The Hunter and Agartha had no choice but to hold their breath as they watched the scene unfold before them.

“What… what is this?”

Tanton had lured the Watcher’s attention away, and now they were locked in a precarious battle for survival.

The bizarre object Tanton threw hurtled straight toward the Watcher.

If things continued like this, it would surely hit the Watcher, but the Watcher, relaxed as ever, caught it in its mouth.

Possibly enraged, it growled and turned its attention back toward Tanton, charging at him as if to toy with him by swinging the object around.

The Hunter felt a sickening realization wash over him.

The plan had failed.

We are going to die here.

“I can’t blame anyone else. I just didn’t judge the situation correctly.”

This was where his fate would end.

He didn’t know his place, and now he would pay the price.

However, not avenging his family would leave a burning regret in his heart.

Having organized all his thoughts, the Hunter simply closed his eyes, resigned to his fate, and Agartha did the same.

In fact, given how far they had come, he felt they had weathered quite a lot.

But for some reason, instead of hearing the sound of Tanton being torn apart, all they heard was a dull thud and the sound of something scraping against the ground.

When the Hunter opened his eyes again, he saw Tanton and the Watcher keeping their distance.

And the Watcher, still holding the object in its mouth, was staring intently at Tanton.

The Hunter couldn’t hide his disbelief.

‘…Did that outsider get hit once?!’

There was no way Tanton could still look fine if that were the case.

Possibly angered, the Watcher showed a ferocious demeanor and charged toward Tanton, leading to a breath-stealing exchange of blows.

The Watcher parried Tanton’s strike with its front paw, and when Tanton tried to swipe again, the Watcher spun on the spot to dodge.

Yet eventually, Tanton managed to place a hand on the Watcher’s head, prompting it to emit a bizarre noise, as if something strange was happening to it.

“Ф̶͚̦̪̠͉̝͖͓̤͖̯͍͔̓͑̀͊̐͌̎̾͛̿̇у̸͓̣̪͍͓͉̭͚̳̦̮̩̩̿̍̏̍͋̋͐̓̄͂”

Eventually, apparently unable to endure, the Watcher broke free from Tanton’s grip and began to dart around rapidly.

Tanton’s face showed signs of tension as the Watcher lunged at him in an attempt to bite his face.

Though overwhelmed by its immense size, Tanton resisted, wrestling against the Watcher with all his strength.

‘…What in the world are you? Psychopath.’

Before evaluating further, the Hunter began to question whether this creature was actually human.

#

(Leydan’s pov)

Finally, the Watcher’s tongue frenzy came to an end, and seemingly satisfied, it moved away with a light step.

Originally a little shorter than me, it looked even smaller as it sat like a puppy.

“Heh heh.”

Having fallen, the Watcher still seemed to be bubbling with excitement, giggling to itself.

…It’s a relief it wasn’t hurt, but I had something thick and slimy dripping down my body.

“…Argh! This cannot be happening. My clothes are drenched!”

Without realizing, I scolded it like I would my own dog, and upon hearing that, the Watcher folded its ears back and shrank away.

“Wh-whimper…”

…No, seriously, don’t look at me like that!

As my mind started to swirl, the Watcher approached and gently licked my hand while saying,

“…Am I sorry?”

Its pitiful gaze made me feel as if I was the one at fault.

With a deep sigh, I patted the Watcher’s head.

“It’s alright, just stick to licking my skin from now on. If you soak my clothes, I’ll have to change again.”

“…You really are a nice human!”

Whether it was because it understood my words or not, it draped its arm over my shoulder and started enthusiastically licking just my face.

…What a strange feeling.

Having distanced itself from me, the Watcher picked up the dog bone I had thrown and waved its hand.

“Thanks, human! I found it, thanks to you! I was looking for this!”

…Oh, so that’s what it was?

So, it was just sitting around doing nothing while looking for this.

“That bad guy who stole this is the reason! If it weren’t for you, I still wouldn’t have found it!”

“Is that so…?”

Was there really someone who took it and stuffed it beyond that fake wall? If it could steal the Watcher’s bone and hide it there, it must be something a bit more than typical.

But, is a dog bone really that important?

Can’t it find food elsewhere?

Suddenly, the Watcher made a thoughtful expression and pointed a finger at me.

“By the way, why can I talk to you, human?”

“Oh, good question?”

“I don’t see you flinch when I look at you.”

Uh, what should I say?

If I said I activated Super Coward Mode, it probably wouldn’t understand.

“Maybe it just means I like you enough?”

“…!”

I threw out some lip service, and the Watcher looked surprised, then broke into a beautiful smile.

