Chapter 2: Appearance of a Mysterious Girl.
"Are you the one who did this?" A girl with clear blue eyes and pink hair gazed from above.
…huh?
…when did she get here? And, was she floating?
I froze, my eyes widened and my foot took a step back as she slowly landed down to the ground.
"Answer me." Her eyes bore into mine, an unwavering gaze filled with no emotion that betrayed her childish looks.
"…What are you talking about?" I retorted.
"The forest. Were you the one who burned it?" She asked,
"And, my comrades. Were you the one who killed and injured them?" Her gaze's intensity rose, giving a pressure intense enough to make my body tremble.
Why am I trembling? Was it because of the pressure she's giving out? Or, was it because of the guilt and fear I'm feeling right now?
Tell me the truth, her eyes seemed to speak. But, what should I tell her? That I didn't do it? That it was an accident? No, that won't do.
The burn marks, the wounds, the tattered clothes. It was enough to deduce what happened.
I did it to them.
They got caught up by my attack, and it killed them.
I killed them.
I killed… someone.
The realization shook my heart, my face paling and my body trembling like crazy.
There were no excuses for this. I can't run away, this was reality. My foolishness and recklessness killed someone. Even if it was an accident, I still did it. All because I failed to consider my surroundings, all because I didn't notice.
"…I…" My voice was trembling, unable to form a word.
The girl dashed forward and unsheathed her weapon at lightning speed- to the point my eyes could barely keep up. I managed to block the blow somehow, but the force made me blast backwards.
Strong!
The sheer force of the blow made my whole body scream and reverberate. It was just like that time I fought Miss Ais on Daedalus Street.
My arms were trembling with just a single attack, any more of it and I won't be able to take it. The after effects of Argonaut still was affecting me, so right now I wasn't in top shape for combat for someone as strong as her.
"I see,"
"His call was right, something interesting was in this forest, and I regret showing up late and letting them go alone." She said, and her gaze fell down on me- a gaze filled with indescribable emotions.
"Let me introduce myself, My name is Komiya Sangou. Commander of the seas, Amphirite's blessed one. And by my name, I shall declare."
The ground filled with smoke and ashes subsided, and the fiery fire from the surroundings suddenly stopped and went off. The red skies went dark, covered by dark-grey clouds in an instant.
"Your death!"
A bolt of lightning burst forth from the skies. Water sprang out of nowhere and filled the ground at an extreme speed. Heavy winds and rain fell down from the heavens, accompanied by loud roars of thunder.
The girl simply stood, riding a blue platform as she slowly ascended. Whirlpools surrounded her wherever she went. Her once apathetic gaze was now filled with malice.
One look was all I needed to know.
I'll lose.
"I'll make you suffer, for what you did to them!" she declared.
Countless sharp blades appeared behind her and fell down as she waved her hand down- signaling the start of the rain.
They fell down at a breakneck speed, each one of them was aimed at me.
"Wait!" I screamed, but it was for naught.
The blades were closing in on me fast. I had nowhere to run or to hide. The water below me stopped me from moving in time to dodge, and there was nothing to go to but water everywhere.
I only had one option.
To fight.
My battle instincts kicked in and all color from my surroundings went grey except for the speeding bullets in front of me. I gripped my Hestia Knife and focused all of my energy on it, prepared to intercept them all.
"Yaaarr!"
I gripped my Hestia Knife and focused all of my energy on it, slashing the blue glittering blade that came first.
"Cutting water? Foolish." She said.
The blade that I cut and dispersed reverted to its original form and continued to rush at me.
"…Wha?" The scene shocked and froze me for a split second.
But, that split second was enough.
Countless holes opened up on my body as the water blades pierced through it like paper. Blood spilled all over and extreme pain rushed inside me like never before.
"GWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
My mouth vomited blood, my body was frozen, unable to move a single muscle. My vision blurred, while my hearing dulled.
"Goodbye."
A large water blade erupted and pierced me from behind.
My eyes fell into the darkness.
The battle was over.
My life flashed before my eyes.
I saw the days when my grandpa would read me stories every day.
He always read me heroic stories. I was always happy while with him.
When he died, I learned that the stories he told me were hand-drawn by himself.
Grandpa was incredible. He was the first hero that I admired.
The day when I was attacked by a goblin, he rushed forward and protected me with nothing but a garden hoe. That day, he shone like a warrior to me.
