Chapter 7: The Dawn Approaches
“I can’t walk anymore…”
As I stumbled through the forest, lost in a frenzy of fear, I heard Yuzuki-san’s delicate voice from behind. Startled, I snapped back to reality and rushed to her side.
“I’m sorry I didn’t notice.”
Yuzuki-san, sitting on the ground, slowly shook her head and cautiously glanced back.
“…I wonder if it’s safe now that we’ve come this far.”
Though there was no real basis for it, I felt the need to say something to ease my own anxiety. I sat down beside Yuzuki-san and let out a deep sigh. I had no idea how many hours we had been fleeing, but my stamina was running low. Now that I was seated, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to stand up for a while. My stomach was also growling…
“Are you okay, Mizumoto-kun?”
With a concerned tone, Yuzuki-san pointed to my left hand. Oh right, I had been gored by that massive rabbit’s horn. Tentatively, I examined my left hand and noticed that the bleeding seemed to have stopped. It still throbbed, but it was bearable.
“…Yeah, I think I’m okay.”
I hoped it would heal on its own. In this Otherworld, who knew what could happen? I was worried about infections and other dangers.
“First, let’s wash the wound. …Water!”
Perhaps she had the same idea, as she cast a spell to sprinkle water over my hand. It stung quite a bit, but I had no choice but to endure it. I managed to clean the wound, and thankfully, it seemed like no more blood was flowing. It felt like it was healing quickly, but I would just consider that a stroke of luck.
“Thank you.”
“What will happen to us…?”
Her voice was muffled as she buried her face between her knees. When I thought about what lay ahead, only grim futures came to mind. Starvation was the better option; the worst would be being devoured alive by a ferocious Beast. Either way, I didn’t feel like we had much chance of survival.
“…I’m sure we’ll be okay.”
I had thought of various things, but all that came out were words without any real foundation. I felt like saying them would somehow make them true.
“Yeah.”
Before I knew it, the surroundings had grown dim. It wasn’t quite dark enough that we couldn’t walk, but it was only a matter of time. Ideally, we should be looking for a safe place, but I seriously doubted there was such a place in this forest. We had been fleeing through the relatively flat terrain of the woods. It wasn’t likely we would stumble upon a cave at the edge of a cliff. We could only hold our breath and hope not to be discovered by any Beasts.
“I’m hungry.”
With that natural admission, Yuzuki-san lay down on the ground covered in dry leaves.
“W-wait… Yuzuki-san. If you sleep here…”
You’ll get eaten alive. I couldn’t bring myself to say those words to Yuzuki-san, who kept shaking her head. I was at my limit too. I was using the water generated by magic to stave off hunger, but I couldn’t fight off the sleepiness.
“Hey, Mizumoto-kun… Can you stay a little closer to me?”
She gazed at me with sleepy, drooping eyes. Seeing her shiver slightly, combined with my own lingering anxiety, I lay down beside her without hesitation.
“I’m scared…”
As she whispered those words, Yuzuki-san gently hugged me. Without thinking, I instinctively hugged her back.
“It’s okay.”
I patted her back, offering comfort with words that had no real assurance. As I felt her soft presence, the anxiety I had been carrying began to fade away. At the same time, a wave of sleepiness washed over me, and my consciousness slipped away.
Gradually, I became aware again. The surroundings seemed brighter than I had expected. My left arm felt numb, but I couldn’t tell why. Turning my face to the left and opening my eyes, I vaguely recognized a face in front of me.
“…Huh!?”
Upon closer inspection, it was Yuzuki-san’s face. She was peacefully sleeping, and I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to us. I could tell she was alive, but an indescribable anxiety gripped me as I gently tapped her cheek to wake her.
“Yuzuki-san, wake up!”
“Mm…”
Seeing her slowly open her eyes brought me a sense of relief, and I felt my own cheeks relax.
“Oh, good morning.”
Yuzuki-san smiled brightly when she noticed me. Oh no, she’s incredibly cute. What is happening here? As I was lost in confusion, I noticed her face was turning red.
“I-I’m so sorry…!”
Yuzuki-san shot up, her face downcast as she apologized. I slowly sat up, gently massaging my left arm that had been cradling her.
“No, it’s fine… really.”
I stammered, trying to assure her while also escaping into my own thoughts, glancing around our surroundings again.
“More importantly… it seems we’re still alive, against all odds…”
The familiar sound of birds chirping echoed from somewhere nearby. Yuzuki-san seemed to snap back to reality as she also began to survey our surroundings.
“Yeah, maybe we are…”
It was undoubtedly a stroke of luck, but if we were truly lucky, we wouldn’t have ended up in such a forest in the first place. I pondered this while gazing at Yuzuki-san’s slightly flushed cheeks.
“For now, let’s aim to get out of this forest.”
“Okay.”
And so, we steeled our hearts, determined to press on.