"Yuri-kun? Shori? Murata-kun, too?"
"Mari-san? Is that you?" Yuri could only ask in disbelief and also because he had to make sure that what he was seeing in front of him at the moment was the truth.
That the identity of the cloaked warrior attacking them earlier was none other than Yuri's mentor on Earth and one of Shori's childhood friends, Akiyama Mari.
But the young woman's initial response was a burst of short laugh, as if relieved, followed by a wide smile that only confirmed Yuri's suspicion that the cloaked woman was indeed his mentor.
"I can't believe it. What are you three doing here?" Mari inquired as she sheathed her sword, which Murata and Shori soon noticed was a nodachi, one of the blade weapons that they were familiar with as a Japanese one. And they also knew that it was one of Mari's specializations.
The other soldiers knew that it was safe for now, so they put their swords back on their sheaths. But the confusion they felt because of the sudden turn of events didn't dissipate one bit. It was intensified because of the interaction among the four people.
"Shouldn't we be asking that to you? How come you're here in this world?" Shori asked back as he approached Mari.
Mari sighed and looked at Shori. "I've been going back and forth to this world since I was sixteen. Trust me, that came as a shock to me at first. But eventually, I learned to accept it since it's something that you can call my destiny."
"Then... you've been here for that long, Mari-san?"
She nodded. "Yes. I've been trained for that long as a warrior guarding this island. But you haven't answered my question at all. What are you three doing here? And I mean, to this island? Who gave you the access to go here?"
Yuri was about to answer but Murata soon intervened. "Sorry about that, Akiyama-san. But we're in a bit of a situation right now. That's why we're here."
The woman frowned at that. "A situation? What do you mean?"
In the shortest time possible, the three Soukoku men were able to explain the events and situations that led them to go to Esovia. The atmosphere around soon became thick with tension. It was evident in Mari's grave expression as she appeared to be thinking deeply, as well before focusing her attention once again on them.
"A possible Phantasma attack? If it's true... then I won't wonder why the dragons here had been acting strange lately. Since when did it start?"
"If I would calculate it in this world's timeline, that would have been three weeks ago," Murata answered grimly.
Mari was nodding soon after. "That's the same time the dragons began acting strange." She sighed and tapped her forehead slightly. "A Phantasma attack to this day? That would surely cause chaos to the people living here if they find that out."
"Mari," Shori called out, making the woman's focus shift to the older Shibuya. "Before we get right to the topic, can I ask you something?"
The said woman frowned slightly at that. "About what? If you're going to ask about me and the reason why I've been in this world for so long, I'll answer that later. Right now—"
"No, that's not it. It's about this forest."
"This forest? What about it?"
"Does the magic of this forest already disappear?" Yuri asked the question this time, sensing that it was probably what the others had been curious to know if it was about the location that they were currently at.
"I don't get what you mean."
Murata sighed before deciding to speak. "From what I can see, this forest was protected with Lady Yunsoo's illusory ability and it was one of the possible locations protecting the Esovian Mazoku living on this island. But when we entered here, it seems that the forest didn't cast an illusion to distract us or even destroy us."
"Murata-kun, now I think you have an active imagination." Mari smiled a bit and shook her head, appearing to have been amused with those words. The others were confused at that but she soon spoke. "This forest was indeed alive in a way because of Lady Yunsoo's ability to cast an illusion, but it's not as deadly as you all thought it was. The worst thing the forest illusion could do to any strangers trying to get to this island—specifically to those intending to head to the capital—is to remove the memories of those people, especially if the barrier around the forest itself would sense some ill intentions."
"Then why didn't the forest do something like that to us when we entered here?" This time, it was Wolfram who asked the question.
"Does any of you have any ill intentions to this place?" Mari asked back instead of answering.
No one could say a word about that. But it was because Mari's words already answered the Mazoku's question with regards to the mystery of that forest.
"Lady Yunsoo made an exception about the illusion that she put to this forest. As long as the people who would enter this forest won't have any ill motives or intentions toward anything and anyone on this island, the illusion would be put on hold to allow those people to enter without any hassle. As simple as that."
The rest of them just nodded as a sign that they finally understood the situation.
"But this is unbelievable. Yuri-kun as a Maoh? I thought the only thing you could lead was your baseball team back on Earth," Mari joked with a smile.
Yuri scratched the back of his head as he smiled shyly. Of course, the sight had infuriated Wolfram (no surprise about that) since the scenario appeared to the blond Mazoku that Yuri was flirting with a woman. But before he could even do anything to try anything to strangle the young Maoh, Gwendal spoke.
"Forgive me for ruining the mood. But we're in a hurry to see Lord Amrein. We need his help with regards to the Phantasma attacks that the kingdom is facing recently."
"Why Klaus?"
"Of course, he's the only one we knew that came from this island, Mari. At least, Conrad knew him and we're hoping that maybe he could lend us a hand about the situation right now," Shori answered this time.
Mari frowned. "Conrad? You're not possibly talking about Lord Conrart Weller, aren't you?"
"You knew him, Mari-san?" Yuri excitedly asked.
"Only by name," Mari answered with a smile. "Klaus would mention him most of the time. He said that he's one of the few people outside of Esovia that he could entrust his life. Trust me, that's a rare thing for that guy to say to us." Soon after, Mari became serious and faced the four other men accompanying her friends from Earth. "Don't tell me... He's here? He's with you right now?"