It shames me to admit, but I used up far more than a few minutes to fully calm myself.

And even when I say fully calm, it does not mean that I actually managed to erase the scene of my body, or me if I am mistaken about being controlled by something, killing people.

Whatever I may consider myself, I had never killed. I had not even butchered an animal before arriving here, even though I did have some experience with that over the last few days.

Anyway, I had spent enough time whining internally, it was now time to return to reality.

The two girls did not leave, or to be said even attempted to do so. I would not blame them for trying, but I was thankful that they did not. After all, they were my only available conduct towards civilization.

Before speaking up to them, I carefully took a few glances to examine them, as well as check their status screen.

No skills were above average, but surprisingly the younger one had magical affinity! Which meant she could be trained as a mage. Not that she had even the slightest knowledge about magic, as everything except her having mana sense and a single point of mana was absolutely common.

The oldest looked about 16 years old. She was about 1.6 in height and looked fit, if not outright athletic. Shoulder-length brown hair and equally brown eyes adorned a face that I would call likable. She was not a great beauty, and I doubt she would be in the future, but she by far was not 'ugly'. Her figure as I first thought was well built, and even though she wasn't well endowed with the thing that men, and me, tend to look for, she was overall a good-looking girl.

She was dressed in the kind of clothes I normally imagined myself encountering in a fantasy world, with a grey apron over a brown full-length dress with short sleeves. She had a pair of leather boots on her feet to complement the attire. No jewelry or decorations, but the clothes looked only slightly dirty, even after all they went through!, so I supposed that they should be of good quality.

The younger girl looked to be about 12 years old. With a heigh of about 1.3 and a slim build. I am not the best judge for children's appearance, but her slightly pointed face and enormous, round, grey eyes gave her a fairly bewitching look. She had her brown hair cut pretty shortly, barely reaching below her ears.

Her attire was pretty similar, except that her light blue apron had a few small, decorative, red stitches along the seam.

As if sensing that I had looked at them, both girls turned their heads towards me, and so, after clearing my throat I began talking with them...

***

Thankfully the time I had used to calm myself was enough for them to do so as well, and so our talk was pretty calm.

Granted, I tried to avoid touching themes that they would not know, but even so, I can say that I learned a great deal about them and my surroundings.

The oldest was called Kierra and the youngest was Angelique.

Both of them were orphans, and they had moved to their uncle's farm a few months ago after an epidemic devastated the town where they had lived. Regretfully their uncle did not live for much either, and so both of them had ended alone. Still, it seemed that he was a well-liked man in life, as he had requested the help of a few nearby farmers before passing, and these people had been taking care of the sisters. I should note that although they referred to each other as sisters, they were actually not blood-related. Kierra's parents had known Angelique's and had brought her in almost right after birth.

I did not ask for details on why or how that occurred, deciding that if the girls told me so much already, it would be bad to pry even more into their personal matters.

Anyway, the farm that they had now inherited was located about half a mile from these fields, and as I had supposed, the ground in these plains was seemingly pretty bad for crops... except a few spots, like the ones used for these fields. The fields were communal and all of the inhabitants of a small hamlet consisting of a few similar farms tended to them. This time, it was the girls' turn to check on the plants. As a side note, the turnip-like plants are indeed turnips and are called 'Mud Turnips'. As for the red vines, it turned out that they are beans, called 'Wrigintine Beans'.

I was a bit reluctant to question them about how they were captured, but Kierra herself touched the theme and explained everything. Not that there was much to explain. This was their third field to check, and when they approached, they were jumped over by the three, now dead bastards.

"Do bandits are common around here?" I asked while inwardly fuming at the thought that the farmers could have sent the two defenseless girls alone if such was the case.

"Oh no, this is the first group we have seen this season"

"This season?" I was really shocked at hearing that the bandits were considered something so common.

"Yes, normally the militia from Churg makes a full sweep every moon, and they don't capture any alive, so bandits are wise to avoid this land. Also, the Knights of the Lake travel towards the Silent Belt once a Season, and they make sure to exterminate any bandit, slaver, or criminal they can find" Kierra's answer was concise enough for me to understand that my anger was misplaced.

Still, thanks to this, we entered the part that I was most interested in, the towns, cities, and powers around.

I did not expect the girls to give me a full rundown on the entire world, but I did learn a lot.

First of all, the place I came from is known as the Uncontested Hills.

It's a vast territory, and rich in different resources, but the Silent Blet they mentioned was considered an evil and dangerous place, and so nobody had thought of crossing it, not to mention settling behind it. From what I could understand, I was simply lucky to have noticed I had entered this land of no sound on the thinnest place, as there were places where the zone extended for far longer. There were also rumors of strange demons lurking inside, and I shivered at the thought that I actually could have met one.

In any case, I was still alive and did not plan to return there. So thanks lady luck, or Sepyre, or whatever divine covered for me.

