"Roma, eh? Who reigns now anyway?" Rainer curiously inquired, shifting into a more comfortable position.
"...Emperor Trajan?"
Kotys informed with an odd expression, perplexed as to why this being would ask such a known question. Has the slave forgotten his memory or was it erased upon possession by a demon.
Rainer's eyes gleamed in recognition, hearing the name.
"Ah. Trajan! That paranoid lad! So it's this era? I see now." He noted, gazing distantly into the night with a faint smile.
"What...are you?"
Kotys' sudden question snapped Rainer out of his reverie, and he glanced up at him in realization.
"Oh! Yes! You do not yet know of the Great Me! Haha! Well, the name's Rainer." He offered with a smile.
"Rainer?"
It was the slave boy who spoke this time, gazing at him with a perplexed fury rising in his eyes.
"Yes, Rainer."
Rainer affirmed before turning back to Kotys.
"What about you, friend. What are you called?"
Kotys blinked back, apparently not expecting to be asked for his name. But he answered, albeit reluctantly.
"I... am Kotys, son of Medokos, of the Thracian clan Sitalcian."
"Very formal." Rainer smiled, apparently pleased. "As expected from a clan of rulers."
Kotys looked deeply shocked by that statement, but Rainer had already turned to the boy.
"What about you?"
The boy broke out of his thoughts and glanced at him with hesitance, but then he relented.
"Ho-Hoplite was the name our—my master gave me. But everyone either calls me Hops or Hopper; as it pleases... I-It was never concrete." He muttered with a stutter, looking away.
"!?"
Rainer's eyes widened in astonishment for a moment, but then he burst out laughing.
"Hops, eh?! Haha! I love that name! You can be my friend too!"
Hoplite was taken momentarily aback, stunned in disbelief.
"Your...friend?"
Rainer proudly nodded. "Yup! From your words, it seems like you knew the prior owner of this body. But unfortunately he's gone now and I'm here to stay."
"What are you then?"
It was Kotys who spoke this time, voice tense as he reiterated his question.
Rainer glanced up at him and grew thoughtful. Suddenly, he nodded to himself and revealed a grin.
"A patron of Roma! I'm guessing you are a Roman auxiliary milite. If so, be at ease! We remain friends!"
At this moment, the ground trembled under hoofbeats like wardrums as the neighing of horses reverberated in the distance.
Rainer glanced aside to see a turma; a squadron of thirty or so horsemen with torches that painted the night red, headed straight for him.
"Here comes the cavalry." He muttered to himself.
Kotys looked from the approaching turma, down to Rainer.
He bit his lips in contemplation for a brief moment and said.
"I think you should run. Whatever you are..."
Rainer seemed confused.
"Why? Are they not soldiers of Rome?"
Kotys' brow furrowed slightly at this question.
"They are, but—I do not think the officers would harbor a daemon."
Rainer looked up at him and revealed a mischievous smile.
"It's a good thing I am not a demon, then."
Rainer turned toward the approaching riders with anticipation in his eyes.
'Given who I am and my experiences with the Roman Empire in other universes, they should be thrilled to have me.'
He considered, looked away to the sky.
'I just have to make sure I don't change the future too much by releasing advanced knowledge.'
Kotys glanced at the riders already upon them, and he couldn't help but shake his head with regret.
However, the slave boy finally noticed the soft glow emanating from Rainer's body, observing as it gradually disappeared. Suddenly his eyes gleamed with realization.
"C-could you be a go—"
"Stand back, slave!"
An eques barked, cutting him off, and Hoplite quickly scrambled back.
The horsemen, garbed in loricae hamatae over green tunics aggressively surrounded them. Hand gripping their spears, their rounded gallic helmets with cheek guards glinted an ominous hue from the raised torches.
Soon, the group stopped and pointed their spears at him.
A muscular man dismounted from his horse, and his lorica segmentata and hobnailed sandals clanked. He then marched toward Rainer with slow, measured steps, expression dark as his green-crested gallic helmet caught the light. His hand resting firmly on the sheathed gladius attached to his belt.
He came to a stop before Rainer, shooting Kotys a questioning glance before looking down at Rainer who peered up at him with a smirk and an intrigued gleam in his eyes.
"Nice helmet, really flashy!" Rainer wittily praised.
At that, the officer's hardened visage became a sight to behold; shock, incredulity, disbelief all flashed across, finally halting at disgust.
Without turning, he reached back for a spear and it was handed to him. Then he swiftly raised it up to thrust down on Rainer's head.
Rainer's eyes popped open in shock and alarm.
'Is this buff boy serious now!?'
"Optio!"
Kotys called and the officer stopped his motion.
"I do not think he is a daemon." He informed with a tense furrow to his brows, glancing down at Rainer. "He doesn't have the eyes, nor the bloodlust of one."
Commius grunted lightly but he ignored Kotys' statements to continue his downward thrust.
"He is right, Commius."
He was stopped once again. However, this time by an officer on horseback.
The officer trotted up toward him with a certain swagger. He had a slash scar over his lips and an intrigued smile on his face despite the dreariness of the situation.
"Decurio Sabazios." Kotys greeted respectfully.
Sabazios nodded kindly at him before turning back to Commius.
"It's a wonder that the Praefect's slave, which you obviously didn't murder, came back to life, isn't it?" Sabazios jokingly remarked.
Commius slowly turned, gazing back at him with a hard expression.
"What are you implying? Decurio Secundus Sabazios?" He demanded in a low tone.
Sabazios' smile fell and he shifted his weight slightly on his horse.
"This is Lord Praefect's slave, who hasn't acted in anyway hostile. If he is to die once more, it must be decided by Lord Praefect himself." He evenly stated, tactfully evading the question.
Commius eyed Sabazios for a tense moment before gazing back to Rainer, who looked up at him like he was crazy.
Closing his eyes, Commius let out a low, exasperated sigh.
Suddenly, with one swift motion, he turned on his heels and walked back, his cape swooshing dust onto Rainer's face.
"Bound up the daemon and take him back to camp!"
He commanded, and a few soldiers immediately dismounted, one carrying a rope.
Rainer watched the bloodthirsty man leave and let out a relieved sigh before muttering in annoyance.
"The twat."
Then he looked away to the sky in thought.
'How many times have I been transmigrated into the Roman civilization? Can probably count them on one hand, but each life was full of thrill and excitement!'
He took in a deep breath and forced a smile, an excited but emotionally charged light gleaming in his eyes.
'This might be my last attempt, might as well make it count!'