Chapter 50
No way... Did he notice me?
But why?
Does Nishino-kun have a detection-type Skill, too?
I thought he hadn't noticed me yesterday. Could he have acquired it by leveling up?
Or is it some other Skill?
"Someone... is there..."
With vacant eyes, Nishino-kun reached a hand toward me.
What should I do...?
Should I go out there?
There were no signs of monsters nearby.
There was no sign of anyone, either, and I didn't feel as though anyone was watching.
But... but―――.
"Woof."
Ah, Momo!?
While I was hesitating, Momo stepped out in front of them.
Nishino-kun's expression clouded when he saw it.
"...A dog? Huh, are you...? Ngh, please... Anyone, anyone at all... a per―――"
He couldn't finish the sentence.
It seemed he'd lost consciousness.
Momo slowly approached them.
Then it brought its nose close to them, sniffed, and looked at me.
"Woof."
Was it telling me it was okay to come out?
I guess I have no choice...
"Aka... give me a hood, please."
"...(shakes)"
The raincoat I'm wearing is clothing Aka has mimicked.
As a result, it can change various aspects of the outfit.
I pulled the hood Aka had added down low over my head.
Just in case.
I made sure to keep my face hidden.
I also took out a 'Backpack' from my Item Box and slung it over my shoulder.
I stuffed it with some random things to make it look the part.
There. Good enough.
I looked exactly like a refugee.
I steeled myself and headed toward Nishino-kun and the girl.
"...He's completely unconscious."
Neither Nishino-kun nor the other girl reacted at all, even when I shook them.
Their clothes were blackened by burns in places, and some spots were stained with blood.
Nishino-kun had a lot of scrapes and cuts.
The girl was in even worse shape. Part of her clothes had turned bright red.
So they really had fought the Orcs.
Still, to have encountered that High Orc and managed to escape...
"Woof."
Momo tugged at my hem.
It seemed to be saying, "Let's hurry and help them."
Help them, huh...
"...But there's almost nothing I can do, you know?"
I'd never even done first aid.
There really wasn't much I could do.
At most, I could carry them to a nearby vacant house to keep them out of the rain.
Momo stared intently at me as I agonized over it.
"...Hey, if I abandon them here, will you hate me, Momo?"
I found myself blurting it out.
In the end, maybe some part of me still couldn't fully trust other people.
Maybe I was afraid they'd find out about the Item Box and my food supplies.
It was the same with Ichinose-san.
Even though I wanted companions, I still couldn't quite take the plunge.
"...Whine."
After seeming to ponder it for a moment, Momo pressed against me.
It seemed to be telling me, "Don't worry. I'll always be on your side."
I see... That's good.
I felt relieved.
So,
"...Heave-ho."
I shifted the backpack around to my front and carried Nishino-kun on my back.
...Whoa, people are surprisingly heavy.
There was no way I could have done this if my stats hadn't increased.
"I can't carry both at once. I'll take them one at a time."
"Whiiine...?"
I turned my gaze to Momo, who was staring at me in bewilderment.
"For now, I'll put them inside that house. Is that okay, Momo?"
"Huh!? ...Woof!"
Momo wagged its tail so hard it looked like it might fly off.
It began circling me.
It looked incredibly happy.
Well, I guess I can't help it... I'm doing this so Momo won't hate me.
I carried Nishino-kun and the girl to a nearby vacant house.
I laid them down inside.
For now, I'd take off their wet clothes―――Wait, I couldn't!?
The clothes, plastered to their bodies by the rain, were harder to remove than I'd expected.
...I guess I'll use towels to dry them off.
"Oh, right. Stop the bleeding..."
Nishino-kun was fine, but the girl must have lost a lot of blood.
I should wrap it in a bandage... no, disinfect it first.
For now, I pulled up her clothes and examined the wound.
"...Huh?"
When I looked at the wound, the bleeding had already stopped.
Judging by the amount of blood soaked into her clothes, I'd thought it was quite deep, but...
