Grimgal of Ashes and Illusion - Volume 8 - Chapter 1

1. Lost in the Fog

The path was dark and twisted. 

And it sometimes grew so thin that it almost seemed like they had hit a dead end, so the lantern’s light only showed a foot or so ahead of them. 

The feel of the rock walls that he sometimes touched was hard and rough. 

So was the sensation of the ground under his feet. 

The further along they went, the more the fire of hope seemed to dim, and it felt like even the slightest breath could extinguish it. Even if they moved forward cautiously, step by step, was there even going to be a payoff for it at the end? 

Had this been the right choice? 

Wasn’t it a huge mistake instead? 

It had been hot when they’d first wandered in here, but it had been cool for quite a while now. The air was dry, but it still smelled like a bog for some reason. 

“Hey, Parupiro...” Ranta began. 

“What, Rantaronosuke?” 

“Listen, pal, don’t you dare add weird nonsense to the end of my great name. I’ll kill you.” 

“If you stop messing with my name, I’ll think about it.” 

“I’ve got rights, Parupyororin, and you’d better not infringe on them,” 

Ranta said viciously. “Wait, hold on, is this really okay...?” 

“It’s fine,” Haruhiro answered immediately, then bit his lower lip. 

Could he say that for sure? Was he confident about it? 

No. 

There was no way he could be. 

He didn’t know whether it was fine or not. How could he? 

This passageway connected Darunggar to Grimgar. Did he have any evidence of that? Yes. Mr. Unjo’s statement. 

Mr. Unjo had wandered into a foggy place on the border between the former kingdoms of Nananka and Ishmal, then reached Darunggar by passing through a cave he’d found there. He was a former volunteer soldier, with far more seniority than Haruhiro and the party. It was hard to imagine someone like that would lie to them. He was trustworthy. 

Still, even if he wasn’t lying, he could have misremembered. Even if Mr. 

Unjo had spoken the truth, what proof did they have that this passageway was the cave in question? 

Was this even a passageway at all? 

If it wasn’t... No, how would they even decide that it wasn’t? 

If the path ahead was blocked, Haruhiro would have to admit this was a mistake. 

That’s right,  he thought. We have no choice but to go as far as it takes us. 

Was that really true? 

What if they went as far as they possibly could, and then it was a dead end? Maybe it would be better for them to give up at some point and turn back while they still could? Somewhere? Where exactly? With what timing? 

It started to bother him, so Haruhiro looked upwards. He lifted his lantern. 

There was no visible roof. It was almost like they were in a deep, dark rift. 

It’s different,  he thought. 

This place wasn’t like the passageway in Grimgar’s Wonder Hole that connected to the Dusk Realm, or the one they had passed through on their way to Darunggar, either. 

For a start, there were no gremlins. Lala had talked about them. 

Gremlins had the ability to cross from one world to another, or the power to find the places where the worlds were connected and flee through them. 

There were no gremlins in this passageway. 

Didn’t that mean this was the wrong place? 

It might. 

It also might not. 

He didn’t know. 

How long had it been since they’d entered this passageway? His sense of time wasn’t just dulled; it had basically disappeared. The days they had spent in Darunggar were like a distant memory, and when it came to Grimgar, he had to question whether they had ever been there at all. 

Did Grimgar even exist? Wasn’t he just imagining it did? There was no way they could go back to a place he wasn’t even sure existed. 

Moving forward, turning back, it was all the same. They would never get out of here. They had no choice but to wander until their last strength gave out. 

How was that fine? It wasn’t. Haruhiro had lied. He’d deceived them. His comrades. And himself. 

He felt the regret, the self-hatred, the weight of his own responsibility, the sense of powerlessness, and the despair, one after another, all of them weighing down on him at once. They strangled him. Tripped him up. How could he move forward when he was suffering under their weight? Wasn’t he going to stop? 

Even though everyone was there, he felt alone. The light illuminated where he was going, yet he saw nothing. He felt like he was in abject darkness, abandoned and left behind. 

Isn’t this good enough?  he thought in despair. Time to stop. I mean, it’s not fair. Why am I the only one going through this? 

Ranta, he can complain whenever he wants, so he’s got it easy. If you don’t like it, do it yourself, man. Take some responsibility. You try carrying this heavy burden. It’s not like I ever wanted to. If I didn’t have to, I wouldn’t. I’m not kidding. I’ve had enough. I don’t care who it is, I just want someone to take over. 

“Is that okay with you?” a voice said. 

Haruhiro heard the voice, so he turned back. His eyes met Merry’s. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked. 

“Just now...” he started to ask, but stopped short. 

No one had said anything. It was all in his head. He’d heard a voice where there was none. Of course. There was no way he could have heard that voice. 

After all... it had been Manato’s voice. 

Manato was gone. He wasn’t anywhere now, outside of Haruhiro and the others’ memories. 

But what if Manato were to ask him that? 

Is that okay with you? 

If Manato hit him with that question, how would Haruhiro respond? If Manato could ask, Haruhiro might want to turn to him for help. 

 Please. I’m begging you, come back. 

Manato would probably give him a slightly troubled smile, then say, “Even if I wanted to take over for you, I can’t. You know that, Haruhiro.” 

A ghostly voice spoke up again. “I’m not one to talk, but...” 

That was weird. 

Really weird. 

He could even hear Moguzo’s voice. 

“If you really don’t want to... if it’s hard on you... I think you can quit,” 

Moguzo said. “If you talk to them, everyone will understand. But...” 

“Haruhiro, would that be okay with you?” Manato asked again. 

“If you’re tired...” When he heard Shihoru’s voice, Haruhiro thought that maybe he was still sane. His feet were still moving. 

“Nah, I’m not tired.” Haruhiro shook his head slightly, but then thought, What about the others?  It looked like he was still thinking straight. 

