Roughly five minutes had passed since they had started running over the rough road—Subaru was pulling her by the arm, and with unsteady steps, he was out of breath and plodding forward with all his might.
"If we don't hurry, they'll catch up with us. Is this the time to play around?"
"You say that... Wait a second, seriously..."
Subaru was in the lead at the beginning of the race, but physical issues had already caused the situation to reverse.
The girl in front of him was not out of breath and looked relaxed. Subaru, on the other hand, was unable to withstand the long sprint and was already in a slump.
However, if Subaru was to make an excuse for his own good, he could point out that the reason for his exhaustion was that he had not yet fully recovered. Subaru was still in the middle of rehabilitation, and his physical strength was already low even under normal circumstances, but his current condition was even lower - it was no wonder.
"What a pathetic fellow. Don't you think it's shameful to fall behind a lovely maiden like me?"
"I've just recovered from an illness, so I'll use the excuse that things are tough… but to be honest, my situation is pretty dire."
Behind them, the thugs chasing Subaru and the girl continued to pose a threat. Fortunately, the two of them had made a good start and now had a large gap between them and the rest of the group. However, the alley was basically a single road, so it was clear that if they slowed down, they would eventually be caught up.
Ideally, we would get to the main street before that, but
"For some reason, we're heading more and more towards dark places with fewer people... is there something on your mind?"
He asked the orange-haired girl who was walking ahead of him with unwavering steps. However, the girl responded to his question with a refreshing "Hahaha, I don't know!"
"Everything I do ends up being convenient for me. Therefore, there has never been, and never will be, any need to ponder deeply. Believe in what I do."
"I take my hat off to you... Really, is something going to happen...?"
For now, it is undoubtedly her achievement that she has not hit a dead end. If we consider the possibility that she may end up trapped, rather than reaching the main road, it would be premature to interpret the current situation, which is moving further inwards, as a deterioration. However,
"If we can't see bright conditions...it's physically exhausting."
"--Hmm, this is a problem."
Subaru was breathing heavily as he finished the second half of his comment. Suddenly, in front of him, the girl stopped in her tracks. Subaru, who was being led by the hand, was also drawn to a halt, but,
"Hey, hey, we don't have time to stop. We need to gain some distance or we'll be caught up."
He jogs in place, calling out to the girl who has stopped, to get her to move. However, the girl tilts her head at what Subaru says, then gives him a bored look,
"--I'm bored."
"Bored...huh?!"
"I said I was bored. And in the first place, why should I run? I decide my actions myself. I will never be influenced by the words and actions of the rude bastards behind me."
「Th-That's what you say, but in reality, it's a situation where that would work…」
Subaru was flustered by the young lady's selfish outburst. To be honest, he didn't have time to engage in this back-and-forth. If he only cared about himself, the best option would be to leave her behind and run away as fast as he could. But that would mean losing sight of his original goal.
Subaru was torn between his ideals, reality, and escapism, and he held his head in his hands. Then, when the girl saw Subaru with all sorts of expressions on his face, she loosened her lips maliciously,
"Hmm, I have decided. I will give you the honor of holding me in your arms."
"No thanks!!"
Subaru crossed his arms to indicate his refusal at the person who was making him such a pointless proposal. The girl frowned, appearing extremely offended by Subaru's snap decision.
"Not everyone can receive the honor of lifting me up in their arms. To throw that away yourself is a man who knows no fear."
「Do I look like a macho man who can run while carrying a whole person? Even in perfect condition, I could barely hold a child with a lower figure than you! Not to mention that right now I'm already exhausted and my legs are like a newborn fawn's, come on!」
He points at his trembling legs and barks something bossy and nasty.
Looking down at Subaru's disgrace, the girl sighed in exasperation and said, "What a helpless guy."
"--Akura."
He muttered this.
"a?"
The moment her murmur reached his eardrums, a faint light suddenly appeared around Subaru, enveloping his startled body, a golden glow creating a veil over his skin.
The golden light completely covered his body, and Subaru raised his hands in front of his face,
"Wh-what is this?! I-it looks like the aura has materialized... I'm getting excited...!?"
Subaru was confused by the strange thing happening to his body. Hiding behind his confusion, the girl moved slowly around behind Subaru,
"If you don't like hugs, then do this."
"Whoa... Oops!"
With that statement, the girl leaps lightly onto Subaru's back.
