Chapter 2 - Townsfolk

I can't believe what I'm seeing. This village, it looks exactly like the ones from the medieval ages. Houses made of stone are everywhere, a well at the center of everything, but the most surprising one of all was the giant wooden wall surrounding everything. They were about 15 feet tall, I've never seen anything like this. "Woah... This is definitely another world."

"Hmm? What was that Hiromi?"

"Nothing, Akihiko. I was just surprised. I've never seen a village before." I may have spoken a bit too loud there. I need to make sure that I don't slip up like that again.

I continue to follow Akihiko as he begins introducing me to the people here. As I meet more people, I realize that everyone in the village is surprisingly kind to me. Even though I am a stranger to them, they are all treating me as if I was someone important to them. The smiles on their faces as they greet me reminded me of the first time my friends and I first met. I wonder if they're all alright? Maybe they were teleported here too. If they were I'd like to find them as soon as possible. Who knows how long we will be trapped here.

"The people here haven't seen a newcomer in a long time, myself included. Everyone here knows each other personally. Having someone visit is a nice change of pace."

Really? That's it? These people would just trust strangers because they never seen one before. They seem a bit too trusting. Is betrayal something no one knows about? If that's the case then this place might as well be a utopia.

"There's also the fact that you're also attractive. Ever noticed that most of the people flocking towards you are boys?" He says that with a teasing tone followed by a small chuckle afterwards. I try to shoot him with an 'excuse me' face but he pays no attention to it.

"What's all the fuss about?"

A metallic voice spoke from among the crowd startled me. The people around me started to step aside, as if they were giving way to someone. What's going on? Was that the voice of the village chief? Across the crowd of people, I could vaguely see someone wearing a black helmet walking towards me. This isn't good. My instincts are telling me to run, but I have to ignore them. There is no where to run to anyways, the whole village is encircled with that massive wooden gate. The best option here is to stay and talk things through.

A man wearing black paladin armor emerged from the crowd with an elderly man wearing a green scarf at his side. The paladin spoke.

"Who are you?"

He looked intimidating. Aside from the heavy black armor he's wearing, he also had a giant sword hanging from his back. If he tries to pick a fight with me, there's no way I would win.

'Umm, hi. I-I'm Hiromi Ellis. I just arrived here. Akihiko found me unconscious right outside the village and decided to take me in. I hope I'm not in trouble or anything"

"Trouble?" He reached for his helmet and took it off, revealing a somewhat handsome and chiseled face. In fact, he looks like he's around my age. "No, no, no. I've just never seen your face around here before. It's refreshing to see someone new here. It's nice to meet you Hiromi, I'm Tatsuo Miya. Welcome to our village."

"Nice to meet you too Tatsuo, it's a pleasure to be here" I turn my direction to the old man. "And may I ask for your name?"

For just a moment, I noticed that his face had a shocked expression on it before it returned to normal.

"Apologies my dear. My name is Yosuke Kuno, the village chief. I was just surprised that someone like you was able to survive outside of those walls. You don't seem to have any combat experience nor do you have any weapons, it must've been quite difficult for you out there."

His tone seems a bit off, maybe a little sarcastic even. "Yeah, although I don't remember much before waking up here. This could be a case of amnesia but I'm not too sure" That wasn't the best lie I could come up with, but it'll have to do. Hopefully he doesn't see through it.

"Hiromi, I need you to come with me for a moment. There's something I would want to talk about with you."

I turn my head around at Akihiko who is flashing a thumbs up at me. "He's the wisest one here, if he has something to say it's probably important"

Shoot, he probably saw through my lie. Well, there's no turning back now. "Alright, lead the way Mr. Kuno."

He gives me a slight nod. "Tatsuo, Hiromi and I will have a little chat at the house for a while. I ask that you stand outside while we talk."

Tatsuo bows his head at him "Of course sir."

The three of us walk along a path that leads to the other end of the village. A single house stood there, but it doesn't seem any different than the rest. "Is this the place?"

The old man nodded. "Yes it is. Tatsuo, you know what to do, guard the door"

The two of us enter with Tatsuo waiting outside. We both take a seat around the table in what seems to be the dining room.

"Now, Hiromi. Let me ask you a question. You're from another world aren't you?"

What? How did he know? The only way to know if someone if from another world is-

"The symbol on your neck. I knew what that meant the moment I saw it. That is because..."

He removed the green scarf he wore, showing the same black symbol "... I am also from another world. I must admit, it's nice to see another Orbisali here."