Is that okay with me?  he wondered. I dunno? Maybe not? What does everyone else think? 

Well, even if I suddenly said, “I’m done being the leader. Someone else do it,” they wouldn’t know what to do. Would it be like, “Come on, just do it?” 

Well, I’ll still do it. I know no one else wants to. So, for now, I’ll do it. No matter what happens, don’t come crying to me, though, okay? 

If things went really bad, the rest of them would be just as much to blame for making a guy like him be the leader for so long. It wouldn’t just be the leader’s fault. Haruhiro wasn’t alone. Even if Haruhiro screwed up as the leader, it would still be everyone’s fault. 

“Is that how you really feel?” Moguzo asked. 

That’s right, Moguzo,  thought Haruhiro. I’m sure I’m no better than this. 

Haruhiro had no resolve. Even though, in the time since Manato had passed, he’d had more than enough time to make his peace with being the leader, he wasn’t even aware of how unprepared he was. He went with the flow, pressed by necessity, and somehow he’d managed to deal with all the tasks that had piled up in front of him up until now. That was all. 

Manato had been different. He had only been able to be with them for a short time, but it had felt like, if they followed Manato, they could go somewhere. It’d felt like Manato would pull them along to a better place. It’d felt like Manato would lead them. 

“We’ve become a good party,”  Manato had once said. 

Thinking back on it now, Manato had been able to see something then. 

Some sort of path that they should follow. Manato had had a vision for the future. He’d stood up front, looking further ahead than anyone else, his eyes turned upwards. 

Haruhiro could see nothing. He wasn’t even trying to look. He couldn’t think about what was to come. What would things be like tomorrow... no, even later today? What was going to happen? 

That was something that Haruhiro didn’t know. No, not just Haruhiro; nobody knew that. 

He didn’t want to get his hopes up. 

He didn’t want to have hope. 

He didn’t want to be disappointed. 

He didn’t want to get hurt. 

His goals were always set low. He only wished for the things he thought he could get. If it didn’t work out, well, that was that. He could just abandon responsibility at the last moment. What choice did he have otherwise? He wasn’t cut out for this. 

“Is that okay with you?” Manato asked once again. 

No. 

No. That wasn’t it. 

Manato wasn’t saying anything to him. He couldn’t. 

Manato wasn’t going to show him where to go. Moguzo wouldn’t stand up front and swing his sword for them. Those two wouldn’t cheer Haruhiro on. They couldn’t give him courage. Because neither of them were here. 

Because they were dead. 

Haruhiro came to a stop, and so did the rest of the party. He took a deep breath. Things smelled a little different here, though it was hard to explain how. The air was damp. 

“There are hurdles out there that are insurmountable,” Haruhiro said aloud. “That’s life. I’m sure there are things you just can’t do anything about. 

I can’t just say I’m sure it’ll work out somehow.” 

Obviously, Haruhiro couldn’t be like Manato. Even so, he wanted to see new things with everyone. He wanted to pull everyone along the way Manato had. Not because he had no choice, but because it was what he wanted to do, Haruhiro would find his own way to make it happen. For that, he had to take things on one at a time. 

First, no matter what happened, he couldn’t run away. He wouldn’t abandon his role, his position. That was one thing he now resolved never to do. 

“But still,” Haruhiro said, “this one we can get over. I mean, we’ve experienced a lot of different stuff. This isn’t even tough next to some of the things we’ve gone through. If we’re all together, I’m not worried in the least.” 

“There’s some big talk. Like you’re someone important.” Ranta gave a snorting laugh. “Well, when things get rough, you’ve got me. I can make anything work, man.” 

“If there’s one thing we’re worried about...” Shihoru muttered. 

“What was that?! I’ll grope you! You and your damn squeezable tits!” 

“Your lust is showing way too much there,” Haruhiro sighed. 

“Shut your face, Pyarupyororon! Listen, man! Let me tell you, I’m pent up, okay!” 

“Too much information, Ranta-kun...” Kuzaku muttered. 

“Shut up! Fine, Kuzacky, Parupiro, what about the two of you?! If any healthy young man were living with women the way we’ve been, it’d be only natural for him to be so pent up that he was about to explode! If anything, there’d be something wrong with him as a man if he wasn’t, you know that?!” 

“Is that how it is?” Merry glanced at Haruhiro and Kuzaku, hitting them with a question that was truly hard to answer. 

“Well...” Haruhiro exchanged glances with Kuzaku. 

Kuzaku shook his head, but it wasn’t clear what the gesture meant. 

Haruhiro looked down and twisted his head to the side. “...Not really, not for me. It’s different for everyone, I mean, that’s true for anything, but everyone handles it differently, you could say...” 

“Hrm...” Yume crossed her arms and puffed up one of her cheeks. “Hey, hey, he was sayin’ he’s pent up, but what exactly’s gettin’ pent up anyway?” 

“Er, that’s...” 

“Oh, and if he’s got somethin’ pent up, and it’s ready to burst, y’know, Yume was thinkin’ maybe he should just let it out.” 

“Yume...” Shihoru tugged on Yume’s sleeve with an almost pitying look on her face. 

The way Yume went “Huh?” like she wasn’t just playing dumb was incredibly worrying. 

Merry had her eyes cast downwards, like she was thinking about something, maybe. Was she at a loss for what to do? 

Kuzaku was looking up for some reason. He apparently wanted to pretend this had nothing to do with him. No fair. 

“Heheheheh....” Ranta laughed creepily. “...Heheheh. Gwahahahaha! 

That’s right, Yume. You’ve got it. If I’m pent up, I should just let it out! 

That’s the one true answer!” 

“Uh-huh,” Yume said. “That’s why Yume said it.” 

“But! If I’m letting it out, the thing is, I can’t just whip it out and go,” Ranta declared. 

“Wuh? You can’t?” 

