《Reincarnated as a Rock in Another World》


 Chapter 0: Prologue

    You may be wondering: What happens after you die?


    Well, I ... I was reincarnated.


    Now you might be asking, who did I become?


    Did I become a courageous hero, undertaking perilous quests to defeat the forces of evil?


    Or the noble leader of a great and powerful empire?


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    Perhaps a beautiful and regal creature, whose power brought prosperity to its land.


    No. I didn''t become any of those. Instead, I became...


    A ROCK!


    And it was all because of her...

 Chapter 1: That Time I Was Reincarnated

    It began like any other day. I had returned home after another long day of work. I made myself some popcorn, sat down on my chair, and turned on the TV to see if there was anything good on.


    Another one of these shows, I thought, when I saw what was playing on TV. They had been appearing everywhere lately. If you are not aware, in a lot of shows lately, someone gets sent to another world, gets powers, goes on adventures, makes friends, and becomes some sort of hero. They¡¯ve been released a dime a dozen over the past few years, but for some reason I just couldn¡¯t stop watching them. Perhaps subconsciously, I longed for something like that to happen to me.


    I wasn¡¯t sure why I felt this way. After all, I had a decent job with a stable income and a little house, all to myself. But for some reason, it all just felt so empty. Every day I would get up, take the bus to the office, get done with the day''s work, take the bus back home, watch some television, and go to bed. Rinse and repeat. At some point, however, each day blends with all the others.


    But when I watched the characters on the screen, I couldn¡¯t help but feel that their lives were just so¡ªinteresting, if that¡¯s a good way to put it. All the adventures they went on, all the situations they ended up in¡ªsomething about it just engaged me in a way that my own life failed to do. I suppose, at the very least, it was something to look forward to after a long day of work.


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    Unfortunately, my relaxation wouldn¡¯t last for long. I began to fall asleep in my chair as I listened to the TV. But the sound of a honking vehicle jolted me awake.


    I could see a bright light from behind, and then everything went dark.


    <hr>


    When I woke up again, I found myself floating in a dark void, with the sole exception of a luminous presence in front of me. As my eyes began to adjust to this light, I was able to make out a radiant woman in front of me, sitting on a golden throne. She wore an elegant white gown with draped ribbon-like sleeves and a translucent white scarf that flowed around her body. She had long, silky blonde hair and sparkling golden eyes. On her head was a golden tiara decorated with diamonds. A glowing white aura radiated from her, telling me that she must be a divine figure¡ªa goddess, like in those shows? Was she perhaps the key to my next life, whatever that could be? Did she summon me to fulfill some sort of holy mission? Wanting to make a good impression, I bowed to her.


    However, the woman in question merely put her hand on her chin, not even bothering to look me in the eyes; her disinterest was abundantly clear. And without any pause, she snapped her fingers.


    "Hey! What th-"


    I didn¡¯t get to finish my sentence, as everything around me disappeared, and my new ¡®life¡¯ began...

 Chapter 2: My First Day on Another World

    When my eyesight returned, I noticed that I was extremely close to the ground¡ªperhaps a centimeter or so above it. I was on the bank of a lake, on the other side of which was a mostly barren hill, aside from a scattering of trees. Wanting to get a sense of my surroundings, I tried to get up, only to find, to my shock, that I couldn¡¯t move. It was as if I was completely paralyzed, save for my ability to see and look around.


    I tried to test my vision since I at least had that. I looked as far up as I could, and suddenly, my view was oriented upwards. For some reason, I was able to pivot my entire vision around myself. Above me, I saw the sky, along with the branches of some trees. I looked back down to see my original view. Using this to my advantage, I was able to take a look at all of my surroundings. To my left and right was the rest of the bank, which was littered with pebbles. Behind me was an incline, along with some larger rocks. The only thing I could see beneath me was the ground, which was to be expected. But I was unable to see myself.


    I thought that maybe some sort of reflection would help, such as that of the lake. Looking towards the water, I was able to make out the reflection of a bunch of random little pebbles. With the absence of any other entities, that could¡¯ve only meant that I was one of them.


    I had become a pebble. An ordinary, insignificant little pebble.


    <hr>


    No, this couldn¡¯t be, I thought to myself. I reasoned that there had to be some way out of this. Most of those shows had ways for their characters to improve themselves, even in the worst of circumstances. I thought maybe I had that too¡ªthat if I could just open something up, then things would quickly turn around.


    Stats¡­ Magic¡­ Appraisal¡­ Levels¡­ Something... If I just thought¡­


    But it was of no use. I couldn¡¯t do anything. I''m stuck... I''m stuck. I''M STUCK!


    The realization of what I had become was finally beginning to sink in, and I started to panic. And for the first time, perhaps in my entire life, I called for help.


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    HELP! SOMEONE! HELP ME! ANYONE, HELP! PLEASE!


    Suddenly, to my surprise, the grasses rustled behind me, and from behind them came out a man with a fishing rod. I called out to him.


    Thank you, sir! PLEASE! PICK ME UP! Take me to someone! ANYONE! Anyone who can fix¡ª


    But the man just walked by me and cast his fishing rod into the water, staying completely still. I quickly realized, to my disappointment, that he couldn¡¯t hear a thing I was saying. Of course he couldn¡¯t; after all, I was now just a rock.


    So, for a while, I just watched the man fish. I watched the rippling currents of the water, along with the possible movements of anything underneath the surface of the lake. But I couldn¡¯t see anything, and it looked like the man couldn¡¯t either. He eventually turned away and walked up the little incline and back into the thicket, with only the fishing rod in his hand. And with that, I was once again completely alone.


    Why? I thought to myself. Why am I like this now? Surely there had to be some greater reason for my predicament, right?


    But then I recalled the way that woman looked at me. As if I were nothing. It all made sense. There was no greater purpose for me.


    So, this is my fate? I thought to myself. To be a rock for the rest of time... Why did I expect anything better?


    And so, I did the only thing I could do: stare into the lake. Well, at least the view is beautiful, I reasoned. I could at least enjoy that for however long I would be stuck here. But I was only partially correct, because a few hours later, as the sun began to set, the world around me was encroached upon by night. As the daylight ceased, I noticed that there was not a single star in the sky, no moonlight reflecting onto the lake¡¯s surface, not even the glowing of fireflies flying around. Instead, everything was dark. Pitch-black dark.


    But what was stranger was the quiet. Back home in the evenings, I could hear the chirping of crickets¡ªor the roaring of passing cars¡ªeven the barking of the neighbor¡¯s dog. But in this place, however, there was nothing but silence.

 Chapter 3: I Couldve Sworn That Wasnt There Yesterday

    There were some things I had noticed in my time here so far.


    Firstly, there was no sun, no moon, and no stars. And while the nights were dark, for some reason the days were still bright, as if something else was providing the light.


    Secondly, the fisherman would come at the same time every day, always three-quarters through the day. Sometimes he came to fish, sometimes just to relax. Each time, he never spoke a word.


    And finally, and most strangely of all, I noticed that this world was changing...


    It started 17 days after I arrived.


    <hr>


    The previous night, I witnessed a flash of light in the distance. It only lasted for about a second or two, but it was impossible to miss. One thing I''ll note is that, for some reason, it was impossible for me to fall asleep, and I never felt tired either. I mean, it¡¯s not like I was even able to close my ''eyes'' or whatever I was seeing with, to begin with. But as a result, during the nights, I could feel the passing of each and every second. Back to the main topic, at the start of the next morning, I could see a new tree on the hill on the other side of the lake¡ªa tree that wasn¡¯t there before. And oddly enough, it was fully grown, as if it had always been there. I could¡¯ve just played it off as a trick of the ¡®eye¡¯, but this wasn''t the only time this happened.


    There didn''t seem to be any pattern to this phenomenon¡ªno specific time or anything like that. But every few days or so, something new would show up in the landscape. A new tree, some new patches of grass, or some new rocks that weren''t there before. Little by little, things seemed to get less and less barren, and the world around me seemed to become more and more populated.


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    And then one day, I saw something interesting...


    <hr>


    It happened late one day while I was watching the landscape in front of me. Then suddenly, I saw another beam of light. Nothing came of it¡ªat least, at first.


    But a few minutes later, a fish suddenly lunged itself out of the water in front of me. It was the first animal I had seen since I got here. But for some reason, it didn¡¯t act like a normal animal. I watched the fish attempt to use its fins to propel itself further, as if it wanted to leave the lake. It was a puzzling sight to behold, to say the least.


    Eventually, however, the fish retreated back into the water, presumably to breathe. But after that, the fish continued to pull itself out of the water, over and over and over again. For hours upon hours on end. It must be a very persistent fish, I assumed.


    When the fisherman returned for his daily visit, his catch was right there waiting for him. But strangely, the fish seemed to look content. Perhaps for this fish, even death was preferable to being trapped in this place.


    Speaking of which, there was something lingering in my mind that I couldn¡¯t help but think about: Was it even possible for me to even die? I couldn¡¯t be considered alive in a traditional sense. But I began to wonder: what would happen if, for instance, someone took a chisel or a pickaxe or something and cracked me open? Or what if someone picked up a giant weight, dropped it on me, and shattered me into a bunch of pieces? Or even dynamite, for that matter, if I were blown into smithereens. Could I survive any of this? I wasn¡¯t sure. I was hoping to find out. At the very least, it would be something different from how things were.


    I did not see the fisherman for a few days after that, so I guessed that he must''ve had a filling meal. But eventually, he returned, and so things continued on as they had. At least they did for a little while. But the past hundred days or so turned out to merely be the calm before the storm, in a literal sense. It began when I saw something that I hadn''t seen in this world before: a snowflake.

 Chapter 4: Enduring Winter on Another World

    It began around a hundred days or so after I ended up in this world. I was observing the landscape when I noticed a little snowflake fall right beside me. It landed on the ground and quickly turned into a tiny droplet of water. At first, I gave it little thought; after all, one snowflake didn¡¯t mean much. However, the snowfall quickly grew more and more intense. Eventually, I could see a thin white blanket of snow below me, which only grew thicker and thicker as the minutes went by.


    For most people, this wouldn¡¯t be such a big deal. But because of how tiny I was, even a few centimeters of snow could be blinding. Occasionally over the past couple months, falling leaves would temporarily obstruct my field of view. But thankfully, an oncoming breeze would blow it away each time. But this snowfall was different¡ªvery different.


    Over the next few hours, the layers of snow continued to rise, blocking more and more of my vision, until eventually the snow buried me completely. I quickly noticed that, in addition to my loss of sight, the snow severely impaired my hearing and made any outside sounds seem faint and muffled. Previously, I had sight and hearing to perceive the world around me. But because of this snowfall, I had nothing. All I could do was hope the snow would melt quickly. But unfortunately for me, the snow cover would persist for many more months to come.


    <hr>


    The one thing that had remained the same during this endless winter was the darkness of night, though it wasn¡¯t much better during the day, where everything was just a lighter shade of gray as opposed to the pitch black of the night. There were some days in which I was met with some tiny glimmers of hope. Once in a while, I was able to see a faint speck of light coming from above. But each and every time, it was quickly snuffed out by even more snowfall.


    But the most unnerving thing about all this was the silence. It was already pretty quiet normally, aside from the natural ambience of the lake or the faint gusts of wind. But now I couldn¡¯t even hear that. I also couldn¡¯t even tell whether anyone came to the lake during the winter, but I assumed otherwise. Even under the snow, I probably would¡¯ve heard footsteps, but that never occurred.


    I recalled the fisherman who had come every day to fish. Maybe he had a family¡ªa wife and a couple of kids. I could imagine them sitting in a little hut, the fisherman¡¯s wife taking care of a baby girl while her husband went out to fish, and the son making silly faces at his new baby sister. I thought about the family¡¯s dinner time¡ªof them eating a large fish for dinner¡ªand the parents, of course, getting the largest share. But then I began to think of what they could be doing right now. I saw the family huddling together as the house was covered in snow and the winds were extinguishing the fire from a nearby fireplace. I imagined the young boy telling his father that he was hungry and that his father was unable to respond, fearing for his family¡¯s final fate. Maybe it was better to imagine him living alone. At least he would have more food to eat in that situation.


    I wondered if he would be able to survive the winter. But given that he came here so many times, there could have been nothing to eat where he was. It was possible that he simply didn¡¯t know how to farm. Or maybe there simply wasn¡¯t any food to eat. I hoped that he had found enough food to survive the winter, but I wouldn¡¯t have an answer to this for a long time.


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    I thought back to the winter months, back with my own family. We would sit down in front of a fireplace, playing board games, eating marshmallows, and just laughing and having a good time. I could recall when we went out for the New Year¡¯s Festival. My mother prayed for good fortune for our family, while my father prayed for a new car. As for me, well, I have long since forgotten. I doubt it was anything important, to be honest.


    But many years later, I got a job in the city. My mother and father tearfully bid me farewell, and I promised to keep in touch with them. But as I got more and more occupied with work, I began to call my parents less and less. I was always either too busy working or just too exhausted from finishing a long day of work, and I just never got the chance to speak to them. I could always do it another time, I would think. Now submerged underneath the snow, I began to wonder if Mom and Dad missed me or if they even knew that I was gone.


    <hr>


    With nothing outside to look at, all I had were my own memories, and as the months went by, my mind was consumed with regrets about what could have been. I thought about the friends I was too busy to make, of all the things I was too busy to do, of all the experiences I was too busy to have, and of all the time that I wasted at work and at home. There were so many choices that I could have made but didn¡¯t. And now in this place, I couldn''t even make a choice, that ability having been stripped from me.


    I realized how little I took advantage of the previous life that I had, how much of it I had taken for granted, and how much of my life I had wasted. I knew that if I could go back, I would do things very differently. And normally in movies, this is the point where the main character gets the chance to set things right and live happily ever after. But that wasn¡¯t the case here. The winter continued for many more weeks.


    <hr>


    But then one day, I saw a little bright spot above me. At first, I gave it no mind. It would go away, just like all the other times. But, to my surprise, this bright spot grew larger and larger.


    This couldn¡¯t be, I thought. After all this time, it just couldn¡¯t be!


    And then, I saw the sky. For the first time in many months, I was able to see the sky.


    Rain poured down around me, and the layers of snow quickly receded until, soon enough, they were completely gone. In my old life, I never gave snowmelt much thought. To me, it just meant that my feet would get wet and nothing more. But now I felt an overwhelming sense of relief.


    After all that time under the snow, I could finally see again. And when I looked at the lake¡ªwhich had been obscured by the snow for months¡ªI couldn''t help but think it was... beautiful, oddly enough. It was as if it had come right out of a painting. And even more strange was that, for the first time since I ended up in this world, I could see a sun shining brightly in the sky.

 Chapter 5: The Truth of All Things

    As the winter ended and spring began, the days reverted back to how they were previously, albeit with one unfortunate exception.


    The fisherman, who had once visited daily, now ceased to appear entirely. On the first full day after the snow melted, I noticed that he did not show up. I assumed that he simply might have forgotten to visit. But as the days went by, it became increasingly clear to me that he did not survive the winter. I had a feeling this would be the case, but it was still saddening nonetheless. I hoped that his spirit was at peace, wherever it was. And in his absence, the one human connection that I had in this world, however tenuous and indirect it had been, vanished. Even though I was no longer isolated underneath the snow, I was still utterly alone.


    And that''s how it was for a few weeks. There wasn¡¯t anything I could do to entertain myself either, aside from watching the grass grow. However, that growth was strange, to say the least. For instance, there was a blade of grass that stood completely upright, as if it were reaching upwards. And there was another that was growing downward, as if it sought the comfort of the dirt. There were even two grasses growing toward each other. But I had a guess as to why this was occurring, and it wouldn¡¯t be very long before I had some answers.


    <hr>


    It was during the morning of a bright and sunny day when I heard a feminine humming behind me. I looked back towards the grasses, and as the humming grew louder, those grasses began to rustle, and eventually, a woman stepped out from the brush. She was dressed like some sort of peasant, wearing a long dress and a strange piece of headwear covering her hair. She looked to be in her mid-twenties. The peasant walked towards the water''s edge and stood, seemingly in awe of what was in front of her. I had already gotten used to this place long ago, but it was intriguing to see how it was perceived by fresher eyes.


    But my curiosity quickly turned to horror as the peasant bent down and picked up a pebble not too far away from me. She stood back up and stuck out her right hand, which was holding the pebble. Then she flicked her arm, releasing it. As the pebble skimmed the water¡¯s surface, it splashed mightily. It continued to move across the water, splashing again as it made contact with the water¡¯s surface. It then moved a little further, and after making one last splash, it sank into the depths below. The peasant just giggled.


    I watched in terror. After spending all those months underneath the snow, I had zero desire to be trapped under the water, especially for what could very well be indefinitely. But I couldn¡¯t move, speak, or do anything, for that matter, to defend myself. All I could do was watch and wait things out. The peasant bent down again, picking up another pebble. She got up, stuck out her right hand, and tossed the pebble. It skimmed the water three times before sinking underneath. The peasant started to look around before reaching again in my direction. I looked away, fearing the worst. Each second was excruciating, and I could only beg for this to be over soon. But then, from behind where I was looking, I could hear more splashes. I looked towards the lake and saw some drops entering the water, the aftermath of another pebble being tossed in.


    I glanced to my right, looking at the peasant again. As she bent down, I froze in fright. But then she sat down and just stared toward the lake. I sighed in relief, convinced I was safe, at least for the time being. Unfortunately, those hopes were swiftly dashed as the peasant picked up another pebble. But then, to my surprise, she spoke¡ªthe first time that I heard anyone speak since I arrived in this world. ¡°I haven¡¯t gotten a chance to do this since I got here,¡± she said as she threw the pebble into the lake, this one splashing loudly before sinking into the water.


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    Something about that sentence immediately felt off to me. What was she referring to by ''here?'' She could¡¯ve just been referring to arriving at the water¡¯s edge. But why would she say that when she threw those pebbles in the water as soon as she arrived? No, she must have been referring to arriving...from somewhere else. I thought back to the past year¡ªof that fish frantically climbing out of the water, of the grass growing in strange directions, of the countless things that appeared out of thin air, and even of my own status as a rock. Thinking again about what she just said, there could only be one possible conclusion: This peasant... must be from Earth! Just like me. It wasn¡¯t just her, either, from what I had previously witnessed. And this realization¡ªthat perhaps I wasn''t alone in all of this¡ªfelt incredibly cathartic.


    And as I looked toward her face, I saw her previous carefree expression give way to one of stress and worry. She covered her mouth and stood up. I could see her eyes darting back and forth. Perhaps there was a chance she heard me? ¡°Phew! No one heard me,¡± the peasant said, letting out a giggle. She didn¡¯t hear me¡ªof course she didn¡¯t hear me.


    The peasant looked out towards the water again, her eyes seeming to sparkle, with a tranquil smile on her face. It was as if all the innocent souls she had just condemned to an eternity in the darkest depths of the lake meant absolutely nothing to her. And for some reason, I began to feel enraged. How could someone show such disregard for the lives of innocents? How could she feel so happy after the suffering she just inflicted!


    Ok. Calm down, Kazuki; calm down, I told myself. Maybe she didn¡¯t know. After all, I wasn''t told anything before I was turned into a rock. Maybe the woman didn¡¯t say anything to this peasant either. So then why did she seem so anxious after that sentence, as if she felt a need to keep a secret? Did that woman say something to her¡ªsomething she didn¡¯t bother to tell me?


    But my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of more splashing as the peasant tossed yet another pebble into the water. I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle to myself. At this point, it had to be a habit for her, I thought. Then the peasant turned around, brushed off her dress, and started to hum. She walked towards the grass and back the way she came. But as she was leaving, I heard her say, ¡°I should come here again sometime,¡± much to my chagrin.


    After she left, I looked towards the landscape around me, at the trees in front of me, at the grasses behind me, as well as the other rocks beside me. You are all just like me, I thought to myself. The thought that I wasn¡¯t alone¡ªthat there were others stuck in the same situation as me¡ªfelt like a relief. But at the same time...


    I looked towards the lake, the waters rippling in a uniform fashion, as if all that had happened today had never occurred and was to be forgotten forever. But as I stared at the water, I could only feel regret¡ªregret that I couldn''t do anything to help them.

 Chapter 6: A Great and Powerful Dragon

    Unfortunately, the peasant kept to her word. And though she didn''t visit anywhere near as often as the fisherman did, each time she returned felt like a brush with death. And as she continued to visit and the number of stones slowly dwindled, a feeling of inevitability began to wash over me¡ªthat eventually I would join the others underneath that lake. There was nothing I could do, after all, so what use was there in being anxious?


    It had been nearly a year since I arrived in this world. I''d witnessed fall, winter, and spring, and now the days of summer had begun. The sun shone brightly in the sky, the hills were swept in a sea of green, and the waters of the lake glistened. From an outsider''s view, this place must seem like a paradise. But for those of us trapped here, unable to move, feel, speak, or even sleep, it felt like an endless nightmare.


    And I couldn¡¯t help but ask why. Why were we subjected to this torturous existence? There had to be a reason beyond mere landscaping. But I didn¡¯t have any answers at this point, and so I could only wait.


    <hr>


    One day, as I gazed towards the water that I was certain would become my tomb, I witnessed an intense flash of light coming from the middle lake, brighter than any I had seen before. If I were still human, I would¡¯ve just closed my eyes. But in this state, all I could do was look away, and even that wasn¡¯t enough to block out the light. But as quickly as the light appeared, it abruptly vanished. I looked back towards the water, curious as to what would appear this time, only to be stunned to see a monstrous creature now standing in the middle of the lake.


    It was over a dozen meters long from head to tail, covered in crimson scales and spikes, and had bright yellow eyes. And with four legs and a decently sized pair of wings, I could tell that it was a dragon¡ªa real dragon. But was it really? It certainly wasn''t acting like one.


    This dragon suddenly sat, similar to how a person would sit, and began to look at itself. It held out its front feet, and then it quickly turned its head around to look at its tail, along with its wings, which flapped a little bit. Getting back on all fours, the dragon looked down, presumably to get a look at itself in the water. And then, the dragon roared fire coming out of its mouth, briefly enveloping itself in a cloud of steam.


    It was strange to watch this water-dwelling dragon breathe fire. But as I looked at it more, I noticed that this dragon looked very poorly suited for the water, with a body too rough and bulky for any sort of efficient swimming. It was as if there was little thought into what this dragon would look like other than being a ''dragon''.


    Shortly after, the dragon dipped its head into the lake, presumably to drink some water. But it suddenly began to cough out black smoke, as the water was making it choke. Fiery tears began to roll down the dragon¡¯s eyes, and as those tears hit the lake¡¯s surface, the waters below hissed violently. But interestingly, after the coughing ceased, I could make out black markings below the dragon¡¯s eyes, scarring from its fiery tears.


    Then, the dragon flapped its wings and leapt from the water. But unfortunately, this did not end well, as the dragon¡¯s wings were too small to keep it afloat. So instead, it fell on its stomach onto the surface of the lake, unleashing a gigantic splash that drenched everything around it, myself included. It took a few minutes for the water to clear away from my view, and when it did, I saw the dragon crawling onto the shore at the other end of the lake, where the hill towered above it. It was quite difficult to see it at this distance, and as it began to climb over the hill, it disappeared entirely, obscured by the ocean of trees that now dotted the hill¡¯s surface. But to my surprise, the dragon quickly returned, albeit still facing towards the hill. For some reason, the dragon was unable to make the ascent. Despite this, it tried again and again and again, but the result was the same each time.


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    Interestingly, though, as the dragon was rushing up, it looked like the hill was getting taller. It was as if the earth itself was conspiring to imprison this dragon in this lake. While the people I''d seen before came and went as they pleased, it seemed like this dragon wasn¡¯t afforded the same luxury. And after a while, the dragon seemed to give up, slowly walking back towards the lake. As the hill began to subside back to its normal height, the dragon rested on the shore, its head facing in my direction.


    <hr>


    A few hours passed, and the dragon still lay resting, and it seemed to be comfortable while doing so. But suddenly, I heard a familiar hum from behind me. I looked towards the grass, and surely enough, the peasant had returned, no doubt eager to cause another massacre. And out of all the times as well. As she had done many times before, she picked up a rock and tossed it into the water. But her splash seemed to alert the dragon, whose head was now sticking up. The peasant didn¡¯t seem to notice this, however, as she began to look in my direction. And she reached towards me, her hand¡¯s shadow growing larger and larger around me. It was bound to happen eventually, I thought to myself, as the peasant¡¯s hand began to obscure my view.


    But then I heard a thunderous splash in the water. The peasant seemed to hear this too, as she raised her hand away from me. I looked toward the lake and saw the dragon swimming towards us. ¡°EEEK! A DRAGON!¡± the peasant shrieked as she ran back the way she came.


    After such a close call, I felt a strange sense of relief. With this dragon around, maybe the peasant would never come back, I thought to myself. But speaking of the dragon, as I looked towards it, I could see more tears running down its face. It was crying, presumably because of that peasant. I¡¯m guessing it wanted to play with her. It''s interesting how much of a difference one¡¯s perspective makes. If that dragon were in my shoes, would it still feel the same way?


    But suddenly, the dragon plunged into the water, disappearing from sight. And a few moments later, it resurfaced, causing another massive splash as a result. It appeared as if the dragon was playing. It continued to leap out of the water, each splash being bigger than the last. But eventually it stopped leaping and did something unexpected.


