The Chill of Doubt
Though the sun had already set, the interior of Saruteges glowed far more brilliantly than daylight thanks to the street vendors and the lights erected throughout the area. Countless tourists and private collectors bustled between the stalls and tents.
The box containing Pel strapped to my back worried me a little amid the passing crowds, but it was hidden among the barrels and secured with a lock, so stealing it would not be easy.
“Just a little farther and I’ll let you rest. Let’s move quickly.”
Whether it understood or not, the horse quickened its pace at my coaxing, and the crowd swiftly parted to make way for the cart and its load.
“Come, come! Everything’s cheap!”
“I have to return home urgently due to personal circumstances, so I’m selling everything off!”
My eyes lingered on a few stalls along the way. To be honest, there was nothing left that could interest me now that I had taken over Denatel’s space, yet childhood memories kept trying to pull me back down.
“……”
Those memories were warm and joyful. And they were things I could never feel again. That was entirely my own fault.
By the time we neared the edge of Saruteges, there were no more stalls or people in sight. Only discarded trash and broken wooden crates rolled about in the emptiness. A few lights stood in the distance, but most of them had already gone out.
Part of it was because I had deliberately taken an unmarked path, but outside the main roads, the outskirts of Saruteges were always like this. After all, few people bothered to carry trash back when they had to travel a long way home.
Once Amusbian ended, large merchant groups would clean up, and some even collected the abandoned goods for reuse, yet the sight still made me frown.
“And now flies, too.”
With a light gesture, I summoned a red flame and hurled it into the darkness.
“If you’re going to hide, do it properly. Or show yourselves quickly once you think no one’s around.”
The flame struck the ground. As the light briefly pushed back the darkness, roughly a dozen men emerged from behind piles of trash and wooden crates. Among them was one familiar face.
“Kruger, was it? You really are persistent.”
He frowned at my words but showed no other reaction. Judging by his position and the atmosphere, he was not the one leading this situation; he had simply been brought along as one of the group.
As the flame I had thrown gradually died out, the men pulled out tinder from their clothes and lit torches one by one.
They all looked alike—burly builds, rugged faces, and matching scars. Their appearance, the kind that would occupy a back alley or a corner of a cheap tavern, was more comical than threatening because it was so stereotypical.
How on earth had they gathered only people like this?
“You certainly have quite the composure.”
Only one of them felt different. A middle-aged man with a mustache, dressed in an old-fashioned suit, he gave off the air of an aging scholar despite the situation.
“Are you the one in charge?”
I disliked wasting time, but I was also curious. Why go this far?
Kruger was on the blacklist, but from the looks of it, he was nothing more than a low-ranking member. They had not lost any major deal because of me, and the only failure was their attempt to steal two horses.
They probably knew I had sold all the horses, so if they were after the money, that would at least make sense. But to target a hero’s companion over that amount, and with this many people?
I could not understand it. Was there some hidden expert among them?
“As expected of someone claiming to be one of the hero’s companions.”
…Ah, so that was it.
They had no special intention or hidden card. They simply could not bring themselves to believe it.
“…Haa.”
A sigh escaped me as my energy drained away. Perhaps the lack of any special reaction from the merchant group earlier stemmed from the same reason.
“I don’t know how you fooled the Cruse Company, but your audacity is truly impressive. Pretending to be the hero’s companion.”
They seemed to interpret my reaction differently. Once they had already decided on their conclusion, everything would look that way to them.
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sokren. I run a small business here in Amusbian.”
Yes, perhaps this was only natural. Even when I stood beside Rowell or the others, some people had always looked at me with doubt.
“Seeing your remarkable skill and audacity, I thought it might be good for you to work with us. That is why I came to find you.”
There were far more places where my name and titles were unknown than where they were known. In other words, if someone mentioned my name and claimed I was the hero’s companion, that person was more likely to be treated as a liar.
“Of course, I am not asking you to share today’s profits. I simply want you to assist us in future dealings or jobs with the Cruse Company or other groups.”
How could I resent them? It only meant my own achievements were lacking. Yes, I had to understand.
“If you do that, we will not only share the profits but also be able to help you in return.”
Yes, what fault did they have? It was all because I was insufficient. And yet…
“Why does this irritate me so much?”
“Pardon? What did you say?”
