> “No! My books!”
Those scums! Of all the places they could target first. Why target the library? Those criminals do not even gain profit from destroying the library, this place is not even hostile to them.
> “Look! It’s princess Eula.”
Oops. I made a mistake by shouting. It’s not like they can catch me though. I’ve been running away from everyone to escape my duties. I mean, even the captain can’t catch me. But, their faces looks like they wanted to do something horrible to me. I am afraid. I have to run.
> “Capture her!”
What if I die? What do I have to do? No, I am not ready for this. I mean, there are still many things I want to do. Please someone help me. No, they are near me already. I do not want this.
> “Aaaaahhh!”
*Klang*
What is that?
> “Run!”
Captain Ignis saved me by blocking the criminal’s sword using his shield.
> “Princess Eula. Run towards your grandfather’s clock. There is a secret escape hatch inside it. Go now!”
I already know, I accidentally discovered it when I am trying to find a place to hide from them to escape my duties. But, he is trying to fight at least nine criminals. There is no way he can win. I need to help him.
> “No, I will help you defe…”
>
> “Believe me princess. I am the captain. You saw how I defeated several trained soldiers single-handedly right? Then it is easy for me to defeat this untrained criminals.”
Right. If I am right those soldiers are among the top in that famous knight’s school. But, I still wanted to help him.
> “But, I want to help…”
>
> “Besides if you tried to escape. You can take and bring few unscathed books here. But if you helped me, more books will get damaged. Then you might lose better books.”
What’s with him? We are life-threatening situation. I am trying to help him. Yet he tries to make the books into his hostages to make me escape. I am a pretty rational person. I don’t want him to suffer. It means that the most important thing to do is….
> “Okay. Be careful Ignis.”
I am pretty sure that what I did is right. Right? I mean, he shows concerns to the books. So clearly, if those books are destroyed, he will suffer. In other words, I am helping him by protecting these books in order for him to not suffer. It is not like I am selfishly abandoning him just to save these books. I believe that he can defeat them.
Luckily, it looks like no one noticed me going in this passage. I have to run though. Despite the fact that Ignis announced the existence of this passage, there are a lot of decoy clocks. Unless they know the original clock, it will take too long to find this.
I have to find another place to hide. This is the fourth time that criminals try to barge and tried to capture me. But this is the first time that I closely saw the criminals who were trying to capture me. I didn’t think that they were scary when I saw them before from afar. Seeing it firsthand, it is scarier than the beast I was fighting years back, this was the first time that the fear paralyzed me. I need to steel my nerves in the future and never repeat that same mistake again.
They are trying to capture me, but that is useless. If I am right, they will use me as a hostage against my father, the king, to perhaps make him surrender. I don’t remember his appearance ever since he abandoned me when my mother died. I am not fit to be called a hostage since he do not care about me. I will be forever prisoner. Worst case scenario is they will kill me because I am useless.
This is why I hate this world. The war takes too long to finish, I have to live my life in constant fear of someone trying to capture me. If only the world is at peace, then I can learn all the knowledge by reading all the books that existed without worries. I can try to stop the war, but what can I contribute to the millions of human here. I may possess a lot of information, but those information are useless here in this war.
Finally, I am out of the passage. If I am right, there is a lake south of here.
*gulp*
> “Ahh…”
So Refreshing! I previously saw a map in the library which shows the land in this area.
Now that the criminals have seen that there is always a guardian at my side whenever I am hiding. They won’t suspect that the princess they wanted to catch is in a town devoid of those people. Well, I have to remove my disguise. I like my natural appearance more.
I hate my cast efficiency. Dispel magic nearly depleted all of my mana. Looks like I can’t fight for the mean time. I need to find a safe place to rest.
It is starting to get dark. Seriously though, I haven’t encountered any living being except harmless plants since I start walking in this road. I don’t know if I am lucky because I didn’t encounter any danger or unlucky because I see no help coming. The latter situation is very unlikely though. I don't think I'll be able to ask for help.
In any case, I’ve seen a village and I need to be careful.
Should I go straight and say ‘I am currently traveling towards Loncross. Is there any inn that I can stay for the night?’ I don’t know. If they are actually hostile, then this village will rob me of my belongings.
Perhaps this could work ‘I am in a need of a place to rest for the night. I just defeated a lot of monsters and by the time I realized it, it is already night, the town is very far for me to go back.’ I don’t really know. If they are actually friendly, then the village will refuse to help me because they found me arrogant. But if I try to explain, they won’t listen. They will just run away from me.
What Should I…
> “Hello.”
