~Chapter 35~
“What the—? Didn’t they say it was here?”
“Y-yes, it definitely was here!”
“Bring it to me right now!”
Jin quickly covered my mouth with his big hand and pulled me down behind a huge sofa.
I held my breath, trying hard not to scream and force myself to adjust to this nerve-wracking situation.
What the hell, what kind of mess is this again?!
Damn this second life—there’s never a single peaceful day! Wasn’t everything solved just now? Why is this happening all of a sudden?!
“Sir Philip, I-I’m sorry! It wasn’t that I was trying to steal them, it’s just—the orphanage is in such bad shape, so selling a few kids off to couples who wanted them…”
“You think the higher-ups don’t know you’ve been secretly selling children all this time?!”
Jin and I instinctively looked at each other.
So… we weren’t the ones caught—it was that scumbag director who got caught?! For real?
“I-I don’t know what you mean! That’s not true!”
“Then why else would they suddenly disappear like this? Search everything!”
That’s when Jin, crouched beside me, finally showed how annoyed he was.
“Man, this is such a pain.”
He grabbed a chair nearby and—CRASH!—hurled it straight at the armored soldiers.
“What the—?!”
“Lady, this way.”
I grabbed Jin’s hand like a lifeline and ran through the chaos while the soldiers were stunned.
“Who the hell is that guy?! Grab him!”
Hands reached toward us.
“Hahaha, ladies first.”
I froze, staring at him in disbelief—because that lunatic shoved me away and ran off on his own!
“HEY!”
Whether it was luck or on purpose, the four men inside the room all focused on Jin as he bolted.
Even in the middle of this mess, I just stared at him in disbelief—then the bastard had the nerve to wink at me! What is wrong with this guy?!
“Haha, come on, four against one is a little unfair, don’t you think?”
Laughing, Jin kicked off the wall, flew into the air, and—like some kind of circus clown—stepped across the soldiers’ heads while they swung their real swords. Oh, and he stomped on each of their skulls with his shoe heel as he went.
I swear, I’d never seen anyone fight like that in my life.
What… what even IS he?!
“Arrgh! Catch him! How dare you use such filthy tricks in here! Catch him and kill him!”
Thanks to Jin’s perfect distraction, no one even glanced at me.
“W-wait, wait! Let’s just talk this out, okay?”
Jin suddenly raised his hands like he was surrendering, making the soldiers hesitate for a second.
But then—bam!—he grabbed a flowerpot and smashed it into a soldier’s face.
“Or at least, that’s what the flowerpot says! Ha!”
Then he slid across the floor, tripping another soldier.
“Aaagh! My wrist!”
“Oh dear, swordsmen really ought to take care of their wrists.”
CRACK! His heeled shoe came down on the guy’s hand, the sound echoing across the room.
“And hey—you behind our lady there! What are you doing?”
Before I could even react, Jin had thrown something past me.
Thunk.
I spun around just in time to see a soldier—eyes rolling back—collapse to the floor with Jin’s dagger sticking out of him.
“Now, now! Do you men even realize who this is? You can’t just shove shiny blades at our precious lady here—what terrible manners. Even I, a mere commoner, know better. Isn’t that right, my lady?”
Before I knew it, Jin was at my side, one arm casually wrapping around my waist as he blew my bangs aside with a puff of air.
“…You—”
One soldier still on his feet glared at Jin, trembling.
“…Did you just call me?”
Jin pointed to himself with a tilted head like he was out on a friendly stroll.
Meanwhile, the director shook in terror, and three soldiers were already down for the count.
“Me?”
Jin grinned, not even breaking a sweat.
“You bastard… don’t tell me—you’re that lunatic from Golden Frog—”
“…Huh?”
For a split second, Jin actually looked startled. But then he quickly recovered, twisting around playfully beside me.
“Wow, Lady, can you believe how famous I am? Even here people recognize me! Hahaha, it’s rough being this popular.”
He even tapped my shoulder like it was a joke.
“…Are you insane?” I blurted out, forgetting to use any polite noble speech.
He just winked again.
“Autographs can be requested at the Golden Frog headquarters! Ask for our captain—he’ll give you a great deal. And with that, I bid you farewell.”
“Whaaaagh!”
Suddenly, Jin scooped me up by the waist and leapt straight out the window.
I swear, my life flashed before my eyes for the fifth damn time.
…Wow, that’s a lot of times.
“You’re welcome! That was this century’s greatest amusement ride—Jin Blake! Feel free to thank me anytime, hahaha!”
I screamed my lungs out, clinging to sanity.
And what the hell—he was flying?! Just casually using levitation magic like it was nothing?!
“Magic?! Seriously, what ARE you?!”
“Haha, in this business, being number one in the capital means knowing at least this much! Don’t worry, you’re perfectly safe with me!”
Safe? He was bouncing off walls like a damn rollercoaster!
“L-Lady! Hate to say this while we’re enjoying the thrill, but—I think we’re in real trouble!”
“No kidding, I KNOW that already!”
We had to shout over the rushing wind.
“No, not that kind of trouble! Looks like the director got caught by the lord himself—”
THUD.
Jin landed on the ground safely. But then—we both froze.
“…Uh oh.”
Jin forced a smile, sweating bullets.
Because surrounding us, closing in, were nearly thirty men. All of them bore a familiar tattoo: the Red Scorpion guild.
Jin set me down gently, shielding me behind his back, and said awkwardly:
“Ha… haha… My lady, it seems the lord and the Red Scorpions are quite openly working together. Honestly, it’s rare to see this many dark guild members at once, don’t you think?”
The man at the front, plain-looking but clearly the leader, grinned at Jin’s nonsense.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the infamous lunatic of Golden Frog. How was your master’s funeral? Word is only Jason Blake’s stupid little head made it back home. Real shame, huh?”
Their laughter filled the orphanage yard.
I glanced at Jin nervously.
But he wasn’t shaken at all.
“Haha, I’m embarrassed now. To think my name has spread even into the underworld… truly, the life of a professional is a hard one. Hahaha!”
Jin laughed loudly, spouting nonsense.
“Well, since fate has brought us together like this, why don’t we chat a little, eh? Hahaha.”
“Hahahaha!”
The Red Scorpion leader laughed back, Jin’s voice joining his.
But then the man’s smile vanished.
“Normally, mercs in the light and rogues in the dark keep to their own sides. But when some light-side brat comes barging into our turf, wrecking things—that’s a problem. Isn’t it?”
His expression hardened.
“Talk. Who sent you? Was it that idiot crown prince’s faction?”
I wanted to say, No, we literally came here on our own!—but who would believe that?
“Crap—RUN!”
I ripped a scroll straight out of my little bag and tore it.
Nooo, that was worth at least 300 bucks! Tears came to my eyes, but escaping was more important.
The moment I tore it, the Red Scorpion leader roared:
“Catch them! Bring the girl back alive!”
WHY ME AGAIN?!
I grabbed Jin’s hand tightly. Immediately, I could see our bodies blurring—the invisibility spell taking hold.
“Hold on tight, my lady.”
“Iam already holding on tight!”
