Kazue POV 

  

  

  

"I see... now things are making sense." <Amy> 

"Now I know why she lacks common sense." <Charlotte> 

  

  

Charlotte, Amy, Lucas, and Grace are looking at me. 

I can feel that their gazes are telling me the "NOW I SEE" impression. 

I had no choice but to admit that I was one of the 28 heroes that the Empire summoned. 

I wanted to hide this fact but I think it was OK for them to know this. 

The members of the Water Oath party can be trusted with this information. 

The only reason I did not want others to know about me being a Hero was that I did not want attention. 

Just look at Hano and his party members they always attract attention. 

I don’t want that. 

  

  

I even think the Empire did not want us to tell others that we are one. 

Why did I say that? 

It was because calling us "heroes" would not bring justice to Hano and his party members. 

For example calling Reno, Akemi, and Emika "heroes" sounds odd. 

They are now full-pledged merchants; the image of a hero just doesn’t fit them in any way. 

There's also Kirari and her friends who are still in the capital. 

[I did not want others to know this fact but if it's Charlotte and the others I think it would be OK?] 

  

  

As I was listening to them, they are now starting to call me weird. 

"eh? was I that weird? I was trying my best to not show it... was It that obvious after all?" <Kazue> 

I asked. 

I thought that I was doing well to not show any signs of me being an "otherworlder" from my party members. 

Well, I might have done things that were out of the ordinary and made excuses that sounded weird. 

[Maybe] 

  

  

"Hmnn, I think it was weird but you were odd in many other ways so I thought you were just weird in general. I did not even think that you are from another world" <Amy> 

Amy gave it a thought and found that all of my actions till now make sense after discovering that I am an otherworlder. 

She nodded to herself then she smiled. 

"But thinking of Kazue as a hero is kinda..." <Amy> 

"Pfft! Yeah, I get what you want to say!" <Lucas> 

"I only see her as a girl who is spacing out often" <Charlotte> 

  

  

  

Chiho giggled before replying. 

"Haha, Kazue had been a weird one even in our world so I do not blame you guys." <Chiho> 

"Hey... can you stop calling me weird?" <Kazue> 

  

  

They started laughing at me. 

Not just Chiho even Hano and Victor were laughing. 

I wanted to voice out my complaint but I realized. 

Ever since I came into this world, I had been the center of the conversation of my party members and classmates. 

[Maybe it was just natural? I was the only common point of "topic" that my party members and classmates could talk about. I understand that and there's no helping it. My only complaint was just, I don't like getting attention in general so I wanted them to stop.] 

-sigh- 

  

  

Leaving that aside. 

There has been something bothering me for a while. 

I wanted to ignore this but I just can't. 

[What the hell is this?] 

  

  

I closed my eyes. 

Normally when you close your eyes the only thing you could see is darkness 

Yes, I do see darkness but other than that I can also see an "Envelope". 

[What the hell is this?] 

I asked myself once again. 

At first, I thought that it was just my imagination. 

But the image is just too clear for it to be my imagination. 

I can see it clearly whenever I close my eyes. 

It kinda reminds me of a "message" icon used in a smartphone 

[Ah, come to think of it I also receive a congratulatory message when I defeated that ghoul right?] 

  

  

"Hey" <Kazue> 

I said. 

The members of the water Oath party, Rio, the merchant girls, and the hero's party looked at me. 

"Hmnn? what's wrong Kazue?" <Chiho> 

Chiho asked. 

"Can I ask something?" <Kazue> 

"Yeah?" <Chiho> 

I nod and think of something. 

"I know this is weird but can all of you close your eyes for a second." <Kazue> 

  

  

The people around me were looking at each other. 

Hano, Sir Victor, Charlotte, Reno, and the rest. 

After sometime. 

"Sure..." <Chiho> 

Chiho said without asking anything and closed her eyes. 

  

  

"Just do it for me, just for a bit" <Kazue> 

"ahuh..." <Amy> 

"if possible, all of you close your eyes for a bit?" <Kazue> 

"Why?" <Mizuko> 

"Hmnn~ It's nothing I just wanted to confirm something. Just do it for me for a bit" <Kazue> 

"Okay?" <Mizuko> 

Following Chiho, Hano and Mizuko also closed their eyes. 

Soon after even Levethy and Victor followed and closed their eyes as well. 

Then Reno and the rest closed their eyes. 

  

  

When I confirmed that they have closed their eyes. 

I closed mine as well. 

I can see the envelope's image as I closed my eyes. 

"Well? What should we do now Kazue?" <Chiho> 

Chiho said while her eyes were still closed. 

  

  

"Uhmm... Can you see anything?" <Kazue> 

"Huh? What do you mean?" <Chiho> 

"Just tell me if you can see anything. Anything is fine" <Kazue> 

"Huh? of course we can't see anything our eyes are closed after all" <Amy> 

With her eyes still closed Amy raised an eyebrow at me. 

