《I Will Become a Poison Detector of Darkness》


 Chapter 1

    1. I Will Refrain From the Death Penalty


    Episode 1


    ¡°No, what is this¡­.?¡±


    As soon as I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the hideous bars. A vicious bed guard like this, I think it¡¯s a prison cell¡­


    While I was struggling for a long time because my body was heavy, my reason gradually returned. First of all, the biggest feeling was the dull stiffness.


    My headache was so bad. My mouth was so dry and my whole body ached. Did I drink too much last night? No, I definitely worked overtime yesterday, so I stayed in the office until after midnight and left work.


    After that, I came out to catch a taxi. At that time, I found a car going back and forth along the centerline from far away, and as soon as I was about to report it because I thought it was a drunk driver¡­


    ¡°I was in a car accident¡­!¡±


    Surprised by the memory that finally came to mind, I jumped up and flinched with dizziness. Oh, my head is about to break.


    ¡°Tsk, she woke up again.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What?¡±


    ¡°Who said she¡¯s not a witch? Is poison useless?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Even before I could properly check the other person¡¯s appearance, an arm suddenly popped in through the bars. I was holding my forehead, and I couldn¡¯t resist and was grabbed by the collar in an instant.


    ¡°Open your mouth.¡±


    Someone grabbed my chin with their grasp and spread it out. Soon, some liquid poured into my mouth.


    I was then pushed by a violent touch and swallowed a liquid that I didn¡¯t even know. As soon as the force that was grabbing my collar disappeared, I fell on the floor and coughed.


    ¡°Cough, cough, cough!¡°


    The tip of my nose tingled and it was spicy, so I teared up.


    Did I take medicine? No, but how can a hospital treat a patient in a car accident like this?


    ¡°No, this is¡­ Cough! What? Cough, cough!¡°


    The strawberry taste filled in the mouth was just like syrup for children. I was coughing one after another, covering my mouth, and I heard a voice of embarrassment.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you dying?¡±


    Once I coughed, I couldn¡¯t stop. I was worried that I might throw up at this rate. The loud cough that forced me to clench my teeth stopped, but my nose was still burning. I looked up, wiping away my tears.


    In the meantime, I could see a man standing over the bars to see if his eyes were familiar in darkness. Wearing a costume I¡¯ve never seen in my life, he was wearing a mask and only showing his eyes, but he seemed very embarrassed for some reason.


    ¡°What? Is she a real black wizard?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about¡­ But who is she?¡±


    Pulling myself together, I realized that this was not a hospital. Rather, it¡¯s appropriate to call it a prison.


    I looked around because I couldn¡¯t understand the scenery reminiscent of a movie set, but the man was angry and pressed me.


    ¡°Why was it not working when you took medicine? What are you trying to do?¡±


    No, you can¡¯t ask me that.


    ¡°I guess they brought something wrong.¡±


    When I responded angrily, the man staggered backwards. Then he glanced down at the bottle he was holding.


    ¡°No way¡­ Didn¡¯t they say that even one drop would send someone to the next world?¡±


    What did that man just say? Another world with one drop? You¡¯re pouring that stuff down my throat now?


    When I looked up at him with an absurd look, my eyes met the man who had looked at me in absurdity as well.


    ¡°Hey, what did you say? What is that world?¡±


    ¡°Did I really get it wrong?¡±


    Mumbling in a bewildered voice, he brought his nose to the tip of the bottle he was holding and sniffed. As he tilted his head, he carefully tilted the bottle.


    A drop of liquid that had remained at the mouth of the bottle formed into a circle, and the man, who had thought for a moment, tasted it with the tip of his tongue. Then¡­


    ¡°Ouch! Ugh!¡±


    The bottle fell to the floor and rolled over. Black veins appeared on the man¡¯s face as he wrapped his hands around his own neck.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    The man¡¯s face turned purple in an instant, and he collapsed.


    Unable to close his bloodshot eyes, the man convulsed a few more times before drooping his limbs after a while.


    ¡°¡­Excuse me?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t breathe and looked at the man, I carefully reached out the bars. Unfortunately or fortunately, my fingertips did not touch the man¡¯s body.


    Grasping the iron bars with my trembling hands, I raised my voice a little louder.


    ¡°Excuse me!¡±


    The man was motionless. Oh my gosh, that¡¯s unbelievable. Is he really dead?


    I slowly looked down and saw the bottle rolling on the floor. Not a single drop of liquid flowed from the spout of the bottle, which was completely lying on its side. The inside was empty.


    As the man said, it seems that it was really the medicine of sending one to the other world with just a drop. Because the man died with just one drop.


    But then, I drank almost all the liquid in that bottle, so why am I alive now?


    ¡°What?! Why is the door open?¡±


    I was staring blankly at the corpse, and a long light came from the hallway. A couple of shadows flickered with a loud noise, then the sound of running was heard.


    ¡°It¡¯s a corpse!¡±


    ¡°A man is dead!¡±


    Soon after, new people found the corpse and shouted loudly. I, who had been dazed by the iron bars up to that point, only came to my senses when the light shone on me.


    ¡°To kill people even in prison!¡±


    Yeah?


    ¡°Have you not given up on that viciousness until the end? Get this girl right now¡­!¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    The soldiers stopped when I shouted urgently. It didn¡¯t immediately catch my eye that there were several soldiers who looked like people I had only seen in movies, or that they were illuminating me with objects I had never seen before.


    Surprised that I had been mistaken for a murderer before the shock that a person had died in front of my eyes, I was just filled with thoughts of clearing up this misunderstanding right away.


    ¡°This man came here and all of a sudden he drank it!¡±


    The soldiers still looked at me with suspicious eyes.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it!¡±


    The eyes of the soldiers, which were full of doubts, changed subtly.


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s true.¡±


    Soldiers with frowned faces murmured among themselves. Then, one person said something to me.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally crazy, Giselle Roycevin.¡±


    Giselle Roycevin? I¡¯ve heard that name before.


    ¡°The Roycevin family is already doomed. Give up and get ready to be hanged.¡±


    What do you mean hanging? Hey, soldier. What does that mean?


    The soldiers, who were whining before I could say something, took the body and left.


    I then belatedly realized why the name Giselle Roycevin was familiar.


    Giselle Roycevin was a wicked woman who appeared in a novel I read. In the middle of the novel, she was desperately defeated by the main characters, her whole family was exterminated, and she was also hanged. However, while waiting for the hanging, she was poisoned by an assassin and ended her life¡­


    Giselle Roycevin?


    This.


    This can¡¯t be it.


    ~*~


    There was a very devastating romance novel called ¡ºPoison Apple¡»


    The female supporting villain was the first to fail and be poisoned, the male protagonist was murdered by the villain, the female protagonist commits suicide because she was pessimistic about her situation, and the final villain was deceived at the end and dies from poison.


    In a word, everyone dies. All of the important characters, regardless if they were good or bad.


    I read this novel because I was about to explode due to work stress. I wanted to sweep everything away from my boss, co-worker, and client, but I couldn¡¯t, so I was vicariously satisfied with this novel.


    Thanks to this, when all other readers criticized the writer, I applauded and cheered for the writer¡¯s bold decision alone. Furthermore, I left a long commentary. I think I was disappointed, saying it would have been better to be more devastated.


    ¡­Ha, why did I do that?


    ¡°Crazy, crazy. The villain was stupid and pitiful, so I asked to live.¡±


    I regretted it belatedly after covering my head, but it was no use hitting the ground for a hundred days.


    ¡°No, did I know this would happen?¡±


    Did you think I would be the first one to die?


    ¡°Giselle Roycevin, to punish the wicked witch¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes. Did you bring poison? Hurry up and give it to me.¡±


    When I reached out my other hand with my head still held with one hand, the assassin paused. Half of his face was covered with a black cloth, but I could see that he looked embarrassed in his eyes.


    Does that person know what number of assassins he is?


    I don¡¯t care. I¡¯ll drink it and send him away.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to give me poison?¡±


    ¡°Hey, here¡­¡±


    This poison bottle looked pretty. What does this taste like?


    Looking down at the poison bottle, the assassin came to his senses and narrowed his eyes again. It was obvious that I would make an ugly noise, so I quickly opened the lid and poured it into my mouth.


    At first, I was scared and it took a long time, but after a few experiences, I realized that it was all useless. When I tried it, it was best to finish it quickly.


    Oh, this tastes like light strawberry milk. It¡¯s strawberry milk, but it has a strawberry scent only.


    ¡°What is it? Why isn¡¯t it working?¡±


    The assassin murmured embarrassingly as he looked at me again. I looked calm and shrugged.


    ¡°You must have brought the wrong one. Do you want to check?¡±


    When I gave the medicine bottle that had about a sip left, the assassin quickly accepted it. As I continued to meet the assassins, I felt that the assassins here are a little lacking.


    Why do they keep giving poison?


    ¡°Oh my.¡±


    If I keep watching a person die bleeding in front of me, it will inevitably become dull.


    It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not scared or surprised. However, it means that humans are animals in learning, and I am also an animal in learning, so I am less surprised and less embarrassed than before.


    In addition, this was not the world I lived in and there was no sense of reality, so the death of a person did not come vividly. Honestly, I have in mind that this is the possibility of an overly vivid dream.


    It¡¯s weird to feel the taste, touch, and pain, but¡­ How can I explain this situation unless it¡¯s a dream?


    ¡°Ha, what am I, suddenly in a novel. Ridiculous.¡±


    I muttered in a bluffing voice and gave up. This was because the smell of blood came out too thick in front of me.


    How can the smell of blood be so vivid in my dreams? Is it really a dream?


    I¡¯m not really in ¡ºPoison Apple¡»


    Am I?

 Chapter 2

    1. I Will Refrain From the Death Penalty


    Episode 2


    After rubbing my face, I glanced at the dead assassin.


    What dream? This can¡¯t be a dream. Even if I wanted to escape from reality, I couldn¡¯t ignore this sense of realism. The color of my hair, and the unfamiliar physique.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t she crazy? Of all people, Giselle.¡±


    When I read the novel, I thought I had a lot of resentment, but when I sat down and experienced it, the original Giselle seemed to have made a lot of people around the world an enemy.


    Thanks to this, more than five assassins have just come to my prison. Even the poison they brought was of different kinds.


    ¡°Here you go! Guard! Guard!¡±


    As I raised my voice familiarly, the soldiers rushed in. The soldier now breathed a sigh without being surprised at the dead assassins.


    ¡°I told you to get rid of the evil witch, Won.¡±


    ¡°Why do you blame me for these people coming all the way here and drinking poison?¡±


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s really completely crazy.¡±


    The soldier didn¡¯t even want to deal with me. Already branded as a crazy person, I no longer desperately insisted on my innocence to the soldiers. Instead, I just grumbled. Rather than an appeal to be released, it was more of a complaint made alone.


    Because the only people I can talk to are the assassins and soldiers because I¡¯m stuck in a solitary room all day long. If it¡¯s not now, I would have put a spider web in my mouth for a long time.


    No. I¡¯ll move on to becoming a wicked woman, this is it. Shouldn¡¯t they give me at least one chance to fix it? What if you become a evil woman who is about to be hanged? I don¡¯t want to die, but it¡¯s scarier to hang myself to death! Isn¡¯t that too cruel?


    ¡°Excuse me, how long do I have to stay here?¡±


    When I asked about my hanging schedule, the soldier stared at me with a face of annoyance. But soon he answered.


    ¡°The date will come soon.¡±


    ¡°Is it really necessary?¡±


    The soldier was dumbfounded by my question. Then he turned around without replying.


    ¡°What does that mean¡­?¡±


    Mumbling sullenly, I sat on the floor. I was abandoned in the dark again. I should force myself to sleep until a new assassin comes, because I don¡¯t want to go crazy.


    Lying on the cold prison floor made my body ache. The funny thing is that I¡¯m not as hungry as I thought. I couldn¡¯t even take a few bites because they didn¡¯t give me enough food to eat, but I¡¯m not hungry.


    Is this all because I took poison? If that¡¯s the case, it was a little sad.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m full from poison.¡±


    Is there another prisoner like this¡­


    ¡°Haha.¡±


    Someone¡¯s short laughter was heard in the desolate prison.


    I raised my head and looked around, but it became so quiet as if it were my illusion. Just in case, even if I listened carefully, I couldn¡¯t hear anything like human breathing.


    Did I hear it wrong?


    ¡°Did I drink too much poison?¡±


    This is why drugs should not be abused.


    ¡°¡­Haha.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t an illusion. There was definitely a sound! The laughter that burst out because they couldn¡¯t hold back is certain!


    ¡°Hey, I think it¡¯s too late to hide. Aren¡¯t you going to come out?¡±


    ¡°Oh, really.¡±


    I heard a murmur full of laughter. Where is this person?


    Even when I squinted and looked out of the bars, I couldn¡¯t see anything. The sparsely lit lights did not illuminate the entire prison, so it was completely dark where it could not be seen. My eyes tingled as I tried to force myself to look through the darkness.


    ¡°Excuse me? Are you an assassin?¡±


    ¡°¡­Hmm. Then what?¡±


    A voice that seemed to have barely cleared his laughter asked calmly. It was still unknown where that person was.


    So far, the assassinations have been at least a few hours apart, so I thought they were holding a waiting line, but I didn¡¯t know another would come this soon.


    Staring out of the empty space, I gave up looking for him for now. Obviously, he will give me another poison, so he will have to reveal himself even if he doesn¡¯t want to.


    ¡°I just drank poison and I need some time to digest. Can you wait?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡±


    The assassin did not even try to hold back his laughter. What was interesting was the fact that he laughed so loudly, but the soldiers did not come in. I still couldn¡¯t find where I could hear this laughter.


    ¡®I didn¡¯t get hearing problems because of poison, did I?¡¯


    I was suddenly worried and fiddled with my earlobe with both hands, and suddenly a bottle fell in front of me from the air. It was only a black bottle.


    Upon receiving it with both hands, the assassin, who was busy laughing, spoke in a sly voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay because the amount is small.¡±


    No, it¡¯s not okay.


    ¡°Hurry up and drink it.¡±


    Although I couldn¡¯t see his face now, it felt like an owner feeding their pet dog from only their voice.


    Looking down at the bottle, I opened the lid first. Until now, all the poisons had a sweet scent, but the poison in my hand now smelled confusing whether it should be sour or refreshing. I don¡¯t know what it is, but it was certain that it was a smell that made my appetite drop.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to taste good.¡±


    ¡°Are you afraid you¡¯ll die this time?¡±


    ¡°More than that¡­ But if I don¡¯t die, will you stab me?¡±


    In the original work, Giselle¡¯s cause of death was poisoning. So far, I thought all assassins would attempt poisoning. However, I felt that this assassin who appeared now was different from those before.


    If I don¡¯t die from poison, I think he¡¯ll try something else.


    ¡°I don¡¯t use swords.¡±


    ¡°You are an assassin. Didn¡¯t you bring one to kill me?¡±


    ¡°Poison is usually enough. I think you¡¯re a bit unique. If you drink it and live, wouldn¡¯t that be your destiny?¡±


    ¡°A drop of this can make the worst thing happen¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t drag on and drink.¡±


    The voice was both cheerful and coercive. My loosened mind suddenly tightened when I heard the voice.


    No matter how light the tone was, the opponent was an assassin. This is poison in my hand. Just because I didn¡¯t die until now, can I guarantee that I won¡¯t die even if I drink this?


    No way.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m going to drink it, but can I ask for a favor?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t die after drinking this, save me since I can¡¯t be poisoned anyway.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not dead. What do you mean to save you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m asking you to help me escape from here. If this continues, I¡¯ll be hanged anyway. I¡¯ll live like a dead mouse. Like I¡¯ve become someone else.¡±


    Even if I survived again now, I couldn¡¯t sit here forever and eat poison from the assassins. But I can¡¯t be mesmerized waiting for the hanging date.


    It¡¯s something to think about later why I¡¯m in this situation, and the urgent thing was to get out of here.


    Of course, the soldiers guarding the prison will not help me escape, so in the end, the person I will persuade is an unknown assassin.


    ¡°Do you think you can live even if you get out of here?¡±


    I was speechless when he asked back with a smile. If I leave here¡­


    ¡°You¡¯ve already been declared an evil witch throughout the empire. People will throw stones as soon as they see you, and they will have wanted flyers everywhere once you run away. Your family is destroyed and there is no one to help you, so you will be stabbed to death while wandering around the streets miserably. It¡¯s the same whether I die here or outside.¡±


    The conclusion continued like flowing water. I frowned, forgetting that I was trying to gently coax the other person.


    You want me to sit down and hang out and take more poison since I¡¯ll be bored?


    ¡°You¡¯re very pessimistic. It¡¯s not like it costs money, but if you think positively, will it get worse?¡±


    ¡°¡­What?¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­ I¡¯ve caused a lot of resentment here and there, but isn¡¯t there a place to stand on a large chunk of land? If there are good people, there are bad people too! I can get a job under a villain! The villains need to help each other!¡±


    Of course, the question of whether the villain employs me is an exception.


    Fortunately, in the meantime, my mutual aid logic seemed to have been absorbed by the assassin. The returning question was filled with interesting signs.


    ¡°Is there a villain in your mind?¡±


    ¡°There is. A very evil villain.¡±


    There¡¯s no villain in mind. He was the only villain I know in this book who is strong enough to ignore the wanted leaflets.


    When I shut my lips dissatisfied, the assassin said to me.


    ¡°Tell me too. If it¡¯s fun, I¡¯ll do you a favor.¡±


    The assassin was an easier man than expected. I¡¯m speechless because he took it so easily.


    ¡°That, I¡­ It¡¯s not agreed yet, but I¡¯m seeking a job.¡±


    ¡°I know. You were busy taking poison in prison, so what agreement would I have made?¡±


    ¡®Why can¡¯t you just tell me?¡¯


    I agonized for a moment at the words of the annoying assassin.


    But when I encounter a new assassin after the conversation breaks down like this, there is no guarantee that the new person would listen to my proposal like this man now. Also, the hanging, which might come anytime, was a big problem.


    I thought I could get out of this dream-like situation if I were hung like this, but the hanging was also too scary to lean on that uncertain possibility.


    What was the name of the villain?


    ¡°He¡¯s a stranger to me. Hey, it¡¯s Wayne. What was his last name? Wayne Eye¡­?¡±


    ¡°Wayne Eyeore?¡±


    ¡°Right! Do you know him?¡±


    Isn¡¯t that villain whose identity is not revealed? Do they know because they¡¯re in the same industry?


    ¡°¡­Coincidentally.¡±

 Chapter 3

    1. I Will Refrain From the Death Penalty


    Episode 3


    The cheerful response was strangely low and heavy. As soon as I was about to dig more into the subtle emotional change, I could feel another presence outside the bars.


    ¡°Giselle Roycevin.¡±


    With a chilly call, an assassin¡¯s shadow appeared.


    He was then holding a longsword in his hand.


    ¡°No matter how much I think about it, I can¡¯t let a witch like you die gracefully.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but who are you¡­?¡±


    (tl/n: so basically, in the past chapter and beginning of this chapter, Giselle was conversing with an ¡®assassin¡¯ who gave her the black poison bottle. She couldn¡¯t see who she was talking to yet, but she was asking for help to escape if she didn¡¯t die. While she was talking to the first assassin, another assassin appeared with a sword to kill her.)


    ¡°Ha, I¡¯m the fiance of an innocent woman you killed!¡±


    I didn¡¯t know who the assassin was, but I could tell that he was a victim with a huge grudge against Giselle. In addition, he seems to be trying to bully and kill me very painfully with a sword, not poison. The eyes were really scary.


    ¡°Oh, I see¡­¡±


    I can understand that resentment because I don¡¯t know Giselle¡¯s evil deeds, but I don¡¯t want to suffer instead because I took this body.


    Sadly, the prison was narrow and there was no place for me to run away. All I can do is to keep the distance as far as possible from the bars, so I kept my back close to the inner wall and looked at the man.


    The man stared at me crouching in the corner of the prison and took out the key.


    You stole the prison key from the soldiers so easily? What were the soldiers out there doing?


    ¡°Even a witch like you is scared to die, right?¡±


    The man seemed very satisfied with my fear.


    What should I do? I think I¡¯ll die if I get stabbed. It¡¯s not just dying, but the atmosphere is that he was about to torture me. The original setting was poison. How can I be threatened with a sword?


    ¡°Make sure to scream as much as you want. No one will come to save you anyway.¡±


    Looking at the key in that man¡¯s hand, the soldiers won¡¯t save me.


    I took a swig of the poison bottle I was holding without further consideration. The sour smell of liquid filled my mouth.


    ¡°What¡¯s that? What are you doing..?!¡±


    ¡°I took poison. Now help me!¡±


    The assassin paused at my desperate cry. He hurriedly looked around. However, the surrounding area was full of silence. The man, who was nervous for a while, soon turned his attention to me.


    Crash!


    I threw the black poison bottle at a man. Naturally, it could not hurt my opponent at all.


    ¡°You said you¡¯d help me if I didn¡¯t die, you jerk!¡±


    He¡¯s a bad guy. He doesn¡¯t keep what he says.


    ¡°I heard rumors that the witch was crazy in prison, but I didn¡¯t know it was true.¡±


    The man laughed while looking at me fidgeting. The moment his sword went up.


    ¡°I said I¡¯d think about it, I¡¯ve never been sure.¡±


    A black shadow fluttered behind the new assassin who had a grudge.


    ¡°But I admit it was interesting.¡±


    ¡°Huh, what?¡±


    The shadow quickly inflated its size and swallowed the assassin.


    The assassin, who had been eaten by the shadow, struggled with an astonishing look, but the shadow quickly dyed the man¡¯s body black.


    And finally, as soon black covered his neck and face, the man¡¯s skin dried up as if he were being squeezed.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    It was so gross that I closed my eyes tightly and covered my mouth with my hands.


    The sword fell on the floor and made a loud noise. Subsequently, there was a sound of someone falling down.


    Considering the man¡¯s physique, it should be dull and heavy, but it sounded light as if a straw doll had fallen.


    ¡°You¡¯re good at drinking poison, but you¡¯re not very good at this.¡±


    A pleasant voice was heard close up. As I opened my eyes carefully, I saw someone else bending over the dead body of the assassin who had tried to kill me with his sword.


    Looking at it, he was picking up the poison bottle I threw. It seemed like he was checking to see if it was empty.


