Chapter 3

Honestly, how could I say no to that?

“I would be grateful for the company lady Asteria.” Surprisingly I was beginning to have fun with the whole knight schtick. Maybe I really was an actor? Or maybe a conman?

I looked around the clearing for my sword and easily found it near a batch of weeds. It was covered in dirt from the blast earlier, but, besides not shining as bright, it was in perfect condition.

I picked it up and returned to my new companions who, in the meantime, moved to the edge of the forest trail. It seems like my previous judgment was correct. It did indeed lead to civilization.

As I got closer to them I noticed Asteria was carrying something in her hands. It was some sort of sack, though its material looked of high quality, luxurious even. Its color was a rich black. Judging by the form, it held inside some sort of round object.

I didn’t ask what it was. I considered for a moment to offer my help in carrying it, but I thought better of it. First off, one of my hands was already occupied with holding the sword. Then it was the fact that we just met. The thing looked important if she was carrying it personally.

The first few minutes we walked in silence. The path was large enough for us to walk side by side. Frustratingly, the two women were apparently in much better shape than me. I actually had to struggle a bit to keep pace with them. They weren’t actually running or anything, but they were capable of navigating the forest quite easily.

Admittedly, if I had a sheath for my longsword it would have been a lot easier to hop over roots or dodge branches. At first, I did get a few weird looks from the two of them, but I just lied and said my sheath was lost in the forest. Asteria simply nodded. Lily called me a moron.

What can you do?

Anyway, the silence was starting to get to me. About half an hour should have passed already, meaning we were close to our destination. I wanted to fish for some information about… well, anything really.

Unfortunately, by the time I had my questions planned out, another roar sounded throughout the forest together with the furious rustling of leaves.

At first, I imagined it would be another dragon, but it wasn’t nearly as loud and not nearly as majestic.

It was still a cause for concern though, as my companions stopped immediately and Lily drew out her dagger.

“Stay behind me priestess. I’ll protect you!”

As cringe-worthy as her words were, she displayed quite the valiant image. Well, as valiant as a little girl with a knife could be.

Still, as long it’s not something ridiculous again, I will lend a helping hand.

We were about as ready as we could be when the nearby bushes split open and a hulking beast came out.

“Back up a bit lady Asteria. It’s just a juvenile Gorillasaurus, but it’ll take me some time to fight it off.”

What the hell is wrong with this place? First I meet a dragon and now I’m face to face with Godzilla’s and King Kong’s love child. It had the build and height of a normal gorilla, but what should have been fur was replaced by scales and its face was pretty much that of a dinosaur.

It did indeed look like a Gorillasaurus.

“Stop staring like an idiot and help me!”

Lily’s shout broke me out of my stupor. The creature was furiously throwing punches at her while she did her best to dodge them. Once in a while, she managed to stab or make a shallow cut in its scaly skin, but it was obvious her weapon was not designed to deal with this sort of threat.

Seeing as the Gorillasaurus was occupied with Lily I took the chance and quickly made my way behind it. Lily was doing a great job keeping it distracted so it didn’t even notice me.

Grabbing the sword with both hands I raised it above my shoulder and slashed at its back with all my strength. The long blade and the momentum it generated were enough to leave a large gash on the beast’s flesh.

It howled in pain and fury. It turned around to face me, allowing Lily to get a few more superficial cuts in. I backed up, just in time to dodge its swing. My ribs would crack the instant its fist would hit me so I made sure to keep my distance.

“I’ll distract it. The instant it misses me, go in for the kill!”

With that, Lily ran towards the Gorillasaurus, but stopped just within its arms reach. Before the beast began its swing, she was already out of the way. Its balance was shot as it went ahead with its arm’s momentum. I was already running towards it. The moment it composed itself I had already stabbed half of my blade into its neck.

I quickly jumped away, leaving my sword embedded into its flesh. It took a few moments for the howling to turn into a whimper before it fell down.

We watched it for a minute to make sure it was dead. Sure enough, by the time we gathered ourselves, it stopped moving completely.

Looking at it, I couldn’t believe I fought that thing and actually managed to come out unscathed. The adrenaline was still pumping. I needed to keep myself moving before my legs gave out. With a grunt, I managed to pull the sword out and head back.

“Are you two alright?” I actually managed to forget about Asteria with all the commotion. She was fussing over Lily, while the red-haired girl just stood there, accepting it with a faint smile.

“It didn’t manage to land a hit. We were lucky it was just a juvenile. Its skin was still soft enough for us to cut it up.”

That thing was a baby? It was already more than two meters tall! How big do the adults get then?

“Anyway, we should get a move on. Since this one’s a cub, I don’t want to have to deal with its mama.”

I more than agreed with her. After a quick glance around and using some leaves to clean the blade of all the blood we began walking once again.

A few more minutes of walking and I was starting to get sick and tired of the damn forest. Never mind the fact that I was physically exhausted, but the mental strain I had to endure today was taking its toll. Just the sheer amount of bull I had to deal with since waking up will keep me tired for days I think.

Finally, we were out of the forest and onto a paved road. A distance away I could spot some large stone walls and a gate. Asteria and Lily seemingly perked up upon seeing, I assume, Pinereach Keep.

The entrance was guarded by two knights, real ones judging by their armor. I couldn't see their faces, but that made them look even more imposing.

“Good evening gentleman. Is captain Gaul present?” Asteria wasted no time in greeting them. One of them made no sign of acknowledging her greeting, while the other fumbled around a bit before answering.

“Ah, good evening. Yes, the captain should be in his office right now.”

After thanking the knight she turned to me with a small smile on her face “Well, this is where we part ways. It was a pleasure meeting you Reginald.”

“Likewise, lady Asteria. I hope we meet again in the future.”

“I’m sure you do bud.”

Way to ruin the moment Lily.

“Now, mister knight could I please ask you to escort us to the captain’s office?”

“Uhh… I would, but, um I kinda have to guard the gate.”

“We’ve never been here before my guy. Help us out, I’m sure your pall can handle it before you come back. Isn’t that right?” she asked the other knight.

“...” The man in question didn’t even turn his head. He was as still as a statue.

“...see? He’s so serious, I’m sure he’ll manage alone for a few minutes.”

The first knight was fidgeting and, if I didn’t know any better, I could have sworn he started sweating. He looked at his companion, then back to Asteria. Finally, his gaze landed on me and he seemed to have reached a decision.

“Say, uh, you look like a capable adventurer. Would you mind keeping Jerry here company until I come back? I’ll even put in a good word for you with the captain if you’re looking for work.”

Well, I didn’t want to give a bad impression to the people here. I’m hoping for some food and a place to stay so helping out a little was no problem. It’s not like I have to do anything besides standing around here until he comes back.