Chapter 1

"Bargh!"

I opened my eyes in shock as water suddenly bombed my face.

The unpleasant sensation of water droplets trickling down my neck made me involuntarily grimace.

For a moment, in my half-asleep state, I was reminded of my college roommate. But then I remembered that I was well past my college graduation age. So who would be rude enough to douse a sleeping person with water?

I looked around in a daze, and found iron bars in front of me—I was in a room with three brick walls. Through the bars, I could barely make out a gravel corridor. It was pitch black beyond that.

"Eh?"

I wasn't the tidiest person, but my place was never this gloomy.

I mean, this place doesn’t look like anything other than a prison to begin with. Why? Why am I here? What crime could I have committed? If anything, I was so much of a shut-in that Mom told me to get out and cause a scandal or two.

Okay, calm down. Try remembering what I was doing before this.

I had just cooked some instant ramen with soft tofu, a rare culinary effort for me. Feeling sluggish afterward, I wrote some nasty comments on a recommended post in an online community.

Then out of the blue, a reply came with a mod recommendation—a mod named Super Coward Mode.

Right, I installed Super Coward Mode to play Snow Castle in a more productive way, then launched the game to test it out.

The fact that I couldn't remember anything after that told me something must have happened.

As I looked around the prison cell, trying to figure out where I was, I got an eerie feeling of familiarity that made me shudder.

Why did it feel like I'd been in this prison before?

I tried to get up to take a closer look, but my body wouldn't move freely. Upon shifting my gaze to my wrists, I saw they were bound with wooden handcuffs.

"What the hell?!"

Wood instead of iron rings in this day and age? The absurdity of it all made me raise my voice without thinking. Startled by the loudness of my own voice, I covered my mouth.

Idiot, what if you provoke whoever's out there by yelling like that?

Thankfully, I didn't hear any footsteps approaching. As I sighed in relief, still staring at the wooden handcuffs, I sensed a strange presence behind me.

Had it been too dark for me to notice someone else was here?

Slowly, I turned my head in that direction, scared—I mean cautious in case they posed a threat. I could faintly make out a human figure, and I could see it was trembling.

For a moment, I tensed up, thinking they might be shaking with anger. But strangely, I didn't sense any hostility.

Looking closer, I could even hear faint breathing. They seemed to be laughing at something.

"Pfft, finally looking this way, are we?"

"A woman...?"

"Yes, a woman. You like that?"

While I fell speechless at her abrupt nonsense, the stranger continued chuckling at whatever she found amusing.

As my eyes fully adjusted to the darkness, I could see it was a woman in black clothing with her hair tied back. Apparently, she had been laughing at how I'd yelled and then got scared of my own voice.

Why hadn't I sensed her presence earlier? If she'd been laughing hard enough to shake like that, I should have noticed someone was there.

I wanted to try talking to her, but seeing her unable to stop laughing made me feel a bit embarrassed.

Come on, anyone would be startled in this situation. No need to laugh so much.

As I silently observed her, I noticed she was holding something.

Upon closer inspection, it looked like a water bottle... The cap was open, and there were water droplets on the mouth of the bottle.

Oh, no way.

I glanced between the bottle and the woman with a disgruntled expression. She shook her head and her bound hands simultaneously.

"Pfft. Oh, no, I wasn't trying to make fun of you! Absolutely not! Pffp..."

This bitch? I don't know who she is, but splashing water on a stranger is not cool.

I wanted to snap back at her, but something about her continued laughter gave me an odd sense of déjà vu.

No, wait. What's this feeling? Is it déjà vu? But then, it feels like I've actually seen her before.

I tried to recall the source of this familiarity, but nothing came to mind.

"Pipe down, Thief."

"What the, there's another one..."

"Hehe, sorry. It's just been a while since someone interesting came in."

This time, it wasn't that I hadn't noticed; it seemed they had been deliberately keeping quiet to stay undetected.

