Reina Kamihara — Perspective
The forest became quieter after we split up.
Too quiet.
That usually means one of two things.
Either there are no threats nearby…
Or something dangerous already scared everything else away.
I walked carefully through the trees while using Appraisal repeatedly.
The skill consumed surprisingly little energy, which made information gathering much easier than I expected.
[Forest Plant]
– Non-poisonous
– Minor medicinal properties
[Small Beast]
– Threat Level: Minimal
[Unknown Footprints]
– Humanoid
– Estimated: Goblin Species
Useful.
Very useful.
This ability might become one of the most important survival tools we have.
Still…
My thoughts kept returning to Kaito.
His system behavior was abnormal.
Even Appraisal couldn’t fully analyze him.
That should not happen.
A system skill shouldn’t fail unless there’s interference from something higher-level.
Which means one thing.
Kaito is directly connected to the core of this world somehow.
And that’s dangerous.
Then suddenly—
A scream echoed through the forest.
I stopped immediately.
“…Kaito.”
The direction matched where he had gone.
Without hesitation, I started moving toward the sound.
By the time I arrived, Yuna was already there.
And the situation was… This story is hosted at g.com.
Unexpected.
A dead goblin lay on the ground.
Kaito stood nearby.
And beside him was an unfamiliar girl with silver hair and pointed ears.
An elf.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The elf girl was clinging tightly to Kaito like he was the only safe thing in the world.
Yuna’s expression changed slightly the moment she saw that.
Subtle.
But noticeable.
So she’s aware of him already.
I activated Appraisal immediately.
[Forest Goblin]
– Status: Deceased
– Cause of death: Neck trauma
Then I shifted my focus toward the elf girl.
[???]
Race: Elf
Status: Injured / Recovering
Magic Capacity: High
Threat Level: Unknown
“…Unknown?” I muttered quietly.
That’s unusual.
Then I noticed something else.
The wounds on her body were already healing.
Not naturally.
Magically.
I looked toward Kaito.
“…You already acquired your reward skill.”
He nodded once.
So the system immediately rewarded successful action.
Fast adaptation incentive.
Interesting.
But something else bothered me more.
The timing.
Kaito needed to kill a goblin.
A wounded elf just happened to appear nearby.
And his reward happened to be healing magic.
Too convenient.
This world is arranging situations intentionally.
I’m becoming more certain of that.
The elf girl slowly looked toward us.
Her eyes still carried fear, but when she looked at Kaito…
That fear softened immediately.
Trust.
Already.
That’s fast.
Too fast.
Yuna finally spoke quietly.
“Who is she?”
Kaito shook his head slightly.
“I haven’t asked yet.”
The elf girl tightened her grip on his clothes again.
Like she was afraid he would disappear if she let go.
I crossed my arms slightly.
“…Looks like our group just became more complicated.”
Neither of them denied it.
The wind moved softly through the trees.
But for some reason…
The forest no longer felt empty.
It felt like the beginning of something.
Something larger than survival.
And somehow…
Kaito Arakawa was standing exactly at the center of it again.