Back on topic, the fields as well the group of farms that the girls were from was part of the zone controlled by the city of Churg.

And farther to the North the lands of the Kindom of Neverc started. The three names that the bandits had called before were cities or towns of the Kingdom.

"Is Churg part of the Kindgom?" I asked for confirmation.

"The townsmen say that it's a free city founded by refugees from other places. Uncle used to say that we live in the only land free from any nobles" Angelique answered the question as if it was an exam.

"I see, well, seems that I will need to go there. But first I should bring you home" I decided to visit Churg as soon as possible. A city was the perfect place for me to gather at least a basic amount of information, while if it was a 'free' one, that meant I would not be asked much about my origins.

Speaking of the latter, I had introduced myself to the girls as Lindar and weaved a small backstory. I could not know if it will hold up, but the more people knew about it at the moment I messed up, the less chance was that someone would question it.

I explained that I was from a city called Burgos, and had been an assistant to a merchant. I traveled with him for a while, to earn enough money and begin learning magic. I did not know how magicians are treated, but the girls had not reacted very strongly to me mentioning it, which meant that it was indeed something akin to a profession. As for the city, I just went with the one that sounded like something possible in this world.

The merchant had decided to travel towards Chubu for a deal, but there was an accident on the road and I ended in the lake. From what I had learned, Chubu was on the far west point of the lake, which meant it was a more-or-less realistic situation.

Anyway, I don't know how I survived, but in the end, I somehow ended as a castaway on the coast. Mentioning that I crossed the Silent Belt seemed unwise, so better just stick to the nearby lake coast.

My clothes and possessions were either destroyed or lost, so after weaving something to wear, I began to move towards the north, following the lake.

The overall backstory was very much a fluke, at least considering that most of the things I used for it were learned from the girls, but at least they bought it, and I could always add details on the go later.

***

Before moving towards the girls' home, I had another thing, a far more unpleasant one to do.

And so after asking them to wait for me, I gathered my courage and returned to the scene of the massacre.

The bodies still laid there, but thankfully the smell was a little more bearable and so I did manage to approach the corpses without feeling the previous nausea.

A quick examination confirmed my previous memory, that the bandits had nothing except their clothes and weapons on themselves. That was a tad illogical, after all, they should have at least some food and camp supplies with them. Especially as I overheard them talking about moving out right away. Tracking was not a skill that I had in my previous life, but a bit of theoric knowledge from the books was enough to find some tracks of the bandits. Plus, the girls had said that they were jumped on near the field, which meant...

"Bingo!" A few minutes later, I emerged from within the 'Wrigintine Beans' field with two knapsacks in my hands. I decided to avoid checking the contents right away, at least not until I was clean enough, and so directly stored them into my storage.

Before returning to the spot where I had left the girls, I again passed near the bodies. And even though I did not want to, I decided to examine them closely, as well as gather their weapons.

Caked blood, guts, and everything else were extremely disgusting, but... Hoarding trumped everything.

I even somehow managed to prevent myself from vomiting and patted the headless corpse of the bandit's boss. I could see that the clothes did not have visible pockets, which meant...

I would have shouted Bingo again if not for the smells and sensations, still, I found an item that even managed to distract me from the bad things. A purse with a few dozens of coins. I did not know prices and so could not determine the value of the coins I found, but at least it was some money.

This find encouraged me to pat the other two, albeit to no avail.

Although it may sound a bit crazy to me even now, I also stored the bandit leader... head. He was supposed to have a bounty on him, right? And I already knew where was this Kingdom of Neverc located, so, however disgusting and crazy I may feel, money would be money!

***

"Kierra, Angelique, is there anywhere nearby to wash before we arrive at your farmhouse?" As I returned and began following the girls towards their home, I asked about something that was bothering me.

"Yes, there is the stream used for watering the fields. It's just behind that field" Kierra immediately answered and pointed to a field that had just entered our sights.

"Oh, thank you. Sorry to make you wait again, but I would not like to appear like a plant monster... before others" My attempt at making a joke about my current appearance went into the air, as the girls showed no reaction. Still, it was better to have no reaction, at least compared to the one people on Earth would have after looking at my blood-covered leaf poncho.

***

As the girls had mentioned a group of farms, my mind had imagined their home as one of that pastorale paintings. But I was wrong.

What I saw after half an hour of following the dirt trail that served as the 'road' towards the fields, was more like a burg, as it was depicted in the historical fantasy books I have always loved.

Seven houses stood wall-to-wall around a small plaza with nothing else than a well. With only a small passage between two of the houses, and having no windows on the 'exterior' side, the outer walls served as a palisade.

A few dozens of sheep were grazing around the burg and a few fields were randomly scattered towards each side. I did not see anyone yet, but overall my impression was far from the idyllic painting I had imagined.

"Kierra, Angelique!" I heard a woman's shout and turned towards the direction from which it came, but saw no one.

