Episode 7: Beyond the Road

How far do I have to go? I don’t know at all. Please… help me…

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“Adventure Stories,” “Latest Edition: National Dictionary,” “20 Rules of Daily Wisdom,” “5 Scary Stories”…

I browsed the books lined up in order by author name. There were a few I kind of wanted to read, but I held myself back.

About an hour after I started searching, I found a blue book written by someone named Alpha Heaven, titled Past and Future ~Time and Space~.

This might be it…

I could feel my heartbeat quicken. But more than that, the loneliness and sadness were still there.

Well, I didn’t let it show on my face.

“Um… How to go to the future… ‘Saa-Ruma-Fiaris-Sestus’…”

I accidentally said it aloud, then scolded myself.

Doesn’t this mean I’ll just go even further into the future!?

Ugh… Why am I such an idiot…? To mess up twice like this, I must be a total fool…

And then, just like before, I was wrapped in seven-colored light.

The place I arrived at…

It was a beach. In front of me stretched a vast, crystal-clear ocean.

“…! This is my first time seeing the sea!!”

I said in excitement, when suddenly I heard a soft laugh behind me.

“It’s your first time seeing the sea? Traveler?”

I quickly turned around. There stood a girl with red hair. She looked about seven years old.

Her crimson eyes, the same color as her hair, sparkled as she curiously stared at me.

“Uh… well, I guess you could say that.”

I’m not exactly a traveler… but still, this is kind of like a journey, right?

The girl widened her big eyes even more and said,

“Then come to my house!”

“Eh…? Uh…?”

“Come on, follow me!!”

Without knowing why, I followed her.

We walked deeper into the beach area until we came to a fork in the road. She turned right, and soon a suspension bridge came into view.

“Be careful, don’t suddenly run, okay?”

Responding to her strict warning, I crossed carefully, step by step.

…And then――――――.

After crossing the bridge, there was a small village.

As I looked around in wonder, the girl spread her arms wide and declared,

“Welcome to River Island!”