No matter how hard they tried, the wanderers found themselves defeated at every turn. The ravine loomed before them, its jagged edges daring anyone to cross.
They attempted to trek across the mountain, yet poisonous flowers blocked their way beside each stream. Was there any route that could escape the unforgiving ravine? Every path they chose, somehow, still led them back to its edge.
With no other options, Asahi and Aletha retraced their steps. They carefully followed their previous path as the unstable terrain shifted beneath their feet. The changing ground forced them to adapt their movements.
Wiping sweat from her forehead, Aletha complained. Her frustration showed in her voice as she glanced back at the ravine.
"There's no way to cross it!"
Struck by this discovery, Asahi scratched his head and analyzed his surroundings. Mountains rose in the distance. Fields of lush grass rolled before him. Marshes dotted almost every area. Still, the entire view glowed in a beautiful light green, brighter than the foliage in Pladtioa. To Asahi, it felt as if he had stepped into another world.
Asahi paused mid-step, distracted by the landscape. Realizing he was losing focus, he shook his head vigorously and whispered to himself to regain composure.
"No, stop staring." He mumbled. "Stay focused."
A few minutes later, his boots crossed a line of glittering blue flowers. Bored by the repetitive scenery, Aletha stayed close to her brother, wary of wandering off again; she knew anything could happen at any moment. Uneasy about Telos's merge and not fully understanding its implications, she wondered about the unpredictable results—Telos, a once formidable being capable of defending from The Princess, was now part of Asahi, granting him unique abilities but complicating their journey.
Although she had grown accustomed to the surroundings, the roaming wildlife added to her weariness.
Before Aletha could ask Asahi about these concerns, something sparked in his eyes—she hadn't seen that look recently, a look as if all his plans had suddenly vanished.
"So, now what?"
Asahi sighed deeply. After the tornado and the encounter with Telos, he was completely at a loss about what to do next. He answered in a cold, distant tone.
"I'm not sure," he replied, staring blankly at the horizon. "But if I were to guess, maybe we should find the others."
A warm gust of wind followed his response. Hearing the word "others" triggered a brief, blurry flashback of the tornado in Aletha's mind. The moment was incoherent and chaotic. All she could recall were frightened voices and the wind.
Suddenly, Aletha's legs gave out and she collapsed to her knees, her body shaking. Asahi's eyes widened. He rushed over, knelt beside her, and, his voice trembling with panic, asked, "Are you okay?"
Words failed to convey the pain Asahi felt. Aletha's lips pressed shut in pain, her eyes wet, and warmth flooding her body. At that moment, all she could express was that…
"It hurts."
Checking her arms and face, Asahi saw nothing wrong. Fighting the urge to panic, he sat close beside her and waited quietly for the pain to fade as she groaned.
Even in pain, Aletha tried to keep a grin, though a sharp burning sensation grew inside her. It didn't feel like a needle—more like splinters expanding outward. Green light leaked from her skin, oozing like slime. But before it could emerge, both pain and the strange event stopped.
Silence followed, keeping their surroundings still. Thinking Aletha was still in pain, Asahi leaned over with a worried face and asked.
"Do you need... help?" he asked, steadying his breath. "We can stop all of this and try to find someone to heal you, if you need to."
As a crimson bird flew overhead, Aletha steadied herself, rose from the ground, exhaled slowly, and brushed dirt from her shoulders. Her voice recovered as she said, "I'm fine. I just felt something weird in me, that's all."
Relieved, Asahi stepped onto a twig and lowered his shoulders. He misunderstood Aletha's pain as a flinch, though in reality, it was something more mysterious.
Watching Aletha yawn and stretch, Asahi crossed his arms, glared, and muttered.
"Don't you ever act like that again," he said tightly. "You had me worried."
But, as before, Aletha treated the strange occurrence as if it were a natural phenomenon. She replied to Asahi with a passive shrug.
"Ha, it's nothing," she said, grinning with pride. "Just some sort of twitch, that's all."
As silence grew between them, Aletha changed the topic. Remembering Asahi's earlier words, she wondered aloud about Telos.
"Say, didn't you say you have Telos' soul inside your body? Why not speak to him while we are waiting?"
"...Waiting for what?" Asahi shot back, scanning their surroundings.
She shrugged her shoulders and lifted her chin to the clouds.
