Sora and I went on listening while facing each other.

“...I was just like you...” Maria said.

I sneaked a sideways glance at her and saw that her head was drooping.

“I thought that I had to do everything on my own... I can’t leave you alone, Dewey, because you’re just like what I used to be.”

Spoken like a true otome game protagonist... Add the slightly teary eyes she sometimes shows and you’ve got yourself enough to make anyone, including Dewey, fall in love...

As expected, Dewey, who had been so motivated to contradict her, just fell silent at her words.

“You don’t have to do this alone. You can rely on us,” she said, grabbing his hand.

We weren’t close enough to see his expression, but I could tell well enough that Dewey’s cheeks had turned red.

He’s fallen for her. O, Maria, you incredible heroine! Best waifu!

I had to share my excitement with someone.

“Geheheh, we just witnessed the very moment someone fell in love! Maria really can’t help it, huh?” I said, looking at Sora.

He didn’t seem to agree, and instead looked perplexed.

“...Coming from you, that’s... Nevermind. Can you let me go now? This is starting to get hard to bear.”

“Oh, sorry. Did it hurt?”

I noticed that I’d been so thrilled that I had grabbed onto his shoulder, and was still holding onto it very firmly. So rude of me.

“It’s not that it hurts, but...”

“Look, they’re coming back! Let’s go back before they see that we’ve been snooping!”

I ran towards the house while pulling Sora with me.

“By the way, why were you out there?” I asked him.

“I had just woken up and was going to the bathroom, but then I saw you walking around alone and followed you.”

“Oh, I see.”

This explained why his timing had been that perfect... He was following me. But then, this meant that...

“Did you follow me because you were worried about me?”

“Well... I... was worried that you’d cause some other trouble, y’know,” he said, stumbling for words.

I was still grateful though. Say I went out alone and got lost... I could never make it back alone.

“Thank you, Sora. You’re so kind,” I told him, and for some reason that made him freeze still for a while before letting out a big sigh.

“Maria may be oblivious, but you’re on another level... No wonder the prince worries so much.”

“Huh?”

Maria? The prince? What’s he talking about? I asked him for an explanation, but he just grinned and told me to go rest in my room before the mission.

I went back to my room and thought about whether I should ask Maria about Dewey when she came back.

That was one romantic scene, though... My heart throbs just thinking back at it! The teary Maria and the blushing Dewey, staring at each other against the rising sun... It really looked like a picture from an otome game... Hm? What’s this feeling of deja-vu?

Ahh! It was exactly the same as one of the pictures from that dream!

I saw that scene with Maria and Dewey in one of the still pictures in the FL2 gallery that Acchan was looking at...

That could only mean that this very examination was also an event in the game, and that means that doom could be waiting for me around every corner!

I have to be careful, I told myself while ducking under the still-warm blankets.

I have to be careful, and watchful, and... Going back to bed after waking up feels so good... so good that I feel my eyelids getting heavy...

★★★★★★★

When I, Maria Campbell, walked through the fields that night, they were entirely different than when I had seen them during the day.

There was an incredible number of animals, and the air around them was so heavy that I felt like I could drown in it. I was so uncomfortable that I had to cover my mouth with my hand, but the others that were with me seemed unfazed.

In the past, when I was the only one able to feel how stagnant the air was, it had been caused by Dark Magic. Could that be the case this time too? I peeked at Sora, who, like me, was able to identify Dark Magic. If that really was the cause for this weird atmosphere, then he would react to it too... but he did not seem to notice anything.

Perhaps this had nothing to do with magic, and I had just been tired or ill. While I kept thinking to myself, the investigation was postponed to the next day, and we went back to our lodging for the night.

As soon as I came back to my room, the tension I had been feeling was released at once, and I started feeling even worse. I sat down on the bed to catch my breath.

“It turned out to be more problematic than we expected, huh?” asked Katarina.

I could only muster a feeble sound to reply to her. She immediately noticed and came close to me, asking me if I was okay. I thought that I would start feeling better after a while, and told her I was.

“Should I call for Laura or Hart to get you some medicine?” she asked me, concerned.

I declined and explained what had happened, struggling for words as I still felt ill.

Katarina kindly prepared me some hot tea. Drinking it, I noticed how cold my body had become. After making the tea, she started rubbing my back. I do not know whether it was because of her warm touch, but I instantly felt better. Warmth was returning to my body.

“Thank you. I am feeling better now,” I told her, and she gave me a pleasant smile of relief. She then asked me to explain more about what I had felt in the fields, and I, now feeling much better thanks to her, obliged.

“I cannot explain it well... It just feels heavy, like it did inside the mansion where Master Keith had been kidnapped.”

“Are you saying that someone’s using Dark Magic around here?”

