"Whoosh... whoosh..."
The green bamboo, gleaming a pale golden jade beneath the sunlight, sped past behind him. In his eyes, they seemed to merge into an endless pale-green wall of bamboo. The brilliant light reflected in the eyes of the boy racing through the grove, making them shine brightly and keenly.
This bamboo forest was bigger than he had imagined...
Really, you only knew once you ran through it yourself! As he sped onward, the boy—Chiba—turned his eyes slightly to observe his surroundings, a trace of helplessness flashing through them.
He had already maintained the fastest pace he could manage while conserving as much strength as possible for ten minutes, yet all he could see was still the same pale golden-green bamboo, linked together like rows of bamboo rafts. Looking ahead, it seemed this scenery would continue for quite some time.
Still, although the landmark scenery from his memories of the original story seemed to be some distance away, Chiba was not anxious. Judging by the sun's position and the color of its light, it was only around three in the afternoon. The moment destiny unfolded would be no earlier than dusk. Even with a more conservative estimate—moving it an hour earlier than dusk—it would still be around five. He had at least another hour to find the exact location.
At his current speed, he could cover enough ground in an hour to circle this entire bamboo forest once—a thorough search around it! Besides, things had come to this. Panicking and doubting himself were useless. Time would not turn back.
If he did not make it in time, then he simply would not make it in time. That was not something he could prevent through human effort.
"Hmm?"
Just as his thoughts lingered on the bamboo forest, Chiba's vision suddenly