Arrival

The story took place near the Anduin River. This great river began where the Greylin, flowing down from the Grey Mountains, met the Langwell, which ran from the far northern reaches of the Misty Mountains.

It ran along the eastern side of the Misty Mountains, passing Mirkwood, Lórien, Rohan, and Gondor before emptying into the Mouths of Anduin.

The great river had nurtured countless living creatures and witnessed the extinction of countless more.

It was an entirely ordinary morning. A light breeze swept over the wilderness on either bank of the Anduin, and the grass bowed gently.

On the eastern bank, a spotted doe grazed contentedly with several fawns. Not far away, a sturdy stag kept a wary eye on his surroundings between mouthfuls.

Just then, a shaft of white light descended from the sky, reflecting in the stag's eyes as it formed a white circle covering several hundred square meters on the eastern bank. The stag froze, unable to react.

Moments later, the light faded, and a camp appeared without a sound. A horse's whinny shattered the tranquility. With two calls, the stag led his family bolting away from the camp.

"Wake up, Lord Allen! Please wake up!" An urgent female voice was trying to rouse the man sleeping inside a tent.

"Lord Allen? Who's Allen? What lord?" Still half asleep after being disturbed, the man mumbled, rolled over, and tried to return to his bizarre dream.

But a moment later, he jolted, realizing something was wrong. He lived alone, and his bedroom was well away from the front door. Even if someone woke him, it should have been the doorbell. There was absolutely no way a woman's voice could reach his ears so clearly.

Sensing something amiss, the man opened his eyes, sat bolt upright, and threw off his bedding. He turned and instinctively swung his legs off the bed, only for them to land flat on the grass.

He froze, then came fully awake. By then, he had almost forgotten his dream.

"A tent?"

After looking around, he finally made sense of his surroundings.

It was a tiny, conical tent made of wood and canvas.

The tent was so small that he could stand up and step outside in a single stride. A wooden chest sat in the corner, with clothes piled haphazardly on top, along with some... (⊙o⊙) armor?

He had no time to think. As the woman outside urged him more insistently, he grabbed a piece of clothing, threw it on, and stepped out of the tent.

What kind of sight greeted him?

The sky was as blue as a flawless gemstone, with reddish morning clouds drifting lazily across it. A gentle breeze rippled through the leaves like waves, and a large sun, not yet dazzling, rose slowly above the distant dense forest.

For a moment, the sight left him utterly dumbfounded.

"Wait, where am I? Where's my house? Hey! How can I see all this clearly with my minus-six-diopter eyesight? Where's my potbelly? Is this muscular body really mine?"

Once he gathered his wits, he finally realized that this was anything but an ordinary morning for him. Unfamiliar surroundings, an unfamiliar body, and an unfamiliar... oh-a beautiful blonde girl!

"My lord, I know suddenly appearing in this place is very strange, but you needn't look at me with such surprise. Would you like to wash up? If you're fully awake, please come with me. Everyone is waiting for you over there."

Looking at the blonde girl speaking to him, her cheeks flushed, he felt a faint, inexplicable sense of familiarity. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ymira, my lord! Are you still half asleep? You don't even remember me?"

Seeing such a strange expression on a familiar face, Ymira grew a little anxious.

The entire camp had suddenly appeared in this unfamiliar place that morning. Even Deshavi, who had been on watch during the latter half of the night, had no idea what had happened. Nothing so inexplicable had ever happened before.

Although her captain possessed many extraordinary abilities, he had never mentioned anything like this happening. If something happened to the man before her now, too, Ymira dared not imagine what disaster might befall their company.

Hearing the name Ymira, the man felt a sudden chill in his heart. Perhaps it was time to call him Allen.

Allen looked in the direction the girl indicated. Five fully armed men and women stood beside a wooden table a dozen or so meters away, watching them as though waiting for him to come over.

"Are those Jeremus and Deshavi? And Alayen, Artimenner, and Bunduk? Then where are Klethi and Firentis?"

