‘Ugh, I really don’t know anymore.’
I let out a deep sigh, unable to think otherwise.
If I were to hurt him again with harsh words and put distance between us, thanks to this damn tsundere image, it wouldn’t be easy to make any headway with just ordinary words.
No, even if that weren’t the case.
I don’t want to deliberately hurt someone.
Facing someone who’s been hurt because of me makes my heart ache and feel so heavy.
‘Anyway, Reysir is planning to quit the academy after this semester, and the people around him start dying only after that, right? So, if I ignore all contact from him after he drops out and never meet him again, that should be fine.’
I decided to compromise with myself like that.
That didn’t mean I intended to get close to Reysir.
My attitude toward him wouldn’t change going forward.
This compromise was just a way to soothe myself—telling myself that even if I failed to break away from Reysir, I didn’t need to be overwhelmed by stress or anxiety.
‘Now that I’ve decided how to face Reysir mentally, it’s time to deal with the task in front of me.’
It hadn’t been long since the winding alleyway had hidden Reysir’s figure from sight.
‘Considering his running speed and the time that had passed, he must have just arrived at the destination, right?’
I calculated that in my head as I got off the carriage.
If I arrived early, I could wait outside the building and enter at the right moment.
“R-Really, are you going to fight?”
While handing the coachman a tip and promising an extra payment for waiting, Liolikin asked that question.
He must have overheard all the conversations between Reysir and me along the way to ask something like that.
“What do you mean by that?”
“W-Well, it’s dangerous, isn’t it…? I heard from others that even if Karvald Austri tells Tridrick to stop, it might not solve anything… And besides, someone could get hurt, right…?”
“Then are you telling me to just quietly accept being framed?”
“W-Well, since Reysir trusts Karvald Austri… doesn’t that mean there won’t be a problem…? And, with the power of the Ducal Family, even if you’re framed, you can probably get out of it…”
Legal issues can be blocked, sure.
But the problem is that you can’t shut down all the rumors people spread willy-nilly.
Even if Reysir steps up to defend me, would people just believe him without question?
‘Wouldn’t they say he must be taking bribes or being threatened to lie?’
And if I get a not guilty verdict because of House Austri’s power, even worse things would be said behind my back.
“Not being punished doesn’t mean it’s all okay!”
‘Is Liolikin really so dumb that he can’t even realize this simple fact?’
‘Or is he saying such things to protect Tridrick?’
One question led to another in my head.
“If you’re going to be scared and spout nonsense, then why the hell did you even follow me here?”
“Uh, I-I… I’m sorry…”
“When did I say you could apologize? I asked you to explain why you followed me.”
“Ah, well, th-that’s…”
I could understand him stammering, that much was unavoidable.
But I frowned at how he avoided eye contact without giving a direct answer.
That kind of reaction meant there was something suspicious.
It was clear that he wasn’t following out of genuine concern for someone.
“I’m not foolish enough to head to a dangerous place with someone whose intentions I can’t understand. I’m not in a position to wait for your answer, and even if I were, I wouldn’t want to. So if you don’t want to answer, then don’t follow me.”
Finishing my words, I turned without hesitation and started walking.
I remained highly alert, focusing on any sounds behind me.
‘How will he react?’
The worst case would be Liolikin knocking me out and taking me to Tridrick, but I thought that was very unlikely.
I wasn’t careless because I believed Liolikin had no reason to obey Tridrick’s orders.
Even if Tridrick ordered Liolikin to attack me, Liolikin lacked the decisiveness to carry it out.
At best, he might block my path and try to persuade me again.
Maybe, since he already tried to stop me once, he’d rationalize that he did all he could and stay quiet.
There were times in the original story when Liolikin only half-heartedly followed Karvald Austri’s orders.
Cowardly or passive? Those words weren’t even enough to describe Liolikin.
“Staying in the classroom, everyone will ask me what’s wrong…”
Liolikin wasn’t clever enough to make up excuses on the spot, so what he said wasn’t a lie.
“You came all this way for such a reason? You expect me to believe that?”
His reason was so ridiculous that I couldn’t help but turn back and ask.
At that, a faint flush of color appeared on Liolikin’s face.
It was as if he hoped because I had stopped and looked back at him.
“B-But it’s true… I don’t know why Tridrick suddenly defied Karvald Austri… If others ask whether there was some conflict between them… I wouldn’t have an answer… If I say I don’t know, they’ll just ignore me… I asked the fiancée to give me the lecture notes later, like assigning me a task… I thought if I had some task too… then maybe staying in the classroom wouldn’t be so bad…”
I didn’t understand what he was trying to say.
‘We wouldn’t even be able to talk once class started, so why was he worried about that?’
I also didn’t get why not knowing about Tridrick’s secret kidnapping plan or its reasons would make him think he’d be ignored.
‘And what was this nonsense about how it would be okay if I gave him a task?’
‘That’s less of a guess and more like paranoia. Or maybe he just lives in denial?’
I looked at his face—though he was still in his teens, he looked well over forty, and his expression was downright grim.
Then I lowered my gaze to see his muscles, which were not just large but rugged and coarse.
‘Does it make sense for someone with such a physique to be trembling in fear of being ignored?’
I hadn’t mentioned it before because it didn’t seem important, but every time I met Liolikin, I prepared myself.
I braced myself not to flinch reflexively or be intimidated.
Liolikin certainly looked like someone to be feared.
In that sense, his recent words were a serious plot hole.
Senna must have messed up the character setting.
“S-So, since I said it, can I follow you?”
“…For now.”
Liolikin’s question didn’t seem limited to the ‘now,’ so instead of saying yes outright, I gave a one-time answer.
I figured I’d need to have another talk with Liolikin after this was all over.
‘Why Liolikin ended up thinking that way wasn’t something I was going to dig into personally.’
I doubted he even had a backstory.
After all, Liolikin was just a ‘lackey,’ not even a ‘villain.’
Senna probably didn’t come up with any elaborate story for him.
Even if there was one, it wouldn’t be long or detailed.
‘So what I need to confirm is why Liolikin is following Karvald Austri…’
In fact, I had a rough idea from Liolikin’s recent words.
But now wasn’t the time to analyze or verify that, so I left it alone for the moment.
I guess readers would be more curious about the progress of the kidnapping incident than Liolikin’s personal story right now anyway.
I moved along the alley with Yor, while Liolikin followed behind us.
Once we were out of the alley, I caught sight of the building written on the note.
It was a fairly large warehouse. Tridrick probably rented it under the name of a possessed entity.
Since there was no one around, no one was guarding the place.
Thanks to that, sneaking up to the slightly open warehouse door wasn’t difficult.
Luckily, the timing didn’t seem late.
“I told you not to move around recklessly, didn’t I?”
Tridrick was holding a dagger to the neck of a woman who appeared to be Hailga, who was unconscious, while spouting nonsense.
Reysir was holding weapons, clashing with someone who looked like a mercenary.
“Where did that spear suddenly come from?! Drop it immediately!”
It looked like during their conversation, the mercenary had launched a surprise attack on Reysir at Tridrick’s signal.
Not willing to be attacked passively, Reysir pulled out a weapon from his inventory to respond.
Tridrick’s dagger grazed Hailga’s skin, leaving a small scratch.
Seeing that, Reysir immediately dropped the spear, which clattered onto the warehouse floor.
Satisfied with that, Tridrick’s lips curled into a smirk, visible through the crack in the door.
“Good, well done. Now kick that spear over there and kneel down immediately.”
“You’re the one who should kneel.”
Without hesitation, I flung the door wide open and interrupted their conversation.
I wasn’t acting recklessly just to watch the original protagonist I supported kneel to some Tridrick.
It wasn’t that I had no reason at all, but I couldn’t say for sure that there was none.
‘Anyway, just as I expected. This should be easy to resolve!’
That confidence let me open the door boldly and speak out.
Although Reysir looked quite displeased, thinking I was being reckless.
“Did you have to appear like that? You could’ve waited until Tridrick let his guard down and snuck in through the back door to subdue him and rescue Hailga.”
“Do you not see the mercenary standing behind Tridrick like a bodyguard? That plan would have been very effective.”
“I still think it would have been better than barging in like this…”
“I’ve never even had a sparring match, let alone real combat. Yor hasn’t had combat experience either.”
“What about Liolikin?”
“Hope for the best.”
“You look like you’d fight really well!”
Reysir shouted in disbelief.
I completely agreed.
Liolikin looked like a formidable fighter.
But unfortunately, from what I saw in the original story, Liolikin’s abilities were all defense-focused.
Besides, he seemed scared of the three mercenaries Tridrick hired and was currently trembling, pressed against the wall.
Judging by appearances, those mercenaries and Liolikin were about the same.
‘No wonder he’s useless even defensively!’
I never had high hopes for him anyway.
It didn’t matter because a fight probably wouldn’t break out in the first place.