Chapter 15

"What are we going to do now, really!"

Agartha was screaming at us.

She had been like this ever since the Vice Captain disappeared after telling us to wait, having heard our answers.

Come on, you agreed to do it too, so why are you suddenly complaining?

As the Hunter and I looked at Agartha with blank expressions, she seemed like she might go crazy at any moment, bouncing and flapping around like a salmon while still tied up.

Honestly, thanks to the Super Chicken Mod, Outer Gods were no longer objects of fear for me as they didn't appear scary.

I couldn't help but think, "Hey, we handled the Observer so well, what's there to be afraid of now?"

"Don't make such a carefree expression! It makes me even angrier!"

As if she had reached the level of reading my thoughts, Agartha pointed at me with her finger and lost her temper.

She usually laughs things off, so I don't understand why she's being so sensitive about this.

"Be quiet."

"Ha, sure! As if I could be quiet. You might not be worried because you've fought Outer Gods several times, but I haven't!"

"Then do you want to crawl like a dog under that guy?"

That guy probably refers to the Vice Captain.

I agree with the Hunter's words.

I don't understand why the community praised the knight order so much.

Still, I think there must be some benefits since they're under the Imperial Princess who rules Rondan.

I've even seen posts listing the advantages of joining the knight order.

As I was thinking this, Agartha pointed at the Hunter and shouted:

"Don't try to elicit strange answers by using such extreme words! We agreed to call that a 'safe life'!"

"Ms. Agartha, please calm down first..."

"Shut up! You indecisive, lunatic, Outer God-fucker!"

I tried to calm Agartha down by waving my hands, but she just blurted it out cleanly.

Hey, didn't you say earlier that it was okay because it was just an attempt!

I didn't do it in the first place!

"Ah, it's over... I shouldn't have answered like that! My life that could have finally flowed smoothly has become tangled up again!"

Agartha's voice gradually lost strength, and at the end, she leaned against the wall as if she was about to collapse.

That thief.

Not knowing that we saved her from near death, she's acting so shamelessly!

This time, I couldn't stand it anymore, so I went close to Agartha and held out my hand in front of her forehead and...

Smack!

"Ow! Are you crazy? Are you really trying to fight, or what!"

"Please calm down, Ms. Agartha. You weren't really planning to join the knight order, were you?"

"W-well, that's true, but..."

"Then this is the best choice. Don't get too excited, let's think about what we should do now."

As I finished speaking, Agartha was staring at me as if she had seen something incredibly strange for some reason.

Not knowing what that look implied, I raised a question mark, and Agartha spoke quietly, as if reciting:

"...The lunatic said something logical."

"..."

"No, I must be the normal one. I'm the two-eyed person in a one-eyed world!"

She wanted to pick a fight until the end, it seems!

Whew, let's be patient.

I rationalized to myself that we're even now with the forehead flick I gave her earlier.

As the situation finally calmed down, we started to hear footsteps approaching.

It seemed the Vice Captain who had disappeared earlier was returning.

"Everyone's still here. I thought at least one of you would try to escape, but I guess not. Well, it would have been immediate execution if you had."

I wondered why he suddenly told us to wait and then left.

Just as I was curious, the Vice Captain spoke:

"Come in."

Three people followed behind him, and one familiar face was mixed among them.

The timid female knight holding an axe.

She was one of the three who came to the prison.

"Vice Captain, what is it that we need to do?"

"Do you see the people in front of you?"

At the Vice Captain's words, two unfamiliar faces came forward and examined us.

With expressions as if they were looking at filth.

"Yes, aren't these the prisoners from the underground prison? What about these bastards?"

"Each of you pick one and go deal with an Outer God."

At those words, their pupils could be seen contracting.

"D-did I hear that wrong?"

"You heard correctly. Hunting Outer Gods alone is a criminal act. So you'll accompany them."

"Aren't there better seniors than us?"

"You know those guys are busy with their own work. You lot who were deemed unsuitable for Outer God hunting are the extra personnel, but you can take on the task of accompanying these people and supervising them. In a situation where everyone's busy, you're the only ones available to be deployed."

Hearing this, the knights seemed to acknowledge it as if they understood the circumstances.

Is the knight order's situation not very good?

Well, they're a group fighting against Outer Gods, so there probably aren't many people suitable for that.

Even if there were, they wouldn't assign high-quality personnel to us criminals.

"Right, it might be a bit much to just tell you to choose randomly.

Here's the list of prisoners. It has their crimes and personal information, so check it."

The knights who received the paper from the Vice Captain read it and made sounds like "Ugh."

"Hey, hey. What's this 'attempted rape of an Outer God'?"

"Crazy. Is this really a crime? How can someone commit such a crime?"

"Y-yeah..."

...I wanted to ignore it, but they were obviously talking about me, so I couldn't.

'Laydan' gets the pleasure, and I get the punishment.

This sucks.

"I'll also tell you about the Outer Gods each of you needs to handle. Understand their characteristics well and choose carefully. If these guys die, you might die too."

"But these guys defeated the Observer, didn't they? We're just apprentice knights, how can we manage them?"

"Don't worry."

The Vice Captain took something out from his chest and stamped us with it.

A deformed bear shape appeared where it was stamped, and despite looking like a stamp, it stung like antiseptic on a wound when it touched.

"It's a seal made from a contractor's finger. The covenant made with this will be absolutely observed unless something extraordinary happens. The criminals won't be able to disobey your orders related to this matter."

The Vice Captain sighed as if tired.

