It was astonishing.

At first there was an scenario similar to a countryside, full of grass, trees and some animals. There were even big crows flying above you, which you found extremely odd but decided not to comment on it as the other girls carried on walking, unfazed by the creatures. You supposed crows flying during the daytime was a common thing there.

And then, out of nowhere, there was a sort of village surrounded by nature. It was quite lively and all kind of people were walking around. You were accustomed to living in (City/N), so walking into such a natural village amazed you.

'Even so, the only important thing now is to find a way back to my world, dimension, era or whatever...'

Upon remembering your main objective, you couldn't help but sigh. In fact, you had been doing that a lot recently.

Technically, you had been walking for an hour before arriving there, but the fact that you were so intrigued by the surroudings made you lose track of time.

The only thing that still bothered you —well, you couldn't exactly complain but it made you feel a bit uncomfortable— was a certain pink-haired girl clinging onto your arm. Let's just say that her chest area was accidentally pressed against your arm, and she didn't intend on moving at all.

Just by looking at her expression you realised that she wasn't even doing it on purpose. Besides, she was too busy smiling and occasionally talking to people who greeted them.

'Remember (Y/N), go along with it for now'

During the whole time, you felt someone staring at you and it creeped you out. Turning to look at the other two girls, you quickly noticed that Maya was glaring at you intensely. No, it'd be more accurate to say that her gaze was locked on your linked arms.

'If looks could kill, I'd be pretty dead right now'

Maya must have realised that you caught her staring, since she averted her gaze and made a 'Hmph!' sound. You sighed, thinking that she was probably mad at you for being so close to her friend.

Little did you know, Maya's cheeks were tainted a light pink the moment she looked away.

As for Hannah, she was looking around the place, walking at a slightly slower pace and giving short responses to the people who approached her.

Looks like they were pretty well-known in the village.

You got distracted by looking at the different buildings and people as if you had gone sightseeing in a foreign country. Because of this, you didn't notice a man walking towards your direction.

"Miss Heavens, what a nice coincidence" He spoke, immediatly catching your attention. His voice, in your opinion, sounded very fake as it seemed that he had rehearsed his words previously.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Bloodriver" Konoha said in a polite manner.

The male had white and curly hair, and his amber eyes were now staring directly at you. It was hard not to notice you when you were standing right next to Konoha.

"Oh my, and who might this young lady be?" He kneeled down and grabbed your hand right before planting a kiss on it.

By making a great effort, you suppressed your urge to move your hand away and make a rude comment.

He was the kind of person you tended to hate the most.

"Back off Malcom, you're making her feel uncomfortable with that annoying and touchy attitude of yours" Maya spat harshly.

Dang, that girl was very sharp-tongued, but you wanted to thank her so badly.

Malcom let out a small chuckle, deciding to ignore Maya's remark. And boy, it pissed her off more than she already was. Surprisingly, Hannah was also listening to the conversation and perceiving the tense atmosphere, she placed a hand on Maya's shoulder. It was a small gesture but it seemed to have worked since the black-haired girl took a deep breath and calmed down.

'They don't get along well, I see...'

Malcom was now looking at you and you automatically raised an eyebrow. He gave you a 'seductive' smirk, which you thought thought was anything but seductive.

"I have not seen you around before, you must be a visitor from nearby lands... If so, I would like to welcome you to Vexlord" he said.

"Not exactly but... Yeah" you said in response.

"This place might seem quite undeveloped compared to the Capital, but the scenery is great and they will treat you very well here. Besides, I could always give you a free tour around the place, and maybe even invite you to some drinks~" he winked at you.

"I appreciate your offer, but no thanks" you refused instantly.

Something about him made him look dangerous and unsettling. Probably his gaze, as he had been giving you that predatory look for a while now. It sent shivers down your spine.

He seemed disappointed by your answer, while Maya and the other girls were suppressing a laugh.

"What is your name, my lady?" He asked.

You hesitated.

"First of all, who are you?" You asked trying to hide your uneasiness by putting on a confident expression.

"Oh, where are my manners. I am Malcom Bloodriver" he introduced himself.

Konoha finally moved her arm away from yours and patted your back affectionately.

"Don't worry, (Y/N). He is our friend's cousin, he won't hurt you... Right, Malcom?" She smiled kindly at him but her tone sounded threatening.

"O-Of course not, Miss. I was just joking" he sweatdropped.

'Not so brave now, huh?'

You let out a soft giggle. Malcom didn't seem pleased by this, and it made you want to laugh more.

