Kingdom of humans - morning

Holy…shit… This place is so…

“Cool!”

What else can I call it? This place is just too freaking cool! Like talk about impressive! The buildings, the streets, and even the castle itself have a medieval design to it while mixing in a sort of modern take, blowing my first impression of it into the water. I mean, I thought it was gonna be a dump. This place even has streetlights! Seriously, this place is nothing but impressive. Flying colors all around. It has a simple look to it, one that works as a building, more than how fancy it seems.

Their castle sticks out like a sore thumb, being on much high ground than where we’re standing. From the entrance, a road stretches all the way to a long flight of stairs leading up to the castle.

If I have to put the mood in words, it would be lively. Everyone looks happy enough to be here unless they're being forced to… Nah, that's not the vibe I'm getting from them.

Richard looks as surprised as I am, while Nunnalé is just as neutral as ever. Alex is looking pretty excited about this, but Marie's rocking a serious mug. The vibe we’re giving off is kinda mixed.

"So this is the Kingdom," Richard finally mutters, astonished by the sight of all this.

"Indeed it is,"

Alex, smiling from head to toe, doesn't even bother to conceal his eagerness.

While we take in the sights, Marie claps her hands, dragging our attention to her. "Okay! We came here to buy supplies, not to sightsee. Since we're tight on money, we'll need to buy only the essentials. No ifs, ands, or buts."

“But…”

She shoots an “if you finish that, I’ll kick your ass” glare. Why are the girls and women in my life such hardasses? Hm, what’s in my pocket? Digging out whatever this smooth, rocky thing is in my pocket, I put it in front of my face… Isn’t this…

Marie’s eyes dilate when her gaze fell on what’s in my hand. She practically zooms past my notice, yanking the thing out of my hand. Examining it with careful yet creepy eyes, she jerks her head towards me.

"Proxy, where did you get this gem?"

"Umm…” When did I? Where did I get a thing like that… Ah, now I remember! “...From the mine! I pocketed a couple of them to take home. Forgot all about them."

"Proxy…” She forcefully lifts my hand, smacking hers against mine. “Good job!"

“Y-yeah, no problem.”

Glad she’s happy, and I like the praise and all, but you’d think she knows what restraint is, especially with how monstrous her strength is.

"I have more in here, but you gotta let us share the money. I wanna buy some stuff. Sure my buddy wants to too, right?”

Richard sheepishly pushes up his glasses. "Yeah, I’d like to read a history book from this world, investigate this world a little."

Marie sighed to herself. She already knew this was a losing battle. "...I guess if you have more of these in your pocket, then fine. First, let’s see how much we can get for them, okay?”

Bitchin’!

...

Marie led us to a shop full of junk. Practically cluttered with stuff, and had no space for all of us to go inside. Shopkeep looked like a pleasant person, so I guess I can’t say they were shady, just messy. The important thing is, we made some money, and when I say money, I mean a lot of it!

"Remember, don't get into trouble, and don’t buy stuff you won’t use," Marie stern.

"Yeah mom," I replied.

"Seriously, don't get into trouble at all! We'll be meeting up at dawn, at the castle entrance. You got that, Proxy?"

"Yeah, yeah, why are you singling me out?"

"Because you're the type to ignore other people."

The hell? Who does she think she is, my mother or some shit like that?

"Yeah, yeah. I hear ya. I’m gonna go see what I can see. See ya."

Stuffing the money in my pocket, I run off to explore the kingdom. Richard is calling me back, but I’m dead set on flying solo. Not like I wanna get away from these guys. I just wanna be by myself and unwind for a bit.

Walking through the stone roads, its uneven road puts me on guard, having me watch where I step. There’s a bit of garbage on the road, but relatively speaking, this place is a lot cleaner than the city. The buildings made of wood and stone have a simplistic charm to them, making this place even cozier.

There are tons of shops down here with vendors screaming their heads off as their voices blend into one another, all of them selling stuff in kiosks and whatnot; food, clothes, tools, supplies, and other stuff. Though, I don’t see anyone selling weapons. Guess they just can’t do that, huh? As much as I want to buy something, I gotta spend it wisely… Maybe I do a little grocery shopping?

“Hey, get your hands off me!” A voice breaks my concentration. Two dudes wearing light armor are dragging someone off, some scrawny kid. He’s trying to wiggle his way out of their hold, but that ain’t gonna happen. “...Where are you taking me!? What did I do?”

“Unlawful entry into the kingdom is punishable by exile! Trespassing again will result in death!”

