“…A hunter, huh? From Rondan?”
“That’s right.”
The doorkeepers of Gerun glanced back and forth between the dark figure standing before them and the identification card he presented. Their question was: what business does a Rondan hunter have here? With so many outsiders to hunt around Rondan, they weren’t keen on the idea that someone might be trying to take their resources.
“State your business.”
“Has a guy named Leydan Tanton come here?”
When the hunter uttered that name, they instinctively wanted to reveal his whereabouts. However, they quickly remembered Tanton’s words when he first set foot in the Gerun Domain and spoke with them, prompting them to keep their mouths shut.
“What can be trusted is only the Knights of Rondan.”
Only then did they realize Tanton’s warning to not listen deeply to his slander and understood why he had come this far. It seemed he was being hunted by a hunter.
Despite being in that unfortunate situation, had he come to save them from a crisis? The doorkeepers felt a shiver run down their spines.
They exchanged glances and subtly nodded, trying to avoid the hunter’s attention, then faced him with determined expressions.
“No, we haven’t seen him.”
The hunter was left dumbfounded upon hearing their response. It was like putting an illegal candle train right on the tracks while shamelessly lying.
“Then what is that?”
“There have been candles wandering around the area, so we caught these guys today.”
“…Does that even make sense? The candles around here should have nearly vanished after the large-scale war with Rondan!”
The hunter spoke with rising anger, but the doorkeepers wore sly grins.
“We’re just stating the facts, and even if we lied, what could you do about it?”
“…You filthy bastards.”
The hunter growled lowly and grabbed one doorkeeper by the collar. The force was so brutish that the doorkeeper couldn’t muster any resistance.
“W-What…!”
“Enough with the childish banter. Where is he? If you don’t spill it quickly, those white seeds in your mouth won’t be in good shape.”
“This is blatant obstruction of justice! Let go, or I will have to report you to the Duke!”
Despite the hunter’s threats, he merely scoffed in amusement.
“Which is faster, the authorities stopping me or you becoming a half-wit here?”
“…!”
The doorkeeper felt a moment of terror at the hunter’s smirk, but despite this, they couldn’t speak. They weren’t ungrateful enough to betray their benefactor.
Seeing their expression, the hunter narrowed his eyes in disgust.
“Do you know what’s happening right now and still choose to act like this?”
“W-What are you talking about!”
“That guy is an outsider sympathizer! A traitor of this era who looks down on humans and stands with the outsiders!”
“Don’t make me laugh! Do you think I’d believe what you say? We stand by the Knights of Rondan, who saved our nearly perished domain!”
Save the domain? Had they pulled yet another ridiculous stunt in the meantime? The hunter gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the doorkeeper’s collar, causing their throat to constrict each time.
The doorkeeper’s face began to turn blue, and one of the others nearby couldn’t hold back any longer and was about to rush in.
Brrroooom!
A steam sound slammed against their ears. At the same time, they heard a heavy sound, as if something was passing over the track.
The doorkeepers turned pale, while the hunter wore an almost maniacal grin.
“…So, you were there.”
That single phrase sounded like a death sentence for Tanton to the doorkeepers. The hunter released the doorkeeper and turned around, but the two held onto the hunter’s ankle and refused to let go.
Visibly annoyed, the hunter crushed their hands underfoot without mercy. The doorkeepers, who could endure typical pain, were overwhelmed by the unusual force pressing down on them.
“Gaaah!”
They cried out almost like a scream, and finally let go of his ankle. The hunter wasted no time and leaped onto the train to catch up with it as it moved away.
Watching the train depart, the doorkeepers blamed their own weakness.
“…Sir Tanton. You must survive.”
#
They decided to use the train for quick mobility during the patrol. Strangely, it seemed that coal was overflowing in this domain, leading the hunter to explain that the train was provided free of charge by the domain.
“To think they would accept coal containing the flesh of outsiders? Is Rondan really in that dire of a situation?”
“…Nah, not really.”
It wouldn’t be advisable to say, ‘This thief here wants to do some personal business,’ so they just laughed it off.
For some reason, Agartha and Asti were both quiet. Especially Agartha, who seemed to have something when her eyes met mine, but asking would just lead to an obvious evasion, so I decided not to press it. Asti was generally quiet, so I took that as normal.
Thus, only the conversation between the hunter and me intermittently filled the train.
“By the way, I heard you were on friendly terms with the hunter. Why are you separated now?”
Haha. This guy sure knows how to hit a nerve. However, I couldn’t just remain silent, so I forced a wry smile.
“Ah, we had a little falling out. I’m just trying to avoid him a little.”
“A falling out? Just what did you do?”
“Just… certain things.”
“Sounds like a story that’s not easy to explain.”
Still, unlike the hunter, the way the hunter here managed to show consideration made it a bit more comfortable to talk.
Not that I meant to imply the hunter was stubborn and lacked empathy.
“By the way, why are you providing the stuff you hunt to the domain?”
“…I didn’t start doing it because I wanted to. But if I don’t, the domain might wobble a bit, so what can be done? It happened because of my inexperienced skills, leading to today’s events. I can’t thank you enough.”
The hunter bowed his head suddenly.
“Thank you, Leydan Tanton. I will surely repay this kindness.”
“Haha, it’s nothing much… We should help each other as humans.”
“…That sense of humility is something I ought to learn from.”
This person was so polite it was burdensome. Is it really okay to be a little arrogant?
Bark! Humans are busy! They don’t care about us anymore!
…Just when I was lost in those thoughts, the bell rang out abruptly! It even sounded very sulky!
I hadn’t been able to play with them much lately due to a series of events, but still…
…Well, it would be hard to argue that after a whole week of heavy resting before the incident.
Exactly! We’ve had our fun, so are we now deemed unnecessary?
N-No! That’s not it…
My lord, it’s fine. As long as you keep your promise to us, I could forgive you for anything you do.
Whoa, a promise? Well, yes, that might be true…
Hmph, I suppose it was just a pastime for me in the end.
…Ugh! Isn’t the Record Keeper supposed to mediate in situations like this?! Where is the Record Keeper?
Desperately calling out, the Record Keeper didn’t seem to have any intention of showing up.
Why not?! I mean, I get that the busy Outsider doesn’t always appear, but…
…Sigh. Fool.
…While I was struggling with what to do, luckily it seemed to be just a joke, and the Gardener spoke up in a lighter voice.
“I can sense an outsider’s aura nearby. Be cautious.”
Given that I couldn’t bring out Lia in this situation, it seemed she had intended to inform me of that.
…I appreciate the good information, but was the joke too extreme beforehand?
“I’m not joking, bark.”
Okay.
“Be careful. The outsider might come out soon.”
“…We haven’t even been here long, and they’re already coming out?”
I relayed the Gardener’s information to the hunter. Judging by his reaction, it seemed he hadn’t seen many outsiders lately.
Then, as the train moved a bit more, the hunter suddenly began sniffing the air, like picking up on a scent.
He nodded and started adjusting the train’s fuel.
“As Tanton said, there’s a dreadful stench nearby. It smells worse than rotting corpses.”
As the hunter’s words spread, the train began to slow down gradually. Agartha, too, shed her awkward demeanor and stood up with a serious expression.
“Let’s take down that outsider and head back quickly.”
“Got it.”
I replied to Agartha with a smile, calming my feelings, and stepped off the train.
I needed to hope for the best, but the worst-case scenario would involve fighting and killing an outsider.
I repeatedly reminded myself not to make the same mistakes as with the twin outsiders and moved forward.
“Let’s save some firewood for the hearth.”
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