Chapter 135: The First Encounter
[Jason’s Apartment]
Delicate eyes squeezed together as a quiet moan echoed off the walls of Jason’s room. The princess lying on Jason’s bed shifted her weight from one side to another as she tried to get into a proper sleeping position, but the movement made her realize that she was lying on a very comfortable surface. Her mind slowly began to get itself back in order as the events of the past played through her mind.
The coup that killed her parents. The escape attempt that almost led to her death and the Dragonborn Imperial Soldier that chased her through the Dimensional Tear!
At that moment, she began to wonder if he had caught her. Had she been captured and taken back to the Sovereign? No! That would be the worst possible outcome! If that was the case, then her parents’ sacrifice would have been for nothing! It would have been better if she just died!
’I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. I’m not sure where I am, so it’s possible I’m not back on Radagan. But if I was captured, then... I’ll bite my tongue and kill myself.’
The princess came to a resolute decision as the last traces of her unconscious drowsiness began to filter out from her mind, and she finally decided to open her eyes. It was a slow and tiring process for her to finally open them, and she couldn’t help but wince at the slight pain that shot through her body when she tried to shift on the bed.
She turned her head to the left where a window looked out into a sprawling city, and she felt her brow furrow in shock at the sight she saw there. Even if the princess was still half-asleep, she was at least certain of the fact that she was no longer back in her world. There was nowhere in Radagan where you would find such buildings.
Growl~!
A sound from her other side made the princess jump in shock as she turned to see what was there and her eyes widened when she saw two large wolves looking at her with glaring red eyes.
’Moonlight Wolves! What in the world are Moonlight Wolves doing here!? Where am I!?’
The princess was justifiably terrified of the large wolves that towered over her like mountains! Each one of them had enough power to rip her to shreds, and she swallowed desperately as she began trying to move back! But one of the wolves suddenly pounced toward her and the princess yelled in fear and raised her hand to protect her face!
Lick~!
The princess blinked in shock as she felt a wet tongue run along the side of her face and she slowly dropped her hand down to see the large wolf giving her a friendly look as it panted playfully! The princess slowly felt a smile spread on her face as she stretched one hand out and the wolf nuzzled its face in her palm and then released a low yip!
The other wolf came close and licked her face as well, and the princess laughed happily as she petted them both. She still didn’t know where she was or what was going on around her, but at least she was sure of one thing—she was safe here.
...
Jason and Gina were on their way back from the restaurant when Jason suddenly got a message from one of his subordinates who had been watching the princess. Jason blinked as he heard it say that the princess was awake, and he immediately activated the [Eye of the King] so he could see through his subordinate’s eyes.
The princess was sitting on the floor with a smile on her face and she had the two wolves resting their heads on her lap as she petted them calmly. Jason hummed as he saw this. At least the princess wasn’t freaking out about waking up in a strange place.
Jason spoke to Gina over the rushing wind.
"Our princess woke up!"
Behind him, Gina smiled as she leaned forward to respond.
"Is she okay!?"
"Yeah! Let’s head back!"
Jason’s plan had been to go to his mum’s restaurant first before going back home, but he felt like there was a lot of things he needed to discuss with the princess, so he needed to get back quickly. His mum told him that there weren’t that many customers anyway, so he didn’t have to worry about her.
Jason and Gina made their way back quickly and Jason pulled into the parking lot of his building less than twenty minutes later. He led the way up the stairs and could already feel the foreign mana inside his house before he opened the main door.
Jason saw the princess perk up through the [Eye of the King] the moment he entered the house, and her eyes narrowed into a serious look as she tried to get up defensively, but the wolves held her down and made sure she remained calm long enough for Jason to open the door leading to his bedroom.
The princess immediately narrowed her eyes at Jason and Gina, and Jason could tell that she was very guarded. She had a perfectly blank face that barely gave off any emotions, but it was obvious to see that she was ready to move at any sign of danger. The princess looked from Jason over to Gina and then back again at Jason as he raised his hand towards her! There was a deep tension in the room and Jason tried his best to make sure the princess knew that they weren’t there to harm her!
The princess’ face might have been perfectly calm, but on the inside, she was terrified. It wasn’t just because of the fact that she didn’t know either Gina or Jason, but rather it was because of what she could feel from Jason! The princess had been trained in the art of mana control for her whole life! It was a necessity for every Dragonborn because if you didn’t know how to control your mana, you would never earn the trust of your dragon or wyvern!
Right from when she was born, she had been riding with wyverns and living amongst dragons, so there were always powerful creatures around her and she was already very familiar with the sort of mana a dragon would give off! But this world wasn’t Radagan and she was certain that the man in front of her was not a Dragonborn! So how in the world did this man have the same type of mana she always felt from dragons!?
"Jason, she looks like she wants to run away. Hey, are you okay? Can you understand what I’m saying?"
Gina spoke from behind Jason with a small smile on her face as she took a step forward and the princess immediately shifted back and almost stood up! Her eyes calmly narrowed towards Gina and Jason quickly held Gina back and shook his head before he stepped closer to the princess. Jason reorganized his speech pattern to match the Dragonborn tongue and he spoke.
"Can you understand me?"
The princess’ eyes widened in shock as she looked at Jason and the first shred of emotion bled through her calm face! He could speak their language!? How could he do that!?
"You... you speak the Radagan tongue? How...?"