Boonie Bears: Another World Fantasy

There was a musty smell in the hotel.

The old wallpaper was wrinkled and bubbly, stuck to the wall like the skin of a dead animal.

Left with no other choice, Sharp had to accept the cost of a single room for seventy dollars per night, not including breakfast.

It's really frustrating.

After handing over the last of his money, the impatient receptionist finally handed over the keys.

"Rooms will be checked out at noon tomorrow—" the receptionist reminded Sharp clearly, as if afraid he wouldn't know.

Sharp ignored him and gestured for Naya to come over.

No, do you dislike me that much?

Although I gave my only hoodie to Naya, which forced me to reveal the shocking printed pajamas underneath, it doesn't mean I'm a weird person!

Compared to Sharp, who no longer cared about his appearance, Naya was cautious. Wearing a hoodie, she blinked her large eyes, as if subtly trying to express something.

"Goo-"

It was just a tiny gurgling sound in my stomach, but it was amplified infinitely in the quiet evening.

The girl blushed and lowered her head shyly.

So they were hungry. Sharp felt a pang of shame. It turned out that one bowl of beef noodles wasn't nearly enough for the two of them...

Damn it, if only I had put more money in my bag, now I'm living like a homeless person. A kind of heartache and sadness he had never felt before gradually spread in his heart. Thinking of how Naya had applied medicine to him and prepared food for him in the Enchanted Forest, Sharp felt particularly sorry for her. After all, she had saved his life, and now she had to go hungry with him.

No, Sharp, you're a man! Even if you don't eat, you can't let her go hungry!

He swore to himself.

......

Boiling water was poured into the instant noodle container, and instantly, a familiar aroma filled the room.

Sharp was relieved that the hotel had thoughtfully provided two free buckets of instant noodles in each room, which temporarily solved his current food problem.

"Sharp, is this really okay?"

Naya lay on the table and poked at the steaming instant noodles with a folding fork.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine in a bit." Sharp, whose face was already full of worry, still tried to appear relaxed.

He tried his best to protect her curiosity, so that she wouldn't feel that the world was so cruel and indifferent, and not as wonderful as she imagined.

Sharp didn't want to disappoint Naya.

Her innocence, which stands apart from this complex environment, has become her most precious asset.

Although the current situation is tough and quite intriguing, Sharp has gradually adapted. Isn't living in another world a kind of rebirth?

Come on, let the storm rage on! He cried out in his heart.

While Sharp was still giving her a mental reward, Naya had already shown off all the instant noodles.

Perhaps because it was her first time trying this kind of seasoning, she drank the entire broth.

"It smells so strange... but it smells so good—"

She became increasingly fascinated by this thing called noodles.

Sharp, who is used to eating instant noodles, doesn't think there's anything to praise about it, and that eating instant noodles for a long time can easily cause some side effects.

I always feel like I've led her astray...

“There are still many things here that you haven’t tried yet. I can take you there tomorrow—” Halfway through his sentence, Sharp suddenly realized that he was penniless.

"I can take you...to see it." He couldn't make such a promise now, so he awkwardly changed his words.

Noticing his predicament, Naya asked with some concern:

Am I a burden to you?

She wasn't naive; she had clearly seen the hesitation and embarrassment that flashed across his face several times when he was buying things. The outside world was still too unfamiliar to Naya; she couldn't offer even the slightest help.

"No, no, no," Sharp immediately denied.

“You can think of this as a trip, or a way to relax,” he emphasized, trying to comfort her with words.

But... she can't go anywhere now. The destruction of the Enchanted Forest has completely cut off Naya's escape route; she can't go back. Recalling the crimes Lefève had defined for her, Sharp couldn't help but feel an urge to protect her, but most of the time he could only watch from the sidelines, unable to do anything.

“You didn’t hold me back, little Na.” His eyes were filled with a sense of helplessness. “I want to thank you so much—”

Naya wanted to say something, but she held back.

The two are so alike, yet so different.

