CH 103

Episode 103 - "The Girl Who Ran Away From Home"

(**Kirara’s POV**)

“Oh no… I wasn’t thinking properly…!”

As soon as I was sure of the current state of the house, I left immediately.

The reason why I left in such a hurry was because Momoi had run away from home.

After I slapped Momoi on the cheek, I went back to the living room about an hour later because I was worried about the girl.

I thought she might have gone back to her room, but when I went to her room to make sure of it, I found that her door was left open.

And no matter where I looked in the house, Momoi wasn’t here.

Even though Alice is a very wealthy woman, her house isn’t that big because it’s in a rural area.

So there was no reason why I wouldn’t be able to find a high school student if I searched thoroughly.

And yet, I still couldn’t find Momoi.

In other words, she was no longer at home.

I was really naive in my thinking.

I thought Momoi wouldn’t go out this late at night, but if you think about it, she hates me for what happened earlier.

I think it’s only natural that she wouldn’t want to stay in the house with me if I slapped her on the cheek or something like that.

But that idiot… could still be around here, just like those guys before her…!

Anyway, I really need to find her now!

I continued to walk through the streets at night with few streetlights, still in my nightgown and with only my valuables.

Part 2

(**Sakihime’s POV**)

“So mean, horrible, and terrible of her! I knew she was a jerk! I can’t believe she’s violent!”

I was walking down the dark street, not caring that tears were welling up in my eyes.

It was the first time in my life that I had been attacked by someone.

I will never forgive her…!

………………But where should I go…?

I’ve run away from home, but I have nowhere to go…

―I couldn’t go back to my grandmother’s house, so I kept walking through the night streets without a clue.

I walked for a few hours, and before I knew it, I arrived at the mountain where I had to leave Umi-kun and the others.

I was walking without thinking, but I couldn’t believe that I was unconsciously aiming for this place…

I’m envious of my memory for being able to remember a path I’ve only taken once before.

I was about to turn back, but somehow my feet were drawn to the mountain.

And I ended up at the place where Umi-kun had become a different person.

The moment I stepped into this place, the scene of that time came to my mind.

Since Umi-kun and the others are no longer here, this is an illusion that my brain is showing me.

I felt terrible that it’s showing me something I didn’t want to see.

It was as if he was saying to me, “Take a good look at it again,” as I turned away from the scene of that time.

…But the truth is, I know.　

I knew that it was Umi-kun who was raging at the time.

But I didn’t want to believe it.

Because Umi-kun is Umi-kun, a kind person who is different from other boys.

But the face of the violent Umi-kun he was making at that time was scary.

He was scarier than the other boys in my class who I thought were scary.

I couldn’t accept that fact.

So I rejected him.

I know that was a terrible thing for me to say.

However―

*Thud!*

“―!? Who is it!?”

Suddenly, I heard a noise from behind me, and I turned around.

I thought for a moment that some bad person had come, but I was wrong.

In fact, I think it was much better that way.

Because when I turned around, there in front of me was a big boar, a wild boar.

“Ah… ahh…”

As I faced the boar, I jerked back in fear.

Perhaps the boar was wary of me, but it looked at me and didn’t move a muscle.

I don’t know much about boars, but I’m pretty sure that if I don’t show my back and move away slowly, I’ll be fine…

That’s what I thought, so I kept facing the boar and slowly stepped back.

But this wasn’t a good idea.

In the dark, I couldn’t see the foothold well, and because I was stepping back without checking carefully, my right foot didn’t touch the ground when I stepped back.

It seemed I had come to the edge of the cliff without realizing it.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

My weight was completely behind me, and I couldn’t get my stance back and fell off the cliff.

“―O-Ouch…”

Fortunately, the cliff was small enough that I wasn’t seriously injured as I fell.

It’s a good thing that I was able to escape the boar as a result.

But as I tried to stand up, I felt a sharp pain in both of my legs.

“N-No way…? Both of my feet are sprained…?”

I must have sprained both my legs when I fell down the cliff.

I couldn’t even stand up, let alone walk, in the mountains like this.

This situation is highly dangerous, because I don’t know if I will encounter another boar like I did before.

No, it’s not just boars.

There must be snakes, too.

Even if such a dangerous creature appears, I can’t run away from it now.

What should I do… I started to cry again…

I was at a loss for words in this desperate situation.