Eyes in the Dark

The day grew late, and darkness settled in.

I lay in bed, scanning the ceiling. My gaze drifted along the grain of the rough wood.

Lately, I hadn't been dreaming of her.

Thanks to that, I'd been sleeping soundly — but not dreaming of her left me strangely disappointed. It felt stingy of her, refusing to tell me any more of her stories.

If I could, I wanted to talk with her.

But she said nothing.

I set the regret aside and closed my eyes.

As usual, I woke to morning without a single dream.

But we had nothing to do during the day. Schiagua didn't appear in daylight, after all.

So instead of blindly chasing it, we decided to gather stories from people. If possible, I even planned to visit the sites myself.

The royal scribe, Biopia.

She was a woman who wore her jet-black hair in a neat, elegant style. The monocle might have made her look a touch older, but on Biopia — with her sharp, intellectual air — it suited her perfectly as an accessory. Above all, Cartadia's distinctive navy uniform complemented even her coldly sharp blue eyes.

"Ugh, I don't want to do this."

She was radiating the vibe of an office worker burned out on her own job. Yesterday I'd thought Melchior was going to kill her, but somehow she was still alive.

I approached the scribe and called out.

"Hey… Scribe."

"Ah, you're the hunter His Highness has his eye on. And the one who abandoned me yesterday. Your name is… Alice, correct?"

Petty of her to remember that.

"Yeah, I'm Alice."

"I am Biopia, royal scribe of the kingdom."

I already knew that, but I nodded so as not to make things awkward.

Pina, who'd been standing awkwardly behind me, spoke up.

"I'm Pina."

"Yes, I'm aware. Alice, Pina. So, what is it? Have you already caught that unidentified monster?"

"No. We're gathering information."

"Ah, I see."

Since Biopia was the royal scribe, I'd decided to ask her first if we met. She'd probably know more than most people, after all.

Biopia touched her lips thoughtfully.

"Actually, I've seen it myself."

"Really?"

"Late at night, after I'd washed up and was still in my underclothes, there were eyes watching me from the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dim window…"

That… didn't sound like a monster. Was I imagining things?

I nodded vaguely and moved on.

"Thanks."

"It's nothing. More importantly, have you eaten?"

"Not yet."

"Meals are served at set times. If you haven't eaten yet, you'd better hurry. If you're late, they'll clear everything away."

"Ah, thanks."

With that, Biopia picked up her pen and continued writing something. Come to think of it, she'd been stuck here the whole time — was there really that much to write?

I snuck a glance at what she was writing.

My eyes, unfortunately, showed me far more useless detail than I'd bargained for.

It was a sensual novel about romance between monsters.

Whoa — I'd just peered into a profoundly dark and damp abyss. The moment I faced it, my mind went blank.

Was Schiagua actually right here?

Not wanting to remember a single word of what was written there, I shook my head and stepped backward.

"I-I'll be going now."

"Ah, yes. Good luck."

"Pina, let's go."

I couldn't let Pina see something like that. I quickly grabbed her and fled.

I seized Pina's arm without warning and hurried off; she followed in confusion, matching my pace.

"A-Alice-nim?"

"Biopia… better be careful around her."

"Huh? Why…? She seems like a nice person."

"…Never mind. Yeah. I must be tired."

I scrubbed a hand down my face and pulled myself together. Don't think about it. Biopia was still a good scribe. People could have hobbies like that. Writing and the person were separate things.

I released Pina's arm and said,

"Let's gather more information."

The place where hunters gathered most was the mess hall. Hunters who valued a proper meal for their work weren't about to skip breakfast. Besides, we were hungry ourselves, so we ambled over.

Hunters were lined up receiving their rations. Pina and I shuffled into the very back of the line and waited our turn.

Could I just grab anyone here and ask? But when it came down to it, the words wouldn't come easily. I wasn't the type who could casually strike up conversations with strangers.

Couldn't the thing just show up right in front of me? Then I could kill it on the spot.

"Oh? It's that hunter from yesterday."

While I was agonizing over this in my head, the person standing in front of me turned and spoke. It was the cowboy-hat hunter whose invitation to sit together I'd turned down yesterday.

Actually, perfect. This was an opportunity.

"Hey."

"Yeah, good to see you. I'm Capello. You're Alice, right?"

The man — Capello — knew me even though I'd never given him my name.

"You know me?"

