don't know much either. But I do know about elves," she said with a wide smile, though she quickly became flustered when she realized the oddness of my question. She looked at me with a puzzled expression. "You don't know about elves?"
It seemed like being direct would have a stronger effect than trying to hide the fact that I wasn't from here.
"I'll be honest with you, I don't really remember my life before I woke up in the forest," I said quietly, trying to avoid looking directly at Tessia. "It's like I've forgotten almost everything. I don't know who my parents are, or if I even have any. So I'm sorry if my questions seemed strange or unsettling."
Tessia's mouth dropped open in surprise, but she didn't interrupt me. She simply nodded, then continued her story. I listened, doing my best to focus on her words.
When she finished, I stood up and offered her my hand to help her up. She blushed a little, or maybe it was just my imagination in the darkness.
"Go sleep in the tent," I said softly. "I'll keep watch."
Don't forget to give a power stone