Reluctant Hero | Amaki Ren

Chapter 4 | False Accusations

"Drowning yourself in greed will lead to your misery."

"I rented separate inns for everyone tonight. Go rest up."

Sakura turned away from the counter and tossed the keys to her teammates. She didn't even spare them a glance before making her way up the wooden stairs to get to their assigned rooms. As far as she was aware, there is no need for her to be all buddy-buddy with everyone. She was summoned here without her will, prolonging her miserable life that she wanted to end so badly.

If anything, her fury transcends the King's ego. That's saying a lot, considering that he is just as much of a jerk as he already seems. She didn't understand why people would respect a person who has hidden intentions coating his eyes. Maybe it was because the citizens were too reliant on a leader that makes them ignorant, or they were simply oblivious to it. Heck, some may even choose to ignore it as it does not directly concern them.

Sakura combs a hand through her hair, releasing an annoyed sigh as she made her way towards her room. She stands in front of the wooden door with the same number plate as the one engraved on her key. "You're here."

She rolled her eyes. "What the hell do you want now?"

She inserted the key in the keyhole of the door knob and twisted it to unlock the door. Ren, who had his room just across hers, turns to face her back. He always found the girl quite irritating because of her behavior towards the King, who was supposed to be respected. He was certainly not happy about the fact that she seems to be particularly fond of Naofumi despite only knowing each other for two days too.

"If you're going to tell me to shut my rude mouth, then I will have to be the one to shut you up." Sakura looked over her shoulder, eyes glaring at his ocean blue eyes.

"You said you're not fighting for a kingdom without merit. What changed now?"

Sakura was quiet at first. She wanted to be able to end her life in her own world, where all the pain and hatred built up over the years. She wanted to leave the world in her terms, not to be forced to fight for the lives of people she never even knew. They were random strangers.

Why should their lives be her responsibility?

"I want to go back to my world. That's my merit." Was all she said.

Ren didn't seem to be satisfied with the answer. He expected her to get into detail, not to keep him in the dark. He didn't really know why he was wasting his time on the glaring woman, but he would always find himself thinking back to her memorable impression.

"It appears that we're in the same world, unlike the others." He said. "It could be tied as to how the Sword Hero and the Dagger Hero work well together."

"You're more of a loner, aren't you?" Sakura bit the inside of her cheek. "I don't like having too many people close to my radar. If you're suggesting that we link parties, then the most I could give you is lend my team. I'm not working with anyone else."

She glanced at his eyes briefly before pushing her room door open. Without another word, she walks inside and closed the door on the Sword Hero.

***

It wasn't even a day after the party formation when Sakura was suddenly called in to the palace. She woke up the rest of her squad members quickly, already wearing her only armor over her sweatshirt, a chest plate. She finds it important for her teammates to be the first to have full armors in battle as she was still levelling up with smaller monsters.

In short, she was worried, but she didn't want to make that obvious. She has no reason to be worried over strangers, after all.

"This is pretty early for the King to call us all over." The brunette boy wiped his eye with a weak fist as he followed Sakura to the palace along with the rest of the squad. Sakura looks over her shoulder as they walked through the cobblestone path, her naturally narrowed eyes squinting.