Standing at the edge of a cliff, we bore witness to some incredible trees. The Forest of Illusion is a place that never stops surprising. I expected that we’d see nothing but normal trees until we reached the Pillar, but now we’ve found trees so big that their branches make up the path forward.

  There was no obvious way to get onto the branches, but Flanne assured us we’d find a branch that extended our way if we walked along the edge.

  And she was right. That’s our guide for you. “Watch your step. If you fall now, I don’t think there’s anything we can do for you.”

  The drop from the cliff was so high that the bottom wasn’t even visible. The wide trunks of these giant trees sprouted straight from the mist below as if that’s where they had been planted.

  One by one, we hopped across a small gap onto a branch. “Need a hand, Hecate? Your dress might get caught.”

  “Ah… You’re right. Thank you.”

  Once we made it through the gap, we were on solid ground, and it’d be hard to fall as an accident. “Couldn’t tell before, but these are big! You could almost ride a carriage in here.” Sarasa tapped her foot on the wood.

  “They’re wide and flat enough for that, but what about the weight? What if the branch snapped?” For no reason other than to entertain her, Carol snapped back.

  “I think it’d be fine.” Galene joined. “They’re really sturdy… Didn’t even react when we stepped on.”

  “That’s because these trees are full of life. Probably from the mist, like we were talking about. A great sorceress like me wouldn’t miss something like that!” Right… Leave it to the healer to be capable of sensing life.

  “Well… Now you understand what I meant when I said the forest changes a lot. We’ll come across fewer monsters now, and if we’re lucky, we may reach the Pillar without getting attacked again.”

  “Wouldn’t that be nice…”

  The further we went, the more the network of paths through these trees seemed unnatural. The platforms we walked on started getting wider and even flatter. Just what’s going on here? It’s like the floor of a house. The finishing is better than at my place. I’m getting jealous!

  At this point, I wouldn’t even be surprised if someone was living here and taking care of these branches. “H- he- hey, can you see that? Is that a monster?” Okay, maybe I did get a bit surprised.

  “Ehh? Action?! Finally! I was getting bored!” Sarasa immediately drew her daggers. “Yeah, I see it too!”

  The figure wasn’t in our path. It wasn’t even that close to us. It’s not a human, is it? It seemed to be staring at us, standing on two legs and with two arms dangling on both sides. To get there, we’d have to go through multiple trees and take a bit of a detour. Good visibility from the branches was the only reason we were able to spot it. The mist is less dense up here, and the dense foliage that blocks out any sunlight is far above us.

  The same went for the creature. It’s staring at us, isn’t it? What’s it going to do now that it noticed us? Maybe it really is a good idea to jump into action and kill it preemptively…

  “Is it… turning around?” It was… Just as Ririna said. “That’s weird… It ignored us.”

  “Now that we’re this deep, even the monsters we come across will be different than the monsters you’re used to. That right there was probably a fairy. A name given to monsters that have completely adapted to life in the Forest of Illusion.” They must come in all shapes and sizes because that thing didn’t look anything like the tiny flying things I’m used to.

  “How are they different?” I asked Flanne to elaborate. I need to know what’s coming for us.

  “From our perspective, they come across as weird. Monsters attack people on sight. That’s their priority. But fairies may have other things higher on the list. It’s much harder to know what their deal is.”

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  Other priorities? Any priority other than attacking should make them less aggressive, right? That’s a good thing at least.

  “I see… You know a lot about the Forest of Illusion, don’t you?”

  Flanne’s face suddenly got flustered. “Eh? Well… These are just things said in folk tales, you know? I happened to read a bit about them before by chance.”

  Where’s her usual peaceful air? She looks like she just got caught doing something bad… I smell something interesting here…

  “Wow! That’s amazing! You know so much!” Putting on a cutesy voice for a girl that wasn’t one of my girlfriends earned me a glare from my actual girlfriends. Sorry, but this is important. “Is that how you learned how to navigate the forest? But wait… Didn’t you say that was something you couldn’t teach me? How did you learn it then?”

  “That’s, uhh… You could say it’s like a secret technique… Passed down the family line.” How cute… She’s making excuses. “But forget about that. You want to get to the Pillar quickly, don’t you? Let’s not waste time.”

  Now I’m curious about you too. She even said it’s ‘like’ a family secret technique, not that it is. Well? What is it then? I’m keeping my eye on you…

  Or so I would have liked, but as soon as Flanne put some distance between us, my lovely girlfriends were there to grill me for cheating on them. I had to spend the next stretch appeasing them in whispers.

  “Oh no! What’s that?! Are those aliens?” With an overly dramatic voice, I managed to distract them. “Girls, watch out!”

  “Aliens? You think that’s gonna work? Why would there be…” Carol looked at where my finger was pointing and stopped. “It’s that monster from earlier. There’s more of them now.”

  “Closer too.” Sarasa lowered her stance.

  We could now get a good look at their features, and they actually looked like aliens. Their bodies were shaped almost like the fishmen we fought at the harbor, but instead of scales, their skin was slimy. Bloated bodies and soulless eyes, they stood around some branches looking at us, turning away after staring for a few seconds.