He was the one who gave me my drive. Because of him, I embarked on my journey to Orario.
But, that journey ends here.
Lilly, Welf, Mikoto, Haruhime, Goddess.
Ouka, Chigusa, Takemikazuchi.
Nazha, Daphne, Cassandra, Miach.
Syr, Ryu, Anya, Chloe, Runoa, Mia.
Asfi, Hermes.
Tione, Tiona.
Ais.
Thank you. I'm going ahead.
Grandpa, I'll see you soon.
Drip
"…huh?"
I looked around my surroundings, and I was in a dimly lit room- the entrance covered by metal bars. My hands were cuffed by a carved wooden plank with chains supporting it.
The only sound I could hear was water dripping from the corner of the room, otherwise, there was nothing but silence.
I was inside a prison cell.
"…I was spared, huh?" I muttered.
How long has it been, since that fight?
The fight with the girl left me defeated and wounded all over. That time, I thought I was going to die for real, but I got spared apparently.
Looking at my body, no trace of wounds were left except for my clothes which were tattered. My mind felt clear too, the fatigue that I got from using Argonaut was nowhere to be found.
I got defeated yet again.
Not only that, I killed people unknowingly.
I've had enough. My mind can't take this anymore. Ever since I came here, there's been nothing but misery.
First, an unknown Goddess came to me, then I wake up in a random forest filled with monsters. Next, I learned that I killed people accidentally. Then I was attacked by an extremely powerful girl who called herself the 'Commander of the Seas".
Just what is happening to me? My mind can't process anything anymore.
I'm tired.
Goddess. My familia. I wonder what they're doing this very moment? I hope they're okay.
If they learn about my condition here, I wonder how would they react? Would they help me? Be angry at me? Pity me? Scold me?
I really went and did something unforgivable this time.
Footsteps echoed from outside as I was stuck in my self-loathing. A man appeared right in front of my cell.
"…huh?" I muttered.
The man that appeared in front of me was a tall, male elf. But,
There's no mistake. I saw him lying on the ground, heavily wounded at that time. How is he here right now?
"Stand and get out. Her Majesty asks for your presence." The elf said.
I was walking behind the man in the corridor. My hands were uncuffed by the man on the way as I got out of my cell.
"We're here," he said and opened the door right in front.
Behind the door, a girl was on her seat while sipping her tea.
"Hello there." She looked at me and smiled.
I froze. The girl right in front of me was the one I fought that time. The one who tried to kill me.
But, there was something different with her this time. Her ruthless personality was completely gone, nowhere to be seen. The one in front of me was just a maiden.
"Come sit,' she ordered.
I silently followed her order, still shocked at the complete turnaround of her personality.
"Laeroth, leave us for a while." She said.
"Understood." He said and left the room.
The atmosphere in the room was tense. I was completely restless, my body was shaking, and my mind was focused- prepared for any sudden movements she might do to me.
"Now then, there's only two of us here. I would like to start with an apology." She stood up, and,
"I'm extremely sorry for trying to kill you. My emotions were a mess back then, and I didn't know the full story. As a leader, this was a failure from my part. I'm really sorry." She said with a regretful tone as she bowed right in front of me
Huh?
My body calmed down, and my mind went blank, baffled by her words.
An apology… to me?
"…why?" I asked.
"Hmm?" She tilted her head.
"…why are you apologizing to me?"
"Why? I hurt you, wounded you, and tried to kill you even though you did nothing wrong. Of course, I'll apologize." She said, her eyes widening- as if saying what are you talking about? .
"…what do you mean, that I did nothing wrong?"
I couldn't take it anymore.
"What do you mean? I don't understand you! I killed your comrades, your friends, I killed them! Me! My magic killed them! So what are you talking about!? That I did nothing wrong? How is there nothing wrong!? Why are you acting like there's nothing wrong!?" I stood up and shouted everything.
My pent-up emotions burst as I shouted. My eyes felt hot and my throat felt dry.
I did something wrong. Something unforgivable.
So why are you the one apologizing?
Why aren't you condemning me like before?
Why are your eyes staring at me in pity, instead of hating me like before?
WHY!?
"I see. That's what you mean." She closed her eyes and sat down.
"No one died." She said.
"…huh?"
"In fact, you saved them."
"…what are you talking about?"
"My assistant, Laeroth, told me everything. If you weren't there, they would have been killed by Cherylds, those monsters."
