Who Do You Think You're Fooling? (Part 4)
Just when he thought he could finally catch his breath after wrapping up an awkward conversation with the publishing company's president, another person from the Corporate State approached him. Yohan quietly observed the man walking over with a refreshing smile. He had curly, bright golden hair that looked remarkably similar to Charles's. His build was sturdy, yet his face was so handsome and delicate that he could easily pass for the protagonist of a romance novel. Usually, guys who look this nice have something dirty to hide... Yohan thought to himself as he sized up the man's appearance.
"Ah, yes. Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it." Of course, Yohan didn't let his inner thoughts show on his face or in his words. He maintained a perfectly calm expression, offering his gratitude as the author.
"Is there a particular story you found especially interesting?" "Well, the one that stood out to me the most was..." For now, he had to play his part as 'Pharmacist Martin.' Yohan concealed his true feelings with acting skills that would make even the finest actors in the Westanian Royal Capital's theater district weep.
The conversation about Martin's Fables seemed to flow smoothly between the two. But it didn't take long for Yohan to notice a glaring disconnect between the man's actions and his words. This guy. There's absolutely no soul in what he's saying. Striking up a conversation as a reader was merely a pretext to get close; he clearly had another motive.
"Though he speaketh to thee, his mind is fixed elsewhere."
Hearing the Goddess chime in confirmed that he wasn't just imagining things. Although the man's eyes were technically facing forward... his entire attention had been locked onto Falco from the very beginning.
"Ah, where are my manners? I completely forgot to introduce myself." The man offered an embarrassed smile, then bowed with elegant grace. "I am Louis, the head of the Dorleans family."
According to Charles's previous explanations, the bourgeois families of the Corporate State ran entire enterprises as a single household. And given that he was a guest at this exclusive party, the merchant group operated by this Louis Dorleans must be massive in scale.
"I'm Martin. This is my wife and our daughter," Yohan said, glancing at Falco and Charles. The moment the word "wife" left Yohan's mouth, Louis's gaze locked onto Falco. While he had at least pretended to converse with Yohan a moment ago, he was now openly staring at her. He behaved as if Charles, who was standing right next to her, didn't even exist.
"I'm Dahlia," Falco introduced herself using the alias they had agreed upon beforehand. Louis murmured her name softly under his breath, then nodded with a bright smile. "Dahlia. What a beautiful name. I've heard that members of the forest elf tribes all take their names from flowers, and it seems that rumor is true."
Is that true? That's news to me. Yohan's eyes widened slightly. Come to think of it, her real name, Peony, was indeed a flower. He glanced sideways at Falco and nodded. It seemed that in a nation where everyone was dead serious about making money, people picked up all kinds of miscellaneous trivia.
"Ah. Then I shall take my leave. It seems there are many others who wish to speak with you, Master Martin." Louis offered a gentle smile and glanced around. Yohan also noticed that other party guests were beginning to gather around them.
"Sure, see ya." Their brief conversation ended. However, instead of returning to his original spot, Louis left the venue entirely. No matter how I look at him, that guy is highly suspicious. Yohan felt an immediate urge to tail Louis and see where he was going.
"Welcome to Burgund, Master Martin. I am..." But his path was blocked as the other party guests swarmed around the trio.
"Ughhhhh..." Upon returning to the lodgings provided by the party hosts, Yohan collapsed flat on the bed without even bothering to change his clothes.
"Phew... That was exhausting. I'd honestly rather fight a horde of monsters in some ruins." Falco, who had followed him inside, slumped into a chair and let out a deep sigh.
"Tell me about it. With monsters, you just beat them to death and call it a day. But dealing with those vultures trying to find an angle to exploit completely drains my energy."
"Yeah. Places like that don't suit us at all." Yohan and Falco exchanged weary, wry smiles. After a brief silence, Yohan suddenly sat up and carefully scanned the room.
"You don't think they've got this place bugged, do you?" "You're not actually serious, are you?" Falco asked, her face turning deadpan at Yohan's absurd joke.
"Hey, it never hurts to be careful." He hopped off the bed and began inspecting various corners of the room. Of course, he wasn't actually searching for hidden listening devices; he just wanted to get a closer look at the still-life paintings and other decorations hanging on the walls.
The accommodations they had been assigned were in a luxury hotel somewhere in the Capital. To put it bluntly, it was by far the finest place Yohan had stayed in since arriving in this godforsaken fantasy world.
"Tsk. It really is nice." Yohan scratched the back of his head with an awkward grin. When operating as the Apostle Yohan, he had to hide his identity at all costs, but there was no need for such caution when he was playing the role of Pharmacist Martin.
"..." After a moment, Yohan quietly approached Charles, who was leaning back in his chair without saying a word. "So, how does it feel to be back in your hometown after all this time?" At Yohan's question, Charles slowly raised his head to meet his eyes. For some reason, his expression looked incredibly grim. Although they had used long-distance teleportation magic circles multiple times, he didn't seem particularly exhausted from the journey itself.
