A Journey Unwanted

[Realm: Álfheimr]

[Location: Outskirts]

Scarlet eyes opened without haste.

For a long moment Mikoto simply stared upward.

Bare branches intertwined overhead like fingers, reaching across a sky that had forgotten the color blue. Everything above him was drowned beneath an endless ceiling of gray. No birds sang and no wind whispered through leaves. The forest felt abandoned by life, leaving only silence and the occasional crackle of a nearby fire to remind him that something still endured.

"...Hm."

The quiet sound escaped him somewhere between a sigh and a grunt.

His back rested against the rough trunk of an old tree. Opposite him, a modest campfire burned steadily in the middle of the clearing, its orange glow fighting an impossible battle against the gloom surrounding it.

His armor was still on.

Every plate pressed uncomfortably against him after hours of sleep. The heavy gauntlets weighed on his forearms, while the breastplate dug into his shoulders whenever he shifted.

"I really should’ve taken this off..."

The thought came with mild annoyance rather than regret.

Instead of moving immediately, he closed his eyes again for a brief second, allowing the remnants of another memory to settle.

("Another glimpse into the past.") His expression remained unreadable. ("This time... I was a woman.")

Surprisingly, that was not the strangest thing he had experienced.

His rosy lips twitched ever so slightly.

("Considering everything else I’ve seen, I suppose that’s hardly worth questioning anymore.")

Raising one of his thick gauntleted hands, he brushed armored fingers through his snow-white hair. Despite sleeping in full armor, the carefully arranged starburst bun remained almost perfectly intact.

A small relief.

Maintaining it was bothersome enough without having to redo the entire thing every morning.

Nobody else would notice if even a few strands had come loose.

He would.

That alone was reason enough to care.

"You’re awake."

The voice arrived before the footsteps did.

Mikoto turned his eyes sideways rather than moving his head.

Gretel emerged from between the dead trees carrying an armful of firewood. The pale blonde girl’s ponytail swayed gently behind her with every step. Despite the bleak environment surrounding them, her clothing remained remarkably orderly, almost untouched by the grime that clung to everything else.

She crossed the clearing before kneeling beside the flames.

"I’m sorry," she said quietly as she began arranging another log into the fire. "I had to leave for a little while. We were running low on firewood, and I didn’t want the fire dying out before everyone returned."

The fresh wood settled into the flames with a shower of bright sparks.

Mikoto watched them drift upward before disappearing into the gray.

"I’m not some brat that needs someone watching over me every second," he answered flatly. "You could’ve gone without apologizing."

There wasn’t any real irritation in his voice, just that simple honesty.

After a short pause he asked,

"So, where are the three stooges?"

Gretel blinked.

The phrase meant absolutely nothing to her.

Still, after spending enough time around Mikoto, she had grown accustomed to odd expressions that seemed to originate from places no one else understood.

"I assume you mean Robert, Shuten-dōji, and... her."

Mikoto gave a small nod.

"Robert went hunting," Gretel explained. "Shuten-dōji insisted on accompanying him. I believe she said the two of them would cover more ground together." Her expression became noticeably more tired. "As for our third companion..." She pinched the bridge of her nose before finishing. "She informed me that she intended to, and I quote, ’copulate with the local Deseruit Beasts.’"

Several seconds passed.

Mikoto simply stared into the fire.

"She’s unbelievably disgusting." His voice was completely devoid of exaggeration; it did not sound like an insult, more a factual observation.

Gretel let out a weary breath.

"I can’t honestly disagree." She adjusted another log with a stick before continuing. "Still..." Her tone grew quieter. "Are you absolutely certain keeping someone like her with us is worth the trouble?"

Mikoto answered almost immediately.

"She has uses. If those uses disappear..." His red eyes narrowed. "...then I’ll kill her."

He spoke such a thing far too casually; there was no anger or hatred one could detect. To him it was merely a conclusion already reached.

Gretel had heard him speak that way often enough to understand he wasn’t trying to frighten anyone.

That somehow made it even more unsettling.

He was young.

Far younger than anyone should be while speaking about ending another person’s life with such detachment.

She knew enough about him now to understand those words weren’t bravado.

If the situation demanded it...

He would do exactly what he’d said.

Rather than dwell on the uncomfortable silence that followed, Gretel chose another topic.