Seemingly I had made a strange face, as Angelique chuckled after turning towards me and quickly explained while pointing at one of the houses

"You are looking towards the wrong place. Look at the rooftop!"

Following her direction, I squinted and managed to see that there was indeed a woman's head poking from a hole in the nearest house thatched roof.

***

A few hours later, just before the sunset, all the villagers had gathered around the well.

The girls explained what had happened and also covered my involvement, allowing me to simply introduce myself.

"Thank you good man for saving our girls!" The same woman that Angelique showed me before thanked me profusely. The burg was small, with only 16 people living in a close-knit community, almost a family. Selby, as she was called was a short, corpulent woman in her mid-thirties. She was a weaver and tailor, making her the de-facto main income provider for the burg. And so, it also made her the spokesperson for them.

"I just happened to pass by and could not stand such acts. In any case, I am grateful for you all allowing me to stay here for the night" My answer was a bit cheesy, but it seemed to gain the approval of the people in front of me.

"Oh, that would be no problem in any case. Travelers are very rare around here, and we would not let someone spend their night outside"

"Thank you" I slightly bowed in thanks.

Indeed, when we had just approached and the girls had yet to explain how we met, I was already invited to stay for a while. I can only appreciate Selby's tact on not asking anything about my attire or origins until I or well the girls revealed them.

***

After a quickly improvised gathering which ended in each 'house' bringing out the best they could, I was truly grateful for my meeting with the girls. I forgot about the gory details and just considered that it was nice to meet such people.

Each of the houses was built in the same way, consisting of a big room that served as a hall, kitchen, dining, and storage. And two smaller rooms that served as bedrooms on the far side of the main one. Albeit I was offered a place in practically any house, except one that simply had no space as the family consisted of four, in the end, the war for my sleeping place was won by the girls. I could not even think that such a minor detail like where I slept would be an important discussion.

Anyway, I had at least reached at least some kind of civilization, ate some truly good home-cooked food, and even was served a pair of glasses of wine. Speaking of the latter, it was something like the table wine common in Europe. Basically a low-grade, low-fermentation light red wine.

It seemed that alcohol was more-or-less common in this world, but in places where it was not produced, like Churg, it was considered a luxury item. Even so, to celebrate the girls' safe return, Selby had taken out a bottle that she had stashed for someone's birthday and served it to me.

Everyone dispersed only around midnight when I was ushered into the third house from the 'entrance' and Angelique grandly permitted me to use her room and bed. Originally it seemed that the room was their uncle's, while the girls slept in the other one, so they assured me that I did not intrude unto them.

Before sleeping I decided to check the contents of the knapsacks I had obtained, as well as make a quick rundown of my following movements...

Inventory (Additions)

NAME NOTES Knapsack Nothing more than a cloth bag with a pair of ropes to secure it to one's back. About a meter tall and 60 cm wide.

x2 Set of Clothes Looted from the bandit sacks.

Most probably the Bandit's Boss change of clothes. Consists of a simple pair of black cloth pants, a black linen shirt, and some kind of sleeveless leather vest. Dried Meat Looted from the bandit sacks.

x10 pieces about the size of a steak Bread Looted from the bandit sacks.

x17 small pieces, not bigger than my fist. Canteen Looted from the bandit sacks.

x5 Capacity for a liter or a bit more each.

4 filled with water, 1 filled with some kind of alcohol. Flint & Tinder Looted from the bandit sacks. Rags Looted from the bandit sacks.

Something resembling a shredded shirt in there. Probably used to start a fire (?) Sword A common-looking slightly chipped straight sword. Crossguard, 60 cm long double-edged blade, no scabbard. Knife Looks like a kitchen knife.

No guard, 30 cm long single-edged blade. Hatchet About 45 cm long, wooden handle, one-sided ax head. Purse A small cloth bag almost filled with coins.

Contains x17 small copper (?) coins, x11 bigger copper (?) coins, x4 silver (?) coins. Bounty*

A... head from the unnamed bandit leader.

Should have a value of 10 (?) in the Kingdom of Neverc.

"I wonder if the clothes will fit me?" I muttered while taking out the pants and shirt. I am taller than the bandit, so it may be a bit short...

And well, the pants only covered half of my shin and the shirt was a bit pressed in the shoulders. Still, it is far better than the leaf poncho!

"Maybe Selby can help me to fit them?" I thought and added the point to my plans for tomorrow.

Speaking of plans, my next movements were pretty obvious:

- Reach Churg

- Find more about the world

- Learn about the Kingdom of Neverc

- If it's safe, then travel to the Kingdom and begin my initial plan of winning money and searching for information.

- If it's not safe, then search for another place to travel to.

Time to start the Free Roam part of my journey and look for Side Quests (Oh, how nice it would be to have a quest log and the quests/rewards that come along it!!!)

Anyway, with everything more or less organized and recorded, it's time for me... TO SLEEP IN A BED!