Excursion [4]

[Levi's Pov]

Walking through another thicket of greenery, now on our way to find a suitable place to set up camp for the night, I still couldn't stop my head from running.

'-Hey, Levi. Are you sure about hanging around me like this? Shouldn't you...'

'-I'm sure! I don't care what you say, I want to be with you!'

'-Haaa... Fine. But what about me? Don't you realize that...'

'-Realize what?'

'-Nothing... Anyway, shall we go? We have PE next so we have to get ready.'

Remembering one of the many conversations that I had with Aarick in the past, I couldn't help but get even more agitated, knowing that already back then, he had tried so hard to push me away. Yet, I had still not been able to let go of the fantasy of us becoming something more than friends.

Until now.

Now I was more than aware that reality was just that, reality. And in this reality, there had never been a way where we

Instead, and although I knew it was childish, my mind had somehow warped it all to be his fault, that it was Aarick's fault that I had to feel this way. That he was the one at fault for not objecting to fighting me, that he should have done something to stop it.

Once again I was acting like the cowardly woman I actually was, trying to somehow delude myself that it wasn't all my own fault. From the start, I knew that I was the one that had made things become like this. That it was I who hadn't faced reality in time to avoid this.

Aarick had already changed, already learned the hard way that the world wasn't as kind as to make way for fairytales. And despite my thinking that I had changed as well, I hadn't. No matter how I pretended, I was still the same.

"Levi, are you alright?"

Coming up to me in the front, Astor wore an expression that I had never seen on his face before. A face of worry. After a second of being confused, I finally realized the meaning behind his expression.

Quickly wiping my eye, not even wanting to give an excuse as it would only make my inner turmoil even worse, I quickly dismissed him.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? It looked like..."

"I said I'm fine. Now, go back to your position. If you are up here with me, who will defend Celina and... our archer if they get ambushed by a monster."

"...if you say so."

Although he still looked a bit skeptical, he decided to leave it, getting back in position behind me. At the same time, I reminded myself once again that Astor hadn't had any part in what happened, that it was his father who was the one who had decided my opponent.

In the end, there was nothing I could do about all of these complicated thoughts inside of me, except repress them as much as possible, taking out my frustrations on the monsters we hunted.

****

[Will's Pov]

Having successfully tried out a couple of hunting spots, in preparation for the rest of the week, we were currently sitting around the fire that I had lit by using the wood that Jessica cut earlier.

Or at least, I, Jessica, and Lydia were sitting around the fire.

Aarick, on the other hand, was standing on the side of the cave, leaning his back against the wall while simply staring at the outside world, seemingly just looking at the rain that was now gently falling.

Even though I had already seen a lot of what he was capable of during his fight with Levi, I still couldn't help but get a bit impressed during our hunts today as well.

Although there was nothing special about the way he was fighting except for his mobility, the way he utilized it made him an incredibly potent fighter. His strikes also seemed to exude more power than one would expect from an [E]-ranker, meaning that he probably had some kind of way to empower himself.

'But I still don't want him around...'

Not even mentioning the fact that I didn't want him around Levi, there was something about him that just felt... detached. From how he appeared to not carry a single shred of hesitation or empathy as soon as he viewed someone as his enemy, to how it felt like he wasn't seeing the same world that we were.

At first, when I saw him get up on the stage, having been designated as Levi's opponent, I celebrated. Because I had seen how Levi slowly got around to seeing reality for what it was, finally realizing that she and Aarick could never be together, that he didn't have any feelings for her at all.

But then, he showed something that sent shivers down my back. That last attack of his, when Dona had intercepted him...

'He was truly planning on killing her...'

I wasn't sure if it was because of his upbringing, or if it was a trait he acquired after the incident in the past, but the Aarick leaning on the wall... the Aarick of today... He was dangerous.

Suddenly, as we were eating our rations in silence, with Lydia and Jessica seemingly just enjoying the moment, he started walking away, his feet leading him toward the entrance to the cave.

"Where are you going?"

Standing up, I couldn't stop myself from getting a bit heated, as he was too unpredictable for me to feel comfortable letting him go on his own.

"I'm going to take a piss. Why, do you want to join?"

Turning around, his face still as cold as ever, there was something about him that made it hard for me to object, despite the fact that I knew I shouldn't allow him to go by himself. The blood-red eyes that just like always didn't seem to actually look at me, as if I was something so insignificant that he couldn't be bothered to care.

"Guess not."

With me not able to refute him, he turned around once again, continuing on his way out of the cave. It didn't take long until we lost sight of the white hair that seemed to almost glow in the dark, and I finally sat back down again, trying to suppress the frustration I felt about him.

Soon after, Jessica couldn't help but open her mouth to address the young man who acted so very differently.

"Isn't he kind of weird? Also, wasn't he supposed to be super weak? From what I saw today, isn't he pretty strong?"

Shrugging my shoulders, I just answered her honestly, as I didn't feel any particular need to lie about him. Even if he was still nowhere near me or Levi, there was no doubt that he was now strong compared to other freshmen.

"I guess. He seems to have gotten a pretty special rank-up, and he got a lot stronger after that."

"I see. So, what are our plans for tomorrow?"

As I was just about to start talking about tomorrow, which would be the start of us hunting for real, having now made the preparations needed for an efficient hunt, the girl who had been sitting in silence suddenly stood up.

"I'll also take a walk. I'll be back later."

"Hey, wait...!"

Too caught off guard to react, I didn't even have time to stop Lydia before she had run out of the cave as well, leaving me and Jessica behind.

"What's up with her?"

"I... I have no idea."

****

[Aarick's Pov]

Walking through the dark forest, enjoying the cool breeze of the night, I was surprised to feel just how serene being out here made me.

Feeling the presence of monsters lying in wait for prey and hearing the nursery rhymes of the owls, it was as if a part of me had come home. It was even to the point where being alone didn't particularly bother me, as if the stillness of the wastelands was comforting enough that I didn't need someone to support me.

Unfortunately, I knew that I didn't have time to just stand around and enjoy my time here. I still had something I needed to do before I returned to the cave, after all. Therefore, after finding a secluded area on the side of the small mountain that our cave belonged to, I got on with quenching my needs.

Sending a pulse of mana into the silvery bracelet on my arm, I felt my senses getting sucked into it, making me feel the items that I had put inside of it. A moment later, I consciously imagine the bag of blood inside it coming with me to the outside.

Holding it in my right hand, I transformed my left into claws and made a small incision before putting it against my lips, greedily sucking out any and all of the red, delicious liquid inside of it.

Then, just as I emptied the bag, relishing the shivers of delight that ran down my back, I felt a presence coming toward me. A presence that I knew belonged to a human.

'Fuck...'