Chapter six: threshold of fear
The outside air was mild, and the smell of rain lingered, as if it had rained sometime before Daitan woke up. The sky was cloudy and a cool breeze was blowing. Fuyuki was quietly walking behind Daitan, still in shock. Daitan glanced at Fuyuki and was met with his expression:
"With those gray eyes of yours, don't look at me like that! Something just slipped out of my mouth because I got nervous, I didn't mean anything by it!"
Fuyuki moved in front of Daitan and, with that illusion-like face of his, stared at him:
"What did you mean by saying she's not a girl? And you haven't even told me the reason for your nightmares!"
Daitan walked past him and whispered in his ear:
"It's nothing important. Don't think too much about it."
They were close to a narrow alley they always passed through. Daitan walked in with calm steps, but Fuyuki suddenly froze behind him. Daitan looked at him and asked:
"What's wrong?"
Fuyuki pointed behind Daitan with a trembling voice:
"T–That thing… w-what is that?!"
Daitan turned around and saw nothing. He wanted to tell him to stop fooling around, but then he heard a horrible creaking noise from above—
as if two things were grinding against each other.
Daitan slowly lifted his head, his eyes widened, and sweat ran cold down his back.
A tall creature with long, bent arms and legs was hanging there. Even without a face, it felt like it was staring straight into Daitan's eyes. With every movement, it made that awful creaking sound. Its face was so close he could almost feel its breath.
The alley was completely silent—only the creature's creak and Daitan's rapid breathing filled the air.
Fuyuki was about to do something when a woman's voice suddenly broke the silence:
"Huh… I haven't seen you in my tent for a while. Didn't expect to run into you here, boy! Why are you so surprised? Did you see a spirit?"
Daitan looked at Selna, but the creature was already gone. Selna stared at Daitan with a confused expression.
Daitan took a deep breath and stood up straight:
"Ah… no, nothing. I was on my way to school."
Fuyuki appeared from behind Daitan with a worried tone:
"Hey, that thing didn't hurt you, right?! I don't like this woman, but this time she saved us…"
Daitan jumped in surprise and backed away a little:
"You idiot! How many times should I tell you not to appear behind me like that?! You scared the life out of me!"
He turned to Selna with an uneasy look:
"Can you not talk to your spirit in front of me? Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl!"
Fuyuki frowned and stepped closer:
"I changed my mind… I want to kill this woman."
Daitan quickly stepped in front of him and shook his head.
Then he turned to Selna and asked:
"Selna-san… don't you have something better than the rosaria to protect me from spirits?"
Selna put her hand under her chin, thought for a moment, then said:
"Hmmm… well, we have things like the Seal of Ainara or the Midnight Chime or stuff like that, but weren't you going to school? Come to my tent later!"
Daitan nodded, waved at her, and continued on his way.