“Hmm...”

A suspicious voice came from my right, the tall white-haired rabbit being the first to break the silence as she turned her shocked eyes over to where I was standing with a look of awe slowly beginning to surface. Using her free hand to brush aside some of the drenched hair clinging to her face, the girl quickly stepped forward, bringing our bodies mere inches from each other as her eyes once again attempted to pry out the secrets of my soul while I leaned back uncomfortably. I noticed her eyes flick up once again to the black cowboy hat on my head, watching the condensed water drip off the brim with fascination, as if trying to discern some kind of secret code that held the answers to any question she could ever hope to ask.

I looked back at her, intentionally keeping my gaze directed above her neck to avoid unintentionally catching a glimpse of something through her saturated white clothing, while frantically searching for some way to escape this situation. Unfortunately for me, Grace noticed my intense discomfort with her current state, and leaned in closer, pressing her slender body against mine as a bitter smile slid across her mouth. I glanced at the other two for help, but they were still staring at the massive hole in the intimidating structure, and didn’t notice my silent cries for help.

“Who... are... you?”

Three very clear words formed on Grace’s lips, dancing through the air with confidence I could never hope to have before assaulting my mind with it’s refined interrogative edge. I tried to take a step back in retreat, but her arms wrapped around my back in response to her lightning-fast reflexes, her fingers interlocking tightly behind me, and pressing her delicate frame firmly against mine. I pinched my lips closed as her face drew near, suddenly aware that my breath probably smells terrible in spite of my numerous improvised attempts at cleaning them without a toothbrush. The big blue orbs that took up nearly my entire visual range searched my eyes with an almost disheartened glaze coating them, but that detail was almost immediately lost in my mind, swept away, along with the last traces of rational thought, by my explosive awkwardness.

Damn, I need something-anything-else to think about and regain control of my mind. Let’s see, what is something that distracts me? How about escapin-Oh my god, her breasts are-no, focus. Ah, I got it; her bunny ears. I wonder if they actually replace her ears, or if they’re more for decoration... well, either way, I still have an intense urge to touch th-!?

I nearly jumped out of my skin as I felt her hands slowly make their way down my back, realizing how rapidly they were approaching dangerous territory, and not even her bunny ears could pull me out of this level of mental shock. My hands were trembling as I raised them, not wanting to pull the girl off in fear of hurting her somehow, but also wanting to get away, or at least make her stop moving her hands downward. Shit, bad guys are so much easier to deal with... at least with them you don’t have to be careful of both their physical and emotional well-being, and can often just find a way to escape, but where the hell can I run now? I already agreed to help her. How do I get myself into these situations?

“If you’re this disgusted by me, then leave me alone. I don’t want your to help if it’s only out of pity or guilt, that’s even worse than simply leaving me to fend for myself. You gave me a way out, so I’ll consider it even.”

She leaned the side of her face over on my shoulder as the hands, which were previously sliding toward my ass, released and fell, loosely hanging to her sides. She wasn’t sexually assaulting me, she was loosening her grip in resignation, thinking I was disgusted by her, and only helping out of either pity, or guilt, which, like me, she absolutely hates. Goddammit, this is my fault. I kept on saying things like “I’ll take responsibility for my actions” and “I’ll follow through with my promise”, which probably just made her think I don’t really care about what happens to her, and that I only want to clear my name, or some bullshit. Why are girls so perceptive on all these hidden meanings that I don’t even realize I’m creating? Well, I had better make this right before whatever hope she still retains in humanity after her ordeal with the noble is destroyed.

My hands steadied as I prepared a response to the bunny-girl’s sobering offer. Gently, making certain nothing is left up to false misinterpretations of pity or guilt, I rested my palms on each of her shoulders, pulling her off me so I could see her face better. An intense urge to beat the shit out of myself struck me when I saw the dejected look on her face, and felt the weight of the air around her, knowing this was my fault. I did this to her, whether I intended to or not, and now I’m going to fix it, not because I feel guilty for what I did, or pity for her poor situation, but because I choose to. Locking eyes with the white-haired girl, I let out a silent prayer in hopes that what I’m about to say doesn’t come off as moronic or deceptive. Ah, screw it, I don’t have time to mess around right now, so I’ll just say whatever comes to mind and hope for the best.

