Chapter 5 Naive

As I walked down this dirt path, tall trees lined each side, but there wasn't much to do. It was quite boring. Occasionally, people on horses would give me strange looks, probably because of my outfit.

A carriage approached me from the opposite direction, breaking the silence. It slowly came to a halt as it approached closer to me. A man in a black fancy suit came out of the door and asked me a question.

"Sorry to disturb you, ma'am, but I must say. What a unique set of clothing you have equipped. Say, would you care to join the knights?"

"Thank you, but what do you mean by the knights?"

"Oh dear, sorry for not clarifying. The knights are groups of people who guard the palace of the king. Of course, there will be a ranking towards this. The knights are rather valuable and should be highly respected by the communes."

"And why would you choose me, a random person going down this dirt road."

"Because I sense high expectations from you"

This man is like ol' gramps, picking people just because they sense high expectations. It can't be any worse, if I can trust that old man, I might as well trust this guy. Oh luck, please don't let me down.

"Mmm, fine. But what other things do you have to offer?"

As the servant was about to answer my question, a girl in a long pink dress came down the carriage's stairs. It appears that she is the servant's master.

"M'lady, please, it's dangerous for you to be out here"

"Do not let it bother you, Sebastian. I think this lady is a very kind woman."

"About the question..."

"Firstly, you will be toured around the city. Secondly, you will be brought to the knight HQ where they will first test your skill in the art of combat. In the event that you did not qualify, there will be no second opportunity."

"I see."

"Let us speak about this inside the carriage shall we?"

"Last question, before we go inside. What is the date today?"

"Specifically, I do not know, but what I do know is that we are currently in the 6th century."

For people in this era of time, they are rather odd. Afterward, I went inside and saw nothing of interest. Seems that it will take quite a while to go to the city, in the meantime, we started to have a small chat together.

"I assume you're not from here are you?"

"You can say that"

"Why have you come here in the first place anyway?"

"Uhm. I got lost in the woods and I saw a city at a distance, so I thought it was a good idea to come there." As I scratched my head out of embarrassment"Hehe... anyway, where are we anyway?"

"Currently we're approaching the city of Cescilia"

"What am I going to see inside the city?"

"Nothing much."

"..."

It was just awkward silence afterward, I had nothing to talk about.

As I pondered what sentence I should ask, I didn't realize that we had just reached the walls of the city. From up close, the city walls look massive. When we went in, the first thing I saw was a massive cathedral and what seemed to be a palace for the king next to it.

"It seems that we're close to our destination."

"Oh and before you go inside the building. Try not to say my name, okay?"

"O-okay?"

Our ride seems to stop here, I do not know what to expect when I get out of here.

"M'lady, allow me to open the door for you."

"Why thank you. Sebastian was it?"

"Yes, madam."

I guess this is what having a personal servant feels like.

"Hope we meet again."

"Yeah, Wait, I haven't asked for your name yet."

"You can call me Mary."

"The name's Katsumi."

"Katsumi, hmm. Sorry, we can't talk much, be safe in there alright?"

It's more of, I don't know what to talk about

"Alright, I'll make sure of that."

As I looked in front of the building, it was cool looking. I don't know why, but I feel nervous to go inside. All of this happening in an instant and I'm only slightly nervous is quite remarkable. I have no choice but to go inside the building.

I approached the door in slight fear of the other side, but this isn't the time to be afraid. As I opened it, the room was filled with people in full steel armor. It was scary just being in front of them. I feel like they're staring at me through their visor.

"Hey, girl. Ye new ere ey?"

"Y-yes, sir..."

"Lemme guess, ye wan te join the army ey?"

"Well, yes."

"HAHAHA. Hey fellas, listen to this lassy. She said she wants to join in the knights."

This guy is such a prick

"hahaha..."

Suddenly a person approached me.

"Hey, knock it off you asshole. Everyone should have equal chances to join the knights"

"Tch, what do you want? Can't I just have some fun with the new girl? Plus she looks cute as hell, say you wanna go out with me tonight? Ignore what I just said just now."

This guy is a sick bastard, I can't handle it anymore.

In the end, I punched him in the stomach. Even though he had steel armor, seems that wasn't enough to stop it. He flew across the room, hit the wall, and kind of destroyed a weapon rack.

"Agh! What the hell."

Woah, I didn't know I was this strong.

That's because you aren't Katsumi, that's the power that I have given to you. It may be little but try to be more careful next time.

Heh, gee thanks Ol' man - as I smirked

"Remarkable! you said you wanted to join, didn't you?"

"Yup."

Everyone in the room came up to me and tried to ask me a few questions.

"How are you able to do that?"

"Splendid, a girl your size with strength like that is a gift,"

"Where did you come from, girl?"

"Hehe, uhm. I don't know what to say, really. I just happen to be strong."

