“Hey, you’re running too fast!” I could hear something. “That’s so unfair, stop!”

“Ha ha, I’m not even trying. You’re too slow,” then another voice appeared, echoing a bit further away from the first. “I can’t help it when I’m tall, **k***-chan! You just need to continue drinking your milk and you will grow big and strong just like me.”

My senses once again looked over at the first voice, swinging its shadowy arms around in frustration, “How much do I have to drink, cousin? Mama is forcing me to drink so much, already.”

Slowly the haziness of this whole scene vanished, vividly showing more details of the scene. It seems I am becoming more conscious. Was I dreaming?

Looking around, I learned that I was currently in a park and that the two voices came from two shadowy individuals. Their faces and bodies were covered up by a black mist, making it impossible for me to identify who they were, but their clothing was exempt from this.

The one lagging behind the other was wearing a pure white dress with flower embroidery, showing off the little shadow person’s childish and energetic personality. It was also wearing a backpack with an animalistic theme on its back, probably carrying essential items for this outing. Somehow, I felt a bit of a kinship with it.

The other one was slightly taller, wearing an outfit consisting out of a pullover and jeans. It was also carrying a thermos in its hand while it ran, although I was not sure what the content was.

Both continued running on an earthy path while I followed them against my will. Then again, I wasn’t even resisting, I don’t think I could do anything besides watch.

Well, it was better than to stare at nothingness, I guess.

“Look, **k***-chan!” the taller shadow person began pointing at a large colorful totem. "You don't come to Japan very often, so you have to see everything you can in this short time! This is the most memorable sight in this whole park."

“Wow, are those robots?” as more of my consciousness returned, I was now able to determine that this shadow had a very high-pitched voice, similar to a small girl’s. “They are all stacked on top of each, and there are so many colors! It’s like a totem rainbow, cousin!”

“I told you already, **k***-chan,” that one also was fairly high-pitched, but I could hear its voice breaking a bit. Most likely it belonged to a prepubescent boy. “It’s not “cousin” but it’s “big brother”! Japanese is hard but you have to make sure you get it correct, ok?”

I now realized that they were talking Japanese. It felt so natural that I didn’t even consider it but hearing the boy pronouncing “Itoko” for cousin, and “onii-chan” for big brother kinda made me sensitive to it.

Ooooh, for some reason I was getting the chills when he said “onii-chan”.

“My Japanese isn’t that good but you’re my cousin so I’m addressing you as “Itoko”!” the girl rebuked her cousin. “You’re really weird for wanting me to call you “onii-chan”, *****-san.”

Hearing that, the boy stopped moving and turned around in shock, “No, no! I apologize, you can call me anything but please don’t use -san!”

However, the girl didn’t respond and simply ran past him, only turning her head around to stick her tongue out with a wink, having successfully fooled him.

The boy stood still, probably embarrassed from being fooled by his younger cousin, before following her, shouting, “W-Wait, was that a joke?!”.

The two eventually made it to a playground, filled with slides and other equipment to entertain active children. There were quite a few other kids and some adults there, playing around and having a great time.

“He he, I won. You’re too slow~” the girl was breathing heavily but nonetheless cheered in her victory, having beaten the boy in this race.

“Urgh, I can’t believe I was tricked…” the boy scratched his head in frustration but shrugged it off, allowing his little cousin this small win. “So, were you also joking about the whole “Itoko” stuff? I bet you were, **k***-chan~”

“No, I wasn’t,” the girl was merciless to the poor boy. “Why are you like this anyways, *****? You’re still behaving normally around Mama and Auntie, just like last Christmas, but why are you treating me differently? Have I done something wrong?”

The boy’s bitter expression couldn’t be ignored, sighing deeply before he responded, “I…this is a bit embarrassing but recently I wished I could have more family around. Sorry, **k***-chan, I-I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable. Please, don’t hate me.”

“Hate you because of something like that? Hmph, you’re overthinking too much, cousin,” the girl sounded a bit holier-than-thou, but she nonetheless showed a kind smile, now understanding her cousin a bit better. “Still, what happened to have made you think that way, dear cousin?”

“Nothing really,” however, his troubled face proved otherwise. “It’s just…It’s just…Chichi-ue has been personally tutoring me, as the entrance exams for junior high are in one year, and it's quite…difficult. I envy you for being in America. There is also…well, Haha-ue and Chichi-ue aren’t getting alo…woah! ”

Suddenly, the girl grabbed her cousin’s arm and pulled it towards her, “Enough! It’s such a fun day and you’re bringing it down. Come on, come on! Let’s go have some fun at the playground before Mama and Auntie pick us up.”

