生き延びられた現実
―――真っ暗だ
なんだか懐かしい......うん、これはあれだ、死んだ時と同じだ。深く、冷たく、暗い海の底にどんどん沈んでいく感覚。でも、前の時よりは落ちていく感覚が随分とゆっくりだ......これは多分あの時よりは致命傷では無いってことなのかもしれない。
でもこのままだと死ぬのは確かだ。死ぬのは嫌だ、なんとか上へと戻りたいけど、身体の感覚が無い。意識だけが沈んでいく感覚で、手を動かそうにも手が無い、足をバタつかせようにも足が無い。駄目だ、打つ手なし......これは死ぬかなぁ......。
フィニアちゃんはどうなったんだろう、お面は護ったからあの段階じゃ死んでないと思うけど......あの怪物がフィニアちゃんを生かして去るとは思えない。あの赤い瞳を思い浮かべると......また少しだけ怖くなった。
すると、
―――!
沈んでいく身体が浮上していく感覚に陥った。何かが僕のことを包みこんで、引っ張り上げている様な感じだ。これはもしかしてもしかするのかもしれない、僕はまだ......生きていられるのかもしれない。
暗闇の中で、一つの光が見えた。手の感覚はないが、意識的に手を伸ばす。少しずつ光が大きくなる、そして周囲全体が真っ白い光に包まれた時―――声が聞こえた。
―――ね―――ん! ――――つね――ん!
ああ、これはあの子の声だ。僕の親友、しおりちゃんの声。彼女が呼んでる、行かないと――――
僕の意識は、光に呑まれて浮上していった。
「きつねさん! きつねさん!!」
森の中、地面に倒れている
その声の主は、小さな妖精......フィニア。その両手を倒れている桔音に向けて、何度も何度も治癒魔法を発動させていた。魔力が切れて尚、使用しようと両手を向けているが、当然魔法は発動していない。
桔音は自身の血の海に沈んでいた。傷は治癒魔法にて完治しているが、出血が多い。桔音の顔は青白く、今にも死んでしまう状態であることは誰が見ても明らかだった。
「きつねさん! 起きてよ! 眼を覚まして......!!」
魔力切れで飛ぶことも出来ないほど憔悴しているフィニア。普通なら疲労で気絶しても仕方が無い程だが、フィニアは必死に桔音に呼び掛けていた。
フィニアが眼を覚ました時、既に瘴気の怪物は姿を消していた。代わりに桔音が瀕死の状態で倒れていたのだ。そもそも、フィニアは敵の姿を見ていない。何が自分を襲い、その後どうなって桔音がこんな状態になったのか、フィニアは全く知らないのだ。とにかく必死で治癒魔法を使い続けていた。
「きつねさ―――......はぁっ......はぁっ......!」
呼び掛ける声が小さくなり、荒い呼吸になっていく。膝を折り、地面に座り込んでしまった。目の前に力なく存在する桔音の指を抱きしめ、普段の笑顔を消してすすり泣く。ぽろぽろと涙を流し、嗚咽と共に小さな泣き声を響かせた。
「うぇ.........きつねっ......さ......! うぇぇぇん! ぎづねさぁぁぁん!」
幼い泣き声が響く。彼女の涙が桔音の手をじわりと濡らした。
すると、濡れた手がピクリと動いた。
「......泣くんじゃないよ......フィニアちゃん......」
「っ! きつねさん!」
「けほっ......はぁ......はぁ......どうにか、生きてるみたいだね」
桔音は蒼白な表情のまま、身体を起こした。そして、周囲を見て瘴気の怪物がいなくなっていることを理解する。とりあえず安堵の息を吐いた。
そして左手を顔を半分覆う様に置いて......気付いた。
「.........? ......フィニアちゃん......ごめん、僕の顔......左側、どうなってる?」
桔音の問いに、フィニアは息を呑む。おそらく気が付いていて、言いづらいのだろう。だが、桔音がフィニアの瞳を見ると、目を逸らしながらぽつりぽつりと口を開いた。
「......ひ、左眼が.........
