Chapter 33
The Man Himself Appears
After receiving permission to leave the district, Meursault, Taejeong, Stay-at-home Wifey, and I geared up and gathered in front of the district entrance.
The moment Stay-at-home Wifey saw me, he shrieked.
“Call me out more often! The army is freaking hell!!”
Good grief, what a useless piece of trash.
It was embarrassing with Meursault watching.
Contrary to my expectations, however, Meursault was looking at Stay-at-home Wifey with warm eyes.
“…Why are you looking at him more gently than you look at me?”
“It has been a long time since I saw a child acting appropriately for his age.”
That bastard is twenty years old…
“But is it really all right for just us to go outside the district?”
When Taejeong asked with remarkable maturity, Meursault nodded.
“Today, we are only going out to test whether the locations of monster gems can truly be identified, and whether the newly developed combat rations are suitable for young soldiers. We will not be going far from the district, and I will not allow you to do anything dangerous, so please rest assured.”
She wouldn’t allow us to do anything dangerous?
Was that supposed to be directed at me?
Well, even so, this was tremendous progress.
When I had first suggested going hunting, Meursault had repeated that it was out of the question like a prayer, as though I had announced that I was going out to die.
She lined the three of us up and spoke.
“This morning, soldiers at the observation post spotted a wounded fur crocodile, a large-class monster, wandering nearby. The subjugation season is approaching, so it was likely driven out after losing a territorial battle against other monsters in the central region. They said it was bleeding heavily, so it should have collapsed somewhere nearby by now.”
Even before we gathered, I had seen from atop the watchtower that a vivid trail of blood—presumably left by the wounded fur crocodile—stretched across the snowfield.
It should not be difficult to find.
“Ordinarily, this would have been left to the observation-post soldiers. But if the method Lord Haydam described for identifying a gem’s location is genuine, we should be able to locate the fur crocodile’s gem immediately without badly damaging its body. Our goal is to deal with it and return before the moon rises.”
“Before the moon rises” was an extremely important rule in the world of Safe Zone.
It was the reason a monster’s gem always had to be destroyed when killing it.
Monsters in Safe Zone could be killed by shattering their gems.
Conversely, it also meant that as long as their gems remained intact, they would not die.
That was because any wounds suffered by a monster whose gem remained undamaged would regenerate under moonlight.
Naturally, whether or not someone could visually identify the location of each monster’s differently positioned gem was a matter of great importance.
“Well… I specialize in ones that charge at me, but I don’t mind if it’s already collapsed.”
Meursault looked at me in surprise.
“Are you saying it is easier to determine the gem’s location in a moving specimen than in one that remains still?”
“Of course. Most living creatures instinctively protect their weak points when they still have enough strength to move.”
“That is a perspective I have never considered…”
“Anyway, finding it won’t be difficult. You convince the officers for me, Meursault.”
“Do you truly intend to exclude the officers from this subjugation campaign?”
That was right.
I had no intention of taking the officers with us this time.
That applied both to the pro-Daphne officers, whose only experience in actual combat consisted of staying in the rear before returning safely, and to the pro-Hayden officers, who had plenty of combat experience but were now too old to contribute much to our fighting strength.
We were planning to deploy an elite force in small numbers anyway.
More importantly, whenever officers participated in the first subjugation campaign in the game, the main event inevitably turned into a rescue mission for them.
This was no longer a game, but there was no reason to leave room for such a dangerous event to occur.
“I don’t need soldiers who can’t contribute in battle. They’ll only get in the way.”
“I suppose I really will have to persuade them myself. If you said that to their faces, they would hate you immediately. Though those people will probably be delighted if they are told they do not have to participate in the campaign…”
Come to think of it, I had not met the officers since my encounter with Daphne.
Would the pro-Daphne officers hold a grudge against me over what had happened that day?
News of the training simulation must have reached them as well…
I was curious how Anton, Plato’s father, had reacted.
***
The day after the training simulation, Anton, the leader of the pro-Daphne faction, visited the military academy and shared a meal with his son, Plato.
“So… how does it feel to have lost to a ten-year-old child?”
At Anton’s question, Plato set down his fork and answered.
“I learned that there are heights in this world that some people can never hope to reach.”
Anton clicked his tongue.
“You mean to say that you lost because Lord Haydam was simply too exceptional?”
“That would be correct.”
“That is quite the grand excuse for losing to a ten-year-old. I clearly warned you not to let your guard down.”