“Yeah. Sorta. So, I’m gonna need you to put up with me for a bit. You were the one who suggested it, after all. Let me play with some tits. Let me play with your tits. While I play with your tits, I’m gonna—” 

“Dark,” Shihoru called. The elemental appeared as if stepping forth from a door to some unseen world. He looked like black string coiled into the shape of a human. The elemental Dark perched on Shihoru’s shoulder. 

“...H-Hey.” Ranta backed away. “H-Hold on. Okay? Lay off, Shihoru.” 

“Don’t say my name. You’re filthy. ...Dark.” 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, I-I get it, I mean, come on, you’re misunderstanding, i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-it was a joke, okay? A little joke! You ought to understand that much!” 

“I don’t understand, and I have no desire to.” 

“Sorry...!” Ranta kowtowed so hard he slammed his head against the ground. “I reeeeeally mean it! Sorry! I was totally in the wrong! It won’t happen again, I swear! Believe me! Please, I’m begging you!” 

Ranta ought to be thankful that the exaggerated-but-cheap kowtow he was performing was enough to get Shihoru to let it slide. Also, he needed to reflect deeply on his behavior. 

Not gonna happen? Yeah. Probably not. 

Regardless, they probably had just a little farther to go. 

The air was moist. It was flowing, too, if only slightly, and from the direction they were heading, at that. Haruhiro didn’t want to be overly optimistic, but there was no need to be too much of a pessimist, either. 

Whatever the case, the answer would soon be apparent. 

Let’s keep going,  he thought. We’ll find out if we keep moving forward. 

“Fog,” Merry whispered. 

“Yeah,” Ranta agreed, and then there was a long silence. “Heyyyyy?! 

Why’s nobody saying anything?! Be like, ‘Sure is,’ or ‘Hey, you’re right,’ or something! This is where you’re supposed to say something like that, obviously! Are you bullying me?! My feelings can get hurt, too, y’know?! 

Well, no, not really.” 

“‘Not really,’ huh.” Haruhiro sighed. He was a little jealous of how tough Ranta was. 

Fog. 

It was true, there was a thin fog, or haze, or mist of some sort hanging in the air of the passageway. What it was called was determined by the visibility, right? Maybe it was only called mist in the spring. Whatever the case, countless fine droplets of water were floating in the air, making it look white. The further they went, the thicker it got, though only gradually. 

Mr. Unjo, the super senior volunteer soldier, had once wandered into a foggy place on the border of the former kingdoms of Ishmal and Nananka and gotten lost. When he’d passed through the cave he’d found there, he said he had reached the mountain in Darunggar where the fire dragon lived. 

The incline suddenly became a little more steep. At the top of the slope there was a bright white circle. 

It’s just like the moon,  thought Haruhiro. 

There was no sun or moon in Darunggar, and Grimgar’s moon was red. 

This was a whitish moon. 

Where had he seen one of those? He didn’t know, but he definitely remembered it. The white moon hanging in the pitch-black sky. That had to be... their original world, maybe? 

“Isn’t that the exit there?” Ranta said in an uncharacteristically subdued, even cautious, tone. 

“Let’s take it slowly.” Haruhiro was aware that he had incredibly sleepy-looking eyes. He wasn’t tired, of course. If anything, his every sense felt heightened. 

I want to get there quickly,  thought Haruhiro. But don’t rush. I can’t be hasty. Settle down, and move forward calmly. 

He looked to his comrades. Everyone was tense. Excited, too. Weren’t they getting a little too stiff? Well, he couldn’t blame them for that. Not this time. After all... they might be able to go home. They might already be home. 

He put out the lantern. They didn’t need its light anymore. 

White. The fog was so thick. Even so, it was bright. Enough that his eyes hurt. 

He took a deep breath of the cold, wet wind. It was markedly different from the air in Darunggar. The taste, the scent, everything. Every cell in his body felt revitalized. Even though it wouldn’t normally be his style, he wanted to do a little happy dance. He wouldn’t, though. Now wasn’t the time to celebrate. 

The exit was right there. Only three more meters. Because of the slope, his stride was currently about forty centimeters. In seven or eight steps, he would be at the exit. 

He took a deep breath on the sixth, then stopped. 

Seven steps. 

On his eighth step, he was finally outside. 

It was all white. He could barely see a thing. That reminded him once again that it was too early to start celebrating. They had no idea what their current location was, or the lay of the land. 

“Yume and everyone made it back, huh...” Yume said from behind him. 

From the tearful sound of her voice, the air wasn’t the only thing around here that was a bit misty. 

Shihoru let out a deep sigh. 

Merry put an arm around Yume and Shihoru’s shoulders. 

The way Kuzaku thumped his chest once with a “Yeah!” and then focused on the task at hand again was heartening to see. 

Ranta was looking around this way and that. 

Was the sky cloudy, or was it just the fog? It wasn’t clear where the sun was, but with how bright it was here, it was probably still high in the sky. 

“This is near the border of the former kingdoms of Nananka and Ishmal... 

I think,” Haruhiro said. 

His legs felt ready to give out. Haruhiro clicked his tongue. He wished he could fix this weakness of his. He had to. 

“I don’t know the precise location,” he added. “But the one thing I am clear on is that we need to head south. South is... Er, Yume?” 

“Meow? Oh. Well, if the sun were out, Yume’d be able to tell you. Mr. Moon or the stars would work, too. It’d even be possible to more or less figure it out goin’ by the rings of a tree stump, though.” 

“Can’t see the sun here...” Kuzaku looked up at the sky, then around the area. “There are stumps, though. Or trees, at least.” 

Just as Kuzaku had noted, there were countless trees growing nearby. 

Some were straight, others were crooked, but none were especially thick or tall. There were fern-like plants on the ground, too. Walking around for a bit, the soil was so soft that it could have been called muddy. 

