Why can't humans do it too?

Even he himself didn't know why he had to give up, and couldn't find the reason... He just wanted to live, simply to live.

I don't want to die like this.

They never even found the meaning of living or dying.

Sull began to imitate Riku, a child who was theoretically much younger than himself.

Imitating Riku's taciturn nature and his approach to handling matters, Sull only recalled useful or valuable knowledge from his own memory. Following his memories, he found methods for cultivating edible mushrooms, common sense for treating common diseases under simple conditions, and so on. He worked hard to increase his value in the village and improve his status, eventually obtaining the position of elder as he wished.

And finally——

When danger arises, a ladder is formed according to the value of each person, and the person at the bottom of the ladder is ordered to use their own life to draw the danger away.

That was the beginning of Suer's nightmare.

After the first victim died under his orders, even though none of his comrades said a word of blame, from that moment on, Sull could no longer fall asleep in an environment without lights.

It was as if, if he lost this light, an invisible hand would reach out from the darkness and strangle him, making it impossible for him to breathe again, simply because of his impurity.

Yes, as Suer knew, compared to the simple and kind people in the settlement, he, who had impure motives from the beginning, was like a rotten sludge, devouring the lives of innocent people.

All his efforts, his relentless climb upwards, his desperate quest to become one of the camp's managers all stemmed from one reason—he never wanted to hear anyone say to him:

【Sur, I command you—die here.】

This is the root of everything, and it is what Sull fears most.

This is also why he is now curled up in this cave, unable to warm his body from the cold even though he is wrapped in several thick blankets.

He could even vaguely hear Riku's calm voice speaking to him, and even Riku's voice was reproduced perfectly.

【Sur, for the sake of the entire settlement... you should leave.】

Unable to resist, Suer gripped the blanket covering her head even tighter, curling up into a ball.

Ever since he returned to the village, the image of the monkey waving its blood-soaked, bitten-off pieces of clothing and squeaking as it fled from him has been constantly flashing through his mind, whether his eyes are open or closed, accompanied by all sorts of the most horrible fantasies.

Fantasies about all possible scenarios—the fantasy of the orcs searching for and pursuing them slaughtering everyone in the settlement; the fantasy of everyone being forced to relocate the settlement because of him dying in large numbers in front of the orcs who have increased the threat to humanity; the fantasy of Riku ordering him to leave the settlement after learning the truth...

Liku, who was also on a expedition, has not yet returned.

Suer was like a condemned prisoner awaiting sentencing.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Ke'er Seems to Know Something

A long beam of light finally pierced through the pitch-black cave. Suer's door was opened a crack, and someone was carefully observing the situation inside the cave by the light they were holding up.

“…Sul? Let’s eat something first.” Gently pushing open the door, Ke’er squeezed in sideways and placed the food she was carrying on a tray on the wooden table next to her.

Suddenly sitting up in bed as if startled, Su'er pulled the blanket off her head but remained motionless, staring blankly at Ke'er standing at the doorway. Her throat moved slightly, but no sound came out.

For a fleeting moment, he really wanted to call out Ke'er's name, immediately, just like the big hug Ke'er gave him when he first returned to the village—he needed that kind of comfort, that kind of warmth.

Suddenly, Credor's words came to mind—the words the child spoke while holding his hand tightly, even in his feverish, near-conscious state…

Suddenly, Suer found herself wanting to say the same thing, to shout those words to Ke'er: "Don't give up on me."

He was the same as Credo; Credo had expectations of him, and he, in turn, had expectations of…

But in the end, all was silent.

“…I’m not hungry yet, just leave it there for now,” Su Er hesitated, then lowered her eyes and said softly, “Thank you, Ke’er.”

Thank you for taking care of me like this, from the past until now.

"Huh? What? Why are you suddenly being so polite to me, your older sister?" After a moment of surprise, Ke'er quickly smiled and said, "You and Riku are like my younger brothers, so why are you thanking me?"

"Pfft, neither Riku nor I have ever admitted to this, have we?" Suer couldn't help but chuckle. Ke'er was always thinking about this, but she was always driven crazy by the two of them who didn't cooperate.

"So you and Riku are both so naughty!" Sure enough, upon hearing Sul's words, Ko'er puffed up her chubby cheeks angrily, her red hair making her even cuter.

"Haha, there's nothing we can do about it," Suer laughed heartily, then casually asked, "By the way, has Riku returned?"

