"Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!"
I never thought that, no matter the situation, we’d always have to rely on each other. But…
THIS IS NOT HOW IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE!!!
"Kaito… If you peek, even if you just want to see your brother, I’ll end your life, and I’ll be the one to find him." I threatened from the other side of the massive boulder separating us. It was taller than both of us combined—hence the "massive" part, right?
We were at the river, bathing after a grueling encounter with a monster earlier. The fight (or rather, our escape) had left us filthy, and we needed to clean up. According to the map, we were close to the location where Eisha’s squad had been dispatched.
Anyway, back to what I was saying—we were bathing in the river. We decided not to wander too far from each other, given how weak our team was.
"Don’t worry, Mira. I won’t be disappointed if I see—OW! OW! Wait—just kidding!" Kaito yelped as I threw a rock at him from above, hitting him on the head.
"Don’t even try, Kaito," I warned, continuing my bath. Afterward, I grabbed my kimono and changed inside the tent, which was a bit cramped but manageable.
By five o’clock, I had already cooked us something to eat. Using a fire spell, of course. Don’t ask where the pot came from—it’s not important.
The fish Kaito caught and the vegetables I gathered were cooked into a simple meal. I may not be great at fighting, but I’ve learned a thing or two from my clan. One of them is this saying: *"When you’re backed into a corner, think wisely."* HAHAHA!
Pfft—none of that matters right now. Anyway…
"Mmmm~ this smells delicious," Kaito commented.
"Try tasting the boiling water first, Kaito. Maybe it’ll taste good. Nyahaha!" I teased as I added the vegetables to the pot.
He just laughed and sat down on a rock, watching me. I glanced at him and noticed a few drops of water sliding down his damp hair. His kimono was slightly open, revealing… wait, what? Kaito wasn’t as skinny as I thought. He had abs—WAAAHH! NO, NO, NO!
I’m a married woman, and he’s just my friend.
"Is something wrong?" Kaito asked with a smirk, making me quickly look away and focus on cooking.
As we ate, we chatted about various things—information we’d gathered from Hashi that we hadn’t shared with each other yet. After finishing, I decided to ask him something personal.
"Can I ask you something about your life?" I asked.
He blinked, surprised, then smiled widely.
"You’re finally interested?"
"Yeah. There’s so much I don’t know about you. Plus, I know you’re hiding a lot from me." I replied, taking a bite of my food.
He smiled and set his empty bowl aside.
"What do you want to know?"
I paused, also setting my bowl down.
"It’s about…"
---
THE NEXT DAY
I let out a sigh and glanced at Kaito, who was walking calmly ahead of me.
"We’ll be at the location soon. Get ready, Mira," he said, glancing back at me.
"Okay…" I replied, avoiding his gaze.
We needed to move quickly. There were so many possibilities ahead. The bodies might already be gone, taken by someone—or worse, eaten by monsters. But if Kaito’s brother or the others had survived, they might have left the area, especially if they had a healer with them.
There were too many possibilities, but what we really needed was answers.
"The place Eisha’s squad went is just ahead," Kaito said, gripping the hilt of his katana. "According to the intel I gathered, monsters have been increasing in number here over the past few months. We need to be careful."
I nodded, and we entered the forest, alert and ready for anything. As we walked, I prayed we’d find Kaito’s brother—if not alive, then at least his remains. But deep down, I hoped she was safe somewhere else.
But…
I had a bad feeling about this place.
We arrived at the spot Kaito had described. There was blood on the ground and weapons left behind. I scanned the area and found a few bodies, their stench indicating they’d been dead for days.
Kaito and I checked their faces, but his brother wasn’t among them.
"We should bury them before continuing the search," Kaito said.
I nodded. After burying the bodies, we prayed before checking other areas where his brother might have gone. From what I knew, only three of Eisha’s squad had returned. That meant six bodies were buried here, but Kaito’s brother wasn’t one of them. He could still be alive—or not. We wouldn’t know until we found him.
"Kaito…"
He smiled faintly, not meeting my eyes, and hugged me.
"I’m fine. Do you want to rest?"
I shook my head, sighed, and took his hand.
"I’ll help you, no matter what happens."
He looked at me, his eyes seeming to say something he couldn’t put into words.
"Kaito?"
He avoided my gaze and ruffled my hair.
"If that’s the case, let’s go. I have a feeling about this place," he said.
We checked the surroundings. The attack on Eisha’s squad had happened days ago, so I couldn’t sense any spiritual energy or remnants of Kaito’s brother.
I scratched my head in frustration until I noticed dried blood leading toward a path—the route to Poz Village.
"Kaito! Come here."
He approached, and I pointed to the blood.
"I don’t know if it’s your brother’s or the enemy’s blood. We don’t even know if the enemy is human or a monster. But here’s the thing… I saw temporary barrier papers on those trees. Only one meaning—"
I looked at Kaito.
"—it’s human," he finished.
"Exactly. But there’s more. If the enemy was human, they wouldn’t leave behind temporary barrier papers. They wouldn’t run from a fight, especially not with Eisha’s squad suffering so many casualties. There’s still a chance, but…"
"…we need to be extremely careful when heading to Poz," I concluded.
"I understand."
He clenched his fists, staring into the distance.
"Kaito… We’ll find your brother."
---
"Captain-Commander, we’re leaving," Captain Xu said, bowing slightly. The other captains followed suit.
Three captains were assigned to patrol outside the city—Xu, Kiro, and Zeid, who didn’t hesitate to accept the mission.
They mounted their horses and rode out.
"Ahhh, I want to come too~!" Eisha pouted, stomping her feet like a child.
"Eisha, I’d love to bring you, but you still have a mission," Captain Xu said, sighing.
Lieutenant Ren chuckled and lightly smacked Eisha’s back, prompting her to complain.
"I’ll take care of Eisha, Captain Xu. Besides, it’s a joint mission, so I’ll keep an eye on her. You don’t need to worry."
"What? Who’d be happy about your attention, huh? Captainnn~" Eisha pouted playfully, but Captain Xu just shook his head.
"Ren, you’re in charge of the squad," Zeid said.
Ren saluted and grinned.
"No problem!"
"We’re leaving," Captain Kiro said, riding ahead.
As they rode out of the city, Kiro leaned toward Zeid.
"Have you made up your mind?" he asked, staring straight ahead but clearly addressing Zeid.
"About what?"
"Won’t you search for Mira anymore?"
Zeid didn’t respond, not saying a word until they reached Hashi Village.
"No," he finally said.