After recognizing them, Allen felt his chest tighten and took several quick breaths.

He thought he had figured out his situation. If he was right, this should have been the Vaegir Kingdom, one of the six kingdoms on the continent of Calradia. He was leading these NPCs and a small force in clearing out sea raiders near Sargoth, which meant he should have had more than twenty...

Oh, right. There they were, gathered on the northern side of the camp: those twenty-odd Rhodoks Sharpshooters. The fifteen fellows sitting in rows beside them, all tied up, were probably the prisoners he intended to sell to a slave trader.

But shouldn't there have been eleven Swadia Knights as well?

Why couldn't he see them?

No!! That was just a saved game! I should be happily gaming in my three-bedroom apartment!!!

Questions churned through Allen's mind, but he kept his expression composed and continued talking to Ymira.

"Firentis took Klethi and the cavalry out to scout, my lord."

As she answered, Ymira led the distracted Allen over to the others.

Allen looked at the people saluting him, waved casually, and sat at the head of the table.

His mind had been a mess during those dozen or so steps. He had thought about many things. He knew he ought to act like a down-on-his-luck nobleman, but how the hell was a down-on-his-luck nobleman supposed to act?

Speak with an affected air? Or follow all sorts of infuriating etiquette?

Allen knew nothing about any of that. But his previous work experience told him that when a team encountered something unexpected, its leader's first priority was never to panic. He had to stay calm and look as though he could hold up the sky if it fell. Only then could he give his subordinates enough confidence to bring the situation under control quickly.

The second priority was to figure out exactly what was happening as soon as possible, so he could decide what to do next.

Allen briefly searched his memory, placed both hands on the table, and smiled at everyone watching him. "Can someone tell me why you all look so dejected first thing in the morning? Didn't we successfully clear out that sea raider hideout and take a handsome haul of loot? I remember buying plenty of supplies in Sargoth, too. Surely we haven't run out of breakfast? Or did I forget to pay you?"

Why say that? It was a test. Allen clearly remembered that, before saving his game yesterday, he had led them in clearing out a sea raider hideout and completed the bounty mission from Sargoth's lord, Boyar Meriga.

After paying their wages, he had planned to kill more sea raiders the next day and sell the prisoners to make up the difference, then use all his earnings to open a velvet workshop in Sargoth. Without a steady income, he really couldn't afford to support these people.

Allen also felt it was worth the gamble. He urgently needed to find out whether his current situation had anything to do with his saved game.

If it did, he would handle things one way. If it didn't, he would need a different approach.

"Stop joking, boss. After we left Sargoth yesterday, we clearly camped near Vezin. There was no river there! No dense forest like this! Look around-what is this place? Can anyone tell me where we are? And another thing: that savage Klethi actually sneaked out with Firentis and the others. Once again, she's doing whatever she pleases. Last time, she examined my plans without my permission, too. I think you need to punish her a little and teach her what discipline means."

Watching the plainly agitated Artimenner speak, Allen silently recalled what he knew:

Artimenner and I seem to have a purely employer-employee relationship. He calls me boss, after all. He doesn't seem to respect me much, either. Fair enough-I only just recruited him.

In the game, there was a story that this aging engineer got his former employer killed over money, and he joined my company to seek refuge. If I remember correctly, his original plan was to save up some money and return home.

Oh, and he hates Jeremus and Klethi. Is he going to leave halfway through, like in the game? Probably not. This place is unfamiliar, and he knows his limitations. He won't.

"Shut up, Artimenner. How long have you even been here? Spare us the useless talk. What matters now is letting Allen know what happened. Deshavi was on watch during the latter half of the night, so we should let her explain what happened first, instead of listening to your complaints. Keep your petty concerns to yourself."

Allen looked at the man speaking. That brilliantly bald head was enough to tell him who it was: Jeremus. Allen had already recognized him earlier.

