I took the handkerchief from his hand and wiped away my remaining tears.
"Thank you… for your handkerchief," I said. My face still felt a little hot. I was about to return it.
"Keep it. Consider it my apology."
Hearing that, I wanted to laugh a little. I'd never seen anyone give a handkerchief as a sign of apology. I looked at Arthur's face, then smiled faintly.
"You really are an interesting person."
Suddenly, I felt a dangerous aura. I saw Emma, still in her black and silver armor, walking slowly toward me. She shot me a sharp look from the slit of her helmet. Seeing that, my body instantly went rigid.
"It's time to talk about serious matters."
I saw a change in Arthur's expression after he said that. For some reason, Emma stopped giving me that dangerous look after Arthur spoke. This made me feel a little relieved.
I also noticed a change in expression on Octavia and Merlin. They now looked serious, even Merlin, who had seemed playful before.
"Mahiru Yuna, what year and month is it? And… do you know anything about Avalon?"
Seeing his serious expression, I didn't dare treat the question as a joke. I answered nervously, my hands clasped together and slightly sweaty. "It's the year 2025 AD, January 29th. As for Avalon… I don't know what you mean."
Arthur was silent for a moment, then asked again, "I mean… any sort of big news or major event you've heard about Avalon?"
I didn't understand what he meant. "All I know about Avalon is that it's the paradise in Arthurian mythology."Why is he asking this? Is it because his name is the same as the protagonist in that mythology, so he's interested?" I looked at Arthur with a strange expression.
"This is the last question. Have you ever seen anyone use magic or supernatural powers?"
"No. I can be sure of that," I answered quickly. "In my sixteen years of life, I have never seen anyone or any news that was proven to be true about someone using supernatural powers… until I met you all today."
Although it was hard to believe, I really couldn't find any other explanation for their powers. A normal human doesn't have the ability to teleport in an instant like Emma did. Besides that, I also saw her cut someone's body in a way I couldn't understand. From that alone, thinking it was the work of technology was already wrong. Even though I don't know much about technological development, I'm sure humanity currently doesn't have the ability to create a device like that.
I looked at Arthur's expression, waiting for his answer.
"I see…."
I heard a small mumble escape his lips. For some reason, he looked worried and anxious, different from his previous calm expression. But soon after, his expression returned to normal, and he smiled at me.
"I see. Thank you for the information, Mahiru Yuna. So what are your plans after this?"
Hearing that, I was a little stunned. I looked at the dark sky, then hurriedly took my phone out of my bag.
"8:00 PM?!" I shouted in shock at the time on my phone. "I have to get home right away! My parents must be so worried right now!" I looked at Arthur with a worried expression.
"In that case, let us walk you. You all don't mind, do you?" Arthur looked at Emma and the others.
"If it is Lord Arthur's will, then I have no objection," Emma replied firmly. But for some reason, I felt a dangerous gaze from her as she said it.
"Me neither," Merlin and the others chimed in.
Seeing that, I felt relieved. Although some of them were unfriendly and terrifying, if I went home with them, I wouldn't have to worry about anything unexpected happening on the way.
"Since everyone agrees, then we will see you home safely. And, Merlin, have you done it?"
I turned to Merlin with curiosity. What did he do?
"Lord Arthur need not worry," Merlin replied, pointing to the CCTV camera under the streetlight. "I've had an illusion spell up from the beginning, so that thing won't record us."
"Good work, Merlin. This puts my mind at ease. And as for that corpse, do the same as before," Arthur said with a serious expression.
Is he going to use that magic trick again Thinking about the kidnappers' corpses in the forest that had magically vanished, I couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at what Merlin could do.
"Just leave it to me!" Merlin replied enthusiastically.
I watched Merlin walk toward the corpse, while I, Arthur, Emma, Octavia, and a knight in white armor whose name I didn't know walked out of this parking area.
…
I stood on the side of the road. Occasionally, a car would pass, its lights sweeping across our faces. Fortunately, the lighting here was quite bright despite being on a mountain.
"Sorry for the wait, Lord Arthur." I turned at the sound of the voice and saw Merlin walking toward us.
"It's fine. So, how are we getting there?" Arthur asked me, which stunned me for a moment.
"There's a bus stop near here," I answered, pointing to the east. "From there, we can go to Takaosanguchi Station."
"Yuna, you haven't told us where we are or where we're going." Hearing that voice, I immediately turned to Octavia, who had been silent all this time. I looked at her face, then said, "We're at the foot of Mount Takao, Japan. My house is in the Hachioji district, Tokyo. It's relatively close from here."
"In that case, Lord Arthur, I suggest we just run instead of taking the train."
