I Became the Wrong Race

39 – Mourner on the Snowy Field (1)

This is a story from when I was young.

My friend and I were sincere.

I tried hard not to tarnish my older sister’s face as much as she raised me, but that friend did it because her father could be said to be a great person.

Even if that wasn’t the case, he was a naive and easily swayed guy, so it would have been justified.

Anyway, our conversation didn’t diverge that much.

Usually, if our conversation went strange, it was the third party’s fault.

I remember it being like that that day too.

‘My dream is the pillar room.’

A friend whose name is vague said that.

My best friend and I next to me were embarrassed, but his desire was not dampened despite our pointing.

Even for an elementary school student, he was realistic and pure.

‘If a woman who makes more money and is more capable than me earns money for me and treats me well, I can do housework and rest comfortably at home.’

As I was looking at the guy laughing and saying how dreamy it was, I couldn’t tell at the time whether that was his true intention or not.

Now that I think about it, I think that was completely sincere.

Of course, it wasn’t a time when gender roles and such were actively being discussed, so my friends and I expressed our disapproval, but he didn’t care.

There were two main reasons why it suddenly occurred to me.

One is that I really have nothing to do, so I spend my time staring blankly at the ceiling of the tent.

The other thing is that I am not much different from that situation, so I feel like I am a party to it.

If this is a creative work, wouldn’t the title be something like ‘Living in the Snow Leopard’s Pillar West’?

I tossed and turned while thinking such pointless thoughts.

The cold wind blows over the snowy field.

While Isla was out hunting, I was guarding the camp alone like a pillar.

It was also unavoidable.

While Isla can do almost any task, including cooking, setting up and managing a camp, hunting, butchering, skinning, repairing equipment, and even scouting the surrounding area.

I, a helpless modern-day person with only talent, chose the wrong race and became a monster, because even Isla could do what I could do.

If I were better at a certain task than Isla, I would have taken on that task and tried not to feel this miserable feeling, but that wasn’t easy either.

At best, the only thing I could do better than Isla was move heavy loads or move wood for firewood, and even if it was just a cart, Isla was better than me.

This was not a prediction, but an observation result.

What a feeling it was when Isla perfectly trimmed and organized a tree into firewood and dragged it to the campsite while I was dragging a large tree.

When things happened like that, I had to hide in my little cocoon as a friend to protect my mind.

I had to avoid fearful external stimuli, crouch down and wait for growth.

It was unfortunate that even the cocoon was a tent that Isla had originally carried.

I lay down and looked blankly at my equipment that Isla had maintained and was leaning against.

To be exact, it was armor, a surcoat, and a long sword. The cloak was lent to Isla.

That cloak is good for hunting and moving corpses. That being said, I couldn’t say no, so I lent it to him.

Since the shape changed freely, the striking dark red color was not a problem. I guess he’s probably wearing it around his wrist like a wrist guard by now.

I got up from where I was lying down and looked outside for a moment.

[Play time: 9,037 hours]

Outside the tent, there was an endless snowy field and a city vaguely visible in the distance.

I could feel the delicate smell of the sea unique to my monster-like nose, and the slight salt mixed in with the blowing wind tickled my skin.

That sea breeze reminded me of Melody’s words.

‘I think we need to take some time for internal crackdown and reorganization. Since I don’t have anything else to request… ‘Would you please stay nearby?’

That was three days ago. After hearing that, we left Marsi and set up camp.

And nothing happened for three days. What happened for almost three days was the same.

Isla wakes up first thing in the morning, stretches out with her tail wagging, and heads outside carrying her large crossbow on her back.

When I saw her off, Isla walked away without making a sound and headed towards the forest. I had nothing to do after seeing her off, so she lay down blankly, thinking about things like builds and ways to deal with wizards.

If you spend time like that, Isla will come back.

An arrow was stuck in her neck, or her heart was pierced by a crossbow, or an animal fainted after being hit in the head with a lead bullet worthy of a catapult.

If you help hang such an animal on a tree, all that is left is time to stare blankly at it. Isla dismantled the enormous beast in an instant without any help from me.

A skill that makes you wonder if you have lived like this your whole life. They drain her blood, separate the skin from the flesh, store the meat to eat, and organize the bones for their own use.

Although the work was slightly different depending on the day, it was generally similar.

From there, I was able to find out what kind of person Isla was.

Isla was a skilled hunter and a Northerner born and raised in the North.

This means that it is specialized in mass producing pillar books. A housewife would have had something to do, but a housewife was not really needed in the camp.

Is that normal in the north?

Even when I lived with my sister, I wasn’t this much of an insectivore.

I was thankful that my body didn’t have to eat much. If eating was at a level commensurate with health, I wouldn’t have been able to endure the guilt.

“… “I feel depressed for no reason.”

It seems that my thoughts only flowed in a gloomy direction. I tried to control my depressed mood.

The eyes rolling around in the bleak tent stopped at one place.

That was Surcourt.

This is a newly acquired item, and it is a trap item that can only be effectively used by someone who is a homunculus mourner and possesses Holy Blood and Blood Knight armor.

It was an item that was usually ignored as soon as one got it, wondering if it was something like this.

I saw potential in such items.

Probably the 6 people who had higher speedrunning rankings than me thought the same thing. I lay there wondering if those people had come here too, and if they had, where they would have gone.

My body felt comfortable and cozy, and I think I fell asleep without realizing it because it was so cozy.

