Forest
1
Character icon
Toya

So this is what a forest is like...

2
Character icon
An

How is it seeing the real thing?

3
Character icon
Toya

Well...

4
Character icon
Toya

I think I have a better idea of what Azusawa meant by “clarity”.

5
Character icon
Toya

Hearing all the birds chirping, the babbling brook and the wind as it breezes by...

6
Character icon
Toya

It's very... Soothing.

7
Character icon
Toya

Yes, if I sing that one section with this in mind...

8
Character icon
Toya

♪——————...

9
Character icon
Toya

It'd sound something like that...

10
Character icon
Kohane

Oh wow...!

That's exactly what I was talking about, Aoyagi!

11
Character icon
Toya

It was?

That's wonderful.

12
Character icon
Akito

You figured it out already...?

13
Character icon
An

Yeah, don't just leave us behind.

14
Character icon
Toya

Still, this is really nice.

All the leaves and grass are still very green despite being winter.

15
Character icon
An

That's true.

By the way, this one here's edible...

16
Character icon
Kohane

Wait, really?

17
Character icon
An

Yeah, these are called “sunroots”. They're pretty good too. You can cook them by boiling or frying them up.

18
Character icon
Kohane

That's so interesting...!

You're like a walking encyclopedia, An.

19
Character icon
Akito

It's not gonna make us sick or anything, right?

20
Character icon
An

They're edible. Honest!

Oh, I think I see some more over there. Why don't we pick a few while we're here?

21
Character icon
Kohane

Sure, I'll help.

22
Character icon
Toya

I'd like to as well.

23
Character icon
Akito

*Sigh*

Okay, fine...

24
Character icon
An

Wow, we got a bunch...!

25
Character icon
Akito

That's great, but are you sure we can get through all of these?

26
Character icon
An

We'll be fine!

Between the four of us and our campfire, this should be just enough.

27
Character icon
An

Anyway, let's start heading back.

Let's see... We came from that way, right?

28
Character icon
Akito

Hey, you don't have to make wild guesses. We have the GPS on our phones to... Hm?

29
Character icon
Akito

No service...?

30
Character icon
Kohane

What?

31
Character icon
Akito

Seriously?

I had a signal just a second ago.

32
Character icon
Kohane

M-Me too! It wasn't strong, but it definitely seemed like we were still in range. What happened...?

33
Character icon
Kohane

Oh no! The GPS stopped working...!

34
Character icon
An

What?! N-No! Why?!

35
Character icon
Toya

Could it be the weather...?

36
Character icon
Toya

I have no way of confirming this, but I've heard before that the weather can affect how cellular signals behave.

37
Character icon
An

Yeah, you might be right!

Everything's starting to fog or mist up!

38
Character icon
Kohane

Wh-What do we do...?!

39
Character icon
Akito

Just calm down.

Panicking is the worst thing we can do right now.

40
Character icon
Akito

First, we need to figure out where we are...

41
Character icon
Toya

Oh, I have a pocket map...!

I made sure to pack one just in case.

42
Character icon
An

Really?! You're the best, Toya!

43
Character icon
Toya

But this may not be enough to tell us where we are...

44
Character icon
Toya

We may be able to figure out where and in which direction our campsite is, but I apologize for not bringing a compass. For that, I apologize...

45
Character icon
Kohane

No, having a map should help us out a lot!

46
Character icon
Toya

Based on what I've read, you're supposed to retrace your steps by looking for trail markers or anything that seems familiar... What do you think, Akito?

47
Character icon
Akito

Right... We might be able to find somewhere that looks familiar.

48
Character icon
Akito

Alright, let's head back a little and see if anything jogs our memories.

49
Character icon
An & Kohane

Okay!

50
Character icon
Kohane

Oh no... It's starting to get really dark...

51
Character icon
Akito

This is bad...

We won't be able to see anything once it's pitch black.

52
Character icon
Akito

We'll be completely lost at that point.

