04. Roads Are Only Long If You're Alone

Yumino opened his eyes, yet again finding himself covered by the shadow of another tree in the same forest. He slowly got up and looked around, pleased to see that the girl named Averin had kept her promise; she didn't leave.

As she seemed too busy to notice him, the man stood there and silently stared at her in a daze. After taking off her heavy armor, it became clear that her frail body actually fit her face, but not her fighting moves, which she was busy practicing.

The garments covering her now were sturdy but stood closer to the body, giving Yumino a vague idea of the proportions of her arms, legs, and overall body structure.

"Yet she carries around that sword?"

Yumino commented on the appearance of the girl, slowly coming to terms with the fact he really was in a fantasy world. After all, nowhere but in a fantasy world could such a princess-like figure swing a claymore of that size.

Sweat running down her forehead, the girl took a small break from her swings and looked Yumino's way. When she noticed he was awake, she let out a small "kya!" and hid herself behind a tree.

"Hm? Something wrong?" Yumino asked.

"That's what I wanted to ask you! Why are you staring like that? Have you no shame?"

Yumino's expression clouded in confusion because of the blushing girl. Only slowly did he come to understand the situation.

"No way, is THAT what bothers you? You're fully clothed! You just took off your armor..."

"That... I mean... Still, the way you were staring made it clear your thoughts were impure!"

"Ha? Impure? I just woke up and you were right there! And again, you're fully dressed!"

The girl looked at the ground in shame.

"F... Fine. I guess you have a point... Still, you woke up way faster than I thought! No, forget that... come on! It's time to go."

"Go? I mean, sure, I don't intend to stay here, but where exactly are you taking me to?"

"My home, The Kingdom of Veston," Averin answered, pointing at a crest on her chest that combined the letters "V" and "L" in an artistic way.

Yumino was not keen on this development. Going to the kingdom of another species often led to trouble in the manga he read. However, for lack of a better option, he silently accepted the girls forceful proposal—although he probably wouldn't have had much of a say in the matter even had he protested.

*****

"Tell me, how could you leave your horse unguarded like that?"

"What do you mean? It's outside of the forest. No monsters walk around here. At least none that he can't take care of."

"And what if somebody tried to steal it? I mean, you've left a lot of provisions with him," Yumino said, looking at the girl who was eating gracefully while giving him a ride.

At least offer some if you have that much, he thought to himself.

"Steal? Oh, there's no need to worry about that. People stopped stealing here a long time ago. Something about the whole world being blessed with abundance..."

"Is that so? Must be nice..."

That explains why you don't think for a second that I may be starving over here...

While the two were heading towards the Kingdom of Veston on the back of a horse, Yumino finally found the time to put his thoughts in order.

"Isekai, huh?" he said to himself.

For someone who could barely afford to live yet refused to work for himself, maybe getting transported to another world was not the worst thing that could happen—especially one as abundant as Averin claimed it to be. That is what Yumino thought, at least.

However, getting transported here meant he had to leave everyone behind. He left his family, with whom he had barely made up; he left the contest, he left...

Nothing else, he realized suddenly.

While not something to be proud of, Yumino did not have anyone else to care about him. Looking at how things ended up, it may have been for the best, but pain still welled up inside him.

When stuck in that dreamlike world, Yumino heard a voice right before burning up completely. He now understood that the voice came from his crying mother. He left his mother in tears as he departed for another world—having her think she had lost her dear son.

"And to what? To a heatstroke? Pathetic," he said upon remembering his last moments, having the girl he was holding on to tighten her body at his weird behavior.

As Yumino came to understand how he parted with the other world, he grew more and more ashamed. Just as his life was finally taking a turn for the better, something that could have been avoided took success away from him. He was mad, but he was also pondering whether his anger was justified.

I've got myself a new start—maybe a better one than what I had in Japan. Should I really be mad at that? Should I be thankful? he asked himself while looking at the clear, blue sky of the new world.

Would my family be happy knowing that I didn't die? Would they be sad that I left without a word?

It didn't take him long to get back into his habit of overthinking.

But a spark he wanted to deny had already been lit up in his eyes. Maybe in another world, he doesn't have to be just anyone.

"To begin with, how am I to know they still remember me? Maybe I've just poofed out of existence in the other world."

"What was that?" Averin asked nervously.

"Oh, nothing. Sorry."

A scary thought Yumino decided he was not yet ready to learn the answer to. For the moment, it was better to focus on what was ahead of him and put his resources into finding answers about the two worlds and the way back.

"So, have you been alone all this time?" the girl asked suddenly.

"Me? I'm not sure... I think so. Why?"

"You're not sure? I see. That deepens the mystery even further. I see, I see... We have to get you checked out once we get to the city. I know! Maybe Velmira can check if magic is involved. No, I can't leave you alone with that woman; she tends to act a little weird around interesting subjects. Oh! I know! Maybe..."

"I was asking you something! What difference does it make that I was alone?"

"Hm? Well, we have to see if there were other survivors, of course."

Out of Averin's explanation, one word refused to leave Yumino's pointy ears.

"Survivors? You mean others from Japan? Were we all sent here?"

"Japan? Sent here? What are you even talking about? That's not good—seems like you're delirious too..."

Disappointment could be read on the man's face as he understood he was getting nowhere.

"Fine, forget I said anything... What kind of survivors are we talking about here?"

"Well, you may want to hold on as I tell you this..." Averin said as she bit her lips in frustration. "The elves have all but gone extinct from this continent. You may be one of the few left scattered around."

"Oh. I see."

Yumino's unbothered attitude hit like a magical attack, nearly knocking Averin off her horse.

"What do you mean by 'I see?' Did you even understand what I've said?"

"Yeah. Heard you loud and clear. Um... Let's just say I didn't have any elves I was close to? I was somewhat of a loner."

Yumino decided to play the antisocial card, not willing to reveal his true past just yet—at least not until he had some more answers.

"What a weird guy," Averin said in a disheartened tone before suddenly switching her attitude to a jolly, almost heroic one. "But don't despair! As a knight of the kingdom, I was tasked with rescuing all of the elves that found the strength and courage to survive! So lean on the shoulders of Brielle Averin, and I will carry you to safety!"

Yet the energetic demeanor of the heroine was met with a straight face.

"Was that line planned or something? It felt so out of place."

Despite Yumino's lack of enthusiasm, the girl didn't break character, but while her expression stayed unchanged, the tears rolling down her cheeks gave away the damage the man had done.

At the comedic display, Yumino puffed, followed by a hearty burst of laughter.

"Hahaha! No, sorry... You just caught me off guard. Ahem!... Thank you, Knight Averin! You really saved me out there."

Finally drawing the curtain on her hero play, Averin's cheeks flushed bright red as she turned her gaze back towards the road.

"It's...It's nothing! Really! I love my job, so it is only normal that I would help..."

Quickly regaining her composure and changing the subject, Averin pointed towards the horizon.

"We're here!"