"Huh?" I had to repeat my thoughts out loud. It was my attempt at making sense of what was going on. 'What happened again?'
One moment Suda was giggling uncontrollably about us stealing a rune-coach, and the mood was relatively amenable despite my distrust in them.
So why? Why, and how, did it shift so quickly to bloodlust?
Why did Suda have a glint of murder in her eyes while she stared at me, hands on her hunting knife?
Why was Shrug, the man who'd taken such good care of Sato, Takagi, and Takashi, brandishing his hammer with the intent to use it?
Mizuno, unlike the other two, hadn't drawn either of her swords. No, her hands were occupied after she'd crossed and locked them together. She leaned in closer, faintly illuminating her hands and jaw with an orange glow from the low flames.
The room went silent with suspense. The only sound was the crackling and snapping of twigs as they converted to cinders in the firepit.
Then, breaking the silence, Mizuno spoke up. Her next words were composed and confident, devoid of any insecurity. "Tell us how you all escaped."
My mind was in paralysis. 'Do I say what happened? Do I not? Do I lie?' I realized that we'd been at a crossroads. A crossroads where someone's life could be snuffed out if I made the wrong choice.
I desperately looked to my allies for answers.
Takagi hadn't budged an inch; he remained transfixed on Nakamura's flask. He was intently focused on the silvery shine of the metal, becoming utterly dull to the world around him.
The sisters were no use either. Hikari hid behind her sister's back fearfully while Ayame scowled and glowered at a now hostile Suda.
Finally, Kamida was-
"Hey!" he boldly asserted, apparently staging an intervention. "Perhaps we should cal-" but his words were cut off by a vertically spinning knife.
It whizzed and grazed the thin hairs on his cheek before burrowing deep into the tree's base beside him with a sharp thud.
Unlike her hunting knife, the dagger was razor-thin and "dart-like." It had a small, unwrapped steel handle and various serrated bits running along both sides of its blade.
If that thing had burrowed into someone, it'd undoubtedly shred up their insides, leaving their guts a bloody mess.
pαпdα Йᴏνê|,сòМ Kamida must've imagined the consequences, as well, given how his eyes widened, revealing every bit of the whites within them.
Kamida and I both cast our gaze on Suda, whose free hand was pointed toward Kamida with a loosened but nearly clenched fist. It confirmed she'd been the culprit that threw the deadly projectile.
"Ya should know," Suda eyed Kamida with a killer's grin, "I don't miss twice. You should siddown." She gestured her hand toward the floor.
Though he choked for a moment at the threat, Kamida's next move shocked me. Rather than buckling to fear, as he'd usually done, he was oddly composed in the situation. It was almost as if he'd lived through one like it before.
"Friends..." he pleaded, "surely you'd prefer a cordial conversation." He then focused his gaze on Mizuno, who'd been glaring back at him. "Please, you should know fear never yields a good answer during an interrogation."
"Sit down!" Suda demanded, baring her teeth toward Kamida.
But he pressed on, ignoring Suda's orders, and stepped toward Mizuno with outstretched arms. "Miss... Please! I'm not sure what Agawa said, but surely it isn't worth a conflict!"
Kamida's actions must've been too bold, as he'd prompted Suda to move on the offensive.
"I warned ya, buddy..." she sighed and motioned quickly for another throwing knife. Just as she'd pulled her hand back to view, dart-dagger in hand, hers was stopped by Mizuno's grip.
"Yuu?" Suda turned and quizzically questioned Mizuno. "What are ya doin'?"
"It's fine," Mizuno assured, then looked back toward Kamida, "sit. We'll talk...peaceably." She motioned for Suda and Shrug to lower their guard and return to what they'd been doing.
Though Shrug immediately followed the order by releasing his hammer and resuming a non-hostile stance, Suda hadn't yet been convinced.
"Yuu... Are ya really sure 'bout this?" Her grip on her weapons, like her willingness to follow Mizuno's direction, shakily wavered.
"I said it's fine," Mizuno commanded again. "Besides, you can tell if they're lying, can't you?" She gave a slight grin, something I hadn't thought a woman of her stoicism could manage.
Suda smiled back and fully returned to a state of calmness. "Ya got it, Yuu; I guess you're right." she then laughed and returned to her usual cheer. "You're always right!"
Despite open hostilities having calmed down, Kamida, I, and the sisters were all still locked in unease at what had just happened. Our worry wouldn't stop the relentless questioning that came next, though.
On and on, while Suda prepared more squirrels to roast, Mizuno checked our story with a fine-tooth comb. She occasionally called upon Suda, having her check our eyes for lies.
We discussed everything. From the time we arrived at the tower... To the mansion... To the dungeon and to our escape.
Everything about our hellish day was left entirely bare. The most challenging parts of the story were the ones that inspired memories of Nakamura.
Takagi was especially broken up by his mention.
Despite being unresponsive to almost everything, it looked like Nakamura's name was a tether that kept Takagi from abandoning sense altogether. His pained expression became even more pronounced when we mentioned our time in the dark tunnels and dogs.
I assumed he'd had an extra painful memory lodged somewhere within that event.
Finally, an hour and a half later, we'd arrived at our confrontation with the quillbeast. As well as our first encounter with the three of them: Shrug, Suda and Mizuno.
"That's about it," I wearily concluded, hoping my explanation of today's events would appease them.
"Wait," Suda asked, "do you even know why you were brought here, Agawa? Do any of you know why you were brought here?" She cast her gaze around the room, analyzing each of our expressions.
Mine was definitely one of confusion. Though it was a question I'd always wanted to ask, it was never one I could get an answer to; I was too busy trying to keep my life intact, after all.
Likewise, the sisters had no idea. They both shook their heads, giving a decisive "no."
But Kamida? Kamida hadn't moved an inch. Instead, he went oddly silent. He crossed his hands and covered his mouth, breaking out in a cold sweat.
I couldn't be sure what he'd been thinking, but they definitely weren't memories of happiness.
"Oh...you look like you do." Suda leaned in, probing Kamida for more details. "So? Do ya know why you were brought here?"
"I-I'm not sure." he stammered.
Suda lit up with a grin. "Ohoho, it's not good for ya to lie. In fact, I'd highly suggest you don't." Within her words was the undeniable tone of a threat. Like me with them, I guess they hadn't fully trusted us yet.
He looked at her with eyes of angst and terror. His voice trembling at his own words, he replied, "is it really true? Were we... Was our group really summoned to be eaten?"
His words bewildered not just me but Ayame and Hikari too. They both looked on in horror. Personally, I expected what he'd said to be a morbidly dark joke. When I saw his face, however, I knew he'd been the definition of the word "serious."
Suda laughed. "Yeaaaah... it's a pretty shitty fate we summoned are facin', huh?" She cackled and held her sides, laughing at a joke nobody else found funny.
But something about her words finally confirmed my suspicions about them. Between their names and how she specifically chose the term "we" when describing the situation, I knew it had to be true.
'These people...they're from our world too.'
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