Chapter 164: Chapter 164

I flipped forward in the notebook. At the top left were human names, and next to them, their respective rankings.

Rena, A-rank, 10 seiron…

My eyes stopped on that line again. It was a name that I had glossed over the first time I saw it.

This is a bounty ledger. Why on earth is Rena’s name written here?

A hypothesis flashed through my mind.

Back when I was with Rubia, Rena had been hunted. When I met her in the cave, she had already escaped. If so, then everything aligned. I suddenly recalled how Rena used to say that most humans only sought to exploit her. Maybe that exploitation included a life of slavery.

That’s why she despised humans so much…

I shook my skull to erase the thought. Rena hadn’t told me any of this. Unless she said it herself, there was no need to make assumptions. The name in the ledger could be referring to someone else with the same name.

While I was flipping through the notebook, a faint groan sounded beside me. "U-ugh…"

I had completely forgotten about the boy. His bruised face came into view, filled with fear. Even though I had decided to erase the thought, the idea that Rena might have once been in a similar state made the boy appear all the more pitiable.

I looked at him and asked, "Would this count as helping you?"

The boy flinched and trembled. "Hic!"

His reaction didn’t match the confidence he had shown when shouting for help earlier. I thought he’d cling to me in gratitude, but his behavior was unexpected.

I looked around and assessed the situation. "Hmm…"

At the boy’s feet lay the mangled corpses of the villains he had mentioned. He obviously wanted to be saved, but upon being confronted with raw, overwhelming violence, perhaps terror outweighed his gratitude.

The corpse of the black-haired man crushed by my armor was closest to the boy. Even to me, the sight was grotesque. Maybe the shock had been too great; his pale eyes bulged slightly from their sockets. The boy stood frozen, his teeth chattering.

Should I just leave him?

I considered abandoning him again, but watching him tremble like that suddenly reminded me of Rubia. I thought I should at least care a little.

"Hey, human," I said.

"U-uh…" the boy stammered.

I immediately realized my mistake once I heard the boy stammer and stiffen once more.

Is it because I called him human?

I had called him a human without thinking. It was obvious how that label would make him see me.

As the boy swallowed and took a deep breath, I turned to face him. I needed to do some damage control.

[Skill: Masquerade has been activated.]

[Temporarily overlays the appearance of a human face.

You will mimic the most striking human you’ve recently seen.

Transforming: Leandro von Batyenne.

Remaining differences: Randomly filled in.

Time limit: 10 minutes.

Time until next activation: 6 hours.]

It had been a while since I used this skill. There was still a long way to the next city, so I planned to remove my helmet and reassure him. I figured I’d look like a clean-cut, trustworthy human.

However, the result was the complete opposite.

The boy shrieked and stumbled backward over the mangled corpses. "A-a-ahhh!"

What? What is this reaction?

His reaction was nothing like what I had expected. Instead of standing frozen like before, the boy looked like he had seen a ghost from a nightmare.

"A… ghost!" the boy screamed.

No one else was around. It was just me and the boy.

I lifted my sword and checked my reflection. The skill had been activated properly, and there was nothing wrong.

The boy stepped on a pile of spilled intestines and slipped, tumbling to the ground. Soaked in blood, he flailed as he tried to crawl away from me.

What is he even trying to do?

I crossed my arms and watched silently when a message popped up.

[Crisis Evasion (B) has been activated!]

[Time until next activation: 167:59:59…]

What? This fragile kid is considered a threat to me?

The soft glow from the pendant vanished again. This pendant from Rena was an artifact rewarded to me for clearing her scenario with a special power. It had saved me during that night with Rayleigh, and now, its power was activating again.

However, I wanted to protest that this was going too far. The boy trembling before me looked like he’d die from a gentle push.

Yet, perhaps because I trusted the pendant, my hand tightened slightly around my sword.

Do I… really need to kill him?

The boy jolted. Maybe he noticed my grip on my sword.

The boy suddenly jumped up and started running, while I casually walked after him. There was no one else around but us, and I was still confused.

The boy screamed as he ran. "Aaaaah!"

I glanced down at the pendant and read the message glowing on it.

[Time until next activation: 167:58:59…]

I followed him as if I were simply taking a stroll. He seemed so fragile that I hesitated to strike. I grew more cautious because it felt like handling a delicate glass cup that could shatter at the slightest touch.

Why did the pendant judge this situation as a threat?

I was more curious about that than catching him.

The path narrowed. A cliff stretched out to the left, and the sound of a rapid river echoed from below. I followed four steps behind the boy. I could catch and kill him anytime, but I wanted to see what he would do. That urge kept me from acting.

