The Hunter and Argarta could only watch the scene unfolding before them, holding their breath.
"This... what in the world."
From the moment Tanton drew the Warden's attention, making it come to him, a precarious and bloody struggle had been unfolding.
The bizarre object Tanton threw surged precisely toward the Warden.
If it had continued on that path, it would have struck the Warden, but the Warden looked at it leisurely and snatched it up with its mouth.
As if angered, it growled and turned its gaze toward Tanton, then immediately charged at him. Despite Tanton's resistance, it wielded the object back and forth as if toying with him.
Watching this, the Hunter intuited.
The plan has failed.
We die here.
'There's no one else to blame. My judgment was simply lacking.'
His fate ends here.
He didn't know his place, so it's a pity it ended this way.
However, the fact that he couldn't get revenge for his family would remain a lasting regret.
Having sorted out his thoughts, the Hunter simply closed his eyes. Argarta could only resign herself as well.
Feeling that they had held out well, considering how far they'd come.
But for some reason, the sound of Tanton being torn apart should have been heard immediately. Instead, only a dull sound and the sound of scraping against the floor reached them.
When the Hunter looked again, Tanton and the Warden were at a distance.
And the Warden was still holding the object in its mouth, silently staring at Tanton.
The Hunter couldn't hide his astonishment.
'...Did he land a blow on that Outer God?!'
There was no other way Tanton could be unharmed.
Whether angered or not, the Warden revealed a ferocious expression and charged at Tanton, after which a breathless exchange of blows ensued.
The Warden met Tanton's hand-strike with its front paw. When Tanton tried to swing the edge of his hand again, the Warden spun around on the spot, evading that as well.
But in the end, Tanton managed to place his hand on the Warden's head, and the Warden began making strange sounds as if something had been done to it.
"Ф̶͚̦̪̠͉̝͖͓̤͖̯͍͔̓͑̀͊̐͌̎̾͛̿̇у̸͓̣̪͍͓͉̭͚̳̦̮̩̩̿̍̏̍͋̋͐̓̄͂"
As if it finally became too much to bear, the Warden eventually broke free from Tanton's touch and began rapidly circling around him.
A look of tension appeared on Tanton's face, and finally, the Warden charged at Tanton, trying to chew his face off.
Overwhelmed by its sheer size, he fell, but wasn't Tanton resisting it with both hands, locked in a struggle of strength with the Warden?
'...Just what are you, mental patient?'
Before he could reassess him, the Hunter began to doubt whether that being was even human.
Finally, the Warden's tongue rush came to an end. Seemingly satisfied, it moved away with light steps.
It was originally a bit shorter than me, but sitting like a puppy made it look even smaller.
"Pant, pant."
Even though it had stopped, its excitement hadn't subsided, as it made sounds and smiled.
...It was a relief it wasn't hurt, but my body was already covered in sticky drool.
"...Tsk! You shouldn't do this. My clothes are all wet now."
I unintentionally used the tone I used to scold my dog at home. Hearing that, the Warden folded its ears and hunched its body.
"Hu, huuung..."
...No, I mean, don't do that while looking like that!
Just as my head was starting to spin, the Warden approached and began gently licking my hand.
"...Me sorry?"
Seeing it look at me with pitiful eyes made me feel like I was the one in the wrong.
I let out a deep sigh and stroked the Warden's head.
"No, just lick my skin from now on. If my clothes get all wet, I have to change again."
"...Good human after all!"
Whether it understood me well or not, this time it put its arm over my shoulder and started licking only my face.
...It felt strangely profound.
The Warden, having moved away from me, picked up the dog bone I had thrown earlier, held it in its mouth, and waved its hand.
"Thank you, human! Thanks to you, I found it! I was here looking for this!"
...Ah, so that was it?
So that's why it was just hanging around doing nothing.
"Bad guy stole this! Exists! If not you, still not found!"
"I see..."
Could there be someone who stole this and put it behind that fake wall?
If they were capable of stealing from the Warden and sealing it away, they certainly weren't ordinary...
But it's just a dog bone, how important could it be?
You could probably get food elsewhere, right?
The Warden suddenly made a thoughtful expression and pointed at me with its finger.
"But, why can talk to me, human?"
"Uh, good question?"
"You don't hurt even when I look at you."
Hmm, what should I say?
Even if I said it's because I installed Super Coward Mode, it probably wouldn't understand.
"Doesn't that just mean I like you that much?"
"...!"
It was just lip service, but the Warden looked surprised, then smiled a very pretty smile and said,
"I like you too, human!"
