Chapter 22:

Eres swatted her arm. The sharp sound in the otherwise quiet forest caused her companions to jump. They all looked at her in confusion. Eres flushed.

“Mosquito…”

Leo shook his head, but waited at Eres’s heel, ready to follow her.

Eres, so confident when entering the forest, naturally realized she had no idea what she was doing. Her behavior could only be explained by vague recollections of watching TV and a Felix-sized ego. She was getting nervous. If they realized she’d been bullying them into something when she herself was clueless…

Leo: “Oh, Eres, could it be? Our young, prodigal student was actually a dumbass this whole time? HA!!”

No! That couldn’t happen! But her nerves were tensing, every twig that snagged her clothes and mosquito that buzzed in her ear rose her blood pressure.

Ugh! Damn bugs! For all their preparation, how could they forget bug spray?! She’d had enough. Eres slipped her wand from her holster.

“Mosquitos! Take this! FIREBALL!”

Leo, shocked, jumped back, protecting the group. “Eres, what the fuck?!”

They watched as Eres condensed mana into her wand, the area rising in temperature for a moment, and a palm-sized ball of fire spiked into the sky, scorching the trees overhead. The mosquitos that had surrounded Eres—somewhat exclusively—curled up and fell to the ground, shriveling.

The group watched on, dumbfounded, until Celise hurriedly yanked her wand out and jet-streamed the smoldering plants. If there were a forest fire, the whole test could be ruined…!

Leo walked over and knocked Eres on the head. “You dumbass, why are you using fireball on bugs?!”

Eres crouched in pain, tearing as she rubbed her head. She looked up at Leo, trying to evoke his pity. She pouted.

Leo slapped her on the head again.

“Agh…!”

“Don’t try to get out of this.”

“T-this was just part of the survival strategy.”

Eres felt the eyes of her friends piercing into her guilty heart. There was no backing out now. Do or die.

She stood righteously. “Unless any of you brought bug spray? Do you intend to get a sickness from these mosquitos?!”

No one answered. Eres crossed her arms, her aura like that of a belligerent kitten. She pressed on, walking through the shrubbery.

Leo clomped behind her, his eyes narrowing to slits. A deep-rooted suspicion began to form in his mind. Her floundering about with no specific direction, her lack of coordination after entering the forest…

Yeah. She had no idea what she was doing, did she? Should he expose her?

As amusing as that would be, they should probably get settled before he called her out. If she ran off into the woods from embarrassment, it would probably be on him to collect her. He sighed.

What a troublesome maid…

Eres pushed a branch aside, and her face lit up. No way! A cave?! What luck!

“Guys! Look!”

A cave was set in a natural cliff face of one of the hills that had dotted the forest. Its opening was barely visible from the direction they’d exited the woods in.

Her friends, one-by-one, pushed through the branches into the clearing. Their faces brightened considerably now that they were out of the foliage.

Arille squeaked with a happy laugh. “Oh! I really thought Eres was just pretending! I can’t believe she actually knew what she was doing…!”

The others, silently thinking the same, turned their gaze away.

Eres smirked. Hah? So she didn’t know what she was doing? So what? The protagonist is the protagonist after all. She strutted forward, waving her hand in faux generosity. “You can treat me later, hehe~”

What was the saying? Fake it until you make it? Eres carved that into her heart. Today, she was a convert!

Eres skipped ahead, lightly humming, until she rounded the corner and could peer into the cave proper.

Leo walked forward, scratching his head. Damn, was she actually a hidden master? He really thought she’d been clueless. Maybe he didn’t know her as well as he thought.

He watched the red puffball disappear behind the curve of the cave. Leo would have to apologize to her later. Maybe a meal?

Suddenly, a high-pitched, girlish scream tore from the direction of the cave.

Leo’s hair stood on end. “Eres?!”

He rushed forward, pulling his wand, when suddenly the girl flew from the mouth, scrambled on the ground from changing direction too quickly, and sprinted toward them.

Eres’s face was red, her eyes tearful. Her voice came in a squeak. “R-run…!”

“?!”

The group was dumbfounded for a second. What had she seen…?

A roar exploded in the clearing. The deep vibration rumbled through their chests. A massive brown paw extended from the cave, carrying a furry body into view. A grizzly the size of a car pulled itself out of the cave, its massive claws scratching the dirt.

Leo’s mind blanked. “Ah.”

Eres flew by him, her hand catching his sleeve, pulling him away. “RUN!”

His feet followed before his mind did.

Eres, who had been so proudly patting herself on the back, no longer cared about face.

Protagonist?! Yeah right! Her main color was red! If she got caught, it’d be over! She dug her feet in the ground, pulling until Leo finally moved.

Ed, Arille, and Celise were frozen on the spot. Only Eliza, quick to act, managed to shake herself from surprise. She pushed each of them, waking them from their daze.

With tears in her eyes, Eres led Leo to the front and ran for her life.

Each of them scrambled into the woods with shuddering gasps. Eres turned her head. She and Leo were fast—faster than all the rest. The saying was, “You don’t have to outrun the bear, only your friends.”

But…she didn’t want to do that. Scared as she was, she’d come to care about these pipsqueaks. Her eyes landed on Celise, that lazy princess, who gasped for breath at the back of the pack.

