“Nanako-chan, please see to this one’s wounds,” the man called Ren asked one of his companions.

A short girl in a white robe decorated with gold and blue patterns and embroidery approached Keisuke. She crouched down before him and examined his shoulder. “We will have to remove the arrow and staunch the bleeding,” she said. “Ren, give me a hand. I can close the wound, but I can't do anything if he bleeds out.”

“Right.” Ren crouched beside him. “This is going to hurt, but you have to bear with it for a bit, okay?”

Keisuke nodded. The arrow needed to be removed; he understood that much. But nothing could have prepared him for the amount of pain that shot through his shoulder when Ren snapped the arrowhead off. It was all Keisuke could do to grit his teeth and try not to cry.

“He’s going to remove it now. Here. Bite on this.” Nanako folded what looked like a handkerchief and put it in Keisuke's mouth. He braced himself.

“One…two…three!”

Keisuke's muffled screams carried into the night.

“Quickly, Ren, apply pressure on the wound.”

Ren pressed a hand on the entry and exit points of the wound and pressed. Keisuke was biting down on the cloth as hard as he could. He tried his best not to look at the gush of blood spilling from the wound and onto Ren’s hands.

“O’ Lady Lucilla, I bask this one in your heavenly radiance... [Cure Light Wounds].” A warm light gleamed from the girl’s hands and sealed up Keisuke’s wound in an instant. It was as if a lamplight was being held directly over his shoulder, and he could feel a light pinch as the holes closed and his skin healed.

“…H-huh?” He tried touching the spot where the arrowhead had been, but there was nothing but blood left. It didn’t even hurt anymore. “How’s that... What did you do?”

The girl rose to her feet and went to the next person who needed attention. All of the other passengers like Keisuke were also left stupefied by this.

“It doesn’t take much to realise that wasn’t normal,” commented Student Council President, whose name she had revealed to be Makoto. “Care to explain what that was?”

“Magic,” replied Ren evenly and clearly. He rubbed his bloodied hands on the dirt and stood up. “It's common here in Altear. But I understand it may come as a shock to you.”

Magic? Did such a thing even exist? It seemed unlikely, and yet they had all just witnessed it with their own eyes. There was almost no doubting it. Keisuke couldn’t help but gulp as he stared at his now completely recovered shoulder.

“I see. So, was that ice she used earlier magic as well? A spell of some sort?”

Ren nodded at Makoto's question. “Right. Nice catch. Lian here is what we call an evoker. She’s a type of sorcerer that specialises in manifesting elements, among other things. Nanako-chan over there is a cleric who knows healing magic, as you’ve all just seen for yourselves.”

“That’s right,” said the lady named Lian. She was an older woman, probably in her mid-thirties, with elegant features and an air of eroticism about her. “But you needn’t worry yourselves about that right now. Is anyone else hurt? Nana will see to your wounds.”

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“Don’t exhaust me or anything.” The girl named Nanako flicked one of her twintails with her hand. “This spell uses a lot of mana. I won't be healing simple scratches, you hear me? Just rub some spit on it.”

Ren chuckled nervously. “Try not to be too harsh on them, Nanako-chan. They were just attacked, you know?”

“Hmph.”

“I’m sorry, but none of this makes sense...” A girl by the name of Alice shook her head. One of Ren's companions had offered her a cloak to cover herself after the beastmen had attempted to assault her. “What on earth were those things that attacked us? W-were they going to…”

“Those were monsters known as gnolls,” Ren explained. “They’re a hostile race in Altear. They’re a strong race, albeit a dying one. They often attack wagons like this in search of women. They would've captured you and used you to breed more of their kind.”

The girls shuddered at the thought. “Then it’s a good thing you came along when you did.” Makoto folded her arms and cast a long glance over their saviours. She still seemed rather sceptical of Ren and his group. “Who are you people, anyway?”

Ren introduced himself and his party as a group called the “Crimson Dawn”, and he was their leader. There were six of them in total, three men and three women, and all of them were armed and armoured to the teeth. If Keisuke was to be honest, they looked quite frightening. But if it were not for these people making it to them in time, who knows just how bad things would’ve gotten here? The teamster had been beheaded right in front of them, and, according to Ren, the girls amongst them would have been violated. Just saying those things, it honestly seemed unbelievable.

“If you will allow it, we will escort you the rest of the way.” Ren climbed on his horse. “These roads can be perilous, especially at night. Please allow us to accompany you.”

“The rest of the way?” Mahiro looked at Ren questioningly. “Where are we going? Where are you taking us?”

“To the city of Fortuna. If we move now, we should arrive by sunrise.”

Makoto knitted her eyebrows. “And why should we follow you?”

Ren smiled at her. “Trust me, it's in your best interest. I promise no harm will come your way.”

The third girl in Ren's party chortled darkly. “Wow, they don't trust us. Even after we saved their lives.”

“And we're grateful to you for that,” Mahiro nodded with acknowledgement, “but you must understand our caution here. We don't even know you people.”

“Your caution is warranted but mistaken,” said Lian. “I would recommend you follow us, but you may otherwise do as you please. We will be returning with or without you.”

And so Ren spurred his horse round, and he and his party began to ride off. Keisuke and the others were unsure of what to do at that point. Following Ren was probably the best thing to do from their position, but it wasn’t without its red flags. After all, they did not know these people, and even though they were human, putting all of their trust in random strangers wasn’t exactly something to be done lightly. Keisuke even had questions about their sudden appearance and how easily they killed those gnolls, but he had decided against voicing them. It seemed as though everyone shared Keisuke’s doubts and concerns because nobody moved.

It was Delinquent who took the initiative and decided to follow Ren. He said nothing and simply began trailing behind them. Everyone else was still debating whether that was the best course of action or not. Keisuke looked around, trying to gauge the consensus, but it seemed mixed.

“Well, what else are we going to do?” Glasses shrugged. “If they're taking us to a city, then we'll be better off. Beats standing here in the middle of nowhere waiting to be roadkill.”

“He has a point.” Mahiro looked at Keisuke. “Shall we?”

Keisuke nodded, noticing that everyone seemed to share that opinion. As the group prepared to leave, Keisuke glanced at the scene they'd left behind. Ren had asked one of his companions to gather the remains of the teamster's body to take with them wherever it was they were going. For a proper burial, he said. Other than that, there was nothing but corpses and blood remaining—evidence of this aberrant situation they found themselves in.

Fortuna... Keisuke didn't know a city by that name.

What was this place and where did they come from? He didn’t have a single clue. But...there was one thing Keisuke was certain of...

There was no magic or strange beasts known as gnolls in that other place. He was, without a shadow of a doubt, certain of that.