Nobina and Her Strange Journey Through Another World

Nobina could only stare at the giant fluffy bunny as she sat on a nearby bench. Now that she had more time to examine it, the fact that it was a massive living bunny made her so confused. It had to be at least twenty feet in length, making it comparable to elephants in size. However, it was significantly fluffier, was capable of sitting and holding miso soup, and looked rather content with Lila merely hugging it.

More and more people were gathering around, curious about the new bunny that was standing between the guild and the quarters for the guild officers. Many of them showed no fear at all of this giant bunny.

From what Nobina could tell, there was a large variety of people appearing. Some were officers of the guild, while others were curious adventurers. Not only that but civilians who were close enough to see it from the road were taking a detour to see it. The whole situation was out of control, but Nobina had no intention of putting herself in the crosshairs.

“Where am I even going to keep it?” asked Nobina to herself.

Looking at it again, Nobina was sure that one of the Gaze members was involved with this. After all, it had a bowl of miso soup in its hands, which looked exactly like the same bowl she had received a while back. It was an added part of the growing mystery behind the Gaze and her own Path.

“What’s going on here,” came an authoritative voice in the direction of the guild.

Nobina could see that Aunai was finally arriving at the scene with Line by her side. There was also a guild officer with her, but she wasn’t exactly sure who they were.

Aunai’s arrival caused the whole area to freeze as she approached. When she got close enough, an annoyed look flashed on her face as she saw Lila lying down on the bunny’s stomach.

“Lila,” yelled Aunai, causing her to suddenly get up.

Luckily, the giant bunny didn’t react at all, merely seeming content holding its giant miso soup, taking the occasional sip.

“What’s going on,” she said, leaving the comfort of the bunny to stand right in front of it. “Are we being attacked? Is a strong opponent here that wants to challenge me? Is there something happening with Nobina?”

That last line caused Nobina to groan as she couldn’t believe that Lila was casually mentioning her in front of all those people.

“No,” responded Aunai bluntly. “Why are you lying down on this… giant bunny? Do you know why it’s here?”

“I do,” she nodded. “This man in a blue and yellow uniform appeared. He waved a wand and bam, a giant box appeared. Then the man went inside to get Nobina, brought her out, and she then asked me to open the box. Once I opened it, I saw this adorable giant bunny that I’ve decided to cherish as a show of dedication towards bunnies. Hopefully this is enough to get on Pausers good side.”

Her whole speech had everyone around her begin chattering with each other. They were questioning everything, including who Nobina and Pausers were.

Seeing the result of Lila’s words, Aunai merely shook her head and spoke out loud.

“Attention everyone here. Please return to what you were doing prior. We are handling the appearance of the mysterious bunny and need space to investigate.”

Nobina’s face drained as the people began to disperse. She wasn’t sure if Aunai was actually going to investigate the giant bunny. Instead, Nobina was certain that Aunai would just ask to speak with her directly.

“Nobina,” called Aunai, still maintaining the authoritativeness of earlier.

“Coming,” Nobina replied, running right over.

Once she was there, Nobina took a breath and explained how she had received the giant bunny as a gift for her birthday. It was a nice gesture, but she had no idea where to put the giant bunny or the other gifts she was receiving.

“As you know, I don’t have a permanent home here so I’m very cautious about leaving important stuff in my room. I know it probably is safe, but some of these items have to be even more secure than others. That’s not even covering this giant bunny. You understand, right?” asked Nobina, hoping her explanation was good enough.

Aunai looked at Nobina for a bit before nodding.

“Alright… I can arrange for private storage for any item you have. We have a storage building not too far from here that we often use. As for the bunny… I’ll arrange for someone who handles large animals to watch it as we escort it outside of town. I’m sure you understand we can’t have this giant bunny in the center of our town.”

Nobina nodded silently, thankful for Aunai’s help.

“Thank you so much for your help Aunai,” she said. “Now that that’s resolved, I can finally…”

“Oh right,” said Aunai. “It’s your birthday, right? We might as well celebrate it, even if you’re just a newfound temporary member of the Navira guild.”

Nobina was suspicious of Aunai’s words. She was suspicious that Aunai was still trying to recruit her to her side.

Before she knew it, she called a few guild officers to escort the bunny out of the city with the assistance of an S-rank adventurer. Afterward, she asked Nobina to follow her, sticking close behind. Lila joined them as well, choosing to be with them instead of the giant bunny.