  “So creepy… I can’t look!” Ririna hid behind my shoulder.

  “At least they’re not attacking, right?” I said it to comfort Ririna. It’d be nice to have some confirmation, though. “Or are they just waiting for a good opportunity?!”

  “Uhmm… I don’t think so…” Even Flanne seemed confused. “Maybe if we attack them first, but otherwise, we should be safe.”

  “But they’re in our path like this. Do we need to find a way around? I can’t imagine they’d let us intrude onto their territory with no questions asked.” Galene couldn’t make the decision without Flanne.

  “We find another way, right? It’s too big of a risk to take…”

  “Come on, Iroha… What are you scared of? They don’t even look that strong. If they want to attack us, let ‘em.” Get your shit together. She said by poking me with her elbow.

  “There’s no point in trying to find another way. If they were going to attack, they would have already charged at us. We’ll be fine.”

  “Ok, I see… Fine. But let’s keep your guards up.” The majority wants to take some risks… What other choice do I have?

  Flanne was once up front, leading the way, while I was the last in line. The monsters would stare as we passed by, then turn around and ignore us. It’s actually so creepy… Ririna couldn’t have been more on point…

  These are monsters, right? It almost looks like they’re building some kind of civilization up here. They stand around in small group, near gaps in the trees that almost look like shelter. Did they make them? Not like I care to find out.

  We were able to make it through the strange mollusk creatures without disturbing them and arrived near a tree even bigger than the others. There was a hole into the trunk that Flanne quietly led us into. Where does it lead? Is there a path on the other side? It’s too dark to see.

  “Is this the right way?”

  “It has to be. The Pillar’s energy gets stronger this way…” Flanne slowly entered the dark tunnel. What’s with the sudden uncertainty?

  Within seconds, we were surrounded by darkness. We just have to trust… This path will take us to our destination. We’ll reach the light at the end of the tunnel and reach the Pillar… No doubt about that…

  “What the…?! I didn’t bring my swimsuit!” And light we reached. The light was none other than the radiant sun shining down on a beach. A small pocket of sand with tall cliffs surrounding it and a small cave right behind us.

  Everyone ignored Sarasa’s reaction in favor of one more appropriate. “What’s going on here, Flanne? What happened to the forest?”

  “Sorry… Even I’m not sure at this point… I knew the forest could get weird, but I wasn’t expecting an ocean… Maybe we got teleported away…”

  “I don’t think that’s it.” The expert was lost, and Abby saw that as an opportunity to take center stage. “According to my expert analysis, the life from the mist is still around. We’re inside the forest. Somehow…”

  “You think so?” It might hard to believe, but it’s true. Flanne acknowledged with a nod. “I’m not sure where to go from here, though… I don’t even see where we could go…”

  Across the cave, something that looked like a root sprouted out of the sand and continued forward above the water for a while. There’s something strange with the water… A giant whirlpool right on the coast. The center of which was below where the root stopped.

  “You think we’re supposed to…” I nervously looked back. “Jump in there?”

  “Is that a whirlpool? No way! We’re gonna drown! And I still don’t have my swimsuit.” Swimsuits aside, the risk of drowning was very much real… But I don’t think this is a normal whirlpool… That’s what my game sense is telling me.

  “Iroha might be right…” Flanne confirmed my suspicions.

  We stared at each other for a moment. Is it really the way? Are we sure? Who’s going first? It was time for a leap of faith. There’s no other choice.

  Let’s do this!

  The jump into the eye of the whirlpool didn’t leave us soaked to the bone. Either the water was an illusion or the center was special. What matters is that we were once again surrounded by darkness while free-falling.

  “Oh?” It’s soft… Something cushioned our landing. What is this? Snow? Feels more like cotton… Like a giant pillow.

  “We- we’re on a cloud now…? This doesn’t even make sense anymore…” There was barely any energy behind her voice. Carol just sighed.

  I feel the same… This is too much. Clouds aren’t supposed to work like this… Is this really a cloud? There was nothing around but the blue sky and other clouds, so it really looked like we were in heaven or something.

  “Woah! I’m sinking! I’m gonna fall! I can’t stand up! Help!”

  “Yes… You fall for a bit, then it stops… Don’t be a baby.” Carol grabbed Sarasa’s hand to stop her from flailing around right next to her.

  “Oh… Never mind… It’s all good now…”

  “Who calls you feather touch again? You seemed like the heaviest out of us just now.”

  “Hey! I told you not to bring that up!” Sarasa pulled back her hand in anger and fell face first.

  “Stranger than the cloud is what’s over there… I did not expect to see something like that…” What Hecate pointed at was a restroom… One styled like the ones found in parks in our world. It’s very out of place.

  “Well… Unfortunately, it looks like it’s our path forward…” Somewhat resigned, Flanne was already getting closer.

  There was a bit of a steep step from the sinking cloud onto the concrete floor, but we all stepped inside quickly enough. On the girls’ side, of course.

  Space twisted itself, and we once again found ourselves somewhere new…