Chapter 7:
Chapter 7 : Into the Unknown (Pt.2)
Re:Sen no Remon
*Gurgle gurgle~...*
The sound of empty stomachs roared like distant drums. The noise didn’t come from just one, but from two—belonging to a young man and woman.
“Hey… how… how long have we… been walking…?”
Rin asked Annie wearily, his feet trudging forward while his hand rubbed his stomach, trying in vain to soothe its protests. His eyes were glazed, as if one more step might be enough to make him collapse and let the snow bury him like a grave.
“I… I don’t know… I didn’t bring my phone…”
Looking at Annie, Rin could hardly tell how they differed anymore. Their supplies were meager—just some basic medicines and a few miscellaneous weapons, but not a single crumb of food. No one had expected this journey to drag on so long.
“Ugh… I hate this! If I’d known… I would’ve… brought something… anything!”
“Complaining… won’t… won’t solve anything… now…”
Annie didn’t even bother arguing with Rin anymore. She didn’t want to waste what little energy she had left moving her mouth to talk.
They kept walking, on and on. Each footprint sank into the white snow, as if the ground itself was draining their strength. Annie’s eyes were heavy with exhaustion, the world around her blurring into triples. Dark figures seemed to lurk under the trees. And then, her nose caught something—a strange, tantalizing scent…
“Hey… am I seeing things… or is that… fire over there…?”
The young man with white hair—whether from snow or nature—spoke up, echoing the question Annie had been about to ask.
*Sniff sniff*
“And… and that smell… it’s… FRIED CHICKEN!!”
Rin’s voice surged with excitement, his tired eyes suddenly alight. He stumbled forward with heavy steps, not caring if it was a mirage or a trap. For him, food was now the ultimate goal. Annie followed reluctantly, her heart skeptical.
“How is he moving so fast…?”
She muttered to herself, watching Rin race toward the promise of food. But then, a familiar voice echoed through the snow.
“THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!”
The shout rang out like a desperate prayer of gratitude, as if a man dying in a barren desert had been granted water and sustenance by divine intervention.
“Kamiyama-san! What’s going on…?”
Annie bit her lip and quickened her pace. In a mission like this, a girl like her, with no direct combat skills, wouldn’t last long alone. Having a suffering companion was better than none.
As she drew closer, Annie saw what she’d thought was a hallucination. Beneath an old pine tree, four people sat around a fire, eating. Rin was wolfing down food like he’d never eaten before, his mouth smeared with grease, muttering garbled “thank yous” between bites.
“Oh, hello! You must be this guy’s friend, right?”
“Y-Yes… I’m—”
“No need for introductions yet. Sit down and eat first…”
The young man handed her a lunchbox.
“T-Thank you…”
Holding the steaming, appetizing lunchbox, Annie hesitated. *Should I eat this? Could it be a trap?*
Her sharp eyes darted around, watching Rin devour his food like he feared it’d be snatched away, and the three others eating from similar lunchboxes. But hunger won out.
“Just one bite… it’ll be fine…”
Never had Annie tasted anything so delicious. The fluffy, fragrant rice, the savory rolled eggs, the tender meat coated in rich sauce—it all melted in her mouth. The combination was so divine that she let out a soft moan, her guard completely down as she savored every bite.
Her empty stomach was finally filled, and for those moments, the biting cold seemed to vanish, replaced by an indescribable bliss.
After about ten minutes, the meal was over.
“Thank you so much for the food! We thought we were going to starve to death,” Annie said politely, bowing to the strangers. Beside her, Rin also bowed deeply, his gesture a formal thank you.
“No big deal,” said the young man with black hair and emerald-green eyes, waving off their gratitude with a shy smile. “Oh, right! We haven’t introduced ourselves. I’m Drake! These two are Jinnie and Yoshino.”
“Nice to meet you all! I’m Annie Cross, and this is Kamiyama Rin!”
“You two are here on a mission, right?”
“Yes! You guys too, I assume? Would you like to team up with us?”
“Sure, why not?”
