Chapter 4: AKAME GA KILL (1) - A Bitter Truth
Originally, today should be just like any other day.
The girl's duty was only to hunt down the 'prey' and bring it back to the village for dissection, specifically for cooking and exporting trade with other tribes.
But today was different— very different from what it should be. While she was hiding in wait for a prey to come out, in the space that used to be an empty snow plain, a 'human figure' appeared, as if it had suddenly emerged from the void.
When the girl first saw that, she misunderstood, thinking that it was a 'new type of prey.' She slowly approached, holding a dagger in her hand to defend herself. Although she knew it was dangerous and that she should have gone back to the village or left it alone, out of curiosity, she chose to investigate it herself.
When she got close to see what it is, the girl was shocked. In front of her, there was only a tanned man in casual clothes. He was lying unconscious with only nosebleeds dripping from his nose. His figure was quite proportionally strong, looking fit and healthy. But from the current outfit and condition, he didn't look like a 'hunter' around here at all.
'Could it be someone from the capital that I have heard others talk about?'
The girl tilted her head in suspicion as she poked her finger into the young man's stomach, squatting down while holding the knife in her other hand. But not long after, she heard footsteps approaching the area. The girl thought to herself that the beast she was expecting to hunt must have arrived now. She decided to drag him out of the area and hide for now, to prevent the beast from meeting him and taking him for breakfast.
'I should bring him back to 'father' first, but…'
The young girl hesitated. Because of the encounter with this strange man, she must now choose between leaving this stranger to hunt the beast down like usual or saving this man's life first. If it was anyone else's decision, there wouldn't be any hesitation. But for the girl, it was a very difficult choice.
'Let's bring him back first. I'll just hunt two tomorrow.'
When she finally made up her mind, the girl gave up on hunting today's prey. She waited for the beast in the area to move away first for safety, which took a full hour before starting to carry the young man and dropping him on a very large basket tray, which was supposed to be for the prey that she hunts.
Then the girl spent the next several hours pulling the rope and hauling the basket back to the village with her. Although she had spent a lot of energy, the girl laughed and smiled, thinking that she had dragged something heavier than this so often.
It was already noon before she could reach her tribe village and see the four large white tents. She took a breath and stretched for a while before dragging the young man inside. When other villagers came to greet the girl's return, they all made shocked expressions.
"Father! Father, look at this!"
Upon hearing his daughter's call, the tall, middle-aged man with light blue hair, who is the chieftain of this tribe, quickly end the conversation with the villagers in front of him and turned back to answer his daughter with a smile. But that smile soon disappeared, leaving his mouth open and his eyes filled with bewilderment.
"There's someone from the capital lying unconscious outside, so I brought him over."
"Someone from the capital?"
The father came to examine him closely. The stranger here has tan skin and black short hair mixed with white snow that was blown on the way a bit. He seemed to be still unconscious but with his thin layer of clothes and his slow breathing pattern. The tall man predicted that if his daughter had come any later, He might have frozen to death.
"I'll take care of it myself. You go and help the others dismantle the 'Danger Beasts' over there first. As always," the girl's father said before lifting the tanned man with one hand and placing him on his shoulder.
"Umm"
Hearing her father's words, the girl nodded back with a smile and hurriedly walked over to help dissect the 'prey' that she hadn't hunted. The father looked at his daughter for a while and then sighed. Before he glanced at the unconscious body on his shoulder and began to walk straight to his tent to find a cloth and blanket for the stranger to increase his body warmth and his chance of survival.
"You don't seem like someone from the capital, young man..."
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"…!"
As soon as he came to his senses, Sol suddenly gasped and jumped up into a sitting position, while putting his hand on his chest to feel his fast-beating heart. Although his condition has certainly improved compared to before, he still feels the pain growing inside his body. In fact, now that he's conscious, he could feel the pain getting even worse than before.
At that moment, he didn't even realize that he had already left that empty black space from before, while he was world drifting for the first time. All he could feel was the pain almost like he is being slowly disintegrating despite his body looking normal. Unknowingly to Sol, the reason for this came from the way the 'World Drift System' works.
