ROSES HAVE THORNS-Chapter 49 - Finding Shelter

"So, do you know where we are?" Kurt asked Diana as they sat together by the fire and ate cooked fish.

"No. But I know that we’re still in Eldoria. I can’t teleport to other continents just yet."

"Just yet? You’ll be able to do that?"

"With enough time and practice I know I will."

"That’s O.P."

"Hehe~ By the way, you still didn’t tell me where you’re from. I’m still waiting to hear." She squeezed his hand tighter and asked him again.

"It’s kind of a confusing story..."

"That’s okay. We’ve still got about a day and a half before my mana replenishes. I say that’s more than enough time to process whatever you’re about to say."

"Fair enough. Alright, I’ll try to keep this really simple. It all started when I got out of bed..."

Kurt then proceeded to tell her about how he got here. About how everything was just a normal day until he fainted and woke up at the docks of Eldoria. He told her about his involvement with the cult and his partnership with the prefects but more notably with Dominik. The biggest bombshell he revealed was that he is actually from another timeline.

"You’re from... the past? Before magic was even a thing? I can’t imagine a world without magic."

"I know it sounds crazy but that’s just the way it is. I’ve already accepted that my old life is gone but I’m still trying to adapt to this world. It gets a little overwhelming at times. The worst things I’ve come to learn was about the shape of the continents and that there were seven World Wars. Oh, and that there’s magic too."

"You’re not distraught over the fact that everything you knew is gone?"

"The only thing I really miss is the internet. And that I won’t get to see the endings of my favourite shows or novels. Other than that, I’m totally okay."

"What about your parents? The way you spoke about your father in the past tense..."

"They’re both dead. Neither my mother nor my father was good people by any means so there’s not really any attachment when it comes to that. My father always was a scumbag and my mother... well, she changed overtime, and not for the better."

"Kurt..."

"Sorry, I’m not trying to trauma dump or anything. I’m just trying to reassure you that I’m okay."

"I understand." She leaned into his chest and fiddled with his chain.

"Say, if you’re from the past then what does your personal tag say about you? The way it should work is it connects with your magic essence to trace your roots and accurately depicts your individual data."

"That’s another thing I haven’t figured out." Kurt held his personal tag and imbued it with magic. "At first it was just a bunch of "Unknown" text but then it changed into this..."

When he showed her the popup display, she began to carefully read it.

"Hmm... Riverton?"

"Yeah, I’m not even from there but it somehow shows that I am."

"Year 756... You’re 24?"

"Yep. What about you?"

"I’m 27."

"Wow. You actually told me? I’m surprised I didn’t get the typical ’You shouldn’t ask a lady her age’ lecture."

"I’d tell you anything about me~ No need to be shy." She encouraged him and continued to read.

"You’re an adventurer?"

"I honestly don’t even know what that means. I mean I know what an adventurer is, don’t get me wrong, but it’s something I’d rather not explore right now. Excuse the pun."

"Hehe, you’re excused. Let’s see... Kurt Rossana... Rossana? I’ve never heard of that family name."

"It’s so strange that you’d say that because in my time, everyone had a surname." Kurt told her but she wasn’t listening. Instead, she just kept repeating his surname over and over.

"Rossana... Ross..ana... Rose? No, Rosie~"

"Diana?" He looked at her with concern.

"Yes, Rosie~?" She returned his look with a loving smile of her own.

"Rosie?"

"Mmhm~" She nodded. "From now on I’ll call you Rosie. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?"

"Sounds great. How about I call you Ana?"

"A-A-Ana?!" She puffed up and held his mouth shut. "N-No! That’s not allowed! Just call me Diana.... please~"

’Weakness acquired heh hee.’

"Ok Diana." He took her hands off him. "I won’t call you that..."

"T-Thank you, Rosie — for now — Huh?"

"What did you just say?" Diana looked at him suspiciously.

"I said I won’t call you that..."

"Oh, I must’ve been hearing — for now — things HUH?! You did it again!"

"Must’ve been the wind~" Kurt shrugged. "Speaking of wind, c’mon we gotta find us a proper place to stay the night." He stood up and held his hand out to her.

"... Yes, we should." She took his hand and stood up. "Come, follow me."

"So you do know where we are?" He took the goblins club and followed her into the jungle.

