This took place some time after Rest had completed the Royal Academy’s entrance exam.
“Hmm... It would appear we’ve been stranded!”
“............”
Standing with her hands on her hips was a girl with short red hair, dressed in a practical-looking pantsuit.
Her name was Yuri Catreia.
As the daughter of the Marquis Catreia House, she was currently in the middle of a grand escape from home. She and Rest were mere acquaintances, having only recently met during the academy's entrance exam.
Rest and Yuri stood surrounded by a dense, overgrown forest.
It was a jungle. From somewhere in the distance, the high-pitched cries of tropical birds echoed through the trees.
“No... why? Why am I here alone with Yuri in a place like this?”
He had no memory of how he had arrived. He didn't remember meeting up with Yuri, nor did he recall traveling to a jungle with her. Could they have been kidnapped?
“Rest, I’m sorry. I truly feel terrible for dragging you into this.”
“Ah, yeah. Right... well, feel as sorry as you want...”
Rest clutched his head, answering Yuri while nursing a growing migraine. While he had a million questions about their situation, his priority had to be finding a way out.
“For now, I’ll fly up with magic and survey the area. I might see something from above.”
“Understood. I’m counting on you, then.”
“Eh...?”
Before he knew what she was doing, Yuri clung to him and hopped onto his back.
“Wait, why!?”
“Weren't you going to check things from above?”
“Well, yeah, but...”
“Then, let’s go.”
“............”
He hadn't agreed to take her with him. Feeling unsatisfied but deciding that an argument would be too much work, Rest let it slide.
“Mm...”
With her pressed against him, he couldn't help but notice Yuri’s warmth and softness. She possessed the supple, lithe build of a feline predator, yet her chest was unmistakably well-developed and soft against his back.
“Is something wrong?”
“No... [Floating].”
Rest cast his levitation magic and leaped into the air. He soared to a height that cleared the canopy, scanning the landscape from above.
“Where on earth are we?”
It was a sea of trees. As far as the eye could see, the dense jungle stretched toward the horizon.
“Why are we here...? Did I somehow get reincarnated into another world again?”
“Rest, look! There’s a village over there!”
“Eh...?”
Rest strained his eyes, but he couldn't see a thing in the direction Yuri was pointing.
“Is it her vision? I guess that’s possible with Yuri.”
Yuri was hopeless when it came to magic, but her physical capabilities were off the charts. It stood to reason that she could see a settlement that was invisible to Rest.
“Anyway, let's head that way. [Wind Control].”
“Whoa!”
Manipulating the wind, he began to move through the air while remaining afloat. They couldn't reach high speeds, but they cruised over the jungle at the pace of a small motorbike. Below, they saw nothing but birds and beasts.
“I wonder if this is the Amazon? We’ve ended up in an absurd place...”
“I really am sorry for dragging you into—”
“No, I get it. Enough already.”
He didn't even want to hear what he had been dragged into. Though he would likely need the full story eventually, Rest felt so listless that he chose to push the problem aside for now.
After thirty minutes of flight, they reached the settlement.
“It really is there...”
It was a quintessential indigenous village. Several wooden structures resembling tents were lined up, decorated here and there with animal bones that looked like cattle.
“This place feels... suspicious. I have a feeling we shouldn't just barge in. Let's stay quiet and observe for a—”
“Hello! Is anyone here!?”
“Were you even listening to me!?”
Ignoring Rest entirely, Yuri called out at the top of her lungs. Immediately, figures began to swarm out of the buildings that had looked deserted only moments before.
“STRANGERS! STRANGERS HAVE COME!”
“GRAB THE SPEARS! DO NOT LET THE OUTSIDERS STEP FOOT HERE!”
The people who appeared wore masks carved in the likeness of animals. There were about twenty of them. They carried crude spears made of wood and stone, and they charged with naked hostility.
“KILL THEM!”
“Oh, Rest! It seems we aren't very welcome!”
“No kidding! I told you we should stay quiet!”
“I really am sorry for dragging you into—”
“I don't want to hear it! Just be actually sorry!”
“KIIIIIIIILL THEEEEEEEEM!!”
The tribesmen fell upon them, hurling spears and leaping forward with bizarre war cries.
“Ah, geez! Fine, have it your way! [Thunderball]!”
Since it had come to this, there was no room for negotiation. Rest unleashed his magic, bathing the attackers in lightning.
“GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
“IT IS ‘KAMUI’! THESE ONES WIELD THE POWER OF ‘KAMUI’!”
“RESTRAIN THEM! IF WE GET CLOSE, WE HAVE NO FEAR!”
“I won't let you! I'll protect Rest!”
Yuri snatched up the tribesmen who tried to close the gap and sent them flying. With power that defied her slender frame, she tossed them around as if they were beanbags. Rest neutralized the distant enemies while Yuri handled those who got too close.
Once every last tribesman had been laid low, they pressed their hands to the ground and prostrated themselves.
“OH, PLEASE FORGIVE US!”
“O WIELDERS OF ‘KAMUI’, YOU ARE INDEED GODS!”
“Now what...? They’ve suddenly started worshipping us.”
Rest’s shoulders slumped as a headache throbbed behind his eyes, brought on by the sheer absurdity of the situation. Suddenly, a small figure wearing a mask emerged from the rear of the village.
“O Child of God who wields the mystic arts. Please, forgive our insolence.”
The figure’s face was hidden, but the voice clearly belonged to a young girl. Unlike the others, she spoke fluently.
“Will you not listen to our plea? We have been driven into a corner, and it was out of desperation that we attacked you.”
“Rest, I don't quite get it, but let's hear her out!”
“Are you... are you serious...?”
Yuri seemed strangely enthusiastic about the idea. Rest felt his migraine intensifying until he had no choice but to bury his face in his hands.
(There’s no way... this isn't real. This has to be a dream...)
“Eh...?”
The moment that thought crossed his mind, the world inverted. The scenery shifted violently.
“Rest!?”
Yuri’s cry was the last thing he heard before her image warped and dissolved into nothingness. When his vision cleared, he was back in his familiar room at the Rosemary estate. Rest sat up in bed, drenched in a cold sweat.
“W-was that seriously a ‘it was all a dream’ ending...?”
He was relieved that he wasn't about to embark on some grand, dangerous epic. On the other hand, he had a nagging suspicion that this wouldn't be the last time.
(If there’s a sequel to that dream waiting for me... no, impossible. Absolutely not. Never again!)
“I need to get changed...”
Shaking off the ominous premonition, Rest climbed out of bed to start his day.
Rest and Yuri's Jungle Adventure Log
To be continued..................?