…
Unwilling to wake… Unwilling to face it… Death is nothing but eternal slumber…
Must confront it… Must bear it… To die, one needs only to close their eyes…
Want to be free… Want to relax…
Together with all these feelings…
Along with hope…
My name is…
Realize everything and it will be done…
Vowed to surrender myself to death…
…
…
…
**
**
As the two sank deeper into sleep, time slipped by swiftly. Before they knew it, the pale sun had begun its descent from east to west, its color gradually stained a fading crimson.
Benjamin, who was steadily steering the carriage from the driver’s seat, saw that the sky was growing late. He glanced around, searching for a good spot to camp for the night.
Dinner wouldn’t be a problem—the forest was full of provisions. Even if they couldn’t find decent fruit or bag any good game, they could always gather some Quin mushrooms nearby and boil them into a soup to stave off hunger.
“Monsters are everywhere around here. We need to find a safe shelter.”
But that was easier said than done. Quin Forest was known among adventurers as the second largest and most dangerous “natural wonderland” after the Spirit-Light Grove. And while the Spirit-Light Grove was also called a “wonderland,” it was actually made up entirely of natural flora and fauna, with no spatial magic distortions or any extra dimensional components.
“Quin Forest… a place that strikes fear into countless adventurers. Alright, alright—where’s a good spot?”
When it came to choosing natural shelters in the wild, the top options were caves and open flatlands.
Caves offered protection from the wind and cold, made it easy to start a fire, and even if they ran into monsters, the defensive advantage would work in their favor.
Plains were the second choice. Low grass meant you didn’t even need a bedroll—it was a free mattress, and the wide-open space allowed for easy movement. But that was also the drawback: open plains offered no cover, and it was all too easy to get surrounded by a horde of monsters.
“Tough call. And besides, there’s nowhere nearby that’s really suitable anyway. The carriage is too conspicuous—I can’t just have Their Highnesses sleep in it. Human scent alone attracts monsters easily, let alone a carriage carrying dead bones.”
At that very moment, in the compartment behind him, lay the very Lord Lyle he served, Lord Winter, and the body of a girl who had still been speaking to him just half a day ago…
To be able to fall asleep beside a corpse—truly, one had to admire the willpower of those two.
“…Hazuki Torei, just how much favor did you earn from Lord Lyle? I wish you could tell me yourself. But there’s no chance now. Perhaps I shouldn’t have put you under hypnosis…?!”
As Benjamin spoke, his eyes, fixed on the road ahead, suddenly narrowed, his brow furrowing.
It was a wild boar—every muscle on its body and the steady puffs of breath from its snout exuded ferocity. It was staring straight at the carriage, just as Benjamin was staring at it.
“Oh my? Looks like dinner is settled.”
Benjamin let go of the reins, hopped lightly off the carriage, and strode ahead of the still-moving vehicle toward the boar at a brisk pace.
“How could I let a beast like you disturb Lord Lyle?”
He pulled a short blade from his sleeve, smirked, and in one step closed the distance. With a swift, practiced motion, he brought the blade down…
By the time Lyle and Winter woke up and caught the scent of roasting meat drifting in through the window, Benjamin had already finished butchering the boar.
He’d skewered the meat on wooden sticks, propped them on a rack made of other branches, and set it all over the fire. Now all that was left was to wait for the roast pork to finish.
“Hey, Benjamin (yawn)—is that wild boar? Nice work, man.”
Winter had actually slept, but the thought of sleeping next to a corpse had made him feel uneasy, so he’d woken up a few times. With nothing else to do, he’d just lain back down, so he was probably feeling pretty alert.
“Hey, Winter, is it really okay to leave the little one alone in the carriage?”
Lyle kept glancing back at the carriage parked to the side, his mind lingering on the girl lying inside. But his thoughts were cut short by Winter shoving a skewer of roasted meat his way.
“Since things have already come this far, Lord Lyle, it’s time to let go of the past. Here—eat some meat!”
“…Lord Lyle, there are still some things about Miss Hazuki I haven’t told you. Since Winter is here too now, I might as well say them all.”
“Hm? (chewing) Information about the little one?! Lord Lyle, might be worth a listen!”
“Sigh… What is it, Benjamin? Go ahead.”
Noticing Lyle’s unusual reaction, Benjamin hesitated for a moment, then let out a resigned sigh and began to speak at length…
**
“Why would someone as strong as you cave to a moment of despair?”
[I think she’s been putting on a brave face all along. Who knew she’d end up signing her own death warrant… At the end of the day, if she hadn’t held out hope for reuniting with her companions, she probably wouldn’t have felt so utterly hopeless, either.]
“But that’s still no reason to be unwilling to face survival—”
[Tsk tsk tsk, that’s where you’re wrong. People are incredibly sensitive about what’s in their hearts. One wrong move and you hit their breaking point.]
