Chapter 07
When we entered the building, a wide tavern came into view.
There were many rough-looking people, and loud shouting echoed all around.
“Daphne, follow me.”
Asil led the way.
I swallowed hard and followed behind him.
Right, it’ll be fine as long as Asil is here. I didn’t come along for nothing, after all.
I kept watching his back, but suddenly I heard a loud commotion.
When I looked over, I saw a man kicking someone on the ground.
Yet instead of stopping him, the others were laughing and snickering at the scene!
The atmosphere felt crazed and frightening—something I had never experienced before.
I gripped Asil’s clothes tightly.
This is terrifying.
I should finish what I came for and get out of here as fast as possible.
I pulled my hood deeper over my head.
“Daphne, is it uncomfortable? If anyone bothers you, I’ll take care of them, so don’t worry.”
“I just feel uneasy with people staring. It’s more comfortable like this.”
I said that while glancing around.
Asil nodded and gently placed a hand on my shoulder, guiding me toward the inner staircase.
“This way.”
At the top of the stairs, there was a sign that said ‘No Entry Except for Staff.’
“Is it really okay to go in here?”
“I told you—I’m quite a trusted escort in the Dark District.”
What was he planning to do?
The matter of paying off the debt had only been mentioned in one line in the original story.
And it wasn’t Daphne but the main male lead’s servant who handled it, so I didn’t know anything about it.
I followed Asil up the stairs.
On the second floor, unlike the first, there was a long corridor.
We entered the room at the very end.
Inside, a large man was sitting on a sofa.
“Hey! Which idiot barges into this room—!”
He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Asil and immediately dropped to the floor, bowing.
“Thank you for coming, Asil-sama!”
“An idiot, you say. That’s a first.”
“I’m sorry! I deserve to die for my rudeness!”
I couldn’t see Asil’s expression, but the man trembling on the floor looked terrified.
How should I interpret this situation?
I called out to him in a shaky voice.
“Asil…”
“Yes, Daphne?”
Asil turned around with a harmless smile.
“Are you perhaps… involved in something right now?”
“I belong to an organization that owns this establishment. In a rather high position, actually.”
Oh no! This is bad, dear readers!
It seems our Asil works in a strange place!
I screamed inwardly.
Could his character settings really change this much?
The original Asil had been saved by Daphne and later served as her escort.
Eventually, he became one of the strongest knights in the empire…
But now he was part of a criminal organization?
And not just any member—an executive?
“How did you end up in such a job? May I ask?”
The tavern manager had disappeared to fetch my promissory note.
While he was gone, I sat on the sofa and asked Asil.
He placed his teacup down and smiled.
“Of course. I was once a slave, but when the illegal market I belonged to was shut down, I had nowhere to go. That’s when Lord Lafman took me in.”
“Lord Lafman?”
“Yes. She is the master of the Dark District. She has a hobby of picking up people like me and raising them. Thanks to her, I was able to use the Lafman surname.”
Asil answered honestly.
Because the illegal market disappeared earlier than in the original story, Asil’s circumstances had changed.
…Lord Lafman, what kind of person is she?
Does Asil even know he’s a beastkin?
Is it really unrelated to Cessia?
My head hurt even after getting answers!
I frowned just as the manager returned and handed me the promissory note.
“Congratulations, here is your promissory note and the confirmation that the debt has been paid.”
…Finally!
I couldn’t hold back my excitement and tore the note to shreds.
It’s over! Goodbye, heavy debt!
Lifting the burden that had weighed on me felt incredibly freeing.
It was the second time since being possessed that I felt such liberation!
It was exhilarating!
Of course, the first time was when I won the lottery.
“Asil, thank you! I think it was easier to pay it off because of you. I heard they usually don’t even give confirmation documents.”
“I’m glad to see you smiling. If I can be of help in the future, please call on me.”
Right, whatever Asil does with his life has nothing to do with me!
I brushed away the new doubts.
Asil is better off than I am—he’ll manage on his own!
I should focus on my own path!
With light steps, I headed down to the first floor and toward the exit.
Then I bumped into someone.
“Sorry.”
At that moment—
The hood of my robe flashed gold and was suddenly pulled off.
Huh? Why did it come off now?
And it glowed gold?
I quickly checked my buff gauge.
What?! The buff gauge! When did you fill up?!
The glowing gauge lost its light and returned to normal once my hood was fully removed.
Hey! It stayed empty no matter how much I prayed yesterday!
I even got scolded because of it!
Asil stepped in front of me.
“Are you alright, Daphne? I should have been more careful. That was careless of me.”
