Chapter 11
No matter how badly I'd misread Rainer's character, the Rainer from the novel wasn't the type to speak so sweetly to anyone but Aria.
Tell that sweet talk to my little sister. It felt like there was something I didn't know—like I hadn't read the epilogue of some novel, leaving everything unresolved and nagging at me.
I figured he'd bombard me with endless questions about swordsmanship.
Rainer didn't seem interested in my sword skills at all. The proof was in those piercing eyes fixed obsessively on me and the slow curl of his lips.
He seemed curious about me—just me.
Do you know me?
Yeah. His demeanor was like that of someone who'd finally laid eyes on a long-admired idol.
"What do you want with knowing who I am? Did someone hire you to dig up info on Mir?"
Even though I knew that wasn't the case, my words came out sharp. My identity as Kashmir was directly tied to Aria's safety, so I couldn't help being sensitive.
I took a couple steps back, my tone bristling. He wiped the smile from his face and spoke bluntly.
"......I'm just curious about you, not the Black Calamity."
You're not Rainer Ainheart.
Rainer, looking like a rain-soaked puppy. Every time he opened his mouth, I sank deeper into confusion.
The sword-obsessed maniac from the novel doesn't ask a Sword Master about swords? He's curious about me, not the mercenary?
This incomprehensible Rainer was more than enough to heighten my wariness.
"Why are you curious about the me who's not the Black Calamity?"
Rainer's lips curved up slowly. His smile was still a masterpiece of beauty, but unlike the dazzling brilliance from moments ago, it was different now.
......Why does it look so sad?
It was a smile laced with bitterness, lonely and poignant, like he'd swallowed something sour. His eyes drooped as he let out a soft sigh. Those sunken pupils stirred a pang of guilt.
A strange sensation tickled one corner of my chest. Something that had been pricking at my instincts since earlier.
Déjà vu.
Why? What reason could I possibly have to feel déjà vu around Rainer?
I was lost in confusion, unable to make sense of him or even myself standing before him, when his neat coral lips parted again, paralyzing my thoughts.
"......You said you'd tell me, Kashmir."
BAM! A thunderous crash echoed as Rainer's back slammed into the alley wall.
Before he could blink in shock, I'd drawn my sword at superhuman speed and pressed it to his pale throat. A thin line of red blood trickled from the shallow cut.
I slowly braced my hand against the wall beside his face. My head was ringing wildly.
"What the hell are you?"
Rainer Ainheart knew my true identity.
Someone knew that the mercenary Mir was me.
"I'm asking—what are you?"
My voice growled raw with unrestrained killing intent, rumbling in my throat. A ferocious aura filled the alley. The black malice pouring from my body churned violently, ready to devour Rainer at any moment.
Trapped by my sword, Rainer's body trembled uncontrollably. It was a physiological response to withstanding a Sword Master's full killing intent with his bare body.
I met his golden eyes with emotionless, vacant ones. Despite his body shaking like an aspen leaf, his gaze locked onto mine without flinching, grating on my nerves.
He was less than a handspan away. His slightly quickened breath rang clearly in my ears. His pale neck throbbed as blood welled from the blade's edge.
A Sword Master's keen sense of smell tingled. In this alley reeking of mingled foul odors, certain scents assaulted my nose strongly.
The thick, fishy tang of blood.
The sharp metallic scent of steel.
The faint rosewood fragrance wafting from Rainer.
......I've smelled it before.
My head felt like it would explode with countless thoughts. The déjà vu from Rainer, his inexplicable attitude. How did he know my name? Why did he feel so familiar?
Something hovered on the edge of my mind, but wouldn't come into focus. Frustrated and irritated, I spat a cold warning.
"If you value what's sitting on those shoulders, you'd better start talking."
The blade sank deeper. Blood drops that had fallen like spring rain now streamed down like monsoon torrents.
The rising stench of blood was nauseating, but I gritted my teeth and held it back.
"How do you know my name?"
I snarled through clenched teeth. Even as his body quaked under the killing intent, he just stared at me steadily with eyes holding some unknowable light.
......Why isn't he fighting back?
He was a powerful swordsman facing a Sword Master. If he truly resisted, he might not win, but he could hold out for a while.
Yet there was no sign of defiance. His obediently downcast eyelids and hands kept far from the sword at his waist proved it.
For a moment, my stomach churned. A fragment of memory flashed through my mind.
'When we meet again after I've grown strong, will you tell me about yourself?'
A small figure drenched in magic beast blood. Black eyes looking up at me in awe. Fresh, first-love-like innocence and admiration in that gaze.
......No way.
I shoved the absurd assumption from my head. That kid from back then couldn't be Rainer. He'd said himself he was a commoner, and his appearance didn't match Rainer's...
......Did it?
Lightning seemed to strike my brain. I dissected the Rainer before me with my eyes.
Even under my piercing stare, he remained silently mute.
Black hair, blue eyes—the quiet boy.
Silver-gray hair, golden eyes—the impassive Rainer.
No way.
