Chapter 7: chapter 7
About three days after we left prison, we arrived at the gates of a city. It was the city where the knights Iris belonged were said to be.
First of all, the appearance wasn't much different from the area in my memory. The size and shape of the gate were roughly similar, and it seemed like there was a guard standing in front.
Instead, there were no carriages lined up to get in, and no long lines of people dressed in all sorts of clothes.
The horse, which showed no sign of fatigue despite carrying Iris and me for three days, confidently passed the procession of people and carriages and approached the guards.
"Welcome, Commander of the Iris Knights!"
As soon as the guards saw Iris, they stood up straight and spoke in a military tone.
"Yes, my lord… … Tell him that the second commander of the Knights of the Silver Dawn has returned. Tell him that I will postpone my visit to report to you for a while. I have work to do, so I will return to the castle first."
"Yes, I understand!"
'That lord's son doesn't seem to have changed.'
I thought so when I saw Iris hesitate for a long time before calling the lord "Sir". In the game, the lord of this city was a villain that the player could kill without any guilt.
Wouldn't Iris like it if you did the lord disposal quest a little earlier? If you do it extremely early, you could kill one more boss and take care of that guy right away.
"But, the person riding behind you is… … ?"
Suspicious eyes turned towards me as I rode behind.
Although Iris had brought him some clothes, he was no longer wearing only a veil over his private parts, but from the guard's perspective, it must have been strange to see a stranger riding the same horse as the knight commander of his city.
"Don't worry. I can vouch for this man's identity."
"Okay, then… … ."
Even though her words were a bit slurred, Iris backed away obediently when Iris said she would vouch for my identity. Iris rode her horse into the city without even glancing at the guard.
As I compared the street scenes with the city map of Bryn 4 in my head, I suddenly felt a strange sensation.
'It's amazing in many ways.'
There were parts that directly reflected what was omitted from the game, while on the contrary, there were parts that followed the same rules as reality.
For example, we still starve to death if we don't eat. But on the contrary, we didn't need to go to the bathroom. No matter how much we ate or drank, it didn't come out.
In the first place, the concept of excretion didn't seem to exist in Iris's head.
Actually, I've never been to the bathroom here, and yet I've never felt any ill effects. It was strange.
It is clear that in Blizzard 4, neither the hunger gauge nor the excretion function are implemented, but one works realistically and the other follows the rules of the game.
And one more thing.
'Well... what should I say? Should I say it's a feast for the eyes?'
Whether it was the influence of the mod or not, the difference in appearance between men and women walking down the street was really stark.
The men looked ordinary. There were often people who looked exactly like NPCs in games, and even if they weren't like that, most of them looked like ordinary people you could see anywhere.
On the other hand, women had absolutely no blemishes on their skin, and most of them were so beautiful that anyone who heard them would be convinced by the adjective pretty.
If it were real, Iris, whose looks would make people on the street turn around a hundred times, was not a class of the military, but was only a little prettier than the ordinary women scattered around.
'That said, it's incredibly pretty.'
It wasn't just appearance that was divided by gender. Clothing, like appearance, also differed sharply by gender.
The men were wearing clothes made of medieval fabrics that suited the world the game was set in, while the women were all wearing modern clothing that was quite revealing.
Things like short jeans and a short-sleeved shirt, a crop top that shows your belly button, a miniskirt and high heels, or, in extreme cases, wearing only a white shirt over a naked body.
Moreover, men took it for granted that women would wear such clothes.
Even if a woman was walking down the street wearing only a white shirt, or if she was standing on the street wearing a crop top and leggings that clearly revealed her underwear, no one would look at her with an evil eye.
Women also had no qualms about walking around in scantily clad clothing. It was a world where common sense had been collectively transformed.
'Well, nothing bad can happen to me.'
There are so many pretty girls that I can trip over, and their clothes are modern and they are all very revealing, so what harm can it do me?
However, I felt a strong sense of disconnect with the world I knew of in the original Blizzard 4, which was being destroyed without any hope or dreams.
"This is it."
How far into the city did Iris go? She stopped talking in front of a large castle. Tall walls surrounded the area, and where there should have been a door, there was only a large hole.
"What is your last name?"
In the game, it was just a normal knight building with a training ground.
"It's an old castle. Originally, that guy… … Ahem, it was the castle where the lord resided, but he left it to us and built a separate mansion and lives there. That's why our knights came in."
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It's not that her speech has changed much, but Iris was much more comfortable with me than when we first met. I was the same.
It was natural, since there was no reason for them to have bad feelings toward each other.
Iris is an NPC who shows strong trust in the player to the point that it became a meme because she trusts the protagonist too easily, and I also didn't want to choose my own hard mode by antagonizing Iris for no reason.
As a result, the distance between us naturally narrowed during the three days we spent together returning from prison to the city. That was also why I spoke informally to Iris.
Although he is the commander of the knights, he said that there is no need to be formal because of the circumstances of the knights.
"You passed it on? What does that mean?"
"I'll show you firsthand once you join our Order. It's much better to experience it firsthand than to explain it to you in words."
This was something I really didn't know. In the original game, the Knights of the Silver Dawn's quarters were just a regular training ground, and although the lord was in the mansion, it didn't feel like the castle was abandoned.
'I hope the story doesn't change.'
That was the worst-case scenario I could think of.
About halfway around the castle walls, Iris stopped her horse. Right next to her, she saw a wooden door slightly open. Inside, she could hear the horses trotting. This must have been the stables.
"Wait here. I'll be right back."
"you?"
"I'll tie the horse and come back. It won't take long, so just take a moment."
As I answered that I understood and jumped down to the ground, Iris rode her horse and disappeared through the gap in the open wooden door. I sighed in relief as I confirmed that Iris had completely disappeared into the building.
'I really can't stand experiencing this twice.'
Riding a horse wasn't hard at all. Just like the character in the game never complains no matter how long you ride a horse, neither did I. It seemed like my body didn't feel any fatigue at all.
The problem was posture.
Iris couldn't have come to prison alone and brought two horses, so if we were going to return together, the only way would be for me to ride on Iris's back.
Yes, on the back of a woman wearing only a white sleeveless top and short dolphin pants.
He even told them to hold on to his waist or shoulders because there was nowhere to hold on to. He said that if they held on to the horse awkwardly and fell off while riding, they could die.
That wasn't wrong, so I quietly hugged her waist, which felt soft and smooth, and I had to pour all my strength into calming my lower body the whole time I was riding.
Even if common sense has changed due to the mod, recognizing such an absurd outfit as normal clothing, it's still possible that they don't know what it means to have a stiff stick poking their butt.
Even the size was so dirty that I had to sit awkwardly with my back pushed far back to avoid touching Iris's buttocks, which was extremely difficult in many ways.
Fortunately, I didn't have to hold back since I only walked slowly once I entered the city.
Really.
"What are you thinking so hard about?"
Suddenly, I heard a woman's voice next to me for the first time, and I was startled and raised my head.
"hi!"
A woman with blue hair, wearing a white sleeveless top and blue dolphin pants was waving at me from right next to me.