A few hours would pass while we set up the campsite.
During that time, we'd been rushed to be as efficient as possible while racing against the waning Sun. Because of the tight schedule, Mizuno took it upon herself to divvy tasks up amongst everyone.
I was hesitant to leave Sato and Takahashi behind since they were unconscious and defenseless. Still, I couldn't argue with Mizuno, considering the power difference between us. If she could execute a grizzly like that, I doubt I stood much of a chance.
She must've been wary of us, too, considering how she equally split us up between the three of them.
According to Mizuno's instruction, the sisters went with her to survey the area for whatever reason and to pick up some gear she and her group had stashed before rescuing us.
Unsurprisingly, it was a task Hikari adamantly refused. However, when Ayame began leaving, Hikari clung to her sister's back like a child to their mother.
I was to go with Suda to help her spot game for dinner and supplement the rations for her group.
Before I went, I made sure to hide Sato's dagger on myself. I wasn't sure if I could kill someone, but I could at least stab them in the leg if they threatened me.
Despite having a weapon, I definitely didn't think I was capable of fighting the other two. But Suda hadn't shown any extraordinary fighting capabilities yet. So I considered myself lucky to be paired with her.
Plus, I figured my speed would give me an edge in a fight, even though I had never really fought anyone or anything until that damn bear.
Finally, Takagi, Kamida, and the two unconscious (Sato and Takahashi) were assigned to Shrug to fortify the den and make where we'd sleep less conspicuous.
Over those hours, we all performed our individual tasks. Like us, the Sun was beginning to grow increasingly weary from the day. It sank lower and lower down the horizon, painting the once deep blue sky a blend of reddish-orange.
As it fell from the sky, shadows crept across the ground until the forest floor became nearly pitch black, making our tasks exponentially more difficult. Especially the job assigned to Suda and me.
Luckily, we managed to bag more than a few pieces of small game before it got too dark, but, as Suda had griped about, it was mostly all squirrels, with the exception of a single fattened rabbit.
The idea of eating wild-caught game bothered me some, but not more than the idea of eating a stranger's food.
I was drugged back at that manor; I was sure of it. So there was no way I'd consume food these people gave unless I watched its preparation like a hawk.
My eyes would have to be on that food for every second of every minute while she cooked from start to finish.
Speaking of food, we had collected more than enough by now, so we began our trek back to the campsite.
I was traversing a knocked-over pine tree when Suda called out to me. "Hey, I've been meanin' to ask ya! What's yer name?" She had her bow slung over her shoulder and shouldered all of the game we'd killed for the day.
'Do I answer her?' I hadn't whether giving that information would endanger me or not. I had begun weighing the pros and cons of the decision when she'd interrupted me.
"C'mon," she whined, "you know my name! I think it'd be fair to learn yours too!" She projected her face into a blushed pout, though I wouldn't say she'd been giving off the aura of being angry.
I sighed. I guess between serial killing knights and colossal bears, my name wouldn't endanger me much more than I already am.
"Agawa," I said begrudgingly; "My name is Agawa." Though I was hesitant to tell her, there was one thing I'd been curious about. I was intrigued by how she'd react to my name.
Would she be surprised? Would she be happy? Angry since I hadn't told them earlier? There were many possibilities, but she chose the one that most shocked me. She hadn't reacted at all.
Based on her calm demeanor, I had to assume she'd known my identity...our identities the entire time.
Instead of giving a unique reaction to my name, she just smiled, nodded, and kept walking beside me. That is until she asked me another question.
pαпdα Йᴏνê|,сòМ "So...do you miss Japan?" She looked at me, her once sunny eyes filled with longing and regret.
Her inquiry shocked me to my core. 'How did she know about Japan? Though the "summoners" knew about us being of another world, even they hadn't named our country specifically!
'Maybe...maybe this girl knows something. Maybe she could tell me what the hell is going on! Maybe she's from home after all!' I was growing increasingly overwhelmed by the urge to ask her numerous questions.
But sadly, we were running short on time, and the sunlight was quickly fading away. If we delayed with any more talk, we would have been left alone and lightless in a vast wilderness, teeming with god knows what.
