II - A New Great Hero?

The monster charged, its crimson eyes blazing.

Pan moved before she realized what she was doing.

It will tear her apart!

She slipped between the exposed roots and loose stones without breaking stride and drove her shoulder into Haku with all the force she could muster.

The two of them tumbled across the forest floor before crashing into a tree.

“Hngh...”

When Haku opened her eyes, Pan was sprawled on top of her, staring in disbelief.

“Are you insane?!” Pan shouted.

Haku merely blinked.

“Who... are you?” Haku asked in bewilderment, her eyes lingering on Pan’s fluffy ears.

“I...” Pan began, then saw the monster charging straight at them.

“M-monster!” she screamed, pointing at it.

Without hesitation, Haku shoved her aside just as the creature’s jaws snapped shut where Pan had been.

She seized its upper jaw with one hand and its lower jaw with the other, straining with all her strength to hold its maw apart.

“Ngh!”

The beast drove her back against the tree, but Haku planted her feet, bent her knees, and with a mighty shove, hurled it backward.

As Pan scrambled back to her feet, she caught only a glimpse of the monster sailing high across the clearing before crashing down on the far side.

“Whoa... she’s seriously strong...” she blurted out in amazement.

“Get out of here!” Haku shouted from across the clearing.

Pan hesitated.

She saw the determination burning in the silver eyes of the warrior.

“But what about you?”

“Don’t worry about me!” Haku called back.

She whipped her head toward the monster, which was already preparing to charge again.

Its glowing eyes, however, weren’t fixed on Haku.

They were locked on Pan, as though it had recognized her as the easier prey.

Pan froze as it lunged.

“Damn it!” Haku hissed.

She sprinted toward the spot where she had left her shield, snatched it up, and hurled it like a discus.

It slammed into the monster an instant before it could reach Pan, knocking it sprawling once more.

By the time it staggered back to its feet, Haku was already charging toward it, sword in hand.

With a deafening snarl, the beast leapt.

So did Haku.

SHING.

They landed back-to-back in the middle of the clearing.

For a heartbeat, everything stood perfectly still.

Then the monster toppled sideways.

Its skull split clean in two.

Haku slid her sword back into its scabbard and turned toward Pan, who was still standing frozen in place.

She killed it. Just like that!

“Are you hurt?”

Pan quickly patted herself down before nodding.

“I... I think I'm okay, mm.”

Haku approached her, studying her for a moment.

“Who are you? Why did you follow me?” she asked bluntly.

“Well...” Pan couldn’t meet her gaze. Instead, she answered with a question of her own. “Why were you trying to let that monster kill you, mm?!”

Haku flinched.

For a long moment, she said nothing.

She lowered her eyes as if searching for the right words, while Pan tilted her head curiously.

Then something shattered the silence.

GRRRR.

Pan’s stomach growled so loudly that it echoed across the clearing like thunder.

Haku stared at her in surprise, while Pan looked away in embarrassment.

Then, after a brief silence, Haku smiled.

“When was the last time you ate?”

  ***

The tavern buzzed with life.

Plates clattered, mugs slammed together, and there was scarcely an empty seat in the room.

Pan swallowed the last dumpling, drenched in a dark gravy, before lifting the plate and scraping the final shreds of red cabbage into her mouth.

She licked the sauce from her lips and took a hearty swig from her mug to wash it all down.

“Gaaah!”

Grinning mischievously, she nudged the innkeeper as he hurried past.

“Oi! Another serving of those dumplings. And another one of that dark beer, mm!”

The burly innkeeper, who had thrown her out of the tavern only hours earlier, forced a strained smile.

“O-Of course. Right away...”

With a weary sigh, he disappeared behind the counter while Pan watched him go with smug satisfaction.

Then she turned back to Haku.

“So... aren’t you going to eat too, mm?”

Haku shook her head.

“I’m not hungry. But please, eat until you’re full.”

“Full?”

Pan raised an eyebrow and stared thoughtfully at the ceiling before replying with mock philosophical wisdom.

“I don’t do full. I’m either hungry or I feel sick.”

Haku blinked in surprise.

Then she giggled.

For a while, she simply stared at Pan, lost in thought, as though reminiscing about days long gone.

But Haku’s smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

“Well then...”

She stood up and dropped a small pouch of silver onto the table.

“This is everything I have left. It should cover your next meals and a few nights here. I won’t be needing it anymore. Farewell, Pan...”

She had just turned away when something tugged at her cloak.

Looking back, she found Pan leaning halfway across the table, clutching the fabric.

“W-where are you going, mm?” Pan asked anxiously.

Haku looked at her as if she didn’t understand the question.

“I already told you. It’s my duty to aid the Great Heroes in their battle against evil...”

She gestured around them.

“If there is nothing threatening this world, then I simply have no place in it.”

Pan swallowed.

“So you’re really going to go through with it? Just like that?”

Haku sighed.

“As I said, I will only die in this world. Five hundred years from now, I’ll be sent to another one. Hopefully, one where I am needed...”

She stepped away from the table.

“So, if there isn’t anything else...”

Pan clenched her teeth.

Her gaze briefly flicked toward the pouch of coins on the table.

“B-but this world needs you too, mm!” Pan blurted out before she could stop herself.

Haku froze.

“What?”

She immediately sat back down and leaned across the table.

Pan’s face went completely blank.

Oh bamboocrap, why did I say that?!

“Then why did no one know what I was talking about, no matter where I asked?” Haku pressed.

“Well... um... because...”

Suddenly her eyes lit up, and she raised a finger.

“Because the threat hasn’t reached this continent yet!”

Haku frowned.

“This continent...?”

Pan nodded.

“R-right! Right now it’s only threatening the eastern continent, across the ocean. That’s why no one here knows anything about it yet, mm...”

“And how do you know about it?” Haku asked.

“Because that’s where I’m from! And, as it happens, I’m trying to get back there, too. So if you need someone showing you the way...”

Haku rubbed her chin thoughtfully while Pan swallowed.

An adventurer as strong as her could earn a fortune taking monster-hunting jobs and pay for my journey.

And if it keeps her from killing herself... that’s a good thing, isn’t it?

Exactly! 

It’s... it’s for her own sake!

“So... you say this eastern continent is being threatened by a Demon King?”

Pan blinked.

Only now did the full weight of her lie begin to sink in as she saw the hopeful look in Haku’s eyes.

“N-no...” she stammered.

But there was no backing out now.

“It’s... it’s a... Demon Emperor!”

Haku raised an eyebrow.

“A Demon... Emperor...?”

Pan nodded vigorously, growing more nervous by the second.

“Y-yeah. If no one stops him, his armies will overrun the rest of this world too, mm!”

As the innkeeper arrived with her order, Pan snatched the beer mug from his hand and hurriedly took a long drink, avoiding Haku’s gaze.

Haku studied the young woman in silence, her thoughts seemingly racing.

Oh no... did she see through my lie?

Then her expression changed.

Her lips parted slightly, and something shimmered in her silvery eyes.

“Now I understand...” she murmured. “It’s you. You were drawn across the world before the threat revealed itself...”

Suddenly she drew her sword, rested both hands on the pommel, and bowed her head.

The entire tavern fell silent.

Every head turned.

Pan, still holding her beer mug to her lips, blinked in utter confusion.

W-What’s she doing?

“Forgive me for not realizing it sooner...” Haku said solemnly.

“Pan, I pledge to support you in every way I can. If necessary, I will gladly give my life to ensure your victory over the Demon Emperor.”

She raised her eyes.

“Great Hero.”

Pan choked on her beer.

Coughing violently, she sprayed it down her chin.

“EH?!”