The lights came back on in my mind, and the situation started to sort itself out.

And then I realized what I had done.

Oh, Leydan Tanton, good grief.

What a crazy thing I’ve done.

You psychopath.

In this situation, I decided to save the Youngest Outsider! What was I thinking?

Especially in front of the Hunter!

But just because my mind was clear again didn’t mean I wanted to lower my guard against the Hunter.

“…Human?”

The youngest Outsider trembled and stared at me, clearly terrified.

Come on, if you’re going to save my honor by preserving my life, shouldn’t you get the hell out of here?

I subtly motioned with my chin, signaling her to make a quick escape without alerting the Hunter.

“…Damn you!”

In the end, I lost my grip against the Hunter’s overwhelming strength, and he immediately pointed his revolver at me.

Fortunately, did he catch my signal?

Before the Hunter properly aimed at the Youngest Outsider, she conjured up a clunky vehicle out of nowhere and quickly began to escape with the Older Outsider in her arms.

“Damn it…!”

The Hunter growled curses as he belatedly advanced toward the Outsiders and fired his revolver at them, but those Outsiders were like blizzards—impossible to catch up to.

Moreover, to distract him, the youngest one raised her voice.

“Thank you! I’ll definitely repay this debt!”

Only I could hear her thankful shout.

“Ugh!”

But that grateful note was actually some ridiculous area-wide mental interference technique for someone.

She must’ve thought of some clever way to do it since she could still converse normally.

At that voice level, even the Hunter, who could withstand a lot of mental interference, would likely lose focus.

The end of the gun wavered as it struggled to find its target and then fell to the ground.

It was over.

In this harsh environment, the outlaws were free beings, and hitting the fast-moving girls like that shouldn’t have been easy for the Hunter.

As this whole process came to a close, a suffocating silence fell—a silence that felt like a tight squeeze around my throat.

I honestly thought it’d be better to hide in a mouse hole, and a flood of thoughts crashed over me.

Should I say something to the Hunter?

Should I at least explain what my flute can do?

But wouldn’t that just be making excuses a bit too late?

Eventually, what I expected happened.

Thwack!

The Hunter’s fist slammed into my cheek.

“Guh!”

My brain felt rattled, and I fell to the ground as I could hear the sound of the Hunter’s footsteps approaching me.

Before I could gather my senses, the Hunter roughly shoved my shoulder, grabbing me by the collar and pulling me close.

His eyes were ablaze with fury.

“…Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?”

His voice started calm but began to crackle with anger as he continued.

“You’ve let a lion that kills humans go free out of pity!”

He berated me in a booming voice filled with rage.

Still panting with uncalmed emotions, the Hunter’s gaze never left me.

But there was nothing I could offer in response to the Hunter’s anger.

I could only watch in silence as he seethed.

“How long do I have to put up with your ridiculous good intentions? You know that thing in your pocket, and the Outsiders you saved without even thinking about the danger to your hands!”

But to my surprise, the Hunter was expressing his emotions in a way I never had anticipated.

He kept rambling on.

“I’m sorry, Hunter… But…”

“I don’t know what you’ve seen or felt. It seems you have some special something like my sense of smell. But I can say one thing for sure.”

The Hunter spoke with a fiery intensity in his gaze.

“No matter what you mumble about, those beings cause harm to humans just by being. Leydan Tanton, do you value those Outsiders more than humans?”

It could have looked like he was just ordinarily angry, but maybe because I had been observing him for a long time, I sensed that this wasn’t his normal state.

It’s not like the Hunter had ever acted so emotionally, except when he shared hints of his past during a brief moment in detention.

“Just one moment of carelessness could have cost you your life!”

At last, I locked eyes with the Hunter.

His pupils were shrunken in rage, yet they badly trembled as if shaking from something deeper than mere fury.

It was a gaze filled with the desire not to lose anything again.

Could it be that his past was resurfacing in his mind?

The Hunter nervously pointed his revolver at my forehead.

“If you keep screwing around like this, one day you’ll end up getting backstabbed by those Outsiders and die. If you’re going to die that pathetically, you might as well die by my hand!”

His finger started to press down on the trigger with enough strength that it seemed like he would pull it any second.

As I closed my eyes quietly and fell into thought…

What was the significance of what I had done?

As the Gardener said, maybe those guys didn’t even get a proper family or education.

So, would saving them now really mean they’d stop their misdeeds?

I couldn’t even be sure of that.

Who exactly was I trying to help with these actions?

What was my original goal?

Wasn’t it to take down all the bosses of this world and reach the end of the game?

Was what I was doing now actually leading me toward that goal?

Or was it just me acting on emotion?

Not everyone could be happy.

But were those foolish beings, mixed with a lack of communication and education, really deserving of death?

In the end, I reached the conclusion that I was too powerless to solve this.

What if I had become stronger and solved things before the Hunter came?

Maybe things wouldn’t have gotten so complicated.

To try to grasp both impossibilities was pure greed on my part right now.

So I had to get stronger.

I wanted to become strong enough to protect both of them, no matter what it took—just like the Hunter was gritting his teeth and becoming stronger to get revenge on the Outsiders.

After sorting out my thoughts, I could see the Hunter’s emotional gaze.

At that moment, as he aimed at my head, he seemed to be building up a savage determination.

“…?”

The Hunter displayed a look of incredulity and turned his head to the side.

There stood the Undying Woman.

She had grabbed hold of the Hunter’s wrist.

“What are you doing?”

“You again….”

“I asked what you’re doing.”

