{Argh! The sun! It burns!}
Suddenly, the sound of hurrying footsteps and screaming children fill the vicinity. A group of 8 guards surrounded our group with spears and swords at the ready. There was one member, in particular, that seemed a cut above the rest. While the others were wearing mainly leather armor, he donned plate armor with the insignia of a dragon, like the one carved on Mira’s spear. He had short brown hair and stylishly had a well-groomed beard to add.
“At the ready, guards! A vampire has just exited the dungeon! Somebody go and call the head priest or a fire magic specialist! We will hold this demon back”
“Calm down, head knight. There are no vampires here. Just a couple of idiot commoners.”
“My apologies, Miss Sheila. It just that this town is right next to a demon continent. Us guards always have to be ready for an attack. Please warn your comrades to be careful with their words.”
“I would prefer it if you didn’t group me with these peasants. Anyways, we would like entrance into the city.”
“Why certainly, miss. Just as a precaution, please show me your guild cards. We have run into problems with demons that used a conceal spell before.”
Zooming towards us, the silhouette of Mira flew past us and embraced the head knight. The sight of a towering giant holding on to a man a head shorter than her and lifting him up with ease astonished us both.
“Papa! I didn’t know that you were on guard duty today. Where’s Mama?”
“Mira, I would appreciate it if you didn’t crush Papa’s ribs every time that you see me.”
“But you’re rarely home because of work. Mama and I are worried about you.”
“I just saw Mia today. She at the inn. You should go see her when you head back.”
Both of us did not know what do think of the situation. Surely enough, I could see the expression on Abel’s face. I knew he was thinking the same thing that I was. We didn’t exactly make it very subtle.
“I see that you may be wondering about how a human like me can have a child like Mira here.”
{Sorry, we didn’t mean any disrespect. We were just curious.}
The knight proceeded to laugh then proceeded to explain.
“Hahaha. I see. You see, Mira’s mother is a dark elf. While marriage with demon races is usually banned and heavily sentenced in other parts of the Kingdom of Kines, since Rondor is so close to the border of a demon continent, the rules sort of died out. Even the church here seems to have no quarrel with it and support it as if it were any other marriage.”
We both let out streams of tears. Wow. A love that transcends borders and boundaries. Such a heart moving thing. However, I knew that Abel wasn’t thinking the same thing I was. Knowing him for quite some time now, I could probably guess that he was thinking.
[Dark Elves?! Since there are Dark Elves, then that means there are Elves. If they are anything like the idea of Elves that we had back on Earth, then…. Oh, their voluptuous bodies. Those smooth legs. Pure white skin. HARMONY!!!]
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Thank god he didn’t say any of that out loud. I would hate it if we were to be looked upon with disgusted eyes when we entered the city.
“Anyways. Sorry to be late with introductions. My name is Keith Hawthorne, the head knight of Rondor. And I’m pretty sure that you have also met my daughter, Mira.”
{It’s a pleasure to meet you, uh…. Mr. Hawthorne. I am Rein Silvers.}
[Abel Freikas.]
“Well then, lads. Welcome to Rondor. While I would let you in on normal circumstances since you were with Miss Sheila and Mira, but since you caused that commotion back there and I have frankly never seen your faces before, I’m going to have to ask you for your identification.”
Knowing that we didn’t have anything like a guild card, I reached into my pouch and pulled out my wallet, which will luckily there, even after all of the running. I opened it and pulled out my Japanese ID card. Soon after Abel did the same. We handed the cards to Mr. Hawthorne, to which he made a confused look.
“Sorry lads. What are these strange symbols? Some kind of foreign language I suppose. So, I was right about you guys not being from around here. But sorry, I don’t think that I can let you in with these cards. I’ll have to bring you boys into the guard’s room to clear up some things. Oh, Miss Sheila, you are free to enter. I am terribly sorry for the wait.”
Sheila, along with Rolaf, walked past the guards in front of the gate into the city. Before entering, however, she stuck out her tongue as if to mock us, then happily skipping inside.
{Oh, that girl pisses me off. Next time I see her, I’ll get her back}
Mr. Hawthorne abruptly interrupted.
