What exactly had gone wrong? Even looking back on it now, Haigiro couldn't say.
Then again, this was the line of work he was in. He'd known the risks. He'd thought he knew the risks, at least.
He was a fool. Haigiro sat alone in a corner of the lavish room, staring blankly into space, thinking just that.
Kuro and Shiro had slipped out of the room to enact an escape plan that had zero chance of succeeding against a Level 8 opponent. The last expressions they'd directed at Haigiro—one tinged with pity, the other with contempt—hadn't moved him in the slightest.
He was a bad person. Cast out even from the ranks of Hunters, a rough crowd by nature, he'd gone on to commit every evil act imaginable as a Red Hunter.
He'd seen everything the Imperial Capital's underworld had to offer. The terrifying, the grotesque, the pitiful—and things no one should ever lay eyes on. Among them were people who regarded human life as utterly worthless.
But 《Thousand Transformations》 was something else entirely.
The first thing Haigiro had felt upon seeing 《Thousand Transformations》 was a sense of wrongness.
Among Red Hunters, Haigiro had a particularly keen eye. Despite lacking overwhelming physical ability, his perceptiveness was the very reason he'd managed to survive and build a modest reputation as a Red.
The man lacked the domineering aura characteristic of someone who'd fought their way through hellish battles. He lacked the shadow that came with having stared into darkness.
Above all, the man—unlike 《Peerless Shadow》 or 《Worst of the Worst》—bore no scent of blood whatsoever.
Even among Hunters who weren't as notoriously violent as 《Peerless Shadow》 and her ilk, anyone who operated as a Treasure Hunter inevitably carried blood on their body to some degree. That thing Haigiro had come to call "presence" was something no amount of expensive soap could ever wash away.
Not sensing it was a completely new experience. Because of that, he'd misread the situation from the start and acted carelessly—but thinking back on it now, he'd been an idiot.
A Hunter who'd reached Level 8—and a man who led the likes of 《Peerless Shadow》 and other dangerous Hunters, at that—was obviously not someone who had nothing to do with violence.
In other words, that very air of laziness and indifference the young man radiated was proof that he was a monster far beyond Haigiro's ability to handle.
Under no circumstances should he draw that man's attention. From what Haigiro could tell, when that young man had considered cutting them loose before the journey began, there had been no malice or ill will on his face.
Which meant that, to him, Haigiro and the others' lives were no more significant than stones by the roadside. 《Peerless Shadow》 had captured them, but even that fact was probably trivial in the eyes of 《Thousand Transformations》.
Kuro and the others had suspected it, but if they simply did nothing, Haigiro's group would most likely have been released.
He would shrink into himself, keeping silent like someone waiting for a disaster to pass.
He would seal his lips like a clam and try to become invisible. That was the path with the highest probability of survival for people like them.
Because to that man, the "crimes" Haigiro and the others had committed were not worth calling crimes—not worth acting on, not worth even a moment's interest.
He sat in the corner of the spacious Japanese-style room, hugging his knees, feeling like a stone. His focus had naturally sharpened, but he couldn't hear any screams from Kuro and the others.
Of course. If something did happen, they'd be taken down without even managing a single scream.
Then, as if perfectly timed, someone knocked on the door.
"Kuro-san, Shiro-san, are you in there?"
"Guh—?!"
He thought his heart was going to leap out of his chest. For a split second, he wondered if this was a hallucination conjured by despair, but the sound and the voice showed no sign of fading.
He scrambled to his feet. His knees nearly buckled, but he forced himself to hold steady and rushed to unlock the door.
The lock on this inn's door was practically meaningless in front of a Level 8. Besides, given the name 《Thousand Transformations》 had called out, there was no option to refuse to open it.
Kuro and Shiro had gone out to steal the keys to their collars from 《Thousand Transformations》. He didn't know how things had turned out, but the fact that 《Thousand Transformations》 had called their names was certainly no coincidence.
And the fact that he'd called only Kuro and Shiro's names meant—essentially, his words were directed at Haigiro.
He opened the door. The young man who appeared looked at Haigiro with a puzzled expression. His posture was, as always, completely unguarded, and his body radiated not a trace of violent intent.
