MoI'm not sure what I expected of the [Companions Banner].
The name, to me, implied something like a game guide.
Something like a fairy... Or a cute animal.
Maybe even a spirit or a robot.
Something harmless, but useful.
At least, that's what I hoped for.
Something good, that could help and guide me a little.
But when my vision returned, I was shocked to see that one of the ideas I had turned out to be true.
That in front of me, instead of any of the other things I imagined, I might have summoned a person as a companion.
With a blank stare, almost lifeless, sat in my room a woman in utter silence.
Her head, looking at the floor, was held low, not once daring to lift her chin, almost as if avoiding the world as a whole.
The more I looked at her, the more I was enchanted. Her features were delicate, balanced, and almost doll-like in how flawless they seemed.
Her skin had a vivid color, much more alive than her eyes.
The hair flowing down was long and smooth until it reached her shoulder, then became wavy at chest length, swirling into small, unfinished spirals on the front.
Their light blue color matched her eyes, and I couldn't help but notice how each strand seemed to have been tended to with utmost care.
Her body, clotheless, also seemed to be perfect in every way imaginable, however, it slowly faded from my view as I focused more and more on the face that remained solemnly staring down.
Her presence felt tragic, but also...
Miwen: "Beautiful..."
Oh...
I...
?????: "...Pervert."
I had not noticed it.
Lost in thought, I had approached her.
Approached her too much.
To the point where our faces were so close to each other that they almost touched.
Hearing her words, I snapped back to reality, but at the same time, I became immensely embarrassed.
It was impossible now to tell whether the heat on my face was due to my embarrassment or her breathing, but whatever the case was, I knew I had to stop crawling towards her.
I took a seat on the floor a few steps away.
Perhaps more than necessary, but I couldn't trust myself after doing something so dumb.
I had never been this mesmerized before by a girl.
But something about her felt special.
And yes, there were plenty of reasons for me to think that, given the situation, with her naked and all, but still... I felt like there was more to it than that.
Something hard to touch or describe, but powerful enough to make itself noticeable.
Miwen: "I'm..."
While things were weird, I didn't want her to think badly of me, so I tried apologizing.
However, when I thought about this, it became harder to explain, as I myself didn't understand exactly what went on in my head.
I hesitated for a second, and that hesitation only grew more when I saw a lonely tear streak falling from her eyes.
The lifeless eyes... They certainly felt much more alive at that moment.
Although... I was hardly pleased with it.
Out of all the ways for them to reflect the light, this was the worst, yet... I couldn't complain.
Not when I was the one responsible.
?????: "Please...No... Don't hurt..."
Such a mellow voice.
Spoken so quietly, with almost no strength, it was almost like she couldn't do it.
Or like she was afraid of doing so.
Perhaps afraid of me.
Fearing the consequences of talking back, this meek protest was the most she could afford.
In that sense, weak as it may be, it also felt surprisingly brave.
And personally, devastating.
Even though she couldn't say what she wanted, I could understand what she meant.
She had every right to be spiteful and angry. I would never blame her for it.
But instead... She was trying to plead, and that hurt.
I felt the air around me get colder, her eyes still avoiding contact with mine gave me no solace, and disgusted at myself for the situation I put her in, it became harder to bring myself to face her properly.
The girl was alone and defenseless in a room with an unknown man who tried to approach her with sharp and focused eyes, only to comment about her appearance when she couldn't even cover her body.
My heart throbbed. I could only imagine how scared I had made her.
How incredibly cruel of me to make her cry.
Intended or not, I had messed up badly.
But I had only one option left.
Miwen: "S-sorry I... um... I was..."
The first time I tried explaining, I hesitated.
The second time, I rushed.
While I knew I had to apologize and calm her, I wasn't sure where I should start.
Stumbling over my words, I seemed insincere, and I knew this wouldn't help me reassure her.
The girl was trembling.
Either fear or cold...
I had the solution. It was simple.
And yet, I felt chained, failing at something so easy.
My mind wasn't working as usual...
?????: "Fate must really hate me... To now have my body defiled by a necromancer... Do I not deserve peace even in death?"
