They all fell quiet after that.
After a long, tense moment, the second man leaned closer to Kazuma and spoke in a low voice.
"Psst! You… how did you end up here?" he asked.
Kazuma tried to think hard, searching his memory. The only thing he could remember was…
"Kazuma!!!"
Kazuma looked back at the familiar voice calling his name.
Oh, Ichirou. "What do you want?"
"Hey! Wanna go drinking tonight? We just got paid!"
"Hmmm… sure, but I don't want to get home too late."
"Alright, alright. Let's hit our usual place after work?"
"Yeah, sounds good," Kazuma said with a smile, then turned back to his computer.
He remembered finishing his work, then heading out with Ichirou and the others. They drank, laughed, and after getting thoroughly drunk, Kazuma stumbled home to his small apartment. He remembered making it inside, collapsing onto his bed.
Sleep.
That was all Kazuma could recall.
"Hey, I'm talking to you," the second man whispered sharply, snapping Kazuma out of his flashback.
Kazuma blinked, suddenly aware of the present again, confusion swirling in his mind.
The first man smirked, then turned to the second.
"Heh… Probably gone mute, thinking about how close death is. That's normal," he said, his voice dripping with arrogance. "That's how cowards act. Always silent when death comes knocking. This guy's probably some high-level criminal… maybe a rapist, maybe a killer."
He glanced at Kazuma with a sneer, clearly enjoying the discomfort his words caused.
The second man gritted his teeth and shot back at the first.
"You judge people without even knowing their story. No wonder rebels like you get caught, especially with your so-called 'True King' captured today. Good for you, shithead."
The first man sneered.
"Heh, you're with us now, whether you like it or not. Death is certain. But unlike you and this mute here, we face our fate with courage, not like a scared little pussycat."
The tension in the wagon grew even thicker, the insults hanging in the air as the wheels rattled on.
Kazuma barely heard their words anymore. All he could think about was how he'd ended up here.
He looked around in confusion, trying to make sense of it all.
The world around him felt strange. The people's outfits were nothing like what he remembered. The man sitting next to him, the one the first called "True King", wore an outfit resemble medieval noble's with a chestplate strapped over his tunic, a cloth gag tied tightly across his mouth.
The second man's clothing looked rough and patched, like rags sewn together and held up by rope.
Kazuma finally glanced down at himself.
He was dressed almost the same as the second man. Shabby clothes, tied together with scraps of rope. Nothing like his usual office wear.
Panic and disbelief started to creep in as Kazuma realized just how far from home he really was.
"Where… are we?" Kazuma asked quietly, his gaze fixed on the wagon floor.
The first man chuckled and looked away. "Oh? So you're not mute after all," he mocked. "Where do you think? We're headed straight to our deaths, where our heads will be chopped off."
The second man shot him a glare.
"Just ignore these rebel scum. They act tough, but in the end they get captured by the Imperials."
"What did you say?!" the first man snapped, his eyes narrowing.
The second man glared back.
"If you and your so-called 'True King' and all these rebels were really mighty, why are you here in this wagon?" He scoffed and then turned his attention back to Kazuma.
"We're probably on the way to Gunjar," he said, glancing around as the wagon rumbled past unfamiliar scenery.
Kazuma kept staring at the floor.
"I… I mean… what's the name… of this world?"
The second man looked surprised. "Huh? You don't know?"
Kazuma just shook his head.
The second man hesitated, then answered quietly.
"This world is called Valheim."
Kazuma slowly raised his head, glancing around.
He noticed they were arriving in a small village. More soldiers were stationed there, all wearing the same armor as the one steering their wagon and the escorting guards.
The wagon gradually came to a stop.
Kazuma watched as, from the first wagon ahead, prisoners wearing the same rough armor as the first rude man were kicked and shoved down by the soldiers.
The second man leaned in and whispered,
"You should stand before they kick you."
Kazuma nodded and carefully got to his feet, waiting for his turn to climb down.
The first man shoved the second man back, right next to Kazuma and snorted.
"You shouldn't stand next to the True King."
Kazuma just kept his head down, heart pounding, as the soldiers began pulling people out of the wagons, one by one.
He saw a woman step forward, her armor was far better made and more ornate than the rest, marking her as someone important. Her eyes glinted with contempt as she faced the so-called True King.
"Well, well, well… isn't it the great rebel leader, Loth De Gurmuin?" she sneered, spitting on the ground at his feet. "Here you are, captured like a common criminal."
Without warning, she grabbed Loth's face and punched him hard three times.
"See? You're not as strong as the Imperials. Your rebels are weak. Just like you." She turned to Kazuma and the second man, flashing a mocking grin. "Look at your soldiers, weaklings. Nothing like our Imperial army!"
Loth De Gurmuin mumbled something, the gag muffling his words.
"What's that, rebel?" the woman taunted, raising her palm to her ear.
"Speak up! I can't understand you."
She laughed coldly, enjoying his humiliation.
( End Of Chapter )