"Hey, quick, looks like some fruit we've never seen before!"

Jas was suddenly drawn to a fruit that looked very much like cherries under a large tree not far ahead, and she excitedly exclaimed.

"Come over here and take a look, this is... oh, it's purple!"

"Yeah!"

Several branches with purple fruits seemed to bend down heavily, much larger than the greenhouse fruits in the fruit shop.

Jas licked her lips and then turned to ask me.

"Hey, hey, can we eat them?!"

"I'm sorry, we can't just pick them, kids really don't miss anything," I had to respond to her question based on the agreement we had.

But Kyle didn't think so, and he immediately stepped forward to defend himself.

"It's not like that at all, obviously Jas is the greedy one, after all, if you get fat, no one will want you!"

"What did you say, I... "

These two kids were at odds right away, and it made it difficult for me to intervene.

"I understand that you are attracted to the color and beauty of the fruits here."

"I told you, that's not true!!!" Kyle shouted as he swallowed his saliva.

Just as Jas was about to get angry, I suddenly interjected.

"Isn't this thing similar to the one with that color? It's said to be edible..."

With my reminder, Kyle suddenly remembered.

"Come to think of it, I saw fruits of this color near here last year, which means this place is slightly off the tourist route... "

Boom! Suddenly, the ground shook violently, and we subconsciously looked ahead, it seemed like the path into the forest was blocked by dirt or something, and we couldn't go back the way we came.

"Big brother, Kyle! Shouldn't we hurry back?" Jas cried with a trembling voice.

For Jas, who was the slowest among us, there was no time to hesitate, she just ran blindly, trying to escape from this terrifying forest as soon as possible.

After running a long way, not knowing which way to go to escape this eerie forest.

Suddenly, a heavy rain poured down, and seeing a wide area ahead, I quickly dove into the shadow of a rock. My heart was beating violently, as if it would jump out of my mouth.

"Great! Luckily there is a shelter here, otherwise we would have caught a cold on the way back for sure."

I took off my coat, and then carefully dried Kyle and Jas's hair with it, as children are especially prone to catching colds, so I was very careful when wiping them dry.

Kyle rested a bit in the shadow of the rock, then sat down with relief.

By now, my legs were too weak, and it was impossible for the children to continue running.

In the end, we had to squat there to catch our breath for a while, and looking back now, I still feel a shiver down my spine.

The roads were slippery like the forest path, so I did my best to stabilize the two children, but the urgent thing now was to ask for help from Aunt Yukari... It was really lucky that we could all escape together.

With my current abilities, I could only run out alone, but with two kids... I just felt so helpless.

"Hey, where are we? "

We were originally headed towards the lake and the route we had taken before, until just now, all three of us, including myself, were thinking that even if we took the wrong path, as long as we turned back, it would be fine.

But, now...

"Why do I feel like the situation here is a bit different from before?"

I also want to use competence as an exception, but no matter how I use it, it will be monopolized by a strong force within this forest.

This is getting a bit tricky, it's so obvious that something is deliberately keeping us here, could it be—an Evil Entity?!

"Kai, big brother..."

"Yeah, what's up, Yasu?"

I tried to communicate with her as gently as possible, trying my best not to let her know the fact that I am lost too.

...

The dense and somewhat gloomy forest has gradually fallen behind us, with exposed rocks standing like walls on both sides of the path.

Yukari also noticed that the grass under her feet suddenly became sparse, giving off a desolate feeling everywhere.

"No wonder it's a wasteland... Ah!"

At this moment, when she turned back to talk to me, she realized that I was long gone, how could something be so infuriating?

Although a little angry, Yukari is more worried at this moment.

She quickly took out her communication device and tried to contact me in every way, but surprisingly, there was no signal!

"Hey... please pick up!"

Beep... beep... beep...

...

"Where did we come in from earlier?"

Maybe because I dashed into the shadow of the rocks in a frenzy, I don't even know from which direction I ran.

Whether left or right, all I see are extremely similar rocks and cliffs.

"Did we miss some forks in the road halfway? Maybe... should we go back first?"

Yasu said it so easily, as if I didn't know, as if we could even go back!

