Episode 15
About two months passed since resolving Marquis Grayden’s commission.
During that time, I made great efforts into turning this office into a more livable place.
I replaced the old furniture, removed the dirty wallpaper, cleaned and polished everything…
Was it worth the effort? The office changed from its initial dilapidated, messy, and dangerous state to just looking old.
“Was this building really inhabited by people?”
“Then what did you think lived here when you were buying it?”
It wasn’t until then that the merchants in the area started to take an interest in our office.
People had just thought this place was a building where ghosts might appear when bored.
And as the abandoned building gradually became cleaner, rumors spread that a cleaning-obsessed ghost had attached itself to it.
Damon and I, suddenly labeled as ghosts, had to awkwardly inform everyone that we were perfectly normal human beings.
After clearing up the misunderstanding and becoming friendly with everyone, the neighbors in the area started bringing us various commissions.
They weren’t as lucrative as the commission of the Regretful Marquis, but they were fun in their own way.
Catching a cat that had run away from home with a fishing rod made from the feathers of a five-colored bird with two heads!
Chase away a couple engaging in adultery from a mountain climbing club in a forest where you’ll run into a beast if you’re unlucky!
These commissions taught me the lesson that while the world people live in may differ, the way they live is more or less the same.
Thanks to them, I managed to earn some pocket money.
However, we were a bit tight on it to take on roof repairs as well.
‘But I have had enough experience with renovating the office so far… Can’t I do it myself?’
Roof repair, wasn’t it just a matter of discarding the damaged parts and replacing them with new ones? Just in time, I realized there should be leftover materials from the last repair in the warehouse.
After finishing my calculations, I confidently opened my mouth.
“Don’t worry. I’ll fix it.”
“…You will, Director?”
Damon asked with a somewhat suspicious voice.
“There must be some materials leftover. I can fix it with those.”
He glanced at the warehouse and then turned his head back to me.
“How will you get up on the roof?”
“….”
Life was indeed a series of hardships.
The unexpected adversity involuntarily made me solemn.
“…Let’s buy a ladder. A sturdy one.”
“It’s a great plan, but…”
Damon, who gave me a very sincere compliment, looked straight up at the ceiling.
“It’s the rainy season, so I’ll just take care of the emergency treatment myself. We can repair the roof slowly later.”
“You’re going to do it alone? But how will you manage without a ladder…”
It was when I trailed off that I looked at Damon and suddenly thought,
‘Huh?’
Something felt off.
Did I always have to tilt my head up this much to look at him?
He definitely seemed much smaller than him when I first brought him here…
The shirt that fit him perfectly then now seemed oddly short in the sleeves, and the hem was nearly half a length above his ankles.
As if conscious of my gaze, Damon replied nonchalantly.
“The attic has a low ceiling, so it’s fine. I’ll look for books related to it to find a repair method.”
…It can’t be.
“You haven’t… grown taller, aren’t you?”
“Huh?”
Damon, who was heading towards the bookshelf, tilted his head in puzzlement.
“I’m in the prime of my youth, so I’m supposed to grow up, no?”
What kind of old man’s tone is that?
‘Did he really grow this much in just two months? This quickly?’
I didn’t notice it because we saw each other daily.
However, while I was busy cleaning and polishing the office, he grew at a breakneck pace.
It felt like he was determined to make up for not growing before.
‘I don’t know my age. No one knows the day I was born.’
When I asked how old he was, Damon answered like that.
He looked to be in his early to mid-teens, so I thought that was about right.
But looking at the rate he was growing now…
‘Could he be older than I think?’
Was the male lead’s unique appearance caused by the typical malnutrition-induced stunted growth? If so, didn’t that mean the time for him to shine as the protagonist wasn’t far off..?
When I looked at Damon, who was gradually shedding off his boyishness, I felt a twinge of fear. While I was dragging my feet, we were just getting in the way of each other’s roles, weren’t we?!
I needed to send him back to his original place quickly.
‘No, why isn’t he running away?’
I couldn’t even count how many chances he’d been given!
‘Could it be that I haven’t fulfilled my role as a clingy woman yet?’
In my anxiety, I quietly opened the status window and chose <How To Make An Obsessed Male Lead A Runaway Male Lead>.
Clingy Tip: Close the distance between you to the point of discomfort!
Physically get close to make the opponent feel burdened.
The person will soon flee you who is getting too close!
Hmm, I was reluctant because it was really creepy, but the effect certainly seemed guaranteed.
I had a brief conflict on whether I should go this far for a bit, but I made up my mind again.
Damon wasn’t an easy opponent.
I had to act so annoying that he would want to run away right now.
“Did you find the book on roof repair?”
“Hmm, there’s a book called ‘What I Wanted to Fix Was Not the Roof but the Rotten World’, but… I don’t think this is it.”
Damon answered without even looking back at me.
What the hell kind of book title was that?
Anyway, now was my chance. I moved slowly and approached him from behind.
His neat back was in front of my eyes.
Damon, sensing my presence, was startled and stiffened.
“Director…?”
He turned his head with uncharacteristic hesitation.
I was so close that my face was reflected in his pupils.
Was this enough?
I naturally placed my hand on the bookshelf in that position.
I had to make it look like I was hugging him from the back.
“Why all of a sudden…”
Damon let out a stiff voice.
Now, with the bookshelf in front and me behind, he was trapped and couldn’t move.
“I need to take out a book.”
I answered while pulling out any random book that came to hand.
“….”
Damon’s complexion visibly paled, showing that he was really flustered.
At least it seemed I’d succeeded in making myself unfavorable to him.
“Why? Is there a problem?”
I asked calmly, pretending to be as nonchalant as possible.
Then, Damon’s hand, which was holding the book’s spine, tightened.
…Was it working?
What should I do? Should I get even closer? Wasn’t this enough?
‘No, since I’m already doing this, let’s go all in and be as clingy as possible.’
Just as I thought about getting a little closer, a sound suddenly interrupted.
Clink.
“Excuse me… Is anyone here?”
Along with the sound of the door opening came the voice of a woman that I had never heard before.
“Yes, yes. Coming out!”
Startled, I rushed out in a hurry.
My heart pounded like a child who had done something wrong.
In my haste to get out, I couldn’t confirm what Damon was like. I hoped he would stew in annoyance and discomfort on his own, and I quickly put on a business smile.
“Excuse me, I’m looking for Celia of the Wolf Detective Agency…”
When I went outside, I saw a woman with a stern expression standing at the front porch.
She wore a simple bonnet and cape, suggesting she was probably a commoner.
She wasn’t a worker from the nearby shops… Did she hear a rumour and come here?
“Yes, I am Celia Wolf. Please have a seat this way. What brings you here?”
The woman sat down in front of me with a broad smile.
“I must have found the right place! I’m here to give you a commission.”
The woman quickly took out a stack of documents and placed them on the table.
A quick glance revealed that they contained information about a young woman.
“Ah, maybe you’re here to track down a cheater…”
“What?! No, it’s not that!”
When I made a plausible guess based on my experience, the woman was startled and flailed her hands in denial.
“This is lady Elisa of the Viscount Liv’s family. She’s been missing for quite some time..”
“Are you from the Viscount family?”
“Oh, no. I’m a maid working at the Relint estate…”
And which family was that?
The maid, sensing my suspicion, awkwardly scratched her cheek.
“Viscount Liv doesn’t really care whether the lady disappears or not. That’s why my master has separately commissioned this.”
“I see. What is the relationship between your master and the missing woman?”
“She was his fiancée…”
The fiancée (or used to be).
Sorry for the late update! Uni’s beating me up
Celia’s tactics working so well that even I am uncomfortable
