"Final log. Alas, it seems I've reached my end. But before my time comes, I'd like to make a note of my grand encounters, so they can at least live on in someone else's memory..."

Yeah, that's probably what I'd write, if I'd thought to bring some sort of notebook with me. Then again, if I had the foresight to do that, it probably would've been better to think to bring some water with me instead. Or some snacks. Or to fill up the gas in this crappy moped. Or to not have even taken that stupid delivery job in the first place... Wait, why is it called a "log" anyway? Isn't that, like, wood? Why not just say "journal entry" instead? Wouldn't that make more sense?

Gah! No Haru, you dimwit! Bringing a journal would've been pointless! First of all, I barely have the energy to move right now, so how would I even be able to write anything down? And what "grand encounters"?! I've yet to reach my goal of finding and making friends with even one alien, time traveler, esper, slider, or vampire ninja... As the leader of the SOS Brigade, this is such a sorry state to be in! Ah, I'm becoming delirious... How did I get into this mess again...?

Ah, yes. It started with... the start of summer vacation. With no school, my fellow SOS Brigade members went off to do their own thing, leaving me all alone. Even Tsun, my right-hand man, abandoned me to visit his grandparents out in the boonies or wherever. I mean, this is something he does every summer break, so I expected it of course, but it doesn't make it suck any less. Even as the Brigade leader, what am I to accomplish without my followers?!

Is what I thought. Which is why I decided, instead of wallowing in misery for a week, waiting for at least Tsun to return, I would take advantage of this time to prepare in advance for a surprise expedition! Well, a surprise to the other SOS Brigade members, of course. Normally, I'd probably be wasting this time sitting around doing nothing, or playing video games, or maybe even doing a little bit of my summer homework... But no! I am now a changed man! And I need to properly lead my followers, dammit!

Which is why I mustered up the motivation to do something I never thought I'd be so gung-ho about, especially during summer vacation... I got a part-time job. If we were all going to go out exploring the undiscovered mysteries of this grand world, we'd need money. Of course, that is the reality of this world. If you really want to do something, you have to work hard for it. There's no way around that, unfortunately...

... but this situation... This is hell. I legit think I'm going to die out here. In the middle of nowhere. And that's terrible.

My boss warned me that the shitty moped ran out of gas fast, and I needed to make sure to fill up its tank every so often. That memory keeps popping up in my head over and over and over again, reminding me how much of a dumbass I am, but that doesn't change the fact that I didn't listen to that advice. It's not even like I forgot about it or anything, instead I ended up getting distracted, and realized I was quickly running out of time to make my deliveries while I was goofing off. I figured I couldn't finish on time without making some sort of compromise, so I decided to rush getting the rest of my deliveries done, ignoring everything else... including the delivery moped's fuel gauge. All I was thinking the whole time however, is that I wanted to make sure I made a good first impression with my boss. I mean, I only have a week to make money, and I was lucky I got this job so fast. I didn't want to waste my good luck on my very first day...

I only had one delivery left. The fuel gauge had been pointing to the very far left for quite a while, but surely it would last until I was done... right? But no. The stupid moped suddenly stopped moving, and it and I toppled onto this gross, dusty lawn. If you can even call it a "lawn", it's pretty much just dirt. I'd normally rather lie on the pavement, but it's so hot that I probably would've burned to death on that scorching road by now. Honestly, being out in this heat for hours has drained so much of my energy that I probably wouldn't have the energy to crawl over there regardless...

Why is it so hot anyways? Summer just started. Why did I decide to accept a job that would make me spend hours in this heat? Why did the last delivery have to be so far away from the others? Where even am I right now?! I bet this place being in the middle of nowhere is why I ran out of gas!

But... it doesn't matter. Thinking about all these things, doesn't matter. The reality is, I'm going to die, and my body's going to get eaten by bugs in this filthy lawn, probably. My life's going to end in such a pathetic way, before I could witness anything truly grand... Is it really my fate to die here? But surely I can't hope for someone to come by here, and see me lying in this random lawn made of just dirt, and come to my aid in my final hour of need...

... Even I know that things like that only happen in fairy tales... Or games... Or animé...

"Um, are you okay?"

... Okay, never mind. I guess I was wrong.

I used what little energy I had to raise my head up, to look at my mystery (potential) savior. Despite my delirious state, I immediately noticed that the person looked familiar. He had the face of my best friend, Tsun. Unlike the normal Tsun though, his face was fairly tanned, as was the rest of his skin, which was easy to tell due to how lightly dressed he was.

But something seemed off. Well, besides the other stuff I mentioned. If was especially abnormal compared to everything else...

Boobs.

"He" was not a he at all. She had breasts; pretty small ones, but big enough that they were easy for me to notice. And I'm pretty sure guys don't have those. Even with my current state of mind, I know that for a fact.

Is this an illusion I'm seeing? If I desire anyone to come to my aid right now, it'd be for sure either my buddy Tsun or some cute maiden. Has my warped mind combined the two together to create this mirage in front of me? Because that's... pretty weird, honestly. I mean, Tsun's admittedly got a rather cute face, but... Ugh, NO. STOP...

"H-HARU?!"

The shout bolted me back into reality. And made me realize that the female Tsun look-alike was actually real. And also had a voice similar to Tsun's as well. Despite my obvious confusion, I reached my hand out to the "girl", as I still wanted her help, obviously.

She seemed hesitant for some reason, but she eventually helped me at least sit up off the ground.

"U-uh, are you okay?" She asked again.

"Not really." I answered bluntly. Rather than ask her for help, I instead asked the question nagging at my mind: "Who are you?"

Her eyes widened, and she suddenly looked very uneasy, no longer even meeting my gaze.

"U-um..." She nervously uttered, looking around in practically every direction but mine.

"Uh, hello? What's wrong?" I finally asked, and she immediately responded with...

"Sierra."

"Sierra?"

"U-uh, yes. T-that's right..."

Sierra, huh? Sounds... foreign. Is she not from around here? Is that why her skin looks tanned?

"Well, nice to meet you... Sierra." I decided to say, noticing her relax a little. "Sorry... You look kind of like a friend of mine, so I was pretty surprised when I first saw you."

"I look like your friend Tsun, huh?" She responded, laughing uneasily.

"Oh? So you know him?"

"H-huh?!" Her eyes widended again, and seemed really surprised by the question, for some reason.

"Are you... a relative of his?" I guessed.

"E-eh?! A-ah... Oh! U-um... yeah. Y-yes. Yep. T-that's right!" She continually nodded vigorously. The once quiet, nervous girl suddenly became very energetic. "I-I'm his... uh... E-erm... cousin. Cousin, yes. I'm his cousin!"