Transmigrated to a Dark Fantasy World of SSS-Rank: King of the Void-Chapter 61: It Has Finally Begun
He pretended not to hear anything and curled up on the ground beside a small blanket Monar had lent him earlier. Unfortunately, Azel wasn’t a complete fool. He chuckled casually, still sitting with his back against the wooden trunk, and looked at Mitsuki with a relaxed expression.
"You know? I can perfectly tell when someone is asleep just by listening to their breathing. In fact, I can even tell how people around me are feeling just by observing them carefully for a few seconds. Interesting, don’t you think?"
Mitsuki had a bad feeling.
"For example, the fact that you’re nervous or uncomfortable most of the time. That must be tough for you."
’Damn it... I knew there was something off about all of this,’ he thought, silently lamenting. ’And why the hell are people in this world so perceptive about others’ feelings? Just leave me alone!’
"But don’t worry, man. I’m not judging you or anything like that," Azel added, as relaxed as ever. "It’s just that it’s kind of sad that you don’t try to join the group. Even if you work for us, that doesn’t mean we can’t become friends."
Huh... Those were words Mitsuki didn’t need to hear.
’Friends, huh... I don’t think that’s going to work after what happened back at the guild. There’s no way I could even get close to people like them. Right now, I’m only thinking about using them to grow stronger. They’re nothing more than tools to reach my goal. Once they stop being useful, I’ll have to discard them. That’s just how this works, after all.’
His eyes dimmed, as if he were trying to push aside his humanity to change his way of thinking. At the same time, sensing the silent hostility in Mitsuki’s thoughts, Azel shifted his gaze toward Marco, who was sleeping peacefully as if the world itself had stopped turning.
"Maybe you’re angry at this guy after what he did to you; a lot of people are, to be honest, but he’s not a bad person. I think Monar mentioned it before, but Marco hates nobles and everything related to them. And you, walking hand in hand with the Princess and the Witch, were someone directly connected to nobility. So he saw in you a chance to vent a little."
Mitsuki clenched his fist tightly, recalling that day with frustration.
’As if that were enough justification. No one does what he did for such a stupid reason. This guy is just spouting nonsense.’
"Oh, of course, I’m not telling you to forgive him—you’d be pretty stupid if you did. You just have to understand that the world is full of all kinds of people with all kinds of motivations, and Marco is one of them. And, well," he said with a laugh, "if you ever gain enough power someday, I’d be more than happy to help you beat him up. After all these years, he really needs someone to knock some sense into him. His way of thinking is way too simplistic."
Those words made more sense. Mitsuki was surprised. The hostility that had built up from the previous comment faded away.
’I guess you and that Monar guy are the smartest ones in the group.’
To begin with, Mountain was... a bald mountain of massive muscles, and Marco was a blond pretty boy in armor with no control over what he said or did. Monar and Azel were the complete opposite. The dark elf was the kindest and most understanding in the group, while this long-haired man was just a lazy guy—far too relaxed to be just a simple adventurer.
"Anyway. What really interests me is where you come from. Are you a native of the Eastern Lands? There are quite a lot of people with your features over there."
’The Eastern Lands... Galahad mentioned them too. Could it be something like the Asian continent from my world?’
Putting that aside, he didn’t have an answer. When he remained silent, Azel sighed, slightly disappointed.
"At least tell me you come from the Ethereal World; I’d take that as a good late-night joke."
’This guy isn’t going to stop until I tell him something, is he? People who talk too much have always been my worst enemies, but there are way too many of them in this world. Is being a chatterbox the rule for survival here?’
No one was going to give him an answer, so he sighed, tired.
’Right. It’s not just monsters I’ll have to face, but people too,’ he thought, closing his eyes. "I’m not from anywhere in particular. I just travel, hoping to find someplace interesting."
"I see. You’re pretty much the perfect definition of a wanderer. That’s amazing. And I guess you don’t have a family, right?"
"No. I don’t."
"Then you’ll fit in quite well with the group. We’re all orphans here, and we’ve known each other since we were very young. At least Marco, Mountain, and I have. We only met Monar two years ago."
The story itself seemed interesting, but...
"Hm... Okay," Mitsuki murmured. He was no longer very interested in the conversation. In fact, he was starting to fall asleep. Long journeys with strangers are always exhausting.
That made Azel’s smile fade a little. He looked at the ground for a few seconds before lying down on his sleeping bag. He gazed at the stars under the faint light of the campfire, which was slowly dying out, and said:
"I guess that’s all we’ll talk about today. You’re tired, it’s late, and we need to gather our strength for tomorrow. Good night."
And just like that, the day came to an end, with this awkward conversation that Mitsuki didn’t really care about.
The following days were more of the same. The carriage ride was very quiet; Azel slept all day, and Monar read all the time. Marco and Mountain spent most of their time up front, so Mitsuki didn’t interact with them much.
As for sudden ambushes or monster attacks, there wasn’t much to speak of. At one point, a large boar about two meters tall appeared. Its body was stout, its fur black as night, and its prominent snout twitched as it sniffed along the road. The moment Marco saw it, he leapt forward and sliced it to pieces in the blink of an eye. The remains of the poor animal, which had simply been passing through, were stored in a magical bag that Monar carried with him.
That meal was enough for the rest of the journey. And so, two weeks passed quickly—two weeks in which Mitsuki remained as distant as ever. It felt like time had moved more slowly simply because he had done nothing, unlike his journey with the girls, which had been a true adventure.
"We’re almost at the road to Holylight!" Marco called out from outside. "Get the porter’s load ready, and put everything else into Monar’s Spatial Bag."
’We’ve really made it. Even the atmosphere feels heavier.’
The dark forests of Nemoria became more prominent.
