Suta POV

Suta wasn't quite sure how to spend his suddenly vacant day. Since transmigrating, his days followed a rigid routine. Now, absolved of all duties by Granny Baba, a cloud of emptiness hovered around him.

He strolled along the familiar golden dirt path he'd trodden countless times before. Lifting his gaze to the azure sky above, a sense of melancholy drifted through his thoughts.

'Suta's birthday, eh? Hmm, this feels strange. Very strange.'

The feeling had niggled at him since leaving Granny's abode. Unsurprisingly, he'd completely lost his sense of time, unsure of the date or month right now.

Did this world even follow the traditional lunar calendar , he wondered? There was no way for him to know anymore.

And with time, Suta had utterly forgotten...until reminded today, marked his 17th birthday.

'I wonder if my real-world birthday has passed? Will I even have another? Not just me, but Dad, Mom...Ringo? Will things ever go back to how they were?'

Perhaps his first true respite in a long while allowed these darkened thoughts to resurface again.

Suta had a lot to think about, despite his promise to try his best to avoid falling into this cycle of overthinking, it was hard to fully detach himself away from the pain of remembering. Deep down he was still filled with anguish, anger, and helplessness, and despite the warm faces around him, Suta still caressed a real sense of loneliness inside his heart.

The mysteries surrounding the calamity that had befallen his world were a constant bane to his solace.

'As protected as this place feels, I can't allow complacency. Trouble awaits beyond this farm...and I must be ready.'

To Suta, there was no telling when disaster might strike again. It wasn't a question of if, but simply when it would arrive.

Once he peeled his gaze from the ground, Suta realized his aimless wandering had led him to the towering oak atop a rolling hill. A swathe of grassland gathered below, casting pockets of cool shade. This was the very tree he'd sat beneath when first regaining his memories - a lifetime ago, it seemed.

A boyish smile creased his lips at the recollection. A rare breeze swept over him, imbuing the return to this oak with a sense of coming full circle. He stood beneath the ancient boughs.

"This tree must have stood witness for lifetimes," he mused aloud, placing his palm against the rough bark. "I wonder what strange and wonderful things you've seen."

"Hmph! What good is talking to trees, Silly Suta? It's not like they'll hear you."

Suta visibly startled at the disembodied voice, recoiling from the trunk in horror.

'Di-did that tree just...'

Then a peal of familiar childlike laughter danced along the peaceful air. Soon after, a figure rounded the oak, reminiscent of their first meeting at this very spot.

"D...Demoria?" He eyed her, surprise tingeing his voice.

Shouldn't she be en route to one of the arcane colleges?

"Wh-what are you-"

Before he could finish, the spry girl closed the distance and leapt into his arms, giggling impishly.

"Hehehe, I'm back, Suta! Did you miss me? Oh, and -" She pulled back, their faces so close he caught the sweet fragrance of her hair.

Suta felt his heartbeat pacing. His eyes widened as he stared into the brightly amber eyes gazing into his own.

Cheeks flushing rosy, she gazed into his eyes with a wide, childish grin.

"Happy birthday...Suta."

The day passed gently as a reminiscing Demoria regaled Suta with tales from her journey since leaving the farm.

Much to Suta's surprise, he strangely felt all his woes had drifted away during the time he spent beside her.

There was never a dull moment beside Demoria of course, but most importantly she was someone who made him feel somewhat normal.

She reminded him of many things he had left behind in his own world.

She was a friend, bashful sibling, mentor, and motivator all in one.

A wistful smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

'It's been too quiet without this boastful kid around...not that I'd admit it.' He laced his fingers behind his head, half-listening as she recounted her daring escape.

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"...And then the carriage broke down, and it took one of those old geezers ages to remember which incantations could mend the wheels! Once he did, the foolish fellow had spent all his mana applying wards and cooling arrays to the carriage."

'Aha! I knew those carriages weren't normal...But cooling arrays? Haven't read about that in Granny's notes.'

"Ugh, it was such a drag, Suta. Anyway, Mr. Vistlov got annoyed about trekking the muddy path to the nearest village and risking monster encounters. He's so weird about dirtying his clothes, keke!"

Suta watched her whimsically muse, plucking dandelion fuzz to scatter the seeds.

