Ch.91Angry NPC (2)

I’d been thrown for a loop since morning, but this man—I don’t think he actually sees me as trash.

“Well, if I were in their shoes, I’d probably want to follow a man who goes out of his way to find and rescue children when it’s not even his business. If a guy with generous spending habits also happened to look as handsome as you, I’d be trailing right behind him too.”

Wait. Hold on. Maybe he does see me as trash? Money and looks? Is that really it?

I handed over the 50,000 kan upfront.

This was just the advance payment. After everything was over, I agreed to give him another 100,000 kan, which he accepted with satisfaction.

On top of that, Rey had paid this man an additional 50,000 kan to hire him from the guild as a gold-ranked adventurer with a confidentiality agreement. This guy was making 2 million won in a week.

“This is for the children’s meals, and this is for their medical treatment.”

“No, wait, wait. I may be carrying a knife, but I’m a supporter. How many healing spells do you think I have? This amount is enough to take all the kids to a hospital!”

“There are a lot of children. Don’t be stingy with money—buy plenty of potions and take good care of them.”

“…Seriously. You really do have the kind of personality that attracts women.”

“That’s a strange conclusion to reach. Maybe don’t take the conversation in that direction?”

With a somewhat bitter smile, the man finally accepted the additional money pouch I handed him. He thumped his chest, promising to take responsibility for the children’s health, then changed the subject.

“Is there a reason you’re being so good to children you’ve just met?”

“Not particularly. They’ve been through a lot. It’s just my responsibility to tell them not to go home yet.”

“I don’t see it that way. Without you, all these kids would have been exploited to death here, right? This is a situation where the rescuer is going above and beyond.”

I wonder. Is it strange that I’m taking such excessive care of these kids? I don’t think so.

To put it bluntly, these children have families and parents, and they didn’t enroll in the academy to be treated like this. Yet they were being sacrificed because of adults’ selfish desires.

Some of the children were even around Ira’s age or slightly older, and honestly, I couldn’t help but empathize with them. But even setting that aside, children are meant to be protected—is it strange to think that way?

“…I see. You have a younger sibling. That makes it understandable.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing. Ah, here comes your lover.”

Who’s a lover? Ragni emerged from the room where the bald man and the other trash were tied up, giving a sidelong glance at the man who had called her my lover, then approached me.

“How did it go?”

“It’s confirmed that the academy’s vice principal is involved, and the bald man is the only one he meets with. The bald man and a guy named Gibson—judging by their reactions, you’re right that this week is the limit. They’ve probably already started to worry since the two have gone missing. And from what I gathered about the vice principal, he’s the self-preserving type who likely won’t come here in person. Seems he’s the kind who’ll cut ties immediately.”

“…Did they just spill all that?”

“No. The way their eyes moved, their breathing patterns. Whether they spit out in anger or swallow their saliva. Looking at those things makes it easy to judge if they’re lying or telling the truth, and what they’re thinking when they hear what I say.”

I had entrusted her with a simple interrogation. The information I knew—whether it would be the same in reality, or if even this would be twisted and I’d face some ridiculous gaslighting. That’s what I was worried about.

The result matched what I knew, and it seems using that bastard Lo Jack as bait would be meaningless. A direct approach is the answer after all.

“Anyway. That vice principal won’t be coming here. You.”

“Yes?”

“Take good care of the children, my ‘husband.’ Despite appearances, you’re a very caring person.”

“Uh, yeah. Sure.”

“……”

Perhaps because of his earlier comment about her being my lover, Ragni gave the gold-ranked adventurer a sharp look with a subtly angry tone. I also asked him to take care of things before coming up from the basement.

When she called me her husband, I almost wanted to ask who she was calling her husband, but Ragni’s mood seemed off, so I decided to let it slide. I may not be the brightest, but I’m not completely oblivious.

Outside, the sun had risen, and it was bright. Ira would be moving around with Rey and Gor by now.

“Hey, Jack.”

“Yeah?”

“Why did you bring me along?”

“Huh?”

“For an interrogation like this, wouldn’t it have been better to just have Gor torture them?”

To be honest, I had considered that method. Even though children were present, the room where we had confined those men was completely soundproof. I thought it might be easier to talk if we completely destroyed one of them in front of the others.

“Is this because of what happened yesterday?”

“Well, I can’t say it’s completely unrelated.”

Yes, I can’t say it’s completely unrelated.

Because of her own perceived inadequacy, Ira had been threatened. And Ragni had gone into a mode of self-blame, thinking it was all her fault.

