"You like it?" Asked Alexander curiously as he glanced at Jasmine, who nodded while eating his food.
"Given our circumstance, it is phenomenal." Replied Jasmine lightly as she wiped her mouth with a handkerchief before glancing at Alexander, who clicked his tongue before nodding.
While Jasmine ate dinner, I cleaned the stuff I used before storing them back in my space pouch; leaning against a tree, I folded my arms and glanced at Jasmine, finding it slightly amusing that she would clean her face after every bite.
"So, you're a princess? I can see why someone hired those assassins to kill you." Remarked Alexander lightly with a raised eyebrow as he looked at Jasmine, who raised her head and glanced at him.
"I could see how you could get that confusion, but that isn't why; the assassins are after me, not because of my status as a Princess, but because I'm the Saintness." Replied Jasmine softly with a shake of her head as she glanced at Tut, who curiously gazed at her, causing her to clear her throat.
"You're not from here, so you haven't heard of the fabled legend. But It's believed that the fabled Hero will save the world from the destructive Demon King. However, in order to do so, they will need help, and the Saintness is one such people." Remarked Jasmine softly as she looked at Alexander, who silently gazed at her before laughing, confusing her.
"Is something funny?" Asked Jasmine in confusion as she tilted her head and looked at Alexander, who slowly regained his composure.
"Hehehe, no offense, but save the world from the destructive Demon King? That's one dumb ass legend. It sounds like someone with high authority made that up so that everyone would continue to hate demons and every other race." Stated Alexander lightly with a shake of his head as he glanced at Jasmine, who nodded in agreement, surprising him.
"Yes. You're correct, Alex. It is a terribly foolish legend, one that I've never really believed in, at least until recently." Said Jasmine softly with a nod as she glanced at Alexander, who briefly froze before curiously tapping his chin.
"Hmm, so what made you believe in such a legend? It surely couldn't be me." "No, it wasn't you." Remarked Alexander and Jasmine, respectively, as the former skeptically eyed the latter, who faintly shook her head.
Jasmine reached into her pocket with a few movements before removing a dusty and folded photo, which she handed me.
"It was him. He appeared a year ago after the church summoned him from a world beyond using lost magic. It's believed he's the hero that will save us, and with me already having the Saintness class, I couldn't help but believe in the fabled legend." Said Jasmine lightly as she pointed at the photo and glanced at Alexander, who unfolded it.
The photo was of a man with short hair, bright blue eyes, and a large build with impressive muscles, which were mostly covered behind heavy armor, and to top it off, he wielded a glowing greatsword.
"Why do you have a picture of him on you?" Asked Alexander suspiciously as he eyed Jasmine, who faintly blushed while averting her gaze.
Although she didn't say anything, with [Heroes Gaze], it was easy to see what she was feeling.
"You thought he was handsome? Ho, you must've had quite the crush on him than to carry his photo around." Remarked Alexander with an amusing smirk as he looked at Jasmine, whose blush deepened at his words.
"I-I won't deny it, w-when I first met him, I-I did indeed grow a bit fond of him…" Replied Jasmine softly as she glanced at Alexander, who smirked in victory, causing her to bite her lip before shaking her head while her blush slowly receded.
"... However, it was short-lived. The man, while kind to us humans, was ruthless to everyone else; I had thought maybe since he came from another world, he may think differently, but it seemed I was too late; the church had already gotten to him." Added Jasmine softly with a defeated sigh as she lowered her head, causing Alexander to furrow his brows.
"Hmm, how influential is this church? For it to be able to summon people from another world, clearly, they're not weak." Asked Tut curiously as he looked at Jasmine with a raised eyebrow.
"The Church of Junsuina is the only church on this continent. Any other church is fiercely prohibited; a kingdom caught with a church of another god will go through a 'cleansing' which translates to killing every one of high authority in that kingdom." Stated Jasmine, shaking her head with an expression of disgust and slight hatred.
"Sounds like a terrible church." "Terrible is putting it lightly. It's the sole ruler of this continent; they may not participate in wars often, but no kingdom would dare go against them as the goddess herself backs them." Remarked Alexander and Jasmine, respectively, as the former shook his head with a wry smile while the latter faintly scoffed before sighing in defeat.
