[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.

"Oi! 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. One of them caught my attention.

The yellowed pages looked a little strange. The letters were all over the place, too... uneven in a way that made it obvious they'd been written by hand. Which, honestly, was kind of a given in a medieval setting like this. From the looks of it, Gutenberg's printing press wasn't a thing here.

"Hm? Latin?"

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. The material was thick and rugged.

... It would probably offer great protection against the chilly night wind.

On my way back to the fire pit, a sudden chill ran down my spine. Every hair on my body stood on end.

"W-who's there?" 

Sitting in the corner was a small red-haired girl, hugging her knees, staring straight at me.

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

"Hmph."

"...Ugh!"

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

"Well… can't really expect everyone to be all nice and welcoming."

As I walked, a couple of mosquito bites started itching on my skin. At first, it didn't really bother me, but with every step I took, it felt like those little guys were just getting angrier at me.

Shoes and mosquito repellent… yeah, those just got added to my shopping list once I make it to the city.

Approaching Maria-onee-chan, I heard her whispering to someone.

... Was it Markus?

"Eh...? He seriously doesn't remember anything?" She sounded genuinely confused.

"Haha! Isn't it hilarious?"

"It's hilarious… but… I'm not so sure about that."

Oh? 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."

If I had to sum her up, 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.

"Hm...?" I noticed something on her wrist.

"W-what is it?!" she asked.

"...?"

"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.

"..."

An awkward silence filled the air. So awkward it left me completely speechless. 

I thought about saying something else, but curiosity won out. Just what did this girl want now? Judging by her expression, it definitely wasn't anything good.

"...Tch... Weirdo."

And ran off, vanishing from sight.

"..."

Seriously, what's this girl's problem? I can't believe she actually finds this fun.

I mean, okay, I'm not exactly the most pleasant guy in the world, but does she really have to look at me like I reek of rotten 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. "How humiliating! It's exactly because of kids like this that I ended up traumatized about going to my nephews' birthday parties!"

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?"

BAM! BAM! BAM!

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

"Ah... finally, food."

I couldn't stand the taste of my own saliva anymore...

"..." 

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.

"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.

The moonlight traced her silhouette in a vivid blue, highlighting her fair skin.

"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!"

"Keuk!!!"

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

"H-hi?" 

"Urgh… it's you. What do you want?"

...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."

I kinda wish the rock had hit me instead.

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

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

GROWLR

"Ho-ho~"

What a dishonest little girl...

"W-wait! Where are you going?!"

"Hm? 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.

"...What? 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!!!"

"Inq—"

TWANG!

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.