  

  

"Haha, Kazue what are you trying to do? Is this a joke?" <Eiko> 

Eiko said as she laughed while her eyes were still closed. 

"Uhmm... can anyone of you see anything...? <Kazue> 

"Our eyes are close how can we see a thing?" <Eiko> 

Eiko stated the obvious. 

I feel disappointed that the only one who could see this was me. 

I wanted to know if this was normal for all the people in this world so I wanted to confirm it by doing this. 

"I see... Okay... you can open your eyes now." <Kazue> 

  

  

One by one, they opened their eyes. 

Chiho asked. 

"What was that about?" 

"ah... nothing ... I was just...Right… joking around" <Kazue> 

"Hmmm???" <Chiho> 

Chiho gave me a confused look on her face. 

"See that is why we call you weird!" <Eiko> 

"Oh, it was a joke..." <Levethy> 

Levethy giggled as she replied. 

  

  

The servers of the guild started to put plates on our table. 

Our orders had arrived and the smell of the food entered my nose. 

Reno, Emika, and Akemi were staring at the food being served to them. 

They ordered the most expensive food available on the menu. 

  

  

[I will just ignore this, for now, this is more important.] 

I felt that my stomach was urging me to eat. 

Who could blame me? I haven’t eaten anything for 2 days after all. 

The smell of the food lures me to forget about that for now. 

I could feel myself salivating at the food being served to us. 

  

  

I did not mind others and started eating the food in front of me. 

The dish I ordered was called "Adventurer Meal: Altus Special" 

There were 3 different kinds of meat that were served to me. 

One was fried, the other was a kind of soup and the last one was something like a steak. 

It looked appetizing and I did not hesitate to start eating! 

"Itadakimasu~" 

As I said those words the others also followed and started eating too. 

  

  

All of them were delicious, especially the steak. 

The meat tasted nothing like the meat I've tasted so far. 

The texture was similar to beef but the taste was different. 

Without realizing the large piece of steak was reduced to nothing. 

To be honest this steak was even better than the food I ate back in the castle. 

I even wanted to lick the plate but I managed to stop myself from doing that. 

  

  

Reno, Emika, and Akemi ordered different dishes and tried out each other's food. 

Chiho was impressed with the taste of the food of the guild. 

When I was listening to Chiho and Mizuko I learned that It was also their first time eating the food served by the adventurer's guild. 

We all ate our food happily. 

When was the last time I ate in front of a table with this many people? 

A smile escaped my face for a moment. 

  

  

After eating. 

  

  

"Kazue are you done eating?" <Chiho> 

Chiho asked casually. 

"yeah..." <Kazue> 

"did the food taste good?" <Chiho> 

"Yep! I'm satisfied" <Kazue> 

"Good..." <Chiho> 

  

  

All of a sudden, I felt a dark aura coming out from Chiho 

[Crap!] 

"Now that you're satisfied, I would love to hear about your adventures, especially the one that happened a few days ago... I would love to hear about it IN DETAIL." <Chiho> 

She was smiling at me but I don't feel the usual "soothing" smile Chiho makes. 

This smile gives me chills. 

  

  

I had no choice and started telling stories to Chiho. 

The story is about the 1st day of being an adventurer. 

The story about the blue-eyed wolves, I tamed. 

The story about my experience killing hundreds of slimes. 

The story about the time I saved Shunsho and his party from danger. 

The story is about the time I spend talking with the Armor shop owner Shaina. 

The story is about the time I first fought an undead. 

And many other superficial things to stall time and shift her attention from the story of ME being trapped in the dungeon. 

I tried to divert her attention the best I can by making my stories unnecessarily long. 

I did not want Chiho to hear that story because I knew that she was going to be angry. 

As to why I did that. 

It was because of the feeling. 

The same feeling I get when I did not want my parents to know that I did something bad. 

  

  

"AND? HOW ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN THE DUNGEON 5 DAYS AGO? " <Chiho> 

"Gehh" 

-sigh- 

[As expected, it did not work huh.] 

  

  

I told Chiho what happened in the dungeon. 

As I did, my party members would join our conversation from time to time to help me explain what happened. 

Well... Rather than help ME, they told Chiho the part of the story I chose not to tell. 

About the time I faced the undead knight heads on. 

About how I gambled and get myself in danger just to land a blow on the undead knight. 

About the fact that I volunteer to stall time for them to escape. 

I was forced to tell these stories to Chiho. 

  

  

When I finished telling my story. 

As expected, I was scolded by Chiho. 

She went on and on for more than an hour. 

She was not even letting me talk back at her. 

I had to listen to her mumbles. 

  

  

Before I knew it. 

Reno, Charlotte, and the others were already gone. 

Even Hano and Chiho's party members were gone. 