“...I cannot tell for sure. Sora looked unfazed...”

I was sure that if he had felt anything, he would have told me about it.

“...I will try to confirm it tomorrow. For now, I cannot say.”

If Dark Magic was really involved, I had to be sure of it, and then report it to the examiners... feeling ill and becoming useless again was not an option.

I must try harder next time! I thought to myself.

“Don’t push yourself too hard, Maria,” Katarina said, looking worried.

What did she mean? It was possible that we were dealing with Dark Magic, so I had to give it all my best.

“I don’t want you trying too hard and feeling sick again. We’re all here for you, so you can rely on us,” she said, holding my hand. “Just rely on us, okay?” she continued with a smile.

I felt my face become red, and I replied with an embarrassed nod. Her smile became even more beautiful, filling my chest with a pleasant, warm feeling.

Now more than ever, I realized how much I loved Katarina Claes, the kind but strong girl who had changed my life — or rather, who was still changing my life, day after day. I wanted to be with her for as long as possible.

“Now let’s sleep. We have to rest before tomorrow,” she said, and I went to bed feeling so elated that the pain I had been in moments ago now felt like a dream.

My bear was starting to feel lonely after being neglected as I talked with Katarina, so I hugged him close to my chest and happily fell asleep.

My sleep was so pleasant that I woke up earlier than usual, but I didn’t feel like going back to sleep a second time. The sun shone through the window, showing a morning too beautiful to be spent in bed. Surely it wouldn’t be a problem if I just took a stroll in the garden.

I got up, taking care not to wake up Katarina and the bear. The air outdoors was so fresh that I felt like strolling a bit farther while taking it in. The birds had already woken up too, and were singing cheerfully.

“What a wonderful morning!”

I looked around to make sure that nobody was there so I could take a nice walk by myself, but I noticed someone not far from the house.

It was Dewey Percy, the boy who I used to know from my old hometown, although I had rarely spoken with him. To be exact, I used to avoid him. When I first tried to talk to him, years ago, he had sent me off abruptly.

“What would a chosen one, a Light Magic user, want to do with me? Leave me alone,” he had said.

After being treated like a nuisance in that way, I certainly did not look forward to more interactions with him... but now, I finally understood him.

Dewey’s family was very poor, so much so that even the children had to work and could not attend school regularly. The other kids would make fun of them, and Dewey was doing his best not to let that influence him.

Back then, I used to protect myself by shutting other people out, and all that I could think about was myself. But now I could understand, and I had Katarina to thank for it.

And now that I knew how he felt, I felt worried about how he had become... he was even more stubborn than he used to be, and his face always looked bleak.

Just looking at him, walking alone, reminded me of myself when I had just entered the academy and was trying to take on everything on my own. I had to help him. I had tried to speak with him several times after our reunion at the Ministry, but with very poor results.

This time probably would not be that much different... but still, I went after him. He stopped under a tree behind the house, and I gathered my courage and spoke to him.

“Good morning, Dewey.”

Noticing me, he first looked surprised, and then annoyed. “What are you doing here, Campbell?” he asked coldly.

“I was just strolling, taking in this beautiful morning, and then I saw you. I was wondering what you were doing.”

“You mean you followed me?” he asked, even more coldly than before.

I couldn’t let that get to me. “...Yes. I just wanted to talk a little bit.”

“About what?”

He sounded as if I was bothering him so much that he wanted to run away immediately.

“Well, you know, we grew up in the same town, but we’ve never talked much. I thought it would be fun to get to know each other.”

“What need is there for that? Is there any point in befriending your coworkers?”

“I think that maybe, if one is feeling down, or stressed about something, it can help to have someone to talk about it with.”

It was only the two of us now, and I had managed to draw a longer response from him than I usually did, so I tried to be as open as I could.

“I have no such problem. Please leave me alone. If that was what you wanted to talk about, there is no need for further discussion.”

“But lately you’ve been looking so much more tired than you used to...”

“If you are not going to leave, I will. Goodbye,” he said, turning around, but I grabbed his sleeve and stopped him.

“I just think that you’re being too hard on yourself, Dewey,” I told him. I had to let him know — I would not have another opportunity any time soon.

“What would you know about that? You barely even know me! Leave me alone!” he said, even stronger than before, shaking off my hand.

But his face did not look cold anymore... It was sad.

Of course. Being alone is hard, and it is sad.

“...I was just like you... I thought that I had to do everything on my own... I can’t leave you alone, Dewey, because you’re just like how I used to be,” I said, holding onto his hand, just as Katarina had done for me the day before. This time, he did not shake it off, and just stared at me silently. “You don’t have to do this alone. You can rely on us.”