Hmm.
A pretty girl is saying this to me.
Well, good is good, right?
The Warden picked up the bone, turned around, and started walking away, waving its hand.
"Thank you, human! See you later!"
"Uh, uh."
This guy, even said thank you.
...But, didn't it just say 'see you later'?
I was trying to recall if I heard correctly when Argarta and the Hunter approached.
Well, it was probably just a polite farewell.
I decided to forget about it for now.
Argarta spoke, sweating a cold sweat.
"M-Mr. Tanton. Were you hiding your strength all this time?"
"Huh?"
What does she mean, hiding strength?
As I answered in confusion, the Hunter snorted and spoke.
"...I never would have thought you were capable of such a fight."
The Hunter nodded, seemingly impressed.
"You didn't manage to kill the Outer God, but you were able to repel it. You've proven your own words, so I acknowledge it."
...How exactly do you interpret petting its head as fighting?
Did it only look cute to my eyes again?
Well, I thought mistaking head-petting for something else wouldn't be that easy.
Whatever.
Since we got through it fine, I guess it's okay.
We had defeated the Warden, known as the wailing wall of the tutorial.
Then, a voice seemed to echo in my head:
You have survived the cute Outer God!
Oh.
"What are you doing? Let's get out of here now."
"That's right, Mr. Tanton. Staying too long in this shabby, dirty prison isn't good for your lungs."
"A thief dislikes prison?"
"Do you think thieves like places like this? That's so prejudiced!
Most become thieves for a better life, you know."
The Hunter and Argarta bickered but gestured for me to follow. I smiled at them.
Anyway, without them, I couldn't have come this far.
I was about to fully savor the joy of a successful prison break.
"Yes, I'm comi..."
As if to render that feeling meaningless, my words couldn't be finished.
CRASH!
Suddenly, with the sound of the ceiling shattering, piles of rocks came tumbling down.
"Wh-what?!"
I covered my face with my arms due to the rocks scattering from above.
Whoosh.
The falling rocks were made of brick; a direct hit wouldn't just leave a bruise. But what's this?
The drool left by the Warden, flowing over the licked areas, had reinforced my entire body, protecting me.
I marveled at the rock sliding down the sticky surface.
It was tough when I was being licked because it was wet, but this is unexpectedly useful?!
Thanks, Warden!
The sound gradually ceased, and the debris seemed to have all fallen. As I tried to lower my arms, someone grabbed my arm.
Startled, I looked ahead. A woman wearing a white mask was looking at me, wasn't she?
Inside the collapsed, dust-filled prison, the bleak voice of the masked woman echoed.
"Do not move. If you move, I will cut you down."
At those words, my body froze.
The Hunter and Argarta seemed the same, their movements sealed by the woman's words.
"Ah, aah!"
Something else fell through the hole in the prison ceiling.
KABOOM!
A noise reminiscent of a bomb echoed, and from within, a pink-haired girl wearing a hood appeared.
She looked around frantically, as if frightened, then seemed to find the masked woman and made a relieved expression.
"W-white mask, senior. Y-you're too hasty. What if there were still Outer Gods inside?!"
The pink-haired girl cautiously approached and stood beside White Mask.
Wait, what is going on?
As I was still disoriented by the sudden development, the Hunter spoke calmly, as if he knew.
"So you've come now that the Outer God is gone."
"Is this something to discuss so calmly? Damn it, I should have thought of this when the Outer God showed up."
The Hunter was impassive, but Argarta's reaction was intense.
"That's the Rondane Knight Order! The Outer God hunters!"
"Didn't I tell you not to move?"
When Argarta made a fuss, White Mask growled.
"Move? I've always respected the Knight Order and have absolutely no intention of interfering with your duties!"
Then, as if she had encountered something as fearsome as an Outer God, Argarta threw both hands up high, broadcasting her lack of intent to resist.
The Rondane Knight Order?
I feel like I've heard of them somewhere...
As I was pondering, I heard heavy footsteps approaching from a distance.
"Distortion collapse caused by Outer God confirmed. Identifying personnel in contact with Outer God. Matches prisoners received in custody within the prison. Executing official duties."
Wha, what?
Executing official duties?
The white-masked woman drew a plastic model sword from its sheath.
The pink-haired girl in the hood untied the strap on her shoulder and aimed a toy axe.
The one issuing the terrifying declaration of 'executing official duties' was wearing a bear mascot head.
"Ee, eek!"
"So it is the Rondane Knights. Armed with weapons made from Outer Gods."
"Uh... uh?"
...That is?