    The dragon blew a plume of fire into the sky, diving into the water just before the fireballs landed all around it, each one causing the surrounding waters to boil and hiss. But for some reason, even after the steam ceased, I could still hear the sound of crackling. I looked and saw that a nearby tree had caught aflame. The dragon seemed to notice this too and hastily splashed some water onto it, extinguishing the flames, before continuing its swim. I was surprised. Was this dragon aware that someone might be inhabiting that tree? Or could this act have just been part of this dragon¡¯s nature? Either way, it seemed to look genuinely concerned about the damage that it could have caused.


    After a while, the sun started to set. I assumed the dragon would go to sleep with it, but that did not occur. Instead, as everything went dark, the dragon began to roar. Plumes of colorful fire shot up into the air, and I could see glimpses of beautiful color in the otherwise empty night sky. But this visual spectacle was soon cut short, as the dragon¡¯s roars quickly gave way to whimpers. This dragon seemed more like a scared child rather than a terrifying beast, and as it continued to whimper, I couldn¡¯t help but feel bad for it.


    If only I was able to comfort it, I thought to myself. If I could just tell it that everything would be ok, that there''s a light at the end of the tunnel, that yes, it''s tough at first, but things wouldn¡¯t be so bad after you get used to it, though I confess that the last part wasn''t true at all,


    Wait a second! I realized. Why should it have to get used to this kind of life? There''s nothing normal about living in this place. But that wasn¡¯t how I was feeling. I had only spent perhaps a year or so in this place, and yet all of this felt normal to me. I had forgotten just how terrifying it was to live in this awful place, and watching this dragon brought back memories of how frightened I was when I initially arrived in this realm.


    Regardless, in this condition, I couldn¡¯t do anything to help, and so for the time being, all I could do was watch. By this time, the dragon was silent, probably succumbing to its own exhaustion. And as I heard its echoing snores, I could sense that it had finally fallen into a peaceful slumber.


    There are two types of people in life: those who love to sleep and those who do not. For both, an entire night can pass in what feels like only a few minutes. And during that time, one could have pleasant dreams, horrid nightmares, or even something in between.


    I wondered what the dragon was dreaming about, because I hadn¡¯t dreamed in nearly a year.

 Chapter 7: The Legendary Hero Has Come to Save the Day

    As the next day began, I observed the dragon open its wings and look up at the sky. Suddenly, it leapt into the air, only to immediately fall back down. Within moments, a thunderous roar echoed through the air. Yet not long after that, I saw it begin to swim, and despite what had just transpired, I could tell that the dragon looked a bit happier than it did yesterday, which was a relief to see. But as I watched, I saw how the dragon was able to move, to act, and to sense¡ªthings that, in my current state, I was unable to do. Watching this was bittersweet, to say the least. Shortly thereafter, the dragon returned to the opposite side of the lake and began to sleep.


    A few hours later, I began to hear rustling from behind me. I thought this may have been the peasant; perhaps she believed the dragon had left. But unfortunately, I was wrong. I saw, to my surprise, an ordinary high school boy stepping out of the thicket. He had somewhat messy black hair and blue eyes, and he seemed to be wearing a standard high school uniform, a gakuran, that was worn like a long coat, billowing in the wind. Back in Japan, a boy like this would look average in every way, just like any other high school student that I had seen on my way to work. But in this place, he looked completely abnormal. Everyone else I had seen so far had some sort of fantasy motif. Following closely behind him were five other individuals, all of whom were female. Compared to the boy, these girls stuck out like a sore thumb. They all looked like they came right out of an anime.


    First was a girl with blonde hair fashioned into two gigantic hair-drills. She wore an elegant red dress with white and gold trimming, and she had a smug expression on her face. She looked like a princess. Next to her was a more plain-looking girl, with widened eyes, brown hair, some basic armor, a cape, and bows on her hair and on one of her legs. On her back was a sack with some arrows, and she wore a bright smile on her face.


    The other three girls, though still quite human-like in appearance, had features that made them look less human. There was a girl with pointed horns and a tail with a heart-shaped tip. She had long, fiery-orange hair and was dressed in clothing that emphasized her figure. But this girl was scowling and had a blush on her face. She was crossing her arms around her chest. There was another girl with pointed ears, blonde hair, a headband, and a simple, flowing green dress. Her face was expressionless, and she kept a small distance from the others.


    But the last girl unsettled me the most. She had long blue hair, with giant cat ears sprouting from above them, along with giant blue eyes. She wore a white dress with white sandals and a black collar around her neck. The problem? She was clearly just a child¡ªa mere child. What was a little girl doing here, especially around characters such as these? I was scared to find out.


    ¡°I can get its attention!¡± the wide-eyed girl exclaimed as she reached for her bag.


    ¡°You don''t have to worry about it,¡± the boy assured her. ¡°I can handle this.¡±


    ¡°Oh, ok, Arthur-san.¡± She responded with a disappointed look on her face. The princess turned towards her, but I was unable to make out her expression.


    I watched as the boy, apparently named Arthur, stood still, silently and stoically gazing towards the dragon. At the same time, I noticed the demon girl put on some sunglasses, as if whatever was about to happen was a frequent occurrence. The elf girl just leaned against a tree. I saw the catgirl try to climb onto the princess, who simply pushed her away, seemingly in disgust. The wide-eyed girl picked her instead, and the catgirl began to sway her legs back and forth.


    Arthur stuck out his hand, which started to glow brightly. I guessed it was some sort of magic. And this bright light alerted the dragon, which leapt into the water, rapidly swimming towards us.


    ¡°ARROW OF LIGHT!¡± Arthur shouted.


    A beam of light came from his hand, quickly striking and engulfing the dragon. And in an instant, it was over. The dragon was gone, reduced to a few bones protruding out of the water. And it wasn¡¯t just the dragon. The entire hill had been reduced to smoldering ashes.


    <hr>


    I was appalled at what I had just witnessed. How did this boy get such power? Did ''SHE'' give it to him? She must have, but why him of all people? And furthermore, why didn''t he show so much as a hint of hesitation? Did the life of that dragon mean nothing to him? I looked towards the girls, expecting to see some sort of shock or revulsion. But instead, they... applauded?


    ¡°That was amazing, Arthur-san!¡± the wide-eyed girl exclaimed.


    ¡°Yeah, cool,¡± the elf girl remarked.


    ¡°Eh, it was whatever,¡± the demon girl muttered to herself.


    ¡°Oh, stop being such a downer!¡± The princess scolded the demon girl. "You know he¡¯ll never choose you if you keep acting like this.¡±


    ¡°Choose who for what?¡± Arthur interrupted.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Nothing¡­ Arthur-san,¡± the demon girl responded.


    ¡°Sephie-san has a crush on you, Master-sama!¡± the catgirl chimed in.


    Wait¡­ Master-sama? I wondered. Is this catgirl that boy¡¯s slave?


    ¡°What! No, I don¡¯t! Shut up, Kit!¡± The demon girl protested.


    ¡°Sephie-san''s got a crush! Sephie-san''s got a crush!¡± The catgirl, named Kit, taunted as she ran away.


    ¡°Get back here, you brat!¡± she shouted, chasing after her.


    When I was still human, I didn¡¯t really talk to people that much. Still, I couldn¡¯t help but question if people normally behave like this in the presence of the deceased. It just felt extremely disrespectful, and yet none of them seemed to care in the slightest.


    Suddenly, the wide-eyed girl shouted. ¡°Hey! Look at the hill over there!¡±


    Everyone turned.


    ¡°Oops. I guess sometimes I don¡¯t even know my own strength. Haha,¡± Arthur responded, with a smile on his face. ¡°It looks like I made a big mess again. Hopefully the locals won''t be too mad at us, right?¡±


    Not be mad; you KILLED one of them! And what do you mean by ''again''?


    "I doubt it," the princess answered, cuddling up to the boy. "You''re a hero after all; I''m sure they''ll let it slide. Still, it would be a good idea not to tell anyone, right?"


    What am I hearing from these people?


    "I guess you have a point," Arthur responded. "You girls can keep a secret, right?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t we?¡±


    I watched these murderers with disgust. How could they be so content after what they just did? How can they go on like any other day when their hands are drenched in blood? If they had faced death before, as I suspect they have, then how could they place so little value on the life of an innocent?


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°We should head back to the guild before sundown," Arthur suggested.


    ¡°Hold on a moment!" the princess interjected. "We need to bring back some proof first. How else will we get our reward?¡± The princess asked.


    ¡°Umm. How about the head?¡± the wide-eyed girl suggested.


    ¡°Great idea, Amelia,¡± Arthur replied, causing her to giggle.


    ¡°So then, who¡¯s the one who has to get it?¡± The elf girl asked.


    Why were they treating it as if it were a trophy? And honestly, what had any of them done to earn such a thing?


    ¡°How about Persephone?" the princess suggested. "She might as well be in a swimsuit already.¡±


    ¡°I am n-¡±. The demon girl, Persephone, froze, seemingly about to say something.


    ¡°What? Are you scared? Is the demon afraid of a little water?¡±


    ¡°Wha-No! Of course not!¡±


    ¡°Then what''s keeping you from getting in the water?¡±


    ¡°N-... W¡­ What about you? Sophia! Why don¡¯t you pull your weight for once?¡±


    ¡°Me¡­ ohohohohoho!¡± The princess, Sophia, laughed obnoxiously. ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous! A princess such as I would never engage in something as filthy as swimming in a lake.¡±


    ¡°Wanna bet?¡± Persephone smirked, clenching her fists.


    ¡°Wait... ha-ha¡± Sophia stammered. ¡°Let''s not make any rash decisions. Besides, this petty squabbling is unnecessary! Look!¡±


    While the two were bickering, Arthur held out his hand. Suddenly, the dragon¡¯s skull dislodged from its body and floated to the boy''s hand. He seemed to carry the skull effortlessly, despite it being far larger than himself. After a moment, the five girls turned their attention towards him.


    ¡°Why''s everyone looking at me?¡± Arthur asked.


    "Wow! That''s amazing!" Amelia exclaimed, looking up at the dragon''s head. "How did you do that?"


    "Oh, this?" Arthur glanced at the head he was holding. "I just thought about what I wanted to do, and then it just happened. It''s really not a big deal."


    There was a brief pause.


    ¡°That¡¯s incredible!¡± Amelia responded.


    ¡°How did you get so strong, Master-sama?¡± Kit asked.


    He paused. ¡°Well, it''s hard to say. I guess I was just¡­ blessed.¡±


    Watching this scene disgusted me. This boy was flaunting a power that he neither earned nor deserved, accompanied by those who were clearly given nothing of the sort and surrounded by countless others who weren¡¯t even given that.


    ¡°So, how about we head over to the guild now?¡± The elf girl asked, interrupting their conversation.


    ¡°Awww!" Kit whined, "I wanna se-swim!"


    ¡°Again?¡± Arthur asked, ¡°We just went to the beach last week.¡±


    Kit looked at him and begged, ¡°Please, Master-sama?¡±


    Arthur sighed. ¡°I guess I can¡¯t say no to a face like that," he conceded, stroking Kit¡¯s cat ears.


    In an instant, all of the girls were dressed in swimsuits, none of which they were wearing before.


    ¡°Last one in is a rotten egg!¡± Kit shouted as she ran into the lake, the others quickly following suit.


    I watched as the group swam in the lake without a care in the world. Did they know that they were swimming in a sea filled with corpses? They might as well have been dancing on the dragon''s grave. I looked at the dragon''s skeleton, its bones now jutting out from the lake. Did it find peace? Or was it now trapped, just like me? But before I could answer that question, everything suddenly went dark.


    ¡°Hey Myrtle! Wanna get in for a group hug?¡± One of the girls shouted.


    ¡°Oh, sure,¡± ¡®Myrtle¡¯ responded. As my vision returned to me, I saw the elf girl, Myrtle, running in the water towards the others.


    I watched as all five of the girls cuddled with the boy. As I looked closely, I noticed some blood coming from out of Arthur''s nose, something all the girls seemed all too willing to ignore. But in my periphery, I noticed something in the sky above. I looked up and saw two translucent yet enormous eyes staring towards the ground. It was her! I just knew it was her! She was watching...


    Why did you choose these people? I asked, hoping that she could hear me. What makes them so special? What made you give that boy everything that he could ever want while discarding people like me as if we were insignificant? I took a glance at the dragon¡¯s carcass before looking up again.


    And why do you allow them to act so recklessly toward us? Why do you sit on your gilded throne and let us suffer? Nay, why did you subject us all to this torment in the first place? Why did you play with our lives like this? If we were just meant to be destroyed, then what was even the point of all this? Tell me! If you can hear me, please tell me! Please, free us from this nightmare.


    But there was no response. And as the group got out of the water, her eyes disappeared as well. Of course. It appears she had only come for them...


    ¡°We should be heading back to town now,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Before the sun sets.¡±


    "Yeah, especially if we want to make it to ¡®happy hour¡¯." Myrtle spoke in a monotone voice.


    ¡°Absolutely! A glass of champagne would be absolutely wonderful! Ohohoho!¡± Sophia exclaimed.


    ¡°Kit wants beer too!¡± Kit shouted.


    ¡°Kit...¡± Arthur said, ¡°You know you¡¯re far too young for that.¡±


    Kit grumbled, kicking a nearby pebble.


    Observing this interaction, I couldn''t help but feel disgusted by this boy''s attempt at moral superiority. After all, he was the one who slayed the dragon, and he didn''t seem to have any problem with keeping this catgirl as his slave.


    As I watched the group begin to pack their things, Sophia stood up.


    ¡°Wait everyone!¡± She called out.


    Could she finally be having an epiphany?


    ¡°Before we leave, I¡¯d like to make a toast. To the boy who has made all of our lives so much more interesting! To Arthur-san!¡±


    ¡°To Arthur-san!¡± all the girls shouted, as the boy in question smiled radiantly.


    I felt ashamed that I ever wanted a life like his¡ªa life so shallow and self-indulgent. But I couldn''t help but feel that even his life was preferable to the one I was currently trapped in.


    ¡°I can¡¯t wait for tomorrow¡¯s adventure!¡± Amelia exclaimed as she stepped into the thicket, the others following shortly behind.


    Adventure? You call this massacre an adventure? I thought with disgust.


    After the boy¡¯s party left, I found myself alone once again, now facing the charred remains of the place I had been trapped in for so long. But still, it was a shame to see it all reduced to ashes. Countless innocents had perished¡ªnot just the dragon, but also the trees, the grass, the rocks on the hill, and all the people who were trapped within them. Who knows how many lives were lost in the end.


    But it was all for the greater good, right? After all, justice prevailed, good triumphed over evil, and the hero saved the day. Of course, that¡¯s how they¡¯ll tell this story. History is told by the victors, after all. But what about the rest of us? In a just world, these murderers would pay dearly for their actions. But unfortunately, this was not a just world. No, it was a world filled with haves and have-nots, yet no one else seemed to care.


    And as night fell, I found myself isolated once again. But strangely, I thought I could hear a faint roar in the distance. Was I hearing things¡ªperhaps a sign of my sanity slipping? I didn¡¯t know. Regardless, with the dragon now gone, all I had to look forward to was the day that I would finally be thrown into the lake. Or so I thought.


    Fate, however, would have something far different in store for me.

 Chapter 8: A Light at the End of the Tunnel

    There were two things of note that happened the next day. The first was that the dragon''s carcass was no longer visible from the lake. Had it sunken into the water? I couldn''t tell for sure, and it was impossible to tell from where I was. The second was the brief return of the peasant, though as soon as she seemed to get a good look at the hill, she ran back the way she came. To be honest, I could understand why she did so. The scenery that I had grown accustomed to over the past year had become desolate, and the hillside in particular was barren and deserted. Still, in either case, she did not return in the weeks that followed.


    Previously, new pieces of scenery would appear out of the blue, probably from other unfortunate souls similar to myself. But for some reason, this no longer occurred, at least from what I could see. It was as if we were abandoned and left to rot. But strangely, the lake remained intact. Perhaps the woman in the sky still had something in mind for this place¡ªanother unwilling victim to be slaughtered? Either way, the result was the same, and nothing changed for the weeks that followed.


    However, on one late afternoon, I heard the grass rustle once again. Maybe the peasant had finally returned, ready to toss more rocks into the lake. Would this be the day that I would finally be cast into the watery abyss?


    But instead, two men stepped from the thicket, one of whom was carrying a large brown bag. After reaching the shoreline, one of the men stepped away from the other and began to pick up debris from the ground. Were these two men part of a clean-up crew or something? If so, then they were long overdue. But as the two men continued to clear the lakeshore, I noticed that one of them was getting closer and closer, until I saw his hand above me, quickly reaching down.


    <hr>


    It happened in an instant, and I found myself being held in this man¡¯s hand. Only a few glimmers of light penetrated through his grip, but from them I could make out the form of a couple of rocks next to me. I wondered how the others were feeling. Did they feel free? Relief to at least experience something different? About a minute or so later, the man loosened his grip. And I was treated to a fleeting flash of light before I fell into the bag, with tons of other rocks beside me. I looked up as the bag was tied closed, sealing me in darkness.


    Shortly thereafter, I could faintly hear the men talking to each other, and the sound of footsteps followed. I couldn¡¯t feel any movements, forces, or really anything else as this occurred, even though I knew from the sound of the rustling grass that I was being moved.


    After a little while, the sounds of footsteps ceased, and I subsequently heard a loud thump. I assumed I was being placed down onto something, though I was unsure as to what. I got my answer when I heard a clopping sound, probably from some horses, on what was most likely a gravel road. There was something interesting I noticed while I listened to these horses. The few ¡®animals¡¯ I had seen thus far all had some sort of rebellious streak, a desperation to escape this situation, something I both admired and envied. But I didn¡¯t notice any such behavior from these horses. Were they simply lacking the will to rebel, or perhaps their fighting spirits had been extinguished somehow? To this, however, I had no answers. A while passed, and eventually, the clopping sound creased. I heard some clanking from inside the bag, along with another thump. It seemed that I had been handed over to someone else, and I had a feeling that this wouldn¡¯t be the last time that would occur.


    On occasion, there would be some sharp bumps, which caused the bag to bounce. And throughout the entire time, it was completely dark, akin to how things were at night. But instead of being pitch-black, everything around me was some sort of brownish color, probably due to the sunlight as well as the bag itself. As this was occurring, a funny thought came to me. I had spent about a year in this world, and I was only able to see a tiny piece of it. But as now I was being transported to who knows where, I wasn¡¯t able to see any of it.


    After an extended period of time, we came to another stop. I heard some shouting, but I couldn¡¯t make out what was being said. But soon enough, I could hear a deep groaning sound, probably the opening of a giant door. And even inside the bag, I could hear it clearly. After that, I heard more clopping, this time on what seemed like a stone surface. But a little bit later, the sound ceased, and I assumed we had come to a stop. With this silence, I could now hear the ambient sound of voices, something that I hadn¡¯t heard in a very long time. Whatever place I was now in seemed to be alive with activity, a stark contrast to the near silence I experienced back at the lake.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    But this sound was abruptly interrupted by clattering noises. The bag was moving again, and it seemed that someone was holding it quite loosely. This clattering sound went on for a few minutes or so, until I heard a thump, after which it stopped.


    <hr>


    After that, I heard a snap from above me, and some more clattering followed. But a few seconds later, some light gleamed through, and suddenly I found myself rolling onto a wooden table amidst a pile of other rocks. I was now in a room with gray cobblestone walls and wooden cross-windows. It was dimly lit, save for some nearby candles.


    I looked the other way and saw a mustached man seated on a chair, clutching the now empty bag. He set the bag down before pushing all of us aside, except for one rock that he placed in the center of the table. I observed the man take out a paintbrush and dip it in a colored liquid nearby. Then, he applied a thin layer of paint to the rock, gradually coating its entire surface. Once finished, he set the rock aside, presumably to dry. Strangely enough, the rock now appeared to be quite shiny.


    The man reached towards us and picked out another rock, painting it just like the one before. Rinse and repeat. Eventually, he rinsed the paintbrush, selected another color to use, and continued to paint the rocks. But it was only a matter of time, however, before it was my turn. And soon enough, the man picked me up with three of his fingers and placed me down in front of him.


    He dipped the paintbrush into some emerald-green paint and held it close to me. Then he began to apply the green paint to me. As I looked to my left side, where he had just applied the paint, I noticed something really weird. For some reason, the paint didn¡¯t completely cover my vision. But instead, it seemed to overlap with my sight. There was no pattern to it, but instead, flickering patches of green obstructed parts of my vision. And as the man continued to apply more paint to me, this overlap affected more and more of my vision, until eventually my entire view was impacted.


    And throughout this process, I noticed something even weirder. While I was being painted, the paintbrush appeared to partially go through me, as if it were instead painting something behind me. It didn¡¯t go very far, probably about a millimeter or so. Regardless, it was as if I was seeing through parts of the paintbrush''s bristles, which was very strange to witness.


    After the man finished painting me, he picked me up again, this time using some tweezers. But as he did so, my surroundings began to distort wildly, with patches of green appearing and disappearing haphazardly all around me. The sole exception to this was in the area of my sight facing towards the man. But this respite would only be temporary, as the man proceeded to apply some green paint to that area as well. The man then placed me on a stand alongside a bunch of other rocks. After this happened, the flickering calmed down to how it had been before. I should have been nauseous after this experience, but for some reason I wasn¡¯t¡ªnot because of some sort of training or practice or anything like that, but simply because I was no longer capable of feeling dizzy.


    But despite this, looking around was still incredibly overwhelming. And so, as the man continued to paint more rocks, I looked at the cobblestone wall to relax. But as I did so, colored rocks gradually covered my periphery, until eventually they surrounded me completely. And due to all the green in my view, I couldn¡¯t say with confidence what colors any of them were.


    After a little while, I heard the chair scraping against the floor. I cautiously turned my sight towards the man, trying not to worsen the distortions in my vision. When I finally saw him, he was already getting up from the chair and grabbing a lantern that was nearby. After extinguishing the candle on the table, the man walked out of the room, taking the lantern with him.


    Despite this, however, the room wasn¡¯t completely dark. There were a few rays of light filtering through the window, illuminating the rocks around me with a faint glow. And as I looked at this light, I began to feel a little bit hopeful. Maybe after all this time¡ªafter everything that I had been through¡ªI could finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.


    Little did I know that this was just the beginning of things to come.

 Chapter 9: A Street Market on Another World

    As the sun rose the next morning, I heard a creaking sound coming from above. It began to get louder and louder, culminating with the return of the man from yesterday. He was holding an assortment of chains in his hand.


    The man sat in the chair, and he reached into a nearby box. Then he emptied it, laying a pile of necklaces beside us on the table. He then began to embed each of the painted rocks into the pendants of those necklaces, one by one. As I watched, I noticed that there were no smears of paint on the man¡¯s fingers, which meant that we had all dried overnight.


    Finally, the man picked me up with his tweezer and placed me inside one of the pendants. After this, I could only look at what was in front of me, with just a little bit of periphery on each side. It may sound bad at first, but there was a silver lining to this. If the flickering became too overwhelming, I could just look behind me.


    Suddenly, I started to float in the air. I looked forward and saw the man looking directly at me. He was also holding something above me, likely one of the chains. The table began to get further and further away from me as the man began to take me somewhere. The entire time, I was swinging violently, loudly impacting the rocks beside me, all while the colors around me swirled and flickered violently. I looked away, trying to shield myself within the refuge of darkness, which was something I couldn¡¯t believe I was thinking. After about a minute or so, the clattering ceased. I looked toward my front and witnessed the new scene that awaited me.


    I was now outside, hanging on some sort of stand in front of the man¡¯s house. There were also stands in front of the other houses across the cobblestone-laden street. Each one was filled with various products and paraphernalia. Besides me were other hung and painted rocks, along with some rocks on the man¡¯s booth.


    What was he up to? Why go through the effort to paint all these rocks? I would find out soon enough. But in the meantime, the man returned to his stand and flipped over a hand-painted sign. One side said closed and the other said open, and interestingly, both were painted in perfect Japanese script.


    <hr>


    It didn¡¯t take long for people to begin to walk over, and the area quickly became crowded. After all the commotion I heard yesterday, that shouldn¡¯t have been surprising. But it had been a long time since I¡¯d seen this many people at once. There seemed to be a couple dozen people just on this part of the street, and all of them were wearing medieval garb. I will note that making out colors or any specific details was very difficult because of all the green in my view, and I found it easier just to look at the silhouettes.


    While all the passersby were walking around, the man began to shout.


    ¡°Gemstones! Get yourself some gemstones!¡± he shouted. ¡°Buy them now while they¡¯re still in stock!¡±


    Of course, he was a con artist. Well, I guess it must have been far easier for him than getting some actual crystals. But who did he think he was fooling? Despite all the painting he did, the rocks near me still looked rough and textured. Were his efforts convincing anyone? The shopkeeper didn¡¯t seem to care either way. And in any case, his shouting seemed to get someone¡¯s attention, as a young man was walking over to us. Surely, he wouldn¡¯t fall for this scam.


    ¡°Welcome to the Jewels of Heaven, selling exotic jewels unlike any you¡¯ve ever seen!¡± the shopkeeper announced. ¡°So, young man, which of these trinkets do you want?¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­ This is for my wife,¡± the customer responded. ¡°If I¡¯m being honest, I¡¯ll take anything.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Well then, here is a ruby necklace, its intense crimson hues symbolizing the passion of a young woman¡¯s heart.¡±


    ¡°Ok, sure, I¡¯ll take it.¡±


    Was this guy an idiot? It''s clearly counterfeit!


