By this point, the girl took a deep breath.
Everything before that had only been a prelude.
She couldn't help talking at length.
However, when she glanced at the boy across from her, she felt a little relieved by his silence—and a little disappointed, too.
The conflicting emotions made her frown.
She gripped the umbrella handle in her hand a little tighter.
Even after sitting down, she hadn't set the umbrella aside.
The umbrella in her hand gave her a small sense of security.
She had deliberately tried to forget that incident for a long time. Now that she was telling it, she realized she still remembered every detail clearly.
The girl couldn't help giving a bitter smile.
"Sorry, I got a little distracted..."
When children got carried away, they had no inhibitions.
At first, they had only been exploring the woods and playing hide-and-seek.
Later, someone brought out some traps and said they were going to catch wild animals.
Everyone was excited.
The children scrambled for the few traps until they were all claimed.
Since the girl was a guest from the city, she got one, too.
She had only ever heard of such a thing before, so seeing it right in front of her filled her with curiosity and eagerness to try it out.
The children split into groups to set the traps in different places, then competed to see who could catch something—and whose catch would be the most impressive.
The girl followed a brother and sister deeper into the woods.
When it came to knowing the woods and how to hunt, she was no match for the siblings, who had played there ever since they were little.
She watched their every move with keen curiosity.
Seeing how skillfully they set the trap made