“I did not let my guard down. Lord Haydam was simply far superior to me.”
Anton shook his head at Plato’s stubborn answer.
He had deliberately raised his son without prejudice because he did not want even his own child to become politically biased.
However, Anton had not expected him to lose to a ten-year-old without displaying the slightest frustration.
From the moment he heard that Plato would participate in a mock exercise against Haydam, Anton had considered the possibility that his son might lose.
His son was far too honest and straightforward compared to the cunning commander’s child.
Even so, Anton had allowed Plato to participate because he believed that losing to Haydam might finally give his son the opportunity to experience an inferiority complex for the first time.
Instead, Plato had ended up being inspired by Haydam.
Lady Daphne had instructed them to maintain friendly relations with Haydam for the time being, but still…
“And he truly knew the name of the neighbor’s dog.”
“What are you talking about now?”
“He knew that the dog in the yard across the street was named Winter.”
“Winter?”
“Yes. He said it was named Winter because it was born during the winter.”
Anton burst out laughing.
“Why are you laughing?”
“You were completely fooled.”
“Pardon?”
“The dog across the street is named Edwin. It belongs to a neighbor I have known since I was young, so I know it well.”
“Are you saying Lord Haydam lied? He spoke as though it were a name he had known for an extremely long time…”
“He knew there was no chance you would have memorized the name of some dog across the street, so he simply made up a random name.”
“As expected of Lord Haydam. He is remarkably skilled at thinking on his feet as well.”
“You hopeless fool. I’m leaving first.”
Although Plato was his own son, Anton found it pathetic that everything he said somehow ended in praise for Haydam.
He rose from his seat and left ahead of him.
On the way home, Anton spotted the neighbor shoveling snow in front of his house.
Just to be certain, Anton stopped his car and called out through the window.
“Excuse me.”
“My goodness, Lord Anton! It has been a long time. Have you been well?”
“I have. But did you not own a dog? What was its name again?”
“Edwin, Lord Anton.”
“Ah…”
Anton had been nervously afraid that the name Winter might come out of the man’s mouth.
Only then was he able to relax and smile.
Apparently finding Anton’s behavior strange, the neighbor tilted his head.
“Is something the matter?”
“No. Someone mistakenly believed your dog’s name was Winter.”
At those words, however, the neighbor looked startled.
“How did you know?”
Anton’s heart sank as an ominous realization struck him.
“…What do you mean, how did I know?”
“Edwin gave birth to a puppy a few days ago. Since spring—the subjugation season—is nearly here, I was planning to name it April if it was born in spring, and Winter if it was born during the winter. But she delivered safely a few days ago. The puppy is still young, so I have never taken it outside. I was surprised that you already knew its name.”
A puppy born just a few days ago… named Winter?
It had already been several weeks since Haydam declared at the officers’ meeting that he even knew the name of the dog in the neighbor’s yard.
How could Haydam possibly know the name of a puppy that had not even been born yet?
No. Come to think of it, Winter isn’t exactly an unusual name. It must have been a lucky guess.
Anton felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
But because he could not determine exactly why he felt that way, the vague foreboding only grew worse.
***
We began trudging across the snowfield in search of the fur crocodile, our feet sinking deeply with every step.
Taejeong, being the tallest and therefore having the widest field of view, walked at the very front. Stay-at-home Wifey and I followed in the middle, while Meursault came directly behind us.
“They really whipped up those combat rations in no time.”
Whether he had never learned that he was supposed to watch the path ahead while walking or had simply forgotten, Stay-at-home Wifey took out a piece of star candy and examined it from every angle before asking me,
“So, did you find out anything about Lunamoon?”
What a careless idiot.
“What? Why aren’t you answering?”
“Meursault is right behind us.”
“We’re speaking Korean. How would she understand?”
“Lunamoon is still Lunamoon in English.”
“Ah…”
This bastard…
His English had improved, but his intelligence had remained exactly the same.
“And Meursault is smart. She could probably understand the general meaning of Korean just from the nuance.”
Stay-at-home Wifey made a face as though he understood, then tried again.
“Dwid you fw find out anyfing about Wunamoon?”
“…Stop. You look genuinely pathetic.”
“You bastard!”
Stay-at-home Wifey looked ready to grab me by the collar, but Meursault, who was following behind us, cleared her throat.
Stay-at-home Wifey glanced at her and lowered his hand.
After giving him a mocking look, I asked,
“Have you practiced healing in the army?”