“It’s hard walking...” Shihoru complained. 

“Pfeh.” Ranta spat. “I dunno how heavy your tits are, but quit your moaning. This is no big deal.” 

Merry immediately swung her head staff with no expression. “I don’t think we made you kowtow enough last time, did we?” 

“Eek! L-Like I told you, it’s a joke, okay, a joke! Geez! You should never forget your sense of humor! It’s a lubricant for relationships! Like me!” 

Haruhiro could have come up with a witty retort, but there would be no end to it, and giving Ranta any attention would only make him worse. 

Leaving Ranta alone and moving around a bit near the entrance to the passageway, there were a lot of sudden rises and falls in elevation. Haruhiro didn’t see any stumps. It seemed there was no one doing any logging around here, human or otherwise. Should they try cutting one down themselves? If they were to use one of the blades they had on hand, it wouldn’t be impossible, but Ranta’s RIPer and Kuzaku’s black blade were both weapons, unsuited to felling trees. Yume’s Wan-chan was like a machete, so it could probably hack off branches. Cutting down a whole tree, however, might be difficult. 

“What, she can’t cut down a tree real quick with magic? She’s useless for anything other than her tits...” Ranta said under his breath. 

Shihoru didn’t seem to have heard him, but he clearly hadn’t learned his lesson. 

Were they going to go out of their way to cut down a tree? What were they going to do? It was a minor decision, but Haruhiro was surprisingly torn on it. 

While he was still wavering, Yume said, “Hmm, let’s see,” and then offered some advice. “With tree rings, y’can more or less figure out the direction, but my master was sayin’ that the precision is low. When Yume asked him if he meant she should cut it down low, he told her, ‘No, that’s not it, it means it’s not very accurate.’” 

It was hard to be a decisive leader. Even so, he still had to aim to become one. 

“First...” Haruhiro decided to speak up. If he kept quiet, everyone would get nervous. I’ll just say something,  he thought. He’d sort out his thoughts on the matter as he spoke. “...we head back to Alterna. That’s our greatest goal, but it’s pretty far. It’s got to be six hundred, maybe seven hundred kilometers...” 

Even having said it himself, it was dizzying to hear. It was supposed to be three hundred kilometers just to cross the Quickwind Plains north of Alterna and reach the Shadow Forest where the elves were said to live. North of the Shadow Forest was the former kingdom of Arabakia, and the former kingdoms of Nananka and Ishmal had to be even further than that. 

In other words, this was five, six, or seven hundred kilometers from Alterna. Possibly even more. 

How were they going to move around? They didn’t know the roads. On top of that, they were in enemy territory. It felt pretty much impossible. 

No, no, no. Stop that,  Haruhiro told himself. You can’t give up. 

“If we assume it’s seven hundred kilometers, that’ll be thirty-five days if we walk twenty kilometers a day,” Haruhiro told them. “I think twenty kilometers a day is fairly realistic, but we’re looking at least that long. We’ll need water and food. It hurts that the fog makes visibility here so poor, but it helps, too, I guess. Even if there are enemies about, it’ll be hard to get spotted. Even if we do get spotted, we can take advantage of it while running away. As for the direction... Well, the fog will clear eventually. If the fog were out year round, there wouldn’t be so many trees here. If we move around carelessly and find out it was the wrong direction later, it won’t do us any good. For now, let’s stay near the exit and wait for the fog to thin out. 

Once we know the direction, we’ll all set out together. I’m going to go scout things out while being careful not to get lost. It’s safest for me to move alone, so while I’m sure the rest of you are feeling restless, do try to get some rest.” 

“Um, hey.” Yume raised her hand. “Would it be okay if Yume came with you?” 

“Don’t do it,” Ranta said in a whisper. “It could be dangerous.” 

“Why does Yume need you worryin’ about her? You oughta mind your own pea patch,” Yume retorted. 

“I-I’m not worried! Wh-Who’d be worried about you, you moron?! A-A-Also, it’s beeswax, not pea patch, okay?” 

“Ahh. Yume got it wrong. It’s supposed to be beeswax, huh.” 

“W-W-Well, be more careful!” 

“What are you so shaken up over...?” Shihoru shuddered. “It’s creepy.” 

“I know.” Merry cast a cold look in Ranta’s direction as she agreed. “It gives me nothing if not an ominous feeling.” 

“Give me some human rights!” Ranta yelled. “I’ll cry, damn it! Wahh, wahh, wahh, the women are bullying me! Let me squeeze your tits! Just enough to see what they feel like!” 

Just how desperately did he want to squeeze them? There had to be limits to how sexually frustrated the guy could be. Was he gonna be okay? It was a bit scary, but, well, it’d probably be fine. Ranta didn’t have the guts to try and get his way by force. 

Haruhiro reflected upon Yume’s request. Yume was a hunter. Her knowledge and skills would be of help. She had good eyes and ears, too. She was also light on her feet, so she wouldn’t be a burden. 

“Okay. Yume, you come along, too,” Haruhiro decided. “Everyone else wait here.” 

“Meowger!” Yume declared. 

The two of them left to scout. Just to be on the safe side, he marked the trees using his knife with the guard on it as they went. If he did this, even if they didn’t know which way was which, they could follow the marks back to their comrades. 

Still, the terrain here was ridiculous, or just plain awful. It suddenly sloped up and down, and there were hardly any level spots. Even if the fog cleared, they probably wouldn’t be able to see very far. In fact, even when the fog thinned slightly, their line of vision was quickly blocked by the trees or some protuberance in the ground up ahead. 

“It’s somewhere between noon and evenin’, maybe,” Yume offered. 

“That’s just what it sort of feels like, though.” 

“I’d say that’s about right,” Haruhiro agreed. “I’m just going on a vague hunch, too, though.” 