>
> “Wah!”
Oh no. There is a villager in front of me. She looks young and innocent. I hope that this person isn’t actually a scout sent by the village because they have seen me from afar.
> “Who are you?”
>
> “Oh, Uh… I’m Eu…”
Wait, I can’t say I am Eula. Think fast Eula…
> “…nice, Eunice an adventurer going to Loncross.”
I remembered Ignis and used his name hurriedly. Eunice is a good name, for me at least.
> “I am Mia. Welcome to our village. Our village has always encountered adventurers like you. Because of this, we have built an inn dedicated for adventurers who like to rest for the night. Unfortunately, while we can provide the room if you wish to do so, we can’t provide any food as there is a shortage of monsters these days.”
>
> “Do you know the reason for this? I was also surprised that I didn’t encounter any monsters at all.”
>
> “Oh. I thought you know since you are an adventurer. It is currently the respawn period.”
Respawn period. The phenomenon where monsters is assumed to return to their lair and reproduce. It happens when the amount of a monster in a specific area is very few, but it only applies to the common variety.
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For example, if the number of rabbits in Loncross became very few, Loncross will enter the respawn period. Despite the fact that only rabbits is reduced, other monsters will also disappear and is believed to experience this phenomenon.
But regarding the food, perhaps…
> “You can have this food. I don’t really have any money to stay inside, but maybe I can sleep outside.”
It is a preserved food which can be eaten cooked or not and it lasts for at least 90 days. I don’t know how did they made this, but it is filling enough for three person. I have five of those in my inventory. Aside from that, I also have two more sets of clothes, three books, two water bags and five high rank coins.
I lied by saying I have no money because I don’t think the village even has the capability to exchange one high rank coins for 100 middle rank coins. I think the inns are usually around 20 to 40 low rank coins. Besides, I need to not attract unwanted attention.
> “No, no. You are very welcome to stay inside the inn. But in exchange, maybe you can share your food to our family. Our food ran out three days ago. We haven’t eaten since then.”
>
> “Sure. I have more here. By the way, how long did the respawn period started?”
>
> “Maybe around 20 days ago.”
That is very long! Respawn period usually lasts for 5 to 15 days. It means it is very likely that monsters will respawn tomorrow.
> “It is strange.”
Well, no use thinking about it. I need to let them cook this. I don’t have any experience in cooking anything at all so I have no choice but to let them handle that.
…
Mia is a great cook. She manages to create a great dish using two of my preserved food. Of all the times that I have eaten it. This is the first time that its taste is comparable to the dishes served in the palace.
I am so satisfied that I can’t help but feel very relaxed when I lie down the bed. Let me open the windows first.
> “Beautiful.”
The stars tonight are very pretty. It always been but this is the best of all the times. This scenery is the only thing that makes me feel at peace. If only I can marry the stars perhaps I can also be at peace. That is why I decided to use the ‘Lover’s Bond’ towards the stars.
What!?
Wait, did the magic actually activate?
No way. I mean, sure I like that I am connected now to the stars but right now I am rising through the sky.
So this is the space beyond the sky. It is beautiful. I am surprised to the fact that the world is this vast. It seems like an endless space. I don’t even know why we are having war for territories if the world is very large. There are a lot of extremely huge rocks.
…
…
So far. I am curious who did I connected to. I didn’t imagine that this magic works even at this large of a distance. It only means that our primary connection will last longer, since the duration of the magic depends on how far both parties were and how they feel with each other. Right now, I wouldn’t be surprised if it lasted for 1000 days.
…
----------------------------------------
/ Around 2.79 hours later (According to Eula) /
----------------------------------------
…
Right now, I can see that the person I’m connected to is in this world. But it is still too far away.
This place is very similar to where I lived. I didn’t imagine that someone also lives beyond the skies.
I see that I am connected to that person. I am surprised that he also have blue eyes. Maybe unlike our world, blue eyes are common. No use thinking about that.
Well, we are now connected. Let me take a peek in his memories. It is normally used to check if the other party is having an affair, but it is only limited for the past three days. I am curious, so sorry whoever you are.
…
I am jealous. He is living the life that I want. But, it looks like Nathan’s ideal life is my life. As if someone made a mistake of where we are supposed to be born. I am surprised that magic didn’t exist there. Let me try to send a little bit of my mana…
I managed to send for sure, but sending the tiniest bit of mana takes a huge amount of my mana. This is a discovery though. It has never been discovered that the distance affects the amount of mana needed to consume before sending.
