Author's Reincarnation in a Fantasy Setting

Chapter 179 Back Trip [2]

What she said was interesting partly because it was not in the novel. And anything I was unaware of was crucial to me and something I needed to know. I can't afford to give up on any piece of information, as I don't know when I might need it.

I got about all of what she said, but there was still one thing remaining that puzzled me.

"According to you, our souls have combined and turned into one single soul. Then why didn't I turn into a sword or am not able to switch forms as you can do, transform into a sword when you want to? I mean, that was what happened when you were sealed, right?" I asked.

"That's quite easy," she said. "It's because your physical body wasn't destroyed during the time your soul met with ours, which was the case with me."

"I see…so that's how it is," I mumbled under my breath.

I didn't ask anything after that, and neither did she try to start a conversation. Why I refrained from inquiring further could be justified because I was tired, both mentally and physically. But as for her… I don't know, nor am I in the mood to know.

The wagon trailed off on the unpaved both, it jumped at several intervals when the road was rough and filled with stones. The wind grew colder as the blanket of night enveloped the world within itself.

I pulled a rope and a large, thick, cloth fell on the backside of the wagon where it was open, making the interior closed and disconnected from the outer world. Now the only light here was the vague, yellowish one coming from a small oil lamp hanging on the top near the driver.

But as it was outside and the light rays were entering through a small gap—most probably a window without a glass sheet, it grew even dull by the time it reached us.

I thought of seeing the moon again but then realized I can't with the closed curtains, so I rested my head back on the wooden wall and closed my eyes. I thought of various things.

What will I do once I'm back at the academy, how will I interact with Anya and what lie will I tell her, how will I describe the disappearance of Challes and how I escaped from him and am not dead…things like that. I have to come up with a plausible cover story too; one that could convenience the public and the academy staff.

If everything there went as I'd suspected, then my missing case wouldn't have been out in public. If Ellyn did her work accordingly, then Anya wouldn't have slept with Leon and have also not told my parents about this case. Though I don't know how long she will be able to digest this incident alone.

At one point she will break and won't be able to hold it in and tell them about it. I can't afford it, that's why I need to go back as soon as possible.

As I was thinking about all this a sudden wave of unconsciousness hit me, I felt relaxed, as if in the gentle embrace of a beautiful woman. It was warm, comforting, and calm.

'This…feels nice. It might do.'

I drowned deeper into the sea of comfort and with each passing second as I dived deeper all the strain from my body began disappearing. My tendons relaxed, my skin flexible, and my mind composed.

But then it was rough as the other part of my mind pulled me out of this sea and dumped me back in the harsh plain known as reality. My eyes opened wide instinctively and my whole body felt a shiver running down.

I was back, in the cold dark wagon. I was just where I was—I never left this place. That sense of comfort only was my mind playing tricks on me, a way to relieve me of the stress I have gained.

I took note of my surroundings. Req was still sitting at the same place in the same position and was staring at me as if I was an animal in a zoo or something. If you talk about me, I was hugging myself and curled up inside the cloak I was wearing.

It wasn't much of a blanket, but still better than nothing. Realizing what happened, I decided that this was not a good idea and sat straight, bringing my arms out from underneath the cloak.

It was cold and the hair on my body stood in a salute instantly, but this was good. I won't fall asleep this way. This was for the best. I can't black out at this moment because if I did, I know I won't be waking up anytime soon.

Plus, I have other things to do.

From that night onward, it took me the whole next day and night before I reached the capital city. I paid the wagon driver a little extra money, and we traveled day in and night out. Despite that, it took us longer than expected because the route was not the same as the one I used while arriving at Gannett town.

I asked the driver about the reasons, and he said that there had been an accident on the roads. I don't know how that might have happened. Monsters certainly can't be the reason as the chances of them appearing on the main roads were not close to none but plain none. The kingdom's forces took care of it. So it is possible that it was just another normal accident.

Anyway, as I've sworn, I didn't sleep even a bit while we traveled. To pass time and keep myself occupied, I talked with Req and told her about my situation. This included my condition at the academy, how I escaped and used Challes and conquered the labyrinth, and why I needed her.

Of course, I didn't tell her everything. The parts about my reincarnation, the upcoming calamity, and how I have upper-hand knowledge about this world were kept hidden. I told her only how she needed to know to work smoothly with me.

A normal person might question my character after hearing about some of the details, but her response was otherwise. "I expected as much from the person who dared to achieve the Requiem sword and was successful at the end," was what she said.

She wasn't taken aback by the fact that I sacrificed a part of three people and a man to achieve the sword, and had no particular guilt about it. Well, I can guess why. It wasn't like I didn't know her backstory at all, after all.

And so that was about it. After paying for the wagon, I was now here, standing at the inner gates of Sofrora city. Technically we were still not inside the main city as this was the slum area and I had to do a fair bit of walking before I reached the academy.

"Let's go," I commanded as I hushed Req to move forward along with me.

She was still in her human form and right now, she was looking around, observing every detail of her surroundings. It was reasonable. She was seeing the outside world for the first time after a millennium. It was only natural to be excited.

Her eyes were gleaming as she cast her gaze upon the people passing the road, stalls, shops, and the items being sold in them. She was behaving like a child, totally unlike the warrior I'd thought her to be.

"Now, don't go too far off," I said in a slightly loud voice. She turned around and looked back when she was about to trail off toward one of the shops.

"But I want to try that thing," she demanded, pointing her index finger in the shop's direction.

I followed her line of sight and saw that it was a sweet shop and the item she was pointing toward was a pink, cloud-like fluid spinning inside a metal tub. It spun rapidly and collected on the stick at the center of the tub. The man behind the tub—most likely the shopkeeper—dipped a wooden stick in the running fluid, and the pink stuff collected itself around the stick.

Then he pulled the stick out, and now a full roll of that pink stuff was surrounding it. He passed the stick to a child beside and his mother passed the shopkeeper the money he owed.

"I wanna try that!" she repeated, this time with more enthusiasm.

I knew what it was, anyone from my world would.

Cotton candy…was what she wanted to eat.