He's a good man. I remember he's an incredibly skilled physician, and he didn't even ask for a penny when he joined. But is he really this short-tempered? Or does he only talk like that to Artimenner?

"My lord, Firentis and I stood watch last night. I... I don't know what happened. I looked at Vezin just as dawn was breaking, but in the blink of an eye, we... we were here. I don't know why. I've never encountered anything like this. My lord, is this also..." Deshavi trailed off, glanced at Allen, then lowered her head.

"Take your time. It's all right!" Allen raised a hand reassuringly as Deshavi watched him.

Deshavi was a dark-skinned girl-or perhaps a woman? People online often claimed she would be even prettier than Ymira if her skin were lightened. She had a tragic past, but she was strong-willed and trustworthy.

Somewhat soothed by his reassurance, Deshavi continued, "Just now, while Ymira was waking you, Firentis took the cavalry out to scout. He's your second-in-command and your cavalry captain, so I didn't stop him. And please don't blame Klethi. You know what she's like-she can't sit still. But I promise she meant no harm."

"Just a little girl who does nothing but cause trouble," Artimenner muttered.

Allen ignored Artimenner. Instead, he smiled and offered Deshavi a few words of comfort. After thinking for a moment, he smiled at the others, who were still watching him intently. "Everyone, I have a general understanding of the situation now. I know our sudden arrival here is anything but normal, but don't worry. I still need a little more information, and Firentis happens to be out scouting. Until he returns, let's not sit idle. There's work to be done. Bunduk, take the crossbowmen with Alayen and secure the area around the camp."

Bunduk lowered his head and acknowledged the order, then glanced at Alayen and left in silence. Alayen, however, looked at Allen in surprise and pointed at himself. "Am I going, too?"

"Hmm? Then go feed the horses."

Allen raised an eyebrow. Alayen actually objects to orders? Oh! He was a rather simple-minded nobleman's son to begin with. Are we not on good terms? Is he a troublemaker? Then he can feed the horses. Some less dignified work should give him a chance to cool his head.

Instead, Alayen slapped his forehead at the order and replied, "I almost forgot! Your armor and weapons need maintenance, too. I'll see to it right away." With that, he got up and left.

Realizing his mistake, Allen watched Alayen leave, unsure whether to laugh or cry. Then he turned back and continued giving orders to the remaining people. "Ymira, take stock of all our supplies and see how many days they'll last. Jeremus, go with her. Artimenner, find a way to reinforce the camp. We may be staying here for a few days. If there's any manual labor to be done, take the prisoners and put them to work. We don't feed freeloaders. Do a thorough job. Oh, right-have Bunduk assign a few men to guard the prisoners. Don't let anything go wrong."

Ymira, Jeremus, and Artimenner nodded, then got up and left.

Once everyone had accepted their orders and departed without objection, Allen turned to Deshavi, who still seemed unsettled. "Go get some rest. You'll feel much better after some sleep."

Deshavi seemed about to say something, but ultimately kept it to herself. She rose and headed toward her tent.

"All right, now I'm alone. Can someone tell me what's going on? If this isn't Calradia, where is it? Did I transmigrate twice? Or did I take over someone who'd already transmigrated, then transmigrate again with an entire camp of people? What is this, a set of nesting dolls?

"Ugh. They're all sorted out, but how am I supposed to keep up this act? Who's going to be my pillar of support?"

Only after everyone had left did Allen dare mutter to himself. His previously calm face slowly grew miserable, and he kept rubbing it with both hands.

"What's this?"

Just as Allen was quietly worrying about how to keep pretending once Firentis returned, a familiar screen appeared before his eyes with a progress bar. A line of small text flashed repeatedly at the bottom: "Mount & Blade Simulator has finished loading. What are you waiting for? Accept it."

"(ˉ▽￣~) Tch... Fine, I'll accept it. Do I have a choice?"

Allen stared at the simulator for a long time, curled his lip, and selected yes.