“Of course. I can probably heal someone else now, as long as I’m touching them.”
What?
He had already developed his ability that far?
…Was he much more talented than I had thought?
Well, considering his intelligence and personality, he needed to have talent in at least one area…
“I can tell just from your face that you’re looking down on me in your head, you bastard.”
“No, that was the expression of someone feeling proud of you.”
“Don’t give me that!”
“Stop fighting.”
Unable to bear watching us bicker any longer, Meursault spoke from behind us.
“I understand that you are close, but you need to know where to draw the line. It is fine right now because I am the only one here, but you must not behave like this in an official setting. You could end up in the guardhouse.”
Stay-at-home Wifey looked slightly dejected and nodded.
Even he was not stupid enough to call the commander’s son “you bastard” in front of other people.
…Probably.
At that moment, Taejeong, who had been walking silently ahead of us, stopped and turned around.
“There is something over there.”
I looked in the direction he pointed and saw something enormous covered in shaggy white fur, lying limply on the ground.
“Is it unconscious? Should I wake it up?”
“Hey!”
Without the slightest caution, Stay-at-home Wifey packed some snow into a ball and tossed it at the creature.
It did not react.
“Be more careful.”
Stay-at-home Wifey merely shrugged at my warning.
As we approached the fur crocodile, I saw that a thick layer of snow had accumulated over its body.
It must have been unconscious for quite a while.
I circled around it, first searching for the wound the observation-post soldiers had reported.
The fur made it difficult to notice at first, but I soon spotted blood clotted into the fur along its right flank.
It defended itself with its right side.
It had collapsed facedown on its belly.
Left abdomen.
Without hesitation, I pressed the muzzle of my gun against the left side of the fur crocodile’s back and fired so that the bullet would pass through into its abdomen.
Along with the wet sound of flesh rupturing, there came a brittle crack as something shattered.
The unconscious creature died without even getting the chance to resist.
Meursault stared at me blankly.
“…Was that the sound of its gem shattering?”
It was nothing impressive once you knew how it worked, yet she seemed genuinely stunned.
I jerked my chin toward Taejeong and Stay-at-home Wifey.
“Turn it over and show her.”
“Yes!”
“Why are you ordering me around…?”
Stay-at-home Wifey complained, but he still helped Taejeong flip the fur crocodile over.
When fragments of the shattered gem embedded in its left abdomen came spilling out, Meursault looked back and forth between me and the broken gem in disbelief.
“Are you going to keep staring with that stupid expression?”
“N-No. Once we return, I will have to persuade the officers.”
Even as she said that, Meursault continued touching the spot where the fur crocodile’s gem had been, as though she still could not believe it.
“The meat might taste terrible, but the pelt is useful, right? Tell them to come collect it.”
“Ah… We need to bring it back as evidence anyway. I will fire a signal flare.”
Meursault hurriedly took out a flare and fired it.
A white flash silently shot into the cloudless sky.
It might have seemed like it would attract monsters, but that white light was a signal invisible to their eyes.
“It ended so quickly that we didn’t even get to test the combat rations.”
“Take the star candy with you and eat it later. Don’t forget to test its ‘performance’ while you’re at it.”
Both of them understood that I meant they should injure themselves before eating it, and their expressions darkened.
They were both adults, but their current bodies belonged to children, so I did not want to order them to harm themselves either.
But it could not be helped.
If they did not grow accustomed to healing, they would die before ever reaching adulthood.
Just then—
Vroooom—
“…?”
A sound resembling an engine came from somewhere nearby.
Apparently, I was not the only one who heard it. Stay-at-home Wifey and Taejeong both turned toward the district.
“We only just fired the signal flare. Are they already coming?”
But the sound was far too close to be approaching from the direction of the district.
It was almost as though…
It’s coming from above us.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, a cold wind swept over us and an ominous shadow fell across our heads.
“What’s this? You’ve got Meursault following you around?”
“…?!”
All four of us flinched at the voice coming from overhead and sprang to our feet.
The moment we stood, we aimed our guns toward the sky.
A young man in a white coat stood on a hoverboard, gazing calmly down at us.
“What… the hell…?”
He had suddenly appeared from the sky.
He was riding a hoverboard.
And he had spoken as though he knew Meursault personally.
It was not an entrance that could be easily accepted.
Nevertheless, I knew this man.
And I was not the only person here who recognized that face.
Stay-at-home Wifey muttered in a dazed voice,
“…Dopamine Addict?”