Ch.140Chapter 140

In a space where the air seemed to have stopped flowing, completely devoid of commotion and filled with a subdued atmosphere, only the sound of train wheels striking against rails could be heard as coal burned to propel it forward.

Inside were the Huntsman, who quietly kept his head bowed, and me, sweating nervously as I remained vigilant.

I had planned to go with the Huntsman anyway, but the reason for this awkward situation was that he had proposed the party invitation before I could.

When he pointed at me and said he would go together, the Huntsman’s expression hadn’t been easy to read.

Seeing that expression had made me feel intimidated without even realizing it.

Not understanding my feelings, the Knight Commander had laughed as if amused and told me, “Looks like you’ve gained a reliable ally.”

On the surface, that might be true.

But if one considered how the Huntsman usually treated me, would he really have said such things?

Perhaps because he was the protagonist of Snow Castle, no matter how much I tried to become stronger, I couldn’t keep up with the Huntsman’s natural pace of growth.

Of course, I could just summon Outer Gods with the party flute and be done with it, but there was no reason to utterly destroy the Huntsman for such a trivial matter.

Whatever I did, I’d end up on the losing end.

Unaware of my concerns, the train indifferently puffed out smoke, simply carrying out its duty.

I looked at the Huntsman.

I couldn’t tell what he was thinking; he had been staring blankly at the train floor for a while now.

Except when he was playing pranks or angry, his emotions were difficult to read, making it impossible to know what thoughts were running through his head.

Staying quiet like this made me feel awkward, so I spoke first.

“Um, Mr. Huntsman?”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t think I heard why we’re heading to the imperial capital.”

When the Huntsman told the Knight Commander he wanted to go to the imperial capital, I was immediately assigned as his companion, so I didn’t hear the reason.

Normally, he would be busy hunting Outer Gods around Rondan, so why had he suddenly decided to leave?

“I have something to look into.”

“…You don’t talk much about yourself, do you, Mr. Huntsman?”

“Don’t you already know everything?”

The Huntsman tilted his head as if genuinely confused.

…What was he talking about? Could he be referring to the dreams?

Well, no.

Knowing someone’s past doesn’t mean you know everything about them.

“No, I don’t mean just that.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

The Huntsman nodded at my words, then suddenly stood up.

I wondered what he was going to do.

Then he abruptly took off his coat and tossed it aside.

Ack! Why!

“What are you doing?!”

“Wasn’t that a metaphorical expression about wanting to know me deeply?”

“I meant we should be more open with each other, not that you should strip everything off!”

“If you know everything, there’s nothing left unknown.”

“Don’t make your crazy talk sound logical, you madman!”

Only after the Huntsman removed his coat did I realize that the clothes he wore underneath were more revealing than I had imagined.

When worn with the coat, it had seemed somewhat fashionable, but to wear such a tight-fitting shirt alone!

In a different sense, it was too violent a sight, leaving me nowhere to look.

The Huntsman stared intently at my face.

“Hooh.”

“What?”

“Have you finally developed sexual feelings toward humans?”

“Oh, seriously!”

Whether he just wanted to tease me or genuinely believed it was for “human peace” as he claimed…

It was enough to give me a headache.

I asked one simple question and got more than I bargained for.

Sighing, I looked out the window.

A scene of snowstorms mercilessly falling upon the earth.

From what the Knight Commander had said, the Giant of the Snow Mountain seemed to have a tendency to absorb everything around it.

Especially, it seemed fixated on warmth.

But why didn’t it take life force?

Even now, the knights that the Knight Commander had led were still frozen yet breathing.

…Perhaps it had something to do with the giant’s backstory.

Maybe because it lived without receiving love, it didn’t want to live anymore.

My head hurt.

Let’s focus on what needed to be done now.

Just trying to understand the Observer was enough to make me wish I had three more heads.

Clunk.

The train stopped.

We had finally arrived at the imperial capital.

“Let’s get off.”

“Yes.”

The Huntsman got off first, and I followed.

#

The imperial capital, Linthpia.

When the Emperor was alive, it was a place more prosperous, highly developed, and populated than anywhere else.

But now, since the Princess had gone to Rondan, its once brilliant reputation had long since faded.

“…This is serious.”

“Mm.”

Indeed.

Even in Vandre Village and the Duke’s territory we had visited, people had bowed their heads and exuded a gloomy atmosphere, but there was still some vitality.

A will to grit their teeth and survive somehow.

But here, how should I put it…

“P-please! Just one coin, just one coin!”

“Y-you there, passing by! S-save me. I haven’t eaten anything for three days already.”