“I like you too, human!”

Hmm.

A cute girl just said she likes me.

Well, that’s a good thing, right?

The Watcher turned around, bone in hand, and waved goodbye as it walked away.

“Thanks, human! Let’s meet again later!”

“Uh, okay.”

What a polite little guy, even thanking me.

…But wait, didn’t it just say to meet again?

As I reviewed my memory to see if I heard that right, Agartha and the Hunter approached.

Well, it was probably just a courtesy.

I decided to brush it off for now.

Agartha, sweating profusely, spoke up.

“T-Tanton, were you hiding your strength all this time?”

“Huh?”

What power is he talking about?

As I was bewildered, the Hunter cleared his throat and said,

“I never thought you could engage in such a fight.”

The Hunter nodded in admiration.

“Though you didn’t manage to kill the outsider, you managed to repel it. You proved your words yourself, so I acknowledge it.”

…How in the world is petting it on the head considered fighting?

Was it just cute to my eyes alone?

No way, I didn’t think petting it would be so easily misinterpreted.

Well.

Regardless, it all worked out, I suppose.

I had defeated the Watcher, famously known as the Tutorial’s Wall of Wails.

Just then, I thought I heard a voice in my head.

-You have survived the cute outsider!

Oh.

“What the hell is going on? Let’s get out of here.”

“Right, Tanton. Staying long in this shabby and dirty prison is not good for your lungs.”

“Does being a thief mean you dislike prisons too?”

“Isn’t it a prejudice to think a thief would like a place like this?! Most turn to thievery for a better life, you know.”

As the Hunter and Agartha grumbled at each other while gesturing for me to come over, I smiled at them.

Well, I wouldn’t have made it this far without them.

Just when I was about to enjoy the thrill of successfully breaking out of prison, my words got cut short.

Crash!

Suddenly, the ceiling shattered, and piles of rubble came tumbling down.

“What the hell?!”

I shielded my face with my arms against the falling stones.

Thud.

The tumbling rocks were made of bricks, and if they had hit me just right, they could have left some serious bruises. But actually, the saliva that the Watcher had licked all over me reinforced my body for protection.

I stared in awe as the debris rolled down the gooey parts.

It had been annoying when it was all wet and sticky, but it turned out to be surprisingly useful?!

Thanks, Watcher!

As the noise began to settle and the debris seemed to have stopped falling, I tried to lower my arms, only to feel someone grabbing them.

Startled, I looked up and saw a woman wearing a white mask staring at me.

Inside the crumbling, dust-filled prison, her eerie voice echoed around us.

“Don’t move. If you do, I will cut you.”

At her words, my body froze.

The Hunter and Agartha also seemed similarly paralyzed by her command.

“Ah, ahhh!”

Something else fell through the gaping hole above the prison.

Boom!

A massive sound, reminiscent of an explosion, filled the space, and from within emerged a girl with pink hair wearing a hood.

She looked around in fright and seemed relieved to find the masked woman.

“B-Back Mask-senpai! You’re too hasty! What if the outsider is still inside?!”

The pink-haired girl tiptoed over and stood next to the White Mask.

What in the world is going on?

Completely taken aback by the sudden turn of events, the Hunter spoke calmly, as if he already knew what was happening.

“So, the outsider is gone, and now the real trouble comes.” (Hunter)

“Is this really something to say so calmly? Damn it, I should have anticipated this ever since the outsider showed up!” (Agartha)

While the Hunter remained unfazed, Agartha was intensely agitated.

“That’s Rondan’s Knights, isn’t it? The outsider hunters!” (Agartha)

“I told you not to move, didn’t I?” (White Mask Woman)

As Agartha fussed about, the White Mask growled back.

“Do you think I would move? I have utmost respect for the Knights and have no intention of interfering with your mission!” (Agartha)

Agartha raised her hands high in the air, as if to demonstrate she had no conflict against these figures as well.

Rondan’s Knights?

I felt like I had heard that name somewhere before.

While I was contemplating, I heard footsteps approaching in the distance.

“Identifying the distortion phenomenon caused by the outsider, identifying individuals who came into contact with the outsider. Confirmed to match the identified prisoners in this prison. Executing duty.”

W-What?

Executing duty?

The woman in the white mask pulled a plastic model sword from her sheath.

Meanwhile, the hooded pink-haired girl loosened the strap over her shoulder and brandished a toy axe.

The one whose voice sounded ominous while declaring they were executing their duty was wearing a teddy bear costume.

“Y-ikes!”

“So these must be Rondan’s Knights, armed with weapons created from the outsider!”

“Uh… what?”

…What the heck?