"Fall back!"
I shouted at the old man and Berry.
"Fuck! W-What the hell?!"
The remaining four raiders hurriedly tried to retreat too.
CRUNCH—!
A Wild Dog seized the opening and tore into the leg of the raider who had the most blood splashed on him.
"A-Aaaaaaagh—!"
His horrific scream thundered across the sky.
BANG—!
The old man quickly drew his revolver and fired straight at the raider's head.
Thud—.
A target that could not move because his leg was being chewed apart.
For the old man, it was an easy shot.
'The battle hasn't collapsed yet.'
CRUNCH— CRACK—.
Listening to the sound of human bone and flesh being chewed apart, I swallowed dryly.
'Three in front of me, two by the old man, three by them.'
I kept scanning the situation without pause and sheathed Black Lotus again.
BARK! BARK—!
The Wild Dogs in front of me saw what I was doing and leaped at me all at once.
"Hup—!"
I drew in a breath and gripped the sword.
SCRRAPE—!
I drew it while scraping the inside of the sheath, then swung it horizontally.
There was still quite a bit of distance between me and the Wild Dogs that had just leaped.
But that was fine.
'Black Flash.'
Sword energy packed with a razor-sharp edge shot forward.
The slash surged as though it would split the sky and met the Wild Dogs.
SPLURT—!
It tore through them brutally and kept going.
YELP—!
Thud—.
Two of the three were reduced to bodies that had lost their heads.
But the last one escaped with only a severed foreleg.
"Tch."
I had swung with the intention of finishing them all in one strike.
The power was lower than I had expected.
Tingle—.
I opened and closed my numb right hand.
Since it was not moving the way I wanted, I shifted the sword into my left.
Grrrrrr—.
The creature that had lost a leg in an instant still glared at me without losing its ferocity.
"Aaaaaagh—!"
"B-Boss! Aaaah!"
The raider group was struggling badly against only two of them.
BANG—!
The old man and Berry were keeping their distance while holding their ground.
'As fast as possible.'
I reversed my grip on Black Lotus in my left hand.
The sword was fairly long, so the posture was awkward.
Whoosh—.
Then I threw Black Lotus like a spear.
SWOOOSH—!
The sword cut through the wind.
THUNK—!
It buried itself in the Wild Dog's intact foreleg.
I used the opening to charge straight at it.
Grrrrr—!
Without showing any sign of pain, the creature ignored the embedded sword and ripped off the leg it was lodged in.
But that attack had only been meant to divert its attention.
The real attack was this one.
Grab—.
I seized its head.
Then drove my knee into its jaw.
CRACK—!
The sound of its jaw shattering rang out.
I saw its pupils shake violently and released it.
"Die."
I grabbed the sword stuck in the ground and drove it into the creature's throat.
It died without even managing a proper bark.
Whip—.
I turned toward the old man and Berry.
"Do not worry about us!"
The old man noticed my gaze and shouted while skillfully avoiding attacks.
From the brief glimpse I got, the two of them worked together surprisingly well.
The old man protected Berry from the front.
Berry covered him with a handgun.
"Just hold out a little longer!"
I shouted back, gripped my sword, and ran toward the raiders.
BANG—! BANG—!
The sound of continuous gunfire filled the area.
"Just fucking die already, you bastard!"
The raider leader shoved the muzzle of his handgun into the mouth of the last Wild Dog.
BANG—!
Then blew its head apart.
I watched, slowly approaching him.
"Where'd all your friends go?"
"Shut up."
I mocked the leader, the only one left alive.
He growled back at me.
Click—.
He aimed his handgun at me.
I spread both arms, gesturing for him to shoot.
"What are you doing?"
"Fuck! You think I won't shoot?!"
Click— click—.
The empty handgun only kept dropping its hammer uselessly.
"H-How did you know how many bullets I had......?"
Wasn't he showing way too clearly that he was shaken?
"I just watched and counted."
All Mili Defense handguns held twelve rounds.
It was just simple arithmetic after subtracting the shots he'd fired.
I left that explanation unsaid and stared at him expressionlessly.
SWISH—.
He immediately reached inside his clothes and drew a dagger.
Looked like he intended to try close combat.
THUD—!
I kicked the head of a Wild Dog lying on the ground.
"Cheap trick!"