フィニアの言う通り、桔音の左眼は無くなっていた。桔音の左眼のあった場所には、ぽっかりと赤黒い穴が空いていた。
桔音はそう言われて、自分が死に掛け、フィニアが目覚めるまでの間に何があったのかをなんとなく理解した。おそらく、あの瘴気の怪物......赤い瞳を持った怪物のせいだ。桔音が意識を失っている間に、あの怪物は桔音の左眼を『喰った』のだ。
あれが魔獣なのか、それとも別の生き物なのかは分からないが、人を襲う以上は人を喰らう可能性は十分に考えられる。
桔音は失われた左半分の視界を感じながら、左眼の穴から手を離した。
「.........眼、か......」
桔音は自分を心配そうに見上げるフィニアの頭を指先で撫でて、立ち上がる。きょろきょろと当たりを見渡して、後方に狐のお面を見つけた。ふらふらと歩み寄り、拾い上げる。
そして、へたり込んだままのフィニアを自分の右肩に乗せた。
「大丈夫......進もう......」
桔音の残った右眼は濁った様に暗かった。蒼白な表情なのも相まって、その姿は幽鬼の様で、少し不気味だった。だがそれでも、濁った瞳には微かな生きる意志があった。今や篠崎しおりとの約束だけが、桔音を支えていた。
ふらふらと、少しづつ桔音は進む。街まではもう少しだ。桔音は、手に持ったお面を付けた。今度は頭の横に掛けるのではなく、しっかり顔を覆う様に付けた。左目の穴を隠すように、蒼白な表情を覆い隠すように、狐の表情を纏った桔音。
「あと、ちょっと......」
少しづつ、だが確かに足を進ませていくのだった。
時刻は夜。空も大分薄暗くなってきた頃、桔音とフィニアは大きな木の下で休息を取っていた。桔音はお面を外さず、木に寄り掛かって眠っていた。フィニアはそんな桔音の横で、周囲を警戒している。
彼女、というより妖精は生きていく上で食事や睡眠を必要としない。厳密には、食事や睡眠を取ることは出来る......しかし必ずしも必要ではないのだ。妖精が生きていく上で必要なのは、自身の媒介である『自然』か『想い』だ。
とはいえ、妖精達は人間と同じように肉体と精神を持っている。人間同様、致命傷を負えば普通に死ぬ。
自然種の妖精は死んでも新たな妖精が生まれるが、思想種は想いの品が残っていたとしても復活はしない。あくまで、想いの品が健在であることで寿命がなくなるだけで、死ななくなるわけではなのだ。勿論、想いの品が破壊された場合も死んでしまうのだが。
それはさておき、そういうわけで睡眠を必要としないフィニアは、夜を徹して見張りをしているのだ。だが普段とは打って変わって暗い表情で、何度も桔音を見ている。その表情には罪悪感が感じ取れた。
彼女は後悔しているのだ。自分が護ると言った傍から、桔音を瀕死に追いやったことに責任を感じているのだ。
しかも、『左眼』という取り返しのつかない代償を支払わせてしまった。自分の力ではどうする事も出来ない損傷。現に治癒魔法を使っても、損傷は治せなかった。治癒魔法のスキルレベルが足りないのか、それとも魔法ではどんなにレベルが高くでも治せないのか、フィニアは思い詰めていた。
「きつねさんは......私が護るよ......」
フィニアはそう呟いて、小さな拳を固く握りしめる。魔力は回復した、身体も動く。
もうこれ以上は桔音を傷つけたくない、自分の命を犠牲にしてでも護り抜くのだと、フィニアはその亜麻色の瞳に決意を浮かべた。
「これからは私が......きつねさんの左眼になる」
お面に隠された桔音の顔に小さな手を置きながら放たれたその呟きは、薄暗い森の中に小さく響いて、消えていった。