Katarina had given me these wonderful words, and now I passed them onto Dewey. He looked at me, and, without a word, he nodded. His expression didn’t look as bothered anymore.

As usual, Katarina was incredible. Her words had reached into Dewey’s heart. I was so happy that I couldn’t contain a smile, and he awkwardly followed suit.

We then went back to the house together.

“Say, Campbell...”

“Just call me Maria. You don’t need to be formal with me.”

“Y-Yes... So, Maria...” he said, and I couldn’t resist giggling.

“Well, I wanted to ask you... why are you friends with Lady Claes?”

“You mean Lady Katarina?”

“Yes. This may be rude to say, but you two have very different ranks, and I heard that she is not that powerful of a magic user. I do not even know why she is in the Ministry to begin with.”

It turned out that Dewey did not think well of Katarina, and that made me sad, as I loved her so much. I could easily talk about how wonderful she was for a whole hour (not that that would be nearly enough), but then he might think that I was only being respectful because of her high rank. Before talking with her, all I had known about her was that she was the daughter of a duke, and the air of nobility around her made me feel uncomfortable.

“She’s amazing. Just talk to her and you’ll realize it,” I said. That would be enough.

“...Really?” Dewey asked doubtfully, but I was sure that, eventually, he too would come to love Katarina. How could he not?

We then went back to our own rooms, and I saw Katarina sleeping peacefully in her bed. Seeing her face was enough to make me happy.

★★★★★★★

This is weird.

I remembered feeling very anxious about the possibility of impending doom, but I had somehow fallen asleep and stayed like that for quite some time.

Maria had tried to wake me up, but she was so kind in doing it that it ended up taking very long, and, when I was finally out of bed, I had to hurry up and prepare to meet the others. When Anne woke me up at home, she would just violently take all my blankets off...

Unfortunately, I didn’t even have time to ask Maria about Dewey.

We ate a light breakfast at the village chief’s house and then made for the Ministry’s building to report about what we had seen yesterday and to coordinate our actions with the local employees.

On our way there, I told Sora what Maria had felt in the air yesterday. I wanted to tell Hart and Laura too, but Larna was very strict in telling me that Dark Magic is a sensitive topic that should not be discussed with anyone willy-nilly, so I hesitated.

Sora confirmed that he hadn’t felt anything out of the ordinary, but that he would try to pay more attention just in case. I told that to Maria, reminding her not to push herself too hard.

At the Ministry branch office, the employees were sitting around a table with preoccupied looks on their faces. They explained that the employee that had come with us yesterday had already reported on the situation and on how dire it seemed to be.

They even told us that now the animals — possibly because so many of them had come down into the village and no longer had places to hide — weren’t going back to the forest during the day anymore, which could be a serious hindrance to the farmers. Our examination had now become too serious for newcomers to deal with. The problem had to be fixed as soon as possible.

Of course, going back home because the examination had become impossible wouldn’t be very responsible, so it was decided that we would stay and help.

“As you said, Handerson, we also believed that something could have happened in the forest, so we sent a man to investigate,” said the branch director, wiping the sweat off of his face.

“That’s the most reasonable thing to do. If the reason for the animals gathering is not in the fields, for example some kind of chemical attracting them, then something must be going on in the forest,” Laura said while passing a hand through her hair, which was decorated, as usual, with a cute ribbon.

“Yes. Nobody has been using any weird chemicals, nor planting any unusual crops. Also, the animals are not gathering in any one specific spot... Most of the animals are in the fields nearest to the forest, so they are probably running away from whatever happened there,” the branch director was saying when another employee barged into the room.

“Director! It’s terrible! The forest...”

He was probably the one who had gone to investigate. He stopped, surprised by our presence, but his superior asked him for details and he started talking.

“The forest itself was just like it was yesterday. It did not look any worse. But... there were no animals. None at all. Usually there are birds flying around and squirrels in the trees, but it is completely silent now,” he explained.

It had all started with more tanuki than usual coming down into the village, but the situation had degenerated into something much bigger...

This meant that we had to go investigate the forest ourselves, together with the Ministry branch employees. Some of the villagers also came to help us, as the forest, while not particularly deep, was very wide.

I was worried about Maria feeling sick again once we were in there, but she said, “The air does feel slightly heavy, but nowhere near yesterday.”

Sora, despite being able to sense Dark Magic as well, didn’t seem to feel anything out of the ordinary.

“When we went to rescue Keith, I thought that my power to sense this kind of thing was as powerful as Maria’s, even if we sensed it in different ways. Did her magic get more powerful all of a sudden? Or did mine get weaker?”

Sora’s magic could have gotten worse, I figured, but it was more likely that Maria’s had gotten better, since it would be normal for a game protagonist to become stronger in the sequel.