CLACK—.
The dagger he swung in a hurry struck the skull.
"I'm tired of this."
I drew Black Lotus and cut through both the Wild Dog's head and the wrist holding the dagger.
"You're just a Miner!"
Whoosh—.
His wrist was gone.
Yet for some reason, he charged at me with even stronger hostility.
'Looks like he's wearing some kind of gear.'
He had clearly done something to his body.
Not that it mattered.
SLICE—.
I split his skull and drove the sword in.
Thud—.
After confirming he was dead, I immediately lifted his shirt.
'As expected.'
A detachable neural assist device was attached to his spine.
That was probably what enhanced his physical abilities and dulled his pain.
CRACK—!
I grabbed it and ripped the whole thing free, then immediately ran toward the old man.
"Grandpa!"
"Urgh......."
By the time I arrived, a Wild Dog's fangs had sunk into the old man's side, and blood was flowing from the wound.
His face twisted in pain.
"Hold on."
I pushed Berry aside and checked his condition.
'Nanomachine.'
[Unable to determine internal organ damage.]
[Probability of contaminated substance intrusion : 97%]
"Damn it."
I picked up the old man's revolver.
CLICK—.
There was exactly one round left in the cylinder.
"Sir."
"Why...... are you......"
"This is going to hurt for a moment."
CLICK—.
I cocked the revolver.
"W-What are you doing?!"
Berry rushed over and blocked me.
"Please, no! Please save him!"
"I'm trying to save him, so move."
I pushed Berry aside and aimed the revolver at the old man.
"Bear with it."
The old man gave a weak nod, brought his arm to his mouth, and bit down hard.
BANG—!
Without the slightest hesitation, I fired into the old man's side.
The metallic smell of blood spread instantly.
"Nggh—!"
His bloodshot eyes widened as he clenched his teeth.
"Get a grip. We're on the surface."
I grabbed Berry's trembling shoulders.
"Are you going to let him die?"
"N-No......."
"Then go to those bodies right now and find a bottle of Potion. The leader should have one."
"Y-Yes!"
Berry hurried toward the bodies scattered on the ground.
I stood beside the old man as he endured the pain and watched him.
Squish—.
Blood was pouring from his abdomen so heavily that it soaked my feet.
It kept gushing out as though every drop in his body were trying to escape.
'A clean through-and-through wound.'
I waited after seeing that the bullet I had fired had passed straight through without touching any organs.
Until as much contaminated blood as possible had drained out.
It was a crude method.
But it was the best option.
"Th-This is it, right?"
Berry returned in an instant, carrying a bottle filled with red liquid.
"Yeah, that's it."
I took it and opened the cap.
The sour smell was strong enough to punch through the scent of blood.
"Sir, I'm going to use it."
The old man did not move at all.
He looked like he had briefly lost consciousness.
"This is going to hurt."
HISSS—!
The moment I poured the Potion over his wound, the flesh began knitting itself together rapidly.
The smell of burning flesh was even harsher than the scent of gunpowder.
Thud—.
After emptying the entire bottle, I tossed it to the ground.
"I-Is he going to be okay?"
"Yeah. But we need to hurry."
The wound had completely closed, so the bleeding had stopped.
But because of all the blood he'd already lost, the old man's consciousness kept fading.
"Berry, gather the raiders' belongings."
"Y-Yes!"
Berry had undergone Pillager Compression.
She would quickly pick out anything valuable.
While she did that, I lifted the old man onto my back.
"Got everything?"
"Yes!"
"Let's go."
We ran toward Paradise as fast as we could.
Praying we were not too late.
***
BANG, BANG, BANG—!
"Welco— huh?"
"Where's the boss?"
"Sh-She's inside...... huh?"
The moment the workshop door opened, I pushed past the employee and went inside.
"Hey! You're in there, right?!"
"What happened?"
The masked owner walked out from the back.
I gestured toward the old man with my eyes.
"Take a look at him."
"......This is not a hospital......."
Even while saying that, she opened the door leading deeper into the workshop.
"......."
The old man was still unconscious.
"Shock from excessive blood loss."
After pressing the old man's pale skin, the masked owner quickly brought out equipment.
"First, I will finish emergency treatment. Then explain what happened."
A short while later.
"......The treatment is finished."
The masked owner came back out to the front of the workshop.