"That sounds...interesting. But Demoria, you haven't told me what you're doing back here?"

Her shifty gaze suggested she was lining up an excuse.

"Well...I mean...Listen! It's your birthday, okay? Let's not talk about sad things. Just enjoy this time before someone spoils it... sigh . I nearly missed the chance, so thank Sunny."

Suta caught the name, puzzled.

'Sunny? Come to think of it...'

A cold gust stirred behind him, pricking his senses with looming danger. Twisting, he found a large brown-furred creature elegantly stalking toward them, huge leonine paws crunching the soft earth.

He had to blink, scarcely recognizing the beast,

'Well I'll be damned...it's grown!'

Now easily the size of a massive hound, though once no bigger than a pup. Its elongated neck proudly craned, with an impassive gaze locked on Suta, who felt an icy trickle at his nape beneath that cool stare.

'Sheesh, what did I do to offend it?'

Pleading silently at Demoria took longer than he'd liked before comprehension struck.

"Oh, Sunny's harmless! ...Unless you've wronged her before of course, then she might bite your hand off. But otherwise, she's absolutely golden Suta! And big enough for me to ride now."

He nodded slowly, refusing to break eye contact. '

Did I ever wrong her? Pr-probably not, heh...'

An epiphany struck.

"Wait - does that mean Sunny's been shadowing you since you left?" He voiced concerningly.

"Yup, it was Granny Baba's idea, she said it would be a good way for Sunny to experience more of the world now that she's grown. Mr. Vistlov was okay with it, as long as Sunny didn't cause trouble..." Demoria trailed off impishly.

"Well, now that I'm here, kekeke, he might be a little annoyed once we go back."

Suta could only shake his head at that, recalling the stiff-necked escort's demeanor.

At least she planned on returning.

The worst-case scenario would be Demoria abandoning her party outright to fly home out of boredom. But it seemed she'd simply taken advantage of a respite in their journey.

What Suta suspected had happened was...Demoria jumped aboard Sunny and winged back home, leaving a vague note about her return.

Granny Baba likely knew the mischievous girl had reappeared too. She always seemed to know everything transpiring on this farm.

Suta had learned the deceptively unassuming old woman's true perceptiveness lay in her ability to mask any trace of her knowing. 'It's a good thing she seems fond of me, else who knows what might happen,' he mused with a complicated look.

Thinking of Granny's hidden depths, his mind drifted to the lone entry finally obtained in his Skills section.

"G-l-i-t-c-h." He mouthed the strange word, wondering its potential use, or most important of all how he'd acquired it in the first place.

Recalling the prior carriage conversation about skill acquisition methods, the rough-talking brute had mentioned divine gifts, unconsciously practicing abilities, or learning from skill tomes. None seemed to apply here.

'A divine gift? Nope, unconsciously practicing it over and over again to obtain true mastery? I can't imagine that. And finally, did I learn it from a skills book? I doubt that one too, but it would be the option id leaned toward if I had to choose.

'Argh, this is too confusing right now...'

Amid his wandering thoughts, Suta eventually caught Demoria's increasingly irate voice chiding him for ignoring her incessant calls.

"Hey Suta, stop daydreaming and pay me attention Hmph! You never know how to treat a lady these days. Stupid Suta."

Refocusing on her aggrieved pout, a soft chuckle escaped through his lips

"Don't I? Well, I'll need someone to teach me how to properly treat a lady one of these days then."

Demoria's face lit up. "Yes! Th-that's what I'm here for anyway, Suta. Okay, let's just enjoy the day now, it's your birthday!

What better way than with your best friend? Hehehe."

Conceding to her whims, Suta decided to simply bask in the simple peace afforded by this rare, chore-free day. What else could he do but savor these fleeting moments of tranquility?

Thus far, his farm life had been gently idyllic, punctuated by internal moments of grief and instability.

But overall, he felt increasingly at ease, discovering a small, sheltered haven to call home one day.

As the pair sat atop the hill overlooking the picturesque farmlands and Granny's abode, they enjoyed the beautiful scenery and solace of each other's company. The exceptional weather coupled with familiar revelry until the dimming skies brought a slight chill - yet there on top of the hill they remained, blissfully savoring the world.

‎ [End of Act I- Starfall & Mysteries of the Worlds.]