Cooperation

,You’re mine now.”

It took me a moment to grasp the meaning of those words, blurted out without context or preamble.

I knew that Estelle was set up as a bratty kid. So, could it be that she was saying this because she was interested in me as a man?

With a sliver of hope, I had to ask.

,What do you mean by that?”

,Just what I said. I like you, so I want to make you mine. Sounds good, right?”

I swallowed hard without realizing it. I was already in a relationship with a cute girlfriend named Luna.

If I were alone, it would have been a welcome offer, but now it was an offer I couldn’t accept.

Thinking that I needed to get out of this cramped toilet stall first, I subtly moved my body, but immediately, with a thud, as if doing a kabedon. Estelle’s small hand stopped my little attempt to escape.

I sighed at the black cat mask staring intently at me.

,I’m sorry, but I have a girlfriend.”

,Huh? Of course, I know. You two are always kissing and holding hands; who wouldn’t know?”

At Estelle’s words, my legs momentarily gave way, and my body swayed significantly.

Was she brazenly suggesting that I cheat on my girlfriend, even knowing I had one? Truly a bratty kid’s idea. What a cheeky little brat….

As I looked down at Estelle with wary eyes, she seemed to notice the deep suspicion in my eyes. Estelle shrugged her shoulders.

,You didn’t actually take that as a proposal, did you? Seriously, that’s the worst.”

I was the one who was taken aback by those words. If you suddenly hear someone say, ‘I want to make you mine,’ wouldn’t you naturally interpret it that way?

,I just like your abilities, not you as a man. You’re so full of yourself; it’s unpleasant….”

Estelle looked at me with an expression that asked if I understood her now.

Only then did I nod my head.

I wasn’t particularly embarrassed by my own overreaction. Estelle’s out-of-context words were open to interpretation, and as someone with a lovely girlfriend named Luna, I definitely needed to draw a line.

So, I could only console myself that it wasn’t a bad choice.

Contrary to my thoughts, Estelle started acting cocky, as if she had caught some kind of weakness of mine.

,Oh my, could it be that you were thinking of building a harem like hyung~? More presumptuous than you look~”

I sighed and retorted at Estelle, who was teasing me.

,If you’re done talking, I’m leaving.”

As I turned towards the door as if I were really going to leave, a hurried voice stopped me.

,I’ll stop joking! Sorry!”

With a satisfied expression, I turned back to look at Estelle. Estelle, who had been muttering to herself, brought up the main topic.

,What I warned you about earlier. It’s not a lie.”

,You mean there’s a high-ranking member of the cult here?”

,Yeah. The cult’s executive isn’t here because of you, but it seems like the cult leader was planning to observe you, since he’s showing interest in you.”

At Estelle’s words, I was momentarily speechless. I replayed what I had just heard in my head and asked, wondering if I had taken a joke seriously.

,You’re joking, right…? Why would the cult leader be interested in me….”

I asked with a slightly desperate voice. The cult leader was someone on a different level than me. A monster close to immortal in the setting.

His ambiguous existence was the setting itself, so even I couldn’t gauge what kind of person the cult leader was.

He was a cult leader, but the power he possessed was real.

Even the current Roel. If he were to fight the cult leader, he would have to consider his survival rate.

,Well, because you’re Roel’s younger brother and because of your exploits in Destin Village?”

,How does the cult leader know about that…?”

,Ah, I reported it. If there’s anything special about Roel, I have to submit a report to the cult.”

So, you were the culprit.

I sent her a resentful look, and she seemed to know she was in the wrong. I sighed at her slightly downcast gaze.

,Sorry, but I couldn’t help it. I’m bound to the cult.”

It was a fact I already knew, but there was no need to tell Estelle that I knew it.

The value of negotiation changes depending on what information the other party has.

Pretending not to know, I opened my mouth with a disappointed voice.

,So, the guild leader of Modiste is actually a stooge for the cult…. Should I change the guild I’m using?”

