After finishing washing my sticky body, Roxy and I decided to head back to the group.
We were both silent as we walked. I glanced at her, and she had a relaxed expression on her face, so I guess she wasn't upset about what I did.
I was actually shirtless since Roxy had soaked it in water along with my robes, and they would take a while to dry.
Our steps were light, and our shoulders brushed lightly.
We reached the outskirts of town after an hour of walking. It was already past midnight, so everyone was asleep except for Laws, who was on guard duty.
He was sitting by the campfire, completely lost in his thoughts, and when he looked at us, his face relaxed noticeably.
"Did something happen there? What took you so long? And why are you shirtless?" he asked as he approached us, and I scratched my neck, embarrassed.
"eeeh...I got a little carried away when it came to taking care of those guys and ended up completely drenched in blood, Roxy helped me clean myself up" I mumbled as a slight blush spread across my cheeks.
Laws raised an eyebrow and looked at us with narrowed eyes and then let out a small laugh.
"I see...you guys can keep sleeping, I'll let you know when it's your turn Paul" Laws said with a smirk at Roxy's embarrassed expression....
"wait, what did that mean?!" i mumbled in alarm and he just laughed with no response and Roxy practically ran to bed.
Not understanding the implications, I got into the carriage and walked slowly to lie down next to Hilda, she woke up and hugged me tightly.
"How did it go out there?..." she asked sleepily.
"It was nothing, we'll be fine" I whispered to her as I stroked her head.
She let out a satisfied sound and her breathing relaxed again until she fell asleep again.
Surprisingly, I also relaxed quickly and fell asleep comfortably...
Or so I would have liked to say, since less than two hours later Laws woke me up to switch shifts.
Honestly, I had to muster all my willpower not to cut him in half right then and there, and so I resigned myself to leaving my comfortable position with Hilda and getting out of the carriage.
The night was cold because we were in the mountains, I jumped out of the carriage and fell on the ground full of small stones and walked to the campfire where I sat and looked at the city in the distance.
as the cold came in and filled my lungs and made my nose itch slightly, the fire crackling under my feet as the only sound that would accompany me.
at least with this i could sleep in the day no?...of course not, in fact we will have to leave the carriage eventually by taking the lower jaw due to the very narrow size of the road.
in fact we were technically already on the road but this town is like a rallying point for most.
Since I had no one to talk to at the moment I simply pulled my sword from my belt and began to admire it, it was a beautiful sword, after all it is one of the 49 swords forged by Julian Jalisco, although its power is not great compared to the beasts like Kajakut or NigHunter....
but my sword does the job.
Honestly I have never liked the fact of being alone, even in my past life I used to get high in a group so in these moments the cold of the night felt worse somehow.
I looked from the campfire to the city which was not too far away, in fact we had climbed the mountain and I could see it in its entirety and after looking at the city my gaze was directed to the sky...
something that I have never commented is the amount of stars that can be seen in the sky of this world, maybe it is because here there is no light pollution or something like that, but I can practically see the shape of the galaxy by the stars.
which leads me to wonder if in this world there is no light pollution or something like that, but I can practically see the shape of the galaxy by the stars.
which leads me to wonder if in this world there will also be other planets or what will be in space.
the people of this world never seem to worry about these aspects, but for my knowledge I have always had these unknowns...I guess it's not up to me to solve it eh?
and even after all that, I couldn't help thinking about my mother....
it's been ten months since the mana disaster happened and the news of that missing person request is still echoing in my head.
was it really her, why hasn't she tried to communicate better with me, did she receive my letter, why does her application look like Darius'?
Before I knew it, I was sweating, my heart was beating a mile a minute just imagining the terrible possibilities....
No, Mom and Philemon are still alive, they are!
As always, these thoughts hurt me so I shook my head as hard as I could and concentrated on the campfire in front of me.
"haaa...this body of mine is really sentimental isn't it..." I muttered to myself.
It was the truth, in my other life I had never cared about my family like this for my shame, but this new body, I honestly think it has its own personality or something like that.
Besides, something I have always wondered is why I was reincarnated....
I looked at my hands for a few moments, opened and closed them as tightly as I could and then closed my eyes, inhaled and exhaled.
"I am Paul Notos Greyrat...I am no longer Julian..." I murmured.
is something I should have told myself long ago, but even after a decade I've never been able to fully accept.
