[Flashback… Former world].
The school day had ended, and Sato was the only one left in the classroom, snoozing away with his head on the desk. Suddenly, the door creaked open, and Himiko rushed in with a look of panic on her face, as if she was trying to avoid someone.
She closed the door softly, breathing a sigh of relief before muttering to herself, "Why won't they just leave me alone?" Himiko leaned against the door, trying to catch her breath.
A loud banging noise interrupted her thoughts, and a voice yelled from the other side, "Babe! I know you're in there… let's talk already!"
Himiko flinched at the sound of the voice and looked around frantically, searching for a place to hide. It was then that she noticed Sato sleeping on the desk.
Before she could speak, the door flew open, and two guys walked in, closing in on Himiko. She tried to back away, but they grabbed her, demanding that she go out with both of them.
Himiko refused, struggling against their grip, but they only tightened their hold on her. Just then, Sato woke up, irritated by the noise. He stood up, shouting, "Quit making noise!" and hurled his textbook at one of the guys.
Grabbing Himiko's hand, Sato rushed out of the classroom, searching for a place to hide. They eventually found refuge in the school gymnasium, where they could catch their breath and figure out their next move.
This was how Sato and Himiko met before they became best friends all through highschool.
[Flashback over].
The memories flooded Himiko's mind as she watched Sato approach her with his subordinates behind him.
Sato strode out of the village, and the beastmen quickly bowed their heads, creating a clear path for him to pass through.
"Lord Sato, they said they were here to see you," informed one of the beastmen.
Sato furrowed his brows, "See me?" he muttered, but his gaze drifted towards the approaching party. He immediately recognized Shinya, the sword hero from their previous encounter, and another individual named Rextra.
<<Yes it is, and this time he seems to be another hero… take caution too, she is also with an angel>>
'Another angel? No problem, if they are here for trouble, I'll just send them packing.' Sato drew closer to Himiko and introduced himself calmly, "My name is Sato Inugami, I am the Lord of this village. Is there anything I can do for you?"
Himiko listened intently, her eyes widening in shock. Tears streamed down her face as she whispered, "It's you, isn't it?"
Sato regarded her carefully, confused by her reaction until it suddenly dawned on him. "Himiko?! Why is your hair blue?!" he yelled, taking a step back in disbelief.
"Idiot!" Himiko chuckled but with tears still hanging around her eyes.
…..
Sato led them into the Village and straight to his office so they could discuss what happened. Sato was more surprised when he found out, Himiko died right after his hostel exploded.
Apparently, she died 4 days after in a car accident, as she claimed, and was suddenly summoned to another word in her last moments.
Sato was seated on his table with a profound look on his face as he listened to the story Himiko was telling.
A sigh escaped his mouth before he uttered, "And, how did you find me?" He asked.
Himiko paused for a while, looking at Sato as she blurted "I thought you'd be more surprised to see me".
"Uhn?" Sato muttered, "I mean, I am, it's just I already knew about the concepts of Travelers from other worlds, and you just confirmed it".
"I see, if you know that much, then surely you know how to take us back?" Himiko asked.
"If you want to go back… then die…" Sato answered back, "Worse case scenario, you end up trapped in the underworld or another angel finds you and you reincarnate".
"Since when did you become a dick… I waited 5 years to see you and now you treat me like this?... Meanie!" Himiko huffed her cheeks with her arms tucked.
Both Garfield and Eril were surprised to see Himiko act the way she did. They know her to be cold and rather emotionless, so seeing her pout was an extremely rare sight for them.
Sato on the other hand would want nothing more than to bond with his female best friend that he hasn't seen for a long time. But his position in the village and the war approaching was not leaving a schedule for that.
Sato gazed at Himiko with a heavy heart, "Listen, I appreciate your presence, but right now is not the best time," he said, standing up from his seat. "I am currently at war with the king of Fiona, and I need all the help and planning I can get. I'm sure you can understand where I'm coming from."
"You're... at war?" Himiko whispered in disbelief, her eyes still brimming with tears.
"Hold on... you're at war with Fiona?!" Shinya exclaimed, suddenly jolting up from his chair. "Like, right now? For real?!"
Sato turned to Shinya and replied with a heavy sigh, "Yes, I am. I don't understand why you're so worked up about it. Please go back to your kingdom, and I promise to reach out to you once I've won the war."
Shinya shook his head vigorously, "No, no, no, Sato, I don't think you understand. The reason I came here in the first place was to tell you that my kingdom, Warthniq, is planning to go to war if you don't hand over the forest to them."
Sato's expression hardened, and he clenched his fists, "What?" He voiced out with a scary voice as he stared furiously at Shinya, "Hand over the forest? The forest belongs to my village, I'll be damned if I hand it over to anyone."
Himiko chimed in, "Warthniq is a very powerful Kingdom with more than two other kingdoms behind them, you are just …" She paused, "I know you want to protect the village, but we can't afford to go to war with another kingdom."
Sato looked at her, his expression hardened even more with magic energy enveloping his body, "They want a war?... Okay then… let them come, no matter how many of you npc's come at me. I'll defeat every single one without fail".
He turned his attention to Shinya, "Tell the king of Warthniq, we can settle this with a normal professional discussion, we can fight and be damned if I lose".
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