Both arms were wrapped around his neck, and Subaru braced his legs to withstand the weight of the small but powerful girl, but his anxiety turned out to be unfounded. Because,
"What's up with you? You're as light as a feather... I mean, my body feels abnormally good!?"
Even though he had the girl on his back, he didn't feel the weight of her weight at all. In fact, the bag of lingams in his hands seemed to have disappeared, and his legs, which had been jogging, felt as light as if they had been replaced with new ones.
"With my blessing, anyone will work like a horse. You should do the same."
「Woohoo, I'm not completely satisfied, but this should do it! Natsuki Subaru, let's go――!」
He put one hand on the waist of the girl he was riding on, keeping her steady so she wouldn't fall off, and started running.
Light, light, my legs are light. My whole body feels light, as if I have shed the shell of my body, and each step feels as fast as the five steps I had been taking just a few minutes ago.
The distance that had narrowed during the stagnation had opened up again, and this time there was no sign of it narrowing.
He could sense the men moving away - and even that was picked up by his sharpened senses with keen precision, filling Subaru with a sense of omnipotence, as every function in his body was heightened to its limits.
"What is this? It's amazing! My body feels so light! I'm not afraid of anything anymore!"
Subaru lowered his body to reduce wind resistance, and with momentum, his body became the wind. His visibility narrowed, and he was driving at high speed, weaving through the narrow, rough roads of the back alleys. In the midst of this, Subaru turned his head to look at the girl,
"Since we're now far away I have a bit of free time so I'll ask... why were you involved in the first place?"
Since they were the kind of people who seemed weak to authority, I felt that a girl as flashy as this one would be the opposite and make it harder for them to lay hands on her. No matter how you look at it, she doesn't look like an ordinary townsfolk.
However, it's also possible that the idea was so absurd that no one thought it through to that extent.
In response to Subaru's question, the girl gave a small snort and prefaced her answer with, "It's no big deal."
"I got separated from my companions while I was looking around to kill time. While I was looking around, I happened to be looking down a dirty alley that I don't usually go to, and that's when I came across them."
"But, just because of that, he got involved..."
"And so, I laughed at their strange appearance and that's what happened."
"It's your fault!?"
"This is why I can't stand dealing with people who have no patience."
"You too, let me stop that slip of the tongue!"
One feels sympathy for this typhoon-like girl, the idiot who gets caught up in her misfortune. Although, in this case, it is Subaru who gets the biggest brunt of it all.
As they continued to argue, Subaru came across a road that turned right at a right angle ahead. He would use the force of kicking the wall to kill his speed, then use the momentum to turn right - just as he was imagining this sequence, a brilliant idea suddenly flashed across his mind. That was,
"If I just follow the path, I'll never be able to leave them behind. So, instead of being driven by the path, I'll create one!"
"Was it so strong that it went all the way to your head?"
"Don't say such nasty things! And you'll regret ever having doubted me!"
With that statement, Subaru shifted into a higher gear and picked up speed.
The girl riding on his back shared the same field of vision, and that should have been why she realized that Subaru's momentum was such that he would crash headfirst into the wall in front of him.
She tightened her arms around Subaru's neck,
"Hey, you bastard. What are you thinking? At this rate we'll crash into each other..."
"Just watch without further ado, Fire! This is the slum girl with the nasty habits of wall climbing taught directly by Felt!!"
Carrying his momentum, he put his foot on the grey-brown wall and took a second step, ignoring gravity. Subaru's body rose with a sound, and Newton's wall walk was realized.
"King crab!"
I didn't.
On the fourth step, his feet slipped, he spun backwards and fell face down to the ground. Unable to even reckon with himself, he hit his face hard, and Subaru rolled around on the spot writhing in agony,
"Great great great great great great great great great great great...!"
"What on earth are you doing?"
Subaru was covered in scrapes and groaning in pain, but the girl who had jumped down just in time looked down at him as if he were a rare animal, holding in her hands the bag of lingams that had escaped the disaster of the fall.
Relieved to see that she was safe, Subaru sat up from his sleep,
"Damn, what a failure… Felt, you showed me some strange hope…"
He cursed at the blonde girl who wasn't present, but to her, it was a false accusation. It was true that she had been the one to traverse the wall in the first place, but she likely had no memory of teaching it to Subaru. Of course, Subaru didn't remember being taught it directly, either.