Not only that guy, but several more kids are being taken away by even more guards. I can only watch as they’re being dragged away. Each of them gives me a strange look, pleading with their eyes… Marie told me not to do stupid shit, but…

“Yo,” I call one of the guards. With my hood up, I blitz some of the guards, helping the kids break loose from their grasp. “Run, you punks!”

I dash off into the closest alleyway, sprinting through the maze of short pathways that exist between buildings. With their heavy-ass armor and how lightly I’m dressed, they’ll never catch me. The clanking of their armor grows distant. By the time I knew it, I lost them.

I chuckle to myself, smirking as I look behind me. “Suckers.”

Hopefully, those kids got away. Probably gonna have to stick to the alleyways for a while.

“Hey!” Speak of the devil, one of them found. “...Thanks.”

“No sweat, just don’t get caught again…”

“Wait! Let me repay you.”

Repay me? Well, if he’s giving me a reward, how could I refuse?

“Fine, but I don’t need money.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Then this is perfect. Follow me.”

He moves through another end of the alleyway, leading the way to wherever he wants to take me.

...

Strolling through the upper part of the kingdom with Nunnalé, the high level of the kingdom is much more refined, their architecture being not as loose as the lower level. Their buildings are a bit more modern than anything else.

"Why did he leave on his own?"

"Master Richard, are you worried about Proxy?"

"Not really, I just wanted to explore with him. But I guess he just wanted to be on his own for a bit."

Even if Proxy runs into trouble, I'd feel sorry for the guys who messed with him.

"Master Richard, there."

Nunnalé points to a store. Is it what we’re looking for? It is! We enter the first bookstore we spotted, it’s pretty small but has plenty of books filling in the shelves. There’s no clear indication of which aisle is for which type of books. I’ll just ask the librarian.

"Excuse me, I'm trying to find some geography and history books."

"Studious, aren’t ya?”

“You can say that.”

“In that case, the second aisle, left row."

“Thank you.”

I went to the aisle. Nunnalé and I pulled books out at random, flipping through them for maps on maps of the world.

"Master Richard, why are we doing this?" Nunnalé inquired, peering over my shoulder with a

"There are many things I still don't know about this world, and if I were to continue like that it would be dangerous. So I want to learn as much as possible."

"I see. An excellent reason, as expected of my master."

She’s making it seem like I had the best idea in the world. Though, I don’t mind the compliment… I won’t say that aloud.

"Master Richard, I have found an appropriate map."

Nunnalé hands me a book with a single continent. Flipping to the next page shows a more in-depth map of the land. From what I’m seeing, we’re currently in the south of this continent.

"Is this the only continent?" I whisper to myself.

That can’t be right. There has to be more. Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen a ship in the ocean, and the kingdom isn’t far from the ocean, so wouldn’t they have made a docking bay for said naval ships? Should I ask about it? I don’t want to cause any changes in this world mainly to avoid any trouble, if possible. I’ll have to assume they haven’t charted anything beyond this continent.

"Master Richard,” Nunnalé calls, slightly bowing to me. “...may I infer something?"

"What is it?"

"There is supposed to be another continent, east of this continent.”

"Are you sure?"

"From what insignificant memory I have, yes."

"From what little memory?"

"Forgive me, I failed to mention this." She closes the book in a quiet and fluid way. "We dolls were made to be physically superior to the average human, but were also made human, and as such, we have the biological scheme, which would include fake organs and fake blood. This also extends to us even being able to simulate death."

"What does that mean?"

"When we take damage, our vessels take that damage as well. In the event of a fatal wound, our vessels are destroyed. When it occurs, we enter a state similar to death, yet not death."

“So a comatose state? Wait, why would it be a state similar to death?”

“Because we dolls are not truly dead when our vessels are shattered. In that vein, we are unable to operate due to our vessels having been shattered.”

I get it, but…

“Would I be able to heal it?”

She nods her head. “...Even if you were to heal me with all your power, you would not be able to repair my vessel. The only instrument capable of doing so is the case I was capsulized in.”

Her expression doesn’t change, never breaking from that deadpan expression, uncaring for the risks she has looming over her. It’s not even a tough act; she really could care less that she’s practically mortal now.

"Nunnalé, you-"

"Master Richard, I have collected all the materials for information gathering for this world.”

Her toneless way of speaking, the robotic, almost doll-like demeanor, and her lack of care towards herself or anyone else but me. Lacking almost all humanity, and above all, my ability means nothing against her. She scares me. My fear doesn’t stem from what harm she can bring, but from how she’s lacking in anything telling me she’s human.