Oh dear, I think I screwed up badly. Of course, they would get surprised, everyone here is about 190cm. Meanwhile, I'm only 170 cm. Especially with a body size like mine, it should be impossible for a size like me to do that.

[At the same time]

"Tch, dammit. Does that kid think she's better than me? I'll show her what a knight can do."

He grasps his hand, then slowly opens his hand to a growing flame. Once he has done expanding his ball of flame, he hurls it right toward me

"EXALTED FLAMES!"

I turned around to see a glowing ball of fire that was directed toward me. I wasn't fast enough to dodge it, but in an instant there he was. The guy who stood up for me before is now right in front of me.

He quickly grabs his shield and blocks the attack. The ball exploded and combusted right in front of him. As Hot air and black smoke gushed past me. The room was filled with smoke, obscuring everyone's vision.

"cough cough"

"Are you okay?"

"Yea, I'm fine."

"What happened anyway?"

"You do not need to worry about it."

As the smoke settles down, the guy from before disappeared and left in a hurry.

"That bastard. sigh. I'll deal with him tomorrow. You go on ahead home now, this is not a place to relax."

"But I don't have a home."

"Here, take some of my silver coins and go to a nearby inn."

"I appreciate it, but aren't I supposed to help you this time since you saved me?"

"Just take it, I would feel like an asshole if I let a girl sleep in the open."

[The crowd of knights whispers]

"Hey, did you hear that? Eulof, is actually caring for someone."

"Yeah, it's not often you see him do those things."

"So, Eulof, huh?"

"So what about it?"

"Oh nothing, I just think it's only natural that we all should take care of each other."

"Hmph, don't get too ahead of yourself. Go now, tomorrow is the examination day for recruits."

"Tomorrow?! But I just came here a few minutes ago."

"You already saw what you did to him, so I think it's only natural that you could do the recruitment process."

"Pouts, fine."*

"I'll be heading out now alright?"

"See ya tomorrow, oh and the inn is down the street. If you ever get lost then try to ask some neighboring people."

"Thanks, I'll be off now."

I walked out of the building unscathed thanks to him. I might as well look around town while the sun is still up.

The town was lively and there were food stalls around the place. As I walked down the streets I accidentally bumped into someone, he was wearing a cloak and a hood covered his face. I couldn't tell who he was but there was something odd about him. I didn't want to think much about it, so I ignored my gut feeling.

"?"

There seems to be a trial at the town center.

I pass through the dense crowd to see a better view of what's going on. At the center, there was a person who was about to get executed by guillotine.

"We hereby, declare this man a heretic and now shall be executed for his crime."

They untied the rope, making the guillotine fall, and chopped his neck clean off.

All I could do was watch in horror. I flee from the area to compose myself. Eulof approached me if I was alright.

"You good?"

"Not really."

"sigh I told you to go to the inn."

"Judging by your look, I'm guessing this is your first time seeing an execution."

"Yeah."

"Don't worry kid, you get used to it. I'll tell you a bit more once you've reached the inn, and tell the innkeeper that I sent you there."

"I'll be there by nightfall, so don't fall asleep by then."

"Alright alright."

Still sick after that execution, I shrugged it off and walked down the streets again. The inn looks cozy from the outside, hopefully, it stays true for the inside too.

As I went in, I was greeted by a receptionist in front of me.

"Hello there, how may I help you?"

"I would like to have a room, please."

"That would be 100 silver coins for a 1-night stay."

"100 silver coins?! I only have 20 at the moment."

"Rules are rules ma'am. No money, No service."

"But Eulof said he sent me here to stay."

"I see. Master Eulof sent you here, that means you are his apprentice, right? If he has sent you here then I shall welcome you. Free of charge. Your room will be number 5, 2 doors next to the bar."

"Thanks"

I wonder why Master Eulof would pick her.

I jumped on the bed with a tiring sigh. The bed feels cozy, feels like I just want to sleep on it all day. But before I could do that, I tried to remove the armor I was wearing all day.

"Hey, Pops. How do you remove this thing? It won't budge."

"That's because it's a part of you."

"Does that mean this armor is my skin then?"

"What? No no no. Why would you think of that anyways."

"It's just your physical body being infused with some of my magical power, making the armor stick to you like a magnet."

"So, how do I remove this armor?"

"That's simple. Just say Armour Release."

"If you say so, gramps."

"Armour Release"

In a flash, all my armor disappeared making me naked in every corner of my body. It's quite embarrassing to see myself naked in front of a mirror. Right before I could get a change of clothes given by the innkeeper, there was a knock in front of the door.

"Eh, EH?! HOLD ON, DON'T OPEN THE DOOR!"

"Tch. what are you talking about anyway? The door isn't even locked, can't you just loc...."