Chapter 7
Fantasy Wasn’t So Sweet
That was shocking! That old man was terrifying!
“Yeah… everything today’s been bad for my heart. What is that old guy? There’s no way he’s just a janitor.”
“I don’t really get it either, but come on, let’s go.”
After all, they still had to collect flowers.
When it came to flowers, the cherry blossoms were blooming everywhere right now. To avoid being seen while picking them, the group decided the shaded area by the poolside was their best bet.
“Hey, so that old man—he’s connected to those guys, right? He acted super important.”
“Yeah, totally. He even yelled at that so-called prince. Ugh, that ‘prince’ is so annoying!”
“The servant and the prince look completely backward. The pretty boy had way more dignity. If he were the prince, that’d be like something straight out of a fantasy story!”
Ai and Yoko still couldn’t quite make sense of it all.
Behind the pool was a row of cherry trees where they wouldn’t attract much attention. They looked around carefully, then picked blossoms from the lower branches of each tree. It didn’t feel great to be “flower thieves,” but soon their basket was full to the brim.
“Hey, one of you lend me your jacket. We can’t just carry this out in plain sight.”
“Oh, right. Yeah.”
Kawahara took off his school blazer and draped it over the basket piled high with flowers. Standing there in just his white shirt, he shivered a little.
“Okay, Yoshii, you carry it.”
“Yeah, yeah—why’s it always me?”
“Because Kawahara lent his jacket. So you get to carry it.”
“Why should the guy carry it? You girls could just as well do it.”
“What? You’d make weak little girls carry it?”
“Who’s weak, huh? Argh—fine, whatever!”
Grumbling, Yoshii gave in, picked up the basket, and the four of them started hurrying back toward the janitor’s room.
Rumble… rumble… crackle…
Suddenly, thunder rolled through the sky, and dark clouds gathered over what had been a perfectly clear afternoon.
“Huh?”
“What’s going on? Rain?”
Flap, flap, flap!!
Above their heads came the sound of massive wings beating the air.
“Wha—what’s that? Another fantasy thing?!”
In the direction Yoko pointed, a huge bird of prey swooped through the air—
and riding on its back was a small man with a sword in hand.
He wore a bizarre bird-shaped helmet that made him look downright creepy.
It was like watching a live-action fantasy movie unfold right in front of them.
“Shouldn’t we, like, run?”
“Maybe… but sometimes the ones who look evil turn out to be the good guys.”
Flap, flap, flap!!
“Ah! It’s true! The stone! I sense the stone’s power! As expected of Lady Greta—the greatest sorceress of the age!
You there! You have the stone! Hand it over!”
They couldn’t understand most of what he was shouting, but one thing was clear:
“He’s the bad guy!”
“Run!”
The four of them bolted.
“Futile! Futile, crawling insects!
Wait—white garments… you’re Lilith, aren’t you?! You! It’s you, Lilith!”
Flap, flap, flap!!
There was no way they could outrun a flying creature.
In the blink of an eye, it was upon them.
“Wha—wait! Ahh!”
Before they could react, the giant bird’s talons snatched Kawahara off the ground.
He didn’t even have time to struggle; he was lifted effortlessly into the air.
“Kawahara!!”
“Kyaaah!!”
“Someone, help him!!”
“Wahahaha! Foolish servants! The stone is mine!
Now your path is cut off—despair alongside your prince!
Mwahahahahaha!”
Still clutching Kawahara, the bird-man rose higher and higher into the sky, carried away by the wind.
“Kawahara!”
“Nooo! It’s me! I’m the one who has it!”
“Oh no, what do we do?!”
The three left behind could only stand there, stunned, watching helplessly as Kawahara and the strange attacker vanished into the clouds.