When I suddenly opened my eyes to the cold wind that blew, my head popped through the tent.

“I was sleeping so hard I didn’t wake you up.”

He spoke in an emotionless tone as if he was talking about the results of some observation, but I slowly realized that this was not the case.

The time we spent together was getting longer. If you don’t know, you’re an idiot.

I made eye contact with the woman who was watching me sleep with satisfaction.

Then her snow leopard ears perked up, and the black and red scarf around her neck caught my eye.

It was my cloak. Is the hunt over already?

I stood up and stretched.

“Do you want a snack?”

“… It’s good.”

“Warm up and come out. Cold.”

I thought I wouldn’t get sick because I was a homunculus, but I wasn’t an asshole who would say things like that in front of people who cared about me.

I slowly but roughly warmed up and went outside. Before I knew it, the sun was slowly setting.

Above the scarlet carpet that stretched to the horizon was the sun with half-closed eyes.

Night was already coming.

Outside the tent, flames the color of a sunset were fluttering, as if a fire had already been lit.

There were various traces around there.

From fat that has been removed and collected, raw hide that has undergone basic storage, to meat that has been slaughtered and hung for salting or drying.

A large crossbow was seen at first glance between them. A weapon a little different from anything I know, called the Dead Man’s Play.

“How are you?”

“Okay.”

“What are the details?”

“It’s easy to shoot, you can shoot quickly, and you can shoot what you want when you want. Be quiet.”

Isla liked the large crossbow played with the dead man’s hand as her reward.

It was a weapon that could use a variety of ammunition, had a fast firing rate, and had excellent penetrating power.

And all of that was a great advantage for Isla, a hunter who mainly used catapults.

To put it mildly, they were able to catch at least one game every day.

The evidence was hanging on a tree. I glanced at the white bones of huge beasts that had been collected to make glue.

It seemed like it was probably a wild boar.

“Thank you.”

As I was looking at the bone fragments, I heard words and felt the pleasant softness of the female body.

I smiled briefly when I saw Isla hugging me with her cheek buried in my chest.

“Didn’t you say it was repayment yesterday too?”

“Even if I do it, it’s not enough.”

Since he is already acting as a pillar, there is no need to repay him.

Isla was adamant and offered skinship in return.

Doesn’t he cuddle his tail when he falls asleep, and doesn’t he try his best to cook, offering to feed him something delicious?

I felt comfortable, but I was worried that one day I would take it for granted.

Should I say that it makes you want to eat it? I waited until Isla was satisfied and only after she released her hug did I take her seat.

A friend came to mind again.

The friend who said he would become a pillar of pretty women and have fun.

Now that I have unintentionally granted that friend’s wish, has he or she fulfilled her wish?

It was around the time when I was chewing and swallowing tea with a mixture of herbs, honey, and fruits gathered from the forest, and meat that tasted like sweets soaked in honey and dried.

“Would you like me to teach you how to hunt?”

Isla suggested so.

“It’s good if you know how to do it.”

It wasn’t wrong. There is nothing to lose by learning.

But I could understand Isla’s intentions beyond that. She reciprocated and kept hugging me, and Isla was appealing herself to me.

It was clear. Having lived with my older sister all my life, I am quite sensitive to women.

But I didn’t want to refuse for that reason. Even if she bowed down and asked me to teach her, I wasn’t sure if she would listen, but it was better if she volunteered to teach me.

So I was about to give a positive answer.

I felt something.

Should I say it is a subtle warmth? I felt something in the cold winter wind blowing.

It was a presence. A trace that cannot be hidden as long as it is a breathing being.

Isla and I made eye contact at the same time and stood up at the same time.

Isla picks up her large crossbow and throws me a dagger pulled from her waist.

The lightly held hunting dagger had a spherical shape.

Ignoring the words “Comel’s responsibility” That appeared in the corner of my vision, I turned the dagger in my hand and held it back.

There was something else I needed to look at now.

I saw a new branch under the plate.

[Blood bag of note / Three clans

-You are constantly interfering with the events of the three clans. To put it mildly, there are people in the three clans discussing how to deal with you. From now on, it will be difficult to sleep comfortably at night.]

A blatant hint that an assassin will be sent. I thought it had finally arrived.

On the contrary, I felt like I had left it too peaceful until now. I took a stance, ready to use Mourning.

A sign that is slowly getting closer. In the darkness that had already descended, a figure finally appeared.

Jeopuk, jerk, jerk, chin.

It was a middle-aged man who was almost naked.

The upper body was hairy enough to make one think it was a bear beast, and the lower body was covered with barbaric fur and leather pants.

There was a huge ax on his back, and his trained muscles were full of scars.

He was a barbarian warrior. An entity too unique to be used as an assassin.

However, barbarian warriors were something to be wary of. I took a stance and Isla aimed her crossbow.

Then, the metal arm attached to the crossbow loads the crossbow. In the midst of silent reloading, I drew a trajectory, assuming that a barbarian warrior would rush in.

No matter how you move, protect Isla and prepare her shooting angle. With that premise in mind, I was planning my move.

Finally, the barbarian warrior made his move.

But the movement far exceeded my expectations.

Even Isla’s expectations were exceeded.

Let’s go!

The barbarian warrior did not rush, throw away his weapon, or roar.

“Something to eat…” .”

He just fell to the floor with a gurgling sound.

I was dumbfounded by the completely unexpected sight.