Behind him, Citry Smart—who was wrapped in a thick, violent presence exactly the opposite of the young man—gazed at Haigiro with that same bone-chilling smile.
"Hm? What happened to Kuro-san and Shiro-san?"
As if he didn't already know— There was nothing unnatural about his tone or expression. He was putting on a face of total ignorance, but Haigiro's eyes couldn't be deceived by that anymore.
"What happened to them," he said? If anything had happened, it was either him or the 《Worst of the Worst》 glaring behind him who had done something!
He wanted to scream exactly that, but no sound came out. The only thing that escaped Haigiro's mouth was a feeble, trembling voice.
His heart was pounding like a war drum. He was certain that 《Thousand Transformations》 had no interest in him, but still—frightening things were frightening.
What the man might say, what he might do—being unable to predict any of it was the most terrifying part of all.
"I—I tried to stop them… Kuro and Shiro—they went to steal the key from y-you—"
The more he reflected on it, the more flimsy the plan appeared. Kuro and Shiro's plan had been riddled with wishful thinking, utterly dependent on luck.
It was the kind of plan he would normally have dismissed with a laugh without a moment's consideration. That Kuro and Shiro had actually gone through with it could only be described as a lapse in judgment brought on by desperation.
Or perhaps they, too, had been caught off-guard by the man before them—just from a different angle than Haigiro.
The dark-haired young man listened to Haigiro's words, blinked several times with that same puzzled look, then slowly raised the chain hanging at his waist.
Mixed in among the countless pieces of jewelry on the chain were two collars identical to the one that had been fastened around Haigiro's neck.
Klye Andrich clapped his hands together as though he'd just now understood something. The gesture was so obvious it was almost laughable, yet there was surprisingly little pretense in it.
If Haigiro had been someone who truly knew nothing about the man, he might have immediately written him off as a hopeless idiot—such was the motion.
《Thousand Transformations》 offered a wry smile and turned to look behind him. Unlike him, Citry's eyes harbored a chillingly cold emotion.
"Looks like they slipped past us, Citry. …Any problem with that?"
"No… I don't think so. They probably haven't gone far. If you'd like, I could have Big Sis追 them and finish them off—"
"No, no, that's fine. That's not what I mean. No need to bother Riz when she's resting for something like that—oh, yeah. My plans just shifted a bit, is all. Anyway, this is just out of curiosity, but—"
Klye scratched his cheek, furrowed his brow, and looked at Haigiro.
Reflected in those pitch-black, unclouded eyes was Haigiro's gaunt face. The expression of genuine bewilderment sent a chill down his spine.
And then 《Thousand Transformations》 spoke.
"Why didn't you run away, Haigiro-san?"
§ § § I'd made a mistake…
Haigiro-san's words had hit like a bolt from the blue.
I never imagined Kuro-san and the others would resort to such a bold move. After all, I'd already told them I would hand over the keys—I never even conceived they'd do something like that.
Well, I suppose I was an idiot for not realizing they were planning to escape just from noticing unfamiliar collars in the lockers. But my being an idiot was nothing new, so I'd set that aside for now. I'd blame it on the Hot Springs Dragon incident throwing me off.
Still, it wasn't exactly a fatal mistake. I'd been planning to release them anyway, so this just moved things up slightly.
Citry said it wasn't a problem, and there shouldn't be any need to chase them. If they'd stolen the Treasure Weapons, I might have asked Riz to go after them—but fortunately, all the Treasure Weapons had been brought to the hot springs. I could only hope that stealing my key would be the last crime they ever committed.
But why had only Haigiro-san not run away?
The question had slipped out before I could stop myself, and Haigiro-san had frozen with eyes wide in shock.
Throughout the journey, he'd been on constant watch. It must have taken its toll—his eyes were sunken, his cheeks hollow, and the sharp, handsome features he'd once had were gone. His frame hadn't actually changed in size, but it almost seemed as though he'd shrunk an entire size.
That body swayed and collapsed, dropping to the floor on its backside. I'd only asked a genuine question, yet for some reason his face had gone pale and his teeth were chattering.
Had I asked something bad? I didn't think so, but on reflection—stealing and escaping were crimes, after all. Being asked why he hadn't committed them probably put him in a difficult spot.
