Why Only Me? (2)

The Emperor of the Night. A man who reigned among assassins like a living god. If he speaks, it shall be done — that was the rule of the Iris Guild, and the rule of every assassin.

And now that very man sat before her.

Scarlet swallowed hard as she took in Isaac, who had settled onto the sofa as if he had always belonged there. How or when he'd gotten in was irrelevant. If Isaac wanted inside, there was no door in the world that could keep him out.

He had melted into the cushions, every muscle seemingly slack... and yet there wasn't a single opening to be found.

After a stretch of silence, Isaac spoke first.

"Elise is doing well, I hope? I came straight here without even announcing myself, so I haven't seen her face."

"She should be resting at the mansion around now. Shall I contact her?"

Why is he here?

Isaac was famously a hopelessly doting father. For a man like that to show up without even telling Elise, there had to be a reason.

"No, no. That's not why I came. I have something to ask you. You know Lee Ho-yeon, right?"

"...Yes."

Scarlet barely managed to keep the surprise off her face. The name that had come out of Isaac's mouth was one she had not expected at all.

"I hear he signed a massage contract with Elise... is that true?"

"It is."

"A twenty-year-old guy. And he's Elise's classmate?"

"Yes."

"Hmmm...."

Isaac tilted his head from side to side, humming under his breath.

"What's your take? You don't think he might have... other intentions besides the massage, do you?"

So that's what he's suspicious of.

If her own daughter were paying a fortune to get massages from a twenty-year-old with zero professional experience, Scarlet would have reacted the exact same way. Factor in Ho-yeon's looks and the rumors swirling around him, and of course he'd be worried.

But that was if it were her own business. This was someone else's. She had to defend Ho-yeon.

"Only Lady Elise would know the truth... but the young lady I've served is not the sort of person who would do something like that."

"Ah, yeah. Right. Of course. Elise is smart... she wouldn't."

Isaac frowned again and sank back into thought. His beloved daughter would never do something like that. So then... what was the reason? And at the end of every train of thought sat only one person: Lee Ho-yeon.

"Scarlet. Do you think that kid is better than the high-end massage therapists I found?"

"…"

Scarlet couldn't say a word. She didn't know much about the mana massage therapists who'd come before, but they were probably among the best in the world. Comparing those people to Ho-yeon was absurd. And as much as she wanted to defend him somehow, the pressure rolling off this man was terrifying. One wrong word and she had a feeling she'd end up in a very bad place herself.

"That massage of his. Does it actually work?"

"According to Lady Elise, it does. An extraordinary effect, even..."

"Is that so? And he didn't have any other ulterior motives during the massage? I want your opinion, not Elise's."

"...I'm not sure about that."

"...You're not sure?"

Isaac, who had been speaking while gazing into empty air, slowly turned his head. His eyes locked onto Scarlet's.

"You don't know? Scarlet?"

"...Well, the massage was effective, and also..."

"Scarlet."

"...Yes."

It's no use.

The moment he'd asked for her opinion instead of Elise's, Scarlet had known it would come to this. She'd tried to talk her way around it, but this was not a man who could be fooled so easily. The instant Isaac had shown up in person, there was no stopping him from meeting Ho-yeon.

"Are you lying to me right now?"

"...No."

The Emperor of the Night. He could tell a lie from the truth. Not just lies — he could sense every word spoken with malice toward him. It was a talent perfectly suited to an information guild. Scarlet knew that, so she'd danced around the question as carefully as she could... but of course it hadn't worked.

"Speak plainly. Did Lee Ho-yeon have ulterior motives or not?"

She considered lying with her life on the line, but that would only make him more suspicious. Whether she said I don't know or No, neither would work. She could keep circling without technically lying, but this was not a man who would miss something like that. And she hadn't had time to prepare any elaborate scheme. If her own relationship with Ho-yeon got exposed on top of everything, that would be even worse.

In the end, Scarlet spoke with as much visible tension as she could muster. As if this was the last thing she'd wanted. As if she simply hated the idea of an innocent cadet getting hurt.

"...I cannot say he had no ulterior motives."

"Take me to him. Right now."

"...Yes."

Isaac rose from his seat and walked out of the house. Only then did Scarlet's tension ease, just a little. She drew a long breath.

Hahh—

It was a bad situation, but not the worst. If she'd still been staying close to Ho-yeon... what would have happened? If Isaac had found out she was playing double agent between the Iris Guild and Ho-yeon...

She swallowed.

And then she found herself admiring Ho-yeon's instincts. That whole "beast's senses" thing had sounded like complete nonsense... but apparently some people really were just built different.

Sunday afternoon.

I opened my notebook and slowly started thinking through next week's plans.

"I need to hang out with Lucy and Rumi. Oh, and A-young's coming back, too."

I jotted down everything that came to mind.

"Unnie, what's this?"

"...! Th-that's something you shouldn't touch."

"Huh? That's my streaming..."

The girls were talking among themselves over there, but I kept my eyes on the notebook.

"The magic expo with the professor... that's confirmed. No plans with Su-rin noona yet... and I'll probably do at least one massage with Elise."

If I just had, like, three bodies, this would be so much easier. Why did I have so many things on my schedule?

"I need to meet with Rebecca, too. There's a lot I still need to learn about the Rune Barrier."

"Hey! Give me back my chocolate!"

"Unnie! Help me!"

"...Liliana, if you could just give it back..."

"Haaah."

I sighed and gave up on thinking. There was no way I could concentrate like this. I stood up and headed toward the kitchen, where the voices were coming from. They only got louder as I approached.

