Cassian stared at the young man kneeling in front of her with a mix of confusion and visible disgust. His wet black hair fell over his face, partially hiding his eyes—a detail that was already starting to irritate her for reasons she didn't fully understand yet.

  "What's your problem?" she spat, scooting back a bit. "Why were you all over me like that? Are you some kind of fucking pervert or what?"

  The guy raised his hands in a placating gesture, his cheeks flushing slightly. "No! No, it's not... I was saving you! You weren't breathing and..."

  "Hiro?" A feminine voice interrupted. "What's going on?"

  Cassian whipped her head around. Two girls were emerging from behind nearby ruins, approaching quickly.

  The first one was... well. Wow.

  Blonde. Long golden hair that shone under the suns. Matching golden eyes that seemed to glow with their own light. A soft, compassionate face. And her chest...

  Damn, she even beats me, Cassian thought with an irrational twinge of irritation.

  She wore elaborate white robes with golden accents—clearly a priestess or something like that. The aura of purity radiating from her was almost nauseating.

  The second girl was different. Short brown hair, cut practically. Sharp hazel eyes, wary and assessing. An athletic build visible even under her light leather armor. She carried a short sword at her hip and walked with the confidence of someone who knew how to use it.

  Tomboy, Cassian categorized immediately. Classic archetype.

  The two girls stopped beside the guy—Hiro, apparently—and started talking rapidly.

  Except...

  "ヒーロ、これはどういうことですか？なぜエルフと一緒にいるのですか？"

  Cassian blinked. "What the..."

  I don't understand anything. Absolutely nothing.

  The tomboy—Lena?—gestured toward Cassian, her tone clearly questioning and slightly accusatory. The priestess placed a soothing hand on her shoulder, saying something soft that only heightened Lena's agitation.

  Hiro responded in the same incomprehensible language, pointing toward the river, then at Cassian, making gestures that looked like... drowning?

  Oh shit. They're speaking another language. Of course they're speaking another language—it's another WORLD.

  Then Hiro did something strange.

  His fingers moved in the air—not randomly, but precisely. As if touching something Cassian couldn't see. Swiping. Tapping. Pinching to zoom.

  A touchscreen. He's pretending to use an invisible touchscreen.

  A brief light flashed around all of them—so subtle Cassian almost missed it. Then...

  "...and that's why I gave her mouth-to-mouth!" Hiro finished, his voice suddenly perfectly understandable.

  Cassian froze. "Wait. I can... I can understand you now."

  "Mouth-to-mouth?!" Lena's voice shot up an octave. "HIRO!"

  "It was a medical emergency!" he protested.

  The priestess—Lucia—placed a hand on her own cheek, eyes widening. "Oh my god, Hiro, you used real-time translation magic? For all four of us?"

  "Uh... yeah?" Hiro scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "It was necessary so we could all communicate."

  "That's amazing!" Lucia clasped her hands together, eyes shining with admiration. "Real-time translation is advanced-level magic! You always surprise us, Hiro."

  Lena crossed her arms, but even she looked impressed. "Yeah, well... I guess it's handy."

  A system.

  The realization hit Cassian like a brick. This guy has a fucking SYSTEM.

  She examined him more closely. Average looks—not ugly, but nothing extraordinary. Messy black hair partially hiding his eyes. Slightly hunched posture, like he wasn't used to being the center of attention. Practical but generic clothes.

  And he's hanging out with two hot girls who clearly admire him.

  Oh fuck. Oh FUCK.

  He's an isekai protagonist. A cliché isekai protagonist. And these two...

  Cassian glanced at Lena—who had subtly positioned herself between her and Hiro, shooting wary glances her way.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The tsundere.

  Then Lucia—who was looking at Hiro with those sparkling eyes full of pure admiration.

  The priestess.

  It's a harem in the making. I've stumbled into a fucking harem isekai.

  "Wait." Another thought struck her. She touched her throat, speaking slowly. "Since when am I..."

  I'm not speaking English. Not Japanese. I'm speaking... something else. A language I've never learned but I KNOW.

  It was so natural she hadn't even noticed. Like breathing. Like blinking.

  This body came with a pre-installed language pack, apparently.

  "Are you okay?" Lucia asked, stepping closer with concern. "You seem confused."

  Cassian shook her head. "I... yeah. Just... a lot to process."

  Hiro stood, brushing off his clothes. "Let me introduce myself properly. I'm Hiro." He pointed to the priestess. "This is Lucia, our healer." Then to the tomboy. "And Lena, our frontline fighter."

