Chapter 5: Escape, second meeting, and friend!(EDITED)
"You can come out. Let's start with introductions, okay?"
Chris voiced with a smile on her face. She did nothing but help me until now so I didn't feel like she had any malicious intentions. She also didn't seem to be scared of my face when I was a goblin so I transformed back to my human form.
Ahhh… it feels good to be back. I released a small smile upon coming back to the form I was the most used to. Filled with relief I reached out my hand and said:
"Hello, I am Satou Kazuki, thank you for help-"
When I looked in front of me Chris was no longer standing there.
…
Suddenly there was a screech of an unoiled window closing from above. I caught a glimpse of a light blue shawl disappearing inside the building as the window closed.
…
'Hey, come on. Weren't you okay with me just a few minutes ago? Why the sudden change?'
Without Chris's help, I would have my face posted all around the city with false accusations and she has acted as if she knew that blue-haired brawler of an archpriest. I had to catch and talk to her no matter what.
I took a running start toward the window and changed into a mouse mid-flight. That allowed me to run up the wall a meter that otherwise would be unscalable with human hands. The window had not been made out of glass but had wide shutters made from wood so I easily sneaked in.
I saw Chris kneeling and doing something with a door's lock but as soon as I entered the room a silent 'click' could be heard.
"Yes." Chris exclaimed, rushed out of the room and closed the door behind her.
There was a gap that seemed just big enough for me to fit through. Unfortunately, my Mouse's ass was still too wide. While I was struggling to free myself I have felt something staring at me. When I glanced to the right there was a black cat sitting silently and watching me.
I started to panic and tried desperately to fit through for a second and then even backpedal but I was totally stuck.
I also didn't know what would happen if I changed form in that situation. There was a chance I would be crushed if I suddenly got bigger. The door looked sturdy.
So I tried shouting for help as loudly as I could. Only mouse squeaks came out but Chris' footsteps came to a close. She was right behind the corner on the left.
I could see Chris' head peeking out and looking at the situation. At the same time cat moved towards me.
"HEY! HELP ME PLEASE!" was what I tried to convey.
Seeing the situation I was in, the silver-haired girl finally seemed to decide to help me. She ran up close and tried to shoo the cat away gently.
The cat looked curiously at the girl for a few seconds and then it's tail doubled in size and it started hissing out of blue.
"What? Why do you hate me? Hmmm… there's something weird about this cat." Chris mused to herself
Suddenly there was another voice coming from the room on my right.
"What happened Chomusuke- Aha! What do we have here! Two thieves in my house!"
"It's not like that ma'am! I am not trying to steal anything from you!"
The one that came out was a frail-looking elderly lady with a cane in her hand. She focused on Chris dodging cat's paw for a few seconds and then moved her face to me and I felt like being stripped down although I had no clothes on. Soon her eyes returned to Chris and she answered:
"Doesn't seem like you are lying. What are you doing here then?"
There was a slight pause and Chris answered. "I met a very scary-looking person in an alley and before I could think I escaped to your house ma'am..."
Seeing as the cat wasn't interested in tearing me apart and was only hissing at Chris I hung my head down while feeling depressed.
'Even such a nice person like Chris couldn't handle my Human's face. What can I do…'
Before I realized what was happening I was floating in the air towards the old lady's palm.
'What? Is she a magician?'
I struggled mid-air but my movement didn't change until I was on her palm.
"Ho… a scary person? Who dares to scare such a cute girl? The only option is a death sentence!"
'What?!'
That old lady had a crooked smile on her face.
"No, it doesn't-"
"Oh, so he didn't scare you?"
"He did, but-"
"So we should kill him!"
"We don't need to k-"
"Hmm, that's weird… then why were you so scared of him?"
"I… I don't know. He had kinda... scary face."
"Was he trying to attack you?"
"N-no…"
"Then, young lady, you shouldn't have fled like that. What if you hurt that person's feelings? What if he was in dire need of help and was considering you his last hope and you fled without a second thought? How would you feel in his place?"
'How that lady-'
"I-..."
Chris stopped for a few seconds and didn't even care for the black cat scratching at her shawl.
"I am sorry."
She said while looking at the old- me, while looking at me.
I once again felt gravitation abandoning me and I flew towards Chris thanks to the old lady's magic. I got gently placed on Chris' palm.
'Who are you?' was what I wanted to ask but I didn't want to change into my human form and scare the old lady.
"I am just a retired adventurer. " She said while turning away and going into the room.
How did she know?!
This time the old lady didn't answer my question.
"Would you be so kind as to tell the girl next door to take her cat from my house? I tolerated it here but it keeps on bugging me for snacks and I can't be bothered to go and buy some. Thanks."
Chris stood there flabbergasted for a while so the old lady once again said:
"You can leave through the door this time!"
And that made her move. I once again got placed on a girl's shoulder under the cover of a shawl which had a few scratches created by a raging black beast.
We got down the stairs and went through the front door.
"Hello there." familiar voice reached my ears. "Are you the new tenant?"
"No, I've just… visited the lady."
