Chapter 103

Quilbion moved while following the nark containing intent and recalled a conversation he’d once had with Winte.

“Goblins can also leave the surface realm, right? Looking at how they snatch humans with will-o’-the-wisps and such, it seems possible.”

“When erosion begins, boundaries collapse, and then goblins will freely come and go. But not now. Even those things I taught haven’t gone outside yet. At least as far as I know.”

“Is that so?”

“Though they can go back and forth between surface realms, stepping foot into the Designer’s world is still too early. Of course, there might be a few exceptions.”

“If you mean exceptions……”

“A guy who luckily crosses a collapsed boundary. As I said before, this world is riddled with errors. Nothing would be strange no matter what happens.”

“Monsters might cross over even before erosion begins. If unlucky.”

“That could happen. But the more massive the nark they possess, the greater the burden when crossing the boundary. It’ll be difficult for those things to cross immediately.”

“Even if there’s a guy who luckily gets out, there’s a high probability he’ll be a weakling?”

“You could see it that way. Of course.”

Or maybe not.

Quilbion stepped aside to avoid an oncoming wagon. The two children who’d been walking behind also stood alongside Quilbion.

It was when the wagon was leaving the narrow path.

A pebble pressed by the wheel bounced up. Quilbion reached out and caught the pebble flying toward the child’s eye area.

The child only blinked, as if startled by the hand that entered his vision.

After glancing at the child tilting his head bewilderedly, Quilbion stood in the path where the wagon had passed.

He bent his waist and examined the wheel tracks. Nark containing intent remained faintly.

He swept the nark with his finger.

When he gently rubbed it between his thumb and index finger, the nark was absorbed and he could feel the intent contained within.

Laughter was heard from all directions. The nark’s owner seemed to gain pleasure from children getting hurt.

What a strange guy.

Quilbion formed hand seals with his right hand and gripped a coin in his left. The coin that became a simple talisman melted and became black droplets that fell to the ground.

Five small cats were born.

Joyful Cat Outing.

If he summoned a hundred and used them simultaneously, he’d lose his mind, but he could manage five leisurely.

The moment the cats looking around received consciousness, they scattered in all directions.

“What kind of rat—hey!”

“It was a very black rat.”

Since they were small, people seemed to see them as rats.

The vision divided into five overlapped and made his eyes dizzy.

He concentrated and searched for traces of nark.

The place itself had faint nark, and nark containing intent was special, so he could find it quickly.

Before long, one cat sent a signal.

“Welcome.”

It was a place selling tableware. From bowls as messy as if made by children to quite refined plates.

“Are you looking for something……”

“Just a moment.”

Quilbion looked at the top of the shelf. The cat that had been scratching the wall as if digging a hole suddenly twisted its head and fell into the owner’s skirt.

“Oh my!”

While the owner was startled and twisted her body, the cat ran out of the shop.

“W-wasn’t that just a cat?”

“It was a rat. A very small rat.”

Quilbion smiled slightly, then bought a wooden cup and came outside.

The cat that had been in the shop had already gone around to the back of the building. Quilbion looked into the gloomy alley between buildings.

Whether it was a place to gather trash, the smell was terrible. He went inside while grimacing.

It was when he clicked his tongue while stepping on squishy rotten food.

One of the cats disappeared.

The nark had been cut off. What the cat saw before disappearing was a dog with bright red eyes.

Quilbion kicked off his feet. After stepping on the roof of a two-story building, he leaped again using nark as support.

“There it is.”

The moment he threw his gaze, that thing also reacted.

The thing that had been scurrying among people began running swiftly.

It was a creature with excellent sixth sense.

Quilbion landed softly on the ground and moved. He’d attached four cats. There was no chance of losing it.

The creature ran all over the inner castle.

Though it must have noticed the cats’ existence, strangely it didn’t leave the village.

No, could it not leave?

Quilbion locked his nark and erased his scent.

Meanwhile, the cats disappeared one by one.

The creature gradually became bolder.

When dealing with the last cat, it even pressed it down with its front paw and examined it closely.

Quilbion was watching that scene from the roof.

He’d spent over a hundred years playing hide-and-seek with goblins. Even if he’d lived half-crazed, memories didn’t disappear.

Experience was intact, and Quilbion knew well how to corner cautious goblins.

After floating his body in the air, he descended toward the dog that was distracted examining the cat.

Crack.

The dog’s waist broke and it made whining sounds. People passing nearby glanced briefly, but they quickly withdrew interest, perhaps thinking he was dealing with a stray dog.

Quilbion grabbed the scruff of the limp dog’s neck.

“I know you’re not dead.”

He shook the dog slightly, but there was no reaction. He could clearly see faint nark circulating inside its body.

“Does it have no reason? But for something that hasn’t even become Yellow Form, it handles nark quite naturally.”

Was there something special because it escaped from the surface realm?

“Should I kill you or not?”

It was when he lifted the dog to eye level and shook it left and right.

“Put that down!”

Someone’s shout was heard. Quilbion let it flow in one ear. It must be something unrelated to him.

But he was mistaken.

“That’s a dangerous animal.”

Quilbion turned around. A large young man was looking at the dog with cautious eyes.

“This?”

When Quilbion shook the dog, the young man was horrified.

“You could get hurt if it wakes up. I’ll dispose of it safely, so hand it over.”