We started our inspection of the forest. We were told that it would be dangerous to walk around alone since we weren’t sure what was going on, so we were divided into groups. I ended up with Sora and a Ministry employee, since the two just happened to be near me at the time.

I was concerned about Maria not being in the same group as me, but since she would be with Dewey and a bulky Ministry employee, I figured that she’d be fine. I told her to call out to me for help if anything bad happened, just in case, and then the groups all entered the forest and parted ways.

“There really isn’t a single animal around... it’s so quiet it’s giving me the creeps.”

“Absolutely true,” the middle-aged employee in my group said, looking around.

He looked like a kind, amicable person, but his chubby, relaxed appearance suggested that he wouldn’t be too useful if anything went wrong... on the contrary, we’d probably have to protect him. The huge guy in Maria’s group, on the other hand...

Well, I wasn’t exactly the best fighter around either, so I wasn’t one to talk. My magic powers amounted to Dirt Bump, and I didn’t fare much better with swords and knives.

All in all, the one we’d have to rely on was Sora. He’d probably have a hard time protecting both me and this other guy... If push came to shove, I’d have to bring Pochi out and make him bark. I started regretting not having taught him any tricks yet.

“...rina? Lady Katarina?”

“Ah! Yes?”

Sora had been calling out to me with a preoccupied look on his face.

“This is no time to spaz out,” he scolded me.

“I’m sorry...”

“If Dark Magic really is involved, this could be dangerous. Stay alert,” he warned me under his breath.

He was right. I had to be careful. I started looking around, taking in every last detail...

“I don’t know, it all looks normal to me...” is all I could say. Apart from the lack of animals, there was nothing off. It was just a... standard forest.

Back during the Keith kidnapping, the atmosphere in that mansion was so thick that even I could feel that evil was afoot. This time, however, everything felt normal.

Maybe it would have been different if we were surrounded by scary wilting trees, but all the plants were green and lush, and you could easily imagine the heroine coming here to pick flowers. No obvious evil here.

“I cannot find anything suspicious either,” Sora said, carefully choosing his words. He probably meant that he didn’t feel any Dark Magic.

“It looks as it always does...” said our puzzled Ministry companion, who had been to this same forest several times. “Maybe the problem is in another area,” he said with his shoulders slumped, maybe out of disappointment.

But not finding anything out of the ordinary was no reason to be disappointed! Though I did see him get all worked up about something big finally happening in his boring countryside life before we’d set out... so that explained his reaction.

What he meant by “another area,” by the way, is that we had divided the forest into four areas (east, west, south, north) to make it easier to search, and we were currently in the east one, while Maria’s group, for example, was in the north one.

I wondered if she was okay. If this whole incident was an event in the game, then it was likely that something would happen in the area that the heroine was searching, and that worried me a lot.

However, I had to follow the orders, so I kept searching the east area.

Sora probably noticed how troubled I looked, because he said, “Calm down. And don’t stray too far away, or I won’t be able to protect you if anything happens.”

That sounded like he was worrying about me, so I thanked him with a grateful smile... and he gave me a light bonk on the head with his fist.

Now that we had seen that there was nothing wrong with our area, I suggested to the other two that we go looking for Maria, since I was still worried about her.

“This area seems fine, so we should go check the other ones! We may be able to help the other groups if they need us to.”

Sora probably understood how I felt (possibly because I’d looked nervous this whole time), and he promptly agreed.

“You are right! They might need our help!” said the other Ministry employee excitedly, and we went back to the forest’s entrance.

The people who were keeping guard there were surprised to see us. “Are you finished?” they asked.

“There was no trouble in our area, so we came back to help with the other ones,” I explained, seeing the other man in our group lagging, short of breath, behind me and Sora. He was drenched in sweat... Maybe we should have taken it a little easier. Sorry.

However, seeing how tired he was helped the sentries understand how serious we were about helping the other groups.

“We have not received any report of trouble from the other groups either, so rest here for a while, please.”

Thankfully, it seemed that all the other groups, including Maria’s, were fine. That made me feel slightly relieved. Now that the worry was out of my head, I noticed that I was thirsty. Hurrying all the way here had made me sweat quite a bit, if not as much as our soaked teammate.

I got some water from the sentries, and after giving some to our Ministry companion, I drank some myself. I felt so refreshed as the cool water poured down my throat.

Ah, delicious. Maybe I’ll have another glass, I was thinking to myself when a man came running our way out of the forest.

“Hey! Hey! We got trouble!”

The relaxed atmosphere turned cold in an instant. What had happened?

“What’s wrong?” asked one of the sentries.

“The west area group...” said the running man with a terrified face.

“What? Did they find something?”

“No... it’s... someone got lost!”

