Dark Fantasy: Super Coward Mode

Chapter 5

The first to react was Agartha.

“...You really are a psychopath! You effortlessly come up with things we wouldn’t even think of! It’s exhilarating! I’m in awe!”

“What?”

I had tried to set a serious tone, and this annoying woman just labeled me a psychopath.

...Well, I kind of acknowledged it.

But still!

Shifting my gaze to the Hunter, who I thought would be different, I found him thoughtfully resting his chin on his fingers.

Yes, I believed in you!

With great expectations for what he would say, I watched the Hunter, and he nodded.

“Yeah, definitely a psychopath.”

“Hey!”

I mean, I believed him—I trusted the Hunter!

How could he suddenly hit me with such a betrayal?

Seeing my look of despair, the Hunter chuckled and got up from his seat.

“Well, if it’s nonsense, I can just listen and brush it off.”

He then shifted his attention back to me.

I raised an eyebrow, confused by the meaning behind his words, and the Hunter pointed at me with his chin.

“You said you have a way, right?”

“...Ah, ah!”

Ah, of course! I’ve wronged the Hunter, like investing in a rising coin!

I could hardly contain my excitement as I spoke.

“There’s probably something nearby that can take down that Outsider!”

“How do you know that?”

“Well... it’s more like a hunch?”

“Psychopath’s hunch, huh? And?”

Ah, seriously.

Why did the psychopath meme keep getting dragged into this?

Did it mean he didn’t trust me enough?

“Ah, right! Remember I said I could read the writing on the wall? I got a hint from that! Just look at my mental state, haha.”

“...So you expect me to believe a psychopath wouldn’t go crazy from reading something? I was just joking.”

Suddenly, Agartha chimed in from the side.

“Shut up, you crazy lady!”

You better stay quiet!

If you keep running your mouth here, we’re all dead, you hear?!

Agartha glanced at me, surprised by my glare, then quickly looked away and began to whistle.

I was considering giving her a playful slap for being too annoying, but the Hunter let out a thoughtful “hmm.”

“...Surprisingly useful.”

“Huh?! You believe this?”@@@@

Agartha exclaimed in surprise, her voice ringing out.

Looks like she’s not even trying to hide her disbelief anymore.

“I may have a laid-back personality, but when it’s about survival, shouldn’t we think it through a bit more?” (Agartha)

“So what, we just sit here and wait to starve to death?” (Hunter)

“Well... not really, hehe.” (Agartha)

The Hunter’s comment made Agartha shrink back, her bravado deflating.

Yes, it’s so adorable when she obeys like that.

I hope she keeps acting like this in the future.

“So, where exactly is that something?”

With that question, I awkwardly smiled.

Seeing the Hunter frown, I gave a sheepish chuckle.

“...We’ll have to look for it from now on.”

Was that a hint of danger I felt from the Hunter, or was it just my imagination?

#

As we wandered around, we spotted some items left behind after the guards disappeared.

Among them, the most useful seemed to be a lantern.

For me, it was great since the surroundings became brighter, but for those two who said it looked dark, whatever.

With the visibility improving, Agartha began to fully showcase her abilities.

Maybe this is what it means to be a real Thief?

“Are they really that frightening?”

Outcast Gods—having ‘Outcast’ in the name made them seem weaker than Outsiders.

The Hunter sighed and approached the wall, placing his Lantern against it.

As the interior of the wall lit up, what I saw was...

“Oooh.”

“...Eek!”

Our reactions were like night and day.

The Hunter pointed inside with his finger, stating, “If there had only been one of those, I might’ve taken a bit of a risk and gone in. But look at those densely packed creatures—do you think you can handle them? When multiple ones gather, their weak powers amplify and drive anyone nearby to madness.”

Listening to the Hunter’s explanation seemed to make Agartha gradually step away from the corridor in fear.

But I was just left with question marks floating in my head.

Because to my eyes, those creatures looked like fairy-tale fairies resting against the wall.

“They’re cute!”

“What?”

The Hunter’s voice was clearly flustered by my comment.

But what can I do if that’s how I feel?

At that moment, one of the Outcast Gods stretched its limbs and fell from the wall, making eye contact with me.

“Human?”

It didn’t seem to be talking, but more like expressing curiosity at seeing a human being.

“Hm.”

“Is this your first time seeing a human?”

So when I responded, the Outcast God looked around and pointed at itself, as if to say, ‘Are you talking about me?’

When I nodded, the Outcast God’s expression slowly broke into a bright smile.

Then it started poking the other sleeping Outcast Gods to wake them up.

“...Ugh, what?”

“There’s a human who understands us!”

“Is that really true?!”

Starting from that Outcast God, the densely packed fairies began to fly around the room, beaming with excitement.

“What on earth did you do? Why are the Outcast Gods suddenly going wild?!”

The Hunter exclaimed in horror, but was unable to respond as the Outcast God interrupted him.

“Human, do you really understand our words?”

“Yeah.”

“What should we do? This is amazing!”

“Hey, guys! This isn’t the time for this!”

The leader of the Outcast Gods calmed down the excited crowd and fluttered its butterfly wings as it approached me at the corridor entrance.

Somewhere in its demeanor was a rigid resolve, showing it wasn’t entirely friendly towards humans.

“I never thought I’d be saying this to a human, but there’s something I want to ask.”

“What is it?”

“If you come into this room, I’ll explain.”

Well.

Isn’t this usually a death sentence?

But maybe it was some kind of inexplicable confidence?

Even when I read the writing earlier, I felt fine, so maybe I wouldn’t fall prey to whatever mind-warping influence they had.

And those Outcast Gods didn’t look scary at all.

In fact, they seemed cute, right?

“...I don’t know what’s going on, but this plan is off. If those dangerous creatures are acting up like that...”

If I stop here, the Hunter will leave me and the Thief to fend for ourselves, so I decided to choose the path with the higher chance of survival.

Before the Hunter could even react, I took a step towards the corridor and entered the room.

“There’s nothing special here.”

“What the hell...!”

The Hunter’s curses echoed outside, but did I care?

Thinking that way, I then saw the densely packed Outcast Gods simultaneously soar into the air and rush towards me.

“Uh, uh-oh?!”

I was engulfed by countless Outcast Gods, and I...

Faced with their touching, they began to harass me, stretching my mouth and poking my belly.

“Wow, this is the first time we’ve touched a perfectly fine human!”

“And he can even talk! This is the body of a living human!”

“Well, everyone calm down, okay?!”

...To be honest, I wouldn’t say this was a particularly pleasant experience.