"Your fire burned down the entire forest and burnt the monsters along with it. You saved them in the nick of time."
"So, I shouldn't be apologizing to you. Instead, I should have been grateful to you."
"Mysterious traveler, thank you. Thank you for saving the lives of my comrades." She looked at me and smiled, her face gleaming.
Thank you. Her words were the final fuse.
Tears flowed out of my eyes. I wailed and cried my heart out, relieving myself of the tremendous burden and the guilt I placed on myself.
"Are you okay now?" The girl in front of me asked, smiling as nothing happened.
No! I wanted to shout.
My whole face was hot, and my body was trembling. I couldn't look her in the eyes properly.
I let my feelings burst out in the heat of the moment and let it all out to a girl I didn't even know. And what's worse was she was just staring at me while smiling as I cried my heart out the whole time.
Embarrassing! Extremely embarrassing! I'm so ashamed of myself!
"Y, yes!" I replied, my voice stammering.
"Hee-hee. Then, I'll introduce myself first. I am Komiya Sangou, the ruler of this country. You?"
Ruler, her? But, she looks just around my age though…
"Hmm, are you thinking of something rude about me?" She said, flashing a big smile.
Scary!
"Ahh, no! My name is Bell Cranell, and I came from Orario." I said.
"Orario…? I haven't heard of a country like that. Are you from the continent of Kingdom?" She said, her expression changed to a serious one.
"Kingdom? No, I haven't heard of it. Orario is on a continent close to the sea with a huge lake in it."
"Hmm…. No, I haven't heard of it. Did you travel from 'Orario' to here in Perivall?"
"No. I just woke up randomly in the middle of a forest, surrounded by monsters."
"Wha…? How is that even possible? Did you sleepwalk until here or something?"
"It can't be. The guards would have stopped me from exiting Orario anyways."
"I see." She said, her face frowning- as if deep in thought.
Our conversation confirmed one of my doubts, that I wasn't near Orario, nor anywhere near it.
The monsters had no magic stones, and Ms. Komiya didn't know anything about Orario, which was the biggest city in the whole world. Everyone should have known about it. Unless,
I was in another world?
No, no. No way. After all, they use Koine to speak, our language. It's possible I was just transferred to a distant land where they haven't traveled to the seas yet. Going to another world was just from the stories, and even then the Gods know nothing about another world beside The Lower Realm.
"Well, moving on. Because of your deeds, I would like to reward you. After all, you saved my assistant and my closest knights. You also destroyed a threat that has been plaguing our country for years now, so ask anything you want, and with my power, I shall grant it to you." She said.
"No, no, no. There's no need for a reward. I just did what I had to. But… you said that the monsters have been plaguing your country for years now. Miss Komiya, why haven't you destroyed it yourself? You're much more powerful than me…" I asked.
"Please drop the honorifics, you can just refer to me by my name, Bell," She smiled, and continued, "I can't destroy it. Are you familiar with how Cherylds are born, Bell?"
"Uhh, no. I don't know about Cherylds in the first place."
"…Really?" She said, her eyes widening.
"Yes,"
"You're crazy," she muttered.
"Cherylds are born from trees every twice a year. The trees crack and they just go out of it without any explanations. As long as a single tree remained, the loop is endless." She continued,
"They only are born in this country in the forests- and we call those trees 'cursed trees' as it was possible for them to get born on trees old enough. My water can't destroy that big of a forest, and it would just serve as nutrients to those trees. If there's anyone who could destroy it, It would probably be that idiot dwarf Zerold, but I don't want to owe him a single thing." She said.
"Well, let's move on. Since you don't want anything, I have a proposal for you."
"What is it?" I asked.
"I'll help you find your way home, to this Orario you speak of."
"In exchange..?" I asked.
"Become my personal knight."
"What…?"
"Protect me, escort me, be my bodyguard. You'll move under my orders only. Don't worry. This is only until you find your way home."
This deal seemed way too one-sided. She can just withhold information and claim that she doesn't know anything yet so that I would stay.
I offered a silent thanks to Lilly, who taught me how to deal with these kinds of situations.
"What if I refuse…?" I asked.
"You'll be in jail as a criminal." She said and smiled at me.
"Huh!? Why!?" I stood up, surprised by her answer.