Having demonstrated his complete self-centered failure, Subaru scratches his head and tries to pull himself together by standing up. However,
"Oh, oh, I twisted my leg... wait, oh, it hurts!? Shit, hey, it hurts like crazy, it hurts like crazy!? I only twisted it, but it hurts like I broke it!"
"The functions of your entire body are in an overdrive state. Not only can your arms and legs move at will, but it's also natural that you're more sensitive to pain than usual."
「Of course, isn't it!?」
The girl talks about the magnitude of the buff effect on Subaru as if it were a matter of course. She doesn't seem to sympathize with Subaru, who is groaning in pain, and mercilessly urges him to "Stand up." However, Subaru refuses, whining like a child, saying "It hurts! It hurts! I'm going to cry."
The time and distance that I had worked so hard to gain was once again wasted, and I could feel the rough presence of the men approaching once again.
And then, that's when it happened.
"It's been a while since I last saw you. What are you doing?"
The owner of the voice slowly peeked out his large body from the path to the right where we were supposed to turn.
I raised my gaze. Where a normal human's head would be, for this figure it was only the chest. When I looked up further, I saw a bald man with a beard.
"Uh, you are..."
A familiar, muscular old man was looking down at Subaru and the girl.
"The main old man has arrived! With this we'll win!"
"You're a brat who's gotten angry so quickly after such a long time, you know. I'm leaving you here."
"Help me, seriously help! My chastity is in danger and my internal organs are in danger!"
The former is the girl and the latter is Subaru's crisis.
This assumption was based on the prejudice that bad people must sell their organs, but when the old man heard this - Grandpa Rom - he looked at the girl's clothing and at Subaru,
"Oh, you're sticking your nose into trouble again. If you bring a woman along and cause trouble, you'll be left out in the cold."
"I don't need those lecherous old man comments! Help me!"
Enduring the pain, she stood up and jumped on one foot to bow down to Grandpa Rom. He stroked his hairless head with a troubled expression, while casting an appraising glance at the silent girl. The girl, exposed to this, had a clearly unpleasant look on her face,
"Don't give me such rude looks, you dirty old man."
"You're pretty rude too, aren't you?! What the hell are you saying to this old man who found a life-saving recovery in hell?! Don't take it personally, Old Man Rom. We're just a little honest at heart!"
"You're still as good at discouraging people as ever! Get out of here and hide!"
Covering the girl's mouth, who seemed to be saying she hadn't yet finished spitting poison, Grandpa Rom turned his head and jumped in the direction he pointed. There was a pile of scrap wood leaning up against the wall, and if they crouched down well, there seemed to be enough space to hide the two of them.
Pushing the girl into that spot first, Subaru then pushed in as if plugging her ass. The girl looked like she wanted to complain about the dusty place, but Subaru made a desperate attempt to cover her mouth and somehow managed to stifle her dissatisfaction.
"Grandpa Rom, okay."
"What do you mean, okay... I'll hide you with my body, so don't move. If you get found out, it'll be just as much trouble for me."
While swearing, Old Man Rom used his large body to further obscure the two of them from view. Then, the two of them held their breath behind Old Man Rom, who had his back against the wall and his arms folded.
Just a few seconds after hiding, multiple footsteps surged into a nearby alleyーー,
"Yeah! I thought you were a kid, but it's actually an old man!"
As if about to pounce upon the first sign of a person, the man in front yelled abuse at Old Man Rom's large body. Old Man Rom shot him a silent stare, and the man's bravado seemed to be thwarted as he took a step back, "Oh, oh," and
"What's with the commotion? I don't approve of people scaring old people."
It wasn't meant to be particularly intimidating, but when a large man like Old Man Rom says it in a low voice with a grumpy tone, it is enough to be intimidating.
It had the intended effect, sending the man and the other men chasing him into a state of shock. However,
"I was wondering who it was, but it's old man Cromwell."
From the group, one man pointed to Grandpa Rom and called out this.
Subaru raised his eyebrows at the unfamiliar name, but the one who reacted more noticeably was Grandpa Rom himself.
His wrinkled face was now lined with deep lines of anguish.
"I don't like being called by that name."
"Are you in a position to give orders like that? I heard that the people in the slums weren't very happy about you destroying the stolen goods storehouse."
"It was a place where years of grime had accumulated. Now that it's completely cleaned up, it feels refreshing. ... Now I'm free to do as I please."