The [Queen] I knew wasn’t someone who would show such a side, nor had she ever shown it until the moment of her death. That’s why I brought her along. I wanted to show her that she was someone who could be this helpful to me and to Ira.

“…Honestly, Rey could have done this instead of me.”

“That’s true. Anyone could probably achieve the same result with just a difference in time; it’s not that difficult.”

“Yeah, honestly, it didn’t have to be me…”

“But to do this without violence, using only words and knowledge—as far as I know, you’re the only one who can.”

“……”

I place my hand on Ragni’s head.

I keep this pervert girl who said she likes me and wants to have my child on a leash because I want her to be happy, even if just a little. I even gave her a weapon. And I made her use her skill without her knowing.

But is she happy now?

‘…I don’t think so, at least not to my eyes.’

“Let’s go.”

“Huh?”

“We have somewhere else to go.”

“Okay.”

Ragni didn’t resist my hand stroking her head at all; rather, she took my hand, and feeling her warmth, I walked toward the outskirts of the city.

*

“…A dungeon?”

“Yeah.”

Outside Neity.

Ragni and I found the dungeon that opens at the beginning of ep.3. She looks at me with wide red eyes, as if wondering why I brought her to a dungeon.

“Ragni. As you’ve probably already noticed, you have more skills.”

“…Yes. You did something, right? And you know about other people’s skills and how they can become stronger. Honestly, if you hadn’t brought it up first, I wasn’t going to mention it either, but why suddenly bring this up?”

As expected. I had forcibly twisted our conversation that day, but I didn’t think she would have been fooled by it.

Her response, speaking as if she already knew, made me involuntarily give a bitter smile.

Really, did I think I could deceive anyone with my intellect?

“Then, have you told Rey or Ira that I know something like that?”

“Of course not. It’s obvious you don’t want that, so why would I tell anyone? If you hadn’t brought it up first, I was planning to keep what I noticed a secret until I died.”

“That’s pretty heavy.”

“This is my love.”

Really no backing down, huh? She tilted her head and smiled coyly, putting her arms behind her back before continuing.

“Actually, what surprised me more was that Ira doesn’t know about this. You’ve been keeping it a secret from her too?”

“…That’s right. Even if I told her such things, it’s not something that would be good for Ira to know.”

“True. Special abilities that others don’t have… even if you know about them or notice them, they often bring more harm than good.”

She nodded immediately as if she understood and stood looking at me.

“So, telling me this and bringing me to a dungeon… you want to enhance my insufficient strength to protect Ira?”

“That’s not wrong, but there’s a slight misunderstanding.”

“Huh?”

Yes, there’s a misunderstanding. I already think you’re more than enough to be one of the people who can protect Ira.

I’ve never thought that a woman who expresses her emotions and feelings to me so purely, who completely understands how precious Ira is to me, is insufficient. Rather, it’s the opposite.

“I’ve always thought that you and Rey could protect Ira even without me. If I didn’t think so, I would have taken Ira straight to the Spirit Demon Kingdom instead of coming to Neity. I would have thought it better for me to protect her, regardless of any threats.”

“…I might not know about Rey, but I’m too weak right now.”

“Yes, compared to Gor or Rey, your combat ability is considerably weaker.”

While her level and HP might be far stronger than both of them combined, considering the difference in basic stats and skill manifestation rate, she’s too weak to be called a raid boss.

“However, as far as I know, you have more combat potential than both of them combined.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes, you.”

[Skill: Heaven-sent Talent.]

[Heaven-sent Talent Effect: Mimics actions and stats once observed. The talent bestowed by the world is not something that can be reached through effort alone.]

Yes, until now, I had only thought about raising your stats by making others submit to you. I had planned to never activate this skill.

This skill is truly vicious beyond measure. The reason I immediately knelt before you the day I first saw you was largely because of this skill. But…

[No. I should have done better. If Ira’s exam or interview scores are penalized because of me, I really…]

“Listen carefully, Ragni. You’re wiser than any of us. And you have the ability to become stronger than anyone. From now on, I’m activating your skill: [Heaven-sent Talent].”

Because you acted for me and my sister and then apologized, I don’t want you to think you’re ‘useless.’

And I don’t want to see you getting beaten up by anyone. So, I’m removing your limits.

“From now on, anyone who looks down on you, on ‘us’—beat them all to death with your own hands.”

[-Occupation: Raid Boss (Slave of the Ottoman Empire)- Level: 450 Name: Ragni Bluemoon: 19 years old.]

After today, you’ll become a raid boss that no one on this continent can ignore.

Now show those bastards who bully you, and those who dare touch Ira, what real gaslighting is.