After i left the room, i started to look around the house in hopes of finding anything helpfull. The lady that controled my body earlier seemed to be gone so i decided to get familiar with surroundings.
The interior.. was pretty blank, perhaps "empty" was the word that suited these tough wooden walls with occasional flower paintings hanging off them. This strangely reminded me of the oak cube in which i spoke with God.
Floors were covered by various carpets, making my bare-feet adventure less harsh.
I counted up to around six rooms after some time, not sure if there was an attic or even a basement
A restroom, a kitchen, living room and three bedrooms. Atleast that's what i thought.
There were two door's which wouldn't budge in the slightest even when i tried to bang on them with my fist. But that was probably the result of me not yet adapting to this body, i could barely walk so what did i expect?
'Where is she?'
I wondered if the white lady left me alone in here, though i wouldn't mind that at all.
- Creak
While i was figuring out whether or not i was ditched here, someone opened the front door as it's tall frame creaked.
'is it her?'
I trudged past the corridor, hoping that it was her and not someone else.
And there she was.
Her slim figure was bent, taking her shoes off. White hair like that of a wraith fell over her face, hiding a pair of pale hollow eyes that didn't seem to have pupils, she wore a white robe similar both in shape and design to a japanese kimono. Though she looked like a twenty year old, i could feel that she was someone far beyond that age, it's as if she was letting out a small wave of pressure outwards.
As if noticing my gaze, her eyes shifted in my direction making me swallow unconsciously.
'Dammit, i don't know what to say.'
I was, obviously bad at talking. There wasn't much people that i spoke to frequently except my close friends from high-school and my roommate. Maybe it was because i disliked talking to others that it became a habit of mine to stay silent, or say something stupid.
Though, she couldn't possibly know of my situation so there was no way to just wait for her to start, atleast a greeting shouldn't be so hard.
"Uh, Hi." I said cautiously.
She finished taking her shoes off, straightening her body that was barely taller than mine, our eye's locked for a few moments leaving me stunned.
'Why does she look like some model?!'
With her hair down, i couldn't fully see her face but after standing up i noticed just how well shaped her features were. She was simply stunning, more than anyone i ever met. It even made 'me', a man, jealous.
She, oblivious to my reaction, brushed past me and headed straight to the kitchen with a bag that i didn't notice before.
'Was it too awkward?'
I felt embarassed by how quiet her stare was, i would have been glad to atleast recieve some response but to get rejected so openly was something new for me.
Although the time i spoke with girls one on one could be counted with my fingers.
'Maybe she will answer my question's.'
I followed her in the kitchen, trying to steady my legs with the help of the closest wall. When i turned to open the door, she was already leaving the room in her hasty pace almost like she was running from something.
'Huh?!'
"Hey lady, can you tell me anything about what happened or-"
The words couldn't leave my lips fast enough before her body dissapeared inside one of the locked rooms, pulleing out a key from one of her pockets she opened it in one smooth twist leaving me standing there stupefied.
It was almost as if she was trying to avoid me at all costs, and yet the worst thing is how she didn't try to hide it!.
'What did i do?!??'
And just as fast as she entered it, she exited the room while holding something in her hands and walking in my direction.
- Kuh!
She shoved it at my chest making me choke on my own breath. The force with which she shoved it was way stronger than i thought she was capable of with her body.
'Is she a robot?'
A thought crossed my mind after i examined her expression, her face held no trace of emotion, not even disgust which i expected her to have towards me. Almost like a machine.
Well maybe, if only not for the occasional twitch of her eyebrows.
"Is something wron-"
I tried to find out why she treated me so harshly but instead got cut off mid-sentence once more.
"Could you.."
'Is she.. speaking?!'
My ears perked up, waiting for her next words.
"..Brush your teeth first?"
"..."
I glanced down at the plastic box that she shoved at me, it looked just like an everyday toothbrush case. My hand went up to my mouth.
- Ha, ha
"..."
'So that's what smelled bad'
.
.
.
.
Turns out that a body that's not taken care of for a long time, actually starts to smell bad, isn't that surprising? Well, i hadn't thought of that and she neither.