"No I don’t. But we do give our students survival tests that’s similar to our situation."

"You drop a bunch of kids into the wild and tell them to survive? Sounds... erhm... fun."

"It’s not supposed to be. It’s to test whether they have the intellect to stay together as a group and come out unscathed or whether they’d all split up and do their own thing. Sadly, most of them choose the latter."

"But doesn’t staying in a group cause its own sorts of problems?"

"Yes, however..." She slowed down her pace and whispered to Kurt. "I believe we are being followed. Three goblins if I’m not mistaken."

"I noticed. On three?"

"Yes. One..." She started.

"Twooo..." He tightened his grip on the wooden club.

""Three!"" They shouted together.

Kurt threw the club as hard as he could into the bushes behind them.

"Gege?! Graarg–"

BONK!

"Bullseye!"

One of the goblins got knocked out instantly causing the other two to panic. Diana then used this opportunity to take out the rest of them but as she reached for her red gem to summon her crimson nodachi she realised it wasn’t there.

’That’s right. I fell unconscious when my mana depleted and my sword reverted back as a result. Dammit! It’s not like I could summon it anyway.’

The goblins saw that moment of hesitation from her and used it to jump at her. Diana easily dodged their attack and picked up the unconscious goblin’s club to whack one of them on the back of their head.

"Graargh??" The lone goblin looked at both of his friends and realised there was no winning.

So it did the only thing it knew to do in this hopeless situation.

Kamikaze.

"Gege Graaargh geeege!" It bared its sharp teeth and nails then lunged up at Diana with all its might.

"Don’t forget about me, stupid!" Kurt caught it by the foot and slammed it into the dirt.

While it was stunned, he grabbed it by the head and snapped its neck. Once it died, he did the same for the rest.

’Always confirm the kill heh heh.’

"That’s quite the happy look you have on your face." She stood next to him and poked his cheek.

"O-Oh. It’s something I always had since I was young. By the way, why’d you blank out momentarily?"

"What a... unique quirk you have hehe. The reason I paused was because I subconsciously went for my gem to summon my sword. Then I realised it wasn’t there and that I had no mana to summon it anyway. I know it’s a bit dumb, but could you come back with me to the beach and look for my gem? It’s very important to me."

"There’s no need." He reached into his pocket and gave her the gem. "It slipped my mind since we’ve been so caught up in our drama, but I picked it up when it fell from your hand while you were unconscious."

"Rosie! *chu* Thank you~"

Kurt blushed at her sudden turn from sad and worried to beaming with happiness as she acted so cute.

"Haha. It’s getting dark out so we should hurry and find shelter."

"Mm~" She smiled and held his hand as they continued to walk deeper in the jungle.

After about 30 minutes of searching and taking out a couple more goblins, they finally reached a place where they could potentially stay the night.

"It’s a cave but... should we trust it? We did just run into a few goblins. What if there are more inside? Or what if this is something else’s home?" Kurt asked her.

"Then we take them out~" She lifted up her club.

"A bit dangerous if you ask me. Here’s the plan: I’ll go in and quickly scout the place to see if it’s safe while you stay out here and warn me if anything’s coming. Sound good?"

"The only thing I hate about that plan is that I have to let go of you." She pouted. "Just be quick, okay?"

"Don’t worry I won’t be long. I am a ninja from Riverton after all. We specialise in these kinds of missions."

Kurt then sneaked into the cave but quickly came back.

"What is it?" Diana asked.

"Turns out there’s nothing to worry about. It must be because it’s a bit dark and we couldn’t see but this cave really isn’t that deep. No signs of monsters nor animals either. We’re good to stay here."

"That’s a relief. I was getting tired of walking around and fighting like this." She sighed as she walked into the cave.

"Just give me a minute. I want to find some leaves and bushes to cover the entrance. I know we killed most of those goblins on the way here but one can never be too safe."

"I’ll help you." She turned back and helped him gather a few things.

After concealing the entrance to make it blend in with the environment, Kurt started a small fire and laid his and Diana’s blazer on the ground for them to rest on.

"There. We should be all set for the night."

"Finally~" Diana crawled onto his lap and straddled his waist.

"Diana? What are you doing?" Kurt asked but knew exactly what she was up to.

"Oh Rosie, I’m simply continuing where we left off~ And this time there will be no interruptions~"