Astrania-1337
I opened my mouth again—then shut it just as fast.
What am I supposed to say? I'm fine? I'm not fine? I've never stabbed a non-human before either? Wait—I've never stabbed a human before either?
All of it sounded wrong.
My hands were still shaking like an idiot's, and blood kept dripping from the tip of my dagger. The stink of goblin blood, the smell of charred flesh, and the damp earth of the cave all hit my nose at once. The second the space where we'd been fighting for our lives went quiet, the whole situation started to feel unreal.
"Don't just stand there. Get over here."
The voice was short and cold.
The ash-brown-haired healer spoke without even looking at me. Her hands were still pressed to the wounded man's side, a faint light trembling precariously over the injury.
"Watch the floor. It's slippery with blood."
That snapped me back a little.
"Ah... yes."
The answer came out on pure reflex.
I approached carefully, still holding the dagger. Goblin corpses were scattered across the cavern floor. With every few steps, I could see blood seeping into the cracks of the stone.
Under my feet were the things I had killed.
Ugh...
I looked away.
"Kaya, can you hold on?"
The reddish-brown-haired mage asked over her shoulder, still watching me warily.
"I have to."
Kaya didn't so much as blink.
"I barely stopped the bleeding. If we stall any longer, it'll open up again."
Only then did the wounded man let out a short breath and speak.
"Name first."
He was still covered in blood. Even after losing that much from his side, he hadn't collapsed. He was still holding on.
"...Siyun."
The moment I said it, the red-haired woman's brows drew together.
"Si...yun?"
The foreign sound of it must have struck her as odd.
I repeated it carefully, one syllable at a time.
"Baek. Si. Yun."
Both of them looked at my face a little longer.
It was only now that it really hit me—black hair, black eyes. In a mirror I'd always just looked like some average Korean guy. Standing among these people, I stood out for sure.
I've become a black-haired foreigner!
Which meant I looked even more suspicious.
The healer spoke briefly.
"I'm Kaya. This is Roy. The foul-tempered one over there is Mari."
"Kaya."
Mari cut in at once, irritation thick in her voice.
"Do you really have to introduce us like that?"
"We're alive."
Kaya answered without taking her hands off the wound.
"Knowing each other's names is the least we can do."
Mari let out a short sigh.
Roy looked at me and spoke in a low voice.
"Roy Vesta."
He jerked his chin toward the red-haired woman.
"...Mari."
Short. But enough.
Mari was still glaring at me. Open, unfiltered wariness was stamped across her face.
At first I'd been unsure whether her face was pretty or sharp. Now it was neither. She just looked like someone with a short temper and thin skin.
Kaya asked right away.
"Can you walk?"
For a second I didn't know who she was talking to—then I realized it was me.
"Ah... yes. I'm fine."
"Good. Then take Roy's other side."
"Yes."
She handed out the role so naturally that my body moved on reflex.
"Mari, watch the front."
"I already am."
"Save the attitude for later."
Even as she said it, Kaya drew a little more light into her hands. The blood clotted against Roy's side finally seemed to stop. Not a full heal—just barely keeping the thread of his life from snapping.
I moved in on Roy's other side. Up close, he was heavier than I'd expected. It wasn't just body weight. The sheer force of him holding himself together felt heavy. Strength still remained in the hand gripping his sword, and though his legs were on the verge of giving out, he forced them to stay under him.
"...Sorry."
Roy said it briefly.
I shook my head at once.
"No, it's fine."
Mari nudged a corpse out of the way with her toe as she passed, then suddenly crouched. She pulled a short knife from her belt and slit open the charred chest of a goblin with a quick, practiced motion.
"What are you doing?"
Mari looked at me like I was an idiot.
"What does it look like? Taking out the mana stone."
Only then did I see it. A small stone emerged from inside—dull gray-green light, about two or three finger-joints long.
A mana stone?
This really was a fantasy world.
Mari snorted at my vacant expression.
"What. First time seeing a mana stone?"
"...Yes."
"Yeah, you look like it."
With familiar hands she pried the stone free and dropped it into a leather pouch. She pulled another from a corpse Roy had cut down. Fast. No hesitation.
Kaya's voice was cold.
"Is now really the time for that?"
"If we go through all this crap and head back empty-handed, that'd piss me off even more."
"...Grab two more and move. No more than that."
"Tch... fine."
It was a short exchange, but the dynamic was obvious.
Who moved first, how far each of them would accommodate the others—it was already in their bones.
This isn't their first time, is it?
I asked on reflex.
"Why did you come here?"
The question made all three of them glance at me for a moment. Even then, Mari kept leading and scanning the passage, Kaya kept pressure on Roy's wound, and Roy—leaning a little of his weight onto my shoulder—opened his mouth.
"Goblin den subjugation."
A short answer.
Kaya continued.