But this voice also sounded familiar… Oh.

Suddenly, a realization hit me, sending an unpleasant chill down my spine. My frontal lobe forcibly awakened as if telling me to stop denying reality, unleashing a tsunami of memories.

My creaking neck turned to confirm the presence of the person leaning against the adjacent wall, delivering the final blow to my confusion.

He was the man known as the Outer God Slayer, the Outer God Dedicated Bully, the Outer God Killer, among many other names. 

He was the protagonist of Snow Castle—the Hunter.

The Hunter was slowly turning his gaze as if appraising us, his breath amplified by his cloak… looking as if deciding whether to take us along during his escape, or leave us behind.

#

The Thief, oblivious to the current situation, started chatting with me, her new cellmate. She introduced herself as Agartha, babbling away by my side.

"Why the long face all of a sudden? I guess it is weird to be laughing in prison, huh? Hehe."

Upon realizing that I had stepped into the world of Snow Castle, I could recall who this woman was.

There was a thief talking to the Hunter in the prologue, and that must have been Agartha. I hadn't recognized her earlier because she was just an extra who died instantly during the escape.

"So, what are you in for?"

After talking about herself at length, she finally got curious about me.

But I couldn't answer. Or rather, I wanted to ask: Why am I in prison when I'm not even the protagonist?

Seeing that I wasn't responding, Agartha must have thought I didn't want to answer. She sidled up to me and tried again.

"Giving me the silent treatment? But I'm so curious about you."

Her full appearance came into view as she approached, and the fact that she was indeed a woman became very apparent.

Mm. This is uncomfortable. Besides, even if I wanted to answer, what could I say when I don't know anything?

"I don't know."

"Huh? How can someone not know who they are?"

Surprisingly, there's someone right here who doesn't. I wish I at least knew whom I'd been transmigrated as.

But in the original prologue, it was just the protagonist and Agartha chatting. There wasn't supposed to be anyone else.

"Oh, could it be...?"

I wondered what nonsense she was about to spout, but suddenly she made an incredibly embarrassing gesture.

"You look so innocent, but maybe you've been busy slapping butts here and there?"

I wanted to refute her sack of bullshit, but the thought that it might actually be true made me keep silent.

Isn’t a Status Window supposed to pop up in these situations and at least give some info about myself?

Oh, maybe I actually need to shout "Status Window" for it to appear?

"Status Window."

I whispered it quietly, almost inaudibly, but nothing happened.

Fuck this trash game.

"What did you just say? Status Window?"

Come on, how did she hear that? Didn’t I literally whisper under my breath?

I guess this is what it means to be a thief, huh?

"I didn't say anything."

"You clearly said something. You can't fool my ears."

Despite her serious tone, her expression showed a mischievous smile, as if she'd found something new to tease me about.

I hadn't realized it because she died in the first chapter, but this Thief is really asking for a flick to the forehead, isn't she?

As I was trying to calm my inner turmoil, Agartha suddenly widened her eyes and pointed at me.

I tilted my head in confusion as she pointed out something.

"Huh? There's a piece of paper in your pocket."

Could it be a note explaining my identity?

I tried to reach into my pocket to check, but there was nothing there.

"What, there's noth—"

It wasn't that there was nothing; she had snatched it away so quickly I hadn't even noticed.

With a cat-like expression, as if she'd stolen some precious treasure, the Thief started unfolding the paper. Whatever was written on it made Agartha's expression turn serious as her eyes darted back and forth.

What is it? What's written there? Did I possess the body of some extremely dangerous serial killer who threatens this game universe or something?

Sweat trickled between the handcuffs and my wrists.

The unnecessarily tense moment passed quietly, and soon Agartha finished reading the paper. She dropped it and started trembling. Even her lips were quivering, as if she was trying to hold something back.

I swallowed quietly as the Thief’s trembling gradually intensified until...

Laughter erupted, assaulting my ears.

