Chapter 11

Silence.

A word meaning to be quiet without saying anything or the state of being so.

When one has something to say but doesn't for whatever reason or out of stubbornness, we say they're keeping silent.

That's right.

Everyone around me was keeping silent.

As soon as my crime was announced, as if they had heard something they shouldn't have!

Damn it, what did you do, Laydan Tanton, you lunatic!

I had heard rumors that even among criminals, sex offenders are treated as the lowest of the low, with their treatment plummeting to the worst.

But.

Attempted rape of an Outer God, the public enemy of this world?

Even if the Outer God appears as a beautiful woman, there's a limit to abnormal sexual desires!

As someone with an extremely normal sexual perception, I raised my voice.

"Um... Th-there must be some mistake. Think about it? No matter what, how could a human have the strength to do such a thing to an Outer God... No, is such a thing even possible in the first place?! This is a false accusation, I tell you!"

"A severe mental disorder indeed."

I tried to protest to the man in the teddy bear suit to request a correction, but it didn't work on him.

I tried to move, unable to accept this, but the White Mask extended her plastic sword.

"Don't move. There's no room for excuses from criminals."

"This is ridiculous."

"Huh, how brazen."

It's just a plastic sword, isn't it? I tried to force my way through, but the toy axe falling in front of me took away that thought.

Thud.

"I-I told you not to move, didn't I?"

Seeing it strike the ground, I realized.

It only removes fear, it doesn't protect against pain.

I had to admit it.

I pretended not to, but I had relied on this Super Chicken Mod.

Rather, by removing fear from a coward, it had allowed recklessness to grow.

Unable to move, I looked at the Hunter with eyes saying "it's not true" while nursing my wounded heart, but.

"Tch."

He didn't seem to believe me at all.

You bastard Hunter, it's not true, I'm telling you it's not!

With a feeling of last resort, I looked at Agartha, but that was a mistake.

Our eyes met directly.

Grin.

A smile had risen on her face.

The kind of infuriating grin befitting a thief.

"...Pfft."

"?"

"Running around naked... kuhup, would seem more decent in comparison? Puhuhuh."

Ah.

Should I kill myself?

I don't know who set up the character of 'Laydan Tanton', but if our eyes ever meet, that day will be that person's last.

"Kyaa!"

"I told you not to move just a moment ago."

When the White Mask lightly pressed Agartha's stomach with the plastic sword, there was a sizzling sound of flesh burning.

That alone was enough to immediately shut Agartha's mouth.

"If words come out one more time, there won't be a next time."

"I'll keep that in mind!"

Seeing Agartha all shriveled up made me feel a bit better, but it was only slightly better.

Even then, seeing her still looking this way with a smirk made me feel like my insides were burning up again.

As I was barely suppressing my indignation, the man in the teddy bear suit spoke without hiding his disgust.

"No survivors in the prison. The prison is closed as of now. Our knight order will take over and escort these sub-human prisoners."

"No...!"

"We will not accept any more questions."

I wanted to refute, but they tied our hands with something like blue tape.

It seemed like it would tear immediately if I applied force, but even when I tried, it didn't come loose.

Is this also something made from Outer Gods?

And so we were dragged away, unable to resist, with tape more shabby than handcuffs.

Even as we were being dragged, I kept thinking about my crime.

...Sigh.

So this is what they call responsibility without pleasure.

It's worse than I imagined.

The knight order seemed to know the way well, finding their path relying on just one lantern even though the road must look dark to them too.

I looked at Agartha and the Hunter as if checking their reactions.

Agartha was still glancing at me with an expression full of teasing thoughts, but the Hunter now wouldn't even make eye contact with me.

Sigh.

It's giving me a headache.

Until just a moment ago, I felt like we had gotten a bit closer.

It must be because of my crime.

There's nothing good about distancing myself from the protagonist of Snow Castle.

I glared at that fluffy doll head for no reason.

This was all because of that teddy bear bastard.

Why did you have to recite the crime there...!

Whether my setting was like this or that, if he hadn't said anything, this wouldn't have happened.