To add to my anxiety, as I tried to calm myself down and plan what to say, the girl spoke more.
I noticed a small sigh of tiredness in her words. The fear she had shown me before had dissipated a little bit, and her sentences became clearer.
She even moved her arms, taking them away to briefly look at the man in front of her, who was still coming to terms with the situation.
From her mouth, I heard a proclamation about her death.
While I understood why she would say it, it was hard to accept it.
If she had reason to believe she had died, then that would make the [Companions Banner] the worst-case scenario I had imagined.
Instead of teleporting someone from somewhere, I had defiled their rest.
Carelessly, all because I was dissatisfied with something stupid.
Pathetic as I already was, I also surrendered to cowardice.
Searching for an excuse while still confused, I thought about how her body was not decaying.
She wasn't in the best state of mind, but she clearly wasn't mindless by any means either.
This had to mean she wasn't a puppet or a normal undead. And that I was not a necromancer.
Surely...
...I'm sure that if I stopped to think a little, I could create numerous excuses and defenses.
However, I knew better.
I had no way of knowing for sure.
I just wanted her to be wrong.
In part because of my feelings on the matter, but also...
Because I didn't want her to look at me that way.
With fear. With sadness.
I didn't want to see those emotions on her face.
The banner and the implications could wait.
I took a deep breath, focusing on calming myself down first and shaking off all doubts.
No matter how confused I was, it was ten times worse for the girl.
She couldn't understand this situation or how it came to be, but perhaps I could change that a little.
Miwen: "I'm not a necromancer... You're here because of my Gift... I believe..."
I had to sound as confident as possible, which meant lying a little about the things I was still unsure of.
Unfortunately, her eyes locked with mine, giving me full attention.
The strength I mustered up vanished at the sight of her honest reaction, and I was a little more sincere than I envisioned.
Miwen: "..I summoned you. Not as an undead. You can take a look for yourself."
Since, for whatever reason, lying to her was hard for me, I decided to lean on the honesty she provoked.
Her expression changed a little, suspicion began to fill her eyes as she looked at me from their corner.
Every second was excruciating as I couldn't tell if I was making any meaningful progress, but before I could say anything else, the girl changed the target of her gaze to her own hands.
A small movement in her eyebrows showed her surprise to see how full of color her hands and arms were.
It was something obvious, but that somehow, she had completely avoided.
She became surprised to see their color. Something so obvious, but that somehow, she had completely avoided.
Still with shock-filled eyes, she touched her fingertips, felt her own heartbeat, touched her face, and stroked her hair.
Seeing that, I couldn't prevent my lips from forming a slight smile.
I'm not sure if it was because of how much of my nervousness dispersed, or if it was just a funny scene, but at the very least, her actions showed she had listened to me, and that made me incredibly happy.
Her next words, though... They crumbled down the pillar of hope I had just started to build.
?????: "Um... This is strange... You are right. I feel alive... But I'm sure I have died."
If I could, I would've run away from those words.
But the girl looked at me in search of answers, and I was paralyzed.
I had nothing to offer her.
All I could do was shamefully avoid her gaze and try my best to-
?????: "This place... It is completely different from... From where I was. So I can't think of another explanation..."
...In this situation, she should trust her own memories above all.
Especially against the words of the creepy, unknown man in the room.
It's just too naive not to do so.
Except that... It felt like she noticed how I reacted.
And for some reason, she decided to soften her approach. Explain why she felt this way.
Was it instinctive? Or was she trying to seem friendly?
While still trying to process everything, I was glad for the small gesture.
It felt like she trusted or cared about me a little bit more now, so...
Miwen: "...I'm sorry. I know it's hard to believe me, but I mean you no harm."
Looking at her eyes had become hard as time passed, but I pushed through to convey as much sincerity as possible.
Thankfully, in my mind, I had no doubts about this. No matter what, I would do whatever I could to not hurt her.
Miwen: "I can prove my ability to you. I won't summon another person, but... I can summon clothes for you to wear. All I'll need is for you to accept becoming my [Citizen]. If you wish, I can unregister you right after."
