"What are we going to do now, seriously!"
Argartha was screaming at us, her voice shrill.
She had been like this ever since the Vice-Captain, after hearing our answers, told us to wait and then disappeared from the spot.
I mean, you agreed to do it too, and now you're suddenly having second thoughts?
As the Hunter and I looked at Argartha with blank expressions, she seemed on the verge of losing it, thrashing her bound body like a salmon flopping on land.
Honestly, thanks to Super Coward Mode, Outer Gods no longer appeared frightening to me; they had ceased to be objects of fear.
I couldn't help but think, Eh, we handled something on the level of the Warden so well, what could possibly be scary from now on?
"Stop making such a careless face! It makes me even angrier!"
As if she had reached the level of reading my mind, Argartha pointed a finger at me, losing her temper.
She usually just laughs things off, but why is she so sensitive about this sort of thing?
"Be quiet."
"Ha, right! As if I can be quiet. You've fought Outer Gods several times, so you might not be worried, but I'm not!"
"Then do you want to crawl like a dog under that bastard's thumb?"
'That bastard' probably refers to the Vice-Captain.
I agree with the Hunter.
I didn't understand why the community praised the Knight Order so much.
Still, being under the Princess who rules Rondane, there must be some benefits.
I'd also seen posts listing the advantages you could gain by joining the Knight Order.
As I was thinking that, Argartha pointed at the Hunter and shouted.
"Don't use such extreme word choices to elicit strange answers! We agreed to call that a 'safe life'!"
"Ms. Argartha, please calm down first..."
"Shut up! You indecisive, mentally ill, Outer God-lover!"
I tried to calm Argartha down by waving my hands, but she just spat it out bluntly.
Wait, you said it was fine since it was only an attempt!
And I never did it in the first place!
"Ah, it's over... I shouldn't have answered like that! My life, which could have flowed smoothly, is now completely tangled up again!"
The strength gradually drained from Argartha's voice, and she finally leaned against the wall as if she were about to collapse.
That thief!
She doesn't even realize I saved her from near death, and now she's being so shameless!
This time, I couldn't stand it anymore. I approached Argartha and held my hand out in front of her forehead...
Flick!
"Ow! Are you crazy? Do you really want to fight or what!"
"Calm down, Ms. Argartha. You didn't actually plan to really join the Knight Order anyway, right?"
"W-well, that's true, but..."
"Then this is the best choice. Don't get so worked up; let's just think about what we need to do now."
When I finished speaking, Argartha was staring at me as if she'd seen the most amazing thing in the world.
I had no idea what that look meant, so I gave her a questioning look. Argartha spoke quietly, almost reciting.
"...The mental patient made a logical statement."
"..."
"No, I'm the normal one. I'm the two-eyed person in the land of the blind!"
She just had to get the last word in!
Sigh, let it go.
Let's call it even for the flick on the forehead earlier, I rationalized to myself.
As the situation finally calmed down, I began to hear soft, squishing footsteps.
It seemed the Vice-Captain, who had disappeared earlier, was returning.
"You're all still here. I thought at least one of you might have run away. Well, running away would have meant immediate execution, of course."
I wondered why he had told us to wait and then left.
Just as I was curious, the Vice-Captain spoke.
"Come in."
Three personnel followed behind her, and among them was a familiar face.
The timid female knight who carried the axe.
She was one of the trio who had come to the prison.
"Vice-Captain, so what is it that we need to do?"
"Do you see the individuals before you?"
At the Vice-Captain's words, the two unfamiliar faces stepped forward and scrutinized us.
They had expressions that looked slightly like they were looking at trash.
"Yes, they're the prisoners from the underground prison. What about these bastards?"
"Each of you, pick one and take them to deal with an Outer God."
I could see their pupils constrict at those words.
"Did... did I hear that wrong?"
"You heard correctly. Hunting Outer Gods solo is a criminal act. Therefore, you will accompany them."
"Aren't there better seniors than us?"
"You know they're busy with their own duties. You, who were deemed unsuitable for Outer God hunting, are reserve personnel. But you can handle the task of accompanying and supervising these individuals. In this situation where everyone is busy, you're the only personnel available for dispatch."
Hearing that, the knights seemed to concede, as if acknowledging the point.
Are the Knight Order's circumstances that bad?
Well, they are a group that fights Outer Gods; it makes sense they wouldn't have many suitable personnel.
Even if they did, they would never assign high-level personnel to us criminals.
"Right, it might be a bit much to just tell you to pick randomly."
"Here is the prisoner list. Their charges and personal information are written here. Review it."
The knights who took the paper held out by the Vice-Captain read it and let out sounds like "Ugh."
"Hey, hey. What's this 'Attempted Rape of an Outer God'?"
"Madness. Is... is this a real crime? How could anyone even commit such a crime?"
"Y-yeah... I wonder..."
...I wanted to ignore it, but it was impossible, as they were so blatantly talking about me.
'Raydan' gets the pleasure, and I get the punishment.
How fucked up.
"I will also inform each of you about the Outer Gods you need to handle. Understand their characteristics well and choose carefully. If these guys die, you might die too."
"But aren't these the ones who defeated the Warden? We're just trainee knights; how are we supposed to manage them?"
"Don't worry."
The Vice-Captain pulled something out from his chest and stamped us with it.
A deformed bear shape appeared on the stamped area. Despite looking like a stamp, it stung like red medicine on a wound.
"It's a seal made from the finger of a Contractee. A vow made with this is absolutely binding unless something extraordinary happens. The criminals will not be able to refuse your orders related to this mission."
