Extra in a Romance Fantasy

42 – Unexpected

What is my identity…?

I’m not sure of the details, but the man seemed to have felt something from me.

It’s not a good development.

In a situation where my instincts continued to warn me about the man, to arouse suspicion from him.

However.

“… What’s your identity? Just someone who came to buy ice cream.”

I replied casually.

‘There’s no certainty on the other side either.’

It seems like I smelled something, but even the author wouldn’t be certain.

They must be watching me based on vague intuition.

If that’s the case.

‘I’ll hold on until the end.’

No need to give them an opening.

“… Huh? Really? My apologies for the intrusion.”

The man who heard my words retreated more easily than I expected, his head tilted, as if he had lost himself in my casual attitude.

However.

It only seemed that way, but it wasn’t the reality.

Thud.

A presence pierced my lungs.

It felt as if it wasn’t just a simple presence, but a finely crafted and sharp presence, as if a real knife had pierced me.

‘… It was dangerous.’

Cold sweat ran down my spine.

The presence was so intense and sharp that my body almost moved reflexively.

‘This nobleman…’

What he showed on the surface and what he did were entirely different.

To throw such a subtle and sophisticated bait.

The presence from a moment ago was a bait in itself.

It was undeniably sharp and threatening, but not everyone could feel it.

Apart from its sharpness, it was incredibly subtle and quiet.

Yes, to the extent that unless you were an accomplished martial artist, you wouldn’t notice.

This person tested me while pretending not to.

‘… Let’s stay composed.’

It was dangerous, but I managed to react calmly and let it pass.

Then, it also means that it can dilute the other person’s suspicion.

“By the way, aren’t you getting any ice cream? If you are, I’ll get some too.”

“Uh, uh…? Then, I guess I should get some.”

In response to my words, the man turned to the clerk with a slightly bewildered expression.

He seemed somewhat taken aback by the unexpected outcome.

However, there was still a hint of doubt lingering.

During the process of purchasing the ice cream, and even after purchasing it, he paid attention to me.

I couldn’t fully read his inner thoughts.

‘I can’t believe it….’

…I wondered if he was thinking the same thing.

But regardless of the man’s feelings, all I wanted was to distance myself from him as soon as possible.

So, after buying my portion of ice cream, I immediately left the store.

At the same time, I hoped that the man would give up to some extent.

“Wait!”

It seemed like that was a futile hope.

“We’ve met like this for a reason, so how about talking? I don’t know much about this place, so it would be nice if you could explain. Instead, if you have something you want to eat, I’ll buy it all for you.”

“I’m a bit busy.”

“Come on, don’t say that. Think of it as a favor. …Ah, it’s a mood! Not food, if there’s something you want, just say it! I’ll buy everything for you!”

“……”

It seemed like he had no intention of gracefully backing away.

‘Should I try to lose him?’

If I use the crowd, I might be able to evade his pursuit.

That possibility crossed my mind, but I immediately shook my head.

Even if I succeeded in losing him, it would only raise more suspicion.

When I thought back to his liveliness earlier, it was clear that he was not an ordinary person.

At the very least, he had some remarkable abilities.

If I tried to avoid him, he would probably become even more certain about my abilities.

‘What should I do….’

I pondered on how to handle the situation.

“Mr. Wade!”

A familiar voice reached my ears.

Its owner was none other than Rachel.

“You’re here.”

Her face exuded relief as she briskly moved towards where I was.

“I was surprised when you suddenly disappeared.”

“Oh… I’m sorry. I just intended to buy this and quickly return.”

I spoke while holding the ice cream in my hand.

Originally, I had planned to return to the group much faster.

Rachel wouldn’t have had to search for me like this.

If it weren’t for that strange man, that is.

Regardless of the cause, I felt sorry for inconveniencing Rachel by vanishing suddenly and making her search.

However, apart from that, I saw this situation as an opportunity.

“As you can see, the group is waiting. We should head back now.”

“Umm…”

The man wore an embarrassed expression.

Perhaps he judged it difficult to insist in such a situation.

An optimistic thought unexpectedly arose.

“…Then, could you just follow along to at least deliver what’s meant for the group?”

…But the man was more persistent than I had anticipated.

Internally, I shook my head, hesitated, and said,

“That might be a bit awkward. The group might feel uncomfortable.”

“Don’t say that…”

…He truly didn’t know when to give up.

Unable to help it, I decided to take a bold move.

I reached out and grabbed Rachel’s hand, who stood beside me.

“Huh…?!”

