We were at the cemetery. The remaining people from Mayumi’s village had come and gathered for her funeral. There were fewer of them than I had first imagined. It would seem that the monsters that attacked their village really took a heavy toll on them. And this city even took one away from them. What a tragic thing.

  The funeral started with Mayumi’s friends making speeches about their memories of her, and how fond they were of her. One of them was a young woman, who was around Mayumi’s age. She was crying as she spoke.

  “Mayumi and I… have been friends since childhood. We’ve…” She rubbed her eyes. “There were a lot of us playing together… my friends that died during the monsters’ attack. Who survived among them was… Mayumi…”

  She sniffed and paused for a moment, trying to catch her breath. I just watched silently from the back. It would really be weird if some unknowns positioned themselves at the front of the crowd.

  The young woman took a breath. “... I remember the time when we were little, Mayumi and I were… making fun of a critter.” She awkwardly chuckled. “We were very mean to that little creature… kicking it around, laughing at it… I will truly miss my dear friend.” She lowered her head, rubbing her hands together. Her eyes brimming with tears, she turned towards the casket. “... Rest well, Mayumi. I’ll… I’ll do my best to live in this new life, one that I was hoping you’d be in… Goodbye, my lovely, talented friend.” She gently patted the casket.

  Looking at this, it reminded me that I couldn’t even attend my mother’s funeral… It made me wonder how I’d be during all that. Would I cry hard? I hadn’t always cried whenever someone I knew died, or I was close with. Would I be able to speak? How painful would it be to see her in a coffin?

  I would never know. And to be honest, I didn’t want to experience something like this again…

  Seeing my mother die was painful enough already. So not another one of my family…

  I didn’t get to say a proper goodbye to her.

  I last saw her in the most terrible of circumstances… And it pissed me off.

  Hartwin then stepped forward. He took a deep breath.

  “Mayumi and I have not been friends for very long… But I’ve grown deeply fond of her… She was brilliant, I saw that bright ambition within her.” He smiled as his eyes moistened, but he was trying to hold back his tears. “When I met her, I was so glad that I found someone on this island who was interested in music. She was a diligent learner, and quite a fast one too.” He let out a sigh. “She was… she was someone who had great talent, someone who had great potential. She could have been someone that brought music to these lands… She was taken too soon.”

  He paused for a moment, rubbing his eyes before he continued.

  “I could still remember her bright, joyful face when I told her she would have an instrument of her own.” He held out the beautiful broken instrument, Mayumi’s lute. “I was also there when she received it at last. The excitement in her eyes…” He chuckled. “So brilliant.”

  He placed the lute on top of her casket. “... Rest in peace, Mayumi.” He slowly stepped back.

  Now that they were all done, it was time to slowly bury her in the ground. Men of the cemetery used ropes and slowly slid ?the casket into the hole. There were no prayers here, they worshipped no gods. Just humanity.

  They started putting dirt into the hole. Gradually, Mayumi disappeared from view. Her friends watched with sad, longing eyes.

  Once the hole was fully covered, the cemetery staff started putting on the tombstone.

  “You can go now if you want,” Hartwin said, walking up to me.

  “What about you?” I asked.

  “I think I’ll stick here a little while longer, with them.”

  I nodded. “Then we’re going.”

  “See you back at the inn.”

  Me, Nira, Taneva, and Velar left the cemetery. Finishing up the grave was gonna take some time, anyway. It was time to leave, and I was sure Hartwin would like some time with those people. I was expecting Velar to do the same, but it would seem he was prioritizing me.

  “It’s always sad to see friends get buried… Although, this time, it was not my friends,” Taneva casually commented.

  “You must have been to many funerals,” Velar said to him.

  “Part of being immortal. You either see your friends get old, which is good, or sometimes, you just suddenly discover they’re already dead. And it’s always sad.”

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “It must be pretty terrible knowing that all that you know would be gone eventually in your never-ending life.”

  “Prepare for the inevitable. But death is not always a bad thing, you know. Death frees us from the sufferings in this world. In a way, it’s mercy.”

  “Not for everyone…” I curtly said.

  “Oh?”

  “Death is bad, it’s hard for the ones you love, for your family. And many, many people do not want to die.” Despite the sufferings in this world, there would also be much bliss to find.

  “Hm, that’s what you think, huh? But there are those who want to die.”

  “Like you.”

  “Yes.” He smirked. “Sometimes I envy those who are buried in their coffins.”

  “Hm.”

  But unlike him, I love life.

  As we walked down the street, and reached ?the river bridge, I noticed soldiers rushing on the streets. They were no street guards either, they wore more armor than them. Some of them stopped and looked around, as if they were searching for something.

  I saw one guard forcefully turning a person covered in a cloak to look at their face.

  “There are more soldiers than usual,” Taneva said.

  “Indeed,” Velar added. “And aggressive too, as if they are in an emergency. Did something happen perhaps?”

  “Well, whatever it is, it’s not our business,” I said. “Let’s just get back before we invite trouble.”

