Chapter 32
Click, click.
The sound of quietly wiping the double-barrel shotgun's barrel with a cotton cloth and restoring it to its original state echoes.
It was the Hunter's action, checking the gun's condition after just taking down an Outer God that had appeared on the outskirts of Rondan.
"Sigh..."
He had heard such news.
The story that Laydan Tanton had blocked the Observer trying to break through the dimensional rift, but eventually fell beyond the dimension along with that Outer God.
He glanced at the Outer God's corpse lying plainly in front of him, then lit a cigarette and quietly put it to his mouth.
That means he must have crossed over to the world of Outer Gods.
Even if the Hunter himself went there, there was no guarantee that his mind would remain sane from the suggestions generated by the space itself.
So it seems the knights had simply processed Laydan Tanton as deceased.
"...As expected, they know nothing."
The Hunter knew.
He had clearly seen with his own eyes what Laydan Tanton had been doing until now.
Even now in that space, that guy would be constantly analyzing what he needed to do, and perhaps he had already figured out an escape method and was attempting it.
At least the Laydan Tanton the Hunter knew was a human who could accomplish such things without batting an eye.
"...Since I'm free, shall I go out to greet him?"
The Hunter headed towards Rondan's main gate.
If he had ridden a distorted timeline, he probably wouldn't have landed in a normal place.
It was only a repayment for those actions that had tried to help him, definitely not because he wanted to help that person himself.
"...You better not be dead."
The Hunter muttered quietly to himself.
***
The heat generated from the Americano given by the Chef lasted longer than expected.
At first, I thought it wouldn't last long, but somehow, every time it was about to go out, that warmth seemed to strengthen again.
Is someone constantly watching over me from somewhere?
Ah, could it be out of worry?
Good at cooking, nice personality.
Just like a mom.
...Well, that aside.
"...Hehehe, it's snow. Is it snow? Or salt?"
I've been bringing her along, but what kind of person is she?
Judging from her continuous speech, her intelligence level seems to be not just terrible, but not even reaching kindergarten level.
It's like a 3-year-old who can only speak clearly, if I had to describe it.
I don't know...
I'm just bringing her along because she seems to be human, but honestly, I'm full of the desire to leave her behind right now.
At first, I asked Ria hoping she might be an Outer God, but she's definitely saying it's a human.
"Ah, this is a problem."
I had been following the footprints imprinted on the snow until now, but as time passed, those footprints were gradually fading.
It's a bit dangerous if it's already like this when we haven't even found a bright place yet.
Even if the problem of freezing to death is gone, food is still an issue.
Ah, or is it?
Maybe I can call the Chef for food too.
Well, anyway.
If we don't return to Rondan, the main stage of events, who knows what might happen.
If this world flows according to the game's scenario, it will continue to impose trials.
I, a pure water who left the game unfinished, didn't know what lay ahead and had to prepare.
"Excuse me."
"Hm? Hmm?"
"Don't you remember anything about who you are?"
The Immortal Woman looks at me with blank eyes.
Those eyes didn't look like those of a normal person at all.
It even seemed like her irises were spinning in a spiral, as if hypnotized.
"Say something."
"I was thinking because I don't know who I am."
"Yes, yes, not that. Do you perhaps have a home or somewhere to go?"
"I was thinking about that too because I don't know well."
"Then do you have somewhere to go?"
"Because I don't know that, I'm following you."
Alright.
I should give up on conversation.
Feeling a throbbing in my head, I continued forward relying on the footprints that were now almost invisible, when something started to appear in the distance.
As I squinted to confirm what it was, my gloomy mood seemed to improve dramatically.
"F-Finally! We've finally arrived!"
I grabbed the Immortal Woman by the collar and ran like crazy towards the bright place.
If there's something so bright in this blizzard, it must be people, right?
Thinking that, we finally reached right in front of the light.
"Excuse me!"
I shouted towards the people walking in the opposite direction from us, and that person turned their head to look at us.
That's when I felt something was off.
Surely, if they were knights of Rondan, they should be wearing teddy bear masks.
There were those who didn't wear Outer God armor like Muyeon, but these people's attire was too different.