    ¡°Hold on!" The shopkeeper exclaimed "If you want to purchase one of my ¡®precious¡¯ gemstones, then what are you willing to give me in exchange?¡±


    What did he just say? Give him something. Such as what?


    ¡°Uhhh. How about this spoon?¡± the customer suggested, holding out a spoon.


    A spoon. Was he serious? There was no way even this charlatan would accept something like that.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take it! It''s a pleasure doing business with you, sir,¡± the shopkeeper declared, giving the man the ruby necklace. ¡°I¡¯m sure your wife will love her new necklace, and please be sure to come back again!¡±


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    ¡°Ok, sure thing,¡± the customer replied as he began to leave.


    Were those two bartering? Did either of them have any actual money? And what was the point of this exchange in the first place? Nothing of value was gained or lost; at least, that¡¯s what it looked like at first. But it turned out this customer wasn¡¯t being honest either. I saw him run up to another stand, only to give away the necklace he just bought in exchange for something else. He then took that item and gave it away at another stand. Rinse and repeat. He soon left my periphery, and I wasn¡¯t sure what he did after that.


    As the day continued on and more customers came and went, I noticed that only a handful of them actually kept their new ¡®gemstones¡¯. Most of the customers were just giving them away to other shopkeepers in exchange for other items. One guy even went full circle, coming here to get a ¡®gemstone¡¯, giving away at another shop, only to eventually come back here with an item he got from another shop. It was absolutely bizarre.


    Another thing I noticed is that there were only a few people who actually kept their new ¡®jewelry¡¯, and all of them had given away more precious-looking items. Everyone else seemed to be in on the con, from what I could see. It just didn¡¯t seem to matter to them that they were buying fakes. Additionally, you could roughly draw a path as to which stands people went to first and which ones they went to last. It was as if everyone was climbing up some sort of ladder, if you know what I mean.


    But in the end, most people ended up at food stands, and it looked like they were willing to give away anything in exchange for food, which of course put them back where they started, not that anyone seemed to care.


    As I was watching all this occur, I was confused at how normal this seemed to everyone. I couldn¡¯t see any signs of chaos or confusion, no indication of fear or worry. Everyone just seemed to be living their everyday lives. Were these people natives? They had to be. I mean, if any of them were actually from Earth, wouldn¡¯t they be confused over how different things were from Japan? They wouldn''t be acting like this, right?


    I could see people walking around having pleasant conversations, laughing and giggling with one another, their lives seemingly free of pain and strife. It was a sight that, after all my time in this world, looked completely alien to me. I simply couldn¡¯t relate to any of them. When I was still at the lake, I saw myself in the objects around me. I could see from them my fears, my worries, and my sorrows. But in this place, I could only see an ocean of empty faces.


    <hr>


    Suddenly, the waves of people began to part, their chattering giving way to hushed whispers. Most of them gathered near the walls, as if they were clearing a path for something, or rather, someone. It wasn¡¯t long before I saw a familiar group making their way, one that made me feel a deep sense of disgust. It was the gang of murderers I witnessed a few weeks ago! I could recognize them from their silhouettes; they all just stood out like a sore thumb. But what were they doing here?


    As they passed by, two of the girls, though I couldn''t tell which ones, began to walk in my direction. In all honesty, I hadn''t bothered to remember any of their names before, as I didn¡¯t think I would ever have to see them again. But it looks like that wasn¡¯t meant to be.


    ¡°Eeeee!!! Persephone! Look at all these crystals! They¡¯re so pretty!¡± One of the girls squealed as she stood in front of the stand. It should have been obvious to her that these ¡®crystals¡¯ were all counterfeit, but I guess she didn¡¯t get the memo. As for the other girl, Persephone, I couldn¡¯t tell what she was thinking, as she seemed to be looking elsewhere.


    ¡°Oh, but which one should I buy?¡± the first girl asked aloud.


    ¡°Make it quick, Amelia!¡± Persephone interjected. ¡°We need to get back to the others.¡±


    ¡°But it''s soooo hard to choose!¡± ¡®Amelia¡¯ pouted. ¡°Hmm. Ummm¡­ Oh! I know! I¡¯ll get one for everyone! I¡¯ll get a blue one for Arthur-san, a lighter-blue one for Kit-chan, a red one for Sophia-chan, a clear one for Myrtle-chan, and a purple one for you, Persephone-chan!¡±


    ¡°Thanks, but I don¡¯t really need¡ª¡±


    ¡°Oh! And I¡¯ll get a green one for me, to match my eyes.¡±


    Wait, she said a green one. Then that means¡­ Oh, you¡¯ve got to be kidding me.


    ¡°Alright, young lady,¡± the shopkeeper addressed Amelia. ¡°You wish to purchase six of my gemstones?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do!¡±


    ¡°Then what will you give me in return?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right! Ummm¡­ Would these work for you?¡± Amelia asks, holding out six arrows in front of her.


    ¡°What!¡± Persephone exclaimed, ¡°You¡¯re giving those away?¡±


    ¡°Do you really think I¡¯ll ever need them?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Good point.¡±


    After Amelia placed her arrows on top of the booth, the shopkeeper picked them up and placed them with all his other ill-obtained trinkets.


    Suddenly, everything in front of me began to blur, and the violent clattering from the morning returned. I did the closest thing to closing my ¡®eyes¡¯ that I could do. I looked behind myself into the dark, hoping that I could ride it out.


    Then, in an instant, the noise stopped. I looked in front of me and saw the tented ceiling of the booth at the end of a small tunnel, probably the inside of a bag. Unfortunately, I knew exactly what was about to happen.


    ¡°Thank you for your purchase,¡± the shopkeeper said as he handed the bag over to Amelia. ¡°Please come back again!¡±

 Chapter 10: My Day as an Accessory

    ¡°So, are you happy now, Amelia?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely yes! Thank you so much for coming with me, Persephone-chan!¡±


    ¡°No problem. Now let''s catch up to the others.¡±


    Once again, I found myself in darkness, and I couldn¡¯t see a thing because the bag was tied shut. Still, all of this movement was unnecessary. Amelia was swinging the bag with reckless abandon, and the other rocks were loudly clattering and crashing with each other and me. At the same time, she was skipping merrily, her footsteps pounding all around me, and all the while she was humming an upbeat tune. To call this noise unpleasant would be an understatement.


    But still, I noticed that this girl seemed to possess an unwavering degree of childlike innocence, to the point where it was genuinely disturbing. If even being an accomplice to murder didn''t faze her, then what could?


    ¡°Hey Amelia! Wait up!¡± I heard Persephone shout.


    Amelia stopped. ¡°Oh! I¡¯m sorry, Persephone-chan! I didn¡¯t know I was so far ahead.¡±


    ¡°It''s fine,¡± Persephone replied, breathing heavily. ¡°By the way, you should be far more careful with what you¡¯re holding. You might break them by accident."


    ¡°Oh, oops. My bad. Speaking of which,¡±


    Suddenly, light began to shine into the bag. I could see a rock in front of me that had been dislodged from its pendant. However, since I could only see in one direction, I knew the same had not happened to me. Things around me began to blur as I was met with even more light.


    ¡°Wait, you¡¯re putting that thing on now?¡± Persephone asked.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry! I just can¡¯t wait to show Arthur-san!¡± Amelia giggled as she placed the necklace around her neck. When the dust settled, I was able to see part of a wall and roof. It looked like I was now facing at a somewhat upward angle, though that did not last long because this girl couldn¡¯t seem to stay still for even a second.


    ¡°Ooo, it fits perfectly!¡± Amelia exclaimed.


    Persephone sighed. ¡°If you insist.¡±


    ¡°Oh no!¡± Amelia gasped, looking down at the bag. ¡°Sophia¡¯s necklace broke! What am I gonna do?¡±


    ¡°Amelia, you should have been more careful.¡± Persephone said.


    ¡°But she¡¯s going to be so disappointed,¡± Amelia cried.


    "She¡¯ll probably be fine. After all, Sophia has tons of jewelry already.¡± Persephone spoke in a comforting tone. ¡°Besides, we can get it fixed later, right?¡±


    ¡°I guess so,¡± Amelia responded as she put the rock back in the bag before closing it up again with some string.


    ¡°The others shouldn¡¯t be too far away.¡± Persephone mentioned. ¡°The guild should be just around the corner.¡±


    Oh goody.


    But her comment seemed to be enough to cheer Amelia up, who started to run again. And when she did so, everything in front of me began to shake.


    ¡°Slow down!¡± Persephone shouted.


    ¡°Oh, right!¡±


    While the two continued to walk, I took in a little more of the town. There seemed to be rows of houses on each side of the street. And in my periphery, I could see part of what looked to be a towering castle. However, I wasn¡¯t able to observe things for long, as I was interrupted by the girls turning a corner. My view was shifted to another street, where the rest of their group was waiting.


    <hr>


    It was the catgirl who seemed to notice the two first.


    ¡°Ami-san! Sephie-san! You¡¯re back!¡± She exclaimed, running towards the two.


    ¡°Awww Kit! I missed you too!¡± Amelia replied, bending down to pet the little catgirl¡¯s head.


    From the angle I was at, I could¡¯ve sworn that I saw a pair of human ears peeping out from behind her hair. And this was in addition to her pair of cat ears, which I could see twitching.


    ¡°Hey, we¡¯ve only been gone for a few minutes!¡± Persephone chimed in.


    ¡°A few too many, as far as I¡¯m concerned,¡± the princess retorted.


    ¡°What matters now is that we¡¯re all together.¡± The boy stated, ¡°Right, Myrtle?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± the elf girl responded. I heard her footsteps getting louder as she walked over.


    ¡°Hey,¡± she said coldly to the two girls.


    ¡°Sorry about the wait, guys,¡± Amelia apologized. ¡°We got a little distracted. Did we miss anything important?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you didn¡¯t miss much.¡± The boy replied, ¡°We were just seeing if there were any good quests.¡±


    ¡°And did you find anything?¡± Amelia asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to the mountains.¡± Myrtle responded monotonously, ¡°The chilly and icy and bleak and freezing-cold mountains.¡±


    ¡°I was about to say that!¡± The boy shouted, ¡°But yes, we¡¯re going to the Eastern Range. Remember that hotel we stayed at?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t remind me.¡± Persephone groaned.


    ¡°You mean that hotel?¡± Amelia asked.


    ¡°Not exactly.¡± The boy clarified, ¡°The receptionist told us that another one opened up nearby. Our quest is to keep watch over this new hotel for the night. In return, we can have a room of our choosing that we can visit at any time we want. For free...¡±


    ¡°Well, the other hotel never rewarded that,¡± Amelia remarked. ¡°And if it also has the hot springs, then that''s even better!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think this one has them,¡± the boy said. ¡°Just a sauna.¡±


    ¡°Oh poo!¡± Amelia exclaimed, ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s ok too.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just stay at the mansion?¡± Myrtle suggested. ¡°It would be great if we could just do nothing for once, you know?¡±


    What she said really irked me. Yes, it would be great to just sit and do nothing¡ªthat is, if you had a choice in the matter!


    Additionally, these guys lived in a mansion. How? Pretty much everyone else I¡¯d seen seemed to be struggling to even afford food¡ªtrading and working desperately to even get a single bite of food to eat. How did these people get a mansion? From adventuring? If that was such a lucrative job here, then why didn¡¯t all those people at the street market just become adventurers rather than continue to trade for scraps of food? It seemed that such a question had never crossed any of their minds.


    But I didn¡¯t get to stay inside my thoughts for very long, as the conversation resumed.


    ¡°My apologies, Myrtle-chan,¡± the princess said in a condescending tone. ¡°But Arthur-san has already made his decision! You wouldn¡¯t want to disappoint him, now would you?¡±


    ¡°I guess not,¡± Myrtle responded softly.


    ¡°Excellent! Now let''s get going!¡±


    ¡°So what if he decided?¡± Persephone interrupted, seemingly to everyone¡¯s shock. ¡°We certainly haven¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying?¡± The princess retorted.


    Persephone let out a sigh. ¡°I just think that we should be able to have a say in what we¡¯re going to do. We¡¯re all adults here¡ªwell, most of us are anyway. We can make our own decisions.¡±


    ¡°But Kit wants the sauna!¡± Kit blurted out. ¡°Kit wants the sauna!¡±


    ¡°Persephone, are you listening to yourself right now?¡± The princess asked.


    ¡°Yeah, and honestly, Sophia,¡± Persephone said, ¡°I think I can ask you the same thing!¡±


    ¡°I beg your pardon,¡± the princess, Sophia, asked.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.¡°Have you ever thought for a second about how any of us feel?¡± Persephone asked, ¡°Or are you too self-absorbed for even that?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll have you know that I¡ª¡±


    ¡°What gives you the right to treat everyone the way you do?¡± Persephone''s voice began to rise. ¡°Why do you think it''s ok to be such a jerk to all of us?¡±


    Everyone gasped.


    ¡°Persephone, that¡¯s such a harsh accusation for you to make." Sophia responded, "I¡¯m just trying to make sure things go as they¡¯re supposed to.¡±


    ¡°And how would that be? for all of us to be humiliated and degraded over and over again! Each and every time, you just let that happen.¡± Persephone''s voice trembled. ¡°And Sophia, you''re telling me you¡¯re okay with that, right? Well, I¡¯m not!¡±


    Not okay with what? What were those two even talking about?


    As they spoke, the skies quickly clouded over, and thunder began to boom.


    Sophia let out a nervous chuckle. ¡°Be careful with what you¡¯re saying, Persephone-chan,¡± Sophia said, her confidence seeming to waver. ¡°You¡¯re making me very upset! And you¡¯re making Kit upset!" She gestured towards Kit, who must have been starting to cry. "And worst of all, you¡¯re going to make Arthur-san upset! And no one wants that!¡±


    ¡°Who wants what, Sophia?¡± the boy interjected.


    ¡°Nothing, Arthur-san! Haha!" Sophia replied with another anxious laugh. "Just take the others with you to the gate. We¡¯ll catch up!¡±


    ¡°Ok,¡± Arthur responded, seemingly unaware of the previous conversation. ¡°Myrtle! Amelia! Kit! Let''s head over to the gate!¡±


    They all replied at the same time, so I couldn¡¯t understand what any of them had said. But regardless, we started to move again.


    <hr>


    As they were walking, the voices of Persephone and Sophia became more distant, and storm clouds that were previously above us quickly dissipated. I thought back to what those two said to each other. Did these girls hate it here as much as I did? I found that hard to believe. I recalled how they all behaved at the lake¡ªhow they swam blissfully in the resting place of an innocent they had just condemned to death. If none of them seemed to be distressed then, why should I be concerned about their worries now?


    Before long, they reached the gate. It towered above everyone, with the adjacent walls making it appear even more imposing. But what the party seemed to be looking for was on ground level. At the front of the gate were some horses attached to a carriage, as well as a man leaning against it. As the group approached, this man looked up.


    ¡°Oh! Hello Arthur-sama! What brings you here?¡± he asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to the Eastern Range,¡± Arthur answered. ¡°What do we need to give you in return?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it''s on the house!¡± The man responded in a cheerful manner. At the same time, he violently punched the back of the carriage with one hand and clenched his fist with the other, not that any of them seemed to notice.


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± Arthur interjected. ¡°But could we wait for some friends of mine before we go?¡±


    ¡°Sure thing, hero-sama!¡± The man replied.


    ¡°Thank you very much, sir.¡± Arthur said.


    As they began to wait, I saw Kit¡¯s ears passing by.


    ¡°Hey! Myrtle-san, carry me!¡± Kit exclaimed.


    ¡°Not interested,¡± Myrtle responded.


    ¡°But you pwomised!¡±


    ¡°When did I promise you anything?


    ¡±There was a moment of silence.


    "Whaaaahhhh!¡± Kit began to cry. ¡°Myrtle-san¡¯s being a meanie!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Kit-chan?¡± Amelia asked.


    ¡°Myrtle-san won¡¯t carry me! Whaaah¡±.


    ¡°Well then, up you go, ya little rascal!¡± Arthur said as he picked up the little catgirl. Despite this, Kit didn¡¯t stop crying¡ªat least not until Sophia and Persephone returned.


    ¡°Yay! Sophia-san and Sephie-san!¡± Kit exclaimed as she ran past me and towards the other two. ¡°Hey! Get off me!¡± Persephone shouted.


    I heard Kit run again, followed by the sound of Amelia giggling.


    ¡°Hey girls!¡± Arthur called out, ¡°Did everything work out?¡±


    ¡°I would say it did!¡± Sophia spoke in a smug tone.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m ready to go.¡± Persephone sighed.


    ¡°So everything''s ok, Persephone?¡± Amelia asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m feeling better now,¡± Persephone replied wearily.


    ¡°That¡¯s great! Let¡¯s begin a new adventure!¡± Amelia cheered as they all boarded the carriage.


    I could see that, in the end, their arguing was all for nothing¡ªjust a superficial conflict to be resolved in an instant and nothing more. After all, a return to the status quo was simply inevitable, and so nothing of value was gained.


    The carriage was decently spacious, at least enough so to fit all of them. It had a roof but no windows, aside from a few narrow columns of support. Kit leapt onto Amelia¡¯s lap and closed her eyes. The girl started to pet her, and Kit¡¯s tail wagged in return. After they all seemed to get settled in, the gate began to open, followed by the sound of the horses¡¯ feet clopping on the ground. After crossing the gate, the carriage entered a thick forest. As the town got further and further away, I began to have a feeling that I would be stuck with this group for a long time.


    But that was not to be.


    After a little while, Amelia turned towards Arthur, who was sitting next to her.


    ¡°Hey Arthur-san?¡± Amelia asked.


    ¡°Yes, Amelia?¡±


    ¡°Do you notice anything different about me?¡±


    Arthur paused. ¡°Did you do something with your hair?¡±


    Amelia twitched in shock, and the necklace that I was attached to seemed to bounce along with her.


    ¡°So you didn¡¯t notice my new necklace? Oh poo!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Arthur said. ¡°I was just having so much fun spending time with all of you.¡±


    That wasn¡¯t going to work, was it?


    ¡°Awww. I forgive you.¡± Amelia responded, his words assuaging her far more easily than I thought they would.


    ¡°Now, can you tell me what you think of my new necklace?¡± Amelia asked.


    ¡°I think it suits you perfectly!¡± Arthur said.


    ¡°THANK YOU!¡± Amelia squealed. ¡°Oh, by the way! I got ones for everyone, and¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wait a second,¡± Sophia interrupted. ¡°Give me that!¡±


    ¡°But Sophia, I-¡±


    ¡°Just do it!¡± Sophia shouted.


    ¡°If you insist,¡± Amelia began to take the necklace off her neck. My view spun rapidly until I was facing toward Sophia, who seemed to be staring at me angrily. ¡°Here you go,¡± Amelia said.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sophia replied as she grabbed the necklace. While Sophia stared at me, she started to shake it, and everything around me moved violently. I turned back to shield my ¡®eyes¡¯, but I suddenly saw the pendant above me. Now separated from the pendant, Sophia stared at me again for a few seconds or so before making an announcement to the rest of the group.


    ¡°It''s a fake," she declared.


    ¡°What!¡± Persephone exclaimed.


    ¡°How do you know?¡± Amelia asked.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± Sophia stated, ¡°A princess knows her jewelry. Ohohoho!¡±


    ¡°But why would that shopkeeper lie to me?¡± Amelia asked, sounding like she was about to cry. ¡°He was so nice to me!¡±


    ¡°Amelia, you can be far too trusting sometimes,¡± Myrtle remarked.


    ¡°But I bought ones for everyone, and¡­wahhhh!¡± Amelia started to cry.


    ¡°Stop being a crybaby, Ami-san,¡± Kit remarked.


    ¡°You¡¯re one to talk, Kit!¡± Persephone shouted back.


    ¡°Hey, ladies,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Why don¡¯t we head back to town and give that con artist what he deserves?¡±


    ¡°Wait, head back to town?¡± Myrtle asked.


    ¡°Of course, Myrtle-chan,¡± Arthur replied. ¡°Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°I have a better idea.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Myrtle suddenly leaned towards the row that Arthur, Kit, and Amelia were sitting in.


    ¡°Hey Myrtle! What¡¯re you doing?¡± Arthur asked.


    Myrtle picked up the bag from the floor of the carriage and threw it through one of the openings.


    ¡°Well, I suppose that works too!¡± Sophia exclaimed, tossing me out of the opening as well.


    <hr>


    Everything moved rapidly around me as the carriage got further and further away. Passing into the woods, I began to fall down, and the world began to spin. This rush of movement was overwhelming, and unlike earlier today, I had nowhere to hide.


    Still, I had a guess of what was to come. I was sure whatever place I ended up at wouldn¡¯t be as stunning as the lake, even during its beginnings. The paint that was still obstructing my view certainly wouldn¡¯t help either. But after all the movement, particularly all the constant swirls of green, a little bit of a break would be kind of nice. Besides, someone would probably pick me up again in the distant future, whenever that would be.


    But I wasn¡¯t prepared for what would happen next.


    As I kept rolling down the slope, I began to see what looked to be solid ground, but before I could reach it, I hit a bump in the middle of my path, redirecting me upwards. I didn''t think that would mean much. I would just end up a little deeper into the woods¡ªnot a big deal. But while I was spinning, for a split second, I saw what looked to be a young girl. In the next instant, I impacted her arm, and a bright light quickly engulfed me.


    After the light dissipated, I saw the girl staring down at me, her face tense in fear. She was holding onto her left arm, which, despite all the green in my view, was glowing a bright purple. Feeling panicked, I flipped backwards and... Wait a minute; I couldn¡¯t do that before. I began to sway a little, left and right, forward and back. I can¡¯t believe it. I can move again! But how is this even possible? I turned towards the girl, who had a look of terror plastered on her face.


    What just happened to me?

 Chapter 10.5: A Relaxing Stay at a Sauna (+Volume Gallery)

    ***


    Arthur and his group arrived at the hotel in the evening, and they were getting ready to sit in the sauna together. Amelia, Myrtle, Persephone, and Sophia were disrobing themselves in a locker room, while Arthur assisted Kit in another room, the little girl being too young to undress herself.


    ¡°I just can¡¯t wait to go into the sauna!¡± Amelia exclaimed, ¡°It was so freezing outside!¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Myrtle concurred. ¡°Just so very cold.¡±


    ¡°Well, we wouldn¡¯t have been so cold if we had some nicer clothes to wear, right?¡± Persephone said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see any problem,¡± Sophia responded.


    ¡°Well, you have tons of layers on!¡± Persephone retorted, gesturing toward the elegant gown Sophia was wearing. ¡°While I¡¯m just wearing,¡± Persephone pointed to the revealing outfit that she wore. ¡°This¡­¡± she sighed.


    ¡°Why not just change into some other clothes?¡± Amelia asked.


    ¡°What other clothes?¡± Persephone responded, ¡°A swimsuit? Pajamas? Neither of those are great for the cold. And do any of you even know where in town a clothing store is?¡±


    There was a pause.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Persephone grumbled. ¡°That''s what I thought.¡±


    ¡°Persephone, it would be nice if you could look on the bright side of things every once in a while, you know?¡± Amelia revealed. ¡°We¡¯re in a new place, and we¡¯re going to have another fun and amazing experience. What is there to even be upset about?¡±


    ¡°I could name a few things,¡± Persephone responded. ¡°And to be honest, I¡¯m just hoping to get this over with.¡±


    ¡°Why would you want such a thing?¡± Amelia asked.


    ¡°Amelia,¡± Persephone responded, ¡°I¡¯m glad you can find so much to enjoy in any situation. But I¡­¡± Persephone gestured toward her breasts. ¡°Do not have such a luxury.¡±


    Amelia frowned.


    ¡°Persephone, Are you okay? If there''s something you want to talk about, you can always talk to¡ª¡±


    ¡°It''s nothing!¡± Persephone blurted out. ¡°It''s nothing. I¡¯m fine. You don''t have to be worried about me.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Amelia asked.


    Persephone looked towards Sophia, who seemed to be watching the two, with a slight frown on her face. Sophia quickly turned away and resumed taking off her gown.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Persephone answered, facing back towards Amelia. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡±


    Their conversation was interrupted when Sophia sighed loudly.


    ¡°It would be nice if we had somewhere more private where we could change our clothes,¡± Sophia stated. ¡°Just for once.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that was ever going to be the case,¡± Persephone responded.


    ¡°What makes you say that?¡± Amelia asked.


    ¡°Well, for starters,¡± Persephone explained, ¡°this room doesn¡¯t have a door. At any moment, someone could just walk in on us while we¡¯re in the middle of getting undressed.¡±


    ¡°Like who?¡±


    Suddenly, the sound of footsteps could be heard, and they were getting louder by the second.


    Persephone sighed. ¡°Like them,¡± she answered just as Kit entered the locker room.


    ¡°Hey! Kit!¡± Arthur shouted, from not far behind, ¡°Get back here! The girls are ch¨C!¡±


    Arthur stopped as he reached the opening and got a firsthand look at the girls¡¯ naked bodies. He stood, at a loss for words, while blood began to drip from his nose.


    ¡°Eek!¡± Amelia shrieked as she covered herself with a nearby towel. Sophia covered herself as well, though in a far more dramatic fashion, recoiling violently as her mouth dropped open. Myrtle, on the other hand, didn¡¯t even seem to notice him as she continued to wriggle out of her dress. And Persephone just turned her head towards Arthur and stared at him blankly, without even the slightest hint of surprise on her face.


    ¡°Um¡­ Sorry girls,¡± Arthur eventually said after regaining his composure.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok,¡± Persephone said solemnly. ¡°Accidents happen.¡±


    ¡°But hey! Now that we¡¯re all here, is everyone ready to go into the sauna?¡± Amelia asked.