Until now, the [Kingdom Points] had no use, and from what I had seen, the things I could use them for in the foreseeable future were... Barely worth it.
Getting her to trust me a little more was probably the best use I'd have for them.
Even if seeing my ability didn't fully convince her, it could slowly work to change her mind.
It would cover her up, which hopefully-
???: "...Citizen? Are you a noble? I... S-sorry. I... Let me go...."
The fear she showed me before was nothing compared to this.
She went from trembling slightly to desperately moving away from me while making sure I was still in her field of vision.
She only stopped after her back hit against a wall, and that was only because she couldn't go through it, as her feet refused to stop moving.
She only looked away from me to search for the windows and the door out of the room, which unfortunately, was behind me.
Incoherently, she started begging.
Her fairy-like face was filled with confusion, fear, and despair as it contorted.
I had struck a chord.
But as much as I wanted to ask her about it, or have her tell me about it herself, I knew it was not the time.
Before she could make a mistake, I circled back to what was working, trying to comfort her with my words.
Miwen: "I'm also not a noble. Really, I'm not even that well off. If not for my parents, I wouldn't even have enough to live on every day..."
I carefully watched how she reacted to each of my words.
When I said I wasn't a noble, her legs finally stopped, but she continued to analyze the room.
And when I said I wasn't well off, she looked at me full of suspicion before looking at the items around her, almost as if trying to say, "Is this not well off?".
I didn't want her to think I was a liar, so, pathetic as it was, I told her about my finances.
Miwen: "And I get pocket change for a pay as an adventurer..."
Somehow, this was what made her react the most.
Her lips curled into the tiniest smile imaginable, but her expression was much calmer.
I might've even heard a faint laugh, but there's a good chance I just imagined it since she quickly returned to a poker face.
In any case, since this had worked, I tried to reason with her a little bit more.
Miwen: "As for letting you leave. Sure, I'm cool if that's what you want. But you'd have to do with my clothes, and I'm not sure they'll fit you..."
This was a bluff.
I didn't want her to go out in her current state, clothed or not.
Had she asked, I would've tried to convince her otherwise.
?????: "...Umm..."
She didn't answer me right away.
Instead, she stopped to think for a minute.
It felt like an eternity to me.
I wanted to be honest, but I was more than ready to lie to protect her.
I wanted to give her space and time to think, but I also wanted to guide her to what I thought was best.
These inner contradictions made me doubt myself a little.
?????: "If I decide to leave, will you let me go at any moment?"
Miwen: "Yes."
She spoke fast, almost as if forcing the words out of her mouth.
She had a sharp look on her face, watching me for any signs of a lie.
Ironically, even though I was on the other end of her cold treatment, I thought these determined eyes suited her much more.
?????: "Tell me your name, and promise me in your God's name."
That surprised me.
It's not typical, or rather, no one does that.
But this being her only condition, I was happy to oblige.
Miwen: "I, Miwen, promise that you may leave this house anytime you so wish; Should I fail this promise, may Catherine strike me down."
I couldn't tell whether or not I did it right, but I gave it my best.
?????: "...Alright... I'll agree to be your [Citizen], for now..."
I don't think I could ever describe how glad I was to hear her say this.
It felt like such a hard-won victory to me.
I felt proud of it.
Although I'm not a strong follower, I even decided to pray to and thank Catherine tonight.
In any case, I went through the menus in my Gift until I reached the list of my current [Citizens]. There I found the button to invite someone.
Unfortunately, to register someone as a [Citizen], I needed their name, and only then did I realize I had yet to ask hers.
Miwen: "...I'll need your name. So, if you could, please..."
Unwilling to lose our progress, I tried my best not to alert her.
However, I wouldn't be surprised if she refused to give me her name.
While not particularly powerful, they can be cursed.
For someone without the means to cleanse themselves, it can be a big problem, and it's one of the reasons I'd like to avoid attention as much as possible.
At least while I'm still in the early levels.
Thankfully, the girl didn't seem to mind, if anything, since she asked for mine before, this was a fair exchange between us.
