Hardcore Fantasy – Chapter 28: Prepare for trouble! And make it double!

"What… where am I? Where is the truck?" – The nun asked while confusedly looking around, seeing only darkness.

"Gah! I didn't finish the manga!" – The paladin yelled while his eyes widened.

"Are they really okay?" – Olivia asked for a second time.

"…" – No one answered.

"Wait, this voice… David!?"

"Leila!? You died too?"

"Too? Wait, how are you so calm!?"

'Seems I was right.' – Akihiko thought while the two blondies bickered.

'What are they talking about?' – Elizabeth's master asked while the former stood with a blank face, watching the exchange.

'It's… complicated, master.'

'Huh? And why is that?'

'Because you're old, master.'

'You wanna die, brat? What does one thing have to do with the other?'

'I will explain later, I promise.' – Elizabeth returned her attention to the now calmer pair of twins.

"Are you done?" – She pushed away all her confusion and incredulity, making her voice regain its calm tone.

"Who!?" – The nun shouted, startled.

"Oooooh!" – The paladin, on the other hand, yelled but in realization as his eyes sparkled – "Are you the goddess of reincarnation or something like that?"

"…" – Elizabeth became speechless as did the nun.

"Do we get to reincarnate in a fantasy world!? Is there magi-"

"S-Stop, stop, stop. I'm no goddess and you aren't dead, at least as of now. So, j-just… stop talking." – Elizabeth's ears reddened a little and she felt a headache hearing the paladin's words – memories of her darker days coming back with full force.

"Huh? Then why are we here?"

"Of course, we aren't dead, you stupid. I can still feel my back hurt." – The nun shot back while rubbing her back.

"S-Shouldn't you cast the spell for them to see first, Elizabeth?" – Beatrix asked shily.

"Indeed, it should be faster this way." – Elizabeth's crimson eyes glowed brighter, making the siblings squeak in surprise.

Before they could say anything, their vision brightened and the darkness enshrouding the surroundings receded, giving place to the seemingly endless corridor with pillars. 

"W-Where is this?" – David blurted out.

However, when he turned his head toward the nun, his eyes widened.

"Leila!?" 

"Huh?" – The nun also turned her head and her eyes widened when she saw the paladin – "David!?"

"Why are you so hot!?"

"Hot? I'm your sister, you bastard!"

David was about to argue but his green eyes shifted to the side before widening – "O-OOOOOOHHHHH!!!"

"What?" – Leila woke up from her daze when she heard her brother's screen.

"A dog girl!" – David pointed his finger at Olivia – "And an octopus girl! And a blue girl!"

Veins bulged on Olivia's neck and forehead.

"I'm a Fenrir-kin, you f*cker." – Her eyes glowed in a fierce light.

David flinched.

Nyza put a hand on Olivia's shoulder and Beatrix awkwardly gave some pats on her back – both not sure how to calm her down.

"Not a dog g-"

"David shut up." – Leila managed to calm down and shifted her eyes to her brother before looking at Elizabeth.

*Gulp*

'Gorgeous.' 

"Are you done?" – Elizabeth asked upon seeing that the situation settled down.

"Y-Yes, I'm sorry for this." – Leila recomposed herself and sneaked another glance at the white-haired beauty.

"I assume you aren't aware of where you are, am I right?" 

"Y-Yes? Ah, no, we don't know where this is."

"Guessed so. Do you remember anything before you got here?"

"Before we got here…?" – Leila glanced at her brother who was just listening to the conversation and sent a message through her eyes – "No… I can't remember anything."

Noticing her line of thoughts and interpreting the message, David woke up from his daze – "Me too."

"I see." – This way worked better for Elizabeth.

"So, where are we?" – David questioned but turned his face away when he noticed Olivia's glare almost boring a hole through him.

"You're currently on…" – Elizabeth judged it was better to not give the coordinates of the place since they most likely wouldn't be able to understand – "Pandora. The planet Pandora."

"Pandora?" – David parroted.

"Where is this?"

With those words, aside from Akihiko, the others confirmed that Leila and David's story should be the truth.

"This will take some time to explain, so just go along with it for now." – Elizabeth eyes then went to Xia, who was close to Akihiko and interacting with him – "Aki, does sh- I mean, does Xia have anything she wants us to do? Because if not, a break would be good."

"Tsk, tsk?"

"Tsk."

"Tsss?"

"Tssk, tss, tsk." – Xia nodded.

Akihiko shook his head.

It was only then that the twins noticed a beautiful brown-skinned woman with white eyes, long brown hair, and an athletic physique. And a man wearing a suit-like armor covering his whole body and some kind of light robe with a hood.

Ignoring the two gazes in his direction, Akihiko made some hand signals to Elizabeth.

"Alright, we are taking a break." – Elizabeth faced the others – "Aside from the two over there, I think the others already got the gist of the situation but instructor Evelyn said that there was an emergency above ground and she asked us to not go outside for now. She along with the others needed to go back to the base. Our situation has already been communicated to the Academy and our exam changed to learn more about the earth dwellers."

Olivia and Nyza nodded – they found the situation a bit strange but not too outside the normal.

Beatrix looked at Elizabeth and then at the others before also nodding.

"…" – Leila quietly heard it and observed the group's interaction – making some mental notes.

"Aki, is there any place we can rest?"

"Tsk?"

"Tsss, tsk."

Akihiko translated.

"Please take us there."

