Chapter 16

We headed out to the forest area on the outskirts of Rondan to defeat an Outer God.

Just the two of us, me and the female knight called Muyeon!

Normally, I might have felt good about going out with a woman, but we're heading to a place with an Outer God.

If we're not careful, we might suffer a fate worse than death.

But for some reason, I didn't feel scared.

Normally, I might have been trembling with fear.

Is this also an effect of the Super Chicken Mod?

In contrast...

"Whew, I can do it. I can do it. I can do i- Ow, I bit my tongue. It hurts. Ugh."

Muyeon, walking behind me like a stalker, was trembling to the extent that she reminded me of my old self.

Honestly, like Agartha, I had expected to hunt Outer Gods with the Hunter, so being separated from him was painful, but I was somewhat glad to hear that I'd have a partner.

But to think that partner would be a chicken.

I wondered why someone like this was in the knight order.

Thinking back to the prison, her physical abilities seemed incredible, able to shatter the ground with her axe.

But in this state...

When I glanced back, Muyeon flinched in surprise.

"Is this the right way?"

"Y-yes, yes. The map shows we should keep going this way."

As we were going, I asked something I was curious about.

"By the way, they told us to go catch an Outer God, but isn't it a problem that just the two of us are going?"

I subtly expressed my dissatisfaction, but as expected, I only got the obvious answer in return.

"I was told not to tell outsiders about knight order matters... And they also said not to worry because it's not a high-ranking one... Um, aren't you asking for too much as a criminal...?"

Criminal.

Right, honestly, it was true.

It's not me, but with the label attached to Laydan Tanton, it's no wonder the surrounding gazes aren't kind.

From their perspective, we're just beings that are good if we catch an Outer God and irrelevant if we don't.

That's why I exchanged this unreasonable condition for my life to escape this status.

This time too, I need to survive the Outer God and gain free status to either quit the knight order or something.

Rustle.

"Huh."

"...What's wrong?"

Come to think of it, I felt like quite a bit of time had passed.

Since I couldn't tell Muyeon the real reason, I scratched the back of my head and said:

"S-sorry, but I need to relieve myself..."

"Ah, um, I see. I didn't think of that. Um, take your time..."

This is kind of embarrassing.

I almost wished a man had been assigned to me, but thinking of the question we heard from the jade bead earlier, I felt like nothing good would come of that.

This is better.

I went into some nearby bushes, and as soon as I confirmed Muyeon wasn't looking this way, I lowered my head with my back to her.

I hadn't come to relieve myself.

I came to take out the Lesser Outer God that had been stuck in my pocket for a while.

I gently took it out of my pocket, and the Lesser Outer God popped out.

It flew straight to my face and started rubbing against it, making me realize how stuffy it must have been.

I gently removed it with my index finger and placed it on my palm.

At first, it looked around dazedly, but then it seemed to soften into its usual carefree expression.

"Were you very uncomfortable? I'm sorry I couldn't take you out more often."

When I spoke in a whisper, the Lesser Outer God didn't say anything, just smiled brightly.

The kid's not talking.

When we were in the underground prison, it spoke, albeit clumsily.

Seeing that it didn't say anything last time either, I wonder if this is related to what the leader Lesser Outer God said about becoming weaker when separated from the group.

It's also strangely calmer than before.

"T-Tanton?"

"Yes."

"We should get going soon..."

When I turned my head back, Muyeon was looking at the path we needed to take with a slightly anxious expression.

I only meant to take it out for a short break, so I guess it can't be helped.

Thinking this, I looked at the Lesser Outer God and was startled.

"Ugh!"

This can't be.

No animal in the world could look at you with such sparkling eyes.

Receiving this eye attack full of meaning that it wanted to play a little more, I felt like I might receive divine punishment if I ignored this look now.

"Ah, no... We have to go back now..."

Thinking that the eye attack wasn't working, the Lesser Outer God flew up and clung to my neckline.

It even started trembling its body, expressing anxiety.

"B-but still..."

I tried to resist, forcibly fighting against my brain that was trying to succumb to the violent cuteness.

But I saw it.

The Lesser Outer God slightly raising its face buried in my clothes, looking at me with moist eyes.

And then tilting its head.

"Ah."

In the end, I had no choice but to declare my defeat.

"Ms. Muyeon... I'm sorry, there's a bit of a problem with my belt..."

"Ah, so that's what it was... Please resolve it as quickly as possible."

I feel a bit sorry for Muyeon, but what can I do?

This was a matchup that anyone would lose, no matter who you brought!

Hearing my words, the Lesser Outer God smiled brightly and flew up again to hug my neck with its whole body.

...Yeah, as long as you're happy.

While I said this, my heart was beating fast with guilt and fear.

I'm making a knight of Rondan wait, after all.

The funnier fact is that this knight is obediently listening to a criminal's words.

What is this?

This strangely reversed feeling of superior and subordinate.

Looking at Muyeon from the bushes, she seemed anxious.