夜が明けた。
桔音が眼を覚まし、フィニアと共にまた歩き出したのは早朝のこと。瘴気の怪物と会う前は弾んでいた会話も無くなり、気まずい沈黙の中、桔音達は進んでいた。
昨夜の時点でかなり進み、街まではもう残り1kmを切っていた。周囲の様子も様変わりして、木々と木々の間にある隙間が段々広くなり、草木の高さも低くなっていた。もうじき森を出られるだろうと予想が付く。
お面に隠された顔がどんな表情を浮かべているのか、フィニアにはまだ分からない。昨日よりは足取りも大分良くなってきているので、おそらく一晩寝て大分体調は回復したようだ。ここ三日の間に桔音が食べたものといえば、食べても大丈夫そうな雑草や木々に生っていた木の実だ。食べても身体に変化はなかったので、幾つか取って食べていたのだが、今はもうそのストックも尽きている。
と、そこでもう何時間ぶりに、桔音が口を開いた。
「.........フィニアちゃん」
「っ! な、なにかな!」
「ごめんね、もう大丈夫......大分気持ちの整理が付いたよ」
桔音はそう言って、お面を外して苦笑する。そのお面の奥には変わらずぽっかり穴の空いた左眼が見える......だが、桔音はそのことについて踏ん切りをつけたようだった。その証拠に桔音の表情にはもう憂いはなかった。
「う、うん! 私こそごめんなさい......護るって言ったのに......」
「あはは、気にしなくても良いよ。アレはきっとフィニアちゃんでも敵わない相手だ......それより......フィニアちゃんが無事で良かった」
「......うん」
桔音の肩に降り立って、桔音の頬に自身の頬を合わせるフィニア。まだ精神的な傷が完全に癒えたわけではないが、二人の表情は先程よりも少しだけ和らいでいた。
「あ......フィニアちゃん、見て」
「え......あ!」
桔音が指差した先、そこには―――広い草原が広がっていた。森を抜けたのだ。そして、その草原を見渡した先に......街が見えた。
この三日間、ずっとここまで来れるように頑張ってきたことを考えて、桔音とフィニアの表情が明るくなった。
「やった......!」
「行こう! きつねさん!」
桔音はフィニアの声に駆け出す。街まではもう800mほどしかない、走ればすぐだ。ステータス的にも大きく向上した桔音は出来得る限り速く進む。少しづつ街が近づいてくる。
だが、ここで最後の邪魔が入った。
「なっ......!」
「此処に来て......!」
街からおよそ500mほど離れた所で、桔音の前に魔獣が現れた。現れたのは大型犬並の大きさの狼が数体。敵意剥き出しで、桔音を獲物として見ているのが分かる。
「......なるほど、でも駄目だね......君達程度じゃ、あの怪物の足下にも及ばない」
だが桔音は怯えない。徹底的に死の恐怖を味わい、二度の死を経験した桔音は今、怖いものなんて何もないと言えるほどに精神的に強くなっていた。一度巨大な脅威を経験したものは、それ以降の些細な脅威に恐怖しないのだ。
そして、それは桔音に取って最も有益な力となる。
「ステータス」
桔音は『ステータス鑑定』を発動させる。
◇ステータス◇
名前:薙刀桔音
性別:男 Lv4
筋力:140(+100)
体力:160(+100)
耐性:280(+100)
敏捷:150(+100)
魔力:120(+100)
スキル『不屈』発動中
称号:『異世界人』
スキル:『痛覚無効Lv1(NEW!)』『不気味体質』『異世界言語翻訳』『ステータス鑑定』『不屈』『威圧』『臨死体験(NEW!)』
固有スキル:???