    ¡°Sephie-san¡¯s still wearing clothes!¡± Kit blurted out.


    ¡°Kit¡­¡± Persephone groaned.


    ¡°Persephone-chan, are you doing okay?¡± Amelia asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Persephone responded. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for holding everyone up; I¡¯ll be ready in a moment.¡± She added as she began to pull the straps of her dress.


    ¡°Hold on a second!¡± Sophia declared.


    Everyone turned toward Sophia.


    ¡°Is there something you wanted to say, Sophia-chan?¡± Arthur asked.


    ¡°Well,¡± Sophia began to speak, ¡°Persephone has been an absolute pain today. She¡¯ll just make everyone just as pathetic as her if she accompanies us. So wouldn¡¯t it be far better for us to just go to the sauna without her?¡±


    Amelia gasped. ¡°That''s so mean, Sophia! I can¡¯t believe you would say something like that!¡±


    ¡°Am I wrong?¡± Sophia shrugged.


    ¡°Then you know what! If you¡¯re going to be like that, then I¡¯ll just stay with Persephone!¡±


    There was a pause.


    ¡°Are you sure, Amelia?¡± Arthur asked.


    ¡°Yes, I am!¡± Amelia nodded. ¡°I mean, I would love to go to the sauna and all, but not if it means I have to leave my friend behind to do so.¡±


    ¡°Amelia,¡± Persephone interjected. ¡°I¡¯m fine; you don¡¯t have to¡ª¡±


    ¡°Besides,¡± Amelia continued, ¡°if Persephone is feeling bad for some reason, I want to be there to help her feel better.¡±


    ¡°Seriously, Amelia,¡± Persephone responded. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Because that¡¯s what friends are for!¡± Amelia looked at Persephone with a warm smile on her face.


    ¡°You know,¡± Myrtle interjected. ¡°I think I want to join them. Being in the sauna might mess up my hair anyway.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen you take care of your hair, Myrtle-chan,¡± Amelia inquired.


    ¡°Too much effort,¡± Myrtle answered.


    ¡°Kit wants to help too!¡± Kit blurted out.


    ¡°So do you girls want to go to the sauna?¡± Arthur asked, ¡°Or no?¡±


    Suddenly, the room began to tremble.


    ¡°Hey Arthur-san,¡± Sophia said to Arthur as her eyes darted rapidly. ¡°It¡¯s been a little while since we¡¯ve had some alone time together, you know.¡±


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right,¡± Arthur responded.


    ¡°Then what are you waiting for, Arthur-san? Let''s spend some quality time together!¡± Sophia exclaimed as she pushed Arthur out of the room. ¡°Just the two of us.¡± And as the two left the locker room, the trembling began to cease.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    <hr>


    ¡°Why is Sophia so mean?¡± Amelia fumed after a bit.


    ¡°I don''t know Amelia,¡± Persephone responded. ¡°But at least she''s gone now, right?¡±


    ¡°I guess so," Amelia replied. "Anyways, what do we do now, Persephone?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± Persephone paused for a moment. ¡°I think we have to babysit Kit now, or, well, Kit-sit.¡± After this remark, Amelia let out a little chuckle.


    The two girls looked at Kit, who was staring back at them with sparkling eyes and a wide smile on her face.


    ¡°Onee-chans!¡± Kit shouted as she ran towards the two. But before Kit could reach them, a locker door opened right into her face. Myrtle took her clothes out of the locker before shutting the door again. Kit teetered for a moment, with spirals in her eyes, before she fell back onto the floor and fainted.


    Myrtle looked towards Kit.


    ¡°Oh, sorry, my bad,¡± she said monotonously.


    Meanwhile, Arthur and Sophia began to sit together in the sauna. As they soaked in the heat, their pores started to burst with sweat. Arthur was wearing a towel from the waist down, while Sophia wrapped a towel around her body, revealing a hint of her cleavage, which Arthur seemed to be glancing at.


    ¡°I know you¡¯re looking at them, Arthur-san!¡± Sophia declared, sweat dripping down her face. ¡°Take a good look! Opportunities like these don¡¯t happen often!¡±


    But unbeknownst to the two of them, someone was observing them from afar. A shadowy figure, watching the two from some sort of screen, grinned, and suddenly the sauna began to warm up dramatically.


    ¡°Uh Sophia? Is it just me, or is it getting warmer here?¡± Arthur asked drowsily as sweat burst from his pores.


    ¡°Well, it is a sauna, Arthur-san. It''s supposed to be warm here.¡± Sophia replied. ¡°What makes you ask?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I feel¡­ I feel¡­¡±


    Arthur began to collapse, falling back towards the wall. But suddenly, as if guided by an invisible touch, his fainting body swerved in a different direction, and he landed face first into Sophia¡¯s cleavage.


    Sophia remained still, seemingly frozen in shock. She looked down at Arthur¡¯s head.


    ¡°Uh¡­ ah¡­ Arthur-san, could you please get off? Your head is on my¡ªArthur-san!¡± She stammered.


    And from behind the screen, the sound of heavy breathing could be heard. There were hearts inside the shadowy figure¡¯s eyes, and saliva was dripping from its mouth.


    <hr>


    ¡°Kit fainted!¡± Amelia cried out. ¡°Somebody get a doctor! Or a nurse! Or something!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that''s going to be necessary¡±. Persephone calmly replied.


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Just look at her eyes.¡± Persephone gestured towards Kit¡¯s eyes, which had turned into Xs.


    ¡°And?¡± Amelia questioned.


    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t look like that if anything serious had really happened.¡± Persephone responded.


    ¡°How are you so sure about that?¡±


    ¡°I, um, I just know that! Okay?¡± Persephone stammered, her cheeks turning red. ¡°But still, I guess it wouldn¡¯t hurt to get some ice.¡±


    ¡°But where can we get some?¡± Amelia asked.


    ¡°Outside,¡± Persephone responded flatly.


    ¡°Oh right. Oopsies!¡± Amelia giggled, playfully knocking herself on the head and sticking out her tongue with a cheeky smile. Persephone rolled her eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just get the ice myself!¡± Persephone declared. ¡°Amelia, tuck Kit into bed; I¡¯ll meet you both back in the bedroom with some ice.¡±


    ¡°What about Myrtle?¡± Amelia asked.


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Persephone glanced at Myrtle, who by now had finished getting dressed and was now leaning on a locker.


    ¡°Myrtle?¡± Persephone called out.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Myrtle replied, looking at Persephone with a detached expression on her face.


    ¡°Please watch our stuff while we¡¯re taking care of Kit.¡± Persephone requested. ¡°You can do that, right?¡±


    ¡°Sure, why not?¡± Myrtle responded.


    ¡°Ok! Now let''s go save Kit!¡± Amelia exclaimed, running out of the room while holding Kit in her arms.


    ¡°You know she¡¯s going to be¡ªurgh, never mind!¡± Persephone grumbled as she followed after Amelia.


    Now alone in the locker room, Myrtle let out a sigh.


    ¡°Ahhh,¡± she said to herself. ¡°Finally, some peace and quiet.¡±


    ¡°Um- Arthur-san? Arthur-san! Could you please wake up?¡± Sophia asked while poking Arthur¡¯s head.


    ¡°Wha-what ha¡ªOh! Sorry Sophia!¡± Arthur shouted, quickly pulling back from Sophia.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Sophia shuddered wearily. ¡°Just please don¡¯t do that again.¡±


    ¡°Ok," Arthur responded, "I¡¯ll try my best.¡±


    ¡°You better!" Sophia demanded.


    ¡°So," Arthur asked, "are you ready to head back to the others?¡±


    Sophia sighed ¡°I suppose,¡±


    After Arthur opened the door, the two exited the sauna, ready to reunite with their companions.


    The shadowy figure watched the scene conclude from behind its screen, which it was gripping with its golden nails.


    ¡°Hero-kun,¡± the figure whispered in a feminine voice.


    She gazed intently at the screen with her golden eyes, while a golden blush graced her cheeks. Seated on her throne, her body emitted an ethereal glow, which served as the only source of light in any direction.


    ¡°Oh, Hero-kun, you never fail to delight me!¡± the woman cooed as she let go of the screen. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll continue to entertain me forever.¡±


    With a flick of her finger, the screen disappeared, leaving the woman alone in the dark void.


    ¡°And I¡¯ll make sure you always do,¡± she continued. ¡°I have so many more adventures planned for you, after all.¡±


    ***


    <hr><hr><hr>


    VOLUME GALLERY


    <hr><hr><hr>


    Hello readers, this is Animal508. Thank you for reading this story thus far. Below is a gallery containing images for the volume. I confess that my art skills are not the best, so please bear with me.


    <hr><hr>


    First is the main cover for the volume. I have also been using this for the main cover of the story, hence the one that appears. But when I start the next volume, I will change the main cover to reflect it. This cover will still be used for the first volume.


    <hr><hr>


    Next are some images I made of a few of the characters who appear in this volume.


    <hr>


    Ishikawa Kazuki:


    As a human:


    <hr>


    As a rock:


    <hr><hr>


    Arthur Ragnorak (The Hero):


    </a>


    <hr>


    Amelia:


    <hr>


    Sophia:


    <hr>


    Persephone:


    <hr>


    Myrtle:


    <hr>


    Kit:


    <hr><hr>


    Fisherman:


    <hr>


    Peasant:


    <hr>


    Dragon:


    <hr>


    Shopkeeper:


    <hr><hr>


    ???:


    <hr><hr><hr>


    And here are some illustrations of a few scenes throughout the volume:


    <hr><hr>


    Chapter 1:


    <hr>


    Chapter 2:


    <hr>


    Chapter 3:


    <hr>


    Chapter 4:


    <hr>


    Chapter 5:


    <hr>


    Chapter 6:


    <hr>


    Chapter 7:


    <hr>


    Chapter 8:


    <hr>


    Chapter 9:


    <hr>


    Chapter 10:


    <hr><hr><hr>


    Lastly, thank you to everyone for reading thus far. I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

 Chapter 11: My First Steps were Tougher than I Expected

    What just happened?


    Think Kazuki, think! Hmm¡­ Let''s see...


    I was thrown off the side of a hill; then I collided with a girl¡¯s arm, and now, for some reason, I¡¯m able to move again. But why?


    I looked at the girl in front of me, and despite my vision still being distorted, I was able to make out her hand, which was emitting a bright purple glow. Was the impact that severe? No, there wasn¡¯t an injury that could cause a hand to glow like that. Was that glow what restored my ability to move?


    And speaking of which, how could I even be certain of that? How could I be sure that I wasn¡¯t hallucinating? I needed to try again.


    Hmmm. Just lean¡ªand roll¡ªforward! It worked! IT WORKED! I can now¡­ roll? Well, it¡¯s a start, at least.


    Could this be a chance for me to start anew, a chance to actually experience a new life, and¡­


    I paused, and I took a look at my surroundings. Even though I was in a fairly large clearing, I could still see countless trees in every direction. And I was sure that within each and every one of them, there was a desperate soul crying out for help, just like I did.


    I couldn¡¯t leave them behind. I couldn¡¯t ignore their pains¡­ their cries¡­ their worries. I had to help them. But how? What could I do?


    It dawned on me in that moment¡ªthat hand! If it could restore my movement, then maybe it could do the same for everyone else! But in order for that to happen, I first had to convince that girl to help me.


    I turned back toward the girl, but to my shock, she was nowhere to be found. Did she vanish into thin air? No, that couldn¡¯t be possible, could it? Though, if she was some sort of witch, then could that very well be what happened? Suddenly, I saw a glimmer of purple light shining from behind one of the trees. It had to be her! I just needed to get closer.


    <hr>


    I tried to roll forward, but I ended up falling on my side. It was going to take some practice for me to get used to this. But in the meantime, I had to stay focused on the task at hand.


    Alright, let''s just take this one step at a time. One step on my left side, then a step on my right side, and my left side again, then my right side again, and so on. Although this wasn¡¯t the most efficient way to move, it would suffice for the time being.


    As I approached the tree, I took a turn to my right in order to circle around it. And as I started to encircle it, I began to catch sight of the girl, who was towering above me, though this was most likely just a product of my own miniscule size. Strangely, the girl was huddling in a fetal position, with her eyes closed tightly and her teeth clenched.


    I stopped moving when I was directly in front of the girl, and after a brief pause, she slowly began to open her eyes. But as soon as she got a look at me, her eyes widened. She pulled back, but in doing so, she hit the tree behind her with her hand.


    The tree started to shake. It suddenly pulled its roots out of the ground and positioned them around itself, almost akin to legs. And not a moment later, the tree quickly bolted toward my right, disappearing into the woods and leaving behind a trail of its own broken branches.


    At the same time, the girl fell backwards, collapsing onto the ground. She lifted up her head and glanced at me before she started crawling backwards. Strangely, whenever her glowing hand touched the ground, it would sink slightly, as if the earth around it was as soft as sand.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry! I didn¡¯t mean to bring you to life, little green thingy!¡± She stuttered. ¡°P-p-please, don¡¯t hurt me!¡±


    She appeared to cower in front of me, holding her hand out as if to shield herself. And seeing this confused me. What could I even do to her? Tap her lightly? Throw myself into her? How would I even do any of that? Perhaps she was referring to when I collided into her earlier, but how was that relevant to right now?


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I heard the girl say¡­ to me? Wait a minute¡ªshe can hear me. She can hear me! Finally, after so long, someone can hear me! Was it just her, or could anyone hear me now? That¡¯s a question I could try to answer later. At the moment, I had to focus on the task at hand.


    <hr>


    I wobbled closer to the girl, her presence towering above me. And¡ªas I did nearly a year ago for another powerful being¡ªI tried to make a good first impression. Hopefully, this encounter won¡¯t end the same way.


    ¡°Hello,¡± I started to ¡®speak¡¯. ¡°My name is Ishikawa Kazuki, and¡­¡±


    I paused and looked around me for a moment before continuing.


    ¡°Thank you for saving me, young girl. But now, I beg of you, could you please help me save everyone else?¡±


    I awaited her response, hoping that she had heard my pleas. But to my surprise, the girl in question just stared at me. Her mouth trembled, yet she failed to utter a word.


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    I asked her again. "So will you help me, or no?"


    ¡°W-why me?" She responded.


    I turned myself in the direction of her hand, which she seemed to take notice of.


    ¡°Wha-Oh, you mean my hand?¡± She responded. "It''s not supposed to be like this. Something stuck itself to my hand! And no matter what I do, it just won¡¯t come off!¡± She pulled at her arm and started to scratch at it. But it didn¡¯t seem like anything happened as a result, as she let out a disappointed sigh.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± I continued, ¡°Whatever that ¡®thing¡¯ is, it saved me.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve spent the past year trapped in a motionless body. But your hand allowed me to move again. However, there are so many others, within every tree, every rock, and every blade of grass, that are also desperate to be free. Unfortunately, I¡­ I am unable to help them. But you can. So, can you please help me save them?¡±


    I waited for her response.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± she answered. ¡°I don¡¯t want to cause any trouble.¡±


    ¡°So, is that a no?¡±


    ¡°It... it is.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Very well. Then I guess I will stay here as well.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± she exclaimed.


    ¡°Until you agree to help me, I will remain here with you.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    I paused for a brief moment.


    ¡°Yes, I am.¡±


    She let out a resigned sigh. ¡°Ok,¡± she responded. ¡°Just please don¡¯t create any problems while you''re here.¡±


    By this time, the sun was starting to set, and the girl began to lay down to sleep. However, even as the world around us darkened, the girl¡¯s eyes remained open and alert.


    <hr>


    ¡°Um, little-green-thingy?¡± The girl soon asked.


    It seemed like she had already forgotten my name.


    ¡°Just call me Rock for right now.¡±


    ¡°Ok¡­ umm¡­ Rock?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± I responded.


    ¡°I can¡¯t sleep,¡± she whimpered.


    ¡°You know, I¡¯m probably not the best person to get sleep advice from right now.¡± I admitted. ¡°I haven¡¯t slept in about a year.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me a story?¡±


    I looked at the girl.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve never really¡­¡±


    ¡°Please?¡±


    She stared at me with puppy-dog eyes. Internally, I sighed to myself. I suppose it wouldn¡¯t hurt. After all, it''s not like I¡¯ll be sleeping tonight anyway.


    ¡°Fine. I guess I could.¡±


    She smiled.


    But which story to tell? After all, there were so many to choose from.


    I looked at the girl, curled up in a little ball, and combined with the green that was contaminating my vision, she almost looked like a melon, reminding me of an old folktale. Ok. This story. This one will do.


    I turned toward the girl.


    ¡°Here is the tale of Uriko-hime, the Melon Princess.¡±


    I began to narrate the story:


    Once upon a time, an old, childless couple found a melon drifting down a nearby stream. They cut open the fruit, and inside of it was a baby girl. They named her Uriko-hime, the melon princess. The two raised this baby into a beautiful young lady, and her hand was requested for marriage, which the parents happily accepted. As the parents went out to prepare for the wedding, they left Uriko-hime alone at home. They warned her to be careful of any stranger knocking on the door.


    The girl¡¯s eyes began to close.


    But that night, a yokai, Amanojaku, appeared in front of her house and asked her to open the door. She paused, but eventually she cracked open the door, just a little bit, but this was all the yokai needed to slip through. It killed her and then wore her skin as its own. And when her parents returned, they were unaware that a demon had replaced their daughter.


    ¡°What!¡± The girl sat up in alarm.


    ¡°I¡¯m not finished yet. Don¡¯t worry, this story has a happy ending.¡±


    She laid back down.


    ¡°Now, continuing with the story¡±:


    But on the day of the wedding, a nearby bird called out with Uriko-hime¡¯s voice and revealed itself to be her reincarnation. And with Amanojaku¡¯s deception foiled, the two parents, along with everyone else at the wedding, beat the yokai to death. Shortly after, Uriko-hime became human once again and lived happily ever after.


    <hr>


    After I finished telling the story, I looked toward the girl, who by now had fallen asleep. And as the final glimmers of sunlight sank below the horizon, it was dark once again. And yet, I felt a rush of excitement. After all, this had been an incredible day.


    But then something strange caught my eye. Just like earlier, the girl¡¯s hand was partially submerged into the ground, which began to glow around her. I wobbled toward the aforementioned hand to see what was going on. And to my surprise, the ground underneath her hand had given way to some form of webbing, glowing purple just like the girl''s hand. But even stranger was that if I got close enough to this webbing, I could faintly hear the sound of groaning.

 Chapter 12: The Mysterious Girls Daily Routine

    That night, I tried to practice moving. However, with the only light being that from the girl¡¯s arm, along with my lack of senses, it was difficult to track how much I was actually moving. And since the girl was asleep, I couldn¡¯t get her to touch any of the nearby trees, so with nothing to do, I simply waited for the night to pass.


    As the morning rays began to illuminate the clearing, the girl remained sound asleep. But with my surroundings more visible, I could spend some time trying to roll. Unfortunately, no amount of practice could remedy my unrounded shape, which made it extremely challenging for me to roll around for any meaningful amount of time. So, shuffling myself around seemed to be the best way for me to move, at least for the time being. And after a few hours of practice, I was able to shuffle a bit faster than before.


    Eventually, the girl opened her eyes and sat up. And as she raised her left arm from the ground, I witnessed the earth swiftly reseal itself, erasing any trace of its unraveling from the night before.


    I shuffled toward her.


    ¡°You slept late...¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry¡­¡± She said, ¡°I sleep late sometimes.¡±


    ¡°I see...¡±


    I decided to ask for her help once again. ¡°So, have you changed your mind since yesterday? Are you willing to help me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it''s still a no,¡± she answered.


    ¡°Hmm...¡±


    Recalling what I witnessed last night, I decided to ask the girl what she knew about it.


    ¡°Another question. Did you¡­ hear anything last night?¡±


    ¡°Umm, I don¡¯t think so.¡± She answered. ¡°Should I have?¡±


    I sighed internally.


    ¡°Just forget about it.¡±


    Suddenly, the girl¡¯s stomach began to grumble.


    ¡°I think I might be getting hungry,¡± she said, before getting up and limping towards a nearby tree. As I watched, it became clear that something was wrong with one of her legs, but I couldn¡¯t tell exactly what.


    I looked at the girl¡¯s silhouette more as she picked the berries off the tree, and it also became evident that she was severely emaciated, and her condition looked to be in spite of the droves of berries that she was plucking from the tree.


    <hr>


    After a few minutes, the girl returned, and for some reason, she held out her berry-filled right arm. ¡°Would you like a berry?¡± She asked.


    ¡°It''s fine. I¡­ don¡¯t have a mouth.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Ok,¡± she replied, as she began to eat the berries off her right hand, seemingly adamant on not using her other hand.


    As the girl ate, the juice of the berries dripped down from her mouth. She seemed to recoil each time she put a berry into her mouth, and yet she continued to eat them.


    ¡°How do those berries taste, by the way?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re¡­ umm¡­ they''re good!¡± She stammered, ¡°Yeah. They¡¯re good!¡± She continued to eat.


    ¡°Ok¡­.¡±


    After a short pause, I continued.


    ¡°Do you have anything else you can eat?¡±


    She shrugged.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    She popped another berry in her mouth.


    ¡°You know, there¡¯s a town nearby that might have¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good!¡± She interrupted abruptly. ¡°I¡¯m ok here.¡±


    There was another pause.


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°No. I already said I¡¯m f-fine,¡± she stammered.


    It was clear that I wasn¡¯t making any progress.


    ¡°If you insist.¡±


    While the girl continued to eat, I noticed something in my periphery. It was swaying in one of the trees, alongside a nearby slope. I was about to shuffle toward it, but I didn¡¯t want the girl to notice, so I decided to wait until she finished eating. And once she was done eating, she stood up and walked away.


    <hr>


    As soon as she turned away, I shuffled over to the tree, which the girl didn¡¯t seem to notice me doing. When I reached the tree and looked up, I saw the bag that I had briefly been inside hanging beneath one of the branches. I wasn¡¯t sure how it ended up there, but regardless, I knew what I had to do. If there was just a way to get up there¡­


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    The bag seemed to be quite high up, but a slope nearby caught my attention. I first tried to roll up the slope, only to find myself immediately tumbling back down. Then, I attempted to climb my way up by shuffling, but this time, I ended up flipping upside down and once again tumbling back down.


    There had to be another way to get up. Perhaps I could jump? I could use the rocks protruding from the hill to get to the top. But first, I had to test whether I could even jump.


    I rolled onto the first ledge and looked towards the face of another large rock in front of me.


    Ok then, just¡­ need to¡­ jump! I found myself hopping a few centimeters off the ground. That should be enough to leap forward, but just to be safe, I decided to practice jumping a couple more times. After another minute or so of practice, I turned towards the nearby perch, feeling ready to make the jump.


    Ok¡­ now¡­ Look toward the edge, and leap! I hit the edge of the perch, and it looked like I was going to fall back down.


    No! Not yet! I need to lean forward and¡­ I made it! I made it. Now there¡¯s only¡­ a few dozen more to go. Perfect, absolutely perfect¡­


    <hr>


    A long while later, I finally reached a decently high point. I looked in front of me and saw the bag, its strings hanging beneath one of the tree¡¯s branches. I took a look down at the clearing and noticed that the girl was drawing something, or rather someone, with a stick that she was holding in right arm. It was tough to tell exactly who she was drawing, but it looked like someone with giant twintails.


    Then I recalled that there was someone like that who was popular on TV back in the day, when I was still attending school. Many of the girls back then adored her. I couldn¡¯t remember what the show she was in was called, but the girl¡¯s drawing, however simple it was, bore a striking resemblance to her. I could ask the girl about this later, however. First, I had to get the bag down from the tree. I oriented my gaze towards the bag¡¯s straps. I only had one attempt; otherwise, I would have to climb up the slope all over again. Everything had to go perfectly.


    Ok. Here goes. One, two, three¡­ And JUMP!


    I hit the straps of the bag before landing on top of it. The strings snapped, and a rush of motion surrounded me. And then¡­ a loud thump as we landed on the ground.


    Did the girl hear me?


    After quietly leaping off the bag, I peeked toward her from behind the trunk of the tree. She was looking around, which confirmed that she had heard me. But then the girl scratched her ear a little, after which she shrugged and continued to draw.


    I looked at the bag, and though its strings were snapped, nothing inside of it seemed to have fallen out. I considered asking the girl again for her help, but I realized that if I waited until she fell asleep, then I wouldn¡¯t have to ask her at all. Leaving the bag next to the tree for the time being, I shuffled over to the girl, who was continuing to draw on the ground.


    ¡°What are you drawing?¡±


    The girl abruptly turned towards me, with a nervous smile on her face. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± She dropped the stick. ¡°I¡¯m not drawing anything!¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? Then who is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it''s no one. I¡¯ll just erase it.¡±


    She quickly began to kick over the outline of the drawing with one of her feet. Was she embarrassed? No, she was clearly hiding something, and I had a guess as to what.


    ¡°You know, there¡¯s something I haven¡¯t asked you yet.¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­ What is it?¡±


    ¡°Who exactly are you?¡±


    "Oh! I¡¯m just¡­ a humble village girl, nothing special.¡±


    ¡°Then, how did you get here?¡±


    She paused.


    ¡°Umm¡­ I¡­ don¡¯t want to talk about it!¡±


    I heard the girl¡¯s stomach grumble again, to which she abruptly departed, presumably to find more berries to eat. She wasn¡¯t going to talk, and there wasn¡¯t much I could do at the moment. And since the bag was as close as I could get it without her noticing, all I could do now was wait.