    (tl/n: So now, the first assassin just killed the sword assassin. Hope this makes sense lmao.)


    ¡°Mr. Assassin?¡±


    ¡°Yes, an assassin.¡±


    Replying in a light tone, he rolled the bottle around over his palm. Black hair was seen scattered along the slightly tilted head. Unlike other assassins, he had made no effort to cover his face. Thanks to this, his white and pale face and red eyes were revealed.


    While looking at the bottle, he looked down at me. Even though it was dark, those red eyes were very clear. I was glad rather than afraid of those blood-like colors, because it was the first time I entered this body and someone looked at me without any hostility.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to check if you brought something wrong?¡±


    There must still be a drop in the bottle. He smiled with his eyes at my question.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t bring anything wrong.¡±


    Finally, an assassin who does not take the poison himself has appeared. In the midst of daze, I admired and closed my lips. There seemed to be still a remnant of the poison that resembles the taste of green grapes on my tongue.


    I realized it again.


    All the poison in this world must taste like fruit.


    ~*~


    Escape was too easy.


    It was so easy that it was ridiculous. This is because the man snapped his finger a couple of times, creating a huge magic circle, and the place changed as it was. Of course, I had a little dizziness and nausea as a side effect, but that was all.


    For me, who was determined to face the soldiers, run hard, or crawl through a narrow passage, it was a bit disappointing


    ¡°Do you want me to send you back?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that. I wonder why the prison was so lax¡­ I wonder if there was a reason why so many assassins have been hiding¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be sad. Since I used magic openly, it will be officially recorded that you escaped the prison with black magic. Now it¡¯s not just being stoned on the street, but an execution if caught. You¡¯ll have a pretty big reward on your neck.¡±


    Are you really saying that with a refreshing smile?


    While staring at him, I looked around for now.


    It was a narrow alley. The buildings seem to be mainly made of stone, but there was dirt on them and moss-like things covered the gaps. The road was not properly maintained, so it was bumpy, and muddy water was also accumulated in several places.


    ¡°Oh, is it a tough sight for a precious young girl to see?¡±


    It¡¯s not because I¡¯m a precious young girl, but because I¡¯m not from this world, I can¡¯t adapt. The reason why I realized that this was reality even though it was like a movie set was because of the vivid smell of various odors.


    No, in the first place, I had already confirmed it from the black magic a while ago. In the world of ¡ºPoison Apple¡» , black magic is the most evil power and the main means of villains.


    Giselle Roycevin, who I possessed, decorated the hideout with the help of Wayne Eyeore, the final villain and the last person surviving in the novel, who is also a black wizard himself. In Wayne¡¯s case, dreaming of a revival of black magic, he attracted black magicians under his command and confronted the male protagonist.


    Thinking that far, I suddenly looked at the man standing next to me.


    From a brighter point of view, he was tall and handsome. The flaw may be that his skin was so pale that he looked weak at first glance, but being handsome seemed to replace that flaw.


    I don¡¯t think such a gracious appearance would be given to a passing extra¡­


    However, no one came to mind when I looked back on whether there were characters with black hair and red eyes.


    Of course, he was not the main character, nor was he the person around the main character. The villain was described as having silver hair at first glance.


    Oh, come to think of it¡­


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m grateful to your parents for giving birth to you handsomely¡­ No, it¡¯s not this. Are you a black wizard?¡±


    The man replaced the answer with a shrug.


    ¡°Are you a member of ¡®Dark Cloud¡¯?¡±


    Dark Cloud was a term referring to the organization of the Black Wizard led by Wayne. A group of all kinds of talented people based on black magic, to be precise.


    In the beginning, only a vague code of ¡°dark clouds are coming¡± came out, but in the novel, the reality is revealed little by little only after the mid-to-late part, but maybe now is that time.


    Having been contemplating, I asked again.


    ¡°Then, Wayne¡¯s servant?¡±


    Looking at the assassin who looked at me strangely without answering, I remembered the conversation I had in prison earlier.


    Didn¡¯t I yell that I would go under Wayne?


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Leniel.¡±


    As expected, nothing came to mind when I heard the name. Is he just an extra that passed by?


    There was no supporting role around Wayne whom I could remember his name, so it was highly likely that he was just passing by.


    It¡¯s a relief. I haven¡¯t even made a proper plan for my future yet, but it¡¯s difficult to get caught up with the central characters.


    Black wizards belong to an organization called Dark Cloud, but they were all self-centered people. Giselle also joined hands with a black wizard who was engaged in individual activities, so it was most reasonable to assume that Leniel was personally hired by someone and came to assassinate me.


    ¡°Good, Leniel. What I said earlier was a problem that wasn¡¯t agreed upon with you, so your boss¡­¡±


    ¡°I told you I know.¡±


    He shook his hand as if he was bothered and blocked me. Seeing that attitude, it seemed that he would not go to his boss and say, ¡°Don¡¯t hire her because she is crazy¡±.


    Maybe they don¡¯t work close enough for him to say that.


    ¡°But are you going to stay here the whole time?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°This is near the tower where you were locked up. The search team will be released soon.¡±


    Near the tower? I quickly checked the surroundings again. At first, I didn¡¯t know because I was so impressed by the unfamiliar style of the building or the smell stabbing my nose, but I could see a stone pagoda standing very close to me.


    I could tell just by looking at the exterior of the tower. It¡¯s not a romantic tower where the princess lives, but a hideous prison where the worst prisoners can enter.


    ¡®Would it be a little better to go further using magic?¡¯

 Chapter 4

    1. I Will Refrain From the Death Penalty


    Episode 4


    I quickly pressed down on complaints, and I looked at Leniel with a harmless look as much as possible. Seeing that he escaped prison so easily, Leniel¡¯s skills are undoubtedly excellent. So I still deserved to look good to him.


    I have to live first.


    ¡°It¡¯s fate that we met like this. Can you accompany me a little longer?¡±


    ¡°Why me?¡±


    I didn¡¯t give in to the harsh response. This was because I felt a vague interest in Leniel¡¯s face, standing with his arms folded and staring at me indifferently.


    Isn¡¯t he crazy to break out of prison for me being ¡°interesting¡± to him in the first place? If he can continue his interest, of course, I will be able to win his kindness a little once or twice more.


    ¡°As you know, I don¡¯t have a house, I don¡¯t have money, and I¡¯m completely broke.¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m shameless, but since you¡¯ve helped me, even if it¡¯s an enemy ship¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t move without a price.¡±


    You kept your promise to help me escape, so if you want more help than that, do you want me to suggest anything?


    ¡°What can you do for me if I help you this time?¡±


    I briefly fumbled over the original content in my memory.


    By the time she was imprisoned and poisoned, there was nothing left for Giselle Roycevin. All of her family were dead, and the money and power of the Roycevin family, which had been wielded as nothing, were reconciled with dust, and people were stuck in a pit and could not be found.


    As soon as she was imprisoned, there was lined up with assassins, but seeing that no one came to visit her, I could see that there were no people who supported her.


    The original author destroyed Giselle really thoroughly. I was a reader, and I clapped my hands, saying, ¡°this is the destruction of a villainess¡­¡±.


    I was biting my lips, and I heard a loud noise from afar. It was like the sound of a soldier bumping into each other and someone¡¯s husky cry.


    ¡®Is there already a search party?¡¯


    Leniel muttered with low exclamations as if he thought the same thing as me.


    ¡°Come to think of it, waiting for you to get a reward and handing it over again¡­¡±


    ¡°I can give you information!¡±


    Leniel, who was staring over the alley with a glare, glanced at me.


    ¡°It¡¯s a lot of information that can be promoted very quickly at work.¡±


    I was in a hurry, but it was plausible after I said it out loud.


    Isn¡¯t information a useful weapon anytime, anywhere? If I had the power to have it here, I would know the contents of the original work! The original work is like a prophecy here!


    ¡°I heard you belong to Dark Cloud.¡±


    After finishing the calculation in my head to some extent, I proudly raised my hand.


    ¡°I know the future of some very important people. For example, like your boss.¡±


    ¡°¡­What?¡±


    There was distrust in the facial expression of Leniel.


    ¡°Because¡­ I drank so much poison that I gained a mysterious power. Hahaha!¡±


    It¡¯s a world with magic, so wouldn¡¯t this be allowed?


    Honestly, even if he didn¡¯t believe it, it was okay because it was true that I knew the original work. I can let you know a few cases in advance and prove that I¡¯m right. With this information, I could survive even if I traded with the main character. I might be revered as a seer!


    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard that drinking poison will give you magic.¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s not magic! It¡¯s like a spirit!¡±


    ¡°Spirit¡­¡±


    Leniel finally began to see me as a crazy girl.


    Is that not a concept in this world? Would the word trust be easier to understand? After making a mistake late, I soon changed my mind.


    What do you mean by trust? It would be fortunate if I didn¡¯t get burned for blasphemy if I, who had already been ruled a witch and waited for hanging, talked about receiving trust.


    ¡°Well, so thanks to my mysterious existence, you get to know more diverse information than others.¡±


    Technically, my soul itself could be said to be a mysterious existence in this world. So I wasn¡¯t lying right now. I¡¯m the only one in the world who knows how the story will go.


    Leniel, who was listening to my active explanation, narrowed his eyes. In the meantime, I had the illusion that the sound of the soldier¡¯s footsteps were getting closer.


    What if I run into the soldiers? If it¡¯s Leniel, he could run away alone, but I couldn¡¯t run away from the soldiers without his help.


    I secretly grabbed the end of Leniel¡¯s clothes with my fingertips in case he abandoned me and went away alone.


    ¡°Giselle Roycevin attempted forbidden magic just before her arrest.¡±


    Leniel, who was lost in thought, suddenly brought up some absurd words. I looked up at him, puzzled.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°She tried to gain strength by offering a black wizard who was working with her as a sacrifice.¡±


    Isn¡¯t that a crazy woman? The black wizard was the only helper left by her side and she offered him as a sacrifice?


    It was said that he struggled for the last time in the original, but I didn¡¯t know it would be like this.


    ¡°There are rules in black magic, and there are rules between black magicians.¡±


    Leniel clicked his tongue, revealing the feeling of annoyance.


    With his brow furrowed and his eyes lowered, the sight of him brushing his bangs up with his hand and clicking his tongue was truly a dazzling sight, to the extent that I couldn¡¯t hear the soldiers for a moment and looked up at him blankly.


    ¡°I went to the prison to find out what happened to the guy who was stupidly fooled by Giselle Roycevin and died. I also had to check if her experiment was successful. If it succeeded, I would have to collect it and study it.¡±


    But why are you suddenly explaining this?


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know what she tried to do?¡±


    It is strange to ask me, ¡°Giselle Roycevin¡±,  while speaking to me as if he knew I was not her.


    I gently let go of his shirt I was holding onto in a creeping ominous feeling. There must be at least one other person besides Leniel who can help me in this vast country.


    But as soon as I let go, Leniel grabbed my hand with his own. His hands, holding mine as he interlocked our fingers, were surprisingly large and rough. Holding my hand with an irresistibly strong force, he lowered his voice.


    ¡°Destruction of a Star.¡±


    ¡°¡­Destruction of a Star.¡±


    As I inadvertently copied his words, he smiled with his eyes.


    ¡°She tried to summon a being outside of this world to use that power. However, it has been under-researched, and since it was an incomplete spell, the risk of being eaten by the summoned one was high.¡±


    Then, I was summoned by Giselle Roycevin? Oh my god. You should¡¯ve picked the right one. How could you choose an office worker who got fat from overtime? Giselle¡­


    ¡°So if she succeeded, wouldn¡¯t I definitely have to research it?¡±


    What do you mean a study by a black wizard? The scene of an unauthorized doctor dissecting a live person with a bloody scalpel and smiling automatically came to mind. I have a reasonable doubt that it will be very similar.


    ¡°So, who are you?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Sigh.


    ¡°Who can have such information?¡±


    ¡°Who am I? Of course I¡¯m Giselle. Giselle Roycevin.¡±


    I am screwed.


    ¡°Ah, I was told to make a deal with information.¡±


    I only heard a lively voice, and he seemed to be exchanging some kind of joke. I desperately tried to pull my hand out, but it was only painful because of the tightly wrapped knuckles of my fingers. I felt sweat dripping down my palms.


    ¡°Do we have a deal? If it¡¯s not a deal, do you think I won¡¯t find anything out from you?¡±


    No. I think you¡¯ll figure it out pretty well.


    ¡°Are you curious what the prison built by the wizards looks like?¡±


    Not at all. Not at all.


    Unlike me, who had lost my smile, Leniel had a sweet smile all this time. But I was no longer mesmerized by his appearance.


    It was natural, as there was a search party with a menacing weapon behind me, and a wizard like a colorful viper in front, aiming for my life.


    ¡®Maybe I will be dissected alive.¡¯


    Is this the end? What happens when I die? Will I go back to my original body? But my last memory was of getting into a car accident, so am I still alive? What if I return home and are lying in the hospital or suffering from the aftereffects of a car accident? In that case, I¡¯d rather not go back¡­


    ¡°¡­I love my body very much.¡±


    Since then, I have been a healthy little citizen who has been taking multivitamins and red ginseng sticks from time to time when working overtime.


    On the weekends, I made minimal effort to exercise by using the local sports center or running in the park. In addition to the basic check-up every year, I spent a lot of money to get additional health check-ups.


    The pain was just disgusting. Really.


    ¡°Therefore?¡±


    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t threaten me, I¡¯ll cooperate well, can¡¯t we go in a good mood?¡±


    ¡°Certainly not Giselle Roycevin. If it had been her, she wouldn¡¯t have been so sarcastic.¡±


    What¡¯s the use of being sullen, now I don¡¯t look like I¡¯m going to die gracefully.


    ¡°You threatened to torture me just now.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Torture done by a wizard. Considering the notoriety of the wizards in the original work, the torture is also understandable. I never wanted to experience it. Of course, I don¡¯t even want to be a research subject!


    ¡°I like myself to be intact when I¡¯m dead.¡±


    ¡°Why would I kill you when I know you have important information?¡±


    ¡°I think it doesn¡¯t really matter now.¡±


    ¡°I will listen to it first and then decide the importance.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just let you know, so let¡¯s settle this peacefully.¡±


    ¡°But how can I trust you?¡±


    Then what?

 Chapter 5

    1. I Will Refrain From the Death Penalty


    Episode 5


    Trying to persuade him with a good smile, I finally felt the limit of patience. I didn¡¯t raise my voice because my personal affairs were at stake, but I couldn¡¯t hide my eyes.


    Leniel¡¯s smile became brighter in my eyes, which were probably full of resentment. It looked like a full carnivore playing with a fluttering herbivore by tapping it with its forelimbs.


    In a word, it meant that I was really unlucky.


    ¡°Prove another usefulness. More plausible use than getting a bounty on your head.¡±


    I don¡¯t know how to do anything. What use do you want me to prove? As I endured the curse of biting my teeth and running away, I barely clapped my quivering lips.


    ¡°I can tell the taste of poison.¡±


    ¡°Poison?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the use of that?¡±


    Raniel looked at me with disappointing eyes. Staring straight at him, I answered each letter clearly.


    ¡°Your boss will be poisoned.¡±


    A smile disappeared around Leniel¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°And when that happens, the revival of black magic will be in vain.¡±


    The face of the expressionless Leniel was scary. But in it, I saw the way to live. The only way I can survive in this world.


    ¡°I can be your poison detector.¡±


    Looking into the darkened eyes of Leniel, I thought.


    ¡­Oh, I survived.


    ***


    Of course, the ¡®Giselle Roycevin¡¯ I possessed was an experienced worker, but there was nothing much to do because I was new.


    I¡¯ve secretly thrown coffee cans on the street, but I¡¯ve never assaulted anyone. There was no way I could kill and stab someone right away just because my body changed.


    So at first I was really worried when Laniel pushed me into this gloomy, dark general store. It was so gloomy that I thought it was a prison disguised as a general store.


    If it weren¡¯t for that, I was very nervous because I was afraid that he would push me on the back telling me to recreate a career like murder or arson.


    ¡°My distrust of you is still valid, so you¡¯ll have to prove your abilities first.¡±


    Leniel said so and sat me down at the general store checkout counter.


    ¡°Now, you work here.¡±


    I broke out of the prison and didn¡¯t even leave the city. It meant that there was still a prison within walking distance. Here it¡¯s dark, so it wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to hide in a place like this and wait for the situation to calm down and then figure it out.


    ¡°¡­At this general store? Are you saying you want me to be the owner of this store?¡±


    Wizards have a wide distribution.


    ¡°Of course you are a temporary employee. I am the owner.¡±


    That¡¯s right.


    Wanting to become a self-employed person at least in a place like this in my heart, I looked around the store with a blank expression on my face. Different types of items were displayed to the point where I did not know what the main product was.


    What is that scary looking doll? No, are those eyeballs in that glass jar? Maybe it¡¯s not real? Besides, is that a flowerpot? Aren¡¯t those clothes bulky? Is there mold growing in the box next to me?


    ¡°This is a general store that sells cursed goods.¡±


    I was about to touch an object on the shelf, but I immediately withdrew my hand. I almost would have been cursed, my god!


    ¡°Are you going to put a curse on me because I don¡¯t die from poison?¡±


    ¡°I said it was a place that sold cursed goods, I didn¡¯t say it was a place where curses were placed.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t hear Leniel. Instead, I glanced anxiously at the doll that kept making eye contact with me from before. As I keep looking at it, I think it looks a little like the doll in a horror movie.


    ¡°Your job is to sort out all the poisons that will be delivered here. I will deal with a few guests at the same time.¡±


    Leniel opened a drawer close to the checkout counter. There were several bottles of the same size inside.


    ¡°Once we do this, suppliers will bring additional poison.¡±


    ¡°Are you telling me to label it and organize it?¡±


    ¡°You said you can poison¡±.


    Leniel looked at me with that bright and pretty smile.


    ¡°It means to try it every day and distinguish the taste.¡±


    This is how I am stuck in this boring place right now. There is also a small room in the general store that is designed for accommodation and meals, so I was forced to sit here as if I were actually detained.


    I yawned and stretched over the counter. It¡¯s been 10 days since I became a temporary employee at a general store. Leniel, who stuck me here, seemed to be watching from the side, but suddenly, he hasn¡¯t shown his face for three days.


    I secretly named the doll Isabel because I¡¯ve had an internal intimacy since we kept making eye contact. This miscellaneous store was so boring that I had to look at Isabel. I was a prisoner on death row who escaped from prison, and I wondered if it was okay to treat me like this.


    In addition, it is a miscellaneous store, but no one comes to buy things, and they all just leave things. I would think that if I left the goods and borrowed money, I would also serve in a pawnshop, but they only left the goods.


    Still, rather than killing someone, I can try the poison that comes in from time to time while protecting the store, so the burden on my mind was much less. In addition, the fact that all the visitors are villains made me feel at ease.


    Now there were my wanted flyers circulating on the street, and it¡¯s funny that the villains have sympathy for me because of it. Besides, they were even more surprised to hear that I was a temporary employee of this store and encouraged my viciousness.


    ¡­Lenial¡¯s notoriety seems to be higher than I thought.


    So, I decided not to give up and to do my best to adapt to what happened to me.


    Until yesterday.


    However, since Leniel hasn¡¯t been here for three days, I¡¯m slowly thinking that now is an opportunity to escape from this place.


    I recalled the original work that I had thought hard about every day. I could be caught for nothing if I left a trace, so I looked back on the original work all day long from the beginning to the end. I don¡¯t remember the details exactly, but the big storyline was roughly organized.


    In the original work, about a year after Giselle died was omitted. As far as I remember, this period was spent by the main characters in the territory. In the meantime, the two built love, and the villain conspired.


    Right now, Leniel thought I wasn¡¯t Giselle, but he didn¡¯t seem willing to study anything about it.


    But how do I know if it will change suddenly later? While I was worried that I would be on the operating table after being pointed out as a successful case of gold, I would be in trouble if I were entangled with the main characters with the body of ¡°Giselle Roycevin.¡±


    ¡®I think it¡¯s the right time to hide or run away anywhere.¡¯


    I was thinking while rubbing my chin, but the sound of a bell hanging on the door of a general store rang loudly.


    ¡°I¡¯m here, crazy Giselle!¡±


    That apprentice black wizard, who vigorously stormed into the miscellaneous store, was Ten, a handyman who carried goods here.


    It is said that he is working hard to carry curse items to become a formal black wizard, but no matter how much I look at it, carrying things seems to have nothing to do with being a formal black wizard.


    Ten describes all these processes as training, but I guarantee that Ten¡¯s teacher, a black wizard, just needed an errand runner.


    ¡°I¡¯m not crazy.¡±


    ¡°People who are crazy don¡¯t know that they¡¯re crazy!¡±


    ¡°Wow, how could every single person I meet be so hard to understand.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Giselle. Because you¡¯re crazy!¡±


    Here, I am known as the Crazy Giselle. The reason was that the evilness of the original Giselle was lost. After Giselle collapsed and was locked in prison for a few days, the villains who visited said she was out of her mind and that she must be crazy.


    I was treated as a crazy person by soldiers, but it¡¯s a little unfair to be treated as a crazy person by villains. Does it make sense to describe a calm person as crazy?


    ¡°Okay, this one today.¡±


    As soon as I started working, unidentified suppliers gathered all the poisons from all over the country and brought it here. Perhaps it seemed that Leniel had given a separate word. It¡¯s a shame that there are no customers, but if it was a crowded general store, I would have to drink poison all night without having time to sleep.


    I accepted Ten¡¯s bottle. The lid was closed, but it smelled bad.


    This is what I learned after drinking poison for 10 days here, and more than half of the poison I am eating was based on ¡°colorless, odorless, and tasteless.¡± It meant that I was the only one who could feel the unique scent or taste of poison.


    The same was true of the poison I ate in prison. To me, their taste and aroma are clearly different, and Leniel affirmed that no one can distinguish them from five senses.


    Like a silver spoon, I wasn¡¯t only able to find out the presence or absence of poison, but also distinguish the smell and taste of poison.


    At this point, I don¡¯t think I need to work under the villain, but shouldn¡¯t I use this opportunity to escape?


    ¡°Hurry up and give me the certificate of delivery.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes.¡±


    At Ten¡¯s words, I quickly took out the documents. Anyway, everyone follows the procedure unnecessarily on the subject of a villain.


