MeetingThe wolf-like beast maintained its distance without attempting to come any closer.
(Is it on-guard?)
If that’s the case……then it might be possible to run away.
If I’m not mistaken, then wild animals should be afraid of fire, but……there’s no way I’d have anything like that on me.
All that’s left is to back off without averting my eyes and running away.
I’ve heard of similar stories on TV before.
Hiro decided to put that knowledge into practice.
As Hiro maintained eye contact, he took one step back, and the wolf, too, took one step forward.
If he took two steps backward, it took two steps forward. And if he took three steps backwards, it took three steps forward.
Ahh……this is pointless, isn’t it?
Because he didn’t know where the exit was, Hiro didn’t even know how far back he’d have to walk.
(In the first place, will this wolf really keep following me forever?)
As Hiro remained bewildered, the wolf in front of him sat down onto the ground.
It opened its large mouth and yawned. Scratching its neck with a hind leg, the wolf appeared to be bored.
Keeping it’s eyes on Hiro, the wolf stretched out its body like a cat and laid down at its location.
The wolf wouldn’t lower its guard, and if he moved, it’d bite.
That was what the beast’s golden eyes told Hiro.
Just how much time has pa.s.sed, I wonder.
As Hiro noticed its ears twitch abruptly, the wolf, who had remained completely still, suddenly began to move.
Around the same time, the lush gra.s.s began to make rustling noises.
What emerged from there was a beautiful girl.
“Hm? Who……are you?”
Wiping her wet hair with a cloth, the girl approached the wolf and stopped.
Her gaze locked on Hiro, the girl placed her hand atop the wolf’s head and began stroking it.
Towards Hiro, who had witnessed the chain of events unfold before his very eyes, the girl simply tilted her head to the side.
“Hey……I’m asking you a question, you know?”
“Eh-, ah-, aah, , are you talking to me!?”
“Who else is here besides you……?”
There’s no way Hiro could say that he had been completely captivated by her.
Possessing a silky shine was crimson hair which evoked images of scorching flames.
Her blazing pupils burned brightly like a pair of scarlet gems that were even more beautiful than rubies. From them, a strong will could be felt.
Blue veins could be seen running underneath her transparent, porcelain-white skin.
While her neat features appeared to be immature, they would undoubtedly make men cry in the future.
Even though the girl’s chest could only be described as disappointing, this didn’t mean that her charm was halved because of it.
As she seemed to be younger than Hiro, it just meant that the girl had more time to grow from here on out.
Lowering his head to hide his embarra.s.sment, Hiro spoke.
“Ahaha……I’m Hiro Ouguro.”
“Hiro Ouguro?”
“Ahh….if it’s hard to say, then just ‘Hiro’ is fine.”
“Got it. Then, I’ll call you Hiro, but……what are you doing here?”
“I was looking for the exit, but………”
“Hmm……”
Her eyes examined Hiro’s body.
“Well, fine. You don’t seem to be a suspicious person, so……you were looking for the exit, right?”
Saying, “This way”, the girl began to walk away.
Hiro began to follow after the girl’s back.
As though it were protecting the girl, the wolf walked in front of Hiro while wagging its tail.
After walking for about 10 metres, Hiro and company discovered a large light within the thickets of the forest up ahead.
The fact that the exit which he had walked so much to find was so easily found made Hiro feel as though he had been bewitched by a fox.
After pa.s.sing through the light, the scenery which unfolded before him caused Hiro to gasp.
Within the blue sky, not a single cloud could be seen. A pleasant wind blew gently against his face, causing the blades of gra.s.s growing on the ground to sway back and forth.
However, just as the boy was being overwhelmed by how far the gra.s.sy plains extended around him, Hiro noticed their nearby presence within his field of vision.
Spread out in a single horizontal line was a cavalry troop.
Heavy-looking armour, well-maintained spears, with swords hanging at their waists.
And lastly, their clearly unfriendly glances that were aimed at Hiro.
A single horse marched forward from within the group.
Sitting on the horse was a burly man with evenly-cut short hair.
With a large wound on his face and sharp, lion-like eyes, the man glanced at Hiro before opening his mouth.
“Ojou……were you bathing(1) again?”
“I just finished training, so it was hot.”
“At least bring a guard with you.”
“Oh, but I did have a guard. Right? Cerberus.”
“Woof”
As the girl petted Cerberus’s head, it barked in apparent agreement.
The man sighed in a fed up manner.
The boy couldn’t just keep staring at the two people and the animal.
So, Hiro raised a hand and timidly tried asking.
“Um~……is it alright if I leave now?”
He then made a forced smile, but as a light vein appeared on the man’s forehead, it seemed that he had failed in making an amiable impression(2).
“Who are you, brat?”
“Hiro.”
The girl approached, placing her hand on Hiro’s shoulder.
“We just met over there. We’re already kind of like friends, I suppose? Right!”
The girl peered at Hiro’s face, seemingly trying to obtain confirmation.
His face instantly turned red.
Hiro had never talked to a female at such close proximity, and considering what a beauty the girl was, it could be said that his reaction was only natural.
In an attempt to hide his unrest, however, Hiro began to talk rapidly.
“W-We’re probably something like friends. Though I don’t really know when one can really say that they’ve become friends…….”
“Woof”
Cerberus barked at Hiro. It was possible that the wolf was approving of Hiro’s words.
It was only natural, but the scar-faced man stared at the suspicious-looking Hiro.
