Dark Fantasy: Super Coward Mode

“Did you hear? The hunter failed at hunting?!”

When I explained what happened this morning to Agartha, she turned pale and shot back a question at me.

The hunter has failed at hunting.

From the perspective of being chased by a hunter, hearing about a hunter in another domain made me anxious, so I asked Agartha.

“No wonder it’s been so cold since morning…!”

Agartha rubbed her arms quickly with both hands as she spoke.

“What does a hunter do in this area?”

“What do you mean, what do they do! It’s not much different from Hunter-san. However, that person is blinded by revenge and kills outsiders almost madly, while hunters from other regions hunt outsiders for a reasonable reason.”

A reasonable reason, huh.

I don’t think there’s a more ambiguous expression than the word ‘reason.’

Seeing Agartha looking quite cold, I pulled out a blanket from the room and handed it to her, which noticeably improved her complexion.

“Hunters exist in every domain. I don’t know if it’s inevitable or not. Besides, they all have a commonality: they have a good sense of smell.”

Hunters exist in every domain.

When the Knights spoke about hunters, they used a pseudonym and erased their names, so I thought they were something independent.

Come to think of it, the hunter’s father also made a living from hunting.

Did he inherit his father’s profession?

“What’s important now isn’t that! If a hunter fails at hunting in the Gerun Domain, it’s a big deal!”

“Why is that?”

“Can’t you tell it’s gotten colder?!”

Yeah, I understand it’s gotten cold because the hunter failed at hunting.

“But I mean, what’s the relationship between the two?”

“Since Rondan has the princess personally manage the hearth, it’s not a problem here. But in other domains, you have to hunt outsiders and directly throw their bodies into the hearth for it to burn long. If the hunter has failed at hunting, it means this hearth might go out soon!”

Only after hearing Agartha’s explanation did I realize the seriousness of the situation.

No, this isn’t just a big deal?!

Just thinking about Rondan, many people would be in trouble if it got cold.

People living in ordinary buildings, those lost and collapsed on the ground.

This domain would be no different.

With that thought, I rushed out of the building.

“Tanton! Where are you going?!”

I heard Agartha’s voice trying to hold me back, but I couldn’t waste a second.

I thought of that fiery Outcast God cohabitating with Sintol.

Sure, comparing the hearth’s flames to that Outcast God was definitely laughable.

But in the end, it was the same power of the outsider.

This meant that at least that method from before might work.

I headed to the location of the train Agartha and I arrived on.

“T-Tanton! Where are you going?!”

The doorkeeper called out to me in confusion, but I thought I couldn’t delay any longer.

It was crucial to act quickly before the flames vanished.

I jumped into the train like a high jumper and searched the inside thoroughly.

Fortunately, I discovered a mountain of coal stacked up inside.

It was about the weight of three bags of rice, so I thought I wouldn’t be able to lift it, but my body, strengthened by the outsiders’ power, lifted it far easier than I expected.

Having found something important, it was time to do what needed to be done.

I dashed towards the doorkeepers.

“Hey! Please lead me to the hearth!”

“Uh, yes!”

Upon mentioning the hearth, the doorkeeper seemed to realize what I was trying to do and ran inside without hesitation.

I hurriedly chased after him, discovering a structure resembling a bonfire that looked slightly different from Rondan’s hearth.

And I was glad I moved quickly.

A man in front was gnashing his teeth and was irritable, and the heat of the hearth was nearly dying.

But it was clear that it wasn’t too late.

I approached an opening that seemed intended for adding firewood to the hearth.

“Hey, what are you doing?!”

The man gnashing his teeth tried to grab me, but the doorkeepers stopped him.

He probably had a lot to say, but isn’t it better to stay alive first?

After confirming that no one would hinder me, I aligned the opening of the coal sack with the hole and dumped its contents.

Thud.

The sound of coal rolling in unison echoed.

At first, it seemed like nothing was changing.

Whoooosh.

The fire gradually spread along the coal, and the heat of the hearth began to revive.

