Do You Remember? (8)

After that, the group left the city the Beastfangs had been using as a hideout. To avoid attacks by monsters or other nonhuman peoples, they stayed as much as possible in the shadows of buildings and among the trees, making their way toward the underground facility Noah.

Along the way, they reached a stretch where they had no choice but to cross open ground, leaving them vulnerable to attack. Before crossing, they decided to rest and headed into one of the several abandoned houses looming nearby.

Now, in a dusty room where battered furniture—offering a glimpse of life from long ago—lay scattered haphazardly, everyone was doing their best to recover their strength, looking utterly exhausted.

“Whew, for a while there, I wondered how things would turn out... But we made it through somehow.”

Tina lay on her back on a sofa inside the house and let out a sigh, her expression one of profound relief.

“Why does Tina get the sofa while I'm stuck on the floor? Hey, hey, isn't this a huge difference in how we're treated? Isn't it, Alice-san and Kururu-san?”

As soon as they entered the house, Menou dusted off a sofa and laid Tina down on it. Meanwhile, Kururu and Alice, who were carrying Kagami, laid him on the floor right beside it, like a heavy piece of luggage. They had at least dusted him off, so Kagami didn't have too much to complain about—but he still grumbled about the outrageous difference in treatment.

Kururu and Alice only gave him a cold stare, without saying a word.

“Well, anyway, we made it through. When they spoke to us, I wasn't sure what to do, but we may have gained a reliable ally... All's well that ends well. No, Urga's our ally now. They even gave us their name... I think I got through to them... Guh?!”

“Don't go saying you got through to them, Kagami-san.”...