“Did they find a lost child or something?! But we barred entry into the forest!”

“That’s not it! The Ministry employee that was in that group got lost!”

The sentry was at a loss for words, and the man from our group was just standing still with his mouth open in disbelief. Sora and I felt awkward.

Nathan Hart came all the way from the capital just to get lost in the forest... and during this emergency mission of all times...

“Unnghh, I’m so sorry! I let the rope slip! It’s all my fault...” said Laura with tears in her eyes. It could have looked endearing, except for the fact that she was huge and musclebound...

Sora and I immediately ran to meet the West area group, only to find our examiner wailing. “It’s not your fault,” I said to comfort her, but I was worried about what we were going to do next.

Since the trouble in the fields still had to be dealt with, we told the villagers and other Ministry employees that they could continue investigating the forest, but would we be able to find Hart? The forest, while not huge, wasn’t exactly small either, and I honestly wasn’t so sure we could succeed.

And of course we couldn’t just leave without him. I asked Laura if there was any possibility that he would find the way out of the forest on his own, and she promptly replied that it was utterly impossible.

We started searching the area in which Hart had gotten lost, but there was no sign of him. Why do we have to look for a lost colleague in a forest? And with a Dark Magic user potentially lurking around, at that, I thought, sighing.

“Oh, there you are,” we heard someone say. It was Maria, accompanied by Dewey. The two had finished investigating their own area and had come here to offer some much needed help. I was relieved that nothing bad had happened to Maria.

“We heard about Hart... did you find him?”

“Not at all. We don’t even know if he’s still in the west area. The worst thing about Nathan is that he can walk really fast,” said Laura, putting a hand to her face as she sighed.

“I cannot promise that it will work, but there is something that I would like to try. Do you have anything that belongs to him?”

“To Nathan? Well, all of his stuff is at the village chief’s house where we’re staying.”

“Could I go back there to retrieve some of it?”

“Sure, I guess. But why?”

“I just so happen to have a plush bear with me who is really good at finding people,” said Maria with a troubled smile.

Why, of course! The bear was originally a magical tool to search for people!

Maria quickly explained about the bear to Laura and Dewey, and we went back to the village chief’s house to borrow something that belonged to Hart.

We first went to the room where Maria and I were staying to get the bear, who was relaxing on the bed. We then went to Hart’s room and, while feeling guilty about it, looked through his luggage. I’m sorry, but this is an emergency...

We found a small towel which we could easily bring with us and let the bear smell it. Technically the bear was “sensing the person’s aura” or something, but it just looked like it was sniffing.

Maybe even Pochi could be able to find people by smelling for them... I should teach him to do it.

The bear raised one its short arms and pointed at where it thought Hart was, and we went in that direction. It worked for Maria this morning, so it might work this time too.

Following the bear’s arm we found ourselves near the forest, which was to be expected, and then we were guided into the west area.

“Oh, so he hasn’t moved that much. Maybe he finally learned how easy it can be to get lost if you wander around aimlessly in such a place,” said Laura, relieved.

Hart sure was being treated like a... No, I shouldn’t think anything bad about my seniors. That would be rude. But we had searched the west area quite thoroughly earlier. Just where was he hiding?

“Hm? Was this cave here all along?”

The bear had pointed us in the direction of a cave in the middle of the forest which I hadn’t noticed before.

“Maybe we just didn’t see it, considering it’s this deep into the trees...” said Laura, confused.

The weirdest thing was that, despite its location, it was a really large cave... How could we miss it?

I was still wondering that to myself while Maria called out to us in a stern voice.

“That place is dangerous.”

“You can’t mean...”

Is she talking about Dark Magic?

Maria read my expression and nodded, her face darkened. I looked at Sora to see if he was feeling anything, but he shook his head with a confused expression.

“Dangerous? What do you mean?” asked Laura, who wasn’t in on the Dark Magic thing.

“My Light Magic allows me to perceive dangerous powers, and I can sense them being at work there.”

“What dangerous powers?”

“I do not have permission to say more...” said Maria, troubled, following Larna’s instructions.

“Okay, I won’t ask any further,” replied Laura, surprisingly easily persuaded. Despite her flamboyant looks, she was a reasonable type.

“If it’s dangerous as you say, then we shouldn’t enter it... but your teddy is pointing towards it,” she added with her shoulder drooped.

I looked at the bear, and it was definitely pointing towards the cave, meaning that Hart was in there...

“If it’s a dangerous place, that’s all the more reason to get Nathan out of it as soon as possible,” she rightly said. We couldn’t risk leaving him alone in that cave.

“I wish I could just tell all of you to wait for me here, but going alone doesn’t sound very enticing... Will any of you come with me?” Laura asked.

