"Hey! You alive or not?" The man said, kicking Hiroki's head with his boot. He was dressed in worn leather and rough-spun cloth, with streaks of green and brown earth smudged across his face, helping him blend into the forest.
"Hehe, what a lucky find for me; the boss will be so happy!" he said, his rugged hands touching Hiroki's dark hair. "Lungs, heart, kidneys… even the eyes would sell for a very high price, and look at this face, it is one of a kind. Hmm, you don't seem from around here," he added with a bit of confusion before continuing his rant. "An even rarer find indeed, hehehe!"
He let go of Hiroki's head, which hit the ground with a thud, then walked toward the equipment he had hidden in the bushes. He bent down, face toward the ground, searching through his things.He spoke into something in his hand — a small stone.
Suddenly, he saw the shadow on the ground becoming larger on the ground, as if something blocked the sun. He quickly looked back, placing himself in a perfect position for a… power SLAP!
A violent burst of compressed air exploded outward the moment Hiroki's palm connected. Leaves tore from branches, dust spiraled upward, and the ground itself rippled as if struck by a shockwave.
The man was blasted into a nearby tree, where he collided with a painful thwack. The cracking of his bones could be heard.
"You thought you had me, eh?" Hiroki said, somehow having bypassed the poison. "Good thing I focused on drinking a potion while falling from that height instead of grabbing the tree trunk or a branch. That would have given the poison time to circulate further as it would have taken more muscle movement hence more blood flow, making me unable to move at all, not just my legs."
"How… how did you resist the poison?" the man gasped, blood splattering from his mouth, his crushed hands barely able to move.His face was visible now, and a small black necklace with white patterns — a white goose symbol — hung from his neck.
Hiroki noticed it. "It looks so bad… so unprofessional," he thought.
"So, why not tell me who you are before I give you another slap?" Hiroki said with a sharp edge in his voice. "And what's your operation? Why did you shoot me? What is this place, and where is the nearest town?"
The man chuckled, a bloody, gurgling sound escaping his lips. "You ask too many questions. And you're just a kid. You'll never know anything." He spat blood at Hiroki's feet.
"Well, what I'm about to do seems unprofessional and illegal, but since I'm a foreigner to this world's rules, I'll do it just this once!" Hiroki declared. He began poking and pressing on the man's injuries — a light form of torture.
"AHHHHH!" the man screamed.
"Don't act like that hurts you that much. Come on!" Hiroki replied, disgusted at his own actions.
"Ohhhh... and you have nice boots, I will take them!"
He quickly stripped the man of his fine boots and wore them.
It was then that he noticed the necklace of the white goose again. He grabbed it with his right hand while standing up.The man stopped screaming and stared at him in confusion.
"This seems interesting," Hiroki said, removing the necklace from his neck.
The man's eyes widened. "Are you an idiot, you BASTARD!" he shouted — just before his head exploded like a balloon.
Blood splattered everywhere, covering Hiroki's face.
"What!...."
"WHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"
He screamed in horror, threw the necklace as far as he could, and ran like a madman. At top speed, he reached a small cliff and fell into a lake below.
***
Hiroki frantically scrubbed his face and arms, the cold water stinging his skin as he tried to wash away the sticky, warm blood. He splashed water over his head again and again, the image of the exploding head burned into his mind. Finally, feeling somewhat clean, he crawled onto the shore and sat, trembling.
Deep in thought, he tried to calm himself."Well, shit happens, I guess. A man died, but it's not my fault… really. This world operates on different rules, and I… I just didn't know them!"
"Yeah, that seems to be my fault… No, it's not, goddammit!" he roared, rubbing his hair frantically and pulling at the roots as if trying to rip the memory out of his mind.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of approaching hoofbeats, a rhythm heavier and more resonant than any he had heard on Earth. He looked to his left and saw a caravan of people dressed in strange, vibrant clothing. They were riding mounts that looked like horses but were sturdier, with thick, muscular legs and broad hooves. The caravan came to a halt. A man with a commanding presence stepped out and approached the now-standing Hiroki.
"Hello, it is a pleasure to be in your presence!" said the man, his face beaming with a bright smile.
