Actually, it's because of Asahina-kun's markers.


Sato chuckled and explained how we got here.

Everyone could see that Asahina had marked the tree, but we hadn't marked it because we were going in one direction.
But we didn't have any landmarks, thinking that we were going in one direction and didn't need them.
This means that the unnatural slash marks on the tree were all after Asahina's group passed through.
If they followed the marks on the real tree and not the ones on the tree's demons, they could naturally reach Asahina-kun and the others.
After the treatment was complete, Mr. Ueno found the exact marks Asahina had left on the tree.
He thanked Asahina and the others for that and then turned to us with a serious face.


And because I fell under some kind of curse, I put everyone in danger. I'm really sorry.


I was impressed by Sato-kun, who bowed his head deeply, and I was impressed by how serious he was.
If I hadn't told anyone, they wouldn't have known about it.
The curse has already been broken and is past.
Like me, and probably Ueno-san, I didn't intend to tell everyone.


'I see, so Sato was already under the curse when we were grouped together.


They thought it was meant to be a training exercise because they were all paired up with people they didn't have much to do with.
As expected, even a stoic person like Sato-kun wouldn't train in a place where you would die if you were to lose your mind for a moment like this.
As I thought, Asahina-kun is somehow out of it.


''That's the way it is. If it wasn't for Tsuda-kun's quick thinking and Ueno-san's efforts, our squad would have been wiped out if Jir and Nanase-kun hadn't informed us about the master of the forest.


Sato bowed his head even more apologetically.
We looked at each other.
We made eye contact and Mr. Hosoyama, the representative of the group, opened his mouth.


He said, "Raise your head, Sato-kun. It is true that Sato-kun is our leader and he has the authority to make decisions, but I don't want him to be the only one to bear the burden.


I know it's just a theory, but no one died this time.
If we don't die, we'll be okay.
As long as we don't die, we don't have to give up on going home.


The only thing wrong with Sato-kun this time is that he was cursed once before, but he didn't do anything about it, and he took on everything on his own. It's only a mere matter of approaching the Demon Clan territory and we're still in the Beast Clan territory, if we stumbled in such a place, we wouldn't be able to reach the Demon King's Castle, and going home would be a dream come true. We have to grow up, too.


Everyone nodded at Hosoyama-san's words, "Hey, guys.
Seeing that, Sato-kun bit his lips tightly and lowered his head again, then looked up and looked very refreshed, as if a possession had fallen on him.

Indeed it was. If I stumbled over the demons in this place, it would mean that I wouldn't be able to handle the demons in the Demon Clan territory.
I think it's better than before since I made up my mind this time, but it's still not enough.
I need to train harder.
I need to be strong enough to catch up with Asahina.





''Then, once my stomach and mind are settled, let's go over what we're going to do in the future.


I look up at Giel's words.
Sato spread out what looked like a map in the center of the circle so that everyone could see it clearly.
It wasn't the kind of detailed place names we use in class, but a somewhat distorted, hand-drawn picture.
No, we were just used to looking at the fine stuff; the old maps of Japan should have looked like this.


'This is a hand-drawn map that I remember seeing at Leitis Castle,' he said. I had no drawing talent whatsoever, so please bear with me if it's very crude.


He pointed to the north side of the island to the left of the four islands.


─ Perhaps this is the current position. You can zoom in on this area only.


I put another sheet of paper on top that was at the bottom.
It was an enlargement of just this forest.


''It will take us thirteen days to pass through this forest and reach the confluence point if we continue at this rate,'' he said, ''but this is if we walk through this forest without a break. However, this is based on walking without a break, and with the time consumed by resting and fighting, it should actually take about thirty days.


That means it would take about a month.
A flyer would have been able to travel in even less days than this.
Cars, trains, and airplanes have not yet become widespread in this world.
I realized that we were truly born in a blessed time.


''What will they say if we don't get there by the time Akira comes over here at all costs: ......


Frowning, Sato-kun murmured.
It was a whisper, but everyone seemed to hear it, and we all chuckled.

I don't know much about him, since I met him in high school, but I had noticed that he disliked Oda one-sidedly, because every time he did something, I would glance at him.
Because every time he did something, he glanced at Oda-kun, and every time he did, his face was contorted in frustration.
Jealousy wouldn't apply to them in terms of the difference in their grades, not to mention their popularity.
But for some reason, Sato-kun always looked at Oda-kun as the only enemy in his life.

On the other hand, I didn't understand Oda-kun's situation.
It seems that he didn't even seem to notice that Sato was watching him, and since Oda was someone who lived quietly in the corner of the class to begin with, he had less to do with the class than Sato, who was the class leader.
Oda-kun had an air of not seeing things from a different perspective than us, as if he didn't see what was right in front of him.
I didn't understand Oda-kun well, but after coming to this world and experiencing the brink of life and death, I knew one thing about him.
Oda-kun had always struggled to live.
Whether it was a bad family situation or debt, I don't know the reason, and I will never know because it's not an area I can easily step into, but Oda-kun always lived.
I don't think he was coasting through his days like we were, not knowing today or tomorrow, but he was just desperate to live.
Even after coming to this world, that hasn't changed and he's still obsessed with living and returning home.

I think that's probably what I don't like about Sato-kun.
Because Oda-kun never looks at us.
He looks ahead alone, and then moves on to the back of the room by himself.
I don't mind that, but Sato-kun must not like it.
I feel that the things that are going on with Amelia and Yoru are adding to that irritation.
We were more together than they were with us, and yet we were friends who wanted the same thing.
Well, we were out of our minds with the curse when Oda-kun left, so I guess Sato-kun is holding it together.

Both of them have difficult personalities.
I feel sorry for Asahina who was sandwiched between them.