We walked through the coniferous trees.

　The landscape of the Great Forest of Aldoria, which is not so deep, is not so different from the forest below the Toggle Cliffs.

　It was peaceful and tranquil, and if the weather was clear, I would want to take a walk in the woods.

　I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed after all the work I'd put in to reach the summit.

(But we're in the same forest, right? I guess it's no use.)

　A mere difference of 100 meters in elevation may not make that much of a difference to the vegetation.

　Iltimina's healthy legs holding me are now moving through the forest at a pace of a small run, scattering the plants and trees underfoot.

　I think the reason she's not running, as you might expect, is because of the long distance we've traveled today.

(Still, it's about the same speed as my full speed.)

　I ask her a question.

'Aren't you tired, Miss Illtimina?'

　After all that hard climbing. I was a little worried about her.

　But she had a little smile on her face.

'Thank you for worrying about me, Merle. But I'm fine.
Yes.

　That's a half expected answer.

　But I'll tell you what.

"Don't forget to tell me when you're tired, okay?　I can always get down and walk on my own.

　Her crimson eyes rolled back in surprise.

　Then she smiled happily.

''I understand. Well, I'll take care of you then, please.
Yes.

　But I'm sure she won't tell me if she's tired of it.

　So I have to pay attention and see what's going on and I have to tell her.

　I'm the one who's always taking care of her, but I want to at least pay attention to her.


　◇ ◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇


　In the landscape of the forest that had no alternative, traces of the battle between Illtimina-san and the Red Fang Dragon Gado would appear from time to time.

''Wow, they fought here too?''
'Seems so. I don't remember much about it, since I was fighting, running away in the dark, but...

　In front of me, who is surprised, and Iltimina, who is smiling, there are trees that have been torn down.

　There are pieces of red scales and purple bloodstains left behind.

　We leap over those fallen trees with a thump and a leap, and we move on.

　But that direction was different from the one where the traces of the battle continued.

'Isn't it that way?'
'No, the city of Medis is over here. Over there, it's just a place where we fought.

　Then a white finger points up.

'See, look where the sun is?'

　Looking up, I could see a thin, round glow of sunlight behind the clouds.

(Hmmm?)

'The sun at noon is almost to the south. And it's just noon now. So the direction of the medis is north--
Okay. This way?
Yes, you are correct.

　Ms. Illtimina smiles with a face that praises a student who has done well.

　I smile too.

　But inwardly, I was thinking about something else.

(Are we in the same geographical orientation here as in Japan?)

　By the way, in the southern hemisphere of the earth, the position of the sun would be in the north, not the south.

　If that's the case, we're probably on the northern hemisphere side now - if this other world exists as a planet, that is.

'Hm?　Huh?

　I was looking for something in common with Japan at that time, and I suddenly realized something terrible.

"Oh, um, Illtimina-san?
?
'I'm going to ask you a weird question... well, what's the word we're talking about right now?'
'What?　It's the lingua franca of Albac...?

　The common language of the Arbuck continent...

(I knew it wasn't Japanese, right?)

　Feeling her questioning gaze, I pondered.

　I know it's too late, but I thought I was speaking Japanese until now.

　But in a different world, it's natural for the language to be different.

　But I never thought about this possibility because I took it for granted that conversations were happening in a different world.

　However, when I become aware of it, I feel that the language I was speaking until now is somehow different from Japanese.

(............)

　I looked at my hands.

　The little hands were the hands of a child, different from my previous life.

(Could it be ... that this Marle's body knew the common language of the Albac continent?

　Maybe that's why we can talk.

　What the hell am I?

　I'm not sure if this body is Marl or this consciousness is Marl.

'Marl?　What's wrong?

　Illtimina's worried voice brought me back to myself.

　Now was not the time.

　Let's think about the difficult things after we get to the city.
　Yeah, I'll do that.

No, it's nothing. --"Come on, let's go to the city of Medis, let's go!

　I pointed forward significantly, as if to inspire myself.

　Illtimina-san was a little confused by my attitude, but she quickly nodded and walked off without asking me anything.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　Every once in a while, animals would peek out between the trees in the forest.