"Paul...is something wrong?" the sleepy voice of Roxy suddenly called out to me and I craned my neck, startled.
"R-Roxy...s-something's wrong?!" I mumbled nervously as I looked up at her.
She narrowed her eyes and moved closer to me to the point of sitting next to me.
"Laws inadvertently woke me up by waking you up, I tried to go back to sleep but I heard you mumbling something and came out to see you...are you really okay?" she asked and put a hand on my shoulder.
"we are teammates after all, you can trust me..." she murmured with a smile and her hand stayed too long on my shoulder.
It took her a few seconds to realize it and when she did, she pulled her hand away quickly and completely blushing.
"S-sorry!" she said with a face as red as a tomato.
"no problem...it's just that I was thinking about my mother...she has a very weak body due to an incurable disease and when I was teleported she had my barely three year old little brother with her...every time I think about her I always assume the worst and I want to avoid that!" she declared as frustration invaded my body.
I avoided thinking about the fact that my mother might not have survived, it was a strong possibility, but the simple fact disgusted me.
it was my own mother we were talking about, not some teacher at my school or something, she's the woman who brought me into this world!
"I don't know what I'm going to do if she doesn't survive you know? ... Is such a disgusting thought for me and ... I don't know if I could endure something like that "I declare and tears began to run from my eyes incessantly.
Roxy only looked at me silent and I didn't realize when she started holding my hands
"That's why I always want to hurry the trip ... I am anxious Roxy, anxious and scared by my mother... I would never forgive myself if something leads her to happen to her or Philemon..." I Murmured and the next moment Roxy attracted me in a big hug.
"Don't think about it, Paul... surely your mother and your little brother will be fine, as long as you keep that thought in your mind at all times... everything will be fine for you." Her voice sounded anxious and somewhat desperate, as if she didn't really know what to do in this situation.
But for me, that was more than enough.
I hesitated for a few seconds but returned the hug and buried my face in her neck, which made her shudder slightly.
"Thank you so much, Roxy... I needed to hear that from someone like you," I murmured with a smile.
"I-it's nothing... forgive me, you have so much pressure on your shoulders and you always act so mature... gosh, sometimes I even forget how young you are... you'll barely be 11," she murmured as she began to gently stroke my back.
"You have no idea how much I would have liked to continue being a spoiled noble... losing an arm or a leg in every fight isn't a pleasant thing," I murmured, and she let out a Giggle.
We remained silent as we hugged, all I could hear was the crackling of the campfire and the sound of Roxy's breathing.
I moved away from her a little and we looked into each other's eyes. A blush crept onto her cheeks as we stared at each other. Our faces were less than four inches apart, and I could see a trace of doubt on her face. Oh shit... really?!...
"R-Roxy..." I muttered unsure.
"Yeah?... What's wrong?" She replied.
"Maybe you've noticed, maybe you haven't, but..." I started to speak, the words stuck in my throat as I looked at her.
She looked me in the eyes as she processed my words and raised an eyebrow in confusion... Shit, I have to tell you now! There won't be another chance!
"I-I like you Roxy... I-I mean! I'm in love with you!... I don't know when or how it happened, but... when I realized it, I couldn't take my eyes off you..." The words came out of my mouth involuntarily, and at the same time, I was making an effort to formulate them.
"I know you still see me as a child and all that... I don't blame you, actually... b-but my feelings for you have only grown stronger these past few months, and now that we're so close to our destination... I don't want us to separate before I have the chance to tell you..." I muttered with My gaze was always glued to the floor.
"I-I won't blame you if you reject me or anything, but I at least wanted to let you know that-" My words were interrupted when Roxy's hands moved to my cheeks and she pressed her lips against mine...
Eh?...
My brain shut down right at that instant, Roxy's hands moved from my cheeks to my back and traveled all the way down to my lower back.
I was in total shock at the situation and when I realized what was happening my face turned red as a tomato.
I froze in place and Roxy just pressed her lips against mine, nothing more.
After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, she pulled away from me, her face as red as mine, or even redder.
"I-I know..." She mumbled as she looked at me, she was still hugging me and looking into my eyes.
"You know what?..." I whispered while avoiding her gaze.
"I already knew you liked me...I mean it's obvious, you always blush when I'm around you and you get nervous and you whisper really loud..." She declared and pressed her forehead against mine.
