I couldn't move for a while. I just stood there, staring.
What the hell was that? What was going on? I was starting to sweat.
The Relic [Wheel of Fortune] was supposed to display three colors of light in my eyes.
Green. Yellow. Blue. I'd been using it for a long time, and there had never been any light outside those three colors.
"And of all colors, it had to be purple..."
I snapped out of it, dismissed [Wheel of Fortune], and activated the Relic [Danger Discernment].
White meant safe. Red meant danger. Black meant certain death. They appeared as glowing dots.
"............"
Countless white and red dots were visible. No black ones, at least for now.
And there were no other points of light.
I wasn't sure if there should be, but I thought the Relic might be malfunctioning.
It didn't seem to be. If it were, that would've been a major problem in its own right, so I was relieved.
"............"
I dismissed [Danger Discernment] and activated [Wheel of Fortune].
Green and yellow lights dotted the area, with no blue. And one single point of purple light... was there.
It was definitely there. I toggled between the two Relics over and over, but it remained.
"What... is that thing?"
What should I do? What do I do? What do I do?
"............"
I couldn't figure it out no matter how I thought about it. But was I supposed to just ignore it?
No. I had to check. I needed to find out what was there.
I activated [Wheel of Fortune] and [Danger Discernment] simultaneously.
This was my Junkyard build.
"So it's over here."
The purple light was faint. It was located at a considerable distance from here.
Cautiously, carefully, I made my way forward while avoiding the red.
"Hey! You dare defy me?!"
"You there. Woman. Do you have any idea who this is?"
"You should be terrified."
"That boy belongs to Kuun Hunt. He's the captain of the 37th child-laborer unit."
What now? What was going on?
I looked toward the voices. Against a backdrop of junk piles, three boys were crowding around a girl.
The arrogant-looking blond boy in the middle with white horns growing from his head seemed to be the supposed unit captain.
He wore military-style clothes, clearly of higher quality than the other two.
That uniform... it looked familiar. Right — the Royal Guard.
He had a sword at his waist.
"Be a good girl and become Lord Pieus's woman."
"Um, um, um, that's a huge no from me!"
The girl declared flatly. Her voice was distinctly cute, like the ringing of a bell.
She was... what, exactly?
From her appearance, she was about my age or maybe a year younger.
Glossy jet-black hair flowed down past her hips, and from it poked pitch-black dog... wolf ears.
Her large, round, chestnut-colored eyes were adorable, straight out of a shōjo manga.
Her petite, lovely face matched those eyes perfectly.
To me, she looked radiant, like a flower in full bloom.
She wore a black coat over a white, fluttery apron dress with a red skirt.
It suited her perfectly. Something about the color scheme gave it the feel of a uniform.
She had a black belt cinched around her waist with a pink pouch attached.
A wolf tail hung from the base of her skirt. She was unarmed.
Her appearance marked her as wolf-beastkin, but her aura and bearing made you want to protect her without a second thought.
If I had to compare — she was like an idol. Her outfit even looked like an idol's stage costume.
Of course she was cute. Naturally she was a lovely beauty.
And that was exactly why she got accosted by scum like that.
...She did.
"Show some respect! Lord Pieus is telling you to be his woman!"
"Be a good girl and become Lord Pieus's woman! Don't underestimate the child-laborer unit captain of Kuun Hunt!"
"Woman... don't make me angry."
"Um, um, um... no means no."
The lackeys were saying something, and the one called Pieus was making his voice tremble with rage.
The girl looked troubled. However.
"............"
I hesitated. Should I go help her?
Normally — the usual me — would have. I'd rush to help first thing.
But what was this strange sense of unease?
The problem wasn't the one called Pieus and his lackeys.
It was the girl.
Ever since I learned self-defense from the Witch, I'd grown much more aware of how people held their bodies and carried themselves.
I could now detect subtle differences in skill even among delvers who were just walking around casually.
And from that, I could get a rough sense of how strong someone was.
The Witch always said:
"You really ought to learn to recognize the strong, young Wof. That's a weak point of yours."
Recognizing the strong — that girl. First, she was keeping her distance from them. Probably because she didn't like them.
But wasn't she also managing her range?
She had her hips slightly drawn back and lowered, feet spread shoulder-width apart.
And then there were her arms. At first glance, they just looked like she was fending them off.
But I, with my memories from a past life, could tell.
That posture — both arms bent and held up in front of her chest, close to her face... a boxer's guard.
A chill ran down my spine.
The instant any of them made a move, they were done for.
