Agartha spoke, and a few moments of silence followed.

The instant I heard her words, my thought was, ‘…What?’

It wasn’t that I was at a loss for words because I didn’t know what to say; rather, I was utterly taken aback by her shockingly random revelation.

It was almost as if she had casually dropped a bombshell—something like “I’m your father” level shock—while flinging a question mark in the air, and Agartha said nonchalantly.

“Why is everyone so quiet?”

“What… did you just say?”

Desperate to change the topic, I tried to make a playful joke, but Agartha continued with her deadpan expression.

“So, my mother…”

“I’ve already heard it, so don’t talk about it like it’s something to brag about.”

The Hunter, equally baffled, frowned and interrupted Agartha’s words.

I thought we were behaving perfectly normally, but Agartha found it hilarious, bursting into a carefree laugh.

“If you’ve heard it, at least react!”

Then she suddenly perked up, shaking off the mood with a stretch.

“Really, with both of you being silent, I thought I’d die of boredom!”

“Um, still, who throws their trauma out there just because they’re bored…?”

What kind of person casually tosses out their trauma like it’s nothing because they’re feeling bored?

As I made a face like I had seen a new species, Agartha simply looked displeased.

“Well, I don’t care much. Ever since the Outsiders crashed in, it’s like I died anyway. Honestly, it’s for the best. My mother wasn’t exactly a good person either.”

Um.

In some respects, she had a point…

But the way she was talking about it so matter-of-factly made me wonder if she was talking about someone she knew.

With a playful attitude, Agartha fixed me with a wistful smile.

“So I don’t really care about Leydan’s charges either. At least it’s fortunate it was only an attempt. He didn’t actually do anything. If anything, trying to intimidate the Outsider could be seen as a righteous act, right? Hehe.”

Ah.

Could it be that she thought I had gone quiet because of those charges and was trying to lighten the mood with her comment?

…The extremity of it was questionable, but it was something Agartha could say.

When I think about it, there were times I had exchanged jokes with the Hunter, but we hadn’t spoken at all during our journey here.

Not even once, even now when there were only three of us left.

…The intentions were good, but as the conversation turned to unspeakable topics, I couldn’t find any words to reply.

The Hunter remained quiet as well.

As if he was lost in some kind of recollection.

“Hmm. So, if I were to put it bluntly, my crime was being born. This is all I learned to survive. I don’t know; maybe there could have been a way for me to live that wasn’t this. But a kid with parents like mine only knows how to survive like this.”

At first glance, it sounded like she was blaming someone else for her situation, but at least in the world of Snow Castle, her story was understandable.

That’s just how hopeless it is to become an orphan in this world.

They’re so wretched themselves that they can’t spare any consideration for others.

That was the reality of the Dark Fantasy realm of Snow Castle.

So, they had to learn to survive.

Whether by stealing, becoming a killer in the dark world, or falling into something even grimmer…

“And that’s how I ended up surviving, only to be caught and brought here. Now that I think about it, if I had run away alone back then, I might have died all alone. Because that powerful Outsider was after me. I’m actually grateful for that. Thanks to that, I survived.”

She was surprisingly quick on self-reflection.
No, that’s not right; being quick to reflect meant she survived all this time as a thief.

After talking for a while, suddenly lost in thought, Agartha, with her usual expression, paused for a moment and then pointed at the Hunter.

“Hey, keep up! Once I’m done talking, you guys should jump in like it’s a game of tag!”

At Agartha’s words, the Hunter merely blinked, looking taken aback.

Did she really think the Hunter would casually open up?

In the original game, the character had this air of mystery about them; there was no way…

“I grew up in a household of four, thanks to my father who made hunting his livelihood, leading a pretty normal life.”

…Wow, he actually started talking, huh?

I mean, the Hunter is a person too; maybe he’s a bit vulnerable in this kind of atmosphere.

The Hunter’s voice, which began sounding emotionless, slowly started to fill with feeling, until anger took over and surged through them.

“My father was thrilled, saying he could bring home a moose and have enough food left over for us. That night, the very man who was so happy was killed by an Outsider who ambushed us without so much as a scream. I had no choice but to stand there and watch!”

Realizing that their emotions were winding up, the Hunter took a breath, calmed down a bit, and continued with a steadier tone.

“…That’s all there is to it. Ever since then, it’s been about killing Outsiders. Today, too, I came to that underground prison just to catch a whiff of Outsiders and smash things to bits.”

After hearing their story, Agartha couldn’t help but marvel, “Wow, wow, are you seriously a psychopath?”

She spit a bit while saying that.

“I don’t think you’re in a position to judge.”

Then, the Hunter’s gaze turned toward me.

Seeing that glare, I finally understood why he opened up.

It was to figure out more about me.

He was still curious about me.