???: "...Licia, 'The Frost Sword' from Redrock Village in the North Dowa Kingdom."
Quickly and naturally, instead of just telling me her name, she gave me a full introduction.
I found it rather cute, to be honest.
It was like she had rehearsed the line several times before, and the idea that this is how she always introduces herself was a little funny.
I even noticed her puff her chest a little before she said it...
But as cute as it was... There were a few strange things.
The North Dowa Kingdom, for example, is not something that exists in this world.
I could imagine why this discrepancy existed, but I decided it was best not to comment.
Instead, I just wondered a little about everything I had summoned up until now.
Since all of them were mundane or things I could find on Earth, I had not thought more about their origin.
Unfortunately, now wasn't exactly the time to think about it, but I kept a footnote on my mind.
I tried not to make her wait too much, thinking she could misinterpret it as me doing something strange.
And so, as I promised, I quickly registered Licia after hearing her name.
Her eyes looked unfocused for a second, and then, a touch of sadness colored her face briefly before she once again seemed surprised at something.
I was sure she was going through her own menus at that time, but the way she reacted was a little strange, and I ended up asking her about it.
Miwen: "Is everything alright?"
She looked in my direction, then redirected her eyes down.
She then answered me in a neutral voice...
Licia: "Yes, I confirmed myself as your [Citizen]."
I was a little curious, but I decided not to ask for now.
Then, I used 5 of the 7 [Kingdom Points] I had saved to summon clothes for her.
This was a heavy blow to the [Kingdom Points] economy, but I would survive, even without that well for the Kingdom.
As soon as the clothes appeared, I left them on the ground and turned my face away from her.
She had covered her body with her hands at some point, but honestly, it wasn't nearly as distracting as I'd expect.
Still, facing away from her helped me cool my head a little, and I decided to let her be.
Licia: "Thanks... Thank you!"
I was about to leave the room when I heard a quiet rustling accompanied by an equally low voice doing its best to push through the sobbing and make itself heard.
This girl had endured a lot throughout while I was fumbling, and I could only imagine what happened to her before she ended up in this room, and yet, only when something good happened did I see her cry.
Perhaps it was her reality finally kicking in, or there was more significance to obtaining clothes than I initially imagined.
Perhaps she was glad to be alive again. Maybe it was something else entirely, but...
That she would cry out of joy instead of fear... I thought that made her incredibly strong.
I still didn't know one thing about this girl, but I silently accepted her gratitude.
While I didn't want to see any more tears on her face, these ones I accepted.
I tried to consider the situation a little better.
When I first saw her, it was like the world had stopped spinning. Gathering my thoughts became a hurdle I failed more times than I'd like to admit.
Now, things were a little clearer.
Seeing a girl cry like this, any person with a good heart wouldn't stop to think twice about what to do.
Miwen: "Everything's gonna be alright..."
My words reached her, but the tears continued to flow down.
Miwen: "I'll be here for you."
So that she wouldn't have to be alone, I made a promise.
Not only to her, but to myself as well.
Her hands, still trembling, wiped the tears off her face, and instead of the floor, she looked at me again.
Miwen: "You're fine now, you don't have to worry."
I approached her like before, but this time, slowly and carefully, considering every centimeter...
I felt like she needed to know she wasn't alone.
But my words were meant for both of us.
I felt guilty about each one of her tears, so I wanted to be responsible.
I'm far from sinless. If anything, I wouldn't be surprised to be called cruel or uncaring.
Yet, even I couldn't shake off the image of her crying.
It was obvious how innocent she was. It felt wrong to see her suffer.
Almost instinctively, I knew I had to do something about it.
Throughout my life, I've had many goals.
I even made a promise like this for someone else.
However, I had no doubts in my heart that this was right.
That I wouldn't regret doing what I could for her.
And so, I sat by her side.
Silently, I waited for the tears to stop.
I never said a word, and I didn't have to.
Slowly, she managed to calm herself down.
Miwen: "...I said you could leave at any moment. But if you want, you can also stay. At least until you can sort out your feelings and decide on what you want to do."