PTメンバー:フィニア(妖精)
◇
「あれ? なんか『痛覚耐性Lv8』が変質してる? んー、まぁいいか......僕さ、あの怪物を相手にしてみて理解したことがあるんだよ」
「グルルルル......!」
「スキルの、発動の仕方―――!」
桔音がそう言うと、狼たちの視界に一瞬何かが見えた。それは生物のようで、生物でない存在―――そう、それは死そのものだった。
―――『不気味体質』
狼たちは一歩後ずさる。桔音の雰囲気が変わったからだ。
怖い、不気味、近づきたくない、そう思う程の不気味なプレッシャー。全員で掛かれば確実に殺せるであろう弱者であるのに、近よりがたいと思う危険な気配。
「ああ、あと......これもね」
桔音はそう言って、薄ら笑いを浮かべた。そしてその瞬間、次なるスキルが発動する。
―――『威圧』
狼達に放たれるプレッシャーが、更に重くなった。押し潰されるかと思う程の重圧、狼たちは逃げ出したいと思いながら、その場から一歩も動けずにいた。あまりの威圧感に身体が硬直してしまっているのだ。
「アクティブスキルはそういう行動が出来るってだけ......でも、パッシブスキルには発動に条件があるものがあるみたいだ......それが、僕の『不気味体質』とかだね......これを発動させるには、きっと精神的なトリガーが必要なんだ。僕の場合は、それが恐怖心に深く関わっている......僕のスキルは恐らく、精神的に安定している時に発動するんだ」
狼たちは桔音の独白を大人しく聞かざるを得ない。動けないのだ。
「そして、僕のスキルは相手の精神を威圧する類のモノ......僕が怖いかな?」
桔音は薄ら笑いを浮かべながら狼に近づく。そして動けないでいる狼の頭を撫でて、そのままその横を通り過ぎる。
「じゃあね、弱い人間も馬鹿に出来ないことが分かったなら......むやみやたらに襲い掛からないことだ」
桔音がそう言ってスキルを解除すると、狼たちは金縛りが解けた様に動けるようになった。
だが、桔音に襲い掛かるような真似はせず......怯えるように森の方へ去って行った。桔音はそれを首だけ振り返りながら見送ると、薄ら笑いを浮かべてまた走りだした。
「きつねさん、いいの? 殺さなくても」
「いいんだよ、今は僕達が生きていれば......それでいい」
「......そっか、うん! そうだよね!」
フィニアがにぱっと笑う。桔音が薄ら笑いを浮かべる。いつもの二人に戻った所で、桔音とフィニアは街の入り口に辿り着いた。
「......はぁ......はぁ......辿り着いた......!」
「うん......!」
だが、桔音はそこで意識を失う。回復したとはいえその身体と精神には多大な疲労が蓄積している。桔音は街に辿り着いた安心感からか、スイッチが切れた様に倒れたのだった。
「きつねさん! きつねさん!?」
フィニアはそんな桔音を心配して呼び掛ける。だが、桔音が規則正しい呼吸をしていることから、眠っているだけだと安心した。
しかしこのままここに放置するわけにもいかない。困った表情を浮かべるフィニア。
と、そこに、
「えーと......大丈夫か......じゃなくて、ですか?」
「え?」
Chapter 9: Surviving Reality
... It's pitch black.
For some reason, it's nostalgic... yeah, it's that. The same as back when I died. The feeling of sinking into the depths of a deep, cold, and dark ocean. But compared to before, the falling feeling seems much slower... perhaps that means my wounds are less fatal this time around.
But there's no doubt that I'll die at this rate. I don't want to die. I want to somehow return to the surface, but I can't feel my body. Only my conscious is sinking, and even if I try to reach out my hands, I have none. Even if I try to kick with my legs, I have none. This is no good, I have no cards to play... so am I going to die...
I wonder what happened to Finia-chan. I made sure to protect the mask, so she probably didn't die from the impact... but I doubt that monster would just let her leave. When I recall those red eyes... I  still feel a little afraid.
And.
...!
I felt the sensation of my sinking body resurfacing. Something is enveloping me, and pulling me up. This is one of the barest of possibilities, but maybe I'm still... alive.
Within the darkness, I saw a single light. I didn't have the feeling of my hands, but I give an intent to reach them out. Slowly, the light grows brighter, and when my entire surroundings were covered in a pure white light... I heard a voice.
...ne...n! ...tsu...n!
Ah, this is that child's voice. My best friend, Shiori-chan's voice. She's calling for me. I have to go, or else...
My consciousness was swallowed by the light, and resurfaced.
"Kitsune-san! Kitsune-san!"