,No! Don’t change it! Modiste has nothing to do with the cult! I can guarantee that with my name on the line. Modiste’s information won’t leak to the cult. That’s what I promised the cult leader.”

Actually, I already knew without her explaining.

I had added that setting for my convenience, in case things got complicated when this fact was revealed later.

I nodded as if I understood and asked with shining eyes.

,So, why did you, a stooge for the cult, warn me about the cult?”

I posed a plausible question, assuming I didn’t know Estelle’s thoughts.

,As I said before, Lily. I’m very interested in your abilities.”

Judging from our conversation so far, Estelle was showing me her true feelings. It was a trustworthy attitude, but like the saying goes, ‘look before you leap.’ I felt the need to confirm whether Estelle’s discarded settings were the same as my memories.

Should I poke around a bit?

,If you’re telling me to be loyal to the cult, I’ll have to decline. I’ll keep the secret about what happened today.”

,No, to be honest, I want to get out of the cult’s influence.”

I honestly didn’t expect her to reveal her true feelings to me so quickly.

Did she think it would be more effective to tell me the truth than to beat around the bush? If so, she was right.

,How are you planning to get out?”

I asked cautiously, wondering if she had some other plan I didn’t know about.

,By using Modiste and you. If you join hands with us and help us get out of the cult’s influence, we can help you with all our might.”

I let out a hollow laugh at Estelle’s answer.

Even if it was the best information guild, the best assassin group in the world…. The opponent was the cult leader.

The losses would obviously be greater than the gains from joining hands.

Before a polite refusal could leave my lips, Estelle suddenly thrust out her small chest proudly.

,We’ve already given you a lot of help a few times. Don’t you know? Dummy~”

,To me?”

I asked back with a slightly dumbfounded voice.

Did I have any memories of receiving favors from others, except for my club members, Roel, and Nelson? Nothing particularly came to mind.

Estelle seemed happy at the suspicion in my eyes, as if she were planning to get back at me. She put her hands on her hips and said in a low voice.

,Tarantula.”

,So, you have a hobby of investigating your customers.”

It was an answer that hid my surprise at the sudden name. Conversations with Estelle were like this, making me flustered with out-of-context words.

,Yeah. Like I said, I’m interested in you. Happy?”

The sarcastic words ‘So, your interest has developed into stalking?’ swirled in my mouth, but I barely managed to suppress them.

,…Are you threatening me with that?”

,No, I have no intention of threatening you at all. I told you, I’ve already given you a lot of help. You can just take it like trash and turn your back on me.”

As I frowned, trying to interpret the meaning in Estelle’s words, Estelle’s fingers suddenly pressed hard on my brow.

,You’re going to get wrinkles on your forehead. Wrinkles on an ugly face, that’s totally not good.”

As I narrowed my eyes and glared at Estelle’s sudden insult, Estelle explained what she had said in an easy-to-understand way.

,The reason why the village massacred by Tarantula’s subordinates suddenly disappeared as if it had evaporated, the reason why there was no commotion even though the green magic tower master Tarantula died. Still don’t get it? It’s not that you’re lucky; it’s all because of my help. You idiot.”

Only then did the pieces of the puzzle that hadn’t fit together in my head fall into place.

I had been wondering why there hadn’t been any commotion even though quite some time had passed since Tarantula died at my hands. It turned out I had a secret Santa.

I let out a hollow laugh at the unexpected help.

Estelle’s help had definitely been a great help to my peaceful life. I was truly grateful.

,And there’s one more thing that will make you happy.”

,The more, the better.”

As I answered with a sly voice, Estelle scoffed, telling me not to get cocky.

,We also took good care of your teacher, Rotten Scholar’s, corpse. We made a grave in a good spot with the statue next to it.”

At Estelle’s words, I ran a hand over my face, trying not to show my emotions.