  "Nice to meet you," Lena muttered, not sounding nice at all.

  Lucia smiled warmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you! What's your name?"

  "Cassian," she replied after a brief hesitation. "Just... Cassian."

  No need to mention the rest.

  "Cassian," Hiro repeated, tasting the name. "That's pretty. So, like I was saying, I saw you fall from the bridge. You were sinking, so I dove in and pulled you to the shore. You weren't breathing, so I was about to start CPR when..." He touched his cheek with a wince. "...you woke up and slapped me."

  Oh.

  Ohhh.

  The pieces clicked. The bridge. The fall. The cold water. Then... nothing. Until she woke up with his lips practically on hers.

  Shit. He really did save me.

  Her pride bristled immediately. "I didn't need saving. I would've been..." Dead. You would've been dead. "...fine."

  Lena's eyebrows shot up. "Fine? You were drowning."

  "I would've figured it out," Cassian insisted, even though she knew it was ridiculous.

  Why did I slap him, anyway? I should've given him a proper manly punch. That would've felt more satisfying.

  If it had been Lucia doing the mouth-to-mouth...

  She glanced at the priestess. Soft lips. Compassionate face. That chest...

  ...I would've happily stayed unconscious a little longer.

  "WHAT." Cassian shook her head violently. "No. Bad thought. Very bad thought."

  "Huh?" The three stared at her in confusion.

  "Nothing!" Cassian forced a smile. "Nothing at all. So. Thanks. For the rescue. I guess."

  This is weird. All of this is weird. I've finally found people—actual civilization, talking humans—and I feel... uncomfortable?

  It's not what I imagined. I don't know why, but something feels off.

  Hiro smiled—a generic protagonist smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "No problem. It's what we do." He tilted his head, studying her. "But... what’s an elf doing so deep in the Cursed Lands? Alone?"

  Cursed Lands. Of course it's called the Cursed Lands. Why wouldn't it be.

  "I'm lost," Cassian admitted. No need to lie about that. "I just... ended up here."

  Hiro's eyes narrowed slightly—he clearly didn't fully buy it. But instead of pressing, his face lit up.

  "Well, in that case, why don't you join us?"

  "WHAT?!" Lena spun toward him. "Hiro, we don't even know her!"

  "She's lost and alone in the Cursed Lands," Hiro replied calmly. "It'd be cruel to leave her."

  Lucia nodded enthusiastically. "Hiro's right. We should help her."

  Lena opened her mouth, then closed it, muttering something that sounded like "...of course you'd agree..."

  Cassian hesitated. Join a party? With the cliché isekai protagonist and his budding harem?

  On one hand, it made sense. More safety. Better survival odds. Info about this world.

  On the other...

  She looked at Hiro. Then Lucia. Then Lena.

  ...something in me says this is a mistake.

  But logic won out. "Okay. I'll join you."

  Why do I already regret this?

  "Excellent!" Hiro clapped his hands. "The more the merrier. Alright, let me explain our quest."

  He pointed to a distant mountain—a massive formation with a summit that gleamed silver under the suns.

  "That's Silver Fang. We're heading there to find a plant called Summer's Tears. It's for a Guild quest—an essential ingredient for a remedy against an epidemic ravaging some regions. The plant only grows on that mountain."

  Cassian nodded. "Yeah..."

  "It's dangerous," Lena added. "The Cursed Lands don't mess around. We've already fought three terrifying monsters..."

  Terrifying monster?!

  "...and this city was supposed to be abandoned, but we heard something terrifying last night."

  They heard it too.

  An awkward silence fell.

  Then Cassian noticed something. Her clothes were still soaked. Clinging uncomfortably to her body.

  She raised a hand, channeling mana. The water in her clothes—every drop—responded to her call. It extracted from the fabric, forming a floating sphere in front of her. Cassian spun it lazily, then dissipated it into the air.

  Dry. Perfectly dry.

  The three stared.

  "Woah," Hiro murmured.

  Cassian turned to him, noticing his clothes were soaked too. "You too?"

  "Uh..."

  She repeated the process, water fleeing his clothes and vanishing. In seconds, he was dry.

  "Thanks!" Hiro touched his shirt in wonder. "That's... impressive control. Water manipulation?"

  "Among other things," Cassian replied vaguely.

  Lena suddenly slid between them, her face inches from Cassian's. "Okay, enough magic demos. We should get moving."

  Oh. Oh, she's jealous. This is hilarious.

