I was sleeping peacefully until a servant woke me up. It was very early morning, and they woke us up for training.
I got on the training ground. I saw everybody was already there. I was still feeling sleepy.
Today's training was no joke. We were not even halfway there, people started taking a rest. They were all huffing. It will take some time to get used to this training.
Yesterday was just a starter. It's cold this morning, but I'm already sweating.
Ryker looks fine, and so does the princess. I'm fine too. Others look like they have met their doom.
Maipakpi said to me, " Are they thinking of killing us? I can't even get up. I have a muscle cramp from yesterday."
Ningthibi adds, " We'll die at this rate."
The General said, " You have so much to do, get rest for now, but we are not finished yet."
It was just a warm-up, and everybody is already tired. I think it is too intensive for a beginner. What are they thinking?
Tamphasana came to me and stood beside me, looking at me. She said, " What's your name? I didn't even ask your name before challenging you to a duel."
I responded, " I'm Laija." She doesn't look like a bad person.
She said, " Laija, our fight is not over yet, let's have a duel again later." She stand firm.
Competitive spirit, huh, I like that.
I said, " Ok, sometimes later."
She said, " Ok." And left. She still guarded.
The General called us for exercise again. I don't want to go, I'm tired.
While we were practising, the King visited us and urged us to work harder. Rather than looking satisfied, he looks impatient. His way of talking gives away what he was thinking.
It has not even been 2 days. We can't become masters in 2 days, just two days.
When we finished our exercise, we were allowed to go for breakfast. The General didn't even let us have our breakfast before exercise.
Someone asked the general if we would learn magic. He responded only after we had learned swordsmanship.
Why do we need to learn swordsmanship for magic? I couldn't understand that. Magic can be used without a weapon, which means we don't need to know swordsmanship.
I was having my breakfast while catching up with my friend. There were many stories. Many things happen after just being transported into this world.
I decided I should take a bath. After taking a bath, I was resting in my room. I can't stay silent, I was getting bored. After some time, I have lunch.
I decided I should do some sightseeing. I left Furball in my room but before I could, it jumped onto my shoulder.
I got out of my room. Everything was peaceful. Too peaceful. I don't know what to do.
I would have returned to my room if I hadn't seen Ryker reading a book under a tree. I went to him.
" What are you reading?" I said to him.
He looked up and said, " I just grabbed anything I found in the library. I was getting bored."
I sat down with him, " Hmm, let me see."
He showed me the book. It was a novel.
" They have novels here I didn't know, I must visit the library next time," I said excited.
" It's boring here," he said.
" It would have been more fun if we could fight demons," I said.
He said, "The Other girl almost fainted seeing one, and you are talking about fighting them."
I said, " I'm not like other girls. I have encountered demons, but I couldn't fight them. I had no proper weapon, and my dress was not appropriate for fighting. And I was pretending I had lost my memories, so becoming suddenly good at fighting might have caused a problem."
I suddenly remember something, " You have not forgotten about becoming my sparring partner, right?"
" Left alone, forgetting about it, I was waiting for it this whole morning." He answered.
" I get it now, why all the girls are over you," I said.
He just smiled. That smiled, though. He looked so different from that night. The way he is now made me forget how dangerous he is.
"Are you daydreaming?" He asked teasingly.
We were talking when we saw the pope. He said to me, " Follow me."
I didn't know where he was going, but I just followed. He was going after the pope.
The pope entered a room that was guarded by guards. It was guarded but not fully guarded. He led me near the window.
From there, we could hear the conversation. It was the king and the pope.
The king said, "Other kingdoms are also training their heroes. They are far better than ours."
The pope answered, " Don't worry, my majesty. They are chosen by the goddess. They are special."
" I don't care if they are chosen by the goddess or not. If a war were to be waged right now, we are at a disadvantage."
" My Majesty, why are you so worried? Even if the heroes aren't useful, they are with us. We'll just sacrifice the heroes to them and tell everyone they died while fighting the demon lord. They will help for sure." The pope said calmly.
"Is the saintess visiting soon?" The king asked.
The pope answered, " She will be coming soon."
Ryker grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of there. We were far from that place.
" Why did you suddenly pull me?' I asked.
" Staying there for long will cause a problem," he said.
I said out a question which has been playing on my mind, " I don't understand. We are trained to defeat the demon lord, so why bring us to war?"
" Maybe he is thinking of using us as a war weapon. And I overheard it previously that he doesn't want us to defeat the demon lord." He said.
" It's dangerous to stay here for long, the pope made it clear if we are of no use, they will dispose of us," I said.
" Now, do you trust what I say?" He asked.
I said, " I trust you fully from now on."
I continued, "Let me connect the dots. We were summoned to defeat the demon lord, but the king doesn't want that; he wants to use us as war weapons. Other kingdoms also have heroes; if they are referred to as heroes, maybe they are preparing for fighting the demon lord too."
" Maybe or maybe not," he said.
"We don't have very much information right now. We should collect more," I suggested.
He smiled and said, " But first, let's head back, it's getting time for practice."
I said, " Yes." And followed him.
I asked, " Do you trust Tamphasana?"
" No," he firmly answered.
He's really a difficult person to read. I asked him, thinking of that night, " Ryker, what is your true self?"
He said, " I thought you wouldn't dare mention that."
" You are the first person who is still not scared after seeing that sight of me," he continued.
Those words give me chills. I'm sure he is not a warm person. I know that before, too, but he just makes me feel he is harmless.
He said, " I think I don't need to answer that question; you might have figured it out."
Should I be scared or not? He's dangerous I know, but I feel comfortable with him. I guess it's fine as long as he doesn't hurt me.