. . . Cement took off his glasses and put them in his pocket. He stretched his legs.
"Kaela, do you know the name of this forest?"
"Cement, how would I know? Altus Pervertus left me here without any clothes."
The crickets sang around us. The lizard meat was almost ready.
"The name of this forest is Zenca. The Men's Tribe lives here, as well as Zafrom's tribe, and Xiu's family."
Cement picked up a lizard skewer.
"Chomp!"
"This lizard is delicious."
The smell is great, but does it taste good too?
"Kaela, here is your lizard."
Xiu handed me a well-roasted and dried lizard.
"Thank you for the food!"
"Crunch!"
Hmm! It really is tasty.
Suddenly, I started to...
"Kaela, why are you crying?"
"Cement, don't worry. I just thought about something."
I haven't eaten anything for days. I thought I was going to starve to death.
"Cement, I'm not against living with you in this forest, but having to deal with Zafrom and his companions is painful."
It seems like they get along well.
"Xiu, I didn't want to live with Zafrom either, so stop complaining and eat."
Zafrom must cause a lot of trouble for Xiu and Cement.
"Have you always lived in Zenca Forest?"
Ah, my stomach is finally full.
"No, we used to live in a small distant town."
Cement tore the lizard in half.
"Yes, Cement."
When Xiu arrived here and destroyed the force field, I was very worried. But now, seeing her getting along with Cement, I can finally relax.
"Kaela, it seems your friends have fallen asleep."
Huh? Sleeping?
"Hahahaha, this is ridiculous. How does Burro even sleep like that?"
"I'm surprised too. I never imagined a Donkey would sleep hanging upside down like a bat."
I need to sleep. This can't be real.
"Even Lyra is sleeping like Burro."
"Hahaha, Kaela. You have some strange friends."
"Look who's talking, a bald guy who loves a mannequin."
While we were laughing, I noticed the damn Dorian.
I looked at Cement, who was still chewing the rest of his lizard.
Phew!
He still hasn't noticed...
". . ."
"Kaela, do you already have a plan for how you will defeat the Demon King?"
I noticed Cement's voice change. He leaned closer to the campfire to warm his hands.
"To tell the truth, I haven't thought of anything to defeat the Demon King."
"What? Ah, my hand!"
Cement burned his hand.
"How do you plan to defeat that monster while being completely unprepared?"
Xiu, how am I supposed to answer that?
"I'm being forced into this. I don't want to do it, but I need to recover... and bury Altus Pervertus."
"Grrr!"
Just imagining the work I'll have to do to complete this mission makes me want to...
"Calm down, Kaela."
"First, you need to prepare yourself mentally."
"You two say that so calmly, as if I'm actually going to defeat the Demon King."
I have no powers, I don't know how to fight, I'm just a useless person who spent my life locked in my room. And my friends are even worse than me.
"It's easy to say: go defeat the Demon King when you have power. But I don't have any."
I'm in an impossible situation.
"Kaela, we can help you obtain the powers you need to defeat that monster."
Powers? You're going to help me?
How?
I almost choked when I asked.
"Hahaha."
Cement stood up and put on his glasses.
"You obtained your powers in Asterium Reborn."
"Auuuuuu!"
The forest shook as a wolf howled. The sky became cloudy, and the campfire was about to go out.
In Asterium Reborn, I can obtain the powers needed to defeat the Demon King?
That means I have no way to escape.
"Nooooooooooooo!"
The cold of the forest became stronger. The campfire could no longer warm us.
Cement and Xiu are trying to kill me.
"Let's sleep. Tomorrow will be a promising day."
I lay down, looking at the cloudy sky.
Tomorrow, I would go to Asterium Reborn.
If everything went well, I would gain powers.
If everything went wrong...
At least I would die in a city, not in a forest full of crazy people.