Kojo opened his eyes to daylight. His vision was blurred, and his mind was still cloudy. He focused on the partly exposed breasts above his face, and his mind alerted him that his head was resting on someone's lap. A soft and gentle hand brushed away some strands of hair from his face.
"This isn't so bad," he thought.
He suddenly came to his senses and jumped to his feet. He had been resting on the girl from the previous evening.
"That wasn't very nice," she said, folding her arms under her breasts. She noticed Kojo's scrutinizing gaze and got to her feet. She smiled. "I just wanted to thank you for saving me last night. My name is Sharone Grymrae."
"Don't mention it," Kojo said, turning away.
"Wait. You haven't told me your name."
"I'm Atari. Atari Kojo."
"Atari," she repeated. Kojo turned and made to walk away.
"Um, Atari," he turned.
"Well," she began, "I don't have any place to go, and you look like you're heading out of the forest, so do you think I can stay with you till we reach the next town?"
"I can't..." Kojo began, but she looked at him pleadingly. Her eyes were tearing up. It made her look beautiful. His eyes moved down to her slightly exposed chest. A drop of blood trickled down his nose.
(Pervert)
"I'm not," he said.
"Huh?" Sharone looked at him questioningly.
"It's nothing," he said, wiping his nose with the back of his hand.
"Okay, you can tag along,"
"Thank you," she said happily, rushing forward to hug him. Kojo's face turned red. "That's not really necessary," he said.
(Don't act like you're not enjoying this)
"Of course I am," he thought. "I mean..."
(Don't lie, I'm in your head. I know exactly what you're thinking, and how could you? After everything we've been through together?) His face reddened even more. He quickly pulled away. He cleared his throat, regaining his composure. He saw an axe lying on the ground. He remembered the bald guy from the previous evening. "Looks high grade. Besides, I may need a weapon in the future," he thought, putting it in his dimensional pocket.
"Let's go," he said, leading the way out of the forest.
"Can I call you Sharone?" Kojo said after some time.
"Sure," she answered with a smile.
"Can I call you Kojo?"
"Uh, yeah." There was an awkward silence.
"So, why were those men after you?" Kojo asked.
"They were agents sent by my stepmother. She thinks I would threaten her position as queen, but I don't want that. I, I..." She began to weep. Kojo drew closer to comfort her.
"There, there, I'm sure life as a vampire princess isn't all bad." Sharone raised her head. "How did you... Oh," she said, realizing he wasn't fully unconscious.
"Walking's gonna take too long," he said, drawing her closer. She gave a small, startled cry, her face reddening.
Cloud.
They rode above the forest on a cloud, following the path. Before long, they could see a city in the distance. Kojo lowered them onto the fields a few meters away from the road.
"Do you know this town?" he asked Sharone.
She shook her head.
"Hmm, and the knowledge from the sage monkey only tells me about topography and location, not urban centers or routes that it knew when it was alive." He walked out of the forest and saw a traveler whose load had fallen and was picking it back up.
"Let me help you," Kojo said, helping him reload his carriage.
"Thanks, young man," the traveler said when they were done.
"Pardon me, but my companion and I," he pointed at Sharone, "were traveling, but we got attacked by beasts and lost our way. We were roaming the forest and found this city through the hand of providence. However, neither my friend nor I are familiar with the city."
"Wait, so you two have been roaming the forest all this time?" He looked over at Sharone. "No wonder she's in such a bad shape. You should thank your stars, 'cause that forest is infested with monsters." Kojo remembered eating the drumstick of a griffin and smiled faintly. "Anyway, you must be foreigners by the looks of ya. You do know the country you're in, right?"
"Uh..."
"You're in Ekron, capital of the province of Opal, border of the kingdom of Archadia."
"Thank you," Kojo said.
"Take care, kid," the traveler said before moving forward.
(Sage. Ekron is the main and only city in the province of Opal. Despite it being the capital of a province rich with mineral deposits, it has a low population due to the number of wild beasts living in the area. Aside from Ekron, there are a few hamlets and villages here and there, and it's not as developed as the other provinces.)
"Damn," Kojo thought.
"Well, half a loaf of bread is better than nothing," he said under his breath as Sharone came to stand beside him. He told her what the traveler told him. "Well, I hope you can find your way from here?"
"No, I can't."
"Good. Then we—wait, what do you mean, no?"
"It's complicated. But since I'm on the run and you're not from here, maybe we should stick together."
"How did you know I'm not from around here?" he asked.
"One, no one who knows the area would be roaming around a monster-infested forest in the dead of night. Two, your fighting style. And three, I sensed a strange aura around you, and trust me when I say I know beings of this realm, and you're not one of them."
(She's right)
"Besides, you promised," she continued.
"Eh?" Kojo looked surprised. "When did I..."
It was then he remembered her telling him to stay by her side.
"I did not," he folded his arms and looked away.
(Actually, you did.)
"Stay outta this," he muttered. He looked at Sharone from the corner of his eye. She looked innocent but at the same time had this energy he couldn't place his finger on.
"Besides, it would be good to have someone who knows about this world," he thought.
(Pervert)
"What makes me a pervert?"
(I'm in your head, you idiot. I know what you're thinking.)
Kojo groaned.
"Fine, you can be together..." He barely finished when she hugged him.
Kojo could feel her breasts pressing against his chest. He looked pleased.
(Pervert)
He pulled away. "Now let's go," he said, holding her hand and leading her into the city.
Kojo went to talk with some merchants while Sharone waited for him in the town square. He walked up to her. "We need to get new clothes and find a place to stay for the evening."
"Yeah, but I don't have any money," Sharone replied.
"I sold some beast parts to some merchants for 7,000 gold, I think they're called credits. Anyway, let's get some clothes."
They went to a shop to get some clothes. Kojo changed into this world's version of what he was wearing. The shop owner seemed interested in his clothes, but he decided to keep them. Sharone changed into a blue dress. Kojo was stunned.
(Earth, no, Gaea to Kojo, do you read me?)
Kojo shook his head and walked up to Sharone. "How do I look?" she asked.
"Breathtaking," he replied. She blushed and looked away. Kojo cleaned the blood from his nose with his hand. "Let's go."
(Pervert)
"Sorry, we have only one room left," the receptionist at an inn said. Sharone squeezed his arm.
"I-I don't mind sharing a room," she said shyly. They took the room and went up.
Kojo, without a second thought, flopped onto the bed. Sharone smiled and put their things in the wardrobe. She then came to lie beside him.
Kojo also woke up the next morning. He sat up but lay back down, repositioning himself.
He lay back on something soft and squishy. "I could get used to this." He closed his eyes, then put his hand behind his head to adjust it well. He touched something and squeezed it. He heard a moan. He did it again with the same result.
"Wait," he blasted the window open with a wind bullet. He turned slowly and came face to face with Sharone.
"Kojo, you're touching my..."
He looked down and saw her breasts cupped in each of his hands.
He looked down and saw her breasts cupped in each of his hands. He tried to get up but ended up lying on top of her.
"Good morning," Sharone said.
"I'm going to get breakfast," Kojo quickly said and tried to rush off the bed. His leg caught the bed covers, and he fell with a thud.
"Ow."