"I don't know... I suppose it's a blessing when a stranger appears and helps us. I'm sure someone's around here somewhere."
Asahi nodded, sat on the ground, and pulled out a brown book and a pen. He leaned against the grass as Aletha slumped down beside him, watching the sky. Asahi pressed his pen to the book and wrote.
[From what I can gather, it appears this nation is more extensive than I initially thought. There is so much out there. We got swept into a tornado, and not only that... There were so many different people in the ceremony. I honestly wonder where all of them went. I hope they didn't die.]
* * *
"Hey!" A voice sounded out from a distance.
Moments later, a figure stepped out from the untamed wilds. The Wanderers hadn't expected to encounter anyone so soon in this silent, unruly land. Even Telos was left speechless.
(That soon?) Telos muttered with a low-sounding sigh.
Asahi shook his head.
"Quiet, Telos."
(Well… I was looking forward to guiding you, but if that person there could help you… then I have no business to speak of.)
As the voice echoed in his head, Asahi shrugged and dropped his notebook. He turned toward the approaching footsteps and saw the figure in the distance. Sunlight revealed a girl with long, light-brown hair. She wore stockings and a half-skirt and was sprinting down the hills.
"Huh?" he said, raising an eyebrow. Slowly approaching the girl, Asahi called out to the voice from earlier in a welcoming tone.
"Yeah? Who are you?!"
Frozen in place on the hillside, the girl gasped in surprise. Asahi scratched his head, glanced at Aletha, and began walking up the hill toward her. The girl, seeing the white-haired boy approach from below, realized something and quietly muttered to herself.
(Oh my goodness, they CAN speak my language!)
Then, with excitement bursting in her heart, she raced down the last couple of steps before jumping over and introducing herself.
"I'm Chloe!" she called with a smile. "I heard you two needed help. I was looking for help too! But I can't speak their language. Do you know where everyone is?!"
"No..." Aletha replied, narrowing her eyes. "That's why we are wandering here." The tone of Aletha's reply to Chloe seemed suspicious, as if she immediately disliked her.
Asahi appreciated Chloe's welcome, but his face grew pale and his body stiffened. He saw a menacing figure behind her. Before Chloe and Aletha noticed, Asahi grabbed the luminance on his hip, unsheathed a dark blade, and shouted.
"Behind you!"
Slowly turning backward, her brown eyes shrank with fear. She stumbled as she heard a shock and a tumble in the corner of her ear. With a strong stomp, Chloe jumped up and screamed.
"AH!"
Despite her wariness, Aletha swiftly unsheathed her blade and raised it defensively, but was abruptly struck by a sudden shockwave. The force hurled her down the hill while Asahi stared, shocked and unable to move.minute..." He said, hearing Chloe's screams above him. "I'm..."
With his feet rooted on the ground, he reeled back in sudden realization, noticing that he was too far away to interfere.
"Huh?" Asahi mumbled as he lowered his blade. "How did I get here?"
A four-legged creature made of steel, gears, and nails attacked Chloe. It knocked her down the hill.
Aletha heard Chloe's scream, quickly turned, and spotted Chloe downhill; she then sprinted down the slope to help her. The metallic creature rolled after both of them down the mountain. "Who are you?!" Aletha yelled as she ran.
Without reaction, the metallic creature opened its sharp jaw and sprang at Aletha, fighting the sword quickly pointed at it.
Aletha kicked out at the creature, vaulted backward to distance herself, and scrambled away while shouting for help. Asahi, seeing the creature threaten Chloe, gritted his teeth, clenched his blade, and quickly attacked the four-legged mechanism.
Its body was made of black steel, and its eyes shone a bright white. Cyan and magenta wires ran through it. Each leg scraped against Asahi's blade before it finally launched itself into the air and wrapped its tail around Chloe.
Aletha's eyes widened.
"What is that?!"
Asahi darted to the monster, jumping in the air and yelling.
"I don't know! Just HELP me out, will you?!"
Aletha nodded and lunged at the creature. Both siblings clenched their blades, dodging the swift strikes it unleashed with its tail.
As they jumped and avoided attack, they felt their bodies ache and their arms worsen. Their stamina depleted quickly. The mechanism screeched, its nails scraping on the dirt.
"SCREE!"
Taking advantage of this, the metallic creature grew five more legs and crawled toward them like a spider, screeching and injuring the wanderers.
Swiftly, Telos' voice shouted at Asahi.