"I'm busy, so I'll return to the firewood. Damn, to be honest, I've already spent too much time here.

So, I expect meaningful results."

Even as he said this, his words and actions didn't show any expectation.

It seemed he didn't really think we could catch an Outer God.

Hmm, how should I put it... It's a bit... yeah.

As the Vice Captain was leaving, he looked at the pink-haired girl, and she avoided his gaze, looking down as if troubled.

After the Vice Captain disappeared, the remaining knights looked at the documents with serious expressions and said:

"We have no choice now. Let's choose the order through a fair duel."

"Ah, you don't mean that?"

"...Um, that's scary, can't we not do it?"

I don't know what they're planning to do that makes them sweat and talk like that.

But their solemn expressions made me unconsciously tense up and focus.

What they took out was a jade bead, which they placed on the floor while muttering something.

Then, a girl's voice came out of the bead:

-Fight fair and square, or you die.

The knights started taking deep breaths while holding their heads together.

"...I don't understand what it's saying, but it's still an unpleasant voice. Well, are you ready?"

"What's decided by this can't be undone?"

"...Yes, ugh... Can't we just decide normally?"

"This way, there won't be any complaints later."

They started moving away, increasing the distance between them, and began to concentrate intensely.

Then they all raised their hands at once, and as they lowered them, they shouted...

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

You crazy bastards!

Don't get so serious over something like that!

Wait, is this coming through a filter too?

After several intense rounds of rock-paper-scissors, it seemed they had finally determined the order of choosing.

"...At last!!!"

"Nice!"

"...Oh, no!"

Unfortunately, it seemed the woman with the axe came in last.

Agartha glanced at them and whispered:

"That's cheating."

"What?"

"It's obvious to my eyes that they're trying to trick the ping-pong player with hand tricks, isn't that bead fake? Or has it been tampered with?"

It looks like a genuine Outer God item to me though...

As I was thinking this, the knight who came in first approached with a dignified walk and held out his hand to the Hunter.

As expected, he's going to the person most likely to hunt Outer Gods.

"I saw in the records that you have multiple experiences of catching Outer Gods. I look forward to working with you."

Saying this, he ripped off the Hunter's blue tape, but the Hunter swatted away the knight's outstretched hand for a handshake and walked away leisurely.

"Don't get in my way."

"...Got some attitude, huh? I like it."

The knight who was smiling for some reason glanced at me once and then followed the Hunter.

That knight is being a jerk till the end.

As I was sighing, the Hunter turned his head towards me once.

I felt like I knew what he wanted to say, so I nodded, and the Hunter started walking his way again without saying anything.

Right, we should meet again.

Being near the protagonist is the safest, so I should find a way to regroup with the Hunter no matter what.

As I was thinking this, the next knight approached Agartha.

"Sigh, a female thief. At least her face is worth looking at."

Hearing those words, Agartha turned her head towards me with an expression full of disgust.

It felt like I could hear her saying, 'Did you hear what this guy just said?!'

Certainly, suddenly saying such cringeworthy things is a bit...

Regardless, that knight ripped off Agartha's blue tape and grabbed her wrist, pulling her.

"Anyway, we now have the goal of defeating an Outer God. Don't even think about running away, and fulfill the duty given to you."

"Okay, I got it, so let go of my hand!"

Agartha shook off the knight's hand with disgust and started walking after him.

...I thought Agartha's future looked bleak too.

As I was thinking this, I sensed someone approaching me.

It was that knight, as expected.

"...Ugh, I didn't expect to meet you again here."

"I didn't expect it at all either."

Making a sound like "Hueh...", she ripped off the blue tape wrapped around my hands.

As my body became free, I felt a mental liberation as well.

While the mind doesn't collapse if the body doesn't, it's certain that if the body collapses, the mind collapses too.

"L-let's go quickly. I think it's better to deal with the Outer God assigned to us as soon as possible."

"Yes, understood."

"A-and take this. It's knight order supplies, but it should be more helpful than having nothing."

What I received were three items that looked like lollipops.

"What are these?"

Since they're knight order items, they can't be simple candies.

Thinking they must have a chicken filter on them, I asked, and the answer I got was shocking.

"They're made from low-rank Outer Gods so the quality isn't great, but one enhances physical functions, one calms and stabilizes the mind. And the last one is... for suicide. It's good to eat this when you think you're really done for."

"I'll keep that in mind."

...Watching her calmly accept while casually talking about a suicide tool gave me a strange feeling.

Is this what a knight of Snow Castle is like?

I looked at the three candies in my hand and thought.

It seems like only the physical enhancement one is usable.

...Surely I won't eat the wrong one by mistake?

"Let's go now."

As I was walking, being guided by the knight, I didn't know how to address this person.

To naturally hear the female knight's name, I should introduce myself first.

"My name is Laydan Tanton."

"...I'm ugh... Y-you can call me 'Muyeon'."

I remember when I saw it in the community, this kid was definitely called the daughter of Mushin.

Is it like a nickname?

In this world, they use nicknames more often.

Well, even the Hunter said he erased his name to avoid being targeted by Outer Gods.

I've been casually telling people my name, is that okay?

Well, I was fine with the Observer, so it should be okay.

"Nice to meet you, Muyeon."

"Y-yes..."

We're setting off to hunt Outer Gods.

"B-by the way, you're not planning to do that kind of thing with the Outer God, right?"

"I told you, I'm not!"

It seemed like it would take some time to clear up this misunderstanding.