"Hime, when we get there, what are we going to do next?" I asked.
Our purpose for visiting Charlotte was finished, and there was nothing left for me and Yuu-chan to do.
Because of that, I wanted to know what she wanted to do next. Maybe, if Yuu-chan wanted something, I would follow her.
"I don't know... maybe, return to the castle? I want to restore my reputation." Hime said, sounding a little confused and reluctant.
Well, it seemed she didn't know what she should do either.
Come to think of it, I still hadn't decided what my purpose in life was in this world.
At first, I was just following Hime, but at some point, I would definitely have to move on my own without their help.
When that time comes, I will have to steel my resolve and my decisions so that I can continue surviving in this uncertain world.
Besides, I was forced to bring up this topic because there was nothing else for me to talk about.
Yuu-chan had also been asleep for a while; she said she was sleepy because the journey was still long.
Well, that's true. It had only been a few hours since we left the city of Malcro, and we had just passed Ulvur.
That means there were still a few more hours left before we reached Necvalion.
——
Night soon arrived, and our group chose to rest for a while near the main gate leading to Necvalion.
The coachman of the horse carriage said that he needed to rest and might continue the journey at dawn.
There were six people riding this horse carriage, including me, Hime, and Yuu-chan.
We took turns keeping watch, just in case a group of monsters or bandits tried to take over this carriage.
And for the first turn, for some reason, it was me and one of them.
"If I'm not wrong, your name is Yukito..., right?" the man asked.
Ah, this was Roff, one of the adventurers from Malcro who wanted to look for quests in Necvalion.
He was already familiar with the coachman, so of course he would be allowed to ride.
Honestly, I didn't expect that he was actually a solo adventurer who had already reached rank C.
"Roff-san, if I may ask, is your reason for coming to Necvalion only because you want to look for quests?" I asked.
"That's right. I just want to keep rising to a higher rank." he answered.
"You guys are also an adventurer party, right?" Roff-san asked.
"Well, that's true... but my rank is far lower compared to yours." I answered.
Even though Hime had also reached rank C, Yuu-chan and I were still at rank E.
That was because we didn't take many quests, so our ranks rose very slowly.
Besides, the guild had set a rule that adventurers must complete at least one quest per month to keep their rank active.
"Hahaha, even so, I'm still a little jealous of you... just imagine, the carriage I rode has a guy who's accompanied by two beautiful girls." Roff-san said.
W-well... I couldn't deny what he said. Besides, it was true.
People would surely wonder how someone with an ordinary face like me could be surrounded by two girls.
If they ever found out that Hime was actually a princess of Necvalion, people would immediately question who I was.
"So that's what I meant..." Roff-san said.
Of course, I didn't understand what he said anymore.
"What? You want to target one of them?" I asked.
Usually, if someone asked me about girls, that meant he wanted to win that girl's heart.
Source: from myself, since I had never experienced it, but I had seen it on TV dramas.
"Tch, that's not what I meant! What I meant is—who do you like between the two of them?" Roff-san asked, bringing his face closer to mine.
Ah, he must really be curious. This was also the first time I got a question like that.
How could anyone ask me that in my old life when I didn't even have friends?
"I only see them as people I must protect, nothing more than that."
"People might think that I'm not grateful or that I take what I have for granted."
"But I feel that I'm still not worthy to be someone they could ever like." I said.
Well, that was just a small lie.
I was only making things up a little so he wouldn't ask anything deeper.
But the part about them being people I must protect wasn't wrong. That was indeed my short-term dream.
"You know, humans will always change as they grow older." he said.
"Yeah, what kind of idiot wouldn't understand that." I retorted.
"Hahaha, the same goes for someone's feelings. The longer they're together, the stronger their feelings will grow." he continued.
"Someday, I'm sure you'll reach the day of choosing, where you'll have to decide which girl you choose as your first."
"You won't be able to run when that time comes, so I'm sure you can decide before that happens." Roff-san continued.
I... always tried to run away from what he just said.
I intentionally avoided thinking about it because I thought I was thrown into this world just to replace the life I lost.
And that meant this life was just a background character in this world.
"That day will come for sure, but I don't need to think too deeply about that." I said.
"Besides, I can't let my feelings fill my mind. Otherwise, I'll drown in an endless love and die in it." I continued.
"Love is beautiful when the time is right, but painful at other times... that's what you mean?" Roff-san asked.
"Hah... it seems I'm not cut out for word battles with you..." I said, letting out a long sigh.
Roff-san just chuckled a little at my answer.
But truly, it felt like he already understood what I felt and what meaning lay behind every word I said.
—
Because we got too absorbed in talking, we didn't wake the others for the next watch shift.
Instead, we made coffee and drank it together.
Then, I didn't know where he took it from, but he pulled out a deck of cards whose symbols weren't that different from the cards in my previous world.
Of course, that made our drowsiness disappear, and we didn't care about the time.
And without us realizing it, two hours remained before sunrise. That meant it was time to continue our journey to Necvalion.
"Please wake them up, I'll pack these cards..." Roff-san said.
"Yeah, yeah..." I replied.
I climbed into the carriage and woke the four of them. While waiting for them to wake up, I began observing the surroundings.
"What is that... a group of wolves?" I muttered.
I tapped Roff-san's shoulder and pointed at the pack of wolves.
"Their bodies look more like demons than wolves, you know... well, they're probably just passing by." he said.
If he said so, then yeah, I had to believe him.
But for some reason, those wolves didn't look normal; I felt a strong killing intent from them.
Even though clearly, the distance between us was quite far.
"Oi, we're leaving now." the coachman said.
Roff-san and I got on immediately, and the carriage began moving again.
The ones still not awake… Yuu-chan and Hime, who were still sleeping. Well, let them be.
Once we arrive, I'll wake them up again.