Following Toko’s advice, I decided to go to the river. When Sunday came, I prepared myself and headed down to the living room.
Today, surprisingly, Toko had also woken up early, and we ate breakfast together.
“Are you two going out somewhere?”
Our mother, who was stirring natto, asked us. Of course, there was mayonnaise on the table.
“River.”
“Mountain.”
Simultaneously, while sipping miso soup, Toko and I answered.
“Same actions… but you’re going to different places…”
With a sigh, Mother finished mixing her natto and added mayonnaise to it.
“I’m going with a guy. Toko’s going with a girl.”
“You two should just go together.”
“You think we won’t get found out as brother and sister?”
“Even though we have the same faces and outfits…”
Both Toko and I were dressed in sportswear. Incidentally, Toko had her hair tied up in a ponytail, showing respect for Sharl, it seemed.
“You, where’s your training uniform?”
“It’s too hot already. Besides, it’s not something a flower like me should wear. The other day, when I was exchanging magic lessons with the president, I noticed how she dressed.”
Took you long enough.
And seriously, are you really showing respect?
“You two, don’t cause trouble for others.”
“Of course not.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.”
“Haa… I’m worried.”
Such a worrywart mother.
“Mother, you’re eating that weird stuff, so you shouldn’t lecture us.”
“Causing trouble.”
Why eat natto with mayonnaise with your rice?
“Haa… Can’t you even eat natto, you Japanese person…?”
““It’s the mayonnaise!””
“It’s delicious, you know… Picky eating is not good.”
It’s the look that’s off-putting.
And the mayonnaise is way too much.
After finishing breakfast, Toko and I went upstairs.
“Well, Big Brother, I’m going to the mountain, so you go to the river, alright?”
“Yup. Be careful. Especially watch out for Noel.”
“I know. Alright, I’m off.”
We nodded at each other and went into our respective rooms.
Then, we passed through the gates and left our dormitory rooms.
“Hey, good to see you! You both endured such hardship this early.”
“Although we were slow to get here, it’s only 6 a.m. at Tsukasa’s place, right?”
Frank and Cedric, resting in the lounge, waved us over.
“I’ve gotten used to it by now. In fact, when we come back in the evening here, it’s still noon there.”
“True enough. Shall we go?”
Frank and Cedric stood up, so we descended the stairs and exited the dormitory.
“What great weather we have today. Let’s hunt some crocodiles!”
The sky was cloudless.
“Sounds fun!”
“Normally, one would be scared of bears and crocodiles, wouldn’t they?”
“It’s not really a big deal, though. Let’s go, let’s go!”
We descended the hill and proceeded towards the building with the teleportation magic array. Upon entering the building, we found two people already there.
One was a tall man with long black hair, looking rather feminine.
The other was a woman, also with long black hair, slender, dressed in a hakama-style Japanese outfit, with a sword at her waist, which screamed “Japanese.”
The two glanced at us when we entered, then boarded the magic array and disappeared.
“Who are they?”
Neither was wearing a uniform, so we couldn’t even tell if they were students. Though they looked young, since they were inside the academy, I assumed they were students…
“A-class students. The male is Ronald.”
“True, it was Ronald.”
Apparently, Frank and Cedric knew him.
“Are they dorm residents?”
“No mistake about that.”
Even though his hair was tied up, the length was still absurd for a man, longer than the female’s, perhaps.
“And the female?”
“I feel like I’ve seen her before… but I don’t know her name.”
“A-class is pretty isolated. But it’s certain that both of them are first-year A-class students. Maybe Yuiha knows? Isn’t she Japanese? She had a sword, after all.”
Even though I only glanced at her, her face felt quite Japanese, so it might be true.
“Hmm… well, never mind. Alright, let’s head to the river. Frank, you go ahead.”
“Same as always, you’re such a coward.”
“I just haven’t gotten used to it yet. Teleportation is such a mysterious technique.”
“That doesn’t seem very wizard-like… Alright, I’ll go first. Just imagine wanting to go to the river.”
Frank said that, boarded the magic array, and disappeared.
“Cedric, shall you go ahead?”
“Go already, don’t waste time every single time.”
Cedric pushed me on the back.
Thus, the three of us boarded the magic array together, and in an instant, everything changed.
There was indeed a river, as said, but the opposite bank was so far away that the land looked small from where we stood.
“Uh? Is this not the river I imagined? Isn’t it too big?”
I had thought of a river about a few meters wide.
But this river wasn’t on that level.
It was even bigger than that lake we know.
“I thought the same thing when I first saw it.”
“It’s impressive, isn’t it? By the way, let me explain—there are crocodiles in the river, so be careful. And take a look behind you.”
At Cedric’s prompting, I turned around.
“…Isn’t that a forest?”
Behind us were plenty of trees, obviously making it a forest.
“Yes, it’s a forest.”
“Isn’t this the same as that lake?”
That place also had a lake in front but a forest at the back.
“Isn’t it because you wanted to come here?”
“By the way, didn’t Toko suggest we should come here?”
“Hmm, yeah… the river is crocodiles, and the forest is lizards?”
“Seems like it. The lizards apparently come to the river to drink water.”
Apparent…
“Have you two never been here before?”
“Yeah, I’ve come here before…”
“Didn’t I tell you that we explored everything the first time? But after that, we hardly go outside. Even when we did, it was just accompanying you or Frank to the lake. So, I’ve heard from upperclassmen, but I’ve never actually seen a crocodile or a lizard.”
Never has…
“Frank hasn’t either?”
“I can’t swim, so I don’t want to get near the river. I hear that crocodiles grab their prey and drag them into the river.”
Can’t swim…
“Aren’t you from the warrior class?”
“Is that relevant? We don’t come from an island nation like you guys.”
“Isn’t that irrelevant?”
“It is. I can’t swim either.”
All of you can’t swim…
—
Thank you for reading this far! If you found this story enjoyable or are eager to read more, your bookmarks or ★★★★★ ratings would be great motivation for me to keep writing.
I sincerely appreciate your support!
