Dawn Awakening
I hadn't slept as deeply as my human body craved, yet here I was, jolted awake in that peculiar insomnia-like state. People's reactions to this split into two camps: some wake up furious and exhausted, while others feel surprisingly refreshed from that short nap, thinking they've had enough. I fell into the latter category.
As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw the blizzard swirling outside the window and a lantern glowing softly like a nightlight. Everything screamed that I wasn't in a prison cell anymore. Piecing my memories together slowly, the events with the Gardener finally came flooding back.
After returning to the branch with the leaves and dandelion she'd given me, the Vice Captain was nowhere in sight. Instead, the masked woman from the prison greeted us—White Mask, was it? I handed the dandelion to the Lesser Outer God, and it vanished into my pockets like a squirrel stashing nuts. With it perfectly hidden, I offered the leaves to White Mask. She eyed me and the leaves suspiciously at first, making my heart sink. But she just nodded and said, "Good work. Get treated and rest." Then she led me to this room.
Even Mu Yeon, who'd insisted it would be fine, had been trembling. I couldn't fathom what was going through their heads, but I was grateful for the bed. I lay down, wondering how I'd ended up in such a pitiful state. No point resenting it now—Leydan Tantun was gone, after all. Frustrating as hell.
I tried closing my eyes to sleep more, but my mind was too clear, swirling with stray thoughts. Lying there only made it worse. Better to walk around the room. I sat up, then heard rhythmic breathing nearby. At first, I panicked, thinking the Lesser Outer God had crawled out of my pocket. But no—it was something else entirely embarrassing.
Leaning against the bed, fast asleep, was Mu Yeon. Bandages and glass vials of what looked like healing potions—flame essence in Snow Castle terms—were scattered nearby. Community lore said they were rare at first but later chugged like water. She was out cold, probably exhausted from nursing me all night after I took that gut wound.
That's when I felt the bandages wrapped snugly around my stomach. She'd been tending to me out of guilt for ditching me earlier. She must've been more tired than I was. Forced into it or not, she's got a good heart, I thought.
"You didn't have to go this far."
I murmured softly, smiling at her. She stirred, maybe from the uncomfortable position, and slowly opened her eyes. Propping herself up with a stretch, she blinked at me awake and dazedly went, "Huh...?" Then her face lit up in shock as she leaned in close.
"A-Are you okay?! Y-You're not dead, right?!"
"Yeah, I'm fine. See? We can even talk."
"Ah, y-yes. Right."
She pulled back with an awkward expression and let out a massive sigh of relief, like the floor had dropped out from under her.
"I'm so glad. You passed out right after getting back, and I was scared you might never wake up..."
"Haha, you worry too much, Mu Yeon."
"...Says the guy who got a hole in his stomach?!"
I'd just tossed out a light joke, but she looked genuinely pissed. Okay, maybe not a joke to her.
"Uh... sorry?"
"N-No, I'm sorry... I overreacted."
Why was she apologizing? An awkward silence settled in—mostly her making it weird, dragging me down with it. Speaking up first might make it worse, so I stayed quiet. After a few minutes, she broke it.
"But... are we really okay?"
"With what?"
"The, um, Gardener thing..."
"It went fine, like you said. No suspicion."
"Th-That's true, but..."
Why so worried if she thought it'd be okay?
"More importantly, we didn't even take her down—we contacted her. That's breaking the second of Rondan's Iron Rules: no worshiping false gods. I don't know why you're so kind to those Outer Gods, but it's straight-up criminal. We can't lie about..."
"Shh, that's enough."
I pressed a finger to my lips to stop her. As a Rondan knight, she'd be hypersensitive to the rules. Chivalry demands purity, after all—every story says so.
"Think of it this way: we saved a poor wandering soul and exorcised the Gardener in the process. Not contact—banishment."
"That's a lie! What if it comes out...?"
"Flip it: it's our secret. No one spills, it stays buried forever. And we did help someone pitiful."
She scrunched up, mumbling "True, but..." I pressed on.
"And you're a knight, Mu Yeon. Helping the helpless is your job."
"...How do you know those Outer Gods are pitiful...?"
"Mu Yeon."
I gave her my best friendly smile.
"Best not to dig too deep yet. I'll explain when the time's right."