Relief, regret, guilt. Those emotions stirred chaotically in my heart. I also felt relieved that the problem that had been weighing on my mind had been resolved.

,Where is the grave….”

,The mountain next to the village. He lived there for a long time, so I thought the area around there would be good.”

As I nodded in agreement, her serious voice quickly turned into that of a cheeky brat.

,I didn’t bring up those things to threaten you. I just wanted to let you know how great I am and how helpful I can be to you. Actually, you’re totally useless without my help. You never think about the aftermath, do you? Dummy~ Moron~”

Certainly, like Estelle pointed out, I didn’t think about the aftermath and just went ahead with things. No, I didn’t have the luxury to think about the aftermath.

If I hadn’t bet everything on that moment without thinking about the aftermath, it might have been me who died in that fight, not Tarantula.

It was true that Estelle had been a great help to me, but I still didn’t know.

Even if I joined hands with Estelle, I couldn’t think of anything that would immediately benefit me.

I was satisfied with just selling and buying information from Modiste as I was now.

A deal with no gains but potential risks. That was what I had to be most careful about.

,You’ll give me time to think, right?”

,Of course~ I expected you wouldn’t be able to make a manly, decisive decision. How pathetic~”

If she were my younger sister, I would have pinched her cheeks, but I remembered that Estelle was the successor of an assassin group and lowered my half-raised hand.

,You’re not planning to reveal your identity to me?”

I knew who she was, but if I said that, the question ‘how’ would inevitably come up. To prevent that, I had to choose an inconvenient but roundabout path.

,Nope. There’s no need to reveal my identity when we haven’t even promised to cooperate yet. Why, are you curious about who’s behind the mask? Don’t worry. I’m pretty.”

I sighed at Estelle’s words and stroked my chin, pretending to think seriously.

,Let’s talk seriously next time after the duel is over. I have a lot to think about right now.”

,Okay, I don’t plan to rush you into making a decision either. If I did, you’d probably lose the duel and blame it on me.”

When I think about it, what’s the difference between her and Flavia?

That she becomes docile when you take off her mask? That’s definitely a big difference.

,Anyway, be careful of the cult’s executive. Don’t do anything that would make you stand out. It was good that you didn’t use space magic. But how did you find the executive in that crowd?”

From Estelle’s words, I could tell that the person I had been staring at was a high-ranking member of the cult. Who could it be? Judging by appearance alone, it was hard to guess.

,You’re not planning to tell me who the executive is?”

,I can’t tell you. It’s impossible regardless of my will.”

As she said that, she stuck out her pink tongue and pointed at it with her finger. I averted my gaze for no reason.

,But still, be prepared with an answer when I come back next time. It’s okay if you reject my offer. I won’t cause you any harm. So, don’t be too scared. Coward~”

I grabbed the door of the toilet stall and stopped Estelle, who was about to leave.

,What, do you have something to say~? Or, what… are you planning to do something else? Pervert~”

,I don’t think I said thank you. Thank you for your help. I mean it.”

For some reason, Estelle seemed flustered by my words. She didn’t try to look at me in front of her and kept her eyes on the floor. As I looked at the black cat mask, I suddenly realized.

The identity of the person who sent the purple dagger that I had been curious about.

I had cautiously asked Luna, but she seemed to know nothing about the dagger. What had been a question in my mind was resolved today.

,This, you sent this to me, right? I was wondering who sent it. I’ll use it well.”

When I took out the box with the colorful origami and purple ribbon that I had put in my space warehouse, Estelle flinched greatly and trembled as if she were having a seizure.

,T, t-that…! I, I don’t know!”

,Ugh!”

Before I could react to her sudden reaction, I was hit in the stomach in an unguarded state and groaned.

Estelle, who had suddenly thrown a punch, left me in pain and hurriedly ran out of the bathroom.

I said thank you. Why did you hit me…?

I felt wronged, but she had already disappeared, so I couldn’t ask.