“I don’t get what you’re saying. Whatever—bottom line is, I’ll find a way to bring her back, whether through stimulation or threats.”
[Hehe, Xia, you’ve changed too. At first, you were so resistant—I was worried you wouldn’t be able to adapt to life here.]
“P-people change, you know.”
**
(Please… don’t hand me over to those people…)
(Miss Hazuki… thought you were someone she could trust…)
Why—I’m already dead. I shouldn’t be able to… my body feels nothing. No sight, no hearing… I’m just dead. But why won’t my inner voice stop?
(I want to ask you for help… to help me go home…)
I don’t want to hear her voice anymore… It’s so annoying. Can’t even death give me peace? Stop bothering me… I don’t care what her reasons are.
(Maybe Elfe was forced into it…)
I don’t care. All my efforts, and in the end, I just ended up taking her blade for myself.
(Why won’t you just think it through again…)
I’ve thought enough. I’ve racked my brains countless times along the way and I’m sick of it.
And who are you? Some knight trying to save me from the abyss?
(…Looks like you don’t need meditation—Uwaaaah!!!)
The actual effect of soul-eating… don’t worry. You won’t die—at least, not like I did.
(What did you do to me?!!)
You seem to resent me, don’t you?… I just attacked your soul, that’s all.
(What?! How can you—!)
“Because I am, in a sense, a god.”
**
**
**
After listening to Benjamin’s account, Lyle nodded with interest and brought the wooden bowl filled with meat stew to his lips, savoring it slowly.
“By the way, you actually know how to cook? And half roasted, half stewed—nice touch.”
“Lord Lyle, surely you’re not implying your servant has a bad memory? I recall accompanying you on outings as a child, and we camped outdoors many times…”
After gulping down a bowl of stew, Lyle let out a wry chuckle and handed the bowl back to Benjamin.
“I really did forget. Who remembers things from childhood? Besides, when I was at the academy, I gave you time off, didn’t I? Maybe that blank period made me forget.”
He rested his hand behind his head, his expression shifting naturally. Whenever he felt awkward, Lyle always made that gesture—Benjamin, having followed him for years, knew it all too well.
“Sigh. I wonder how the mayor manages to discipline you.” Even so, Benjamin still filled Lyle’s bowl to the brim with broth.
Suddenly, another bowl appeared in his hand—clearly shoved in by someone. The man with the rifle on his back was sitting cross-legged to the side, whistling a tuneless tune…
“Lord Winter, there’s no need to be shy with me. If you want to eat, just say so.”
“Ah?… Well, I thought you might not want to share.”
Winter scratched his head and took the wooden bowl filled to the brim with stew… Then, all of a sudden, he sensed something. He quickly set the bowl down and stood up.
“Lyle, we’ve got company.”
From not too far away came the sound of light footsteps—as soft as drizzling rain—but all three of them still caught it.
“Yeah, footsteps… single person… a child… Hmm, what do you think—a wild kid drawn by the smell of food?”
“If that were the case, we’d have spotted him by now. Besides, I’ve never heard of any wild child carrying such powerful magical energy fluctuations.”
“Lyle, there’s a magical reaction—and it’s strong. Here it comes!”
The moment the words left his mouth, a powerful shockwave burst outward from the road not far away, sweeping across the three of them who were set up on the grass.
Winter and Lyle had braced themselves, but they were still knocked to the ground. Benjamin didn’t escape either—along with the roasting boar and the stew, everything went flying…
“Aaah!! All my hard work this afternoon!”
Lyle and Winter paid no mind to Benjamin’s wailing. Instead, they fixed their eyes on the source of the impact—looking toward the road, they could see multiple square-shaped prisms, their ■■■+—)(*&%ED■■■■B+｝｛:PL《
“:｛P《MNBVT…&IOP{}■■■■)(T…R%DRTVBNJerorr&…%￥()404■■■■, with 891dk■■■■iwYOUWIL—)(L&…%￥PAY
■■■■■■■■
*Zone: Qui■■■n Forest■■——Massive ■■■■ anomaly detected
*Emergency ■■■processing■■■■
*Sending repair ■ notice
*Clos■■■ing 【Meditation Corridor】 entrance
*Emergency containment in progress
*System crash■■■
*Requesting ■■■■ manual intervention
————————
————————
————————
————————
Drip, drop
The sound of dripping water echoes through the corridor
Slap, slap
Corpses lie scattered throughout the passage
Rush, rush, rush
The sound of water comes—the sound of water flows
Look, look.
All those who once fell have risen again.
See with your own eyes.
How sharp their weapons gleam.
Hehe~ Can’t you see anymore?
How tragic. Sit down with us and think—what should we do?
Come, come
Come, come
“Wha？ you saying are t—”
…
Welcome to the 【Meditation Corridor】 .
