‘’It’s too bright… And the contrast is ridiculous,’’ Yohiro thought to himself, staring at the tree inside the gem, having touched the gem after the creation of the hole in the wall. ‘’I know it’s grass, but I’ve never seen such a powerful green color before. Yours is a little too dark,’’ he chuckled, referring to the tree’s leaves. ‘’Ah, it’s the first time I’ve heard you laugh before. Did I really say something funny, or were you chuckling at me?’’ He heard nothing. ‘’That’s pretty mean, you know,’’ he said, ‘’but I’ve got a larger concern right now: What’s with this new...feeling in the room?’’ Yohiro remained seated in front of the large tree.

‘’Happiness? But I’m not happy. In fact, I’m angr-- huh,’’ he stopped. ‘’You’re forcing me to feel nice inside my own head. That’s even more mean!’’ He couldn’t real help but laugh. ‘’Anyway, what’s happening outside right now? Or will you let me out and have me walk around by myself?’’ Yohiro asked, wagging around in his own weirdly mixed sense of forced joy, a mix between his longing desire to always be happy, his frustration because of Hiona’s action, and the forced joy given to him by the tree for the time being.

‘’Carried? By Rosa… We’re not gonna catch up to the others, are we?!’’ He yelled in realisation. ‘’Get me out, please! They’re probably way ahead of us by now!’’ He pointed at it vulgarly. ‘’ Don’t ’What of it?’ me! Rosa and I aren’t really strong, what’s gonna happen if they catch us or something, huh?’’ He smirked, thinking he had outwitted it and thought ahead. ‘’A barrier?! Dang it, let me be one step ahead this time,’’ he basically begged ironically and humorously.

‘’By the way, what’s with that thing there?’’ Yohiro finally found the time to ask, pointing his finger at a dark formation of shadows on the wall, seeming meager and pathetic in comparison to the the giant white room. ‘’That’s my ‘crookedness’? What does that even mean, though…? Am I becoming a bad person?’’ He said nonchalantly, confident in his personality and good will. ‘’That’s a confusing answer, you know,’’ he muttered, ‘’Those words are really hard, too. ‘Pers...everance’? Constraint is a little easier, don’t you think~? Why not go easier on me with the words next time?’’ He requested as he leaned back, placing his back on the ground, against the surprisingly warm floor.

‘’I’m not a know-it-all! And what do you mean by, ‘You still lack crookedness, but the cockyness is plenty’?! You’re being sue- No, ULTRA mean!’’ He began shouted, springing up into a straight, standing up position. ‘’H-hey, what do I do if I can’t help Rosa out there?’’ he said as he lowered his arm after realising the tree had taught him it was rude to point at things. ‘’Hey, answer-’’ he was shut up quickly, losing the ability to speak as he began to drift, the ground turning into nothing and the room deforming into thin paper. All he could do what complain internally, beginning to wake up. The dark space got torn up, as if it was a wallpaper and Yohiro awakened, for who knows how many times now.

Incoherent mumbles were the only things he could let slip as he found himself shaking in Rosa’s hands, with the slender woman finding it hard to even jog anymore. Looking back, he couldn’t really see the hole clearly anymore. ‘’Good, you’re awake!’’ She shouted enthusiastically, throwing the boy ruthlessly on the green grass, leaving him to land on his back. Yohiro sobered up, beginning to roll around on the ground in pain. ‘’The others are out of sight...because of your sleeping in the middle of an unplanned rampage. It kinda sounds like you’re not at fault, doesn’t it?’’ Rosa said, trying to ease herself, since she and Yohiro were virtually the most disposable, power-wise, making it easier of a decision for Hiona and the others to leave them behind. They hadn’t, but Rosa was stressing herself anyway.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

‘’Am I that heavy…?’’ Yohiro asked, ignoring her rambling as he ran his hand up and down his back under his shirt. ‘’No, but fatigue builds up over tim-- That’s not the issue! If I move much farther, the barrier will undue itself because I’m not close enough to supply it with magic!’’ Rosa waved her hands randomly in frustration, pointing them at the wall and the barrier covering it, barely visible. ‘’So? Since when do you care about that? Aren’t you as bad as Hiona in most regards…?’’ Yohiro asked her, not listening to what he was saying, as he was brushing off the tardiness. ‘’No,’’ she simply said in a serious tone, leaving it at that.

‘’Come on, you nuisance, we’re gonna start moving before we lose even the one percent we have right now,’’ she ordered him, looking at his annoyed expression as he stood up. ‘’Ah, yeah, let’s go…’’ He responded passively.

Ten minutes passed, and while walking, Yohiro decided to break the awkward silence, ‘’Can’t you...contact Hiona with your tome?’’ That one question froze Rosa and everything around her and in almost monotonous echo inside her head, she opened the palm of her hand wide. ‘’Yohiro...please kill me!!!’’ She shouted out like a whiny child, beginning to bite the outer section of her hand in shame. Confused, Yohiro patted her head, ‘’Hiona hasn’t contacted us either, meaning she probably forgot about that, too,’’ he got her attention, ‘’Don’t beat yourself over it. I remembered just now.’’ Rosa sat down, beginning to stare at the grass as it continued to move because of the wind. ‘’I’m pathetic~~~!’’ She shouted, ironically sounding very pathetic as she took out her tome.

‘’Marioeteruna: article 6. Connect…whatever...’’ The tome shone suddenly. ‘’Ma~ster,’’ Rosa spoke into the tome in a depressing voice. ‘’Huh…?’’ Yohiro turned around, feeling a ticklish feeling on the back of his neck. ‘’There’s something on me! There’s something on me!!’’ Yohiro spun around, falling over as Rosa continued talking to Hiona. Looking up, the boy found a small butterfly flying around freely. ‘’Ro~sa? What’s that thing…?’’ He stood up, not breaking his concentrated gaze on the interesting creature flying in front of him, oh so randomly and out of pattern. Rosa naturally ignored him, as she was discussing a meeting place with her master and the others.

‘’Got it. I’ll meet you there, then,’’ Rosa said her final words, closing the tome in a long, exaggerated sigh. In a quick ‘’Hmm?’’ Rosa noticed Yohiro running in circles near her, trying to reach the small butterfly. ‘’The...hell are you doing over there?’’ She questioned him, staring in a slightly mixed moment of awe and confusion. ‘’It’s just so hard to catch! What is that thing?!’’ Yohiro yelled amidst his exhausted gasps, continuing to chase after it, although more slowly. ‘’I...don’t know what to say anymore,’’ she whispered in disappointment.

‘’Yohiro!’’ Rosa shouted, standing up, causing him to stop suddenly and the butterfly to begin flying away peacefully. ‘’We’ll be meeting master and the others at Kuropoi Village. It’s a small place Bernie is apparently familiar with. It’s not that far away from here, according to them, just mostly to the north,’’ she pointed her finger north as she put her tome away. ‘’Got it!’’ Yohiro said obediently as Rosa began walking north suddenly, prompting the boy to follow her, the two of them taking a straight walk towards Kuropoi Village.