The Way out of the Forest

"Ugh…"

Regis groaned as he felt pain from all over his body.

He opened his eyes and saw a pair of ruby-red eyes staring angrily at him.

"S-Surprise! Haha, we're having boar meat for breakfast!" 

However, Pandora's anger only worsened as she looked at him with a pout.

The sun was already up in the clear blue sky.

When she woke up earlier, she had been extremely worried that something had happened to the only person she could trust.

Therefore, she searched the vicinity just to find Regis sleeping next to a dead boar.

"Awwww~"

Regis groaned again with an exaggerated expression on his face.

Seeing this, the anger in Pandora's eyes was replaced with worry.

"Hold on for a moment…"

She sighed as she walked towards him.

"Ehhh?" Regis was flabbergasted as he thought of what she would possibly do.

He felt her holding his arm and shoulder, making his nervousness increase, "H-Hey, just calm down for a minu–"

POP!!!

Before he could finish his words, a loud popping sound echoed in the area.

"Ouch!" 

Regis had teary eyes as he held his shoulder.

However, his eyes widened in the next second as although it was still painful, it wasn't as severe as it was earlier.

"Woah, you knew how to treat a dislocated shoulder too?"

His stare that was filled with amazement caused Pandora to smile as she straightened her posture.

"Well, that was what my mother used to do whenever my father dislocated his limbs."

Seeing her proud expression, Regis giggled.

Pandora pouted again at the sight of this as she pinched his arm.

"Ow! Why did you do that?"

"What do you mean why? Did you know how worried I was earlier? I thought that I-I had lost y-y… sniffle sniffle…"

Regis had a stunned expression on his face as he saw her tears.

(Wow~ what a scumbag. I've been gone for a little and you're making girls cry?)

The fact that Vanessa's voice suddenly rang in his mind didn't help with the situation one bit.

Regis flinched, but continued to act normal.

Ignoring the voice in his head, he stood up and patted Pandora's head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry. I was just doing a little something…"

"What would you achieve by fighting a wild beast head on physically?" Pandora angrily said as she wiped her tears.

Hearing the spite in her voice, Regis was at a loss for words.

"I'm sorry…"

(You really have a way with words, huh?)

'Shut up, we'll talk later.' Regis said in his mind as he comforted Pandora.

***

"Hmmm! Yummy!!"

Pandora exclaimed joyfully as she took a bite of the roasted boar's meat.

"Let's hunt more wild boars from now on!"

She turned her head towards Regis as she talked with chunks of meat still in her mouth.

"Sure, sure." Regis smiled at the sight of this as he continued roasting more wild boar meat.

He then spoke in his mind as he got busy with cooking, 'Why are you only talking now? Besides, where are the others?'

(Oh, are you finally willing to talk to me?)

Vanessa's teasing voice echoed in his mind, making a vein visible on his temple.

Seeing his reaction, Vanessa giggled as she spoke, (Well, I'm not quite sure… the others are still sleeping.)

(Other than that, just speaking to you really makes me exhausted.)

'Is that so?' Regis frowned.

(Anyway, I just forced myself to speak to inform you that you may need to get an evil craft or any technique that deals with sou–)

'Hello? Why did you stop?' Regis asked in his mind.

However, he was met with no response.

'Strange…' 

A serious expression appeared on his face.

'It seems like I can only find a solution in the red space... Do I need to break through again?'

Regis thought as he sensed the abundant demonic power deeply hidden in his heart.

Originally, he wanted to avoid relying on his demonic power as it seemed too impractical.

So, he planned to use it only in emergencies.

'Well, this can be considered an emergency in a way…'

"Brother, why are you frowning?"

Pandora's voice suddenly echoed beside him, snapping him out of his daze.

Regis turned his head and smiled, "Oh, I'm just thinking of something."

He then grabbed a skewered meat beside the bonfire and offered it to her, "Here, have another one."

"Yay!"

Pandora exclaimed joyfully.

***

"Ugh, when will we get out of this forest?"

Pandora complained with a tired expression on her face.

Regis then suddenly squatted in front of her and said, "Here, let me carry you for a while."

"Ehhh?" Pandora had a shy expression on her face.

However, she couldn't resist his offer as she felt the pain on her whole body.

Regis made sure that she wouldn't fall as he carried her into a piggyback before standing up.

"Are you comfortable?"

"Yes…"

Pandora smiled as she grabbed onto him.

"Thank you…" She whispered softly.

Regis smiled, "You're most welcome~"

The two of them had been travelling together for about two and a half weeks.

But even then, the end of the forest still couldn't be seen.

Shuuuu~

Regis's ears perked up as he heard a sound.

"Brother? Why did you stop?" Pandora asked curiously.

"I think we're close…"

He answered vaguely as he started sprinting towards the direction of the sound.

Meanwhile, Pandora tightened her grip on his shoulder as she laid her head on his back.

She trusted Regis with all her heart.

Therefore, even if he didn't tell her the details, she didn't probe any further.

As he sprinted, the sound of the water stream became clearer in Regis's ear.

It didn't take long before a stream of clear water came into their sight.

"Woahhh!" 

Pandora's eyes sparkled as she saw the beautiful scenery.

She then tapped Regis's back, "Can we drink from that?"

Regis smiled, "Yes, but not now."

"Why?" Her voice had a tinge of curiosity.

However, he only said, "I'll give you 10 seconds."

Pandora's eyes became alert at his words.

She then looked around their surroundings before exclaiming, "Oh! Wild beasts!!"

"Very good!" Regis smiled with a proud expression as he continued walking.

Him giving Pandora little tests to practice what she learned had become some sort of bonding for the two of them.

"That's right, we can't stay here for long because of the traces of wild beasts."

His expression turned solemn and spoke in a scary tone, "In fact, there might even be aura beasts…"

Hearing his words, Pandora subconsciously tightened her grip on his shoulder, "Can you walk faster?"

Regis smiled as he sensed the fear in her voice.

He then increased his pace as he continued along the water stream, hoping to find the way out of the forest.