No Reason at All
Ekriki was dead.
With only the lower half of its body still relatively intact, we harvested what little scale-fur, hide, and claws remained. These would serve as proof that we had completed the commission—and as materials for weapons and gear.
Yeah. That was the plan.
Pina and I sat before the campfire. Our bodies hung limp, drained of strength. I hugged my knees and stared into the dancing flames, letting the memories surface.
Until now, this world had only ever felt like the game I had played for years.
Ah, so I fell into the game world. I never even got to enjoy the final update.
If I finish the story here, I should be able to go back.
I might have thought of it that simply. Whenever my feelings grew complicated, I would kill monsters to settle my mind. When I was hunting, I did not have to think about anything complex.
This was a hunting action game, after all.
Killing monsters kept reminding me that this world was nothing more than a game. Moving the way I used to in the game served the same purpose. Every part of that process was the action most faithful to the purpose of Hunter Land—and my own small struggle. A game was just a pastime where you achieved your goals and that was the end of it.
Do that long enough, and your heart would grow calm again.
The vision I had seen shattered that way of thinking.
I, Noah, Pina, Matillo—everyone was living in this world by their own will. Even the original owner of this body had lived with everyone in the future. It was not some coded interaction. It was purely their will. And that will—the most brilliant light of all—had called me here.
This place was not some rigid game you moved with a mouse and keyboard and watched on a monitor.
The moment I thought that, my head began to ache. It was complicated. The blurrier the boundary between game and reality became, the greater my awareness of the reality I was trapped in—and my anxiety about the future.
What had become of my original body? How was my family doing?
…I did not want to think about things like that. Thinking about them here would solve nothing. Better to spend my time empty-headed, the way I used to when I was just enjoying the game.
"What… was that earlier?"
Pina asked. She must have had a lot of questions. But what was I supposed to do when I did not really know either?
"…Yeah."
I answered softly. Even I had no certainty. My best guess was that the original personality of this body had surfaced, not in her right mind, swept up in the essence's rampage.
"I called your name so many times, but you never answered."
"Mm… I see. Sorry."
"…Are you just going to brush it off like that again?"
"It's just… all because of the essence."
There was nothing else I could say. Whether it was the aftereffects of the rampage or the Waterburst Fruit, my body was still shivering and drained of strength. I had no energy for long explanations, no confidence to explain anything, and nothing I truly knew.
This was all I could say.
I'm just someone who used to enjoy games. I'm a complete outsider. An outsider who entered the body of a hunter from the future. Maybe all of this is just one commission to me. A commission that ends when I kill the pinnacle—Miteraos. I just took the protagonist's seat.
Words I could not bring myself to speak aloud.
"Do you… hate monsters that much?"
"No."
"…Then why…"
"I just killed it. It's a commission."
Personally, I felt no anger toward monsters, nor any hatred for them. There was no reason needed to kill monsters. Even if that monster was Miteraos. Did there have to be a separate reason? I had no particular backstory of my own. That belonged to the original owner of this body.
I was different from her.
"There's no reason or anything."
I murmured it as if speaking to myself. Pina looked at me with faintly sad eyes—the eyes of someone gazing at something pitiful. Was killing monsters without reason really that sad? I was not that pathetic a person.
I smiled gently in her place. I hated heavy, awkward atmospheres.
In Pina's mind, Alice had never once spoken her true feelings. Not even in this moment. But during that time when she had used the power of the essence, Alice had clearly poured out whatever had been inside her.
Pina remembered the moment Alice had smashed Ekriki's body to pieces. Alice had kept muttering something under her breath. While trying to stop her, Pina had heard every word.
Where… die… are you… have to kill… this place… I… where am I… Miteraos… comrades… have to find… give them back… again… family… have to go… give it back… time… give it back…
The instant she heard it, Pina could not stop her tears. The words were so mixed with sobbing and rage that they were hard to make out. Having lost all reason, eyes unfocused, Alice had repeatedly brought her weapon down on the corpse, cursing, wishing only for something to die.
It felt like staring into an abyss.
Alice was no lofty fighting princess. She was a mad avenger who hid her fury toward monsters.
Pina had thought of Alice as someone cool-headed yet kind, someone who carried a few quiet wounds. She lifted her head slightly and looked at her. Alice sat before the campfire with her knees drawn up, warming herself. Soaked for so long by the Waterburst Fruit, she was in rough shape. The faint smile that had touched her face quickly faded into gloom as she stared blankly into the flames.