“Hahaha, I don’t think that that is such a good idea lad. Her father is the Duke of this city, so doing anything that might bring them insult wouldn’t be the best idea. And, despite her cocky attitude, Miss Sheila is a B rank mage registered with the adventurer’s guild. She’s not someone that normal people could take on. Now then, shall we enter?”
The guard behind Mr. Hawthorne opened a door to which we asked to follow him into. I walked in first, followed by Abel, who almost hit his head on the top of the door frame.
[By the way, you heard the sound of a coin toss in the dungeon too, right?]
{Yea… . . . That girl really is a bitch.}
[I think that we can agree on that.]
We entered the guard’s room and, to our surprise, it was nothing like that of which we expected. The room was very well lit by a chandelier with orbs of light instead of the typical candles or light bulbs. It was very well furnished with wooden chairs and tables and was kept very clean. On the stone walls, there were a few paintings that were aligned, with one painting in a particular, the portrayal of an angel, caught my sight. She was drawn with a single cloth draping her body and her crimson hair flowing as she looked out into the horizon. The most striking feature Though it was a painting, I could feel a very strong aura that was being emitted. As if some higher power was being bestowed onto it.
“I see that the painting of Vel has caught your eye.”
{It just so mesmerizing. Even from where we are from, we rarely have paintings as beautiful as this one.}
I guess one of the only paintings that I could compare this to would be the Mona Lisa. The artistry was truly remarkable.
[Who is Vel?]
“Vel is the goddess the governs over the demi-human and demon races. Out of the 7 main gods of the church, she reigns second in power. She is widely worshiped in cities bordering the demon continent and within the continent itself as well. Now then, why don’t we have a seat.”
We sat down at one of the tables near the painting, with Abel and I sitting on one side and Mr. Hawthorne on the other side… with Mira hugging him from behind. Kind of takes the seriousness away from the whole situation.
“Now then, Rein Silvers and Abel Freikas, I would like to know where you came from and what you were doing in Ingris Dungeon. Normally, no matter where you are from, you would have at least known about the 7 Deities. You didn’t have a guild card either, so I am starting to become suspicious whether you are related to the demon continent or not.”
We decided to tell him the whole story, from when we woke up in the dungeon and until now. About the span of four hours actually, so it wasn’t a hassle to tell it in its entirety. However, we didn’t want to mention that we were from another world, as something like that may be farfetched, so we moved some facts around here and there.
“Ja..pang? I’ve never heard of such a place before, but from your description, it sounds like a part of Teikoku.”
So apparently there is a continent that is similar to Japan here. Obviously not the technological empire that we know Japan as today, but rather Japan from a couple hundreds of years ago. Samurai and the shogunate. Luckily, I took a History of Japan course in university, so I was able to explain the details somewhat accurately. Explaining things like electronics and Akihabara might be a bit too difficult in a world that revolves around a fantasy like setting.
[We lost most of our belongings during our escape from the giant rats, and to be honest, I don’t think that we can go back there in our current state. We had trouble dealing with just one, so I’m not sure whether we can search for our belongings safely.]
“That is indeed a predicament. Well, I guess I have no choice but to let you in on a provisionary permit. It won’t cost you any money, but you will be limited to the facilities that you can use. I recommend that you immediately go to the Adventurer’s Guild and apply for new cards there. I’ll have Mira show you around. Be sure to visit the Moonlight Inn while you’re at it.”
So, we said our thanks and proceeded to enter the city of Rondor along with Mira.
----------------------------------------
In a room dimly lit by blue flames, two shadows were present, conversing. One sat upon a black-metal throne, while the other, kneeled before him, presented a report.
“The two have recently exited the dungeon entered the city of Rondor, Your Highness.”
“Good work, Cecilia. Keep on following them and report any significant actions to me immediately.”
“Your will is my command, Lord Kaz.”
The kneeling shadow swiftly disappeared from the room, leaving no trace of her presence behind. The flames dissipated, making the room pitch black.
“I wonder what those two will be up to in the near future…”