Eleonora Delphi, the bizarre European girl.

‘Uh… pervert-kun, can you let go of me now?’ Ayumu knelt on the floor and the girl rose. Embarrassed by what had happened, Ayu apologised.

‘I’m sorry.’

‘What? Ah! It’s not a big deal, man. Is a common thing around here, right? It appears in a lot of mangas.’ It seemed like she meant it.

‘Life is not a manga!’ Ayumu cut in, his face red with embarrassment.

‘Ah, yes, sorry. I’m not too familiar with your culture,’ she shrugged. ‘I’ve only read a few mangas and watched a couple of anime before coming here.’ The blonde girl offered him a hand, which he accepted, and pulled him up with force. ‘I’m Eleonora Delphi. Call me Nora.’

‘Ayumu… Nonomiya, Ayumu.’ The blonde girl tapped him on the back and showed a mischievous smile before changing her expression to a more thoughtful one.

‘But it’s strange,’ Nora examined her companion. ‘I thought Onmyou was a female academy. Which brings me to the next question, what are you doing here?’

‘Eh?’ he reacted with surprise. ‘Oh, no! I should be in Kobe.’

‘Kobe? Is that something you eat?’ Nora looked confused.

‘No, no, Kobe is…’ He tried to correct her. ‘Well, never mind…’ The girl turned around, heading towards the reception desk. Nora examined it and rang a shiny bell placed on it, waiting for someone to receive her. Ayu approached his companion. ‘There's nobody here. I’ve only seen that girl and the driver.’ The boy glanced at the glass doors. ‘Whom I haven’t seen since he got off the bus.’ Ayu crossed his arms and closed his eyes, thinking. ‘Where could he have gone?’

‘What? I’m sure they told me they were coming to pick up the students. What a problem!’ Nora turned around toward the bulletin board, looking for information. There were several lists of Onmyou students on it. The girl’s eyes caught a name before turning back to him. ‘Did you say your name is Nonomiya?’

‘Ah!’ he looked at her and nodded, somewhat puzzled. ‘Yes, why do you ask?’

‘Do you have a sister?’

‘No, I’m an only child.’ Ayumu was confused by the question. Nora pointed to the lists.

‘There’s a name written, someone named…’ She looked at the lists and read. ‘Ayumi Nonomiya.’ Nora focused her gaze on Ayumu. ‘How strange. It seems someone tried to correct it. Part of the name is written in pen. It’s curious at least…’ He approached the bulletin board with haste and saw the name. As Eleonora had said, the second kanji was corrected with a pen. Without that correction, it would be Ayumu Nonomiya.

‘Could it be that…!?’ he sounded alarmed. ‘But I had a place at the Nada High School in Kobe!’

‘Oh, so we’re classmates!’ she grabbed his hands. Ayu blushed, but before he could say anything, she started shaking his arms somewhat roughly up and down while laughing. ‘You relieve me, I was worried about being the only one arriving late!’

‘But it must be a mistake!’ Eleonora released his hands. Nora thought for a moment, earning his attention.

‘Oh, I’ve got it!’

‘Hey?’ he followed the young woman with his gaze, his anticipation growing as he waited to hear a logical explanation from her. However, she turned, grabbed her suitcase and started walking towards the exit. ‘And you’re leaving just like that?’ Ayu reacted with exaggeratedly, and she stopped when she heard this.

‘What do you expect me to do?’ she crossed her arms. ‘We won’t solve anything here, and I doubt anyone will come to pick us up.’ The girl turned away and waved her hand, bidding him farewell. ‘Good luck with everything!’

***

Nora hummed cheerfully as she walked along the road, with her companion following behind. The bus station gradually faded as they continued their journey. Occasionally, he looked back, glimpsing the distant Nankaina palaces, considering returning. After fifteen minutes of walking, he gathered his courage and finally spoke up.

‘Excuse me…’ She stopped her humming and turned around in surprise. ‘We’ve been walking for quite some time now, and it feels like we’re in the middle of nowhere. Do you have any idea where we’re headed?’ Nora shrugged.

‘I’m not a psychic.’ The girl joked. The boy had another huge outburst.

‘Then why the hell did you seem so convinced?’ the boy huffed. ‘I should have gone the other way…’

‘Come on…’ She tried to calm him down. ‘Maybe I don’t know where we’re going, but you don’t think I’m stupid enough to wander aimlessly.’ Nora glanced at the bloodstains on the road, which extended erratically every few steps.

‘Wait, that’s…’ He remembered the other girl at the station. His face paled as the horrible feeling of dread she had transmitted over him resurfaced. ‘Don’t you think it’s better to turn back?’ Ayu pointed in the opposite direction.

‘We must be close by now, don’t worry.’ She gently hit her chest with her palm. ‘As you can see, I’m pretty dependable.’

‘Allow me to doubt that.’ Ayumu let out a nervous laugh. They started walking again, with him even more uncertain about their destination. After a lengthy trek, they reached the forest entrance. The blood trail ended. Nora was surprised by the towering height of the trees. The soft spring breeze gently rustled her golden hair and the leaves above, creating a soothing melody. Nora’s eyes shifted to the path ahead, taking in the surroundings. Notably, there was a peculiar carving on one of the tree trunks. Leaning on his suitcase, he glanced at the sign on the left, showing Nankaina was 5 kilometres away. The arrow pointed in the opposite direction of the forest. ‘What do we do now? I suggest turning back,’ he proposed. Ignoring his suggestion, she continued moving down the road of polished stone slabs. Undeterred, he persisted, ‘but do you intend to keep going?’ she halted and turned to face him.

‘Of course,’ Nora didn’t care in the least. She reached out her hand. ‘If you’re scared, we can hold hands.’ The boy blushed for a moment and twisted his lips, annoyed.

‘Scared? You’ll see!’ he grabbed his suitcase and walked past Eleonora, who shrugged and walked behind him.