Right now, not to mention going back, the pouring rain has blocked all the paths around, and further away, it's completely hazy.

"Yasu, I think it's this way!"

"No, no! I remember very clearly it's this way..."

Kai and Yasu argued with each other, pointing out two completely opposite directions.

And I feel that both of these paths are correct, and at the same time feel that they are wrong, that is to say—we are completely lost.

"How about we go Kai's way first?"

Yasu finally compromised, after all, when she said that, she wasn't completely confident, the transparent dew drops on her forehead were no longer distinguishable whether they were sweat or raindrops.

"It's good to make a decision, but... we can't wander around when we're lost!"

I refused the agreement of the two, at this moment, I am the first person responsible, it was already unfortunate when I agreed to let them run here on their own, now I feel incredibly guilty, even if I can safely return, I will be severely punished, right?

"If in other places, it might be true, but what if a terrible monster appears? There's no way to escape in this place."

Kai still insisted on his choice, really, is this guy really just a child?

Unlike before, there are many unexplained supernatural phenomena on this road, if attacked by a fast Evil Entity, I alone cannot even support two children for a while.

"But, as long as we reach an open area, we can see the lake, right? In that case, we will find our way back."

"Yeah, take a slightly longer route, as long as we can see the lake, we will find a way back."

Seeing Yasi agree with Kyle's opinion, I was even more furious.

"Hey, why do I feel like I'm being manipulated by two little brats?"

"Oh, wait a moment."

Kyle picked up a sharp stone and drew a cross on the nearby rock.

"We'll go right first, if we're wrong we'll come back here, and then go left."

"Great idea, Kyle, you're so smart!"

"Yeah, a genius elementary school student, you've endured intelligence that someone your age shouldn't have..."

Yasi looked at Kyle with an admiring expression, while my words were full of sarcasm.

"This is what my dad taught me before he left, when lost in a strange place, you must ensure you can maximize the probability of escape."

"Well, your dad is smart too." I shrugged helplessly.

"Of course, he's a great scientist, nothing can stump him!"

Rather than praise for Kyle himself, praise for his father made Kyle happier. It seemed he was the son of a workaholic father, but it was rare to see a child who could empathize with his father like him.

"Anyway, big brother can't wait any longer, I think we're almost at the starting point."

Kyle and Yasi nodded to each other, getting ready to set off when the rain eased up.

Although I disagreed, with their decision, I had no room to argue and staying here definitely wasn't the best choice.

And so, after what felt like an eternity, we finally emerged from the forest, just in time for the group assembly to start gathering in half a minute, sneaking by...or did we?

"Hmph, tell me honestly, where did you guys just run off to?!"

Yukari was in front of me, cracking her knuckles ready to pummel me into oblivion.

"Wow, the demoness is furious!!!"

"Hey!"

Kyle and Yasi took the opportunity to scatter and escape, while I tried to blend in and flee, only to have a slender hand grab my neck from behind, speaking angrily.

"Tsubaki~ Kiku~ Yoru!"

"Hehe... Hi, Yukari, are you not angry?"

"What do you think?!"

Her worried look, almost as if she wanted to swallow me whole, was hard to believe she wasn't upset, she must have been infuriated.

"Come on, give me a good reason, otherwise, I won't let you off so easily."

"...Alright."

So I detailed the whole situation to Yukari, even after getting on the military bus, we continued talking inside without stopping. In the end, as mentioned before, the events after arriving at our destination unfolded much like before.

...

"What's the deal with that eerie hand just now?"

Though I said it out loud, I had already sensed that aura, it felt extremely similar to the Evil Entity.

"Is it the downpour?"

The surrounding space had long been barricaded by chaos, time seemed to have completely stopped in this area, although the other person, like me, also had the ability to control time without affecting the spatial levels, of course.

Fog and rain alternated in the mountains, it always felt like there were some unspeakable secrets hidden within them, and now everyone was unable to break free from the influence of the chaotic space, or rather...

"We are just being constrained. In this forest lies elves that surpass the Evil Entity, beings who have attained enlightenment but cannot ascend to the heavens. Is the Evil Entity trapped in a state of Buddhahood yet unable to ascend?"