Ep.5 - Too Late a Realization
Ep.5 - Too Late a Realization
***
The darkness, pressed deep into the earth by the moonlight, made every step agonizingly difficult,
and the vengeful spirits of dead trees howled, shrieking as the wind swept past.
"I-Is this really the place?! Surely there's an answer in a place like this?"
Kaede, her tail drooping, trembled like a stray dog. Tearfully, she demanded an explanation from Helen.
"How could anyone live here...! Let's just go somewhere else..."
"Bear with it! You call yourself an adventurer, shaking over something like this?"
"I-I detest ghosts, I tell you! Everyone, listen to the captain for once! Turn back and get out of here, quickly...!"
Even in the face of Chichi's sharp criticism, Kaede trembled, throwing away every last shred of pride. I, for one, understood her.
The darkness squelched as if clutching at my ankles, and all around were nothing but ominous signs. It was stranger that the others weren't scared...!
"Sniff..."
'It's really fucking terrifying...!'
Even walking with my arm locked tightly with Kaede's, my trembling body wouldn't stop. My nerves were so frayed with anxiety I thought I might piss myself.
"M-Ms. Kaede is scared, so I'm scared too...!"
I'd always been deathly afraid of ghost stories and spirits. If I so much as sensed an eerie presence, I'd immediately tear up and flee the scene.
But now I had no choice. I had to keep walking forward. To complete the journey home properly, we had to pass through here...!
"S-scary. Whimper... At this rate a ghost might pop out... It's really going to pop out..."
"Hic, hic..."
Did they have no intention of being considerate toward those of us who were frightened? The other women just shook off the squelching mud with irritation and walked even faster.
"Walk a little faster, will you?"
Among them, Philmark was especially fussy, prodding and shoving us along. That woman was even giggling away, as if something was deeply amusing.
"Hey, enough. Come here. What's there to be scared of?"
She soon snatched me from Kaede as if stealing me away and pulled me tight. Even the foul, deathly air of the swampland seemed to lose its power near the fierce bandit.
"No! Dear master! Don't leave me behind! Miss Philmark! Listen to the captain!"
"Captain my ass. Dipshit."
Philmark shot Kaede down in a thoroughly chilly voice, then lifted me up in a princess carry.
"Th-There's no need for this! Just put me down...!"
What shred of masculinity I still had screamed at the indignity of being princess-carried, but—
"No."
—in her arms, as she scoffed and brushed off my resistance without a care, there was simply no way to rebel.
"Nooooo! Master! Everyone! Please don't just leave! Pleeease!"
Kaede's desperate call from behind gnawed at me, but as if reading my mind, Chichi let out a deep sigh and turned back to support her.
"Please, get a grip, will you!"
"At least let me ride a broom. I'm begging you..."
"I've already told you thirteen times—you can't ride a broom here!!"
That's right.
This place we were following Helen into was a cursed swampland, a domain of death that everyone shunned entering...
"This is a place where you can't use mana recklessly. Get up now and walk on your own two feet."
"Chichi, dear, just carry me on your back at least... My legs have given out and I can't walk..."
"Argh, honestly!!!"
Their bickering continued endlessly. Watching their quarrel while held in Philmark's arms, a sigh escaped me involuntarily.
'How did someone as dithering as Kaede suddenly get so strong? It's ridiculous.'
'If I had to guess, it might be because of that soul bond thing I witnessed earlier,' but no matter how many times I asked Kaede, she just wagged her tail and shrugged as if she had no clue.
'Why Kaede of all people...'
It might be a very important piece of the puzzle.
Perhaps it strengthens a companion whose affinity has been raised, or maybe it includes even greater abilities.
But no message appeared on my end, and it said the other party hadn't [accepted] the soul bond, so—
surely Kaede must have seen something. Otherwise, it makes no sense.
What she saw, what was written—I needed to know too...
No.
More than that, showing the message about the soul bond or whatever only to Kaede is such a fucking scam. Fuck.
'Of course it should be shown to me too! What the hell is this...!'
