Chapter 15. Faith and Trust (4)

There were a few other reasons why I determined that the red-haired woman was not Ria.

First, her figure was different from the Ria I knew. It’s a bit inappropriate to evaluate in this situation, but compared to Ria’s body, which I had seen, touched, and felt a few times… it was a bit closer to the average.

Furthermore, her demeanor was different, and most importantly-

“Don’t you know it’s dangerous to be in a place like that? No matter how high up, monsters will crawl up the walls. If a person can go there, a monster can too.”

Her way of speaking was also different.

Unlike Ria, who was a bit more playful and cheerful, this woman’s voice and manner of speaking were a bit stiff.

It felt like her attitude had become ingrained in her, rather than just her personality changing due to the situation.

Immediately after the monsters became aware of our location, the woman guided us. Ria, whose legs had lost strength from using holy power again after a slight improvement, hugged me again, and we diligently followed the red-haired woman who ran ahead.

I felt a bit conflicted.

If there are other worlds, are there parallel worlds too? Worlds that are very similar to ours but also slightly different.

When we arrived at the shelter where this person probably lived, the first thing she said to us was that.

“So, where did you guys come from again?”

Thump.

The woman said, sitting on a worn-out sofa as if throwing herself onto it, with her legs crossed.

“…….”

Ria and I looked at each other.

Although she was wary of us, the woman’s voice trembled slightly. It wasn’t fear, nor was it simply nervousness.

“We are…….”

As I opened my mouth and took a step forward, Ria’s hand suddenly came out and blocked my body. Her hand gently pushed me behind her back, as if telling me to stay there.

“People from another world.”

Ria answered briefly.

She didn’t point her sword at us, but she still held it in her hand.

I understand. Even if she was the one who helped us right now, and even if she looked strangely similar to Ria… we couldn’t grasp her identity just by looking at her.

A ruined world.

Just by thinking about it a little, I could tell that supplies would inevitably be scarce. Her nun’s habit was torn in places, and the armor covering it was also heavily scratched. Her sword was chipped in many places.

In some extreme works, people are used as food.

……Is that too extreme an assumption?

“……It seems so.”

The woman replied naturally to our answer.

“You’re talking as if you’ve already seen it.”

Ria spoke as if she had caught something in her tone.

“A little while ago, you said ‘again’.”

From behind Ria, I took a small breath.

That’s right. She said that.

That means-

“Have you seen anyone else besides us?”

“…….”

At Ria’s words, the woman’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“We did have one visitor recently.”

Recently?

Is she talking about today? But even so, it wouldn’t have been more than a few hours. Even if we take the maximum time since Si-yun disappeared, it hasn’t even been 24 hours yet.

But is there any reason to describe it as ‘recently’?

“……A man?”

“Yes.”

To Ria’s question, the woman nodded indifferently.

“I met him about two weeks ago.”

“Two weeks?”

Ria muttered. I also gripped Ria’s clothes tightly from behind.

Is it possible that more people are crossing over here than expected? In terms of time, it wasn’t Si-yun’s story.

But then, who was that guest?

Ria, perhaps reaching a similar conclusion, raised the tip of her sword slightly.

“What about that guest?”

“That guest-“

As the woman opened her mouth, I heard a sound in my tense ears. From behind the door through which she had entered.

The sound of people walking. The sound of metal clashing, like iron.

Ria also heard the sound and raised her sword.

I also took out my gun. Unfortunately, it was not loaded. Even so, hunters, who are not part of a law enforcement organization, were not allowed to carry live ammunition in situations other than operations.

Still, it should be at least a minimal threat. …If all else fails, I can hit them with it.

The moment I raised my gun and aimed it at the door,

Click.

The doorknob turned.

And the person who entered through that door froze, startled by the gun I was aiming.

“…….”

I exhaled. My tension completely dissipated upon seeing the person beyond that door.

“……Si-yun!?”

At my almost screaming voice, Ria involuntarily turned around. The sword she was holding lowered.

