Reunion Junkyard ② – You Are a White and Dark Red Child.
I couldn’t move for a while. I just stood there, frozen, staring.
What in the world was going on? Sweat started to bead on my forehead.
My Relic [Wheel of Fortune] should only display three colors of light to my eyes.
Green. Yellow. Blue. I’d been using it for a long, long time now, and there had never been any light other than these three colors.
“And of all things, purple…”
Startled, I deactivated [Wheel of Fortune] and used the Relic [Danger Detection].
White means safe. Red means danger. Black means certain death. They appear as points of light.
“………”
I could see countless white and red dots. No black ones for now.
And there were no other colors of light.
I wondered if maybe the Relic was malfunctioning, though I wasn’t sure if that was possible.
It seemed not. If it was malfunctioning, that would be a huge problem in itself, so I was relieved.
“……”
I deactivated [Danger Detection] and used [Wheel of Fortune] again.
Green and yellow lights were scattered about; there was no blue. And just one point of purple light… existed.
It was definitely there. I deactivated and reactivated it multiple times, but it was still there.
“…What is that?”
What should I do? What to do? What to do?
“………”
Thinking about it wouldn’t give me an answer. But could I just ignore it?
No. I had to check. I needed to find out what was there.
I activated both [Wheel of Fortune] and [Danger Detection] simultaneously.
This was my Junkyard setup.
“This way, huh?”
The purple light was faint. It was far from here.
Carefully, carefully, I proceeded, avoiding the red danger zones.
“Oi! You planning on defying me?!”
“You! Woman! Do you know who this is?”
“Show some respect!”
“He’s the squad leader of the 37th Hired Pup Brigade, part of the esteemed Koon Hunt!”
What’s this?
Looking towards the voices, I saw three boys cornering a single girl against the backdrop of a junk pile.
The arrogant-looking boy in the middle, with blond hair and white Horns, seemed to be this squad leader.
He wore clothing resembling a military uniform, clearly of a different rank than the other two.
That uniform… it looked familiar. Right, like that SS uniform.
He wore a sword at his hip.
“Just be a good girl and become Pies’s woman.”
“Um, um, um, I find you incredibly repulsive, so no thank you!”
The girl stated firmly. Her voice was uniquely cute, like ringing bells.
She was… what was she?
Judging by her appearance, she looked about my age, maybe a year younger.
From her glossy, jet-black hair that flowed down past her waist, sprouted pitch-black dog… wolf ears.
Her large, round, chestnut-colored eyes were lovely, like something out of a shojo manga.
She had a petite, adorable face to match.
Her expression shone like a blooming flower.
She wore a black jacket over a white, frilly apron dress with a red skirt.
It suited her quite well. The color scheme somehow made it look like a uniform.
She had a black belt fastened around her waist with a pink pouch attached.
A wolf’s Tail drooped from the base of her skirt. She had no weapon.
Her appearance was that of a Wolfkin, but her aura and posture made you instinctively want to protect her.
If I had to compare her to something, yes, an idol. Her outfit looked exactly like an idol’s uniform costume.
Of course she was cute. Naturally, she was a lovely beautiful girl.
That’s why she was getting tangled up with guys like that.
Or so it seemed.
“How rude! Pies-san is telling you to become his woman!”
“Just obediently become Pies-san’s woman! Don’t underestimate the Hired Pup Brigade leader or Koon Hunt!”
“Woman… Don’t make me angry.”
“Um, um, um… I don’t want to, so I don’t want to.”
The lackeys said something, and the one called Pies’s voice trembled.
The girl looked troubled. However…
“……”
I hesitated. Should I go help her?
Normally, the usual me would. I’d jump in to help without a second thought.
But what was this strange sense of unease?
The strange ones weren’t Pies and his lackeys.
It was the girl.
Ever since learning self-defense from the Witch, I’d become more aware of body posture and stance.
I could now vaguely discern the difference in skill even among Seekers just walking by.
From that, I could somehow sense how strong they were.
The Witch used to say:
‘First off, you need to know what strength looks like, Wof boy. You’re lacking in that department.’
Knowing strength— That girl. First, she was keeping her distance from them. Probably because she disliked them.
But wasn’t that maintaining her fighting range?
Furthermore, though her hips were pulled back, they were slightly lowered, and her feet were shoulder-width apart.
And the girl’s arms. At first glance, it looked like she was just showing reluctance.
But with memories of my past life, I knew.
That posture, with her arms bent in front of her chest, slightly near her face… a boxer’s guard.
A chill ran down my spine.
The moment one of them laid a hand on her, they’d be done for.