Based on Haruhiro’s senses, they had traveled around five hundred meters in a mostly straight line away from the exit to the passageway. They’d found nothing. The sense that this wouldn’t be easy only deepened. 

Even so, Yume was bright and cheerful, so for all the seriousness of their situation, it didn’t feel as grave as it maybe should have. 

“You’re always saving me,” Haruhiro told her. 

“Fwuh? What’s this all of a sudden?” 

“Well, I mean, without you here, we’d be a pretty gloomy party.” 

“Hmmm,” Yume said. “Even without Yume, y’know, Ranta’d still be just as noisy, don’tcha think?” 

“But the reason I don’t have to butt heads with him quite so hard is because you’re here.” 

“That Ranta...” Yume suddenly came to a stop, tilting her head to the side. 

“Why do you think he wants to squeeze boobies so bad? Do all boys want to squeeze girls’ boobies?” 

“Well...” Looking at the group as a whole, that might not be untrue, but to generalize that they all did would also be false. Or maybe it wouldn’t. But he was pretty sure it would be. “It depends on the person,” Haruhiro finished at last. 

“How about you, Haru-kun?” 

“Huh? Me? Nah, I’m...” 

What is this?  he thought, suddenly tense. What do I do? Is it safest to deny it? But is that honest? If I did, would I be lying to Yume? I don’t want to lie to a valued comrade. But what harm can a little white lie do? Still, as a man with few redeeming qualities, I at least want to be sincere with my comrades. 

“...I-If they belonged to someone I like, maybe?” Haruhiro hedged. 

“Ohhh. Huh. So that’s how it works. Yume loves squeezin’ Shihoru and Merry’s boobs, after all. Yume, she likes Shihoru and Merry. ...Hm?” 

“Huh...?” Haruhiro asked, flustered. 

“In that case, does that mean Ranta’s wantin’ to squeeze Yume’s boobies

’cause he likes her? If he hated Yume, he probably wouldn’t want to squeeze her boobs.” 

Yume,  Haruhiro thought, shuddering. Damn, she’s scary. She just went and opened up Pandora’s box like it was nothing. 

The truth was, Haruhiro couldn’t deny the possibility, and he’d thought about it before, too. Like, he’d thought there was something kind of strange about Ranta’s attitude towards Yume. But it wasn’t enough that he could be sure of it, and it was questionable whether Ranta himself realized it. With everything so iffy, Haruhiro had figured maybe it was best not to touch the subject—it’d be a hassle, after all—so he’d done his best to pretend he didn’t notice. 

But then, Haruhiro was probably the type who was a little dense about these things, so he might have just been misunderstanding the situation. 

“...I don’t think he hates you, no,” Haruhiro said at last. “Obviously. He doesn’t. Like, for someone to hate you, Yume, there’d have to be something wrong with them... Well, there is something wrong with him...” 

“Why would there have to be somethin’ wrong with a person if they hated Yume?” she asked. 

“Ah, I mean, well, I dunno. It’s just there’s so little to hate about you.” 

“Y’think? Well then, do you like Yume, Haru-kun?” 

“Sure. I like you,” he said, then thought, Oh, was that okay? Am I in trouble? Is she gonna misunderstand?  and started feeling uncertain about it. 

But when he saw Yume smiling and saying, “Oh, I see,” he was embarrassed by how impure he was. 

Yes. Yes! That was right. It was right. 

Having affection for a person was a matter of whether or not you liked them, not about romantic intentions, and it needed to be thought of as separate from anything sexual. In that sense, Haruhiro certainly did like Yume. He could say that with pride. Of course he liked her. Of course he did. 

She was Yume, after all. That was a given. He had to like her. But still... 

“Yume feels the same.” She said that to him with a goofy smile, and his heart raced just a little. “Yume likes you, too, Haru-kun.” 

“...Th-Thanks.” Haruhiro scratched his head. “Uh, is it weird for me to say that...?” 

“Dunno. But if you’re feelin’ thankful, Yume thinks it’s okay to say so. 

When you do, it makes the person who said it feel good, too. Of course, that goes for Yume, too. She’s feelin’ super-duper happy now.” 

“I... guess so.” He hesitated. “If you don’t say what you feel, people may never know, after all. Yeah...” 

“So, if Ranta likes Yume, he should just say so, huh? He’s always bullyin’ her, or callin’ her Tiny Tits, after all.” 

“He can have a pretty hard time being honest about how he feels,” Haruhiro told her. 

Or rather, the kind of liking someone Yume was talking about and the way Ranta liked her were different. Even if Ranta did come out and tell her honestly, Yume might take it differently from how he intended, and it could turn into a huge mess. There was a lot of room for worry there. 

In the end, Haruhiro couldn’t help but think preserving the status quo was for the best. Maybe there was room for improving his usual wait-and-see attitude. 

He’d have to think about it. Not now, though. 

It looked like they had bigger concerns. 

Haruhiro put a finger to his lips. He pressed himself against a nearby tree. 

Yume followed right behind him. 

There was a noise. What was it? 

Yume pointed up ahead to the left. Haruhiro looked over there. He tried squinting his eyes. He couldn’t see anything through the fog. But if he focused in that direction, he could hear the sound more clearly than before. 

Noise? Voices? Fighting? Was it wild beasts? Or...? 

It was time to make a decision. Naturally, he wanted to avoid danger. Did they hurriedly retreat? It wasn’t clear if there was even any danger at this point, so maybe it was best to ascertain that much first? He personally wanted to run away, but that was only because Haruhiro was a coward. 

He could still hear the sounds. Were they gradually getting closer? Hold on, this was—a voice. 

Yes. It was a voice. Not screaming or shouting. Speaking in words. That was what it sounded like. 

“Humans...” Yume said in a hushed voice. 

