Second Intermission (3)

The fifth day of departure. The atmosphere was generally peaceful.

After leaving the village, we had camped for three nights, and now the next village was close. Aside from the occasional stops to hunt wild animals or give the horses water, the journey was progressing smoothly.

And I couldn't take my eyes off Leonardo for a moment.

"What are you doing?"

Raul, who had been watching, asked with a slightly displeased expression. It seemed that while we had stopped briefly to rest, I had been lingering near Leonardo, who was showing Vittorio how to maintain his weapon.

"I was just watching."

When I glanced at Leonardo out of the corner of my eye, he sensed my gaze and met my eyes with a faint smile. Raul, standing next to me, shuddered as if feeling a chill and glared at me.

"No, it's been strange for the past few days. Why are you staring so intensely at the commander no matter what he's doing?"

As I was searching for an excuse to explain myself in response to his words, Leonardo stood up and seemed to be heading in my direction.

"Ah, yes! For lunch today, we could prepare fish instead of rabbit meat!"

I quickly grabbed Raul's arm and suggested we go check the river to see if there were any fish, turning my feet away from Leonardo. Though I could almost feel his gaze from behind, I desperately pretended not to notice.

Raul, half-dragged along by me, shivered and asked, "What is this, another assassination attempt?"

I felt bad for using the situation to escape, but there was no other choice.

In this unstable intermission period, if I wanted to prevent Leonardo from realizing the "foreignness" of this world, the first thing to do was eliminate any risks.

And the most immediate and threatening risk… was me.

Lately, I had been trying to subtly create a bit of distance, just enough to maintain the feeling of being an observer. But every time I moved out of his sight, Leonardo would immediately approach, making my efforts futile.

'When did my privacy vanish like this?'

We share the same sleeping space, eat together, and even bathe together.

To be honest, it seems like there's almost never been a time when we've been more than twenty steps apart. Up until now, I hadn't even been conscious of it, and I didn't feel uncomfortable either. But now that the situation had suddenly changed, it became a headache.

I casually asked Raul, who was worrying about a nighttime ambush, "Do you think Leonardo and I are spending too much time together?"

"You're just realizing that now…?" Raul asked, looking horrified.

"Well, I'm glad I'm realizing it at least. But what brought this on all of a sudden?"

I found a suitable excuse to offer.

"When the monster hunt starts in the Vernis Mountains, it might be difficult to stay close all the time, right? During the battle, we might need to separate briefly. And if that happens, I can't let my focus be distracted."

"Hah! The commander isn't some street dog, and you think just stepping away for a moment will throw him off?"

Raul, who had been mocking my suggestion confidently, had a slight falter in his expression at the end. He thumped his forehead against a tree.

"Ugh… maybe I should just quit."

"If you quit, you won't have anywhere to go."

"I should've ignored everything and just run off by myself."

Raul mumbled to himself in a downhearted tone. Watching him, I tilted my head and lightly dropped the subject.

"The original plan was to flee from the king's pursuit, right?"

"Yeah. That's why we went to the port city, Sinistra. To see if there was any chance of finding a ship. Though… after the erosion, there aren't any boats that go far out to sea, only those for fishing near the coast."

Unlike Leonardo, who serves as the lens through which the stage and perception are shaped, Raul is merely a supporting character. So, at least nothing catastrophic is likely to happen to him.

I cautiously asked, "Have you thought about taking the overland route?"

"No. The area near the border is basically the frontline. There are still those things wandering around over there, so it's been closed off. The only remaining land routes are directly controlled by the kingdom, and even if we tried to pass through, we'd get eaten by monsters or those things in the wastelands."

Raul answered indifferently, as if he didn't understand why I was asking such a question.

"I'm not really thinking of running away. I don't think I'll be safe just because I flee. Don't bother telling the commander."

"Yeah, yeah. I was just curious. I guess you don't get seasick, considering you were thinking of smuggling yourself onto a ship."

"Seasick? Yeah, I do get it, but I wasn't really worried. It's a long way to the neighbouring country."

Raul fell silent with a dazed expression. He blinked and, as though forgetting the topic we were discussing, shrugged and mumbled instead.

"You're really saying you want fish, right? If we go back empty-handed, I feel like the commander will look at me with those suspicious eyes and see right through me. Freshwater fish taste kind of bland, but your taste is weird. Wait a minute, let me check if there are any."