"Should we get chicken?"

"Liliana unnie, eat something other than chicken!"

"...I think I've had quite a lot of chicken myself."

"Oh! Then what about roasted chicken?"

That crazy succubus had chicken on the brain again. I walked into the kitchen and put a hand on Liliana's shoulder.

"Hey. Order what the kids actually want to eat."

"Tch. Fine."

"Liliana. And clean your room. Your streaming outfits are rolling around under the bed."

"Yes, sir~ Got it!"

"...Hey."

"Ow, that hurts. Aaah...! Okay, okay, I got it!"

"How do you think that's going to affect a kid's emotional development, huh?"

I pinched Liliana's cheek and kept lecturing her a little longer.

"Hic, huuuh...."

I left Liliana sniffling with her cheek still in my grip and started thinking.

Maybe I really do need to find a bigger place.

I didn't even have space to concentrate, and the kitchen, bathroom, and dining table were all too small. That was all because the house was too cramped. There were four of us now. We couldn't keep living in the dorms forever. And after that recent attack... it wasn't like I was short on money. Getting a nice house like Elise's and living there wouldn't be a bad idea.

"Might as well go now, while I'm thinking about it."

If I didn't go while I had time, I'd just put it off again. Next week was packed. I'd been putting this off this long already — I needed to move.

"Huh? Where are you going?"

"The dorm's too small. I'm going to look at houses."

"I'll come too!"

"No. Stay here and rest."

If Liliana tagged along, she wouldn't be any ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠help — she'd just be loud. That much I knew from experience.

"Aw, why not! Take me with you!"

I ignored Liliana's whining and got ready to leave. She kept insisting she was coming, but luckily she calmed down once Nam Da-eun and Nam Daehee said they'd eat chicken with her.

"Thanks, Da-eun."

"It's nothing. Have a good trip."

While Liliana played with Daehee, Nam Da-eun saw me off at the front door. She didn't have to, but she said she preferred it this way, so I let her.

"I'll be back."

"Yes. Please take care."

"What's with that?"

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Why did she suddenly switch to formal speech?

"...I just felt like it. You know. Like seeing someone off."

"Pfft."

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠caught Nam Da-eun by the waist — her face faintly flushed — and pulled her toward me.

Cute. Just... cute. It was still a little awkward, but watching her change like this was fun.

"Nnh...."

Nam Da-eun, now in my arms, met my eyes.

"Want to do it again tonight?"

"...If you want to."

"Last night was really good. Right?"

"I don't know...."

Yesterday Liliana had fallen asleep, so we hadn't done it together — just Nam Da-eun and me, the two of us. Maybe tonight we could all do it together.

I pressed a light kiss to Nam Da-eun's forehead as she flushed with embarrassment, then slipped out of the dorm.

What a lavish life.

Even I couldn't understand what I'd just done. Pulling a girl into my arms first and kissing her on the forehead. If I were still the me from my original world, I never would have imagined living like this. Honestly, I could die anytime without a single regret.

That's just a figure of speech, though. I don't actually want to die.

I left the academy and headed into the shopping district to find a nearby real estate office.

"Wow~ Fruit's incredibly cheap today."

"It's in season. Why don't you take a basket?"

The voices of people around me. Hearing the sounds of other people living their lives... it made me feel like I was really alive, too.

"Real estate... this way."

Naturally, the shopping district had several real estate offices. I wasn't planning to visit just one anyway, so I decided to start with the closest. Following the path my smartwatch laid out, I turned into a narrow alley.

And in that instant, the world around me went silent.

"...Again?"

I reinforced the Rune Barrier I'd already had up for perception interference. I tried to leave the alley like that, but something blocked me. I couldn't get out.

Strong.

Could I break through if I went all out? I wasn't sure. That's how strong this attacker was. By feel... maybe just a little weaker than Rebecca?

Thump—

But being weaker than Rebecca was no reason to relax.

Thump—

My heart was pounding. The precursor of Combat Sense.

Why does this only happen to me?

Do other promising cadets get ambushed every single day like this? Do they?

Hoo.

I took a deep breath and weighed my options — wait for the attack, or go in?

I'm going in.

When Rebecca attacked me... if she hadn't revealed herself, I would have just kept taking hits. And I had something to rely on. This solid Rune Barrier. It felt like it wouldn't break no matter who came at it.

If I can't run anyway, I might as well get closer.

I followed the faint trace of mana I could just barely feel and headed deeper into the alley.

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"What's this? He's coming this way? He figured out my position...? They weren't kidding when they called him a genius mage."

Isaac watched Ho-yeon approaching, and the corner of his mouth lifted, just slightly. It was the face of a man who'd found an interesting new toy.

"...Guild Leader. The other party is a cadet. Perhaps you should restrain yourself..."

"You think I'd kill him? I'm just going to scare him a little. People listen better once you've established dominance, you know."

"..."

He talked a good game for someone who was literally radiating killing intent.

Scarlet was already regretting how things had turned out. If she'd just been a little more careful, it never would have gone this far. Or so she thought.

...Or would it?

But looking at Isaac's smile, she quickly revised that thought. Even if she hadn't said a word, the result would have been the same. There was no way that insane guild leader would have just sat still. He'd have just hounded Sebas Chan a little more and shown up anyway.

Haaah.

At least it wasn't night. If it had been nighttime, this would have been genuinely dangerous — but there was still no sign of the moon.

Scarlet watched Isaac slowly drawing up his mana, and made up her mind. If the worst came to pass, she would throw herself in the way if she had to.