Aren't they wearing very thick protective gear made of animal skin, and their faces covered not with teddy bear faces but with strange metal plates?
Still, I thought they might be helpful since they were people, and was quietly watching, but.
"...Are they from the Furnace City?"
The moment I heard that one sentence.
I knew these people were definitely not on my side.
"Sniff sniff. Oh, this fire scent. It's from the capital. It's Rondan!"
I tried to back away immediately, but after hearing one person's voice, the group had already surrounded us in a circle.
One of the group spoke:
"You've got a good nose there, is it because you came from the Hunter's follower group? Can you smell the scent of the hearth's fire?"
"I'm not good at smelling. They say Hunters have a different spectrum of scents they can smell."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm tired of hearing your Hunter praise. Well, it's good timing. It was about time to extract some embers. They say Rondan folks have the highest quality."
As soon as I heard that dialogue, I could tell what kind of guys these were.
The Candles that Muyeon had mentioned before.
Rogues who betray the grace of the hearth and maintain their lives by plundering outside after leaving the city.
Muyeon had said they even plunder the city's fire.
Does that mean they were heading towards Rondan?
If they could discern the path in this pouring snowstorm, it meant they certainly had excellent path-finding abilities.
That means if we could keep just one of them with us, we could find our way.
"Come to think of it, that woman next to him looks familiar."
"How would I know? Must be your imagination."
Even so, it seems absurd to say such an appearance is common.
Was she unexpectedly a celebrity?
Anyway, we need to get back to know anything.
"Hey! What are you doing ignoring our words? It would be better if you surrender and follow us while we're asking nicely..."
I lightly ignored the Candle's words.
Because I was focusing on the voice I heard in my head.
"Oh! The hole got bigger? I can go see the human!"
I carefully took out the party flute I had put in my pocket and put it to my lips.
Pririri!
A trivial sound filled the surroundings. To your ears, it was just such a sound, but apparently not to the Candles.
"My, my ears! What the hell did you blow? You damn bastard!"
They must be underestimating us who have no protection.
They probably thought they could either capture us as slaves or, if lucky, obtain some useful items.
Or since they seem obsessed with the Furnace City, they might think we, who are directly receiving that grace from Rondan, which is no different from the current capital, might have something special.
Anyway, from their perspective, I'm no different from a sucker holding valuable items.
Yeah.
At a glance, it's natural to think that way.
The scent of death.
Though not as good as the Hunter, the Candle with sensitive smell had his pupils shake belatedly.
"S-shit. What the hell is this..."
If it were the Hunter, he would have realized and prepared for battle already.
Or maybe this is just my poor imagination, and he might have prepared for something even worse.
But these guys are not Outer God hunters.
They're just plunderers who hunt humans and strip them bare.
"Hey, what's wrong? What did that bastard do?"
"You idiot, haven't you noticed yet? Let's run, no, at least I—"
"We just need to hit that guy! Let me—"
It might have been a wise choice in some ways.
But those words were never completed.
The sound of a crack forming in the world is heard.
They were approaching to cut my throat while holding Outer God weapons they had stolen from somewhere, pretending to be plunderers.
Hmm...
A children's kitchen knife with a cat pattern drawn on it isn't scary at all.
Come to think of it, the Observer also asked for a name.
In such an urgent situation, a short, suitable female name would be better.
I quietly called out while looking calmly at the Candles.
"Bell."
As my voice echoed, the weapon came close to my neck.
But that sword never touched my neck.
Because the body of the person holding that sword had cleanly disappeared.
Since we weren't near the hearth, it seems the Observer, who had lightly opened space and appeared, jumped out and swallowed the guy who was trying to cut my neck.
With a cleanliness as if she had cut through space and bitten it.
The reason for the sense of discomfort that seemed like there was no one else except Agartha, the Hunter, and me in the underground prison was revealed.
The Observer, licking her lips at the boundary, was looking up at me with a bright expression.
"My name! Is that my name?"
"Yes, that's right. Do you like it?"
"I love it so much!"
The Observer, now Bell, knocked me over again and started licking my cheeks frantically.
"O-okay, Bell. S-stop licking."
"Woof!"
As expected of a good dog, Bell immediately got up at my words and was making a "huff huff" sound.