Chapter 4 - Intervention

It took about an hour to arrive at the forest. Alina winced in pain as Renji eased her down carefully, propping her back against the trunk of a large tree.

“Sorry. Bear with it for a minute,” Renji apologised in a soft voice.

Renji dropped to a crouch, raised his carbine, and scanned for threats behind them. He controlled his breathing for a steadier aim and sharpened his hearing.

A full minute later, satisfied there were no immediate threats, Renji turned his attention to Alina.

“Do you have healing magic?” Renji asked, surprising himself.

“No. That’s really rare,” Alina shook her head. “We could buy healing potions in town, but they’re pricey.”

Renji noticed that Alina’s robe had shifted, revealing the pale skin of her upper thighs. He removed his cloak and placed it over her legs, leaving only the wounded calf uncovered.

“Thank you,” Alina said in a shy voice.

Renji nodded and pulled out a multitool and a bandage from his tactical vest.

“All right then. This might hurt a bit, bear with me.” Renji held a short branch in front of Alina’s mouth. “Bite down on this—it might help.” Alina bit down on the branch.

He set the multitool to its cutter option and gently propped Alina’s leg on a nearby root with his free hand. Alina groaned softly, biting harder on the branch.

The blood isn’t pulsing or bright in colour. Doesn’t look arterial. Some good news at least.

With the multitool, Renji cut both ends of the arrow, leaving a short stub on each side. He then bandaged the wound gently.

“All done, for now. Where are we heading next?” Renji gently removed the branch from Alina’s mouth.

“Thank you again. We’ll head to my teacher’s home—a village not too far from here.”

“How much further?” he asked.

“About half a day’s journey, at least.”

No water. One wounded. Any more than half a day would be really pushing it.

“I’m going to carry you on my back. Is that all right? I can move faster that way.”

“Y-yes, of course. I’m sorry that you have to do that for me,” she said, wincing in pain.

“Don’t be. We’re in this together, at least for now.”

Alina gingerly climbed onto his back, and they trekked for a couple more hours before taking another break.

***

“Renji! Renji!” Alina called his name, gently shaking his shoulder. Renji woke with a jolt and instinctively reached for his carbine.

Alina flinched in surprise. “S-sorry, Renji. You were stirring in your sleep. Bad dream?”

Renji blinked and shook his head.

“It’s alright. How long was I asleep?”

“About half an hour.”

“Thanks for waking me. I didn’t intend to doze off.” Renji stood and crouched with his back to Alina. “We should keep moving.”

“Thank you.” Alina gingerly climbed onto his back, resting her arms around his shoulders.

Checking that Alina had settled in securely, Renji stood up and started walking.

“Do you know if there is a water source nearby?”

“Ah! Wait... stop moving for a bit.”

“Huh? Sure.” He paused.

Still on Renji’s back, Alina cupped her hands in front of him and muttered a few words under her breath.

A glowing pale blue orb formed in her hands. When the light faded, her hands were filled with clear water.

“No way…” Renji muttered, stunned.

“Here, drink,” she said softly, gently bringing her hands to his mouth. “I drank some while you were asleep.”

Renji drank the water greedily.

That felt so good… Magic that conjures water? What the hell… Then again, she did conjure ice earlier. Related magic fields? It’s like the light novels and video games from my otaku days… Could it be? No way… No freaking way…

“Thank you, Alina. Could you do that again? If it’s not too much to ask.”

“Sure thing!”

She repeated the spell another three times before they started moving again.

As they trekked through the forest, Renji’s mind wandered…

***

Eleven years ago, a certain high school, Tokyo.

The school bell chimed, signaling the start of lunch break. As though in sync with the bell, a warm summer breeze drifted through Classroom 2-A.

In the back row, Renji sat at his desk, his attention on a handheld video game. It was his third day back at high school since his bereavement absence. He could sense his classmates were being cautious around him.

Seated in front of him, Yamaguchi Kenta turned around.

“Hey Renji, you want something from the shop?” Kenta asked.

Kenta had been the only classmate at the funeral. They’d been close since middle school, sharing interests in video games and soccer. He was the only one who didn’t walk on eggshells around Renji.

