(v.)

Really though, I half expected him to come back with the stick before the, ah, obvious conclusion.

Lazarus moaned slightly, pretending to rouse in order to get the girl's attention. She whirled around and had a proper look at the armored Holy Knight.

“Are you alright, Sir Knight?”

“Knight? I am afraid you are mistaken, young lady. I am no knight; I am merely a traveler in strange lands.” Lazarus groaned and clutched his helmeted skull in his hands. That part was no act; he had a splitting headache from his badly depleted mana supply.

Sara knelt opposite Lazarus, confusion apparent on her smooth, youthful face. “Are you not a Holy Knight? Who else could afford the ornate armor you're using now? Are you a Noble, by chance? ...Sir?”

Lazarus paused a moment to consider.

Hm, am I noble? No, no, not really. Perhaps later. I am not a human like her anymore. She hasn't seen my face, so she does not yet know what I am. She's awfully inquisitive. That could prove to be problematic for me in the long run. I'm not evil, per se. However, I'm no holy man, either. I have no money, connections, or land holdings in this new world. At this time I am but a poor traveler, a drifter. Perhaps I'll let her make her own assumptions. It seems that she has respect for nobles and knights. I'll play on that... for now.

Lazarus struggled to a sitting position and turned to look at the girl.

“Yes, I was a Noble once,” he said ruefully. “Sadly, the nation I served I am no longer able to return to. That said, I would prefer to be called Lazarus rather than 'Noble' or 'Knight', young miss. And your name is?”

“My name is Sara. I live in the village at the foot of the ruins but I don't remember seeing you pass by,” Suddenly, she perked up and began conversing in earnest. “Would you be speaking of the Fallen Kingdom to the East? My family came to the Saint Theocracy some time ago, fleeing from the monster invasion as well. Don't feel too bad... There was no way to prevent the devastation of the kingdom.”

Sara the Dog Slayer, you mean.

Lazarus paused for a moment again, pretending to regain his sense of self.

“I'm no longer in the east now? That's troubling. I was chased by the beast into another ruin in my home country and stumbled across a crystal ball. When I touched it I found myself... well, here. With you, young lady.”

“Wow, that's amazing,” Sara gushed, stars in her eyes. “You mean it caused you to disappear from one place and reappear in another? Gosh, cursed magical items are becoming increasingly problematic these days!”

She... she did not even consider that I could be lying! And cursed magical items? What sorcery is this?

Lazarus clapped both hands to his mouth, if only to keep it from falling open in shock. What an incredibly naive girl!

“I... I see. So then it appears that I have failed in my quest. Oh, the shame!”

“I-- I'm sorry! I understand if you don't want to talk about it. For what it's worth, I'm sure you tried your hardest! Maybe if you return with a stronger party?” She fumbled with the basket handle.

“Perhaps, perhaps,” he said, recovering. “It's just... perhaps my comrades have already perished. Yes, I fear they may well be dead.” He suppressed a snicker. “This is a lot for me to process right now. Shall we discuss something else?”

“Of course! I'm so sorry, I shouldn't ask so many questions. I've never met any of the Nobles from my homeland before! I'm so glad you never gave up on us.”

Lazarus abruptly clanked to his feet and squinted into the distance. The morning sun was blazing.

“My dear, you needn't apologize. I do what I must. It's refreshing to see a kind face in such a place. If it's not too much trouble, would you be so kind as to show me the way to town? I fear I am without steed or coin. If I'm ever to return to my country I'll need to find some work so that I may purchase supplies for my journey home.”

Sara nodded eagerly, picking up her basket and joining him at the low stone wall.

“I can guide you to register at the adventurer's guild in the village. I'm actually on a gathering quest for the guild right now! If you'd like, you can help me gather holy moss. If we work together, we should be able to get a fair amount of coin for them and in half the time! That way you will have money to register for your guild card right away.”

“That's more than fair. Young lady, will you show me how you gather this moss? I'll be only too happy to oblige.”

She seems way too unguarded to just help an armed stranger who makes up some random story. Must be a very peaceful nation. Is there no conflict in this place? No greater evil? Curious... She did refer to this place as the Saint Theocracy. Perhaps the religious influence has been protecting this land?

Sara guided Lazarus though collecting some moss from the buildings and walls. Together, they spent most of the morning gathering the pale hanging moss. In truth, he was initially quite bad at it. However, his perseverance ultimately paid off. It was not long before the Holy Red Text showed him its brilliance once again. All hail the Red Text!

Skill Acquired: Herb Gathering – Enables the user to have an above average success rate at gathering wild herbs or other plants. Level: 1

Lazarus tried to hide his joy at obtaining yet another skill. Each time his beloved Red Text appeared he was brimming with childlike glee. If he was to maintain this facade in front of the girl for much longer, it simply wouldn't do for her to see him in such a state.

If knowledge was this easy to obtain on Earth I would have been able to cross over to this world years earlier!

Sara seemed surprised he was able to get the skill so quickly.

“Wow,” she said. “You must be really smart to pick up skills so fast. It took me two whole days to actually get the skill when I first started!”

Lazarus tried his Appraisal skill on her.

Status:

Name: Sara

Race: Human

Sex: Female

Class: ???

Skills:

Herb Gathering Level: ???

Haggling Level: ???

Magic Aptitude: ???

Major Stats:

Level: 5

Heath: 500/500 Mana: 250/250

Minor Stats:

Strength: 2, Dexterity: 3, Intelligence: 2

Wisdom: 3 Charisma: 5 Luck: 4

Skill Up: Appraisal has risen to Level 2.

Praise be to the Red Text! He tried to stifle his excitement for now, instead focusing on this new information.

So, I can't see everything with strangers at my current level. I'm actually rather surprised I can see this much with the skill only at level 2. My word, her intelligence is only 2... that makes a lot more sense. She would very likely just believe any story I told her.

“Is something funny, Sir-- um, I mean, Lazarus?” Sara beamed up at her companion.

“No, nothing at all. It's just funny sometimes how life works out. Shall we continue? How many more samples does the guild require?”

“Hm, not much more,” she said, sifting through the basket. “It would be better to have just a few good cuttings rather than a lot of scraps. I think we'll be able to fill the basket as we head out of the ruins. Let's go!”

And so Lazarus followed Sara the Dog Slayer on her descent from the apex of the ruins, helping gather enough moss to fill her basket. She made many comments about how she was surprised a noble would be good at gathering herbs and complimenting the beauty of his armor. All in all, it was a very full morning.