Chapter 16

Beep, beep, beep. The harsh, artificial sound of an alarm echoed in the room.

“Ugh… morning already…”

I checked the clock; it was 4:30 in the morning. The expedition was planning to depart today at 6:00. The Seventh Barriered City was the farthest from the First – the Seventh was at the northernmost point of human territory while the First was at the southernmost point. The two cities were so far apart that our expedition would probably need several days to reach the First Barriered City by carriage.

We were also planning to stop by the other cities along the way to resupply. I didn’t know exactly which cities we’d stop at, but… there was a possibility we’d stop at the Third Barriered City. Dan, Rebecca, and Aria. I wonder, are the three of them still alive? Are they having fun at the Academy? Do they feel guilty at all about sacrificing me?

“…I shouldn’t get caught up in that train of thought,” I said to myself and started getting ready. I’ll cut off my past. I won’t let it hold me down. I’m not the same person I was back then. There’s no way I’ll run into the three of them.

However, fate is a fickle mistress, as I would soon learn.

“Heeey, Sherry, are you awake?” I said, knocking on her door. It was 5:00 now, about time for us to start heading over to the rendezvous point. We’ve still got plenty of time, but you can’t be too careful. Personally, I’d like to be at the meeting point about 15 minutes early. Despite knocking on her door, I received no reply from inside. What should I do? Should I go in?

Sherry actually gave me the spare key to her room yesterday, telling me, “I’m not a morning person, so if I don’t respond, come in and wake me up, please.”

“Well, guess I’ll go in…” I said, entering her room. I walked towards the back of her room and found Sherry stirring restlessly in her bed. “Sherry, let’s go. Time to get up.”

“Mm. 5 more minutes…”

“You’re never going to get up at this rate…”

Guess I’ve got no other choice, I thought, and I threw the curtains open and turned the lights on.

“Nnnn… that’s bright…”

“Come on, get…up!?” I said, ripping the covers off. When I did that, I learned a very important lesson: Sherry sleeps naked.

Well, technically, she was wearing shorts. However, she wasn’t wearing a top, and her chest was completely bare. The impressively overwhelming mass of her chest was quite different from Princess Lianne’s. Hmm… If I keep staring at her like this, she’s going to throw a fuss later…

“Hey… What the hell are you looking at?”

“Ah!”

Time had flown by. My mind had fallen into a completely blank state of zen upon seeing the piece of art before my eyes. Mm, well, it’s a natural reaction, no? I’m a man, after all. Appreciating this kind of art is instinctual; it’s not reflective of my personality. I decided I would explain it like that, but when I saw her face, I decided to hold my tongue.

“You… Get out!!”

What a horrible turn of events. And after I’d gone to all that trouble to wake her up…

“What’s wrong, Yuria? Your face looks like an autumn leaf.”

“Sophia, hear me out…”

As I stood waiting outside of Sherry’s room, I ran into Sophia. I started to explain my situation as she nodded along.

“That’s entirely your fault, though. You can’t stare at them, you know.”

“I see… Yeah, you’re right. It’d be really disgusting if a guy you didn’t like stared at you like that…”

“Rather than disgusted, I’m pretty sure the emotion she felt was more along the lines of embarrassment, though.”

“Ah… Oh no, I’ve ruined it…”

Sophia’s last sentence didn’t quite reach my ears. I was quite upset with myself. After all, we were going to spend about a week in close company while travelling, and I’d already gone and made things awkward. I’d thought we were getting along pretty well, but then I went and messed it all up. I’m really quite unlucky.

“I’m ready.”

“Sherry, you’re so late!”

“Sorry, sorry. Um, Yuria… Thanks for waking me up,” Sherry said, her face turning bright red. Looks like things weren’t as bad as I was expecting them to be. The three of us then headed to the gate, where we would meet with the rest of the expedition.