He agreed. It was hard to believe, given their location, but it was probably a human male’s voice. Naturally, Haruhiro was surprised. Was he disoriented? No, it wasn’t that bad. His pulse was racing a little, but he believed he was still calm. 

Haruhiro motioned for Yume to follow him, then started walking. Then, less than thirty seconds later, he sensed a presence that seemed to stab into him from behind. 

There was something behind him. 

Yume didn’t seem to have detected it. If he turned to look, it would strike. 

That was the sense he got. But he couldn’t just stay as he was. The other party was sure to come at them eventually. He had to move first. 

“Yume, get down!” Haruhiro shouted and did an about-face. Yume was already getting down. Haruhiro switched his knife to his left hand, drawing his stiletto with his right and jumping over Yume. 

“Wait, wait, wait!” Haruhiro shouted. 

A person. It was a human, wearing what looked like a fur-lined coat and a knitted hat. There was a bow in their right hand, an arrow in their left. Both hands were in the air. 

This bearded man had closed in to a distance of thirty meters behind Haruhiro and Yume. It was unbelievable. Or rather, Haruhiro didn’t want to believe it. To think he hadn’t noticed until the man got that close. 

Haruhiro still had his knife and stiletto at the ready, just in case. But he was more surprised than anything. He was feeling shaken, and his thoughts were a mess. He couldn’t hope to fight like this. 

“‘Wait,’ you said?” A smile appeared on the man’s chiseled features, and he tossed his bow, and then his arrow, to the side. “There. I won’t do anything to you. It’s okay. I never meant to kill you, after all. But you’re suspicious, you know that, right? Humans like you, in a place like this. You don’t look like you’re from the village, either. But neither am I, you know?” 

“...Hrmm.” Yume was still on the ground, still covering her head with her hands as she looked up. “You kiiiiinda sorta look like a hunter, huh?” 

“Oh? You’re a hunter, too, young miss? Well, it’s former for me. I’m a warrior now,” the man said. “So that’d make you a volunteer soldier.” 

“You, too?” Haruhiro wanted to let out a long sigh, but he refrained and tried to keep to short, shallow breaths. 

Don’t carelessly let yourself feel relieved,  he cautioned himself. You can’t let your guard down. 

“Are you also a volunteer soldier?” he asked. 

“Been one for over ten years now,” the man said. “Thanks to that, I’ve gotten old.” 

“Well, that would make you our senior... I guess.” 

“Well, about the only thing I can teach you is how to drink until you get a hangover.” The bearded man shrugged his shoulders, giving them a smile that seemed awfully unguarded. “I’m Kuro.” 

“Kuro... Wait...” Haruhiro murmured. 

Hold on,  he thought. Wait, wait, wait. I feel like I know that name. I’ve heard it somewhere. Is it just by chance? Pure coincidence? But maybe he actually is that person. This place being where it is. There can’t be many volunteer soldiers who can come out this far. 

“...You wouldn’t happen to be Kuro-san of the Day Breakers, would you?” 

“Hm?” Kuro pointed at himself, his eyes wide. “Wait, am I famous?” 

“No, um... I, or we actually, we’re technically sort of... members of the Day Breakers.” 

“The way you’re dressed, you’re a thief,” the man said. “...Haruhiro?” 

“Yes. ...Huh? Why do you know? Oh, is that it? You heard from Soma that—” 

Kuro burst out laughing. “You people were alive! Bwahahaha!” 

“Wh-What are you laughing for?! Is it something to laugh about?!” 

“How rude.” Yume was still down on the ground. “It’s a happy day, isn’t it? Right?” 

“Oh, happy day!” Kuro pointed at Yume and laughed out loud. “You’re right, it is a happy day, bwahahaha! Well, I’m glad you’re alive, yeah, real glad! This is a happy day! I’d figured you’d all bought it, after all! 

Gwahahahaha!” 

Haruhiro was dumbfounded. Kuro was clutching his belly, and there we even tears in his eyes. He was laughing way too hard. What was with this guy? He was creepy. Or rather, he was pissing Haruhiro off. 

“Whew, sorry, sorry.” Kuro wiped his tears away with his thumb and picked up his bow and arrow. “But it’s certainly a coincidence. Like, would we run into one another, normally? Well, I’m just glad you’re not an enemy. 

Saves me the trouble of killing you. I’m busy enough as it is right now. So, on that note, I don’t have time to look after you, but take care.” 

Returning his arrow to its quiver, Kuro waved to them with bow in hand and walked away. His steps looked slow and relaxed, but they were mysteriously quick. Quiet, too. He barely made a sound. At a glance, he seemed to be wide open from behind, but if they attacked, he would easily dodge them. More than that, they’d likely receive a painful riposte. This guy was good. 

“Wait... Huh?” Haruhiro burst out. “Uh? Hold on, you’re leaving... Uh? 

No way, h-hold on, please, where are you going?! H-Hey! We’re lost! We don’t know the way back!” 

“Huhhh?” Kuro turned back and started laughing again. “Bwaha! Lost?! 

You’re lost, wow, seriously, you’re kidding, right? If you can’t get back home, that’s hilarious! You guys are great!” 

“...It’s nothing to laugh about,” Haruhiro muttered. 

“Hee.” Yume started giggling, too. She was still down on the ground, incidentally. “Somehow, y’know, even Yume’s startin’ to think it’s funny. 

Hee, hehehehehe...” 

“Okay, got it.” Kuro sniffed his nose as he beckoned to them. “You guys, come with me for a bit. I’ll do something about the road back for you. Like I said before, I’m a busy man. I’ve got some things to sort out. You don’t have to help; just watch. Okay?” 

They couldn’t refuse. Kuro was clearly a weirdo, but he was in the Day Breakers. Probably. He was supposed to be. 

This was an unexpected bit of good luck. What was it that he needed to sort out? It wasn’t dangerous, was it? There were things that left Haruhiro feeling uncertain, but if they didn’t take this opportunity, they might never make it back. 

