Our second world- book one: Past beginnings

Chapter 11: Haren

When Haren woke up the next morning, he got up much earlier than usual, getting dressed and eating breakfast as quickly as possible due to his eagerness to talk with August again. It was almost eight o'clock when he told Tsukiyama he was leaving, and he traveled to the other world. It had only been about two days since he'd started taking daily trips to talk to August by the lake, but he'd started looking forward to every trip.

Since it was the last place he'd been before going home yesterday, he arrived on the front step of Graces' shrine. Haren stretched for a moment before sprinting as fast as he could to the lake. It was a little chilly that morning, and the cool air felt crisp and fresh. When he got to the lake, he immediately started looking for August, who said he would wait for him. It didn't take Haren long to find the blond standing at the edge of the water.

"Hey, August," Haren grinned, walking over.

"You're here early," the boy remarked." We were up so late last night, I figured you'd sleep in."

"Yeah, well...I thought we could talk some more," Haren answered, hoping August hadn't noticed the slight blush forming on his cheeks.

August smiled," I had the same thought." He walked over to the grass and sat down." So, what do you want to talk about today?"

Everything, he wanted to say, but instead, answered," tell me about the adventurers' guilds. You mentioned them yesterday, but didn't go into too much detail."

"Sure. The adventurers' guilds are an organization spread across the continent. They have buildings in every country. At 15, when you're an adult, you can register yourself as an adventurer. At first, the jobs don't pay well, but if you do enough of them, you can climb the ranks and get the really good jobs. The ones that are harder, pay better," August explained." Do you have any interest in registering as an adventurer, Haren?"

"I think I'd like to at some point. Though I'd need to know a lot more about this country before I do," Haren replied. It would be a dream come true to experience for himself the life of a hero from a fantasy game. In this world, that was actually possible, and with his knowledge of swordplay, it might not be too hard to accomplish.

"In my opinion, I think you're plenty prepared to start. It might even be a good opportunity to learn more about the world by experiencing it for yourself," August said with a grin." Though if you become an adventurer, you better take me with you."

"You mean, make a party together?" Haren asked.

"Yeah. We could even ask your girlfriend to join us. It would be great to have a healer on our team," August teased.

"You know she's not my girlfriend, right?" Haren huffed." And I don't think she'd be happy with being 'just the healer'. Knowing Grace, she'd want to be right up front with us."

The two boys continued talking for a while. So absorbed in each other's company, neither of them noticed how late it had gotten until the sky started getting dark.

"Wow, I didn't realize it had gotten so late," August muttered, looking up at the sky." I suppose you'll be going back now?"

Haren shook his head," I was actually planning on staying here for a while. Though I'm not exactly sure where. There are no inns in the village, and I'd hate to ask Grace to shelter me again."

"Well, if it's alright with you, we could take a trip to another town. On horseback, it's only about a days ride from here," August said.

"Really? You'll come with me?"

August grinned," yeah. I'll take you tomorrow morning if you want."

"Yes, definitely," Haren nodded.

"Great. I'll see you here tomorrow, then."

"Yeah."

Haren waved to August and started making his way back to the shrine. Once there, he sat down on the steps out front and returned to the present world. Like the past few days, the lights in his room were off, and his bed was neatly made. It was about nine now, but he went out to the living room to see if Tsukiyama was still awake. She was, and he found her sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee.

Tsukiyama looked up from the book she was reading when Haren walked over.

"You're back later than usual," she remarked.

"Yeah, I lost track of time," Haren replied.

Tsukiyama raised an eyebrow," so, you like him that much, huh?"

"W-What are you talking about?" He stuttered, hoping his embarrassment wasn't obvious on his face." I don't like anyone."

"Mhm. You got up earlier than you ever do and stayed out till late talking with someone because you 'don't like them'." Tsukiyama smirked." It's ok to admit it."

"Ok, fine, but it's not like that between us," Haren sighed.

"If you say so," Tsukiyama didn't seem convinced." So, what did you want to tell me?"

"Oh, right. I was thinking of being gone for a while," Haren said, remembering what he originally came to say." Probably about a month or so, maybe longer."

"Well, alright. Just be careful," Tsukiyama replied.

"I will," Haren turned to go back to his room, but Tsukiyama stopped him.

"One more thing: I don't want you to feel like you have to come back here if you don't want to. As much as I want to keep you here with me forever, you're an adult now, and you can make your own choices. If you decide you want to stay, like Grace, then I won't stop you." Tsukiyama looked back to her book." Good night, Haren."

"...Night."

With thoughts of what Tsukiyama said swimming around in his mind, Haren went back to his room and laid down on his bed staring up at the ceiling. Did he want to stay there? It was true, he did enjoy being over there. It was fun being able to live in a fantasy world he used to only dream of, but did he like it enough to abandon his life here? No. He'll come back someday. It won't be goodbye forever, just see you later. With his mind made up, he went to sleep.

~

The next morning, he was up early again. He got dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants before putting his hair up. He wanted to say goodbye to Tsukiyama and the others, but they were all still asleep, and he didn't want to wake them up. Instead, he sent Tsukiyama a text and left.

When he arrived in the past world, he was on the steps of the shrine where he left last night. The sky was just starting to lighten as he made his way to the lake. August was waiting for him.

"Hey there, early again today," August grinned." Ready to go?"

"Yeah." Haren nodded.

"Good. I've already got everything ready." August tossed a wad of brown fabric at Haren." Put that on for now."

"Where did you get this?" Haren asked, slipping on the dark cloak.

"I bought it, how else?" August rolled his eyes and put on a cloak of his own like the one he gave Haren.

"You had the money for it?"

"I had some. Specifically, enough for a horse, and these. I've also got a few silvers left, but we'll be using them to buy gear when we get to Erebos." Said the blond.

"There's a guildhall there?" Haren asked as he followed August to where a black horse was tethered to a tree.

"Yes. Erebos is a pretty big travel city. I thought we could pick up some supplies before registering at the guild if that's alright with you," August answered, climbing up on the horse. Haren followed and sat behind him.

"Yeah, that's fine," Haren answered.

"Great. If we hurry, we should make it there by tonight at the earliest." August grinned, flicking the reins.