He muttered as he grabbed a spear, which wasn't meant for catching fish, and headed toward the rocks by the riverbank.

Left behind, I took a deep breath. The air felt strangely cool.

Raul really did return with a plump salmon from the riverbank.

For some reason, it felt like I was offering a bribe when I handed the fish to Leonardo, and I quickly slipped away. Leonardo took the squirming salmon and passed it on to the cook, then approached me.

"I could've gone with you."

"Well, you and Vittorio seemed busy."

Leonardo quietly looked at me, then nodded and stepped back.

Lunch was salmon steaks, seasoned with salt and pepper, pan-fried until the skin was crispy. As I ate the tender fish with sautéed onions and mashed potatoes, Leonardo said that we should be able to reach the next village before nightfall.

"Once we pass through here, we'll reach a fief managed by the Count's vassals. We'll resupply there."

And that evening.

When we arrived at the next village, the sight before us was not what we had expected. All that remained were ruins. A sense of unease spread among the knights, and the dry wind blew through the crumbled buildings, sending tattered cloth flying far away.

Once, the people who lived in these houses had passed through their doorways every day. Now, the doors creaked open and shut on their own, as if alone in their motions.

The hunt team proceeded cautiously toward the village. From a distance, the debris had only appeared as broken trees or collapsed stone walls, but now, as we approached, the full extent of the destruction was clearer.

There were marks like long claw scratches on the walls, and roofs that appeared strangely melted, as if by an acidic substance. These were not the marks of human work. There was no need to ask—this place had been attacked by monsters.

At that moment, both Raul and Leonardo sharply turned their heads at the same time. Among the wreckage, a thin, lifeless hand waved weakly.

"Help, please… my body… is trapped under the roof…"

The voice sounded hoarse, as though it had inhaled ash and smoke. Yet, no one moved hastily. With a signal to remain on alert, the knights stayed back, while only Leonardo, Raul, and I cautiously approached.

As we got closer to the wreckage, we could see the owner of the hand. Amid the fallen debris of a collapsed roof, only an arm managed to escape. When the presence of people approached, the hand moved feebly, tapping the ground desperately.

"Help…"

I stared at the hand with a dry heart.

[Accessing information of the designated entity.][Role – Nameless Ones]

The creature's shell is filled with a human, creating a new being that it devours and spawns. It's neither a monster nor that, and it can't be human either. 

"Don't be deceived."

Before the words are even spoken, Raul and Leonardo are already aiming their weapons.

The human hand, which had been moving desperately, suddenly stops. At the same time, the limp arm moves like a snake's tongue, slipping into the debris. From the darkness among the roof debris, a sound like a squeaky laugh can be heard. Then, it cheerfully exclaims:

"Found out! Found out! I've been found out!"

Raul warned.

"Knights, raise your shields!"

The roof rattles—then a black shadow shoots up, lifting the beam and raising the roof high. Slippery reptilian scales, swirling eyes, and a long, dark-red tongue are revealed. Its eyes dart back and forth at different angles, sneering. Then, its tongue flicks out, wrapping around the debris resting on its body, tossing it in all directions. Sharp shards of debris embed themselves into the soft ground like stakes.

"Heh heh, this smell! I remember, I remember. Ahhh—why just you? Why only you!"

It stares directly at me.

"A monster can talk now! Never heard of that before…!"

Ignoring the growing panic among the knights, I aim the crossbow. 

Clink, shiiing!

The silver arrow flies swiftly, only to be caught by its tongue. Mocking the failed attack, it grins again.

'Leo. Found it?'

「Yes.」

Leonardo charges forward, tilting his sword. The massive creature's side shows clear signs of meticulous stitching—well-hidden scars from earlier wounds. Before, it had carelessly left the seams exposed, but now, it seems to have "corrected" that.

He slides through the debris, raises his sword, and cleaves into the creature's side. In the space he cut, instead of blood, strange tissue bulges out, and soon the entire skin inflates, bursting apart with a loud pop.

"Duck!"

Debris scatters in the wind, scratching at our faces and hands as it flies by. When I lower the arm that had been shielding my face and look ahead, the creature's traces are gone, replaced by nothing but drifting ashes in the air.

"That one didn't destroy the entire village, did it?"

We exchange a tense glance, our faces stiff.

It was not a good sign.