Jeez, stop being so “tsun” about it, it’s annoying when you act so dismissive of your emotions. The boy is being so polite. Somebody needs to tell her to dial it down a bit…

Still, “Haha-ue” and “Chichi-ue”, huh? Those are the Japanese words for “my mother” and “my father”, respectively. Compared to “Okaa-san” and “Otou-san”, you would use the two former terms to address your own family, while the latter two are used to address the parents of others…or, well, when you are speaking with your parents.

It seems like the boy seems to prefer calling his parents with the Japanese terms, while the girl favors using the western nickname “Mama” for her mother.

However, who uses the “-ue" suffix nowadays, anyway? I'm pretty sure only old-fashioned or super strict families would have their children say that. "Haha” or “Chichi” would be perfectly acceptable, even in the formality-hell that is Japan.

Regardless of my thoughts, the two kids entered the playground and started playing in it. Sliding down the slides, playing tag with the other kids, and rotating on the roundabout.

The tension on the boy’s face seems to have completely washed away, vanished from existence as if it never existed in the first place. The merrily laughing of little children playing and their mischievous nature of competing with others tightened up my heart and soul.

Is this…nostalgia?

It didn’t seem like they will stop any time soon, so having gained a sliver of control from waiting around, I moved my body to a spot where I could see them play. Under the shadow of the tree, I sat down, feeling the heat of the sun waning as my body cooled down a bit. The grassy ground cushioned me, allowing me to lean my back on the tree’s trunk.

I relaxed and watched the kids play, losing my sense of time as it seems like this moment would never end.

“*****, you haven’t drunk from your thermos yet. Aren’t you thirsty?” the girl asked the boy while drinking from her bottle of juice.

“Oh, this? I-I actually forgot to fill it up today,” the boy admitted.

“What?! No, wait…uhmm…aha, here!” after rummaging through her backpack, she took out another bottle of juice, offering it to her cousin. “It’s sunny, Mama says you need to drink when you play. Take it.”

“Thank you…” the boy said timidly, clearly embarrassed that his little cousin had to state the obvious.

“He he, of course,” the girl’s satisfied smile was boasting about her small achievement. “Anyways, why are you carrying the thermos when it’s empty? You should have given it to Auntie.”

The boy looked down at his thermos, before meeting his eyes with hers, "You see…Chichi-ue loves coffee and he always brings it with him to work. I thought, even if it’s empty, I could mimic him a bit so I could be a bit more like him.”

“Hmm, I’m sorry for bringing it up again. Let’s stop talking about it,” the girl suddenly clapped her hands together, her face brightened up. “I know! When we get back to Grandpa’s and Grandma’s house, I’ll show you my Nintendo 3DS. If you’re feeling stressed, then playing games will help you out a lot.”

“Your Obaa-san and Ojii-san, right? Hm, I don’t know if Chichi-ue will allow that…” the boy said.

“Obaa-san” and “Ojii-san” are the Japanese terms to address somebody else’s “grandmother” and “grandfather”, respectively. These two are related so that must mean that the girl mentioned the grandparents that weren’t related to him by blood.

The girl waved her arms around, appearing cheery, “But, if you do well on your exams then you can persuade your Otou-san about it, right? Your grades are so good, *****, so playing a little bit shouldn’t hurt.”

“…Yeah, I guess I can at least try it a bit. Especially when you’re offering to share it with me,” his lips curved into a smile. “Thank you, **k***, you’re good at making others feel better, despite your clumsiness. You will make an amazing Idol.”

“Clumsiness?! What?! Grrrr,” the girl glared at her cousin.

“Ha ha, sorry,” he didn’t look very remorseful for teasing her. “Still, you were only here because of the concert, correct? How was it?”

“Amazing!” like an explosion of emotions, the girl spread her arms out and smiled, showing off her sparkling white teeth; all the annoyance of being teased was completely gone. “Girl’s Generation was awesome, awesome, awesome! When the spotlights appeared and showed off all the idols, it was amazing, amazing, amazing!”

“Ahh, **k***-chan, you shouldn’t shout that much,” noticing that the other children and some adults were looking at them, the boy quickly calmed down his cousin. “Phew, it was your first concert, correct?”

“Yeah, and that’s when I decided I wanted to become an Idol. I want to stand on a stage and make people happy, too!” the girl proclaimed.

First Girl’s Generation concert? Ahh, I still remember my first when I was seven. Mama was so nice to comply with my wish, despite how far away New York is to Tokyo…and how out of the blue the request came from.