And so, Rin and Annie’s mysterious journey gained three new companions. But were these newcomers truly trustworthy?
The sound of empty stomachs roared like distant drums. The noise didn’t come from just one, but from two—belonging to a young man and woman.
“Hey… how… how long have we… been walking…?”
Rin asked Annie wearily, his feet trudging forward while his hand rubbed his stomach, trying in vain to soothe its protests. His eyes were glazed, as if one more step might be enough to make him collapse and let the snow bury him like a grave.
“I… I don’t know… I didn’t bring my phone…”
Looking at Annie, Rin could hardly tell how they differed anymore. Their supplies were meager—just some basic medicines and a few miscellaneous weapons, but not a single crumb of food. No one had expected this journey to drag on so long.
“Ugh… I hate this! If I’d known… I would’ve… brought something… anything!”
“Complaining… won’t… won’t solve anything… now…”
Annie didn’t even bother arguing with Rin anymore. She didn’t want to waste what little energy she had left moving her mouth to talk.
They kept walking, on and on. Each footprint sank into the white snow, as if the ground itself was draining their strength. Annie’s eyes were heavy with exhaustion, the world around her blurring into triples. Dark figures seemed to lurk under the trees. And then, her nose caught something—a strange, tantalizing scent…
“Hey… am I seeing things… or is that… fire over there…?”
The young man with white hair—whether from snow or nature—spoke up, echoing the question Annie had been about to ask.
*Sniff sniff*
“And… and that smell… it’s… FRIED CHICKEN!!”
Rin’s voice surged with excitement, his tired eyes suddenly alight. He stumbled forward with heavy steps, not caring if it was a mirage or a trap. For him, food was now the ultimate goal. Annie followed reluctantly, her heart skeptical.
“How is he moving so fast…?”
She muttered to herself, watching Rin race toward the promise of food. But then, a familiar voice echoed through the snow.
“THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!”
The shout rang out like a desperate prayer of gratitude, as if a man dying in a barren desert had been granted water and sustenance by divine intervention.
“Kamiyama-san! What’s going on…?”
Annie bit her lip and quickened her pace. In a mission like this, a girl like her, with no direct combat skills, wouldn’t last long alone. Having a suffering companion was better than none.
As she drew closer, Annie saw what she’d thought was a hallucination. Beneath an old pine tree, four people sat around a fire, eating. Rin was wolfing down food like he’d never eaten before, his mouth smeared with grease, muttering garbled “thank yous” between bites.
“Oh, hello! You must be this guy’s friend, right?”
“Y-Yes… I’m—”
“No need for introductions yet. Sit down and eat first…”
The young man handed her a lunchbox.
“T-Thank you…”
Holding the steaming, appetizing lunchbox, Annie hesitated. *Should I eat this? Could it be a trap?*
Her sharp eyes darted around, watching Rin devour his food like he feared it’d be snatched away, and the three others eating from similar lunchboxes. But hunger won out.
“Just one bite… it’ll be fine…”
Never had Annie tasted anything so delicious. The fluffy, fragrant rice, the savory rolled eggs, the tender meat coated in rich sauce—it all melted in her mouth. The combination was so divine that she let out a soft moan, her guard completely down as she savored every bite.
Her empty stomach was finally filled, and for those moments, the biting cold seemed to vanish, replaced by an indescribable bliss.
After about ten minutes, the meal was over.
“Thank you so much for the food! We thought we were going to starve to death,” Annie said politely, bowing to the strangers. Beside her, Rin also bowed deeply, his gesture a formal thank you.
“No big deal,” said the young man with black hair and emerald-green eyes, waving off their gratitude with a shy smile. “Oh, right! We haven’t introduced ourselves. I’m Drake! These two are Jinnie and Yoshino.”
“Nice to meet you all! I’m Annie Cross, and this is Kamiyama Rin!”
“You two are here on a mission, right?”
“Yes! You guys too, I assume? Would you like to team up with us?”
“Sure, why not?”
And so, Rin and Annie’s mysterious journey gained three new companions. But were these newcomers truly trustworthy?
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