“I will. I can sense those evil powers and I can heal light wounds with my magic,” Maria immediately replied.

“I’ll come with too. I’ve overcome my fair share of danger in life, and I’ll probably be able to help,” said Sora, raising his hand.

So, those remaining outside of the cave, would be...

I glanced at Dewey, who instantly looked elsewhere. This was going to be awkward, and I also didn’t want to stay here, worrying about them while I was doing nothing.

“I will be coming too!”

“I’ll come too!” we both said simultaneously. We were probably thinking the same exact thing.

In the end, we all went inside together. At least that made me feel safer.

We stepped into the cave. The ceiling had enough holes in it for enough sunlight to shine through. It wasn’t dark or scary — actually, it was shiny and beautiful. But this was no time to appreciate the landscape, not after Maria had said that she could feel Dark Magic.

The cave was very wide and full of branching paths, so Sora, who was probably used to this kind of exploration, started marking our path so we could get back outside safely. If I’d gone in alone, I never would have thought of it... And the person we were looking for was a genius at getting lost, so he’d never make it out of the cave by himself.

After a while, Sora whispered something into my ear. “I’ve started feeling the darkness too... we must be close.”

I looked at Maria, and her face was even bleaker than before. Maybe Hart was kidnapped by a Dark Magic user... that would be trouble. I hope he’s safe...

“Ahh!” Laura screamed all of a sudden, before starting to run.

We ran after her until she stopped.

“N-Nathan! We’ve finally found you!” she said, grabbing her colleague with one of her thick arms.

Hart looked really surprised — who wouldn’t be, if a femininely-dressed macho grabbed them all of a sudden? — but quickly understood what had happened.

“I am sorry... I must have caused you a lot of trouble,” he said, lowering his head.

“You have! Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?!” said Laura, tying him with the rope. He realized that he was in no position to complain this time. “Why did you come into this cave? I know that you have no sense of direction, but isn’t this a bit too much?” Laura asked him.

“I knew that this wasn’t the way out of the forest, obviously,” he explained, a bit offended.

Laura, meanwhile, stared at him coldly... as if doubting that.

“Ahem...” he continued, slightly awkwardly. “After losing you people, I ran into someone suspicious and followed him here.”

“Someone suspicious?”

“Yes, there was a man walking alone through the forest. I sneaked after him and he eventually entered this cave, where, unfortunately, I lost him,” he said, sounding proud of his achievement.

“So what you’re telling me is that you got lost in the forest, followed someone to this cave, lost him, and then got lost again inside the cave?” said Laura, and now, as he nodded, he didn’t look so proud anymore.

“Mm... Maybe we should look for this person, but we can’t risk getting lost in here,” she continued, and I agreed with her. Of course I wanted to investigate the suspicious man, but I’d rather not get lost inside a cave.

“I do not know whether that will lead us to him, but I can sense the dangerous aura becoming stronger. I could probably pinpoint its origin if we went further into the cave,” said Maria with a serious gaze. Maybe the man that Hart had seen was a Dark Magic user.

The two examiners, after hearing what Maria said, looked at each other.

“I can look after two of them, I’d say,” said Laura.

“I can protect another one,” said Hart. “Can you look after yourself, Sora?”

“Yes, as long as it’s just me.”

“Good,” said Laura with a smile, “then it’s decided. I’ll take care of you, Maria, and you, Katarina. Don’t stray from me, got it?”

“Dewey, you come with me,” said Hart.

Dewey looked displeased, maybe because he had to be protected just like me and Maria.

“Make sure he doesn’t get lost,” Laura told him, giving him the rope that was connected to Hart, and Dewey hesitantly nodded.

We then started venturing deeper into the cave.

“Don’t do anything dangerous, and stay behind me at all times. And if anything happens, just run away, okay?” Laura whispered to us while we walked, and we nodded in agreement. “I may not look it, but I’m quite strong. Just leave it to me,” she then said, apparently unaware of how ridiculously strong she looked.

We walked through a narrow tunnel that forced us to walk into a single line, and then entered the large open space beyond it, which was darker than the rest of the cave.

“I think it is coming from there,” said Maria under her breath.

Laura led us into the open space, and we looked around while staying hidden behind a rock formation. I imagined that the place would be full of bad people scheming terrible things, like when Keith was kidnapped, but there didn’t seem to be anybody in this large area.

“There’s someone,” said Laura.

Following her gaze, I saw that there was indeed a man standing there. He seemed to be alone. Or is there someone else hidden from sight? We moved a little closer to him, but we still couldn’t see anybody else lurking.

The man wasn’t particularly tall or short, fat or skinny... he was very average. However, his face looked so distressed that we could easily tell how upset he was despite the distance.

