Chapter Fifty-Five: Encounter

Halfway up the Misty Mountain, there lay a small village blanketed in pure white snow. Unlike the towering, densely packed skyscrapers outside the mountains, the houses here appeared simple and rustic, blending naturally with the landscape.

At this moment, Longze Yue stood at the edge of the village, carrying Mihoko over his shoulder. He let out a long breath—the nightmarish, man-eating fog was finally behind them. Yet now, he was lost, unsure of the path down the mountain.

“A... Ze... kun...” came Mihoko’s weak voice from his shoulder.

“Oh, I forgot to set you down...” Yue replied awkwardly, gently lowering Mihoko to the ground. She immediately doubled over, retching violently, her stomach convulsing with pain.

Yue watched her with guilt as she suffered, then stepped forward and carefully wiped the remnants from the corner of her mouth with a tissue.

“Thank you, Aze-kun,” Mihoko murmured feebly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“It’s my fault—I don’t know how to take care of girls. I just picked you up and ran...” As he spoke, Yue took out another clean tissue to gently wipe her mouth, his eyes full of apology.

Yet, as Mihoko thought about being carried off so unceremoniously by a man, her cheeks flushed with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance. He clearly lacked in gentleness, and yet here he was, so attentive and tender as he cleaned her face. If he was truly gentle, why had he dragged her along like that? The memory still made her bristle.

“Forget it! You mustn’t treat girls like this again!” Mihoko pouted in mock anger, though she seemed to have regained some strength. With Yue’s help, she stood up.

“All right, all right, I understand!” Yue said, letting her slender hand rest on the back of his neck. “There’s a village just ahead, let’s go have a look.”

Mihoko nodded obediently, and, supported by Yue, started toward the village.

...

“Is anyone here?” Yue called out.

The village was eerily silent. The sound of the cold wind swept across snow-laden, withered branches, creating an unsettling atmosphere.

“Aze-kun, I can walk by myself now. You don’t have to help me anymore,” Mihoko said, worried that Yue might tire himself.

“Okay,” Yue replied, releasing her arm and walking ahead. The place was deserted, but there were clear traces of habitation.

“Excuse me for intruding...” he called, pushing open an old, half-closed wooden door. No one was inside.

On a simple dining table, steaming food still sat uneaten; from a rusty faucet, water gushed into a basin already overflowing onto the floor.

“How strange. It’s as if everyone here suddenly vanished,” Mihoko said, her brows arching in confusion at the scene.

“Here...” Yue turned off the faucet and tried to recall the story. He remembered that Daigu and Etsui were supposed to appear in this very village, along with that oval-faced girl from the foot of the mountain. But his own presence might have already changed the course of events—the plot was just a guide now.

As he mused, soft footsteps echoed outside.

...

“Etsui, let’s rest in this village for a while.”

“That’s a good idea...”

...

Hearing the conversation outside, Yue smiled. It seemed Daigu and his companions had finally arrived.

“Is anyone there?” Daigu called, knocking door to door.

Only emptiness replied.

...

“Etsui, it seems there’s no one here,” Daigu said, glancing at Etsui, who was supporting a girl in a yellow down jacket—the same oval-faced girl Yue had met at the foot of the mountain. She had been rescued by Daigu and Etsui after being attacked by the strange fog.

Yue grew impatient. There were several houses, yet Daigu hadn’t knocked on his door. He decided to step outside and meet them. Since fate had brought them together, he might as well introduce himself properly to this world’s Daigu. After all, he’d need Daigu’s help when it came time to leave this world.

“Aze-kun! Are you sure it’s safe...” Mihoko clutched his wrist nervously, afraid the people outside might be dangerous.

“It’s all right,” Yue reassured her with a gentle smile.

The door creaked open, and Yue appeared in Daigu and his companions’ line of sight.

“It’s... Senpai!” Daigu’s heart skipped a beat. From Masaki Keigo, he had already learned of Yue’s identity.

“It’s you!” Etsui’s cheeks trembled. He had a deep impression of this young man—suspected to be the Black Ultraman—who had always been shrouded in mystery.

“It’s been a while, everyone,” Yue greeted them with a faint smile.

“Who exactly... are you?” Etsui asked gravely, steadying the half-unconscious oval-faced girl. His instincts told him this enigmatic young man was far from ordinary.

“I think you’d better help that girl inside to rest first,” Yue replied, unwilling to answer Etsui’s question. Within TPC, there were those who coveted the power of giants; aside from Daigu, Yue didn’t want anyone else to know about him. He stepped forward to help support the girl.

...

After settling the unconscious girl, everyone sat around a brazier, the warmth of the fire bringing some comfort to the chill of the snowy day.

“I wonder where all the villagers have gone,” Daigu said, rubbing his frostbitten hands together.

“Maybe they’ve gone out to dig up sweet potatoes,” Etsui quipped, taking off his boots to warm his frozen feet by the fire—filling the room with a pungent odor.

“Digging sweet potatoes in the snow?” Yue wrinkled his nose. “Just put your shoes back on! Your feet are something else.”

Daigu chuckled; to him, Etsui had always been an endearing, silly fat man.

“Oh,” Etsui replied, roasting his feet a bit longer before finally putting his boots back on. Yet, the stench lingered.

“So why are you here?” After a moment’s silence, Daigu turned to Yue.

“The fog,” Yue answered.

“Huh?”

“A terrifying fog appeared in the mountains. I escaped with Mihoko, and we got here not long before you did.” Yue glanced out the warped window as he spoke.

“A terrifying fog?” Daigu and Etsui exchanged puzzled glances, their faces full of confusion.