"Bwahahaha! Hahk! Hoot, with content like this, no wonder you wanted to hide it."

Agartha was holding her stomach, cackling uncontrollably. She was laughing so hard she fell backward, feet twitching.

What on earth was written there to make her laugh so hard? Holy damn I want to flick her head off.

I snatched the paper Agartha had dropped.

Let's see. What's so funny?

After quietly reading the paper, I crumpled it up with both hands and threw it into the corner.

「I'm sorry, I have a mental illness that makes me see strange things. Please understand if I suddenly get startled.

-Laydan Tanton」

Fuck. Of all the possibilities, I had to be a mental patient?

Wiping away tears from laughing so hard, Agartha put her hand on my shoulder.

"A mental illness is enough to get you locked up, I guess. What, did you strip naked and run amok in the city or something, Mr. Laydan Tanton?"

I gently pushed Agartha away, my expression vacant as I faced this unacceptable reality, but Agartha's grinning mouth wouldn't close.

No, it can't be. Sure, this paper just happened to be in my pocket, but I might not actually be this Laydan Tanton person, right? Yeah, maybe I killed this Laydan guy and took the paper from his pocket into mine.

…Why do my excuses feel uglier the more I make them?

Seeing me speechless, Agartha looked at me with a mocking smile, as if I really were mentally ill.

"I'm not mentally ill!"

My desperate protest seemed to have an effect, as Agartha nodded with an understanding expression.

"That's what they all say."

"Have you considered that this paper might be telling a lie?"

"Then what about the 'Status Window' you just muttered?"

"That was... Argh, anyway, I'm telling you it's not true!"

"Oh my, is that so? Mr. Tanton, I'll have you know I was also dragged to this prison for no reason at all."

You’re saying I’m being that ridiculous?

As I was about to argue back, the Hunter, who had been sitting in a chair watching us, wrinkled his nose and shifted his gaze away from the Thief.

"Couldn't you come up with a more plausible joke? That's rich coming from a woman who reeks of rotting corpses wherever she goes."

"Eek, that's a bit harsh, don't you think?"

Acting as if hurt,Agartha suddenly leaned on me with a pitiful expression. I flinched, worried about the stench of rotting corpses the Hunter mentioned, but surprisingly, there was no foul odor at all. If anything, she had a soft, feminine scent.

Agartha mumbled to me with a tearful face.

"Do you think so too, Mr. Tanton?"

I would normally have told the truth, but feeling annoyed at how she had just been teasing me, I decided to lie.

"Not a lot, but there is a bit of a stench..."

Her pupils contracted noticeably, appearing shocked. I found that quite amusing.

"I-Is it really that bad?"

"Even if you try to cover it up with perfume, there are some smells that just won't go away."

As the Hunter gently lowered his head and spoke, Agartha seemed quite upset. She replied in a slightly sulky voice.

"What about you then? Being here means you've committed a crime too, doesn't it?"

"I'd rather not be lumped in with the likes of you."

"Then why are you here?"

"I see no obligation to explain."

I knew why the Hunter was imprisoned in this dungeon. There was an Outer God buried in this underground prison. He had allowed himself to be captured on purpose to hunt down that Outer God.

"Huh! So we're all innocent people wrongly imprisoned here!"

Agartha gestured towards herself, the Hunter, and me.

Clap!

She clapped her cuffed hands together, drawing attention and focusing our gazes on her.

As expected, she was naturally building up the plot.

"Well, then we can't just stay here, can we? It would be a shame to lose our heads for no reason. How could we rest in peace then?"

The mention of losing our heads was quite chilling, but it was a common occurrence here. Snow Castle was set in a dark fantasy world, after all.

As the Hunter and I fell into deep thought, Agartha smiled between us.

"So, shall we break out of here?"

It was an extremely reckless suggestion, but that unique smile of hers somehow made it appealing.

And that's how it began. The story of the Hunter, the Thief, and the Lunatic.