Cross Worlds

Chapter 10-2 (Side- Reality)

"This is the closest city to Solime that we found on the map! We've been looking literally everywhere...so why can't we find the bastard?!" Souta shouts and punches a part of the fence that surrounds the animal pen.

"Calm down you idiot." Aina scoffs. "There's a chance he might not even be here anymore. It's been two days after all."

"With those injuries?! Unless he somehow managed to pay for an extremely good healer, I highly doubt it." Souta scoffs in remark.

"There's a chance someone may have been kind enough to do it for him for free. Maybe someone might have even paid for him." Kana suggests.

"I agree. There are any number of events that could've happened. Just cool your head and think for a second." Aina commands sternly. "We don't have the time nor the money to keep traveling and looking for that piece of trash. What we need to focus on is earning more money from quests. Thanks to the money we blew on this little trip, we're going to have to crash here for a little while and take on those missions to earn more cash."

I hear Souta sigh and kick the dirt. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. We were just so close to giving that guy what he deserved once and for all. I can't believe all it took was a stupid bird to stop it from happening..." He hisses in annoyance and I can hear him gripping one of his leather belts.

"There will be another chance. Who knows, maybe we'll even run into the bastard if we stay here for a while. You never know if he actually left or not." It isn't hard to hear the venomous smirk in Aina's voice.

"Aina's right, Souta. Let's just go rent a room for the three of us. Closer towards the castle though. I'd rather not stay at this dump." Kana's disgust is quite clear from the sound of the words she speaks.

"I agree. Let's get out of here." Aina says and then they all start walking away. I open the door just a bit to see if they're still there. Sure enough, the three who nearly killed me are all gone.

I sigh with relief and open the door fully before hopping on Roco's back. "Let's get out of here Roco. Stay on foot until we reach the forest." Roco coos in agreement, walking out of the pen and I close it as he carries me out. I constantly check my back to make sure the three didn't somehow spot me. Thankfully, we make it to the forest without any problems and Roco flies off into the sky.

I exhale heavily and bury my face in Roco's feathers. "Are you kidding me?! What the hell are those three doing here?! If they spot me, then I..." I shiver at the thought of them killing me for real this time. Artemis comes to mind for a moment, and that calms me, but I shake my head. "No, I can't get her involved... If she were to try to protect me from those three, she wouldn't leave without a scratch... The skill she has is amazing, but even she can't take on three magic users who are that strong alone without getting hurt..." Just thinking of Artemis getting hurt in any way makes me frown.

As I'm looking down at Roco's nameplate, I recall what Souta had said. "I can't believe all it took was a stupid bird to keep it from happening..? What did he mean by that..?" I pause, thinking back to it all. "Come to think of it...Roco did something back there to save me from dying... What was it..? Did he use some kind of magic..?" I run my fingers through Roco's feathers, making him coo soothingly. "If he could use magic, why hesitate..? There must be a reason, right?" I glance down at the watch around my wrist. "I don't have any other way of getting the answer:.. Looks like I'll have to ask the man himself."

About an hour later, we've reached Riku Fantasy's personal gym. Whilst I exercise, I've decided to call him to talk about Roco. "What's up? I don't have much time, so make it quick." Riku Fantasy says through the watch. Thankfully I can point the hologram wherever I want so it's not right in my face.