    <hr>


    And for a long while, I just watched the bag, making sure nothing happened to it while I waited for the sun to set. But eventually, a sudden presence entered my periphery. I turned and saw the girl sitting beside me, her gaze fixated on the sky.


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡±


    ¡°Oh, nothing¡­ just the sky.¡±


    ¡°Ok¡­ Do you see anything interesting?¡±


    ¡°Umm, not really¡­ Oh, I see a cloud over there!¡±


    A small cloud began to drift above us, which the girl began to stare at.


    ¡°Hey, umm¡­ rock?¡± the girl said after a few minutes.


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you think there''s someone on that cloud staring at me?¡±


    I thought back to when that group swam in the lake, with the dragon¡¯s carcass behind them and the charred hill in the distance, all of which they were responsible for. And I remembered seeing those piercing golden eyes, gazing down from above.


    ¡°I doubt that.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    "Yeah, I don¡¯t think we¡¯re being given much thought.¡±


    ¡°And what makes you think that?¡±


    ¡°Just a gut feeling.¡±


    ¡°Ok¡­¡±


    As the cloud began to drift away, the girl got up and went off to do something else. I focused my attention on the bag, and as I did so, I noticed that rays of light were beginning to glare through the forest canopy, which meant that the sun was getting ready to set. And when it did, the girl laid down to fall asleep.


    ¡°Good night¡ªumm¡ªrock,¡± she mumbled.


    As I was about to respond, a thought crossed my mind.


    ¡°You know, you never told me your name. What is it?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it''s Sa¡ª¡±


    She paused.


    ¡°I mean Mare¡­ Made¡­ umm¡­ It¡¯s not something you really need to know.¡±


    It was clear that I still wasn¡¯t going to get anything out of her, not now at least. I watched as the girl closed her eyes, and when I was sure that she had fallen asleep, I looked in the direction of the bag, and I knew it was finally time to take action.

 Chapter 13: Setting a Plan into Motion

    Up until now, the girl had refused to help, at least while she was awake. But as she fell asleep, I knew that an opportunity had finally presented itself.


    I began to shuffle over to the bag. It was pitch-black outside, outside of the faint glow coming from the girl¡¯s arm. I had watched the bag¡¯s location long enough to have memorized it, so I knew that if I moved towards it in a straight line, I would reach it. I carefully moved towards the bag, using my view of the girl¡¯s arm to make sure I wasn¡¯t swerving in any direction. And eventually, when I heard the sound of clanking, I knew I had hit the bag.


    I rolled around the bag until I knew I was behind it, after which I attempted to push it as the glaring light of the girl¡¯s hand shined in my periphery. It seemed that I only had the strength of a rock, which would not be enough to move a bag that contained five of them. But even with that, a strong enough hit should at least be able to topple the bag over.


    I aimed myself towards the bag and leaped towards it. After I hit it, I couldn¡¯t see light in any direction, which told me the bag had not fallen. But I wouldn¡¯t give up. I kept pushing and pushing, rolling faster and faster, until I could suddenly see the light, with the edges of the bag covering my periphery. Amusingly, while I was trying to tip the bag over, I had unknowingly rolled inside of it.


    Still, I couldn¡¯t see anything inside the bag itself, so I rolled further into it while looking at the girl¡¯s arm. When something suddenly blocked my view of the arm, I knew that I had found what I was looking for.


    I began to push on the rock, hoping it would move, and surely enough, it did. I intended to roll this rock up to the girl¡¯s hand, but first, I decided to explain my plan to the rest of them.


    ¡°Ok everyone.¡± I began to speak. ¡°If you are hearing this, I am going to push you toward that girl¡¯s hand, one by one. Once you make contact with it, you will be able to move and speak again. I will try to help as many of you as I can before morning, but for now, please be patient.¡±


    I began to push the first rock toward the girl¡¯s hand. Unfortunately, the girl was still a dozen meters or so away from the bag, and given how small we were, pushing the rock over to her took a while. But eventually we reached the girl¡¯s hand, which, just like last night, was partially sunk within the ground, which was holding up the hand like netting.


    With more light, I looked at the rock again, and I noticed that it did not have a necklace attached to it. I knew that a rock had fallen from its necklace a few days ago, but I wasn¡¯t sure whether it was this rock or a different one.


    ¡°Now, I¡¯m going to push you right into her arm. I''ll see you on the other side.¡±


    I pushed the pebble down, and it rolled into the girl¡¯s arm. And as soon as it made contact, I could hear a voice coming out of it:


    ¡°¡ªdred eighty-four, eighty-eight thousand nine hundred eighty-five, eighty-eight thousand nine hundred eighty-six.¡±


    He continued to count, murmuring to himself, yet remaining motionless.


    ¡°Ok, you can come up now.¡±


    But he kept muttering to himself.


    ¡°Eighty-eight thousand nine hundred eighty-seven, eighty-eight thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, eighty-eight thousand nine hundred eighty-nine¡ª¡±


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Eighty-eight thousand nine hundred ninety¡ª¡±


    While still speaking, he began to roll upwards and out of the netting, after which he started to move in a circular motion.


    ¡°Eighty-eight thousand nine hundred ninety-one, eighty-eight thousand nine hundred ninety-two, eighty-eight thousand nine hundred ninety-three¡­¡±


    He started to spiral outward, and it wasn¡¯t long before he fell both out of earshot and out of sight. And I could not tell where he was going. For the time being, I decided to ignore him and instead focus on the others. I looked away from the arm and made my way towards the bag.


    <hr>


    Eventually, I reached the bag again and pushed out another rock. And over the next little while, I pushed the rock toward the girl¡¯s hand. When we reached the light, I noticed that this rock was also detached from its pendant.


    ¡°Good luck,¡± I said to the rock before I hit it. The rock rolled down the netting and into the girl¡¯s arm.


    ¡°¡ªdo that for?¡± A male voice spoke from the rock, which was also starting to wobble. ¡°What the¡­ I can move. I can move again!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know. Now hurry up the slope; there are still others I need to save.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­¡±


    I watched as the rock slowly began to crawl up the slope. But it seemed to be more challenging for him than it was for the previous rock.


    ¡°Do you need help?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No¡­ It''s fine,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll only take a moment.¡±


    Seeing him struggle to climb the slope, I leaped down, bouncing on the netting as I landed. I quickly rolled behind him and began to push.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Helping you out.¡±


    ¡°But what about you?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know another way.¡±


    And soon, I was able to push him over the ledge. I tumbled back down, landing next to the girl¡¯s arm. I rolled closely to the bottom of the slope and jumped, landing beside the other rock.


    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± he asked. ¡°How were you able to do that, and why didn¡¯t you suggest it to me?¡±


    ¡°It takes some practice.¡±


    ¡°How much?¡± he asked.


    I thought back to this morning.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to know.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to head over to the bag.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± the rock spoke.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Let me come with you.¡±


    I thought for a moment.


    ¡°Sure, I could use the help.¡±


    <hr>


    We began to make our way back to the bag.


    ¡°How are you even able to see out here?¡± The other rock asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh. Then how do you know where we¡¯re going?¡±


    ¡°Look behind you.¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°As long as that hand is at this angle, we are heading in the right direction.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± the rock asked after a bit. ¡°But I was wondering if I could get your name.¡±


    ¡°Oh sure. Ishikawa Kazuki. And you are?¡±


    ¡°Sobue, Sobue Masato.¡±


    There was a pause.


    ¡°Thank you, Ishikawa-san,¡± he said. ¡°Thank you for saving my life.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad I could help, Sobue-san.¡± I responded.


    After a while, we arrived at the bag.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be easier to bring the bag over to her?¡± Sobue suggested. ¡°So we don¡¯t have to go back and forth?¡±


    ¡°I tried that, but I wasn¡¯t strong enough.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I could help?¡±


    ¡°That would be appreciated.¡±


    We both encircled the bag, meeting at the back.


    ¡°Ok.¡± I said. ¡°You push behind on the left; I¡¯ll push behind on the right.¡±


    After we got into our positions, we began to push.


    Heave¡­ Ho! I could hear the bag scratching on the earth. It was moving. Still, there was no reason to let up now.


    Heave¡­ Ho! Heave¡­ Ho! Heave¡­ Ho!


    This went on for an hour or so, until we brought the bag near the ledge, and the light began to shine upon it.


    ¡°You don¡¯t feel tired?¡± Sobue asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything.¡±


    ¡°Well, then that makes two of us.¡±


    I went into the bag and pushed out the first thing I found, and this time it was a full set. After explaining in front of the pair what I was going to do, I pushed them in the hole, and they slid up to the arm.


    ¡°Hello sweeties¡­¡± One of them spoke with an older female voice.


    ¡°Hi. Are you a necklace or a rock?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the necklace.¡± She responded.


    ¡°Ok¡­ Can you get the rock to touch her arm too?¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.¡°Sure thing. Now stay still, little one.¡±


    I watched as the two once again made contact with the girl¡¯s arm.


    ¡°It worked, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Both of them responded simultaneously.


    ¡°Do you need any help getting up?¡±


    ¡°I think so,¡± the ¡®old woman¡¯ responded.


    ¡°Can you move your necklace part?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°Ok, then bring the necklace up to me.¡±


    She moved the chain of the necklace beside me. I rolled into the chain of the necklace, turned the other way, and began to roll, tugging on the pair. It wasn¡¯t long before I was able to drag the two up.


    ¡°Why thank you, dears,¡± the ¡®old woman¡¯ said. She shook her pendant, and the rock inside fell out.


    ¡°Thank you for saving me, mister!¡± said a voice that sounded like that of a little boy. I was taken aback. I had seen children here before, such as that catgirl, but to think that a child had endured the same suffering as the rest of us was heartbreaking. Perhaps he wasn''t really a child and just had a high-pitched voice?


    ¡°Excuse me, but how old are you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Here or home?¡± The ''child'' responded.


    ¡°Home¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh! Ummmm. One, two, three, four. I¡¯m four!¡± The ''child'' answered.


    I was horrified, and it seemed the others felt the same way, as silence filled the air. What kind of monster would subject a child to such torture?


    "Are you okay?" I asked.


    "I''m good," he replied.


    "Are you sure?"


    <em style="font-family: georgia, palatino">"Yeah, I''m free now, so I''m happy." This child appeared to be surprisingly optimistic, even after everything he must have gone through.


    ¡°You¡ªyou''re almost the same age as my boys.¡± Sobue began to speak, with a tremble in his voice. ¡°At least when I last saw them.¡±


    ¡°When was that?¡± The ''child'' asked.


    ¡°It must have been years at this point,¡± Sobue answered. ¡°Ha! I wonder how they¡¯ve been doing without their old man around. Do they even remember me?¡±


    He spoke as if on the brink of tears, and I wasn''t sure what exactly I could say to him.


    ¡°Can you tell us about them?¡± The ¡®old woman¡¯ asked.


    ¡°Sure¡­¡±


    ¡°The oldest was Yuuki.¡± He began to explain. ¡°That boy feared absolutely nothing and no one. The youngest was Haruki, and he had the brightest smile I¡¯d ever seen from a boy. They were my pride and joy, back at home.¡±


    ¡°That sounds wonderful,¡± the ¡®old woman¡¯ said.


    ¡°When I last saw them, both were about to enter kindergarten. I was so proud of them, but¡­ I never got the chance to tell them that.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± The ¡®old woman¡¯ said. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll see them again soon.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully not like this,¡± he chuckled.


    And listening to them raised a question: Was there even a way back home? And if so, what would that even be? And would I end up being human again, or would I still be a rock?¡±


    ¡°Did you have anyone back at home?¡± The ¡®old woman¡¯ suddenly asked.


    ¡°Are you asking me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you. Did you have any kids?¡±


    I paused.


    ¡°I... I need to get more of the others out of the bag.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡± the ''child'' exclaimed.


    ¡°Wait!¡± But it was too late.


    ¡°Out ya go!¡± The ''child'' hit one of the necklaces, which slid toward the girl''s hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m free. I¡¯m free! I just need to get this thing out of me!¡± The necklace shook itself, and the rock inside of it came out and quickly fell underneath the netting.


    Everyone went quiet.


    <hr>


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± The ''child'' eventually spoke.


    ¡°Be more careful next time.¡± Sobue responded. ¡°Ok?¡±


    ¡°Ok¡­¡±


    ¡°Promise?¡±


    ¡°I pwomise¡­¡±


    As I watched the situation unfold, I looked down at the necklace, which was still standing on the netting.


    ¡°Hey, you. Down there.¡± I called out to the necklace.


    ¡°Who, me?¡± It responded.


    ¡°Yes, you. Can you get the guy you just dropped?¡±


    ¡°Why should I?¡±


    ¡°Well, it''s your fault he¡¯s stuck down there in the first place.¡±


    ¡°So, why should I care?¡±


    I wasn¡¯t making any progress. I wasn¡¯t sure what to do, but then the ¡®old woman¡¯ began to speak.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± The ¡®old woman¡¯ said. ¡°What would happen if we woke her up?¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Little one, why don¡¯t you say hello to the¡ª¡±


    ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll do it! Where is he?¡±


    The necklace lowered its chain.


    ¡°Oh, I think I see it! There you go; that should do it. And¡­ and¡­ out you go!¡± The rock was tossed back onto the netting. ¡°Are you happy now?¡±


    ¡°Now place it up to her arm.¡±


    ¡°Do I have to do everything?¡±


    ¡°Little one?¡± The ¡®old woman¡¯ began to say, ¡°Do you¡ª¡±


    ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll do it. Sheesh!¡±


    The necklace placed the rock next to the arm.


    ¡°Huhuh¡­huhu¡­huhu¡­¡± The rock made a sound resembling frantic breathing. ¡°Wha¨Cwhat is wrong with you, you bastard?¡±


    ¡°A thank you would be nice.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, my ass! Now, can anyone explain to me what the hell was down there?¡±


    ¡°You know as much as we do.¡± I answered. ¡°Now get up here, both of you. There are still several others in the bag.¡±


    ¡°Fine!¡± Both of them grumbled as they began to climb up.


    I looked at the ¡®old woman¡¯.


    ¡°Why did you¡ª?¡±


    ¡°You looked like you were having some trouble,¡± she said. ¡°And I didn¡¯t become a grandmother by being soft.¡±


    After the two arrived, I gave everyone instructions.


    ¡°Ok, everyone take something out of the bag.¡±


    ¡°Who went and made you the leader?¡± the necklace asked.


    ¡°Who saved your lives?¡±


    ¡°Point taken,¡± he grumbled.


    <hr>


    There were still three items left inside the bag¡ªtwo stray necklaces and one full set. And because of the help I now had, we were able to quickly move each of them up to the arm. When we were all done, the group had expanded to nine. This meant that only the bag remained.


    ¡°I think I need all your help for this one.¡±


    ¡°Ok.¡± Sobue responded. ¡°Every rock underneath the bag!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, what he said.¡±


    We all got under the bag, except for the ''child'', who stayed with the ¡®older woman¡¯. We then oriented it towards the girl.


    ¡°Ok.¡± I announced. ¡°On the count of three, roll forward, and toss the bag to the girl¡¯s arm.¡±


    ¡°One¡­ Two¡­ Three¡­ And roll!¡±


    We all rolled forward at the same time, pushing the bag closer to the ledge.


    ¡°Now, when you reach the edge of the slope, stay still.¡± I explained. ¡°We will catch up in the back.¡±


    Sobue and I kept rolling until we reached the other two rocks. And when this happened, the bag fell down the slope, barely grazing the girl¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Freedom!¡± The bag shouted, using his opening as a giant mouth.


    ¡°Shhhh.¡±


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡±


    But it was too late. The girl began to groan and started to roll, after which the netting quickly began to move.


    ¡°Get out,¡± I said to the bag. ¡°Quick!¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    I watched the bag begin to squirm its way towards us as the hole in the ground began to move with the girl¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Gotta get out, gotta get out, gotta get out!¡± I heard the bag repeat.


    The bag began climbing up the slope, using its front to get a grip on the earth. But in the light, I noticed its grip was fraying. There was little time to spare, so I quickly stood on top of it. ¡°What are you doing?¡± The bag shouted.


    ¡°Making sure you don¡¯t lose your grip.¡±


    ¡°Ok then¡­ thank you.¡±


    After the bag got closer, I let go, allowing it to make the jump.


    And just as the girl rolled over, the ground closed back. The bag escaped, for the most part. As a small piece of it that got stuck in the ground below.


    ¡°Darn it. Hmmm¡­ The bag grunted and groaned, and a tearing sound followed.


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m out!¡±


    I looked at the bag and noticed a new hole where it had been torn.


    ¡°Are you ok?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine; I don¡¯t feel a thing,¡± he said. ¡°But I don¡¯t think I can hold anything inside me anymore.¡±


    ¡°Will that cause any problems for you?¡±


    ¡°I doubt it,¡± the bag said.


    ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s good to hear.¡±


    I looked around me. Because the girl had moved, we were no longer in the light, and I could not see anyone.


    ¡°And is there anything still inside you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything, so I guess not.¡±


    ¡°Alright then,¡± I said. ¡°I think that means we¡¯re finished for the night.¡±


    Knowing that they were all now free was elating. Perhaps this could be the start of something greater, but I suppose only time will tell.


    <hr>


    ¡°So, what do we do now?¡± I heard someone ask.


    I thought to myself. I wanted to see if there was anyone else that I could try to save, but unfortunately, it was currently too dark to see anything.


    ¡°Enjoy yourselves, I guess.¡± I responded. ¡°Still, it would be a good idea to do so at a safer distance, just in case.¡±


    ¡°But where?¡±


    ¡°Follow my voice,¡± someone said.


    ¡°Yeah, that works,¡± I said.


    We moved a few meters or so until we reached a spot that was hopefully out of the girl¡¯s earshot. For the rest of the night, the group conversed with each other in the darkness. And as I listened to the symphony of voices, I began to wonder if, maybe, if I had done things differently, I could have been friends with people like them back on earth¡­


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± someone asked, shaking me out of my thoughts.


    ¡°No,¡± I replied. ¡°I was just thinking about some things.¡±


    ¡°Well, the others were wondering if you wanted to join in and tell a story or two about your old life.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I have anything interesting to tell.¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on!¡± He exclaimed. ¡°Everyone has a story to tell, and I¡¯m sure they would love to hear yours.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely. Plus, we still have plenty of time before morning.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you insist, then I guess I could give it a try.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit!¡± He exclaimed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can catch you up on anything you missed.¡±


    ¡°Ok¡­¡±


    We made our way over to the rest of the group. Though I couldn¡¯t see a thing, I knew I was completely surrounded. And for the remainder of the night, the only sounds that filled the air were the conversations we had and the stories we told.

 Chapter 14: Waking up the Sleeping Giant

    As the light returned to the clearing the next morning, we gathered together to discuss our next steps. However, there was one small hiccup we had to deal with:


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± A necklace¡ªAikawa Reiji¡ªasked. He was the one who invited me to speak with the others at the end of the night. Currently, he was speaking to another necklace¡ªthat being Yabuki Asahi¡ªwho was the one who caused that rock to fall into the earth last night.


    ¡°What do you think I¡¯m doing?¡± Yabuki snapped back. ¡°I¡¯m leaving!¡±


    ¡°Do you even know where you are going?¡± Aikawa asked.


    ¡°Outta here, that¡¯s where!¡± Yabuki retorted as he began to leave.


    But it quickly became clear that Yabuki didn¡¯t know where he was going, and he was soon wandering aimlessly around the clearing.


    ¡°Hey!¡± He eventually shouted, heading back at us. ¡°Do any of you numbskulls know a way out of here?¡±


    From what I could recall, the path from the town to this point was mostly linear, and I did not recall there being any curves or bends, not much swaying or swinging of any kind. And all it took to get back to the path was climbing up the ledge. Not easy, but certainly doable. And if that didn¡¯t work, just going through the woods until wherever it ended was also a possibility. However, it seemed that Yabuki hadn¡¯t considered either of those options.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Yabuki shouted. ¡°Why aren¡¯t any of you talking to me?¡±


    ¡°We know as much as you do.¡± Sobue replied.


    He grumbled a bit before turning to me.


    ¡°Hey, you!¡± He shouted at me. ¡°What''s the way outta here?¡±


    ¡°Why should I tell you?¡±


    ¡°Because this is why!¡± He shouted as he rammed¡ªor rather lightly tapped¡ªme, causing me to move back about a millimeter or so. I could hear stifled laughter from the others.


    ¡°Hey! What are you all laughing for?¡± Yabuki shouted. ¡°Rotten little moth¡ª¡± He fell out of earshot before he finished his sentence, heading off to a different part of the clearing.


    <hr>


    ¡°So what do we do now?¡± One of the necklaces¡ªamong the few I did not learn the name of¡ªasked.


    I thought to myself.


    ¡°Does anyone see anything else on the ground?¡±


    There was a pause as the others, from what I could tell, were looking around.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± I heard someone respond.


    It seemed like there was nothing on the ground in the clearing, but maybe there was elsewhere.


    ¡°What about in the woods?¡± I suggested. ¡°Is there anything there?¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± A necklace asked.


    I thought about what could be in the woods. There were trees, of course, but those were too large for us to move on our own. And though many smaller plants didn¡¯t have this issue, they did have roots, and I didn¡¯t know how to bring any over without decapitating them.


    And what about debris that came from the trees, such as berries, leaves, or seeds? I hadn''t seen the girl touch any of those with her hand, and during my time on the lake, I hadn¡¯t seen any abnormal behavior from them either. Then again, they could be in the same situation that me and the others were, and there wasn¡¯t really any harm in trying.


    ¡°Can you bring over a leaf, or something like that?¡± I asked. ¡°I want to try something out.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I guess,¡± the necklace said as she crawled towards the woods, using her chain to push herself forward.


    ¡°Wait, what about her?¡± The rock who had fallen into the earth last night¡ªMashita Syouma¡ªasked after she left, pointing himself in the direction of the sleeping girl.


    Judging by how she reacted to me, she would probably react poorly at the sight of everyone else. This wasn¡¯t something I was really considering last night, as I was busy trying to rescue this group. But as morning came, it became clear that I needed to cover my tracks, though I wasn¡¯t sure exactly how.


    ¡°Just leave her for now.¡± I eventually said.


    ¡°Why? Let¡¯s just wake her up.¡± He responded.


    ¡°Look, it''s still early.¡± I said. ¡°It would be safer for us to wait until she wakes up on her own.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Do you really want someone of her size to be in a bad mood?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I see your point.¡±


    ¡°I got it!¡± The necklace exclaimed as she was making her way back to us.


    ¡°What did you get?¡± I asked her when she arrived.


    ¡°Well, I found this leaf,¡± the necklace responded.


    ¡°Great. Now can you place it up to the arm?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    We all stood back as the necklace dropped the leaf. It landed right next to the girl¡¯s arm, but nothing happened.


    ¡°Should we try again?¡± The necklace asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. It looks like that leaf was just a leaf.¡±


    ¡°Oh, ok¡­¡±


    ¡°Did you bring anything else?¡±


    ¡°Well, I did bring a berry.¡± The necklace toppled her pendant over, the berry rolling up to the girl¡¯s arm, closely enough for there to be some sort of contact. However, the berry remained silent and motionless. It seemed that this debris was just that, which was useful to know.


    ¡°Did you see anything else on the ground?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s the trees, but I don¡¯t think we could carry those.¡±


    It became clear that, for the time being, there wasn¡¯t much else we could do. I looked toward the sleeping girl. Should I just wake her up and hope for the best? No, far too risky. I looked at everyone else. Perhaps some sort of diversion was needed, but what?


    ¡°Hey!¡± The bag¡ªYamuguchi Haruki¡ªshouted from a small distance. ¡°Does anyone know what that is?¡±


    Yamaguchi was standing near a narrow gap in the woods. From what I recall, it was at the same location where that tree ran through, though by now the branches it left behind were surprisingly absent.


    ¡°Well, I did see a tree run through there,¡± I said. ¡°But otherwise, I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    ¡°Do you think one tree could do that?¡± Yamaguchi asked.


    ¡°Do what?¡±


    ¡°Take a look!¡± Yamaguchi replied.


    We all gathered in front of Yamaguchi. And surely enough, there was a path carving through the woods into the distance. Alongside this path were the protruding trunks of toppled trees scattered throughout the understory. Additionally, there were deep grooves and markings on the ground, probably from the tree walking onto it, or perhaps not just from one.


    I looked back at the clearing, and given its size, it seemed that at least a dozen trees had already traversed this path. But why would they have all gone in the same direction? Was there some place that they were all trying to reach? And this brought up another question: If that girl had touched each of those now-missing trees, why was she refusing to do so now?


    ¡°Well, thanks for the info; I¡¯m out!¡± Yabuki shouted as he cut past everyone else, interrupting my thoughts in the process. We watched for a bit as he began to go down the path.


    ¡°Does anyone else want to see where it goes?¡± Yamaguchi eventually asked after a moment.


    Something like this was what I was hoping would happen, and to my relief, all of them seemed to be interested in the suggestion. Well, maybe all of them. It looked like everyone was present, though I wasn''t completely sure.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°What about you, Ishikawa-san?¡± Sobue asked me, shaking me out of my thoughts.


    ¡°What about me?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to join us?¡± Sobue asked.


    ¡°Maybe later,¡± I responded. ¡°I have something I need to do first.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    I took a moment to gather my thoughts. Should I make something up? No, I already had one mess to sort out; I didn¡¯t want to have to deal with another.


