As he walked, he took in the surrounding view, leisurely walking amidst nature.
He didn't really choose any specific direction, he just walked wherever on what felt right.
While casually walking, he occasionally encountered some animals here and there, which was rare to see in this grassland, but nothing dangerous of the sort—for now. Although, he had no way of knowing whether they were truly dangerous as he didn't really try to initiate direct contact from them either. The animals too, all fled when they saw him anyways.
He also crossed into some hills and a few mountains along the way.
And as he continued his leisure walk, he stumbled upon a river from afar and decided to follow the river downstream, along with the current.
After walking for what seems to be three hours already, he finally saw something that resembled a human settlement in the flat plains while standing somewhere on a cliff.
And, at the same time, he finally saw a flat plain.
For what seemed to be a city fortress, it was huge in size, even from afar.
He hovered his hand around his eyes and squinted, "Ohh! Finally!! A human settlement!!..." 'Probably?' He said in anticipation and doubly thought at the same time.
Although, even with such thoughts, he was still excited.
'Finally, I could meet other people in a dream!!!' Was what Sein thought while grinning with his mouth wide.
Throughout his dreams, he had never really encountered people or any humanoids of some sort, not even any sentient beings in that regard. What he usually encountered though, were monsters that looked like they belonged to a horror movie or were more like eldritch beings or creatures-like-anomalies in the SCP foundation universe. Hence, he was finally happy to see something normal for once.
With that said, he hurried his pacing and walked towards its direction with excitement.
A few long minutes later…
He finally arrived.
Seeing it up close, he could only say that it was enormous. The walls looked thick and sturdy as if no one could destroy it. Although, one could only wonder why the walls were built that way. Perhaps, to protect themselves from an even greater threat than human invaders, but from monsters?
As he was thinking of such thoughts, a voice suddenly erupted, causing him to get out of his trance.
"You there!! Who are you!!?"
He turned his head around slightly to see a guard shouting at him. Behind him were also several guards. They looked extremely wary of him.
Before he could say something, a realization struck him.
'...Wait. I can understand him?' Sein was surprised.
But remembering that this was a dream to begin with, he quickly calmed down and thought,
'Makes sense, this is a dream after all. So, that means it comes with automatic translation?'
To test it out, he tried to communicate with the wary guard.
"Ah, hello there. I mean no harm." Sein raised his hands.
"Identify yourself!!"
"My name is Se—" He blinked twice for a moment.
'Hmm…' He was about to say his real name, but on second thought, he wondered, 'Should I tell them my real name? It feels wrong for some reason though…'
One thing he learned in dreams though, and even in real life, was to always trust one's own intuitions. So, he followed it obviously.
After a split second of thought, he decided, 'Nevermind, I'll just tell them my alias.'
"Serro. That is my name." Sein calmly said.
"Where are you from?! State your origin!"
"...I am from somewhere far away, you probably don't know where it is."
"State it! I will be the judge for that!"
'…Should I tell them?' Sein wondered.
On second thought, he decided to just tell them which direction he came from.
"...Uhh, I come from over there." He pointed towards the mountain range behind him.
"...What?"
The guard was utterly shocked and confused. He had never heard of someone living in that direction before.
What's even more confusing is that the direction Sein pointed at was a forbidden place.
He talked to his fellow guards, discussing something, perhaps questioning whether they know of someone living somewhere in the forbidden area.
After finishing their discussion, the guard who shouted at Sein earlier turned around to look at Sein, still wary, but ultimately opened his mouth and said, "We will allow you to temporarily enter the city… However, you will need to be judged and verified first, whether you are of no danger to the city whatsoever."
"Ok." Sein readily agreed.
Sein entered the settlement's walls through the gate.
They then led him to their cabin, situated near the city's walls, and he sat down.
The guard who guided Sein to an interview room then left the room, thus leaving Sein alone in the room with himself.
"Wow, I sure feel like I'm in another world." Sein murmured.
'Anyways, what are they gonna do about me though?'
Just as he was about to be bored waiting around doing nothing, the door opened.
It was another guard or perhaps not, but this time, it was a woman and most importantly, her uniform was different from the others. She wasn't wearing any armor, however, her uniform was one that looked like an officer. Not in the typical medieval uniform though, but rather, something that seems to belong in the 1930s style military officer uniform. Thus, judging from her outfit, Sein judged she was an officer.
Sein silently assessed her.
"Hello." She greeted Sein.
"Ah, hello." Sein nodded.
She took a seat in front of Sein.
"So, I was informed that your name is Serro? And you came from the direction heading towards the forbidden area?" She asked.
"...Yes. That's correct." Sein nodded.
'But, what's the forbidden area?' He wondered in silence.
"Interesting." She narrowed her eyes and smiled as she put her arms on the table and placed her chin on both her hands.
"Shall we see if that's the truth?"
"...?"
"Seeing is believing. It's better if you see it directly."
No sooner had she said that, she took out a device that resembled a desk call bell, then placed it on the table.
"What's this?" Sein asked curiously.
"This is a magical bell that distinguishes lies from truth. In short, a lie detector." Still smiling, she kindly explained it to Sein.
'...Damn, really? A lie detector?... Am I doomed?' Sein thought, while a sweat trickled down his cheeks.
Technically speaking, he had only said one lie, but it wasn't technically a lie either though. That was his other name, or an alias he was known as. But, if they were to ask for his real name, he would probably be spotted real quick.