I noticed the girl’s eyes change slightly in response to my actions, a dim light flickering to life as a speck of something brighter appeared, contrasting with everything else about her, and in doing so created a significant difference in her entire demeanor. I kind of feel bad that I’m not very good at speeches, because it looks like she needs a lot more reassurance than I am able to give. Ah, well, I’ll do what I can for now. Locking eyes with the girl, I summoned up what little courage I still had after the... attack, and strengthened my resolve, slightly ruffling the soft, wet material making up her sealed dress.

“I am NOT disgusted by you, and I would never help anyone solely out of pity or guilt. I made your clearly complicated situation a whole lot worse, and since I have the means to help, it would be irresponsible not to. This isn’t generosity, or charity, or some selfish way to clear my conscience, and I’m not not going to leave you “to fend for yourself” the moment I consider us “even”. I’m doing this for you, not me, and the moment you decide you don’t need my help anymore, I’ll leave. Until then, if you’re ever trapped anywhere for whatever reason, all you need to do is ask, and I’ll do everything I can to make you a way out.”

The bunny-girl’s blank stare slowly began to change while listening the words poured from my mouth, her self-deprecating thoughts melting away as that little speck I sensed earlier grew more intense, and her world-weary eyes seemed to shed one or two of it’s many apathetic shades. Yup, it’s just as I thought; words won’t completely fix whatever damage she has, since it’s most likely the result of experiencing terrible people who say wonderful things to distract people from the reality. Damn, I feel like punching something right now... I should probably get going before those guards snap out of their stupor, and somehow talk themselves into picking a fight with us. I’d rather not kill the primary law enforcement of this city because we didn’t leave fast enough.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Something disturbed the air to my left, catching my attention, and subconsciously released Grace’s shoulders as I turned to face it. A dark green poncho-like cloth flapped wildly through the air as it approached my location, only allowing me to catch a glimpse of the reckless elf mid-dive as her “love” rapidly propelled her at my person. Not again...

A pair of soft objects were the first things to collide, padding the her as she landed directly on my face, which, aided by my quick reaction to absorb her momentum, spared her ribcage from a painful encounter. Ella’s arms wrapped around my head, knocking my hat backwards off my head, and forcing me to stumble back a couple of steps to catch it. The overly generous bosom pressed against me mercilessly, enveloping my face in it’s all-consuming embrace, allowing me to feel the elf’s voice vibrate as the sudden pressure on her chest forced a faint “Hm” to escape her lips. With hands moving with uncertainty to the girl’s hips, I attempted to pull her off me, but was only to provoke the elf into squeezing even tighter, and wrapping her legs defiantly around my torso. Right, I forgot that doesn’t work on her.

I relented, gingerly releasing the elf’s slender hips before raising my hands up in resignation, letting her calm down for a moment until she finally relaxed her grip, sliding comfortably down as my arms quickly moved to catch her in the princess-carry position. A jealous lip protruded from her mouth when our eyes met, and her narrow cheeks pulled the corners of her lips down as her Bambi eyes narrowed into a disapproving gaze.

“Pay attention to me.”

She mumbled the small demand in my direction as she cuddled closely up against me, the contentment of a child instantly washing away the pouty expression, and replacing it with a satisfied grin. I sighed inwardly as she began kicking her legs happily in the air, flipping up the hem of her waterproof poncho as if to allow the gradually increasing rain to bounce off her fair skin, and looked back up at the crude aperture in the wall. I probably shouldn’t play along with her spoiled actions, but I don’t think it’s possible for me to knowingly disappoint those unrealistically adorable eyes. I sympathize with her father’s actions in this respect, though it may cause some issues in the future...

Something tugged lightly at my right sleeve, and I looked over to see the silver-haired girl shyly pinching the sturdy fabric between her fingers as her blank face gazed up at me, the words already forming on her lips.

“Master, we need to go.”

Almost as if to confirm her words, the collection of soldiers behind us stirred, several of them mumbling and groaning as their hearing slowly returned, and the initial shock of the blast faded away. The the metallic scraping and clattering of armor filled the air, interrupting the faint pattering of ever-intensifying stream of water that teemed down from the sky, and reminding me of our current situation. I could feel the rainwater trickle down my face, and, with no small amount of awkwardness thanks to Ella legs, raised my right hand up while bending over to return my hat to it’s former place on my head, and turned back to Brook.