By sending one's soul from one's body to another world and then slowly rebuilding a new body in that world instead, the system creates a bridge for the soul to cross to the new world. Once the soul inhabits the new body, the old body will then be destroyed. That's how the 'World Drift System' works.
As such, what Sol is experiencing right now are his senses connecting the two bodies from the original world and the present world. And since his original world body was being disintegrated bit by bit, his present world too could feel every second of it. That was why he was in pain as if he was about to die— because his body from the other world is being destroyed.
But no one knew about this except for the mysterious entity who was watching over him. In addition, neither Soul nor the villagers who secretly came to watch because they heard the screams of pain and suffering were even aware of it.
"What the hell is going on!"
The father, or the chieftain, hurriedly ran in to see when he saw that many people were crowding in front of his tent.
"Looks like the guy Esdeath brought is going crazy."
Hearing the question, the skinny man replied with a look of uncertainty before pointing his finger towards the inside of the tent, where a tanned man writhed on the snowy ground after falling from the wooden bed earlier.
'Are you hallucinating? Perhaps before, he had been bitten by a Danger Beast. And by chance, it has a poison that can cause hallucinations..?'
When the chieftain saw this, he slowly passed through the other villagers and entered his tent. He read the movements of the unconscious Sol for a moment, then rushed over, grabbed the young man's shoulder, and spoke.
"Hang in there! Take a deep breath!"
He calmed the young man as he tried to stop his movements. which was shortly after about five minutes. Soul stopped moving and began to wheeze in exhaustion. Even though it was quite cold outside and snowing all the time. Sol could feel the sweat soaking his body. The pain just now was no different from being burned alive for him, despite never getting burned alive before. At the same time, when the tall man sees that Sol has stopped going crazy, he mistakenly thinks that the hallucination is over and then he calms down... Little did he know that it had nothing to do with hallucinations.
"Are you feeling better now, young man?"
The chieftain asked back, smiling slightly at the tanned young man, hoping to calm him down.
But Sol, who had just regained his consciousness after being engulfed in pain, looked at the tall man with a puzzled expression. He shook his head and tried to listen carefully to the tall man's words once more.
"Still not getting better?"
"———…?"
"What are you muttering about, huh? Hey, you, are you listening to me?"
Both parties did not understand each other. Because they have completely different languages and cultures. Sol, who listened to the words of the tall man, didn't understand any of it, so he tried to be mindful and thought about how he was here again, thinking back to 'That weird dream.'
He now felt that this was the real world since that message box didn't appear anymore. However, he had a new problem, which part of the world did he come to?
But it was as if the haunted ghost was still following him, as soon as he thought of it, that thing appeared as requested yet again.
< Transportation completed. Welcome to [the world of 'AKAME GA KILL'].
You have obtained [Basic World Information 'AKAME GA KILL' ]. >
"———— from where, young man?"
When the message box pops up, Something sailed into his brain. vast knowledge history of the world such as people, countries, languages, and cultures. Everything that was considered the basic knowledge of this world flooded into his head in a single second.
And it was at this moment as well that he felt that everything was true. The message box in front of him was true. Even the dream that he had encountered with Saber Alter earlier too all came true as well.
—Feeling like you've been betrayed and abandoned by your previous world.
All the work he had done, everyone he ever met, everyone he ever loved, Now he would no longer encounter them again. Sol himself is not a naive child who can't bear to say goodbye. However, like this, it's… too sudden.
"Did you hear what I said? young man…"
While the chieftain was still trying to call Sol who was lost in his thoughts. He noticed the tanned man's eyes. which reminded him of the old days when he was still a hot-blooded man and had a different ideology than today. When he was still a 'weak and naive man.'
"…Are you alright?"
Sol's eyes moved up to look at the tall man. It seemed without any power within it, just like the eyes of a man without strength. They were so hollow and empty that one would think they were the eyes of a corpse at first glance.
—It's the eyes of the people who lost something important.
"I'm okay..."
Sol replied, his voice sounding much lighter and softer than before. Teardrops silently flowed from both eyes. However, he didn't seem to even realize it and continued speaking.
"I just… wanted to be alone for a while."