In response to the grinning man, Old Man Rom barely changed his expression.
Perhaps thinking that his thrusts would not elicit any further reaction, the man shrugged his shoulders,
"Well, do as you like. But if you're not going to bow down to Mr. Russell, come and say hello while you can. The slower you go, the worse your position will be."
The man spat those words out, and with the other men following behind him, he started down the alley again. Then, before disappearing from view, he turned around and,
"That's right. Old man Cromwell... didn't those two brats come over here?"
"You're not watching. Do you guys know the blonde girl I know?"
"I don't know. Ah, a brat you just picked up is that important to you? I don't want either of us to become senile."
With a perfunctory wave, the men finally leave.
Grandpa Rom watched him leave, biting his lip as if trying to hold back his anger.
Looking at his profile through the gaps in the rubble, Subaru couldn't help but feel uneasy. It was a happy fact that Grandpa Rom was friendly to him when they met again after such a long time. However, his current behavior was a little different from the image of the person Subaru knew.
"Hifumade..."
"yeah?"
Hearing a whisper, Subaru stopped his thoughts and looked next to him.
A beautiful girl was crouching right next to him, close enough to feel his breath, and her mouth was still covered with a palm pressed down on her face to silence her.
Then she started mumbling with her blocked mouth.
"Cover up the f---ing hole...oru!"
The canines bit into my palm with merciless force, causing excruciating pain.
"--Ahin!!"
Subaru's high-pitched, puppy-like scream echoed quietly in the corner of the alley.
※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※
"Thank you for hiding me, Grandpa Rom. You hit your head hard so I was worried you might have gone senile, but I'm glad to hear you're okay."
"Hey... those guys from before are probably still wandering around around here, so you might as well change your mind."
"You're a big guy, so don't say petty things like that! I'm enough of a small fry, yeah!"
Subaru gave a thumbs up and flashed his teeth, and Old Man Rom sighed with a tired look on his face.
The location had shifted from the narrow alleyway they had been in earlier, and was now on a slightly more open street. As Subaru and the others slipped out through a gap in the rubble, Grandpa Rom had led them to this place, saying it was a place where they would not be seen by others.
With the threat of the men chasing them removed, Subaru and the girl are finally able to feel at ease. It is this feeling of liberation that leads to the opening line.
"Hey, you. You're talking to me in a friendly manner, but who is this old man? Please explain to me."
The girl, who had remained silent up until this point, finally tugged at Subaru's sleeve in annoyance. The girl arrogantly pointed her chin at Old Man Rom, to which Subaru nodded, "Yes,"
"This old man is the dark side of the slums in the royal capital, the boss of a bunch of nasty characters. He's a giant drug dealer called Old Man Rom, a stingy bastard. His special skills are blinding people, doting on his grandchildren, and being a pushover."
"I know you're happy to be reunited with the old man you missed, but aren't you getting a little too cocky, kid?"
Subaru pointed at him, and Grandpa Rom covered his hand with his own and scolded him. Subaru responded with a "Sorry, sorry" with little remorse.
"However, although there are too many pranks, it's not full of lies."
"So that's partly true. In other words, he's a stingy, clueless old man living in the slums with bad habits. That's a pitiful assessment of someone who's lived to that age."
"Your partner is pretty annoying too!"
Subaru and the girl exchange shrugs in front of Grandpa Rom, who is stomping his feet in anger.
Subaru then turned to the dejected old man Rom,
"Either way, I'm really glad we met, Old Man Rom. To be honest, I was on the verge of death at the time, so I had no way of checking the situation."
"...You can change your attitude quickly, or should I say, you're a crazy brat. I heard that your stomach was ripped open as well, but you seem fine."
Old Man Rom smiled wryly, then looked Subaru over from top to bottom. He looked painfully at the scars remaining on Subaru's exposed skin,
"I can't speak for others, but it seems like that knife user dealt him a pretty brutal blow."
"No, the part that Motsuko hit me was basically my stomach, so the scars around here are all from that incident."
"It's only been a little over a week since then, what happened?"
"It's fine because talking about it would be long and tiring. I can talk like this because I'm alive. That's enough for me. Anyway, back to the point."
Hiding his scars from Grandpa Rom's surprised gaze, Subaru pointed towards (what he assumed was) the slums and once again brought up the details of what had happened.
"What have you been up to since the stolen goods incident? To be honest, you no longer have a job, so are you eating properly? You're probably just eating ready-made meals again."