They left me alone with Chiho. 

At one point in time. 

I decided to ignore her, pretending to be listening to her. 

  

  

[Now...] 

I closed my eyes again. 

I can still see the envelope. 

I wondered. 

[Hmnn, so only I could see this then? other does not have this thing after all?] 

I focused on the letter and imagined opening it. 

I was not expecting this but it did open. 

[Uwah! It opened! Amazing] 

  

  

A message board appeared 

It was like a chat window similar to the messenger app. 

[What the heck? a chat window?] 

Above that chat window, I could see the word "Themis". 

[Themis? I assume that Themis is the one who sends me this message? To think that this god had this kind of way of interacting with me is amazing. I feel that it purposely used this approach to contact me. "Such Taste"] 

It felt like I was looking at my messenger which made me smile. 

  

  

"Kazue! Are you listening.”? <Chiho> 

"yes, yes~" <Kazue> 

"As I told you! you're always-----" <Chiho> 

Chiho was still doing her business. 

Well, it's not that it matters. 

She had been saying things over and over again so I just let her be. 

More importantly... 

  

  

I focused my attention again on the message board in my mind. 

The message board seems so familiar as it also had chat bubbles to record our conversation. 

That message board, says the following message. 

  

  

------------------ 

  

Rites of Equinox 

         

Detail: 

        The God of Judgement has its eyes on you. 

        Prove yourself as the Oracle of the God of Judgement by defeating 5 Entity under specific conditions. 

* The entity must have self-awareness 

* The entity's overall stat must exceed your own by at least 50% 

* Defeat the entity with little to no assistance from other people. 

* The entity must be judged evil by the God of Judgement. 

  

Reward: 

Title - <Oracle of the God of Judgement> 

Oracle Exclusive Skill 

  

Time Limit: 

None 

  

Progress: 

<1/5> 

  

         

PS: 

Good luck! 

  

------------------ 

  

  

[I guess... this is... A quest of some kind?... Good luck??] 

  

  

*********************************** 

Time passed 

  

  

I had been with Chiho all this time. 

She had me listen to her complaints about Hano and her life in the castle. 

She stopped scolding me halfway. 

Despite having this many complaints I don't feel that she genuinely hates her current situation. 

As a matter of fact, as she was telling me her stories, I could see a faint smile on her face. 

[It can be just my imagination] 

  

  

We started eating in the guild at noon and by the time I finished listening to Chiho, the sun was about to go down. 

This happened a lot of times in our world too, when she starts her stories Chiho can go on and on for hours. 

  

  

Hano and his party returned to the Inn and fetched Chiho. 

They needed to attend a gathering arranged by the Duke and several other aristocrats in the city to have dinner with them. 

Chiho did not want to leave me just to attend. 

She even wanted me to come with her, thankfully Hano stopped her and insisted that I should rest. 

He used the fact that I just recovered and needed more rest and Chiho agreed with it. 

They even made an effort to escort me to the inn where I stay with Reno and the other girls. 

  

  

“Bye Chiho” <Kazue> 

“Kazue, don't you want to join us? “<Chiho> 

-sigh- 

I shook my head at Chiho while smiling. 

"I see..." <Chiho> 

"See you later" <Kazue> 

Chiho made a forced smile before she replied 

“Kay, see you later, Kazue” <Chiho> 

I exchanged waves and hugs with Chiho, Mizuko, and Eiko before I walked inside the Inn. 

  

  

When I arrived the girls were already there. 

They are sitting on their bed when I entered the room. 

They seemed to be having casual talks. 

  

  

"I am back" <Kazue> 

I said as I entered the door. 

“Welcome back Kazue" <Reno, Akemi, Emika, and Rio> 

The girls replied looking at me. 

  

  

I walked over to the bed I use 

"Aaaa~ I'm exhausted" <Kazue> 

"Hahaha~" 

The girls laughed at me they understood that I had to stay and listen to Chiho's complaints. 

I wonder why, even though I was just listening to her I feel so exhausted. 

When I saw the beds, I felt that my body became heavy. 

I felt that the beds are calling for me. 

  

  

"You’ve got scolded Hard" <Rio> 

"You don’t have to tell me that." <Kazue> 

I returned a reply while giving an awkward smile. 

"?? well I think this time you deserved to be scolded. I am with Chiho-san this time around" <Rio> 

Rio unexpectedly followed up while giving me a teasing stare. 

"Come on Rio not you too~" <Kazue> 

"You reap what you sow" <Rio> 

"hmpf, look who's talking. You pushed yourself too when you stalled off that undead knight alone." <Kazue> 

"That's true... But~ Chiho would never do the same scolding for me." <Rio> 

  

  

"By the way, Kazue was talking about returning to the Imperial Capital in 2 days. Have you recovered enough? If you think that you still need rest, we can wait a little bit longer for you.” <Reno> 

"No, no, It's Ok we can go by then. I also want to go back as soon as possible." <Kazue> 

"How about you Rio, what are you planning? Do you want to accompany us on our way back to the Capital?" <Reno> 

Unexpectedly Rio shook her head from side to side to express her disagreement. 

