Drip Drip Drip

Crimson blood continued to trickle on the ground as the blade that drew the blood slowly moved forward in its owner's worthy hands.

Following the elimination of the guards and soldiers, the presence which was covered in the blood of its victims moved with heavy steps and an even heavy sword. His steps resounded in the deserted hallway where once reverberated the joyous sounds of children playing and elderly chatting. As if a life about to end, he couldn't care less about his body. Ragged as it may be, he proceeded to haul his body toward the destination he sought with hatred that could shake the world.

Mere minutes before the group's departure to Rahan. The students had already assumed positions on their respective Mufad's backs. Considering they would be traveling continuously for multiple days without ample opportunities to relax, the duo sharing a Mufad had their minor luggage stacked on their Mufad's back, indicating that they couldn't replace their partners even if they desired to do so.

At a certain corner in the mansion's garden.

“I hope you’re not feeling uncomfortable, Ayuzawa-san.”

Aki lowered his head a little and inquired in a voice which only the person resting in front of him could listen. After several events transpired, Aki and Akio somehow ended up sharing a Mufad. ‘Somehow’ might be a little inaccurate as Akio had manipulated multiple people with her extraordinary use of acting skills she had acquired while growing up in an ecosystem where revealing one's true emotions was a blunder punishable by death.

Akio, who was sitting about an inch away from Aki, turned her neck to gaze at Aki’s face. Since Akio was sitting directly in front of him and her height was relatively smaller than him, all Aki saw was an exceedingly beautiful girl gazing at him with upturned eyes. Her clear black pupils encompassing Aki’s rather mediocre countenance. Her delicate white skin and cute nose. Akio's slender fingers covered her lips as she spoke in a jovial tone.

“Uncomfortable? Of course not. On the contrary, I should be apologizing to you for our current situation.”

Aki glanced at this person, this woman, lightly chuckling with a near-unnoticeable blush covering her cheeks. Her appearance, charming beyond words, dazzled him. They had spent an ample amount of time during their stay in the mansion, but they were never alone, and never this close.

“Haha~ There is no need for you to apologize... I am delighted that Ohori-san accepted Vinayak's invitation. I wouldn’t want to spend this segment of our journey accompanied by a walking-talking ball of depression. Vinayak may be oblivious of it, but almost everybody in our group is aware of his feelings towards Ohori-san.”

“Fufufu~ Yes. Observing his useless attempts to conceal his affection from us is quite amusing though. His ‘subtle’ advances do keep us entertained.”

Aki couldn't help but beam at his best friend's interesting predicament. Akio continued to chuckle with her right hand covering her mouth.

“Ayuzawa-san?”

“Hmm?”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

Akio could sense the seriousness in Aki’s voice, and as such, she stopped giggling and turned a little more so that she could face Aki properly.

“Why did you stop Shishidou-sensei when we were about to pair-up? Why did you insist on sharing with me? You do realize that we'll have to spend the next month or so together, right?”

“…”

Why do you think!? Spend a month together? I am ready for so much more! Ugh! You can be so smart and yet so dumb! No, I am sure you’ve noticed, however…

“I would’ve been left alone, you know? If I let you share with Sensei, that is. I’d prefer to travel with someone who I am familiar with over someone who only seeks me out for my superficial characteristics.”

“Is that so... Wait. Familiar? With me?”

Aki was genuinely astonished at Akio’s choice of words, he believed that she'd be better off pairing up with one of the boys from the trio since they constantly hung out together throughout the one-and-a-half years of high-school the class had spent together. However, Aki was aware more than anyone else, that coming to this world had affected the inter-personal relationships the students had built. Some relationships had strengthened, while some were falling apart. New relationships formed while the rotten and toxic ones disappeared.

Akio, who took a moment to gather her thoughts, looked Aki straight in the eyes. Her eyes reflecting Aki's dumbfounded look.

“Muranaka-kun… Aren’t you the most ‘familiar’ with me out of all my friends?”

Aki was bewildered at Akio’s stimulating demeanor. However, he soon realized what Akio was referring to, and he couldn’t keep his calm when he recalled that cold and rainy day when two wandering souls with nowhere to go met for the first time. Their conversation was neither motivating, nor one to be remembered, however, that single conversation became the reason for them to keep going and not giving up. Unknowingly, these two beings had rescued the other, gave them the push they needed to move forward, albeit a little. One of these two people could never forget the one who saved her, and she clung to the hope that she would meet him again someday, just like that fateful day.

So she remembers, huh?