"I don't know what he said in the latter half, but he's doing whatever he wants. It's not like his only job was to drink in the stolen goods storehouse. If he's been living modestly in the shadows of the royal capital up until this age, he's bound to have some connections."
In response to Subaru's concern like a mother in the countryside, Grandpa Rom laughed and replied.
In reality, if one had not earned a certain level of credibility in the slums, there would be no way one could be assigned to the role of managing stolen goods.
Either way, if there were no aftereffects from the injuries he sustained in that incident or worries about his future life, it was a relief for Subaru. Of course, compared to Emilia and the people at Roswaal Mansion, this was a much less worrying story.
"That's right, I wasn't particularly worried about Grandpa Rom."
"I'm sorry for saying something creepy, but there's something I wanted to ask you too."
As Subaru continued his pointless tsundere, Grandpa Rom suddenly spoke in a lowered voice. Seeing the seriousness in his expression, Subaru also regained his composure. Then, suddenly, Subaru felt a pull on his sleeve from behind.
Subaru turns around. The girl is standing closer than necessary, and he is surprised at how beautiful she is up close.
"I'm bored."
"I won't be selfish in this situation."
"It's not a selfish choice, it's a global choice."
"Quiet. Well, let's have a quiz. Which do you think has more uphill slopes or downhill slopes in this world? Let's thinkin'."
Subaru carelessly tosses the girl into his sea of thoughts and turns to face Old Man Rom. He then gestures intently to the frustrated old man, who has been thwarted, and says, "Please."
He sighed at Subaru's attitude, then shook his head as if regaining his composure,
"Boy, do you know where Felt has gone?"
"...Have you not heard? I heard that Reinhardt took her away."
"Reinhardt… you mean the 'Sword Saint'? Why would the 'Knight among Knights' take Felt with him?"
Old Rom tilts his head, as if he doesn't really understand. Seeing his attitude, Subaru pities the old man's misfortune and thinks that it must have been the result of his head being hit so hard. However, he suddenly remembers the incident at the stolen goods storehouse and the inconsistency in his story makes sense.
Thinking back, during that incident, Grandpa Rom lost consciousness before Reinhard burst in. After that, until Subaru lost consciousness, Grandpa Rom has no memory of ever having contact with Reinhard while conscious. In other words,
"Poor old man Rom was left behind at the site of the stolen goods storehouse, and even when he woke up, no one could tell him what had happened. He could only stand in shock in front of the ruins of his house."
"I didn't find myself in such a sad situation. I woke up in the guardhouse. I was lucky to be treated there, but I left soon after."
"Yes, I agree. I suppose that makes it a bit uncomfortable."
It's a horrible story for someone who has a suspicion of wrongdoing to wake up in a police hospital. It's no wonder that they run away without having time to listen to the details.
In other words, because Grandpa Rom had left the station without hearing the full details, he had never been able to get in touch with Reinhard, who had supposedly protected Felt, and so had been forced to remain in limbo until now.
"So that's why our stories don't match up. Ok, then, let's talk a little bit about what happened before I lost consciousness, and what happened after I lost consciousness."
After this introduction, Subaru uses gestures and footage to re-enact the great battle at the stolen goods storehouse, "Sword Saint vs. Intestine Hunter."
Old man Rom was amazed at Subaru's pointlessly powerful acting skills, and even the bored girl's eyes lit up as she begged him to go on.
"And so, I said to her in surprise: 'Please tell me your name.'
"Ka! I said it, I said it!"
"Oh, that's a very elegant way of speaking. I don't dislike it either."
Although his story gets a little off topic, he finishes telling his heroic tale.
The three of them were still excited by the somewhat passionate explanation, but Grandpa Rom was the first to come to his senses.
"This is no time for that. Ah, so that means the kid doesn't know anything about Felt other than that she was taken away by the 『Sword Saint』, right?"
"Well, that's how it is... hmmm, what's wrong?"
"The number of uphill and downhill slopes is the same, of course!"
"Baamkuuuhen!"
The girl suddenly got the answer right and landed a body blow on him, causing Subaru to crouch down in agony. Shaking the fist that had hit him, the girl, seemingly satisfied with that, declared, "The rest is up to you guys to do as you like."
Old Man Rom was stunned for a moment, then looked down at the groaning Subaru with pity,
"I know it's not my place to say this, but I think you should choose your partner too."