    Signing the document, I spoke to Ten in a passing tone.


    ¡°Do you know what a durian is?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°A fruit that smells the same as the poison.¡±


    ¡°A fruit? Not trash?¡±


    ¡°¡­Did you bring poison that smells like garbage?¡±


    ¡°But this is hard to get.¡±


    This poison wasn¡¯t odorless. Then, it may be noticeable if I carry it out.


    I quickly handed over the delivery certificate to Ten. After he left, I put the poison I received in a storage box and instead took out another poison bottle that was odorless and put it in my pocket. Then conscientiously, I quickly collected only the amount of money that was likely to be worth just 10 days.


    I tried to rationalize that I could not help it because I had to survive in this lawless area, where it was a daily routine to kill and die.


    ¡°Okay, then¡­¡±


    After taking a deep breath in front of the door, I opened it slightly and looked outside through the gap. There was a narrow, dark, and empty street. I couldn¡¯t feel any presence. After a few days of examination, there were no magicians around.

 Chapter 6

    1. I Will Refrain From the Death Penalty


    Episode 6


    It was my first time going outside after being pushed into a miscellaneous store by Leniel. In the meantime, there was no reason for me to go out because Leniel brought me clothes or even simple groceries. So I was scared but also excited.


    Wearing a hood with a cape tightly closed, I stepped carefully.


    It was very easy to go out. I could just walk out. I was worried about where the magic might be triggered, so I looked around the general store with a bright face.


    When I gained confidence, my steps became lighter. I hurried my steps to get out of this gloomy alley. When I asked the villains who were coming as guests, they said that if they had money, they could secretly get in the carriage compartments outside the city.


    The location of the carriage operating office was also being told. If I go that far¡­


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    As soon as I went around the alley, I immediately leaned down.


    It was good to find a street that looked normal as soon as I went around the dark alley area.


    The problem was the city security guards, who were located between those bright streets and ordinary shops. Armed guards wandered around, and all kinds of wanted flyers were attached to the wall of the guard station.


    Are you insane? Does it make sense that the distance between the general store and the guard station used by villains is only 100m? I didn¡¯t even know that on the day I came here. Why didn¡¯t anyone let me know there was something like that?


    ¡°Why do you keep going out?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    I almost screamed at the cheerful voice from my ears.


    As I covered my mouth with both hands and looked back, I made eye contact with Leniel, who was bending down close to me.


    Leniel was smiling brightly.


    Ugh. I think I thought of this last time too.


    ¡°If you go a little further forward, they¡¯ll find you too.¡±


    I messed it up again.


    ¡°Ha ha. It¡¯s been a while since I saw you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been about 2 or 3 days¡±.


    I don¡¯t know about that, but I know there¡¯s madness in your eyes.


    Holding my chest, I stretched my back as naturally as possible. After standing close to the wall to see if the soldiers could see me, I constantly recalled it in my head.


    A boss in front of me. As a temporary employee of a general store, I have to do my best to smile. When I go out, my livelihood is not threatened, but my life is threatened.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you first in case you misunderstand, but I didn¡¯t mean to run away.¡±


    I left the store and only walked 50m, and it is really unfair for me to say that I left this behind. Wouldn¡¯t it be better if I escaped from the city? Personally, this isn¡¯t even a walk.


    ¡°Will you turn yourself in if you don¡¯t run away?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it either.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really? I thought you were finally determined to challenge the hanging.¡±


    Hanging is not an exercise or a challenge.


    My smile almost got disturbed by Leniel who smiled and said nonsense, but fortunately, I was able to maintain a good face. I, who opened my eyes tearfully so that I could be seen as sincere as possible, answered in an unshakable voice.


    ¡°No way. I just came out to take a walk because I was frustrated to stay in the building for 10 days. I have a habit of walking only one step a day.¡±


    ¡°A walk?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll recommend it to you. You¡¯ll get really healthy.¡±


    Leniel tilted his head. Then he widened his eyes round as if he was really curious.


    ¡°Then did you pack poison to drink when you were thirsty while taking a walk?¡±


    ¡­When on earth have you been watching? Was it to test me that you didn¡¯t come for three days?


    I felt a cold sweat flowing down my spine. But if I¡¯m pushed back like this, it¡¯s over. I didn¡¯t waste my work life either, so I could shamelessly pretend I didn¡¯t know. If I pretend to be serious and logical, there are times when it works.


    ¡°In order not to let go of my passion and sense of work while taking a walk¡­¡±


    ¡°What about the money?¡±


    ¡°Come think of it, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve been able to properly repay Leniel for helping me, so I¡¯m thinking of buying a present on the way home.¡±


    If he asked what kind of gift it was even though it wasn¡¯t my money, I would say, ¡®I forgot to tell you to pay my salary in advance.¡¯ While waiting for the expected previous question, Leniel kept his mouth shut with a strange expression.


    Why? Was there a loophole in my answer?


    ¡­of course, there are many loopholes.


    A sense of wonder came later. I tried to ignore it and looked stiffly at Leniel, who subtly twisted his lips and muttered to himself.


    ¡°Hah. If you are in a hurry, you tend to be submissive.¡±


    ¡­I tried to raise my trembling lips somehow.


    ¡°But you called me a bastard in prison.¡±


    In fact, sometimes even now, sometimes I still call him that. Sometimes I use more radical expressions.


    ¡°When was that? I think it is much more productive and progressive thinking to move forward for the future rather than dwell on the past.¡±


    ¡°That was only ten days ago.¡±


    ¡°Ten days ago? Wasn¡¯t that the past? Haha!¡±


    I managed to swallow with a loud laugh, shrugged my shoulders exaggeratedly and turned my head. The more I looked at him, the more his expression seemed to rot.


    In the shifted field of vision, a nearby city guard station could be seen. The guards, who had been standing sullenly, suddenly could not be seen.


    But on the contrary, it felt ominous. Unknowingly, I poked my head out and stared at the guard station, and the door opened and a number of guards rushed out. They all turned their heads to this side at once. Then they took steps in this direction.


    ¡°Ahh¡­!¡±


    I didn¡¯t even recognize what sound was coming out of my mouth, and I hurriedly turned my back.


    Did they see me? They must have! The hoodie didn¡¯t cover my face completely, so maybe they¡¯re trying to come and check? Crap, because of the traces of black magic left in prison, I might get a real execution!


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Leniel¡¯s voice above my head was filled with absurdity, but I couldn¡¯t afford to pay attention to it. I approached Leniel and grabbed his open cape with both hands and pulled it close.


    ¡°Wait. The soldiers are coming. Please stay still! I¡¯ll take care of it!¡±


    I lowered my head as much as possible and tried to cover my face with his cape somehow, but as if he wouldn¡¯t give up his clothes, Leniel grabbed the cape and opened it completely. Even if I tried to remove his hand late, he didn¡¯t budge.


    Why are you so strong? Wasn¡¯t a wizard weak?


    After pulling his hem a couple of times, I lowered my voice in frustration and whispered.


    ¡°Just pretend to be a couple who crawled into a dark alley because we couldn¡¯t control our passion! That way, they won¡¯t bother us!¡±


    ¡°You can run away.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll look suspicious if I run away suddenly! It¡¯s a dead end. In this case, I have to be brazen.¡±


    I didn¡¯t ask for anything difficult, but I tried to cover my face by pulling the cape, but how could I be so cheap?


    I stomped his feet and lowered my head, and Leniel exclaimed with a peaceful voice.


    ¡°Aha, so in this situation, you have to avoid danger so we look like lovers who crawled into a dark alley because we couldn¡¯t control our passion?¡±


    ¡°Okay, if you understand, let me borrow your cape so I can cover my face¡­!¡±


    I was pushed by a strong force even before I finished speaking. My back hit a hard wall and I almost screamed inadvertently. After biting my teeth and barely holding back the sound, I frowned and raised my head.


    It was to protest right away, but when I made eye contact with Leniel, who looked down at me from afar, my mind turned blank.


    ¡°What? You said we should look like lovers.¡±


    Leniel, who locked me in his arms, smiled with his eyes and whispered. The red eyes showed how he was dying of fun. We were close enough for his lips to touch mine if he lowered his head, and he was smiling sweetly as if he would kiss me right away.


    But somehow, I was convinced that he wouldn¡¯t contact me anymore.


    Thanks to this, my throat, which had been tightly blocked, opened up and reason returned to my mind, which had been blank for a while. After swallowing my dry saliva, I calmly opened my mouth.


    ¡°The point is not to pretend to be a lover, but to avoid the situation through that, huh? Hey, we made eye contact¡­!¡±


    Having made eye contact with Leniel¡¯s shoulders and a group of guards, I contemplated and grabbed Leniel¡¯s hem.


    Without facial recognition disorder, they would have recognized who I am at this distance at once!


    ¡°Back, back¡­¡±


    I couldn¡¯t speak because I was in a hurry, so I pushed Leniel¡¯s chest who was close to me. However, Leniel didn¡¯t even move back, and he didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of covering me.


    If you¡¯re going to push me against the wall, cover me completely! You should¡¯ve kissed me! You don¡¯t seem to want to help me!


    ¡°Back, what?¡±


    ¡°What¡­¡±


    We definitely made eye contact.

 Chapter 7

    1. I Will Refrain From the Death Penalty


    Episode 7


    The guards inadvertently turned away from me and passed by me. As I was making a fuss, I stared at the back of the guards who were solidifying and moving away.


    What? I thought I was a wanted person? Or is it because my reward is low and they don¡¯t want to grab it? Or those guards didn¡¯t memorize the wanted flyers properly?


    ¡°What¡­¡±


    It was Leniel who responded to my unintentional murmur.


    ¡°Because they didn¡¯t see it.¡±


    The heat that could be felt gradually moved away. Leniel, who looked indifferent, tapped a point with his toes.


    ¡°That¡¯s it. In their eyes, this side will just look like a wall. There¡¯s magic on it.¡±


    What do you mean wall? I stared blankly down at the floor he was pointing at. It¡¯s just an open road in my eyes.


    Obviously, in the original work, if magic is used, the energy will remain there. In the case of black magic, in addition to that, even a slight energy remains as a trace. So it was a development in which the two protagonists found a remnant of black magic that could not be hidden, traced it back, and finally won.


    Did I remember something wrong? No, that can¡¯t be true. I shouldn¡¯t do that.


    ¡°If it¡¯s magic, why can¡¯t the guards notice?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s obvious.¡±


    Leniel¡¯s expression was very calm.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m stronger than them.¡±


    I think it should sound very unlucky. Rather, there was a strong feeling of bitterness somewhere. After being dazed for a while at the feeling that didn¡¯t match at all, I shook my head.


    What do you mean bitter? There¡¯s no reason for that. Wouldn¡¯t it be better if he was rather bossy?


    ¡®But if this place is covered with magic anyway, the fuss I made just now¡­¡¯


    Embarrassment and shame came belatedly. While rubbing my face, I tried to somehow erase the previous situation from my head, but it rather revived clearly.


    Why is it so hard to live? It¡¯s hard to take care of my life, but this is a terrible shame. I want to be alone.


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you tell me that in advance?¡±


    As I mumbled in a weak voice, Leniel smiled obliquely.


    ¡°Well, to be honest, you were cute.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not thankful at all.¡±


    Just say I¡¯m stupid. Just curse instead.


    ¡°Then, shall we do the rest inside?¡±


    The rest?


    Oh, by the way, I¡¯m a criminal who failed to run away a while ago.


    When I remembered my situation that I had forgotten because of the guard, I became very wary again.


    ¡°The rest is not torture, right?¡±


    ¡°I can let you experience it if you want. We don¡¯t have to go too far¡­¡±


    ¡°Did I tell you that a new poison came in today? I have to try the poison quickly, so the sincere temporary employee will now return to work.¡±


    As I ran, I heard a familiar laughter behind me returning to the general store.


    Oh no. I think I got my first job wrong.


    ***


    (3rd person pov)


    What on earth did ¡®Giselle Roycevin¡¯ summon?


    Leniel, who was sitting around with his chin on his hand, stared at the person in front of him, thinking about how many times he had already done it. What¡¯s inside that shell?


    ¡°Hey, are you listening?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m listening.¡±


    When he answered coolly, a distrustful look came back at once. Leniel smiled at Giselle. She shook her head as if giving up and continued to explain.


    What she presented was a paper that summarized the taste of poison that had been delivered. Rather than simply listing the taste, it seemed that some conclusion was drawn by linking the efficacy of poison and the characteristics of taste in its own way.


    The contents of the table drawn and organized by hand were readable and neat enough to be seen at a glance. It would not have been easy to list because the amount was not small and the poison in the store was not properly managed. If Vadeau, Leniel¡¯s aide, sees it, he will enter the office immediately.


    ¡®Giselle Roycevin probably didn¡¯t try to get office skills from magic.¡¯


    ¡°I really drank it all and organized it.¡±


    ¡°You might not be able to trust it, but they all tasted like fruits. Even the same apple tastes different depending on the sugar content.¡±


    She probably wasn¡¯t saying stupid things out of context from time to time.


    ¡°Of course, there were some that tasted a little different, but anyways, I chose it because I thought it would be easiest to organize it with fruits.¡±


    This person, who covered the residence of ¡®Giselle Roycevin¡¯ was certainly interesting.


    Apart from her not dying after taking the poison or talking about unreliable information, her existence itself was like that. If she¡¯s going to get sick or hurt even a little, she¡¯s not afraid of poison, and if she¡¯s going to kill him, he¡¯s going to ask them to take care of her right away.


    This felt strangely contradictory. He didn¡¯t know if he knew it himself.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I told you my name, but you haven¡¯t told me yours even now.¡±


    The lips, which were explaining little by little, closed tightly at Leniel¡¯s words.


    It was fascinating too. That appearance was definitely ¡®Giselle Roycevin¡¯ but she seemed like a completely different person, perhaps because the insides changed. It¡¯s the same facial features with platinum blonde hair.


    ¡°Giselle Roycevin.¡±


    ¡°Your name.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Giselle Roycevin.¡±


    Giselle, who firmly claimed to be ¡®Giselle Roycevin¡¯, stared at Leniel. Giselle¡¯s expression facing him was firm on a subject that was arguably a lie. There are times when she is not obedient and determined. This was mainly the case when Leniel talked about the real identity of ¡®Giselle Roycevin¡¯.


    ¡°Okay, ¡®Giselle¡¯.¡±


    Leniel nodded. Giselle continued the explanation that stopped again with a relieved face. Listening to her explanation in one ear and out the other, Leniel stayed still and observed her.


    ¡°I know the future of some very important people. For example, your boss.¡±


    The future of some important people.


    Leniel focused on what she said before than on what she said she knew the future.


    ¡®Important people.¡¯


    Who does Giselle think are ¡°important people¡±? What criteria did they decide the importance of? What¡¯s the reason why ¡°Wayne Eyeore¡± is in there?


    ¡°Sigh. Isn¡¯t this just a rough test of my abilities?¡±


    Perhaps after a long and long explanation, Giselle sighed and stretched her shoulders.


    ¡°Did you have any doubts?¡±


    ¡°I know your abilities, but my doubts about you have not disappeared at all.¡±


    ¡°What the hell are you looking at me¡­! Ugh.¡±


    Giselle, who was angry and raised her voice, clenched her fists and calmed herself.


    Right, that¡¯s what she does. It was fun to watch such cute actions that she would never do if she were real. So Leniel could listen with a smile even when she lied openly.


    Compared to the ¡°real Giselle,¡± which was noisy and wanted a lot, he didn¡¯t hate the ¡°present Giselle.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really trust people.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes. It looks like that. You live such a tiring life.¡±


    The paper that Giselle, who shook her head, had spread out was organized one by one. The fingers of neatly stacking the paper that even wrote down the pages in a thrifty manner were quite delicate. Despite suffering in prison, the white and soft appearance was indeed the hand of a person who grew up in Roycevin¡¯s wealth and glory.


    He thought it was creepy and artificial of this ¡°Giselle Roycevin¡±, but it was funny that that one gesture looked naive just because the kernel changed.


    Laughing at his absurd sensibility, Leniel continued the conversation lightly.


    ¡°Besides, I saw you trying to run away with my own eyes.¡±


    Leniel clearly saw the fingertips shaking slightly while organizing the paper.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a run, it¡¯s a walk.¡±


    ¡°You stole money with determination.¡±


    When he hinted, Giselle jumped and looked serious.


    ¡°That! It¡¯s my fault to omit the procedure however I want, but I was going to get paid anyway, so I was going to get it a little faster!¡±


    Leniel stared at Giselle without answering back. Giselle, who was staring at him with a straight face, was seen pausing.


    ¡°Am I working without pay?¡±


    It was unusual to squint and stare at him. She seemed more serious than when her life was threatened.


    ¡°You¡¯re not forcing me to work, are you? No matter how evil you are, you shouldn¡¯t eat your money! I¡¯m drinking poison with my life on the line!¡±


    How should he say this? Should he say that it feels like a chick is creaking?


    Black wizards, who often used animals for curses, seem to have bought these similar chicks. He was bitter at the curse, and when he brought it, he made the whole room into a chicken coop, saying that he couldn¡¯t kill them because it was cute.


    At that time, the dense sound was only loud, but when he looked at it like this, it wasn¡¯t even loud. It felt more pitiful.


    How Giselle understood Leniel¡¯s smirking attitude, and began to preach the evils of unpaid work with serious eyes. Instead of responding to her words, Leniel gathered mana with his fingertips.


    When the black mana was clearly ignited enough to be seen with the naked eye, the mouth of the Giselle, who was chatting, closed tightly.


    ¡°¡­There¡¯s a probationary period to learn the work. There¡¯s no pay, since accommodation and food is also provided.¡±


    As she slowly moved back and tried to distance herself, Leniel muttered in a smiling voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m really bad at keeping the context.¡±

 Chapter 8

    1. I Will Refrain From the Death Penalty


    Episode 8


    The mana that was spinning round at his fingertips gradually formed a certain shape. It was a black butterfly with red spots followed by another black butterfly with white spots.


    ¡°Oh my.¡±


    Two butterflies flew from the fingertips of Leniel. Giselle¡¯s blue eyes moved along the butterfly¡¯s wings. The butterfly gently flew in the air and moved around Giselle.


    ¡°Are they real butterflies?¡±


    Giselle, who was scared and ready to run away a while ago, glinted. Every time a butterfly flaps its wings, the black powder that slightly scatters, making it look very mysterious. Leniel wondered how long she can like them if they find out who she is.


    Leniel opened his mouth while observing Giselle¡¯s eyes in detail.


    ¡°They will monitor you in the future.¡±


    ¡°Then they¡¯ll be with me forever, right? Do they talk too?¡±


    For a moment, he doubted whether she had understood the meaning behind the term ¡°monitor¡± properly, but Leniel decided not to take it too seriously.


    ¡°They can talk to me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re mean. I want to talk to them too! Oh, my. How can their wings be so pretty?


    ¡°The red one is poisonous.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I don¡¯t die of poison.¡±


    ¡°The white one shoots paralysis spit.¡±


    ¡°Butterflies spit too? Oh my, how fascinating.¡±


    ¡®Should I say more?¡¯


    Leniel thought about it for a while and decided to quit. This was because it was the first time he saw Giselle¡¯s face smiling like a child with sparkling eyes.


    Although it has been less than 15 days since he knew her, all he had seen so far was an idiot, servile, or distant appearance. Compared to before, the current Giselle was completely defenseless.


    If he point it out, she will just laugh at once, and then look at him again and say something stupid.But Giselle now has a more ¡®natural¡¯ appearance, so it was much more worth seeing.


    ¡°But isn¡¯t it too pretty from a black wizard? I imagined something more terrifying.¡±


    Giselle said strange things with her arms wide open as if she were a human being transforming into a bat.


    It was a very unusual imagination. Leniel could clearly see that she was not knowledgeable at all on this side.


    ¡°There¡¯s definitely something like you would imagine. But that¡¯s not practical.¡±


    ¡°As expected, there are different uses.¡±


    While talking, Giselle was distracted by the butterflies flying around her and did not pay attention to Leniel. Leniel, who was looking at Giselle with his chin on his hand, asked in an indifferent tone.


    ¡°What do you know about Wayne Eyeore?¡±


    He thought she might close her mouth with a straight face again, but surprisingly, the answer came out smoothly.


    ¡°Well, I think he¡¯s the strongest of the villains.¡±


    ¡°¡­That¡¯s true.¡±


    When Leniel took a moment to pause and nodded, Giselle glanced at him.


    ¡°Please tell him when you meet him later. I told you that your boss is the strongest in the world. I¡¯d appreciate it if you could help me get a job.¡±


    The boss? Leniel burst into laughter without realizing it.


    ¡°You said a villain?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Giselle complained and muttered, ¡°do I have to explain that in words?¡±.


    ¡°Do you really want to work for him?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll survive this rough world alone anyway, and what can I do when I¡¯m the enemy of everyone? I have to go under the villain. And the dragon¡¯s tail is safer than the snake¡¯s head. I don¡¯t want to get a job at a small and medium-sized company and become an all-around worker.¡±


    Leniel rubbed the tip of his chin with his index and middle fingers, then glanced down at the paper on the desk.


    ¡°Are you going to test for poison? You have to sort it out on a table, so only you can tell the taste. How can you prevent him from taking poison?¡±


    ¡°Well, I can eat something before him first and check it out.¡±


    Giselle, who had almost turned her back on Leniel because of the butterflies, completely turned around. She then asked if she could take a bite before eating and check the taste. She explained that her taste buds are so sensitive now that she can distinguish all the ingredients.


    ¡°Will you get a job for me?¡±


    Giselle, who finished her lengthy explanation, raised her eyes gleaming with anticipation. Leniel gave her her bright smile.


    ¡°No.¡±


    The glittering eyes were stained with disappointment.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°When you eat each meal for someone, you mean that you will always be by Wayne Eyeore¡¯s side, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll just be a minute at mealtime¡­¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s going to drink tea, eat dessert, and follow all the schedules outside, and whenever he wants to eat something, you¡¯ll have to go out.¡±


    Giselle, who was listening to Leniel with a puzzled face, nodded her head slowly in agreement.


    ¡°¡­Right.¡±


    ¡°After all, you will be together all day.¡±


    ¡°¡­So that¡¯s how it¡¯ll turn out¡±


    ¡°So I don¡¯t want that.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Giselle frowned. Leniel spoke before she could say more nonsense again.