There must be a reason why I met her.

As she spoke, she lowered her eyelids and untied her braid. When that clump of hair, as smooth as flowing water, was let down, Naya seemed like a different person.

“Sharp, I’m sorry,” she said suddenly in a low voice. “I didn’t tell you the truth.”

"Ok?"

Naya stopped what she was doing and looked up at Sharp. Her pupils flickered slightly, revealing a certain wavering emotion deep within. But what it was, Sharp didn't know.

The bedside lamp cast a warm, yellow light. Naya looked away, lying on her back and gazing at the ceiling. Sharp suddenly realized something; what she had just seen in her pupils was…

sad.

“The golden antlers have not disappeared; they have always existed in my body in some form.”

"Then...isn't that even better? At least the high priest can't get it for the time being..."

"Do not……"

She shook her head.

“They’ve been targeting me from the very beginning, Sharp.”

He didn't understand why Naya said that, but judging from her complicated expression, she seemed to have made up her mind.

“I am a vessel, only I can summon the golden antlers again…” Her gaze slowly shifted to the bow and arrow leaning against the headboard.

"if......"

Naya reached her slender hand to her waist and gently removed the sharp dagger with feathers tied to it.

"If I unfortunately fall into the hands of the Muslims..." she murmured softly, as if in a devout prayer. "Please kill me..."

These words weighed heavily on Sharp's heart, making it almost impossible for him to breathe. When the dagger was presented to Sharp, he froze completely.

The strong and persistent young girl in front of us, almost to the point of obsession, is clearly mentally prepared to face death head-on without hesitation.

But can he really bring himself to do it?

"No!" Sharp had never considered making such a decision.

"I absolutely cannot do it, Naya, don't think like that..."

There must be other ways to solve this problem, he told himself.

“Sharp, you don’t know how ruthless Mus will be to achieve his goals… He’s a heartless madman.”

She suddenly grabbed Sharp's hand and forcefully shoved the dagger into his palm.

“Promise me.” Naya gripped Sharp’s hand tightly, looking at him seriously.

"I……"

He was hesitant, unable to imagine what the scene would be like.

“Naya, I can’t do this…” Sharp lowered his head silently, unable to look her in the eye, and couldn’t find any other words to say.

“Sharp…” Naya looked at him with difficulty.

In the distance, a low rumble of thunder sounded, like the sky's reply. The room was eerily silent as the two, consumed by their sorrow, simply lingered there.

"Go to sleep, you've been exhausted for the past few days."

Sharp broke the silence first, trying to avoid the sensitive topic, and said calmly.

Immediately, he gritted his teeth, frowned, and tried to take off his clothes, but the piercing pain in his back felt like a million ants gnawing at him, forcing him to abandon the idea. The wounds inflicted by Lefie in the forest hadn't fully healed, and every movement brought excruciating pain.

Just then, a gentle breeze brushed against his back, accompanied by a warm and delicate touch. A hand gently stroked his back, as if with magical power, easing the unbearable pain slightly.

“You remind me so much of someone I know.” Naya’s voice was as melodious as a nightingale’s, yet her tone carried a hint of longing.

"He's just like you, always stubbornly sticking to his principles and unwilling to do anything against his conscience." Her gaze softened, as if she were lost in memories.

Perhaps it was because night had fallen and the surrounding atmosphere had become increasingly tranquil that Naya's state of mind began to undergo subtle changes. Her long-dormant inner world was slowly being awakened, and those emotions buried deep within her heart surged up like a tide.

Sharp keenly grasped the deeper meaning in Naya's words, realizing that a hidden story might be behind them. So he turned to Naya, looked into her eyes, and asked earnestly, "Could you tell me about it?"

Faced with Sharp's request, Naya smiled slightly, a hint of shyness and hesitation in her expression. She feigned reluctance and whispered, "Goodnight, Mr. Sharp." Then, she leaned close to Sharp's ear, parted her lips, and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Sweet dreams..."