But within that gaze, a searing rage still lay coiled. For now it seemed she had poured out every last drop of it, leaving only cold embers. Yet it was a fire that could flare up again at any time. Like this campfire, it was still burning quietly inside her.
Pina felt ashamed of herself for having thought only of money. She had never even imagined Alice might carry a story like this. Had she once thought the violence in Alice's fights against monsters was beautiful? That had been a delusion. From a distance it had looked like comedy. Because she had known nothing, she had found it beautiful and wanted to emulate it. Seen up close, it was nothing but tragedy.
Only now did everything surrounding Alice feel real—her skill, her pure malice toward monsters, the way she overwhelmed them in battle. All of it. Because she had found it so hard to believe, there had been days when she sat at home with black tea and bread, happily imagining what Alice might be like. That past self who had daydreamed without knowing a thing no longer existed. She was ashamed of who she used to be.
Chattering about her own hardships in front of someone like this… If she could turn back time, she would tell her past self not to do that.
Pina felt sorry for Alice. The moment she faced the truth and felt that pity, Alice was no longer an object of admiration. Pina's own circumstances were not so fine that she could freely pity others, yet she had never been swallowed by madness. Alice carried a past that could not even be compared.
Thinking of Alice as standing now in some far-off darkness, Pina could not help but feel for her. She no longer wanted to know more about Alice. She had no intention of finding out. Digging deeper would only prod at her wounds and leave nothing else. What had happened today was best left as a secret—kept in each of their hearts.
Alice's words and her smile must have meant that.
It's a commission. There's no reason or anything.
Such a calm, dry tone. How sorrowful those words were. Pina buried her face against her knees and held her breath. That had clearly been a request to simply look the other way. She could not let Alice see her cry, so she hid her face and forced down the rising grief.
…At the very least, I have to look after Alice.
As her helper, and as her friend, Pina resolved to do everything she could.
"All right, let's head back!"
On the return journey, Pina was bright and energetic—nothing like the limp exhaustion of the day before. Her eyes grew a little moist whenever she looked at me, though.
After a night's sleep, my head felt a bit clearer too. My body still shivered, but my overall condition was not that bad. Before I could even do anything, Pina took the lead—packing up the luggage, tidying the campsite. She folded the sleeping bags by herself, put out the fire, cleaned the dishes, and erased every trace of our presence. Most of it she handled alone with brisk efficiency. All I managed was gathering one or two things.
I felt guilty for making her do so much.
"We should split the ba—"
"No, I'll carry it! Alice-nim, you just take care of your own things."
"Uh, mm…"
"It's really fine."
"Got it…"
She snatched the bags away from me as if the mere idea of me touching them was horrifying, and I found myself shrinking a little for no good reason.
We walked through the bright, sunlit marsh. At last, a full week after arriving, we were heading home. Future commissions would take even longer, so this was nothing special. Still, I could not shake a faint sense of unease. Once we got back, I wanted to wash up and rest as soon as possible.
"Once we're back, I think it would be best if you rested first."
"Yeah. I'll pay you a proper reward. Since a week has passed, I'll factor in the time as well…"
"No. Even a little is fine. Really."
I had planned to add a bit extra for the number of days on top of the commission fee, but Pina firmly refused.
"Really?"
"…Yes! Just… later, let's go eat something delicious together."
"Mm, sure."
Yeah. Eating alone was lonely. Having someone to share a meal with was a good thing.
Come to think of it, Noah was no longer at the dorm either. Someone new would probably come to fill the empty spot she had left. Whenever a resident was scheduled to be gone for more than a month, a new person moved in. The moment I returned, I would have to welcome a new housemate. With my body in this state, though, I wondered if I would even manage. I might just collapse and sleep without caring about introductions or anything else.
Still, I was curious. A change of roommate was important in all sorts of ways. Similar food preferences would be nice, and sleep habits, neatness… I just hoped for someone decent.
Ah. What if Pina moved in?
"Pina, you don't use the hunter-only dorms at all, right?"
"Inns are a bit cheaper. For now, because of my family's situation, I have to save money. Why?"
"Well… my roommate left on a commission, so the spot's open."
"Really?"
Pina's eyes lit up.
"If it's possible, I'll move in. Being close would make it easier to look after you."
"…Huh?"
"Ah, never mind. But what if someone else has already moved in?"
"…Yeah. Then there's nothing we can do."
"Ugh…"
Pina fretted.
Surely no one had moved in during that single week.
"…Let's hurry a little!"
"Sure."
Clearly anxious, Pina stretched her stride and walked faster. I trotted after her and smiled quietly to myself.
Cute.