Vol 1 Chapter 17 (2/2)

“Fufufu. Now that we know where they’re headed, let’s keep going, Touya-kun.”

“All right, let’s go. Don’t wander off anywhere strange anymore.”

“I get it already.”

Though they climbed the slope with no destination in mind, the two of them suddenly regained their vitality.

After carefully climbing the scree slope, which became rapidly steeper halfway up, they arrived at a small level plain that seemed to have been made either from the mountain slope cracking in half for some reason or from a landslide.

The first thing they saw there was the goat herd from earlier.

“……Ah…!”

And when they saw another silhouette there further back, the two of them stiffened in shock.

It was a bear.

It was a black, adult male bear with a crescent-shaped white spot on its chest.

The herbivorous goats and the carnivorous bear were standing some distance from each other as they all faced the basin that lay along the rock surface. There were puddles of water here and there on the ground; it appeared that spring water was seeping out from the cracks in the rocks.

“……”

Homura extended a hand towards her tear gas spray while gulping loudly.

The spray was a tool she hadn’t used before, since she’d unfortunately hadn’t had it on hand during the wolves’ attack earlier.

“…There’s basically no escape route in a narrow and confined place like this.”

Touya murmured in a stifled voice.

Touya had also unconsciously moved his hands to his sword hilts.

Not knowing what to do, Homura could only hide behind Touya’s back.

However, when the bear raised its head and turned towards them, it only stared at them for a brief time before turning to leave the watering hole.

“I-Is it coming at us…?”

Homura unconsciously put strength into her fingers which were grasping Touya’s shoulders.

However, the bear didn’t show any further interest and calmly pa.s.sed them by right in front of their eyes. It came so close that they could even detect its body odor, which was distinctly different from the wolves.

After watching as the bear almost seemed to hop its way down the scree slope, Homura sank down to the ground where she stood.

Even as she lay there dazed, Touya crouched down next to the watering hole and inspected it.

Somehow managing to calm her heart down while listening to the tranquil bleating of the goats, Homura followed after Touya.

“Did that bear come here to drink water…?”

“……*slurp*.”

Touya scooped up some water from a blackened puddle and put it in his mouth, then frowned.

“…It isn’t spring water?”

“It’s definitely spring water, but this isn’t drinkable.”

Homura put a finger in the cold puddle and licked it to taste it herself.

“Ugh… so pungent. It’s so bitter… or rather, it tastes metallic…”

“This is salt water.”

When they looked closely, recrystallized lumps of salt were scattered around the watering hole, and the goats seemed to be licking them.

“Most likely, there’s a layer of rock salt nearby, and the thawed water which pa.s.ses through it drips out here.”

“Ooh. Then, the animals came here for that—”

In other words, it was a natural field for drying salt.

When considered that way, these seemingly insignificant puddles of water looked like holy grounds instead.

“If there’s rock salt, that means this place used to be covered by sea, right?”

“Yeah. If we investigated around here carefully, we might even find fossils.”

“Fossils, huh… If I remember correctly, the Exploration Club hasn’t found any fossils yet, right?”

“Yeah, so it seems.”

Homura suddenly became eager from the thought of digging up ammonites.

Frantically shaking her head, she lowered her head and began searching around the watering hole for traces of the wolves pa.s.sing by.

“……”

As Touya went to stand at the edge of the cliff they had climbed, he looked anxiously up at the sky, which had started to cloud over.

The two of them managed to find something barely like a path beyond the rock salt watering hole as well and continued forward.

The rock face covered in piles of crags continued unchangingly.

When they arrived at a ridge with a good view, Touya spotted the silhouettes of animals running along the spine of the mountain ridge, though only for a brief instant. There was no proof that those were the wolves.

On the other hand, fog gradually enshrouded the base of the mountain and worsened their vision as they tried to catch up.

The wind also picked up, and Homura was surprised at the coldness of her hands and feet, which had become completely chilled without her realizing it.

Coupled with her fatigue, the cold stiffened Homura’s movements and she slipped and fell on the rocks several times.

Touya searched for a place to avoid the continuously blowing high wind without fear of falling rocks, but he couldn’t find a good place to rest.

Keeping his feelings of impatience in check, he waited for Homura to catch up.

“Are your legs okay?”

“I’m fine. Besides, we can’t make a bivouac in such an open and defenseless place, right?”

“Yeah, but…”

Touya peered at her face worriedly, but Homura did her best to bluff it off and smile.

“Aren’t your lips turning blue? Try putting something in your mouth. Here, take some candy.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

The sun had almost completely sunk on the horizon and the glow of the Bagel ruled the sky.

Though it had seemed so beautiful on their previous mission, now the Bagel looked solemn and frightening to Homura.

Even that great celestial ring was being covered over by dark blue clouds.

“……”

Touya’s expression darkened as he looked up at the sky.

He couldn’t say “Just a little bit more” at this point.

There was no guarantee that they’d be able to get out of this rocky area in time.

And if they slowed down, senpai would get that much further away. Homura also understood that and seemed to swallow back all the complaints that rose up her throat many times.

“Ah.”