53
Character icon
An

Nooo...!

54
Character icon
An

Okay, breathe...

Just calm down!

55
Character icon
Kohane

Does this mean we have to sleep outside...?

56
Character icon
An

The cold's gonna really get us if we do. We may be wearing cold-weather gear, but getting through the night won't be easy.

57
Character icon
Akito

A fire would help...

But I think we left the matches back at our site.

58
Character icon
Kohane

Yeah... Also, this fog is going to make it hard to find any dry branches.

59
Character icon
An

No...

60
Character icon
Toya

...

61
Character icon
Toya

(Isn't there anything we can do...?)

62
Character icon
Luka

<I believe everyone possesses some sort of “unique talent”.>

63
Character icon
Toya

(What can I do right now...?)

64
Character icon
An

Oh...

Guys, look up!

65
Character icon
Kohane

Oh, all those stars...!

66
Character icon
Akito

Whoa... The whole sky's lit up.

67
Character icon
Toya

So many... This is incredible...

68
Character icon
Toya

They're beautiful...

69
Character icon
Kohane

If only we hadn't gotten lost...

We would've been able to enjoy them more...

70
Character icon
An

But we don't have a choice right now.

Let's just keep trying whatever we can, Kohane.

71
Character icon
Kohane

Right...

72
Character icon
Toya

...

Hm...?

73
Character icon
Toya

(Wait, we can see stars...!)

74
Character icon
Akito

Hm? What's up?

75
Character icon
Toya

(I don't see it... How can that be?)

76
Character icon
Toya

(Oh, right, it's winter and the trees must be in the way... That means I just have to...!)

77
Character icon
Kohane

A-Aoyagi?!

78
Character icon
An

T-Toya, what's gotten into you?!

Why are you climbing that tree?!

79
Character icon
Toya

Sorry, I just need to check on something!

80
Character icon
Akito

By climbing up a tree?!

81
Character icon
Toya

Ow...!

82
Character icon
Toya

(My fingers... This bark's so prickly...!)

83
Character icon
Toya

(On top of that, I can't get a good footing. There's so much dew from that mist...)

84
Character icon
Toya

(Climbing a tree is harder than I expected...)

85
Character icon
Toya

(I've done so little with my life...)

86
Character icon
Toya

(But that doesn't matter right now!

I just need to focus on climbing!)

87
Character icon
Toya

Ow...!

88
Character icon
Toya

I should be able to see it now...!

89
Character icon
Toya

There you are, Cassiopeia.

90
Character icon
Toya

Draw two lines through those five stars, bisect those by drawing a line through the star in the middle, stretch it out to five times its length and...

91
Character icon
Toya

There it is! The north star!

92
Character icon
An

What?

93
Character icon
Kohane

Oh, he's right...!

If we know where the north star is, we should be able to find our way back!

94
Character icon
Toya

If we apply this information to our map, we should be able to find our campsite.

95
Character icon
An

Th-Thank goodness...!

Thank you so much, Toya!

96
Character icon
Akito

That was pretty cool...

Nice one, Toya.

97
Character icon
Akito

But one question...

Is it okay for you to be up that high?

98
Character icon
Toya

Why...?

99
Character icon
Akito

Aren't you afraid of heights?

100
Character icon
Toya

...

101
Character icon
Kohane

Oh no...!

Aoyagi froze up!!

102
Character icon
An

Wh-What did you do that for, Akito...?!

103
Character icon
Akito

Huh? Why are you blaming me?!

104
Character icon
Toya

I... I should be fine...

I managed to climb up... So I should be able to get back down... Right...?

105
Character icon
Kohane

Y-You can do it, Aoyagi...!

106
Character icon
An

H-Hang in there, Toya!

107
Character icon
Akito

Get it together, Toya!

We're all heading back together!

108
Character icon
Toya

I'll be fine... I... I can get down...

Next Chapter: Seeing It Together