The boy glanced back, saw I was right behind him, and stumbled in panic. "Hiiick!"

His scrawny figure tumbled down. Birds could walk on land, but humans couldn’t fly. His high-pitched scream echoed off the cliff walls before abruptly falling silent.

Should I have caught him?

The boy had fallen into the river below. If I jumped, I could have saved him, but the message from the pendant telling me to kill him made me hesitate.

It was a strange feeling. I quietly looked down and saw a sheer drop. I couldn’t even tell whether the boy had survived or not, because he was too far away to detect.

I shook my skull. It was too far to climb down and search, and I had a long way ahead.

I didn’t want to get involved in any more trouble. I moved stealthily, using my Stealth skill to stay hidden. The sun set and rose again, the moon dimmed before shining clearly once more. After following signposts for about three days, I saw the familiar gray city walls of Yublam.

A winter sunset slowly cast light on the walls. Two guards holding torches came out and took their posts at the gate. I looked at them for a moment, then turned away. After all, I had no business in the city. I walked toward the village near the orphanage.

The sound of logs being sawed echoed from a large lumber mill. In the distance, a winery came into view, and right in front of it, I could easily spot the two-story orphanage building. Perhaps because of the cold, there were no children playing outside. The children who used to gather around Rena were no longer there.

I needed to be careful from here on out. This was the Slime’s domain.

As expected… Everyone is inside the building.

However, I couldn't sense the Slime director’s presence. Either they were away for a while, or they were gone for good. Even in a previous life, the Slime had left this place in another person’s hands and vanished. This time, there wasn’t even an adult managing the place. Something felt off.

Maybe they’ve abandoned the orphanage altogether?

That would make things easier. Staying in stealth, I crept inside. As expected, none of the children noticed me. I clearly remembered the face of Rena’s little sister and soon spotted her on the second floor.

A girl who had the same features as Rena sat quietly with her hands folded on her lap. I had to be cautious if I didn’t want to startle her. I deliberately stepped outside and knocked on the door.

"Come in," the girl said.

She was surprisingly calm. Her tone had changed. I hadn’t spoken much with her, not wanting to intrude on the sisters’ time, but I had stayed at the orphanage for nearly three months.

I’d seen them together many times. She used to be cheerful and lively. Of course, maybe she behaved differently when she was alone compared to when she was with Rena. Still, I was certain that it was her. I came out of my stealth, opened the door, and entered.

Two jet-black eyes stared quietly at me.

The girl looked at me with genuine curiosity. "Who are you?"

"I’m Rena’s friend," I answered.

"My sister’s friend? I didn’t know she had one like you."

"..." I held out the letter Rena had written. "See? Proof."

The girl calmly read the letter from beginning to end. "This is definitely her handwriting."

"She told you to come get me?"

There was no sparkle in her eyes or excitement in her voice. Instead, she sounded a bit subdued.

"Yeah. Do you not want to come?" I asked, feeling uneasy.

"What do you mean? Of course I do. Let’s go," the girl said.

She grabbed my hand and gave it a small shake. I quietly looked at the girl dressed in a slightly oversized red robe. There was something hollow about her, but her appearance was exactly the same as before. I didn't make a mistake. Maybe something unpleasant had happened to her, but that was beyond my control. I was just the one sent to retrieve her. What mattered now was getting her out.

In a flash, I picked her up and soared through the second-story window. There weren’t any signs of watchers, and we landed far away in a single leap. All that remained was to head for Grassmere. Fighting the Swamp Wraith had felt almost pointless in comparison.

Is it really going to be this easy?

The girl in the red robe remained silent for a moment in my arms. Soon, we turned onto the well-traveled path toward Grassmere.

The girl asked, "When did you two become friends?"

I thought for a moment and answered with the time we met in the cave.

"You became friends quickly. That’s kind of amazing."

As the twilight faded, darkness began to spread.

The girl looked at me with unwavering black eyes and asked, "When will you take off the helmet?"

We were almost at Grassmere, and I didn’t want to waste the once-a-day skill. I had no intention of taking my helmet off.

Trying to change the subject, I asked another question. "Not sure. By the way, do you need anything?"

It felt like an oddly delayed question.

She nodded. "Do you have something to hold them in?"

"Something to hold two marbles."

Along the dark, deserted path, dry trees were sparsely scattered.

I slowed my steps slightly to check my bag. "Where are the marbles?"

Her two jet-black eyes bulged forward, no longer pressed inside but protruding from her face. Two artificial eyes—one red, the other green—glimmered in the winter night.

The girl clutched the two fallen black marbles. "They were hard to craft… I’d hate to throw them away."