“Oh boy,” said Lila, her face grinning. “It’s been a while since we’ve celebrated a birthday.”

“I know,” smiled Aunai. “Despite all the officers we have, most of them have birthdays within a few months. I don’t think we have a September birthday yet.”

“You guys celebrate birthdays?” asked Nobina, curious about how their world handled the concept.

“Of course,” nodded Aunai. “The birth of a person is the start of their Path. Previously, we called them Path Days, but the term Birthday became popular with the advent of otherworlders.”

The moment she said that Aunai stopped for a bit. Nobina turned to her, noticing she seemed to be thinking deeply about something.

“Aunai?” said Nobina after a bit of time passed.

“Oh, sorry,” she replied back. “But yes, we celebrate birthdays. Do they not celebrate it back in Agora?”

Thinking about it, Nobina didn’t know the birthdays of any of her friends at the guild. It seemed a bit sad, but they had been busy for a while. Plus, she had no doubt the goblin incident was still causing lingering problems, like making people too busy to celebrate the occasion.

“None of my fellow guild officers have had a birthday yet. I just joined recently, so forgive me for not knowing what those dates are exactly.”

“Ah… makes sense,” nodded Aunai. “Regardless, I hope you enjoy the celebration we do here. It’s nothing extravagant, but it does help build the unity of the guild.”

Before Nobina knew it, they arrived at the entrance of the guild. Aunai walked over to a guild office and whispered something in their ear. Once that was done, they stood before everyone and made an announcement.

“Attention everyone,” called the guild officer. “Today is the birthday of Nobina! She’s a new, temporary guild officer working here to represent Agora. Please show her the upmost respect and give her the best greetings our guild can offer.”

Upon him saying that, all the adventurers and officers gave one shout of happy birthday. Nobina was shocked at how responsive they all were. They were celebrating her birthday, despite not knowing anything about her.

“This is so cool,” said Nobina, her eyes glittering at the sight of everyone giving a big smile.

“I knew you’d like it,” nodded Aunai. “It’ll take time, but we’ll prepare an impromptu party if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” said Nobina.

With that, everyone except Nobina went to work. They began the process of setting up a birthday. From spreading the news to every officer to arranging for the food at such short notice, Nobina could tell they went all out for these things. It made Nobina happy they were having a good time, at least because she wasn’t sure about all this attention she was getting.

“Hey there,” spoke one of the female guild officers. Looking at her, Nobina was interested in her light-red hair with the occasional black strands. It was pretty long, going down to her back. There was a clear contrast between the hair color and uniform as well, making her wonder how many other people had unique hair colors like the guild officer.

“Oh… hello,” smiled Nobina. “Can I help you?”

“Right… you’re Nobina right? I know all the faces here so I’m sure you’re her,” nodded the guild officer.

“That is correct.”

Upon hearing that, Nobina saw the guild officer give the biggest grin.

“I’ve always wanted to meet another guild officer from another guild,” smiled the female guild officer. “Rarely do we get guests like that since most people stick to their hometowns. Not to mention we get to celebrate your birthday. It’s all very exciting.”

Nobina gave a nod. It made a lot of sense for a person not wanting to go too far from their hometown. Besides distance, it was being put in a new environment that one might not be ready for. While Nobina felt she didn’t fit this description well, she knew that she barely felt ready for an adventure like this. It was all thanks to her friend’s support, the Gaze, and other things just falling into place.

“Names Audunai by the way,” smiled the female guild officer.

“Nobina,” she replied back.

Soon, Nobina noticed more and more people began approaching her. Many of them were fellow guild officers who were excited to meet someone from a neighboring guild. The main questions were focused on what Aunai said regarding Nobina, leading to her having to explain the same thing again and again multiple times. It was exhausting, but thanks to Nobina’s training, she was able to power through. Things seemed to be going smoothly before a new face appeared at the entrance of the guild.

Looking at it, Nobina saw that they looked extremely important in a uniform that screamed regal. They had a beautiful purple outfit that had laces all over the stomach portion of the jacket they wore.

Next to them were two heavily armored knights. They looked like guards, but Nobina wasn’t completely sure about that.

“Damn it,” said Aunai, shaking her head.

“Hm? What kind of greeting is that Aunai?” asked the man in the purple outfit. “Is little o Doriten someone you dislike seeing?”

Doriten. Nobina had recognized the first name since she had studied a bit about Navira, so she wasn’t completely blind or unknowledgeable. Doriten was someone who was in the main family of Lord Kasanta, the leader of this particular territory.