(TURN ON YOUR TENTH EYE!)
Just before the creature could grapple with Asahi, he forced his eyelids shut and pried them back open, revealing the interface of the "Tenth Eye" in his vision.
A stream of colors bounced back, showing a relatively low green health circle, followed by a red bar that flickered on and off.
(Your stamina is low. Stop fighting and run!)
Asahi, overwhelmed by this, accidentally caught himself on a group of vines, feeling his body fall backward toward the opening ravine below.
His heart leaped to his throat, feeling the coldness of the gorge below him touch his back.
"Help!"
The monster's steel legs towered above Asahi, its jaws stretching wide as blinding white light gathered between razor teeth. Gears spun, scattering sparks, while its tail whipped through the grass. Behind him, hurried footsteps approached.
"Don't worry, I GOT YOU!"
Asahi's hands slipped off the fragile edge, feeling his weight pressure down quickly through the strands of vines dangling in between the gaping ravine. Falling several meters, the daylight grew distant from him.
His feet pierced through the exceeding depths, weight pushing down on him as his vision darkened gradually. Aletha's scream sounded out at a loud volume.
"ASAHI!"
Aletha clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, swinging at the creature rapidly, with each spark following the pace of her heart.
"I'll KILL YOU!"
Asahi helplessly reached his hands upwards, thinking it was the end. Telos himself couldn't believe it, shouting in disbelief.
(What are you doing!?)
But just as the specks of rays vanished, a tight grip wrapped around his wrists.
(CLING)
Suddenly, several ropes hastily flew down, grappling Asahi's legs and arms, aggressively enfolding him all over, stopping his fall. Asahi caught his breath and felt himself ascend several meters upwards, away from the dark ravine.
"W...What?!"
(SNAP)
The cords snapped, thinning and stressing together; Asahi's weight pressed and slowly went back down, but suddenly more ropes flew downward at an unimaginable speed, wrapping and holding Asahi in place.
A young-sounding voice hollered out from above.
"D...Don't worry... I got you! DON'T MOVE!"
Asahi shouted, sweating nervously, thinking that he was about to die.
"O-Okay!"
Quickly, the ropes hurled Asahi several meters upward like tossing a ball, propelling him back to the surface, away from the ravine, and flying in the air.
"YES, got him!"
His eyes darted down and saw a boy wearing a heavy turquoise coat, a bowtie, and long vintage-colored hair, unleashing a swarm of ropes magically from his hand, all stopping and cushioning Asahi's fall.
Aletha's leg forced and shoved itself through the creature, but her arm was caught by its legs. Cuts covered all over the skin, releasing an intrusive pain straight at the bottom. She gritted her teeth and screamed.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!"
She couldn't move, her body paralyzed from the several legs placed on the creature.
"Please... I can't..."
The creature recklessly pried its steel jaw, sparked a white luminance inside its mouth, and shrouded Aletha's face in a gradually increasing burning white glow. She squeezed her eyes shut, breathing heavily and feeling her life essence empty from her. Her arms lowered down.
"can't move..."
Asahi's eyes flared in rage, sprinting straight after his sister, but he was caught by the ropes wrapped around him. He reached his arm to her and yelled while the mysterious boy and Chloe cowered behind.
"Aletha!"
(Ting)
Luminescent green lines glowed inside her skin, surging from her feet, arms, legs, and head. Aletha's eyes sparkled with a green luminance, wincing as she formed a solid wooden surface to shield her body. Telos briefly pondered the origins of this newfound ability, his voice echoing within Asahi's mind. (It could be an ancient power, lying dormant until now. The Sealed Beatific holds responsibility for her actions.)
(In Linuxinia, the Sealed Beatific is known as a force of profound mystical significance. It awakens a reservoir of energy within a person, capable of metamorphosing their abilities with Joy. Soil canisters don't compare to this power.) He mused, filling Asahi with both awe and a sense of foreboding. (The Sealed Beatific can swallow anyone whole with the magic of... how would I say this... happiness?)
The mechanism growled in irritation and forced his jaw further, attempting to radiate the lethal light and slaughter Aletha.
But as the creature struggled--
"Stop playing around with them!" A barrage of crimson lasers unleashed and pierced through it, exploding and shredding the metal skin of the creature's body.