    Okay, here goes nothing.


    ¡°You see that girl over there?¡±


    I gestured over to the girl.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sobue answered. ¡°What about her?¡±


    ¡°I need to cover my tracks.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Sobue asked.


    ¡°It''s complicated,¡± I said. ¡°But for now, could you please keep everyone away from here, at least for a little while?¡±


    ¡°Sure, I guess.¡± Sobue responded. ¡°When should we come back?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll come over to you when I¡¯m done.¡±


    ¡°Okay, see you soon then.¡± Sobue said, bidding me farewell as he and the others departed.


    <hr>


    After everyone left, I went in front of the girl to wake her up. But as I was about to do so, I heard a familiar voice in the distance.


    ¡°Good morning!¡± The ¡®child¡¯¡ªwho simply went by the name Kouji¡ªshouted to me.


    ¡°Sorry, this little one wandered off for a bit.¡± The ¡®old woman¡¯¡ªwho went by Oyakawa Rei¡ªfollowed shortly behind.


    What were those two doing here? I could¡¯ve sworn that they went with everyone else, but apparently they didn¡¯t. They probably weren''t going to be too much of an issue, but I felt it was better to err on the side of caution, at least for the time being.


    ¡°Did we miss anything important?¡± Oyakawa asked.


    I paused, glancing in the direction where the others had gone.


    ¡°Not really; the others just left to check on something. If you want to catch up with them, I''m sure they haven¡¯t gone too far by now.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± she asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s something I need to do first.¡± I answered after a moment.


    ¡°What would that be?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to know.¡±


    ¡°Does it have to do with her?¡± Oyakawa asked, facing toward the sleeping girl.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I answered after a moment. ¡°I need to clear something up with her. Could you please keep your distance for the time being?¡±


    ¡°I suppose I could do that.¡± Oyakawa responded. ¡°By the way, do you happen to know where Kouji-kun is?¡±


    ¡°I thought he was right here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the king of the world!¡± Kouji¡¯s voice echoed.


    We turned and spotted Kouji sitting atop the girl¡¯s back.


    ¡°Kouji-kun, Get down from there!¡± Oyakawa shouted.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t wanna!¡± Kouji shouted back.


    ¡°Just do it!¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Kouji whined as he began to head down the sleeping girl¡¯s back, towards the way he came. However, he slipped, falling to his side and landing on the ground with a soft clank. I froze, praying that this wouldn¡¯t wake the girl up. But thankfully, she remained asleep, letting out a little groan, but not much more.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Kouji said to me as he returned to us.


    I paused for a moment.


    ¡°Ok¡­ Just try to be more careful next time. Understand.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± Kouji replied.


    I looked at the location of the path.


    ¡°That path over there should take you two to the others. Please be safe.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± Oyakawa asked.


    I pointed myself toward the path. ¡°Over there.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Oyakawa said. ¡°May good fortune await you, Ishikawa-kun.¡±


    ¡°And you as well, Oyakawa-sama.¡±


    After Oyakawa and Kouji left, only me and the girl remained. It was time to wake her up and hope for the best.


    <hr>


    I rolled up to the girl and gently tapped on her face. She made a noise, but then went silent again. However, I could tell I was making progress, so I continued tapping on her face until her eyes began to open. And when they did, I backed away until I could fully see her face before me.


    ¡°Ugh, what is it?¡± The girl groggily asked.


    ¡°Good morning.¡±


    ¡°Oh, good morning, Rock.¡±


    ¡°How was your sleep?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It was good, I think.¡± She responded.


    ¡°Did you hear anything last night?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so,¡± she answered.


    That part was a relief. With this in mind, I decided to ask for her help again. If she agreed, maybe I wouldn¡¯t even have to tell her about last night.


    ¡°Have you changed your mind? Are you willing to help me?¡±


    ¡°Um, I don¡¯t think so, no.¡± She answered.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    That wasn¡¯t going to make things any easier. But still, there was no reason to give up now. I decided to try again and maybe explain myself a little more, hoping that could make a difference.


    ¡°Do you remember who I told you I was before?¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­ I¡¯m not sure. Could you remind me?¡±


    From what just happened with Kouji to this, I began to wonder if the girl had problems with her hearing.


    ¡°Ok, but this time, listen. Could you please do that?¡±


    She paused for a second before nodding.


    I began to speak:


    ¡°I¡­ I was not always a rock. I used to be human, like you.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± The girl asked.


    ¡°Yes, really.¡± I responded. ¡°And I lived in a place called Japan.¡±


    The girl¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°You¡¯re from Ja¡ªI mean¡­ What¡¯s Japan?¡± She asked, clearly attempting to cover her tracks. I didn¡¯t know why she was doing so, but that was something I could deal with later.


    I continued:


    ¡°Japan was my home, back on Earth. It was where I lived my life.¡±


    ¡°And how was that?¡±


    ¡°Well, looking back, my life was good. It was good. I had a well-paying job, and I lived in a nice little house, just outside the city.¡±


    ¡°Sounds nice,¡± the girl said.


    ¡°It was. But sometimes¡­ you don¡¯t appreciate what you have in life¡­ until you lose all of it.¡± I chuckled, my voice beginning to shake.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± The girl asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine.¡± I responded, my voice quivering. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Ok¡­¡±


    I regained my composure as I continued to speak.


    ¡°Anyways, one day, for reasons I still don¡¯t understand, my life was taken from me, and I ended up trapped as a rock in this world, unable to move, unable to speak, unable to feel, unable to do anything. I could see the world around me change, and yet I was unable to change it myself in any way. And for an entire year, it was like this. Until a couple days ago, when I impacted your arm, and somehow, I was able to move again.¡±


    She looked at her arm.


    ¡°Then what do you still want my help with?¡±


    I grumbled to myself before continuing.


    ¡°Well,¡± I began to answer. ¡°I¡¯m not alone.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± She asked.


    It seemed like I had more explaining to do.


    ¡°Look around you,¡± I said. ¡°Can you tell me what you see?¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­ I see¡­ Trees. I see trees,¡± the girl answered.


    ¡°Yes. Could you please touch one for me?¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t¡ª¡±


    ¡°Ok, fine.¡± I grumbled. ¡°How about this: Remember that tree you touched right after we met a couple days ago?¡±


    ¡°I think I do.¡±


    ¡°How did it know how to run?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    I asked again. ¡°That tree. How did it know how to run?¡±


    The girl looked at her hand, her eyes narrowing.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± she began to stutter.


    I spoke again:


    ¡°When I said that every tree, every rock, and every blade of grass contained people desperate to be free, I meant it. There are countless men, women, and even children crying out for help, and that arm of yours is the only thing I am aware of that can free any of them! So please, I ask you again, could you help me free them?¡±


    I waited for her response.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡±


    She froze. It was better than being rejected outright, but still¡­


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you some time to think about it.¡± I said as I began to head toward the path.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Ok¡­¡± The girl responded.


    I still hadn¡¯t told the girl about last night, but I hoped that I had at least lessened the impact for when I eventually would.


    Once I reached the path, I took a look at what was in front of me. I couldn¡¯t see anyone ahead, so I assumed that the others must have arrived at their destination, wherever it was.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± The girl asked from behind. I looked toward her.


    ¡°Wherever this path takes me,¡± I responded.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you scared?¡± she asked.


    I paused for a moment. It was clear that fear was consuming her, both figuratively and literally. If I was going to get her help, I needed to get her to overcome that.


    ¡°Not really,¡± I responded. ¡°But even if I was, why would I let that hold me back?¡±


    And with that, I shifted my gaze towards the path and took my first steps into the woods and towards whatever lay ahead.

 Chapter 15: The River of Talking Trees

    It took a decent amount of time to move through the woods, so as I shuffled along the path, I took a look at my surroundings. Apart from the trees and the protrusion of roots in the ground, I couldn¡¯t see any life on the forest floor. There were no grasses, no ferns, no mushrooms¡ªnothing, save for the trees, all of which were fully grown. It was as if anything shorter than an average adult simply didn¡¯t grow here.


    To my left, I could still see the slope of the main road. Though it still towered above me, I noticed it beginning to get lower as I continued down the path. However, it was hard to tell for sure, namely due to all the muck in my view, which was forcing me to travel more slowly. Funnily enough, in this condition, I found it easier to move around in the pitch black of night than through the forest during the day.


    After a while, I reached the end of the path. But from what I could see, there wasn¡¯t anything up ahead, apart from more trees. But that raised the question of where everyone else had gone.


    ¡°Hey, could you get a move on it?¡± I heard a gruff voice speak. I looked in front of me and saw a tree towering over me. So this must be one of the trees that left the clearing. But why was it sticking around here?


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°Trying to survive!¡± The tree responded. ¡°What¡¯s it to you?¡±


    ¡°Look, there were a bunch of things who looked a lot like me that came this way. Have you seen any of them?¡±


    ¡°Oh, those guys,¡± the tree replied. ¡°You¡¯re with them?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, could you tell me where they went?¡±


    ¡°Fine!¡± The tree responded. ¡°What do I have to do to get some peace and quiet?¡±


    Suddenly, a tendril wrapped around me, lifting me in the air towards the trunk of the tree. And then, in rapid motion, it threw me. Different shades of green rushed around me as I zipped through the air. And then, in an instant, it stopped, and I saw the sky above me.


    <hr>


    Trying to get my bearings, I looked around. In front of me, I saw a large body of water, though not as large as the lake. It looked like a river, but it didn¡¯t seem to have any current. Behind it were some trees as well as mountains further out, which curved somewhat at the edges of my periphery. And to my left, I saw a bridge going across the water, looming above me, both my size and the river¡¯s valley likely playing a part.


    But interestingly, to my right, alongside the coast, I saw a group of trees that looked very abnormal. Many were missing branches or leaves; several even had cracked¡ªor even outright broken¡ªtrunks, though they were still standing upright despite this. The roots of the trees were exposed, at least partially, and some of them were dipped underneath the water, like a straw or a fishing rod. I could even see some trees walking in the water, which to most would seem absolutely bizarre. They looked to be heading toward a small island in the middle of the body of water, which was also crowded with trees. So, this must be where all those trees went. But how did they all know to go here? And for that matter, why were they all sticking around?


    ¡°There you are, Ishikawa-san!¡± a voice said, jolting me out of my reverie. I looked back to see Aikawa. ¡°Glad to see you made it!¡±


    ¡°Thanks¡­¡± I replied after a moment. ¡°Do you know where the others are?¡±


    ¡°Oh, they¡¯re out and about, here and there.¡± Aikawa responded. ¡°Most of your guys went in the water to bathe.¡±


    I looked down towards the water¡¯s edge, and I couldn¡¯t see anything, aside from trails of unidentifiable muck flowing away from it.


    ¡°You want to join them?¡± Aikawa continued. ¡°It sure looks like you could use a bath yourself!¡±


    I went down toward the water, prepared to go in and dry off. But then I froze. I recalled the peasant skipping stones in the lake. I remembered how each rock sank into the waters below, never to be seen again. Each and every one of them was etched into my mind. However, unlike then, I had the ability to move. So why did I still feel scared?


    I looked into the murky waters in front of me. How deep did it go? Would I be even able to get out? After all, pebbles sink. These thoughts crowded my mind. I knew I told that girl not to let fear stop her, but it turned out fear could be very powerful.


    ¡°Are you going to go in?¡± Aikawa asked, shaking me out of my thoughts.


    ¡°Maybe later,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Ok, then would you like to hang out with the rest of us?¡±


    Since I had come all this way, there wasn''t much point in heading back to the clearing just yet, and if I wasn¡¯t going to get in the water, then I might as well join them.


    ¡°Oh, um, sure, I guess." I replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit!¡± Aikawa spoke as he began to move. ¡°Come¡¯on, the others were wondering where you were.¡±


    ¡°Where exactly are they?¡±


    ¡°Up at that ledge.¡± Aikawa replied. ¡°Just follow me.¡±


    I looked over to my right and could barely make out several members of the group lounging together on top of a nearby perch, in front of the trees.


    <hr>


    As with many things, moving toward the others took more time than it would have when I was human. Even with my movement restored, I was still a rock, and it looked like that wasn¡¯t going to change.


    ¡°Welcome, Ishikawa-kun,¡± Oyakawa said when we arrived.


    ¡°Hello, Oyakawa-sama.¡± I looked at the others, noticing that there were not any rocks present among them. ¡°Where¡¯s Kouji?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s down with the others.¡± Oyakawa replied.


    ¡°Are you sure he¡¯s okay, being in the water?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Oyakawa responded. ¡°I¡¯m watching him.¡±


    ¡°Ok¡­¡±


    I paused for a moment.


    ¡°So, then what are you guys doing?¡±


    ¡°Oh! We¡¯re just enjoying the view,¡± she replied.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you get in the water too?¡± Oyakawa asked.


    ¡°I¡ªI don¡¯t really need to.¡±


    ¡°Are you scared?¡± she asked.


    ¡°No, why would I be?¡±


    There was a brief pause.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Oyakawa began. ¡°Ignoring your fears isn¡¯t going to make them go away. You have to confront them head-on. And in your case, you need to take a leap of faith.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I already know all about that.¡± I said, recalling the jumps I made yesterday, going up the slope.


    ¡°Then go for it.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Jump into the water. Take that leap of faith.¡±


    I paused.


    ¡°I can do it later.¡± I replied.


    ¡°Later may never come,¡± Oyakawa said.


    <hr>


    ¡°Hey, could you guys get a move on it?¡± A voice shouted, interrupting the group. It was Yabuki. ¡°This is supposed to be my space!¡±


    ¡°Who went and decided that?¡± a necklace with an incomplete chain¡ªand whose name I didn¡¯t remember¡ªspoke.


    ¡°I did!¡± Yabuki shouted. ¡°Now beat it!¡±


    However, he was severely outnumbered, and it seemed that he knew it.


    ¡°I said beat it!¡± He shouted again.


    We simply stood still.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°Grrr.¡± He began to back away after a moment. ¡°Lousy little good for nothing.¡±


    However, as he was backing away, he touched the root of a tree, which quickly grabbed onto him.


    ¡°Eep!¡± he yelped.


    The tree turned towards us, with Yabuki wrapped around its root. It only had two large branches attached to it, jutting outward from its left and right sides. The tree towered over us, and we remained motionless in anticipation of what it would do. However, the tree simply chuckled in a deep feminine voice.


    ¡°Good morning, little ones.¡±


    There was a pause.


    Eventually, one of the necklaces spoke up: ¡°Y-you¡¯re¡ª¡±


    ¡°A tree? Yes.¡± The tree spoke while continuing to hold a speechless Yabuki in her root. ¡°Has this one been disturbing all of you?¡±


    What would the tree do to him if I said yes? Would she crush him with her roots? Or throw him into the deepest depths of the river? However, despite how much of an asshole Yabuki was, he did not deserve either of those fates.


    ¡°No, just let him down.¡± I said. ¡°He isn¡¯t worth the trouble.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± the tree replied as it gently placed Yabuki back on the ground.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Yabuki whimpered to me.


    ¡°Duly noted¡­¡± I responded coldly.


    ¡°I¡ªI¡¯m going to excuse myself now.¡± He stammered as he slithered away, presumably to find another place to sit.


    <hr>


    While the others resumed their conversations, I went over to the tree to ask her some things.


    ¡°Greetings, little one.¡± She spoke to me as I arrived at her trunk.


    ¡°Hello there, tree¡­ Could I talk to you for a bit?¡±


    ¡°Sure, little one.¡± The tree replied. ¡°What did you want to talk about?¡±


    ¡°Who are you exactly?¡± I asked.


    The tree paused before chuckling. ¡°Well, clearly, I¡¯m a tree.¡±


    ¡°Ok¡­ And what are you all doing here?¡±


    ¡°Well, doing tree stuff, obviously.¡± The tree answered.


    ¡°And what exactly do you mean by that?¡±


    Suddenly, glowing rings began to appear within her roots.


    ¡°This is our root network.¡± The tree began to explain. ¡°It''s how we transfer nutrients to each other. You see those rings heading into the forest?¡±


    I watched as the rings moved away from the tree and towards another. After presumably absorbing the rings, that tree in turn began to transmit its own rings from its roots, though those rings quickly dimmed as they reached the next tree.


    ¡°Those rings spread out through the entire forest.¡± The tree continued. ¡°And help each of us trees live just a little longer than we otherwise would.¡±


    ¡°I see that.¡± I said. ¡°But you can talk and move again. Aren¡¯t you guys willing to do more than just live as trees?¡±


    But the tree simply sighed. ¡°We¡¯re still trees, and we still have the needs of trees. Water, light, soil, and such. None of that just goes away.¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯re still trapped, still stuck. What a waste of a second chance.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, little one.¡± The tree said, ¡°We like it here.¡±


    ¡°Speak for yourself!¡± Another tree¡ªwith a giant crack around its trunk¡ªblurted out.


    The tree continued. ¡°As I was saying, we like it here. The view is pleasant, and the soil here is better than that in the woods.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t buy that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you would if you were in my shoes,¡± the tree replied. ¡°But for now, I think I¡¯m going to go back to being a tree. It was nice talking to you, by the way.¡±


    Before I could respond, the tree went silent again, its roots continuing to glow as rings pulsated throughout them. I rolled up to the tree, trying to hit its roots, but I got no response. I shuddered internally. Was this what it was like to give up? I guess the one advantage of being inanimate was not having to worry about such things.


    <hr>


    I looked down towards the riverbank, and I saw two rocks getting out of the water, beginning to make their way toward us. At first, I wasn¡¯t sure which ones they were specifically, so I waited for the sound of their voices. As they got closer, I recognized the voice of Mashita, along with that of a rock whose name I hadn¡¯t learned.


    ¡°How was the water?¡± I asked when they arrived.


    ¡°It was fine.¡± Mashita replied.


    ¡°Any trouble getting out?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The unnamed rock shouted with the voice of a very old man.


    ¡°He asked if you had trouble getting out of the water.¡± Mashita said to the other rock.


    ¡°Oh! None at all, Sonny.¡± The rock answered.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Mashita turned toward me. ¡°Getting out was easy.¡±


    I paused. Was it fine to get in the water myself? I looked toward the river. Should I jump in? Would I be able to make it out?


    ¡°You have to take a leap of faith.¡± Those words echoed in my mind.


    I looked down from the ledge and at the waters below. I froze again. Perhaps the nearby shore would be better. After all, it was shallower, and the outcome would be the same regardless. But on the other hand, I recalled how I froze up before I even reached the water. Taking the plunge would at least make things quick. I looked back toward the group. Ok, here goes nothing.


    <hr>


    Tilting backwards, I slid off the ledge, and before I knew it, I heard a splash as I hit the water. A rush of green surrounded me, flowing upward and behind me. I looked back and saw a trail of green moving away from me, forming a trail in the water that stretched into the distance. After all this time, I finally went into the water. And yet, it didn''t feel like the end.


    With every moment, more and more paint came off. And even within the murky water, I was able to see more and more clearly. I could see the roots of the trees, with glowing blue rings adorning them. I could see the walls of the river itself, and I began to see the riverbed below, which was barren, with one odd exception. On the riverbed, I could make out the presence of another rock, red paint slowly drifting off it. And as I got closer, I could hear the sound of counting. It was this guy again, from last night. But how did he get down here? And why was he counting? I tried to speak to him as I was descending.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked.


    But he didn¡¯t respond, instead continuing to count. Perhaps he was just busy. Given how high he was counting, he must have been doing so for at least a few days. Maybe I could give him some company while the paint was coming off of us. I landed beside him, and for a little while, I rested next to him while he continued to count.


    After a little while, pretty much all of the paint had drifted off of me, save for the paint on my bottom. Though this area probably wouldn¡¯t be much of an issue, I still may as well address it as long as I was down here. I flipped over, readjusting my vision to remain level. And while the paint on this last area was coming off, I tried to speak with the other rock again.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I asked.


    But he gave no response, simply continuing to count. This was weird. Was this guy all there in the head?


    ¡°Shut up.¡± I heard him say.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I said shut up!¡±


    I paused.


    ¡°Now I have to start over,¡± he continued. ¡°Second time this week.¡±


    He began to count again: ¡°One, two, three, four.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do any of this¡ªall this counting, all this staying still. You¡¯re not stuck anymore.¡±


    ¡°So what!¡± he snapped at me as red paint drifted off of him and in my direction. ¡°You think that makes everything better? Give me a fucking break!¡± The rock rolled away, quickly disappearing into the murky waters, leaving me at a loss for words.


    <hr>


    As the paint continued to drift off of me, I wondered how much of a difference I had actually made, whether that hand had actually helped any of them, or if it was just a bandage to a larger wound, one that couldn¡¯t so easily be healed.


    I looked back up toward the surface. By this point, the others were probably wondering where I had gone. So, as the last of the paint flowed off of me, I prepared to head back to them. However, doing so was a different matter. Maybe I could try to jump out of the water. That shouldn¡¯t be too difficult, right? After all, if I was able to jump on land, I could probably do so in the water as well. I leapt from the riverbed, rising up through the water. However, I only got halfway up before I sank back to the bottom. It seemed that I needed more momentum to reach the surface.


    When I reached the riverbed, I prepared to jump again, this time attempting to put pressure on the ground to provide me with an extra push. Since I still couldn¡¯t perceive any forces, I just hoped that I was putting enough pressure on the ground to be able to launch myself up. Fortunately, when I jumped again, I rapidly shot through the water and penetrated the water¡¯s surface. However, breaking through the water stopped my momentum, and I quickly sank back down. But as I resurfaced, I was able to see the shoreline of the riverbank, an area with a gentler slope. So, if I just got near there, I would be able to get out of the water.


    Getting back to the riverbed, I tried to launch myself again, this time at an angle so that I would at least land outside of the pit I had found myself in. After a few tries, I was able to launch myself out of the pit and onto the gentler slopes underneath the riverbank. When I looked up above me, I saw the water¡¯s surface only a few centimeters above me, and the riverbank itself was only a gentle slope away. Since I was now higher up, I looked back into the river¡¯s depths. But unfortunately, the other rock was nowhere to be found. Maybe I would cross paths with him again in the future, but there wasn¡¯t much I could do now. So, I turned towards the water¡¯s surface and made my way out of the river.


    When I resurfaced, I saw the others nearby, lounging on the shores of the riverbank. And seeing them, I began to wonder how much I had actually helped them. Did they still feel trapped, like that tree? Were any of them feeling the same way as that rock? Were they all just being polite?


    However, my thoughts were interrupted when I saw a rock¡ªpresumably Kouji¡ªtumbling and bouncing across the riverbank, giggling and laughing in what could only be described as a state of pure bliss. I watched as the other rocks and necklaces around him all joined in as well. Watching them play together on the shores of the riverbank brought me a sense of comfort. Even if that hand wasn¡¯t a perfect solution, to see little ones like Kouji have a chance to live and laugh again, maybe that was enough.


    With this in mind, I made my way over to the group. Because I was back on solid ground, it didn¡¯t take long for me to reach them.


    ¡°Hey, Ishikawa-san!¡± Sobue said, heading over to me as I arrived. ¡°You¡¯re all cleaned up.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you too, Sobue-san.¡±


    Seeing him reminded me of the reason why I had come all the way here in the first place.


    ¡°Sobue, about the girl¡ª¡±


    ¡°No need,¡± he interrupted. Behind him, I saw the others heading off in the direction of the bridge, much to my surprise. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if I had missed something.


    ¡°Where¡¯s everyone going?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Where else?¡± Sobue responded. ¡°We¡¯re going home."

 Chapter 16: Lives Lived and Lives Lost

    ¡°What do you mean by home?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Sobue began to say. ¡°We¡¯re planning on heading back to Earth.¡±


    I had just heard from Sobue that the group was planning to leave, something that caught me off-guard. I had a feeling this would happen eventually, but I had imagined that they would have stayed for at least a little longer.


    ¡°You could stay here longer if you want.¡± I said to Sobue.


    ¡°Thanks for the offer,¡± he replied. ¡°But I think we¡¯re good. Now that everyone can see properly, what reason is there for us to stay?¡±


    ¡°Well, I could still use the help.¡±


    ¡°Look,¡± Sobue said. ¡°I miss my kids. And Kouji over there needs to be a kid.¡± He gestured towards the child as he spoke before turning back towards me. ¡°And as for everyone else, well, we all have lives we want to get back to.¡±


    ¡°Is that even possible? For all we know, we could be stuck in this place forever.¡±


    ¡°And why accept that?¡± Sobue replied. ¡°If there¡¯s a chance to leave, why not take it?¡±


    ¡°Are you even sure everyone wants to leave?¡±


    ¡°Well, we all took a vote, and it was pretty much unanimous.¡±


    I found that surprising. I was sure that at least some of them would want to stay behind, especially the older ones.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong if I ask them myself, right?¡±


    ¡°I guess not?¡± Sobue responded.


    Thank you.¡± I replied as I rolled over to Oyakawa, who had a rock¡ªpresumably Kouji¡ªlodged into the hole of her pendant.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d want to leave.¡± I asked her while she was moving.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯d been wanting to travel for a while now.¡± She began to explain. ¡°And I haven''t been able to move around much since, well, even back in Japan, after my body began to slow down.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Besides, someone has to look after this little one.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Kouji asked, suddenly getting up from the little hole inside Oyakawa¡¯s pendant.


    ¡°Yes, you, Kouji-kun,¡± she giggled. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to get out soon. I won¡¯t be able to keep you in there once we start heading uphill.¡±


    ¡°Ok. Good night!¡± He said, laying back down. Of course, none of us were actually able to sleep, but that was beside the point.