I believe she also wanted to visit her parents so that helped me persuade her.

“If that’s true, then…does that mean that you will move over here? I-I believe Japan also has an Idol culture, right?” the boy asked.

“…I-I don’t think so…” the girl looked apologetic as she saw her cousin’s disappointment. “Papa and Mama seem to like it in New York, and both like their jobs there. Besides, if I ever have the chance then I would like to go to South Korea, where SNSD and the other fantastic K-Pop Idols are.”

“I-I see…” the boy mustered a fake smile, but nobody was fooled by this, easily seeing that he was crestfallen.

“But! When I become an Idol then I will come to Tokyo for my tour, alright? When that happens then you must come cheer for me, alright?” the girl attempted to cheer her cousin up. “Please, it will make me so happy if came!”

"…Yeah, you will become an Idol and I will come to cheer for you," the boy's sadness didn’t wane.

The girl, however, did not give up on this, "And…and, you can always call me! Your Okaa-san has my Papa’s number so you can always ask her to call me. I will always answer, alright? I will always be there when you need me, just like a shining light in a dark concert hall. And…when I come back during Christmas, then we can spend so much time together, alright?”

“…Do you promise, **k***-chan?” he questioned her warily.

“Of course! I haven’t broken a single promise in my life yet, and I don’t want to disappoint my family,” the girl clenched her entire right hand, except for her pinky finger. "Promise me that you will come to my concerts and I will be there when you need me the most. Yubikiri, Onii-chan~"

“...Yubikiri. If you promise then I will too, **k***-chan,” the boy also performed the same gesture.

“Yubikiri”, also known as the “pinky promise” to westerners. The two cousins simultaneously said “Yubikiri” and then locked their pinky fingers together, signifying that a promise has just been made.

“…However, ‘Yubikiri’ means ‘finger cut-off’ in Japanese,” as if she noticed my presence, the girl’s shadowy head snapped to my direction and her black eyes were clear to be seen. “You promised to become an Idol.”

The girl, still locking her finger with the boy, slowly walked towards me. She was dragging her cousin with her, despite the clear size difference, who neither resisted nor supported her cousin, simply staying silent as his little cousin effortlessly lug him with her.

I still want to become an Idol, I replied.

The shadowy girl maintained her slow walk, responding immediately to my response, “Yes, we must keep our promise…but he isn’t here anymore.”

I can’t give up on my dream. I can’t fail my parents, I continued insisting, despite how uneasy it made me, as I watched this abnormal girl walk.

“Don’t be sad about it…it just happened,” as she advanced, the whole scenery cracked.

The whole playground, the robot totem, and even the park itself cracked. The surroundings were breaking apart into little pieces and melted back into the dark void of this dream.

The only place that stood was the tree that I was sitting under and the path towards me.

What? as I contemplated what to say next, I noticed something wet falling onto my legs. Touching my face, I could feel water leaking from my eyes as it flowed down my cheeks. It was an uncontrollable stream that despite my will to stop, wouldn’t disappear.

Looking down at my lap, I noticed a small pool of salty water forming, large enough to fill a sink.

N-No, I can’t cry. I promised not to cry. I can’t cry. I can’t cry. Stop it!

Swiping away the tears, clawing my eyes out, pressing my hands to stop the flow; none of the methods worked.

That was when the little girl placed her hands on my face and pulled it to hers, gazing into me as I noticed how reddened her eyes were.

“Forget it all…” she whispered. “Let it all stay in the past…”

With those words, seven more shadow people appeared, wearing the same dress and having the same size, as the first.

They all whispered, “Forget it all”.

Forget it all. Forget it all. Forget it all. Forget it all. Forget it all. Forget it all. Forget it all. Forget it all.

“Forget it all…Hestia.” the boy said.

****************************

“**ke u*, H**t*a.”

“Mhmm…,” I could hear something…but it wasn’t clear.

“C*me *n, w**e up, Hes**a!” the voice was becoming more audible by the second, as the haze in my mind cleared up.

“Urgh…urgh…urgh…wha?!” as I continued moaning, not having the energy to respond, my body suddenly started to shake.

“Oh, you are finally awake,” the first thing I saw once I opened my eyes was Saori’s face.

Looking down, I noticed that her hands were under my armpits, holding me up, “Wha-What happened?”

“Nothing really,” she said nonchalantly, putting me down on the ground and releasing me. “You somehow fell asleep while I was carrying you through that monster stampede, and as you did not want to wake up, I shook you awake.”

