Chapter 20:

Eres shifted uncomfortably in her seat, a grimace crossing over her face at the sensation of being squished to death. Damn it, Leo! 

She glared at the smug bastard sitting on the other side of the carriage, eyeing the free space next to him and Ed greedily. She elbowed Eliza and Arille who sat at her side. “Move over!”

Arille sighed. “Eres, there’s no room!”

Celise, nearly crushed in the corner of the carriage, squeaked incomprehensibly. Leo raised an eyebrow at her. “Why not just sit next to me?”

Eres pouted. That wasn’t an option. She would have done so without hesitation normally—but the scorching, teasing stares of her roommates caused her to flush. 

Ugh! Kids! No social understanding whatsoever. She was going to fight all three of them when this damn test was over.

Arille grabbed Eres’s shoulder and pushed her to the other side. Eres yelped, falling into Leo. 

The three girls sighed in relief, the bench finally comfortable. Leo laughed and pulled Eres to his side, setting himself in the middle. 

“Why are you so mad?” His teasing smirk rose Eres’s blood pressure.

“Hmm? Mad? Why would you think I’m mad? Ed, do I look mad?”

Ed stiffened, like an iron rod was inserted into his back. He looked everywhere but at Eres, desperately trying to find something to distract her with. 

Celise kicked her shin. “Stop dragging people into your arguments.”

“Hmm? Princess, I seem to remember being dragged into one of your arguments. When was it? I forget…”

She flinched. “E-Eres, it’s been four years you can’t possibly still be angry…”

“Ah, right, when you had me hand the princess of a nation a glass of wine, and she splashed me with it…”

The carriage fell silent.

“…”

Eres rubbed her nose. “Sorry.” She felt a bit guilty. Why had she lashed out like that? There was no reason to get so defensive in front of a bunch of kids. 

Leo patted her back. “You good?”

She nodded. 

Thankfully, her roommates had the grace to not tease her for being next to Leo. She really had no idea why they were so worked up yesterday. Calling it a date—as if this otaku could ever take someone out.

They sat in silence for some time, listening to the wheels trundle, shifting as the ride knocked around. Eres had to steady herself with the carriage wall when they hit a particularly rough patch of rock. Instinctively, Leo’s hand reached out in front of her, the protective gesture not lost on her friends.

Eres turned away from their looks. Ugh. She couldn’t help but complain.

“What are they running over? A riverbed?”

“It’s not like they have cars, Eres.”

He had said it offhand, but the word still made the other occupants tilt their heads. Ed looked at him, brow raised.

“A what?”

Leo stiffened, scratching his cheek. His eyes met Eres’s, and she smirked. She gave him a small thumbs-up.

Nice one, dumbass.

She had no intention of saving him. Ha~ she’d never again made that mistake since he’d tricked her so many years ago. Upmost vigilance! She refused to be humiliated like that. Who knew if there were other reincarnated people here?

Leo relaxed his posture and let loose a disarming smile. “Oh, it’s nothing much. Eres used to write stories when we were kids, imagining all kinds of things.”

They looked at her. 

Eres, shocked, froze. That…that traitor! How dare he push this on her! 

Eliza leaned forward, her tall lifting with a wave. “Stories? Eres, tell us a story.”

Arille and Celise nodded. 

Ed rubbed his nose. “The ride’s pretty long…Lady Eres, I’d like to hear a story too.”

Stories? She had stories? Eres panicked. What stories! She’d like to hear them too! Leo!!

“Uh…”

Leo slapped her on the back. His lips curled. “Don’t be embarrassed, Eres. Go ahead.”

“…!”

Truly worthy to be the Duke! What a brilliant strategy! Confusing and redirecting the foolish audience away to his best friend? What a monster…

“W-well, um…” She tried to come up with something. What was a good story? Fairy tales? No, they were too old. What other stories did she even know?! 

Wait.

There was a subset of genre she knew front to back to center. That is to say—anime! They were at the perfect age for such heart-pumping stories!

She nodded her head.

“This is the story of a boy who dreamed to be King of the Pirates…”

Was it a pastime to practice anime voices for all weebs? It certainly was for Eres. If the audio logs from her car were ever recovered of her yelling blood-pumping action lines and whispering cutesy dialogue in her deep voice, she might as well check out of this plane of existence. 

This never stopped, even in the new world.

She utilized this strength as she retold the story to her friends, gradually getting into it. It was her favorite story, after all. There was no better feeling than clawing a friend into the endless abyss with you.

Maybe it was because the stories in this world were different, but the tale she spun enraptured her friends, their eyes never drifting out of focus. Naturally, Eres only retold the good parts. 

Leo chimed in occasionally, adding details she’d forgotten or surprisingly good dialogue deliveries.

By the time the carriage rolled to a stop, Eres had just finished describing the battle against a certain desert reptile. 

She clapped her hands. “Looks like we’re out of time~”

“No…! Eres please!” Ed practically crumbled to the carriage floor. “My Lady, I beg you!”

The others were equally invested. Celise rubbed her eyes, her tears the remnant of petals blooming in snow. 

Arille looked at her hands and chomped her teeth. “Three swords…so cool…”

Eliza raised her tail in front of her body, face flushing. Eres caught the barely audible whisper to herself. “G-guard point…”

Was this what it felt like to be a parent? Proud? Maybe Lana felt the same sending her off to the academy. She nodded her head, smiling. 

Ah. They were going to kill her when she told them she didn’t know how it ended.

A problem for future her. 

Eres jumped out of the carriage, eager to stretch her legs. The scenery made her gasp. 

The carriages were pulled to the side of what must have been the top of a plateau. Students poured from their rides, all walking to the edge of the cliff Eres now gazed out from. 

Leo walked up beside her, letting loose an appreciative whistle.

“Damn…” 

A verdant forest stretched beyond the horizon, the foliage broken by a sizable lake. The small peaks of hills rising above the tree-line interspersed the area. 

It looked like the sight you’d see on a nature reserve pamphlet. 

A well-tread, winding path led from the cliff they were standing on down to the trees below. 

Eres smiled. “Is this a test or a vacation?”

Celise rubbed her arms from the wind as she walked up next to Eres. “My brother said there’s monsters in there too…”

Monsters? She exchanged glances with Leo. Could it be? The fantasy of every young dreamer?

…No one needed to know she was imagining herself as the Hero in a party of adventurers. 

Eres was bubbling with excitement. This was it! This is how she could convince Leo to run off with her!

Once he got a taste of the good life, she should have no problem in dragging him away from annoying responsibilities. 

After she convinced him, they’d never need to be apart. 

“Let’s do this,” Eres said, eyes shining.