Feeling the urge to relieve myself, I slipped out of the quiet tent and crept into the forest.
Normally, I would have just taken care of business nearby, but it would only cause another headache if Rose's retainers caught me. I decided to head as deep into the woods as possible.
The nighttime forest was wrapped in total darkness. Beneath the thick, overlapping canopy of giant trees, not a single ray of moonlight filtered through. It felt just like wading into a bottomless bog. I kept flinching at the occasional cries of wild birds, shrieking like frightened little critters in the dark. Still, I pushed onward—until a slender, soft-featured man with red hair and a black robe suddenly stepped out from the shadows of the trees.
That scared the life out of me! I nearly wet myself on the spot. Had this guy been in that carriage? Sure, I'd been doing my best to avoid people lately, but I still couldn't help memorizing faces whether I wanted to or not. Especially after being treated so terribly from the start. This man definitely hadn't been with the carriage. There was no mistaking it. In that case, did he live around here?
"U-Um, do you live nearby?"
My mother, who was a hunter, had once told me that some people lived deep in the mountains to conduct research on magic and such. Since he was wearing a robe, maybe he was one of those types.
"This wasn't in the report. So, an accident, huh...?"
Completely ignoring my question, the red-haired man stroked his scruffy beard for a moment.
"We-ell, I suppose it won't hurt to play around a bit, as long as it doesn't get in the way of the plan."
His face twisted into a hideous sneer. Just a single look at that expression warped with vile amusement sent a cold shiver straight through my nerves, and I instinctively took a step back.
"Ah, feel free to run. In fact, you'd better run fast. Otherwise, it won't be any fun."
The man snapped his fingers. From behind him came the low rumble of growls and the gleam of multiple pairs of glowing eyes.
"Eek?!"
A chill so violent it felt like my blood was flowing in reverse shot through me, and a tiny shriek escaped my lips.
Then, prowling slowly out from the depths of the trees, came beasts resembling black hounds.
There was no doubt about it. This man was controlling them. And judging by what he'd said, this was no joke or prank—he fully intended to sick those hound-like monsters on me.
Why does it always have to be me?!
Desperately swallowing the urge to cry, I broke into a dead sprint, focusing everything on getting away from the beasts behind me.
I couldn't breathe. My heart throbbed with pain. My legs had been screaming at me to stop for a while now. Even so, I pushed my feet as hard as I could to put distance between myself and the countless beastly presences closing in.
Thanks to my [Most Incompetent in the World] Gift, I was slow. They should have caught up to me in an instant, yet the black beasts merely trailed right behind my heels. Ironically, the only reason I was still in one piece was probably that the red-haired man controlling them was thoroughly enjoying hunting me like a fox.
I didn't even know where I was running anymore. I was just blindly fleeing as they herded me forward. By now, a thick fog had begun to roll in around us.
Then, I finally burst out into an area with a small waterfall basin.
Damn it! A total dead end. At this point, throwing myself into the waterfall was my only option. Well, compared to becoming monster chow, maybe that was slightly better.
Just as despair began to take hold, I caught a glimpse of what looked like a hollow opening behind the water tumbling into the basin.
Could I... escape through there?!
Clutching onto that single ray of hope in the dark, I dashed toward the back of the waterfall basin. Miraculously, it opened into a cavern.
Thank goodness. I can keep going. I plunged even deeper into the cave.
How long had I been running? At some point, the cave's walls and ceiling had shifted from reddish-brown earth to artificial stonework.
It might have been dozens of minutes, or perhaps only a few. Just as my heart, lungs, and legs all hit their absolute limits, I spotted a light ahead in the passage. Thank goodness, an exit. But wait, wasn't it supposed to be the middle of the night?
"Huh?"
Stepping out of the cave, I found myself in a barren wasteland without a single blade of grass. What was more, the sun was blazing brilliantly overhead.
What is going on here? It was night before I went into the cave. Emerging on the other side into broad daylight—what kind of magic is this?!
Calm down! I can't run another step anyway, so the first thing I need to do is find somewhere to hide.
A hiding spot, huh? Glancing around, I saw an open space with a radius of about 500 mel, ringed by towering cliffs. Around the base of the cliffs stood a few clusters of withered trees, alongside what looked like a spring. And standing majestically right at the center of the clearing was a single, imposing temple.
Looks like I could hide inside that temple. It wouldn't be surprising if those beasts burst in here at any second. I just hope they linger around the waterfall basin a little longer. Still, they're beasts, so their noses are probably sharp. I shouldn't get my hopes up.
Turning to check the cave entrance connecting back to where I'd come from to see if they were following—
"You've got to be kidding me..."
A gasp of pure shock escaped my lips. And for good reason. The cave I had just come through was sealed shut. More accurately, it was gone without a trace.
I dashed over to inspect the rock face, but the result was the same. There wasn't a hint of an opening anywhere.
I remembered my hunter mother mentioning that some ruins had traps that made exits vanish like this. Maybe this was one of those.
In that case, since those monsters couldn't get in either, this might actually be a convenient spot to lay low. To that red-haired man, I was just a toy for his hunt. As long as it was nothing more than a game to him, he'd probably clear out after losing track of me for a few days.
Then the best plan was to find a way out of here, wait things out for a couple of days, and then make my escape. That was the ideal move.
A way out, huh? The most suspicious place has to be that temple. I'll start by exploring there.