“W-We’ll help!” Haruhiro grabbed Yume’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “Well, only if it seems like we can, that is!” 

“No need to push yourselves.” Kuro grinned and started walking. 

He was rather fast, and keeping up with him was difficult. It wasn’t a matter of just running. The footing was really bad, and if they took one wrong step, they’d be liable to trip or slip. If they weren’t careful, they might even sprain an ankle. It was only because Haruhiro was a thief and Yume was a hunter that they were managing not to fall behind. That was the best they could do. He couldn’t afford to look at the area around them. 

He could hear the noises, though. 

Beyond the fog, something... someone... was there. 

There was a place where the ground suddenly swelled up, and when they went around to the other side, there were a number of humanoid figures. It was hard to see them through the mist, but they might not all be human. 

No, not “might.” They definitely weren’t. 

“Stop.” Kuro raised his hand to stop Haruhiro and Yume. “Well, well. 

Moyugi-kun’s hard at work. Well, he’s got Moira with him, after all.” 

“Moira...” Haruhiro said slowly. 

There was a name he didn’t recognize. He did recognize “Moyugi,” 

though. He was a member of the Day Breakers, like Kuro. He was a member of a famous party, the Rocks, or Typhoon Rocks, led by Rock. 

Which of them was Moyugi? The moving figures, there were... six of them? One of them had to be— “Oh...” Haruhiro whispered. 

Now there was one fewer. 

That whitish figure. That one was most likely human. The figure backed away, thrusting out with some sort of weapon, and that caused another figure to collapse. He’d finished off one of them. 

“Guess I’ll get moving, too.” Kuro nocked an arrow to his bow. Or so Haruhiro thought, but he’d already let it loose. 

Wasn’t that shot kind of fast? Did he aim properly? 

Either way, it looked like he’d hit. Yet another one of the figures collapsed. 

“Would you kindly mind your own business?!” someone shouted. That was probably Moyugi’s voice. He might have been saying it to Kuro. 

Kuro said, “Yeah, yeah,” and lowered his bow. It might be none of Haruhiro’s business to think this, but was it really okay for him to do that? 

Yume, who was crouched down next to Haruhiro, let out an impressed sigh. 

Excuse me...? What are you crouching down and relaxing for? I know there’s an atmosphere, or general flow of events here, like we don’t need to do anything, though. 

“I have this all planned out properly!” the person who seemed to be Moyugi declared. 

The whitish figure moved smoothly. The remaining three figures tried to close in on the whitish figure that was likely Moyugi from three sides. 

Moyugi ran away. Or rather, ran towards them. He was running this way. 

But was Haruhiro imagining it? That guy, is he facing backwards...? 

Moyugi looked like he was facing backwards. 

He’ll get caught like that, won’t he? There’s no way he can get away. 

None. Should we help him? But he got mad at Kuro for interfering when he tried. He said he had this planned out, or something like that. 

“Funah!” Yume let out a weird cry, and Haruhiro gulped. 

All of a sudden, Moyugi tripped. However, rather than landing on his backside, it looked like maybe he’d sat down on his own...? 

Naturally, sensing this was their chance, the three figures rushed at Moyugi. 

That one’s an orc,  realized Haruhiro. 

The humanoid figure swinging a curved single-edged sword down at Moyugi had to be an orc, based on his body structure. The other two looked similar to humans, but it was unclear what they were. 

Suddenly, from above the orc’s head, a thing appeared. Or that was what it looked like, but that was impossible, so it must have been hiding somewhere. It mounted the orc’s neck. Wrapping both its legs around the orc’s neck and twisting, and slamming a scissor-like blade into the top of his head, the thing let out a disturbing cry that grated on the nerves of all who heard it. “Nooooooooooooo!” 

Having seen what a horrible thing had happened to the orc, the other two were shocked. Well, yeah, of course they’d be shocked. The two flinched and shouted something, then came to a halt. 

Moyugi stood up. He hadn’t tripped, after all. He’d sat down on his own. 

If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have been able to just stand back up like nothing had happened. 

As an afterthought, Moyugi stabbed his thin weapon into one of the enemies’ faces, then tore it free. It didn’t feel like an especially sharp move, and Haruhiro couldn’t help but think, What, it’s going to go down to that? 

He also thought, Hurry, hurry. 

There’s still another enemy, after all. 

Don’t just take it easy, you need to hurry up and attack or—See. 

See, see, see! 

I told you so. Well, no, I didn’t tell you, but I did think it. I knew you needed to hurry. 

Maybe because it was enraged by the death of its comrades, the remaining enemy came at Moyugi with incredible vigor. 

However, and Haruhiro was only noticing this now, Moyugi was wearing glasses. He pushed them up with his left hand, and greeted the incoming enemy with—nothing. He retreated. 

He didn’t really jump back; it was more like he was drawing back. He backed away from the enemy, snaking back and forth as he did. 

The enemy was hot on Moyugi’s heels. 

Oh, no,  Haruhiro thought. Not good. He’ll close in on him soon. Just one more step, and—

At that point, for some reason, the enemy lost his balance. Had something tripped him up? That was what it looked like. It was a perfect chance for Moyugi. He didn’t miss it, of course. If anything, it looked like he had predicted it would happen, and that thin weapon of his stabbed through the enemy. When he pulled it free, the enemy collapsed to the ground. 

The thing that had snapped the orc’s neck with its legs was now fishing around inside the orc’s skull with something like a pair of scissors. It had apparently finished its job. The thing left the orc’s corpse and went to stand beside Moyugi. It looked almost like a long-haired woman, but it probably wasn’t human. The woman’s shoulders were too square, her back too hunched, and her waist was too thin. She was something else. 

“Looks like it’s over.” Kuro walked over toward Moyugi. 