    ¡°Then take a look at the store. I will give you a monthly salary.¡±


    ¡°Pay!¡±


    ¡°Of course, if you become a full-time employee.¡±


    Giselle¡¯s expression, which had brightened for a moment, lost life again. Then, as to what she was thinking again, her eyes changed violently. Leniel¡¯s forehead slightly wrinkled at her sudden gaze.


    Perhaps the purpose was to pretend to be stupid, approach Wayne Eyeore, and assassinate him? It was a possible story if the real Giselle Roycevin had made a move with the desire to kill him. It¡¯s not strange if she has a grudge because he ignored her request for help.


    When Leniel¡¯s fingertips fluttered, the fluttering butterflies approached Giselle¡¯s surroundings. The black powder sprayed from the butterfly¡¯s wings gradually thickened. Just as he was about to issue an order, Giselle with her serious face spoke in a more solemn tone than ever before.


    ¡°Sir, I have learned that an employment contract is a contract that has been negotiated by labor and management and left as a trustworthy contract so that there is no room for disputes in the future. The probationary period and salary are issues that require negotiation. I¡¯ll bring you a pen.¡±


    Without a moment¡¯s notice, Giselle got up and ran to the counter behind her. Leniel¡¯s face contorted, staring blankly at her back, who was rummaging through her drawers, busily searching for pens and papers.


    He bit his lip in a hurry, but he couldn¡¯t stop his already bursting laughter.


    ¡°Hahaha!¡±


    Leniel thought with a laugh enough to bring tears to his eyes.


    Giselle Roycevin. Whatever you summoned, this is the best thing you¡¯ve ever done.


    ***


    (Giselle¡¯s pov)


    ¡°Hello, Crazy Giselle!¡±


    ¡°Welcome, Ten. Now I¡¯m not a temporary worker, I¡¯m a trainee.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been crazy for a few days¡±.


    Whatever Ten said, it was good. I wrote an official employment contract!


    The fact that the probationary period and the transition period to full-time workers have been clearly set can be interpreted as meaning that at leastI won¡¯t be killed by being put into a laboratory.


    Therefore, this employment contract was not just evidence of employment, but a decent achievement proving that my life span was successfully extended.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to buy something today. I need the baby doll up there.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t take it out for you, so bring it home by yourself.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t reach it.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a ladder there!¡±


    When I stood in front of the cashier and smiled without thinking about moving, Ten glanced at the doll with a gloomy face.


    ¡°If I touch it, I¡¯ll be cursed¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh my, but this is a place that sells curse items.¡±


    Ten turned around awkwardly when I responded with a hint that he was pathetic.


    Looking at his back, I exhaled with relief. It is true that I have built an internal intimacy by making frequent eye contact with Isabel, but I haven¡¯t asked about Isabel¡¯s intention. Wouldn¡¯t it be a big trouble if Isabel gets angry and curses me?


    By the way, I can¡¯t believe it got sold. Who should I look at now?


    As I was standing with a lame idea, and two butterflies fluttered as if they had read my thoughts.


    ¡®Oh, I have them.¡¯


    They were pretty butterflies even when I looked at them again. There are spots, but at first glance, they have black wings, but they can still be beautiful. The butterfly moved its wings in front of my eyes as if it knew I was admiring it.


    In a way, I felt like I was being seduced intentionally. Looking at the movement as if possessed, I suddenly remembered the black magic I had seen a while ago.


    The black thing that clumped together at Leniel¡¯s fingertips must be black magic. Curiously, it felt different from the black shadow that dried up the assassin in prison. Should I say that it¡¯s more shiny than that?


    I barely reached out and touched it without realizing it, but I even kept my distance from them because I thought I might unconsciously touch it.


    Is it because the owner¡¯s appearance is gorgeous?


    ¡°Please ring it up.¡±


    Ten, who grabbed the tip of Isabel¡¯s hair with his thumb and index finger, carefully put it down at the counter.


    I should have recognized him since he was a handyman. Ten is probably not very courageous to become a black wizard.


    ¡°Yes, yes. Wait a minute.¡±


    Inside, I was calculating by saying goodbye to Isabel, and then the door opened with a sound. When I glanced, I saw a new customer. Wearing a black cape, he looked around and found me and strode up to the counter.


    ¡°Welcome¡­¡±


    ¡°Is it you? The death row that Leniel took?¡±

 Chapter 9

    1. I Will Refrain From the Death Penalty


    Episode 9


    My business smile was brutally broken. I stared at the customer in front of me with a straight face. It was a boy who looked to be about six years old.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Tell me, how did you get the job?!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it¡¯s true that I got a job.¡±


    As a guest, I used respectful words. Leniel¡¯s butterflies are monitoring me, and it¡¯ll be heartbreaking to see an unfaithful employee and even get a pay cut.


    ¡°Nonsense! That place was originally supposed to be mine!¡±


    No, what is it about this general store?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, because I already wrote the employment contract and you can¡¯t even get it to work? Find another job.¡±


    I wrapped Isabelle and handed it to Ten. Even after Ten, who looked at me and the customer alternately, and left the store, the customer glared at me with courage.


    Well, what are you going to do?


    ¡°Customer, this is a disruptive business.¡±


    ¡°I want to see Leniel. Where is he?¡±


    ¡°The boss¡­ No, he¡¯s a busy person, so it¡¯s hard for me to even meet face to face. If you leave your contact information, I will send him to you.¡±


    ¡°What can I believe from a death row prisoner like you!¡±


    I keep hearing death row prisoner, death row prisoner.


    As I stared at the boy, I smiled for a moment. What does the little boy know? Just looking at him, it seems that he longs for an evil wizard and dreams of becoming a villain early on.


    ¡°Would you like to call it a jailbreak if possible? The death row prisoner sounds a bit harsh. I have no intention of dying. But if you tell me something like this for a hundred days, it is of no use, and since this is a store with cursed goods, if you touch it wrongly, you will be cursed. Work on it.¡±


    Even thinking about it, it was such a gentle guide that I was really impressed. However, the boy didn¡¯t kill his temper at all, as the curse wasn¡¯t scary to him.


    Uh huh, if I get a doll similar to Isabelle and put it in front of the cashier, will I be able to drive out the truth? I¡¯ll have to ask Leniel to get another one later.


    ¡°If you keep making a fuss, I will report you. You know there¡¯s a city guard in front of you, right?¡±


    Of course, it was an improbable threat, but it seemed to work for the boy. Perhaps that boy was also a criminal. He¡¯s a boy who wants to work for Leniel, so it¡¯s scary.


    I had no desire to see you again. But, just as the case since I came here, things just didn¡¯t go the way I wanted.


    ***


    After attaching the butterflies by my side, Leniel came to me less frequently than before. Thanks to this, I have more free time. The watchers caught up, but it was not burdensome at all because it was pretty butterflies.


    It was more convenient. Having them near makes it clear that I don¡¯t want to run away.


    After learning that they couldn¡¯t see this side from the other side thanks to the illusion magic, I often wandered the alley.


    I didn¡¯t have the courage to show up on the street where my wanted badge was attached, but it was so frustrating to be in a general store where almost no customers came the whole time. Besides, after becoming ¡®Giselle Roycevin¡¯, I was swept away before I could properly adjust to this world, so I wanted to see the outside scenery a little more.


    My legs hurt after walking around, so I brought a chair with me. After all, the only people who knew this dead-end alley were customers who wanted to visit the general store, so there was nothing to notice. When guests come in, they go in together.


    Today, as I sat down and watched the people passing by and the scenery, I felt a new emotion. I feel like I¡¯ve been here for a year, but it¡¯s been less than a month.


    Can I continue living like this?


    ¡°I wish I can speak to you too.¡±


    I think I¡¯m really crazy to be muttering while looking at the naughty butterflies around me.


    Maybe I am crazy. Whether this is real or not, in fact, I still don¡¯t know.


    When I wake up, I will wake up in a familiar studio, and I will have to turn off the alarm and prepare to go to work, pushing away the familiar fatigue. Maybe I really am dreaming. Maybe I fell into a coma and was drenched in a long dream.


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s too vivid to be a dream.¡±


    As I touched the wall, I could clearly feel the bumpy texture. When I applied force to my hand, it left a bare, pressed mark on my flesh. Because I had white hands, the marks were more prominent.


    It was moving according to my will, but no matter how many times I looked at it, it was an unfamiliar hand. Where are my hands? I still get terrified when I look in the mirror.


    Platinum hair. I couldn¡¯t feel it when I read it simply¡­ What should I say? It was a strange feeling. How does it feel to realize that a character I took so lightly is actually a real living person somewhere?


    Of course, I didn¡¯t expect her to be this pretty when I read it in writing. To be able to create a neat atmosphere with such a bare face without a single maid to decorate, I don¡¯t know why Giselle Roycevin was so fussy with this wonderful appearance. Even if it wasn¡¯t for the male protagonist, a man would have lined up to give it all away.


    ¡°By the way, is it really okay if I stay here?¡±


    It¡¯s near the prison, but as long as I¡¯m in Leniel¡¯s general store, I won¡¯t get caught by the soldiers¡­ Once I think of the original, Giselle Roycevin is effectively out of the story, so there¡¯s no need to engage directly with the main characters.


    Leniel didn¡¯t seem to want to introduce me to Wayne.


    Is it still the answer to stay here? After all, should I be promoted to a general store manager and open a branch in a quiet back alley?


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll ask about the promotion system.¡±


    Belatedly, I patted my knee and regretted it, and a butterfly flew in front of me while fluttering violently.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    Normally, it just hovered around gracefully, but now it flaps its wings impatiently. Why are you doing this? Are you sick?


    ¡°Why? What do you want to say?¡±


    As I watched the two butterflies meandering through the air, I tilted my head. I don¡¯t know much about insects, so it¡¯s frustrating. I¡¯ll be sure to read even the Fabre Insect Book.


    Or maybe¡­


    ¡°Are you mating?¡±


    Even a working butterfly mate¡­? I don¡¯t know for sure, but I think I¡¯ve seen a similar scene in a documentary or something.


    ¡°During midday? Ugh, even if they can¡¯t see this side, how many people are passing by on the street right now!¡±


    The movement of the butterflies did not change even if I waved my hands and bruised them.


    They seem to get along very well. I shook my head and turned to the street. This is because, when there is no one to talk to,I feel embarrassed.


    It¡¯s safe here, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s good for your mental health. I feel really crazy.


    ¡°I wish I could just walk around comfortably.¡±


    Mumbling in a sighing voice, I saw a city guard that looked particularly bustling in my sight. As I stared blankly at them with my chin clenched, I saw someone¡¯s head standing tall alone amongst the formidable guards.


    ¡®Wow, you¡¯re so tall.¡¯


    In admiration, I noticed that the man¡¯s hair was quite colorful. He had blonde hair that looked shiny and splendid even from across the street. In addition, the excellent proportions and physique that cannot be hidden even with armor, and the distinctive features of the presence.


    It wouldn¡¯t be easy for an ordinary guard to have such an appearance in a novel.


    If Leniel is a sickly handsome man, he looks like a healthy handsome man. It was a completely different atmosphere to the point where it was hard to believe that he was an extra passing by. Besides, the green eyes are so vivid that I can see them from here.


    I know of a knight that was described that way. So, obviously, Dylan Stasi, the male protagonist of ¡ºPoisonous Apple¡»¡­


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    My God, Dylan Stasi!


    ¡°¡­What a crazy¡­!¡±


    Why is he here?


    The moment I jumped up without realizing it, Dylan, who was talking to the soldier, turned in this direction. I immediately turned my back and ran, almost flying to the general store. It was clear that Leniel¡¯s illusion magic would be useless in front of that ¡®Dylan Stasi¡¯.


    Because he was the ¡®one who sees the essence¡¯! Magical trickery doesn¡¯t work at all for him!


    ¡®No, why would a human who should have gone to the estate come to this corner guard post?¡¯


    Apparently, after Giselle¡¯s execution, Dylan should¡¯ve returned to the estate with the heroine.


    Having hurriedly ran into the general store, I locked the store door, covered the windows with wooden shades, and turned off the lights just in case. Then I hid myself in the back room.


    Even the butterflies, who had always flapped their wings busily, sat on my shoulders and did not budge at this moment. It seemed that they also had an eye for something.


    In the middle of the silence, I felt like my breathing was too loud, so I gave strength to my closed lips.


    Thump. Thump.


    My heart raced as if it was about to explode at the sound of heavy footsteps coming from outside the store. The footsteps stopped in front of the store. Of course, it was a dead end street.


    Rumble.


    The locked door rattles with the sound of grabbing and pulling on the handle. All the windows were covered with wooden shades, so I had no idea who was standing outside or what was going on. But hearing no footsteps, it seemed like he was standing in front of the door.


    Rumble. Rumble.


    Suddenly the door was pulled again. Rather than forcing it to open, it seemed intended to confirm that it was locked.


    Dylan was an excellent swordsman, so if he forcefully opens it, he should be able to break the lock. Fortunately, there was no sign of such a coercive attack. In fact, he was one of the few normal people in the original. Like a main character, he has a sense of justice and is good.

 Chapter 10

    1. I Will Refrain From the Death Penalty


    Episode 10


    The door, which had been rattling a couple of times since then, soon calmed down. The heavy footsteps were heard again, and they gradually moved away. I knew that the person standing outside had left, but just in case, I crouched down in the side room for a long time and held my breath.


    What happens if I run into Dylan right now? Dylan is a righteous man, so he¡¯ll hand me over to the security immediately, right? Then he¡¯ll do an execution¡­!


    ¡°Wow, we should never bump into each other.¡±


    Shivering, I rubbed my forearms with both hands. How long will he be in this city? Can I keep the store closed? If I had a cell phone at a time like this, I could have discussed it with Leniel right away. It¡¯s so uncomfortable.


    ¡°Hey, call your master. It¡¯s an emergency.¡±


    As I was talking to the innocent butterflies, I let out a long sigh. What¡¯s wrong with butterflies? The problem is the guy who suddenly appeared.


    Why did he appear? In the original, I¡¯m sure¡­


    Is it because Giselle Roycevin¡¯s death penalty was not properly executed?


    ¡°Did the story go wrong because I¡¯m not dead?¡±


    Is he going to search this place without leaving for the female lead until I die?


    ¡°No way.¡±


    Sighing awkwardly, I shook my head. What am I to say? I¡¯m just a middle villain. Something like a stone that was in the street. Something you¡¯ll forget when you clean it up and turn around. There¡¯s no need to persistently find and kill someone like this¡­


    ¡°There is.¡±


    How long have the two main characters been stabbed in the back by Giselle? In addition, Giselle tried to kill the heroine several times. As a result, the heroine went back and forth between life and death. Giselle escaped from prison, so it¡¯s right to take her back.


    ¡°It¡¯s driving me crazy.¡±


    After crouching with my head wrapped around me, I raised myself for now. When I slightly lifted the wooden cover covering the window and looked outside, I saw an empty street. Was it Dylan who came all the way here? Maybe it was another guest. He may not have followed me because we may not have made eye contact earlier.


    ***


    The locked door was not opened, but instead, when someone came, I opened the shade slightly to check. Fortunately, neither Dylan nor the soldiers came. The same was true the next day and the next day. Was it my misunderstanding?


    ¡°But why isn¡¯t your owner coming?¡±


    He even put up magic butterflies around me because he was afraid I would run away, but why don¡¯t you come when I need you to?


    Someone knocked on the door while I was lamenting out of frustration. Judging from the light footsteps, he was neither Dylan nor a soldier. At this rate, it seems that people can be distinguished only by the sound of footsteps.


    Will I also gain a new ability to differentiate the footsteps? It¡¯s really useless.


    ¡°Oh, what brought you here?¡±


    Standing at the door, it was a boy who recently broke in and coveted the place. The boy, who confirmed that it was me who opened the store, looked unhappy.


    ¡°Where is Leniel?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also unfamiliar with the boss¡­¡±


    In the meantime, I don¡¯t think he forgot about me since people deliver groceries regularly to the general store.


    ¡°I have something to deliver to Leniel. Please move it.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    It¡¯s because the person asking for help is so blunt. I changed the subject by kicking my tongue.


    ¡°Why are you delivering it all of a sudden? Until recently, you wanted to get a job at this general store, and you went under someone else?¡±


    ¡°You took my place!¡±


    In response to the annoying boy¡¯s response, I closed my mouth with an awkward face. The recruitment time was a little faster than taking it away.


    In my eyes, it was uncomfortable to hear that a young-looking guy was doing delivery work for others. Was it that hard to make a living? Obviously, it would have been much easier to check out this general store than to deliver.


    ¡°Is it heavy? Ten will be here soon. I think he¡¯ll be more helpful.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m only delivering food here? I have to leave this stuff and go somewhere else!¡±


    In this world, delivery must also calculate profits per case. For sure, considering the time Ten usually comes, there is a lot of time left, so maybe I should just help him quickly.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the item?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s in the carriage.¡±


    The alley was not wide enough for a carriage to enter. I paused, frowned and asked back.


    ¡°¡­Carriage?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I covered the alley with a carriage, so I just need to take out the delivery and move it.¡±


    The boy who spoke bluntly turned around. Oh, I don¡¯t even want to go outside the general store, let alone the distance.


    After contemplating for a while, I first put my head out the door. The alley was empty as always. It might be okay because I didn¡¯t see any signs for two days, but I don¡¯t know.


    After looking at the alley with suspicious eyes, I stepped outside only when I was convinced that no one was there. Stopped at the point toward the end of the alley, I put my body close to the wall again and looked at the street with only my eyes out.


    Usually, the city guard station would have been the first to be seen, but as the boy said, the carriage was blocking the view. The luggage compartment was sagging with an off-white fabric, so I couldn¡¯t know what was in it.


    The boy standing in a crooked position behind the wagon frowned, annoyed when he found me with only my head sticking out.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll put it down in front of you by myself somehow, so you can carry it in front of you.¡±


    No, I didn¡¯t want to struggle with heavy burdens for no reason because I wanted to return to the general store as soon as possible. After contemplating for a while, I reluctantly approached the carriage carefully. When I slightly raised my head and looked over the wagon gap, I couldn¡¯t see any guards.


    I have to press down on the hood as much as possible and bring the delivery quickly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get it from the bottom, so go up and push it.¡±


    Wearing the hood, I bowed my head as much as possible and headed behind the wagon. When I peeked in, there were several large wooden boxes piled up. Certainly, if this is the case, it was natural for the boy to not hear it alone. Did we order a lot of poisonous plants?


    ¡°Why am I going up there?¡±


    ¡°Are you going to drop it on the ground?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go up.¡±


    However, I cannot scuffle on the street where my wanted badge is attached. Eventually, I climbed onto the luggage compartment with a feeling of discomfort.


    ¡°What kind of box is it?¡±


    ¡°Inside it, no. Not that, but below that.¡±


    They were all the same-looking boxes, so it was difficult to find them at once just by the boy¡¯s insincere explanation. You should at least write your name on the box.


    The moment I finally found the box the boy said and tried to push it with strength as I walked inside the luggage compartment, a voice spoke.


    ¡°Stop moving.¡±


    A knife came right under my chin.


    In my eyes, which were stiff with my knees bent vaguely, I could see the smiling boy¡¯s face. He had a mean look on his face and looked back at the man who put a knife in my neck.


    ¡°You have to give me the reward you promised. Don¡¯t forget to delete my crime records.¡±


    Did he just sell me?


    ¡°I¡¯ll take into account that you cooperated in catching a felon.¡±


    Ahh¡­


    ¡°Wait, I think there¡¯s a misunderstanding.¡±


    I stretched my neck as far back as I could and spoke urgently. But the boy lowered the tent that he had rolled up laughing at me. At the same time, the wagon suddenly moved. Unable to overcome the rebound, I stumbled and fell on my butt.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    The tingling pain spread from the buttocks due to a strong fall on the hard wooden floor inside the carriage. I could see better when I sat down. Dylan Stasi, looking down at me with a cold gaze and aiming the knife.


    ¡°Hey, why are you doing this to me when I just met you¡­?¡±


    First of all, pretend you don¡¯t know.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but please remove this. No. Wait a minute. I asked you to remove it, not push it further. Can you threaten an innocent person like this?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    With his mouth twisted as if absurd, he pushed my hood from the end of his sword which he took out. My platinum blonde covered in the hood appeared.


    ¡°Giselle Roycevin. You¡¯re innocent?¡±


    ¡°Oh, oh! I hear a lot that I look like her. I guess there was a mistake. Hahaha!¡±


    I smiled as good as I could with a harmless look that I once used for Leniel. Of course, Dylan didn¡¯t budge an inch. He didn¡¯t take off the sword that aimed at my neck.


    Even if you don¡¯t, you¡¯re standing in a wagon with a dangerous sword! What if you accidentally poke someone?


    I, who desperately gave my body strength not to roll around in the rattling wagon, swallowed dry saliva and glanced sideways. Whenever the ivory fabric fluttered, I could see the outside scenery that quickly passed by.


    ¡°But where are we going right now¡­?¡±


    Is it a prison? Or is it going straight to the gallows this time?


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    ¡°Your acting has improved. I already know that you have accepted evil beings.¡±


    No, this guy? They said he had eyes to see the essence. Was it all a lie?


    ¡°What are you talking about? I¡¯m not evil.¡±


    Dylan squinted his eyes. The cold gaze made me cough and added words.


    ¡°I said, you saw the wrong person!¡±


    ¡°Is it a side effect of abstinence? Or were you completely eaten by the devil?


    Obviously, he was a friendly and sweet male protagonist for the heroine, but now Dylan in front of me was just a scary knight.


    Wow, it turns out that he has a dual personality. I can¡¯t believe he said I¡¯m eaten by the devil. At least I¡¯m more of a normal person than I was.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter either way. This time, you¡¯ll die.¡±


    ¡®Am I on my way to the deathbed?¡¯


    ¡°The first thing to do is to extinguish the devil you accepted.¡±


    What do you mean, extinguish?


    ¡°Devil?¡±


    Dylan seemed to have no intention of explaining more. What do you mean, extinguishing the devil? What are you talking about?


    Reminder: pls do not repost ANYWHERE smh

 Chapter 11

    1. I Will Refrain From the Death Penalty


    Episode 11


    As I looked up at him in confusion, I suddenly remembered the contents of the original. To be precise, some of the worldviews and settings revealed in the original work.


