The group was saved by a Unicorn Man just before losing their lives.
Everyone smiled, drawn in by Sharin’s laughter. However, Lauren, Karubene, and Veronica were nowhere to be seen.
“Now that I think about it, three people are missing. What happened?”
In response to my question, everyone exchanged awkward glances and said, “Ah…” Had something bad happened? Come to think of it, Karubene and Veronica were at the front. And Lauren was swept away by the wave of enemies. A bad premonition sent a chill down my spine. Before I could even think, I was retracing our steps. I could hear everyone’s voices from behind.
Ignoring their calls to stop, I started opening doors in the lodging house one by one.
“Lauren, Karubene, Veronica, where are you? Are you still sleeping?! Which room are you in? Does anyone know which room the three of you are in?”
I raised my voice from the hallway. Then, Sharin slowly approached me.
“Calm down, Arisugawa. It’ll be alright. Everyone is alive. Karubene and Veronica are in that room over there. As for Lauren… well, she’s stepped out for a moment. You’ll see her later.”
Stepped out? Her words held some hidden meaning, but for the time being, I decided to go and check on the other two. I stood in front of the room Sharin had told me about and took a deep breath. She said they were alive, but perhaps they were seriously injured. It would be rude to disturb them if I made a fuss. I knocked softly.
“Hellooooo… are you two alright…?”
I lowered my voice and opened the door to find them both wrapped in bandages. They looked pained, but it seemed they had survived. They were sitting at a table facing each other, laughing.
“Um, are you two okay?”
“Oh, have you woken up, kid? Good. Go buy me some tobacco with this money.”
“Older Sister, that’s my money.”
“I won it earlier, so it’s not yours anymore, is it?”
It turned out they were playing cards. I felt foolish for worrying. But the fact that they were back to their usual selves filled me with a ticklish joy.
“By the way, have you seen Lauren? Is Lauren injured too?”
They exchanged glances again with subtle reactions. I had no choice but to go out into the hallway and look for her. I checked every room, but she was nowhere to be found. Then, from the darkness at the end of the hallway, where the light couldn’t reach, I heard someone sobbing.
“Ah, Lauren, so you were here. Are you hurt?”
She was wearing a black hood pulled low over her head and slowly turned to face me.
“G-Gulp, sniff… Wh-What is it…”
Huh? Why was she crying? Everyone was just happy that they had survived. Perhaps she had been left with terrible scars by the enemy.
“What’s wrong? Are you injured somewhere?”
“I-I’m not! Leave me alone!”
Through a gap in her robe, I caught a glimpse of her long black hair, which was now short.
“Oh, that…”
“Haaaahhhhhh— Ugh, don’t you dare say that my short hair suits me! I know! I don’t need any comfort like that!”
Saying that, she burst into tears. What should I do…? I bet a charming man would say something wonderful at a time like this. No matter what I say, it probably won’t help. Lauren buried her face in her hands and cried like a puppy right in front of me. Hair is a woman’s life, as they say, and it seemed to be true for her. Perhaps she had been captured by the enemy and cut it off herself while escaping. Or perhaps it had been cut off by the enemy’s hands.
For a while, I could only watch her cry silently. What should I say? Saying it suits her better would be bad, and saying it will grow back is not good either. As I stood there at a loss, she suddenly looked up.
“Ughh— Damn those Dark Elves! I’ll never forgive you! I’ll make you suffer the same fate!”
Lauren cursed her enemies with her red, tear-filled eyes, stomped her foot, and walked back down the hallway.
