Chapter 42

The Race

of Beautiful People

I started to move while hiding my presence .

An opponent who gives off this kind of intimidation…

I still can’t determine if it’s an enemy .

However, I already had a guess based on the conversation that those four people had before .

“This is the wrong guy, right?”

“But, as expected I couldn’t put my hands towards the prey…”

It may come from the one they were chasing .

[Nevertheless… I think that the one they’re chasing after had the intention to fight back . ]

He plans to attack from the front huh…

If he plans to launch a surprise attack, he should have erased his presence .

But, he have such a stupidly deep fighting spirit full of simpleness .

It’s as if he’s intentionally expressing his defiance .

Is he that confident with his abilities?

Or is it that he’s just stupidly honest?

I pick up one of the thick branches nearby .

Hyuuu…

I threw it somewhere diagonally in front of me .

Gasa…

In just that one moment…

[Pii . ]

Pigimaru, who was also peeking out through his protrusion signalled me by making a small cry .

The other party have moved .

Pigimaru’s protrusion would show the direction where he had moved .

He moves frighteningly quick .

It’s as if he’s a raging gale .

I quickly stood up and made my move .

I will catch him off guard when I attack him from the back .

It seems that he’s also surprised when he noticed me behind her .

But, he’s a bit slower in his response .

[]

He was not able to turn towards me .

No— he can’t turn towards me .

It seems that he’s confused why his body can’t move .

Is that a hood covering her head?

No, that’s wrong .

It’s those things…

It looks closer to what nuns wear .

If I’m not mistaken, they’re called veils, right?

Or rather, aren’t hoods those head covers that extends or connected to their backs?

Just like those hoods in a parka .

The next thing that caught my attention is her overall attire .

Is it possible to explain it if I just said that she’s wearing a dress-like armor?

The base color of her armor and other equipment is white .

There are also blue and green streaks added on some parts .

Her hair is a pale yellow, like the color of lemons .

Her hair was tied into a ponytail which drooped down to her back .

It seems she have quite a slender body, though it may be somewhat be difficult to know of because of her armor .

But, the thing that I was most concerned about…

[I felt your intent to attack me—… though I also felt some impurities mixed along in your killing intent . Anyway, that’s beyond the point . ]

I found out that the nature of her killing intent has changed along the way .

I feel hesitation in them .

The quality of her killing intent was different from those with pure killing intent, nor those mixed with sadistic tendencies .

Compared to the monsters from the ruins and the four people that I had just met, her killing intent shows a different emotion .

After being able to compare these kinds of killing intents, I could finally understand the difference between them .

[I felt that there’s something different from the four-person group I had met earlier, so I guess I’ll talk to you for a bit . Though I said that, I’ll keep your movement sealed just in case . ]

There is that unchangeable fact that my opponent might have dangerous thoughts .

Though if you ask me, I’d rather face those four from before .

Therefore, the fact that I’ve gained the initiative could be considered a win for me .

There’s nothing better than making every situation more favorable towards myself .

[What… do… you… want…?]

The woman asked .

I guess I’ll answer honestly for the time being .

[If I were to put it simply, I feel like I lost my way . If you’re knowledgeable about this place, tell me where the nearest town or village is . I’m not a local of this place . It’s also because of it that I don’t know those things that you’d usually call common knowledge . That’s why I want you to tell me everything I need to know about this place—]

There is some change on the woman .

I could see some confusion in her .

It slowly turned to doubt…

I slowly walked in front of her while being careful for sudden attacks .

[…a blindfold?]

Is it included to that equipment she’s wearing on her head?

That part have completely covered her eyes .

It’s as if she’s wearing an eye mask .

I looked down slightly .

The whiteness of her skin stands out now that I’m looking at her in the front .

Her chin have a bit of rotundity in her acutely-angled jaws .

She could be considered to be someone who have a small face in her head . (T/N: kogao, some japs are obsessed with them . ¯_(ツ)_/¯)

The thin lips of the charming woman is faintly quivering

[Those… four…?]

[—Are they your friends?]

[They’re… not…]

[………]

Talking with someone who is paralyzed is really difficult .

There is also quite a bit of the remaining gauge left .

Sigh… It can’t be helped .

[I’ll make it so that you can just move your mouth so that we could make this conversation easier . ]

It’s actually the whole head that would be released, but…

I’ll just say that I will release her “mouth” here .

I declared as such so that I could control the way our conversation goes .

[But… Try anything funny, and I’ll use my skill on you again . I’ll also make sure that such movements have some appropriate punishments prepared for them . Are we clear?]

I guess this should do for now .

The other party should now have thought that I would use my “paralysis skill” on her again .

However, it is actually impossible to stack the same skill in a row .

Well, it’s not like I told any lie to her .

After all, I will just my other skill on her if she tries anything strange .

However, I can’t really talk with someone when they’re sleeping…

That’s why, I would avoid using if possible .

Well, I could just make her sleep, then bind her with some rope but— let’s just leave that for later if I she doesn’t cooperate .

Pigimaru’s staying silent .

It’s as if it had completely read the air and kept its breath .

I was impressed by its spontaneous act…

Or rather, I feel like Pigimaru had been getting smarter .

It took a few moments, but the woman have finally replied .

[Yes . ]

I tapped the gauge that was floating near her head and tapped the Partial Release (Head) tag that appeared next to it .

The way of changing the display works the same way as the other cancellation options of my skills .

Kasha…

After partially releasing her paralysis, I took a bit of distance away from her just in case .

The woman just stared at me blankly .

[—I can… finally talk… like normal…]

[The only part you can move is your mouth . I’m sorry, but I still don’t trust you . There’s a lot of people that I have met before I got in here . That’s why, I can’t easily trust a stranger . ]

[No— It’s not wrong for you to be vigilant against strangers . It’s just how a traveler like you would naturally think . ]

She said no sudden insults .

Is this just how she normally is?

I could hear her clear voice filled with determination .

If someone like a pure knight exists, he might be someone like this .

I observed her again .

With the way she looks, I think you could even say she could make money with just her appearance .

I took a glance at the yellow gauge .

I noticed one thing just now .

It may be because I haven’t partially released those four-people just now, that’s why I haven’t really noticed it and it made me really uncomfortable now that I did .

It’s probably because there’s no one other than me who can see the gauge .

They’re not aware of this gauge .

In other words, they can’t guess that there should be a time limit on my skill if they can’t see the slowly decreasing gauge .

If I were to use my skill on someone who had never been targeted before, maybe I could just fool them and tell them that the effect is permanent?

[There is one thing that I want to ask before I would answer your questions . ]

[I’d answer it depending on what your question is . ]

[Did you meet a four-person group earlier?]

[I met them . ]

[