Haigiro-san gazed up at me with those wide-open eyes, his lips trembling desperately.
"I—I—I—"
"No, no, sorry, you don't have to answer. I was just a little curious—"
Whether he ran or didn't run made no difference to me. He and his companions might not be able to slack off, but for me this was just a vacation.
I said this to put him at ease, then dropped the keys in front of Haigiro-san and let out a big yawn.
Well, with that nuisance out of the way, things were looking up.
"By the way, we're having a Dragon Party. Since you stayed behind, Haigiro-san, you should come too."
"Yes… It seems I did stay behind after all—ah, I'm sure the quantity won't be a problem."
Then again, "Dragon Party" really was a strange phrase. I couldn't help smiling at the words, and Citry took my arm with that same gentle smile as always.
§ § § Whether the goddess of fortune had smiled upon them or not, Kuro and Shiro's plan was proceeding as smoothly as could be.
They removed the keys from their collars, left the inn without anyone raising an alarm, retrieved the supplies they'd hidden, and made it outside the town without incident.
At this point, all that remained was to cross the border out of the country—or to slip back into the Imperial Capital and go into hiding. Either option was open to them. But they couldn't afford to let their guard down just yet.
They hadn't been able to take a horse-drawn cart. Too conspicuous, and they'd prioritized reducing the number of reasons for pursuit by even one.
They ran for over ten minutes with muffled footsteps, deliberately avoiding the main road. When the town had vanished from view entirely, Kuro and Shiro finally stopped.
They'd managed an ideal escape—and yet their faces told a different story.
Kuro gulped water from a canteen, let out a ragged breath, and stared back toward where the town had been.
What lingered in his mind were the last words 《Thousand Transformations》 had left them.
"Why…? Why did that man let us go?"
"…How should I know? What goes on in a Level 8 Hunter's head?!"
『There might be thieves about…』
That voice had definitely been directed at them.
Had he said it to gently dissuade them from stealing? Or was he indicating that he would overlook the theft? Kuro's mind couldn't make the call. Either way, having come this far, perhaps they could consider themselves forgiven.
Shiro asked with a pale expression.
"…Where do we run? Abroad? Or back to the Imperial Capital?"
Kuro and Shiro were natives of the Imperial Capital. Their safehouses there still had supplies and money. They wouldn't lack for anything during a period of hiding.
But 《Thousand Transformations》 was a Hunter based in Imperial Capital Zebuldia. If they returned now, there was no telling what would happen.
Even if 《Thousand Transformations》 had forgiven them, 《Peerless Shadow》 and 《Worst of the Worst》 would not let them go.
Kuro said with conviction.
"Abroad. If those people have their eyes on us, Zebuldia is far too dangerous."
"Yeah… I was thinking the same thing."
At his words, Shiro frantically scanned their surroundings while answering. It seemed she was just as fed up as he was.
If they escaped the country and got far enough away, even 《Peerless Shadow》 would probably give up the chase. She wasn't obsessive enough about them to go that far.
Shiro pulled a map of Zebuldia from her bag and spread it open. It was a rough thing, but it was enough to figure out which direction would be the shortest route out of the country.
Both Kuro and Shiro had solid skills as Hunters.
No—recalling that hellish march, he felt he could endure any trial the future might throw at them.
Shiro's eyes gleamed with fierce vitality. She could see hope, and she was determined to seize this chance no matter what.
Kuro felt the same. Shiro asked a brief question.
"…How do we get out?"
The town of Surce was surrounded by mountains on three sides. The path they'd taken to get here was the natural escape route—but that also made it easy for pursuers to predict.
Which route had the highest chance of success— Just as he began to worry, a memory from inside the carriage suddenly surfaced in Kuro's mind.
He studied the map intently. A vast territory near Surce, close enough to smell.
A fief along the border of the Zebuldia Empire, home to the Empire's sword that repelled Monsters, Phantoms, and invaders alike.
A domain that fielded a powerful knightly order, where bribery carried almost no weight, and where anyone with a scar on their shin would avoid staying.
And a place 《Thousand Transformations》 had absolutely refused to pass through.
Kuro made his decision in a hoarse voice.
"The Gradius domain… We cut through here. We cross the mountains."