    ¡°It''s nice to be able to see children every now and again when you get older.¡± Oyakawa stated. ¡±So you can remember what it was like to be young.¡±


    ¡°I can see that.¡±


    ¡°Would you like to join us?¡± Oyakawa asked.


    I thought for a moment. The offer was tempting, but¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have some stuff to do.¡±


    ¡°I had a feeling that was the case.¡± Oyakawa responded. ¡°Still, it was good to talk with you for one last time.¡±


    I paused for a moment. Though I was disappointed, I didn¡¯t want to show it.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I eventually said. ¡°It was good to talk with you too.¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re going to get back on our way.¡± Oyakawa said. ¡°I¡¯m sure that the others would like to say goodbye to you as well.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, Kazuki!¡± Aikawa¡¯s voice shouted from behind me, addressing me by my given name rather than my family name.


    ¡°Uh, hey, Aikawa-san.¡± I said, rolling over to him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry!¡± He said. ¡°Just call me Reiji.¡±


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t even been a day since we met.¡±


    ¡°It''s been long enough for me,¡± he responded. Well, if he insisted.


    ¡°Ok then, Reiji, I was wondering why you wanted to leave.¡±


    ¡°Well, I''d been hoping to see my drinking buddies again after the past few months.¡± He said.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    I caught something interesting in what he had just said¡ªthat he had been here for a few months. As for me, I had been in this world for about a year or so, and I knew Sobue had been here for longer, though I wasn¡¯t sure exactly how long.


    ¡°Do you know how long everyone else has been here?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I thought all of us answered already.¡± Reiji remarked. ¡°Oh, wait! You weren¡¯t with us for that part. Why don¡¯t you ask around? See what everyone has to say?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just tell me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to.¡± He responded.


    ¡°Fine.¡±


    I went over to Mashita, who was moving ahead with the rock that he was with earlier.


    ¡°Sorry to interrupt whatever you¡¯re doing, but I wanted to know something.¡±


    ¡°WHAT?¡± The other rock spoke. ¡°Could you say that again?¡±


    ¡°I think he means me.¡± Mashita stated.


    ¡°Yeah, you,¡± I replied. ¡°Anyways, I was wondering how long you have been here, as a rock in this world.¡±


    ¡°Well, it''s been five years at this point,¡± he answered.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    I was shocked. ¡°Five years?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Mashita replied. ¡°Five long, excruciating years.¡±


    ¡°Well, it was two years for me.¡± Someone else chimed in.


    ¡°Four years!¡± said another.


    ¡°Three!¡± I heard Kouji¡¯s voice claim, much to my surprise.


    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± I said to Kouji while he was jumping out of Oyakawa. ¡°Were you one year old when you got here? Or are you seven years old now?¡±


    ¡°Ummmmm¡­ One, two, three, four, five. Then one, two. Is that one or seven?¡±


    Regardless of his age, it seemed that math was something he was still learning.


    ¡°Seven,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Oh, okay!¡± Kouji exclaimed. ¡°Seven!¡±


    I was horrified. That child spent nearly as much time stuck here as he had spent living back on Earth. The thought pained me, and I didn¡¯t want to make things even worse by keeping him here longer.


    I looked at everyone else, thinking about all the time that they spent here and all the years they had lost. As much as I didn''t want to admit it, it was clear that we were headed on different paths. They all had lives they needed to live, and if they wanted to go home, then who was I to stop them?


    ¡°Ok then,¡± I said to everyone. ¡°To all of you, good luck on your journey, wherever it may lead you.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye!¡± They all shouted back to me as they began to head up the slope leading to the main road.


    <hr>


    Though I had only known them for less than a day, seeing them leave was still tough to watch. So instead, I went towards the river, now that I could actually gauge the colors. In front of me, I could see the murky blue waters of the river, with trees adorned with luscious green leaves on both sides of it. To my left was a bridge made of brown wood, while in the distance, I could see the whites of snow-capped peaks. Lastly, above all of this was the clear blue sky. It had been a while since I had seen anything like this, the last time being at the lake prior to when it was destroyed by that ¡®hero¡¯.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I heard Yabuki¡¯s voice shout. ¡°You¡¯re in the way!¡±


    I looked behind me and saw who I presumed to be Yabuki lounging on the riverbank. Perhaps he forgot to leave with the others?


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to head up with the rest of them?¡±


    ¡°Why should I?¡± He responded. ¡°I¡¯ve got the oceanfront property I¡¯ve always wanted!¡±


    ¡°It''s a river.¡±


    ¡°Close enough!¡± he retorted.


    I looked over to the slope. The group was making their way up at this point, and they were probably too far away for them to hear me. What luck! The only one of them who stayed behind was the one I liked the least.


    Deciding to ignore Yabuki, I instead looked back at the water and remembered that he technically wasn¡¯t the only one who had stayed behind. So, before heading back to the girl, I figured there was no harm in looking around for that other rock again.


    I went up to the water¡¯s edge, only to pause when I got there. Even though I had just been in the water, it seemed my fear had yet to go away. But since I had just gotten out, I was sure I could do it again. So, after another moment of pause, I shuffled into the river.


    The water was murky at first when I got in, but it seemed to clear up after a few moments. I looked around the riverbank, but the rock was nowhere to be seen. Undeterred, I continued wobbling down the riverbank, moving toward the area where I had seen him before, near the tree.


    It wasn¡¯t long before I reached the pit where I had last seen him, with tree roots dangling from above. I couldn¡¯t make anything out at first when I looked down into the pit. But I then heard a voice coming from the abyss, perfectly intelligible even beneath the watery depths. Despite this, it was still a little bit faint, so I leaped down toward its source. And after I landed, I saw the rock, counting to himself near a submerged tree root. He was somewhere in the hundreds at this point, not that it really mattered. To watch him continue to do this was saddening, especially since he was now able to do otherwise.


    I went up to him, hoping that this time things would turn out differently.


    ¡°You know, it''s okay to leave if you want to. You don¡¯t have to live like this anymore.¡±


    But he continued to ignore me. Unfortunately, things were not off to a great start. But despite this, I tried again.


    ¡°What¡¯s the point of all of this?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯re only hurting yourself. Why waste a second chance?¡±


    ¡°A second chance?¡± He began to speak. ¡°Let me tell you something: I did not spend a decade as a rock only for this to be my second chance. Now for the last time, go away.¡±


    I watched as he resumed counting to himself, starting at one once again. I did what I could, but at this point, it was probably best for me to leave. And so I made my way back to shore. However, before I resurfaced, I looked back for a moment, hoping that perhaps he would change his mind.


    <hr>


    After I finished getting out of the water, I turned towards the woods, ready to head back to the girl. However, I was interrupted by the sound of a splash of sorts coming from the water. I looked back, thinking that perhaps he had gotten out of the river. But all I could see when I turned were some fading ripples in the water, right next to the tree. However, it was difficult to discern any details from where I was, so I went over to the area to get a better look.


    I didn¡¯t see much at first when I looked at the water. But after a few moments, I began to see a patch of dust starting to accumulate on the water¡¯s surface, and as it grew, I began to see small particles of rock scattered throughout it. I quickly realized¡ªto my horror¡ªthat these particles had come from the rock that I had just spoken to. But how did this happen to him? Did something¡ªor someone¡ªkill him?


    I looked to my right and saw the tree I had talked with earlier, still standing next to the water. Maybe she had something to do with what happened. After all, it was her roots that I saw under the water. Suspecting the worst, I went over to her, looking for some answers.


    ¡°Greetings, little one.¡± The tree spoke to me as I approached her trunk.


    ¡°Hello,¡± I responded. ¡°There¡¯s something important I need to ask you.¡±


    ¡°What is it you want to ask?¡± The tree responded.


    I paused for a moment, thinking carefully about what to say. If what I feared was true, then this tree could kill me at any given moment.


    ¡°There was another rock down at the bottom of the water.¡± I said. ¡°He looked very similar to me. By any chance, did you see what happened to him?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± The tree paused. ¡°I don¡¯t recall seeing any rocks down there, not that I¡¯m even able to see down there to begin with.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but feel skeptical about her response, recalling how the tree reacted to Yabuki bumping into one of her roots not that long ago. Regardless of whether the tree was relying on touch or sight, it was clear that she was able to use her roots to sense her surroundings. I looked toward the water, and I saw the tree¡¯s roots submerged underneath, just as they were when I last saw the rock. It was clear that she was using them for something, and with this in mind, I continued my interrogation.


    ¡°What about this?¡± I asked, hopping onto one of her roots.


    ¡°Oh, that tickles!¡± The tree giggled for a moment, shaking me off of her root and onto the ground nearby.


    ¡°Sorry about that.¡± The tree apologized while I regained my bearings. ¡°My roots can be sensitive.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± I responded. ¡°Anyways, I was wondering what those roots are doing under the water.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Well,¡± The tree began to say, ¡°I was just getting some extra water. After all, during this drought, we trees need all the water we can get, even if doing so can be¡± She lifted a bloated root out of the water. ¡°Suffocating¡­¡±


    I looked at the root. Unfortunately, if there was any direct evidence on that root of what remained of the rock, it had probably washed off at this point. I wasn¡¯t having much luck with the tree, and I began to wonder if I would find some answers in the riverbed instead. So, I decided to go into the water again, for what I hoped would be the last time in a long while.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case.¡± I began to say. ¡°I¡¯ll just go into the water to check myself.¡±


    I turned toward the river and leaped, falling into the water. But before I could enter the water, I was stopped midair as the tree wrapped one of her roots around me and lifted me up in front of her. I tried to break free, but her grip was too strong.


    ¡°So now what?¡± I asked, facing toward the tree''s trunk. ¡°Are you going to kill me too? Like you did that other rock?¡±


    She paused, momentarily loosening her grip. I began to fall before she caught me again with her root. ¡°Is¡ªis that what you want?¡±


    ¡°What? Why on Earth would you even ask something like that?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± The tree paused, gently placing me back on the ground. ¡°He did.¡± The tree pointed one of her roots toward the river while twisting her upper half in the opposite direction.


    I looked toward the water and at the rock¡¯s remains floating on its surface. Unless the tree was still lying to me, then she was implying that the rock had¡­ Oh dear...

 Chapter 17: The Mind is a Terrible Place to Be

    Death¡­ Out of all the things he could¡¯ve done, he chose death.


    If it was true that he made that choice, then it was disheartening, to say the least. To see a second chance end so soon.


    I remained still as I watched his remains. And as I did so, I began to wonder what would happen to him. Would his soul ascend to a higher plane? Or would he end up right back over here to endure the whole thing all over again? I didn¡¯t know for sure, and for some strange reason, as I looked at the rock¡¯s remains, part of me wanted to find out for myself.


    I paused. I¡¯d often had thoughts like this over the past year¡ªof all the ways to destroy a rock¡ªof all the ways to put me out of my misery. It was one of the things that kept me occupied during my time at the lake. I had assumed those thoughts would go away after what happened a couple days ago. So then why was I still having them?


    Why did I still want to die?


    No! Calm down. Calm down. There was no reason to worry about thoughts. They come and go. What¡¯s the point in dwelling on them beyond that? Besides, I had too much I needed to do anyway. So¡ªso many things to do. But would any of it actually matter? How could I be sure that all those other trapped souls wouldn¡¯t turn out like the trees? Or worse.


    I once again looked at the rock¡¯s remains.


    No, he made that choice, not me. But then why did I feel like this was my fault? No, I did the best that I could, right? But I hadn¡¯t seen this coming, and now it was too late to do anything to reverse it.


    So what could I do now? I paused. Were there any signs that I had missed elsewhere?


    I couldn¡¯t think of anything at first. But then I began to think about the last time I spoke with the others. As I thought back, it quickly became clear that there was potentially a sense of finality in that conversation. I also recalled Oyakawa mentioning that this would be the last time that we would speak, and the rock had said something similar when I spoke with him. With all that in mind, could that mean that they were planning to¡ªno, they couldn¡¯t be planning to do that, could they? But did I really want to take any chances? I looked down at the rock. Perhaps it wouldn¡¯t hurt to check up on them.


    But first, I looked at the rock¡¯s remains again. As I did so, I tried to think of one last thing to say. But in the end, I could only say one thing: ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    <hr>


    After a few more moments, I turned away from the rock and turned towards the slope. It shouldn¡¯t be too difficult to get up there, right? For a moment, I considered asking the trees for help, but with everything that had just happened, I didn¡¯t think they would be of any help. So with that, I decided it was best to make the climb myself.


    I hopped away from the tree and towards the slope leading to the road. With the paint off of me, it was far easier to see, meaning I had no trouble making out any exposed ledges that I could use to get up. Getting up there, however, was a different matter, but it was something that I knew I had to do. I couldn¡¯t have anyone else die under my watch; I couldn¡¯t have any more failings on my conscience.


    I leaped up exposed ledge after exposed ledge until I reached the top of the slope, which had the road going across it. The road was unpaved yet smooth at the same time. It looked just like the most barren parts of the soil, such as at the clearing where the girl was. There were some clumps of grass on my sides that towered above me, similar to how a tree would back when I was human. And speaking of trees¡­


    I looked behind me and toward the trees on the riverbank. Funnily enough, even from up here, the trees at the riverbank still towered above me. However, at my size, pretty much everything around me appeared to be gigantic.


    I still couldn¡¯t see much from where I was, so I went onto the road itself to get a better look at my surroundings. After I got to the middle of the road, I began to look around.


    To my right, I could see the bridge, which seemed to simply lead to more forest. It was possible that the road took a turn beyond the bridge, but I couldn¡¯t tell for sure. Regardless, I couldn¡¯t see the others on the bridge itself. Was it possible they jumped off of it? But if they did, I would have seen them fall, unless they did so while I was underwater with that other rock. I shuddered for a moment, recalling what had just happened to him.


    But at the same time, how could I be sure I didn¡¯t want that as well? It would be easy, right, to just end it all right here and now. It would be quick, easy, and painless. I began to lean forward in the direction of the bridge, only to stop myself partway through. I needed to get back to what I was doing; there¡¯s too much at stake to be distracted.


    I turned the other way, trying to shake away those thoughts. From here, I could see the road heading into town. The town walls that I had seen a few days ago were barely jutting out from the distance. It was possible the walls were only a kilometer away, which was surprisingly close, all things considered. The road itself seemed to have a gentle incline towards the city. And along each side were narrow strips of grass and shrubs going all the way to the town. I froze. There were probably thousands of them. How long would it take to free them all? And that was even if I could convince the girl to do so. At the same time, those grasses are plants, just like the trees. If they were all reanimated, would anything actually improve? Or would things just stay as they had before? Would I be making any meaningful difference, or was I just wasting everyone¡¯s time?


    I stopped myself again. Why did I keep getting distracted? I just needed to look for the others; that¡¯s all I needed to do. They had to be around somewhere. I looked ahead at the road, but to my chagrin, I couldn¡¯t see them anywhere.


    With that in mind, where could they have gone? It hadn''t been very long since we had said goodbye, so they couldn¡¯t have gone far. Maybe they were among the grasses and shrubs alongside the road. That seemed reasonable to assume, and they would probably be safe there as well, unless some wayward vehicle veered off course. If they fell¡ªwell, I¡¯d already survived a fall myself, and the trees there probably didn¡¯t pose any sort of threat either. So had I just been making a big deal out of nothing?


    No, there had to be something to this. Otherwise, what would I do if there was nothing¡ªif all of this was for nothing? I thought about the rock again. No! Just keep looking. Keep looking. I rolled over to the right side of the shrubs as I mumbled to myself, veering toward the direction of the town. This wasn¡¯t something I had put any active thought into, as my focus was mainly on looking for the others, even as this rolling was making it harder for me to see around me.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Eventually, I stopped in the middle of the road again. I looked in the direction of the town. The town walls appeared closer than before, and I had probably gone a few hundred meters in distance, more than enough to have surpassed the others, even with their head start, especially since, as a group, they were probably going a lot slower. I called out, hoping that they would hear me if they were near, but I heard nothing in response. And I didn¡¯t see them on the road in this area either.


    Were they gone? No, they couldn¡¯t be, not so soon. I just had to keep looking. But where? Maybe in the grass on the other side? I hadn¡¯t looked there yet. In any case, I needed to find them. I had to find them.


    I rolled onto the other side of the road and back the way I had just come, once again rolling through patches of grass, once again hoping that no more unwanted thoughts would distract me. But after a few more minutes, the shrubs gave way to open air. I stopped when this occurred, quickly realizing that I had ended up back where I started, right next to the bridge.


    I paused. Maybe they went the other way, past the bridge. I hadn¡¯t seen them go across before, but they might have done so while I was underwater with that rock. In any case, I figured it wouldn¡¯t hurt to check in that direction, and as such, I began to make my way across the bridge. However, as I did so, I noticed how open this bridge felt, as in, whatever railings were there wouldn''t do anything to stop me¡ªor really not any of the others¡ªfrom just falling off. But what was there to fall into besides water? The only island I saw was when I was back at the riverbank, toward my right at the time. Once again, this was probably nothing. But still, there was nothing wrong with making sure, right?


    Once I reached the middle of the bridge, I stopped and began to look around. I couldn''t see where the river began or ended, though I couldn''t see far to begin with due to the trees along both sides of the bridge. But this wasn¡¯t the main thing I wanted to figure out. Instead, I looked down at the river below, only to see uninterrupted water, meaning that if they were looking to kill themselves, then the river probably wasn¡¯t how they would have attempted to do so.


    Still, if that was the case, then what happened to the others? Where exactly did they go? I could find that out if I kept moving forward. Just keep moving forward. I rushed across the bridge¡ªtowards the shrubs on the other side¡ªas I tried to shake away the storm of thoughts occupying my mind. However, not long after I passed the bridge, everything suddenly began to rush around me. It lasted for a few seconds before the motion stopped. And when it did, I found myself surrounded by more trees, with the river just behind them.


    <hr>


    As I looked at the trees, I wondered if they could move, like the ones on the other side of the river. To find out, I went over to one of the tree''s roots and rolled over it. The tree, however, remained completely still. It was possible, however, that this was only the case for one of the trees. So I tried another, and the same thing happened. It looked like in this area, all of those trees were still trapped, though, to be fair, I could probably say the same for the trees back where I was before.


    I looked around, seeing the slope again to my right. I was about to try and head back up to look for the others again, but I paused. Why was I doing this? It hadn¡¯t even been a day since I met them, so why had I gotten so attached? Was it because I saw myself in them? People that I could relate to and who had likely experienced the same things as me.


    Even so, I could¡¯ve joined them when they were leaving, but I hadn¡¯t. And now they¡¯re¡ªno! There¡¯s still time; I could still reach them, but even if I did, how could I be sure I wouldn¡¯t just find more dead bodies, like that rock? No, that¡¯s ridiculous! They¡¯re fine; they¡¯re fine! Besides, what could even kill them here? I hadn¡¯t seen or heard anything on that road for days, and a fall probably wouldn¡¯t kill any of them, not here at least. They were probably all doing fine, so why was I still feeling worried?


    Then I came to a realization: Was it their lives that I was worried about? Or was it mine?


    Was all of this just an effort to distract myself?


    I tried to force these thoughts away again, but despite my best efforts, they wouldn¡¯t go away. So why was this? Things were supposed to be getting better now, so why were these thoughts stronger than before? Was it because I was still shocked over what happened with that rock? Maybe, but I wasn¡¯t feeling shocked, was I? No, for some strange reason, I felt excited¡ªexcited that I may finally have a way out.


    But why now, of all times? Why now, after everything that happened over the past couple days, am I feeling this way? There was so much I still needed to do as well¡ªso many people to be freed. But at the same time, I realized¡ªI wouldn¡¯t be doing any of it, would I? No, all I would be doing was guiding the one who could. And even that¡ªI knew¡ªwould only be a temporary arrangement¡ªjust until she was doing this on her own, without any deception on my part. And once that happened, we¡¯d probably go our separate ways, as I¡¯d probably just be dead weight otherwise.


    I didn¡¯t feel completely ready for when such a moment came, which may be why I still felt nervous about heading back. After all, these past couple days were the only time in the past year that I felt like I had a purpose¡ªthe only time I felt being here in this world was worthwhile. What would happen when I was no longer needed? What would I do?


    My original plan for what to do after this happened was to wander around this world while things improved in the background. As I was still stuck as a rock, there wasn¡¯t much else I was able to do to help anyway.


    But since that rock died¡ªand since I had an idea of how that rock died¡ªI now had a tangible way to get out of this world if I so wanted to.


    But all of that could wait, right? I still had to check on the girl first, and I had spent enough time over here as is. I looked at the slope behind me. Unlike before, I didn¡¯t see a clear way up, not without falling over. The tree branches were too high to leap on as well. I could go through the water, though that wasn¡¯t something I particularly wanted to do. On the other hand, I recalled the steps I used to get to the bridge on the other side of the riverbank. It was possible there was something similar on this side as well. I would just have to go to the river to do so. I hopped past the surrounding trees and up to the river. And surely enough, there was some exposed earth I could use as steps. However, before I climbed up them, I looked toward the side of the river I was on earlier and at the dozens of trees that had all gathered over there.


    <hr>


    As far as I knew, all those trees had all been reanimated by the same thing¡ªthat thing being that girl¡¯s hand, or whatever she claimed was attached to it. In either case, from how big the clearing was before I encountered her, along with how many trees I saw here, it was clear that they had been brought back before I originally encountered her. And in that case, it was possible that I wasn¡¯t needed for any of this in the first place. And for that matter, it was possible that none of this was something that anyone else wanted either¡ªnot by the trees, not by that rock, and not by the girl who had the means to do so. There were the people that I helped so far¡ªand I was glad I had¡ªbut it¡¯s not like they stuck around either.


    So in the end, that only left me¡ªpushing a half-measure that no one wanted for a problem that I otherwise could not solve, all in the hopes of convincing myself that my existence was worth more than it actually was and that I actually had a purpose other than staying still and doing nothing for the rest of my miserable existence.


    So should I just go back to that? Do what the trees did and act like nothing happened? Is that what I wanted to do? I paused to weigh my options, but before I could make a decision, I suddenly began to hear the sound of clopping hooves, though I wasn¡¯t sure exactly where it was coming from. I couldn¡¯t see it from the other side of the bridge, so it must have been coming from behind, which could only mean¡­


    I turned toward the slope next to the bridge and began climbing up as fast as I could, hopping from exposed rock to exposed rock. And sure enough, when I reached the top and looked to my right, I saw a horse-drawn vehicle headed in my direction.


    I had a feeling of who was inside it, and if I was correct, then perhaps there was one last thing that I could do on my way out.

 Chapter 18: All The Best Laid Plans

    I watched as the carriage drew closer, seeing a man in the front driving it¡ªor at least making the two horses pull it. From what I could see, the carriage itself didn¡¯t seem to be moving quickly; in fact, it seemed to be moving quite slowly. But even with this in mind, the carriage looked to be moving faster than I could manage. And as a result, I probably only had one chance to get onto it.


    Still, it was difficult to gauge a place to hop onto due to the horses blocking my view. I considered trying any possible steps into the entrance, but if there wasn¡¯t one, then I probably wouldn¡¯t have a chance to try again. It might be easier to just try to get onto the carriage first and work from there.


    As the carriage drew closer, I noticed a little bar¡ªnext to the body of the carriage¡ªthat I could hop on. But unlike the ledges I had leaped onto prior, this was a moving target. I would have to time things just right if I wanted to get on.


    I turned toward my front and remained still as the hooves continued to get louder. Then, I saw the first row of hooves pass by me, and a few seconds later, the second row followed. And when I saw the bar entering my periphery, I jumped.


    Unfortunately, my jump turned out to be a little premature, as when I landed, I did so on the edge of the bar, causing me to begin to fall off. Thankfully, a backwards kick from one of the horses pushed me back upright. After all this, I looked toward the carriage driver looming in my periphery. I waited for a moment to see if he noticed my arrival. But if he had, then he wasn¡¯t showing it, as his gaze remained turned toward the road ahead.


    <hr>


    As the carriage began to cross the bridge, I thought about what to do next. Before, when that boy killed the dragon, I was helpless to do anything. But now I was in a position where I could actually do something, though the question remained as to what.


    I looked toward my right and saw a step leading to a curtained entrance¡ªone that was only a few leaps away. It would be so easy for me to just go in there, attack them, and die in the process. But at the same time, if I did that, what would actually change apart from my own demise? And as much as I wanted to die, I didn¡¯t see much use in dying in vain.


    Another option was to somehow get that carriage to fall off the bridge¡ªor off one of the slopes. The impact would probably be enough to kill all of them, even from just a few meters above. But if I carried through with such an act¡ªmurder specifically¡ªhow would that make me any better than them? I paused, trying to clear my thoughts. Before I did anything too hasty, it would probably be a good idea to check if they were even on this carriage in the first place.


    I hopped over to the step to listen in on whoever was inside. However, I was unable to hear anything inside the carriage other than muffled voices. Looking up at the curtain, I began to wonder if I should go inside to check. Doing so would be risky, but I reasoned that a little peak probably wouldn¡¯t hurt.


    I leaped up onto the ledge and carefully scooted through the curtain to see what was inside. Unfortunately, I was unable to see much. Most of the carriage¡¯s interior was in a blind spot above me, and the tightness of the space certainly wasn¡¯t helping either. However, I was able to make out the sound of voices, and it wasn¡¯t long before I recognized who they belonged to. And sure enough, it was them.


