[EXT. MOSSY CLEARING – MORNING]
Birds chirp in unsettling harmony. Sparkles float in the air like someone hired a Disney intern for world design. Haruki lies flat on his back, twitching like a man who just lost a fight with gravity and possibly his spine.
Haruki (groaning):"Oh good. I'm alive. Maybe. Unless heaven has back pain."
The giant boar from earlier—now irate and steaming like an overworked espresso machine—snorts a cloud of heat that wilts nearby ferns.
It stomps once. Twice. Earth shakes. Birds scatter. Haruki stares up at it with dead eyes.
Haruki (still lying there):"…Yeah, fine. Death by pig. I've had worse Tuesdays."
The boar rears back, ready to flatten him like a rejected lasagna.
FWSSHHH!A silver arc cuts through the morning air. Light flashes. The boar shrieks, backpedals, and sprints off into the forest like a tank with emotional issues.
Enter: a knight. Late teens or early 20s. Gleaming silver armor, blue cape, hair that looks like he wakes up heroic. His sword vibrates faintly with leftover magic. He glows with the aura of someone destined to have tragic flashbacks.
Leonhardt (stoic):"Are you injured?"
Haruki (blinking):"Only my pride. And maybe my spleen. Hard to tell. Everything hurts. Including my dignity."
Leonhardt helps Haruki sit up. The knight's brows furrow at Haruki's modern clothes: wrinkled dress shirt, slacks, ruined name badge that says "HARUKI – Licensed Mental Health Professional."
Leonhardt (squinting):"…You are not a priest. Nor a warrior. Why are you dressed like a paper merchant?"
Haruki:"I'm a therapist."
Leonhardt (beat):"…Is that a kind of wizard?"
Haruki:"Yes. I cast 'Talk About Your Feelings' at Level 5. Weak against denial, strong against childhood trauma."
Leonhardt stares.
Leonhardt:"…Is that an Eastern school of magic?"
Haruki:"No. It's called 'having a license and crushing student debt.'"
Leonhardt frowns as if trying to locate Haruki on an internal map titled "Professions That Make Sense."
Leonhardt:"You arrived with the Beast of Calamity. People will think you tamed it. Or worse… that you summoned it."
Haruki:"Oh yeah, that's great. I'll put that on my business card. 'Haruki: accidentally bonded with eldritch bacon.'"
A pause. Leonhardt glances back at the treeline, then offers a hand.
Leonhardt:"I am Leonhardt. Chosen Hero of the Sword Temple. First of the Twelve."
Haruki (taking his hand):"Haruki. First of the Underpaid, Lord of Insurance Claims."
[EXT. FOREST PATH – LATER]
Haruki limps beside Leonhardt, who walks like the concept of purpose. Haruki walks like someone whose bones have recently unionized against him.
Haruki:"So what's the deal with you? You the local monster slayer, or just have really bad luck with pigs?"
Leonhardt:"I was on my way to investigate the monster surge near the capital. The Beast of Calamity appearing here is… not ordinary."
Haruki:"I've noticed. Usually my Tuesday clients just cry and blame their mothers. This one tried to gore me."
Leonhardt (curious):"You help people? Even if they're weak?"
Haruki:"I specialize in weak. It's my whole niche. Trauma, grief, identity crises… y'know, the usual emotional buffet."
Leonhardt (quietly):"…Do you think you could help a hero?"
Haruki glances at him. For the first time, Leonhardt's heroic mask slips—just a little. There's something haunted in his eyes. A weight behind the armor.
Haruki (serious now):"Kid, I just got flung through a divine vortex and sat on a murder pig. But if you've got trauma? Yeah. That, I can handle."
A beat. A bird poops on Haruki's shoulder.
Haruki (deadpan):"…Therapy gods, give me strength."
[LATER THAT NIGHT – CAMPFIRE IN THE WOODS]
The fire crackles. Trees rustle gently under a star-filled sky. Haruki chews on a suspiciously chewy piece of mystery meat. Across the fire, Leonhardt sits stiffly, jabbing a stick into the flames like he's negotiating with it.
Haruki:"So. You live here, or are you just a traveling boar-puncher?"
Silence.
Haruki:"Cool. I too enjoy tense silence and existential dread."
Still nothing. The fire pops. An owl hoots like it's judging them.
Haruki (sighing):"…You ever stab a monster so hard your feelings leak out?"
A flicker. Just the barest glance from Leonhardt. But Haruki sees it. He softens, just a little.
Haruki:"…Okay. So it's not just cool-knight syndrome. It's depression. Nice."
Leonhardt:"You shouldn't say such things lightly."
Haruki (shrugs):"Trust me, I'm a professional. Deadpan is my love language."
A pause. The crackle of fire fills the space.
Leonhardt (quietly):"You should've let the boar kill me."
Haruki looks at him. Long and steady. Not judging—just… there.
Haruki:"…That's a really weird way to say thank you."
Leonhardt blinks. Slightly caught off guard, like someone pulled his thoughts out loud.
Haruki (softly):"But hey… if the boar couldn't kill me?I doubt it could kill you.And I've seen your brooding.You're not done yet."
Leonhardt looks down. Shoulders tense, then slowly ease.
Silence stretches between them. But this time, it's not heavy. Just quiet. The kind of silence that doesn't demand anything.
Narration (Haruki):And just like that, I went from fighting for my life…To my first client in another world.A knight who saves people,But hasn't figured out how to save himself.Same old job.Just fewer forms to fill.