Fortunately or not, no one had heard my quiet mutter.
“…No, it was nothing. By the way, just in case—what do you plan to do if I refuse?”
I hoped they would choose their answer carefully. The fate of everyone here depended on it.
“Refusing is fine, but in that case, we have suffered some losses from this incident, so you will need to show some sincerity in exchange for keeping our secret before you leave.”
Several men in the back drew daggers and began spinning them on their hands for show. It was meant to be threatening, but one of them quickly dropped his blade to the ground.
“Well, I suppose I’ll let you live.”
“Pardon? Ah! Do not worry. We would never go so far as to kill you, no matter what.”
The sight of him speaking so confidently without understanding the meaning was almost pitiful.
Yes, they were nothing more than petty thieves. At most, they stole lost items and inflated prices. Since they had no intention of taking lives, there was no need for me to take theirs either.
“…By the way, has anyone here heard the names ‘Summoner of Deception,’ ‘Nightmare of Orsia Hill,’ or ‘Anak’ among the hero’s companions before today?”
They hesitated, not understanding my intent, and only after an awkward silence did a few cautiously raise their hands.
“Three people. How pitiful.”
I raised my hand and traced runes of dimension and soul in the air. I had not yet layered a new equipped barrier since yesterday, and normally this would be dangerous, but there was no way I would fall to people like them.
As expected, they did not understand what I was doing until the ritual was nearly complete. By the time they sensed something was wrong, the space around me had already begun to tear apart with a blue light.
A blue rift, as if a giant claw had slashed through the air, opened up, and pure white cold air poured out from the gap.
“But well, after today, that number will probably increase a little.”
“W-what…!”
“T-this is!”
The white cold spread like mist, swallowing the surroundings, and the brief commotion vanished into heavy silence.
“Feel free to raise your voices as much as you like. Though, in truth, you will not be heard anyway.”
This cold was no ordinary chill. It was the atmosphere of Niflheim, surrounded by the ice walls of oblivion beyond time.
In this air that swallowed even the laments of the most pitiful souls, nothing could be seen or heard. Only heavy, terrifying silence remained.
I disliked this silence too. I hated the sensation of being unable to hear even my own breathing or heartbeat. That was why I rarely summoned this particular being, but for a situation like this where drawing attention would be unwise, it was the perfect choice.
By strengthening the soul connection, the will and senses of the summoned beings flowed into me.
Swimming through the cold mist, they precisely surrounded their targets. They were Frost Ghosts—pitiful wraiths bound to Niflheim, devourers of life’s warmth.
I could neither see nor hear anything in this either, but the senses connected through the Frost Ghosts told me far more than sight ever could.
Sokren and the others were panicking, stumbling about in confusion. The only fortunate thing for them was that none had lost their minds to fear and started swinging weapons.
In a place with no visibility or sound, where many people were packed closely together, a single wrong move could wipe out an entire force.
In fact, I had once annihilated over three hundred troops with nothing but this.
Of course, that did not mean they were staying still out of awareness. They simply could not bring themselves to act due to the unfamiliar sensation and helplessness.
-Bind their bodies.
A single command was enough. The Frost Ghosts lunged at the men, their pale hands overlapping the targets’ hearts.
Cold mist seeped into their bodies and souls, and they froze in place.
Though cold, their bodies had not actually frozen. They were still breathing, and their hearts continued to pump blood through their veins.
Only their souls had frozen, leaving their bodies unable to respond.
“Well, I could leave it at this, but…”
If I dismissed the Frost Ghosts now, it would end here. They would remain frozen for about an hour before waking. But then they would never understand what had happened.
I raised my mana and further strengthened the soul synchronization with the Frost Ghosts. Now my will became theirs, naturally connecting me to the victims linked through them as well.
Complex conversation would be difficult, but conveying my intent was possible.
-From today onward, remember clearly the name of the hero’s companion, Anak.
I left those words directly in their souls. Etched like scratches on the surface of ice, the words would echo in their souls until they awoke, and for at least several days, they would be unable to forget them no matter how much they tried.
“Hoo.”
After sending the Frost Ghosts back to Niflheim and closing the rift, the cold covering the area quickly dissipated. All that remained in the darkness were the trash left behind by people and Sokren’s group standing frozen in place.