    The main characters borrow the power of white magic, which is the opposite of black magic. The white magic is based on divine power, but it was very difficult to express the inherent divine power as magic, so there were very few white magicians. The female protagonist is a white wizard.


    Anyway, there is an episode in the novel where the wizard who made a contract with the devil is executed, but even then, white magic was used. He set fire to it with white magic and burned it¡­


    Hanging execution wasn¡¯t enough, so now I¡¯m going to get burned at the stake?


    I roared with anger with a pale face.


    ¡°You are so inhuman! Devil? The devil, you are the devil! How do you plan to burn people to death?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s because you¡¯re really stupid! Grab a passerby and ask! Is the person who now holds a sword to my neck and threatens me and drags me to the stake calling me a devil more devilish?¡±


    It was said that the greatest pain that humans feel is the pain felt when being burned! You devil!


    As I opened my eyes and protested, Dylan frowned and looked at me. But now that I learned that I might be burned to death, I was very anxious.


    How hard did I have to flatter Leniel so that I wouldn¡¯t be tortured, and I was burned at the stake after trying so hard to save this one body?


    ¡°The devil is trying to lure someone who wants to live quietly and burn them to death!¡±


    ¡°Hey, you¡­¡±


    ¡°Look at the essence! The essence of freezing to death that even a normal person cannot recognize! Where are you going in the future? Ouch!¡±


    As I was screaming loudly, I stopped speaking as I was crushed by the force that gripped the nape of my neck. His thick gloved hands caught my breath in an instant.


    ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    ¡°Hah¡­¡±


    ¡°Answer me. Who gave you that information?¡±


    You bastard, how can I answer when you¡¯re strangling me¡­


    I tried to move my lips but my breath was choked and I couldn¡¯t move. My fingertips were numb and my eyes were about to turn black.


    Damn, I ended up being killed by strangulation like this. Even if I complain, I will become a ghost and torment you. You bastard of this devilish male protagonist!


    Finally, it was about time for my head to go hazy and his consciousness clouded. Leniel¡¯s butterflies, who I didn¡¯t know were still here, flew. In the hazy field of vision, I could see the black glittering powder of butterflies.


    ¡°This!¡±


    Dylan quickly removed his hand and stepped back. Thanks to this, I was thrown to the floor. A dry cough burst out.


    ¡°It¡¯s like the devil!¡±


    I coughed until tears ran out, but when I finally lifted my head, I saw Dylan, who was as far away from me with his sleeve covering his mouth and nose. I could see that the air around him had turned black.


    That seems to be the poison powder exhaled by a butterfly. A noticeably large amount of black powder was released from the red-spotted butterfly diligently flapping its wings. A butterfly with white spots fluttered through the dark powder and approached Dylan.


    You¡¯re trying to sting and paralyze.


    The moment I thought of that, Dylan quickly swung his hand. As the silver blade flashed, the butterfly with white spots split in two and scattered.


    ¡°Cunning tricks!¡±


    Meanwhile, the inside of the wagon was covered in thick poison powder. This was because the luggage compartment was covered with a tent and the air was not easily circulated even though it was not completely sealed. Whatever it was, Dylan was at a disadvantage.


    I struggled to get up. Then I threw the boxes nearby.


    Heavy wooden crates staggered and leaned towards Dylan. In addition to the rattling of the running wagon, the boxes lost their center and rolled.


    Crash!


    The boxes fell with a loud noise. Dylan, who had taken a step back to avoid it, was pushed back to the end of the luggage compartment in an instant. But he did not let go and held onto his center.


    He kicked the box that had fallen in front of him and pushed it out of the wagon. Then he slaughtered the poisonous butterfly. As before, the red-spotted butterfly was also broken and scattered like ashes.


    In the meantime, I clung to the new pile of boxes. It was the intention of pushing him and knocking him down again.


    ¡°The magic is over, Giselle Roycevin¡­ Ah!¡±


    Dylan, who was about to approach me, hurriedly backed away. At the same time, a bright magic circle appeared in the place where he was standing. A black shadow rose from the center of the glowing magic circle.


    ¡°This!¡±


    The sharp shadows rushed in as if they were going to pierce Dylan. Dylan struck it with his sword, but the shadows that immediately turned into three or four rushed towards him again. And at the same time, another shadow appeared like a whip and suddenly struck Dylan¡¯s shin.


    Dylan¡¯s body leaned back. The flapping fabric did not support him. Just at the same time, the wheel of the wagon bounced, and Dylan was thrown out of the wagon in an instant.


    ¡°Oh!¡±


    I covered my mouth with both hands and stared at the empty spot, then crawled up to the edge of it. The coachman, unaware that Dylan had been thrown out of the wagon, was moving the wagon roughly.


    Through the fluttering fabric, I could see his figure moving further and further away.


    I was staring blankly at it, when I heard a hoarse voice behind me.


    ¡°If you stay there, you roll down the same way.¡±


    Before I could understand the words, my body moved first. I looked up at him and his red eyes looked down at me while he stood.


    ¡°¡­Boss.¡±


    I barely spoke, but my throat stinged. The pain told me that I survived


    Leniel stood and stared at me with both hands in his pockets. He had the same feeling as usual, but his face was somehow cold.


    As I stared at him for a moment, I opened my mouth involuntarily.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to run away.¡±


    It stung every time I spat out a word, but more important than that was the fact that Leniel¡¯s eyes looked dangerous now. It¡¯s similar to the madness I saw the last time I was caught trying to run away.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t even kill the butterfly.¡±


    ¡°I know that too.¡±


    Do you really know? But why do you look so terrifying?


    ¡°In addition.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°You have something else to say.¡±


    Of course, I have more to say, but I honestly don¡¯t know if that¡¯s what Leniel was hoping for.


    ¡°Sorry for leaving the store¡­?¡±


    Oh, I guess this isn¡¯t it.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for bothering you, but I made you come¡­?¡±


    I don¡¯t know the answer, but I think it¡¯s close.


    ¡°Ah! Thank you for saving me!¡±


    This is it!


    Indeed, Leniel¡¯s eyebrows lost some strength. Looking up from below, I looked up at him, who looked more arrogant, then cleared my throat and carefully added my words.


    ¡°But strictly speaking, two butterflies threw themselves to save me before the boss came, so I think I should say thanks to those who ¡®really saved¡¯ me in a moment of crisis.¡±


    If the butterflies hadn¡¯t rushed in, I would have either suffocated or broke my neck before he arrived.


    ¡°The butterflies are my servants.¡±


    ¡°Did you make the butterflies protect me?¡±


    Leniel narrowed his eyes as I asked the question with my eyes wide open.


    ¡°No.¡±


    Well, in the end, it means that the butterflies helped me with their own judgment. How bad would it be to take away my thank-yous?


    As if my thoughts were clearly reflected on my face, Leniel said with a frown.


    ¡°Do you know how difficult magic is to warp over moving objects?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes. Thank you for coming. Thanks for your precious help, I don¡¯t know what to do with you. It has been a huge blessing.¡±


    It appeared after the butterfly died, there must have been some kind of signal.


    In the end, he came to this place not to save me, but more to the judgment that he had to check the situation because the butterflies were dead. And then he wanted me to say thank you.


    Of course, it¡¯s true that Leniel defeated Dylan. Still, somehow, I wasn¡¯t grateful.


    No. Let¡¯s not think like this. Because it was Leniel who gave me the butterflies, and in the end, I lived because of it, so I should thank Leniel. At least compared to Dylan Stasi, Leniel is an angel, an angel! By the way, why the hell was Dylan so¡­


    After all, Dylan is the main character.


    ¡°Could the man have died earlier?¡±


    He fell off a moving wagon, so would he be okay? What happens when the main character dies? No, he was trying to kill me, so the punishment is cheap, but at least it shouldn¡¯t go against the story too much, right?


    Leniel tilted his head belatedly as I was worried about his well-being.


    ¡°Are you going to check?¡±


    ¡°No! Is there someone else who can confirm he¡¯s dead?¡±


    Not me, but a villain!


    ¡°Okay? But you talk like someone else, ¡®Giselle¡¯. You used to not tolerate even a single scratch on him. I remember it was a great love.¡±


    I kept my mouth shut. Looking at Leniel¡¯s twinkling eyes, he seemed to want to catch the real me again. Looking at his attitude, he never asked me because he believed I was Giselle this time.


    I don¡¯t know why he¡¯s dragging and comparing old stories like that to a subject that he doesn¡¯t think is Giselle. Knowing that my mouth would never admit it.


    Because my personality is really bad.


    ¡°Ugh¡­crap¡­¡±


    What did Giselle call Dylan?


    I quickly shook my head. Giselle loved Dillon so much. She was pitifully obsessed with the word love. Even though the two of them were not in a relationship, ¡®Darling¡¯, ¡®My Love¡¯, ¡®Babe¡¯¡­


    Why is there only one like this, really? Efforts to soothe the desire to cry, I stuttered out the best title.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Hmmm, well¡­ Still, I can¡¯t stand a single scratch on him! If he gets hurt, I think my heart will rip!¡±


    Reminder: pls do not repost ANYWHERE smh

 Chapter 12

    1. I Will Refrain From the Death Penalty


    Episode 12


    Mixing a violent cough, I barely managed to talk, and then quickly finished my speech. Just in case I was forced to cough up a cough that didn¡¯t come out even after I finished speaking, I slowly rolled my eyes and looked at Leniel.


    As always, of course, I thought he would stand there with a smile and a face to see how far it goes, but for some reason, there was no smile on his face.


    Leniel, who looked at me with an ambiguous expression, suddenly turned around.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡±


    ***


    Leniel¡¯s magic was truly amazing. He warped into the alley of the general store at once with me.


    If he has such great black magic skills, how strong is Wayne Eyeore? I can¡¯t imagine.


    He must have been able to kill the male lead because he was so strong. I don¡¯t know how likely it is to end one¡¯s life by poisoning on such a subject. At that point, shouldn¡¯t there be a setting like that, like eating poison from a young age and developing a tolerance for it?


    ¡°Don¡¯t play around and get it sorted out.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Yes! But are you really going to move the store?¡±


    ¡°Yes. He found the location.¡±


    Leniel was sure Dylan wasn¡¯t dead. I, too, didn¡¯t think he was dead.


    He was the main character, but he wouldn¡¯t be so vain. It wasn¡¯t that the speed of the wagon was as fast as a sports car. Besides, he¡¯s also a trained knight. Maybe it ended up breaking his bones? Maybe he was seriously injured, but¡­


    ¡°When are you going to move all of this?¡±


    It¡¯s a general store, so there are a lot of items on display, but when do he get all of them? They¡¯re cursed items, so I tried not to touch it as much as possible.


    ¡°To be precise, I¡¯m going to warp all the items in this store, all at once, as they are.¡±


    I don¡¯t know much about black magic, but I know how absurd Leniel¡¯s words are now. But I didn¡¯t think he was making fun of me. Leniel was really serious about drawing magic circles on the floor of the shop.


    As I stared at Leniel, who was drawing a magic circle with an unknown red liquid, I decided to just trust him.


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°To the new store.¡±


    ¡°New store?¡±


    ¡°Originally, this general store has not been open in the same place for more than a year. It¡¯s a bit early, but I was thinking of moving soon, so it¡¯s good.¡±


    He was meticulously touching the magic circle with his fiery fingertips, but soon finished his work and got up. To move them all at once, I think he would have to draw a huge magic circle, but it was smaller than I thought.


    Glancing at the magic circle, I immediately turned my attention to packing. I felt a sense of exasperation as I had to pack each one in the box to avoid leaving even a single poison bottle. At first they were terrifying poisons, but now they are precious like my property.


    ¡°If we move it to the warp, it won¡¯t break, right? Should I add cushioning material? It¡¯s a wooden box, so if you make a mistake¡­ Oh, I saw that earlier!¡±


    When I saw the box, I remembered the person I had forgotten. The guy who lured me in and sold the box with me!


    ¡°I didn¡¯t even think about it before¡­ Hmm, hmm. I was deceived, right? There was a guy who sold me back then!¡±


    From now on, we¡¯ll have to talk without names.


    If Dylan went back to find the boy, I didn¡¯t know if Leniel would be sold, not me this time. I don¡¯t know how much the boy knows about Leniel, but if he¡¯s come to this store, he¡¯s probably got to know quite a bit about the world behind him.


    And I, who depend on Leniel for virtually everything, had to stop it.


    ¡°Yes. I know who he is.¡±


    I made a serious report in my own way, but the reply I got back was very easygoing. You knew?


    ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    ¡°It was delivered as soon as you were caught.¡±


    Wow, did you just sit and wait until I was strangled?


    Trembling with a sense of betrayal, Leniel, who was wiping his red wet hands with a handkerchief, glanced at me.


    ¡°So I wonder what happened to him?¡±


    What happened? How many hours have passed since the boy sold me?


    I looked at Leniel.


    ¡°Shall I show you?¡±


    It was very eerie to see him wiping the red liquid with a smile on his face.


    I forgot about it these days, but in fact, Leniel was an assassin who came to kill me. I shuddered at the new thought. That smile was somehow unusual.


    If it wasn¡¯t because he didn¡¯t come as soon as he heard that I was arrested, it was just because he was a bystander.


    With a smile on my face that was about to harden, I shook my head vigorously.


    ¡°¡­Nope.¡±


    ¡°Come here.¡±


    Leniel shook his head and called me. He still had a smile on his face, which made me even more scared. I frowned and tried to express my objection as much as possible with my whole body.


    ¡°No, I do not want to. I won¡¯t see you.My stomach is weak. I mean, I can¡¯t see scary things and I¡¯m weak.¡±


    ¡°I have no intention of showing you, so come here.¡±


    I stared at Leniel with suspicious eyes.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    As I got closer, Leniel relentlessly put his hand through the front where my hood and cloak met. His cold fingers suddenly wrapped around the nape of my neck. For a moment, I remembered being strangled by Dylan, and my shoulder tensed.


    It was Raniel¡¯s low murmur that stopped me from taking a step back involuntarily.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to bruise.¡±


    He tilted his head at an angle and looked at my neck. There was no force applied to the cold fingers, and it felt as if they were just sweeping the surface rather than grabbing them.


    It tickled and it was funny, so I shrugged by myself. At the same time, it felt good as my skin, which had been hot, seemed to cool down.


    In the meantime, it seems to have a bruise as Leniel said. I don¡¯t know how serious it is because I can¡¯t see the condition of my neck right now, but just by looking at Leniel¡¯s expression, I could tell that a prominent mark was left. Giselle¡¯s original skin is white, but it¡¯s easy to leave marks, so it¡¯ll be more noticeable.


    Tomorrow it might turn blue.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine since I escaped from being burned¡±


    ¡°Did he burn you?¡±


    Leniel¡¯s gaze was still fixed on the nape of my neck, even though I responded lightly. I didn¡¯t expect him to show so much interest in my injury, so I was embarrassed.


    I was choking for no reason and coughing in vain, but I replied gibberish.


    ¡°Well, he said something like annihilating demons. A demon to a sane person. He¡¯s such a devilish person.¡±


    ¡°Right? Isn¡¯t he a devilish bastard?¡±


    When I heard his words of sympathy, my emotions intensified.


    But, even thinking about it, he¡¯s a real bad guy! It was the eyes that saw the essence, and everything was a useless lie! A male protagonist who is good only to a female protagonist. After experiencing it firsthand, it was nothing more or less than a double personality!


    ¡°Yes! He was choking me so I couldn¡¯t speak and still threatened an answer from me like a complete madman¡­!¡±


    I spoke violently, then stopped.


    ¡­Oh, and Dylan was someone who Giselle loved so much that she never let him get a scratch.


    Leniel, who noticed me suddenly hardened, looked at me in the same posture he had been looking at my neck the whole time. When our eyes met, he showed his characteristic smirk.


    ¡°Now that I scratched that bastard, it won¡¯t break your heart. Right?¡±


    ¡°I guess so¡­.¡±


    ¡°Now, we should not call him ¡®honey¡¯ but a trashy name, right?¡±


    Oh, boss, that was annoying. If you don¡¯t want to hear it like that, just point it out outright, I don¡¯t know why you say it like this again and again.


    I raised the corners of my lips awkwardly.


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    His cold hand wrapped around my neck and fell off. A tingling sensation seemed to remain on my skin, so I gently rubbed it. Leniel then said, turning his body.


    ¡°Even if he has a broken leg, he is the one who will lead the soldiers down here tomorrow. So we have to move right away. Hold on a little longer. After I warp, we can rest.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m fine!¡±


    I almost died, but I wasn¡¯t seriously injured as much as I thought I was.


    Despite my answer, Leniel continued preparing for the warp without any response. I started organizing my luggage again. Thinking about the Dylan in the novel I read, it seems like he is going to lead the soldiers here tomorrow, just like Leniel said.


    And a few hours later, the magic circle was activated. When a dazzling white light erupted from the bright red magic circle, it finally colored my vision brilliantly.


    The landscape then changed.


    ***


    Enforcing large-scale movement magic seems to have been quite burdensome for Leniel as well. His face, which was usually pale, was so tired that no blood could be seen flowing. Cold sweat was dripping from his black hair that covered his forehead.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the room where you will be staying. Rest now.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the one who needs to rest now.¡±


    I retorted weakly, but to no avail.


    What if he falls down? If he falls down in a place where the luggage is not organized, he may bump his head into a box and get hurt more seriously.


    Reminder: pls do not repost ANYWHERE smh

 Chapter 13

    1. I Will Refrain From the Death Penalty


    Episode 13


    ¡°It¡¯s a temporary closure until we finish packing up, so go and sleep.¡±


    Leniel pushed me back into the room and shut the door before I even knew where this place was and the internal structure of the store. I was trapped in a bedroom, and I stood in front of the door, then gave up.


    ¡®What kind of power does an apprentice worker have? If your boss is resting, you should rest.¡¯


    The room was just the right size for a single person. On the contrary, it seemed to be much better than the room I had been in before. I wanted to take a closer look at the room I moved into, but when I sat on the bed, all those desires disappeared. Limbs naturally spread out on the bed.


    Only then did I admit it.


    ¡®I must have been really tired.¡¯


    The real tension was finally released, and the tiredness that had been neglected engulfed my whole body. I was in a rush to follow the events that swirled so quickly, and it was only when I was left alone in a safe place that I realized my condition, which I was unaware of.


    I was probably pretty scared.


    I clenched my fists as I looked at my trembling fingertips. I¡¯ve almost died so many times, but it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve felt it being so realistic like this. Because of the fact that it is in a novel or the fact that even if I eat poison, I will not die.  the surrounding environment that I was comfortable with suddenly felt unfamiliar.


    ¡°Fool.¡±


    It¡¯s okay, because I survived. It¡¯s enough to forget my situation and not be vigilant once, so don¡¯t act so defenseless in the future.


    I made a firm resolve and buried my face in the blanket. I have to wash and change clothes, but I don¡¯t have the motivation to do anything right now. My head became hazy and sleep quickly pressed me down.


    The last thought I had at the end of the fading consciousness was not to get away from Leniel.


    It would be the best way to save my life by just thinking of it as a lifelong job.


    ***


    (3rd person pov)


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? I can¡¯t believe he suddenly appeared there.¡±


    ¡°Did you find out?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s not dead.¡±


    Leniel, who nervously swept his bangs, glanced at the sweat drops on his palm. The red eyes shone coolly.


    ¡°He¡¯s a tough guy, so it¡¯s natural that he¡¯s not dead.¡±


    Leniel, who sat as if throwing himself on the sofa, tilted his head back.


    Vadro, an assistant to Leniel, who was standing across from him, carefully examined his condition. Glittering silver was seen from the roots of the disorganized black hair. Vadro asked with a dark face.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    He couldn¡¯t believe his hair color changed. Of course, it means that the sudden large-scale warp was a big burden for Leniel as well. Usually, he would use aids to replenish mana or call other wizards.


    Vadro looked back on what he had recognized.


    Originally, according to Dylan¡¯s schedule, he should have returned to the territory. But somehow he remained in the city, and even found out the location of Leniel¡¯s general store.


    From Vadro¡¯s point of view, of course, he had no choice but to doubt a spy. While he was trying to gauge where the information might have leaked in his head, Leniel ordered in an annoying voice.


    ¡°Get everyone out of town today. Say that if even one person is caught, they will be killed immediately.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Vadro immediately bowed down. Leniel, who had opened his eyes tightly, lifted his head and turned to look back at the person standing. It was a silver-haired man with a cape with colorful embroidery.


    ¡°Wayne, go to Barryfin. If you hold a few meetings right now, even that bastard will be able to come. I need to turn his attention.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    After answering in a thick, harsh voice, he immediately turned around. Vadro also retreated once.


    First of all, he needed to find the spy quickly.


    ¡°By the way, Leniel.¡±


    Vadro, who wanted to go out with Wayne, suddenly stopped and looked at him hesitantly. Then he cautiously raised the question.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the woman you brought, Giselle Roycevin? Why did you bring her?¡±


    Wasn¡¯t Leniel the one who went to see Giselle Roycevin while she was in prison with his own poison? She is a woman who is so cunning that she sacrificed a warlock, so Vadro didn¡¯t know what kind of whim Leniel had to bring her alive when he said that he had to deal with her himself.


    ¡®Was Giselle Roycevin¡¯s magic really successful? So, to use her as a test subject¡­?¡¯


    If that magic was really successful, it would be enough to understand Leniel¡¯s judgment. The Fall of the Stars is a ritual with such a slim chance of success that even warlocks are ridiculed for being absurd.


    If that successful work of magic exists, then all the wizards in the world will turn on their eyes and rush to study.


    Vadro was thinking deeply, and Leniel suddenly answered.


    ¡°She¡¯s an employee.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°She was hired.¡±


    ¡°Hired¡­¡±


    Vadro¡¯s face as he pondered the word ¡°hired¡± was still full of confusion. Leniel knew the question he was thinking, but had no intention of answering it. He used his magic to the extent that his hair color changed slightly, so everything was cumbersome and exhausting.


    ¡°Yes. Get used to it. She¡¯s weak and scared.¡±


    Giselle Roycevin? Weak and scared? That girl?


    Vadro showed it on his face as if he had no intention of hiding his thoughts.