“Liku hasn’t come back yet,” Ke’er said, her brows furrowing with worry. “I hope they are both safe and sound.”

"Don't worry," Suer nodded simply, reassuringly saying, "Liku is so smart, they will definitely return safely."

With a sigh of relief.

Even though he knew his reaction was despicable, Sull still couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief when he heard Kole say that Riku hadn't returned yet.

He can stay here and live a little longer.

"Hmm," Ke'er nodded in agreement, unaware of what Su'er was thinking.

The two sat facing each other in silence.

awkward.

"...Did anything else happen when you went out this time?" After a long silence, as if she could no longer bear the torturous silence, Ke'er stared intently at the slightly protruding rock on the ground and asked in a low voice.

“…”, Suer subconsciously gripped the corner of the blanket covering him, “…No, nothing happened. Lenny and the others have already told us the details, right? There are no discrepancies.”

Suer answered nonchalantly.

He resisted telling the truth—even harboring a hidden desire, a bewitching temptation, that kept urging him to keep it all a secret.

Don't tell Ke'er.

Don't tell Liku.

Don't tell everyone.

In this way, he could continue living in the settlement like everyone else, as if nothing had happened.

A rugged fork in the road, full of thorns.

“…I see~” In the end, Ke’er simply agreed softly, accepting this answer.

“Yes, that’s right,” Suer replied, bowing his head.

Before they knew it, the two of them were back in that awkward silence.

"Then I'll be going now. Su'er, you should get some sleep. You look so pale." Taking a deep breath, Ke'er smiled again and the red-haired girl stood up and walked briskly towards the door.

"..."

Without saying a word, Suer just stared blankly as the wooden door slowly closed, along with the lamp that Ke'er had taken away. The sudden loss of all light plunged him into complete darkness.

The cold air swept over us again.

Wow!

"Ah! That's right!" The wooden door was suddenly pushed open forcefully, and Ko'er looked at Sul, who was sitting on the bed, trembling slightly at her actions, holding up the ore that was emitting a dazzling orange-yellow light. "Let's celebrate the fact that no one died on this expedition after Riku and the others all come back!"

"When that time comes, Su'er must tell us another joke with a big laugh!"

The girl with beautiful red hair smiled gently, winked playfully, and then closed the door again.

"..."

Finally, there was no sound at all in the dark cave.

Suer sat there, thinking nothing and doing nothing, as if he had completely turned into a stone statue and merged into the darkness.

After a long while, he finally moved around, but did not turn on the lights. Suer simply followed the arrangement of the cave in his memory and stumbled to sit down next to the low wooden table.

Sul ran his fingers over the uneven tabletop and found the small wooden basin that Ke'er had left there.

No light was needed; just by smelling that incredibly familiar aroma, he could imagine what was inside, the image so vivid—dumplings made from powdered plant roots, boiled bean soup, mushrooms cooked with salt extracted according to the method provided by Suer…

It's Ke'er's specialty, food brimming with heart.

The fragrance he knew best.

Even though so much time has passed, the food is still warm.

Taking out his small knife from beside him, Suer trembled as he poked at the wooden basin, repeating the process several times before finally managing to poke a dumpling out of the basin with difficulty.

Chewing and stuffing, even though his mouth was already full of dumplings, Suer was still not satisfied and kept stuffing more food into his mouth, savoring everything.

Something is falling.

"...What? Don't make requests that are impossible to fulfill..."

"You stupid woman..."

Chapter Twenty-Eight Differences

"That orc claimed to have the ability to read minds, and according to him, this ability is a common power among all orcs."

"Mind reading?"

"Yes, but based on my observation, it shouldn't be real mind reading; he was just deceiving me like that."

"Where's the evidence?"

The conversation was concise and refined. The two sat facing each other in the dark cave, neither able to see the other, but Suer felt perfectly at ease.

If the lights were turned on now, he would probably be exposed under Riku's gaze.

Yes, Riku has returned. Even though he was exhausted from the expedition, he didn't rest but went straight to Sull's room.

Since returning from the expedition, he has not left his room. Even his necessary food and drink are brought in by Ke'er. Even the most oblivious person could sense that Su'er was abnormal. It was as if this man was resisting meeting everyone. Even when Credo, who had recovered from his fever thanks to the herbal treatment, came to see him excitedly, he was unable to enter the room.