Feeling Like a Burden
A gentle yet somehow warm wind swept across the vast plain.
The grass was flattened, and a short, deep roar from a monster in the distance echoed once.
I was momentarily stunned by the sudden situation.
Barely suppressing a yawn that threatened to burst out, I scanned my surroundings.
Hmm... The mana I felt when I encountered those Black Oak guys was different. But it doesn't seem like Barzena.
Barzena is already a world where 99.9% of the continent has become a land of death, where no living beings can survive.
There's no way such a peaceful-looking land, as if people had come for a picnic, remains.
Of course, it's my achievement as an Elder Lich.
If I dig a little deeper, the System that made me act this way is the problem, but anyway...
From the side, the woman who got caught in the gate too let out a low curse while catching her breath.
"...... Damn it, is this a gate?"
Her outfit was a black cap, a well-fitted black mask, and knee pads, clearly trying to hide her identity.
But her eyes were subtly sharp. I heard her name was Harin earlier.
Is that the Choi Harin frequently mentioned in the community?
From behind, a man holding a tablet was frantically tapping the screen and shouting.
"Harin-ssi, no signal! Total black out. This is the latest model device... If communication is blocked, it must be at least A-rank or higher!!"
"What? A-rank? Are you crazy?"
"Exactly!! What do we do?"
"...... A-rank."
Choi Harin kept muttering about the gate's rank while fidgeting with her feet.
"Support from the Cheonghwarang Guild is needed. Support... But I can't contact—"
"—No. It's completely blocked."
"No way..."
They both exhaled despair at the same time.
At that moment, the man glanced at me standing beside him belatedly and was shocked.
"Harin-ssi, civilian! There's one more person caught in it besides us!"
"What?!"
Choi Harin quickly turned her head at the manager's words.
And looking down a bit, she spotted me staring blankly at the situation and was horrified.
I swallowed my burp with the aftertaste of pig's blood soup and waved my hand.
"Uh— um, uh, what... Hello?"
At my appearance, Choi Harin, who had been losing her composure, squatted in front of me and half-extended her arms.
From inside the mask, a professional tone came through clearly.
"Are you okay? No injuries?"
"Of course, there were no monsters."
"Your speech... Hmm, middle schooler? High schooler?"
"... What?"
"You look like a middle schooler. From now on, this unnie will protect you. Move only behind me. Run if you have to, or lie down if you have to. Got it?"
"Such a..."
I was considering whether to hit that rude girl with the Goblin Bat in the mood of meeting Kim Siyeon Mk-2.
Since something interesting seemed likely, I barely held back the rising anger and nodded.
"Understood, unnie."
From behind, the manager whispered.
"Harin-ssi, first, find a safe zone— the terrain is flat, so no cover. Before the monsters find us, let's run first."
Before his words ended, black dots appeared from afar.
Silhouettes of sauropod-like monsters jumping and kicking up sand, and armored monsters crawling between them.
They looked incredibly fast, had feathers, long claws... and looked like they'd bite hard.
What kind of prehistoric creatures are running so energetically across the grassy plain.
"Run!!"
"Understood!"
"Waaat!!"
With Choi Harin's signal, the man started running in the opposite direction of the monsters,
and she carried me on her side as if I were a burden and ran after the man.
And as an Elder Lich and the strongest in Barzena who couldn't possibly experience this situation I never imagined, I was completely bewildered, and without any resistance, just left my body to Choi Harin.
It doesn't feel bad.
***
I ran for what felt like minutes but couldn't gauge exactly.
During the run, Choi Harin's breathing never became rough even for a moment.
Even though she was B-rank, as a hunter, if she were a normal woman, she would have collapsed from exhaustion by now.
She was carrying me, who was over 40kg, but still running at that pace.
On the other hand, the manager was rolling backward with a sound like a deflating balloon, almost out of breath.
That guy seems like he'll grab my ankle later?
"Ha... Harin... ss... wait... legs... ha..."
"Run."
At those words, the manager miraculously started running again.
Humans become strong when afraid.
This seemed true.
While running away, I saw a part of the ground slightly sunken.
A space deeply dug into the gap between rocks, a semi-cave like hollow.
"There!"
Choi Harin ran straight there, crouched, and dove into the hole.
I was pulled in, and the manager crawled in last, headbutting the ground.