    It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t understand why he was so surprised. Giselle Roycevin was a villain who was blinded by a man and persecuted and killed people by drawing on the power of her family.


    A woman who tried to gain strength by sacrificing the life of a black wizard due to the lack of innocent victims killed by her. She was a rare villain known to have escaped prison by surviving like a cockroach even after everything failed.


    If he took her to the street right away, there would be dozens of men who would run with a sword and say that they would kill her.


    ¡°Giselle Roycevin has already been wanted across the country. It would be more troublesome to have her with you.¡±


    If it weren¡¯t for the success, would there be no purpose in keeping her?


    At Vadro¡¯s words, Leniel smiled unexpectedly.


    ¡°She¡¯s going to protect my life, so I¡¯m going to cherish her too.


    ¡°That girl?¡±


    Leniel gave him answers, but Vadro raised his voice without realizing it. However, immediately after seeing Leniel¡¯s brow furrowed, he quickly added more words.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Leniel waved his hand as if to get out. In the end, the question was not resolved at all, and he turned around. Just as he was about to leave, Leniel, who was lying on the sofa with his eyes closed, exclaimed in a light tone.


    ¡°Ah, the probationary period is one month. She¡¯s nicknamed Mad Giselle, so call her that. She will love it.¡±


    Vadro felt like he didn¡¯t understand the language.


    ***


    He knew what Vadro was thinking without even asking.


    Leniel himself was surprised by his whims, so others will be shocked too.


    He had been lying on the sofa for a while even after Vadro had left, and he slowly got up. This was his mansion, and it was a safe place where he could rest right now if he wanted to.


    But instead of going to the bedroom, he stepped outside. The place where his steps were headed was the wine cellar.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t go out for a leisurely drink of wine. A butterfly flapping its wings in the deepest part of the wine cellar found Leniel and flew.


    ¡°Is the kid sleeping?¡±


    [Yes, it fell asleep!]


    ¡°So there¡¯s no tension.¡±


    Leniel, whipped his fingertips, completely forgetting the words that told him to rest. The hidden warp gate was revealed. It was a temporary gate that was hastily connected by two working monsters.


    Normally, he would have done the warp without any of these things, but he had no choice but to fine-tune his magic power.


    As he strode past the gate, the scenery around him quickly changed. Leniel soon entered the store, a mess of things.


    He made a way by shoving the box to the side with his toe, and he reached a room inside the store.


    The door was not locked separately. The front door and windows of the store were locked well, but she should be more careful. Leniel, who frowned at the easily opened door, looked inside the room.


    Giselle collapsed on the bed, sleeping as if dead. He told the butterflies that if he hadn¡¯t heard of her condition, he would have suspected that she had been raided.


    ¡°Giselle.¡±


    Naturally, she didn¡¯t hear Leniel¡¯s low call. With a hand in his pocket, he stood by the doorway.


    ¡°Giselle Roycevin has already been wanted across the country. It would be more troublesome to have her with you.¡±


    Without the worrisome Vadro¡¯s remarks, he would well have foreseen the nuisances she would go through.


    Giselle is nationally famous for being wanted. Even if it wasn¡¯t Dylan, there were so many people that hated her, and she was so weak that he immediately wondered if she could survive for three days if she went out on her own.


    [Lord, shall we stay here and protect it?]


    Butterflies flew around Leniel. After thinking for a moment, he nodded his head.


    Maintaining the monsters means that the mana is continuously consumed. It was not a good choice in the current situation. However, she is in an unstable state right now because she is directly at the store, so he had no choice.


    ¡°Until she wakes up.¡±


    For now, he¡¯ll just have to continue using his mana for the butterflies.


    [Is it okay if I don¡¯t let her die as you ordered before?]


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Even as he gave his orders, Leniel himself still didn¡¯t understand. Why doesn¡¯t he want to let this woman die?


    So far, he¡¯s been avoiding collisions with Dylan as much as possible. This time, Giselle was caught by Dylan. Is her life worth that much?


    It was a question that could not be answered no matter how much he thought about it. He eventually pushed back his troubling thoughts and made his way to bed.


    He laid Giselle upright and covered her with a duvet, and looked at her sleeping face.


    ¡°I¡¯ll find out if I leave it alone.¡±


    There¡¯s nothing he can do. Since he still doesn¡¯t know yet, he had no choice but to keep watching her by his side.

 Chapter 14

    2. The Villain¡¯s Lair is Safe


    Episode 14


    Sweat was glistening on his naked upper body. The man, wrapped in bandages, bit a bundle of cloth to hold back the pain.


    A bright yellow light exploded, and he groaned as his broken bones went to its place. As he endured the pain, blood shone from the wrinkled fabric.


    After going through the same process several times, the treatment was finally over. The man who threw the cloth he was biting on beside him let out a long sigh and shook his head. The woman who had finished the healing magic wiped the cold sweat on his forehead with a cold wet towel.


    ¡°The villain has teamed up with the wizard again.¡±


    The hand that was carefully wiping came to a halt. The woman, who had been biting her lip, looked up at the man with her worried eyes.


    ¡°Dylan¡­¡±


    ¡°Viviana, you are going to the estate.¡±


    At Dylan¡¯s resolute voice, Viviana hardened her expression.


    ¡°I will move with you.¡±


    ¡°No. Did you forget how many times she nearly killed you?¡±


    Viviana set the wet towel down beside her. Sitting next to Dilloylan, she said sensibly.


    ¡°They said she was different.¡±


    Rumors that Giselle was crazy in the prison spread through the mouths of the soldiers guarding the prison gates. They said that for a few days, she had been visited by assassins, but she didn¡¯t die. Instead, she went crazy and acted like a different person with each passing day, she said. After the escape from prison was known, everyone said, ¡°That¡¯s right, it was all acting to escape!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not different, she¡¯s crazy. It got worse.¡±


    ¡°Did you think she was crazy? You have met her in person.¡±


    At Viviana¡¯s words, Dylan stopped what he was about to say. Viviana gazed cautiously at Dylan, who was pensive in his thoughts with a slight frown.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know because it was short.¡±


    Viviana sighed at his blunt response. Then she patted Dylan¡¯s hand.


    ¡°I might be able to purify the woman she is now.¡±


    ¡°There is only one way to purify the soul encroached on by black magic. To completely annihilate with the flame of purification.¡±


    ¡°Dylan, you have to give her a chance to be forgiven by god.¡±


    ¡°Then what if you¡¯re in danger again?¡±


    Their eyes met, and Viviana bit her lips. Viviana has already crossed the threshold of her death several times trying to trust Giselle. And yet, she says she wants to trust Giselle, so how can he not worry about Viviana?


    Dylan patted Viviana on the back and said in a calm voice.


    ¡°Viviana. If you don¡¯t let it go, it will get worse. You know that girl¡¯s obsession. She¡¯s holding her breath for a while now, but soon she¡¯ll commit bigger evil. She has already lost her right to go to god¡¯s side. Don¡¯t use your power on a woman like that.¡±


    ¡°Dylan. I feel sorry for her¡­¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not even worthy of pity. I¡¯ll figure it out on my own.¡±


    Viviana whispered softly as she looked at Dylan with teary eyes.


    ¡°You have to be careful. I don¡¯t want you to get hurt.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°And¡­ Don¡¯t you know about Leniel?¡±


    Dylan¡¯s expression hardened at her cautious question. He lifted his hand from Viviana and picked up his top that he had taken off beside her, and replied bluntly.


    ¡°No¡­ I do not know.¡±


    ¡°¡­Where the hell is Leniel and what is he doing?¡±


    Viviana¡¯s longing was buried in her sighing murmur. Dylan glanced at Viviana, then tightened his cloak and left the room first.


    ¡°You are leaving tomorrow.¡±


    ***


    Villains were seen here and there.


    All the villains that I only read about are here!


    ¡°Giselle Roycevin?¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­ I feel like I¡¯m seeing a celebrity.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    This man in front of me was Sullien, a villain who survived quite a long time in his work. One of Wayne¡¯s subordinates was a doctor who mainly studied drugs. He is also a severe drug addict.


    He looked like a child of presbyopia because he stopped growing up since he took the wrong medicine when he was young, but he was actually an old adult. In the original work, while trying to do a biological experiment on Viviana, Dylan caught him and he probably died.


    The tall, skinny man behind him must have been Gilbert. As a magician, he had below average skills in Dark Clouds in terms of black magic, but he was a hard worker who filled the shortcomings with sword techniques. I don¡¯t know why he¡¯s standing there when he said he was an escort who always protected Wayne¡¯s back.


    In addition, that middle-aged woman in the corner is probably Windria. With such a fierce impression, reddish brown short hair, it was exactly what I imagined while reading. Wayne¡¯s right arm, which is a barrier with Vadro!


    When I met quite a number of significant supporting actors in the original, I was thrilled.


    Wow, this world was really in ¡ºPoison Apple¡»! There are supporting actors in front of me! Just like the descriptions!


    When I met the male protagonist, I was surprised and scared because it felt somewhat unrealistic, but they were villains in supporting roles, so I didn¡¯t feel burdened.


    ¡°They said you were crazy. It was real.¡±


    Standing tall with my hands covering my mouth, I came to my senses only after listening to Sullien. No, it¡¯s surprising and fascinating.


    ¡°Why are you here¡­?¡±


    I¡¯m just out to browse the new store, so why are these people in a general store that isn¡¯t even open?


    ¡°I guess she knows who we are¡±.


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Following Windria¡¯s murmur, Gilburt nodded with Sullien. Come to think of it, did they not know Giselle Roycevin?


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying¡­¡±


    The eyes of the three were on me. It is true that Giselle Roycevin joined hands with a black wizard, but it seems that she had no contact with others.


    As expected, I shouldn¡¯t pretend to know. At times like this, pretend you don¡¯t know!


    ¡°You looked so much like someone I knew! I was mistaken! Hahaha!¡±


    My facial muscles hurt from laughing as cheerfully as possible. You can¡¯t see my mouth shaking, right? I quickly turned around and changed the subject.


    ¡°But how did you come in when the store didn¡¯t open? We¡¯re not open yet.¡±


    As soon as I finished talking, a middle-aged man suddenly appeared in a corner.


    ¡°It¡¯s true that you were hired.¡±


    ¡°What? Oh!¡±


    My jaw almost dropped without realizing it, but I showed my quickness and bit my tongue. I teared up at the pain spreading, but thanks to that, I could pretend not to know.


    Oh, my. It¡¯s Vadro, Wayne¡¯s aide! The evil black wizard!


    I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s him. Is there a meeting with Wayne¡¯s men? Is Wayne Eyeore coming too¡­?!


    ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m the owner of this building, Vadro.¡±


    Wow, it¡¯s the owner of the building.


    ¡°Hello¡­¡±


    After greeting at a loss, I looked at the atmosphere. I think everyone knows except for me. It would be natural to know because everyone is Wayne¡¯s subordinates, but apparently, they didn¡¯t gather by chance.


    ¡®I guess there¡¯s really a meeting.¡¯


    No matter how much I look at it, I think Leniel should be here, not me. Where did this human being disappear after moving his luggage?


    ¡°You¡¯re a trainee at a general store.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes.¡±


    ¡°The probation period is one month.¡±


    Trying to nod inadvertently, I opened my eyes roundly. Why does the owner of the building know my probation period?


    ¡°Your nickname is Crazy Giselle. Is that right?¡±


    ¡­Leniel, I don¡¯t know what the hell you said to the owner of the building, but I¡¯ll cancel everything I said about thank you for saving me.


    As I grinded my teeth inside, I tried hard to smile for external use.


    ¡°Just Giselle.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re crazy Giselle¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not crazy¡±.


    At my firm rebuttal, the three villains who were listening to our conversation behind Vadro whispered. They seem to have lowered their voices, but I could hear them all.


    ¡°When I heard the rumor, I thought it was acting.¡±


    Behind Windria¡¯s murmur, Sullien asked.


    ¡°Did she get hit on the head in prison?¡±


    ¡°Maybe she took the wrong medicine.¡±


    Gilburt, who was described as tacit in the description, answered. Then Sullien sighed deeply and hit his knee with his small hand.


    ¡°If she took the wrong medicine, she wouldn¡¯t be like that.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    I didn¡¯t even have the energy to correct them, so I just waved my hand and told Vadro.


    ¡°¡­Feel free to call me that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, crazy Giselle.¡±


    Wow, I almost cursed at the owner of the building.


    I was calming down my heart, but Vadro continued to look at the documents in his hand.


    ¡°I called these people. You have to organize your things.¡±


    Since when did the owner of the building even call workers to organize the tenant¡¯s luggage? Is the concept of this world a little different from what I know?


    When I stared at Vadro, wondering if he was joking, he looked at me with a strange face as if what was the problem.


    Looking at him like this, he¡¯s a really good man, but why did he act so wickedly in the novel? I wanted to ask, but if I did, ¡®Crazy Giselle¡¯ would really become a new word in this world, so I put up with it.


    Instead, I expressed another question.


    ¡°Are you going to organize the luggage with them?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Vadrow was talking exactly about the trio of villains.


    When did those people start working at the moving center?


    Clicking my lips, I pointed out a very basic problem.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t even say hello, let alone hear the names.¡±


    Vadro¡¯s eyebrows rose upwards at the words that they haven¡¯t even said hello. He looked back at the villains who were watching this way.


    ¡°What did you do without saying hello?¡±


    ¡°We just met.¡±


    Sullien shrugged his shoulders and responded in a tone of regret. Then he poked his head to the side and waved his hand towards me.


    ¡°Hey, crazy Giselle!¡±


    ¡°Too long. I¡¯ll just call you Giselle.¡±


    When Windria finished her muffled words, Gilburt nodded his head.


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ But what can I call you?¡±


    Then they spoke their names again and again. I already knew it, but it was really amazing to hear it with their own mouth.


    Wow, the supporting actors in the novel are in front of me.

 Chapter 15

    2. The Villain¡¯s Lair is Safe


    Episode 15


    But I was restless. Vadro nagged and the villains looked around the store and whined about when they were going to organize all this.


    If I hadn¡¯t read the novel, I would never have believed they were Wayne Eyeore¡¯s evil entourages.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re the owner of the building? Do you get in touch with our boss?¡±


    ¡°¡­Just call me Vadro. And what about the boss?¡±


    ¡°Ah, Leniel. No, Mr. Leniel.¡±


    ¡°I heard that he will not be able to come out for a while due to urgent work. In the meantime, I¡¯ve been asked to clean up the store a bit. He said Mad Giselle would not be able to even touch things properly because she was timid and weak, so I called some helpers.¡±


    Knowing that I¡¯m timid and weak, it seems that Leniel really had something to say to Vadro and left. Even if he didn¡¯t, I was worried about how to organize all the cursed items by myself, so I decided to just empty my mind and get their help.


    By the way, their appearances were the same as the descriptions in the novel, but it seems that the characters actually have dual personalities. Dylan was the same.


    At this point, I had reasonable doubts. Are there any normal people in this world?


    ***


    The cleanup went faster than expected. Surprisingly, the three villains were very diligent and helped organize the luggage.


    Furthermore, they asked me this and that because they were so curious about it. ¡®What did you go crazy for?¡¯, ¡®How did you get to work at this general store?¡¯, ¡®Is it true that you met Dylan in person?¡¯.


    I thought that all the villains would be unsocial and gloomy, but through their closeness and affinity, I also realized that they were all prejudiced.


    As much as possible, I answered all that I could honestly. I thought it would be beneficial in many ways to cooperate and be friendly. I don¡¯t necessarily have to work under Wayne, but it wouldn¡¯t hurt to be friendly with Wayne¡¯s people.


    And above all else, these three villains were residents of the same building as me.


    The unlicensed medical center for villains operated by Sullien was right next door to our general store, the laboratory Windria used was upstairs in the general store, and the place where Gilbert slept was right next door.


    Well, I¡¯m glad it¡¯s safe from Dylan¡¯s threat.


    ¡°By the way, there is no medicine to get rid of bruises.¡±


    Sullian muttered as he saw the bruises on the back of my neck. Windria, who had been concentrating on arranging the curse items by color on the display case, looked at me and said,


    ¡°Curse magic won¡¯t work, and I don¡¯t have any white magic to help either.¡±


    I also know that the only thing that black magic cannot do is heal. Also, the only thing that white magic can¡¯t do is curse.


    Not expecting treatment, I shrugged insignificantly.


    ¡°It will go away.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Gilburt shook his head briefly, as if in disagreement. Then he added a brief explanation in a thick voice.


    ¡°His mana is similar to white magic.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s poison for people like us. Dirty white magic.¡±


    Sullien frowned and added an explanation.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    If it¡¯s poison, won¡¯t that power work not work on me?


    I thought about it for a moment, but then I shook my head. Because poison and mana are completely different.


    Mana is the intangible power used by knights, similar to the magic of wizards. The other part is that while magic is an innate talent, mana is a power that overwhelmingly requires acquired effort.


    In the novel, it is said that Viviana, the female lead, helped Dylan train, and the two naturally became similar in strength.


    Naturally, it was a power that was the opposite of the villains, and it was a set procedure for the two main characters to become antagonists to the villains. If ¡ºPoison Apple¡» had been a little more hopeful and popular novel, the main characters would have defeated all the villains and eventually won.


    But, this novel was a waste.


    Anyway, even if Dylan¡¯s mana have the properties of white magic, would that have a big impact on me?


    ¡°You¡¯re not a wizard, so would it be okay if you had a polaroid personality?¡±


    ¡°You signed a contract with a wizard and tried magic?¡±


    ¡°Your body must have been stained with that power to some extent.¡±


    Oh, that¡¯s right.


    I inadvertently rubbed my neck. Now, when I swallow something or touch the nape of my neck with my hand, I feel a tingling pain. When I looked in the mirror for a moment earlier, there were clear finger marks, along with red and purple bruises.


    You don¡¯t know how upset I was because the condition was more serious than I thought. Just by looking at the bones, I could hardly believe it had been fractured anywhere.


    I thought it was all because of Dylan¡¯s grip, but did he even use mana to strangle me?


    ¡°Still, it¡¯s not broken¡­¡±


    It¡¯s like a bruise.


    As I was immersed in a rather carefree thought, Sullien, who was still looking at the nape of my neck, shook his head and clicked his tongue.


    ¡°You ignorant bastard. After all, there are no good people who are close to white magicians. Even so, how can you strangle a crazy person like that?¡±


    You seem to be on my side, but why aren¡¯t you happy?


    ¡°The rumors spread that he was crazy and quiet, but if you dare to find him and try to kill him, his temper is garbage. You worked hard, Giselle.¡±


    ¡°Well.¡±


    Windrea and Gilbert also helped curse Dylan. To be precise, Gilburt just nodded and sympathized with it, but anyway.


    They were on the side of Giselle Roycevin, who will be beaten to death wherever she goes, not the righteous knight Dylan. I¡¯m glad I made it to the den of the villains!


    ¡°Honestly, he has a really bad personality.¡±


    ¡°Still, none of the wizards survived to face Dylan, and I was lucky.¡±


    At Windria¡¯s words, I rubbed the goosebumps on my forearm.


    In the novel, Dylan¡¯s past was explained to the extent of simply ¡®making the wizards tremble¡¯, but seeing the reactions of these three villains now, it seems that he had a reputation as a vicious man among the villains. I think I can understand the reason from the point of view of meeting him in person.


    ¡°He must have blue blood. Right, Gilbert?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to catch him later and draw his blood.¡±


    ¡°Then you will die, Sullien.¡±


    ¡°Windria, you want his corpse too!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s going to be hard to get a body like that. But I don¡¯t want to become a corpse while trying to get a corpse.¡±


    As I listened to their unusual conversation, I laughed awkwardly.


    ¡®It¡¯s good to fight, but I want you to put down the bottle you¡¯re holding. Every time you wave your hand, the eyeballs inside it spin around.¡¯


    Isabelle left, so this time I made eye contact with the eyeballs in that glass bottle.


    ¡°¡­It.¡±


    I was looking into my eyes without realizing it, and suddenly Gilburton spoke to me. Gilbert¡¯s gaze fell on my hand.


    ¡°Take it. Throw it at Dylan.¡±


    What I was holding was an ominously cloudy marble. A small curse aid item that spreads a powder that makes you see bad illusions when you break it. Surely this will give me an opportunity to escape.


    But what Gilbert was forgetting was the fact that these beads were sold in general stores. Although it looks small, it was quite expensive. I¡¯m still a trainee at this general store.


    Making the employees steal? And so openly too!


    ¡°It¡¯s best just not to meet him again.¡±


    I replied and arranged the marbles in the box.


    ¡°But it will be difficult.¡±


    Sullien, who was having an argument with Windria, interrupted.


    ¡°Would Dylan be that tenacious?¡±


    ¡°How toxic is he? He¡¯s a kid who is famous for seeing to the end once he¡¯s got himself involved in it.¡±


    Of course, I remember how just Dylan was in the novel. Besides, when he strangled me¡­


    ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    I made a mistake¡­


    I lowered my gaze sullenly. Why did I say something like that, like seeing the essence? I was stupid, really. If I hadn¡¯t said that, I would have asserted that Dylan wouldn¡¯t forcefully find me where I was hiding.


    The eye for seeing the essence was Dylan¡¯s secret, which was revealed almost at the end. So, it¡¯s kind of a secret weapon, and I¡¯m stating that I know how great it is.


    I just gave him a reason to kill me. Even though I was being stupid, I had nothing to say.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We won¡¯t let that happen.¡±


    Perhaps because she felt sorry for my slumped gesture, Windria gave me a word of consolation.


    Is this the kind of friendship between residents? Sullien nodded his head in agreement.


    ¡°Because you¡¯re the only general store employee.¡±


    General store employee¡­ I¡¯m a general store employee, so you¡¯re going to save me? That was a bit odd.


    I frowned and thought about it subtly, but there was nothing I could guess. I remember that there was not even a single line in the novel about general stores that sell cursed goods.


    ¡°Is this general store famous?¡±


    ¡°Famous? There is probably no wizard who doesn¡¯t covet things in this general store.¡±


    This store is famous? It¡¯s a bit too small for that.


    Rather, a well-known alley restaurant would be more appropriate. Such a small restaurant with only five tables inside, where you wait in line from dawn. Wouldn¡¯t Leniel be rich?


    While I was deep in thought, Sullian shook his head and muttered to himself.