“You will?”

Quilbion briefly closed his physical eyes and examined the man with his perceiving eyes. He couldn’t read nark. When he looked with the vision of colors his sixth sense provided, only then could he see the difference.

Lumpy mana was on the young man’s skin.

It was an interesting phenomenon. There were beings other than Winte who directly used mana.

The mana was so faint that he couldn’t call forth miraculous changes like Winte though.

The mana that had been clinging to the young man’s body quickly dispersed. The mana spreading into the atmosphere was quite beautiful.

“Don’t tell me you can see it?”

The young man asked with amazement.

“I saw it roughly. It’s pretty.”

“Ah, you’re someone from the same industry. I interfered unnecessarily.”

“Same industry?”

When he spoke with doubt, the young man tilted his head instead.

“You’re not?”

“I’ve never had a job.”

“Then how……”

While conversing, the dog caught in his hand shook its body vigorously, as if thinking it was an opportunity.

Nark stained with a musty smell splattered everywhere. The young man was startled and stepped back.

Quilbion brushed off the nark the dog scattered and dropped it from his body.

“You seem to know what this is—shall we talk?”

Quilbion grabbed the dog’s snout and crushed it as is. The trembling dog died while spraying nark.

The corpse didn’t melt.

Was it because, unlike the surface realm, this was a place abundant with mana?

He threw the limp dog to the young man. The young man didn’t catch the dog and stepped back.

“It’s a gift.”

“H-how are you fine after receiving a curse?”

“Something like this doesn’t even count as a curse. You’re not taking that?”

“No, I should take it. It’s safer to collect it.”

The young man unwrapped cloth from his side and wrapped the dog’s corpse. Carefully, as if it absolutely shouldn’t touch bare skin.

“You have time to talk with me, right? I don’t know much, so I need to pick up this and that.”

The young man’s expression looked complicated.

He couldn’t grasp whether to be wary or approach amicably.

“If you’re in a position where you should report a suspicious guy, take me to your superior. If not……”

“Understood. It’s certain you caught a dogma, so we should talk first.”

“Dogma? You call that thing dogma?”

“Yes. That’s what we call it. Well, in other places they call them ghosts or goblins.”

“The name doesn’t matter. It’s not something god decided.”

It was when he was about to follow the young man. An armed guard appeared and blocked the young man’s path.

Then he alternately looked at the paper in his hand and the young man’s face before saying “It’s him?” and thrusting a spear.

“W-wait a moment. Why are you doing this?”

When the young man was flustered and tried to move his hand, the guard shouted.

“Stay still! Just try moving one finger. I’ll stab you right away.”

“You should at least tell me what’s going on……”

“Shut up! Just lie down and be investigated quietly. No more warnings.”

People began gathering.

The young man looked around with troubled eyes. He seemed to be thinking of running away.

Though he hadn’t fully grasped the young man’s physical abilities, it seemed certain the guard before him couldn’t catch him.

“Could you put down the spear and talk?”

When Quilbion intervened, one of the guards flinched and immediately turned the spear shaft.

“Who are you again! An accomplice? If not, stop interfering and step back. Before you see something ugly.”

Unlike the resounding shout, the guards were completely tense.

Quilbion pulled out the gold badge he’d received from Ruki from his chest and threw it. When there’s a more certain method than words, why bother with detailed explanations?

The gold badge fell to the ground.

The guard glanced at the gold badge, then glared at Quilbion again.

“Look at that carefully. Ruki said it would help.”

“Who?”

The guard who asked back while lowering his gaze flinched and picked up the gold badge. The other two guards, excluding the one confronting the young man, stared at the gold badge intently before gazing at Quilbion.

“I have business with this friend, so can I get an explanation with that?”

“Ah, yes. Of course.”

Power is best wherever you go. Quilbion smiled contentedly and received the gold badge back.

“Put that spear down too. I’ll hold this friend so he can’t run away.”

He placed his hand on the young man’s shoulder. The young man gave an uncomfortable glance and tried to pull his shoulder away.

Of course, it didn’t budge. After watching the young man’s expression changing moment by moment, he asked the guard.

“What on earth is going on?”

“He’s a serial killer notorious in surrounding villages and even distant Rolang. A very scary guy.”

The guard unfolded the paper he’d been holding. A picture as clear as a photograph was drawn. Ah, did they have photographs here too?

Anyway, the face drawn on the paper resembled the young man amazingly.

It wouldn’t be strange to say it was drawn while looking at him.

“Identical.”

“It’s not me!”

The young man looked at the paper in horror. Unlike confidently shouting it wasn’t him, his face gradually distorted. Soon the young man continued, saying he was wronged.

“No, I do resemble him, but it’s really not me. Killing people—I don’t do such things!”

“The ones who say they don’t always do.”

Quilbion smiled while looking at the young man.

“Get investigated first. If you’re not the killer, there won’t be a problem.”

The young man who’d been making a blank expression soon nodded.

“I’m innocent. I didn’t commit murder or anything. Let’s go! I’ll prove my righteousness myself.”

The young man confidently shouted while looking at the guards.

Quilbion spoke to the guard holding the paper.

“I’ll go along too. There won’t be a problem, right?”

“Of course. I’ll escort you.”

He took steps while smiling broadly.