03. Brielle Averin

Once the screams of the goblins could not be heard anymore, the girl let down her comically big sword. The same could not be said about Yumino, who had frozen with his bow stretched in front of him, still shocked by the arrow he had let loose unwillingly.

He had never thought about this, as rules had always forbidden him from pointing his arrows at others, but the object in his hands was a weapon originally used to take lives. Thinking about it like that, Yumino could not take his eyes off the bow he should have been used to.

From behind the trembling weapon his gaze was on, a shining silhouette sprouted—no, she had been there for a while.

The girl who had saved him gave off a strangely contradictory vibe. Her small face and long dark hair gave her an almost fragile appearance, but her moves in combat—strong, deliberate, and without hesitation—did not fit that description.

Even the armor she wore seemed oversized. It was easy to think that it actually belonged to somebody else, but she wore it as if it was part of herself—every clink made by the joints feeling intentional.

At least that was the attitude she displayed in battle. Outside of it, the combination of a cute face and bulky armor was complemented by clumsy movements and helmet problems.

"Mara...hmm..."

The girl tried to tell him something, but she gave up quickly, instead looking at him with troubled eyes.

After a quick staredown that had Yumino finally lower his weapon, the girl put on a bright smile, knocked with her fist on the thick armor on her chest, and proclaimed thus:

"Averin. Averin of Brielle."

And what's that supposed to mean? the elf thought to himself.

"It's her name. You should give yours too."

"Who is there?" Yumino screamed as he thoroughly scanned the forest.

"I've heard your voice back there with the goblins too. Who are you?"

But as much as he looked around, nobody else was there.

"There's no need to shout. You'll only frighten the girl. Quiet down—you can speak to me through your thoughts. Here, I'll handle the translation. Speak normally to her."

"Speak through my thoughts? What is that supposed to mean? I mean, fine. You'll have to explain this later."

Finally realizing how weird he had been acting, Yumino looked at the girl whose once smiling face was now gloomed by signs of worry.

"Ah! Sorry about that. Call me... Huh?"

But the girl did not mind the fact the man screamed into nothingness just seconds ago. She put her hand on his face, as what she truly cared about was the wound on his cheek.

For a man who was used to spending most of his time alone, the girl's touch—even through cold armor—was enough to quicken his pulse. His cheeks turned pink, then red, and before finding out what color might come next, he took a step back.

The girl looked at him in confusion, put on a thinking face, and then made the classical gesture of pointing her index finger at the sky when she seemed to have thought of something.

Before long, Averin’s intent became clear. She took off her metal glove and approached Yumino again with an open palm.

"Really? Is that what you thought the problem was?"

Before reaching him, the girl stopped in her tracks.

"So you can speak just fine!" she said, looking somewhat upset.

"I've been trying to tell you something for a while now! But you suddenly started touching my face and all. What's up with that?"

"Look! The scratch on your cheek. It is a goblin's doing, right?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So... Wait. How don't you know something so basic? Goblins often use poison when they go out hunting. How did you even survive around here for so long?"

"I wouldn't call my time spent here long... Wait... poison?"

"Oh no... Whom did I stumble upon? Are you feeling unwell? Did you hit your head maybe?"

In a fit of panic, Yumino grabbed the hand he had run away from just seconds ago, ignoring the questions posed by the girl.

"We can talk about that later. What do you mean by poison? Will I die? How much longer do I have?"

"Okay, calm down for a second. The poison goblins use isn’t strong enough to kill a grown man—let alone an elf. I have some cream that I can apply. It will help with the symptoms, but it may be better to lie down for a bit."

"Lie down? With those guys around? What kind of crazy idea is that?"

"I said calm down! You saw me out there, didn't you? I can take care of a couple of those guys if they decide to come back. But after seeing your shot, I doubt they consider us prey anymore."

Yumino—still flustered from his interaction with the girl—opened his mouth to protest again, but his eyelids grew heavy, and he lost his balance, collapsing to the ground before he could say anything.

"That's it. Just lie there. It should only take a couple of hours for you to feel better. Leave it to me until then!"

As his vision grew dark, Yumino couldn't help but notice the excitement Averin did a bad job at hiding.

*****

Yumino felt as if he was submerged in water, but he was not drowning. If anything, it felt comforting—as if he was floating in a space made only for himself. He only felt slight discomfort at the fact he couldn't figure out whether he was properly dressed or if he even had a body to put clothes on. Either way, it didn't matter as long as there was nobody around to see him.

"Hey, mister! Are you the next one?"

In front of Yumino, a young boy with pointy ears appeared as if out of thin air, looking with his big, questioning eyes at the man.

"Ahh. This is awkward..." he muttered, glancing upward like the abyss was judging him. "I don't even know where I am, and I've already come across as a pervert. Do I get another try around here?"

As he was pondering the situation, a third voice cut in with an unimpressed tone.

"Can you stop thinking about weird things? You don't have a body in the proper sense here. There is no need for all that."

"Woah! That voice again! Who is that? Show yourself!"

Out of nowhere, a woman with long hair appeared in front of Yumino. Her looks were not clearly defined—being closer in form with a spirit rather than a living being—but the fact her hair covered her ears made it clear that she was unrelated to the little elf.

"Or maybe... no way. Is he... ours?"

The woman's expression darkened.

"...Seriously?"

She let out a disappointed sigh and snapped her fingers, shedding light on countless spirits trapped in agonizing sleep.

"Welcome, dear hero!" she said in a soft voice while approaching the elf.

"Welcome to what is left of the Elfdom of Alenrius!"

"Alenrius? Wait... where are we really? I thought this was just a weird dream I was having because of the poison."

"You can call it a dream," the woman answered. After all, we are all within you, and you are all that's left of us."

"Now you start speaking in riddles? What is Alenrius? Who are you people? How did you get in my head? Just yesterday I was dreaming of winning archery contests."

"I am afraid that was not a dream. That life of yours was just as real as this one."

"Just as real? What does that even mean? Wait... No... don't tell me..."

"I am afraid that your past life came to an abrupt, unsuspected conclusion."

"You mean... I died and got transported here? Wasn't that a manga thing? No, no, no—this can't be happening to me. This has to be a farce or something. I can't die right when my life is taking a turn for the better! I was just starting to make up with my family!"

"Please, hero. Calm down!" the lady insisted.

"You don't get to tell me to calm down! And what is up with this hero business? Don't tell me I have to save you all and defeat some demon lord... How much more cliché can this get?"

"Please, you will startle the other spirits!"

But it was already too late. Screams coming out of the deep abyss started resounding louder and louder—screams that Yumino had heard before.

"Kill him!"

"Make him pay!"

The whole place started shaking, and the woman grabbed Yumino by the arm.

"It seems this is not the right time! I will give you the answers you seek on another occasion. For now, it is better that you wake up," the lady said in a hurry. Immediately after, a bright light blinded Yumino.

The next thing the man saw was the green crown proudly worn by a tall tree. He was back in that forest—no, he was back in the ruins of Alenrius.