"Tss, tskk, tsk."

"Tsk~"

Xia then guided the group back to the hall where they first meet her.

"Woah…"

"Damn…"

Both Leila and David were stunned when they saw the architecture of hall – both by the familiar feeling it gave them as well as the beauty of the place.

"Isn't this… Ancient Greece or something like that?" – David asked.

"Ancient Greece?" – Nyza parroted – "Like the one in historic records from the Old World?"

"What?" – Leila blurted out upon hearing it.

"Didn't you say you have no memory?" – Olivia narrowed her eyes at the two.

Both twins immediately realized their mistake.

"Their memories might be jumbled from their level of malice. They should have accumulated quite a bit in the meantime they have been here." – Luckily for the duo, Elizabeth lend a helping hand.

"If you say so…" – Olivia nodded but her eyes still held suspicion in them.

"Tsk, tsk." – Xia then guided them among the enormous pillars toward a distant corner of the building.

There, far from the hall and with no sort of indication or signs, an open door was there.

Entering through it, the group stopped momentarily – surprised by the interior.

Walls decorated with engravings of different types – most being something close to drawings – and a myriad of rocks, making the room look like an artistic piece.

The ceiling was made of a pitch-black crystal with some shiny gems embedded in some spots, producing a rough and artificial but still beautiful depiction of a night sky.

The ground was still the same as everywhere else in the colony, however, there was a part that was elevated on the corner, making a rough bed.

"Tsk, tss."

"…" – Akihiko translated again.

"This is her room?" – Elizabeth raised her eyebrows when she saw him nodding – "Is it okay for us to use this room?"

Akihiko nodded.

"Tsk, tss~" – Xia smiled and lightly moved her fingers.

The ground elevated and deformed, producing some simple chairs.

Xia then walked out of the room.

Akihiko conveyed her words through hand signals.

"Xia will bring us food. For now, let's organize things." – Elizabeth gestured toward the chairs after interpreting his words.

Olivia, Nyza, and Beatrix sat down.

Leila and David also took a seat after they finished admiring the room.

After they sat down, all the eyes turned to the twins.

The two flinched and nervousness slowly made way into their hearts.

"I think we should start by presenting ourselves… I'm Elizabeth, the temporary leader of this team."

"Nyza."

"I-I'm Beatrix…"

"…" – Olivia's glare didn't diminish even after all this time and she continued to stare intensely at David.

"Hum…" – The latter was too conscious of said glare to just ignore it.

"Olivia. The Fenrir-kin." – Her tone dripping displeasure.

"A-A pleasure…?" 

"…" – Leila cast an incredulous gaze at her brother.

"Not for me, for sure."

"…" – David shut up.

"*Cough* And this is Aki." – Elizabeth entered the conversation again and broke the awkward situation – "I mean, Akihiko." – She pointed toward the mentioned party.

The twins looked at the man who hadn't spoken a single word ever since earlier and saw him nodding.

"And you?" – The group already knew their names from their earlier exchange upon awakening but Elizabeth asked for formality's sake.

Hearing the question, Leila snapped out of her thoughts – "As you should have already noticed, I'm Leila. And this moron here is my twin brother, David."

"Moron?" – David's eye twitched.

"David and Leila, huh? You two said you have no memory of before ending up here, right?" – Elizabeth questioned while crossing her legs, making Leila avert her gaze and David's mind go blank.

"Y-Yes…" – The latter answered in a daze.

"Well, I'm not doubting you. However, do you have any clue of your identity and the state of this world?"

"No…"

Leila looked down at herself and it was only now that she noticed a black bracelet on her wrist. However, more than this, the clothes she was wearing were alien to her.

"A… nun?" – She blurted out.

"Yes, you are a nun and your brother a paladin. Both of you are from the Cathedral."

"The Cathedral?" – Both of them asked.

"It's kind of an organization that helps people and train nuns, paladins, clerics, healers, medics, and others able to use healing magic. It's an important place so yo-" 

"Wait. There's magic!?" – David abruptly cut her off, just to be elbowed by his sister.

'They are really clueless…' – Elizabeth's master spoke in her mind.

"This is going to take some time…" – Elizabeth held in a sigh.

"Tsk?" – And just in time, Xia entered the room holding a large tray in her hands.

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Curiosity: The Fenrir-kin are how the traditional "beastmen" with lupine characteristics are called in Pandora. 

Their name originates from their ancestor "Fenrir", who is said to be the greatest hunter to have ever walked on the lands of Pandora.

Fenrir-kins pride themselves in their physical abilities, close combat, and sharp senses, thus making them excellent fighters, hunters, and trackers but just it, which is why Olivia, a vanguard-type (a "tank"), has a difficult time offering proper defense to the group.

Dogs exist in Pandora and they are the same as in Earth: pets.

David calling Olivia a "dog girl" was something akin to someone on Earth calling a random person a "monkey" or "monkey boy". Either in a racist way or without such a reason behind it – in any way, it would be borderline impossible for someone to take it in a good way.

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A/N: Hello there, I hope you're having day!

So, what did you guys think about this chapter? Was it too slow, too fast, too something else?

I'm trying to balance David and Leila's current situation to not drag it for too long but also to not just breeze through it.

Did you like this chapter's curiosity? Or was it too weak?

Please comment, leave a review, and share your thoughts with me! I always enjoy interacting with readers as long as it is with respect.

Well, this is it for today, see ya~

Peace out~🍷😎