You know, in the time that it took us to trek from the forest to the outskirts of Sinaba Village, I've come to a conclusion on the whole 'I've been transported to another world' mess. I don't remember much of who I was before and there is a likelihood those memories are never gonna come back to me. A part of me felt sad about it because I think that I was someone who was important to other people. Granted, I wasn't important enough to change the entire world and I definitely wasn't a king or a beautiful celebrity — but I had people who loved me. 

Who genuinely wanted me to be alive. 

And for that, I'm sad that I can't remember them or be with them when they're probably out there missing me.

Even then, I have something that I can do here and it is a ton of pressure and there's a likelihood that I'm going to mess up. I don't know how I'm gonna deal with that especially when the likelihood I'm good mess up is definitely possible because I have no idea what's going on in this world. But right now, talking with Nubi about nothing, carrying a prickleboar on my shoulder and trying to avoid being pricked by its needles, and traversing a sprawling green landscape toward a village in the distance — I've got a feeling it might be alright.

So it's time to own up to this hero thing even if I don't entirely get it and I'm probably going to be hunted down and killed at some point.

So, officially speaking, I am Air. The Hero of Air. Which seems really redundant and I probably shouldn't tell anyone because they may not believe me.But my mission is to help the world of Gaia and fulfill the purpose that the Goddess, the One Who Connects All, bestowed upon me. 

That doesn't seem too hard. 

It is a lot of pressure though.

Yet Nubi seems confident in my abilities, although they seem a little peeved with me when I'm not listening. Either way, we'll figure this out together and Nubi assures me they're on my side. With nothing else in the world to count on, I'll have to take comfort in that at the very least.

Sinaba is beautiful though. The beaten path, a dirt road lined with tracks and the hooves of animals, along with footprints pressed into the mud near the rice fields that surround the village on all sides. There's a makeshift fence Nubi tells me its to keep out monsters roaming around at night, but with enough force, it looks like it'll crumble. The rice fields are Sinaba's main food source along with some of the other farmland. Sloping hills teeming with livestock overseen by shepherds guiding them from one area to another, some watching us as we passed by but seeming not to pay much mind.

I passed by a few chickens scuttling through the paths through the rice fields, some of the farmers tending to them moving to urge the chickens away from the water and onto the road. They lifted their heads, greeting me as I passed and I waved to them as best as I could without losing my hold on the prickleboar. Although I do admit that I slipped a few times and nearly got my head poked which made a few of them laugh.

So much for coming off as hero-like. 

I sighed, glancing down at my worn clothing and my mud-caked boots sopping wet with water that hadn't yet dried from my impromptu rest in the river. Maybe it was better that I didn't come off as a hero. That way I wouldn't frighten anyone.

"Hey Air?"

"Yeah?" I glanced over at Nubi who was nudging a little closer to my neck, trying to make themselves as small as possible. "What's wrong?"

"There's people guarding the gate."

True to their word, when I looked up, I saw several people standing around the entrance to the village. They looked like a miserly trio who were just loitering and many of the villagers beyond the gate milled about but stayed clear of them. From the look of their armor to their weapons, sheathed or held in hand, they seemed like heroes themselves. 

"Halt!"

One of them, a wiry man with a lanky frame and gaunt face, pointed a spear at me and I slowed to a halt. From a distance with their armor and their weapons they looked like guards or heroes but up close, it was easy to see that they weren't what they appeared. The one pointing a spear at me had a sneer and twirled their spear although it looked more like an awkward passing between the fingers. With flowing brown hair that caught on the spikes along the bronze spaulders of his armor and a haughty laugh, I couldn't help but feel like I was definitely being looked down on.

"Who are you, I've never seen you in this village before, state your purpose!" 

I winced and Nubi hid behind my head, their fingers fisted in the back of my hair. I couldn't blame them. With such a high-pitched and whiny voice, he would've made anyone want to leave his presence just to avoid listening to it. Speaking of which, who was this guy anyway?

He didn't look like a village elder or anyone of importance. Though before I could ask, a dark shadow loomed over me and I tilted my head back. A giant of a man standing in front of me, pale-skinned and stern-faced, eyes narrowed and a dark shade of blue, short cropped sandy-brown hair barely reaching his ears. He wasn't wearing a shirt, showcasing muscles that must've been cultivated over years of work, an axe strapped across his back, brown trousers and shiny black boots. I was mildly impressed and also far more intimidated as he glowered at me.

"Now now, you guys," a soft and nasily voice spoke up and the two stepped aside, making way for a smaller blond haired girl with a sweet smile. She wore flowing robes that nearly brushed against the ground, hemmed with a gold trimming and white in color, a staff clutched in her hands that neatly switched to one as she approached us. "You don't want to scare the poor soul."

I blinked slowly, looking from the bronze-wearing man to the giant and then to her. She smiled with her eyes closed but once they opened, I noticed they were a brilliant shade of green and she was standing far too close for my comfort. I hesitated then took a step back.

"Oh, sorry. I must have zoomed the camera in too far, I hate when that happens with cutscenes," she sighed and I blinked owlishly.

Camera?

Cutscenes?