“I think he’s alone, and he doesn’t look that strong, at least physically. Magic prowess being a different issue...” said Laura.

“He is likely to possess very strong magic. Coming in contact could be very dangerous,” said Maria, referring to how Dark Magic users could control people by touching them.

“So we’re fine as long as we don’t come in contact with him?”

“...Yes.”

“Okay. Wait here, all of you,” said Laura before launching herself towards the man.

“Wait!” I screamed, meaning to run after her, but Hart stopped me.

“Worry not. Guy is an incredibly talented magic user. They even call her ‘the flame witch’ at the Ministry.”

I was surprised to find out that people referred to her as “witch” and not “wizard,” but more importantly, I was surprised to know that she was hiding that much power. I’m sorry for thinking that you were just a weird macho...

Fast like the wind, she reached the man and stopped in front of him. “Who are you, and what are you doing here?” she asked him.

Anyone would be surprised if a macho in girls’ clothes spoke to them all of a sudden... but the man didn’t even flinch. All he did was start muttering something to himself while staring into the distance.

Wow, this is even more suspicious than I thought. Is he on something?

Laura looked at him, confused. “Are you... alright?” she asked, but the man, once again, did nothing but mutter to himself.

Laura gave up and came back to us, her head hanging low. “This isn’t going anywhere... He’s so out of it that he won’t even look at me. I don’t see anyone accompanying him, and it’s too dangerous to leave him here alone. We have to bring him back to the Ministry with us.”

“I can feel a dangerous magic aura coming from that man... If we are bringing him back, I will do it,” said Maria.

“You say it’s dangerous and you think I’ll let you do it?” Laura said, but Maria shook her head.

“I wield Light Magic, so his magic cannot affect me. There is no problem. Please let me do it.”

She really was immune to Dark Magic, but that man looked like trouble regardless.

“If that’s the case, you and I will do it together. I assume I can’t touch him, but if anything happens, I’ll be there to protect you,” said Laura coolly before leaving the hiding spot behind the rock. She was probably thinking the same thing I was.

Maria nodded and followed her.

“Dewey, you still have Nathan’s rope, right? Let’s tie that guy up with it,” Laura said.

“Y-Yes,” replied Dewey, and stood up to give it to her.

Whoooooosh!

A gust of wind, so intense that I had to close my eyes, came from the direction that Laura and Maria were headed towards, accompanied by a deafening noise. The wind felt so strong even with the rock in front of us — if we hadn’t been behind cover, we probably would have been blown away.

Wait, what about Dewey, Laura, and Maria?! I tried looking past the rock to make sure that they were safe, but the wind was kicking so much dust into the air that I couldn’t see anything... and I couldn’t hear anything either. I hope they’re okay...

I waited, worried, and eventually the wind subsided.

“Are you guys alright?” I asked, jumping out from behind the rock, but they weren’t where I expected them to be.

Once the dust fell back onto the ground, I realized that they’d been blown away, Dewey and Maria to the right, and Laura to the left.

“Are you alright?” I asked again in both directions.

“Yes.”

“Yes!”

“Yes,” all of them replied in turn. Phew, they’re fine.

I looked at where the wind had come from. In the spot where the suspicious man had been standing, the dust was still dancing in the air.

What happened there? Was it an explosion or something? I stared, trying to find out what had happened, until the dust settled.

I saw a large figure standing in place of the man.

What’s that?

I squinted, and eventually managed to make it out. I held my breath and my eyebrows raised in shock.

It was... a dragon.

Before my very eyes was a beast that didn’t even exist in my previous life. It looked just like the dragons in movies or manga: long neck, scale-covered body, and bat-like wings. The only unexpected thing was that it wasn’t green, but black.

“...Wow.”

The unicorn I’d seen at the Biomagic Department in the Ministry was impressive, sure, but it had nothing on this huge, menacing creature. I never expected the day to come when I could say this, but I was sitting, frozen, staring at the dragon.

Sora and the others who were hiding with me, as well as those who’d been blown away by the wind, were also looking at it.

“What the...”

That reaction had probably been Sora’s, but everyone’s expression was just as surprised. Was it the first time they’d all seen a dragon? Maybe they were very rare, even in this world.

“...Let’s run,” said Hart, standing up and looking terrified.

Run? Why?

I was waiting, confused, when Sora grabbed my hand. “Pull yourself together! This is dangerous!” he scolded me.

Oh, yeah, dangerous. I kind of understood what he said, so I stood up. Maria, Dewey, and Laura had also stood up, and they were coming towards us.

“Let’s go back to the entrance! Follow me!” said Hart — who wasn’t tied to the rope anymore — before starting to run.

But the entrance is in the opposite direction...