The charge of ‘attempted Outsider assault’ might give off an impression of me having some affection for Outsiders, so I thought the Hunter would just ‘cut’ me off right there.

Maybe this story was a way for them to solidify their opinion of me completely.

Well, I guess that’s a good thing…

The problem was, I knew absolutely nothing about the character ‘Leydan Tanton.’

In the original game, he wasn’t even featured; he appeared out of nowhere, like he was specially made to fill in for me in this prison scenario.

I couldn’t remember any character in this game that had the charge of ‘attempted assault on an Outsider.’

Perhaps there was one, and I simply didn’t know, but if it was such an intense setup, it should have made the rounds in the community.

Ultimately, my knowledge was still at zero.

So I had no choice but to explain myself.

Fumbling for words, I spoke slowly.

“Um… Do I need to say I’m not me? First of all, I’m not ‘Leydan Tanton.’”

I still hadn’t even been here a full day.

I merely forgot about the crazy events happening around me to focus on the immediate problems, but it was all just chaotic.

“Honestly, I don’t even know why I’m in this situation. I woke up in a prison cell.”

In that state, I was just caught in a whirlwind of bewildering events.

Why did I have to go through this?

With that unfairness, my voice gradually grew more emotional.

“I did nothing wrong!”

Had I not been in super coward mode, I might have just crumpled down to the ground right then.

“I’m just a coward who likes games, and my head is completely messed up!”

Though one could easily laugh it off, for someone who had lost everything in an instant, despair was all that remained.

It was an unavoidable process.

Agartha chimed in while I babbled on.

“Dissociative identity disorder? Split personality? Amnesia? Whatever you call it, sounds like you just don’t feel like yourself.”

Agartha leaned her chin on her finger, as if contemplating, letting out a thoughtful sound, “Hmm.”

If only she could be in my shoes and understand exactly what it’s like.

At that moment, the Hunter started to get up and come towards me.

Not just getting closer, but leaning his face right up to mine.

I instinctively took a step back and stammered, “W-What are you doing?”

After all, I’m not exactly into guys like that…

Lost in my own thoughts, the Hunter pressed his nose against the nape of my neck.

Suddenly, he took a few sniffs, making me jump back in surprise.

“Seriously, what are you doing?!”

Ignoring my outcry, he seemed to focus on something, nodding thoughtfully as he said, “This time, it doesn’t smell like a lie.”

“…Huh?”

“I’ll trust you. There must be some reason behind this.”

I knew he had good olfactory senses, but can one really discern truth through smell?

I mean, is that even a thing?

But then I recalled how the Hunter had believed my ramblings without hesitation.

This person does not believe anyone casually.

He act and think only when backed by solid evidence and facts.

“What I’ve been smelling until now was a vague scent, not knowing if it was truth or falsehood. But in the end, we survived.”

I couldn’t help but shiver as I remembered what had happened in the prison.

Does that mean he saw right through all my flimsy tricks?

“So let me get fooled again this time.”

The Hunter said that as he pointed a finger at my pocket.

Sensing that Hunter had noticed her existence, the Outcast God shivered.

Ah.

It was weird that I hadn’t been found out.

“You won’t be able to do anything alone, so even if it’s disgusting, it doesn’t matter. You had a hand in taking down that eyeball creature. Do as you wish or figure it out.”

Whispering that close to my ear, he suddenly grabbed my shoulder and started shaking me back and forth.

“Ugh!”

…Wait a minute.

Why does this feel oddly familiar?

“But just know, I could hunt you down anytime.”

Meeting the Hunter’s blank stare, I watched as he chuckled and returned to his place.

…Wait, is this payback for when he shook me while I was leaving the prison?

No way would that Hunter pull a prank like this!

I felt like I had just eaten something meaty that tasted like candy – utterly bewildered.

What on earth kind of shift in mood could lead to this?

To make it even more surprising, he seemed to just let it slide, even though he knew the Outcast God was there.

This person who usually wanted to break anything related to Outsiders, why would they be so lenient?

The current behaviors of the Hunter were so starkly different from what I knew that my spinning brain felt like it was about to stop altogether.

…I don’t understand.

At this point, thinking about anything else might give me a headache, so it was easier to think they felt camaraderie and just decided to be lenient.

Thinking back, it seemed the Hunter never really believed the words of the Knights.

It would be fair to say he felt disgust upon sensing the Outcast God was in my embrace.

A person acting solely based on their own judgment.

That’s what made them a superhuman capable of hunting Outsiders.

I truly felt that was the protagonist of this world.

Damn, that’s cool.

“Mr. Tanton, what’s in your pocket? Show me, show me! Caw! Wait, are you crazy? Why did you bring this?!”

Agartha, cluelessly reaching out and feeling the Outcast God, jumped in surprise.

With the mood shifting slightly, we wrapped up the day in the Snow Castle.