Lake Light

Both sides spent the night under intense pressure.

Tagus waited for the attack plan to unfold bit by bit, while Brando worried that he would fail to make the most of their time. Madara's army and Buchi's eleven young people moved through the silent darkness at the same time, their fates distant yet closely intertwined.

But the sun would rise day after day all the same. The first ray of light seemed to have only just brushed past their hair, yet the morning soon slipped away. Half the day passed peacefully, and they did not even encounter the brown bears most common to this region.

After summer began, however, even the brown bears in the wilderness had become docile animals.

It was noon.

Hearing a rustling sound from ahead as someone pushed through the bushes, Brando could not help narrowing his eyes. Sunlight streamed through the fresh green leaves, scattering beautiful flecks of gold between them. He raised his head from the makeshift stretcher, following the sound, and a dazzling reflection like light on a mirror entered his eyes.

It was a lake.

Like a green gemstone set beneath towering mountains and forests, it held a pool of rippling light polished across its surface.

"Look, it's a lake—!" Little Finis cried out in delight.

Freya immediately gave him a knuckle-rapping, making the boy cry out in pain.

This was no time for sightseeing. Every one of them had to be cautious, because no one could say whether they might run into Madara's army nearby. Although they had passed the night safely, Brando had said that was because this area held no strategic value.

As for what strategic value meant, the girl had no idea.

That young man from Brags always seemed to know a little more than everyone else. Although she was somewhat unwilling to admit it, she had no choice.

Were all the young people in cities this outstanding?

Without realizing it, Freya's understanding had shifted from one extreme to the other. She could not help feeling a little jealous. If she had also come from the Brags militia training camp, she surely would have learned more than that shameless fellow.

It was so unfair.

Only the heavens knew that there was no such thing as the "Brags militia training camp." Su Fei—or rather, Brando—had completed his militia training in Delage. Of course, he would never expose the ruse at a time like this. He needed to maintain some authority so these young people would trust him—a group without a leader could not escape its predicament.

Freya might be able to take that position in the future, but not now.

Thinking of this, Brando could not help glancing at her. The girl with the long ponytail was assessing the surroundings. After hesitating for a while, she relaxed her grip on her sword and let out a breath.

"Let's rest here for a while." Freya gave the order only after confirming that there was no danger.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm dying!"

"I bet that once we reach Ridenburg, I won't care about anything else. I'll just fall asleep."

"Let's talk about that after we make it there."

"Essen, shut your crow's mouth—!" Conversations between the young people immediately rang out at the edge of the woods. Though they deliberately kept their voices down, their words were filled with the relief of finally venting their feelings.

Everyone was far too exhausted.

The night had not been especially long, but to nerves stretched taut, it had been torture. Ordinary people could hardly imagine the pressure of standing on the brink of life and death. The group had traveled through the mountains and forests by the dim light of the stars, surrounded by darkness so thick they could not see their own hands. All that remained was the interwoven nocturne of insects beating their wings, along with the distant cries of night owls piercing the forest.

In the darkness, rustling sounds seemed to pass through thicket after thicket. Unspoken silence surrounded everyone like a silent, invisible Ghost clutching at their hearts, while the chill in the air made their nerves tighten uncontrollably.

Behind the dense branches and leaves was always the unknown. Had they ever heard of the mountain monsters described in bedtime stories?

At sunrise, the cold dew slowly dissipated. The young people looked as though they had been dragged out of the water, their faces pale and their wet hair plastered to their foreheads. Even Brando was no exception. In the past, he had slept safely in his own bed, far from all conflict—not lain on a stretcher while listening to all kinds of strange and bizarre sounds around him.

Especially in the midst of unknown darkness, when waist-high blades of grass occasionally brushed across your face and you had no idea what sort of insect was crawling around your neck. It was utterly horrifying.

Martha above, the thought that they might have to spend more than another week living like this nearly drove him mad. He now missed his former life terribly. Even if it had been somewhat pathetic, he still wanted to return to a peaceful existence.

Otaku were always full of conviction when making resolutions, but their enthusiasm came and went quickly. Yet when he saw the fatigue and worry on Freya's face, their protagonist's heart settled down again.

Because he was trusted—

He suddenly realized that he had to discard the identity of Su Fei and try to accept a new life. He could not help touching his chest, and only then did he understand—what had died was not Brando, but Su Fei.

It was not that he had accepted this world. It was that this world had accepted him.

Brando's stretcher was set down beside the lake, where five-colored pebbles could be seen not far away. He first checked Josen's condition. The latter had miraculously survived, but his physical state was far from optimistic.

"How is he?" Macmi could not help asking from the side.

"Hard to say." Su Fei—or rather, he should now be called Brando—shook his head.

Macmi fell silent and stared blankly at the distant lake. The lake was called Clear Lake. Reaching it meant they were already close enough to Green Village. However, of everyone present, only Brando probably knew the direction with certainty. The young man looked toward one side. In the sky between the forests in that direction were several faint gray trails of smoke.

It seemed Cabes had already attacked that village. Its fate was not much different from Buchi's. Madara's army advanced swiftly, just as Brando remembered from the game.

In fact, Brando still remembered this lake. He raised his head and gazed far across the blue waters at the opposite shore. Trees grew thickly in that direction, beneath distant mountains sunk in darkness, but he could no longer see any of the familiar figures from the past.

He remembered spending a long time leveling in this area, hunting brown bears and foxes. Recalling the days he had earned money by selling leather in the game, Brando could not help smiling.

He withdrew the hand resting on Josen's forehead and said to Macmi, "Do me a favor."

"What?"

"Help me remove the Bandage."

