Find It! The Wishes Hidden in Winter #2

Chapter 7: Treasury of Forbidden Items

Emiyo POV

The sun was still out, but Phronesis urged us to eat quickly and go to bed. Said it would be a long day tomorrow and that time worked differently here than on Earth.

I think they're lying. Phronesis simply doesn't want anyone around when the treasury is summoned. Something the villagers said seemed to put him on edge.

It wouldn't be wise to actually ask what was wrong. Like Lisa, the alchemist would brush it off as if nothing was going on.

Which is something I hate. If there was something going on, wouldn't it be better to just say it. There's no shame in that.

Normally, I'd be thrilled to be in another world. It isn't everyday when you're called upon a mission to a place hardly any other human being has set foot on. But all the enthusiasm I had faded away as soon as we set foot onto the village.

We're not welcome here. More like a dreadful feeling than anything else, I want to hurry up and finish the mission.

I snuggle against the blankets, forcing the digested sandwiches back. Rest. I need rest. That genie or jinn----whatever its called, won't catch itself.

Sooner or later I lose track of time and proceed to stare up at the inside of the roof. I imagine it to be the mouth of a large beast ready to swallow me whole. I look away.

Sounds reach my ears and my head moves toward it. Kameko was already asleep, I'm certain I heard her snoring softly a half hour ago. Phronesis had their back turned, their chest rising and falling with every breath.

Lisa is the closest to me and I can tell right away that its her. Her chest is tight, suffocating, can she not breathe? Or is it a nightmare?

She's moving too much. A single bead of sweat fell from her forehead, circled around her eye before falling off her chin.

I'm making my way towards her."Lisa..."
My childhood best friend hears me and opens her eyes."Hey----"

I don't realize I'm doing it until I'm right next to her."Nightmare?" I whisper.

She shakes her head.

"It's okay. Here-----"

I pull her into a tight embrace. Something stirs and she goes silent. So do I.

Every second feels like an eternity, until she speaks, "I want to go home."

Home? Does she mean to go back with Mr. and Mrs. Oozora.

Like magic, Lisa shakes her head.

"Not with my adoptive parents."

Adoptive. She's never called them that. It was always mom and dad. Even after finding out, it hadn't changed. So why---

Like the idiot I am, I realize why.

"Here. The Noble Kingdom." Lisa says shortly, out of breath. "With my real mother and father that created me."

Real. Hearing the word sickens me, labels were never my strong suit.

It isn't right to wish pain on other people just because they hurt her first but anger builds inside me, eating me up. I want to hit or break something. So hard that it tears to pieces. That I find relish and joy seeing it shatter, unable to exist.

However I can't afford to do that. Not here. Not now. Not in front of Lisa or Kameko.

As the leader, I should know better. All those times during battles, never did I let anger or rage control my actions.