"You looked troubled while you were sleeping." She kept her voice careful. "You were not frightened, but rather pensive." Her eyes rested on him with concern. "It almost seemed like you were somewhere else." A small smile touched her lips. "Was it a bad dream?"

Mikoto’s answer came before she had fully finished speaking.

"That’s not your concern." The response was immediate.

Gretel lowered her gaze toward the fire again; she wasn’t surprised, not even slightly. Mikoto guarded his thoughts more fiercely than he guarded his own life. Whenever conversations drifted too close to whatever burdens he carried, invisible walls appeared almost instantly.

She had learned not to push against them. Not because she feared his temper, she understood that some wounds only bled more when touched.

So she simply nodded once.

"I figured you’d say that."

"Mhm."

The quiet sound left Mikoto as little more than an acknowledgement. He pushed himself upright from where he had been resting against the tree, the plates of his armour shifting with a clink. Once he was fully on his feet, he lazily stretched both arms overhead, his shoulders rolling beneath the weight of the black armour. Despite the bulky gauntlets and heavy plating covering much of his small frame, the movement seemed oddly delicate. It was almost catlike—accompanied by the faintest arch of his back before he relaxed again.

He let out a slow breath.

"So," he began, his red eyes drifting toward Gretel, "how far are we from this Heart Kingdom city you’ve been yapping about? I’m assuming we’re not wandering around aimlessly."

Gretel brushed a bit of ash from her gloves as she stood, leaving the warmth of the campfire behind. She took a brief look toward the west, as though trying to picture the route in her head before answering.

"If we keep a steady pace..." she said thoughtfully, "...I’d say another day, perhaps two at most. The city isn’t terribly far anymore."

Her expression softened into one carrying a trace of uncertainty.

"Although, whether they’ll actually welcome us is another matter entirely. We aren’t exactly the sort of travellers people overlook. We’re a rather unique group."

Mikoto’s expression barely shifted.

"It doesn’t matter," he replied. "I’ll deal with whatever comes up. Getting into an actual city is worth the trouble. We need information and somewhere that isn’t another patch of dirt we’re pretending is a campsite."

A small smile found its way onto Gretel’s face.

"So that’s what this is?" she asked lightly. "You’re finally getting tired of sleeping on the ground?"

Mikoto glanced toward the dying fire before exhaling through his nose, the gentle breath stirring the loose strands that had fallen over his forehead.

"That’s part of it," he admitted. His gauntleted hand settled against his hip with a dull metallic sound. "But more than that, I’m still nowhere near finding those overgrown lizards. Wandering through forests hasn’t exactly brought me any closer to tracking them down."

His tone remained calm, though the frustration beneath it was difficult to miss.

Gretel folded her arms across her chest, studying him for a long moment.

"I suppose you’re right," she admitted. "A city would certainly have more people to question, more rumours to follow, and probably far more useful information than another abandoned stretch of wilderness."

She paused before letting out a small sigh.

"Unfortunately, there’s one rather significant problem." Her eyes swept over him from head to toe. "The Retorta Guild already knows both of us. The Heart Kingdom isn’t exactly fond of us either." A small, self-conscious smile crossed her face. "I’ll probably be fine. I’m ordinary enough that most people won’t give me a second glance."

Then she looked at him again, a little longer this time.

"You, however..."

She didn’t bother finishing the sentence.

Mikoto’s appearance alone ensured that people remembered him. Even hidden beneath heavy armour, he had an appearance that naturally drew attention.

He answered without the slightest hint of concern.

"You can leave that to me," he said simply. "I’ll worry about standing out. You just worry about getting us there."

Gretel’s smile widened into something more playful.

"Oh?" There was a hint of amusement in her voice. "So are we going to see the beloved Ella again? Is that the plan?"

Mikoto’s eyes immediately shifted toward her.

"Shut up."

The response came quickly, but without any genuine irritation behind it.

He sighed almost immediately afterward, pinching the bridge of his nose beneath the edge of his gauntlet.

"Seriously," he muttered, sounding more tired than annoyed, "just tell those idiots we’re moving soon. I’ve got something I want to check out before we leave."

Gretel had barely opened her mouth to answer.

Before a single word escaped her, Mikoto disappeared.

There was no flash of light, only a sharp sound, as though something had scraped against the air. For the briefest instant, the empty space where he had been standing seemed to ripple.

Then even that was gone.

Only the quiet forest remained.

Gretel stared at the vacant spot for another second before letting out an amused, almost resigned breath.

"...And there he goes."