The Pursuing Baby Yui and Tiger
The two girls returned to Academy City at dawn on the first day after vacation ended.
Ichinose Yui and Noah Frozenheart.
After grabbing breakfast at a 24-hour diner, the pair headed to Orion Academy for school when they witnessed a black tower piercing the sky.
They blinked, and suddenly they were dropped into an unknown desert.
'This is...!'
Ichinose, who had experience falling into a dungeon before, was the quickest to pull herself together.
Gripping her sword, she scanned their surroundings warily while snapping Noah out of her daze. The tiger girl stood there blankly beside her.
"Noah. You okay?"
"What the—where are we!? It's hot!"
Noah screamed at the dungeon's murderous heat and summoned a massive block of ice with her mana.
Ichinose urgently stopped her from clinging to it.
Blindly burning mana in unknown circumstances was far too reckless.
"We don't know the situation yet. Make do with this."
"Eeeh...!"
They compromised on a fist-sized chunk of ice.
It was unsatisfactory for heat-hating Noah, but since it was Ichinose saying it, she went along without complaint.
Ichinose gave a small smile of thanks, then closed her eyes to sense their surroundings.
"Not sure which way to go. Noah, where do you wanna head?"
"Hmm~ That way!"
"Let's do that."
The direction Noah pointed to with her finger looked like any other stretch of desert.
Still, Ichinose didn't object. She didn't even ask why.
In this vast desert with no landmarks to guide them, she had no choice but to trust Noah's innate instincts.
No scents to track, an utterly alien space they'd just stepped into for the first time.
So for now, following Noah's gut was the right call.
Noah's senses had this inexplicable, almost miraculous knack for stuff like this.
Ichinose had once mentioned this phenomenon to Rex Frostheart, the Snow Tiger Emperor.
His response? "She's my daughter—of course it's natural." And that was that.
"Hehe~"
Noah hummed cheerfully, balancing the ice on her head as she took the lead.
Ichinose was relieved to see her friend in high spirits, but curiosity got the better of her.
"You're taking the heat better than I expected, Noah."
"'Cause Nose didn't end up in a dungeon alone! That's a win!"
"...The best outcome would be neither of us falling in."
"Nah, we dodged the worst—only one of us dropping solo! We'll smash this dungeon together and call it a day!"
Noah flashed her usual plucky grin, ice in hand.
Ichinose felt her own tension ease and smiled back. The girls resumed their trek.
The monsters were stronger than anticipated, but they weren't much trouble.
Brutes with tough bodies but low intelligence.
Ambushers from below the sand posed no threat to Ichinose and Noah, whose senses were peerless.
After trekking hill after hill, they reached the top of the tallest dune in the area.
Ichinose opened her closed eyes and gazed down at the dungeon, a random thought crossing her mind.
'No way Rohan is...'
As Ichinose mulled that over, Noah voiced the same idea in her innocent tone.
"Think Rohan's around here somewhere? Guy falls into dungeons like it's his job."
"...Even he couldn't be that unlucky."
"Huh?"
Noah caught the swirl of emotions in her reply and whipped her head around, staring hard at Ichinose.
Her tail swished, ears perked.
Ichinose felt her composure crack under that gaze.
"Nose~ Why the long face?"
"I hate myself right now..."
"Huh? Outta nowhere?"
Part of her selfishly wished Rohan was here, while another desperately hoped he wasn't suffering.
She knew full well how grueling and dangerous dungeon drops were—yet she still hoped he'd be here.
That contradiction sparked fierce self-loathing in Ichinose.
"Cool your head!"
Noah, having heard it all, pressed her ice against Ichinose's cheek.
"Ack!"
Ichinose startled at the chill but didn't back away.
Noah kept cooling her off as she continued.
"What're you talking about? That's not selfish at all. It's not like wishing makes him drop into a dungeon."
"You think...?"
"Nose! Cut that face out! Wanting to see him in a tough spot, fight side-by-side—that just means you like him that much, right?"
Having grown up together, Noah knew blunt talk cut through in moments like this.
"L-Like him...? I-I-I mean, yeah, but...!"
See? Poke her like that, and Ichinose snaps back.
She squeezed her eyes shut, huddled up, cheeks flaming.
