Season 1 Side Story Chapter 4. A Strange Rescue (1)

The grassland spread out before them as they left the academy. Countless sheep peacefully grazed.

Lorang and Almond moved to a corner where others wouldn't easily notice them.

"Now, I'll transform you back into a sheep. This time, you have to do it correctly."

"Correctly?"

"Don't lose your memory."

"…?"

Was it even up to him?

"Just focus."

Lorang seemed to have read Almond's expression and added, "Just absolutely focus and tell yourself that you won't forget."

He energetically grabbed Almond's shoulder and shook it.

"The plan must continue."

'Is he actually insane?'

Almond was left dumbfounded.

— He's definitely insane, hahaha

— How can someone be like this? LOL

— I like this guy Lorang

— Isn't he crazy?

His friend lost all his memories because of him, but the only thing on his mind was continuing the plan.

"Wait, so I lost all my memories because of you and—"

"They'll come back, friend. The Earth still turns. You've heard of that phrase, haven't you?"

Lorang raised his pinky with a smug smile. His unusually long pinky nail shimmered. It looked stylish and matched well with his madness.

"And you as Almond seem better than when you were that wimp Lete. I guarantee it. Continuing like this seems best."

"???"

Almond was certain. This guy named Lorang wasn't in his right mind, but he had no choice. Only when he was with Lorang did messages about getting closer to the secret pop up.

"Let's go."

"Wait, first tell me how—"

Almond wanted to ask more before being turned back into a sheep.

However, Lorang raised his finger and shouted, "Pulri - Lizet."

Poof!

White smoke rose, and in its place stood Almond as a sheep. The clothes he had meticulously worn flew in every direction. Almond kicked away a sock that hadn't flown off with his hoof.

"First, I'll tell you why you have to be a sheep."

Almond simply nodded. It seemed he had to follow Lorang's lead anyway.

"Actually, being a mouse or cat might be easier, but I only know how to turn someone into a sheep."

"…?"

It was a rather simple reason.

"But fortunately, there's no animal here as unsuspecting as a sheep."

He pointed to the grassland full of sheep. It was just like hiding a grain of sand in the desert.

"To reach the underground prison, you need to cross the grassland. As a human, you'd be too easily detected."

"Baah."

Almond's sheep head nodded.

"Once you've crossed the grassland, you'll see a creepy forest. It has a specific name, but everyone just calls it the creepy forest."

"Baah."

"Right, you're listening well. The underground prison is there."

"Baah?"

"How will you find it? I know its location, but I can't go there myself."

Ding~ Ding~

During their conversation, the bell from the academy's clock tower rang and signaled the end of break time.

Lorang hurriedly rolled up his sleeves and gathered white mana at his fingertips. The mana collected at the tip of his index finger took form and turned into a butterfly, flying away.

"This guy will lead the way. I must go. Good luck, Almond. If you need to turn back into a human, just shout Pulri - Becket."

Leaving only those words behind, Lorang started running back to the academy.

'Wait. Aren't I also under punishment?'

Almond remembered that he had continuously skipped classes as Lete. At this rate, he would end up in the room beside Ran’s.

'Let's just go for now.'

Lorang was unlikely to understand even if Almond said such things and Almond had no other clues to solve this game except Lorang.

The butterfly had already flown quite a distance.

"Baah!"

He began to gallop across the meadow with all his might.

— Almond running is too cute, lol

— So funny hahaha

— This is really hilarious, lol

— Fluffy Almond, look wow

— Run Almond!

— Is this the archery team's sheep mascot?

***

After running for a while, a very creepy-looking forest appeared. Most of the trees were withered and dark. Even the ones with leaves seemed almost dead. Looking at it made one wonder if they would also end up like that if they went in.

Lorang's butterfly flew in as if it owned the place. Almond had no choice but to follow.

His hooves touched the dark soil.

Thud.

[Creepy Forest]

A text indicating that they had entered a new area appeared.

— Is it really called Creepy Forest? LOL

— Was that its official name? LOL

— Wow, this place is scary

— So this is what story mode is like.

The text hinted that something was about to start from here.

Regardless, Almond continued to follow the butterfly. It wasn't easy to venture into a dense forest with a fluffy wool coat.

"Baah!"

Crunch. Crunch.

Rough branches caught and tugged at his wool. Parts of his once white coat gradually turned dirty.

"Baah?"

As he ventured further, a cave suddenly appeared.

Thud!

[Saint Bishops School Underground Dungeon]

It was an underground dungeon.

Thud.

The white butterfly leading the way vanished, and the surroundings grew even darker. The light from the butterfly seemed to have been brighter than he thought.

Standing in front of the cave with the darkness settling in made him hesitant to proceed.

'A bit…'

To be honest, Almond felt a little scared.. He had never encountered such a terrifying situation since experiencing virtual reality. It felt like something would suddenly jump out.

— Scared?

— Is Almond really scared?

— Why isn't he going in?

— Would Almond really be scared? lol

— Is Almond afraid of the dark? lol

— Poor thing, afraid of the dark…

"Baah."