"Anyway, I think we can continue this conversation tomorrow. It's getting a bit late, and I know a Princess like yourself must need their beauty sleep." Remarked Alexander lightly as he stood up and stretched while handing the photo back to Jasmine, who tossed it into the fire.
"I don't need that. I didn't even know why I still had it if I'm being honest." Said Jasmine blandly as she looked at the burning photo before shaking her head and yawning.
Removing my shirt, I tossed it on the ground for Jasmine to sleep on, which she didn't hesitant to grab before resting her head atop her arm while glancing at me.
"Hmm, will you not be sleeping?" Asked Jasmine curiously as she looked at Alexander, who shook his head.
"Nope, I've got to keep the fire running; otherwise, you'll freeze. Also, I don't need to sleep, so I'm fine; besides, don't forget, I've got to keep watch for assassins." Replied Alexander with a shake of his head as he glanced at the campfire before leaping onto the tree branch behind him, causing Jasmine to nod softly while closing her eyes.
"I see… Make sure to protect me; I am a Princess." Said Jasmine softly as she glanced at Alexander with a faint smile, causing him to roll his eyes with an amused smirk.
After several minutes of silence, Jasmine fell asleep, which prompted me to summon Trina and Zartha, only to remember Zartha was still lodged in some tree far away from here.
'C'mon, Master, don't do that; I can answer whatever question you want!' Said Trina pleadingly as she leaped in circles while staring at the sky, causing Alexander to bite his lip before nodding with a sigh.
"Who is Goddess Junsuina? I didn't hear of her once when Yuki and I searched for gods with churches." Asked Alexander curiously as he glanced at his greatsword, which remained silent.
"Trina?" 'Hehe, s-sorry, Master, I-I don't know of a Goddess named Junsuina; y-you should probably ask Zartha.' Said Alexander and Trina, respectively, as the former furrowed his brows while the latter awkwardly lowered her head in embarrassment.
Groaning in annoyance, I stood atop the tree branch and raised my arm as I summoned Zartha, and only after about a minute did I see her cutting through the sky before gently landing within my hand.
"So Zartha, long time no see, how are you doing?" Asked Alexander with a faint smile as he gently rubbed Zartha, who remained silent, not uttering so much as a peep.
"Is she pissed, Trina?" "Eh, pissed is an understatement, Master. I don't think she'll be talking any time soon." Said Alexander and Trina, respectively, as the former glanced at the latter, who wryly scratched her head while gazing at Zartha, whose expression remained unreadable.
Sighing to myself, I absorbed both swords back into my body and spent the rest of the night watching our surroundings, ensuring no one snuck up on us and no one did… At least until the morning.
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"Hmm, A-Alex? W-Where are we?" Asked Jasmine weakly as she opened her eyes and looked at Alexander, who swiftly silenced her.
"Shh, quiet. Hide somewhere quickly, and remember, don't leave no matter what." Stated Alexander sternly as he firmly held Jasmine's mouth shut while she nervously nodded, her drowsiness nowhere to be seen.
Holding both of my swords, I turned around and gazed into the distance, where a small group of assassins were slowly approaching our location; there were only five of them, which was good, but they weren't as weak as the other two I first killed, at least, they've got more mana.
'Tsk, great. How the hell did they find us?' Mused Alexander in annoyance as he flexed his muscles while tightly clenching his swords before dashing forward.
Wishing to keep the battle far away from Jasmine, I lunged towards the five. I thought about sneaking up on them, but that seemed stupid to do against assassins; besides, it wasn't like I was good at sneaking in the first place, so I figured it best to make my entrance as explosive and destructive as possible.
Ingesting mana into my swords, I engulfed one in flames and the other in wind as I brought them together before slashing them forward, creating a small fire tornado, which rapidly grew in both size and strength until it reached a point where it deserved to be called a [Fire Storm].
'This should keep this busy.' Thought Tut lightly as he trailed behind his firestorm, which continued to grow, destroying trees along the way.