One day, two days, three days passed, I did not meet her again at the same time in the same place.
However, today it seems luck is on my side. The woman I missed seems to be standing waiting for the bus as far as I walk towards her. I've been going home by bus for the past few days, because this is what I expected to happen.
The previous two meetings, I didn't have the readiness to be able to venture to ask her name. But now, I'm ready for it.
I see, the woman does not notice my presence. Even standing behind her, I still do not notice her. So, I touch the woman's shoulder with my index finger hesitantly to get her attention.
Feeling someone touches her shoulder, the woman looked back before flinching slightly to see me standing not far from her.
"Oh hi? Do you need something with me?”
I’m shocked after discovering, the face I see right now is not the face that had been engraved in my mind.
"Ah!? I'm sorry, I'm wrong. You’re not her...” I awkwardly mix with embarrassment shaking my head which is followed by a slight bow before walking back slowly, then I see an empty seat behind.
I immediately sit there with a stiff neck.
Remembering my purpose here, I sigh. Luck isn't on my side. Even out of hope, I got the wrong target and ended up embarrassing myself.
“Well… There's no need to rush. As long as I see her one more time, I won't let go of that opportunity again…” I mutter.
"If you want to tell, who would you like to meet? Then, what occasion do you mean?”
"A woman has captured my heart, and I don't even know who she is..." I sigh in response to a question from someone beside me who I don’t expect to exist, because I do not pay much attention to my surroundings.
Then, the question that was just said from the person beside me is repeated in my memory. That voice, yes the voice I just heard feels familiar. I turn around with some trepidation, wondering if I heard right or if I was actually just hallucinating and I was tense too.
This heart has exploded, beating wildly. My face turns pale after seeing the woman I expected to be here I met is actually beside me.
Meanwhile, I just said something embarrassing.
If there's a hole around here, I'll sink this head to cover the shame that rushes in.
“Ara... So sweet. Who is that lucky lady?” says the woman who is beside me while gently touching one side of her own face without knowing that what I meant in what I said earlier is her.
She is the woman who has captured this heart.
In a situation like this, the courage that I had purposely gathered back just fell apart.
My body feels weak now.
This woman is really good at pissing me off, even though I know she doesn't do it on purpose.
"L-lucky, huh..." I say, laughing awkwardly.
In the end, even this time I again waste the opportunity to just know her name. The woman left leaving mixed feelings in my heart which is only able to watch her go without being able to say.
In my heart, I curse myself for being so hard.
At that moment, an idea pop up. An idea, which I would most likely change my life if I do it. Namely, chasing her. Yes, chasing her without using a vehicle. I will catch up with her by running fast using this new body condition.
But even though I thought of the idea, my legs wouldn't move to start the pursuit.
“How can someone be as cowardly as me? Maybe I'm the worst person in the world. Just facing with love problems, I’m made helpless…”
Smiling slightly as I watch the woman leave, I sighed before walking towards the bus that has just arrived. It wis the bus as usual, the bus that would take me to my destination prefecture.
'Apparently, I need to consult an expert...'
...
After the last meeting, the fourth meeting took place again. Then, in a row the fifth and sixth meetings occurred after several days of not meeting.
Seventh encounter, so far I've counted how many times I've seen her in total. This time, I really mean to be brave. No, not daring but I have to ask her name no matter what.
I don't think there's any reason for me to back out. Because I know, once I go back I will keep going back without knowing how to go forward.
I hold out my hand, asking her to shake hands after so long.
The woman feels my hands shaking so much, she is surprised. But when her gaze turns to me, she sees a look of determination in her eyes. She doesn't know what my determination meant. What is clear is something big that makes me have to muster up so much determination that it made her smile a little.
"Spirit! I don't know what you're dealing with, but I will support you with this handshake..." says the woman.
"Ah!? About that, I-I-…”
My tongue feels so numb. How hard it is for me to say that I want to get acquainted with her. In fact, the door of opportunity has opened so wide in front of me. Just one more step, I will be able to seize the opportunity.
However, I immediately realized one thing. I’m shaking her hand too long, so because of this it makes the woman look at me with fear.
"I-I'm sorry-..."
As soon as I let go, the woman run away from me. I look around, the bus hasn't come yet. But, why did the woman leave?
