When she took off her mask, Orion was surprised. She was beautiful and young—about his age.
But what shocked him even more was how much she looked like a younger version of Ember: red hair, impossibly stunning features. Her figure.
"What?" the woman, Lillian, asked, noticing his stare and clearly growing uncomfortable.
Orion snapped out of it. "I'm sorry… It's just that you reminded me of someone I know."
"Ohhh," she raised an eyebrow. "People have called me a one-of-a-kind beauty all my life… she must be special," she said with sincerity.
'Damn, her arrogance also matches Ember's.'
She extended her hand for a handshake. But Orion misunderstood her.
'Let's do this,' Orion thought. He took a deep breath, grabbed her hand, and kissed it.
"Enchanté, Mademoiselle," he said in the most pretentious way possible.
"What are you doing?!" Lillian's face flushed crimson as she immediately withdrew her hand, startled by his boldness and the strange greeting delivered in a language she didn't recognize.
"Are you a noble?" she asked, curious about his strange behavior.
Orion froze. 'Wait… would I get in trouble for kissing her hand if I'm not a noble?' He swallowed nervously.
"Maybe… It's a secret," he said, trying to sound mysterious while secretly sweating buckets.
"I understand," she replied, surprisingly calm.
'Great, it worked.'
"I'm Lillian Lionheart, by the way," she added. Her tone was as if expecting him to know about her.
'Oh, right. She's a hero candidate… I guess everyone knows her.'
"Hi, I'm Orion. I'm surprised to see a hero candidate in… a place like this," Orion said, doing his best to play it cool.
"Well, you see, I went to the Andoria Kingdom for work and decided to take a shortcut while coming back as I was in a lot of hurry… that's how I ended up here, in this situation," she explained."
Andoria? Is that a country… a city… or what?
Orion felt cold sweat run down his back. He was in real trouble now. What if she asked where he was from—or worse, where he lived?
He didn't even know the names of most places in this world. If she pressed him for answers, what was he supposed to say?
System, can you give me a little information about this world? He asked in his mind.
A separate system window popped up with basic world info.
"Excuse me, I need to bring my pets… can you wait a minute?"
"Okay," she said, confused. She had never been asked to wait like that.
Orion ran back to where Max and Axl were.
"Okay… let's see."
[World: Pandora
Countries: Mecadonia, Andoria, Sandonia, Oceania, Macroon
Races: Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Beastkin…]
'…That's it? I guess I'll have to research on my own,' he sighed.
He picked up Axl, with Max following, and returned to Lillian.
Her eyes lit up. Orion could tell she desperately wanted to pet them.
"You want to pet them—" he started, but she snatched them from his hands.
"Khuuuu! Khuuuu!" the creatures protested, but they trusted her.
She rubbed their fur enthusiastically. "Look how cute you guys are!" She pressed her face against theirs.
The creatures looked at Orion, as if asking for help.
He shook his head. You're lucky… do you have any idea what I'd do to be in your position?
"What are their names?" Lillian asked.
"Max and Axl."
She smiled at them. "Cool names."
"Anyway, should we get going?" Orion said.
"Oh, right… I need to report to the king, too. But the driver is dead," she hesitated. "Can you drive a carriage?"
'Hell no… I can barely sit on a horse, let alone drive a carriage.'
"No, sorry," he admitted.
"Then we'll have to ride these horses. By the way, where are you going?"
Where indeed… he thought. He wanted to follow her to learn about the world.
"Appraisal," he muttered under his breath.
[Lillian Lionheart – C-Rank .]
Hero Candidate
"Tch"
He hoped this would give him a clue about where she was from, but the system only showed basic info.
System, where am I now?
[You are now close to the Mecadonia Kingdom's territory.]
"I'm going to Macedonia," he said, hoping it was where she was from
"Oh, really? I'm going there too. Are you going to the capital?"
"Aha," he replied, relieved.
Lillian lifted the dead carriage driver and gently placed him onto a horse.
Is she really planning to carry a dead body with us? Orion thought.
Noticing Orion's hesitation, Lillian spoke softly. "I hope you don't mind,. He served my family as a carriage driver for a long time,. This is the least I can do… especially since I couldn't save him."
After that, Orion couldn't bring himself to complain.
"No—no—it's okay," he said quickly.
Thus began their journey toward the capital, though not without obstacles–
Orion kept falling off the horse, even after Lillian showed him multiple times how to ride. Eventually, he managed.
After a long and rather uncomfortable ride for Orion, they arrived at a small town with medieval-style buildings and stalls.
'This isn't what I expected from a capital… maybe it's not,' he thought.
The pedestrians on the street stared, whispering and pointing fingers as they passed.
Of course, they would, Orion thought. We're the only ones riding majestic horses—and carrying a dead body.
But after a while, he realized that wasn't the real reason for the attention. A group of boys around his age suddenly shouted—
"Hey, look! It's the hero candidate,, Lillian Lionheart!"
"Wait… who's the boy with her? Her boyfriend?"
Smack!
"Idiot! Don't you know she's not interested in romance? He must be her guard."
Both Orion and Lillian heard them clearly. Lillian's face turned bright red.
"Please ignore them," she said quietly.
"Hahaha," Orion laughed in response. "By the way, where are we, Lillian?" he asked.
"We're in Riverclaw Barony," she answered.
'Ah… just a barony,' he mused, surveying the town. He was surprised to realize he could read most of the signs—thankfully, the system translated them.
Some stalls sold food, others necessities. And then he noticed a two-story building with a sign: Hunters Guild.
'Wait… is that like an adventure guild? This is so Isekai!' Orion's excitement grew.
After wandering through the town, they reached a wealthier district. Luxurious buildings, jewelry stores, and fancy restaurants lined the streets. In the middle stood a massive mansion.
'That must be the baron's estate,' he thought.
"I have some business with the baron here. Want to come along?" Lillian asked.
After a moment's thought, Orion nodded. He didn't want to be alone in a strange town.
At the gate, the guards immediately bowed when they saw Lillian and let her pass.
The pathway to the mansion was grand. Halfway there, an old man in a butler's outfit ran toward them.
"Welcome, Lady Lillian. I hope your journey was trouble-free," he said.
Lillian smiled. "It's a long story… take me to the baron."
The butler led them to the waiting room, where several maids rushed to attend to them.
"The baron is in a meeting, but I will inform him you are here," he said, then left.
Lillian nodded politely, but Orion's gaze was fixed on a painting.
"Is that… a train?" he whispered.