Chapter 21
Chapter 21
4. A Winter That Will Someday Pass -3
We cut through the forest.
To explain why I reached that conclusion, first of all, it was for the time advantage. Obviously, going in a straight line is faster than going around in circles. Even accounting for the slowdown from protecting three people, this seemed like the better option.
Second, unless you're talking about an army, a small group can actually break through a forest fairly easily. As long as the person leading has enough experience and knowledge, that is.
"B-but, Noah. You know how it is. Unlike the zombies, those things are invisible, and they burst out of the ground in an instant and kill people⋯⋯!"
"I've cross-referenced information with Sohye. I've encountered every type of plant that appears in this area, and I know how to deal with them. If you have doubts, I can explain. Honestly, the zombies will probably be more troublesome for me than the plants."
"I-is that so...?"
"Also, you've already seen it. With my ability, weeding won't be difficult."
On top of that, by clearing multiple stages, I had already done my homework on plant species that couldn't be found on Earth. There probably wouldn't be any monster plants appearing that fell outside my data.
I finished the strategy meeting and rose from my seat.
"Pack your supplies appropriately and let's depart right now. As you know, Sohye, isn't time worth more than gold to us?"
"⋯⋯Yes, Noah. I'll get my gear together and be right back!"
The blond friend got up briskly and prepared to move.
But on the other hand, neither the person named Taemin nor Sohye got up. They sat there like people glued to their chairs. The meaning of that nonverbal expression was clear. "We're not going."
The blond kid shot to his feet, visibly flustered.
"...What are you two doing? We have to go. Right?"
"Um, Noah. I said it on the way here too, but I⋯⋯ I'm going to stay here. I'll be fine, so the two of you—please just take Taemin and Mingyu."
"I'll also remain here. If you're willing to escort us to Camp Ace, then please take Mingyu."
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
I opened my mouth—then closed it. Even without me stepping in, there was someone beside me who would voice the question first. The blond punk Mingyu practically shouted.
"What the hell are you two doing?!"
"There's no guarantee that going to the soldier camp means survival. Maybe for you, Mingyu, with your build, but they wouldn't treat me like anything special. I might even get pushed back in the ration line. I'd rather stay here."
"So what, you're just going to rot here?! Taemin! The way out is blocked, remember? We've already looted almost every building, and farming isn't enough to be self-sufficient! If we stay here, at best we hold out a few years and then die!"
"If I stay alone, I could eke out ten years."
So he'd rather be the head of a snake than the tail of a dragon. It wasn't an incomprehensible judgment. If conditions at the camp were bad, things could turn out exactly as Taemin said.
But in the end, it was still just eking out an existence—a choice of being trapped and dying. I didn't like it.
"...Kim Sohye, why do you want to stay?"
"That's, um, a secret..."
"What kind of insane—you're not leaving?! You're seriously just going to stay here and rot?"
Sohye couldn't meet the blond friend's eyes and cast her gaze down at an angle, then looked up at me and spoke.
"Noah, this is shameless of me, but⋯⋯ you owe me. So this time, I'd like you to just listen without asking questions."
"Sure, fine. Understood."
I nodded readily.
The moment she put what we'd exchanged into words, this truly became a transaction. Not goodwill.
If she was drawing the line this clearly, there was no reason for me to cross it. She was expecting compensation from me for helping discover the Hidden Piece, so I would grant her request. Wasn't it a fair trade?
In fact, her request made things easier. Moving one person is easier than moving three. Obviously. If you asked whether I felt hurt... no, I didn't. It had been business for me from the start too.
I grabbed the still-shrieking blond kid by the scruff of his neck and dragged him out.
"Let's go. Mingyu."
"Th-this, goddamn—if you're going to stay here like this, then what was Sojin's sacrifice even for?! If you were going to stay trapped here, why did she risk her life scouting and clearing out zombies?!"
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
"You people are messed up. Messed up, I'm telling you. After Sojin died, everyone turned into corpses⋯⋯ Fine, I'll leave on my own. I'll follow Noah out and live somewhere way safer than here. You hear me?! I—!"
Thud.
And the door closed.
⋯⋯⋯⋯
In front of the officetel building entrance.
