Chapter 42
The Raceof Beautiful People
I started to move while hiding my presence .
An opponent who gives off this kind of intimidation…
I still can’t determine if it’s an enemy .
However, I already had a guess based on the conversation that those four people had before .
“This is the wrong guy, right?”
“But, as expected I couldn’t put my hands towards the prey…”
It may come from the one they were chasing .
[Nevertheless… I think that the one they’re chasing after had the intention to fight back . ]
He plans to attack from the front huh…
If he plans to launch a surprise attack, he should have erased his presence .
But, he have such a stupidly deep fighting spirit full of simpleness .
It’s as if he’s intentionally expressing his defiance .
Is he that confident with his abilities?
Or is it that he’s just stupidly honest?
I pick up one of the thick branches nearby .
Hyuuu…
I threw it somewhere diagonally in front of me .
Gasa…
In just that one moment…
[Pii . ]
Pigimaru, who was also peeking out through his protrusion signalled me by making a small cry .
The other party have moved .
Pigimaru’s protrusion would show the direction where he had moved .
He moves frighteningly quick .
It’s as if he’s a raging gale .
I quickly stood up and made my move .
I will catch him off guard when I attack him from the back .
It seems that he’s also surprised when he noticed me behind her .
But, he’s a bit slower in his response .
[]
He was not able to turn towards me .
No— he can’t turn towards me .
It seems that he’s confused why his body can’t move .
Now that I looked at her closely, it appears she’s apparently a woman .
Is that a hood covering her head?
No, that’s wrong .
It’s those things…
It looks closer to what nuns wear .
If I’m not mistaken, they’re called veils, right?
Or rather, aren’t hoods those head covers that extends or connected to their backs?
Just like those hoods in a parka .
The next thing that caught my attention is her overall attire .
Is it possible to explain it if I just said that she’s wearing a dress-like armor?
The base color of her armor and other equipment is white .
There are also blue and green streaks added on some parts .
Her hair is a pale yellow, like the color of lemons .
Her hair was tied into a ponytail which drooped down to her back .
It seems she have quite a slender body, though it may be somewhat be difficult to know of because of her armor .
But, the thing that I was most concerned about…
[I felt your intent to attack me—… though I also felt some impurities mixed along in your killing intent . Anyway, that’s beyond the point . ]
I found out that the nature of her killing intent has changed along the way .
I feel hesitation in them .
The quality of her killing intent was different from those with pure killing intent, nor those mixed with s.a.d.i.s.tic tendencies .
Compared to the monsters from the ruins and the four people that I had just met, her killing intent shows a different emotion .
After being able to compare these kinds of killing intents, I could finally understand the difference between them .
[I felt that there’s something different from the four-person group I had met earlier, so I guess I’ll talk to you for a bit . Though I said that, I’ll keep your movement sealed just in case . ]
There is that unchangeable fact that my opponent might have dangerous thoughts .
Though if you ask me, I’d rather face those four from before .
Therefore, the fact that I’ve gained the initiative could be considered a win for me .
There’s nothing better than making every situation more favorable towards myself .
[What… do… you… want…?]
The woman asked .
I guess I’ll answer honestly for the time being .
[If I were to put it simply, I feel like I lost my way . If you’re knowledgeable about this place, tell me where the nearest town or village is . I’m not a local of this place . It’s also because of it that I don’t know those things that you’d usually call common knowledge . That’s why I want you to tell me everything I need to know about this place—]
There is some change on the woman .
I could see some confusion in her .
It slowly turned to doubt…
I slowly walked in front of her while being careful for sudden attacks .
[…a blindfold?]
Is it included to that equipment she’s wearing on her head?
That part have completely covered her eyes .
It’s as if she’s wearing an eye mask .
I looked down slightly .
The whiteness of her skin stands out now that I’m looking at her in the front .
Her chin have a bit of rotundity in her acutely-angled jaws .
She could be considered to be someone who have a small face in her head . (T/N: kogao, some j.a.ps are obsessed with them . ¯_(ツ)_/¯)
The thin lips of the charming woman is faintly quivering
[Those… four…?]
[—Are they your friends?]
[They’re… not…]
[………]
Talking with someone who is paralyzed is really difficult .
There is also quite a bit of the remaining gauge left .
Sigh… It can’t be helped .
[I’ll make it so that you can just move your mouth so that we could make this conversation easier . ]
It’s actually the whole head that would be released, but…
I’ll just say that I will release her “mouth” here .
I declared as such so that I could control the way our conversation goes .
[But… Try anything funny, and I’ll use my skill on you again . I’ll also make sure that such movements have some appropriate punishments prepared for them . Are we clear?]