“Ahhh, I see…” stretching my arms, I yawned with one hand blocking my opening mouth. “Then does that mean that we escape that?”

[“Yes, Prin…H-Hestia,”] stuttering my name, Tasianna answered my question. [“Mad…Sao…Miss Saori, has brought us to a safer spot. We can rest here for now.”]

Am I still that dreaming, or did I just hear Tasianna call me by my first name only?

Checking out the surrounding, there wasn’t anything special about it. It was just the same old forest layout that we’ve seen time and time again…although, it does feel a bit more humid around here.

[“Hestia,”] Saori approached me and placed her face close to mine, slightly invading my personal space. [“Did something happen while you were sleeping? Your eyes look a bit reddened and puffy.”]

“Wha-?” not understanding what she meant, I touched my eyes but as I couldn’t see it, I wasn’t able to confirm it, meaning that I had to ask my companions through [Telepathy]. [“D-Did I cry?”]

Something inside me was telling me to ask them that but why? I promised myself that I would never cry until I was able to perform before a crowd.

Still, my heart tightened at the possibility that I might have broken my vow.

["Your skin is not parched, so no,"] Saori said.

[“Your head was swinging in front of me as you slept under Mada…M-Miss Saori’s arm, so I can confirm that you did not weep, Prince…H-Hestia,”] Tasianna said, struggling with calling me by my name.

[“Why are you asking that? Did you have a nightmare?”] Saori tilted her head as she looked at me, inquisitively.

However, no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t bring up what I dreamed, [“I…actually have no idea.”]

It was a complete blank. Neither I nor my parallel minds were able to dig up my memories for the dream, which isn’t too surprising considering most people forget it immediately after they wake up.

Annoyingly, that is the truth, although, I could give a guess.

[“I can’t remember it but the last time that I felt this terrible after waking up was when I remembered about the vow that I made,”] I responded.

[“Oh, why you stopped crying, correct?”] I nodded to Saori’s answer, which prompted her to put her hand on my hand, fondling it. [“I am repeating myself, but do not overthink everything too much, alright? If you require somebody else’s opinion, then ask them. You literally have two adults with you, so rely on us more, got it?”]

I said “Yes” in response.

[“You are too small to carry all your worries by yourself. Is that not correct, Tasianna?”] she winked at me and looked at Tasianna, gesturing that she should say something.

Tasianna, noticing this, corrected her posture and responded with fervor, [“Ah, yes! I’m here to serve you with all my body and soul, Princess Hestia. I only wish to see you happy so please allow me to offer my knowledge and mind!”]

[“I see…thank you, you two.”] maybe it’s ‘cause I was emotionally weaker now, or maybe I felt some invisible bond between us growing stronger from this, but I couldn’t help myself from embracing both of them.

Saori snickered a bit, [“Alright, we might be safe, but the possibility of those wyverns staying in the forest is high. Come on, we have to flee from this forest and enter the elves’ territory soon.”]

Acknowledging that she was correct, I released them and clapped my cheeks, shaking off any remaining drowsiness. Using this moment, I told my two companions about my worries, concerning the wyvern. I also told them about my theory linking Kargryxmor and the two wyvern groups together.

Tasianna looked mortified, hearing that a god might be hunting me, while Saori immersed herself in thought.

[“Yes, that is a possibility, I agree,”] the first to speak was Saori. [“However, it makes absolutely no sense for him to consider killing you. What has he to gain from that?”]

[“Yeah, I know,”] I scratched my head. [“I recognize that it could all be a coincidence and that the original wyvern group was just hunting in the Belzac forest. If I were in those wyvern’s shoes then I would also prefer hunting here, instead of contesting against other apex predators like Griffons and Hippogryphs. That is correct, right Tasianna?”]

[“I believe so?”] Tasianna said with little confidence. [“I cannot say much about how monsters behave, unfortunately. However, I can confirm that Avitor Peaks, where those wyverns should originate from, is populated by the mentioned monsters. The mountain range borders Belzac forest, so your suggestion might be correct, Princ…Hestia.”]

[“It would not be prudent for us to put all the blame on the God of Dragons without concrete proof,”] Saori agreed to this thought process. [“We should consider it as a coincidence for now, and that those wyverns are seeking revenge for the deaths of their companions. If I were Kargryxmor, then I would see more benefits from keeping you alive, despite your reluctance to cooperate. It was not your choice to ‘usurp’ [Bearer of Kargryxmor’s Blood], after all.”]

