She glanced over at him, then smiled, angelically. Keith was thrown off by that smile. 'What are you up to, now, lad?' He thought as he felt slightly disturbed.

"I can see that you don't think I can pull it out either. What would you do if I DID manage to pull it out?" Keith's face paled. He clearly knew that if he bet against Robin, that he'd end up losing.

"If you can pull it out, then you will get a gold coin." He replied.

"That's the king's reward. We already know about that." Robin shook her head. "I'm asking, what are you going to do if I manage to pull the sword out?"

Keith looked at Christian for help, but Christian was clearly only watching with a mischievous gaze. 'What! You're on his side, too, Prince!?' He complained in his heart.

'...Fine. I guess it's allright to suffer a loss at the hands of the Hero...' He resigned himself.

"Then, if you manage to pull the sword out of the stone, I will be your follower for a day." He said.

This was a true honor, since Keith was a member of the Royal Family's Guard. To have a Royal Guard follow one around was something that not even most n.o.bles had the honor of experencing.

Of course, none of the crowd realized that he would do such a thing anyways as a matter of course. The Hero was important to the country. Obviously, only the best guards were at a high enough level to act as protectors. Well, n.o.body noticed-except for Robin, that is.

She narrowed her eyes. A follower? What was the difference between a follower and a legalized stalker, she'd like to know! But, if he followed her for a day, then she could end up pulling all sorts of pranks on him, so she nodded in agreement. "It's on!"

Facing the golden hilt before her, she paused for a moment. Pulling out this blade meant the beginning of a lucid nightmare-one that was very, very real. She could give up. She could walk away, and simply live out her life as an adventurer instead.

Her hand then reached out, and grasped the hilt, swinging it out in one fluid motion so that the last light of the setting sun flashed from the blade. Lifting it high above her head.

"I don't know what all the fuss was about. This thing just slid right out!" Robin said.

The men in the remaining crowds felt both happy, and unhappy at the same time. They were happy that the sword was out of the stone, but at Robin's comment, some of them felt like puking blood.

'We threw our backs out and it didn't budge. But now a slip of a lad like you is now the Hero!? How is this fair!?!' Many of them thought this, but didn't say it. A few left the area with dark expressions on their faces. Instead, the crowd cheered as the Hero had finally been unearthed.

"As promised," Keith proclaimed. "The Hero shall be awarded one Gold coin." He pa.s.sed it to Robin, who easily slipped it into her magic bag, unnoticed.

It was at that moment, when a bedraggled man staggered out of an alleyway towards the courtyard, blood flowing from his head, and several large wounds on his back.

"JACK! Jack what happened to you!" A woman rushed out of the crowd, drawing attention to the severely injured man. She was Jack's wife, Mary.

The crowd gathered around, as he used the last bit of his strength to speak. "D..emons...they're heading towards Kelly Village....Hur..ry." Then he fainted.

"Did you hear what he said?"

"He said Demons! Demons! And their headed to Kelly Village!"

"Once they're finished with the village, it'll be us who they'll be after! We're the next closest town!"

As Robin heard what they said, She sighed. "It looks like my initiation to Hero-dom will have to be a crash course."

She pointed towards the healers, who had fully recovered by this time. "Healers! I don't care if it's one of you, or all of you at the same time! Heal that man, and be quick about it! He may have vital information about the situation!" She yelled, grabbing everyone's attention.

Then she turned to the crowds and gave them instructions. "And you lot! Don't just run about like a chicken with your heads cut off! Men, gather weapons and s.h.i.+elds! Women, gather your children and take them to a safe place, preferably a st.u.r.dy stone house if possible! Board up windows and bar the doors! I'll need men to volunteer to come with me to save Kelly village, and some horses!"

"Leave Kelly Village be! It's done for by now!" A voice cried out.

Robin turned in the voice's direction and glared. "Oh? Let's hope that the capital's army is not as much a coward as you are, then! Don't want to come along with me, and have no one to protect? Good! I also need men to run to the capital for aid! Time is of the essence, people, let's move!!"

Robin waved her sword in a diagonal slash, and everyone knew they were dismissed. In the face of crisis, the people could only do what she said. the healers crowded towards Jack, and soon an oreole of light could be seen encompa.s.sing him. The rest quickly followed what Robin had said, running back to their houses to grab whatever weapons and s.h.i.+elds that they had to prepare for battle.

"How did you..?" Christian asked.

"I didn't do much. I just gave them a plan of action."

"That was quite daring. What would you have done if they hadn't listened?"

"What people need the most during times like these is a plan of action. Something big and scary has happened close by, and they are afraid. All that fear will eat at them from the inside, unless they find a better use of their time rather than worrying.

Since I'm the Hero, they now see me as a source of authority, even if I'm new. I simply gave them something better to do. The key is to tell them to do things that they would probably do anyways. That way they agree with your plan of action, even if they don't particularly like you." Robin replied, heading towards the adventurer's hall-Christian in tow.

"But you sounded so experienced with situations like these? Were you a war hero in your world, as well?"

"Don't get me wrong: I've never been in a real war before. I just know something about people is all. This will be a first for me as well." Robin said, her eyes narrowing in thought. "I'm going to need a horse, and a metal gauntlet. But first...."

"First, what?" Christian asked.

Robin smirked, then threw the door to the adventurer's guild open.