"...What does this mean?"
Isn't it healing far too quickly?
Could this girl have a 'Skill' like that?
'HP Recovery'? No, maybe 'Self-Healing' or 'Self-Regeneration'?
Although she was pale, she didn't seem to be in any immediate danger of dying.
Thank goodness.
Ah, but I should disinfect it and bandage it anyway, just in case.
Then I covered them with a blanket so they wouldn't get cold, and left a bag on the table containing spare bandages, ointment, energy drinks, and the like.
That should be enough.
I mean, I don't know enough to do anything more.
"This should be okay, right, Momo?"
"Woof!"
Momo seemed satisfied, too.
Now, should I move on before the two of them woke up?
When I went outside, the rain had already stopped.
The clouds had cleared, and sunlight was shining through in places.
Was it just a passing shower?
It had already weakened while I was carrying Nishino-kun and the girl.
"...I need to get moving."
This had taken longer than expected.
But if Nishino-kun and the others had escaped from the home improvement store, the Orcs should be around there now.
If so, the shopping mall should, by contrast, be less heavily guarded.
That would be the best route: break through there and head straight toward the city center.
Actually, given the current situation, that was the only route that would let me avoid the Shadow Wolf pack and the Orc pack.
It would take me near Ichinose-san's apartment, but that shouldn't be a problem.
Surely she wouldn't shoot me.
Actually, shouldn't she be escaping, too?
That high-rise apartment building was certainly an excellent place to survey the city and snipe, but the threat of monsters was closing in right nearby.
"I should at least email her to tell her she ought to get out of there..."
She seemed dangerous in all sorts of ways, but I'd feel awful if she died.
"Oh...?"
When I opened the email screen, there were no 'Unread' messages.
Huh? I figured she'd sent me another email or something...
Maybe she's taking a break?
With a faint sense of unease, I sent her an email.
"...Hm?"
When I glanced toward the apartment building, I sensed something was off.
What was it?
Something was wrong.
There was a 'bad feeling' coming from that apartment building.
It was an even stronger 'bad feeling' than the one coming from the Shadow Wolf pack or the home improvement store.
"What does this mean?"
When I narrowed my eyes, I thought I saw something on the roof.
Could it be Ichinose-san?
No, it wasn't.
Curious, I was just about to use 'Telescopic Vision'―――when it happened.
Part of the apartment building's roof collapsed with a tremendous crash.
"What!?"
What was that? What happened?
A large section of the roof had been gouged out, and fragments tumbled down under gravity's pull.
Dust billowed up, and a monster leisurely emerged from it.
"―――Ah."
The figure entered my field of vision.
Even at this distance, the 'Telescopic Vision' Skill clearly captured that thing.
"A High Orc..."
A copper-red Orc stood imposingly on the roof of the high-rise apartment building.
Why...?
Why are you there?
Weren't you at the home improvement store?
I looked toward the home improvement store.
I could feel the 'bad feeling.' But it wasn't as 'strong' as before... It had weakened.
It was about as strong as the feeling I'd sensed from the Shadow Wolf pack.
"Ah..."
No way―――no way...
The worst possibility suddenly crossed my mind.
A building that gave it an unobstructed view of the entire surrounding area.
The perfect position for hunting prey.
Why had I assumed that only 'humans' would make use of that advantage?
If it had noticed that advantage and decided to leave the home improvement store alone, planning to search for its 'next prey' more efficiently―――.
If it had singled out that high-rise apartment building for that purpose―――.
Was Ichinose-san all right?
Or...
The High Orc slowly looked around from the rooftop―――and then,
"―――Ah."
Our eyes met.
So this was what it felt like for every hair on your body to stand on end.
Even though we were this far apart.
Even though I should have been out of its line of sight.
The High Orc's gaze was unmistakably directed at me.
It looked at me and grinned.
As if it were having the time of its life.
As if to say it had finally found me.
'――――ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!'
―――The 'roar' echoed.