"Finally, the exit."

"Every time I come to this prison, I feel it's too big..."

"Why did the Outer God have to come out from here of all places...!"

The knights, oblivious to my feelings, were just chatting among themselves.

Yeah... what could I, who has no power, do?

Walking with a feeling of 'whatever happens, happens', I felt the front gradually getting brighter.

As the masked woman said, we must be going outside now.

As soon as we went outside, what greeted us was...

"...Wow."

It was such a mysterious sight that I couldn't help but admire it.

The sense of liberation felt from the open space, and trees that were green yet colorful, reminiscent of spring, could be seen standing between the villages.

In the center was a very tall pillar made of stone bricks, and wasn't fire rising up with heat, as if creating a mirage?

The reason why this dark fantasy world, ruined by the interference of Outer Gods, is called Snow Castle.

It's because of the story of a castle that burns endlessly even in the snowstorm that destroys the world.

I remember that the towering tower was called firewood, and the flame burning on top of it was called the hearth.

Was the Imperial Princess said to be at the very top?

I looked up at the sky, recalling the settings I had seen in the community.

Only then did I remember another motivation for playing this game.

Beyond the castle walls, the raging snowstorm was melting as it reached the domain.

The fire burning in the hearth and the snowstorm that would freeze the world seemed to intertwine with each other.

The harmony of ice and fire showed a stark contrast, but ironically, they were naturally entangled as if they had been one.

This world was too...

'Beautiful.'

To say it was being destroyed by Outer Gods.

My eyes kept looking at the sky at the spectacle that seemed like something out of a movie.

The White Mask noticed this, and a scratchy voice rang out from inside the mask.

"I guess you really are mentally disturbed. To admire the harm that's destroying this world and the cause of Outer God interference."

I didn't want to care about her sarcasm.

Right.

The reason I decided to start Snow Castle was because the game depicted this scene with very high graphics, and I felt it was beautiful and started it.

Even if it became the cause of this world's destruction, from a gamer's perspective, this snow was very beautiful in itself.

So I even felt honored to see this spectacle in person.

As I was looking around, trying to take in more of this sight, something entered my view.

"Hm?"

Looking closely at the area with the snowstorm, there seemed to be another domain beyond the snowy mountains, with something like castle walls, and wasn't there a huge figure standing inside?

I squinted my eyes to see what it was more clearly, and as it came into focus, I started to see it properly.

'A person?'

It was in the shape of a person.

The shape of a giant that seemed to be much taller than any ordinary castle.

Standing tall in the raging snowstorm, even larger than the huge snowy mountains, it was truly overwhelming.

As I looked at it slowly, it started to transform into the figure of a woman, and at some point, I felt like it was looking at me.

And the moment it moved its mouth to say something, someone grabbed the back of my head and pulled.

"Aaargh!"

Feeling pain as if my hair was being ripped out, I looked in that direction to see the White Mask with an expression that seemed very angry.

"I said you were mentally disturbed, but to not even care about your own life!"

As I made an utterly wronged expression at her sudden outburst, her expression became even more severe.

"Rondan's third rule. Do not look at, revere, or pray to the huge something visible beyond the snowy mountains."

No, damn it.

There was such a rule?

Before I could ask first, the masked woman started to explain kindly.

"If you look at that, you freeze from the inside out and turn into an ice statue.

Were you perhaps trying to commit suicide out of shame for your crime being revealed? You fool!"

...No, you die that painfully?

What on earth is that thing?

My knowledge of Snow Castle was fragmentary, and if compared to a tree, I only knew about the branches, being a complete novice about the important trunk.

I wanted to ask so badly, but I had to bury it inside, thinking they probably wouldn't answer anyway.

"...Are you okay? You don't feel like your stomach is burning up?"

Even in this situation, Agartha whispered, showing concern for me.

"Well, considering you dealt with the Observer, I think you'll be fine."

If I said that such consistency was somewhat of a mental comfort, I think my heart would become a little sadder, so I decided to endure it.

And so, we headed towards the center of Rondan.