Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Chapter 12 Exchange (2)
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‘Damn, they’re fast.’
Rachar’s group moved at a pace that really required gritting your teeth just to keep up.
Even so, it was obvious they were going slower to accommodate me.
As a result, whenever we stopped moving, I was always utterly exhausted.
‘To think this body’s legs would be trembling like this.’
I flopped down to catch my breath, but only for a moment before Rachar approached hesitantly.
Reading the signal, I bought bread and drinking water from the shop.
Since monsters could appear anywhere, we couldn’t risk starting a fire.
So the group was making do with the bread and water I’d bought from the shop.
“……Thanks.”
I let out a snort, looking at Rachar whose ears had turned red.
“Hear it one more time and I’ll fill it a hundred times over.”
It wasn’t empty words—her thanks had been excessive. To the point my ears were calloused.
They were already delaying their schedule to match my pace.
“If you’re really that grateful, just promise a safe ride to the temple.”
“Ride……? Hm, I’ll guarantee your safety all the way to the outpost, so don’t worry.”
I waved my hand dismissively and started eating my share of the bread.
“Tell me if you need more. I can provide as much bread and water as you want.”
“This is more than enough.”
Rachar distributed bread and water to the others before returning to my side.
I’d taken a liking to them because they’d earned me mana.
But their gazes still felt strangely burdensome.
That was why having Rachar stick by my side was preferable.
At least then they wouldn’t approach me hesitantly, peeking at my reactions.
We quietly ate while staring into the darkened forest for a short while.
“You said this was your first time here?”
Rachar spoke first.
I swallowed the bread in my mouth with a gulp and nodded.
“Yeah, I don’t even know what’s where.”
That’s why I asked you to take me to the temple.
After adding that one line, there was a brief pause before Rachar continued.
“Then, may I ask where your hometown is?”
Instead of answering right away, I stared at Rachar steadily.
I’d caught a strange vibe from what she’d just said.
‘It’s not a particularly odd question.’
It was the kind anyone would ask a stranger.
Where’s your hometown? Checking origins—it’s basic small talk.
And yet, it felt off.
‘She sees me as an outsider.’
Someone who doesn’t belong here, an external intruder.
In that context, if she’s curious about my hometown, shouldn’t she ask what kind of place it is?
But Rachar asked where it was.
‘Too focused on the location.’
In a situation where she’s calling me an outsider, measuring distance feels suspicious.
Maybe I was overreacting, but it still nagged at me.
If this unease was just my imagination, no problem……
‘But if it’s real?’
I crossed my arms and leaned back against a rock.
‘On guard…… Does that mean she suspects me?’
Pretty unpleasant. And I was the one who saved their lives.
But it wasn’t incomprehensible.
‘A stranger appearing like a miracle in a desperate moment to save them? Not very realistic.’
The timing was too perfect. Why now, not when we first met?
As I stared at Rachar with complicated feelings, she met my gaze without flinching.
“Is it hard to answer?”
“Well……”
That one word, that single prod, made the ambiguity crystal clear.
Her tense expression confirmed it—it wasn’t my imagination.
She was definitely suspicious of me now. Certain of it, I snorted.
‘She’s definitely no good at scheming, that’s for sure.’
The fact that her suspicion was so obvious gave it away.
One slip in her words exposed everything, meaning she wasn’t skilled at hiding herself.
‘Still a hundred times better than those who wrap themselves up tight so you can’t read them.’
Before answering, I took a moment to organize my thoughts.
The title of my current hidden mission was ‘Main Scenario.’
Usually, it refers to the overarching storyline that ties into a game’s grand worldbuilding.
Very different from the numbered missions where I’d just hunted monsters so far.
So, building connections here wouldn’t hurt.
Better to dispel needless suspicion quickly and build rapport.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“I wasn’t following you guys—I was tracking footprints.”
“What…….”
“There were human traces at the swamp where I found this shield.”
I tapped the shield with my fingers and pulled the bag from my inventory.
My voice stayed even as I continued, no different from usual.
I wasn’t pleased, but I wasn’t angry either.
‘Honestly, I’d suspect me too if I were them.’
Coincidence and fate? That’s for stories.
If I were in Rachar’s shoes, I’d be even more relentless in my suspicion.
That’s why, instead of getting mad, I pulled out the bag to explain and defend myself.
The loot I’d gathered like farming became perfect evidence.
After the not-so-long story ended, I stated firmly.
“If anything, you guys dropped right into the forest where I was, not the other way around.”
So don’t test me. Rachar coughed dryly and turned her head.
‘Looks like she gets it.’
Satisfied that I’d shut her down, I moved to pack my things away again.
But seeing my swollen hand still in the timeless inventory made me hesitate.
The corpse chunk I’d picked up from the swamp.
I’d grabbed it to confirm if it was human, but then I met living people.
Did I need to carry this hand for analysis?
‘Nah.’
Instead of putting the rotting hand back in the bag, I hurled it far away.
I tossed the skull that had come with it when I fished out the medium too.
“Phew.”
I’d ignored it as much as possible, but having a rotting hand in my bag wasn’t pleasant.
Getting rid of it cleared my mind.
Of course, peace of mind didn’t mean I’d tolerate bodily discomfort.