"Shall we begin?" the female officer grinned as she closely observed Sein's expression.
"...Sure. Go ahead." Sein tried to not let his expression betray him.
"First question: What's your real name?"
Sein was silent for a while before saying, "...Serro."
The bell did not react.
Sein: ?
"Mhm." She smirked and then wrote something down.
Sein gulped discreetly.
'Why isn't it ringing? Or perhaps, does it only ring when I tell the truth?... And also, why is she smirking…"
He had never thought there was such a thing like a lie detector, so of course, he was unprepared.
Or perhaps, he should have expected this. After all, it's a dream, and what's more, the theme of this dream this time is a fantasy world or what seems like it. So, he should have expected this already…
Nonetheless, he nervously glanced at her. Of course, he didn't show it in his expression, or else, he would be much more suspicious at this rate.
So he was maintaining a stone-like expression on his face throughout the session.
"Next question: Where did you come from?"
"I came from the direction of the mountain range facing the settlement. Though, I don't know what you call it."
"So, you mean to say you come from the forbidden area?" She inquired.
"Forbidden area? Well, if that's what you guys call it, then yes. I came from there."
As soon as he said that, simultaneously, they both glanced at the bell.
It didn't ring.
"I see." She proceeded to write another entry while still maintaining a grin on her face.
"…"
Sein Crawford: ???
…Is it just me or is she screwing with me??
His head was totally now full of question marks.
Let me get this straight. So, if it doesn't ring, it means someone is telling the truth, but if it rings… Does it mean someone told a lie? Then, what about the lie I told earlier, then? This doesn't make sense at all! …Don't tell me this is a psychological trick?
Although, it's not technically a lie, it's also not the whole truth either…
Damn, he was getting anxious now.
While Sein was panicking on the inside, whether something had gone wrong. The female officer, on the other hand, was oblivious to it and continued to ask him more questions.
"What is your affiliation?"
"None." Sein replied.
"Mhm." She continued writing.
This exchange continued for an hour.
"That concludes our session. Thank you for your cooperation." She began to tidy up her belongings.
Seeing that, Sein asked, "Can I go now?"
"No. You will remain seated here until further instructions come in."
"...Is that so? Ok." He resigned.
"Well, then." She nodded toward me.
He nodded in response as well.
Creak.
She opened the door…
Thud.
…and then left.
"...."
'Finally, she left!' He thought, as relief came in.
He was now left alone on his own in the interview room once again.
Well, it wasn't particularly bad. At the very least, he could get some peace for a while.
He waited for a few minutes….
A few minutes later, the door opened.
It was the female officer again.
"You're now eligible to enter the city. However, do not cause any trouble or else you will be expelled."
"!" Sein was surprised. But, at the same time, he was also relieved.
"Really?"
"yes."
The female officer guided him out of the room and finally through the cabin's exit.
"Oh! Officer Len, are you done with the interview?" The guard who shouted at me earlier asked her.
"Yes. He is now eligible to enter the city." Said Officer Len.
"That's good." the guard smiled.
He then turned around to look at me.
Seeing him turn around to look at me, I greeted him, "Hello." I nodded.
He nodded in return, "Hello. Sorry for shouting at you earlier. We're in a tight situation after all." He apologized.
"Hm? What tight situation are you guys in?" I inquired.
"Well, you see… Around 3 days from now, there will be a beast stampede. Hence, why we were a bit agitated to you earlier. We thought you were a demon, since your clothes look weird and foreign." The guard explained.
"Eh, really? I see…" Sein was surprised. While he was surprised that they mistook him for a demon, it was more like he was surprised by the timing he arrived in.
"So, the city is in a state of emergency?"
"Yes. So, we truly apologize for our rude behaviour earlier on." The guard slightly bowed his head.
"Ah, no, I understand." Seeing the guard slightly bowing, he also slightly bowed in return.
"Ah right, I forgot to introduce myself." The guard suddenly said.
Thus, he introduced himself to Sein.
"My name is Arnold Reigner. I am also known as the Guard Captain of Balkaar City."
"Ah, my name is Se-Serro. Nice to meet you, Guard Captain Arnold." Sein slightly smiled and reached out his hand for a handshake.
The guard also returned the greeting and shook hands.
'Damn, that was close. I almost committed a Freudian slip back there.' He thought, with cold sweat on his back.
While he was thinking this, a voice suddenly sounded from his side.
"Seeing that you are now acquainted with the outsider, I shall be taking my leave now." The female officer, Len, said.
"Ah, yes. Good work, Officer Len. You may leave now." The Guard Captain turned to her and nodded with a smile.
Officer Len also nodded back in return.
"Right, you too." The Guard Captain turned his attention back on me.
"Ah, yes."
The guard was silent for a while before saying, "You don't have any money right? Here, have this, you can also think of it as compensation for earlier." The Guard Captain gave Sein a pouch.
"That pouch contains one silver coin and a few copper coins. Should be enough for you to enjoy the city and rest." The Guard captain kindly smiled.
My eyes widened in delightful surprise, "Th-this, thank you very much" I said as I looked with eyes full of sincere gratitude.
"Haha, no problem. Now go and enjoy your stay." The Guard Captain, Arnold, patted his shoulder.
"Yes, I will!" I bowed my head in gratitude and left.
After finally entering the city officially now, for the first time, I was truly able to see the grandeur of it now.
"Now then, let's explore this city." I grinned in excitement.