The dimly-conscious Homura almost barreled straight into Touya, who had stopped to wait for her ahead.

“Are we going to set up a tent here?”

“Hinooka, I promised to let you ride behind me before, remember?”

“…Eh?”

Touya grinned and turned around his sack so that he now carried it in front of him, with his back facing Homura.

“Yeah, but we don’t have a bicycle with us right now, you know?”

“Just hop on already. It’s fine.”

Touya crouched down and waited for Homura to climb on his back.

“No one’s here to see anyway. Don’t worry about it, come on.”

“…But you’re here, Touya-kun…”

“Think of me as an amus.e.m.e.nt park ride or something.”

Though she was still hesitant, Homura was pressured by Touya’s expression and finally put her hands on his shoulders.

Touya easily lifted her up on his back and immediately began walking.

“Hyah!”

“Sorry. You were lighter than I thought.”

“Yes, yes, flatter me all you want.”

Homura’s cheeks were slightly red, but she was the only one aware of that.

“If I’m about to stumble, I might take away my hands from supporting your legs, so make sure to firmly hold onto my neck.”

Doing as she was told, Homura leaned on Touya with her arms around his neck.

Even without that, her fatigue had come to weigh heavily on her, making it hard to keep bracing herself.

They proceeded across the rockface, relying only on the dim light from the overcast sky.

Without hurrying in a panic, Touya moved forward at a firm and steady pace.

Eventually, a light drizzle began to fall.

Though the pa.s.sing shower was weak, the wind felt all the chillier as a result.

“Are you cold?”

Homura silently shook her head. In truth, Touya’s back actually felt warm to her.

“I’m literally excess baggage right now…”

“Haha, that’s true. You know how to hit where it hurts, huh?”

“Can’t we use some illumination magic?”

“I’m more afraid of the opposite right now. My eyes have already gotten used to the dark.”

“……”

As Touya sought a path through the crags while paying care to falling rocks and crevices, Homura couldn’t just talk casually to him in this situation.

Homura dozed off to the regular swaying of Touya’s back.

The incessant sound of wind. Touya’s rhythmic breathing. The cold drops. .h.i.tting the nape of her neck.

She was worried about the clues to senpai’s whereabouts being washed away by the rain.

A heart that never falters—

She absentmindedly recalled senpai’s words.

In the end, courage and recklessness are the same thing, right?

If things turn out all right in the end, it’s courage. If it ends in failure, people say “I told you so” and call it recklessness.

Right now, there were only their hearts. Their hearts which were trying to keep moving forward.

When she woke up from her doze, Homura was sitting down against the rock wall.

She had a towel around her neck. The feeling of having had her wet hair wiped still faintly remained on her head.

“Ah…”

When she looked up, she saw Touya removing conspicuous stones from the gravel-filled ground while keeping an illumination spell lit over his shoulder.

They were in a big horizontal depression where comparatively soft bedrock along the mountain’s surface had been carved out, and though it wasn’t deep enough to be called a cave, it was sufficient to keep out the rain and wind.

“…You found a nice place.”

“And you slept quite deeply. If you’re awake, come and help me.”

She felt like she had been swaying on his back for over an hour. She hadn’t noticed when she was put down at all.

Her clothes were made to be quite water-repellant, so they were only slightly wet even after being drenched in the rain.

“Are we going to make a tent?”

“We can’t resume walking until it brightens anyway. We can only sleep for now.”

Encouraging her sluggish body, Homura stood up.

Though, even if Touya told her to help secure their sleeping area, the only preparations they needed to do was set up a bivouac and their sleeping bags. The shelter consisted of a small, light-weight tent suited to carrying. They firmly set up the poles and ropes so that it wouldn’t be beaten by the strong wind that occasionally blew through.

After finis.h.i.+ng its construction and silently eating their meal, the two of them slipped into their sleeping bags without hesitation due to the chill of the wind.

Understandably, it was quite cramped with two sleeping bags lying next to each other in a small tent. Even so, Homura didn’t complain. It had been hard work just to set up this much.

As Touya lay sideways on his right shoulder, Homura couldn’t stop squirming restlessly next to his back.

“My back is itchy… The ground is too uneven…”

“…You’re the one who placed the mat straight on the ground because you said it was too bulky and unwieldy, Hinooka.”

“I can’t sleep like this…”

“It might be a bit better if you spread out your jacket underneath you.”

“I don’t want to make it all wrinkly…”

After stubbornly continuing to stir in her sleeping back, Homura finally did as Touya said and managed to find a barely comfortable posture.

The faint nighttime illumination pierced through the thin tent cloth.

They heard the sound of the incessant wind through the ventilation hole at the top of the tent, and raindrops struck the tent whenever the wind strengthened every once in a while.

“…I feel like I’m in the middle of a painful dream.”

Homura murmured as she listened to the sound of the wind.

“Just go to sleep.”

“…Yeah.”

But even if she was told that—

Partially because she had slept a bit earlier while she was being carried, she couldn’t seem to fall asleep now. Though she understood that these were emergency circ.u.mstances, she couldn’t help being conscious of the audacious situation they were in.