I see, the woman stops across the street.
“She… avoided me? Yes, that's for sure...” I sigh, realizing that I have just made a very fatal mistake. Namely, I have left a bad impression when I was one step away from seizing the opportunity that I had always squandered.
I see, on the other side the woman is still looking at me with fear. The smile I have always seen disappeared from her. The pain of this heart, like a blunt object is slicing it slowly.
I wonder, actually why I feel so strange around her?
As long as I socialized with other people, an incident like this had never happened before. It doesn't matter who, even interacting with women doesn't make me lose myself.
I know, all this because I have fallen in love with her. But, will it really be so terrible this feeling called love?
Come to think of it, how could I suddenly fall in love with someone I don't even know then and don't even know the name of? In fact, many women I have met and even know each other. But, none of them managed to break my heart.
I do look ordinary, but there are some women who show interest in me. There are also those who bravely confess their feelings to me, which of course I refuse.
“Is it like that? Maybe, this is what is called karma..." I mutter remembering an incident, I humiliated a woman.
Now I realize, what the woman who loved me felt at that time is the same as what I am feeling now. I feel guilty, haven't I done something cruel?
Take a deep breath, let it out slowly. I have made up my mind to approach her. I immediately approach her after I looked left and right there were no vehicles that would pass.
Facing the woman after I got there, without saying anything I immediately bow down while exclaiming "I'm sorry, Miss..."
I’m ready to accept whatever the outcome is whether the woman would further distance herself from me or, better yet, forgive me. What is clear, I just want to correct a fatal mistake what I did a moment ago.
“Hmph! Alright, I’ll forgive you…” She smiles at me that from her simple smile saying that she is actually not angry, just frustrated waiting me taking action.
What I found after getting sorry is that woman, her name is Yukari Miho after I got to know her, apparently she is also waiting for me to take the initiative to introduce myself. So after that, she just needed to introduce herself back. It's just that at that time I was struggling with tension and complicating myself.
It's a relief after all this happened.
Now, being near her doesn't make me lose myself anymore. Maybe even, I feel much better than usual times.
Finally, the second mission appeared after a long wait. [Stealth] Using the skill I just activated, I was able to blend in with other people without anyone noticing my presence. So, I found out that the appearance of this second mission wasn't from the hidden Holy Altar or let's say it like that. In fact, the Holy Altar that was previously only I knew about started being visited by people a while ago. I knew, this second mission is quite challenging after I knew the objective of the mission. This monster that I just took down is a monster that has just appeared with a new level. It is one of the signs of the start of the second mission, which is to stay alive for the allotted time or defeat as many monsters as possible. The time for the completion of the second mission has been confirmed, a month from now. This is a sign that the second mission will be completed simultaneously, not individually. For those who are able to defeat the monsters will be rewarded with something that
Barking sound from behind really gives tremendous fear to a group of people who are trying to escape from being chased. Behind there, there are so many monsters that look like dogs, but there are a few things that make them different. Moreover, the two pairs of legs, the front and the back, have links formed by skin or something and looked very thin but also very elastic, which allow the monsters to float for some time and still move quickly. With just one jump, the monsters are able to pass through many tree branches in order to catch up with the few people ahead who they are hunting. Time is an important factor in the pursuit. As time passed, the distance between them and the group of people they are chasing is eroding. I don't know what their fate will be. The reason they run away, of course, is because they wouldn't be able to survive against the swarms of monsters that are chasing them. ... The tree branch shook slightly after a foot stepped on it in a very short time and jus
A dazzling light suddenly appeared in front of there, in the midst of the huge crowd of monsters called diver hyenas, it appeared on the screen.The diver hyena that seemed to be lying stiff while perched on a nearby tree trunk really became a very easy target for me. With just one jump, spinning in the air with the Sprinter Ghost Dagger in my hand that were in a position like I was about to slash the Sprinter Ghost Dagger, I let the two daggers just follow the direction of my movement.Sprinter Ghost Dagger's sharp blade followed in which direction my body was turning. As soon as it hit the neck of a nearby diver hyena, the Spinter Ghost Dagger's sharp blade cut through it as if it didn't have any resistance from colliding with something.With each spin, the pair of daggers in my grip cut the neck or tore the body of the diver hyenas where were in my attack area.Finished with the first jump, I jumped again to do the same movement. Facing the monsters that were lying stiff were not a
