The mission notice was simple.
Target: Swamp Centipede
Rank: H
Condition: Eliminate the nest, including offspring
Location: Eastern Marsh Belt
When the paper was pinned to the board, the heroes stood in front of it longer than necessary.
"'Including offspring,'" Yui read quietly.
No one replied.
After what they had seen in their first mission—the villagers killing monster babies "for future safety"—those words didn't feel neutral anymore.
Still, they accepted.
Orders were orders.
They left the castle before sunrise. Mist hung low over the fields, and the road toward the marsh grew softer, muddier with every step.
Takumi stretched his arms. "So, centipede. Big. Many legs. Probably poison."
"Probably?" Mio said.
"I'm being optimistic."
Naoki adjusted the straps of his pack. "We should talk about formation before we reach the swamp."
"We won't reach it today," Shun said, looking at the sky. "It's far."
"Good," Hana muttered. "Gives us time to think."
They walked in pairs, talking about small things—food, training, which knight annoyed them most.
Akira and Haruto walked near the front.
"Do you ever think," Haruto said, "that we're slowly becoming part of this world whether we like it or not?"
Akira replied, "We already are. The question is whether we become tools… or something else."
Behind them, Yui and Emi were whispering.
"Do you think the church is watching us?" Yui asked.
"They always are," Emi said calmly. "But watching doesn't mean understanding."
Around midday, the road narrowed. Trees grew taller, darker. The air smelled wet.
Then Takumi suddenly stopped.
"Uh… guys?"
They all looked ahead.
A man was standing in the middle of the road.
He wore a long golden robe that did not look dirty, torn, or worn—despite standing in mud and mist. His hair was long, flowing down his back in two colors: one side black, the other white, as if divided by an invisible line.
He was barefoot.
And smiling.
"Good afternoon," he said gently. His voice didn't echo, didn't strain. It simply… existed.
Every hero tensed.
Shun slowly put his hand near his weapon. "Who are you?"
The man tilted his head. "Just a traveler."
"On a swamp road?" Takumi asked.
"Some roads choose you," the man replied.
That didn't help.
Mio whispered, "I don't feel mana from him."
Akira frowned. "I don't either."
Haruto stepped forward a little. "Are you lost?"
The man looked at him carefully, as if seeing more than just his face. "No. But you are… not where you think you are."
That sent a chill through the group.
Riku spoke up. "We're on a mission. If you're in danger, you should go back."
"Danger?" The man laughed softly. "Everything is dangerous. It only depends on who is walking."
Yui asked, "Do you know about the swamp?"
"I know many swamps," he replied. "Some are made of water. Some of lies. Some of belief."
Takumi muttered, "I don't like this guy."
The man heard him. He smiled wider. "That means you are honest."
Naoki gathered courage. "What's your name?"
The man paused.
Then: "Names are heavy things. I travel light."
Hana crossed her arms. "Then why talk to us?"
"Because," he said, turning slowly in a circle, "twelve footsteps from another world make a loud sound—even when they try to walk quietly."
Silence.
No one had told strangers they were from another world.
Shun's voice was sharp. "Who told you that?"
"No one," the man replied. "Some things are seen, not told."
Haruto felt his chest tighten. "What do you want from us?"
The man walked closer—slowly, calmly. No hostility. No fear.
"I want nothing," he said. "I only wished to see whether the story that is beginning… is worth watching."
"Story?" Yui asked.
"Yes," he said softly. "Every world tells itself stories. Heroes, monsters, gods, truth. You are now part of one."
Mio swallowed. "And you?"
"I am a reader," the man said.
Then he stepped back.
"The swamp will still be there tomorrow," he added. "But some meetings happen only once."
The road did not end where the man in gold appeared.
He simply turned—without asking—and began walking in the same direction as them.
None of the heroes stopped him.
For a long while, only footsteps and wind existed.
Then Takumi broke the silence. "So… you're just joining us?"
The man in gold smiled faintly. "You were already walking with many unseen things. One more is not heavy."
Mio whispered to Yui, "I still don't feel mana from him."
"I don't feel anything," Yui replied.
They moved deeper into the marsh path. Trees leaned like tired giants. The ground darkened, soaked with old water.
Riku asked carefully, "You said you're a reader of stories. What story are we in?"
"A young one," the man replied. "Still soft. Still kind enough to break hearts later."
That made Hana uncomfortable. "Why would it break hearts?"
"Because hearts grow first," he said. "Then they learn what loss means."
Shun stopped walking. "Are you saying one of us will die?"
The man looked at him gently. "Many people die in this world every day."
"That's not what I asked," Shun said.
The man did not answer directly. Instead, he pointed ahead. "You are going to a nest. You were ordered to destroy life that has not yet chosen to be cruel. Remember how your hands feel today. They will not always feel the same."
Haruto clenched his fists. "Why are you telling us this?"
"Because some truths hurt less when they arrive slowly."
Akira spoke quietly. "You also mentioned gods before."
"Yes," the man replied. "Some are worshipped. Some are feared. Some pretend to be one thing while feeding on another."
Mio frowned. "You mean there are false gods?"
The man looked up at the sky. "There are gods who need belief like air. And there are beings who do not care whether you kneel or stand. Learn the difference, or you will kneel to the wrong silence."
Yui asked, "And demons?"
"Ah," he said softly. "Demons are honest about their hunger. Kings among them wear crowns of blood or shadow or flame—but they all answer to something deeper. Something that does not walk freely."
Shun's eyes sharpened. "So there are multiple demon kings?"
The man nodded once. "More than the world is ready to know."
They reached the edge of the swamp as dusk approached. Water reflected red light from the sky. Strange sounds echoed—clicking, sliding, crawling.
The man stopped walking.
"This is where your first heavy choice waits," he said.
Naoki asked, "Will you fight with us?"
"No," the man replied. "I only walk until stories must walk alone."
Hana asked softly, "Will we survive?"
The man looked at all twelve of them.
Then he said, "Not all journeys are meant for all feet."
Silence swallowed the words.
He turned, stepping backward into mist. "When you meet gods who demand fear, remember—truth never needs chains."
His golden robe faded into fog.
They stood at the swamp's edge, hearts heavier than when they began.
Haruto finally said, "I don't think he was lying."
Akira nodded. "And that's what scares me."
Takumi finally said, "So… did anyone else feel like we just talked to something that wasn't human?"
Emi nodded slowly. "Yes."
Haruto stared at the place where the man vanished. "He knew too much."
"And said too little," Akira replied.