On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

[Storyteller's POV]

Layland clicked his tongue bitterly as he found out Winerva was the person whose hand he was currently holding. 'No wonder this pink hair attracts my attention. It's someone I know,' he thought.

He was glad that he met someone he knew, however Winerva was the least person he expected himself to get along with. Due to his bad experience with the female delinquents in his school, he didn't like associating himself with "bad girls" like Winerva.

They had harassed him countless of times due to his girly appearance in the past, so receiving Winerva's look, he couldn't help recalling those unpleasant memories.

Winerva, however, was just astonished that someone as attractive as Layland existed, thus the look. She didn't have any intention to harass or do anything unsightly to him.

Of course, Layland, who considered himself an average looking male could never get it. He didn't like taking pride on his attractiveness in the very first place, so he didn't have any thought about Winerva hitting on him.

"A-Are you asking about where the city hall is?" Winerva asked nervously with a blush on her cheeks.

"Yes I am. Do you perhaps, by any chance, know where it is?" Came Layland's monotone and cold answer.

"Well... The thing is..." Winerva smiled awkwardly. "I am also foreign to this place. My friend knows this place better than me, but I am already separated from her, so... Hehehe."

Coming from a rather developed territory, in Winerva's party, only Xenon knew Brontes Dukedom well. This was their first time of visiting Brontes Dukedom for the rest of them.

She had been distracted by a fancy clothing store, and that caused her to be separated from her party. Because of that, she had been roaming around the Dukedom aimlessly.

"Well, that was a pleasant talk."

"W-Wait! Let us look for it together!"

Deciding that asking Winerva about the location of the city hall was useless, Layland let go of her hand and turned around. She, however, immediately grabbed his hand, persuading him to look for it together.

Layland looked at her silently in disinterest, but that was still not enough to faze her. She kept holding her hand dearly as if she was going to lose hope if she ever let go.

Curious people turned their eyes to the two, wondering what was happening. Layland immediately frowned as he noticed the amount of attention he had attracted, and couldn't help clicking his tongue.

"Fine... Just stop pulling on my hand." Layland sighed.

"Can I hold it though?"

"No. My hands find more comfort in my pocket."

Winerva dropped her shoulders in disappointment; uncaring to that, Layland inserted his hands into pocket. Without even waiting for her, he walked towards another fancy building his eyes could see.

Smiling merrily, Winerva skipped in each of her step. She looked like a maiden who had finally managed to marry her love of life.

"Hey-hey, do you have a—?"

"I do."

"I was about to say wife."

"Did I stutter?"

"Well, do you want another one? I can—"

"I already have three."

"Wow! You are more vigorous than I think. How about adding another—"

"No."

No matter how serious Layland sounded, it was apparant to Winerva that he didn't mean any of the words he had uttered. Because of this, she couldn't help herself from pestering him just to get a reaction out of him.

Although she didn't have any special feeling towards him, she was still eager to be the lucky woman who would stand by his side for the rest of his life. He was, after all, handsome enough to make any woman feel something special just by a glance.

"... So, that's why I am doing my best to take care of my body. I mean, being an Adventurer shortens my lifespan, so it's some kind of a distraction for me."

"You are talkative, aren't you?"

"Only to handsome men."

Getting a wink from Winerva, Layland didn't even bat an eyelash as he completely ignored her. Five minutes had been spent walking, and she had never stopped talking for a second.

It reminded him of how Winerva and Eliseus' talk had unfolded, and he couldn't help pitying Eliseus for that. It must have been hard for someone as quiet as Eliseus to tolerate Winerva.

Another minute passed, and Layland finally stopped in his tracks. Winerva followed suit, and couldn't help looking at the direction he was looking at.

"Oh, this is the city hall," Winerva remarked.

Turning to Winerva, Layland said, "It has been a quite rowdy journey. I didn't enjoy your company, but thank you for accompanying me."

"Meh. Don't worry about it." Winerva waved her hand nonchalantly. Winking her eye, she added, "You can just go on a date with me to repay me."

Chink!

Handing out a pouch of gold to Winerva, Layland said, "Here is 30 pieces of gold for you. You can spend it in the tavern, and maybe you can find a man you can sleep with there."

"There is no way in hell I will receive it." Winerva pushed the pouch back. "Geez, I was just joking, you know? What kind of a woman do you think I am? I am not a bitch!"

Although Layland still thought Winerva looked like one of those "unruly women," he was considerate enough not to blurt it out. He nodded his head simply, and stored the pouch back into his Spatial Storage.

"Anyway, what are you going to do in the city hall?"

"I am the governor of this city."

"W-What?!" Winerva widened her eyes in shock. She couldn't believe she had just behaved disrespectfully towards a Dukedom's official. "I-I-I am s-sorry for ... You pranked me, didn't you?!"

Realization only dawned on her when she saw the slight smirk on Layland's face. She was irked at first, but then a smile immediately bloomed on her face as she was glad he could joke too.

"So... Do you really have any relation to the officials of the Dukedom?"

"No. I just want to take a look at the city map."

"Huh? If you are looking for a city map, I have one with me." Channeling her Mana into her Spatial Storage, Winerva took out the map. "Here, Xenon gave it to me but I am too dumb to read it, so I just keep it in my Spatial Storage."

At this point, Layland was already pondering whether he should strangle her right then and there or he should just kill her when the invasion started. Her stupidity reminded him of Vibiane, and he was by no means amused.

Of course, he was smart enough to not cause any ruckus while in the middle of a disguise (sort of). Sighing to himself lightly, he took out his gold pouch, and gave it to Winerva.

"I'll buy that map for—"

"No," Winerva vehemently refused. "Just let me follow you around for a little bit. You are going to explore this Dukedom too, aren't you? Let me join you."

Looking at the map and Winerva alternatingly, Layland eventually closed the map and nodded his head. He had thought of a great idea to locate Niles, and he required something that could make him look normal.

"Wanna be my wife for a day?"

... A spouse.

"Absolutely! ... Wait! What do you mean for a day? I want it to be the rest of my life!"

Flicking Winerva's forehead, Layland said, "I just need you to pretend to be my wife, because I am going to meet someone who is quite a bitch about my unmarried status—don't ask too much. After we see him, you are not needed anymore."

"Well, that means, you are going to treat me like your real wife before we meet that person, won't you?"

"... Unfortunately."

Winerva grinned and grabbed Layland's hand. She tried dragging him, but he didn't even budge a single inch from his place.

Pouting as she turned to him, her smile returned when he said they had to check into a hotel first. She was disappointed when she found that they weren't going to do anything in the hotel, but she was excited that it was a luxury hotel.

Golden Goblet was the name. It was the most expensive hotel in the Dukedom, which many important people preferred to stay at.

Layland had heard from the talk of the people in his surrounding that Niles would attend the banquet, which would be held there in the night. He checked into the hotel for this sole reason.

He didn't know what Niles was going to do there, which was why he was going to explore the entire Dukedom with Winerva to gather more information about it. Only when he had sufficient information would he be able to think of a way to join the banquet.

"Now that we have checked in, why don't we eat something, darling?" Winerva hugged Layland's hand tightly much to his annoyance.

He tolerated her, still, for he still needed her. "... Let us visit a cafe that is quite popular here."

"Oh! That will be good."

Layland, of course, didn't know if the cafe was popular; however, it was right in front of the Temple, which was why he chose it. He wanted to observe how Priests behaved, so he could easily infiltrate the Temple to set the Sealing Array up.

This is the beginning of the legendary story about a rookie who took down the entire Brontes Dukedom down by himself.