Once I was on the other side of the portal, something I didn't expect happened. The portal that was supposed to send me back disappeared, meaning I was stuck in this new world.
But I couldn't do anything about it, I just hoped that I would find my way back and that it wouldn't take too much time.
Looking around, I was in some kind of forest. Shrugging my shoulders, I headed in a random direction, looking for human activity.
And pretty soon, I heard the grinding sound of a meta, which meant that someone was fighting.
I quickly got to the place where the sound was coming from, and saw an expensive carriage on the road, near which there were corpses of people in armor, and only one man in armor standing wounded and surrounded by people in black robes.
A little further on I saw a little girl hugging a maid, and it was clear from her eyes that she was scared.
It was not an attack by bandits, since the people in black were silent, which is not typical of bandits, which means that most likely these people are murderers, and this girl is most likely the daughter of some important person.
Without thinking twice, I rushed to the farthest killers, swinging my katana, cut off three heads at once.
The rest of the killers, hearing the sound of cutting flesh, turned around and were surprised to see that their partners were dead, immediately rushed at me, which proved that they were not bandits. Because bandits would have said at least something.
I quickly repelled the attacks, and went on the offensive, simultaneously dodging their attacks, which probably looked like a dance, which I would call the dance of "life and death".
After laughing a bit at my thoughts, I decided to end them, which took me literally a few seconds.
After finishing killing those people, I turned around and saw that the last surviving wounded knight had already passed away, and now only the little girl and the maid were left.
Thinking that I had helped enough, I turned around to leave, but…
I felt two arms wrap around my waist.
"Wait…" the maid said.
I turned to her, but she continued to hug me.
"I don't date girls much younger than me," I told her jokingly, causing her to blush and let go of me.
"That's not what I meant… Thank you for saving us… I have a favor to ask of you… Could you please bring the young miss to the lord and mistress?" she asked with a pitiful face.
I couldn't help it, as I've always had a soft spot for girls who make that face.
"Okay." I replied, to which the maid smiled.
"Very well, then you'll be inside with the young miss, and I'll drive the carriage." She said, running towards the carriage and taking the driver's seat.
I calmly walked up to the carriage where the girl was standing, who kept looking at me with admiration.
Are all children of noble families like that? I mean, she just witnessed a massacre, and she's acting like a fan who saw her idol...
"Thank you..." she said quietly and climbed into the carriage.
I simply shook my head and followed her.
Entering the carriage, I sat down opposite the girl, and a few seconds later the carriage moved off.
About an hour later, I saw this girl with an expression that said she wanted to ask me a question.
"Well, go ahead." I said, sighing.
She smiled and…
"What's your name? Are these ears real? Can I touch them? Can you teach me how to fight with a sword? Are you married? Do you have children? Do your children have ears too…?" A ton of questions started pouring out of her mouth.
"That's easier." I said, trying to process the questions I'd just heard.
She stopped and simply nodded.
"My name is Miyabi. Yes, these ears are real. You can touch them, but only then and carefully. I'm not sure I'll stay for long. So I can't promise that I'll teach you how to fight with a sword. No, I'm not married, or rather, I'm not married, I like girls. For the same reason, I don't have children, and if I ever do, I want them to have ears like mine. Any more questions?"
She shook her head.
"I told you my name, but I never heard yours," I said.
"Excuse me, my name is Claire François," the girl said.
As soon as she said her name, I immediately remembered the anime I watched and the novel I read in my past life.
Watashi no Oshi wa Akuyaku Reijou…
As far as I remember, the main character of the novel and anime got into the world of an otome game, well, at least she thought so…
In the third volume, which was quite confusing, everything turned out to be much more complicated…
All this nonsense with the world reset, so that Rae Taylor in each reset could meet Claire, which she did many and many times, until one of these resets, Claire dumped Rae because she no longer felt love. Then there was a series of world resets in which she constantly dumped Rae, and this is the last world in which Rae herself wants to kill Claire. But the world reset system had a different plan. It sent a piece of Rae's soul, before all these events with the creation of the system and the end of the world. So Rae immediately fell in love with Claire ... Although it is strange that in that first world before the reset, there was an otome game, with the same people as in this world. Although I'm sure Rae did it...
And it all started with Claire being a scientist who discovered that the end of the world was coming soon, and so they had to act...
She found Rae and offered to work on it together, and Rae agreed on the condition that Claire would become her girlfriend. Claire had to agree to save people. For five years of working to save humanity, not in the physical sense, in the sense that when the world comes to an end, it will be rewritten and for a while all the souls will go to the system, so that they can be reborn. In the end, they become a real couple, but Claire dies of an unknown disease. Rae, in a fit of grief, activates the system, and remains the one who will live for many years, and in each iteration she will be with her love again, she thought so...
Sigh...
It looks like I'm here for a long time...
"Claire, is everything okay with your mother?" I asked. Because I remembered that her mother would die.
"Mom? Yes, she's home with dad." Claire said, to which I sighed.
I won't let Claire's mother die, leaving the girl with regret for saying something bad, but not being able to apologize.
"Claire, when is your birthday?" I asked, smiling a little.
"In a week, why?" the girl asked, bowing her head sweetly.
"Yes, I suddenly have time to teach you how to fight with a sword, and this will be my birthday present." I told a half-truth.
"Really?" she exclaimed.
"Yes, but I'll have to talk to your parents, and if they…"
"No, they'll allow it, I'll ask them!" Claire said, to which I simply nodded, staring out the carriage window, watching the scenery that floated past.
I'll also have the opportunity to prepare Claire for a relationship with a girl. So Rae, it will be easier to win Clare's favor...
Anyway, I'm stuck in this world for an indefinite period, but I'll keep looking for portals if they appear...