kscans

Chapter 78 - I Don't Trust Humans

Don't light a fire. Don't make a sound. Don't sleep deeply.

Those three things became my ironclad rules for survival in this world.

Deep in the forest. A swamp at the end of a beast trail. Yuto Mikazuki sat silently in the shade of a tree, a mud-stained cloak on his back. His blood-stained black katana, Oborozuki, glinted coldly on his lap.

Three days ago, I cut down the kingdom's knights. Just for helping a pregnant woman, I was made a 'wanted criminal.'

Since then, I can't enter towns, can't trust anyone, and can't get money or food.

(What order... it's all pointless.)

The wanted poster on the notice board read as follows.

【WANTED NOTICE】
Name: Mikazuki Yuto
Crimes: Murder of royal knights, defiance of a royal decree, disturbance of the royal capital's order.
Reward: 3,000 gold coins.
'Dead or Alive'

3,000 gold coins. (A pretty good amount.) That's enough for an adventurer to live on for a lifetime. And people, lured by that money, come after me every night.

In just these three days.

'A female mage who controls flames.' She tried to lure me out with the smell of roasting meat.

'Mercenary siblings with twin swords.' They pretended to be weak and begged for help, then attacked me in my sleep.

'The female adventurer Aira Bloodfang's' squad. They surrounded me with forest traps and arrows.

But.

None of them could escape my black sword.

I've been bathed in blood more times than I can count. No matter how many I cut down, the next one comes. It's as if all of 'humanity' is my enemy, chasing after me.

(I never should have trusted humans.)

An old woman who was kind to me once tried to poison me. When I saved a child, they called bandits on me at night. A traveler who shared his food with me put a blade to my throat while I was sleeping.

Every time I tried to be 'human,' humans bared their fangs.

Gasari. The grass rustled.

They're here again. Three of them. All armed.

"...This is the place. The wanted man, Yuto."

"Three thousand gold coins... a high-stakes bounty makes you nervous, huh."

All three were in black attire. A female warrior with makeup on her face, a large man with an eyepatch, and a blond boy with a quiver on his back.

Yuto didn't even sigh, he just stood up.

"Please, do as you like."

"Came here to be cut down?"

"...No, I just came to be disappointed by 'humans' again."

The next moment.

"Zashuh!"

By the time the man with the eyepatch realized it, Oborozuki was buried in his throat. Another flash from the shadows, Eiko-sen. Not a single one of them could react.

The second and third were over in an instant.

Silence returned to the forest. Yuto knelt again.

(I'm so sleepy... but if I sleep, I die. I'll be killed.)

My stomach growled. My throat was parched. The soles of my feet were split, and my skin was dry.

Still, it was better than trusting people.

It was then.

"...Magnificent."

A muffled voice came from beside me.

I instinctively readied Oborozuki, and from the shade of a tree emerged a thin man with a hood pulled deep over his head.

"I am 'Gil,' an intermediary for the dark guild Dreadbind."

"...An enemy?"

"No. I came to deliver a message to you, a reincarnator."

The man continued in a voice as quiet as a death god's.

"'Reincarnated Hero Ares' is looking for you. He would very much like to meet with you."

Yuto remained silent.

(A reincarnator... someone from the 'previous world,' like me.)

Gil offered a small bag. Inside was food, money, and a travel permit.

"If you keep going like this, you will 'starve to death' again."

Yuto's eyes wavered slightly.

(...That's right. Back then, as a child, no one helped me, and I starved, and died.)

"...Alright. I'll meet him."

Yuto followed the hooded man. But the words he muttered deep in his chest were ice-cold.

I won't trust humans. Not even another 'reincarnator.'