Benjamin could tell that knocking on the town gates wouldn't be enough for anyone on the other side to hear, supposing someone was there. So, he pounded his fist against the town gate twice.
"Hello?" A muted voice came through the thick wooden gate after a brief pause.
"Yeah. I…" Benjamin didn't know what to say. "Can I be let inside?" He eventually asked.
The guard on the other side frowned hesitantly.
"No. Protocol says the gates don't open at night. You will have to wait until dawn."
"Got it." Benjamin sighed and slumped against the town gates.
"Did you lose track of time or something?" The guard asked. While he couldn't let Benjamin inside, he could at least keep him company. It would have been one thing if he made a fuss, but he accepted the fact that the guard couldn't open the gates.
"...Or something." Setting aside Eluzan's order not to tell anyone about his origin, Benjamin doubted anyone would believe his story, even if he did tell them. The one part they might believe is him stumbling upon a dungeon and clearing it at the end of the day.
But then came the questions of where the dungeon was, why he had been there, why he hadn't prepared to spend the night outside, and where he came from. Benjamin didn't know how to answer those questions.
"You from around here?" The guard asked, a little curious about this traveler.
"No…I am lost. Very lost. I don't even know where 'here' is." Benjamin wouldn't be able to blend in with the locals, so he might as well pretend to be a foreigner. It wasn't a lie.
"Uh, this is Bellinger, the town of Bellinger," the guard helpfully informed.
"Yeah?" Benjamin said without a hint of recognition. The guard could tell Benjamin hadn't heard of Bellinger.
"The Maeve Region?" The guard asked gently.
"Sorry." Benjamin could only apologize for his ignorance.
A little worried about the traveler on the other side of the gate, the guard asked,
"The Tarasuga Plains?"
*Sounds familiar,* Eluzan said.
"Sounds familiar," Benjamin parroted.
The guard sighed in relief.
The traveler on the other side was probably a long way from home, but if he had heard about the Plains, he should be able to find his way back home.
"Where are you from, traveler?" Since he had heard about the Plains but not the Maeve Region, he was probably not from the Plains.
*The mountains. Look at what you're wearing.*
Benjamin glanced at his clothes. They did not fit the climate in the surrounding area.
"The mountains," he said after a brief pause.
"Uh, which mountains?" The guard asked. There were a lot of mountains both within and outside the Plains.
"...We just called them the mountains. Home."
"I see. Then, how did you get here?"
Benjamin shrugged, which the guard naturally couldn't see.
"No idea. One minute, I was playing in the snow with my little sister. The next, I was in the middle of a forest. I wandered around until I saw the town from afar. And now I'm here." Benjamin weaved some truths into his lie to make it more believable. It was a fantasy world, after all. It should be possible to be randomly transported like that. After all, it had happened to him and his classmates.
"Uh…" The guard didn't know what to say. The traveler had clearly been through a lot and was worried about their home and little sister.
However, no matter how pitiful a story, the guard still couldn't open the gate. He had a job to keep, and his superiors weren't the most understanding types.
"What's your name, traveler?" The guard changed topics.
*Don't use your real name. We don't want your classmates knowing your movements.*
*It's fine. They never bothered remembering it.*
*Listen to me.*
*Surname?*
*...Fine.*
"Vrolas." Benjamin understood Eluzan's order. If he was to take revenge on his classmates and the gods supporting them, it would be to their disadvantage if their targets knew about his movements, however unlikely it was. But Benjamin didn't want to lie about how he was. He didn't want to compromise on his identity.
Benjamin Vrolas. That was who he was. His parents who gave him the name weren't in the picture. They hadn't been for years. As far as he knew, his name didn't mean or stand for anything special, nor did it have any historical relationship to anyone or anything.
But it was the one thing that would never be taken from him. It was the one thing his bullies couldn't break or scar.
"Vrolas, welcome to Bellinger. Well, in advance. I'll give you a proper welcome tomorrow. My name's Tim. As soon as dawn comes, I'll help you get settled in. For now, I suggest you try and get some rest. You should be safe this close to town. And since you're from the mountains, you won't freeze easily, right?"
"Heh." Benjamin glanced at the thick fur coat next to him. Just looking at it made him sweat.
"In this heat?" Benjamin asked sarcastically. "I'll be fine, thanks, Tim." Benjamin leaned his head against the town gate and closed his eyes.
Tim had told him to rest. He had also said that he should be safe this close to town, even if he was on the outside. But while Benjamin was tired, he couldn't fully relax.
It was a long night and a fitful sleep. But like all things, good and bad, it came to an end.
There was a knock on the town gate.
"Vrolas?" Tim asked.
"Here," Benjamin answered.
"We're opening the gates."
"Got it." Benjamin got up, grabbed his coat, and moved out of the way.
After a thump like a thick bar was removed from the gates, the two halves of the gate swung open with a creaking and shuffling sound. It was just before dawn, but the town was coming to life, and the light was enough for Benjamin to see the polished helmet of one of the guards standing at the center of the