With a large backpack on, I offered some advice to the blond kid, who was still huffing with anger.
"Catch your breath and have some water, Mingyu. It's not my water, but I'll take the credit. We're about to depart, so you can't afford to exhaust yourself."
"Ah, yes, thank you, Noah⋯⋯."
"I understand your frustration. I don't know all of your circumstances, Mingyu, but⋯⋯ what can you do? In a world where nothing's left, if anything, you have no choice but to respect a person's own will."
Back when everything was peaceful and intact, it was easy to meddle in other people's lives. Most of the time, you didn't have to be prepared to take responsibility for them. There were that many other options.
But in a world where death had drawn this close, shouldn't we respect people's choices? In this age of living alongside brutal plants, all of humanity was effectively terminally ill and living on borrowed time.
The blond kid, still looking a bit damp, glanced sideways at me and asked.
"...Um, can I ask what your relationship with Sohye is? I mean, thank you for helping so readily, and I have no complaints, but I'm just curious. Maybe an ex-girlfriend...?"
"Nothing emotional. She helped me out a lot a long time ago. Let's move."
"Yes..."
"Don't be nervous. Just do as I say and you won't have to worry about getting hurt. Also, as long as you don't make the mistake of panicking and running off on your own, I can cover everything."
I adjusted my shield and started walking. There was no tension. That was because no particular signs of contamination could be detected from the forest visible in the distance.
If it were the dark forest I'd roamed with Sergios, that'd be one thing, but breaking through an ordinarily dangerous forest with a physically fit young man was, if I'm exaggerating, comparable to a walk in the park.
It might be delayed depending on the military's patrol cycle, but if the army unit came to Onseong City on time—
At the earliest, one day. At the latest, two.
After finishing that... I could just go back to my original world. I could, but.
...It still bothered me.
Should I drop off this blond kid and then go see Sohye one more time? Don't Koreans have a culture of declining twice? So I was planning to try up to two times as well.
While thinking about that in one corner of my brain, I began explaining the rules of conduct in the forest to the blond kid. I'd recited this manual so many times that I could explain it while thinking about something else.
"Mingyu, once we start entering areas with undergrowth. First, aim to follow me as closely as possible by stepping only where I step."
"Yes!"
And so I began helping Sohye's team—minus Sohye—escape. Cutting through the forest, climbing over mountain paths, slicing in half the plant bastards that suddenly burst out.
After walking for about half a day, we were able to reach our first destination, Onseong City.
And the moment we arrived, we witnessed a massive zombie army shambling toward us. Even at a rough estimate, the numbers easily exceeded tens of thousands.
"...Th-that."
"There certainly are quite a lot of them. But that much is..."
I was confident I could break through as many as needed. If it came down to it, I might even be able to clear them out by chipping away with Azure Wind Wanderer: Sword whenever my strength recovered.
At that moment, I saw a faint human silhouette on a building rooftop.
Wondering if it was a survivor remaining in this city, I narrowed my eyes—and in that instant, a chilling sensation ran through me and I raised my shield. Something was flying at my forehead.
CLANG—!!
"...Tch!"
My left arm holding the shield stung. It wasn't as much as Sergios's attacks, but the impact was comparable.
"N-Noah?! What just⋯⋯"
"Mingyu, get down!"
Was it a sniper rifle...? No, this was a Skill.
[-> Download Slot 1: Coffin-Locking Nail (Downloading... 1%)]
My Download -2 had reacted.
A hunter from this world? No, if that were the case, I hadn't made any contact with them. There shouldn't be any grudge deep enough for them to suddenly snipe at me like this.
While my head was getting complicated, the sniper revealed their identity on their own. After an unpleasant feedback whine from a megaphone, a booming voice echoed through the city.
"Noah Won—! Did you think you could mess with our Hunter Alliance and get away with it—?"
"...You crazy bastard!"
How?
I entered this stage after receiving Sohye's Support Request. And I'd never exposed the stage address to the outside. So how did they follow me?
"Heh heh... So you go around sticking your nose in everywhere, huh—? That's a failed survival strategy. Life is survival of the fittest—this is enlightenment I'm giving you, killing two birds with one stone as funeral money for your trip to the underworld! No need to memorize it! I'll drive it straight into your skull!"