Instantly, everyone darted their eyes to an approaching girl, who cartwheeled her way to the creature and snapped her fingers, giggling while unleashing lasers out of her hands.
"HAHAHA! Take that, sucker! Oh yeah... and THAT too!"
The creature closed its jaw and moved its chin, forcing its tail and charging straight at the girl. But quickly, the girl clutched the creature's sharp tail and swung it like a lasso, tossing it several meters into the air, kicking and dancing.
"This is FUN!"
While Chloe and the boy were confused about the mint-haired girl's actions, Asahi darted to his injured sister and asked, watching the wooden armor dissipate from her body.
"Are you okay, sis? What happened?"
Aletha's eyelids parted, and her arms lifted, revealing a different color in her pupils.
"Eh?"
Instead of Aletha's iris being a dark gray, it was chipped in an emerald color, matching the hues of the grass. She quickly hopped over and exclaimed at Asahi with a sparkle shimmering in her vibrant eyes.
"I have NO idea! But, whatever I did... It made me feel one thousand times better than before!"
"What...? How does that even work--
"ALRIGHT!"
After being physically harmed and broken just a second ago, a sudden burst of copious amounts of joy, exhilaration, and energy exploded in Aletha, forcing her to leap several kilometers off the ground like a kangaroo on steroids.
Asahi saw her floating in the sky, smiling and screaming like a drunk child.
"WEEEE!"
The mysterious boy, wearing a green coat, and the energetic, mint-haired girl tilted their heads to the blue sky and noticed a white-haired girl plummeting down into the creature.
"What the..."
The mint-haired girl snapped her fingers and broke out into an infectious smile of pride.
"OH YEAH! Now she's gettin' it!"
Asahi sneered at the mint-haired girl and questioned, while Aletha rapidly struck the beast with powerful green explosions.
"What is she doing? Why is she like that? Who are you?!"
She smiled and threw back her head, laughing like a chihuahua as her red skirt and white scarf flew with the whimsical winds.
"HA HA HA! She's just having fun! I think we have met before. Aren't you that boring guy I've seen back in that snoozy, smelly room?"
Asahi's face flushed crimson in embarrassment.
"B-Boring?" He said, shaking the thought away. "Hold on, you're that girl we encountered before, aren't you? Pridia, correct?"
Her pink eyes widened; she slapped her thighs, pushed her red skirt into the air, and snapped her fingers while winking at Asahi.
"BINGO! Yes, that's me!" She said as her glare shifted to the energetic, white-haired girl. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw the radiant bristles fluctuate under the passing sun. With an enthusiastic tone, Pridia leaned over to Asahi and questioned. "Ooo, is that your sister, too? My, she's pretty… Look at her and that bright smile on her face! She's having the time of her life!"
Abruptly, Pridia removed her scarf, grasped Asahi's legs, and hurled his entire body toward the creature, his eyes, including those of Chloe and the boy, widening in absolute shock.
"AHHH!"
Pridia slapped her thighs and teared up, unleashing her chaotic red lasers toward the monster. Aletha blasted up into the air and couldn't help but chuckle, feeling invincible from her blinding joy.
"WOO, HOO!"
Aletha and Pridia teased the living crap of the beast by twirling, cartwheeling, and screaming like lunatics. The white-haired girl teased while squeezing her nose and mocking the poor robotic creature, jumping up and down like a buffoon.
"Aww, are you going to cry like a baby? Wah!"
Its wires were strangled and torn apart, gears fallen over on the ground, with sparks of electricity shrouding all over its disjointed metal jaw. As Pridia and Ecstasy-Consumed Aletha taunted the creature, Asahi's body unexpectedly plummeted onto it, crushing it into a flat rectangle.
Pridia tripped over a twig, fell onto the ground, and burst out in laughter, wheezing and laughing like a monkey. She stared at the destroyed mechanism and expressed in a loud tone.
"Hmm, that chocolate cake is dull. Here… let me see if I can… SPICE it up for ya."
Pridia pulled a seasoning straight from her back and dappled the glittering spices onto the quivering mechanical beast, smirking.
"Mmm…"
She licked her lips and smiled, grabbing a fork and giggling while Chloe, Asahi, and The Rope Boy stared at her with a confused expression.
"This will be one fine treat for me!"
Asahi's face fumed in anger, just a centimeter away from bursting out in frustration. The very act of eating a cake in the midst of this situation was so out of place and zany for him that he couldn't really find a proper reaction to this occasion. And so, without any thought behind it, Asahi shouted at Pridia.
