NOVEL FROG Ch 51. Flag
Today is a free day. As such, I was resting with my back leaned in a tree in the fields of the Demon Lord’s castle, next to the training grounds. At my side, there was a face I used to think I’ll never be able to see again.
“So this is what you usually do in your free time?”
“Is something bad about this? They give quite a spectacle, you know?”
I answered her while pointing at the training grounds.
Two girls were fighting each other. The sound of Fynx’s steel sharp claws clashing with the bare fists of Kirwha reached even to where we were. But there was something weird, they were running through the field, but they were rising no dust, and their heavy footsteps were making no sound at all.
Kirwha threw a dagger to the sky in Fynx’s direction and then rushed and jumped towards her, ready to land a clean punch right on her face. In the last possible second, Fynx stepped aside and thrusted her claws towards Kirwha's defenceless torso.
Right when Kirwha was about to be impaled by Fynx’s claws, the dagger she had previously launched, fell right by her side, intercepting the deadly strike.
Kirwha was still launched through the air. But she quickly stood up and charged again at her opponent.
“I must say that they are really interesting. That girl had improved quite a lot!”
“Right? I believe she's the strongest human of this country.”
“And where will you be in that kind of ranking?”
“D-Does that really matter?!”
“Hahaha~”
We laughed that topic away and kept on looking at Kirwha’s and Fynx’s training.
“Looking at them is quite funny, but maybe we could go out and eat something from time to time. What do you think?”
“You just wanna eat some delicious stuff, right?”
“Am I really that obvious?!”
Phlum asked with a puzzled expression. I don't know if she is faking her reaction or if she is trully impressed by the fact of her being obvious, but her shining eyes, big smile and drool dripping from her mouth, made her intentions clear when she proposed that plan.
“Just a little...”
“Oh, come on! Hahaha~”
We kept on talking like that while looking at the girls’ training. I don't know exactly how much time passed until I heard a noise in the bushes nearby, it was a rabbit. I've never seen one from this world before, and I must say, that it was really disappointing.
It was just a normal rabbit, no horn, no wings instead of ears, not the size of a dog nor the size of a rat. Just a normal, white and big rabbit.
The rabbit and I looked into each other's eyes, and then suddenly, just like he appeared, he ran into the forest. Of course, as you might be expecting, I did the same that everyone would have done in that kind of situation: I followed the rabbit into the forest.
“A-Are you going somewhere?”
The drowsy Phlum asked me as I stood up, while covering her yawn with her draconic hand
“I just saw something going through the bushes.”
“A spy or something?”
“No, just a big rabbit. I was about to follow it.”
“Let’s go then, maybe we can cook it! Haha~”
“Oh, come on…”
We entered the forest looking for the rabbit. Just when I was thinking that maybe he got away while we were talking, I saw it. It was sitting and with its eyes fixed on us, it looked like the rabbit was waiting for us.
“Look, there it is! Let's cook it! Haha~”
As if the rabbit had understood those threatening words, it started running away. But it stopped, not for us to reach it, but for something more. The rabbit looked at us.
“Is the rabbit leading us somewhere…?”
“It seems so. What do we do?”
Do you know what a Flag is? There's time in stories when there's a given choice, a choice that's going to be critical in the development of the story. A choice that could lead to a totally unexpected ending to the story. This, dear Reader, this was a Flag. Of course, neither Phlum nor myself knew it at that time.