"Yeah yeah. Sorry to interrupt you, but we can't afford to lose more time. I'd rather be home by the time it gets dark, tonight's full moon if I remember correctly" Maya commented.

"Full moon? What abo--" you were about to ask about the 'full moon' thing but were cut off by the pinkette.

"Right! We need to talk to Akane and your cousin" Konoha remembered. Hannah mumbled an 'Oh', she must have forgotten too.

"Is that so? I met with Sasha half an hour ago, she was heading to the library" Malcom informed us.

Hannah had a thoughtful expression now. "Hm... I just remembered that Akane told me this morning she was going to train in the woods" she said.

"Train? As in sports?" You asked curiously.

"Sports? Not at all. She is a very good fighter in hand-to-hand combats. Well that's normal since she trains hard every day" Maya stated.

You had no idea who this Akane was but judging by their comments, she sounded like a very strong and interesting girl.

The same applied to Sasha. If she was Malcom's cousin, would she look as dangerous as him? Hopefully not.

•••

A few minutes later, Malcom had already set off. The girls had talked to you about the places you could visit in Vexlord. It was a small village surrounded by nature that wasn't very far from the Capital.

You were surprised by the difference between both places: the Capital Breagan was where the well-off and those with power lived and it was extremely guarded and protected, whereas in Vexlord eighty per cent of the people didn't have much money and they usually dedicated their lives to small local businesses.

Moreover, there wasn't any technology devices there, since they were sold in Breagan at a very high price.

Talking about technology devices...

"My phone!" You shouted out the blue.

The girls stared at you, confused.

"Your what?" Maya lifted a brow.

"Phone? Maybe they sell those in the Capital" Konoha added.

Hannah tilted her head to the side, listening to your words curiously.

You started to sarch for your precious mobile phone, but couldn't find it.

"Of course... What did I expect?" You lowered your gaze to the ground, wanting to laugh at your hopeless situation.

The three females looked even more confused.

"Nevermind, just ignore me" you said, still sulking.

'Great, and now I embarrass myself...'

Fortunately, they eventually shrugged it off.

"Anyways... Now that we know where these two are, where should we head to?" Maya brought up the topic again.

"Straight to the point, I see" Konoha sighed. "I'm kind of tired, why don't we stay a bit longer here and have something to eat?"

"I'd like that" Hannah said, letting a small yawn as sleepy as ever.

Maya sighed. "We don't have time for sitting down and relaxing. I remind you we still need to help the girl who fell from the sky"

"How did I even survive that?" You asked in a low voice, mostly to yourself.

It was hard to face reality and some part of your mind was still convinced that it was all a dream. That you would wake up in your bed and be able to see your family and friends.

But a big part of your mind knew that was very improbable.

"Hey, you there (Y/N)?" Said Konoha's voice.

"Another one spacing out? We've got more than enough with one Hannah" Maya stated teasingly. The blonde nudged her friend's arm with a little smile.

"Sorry, I got lost in thought" You apologised, scratching the back of your neck sheepishly.

"You don't need to feel sorry. There must be lots of things going on in your mind right now..." Konoha gave you a faint smile.

You looked down at the floor and nodded.

"B-But you need not worry. I'm sure our friends will be able to help you figure this out" Maya added, looking away from you but speaking in a gentle and reassuring way.

Hannah stood beside you, looking a bit hesistant, but after a few seconds she wrapped her arms around you, giving you a warm hug.

You found this very cute, and even though you had just met this girl, you returned the hug

You smiled at their attempts to cheer you up, suddenly feeling all confident.

"Thank you, girls. You're right, I need to focus" you said, giving them a determined look.

"Good. Now that we're ready, where should we head to?" Maya asked. "Honestly, I prefer going to the woods"

"Seeing that we cannot stay here any longer... I would rather we go to the library and look for Sasha" Konoha suggested.

The two girls furrowed their brows and directed their gazes at the blonde, who simply shrugged.

"I don't really care" she said.

Then, the three girls looked at you at the same time, giving you expectant looks.

"Wha... M-Me?" You sluttered, feeling very pressured.

"Yes" they spoke in unison. "Where do we go now?"

•°•°•°•°•°•°

A) Go to the forest / Look for Akane.

B) Go to the library / Look for Sasha.

•••
•

•
•

Yayy, the first decision!
Welp, that was a long chapter (1866
words)

The girls' true nature will be revealed soon ;).

And I'm not sure if I should add 'POVs' of the other characters (including (Y/N)'s of course).

Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and sorry for the slow updates, I'm quite busy these days~

>>SupremeTaeko