"Goblin sightings near the village have been climbing, so the guild put out a request. Base reward plus extra settlement for mana stones."
Mari muttered while watching the path ahead.
"It was deeper than we thought... more side tunnels branching off inside. Roughly twice as many of them as we'd estimated."
Roy let out a low breath.
"...I went down first."
That one line was enough. Roy had taken a heavy hit early, Kaya had been tied up stopping the bleeding, and Mari had held the line alone until they were pushed to the brink... Just the fact that Mari had held out that long by herself was no small thing.
I nodded.
"I see."
I let a beat pass, then opened my mouth again.
"But... where exactly is this place?"
All three pairs of eyes locked onto me again.
I added, a little late:
"I... I remember basic common sense and language, but place names, and how I got here... those memories are..."
Mari's brow furrowed hard.
"What kind of bullshit is that."
"I know I look suspicious too."
"And who's supposed to buy that."
Kaya stepped in with the explanation instead.
"This is the outskirts of Loenheim Forest, near the capital region in the center of the Kingdom of Astraheim. We're heading back to a pioneer village under Loenheim's jurisdiction."
The moment the words landed, the Archive responded quietly.
Kingdom of Astraheim—central.
Capital region.
Loenheim.
Translated concepts rearranged themselves once more inside my head.
Alright. Something like a metropolitan area, then.
"You came into a goblin den without even knowing that?"
Mari tossed it out.
"Yes..."
"Suspicious."
"I know."
"The fact that you know that makes you even more suspicious."
Kaya called her name, short and firm.
"Mari."
"...Fine."
We headed out of the cave as we were.
The path that had seemed one way coming in felt completely different on the way out. The smell of blood was thicker. The gravel underfoot was more slippery.
The dagger in my hand was soaked through with blood and sweat. The grip had gotten so slick I had to change my hold twice.
When we cleared the passage, outside light hit my eyes again.
After the dark of the cave, the forest and sunlight made me strangely dizzy. The sun hadn't fully set yet, but the trees were so dense that the forest path was already dimming.
A breeze brushed my face, and the smell of soil and trees came back in.
How the hell am I still alive.
The thought arrived late.
At the cave mouth, Roy swayed hard once. I instinctively gripped him tighter.
Kaya said shortly,
"Let's rest a moment."
We eased Roy down beside a nearby rock.
Kaya checked the wound again. Pale light seeped from her fingertips. Sweat ran down the line of her jaw. Her expression was calm, but she didn't look like she had much left to spare.
Mari scanned the surroundings.
"No sign of anything following us."
Kaya gave a short nod.
Only then did I look down at the dagger in my hand.
Goblin blood.
A torn sleeve.
Dark red stains dried on the back of my hand.
With these hands, I had just killed several living things.
It felt a little strange.
Mari saw that and raised one eyebrow.
"Not bad for a country bumpkin."
"Excuse me?"
"That was a compliment."
"It doesn't sound like one at all."
"Then pretend you didn't hear it."
Her temper was foul. But there wasn't only malice in her voice.
Kaya asked while still holding Roy's wound.
"You said you got lost in the forest."
"Yes."
"Do you remember where you came from?"
"...I don't."
I paused for a second.
"Same as I said earlier. I remember the basics... but the rest feels like there are holes punched through it in places."
The moment the words left my mouth, Mari snorted.
"You know that's a pretty convenient excuse, right?"
"It doesn't feel convenient..."
"Then it's even more suspicious."
Roy asked instead.
"You didn't run."
I lifted my head.
He was still pale, but his eyes hadn't dulled.
"In a goblin den you'd never seen before... you came because you heard someone scream. Most people wouldn't go looking even if their own lives weren't on the line..."
"I... didn't exactly do it because I wanted to."
"Then why?"
"Just..."
I let the end of the sentence trail off.
The Human Ranch.
The Meat Corridor.
The Black-Space Breeding Grounds.
Those words flickered through my mind for a moment.
"If I'd ignored it and walked past, I think it would have stuck with me."
Once I'd said it out loud, it sounded kind of pathetic. But it was also the most accurate answer.
Roy looked at me quietly, then nodded—very slightly.
Kaya said shortly,
"We need to move. Roy, you have to hold on until the healing sanctuary."
We rested a little longer, then started moving again.
Kaya and I each took one of Roy's sides, and Mari walked ahead, watching the path. A small flame sat at her fingertips—she was using it like a torch. That light made the forest road a little less terrifying.
As we walked, I quietly took in the surroundings.
There were clear signs of people.
Blade marks cut into trees.
Shallow ruts left by wheels.
In places, the grass was crushed where feet had passed.
A civilized region.
The Dimensional Archive had been right.
We'd gone maybe a few dozen steps when the light at Kaya's fingertips shuddered hard.
"Wait."
For the first time, her voice cracked low.