...Thinking that, I resigned myself again. I'd long since grown accustomed to the absurdity. It must be some kind of hidden ability. If it's a special ability based on affinity, it'll surely be a tremendous help on our adventure.
Riko, Neva, and Chichi are all already at the stage of following me to Load, so they'll soon reach the soul bond stage like Kaede. When that time comes, I can ask casually. No need to be impatient.
Though I didn't quite understand why Kaede was the first to experience such an event...
"Hey, how much further do we have to go? We've already walked over an hour."
Riko asked Helen. I, too, stopped thinking for a moment and returned to the present. I was genuinely grateful to her for asking what I'd wanted to ask on my behalf.
"That's right. We can't just keep walking like this! I want to get out of here fast...!"
Complaints began to leak out, as this place was so full of unpleasant sensations that even breathing felt disagreeable. Even Neva, who had been walking silently while carrying Eva on her back, couldn't hold back and spoke up.
"Those crossing the Parhem Swampland in their right mind... we might be the only ones."
However, Helen paid no mind and walked on in silence. The way she walked with her hands demurely folded made her look like a true saintess. Except for the fact that a cigar was wedged between her fingers.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!"
Riko's voice carried a hint of fury. Her patience was wearing thin.
"I hear everything. But since it's a question that requires no answer, I'm simply keeping my lips sealed."
At Helen's calm reply, Riko shook her head in disgust.
"We're the morons for listening to that crazy bitch. Let's just all get ready to die. No, actually, just Delin dying would be enough, wouldn't it?"
It was a joke tossed out casually, and Riko's smirking face looked quite pretty, but coming from someone who had already killed me a few times, that kind of joke was nothing but chilling.
"P-Put me down!"
"Pfft! It's a joke, a joke! You're so jumpy..."
<'Is joking with someone's life supposed to be funny...?'
Chills ran down my spine at her utterly incomprehensible sense of humor. Even if she's lived a rough life rolling through the gutter, the only things coming out of her mouth were curses, sexual harassment, and lowbrow jokes. What good was a pretty face.
"But remember this. I'll kill you less painfully. So if a dangerous situation comes up later, come to me. Got it?"
'...If a dangerous situation came, I could just Load, couldn't I,' I thought, but there had been plenty of absurd situations where I couldn't properly shout Load, so it wasn't a problem to treat lightly.
"...Okay."
"Good. And..."
Riko's voice dropped to a whisper. In a voice only I, held in her arms, could hear, Riko asked.
"(What did you do to that mutt.)"
She suspected me. Well, if there was anyone who could change her, it would have to be me.
"(I don't know either...! But, I think... my ability must have awakened something. It seems I have another ability I didn't know about.)"
With those thoroughly honest words, containing not a single lie, Riko silently gazed at me for a moment, then nodded a few times. She smiled again and whispered into my ear.
"(Well, you are an idiot who can't even use your abilities properly.)"
It was clearly meant to tease me, but I had no logical rebuttal.
It was true that I hadn't been able to properly utilize my ability. Although the situation had gotten twisted to a headache-inducing degree, and I'd been too busy being toyed with by various women to even have the leeway to use it properly...
...But then, thinking about it, why hadn't I been able to use my ability? No, something was off.
'Huh? Come to think of it, wasn't I supposed to look into the affinity thing...??'
"What, look at your face? Are you upset? That's why I'm telling you to stick by your noona. Don't be upset."
Suddenly, a light returned to my dazed mind. No, my thoughts began whirling rapidly.
The countless events I'd experienced flashed through my mind. The memories went all the way back to the very first scene, making me recall waking up naked in the forest.
From that, I arrived at one realization. The realization that I had to utter it aloud for the ability to activate.
But, when I first called out the status window, I distinctly...
"...Status Window?"
I'd kept my mouth shut and only chanted it inwardly...?
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[Status Window]
Name - ___ (Delin)
Gender - Male
Age - 20
Special Effects - Chakjeong (x37), Fatigue, Forgotten God's Blessing
Save Point - Outskirts of Dikenen Forest, near campfire (6 hours 37 minutes ago)
[Quests] [Companions] [Skills]
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