Ch.38Chapter 38 – Pretense

Following Eve’s guidance, I arrived at her office in the trading company.

For some reason, Sarah and Christina tried to naturally follow me in, but Eve stopped them, saying she wanted to have a private conversation.

“Um, please shout if anything happens!”

“Benefactor, please be careful!”

Did they think Eve was going to eat me or something?

With those words, the two left.

After a moment, Eve spoke.

“In about a week, there will be a large-scale undead extermination at the western cemetery.”

She said this while sitting in her chair.

“Are you certain?”

“I am.”

A resolute declaration.

If so, she must have seen it.

“Kay, I’m asking you sincerely.”

Eve looked at me.

Her eyes were trembling slightly with anxiety.

“Please don’t participate in the extermination.”

Looking at Eve’s anxious eyes, I quietly asked back.

“Can you tell me why?”

Eve hesitated a little.

After a brief moment, she opened her mouth.

“Do you know about the Red Holy Knight Order?”

“Yes.”

Publicly, they’re a newly established holy knight order of the New Kingdom.

In reality, they’re test subjects kidnapped from another world by the Emiris Order.

Of course, this wasn’t something I could tell Eve.

Who would believe talk of other worlds, kidnapping, and test subjects anyway?

Thinking this, I looked at Eve.

With her arms crossed, tapping her left arm with her right finger, she soon spoke.

“People who appeared to be knights from that order participated in the extermination and…”

– I participated in the extermination with Christina.

– After the undead extermination, Eve came to the western gate to meet me.

– And what she saw was me being dragged away as if dead.

– When she ran over, concerned, both they and I had disappeared.

“…I see.”

It seems that if I participate in the extermination, I’ll end up encountering those guys.

And I’ll be captured, I suppose.

‘Persistent bastards.’

I don’t even want to think about what happens after being captured.

I’ve finally escaped and am living comfortably here.

Living day by day, dreaming only of a way to return.

I noticed my fists had clenched unconsciously and carefully relaxed them.

I could feel Eve watching my reaction.

“…Eve?”

“Yes?”

“Is that all you saw and learned?”

I asked if she was hiding anything.

“Yes, this time I only saw from my perspective, looking at you, so I didn’t see anything more.”

That’s what Eve said.

“I don’t know what happened there.”

Eve said this.

It seemed to be the truth.

Anyway, it seemed like another unknown situation for her.

She only knows the outcome of what happened to me.

She doesn’t know how it happened.

Since it didn’t happen to her personally, her information would be limited.

Whether she knew what I was thinking or not, Eve spoke again.

“Kay.”

“Yes.”

“Please, don’t participate in the extermination.”

I lowered my head for a moment at Eve’s words.

‘I could avoid it if I wanted to.’

If I coordinate well with Christina, I could make an excuse about being injured and skip it.

But soon I made my decision and spoke.

“I’m afraid that would be difficult.”

I stood up from my seat.

If they simply came to help resolve this situation, it might be fine.

But if I’m their target, that’s a different story.

They’ll stay here until they’re certain I’m not in the Kingdom of Mikea.

They might have search methods I don’t know about.

They might have informants I don’t know about.

Not knowing, it would be very difficult to avoid all of these.

In such a state, hiding until they leave would be extremely difficult.

Even if they came for a different purpose, they would attack immediately if they discovered my existence.

Also, if I avoid this large-scale extermination.

Would I be safe then?

No.

‘It would just change the timing.’

If I avoid this one, then the next.

If I avoid the next, then the one after that.

‘As long as those guys are around, I’m in danger.’

Once they’ve entered my living area,

my life is threatened at any time.

And will be threatened at any time in the future.

At least if I’m their target, it’s obvious they’ll come at me by any means necessary.

Yes, what’s coming will come.

‘I won’t just sit here and take it.’

Rather, now that I know it’s happening in a week, it might be better to prepare for this attack and do something about it.

After organizing my thoughts, I bowed my head to Eve in gratitude.

“Thank you, Eve.”

“Kay?”

“If you hadn’t told me, I would have been caught off guard.”

