The man looked at her and said:
"Anyway, it was nice meeting you. We need to go, we're late getting back home."
Haruka replied:
"Ah… yes, of course. Goodbye, it was nice meeting you both."
As she was bidding them farewell, her stomach suddenly growled. She stopped and said in surprise:
"I got hungry so quickly… even though I ate a short while ago."
Then she stretched a little and added:
"All that movement must have made me hungry. So… should I go back home?"
She looked around…
and froze.
Trees surrounded her from every direction, and the sky had begun to darken gradually. Silence filled the place for a few short seconds, then she whispered in a trembling voice:
"But… where am I?"
While the old man and the young man were walking, they suddenly heard the sound of someone running behind them. They turned around and saw her running toward them, panting and screaming:
"HEEEEELP MEEEE!!!"
The man shouted sharply:
"What is she doing?! Didn't she say she was leaving?!"
But when he looked more carefully, his eyes widened.
A pack of lions was chasing her.
He froze in place and shouted:
"You idiot! Don't come here!"
Then he quickly picked up the old man and started running as well.
After running for a while, they were hiding on top of a tall tree, panting as they tried to catch their breath, while the lions circled below.
He said angrily while panting:
"Can't you stop causing trouble for one minute?! What exactly did you do to make all of this chase you?!"
She answered while panting, tears beginning to stream down her face:
"I wanted to leave, but I… stepped on the tail of one of the lions that was sleeping, and when I lifted my foot without noticing… I stepped on another one."
He sighed angrily and said:
"Fine, but why did you run toward us? You could've died on your own!"
She replied in a trembling voice:
"Because… I wanted to go with you."
He froze for a moment and said in disbelief:
"Huh? What?"
She said:
"I was actually leaving, but I realized I didn't know the way back, and the sky was getting dark. I thought either I would get lost at night… or I would be eaten."
He replied sarcastically:
"Wow… as if that matters to me."
She said angrily:
"It does matter to you! After all, I saved your father. You should repay that!"
He replied coldly:
"Huh? Who was going to die at the hands of those bandits? I'm the one who saved him."
She froze in place and screamed:
"I wouldn't have died if I hadn't intervened when they tried to take this old man!"
He replied with provoking coldness:
"As if I asked for your help back then."
The old man interrupted them calmly:
"What's wrong with you, Yu? We have an empty room. She can stay there for the night."
He looked at him, sighed, then said:
"Fine, fine… but on one condition."
She quickly said:
"What is it?"
He replied:
"That you pay for your stay."
She said angrily:
"Huh?! Is money all that matters to you?!"
He answered:
"Yes, it is. And if you don't have it, then leave."
She sighed angrily and said:
"Fine, whatever… take this."
She handed him her credit card.
He took it and said in confusion:
"What is this? Are you making fun of me?"
She replied in shock:
"What's wrong with you? It's my credit card!
C-R-E-D-I-T… C-A-R-D!"
He looked at it, then suddenly…
he tore it apart.
She screamed in panic:
"Heeey! What are you doing?! What's wrong with you?! Didn't you say you wanted money?!"
He replied harshly:
"No, what's wrong with you? You give me a piece of paper and expect me to treat it as money? As I said before, give me two silver coins and I'll let you stay."
She interrupted him nervously:
"W-wait a moment… what do you mean by silver coins?"
He answered:
"Money… M-O-N-E-Y."
She stopped completely, then said hesitantly:
"Hey… can I ask you a question?"
He said:
"Yes, go ahead."
She asked nervously:
"That thing those people were using… what was it?"
He said in confusion:
"Huh? I don't understand."
She asked again while swallowing hard, her breathing becoming uneven:
"I mean… the thing the bandits were taking out of their hands… those flames… what are they?"
He looked at her strangely and said:
"Huh? What's wrong with you? Haven't you ever seen magic before?"
She said in a trembling voice:
"D-did you say… magic?"
He replied:
"Yes."
She froze in place, then gathered what little strength she had left to ask:
"May I ask one last question…? What year is it now?"
He hesitated, as if trying to remember.
But the old man intervened and said:
"It is the year 1207."
Haruka's eyes widened even more, and her heart began to race wildly. Her breathing grew heavier and harder as she thought to herself:
"W-what? Magic? 1207? Not 2041?
What is happening?
I knew something was wrong… I knew it… but I ignored it and believed everything would be fine.
Did I travel back in time? No… no way… magic didn't exist in the past or the present.
Could it be… another world?
No… no…"
Her body began to grow cold, and a strong dizziness overcame her. Everything started spinning around her, her breathing became heavy…
"Oh no… I'm going to fall like this…"
Her vision began to blur.
"Is that… that man? He's shouting… what is he saying? I can't hear him…
Oh no… I'm falling from the tree… I want to stand up… but I have no strength…"
Then…
she closed her eyes,
and lost consciousness.
To be continued…