"You went inside our country without a permit, so you basically trespassed our borders. And, you caused a huge uproar by burning the forest, and I had to use the excuse that I used my powers to destroy the forest just to calm the public down. What if I just released you, someone who is capable of destroying a whole forest and hundreds of Cherylds in one single motion? To their eyes, you're not a hero or a savior, but a threat that needs to be dealt with."
"But," she continued, "If you accept the deal, I'll take responsibility for everything. I can make a story so that you can live here as a citizen and be able to come and go as you please in this country, and I'll hide your true power with an excuse that 'You're a super talented knight that was picked up and trained by the beautiful, charming, and clever ruler of this country, Her Majesty Komiya.'"
"Not a bad deal, right?" She said, smiling and clapping her hands together.
"You never had an intention of letting me go in the first place!" I said.
"Hee-hee!"
"…there's nothing to laugh about here…" I sat down, completely dejected.
From the very start, I was in the palm of her hands. She used the fact that I didn't know anything about this place to coerce me.
What bad luck. And here I thought that my Developmental Ability, Luck, was supposed to help me in these kinds of situations.
"…I have no choice, don't I? I accept."
"Really? That's great! Thank you!" She said, her face gleaming.
Please stop. It's scaring me
"For now, I'll place you in the Knights-in-training list. Everyone would be suspicious if I just randomly picked up someone as my personal knight without any credibility."
"Congratulations! Starting today, you're now a knight-in-training and a citizen of Nero."
"…thank you..?" I said.
"Laeroth!"
"I'm here, my liege." The man entered the room.
"Bring him to an inn, give him food and clothes, and start his training as a knight tomorrow."
"Understood. Boy, come with me." He said.
I followed the man from behind as we exited the room.
"See you again!" Ms. Komiya shouted from behind.
Starting tomorrow, I'll become a knight-in-training.
Just how did it come to this?
"My Liege, I have returned and did as you said." A male elf that entered the room said.
"Good work, Laeroth," Komiya said.
"Laeroth. I spared that boy's life."
"I'm sorry for my impudence, my liege. I shall accept any punishment as you wish."
"No need, I'm not mad. Opposite, in fact. In over two years that you have served under me, that was the first time you asked for something from me. Of course, I'll accept it."
"But, it's weird. For you to ask to spare the one who killed one of your generals. You know that if the boy didn't unleash such an attack, he would still be alive right now, right? For you to be calm and forgive someone like that is weird. Normally, you'd be beating that boy to death right now." Komiya said, staring at Laeroth.
"It wasn't his fault, my liege. It was our fault for being careless and choosing to be as sneaky as possible. The other generals understood it as well and did not hold a grudge at that boy. We'll gladly offer our life for the prosperity of this country, and their deaths made it possible to meet that boy." Laeroth replied calmly, and continued,
"All I asked for was to spare that boy's life. But, my liege, you were the one who did something unnecessary."
"Oh-hoh? What is it?"
"Relieving that boy's guilt by lying to him, that was unlike you, 'Heartless Princess.'"
Komiya winced at Kaeroth's words. Her face drooped, while her eyes dulled. "…but…" she muttered silently.
"What did you see in that boy, my liege?"
Komiya's face returned to normal, as if nothing happened, and answered,
"I only did what was necessary, Kaeroth. That boy was on the verge of a breakdown- and he's not useful that way," She said, "Your intuition was right, that boy is an anomaly. I needed to keep him here. If other countries or Kingdom knew of his existence…. you know, right?"
"Yes. A boy that is so capable will definitely catch the eyes of other nations. A boy so strong he might rival the 'Blessed Ones' like you in combat without a blessing from the Gods."
"Rival? Ha-ha-ha, Kaeroth. What heresy. I can best that boy in combat easily. He doesn't stand a chance against any Blessed Ones right now, he wouldn't last a minute against them."
"Still doesn't change the fact that he might grow in the future. That boy is just as you said, an anomaly. I firmly believe that boy will grow and become strong, stronger than anyone."
"Since when did you become an oracle, Kaeroth?." Komiya said, "Stronger than anyone, that boy? Ha-ha-ha! You never fail to interest me, Laeroth."
She laughed, amused by the words of her advisor.
"Leave me alone for now. I'll return to the mansion on my own." She said.
"As you wish, my liege."
Kaeroth followed his orders and left the room.
"You shouldn't be a ruler, my liege," He muttered as he walked to the hallways, his voice reaching no one.
At the same time, inside the previous room
"Brother…"
"I will destroy you." She said, her sharp words cutting through the silence.
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