“Sure, Ken. What are you getting?”

“The usual—yakisoba bun.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Kenta noticed three girls standing in hushed conversation by the windows. The long-haired girl in the middle was stealing occasional glances in his direction, holding a homemade bento wrapped in light blue cloth and a bottle of cold water in her other hand.

“Kyoko, are you sure about this? He’s the soccer ace, yeah... but he’s also kind of the class otaku,” Hana said, clearly apprehensive as she tied her shoulder-length hair into a ponytail.

“He’s cute. Although, except when he’s with Yamaguchi-kun, he keeps to himself most of the time. Last year too,” Aoi added, fanning herself with a textbook. “Short hair feeling cooler is a lie. Shouldn’t have cut my hair,” she lamented.

“Don’t you feel sorry for him? Losing both parents in an accident at our age...” Kyoko said in a soft voice. “Also, he hasn’t been bringing his usual bento lately.” She took another glance toward the back row.

“You actually noticed that, Kyoko?” There was a tinge of surprise in Hana’s voice.

“Well…” Kyoko looked down, her ears turning slightly pink.

“If that’s what you’ve decided, Kyoko, we’ll support you. Go. Don’t look back.” Aoi gave her a gentle push on the back.

Kyoko stumbled a couple of steps as she approached. She glanced back at her friends, who grinned and gave her enthusiastic thumbs-up gestures.

“On second thought, I don’t think you’ll need lunch today,” Kenta said with a grin.

“Huh? Why?” Renji asked, looking up from his handheld game.

“Erm, Takeda-kun.”

The boys were interrupted by a female voice. They both looked up.

Kyoko stood at Renji’s desk with the bento and bottled water in hand.

“Erm, Mizusawa-san?” Renji blinked, clearly surprised.

Kenta glanced at Kyoko, then at the bento, then at Renji. He winked and walked off toward the shop without a word.

“I made a little too much today,” she said softly. “If you don’t mind.”

“I hit the wrong button at the vending machine earlier,” Kyoko added as she handed Renji the bento and water. “I think cold water is nice for a day like this, though.”

“Thank you…” he said, awkwardly accepting the lunch and water. The bottle, wet with condensation, felt cold in his hand.

What would be the polite thing to do here? Offer her a drink in return? Invite her to take a seat?

“Erm… Y-you can take a seat if you’d like. I don’t think Kenta would mind.” Renji gestured meekly to the seat that Kenta had just vacated.

“Sure thing!” Kyoko said, smiling.

***

Still on Renji’s back as they trekked through the forest, Alina found her thoughts drifting...

Vaerina believed the summoning was for a spirit being given a physical body. She’s the Duke’s head mage—but she’s full of shit. Always has been. Or did the spell go wrong?

Renji has to have come from another world. He probably has family back in his world. Loved ones that depend on him. Wife and children maybe? He certainly seems to be of that age. He’s now all alone in this strange world, caught in a fight that’s none of his business. He’ll probably never see his family again.

“Sorry, Renji,” Alina whispered.

“Huh? Why are you apologising? You can’t be expected to walk for hours on a wounded leg.”

She hadn’t meant to say the words out loud.

“N-nothing. Don’t mind me.” She shook her head.

He uses strange weapons, but it’s obvious he’s no stranger to battle—able to kill without hesitation. He will have questions. A lot of them. He won’t like the answers.

Alina let out a sigh and rested her chin on Renji’s shoulder.

It was getting dark, but from their elevated position, she recognised a familiar sight in the distance.

“Renji, do you see that village in the distance? Head there.” She pointed toward the village of Thul.

As they arrived, Alina directed Renji to Master Rovan’s home.

They stood outside a modest two-storey house built from a mix of wooden frames and stone.

Alina knocked urgently on the door.

The thick wooden door swung open after a few seconds. In the doorway stood a bespectacled man in his fifties, with short brown hair greying at the temples.

“Hello, Master Rovan,” Alina said, wearing a sheepish grin.

His eyes widened in surprise. “Alina?! Come in, quick!” He grabbed Renji’s collar, pulling him into the house and shutting the door.