It was a gesture of thanks because I would have been in danger if she hadn’t told me this.

Eve thought for a moment and then spoke again.

She seemed to realize I had no intention of avoiding it.

“Do you have a chance of winning?”

I look into Eve’s eyes.

‘She’s worried about me.’

My facial expression might look a bit grotesque due to the burn, but I tried to smile.

“Well, don’t worry.”

“Kay.”

“I’m stronger than two or three of them combined.”

This was pure bluster.

In truth, I’m at a disadvantage against even two of them.

Still, I thought she would feel reassured if I showed some confidence.

Sometimes you need to put on a brave face.

“What are you planning to do?”

Thanks to Eve, I’ve gained a temporary advantage in information.

“I’m going to think about it from now on.”

With those words, I left the office.

I had a week.

+

“…Sigh.”

I failed to persuade him.

“It’s never easy, is it?”

It was always like this.

When leaving home, when warning someone.

Most of the time, persuasion didn’t work.

Although I had expected he wouldn’t be persuaded, I had secretly hoped he might listen.

I don’t know why.

I thought he might listen.

No, I wanted him to listen this time.

‘Still, it’s not that he didn’t believe me.’

Most people would sneer or dismiss it as nonsense.

But he believed me.

He listened seriously, thought seriously, and answered accordingly.

Still, I felt a little disappointed.

It was disappointing that he didn’t follow my advice.

‘At least he believed me.’

Feeling a bit drained, Eve buried her face on the desk.

‘What should I do now?’

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

“Guild Master, may I come in?”

“Come in.”

Rachel entered.

“Did something happen?”

“Kay won’t listen to me. I’m a bit tired.”

Rachel smiled as she began clearing away the empty teacups.

“That’s not like you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I would have thought the Guild Master would smile and find a way to solve it behind the scenes.”

I want to do that.

But Eve lacked information.

Until now, she had been the subject.

This time too.

However, it was from a third-person perspective.

She didn’t go to that cemetery in the future.

Naturally, she couldn’t know what happened there.

‘The problem is that it’s too vague this time.’

She racked her brain.

Organizing what she needed.

“Rachel, what about what I mentioned before?”

“The preparations are ready, but we need to go for the contract tomorrow morning.”

Good news, Eve thought as she rang a bell.

Soon, an employee came running.

Eve handed a document to the employee who had arrived.

“Go find these people and have them prepare starting tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow morning, you say?”

“I will provide compensation accordingly. Oh, and also go to the blacksmith and place this order.”

And, as if remembering one more thing, Eve said:

“On your way back, stop by the guild and call this party. I have a personal connection, so they might agree.”

“Understood.”

“Time is of the essence. If necessary, take one or two more employees with you.”

The employee nodded and hurried out, and Rachel looked at her curiously.

“In such a hurry? What are you plotting, Guild Master?”

“If someone heard you, they’d think I’m always plotting something suspicious, Rachel.”

“Sometimes you do move in ways that anyone would find suspicious, Guild Master.”

I should hit her later.

Ignoring Rachel, Eve stood up.

She opened the wardrobe door in one corner of the office.

Beyond the outdoor clothes, she opened a space and spoke.

“Well, it’s similar to when I left home.”

Eve said, looking at her cherished sword.

She took out the sword and placed it beside her desk, then opened a drawer and took out a fatigue recovery potion she had bought before.

Tasteless and odorless.

No different from plain water.

‘I should ask for this too.’

She missed the fatigue recovery potion that Seraphina had made for her.

She needed to meet her at least once anyway.

“Time to work.”

“Oh my, overtime?”

“If you want to rest, help me well?”

“Yes.”

Rachel answered with a bitter smile at Eve’s words.

+

After leaving Eve’s office and walking for a while, Christina approached me.

“You look troubled, Benefactor. Would you like a massage?”

“No, that’s fine.”

“Then, shall I cook something for you? Despite appearances, I make good gruel.”

“No, that’s fine too.”

“Um, may I ask how gruel came up in this conversation?”

“Our church needs to save on food expenses…”

I should leave Sarah and Christina alone for now.

What should I do now?