    ¡°I thought he was crazy because he hired her.¡±


    ¡°You would probably die if you said that.¡±


    After Windria responded with her sneering voice, she looked at me and spoke in a firm tone.


    ¡°Anyways, we will protect you from dying. All three of us are strong.¡±

 Chapter 16

    2. The Villain¡¯s Lair is Safe


    Episode 16


    Instead, she added, ¡°I can¡¯t say you won¡¯t get hurt,¡± adding, ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal.¡±


    I felt a little puzzled.


    Not to die? Me?


    ¡°Besides, Gilbert has a knack for protecting people.¡±


    Gilbert nodded reliably. Sullien also spoke as if he was kind.


    ¡°If you¡¯re scared, you can run away to the clinic. In particular, I will show you the hidden room of the clinic.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I can stay fit.¡±


    Windria said indifferently as she waved her hand.


    ¡°If adults say they will protect you, say thank you. Oh, of course, Sullien is a little too old to be called an adult.¡±


    ¡°Windria!¡±


    The facial expressions of the villains who said they would protect me too calmly were serious enough to pass as a joke.


    I was silent because I couldn¡¯t tell what to react, but Sullien suddenly raised his voice with a puzzled face.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    I wondered what was wrong with me, so I stared at him, and I suddenly felt my vision blurred. When I blinked a couple of times, tears flowed from my eyes.


    Oh, no.


    Realizing that a bit late, I hurriedly wiped them off. Windria and Gilburt looked at me with surprised eyes.


    Fortunately, it did not flow to a point where it could not be recovered. I coughed and warmed up my stuffy throat, and I tried to speak in a light tone.


    ¡°This is actually¡­ It¡¯s the first time someone said they would protect me¡­¡±


    ¡°You grew up in the Roycevin family.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why¡­ After the family went bankrupt. After I failed¡­¡±


    Windria clicked her tongue when she made an excuse waving her hands.


    ¡°Dylan must have been so intimidating that the evil Giselle Roycevin became weak?¡±


    Sullien also looked at me with pity and said kindly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s safe here.¡±


    They told me not to worry. As I tried to answer that I knew, but I burst into tears again. Windria and Sullien began to swear at him in earnest, citing Dylan¡¯s wickedness and cruelty.


    Gilburt nodded and repeatedly responded to the two. It was funny, so I laughed while crying.


    The luggage arrangement was a little delayed, but it was okay. Somehow, I think I have the courage to touch the curse items with my hands.


    ***


    Sometimes, it was hard to handle myself.


    No matter how many times I took care of myself, I didn¡¯t get used to it. So I had to let it get into a habit because there was no one to take care of me.


    Let¡¯s just live as hard as others do. So that I won¡¯t stand out too much.


    Sometimes the reality of taking care of me is too much, but nevertheless, I had to do everything myself to survive.


    From when I hurriedly woke up in the morning and went to school to when I changed to work. In order to live, I shouldn¡¯t expect anyone to take care of me for breakfast.


    I worked out hard because I couldn¡¯t be sick. If I¡¯m sick, I¡¯ll go to the hospital immediately, or at least get something at the pharmacy, because I have to take care of myself.


    I just lived like that. Taking care of myself day by day was the biggest and greatest thing. Perhaps Giselle wanted to summon such a being. Being who could somehow survive alone.


    Left alone after losing everything, she may have really, purely hoped to live.


    Staring blankly in the mirror, I stammered on the back of my neck. The clearly positioned bruise made ¡°Giselle Roycevin¡± even more miserable. If a person who doesn¡¯t know that Giselle is a wicked woman saw it, it is clear that they would misunderstand her as a woman with a very poor and sad story.


    ¡°It was an incomplete spell, so there was a much higher risk of being eaten by the summoned one.¡±


    Did Giselle get eaten by me? Did I get summoned to the world to work hard instead of Giselle?


    After removing the mirror, I pulled up my scarf to cover my neck. My complicated mind was still not organized, but I couldn¡¯t be this droopy forever.


    I was done organizing my luggage, and I was obligated to open the store as the only employee of this store!


    I took a deep breath.


    ¡°Good. I have to move to make money!¡±


    ¡°Money is earned only when I pay you a salary.¡±


    ¡°Oh my god!¡±


    I screamed. Looking back with a frightened face, I met Leniel¡¯s pathetic eyes.


    I left the door intact and he came from the warp again!


    ¡°Make some noise! If I die of a heart attack, I won¡¯t take care of the store!¡±


    When I protested, Leniel stood cross-arm.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t notice me because you were slow. Everyone else knew.¡±


    ¡°Who else?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve met them. Vadro, Sullien, Windria, Gilburt.¡±


    I¡¯m not comparing myself to those people personally¡­


    Looking at Leniel with a shivering expression, I couldn¡¯t help but grumble.


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s worth living now.¡±


    ¡°The store¡¯s luggage was organized quickly, and I rested well in my room at other times. But I guess the owner was sick.¡±


    His face looked pale as always. It didn¡¯t hurt his beauty though.


    I thought his condition looked a little bad since we moved here. Was it a problem to use a lot of mana all at once?


    ¡°I heard you cried.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You cried out of emotion when they said they¡¯d protect you¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Why are the people here so light-mouthed?


    I shook my head covering my ears. But Leniel didn¡¯t stop talking.


    ¡°When I saved you, you said thank you forcibly. But you cried for them?¡±


    It was a voice that expressed the feeling of disgust. I glanced at Leniel¡¯s face.


    Certainly, I should be responsible for making Leniel¡¯s face look worn out like that. If I hadn¡¯t been caught by Dylan, he wouldn¡¯t have come after me like that, and he wouldn¡¯t have used a bunch of mana to move in a hurry.


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m most grateful to the boss¡­¡±


    ¡°Thank you, but why aren¡¯t you crying?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ There needs to be a vibe to it!¡±


    Leniel didn¡¯t seem to accept my defense properly. But without further pointing out, he sighed and raised one hand. Sparkling black magic swirled from his fingertips. The fast-combined magic created a familiar form.


    ¡°Butterflies!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not kill them this time.¡±


    ¡°What? I didn¡¯t. Dylan killed them.¡±


    However, it was true that they were in such a situation because of me, so my voice was not very confident. Two butterflies circled and flew by me, hesitating.


    Meeting again like this was certainly a relief. In addition, when I saw them approaching me afterwards, I didn¡¯t think they hated me for that incident.


    While grinning and trying to immerse myself in the pretty wings of the butterfly, I heard Leniel¡¯s voice.


    ¡°The red one is Ren.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°White guy is Half.¡±


    Looking at him with puzzled eyes, I soon realized that what he said was the names of these butterflies.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t know the name of them, you can¡¯t communicate.¡±


    Dazedly, I alternated between the two butterflies, and Leniel squinted and added.


    ¡°I heard you scolded them for not communicating with you.¡±


    ¡°When did I do that?¡±


    I¡¯ve complained a few times, but I¡¯ve never been mean!


    I jumped and expressed my innocence with my whole body, but Leniel didn¡¯t seem to believe it at all. This was really unfair. When did I scold them?


    ¡°Ren? Half?¡±


    As I quickly turned to the butterflies, the butterflies flying around me came a little closer.


    At the same time as I called their names, the butterfly¡¯s wings sparkled. A voice that had never been heard before entered my head. It was a buzzing sound as if talking in a cave.


    [We warned you and you said we¡¯re mating.]


    [We don¡¯t know how to mate.]


    [Dummy.]


    [You didn¡¯t understand our words. Fool.]


    Wow, look at all these butterflies talking¡­


    As I looked at the butterfly with my mouth wide open and puzzled eyes, Leniel laughed out loud.


    ¡°Say thanks, which you couldn¡¯t back then because you didn¡¯t understand them.¡±


    I will not do it!


    ***


    After the shocking communication with the butterflies, Leniel kept me beside him while I was briefly out of my mind. Then, he urged me to go out, saying I didn¡¯t have to do business today. Having learned from a few experiences that the outside of the general store was a more wild world than I thought, I wanted to be as safe as possible, but I didn¡¯t have a choice.


    Come to think of it, I needed to know what kind of city I moved into. If you look at the villains gathered in one building, the city itself may be a den for villains.


    I thought it would be located in a dark alley like the previous place, but as soon as I went out of the door, a wide, crowded, and colorful street appeared. Even right in front was the intersection. The perfect downtown area was the center.


    ¡°What? Why do you like the store so much?¡±


    It was a better environment than an urban security station in front of the store, but can we stay on the street so openly as villains?


    ¡°It¡¯s the busiest place in the city.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s obvious.¡±


    ¡°The grocery store next door is famous for its fresh fruits.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    ¡°The next store is Van Hel¡¯s biggest snack shop.¡±


    ¡°Oh my!¡±


    ¡°That small shop next to the snack shop specializes in lemonade. It¡¯s run by the owner¡¯s daughter, and if you buy snacks at the snack shop, you can get a discount.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s perfect.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sometimes a merchant who sells sausages comes to the general store. It¡¯s on a first-come, first-served basis, so if you want to eat it, you have to get it fast. Well, it¡¯ll appear right in front of you, so you can¡¯t not know.¡±


    ¡°How great¡­¡±

 Chapter 17

    2. The Villain¡¯s Lair is Safe


    Episode 17


    When I tried to cover my mouth and be thrilled without realizing it, Leniel added comfortably.


    ¡°You won¡¯t be bored.¡±


    While listening to him as if possessed, I finally came to my senses.


    No, it¡¯s nice because there¡¯s a lot to eat around.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the problem.¡±


    ¡°You were bored and tried to die, right?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to die. I was bored. But is it really okay? We¡¯re villains. Don¡¯t city guards patrol often in downtown areas like this?¡±


    When I thought of the passers-by and lowered my voice, Leniel glanced at me. There was no sense of crisis on his smiley face.


    ¡°The name of this city is Van Hell. It¡¯s a place that¡¯s quite far from the previous city.¡±


    ¡°Van Hell¡­¡±


    There were not so many cities in the original. Among them, there was definitely Van Hell. When did it appear?


    Obviously, after the conspiracy about Dark Cloud was revealed, Van Hell was the place the main characters pointed out while preparing for the final fight. Because Van Hell¡­


    ¡°The boss, right?¡±


    When I saw Leniel with wide eyes, he nodded insignificantly.


    ¡°As expected, you know.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to introduce me?¡±


    At my astonishing question, Leniel paused. Looking down at me for a moment, he frowned and said.


    ¡°Be honest with me. How much do you know about Wayne Eyeore?¡±


    ¡°As much as others know?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Of course, I know a little about the future, but that doesn¡¯t mean I know his personal information.¡±


    Since the novel focused on the emotional lines of the two main characters, many of the settings were omitted. There were many points that were ignored without speculating or thinking about the probability with a little hint.


    The same was true of Wayne Eyeore, a villain. I only knew that he was a silver-haired handsome man, strong enough to survive to the end of the novel, and was later poisoned by Viviana because he murdered Dylan. In addition, the small settings were revealed when colliding with the main characters.


    ¡°You know the future of those important people.¡±


    Leniel paused for a moment. Then he hinted and asked.


    ¡°Do those important people include Dylan Stasi?¡±


    The voice was soft, but the eyes looking at me were cold. After swallowing dry saliva, I nodded slowly.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Really? Then what happens to him later? Is he poisoned too?¡±


    Can I tell Leniel this?


    After hesitating, I replied back so quietly that he could barely hear me.


    ¡°It was a murder.¡±


    In this downtown area, whenever there was a story of someone being murdered, no one cared. Van Hell was home to Wayne Eyeore.


    The prerequisite for living in this city was to be a criminal. It was a city where only criminals, big or small, could enter. There was also an implicit agreement not to fight each other in this city.


    Instead of accepting all criminals in the world, Wayne Eyeore presented only one rule to mediate them: expel those who made a noticeable fuss for whatever reason.


    Thus, the people of this city were not interested in each other. It was the only city they could travel around without worrying about being arrested, so they don¡¯t want to be deported.


    However, it felt different when I stood on the streets of Van Hell myself and experienced the indifference of passers-by in the busiest place. I realized how lawless this huge criminal city was.


    ¡°To whom?¡±


    Standing blankly, I raised my eyes. Leniel continued to ask questions as if he were choosing a meal menu. Who is Dylan being murdered by?


    ¡°Wayne. Wayne Eyeore.¡±


    The moment I thought his eyes were cool, the man smiled brightly as if in full bloom. I could see the sparkling red eyes overflowing with joy. I looked at the figure as if possessed.


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s his future.¡±


    Mumbling in a pleasant voice, he turned around. While being wary, I carefully followed him.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°Restaurant.¡±


    With a grinning face, Leniel glanced at me.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you hungry?¡±


    Since I was hungry, I followed Leniel.


    I didn¡¯t understand why he was so happy to hear that Dylan was going to be murdered, but I didn¡¯t try hard to think about it. I guess Leniel hated Dylan a lot, since he was one of the main enemies of black wizards.


    I thought it would be good for my mental health to understand and move on that way.


    ***


    I was happier than I thought that no one cared about me even if I walked comfortably on the street.


    Of course, thanks to Giselle¡¯s notoriety, I felt like they recognized my face, but that was it. I was treated as one of the common villains on the street. How can I be so free?


    ¡°From now on, Van Hell is my second hometown¡­¡±


    On the way, I ate as much as I wanted at the restaurant, bought snacks for dessert, and went back. I walked lightly, expressing my full happiness with my whole body.


    If I stayed here alone, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be worried about my life. It would be perfect to work diligently like this, save money, get a branch later, and prepare for retirement.


    ¡°Where is your first hometown?¡±


    ¡°A place.¡±


    You wouldn¡¯t know even if I told you. I hummed and walked ahead, and suddenly, Leniel pulled my arm.


    ¡°What?¡±


    I almost dropped the snack I was holding.


    Before  I could complain, a carriage quickly passed by in front of my eyes. It was clear that if Leniel hadn¡¯t pulled me, I would have been hit hard.


    I stopped breathing in surprise. As I was looking at the carriage moving away, Leniel smiled and said.


    ¡°If you get hit by a carriage, it¡¯s the fault of the person who got hit.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°So take care of yourself, because no one will investigate it.¡±


    ¡°But if you make a fuss here, you¡¯ll be deported, right?¡±


    ¡°If you make a fuss.¡±


    Leniel dragged me and put me firmly next to him.


    ¡°That means, if you ask quietly, no one will care.¡±


    Van Hell was a lawless area, a den of evil, and the home of Wayne Eyeore. I realized the weight of the word again.


    ¡­I¡¯ll cancel what I said was my second hometown.


    ¡°As expected, general stores are the safest.¡±


    After shaking, I got as close to Leniel as possible. Leniel laughed at me, but didn¡¯t shake me off from his arm.


    ¡°When you go out, take Gilburton with you.¡±


    ¡°Gilburt? Isn¡¯t he the escort of the boss?¡±


    ¡°Is he like that? He¡¯s Wayne¡¯s escort?¡±


    ¡°¡­Well, I thought so.¡±


    ¡°According to the information you know, Gilburton is Wayne¡¯s escort?¡±


    Sometimes, Leniel mercilessly hits the nail on the head. It was not just poking, but even twists and digs after poking.


    When I shut my mouth and was silent, he said in a smiling voice.


    ¡°Gilburton is a subordinate who follows the boss¡¯ orders.¡±


    ¡°The boss told Gilburton to protect me? Does the boss know me? But you said you wouldn¡¯t introduce me.¡±


    Leniel hesitated. But I was excited about the possibility of seeing Wayne, so I didn¡¯t take his reaction unnatural.


    ¡°Is he coming to the general store?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Do you want to see him that much?¡±¡±


    Leniel looked very dissatisfied.


    Do you hate me connecting with your boss?


    I frowned at Leniel.


    Anyway, because he was so narrow-minded, he didn¡¯t come out as a supporting actor even with a decent face.


    ¡°Of course! It said he was handsome!¡±


    ¡°Who is?¡±


    ¡°The boss!¡±


    Wayne Eyeore, the villain, was also the sub-main character who competed with Dylan with Viviana in between. Naturally, he was a man who had the appearance to counter the male protagonist.


    ¡­Of course, there weren¡¯t many proper appearances, so the description was relatively poor compared to Dylan, but he was a sub-main character!


    Lenie had been frozen for a while in my strong tone.


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    ¡°I heard silver hair is pretty and shiny. Is it?¡±


    ¡°¡­I think so.¡±


    Unlike him, Leniel replied in an unconfident voice. What? You don¡¯t even want to tell me what he looks like?


    ¡°It¡¯s said that once you see it, you will never forget it. That¡¯s why he doesn¡¯t reveal his face to anyone.¡±


    Leniel¡¯s mouth trembled. It was a movement that could not hide its bad mood even though it was closed without knowing whether it was laughing or crying.


    ¡°The boss is unlikely to have met you before.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    If you¡¯re as handsome as Dylan, you¡¯d be amazing. And a handsome black magician with shiny silver hair!


    But Leniel frowned and asked back.


    ¡°Do you like silver that much?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that I like it, but because it¡¯s cool.¡±


    ¡°What about black hair?¡±


    ¡°Are you jealous of his beauty?¡±¡±


    Of course, I admit that Leniel¡¯s appearance is fatal, but I can¡¯t compare it to Wayne Eyeore, the villain of the work. Leniel¡¯s a sub character! He didn¡¯t even appear!


    I looked at Leniel with ridiculous eyes.


    ¡°Why are you praising him so much when you don¡¯t even know him?¡±


    ¡°So, are you saying that you¡¯re not handsome?¡±¡±


    ¡°¡­That¡¯s right.¡±

 Chapter 18

    2. The Villain¡¯s Lair is Safe


    Episode 18


    ¡°See?¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­¡±


    Of course, it must be hard to say that I caught your eye¡­ He might be watching so that he doesn¡¯t die from taking poison!


    My eyes sparkled and vowed to work more faithfully. For the welfare of my eyes!


    Leniel, who was looking at me with a complicated expression, shook his head and sighed. He probably thought I was strange.


    ***


    ¡®I thought Wayne Eyeore would visit the general store right away just because they gave me Gilbert.¡¯


    I stared at the open door with a slightly sullen face.


    I saw a customer who had bought a stuffed frog struggle to open the door and leave. Did you say that you need to make medicine for eternal beauty?


    The customer, who picked up only disgusting things with his wrinkled hands, looked like a witch from a fairy tale. If you say a common name, a name like Grimmhild would come out.


    Clearly, it was a city where only villains live in a big city, so the number of customers at the general stores has increased considerably. To the extent that I finally feel like I am performing my duties as an employee.


    But Wayne Eyeore did not appear. If such a handsome man appeared, there was no way I could not recognize him, so he had not visited at all. His entourage was gathered in this building, so it was likely that he would appear at least once.


    Leniel went out again, so I had no one to ask.


    ¡°Should I give up on my eye welfare¡­¡±


    I sat in front of the checkout counter, rested my chin on my hands, and took a deep breath as butterflies fluttered and sat down.


    [I like to be paired up with someone strong and beautiful!]


    [You have to be strong and beautiful to meet such a target.]


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I misunderstood you. Can you please stop talking about that mating stuff?¡±


    [Hurry up and train!]


    [Training makes you strong!]


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    I am an ordinary citizen, not a warlock.


    [You are too lazy!]


    [Why do you only eat sweets every day and not exercise?]


    ¡°Do you know how important the survival issue of sugar charging is for office workers?¡±


    I raised my voice in tears and fumbled through my snack basket while thinking about it. My sugar level was too low. Butterflies roamed around me as I took out a cookie about the size of a finger and bit it.


    [I give up.]


    [You won¡¯t find a good mate.]


    These butterflies were really petty. Even now, I want to stop communicating with these guys, but I don¡¯t know how, so it¡¯s no use even if I don¡¯t want to understand them.


    I need solitude now. All of a sudden, there were a lot of customers and a lot of people talking to me. Oh, I will miss that quiet and narrow alley.


    ¡°But how do you talk to your boss? Is it like telepathy?¡±


    [We can only answer when the master allows it.]


    So, it was said that communication is usually one-way. When I was ambushed by Dylan, they were in the middle of reporting with Leniel¡¯s permission.


    The reason I wanted to talk to these butterflies was to quickly contact Leniel in case of an emergency, but I couldn¡¯t use it for its intended purpose.


    [But if we are attacked, the master will know.]


    I can¡¯t kill the butterfly every time to summon Leniel, so in the end, it was a no-brainer for me.


    I looked at the butterflies with a dull face and took out a notebook. In my spare time, I wanted to organize the contents of the novel in my head.


    There was a limit to how long I could remember everything in my head, so it would be better to organize it so that only I could recognize it without using direct words. Besides, since I was taken by Dylan, I needed to figure out the situation in the future while cleaning up.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to work, so don¡¯t talk to me.¡±


    After threatening the butterflies, I took out a pen in earnest.


    First of all, the reference point is Giselle¡¯s execution. The year right after her death was omitted from the novel, so it passed, and the reason the three main characters met again was because of the warlocks¡¯ large gathering.


    An episode in which the warlocks, who normally held small gatherings secretly, tried to show off their power by using a huge city as a gathering place in order to show their appearance in earnest. At that time, the nobles who lived in the city had already been brainwashed by the warlocks and agreed to sacrifice their citizens.


    Viviana and Dylan, the righteous protagonists, found out about this and decided to end the one-year short-lived peace, and they decided to annihilate the warlocks altogether. So, the two go to meet the heads of state and seek help. At the same time, they summoned the white magicians and tried to prevent the large gathering.


    I roughly wrote down the keywords and bit my lip and frowned.


    In fact, this was the beginning of part two. The point where Giselle, the final villain of part one, leaves, and Wayne Eyeore, the real black man, begins to reveal his presence. This was the time when he showed his ambition to gather the warlocks who have been scattered and lived according to their own desires and put all the leaders of each country under the influence of black magic.


    If ¡ºVicious Apple¡» had been a little more case-oriented novel, it would have dealt with specifically what the warlocks were doing.


    Unfortunately, this novel focused on the intertwined emotions. Around this time, as Viviana begins to hide from Dylan that she was dying, she becomes more emotional.


    Dylan had a gut feeling that Viviana was hiding something from him, but he didn¡¯t know what it was, and Viviana struggled to somehow hide that she was cursed. The two didn¡¯t talk about what to do, and they hugged each other in bed. Then the misunderstanding deepens, blah blah blah blah blah.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    The important thing was the points that were different from the original. For example, whether Viviana was dying right now.