"Eh? you're not coming?" <Kazue> 

"I originally planned to leave the capital anyway. I will stay here and then travel after some time passed. I am planning to see more of this world after all." <Rio> 

"Oh, is that so." <Kazue> 

  

  

"I am the one who's surprised here, Kazue I thought you were going to wander around the world as well. I am surprised that you keep on returning to the Imperial Capital." <Rio> 

[That's right, I too want to wander around the world... I wonder, a month had passed already and I still haven't left the Capital...] 

  

  

"I was wondering about that as well Kazue! I thought you wanted to see the world and yet a month had already passed and you still stayed in the Imperial capital all this time. Don't you have a plan to see other places?" <Reno> 

"ah~~ yeah... I wonder why... I originally planned to explore the world too. Oh, that's right I was busy raising my pets in the capital... Also, I wanted to do it slowly as I could. I originally wanted my adventures to be as safe as possible. Hmmm, well, I did enjoy traveling to other places as well. I have been comfortable in the capital that I forgot about that fact. Yeah... Maybe it's about time for me to leave too?" <Kazue> 

"safe? Pfft" <Rio> 

"I see. Well you don't need to rush" <Reno> 

Emika and Akemi were listening to us converse until one topic caught Emika’s attention. 

"Pets? oh! you mean those dogs?" <Emika> 

"Aa~ I kinda missed them now" <Kazue> 

I imagined cuddling with Hayate, Isamu, and Kaoru my lovable pet wolves! 

  

  

I came into deep thought. 

[I think It's about time for me to leave the Capital too?] 

[Once I return, I wonder if Shai is done enchanting my uniforms?] 

[Also, I have to tell her about the sword she gave me.] 

[aarhg, how can I tell her that I broke the heirloom sword she gave me... It's now fixed... but I wonder if she can notice it.] 

  

  

"Augh" <Kazue> 

I let my body fall face-first over the bed. 

I did not even realize that I was so exhausted. 

My body feels so heavy so I let my body rest on the bed. 

I was not planning to sleep just yet but It seemed that my body still needs more rest. 

  

  

I opened my eyes and it was already morning. 

[Eh? did I fall asleep?] 

"Good morning Kazue." <Reno> 

  

  

Reno notice that I'd woken up so she called out my name. 

"Ah, I fell asleep" <Kazue> 

"You did, you immediately fell asleep when you lie down on your bed. you must have been exhausted." <Reno> 

"I think I was... haha I was not planning to sleep right away." <Kazue> 

  

  

The door of the bathroom opened and I saw Emika coming out from it. 

She just had a shower and was wiping her hair with a towel. 

She was also covering her body with a towel. 

  

  

"Oh Kazue, you're awake?" <Emika> 

"Yeah... I also want to take a bath" <Kazue> 

"Ah, sure you can go next." <Emika> 

  

  

I looked at Reno but it seemed that she was already done taking a bath. 

I looked around the room to look for Akemi or Rio but I could not see them in the room. 

"How about Akemi and Rio?" <Kazue> 

"Ah they are downstairs asking the innkeeper to prepare our food" <Reno> 

"I see... then I'll take your offer then." <Kazue> 

  

  

I went into the bathroom and had a bath. 

When I got out of the bathroom the food is already prepared. 

Reno and the others were just waiting for me so we can all go down and eat on the 1st floor. 

  

  

We spend this day preparing for our departure by tomorrow. 

We looked for packed food, and water, and gathered information. 

It seemed that the rest of the undead have been wiped out. 

The forest is starting to return to normal. 

There will be no problem for us to leave by tomorrow. 

  

  

I met Chiho, Eiko, and Mizuko as well but we did not talk for long. 

It seemed that they were also preparing to leave the city by tomorrow as well. 

We just exchanged goodbye, Good luck, and hugs. 

  

  

I also looked for the water oath party to say goodbye. 

When I did, they helped us prepare for our needs and help us gather goods. 

  

  

The day ended just like that and we left Altus in the morning of the next day. 

We were sent off by the water oath party. 

I met Chiho earlier that day to send them off. 

They seemed to be in a hurry. 

[I wonder why] 

  

  

We traveled slowly and steadily for three days and we arrived at the capital without any trouble. 

  

  

I breathe in air from the surroundings and smelled a familiar scent. 

The scent of the busy city. 

"I'm Back~ Imperial Capital!" 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

****************************** 

  

Author Note: 

  

  

I was wondering who's character card to make next. 

I would love to hear your thoughts before I make one so feel free to comment on what you like >.<v