"You're pretty famous in your own right. Antico's new light. White hair and pink eyes are distinctive enough that anyone would recognize you. Plus you took down that ancient species that showed up in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Antico, right? The ancient Alberoelva? I'd love to see one myself."

Rumors had already reached this far? Hunters' mouths might be a lot looser than I'd thought.

"Plus I've already heard about you a few times from Noah."

"…Noah?"

"Yeah. She's not in Angolo right now because of the expedition, but do you know how much she brags about you? Going on about how she spotted the seed of a Master Hunter and all that…"

Noah, seriously — what was she going around saying to embarrass people like that? I hadn't seen her face in a long time, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but it was a relief to know we were still close.

Capello turned his gaze to Pina.

"And your friend here — what's your name?"

"Ah, um, I'm Pina. I'm Alice-nim's supporter."

"Pina, huh. Nice to meet you. I'm Capello."

The way he was so casually friendly even with someone he'd just met — he was something else. Was he just thick-skinned, or was this the hunter average?

Suddenly I realized Capello's companions from yesterday were nowhere to be seen.

"Didn't you have a party with you yesterday?"

"Ah, I slept in. They already ate."

So this was the cold-blooded world of hunters, where late sleepers got left behind.

I asked after Noah, and Capello asked Pina and me about the truth behind various rumors.

"Do you really tear into monsters while they're still alive?"

"Of course not."

"And, uh, I heard you can walk on air too."

"That's not a person — that's a monster."

"And that monsters run away crying…"

"…That might have happened."

"I saw that one!"

"Whoa, so it was true."

As we traded these silly stories, before we knew it we'd gotten our food and were eating together in the mess hall.

Wait — thinking about it, this wasn't the time to be taking it easy.

"Capello. Have you ever… experienced something like this?"

Capello tilted his head.

"Like someone's watching you from the dark."

"…Ah, that?"

Capello touched his lips, considering my words. When he'd finished thinking, he nodded and spoke.

"That's been happening a lot lately. I haven't experienced it myself, but other hunters have. Of course, I might just be dense."

"I see. But why?"

"The prince ordered us to catch it."

"Ah, His Highness? Well, having something like that nearby all the time would be scary. But Alice, you know the prince too? Yesterday he sat right down in front of you."

"Well, one thing led to another…"

"Your network is crazy wide—. Oh right, you got a named request from the princess too, didn't you? The new light really is something else."

Capello marveled with genuine admiration.

Capello was a hunter with at least three more years of experience than me. I was only six months in, while Capello had been a hunter for three years ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and eight months. For reference, Pina was a one-year hunter. Strictly speaking, I was the junior of the group.

True to his cowboy hat, Capello used a repeating crossbow as his main weapon, and with his easygoing, good-natured personality, he seemed to know a lot of hunters. He was, quite literally, the social butterfly of the hunter world.

And so we got to benefit from that.

"Want me to round up some hunters for you, then?"

"…Witnesses?"

"Yeah. Gather the ones who say they've felt that presence, pool the information, and we should be able to figure out how to catch it. It'll take a bit of time, though — that okay?"

"Of course."

"There are probably some among the soldiers too, but I don't really talk with the soldiers much, so I wouldn't know about that side."

Capello shrugged once and asked me,

"But that thing doesn't seem to be doing any real harm. Is it that dangerous?"

"Yeah."

Schiagua was dangerous. Even in the game, there had been outright depictions of it eating people.

No one seemed to have disappeared yet, but…

The Spirit-Eyed Schiagua was a monster from antiquity. It quietly watched its prey from within the darkness. And the moment its prey became isolated from the group, it would appear and devour them.

True to its habits, it looked slick and grotesque, and its mouth — splitting open in a cross into four flaps — had the habit of swallowing prey whole from the head down in an instant.

"…A monster like that is better caught sooner rather than later."

"Yeah… no way a monster like that is safe."

Capello nodded.

"I'll round them up tomorrow. Today's a bit tight, so how about we set up a meal together tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"No need to thank me."

Capello said with a shrug.

Things seemed to be progressing smoothly. Thanks to Capello, we'd be able to gather information quickly.

Maybe that was why I let my guard down a little.

The next day, word spread through Angolo that one of the hunters had gone missing.

Unable to sleep, the hunter had stepped out for a brief night walk — and never returned, even when morning came. They had vanished without a trace.

A grim atmosphere settled over the outpost.