Sunlight filtered through the trees, bright enough to penetrate my closed eyelids.
"…Is it morning?"
The campfire before me was still smoldering, but most of the wood had burned down to charcoal. I considered checking for any remaining embers to see if I could save Licia some magical power.
"Mmm…"
"…"
Licia was still asleep, her head resting on my shoulder with a peaceful expression. It felt like a crime to wake her.
"…No, finding food comes first."
Now that I was fully awake, I felt a sharp pang of hunger.
"Licia, are you awake?"
"…Nnh, Luca? Good morning."
"Yeah, morning. I want to move around a bit, but you can go back to sleep if you want."
She didn't reply. I folded my jacket to serve as a pillow and gently laid her down.
"Right, let's get to it."
I stretched with a wide yawn and headed into the forest. I figured foraging for plants would be a more reliable bet than hunting living creatures. I’d been a little anxious before stepping into the woods, but once I started walking, that feeling vanished. The lush greenery was beautiful, almost as if it were beckoning me deeper inside.
I managed to gather some nuts and other bits growing low to the ground, but…
"That’s the real prize over there."
There was some large fruit growing quite high up in a tree.
"It looks easy enough to climb, but then again…"
Better safe than sorry—so, naturally, I started climbing. I grabbed onto the knots and branches, pulling myself up. Just as I’d thought, it wasn't particularly difficult.
"Yes! Got them!"
I felt a sudden surge of accomplishment. Achieving something through my own strength always felt good, no matter how small the task. I wanted to grab a few more before heading down, but I wondered if it would be faster to just drop them.
I plucked a fruit and aimed for a soft patch of moss on the ground. To keep them from bruising, I decided to carry the last two in my arms while I climbed back down. I’d always felt that going down was easier than going up.
"Ah, crap!"
My right foot suddenly slipped into empty air. My boot skidded across a branch that was still slick with morning dew.
This is bad… If I can just aim for that moss, I might walk away with something less than a fatal wound…
Even as my mind raced, my body had already accepted the inevitable. I braced for the impact, plummeting toward the ground—
"…Eh?"
A weightless sensation washed over me. When I opened my eyes, the rocky ground was so close it nearly touched my nose.
"Honestly, what are you doing?"
"Li… Licia!"
She walked toward me, squinting slightly against the bright morning sun.
"Wait, what is this?"
I realized I was floating in mid-air—or rather, I was being held in a princess carry.
"This is your punishment for almost dying on your own."
"Is that so…"
"And those?"
Licia’s gaze shifted to the fruit I was still clutching.
"Oh, right. I was trying to get these for us. Of course, there’s plenty for you too, Licia."
"Hmm. Well then, go on."
Still holding me in her arms, Licia opened her mouth and waited expectantly.
"W-What?"
"Hurry up and feed me. I’m hungry."
"Fine, fine. Here you go."
I gave in surprisingly easily. It was probably Nana’s influence. A crisp, juicy sound echoed through the clearing.
"How is it? Wait, I didn't even check if they were poisonous…"
"Mm? Nnh, they're delicious."
Licia chewed thoroughly and swallowed before answering. Her smile, illuminated by the morning sun, was almost too powerful for me to handle.
"Um, could you put me down now?"
"Don't worry about that. Just eat."
"I get it, so please stop grinding it against my face. My teeth are gouging the fruit."
Wait, this is actually incredible. It tasted like an apple that had put every single stat point into sweetness.
"Is it good?"
"Yeah, it’s great. Now, put me down."
"I suppose it can't be helped."
She set me down, though she looked a bit reluctant about it. I couldn't let it go on any longer, or my pride would have withered away completely.
◇◆◇
In a forest not far from Luca and his companion, a boy was brooding. It was Leonis Alseid.
"Now, what should I do?"
He hadn't anticipated being teleported immediately after the start of the Trial. Presumably, the others had been scattered to different locations as well.
The strange thing—or rather, the part he simply didn't understand—was that the actual objective of the Trial hadn't been announced. They had been told it was a Trial and were brought here. But what were they supposed to do? What was being demanded of them?
"…I suppose thinking about it now is a waste of time."
Should he try to regroup? Leon would probably say that they were currently rivals competing for the Position of the Hero.
"I don't really care about that, though—being a Hero and all…"
This world was an artifice. If one died here, would they die in reality as well? For that matter, had his actual body been pulled here from the real world?
"…I need to find Elphyria, at the very least, as soon as possible."
Leonis had drifted away from his duty as a Hero, focusing instead on the feelings he had kept hidden deep within his heart. As a Hero, he was average, but as a single human being, those feelings were far too pure—