"Yohan. Falco." Charles called their names in a voice much lower than usual. The two immediately sensed that something serious had happened.
"That man from earlier. Do you remember him?" "Uh..." Countless people, regardless of gender, had approached them to chat at the party. Yet, Yohan instantly knew exactly who Charles meant by "that man." "Who was it again... Louis Dorleans. You're talking about that bastard, right?"
"Yes." "But what about him? He definitely looked like a shady character." Above all, it had been incredibly irritating how the guy kept staring at Falco while pretending to talk to Yohan. If they hadn't come here under the name of Pharmacist Martin, Yohan might have grabbed him by the collar right then and there.
"..." Charles gripped the hem of his dress with both hands. His shoulders were trembling violently. Yohan and Falco exchanged worried glances but quietly waited for Charles to continue.
"Actually... my, my real name is Charles Dorleans." "Oh, holy shit." Yohan's lingering drowsiness vanished instantly. He let out a curse reflexively. That greasy bastard who had been casting sleazy looks at Falco was actually the older brother who had essentially kicked Charles out to die in the past.
Yohan suddenly opened the hotel room door and stepped out into the hallway. After confirming there was no one lingering nearby, he quickly slipped back inside. "I figured there was a chance we might run into him here, but now that it's actually happened, it's a bit jarring." He patted Charles's trembling shoulder to comfort him, and Falco nodded silently in agreement.
"First of all, what are the chances that bastard recognized our kid...?" "Zero. From the very beginning, he didn't pay any attention to you or Charles," Falco answered immediately. She was absolutely right. In fact, Louis Dorleans hadn't spared a single glance in Charles's direction. No matter how skilled someone was at wearing a mask, they would have reacted in some way the moment they realized their supposedly dead younger brother had returned alive and dressed as a girl—even if that person was a cold-blooded monster.
"To be honest, when you first suggested it, I thought you'd completely lost your mind because your reasoning made absolutely no sense. But looking back, your idea was brilliant, Yohan." "Mmh." Yohan let out a low groan at Falco's words. Normally, he would have snapped back, demanding to know if that was a compliment or an insult, but this wasn't the time for bickering. Disguising Charles half-seriously, half-jokingly had turned out to be an incredibly wise decision.
"Yohan." Charles, who had remained silent all this time, finally managed to speak. Yohan immediately stepped in front of him and met his gaze. "Yeah?" "Do you remember what you told me when we first met in Balifield?" "Yeah." He was referring to his advice: If you're going to die anyway, wouldn't it be better to land a solid blow before you go?
"Ever since then... I've resolved to live by those words. I wanted to grow the shop with Uncle Henry and build the largest merchant group in Balifield—no, in all of Westania..." In short, he wanted to become a self-made success and completely crush his wretched brother's pride.
"But the moment I saw my brother right in front of me like that..." Charles's voice trailed off. His shoulders shook noticeably. After all, Charles had been driven from his home by his own brother, witnessing his close associates get murdered and nearly dying himself in the process. It wouldn't be surprising for an ordinary person to suffer from severe trauma, give up entirely, or become deeply twisted.
"Tsk." I was too careless. Realizing his own lack of foresight, Yohan shook his head. He had simply thought that bringing Charles back to his hometown would make him somewhat happy. That was the extent of his thought process.
"Then you should just rest here at the hotel until we return to Westania. We'll handle the rest of our schedule," Falco said, gently patting Charles's shoulder. Charles nodded silently.
"The schedule, huh..." Specifically, it involved the contract for publishing the Corporate State's edition of Martin's Fables. Even though the contract negotiations themselves had been delegated to the printing shop owner back in Westania, it was still necessary for the original author to attend.
"But you saw that guy earlier, didn't you?" "Yeah." "No matter how I look at it, he's going to try to cling to you somehow." Charles's older brother, Louis Dorleans, was a cold-blooded monster who had sent his much younger brother to his death just to monopolize the family inheritance. Now, for some reason, that very man had become obsessed with Falco. It was obvious he would persistently pester them until they left the Corporate State.
"Whew." Of course, Yohan had absolutely no intention of letting that guy walk all over them. More than anything, he couldn't forgive the bastard for treating him like an idiot and casting those greasy, lingering looks at his companion. Yohan clenched his fists tightly.
"Alright. For the rest of our stay, let's dig into Louis's background as much as we can." "Got it." "If that's the case, leave it to me." Just as the two were reaching an agreement, Charles stood up and spoke in a firm voice.
"Are you going to be okay?" Yohan asked with a worried expression, but Charles waved his hand dismissively. "I told you earlier. I resolved to live by the words you gave me."
"..." Yohan and Falco fell silent for a moment at Charles's response. After a brief pause, they both nodded deeply at the same time. "That's my boy..." Yohan smiled warmly at Charles.
"Indeed. Only thus should my believer carry himself."
The Goddess's satisfied voice echoed clearly inside his head.