• Side: Shizuka Tsukihara

Toru tied me on his back.

I’m sure I’m lighter than other women, but by doing simple calculations, I know that he had to climb up the steep side of a hole with a total of more than 50 kilograms.

He was so...warm and reliable. I thought as I pressed my cheek against his back, which was hot with body warmth. Despite the cold weather, the climb must’ve taken a toll on him, as drops of sweat were visible on the nape of his neck.

Then, suddenly, he began to go faster. 

Maybe because he’s tired?  

There’s a saying. When your capacity for liquor is five, how can you beat someone whose capacity is six? It’s impossible.

But you can both end up drunk together.

When you’re still conscious, try and dunk as much wine you can into your opponent’s mouth.

Then, both will end up drunk. But nobody can tell who ended up drunk first, so it’s a tie.

Shizuka thought that Toru was speeding up because he knew he couldn’t safely get both of them towards the entrance of the hole. 

I clutched onto him tighter and pressed my whole body against him, he jolted a little. 

Ah, I know. He’s really tired, as I noticed him barely losing the grip of the side.

(Author: It was because of your sudden actions…)

The thought of him being tired vanished as he climbed up the rim of the hole and put us safely on the ground.

Tommy, the little boy patted his jeans and said.

“Thank you, big brother.”

“No problem. Where are your parents?”

“I-In the forest.”

I was thinking of where we were when I noticed a glimpse of silver lying on the ground. I picked it up and realised that it was my flip phone that had dropped down the slope.

I tried pressing the on button, but nothing came up.

“...is it broken?”

Toru noted as he noticed my failing attempts of trying to restart the flip phone.

Tommy looked around as I was still kneeling on the ground, unable to stand.

“This is one of the forbidden parts on the map, a forest of sorts.”

I gasped as Toru pointed at the map as he crouched down for me to get a better look.

This was definitely the forbidden forest.

“I don’t understand. What’s dangerous about this place?” (Toru)

“Ah, you’re not from around here, right mister? This place is named a ‘paradise for hunters’. Bears, wolves and foxes were often seen here.” (Tommy)

“Oh, that’s…” (Toru)

I nodded at Tommy’s words, my father had warned me many times to never cross the forbidden parts, even if it had a shortcut.

“I’ll be fine now, once again, thank you for saving me.” (Tommy)

“Heh? Where are you going?” (Toru)

“Down the mountain. I felt a soft rumble when I’m in the hole. An avalanche must’ve occurred nearby, my house is in the woods.” (Tommy)

“Wait, you live in the woods?” (Shizuka)

“Yes, both my parents are hunters. I think tonight’s dinner would be deer meat.” (Tommy)

The boy seemed to salivate as he fantasised about the meat that he was supposed to have for dinner.

“Hey. How about you stay at my house for a while? You’re both my saviours, I know my father wouldn’t push you away.” (Tommy)

“...” (Shizuka and Toru)

We looked at each other. We had nowhere to go right now, shrugged our shoulders and followed the boy down a path in the snowy climate.

By the way, I was carried by Toru on his back.

Other contestants

Chihiro and Mika were sitting on the floor of a cave found deep in the mountain, a campfire was lit between them.

Chihiro was holding her phone and tapping furiously on the screen, while Mika stared at her with a confused expression.

“Chi-nee, what are you doing?”

“Something a child wouldn’t know.”

“I’m not a child!!”

Chihiro made a victorious posture as she stopped her fingers, startling the bored Mika.

“I’ve stabilised the cable, turned on the detection system, hacked into the drone with a numeric code that was far too easy to break, blah blah. (After five minutes) And found it.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not from the future, can you tell me what you’ve found...with a short sentence?”

“I’ve found the shortest route towards the flag without any obstacles.”

“Are you perhaps...a god?”

“You can thank me later, let’s go!”

The excited Chihiro dragged the sullen Mika out of the cave and ran towards their destination.

.

“Are we lost?”

“No, we’re not. We just don’t know where we’re going.”

“In other words, we’re lost.”

“...”

Akio’s tersed smile was now turned into a scowl, as he stared at the map prepared for them.

The drone was still hovering above them, Eiji felt a sudden urge to knock it down.

Both of them looked at each other and some kind of connection passed between them. 

Both of them started picking up snow from the ground and forming them into snowballs. Then, they pitched the balls at the drone like a pitcher from a baseball team.

Both of them hollered and laughed together.

Of course, it’s almost impossible to hit the drone when it had a detection system.

The audience on the other hand, were entranced by their natural laughs and smiles.

.

Ichiro Touma and Linda Lancaster were walking at their own pace, without talking to each other.

They weren’t on bad terms, but rather they had no interest in each other, and looked at each other as if they were potatoes. 

Would you mind a potato?

So, nothing exciting of sorts happened between them. 

They didn’t know that the staff were putting digital hearts on the screen, literally breaking the hearts of thousands and millions of teenagers.

.

“Here’s my home.”

Tommy led us through a path. We spotted bunnies, rabbits and deers on the way, but nothing dangerous happened. 

Tommy claimed that this was a ‘safe route’ that was cleared by his father every day.

The house was a medium large wooden house with a huge porch. Smoke billowed from the chimney of the house, filling the air with a sweet smell. Tommy slammed open the door and shouted.

“I’m back!”

.

Shizuka’s fondness display: 10% -> 15%

-A maiden’s heart is easily swayed. She felt warm when she was with Toru, thinking of him as a reliable friend.