There appeared a guard with a fully armoured appearance.
His slightly long, blond hair was swept away from his eyes, and he was holding a spear towards us.
His blazing red eyes were full of caution.
Oh. I must be blind.
There was a giant gate with borders not too long of a walk from here.
It might take twenty to thirty minutes to walk from there to here.
How’d he get here so fast?
Well. Aside from that…
* Uh…
This is trouble.
* Why are you two standing in the middle of nowhere?
Exactly. Why are we standing in the middle of nowhere?
* The hero Leonhart.
I said, standing and looking at him directly in the eye.
I was about to point to the girl and say that she was the one, but there seemed to be a misunderstanding.
* AH! I see! You, you’re Leonhart!
The guard exclaimed as he looked at me with new, profound eyes.
He lowered his spear.
What?
* No-
* We must bring you to the castle immediately! The king must know of this!
* …
* And you, girl, who might you be?
The knight asked with disdain in his eyes, as if he was looking at trash.
* Eh? I’m…
The girl looked down, scared and confused.
Her clear black eyes looked like it’s moving everywhere at once.
I can’t help but frown, I nudge her and she looked up.
So I leaned down and whispered in her ear.
* Follow my lead, we’ll get to king and tell them that you’re Leonhart.
I had a hunch on what is happening.
* Oh she is my companion, please don’t mind her… for now.
I whispered the last part, just enough for the girl to hear.
As I smile at the man, he grinned back and bowed.
* Please follow me then, great hero.
The man asked, turning around.
I nodded with a smile from years of practice.
We departed, and while I walk, it seemed as though “Leonhart” was lagging behind.
The guard didn’t seem to care and quickened his pace.
I had the energy to keep up, but it seems that “Leonhart” was already at her limit.
So I lagged behind as well.
* You okay?
I asked.
* Not… particularly…
The girl whimpered, out of breath.
I stood for awhile.
I’m not as confident in my strength when I was female, but I was sure I could carry her with this now muscled body of mine.
So, I went right in front of her, kneeled down, and when she paused to think of what I was doing…
* Hump.
I let out the noise as I picked her up and carried her on my back.
* Wah! You don’t have to do this!...
I grinned.
* It’s no problem! I can’t just leave someone in danger for my selfishness, right?
I recited as I look back at her.
The girl buried her smiling face on my shoulder, embarrassed.
I can’t help but chuckle joyfully.
When I look back up the way we were walking, I could see the knight staring with disgust at the girl.
When he saw me, he smiled and turned back and kept walking.
I lifted my shoulder to nudge the girl.
* Hm?
She made the noise when she realized I was nudging her.
* I have a bad hunch.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
* Oh? What is it?
* Girls’ rights.
I explained with a grimace.
* There aren’t any here. At all.
* …
We kept walking in silence until we reached the gates.
I paused and nudge the girl again as the guard talked to the others to open the gates.
* Hm?
The girl woke up from her nap, and I gently lowered her down until she knew what was happening.
She rubbed her eyes awake and yawned.
* Are we finally here?
* Yep.
I leaned in to her ears and whispered.
* About the girl’s rights thing.
* What… what about it?
She asked.
* Let’s change it, shall we?
I grinned.
* ...Un!
She smiled back with a slight blush on her face.
When the gates started to open, I finally realized something.
I still don’t know her name.
* Ah.
She blurted.
* Ah?
I repeated.
* I still haven’t introduced myself! How forgetful of me!
I laughed at our common thoughts, and the girl tilted her head in confusion.
* I’m Cecilia
I laughed.
* Ce… cilia?...
…
OH CRAP!
I forgot that I was resurrected for a second!
And now I have a body of a guy as well!
* Er, eh, uh, Ciel! Ciel… Zilia…!
I grinned awkwardly.
I think my mouth was also twitching.
The girl tilted her head and laughed.
* Well, I’m Yumi, Nomura Yumi. Just call me Yuu.
She grinned.
