"Oh, Hajime, it's you."
Reiko said while taking a step forward towards Hajime, who looked surprised due to Reiko's sudden appearance.
"Who were you talking to earlier?" Reiko asked as she set down her big, wrong sword. Hajime wondered how she managed to carry the sword, considering that the sword looked big and heavier than her.
"Huh?" Confused, Hajime uttered.
'What is she talking about? Can't she see the girl who's grabbing my hand?'
He wondered as he looked at Reiko with a confused expression. He thought the girl was still there, but he didn't notice that she had disappeared a while ago as he was turning to face Reiko earlier.
Though he could still feel her touch if she was still there, grabbing his hand.
Reiko's expression switched to being concerned while staring at him. She moved closer to him and touched his shoulder while scanning him from top to bottom.
"Are you hurt? Did someone drag you here? Who was it?" she asked.
Hajime glanced behind him for a moment, but there was no one there. He then glanced at his right hand, where he thought the girl earlier grabbed him, but there was no girl; the only thing left there was the feeling of being touched by her.
'Where did she go?' He wondered. Then recalled again that he was badly stabbed and lost a large percentage of blood at an alarming rate. He looked at himself with a curious expression on his face and started to ponder why he couldn't feel any pain ever since he woke up earlier.
He searched carefully but could not see any wounds, open or closed. Reiko, filled with curiosity, just watched as Hajime did so.
'Where did my injuries go?' Hajime wondered.
"What are you doing?" Reiko, confused, asked.
Reiko's question grabbed his attention, and he halted, looking at himself and started looking at Reiko, still wondering who that girl was and where she had gone, and what happened to the areas he had been stabbed. Then suddenly remembered about Hina.
"Where's Hina?"
He asked while staring at Reiko with a frustrated expression. Reiko had a feeling that something must have happened for him to end up here and Hina's hair and skin to be left on the other side of the barrier, so she said nothing to Hajime; instead, she told him that everything was fine and there was no need to worry about anything, but Hajime couldn't mind continue worrying about Hina coming back.
"Come on, let's go get Rica before she starts to worry."
Reiko said as she held Hajime's right hand with her left, and on the other side of her hand, she carried the sword again. But as they started walking, one of Hajime's eyes twitched before changing its color from red to a saturated yellow, but no one noticed, including himself.
***
Elsewhere, in another land called Steria, there was a simple village called Lute where a young woman was spending her night so that she could proceed with her migration the next day. This woman was, of course, Hajime's mother, Nanako, who was going to the capital of Steria.
"How long are you going to be staying with us, my lady?"
A nice gentleman said as he slowly approached Nanako. He was one of the citizens who occupied this simple village, and his appearance alone suggested he was somewhere around his late forties.
Nanako checked him and said with a gentle voice as a soft smile tugged at the corners of her lips, "I'm just passing by. But I was thinking of renting a room to rest in for the night."
Dazed, "Is that so?" The nice gentleman said while looking at Nanako, then he added.
"Then I think you may like one of our finest establishments across the Sekitori Bridge."
Nanako asked with a calm demeanor, "And where can I find this Sekitori bridge?"
"You know... You are one of the finest visitors we've had in ages, so I'm gonna show you the route there." The nice gentleman said with a smile, and Nanako smiled back.
"Shall we be on our way then?" Nanako said as she continued to smile at the nice gentleman.
"Of course, this way we shall exit."
The nice gentleman said as he gestured where the bridge was with his right hand while he started walking towards it. Nanako followed him while she scanned around her to see if there was anything shady going on around the village.
She wasn't carrying any heavy baggage on her, but a simple umbrella to cover herself if there was going to be rain. The nice gentleman shifted his head a bit, looking at Nanako's hands to see if there was anything he could help carry while on their way.
"I see you don't have any baggage on you. Might I say, you won't be gone for long where you are going?"
The nice gentleman asked as he turned his head and started looking forward again. Nanako did not say anything because she was focused on looking around her, so she did not hear the man talking.
As they continued walking, they found themselves on a road that was going in three different directions, but the nice gentleman turned on the second exit, which led to the Sekitori Bridge or square.
"Don't worry me, lady, it's just around this corner until you reach your destination."
He said as they turned around the corner, he was talking about. Nanako kept looking around until she saw a band of thieves beating up a poor child who looked like she lived in the slums of the village.
She turned towards them and said, "Why are you beating up that innocent child?" The thieves stopped and looked at Nanako and said, "It's none of your business, lady, keep going wherever you were going."
Nanako looked at the child with a blank expression on her face as the child reached out his hand and called out to her, "...Help me." With a faint voice. One of the thieves heard him and said while stepping on the child's head, "What did you say, wimp?!"
"...Help, me..." The boy said again as his voice began to fade.
Nanako looked at the thieves and then looked at the boy again and said, "Let him go, can't you see you're hurting him?" But none of the thieves cared about what she said.
"You know what, lady? You let us have fun with you, and after we are done, we'll let the wimp go." One of the thieves said while looking at Nanako with a perverted expression.
"You are right, boss, what a great idea that is." Another one of the thieves said as he also started looking at Nanako with a dirty, perverted expression himself. The others agreed, and they all followed the two thieves' lead.
"You young people these days, don't know how to respect those who are superior to you." He said as he approached the band of thieves.
"And who the hell are you supposed to be, old man?" The thief, who was far behind his friends, said.
"Old, you say. If you judge people according to how they look, then you are making a big mistake you will regret as you grow old, yourself."
The nice gentleman said as his gaze became serious. Nanako stared at him for a moment and then looked at the boy who was about to lose consciousness.
"What are you talking about? Is it because you're old and regretting the things you've done in the past, that doesn't mean we'll end up the same way as you." The thief who was talking earlier said as he took a stand.
The nice gentleman sighed with disappointment, and a moment later looked behind him and then looked at the thieves and said, while he turned towards Nanako.
"I didn't want to do this, but it seems I have no choice but to take matters into my own hands."
"You see. This fine lady here was on her way to the inn across the street. But since you've delayed us from getting there in time."
"You boys are going to have to pay with your lives."
The boys looked at him for a second, stayed quiet for a moment, and started laughing at the nice gentleman. Nanako let out a breath and moved away from the thieves and stood on the side of the road with the child who was being beaten.
Seeing this, the boys couldn't believe what had happened and how Nanako ended up on the street with the child.
"When did they get there?" They asked, hoping for an answer, but Nanako didn't respond; instead, she acted as if she hadn't heard them.
The nice gentleman, noticing this, it let him an advantage. He picked up some wood that was sitting by where the thieves were beating the poor slums kid, and started moving forward towards the thieves.
In mere moments, the thieves were all dealt with, and they were sent fleeing into the forest just on the other side of the river.
....
Later, Nanako, the man, and the boy who had been beaten arrived safely at their destination. Nanako rented a room for the night. It wasn't large, but it was perfectly suitable for a short stay, and surprisingly affordable. The room was ventilated using high-quality magic crystals, a rare feature that was hard to find anywhere in Avallon.
Either way, Nanako paid no mind to them, cause she could create anything she imagined, including life itself. And at this time, she created the currency of this land, yet nobody noticed.
"Then I guess I'll be letting you be, me lady." The nice gentleman said while carrying the boy on his back.
Nanako looked at the man with a smile and then said, "See you soon. And take good care of him."
That night, in the quiet village of Lute, passersby caught sight of a group of people sprinting through the streets completely naked, desperately trying to cover themselves as they ran.