Strange Life-and-Death Encounters

The floor creaked with every footstep.

They were above, moving around slowly.

Charlotte covered her mouth, trying to hold her breath. She was still carrying that girl on her back.

She and the others could hear every movement.

The footsteps moved away a little.

There was a brief silence.

All of a sudden, those footsteps became more restless.

They moved back and forth.

The floor creaked louder.

Crash!

Above them, many things shattered into a thousand pieces.

The footsteps intensified once again.

Each time, they echoed louder.

Until they came to a sudden stop.

They walked more slowly.

Directly above their heads, the wooden plank creaked.

They stopped.

“That's so cool... that trick of yours.”

The three of them were frozen in fear.

His voice wasn't deep. In fact, it was slightly soft, but it was completely distorted and had an echo, as if several people were speaking at once.

He quickly walked over to the hatch and flung it open.

Charlotte closed her eyes. A sharp pain came from her left arm. The voices she hadn't heard in a long time began to flood her mind once again. Thorns began growing from her arm.

Alysia held Bastion in her arms, raising him in a defensive stance.

“Pretending to be like us.”

He didn't come down. He didn't do anything. He stayed up there. His silhouette on the wall.

“We’ll save you… Just leave us alone.”

The figure grew smaller and smaller, and his footsteps grew fainter and fainter.

Everything fell silent.


Even though there was no longer any noise upstairs, it took them a long time to come out. The supposed hero was gone, and only a small butterfly from Suri remained. Its color and the fire in its wings were fading.

It guided them along the same path they had taken.

They didn’t say a word.

Charlotte dragged her feet the whole way. Her left arm stopped hurting, and the thorns were gone. She kept his head facing forward, and her eyes darted quickly in all directions.

Sometimes she would glance sideways at the girl she was carrying on her back, who was still unconscious. Alysia had offered to carry two children. Leif was carrying the remaining three.


They emerged from that strange dungeon. Without even remembering the traps, they walked through it without a care in the world. This time, no roots came out. Everything remained silent.

They walked through the same forest, along the same path, until they reached the town. Everything was the same, but a strange feeling weighed heavily on their hearts.

Outside were Gerald and the prince, who welcomed them with some joy.

“Thanks to the gods you’ve returned.”

“Y-yes,” Charlotte said, barely able to speak.

“Are you all right?”

They didn't answer. All three of them were pale.

“I’ll inform Miss Suri.”

Suri, who was still weak from Magica Overexertion, left the orphanage accompanied by Zoe. Unable to contain her excitement, Zoe rushed over to hug Charlotte, ignoring the fact that she was carrying someone on her back.

“I’m glad you’re safe.”

That warm hug eased her a little.

“Everyone did great.”

Suri noticed her student’s attitude.

“You should go and rest. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“What about the kids, Miss Suri?” the prince asked.

“I’ll take them to the Healing Center.”

“But you're still feeling weak.”

“I’ll go with her,” Charlotte offered.

“But you have to rest, Charlotte.”

“It’s alright, I still have energy.”

Without saying another word, the others returned to keep watch at the temporary orphanage, while Suri and Charlotte headed to the magic center.

Suri was leading the children, holding one of them by the hand, forming a sort of little chain. The little ones also couldn't stop yawning and were rubbing their eyes.

Charlotte looked downcast.

“Who is she?”

“I don’t know… She was there too.”

Suri took a quick look at the sleeping girl. She had many wounds and bandages, especially one that covered most of her face.

“I’m sorry for leaving you alone.”

“It’s fine. Your butterflies helped us.”

The full moon continued to shine brighter than ever. The temperature had dropped even further, and the early-morning breeze was even colder. They continued until they reached the healing center.

An elf greeted them. Charlotte recognized her by her pointed ears and the strange, ethereal, and radiant aura she gave off. In fact, as she passed by, she realized that, in addition to humans, elves were treating their patients.

They were led to a room with several beds, where they began to tend to the children. Charlotte gently laid the young woman down on one of the beds. Seeing her condition brought tears to Charlotte's eyes.

“I talked to a healer. They'll let us stay the night.”

Like many parts of the town, the place was lit by warm candlelight, which made it feel very cozy. The scent of various herbs filled the air. Charlotte could make out the scent of chamomile, and somehow, it eased her tears.

She couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened. Images of that horrible place and the hero's distorted voice were stuck in her mind. She innocently tried to shake her head to get rid of those images, but it was impossible.

Suri sat down next to her.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?”

She didn’t answer.

“Don’t worry, we should rest.”

She hesitated.

“W-we ran into him.”

Suri, who had stood up just a little, sat back down.

“The hero?”

She simply nodded.

“We didn't even see him. He just talked to us.”

“What did he say?”

Charlotte repeated word for word.

Suri remained silent, thinking about those words.

“Miss Suri…”

Tears welled up in her eyes again.

“My arm... means someday I'll end up just like him?”

Suri hugged her.

“You won’t.”

“How can you be so sure?”

For the first time, Suri didn't know what to say. She was about to lie, but it broke her heart. She simply remained silent and comforted Charlotte.

After getting rid of it, Charlotte got up and went to visit the girl. She looked at her with a certain sadness.

Suri followed her.

“What’s next?”

“Tomorrow we will question the children and this girl.”

“Do you think she’s an orphan?”

“Most likely.”

Charlotte sighed. “Can I ask you something?”

“What is it, Miss Suri?”

Suri paused.

“If you found out tomorrow that the hero had deliberately hurt them, would you still try to save him?”

Charlotte thought about it for quite a while.

“Yes, I think so.”

Suri simply smiled.

“You have a great heart, Charlotte.”

Charlotte giggled.

“I just hope that kindness doesn't come back to bite you,” Suri muttered.

“What?”

“Never mind, let's just go get some rest. Our last mission starts tomorrow.”

“What mission?”

“Capture and stop the former hero.”

“Yes, we’ll do it.”

Just as Charlotte was about to leave, the girl, still unconscious, grabbed her by the clothes.

“It seems she likes you.”

“I’ll stay here just a little longer.”

“Well, just don't stay up too late.”

Charlotte sat down in her bed.

“Everything is fine now,” she whispered.

In the end, Charlotte fell asleep next to that stranger. She didn't even know her name, but there was something about her that she couldn't quite put her finger on. At that moment, she hadn't realized that she had saved someone. Maybe a new friend.