I was trying to build to this, but saying it was harder than I thought.
I was a little worried about how she might perceive it, but having her go out alone worried me even more.
At least in my house, she was safe.
Licia: "..."
I became used to her silence.
Just a small glance at her and I could tell she was thinking deeply about it, so even though I wanted to convince her, I let her consider it as much as she wanted.
Meanwhile, I hoped she would take my hand and let me help her.
Licia: "...What you gave me... The clothes I mean... They suit my taste, is this also thanks to your Gift?"
Heh...
Huh?
I was expecting... Anything else.
Out of all the things she had to say, this was it?
She looked like she was thinking so much about it, too.
And the worst part... I also had no idea.
The clothes weren't very modern, but they also didn't look out of place.
I thought they were a perfect fit for her, but I could not tell whether that was because of my taste or hers.
Miwen: "Honestly... I have no idea. I don't yet understand my Gift very well. I need to test more before I can say for sure..."
Licia: "I see... It's a mysterious but kind Gift... These are very warm..."
They didn't seem so warm, but she hugged them with so much love that doubting her never crossed my mind.
And well, anything was bound to be warmer than nothing.
Of course, having my Gift praised like that also made me quite happy.
Licia: "So... Can I really stay here? For now, I mean..."
Miwen: "Yeah. As long as you want to."
I had thought this before, but she was pretty smart.
I wasn't sure whether she was intentionally trying to appease me or make herself seem meek, but while fiddling with her thumbs, I felt like she could ask me anything and I'd give it to her.
Her expressions were surprisingly hard to read when she was at ease.
She's quite calm and collected.
An incredibly nice and gentle girl who'd even be careful with her own words, checking for my reactions whenever she said anything.
Licia: "Ah... Um... Do you want me to do anything for you in exchange? You've been very kind and I would like to pay you back somehow..."
It was impossible not to be tempted after hearing something like that from a girl like her, but even though it might've been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, no way I'd take advantage of this.
I was pretty sure she didn't mean anything from it; She was trying to be polite and didn't realize how those words could be interpreted when she had nothing to offer.
Or so I thought...
While I was thinking of how to reply, I noticed her face become red as she hurriedly turned away her gaze from me.
It took her a second, but she also realized it...
Miwen: "Well... My Gift is more useful the more [Citizens] I have, so could you keep yourself registered for now?"
Licia: "...! That's...Fine. That's great!"
I got a little revenge by purposefully waiting a little to speak, like she did to me so many times.
Seeing the smile plastered all over her face and how relieved she seemed confirmed that we had thought the same thing.
Of course, I pretended not to notice...
Miwen: "I don't have the power to do so right now, but if you keep your registration, I can get you a change of clothes tomorrow that would hopefully look more modern..."
I could also just buy them, but doing it this way, I could buy a little more time and create another excuse for her to stay.
Licia: "If you don't mind me asking, how would you do that? I thought you said you didn't understand how your Gift worked."
Although we were in a good mood, she was still mindful of everything.
Whenever I mention being a citizen, she gets a little agitated.
Given how she reacted when she thought I was a noble... I think I should be a little more careful.
Miwen: "Well, there are four possibilities for that: Either the clothes are completely random, they suit what either of us wants, or they are a combination of our desires."
The clothes being random was unlikely. They were feminine and the perfect size for her.
As for the other possibilities...
I would have to test more to know, but for the time being, it wouldn't matter.
Miwen: "As for how we'll make it so that we get just the clothes we want... I'll just show you what clothing looks like here, you decide on what you want and tomorrow we will both wish for the same, unless it's random, it should come out precisely how we want if both of us wish the same."
More of a band-aid fix than a proper solution, but I was pretty confident it would work.
Licia: "...That's a little confusing. If you have the clothes to show me, why wouldn't you just let me wear them?"
Miwen: "You're wrong... I don't have them with me, but I can still show them to you... Here."
After searching for online stores, I showed her my phone screen.
I already half-expected it, but her reaction was unbelievable.
A girl who seemed to be around twenty years old, reacting to a phone like it was some sort of sorcery... That alone made my day better.
