Chapter 9: Return
Somewhere, deep in the forest
A lone figure in black robes was standing in front of a wide window, that took up the majority of the wooden wall's surface. She was watching the downpoor through the panes. The dimly lit room, along with the pitter-patter of the rain, created a serene atmosphere, ideal for enorchestrating plans.
Unfortunately for the figure, her train of thought was derailed by the sound of footsteps against red carpet getting increasingly louder. She knew who her visitor was.
"What is it, Captain?", she asked, without even turning away from the view of the rainy forest.
"Uh, ma'am,", the captain responded, slightly taken aback. "I'm baffled. Why did you order us to retreat?", he continued.
After a short sigh, the cloaked individual responded with: "Can you not put two and two together, Captain?"
"But, ma'am, we're trained to fight from a distance! We could've wiped them out before they could land a slash! Not to mention, we had a huge numerical advantage!" The captain was completely unaware that, at this point, his superior was gritting her teeth. "You let a huge opportunity go to waste."
She turned to face the captain head on. The latter's confidence faded instantly.
"Do you question my authority, Captain?"
"I-I...N-no, ma'am!"
In a swift motion, the mysterious person raised her arms. Her hands, now visible without the black sleeves obscuring them, began to glow a dark purple. The captain started shaking.
"Hmm, you're not being very convincing..." As she said that, the wooden floor beneath the captain's feet began to creak.
"I-I'm sorry for doubting your command, ma'am. P-please, have mercy!"
"Listen to me, and listen carefully. The responsibility of keeping this entire operation - as well as all its members - alive, falls on my shoulders. It's my duty, and I plan on fulfilling it the best way I can. Do you realize what would happen if I found out that your entire troop was wiped out due to the arrogance of its captain?"
"F-forgive me..."
"..."
After some deliberation, the dark purple glow vanished from her hands. The creaking stopped.
"I'll spare you for now, but learn this: pride leads to arrogance, and arrogance leads to treason. There'd better not be a "next time". You can imagine that I won't be so lenient..."
"Th-thank you, ma'am.", the captain uttered, as he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"Don't bother me any longer."
"Yes, ma'am."
The captain exited the room, leaving his higher-up alone. She returned her gaze to the window, but the rain had stopped, much to her dissapointment.
The way back was quite the adventure.
Since we only had one horse available, we couldn't really travel at top speed. Additionally, since our golem companion was so eager to reach its destination, we couldn't even sit down to take a breather. It wasn't that big of a deal, though; the landscape was still pleasant to look at, and it gave Rana and I the opportunity to talk about stuff.
"Hey, I have an idea!", she announced. I turned my head to the right and looked up at her.
"What is it?"
"Let's take turns asking eachother questions! That should help us get to know eachother better. It could also make this trip a little less boring, too. What do you think?"
"I don't see how that could hurt. Since it's your idea, how about you go ahead and ask first?"
"Alright. Let's start with an icebreaker!", she began cheerfully. "What's your favorite color?"
"My favorite color, huh? I guess it'd have to be blue. I like its calming aura. What about you? What's your favorite color?", I responded.
"Well, if you guessed green or pink...you'd be wrong! I obviously love those colors too, but yellow is my favorite. It's just such a happy color!", she replied with a smile on her face. "Not many people like it, though...Oh! By the way, you don't have to ask me the same question I ask, you know?"
"Yeah, I know, but I believe it's better for conversations this way. Also, I believe it's my turn again, since you just asked me a question."
"Wait, what? Oh...Yeah, you're right, hahaha...", she responded sheepishly. To be honest, I kinda shot myself in the foot with that, since I didn't have a question planned. I brainstormed a few ideas for what to ask her, until I finally rembered something about her that I had learned.
"So, what was the inspiration behind the name "Cornelia?" Her response weirded me out a bit.
"Oh, that? It's from an old video-game I played when I was little. It was called "Final Fantasy". I never got too far in it, but the first town in that game was called "Cornelia". Have you ever played it?"
"Uh, I haven't heard of it."
"Oh, well, that's fi-wait, you haven't heard of it all?", she asked me, slightly bewildered.
"I can't say I have."
Her expression grew slightly more suprised, but she brushed it off. 'Am I missing something here?'
"I guess you're not really into video-games, then?"
"Haha, guess not."
"Well, that's okay. Oh, I just realized I stole your turn! I'm sorry, please continue."
I didn't really want to ask any serious questions at that moment, since she'd been asking more light-hearted ones. Questions regarding this world could wait. I looked around me, and spotted a few packs of animals in the distant meadows, which got the gears in my head turning.
"Hey, what's your favorite animal?"
"Huh? Oh. My favorite animal is the frog!", she pointed to her hood as she said that. "Some people think they're icky – and, at times, they can be –, but I think they're kinda cute. I like the way they playfully hop around. Cats are pretty cute, too! Oh, and dogs...", she trailed off.
