As we walk toward the castle, awkwardness hangs between us because neither of us has any idea what to talk about. I start keeping my head down while walking, out of habit, a habit that has stuck with me through the years of being tormented in my old world. But this time, I try my best to change by walking normally, head up. It's still difficult, but I still try.
It's so awkward...
I thought, trying to find a topic to talk to him.
"How do you know... the weakness of that toad?"
Sora is the first person to speak up, asking me with curiosity.
"I know that you haven't learned about this yet, so how do you know about it?"
He said suspiciously.
I am stunned by his question. I start to walk more slowly to think about it.
I can't tell him that I know the weakness from the novel... And he is fictional—
I stop myself from finishing that thought.
While I am racking my brain trying to figure out how to say it, an idea comes to me.
"Oh... Because I heard a voice that was telling me the weakness."
He lied without hesitation.
"Oh! Really?!"
He said, more suspicious now.
"I... um... Oh! I think we should go to the castle quickly before it's too late."
I'm changing the subject, walking to the castle faster than before.
He sighs as we both reach the castle and walk in.
As soon as we walk inside, there are some knights at the door, guiding us to the throne room. There are three familiar figures from afar who have been following us without us noticing. It seems like they heard everything about our conversation.
{Throne Room}
"Oh, young chosen! It seems like you're better now, right?"
The King said; a smile appeared on his face as soon as we stepped inside the throne room.
The King is on his throne, with two of his mages in cloaks in front of him, side by side with the throne. One of them looks old and has long gray hair. The other one looks younger, with black hair and wearing rectangular glasses. They both wear a black cloak with the behind is a Serenvale sigil.
"Ah! Yes, I feel better now. Thanks for the healing treatment, Your Majesty."
I said, standing in the middle of the room, kneeling down out of respect.
Sora proactively moves to a different spot near the door but not far from me, before the king reminded him.
"There is no need to be polite to me, young child."
He said, trying to tell me to stand up.
I stand up as he continues his words.
"Perhaps you come here because you know what's inside the letter, right?"
He asked.
"Yes, I have read that letter of yours. Thank you for your concern for me, Your Majesty."
"Good! Let's get straight to your reward..."
He stopped before continuing.
"...I haven't thought of a reward that fits you, so you will get a bag of gold and can request what thing you want, and I will do my best to give you that item."
He said, now away from the throne and coming toward me.
Reward... What should I ask for...?
I thought to myself as my head slowly replayed everything that happened after I got here.
An Idea pops up as soon as I remember the boss from the monster raid. A smirk forms on my face as I'm certain of my decision.
"My reward..."
I said, in the expectant eyes of everyone around.
A loud 'Bang!' interrupts me, and three mysterious figures from Garrick's restaurant appear. The sound makes everyone jump; Sora and the mages prepare their position to fight as Sora draws his sword and guards them, with two of the mages standing close to the King to guard him.
"Who are you guys?!"
Sora said, coming near me to protect me.
My eyes widen as I notice them from earlier.
Why are they here?
I thought, surprised.
The strong giant one stands to the right of the mysterious female figure, with two unconscious knights being dragged along and two more lying unconscious on the ground. The tall one, who gives me a feeling of nobility, stands on the mysterious girl's other side, with one hand raised as he starts casting a magic circle. This time, all three of them wear the hood of the cloak.
They remain silent after Sora's question. I notice this and try to speak up with my suspicious conclusion.
"Let me ask you this: are you elves?"
I asked; my voice was not loud, but everyone in the room could hear my question.
They are still silent, making people on my side feel furious. I speak up again to break that suffocating silence.
"I know that you guys started following me from the restaurant earlier, so what's your intention with me?"
I asked them directly, shocking everyone.
"They followed you?"
The King asked.
"Yes."
I replied.
"How did I not notice that..."
Sora mumbled to himself, but I somehow heard that.
Haha... Because they have intentions with me, I guess.
The mysterious girl finally speaks up after hearing all of my questions.
"Yes, we are elves."
They start removing their hoods after she finishes speaking.
Their faces are now revealed to all of us. Their pointed ears are proof that they are elves. I gasp as I see her appearance. She looks beautiful after revealing her appearance. She has long ash-green hair, and her beautiful face is covered with dust, making her look like she has been through some kind of hardship.
"Serelith Syl'vayne?!"
The King said, panicked and surprised.
I turn to the King, with confusion.
"Sere— What?!"
I said loudly.
Sora's eyes widen; he drops his sword and bows down.
"I deeply apologize for my rudeness in raising my sword at you."
"It's okay. Everything is good. It's just a misunderstanding."
She said, waving her hand to signal Sora to stand up.
When Sora stands up, I move toward him and whisper.
"Who is that elf?"
"That is... The princess of the elf race."
He said, shaking with fear.
Princess elf...?
Two of the mages who protect the King now go back to their spot as the King starts to come near the elves.
"How have you been, little princess?"
The tall elf gets angry when the King calls her that, but he simply stands there and does nothing. But all of his actions are already caught by me.
What's wrong with him? Is he an arrogant elf?
I thought, deducing this because I heard that elves are so arrogant, mostly noble ones.
"I'm good."
She replied.
"I'm sorry for scaring everyone, especially that kid with a weird-looking outfit."
She said, mentioning the plain outfit that comes with me to this world.
The King looks at me with a small chuckle and turns back to the elf princess. I notice that and force myself to have a weak smile, trying to ignore her implied insults.
"I know that you are always welcome here, but why are you here without telling us?"
He asked her with curiosity.
She hesitates before he continues.
"Something's wrong, right?"
He said, deeply and gently.
After hearing his words, she's trembling; tears begin to form in her eyes, stopping both of the elves, who are now agitated by the King's question. The King notices that and understands. He turns to me with a meaningful look.
"Zin, we will have another talk about your reward on a different day. You may leave now."
I look at him and the elf princess, then nod in understanding before retreating with Sora.
We both walk toward the door where the group of elves stands. Her two elf companions step aside so we can leave the room. But as I reach the door and walk past the princess, her expression suddenly changes. She stops crying and turns to me, with a serious look on her face. She seems to sense something coming from me when she gets this close to me.
"What is your relationship with our Goddess of Creation?"
She said, holding my arm to stop me from walking away.
She looks directly into my eyes. Her eyes are red from crying earlier. I am confused when she suddenly became serious.
"Goddess of what? I've never met anyone like a God in my life."
I spoke up, trying to break free from her grip, but she was holding my arm too tightly.
The King silently stands there, watching with confusion. Sora stops in his tracks and looks at us. Her two guards look surprised by her actions.
"Hey! Let me go!"
I said, trying to pull my arm away from her.
But as I try to pull my arm harder, two of the elves at her side come to me with incredible speed. The noble one stands between Sora and me, blocking me from Sora, and the big one grips my shoulder from behind, stopping me from hurting the princess by yanking my arm. Both of them are giving me tension, like trying to harm me.
"What do you mean, Princess?"
The King asked, finally speaking up when seeing me in danger with two of her guards.
"Relationship with Goddess? He's just a kid who got summoned by us."
She now notices how rude she is, so she removes her grip and turns to the King.
"I apologize for my rudeness. But…"
She apologized, but she tried to explain her own actions.
"...I can feel there is an aura coming from him that is familiar to our Goddess of Creation, Elyria."
I look at her with confusion.
Who?