Melanie the Reincarnator

Hephaestus, God of the Forge

《Melanie, wake up.》

At Hepha's beckoning, Melanie groggily sat up. They were still up in the air, but they were close enough to the capital that it shouldn't take too long now.

《...ETA?》

《We're actually landing now and walking the rest of the way. Wouldn't want Nicholas to be seen.》

At those words, the sleigh began lowering altitude, and as soon as they went under the clouds, the large walls surrounding the capital city of Nevadalier, as well as the large castle in the center of it, came into view.

《...Still as big as I remember it. How far along do these walls stretch again?》

《Nearly a hundred kilometers on just one side. It's a big city.》

《You got that right...》

Even though the two were still a fair distance away, the walls surrounding the city went off into the horizon. It was still early morning, the sun just barely rising, so it was safe to land as close as they were without being seen as the road wasn't busy yet. Once the sleigh stabilized, the two hopped off, and the sleigh, as well as the reindeers, disappeared into dust.

《Thanks again, Nicholas.》

Melanie thanked the original owner of the sleigh as it disappeared into thin air. She then looked towards the city with anticipation.

《It's time... I never did get to brag about you in any our previous lives, but now, finally...!》

Melanie was excited that she could show off her Aegis. The Aegis in question, Hephaestus, on the other hand, bitterly laughed as she knew Melanie would go on and on about her without stopping.

《Let's save that for when we get there...》

They still had to walk the rest of the way, after all. Though, "walk" in the sense of Nevadalier residents is by no means a normal, leisurely walk. The only real reason why anyone would use a carriage is either to show authority, or to carry goods. Why? That's because to Nevadalians, "walking" is just immensely faster.

And so, Melanie and Hepha decided to race to the city gate, with no real punishment to the loser or reward to the winner, just a race for pure fun. The few hundred meters that they had to cross was closed in mere seconds, with Melanie being the winner of the race, not even breaking a sweat.

《Guh... Why is it... even though Hepha is an Aegis... and literally just a recolored you... Hepha is severely outmatch... in physical capabilities?!》

Meanwhile, Hephaestus arrived a few seconds later than Melanie, covered in sweat and panting for air. Fortunately, she was an Aegis, so all that sweat wasn't real sweat. That said, she actually is exhausted compared to Melanie who was smiling smugly.

《Now then, as for my reward...》

《Hepha thought... we agreed... not to have a reward... or punishment...!》

《Did we? Anyway, for my reward, I'll have you be carried on my back!》

Although most of the time, Melanie's antics can appear as rude or mean, and when you look at them from afar, it would seem like Melanie's bullying and extorting Hepha, in reality, Melanie actually does care about Hepha. Melanie knelt down in front of Hepha, her back ready to carry.

《...Thanks.》

Hepha climbed on top of Melanie's back, and let herself be carried. The two would later arrive at the gate and see the two guardsmen crying tears of joy while smiling like idiots, and then after being given the green light, Melanie entered the city with Hepha on her back.