3
“Victory!”
“Victoryyy!!!”
The first glimmer of fondness Petra had for Subaru was totally offset by a strange, confusing dance. The radio calisthenics he’d gotten most of the villagers hooked on were a great embarrassment for preteen Petra. Yet the boys liked it, and their enthusiasm rubbed off on the adults. What was once fondness mutated as Petra found herself hating Subaru more and more.
Hate was probably too strong a word. She didn’t like him. Or maybe she didn’t know how to handle him. And his face wasn’t good enough for his clothes.
“You’re the only one who understands how I feel…,” Petra muttered to the puppy in Meili’s arms.
She gave the little dog a warm smile while Meili patted its head.
The reason she felt a curious connection with the dog was because after the strange dancing was over, Subaru was detained briefly to meet the puppy, who surprised everyone by chomping hard on his hand. To Petra, who was upset by how readily everyone else had accepted Subaru, it felt like she had finally found a kindred spirit.
Just when Petra was about to ask Meili in a burst of affection if the puppy could spend the night with her—
“Ahhh!”
Either Cain or Meyna shrieked in surprise. Or maybe it was Petra.
The puppy suddenly squirmed, jumped out of Meili’s arms, and ran away. Everyone ran after her, but they couldn’t even come close. And just like that, the puppy slipped through the white fence on the village outskirts and disappeared into the forest.
“What do we do…?”
The puppy had retreated into the opposite end of the forest—the area the adults strictly forbade them from playing in. There was a barrier of magic stones to keep dangerous creatures out. In other words, the forest wasn’t safe.
If a little puppy got lost in a place like that—
“Petra…”
The worried eyes of the children all focused on Petra. She was their rock. If there was ever any trouble, they came to her first. And since they relied on her, she had a duty not to betray their trust in her.
“M-Meili…?!”
They were counting on her, yet Petra couldn’t say anything. So it was Meili who turned to the white fence instead. Her cheeks were stiff with fear, but she stared straight into the forest ahead and said, “I have to go rescue her…”
When Petra heard the weight of responsibility in Meili’s voice, a wave of shame hit her. How could she stand still when a meek girl like Meili was ready to do anything to save her puppy?
“…”
The magic stones that separated the forest from the village hung from the trees at equal intervals. Noting the positions of the stones, Petra drew a mental map and came up with a safe route to search for the puppy.
As long as they could stay close enough to the barrier to make a run for it at the first sign of trouble, they could go search for the puppy.
“I’m joining Meili in the forest,” she said. “The rest of you—”
“We can’t let you!”
“You’re going, right?”
“I’m gonna meet my doom there with you!”
When Petra grabbed Meili’s hand, Meyna grabbed her free hand, then Luca grabbed Meyna’s hand, until everyone was holding hands in a line. Not a single one of them had run away in fear.
After a pause, Petra smiled and said, “Okay. Thanks.”
The other children had leaned on Petra all her life. But for the first time, Petra was leaning on them. Had it just been her and Meili, she might not have had the courage. But, of course…
“…It’ll be too difficult to walk if we all hold hands like this, so let’s stop, yeah?”
Following the mental map she drew, Petra led the children into the forest.
“…”
As they crunched through the leaves and branches, Petra’s heart was pounding loudly enough to rip her chest open. Sunset was approaching, and the forest lighting got gradually worse. What would they do if they lost their way? What would they do if they overlooked something? Her fears and worries filled her brow with sweat.
About an hour had passed since they’d entered the forest. And only now did Petra curse her own lack of preparedness.
They could use food to lure the puppy—no, it might lure dangerous animals to them. They could shout for the puppy—no, that was also too dangerous. They could tell an adult—yes, that’s what they should have done, no matter how scared they were of a scolding. They could have brought a crystal light—or they could turn back before it got too dark. Would that be enough, though?
“…”
Petra picked up a rock and etched marks in the trees so they wouldn’t lose their way, but it did little to reassure her. Little by little, her friends’ faces filled with worry. If one of them broke, the whole fellowship would crumble. And that first person just might be her.
She knew where the barriers were. But would they really make it to safety if they didn’t start running until after they were spotted? Was she actually doing something ridiculously dangerous?
Petra’s worries grew by the second, filling her eyes with tears. After two—maybe three—more breaths, she should tell the others they were going home. Tell them they should leave this to the adults.
She squeezed her eyes shut and mustered up the courage to tell everyone they were going home, and—
“You guys? I think…this is it…”
“Agreed—it’s time to call it.”
“Huh?”
Someone interrupted her. Their voice sounded familiar, but it was different somehow. Opening her eyes to see who it was, Petra found Meili’s face directly in front of hers.
The timid, unconfident girl had completely transformed. Her expression was much more mature now. She didn’t have that girlish prettiness anymore… Instead, she had a beauty that sent chills down the spine.
“Sorry, guys. But this is my job.”
As soon as Meili said that with a smile, Petra noticed something was standing behind her. She whirled around in shock and found herself face-to-face with a giant dog. When it started growling, Petra tried to scream, “Run away!!!” but her voice refused to come out.
That was when she passed out.
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