I sat in a chair outside and turned toward her.
"How is he?"
"If he regains consciousness, he should be fine."
"That's a relief."
The tension left me, and I breathed out briefly.
"What happened?"
"I'll tell you."
I explained the raiders and Starving Wild Dogs we'd encountered on the way back.
"You thought the wound was contaminated, so you shot the injured area?"
"Yeah."
"What an incredibly crude method......."
The masked owner stared at me with an incredulous expression.
But she did not seem to be blaming me.
"It was not a bad idea, but if you had been even a little later, he could have died from shock."
"I know. But I didn't have another option."
Potions were not invincible.
They only granted regenerative power to the injured area.
Nothing more and nothing less.
Pouring a Potion on contaminated blood did not cure the contamination.
I could not call my method the best.
But avoiding the worst outcome came first.
"For now, we should watch him until he wakes."
"......Yeah."
I stood up and took the crying Berry outside.
The moon seemed especially bright tonight.
Was it shining down on the fact that I had committed my first murder?
Or was it trying to hide it?
I did not know.
"Phew......."
CREEEAK—.
After barely calming Berry down from her long crying spell and taking her back to the inn.
I returned to the workshop.
"Can I stay here tonight?"
"Of course."
"Thanks."
"Sure."
The masked owner nodded and removed her mask.
I studied her uncovered face, then casually remarked.
"Looks like you've been through a lot too."
"Hm."
There were scars here and there across her bare face.
Aside from those, her features were very clean.
She tucked her sweat-damp short hair behind one ear.
"Drink?"
"No."
"Then stop looking so miserable."
"......Give me one."
"All right."
She took out three cans of beer and placed them in front of the employee and me.
"Are we closing tomorrow?"
"Let us."
The employee's expression brightened slightly at the prospect of having the day off.
"You barely get customers anyway."
Gulp— gulp—.
I said it shortly and drank.
The masked owner watched me for a moment before asking casually.
"What are you going to do?"
"About what?"
"Your companions."
Her question was serious.
She seemed to understand too.
To me, they were ultimately nothing more than baggage.
"I don't know."
"All right."
"......."
A brief silence passed.
I broke it.
"Do you remember saying you'd do me one favor after that last request?"
"Yes."
"Can I use it now?"
"Let me hear it first."
She answered briefly while drinking her beer.
"Can you teach Berry? Here."
"What exactly do you mean?"
"I think it would be better for her to work in Paradise instead of going to the surface as a Miner."
"......."
"I feel like both of them keep getting hurt because of my selfishness."
The masked owner quietly drank her beer.
"Give me time to think."
"......Thank you."
This world was far too harsh for a child to survive on the surface.
The same was true for the old man.
I did not know why he kept roaming the surface.
Maybe he simply needed money to survive.
Maybe he wanted revenge on Pentatech.
Or maybe he was looking for a place to die.
'Then what am I?'
A game I'd played to escape a miserable reality.
Even inside it, all I'd ever done was play to clear it.
What was left for someone like me?
"What do you live for?"
I turned toward the employee and asked.
"What? What do you...... ah!"
Once she understood the sudden question, she answered right away.
"I want to earn a lot of money, buy citizenship, become a real citizen of Paradise, and live comfortably."
"Sounds good."
This time, I turned toward the masked owner.
"What about you?"
She looked thoughtful for a moment.
Then she answered.
"I don't know."
"Really?"
"Does that matter? Being alive is what matters."
"Boss...... if you say that, what does that make me......."
The masked owner gave a bitter smile at the employee's whining.
"Then what about you?"
"Me?"
My question had passed through the two of them and come back to me.
"Yes. You."
When I'd first started this game, spite had driven me.
I'd played countless games, but none had ever made me this angry.
So, in a fit of rage, I'd started analyzing it.
I searched for every guide.
And when there wasn't one, I made the method myself.
"At first, I wanted to become a legend in Paradise."
But I did not need fame.
What use was there in game NPCs liking me?
"Then I tried to reclaim the surface."
As a stepping stone toward reclaiming it, I even killed a monster strong enough to destroy Paradise with ease, all by myself.
"But I don't think that was it either."
Now that I had fallen into this world.
My goal was survival.
"So the point is, I don't really know."
"That is enough."
"Then I'm glad."