"What do you mean, Kuro? This place is going to be leveled? By who? And why would they want to do that?" His questions came in rapid fire, but I stayed silent.
"Wait... My words just now—exactly the same as in the roleplay, when I first came to The Large Cave. What should I do? Should I just continue this? Or should I change the plot?" I muttered to myself.
"What's wrong, Kuro?!" Uha's voice broke, and I snapped back to reality.
"Someone... Someone is going to come and destroy everything—" Uha interrupted.
"Who? And why would they do that?"
"I don't know!!! I just... I'm scared, I feel like something bad is going to happen to us." Uha looked at me for a moment, then finally nodded slightly. His hand slowly rose to rub my back as he said,
"Yeah... I understand. You must have been through a lot, but I'll tell you this—you're safe now. There are a lot of people here, so... no one would dare cause trouble."
I remained silent, nodding faintly, though... I knew the plan was coming soon.
***
Someone approached, his face cheerful—until it flattened the moment he saw me. A young man with brown hair, wearing a black fabric shirt. His once-joyful eyes were now veiled by something purple glowing from within them.
"Who is he, Uha?" he asked.
"Ah... Jelly, his name is Kuroinu. He's the one who fainted near our garden. Hasn't Foxy told you about him?"
Jelly was silent for a moment, but his eyes kept scanning me from head to toe.
"Ah... So he's the one Foxy mentioned," he said as he extended a hand toward me, offering a handshake.
"My name's Jelly. You're Kuroinu, right? Nice to meet you—hope we can get along."
It should've sounded friendly, but all I saw was a flat, stern face.
"Damn... I don't remember the roleplay feeling this intense," I muttered internally.
"Maybe... It feels heavier because I'm seeing their expressions directly."
"You don't want to shake my hand? Oh, that's fine..."
Before he could lower his hand, I reached out and shook it.
"Ah... Sorry, I'm Kuroinu. Nice to meet you."
He nodded once our hands parted, then turned to Uha.
"Foxy and the others are waiting for you."
We stepped inside, descending every carefully designed stair.
"Ah... Foxy's architectural work is always amazing, never fails," I thought to myself.
As we went deeper, a room started to come into view—round in shape, with solid-looking pillars and walls.
At its center... A perfectly crafted round table stood, firm and imposing. And there... Several people sat, gathered together.
A lively place, with drinks and food prepared—and of course, those who served them too.
Someone approached—a human with white hair and bright pale blue eyes. Behind him, a white tail swayed, like that of a cat.
"Whoa... Who's this, Uha?" he asked with a cheerful tone he didn't bother to hold back.
Uha glanced at me briefly, giving me a signal—and with that... I stepped forward.
"My name is... Kuroinu, nice to meet you," I said stiffly.
He chuckled softly, then took my hand and shook it.
"My name's Fahawaz, nice to meet you too."
Uha gave a thin smile, looking quite pleased.
"Everyone, let's order some drinks," Uha invited.
Fahawaz cheered with joy, and then—leaving behind a sense of awkwardness—we began to move.
Something scratched at my senses. My body trembled violently. Someone... with a strange presence.
His eyes—dark, sharp, and filled with something unfathomable.
And when our eyes met, he gave a slight smile.
"This is bad... Is it about to begin?"