"Nose is so cuuute!"
"...It's hot—get off!"
Ichinose shoved away the sneak-hugger and headed down the slope, resuming their march.
..
..
After crossing the desert all night, Ichinose and Noah started encountering others caught in the Monolith's pull, one or two at a time.
Some were corpses mauled by monsters, but survivors dotted the sands too.
The first group they met was a sleazy band of thugs from some backwater nation, approaching cockily just based on the girls' looks.
Pistols and blades in hand, brimming with bravado—until Desert Sharks devoured them before Ichinose or Noah could even act.
After that, they linked up with wandering Orion Academy cadets, swelling their numbers.
Two guys, three girls.
From Carrot Instructor and Marcel Instructor's classes—no close bonds, but they recognized faces, so no need for intros.
These level-headed cadets assessed the crisis coolly and merged without friction.
"Like yesterday, temps are plummeting now that the sun's down."
"Heard it drops more in high-latitude deserts. Where the heck are we...?"
As Casey from Carrot's class chatted with Ichinose, Noah no longer needed her ice.
Definitely sub-zero now.
Fine for mana-enhanced bodies, but a huge threat to any normals.
"No shelter in this endless desert—what do we do...?"
As Casey fretted, Noah—leading the pack—snapped her head up.
"Whoa? Smells like food!"
She sniffed the air and strode forward with conviction.
The group crested the next dune and spotted a shabby brick house below.
Even more shocking: greenery with growing plants and a campfire flickering.
And a face no first-year Orion student could forget.
"Loudmouth and Glasses!"
Noah grinned happily at Gilbert and Dick.
Gilbert waved both arms from below, beckoning them over.
The students at the house tensed as the crowd approached en masse.
But seeing most wore Orion uniforms, they relaxed.
"I'm starving!"
"Hold up—just a sec. Grilling Desert Shark for ya."
Gilbert, as if expecting Noah's first words, slapped his shield over the fire.
Ichinose conferred with the other cadets and agreed to rest, then stood by Noah.
"Protecting the civilians, huh? Impressive."
"Luck mostly. Things fell into place, landed us this gig."
Ichinose sensed the presences of girls peeking from the brick house—something familiar, a nagging déjà vu.
But it wouldn't crystallize.
"Why're your clothes all torn? Eat 'em from hunger?"
Gilbert shook his head solemnly at Noah's question.
"Used 'em to splint injuries."
"Ooh!"
"Drink first."
He handed over an unopened bottle of water.
Ichinose's eyes widened at the all-too-familiar bottle shape.
"Where'd this water come from...?"
"Rohan's leftovers. Got plenty of grub too."
The name hit like a gut punch out of nowhere.
Ichinose's ears rang as she double-checked.
"...Rohan? He's here?"
"Was till morning. Said he'd clear the dungeon, left with a junior."
Ichinose felt her emotions roil.
Noah chewed undercooked meat with a snort.
"Dropped again? Dude's got some kinda curse."
"Tell me more. A junior? We're first-years."
Southern underclassman, maybe?
Ichinose pressed for details. Gilbert flipped meat as he spilled what he knew.
"Kid who called herself a future Orion cadet. Lete—solid skills, super sweet."
"!!!"
The puzzle clicked perfectly in Baby Yui's head.
She realized the source of that déjà vu from the girls in the house.
These were Lete's friends from the dimensional rift at the Academy City mall.
"...Where'd Rohan go?"
Baby Yui's voice dropped low.
Gilbert furrowed his thick brows, pondering.
"Unlike me, she'd be a huge help to him—wish I could say, but just a direction ain't enough to track."
"I'll handle it!"
Noah gulped down a hunk of meat and stood.
Gilbert pointed at her confident glare.
"Over that dune. Heading out now?"
Ichinose quenched her thirst with the water, then nodded with utmost seriousness.
"Hold the fort with the other cadets. We'll link with Rohan and end this dungeon."
"Better wait for dawn."
"Light or dark makes no difference to me. Plus, now's best while Noah's raring to go."
"Fair enough. Got it."
Gilbert packed food and water for Ichinose and Noah.
The two girls plunged into the night desert without hesitation.
Baby Yui's steps brimmed with anxious urgency.