Chapter 161

I determined that the red-haired woman wasn’t Ria for a few reasons beyond just her facial impression.

First of all, her figure was different from the Ria I knew. I hesitate to judge in such a situation, but compared to the body of Ria that I’ve seen and touched a few times… she appeared to be somewhat more average.

Then there was the atmosphere, and most importantly—

“Don’t you know it’s dangerous to be in a place like this? No matter how high it is, monsters can climb walls. If humans can go there, then monsters can too.”

Her tone was different as well.

Unlike Ria’s playful and cheerful nature, this person had a voice and manner of speaking that felt a bit stiff.

It seemed less like her personality had changed due to the situation; rather, it felt like her attitude had become second nature to her.

Right after the monsters discovered our location, she guided us. After I regained some strength with Saint Power, Ria grabbed me again and we hurriedly followed behind the red-haired woman who had taken off ahead.

I felt a bit conflicted.

If there’s another world, could there also be parallel worlds? A world very similar to ours but with some differences.

Once we arrived at what was likely her hiding place, the first thing she said to us was:

“So, where are you from?”

Flump.

She plopped down on the worn sofa, crossing her legs as she spoke.

“….”

Ria and I exchanged glances.

While she was on guard against us, there was a slight quiver in her voice. It wasn’t pure fear, but rather a different sort of tension.

“We are….”

As I opened my mouth to step forward, Ria’s hand shot out to stop me. She gently pushed me back, as if telling me to stay behind her.

“People from another world.”

Ria replied succinctly.

Though she didn’t point a sword at us, she was still holding it tightly.

I understood. No matter how much she had just helped us, and even if she bore a strange resemblance to Ria, one couldn’t ascertain someone’s true identity based merely on their appearance.

A world that had been destroyed.

It was easy to see that supplies would inevitably be scarce. Even the nun’s uniform I was wearing now was frayed and the armor covering it had large cracks. The sword was missing pieces here and there.

After all, in works that are a bit extreme, people are sometimes used as food.

…Is that too extreme of an assumption?

“…That seems to be the case.”

The woman spoke calmly in response to our answers.

“You speak as if you’ve already seen it all.”

Ria seemed to catch something in her tone as she replied.

“You just said ‘again’ a moment ago.”

I took a quiet breath behind Ria.

That’s right. She had said that.

Which means—

“Have you seen anyone else besides us?”

“….”

At Ria’s question, the woman’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Recently, a guest did come by.”

Recently?

Was she talking about today? But even then, it couldn’t have been more than a few hours ago. No matter how long Siyoon had been missing, it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours yet.

But was there really a reason to call that ‘recent’?

“…A man?”

“Yes.”

The woman nodded calmly at Ria’s question.

“About two weeks ago, we met.”

“Two weeks?”

Ria murmured. I clutched her clothes from behind tightly.

Could it be that more people were coming over than I had thought? Judging by time alone, it didn’t seem to match up with Siyoon’s story.

But then, who was this guest?

Perhaps having come to a similar conclusion as I, Ria raised her sword slightly.

“And that guest is?”

“As for that guest—”

Before the woman could finish, I heard a sound that made my ears perk up. It came from behind the door we had entered through.

The sound of people walking. A noise like metal clanging.

Ria must have heard it too, as she brandished her sword.

I pulled out my gun. Unfortunately, it had no bullets. Even so, in a situation that isn’t an operation, Hunters aren’t allowed to carry live rounds for maintaining peace and order.

Still, it could at least pose a minimal threat… in a pinch, I could swing it.

Just as I aimed my gun at the door,

Click.

The doorknob turned.

And the person who entered through that door froze at the sight of my gun.

“….”

I exhaled. Once I saw the person beyond the door, all my tension vanished in an instant.

“…Siyoon!?”

At the near-scream calling his name, Ria turned around as if pulled back involuntarily. The sword she was holding dropped lower.

“Anna. Ria.”