"I've already made my choice! Now I just have to wait for the other person to choose me! I'm in the middle of making an effort not to disappear from my sight!"
Jumping up, Subaru struck a pose, pointing out Grandpa Rom's misunderstanding. Then he cleared his throat and returned to the topic,
"Using your long-standing connections, can't you go and visit Reinhard's house directly?"
"If he's that versatile, he'd be living off alcohol in an abandoned building. But that would be problematic. --Of all people, why would he be from the Astrea family?"
In the second half, the mutterings were only made inside Grandpa Rom's mouth and did not reach Subaru's ears. Looking up at Grandpa Rom, who had a serious expression on his face, Subaru made a shrugging motion as if it couldn't be helped,
"Well, I might be able to talk to Reinhard, and if I find out anything I'll let Grandpa Rom know too. I've always wanted to find out how Felt is doing."
"That would be a great help, but... you yourself have some strange connections. Are you related to that girl over there?"
Perhaps remembering Subaru's personality from their previous encounter, Grandpa Rom seemed to have determined that the source of Subaru's confidence was not Subaru himself, but those around him.
The judgment itself is not wrong, but it would be a mistake to think that it has something to do with that girl.
"No, that's not true at all. To begin with, I don't even know her name."
"Hey, what kind of hell are you going through with someone you don't even know the name of?!"
"Looking back, I was acting so desperately even though I didn't even know Emilia-tan's name, so I guess my actions weren't that strange."
Perhaps sensing fatigue from Subaru's nonchalant responses, Old Man Rom placed his fingers between his eyebrows, closed his eyes, and gave up on his thoughts, saying, "There's no point in thinking about it."
After that, Old Man Rom looked straight at Subaru,
"Even if it's not that girl, is there a chance we can create an opportunity to talk with the 『Sword Saint』?"
"I think it'll be higher than the empty old man Rom. You can trust me with the same sense of security you would have if crossing a dilapidated suspension bridge!"
"I always try to cross bridges before I know it, but I wonder how it ended up like this..."
As Subaru proudly slapped his chest, Old Man Rom stroked his bald head and nodded with a determined look on his face.
"Yes, I understand. I'll leave it to you. If you find out anything about Felt, please let me know. I'll thank you if I can."
"Don't be so generous. Is having a grandchild something like that?"
"--That's right. That child is like my grandson. So I'm counting on you."
"Well, I was asked to do so."
Subaru couldn't argue back when she stated it so straightforwardly and without any hesitation. He couldn't help but smile at the pleasant, total affirmation.
I wonder what the blonde girl would think if she knew how much she was loved. Knowing her, I think she would turn red in the face and put on an act of toughness.
"If I find out, how can I contact Grandpa Rom?"
"That's right. ...There's a store called 'Kadomon' on the shopping street. If you mention my name to the tough guy there, we'll be able to get you in touch. That's it."
"All right, all right, Kadmon... Kadmon?"
Subaru tilted his head, feeling that these were words that had recently been engraved into his memory.
For now, as long as I know the street and the location, there won't be any problem. If I search thoroughly, I'm sure I'll be able to find the store soon.
Subaru nodded in understanding and made a firm promise with Grandpa Rom.
From Subaru's point of view, it was just a bonus, and there was no reason for him to refuse. Just by doing what he had originally intended to do, he could free up some of the limited life of an old man who didn't have much time left, so it was a win-win.
Subaru: "Or maybe Emilia-chan would make an excuse. That this is all for her own sake."
"Did you say something?"
"No, nothing. Actually, that's right, Grandpa Rom. It may seem sudden, but I'll make you useful right away."
Subaru turned towards Grandpa Rom with a pointed finger and shook his hips to draw his attention.
Grandpa Rom looked obviously unhappy at the suggestion, but there was a promise they had just made. His expression remained bitter, but he took the stance of asking, "What is it?"
Subaru prefaces his response by saying, "It's no big deal."
"The truth is, both that woman and I are completely lost. Before we can even fulfill our promise, if we continue like this, my adventure will end here! So please guide me to the street."
"...Oh, that's it. Got it, leave it to me. Which street is it?"
"For now, please come to the front of the station."
"Hey, did you hear about me escaping from the barracks?!"
Old man Rom's inverted scream was sucked into the air of the alley.
It had been nearly an hour since Sora had been separated from Emilia