I added to Rachar, who was staring at what I’d thrown.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t need it anymore since I met people.”
I explained I’d planned to take it back to my world to check, and Rachar’s face flushed red.
“Ahem, I, I didn’t misunderstand.”
“Yeah, right.”
I brushed it off casually, but my mind was racing.
Rachar didn’t seem like a bad person, but she’d definitely started guarding me.
‘Why the sudden change? Did I slip up?’
I reviewed the past few days.
Wondering if I’d made a mistake, if anyone had reacted oddly.
Meanwhile, my hands kept busy.
I’d tossed the creepy stuff, so now I was repacking the bag.
“Looks like……”
“Hm?”
Rachar cleared her throat and picked up the paper from the ground as she spoke.
It was one of the loot items from the emaciated corpses.
“You were following the investigators’ traces.”
“Investigators?”
What now? She was wary a second ago, now she’s volunteering info?
No clue why she was so inconsistent.
‘Well, no reason to refuse.’
I leaned in to peer at the paper in her hand.
「Sevarma Gorge, estimated 13 Messio gathered, contamination severe.」
「Further investigation impossible. April 22, retreat decided.」
It was clearly unfamiliar script, but I understood the meaning.
‘Come to think of it…… this earring’s name had both interpretation and translation, right?’
As I recalled the earring’s name, Rachar’s finger suddenly entered my view.
“Those who observe contaminated areas, record enemy numbers and distribution—they’re called investigators.”
Like scouts, I guess.
They had to venture into enemy territory directly, making it a high-risk role.
That’s why a barrier-using mage was essential, she explained.
“See this?”
Her finger pointed to the bottom of the paper.
There was a bird with wings spread wide stamped there.
“The old Perel royal symbol, and the current Perel resistance’s official emblem.”
This time, the hilt of the sword at her waist.
“Ah.”
The exact same bird shape was engraved at the end of the hilt.
“These are records left by resistance investigators, so I’d like to recover them. Would that be okay?”
“……Seems more important to you than me, so forcing it away would be rude. Ah, not the weapons.”
Except for the two at my waist, they were all missing teeth, but I wanted to check them in the shop window.
“I’ll be satisfied recovering the record. But the owner of this record…….”
“When I found it, it was a corpse.”
I told her about the six withered bodies, and Rachar clicked her tongue.
“Looks like a parasite colony formed nearby.”
“Parasites?”
“They suck up all bodily fluids, blood included.”
The main body roots itself in a hidden spot and doesn’t move, but insect-like clones drain fluids from living things and bring them back.
Unless you kill the main body, the clones keep multiplying.
“That’s why the only way to handle a parasite colony is to burn the whole area. Makes them sensitive to fire-attribute mana.”
Rachar sighed deeply, and I mulled over her word choice.
‘Fire-attribute mana? Not fire magic?’
There had to be a reason it translated differently.
Should I ask? As I debated, Rachar pocketed the paper and continued.
“Probably the pursuit squad’s fire magic drove the clones into hiding. Otherwise, we’d have been hit at night too. Like those investigators who left this record.”
Another unfamiliar term stuck in my head.
‘Pursuit squad…….’
The group that fell from the sky with a flash—two instances.
The first flash likely tied to Rachar’s group, the second to the pursuit squad.
I recalled Rachar’s past I’d seen with divine power.
“Now it’s my turn to ask something.”
“What is it?”
“About the past I saw with my power.”
I swallowed dryly without realizing.
“Who did you rescue?”
Instead of answering immediately, Rachar held her words.
She looked like she was carefully choosing what to say.
I waited without pressing her.
‘Wonder if she’ll answer.’
Just yesterday, she’d answered my questions promptly and in detail.
Thanks to that, I was gradually learning this world’s common sense.
The seven gods, their names and powers—same deal.
Over the past few days, she’d been pretty friendly.
But now, for some reason, she was on guard.
Weighing every word before speaking, cautious about what was safe to say.
Fortunately, after a long silence, Rachar answered.
“Those oppressed on the farms.”
“Farms……?”
“Livestock farms.”
No long explanation needed.
Just prepend “human” to livestock farm, and it all clicked.
Like farms raising pigs for slaughter, these raised humans.
It meant humans were treated as livestock in this world.
Probably under the horde of monsters I’d seen. My stomach churned.
But discomfort didn’t mean I could stop gathering info.
I was about to ask about mana.
Before I could open my mouth, two pieces of news arrived simultaneously.
“Sir Bennet, Ahel’s awake!”
「Chat message from Code Name Kj has arrived.」
Rachar rushed to Ahel, and I watched her back before opening the chat window.
- Kj: Just now Director Yang was whispering your bro’s name while taking Namgyu away~
‘Namgyu?’
This wasn’t the first message from Kim Yul.
He’d contacted me after my makeshift level 4 clear, and before meeting Rachar’s group too.
Said my code name was being mentioned in the NIS.
‘Couldn’t eavesdrop on details, but something about Korea this, overseas that…….’
Something related to me was definitely happening.
In that context, Director Yang Jo-cheol taking Namgyu?
He must have news for me if we met.
‘I’ll find out soon.’
Sure enough, about 20 minutes later, a familiar yet unfamiliar name popped up in the message window.
Damn System