They’d be hit by her straight punch, thrown after she stepped back slightly and twisted her hips.
Ah, I see. She was waiting.
Waiting for them to make a move… a wolf waiting for prey to fall into its trap.
And wasn’t that a fingerless glove she was wearing on her right hand? How nostalgic.
That black belt was a battle belt. A sturdy belt meant for combat.
And those black shoes. Thick soles. They definitely had steel plates inside.
Her appearance was lovely, making you want to protect her, an idol-like beautiful girl who loves flowers and couldn’t hurt a fly.
But inside… she was a ferocious starving wolf seeking battle, stalking her prey… Ah, our eyes met.
Damn it.
The moment I thought that, the girl moved. With flawless speed, she was before me in an instant.
Naturally, the gazes of Pies and his merry lackeys turned towards me too.
“What do you want?” Pies asked irritably.
One of the lackeys narrowed his eyes. Then he spoke.
“It’s Wof.”
Eh, he knows me?
“Who?”
“Pies-san. That guy. It’s Wof.”
“I said, who?”
“Seriously? That’s Wof?”
The other lackey nodded too.
Why, why do they know me?
“Pies-san. Do you remember Bobbis?”
“Bob… Ah, that disagreeable Seeker? He was a disgrace to Koon Hunt.”
“Bobbis and his cronies. They went into an alley with Wof and never came back. When we went to the alley, there was nothing there. Right, isn’t that right, Wof…”
Ah, ahh, from that time? I’d forgotten.
I see. So I was seen. Well, it doesn’t really matter, but I’ll play dumb.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You bastard!”
“That doesn’t matter now, does it?”
“Y-You!”
The two lackeys who knew me.
I got it. They were scared of me. So I could ignore them.
“What’s going on? It’s true Bobbis hasn’t shown his face.”
I could probably ignore this Pies guy too.
The problem was… this girl.
Scary. Even though she was close to me, she was firmly maintaining her distance.
It was probably unconscious. That’s precisely why it was scary.
The gap between her appearance and reality made her even more terrifying.
What was even more terrifying was what I learned when I reflexively used [Danger Detection].
She— looked at me.
“Um, um, are you perhaps Lord Wof?”
“Yes. That’s right, but you don’t need to add the ‘Lord’.”
“Um, my name is Juicy. Juicy=Tasan!”
In that instant, the atmosphere changed.
Pies’s and his lackeys’ expressions completely transformed.
“Huh? T-Tasan? You mean that Tasan!?”
“Wh-What? No way!”
“H-Hey! Impersonating a noble is a serious crime, woman!”
“Um, um, this is proof!”
Juicy-san showed us a ring.
A ring made of bronze, emitting a dull light. Hmm, have I seen that somewhere before?
Pies and the others looked bewildered.
“So what? That’s a cheap-looking ring.”
“There’s no way that’s proof of being a Tasan!”
“You. You understand, right? Impersonating a noble is punishable by death.”
“Um, um, um, um, my mistake. It’s this one!”
What Juicy-san took out from her pocket was a pendant.
A crest was carved onto a round, medal-like metal plate.
For some reason, the crest depicted the upper body of an androgynous youth wearing a hood and holding a young wolf.
Above the youth, the word ‘Tasan’ was written in ancient script.
The art style somehow reminded me of Misha.
Seeing it, Pies and the others turned deathly pale. What a busy bunch.
“W-We’re terribly sorryyyyy!!”
Pies fled while apologizing.
“Forgive ussss!”
“Our bad!”
The two lackeys also shouted apologies as they chased after Pies.
They fled desperately. Nice. I wanted to flee too.
“Um, you saved me. Thank you very much!”
“I didn’t do anything, you know.”
“Um, um, excuse me, but you… you are strong!”
“No, I’m just a weakling, milady. Well then.”
I gave a light bow and fled. Naturally, I didn’t run.
I slowly moved away, then walked briskly. Good. I escaped naturally.
You’ve got to be kidding me. And a noble, too.
Parting ways here was the best course of action.
Towards the purple light. Just a little further… I arrived.
“This is…”
I could see the faint purple light. It was coming from a very small hole.
A small hole gaping open in the junk pile. The purple light emanated from there.
Somehow, if I dug, it might collapse… wait, dig through this scrap metal junk of swords, armor, and shields?
“……”
“Um, um, um.”
“Whoa!”
Juicy-san’s face suddenly appeared right in front of me, startling me so much I fell on my butt.
“Um, um, Lord Wof. Are you alright? You seem alright!”
“…Why are you here?”
Why did she follow me?
This white and reddish-black girl (idol).