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With just a little tug, the chain binding Laika’s body snapped. Thanks to that, she became much easier to carry, or rather, too light. She was so light I started to doubt if I really was carrying her.

“Laika, are you there!? How much do you weigh!?”
“How should I know about this body? Damn it, why do I have to suffer through this humiliation…”
“Wow, no way… this is bad, like really, unhealthily bad! You gotta eat your food until you’re full!”
“Just hurry up and walk! You have energy to spare unlike me!!”
“O-Oh, look! Isn’t that the village?”

As I started walking with Laika on my back, I soon spotted what seemed to be the village we were aiming for.

It wasn’t very clear in the snow, but I could still see the silhouette of a fence surrounding the village and what looked like people.

“You’re blatantly changing the subject.”
“Now now, let’s talk to the villagers since they’re here! Maybe we can take a bath?”
“Having optimistic thoughts is good, but, Momose…”
“Just call me Momo, what is it, Laika?”
“Then, Momo, take two steps back.”
“Huh?”

As instructed, I stepped back two paces, and something flew into the spot where I had just been standing.

The long, slender “thing” that landed with a crisp sound on the snow wasn’t something you would see often in modern Japan. I’ve only seen something like it once before, when the archery club used it for practice.

“It’s an arrow. If you had kept walking, it would’ve hit you.”
“A-a-a-an arrow!? Why!?”
“Hey, you two, don’t move!! Next one will hit you!!”

A sharp voice came from beyond the blizzard.

When I looked back towards the village, several figures were aiming bows in our direction.

“That fireball, it’s magecraft! Are you two their allies!?”
“W-what do we do, Laika!? They seem angry!”
“I can see that. Hey, we’re just travelers. We don’t know your circumstances, but could you lend us shelter?”
“Shut up! What are you planning to steal next!?”

This is bad. If we provoke them any further, they might really shoot. If we were hit by all those arrows, both Laika and I would die. It might be best to retreat for now to resolve this peacefully.

“This is troublesome. I guess I’ll just eliminate the sparks flying our way.”
“T-that’s too extreme! Let’s resolve this through dialogue!”
“They’re the ones who brought out weapons first. We have no reason to concede.”
“N-no, please!! Sorry, if we did something wrong, we apologize! Please lower your bows!”

I felt a heat more intense than a fireball behind me. Even though we’ve only known each other for a short while, I could tell Laika was decisive. And she had the strength to fight even against these numbers. If I didn’t step up now, it could quickly turn into a disaster.

“Don’t play dumb! You’ve caused trouble for this village until now… ugh…”
“Ah… Laika, I’m sorry, I’m moving!”
“Huh? Hey, hold on a waagh!”

Forgetting about the arrows for a moment, I found myself reflexively running forward.

The man I rushed to support was limp, blood seeping from his abdomen. It looked like a serious injury. Did he open up such a wound from shouting so loudly?

“Wha…! Woman, get away from him!”
“This man is injured! Is there a doctor in the village?! We need medical attention urgently!”
“W-what are you saying…”
“Never mind that, we need to treat him first! Please step aside!!”

I lifted the unconscious man’s shoulder and pushed through the stunned villagers.

Wait, come to think of it, I was carrying Laika on my back earlier. How am I supporting this man now?

“You… You’ll answer for this later…”
“I’m sorry! I’m really sorry, Laika!!!”

As I slowly turned around, I saw Laika lying sprawled on her back, buried in the snow.

――――――――…………
――――……
――…

“Thank god that you dropped me on the snow!!! At least it didn’t hit my head, eh!!!”
“I-I have no excuse…”

After slipping from Momo’s back, I was brought into the largest house in the village. Fortunately, there weren’t any serious injuries, but I was carried in along with the bleeding man.

On two makeshift beds made of straw and sheets, I and the pale-faced man were lying down.

“So, how’s his condition?”
“It seems like the wound just reopened. Right now, I’m using bandages to stop the bleeding… but it’s only temporary.”
“If he’s still alive, then it’s not a problem. But you sure were prepared to have those things.”
“Hehe… I was in the track and field club, so we were all used to injuries. I made sure to prepare just in case.”

From her bag, she took out a small red bag with a cross on it. Inside were bandages, antiseptics, and other medical supplies.

Moreover, she was efficient. She wrapped the bandage skillfully, as if she had learned it somewhere.

“…Sorry for scaring kids like you with my actions.”
“Exactly, I wish you’d put yourself in our shoes, accused of something we didn’t do.”

Perhaps due to losing blood, the man who had been quite aggressive before seemed quite dejected now. It’s good that he’s reflecting, but he should show sincerity with a more significant gesture.

“Laika! Don’t worry about it. Instead, rest well, eat, and replenish your blood.”
“Haha… Food, huh? If only I could eat properly.”
“So everything has been taken from you, huh…”

Stepping down from the straw bed, I looked out the window to see a dismal scene outside. Most of the houses had their roofs and windows destroyed, and some were almost like ruins.

This house was perhaps the only one left intact. It wasn’t just the storm and blizzard that caused this devastation.

“Seems like we were mistaken for some fallen wizard’s bandit crew. That’s why you saw us as enemies, right?”
“…Are you really just a child?”
“In appearance only. Have you been attacked multiple times already?”
“Yeah, for about a month now, those guys have been targeting this village. They’ve been plundering all the food and supplies we’ve gathered to survive the winter, and we couldn’t resist.”
“What about the police, I mean… um, can’t you seek help from outside?”
“Impossible. With this snow, it would take three days just to get to Elnato. It’s suicide to go there without proper equipment.”

Elnato must be the name of a place, but it didn’t ring a bell. It was natural not to have any sense of direction after over a thousand years, especially when I had no idea where I was dropped.

“Right, there are no cell phones or cars here… Um, what should we do, Laika?”
“I don’t care. I have no gratitude or attachment to this village. I plan to leave tomorrow.”
“Wait, did you hear what I said? In this snow…”
“No problem. If we ignore the snow, it won’t take us more than a day. Besides, if we dawdle, those bandits might show up and…”

Rumble!

An earth-shaking impact and roar reverberated, and the fence covering the village passed by outside the window, as if it were just a piece of paper.

“…Laika, looks like it’s already too late.”
“Yeah, damn it… what a cursed day today turned out to be!”