It was utter chaos.

Only the distant glow of brazier fires proved that this was still a place where humans could live.

N-no way.

Even so, to this extent?

“It’s pretty serious, isn’t it?”

The gatekeeper followed behind us with a bitter expression.

“How did it get like this?”

“At this point, it’s a bit difficult to find food outside of Rondan. If there’s any silver lining, it’s that this is the worst-affected area. Other places are in better shape.”

In other words, unlike Rondan, the wealth gap here was extremely pronounced.

True to the dark fantasy genre, just when I thought things were peaceful, this was the reality.

“You don’t need to worry too much. As desperate as they look, no one actually starves to death. Today is particularly bad because food supplies haven’t arrived, but it’s not usually this severe.”

“Ah, I see…”

“I apologize for the unsightly scene. If you go further in, you’ll find places to rest and explore.”

When I turned my head toward where the gatekeeper pointed, I could glimpse an area that indeed looked somewhat better.

Hmm.

No matter how much they said it was fine, seeing people suffering like this didn’t sit well with me.

As it happened, I had some leftover food that I’d brought to eat on the train. Maybe I could share some.

With that thought, I approached those people.

“Where are you going?”

“My hypocritical heart won’t let me just pass by without doing something.”

I gave that casual answer to the Huntsman while taking out food from my pocket.

“Excuse me.”

“Ah, aah! Please help me!”

“Yes, yes, calm down. Would you like to eat this?”

I approached an elderly person who looked particularly distressed and offered some food. The person smiled so brightly it made me realize how happy a human could be, and began devouring the food hastily.

Since eating suddenly after starving for a long time could be harmful to the body, I deliberately gave only a small amount.

Even with just that, the elderly person seemed to regain vitality as if they had used up a lifetime’s worth of luck.

“Th-thank you. How can I ever repay this kindness…”

The elderly person raised their head to thank me, and as soon as our eyes met, they froze for some reason.

Could they have developed stomach problems from eating that food?

“Sir, what’s wrong?!”

Surprised, I bent down to check on their condition, when suddenly the elderly person grabbed my shoulder with trembling hands.

Then, slowly moving down to my arm, wrist, and finally wrapping around my hand, they looked at me with shaking eyes.

What’s going on?

No matter how grateful, this reaction seemed excessive. That’s when I heard:

“M-Muzi Absoluta.”

“…?”

“Muzi Absoluta has returned to us!”

When the old man shouted that loudly, the eyes of all the starving people turned toward me at once.

Their expressions instantly changed from agony to ecstasy, and they began gathering around me.

As if trying to verify the old man’s words, they examined me with scrutinizing looks, and once their scan was complete:

“Ah, Prosch! Prosch!”

As if possessed by something, they all uttered strange words in unison and suddenly knelt down before me.

I was bewildered by this display of collective madness.

“W-what.”

What is Muzi Absoluta?

Why are they saying that to me?

“Muzi Absoluta! Please save us from this suffering!”

“Save us, save us!”

The voices resonating in unison filled me with a sense of terror.

Why?

Why am I feeling terrified?

As I was thinking this, my head suddenly began to hurt as if it would split open.

“Ughh…!”

Strange memories began forcibly injecting themselves into my mind.

Images of myself running through this city.

Young girls who clearly appeared to be Outer Gods, somehow living harmoniously with humans.

A man who looked like the Emperor watching over this scene, with a peculiar-looking woman beside him.

And.

A white-haired woman I had seen in my dreams, holding my hand and smiling happily.

My thoughts came to a halt.

I couldn’t think of anything.

The unfamiliar sight of myself in memories I didn’t know I had made me feel as if there was someone else inside me, filling me with terror.

I-I need to get away from here quickly…

“Raedan Tanthyn!”

As my consciousness was growing hazy, I heard the Huntsman’s voice from behind.

Thanks to that, I barely managed to regain my senses and turned around.

“H-Huntsman.”

“Come here right now.”

The Huntsman guided my frozen body and quickly led me away from that space.

And when we finally escaped that area, my body suddenly went limp.

The Huntsman silently supported me.

“H-Huntsman.”

“…”

“I think I might be able to find out who I am here. Strange memories suddenly flooded in, and I, I don’t know what—”

The Huntsman said nothing.

He simply held me in an almost embracing posture, supporting me as I lost my balance, and quietly looked down at me.

Rather, his silent support gave me a sense of reassurance.

I entrusted my body to the Huntsman until I calmed down a bit.

…It was definitely not because I had succumbed to his addictive softness.