"...Okay."
Couldn't spill everything to her yet—needed to test her more. She was a Rondan knight, after all.
"So stop worrying and get some sleep. The Gardener's got no reason to stir now that her issues are fixed. Even the knights won't know."
"..."
Her worries sorted, the Gardener wouldn't make noise. Mu Yeon pondered silently—her cowardice making her cautious about backlash. She finally nodded, convinced.
"Um... you're not really on the Outer Gods' side, are you...?"
"No! Absolutely not!"
She was milking that worry forever! I protested hard, but her distrustful eyes stung. How does a scaredy-cat like her pull off that glare...!
She sighed, breaking the tension.
"Fine, I get it..."
"Yeah, so go sleep..."
"Just let me change your bandages first."
Huh?
"N-No need. I can do it myself..."
"No, you're hurt."
What's that got to do with it? I'm embarrassed!
"I'm really fine...!"
"I'll be quick."
With worried eyes, she unwrapped them anyway—and froze.
"Wh-What?"
"The hole... it's gone?"
I wanted to check, but Super Coward Mode hid it anyway. HP system, huh? Big wounds deduct HP; rest recovers it, as long as you don't die. My body was basically a game character. Did it always do this? Maybe it powers up with more Outer God contact. Cheat ability either way—survive, and you're mobile.
HP limits would help in future scraps too.
"Ah, haha. The potion worked great. Now go sleep!"
"Eh? That effective...?"
Good is good. I shoved her out somehow, alone at last. She'd seen me undressed while bandaging, but not stone-cold sober. Ugh, embarrassing.
"Sleep time."
Sleep now, think later. Tomorrow, familiar faces.
#
Morning came, and Mu Yeon led us to the Hearth. The Logs pillar sustaining it. With Outer Gods blanketing the continent in blizzards, only hearth-holding cities survived. The Princess maintaining it was godlike to the locals. Thus, the Hearth loomed heavenly above, knights stationed underground in the Logs—like the Vice Captain now.
Up close, its majesty hit hard. The distant flames were vivid now, overwhelming. The subtle crackle of burning wood soothed the soul, explaining the dependence.
At the entrance, I yelped involuntarily.
"Whoa!"
"...You survived. Figures—beat a Surveillance Outer God, a Common Outer God's a breeze."
The Hunter, chomping a smoking candy stick. Overestimation? Nah, better she rate me high. She'd handled her Common Outer God easily too, protagonist style. Shared survival from the Surveillance one felt like family reunion vibes.
"Wow, so glad to see you! Group hug?"
"Idiot."
Ah, that tsundere bite—I missed it.
She'd taken a knight too. Mu Yeon beat me to it.
"Th-The knight who went with you...?"
"Dead."
"Pardon?"
Her casual tone, like post-meal chat, made me doubt my ears. She exhaled smoke from the candy—cigarette variant, apparently.
"Insisted on my way, then charged alone like a hotshot and blew himself up. Made things messier."
Exterminated anyway. I scratched my head. Trash deserved it, but hearing it deadpan felt ironic. Mu Yeon wasn't shocked—sent to die anyway—but looked uneasy.
"Going to see that Vice Captain?"
"Y-Yes."
She jerked her chin inside, popping the candy back. Waiting for me, huh? ...People might think she works here.
Heading in, I paused.
"Hunter, where's Agartha?"
"No thief sightings."
Ahead, waiting? Nah, she'd chatter endlessly at the door.
"I'll dodge this and enter. Go on. Hate staring at his face."
"Same here—hurry down."
She headed to the Logs core. Intense heat hit inside. The heart pulsed red like burning wood. Looking up, stairs shimmered from the blaze. Bare skin couldn't handle it. Princess up there?
Stairs spiraled from the core: up to Hearth, down to knights.
"You're the visitor today."
"We've been expecting you."
Turning to the voices: twins in black and white.
Pre-pubescent, hard to sex by eye.
"I'm Alpha. Follow."
"I'm Beta. Vice Captain awaits."
Black Alpha, white Beta? Thin voices didn't help. They led down to the round table, where the second-seated Vice Captain said:
"The thief's dead."
"...Pardon?"
He smirked arrogantly.
"Means more share for you. Good, right?"
Ridiculous. I could only grimace.