[03 — Inquisition?]

The smell of smoke was faint, but little by little it spread through the trees. In the distance, I could hear the wind whistling through the tall canopies, startling the birds, who quickly fled in a flurry.

"OY! Katou-nii-san! Could you pass me the flint?" shouted Maria-onee-chan, cupping her hands around her mouth.

"...Oh? Sure, Maria-onee-chan~"

I dropped the logs to the ground and grabbed the flint inside one of the wagons. It was tucked in with other supplies like stakes, iron sheets, and a few old books.

"...Huh?" One of the books caught my attention.

"Latin?" I muttered.

I'm not exactly a Latin expert, but I recognized the word 'vitae' from all those times I sent my résumé to game companies.

"I see... so that's the language of this world..."

I don't know why, but I had a gut feeling the system wouldn't bother translating these books for me.

ZIP—

I closed the wagon's entrance curtain.

As I returned to the fire pit, a sudden chill ran down my spine.

"W-who's there?" I instinctively turned toward the corner.

There, I saw a small red-haired girl sitting and hugging her knees, staring at me.

"...ah... hi?" I waved.

"Hmph."

She turned her face away, like she'd just seen a walking piece of trash.

...If I weren't already used to being ignored, I might've taken that personally.

I was approaching Maria-onee-chan when I heard her whispering with Markus.

"Eh...? He seriously doesn't remember anything?"

She sounded genuinely confused, like she couldn't believe it.

"Haha! Isn't it hilarious?" Markus laughed.

Apparently, hitting your head and losing your memory is comedic around here.

I shrugged.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Crunch—

I purposely stepped on a few leaves to make noise as I approached. I knew they were talking about me, but I figured it wouldn't look good if I got caught eavesdropping.

"Oh... Katou-nii-san, did you find it?" she moved away from Markus and came over.

"Yup. Here it is."

Maria-onee-chan was the textbook big-sis type you'd expect in this kind of party: rogue-like clothes, straight hair tied up on top, and a few daggers strapped to her thighs. Her physique was perfectly fit. Plus, her personality was sweet and caring.

For a moment, I felt guilty for doubting Markus back at the forest entrance.

She reached out her hand to take the flint. It was the last thing we needed to light the fire.

At that moment, I noticed something on her wrist.

"Oh...?"

She followed my gaze.

Maria-onee-chan jumped back and immediately crossed her arms over her chest in a defensive stance.

"W-what is it?!"

"...?"

"Y-you must be starving, right?!"

"Eh...? Wait!"

"D-don't worry, food will be ready soooon!"

...And off she went.

"Ah... Ok?"

What the heck did she think I saw?

*

While waiting for dinner to be ready, I glanced more carefully at the others around. Besides Markus and me, there were three more people at our makeshift camp: Maria, Dan, and the grumpy little girl (as I'd decided to nickname her).

Maria, Markus, and Dan seemed to be on equal footing when it came to leadership. I can't say for sure how old they were, but based on how they acted, it was safe to assume they were older than me.

"...Three crosses tattooed on each wrist, aligned horizontally, huh?" I muttered.

Markus had the exact same tattoos on his wrists.

"...What could they mean?"

Crack—

I heard a branch snap to my right.

"Hm!?"

It was the grumpy little girl.

"Uh... good evening?" I tried again, squeezing out every last drop of my social skills.

But instead of replying, she lived up to her nickname.

"...Tch," she clicked her tongue. "Weirdo."

And ran off, vanishing from sight.

"..."

Seriously, what's this girl's problem?

I'm not the most pleasant person in the world, but does she have to look at me like I smell like a rotting fish every time we cross paths?

And what was that? "Weirdo"? Sure, maybe she caught me talking to myself, but she was the one spying on me!

"Argh!" I bit my shirt in frustration.

While having my little meltdown, I noticed something near where she'd been standing.

"...Was she barefoot?"

On the ground near the broken branch, I saw reddish stains across the dry leaves, forming a trail in the direction she'd run.

"..."

"...Is she okay?" I murmured, trying to peer into the darkness of the forest.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

"OY! KATOU-NII-SAN! DINNER'S READY!" Maria-onee-chan yelled, banging a spoon against the pot.

"Ah... finally, food."

I looked once more toward the direction she ran.

"I know she's kind of rude, but I should at least call her to eat."

GROWLR

[HUNGER LEVELS APPROACHING CRITICAL LIMIT
PS: Seriously dude, you're about to die.]

"..."

This damn system.

*

The moon was high, and I could hear crickets chirping close to my ear.

"Burp!" I let out a belch while walking into the forest with a plate of food in hand.

"Oh come on, how far did she run?"

I'd just eaten, but walking this far while holding a plate was starting to make me hungry again.

Maria-onee-chan really knew what she was doing. I had no idea what kind of beast she roasted, but whatever it was—it tasted amazing.

Granted, the color was a little suspicious, but hey... they say hunger is the best seasoning.

Rustle—

I pushed aside the bushes in front of me, and to my surprise, I finally found the grumpy little girl.

She was sitting on a rock by the lakeside, with one leg stretched out.

"What's she doing...?" I whispered.

In one hand, she held a reddish leaf, and with the other, she gestured around her foot.

Suddenly, a turquoise glow appeared at her fingertips. It was faint and shaky, but it shimmered like a firefly.

"...Magic?"

A rock flew at me—

"Show yourself!"

"..."

That one almost took out my eye. This girl really has zero chill.

"H-hi?" I waved, kicking off my third attempt at a conversation.

"Urgh... it's you..."

...What the heck was that face?

"I... thought you might be hungry."

"I don't remember asking you to do that!"

...Sorry for existing.

She tried hiding the reddish leaves inside her clothes.

Her condition didn’t look good.

Her hair was badly cut and dry, her skin bore visible scratches, and even her clothes looked like rags.

For a moment, I tried to imagine what she must’ve gone through.

"W-what? How long are you planning to keep staring at me?!"

"I wasn’t—"

"I don't want to hear your excuses... just go away."

"...You're not gonna eat?"

"I'm not hungry! And I'm not eating anything that comes from you people!"

GROWLR

Her stomach growled.

"Ho-ho~"

What a dishonest little girl.

"W-where are you going?!"

"Oh...? Thought you wanted me gone."

"Urgh! J-just... leave the plate there."

"Sigh..."

I stepped closer to hand her the food.

"Sorry to ask, but... did I do something to you?"

I really didn’t want to ask, but I had to know. The way she treated me, I figured there must’ve been something unresolved between us.

"Y-you're really asking me that?!" she looked confused.

"...Hm? What do you mean?"

"Ah... I don't know if you're just dumb or pretending to be..."

"D-dumb?"

"You're walking around calling Maria-onee-chan, being all friendly with them, and you still have the nerve to ask me that?"

"...Uh... I don’t get it. Did Maria-onee-chan and the others do something?"

"Did they?! They’re mercenaries allied with the Inquisition!!!" she screamed.

"In—"

Before I could even finish my sentence, I heard the snap of a bowstring. A sharp whistling sound tore through the air, scattering leaves and dust.

An arrow zipped right past the back of my head.