Chapter 29

Sending a message.

[Protagonist(Ryu Seong)]

It’s fortunate that I saved the contact.

<[Hiyeon has disappeared.]

[…What?]>

<[We were supposed to look around the black market together, but she suddenly disappeared. Help me.]

[I’m coming now.]>

How many people in the world can say “I’m coming now” without a moment’s hesitation after hearing that someone has disappeared?

One thing’s for certain: someone who enters the black market just because a friend, not even family, has gone missing is not in their right mind.

Normally, one would report to the police, or report to the academy and wait for measures to be taken.

But such sensible actions wouldn’t work for the protagonist, who has an operating principle of his body moving first without him even realizing it.

Moreover, his moving speed was so fast that the protagonist arrived in front of me in less than 10 minutes after I sent the message.

I had walked quite a bit in the black market, but seeing how he found my location in one go, did he use his ability?

“Where’s Hiyeon?”

He was calm.

His childhood friend had disappeared, and he rushed to the black market before making a rational judgment, but he didn’t lose his composure.

He was carefully examining the surroundings and figuring out the geography. Based on my location, he was mentally calculating places he could reach within 10 minutes.

“I contacted you right after Hiyeon disappeared. She disappeared about 12 minutes ago, so I don’t think she’s too far.”

“…But why to the black market?”

“Hiyeon said she wanted to do some shopping… together.”

“I understand for now.”

I successfully made up an excuse.

Perhaps if I had brought up the story about the ‘love potion’ at this time, I could have created a rift between Hiyeon and Ryu Seong, but that wasn’t what I wanted.

Why bother when they would gradually drift apart anyway if left alone?

Let’s start preparing.

I think about the next step. I’ll pretend to search with the protagonist and then naturally disappear at an appropriate time.

“If she was forcibly taken, there would be traces left.”

“…Yeah.”

“Can your shadow also perceive the surrounding view or environment?”

“Vision is impossible, but if I extend my senses through the shadow… roughly the shape of the ground.”

“That’s a bit ambiguous.”

Extending senses through the shadow means that if the shadow is cut, I feel pain as if a part of my body has been cut.

I can grasp the surrounding topography, but I didn’t want to use it if possible.

But I didn’t want to show my cards to the protagonist either, so if he asks me to use it, I’d have no choice.

Refusing here would also look suspicious.

“Ryu Seong.”

“Yes?”

“Hiyeon’s ability is [Restoration], right? Are there any unnatural-looking topographical features around?”

“What do you… Oh!”

If Hiyeon had resisted, part of the topography would have changed to its past appearance due to her ability.

A floor that’s strangely clean with no dust… an exposed rebar on a building’s exterior that looks like it’s not completed… things like that.

Now that I’ve given a hint, the rest is up to Ryu Seong.

“But can someone kidnap a person without being noticed among so many people?”

“Ryu Seong, come closer.”

I approached his side and put my mouth to his ear.

In harem or dating sims, when doing such things, the protagonist’s face would typically turn red, showing his inexperience, but this guy didn’t react at all and just stood there blankly.

Yes. Of course, I didn’t expect such flustering.

It would be convenient to have one more weakness for later.

In a romantic or ambiguous relationship, suddenly betraying and stabbing in the back. Then, what expression would the protagonist who fell victim to it make? Isn’t it something to look forward to?

Anyway, I started whispering.

“The people here… they’re all black market merchants.”

“…So what?”

“Think about who owns the black market. Whether there’s anyone who can stand up to the owner.”

“They’re all in the same group?”

“What I mean is, even if they saw the kidnapping, there’s no possibility they would report it or tell us.”

The only method left is to directly run around this vast black market and find clues one by one, not knowing where they are.

How much I wanted to fold this fucking story while doing it.

Find clean floors (0/3)

Find exposed rebar (0/8)

Did they really make this to be done? Just thinking about it again makes me angry.

For now, should I guide him to a nearby location? I had remembered all the locations unconsciously after going through so much trouble, so I could provide this much help.

My original goal is to drop out midway. And to steal the salvation narrative by observing when the battle begins and there’s no room to pay attention elsewhere.

: I have one question.

‘What is it?’

: I still don’t understand very well. Why specifically…?

‘I’ve already told you. Because that child’s ability is useful.’

: No, I’ll admit it’s useful. Fine. But… it’s not necessary. I mean it’s not essential.