I hid behind him and looked around.
Everyone’s eyes were on me.
Damn it—why does Daphne have to be so pretty and cause this mess?
I buried my face in Asil’s back and mumbled.
“Let’s just leave quickly.”
“Leave? Where do you think you’re going?”
A rough voice replied.
I peeked out and saw the man I had bumped into grinning.
It was the same man who had been kicking someone earlier.
He wore luxurious clothes and flashy jeweled rings, and bodyguards stood beside him.
“I never thought I’d see a woman like you here.”
Oh no.
The cliché of ‘the female protagonist encountering thugs in a dark alley’ actually triggered?
Buff gauge! What are you doing?
Instead of making me win the lottery again, why are you exposing my face and causing trouble?
“Hey you. Leave that woman.”
The man was about to continue when—
The burly men inside the tavern suddenly stood up and dragged the man’s bodyguards toward the back rooms!
“What—! Let go! I said let go!”
“D, do something, young master! Save us!”
“This wasn’t part of the contract!”
The struggling bodyguards were dragged into one of the rooms.
The people who had been watching quietly resumed laughing and talking as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, the man—who had been furious and confused—shouted:
“D-do you know who I am? I am a noble! You can’t treat me like this!”
Someone replied:
“Be glad you’re a noble. If you weren’t, you’d have been dragged off with the others.”
“What?!”
“Being a noble doesn’t mean much. Acting like that here says everything about you. Hey, throw this guy out!”
More sturdy men appeared.
They dragged the struggling noble toward the back door.
His curses and shouts faded away.
“I’m terribly sorry for the disturbance, Asil-sama.”
“It’s fine. Let’s go, Daphne.”
Shaken, I clutched Asil’s waist tightly and looked up at him.
I couldn’t see his expression, but his hand gently patted mine.
“It wasn’t a pleasant sight for you.”
“Th-those people… can they really do that? He said he was a noble!”
“They will handle it themselves. He drew attention to himself, which was the problem. There are two outcomes for those who draw attention here.”
Asil spoke casually while guiding me outside.
“Eat or be eaten. Without divine protection, he will be eaten today.”
With his help, I climbed into the carriage and made a decision.
Yeah. Asil is really scary.
I decided not to get too close to him in the future.
“Thank you for taking me home.”
“Don’t mention it. I was happy to spend time with you today, Daphne.”
Asil smiled warmly as he dropped me off.
I smiled back.
Right, today marks the end—let’s go our separate ways.
“Daphne, I thought about it in the carriage. I think you need a personal escort.”
“Pardon?”
“Because of what happened earlier. You seem uncomfortable with people’s stares. But no one would be able to take their eyes off your face.”
He looked at me briefly.
“So I think having a personal escort would be good.”
“That is…”
The capital’s security was safe, and Daphne’s status wasn’t low.
But I didn’t know how the buff might apply.
Something like today could happen again.
“Thank you for the advice. I’ll look into it.”
“How about hiring me?”
“Huh?”
Asil smiled brightly.
“Why look for someone else when the right person is right in front of you?”
“Hahaha! I can’t just hire someone with other work!”
“That job will end soon, so it’s fine.”
“Hahaha! It’s not something I can decide on my own!”
“If I’m with you, I can also draw attention away from you.”
Hmm, that part actually sounds appealing.
At that moment, the front door opened and Lady Rosanna and Maria came out.
“Daphne, you’re back—oh my…”
“Oh my goodness…”
They looked at Asil in surprise.
“How could such beauty exist in this country besides His Highness the Crown Prince and Duke Mayville?”
“Who is this gentleman?”
“Nice to meet you. I am Asil Lafman.”
“Oh, you were the one who accompanied Daphne to the Dark District today!”
“Yes. I was just proposing to continue serving as Daphne’s escort, though I may have taken too much time.”
“Oh my! You want to keep protecting our Daphne? How wonderful!”
“Ahem, don’t stand out here—come inside.”
“Thank you, madam.”
Asil smiled dazzlingly and bowed to Lady Rosanna and Maria.
The two, captivated by his beauty, quickly became enthusiastic.
Before I knew it, Asil had signed a contract to stay at the estate as my personal escort.
Wow, he really moves fast.
I couldn’t even try to stop him. Because Nana had brought an even bigger bomb.
“Miss, a letter from the imperial palace arrived!”
“The imperial palace? What kind of event?”
“It’s the welcome banquet celebrating the return of the cursed dragon ‘Radon’ after being sealed by ‘Cecia Eos’!”