It is a waste to send mana. First there is no magic that can be activated using that small amount of mana. Second even if I send lot of mana, he doesn’t have the ability to store it. Looks like even if we had an agreement to live each other’s life. It will be for a short time. Let me check…
Around 3700 days! That’s a surprise. Well, it is now realistically possible for us to extend the time of this connection. If he agreed though. I don’t think he will disagree though.
> [Nathan, Wake up!]
I can’t believe that someone will collapse because of this. Maybe, he’s too shocked to what happened. I mean, if you are living in a world where there is no magic and you are just innocently looking upwards, then suddenly you zoomed in to the space. Who would not be shocked if that happens?
> [Wake up!]
>
> “Huh?”
Wait, what do I need to say? I didn’t think of this beforehand.
> [Hey, Wake up!]
I know that he is already awake. But, I need time to know what to say. Hmm… Maybe direct to the point?
> “Who’s there?”
>
> (I wake up and tried to look ar…)
>
> [Don’t do that you will never find me.]
>
> (What? Who are you trying to disrupt my narration?)
Narration huh. I’ve seen that he always thinks that he is in a story. There are some times that when he is doing his narration, he doesn’t even notice that he is thinking out loud. Now that I am hearing it first hand, it seems weird.
> [I am Princess Eula Quartz Argent.]
>
> (A Princess huh? Now that I think about it, that beautiful girl with beautiful eyes also looks like a princess.)
>
> [That is because, I am really a princess.]
…
I am surprised. He can actually be better than me in using magic. Normally, people are having a hard time differentiating the sensation needed to send thoughts rather than thinking for oneself. While it took me around half a day to do it, which is considered to be an excellent feat, he only managed to did it in moments.
I feel very confident that he can actually accomplish in making me stronger. Although I feel threatened when he had these disgusting thoughts, I trust him. Besides, he actually managed to think of the plan I was supposed to suggest. Perhaps this idea comes from the games that he played which pushed him to want to live in a world like ours.
> (I remembered that you peeked in my memory. Teach it to me too.)
>
> [Hehe… Later on.]
In any case, I am already exhausted. I will explain to him the plan tomorrow.
> (Can I start hunting with your body now?)
>
> [No, I need to rest for the night here. We will start tomorrow.]
>
> (It is also night there huh. Alright.)
Life as a student. I am excited to live in peace in this world. No one will be hunting me while having the luxury of learning a bunch of knowledge. Luckily, I threw away my pride as a princess long time ago. Otherwise, I might now accept this situation, or encounter this situation at all. I hope that he doesn’t let myself killed. Otherwise, both of us will die.
> (Right now, I am absolutely sure that I am a protagonist. Rather, we are the protagonist. Unless, this story that you are seeing right now is just a flashback. Maybe, this is the origin story on how the two worlds connected. Maybe, this is actually a sequel of a previous story and we are the lovers who’ve been reincarnated on two different worlds and this is the story on how we are reunited. Maybe, a heroine’s…)
>
> [Shut up. I am trying to sleep.]
>
> (Sorry, I am walking towards home. I can’t help but…)
>
> [Yes, do your narration. I don’t really care. But get to the point, finish it, and let me sleep. Okay?]
>
> (Alright. It’s just that, since I am narrating, I can’t help but…)
>
> [I understand that. So like I said, finish you narration already.]
It’s true that I understand. If you are narrating, you’re supposed to do it to someone. So, he naturally send out his thoughts.
> (It looks like you always interrupt me whenever I say, ‘I can’t help but’…)
>
> [FINISH IT! Or SHUT UP!]
>
> (See. You did…)
>
> [NATHAN!]
>
> (Alright. Alright. So, as I was saying, aside from the fact that I am immortal…)
>
> [WHAT?]
>
> (Again? What’s the matter this time?)
>
> [What do you mean you are immortal?]
>
> (I am the protagonist. Of course the author won’t let me die.)
>
> [There are some stories that the protagonist died though.]
>
> (Look at the genre though. ‘Lover’s bond’ means romance. I will adventure and make you stronger, so perhaps action. I am trying to make jokes, so comedy and not tragedy. I’m absolutely confident that I won’t die.)
>
> [I get it. Just don’t be overconfident. You will never know if there is a plot twist.]
>
> (Oh yeah. I forgot about that.)
>
> [Just finish your narration already.]
>
> (Nah, I have just arrived at home. I am excited for tomorrow. So, good night.)
>
> [Have a pleasant sleep.]
I shouldn’t have interrupted him at that time. I am very curious what he was supposed to say in his narration.
Well, never mind. I need to sleep.