Within the forest, a voice called out to the fallen boy.
The owner of that voice was a small fairy... Finia. With her hands pointed at him, she used healing magic again, and again. Even after running out of Mana, she continues pointing her hands, and trying to activate it, but of course, nothing happens.
Kitsune was submerged in a puddle of his own blood. The wounds had already been fully taken care of with the magic, but he had lost too much blood. Kitsune's face was pale, and anyone could see he was in a state where he would die at a moment's notice.
"Kitsune-san! Wake up! Open your eyes...!!"
Out of magic, and too exhausted to even fly. It wouldn't be strange for her to have passed out from fatigue, but Finia desperately continues to call out to Kitsune.
Shen she had opened her eyes, the monster of miasma had already left. In its place, she found Kitsune collapsed in terminal condition. In the first place, Finia never saw the form of her enemy. Just what had attacked her, or what had happened to put the boy in such a state were completely unknown to her. She frantically continued to cast healing magic on him.
"Kitsune-sa... haa... haa...!"
Her calling voice grew faint, and her breathing became rough. She fell to her knees, and sat on the ground. Hugging the finger of Kitsune, who was losing strength before her eyes, she erased her ever-present smile as she wept. Thikc tears fell, and along with her sobbing, she raised a quiet cry.
"Uee... Kitsune... sa...! Ueeeeeeen! Kitsune-saaaaaaan!"
A childing cry rang out. Her tears ran down, and soaked Kitsune's hand.
His wet hand twitched slightly.
"... Don't cry... Finia-chan..."
"! Kitsune-san!"
"Keho... hah... hah... it seems I've survived somehow."
Still with a pale expression, Kitsune lifted his body. Observing his surroundings, he saw that the monster was no longer there. For now, he breathed a sigh of relief.
And when he used his left hand to cover his face... he noticed.
"...? ...Finia-chan... sorry, but my face... what's wrong with the left side?"
On his question, Finia took a deep breath. She had probably noticed before, but it was hard to say. When Kitsune looked into her eyes, she averted them, and slowly opened her mouth.
"... Your l-left eye is... gone..."
Just as she had said, Kitsune had lost his left eye. In the space where it was, there was nothing but a dark red hole.
Having heard that, Kitsune gained a vague idea of just what had happened after he was on the brink of death, and before Finia awoke him. It's likely the doing of that the miasma monster... the red eyed one. While Kitsune was unconscious, that monster had eaten his eye.
He didn't know whether it was a Magical Beast, or some other lifeform entirely, but as long as it was out assaulting humans, there was more than enough of a chance that it ate people.
Kitsune tested the change from losing half of his eyesight, as he removed his hand from the hole where his left eye once was.
"... My eye, is it..."
Using his finger, Kitsune patted the head of Finia, who was looking at him with a worried expression, as he stood up. He restlessly looked around, and found the Kitsune Mask behind him. He took unsteady steps, and collected it.
And he placed the depressed Finia on his right shoulder.
"It's alright... let's keep going..."
As if it had become muddy, the vision from his right eye was dark. With a pale complexion, his visage was like a ghost's, and a bit eerie. But even so, his clouded eye still had a will to live. Right now, his promise to Shinozaki Shiori was the only thing supporting Kitsune.
Unsteadily, Kitsune slowly proceeded forward. The town was only a little further. Kitsune put on the mask that was in his hand. This time, he didn't hang it on one side, he firmly set it to cover his face. To cover the hole of his left eye, to hide his white complexion, Kitsune wore the face of a Kitsune.
"Just a little further..."
Little by little, but his feet were definitely moving forward.
The time was night. When the sky had become quite gloomy, Kitsune and Finia took a rest under a large tree. Without removing the mask, Kitsune leaned against the base of the trunk, and fell asleep. Next to him, Finia kept watch of the area.
The girl, no, the fairy, while alive, didn't require food or sleep to sustain function. To put it specifically, she was able to do both actions, but it wasn't a necessity. All a fairy needed to live was the intermediary through which they were born, {Nature} , or{Feelings} .