"Too bad. You look like a normal person and the old lady is renting rooms to weirdos. It's hard being the only normal around, eh…"
That was Megumin speaking.
"By the way, have you seen a black cat in her house?" Megumin asked after opening the door and peeking inside looking for something.
"Yes, the lady actually asked me to tell you to take it away because she doesn't have snacks."
"Okay. Thanks. Hey, you look like an adventurer. Want to know something awesome?"
"Umm… sure."
"Listen to this. Goblins… are evolved mice!"
"Huh?"
"I saw it today! A mouse was about to be eaten by goblin and it changed to a goblin! I saw it with my own eyes!"
Megumin seemed to come up really close to Chris because I could see this chestnut-colored hair from under the shawl.
Chris just nodded overwhelmed by the girl's enthusiasm.
"You believe me?" Megumin asked surprised.
"S-sure."
"I knew those guys from the guild are stupid. Calling me a 'girl with a screw loose' after I graciously shared this awesome secret with them!"
Somehow, suddenly I felt sorry for 'tricking' Megumin. I felt like finding her later and resolving that misunderstanding. What if other adventures started bullying her because of this 'secret'? She already had that introduction, magic and berserker tendencies…
"By the way, my name is Megumin! I am an archmage following the path of explosions. No matter what stands in my way I will turn it to dust with my ultimate spell!" Megumin proudly stated while striking a pose.
"N-nice to meet you Megumin. I am Chris."
There was a silent sigh of relief that came out of Megumin's mouth but soon she said:
"I am really tired. I will go catch Chomusuke and go to sleep, so I bid you farewell Chris. See you in adventurer's guild."
"See you around." Chris answered and moved through the streets. This time she didn't head into some desolated alleyway but after a few-minutes-long walk entered a normal-looking inn. It seemed really crowded but there was a cheery atmosphere. There was some band playing music on the scene and everyone applauded while eating and drinking.
"Oh! Welcome, Chris! You are back early today!"
"Yeah, I run into some problems and…"
"Who dares to make problems to our lucky star?! Point me to them and I will spoon them to death!"
Chris laughed awkwardly and said. "I told you to stop saying that. I am not lucky-"
"You were the first customer in a while and after we gave you a room our inn became close to bustling!"
The woman's voice boomed through the inn.
"Free round for our fortune charm Chris, sent to us by the gracious Aqua-sama!"
"Aye" "Woohoo!" "Chris-sama!" "Praise Aqua-sama!"
I could see some customers, including Chris, cringing slightly when the name 'Aqua' appeared but the happy atmosphere didn't change. Chris only nodded and said.
"Can I ask for two servings of dinner to my room tonight? I am starving."
"Okay!" The woman answered and went towards the kitchen. Chris, on the other hand, walked up the stairs and to the farthest room, opened the door and went inside.
Chris took me out from under her shawl and placed me on the floor behind the bed.
"Stay here until the innkeeper brings the food. She got really sharp eyes and would flip if she saw a mouse."
I obediently stayed in place while looking around. The room was kinda luxurious as far as my recognition of medieval rooms went. It was neat and tidy with some items lying on the shelves that resembled my world's lucky charms like dices, four-leafed clovers or an actual horseshoe or some coins.
Soon there was a knock on the door and after Chris' 'come in' someone brought in some fragrant dishes and after a quick chat, she left. Chris closed the door with a key, then came up to me and I got placed on a chair in front of the dishes.
After a full minute of us sitting at the table - me in mouse form - Chris started:
"It might not sound believable… coming from me, after running the first time, but can we start over once again?"
After a moment of silence, she also added
"Please?"
It's not like I wanted her to feel guilty but I was worried that no matter how nice she is trying to be… she's gonna run again. But then I looked her in the eyes and…
I transformed back into a human.
"Hello. My name is Satou Kazuki."
There was once again a moment of silence.
"Once again it might sound rude coming from me… but could you look at me?"
I kept my head looking straight down. I could see my face mirrored in the soup's surface or it was simply my imagination. But I just couldn't look up.
There was some invisible force pressing on my throat and each time I tried to move my head it painfully snapped my head down.
Maybe I shouldn't have had reincarnated in another world? Wouldn't it be easier to just reincarnate without memories with a different body? So what if there was a chance I would end up with the same-
There was sound a sound of a chair being moved, the tablecloth got shifted and I suddenly could see Chris looking at me from under the table. Straight at my face.
She stayed like this for a few seconds but soon her expression changed.
"Hey, it's… kinda... cramped in here. Would you help me?"
She extended her hand and I looked at it not understanding what was happening. I absentmindedly took her hand and pulled.
She suddenly hit her head on the table while standing up. I moved my chair and kneeled near her while she was clutching her head.
"Are you alright?"
"Owwww…. yeah." She groaned painfully but suddenly took up my extended hand and clasped it between her own palms while once again looking me straight in the eyes.
"My chance… listen… I am very sorry for running away like a coward. I can not excuse myself. My name is Chris by the way, I never introduced myself, did I? I hope we can become friends even after what I've done."
I couldn't respond normally so I just nodded to which Chris gave a wide smile.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone