Episode 8
“It was a difficult item to deal with. Perhaps I should be grateful to them for taking it away…”
From the beginning, this was something he hadn’t wanted to do.
If it had been a request he could reject, he wouldn’t even have looked at it.
That was precisely the reason he’d let that ‘item’ be moved so carelessly.
It meant, if you could escape by your own power, then escape.
He had never imagined such a surprising event to happen, of course.
“She’s about this tall.”
He measured the position of the arm he’d grabbed and brought his hand to his chest.
“A young woman. Early twenties? Maybe even late teens.”
He by reflecting on the brief groan he heard, her grip strength, and so on.
“Good strength and speed, but lacking in technique. Doesn’t seem to be trained in combat, but maybe sports? If she’s a woman, she might do dance. Or maybe she’s someone from our industry, like an informant or a broker…”
Kasha, who pondered while lengthening his sentence, added with a slight smile.
“No. If she were from our side, there’s no way she’d come at me. She’s probably from a private company. A detective, perhaps?”
He quietly lowered his eyes and looked at the bite mark on the back of his hand.
Blood flowed from the deeply carved wound.
“Even if all the previous speculations are wrong…”
Slowly, he raised his hand to his mouth.
A red tongue emerged from between his lips and swept over the wound.
“There’s no more definitive evidence than this.”
Kasha smiled as he looked at the clear teeth marks and the saliva left behind.
The intuition he had honed over a long period of time in the underworld told him.
He’d meet the ‘thief’ again someday.
* * *
“Ugh…”
I groaned, stretching out my arm that was bruised blue.
When my arm was grabbed, I thought I was going to die, but somehow I managed to get away.
It was a really close call.
‘What the hell. That guy…’
Unlike the others trapped in the fog, that man acted as if he knew exactly where I was.
He even caught me in one go, despite my stealth ability making me almost undetectable.
How on earth did he know?
He was not an ordinary human. He was truly a dangerous character at S-rank.
I was very fortunate to have escaped safely.
After escaping the port, I checked several times for any tail and circled around aimlessly.
Fortunately, no one seemed to be pursuing me.
‘The ropes tying the child or the box they were kept in didn’t seem particularly reassuring. Was it not that big of a deal?’
Even that terrifying man, after losing his grip, didn’t chase after me, as if ‘just letting me go.’
I was relieved, but I felt uneasy somehow. I wondered if I’d intervened for no reason, but it couldn’t be helped.
If it had been an adult, I might have ignored it, thinking it was a matter between organizations.
But the child was struggling in all sorts of ways to escape as if they had been kidnapped.
‘Speaking of which, the man who grabbed my arm, his appearance was different from others.’
He was a handsome man with a somewhat sinister-like beauty and appearance, completely different from the cold-looking marquis.
Seeing his striking appearance and abilities, I was convinced.
This guy was a ‘main character.’
‘But there wasn’t a character like him in <The Contracted Marchioness Seeks a Divorce>.’
Of course, it wasn’t good to suspect every handsome and capable man to be a character in the novel. But it felt oddly jarring to just let it go.
It was because of this nagging notification that had been popping up in the system window ever since I first possessed this character.
The library has been opened. Please select a book to read.
Currently owned books: 1
Yes, this notification!
This was what was strange.
I initially thought I had possessed an extra in the novel <The Contracted Marchioness Seeks a Divorce>. But if that were the case, the system wouldn’t say “Please select a book to read” or record the number of “owned books”. That was strange.
It was as if there were ‘other works’ besides <The Contracted Marchioness Seeks a Divorce> in this world…
That meant,
‘Is this a world setting where multiple works are intertwined?’
Could it be that I’d gotten caught up in this setting?
As the owner of a detective agency who fulfills the requests of the male and female leads of different works?
If so, then maybe that crazy guy from just now was the protagonist of another novel?
‘Ah, this is really troublesome.’
I sighed deeply without realizing it.
It wasn’t that I had problems with other works.
But if there were multiple works, then the possibility of me getting caught in troublesome situations increases accordingly.
For example, I might inadvertently get unwanted attention from capable men, unwillingly get caught up in the destruction of the world, or noble succession battles…
That’s the biggest problem.
‘I’m already struggling enough as it is.’
I was already having a terrible time pleasing the client who had pledged to kill me — I didn’t want to take on other main characters as well.
If I got involved by mistake, I’d end up stranded with no place to retreat to.
Just like now.
“….”
An awkward and uncomfortable silence brushed against my cheeks along the chilly night sea breeze.
What should I do about this?
I turned my head to look at the boy who was holding my hand tightly without saying a word.
As expected, what the sharks were carrying was a child.
He wasn’t a very young child, around his early-to-mid teens.
An impressively beautiful boy with a skinny body and eyes that were filled with a melancholy not appropriate for his age.
But there was something else that was really important here.
“….”
The boy, sensing my gaze, slowly looked at me.
My face was reflected in his emotionless, empty eyes.
His disheveled black hair fluttered in the wind.
…Yes, that was right. This boy had black hair.
‘There’s always definitely something more to a handsome boy with a black hair!’
It seemed like I’d gotten myself into something I shouldn’t have.
Saving a child from being kidnapped was all good and well.
But if that child turns out to be the protagonist of some novel, then the story changes.
What if he was really the main character of some other novel? If I touched upon some other genre that was overlapping with this one?
‘From the start, “a black-haired handsome boy sold to a dangerous organization” is too male lead material, isn’t it?’
I’d have to check with him myself.
“What’s your name?”
“…Damon.”
“I mean your full name, including your surname.”
“I don’t have one.”
“You don’t have one?”
…This was already ominous.
“Then where’s your home?”
“….”
His still emotionless eyes blinked slowly.
Those eyes that seemed to say “I have a wounded past” were also unsettling.
Just say you were playing nearby and ended up here by mistake, please!
“I don’t have one.”
Ah, this was bad.
“What about your parents or another guardian?”
Surely they were fine and well.
Please cry and fuss around that you miss them like a child should. I’m begging you.
“I don’t have any.”
However, Damon didn’t grant any of my wishes.
His response didn’t even seem particularly regretful.
Shit.
This was definitely…
‘The trope where the MC wanders through a difficult childhood and then becomes an obsessed male lead after being taken in by the female lead!’
Do you think I’ve only read one or two novels?
This guy was definitely at least a sub-male lead.
He was definitely not someone an extra like me should be taking care of.
I needed to quickly send him back to the main story development quickly.
“Do you have somewhere to go?”
“….”
He just silently tightened his grip on the hand he was holding.
I felt a small tremor through his skin.
My heart felt complicated.
Whether he became a Sword Master in the future, or killed everyone and ascended to the throne, right now he was just a child with no connections.
The only person he trusted was me, whom he met for the first time today, and even at this moment, he was shaking with fear that he might be abandoned again.
‘It’s late, so we can’t help it. Let’s just let him sleep for one night and then send him off.’
I ended up bringing Damon into my house.
* * *
‘Still, I’m glad that Chelsea’s matter will be resolved by tomorrow.’
After I sent the awkward Damon to go wash up in the bathroom, I sat in front of the fireplace, lost in thought.
I had a rough idea of where Chelsea would go.
In fact, her destination had already been predetermined since the moment she was swayed by my words.
Now, if I went to catch her at the right time, the request would be completed.
“Whew…”
My body relaxed as the tension eased.
The thought of getting closer to the ending brought a slight sense of comfort to me.
Of course, it wasn’t me who would reach the ending, but Chelsea and the Marquis.
I still had a lot of problems to solve.
For example…
Lmao she’s not willing to take any Ls by the plot