Doriten’s attention turned to Nobina. He began approaching, causing more people to step aside. When he got close enough, the next words out of his mouth shocked Nobina completely.

“Hm… I’m disappointed that Agora decided to send me someone so… weak?”

The moment he said that Nobina heard a familiar voice of a defender.

“Nobina is not weak,” said Mimiki, who appeared. “She’s strong, courageous, and is the hero of our town. I take serious offense calling someone weak that you don’t know.”

The man chuckled, shaking his head.

“Don’t think that being a guild officer exempts you from punishment that us nobility can exert. I might have the lowest authority of the main family, but my influence is the biggest.”

Hearing that, Nobina became worried she was dealing with another potential headache. She was only a normal guild officer, so she couldn’t stop royalty from making such threats.

“Hey,” said Aunai. “Please don’t think little of us. You might be the lords fifth son, but that doesn’t mean you can exert influence when unprompted.”

Doriten’s smile didn’t disappear as he kept his gaze on Nobina.

“So much effort for someone who doesn’t appear to be that important. Anyway, I merely came by to pick up some documents, but it seems I found a new interesting person to discuss things with. Now then… I shall pick up the documents then take my leave.”

Before she knew it, Nobina saw Doriten walk past her with his knights, heading upstairs and out of sight.

“What… was that,” said Nobina, now overwhelmed by everything that was happening. She began wondering if she should have spoken up for himself, but she was completely content with the others handling things.”

“So much attention,” sighed Nobina, shaking her head. “But what did Doriten mean by having someone interesting to talk with? Surely it isn’t me.”

Nobina had convinced herself it was unlikely that Doriten had any good intentions in terms of doing discussing things. However, she had no idea what the correct approach to the situation was.

“Sorry about that,” said Aunai. “Lord Kasanta’s son is… a lot. He has no obligations, yet all the influence a lord’s son would have. It makes it so we merely tolerate everything he does.”

It wasn’t that reassuring to Nobina that someone like Doriten had free reign. It made her more concerned about her being there, but Lila stepped up to reassure Nobina.

“Don’t worry about it Nobina,” nodded Lila. “I’ll vouch and protect you. Doriten might think they can do anything, but I’ll easily shut him down. I would have done it before he left, but I didn’t want to ruin your experience meeting nobility.”

Nobina couldn’t deny that. Seeing someone with the authority of nobility use it that close seemed crazy. It reminded her of the shows she used to watch where nobility stuck its nose into everything, yet it didn’t matter. The hero came out on top and Nobina was hoping something similar would happen to them and the group.

Soon, Nobina found herself once again the center of attention, but now people were curious about her gearing and her life. Nobina knew she had to keep things secret, but she wasn’t great with tons of people asking questions. It made it harder to keep secrets if they were related to the topic at hand.

“Alright,” called one of the guild employees. “Davta’s Restaurant has everything ready, and the rest of the restaurant shut down. Let’s gather all the employees.”

Nobina suddenly remembered that they were celebrating her birthday, making her once again nervous. Was she once again going to be the center of everything? She enjoyed it, but it didn’t stop making her worried she’d do something to embarrass herself.

“Why are you so nervous,” laughed Lila, patting Nobina on the back. “We are all here to have a good time. Just enjoy it.”

“She’s right,” nodded Mimiki. “Think of this as an extension of how things are with you and being a hero. It makes it much easier.”

Nobina sighed, giving a nod. She knew they were right, but it didn’t change how she initially felt.

Soon, all the guild officers except a few began leaving. Many of them stuck with Nobina, barraging her with questions as they walked. Eventually, they reached a large restaurant that appeared to be two stories high. Nobina wondered if it was one of the common work-home setups, where the restaurant had a residence on the second floor and the restaurant on the first.

“We are here,” spoke Aunai to the rest of the group. “Please keep on your best behavior.”

Nobina was surprised Aunai felt a need to say that, but the reassuring nods from everyone convinced Nobina that there was a good reason for it.

Entering the restaurant, Nobina was surprised at how modern the restaurant looked. It definitely had some aspects of her old world but of a time that was much older than her own. It made Nobina wonder about the influence her own world and perhaps so many others had on this world. After all, the Gaze made it clear that not everyone was either from here or Nobina’s original world.

Standing in front of all of that, however, was a large group of staff members lined up. Before she knew it, Nobina felt herself pushed to the front, now sticking out like a sore thumb. At that moment, all the employees gave a bow.