When the chieftain heard Sol's words so faintly, it was as if he was talking to himself rather than answering his question. The tall man decided to step back instead. He only nodded to Sol before standing up. He then turned to look at the other villagers who were still onlooking in front of the tent and shook his head.
When others saw this, they understood the meaning and went their separate ways to continue their own business. After that, the tall man glanced back and looked at Sol for the last time. and walked out of the tent. Leaving him alone as he wants.
The young man sat alone in the dark. When the tears on his face dripped down onto his hands, Sol wiped the tears off his face and tried to stop any more tears from flowing. But no matter what he did, he was powerless against it.
...The young man sat there, quietly laughing at his now messy figure with a flushed face.
At that moment, a message box popped up in front of Sol. As soon as the tanned man saw it, he grabbed the white snow on the ground and threw it. Of course, that snowball passed through the message box and fell back to the ground.
The young man stared at the message box angrily. He didn't blame it for putting him in this state. The reason he was angry with it was only because he was annoyed with it. Right now he wanted to be alone, and this system was disturbing him.
Tears continued to trickle down, and many emotions were running through Sol's head. Sadness. Rage. Painfulness. Guiltiness. Everything was fighting in his head until he started to feel a bit of a headache.
"Fucking hell."
Sol cursed out loud as he covered his face with both hands. He cried out for the first time in twenty years, alone in a dark corner. Hiding from all eyes except for the girl who saved him, who was secretly watching from outside.
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About an hour later. Sol finally walked out of the chieftain's tent.
When he stepped out and trod on the snow. Several residents in the vicinity caught sight of him, suddenly stopped moving, and look at him in unison.
Sol watched quietly for a moment in confusion. before giving a slight bow and continuing walking down the path. When the villagers saw the gesture of bowing, they looked slightly puzzled as they turned their heads to look left and right. as if not understanding what the tanned young man wanted to convey.
As Sol walked for a while, he finally met the tall man again. When the man saw the stranger, he immediately stood up and walked straight toward him. He raised his hand and greeted Sol to make himself look friendly and talk casually in the hope of soothing the grieving man.
"Hey, young man, Are you feeling better?"
"…yes"
Sol, who saw the man in front of him full of energy, only gave a short reply. If possible, He doesn't want to talk to anyone today. However, due to him seeing the 'quest' that had popped up in the message box earlier. He feels the need to collect as much information as possible immediately.
"…Can I ask you a question?" the tall man asked as he began to walk.
"Please feel free— Oh, and I'm sorry for causing trouble to you." Sol followed the man and nodded in reply.
"It's okay, it's okay, no one's hurt anyway…"
Hearing this, the big man patted Sol's shoulder and lightly laughed. He would then immediately ask the young man a question.
"What's your name, young man?"
"My name is Sol..."
"Sol, huh." The big man nodded before introducing himself. "My name is Klov, but everyone calls me Chieftain. You can call me whatever you want."
Just then, the tall man named 'Klov' extended his hand towards Sol and continued with a friendly smile, seemingly filled with charisma like that of a leader.
"Nice to meet you, Sol."
"Nice to meet you too, Chieftain."
Sol of course shook his hands. After all, this is a basic form of etiquette, rejecting the other party would be the worst way to introduce oneself. Klov, who heard Sol call him Chieftain, was somewhat surprised for a moment. But he didn't care and continued to ask immediately.
"And do you know where you are, right now?"
When Sol heard the question, he looked up at the sky for a moment and then shook his head, answering back with a "No."
"Right now, you are at the Northern Border of the Empire… This is the village of the Partas Clan. You should have guessed by now that I am this clan's leader."
As Klov explains, he points his thumb to a black headband above his head that bears some kind of symbol that resembles a plus, which was the symbol of his clan. In addition, he further explained that the Partas Clan had to deal with the beasts in this region all the time to survive. Therefore, everyone is trained to hunt and kill from birth, and rarely did anything else but that.
"So if this place seems to have an unwelcome atmosphere, don't take it for granted. Part of it is that our village is very small. Not even a hundred people! Plus, the weather isn't very favorable for traveling so there haven't been outsiders here for decades."
"It's okay. Just having a place to sleep and food to eat is more than enough."
