Chapter 9: On the Boundary Between Humans and Monsters (2)
I stood there, dazed, staring at the bizarre spectacle unfolding before my eyes.
White hair, black pupils. A girl with an otherworldly beauty soared freely through the sky.
And then, in an instant, a large prey was cleaved in two.
So cleanly. With just a single swipe of her blade.
Yet, what truly perplexed me wasn’t such an overwhelming show of force.
I saw a girl sobbing. A girl who was crying sorrowfully all alone.
Why was she crying? After skillfully hunting her prey. One would think she’d be celebrating, yet here she was, consumed by sadness.
I couldn’t understand.
But if there was one thing I could be sure of:
‘…Lien?’
This girl, she’s the reason I came here.
Just like with Siel before. In such a situation, encountering a girl who appears so unique, crying and suffering all by herself, couldn’t possibly be a coincidence.
It wasn’t just chance, but fate. A meeting that was meant to be.
But the problem was.
‘…What should I do?’
I knew there had to be a story behind her appearance and her tears.
But I lacked the charisma of a protagonist. I had no experience in comforting a crying child.
In the original story, the protagonist would have surely found a way to console her, heal her trauma, and resolve the issues she faced.
But I was lost. Even up until the moment I revealed myself to the girl, I had no idea how I should behave.
Yet,
“Don’t come any closer… I told you not to come…”
I knew the crying child’s plea was a lie. She wanted someone by her side. It was unmistakable.
I couldn’t help but know.
Therefore, I slowly approached the girl.
One step at a time, slowly.
And then,
“What on earth do you think you’re doing?”
I embraced her.
She questioned me in return.
But contrary to her words, she made no attempt to leave my embrace.
It was as if she was searching for something to cling to.
As if she desperately needed someone to lean on, her hands trembled as she weakly held onto me.
I was not accustomed to such situations. It was bound to happen. How many people could genuinely claim they had experienced such a situation?
Yet, despite it all, I couldn’t bring myself to let go of those small, trembling hands that clung to me so precariously.
So, I hugged her time and time again as she wept.
Telling her it would be okay, that crying would help, spouting such awkward reassurances.
Time simply flowed on endlessly like this.
Gradually, the girl’s sorrow began to fade.
It’s amazing.
Just the mere presence of someone, just letting them know you’re there, can heal a person’s sorrow like this.
I found myself gazing up at the sky, lost in thought.
For a moment, I recalled the mother who had once done the same for me.
Not that I particularly wanted to return to my original world to reunite with the family I left behind.
After all, it’s been over a decade since both my mother and father passed away. Their faces are now a blur.
It’s just, perhaps the night sky was so beautiful, and I got lost in its beauty.
Feeling just a little, a very slight sense of longing.
*
The might of the emperor suppresses the energy of ■ flesh demon ■.
Such an incomprehensible message flashed briefly before my eyes. It vanished almost instantaneously, hardly allowing me a moment to read, let alone comprehend it.
Curious if this meant my status window had been restored, I tried various things, but to no avail. Only a message about resetting some pathway appeared, leaving me in silence.
Eventually, I shifted my focus away from the status window to more pressing matters.
“Yo-you. Who exactly are you? Why did you do this all of a sudden?”
The girl rambled on in fluster.
Thinking about it, her reaction was entirely justified.
Overwhelmed by the moment, and perhaps reminded of a childhood memory, I had impulsively embraced her. Reflecting on it, it was indeed madness.
For a stranger to force his way towards a woman screaming for him to stay away and to embrace her without consent?
This is downright criminal.
This impulse must have arisen from the vitality of a healthy body.
This characteristic viciously manipulated me, a person with common sense and a strong ethical foundation, leading me into such strange behavior.
“Wh-Who are you exactly? You didn’t cast some kind of seduction spell on me, did you? Are you a warlock or something?”
But what’s done is done and cannot be undone.
Nor was it a situation where I could simply apologize.
To do so would be to claim that there was some foul intention behind that embrace.
As someone who needed to gain the girl’s trust, there was nothing worse than that.
Thus, I pointed boldly to the sky.
“Do I look like a grand sorcerer to you, capable of casting a seduction spell lasting over 3 hours without a wand?”
What rose in the sky was the sun.
A beautiful sunrise, making one ponder whether it should be captured in a photograph.
In other words, this girl had been clinging to me for hours on end.
Considering all she had vented while crying, it was understandable that she had so much to let out. But this was admittedly a bit excessive.
“…That, that’s…”
Another sun seemed to rise in the sky.
Of course, there’s only one sun in this world, so the other must be someone’s face, blushing as if it might burst at any moment.
She must have realized the absurdity of complaining now, after she had spent 3 hours, or perhaps even longer, pouring out her troubles to me.
I concluded by pointing to my clothes.
The girl could no longer meet my gaze.
Her face flushed, she focused on something seemingly fascinating on the ground.
It was perhaps inevitable.
My clothes looked like they had been through a waterfall meditation retreat.
