I gulp, a giddy smile rising to my face. I can see the city gates distance away. From atop the hill, Bothin spreads out to my left. The city itself is built from the ocean to the forest, but from where I'm standing there are what looks like miles of fields running in front of it behind me. There aren't many people entering and leaving the city, but there are probably thousands of farmers working outside here.

With a bit of trouble, I walk down the side of the grassy slope. The ground, the grass finally, has the healthy spongy texture that happens after rain. It's a bit difficult, but I manage to get down the hill without slipping. There wasn't any real grass in that forest. The mountain that I was taken to was all the same sort of dark tan rock that the cities walls are made of. The only place where there had been grass was the field that I'd gone to help Melody fight the Master of the Silent Forest, not that I was of much help. 

Finally, my life isn't in immediate danger, I'm only a bit chilly, and I'm at a city. This is a real human city.

The walk to the city is a short one. I had to make my way around, but Melody didn't land that far off from the back walls.

This is exciting. This place is beautiful. The smell of the ocean to my right is paired with the smell of the forest on my left. I take a deep breath, sighing. It's incredibly refreshing to be out in the open on my own feet like this. Unfortunately, nothing can really beat the sheer thrill of dragon-riding, but this is far more comfortable. 

I adjust my pace, looking at my surroundings.

The farmers stop farming in the distance to look at me. An old skinny man who's closer averts his eyes as I look back at him. He grips his hoe.

The mood immediately sours. Some eerie feeling overcomes my previous refreshed attitude and I slouch again.

What's with this place? I felt like a tourist for a second, but the moment that they saw me I felt more like an idiot who stumbled into the wrong neighborhood.

I look back into the distance at the farmers, catching a peculiar sight.

A shorter person, probably a kid, goes up to a farmer. The kid points at me as the two of them inaudibly talk. The kid suddenly runs off again.

I gulped once more, that cold chill feeling intensifying. I grip my bag and stand up straight, trying to appear less like an easy target. Avoiding all their intimidating gazes, I look at the boots I'm wearing and hope this isn't a sign of something worse. Somethings wrong, I can feel it.

After a few minutes of walking with the sun beating down the whole time, I reach the gate.

I look up from watching the ground and keeping to myself to see a towering dark tan stone wall rising before me. At the gate, though, there are at least 10 guys with spears.

I stop. 

This can't be good. This is definitely not good, in fact. This is probably a very, very bad thing. I can't help but worry that the event I saw just a bit ago with that kid running back to the city here has something to do with this welcoming party. All the guys over there are soldiers and some of them are even riding horses. 

Wait, no, as I look closer those horses do seem to be unicorns. There is a part on their heads that reflects the light in a shimmering sort of blue and pink way. That's pretty cool, but I don't think I have the privilege of wondering about fantasy creatures when a squadron is glaring at me like that.

I have half the mind to turn back and I do. I look behind me to see a similar sight there too. I've been surrounded.

This is ridiculous. I start to sweat harder out of fear, not as if I hadn't already been doing so, as I turn back to the wall before me.

I might be able to talk things over with them, right? Why are there so many guys after me? They can't have already figured out that I have 5000 magic power, can't they have? Damn, this is a fantasy world, maybe they have a tool for that like a special telescope or magic glasses or something. I didn't get one of those power check notifications.

Seriously, two squadrons of soldiers? I can't even run that fast, this is overkill.

All I can do is talk to them. At this point, I'm just hesitating.

I put my hands up in a signal of surrender immediately.

"Put your hands down!" A voice shouts from behind me which causes me to immediately comply. I'm thankful that I can understand them as well. I realized when talking to Melody that this isn't a case of everyone speaking English, but something that the A goddess probably did for me as another favor.

From both sides, the two groups of soldiers creep closer. The ones in front of me are holding drawn longbows trained directly at my face along with spears already in a position to be thrown.

"State your name!" The voice from behind me shouts again, closer this time.

"Arthur Callon," I say, having no reason to lie. They won't know who I am. There's no reason to hide my identity. "I'm just-"

"Quiet!" The voice shouts, a hand roughly grabbing my shoulder.

My arms are grabbed and something cold closes around my wrists. They feel thicker than cuffs, like something covering my whole hand. Suddenly, I start to feel woozy as the bindings on my arms heat up. 

"Arthur Callon, by order of King Bertrand III, you are under arrest for crimes against decency, virtue, and life!" They say forcefully, though I can barely catch the words. 

With a painful pop followed by the surprised shouts of a few of the soldiers, the bindings on my wrist burst off, hitting me in the back and causing me to stumble forward. A large mass follows that up by shoving me down into the dirt, grabbing my arms again.

The woozy feeling in my head peaks as I gasp for breath, another pair of those strange cuffs being forced onto my arms.

I black out.