“Not at a time like this! That idiot!” said Sora, loudly clicking his tongue with annoyance. “Get out of here, I’ll catch up to you later,” he told me before going after Hart.

I did as he said and started running, but I heard a loud sound behind me. I looked back and saw the dragon moving, making its way (smoothly, despite its huge body) towards the three that had been blown away by the wind and that were now trying to get back to where I was.

And then, it swung its huge arm towards Maria.

No!!! I tried to run and save her, but I could tell that I wouldn’t make it in time.

I was the closest one to her, so there was no way that Laura, who was at the opposite corner of the cave, would be able to help her. Nor could Hart and Sora, who’d gone off running.

“Maria!” I shouted. At the same time, I saw a small figure jump in front of Maria, pushing her away. That figure was hit squarely by the dragon’s arm and flew through the air, and then smashed into a large rock.

“Dewey!” This time it was Maria who screamed.

Dewey, who had saved Maria, was lying motionless on the ground. When Maria ran to him and lifted him up, he let out a small painful moan, which at least meant that he was still alive.

A faint light, probably created by Maria’s healing Light Magic, now shrouded the two, but it was too far away for me to tell clearly what was going on. I had to move closer...

The dragon started moving again, aiming for Maria and Dewey.

Wh-Why?!

Maria had noticed, but she didn’t move. Actually, she couldn’t move, because she had to bring the motionless Dewey with her. She hugged him as if to protect him and then stared the dragon in the eye.

I have to do something! If I don’t, they’ll both be...

I grabbed a small rock from the ground and threw it at the dragon. I was pretty good at throwing things after all those years of training with toy snakes, and my rock hit its target. I actually felt a bit proud that this talent had come in handy at a time like this.

I was afraid that the scales covering its body would be too hard for a single rock to matter, but it noticed me and looked away from Maria.

Perfect! I threw another rock (again, skillfully) at the dragon and shouted at the top of my lungs. “Hey you! Over here!”

Either because of the rocks or because I had shouted, the dragon did indeed start moving towards me, as smoothly as a snake. I knew I had to distract it from Maria and Dewey, but I had no idea what to do after that... so I just ran away.

“Lady Katarina!” Maria shouted.

I was a fast runner, but I was no match for a dragon, and I soon found myself cornered against a wall. I picked up a stick from the ground and held it like a sword, but I realized that wouldn’t help much. At least if I’d had a proper sword, I could have made use of all those fencing lessons...

Anyway, with a wall behind me and a dragon in front of me, I was in a very tight spot. Am I going to be doomed before even dealing with the routes in FL2?

I felt something warm in my pocket. Hm? I’ve felt something like this before. It was that mirror back then... Now all I had in my pocket was a magnifying glass, but why was it so hot? Maybe it had caught the sunlight and it was going to burn my clothes... that would be a serious problem.

“Call my name,” I heard a voice call out all of a sudden. I didn’t know that voice, but it sounded familiar for some reason.

“Call me.”

Who are you?

“Call me, and I will save you, Master.”

Oh, I know who you are.

I wasn’t sure why, but I understood who that voice belonged to.

I did it. I called his name...

“Pochi!”

My shadow started waving around, and out of it came... not Pochi, but the largest black dog I’d ever seen, around the same size as the dragon.

WH-WHAT?!

The giant dog looked at my shocked face and wagged its tail, just like...

“P-Pochi? Is that you?”

“Woof!” he said happily.

This frightening beast was Pochi, the Dark Familiar pup who lived inside of my shadow.

“Pochi... why’d you become so big? How are we going to play in the garden like this?” I asked him as he kept wagging its tail. He looked terrifying, but inside he was the same Pochi as always.

The dragon, which we had both completely forgotten about, roared, and we remembered what a dangerous situation we were in. Being able to play in the garden should have been the last of my concerns. If we didn’t do something, we wouldn’t even get to see our garden ever again.

The dragon, maybe offended at being ignored, raised its arm to swing it down as it had previously done to Maria. Pochi swiftly jumped in front of me and bit the dragon’s arm, making it cry with pain and back away.

Whoa, great job, Pochi!

He was growling menacingly at the dragon, who, with the pride befitting a beast its size, showed its fangs and roared in return before running towards him.

“Pochi! Look out!” I screamed, but he calmly dodged the dragon’s bite, jumping to the side.

Before I could feel any relief at the avoided attack, the dragon went in for a second bite, which Pochi dodged as well, but then it hit him from behind with its huge tail.

“P-Pochi!”

I ran towards Pochi, who was growling and grimacing, and the dragon showed its fangs again. He tried to dodge, but this time he was too injured to move quickly enough. The dragon scratched him, and Pochi writhed with pain.

I have to help Pochi before the dragon kills him...

I started throwing rock after rock at it.