[“Yeah, exactly,”] I couldn’t help but agree to this idea. [“It just happened out of nowhere. The word ‘usurp’ also appeared on [The Light] but I can’t remember ever denying the gods outright. Before it happened, I wasn’t keen on it, but I didn’t hate them. They did give me a second chance to fulfill my dream.”]

Being selfish is part of being a human if you were to ask me. I don't hate the gods, but I also don't want to associate myself with them. I might not have asked them to reincarnate me, but they did give me a second chance to live my life and to become an Idol.

There still are some grudges that I have, for example, possibly ruining my memory, not contacting me despite how dangerous this place was, and not kicking my dragon “parent’s” ass for abandoning me.

I don’t have an extremely favorable opinion but this much shouldn’t be enough to warrant me “usurping” or even “hating” them.

[“Princess Hestia,”] Tasianna suddenly turned a bit serious, having a deep frown. [“I must warn you that when we speak about the gods like this, then we should do it in private, especially once we arrive in the elven kingdom. The elves are courteous but are highly religious. They will name us heretics if they hear us speaking ill about any god.”]

Noted, improve [Aerokinesis] so I can block sounds perfectly.

[“Miss Tasianna, do you not consider us that?”] Saori asked, curious about Tasianna’s opinion on us, considering she is a resident of this world.

[“No, distrusting and betraying my mistress will be the last thing that I will ever do,”] she returned a glare to Saori. [“I may belong to this world, but I have made my vow. Not only are you both my saviors but you have shown me trust, even though I don’t deserve it. My faith in you will not waver due to something as minor as this, Princess Hestia!”]

[“Thank you, Tasianna,”] I earnestly said.

[“I appreciate it also, Miss Tasianna. Having allies reassures me,”] Saori then clapped her hands together, signaling the end of our first team meeting. [“I know we must reach the elves as soon as possible but rushing it will be detrimental. Winter is coming and we still haven’t finish preparations yet, especially our food supplies will not last through it. I suggest we continue with our original plans, however, let us avoid causing any more spectacles that may attract the wyvern's attention.”]

Saori then looked at me, [“Unfortunately, that does mean that you must control yourself, Hestia. Do not overdo it with your fire spells and take care during your practice sessions, especially when you sing. That also means that any Idol concerts are forbidden at this point, alright?”]

I nodded. It should be easy enough.

[“Good, let us move forward until night falls. That is when I and Tasianna will check our location and how far we are from the Belzac mountains.”]

Having finalized our plans, we began following the monster tracks left behind from the stampede, which guarantees that we won’t meet the wyverns anytime soon.

Looking at my [Detection Sensor], monsters were spread around the whole area and some of them aren’t looking too well. Either they were left behind or were weakened from fleeing the wyvern’s roar. Seeing as we were moving with [Stealth] and [Presence Killer] activated, these monsters would’ve been dead if we were in a hunting mood.

Survival-wise it would be correct to do so, but I guess our whole party was just exhausted. We could sympathize with them, considering we did all participate in the same event, but it would probably only last for a day.

Tomorrow, once we reset our minds and bodies, it will be hunting season again.

As we continued onwards, I could faintly hear a monster’s cry. It was small, weak, and it sounded like it was in pain. As we moved in closer, the cries got even louder and even more desperate. It sounded like a weak animal that was very close to dying, which is nothing surprising.

However, it seems like the monster was too weak to even move out of our path, continuously yelping as it sat at the same location.

[“Should we check it out?”] I asked Saori.

She shrugged her shoulders but did say “Sure.”

As we approached the location, we noticed that the signal was behind thick vegetation. We pushed the shrubbery away, revealing to us the cause for all of this.

Hearing the wailing and desperate cry for help, my eyes noticed a small feline monster lying on the ground, covered in mud, dirt, and its own blood. The young animal’s green fur looked terribly unkempt, showing some trample marks, probably an unlucky victim that barely survived the monster stampede.

Identify.

Young Virigress

A young feline monster that possesses a fur of emerald green, only able to be found in the Belzac forest. Using their natural fur color, they can perfectly camouflage themselves atop a tree, ambushing any prey wandering under them using their venomous claws. Rank F

My eyes caught Saori shrugging her shoulders, looking a bit troubled, “Why does this scene seem so familiar?”

I had to agree. It was a young, probably newborn, monster sitting in a nest of twigs and leaves, looking helpless and mortified from locking eyes with the people that were towering it.

“First, it was a dog and now it’s a cat?” I said exasperatedly.

Welp, I just encountered my second “Abandoned Animal in a Box” trope.