Suda must've thought so too, since she retreated from her own question. "Nevermind," she laughed it off and focused her attention forward, "I can probably guess anyway."
And so, we began an endless sprint back to the camp, racing against the encroaching nightfall. I had no worries that I'd be able to make it back to camp, given my speed. But I had doubts about the girl next to me.
My doubts were left dashed, though. Dashed when the girl next to me dashed straight passed me. Her body had been emitting a soft green glow as she steadily increased in acceleration.
I wasn't one to get shown up by someone, especially when it was something I'd done best, so I kicked my body into gear and challenged her speed.
Thanks to our competition, we were able to reconvene with the others at camp by the night's full arrival.
***
Finally, after several minutes of running, we saw the mellow glow of a distant campfire.
While panting heavily, Suda exclaimed, "Check it out, y'all!" and lifted up a twine rope holding the fruits of our labors. The fruits being several red-hooded squirrels and a large gray rabbit. "We got sum dinner!"
Shrug took a glance and shrugged. He then resumed his tasks of finalizing our shelter's fortification before heading inside.
Mizuno merely nodded in thanks and proceeded with her walk toward the tree.
Ayame graciously thanked Suda through clenched teeth. Though she was smiling, I could tell that eating squirrel and rabbit wasn't a fun thought for her, but she was too polite and hungry to say "no."
Like her sister, Hikari grimaced but uttered a polite "thank you" before following Ayame away.
While wearily grinning, Kamida tried his usual pleasantries. He raised his arm in welcome, showing that it had been covered in grime and dried mud, but it quickly fell back to being limp. He then disappeared from view as he staggered inside the hut.
From his intense sweating and heaving, I would've assumed he was forced into a week's hard labor rather than scrounging for bits of wooden scrap for a few hours.
After that exchange, I focused my attention on the additions Shrug and Kamida had made to our shelter.
I mentioned only those two since it looked like they were alone in their efforts. If I was being honest, I doubted Kamida had done much either, given his physical aptitude. So most of the credit was probably all Shrug's.
Though Takagi had been available, it looked like all he'd done was soak up space near the den's entrance. He sat there, motionless and unresponsive to any stimulus.
Reflecting his posture, his eyes were dead, and his expression deader. Seeing Nakamura die must've practically shut down his mind.
There was one notable change in his condition, however. He'd been holding the metallic flask of ointment the doctor gave Nakamura.
Takagi was staring at and clutching the flask tightly. It was as if he'd expected it, like Nakamura, to slip away if he let go. I figured he'd best be left alone, so I moved my attention elsewhere.
Aside from Takagi, Sato and Takahashi had apparently still been unconscious.
Given that knowledge, I had to admit; Shrug nearly singlehandedly did a hell of a job sprucing up our shelter, though it did appear ramshackle.
The entrance had been decorated with branches, twine, and scavenged quillbeast quills. Though I was a tad confused after seeing the way he'd set everything up.
The quills were placed randomly as stakes, nonsensically even, like they'd naturally ended up that way. They would deter a critter or two, but I doubted they could hold off an assaulting predator.
Furthermore, the sticks he'd gathered formed an imperfect wall, with only a thin hole to enter and exit from. The stacked branches almost resembled the natural state of the roots before they were blasted away.
"Will this be safe?" I asked Suda, pointing at the den. My eyes and lips twitched with anxiety as I imagined such a brittle defense trying to stand up against one of those bears again.
She looked at me with a playful smile and laughed. "'Course it's safe! Shruggie did it, after all!"
I lightly cringed from dashed expectations. "But, it's so..."
"Random? Lemme tell ya somethin' Agawa." she paused, grabbed me by the shoulders, and exchanged eye contact. Oddly, her usual cheerful tone became serious and firm. "There's one thing you'll learn here: if you wanna stay alive, you hide. Sure, you can have thick walls, but nothin's safer than not bein' noticed in the first place."
She tilted her head, swinging her ponytail to the side, and smiled. "Ya get me?"
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