“Anna. Ria.”

Si-yun said, scratching his head with a somewhat awkward expression.

He had a bit of stubble on his face. His clothes were incredibly dirty, as if he had managed to get them again in this world. His body… didn’t have any major injuries.

“Anna!”

Before Si-yun could say anything else, someone rushed out from behind him.

Weight suddenly pressed down on my body. My vision was engulfed by black hair.

“Yuri.”

“I really… thought something terrible had happened.”

Yuri said with a voice mixed with tears and stepped back. Still, Yuri seemed fine. She didn’t seem injured anywhere, and she didn’t look like she had spent a long time here like Si-yun.

“……You met Mari.”

“Mari?”

“I’m talking about myself.”

From the sofa, a sound was heard, and when I looked back, the red-haired woman was still sitting there, raising one hand slightly.

A wry smile flickered across her face.

“Well, well, the meal might be a bit scarce today.”

Seeing her say that, I met Ria’s eyes once more.

*

“So, Si-yun has been trapped here for two weeks already?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Si-yun said, picking up the pickled meat from a can with a plastic fork and eating it.

To be honest, it tasted much worse than the usual meat of that kind. It seemed to be something made to be preserved for a longer time. It tasted like an emergency ration, the kind that would ruin your kidneys if you ate too much.

The amount of food each of us received wasn’t that much, but strangely, the red-haired woman-Mari-distributed a bit more to me. “Because you must be hungry,” was what she said.

I glanced at Ria, and she shook her head. The other kids did the same, so I decided not to refuse and eat obediently. It seemed like there was no refrigerator here, so anything opened had to be eaten today.

“You guys realized I disappeared today.”

“That’s right.”

Yuri replied.

“It hasn’t been that long. I definitely met the Prince yesterday.”

“Prince?”

Mari, who had been looking at Gloria with a bit of curiosity, as if seeing an elf for the first time, turned her head to Si-yun at the word ‘Prince’. Si-yun’s face instantly turned red.

“No, it’s just that Gloria calls me that.”

“……I don’t know for sure, but it seems you’re not a real prince.”

Mari shrugged and shoveled her portion of food into her mouth. She seemed accustomed to this salty taste.

And she also gulped down her portion of water.

“I’ve already heard the story. I know what kind of world your world is without you telling me.”

Si-yun must have explained over the past two weeks.

“A much more peaceful and livable place than here. And a safe place where a god protects the world. Is that right?”

There was nothing I could say to that.

What would be the point of saying that the entire Earth isn’t safe, that civil wars are incessant somewhere, and that famine still exists in unresolved places? This world was so ruined that it didn’t even have those things.

“……This world…….”

“It’s as it appears.”

To my words, Mari replied curtly.

“It was destroyed a long time ago. There are no survivors around here. To be honest, this is the first time I’ve had a conversation in years. When I first met you, I couldn’t even speak properly. I was too surprised.”

“…….”

“It’s not that I don’t think you guys are demons in human form… but well, it’s something, I guess.”

I couldn’t think of anything to say in response to that either.

A world destroyed to the point where there are no survivors because it couldn’t stop the demons. How can I offer any comfort?

Moreover, we ourselves are trapped in this world right now.

“Still, it seems there’s still some food and water left.”

Gloria opened her mouth.

“It seems there’s a place where you can get clean water.”

But Si-yun looked at Gloria with a startled expression.

As for Mari, she smiled faintly at Gloria.

“Indeed, there is a way to get it. All the springs where water might well up have been contaminated, and even the rain that falls from the sky is mixed with magic power.”

“Yes? Then how?”

Mari got up from her seat.

And she moved and opened the door to a room that had been closed since earlier.

A faint light flowed from beyond the door.

All of us, except Si-yun who already knew what was beyond, held our breath slightly.

Mari nodded her chin, and we got up and hesitantly approached it.

Seeing what was beyond that door, I fell silent.

The being lying there-

A Saint.

There was a woman in a state of deep sleep, who could only be described as a Saint.