Almond wanted to tell the viewers, but only a sheep sound came out.

Snort.

Instead, he took a deep breath and dashed into the cave.

Trot trot!

'What's the worst that could happen? After all, it's just a game,’ he thought as he entered the cave.

Torches lit up various spots, so it wasn't completely dark. What was strange was…

'Why is there no one here?'

Typically, places like this had guards at the entrance. Strangely, this prison didn't have any.

Would there be someone deeper inside? But if a person appeared, what would they do? Almond was a sheep right now. How would they react to seeing a sheep in a place like this? Would they detect the magic that transformed him into a sheep?

This magic was only a student-level spell that Lorang used. The chances were high that the guards here would recognize it.

What if they found out the sheep was a human? In his current form, Almond would be defenseless.

'I need to transform here.'

Almond realized this was the moment to transform back into a human.

'But I don't have any clothes.'

Being embarrassed in such a situation was funny, but that was human nature. Almond began looking for clothes to wear.

'There's a pile over there.'

Could it be materials left from some construction? There were stacks of shoddy planks. He also spotted some ragged fabric.

Almond hopped over to check them out.

"Baah…"

A disappointed ‘Baah…’ escaped. After all, a place like this likely wouldn’t have any clothes.

Then…

Step…

Step, step.

'!'

He heard footsteps.

From a distant corner, the orange glow of a torch flickered. As the light intensified, a tall shadow appeared.

"Yaaawn…"

A guard yawned as he turned the corner.

"It’s a robe."

He didn’t quite remember how big Lete's body was, but it would be somewhat better with a robe draped over himself.

He wouldn't get recognized with the guard's clothes.

"First, I'll transform into a human and attack from behind…"

If the ambush worked, it would make things easier than expected. Although Lete was only a student and they were adults, this was nothing compared to killing a champion as a minion.

Almond hid himself close to the wall. He tried to push down his fluffy wool as much as possible to blend in.

"I'll take a short nap. You keep watch today."

"… Okay."

There were two guards.

Almond adjusted his plan. He initially thought to attack as soon as the guard turned the corner, but decided to hide behind the clutter instead. Something fluffy like wool wouldn't look out of place with so much stuff around.

He sat crouching, roughly covering his legs and head with a piece of cloth.

"Watch carefully until I wake up."

"… Okay."

The senior guard looked rather irritated and walked away.

Thud. Thud.

The footsteps grew louder. He seemed to be coming this way.

The guard approached the pile of junk in front of him and remarked, "Oh, what's this? It looks soft."

Soft?

The only soft thing here…

"Oh no."

It was Almond.

— Jackpot! LOL

— What to do??

— I can't believe this! LOL

— Got caught!

— Should've taken down the junior while the senior was asleep. What now? LOL

He was in a tight spot. As the chat indicated, he had to overpower one while the other was asleep. However, the one going to sleep was now lying on top of Almond.

"Wow, this is soft. When did they bring something like this? Those kids…"

The senior guard mumbled something like, “All of them will listen to me tomorrow,” and fell asleep with a loud snore.

— Is he really asleep? LOL

— What should we do now?

— Should we move silently?

— It's heavy, LOL

— This is the story mode you chose~! Hang in there with strength or be cunning~

Almond could feel the vibrations of the snoring all the way through his back.

"Ugh, annoying guy."

The other guard, who hadn't said a word when the senior was awake, spat with a bitter smile.

He relaxed and sat on a rock.

"Drinking before duty. I guess no one ranked higher than me is around today. They've gone crazy…"

The senior soldier had probably been drinking, but he couldn't smell any alcohol… Maybe that guy drank some high-quality liquor.

"Guarding this place when only kids are around… Only kids are imprisoned here. Even the goddess doesn't care."

He kept complaining. He talked so much that Almond wondered how he had kept quiet earlier.

Almond cautiously raised his head to assess the situation, making sure not to wake the senior guard on top of him.

The junior guard wasn’t too far away, only around ten steps by sheep standards.

'Why am I thinking in terms of a sheep?'

Without realizing it, Almond had been thinking from the perspective of a sheep. He needed to transform or he would really become a sheep as Lorang had warned.

'What should I do…? If I transform here, can I really beat the two of them?’

He wasn't sure and didn't know Lete's strength.

'If only there was a more reliable weapon…'

He lacked the confidence to transform and discreetly looked around, trying not to move his back. He only slightly turned his head and spotted something like a wooden club, but no proper weapons.

'Sigh.'

Could he defeat those two guards wielding real swords with that?

'Real swords?'

He realized the guards had weapons. Could he snatch those weapons and use it against them? That would make things easier.

'Wait…'

Suddenly, he felt a familiar sensation on his back. The senior soldier had something on him…

'A bow.'

It looked just like a bow.

Almond shouted out, "Baa!"

Of course, only a cry came out. However, it was a clear command.

'Pulri - Becket.'

Boom!

With a loud noise, a cloud as white as wool rose.