“We thank you Nobina for your efforts as a guild officer. May you have the happiest of birthdays.”

Soon, Nobina heard everyone say happy birthday from the guild officers there to the adventurers who followed. So many people who didn’t know Nobina or that Nobina didn’t know of were wishing her the best. At this point, Nobina couldn’t help but feel flattered by their actions. She was receiving so much unwanted attention, but she didn’t dislike it. It was merely something she felt she had to get used to.

“Thank you… everyone… for wishing me a happy birthday.”

Nobina couldn’t help but give the biggest smile seeing so many people celebrate her birthday. She still wished all her friends could be there, but she always had other birthdays she could share.

As everyone got seated and started to chat. Nobina found herself next to Lila and Mimiki as the people continued to ask her questions. She hoped that all of them were having a good time, even if she barely knew any of them.

During this time, Aunai was sitting at her own table with Line and the guild officer from earlier.

“Are you sure Aunai?” asked the man, looking at her face directly.

“I’m certain of it,” she nodded. “She’s from another world. We’ve been traveling long enough together that I’ve caught her saying things that would be clear signs of it.”

“Then… should we report her to the grand guild master?” asked the guild officer.

“It wouldn’t be wise to act in haste Rathurn,” said Line to the guild officer. “She received that giant bunny and also has an Alpha Death Hare, both which we need to somehow investigate. I have a bad feeling about their presence, as it could signal something serious is going to happen involving her.”

The mention of those bunnies made all of them shudder in worry.

“So what’s the plan then?” asked Rathurn.

“We merely wait and see,” said Aunai, sipping her tea. “As long as Nobina isn’t a threat and merely accomplishes her goal, we’ll be fine. The demon threat is still lingering, but now we have to worry about dragons.”

All three of them gave a nod, moving back to casual conversation as the party dragged on.

“What the…” came a voice from Nobina’s table.

Aunai turned to see that a bright light had glowed from Nobina’s bag. Recognizing it as Nobina’s bag, Aunai quickly headed over to assist Nobina.

Nobina was dumbfounded and now in a panic as so many people were staring at her. She found it difficult to move before Aunai appeared.

“Nobina,” called Aunai. “Feel free to use the restroom for…”

She didn’t have to finish the sentence before Nobina was out of her chair. She almost found herself running to the restroom but managed to slow down enough to calmly enter it. Once inside, she took out the two items that were inside of it. She was shocked at how heavy one of them was, considering it seemed like a small object.

“Hm… a curved drinking horn that’s dark-blue grayish in color… Nicely sealed cork plug on the tip… I wonder what’s inside…”

Nobina opened the drinking horn and took a small sip of the content. Her eyes widened upon realizing that it was really good water.

“I didn’t know water tasted this good… is this even water at this point,” she chuckled.

She could only speculate, but the horn seemed as heavy as a two-liter bottle. It made her wonder if this was its max capacity, as she felt space when she swung it around a bit.

“Let’s see…”

She tossed it into her special bag, giving a nod.

“Huh… I guess this is a bit of cheating,” she chuckled.

“Next…”

She held a purple, partly translucent dagger in her hand. It appeared made out of a crystal, with what looked to be a flowing liquid inside of it. The liquid seemed to sail around the dagger moved, like clouds in a sky. It was wrapped in an orange and white wrapping and had a leather holster with it.

Reading the letter with it, Nobina found herself curious by the words.

“Fiction made manifest… Reality becoming a dream… A blade of none and both. Wield it with care or vanish in smoke, flames and… despair… From… the Poet.”

Nobina gaze turned to the dagger, making her curious about what its purpose was.

“Hm… The letter is the key to understanding how this dagger works. All I know is that it must be fragile considering the last words… I’ll have to make sure to keep it safe.”

Nobina placed the dagger into its holster then placed the holster into her special bag. She was thankful the bag acted as a safe space, because she was concerned about keeping such a potentially dangerous, yet powerful dagger on her side.

Soon, she found herself standing in the restroom, listening to the chatter outside.

As she stood in that room, she found herself hesitating to go back out there. So much attention was on her now that she felt the moment she’d step out, she’d be overwhelmed. However, she took a deep breath. She wouldn’t let something like this hold her back. After all, if she wanted to complete her dream, all she could do was move forward past her fears and worries.

“I got this,” Nobina told herself, stepping back into the restaurant’s main room once more.