Soon the flames leapt fiercely to the top, glowing a brilliant red as it burned normally.

Only after confirming this could I let out a sigh of relief.

Phew.

I almost let an entire domain perish.

“…Who are you?”

At that moment, the man who had tried to stop me approached with a confused look.

I thought he might scold me, but he didn’t seem aggressive.

In fact, he wore an expression of sheer relief.

“Isn’t that the famous Mr. Tanton from Rondan? How could a hunter not know this guy!”

“…Mr. Tanton.”

Could my name have spread to other hunters too?

He didn’t seem to be making an ‘Who is that?’ face.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, we could save Gerun. I nearly became a traitor.”

He suddenly kneeled, shaking his hands quickly side to side.

“N-No! We’re all just helping each other. Please get up.”

How should I put it?

It felt weirdly contrasting seeing the stiff demeanor of the other hunter and this one now.

Despite having the same profession, how could there be such a difference?

“Tanton!”

As I was gushing pure admiration, I heard Agartha’s voice from afar.

Agartha leaped deftly to where I was, looking around to assess the situation, and the process was quite amusing.

First, when she looked at the hearth, a smile appeared.

“Oh! Tanton! You did it?!”

Then, when she spotted the coal sack sprawled on the floor, her face drained of color.

“Uh, uh-oh?”

Thirdly, when she checked the coal dust on the hole in the hearth.

“Aaaah! Noooooo!”

…She was howling in despair.

#

We returned to our lodgings.

But the atmosphere wasn’t exactly cheerful.

Because Agartha was silently sulking in the corner, burning white.

“A-Agartha.”

“…Don’t talk to me, sniffle.”

Whoa.

It was my first time seeing Agartha in such low spirits.

Despite always maintaining a smile in even the direst situations, this was one of her defining traits.

“But hey, we saved a whole domain, right? That counts for—”

“Do you know what that coal was?!”

Finally, Agartha began to vent her frustrations in a loud voice.

“The hearth won’t burn with regular coal! You have to throw in something related to outsiders to make the flames strong! Do you understand why the fire got stronger when I dumped that coal?!”

“…Was it coal made from outsiders?”

“That coal was mixed with the flesh of outsiders! Do you have any idea how expensive that is?! Do you know how much wealth I poured into getting this….”

As Agartha trailed off, maybe recalling how much she spent, she suddenly began to tear her hair out with both hands and scream.

…It was indeed true that items made with outsider flesh were quite valuable, as they were only traded among the Knights.

Weapons created from outsider flesh could only be obtained from the armory within the hearth.

Red sensations swirled around Agartha’s head as she mourned.

It’s known that suffering can cloud one’s reason.

If I could eliminate that, I thought she might feel a bit better, so I reached out with my hand.

“What are you doing… uh-oh.”

Whoa.

The effect was immediate.

Just moments ago, she looked like she would smash everything within view, but she quickly calmed down, and I found it amusing.

Maybe I had just adjusted to this peculiar burn, but the discomfort no longer felt like pain.

“Is this what you did, Tanton?”

“Yeah, kind of.”

“You’re now controlling the opponent’s anger too? This is just ridiculous.”

She said that, but she clearly looked much better than before.

“…I guess so. But at least it was used meaningfully, so it’s better this way. Of course, you’ll have to compensate for all of this, Tanton.”

“Guh.”

I’d have to compensate for something that expensive?!

I don’t have that kind of money!

“…Should I pay you back with my body?”

“Don’t say crazy things! Do you think that’s gonna work?!”

Seeing her tackle back, I could tell she felt better.

By the way, I didn’t realize it was that expensive.

I had been joking, but I felt quite guilty.

I was pondering about how to compensate when someone knocked suddenly at the lodging door.

“Yes.”

I dashed out to open the door, and there stood those doorkeepers from earlier.

“Uh, you guys…”

“Mr. Tanton.”

After hearing what the doorkeeper said next, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Mr. Gerun is calling for you.”

It seemed like I had a chance to make it up to Agartha.

---