Again, her innocence radiated, blinding my eyes.
My eyes! Owowowow.
Ugh, so innocent.
This world is gonna change her.
I don’t want that…!
That means I’ll be following her…?
No! I mustn't! I can’t! I’m sorry!
But wait.
I was right.
She was from a different country.
Japan?
I wonder if they have any traditions that I’ve broken.
Oh well, we are in a different world now, that probably won’t matter.
Right?
As we walk in, people were staring at us.
This place looked undeveloped.
I saw beastmen, awesome.
Elves, even more awesome.
And that fifth century feeling, too.
So goddamn awesome!...
Yuu was as mesmerized as I was.
This was a different world after all.
But the more I looked, the worser this city looked.
Beastmens were in tattered clothings and had a collar around their necks, elves were in chains, and women were all malnourished.
What is with this city?
We finally arrived at what seemed to be the centre.
There stood a giant castle with golden gates.
* We’re here to see the king about Leonhart.
The guard announced to the other ones, his face gleaming.
Both of the other guards nodded at each other, and as they mumble something under their breaths, the gates started to open.
Magic?! A spell?!
There you would see my eyes shining with delight.
We entered and were lead up to the throne.
Guards and knights and other royal beings assembled the halls which lead to the throne.
Woah.
* Welcome, great hero!
The bearded man exclaimed.
He was as skinny as muscular, and he had a perfectly shaved beard, which had white strips on it.
Cool.
But his eyes looked menacing.
I always follow my gut.
And it says, right now, that we should leave this place.
I sneaked a glance over at Yuu, who was trembling with all the glares her way.
This felt more like we were in a crime scene than at a greeting.
I looked back at the king.
* Greetings, your highness.
I said slowly and carefully.
* Oh no need to be so formal!
He boomed.
* You are the great hero, Leonhart, afterall.
The king laughed ferociously with a glass of red wine in hand.
I shook my head.
* No, your highness, I am just a mere commoner. The lady besides me is the foretold hero, Leonhart.
I stressed the commoner part and the lady part as I look directly at the king.
There was chattery around the room, but I didn’t budge my eye contact with the king.
After I heard a click of the tongue, there was silence.
That was definitely from the king.
Why?
He stared back at me for awhile, then shifted his gaze to Yuu.
I did the same.
* And who might you be?
He asked.
Everyone was able to hear the force in his voice.
* I… I…
Yuu started to tear up.
I shifted my gaze back to the king and our surroundings.
None of them seemed friendly.
Then I looked back at Yuu.
You can do it, Yuu.
As if my message got to her, Yuu suddenly tensed up.
Her eyes became stern, fierce, and everything about her changed.
The atmosphere around her was completely different.
* …My name is Yumi, m’lord, Nomura Yumi. Please, call me Yui.
Yui…?
As I stare in confusion, I saw her eyes look at me, just so briefly that I could tell.
That was not Yuu.
Different personalities?
The king stared back at her, then he sighed.
* Is it true? Are you the legendary hero, Leonhart?
Yui went quiet for a moment.
* That, will depend.
She simply admitted.
Yui…! That will get us in trouble! What are you doing?!
* Is that so…
The king sneered.
I sighed in my head.
This was not the plot I was hoping for.
Oh well.
* It seems that this will be the case for now.
* …
* I knew we shouldn’t have trusted that bitch of a mage. Women are so… useless.
The king mumbled to himself.
I don’t know if I was the only one who heard that, but it sure seemed that way.
I clenched my jaw so hard that one of my tooth would’ve broken if Yui didn’t give me a look that says, “Go with it.”
And here I thought that I was the mature one.
Never get ahead of yourself, huh.
* Please, let us escort you to a room.
The king said and smiled at me.
Then he turned to Yui, staring her up and down.
* You… too.
He said and left the room.
I made up my mind.
I stood up from my kneel.
And a maid, battered and bruised came in and bowed at us.
* Please, follow me… great hero.
We’re leaving this place.