Unlike her usual self, her voice was remarkably low and solemn.

Perhaps because her actions didn’t imply anything positive, the Hunter frowned at her.

The Undying Woman’s expression went from somewhat dazed to sharp and focused, staring back at the Hunter.

“I don’t remember my name or what just happened.”

Boom!

As soon as she finished speaking, a red aura began to swirl around her body, and a crater formed around her.

Before long, the Hunter’s hand was turning black, almost as if feeling numb, on the verge of bursting.

“Ugh…!”

“But I do remember that he tried to give me warm and tasty food. And more importantly…”

Her eyes were gradually engulfed in red as she stared at the Hunter with an empty gaze.

“I won’t stand idly by while you threaten to kill.”

Even though she had clearly seen the Hunter trying to kill the Outsiders, the Undying Woman was ready to protect me.

What on earth was she?

She could eat the Chef’s food and resurrect, and now she seemed to be treating people as mere warm-up exercises, bursting their bodies in confrontation.

It was like being engulfed in flames.

Faced with this overwhelming spirit I had never seen before, my brows instinctively furrowed.

Thanks to my super cowardice mode, I could watch this scene with calmness, but if I faced that fire head-on, my survival instincts would be screaming that I could be crushed.

Even I, observing this from afar, felt that way. The Hunter was facing it directly.

Yet the Hunter was not backing down; he glared at the Undying Woman as if they were in a duel of wills.

Maybe it was a sign that he wouldn’t back down on his beliefs even if it meant tearing his wrist apart.

If left alone, they would likely continue this until the Hunter’s wrist broke.

In the end, I decided to intervene.

“Let go, please.”

The hand I grabbed was the Undying Woman’s, not the Hunter’s.

“Didn’t he try to kill you?”

“He’s my ally. It’s going to be okay.”

As if understanding, the Undying Woman then released her grip on the Hunter’s arm.

“…Tch.”

In response, the Hunter pulled back, letting go of my collar nervously.

Burn marks remained on his forearms.

How on earth could such a skill be possible?

“…I know this is an inappropriate thing to say, but… let’s head back. It’s cold for everyone.”

Hearing my words, both the Hunter and the Undying Woman looked at me before simultaneously glancing up at the sky.

Maybe confirming their location while watching the falling blizzard?

This was right in the middle of a snowstorm.

There was nothing to gain from fighting here; the only thing left would be their freezing bodies.

The Hunter surely knew that fact better than I did.

He quietly stepped forward first.

Not knowing his intentions, I met him with a sad smile.

“…Thank you.”

“There won’t be a next time. I hope you don’t do something that foolish in front of me again.”

The Hunter spoke irritably, still eyeing the Undying Woman with suspicion.

“Huh? What? Why are you staring at me? Do you want something to eat?” (Undying Woman)

But as he returned to his usual self, caught off guard, he looked at the wounds of the Undying Woman.

Was that confusion in the Hunter’s eyes, I wondered?

“…Are you really clueless?”

“Huh? Who are you? You’re dressed strangely.”

“Oh, turns out you’re brainless.”

Was he starting to feel dizzy? The Hunter exhaled a frustrated sigh, clutching his forehead.

#

After all the ups and downs, we somehow made our way through the softened atmosphere towards Rondan.

I thought the distance was still vast, but…

“Right in front of Rondan.”

“?”

Hearing the Hunter’s words, I felt utterly deflated.

We had come so close.

Lia had actually given us the right directions.

Before long, the flames of the bonfire, emblematic of Rondan, began to shimmer in the distance, and finally, we reached the castle walls of Rondan.

“Ugh, finally made it!!!”

I stretched outward, feeling all the tension release from my body, shouting loudly, causing the Hunter to gawk at me as if I were a bizarre creature.

I mean, I was genuinely that happy, what was I supposed to do?

I thought I was about to become an international orphan, no, an imperial orphan.

As I walked towards the gate, I spotted two gatekeepers and another silhouette.

That silhouette approached the Hunter, who was walking at the front.

“You’re safe.”

“Not like I went too far.”

“Did you catch the Outsiders?”

“No, I missed them. They were quicker than I expected.”

The Hunter talked about having “missed” the Outsiders as if it were a natural occurrence.

He seemed to want to bury what happened.

It reminded me of when we thought Agartha had died. I felt guilty for every time I had received their help.

The figure who had spoken to the Hunter tilted their head, twisting their lips.

“Well, it’s probably tough to spot Outsiders outside the snowstorm…”

Their voice and mannerisms, combined with their manner of moving, clarified who they were at once.

Just as I was about to act like I knew them first, they turned their gaze toward us.

“By the way, who’s that behind you…?”

Their sentence abruptly cut off, and their pupils began to shake frantically.

Before long, their eyes quickly welled up, and tears began to pour down.

“Ah, hello, Muyun. It’s been a while…”

I tried to act normal, but just then, I was knocked over by the streaming shock.

“Gah!”

“Y-You were alive! Waaahhh!”

Speechless, the weeping Muyun squeezed me in a tight hug.

Caught off guard by the sudden closeness and the softness I felt through the armor, it made me feel somber, thinking how worried she must’ve been.

Maybe I could afford her a moment to calm down.

Just then, after streaming tears for a spell, Muyun’s gaze landed on the Undying Woman beside me.

Suddenly, Muyun froze, and tremors began to tremble through her body, turning her pale.

Is that the expression someone makes when they see a ghost?

“G-G-G-G!!!!!!!!”

“G?”

“G-Guard Captain!!”

…What did she just say?