Aki and Akio had a certain amount of interaction during the time they attended Mekangham Academy, and ever since they had ended up in this world, the contact they had with each other had increased exponentially, however, there existed a very subtle distance between them. No matter how intellectually advanced they are for their age, at the end of the day, they are still teenagers, and not everything can be solved logically, especially when it comes to human sentiments.

“So you see it that way, huh? Well, that might be true…”

“It’s fine. Don’t think too much about it. We should just concentrate on our journey ahead. Look, it seems like Shainaq is ready to signal our departure.”

Akio gestured towards one corner of the garden where Shainaq was making the final preparations with some of the pemalas and pemalis.

“Don’t you think this world is a little too centered around its class division system?”

Aki abruptly asked while narrowing his eyes. The revealing clothing of pemalis reflected in his clear pupils. Akio, who noticed that Aki's gaze was wandering around, grumbled cutely before answering.

“Well, it’s a different world. There are some countries in our world too where all lives aren’t treated the same. The rich prosper while the poor suffer. Birth defines a human and their potential, that’s what the basic principle of this world is, I guess.”

“Hmm… Couldn’t have said it better myself. The severe disparity in appearances does not exist here since everybody has a healthy body and a beautiful superficial appearance due to the presence of [Lord's Blessing]. However, that gap is saturated by the harsh difference between those with power, wealth, influence, and position in society, and those without them. However, if we objectively analyze it, all of the factors I previously mentioned stem from the individual's birth.”

“Yep. In our world, even if one is born in a family facing unfortunate circumstances, they have a chance to reverse their family’s fate by accomplishing something in life through the many means provided by the world. Be it academics, sports, or any other field, there is a value for talent, it doesn’t matter where the talent comes from, they will have a place in society. As her friend, I shouldn’t be saying this, but Nikki is a good example of this. Her family is pretty wealthy, but it is a fact that they couldn’t afford to send her to Mekangham Academy if not for the scholarship she secured because of her hard work and diligence…”

Akio failed to notice the extremely bitter smile on Aki’s face since she was busy contemplating about the topic at hand.

“… Not to mention, the population of this world exceeds ours by more than eight billion. You could say that they are double of us., and we were suffocating there”

“Yeah. The number of people of lower birth living in this world is more than our world’s entire population.”

The couple’s discussion came to an abrupt end with Shainaq’s cry filling the atmosphere.

“Let’s go!”

Akio wriggled on the saddle to let Aki easily grab the reins and direct their Mufad’s movements. Akio writhed for a while until she found a comfortable position. The saddle placed on Mufad’s back seemed to be quite similar to the ones used in their world. The initial minuscule distance between them diminished further, Aki could sense the warmth emanating from Akio's back while Akio relished the secure and protective feeling Aki's chest provided her. Akio honestly couldn't be more ecstatic.

Akio and Aki harbored quite the contrasting thoughts.

Way too close! Is she grinding herself against me? C’mon, little brother, stay strong- I mean, stay weak! Ugh, think of something disgusting, think of something disgusting!.

Ara, this is bliss. I don’t resent being summoned to this world at all. This might be the best thing that's happened to me since that day.

...

Shainaq had mentioned that this world didn’t have a globally accepted calendar. A year has three-sixty-five days. That’s all the inhabitants of this world understood as of right now. The simple reason being the inadequacy of globalization, or even peaceful dialogue amongst nations for that matter. This world was tormented by perpetual conflict, be it for a justified cause or just for the pleasure of it, the lands waged wars and bloody battles were fought.

Shainaq had placed the circumstances of this world into wonderful words.

“Trap a hundred people in a small room with a limited amount of sustenance, and hand them machetes. It’ll surely be a bloody mess.”

It was such a concise and accurate example that there wasn’t room for argument. However, when a boy from Masahiko’s group asked.

“Shainaq, you say that, but why isn’t our world at war? Our population isn’t low, you know?”

Shainaq smiled and replied.

“Those confined people… Give them bombs or grenades instead of machetes. I’m sure that a bloody mess is the last thing that’d happen.”

Shainaq looked around the class before smiling.