Feeling bored, Homura grasped her hands together within her sleeping bag and traced the ring she still wasn’t accustomed to wearing on her finger.

Homura had viewed the ring annoyingly when she had whined and wanted to go back during their first mission, but now it was their only lifeline.

“Did senpai drop the Transport Ring on purpose?”

Homura tilted her head and asked that over her shoulder, and Touya reluctantly replied.

“…Of course not. If she had regained consciousness enough to do that, she could have done an emergency withdrawal, or she could have run away while the wolves weren’t looking without using the ring.”

“Hmm~… That might be the most logical conclusion, but considering senpai’s personality, I don’t think she’d escape back home by herself.”

“…Well, I agree with you there.”

“Maybe the wolf girl threw it away to prevent senpai from escaping?”

“You think she figured out the ring’s functions on first glance? Rather, wouldn’t she want an accessory like the ring for herself? Like those hair ornaments she wore. The issue is who would have told her about the ring…”

“Yeah, that is strange.”

Homura nodded in agreement on that point. But she still wasn’t convinced.

“……”

Touya was calm and tenacious, and always thought one step further than Homura. Homura couldn’t think of any other boy who would be able to act this calmly in the same situation. Well, he was a bit inflexible too, though.

Before this long day ends, I should say at least one word of thanks—

But even though she thought that, no words of grat.i.tude came out.

Instead, she felt like pointing out his faults, against her better judgement.

“Hey, Touya-kun… Have you been sticking with me because I’m a member of the Exploration Club?”

After a long silence that made Homura think he’d fallen asleep, Touya responded in a sleepy voice.

“You really like asking the obvious, don’t you?”

That blunt answer was just like him. It made Homura all the more irritated.

“…It’s not obvious.”

She protested as she hit his back through the sleeping bags.

“Ouch… Don’t act violent. It’s cramped here.”

“That’s just a result of coincidence. I just happened to have IE apt.i.tude, and I just happened to not be part of any club.”

“Is there something wrong with it being due to coincidence?”

“Yes.”

“Just go to sleep already.”

“If I quit the Exploration Club, would I be just a stranger to you?”

“Why would that be?”

Touya turned around irritated, but Homura ended up right in front of him since she’d been watching him from unexpectedly close proximity.

“Uoh.”

“……”

Though the two of them glared at each other briefly, Touya soon burst out in laughter at Homura’s pouting face. He returned to his original sleeping position and tried to hold back his chuckling.

“Don’t laugh at me~”

“I already fully understand just how funny and interesting a person you are.”

“I don’t like leaving it halfway and vague like that between us.”

“Ah? So what? You want something more stereotypical? Then just think of us as close buds.”

“Close buds… you mean friends?”

“Yeah. Close friends.”

“……”

“You’re a close, troublesome friend to me.”

“……”

Homura’s fist silently hit the back of Touya’s head.

“Hey, that hurts… If it being due to coincidence is bad, then would you feel relieved if it’s a.s.sured by someone? Almost everything in the world is decided through coincidence. The only things we can decide for ourselves are the things within our reach.”

The things within one’s reach. While thinking of the distance that separated her from her home on Earth, Homura touched her finger to the charm hanging from her neck.

“…Was the reason you came to like senpai also due to coincidence?”

“Man, you’re really persistent. I’m quite sleepy here, you know?”

“Senpai is beautiful, kind and accomplished both academically and in martial arts; I guess it’s only natural you would come to like her. Right, Touya-kun?”

“Why are you asking me that, idiot?”

“Tell me. Was it love at first sight?”

Touya let out an intentionally exasperated sigh that resounded through the tent.

“I’ll tell you. But only after you, senpai and I all make it back to Earth.”

“Hmph… That’s a bet with some long odds…”

“Yeah, yeah. It goes without saying, but it’s going to be pretty rough tomorrow. Prepare yourself.”

“It’ll be fine.”

“That mysterious confidence of yours again?”

“It’ll be fine… It’s okay to be lost and take a detour. Just like as long as you take the Oedo Line2… you’ll eventually reach your destination even if you take a detour.”

“…I see. Yeah, that’s true.”

“……”

Inside his sleeping bag, Touya suddenly tilted his head in puzzlement.

“…Ah? Hey, the Oedo Line isn’t actually a loop subway line. Wouldn’t the Yamanote Line be a better example? You won’t reach your destination if you just vaguely hop onto the Oedo Line, you know?”

“……”

Homura didn’t reply, returning only slumbering breathing.

Though a bit bemused, Touya turned to sleep himself while praying for the rain to stop.

That night, Homura dreamed.

She completely forgot what kind of dream it was when she woke up, though.

Chapter 17 END

TRANSLATOR’S NOTES

(1) This is actually part of a j.a.panese pun using different Kanji readings that can’t be properly translated in English. Right before this, Homura says “easier” (raku), and Touya plays on it by saying she “slipped/fell”, which can also be read as “raku”.

(2) Oedo Line: An underground subway line that runs in a loop around central Tokyo before branching out towards the western suburbs, making the line look like a “6” lying on its side.

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