This only made me even more embarrassed...Earth swallow me!
"Honestly, I was surprised at first, you are a Notos after all and they like big breasts..." She muttered as she looked at her chest and frowned.
"I never saw you that way-"
"I know, let me finish..." she said as she put a finger to my lips "I was also even more surprised considering you have Hilda and well even she is more developed than me" she whispered softly and her expression soured.
"I can only see Hilda as a little sister...I love you" I declared while looking into her eyes and she blushed even more to the point of looking away.
"I-I know...but you're still too young..." She said and slowly separated from my hug while I was in shock.
Is she going to reject me?...no, anything but that please....
But still...I already knew the age difference is too big...
"Tell me that again in five years...if you don't change your mind in five years...then I'll be yours" she said and without waiting for my answer she returned to the carriage without looking back.
"Huh?..."
My voice came out as an involuntary whisper as I watched her climb back into the carriage without saying anything.
In 5 years... I'll be yours...
Oh shit!!
When I realized what she said, I jumped up from my seat in total excitement and started jumping for joy.
Definitely... in five years... I'll claim you, Roxy Migurdia!!
But wait... Why in five years?!...
Oh yeah... I'm still too young, right? We have a 14-year age difference in this world. In my world, this would be statutory rape... but here, nobody cares!!
After relaxing for about half an hour, I was finally able to gather my thoughts. A toothy smile spread across my face.
All I could hear was the crackling of the wood from the fire, and I could see thousands of stars twinkling in the sky.
Now everything looked much more beautiful than before...
After three hours, sleep overcame me again, but I figured it was around 5 in the morning, so there was no point in going back to sleep, so I started training and preparing breakfast to continue our journey.
A few days later, we finally arrived at the entrance to the Asura Kingdom: the lower jaw of the Red Wyrm.
It had been four months since we left the Shirone Kingdom. When things happened, they happened quickly. Specifically, bad things happened when you least expected them. In my old life, I was suddenly killed when I was trying to straighten out my life. My siblings who were following me had also been involved in that. I always avoid thinking about whether those bastards would stop or leave my family alone after two of them were arrested...
Being transported to the Millis Continent had also been abrupt.
There was something else I hadn't realized yet, and that was how harsh this world was.
How easily people died. No matter who a person was, death could come in an instant.
There were no exceptions to that.
It would take me a long time, but eventually, I would come to understand death as a phenomenon that abruptly stole those closest to me.
If I had known this back then, I wouldn't have to grieve so deeply now.
If I had been more serious about growing stronger, enough to not be defeated by anyone.
After what happened, I couldn't help but feel consumed by regret, wishing I'd walked a slightly different path.
The lower jaw of the Red Wyrm was a ravine with a path that cut straight through the mountains.
The path wasn't as straight as the Holy Sword Road, but it didn't branch off or fork either. It was a territory between the country's borders that no one claimed.
Once we crossed it, we would be in the Asura Kingdom.
We were in high spirits, sensing the end of our long journey.
We were a little worried because we didn't know how much our home had changed, but we were also beginning to feel a sense of accomplishment. You could say we let our guard down.
It was along that road that they arrived, walking steadily from the opposite direction.
They weren't riding horses, they weren't sitting in a carriage; they were just walking. There was a man with silver hair and golden eyes who wasn't wearing real armor, just a modest white coat made of some kind of leather.
My impression of him was simply that he had a dangerous look in his eyes, and that was it.
His irises were so small that you could see the white around them.
But beyond that, the man exuded an aura of absolute terror that even I would come to feel. I'll never know what led us all to meet those people that day, but there's still no doubt about it. I'll never be able to forget that day, no matter how hard I try.
My eyes shifted more to the other person, a young woman with black hair following him.
Upon closer inspection, her hair was more of a dark shade of brown, a slightly ashy color. I didn't usually remember people by their hair color, but it shouldn't have been difficult to remember someone with pure black hair.
Except I couldn't remember anyone like that.
There was another reason this girl caught my attention.
She had a mask over her face. It was pure white with nothing drawn on it, a mask without any decoration.
There was nothing particularly memorable about her, and yet if you saw her once, you'd never forget her. They were both walking on the opposite side of the road when I first saw him. I'll never forget it.
That was the day I met the Dragon God Orsted.