    ¡°I can''t believe we slept in for a whole day.¡± I heard the boy say.


    ¡°I know,¡± the elfgirl said from nearby. ¡°It was nice.¡±


    ¡°Speak for yourself,¡± the demongirl muttered from behind them.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The wide-eyed girl asked, also from behind.


    ¡°Did any of you feel like we were being watched?¡± The demongirl asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly!¡± The wide-eyed girl replied. ¡°Who would do that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± the demongirl responded. ¡°It¡¯s just a feeling.¡±


    ¡°Why did we have to leave?¡± The elfgirl interjected. ¡°The beds were comfy!¡±


    ¡°We stayed for long enough already.¡± The boy replied.


    The elfgirl grumbled. ¡°That was our only break in months.¡±


    ¡°But who would want a break from all the fun we¡¯re having?¡± the wide-eyed girl responded.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± the elfgirl began to say. ¡°Who would¡­¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± the boy declared in response.


    ¡°Just let me get some more sleep,¡± the elfgirl grumbled to the others. ¡°Please don¡¯t disturb me.¡±


    I was about to head back out when I heard some shouting in the back. Immediately following this, I saw a blur of motion above in my periphery. And when it stopped, I saw part of a blue tail wagging above me. I groaned internally¡ªthey still had the kid with them. I had hoped that she had gotten free from their clutches beforehand, but that was clearly not the case. It was probably a good idea to get her out of harm''s way before I did anything else. After all, this was a child, not old enough to know better, unlike the other members of that group. However, if I attempted to get her out, I ran the risk of alerting the rest of the group in the process.


    I could also try to warn her from a distance, since her giant cat ears might be better at picking up sounds than the ears of the people she was with. On the other hand, I also remembered seeing what looked like a pair of human ears from behind that catgirl¡¯s hair. Because of this, I was unsure as to which pair of ears was actually real, or even if both of them were real, but I digress.


    Regardless, I had no guarantees that any warning I tried to put out wouldn¡¯t also be heard by the rest of them. Because of this, it might be easier to use someone else as a liaison. I didn¡¯t want to use any members of that group, for their hands were still drenched in blood, as far as I was concerned. However, I then recalled the carriage driver. And judging by what I had seen from him before, it was possible that he was sympathetic, though this was something I wasn¡¯t sure of. Either way, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to check.


    <hr>


    I backed away, going underneath the curtain, until I was outside once again. At this point, I was just about level with the woods, probably a hundred meters or so from the bridge. I could see the bases of some trees, though not much beyond that. In fact, it looked like the trees were forming a wall of sorts, planted in such a way that it was difficult¡ªif not impossible¡ªto look past them.


    Putting this aside, I hopped back to the area of the carriage that I started at. I turned toward him and thought about what to say. I wasn¡¯t sure how he would react to me, but given the company that he was already harboring, as well as the world we were in, I doubted he would freak out too much.


    At the same time, I couldn¡¯t be sure that he¡¯d even be receptive to what I was trying to do. If he was loyal to that group, he probably wouldn¡¯t be sympathetic to my concerns. Additionally, since my vision was still covered in paint when I previously saw him, it was possible that I had seen signs that weren¡¯t actually there. Still, there wasn¡¯t any use in not trying, and it¡¯s not like I had much to lose anyway.


    I hopped over to a ledge that was level with where he was sitting. Unless I chose to jump onto him¡ªin which case he¡¯d most likely just shake me off¡ªit didn¡¯t look like I could go any higher. And as a result, I had to figure out another way to get his attention.


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    I considered making some noise, but the horses would likely drown out any sounds I could make. It might be a good idea to make the carriage stop first¡ªthat would probably quiet things down enough for me to speak with him. I wasn¡¯t sure how I could, however. I probably couldn¡¯t jump high enough to reach his eyes, and the horses were still far louder than me. If I jumped onto him, that could burn any bridges I wanted to build, and it would probably be ineffective.


    But then I looked toward the ropes he was holding. It was low enough that I could jump to it, and it was high enough to potentially be within his eyeshot. And if I was heavy enough, that could certainly help as well. However, since the ropes were far apart, I would have to aim for just one. And when I landed, I would almost certainly fall due to my width. Furthermore, I had no guarantees that would be enough, even if I brought the rope down with me. And even so, that could very well backfire as well. This probably wasn¡¯t the best option.


    I paused to think about what to do. What to do, what to do. Should I wait until town?


    While it seemed like a good idea on the surface, it probably wasn''t the best idea. It was far easier to confront them when they were in a confined space like this. And as for the catgirl, though it would be far easier for her to hide from them in that town, from what I had seen, the people there seemed to be quite seedy. Probably not the best place to have a child running around.


    I wasn¡¯t sure what to do, so I paused for a moment, listening to the horses. Interestingly, they seemed to be moving in a rhythmic motion, like the marching band of a parade: One, two; One, two; One, two; and so on. Perhaps I could use that to my advantage. If I timed my jumps just right, maybe I could get him to hear me.


    I leapt down onto the seat itself, next to where he was sitting physically. That way, when I jumped, I would be near his ears.


    And after this, I listened to the horses and tried a test jump in the moment that the horses were silent. I leaped up, reaching his ear. But when I did, one of the horses was taking a step, which would probably be enough to block any sound I made. Subsequently, I fell back down, making an audible thump as I landed.


    I suspected that the thump may have been loud enough for the driver to hear, and as I looked up, I saw him staring down at me. Was this my chance?


    However, he subsequently moved the rope that was in one of his hands to the other. And the instant he did so, I leaped toward the floor. And as I was falling in that split second, I looked up and saw a hand swinging above me, its grip beginning to close. When I did land, there was another thump, and in that moment I looked for a place to hide. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t see a place I could go underneath; there was essentially just a wall there.


    And so, I went back over to where I started, where I hoped that I was out of his range. However, as I looked back, it seemed that the carriage driver wasn¡¯t giving me any more thought. Instead, he resumed holding the ropes with each of his hands while the horses continued to move forward.


    <hr>


    I considered trying again, but given how he responded the first time, I had doubts that a second try would yield any better results. As long as the horses were moving, he wouldn¡¯t be able to hear me, at least not to the extent I was hoping for. And even if he could hear me, given how quickly he tried to grab me before, I had doubts that he would listen to me either.


    After all, who would listen to what a rock has to say?


    And with all this in mind, I thought about what to do. I turned toward the nearby ¡®straps¡¯ connecting the top and bottom of the carriage. Maybe I should just get this over with: Just break the straps and go down with the ship when it sinks. After all, there wasn¡¯t much else I could do while I was still like this. I thought about the catgirl. Should I try to get her out before I do this? Perhaps not. If she was as nimble as an actual cat, then she should be fine regardless.


    I focused on the strap closest to me. Interestingly, rather than being hooked or bolted into it, the straps looked like they were physically fused to the rest of the carriage. It was weird, but it didn¡¯t seem to be making much of an impact on things, so I put it aside for the time being.


    So instead, I leaped toward the strap. But when I impacted it, all of my momentum was halted, and I was immediately ejected back onto the bar. I looked up at it again. Maybe I aimed at the wrong spot. I looked and saw a thinner area. I leaped at it, only to once again be flung back to the bar. I tried again several more times, but the result remained the same. In the end, the strap looked to be too elastic to break, and it was probably the same for the others too.


    So what could I do? I looked towards the curtains, which remained still even as the carriage moved. Should I just go in and confront them myself? It would be a suicide mission, but it¡¯s not like I was intending for this to be anything else. Additionally, even if I wasn¡¯t able to do something substantial with my final moments, perhaps I could at least make them quick.


    And with that, I began to leap over to the curtains, ready to accept my fate. But once I reached the ledge where the curtains were, I stopped. For a moment, I wondered whether or not I should proceed. Did I really want to do this? Well, there wasn¡¯t much else I could accomplish here¡ªcertainly not like this. With that in mind, I began to scoot my way inside.


    But as soon as I went through the curtain, I bumped into a white mass, with toes peeking above it¡ªa sandal. I looked up and saw the catgirl staring down at me. And strangely, I also noticed some bandages on her forehead. I did not recall seeing them on her when I last saw that group, so it must have happened after. In any case, it looked like¡ªwhether by accident or not¡ªthat this group had gotten that child into harm''s way. And before I met my end, I still wanted to get her out of here and somewhere safe. So as I continued looking up at her, I began to ¡®speak¡¯, for lack of a better word.


    ¡°Young girl, For your own safety, please get out of here now.¡±


    The catgirl¡¯s cat ears twitched as I said this, and there was a moment of silence. But then she suddenly began to cry, and loudly at that.


    ¡°Nooo!¡± She bawled, gigantic fountains of tears streaming from her face. ¡°Don¡¯t take me away!¡±


    I paused. Did I come across too strongly?


    ¡°My apologies,¡± I began to say. ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°Is something wrong, Kit-chan?¡± The boy interjected before I could continue.


    The catgirl turned away from me and leaped onto the boy¡¯s lap.


    ¡°I don¡¯t wanna go!¡± she sobbed. ¡°I don''t wanna go! I wanna stay here with you!¡±


    ¡°Who said anything about you leaving?¡± the boy asked.


    ¡°Down there!¡± She cried, pointing down at me. ¡°That meanie wants to take me from yooz!¡±


    I saw the boy looking down toward me. Was this it? Was my time in this world finally coming to an end?


    However, the boy turned his attention back to the catgirl.


    ¡°Kit-chan,¡± The boy began to say. ¡°That¡¯s just a rock,¡±


    Following this, I noticed one of the catgirl¡¯s fists clench.


    ¡°Make it go away, master-sama!¡± She began to shout, getting even closer to his face. ¡°Pweeeease?¡±


    There was a pause.


    ¡°Aww, Kit-chan,¡± he chuckled. ¡°You know that I can¡¯t resist when you make a face like that!¡± I couldn¡¯t see what kind of face he was referring to, but I digress.


    ¡°Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!¡± the catgirl squealed in response to the boy before laying on his lap, staring directly at me, as her pupils narrowed and a smile appeared on her face.


    This whole situation was strange, to say the least. But at the same time, this is what I wanted, right? To die a meaningful death. But for some reason, as the boy aimed his finger toward me, I panicked and quickly backed out of the carriage amidst a blinding flash of light.


    <hr>


    For a moment, everything remained bright. Was it all over? But after a few seconds, my vision began to return, and I began to make out the outside world. And from that, it appeared that I was back on the step again.


    Though my vision was still brightened, I looked up to the ledge of the carriage, from which I was able to make out a tiny bit of smoke. If I had waited just a split second longer, I would have bit the dust. But then, I saw the curtains begin to move. Once again overtaken by panic, I rolled down to the ground, quickly darting underneath the middle of the carriage, where I would likely not be seen.


    However, I quickly realized that I would probably be visible after the carriage finished passing over me. With this in mind, I continued moving forward, heading toward the grass. But as I was about to reach it, I was interrupted by one of the back wheels passing by me. Fortunately, this interruption only lasted momentarily, and as soon as the wheel passed me, I leaped into the grass. Once I did, I remained still, simply looking back as the carriage slowly disappeared from view.

 Chapter 19: Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires

    While huddling within the grasses, I began to reflect. Why did I flee? I wanted to die with dignity, to leave this world quickly and painlessly, and I was in a position where I could¡¯ve done so. So why did I back away? Was I just a coward? Maybe so, and because of that, I had let a way out of this place slip away from me. And unfortunately, it was now too late to go back and try again.


    I paused as I thought about this. On the other hand, it probably wouldn¡¯t hurt to check and make sure.


    I couldn¡¯t see much from where I was due to the grass blocking my view. Additionally, there was a constant ringing sound around me since I escaped the carriage, which made it difficult to hear anything else.


    So to get a better look, I moved a little bit into the road, just enough to be able to peek towards either side of myself. Once I got far enough, I took a glance toward my right. And as I did, I was able to see the back of the carriage in the distance. By now, it was too far away for me to reach, even if I tried. But with that in mind, what else could I do?


    If I wasn¡¯t willing to take a chance at leaving, then what could I do while I was here?


    Continuing to look around, I was able to make out what looked to be empty space hidden behind some trees, not too far off to my left. I paused, recognizing what I was looking at. I¡¯d put that off for a while, hadn¡¯t I? So much had happened in the past hour or so since I had left, and I wasn¡¯t sure whether I should even show myself again. However, I did promise her earlier that I would return. And with that in mind, it probably wouldn¡¯t hurt to say goodbye.


    <hr>


    After I crossed the road, I went up to the top of the ledge, looking down at the forest floor below. The slope was steep and jagged. Though I had done so before, I still had doubts that I could make it down in one piece. How could I be sure I wasn¡¯t just lucky when I fell down the first time?


    My thoughts were interrupted as I began to hear a sound¡ªthe ringing finally beginning to cease. And, to my alarm, the sound I heard was one of crackling. I didn¡¯t know where it was coming from, so I began to look around for a source. And almost immediately, I saw flames on the grass surrounding me. For a moment, I froze. Left unattended, even the tiniest flame can erupt into an inferno. And it was impossible to predict how far it would spread¡ªand who it would affect¡ªin the process. As such, it was better to put it out before it reached that point.


    There wasn¡¯t any water nearby, from what I could tell, so instead I used myself to try and put out the flames. Since I couldn¡¯t feel temperatures, I also didn¡¯t feel any pain while doing this. Fortunately, this seemed to work, as the blazes went away as I smothered them. However, as I went back onto the road, it was clear that at least some damage had been done. In the patch of grass that the fire had burned, not a single grass continued to grow, charred ashes being all that remained.


    I wasn¡¯t exactly sure how this fire had started. After all, things don¡¯t just spontaneously combust. I looked around until I noticed an area on my back side that was glowing white. Did the fire start because of that? And if so, was it possible that I had caused a fire to start on the other side as well?


    To make sure, I looked toward the other side of the road, back to where I previously was. And to my dismay, I was able to see a fire burning. To make matters worse, this fire was even larger than the one I had just put out. I wasn¡¯t sure if I would be able to put this out. But at the same time, I didn¡¯t see anyone else around who would.


    So as quickly as I could¡ªwhich wasn¡¯t all that fast, all things considered¡ªI crossed the road again, back toward where I previously was. I could only hope that I wasn¡¯t too late.


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    Once I made it across, I leaped onto some of the burning grasses, hoping to smother the fires out. This was successful for the shorter grasses. However, this fire had reached the shrubs, which were too tall for me to climb in just one jump.


    Still, I continued. I turned toward the shrub and leaped onto its stem, causing it to fall over as the fire continued to roar. And as this happened, I inched along the stem of the plant, trying to maintain my balance as I did. It wasn¡¯t long before I reached the top of the shrub, where the fire was strongest. And from here, my weight was enough to pin the shrub to the ground. And I stayed on top of it as I tried to smother the flame. This probably wasn¡¯t the best method to put out the fire¡ªespecially since I was still warm¡ªbut my options at the moment were quite limited.


    Fortunately, before long, I was able to extinguish this flame. But afterwards, I was faced with two issues. The first of which were the red splotches that had begun to populate my view, no doubt a consequence of my effort to put out the fire. And unfortunately, these splotches made it more difficult for me to see. But the second issue was far more severe. While I was putting out the fire on this first shrub, the fire continued to spread, growing more and more intense as it did.


    Despite this, however, I wasn¡¯t ready to give up. I turned to another burning shrub and leaped towards it. But this time, I had far less success, and I instead crashed into some burning foliage. And this only served to further cover my view with more splotches. And it wasn''t long before I could barely see anything at all. Still, with what little vision I had left, I looked up. And when I did, I was able to make out a flame interacting with the leaves of one of the trees.


    In desperation, I tried leaping toward the leaves¡ªas high as I could. But it was to no avail; the leaves were far too high for me to reach. And as I fell back to the ground, the last thing I saw before my vision was covered in vibrant red was the leaf beginning to burn.


    <hr>


    After a few moments had passed, I tried getting back up again. However, I was unable to tell whether I actually had, as the sea of red covering my view made it impossible for me to see anything else. Because of this, I was also unable to see the fire, though I could hear it blaring around me as it continued to spread.


    I wondered if there was anything I could still do to put out the fire. However, since I couldn¡¯t see where I was going, I had no idea whether I would actually be putting out the fire. If anything, I¡¯d probably be making things even worse if I ended up causing even more fires.


    I could wait until I cooled off and could see again, although I had no idea how long it would take for that to happen. For all I knew, it was possible that while I was waiting, I would burn away myself. Even still, I wasn¡¯t sure what else I could do. Like this, I was a danger to everyone and everything around me. Whenever I moved, fire would certainly follow. I suppose this is the consequence of sticking myself into situations where my presence clearly wasn¡¯t needed or wanted. In the process, all I did was create even more problems.


    Perhaps it would be for the best if I simply remained still and did absolutely nothing for the time being. I was used to it, at the very least. Besides, so much had happened in the past hour or so. Perhaps what I needed was some form of rest, even if actual sleep wasn¡¯t possible.


    But before I did, I thought back to those I had met and befriended recently: Sobue, Oyakawa, Aikawa, little Kouji, and all the others¡ªeven Yabuki. Hopefully they made it out safely¡ªif they were still around, that is. I also recalled the trees. And as for them¡ªwell, I could take or leave them, if I was being honest. Still, unless the fire makes it to the bridge, they could probably just head over to the other side. I had seen some of them do so earlier.


    And finally¡ªI thought back to the girl in clearing. She seemed nice enough, and I didn¡¯t want her¡ªor any of the others, for that matter¡ªto suffer from my mistakes. Still, there wasn¡¯t much I could do myself, so I could only hope that she had a place to weather the fire. It probably wouldn¡¯t hurt to check when this was over, but until then, I would just have to wait.


    After I finished with my thoughts, I remained still, waiting for myself to cool down and for the inferno to run its course. But I wouldn¡¯t get the chance to do that, for I would soon be interrupted by a familiar voice.

 Chapter 20: An Out of Body Experience

    While I was waiting for my vision to return, I looked at the bright white streak in my view, which was surrounded by a sea of red. Interestingly enough, it almost resembled a sunset, which was something that I hadn¡¯t seen since I was human¡ªback on Earth. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of my location¡ªor because of something else, but I never actually got to see a sunset occur while I was at the lake. Instead, as nighttime came, everything around me simply became darker and darker. Until eventually, it was impossible to see anything at all. Experiencing this was unsettling¡ªto say the least¡ªeven if I did get used to it after a while. Still, it was nice seeing something that at least resembled a sunset, even if it wasn¡¯t under the best circumstances. But I digress.


    <hr>


    I was content to just stare at this streak in my view for a while. However, after a few minutes passed, I suddenly began to hear a voice coming from above. And although I still couldn¡¯t hear much due to the sounds of the fire in the background, I was able to make out enough of the voice to recognize who it belonged to.


    But as I did, I quickly became alarmed. The last time I had heard from that rock was back at the river¡ªjust before he died. I had even seen his dusty corpse floating on the water. So how was it possible that I was hearing his voice again? Was I just hearing things? I wasn¡¯t sure, and although I was curious to find out, I was also aware that we weren¡¯t on the best of terms. With that in mind, it was probably better to just leave him be¡ªthat is, if he was actually here at all. So, I remained still, waiting for the sound of his voice to fade away.


    But that did not happen. And as the minutes passed, his voice continued to linger above me. Was it possible he wanted something from me? Possibly, although I wasn¡¯t sure exactly what. Still, as long as he was here, perhaps it wouldn¡¯t hurt to ask.


    ¡°Excuse me.¡± I began to say, looking up towards where I could hear the voice. ¡°I know you¡¯re near. I can hear your voice. Is there something you want from me?¡±


    But I heard no response as the murmuring continued.


    ¡°Hello?¡± I shouted louder.


    Still no response.


    ¡°I know you can hear me.¡± I said, trying to leap towards him but to no avail. ¡°So if you¡¯re going to be here, could you please re¡ªspond?¡±


    However, as I was continuing to leap, I suddenly found myself looking at¡ªmyself? Or rather, at the rock I had been for the past year. It was still glowing red, save for a bright white streak on one of the sides, bulging slightly in my direction.


    But before I could process any of this, I heard the voice again.


    ¡°It took you long enough to show yourself.¡± I heard the voice say from above, this time directed at me.


    I turned around, only to see a bunch of tiny dust clouds above me, all of which were spinning around a glowing, translucent blue orb in their center. Immediately, I realized what I was looking at. But even still, I was surprised.


    ¡°I¡ª¡± I began to speak. ¡°I thought you were dead.¡±


    ¡°I thought so too,¡± he began to speak, circling around me as he did. ¡°I thought that I was finally free from this wretched existence. That after all this time, I would finally be free from this miserable hellscape. But¡ª¡±he stopped moving¡ª¡°for some reason, I¡¯m still STUCK HERE!¡±


    As he shouted, a burst of wind emanated from him. I looked back, and for a moment, I could see the burning trees sway, their flames blowing as they did. Fortunately, this only lasted for about a second or so before they reverted to their original positions.


    I turned back towards the dust cloud¡ªfor lack of a better way to describe his current form.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that,¡± I began to speak. ¡°But if you can, could you please lower your voice? There¡¯s already enough going on at the moment, and I really don¡¯t want things to get worse.¡±


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    ¡°I am absolutely out of any fucks to give!¡± He shouted back to me. ¡°To you, or to anyone else! So tell me how to get rid of this curse¡ª¡± A purple crackling surged around him¡ª¡°You subjected me to!¡±


    A curse? I wasn¡¯t sure what exactly he was referring to at first. But then I thought back to last night, and things started to make a little more sense. Still, I was confused as to how this was preventing him from leaving. I thought that I was¡ªI stopped myself in the middle of my thoughts. I could worry about all of that later. There was too much going on right now to get distracted. I looked toward the cloud of dust, and I attempted to address his demand, but nothing came to mind. In all honesty, what he was asking for was something that I hadn¡¯t even considered beforehand. And as such, I didn¡¯t have an answer I could give.


    ¡°I¡ª¡± I began to say. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m not sure how to do that. I don''t have any more information on this than you do.¡±


    ¡°Then you shouldn¡¯t have done this to me in the first place.¡±


    I was beginning to get frustrated.


    ¡°Would you have preferred it if I left you in that bag to rot?¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± he replied. ¡°At least then I wouldn¡¯t have had false hope.¡±


    After he finished his sentence, he turned away and began to depart.


    ¡°Wait!¡± I called out. ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    He stopped for a moment as I said this.


    ¡°I¡¯m resolving this myself,¡± was his response before he continued, moving through the air similar to how a jellyfish would through the water.


    <hr>


    As I looked on, I wondered whether I should follow him. I knew it wasn¡¯t my place to intervene¡ªespecially since I had my own problems to deal with. However, I had an idea as to where the cloud of dust was trying to go. And if I was correct, then from what I had seen from the two of them¡ªI feared that this would end very poorly. With that in mind¡ªI realized¡ªI needed to follow behind.


    I looked toward the cloud of dust and moved forward, trying to catch up to him. But to my surprise, I found that I was unable to move. I turned back toward the rock that I had been the past year, its tip somewhat deformed in my direction. Once again, I tried moving away from it, pushing forward as much as I could, but nothing happened. The furthest I could get away from it was about a meter or so, but after that nothing, the rock serving as an anchor to my movements.


    Perhaps I would be able to move around like this with some more practice¡ªif that would even be possible, that is. But for now, there were more pressing matters I had to deal with. Still hoping to catch up with the cloud of dust before things went wrong, I turned back towards myself and looked down towards the rock. Is this how I really wanted to do this? Well, I didn¡¯t have any other options, and¡ªI looked toward the dust cloud as he continued to rise toward the trees¡ªI only had some so much time to spare.


    And with that, I dove into the rock, entering through the streak, and hearing a thump as I did. Gathering my bearings, I looked around, once again completely blind, save for the glowing white streak. However, at least now I had a way to figure out where I was.


    I looked toward the streak in my view, and as I moved toward it, I found myself peaking out once again, though to a much smaller extent. From here, everything around me was still bright. However, I was able to make out some trees ahead of me on the other side of the road¡ªnot a trace of fire on any of them. With an idea of which direction I was facing, I went back inside of myself. Intending to align myself towards the clearing, I began moving along the road, taking a peak every few seconds or so to gather my bearings. While this wasn¡¯t the fastest way of making it down to the clearing¡ªespecially given the circumstances¡ªI felt that this was necessary to do. I was still flammable after all, and if I spent too long amidst the foliage, I may cause additional fires¡ªsomething I wasn¡¯t too keen on doing. In that regard, I was hoping to make as clean of a descent into the clearing as I could.


    <hr>


    After a minute or so of moving along the road. I found myself facing directly across from where the clearing was. And from here, I felt that I was in a good place to make my descent. But before I did, I looked up toward the top of the trees, seeing the dust cloud cresting above them. I was sure I would encounter him again on the other side, but before that could happen, I still had to make it down to the bottom myself. With that in mind, I went back inside myself and prepared to make my way down the slope. However, before I could, I froze. How could I be sure this would go successfully? That I wouldn¡¯t start another fire. After all, the past hour or so had been marked with failure after failure.


    For a moment, I considered praying. However, I quickly pushed that thought aside. From my time at the lake, I knew that any prayer I tried would just fall upon deaf ears. At the moment I only had myself, but perhaps that¡¯s all I needed to make it down.


    With this in mind, facing towards the clearing, I began to roll forward. And I didn¡¯t stop, rolling more and more, until suddenly, the sounds of bumping and clattering began to erupt all around me. Once again I was rolling down the slope, quickly making my way to the bottom.