Even so, fairies possessed a body and soul similar to humans. As with humans, if they suffered a fatal injury, they would usually die.
With Natural Fairies, even if one died, another would be born, but for an Ideological Fairy, even if the intermediary item remained, they wouldn't be revived. As long as that item was in a good condition, they wouldn't have a life span, so they wouldn't die from time. Of course, they would perish if that item were to be destroyed.
Leaving that aside, anyways, as she didn't require sleep, Finia passed the night keeping watch. Her expression had taken a drastic dark turn from the usual, and she looked back at him time and again. Her face was filled with a sense of guilt.
She regretted. After she said she would protect him, Kitsune's near-death state felt like her responsibility.
What's more, he paid the irreplaceable price of his eye. It was an injury she wouldn't be able to compensate for regardless of her power. Even after using healing magic, she couldn't recover what was lost. Perhaps her magic level wasn't high enough, or it wasn't something any level of magic could take care of. Finia brooded over it.
"Kitsune-san... I'll protect you..."
Finia whispered, as she clenched her small fist. Her magic had recovered, and she could move her body.
She couldn't let Kitsune get hurt any further, and even if it cost her her life, she would protect him. Resolve rose in her flaxen eyes.
"From here on... I'll become Kitsune-san's left eye."
She placed her hand on Kitsune's face, concealed by the mask, as she let out her voice. Her small voice echoed through the gloomy forest, before going out.
Night came to an end.
Kitsune opened his eye, and started walking alongside Finia in the early morning. The conversations they exchanged before encountering the monster had died out, and within an awkward silence, they proceeded forward.
The previos night, they had walked a while, and only 1km remained to the town. Their surroundings were undergoing a complete change, and the gaps between each tree gradually began to widen. The height of the vegetation also began to fall. They expected that they would soon be out of the forest.
What sort of face was he making underneath that mask? Finia still didn't know. His gait had gotten much better than yesterday, so after a nights rest, he had probably recovered considerably. All he had eaten in the past three days were weeds and fruits that seemed safe. There hadn't been any major changes to his body after eating them, so he had harvested quite a few, but that stock had already been run through.
After a few hours had passed, Kitsune opened his mouth.
"... Finia-chan."
"! W-what could it be!?"
"Sorry. I'm already fine... I've been able to put my thoughts in order quite a bit."
Saying that, he took off his mask, and made a bitter smile. Under it was, without change, a blank hole where his left eye once was... but Kitsune appeared to have some determination in regards to that. As evidence, his expression was no longer sad.
"Y-yeah! I'm the one who should be sorry... I said I would protect you, and yet..."
"Ahaha, don't worry about it. I don't think even Finia-chan would be a match for that one... more importantly... I'm happy you're safe."
"... Yeah."
She dismounted his shoulder, and put her face to his. Their emotional wounds hadn't healed completely, but both of their expressions had gotten a little softer.
"Ah... Finia-chan, look."
"Eh... ah!"
In the direction Kitsune's finger pointed... spread a vast grassland. They had gotten out of the forest. And looking over the field... they saw a town.
In these three days, thinking of how hard they had tried to come all the way here, Kitsune's and Finia's expressions turned bright.
"We did it...!"
"Let's go! Kitsune-san!"
On Finia's words, Kitsune ran out. There was only less than 800m to the town, a distance they could instantly span by running. With his elevated status, it was one Kitsune could span easily. They gradually approach civilization.
But there, a final obstruction appeared.
"Wha...!"
"Even here...!"
Distanced about 500m from the town, a Demon Beast stood before them. What came out were several wolf-shaped ones the size of a large breed of dog. From the hostility in their eyes, Kitsune knew it was looking on him as prey.
"... I see, but that's no good... at you guys' level, you'll never even scratch that monster from before."
Kitsune wasn't scared. Having tasted the complete fear of death, and having experienced it a second time, he had gained mental strength as not to fear anything. After experiencing the greatest of threats, everything else seemed but a small trifle.
And for Kitsune, that was the most beneficial of powers.