Brando needed to change his Bandage, but before that, he had to have Roman distribute the roll of sausages he had brought from his home. Officially, everyone was to have a taste of the flavored black sausage from the Golan-Elson region.

It was laughable when he thought about it. Not one of these young people had thought to prepare food before fleeing Buchi. Even Freya, who looked so composed, had not considered it.

That was why their food supply consisted of this single roll of sausage.

"Why don't you tell us what you saw on the day you left Buchi? Learning more about the enemy will—ah, Macmi, be gentler." His brow twitched, and he sucked in a breath from the pain.

Seeing this, Freya could not help sighing. "I'll do it. Move aside, Macmi."

The young man froze. The girl with the long ponytail had already walked up to him.

"You're distributing all the food. Is that really okay?" She lowered her head and carefully began removing Brando's Bandage. After hesitating, she asked quietly.

"What's the problem?"

This guy clearly knows what I'm talking about!

Freya gritted her teeth in frustration, but to Brando's amusement, even then, the kindhearted girl did not dare make any small move with her hands.

"You know what I mean. We can't get to Ridenburg anymore, can we?" Freya lowered her voice even further until it was almost inaudible.

Brando could not help taking another look at the girl. He had always felt that her light-brown ponytail suited her temperament perfectly. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Your aunt and uncle should be with the group, right?"

Freya lowered her head, and her hands paused as she removed the Bandage.

"I'm sorry." Brando sighed. "If I get the chance, I'll try my best. But I can't guarantee anything. I can't shoulder such a great responsibility."

"Thank you."

Her reply was barely audible.

"Big Sis Freya, Big Bro Brando, what are you two whispering about?" Little Finis's extremely untimely voice rang out. He was leaning against a beech tree, curiously studying the two of them. If Big Sis Freya was the person he had always admired, then Brando was the boy's new idol.

His words successfully drew everyone's attention, and all the others turned to look at them.

Freya's face suddenly flushed. Only then did she realize that she was standing too close to that fellow. She hurriedly stepped back and explained, "N-nothing. We were just discussing..." Unfortunately, this innocent girl did not understand that saying nothing would have been better. In everyone's eyes, stepping back and trying to explain only made her look as though she were attempting to hide something.

Especially with her cheeks flushed bright red. When had their captain ever been so shy?

Roman rubbed her bleary eyes and sat up from the ground, as though she had only just figured out what was happening. Freya was afraid she would misunderstand and kept signaling desperately, but unexpectedly, their merchant heiress merely smiled, completely unconcerned, as if her thoughts had gone off the rails. "It's all right, Freya."

"Roman, you—" The Ponytail Girl barely managed to stop herself from saying anything more, instead bottling it up until her entire face turned red.

She glared at Roman, almost wanting to strangle the wretched girl.

Brando, however, noticed a worried gaze from within the crowd. It belonged to a young man named Nibeto. He froze slightly. Could Nibeto be interested in Freya? But lacking courage would not do. He could not help shaking his head.

"All right," he cut in. "I was discussing the distribution of food with your captain."

The moment Brando spoke, he seemed to possess a natural authority that made everyone stop and turn their attention toward him.

But, Miss Roman, what was the meaning of that sparkling gaze? Are you looking at a pile of treasure? The young man shook his head and continued, "Even if we ration this food, it won't be enough for all of us. Besides, we need to preserve our strength to deal with any enemies we may encounter."

"But—" Freya had only spoken half a word when Brando shook his head at her.

"Green Village isn't far away. Why don't we go there to find food? The undead don't need food or shelter. Besides, those things originally belonged to us humans, so naturally we have the right to take them back." He answered.

"Green Village? Wasn't it attacked by Madara?" Aike asked from where he sat on the ground. The injury on his leg had been treated by Brando, and it had almost fully recovered by now.

The healing effect provided by a Bandage was a potential recovery value, referring to the gradual effect produced before its next activation (replacement). In the game, it took effect once every six minutes, but in this world, the recovery cycle had been extended to one day. Thus, the wound would slowly heal over the course of a day, until the Bandage was replaced.

"Of course there are enemies, but we'll be moving in a small group, so we may not necessarily clash with them head-on." Brando answered. He had already devised a plan for the route of their escape and was brimming with confidence.

"Moving in a small group—does that mean sneaking in?" Little Finis immediately became interested.

"Mm. I'll pick a few people to come with me." Brando nodded, his gaze sweeping over everyone. "Aike and Vlad are injured. Macmi and Nibeto, you stay behind to look after them. Roman, you stay and look after Betha. As for everyone else—Essen and Freya, the two of you will come with me."

"No!"

"No!" Freya and Little Finis objected at the same time.

"Essen and I can go. Brando, you have to stay behind." The Ponytail Girl took a deep breath. Did this fellow even know how serious his injuries were?

"I'm going too." The little brat was the first to jump up.

Brando looked at the two of them and sighed. "All right. I'll answer your objections one by one." As he spoke, he held the Bandage between his teeth, wrapped it around his body a few times, and tightened it.

A pale green +2 appeared above him.

He drew in a breath and felt his strength gradually return to his body. He was still extremely weak, especially with the corrosive poison continuing to erode his vitality from within his bones, but at least he could now barely move on his own.

He raised his head and asked, "Miss Freya, what's your reason for making me stay behind? My injuries?"

"You know perfectly well." The Ponytail Girl turned her head away.

Brando smiled faintly. That might not necessarily be the case.

(PS: I'm begging everyone desperately for recommendations, clicks, and bookmarks. I keep feeling like my results have been deducted, but I don't know if I'm just seeing things...)