According to Eve, I seem to have been defeated while fighting the test subjects.

‘Still, I don’t think I’d lose in a one-on-one fight.’

Unless there’s a significant equipment gap, I shouldn’t be overwhelmed in a one-on-one situation.

If so, I can guess that at least two or more came.

Should I pretend it’s a coincidence during the extermination and pick them off one by one?

Or should I find them now and eliminate them one by one?

Before that, I don’t know where they are right now.

Should I start looking for where they are?

‘…It’s hard for me to move recklessly.’

If I’m the target, it goes without saying, and even if I’m not, I could become a target by standing out unnecessarily.

It doesn’t seem like a good idea for me to move directly to find them.

First, I should look for someone who can move as an information broker or something similar.

While doing so, I realized I also needed someone to look into the Emiris Order.

Someone who could move without arousing suspicion.

‘Would there be such a person….’

They’re operating under the guise of a plausible organization called the Holy Knight Order.

If there was just someone who could ask as a fellow professional, it would be enough to simply locate them.

“Benefactor?”

‘Ah.’

She was right beside me.

“Miss Christina.”

“Yes!”

“May I ask you a favor?”

“What is it!”

Looking at Christina, who answered energetically, I said:

“…I heard from Guild Master Lavencha earlier that she received news that the Red Holy Knight Order will be dispatched to the order.”

“Oh, the newly established one?”

“Yes.”

Of course, it’s a lie.

If you think about it from someone else’s perspective, there’s no reason Eve would have such information.

Still, Christina didn’t seem suspicious and put her hands together in prayer.

“I’ve heard they’re elite knights who have given up their names and identities for God, such amazing people…”

My goodness, is that how they’re being advertised?

As someone directly involved, I’d like to point out how ridiculous that statement is.

But I’ll hold back for now.

“Could you quietly find out from the church when they will arrive?”

“Are you interested in them too, Benefactor?”

“…I saw them in the newspaper recently, so I am curious.”

I gave a suitable answer.

Fortunately, Christina accepted it easily.

“Then I’ll do my best to find out for you!”

This nun seems like she might make a noisy inquiry.

I should make it clear just in case.

“Again, please find out quietly. Don’t mention that anyone asked you to look into it.”

“Don’t worry!”

‘That’s concerning.’

However, since I’ve been avoiding the church all this time, Christina was the only person who could look into that side for me.

I think about other things I need to do.

A week’s time.

There’s not much I can do.

As a last resort, there was the option of becoming definitely stronger than them.

‘That would be difficult.’

There’s no way to make myself stronger in a short period.

Learning might help, but it’s also hard to find someone capable of teaching me.

“…Ah, it’s dinner time.”

Sarah commented, looking at the darkening sky.

It seems the conversations with Christina and Eve took longer than I thought.

“Ah, would you like to come to our church? Delicious gruel…”

Why is this nun so fixated on gruel?

“Let’s just eat out. Sarah, is there anything you’d like?”

“Oh, is that okay?”

It wasn’t much considering she had nursed me for three straight days.

‘Come to think of it, I should also reimburse her for repair costs and inn fees.’

Despite not being well-off herself, she paid on my behalf and hasn’t asked for reimbursement yet, so I had momentarily forgotten.

Or rather, she probably stayed quiet because she didn’t want to burden me.

While I was thinking this, Sarah spoke up.

“Then let’s go to that restaurant we went to before.”

The place Sarah mentioned was the restaurant where I had met Eve previously.

It was a place with good value for money.

She had chosen a place that was both delicious and considerate of my financial situation, which was definitely a good choice.

“Ex…expensive restaurant…”

Christina muttered, apparently familiar with it.

We’re not that wealthy either, but her financial situation seems even worse than ours, judging by how envious she looks.

‘Poor thing.’

It seems I wasn’t the only one thinking this, as Sarah also fell into thought looking at her expression.

Finally, she sighed softly and looked at me.

“Kay, um.”

“It’s fine.”

I had also asked her for a favor.

‘Let’s think of it as payment for the request.’

“I want to eat meat…”

I invited Christina, who was muttering sadly, to join us.