This man... is he insane? Hiroki thought, a bewildered expression on his face. Who the heck is he saying this to? Me? I wasn't even here two days ago! Is he confusing me with someone else?'
"Do you know of me?" he replied, his voice laced with confusion.
The man, still smiling but with a hint of guilt, said, "Well, I don't know you, but the sword you have speaks volumes of a man of your caliber!"
Oh, I see. He misunderstood it then.
"Could we give you a ride? It's quite crowded in there, but it's fast, if you have no ride, of course."
This is so cool, he thought. "Of course, I would love to!" he said, carrying his water-soaked body to the carriage. The caravan carried some water with them from the river and started the journey.
---
Inside the single caravan, eight people were packed tightly—four on a side. The cramped space meant they sat shoulder-to-shoulder, the firm leather benches pressing uncomfortably against their thighs. Despite the squeeze, the carriage was spotless. There was no discernible smell, neither good nor bad; the only scent that reached Hiroki's nose was the faint, lingering trace of his own body.
A lantern hung from a wooden beam in the center of the ceiling. Its design was archaic, like something from early 18th-century Europe, crafted with brass filigree and thin glass panels. Oddly, the flames burned blue, casting a surreal, cold glow across the faces of the passengers.
The journey continued for hours, punctuated by soft chatter and the occasional creak of the wheels over uneven terrain.
"So… if you don't mind me asking," the previous man said, leaning slightly forward, "which lord do you serve?"
Hiroki tilted his head slightly, thought quickly. "Sorry, that's something I can't tell you. But… he has long hair. That much can be said."
The man smiled faintly, satisfied with a fragmentary answer. Hiroki continued to deflect every probing question, giving vague responses, yet he remained composed, unshaken by the persistent curiosity. The man pressed on, thinking it didn't make him uncomfortable.
Night had fallen.
Outside, the world had dissolved into black nothingness. Inside, the blue lantern lit the interior with a quiet, spectral brilliance. The man's questions slowed for a moment, his face showing a flicker of emotion—something subtle, almost unreadable.
Then, abruptly, the lantern flickered. The gentle sway of the carriage seemed different—off rhythm, erratic. And then the lantern went out completely.
Dark it was Absolute, not a particle of light remained.
"Hey! Coachman! The lantern's gone out—bring in more stones!" the man shouted.
"Sorry, sir… my apologies," the coachman replied, voice tight.
The man also apologized.
It all seemed normal, their tone was normal and unsuspicious.
It was all clever trick, Hiroki thought.
After all, in pure darkness, how could any ordinary person see?
The almost imperceptible exchange of positions with decoys, the subtle grabbing of hidden weapons from their bags, the shifting of their bodies to block the exits—every movement was so small it would have gone unnoticed by an ordinary human.
But Hiroki wasn't ordinary.
Every calculated and practiced motion of the seven men in the carriage—the gestures they had rehearsed, the way they tried to coordinate in the dark—was clear to him as if the lantern was still on.
The man with the bright smile who had been chatting with him now revealed a face full of greed and malice- a face he found identical with the man who had his head popped.
Everyone in the carriage had the same exact necklace—
A Goose.
His eyes glimmered with a predatory hunger, teeth clenched, shoulders tense—the embodiment of someone ready to kill.
They couldn't see Hiroki's face — if they could, his sharp, entertained grin would have terrified them. He glanced to his right, where a man raised a flute designed to shoot poison, aiming straight at him.
Hiroki said, "Well… gentlemen—"
"Yes," the man replied, voice low and dripping with malice, eyes narrowed and hands twitching, ready to strike.
"Your path… ends here."
Sparks burst across Hiroki's palms. Balls of fire formed instantly—and then exploded inside the cramped carriage.Everything happened in a heartbeat — before they could react, horror twisted their faces.
BOOM!
Flames erupted, engulfing the passengers, consuming the carriage. The vehicle exploded outward as the mounts reared and screamed, stumbling violently to the side. A hellish glow lit the night sky.
"I have found light… before your coachman did. Be thankful!"
"....YOU BASTARDS!!!"