Siyoon scratched his head, looking somewhat awkward.

He had a bit of stubble on his face. His clothes seemed like they had been retrieved from this world, and they were incredibly disheveled. His body… didn’t seem to have any major wounds.

“Anna!”

Before Siyoon could say anything more, someone popped out from behind him.

I felt weight against my body. My vision was covered in black hair.

“Yuri.”

“I thought… I was really in trouble.”

Yuri said in a mix of sobs as she backed away. Still, she looked fine. She didn’t seem hurt at all, unlike Siyoon, who looked like he had been here for a long time.

“…You’ve met Mari.”

“Mari?”

“I’m talking about me.”

From the sofa, the red-haired woman raised a hand slightly.

A bitter smile spread across her face.

“Well, today seems like a day when meals might be a little scarce.”

Watching her say that, I locked eyes with Ria once more.

*

“So, you mean Siyoon has been trapped here for two weeks already?”

“Yep, that’s right.”

Siyoon said as he speared preserved meat from a can with a plastic fork.

To be honest, it was far less tasty than the kind of meat one eats regularly. It seemed like something made to last longer. It tasted like something you’d only eat in emergencies because it could ruin your kidneys if you eat too much.

We each had a small amount of food returned to us, but strangely, that red-haired woman—Mari, had given me a bit more. “You must be hungry,” she had said.

Looking at Ria, she shook her head. The others did the same, so I decided to take it without any fuss. It seemed like there wasn’t a refrigerator here, so whatever we opened had to be eaten right away.

“You all noticed that I disappeared today.”

“That’s right.”

Yuri answered.

“It hasn’t been long. We definitely met the prince yesterday.”

“Prince?”

Mari, who seemed to be seeing an elf for the first time, turned to Siyoon in response to the word ‘prince’ with a curious expression. Siyoon’s face turned crimson in an instant.

“No, it’s just Glaria calling him that.”

“…I don’t really know, but it seems he’s not a real prince.”

Shrugging, Mari tossed her portion of food into her mouth. She seemed already accustomed to the salty taste.

And she quickly gulped down the water she had also received.

“I’ve heard the story already. Even without you telling me, I know what your world is like.”

Siyoon must have explained for the past two weeks.

“It’s a lot more peaceful and livable than this place. And there’s a god protecting the world, a safe haven. Is that right?”

I had no words in response to that.

After all, what good would it do to point out that not the entire Earth is safe, that some places are still plagued by endless civil wars, and there’s ongoing famine with unresolved issues? This world had fallen apart to the extent that those things didn’t even exist.

“…This world….”

“As it appears.”

In reply to my words, Mari cut straight to the point.

“It fell long ago. There are no survivors around here. To be honest, it’s been years since I’ve even had a decent conversation. When we first met, I could hardly speak. I was too shocked.”

“….”

“Just so you know, I don’t think of you three as demon kin disguised as humans… but hey, it seems that’s something at least.”

I really didn’t know how to respond to that.

A world that had been destroyed to the extent that even survivors couldn’t be kept safe from the demon race. What can one say as consolation?

Moreover, we were also trapped in this world ourselves.

“Still, it seems there’s some food and water left.”

Glaria opened her mouth.

“It seems there are places where we can find clean water.”

But upon seeing her, Siyoon looked alarmed.

As for Mari, she smiled at Glaria.

“Definitely, there’s a way to get it. All the springs are contaminated, and even the rain from the sky is mixed with magic power.”

“Huh? Then how?”

Mari got up from her seat.

Then she moved to open a door that had been closed since earlier.

A faint light flowed out from behind the door.

Not knowing what was beyond it, all of us except Siyoon held our breath.

Mari lifted her chin, and we got up from our seats and cautiously made our way over.

Upon seeing what lay beyond that door, I fell silent.

What was lying there was—

A Saintess.

A woman who could only be described as a Saintess, deeply asleep and seemingly untouched.