　There was a giant moose-like fellow grazing, a red squirrel-like one running through the branches of a tree, and a cute little round, brown thing - a furball rabbit - looking at us from the grass with round eyes.

(Peace.)

　I feel like I'm getting a real sense of humor.

　Just as I was thinking this, another one of those guys appeared, one I'd never seen before.

　It's an all-black, ape-like creature with long limbs and a long tail.

　But its face is pointed, like a fox. Its eyes were yellow and crinkly.

(Haha.) It was chasing us.)

　I don't know what I was thinking, but that monkey-like fox is following me from behind, making use of its long limbs.

　It's pretty fast to keep up with Illtimina-san's speed, isn't it?

　Wild animals, indeed, you can't lick them.

　What a thought, and then, out of the trees, out of the trees, the same ape-like fox appeared again, a new one that looked like the same monkey.

(Oh?)

　There are four of them.

　All of them are chasing us.

　Their mouths just happened to snap open and were lined with sharp fangs.
　Yeah, they must be carnivores.

(............)

　With a quirk, I tugged on the collar of the awesome demon hunter's clothes.

''Miss Illtimina, Miss Illtimina, what are those girls?''
Yes?

　Kyoton, she followed my gaze and looked backwards.

　Then, her expression immediately turned grim.

''Evil tiger!''

　From the moment I said it, my running speed went up a whole lot faster.

(Whoa!

　In a hurry, I cling to her neck.

　But from behind, the monkey-like foxes - the evil tigers - also speed up and follow as a matter of course.

　I can't pull away.

''Jeez, what's an evil tiger?''
They are carnivorous creatures that attack in packs. They are vicious beasts of the forest that will attack and eat anything larger than themselves if they stray from the pack.
Are we a target? Are we a target?
Even if you don't, they're going to get to you.

(Whew!)

　Illtimina-san ran for a while, then glanced backwards again, running her crimson gaze over.

''She's persistent. ........I can't pull them apart.
What are you doing?
'Well it can't be helped, so let's scare him off a bit.

　As she said this, she ran and swung the white spear that was in her left hand in a wide swipe.

　Her wing decorations remained closed, leaving both the magic stone and the blade hidden.

Shh!

　Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

　With a sharp exhalation, the white spear swung down and struck a large tree nearby.

　The sound of a ruptured collision makes the forest air tremble and my body reflexively stiffens.

　But it wasn't just me, but the group of evil tigers that were chasing after me as well.

　The four of them stopped abruptly on the spot, their whole body hair standing upside down. Their tails looked like they were about three times as big as they were.

　Massive amounts of leaves fall from a large tree that has been shaken.

　Like a green curtain, they cover the space between us and the evil tigers, hiding their appearance from each other.

　Meanwhile, Mr. Illtimina continued to run, and eventually we realized that the group of evil tigers was nowhere to be seen.

''It looks like you've managed to shake them off.

　She says, bringing her speed back to her previous trot pace.

(Yo, good.)

　I let out a breath of relief.

"I've never seen a creature like that before. ...I've never seen anything like it, not even in the deep woods.
Yes. I don't think he was in that forest.

　Illtimina-san nodded, but changed her tone and continued to speak.

''But the evil tiger is a type of demon that is commonly seen in the Great Forest of Aldoria here. Every year, there are reports of hunters being harmed by the evil tiger.
..........
Merle, please take care of yourself. Never, ever leave me while I'm in the woods, okay?
Yes, yes....

　I nodded divinely.

(Okay.)

　That's why Mr. Illtimina was angry that I went into the forest alone right after I climbed the Cliffs of Toggle.

　Which is better - a forest that is peaceful by day and dominated by skeleton kings by night, or a forest with no skeleton kings but evil tiger-like creatures both by day and by night?

...I hate them both.

　Without realizing it myself, my hand clinging to Illtimina-san's neck was strong.

　If it wasn't for this person, even if I had crossed the 'Toggle Cliffs' alone, I would have been killed in this forest in the blink of an eye.

　Gazing gently at me as I squirmed, he said.

You'll be fine. I'm here to protect Merle.

　My beautiful guardian smiled at me, her voice soft and reliable, and my beautiful guardian smiled at me.