Haruto stepped to the very edge of the ravine, the goblin girl held carefully in his arms.

  Cold air drifted upward from the abyss below, brushing faintly against his face like the breath of something ancient and unseen. The darkness beneath them swallowed even the scattered crystal light, leaving only the suggestion of depth… and the quiet promise of a fatal fall.

  The mask that contained Haruki rested over his face, cool and steady, grounding his thoughts as he measured distance, angle, and risk.

  Wind already whispered around his body.

  Waiting.

  “Hana,” he called, voice touched with an excitement he didn’t bother hiding.

  “…Remember that technique Leo used when he first tried to fly?”

  For a heartbeat, nothing happened.

  Then Hana stiffened completely.

  “Huh? What are you—wait.”

  Realization struck like lightning.

  “…Don’t tell me. You’re joking, right? There’s no way that would work!”

  Her voice rose in genuine alarm.

  The goblin girl blinked in confusion.

  Haruki stayed silent inside the mask, observing.

  Only Haruto smiled.

  A quiet, reckless smile.

  “Too late now.”

  Before hesitation could root itself—

  he moved.

  Wind burst into motion around him, spiraling tight and fast.

  Not wild.

  Not uncontrolled.

  Structured.

  Looping currents wrapped his body in layered circulation, lifting, redirecting, shaving away the crushing pull of gravity. The conveyor field formed instantly, reducing not only his own weight, but also the burden of the girl in his arms and the small slime clinging to his head.

  Dust tore free from the stone floor, pulled upward into violent rotation.

  Exactly as he intended.

  The disturbed particles thickened the airflow, turning invisible motion into something almost tangible. Still fragile. Still unstable. But dense enough to grip fragments of loose stone.

  Haruto narrowed his focus.

  Two small rocks trembled near the edge… then slowly lifted into the air.

  They drifted forward over the abyss, wobbling slightly as the looping wind struggled to stabilize them.

  If this failed—

  it would be humiliating.

  Especially while holding a cute girl in your arms.

  But the stones held.

  A slow breath left his lungs.

  Success.

  Carefully, he stepped forward.

  His foot touched the first floating stone.

  It dipped under his weight, unstable, threatening collapse.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  He adjusted balance.

  Shifted pressure.

  Found the invisible center where force and wind met in fragile agreement.

  Then brought his other foot onto the second stone.

  “H-Haruto…” Hana whispered, completely rigid.

  “This is seriously dangerous…”

  “Please,” he murmured, exhaling slowly,

  “don’t distract me.”

  The first stone dropped away behind him as he summoned another ahead.

  Release.

  Call forward.

  Step again.

  Progress measured in heartbeats.

  The goblin girl remained perfectly still in his arms, afraid even breathing too deeply might break the delicate balance beneath them.

  Yet beyond fear—

  there was awe.

  He was using her element in ways she had never imagined.

  Not forcefully.

  Not violently.

  But precisely.

  Creatively.

  As if wind itself were a language he already understood.

  They advanced like that for a long stretch.

  Careful. Silent. Suspended above endless darkness.

  Each foothold trembled before stabilizing.

  Each step risked everything.

  Halfway across, Hana made the mistake of glancing down.

  The abyss swallowed the faint crystal glow far below, depth stretching into nothingness.

  “…It’s so deep,” she whispered, voice shaking.

  “Don’t rush it, idiot. Be careful.”

  He swallowed a sigh.

  “Again… please don’t startle me.”

  And as if the world wanted to punish his focus—

  his control slipped.

  One stone lurched downward.

  For a single frozen instant—

  they fell.

  The wind snapped tight again, dragging the stone back into place just before disaster.

  Silence followed.

  Heavy. Breathless.

  Hana trembled violently.

  “…You better not let us die…”

  Haruto didn’t answer.

  But exhaustion had begun to creep in.

  A faint drain inside his chest.

  A quiet warning.

  This won’t last much longer.

  His gaze locked onto the far ledge.

  Distance.

  Remaining strength.

  Margin for error.

  One conclusion.

  “…This is going to be risky,” he said quietly.

  “So hold on tight, okay?”

  The goblin girl’s grip tightened in his clothes.

  Hana clung harder to his head.

  Wind surged.

  More stones lifted at once.

  The conveyor field intensified, shaving away even more weight, pushing his control toward its limit.

  Then—

  he ran.

  Not wildly.

  Not blindly.

  Perfectly measured acceleration.

  His eyes flashed blue as time seemed to fracture, thoughts accelerating into razor clarity. Every landing angle calculated. Every force minimized. Every motion stripped to efficiency.

  Stone to stone—

  step, step, step—

  until the final foothold.

  He pushed off.

  Air rushed past.

  And he landed cleanly on solid ground.

  Behind them, the floating stones collapsed into the abyss, their distant impacts echoing like fading thunder.

  Silence returned.

  Haruto’s legs trembled violently as adrenaline drained away.

  But his face—

  was smiling.

  Hana still clung to him like a lifeline, shaking.

  The goblin girl slowly opened her eyes, disbelief washing over her as reality settled in.

  They were safe.

  “Everyone alive?” Haruki’s calm voice asked from the mask, utterly unfazed.

  “Y-yeah…” Haruto breathed.

  He tilted his head slightly.

  “Hana… you okay?”

  “F-fine,” she answered instantly—

  still gripping him far too tightly.

  He understood.

  Honestly… he wasn’t fully calm either.

  Then he looked down at the girl in his arms.

  “…And you?”

  She nodded quickly, cheeks burning as she avoided his gaze.

  Realization struck a moment later.

  “Ah—sorry!”

  He set her down immediately.

  “I didn’t think—”

  “I… don’t mind,” she murmured, now even more embarrassed.

  Awkward silence threatened to bloom—

  so she turned toward the tunnel ahead instead.

  “…From here,” she whispered, voice tightening,

  “it truly begins.”

  She faced him again, serious now.

  “Master, we must avoid fighting. No matter what happens.

  Beyond this point is a nightmare… beasts in every shadow.

  Sneaking through is our only real chance.”

  Haruto listened quietly.

  Then gently lifted Hana into his hands, holding her close until her trembling eased.

  “…You came in here unarmed?” he asked softly.

  “Or are you a mage-type?”

  “A… weapon…” she repeated faintly.

  Something flickered across her expression.

  Conflict.

  Memory.

  Pain.

  “I… lost it in here.”

  The lie was obvious.

  But he didn’t press.

  “Alright,” he said simply.

  “Then what’s the plan? Any quiet routes… or are we improvising?”

  “Follow me, Master.”

  She began walking, explaining as she went.

  “I’ve never reached this area before.

  And the labyrinth shifts within a day… two if we’re lucky.

  But the tunnels behind me branched upward in many places.

  If we find the correct one…”

  Dim crystals lit their path.

  Glowing moss spread like quiet constellations across stone, painting the cavern in soft green light.

  Haruto frowned slightly.

  “I don’t like guessing in a place like this.

  If we meet something stronger than us… there’s no retreat.”

  After a moment’s thought, she nodded.

  “…You’re right. Then we take the main route.

  But we must hide our presence—”

  Her words stopped.

  Confusion replaced certainty as she scanned the vast cavern ahead.

  “Something wrong?” Haruto asked, alert now.

  “…W-what’s this…?”

  Hana slowly climbed back onto his head, steadier now.

  And Haruto felt it too.

  That strange absence.

  No growls.

  No movement.

  No predatory eyes in the dark.

  Nothing.

  The lush cavern stretched before them—beautiful, dark, glowing, silent.

  Too silent.

  “…So,” he said quietly,

  “where are all the monsters?”

  ...