What? I Actually Reincarnated As Stepping Stone In Another World?

"R-Rozen?" Lucia shouted frantically to Arthur beside her.

Arthur nodded slightly and looked at Lucia, who was in a state of panic.

He smiled a little, understanding the reason for the little girl's panicked expression.

It was likely because she didn't anticipate being kidnapped and taken to Duke Asvold's territory, which was quite far from the imperial capital.

The distance between the two capitals was approximately a week's journey by horse-drawn carriage, but for an Elemental Saint capable of using space-time magic, it was not an issue at all.

"Why do you look panicked?"

"Are you not from Rozen?"

Arthur asked suspiciously, noticing Lucia's anxious expression.

"I-I'm not from Rozen!" Lucia replied, shaking her head rapidly.

"Then where are you from?" Arthur inquired, a faint grin forming on his face.

He was becoming increasingly intrigued by teasing this adorable little girl, and at times, he felt nostalgic for the days when he would joke around with Mira and Chloe in his previous life.

Perhaps he will never be able to let go of this habit, even though he has been reincarnated.

"I-I'm from a place that's not well-known," Lucia stuttered, blushing and turning her face to the side.

"I see," Arthur responded casually, appearing to believe her.

"You! You're always teasing me!" Lucia exclaimed, her eyes filling with tears.

Her expression looked incredibly pitiful and cute.

Arthur was taken aback by her crying and quickly apologized.

"Alright, I'm sorry."

"I believe you," Arthur reassured her gently.

His beautiful purple eyes and handsome smile immediately made Lucia stop crying, and her face turned as red as a tomato.

"Hmph!" Lucia snorted and turned her head sideways in embarrassment.

Arthur didn't say anything else; sometimes excessive teasing was not a good thing, and it could backfire on him.

He immediately turned his gaze toward the hallway in front of him.

The corpses of the kidnappers had been neatly cleaned up by his guards, so that the hallway did not have a single corpse lying around.

Arthur nodded in satisfaction with the guards' performance.

Soon, a light appeared in their sight.

"That's the way out!" Lucia pointed at the light and spoke excitedly to Arthur.

Arthur nodded enthusiastically as well, but in his heart, he could only sigh in relief.

"I can finally get out too," Arthur muttered to himself.

"Alright, let's get out of this underground room," Arthur said lightly to Lucia beside him.

"Um!" Lucia nodded with a wide smile.

Soon, the two walked together.

...

"Finally out!" Lucia shouted happily, her face beaming with a smile of happiness.

She immediately turned to Arthur beside her and exclaimed, "Arthur! we're finally out!"

"Yes, yes, we're out."

Arthur replied nonchalantly, his face devoid of any signs of happiness.

He had been pretending for so long that he was tired of it and just wanted to go home and sleep peacefully in his own bed.

Despite this, he was inwardly relieved and happy that his mission had been a success.

"Humph! You're always like this," Lucia said, dissatisfied with Arthur's response and complaining.

Suddenly, Arthur coughed and held his chest wound with an expression of pain.

Upon seeing this, Lucia's expression turned to one of panic. "Is the wound getting worse?!" she asked fearfully.

"It's fine; we need to leave soon," Arthur replied, courage showing on his pale face. "In any case, I have completed my mission of saving people."

Hearing this, Lucia came to her senses and remembered Arthur's previous goal of defending justice. "I'm sorry, Arthur," she said, bowing her head with a sad expression.

"It's okay; it's not your fault at all, Lucia," Arthur reassured her with a gentle smile.

"Arthur~," Lucia said, raising her head and looking at him with growing affection.

For some reason, Arthur felt goosebumps upon seeing her gaze, as if it were familiar to him.

"Okay, let's go," he said, changing the subject and speaking softly to Lucia.

"Um! Okay!" Lucia nodded excitedly in response.

They walked out of "The Drunken World," the bar where Arthur had first entered.

The area was eerily quiet, with no one in sight. Even the corpse that had been there before was gone.

As they stepped outside, Arthur and Lucia noticed four figures standing outside the bar.

Three of them were Arthur's bodyguards, but the fourth person was unknown to him.

This person was short and fat, with no hair on his head. He was dressed in luxurious, flashy clothes, and at first glance, it was clear that he was not an ordinary person.

Arthur gave a questioning look to the three guards.

As if they understood his meaning, the three bodyguards winked their eyes as if to convey, "Everything is taken care of."

Arthur gave a small nod, satisfied with the performance of his three bodyguards.

"Who are you?" Lucia asked warily, looking at the four people in front of her.

After all, she didn't know their purpose.

Seeing the situation become tense, the bald and fat man smiled and replied politely.

"Don't be wary; we didn't come to harm you," the fat man spoke cautiously, looking at Arthur carefully.

