episode_0008

“…Remarkable. Whatever it is, to operate there in its true form and with its true name, without faking anything…”

“You don’t have to force compliments, you know.”

“Are you perhaps bad at reading the room?”

“Quite a bit, actually?”

“Ahem, so it seems!”

Oh, no, I just had a conversation, but Ms. Erica was already annoyed.

Now is the time for ice-breaking.

“Mr. Thompson and Rie…”

-A sharp glare!

A murderous aura, as if his gaze alone could strip the flesh from my bones.

Crushed by the intensity, I hurriedly swallowed my words and, gulp, digested them.

“It seems you dislike that person.”

I couldn’t stand the thick hatred I felt in every part of Erica’s tone and spoke.

A quick-witted, polite, and sensible person like me doesn’t particularly enjoy such heavy atmospheres.

Make up, make up!

“Naturally, humans don’t like the Outer Gods.”

“Gasp.”

“They wantonly devastate peaceful worlds, unleash hordes of armies, and create their own territories to treat humans as they please. They call us insignificant creatures, yet they desperately seek revenge on any human who crosses them.”

“You’re surprisingly petty, aren’t you?”

“Hahaha! Indeed, you could say I’m petty. That’s an interesting perspective. A new viewpoint that doesn’t assume the Outer Gods’ true forms or concern itself with their size, Yuseong – you would make a very good friend to a scholar, wouldn’t you?”

A good friend.

At the unexpected compliment, which I hadn’t heard in who knows how long, my shoulders trembled.

“I’ve never heard anything like that, Ri… Ahem, so anyway, that person and their friends are narrow-minded people, is that it?”

“Did you descend from living in some mountain? No, if you did, you would have gone mad or become a meal long ago.”

Aren’t you being too nonchalant about saying I would have died?

“Now that you mention it, I don’t know where you’re from or what you were doing before. I’m curious about your story.”

My heart softened at Ms. Erica’s curious gaze.

But I’m also a human, and because I’m cheerful, polite, and sensible, I still remember what happened on the first day.

When I told the foaming man how I came to this dark fantasy world, he started ranting and raving, foaming at the mouth, and the bearded man listening beside him also attacked me like an alligator.

There’s no guarantee that Ms. Erica won’t react the same way if she hears my story, is there?

“Thompson-”

“It’s Erica.”

I liked Ms. Erica.

She was kind, good at catch-ball, pretty, and had a good figure.

A beauty comparable to Rienim – though she claims this is her true form, there might be another hairy Mr. Thompson inside.

A grandfather walking around in a woman’s skin… Ugh.

Anyway, men are weak to beautiful women. So, just as my heart was weakening, Ms. Erica raised both hands, shook her head, and stopped pressing me.

“It seems like I’m prying unnecessarily. If you don’t want to talk, that’s fine. By the way – you have absolutely no knowledge of the Outer Gods, do you?”

Thump, thump. As I listened to her speak and stamped my foot, the floor turned into a trampoline again.

This is too much.

“Yet your mind is sound. You truly are amazing. Personally, I’d like to research you-”

“Huh?”

I was performing backflips and all sorts of acrobatics, bouncing around the cave, when my eyes met Ms. Erica’s.

Rubbing her face and scratching her forehead, she strode over and put me in a headlock!

“Hmm, are you already consumed by madness and controlled? Are you wearing a mask to pique my curiosity, testing me to drive me mad?”

“Let go, please let go!”

“Hey, just hold still! I’ll let you go after I check!”

Ugh, it’s soft and it smells good! What is this, patting my head and rubbing my cheek!

“Alright, look here.”

“I thought I was going to die.”

“You won’t die just from being rubbed against a chest a few times.”

“…Pervert.”

“Isn’t that usually my line?!”

Ms. Erica, having somehow put on glasses with white lenses, approached me holding a familiar white rod.

The rod slowly extended towards my neck, reminding me of what happened earlier in Helstrom.

“Is that rod common? I saw it last week too.”

“Hmm?”

The rod, about to touch my neck, paused.

“When I visited Helstrom, the guards were carrying them.”

“…So, what did that guard do with it?”

“They put it on my body.”

“What happened?”

“My vision went dark like ink-”

“H-huh?!”

Clatter, clatter, clang…

Ms. Erica flailed her arms as if electrocuted.