“The reason why the nations on Earth aren’t at war right now is that they are scared. You might be unaware, but intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear bombs, etcetera, are much more of a deterrent than you can imagine. You must’ve studied in the history books about the many wars that were fought during the hundreds and thousands of years before the atom bomb was invented. Why do you think the wars died down after the invention of weapons which could destroy on a continental scale? Well, because they are afraid. Tsar bomba, a nuclear weapon test conducted by USSR in 1961, is the most destructive explosion produced by humankind, competent enough to annihilate a small country. A test conducted more than fifty years ago agitated the entire world… Do you think the world hasn’t developed since then? Believe me, it has. And that’s why people are terrified. One weapon, and it could be the end for millions. Having said all that, nothing of the sort exists in our world…”

“… You people must be speculating that it would be simple to create weapons of mass destruction using [Lord’s Blessing]. Well, that may be true. In fact, with a certain amount of preparation and research, I have the confidence to create a bomb with materials available on our world, the energy output of which could theoretically hit the three megatons of TNT mark… That’s the total energy of all explosives used in World War II, including the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atom bombs, a-”

Shainaq covered his mouth with his fingers, realizing what he said was insensitive to the majority of the students present.

“I apologize. Ahem! Leaving that aside, I am sure you understand what the causes behind the lack of communication amongst countries are. Coming back to the topic of calendars and dates, you all are aware that a year doesn’t only have 365 days… The actual length of a ‘year’, or the cycle of seasons, is approximately 365.25 days. Thus, making the existence of a leap year essential or the world will slowly but surely deviate further and further away from the typical seasonal recurrence cycle. Having said that, February twenty-ninth prevents all of this from happening. Well, I know all of this since I have been to your world and gained knowledge, but most scientists in our world don’t…”

“… Manasaibhag. One of the seven superpowers of our world, and the leading authority in space research, has discovered many, many things. You could say that they have knowledge equivalent to the nineteenth-century of your world, and that’s pretty impressive considering many civilizations in our world still believe that our world is the center of the universe. Now, they have devised a calendar, which is exactly similar to the Gregorian calendar that Earth follows. It accounts for everything and is the calendar our world should follow.”

“However, because of all the war and conflicts, even the flow of information is extremely limited. The only reason I know of its existence is that one of the people involved in this research, a Philosopher, is a very close friend of mine. This calendar is called the ‘Ne=L’ calendar. Named after one of the numerous demi-gods serving under the [God], it is a calendar comprising of six months of sixty-one days each, except for the third month, or ‘[email protected]#$%’, having sixty days. It should be understood but I’ll say it anyway, the month having a leap day every four years is the very same ‘[email protected]#$%’.”

“I can tell by your expressions that the name of the month sounds gibberish to you guys, well, it is somewhat true. The six months are named after the six war maidens which stand by Ne=L’s side as his strongest warriors. According to Manasaibhagian mythologies, these six war maidens bear the name of their trusted weapons, which are supposedly blessed by the [God] itself. The aforementioned names are very long and hard to pronounce, so unless you learn the local language of Manasaibhag, it would be hard for you to grasp the name.”

“The seasonal cycle in our world is almost similar to yours, but at the same time, it is very different. The first two months of the year are considered to be part of the winter season. The two after that are summer, and the last two are monsoon or rainy seasons. Today is the thirty-first day of the third month. If we were to compare it to Earth, then our first month would theoretically be November and December combined. So, you can say that today would be somewhere around the end of April or early May. You can keep track of the dates and such with this information.”

...

The time had gradually passed and the class had set up camp at a favorable location about one-hundred-fifty kilometers away from Masquara. The land was plain with an ample amount of grass and vegetation to provide a comfortable atmosphere. A narrow stream ran proud about one kilometer away from the heart of the camp. The Mufad didn't require to be tied down since they were trained from infancy to be obedient and loyal, the adorable creatures just continued to devour the vegetation at one side of the camp.

“There was a town twenty kilometers away from our location, why did we have to camp outside? Wouldn't it better to find a hotel or something? They have those in this world, right?”

“Yeah. They do, but apparently, we ought to increase our survival skills because we are too 'sheltered'. Hmph! Bullshit!”

“Who does he think he is!? Making us work like this!?”

Some rich daughters were busy whining about their situation on the other side of the camp while Aki and the other boys continued to struggle with setting up the tents under Shainaq’s instructions. The tents of this world weren't much distinct from those Aki was used to seeing, but the basic material differed and so did the process of setting up. The tents were seemingly tailored from a material exclusive to North and South Gliblici.

“You are quite good at this, Vinayak.”

The first tent to stand straight and proud was the one belonging to Aki and Vinayak. Each tent could accommodate four people at most, with the residents almost sleeping on each other, and since they didn't have many Mufad to carry the luggage, they only brought seven tents with them.

“Yep. I went out camping a lot when I was little.”

