Not fast enough.

I'm in front of the wooden cabin again.

A headache makes it feel as if my head is about to explode.
I get dizzy.
And I hear that voice again.

Masked guy- Save static noise if she static noise top static noise time static noise

I wake up still dizzy.
These dreams probably mean something.
If magic is real, then prophetic dreams must be real too.
But I can't do anything about it unless I figure out what everything means.

I'm in one of the bedrooms of the Golden Honeypot's inn.
A "mid-level" room that looked like a fancy hotel room from my world.
Three beds with silky blankets.
Three wardrobes.
A shiny table like the one where we had dinner.
Fancy and super stylish candle holders on the walls.
Abstract art paintings.
Even a red marble statue of some lady holding a jar.
This looks like a high-class hotel.

The girls were still sleeping.
If Astra woke up first, she would probably play a spider prank on Faylinn again, so I decided to wake Faylinn first.

Faylinn- oh, hello Leo, goom dorning. Faylinn said while yawning. 

Leonel- goom dorning? You must still be half-asleep.

Faylinn- I have zero energy during the morning. Not even enough energy to speak properly.

Leonel- well, we need to get ready to go buy some stuff. I'll wake Astra.

Faylinn- wait!!!! Suddenly, Faylinn was filled with energy, as if she had been drinking strong coffee for the past 5 hours.

Leonel- what's wrong?

Faylinn- don't wake Astra. I'll do it. Said Faylinn with the exact same evil grin I saw on Astra's face when she played a prank on Faylinn.

I knew something was going to happen...

Faylinn went to the bathroom and returned with a bucket filled with water.

Leonel- Faylinn... please don't tell me--

Faylinn- FIRE! THERE IS A FIRE!

Faylinn was being as loud as possible ; she was not even considering the possibility that there could be other people sleeping in the other rooms.

Astra quickly got up, leaving her blankets behind, and as soon as she left the bed... Faylinn splashed her face with the water from the bucket.
Her wavy hair was no longer wavy. It was plain straight hair, dripping with cold water.
But that wasn't the biggest issue.
I could sense that she was furious.
She put on a forced smile.
She was even clenching her fists...

Astra- Faylinn... you must think you are immortal, considering you are tempting the grim reaper this morning. said Astra with a soft but occasionally trembling voice, as if she was holding back to avoid yelling.

Astra then hit the floor with her huge, thick, heavy tail twice, causing the entire room to start shaking as if an earthquake were taking place.

Faylinn- that's revenge for your spider prank! hahahahaha! Faylinn laughed uncontrollably.

Astra- Leo, would it be okay for you to travel with just one companion? Because I'm afraid that my dryad mother is about to lose one of her daughters. said Astra while still keeping her forced smile.

Astra was still angry ; I needed to quickly step in.

Leonel- wait, Astra. It's not that bad. Take a look at yourself in the mirror ; you actually look great with straight hair. You look really beautiful!

Astra started blushing while looking down at the floor.
At this rate she might calm down.

Astra- well, thank you. But I can't really have straight hair. My hair naturally becomes wavy against my will...

Leonel- it's ok Astra! You look beautiful even when you have your usual wavy hair. In fact, a wavy hairstyle is a perfect match for your soothing voice!

Astra blushed even more.
My strategy worked! She calmed down!
I felt like a genius.
It almost felt as if I had discovered something worth a Nobel prize.

Astra- I'll go dry my hair...

Astra went to the bathroom while I prepared everything to go out.

Faylinn- so... does my hair look great? I prefer a ponytail style, but maybe a different hairstyle would be better.

Why was she suddenly asking me about her hairstyle?
Was this some kind of fantasy romance game?
Was I supposed to say something?

I had to improvise. I had no other option.

Leonel- well, a ponytail fits your wild fighting style ; there is no need to change it. And the red ribbon looks really cute on you!

Now I just had to wait to see the effect of my words.

Faylinn- I actually made the ribbon myself. Our dryad mother taught me how to do it. If Leo thinks it looks good on me, then I'm not changing my hairstyle.

It seems it worked.
I didn't step on a landmine.
I felt invincible.

Now I just had to change the topic.

Leonel- Faylinn, once we go collect your reward from the eastern gate, we can go to the alchemist shop. I will then show you something from my world.

Faylinn- that sounds great! I'm looking forward to it!

Astra came out of the bathroom. Her hair was dry and wavy again.
And more importantly, she wasn't angry anymore.

Astra- I'm sorry for taking so long, but I'm ready to go out.

Faylinn- tsk, your hair is dry again. Faylinn said in a barely audible voice.

Astra- oh, did you say something, you little fire lizard?

Faylinn- fire lizard!?

Leonel- girls! Don't fight, we need to go out.

Astra- Leo is right, let's go.

We left the inn and walked directly to the eastern gate.
The guard from last night was waiting for us with a pouch in his left hand.

Faylinn- is that the cash reward!? Faylinn was excited.

Guard- yes, it's 70 gold coins. We couldn't even scratch the nara, that's why the reward is quite generous.

Faylinn- woah, that's a lot of money! Leooooo, we can buy all kinds of stuff for our travels with this! We can get some sleeping bags and a camping tent! Let's goooo!

Faylinn just left us behind. She was running at full speed.
But... where was she going? Did she even know where to go?
Even I didn't know where to buy that kind of stuff.

Leonel- Astra, where is she even going?

Astra- I honestly don't know. We haven't even explored this town yet.

Leonel- ok, Astra, please go after Faylinn, find out where she is going, and then come back and tell me where she is. There's no way I will be able to catch up with her. I'll wait here.

Astra- ok, just wait here. I'll be back as soon as possible.

And just like that, Astra went chasing after Faylinn at insane speeds, but without quite matching her speed.

I decided to take this chance to get some information from the guard.

Leonel- excuse me, have you, by any chance, ever seen a large group of fire draconers or mountain draconers around here?

Guard- no, sorry. Those two draconer girls are the only draconers I've ever seen. And I've been working here for years.

Leonel- how about a teenage guy, around my age, wearing black and blue clothes?

Guard- oh, you knew him? he said in a cautious voice. 

He was talking in the past tense. I did not like it.

Leonel- yes! Did you see where he went?

Guard- well... he isn't going anywhere now. An old, bulky, bald guy wearing pieces of dark glass on his eyes attacked him not far from here. The boy was reduced to ashes before we could react. I'm terribly sorry!

I was shocked.
Even in this wild and dangerous world, I was absolutely convinced I would eventually find him alive.
We weren't friends, but we were classmates.
And, in this world, we were supposed to help each other.
And yet, I failed.
If only we had reached this town just a little sooner...