  As we continued on, we overheard a group of soldiers asking some vendors. They were loud, so I could hear what they were saying.

  “Did you see two women run by here? One has brown hair, and the other has blue hair.”

  I suddenly came to a stop.

  Hold up, that description sounded familiar.

  “Didn’t see anyone run here for the past hour,” answered the vendor. “Didn’t notice that pair either. Who are they?”

  “Dangerous criminals that escaped the castle.”

  “Oh, okay. I’ll spread the word then.”

  “Careful, they are armed.”

  “Got it!”

  My brow furrowed slightly. I surely hoped it was not who I thought they were after. But… I had a feeling that it was them. I palmed my face.

  What the hell happened now?

  If it were them, then it would be pretty serious, judging from the soldiers looking for them. I looked around, and when I looked at a rooftop, I saw a person wearing dark clothes. A ninja?

  What the fuck happened?!

  They had a fucking ninja going after them too?! Are they insane?! What sort of trouble did they get themselves into?!

  “Princess, is something wrong?” Velar asked.

  I let out a sigh. “Did you guys hear them?”

  “Yes.”

  “I think… I think the friends I told you about got themselves into some kind of serious trouble.”

  “Are you sure?” Taneva said.

  “I sure hope I’m wrong, ‘cause I don’t want to be dealing with this.”

  Taneva looked around. “It almost looks like they pissed off the entire city. Got ninjas running on rooftops.”

  I moaned, complaining inside. We quickly walked over to a secluded alleyway.

  “Heneis! Galik!”

  The two Cursed Children landed in front of me.

  “Do you know the faces of the two women I came with when I first arrived here?”

  “Yes,” Heneis answered.

  “From the looks of it, something happened to them. Search around the city and tell me where they are. The city’s forces seem to be after them.”

  “Why risk yourself for these people, Princess?” Heneis asked with a baffled expression.

  “She’s the daughter of the lord of Nishinoa, the island where we’re heading. I prefer not to lose her here.”

  He slowly nodded. “... Very well.”

  I turned to Nira. “Help with the search. Don’t intervene unless you’re sure they are about to get killed. Make sure you three don’t expose your monster parts.”

  With that, the three of them turned into fog and ascended into the air.

  “I knew our calm and peace wouldn’t last for long,” Taneva said.

  “Hey now, this time, I didn’t cause the trouble,” I said with a shrug.

  “But you’re diving straight into it.”

  That was true, but… it would be such a waste to let them die. And we were getting along well, and Miyako was basically a princess.

  I don’t get to meet many fellow princesses.

  “I want to help them.”

  “... Hm… Alright then.”

  “You agreed quickly.”

  “I don’t mind trouble, Estelia. In fact, it might be quite fun to get along for the ride.”

  “Immortality really takes away all stakes, huh?”

  “Indeed.”

  Nothing threatens this guy, so he certainly wouldn’t mind getting dragged along with a problem. In fact, I think he welcomed it. In fighting, he could get another chance of testing just about anything to kill himself.

  A couple of minutes later, Heneis returned.

  “Princess, I believe we found them…”

  “That was quick.”

  “We followed the city’s forces. They are currently chasing two people.”

  “Take us to them.”

  Heneis ascended into the air. I turned to my two allies.

  “Don’t attack anyone unless I say so. Now then, catch up.”

  I used the wind to immediately reach the top of the building and followed Heneis. I jumped from one rooftop to another, while Taneva and Velar ran on the ground. Taneva could have followed me up, but it was good he moved along with Velar.

  As we got closer to our destination, I could see soldiers on the ground running in the same direction. There were also a couple of men in dark clothes running on rooftops. But for now, I disregarded them. I had to confirm that it was indeed Miyako and Satomi.

  Eventually, I stopped and stared down at two running figures. I sighed.

  “Dammit, it really had to be you two.”

  It was indeed Miyako and Satomi, with the latter clutching the wound on her shoulder.

  What the hell did they do to piss everyone off? Unless of course all of this was a ploy to kill them all along.

  Velar and Taneva stopped next to my building. I looked down.

  “It’s them. Taneva, you take care of the soldiers. I’ll handle the ninjas. Velar, take them to the inn. But make sure you’re not followed. Heneis and Galik, just keep guard around me, and don’t intervene unless you need to.” I didn’t want any of the people here to discover they were monsters in human form or something. That might only put everyone, every hunter, on high alert. “Velar, if you see Nira, bring her along with you.”

  “Got it!”

  “Now then, move.”

  I drew my hood to cover my head before sprinting on the rooftops, heading towards Miyako and Satomi. A ninja was chasing close, he was preparing small knives to throw. I pulled out a dagger and threw it into his hand.

  “Ah!” The knife pierced into his hand. He quickly turned towards me. “Who are you?!”

  I struck him in the neck with another blade. Before his body fell, I retrieved my dagger from his hand.

  I rushed towards my two allies on the run.

  Somehow, I’m looking forward to their story.

  Just what the fuck happened?