I wasn't ready to be flooded with questions, and I was quickly overwhelmed by her curiosity.
However, I focused on showing her the essentials so that she could choose something for herself, and after she did, I promised to summon it for her the next day.
Hopefully, I could also discover a little more about her.
Miwen: "...I forgot to ask, but what is your level? The higher the level of my citizens, the more I can do with my Gift."
Licia: "I am lev-.... I was level 83. Now I am only level 1. As for my skills, well... Now I don't have any outside the ones from the Gift I got when I was born..."
Losing levels... I know a few debuffs can do this temporarily, but it didn't seem to be the case for her, so...
This was probably a side effect of being summoned.
But more importantly...
Miwen: "When you were born...? Do people get Gifts at birth in your world?"
Licia: "Yes, of course! Is it different here?"
Miwen: "We only get them at age 18 here..."
Licia: "That's... How do your people fight monsters without Gifts? How do you survive so long?"
For the most part, we shoot them.
But I felt like introducing guns to her, at least for now, was not a great idea.
I was also a little tired, and she was definitely going to have a few questions for me.
And truth be told, in cities such as the one I live in, it's rare to have to worry about monsters since the areas where Dungeons still rampage tend to be contained.
There are a few places with ongoing rampages due to the boss escaping and hiding, but most of them are in remote locations or have restricted access.
If a problem happens, we'd evacuate and let the army or the veterans deal with it.
So while I'd love to get an achievement for surviving until 18, the truth is that it's not that big of a feat.
Surprisingly enough, there are things other than monsters that pose more of a challenge to that end.
Miwen: "Well, we have some weapons that are effective against most monsters as long as their level is not too high, and we also have a way of knowing where Rampages are happening, so people often evacuate safely and we manage to keep our distance from monsters in everyday life, outside of exploring dungeons, of course."
Licia: "Hm... I've never heard of a world capable of that... But that seems nice. Forgive me for being a little lost, this is quite different from where I came from."
Figures...
Miwen: "It goes both ways, I'm also quite surprised by you being level 83 in the past, that would put you among the strongest in this world."
Licia: "Really? I was only a B-rank adventurer in my world... I had a bit of fame in the areas close to where I lived, but my name wasn't even worth mentioning in the capital. I doubt anyone would recognize me there..."
How surprising.
With such a high level, at least in this world, even the top parties would do their best to recruit her.
Even if her Gift is just decent, she'd be among the strongest top-rankers, and with her looks, probably something of a celebrity.
Miwen: "I'm curious now, what was the highest level in your world?"
Licia: "I don't know about the entire world, but at the North Dowa Kingdom, the strongest was Sir Varehan Of The Silent Magic, he was level 143 and could fire any magic spells without making a sound, they were unusually fast too."
High speed and no sound...
Maybe he was breaking the speed of sound with his magic?
It would make sense for someone who doesn't understand the concept to fail to associate the sound if there's too much delay.
Well, there's also the chance of his Gift simply making them soundless too...
Miwen: "I see, did you know him personally?"
Licia: "Not at all, he worked at the royal court, and since I never managed to go to the capital..."
I thought I'd be able to talk casually with her, but she cut herself short.
If I had to say, she probably couldn't talk more without mentioning her own death, and so, I decided to stop too.
With everything that happened that day, I completely forgot about the mana depletion, and after a while, it wasn't affecting me anymore.
But as it was already pretty late, I decided to take a shower, make dinner for us, and then head to sleep.
I also had to teach her how the shower worked, so before anything, I gave her a little tour around the house.
It wasn't anything extraordinary, but she looked amused at everything I tried to explain.
After bath and dinner, I let her sleep in my room.
As for me...
The couch was enough.
I also failed to do any rolls in the [Mana Banners].
Not because I was afraid of her having put on an act all this time and attacking me in the night, but simply because I wanted to be available if she needed me for something.
Suffering from mana depletion, I'd have a hard time even doing the most basic thing for her.
And well... It's not like the mana banners provide something invaluable either.
Missing a normal dagger or a ring without any effects from time to time is fine.