I guess this should do for now .
The other party should now have thought that I would use my “paralysis skill” on her again .
However, it is actually impossible to stack the same skill in a row .
Well, it’s not like I told any lie to her .
After all, I will just my other skill on her if she tries anything strange .
However, I can’t really talk with someone when they’re sleeping…
That’s why, I would avoid using if possible .
Well, I could just make her sleep, then bind her with some rope but— let’s just leave that for later if I she doesn’t cooperate .
Pigimaru’s staying silent .
It’s as if it had completely read the air and kept its breath .
I was impressed by its spontaneous act…
Or rather, I feel like Pigimaru had been getting smarter .
It took a few moments, but the woman have finally replied .
[Yes . ]
I tapped the gauge that was floating near her head and tapped the Partial Release (Head) tag that appeared next to it .
The way of changing the display works the same way as the other cancellation options of my skills .
Kasha…
After partially releasing her paralysis, I took a bit of distance away from her just in case .
The woman just stared at me blankly .
[—I can… finally talk… like normal…]
[The only part you can move is your mouth . I’m sorry, but I still don’t trust you . There’s a lot of people that I have met before I got in here . That’s why, I can’t easily trust a stranger . ]
[No— It’s not wrong for you to be vigilant against strangers . It’s just how a traveler like you would naturally think . ]
She said no sudden insults .
Is this just how she normally is?
I could hear her clear voice filled with determination .
If someone like a pure knight exists, he might be someone like this .
I observed her again .
With the way she looks, I think you could even say she could make money with just her appearance .
I took a glance at the yellow gauge .
I noticed one thing just now .
It may be because I haven’t partially released those four-people just now, that’s why I haven’t really noticed it and it made me really uncomfortable now that I did .
It’s probably because there’s no one other than me who can see the gauge .
They’re not aware of this gauge .
In other words, they can’t guess that there should be a time limit on my skill if they can’t see the slowly decreasing gauge .
If I were to use my skill on someone who had never been targeted before, maybe I could just fool them and tell them that the effect is permanent?
[There is one thing that I want to ask before I would answer your questions . ]
[I’d answer it depending on what your question is . ]
[Did you meet a four-person group earlier?]
[I met them . ]
[Where are they?]
[I killed them . ]
[……eh? You killed them?
[Did I do anything wrong? They look like sh*t who can never change, and with the way their conversation went earlier, I think that these four were actually chasing you . ]
[Ah— No… It’s not that you did anything wrong . It’s true that they were really chasing after me . It’s just that…]
The woman looks at me as if she’s ascertaining if I’m telling the truth .
[The White Walker… Don’t tell me, with just you alone? Or are there perhaps, some of your friends nearby?]
[…I have one friend nearby . I’ve gotten rid of them along with my friend . It’s just that, I don’t intend to show my friend to you . ]
I’m not lying about this either .
Certainly, there is one more person “lurking” in here .
I’ll just let her think that I have a friend nearby who she can’t see .
This should also be an effective means of blocking her way just in case she ever intends to move .
Anyway, for those four people to actually have a great reputation…
Well, those four were not on this woman’s side .
It’s enough that I know this now .
Thanks to that, it became easier for me to talk to her .
After all, it’d be harder to talk to her if I had actually killed her friends…
[………… . ]
Though I said that, I still can’t trust this woman yet .
For example, this woman isn’t even showing her “eyes” .
I’ve heard before that you could tell if someone is telling the truth through his eyes more than through what he speak .
Did she hide her eyes so that others couldn’t see through her lies?
That’s what I thought…
Kasha…
–when that veil that was covering her eyes slid upwards .
What a nice timing .
I don’t think… that she’s been reading my mind .
I observe the appearance of the woman again now that the areas where that veil has covered before was being revealed .
She have neatly arranged double eyelids .
Her beautiful set of eyelashes are really elegant .
She also have quite an intriguing, pale blue eyes .
I wonder if I’ve ever seen eyes as clear as hers before .
The cover in her face was completely removed and I could now clearly see her face .
She’s what you would undoubtedly call a beauty .
Though, she had this mysterious beauty that’s made her be disconnected from the average people .
When I looked at her, only “that race” came on to my mind .
In the literary creations that could be seen nowadays, they are often depicted as beings who have a slender figure along with beauty that surpa.s.s all the others .
Their race was commonly called referred to as “Elves” .
However, she doesn’t have that “part” of her which symbolizes them the most .
Right…
[……… . ]
The woman’s ears that had been revealed after her veil was removed, is undoubtedly from a human .