I looked between them again, taking in their appearances and their weapons. Glancing over my shoulder as best as I could, some of the people in the fields had stopped their work to look at us but they weren't staring with confusion or curiosity but contempt. I briefly wondered what kind of life I lived to know when someone was eyeing with disdain but quickly dismissed it as the spear that'd been pointed at me nudged the prickleboar in my grasp.

"Woah!" I cried out, stumbling backward and the bronze-wearing man reared back his arm. "Hey, hasn't anyone taught you not to touch what isn't yours?"

That might've been the wrong thing to say but so was pointing at weapon at someone when you had no intention of using it or when they were just minding their business. The bronze-wearing man scowled at me and I scowled in return but the blond-haired girl raised her hand and he relented, pulling back his spear.

"Sorry about my companions, my name is Rhesh Jora," she said, introducing herself with a slight bow then gesturing to the bronze-wearing man and giant respectively. "These are my friends, Kadry Wolfsheart and Mike Sadler."

I blinked slowly and nodded my head.  Unassuming names for unassuming people I supposed.

"This is the part where you introduce yourself, outsider," Kadry demanded.

Outsider?

Was that why all of the villagers were looking at me oddly just now. I really wasn't sure what to tell them besides the truth. They were armed and I was getting tired with just carrying this prickleboar. Best to keep it simple.

"I'm Air."

They stared at me in silence and I stared back. Even Rhesh stopped smiling, blinking at me with a vacant look. Oh man, I must have done it now. I glanced between them and tried to muster a smile. While Mike didn't have a reaction to my name, Rhesh stared at me and Kadry seemed to be shaking —

Wait, shaking?

With a flourish of his spear which honestly was more of an awkward twirling, he pointed it at me and I took a step back. He glowered and huffed, looking down his long nose at me as he said, "Look at that snide grin, you're obviously messing with us."

Snide grin?

Oh man, what kind of expression did I even make?!

Mike silently raised his hand and I stiffened as he reached for the shaft of his axe. I really don't think I could've taken the two of them in a fight and I looked to Rhesh for a bit of help. She seemed to be the most reasonable out of the trio. Yet when I looked at her, she stared at me blankly then slowly raised her free hand, both Mike and Kadry stopping in mid-movement.

I breathed a sigh as her lips curved up into a smile but something felt off. Her eyes, they'd once been kind and her smile was sweet, but now there was something different. It made my skin tingle and Nubi pulled at my hair. 

"We were tasked with protecting this village from those who'd wish to invade and harm its people by masquerading as one of their own," she calmly explained and I felt my heart pounding with every word she spoke. "So our guard has been up for quite some time."

She took a step forward, nearing into my space and I leaned back, my cheek brushing against one of the prickleboar's needles. The pain was a tiny prick but the fear in my chest was something deeper. Rhesh's kind smile faltered and her eyes narrowed.

"We don't take kindly to jokes about these things, you know."

I swallowed as her eyes lingered on the prickleboar.

"And where exactly were you planning on taking that without properly skinning it first?"

Honestly, I had no idea what I was going to do with it but skinning it was the least of my worries right now. At my silence, Rhesh pulled away and I nearly breathed a sigh until she held out her hand to me with a kind smile. Saccharine in her voice, yet I felt like it was laden with poison as she curled her fingers then held them out.

"Well, I'm sure we can overlook this transgression and your snide jokes," she says and I glance down at her palm then to the faces of Mike and Kadry.

While Mike seemed impassive in the beginning, I could see the tilt at the corner of his lips of a barely kept smile. Kadry, on the other hand, was grinning madly. So this was what they were doing. 

"Hey!"

A voice from beyond the gate called and the four of us turned to look. Marching from beyond the gate was an irate stocky old woman with a headscarf tied neatly and securing her hair, her hands balled into fists, apron tied neatly around her waist and footsteps heavy yet sure. She nearly shoved Rhesh into Kadry in an attempt to get closer to me, breaking through their small wall of defense and glaring me down.

"You're late!" She shouted in my face, spittle landing on my cheek as I stared at her.

"I uh.."

She gave one look at the prickleboar then scoffed, hocking up then spitting beside her, right on Mike's boots. He stepped aside with a grimace towards her but she didn't seem to notice. Hands on her hips and her glare fixated on me.

"You were supposed to bring three of those, not just the one, what're we gonna do for the rest of the haul?!"

I didn't know what to say. What haul? Who was we?

I thought to ask but she seized my ear and pinched it hard, dragging me past the gate. I felt something slip down the back of my shirt but figured that it might've been Nubi hiding from the trio who watched as we went. Rhesh moved to say something but the woman spoke over her, pinching my ear harder.

"You're going to go back and get two more of 'em, do you hear me, kid?!"

"Y-Yes ma'am."

How'd I get myself into this?

I wanted to look over my shoulder to see whether we were still being followed by those three but any attempt to move my head was met with another sharp pull. I kept my head down and focused on putting one foot in front of the other as she led me through the streets and into a small house, releasing my ear from her vice grip.

"You're quite the actor there, kiddo."

Looking up, her hardened and surly features gave way to a beaming smile.

"Now, not that I approve of those guardians of ours, but they do bring up a good point. Who in Spirits are you?"

So much for being a hero when you're treated like a common criminal.