The Vice-Captain sighed as if tired.
"I'm busy, so I'll return to the Firewood Pile. Damn it, to be honest, I've already spent too much time here."
"So, I expect meaningful results."
Even as he said that, his demeanor showed no expectation.
He clearly didn't believe we could actually take down an Outer God.
Hmm, well. It's a bit... you know.
The Vice-Captain looked at the pink-haired girl as she left, and she averted her gaze with a troubled expression, her eyes hardening.
After the Vice-Captain disappeared, the remaining knights looked over the documents with serious expressions and spoke.
"Since it's come to this, there's no helping it. Let's decide the order through a fair duel."
"Ah, don't tell me... that?"
"...Uhm, that's scary... Can't we not do it?"
I don't know what they plan to do to be sweating cold sweat and talking like that.
But their grave expressions made me unconsciously tense up and focus.
What he pulled out was a single marble. He placed it on the floor and recited something.
Then, a girl's voice came from the marble, didn't it?
A fair and square match. If not, you die.
The knights hugged their heads and began taking deep breaths.
"...I don't know what it's saying, but it's still a creepy voice. Alright, ready?"
"Can we not reverse what's decided by this?"
"...Yes, ugh... Can't we just decide normally?"
"This way, there will be no complaints later."
They gradually distanced themselves, moving away, and began to hyper-focus.
Then, they all raised their hands simultaneously and shouted as they brought them down...
"Rock, Paper, Scissors!"
You crazy bastards!
Don't act so grave over something like that!
Wait, is this also coming through a filter?
After several fierce rounds of Rock-Paper-Scissors, they finally seemed to have decided the picking order.
"...Finally!!!"
"Nice!"
"...Ah, no!"
Unfortunately, it seemed the axe-wielding girl came in last.
Argartha glanced at them and whispered in my ear.
"That's rigged."
"Huh?"
"I can clearly see them using hand tricks to fool that marble thing. Is that marble fake? Or is it fixed?"
It looked like a genuine Outer God artifact, though...
Around the time I was thinking that, the knight who won first place strode over proudly and extended his hand to the Hunter.
So, he goes to the one with the highest probability of hunting an Outer God.
"Your record says you have extensive experience hunting Outer Gods. Let's work well together."
As he said that, he tore off the Hunter's blue tape. The Hunter smacked the knight's offered hand away with the back of his own hand and walked off leisurely.
"Don't get in my way."
"...He's got quite the temper? I like it."
For some reason, the knight, who seemed pleased, glanced at me once and then followed the Hunter.
That knight is going to be a pain until the end.
I let out a sigh. The Hunter turned his head towards me once.
I could roughly guess what he wanted to say, so I nodded. The Hunter, without a word, started walking his path again.
Yeah, we'll meet again.
It's safest to be near the protagonist, so I must reunite with the Hunter by any means necessary.
As I thought that, the next knight approached Argartha.
"Sigh, a female thief. Well, at least her face is easy on the eyes."
Hearing that, Argartha turned her head to me with an expression full of disgust.
I could almost hear her saying, 'Did you hear what this guy said?!'
It's a bit cringey to say something like that out of the blue, I guess.
Regardless, the knight tore off Argartha's blue tape, then grabbed her wrist and pulled.
"Anyway, we have the objective of taking down an Outer God. Don't even think about running away; fulfill the mission given to you."
"Ah, I get it, so let go of my hand!"
Argartha shook off the knight's hand in disgust and began following him.
...Argartha's future looks bleak too, I thought.
As I was thinking that, a presence approached me.
It was, of course, that knight.
"...Ugh, I didn't think I'd see you again here."
"I had no idea either."
Making a sound like "Hueh...", she even tore off the blue tape binding my hands.
With my body free, I felt a sense of mental liberation too.
It's true that if the mind doesn't break, the body won't break, but it's also true that if the body breaks, the mind breaks too.
"L-let's hurry and go too. I think it's better to deal with the Outer God assigned to us quickly."
"Yes, I understand."
"A-and, take this. It's Knight Order supplies, but it should be better than nothing."
What she gave me were three items that looked like stick candy.
"What is this?"
It's Knight Order equipment, so it can't be just ordinary candy.
Thinking the Coward Filter must be applied, I asked, and the answer was shocking.
"They're made from low-tier Outer Gods, so the quality isn't great, but one enhances physical functions, and one soothes and stabilizes the mind. And the last one is... for suicide. It's good to take this when you think it's truly hopeless."
"I'll keep that in mind."
...Watching her talk about the suicide pill so casually and accept it so calmly gave me a strange feeling.
So this is a Snow Castle knight.
I looked at the three candies in my hand.
Aside from the physical enhancement, they don't seem very useful.
...I hope I don't accidentally eat the wrong one.
"Let's go quickly now."
Following the knight's guidance, I realized I didn't know what to call her.
To naturally learn her name, I should introduce myself first.
"My name is Raydan Tanton."
"...You c-can just call me... M-Muyeon."
I remember seeing in the community that she was called the Martial God's Daughter.
Is it a nickname?
They use nicknames a lot in this world view.
Well, the Hunter also erased his name to avoid being targeted by Outer Gods.
I've been giving my name out freely; is that okay?
Well, I was fine with the Warden, so it should be alright.
"Nice to meet you, Muyeon."
"Y-yes..."
And so, we set off to hunt an Outer God.
"B-by the way... you're not planning to do... that kind of thing with the Outer God, are you?"
"No, I'm not!"
It seemed it would take some time to clear up this misunderstanding.
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