"That robot is not a snack! "
She was absolutely aware of what was happening. But despite that, Pridia ignored it, bit her bottom lip, and grinned menacingly.
"I know it's not…" The careless girl replied, grinning radiantly. "But you know who is a snack?"
Her eyebrows raised suddenly as she noticed Asahi's fist tightening in trembling motions.
With an ignorant laugh, her hair swung upward as she tossed the silver fork into the air, landing straight on her back.
"Me!" She said as she delivered a striking squat.
Being confident in her own gesture, Pridia giggled and tossed the fork onto the ground, comparing herself to them.
"HA HA! Don't be such a whiner! People should know now that I will always find a way to tease in moments such as these. Sigh, Anyways..." As she cast her gaze at the chaos that transpired before them, Pridia snapped her fingers and sighed, mumbling with a considerable drop in her voice.
"I guess if you are all let down, we can just get this over with. The robots are annoying as they are. However..." She hollered as she snapped her fingers. "I will do it under one condition."
After the robot delivered one last, dying scream, Asahi looked down and mumbled.
"What?"
"Stop being boring," Pridia replied, still holding Asahi by the wrist while staring at the meadows below. "Your appearance alone is very unique and interesting, so it's strange to see you act this way." As she guided Asahi up the hill, displaying the vast panorama of green to him, Pridia leaned over to his ear and whispered.
"See, here in Linuxinia, you can let your guard down and relax. You don't have to stress about anything. You can just be yourself and do whatever makes you happy."
Her face was filled with delight at what she had done. Her expression didn't falter even as Chloe and the rest stood there, staring back at her, confused.
She turned her head, grinning.
"You know, if you all traveled to the other nations, you would agree with me. This nation is by far the most enjoyable place you can come across!"
After another silence boomed in, Pridia shrugged her shoulders, dropped the cake, and sprinted away from the group toward a pond, happily smiling as she did.
"Well, I'll be taking my leave now." She hollered to them as her long, mint-colored hair fluctuated with the warm wind. "If you need me, just know I'll be there."
Asahi was left speechless, his mind swirling with confusion as if a storm of chaos had crashed over him all at once.
His energy leaked dry. Asahi felt he couldn't move another centimeter without collapsing onto the ground. He sighed and lay down, hearing Telos' voice speak in Asahi's mind.
(Although you have never asked, I feel you need to know this. Your sister experienced the manipulative powers of Ecstasy and The Sealed Beatific. For some reason, it found its way inside her and had noticeably amplified from some sort of outside figure.)
Asahi slowly peered at Pridia, mumbling quietly to Telos while she introduced herself to the green coat boy and Chloe.
"So, you say my sister never chose to absorb that energy? It wasn't her fault? I know I have seen Aletha jumpy before, but what she did right now was on a different level."
Telos' voice replied while Asahi saw Pridia playing rock-paper-scissors with Chloe.
"That's the Sealed Beatific's power. Manipulative energy could consume minds and shroud them in intense feelings of ecstasy. Some have rumored that Combat Magic in Linuxinia is based on one's level of happiness. Even powerless people can use magic if they are happy enough…."
Asahi reeled back in surprise.
"Interesting, so that means, even though I'm powerless… if I'm happy enough, would I share the same power as my sister?"
Chloe walked to Asahi and glanced at him, staring at the S tattoo flashing on and off his front. She analyzed him while her chains jingled.
"He looks so different compared to the people I saw."
Telos' voice continued as Asahi noticed Chloe standing in the background.
"Yes, but your happiness must be genuine for you to manifest its incredible power. It may take time before you can gain the ability to wield The Sealed Beatific. It's not an easy task. And judging by how your mind works, it would be a daunting effort for you to do so."
Asahi sighed and scratched his head, watching Chloe approach him.
"Y… Yeah, ever since the day of the calamity, I could never truly feel happy. If only…"
Chloe kneeled down and bent over, asking in her native language.
"Hey? Are you the guy who answered me before?"
Asahi nodded.
"Yes, I am. Who are you again? Didn't you say you were lost or something?"
Chloe's face flushed.
"Y… Yeah. Um, do you know where we are now?"
Asahi half-shrugged.
"Nope, I'm just as clueless as you are."
Chloe beamed with excitement.
