No matter how sincere of an apology I may offer, my stomach will just butt in and ruin it.
It was then that the girl suddenly looked to the side. While she kept the blade in her right hand trained on me, her left hand went to cover her mouth. The trembling of her shoulders grew more and more violent.
“What’s wrong...?”
Groooooowl?
The blade fell to the ground, tip-first.
The girl’s face was beet red.
“Hey? Are you feeling sick or something?”
Groowl? Grooooowl grooowl?
It was then that a “Pfft” snuck out in a sort of strange tone.
The girl’s eyes were filled with tears as she looked at me.
“It’s alright... Don’t talk...”
Her voice seemed weak, somehow, making me feel all the more worried.
“Come on, even if you ask me that...”
Growl. Grooooooooooooooooooooowl.
The girl had been using her blade as a cane, but now she suddenly fell down on her rear.
And then, she let loose a, “Bwahahahahaha!”
Ah, she’s super cute when laughing, too. Oh, but wait, she was just trying to hold back her laughter?
After that fit of laughter, the girl stood up while wiping the tears from her eyes, then pointed the blade at me once again. Then, she simply said, “...You’re dead.”
“Why?!”
I hurriedly tried to retreat, still seated on the ground. However, waiting behind me was the pitfall I had just climbed out of.
The metal tip steadily drew near my nose.
“This is the most shame I’ve ever faced in my whole life... I swear I’ll kill you.”
Even in the darkness of night, I could clearly tell that her face was beet red.
She’s embarrassed? So she really is a tsundere? No wait, that’s not right!
At any rate, I can’t let myself get killed over something like this!
When my hand finally reached the edge of the pit, I raised my hands up in a plea to hold on.
“If this rude stomach of mine has hurt your pride, then I apologize! It’s my hunger that’s at fault! And now that I think of it, I haven’t eaten anything since lunch today!”
She stood there silently.
“I seriously am in a bind! I don’t know what sort of place this is, or why I’m here, or anything! If I get killed by you now, without knowing a thing, then just why did I...”
Why did I risk my life by diving into those flames?
When that thought crossed my mind, my words suddenly got caught in my throat.
I couldn’t think of anything else to do, so I stared intently into the girl’s eyes. The girl’s deep blue eyes somehow had a look about them like they were looking at some sort of mysterious, unknown creature.
“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”
The tip of the blade lowered just a bit.
“Don’t you come from the city of stone?”
“City of stone? Like I told you before, I’m from a country called Japan.”
“...I’ve never heard of a country by that name. I suppose for now, it’s at least safe to assume you haven’t lived under Genos’s rule,” the girl said, finally lowering her blade. However, the suspicion and distrust in her eyes remained. And yet, I could sense a complex mingling of emotions beyond that dangerous glint in her eyes.
“Could I hear a bit more of what you have to say...?” the girl asked in quiet tone. “Come to my dwelling. If you don’t wish to do so, though, I can simply leave you here instead.”
“You’d go and invite a complete stranger into your home...?”
“It’ll be nighttime soon. There’s not any more time to be hanging around here asking you questions... Let me just tell you that if you stay out here in the forest at night without so much as preparing a fire, you will die.”
She picked up the leather sheath at her feet and returned her blade to it. I placed my hands on the ground and stood up as I watched that elegant maneuver.
“Got it. I’ll follow your lead, then. Ah, by the way, we still haven’t introduced ourselves yet. I’m Asuta Tsurumi.”
“Asootasoo... Roomy?”
“No, Asuta Tsurumi.”
“Asoot Aroomy...”
Well you sure are a cute one, aren’t you?
The way that her facial expression was totally serious only made her all the more adorable.
“Right. Well, if that’s too tricky, then just call me Asuta. What’s your name?”
“Ai Fa,” she let slip in a low voice, then spun around so her back was to me.
She may have had a slender and tall build, but sure enough, she wasn’t actually taller than I was. She must have been 167 centimeters or so tall at most.
So how was it that someone so slim, of such an average height, could swing around such a stupidly big blade with one arm? Maybe the people here were built completely differently in terms of muscle strength and bone density...
Ah, as I was nonchalantly pondering such matters, I got shot a sideways glare.
“What are you doing? You injured your foot, didn’t you? Grab onto my shoulder.”
“Huh? You don’t mind?”
“We’re short on time. Hurry up and grab on.”
I put my right arm around Ai Fa’s right shoulder, feeling a little awkward about it all the while.
Suddenly, her elbow came flying right into my solar plexus.
“Who said you could put your arm around me? I just told you to grab my shoulder.”
“Gah... Right, so that’s it, huh?”
I rubbed my solar plexus while grabbing Ai Fa’s left shoulder with my right hand.
I wasn’t all that injured in the first place anyway, so this was more than enough support to walk on. And besides, she had on a thick fur cloak, so my hand couldn’t feel anything but the stiffness of the fur.
“Is that a blade that you have hidden there near your chest...?”
“Huh?”
I froze in place.
When I tried to wrap my arm around her, my chest had touched her back. But still, she managed to figure that out through that thick cloak? That was far scarier than the blow I had taken to the solar plexus.
“I-I’m surprised you figured it out from just that instant... Of course I don’t mean you any harm, though, so don’t worry about it.”
“Why should I need to worry? If you wish to take a swing at me, then please, be my guest,” Ai Fa said, shooting an incredibly chilling sideways glance back at me. “When you do, my blade will simply slit your throat even faster. If you think I’m lying, then go ahead and test it out whenever you wish... Asuta.”