“Friends……? Those are quite the unusual garments. And⎻⎻⎻”
The man’s face didn’t even try to hide his displeasure as he looked down on Hiro. However, just that gaze alone made Hiro’s back completely give out.
Certainly, Hiro was the one and only person wearing a school uniform here.
In the first place, Hiro was hardly used to seeing people wearing armour with a sword at their waists.
“Those features and hair colour don’t belong to one of the empire……which country are you from?”
Upon being told that, Hiro realized that none of them had features resembling that of a j.a.panese person.
Blonde, and brown hair could be seen all over the place. Yet, there was not one whose hair possessed a dark tint like Hiro.
Their cheekbones were also prominent, their noses high, their shoulders wide, and if you compared their bodies, no two were the same.
The young girl next to Hiro lightly tapped his shoulder.
When he turned his head, her lovely and beautiful face came just up to the tip of his nose.
“You’ve got a kind face, and your eyes are also big and round, kind of like when Cerberus was little. I like it, you know?”
“Eh, ahh……th-thanks.”
Just when I was wondering what she was going to say……it made my heart beat violently.
“That makes it even more suspicious. Do you know where this is?”
“Dios. Don’t be so intimidating towards a child like this. He’s terrified!”
“……but you know, Ojou. Even if he is a child, it doesn’t change the fact that he’s a suspicious character.”
For Hiro, these were words that he couldn’t simply ignore.
If it was the man called Dios, Hiro didn’t mind being called a child.
However, for the young girl……for a girl who was clearly younger than him to call him a child was odd.
“Why? Even though he’s cute……“
“It’s not a matter of being cute or not……”
As the corners of Dios’ mouth twitched, Hiro interrupted the man by raising his hand.
“U-Um~……”
“What’s wrong?”
The young girl responded to Hiro with an att.i.tude full of affection.
Once he understood that it was a way in which one might treat a child, Hiro couldn’t help but feel that it was extremely unfortunate.
“Even though I look like this, I’m 16, but……this year I’m turning 17.”
“….you’re lying, right? You’re older than me?”
Just as Hiro wondered why she was making a face as though he had swindled her, Dios, who was still on horseback, also had his mouth half-open in shock.
“Aren’t you actually around 10 years old?”
Even if j.a.panese people appear younger than they actually are, come on(3).
My height’s even……165cm. Though it’s kinda short for a high school soph.o.m.ore.
Incidentally, it (my height) wasn’t too different from the young girl’s.
“Could you be a kind of spirit?”
Dios looked at Hiro with a serious face.
“Ahh, I see! That’s why he was in the forest. But do spirits get lost, I wonder……”
Just as it seemed she had come to a conclusion, the girl immediately tilted her head and began to groan, “Hmm”.
She was a girl whose expressions changed often.
“……for now, we’ll take that guy with us.”
“Eh? We can’t. His parents might be looking for him. We have to properly bring him back home.”
“Ojou……he’s 16, you know? If he was a child, I might’ve let him go, but he’s a full adult. He intruded on royal property without permission. We have to at least investigate it.”
“Eh, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about though? Let’s return him.”
“He could be an enemy spy.”
“I don’t think that’s the case though……”
“No.”
“Then, I’ll have him ride in my carriage. Is that alright?”
After a short period of time, the wrinkle on Dios’ forehead smoothed out and he spoke.
“……haa, very well. Then, let us return to the fortress.”
Turning the horse around, Dios left.
As though it had switched places with Dios, an extravagant carriage came in front of Hiro.
“Please, jump in. The inside is wide, so it shouldn’t feel too tight.”
Before Hiro could go in, Cerberus jumped on-board.
When he followed and went in, he found that it was wide enough for 6 people to sit.
Avoiding Cerberus, who was lying sprawled on the floor, Hiro sat on one of the installed seats.
The young girl, who got in afterwards, sat across from him.
“Sorry for frightening you and everything.”
“No, it’s a dream, so it can’t be helped.”
Having endured up until this moment, Hiro didn’t want to admit that this was reality.
The girl tilted her head.
“……a dream?”
“Yup. Otherwise there’s just too much stuff that can’t be explained.”
“What can’t be explained?”
“Just a little while ago, I was at school. But before I realized it, I was here. If this is a dream, then the scenery can completely change suddenly, and people that I’ve never seen before could appear, right?”
“……I suppose. But, you’re right there, are you not? I do believe that this is reality.”
Suddenly, the girl rose to her feet and approached Hiro.
As she placed her warm hands on Hiro’s face, a soft sensation was transmitted to Hiro’s cheeks. However, at that moment, an intense pain a.s.saulted him.
“Owwwww!?”
The girl was pinching Hiro’s cheek with all her might.
After doing that for a bit, she released her hold and returned to her previous seat.
Apparently startled by Hiro’s scream, Cerberus’ eyes became round.
“See? It’s not a dream, right?”
“Even if that’s the case, you don’t just go and suddenly pinch people like that.”
While Hiro stroked his cheek as it throbbed with pain, one of the windows that the carriage was furnished with was knocked on.
“What happened?”
Dios peered into the carriage with a dubious face.
“It’s nothing. Hiro was saying that this was a dream, so I just pinched his cheek”
“Hmph, so he’s escaping reality……as I thought, he might be a spy.”
After throwing that out, Dios went away from the window.
Once he made sure of that, Hiro held down his injured cheek and sighed.
“Haa……”