Ripples stirred in my pupils. I parted my lips slightly, then dismissed it as nonsense.
No matter how sharp a Sword Master's senses, this was too far a leap.
......'I want to become someone like you.'
That boy from back then can't be Rainer. He's nobility. No reason for him to be there. He doesn't even appear in the novel.
I tried to regain my composure, erasing the boy's face overlaying Rainer's.
I chalked it up to my brain spinning delusions because the situation didn't make sense.
"Looks like our brave knight captain fears nothing, not even death."
I deliberately hardened my face colder and whispered softly into his ear. Rainer's shoulders twitched faintly.
"If you know I'm the Black Calamity Mir, then you know I could kill someone like you without breaking a sweat......"
I lowered my eyes, slowly tracing a finger along the red blood trickling over his pale skin. Rainer bit his lip as he watched.
Ever since making my name as the Black Calamity, rumors about Mir had spread.
'They say if a village can't pay the full fee, she takes their kids as payment and eats them boiled.'
People admired me for slaughtering magic beasts with black aura, yet feared that calamity might one day turn on them.
The Black Calamity Mir was an object of both fear and awe.
Time to talk already.
Even after all this threat, Rainer showed no sign of opening his mouth. Normally, people would babble just at the sight of my drawn sword, so this prolonged standoff felt awkward.
I narrowed my eyes, hidden behind the mask. How long did I wait? Finally, his honeyed lips—stubborn as if glued shut—parted slowly.
"......Personally, I was interested in you, so I did some background digging. I'm sorry."
His tone was stiff and emotionless, blunt as ever. The golden eyes that had sparkled brilliantly when he first saw me now sank deep.
Even though I'd gotten the answer I expected, the unease didn't fade.
I knew this was coming.
Rainer and I had never met before, so of course he'd learned my name through investigation. There was no other way.
We couldn't have met...
Why does it still feel so off?
Even expressionless, Rainer somehow looked forlorn, catching my eye. Despite my twisted confusion, I reluctantly lowered the sword from his throat.
"Where'd you get the info?"
Since he'd admitted to the background check himself, I had no choice but to believe him.
The Rainer from Night of the Righteous might stay silent, but he wasn't one to lie, so I let go of my doubts.
"I just happened to find out. No one else knows Mir's real name, so don't worry."
"......Really?"
"Yes."
......Probably true.
I narrowed my eyes, probing his intentions. His face remained impassive and hard to read, but my instincts whispered he wasn't lying.
Rainer wouldn't blab someone else's secrets anyway.
In the novel, he was the perfect knight. Rigid but upright. In a sea of eclectic characters, his straightforward personality might seem bland, but as a rare archetype, it won people's love.
Doesn't seem like he harbors any malice toward me.
No trace of ill will in those sunken golden eyes. Just a dark gaze woven from emotions I couldn't grasp: sorrow, anger, desire, longing.
In the end, I sheathed my sword.
"Rainer Ainheart."
I called his name softly. He snapped his head up from his bowed, thoughtful pose.
"I'll remember your name."
Ripples stirred in Rainer's pupils. A faint flush colored his cheeks. His lips curved up ever so slightly.
For some reason, he looked pleased.
"So don't go acting recklessly. Take the mercenary Mir's true name to your grave."
"......Ah."
My cold wrap-up made his briefly uplifted lips snap back to neutral. Rainer bit his lip hard.
"......Yes."
His slightly drooping voice tickled my ears.
Why...... does he look disappointed?
Maybe it was my imagination, but he seemed downcast after the threat. I tamped down the weird mood and sighed.
"Sorry for shoving the sword in your face. I'm sensitive about this stuff."
"It's fine. I was wrong to investigate first."
We exchanged formal apologies. Even with the same blank expression, he somehow looked far more melancholic now, nagging at me.
......What do I care.
There were still plenty of unresolved things, but I had no more time to waste. I needed to get back to Aria.
"Have a good day, then. Handle the rest."
Thinking I should end politely, I roughly observed decorum and turned away.
"Wait."
Rainer called me back. I half-turned my head and saw him repeatedly biting and releasing his lip.
Wondering what he wanted to say, I waited, and he slowly parted his lips.
"You...... have been the object of my long admiration. I wanted to become someone like you."
It was an out-of-nowhere confession. But both the confessor and the listener were serious.
......'I want to become someone like you.'
Ridiculously, I overlapped that boy from back then with him again.
......My head hurts.
I pressed my temples. No matter how I tried to stop it, one persistent hypothesis kept swirling in my mind.
With a long sigh, I rummaged in my subspace pouch and pulled out a handkerchief.
"For the bleeding."
I tossed it to Rainer. He caught it lightly and stared straight through me.
I have no idea why he looks at me like that or why he wants to be like me.
"I hope you become a better person than me."
You could become someone better than me.
Saying something similar to what I'd told that boy back then—it was, yeah, an impulse.
I turned away fully, unable to see his expression. Even as I exited the alley and returned to the cafe, no movement came from behind.