The Extra's Reincarnation

CLOP…CLOP…CLOP…

A few weeks have passed since I met Audrey. 

Life seemed to go by after that encounter, and Ezekiel and I became much closer. 

If I were to describe our friendship, I'd have to describe as having an annoying little brother.

It was infuriating that a kid like him thought he was superior because of our age gap, even though we were only a year apart. But who was I to judge?

At least I was finally getting out of the village, even if it meant being stuck in a carriage with him and his servant, Nivel.

I wasn't surprised at how well Mr. Nivel and my mother got along.

She quickly entrusted him to be my "babysitter," taking me around the continent so that I could experience new things.

Well... Today, we were heading to Aurean City, the capital of the Aureus Kingdom and the setting for the start of the novel.

All the incidents, demonic breakouts, and misunderstandings.

They all begin here.

Aurean City

Also known as the land of new beginnings and the city of gold.

Not only was Aurean City the most developed city on the seven continents, but Aethel itself was the most technologically advanced, thanks to its history of wealth and successive rulers.

Though I was grateful for many things, all I truly desired was a quiet life, watching the main characters succeed.

But more than anything, I wanted to see how this novel ended. I'd never read anything like it in my entire life, and I had so many questions.
I wasn't sure about this impulsive decision to live a new life in this world.
Even with my knowledge of future events, all the villains, the plots, everything!
I still couldn't figure out who the final villain was.
But now that I was here, maybe I wouldn't mind lending a hand from time to time. Everyone had a role to play in this world, and I didn't even mind being a side character or an extra who watches the villainess get bullied.

GAH!

The carriage had a slight bump, and Ezekiel's head shot up from the cushion.

"Are we there yet, Mr. Nivel?"

Nivel was driving the carriage while Ezekiel and I relaxed in the comfortable compartment Merten had built for us.

One of the perks of Merten's creations was that he installed valuable artifacts. For this carriage, he'd created a manual air conditioner powered by a magic stone and a mechanical motor to switch between hot and cold settings.

"Not yet, I'll check the magic map Merten gave us."

Peeking through the hatch, I saw trees still surrounded us on the road to Aurean City.

We should be at Riverbend by now.

Riverbend was a section of the continent that was cut off from the other half by a wide river.

You could say Aethel was made up of two lands, not just one. This explained the massive bridge that connected to the town we were heading towards.

"It seems we'll be making a stop at a nearby town called Oakwood," Nivel announced. "It has a teleporter to the main city, but we won't arrive for another thirty minutes."
"Argh," Ezekiel groaned, slumping back against the seat. "That girl, Julian... I can't stop thinking about her."
"You mean Audrey?"
"Yes... ever since our eyes met, I think she might have fallen for me." He smiled dreamily, and I almost felt sorry for him.
I wasn't sure if they were supposed to meet in the original novel, but even if they did... well, I had bad news for Ezekiel.
"Zeke... you—actually, just do your best." I placed my hand on his shoulder and gave him a thumbs up.
Ezekiel flinched, and he made an expression almost like he was seeing a ghost.
"Wait... why are you making that face?!"

"What are you talking about? What face?"

"You look like you're pitying me!"

"No? I think you're seeing things."

"Oh, whatever..."

I shrugged off his complaints, and he lay back down.

"Hey Julian, you still haven't told me how you met that girl. I'm a little jealous."

He spoke as if it were a simple question, but I didn't think it was wise to tell him the whole story.

Haah...

"You see, she just happened to come out of the carriage after you guys left, and we talked while she got some fresh air."

"WHAT! And you didn't even tell me?! I thought you were my friend, Julian... sob... sob..."

"Eh? Who would want to be friends with you?"

I retorted, trying to give him a disgusted look and to my surprise, he actually started crying.

"Why would you say such a thing?! wahhh..."

I almost felt guilty, but honestly, I was joking.

"We've only known each other for a day," I pointed out. "How was I supposed to know?"

"Well, you do have a point."

His crying abruptly stopped, and his face returned to normal as if nothing had happened.

"But let me ask you something. How did you greet her?" He pointed at me with a serious expression.

I couldn't tell if I should answer truthfully or not, so I needed to see how he would reply to this question.

"Is there something important about greetings?"

Ezekiel smirked and stroked his chin.

"Of course! As a fellow noble, introductions are everything. I was taught to always be kind, even to those who don't deserve it. The slightest misstep could ruin a potential friendship!"

"Those are big words for a little person," 

"What do you mean, 'little'?! I'm older than you! I have you know that I can disown you because I'm older!"

I looked at Ezekiel suspiciously as he yapped on about his age.

But there was no way he was taught something like that as a kid. Still, I wasn't one to judge, considering I didn't know how he spent the first six years of his life.

He might be a year older than me, but I couldn't bring myself to respect him enough to let him boss me around.

"Anyway, how did you even manage to talk to someone like her?" Ezekiel pressed.

"Didn't you mention she's of Marquis status? You're practically a nobody, yet she didn't even bat an eye at you being a commoner."

"I'm not really sure, to be honest. Maybe she was in a good mood."

"Oh, and you forgot to mention how did you introduced yourself?"

Introduce myself? Oh, right... the greeting?

"Well, my introduction was from one of these books I've read," I explained, "but I went down on one knee, took her hand, and kissed it."

"You WHAT?!" Ezekiel's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Now, I felt even more worried.

I mean, what's so terrible about that?

I was just trying to be polite. If I recalled correctly, that was the customary way to show respect to royalty.

"Julian... you know that—"

REEEEEEEEK!

The carriage abruptly stopped, and I felt a vicious energy lingering outside.

"I'll be straight with you nobles," a voice called out, and it wasn't Nivel's.

"Drop everything you have, and we'll let you go for free."