***

“I’ll be in your care from here on out,” Princess Lianne said, bowing her head. Currently, the three of us, Cyrus-san, and a few other Rank 1 Exorcists were gathered here. It looked like this was our entire expedition group.

“Alright, let’s head out. I’ll be leading the group, so I’ll leave the princess to the students.”

“Understood,” we said, boarding the carriage. The carriage had exactly four seats. As soon as I sat down, Princess Lianne sat down right next to me.

“Um…”

“Hm? Is something wrong?”

“Um, no, never mind.”

She was smiling for some reason. I wonder what she’s thinking…

“How are you doing, Yuria-san?”

“I’m fine. Oh, and thank you for your help yesterday.”

“Oh, it was no problem at all.”

Sherry and Sophia, who had entered after us, stared at the two of us as we talked. “You two seem quite close, no?” Sherry said.

I hurriedly denied it. “N-not at all! Now, let’s focus on doing our job and protect the princess!”

“Oh? How cold of you, Yuria-san…”

With a weird, awkward feeling hanging in the air, the carriage began to move. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the Twilight, I thought, staring at the scenery going by. Somehow, it felt extremely nostalgic, this never-ending darkness.

By the way, we were wearing special clothes to shield our bodies from the Twilight. It looked like our normal uniform but had been woven with special fibres. The effects of the Twilight vary from person to person. Some people are barely affected, while others become incredibly sick within only a few hours. Our clothes were really only a meagre safety measure against the Twilight, but it was better than nothing.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been out here.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right – You haven’t been out here alone in a while, right, Sherry?”

“Mm. Well, a lot has happened,” she said. She looked at me. No, no, why is she looking at me like that? It’s not my fault, I thought.

Princess Lianne then said to me, “Yuria-san, you were stuck in the Twilight for two years, right?”

“Ah, well, it was a while ago.”

“The area we’re in is still quite safe, but you went all the way to the eastern end of the continent, no?”

Sherry and Sophia were staring at me intently, obviously interested in hearing more. Well, I guess I don’t really have to keep this a secret. Besides, Cyrus-san told me I had to make a report about my time out there once we got to the First Barriered City. And, most importantly, I feel like I can trust these three.

“I made it all the way to the eastern end of the continent in a year. I don’t have very clear memories of those days since I was so focused on surviving. All I remember is that I just kept moving.”

“Did you fight monsters and demons, as well?”

“I only really fought when I needed food or when I was attacked and couldn’t escape. If I could escape, I did. I always prioritised running away. Among the monsters I encountered, there were some out there that I don’t think I could beat even if I fought them today. There was even a 10 metre long spider and a fire-breathing dragon. The ecosystem out there is hard to understand; I never fully grasped it.

“But… The most important thing to know is that’s a cruel world, where only the strong survive. If you let your guard down for even a moment, you’ll die. That’s how it is. Good things happened out there, too, though. There’s actually an Ogre village out in the east…”

Suddenly, the carriage stopped. Someone outside shouted, “We’re under attack! Monsters are attacking!”

I figured we’d be attacked eventually, but this was awfully quick, I thought. I jumped out of the carriage and saw a group of giant spider monsters called Huge Spiders. They’re quite troublesome opponents to fight, and they’re ranked as B-class threats.

By the way, demons and monsters are divided into classes based on how dangerous they are. These classes proceed from E to S. A B-class monster is so strong that only a Rank 2 Exorcist or higher can fight it.

Something’s off here. While we are in the Twilight, this area is considered a safe zone. This kind of monster should not be here. Huge Spiders typically live further east, too. Why is it here? Has something messed with the ecosystem? Or…

No, no, that’s not important right now. Right now, I need to get rid of these monsters. There may be a lot of them, but I can handle it.

“Yuria-kun, shall we handle this?”

“Yes.”

Cyrus-san came over to where I was standing, and the two of us faced off against the Huge Spiders. “The two of us shall take care of these monsters. The rest of you, focus on guarding the princess.”

And so, we began to fight.