They were wrinkled and tattered in places due to her strong grip, and the shoulder area was completely soaked with tears.
“……Sorry.”
Lien spoke in a barely audible voice.
Her face swollen, her eyes red and unable to meet mine due to shame. The way she offered her apology was adorably awkward.
“Don’t worry about it too much. It’s natural to feel overwhelmed sometimes. I’m not particularly bothered.”
Somehow, the situation was resolved.
And then…
An awkward exchange of glances followed.
I had a pretty good idea why Lien was hesitating and averting her gaze from mine.
It was only natural.
Objectively speaking, I must seem incredibly suspicious.
An outsider who suddenly appears in a place where one is hiding. Someone who approaches with unsettling familiarity.
To any observer, I’d look like the hidden mastermind.
The very embodiment of a villain with ulterior motives.
Yet, the girl’s silence likely stemmed from gratitude for what had transpired earlier.
She seemed just ordinarily honest and inherently kind.
I felt a resurgence of sympathy for her.
“If there’s anything you want to ask, go ahead.”
With that, I took the initiative to speak to Lien.
After some hesitation, Lien posed her question.
“Why did you come to this remote mountain?”
“I just happened to pass by. Is this a place I’m not allowed to enter?”
“Not exactly, but…”
It was clear she remained unconvinced.
And understandably so. I wouldn’t buy such an excuse either.
But that’s okay.
I had the perfect alibi.
“Besides, if I had any ill intentions, I wouldn’t have spent hours holding you. There would be no reason for me to initiate a conversation with you.”
Lien’s face, which had just calmed down, flushed again. She averted her gaze from mine and nodded, her cheeks still red.
It seemed like she was somewhat convinced.
“Now, isn’t it my turn to ask?”
“……Huh?”
“So, you can ask anything you want, but I’m not allowed to ask anything? Well, if that’s the case, there’s nothing I can do.”
Suddenly, the girl became visibly flustered, rambling off excuses.
That wasn’t her intention, she said. That I could ask anything I wanted. That she wasn’t trying to interrogate me, and if it came across that way, she was sorry.
This transparency was different from Siel’s in its own unique way.
She was straightforward in nature, unable to hide anything, with every emotion plainly visible on her face.
If Siel spoke exactly what was on her mind, this girl seemed like she would give away everything with just her expressions, even if she tried to lie.
She was amusing to tease, with such vivid reactions.
But now wasn’t the time to be concerned with such things.
“What you said earlier, what does it all mean?”
The situation this girl was in turned out to be more serious than I had thought.
I had assumed Lien was forcibly taken by the people of some cult village, a misunderstanding due to the sparse information in the spoiler post.
But from her tearful complaints, it turns out she was born a member of this village.
Moreover, it appeared that Lien’s stepfather was the one trying to kill her.
“Why would your dad want to kill you?”
“Because… I was born wrong.”
An incomprehensible explanation.
Seeing my puzzled expression, the girl seemed to realize I hadn’t fully grasped the situation and continued her explanation in her own way.
Hmm…
It is quite extreme. I can somewhat understand why her fanatical father would deem her a ‘Star of Heavenly Slaughter.’
But… is that really such a problem?
I understand possessing a talent for killing and sometimes losing consciousness in a frenzy of bloodlust.
But still.
“Is that really such a grave issue?”
I had a hunch about why the girl exhibited such symptoms.
It’s simple.
Considering the characteristics of my healthy body, one could deduce the reason.
The ‘Weakness Insight’ trait always includes the text about easily identifying others’ weaknesses.
When the game became reality, it might have led to a side effect where meeting people always triggered a perception of their vulnerabilities.
Given her straightforward nature, it’s plausible for a protagonist’s ally character like her to have a low-grade ‘Frenzy’ passive.
The text indicating excitement in combat could lead to being swayed by such influences.
“But… I almost killed you.”
“But you didn’t, did you?”
“A slight mistake, and I could have.”
“But you didn’t kill me. That’s what matters.”
Lien still wore a look of incomprehension.
So, I continued, locking eyes with her.
“People can’t choose the traits they’re born with.”
It’s a simple truth.
No one chooses the circumstances of their birth.
Just because Lien has a dangerous disposition doesn’t justify her father’s wish to end her life.
“That’s why what really matters is how you choose to live your life. You chose not to kill me. Isn’t that enough?”
“……But still.”
Yet, Lien seemed unconvinced.
So, I said with a playful smile, “If you ever lose control again, just like before, I’ll be there to hold you. Don’t worry.”
Her face turned bright red.
Indeed, she’s amusing to tease.
Such a lively reaction.
As I smiled at her response, I suddenly frowned.
“Lien.”
Before us unfolded an unusual scene, naturally bringing an ominous premonition.
“That’s not some traditional ritual of your village, is it?”
She turned to look at my indication.
Instantly, Lien’s complexion turned ashen.
Rising smoke.
The village ablaze.
The terrible screams of people could be heard if one listened closely.
The situation was clear.
The Empire had found this place.
Today, they intended to erase a tribe from the face of the world.
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