‘Yes. Shall I speak honestly? I just want to steal it. I hate seeing someone else being saved and living happily while I look like I’m about to die.’

: …

‘Is that reason enough?’

The status window didn’t answer me.

It didn’t stop me, nor did it specifically instruct me to do anything. It meant I was still running on the main scenario, the “track” it had set.

If that’s the case, it doesn’t matter.

I’ll run wild within the predetermined framework.

“Bia, help me.”

“Of course, I called you with that intention from the beginning.”

“…Thank you.”

“We’re ‘friends,’ right?”

“Yes!”

I followed Ryu Seong’s movements and subtly guided him using the traces around us, knowingly and unknowingly.

And around the time we had collected almost all the clues left by Hiyeon’s resistance… Ryu Seong notices the sense of discomfort.

.

.

.

“…All the clues.”

“Yes.”

“Did you notice?”

“Yes.”

“They all point in one direction. The center of this black market… that mansion there.”

“It doesn’t fit at all.”

“It seems that’s [Alchemy]’s mansion. Why?”

Even if you think about the reason now, you can’t figure it out.

The villain’s backstory and narrative are typically revealed during the boss battle or right after defeating them.

You have something else you can do, Ryu Seong.

Do what you can do right now. Just say that, as usual, your body moved first without you knowing, that’s all.

Come on, move now. Move your feet forward.

“We have no choice but to go, right?”

I moved my shadow at high speed and hid myself in the dark alleyways of the black market.

From far away, I began to hear Ryu Seong’s confused cries looking for me.

It’s up to you now, left alone. The story will flow on its own from now on. There’s no room for villains like me to interfere with the narrative of a protagonist coming to rescue a heroine.

Villains just implement sinister plans behind the scenes while the protagonist works hard.

If I betray you someday, I want to tell you all this.

I want to tell you what thoughts and feelings I had when I approached you, how I pushed you all into crisis, and how I led you here.

There’s nothing as funny as a villain rambling about their plan, but my mouth is itching and I can’t bear it.

I want to see your expressions distort like evil spirits.

I hope you become unhappy.

Just.

Like me.

♦♦♦

…What signals the start of the battle is when the ceiling part of the mansion begins to melt.

Alchemy’s ability is the supreme and greatest creative-type ability that can create and produce unrealistic items from ordinary materials.

Liquid that melts substances just by touching them, fog that intoxicates the moment it’s inhaled, bricks that explode the moment they’re stepped on, and on top of that, a pattern of drinking physical enhancement potions and directly wielding and throwing daggers.

The boss battle begins with a completely different perspective from the battles until now, which only involved clicking on options, attack, defense, dodge, and special cards.

Completely different from the existing battle system, you can control the character in third person, and you win by breaking through tricky stages with the protagonist’s sword and directly attacking the boss.

Of course, the current protagonist is weak compared to a year later, but the main scenario is absolute.

In other words, the fact that the protagonist defeats Alchemy is already predetermined.

‘Good. It’s starting.’

From now on, my narrative theft begins.

I slowly started moving my shadow into the deepest abyss of the black market where they’re trading ability users and people.

On the surface, they look like ordinary slum buildings, but if you look inside…

Bang.

I gathered the shadow appropriately like a hammer and broke the wall.

Inside, an old man and a merchant conducting a transaction are visible. They were humans who had nothing to do with me, and their faces weren’t familiar.

I transformed the shadow into a blade.

Both had their necks cut and died.

The headless necks were spurting blood, trying to supply blood to non-existent heads, but it was no use.

With unhesitating steps, I headed towards the human trapped in a cage.

It was a girl, too thin and small to be called a human.

She had the appearance of a beast rather than a person, but her silver hair and red eyes never lost their light.

She is the girl I was looking for, ‘Yeon.’

No, not Yeon anymore. That’s the name the protagonist gave her when he first saved her, right?

“Your name?”

“…Don’t know.”

“Shall I, give you one?”

The girl composed her trembling body and said this.

“Thank you… for saving me.”

Ah, I see.

Now I understand why Hiyeon wanted to hear gratitude from that ill-mannered child.

Not for others, but for myself.

Even though I did this just because I didn’t like the protagonist, just because I didn’t like seeing someone as unhappy as me being saved.

Hearing gratitude makes me so— happy.

I raised the corners of my mouth.

“Will you follow me?”

“…Yes.”

The girl nodded her head.