    In the original, she was clearly cursed. It was Giselle¡¯s last curse before her death. In the novel, it just came out that Giselle cursed Viviana by doing everything before she died.


    ¡®But now Giselle did everything to summon me before she died.¡¯


    Realizing what I had forgotten, I covered my mouth in contemplation.


    ¡°This hasn¡¯t changed either¡­?¡±


    If Giselle wanted to survive by summoning me instead of cursing Viviana before she died. What happens now? Healthy Viviana will be stronger than the original, so maybe a terrible situation in which the villain will be defeated¡­


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be ruined too.¡±


    Was this the only place I could turn to? Then maybe I had to fight hard for the darkness?


    ¡°¡­If the curse is completed, won¡¯t it go back to normal?¡±


    But if it goes on like the original, it means that everyone would die. Dylan would be dead, Viviana would be dead, and Wayne would be dead. To make the flow of the original work means to actively lead them to death.


    ¡°What, do you need a curse?¡±


    ¡°Ahh!¡±


    I was startled by the sudden words and raised my head. Windria was standing in front of the checkout counter.


    ¡°When did you come?¡±


    ¡°Just now. You don¡¯t even know what a customer was here?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­¡±


    I don¡¯t know why people in this town come and go so quietly. I¡¯ll have to hang a bunch of big bells on the door!


    ¡°If you need a curse, tell me. I¡¯ll give you a special discount.¡±


    ¡°Curse¡­ Is it very difficult?¡±


    ¡°You want to learn? I¡¯m not accepting a disciple.¡±


    Windria frowned in embarrassment. I shook my head quickly and smiled awkwardly.


    ¡°No, I am not trying to learn. I¡¯m just curious.¡±


    ¡°It depends a bit on the type. The light ones are really easy, and the tricky ones have a lot to worry about. If a beginner does it, it is more likely that they will die from a reaction. It won¡¯t be in vain if you¡¯re an expert, but everyone knows that you can just put a little hair on a doll and poke it with a needle.¡±


    Windria clicked her tongue and shook her head.


    ¡°Anyway, the most difficult thing is to know¡­¡±


    ¡°Windria!¡±


    Suddenly, the store door swung open. The face of the person who appeared loudly calling out Windria¡¯s name was familiar.


    ¡°¡­Ten?¡±


    The man who strode towards the cashier with a face that looked like he was about to cry was ten times as weak as me. It was a strange feeling to meet here, but looking at Ten¡¯s atmosphere, it didn¡¯t seem like a situation where we would greet each other with a leisurely smile.


    ¡°Windria! How can you come here when I¡¯m here?¡±


    Ten went straight to her as if he didn¡¯t see me. Windria, who was struggling to turn her back on Ten, frowned and reluctantly glanced at him.


    ¡°The general store has just moved downstairs to the lab, so why do we need a delivery man?¡±


    ¡°A delivery man! I am Windria¡¯s only disciple!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t accept disciples.¡±


    ¡°Our memories¡­!¡±


    ¡°You idiot! Get off of me now, you bastard!¡±


    Windria was disgusted and pushed Ten away. As his gigantic physique was being pushed, Ten whined while holding onto the hem of her clothes.


    Oh my god, the warlock who used Ten as a handyman was Windria?


    ¡°Windria, do not forsake me!¡±


    ¡°I never took you in!¡±


    But then.


    ¡°I worked hard on what Windria asked me to do!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because I paid you to run errands!¡±


    Uh hello?


    ¡°Guests, you must not do this here.¡±


    I got excited and quickly opened the store door. I pointed out with my finger, checking to see if the two of them might quarrel and break anything.


    ¡°Go out and come back after fighting.¡±


    At my firm invitation, Windria left the shop in shame. Ten was still holding onto her while dangling as he was being kicked out. Perhaps Windria could not easily shake him off.


    He was such a timid man when he bought Isabelle, but he was a very squeamish man when he hung on.


    Clicking my tongue, I looked at the place where the two had left, and the door opened again.


    ¡°You just fought¡­ Oh, come on!¡±


    With customers coming in right away, I ended up having to take care of the store with nothing written in my notebook.


    I guess I¡¯ll have to organize the story before I go to bed or in my spare time.

 Chapter 19

    2. The Villain¡¯s Lair is Safe


    Episode 19


    (third person pov)


    ¡®I thought that if I took her to a safe city, she would empty the store and always go out to play.¡¯


    Leniel opened his closed eyes and grinned. The staff he has recently hired is very strange.


    In the old store, he thought she would like to wander around the alleys whenever she had spare time, but when he gave her the freedom to wander, she stuck herself inside the general store. Even Gilburt was purposely attached as an escort.


    She said she had a habit of walking 10,000 steps a day.


    ¡®I guess it was all a lie too.¡¯


    ¡°How unnecessarily diligent.¡±


    Giselle was eagerly dealing with guests as Leniel looked through the butterflies eyes.


    ¡®No one can say anything about keeping the shop closed.¡¯


    After all, his general store was a store that had more days off than open days of the year.


    At first, he made a suitable warehouse to store things, and it was natural, because he started with a trick. There were so many valuable items that when the store opened, the warlocks came to see it as if they were waiting for it, but they didn¡¯t do business in one place.


    They¡¯ve moved a lot, but this was the first time they were in Van Hell. Leniel always liked to open up his general store in front of his enemy, close to them, and tease them like a joke.


    Van Hell was the safest city for him, so considering his usual course, it should not have been included in the list of options.


    If it hadn¡¯t been for the newly recruited weak apprentice staff¡­


    ¡°Dirty warlocks!¡±


    Leniel, who had been concentrating on other things while communicating with the butterflies from the rear, glanced away. The newly discovered three pieces (people) were kneeling in tatters.


    Sejak, who had failed to commit suicide, was putting a knife on his neck, not knowing what was going to happen to him soon.


    That¡¯s stupid.


    ¡°I will open this bastard¡¯s mouth!¡±


    ¡°If you leave it to me, I will dig into his head!¡±


    Several black wizards who wanted to get Wayne¡¯s attention came forward with excessive loyalty. Regardless of who it is left to, similar information will be extracted, and in the end, the final destination of the information will be Leniel, so it was enough to step back quietly and wait.


    Normally he would have done that.


    ¡°Can I take that guy?¡±


    Leniel, who had been standing in the back all the time, crept out with a voice. Wayne¡¯s eyebrows twitched in response as he glanced at the warlocks indifferently. Wayne looked around as if contemplating for a moment, then finally stared at Leniel.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the opportunity.¡±


    The warlocks who had been deprived of their chance by Leniel clicked their tongue as if it was a waste. Leniel, who passed them by and approached Sejak, knelt down on one of his knees.


    He grabbed Sejak¡¯s hair and looked at him, smiled softly.


    ¡°Now, shall we have a good time?¡±


    ¡°I will not say a word!¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Just don¡¯t die.¡±


    If he dies, they¡¯ll need to catch more.


    Sejak¡¯s eyes widened at the soft whisper. He parted his lips as if to say something, but couldn¡¯t.


    Wayne blinked as if telling the gathered warlocks to back away. After leaving the last warlock, Wayne slammed his office door shut and locked it. Wayne¡¯s face was serious, making a double barrier so that no sound would leak out and no one would disturb him.


    The cloth in his mouth trembled and his eyes widened. It was because he knew instinctively that something was seriously wrong.


    What caught Sejak¡¯s attention more than anything else was the change in Wayne¡¯s attitude, who was checking the surroundings for anything suspicious. Meanwhile, Wayne¡¯s subordinate, Leniel, was just observing Sejak¡¯s expression, smiling.


    Finally, when all the work was done, Leniel raised himself. Wayne quickly brought a chair and put it behind Leniel.


    Leniel, who was sitting cross-legged in front of him, rested his hand on his chin and was silent for a moment. Then he opened his mouth in a sarcastic tone.


    ¡°How much magic should I use to have perfect silver hair?¡±


    Wayne, who was standing with a terrifying look, paused. After contemplating for a while, he glanced at Sejak and carefully lowered his voice and asked back.


    ¡°¡­ Are you asking me?¡±¡±


    At that question, he looked at Wayne with a pathetic look.


    ¡°Then who else is there? I wouldn¡¯t have asked him to answer that question.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. If it¡¯s perfect silver¡­ Are you talking about how every strand of hair changes?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡®I was wondering what happened because you said you¡¯d get him yourself, but was it to change your hair color?¡¯


    Wayne glanced at Leniel¡¯s side with a distrustful look.


    ¡°You can¡¯t do it with just one.¡±


    ¡°How come?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how much you¡¯re going to change, but it¡¯s too much.¡±


    ¡°As expected, right?¡±


    Mumbling like talking to himself mixed with irritating emotions, Sejak also rolled his eyes anxiously at Wayne¡¯s glance at Leniel. His busy eyes were full of confusion.


    Meanwhile, Leniel, who had been thinking alone for a long time, suddenly asked another question.


    ¡°Is silver hair that pretty and shiny?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Do I have to say it twice?¡±


    Wayne fumbled over what recent changes occurred to Leniel. There were more than he thought. Among them, the biggest change was moving the entire general store¡­


    ¡°Was the trainee¡¯s madness that I heard this time a contagious disease?¡±


    At Wayne¡¯s courteous question, Leniel burst into laughter briefly.


    ¡°You¡¯re turning it around asking if I¡¯m crazy.¡±


    ¡°If you want to use a lot of magic, just move around for a few days. If you use it ignorantly like this, you¡¯ll run out of it quickly.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re saying that, I can do it all because I¡¯m capable.¡±


    Wayne, who was looking at him with a cold look as he hesitated and spoke, muttered bluntly.


    ¡°Effectiveness is the best.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s better to take care of it at once than to do it several times, right?¡±


    ¡°Unnecessary waste of mana occurs because the scope has to be expanded more than necessary.¡±


    At Wayne¡¯s words, who didn¡¯t lose a word, Leniel lamented.


    While the two had such a lame conversation, Sejak¡¯s head was rolling violently. Sejak was full of confusion over the truth he faced unexpectedly. He had to tell the information he had noticed right away, but he had already been sealed.


    While Sejak rolled his eyes nervously, the conversation between Leniel and Wayne continued.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you answer? My silver hair is pretty and shiny. You¡¯ve seen it before.¡±


    Leniel was in the mood to hear the answer. Wayne, who had been silent for a while, put his head very politely.


    ¡°¡­Take a look. Does my silver hair shine beautifully?¡±


    ¡°Are you crazy?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the answer I wanted to give you.¡±


    ¡°Tsk, you don¡¯t have an eye for it.¡±


    Leniel frowned and loosened his crossed legs. With his elbow supported on his thigh and his upper body bent forward, he stared closely at Sejak.


    Watching Sejak¡¯s eyes filled with spite, he joked.


    ¡°Wayne. Come to the general store after work.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±


    Leniel, who kindly swept up the bangs of Sejak soaked in cold sweat, lightly said.


    ¡°I have a big fan of yours.¡±


    ¡°The trainee?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a trainee.¡±


    ¡°Vadro said the probationary period is a month.¡±


    ¡°Right, but I just wanted her to get promoted quickly. She works too hard.¡±


    ¡°The rumor that she was crazy was true.¡±


    Leniel burst into laughter. Crazy was something that Giselle would hear everywhere in the future. Everywhere you look, she¡¯s so different from ¡®real one¡¯.


    The problem was that he slowly couldn¡¯t remember the ¡®real one¡¯. At this rate, he might believe that she is real.


    In fact, he wanted to know what was wrong with believing that she is who she is now, when her true nature has already disappeared¡­


    Nevertheless, the only reason why Leniel sometimes distinguishes between real and fake was because he was very satisfied that he was the only one who recognized the fake in ¡°Giselle Roycevin.¡±


    No one knows her exactly. Now that he has noticed her before anyone else in the world, he was sure she was the only one who knows him in the future.


    ¡°Are you going to keep it like this?¡±


    It was Wayne¡¯s low-key words that kept bringing the spirit of falling into other thoughts. Leniel suddenly saw Sejak in front of him.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not going to happen. We are busy.¡±


    Leniel asked Sejak for consent for the first time. Sejak¡¯s eyes staring at him as if he were going to kill him were calm all the time.


    ¡°I¡¯ll check your mind and let you go.¡±


    Wayne, who was next to Leniel, looked at him with wide eyes.


    ¡°You will release him?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that? Weren¡¯t you trying to fix him yourself?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m going to check the hands. I¡¯m going to untie it, but I¡¯ll touch it myself.¡±


    ¡°What is that¡­¡±


    It was a high-level magic to break through the mind. And once he had penetrated his mind, the person could never return to normal. If they¡¯re lucky, they will die without pain, and if they¡¯re unlucky, they¡¯ll have to live as a crazy person for the rest of their life.


    The lower the ability of the magician, the more likely they¡¯ll become a maniac, but he thought he would kill him because he came forward himself.


    In addition, there was a risk of revealing the identity of Leniel if he penetrated his mind and kept him alive.


    ¡°The bait needs to look appetizing to attract my staff¡¯s attention.¡±

 Chapter 20

    2. The Villain¡¯s Lair is Safe


    Episode 20


    Leniel, who replied sullenly, narrowed his eyes.


    A clear handprint was on Giselle¡¯s neck. It wasn¡¯t just simply due to force. It was a wound caused by the collision of the mana that Dylan had raised and the energy of black magic that colored Giselle¡¯s body.


    Giselle didn¡¯t seem to understand her body properly, but Leniel could recognize it at a glance.


    Dylan branded Giselle.


    Mana branding is usually done on vicious criminals who are in danger of fleeing, making it easy for the mana master to track them down. Although it is not permanent, it cannot be erased by force, and as much as possible, it had to wait for the stigma to be erased by hiding in a place where various magical powers were intertwined.


    In that sense, Van Hell was a city suitable for hiding, but he couldn¡¯t trust that alone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if beautiful Viviana still misses me.¡±


    Sejak¡¯s eyes changed slightly at the words that came out like a hum. It was a momentary change, but that was enough. Leniel smiled brightly.


    ¡°Do not worry. At least I will allow you to walk on your feet to the front of the house.¡±


    Sejak¡¯s breathing gradually became harsher. Leniel, who wrapped his hands around Sejak¡¯s head, whispered in a friendly tone.


    ¡°I want you to see the traces left by you and recognize them right away.¡±


    ***


    ¡°It needs improvement.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t a huge improvement. It was just very basic.


    ¡°From a human point of view, we have to strictly observe the opening and closing times.¡±


    Even if the store is located in a downtown area, does it make sense to say that there is an employee who stays and eats at the store and no one takes the time to break in?


    Ten, who was crouching in the corner of the store at my desperate words, looked at me with puzzled eyes. I stared at him resentfully because Ten was also one of the culprits that made me make this commitment.


    ¡°You, Ten! Do you know what time it is?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Yes?¡±


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going? You don¡¯t even have to go to work!¡±


    Ten raised his eyebrows as if my bitter reprimand was unfair.


    ¡°Ha, but Windria often visits at dawn. If I stay here, I will be able to see her.¡±


    ¡°In the first place, coming early in the morning is a problem! And why does she come at dawn? You¡¯re here all day, so she comes at dawn to avoid you!¡±


    This terrible bondage was born from Ten and Windria¡¯s relentless quarrel. When he went to her laboratory and Windria did not accept him, Ten began to stick his buttocks in the general store.


    At first, Ten came to coincide with the opening and closing times of the general store. It was a bit cumbersome, but I left him there for a few days because I wondered how desperate he would be, but when Windria saw this, she stopped coming to the general store at sunrise.


    The problem was that Windria¡¯s main abilities, necromancy and witchcraft, required a variety of materials. She had to get her supplies from the general store, so she ended up visiting the grocery store at dawn. At first, I woke up several times at dawn to sell things, but no matter how much I ate and slept here, I could not receive them forever.


    One day, I fell asleep without knowing who had come to the store, and when I woke up in the morning, I found that Windria had taken care of herself and that she had picked up items and left money at the checkout counter. Starting that day, she openly opened the locked door at dawn and came in and bought things on her own.


    Finally, after finding out about Windria¡¯s travels, Ten says that he will definitely meet Windria today.


    ¡°I told you not to fight here, go out and fix it!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a fight. There is no way Windria would abandon me like this.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re going to sit and wait at the general store that is closed now?¡±


    ¡°Giselle, you can go in and rest.¡±


    Wow, how the hell did Windria keep this guy?


    ¡°No, how can I trust and leave the store to you! Are you an employee here?¡±


    ¡°Do not worry. I will take good care of it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the problem¡­¡±


    I really wanted to cry.


    As I clenched my fist in frustration, I stared at the front door. I¡¯d rather go to Windria and ask her to take this disciple with you.


    But if she had been a villain who would have accepted such a request, it would not have come to this point in the first place. She was a person who broke into a store that¡¯s closed early in the morning to buy things she needed and left money behind¡­


    If I leave Ten alone overnight, I think Windria won¡¯t come to see me at dawn.


    At last, when such rationalization was reached, two butterflies fluttering and playing among themselves flew to Ten. The familiar black powder from the red spots¡­


    ¡°No, no! Don¡¯t kill him! He¡¯s a customer!¡±


    [Huh?]


    ¡°Put your powder back in!¡±


    [But he¡¯s noisy. You can¡¯t sleep.]


    ¡°I admit it, but you shouldn¡¯t try to paralyze or kill people like that.¡±


    [Why?]


    [Why?]


    ¡°Because it¡¯s extreme and scary!¡±


    [Why?]


    [What are you scared of?]


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m weak. I might faint. So you must not do that.¡±


    Butterflies flapped around Ten. They reluctantly returned to my side. Ten, who had no idea how dangerous he was just before, was looking up at me bewildered.


    If I hadn¡¯t just stopped them, would you have believed that you would have died of poison powder? I shook my head and turned around.


    Having made such a commitment, I settled down at the cashier¡¯s desk. Ten kept saying thank you and something, but I couldn¡¯t hear it. I¡¯m so sleepy¡­


    ¡°Well, let me lie down for a moment. Wake me up when Miss Windria comes.¡±


    Before I could hear Ten¡¯s answer, I fell down on the counter. Rather than this, I could hear two butterfly voices that just went in and slept, but even that became more and more distant from my consciousness.


    If I knew this would happen, I should have talked about overtime pay when I wrote the contract¡­


    ***


    The surroundings were bustling.


    I woke up quickly because I had a good night¡¯s sleep, but my head was blank. My shoulders and arms were numb from sleeping in an uncomfortable position. I raised my head, rubbed the back of my neck, smiled happily at the sight of Leniel, whom I had not seen in a long time.


    ¡°Oh, boss.¡±


    Although I was half-asleep, it was a really perfect employee attitude that I could see from the president who visited unexpectedly.


    I was complimenting myself with satisfaction, but Leniel stared at me. As I blinked slowly, I realized that something was wrong with the atmosphere inside the store after a little bit of sleep.


    There was some irritation in Leniel¡¯s posture, and his red eyes were cold.


    ¡®What time is it now?¡¯ Ten said earlier that he would wait for Windria here¡­¡¯


    ¡°The relocation of the grocery store to a large place did not mean attracting a lover.¡±


    From Leniel¡¯s words, I reflexively spat out an un-brainly answer.


    ¡°Why are you talking nonsense when you haven¡¯t been here in a long time?¡±


    Oh my.


    ¡°I mean, hmm. It¡¯s not nonsense. No, you¡¯re right, but what do you mean lover? How can I date someone right now?¡±


    It was hard to make ends meet day by day.


    Perhaps my expression full of resentment worked, for Leniel¡¯s cold expression was a little relieved. As soon as I calmed him down, who seemed to explode at any moment, I found Ten lying at his feet.


    Oh, I didn¡¯t know you were saying that when you saw Ten. Don¡¯t you know that Ten was a pupil of Windria? Oh dear. But why is Ten sleeping in such a pitiful form over there?


    ¡­Oh my god, he can¡¯t be sleeping!


    ¡°Did you kill him?¡±


    When asked with a shocked look, Leniel tapped Ten with his toes.


    ¡°This one?¡±


    ¡°Did you really kill him? Oh, my god, there¡¯s no reason why things are so violent!¡±


    ¡°You said it wasn¡¯t a lover.¡±


    ¡°He was a guest sir! It was true.¡±


    ¡°What kind of guest are you having at this hour?¡±


    That¡¯s exactly what I wanted to say. Tears covered my eyes when I met someone who agreed with me. After all, the boss is the boss. The boss is the only one who can take care of the employee¡¯s welfare!


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I needed to say. As a result of my work experience, I found out the serious shortcomings of this area. Customers don¡¯t consider the hours of operation of the grocery store at all.¡±


    They came only when they felt like it. He¡¯s the boss, so I have to make suggestions when I meet him like this.


    I recited what serious facts I had suffered in the last few days. Lifting his stiff face, Leniel listened with interest to me. Furthermore, he sometimes nodded lightly and even responded.


    The joy of communicating with my employer made me vent all my anger.


    ¡°Even if I lock the door, they¡¯ll just break in and take things with them. What¡¯s the point of putting money on the counter? Then why do you have staff and operating hours?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s open today, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Just in time, the door opened, and one of the causes of my stress recently appeared. I immediately pointed to her and complained.


    ¡°Look! They¡¯re coming at this hour!¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    Windria, who had just opened the door of the store, stopped. Standing in front of the cashier, Leniel glanced back at her. Windria¡¯s easygoing expression froze.


    ¡°The shop is closed.¡±


    As he smiled and said, Windria smiled vaguely and nodded stiffly.


    ¡°Well, is that so?¡±


    ¡°When the store is closed, you have to wait for the opening time.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes.¡±


    Windria was frozen to the bone. I couldn¡¯t believe that he was always indifferent and didn¡¯t care at all what others said.


    I opened my eyes wide and looked at Leniel and Windria alternately. Leniel smiled leisurely, and his tone was as usual. Even compared to when I woke up earlier, he didn¡¯t look so unhappy now.


    Is she just under pressure from the boss? But Windria is Wayne¡¯s right-hand person.


    ¡°And you¡¯ve brought personal disputes here.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean disputes? That¡¯s not true!¡±


    ¡°My staff felt threatened by this man, so if it¡¯s none of your business, can I handle it on my own?¡±