It wasn't that spacious inside, but the wind was blocked appropriately, and it was good for observing outside from the entrance.
A good spot to catch breath in a critical situation.
The manager, panting, took out the tablet again.
"... Harin-ssi, I'll try contacting again... just in case..."
"Go ahead."
The manager tapped the screen, tilted his head, reached his hand into the rock gap, lifted the tablet, but the communication icon was still a sharp X.
"...... Still blocked."
"Haa... Really screwed. Is there anyone who knows I came to eat halmeoni gukbap? The gate report should have come in."
"... There are a few, but since it's not a field-type gate, the gate entrance won't open until we all die..."
"Damn."
Harin exhaled quietly.
A pro who knows how to breathe in crisis, stop, exhale, and judge.
And immediately turned her head to me.
Until now, she hadn't had time to look at me properly because she was analyzing the situation, but from now on, the real misunderstanding time.
Choi Harin, wanting to reassure me, slowly took off her cap and mask.
"Oh... The real thing is much prettier than the photo."
I figured out why she was hiding.
She was incredibly pretty, way prettier than a normal idol?
She scanned me up and down carefully as if analyzing me and cautiously opened her mouth.
"Your speech has been a bit... cute? Are all middle schoolers like that these days?"
"... What?"
"It's fine. If you're nervous, it's understandable."
"......"
"But not crying is good. I'm impressed up to this point."
I picked up some dirt from the floor with one hand and imagined the Goblin Bat jumping in my mind.
If I could, after casually dealing with all the monsters around, I wanted to revive the monsters as one of my favorite hobbies from the Elder Lich days and make a horror house, but now... since it's fun, I'll hold back.
Choi Harin leaned her back against the dark wall of the small cave and said carefully.
"It's okay. This unnie will take care of everything. Just trust me, and we can live and get out... Got it?"
"Yes, unnie."
I covered my face with both hands as if terrified and even fell back.
Even though I forced the voice tone, it went smoothly.
She has some talent for acting?
The manager, seeing Choi Harin's appearance, nodded as if moved.
"Amazing... Harin-ssi is really... her ability to calm children is professional too."
"You should recover your stamina quickly and run again."
"Haha... Understood. Then I'll try to rest as hard as possible."
The man lay down on the cave floor right after saying that and fell asleep.
And Choi Harin, looking at that manager with pity, soon,
turned her head and looked at me, who was looking at the man with the same pitiful expression.
"... Why?"
"No, just..."
From her eyes, it seemed she had already decided me as 'the civilian to protect' and 'the middle schooler to comfort'.
The way a pro handles people in crisis.
I thought it might feel a bit disregarded, but I somehow liked it.
"First, catch your breath... drink water."
Harin handed me a sports water bottle.
I took it, opened the cap, didn't put it to my mouth, but used mana lightly to change the flow of water so it flowed into my mouth.
"Eh...? What's this now."
I said it very naturally.
"Question if you drink it."
"...? Ah, that's a good sense."
I thought she caught me using mana for a moment, but she seemed to dismiss it as a mistake.
So, a very brief moment of stability, a short breathing break.
And soon, a roar that sounded like it would tear the eardrums shook the plain.
Deeper and longer than the one heard earlier.
The manager, who woke from sleep hearing the roar, turned his face ash-gray.
"Harin-ssi... that roar just now was definitely..."
"... Yeah, probably not A-rank..."
"Minimum S-rank..."
Dirt was falling from the entrance.
The wind's direction changed.
From far in the plain, a huge silhouette moved quietly.
"......"
Now it's getting interesting.
After barely organizing her trembling breath, Choi Harin said in a calm voice.
"From now on... it's real."
"... Yeah."
"Stay behind me no matter what. Don't fall away."
I nodded.
Very obediently.
Very obediently.
This one is likable, if I ask her to be my subordinate, she might do it?
The helpless beautiful girl concept ends here.
If contact doesn't come, our crazy undead will cause chaos.
So, we need to process the monster guys as soon as possible and return.
I gently grabbed Choi Harin's hand that had hardened completely and said.
"... Unnie."
"... Yeah?"
"If I catch that, will you be mine?"
Choi Harin was momentarily at a loss for words at the absurd statement from the girl.
And asked very slowly.
"Are you... crazy?"
"What?"
This woman, after all, threw a cool line, and then said "are you crazy?"... Quite embarrassing.