Haruhiro exchanged glances with Yume, then followed after Kuro. Yume hopped along after them, too. 

Moyugi was even more lightly equipped than Kuro. He wore a white top that was practically a shirt, along with ordinary pants. His shoes were nothing out of the ordinary. His backpack wasn’t especially big. He had a sheath hanging at his hip. In his hands he held a thin, straight sword. Honestly, his attire was nothing special. That was bizarre, and somewhat scary. 

What was more, Moyugi immediately extended a hand to Haruhiro, and introduced himself like so. 

“Greetings. I am the current strongest dread knight, Moyugi. I know not who you are, but it is a pleasure to meet you.” 

“N-N-Nice...” Haruhiro accepted the hand extended to him without meaning to. “...to meet... you. Um, er... I’m Haruhiro. From the Day Breakers...” 

“Indeed.” When Moyugi released Haruhiro’s hand, he pressed on the bridge of his glasses with the middle finger of his right hand, the corners of his mouth turning upwards. “I thought that might be who you were. No matter how much of an incorrigible fool our Kuro is, he wouldn’t go dragging around just anyone who he happened to meet out here. From the looks of you, you’re a young male thief. The young woman is a hunter. You must be Haruhiro-kun and Yume-kun, yes? I’ve heard about you from Soma. 

To think you actually made it back alive from the Dusk Realm. I’m surprised. 

Is it just the two of you? What about Ranta-kun, Shihoru-kun, Merry-kun, and Kuzaku-kun? Did they die?” 

“Of course they’re alive!” Yume’s face distorted with anger, but, this being Yume, it wasn’t all that intimidating. 

Regardless, she still rounded on Moyugi with a reasonably threatening attitude, her brow furrowed and her cheeks puffed up. She stood on her tiptoes and got her face up as close to Moyugi’s as she could. Yume must have been thought she was being intimidating. 

“I see.” Without so much as a change in his expression, he grabbed Yume by the chin. “That is most wonderful. Now, would you mind if I suck your face?” 

“...My faaaace?” Yume blinked. “Suck it? Hmmm...?” 

“Wh-Wh-Whoa, whoa, whoa, what’re you doing?!” Haruhiro hurriedly pulled Moyugi away from Yume. “What’s this, out of nowhere?! Could you not?! You’re not making any sense!” 

“I’m not making sense, am I? You say some strange things.” Moyugi tilted his head to the side. “If you see a woman, the first thing you should do is take her, isn’t it? I am the strongest dread knight in active service, you realize?” 

“Well, yeah.” Kuro stroked his beard. “I dunno about you being the strongest dread knight, really, but if you think you can do her, you’ve gotta go for it. I’m not into kids, though.” 

“I’m heterosexual, so I limit myself based on gender, but when it comes to women, I’ll do just about anyone,” Moyugi declared. “No matter how bizarre or unappealing, they each have their own unique flavor, you see.” 

What was with these people? Just maybe, had they run into a couple of crazies? No, not “maybe”—these guys were definitely nuts. It was probably best not to get involved with them. 

If possible, Haruhiro didn’t want to be anywhere near them, but even setting aside their connection through the Day Breakers, if he didn’t get those two to tell him the route, their trip back to Alterna would get that much longer. Worse than that, it might not even be possible to get back without relying on them. When Haruhiro had Yume get behind him for protection, his eyes were practically spinning. 

What would he do? What could he do? What should he do? 

“It can wait for now.” Moyugi sheathed his thin sword. “We’re a little busy at the moment, you see. Come along now, Kuro, Moira.” 

“Noooo...” The being that looked like a long-haired woman gave him an unhappy-sounding reply. That was apparently Moira. Moyugi was a dread knight, so maybe she was his demon. 

Moyugi walked off at a brisk pace with Moira in tow. 

“You people come, too.” Kuro gestured to them with his chin and then followed Moyugi and Moira. 

“...Um, our comrades aren’t with us yet,” Haruhiro said, but Kuro turned back and scowled in irritation. 

“They can wait until later. We’re sort of in a hurry. I’ll leave you behind.” 

They really can’t wait, and you guys don’t seem like you’re in that much of a rush, now do you?  Haruhiro wanted to argue back, but he couldn’t see it getting him anywhere, so he followed Kuro. Moyugi and Moira were already on the other side of the fog. 

“Hey, Haru-kun.” Yume tugged on his cloak. “Yume’s thinkin’ it might be best if she went back. Do you know the way, maybe...?” 

“Let’s follow those people,” Haruhiro responded immediately and pulled Yume along by the hand as he followed Kuro. 

When Yume said that, he realized that he’d made a fatal mistake, but rather than wander lost in the fog, he was better off cooperating with his highly capable seniors in the Day Breakers who were no doubt familiar with the area. For that reason, they couldn’t split away from Kuro and Moyugi. 

Up until he’d noticed Kuro sneaking up on them, Haruhiro had been marking the trees as they went along. Ever since, he hadn’t left a single mark. 

“Sorry, Yume,” Haruhiro said. “I completely forgot to leave marks.” 

“Well, if you’re gonna say that,” Yume said, squeezing Haruhiro’s hand tight, “Yume didn’t do it, either. It’s a bad habit of yours, the way you go takin’ all the blame for things.” 

“...I see. I’ll try to be careful about it. But, while this may be both of our faults, I’m still in the wrong.” 

Because I’m the leader. 

Was he unable to say that out loud because of embarrassment? Or was it because he wasn’t able to fully shoulder the burden yet? 

That aside, there hadn’t been any need for them to hold hands, had there? 

It felt even less necessary for them to keep holding them now, too. However, Yume was gripping his hand pretty tight, so it was hard to let go. If he could offer her even a little support, he felt like he shouldn’t let go. 

Honestly, it was reassuring for Haruhiro, too, and finding the right time to let go was tough...