Vinayak proudly stated with his chest puffed and arms crossed. Even though the tents varied, the muscle memory and experience sure was something that supported, and unlike the lads who spent their life blowing money like crazy, Vinayak had used his family's wealth to undergo many different experiences, which included many outdoor activities like camping, mountain climbing, etcetera.

“Speaking of which~ Who do you think we'll end up sharing our tent with? There are twenty-seven of us in total, including Shainaq, so no matter how we slice it, we’ll have to let another person spend the night with us.”

Vinayak muttered. It isn't a secret that Vinayak is sociable and friendly, but he genuinely doesn't like his classmates, particularly those who despise Aki and himself for no reason at all. As such, he'd rather let Shainaq, Chisa, or one of the four girls stay with them than to let an unfriendly boy ruin his night.

“No, you’re looking at it wrong. In this circumstance, we aren’t twenty-seven people, rather, we are thirteen boys and twelve girls, and with Shainaq and Shishidou-sensei, those numbers go up by one each. So, two boys and one girl will be left out if all the boys and girls make groups of four. We are the two guys who will be left out, no doubt about that. Now, I wonder who the girl that’s gonna share this tent with us will be… Or I may just be completely incorrect and girls and boys will share tents, leaving us with a boy to share a tent with. For now, let’s just set up the girl’s tents.”

...

“Um… If you don't mind, can I please share the tent with Khavare-kun and Muranaka-kun?”

“It’s a girl.”

“Uh… I am sorry but I didn’t quite catch that.”

“Oh, it’s nothing, Manaha-san.”

It was now a bit past ten and the students were devouring the supper that the ladies had prepared. Though most of the girls were total amateurs at cooking, some women like Nikki, Akio, Orihime, and others weren't half-bad, and then there were Umi and Misaki who could kill armies with their cooking.

The group was eating their food a little distance away from the camp, near the narrow river which acted as the class’s source of water. With a fire in the center, the six people ate and chatted away under the dark sky filled with numerous stars and a beautiful moon.

“So, what brought this on?”

Aki, who had already finished with his food and was occupied with keeping the fire from distinguishing, asked with a bit of anxiety hidden within his monotonous voice.

“Well, you see…” To everyone’s surprise, the one who started speaking was Misaki. “We are thirteen girls. Matsuda-san had her four girls. Mikhailova-san has her four girls… Leaving us four and Shishidou-sensei. We tried accommodating her in our tent, but even fitting four people in one tent is pushing it, so that wouldn’t work. With Shainaq joining Asahi and the others, the two left from the boys' side were Muranaka-kun and Khavare-kun. Sensei insisted that she’d have no qualms in sharing the tent with you since she is a teacher and whatnot, but we couldn’t accept it since she’s been having it hard from the very beginning, managing us and all. Akio, Umi, Nikki, and I, none of us have any problems in sharing. Khavare-kun definitely wouldn’t do anything since… Well… forget it. As for Muranaka-kun, I have complete trust in him, much more than any other guy.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

Aki interjected with a chuckle, to which, Misaki smiled and answered.

“Of course not. I genuinely trust you… Without your constant guidance, I am sure that we would’ve never made it this far.”

“Fufufu~ You’re just overestimating me… So, why Manaha-san? Wouldn’t Ohori-san be a better choice?”

As soon as Aki said this, the atmosphere around the resident couple-to-be turned awkward. Umi and Vinayak averted their gazes with a slight blush on their cheeks. It wasn’t unexpected for Vinayak to act this way, but it sure did surprise the group to see the Ohori Umi showing feminine emotions.

“Akio insisted that she would lo- Ahem! Excuse me. Akio mentioned that she wouldn’t mind sharing, but we decided to make the final call by rock-paper-scissors. Well, as you can see, Nikki won.”

The atmosphere recovered because of Misaki’s immediate efforts. Aki didn’t have any problems letting Nikki sleep with them. However, he looked towards the distance, where Asahi and his group would probably be eating dinner, and silently apologized to one of the three stooges.

I am sorry, Tanikawa.

“Is that so? Understood.”

As for Nikki, she delicately bowed her head and said in her signature angelic voice.

“Please take care of me.”

“Is it just me or are there golden wings behind Manaha-san’s back.”

“It’s just you, Vinayak.”

“What about the divine halo?”

“It’s just you.”

...

Around two-thirty in the morning. Inside the dark tent, there was a slight movement as Aki raised his head, his expression that of annoyance.

“Mm, my arm feels numb... Is that you, Vinayak?”

Aki looked around, only to see the faint outline of a person, the head of whom was resting on his arm.

“Not Vinayak, huh?”

He smiled. Gently so.