“You guys make a defense line, I'll take care of the diver hyenas…” I say to the four people who seem hopeless once they heard a barking sound that had made them look like they were dealing with death before, or one person is actually in a mental state, which are still messed up. “Are you sure you can beat them? It's not that I mean to underestimate your ability to overthrow dozens of diver hyenas before…” says Vierr, the person who had previously been lying helplessly on the muddy ground. "There are so many of them. Moreover, among them there is one who leads the flock. That is-...” Katerine adds, she is a tough looking woman in my eyes having previously been able to support such a big but lousy man, but her words are soon cut short. “Exoskeletal armoured hyena, isn’t it?” “Y-you know that, but why do you still want to face them?” Vierr asks with a furrowed brow, looking at me in surprise. I just shrugged my shoulders, before leaving them. If I linger there, maybe a flock of dive
A pair of eyeballs quickly move to the side, while the neck turns, mud that moves like a snake pecks at my back. I who see it immediately jump and land on a tree branch while my hands are still holding Elrene's body in a lap position.Luckily, Elrene told me. Otherwise, I don't know what will happen next.How can a mere mud injure someone like me who has even fought many high leveled monsters? Even though I didn't dodge, the worst situation I got was at most just being shocked and coughing from getting hit on the back and not a fatal wound.After all, how could mud move as if it has a soul controlling it? I think after I saw the mud that just barely hit my back has a snake-like shape, elongated with the main part of its body must be the mud that is on the ground. As for the mud that covers the tree that had trapped Elrene before or something, it is still connected to the mud above the ground.“Can you stand up, Elrene?” I ask while my attention is still on the mud that is starting to
A few days ago, the mud that always covered the ground in the Skeletons Valley suddenly dried up. Not even for the mere presence of mud. As if, from the start there was no mud there.At that time, the momentary happiness of the Hero Candidates became a curse. Where, more and more monsters appeared unstoppable. But with that, animals that had a delicious taste of meat that were usually used as food were re-emerging. That said, it was a strange occurrence that no one knew if it was a blessing or indeed a curse.There were recorded fatalities, though what I witnessed at the time was that they were all shoulder to shoulder against the huge waves of monsters.As for the rumors about the Sprinter Ghost Dagger, which was increasingly being discussed, because of its mysterious action, it was one of the biggest reasons for the reduced number of fatalities.It wasn't an oddity in the face of a wave of monsters where so many would die, let alone be injured. Luckily, there were enough Hero Candid
A girl seemed to be confused with gazes directed in all directions. In a crowd, it's hard to find someone. Moreover, the person she was looking for was someone she knew as someone who could disappear without a trace."Hiro, where the hell are you..." she grumbled with pursed lips.With both hands holding her hips which were slightly wider than her shoulders, her upper body was slightly leaning forward, facing the direction of the voice that had previously come bringing vibrations to the ground, she gazed off into the distance at the edge of the ground that was higher than the ground below her.Her eyes narrowed slightly, hoping that doing it would catch the person she was looking for. However, no matter how hard her eyes searched the ins and outs of the area in front of her, she couldn't see the person she was referring to.“I didn't expect Hiro to go where that terrible voice came from. But, there's no way someone like him who likes fighting strong monsters would be sitting around he
I appear on top of a pile of rock that could move like a living creature with a human-like shape, it is very tall and it is so impressive to see from above to the scenery below.The wind is so cool. Wavy hair like a storm in the ocean. The black cloak flutters as if it is forcing itself to break free and fly freely with the bird to nowhere.No wonder I'm trying to find the end of this Skeletons Valley can't get to what I expected after seeing the green and brown scenery that looks as far as the eye can see.Within seconds I am standing staring into the distance, I see below there is a crowd of people gather as if they are watching football. They seem to regularly form a circle. Whereas what I see from up here, and what I knew, is that there are no guards or barriers for them to help me attack this monster made of large stone, the stone thaloss.“Or, is that what is meant by the conditions for accepting this Hidden Mission?” I mumble with my hand touching my chin.A hand made of large