The Way Home
On the way back from the sports festival—so much had happened, it felt like a whole season had passed in a single day.
“Thank you so much for today. Your final push was incredible—I was on the edge of my seat just watching you!”
Hasumin, walking beside me, looked up at the autumn sky, bathed completely in a soft, glowing crimson.
“It was your baton, Hasumin. That’s why—I was more fired up than ever.”
I felt it deep down—like I’d pushed past my limits for the first time in a really long time.
Not since the final showdown with the Demon King Kanan, when I was trapped in that phase-dimensional subspace, cut off from all support.
“But really, you were blazing fast. Ugh, if only I hadn’t dropped it there… We would’ve taken first without even breaking a sweat.”
Hasumin said, her voice tinged with frustration.
But there wasn’t a trace of the heavy sorrow she’d carried right after the relay—it was all gone now.
(Yeah… she’s totally bounced back. Looks like she’s okay again.)
“For me, everything—every little thing included—made it one of the best sports festivals ever. You made me a handmade bento, we practiced the relay together… I think I’ll remember today for the rest of my life.”
“I had a wonderful time too. Maybe more than any other day. It’s all thanks to you, Shuhei-kun.”
Hasumin said that with a gentle, airy smile, as soft as sunlight through leaves.
The fading light of the sunset brushed her cheeks with a rosy glow—she looked just like a maiden in love.
(Huh? Now that I’m thinking about it calmly… isn’t this kind of the perfect vibe? It’s got that sweet-and-sour scent of youth—like the air right before something unforgettable happens.)
As we walked in silence, side by side, I felt something firm up inside me—a quiet resolve taking shape.
(If I’m going to tell her how I feel, there won’t ever be a better chance. We worked so hard on the relay, and all throughout the second term—from the class rep duties to the school festival and the sports festival—we’ve built something real. Yeah… I’m going to tell Hasumin how I feel. Right now.)
No time like the present.
I didn’t let myself spiral like I used to back in my gloomy, self-doubting days. I opened my mouth to confess—to tell Hasumin that I liked her. But right then—
(What is this feeling!? Could it be…? No, not here—not in this world… That’s absurd!)
A sudden jolt ran down my spine, like ice—pure malice condensed into a presence. I froze in place.
It was a sensation I hadn’t felt since the other world—Orphermaus—the unmistakable presence of a certain kind of being.
“What’s wrong, Shuhei-kun?”
Hasumin turned back toward me, puzzled by how I’d come to an abrupt stop.
“Sorry, Hasumin. Something important just came to mind—I have to go.”
I couldn’t ignore it. I cut her off mid-conversation, far more forcefully than I meant to.
There was no time to think about love or confessions anymore.
My thoughts had already flipped, wholly and instinctively, into my hero days.
“Huh? Oh… okay…”
The tender atmosphere between us shattered in an instant. Hasumin looked blank, startled.
“I’m really sorry. I’ve gotta head out—right now. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“Ah… yeah. Bye-bye.”
“Bye! See you tomorrow at school!”
The moment I parted from Hasumin, I bolted in the direction of that ominous presence, sprinting at full speed.
I’d already been running nonstop since morning, but this wasn’t the time to worry about that.
(Combat’s my specialty—I’m no good at long-range detection. Please, let this be a false alarm—just this once…!)
But with every step I took, the feeling only grew stronger. What I’d hoped was doubt soon hardened into certainty.
“No mistake… That’s a magic beast’s presence! But why—how is there a beast from Orphermaus in this world!?”
I tore through the streets, following the energy signature all the way to the levee of the city’s main river.
And there, beneath the bridge spanning the water, on the riverbank below, loomed a massive figure—jet-black and towering over five meters—a magic beast, a King Wolf.
“That’s a King Wolf!? A mid-to-high-level beast appearing in this world—what the hell is going on!?”
And then I saw her—not just the beast, but someone else. Someone who couldn’t possibly be there.
A girl dressed in the stark white robes of a cleric from Orphermaus, the design like something straight out of an anime—cute, almost like a school uniform—stood firm, staff in hand, facing off against the King Wolf—!