40 - Marquis Maron
Episode 40
Back in 21st-century South Korea, you could just turn on a phone app and tap the screen to verify your identity. But here I was, stuck carrying around a primitive bronze plaque as my ID. It was honestly a bit of a joke.
You could just re-engrave the name, right?
It's not like it's hard to forge.
The soldiers examined it every which way before writing our names, Zeus and Reikart, in the Grandis entry log.
"Zeus and Hera. Understood, pass!"
Reikart, you owe me one. Thanks to me, you got to be Hera, the highest-ranking of the Greek goddesses.
Yeah, I was Zeus, and he was Hera. I wanted to be Hera, but Reikart, who didn't even know what that was, liked Hera and told me to be Zeus.
I felt like I could just drop lightning bolts anywhere.
"Let's go."
Reikart, the physical top dog of this town, and I, who was always refreshed after eating Magical Energy, didn't really need to rest. So, as soon as we entered Grandis, we headed straight for the market.
Of course, we stopped by the temple on the way to avoid suspicion. We even wrote some cheesy stuff like, "I offer all my respect to him," in the guestbook.
"How much did you donate?"
"Just some change?"
Reikart nodded, satisfied. He was probably worried I'd start throwing old gold coins around again.
I was about to make excuses, feeling a surge of emotion, when I saw a ridiculously eye-catching head of hair fluttering in the distance.
Pink beige. Or was it beige pink? Baby pink? Light pink? What do you even call that?
A woman in a white dress, mint-colored cloak, and pink hair, drawing all eyes as she walked!
Wow, it's the protagonist.
It was Asta.
Even her pensive face was breathtaking. For some reason, she was walking alone without even bothering to pull up her hood. The way she'd walk, stop, walk, stop, it was like she was advertising for a pickpocket to rob her.
Panicked, I stumbled backward.
"Oh, oh, oh, what do I do?"
"What's wrong?"
"Should I run away? Or should I follow her? What's the smart villain move in this situation?"
"Hey… Zeus, what's wrong with you?"
"You know. What do you do when someone really pretty and kind, but who seems like they'd only bring you harm, walks past you?"
"What? What are you talking about?"
"Someone the whole world loves, but I don't love."
That's when it happened.
A sharp wind blew through the lazy summer air of quiet Grandis. A giant bird, tearing through the sky with a whooshing sound, stopped above Asta's head, flapping its pure white wings.
Then, it opened its long eyes and glared at me.
Spirit Bird Ventus.
The King of Wind Spirits roared, showing clear hostility.
[Found you! That evil Magical Energy….]
"Hera! Knock that woman out!"
Reikart shot off like an arrow. Before Asta could even react, he knocked the protagonist unconscious in one swift move, slung her over his shoulder, and ran.
"This way!"
I ran too. I ran without looking back or to the sides.
"Kidnapper! Kidnapper!"
"Guards! Someone's being dragged away here!"
Asta's hair hung limply over Reikart's shoulder, swaying back and forth. We need to hide that pink head! It's too noticeable!
What do I do?
We kidnapped the protagonist.
My vision went dark.
The streets of Grandis erupted into chaos.
We suddenly became heinous kidnappers, pursued by soldiers. Shouts rang out from everywhere, and market vendors threw things at Reikart and me.
Even in this situation, I was relieved I'd worn pants. I wasn't in my right mind either.
"Zeus, this way!"
Reikart, who seemed to like his new name, yelled it at the top of his lungs as he changed direction. The pink hair and long skirt fluttering aimlessly over his shoulder were funny.
Really. I was laughing.
What am I going to do?
"Hide."
We entered the woods surrounding the cemetery. Reikart, still carrying Asta, leaped up and reached down from a thick branch. I grabbed his hand, and we climbed up the tree, higher and higher.
"Shhh."
Before I could even admire his physical ability to get two women up a tree so quickly, I heard the voices of soldiers at the cemetery entrance.
"Which way! Hey, you there, did you see any kidnappers?!"
The first ones to chase us happened to be the Order soldiers who'd been in front of the temple, so the people of Grandis weren't looking at them kindly. Even though they were chasing kidnappers.
Right now, the citizens of Grandis were beyond dissatisfied with the Order; they were about to explode with anger. It was only natural, since they'd arbitrarily blockaded a commercial city that lived on trade.
"I'm asking if you saw where they ran!"
"We don't know."
The people shook their heads.
I couldn't tell if they'd seen us climbing the tree or not. But thankfully, they all shook their heads and repeated that they didn't know.
"We really don't know."
"You don't know? I clearly saw them coming this way…."
"I swear to God, we don't know."
I swear to God. There was mockery in the mouth of the one who spoke those words. Whether the soldiers knew it or not, they reluctantly divided their forces and began searching the area.
I held my breath in the tree, waiting for them to disperse.
Reikart leaned close to my ear and asked.
"But Zeus."
"Yeah, Hera."
"Why did you kidnap this woman?"
"Did I kidnap her? I only told you to knock her out, but you just grabbed her and ran…."
I felt relieved that we hadn't been caught, so I made a joke. Reikart, even though he was going through a rebellious phase, was still a young nobleman.
He looked flustered and hesitated, about to dump Asta anywhere. I smiled and told him.
"That woman is the protagonist of this world."
"Don't talk nonsense again."
"Kasnatura's lost princess, Asta Rosa. The one that appeared in the sky just now was the King of Wind Spirits, Spirit Bird Ventus."
"What? Then why did you kidnap her!"
"Spirits hate those tainted by Magical Energy."
I explained, recalling the original setting.
"If you meet a powerful Spirit like Ventus at close range, they can probably sense the layers of Magical Energy built up inside me."
"I see."
"That's why he was so angry when he saw me earlier. Spirits are narrow-minded and inflexible, so he'll probably attack me with all his might whenever he sees me from now on."
Reikart asked seriously.
"Should I kill her?"
This time, I was genuinely shocked.
"Hey, you idiot! Why would you kill her! She's the protagonist, remember?"
"She's someone who puts you in danger, right?"
"Even so, how can you just kill her!"
Reikart laughed.
"What kind of villain are you?"
"Hey, that's not…."
While we were bickering in hushed voices in the tree, the soldiers searching the area retreated one by one.
After the Order soldiers left, Grandis guards appeared, but they didn't come inside the cemetery. After all, this was Order territory.
After some more time had passed, I grabbed Reikart's hand and climbed down from the tree.
"Let's go that way."
The cemetery was eerie. It was already a quiet place, but the Order's blockade of the city seemed to have made the atmosphere even more ominous.
We were lucky. We kidnapped the protagonist and escaped so easily. This world must be on my side.
We entered a dark stone chamber inside the cemetery and closed the door. Then, we laid Asta on a sarcophagus. When we lit the wall sconce, the surroundings became so spooky that we could have filmed a horror movie right then and there.
The title would be good.
"I know what you're going to do in the future."
Reikart said seriously.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
