Yuki and the team spent the next days trying finding their way out of the forest. When they first left the area that the barrier encompassed, they each felt their watches begin to vibrate. Yuki checked his and saw that the Academy was contacting them.

“Hello?” Yuki said, picking up the call.

“This is Yuki Mayumi, correct?” an unknown voice asked. 

“That is correct. How may I help you?”

“Do you realise that you were off our radar for one whole day?”

“No, sir,” Yuki lied smoothly. “We only went to find our targets. I didn’t notice a thing.”

“I see. We would have called you during that time you were off our radar but we didn’t want to risk putting you in a difficult position,” the person explained. “We’ll question you more once you’ve exited the forest.”

The person disconnected and Yuki closed the communication screen.

“Remember what I said?” Yuki said quietly to his team.

“Yes,” Yuna replied. The others nodded.

“Now let’s find our way out of here.”

The first thing Yuki did was locate what direction they were in. That was a simple enough task for an earth elementalist to do. He found that they were currently facing the north and so had to walk toward the east in order to get out. The difficult part was in locating where exactly the rendezvous point was. Luckily, Yuki checked his messages and found that the Academy has sent them the name of the location. It was a small town named Yoto.

‘So we get out of the forest then we find out where in Libra we are. Then we go to Yoto. Simple enough.’

With that, Yuki told Yuna where they should be headed towards and she took the lead. The first few days, the team managed to survive with only the rations that Yuki and Yuna had brought with them. Yuki, himself, only really needed one or two meals a day but the others including Yuna eat the normal three. By the second day, they had ran out of food and needed to hunt.

The first day of hunting, Yuki brought along Ben to help him. They killed a deer and were busy carrying it along as they headed toward camp when Yuki started to hear what seemed to be some sort of argument.

‘What’s happening?’

“I still don’t believe that,” Jared grumbled. 

“That’s what he told me,” Yuna replied. “So if you really want to make sure, just go ask him.”

“What’s this about?” Yuki asked. The head of the deer was resting on top of his own making it seem like he was wearing a hat.

“You,” Yuna said.

“You’re a guy?!” Jared asked.

“Yes, but what’s this about?”

“I thought you were a girl,” Jared continued. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“A lot of people think I’m a girl so I’ve given up on trying to correct them,” Yuki replied. “If they want to think I’m a girl, I’ll let them think that. I don’t have a problem with people referring to me she or her.”

“But that’s just weird!” Jared exclaimed. “I wouldn’t like it if someone called me she. If I’m a guy, I want people to see me as one.”

“Yeah, well you get used to it. Why is this such a big deal?”

“I’m just confused, that’s all,” Jared muttered.

“Well, if that’s all then let’s prepare dinner then.”

Yuki, with the help of Yuna, proceeded to butcher the deer into different parts that they then stuck onto a spit to cook.

“See, this is why I get so confused,” Jared grumbled while Yuki tended to the roasting meat.

“Hmm?” Yuki replied.

“You’re a guy but you know how to cook and probably do a bunch of other household stuff,” he said. “If you were a girl, you would make a great wife or maid. Plus, you look like a girl.”

‘No one has ever told me that before.’

[But it’s true~,] Akira commented suddenly. [I would know since I’m the one that’s basically being taken care of.]

‘You clean though.’

[I do that because I feel bad leaving it all to you,] she explained. [I’m sure you would do it without a second thought.]

‘Can’t deny that. But no one has ever said I would be a good wife. That’s interesting to say the least.’

[It doesn’t help that you look like a female as well as having some of the characteristics of one.]

‘I can’t change who I am. That’s why I’ve given up on trying to correct people.’

[Mmm, well. I’ll keep quiet now. Bye,] Akira said before disconnecting.

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Yuki said out loud. “I’m a guy and nothing short of magic is going to change that. Now, do you want to eat?”

After that, the days went by without any big events. When they needed food, Yuki or Yuna would go out to hunt. They would rest periodically and spent most of their time walking toward the east. During their march through the forest, Joseph’s condition grew worse and worse, just like Yuki predicted to be. Approaching the fourth day, Joseph had to be helped in order to walk.

Yuki briefly entertained the idea of just getting rid of the unneeded baggage and either chop off Joseph’s arm or just leave him behind. But now that they were being monitored, Yuki knew that this type of action would immediately attract attention. There was also the problem that this wasn’t the most ethical or moral course of action. And so, Yuki had to slow down the pace in order for Joseph to keep up.

‘If I knew better healing magic, than this would have been avoided. Or if they recruited a healer.’

By the end of the fourth day, the group had exited the forest and found a small town. Looking at a map, Yuki saw that they were north of where the rendezvous point was. Before they left, Yuki visited the local doctor clinic and got a dosage of antibiotics for Joseph. Then he got train tickets at a reduced price using his student ID and he and his team traveled down to Yoto.

“Are you sure we can take the train?” Yuna had asked when they were boarding. “It seems to defeat the purpose of surviving in the forest.”

“Let’s say that this is called being resourceful,” Yuki replied. “There was nothing saying that we couldn’t take a train or use transportation.”

Yuna nodded and accepted the explanation. A ten minute ride later on the old train and they arrived at Yoto. The hovercraft that was waiting for them was quite easy to find, the shiny metal of the vehicle standing out among the old fashion buildings of the town. Around the hovercraft were a few groups that were sitting around as they talked to each other.

‘I think those are some of the other teams.’

“Team Jared?” a person asked. It was an elf that was dressed in loose clothing with a badge on his shirt that identified him as a staff member of the Academy.

“That’s us,” Jared replied. 

“The hovercraft will be taking off in a few minutes,” the person announced. “So take a quick rest and we’ll be heading back to the Academy soon.”

“Wait,” Jared called out as the man began to turn around. The man stopped and looked back with a curious expression. “My brother’s sick and has an infection. Can you treat him now?”

“I’m sorry but we’re not equipped with medical equipment here,” the man said, his voice sympathetic. “Your brother should be fine though. He’ll be arriving at the Academy within the hour and will receive immediate medical attention. Unless of course, he’s going to die within an hour. Is he going to die?”

“He should be fine for another day,” Yuki said quietly. “I’ve been bolstering his immune system. One more hour isn’t going to kill him, probably.”

The man nodded at Yuki’s words. “Then your brother should be fine,” he smiled to Jared. “Word of advice though, for next time. Always make sure you recruit a healer in your group.”

With that, the man turned around and climbed into the hovercraft. Yuki sat down and looked around without trying to observe anything. The minutes ticked by until the man stuck his head out of the hovercraft.

“Alright, time to take you kids back to the Academy,” he announced. “Climb on up. You have five minutes.”

He went back inside and the students rushed over to enter the vehicle. Yuki waited for them to get as he stood outside, watching them as they pushed and shoved.

‘So one more hour until the questions start.’

FriendlyDragon

I'm back~! I came back with gifts. A second chapter coming out later today. >.>