She'd step back slightly, rotate her hips, and take them out with a straight punch.
Ah, right. She was waiting.
Waiting for them to make a move... waiting for prey to walk into the trap. She was a wolf.
And weren't those fingerless gloves on her right hand? Talk about nostalgic.
That black belt was a battle belt — a sturdy, combat-grade belt.
And those black boots. Thick soles. There were definitely iron plates inside.
On the outside, she was a delicate, idol-esque beauty so lovely you'd want to protect her — the kind who'd admire flowers and couldn't hurt a bug.
On the inside... she was a fierce, battle-hungry wolf stalking her prey... Oh — our eyes met.
Damn it.
The instant I thought that, the girl moved. With effortless speed, she was at my side in the blink of an eye.
Naturally, the gazes of Pieus and his merry band of lackeys turned toward me as well.
"Who the hell are you?"
Pieus said irritably. One of his lackeys narrowed his eyes and spoke.
"That's Wof."
Huh? They knew me?
"Who?"
"Lord Pieus. That guy. He's Wof."
"I said, who?"
"No way. That's Wof?"
The other lackey nodded as well.
Why — why did they know about me?
"Lord Pieus. Do you remember Bobbis?"
"Bob... Oh, that obnoxious delver? He was a disgrace to Kuun Hunt."
"Bobbis and his friends went into an alley with Wof and never came back. When we checked the alley, there was nothing there. Right? That's how it was... Wof..."
Ah, oh, that time. I'd forgotten about it.
So they'd seen that. Well, whatever. I'd play dumb.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You—"
"That's all water under the bridge, isn't it?"
"You... you..."
The two lackeys who knew about me.
I got it. These guys were scared of me. So I could just leave them be.
"What do you mean? Bobbis hasn't shown himself, true, but..."
I could probably ignore Pieus too.
The real issue was the girl.
She was scary. Even while standing right next to me, she was maintaining her distance.
Probably unconsciously. That was exactly what made her scary.
The gap between her appearance and her true nature was so vast it made her even more terrifying.
What was even more terrifying was what I'd instinctively learned from [Danger Discernment].
She was — looking at me.
"Um, um, did you say your name was Wof?"
"Yes, that's right. And you don't need to add '-sama.'"
"Um, my name is Juicy. Juicy Tassan!"
The moment those words left her mouth, the atmosphere shifted.
Pieus and his lackeys' expressions changed completely.
"Huh? T-Tassan — as in THAT Tassan?!"
"Wha — how — you're kidding!"
"O-oy. Impersonating nobility is a serious crime, woman."
"Um, um, here's my proof!"
Juicy held up a ring for us to see.
It was a dull bronze ring. Hmm, had I seen it somewhere before?
Pieus and his crew looked blankly.
"So what? That's a cheap-looking ring."
"That can't possibly be proof of being Tassan!"
"You. You understand, right? Impersonating nobility is a death sentence."
"Um, um, um, um, I made a mistake — this one!"
What Juicy pulled from inside her coat was a pendant.
It was a round, medal-like metal plate with an engraved crest.
The crest depicted — for some reason — the upper body of an androgynous boy wearing a hood and cradling a young wolf.
Above the boy, ancient script read "Tassan."
The design bore a passing resemblance to Misha.
When they saw it, Pieus and his crew went white as sheets. Busy bunch.
"I-I-I'm sooooo sorry!!!"
Pieus bolted while apologizing.
"Sorryyyyy!"
"Sooooorry!"
The two lackeys chased after Pieus, screaming their apologies.
They fled for their lives. Nice. I wanted to flee too.
"Um, you saved me. Thank you so much!"
"I didn't do anything."
"Um, um, pardon me, but — you're very strong!"
"Not at all. I'm a weakling, my lady. Well then."
I gave a slight bow and fled. I at least didn't run.
I steadily distanced myself, walking briskly. Good. I'd escaped naturally.
No way I was sticking around. And she was nobility on top of it.
Best to part ways like this.
I headed toward the purple light. Just a little further... I'd arrived.
"So this is it..."
I could see the faint purple light. It was a very small hole.
A small hole, just barely poking out of the junk pile. The purple light was emanating from within.
If I dug it out, the pile would probably collapse. No — I'd have to dig through the iron scraps of swords, armor, and shields.
"............"
"Um, um, um."
"Wha—!"
Juicy's face suddenly appeared right in front of me, and I was so startled I fell flat on my rear.
"Um, um, Lord Wof! Are you all right? You look like you're all right!"
"...Why are you here?"
Why had she followed me?
This white and red-black
girl.