She stared with wide eyes at the white rod clattering on the cave floor, then hurriedly got up, picked up the rod, dusted it off thoroughly, and reverently cradled it in her arms while glaring at me.

What did I do wrong?

“Oh dear… That was close.”

“What in the world is that?”

“This is the symbol of Snowden that can confirm if someone is corrupted.”

“What did you say?”

“Ah, ah, ah- Hmm, my apologies. I’m used to calling it by its true name. Let’s see – for you to understand it easily…”

No, did I just blurt out English without realizing it, or something?

“Snowden, it’s Snowden’s symbol.”

“Snowden?”

“She is the guardian deity of humanity, residing in a realm of pure white. Because of her, humanity can resist the Outer Gods, and thanks to her grace, we are gradually reclaiming our dominance.”

“Ohh…”

She’s an incredible goddess!

“The native deities of this place have long since become prey to the Outer Gods or degenerated into their minions. While we merely awaited destruction, Snowden stepped forward to protect us, which is why I can stand here and speak with you.”

Ms. Erica seemed to believe in the goddess Snowden with all her heart, praising her with the face of a pious devotee.

If I say she looks like a fanatic, I’ll probably get slapped, won’t I?

“I perfectly understand.”

“Those who perfectly understand usually don’t say it that way, but…”

Our conversation paused briefly.

I found her story interesting, and Erica’s lips twitched for a long time as if she had something more to say.

Just as even the sound of the wind that had needlessly blown in became clearly perceptible, Ms. Erica approached and sat down beside me, her eyes a little subdued.

-Softly.

A distance where I could feel warm body heat. This is troubling, I thought, just as Ms. Erica spoke.

“Do you wish to know the truth of the city you reside in?”

“The truth?”

“She covers your eyes and suppresses your freedom, all while posing as your benefactor, and she said as much to me. So, I’ve decided to tell you the truth about Leruye – that woman’s true nature and the city we are in. Leruye is not to be trusted.”

I listened silently to her story, scratching my cheek.

It’s a reasonable suspicion and a reasonable thought, but… isn’t the same true for her?

“Aren’t you, Ms. Erica, much the same?”

“…Huh?”

“What if you, who slapped my cheek and woke me up, are some mad person who knew beforehand that Mr. Thompson and I would meet? You could have approached me wearing Mr. Thompson’s skin, then revealed your true form, lulled me into a false sense of security, and naturally sowed discord between Leruye and me to cause her harm. Or, by pretending to offer a kindness by telling me the truth, you could be using me and then kill me once I’ve served my purpose, couldn’t you?”

“…Yuseong, is that… really you?”

“…That’s how it is; once you start doubting, there’s no end to it. That’s why I want to trust both of you.”

“…”

“She was the one who rescued me when I fell into this place with nothing, and Ms. Erica wants to help me, even though I might be used, right? I want to trust both of you. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a proper conversation, and I’m enjoying it.”

I want to feel this feeling for a long time, that’s what I mean.

“Pfft…”

“…?”

“Pwahahaha! Haha, haa… Is that so, haa… My apologies! Yes, such an interpretation exists, doesn’t it? In your eyes, I might well be a mad person wearing Thompson’s skin!”

“You could be, is all I’m saying…”

Is she pissed off?

“That was truly an excellent point, wasn’t it… In fact, by saying that, you’ve made me want to help you even more.”

“It would be great if you helped.”

“Even if it means you might have to leave the one who rescued you?”

“Hmm… I’d be very sad, but it’s not like she’s my mom – an adult going their own way is inevitable, isn’t it?”

If I just held onto everyone I didn’t want to leave, I would have bribed Naia with a thousand grilled meats to stop her from going.

But how could I do that?

“I don’t want to betray your trust, that’s why. However… yes, you are currently being kept by Leruye.”

“I like that kind of thing.”

Don’t men want to be kept men? I just need to be good at housework.

“No! Just! Listen!”

Zip, I zipped my mouth shut and stared at Ms. Erica with sparkling eyes.

Humans always enjoy exploring the unknown. The truth that Leruye, who picked me up, fed me, housed me, and just did everything for me, is actually keeping me.

There’s no story more fascinating than this. And so, I slowly became engrossed in the story Ms. Erica was unfolding.