The atmosphere gets tense.
My guard instincts kick in.
A nagging feeling inside me begins to alert me.
I glare at the guys and think,
‘What are those bastards?’
To me, the Gaia folks have always been a target of caution.
Otherworlders are slightly unsettling, but they can be dealt with.
They usually come to the forest just to gawk at the monkeys.
For the otherworlders, this place is just a game, so their motives are light as a feather.
To be honest, they aren’t that threatening even if they do attack.
But here, the Gaia folks are different.
The very fact that they came into this forest is strange.
This forest, filled with threats, is a place not easily entered even by A-grade adventurers.
Unlike the otherworlders, they have only one life.
If they make a wrong turn and can’t exit by nightfall, they’re truly in danger.
Thus, the reasons for Gaia folks entering here can be boiled down to two.
One is a criminal like Lian, who fled to escape capture.
Or, they are individuals who came here with a specific purpose.
“Damn it, if they can’t find him after searching this long, they should just give up. Why the hell do we have to crawl into a place as dangerous as this for that guy?”
“…Calm down. If they say to do it, we do it. What can we do?”
From the reaction of the other party, it seems they fall into the latter category.
Perhaps too busy chatting with each other, they haven’t spotted us yet.
I halt Chaerin and glare at them attentively.
Various questions pop into my mind.
‘What are they looking for?’
No, more importantly, how did they even run into us in the first place?
‘Did the viewers direct them or something…?’
I shook my head at that thought.
I mean, it was a dumb idea, even to myself.
The location is constantly changing, how could donating viewers guide them? There’s no reason or method for that.
Besides, her current stream was being conducted with minimized surroundings.
So from her stream’s perspective, her appearance took up a significant portion of the view.
It was almost to the point of discomfort.
Naturally, when we exited the cave, she even blocked the screen completely.
So even meeting viewers was mostly by chance.
Sure, it’s possible they might have found us seeing a tiny glimpse of the forest through her broadcast… but there’s no way they’d have that kind of obsession.
…I wanted to believe that.
Anyway, that leaves only one conclusion about how I ended up meeting them.
‘Just a simple coincidence.’
Well, isn’t my luck just terribly awful? Especially when I’m already feeling so worn out.
Eventually, the ones strolling over leisurely finally spot us. A short exclamation escapes their lips.
“…Oooh?”
“Wow.”
Their eyes are fixated on me. This reaction is somewhat familiar by now.
“Isn’t this something? To see such a rarity in this forest.”
“Right? Damn, look at that body and face. Can’t even compare to those in the brothel!”
I raised my guard. Just by the way they’re talking, they don’t seem like high-quality individuals.
Stopping Chaerin, who was about to approach them thinking they were viewers, I ask,
“…Who are you?”
“Whoa, even your voice sounds nice?”
There were two of them.
One was a red-haired girl wielding a great sword, and the other was an orange-haired girl with a short sword and round shield.
The orange-haired girl answered,
“Well, you don’t need to know too much. We were just looking for a person. Have you seen a brown-haired man with blue eyes? Anywhere other than here.”
Hearing that, I instantly figured out who they were looking for.
‘Shit.’
It’s me.
So these bastards are from Lemegaton?
That’s highly probable since they seem hell-bent on finding me.
I heard they’ve only been searching around the empire for the past two months, but now they’ve pushed their search radius all the way to the ‘Forbidden Forest.’
Good grief, how can anyone survive here while conducting an investigation?
Their superior must be quite a blockhead.
For now, I try to maintain my composure and reply,
“Sorry, I’ve seen many guys like that, but I don’t know who you mean. Besides, men with those features are pretty common in the city, right?”
That’s not a lie. Brown hair and blue eyes are pretty typical for commoners.
After all, it’s what I requested during the ‘vision.’
The other party nodded.
“Hmm… That’s true.”
“So, can we pass? We need to get back soon for a quest.”
I pretended to be a casual adventurer. I’m not a native here, just a struggling adventurer.
So please, just let me go. I really don’t want to bump heads right now.
“No, we can’t let you go like that.”
But the response I get is quite taxing.
‘Damn.’
I cursed inwardly and whispered to Chaerin.
Chaerin also seemed to realize that they weren’t users. A slight tension appeared on her face.
“Chaerin, turn off the stream.”
“Okay, but… the atmosphere is weird right now… Maybe we should ask the viewers who came earlier for help…”
“Not needed, just hurry.”
Right now, I’m more afraid of their interest shifting toward us than anything else.
And instinctively, I felt something off.
A strong foreboding that we might clash with those individuals.
With their relaxed demeanor, they must definitely be formidable.
If a conflict arises, and it gets broadcasted…?
······ It could lead to a major disaster.
“Got it… Wait a moment.”
Fortunately, she agreed to my request.
[Hold on, are you really leaving?]
[Damn, don’t go.]
[I’ll be really anxious if you go like this, please just turn it back on~]
[You have no regard at all, lol.]
With a snap-
The chat disappears abruptly as if the power was cut.
I’m not really familiar with streaming, but I guess such a hasty cut must have some consequences.
With such engagement, viewers would’ve flocked.
But she listened to me and turned off the camera, sacrificing all of that.
I felt thankful yet guilty, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Oh look, you’re with an otherworlder. Thanks for turning off the stream.”
“Why can’t you just let us go? We clearly said we don’t know anything. Wouldn’t it be better for both if we just went our separate ways?”
“Heh, you’d wish so. But we’re a bit stressed right now.”
The red-haired girl speaks, raising her great sword.
“Up top, they’re clamoring for us to find the person quickly. It’s disgustingly busy. We’ve been feeling frustrated lately; don’t you think we should let off some steam?”
In other words, they’re saying they want to take me down.
Sigh…
I exhale deeply and pull out my spear.
These are truly the types of people I haven’t missed.
In this forest, where laws and rules go out the window, sometimes those who come here can get dominated. Definitely not a type I appreciated.
“What if you kill an otherworlder? What will you do then? Aren’t you scared of the law?”
“Sorry, but we’re already criminals.”
It was practically a badge of honor for them.
They begin to draw their weapons, aiming them at us.
Chaerin next to me also readies her weapon, but to be honest, I don’t have high hopes.
They move so leisurely; it’s clear their level compared to hers is significant.
‘There’s no way I can escape, right?’
For a moment, that crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it. Not really for Chaerin’s sake.
Feeling a bit guilty, but honestly, she’ll just respawn anyway.
The real concern comes after I escape.
Even if I run away, those bastards aren’t going to leave this forest, are they?
Living among rapists who want to take me down in the forest? It’s safer to clear them out quickly.
So I’ll be as cautious as possible.
The attack I chose is throwing daggers.
It’s safe from a distance and adds an element of surprise as well.
The first strike should always be sudden and powerful.
That way, I can start off with the upper hand.
Feigning a retreat, I quickly grab the dagger from my back pocket.
The familiar grip wraps around my hand. Without hesitation, I throw it toward my target.
I was curious how they would react.
Would they dodge quickly, or would they block with their weapon?
Neither was the answer.
“Don’t worry. If you stay still, it won’t hurt…”
Thunk-!
The dagger lodges itself in the red-haired girl’s neck.
The one who was grinning as she approached never even had the chance to react.
That was the consequence of her carelessness in this forest.
With no way to escape, she breathes her last.
“Uh, uh?”
A dazed voice escapes from the orange-haired girl next to her.
I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
Phew, what a scare. I was too worried for nothing.
I looked at the girl and said,
“Next, step up.”
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