Riri had always been called kindhearted by her peers. When she was transported to this world, they said the same thing. The other heroes told her the saintess role fit her so well, but she never felt like a saint. She only tried her best to help others because it made her feel better. Instead, she felt as if she was greedy—to always chase happiness by helping other people.

She clutched her golden staff. Her robes always seemed to get in the way. The sleeves were too loose. Yet, she walked as graciously as she could, following behind Sine and Eerie. Riri walked next to her friend, Sumire.

They were leaving Tinderwick for the first time since arrival. Riri felt her heart pound in her chest when she looked at the walls surrounding the city. Sumire grabbed onto her hand and clutched it.

“Don’t worry, Riri. I can protect you. Not to mention, Eerie is here with us.”

Riri smiled at Sumire. Riri’s beautiful looks combined with her bright smile could easily win hearts over. “I will put my faith in you then, and I will be sure to heal everyone!”

Sumire grinned. “That’s right! And we might need you here to keep Eerie in check, just in case.”

“Please don’t ask the impossible!”

Sumire giggled in response as they reached the gate.

Beyond the gate, Riri could see a beautiful meadow. Even further than that, a dense forest sat before them. The road tapered off from smooth stone to rough cobble further out.

The carriages were loaded, and it was like a caravan. Boxes filled a few of them to the brim. Riri supposed much of that was the potions. Once they got to the traveling carriages at the front, they climbed in.

Each of them were separated by their team. Thankfully Riri was allowed to ride with Sumire, Sine, Eerie and Marcy.

Riri watched as Eerie pulled out cushions from a portal. She knew that Eerie was also from Earth. However, isn’t she too much of a cheat existence? The goddess must have favored her a lot.

She didn’t complain, though. It made her happy when Eerie provided her with a cushion.

Sine sat in the witch’s lap, seemingly content. Miss Witchhat pet her head. It was almost like Riri’s classmate had become a kitten. Riri didn’t know Eerie for long, but she figured that the pointy hatted woman couldn’t be terrible.

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Riri shook her head. The witch had been nice enough to let her stay inside a grandiose manor and even provided a healing grimoire. There is no way she is a bad witch. Even if she did nearly kill that lion.

“Is something wrong?” Sumire asked.

“No,” Riri said, “I was just thinking.”

“What is it?”

“How strong is Miss Witchhat?”

Eerie grinned, pointing at herself. “Me? I am a B-rank adventurer!”

Marcy shook her head beside her. “There is no way that’s true.”

“Huh? But you promoted me!”

The group began moving at the call of the King. “Even if I promoted you, you are still stronger than that S-rank. When are you going to face reality and turn away from your delusions?”

Eerie stuck out her tongue in a cute gesture. “They aren’t delusions.”

Riri couldn’t help but laugh. “By the way, Miss Witchhat, how old are you?”

The witch became crimson. “Don’t you know not to ask a girl her age?”

“You can’t be that much older, can you? Why the act?”

Marcy grinned from the side. “Do you really want to know?”

“Hey! Don’t violate my privacy rights!”

The group laughed heartily as the caravan rolled on.

///

Riri only felt fear and trepidation when they arrived at their destination. A giant stone gate sat in a clearing of the forest. The caravan parked at front. What was odd, is there was nothing supporting it. Yet the gate stood there anyway—flanked on each side by giant wax candles.

Sumire was Riri’s saving grace. The other girl held her hand firmly, even while both hands were shaking.

The door was far too ominous. A strange dark power came from it, and something primal was telling Riri to run far away. All of that fear seemed to vanquish when the witch winked at her.

“Don’t worry about this old door. I saw a door just like it once! Could you believe it? The door was opened with a simple password ‘open sesame!’”

Oddly, the witch’s presence and nonsense did help comfort Riri. The other groups bounded over, and Lion Heart’s leader grinned.

“Of course,” he said, “leave it to my future wife to not be turned by something like this.”

Sine stared at him with dead eyes. “Can I kill him?”

“Now, now, let’s get along.” King Tallow interjected. “You all can kill each other after…” He looked at the door with a forlorn expression. “This isn’t right at all. I mean, this is certainly the right place, but this isn’t right.”

“What’s wrong?” Eerie asked.

“This door is not supposed to be like this.”

A lump began to form in Riri’s stomach. She’d heard of the first trial before, and they were briefed on it. The theme was lizards. So how come the door held the markings of a candelabra?

Marcy frowned while looking at the door. “Somehow this power feels familiar.”

“You know something about this?” King Tallow asked.

“I am not sure, but maybe it would be a good idea to hold off—”

“No, we will continue,” the king said. “This seems exactly the right place for me to test my skills.”

“Are you really sure that’s a good idea? What if that hubris kills all of us?”

Lion’s Heart leader cackled. “As if a simple change of scenery will deter me. I am with His Majesty on this one.”

Jugon, the axe hero, nodded along. “It’s as he says. We are the heroes, remember?”

Marcy released a long sigh, and Riri couldn’t make out what the woman said under her breath.