Haru sat frozen, turned around in the dusty rocking chair with mouth agape, eyes wide, hat knocked off. A bear with arcane markings roared a hand’s width from her face. Its hot breath tousled her hair, and she winced.
“Bulwark, enough.” A calm, motherly voice called out.
In an instant, the bear calmed and backed down. Standing on all fours, the beast was almost as wide and tall as the entire room.
“That’s not how we treat strangers, even if they’ve discovered and taken up our favorite little spot.” The woman inched around the gargantuan creature. Her long, flowing silvery hair brushed along the creature’s side. The stranger’s royal purple cape with golden clasps brushed against the dusty floor.
As Haru calmed down, she came to recognize the woman’s voice but couldn’t quite remember from where, like reacquainting with a long-lost friend she never knew.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize this was your spot. I needed to head out anyways.” Haru got ready to stand when the stranger placed a delicate hand on her shoulder.
“Nonsense, this isn’t my spot. There’s plenty of room for all of us.” The woman smiled warmly.
Then the two gazed at Bulwark looking like a fluffy cat stuffed in a dollhouse, occupying most of the hut with his girth.
Blinking for a moment, the stranger held her arms out at the bear. “Come.”
The bear shrank to one tenth his size, then got swept up by an invisible force that plopped him in front of the woman. She wrapped her arms around the tiny animal. Once in her grasp, the animal transformed into a corduroy teddy bear with buttons for eyes and blue thread for a mouth. The runes remained on the toy body and glowed with even greater power.
“There.” The woman spoke softly. “Now we can all enjoy the view in comfort.” She reached out and a stool slid across the room, next to the table where Haru set out her Royal Choco Biscuits. She sat down with a delicate plop.
Haru relaxed and blinked, confused by this player. She looked to be playing the second-tier job, Summoner, but they don’t evoke animal companions. There are powerful avatars they can beckon forth for a short time to do their bidding. The witch stifled a sigh at the strange state of her game. Still, it was nice to be around someone who didn’t outright shun her.
The woman cleared her throat. “Do you come here often?”
Haru reached down, grabbed her hat off the floor, and brushed it off. “I just found this place a little while ago. Since then, I do, yeah. How about you?”
The stranger hummed and looked out at the volcanic lands of The Dirge. “A long time ago this was my secret little place all to myself.” She smiled and sighed. “But times change.”
Haru placed the hat on her head and nodded. “They do.” She shifted uncomfortably, bothered by the bear. It was one thing that she encountered the red warrior in the presence of Invidius. It was another to stumble upon yet another player somehow acting outside the rules of the game. “I like your pet.”
The woman looked down at the teddy bear and pulled it closer. “Thank you. He’s been with me for a long while, protecting me from whatever creepy-crawl-y decides to emerge from the shadows. I don’t know where I’d be without him.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Haru couldn’t fight back dipping her eyebrows for a moment. “So, how do you like Summoner?”
The stranger blinked for a moment. “Oh, ah... I played it for a little bit a while ago. It’s alright.”
Haru tilted her head. “You’re not a Summoner?”
Clearing her throat, the woman shook her head. “I’m ah, uh—Ranger. Yeah, Ranger.”
Haru scratched her shoulder. Rangers are very good with bows, moderately excel at melee, very weak defensively. They don’t have any kind of magic companion or any kind of familiar at all, in fact. “Oh, I see. Must be expensive.” Haru commented on how bows use a lot of pricy ammo that need to be purchased in bulk in order for the job to be effective. Then shifted in her seat, knowing she should prod more. But it was nice to not be actively shunned for once.
The woman patted her teddy bear. “I get by.”
A silence grew between them, and they both stared out at the scenery for a while.
“Do you have any pets?” The woman asked, still looking afar.
Haru thought to Vernal in the classroom surrounded by the other encounter bosses, having forgotten her. She looked down at the floor. “I don’t know anymore.”
The stranger blinked and turned to her. “You don’t know if you have a pet?” Her brow dipped.
Haru darted her eyes back and forth. “I, uh, uhm… I meant that—”
The woman took a deep breath with a lightened expression and tightened her grip on her teddy bear. “Where are my manners?” She interrupted the witch’s mumbling and searched the surroundings. “I haven’t introduced myself.”
Haru looked up, her train of thought broken.
“My name is Knight-Princess Elizabeth Calliope Aidyn Callisto Bernadotte-Windsor, Conqueror of the Twin Moons and Daughter of the Hidden Sun.”
Haru blinked rapidly.
“Esquire.” The woman finished with a whisper. She straightened her cape with her palm. “But my good friends call me Momo.”
“Momo.” Haru repeated. “Nice to meet you.”
Momo smiled wide.
“My name is Haru.” The witch swallowed hard. “J—just Haru.”
The woman nodded. “Nice to meet you, Just Haru.” She spoke with a regal tone.
The way that Momo talked caught Haru off guard and she couldn’t help but let slip a belly laugh. Momo’s expression melted into a smirk and then they both collapsed into laughter.
A sudden fog permeated the area, creeping up from below the forest floor, which spread far beyond Nocturne Forest.
Haru’s laughter faded as a sense of dread welled within her gut. Her mouth dried and heart raced, but not from glee. She stood from the rocking chair and stepped up to the balcony doorway, gripping the wood frame and leaning out to see below. Despite the thickness of the mist, she spotted an emerald form steadily moving along the forest floor, toward the overgrown hovel containing the hidden entrance to the treetop hut.
Momo’s laughter faded and she tilted her head. “What’s wrong?”
Haru wondered what he was doing here and why. This place was as far out of the way of any major areas as could be without going to Skyreach Fortress, Astra Starbreaker’s raid area, deep in the mountains of the southern part of the continent.
The snap of branches and twigs below urged Haru to act. She leaned back and looked at Momo. “We have to go.”
“Aw.” Momo sighed. “I was enjoying the cookies and the view. It’s been a while since I’ve had a tea party.”
Haru turned, snatched up the cookies, sealed them, and thrust them into Momo’s arms, atop the teddy bear’s head. “To be continued, let’s go.”
“Wha… I… We…” Momo tried to protest.
The sway of the rope bridge spurred Haru to snatch her up by the arm and pull her to her feet. With the rope bridge out of the question, the only other exit was the balcony. And the drop was not survivable by anyone of any level. The fall was certain death.
A mellow cackle arose from the rope bridge. This was certainly no accident. Invidius was here, back for a second attempt at what was started on the road to Waylander’s Wastes.
Haru gritted her teeth. She wrapped one arm around Momo’s waist and thrust her through the balcony door.
“What are you do—” Momo sputtered.
There was no way Haru had any chance against Invidius in such close quarters. His fighting style was made to be up-close and personal. The fight would be over before it even started.
Without any other choice, Haru gripped Momo’s arm and started to dash. After a few steps, the witch threw herself and Momo off the tree hut’s balcony.
https://www.patreon.com/c/mekabukiko
https://discord.gg/vS8jjazffM