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Late at night in the forest, I could hear the leaning and chirping of insects around me. It was a darkness that ordinary human eyes couldn’t penetrate, but as a Demigod, it didn’t matter to me.

My target was a wild boar 60 meters away. I drew the bow I had created exclusively for myself and held my breath.

Perhaps due to the presence of demons in this world, animals were quite perceptive and could notice me even at this distance.

I could have used Spy in order to kill off my presence, however, that would have made things too easy, so I chose not to. I also considered that maybe the boar was able to notice me at this distance because my presence as a Demigod was just that great.

Whether demi or not, a god was still a god. Even if this meant that I was a presence that people wouldn’t necessarily notice.

As I aimed my arrow at the wild boar, I realized that the trees were blocking my shot. I took shallow and deep breaths, trying to steady myself.

Counting silently, I waited for the right moment.

Three, two, one… I released the arrow with all my concentration. It scattered a couple of leaves as it took off, flying wildly towards the boar and piercing its head.

With a squeal and a wobble, the boar collapsed. I felt a sense of satisfaction knowing that I had caused minimal damage to the body.

Without pausing for breath, I rushed off towards the boar. Making noise at this moment could attract demons, so using Spy was essential.

While keeping a vigilant eye on my surroundings, I took out a knife to swiftly take care of the boar. The knife was a normal one I’d bought from a random store, however, it was also sharp enough, and with the proper maintenance it could get the job done.

However, I hardly had time to think at the moment. I had to tidy up the boar fast. I had to drain the blood, wash the carcass, and even clean out the entrails while the heart was still beating.

The issue was that I couldn’t move the carcass easily, and ideally, I would’ve wanted to take it to a safe place first.

However, the taste of the boar meant a higher price, so I didn’t want to compromise on that. Demons were particularly sensitive to the smell of blood, so I couldn’t afford to waste any time.

Despite everything seeming alright, I had a nagging sense of unease about today.

I began draining the blood smoothly, but things suddenly took an unexpected turn. While focused on draining the blood I heard something large approach me.

Coming towards me with powerful strides was a Crazed Bear —a massive creature of the demon race. Its fangs were as thick as my arm, and its claws could fell a tree with a single swipe.

Despite its fluffy appearance, its sharp eyes deterred anyone from approaching. It was truly frightening.

It moved on all fours, but whenever the time came for it to use its claws it would stand up.

It was said that low grade adventurers who encountered it didn’t live to tell the tale. However, it was here now, so I swiftly created a short sword with my Creation skill and wielded it using the Hero skill.

Now I didn’t simply wield my sword with brute force as in the past, but rather with finesse and skill. I split the bear in two with almost no resistance.

As the Crazed Bear slowly fell, I shook off the blood from my sword and dropped it to the ground. The sword then began to disappear, as if being sucked into the ground.

This was called destroying evidence. I’d committed a perfect crime. In a sense, though, it wasn’t a crime, as killing a Crazed Bear couldn’t be considered a crime in the first place.

However, this didn’t mean I’d done this without a reason.

First, the Crazed Bear was not an enemy an E Grade adventurer could defeat, so I had no plans of bringing it back. The reason why I was simply leaving it was to show that there’d been a Crazed Bear there.

This bear was not the kind of demon that would appear in a place like this. It was an enemy that a C Grade adventurer would have to deal with.

Second, I had chosen to use a sword because it wasn’t my usual weapon of choice. Typically, I preferred using a bow for hunting. It was what I was accustomed to, and it allowed me to maintain distance, which was advantageous. As for other tools, I carried a knife for self-defense and utility purposes.

Although I’d used a short sword to slay the bear, its blade couldn’t be compared to that of a knife. In other words, there was no connection between the wounds on the Crazed Bear and me.

Third, dealing with the aftermath was just plain bothersome. I wasn’t concerned about whether the bear’s blood would attract demons or cause harm to the town.

While having fewer places to gather information wasn’t ideal, at worst, I would just have to go on a trip through the continent. I’d likely be able to explore the whole of it in 20 years.

◇◇◇

Reflecting on the hunt, I realized why I had a bad hunch about the Crazed Bear.

Bad hunches were something that often turned out to be true.

In fact, they could be considered as warnings about undesirable events that we fear might happen but believe have a reasonable chance of occurring.

Furthermore, it seemed that the more unpleasant experiences people remembered, the higher the perceived probability of such events.

Regarding the last point, I wasn’t entirely certain if it applied to me as a Demigod, but what I was trying to convey was that such a moment was happening to me right now.

I was looking straight ahead at a boy and girl standing before me.

Both were 16 years old. The girl was 16 years old, with dull brown hair and dark indigo blue eyes. Though small in stature, she didn’t stand out that much, as this was a commonplace in this world.

The boy with her had no outstanding features. He was of average height, as if trying to show that he was just an ordinary boy, like any other.

Their subtly battered equipment added to their rustic feel.

Their statuses looked like this.

This made me relieved.

Indeed, Fumitsuki’s status was impressive. Her Stamina and Agility were high, likely because she’d needed them the most during her Spy training.

I too was relieved to see that I’d been right about Fujiwara having both the Stealth and Spy skills.

(……)

Their appearance was not entirely shocking.

After all, I’d made a contract with Fumitsuki to escape the castle, and given that Fujiwara had remained neutral meant that he’d also escaped after noticing the strangeness in the castle.

The reason why they looked somewhat different, and some of their skills were hidden with (brackets) was probably thanks to the Stealth skill, and likely to avoid pursuit from the castle.

After all, dark hair would surely stand up, and having 2 or more skills would have them found out in no time.

I had no particular feelings towards Fumitsuki and Fujiwara. I could only wish for the best for them.

They would inevitably be caught up in the collapse of the world, but I was sure that being able to live freely, even if it meant facing challenges, was way better than being confined to the castle.

I couldn’t care less for the ones who’d bullied me, and for those who wished to make the spirits theirs and destroy the world in the process.

For them I just wished that they’d perish alongside the world. However, I felt somewhat sorry for the people in the neutral group, so I decided that I’d use one of my wishes to try and spare their lives, or something similar.

Though that was only if they managed to stay alive until my errand was done and before the world collapsed.

I, however, had no intention of being responsible for their survival.

With that out of the way, I once again wondered if I’d simply met these two here by accident, or if it was some plot created by god.

Whatever the case, I decided to look positively at this.

Given that Fumitsuki and Fujiwara were here, this meant that the kingdom we were currently in was either the Fraus Kingdom itself, or a kingdom close to it.

I’d been told that the two of them had registered as adventurers here, so it was safe to assume that this was within the Fraus Kingdom.

Which meant that I’d be able to find a way to get to the castle and also get access to some information.