"Status."
Kitsune activated his {Status Discernment} .
*Status*
Name: Naginata Kitsune
Gender: Male Lv4
Strength: 140(+100)
Stamina: 160(+100)
Resilience: 280(+100)
Dexterity: 150(+100)
Magic: 120(+100)
Skill{Persistence} IN EFFECT
Title:{Otherworlder} 
Skill: {Pain Null Lv1(NEW!)} {Eerie Constitution} {World Language Translator} {Status Discernment} {Persistence} {Coercion} {Near Death Experience(NEW!)} 
Innate Skill: ???
PT Member: Finia(Fairy)
*
"Hmm? For some reason, my {Pain Resistance Lv8}  changed. Well, I guess that's fine... when fighting against that monster, there's something I started to understand."
"GRRRRRRRR...!"
"It's about how to activate this skill...!"
As he said that, for a brief instant, the wolves saw something. Something like a living creature, yet an existence unlike any...right, that was death itself.
... {Eerie Constitution} 
The wolves take a step back. It was because the atmosphere around Kitsune had changed.
Scary. Creepy. I don't want to get any closer. Eerie pressure great enough for those thoughts to enter their minds. Though he was a weakling they would be able to handle if they all leapt at him, he was a dangerous presence they didn't want to approach.
"Ah... this too."
Saying that, a thin smile spread across Kitsune's face. There, the next Skill activated.
... {Coercion} .
The pressure emitted at the wolves became even heavier. They felt as if they were going to be crushed. No matter how much they wanted to run away, they couldn't take a single step away. The great sense of intimidation had stiffened their body to that extent.
"Active Skills can be used just by thinking or performing the action, but... it looks like Passives have some conditions you have to meet to use them... that's stuff like my {Eerie Constitution} . In order to use it, I'll be there's a sort of psychological trigger. In my case, it's deeply related to fear... My skill probably only activates when I have mental stability."
The wolves had no choice but to quietly listen to Kitsune's monologue. They couldn't move.
"And my Skill is a sort of thing that intimidates an enemy's mentality... do you think I'm scary?"
With a faint smile on his face, Kitsune approached the wolves. HE pat one of their immobile heads, and walked straight past them.
"Seeya. Now that you understand that you can't underestimate weak humans... don't go attacking them left and right."
Saying that, he released the skill, and the wolves were released from their paralysis.
But without doing something as foolish as attacking him... they departed towards the forest in terror. Kitsune turned only his head to watch them off, before he started walking forward again with his faint smile on his face.
"Kitsune-san, was that fine? Not killing them?"
"It's fine. Right now, as long as we're alive... that's enough."
"... That's right. Yeah! That's exactly right!"
Finia gave a bright smile. Kitsune gave a thin one. As the two of them returned to their usual selves, Kitsune and Finia arrived at the village entrance.
"... Hah... hah... we've finally arrived...!"
"Yeah...!"
But there, Kitsune lost consciousness. Even if he had recovered, his mind and body had been accumulating quite a bit of fatigue. From the sense of relief brought about from arriving at town, he collapsed, as if a switch had been flipped.
"Kitsune-san! Kitsune-san!?"
Finia calls out to him in worry. But seeing as he was breathing normall, she was relieved to find he was only sleeping.
However, she couldn't just leave him there. A troubled expression surfaced on her face.
And there...
"Um... Are 'ya... I mean, are you alright?"
"Eh?"
I Kinda Came to Another World, but Where’s the Way Home?
【書籍化】異世界来ちゃったけど帰り道何処？
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/i-kinda-came-to-another-world-but-wheres-the-way-home/
Action Adventure Comedy Drama Fantasy Harem Shounen Slice of Life
Apathetic Protagonist Bullying Calm Protagonist Demi-Humans Demon Lord Demons Dense Protagonist Fairies Game Elements Ghosts Heterochromia Knights Level System Male Protagonist Murders Naive Protagonist R-15 Royalty R*pe S*aves Sword And Magic Transported to Another World Weak Protagonist Yandere
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n2650bx/
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