Blood bloomed again at Roy's side. Dark red welled and spread from between the wound she'd been holding.
Kaya's face hardened for the first time.
"Shit..."
Mari spat the curse under her breath.
Roy's weight pitched hard to one side.
For a second I thought we'd all go down together.
But I held.
My feet found the ground first, and my body took Roy's weight as if it knew how. Even with him listing hard to one side, my center didn't break.
Before, I would have gone down with him... Is this the Heavenly Demon Physique?
Kaya's voice cut sharp.
"Siyun, don't let go."
"Yes."
"Good. Keep going like this."
"Faster!"
That was Mari.
We half-dragged Roy as we hurried out along the forest path. Roy clenched his teeth and forced his feet to move; Kaya kept pressure on the wound even while walking. Every time the light wavered, a little more blood leaked out.
Kaya's breathing grew rough.
"Just hold on until the healing sanctuary."
"...Yeah."
Roy forced the word out low, through his teeth.
I took more of his weight. My arms went numb and my shoulders pulled, but somehow I didn't collapse. If anything, I found more efficient ways to bleed the weight off. My breath was short, but my body kept moving smarter.
After grinding our way forward for a long stretch, light appeared between the trees. Faint at first, then clearer.
Torchlight.
Window glow.
The silhouette of rooftops.
Finally.
A village. A real village. A place where real people lived.
Mari muttered under her breath.
"What a goddamn mess..."
For the first time, I heard the strength leave her voice.
At the village entrance stood a low wooden barricade and a gate. Two guards were posted there; the moment they saw us, their faces changed completely.
"Roy!"
"What the hell is all that blood!"
One of them ran over. The other looked at me and went straight to wary. His eyes ran over my hair, my face, all the way down to my hands.
"Who's that guy?"
"...He's with us."
Roy said it first, even while dragging in rough breaths. One short line, but it carried weight.
"If it weren't for him... I... Kaya... Mari... we'd all be dead."
Both guards looked at my face again. The suspicion hadn't vanished, but it felt different from a moment ago.
Roy, nice one!
Kaya said shortly,
"Explanations later. First we go to the healing sanctuary."
"Should we notify the guild?"
"Do it. Church and guild both."
People started moving in a hurry.
Someone rushed to support Roy; someone else ran for a stretcher. Someone else kept glancing at me and murmuring under their breath.
Outsider.
Covered in blood.
Suspicious man.
Something along those lines, probably.
Mari brushed past me and tossed out,
"Don't even think about running."
"Nowhere to run to, is there?"
"...True enough."
She left it at that and took the lead.
We cut straight into the village.
Light leaked over low walls, and the faint smell of evening meals drifted from house to house. In the middle of it all, one building stood out—brighter than the rest.
Whitewashed walls.
Bell-shaped ornaments.
Above the door hung the emblem of the Luenn Church.
The healing sanctuary.
When the door opened, warm air and the smell of herbs poured out together.
"Trauma patient!"
Kaya shouted.
"Lateral incision, severe blood loss, emergency hemostasis currently holding!"
From inside, two people in white robes and gray outer garments came running at once. An older cleric among them saw Roy's wound and his face went hard.
"This is bad."
"Can you save him?"
"Shut your mouth and get him laid down."
Roy was moved onto a stretcher, and Kaya stuck right at his side to hand off the situation. Mari took a step back.
I stood near the threshold of the healing sanctuary and watched it all unfold.
Only then did the tension start to ease, little by little.
A living world.
A place with doors, ceilings, human hands—and people moving to save someone.
Even so, I couldn't fully relax.
Kaya finished the handoff and walked over to me.
"Come with me. We need to get you verified at the guild."
"Right now?"
"We leave Roy to them. We do what we have to do."
Mari leaned against the wall and said,
"Lucky you~ You'll get a solid guarantee out of this."
"Can't you say that a little nicer?"
"Is there a reason I should?"
That was when it happened.
Heavy footsteps sounded outside the healing sanctuary.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Measured, regular steps.
The thick wooden door opened again.
Under the lamp, a large shadow entered first.
Broad shoulders, a hard jawline, a spare, uncluttered outfit.
He wasn't even in full armor, but just from the way he stood, you could tell this man was a serious powerhouse.
No one needed to explain. The air inside the healing sanctuary went quiet first. Both clerics closed their mouths, and the footsteps moving around inside dropped off noticeably.
Mari clicked her tongue under her breath.
"He's already here."
The man looked first at Roy on the stretcher. Only after that did he slowly turn his gaze toward me.
The moment those eyes ran over my body, a chill went down my spine.
He wasn't just looking at my face. Hair color, eyes, build, hands, the way I stood—he read all of it at once.
Then a young cleric nearby spoke in a low voice.
"Deputy Guild Leader Garen."
Before the name had even settled in my head, a low, hard voice dropped into the room.
"Who is the outsider."