We walked together a fair distance, with me being dragged by the wrist until I shook it out of his grasp and insisted to the best of my ability that we could proceed together without me needing to be held by the wrist.
He seemingly understood and slowed his pace slightly, making sure to glance back ever so often to make sure I was still following him.
Dude, where the hell am I gonna go? I was reborn moments ago and you're acting like I could leave any moment!
I paid no mind to his wariness and continued down along the path he walked on, making sure to lessen how many times I glanced at the absurdly large moon. Seriously, how do you live with something that appears to be moments away from crashing into the Earth!?
Trying to suppress the urge to look at the shockingly large, in-your-face moon, I let my gaze wander elsewhere in hopes of finding something else to distract my attention.
Surrounding the path we're currently trekking was grass and a forest of what appeared to be Pine Trees on both sides. They were both quite a distance away, about 200 feet from where I stood.
It felt like a scene you'd see in the countryside or at the ending of a romance movie where the main leads would run across the field and you'd see the couple fall to the ground after crashing into each other from a happy embrace.
I chuckled at the plot my mind contrived and focused on the path ahead while trying really hard to ignore the sky-kissing moon. I had a feeling that it would be hard for me to sleep at night knowing the monstrously-sized moon exists.
I reluctantly glanced at the moon one last time and saw that over half of its being was beneath the horizon.
The brilliance of its lunar surface would soon be replaced by the sun's glow!
Huzzah! Goodnight- good day to you, moon!
I've never felt so ecstatic to see something so natural disappear from my sight.
As I was internally celebrating, I heard my summoner say something.
My attention shifted to his arm pointing somewhere left from the path we were taking. I followed his arm's direction and saw buildings peeking from where the treeline ended.
We continued forward to get a better view of what was hidden behind the trees.
Straying from the path, my summoner took to a cliff's edge, pointing at the scenery of the first sign of civilization I witnessed since my reincarnation.
Many structures of different colors, shapes, and heights greeted my eyes. A building with a design reminiscent of a historically significant landmark, a monument in the center of the city, a plaza, and a wall surrounding the entire city, functioning both as the town's border and defense. It even had the battlements and crenels of your typical castle wall. All of this under the glow of a newly rising sun.
Seeing the city in its entirety made me wonder what life was like inside.
I heard my summoner's voice speak more syllables. I turned to him and saw he was continuing up the path. From how things were progressing, I wouldn't be visiting the city anytime soon.
Where is he taking me if not the city?
I could only continue following him as we stayed on the path, the view of the city eventually receding behind the Pine Trees. A few minutes later, the path ended, leading to an impressive-looking building. Going by the design alone, it looked like a university.
In front of me was a wide metal gate spanning my arm span at least thrice. I was around average male height in my past life and going by the height of the only other person I know, I'm still fairly tall.
Surrounding the building was a patterned brick wall that marked the perimeter of the school. Looking inward to the left, I saw some other buildings that appeared to be dorms or barracks.
To the right, there was a building with a circular exterior. At least, it looked circular from my angle, I had no way of knowing if the semi-circular side of the building was facing me.
My summoner placed his hand on my right shoulder and pointed to the quarter buildings. He then grabbed my wrist and ran toward them, pulling me along.
Huh?
I kept with his pace, not wanting to trip either of us. I had little time to process the situation as we sprinted over the grass like leopards.
Our run took us onto a dirt path stretching before the building's door. I'm guessing the path is connected to another door in the university building, though I couldn't check since I was being dragged by my summoner.
My summoner seemed to shout something in celebration as we were a few paces from the quarter doors.
Suddenly, we were blocked by a bunch of glowing balls of light. They entrapped us instantly, forming a birdcage around us.
I heard my summoner shout something, likely a curse, as if saying "damn it!"
Another voice entered my ears. I turned away from the door and saw a figure standing outside the conjured golden cage.
He was blonde, with a neatly trimmed mustache and beard. Not too bushy to hide his jawline, but also not too trimmed to look like a shave. His hair looked equally cared for, adding to his handsome, stoic, and calculating expression. His figure and clothing were obscured by a green cloak, likely to shield himself from the morning cold.
More glowing balls appeared, splitting the cage in half between me and my summoner, formed with the same bars outlining the cage. The man spoke his syllables with a cold, almost indifferent demeanor with tones of disappointment as if scolding my summoner for breaking curfew.
Seeing the both of them being engrossed in their conversation, I turned my attention to the orbs lining the cage. The ones near the ground traced a circle in the dirt as if a stick was used to draw the shape. I was tempted to touch them, but withheld the urge. Seeing that the blonde man didn't look as apprehensive toward their appearance, it was safe to assume he was in control of them. A magical feat many could only dream of in my world.
If he is in control, then there was a variable amount of danger these glowing balls possessed, a variable he had command over.
The man turned his attention to me, syllables spoken like he was posing a question. His silent gaze told me he was expecting an answer, but I doubt I was in a condition to give comprehensible answers, let alone satisfactory ones.
Should I talk? If I just speak my language, he could interpret it as being unable to answer if he can't understand what I'm saying.
I opened my mouth to speak.
My summoner shouted syllables over me.
Huh?
He frantically spoke syllables faster, as if saying a lie he just thought up to a parent in hopes of lessening how long he'd be grounded.
Both my summoner and the blonde man suddenly stared at me expectantly. The former of which subtly nodded, as if wordlessly telling me to agree. The blonde looked at him, reacting to the nodding before turning his attention back to me.
I looked between the two gazes, unsure of how to proceed.
I opened my mouth.
My summoner quickly shook his head.
It feels like it'd be a bad idea to speak naturally. Let's just stay quiet for now.
I merely nodded, thoughtlessly agreeing to whatever my summoner had told the man.