Hearing Octavia's suggestion to Arthur, I felt a little anxious. "D-don't walk! That'll take half an hour! My parents will be even angrier if I come home late," I said anxiously to Octavia, then gave Arthur a pleading look.
"No. We'll go with Yuna's suggestion. Besides, I want to know more about this place." I saw that Arthur had made a decision, which relieved me. "Alright, let's get going."
Arthur walked ahead, and the rest of us followed from behind.
Who… are you, really? Looking at the back clad in black armor, I couldn't help but wonder.
"Hey! You! Are you Mahiru Yuna?!"
Hearing someone shout, all of us who were walking to the bus stop instantly turned toward the source of the voice. On the side of the road, I saw a red Toyota Yaris pull over with its turn signal on. From the window, I saw a woman with glasses waving her hand at me.
Seeing that, I immediately replied. "Shizuka-sensei!" I exclaimed, waving back with a happy expression.
"So it is you, Yuna! Wait, I'm coming over!" she shouted. I saw Shizuka-sensei immediately make a U-turn to cross the road.
"Who is she?" Hearing Arthur's question, I quickly answered. "That's my homeroom teacher, Shizuka-sensei. She's a good person. She's the only teacher at school who defends me," I answered with an admiring look.
"It seems you're not just a high school girl who was almost raped, huh."
Hey! Isn't that something you shouldn't say to a girl?! I complained in my head, giving him a slightly angry look.
I saw Shizuka-sensei get out immediately after parking her car on the side of the road.
"Yuna! I was so worried about you! When your mom and dad told me you hadn't come home… tell me, what happened? And… who are these people?"
Feeling her warm hug, I was so happy. I hugged her back, then let go. I couldn't hold back the tears that flowed as I looked at her face.
"What is it, Yuna? Tell me what happened." Feeling the gentle touch on my face and seeing her worried expression, I tried not to cry, but my tears wouldn't stop.
I began to tell her what happened. "After Tachibana and the others hid my bag, I thought it would be just like any other day… but I never expected that a white van would open its doors, and the people inside would come out and smother me on the street I always take. I was so scared then. I even thought my life was over, Sensei!" I shouted, tears flooding my eyes.
Suddenly, I felt a warm hug again—a hug I usually only got from my parents. "It's okay. Sensei is here now. You must have been so scared."
Hearing that, I felt an immense sense of relief, more relief than when I was saved by Arthur and the others in the forest.
"So… are they the culprits?" I felt a change in Sensei's tone. I quickly pulled away from her hug and explained.
"No! They're the ones who saved me! Without them, I probably wouldn't be here right now!" I shouted at Shizuka-sensei, spreading my arms as if to protect Arthur and the others.
"If Yuna says so, I believe you. Besides, no one would lie about something like this, right? Haha." Shizuka-sensei laughed softly. Her face looked very awkward right now. But I was a little relieved that she accepted my explanation.
"I apologize for the accusation." I saw Sensei walk toward Arthur and the others, then bow her head. From her expression, I could tell she was genuinely sorry.
"It's all right. It's a normal reaction. Please, raise your head," Arthur replied with a friendly smile.
"Thank you for saving Mahiru Yuna. Again, thank you." I saw Shizuka-sensei continue to repeat those words and bow to Arthur.
Seeing her, I felt that my life wasn't such garbage after all.There's someone who is willing to be thankful that I'm safe. There's someone who cares about me! How could that be called garbage? If I say my life is garbage, isn't that the same as telling Shizuka-sensei, Mom, and Dad that they're putting their trust in garbage?
And also… it turns out I want to live. All this time, I thought I wanted to die, but when death came for me, I didn't want to die!
I also walked toward Shizuka-sensei and bowed my head as well. I shouted with immense gratitude, "Again, thank you for saving me, Lord Arthur and everyone! Without you, I would have certainly died! And I also apologize for my rude words during our journey!"
I thought Arthur wouldn't accept my apology and thanks, but he said, "It's all right. Besides, I couldn't possibly let a good girl like you be ruined by those scumbags. Raise your head, Yuna. You need to value yourself more. You are important. The world needs more good people like you."
I felt a warm touch on my shoulder. I looked at Arthur's face. Even though he doesn't look any older than me, he looks like he's experienced something significant in his life to be able to say such incredible words.
"In that case, since your teacher is here, we'll see you off here."
"Wait! At least, please keep this number." I quickly took out a notebook, wrote down my personal number, then tore out the paper and gave it to Arthur.
"I'll keep it." Seeing his smile, for some reason, I felt my heart beat faster.
"Well then, we'll be on our way." Shizuka-sensei bowed her head, then walked toward her car.
Before I got in the car, I waved to them. "I hope we can meet again!" I shouted.
The car started to move. I pulled my hand back from the window.
"They're good people…."
"Yeah," I replied to Sensei. "They're good people."