Prologue Ep-7

 --I screwed up.

It was only a tumble down from a slightly elevated rocky area, something that, if I had been an adult, would have ended with nothing more than a few scratches. But that was enough.

A child’s skin is soft.

Soft, and fragile.

I had shielded Hime-chan and ended up pinned beneath the rocky terrain. The upper part of my left arm had been cleanly torn open by the rock I struck during the fall.

The area around the joint hurt terribly as well. It might be fractured, or at least cracked. Mom’s lifespan is definitely getting shorter again. Along with the dull, throbbing pain, the face of my beloved mother in this world floated into my mind, and my vision blurred.

I rubbed my eyes roughly, forcing myself to wipe it away. My arm hurt. This was not the time for me to be crying. The one small consolation was that Hime-chan had not suffered any serious injuries.

I spoke to Hime-chan, who looked completely crestfallen and was already on the verge of tears. It was better that she had not broken down into full sobs.

With a feeling of “good girl, good girl,” I gently stroked Hime-chan’s head.

A sharp pain shot through my arm, and I could not help but grimace. We needed to call it a day.

“Hime-chan, it’s a bit of a detour, but we can get back to the path from over there, so let’s walk.”

“…S-sniff, M-Matsuri-cha, sorry. It’s my fault. I’m sorry.”

Still crying, Hime-chan stood up.

She understood the situation. She probably realized herself that simply crying would not solve anything. She fixed her gaze in the direction I pointed.

I extended my right hand, which could still move freely, and grasped Hime-chan’s hand. The two of us began walking together. It was not Hime-chan’s fault.

Absolutely not Hime-chan’s fault.

This happened because of me.

I thought I was acting like an adult, but in reality, I was just a six-year-old child as well.

The one who got carried away and put Hime-chan in danger was me.

Me.

Because of me.

If only I had been more.

Me.

Me.

More, much more.

If only I had been someone strong enough to protect Hime-chan--.

--I will absolutely protect Hime-chan.

And I will see her safely enroll in the academy and witness her happy ending with a capture target. That is the role given to me in this world as her childhood friend. As if startled by my words, Hime-chan’s eyes widened.

“--There they are!”

“Maki! Matsuri-chan!”

“Matsuri!?”

It was a distance that would have taken an adult only a few minutes to cover, but for six-year-old children, it felt endlessly long. As we finally reached the hiking trail, our parents came running toward us from ahead.

We had come here after returning from preschool. The sun was already beginning to set.

The worried parents must have used the conversation between Hime-chan and her mother as a clue to find this place.

They probably never imagined that their daughters would be in such a location. In any case, we were saved. Good. I was able to protect Hime-chan.

Perhaps from relief, my knees suddenly gave way as all strength drained from them, and with a dull thud, I collapsed. And once again, I lost consciousness.