  Cassian stepped back. "I agree."

  Thanks, tsundere tomboy. It was getting weird anyway.

  Lucia approached, her hands glowing with soft golden light. "Cassian, do you need healing?"

  Cassian wanted to refuse—pride and all—but remembered.

  My head still hurts. And I'm still weakened from the centaur. My body's not at a hundred percent.

  "...Yeah. Okay. Thanks."

  She sat with visible reluctance, and Lucia knelt behind her. The priestess's hands gently touched her head, and soothing warmth spread through her skull.

  This... this feels really nice.

  The dull pain vanished. Fatigue eased slightly. Cassian sighed despite herself.

  "Feeling better?" Lucia asked softly.

  "Yeah. A lot better." Cassian forced herself not to sound too grateful. "Thanks."

  Hiro's lucky. A priestess this gorgeous in his harem? Unfair.

  ---

  They'd settled in a building on the city's edge—a structure that had probably once been an inn. The roof was intact, walls solid. A good temporary shelter.

  Lena was hunched over a rickety table, a map spread out in front of her. She muttered constantly, finger tracing lines.

  "This map is SHIT," she growled for the fifth time. "We got totally scammed."

  Lucia was brushing her long blonde hair, sitting near a window. "Maybe it's just... old?"

  "Old?! It's PREHISTORIC! Look, it shows the city like it's still inhabited. It shows roads that don't exist anymore. Half the landmarks are completely wrong." Lena jabbed the map. "It takes longer to decipher this crap than to just walk in the general direction!"

  Hiro laughed nervously. "Okay, okay, I admit the map seller was maybe... unreliable."

  "Maybe?!"

  Cassian watched from the corner, leaning against a wall. "Don't you have GPS or something?"

  They looked at her in confusion. Especially Hiro.

  "...Never mind."

  Hiro turned to her. "We have a storage ring, at least. It's linked to a locker in the Adventurers' Guild warehouses. Fixed size, but it holds all our supplies."

  Cassian blinked. "Wait. Linked to a... real locker? Not dimensional space?"

  "Dimensional space?" Hiro laughed. "That'd be amazing. No one knows how to make dimensional storage."

  Interesting. So no infinite magic bags here. Just... remote connection to an actual physical place.

  This world is more... realistic? Than I thought.

  Hiro suddenly raised his hand, fingers moving in the air. Tapping. Swiping. Like interacting with an invisible screen.

  The system. He's using his system.

  Then Hiro's face frowned slightly. "Tch. Just a bit more and I would've leveled up."

  Cassian couldn't help a smirk. "What are you doing, Hiro? You look like you're playing with the air."

  He froze. "Uh. I... was just checking... my... uh..."

  "Your thoughts?" she suggested innocently.

  "Yeah! My thoughts."

  Subtle. Really subtle.

  Lena rolled her eyes. "Hiro always does that. We stopped asking."

  Lucia nodded. "It's probably some kind of mental meditation. Hiro's very smart."

  Oh my god. They really buy everything.

  Cassian bit her tongue to keep from laughing.

  Then she noticed how Lena was glancing her way. Not directly—subtly. But the tomboy's eyes were wary, assessing.

  She sees me as a rival. For Hiro.

  Poor girl. She already had Lucia to deal with. Now I show up—a mysterious, "exotic" elf.

  Her love triangle just became a square.

  Cassian almost felt bad.

  Almost.

  Lucia finished brushing her hair, tying it into a high ponytail. "So, Cassian, where are you from?"

  "Far away," Cassian answered evasively. "Very far."

  "Is this your first time in the Cursed Lands?"

  "Yeah."

  "You must be terrified!" Lucia clasped her hands compassionately. "But don't worry. We'll protect you. Hiro's incredibly strong, and Lena's an experienced fighter. You're safe with us."

  Strong? Cassian glanced at Hiro—his skinny build, unassuming posture.

  He must have a system cheat. Probably boosted stats or some broken skill.

  "I can handle myself," Cassian said, maybe a bit too sharply.

  Lucia's smile faltered. "Oh, of course! I didn't mean to..."

  "It's fine." Cassian sighed. "Sorry. Long day. Long... week."

  Long LIFE since I got dumped in this shitty world.

  Hiro stood, stretching. "We should rest. Tomorrow, we head for Silver Fang. About two days' walk if Lena's map is even vaguely accurate."

  "It's NOT," Lena muttered.

  "Then three days." Hiro smiled. "But with Cassian in the group now, we have a mage."