"Let me introduce myself; my name is Dard, and I am the leader of Rozen City," he said, introducing himself respectfully to Lucia and Arthur.

He didn't dare to be presumptuous in front of Arthur at all.

Initially, he was having fun with his female slaves when he received a call informing him that a very important person was coming to Rozen, and he was asked to pay respectful attention to that person.

Naturally, he did not dare to resist and specifically ordered all his subordinates to pay attention to the important person.

However, what he didn't expect was that the important person turned out to be the sole heir of Duke Asvold's family!

This made him break out in a cold sweat, and he immediately ordered his subordinates to keep the situation in Rozen safe.

But what he didn't expect was that the heir to Duke Asvold's mansion had discovered an illegal slave sale!

How could he not panic in his heart?

What if the Duke of Asvold's heir was dissatisfied with him and found evidence of the crime he was holding?

Of course, he wouldn't let this happen.

It was this that made him immediately go to the bar where the incident happened.

Unfortunately, he met three bodyguards of Arthur who were guarding the bar.

Upon hearing that the fat man was the leader of Rozen City, Lucia lowered her guard and looked at Dard nonchalantly.

"Alright, so what's your goal?" She asked in a casual tone, as if she didn't care about Dard's leadership status.

Hearing this, Dard frowned and felt annoyed with the arrogant attitude of the little girl. However, he didn't dare misbehave in front of Arthur.

"Of course, I want to assess the situation in front of me. As the leader of the city, I must take responsibility for everything," Dard said with an expression full of justice.

But Arthur, who was listening, looked at Dard coldly. He knew that the person in front of him was pretending; his hypocritical expression was clear on his face.

"It seems that he's a pest that I must eradicate in the future," Arthur thought coldly and marked Dard as a person to be eliminated.

"Well then, can you please help my friend first? He's badly injured and needs immediate medical attention." Lucia said with a worried expression.

Hearing this, Arthur's three bodyguards looked at each other and tried to hold back their laughter. They were amazed to see their young master interacting with a girl.

Arthur's mouth twitched, and he blushed slightly as he watched his three bodyguards stifle their laughter.

"Damn, look at how I've trained you guys!" Arthur thought to himself and gave his guards a sharp look.

The three guards immediately lowered their heads, but Arthur knew that they were still trying to hold back their laughter. He rolled his eyes and ignored them.

"What?! He's wounded?!" Dard shouted in shock, and panic immediately appeared on his face.

If the heir to Duke Asvold was injured in Rozen, he would be the one to blame.

"Alright, I'll immediately call my bodyguards and take him to my mansion for treatment!" Dard spoke hurriedly and reached for his phone.

However, one of Arthur's three bodyguards stopped him.

"No need; we'll take care of it," the guard said firmly.

Dard stopped and looked at the three bodyguards, realizing that they were Arthur's guards. He nodded his head in understanding.

Lucia frowned, wanting to say something, but Arthur quickly interrupted her.

"Alright, Lucia. Let the three of them escort me to the medical center in Rozen. You don't have to worry," Arthur said softly, a handsome smile on his face.

"But..."

"It's okay; please trust me," Arthur coaxed Lucia gently.

Hearing this, Lucia could only swallow her words and nod slowly.

"Alright, but can I accompany you too?" Lucia said pleadingly to Arthur, but he shook his head quickly.

"No, you have to go back as soon as possible. Your family must be worried, right?" Arthur gave an argument that Lucia could not refute.

Lucia, who had nothing to say, could only remain silent.

"Well, please arrange for this girl's accommodation, city leader. Her family will pick her up soon." Arthur looked at Dard with some meaning and spoke lightly.

Although Arthur looked like he was only five years old, Dard didn't dare to go against his orders at all.

What's more, Arthur had an attitude and authority that a five-year-old boy didn't have!

"Of course, leave it to me," Dard patted his chest excitedly.

Arthur nodded and immediately walked, with the three bodyguards helping him.

Just as Arthur wanted to walk, Lucia behind him held the hem of his shirt sadly.

"Will we ever meet again?" Lucia said it with a depressed expression.

Arthur immediately turned his head and gently brushed her short blonde hair, saying, "Of course, we will definitely meet in the future."

Hearing this, Lucia immediately smiled and nodded excitedly.

She immediately let go of the hem of Arthur's shirt and smiled gently, "Alright, Arthur, you have to be careful." Lucia spoke softly to him.

"You too, Lucia." Arthur smiled and quickly walked away until he was out of Lucia's sight.

"We'll meet again, for sure!"

"I won't let you go."

"After all, you must be my hero."

"And in a fairy tale, a hero would end up with a princess, right?" Lucia smiled faintly, and her eyes fluctuated slightly.

--------

There should have been more than 40 chapters, but because I was quite busy this month, it was very delayed.

I will finish this arc today, so stay tuned!

Thank you!