“Master Richard, shall we purchase these?”

Her voice snaps me out of my head, causing me to flinch a little. "...All right, let's check out then."

I place the books on the checkout table. While the clerk checked the books, Nunnalé remains in the aisle, staring at a book in her hands. Then, the unthinkable happens; her expressionless face shows a glimmer of curiosity.

"What are you reading?"

"A book on flowers."

Flowers? She’s reading about flowers?

"Do you like flowers?"

Curiosity turns to uncertainty. "...I am unable to comprehend why, but I have a strange affinity for them."

Come to think of it, we first talked in a flower field, but it wasn’t real. Still, I’m surprised that’s able to show interest in things besides my well-being.

"Do you want it?"

As a response, she returns her expression to her usual distant look. "It is not important to our current objective."

Easily discarding her interest like that isn’t fair to herself.

"It's not like it'll be a big deal. We have more than enough money.."

I added the book to our collection.

“Are you sure, master Richard?”

“It’s fine. It’s not like I planned on going on a shopping spree. Besides, I know what it feels like not getting something you really want.”

Nunnalé watched on as the clerk rang us up, casting me a weird gaze. Leaving the store, Nunnalé insisted on carrying the books. Checking how much money we had left, we still have plenty more leftover. It’s still the afternoon, so we have more than enough time to do some exploring. Further down the street, I spot a candy store. While I don't have a sweet tooth, I am sort of curious how this world’s sweets taste.”

Entering the shop, the product is encased in small glass boxes behind the clerk.

"Welcome," he greeted with a warm smile. "What can I do for you?"

Hmm… So many to choose from. I wonder what I should go for? Something simple maybe? In that case… In the corner of my eye, I spot puffy balls, varying in color, skewered by a thin stick. Those look simple enough.

"Can I get five of those puffy balls?"

"Sure."

He took them out, placing them in a bag.

"That'll be 10,000 RELS.”

I gave him 10 bills that equated to 10,000 RELS. Exiting with the bag in hand, I take one out. It would be weird to buy these and not sample them. Touching the top one, it feels squishy, probably filled with something.

"Master Richard, I am unsure of its edibility, so allow me to taste it."

She takes the stick from my hand, acting as if this is a dire situation. She puts the top one into her mouth, chewing on it, allowing her tastebuds to get a feel for it.

“...Is it okay?"

She stops chewing; her face locks into a surprised expression.

"Are you okay?" Shit, were we not supposed to eat this!? “Nunnalé, are you–”

Then, taking me by surprise, her face turns pink, causing me to cease my sentence..

"This…this is…delicious! Delectable!"

Her tone of voice, while somewhat the same, is a bit more expressive than it usually is, showing how much she’s enjoying that, even if she isn’t showing overwhelming joy on her face. I watch her eat the other two balls on the stick, savoring each one.

Finishing them, she turns to me, raising a single eyebrow. "Why are you smiling?"

"I am?"

“Indeed. Was me eating those sweets amusing?”

“Not really, just sort of glad.”

She tilts her head, confused by the meaning of what I said.

“Do you want another one?”

"Yes!"

Wow, she’s not even trying to find an excuse, isn’t she? Well, I’m glad she isn’t. It scared me how she emoted next to nothing, but it also frustrated me to no end since it reminded me of how I used to act; pushing my emotions down, walling them inside of myself. It’s frustrating because I know how painful that can be. So I don’t want her to push away what she wants just for my convenience.

“You want to go sit down somewhere and read?”

“You are allowing me to decide?”

“Of course. What do you want to do?”

She takes a moment, pondering what we should do. “...Yes, I would like to read my book.”

“Then let’s find a seat somewhere.”

We set to continue down the road, searching for a seat in this large kingdom. I’m glad to see that Nunnalé has emotions, but I’m guessing they won’t be out on full display like that anytime soon. I guess that’s fine. Maybe Nunnalé doesn’t know how to make her emotions surface or even know they exist. This is something I’m not too familiar with, a person who doesn’t know how to be emotive… Well, I suppose it’s not that bad. It’s not like she’s mentally unstable. She’s able to operate normally, even if her common sense is a bit off. Maybe my fear really comes from the unknown. I don’t understand her, so I fear her. But in the end, I was just being ridiculous. For now, I’ll just try my best to get along with her, and hopefully, I’ll get to see new sides to her.