Outsider

Money can buy many things, including convenience friends. Outsider is one of such "convenience friends", at least that is what he always claims.

Sharp words, cold eyes, and exposed scars, any of these factors might cause some people to keep their distance. But Outsider has all three of them. Consequently, when people encounter him, their initial reaction is often to keep their distance. But in fact, Outsider is an approachable and kind person, although this side of him is rarely revealed to others. People who understand his kind personality are often regarded as spreading false rumours at Outsider's behest.

Many of the scars on Outsider's body are the result of him frequently picking at scabs before they can heal. Fina once tried to stop him, but he refused with an absurd excuse, "The urge to rip off scabs is part of human nature, just like dogs licking their fur to clean themselves."

Outsider is highly meticulous with his finances, keeping stacks upon stacks of account books at home. After he joined the Noctoyager, he keep accounts for Vita. Although he is somewhat stingy, he saves money for two reasons: to satisfy Fina's desires and to purchase a white flower that is out of season every year at a specific time.

Outsider is considered the most skilled Phohunter of Icelake among his peers. Even the mean and strict Camilla agrees. However, Outsider himself does not want them to sing the praises of him, as if he is trying to avoid someone getting wind of him.

Outsider used to be a poor cook. He neither had time nor skills for cooking, so he just caught some insects randomly in the wild whenever he was hungry. But later on, Fina grumbled about this and so he decided to cook food that was both tasty and nutritious. But cooking was a real headache for him, and he found it even harder than learning how to fight. After breaking countless knives and pans, and flipping through a faded thin cookbook filled with densely packed notes on every page, Outsider finally made cooking an instinctual skill akin to fighting. However, the downside is that his expression while cooking tends to be solemn and fierce, as if he is battling an indomitable Filthoid.

Outsider has a plethora of useful and less useful skills, such as three basic etiquettes for entering a tavern, how to feign drunkenness, how to be a good drinking companion, how to sew clothes for maximum durability, how to incapacitate someone without leaving lasting damage, etc. One day, he wants to write a book named One Hundred Life Tips from Outsider, which he is certain will be a bestseller on the continent. When that time comes, he envisions being highly famous and surrounded by fans. "Maybe I should practice how to sign autographs now," he often says.

As you listen to Outsider chatter away, it is hard to discern whether he is spouting drunken nonsense or casually making things up. However, if such a book were to be published, it could indeed become a captivating topic of conversation in people's lives.

Outsider buys a newspaper whenever he sees a newsboy. Although the media is nothing more than a government mouthpiece, he can still glean hints of danger from these fraudulent words.

Outsider doesn't like being in high places because of an impulse deep within him that compels him to step into the air and towards the "freedom" most humans desire. Yet, this act of forsaking everything is something Outsider cannot bring himself to accept. To cope with this, he carries items like ropes and carabiners with him to prevent himself or others from accidentally falling. This habit naturally extends to his everyday life. When faced with a problem, Outsider always pulls out the most practical tools for the situation at hand. However, no one knows exactly where he stores all of them.

Outsider warned his peers time and again against the Forsaken. He said they have no lofty dreams, only ugly desires. Nobody knows what Outsider's true feelings towards the Forsaken are beneath his contemptuous tone. But what they can tell is that even the cunning Outsider cannot hide a fleeting trace of sadness in his eyes when he speaks about them.

Although Outsider claims to everyone that they are only his convenience friends, he rarely turns down his so-called "convenience friends", and might even put himself in danger repeatedly for them. When asked why, he simply turns his head away to prevent others from seeing his cheeks blush. He then mumbles that he just does not want to lose a long-term source of free meals.

Although Outsider deliberately keeps his distance from those around him, when necessary, he can swiftly forge strong relationships. A simple drink can make a moon hunter spill intel, and a whole night can make thieves wish they could call Outsider their brother the next day. A cup of tea, a pack of cigarettes, a round of nonsense talk, this is all it takes to halve the fees charged by infamous hard-nosed merchants, not because of any remarkable social prowess, but solely because Outsider, who has also scraped by at the bottom for countless years, deeply understands everyone's real needs. Once you know someone's needs, all you have to do is find ways to fulfil them. Of course, this method does not work with the upper echelons of society. Outsider, who never frets over unknown filth, feels perplexed and helpless when encountering upper-class folk.

Outsider is often woken up by thunder. Looking around, he sees no burning battleships raining down apocalyptic barrages outside his window, and no shimmering gunfire tracing paths of death inside his room. The sound of rain pattering against the windows replaces the muffled sounds of bodies crushed under military boots in his memories. A raindrop slips through a crack in the window and splashes on his face. He reaches to wipe it away, unable to tell whether he is wiping away the rain or tears.

"He's a monster in human skin. When he answers the call of his nature, he will be a meteor that burns out instantly, a blade that swings at the gods, or a fire that melts iron. I firmly believe the trajectory of this rising meteor will return to its destined course. This is the mission that we were given before we were born."

The handwritten note was torn to shreds, but the words on it were like cursed and poisonous thorns, pricking deep into his mind.

Over the past ten years, Outsider visited many places, but he never pulled these poisonous thorns from his mind.

Three images appear in Outsider's memory, time and again.

The first image is a golden morning,

an ivory bedroom with bright daylight,

a soft kiss given to a newborn baby,

Her name is ▇▇.

The second fragment emerges from a vermilion twilight.

Rivers split the wilderness like the bones of a corpse,

a large palm holds a little hand.

Her name is ▇▇.

The third image is a dark night.

Heavy rain splatters on a broken window,

a pale girl calls to him, breathing heavily.

Her name is ▇▇.

In his deep sea of consciousness, the images blur.

The first one turns into ▇▇ running in ▇▇.

She is murmuring ▇▇.

▇▇ is flying towards ▇▇.

The second one is ▇▇ on ▇▇.

The wind blowing over ▇▇ ▇▇.

▇▇ ▇▇ in the soil is broken down by ▇▇.

...He can't think about it anymore.

Leaving scabs intact only brings worries, as more than one person in his memories has paid attention to them. Because of this, Outsider developed a habit of picking them off from a young age.

As this group of people gradually left Outsider, the scars ceased to be a cause for concern and instead became a symbol of vulnerability. People feared his blood, so they tore open his wounds, making one scar into countless scars. Then, Fina held his hands, ending his endless misery. Looking at the worry in Fina's eyes, Outsider suddenly felt startled. He came to realise that his bloodied scars, carrying pain, humiliation, cries, and resistance, had at this moment regained their original significance.