"OH! So, did you get summoned into this world like me? I have noticed that you speak my language fluently. So…"
A quiet wind blew across the patch of turquoise flowers in front of them. Asahi turned to his attire and scratched his head, expressing confusion and surprise.
"No… not at all." Asahi scratched his head, mumbling while the excited look on Chloe's face faded. "I don't recall being summoned here…."
Chloe's bright mocha eyes peered upward, staring at his eyes.
"So, did you just forget?"
Asahi raised a brow.
"No. I was never summoned here. But I was born here. Anyway, where did you come from? I have never known people could get summoned into my world."
Chloe fiddled with her grey skirt, took a deep breath, and replied with an anxious tone.
"I come from... Earth."
"Earth?" Asahi repeated. "What's Earth?"
"Yes. Um... how do I put it?" Chloe paused in uncertainty. She tried to think of all the things she could recount. And so with a vivid voice, Chloe continued her explanation.
"It's a world where humans rule, well... after these creatures called Dinosaurs roamed around. I don't know what they're doing now. There are cities, communities, planes, cars, televisions, and cellphones everywhere."
Asahi leaned over to Chloe, showing genuine interest in her life.
Despite meeting her just now, Asahi had discussed with her as if they were close friends. The very idea of someone being summoned into a world fascinated him.
"...cell... phones? That's a strange name. Perhaps that's some sort of cell and photon mixture with it? Is it some sort of place?"
Chloe's face turned pink, and she giggled, shaking her head.
"Ha ha! No, not at all! How can I explain this to you...?" She twiddled her thumbs, thinking of the tool.
"Um, it's some tool that can... erm..."
As Chloe thought about a way to describe the strange alien device called a "Cellphone" to Asahi, she gave up and said something different instead.
"U...Uh... never mind that." She scratched her head.
"I ran down to you because I wanted to talk to someone like you for a long time. Ever since I was summoned into this world, I have had difficulty socializing with others because I never knew their language."
Asahi fell silent.
"I couldn't ask for help, I couldn't trade with anyone, I couldn't make alliances. I was practically all alone for a couple of years. Not to mention, I was also stuck wearing these clothes. Sigh, role-playing. Why did I wear that before? Stupid, stupid me..."
. . .
"A-Anyways, now that I have finally found someone I can communicate with, can I ask you something?"
Asahi leaned over, seeing Aletha, the roped boy, and Pridia walking over to him. He replied swiftly.
"What?"
Chloe bent her head to the grass.
"Can you... Be my teacher? I want to learn this world's language so I can finally communicate with people and do stuff like you and all other people in this world do."
Telos's voice sounded in Asahi's mind.
(It's all up to you, Asahi. Every single person in this world has their own story to tell. If it makes you any happier, I will be willing to assist you with your teaching.)
Asahi bounced up.
"Really?"
(Absolutely. Even if it doesn't include anything with my goal, I will be delighted to assist you. As long as it helps you become a better person in the long run.)
Asahi grinned and nodded his head. Even though he had never asked to be a teacher, changing someone's life could be the very thing that could make him happy.
"Okay."
Chloe turned over.
"Huh?"
"I'll do it. I agree to become your teacher."
* * *
But as something silently flowed with the tame winds of the present, something arose in Telos.
(*gasp* It... it can't be...)
Asahi mumbled.
"What?"
(I feel a presence lurking in here. An aura that I'm very familiar with. It can't be... is that... Asahi, look over to the forest for a moment.)
He agreed and turned to the forest, where he saw what looked like a woman with long, dark hair, wearing a dark robe, and gray eyes, adorned with chains all around. Although her appearance was difficult for Asahi to see, Telos knew precisely who she was.
(Morwenna. My beloved wife, I found you...)
But just as Asahi could catch another glimpse at the woman, she sprinted back into the forest and dropped an earring on the ground. Telos gasped in shock.
(NO! Asahi, grab your sister and chase that dark-haired woman now! You don't UNDERSTAND how long and far I have gone searching for her. SHE is my goal!)
"Okay."
As the group was discussing, Asahi hurriedly pulled Aletha and yelled.
"Sis, follow me!"
"But, why?! I was in the middle of talking--
"Just... listen to me. It's important!"
Racing up the hill, passing through the forest, Asahi forgot to ask if Pridia and the others would come with him. However...
"Hey, where are you going?!"
The three were already following him.