After i finished brushing my teeth and took a quick shower, it became somewhat doable.
We both sat in living room, on a pair of leather armchairs that faced each other. It gave me a strange sense of deja vu but the abscence of a fireplace made it more bland.
Looking at her sipping freshly brewed tea, i asked.
"So, who are you?"
No response came whilst she drank it every few seconds. I didn't want to ask more yet, she was after all the owner of this place so at the very least, i had to be respectfull.
Right after the steam from her cup dissapeared, she placed it on the coffee table betwen us and answered in a somewhat proud tone.
"I am a Guardian assigned to you by 'Him', you may call me Elizabeth."
"I'm Vlad Mircea."
"I see."
She nodded her head faintly, probably satisfied by my answer.
"How much do you know?"
'Know what? Atleast ask properly! If i had to guess then she was asking if i had any knowledge about this world, well.. i honestly had yet to piece together the information i recieved so that should be about right.'
"Just the name and language."
Her brow twitched while i instinctively checked my breath.
An exshausted sigh came from her lips after hearing my answer, lowering her head, she started massaging her temples
"I didn't expect much, but this is way too little, what do you plan on doing now that you got a body?"
'What i would do...'
There was nothing i had in mind, i didn't make a plan before dying, and i was yet to find out about how this world functioned. I only wanted to repay god for bringing me back to life while at the same time, i didn't know how.
"I don't know."
That's all i could say. And all i could give.
Observing me from the side, Elizabeth opened her palm, her fingers spread out and started producing countless tiny white strings which i could somehow percieve unlike before when all i saw were glints of light.
"Do you know what this is?" She asked, still dissapointed by my earlier answer.
"I just said, i don't know anything."
"But you seemed to see something before."
'she noticed it?'
I didn't expect her to watch me back then, it seemed that she was focused entirely on the dead body that she showed me in, i guess i was wrong to assume that.
If someone like that was to be my guardian, then it made sense that she was so abnormal.
Quite caring of her.
"I see threads coming from your fingers."
Her brows raised faintly while laying back on the chair.
"So you can see them already huh?" She closed her palm, disintegrating the strings." Well, i planned on teaching you a little anyways so its just going to make it easier."
The place where strings were gathering started to light up all of a sudden, like a bunch of fireflies stuck together, it bounced off the small misty circles that were encased in some sort of bubble.
She started to explain.
"The light that you see is a special element in this world which is called mana-."
"Oh!"
I exclaimed upon hearing the familiar term 'Mana', which made Elizabeth stop.
"Do you know what it is?" She seemed genuinely surprised.
"Yes! Well, sort of? We had quite a lot of books about mana back in my world so i know a bit."
'Although im not sure if it works the same way as in the anime or manga but its still knowledge.'
"Then i wouldn't have to explain about it from the very beggining." The ball dissapeared in an instant with a move of her finger.
She went up to the calendar that hung on the wall next to us, it was marked in many places with X's and O's.
I saw her flipping through it's pages as if looking for a specific date, she froze for a moment before finally muttering something.
"Alright then."
She turned to me, her demeator seemed to have changed,
Her robotic expression had gained some sort of vigor, showing signs of life that i hadn't noticed before. I could have sworn that two flames lit up in her eyes.
'W-whats going on?'
It was starting to feel very uncomfortable. She stood there above me, staring down at me with a look of a butcher who examined his fresh meat.
"Vlad." She called out to me slowly.
"Yes?"
Drops of sweat formed on my face after she leaned in closer, just a few centimeteres away from my face. I closed my eyes waiting for whatever she planned to happen.
"I hope you have a strong mentality." Her word's came out quicker than i expected.
"Wha-"
With no time to react, she grabbed me by the collar of my shirt, dragging me on the ground with strenght i didn't expect someone like her to have.
We left the house where she dropped me on the dirty ground, looking down at me with a serious expression.
"From this day onward, im going to beat into you all knowledge you need in the rift, so prepare yourself unless you want to die."
It was from this day that i started to miss my life of being useless.
'Is this hell?'