Seeing her talk about subjects she liked, whether those are colors, "video-games", or animals, was heart-warming. Her expressions, as well as her reasonings for liking things, gave me the impression that she was a rather joyful and pleasant person. There was, however, something about the things she said that struck me as odd.
"Uh, sorry for stealing your turn,", I began saying. "but I really have to ask: What's a frog?"
If she had looked at me with a confused look before, now she looked completely baffled. I assumed that she was analyzing me, trying to look for any hints that would suggest that I was messing with her. The fact that she couldn't find any, only served to make her confusion grow.
"Uh, before I answer, let me ask you this: Do you remember where you came from?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, where were you before you ended up in this world?"
"I..."
"…"
'Where did I come from? And why am I wondering about this only now?'
"I...I guess it didn't really cross my mind before; I was too busy with trying to survive, but...I don't...know..."
Rana got off from the horse and started walking next to me. She had a worried look on her face.
"Did you lose your memories?", she asked.
"I don't know. It doesn't feel like I'm forgetting something, if that's what you're asking. It's just that some of the things you brought up don't sound familiar at all..." She took a moment to ponder my answer. After some awkward silence, she turned to me and asked:
"Did you come from Earth? Or, rather, does the name "Earth" sound familiar to you?"
"The only thing that comes to mind when I think of "Earth" is the ground..."
"Huh..."
After another awkward pause, Rana sped up a little, in order to stand in front of me.
"Well, maybe that's not that bad.", she started off with a small smile. "If you really did lose your memories, then you'll probably regain them eventually! And if not, then...we'll just make the most our time here!" Her grin grew a little. "I can even tell you a few things from my world! That is, if you want me to, hehe..." We continued walking.
"I'd like that."
"Awesome! You know, I think we'll make a pretty good team. Don't you think so, too?"
I had to admit, her enthusiasm was almost contagious.
"Yeah, I think you're right!" She seemed pleased with my answer.
After some idle chatter, we eventually reached Cornelia right as the sun was about to set. To be honest, I had almost forgotten that the town could've been in trouble without anyone defending it, but it was hard to tell how much a damage a single night might have done.
The iron golem, once it passed the town's make-shift borders, stopped marching and began walking around the buildings aimlessly.
Even though activity was low at this time of day, a lone townsfolk spotted us. It took a while for them to actually register who we were, but once they did, they started shouting at the top of their lungs, announcing to every nearby citizen that we had returned, as if it were some miracle.
In little time, the entirety of Cornelia's population (around 20 people or so) gathered around us. The villager children excitedly rushed towards Rana and hugged her.
"Woah, haha, easy there."
"We missed you, miss Rana!", one of them told her, starry-eyed.
"Aww, I missed you guys too.", she responded with a smile and a faint blush. The impressionable young villager children soon gave her space, and retreated to - who I could only assume were – their parents(?).
"So, I take it you're pretty popular here?", I queried.
"Ehehe, I guess so.", she replied, almost bashfully.
'I guess Gordon was right, then.', I noted to myself.
"Miss Rana!"
That voice snapped me out of my thoughts, for it belonged to Johnathan. Soon enough, all three members of the Counsil appeared before us. Johnathan was grinning widely, Emily had a neutral look on their face, while Sebastian seemed somewhat irritated.
"We are so happy you've returned safely! It's good to have you back!" Most of the other townsfolk nodded in agreement.
"Thanks!"
"Oh! Sir Steve, I'd like to thank you once again for coming through to assist us in our time of need."
"It's not a big deal."
"Oh, but it is! I'd never be so cheap as to have you help us so much without giving you anything in return. Here, maybe this'll do for now."
Johnathan handed me an emerald, and I thanked them.
"So, how have you guys been while we were gone?", Rana asked.
"Why, we've been fine, surprisingly enough! Almost no monsters bothered us at all!"
"Hmm, I wonder why...", Sebastian muttered through their teeth.
"But hey now, don't strain yourselves! It's getting late, and you must be exhausted. Why don't you go to your rooms and get a good night's sleep?", the mayor continued, ignoring the librarian's comment.
"Aah, sleep sounds pretty good.", Rana responded with a dreamy expression.
"Excellent!"
Catherine lead us to the inn. As it would turn out, our rooms were on the same floor.
"Rest well, oh brave adventurers!", were their parting words.
As I was about to open the door to my room, however...
"Hey, Steve?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you...for saving me..."
"Oh. You're welcome, Rana."
"Don't worry, I'll pay you back!"
"Haha, you don't have to, but thanks anyway."
"..."
"..."
"Tomorrow is gonna be a fun day! I can just feel it! Goodnight!"
"Goodnight."
I entered my room and layed down on my bed. 'Yeah...'
'Tomorrow is gonna be a fun day!'