Just like the crazy bastards who go around killing clueless newbies, their shamelessness was staggering. I got pissed and shouted.
"—However I live my life, if you didn't contribute shit, then mind your own damn business, you bastard!"
"I'll contribute plenty of nails to your coffin, you slippery eel—!"
Soon, a Nail flew not at me but at Mingyu. As if testing the waters.
This didn't seem like the time to be looking after someone else. An assassin from the Hunter Alliance had latched onto us. If I showed actions to protect Mingyu in this situation, what came after was obvious as fire.
That bastard would keep shooting at the people around me instead of me, relentlessly. That would expose my openings. So, thinking about it as coldly as possible, the right move was to let Mingyu die here, track that bastard down, and kill her⋯⋯.
"This damn life, seriously!"
CLANG—!!
I deflected the incoming Nail with my shield, then forcibly pulled Mingyu to his feet and shoved his back.
"Mingyu, stick close to me and follow. Let's run for the forest!"
"Y-yes!"
This stage, which I'd thought would be a simple request...
Had truly started going sideways with the sniper's appearance.
After the stranger and their companion left, the shelter sank into silence.
Park Taemin and Kim Sohye did what they had to do in the quiet. Taemin tended the field, checked the generator, then read through a worn-out novel he'd already read hundreds of times.
Kim Sohye took food and left the shelter, heading somewhere. Taemin didn't bother following her whereabouts.
After finishing those routines. Falling asleep. And the sun rose again. The two gathered at the meeting room table that looked empty. It wasn't because they had business. It was because that was their routine.
Back when Sojin was alive, certainly.
'Alright, everyone gather in the meeting room. Today, let's finally come up with a way to get out of here!'
She would have searched the entire shelter and dragged every person into the meeting room.
But now there was no one to lead the meetings. Only people who wanted to be nailed to the present remained here. So there was no conversation, no discussion. Even the sound of breathing was quiet.
In that void.
Taemin quietly asked Sohye.
"...You should have gone with them."
"How could I leave Taemin behind⋯⋯?"
"Don't lie. I already know you have no feelings for me. There must be another reason you can't leave. I have a guess... but I won't say it. Still, Sojin would have wanted you to leave."
"...Yeah, she would have. She would have, but I just don't have the confidence..."
In this world, there are ships that can only move forward when the wind pushes them. Now that the wind had stopped, she was merely adrift on a vast ocean.
Even though she had obtained the System—a sail so grand anyone would envy it.
Kim Sohye curled up. She was still listening to the echoes of the past. In the old days, when she shrank back like this, wavering, her older sister would come over.
Telling her that in the end, people had no choice but to keep moving forward somehow, her sister would push her back—
BANG!!
The door flew open.
When the startled Kim Sohye turned around, there stood Noah Won, dripping with sweat, and Oh Mingyu, collapsed on the floor and gasping from exhaustion.
Noah Won shouted, urgency and a certain stubbornness in his eyes.
"Pack your bags right now. I won't accept any objections. Pack only what fits in a bag, at a weight you can walk with for a week."
"Y-yes⋯⋯?! Noah, I, well."
"Half a day—no, at the speed corpses move, about two days away. A horde of around a hundred thousand zombies is swarming this way. Along with a Hunter Alliance sniper. If you stay here, you're not holding out—you're dying!"
"What...?!"
Oh Mingyu, still face-down, shook his head too. It seemed to mean he'd seen it himself.
Noah Won shouted firmly, as if he wouldn't accept any objections.
"There is no option to not go. I'll knock you out and take you if I have to, so move."
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
Somehow, Sohye found herself seeing her older sister in Noah Won.
[General | Diamond3 | ParkDeerShamanKnifeRedHand-TornDoughPyeanFlower23Gold]
: Alliance Emergency Order)
We used the Telescope regenerated this quarter to contact our superiors, and a reply has come. Accordingly, I am announcing this with the authority of an Alliance D-rank Branch Head.
Target Noah Won has the "potential to muddy the waters."
B-rank Hunter Pseudo Prophet has foreseen the stage address where the target will appear. Gold23, enter at the foreseen time and place and eliminate the target.
└ Gold23: kk