Ah…fuck. Why’d she look back?

Eres stopped running, letting go of Leo’s shirt as his sprinting yanked it from her grasp. Eres trembled, pulled her wand out, and turned around.

Letting kids take the punishment for her foolishness…what kind of adult was she? Terror flooded through her, but she grit her teeth. This! The pride of a man! She’d show her gallant spirit.

Celise looked up, sweating, her dead eyes regaining glimmer when she saw Eres waiting for her. Celise’s face trembled with gratitude, and began to run past Eres.

One by one, each of her friends noticed her action, and turned.

Leo saw the shrimp he called his best friend facing towards the brown snout that peaked into the tree-line. His lips tightened.

When he saw Eres, that short stature, facing a beast, his reason fractured. His heart clenched. Suddenly, he was breathless, but not from running.

Only that red hair filled his vision.

How could he run? He aimed his wand and readied himself.

Eliza’s hair raised, her teeth bared, as she walked to Eres’s side. She flexed her fingers in her off-hand, ready to fight.

Ed and Arille froze. Their hands reached for their wands, but fell short. Together, they stood behind their friends, unmoving. Ed lowered his head. I-I…I can’t…

Arille’s face was pale, and she closed her eyes, trembling. It was too much.

Celise, who had run past Eres, froze on the spot. Her lips trembled, her brain churning in panic, but she kept herself from moving. Her fingers tried to grab her wand, but couldn’t seem to grasp it.

The bear closed in, its beady black eyes looking over them. Eres, who was closest, drew its attention.

The beast stood on its hind legs, the body towering above her. It snorted, drool dripping down its snout.

She swallowed.

Am I gonna die again?

No. No way. She wasn’t ready. Not when she finally had a life worth living. Before, she hadn’t really cared…but now? Now, there were people she wanted to go home to.

Her lips set, eyes regaining their vigor. Fuck giving up. Fuck dying.

Eres reached into her pouch and pulled a handful of sulfur from it. The bear, maybe noticing her movements, bared its teeth and snarled.

With the rumbling in her chest, Eres’s mind blanked out, her focus on one thing. She scattered the dust in front of her, flicked her wand, and shouted.

“FIRE-WALL!”

An eruption like an explosion burst from the ground, searing the surrounding plant-life to blackened bits. The bear’s hair shrank from the heat, some of it instantly igniting.

It screeched, backing away instinctively from the fire. The pain, perhaps, caused it to turn and pull itself away with a rumbling growl.

Eres’s eyes widened. She hadn’t cast this spell with material components yet, considering it was still somewhat new and strong enough to use by itself. She hadn’t expected such explosive results.

She watched in shock as the bear, frightened, scampered away with heavy thuds.

That was it?

Eres collapsed to her knees, the wall flickering away as she released the spell.

Her mind was numb. A bear is just a bear, I guess…

Such a thing was so frightening, and it wasn’t even a monster. The whole group crumbled at something afraid of an intermediate spell…

A heartbeat later, a weight collided into her. Eres blinked, looking at the golden-haired girl clutching Eres in her grasp.

Celise was crying, hugging Eres as tight as she could. She tried to speak, but words wouldn’t come out.

Hah…all this trouble for this little princess. Eres rubbed her back.

Leo slid next to her, leaned over, and grabbed her shoulder. His face was pale, sweat covering his brow.

“Eres…” His lip trembled until he bit it. He kneeled down. Leo rested his forehead against the side of her head, hands still shaking.

“Thank goodness…”

Eres puffed up. Why was everyone looking at her like she had a terminal illness? As the adrenaline faded, it was replaced with light amusement and a desire to tease.

She pushed Leo’s face until it was an arm’s length away from her.

Eres clicked her tongue. “All of you, running off and leaving me…really.” Her tone was soft, though chiding. The others looked guilty. Ed turned his head.

Arille put an arm to her shoulder, eyes still tearing up. “I-I…was so scared…”

Eliza sat next to Eres and looked at her indignantly. “I didn’t run…”

Eres reached over and pat her head, scratching behind her ears. “Mm. My Eliza is the bravest, hehe.”

The girl smiled faintly.

Celise finally pulled her head back and looked at her in the eyes. Her usually graceful face was puffed up from tears and panic, her skin a vivid red. Snot dripped down her nose, causing her to sniff.

Eres giggled. “Princess, maybe you should wipe your face…”

She nodded, and grabbed a tissue from her pack. Celise blew into it, still unable to speak. Was she the type to be unable to talk when crying? She silently gripped one of Eres’s hands.

Leo fell back, one hand extended behind him. His face was unusually pallid. Eres smirked.

“Hmm? Young master, could it be you were worried you might have to wash your own socks?”

He looked at her, stunned. Joking now? He sighed, a smile playing over his lips. Yeah. It wouldn’t be Eres otherwise.

“Naturally. Did you think I was worried about you?”

“Weren't you?”

“Not at all. You’re stronger than a bear.”

Eres’s lips quirked as the rest of the group nodded. Eliza, especially, vigorously bobbled her head. “Eres is strongest. Eres is life.”

“?!”

What cult-like muttering was this? She chopped Eliza on the head. “Stop saying weird stuff.”

The girl’s ears and tail lowered flat.