“You’re right, we need to leave now before they catch up.”

I straightened myself, my brow furrowing in concentration as my mind attempted to recall the name of that castle displayed on the golden coin back in the shop. I remember the second part was Vel... what was first part again? Mor... Morki? Morkai? Ah, I need a guide to this world...

“Where are we going now?”

Ella’s voice came from my arms, curiously inquiring on where we are going next, but I still couldn’t recall the castle’s name for the life of me. Wait a second, why am I the one making this decision? We’re a group right? So why don’t we all... err... never mind. I’m pretty sure Brook and Ella would default to whatever I choose, and asking Grace where she wants to go is kind of pointless since she has already stated her intention to return to the castle on the coin, which I was planning on doing anyway. I would ask her what the castle’s name is, but that might seem a bit rude to ask, since it’s common knowledge, and she just told me not ten minutes ago, which would make it seem like I wasn’t listening to her. Why is this so complicated...

I let out a quick sigh, turning to face the breach on the wall while noticing the strange energy start to build up behind us threateningly, and finally began to move. The sound of feet rhythmically striking the brittle pavement, and the occasional splash from the gathering water quickly multiplied as the other two joined me, the question still hanging in the air, unanswered while my mind raced to recreate the moment from back in the store. Screw it, I’ll just buy myself a little time, but if I still can’t remember, then I’ll just ask and deal with the repercussions when they come.

“For now, let’s focus on getting somewhere safe.”

I assumed the following silence indicated their agreement, and, after the relatively short amount of time we spent inside, leapt through the hole to the dreary world awaiting us outside. The rain began to fall profusely now, the faded white sheets of water barely visible through the dreary grey veil that hung from the ominous shadow overhead, and dampening our hopes of drying out anytime soon. A thought occurred to me as I noticed the weather’s change, instantly compelling me to think back to the water stored in the tall barrier’s cavity, and why a seemingly impenetrable wall would need such a copious amount. If I remember correctly, Grace had said something about novice water mages being unable to create water out of thin air, and requiring an abundant source efficiently defend the wall... oh no.

The rain stopped. I don’t mean it cleared up, no, that would be reassuring and slightly helpful, but instead it froze mid-air around us, almost as if time itself had lost it’s grip. I slowed my pace, watching the floating beads of rain start to drift, moving back in the direction we had just come from to, I assume, meet the summon of a pretty large group of water mages who will then use it to attack us. Goddammit, I’m so sick of these guys...

“Master.”

Brook, who had approached my right side, called out the title I was still hesitant to claim, waiting for me to look over before nodding at several thick metallic sheets lying idly around us that had been warped by the explosion. Realizing what she was trying to imply, I smiled, thinking it was nice to have a girl around that enjoyed doing things for me, and making a mental note to teach her how to do something other than fight. That may be a bit troublesome though, since I’m still unsure of my own abilities, not to mention the customs, food, clothing, and many other things are different here than they are on Earth... I suppose that’s not a “right now” problem, though, so I should probably save the “blind leading the blind” teaching methods for later.

“Go ahead, but be careful.”

I approved her request, watching her respond with a quick, respectful nod, before falling behind, diagonally moving toward a particularly large chunk of metal that was roughly the same shape and size of a bus. Without hesitation or any visible preparation, the small, silver-haired girl gripped the massive object, lifted it off the ground, and whipped it around with surprisingly little effort, before sending it rocketing back at the decently large gathering of men in blue tunics. Like all good water-wielding mages, the group was mid-way through creating a massive orb of water to hurl at us, which instantly collapsed on them as they scattered to avoid a gruesome death from getting pummeled by the ridiculous projectile.

The rain returned to normal as the four of us continued to sprint on the muddy ground, continuing to flee until all traces of the city disappeared from our sight, and we figured it safe enough to stop for a little while.

Our group came to a halt under a small grove of trees, each bearing huge leaves that were able to provide us almost perfect protection from the weather, and made ourselves comfortable. Ella and Brook, who had each gotten a poncho from the linen shop back at the city, were mostly dry, however, Grace and I were thoroughly soaked, and needed to dry off for a little while, and maybe wait for the rain to clear before setting off again.

Also, Grace’s dress is still drenched... and the white isn’t exactly helping...