"I'm relieved to hear that." The chieftain let out a faint laugh, while Sol only smiled wryly before the tall man continued to ask Sol a question.
"So where are you from? You don't seem like someone from around here... You came from the capital city?"
"No, I'm... from the southern part."
Sol caught sight of the chieftain's serious eyes for a moment. He hurriedly replied using the basic information he had obtained from the system to assist in a smooth lie.
"Is that so... then I would like to ask you one more question." Without even blinking, he could feel that Klov's gaze was directed toward him. It was as if he was suspicious of something in Sol.
"How did you become unconscious out there on the snow plains? I am very confused about this."
Klov had heard the situation from his daughter's words before. She told him that she had seen Sol's figure suddenly appear in midair, unconscious from the start. Which made him very suspicious. After all, there's no way normal people can just appear out of nowhere for sure. It made him think that maybe Sol isn't a normal person, but perhaps a Teigu user.
"...that is, umm..."
Sol was silent for a moment, pondering what kind of response would be best. Had he said that he had come from another world, there would have been even more suspicions. The young man faltered for a while before Klov interjected instead.
"It's fine if you don't want to tell me now. Looking at you from before, it must have been a pretty tough situation. You can stay here for the night. We can talk about it later. How about it?"
'Maybe he just fought hard with someone and escaped here... Looks like he might be a problem. If possible, I would like to quickly find a way to drive him away too. But if that isn't the case then it wouldn't be good... In addition, that child also came and asked him to stay here one night so I will leave him for now.'
The chief of Partas Clan thought to himself as his eyes fixed on Sol with the utmost caution. On the other hand, the tanned man was also worrying about how he could negotiate with the chieftain so that he could continue staying in the village... After all, he has a 'quest' to do here.
"…that would be great." Sol agrees to spend the night at Klov's invitation.
"It's a deal, then." With that, Klov glanced around his side before a familiar name arose, "Esdeath!"
Not long after, a young girl's voice responded. Followed by a young girl with light blue hair, dressed in a short-sleeved white shirt with dark green trimmings, who hurried towards her father with agility. There was still a slight trace of a beast's blood from butchering the meat on her shirt.
"What's the matter, father?"
She turned her head to look at her father before her eyes landed on Sol, who was standing there looking at her with interest. The girl who saw this smiled back at the tanned man and turned to look at her father again.
"Please escort our guests to an empty tent, He will be staying with us for a little while."
"Will Mr. Leon's tent do? He was eaten a month ago so his tent is empty."
"Mr. Leon's will do. It's up to you."
Sol, who had heard the conversation from afar, was caught off guard. However, since he was familiar with this girl's background, He began to understand how this cute girl would become one of Akame Ga Kill's most sadistic characters.
While the father and daughter were talking a little bit more off-topic. Sol secretly muttered to himself, "Quest," before a message box appeared in front of him.
< Story Quest: 'Defend Partas'
Difficulty Level: Medium
Clear Conditions: Protect the Partas Clan from destruction in the next 2 months. (Remaining time: 60 days)
Rewards: 1 random Noble Phantasm, 3 bottles of HP potion, 10,000 g. >
< World Quest: 'New Fate of the Ice Queen'
Difficulty Level: ?
Clear Conditions: Change the perspective of 'Esdeath' on Darwinism, or kill 'Esdeath' as a child (choose one).
Rewards: 1 World Drift Ticket, 1 random Full Set Servant, 100,000 g. >
When Sol saw the clearing conditions of quests in front of him, especially the World Quest's conditions. His eyes immediately glanced at the smiling young girl as she spoke to her father. He glanced at her face alternately with the conditions before sighing softly so that the Chieftain and Esdeath couldn't hear.
'What should I do now?'
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There are some word changes from the last chapter.
Global Mission -> World Quest, Secret Mission -> Hidden Quest.
Also, Esdeath's father originally didn't have a name but I feel like it would be too hard to write an entire arc with a nameless character only calling the dude Esdeath's father or the Clan Chief so I decided to give him a name, which was an anagram of my friend's name instead lmao.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Jussaateen
Jussaateen Will change the name of the chapter later. (I make it as xxx to not spoil the readers which world the MC is going lol.)
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