It's a bad thought, but why do I feel like I might be able to use this well if I do it right?

It overlapped with the image of a wife silently bearing her husband's infidelity without being able to say a word.

Not that I'm that kind of person.

As I was scratching the Lesser Outer God's chin with my fingertip, I heard a voice that sounded more anxious than before.

"A-are you finished now? We really need to go..."

I guess we really should go now.

The Lesser Outer God seemed satisfied this time too, as it slipped right into my pocket and gave me a thumbs up.

Then the pocket gradually sank and eventually disappeared without a trace.

Until now, I didn't understand, but this was one of the Lesser Outer God's abilities that I realized while being with it.

This must be how it avoided being discovered by Agartha or the other knights.

Though it seems it can't hide its smell, as the Hunter noticed it.

"Mr. Tanton...?"

"Yes, I just finished! I'm coming out."

Thinking I might arouse suspicion if I stayed any longer, I ran out.

When she saw me, Muyeon's expression looked much better than before.

"When you didn't answer, I thought you might have run away and was about to activate the seal..."

"I only have one life."

Muyeon also had the teddy bear seal stamped on her hand like mine, which she said would be absolutely observed for matters related to the contract if used.

It meant that while I couldn't be ordered to die, if I showed no intention of hunting Outer Gods or tried to run away, a penalty could be imposed related to that.

"I'm sorry, let's set off again."

"Okay..."

Muyeon started walking behind me like a shadow partner, slightly hiding behind me.

"Please tell me which way to go next."

"Ah, yes, we should go that way."

After walking for a few minutes.

We were walking without saying anything, and for some reason, the uncomfortable atmosphere made it feel hard to breathe.

To think I could somewhat empathize with Agartha's whining mood now.

"Ms. Muyeon?"

"..."

"Ms. Muyeon?"

"Ah, yes. What is it?"

"Could you tell me a bit about the Outer God 'Gardener' that we're going to hunt?"

I had heard which Outer God we were going to hunt, but I didn't know the detailed information.

I heard it was weaker than the Observer, but that was just defeated through a trick.

It felt more like breaking an unbeatable boss with a gimmick.

I did ask, but given Muyeon's personality that I'd briefly experienced while being with her, I didn't think she'd be able to speak well.

"Um... even if you tell me slowly..."

"The Outer God Gardener that we've been assigned to has been judged impossible to hunt, but it's not a very threatening Outer God.

There's no distortion phenomenon, and it's coiled up in the forest area. While it's inconvenient, entry and exit are simple, so escape isn't difficult. However, it's extremely tricky to enter the deep part. But it doesn't come out of the forest area, so it's been left alone."

"Uh, hmm."

"W-was that helpful?"

I was overwhelmed by the words that came out of her mouth in an instant.

"It was helpful."

"Th-that's good. I studied a lot so I wouldn't hold back the senior knights."

Her pink hair that poked out from under her hood slightly flipped over her ear, and her red cheeks shone.

"Escape is easy, but getting close to the Gardener is very difficult... The closer you get... the danger increases rapidly."

So it's hard to approach.

"How exactly does it attack?"

"That, I don't, don't know well. Everyone who entered the deep part disappeared without leaving any information."

Without information, it's a bit difficult for me to move recklessly too.

The Super Chicken Mod isn't perfect either.

It only substitutes reality to make it not scary.

This is just a skin mode, and the inherent power doesn't change.

I hope it can communicate like the Observer.

The difficulty will increase exponentially depending on the Outer God's attitude.

Currently, my biggest weapon is that I can communicate with Outer Gods.

If the Outer God is favorable to me, I can do what's called a 'free pass'.

But when the Outer God is hostile to me, it's a different story.

Just as a sword made from an Outer God can still harm me, if an Outer God starts rampaging, it means I'll be helpless too.

And summarizing Muyeon's words, I could think that it basically has hostility towards humans.

"We're almost at the place where the Outer God is."

At Muyeon's words, I looked ahead.

As if it had been there for a very long time, rusty iron bars and creepy vines growing on them as pillars created an ominous atmosphere.

It was an atmosphere that seemed to warn never to enter beyond these iron bars.

"F-from here on it's really dangerous, so be careful... Mr. Tanton? Y-you shouldn't read that!"

As I was looking around what seemed to be the main gate, I noticed something engraved and unconsciously approached those words.

-Hello! Today we're going to learn about the 'Gardener's Garden'!

The Gardener's Garden is a place guarded by the Gardener where humans rarely set foot.

It makes me feel like the Gardener might be a bit lonely ㅠㅠ

Anyway! The Gardener's Garden is hard to enter, so people call it the 'Land of Death', but once you enter, it's actually easier to get out!

They say there's some 'plant' that the Gardener cherishes inside, but no one has actually seen it, so there's no way to prove it.

That's all for the story about the 'Gardener's Garden'!

Damn it.

I firmly decided to believe that the Outer God writing these messages must have an empty head.