Rachel made a bewildered sound, but I couldn’t afford to pay attention to that now.

I simply pulled Rachel along by her hand.

“Wha… What?!”

I gently wrapped my arm around Rachel’s shoulder, who had clearly reacted with surprise, pulling her in this direction.

“…?!”

I could feel Rachel’s slight twitch within my embrace.

Apologizing silently to her, I squarely faced the man.

“It’s… a bit discomforting, honestly.”

Continuing to intrude would only create a more difficult atmosphere to intervene in.

No matter how audacious someone might be, it’d be hard to infiltrate the gap shown by those who display such discomfort, if they have even a hint of conscience.

That was the aim—to intentionally draw Rachel in without prior explanation, a sudden move she must have found startling.

But it was unavoidable to resolve the situation.

I thought I would need to find time later to properly apologize to Rachel. With that in mind, I stared piercingly into the man’s eyes.

“Well… if that’s the case… it can’t be helped.”

Fortunately, it seemed the man had a faint trace of conscience too, given his uncertain expression. Finally, he stepped back.

“Then, I’ll take my leave.”

With that fact in mind, I continued walking, still in the posture of holding Rachel’s shoulders, silently celebrating within.

Even amid that, I kept checking for any sign of the man following us. Thankfully, he only threw lingering glances and didn’t pursue us.

I continued walking while still keeping an eye on that glance.

Until I could no longer sense it.

No, even after the gaze disappeared, I remained cautious for a while.

Only after making sure the gaze was completely gone did I release the arm that had encircled Rachel’s shoulders.

“I’m sorry, Rachel. I’ve been rude.”

Regardless of the reason, since I was at fault, I offered Rachel a sincere apology.

“I truly apologize.”

Saying so, I bowed my head to her.

…However, no matter how long I waited, there was no response from Rachel.

“…Is she more upset than I thought?”

I, a woman, and not granted permission, had touched her body, undoubtedly an impolite act.

Even if Rachel were to get furious, it couldn’t be helped.

But her silence was too profound.

Considering Rachel’s personality, she would say anything.

Unable to overcome my curiosity, I discreetly lifted my head to check Rachel’s complexion.

However.

“…….”

Rachel wasn’t even looking at me.

Her gaze wandered aimlessly through the empty air.

Not only that, her face was completely flushed.

“Ra-Rachel…?”

Confused by her reaction, I softly called her name.

But Rachel still didn’t respond.

“Rachel…? Are you okay…?”

Even after calling her name again, there was no response.

Finally, unable to wait any longer, I lightly tapped her shoulder and even shook her slightly by holding both shoulders, but there was still no response.

Could her health be deteriorating?

In my anxious thoughts, I considered moving Rachel to the villa.

“Wade!”

Once again, a familiar voice reached my ears.

“We’ve been looking for you for a while!”

A lively voice that I was familiar with.

It was Mary.

“Wa-Wade, are you safe…?”

“What are you doing here?”

It wasn’t just Mary.

There were also Ira, Estelle, and even Alexis and Cedric.

It seems like the whole group had been searching for me.

It must have become even more urgent with Rachel missing in the meantime.

“Where have you been all this time… Huh? What’s wrong with Rachel?”

Estelle seemed to have noticed that Rachel’s condition was not normal.

“Uh… well….”

Thinking about how to explain the situation, I omitted unnecessary details and described the circumstances in my own way.

Then the group…

“…indeed got entangled with a suspicious man, and to overcome that persistent man, they pretended to be lovers, Rachel and I.”

“As lovers…”

“Noisy. Isn’t it roughly the same thing?”

Estelle’s gaze towards me was ice cold.

… I admit I made a mistake, but is it necessary to be this angry?

If Rachel were the one getting angry like that, I could understand…

“Who on earth… Are you now trying to seduce a man in such a short period? Your abilities are becoming quite fearsome.”

Saying so, Estelle raised her head as if fed up.

Who the heck is trying to seduce a man…

I didn’t feel that way at all, and I don’t remember seducing anyone in particular.

I wanted to complain about such injustice, but since I was indeed at fault, and the rest of the group seemed to agree with Estelle’s statement, I decided to keep quiet for now.

“…First, we should check Rachel’s condition.”

I said, swallowing my sense of injustice.

In truth, whether I get scolded or not, Rachel’s condition is more important than that.

Suddenly, with her condition deteriorating like this, there might be a possibility that her health is worse than I thought.

“There’s no need for that. If you leave her alone, she’ll recover on her own.”

However, Estelle dismissed my worries with a short retort.

“What? But…”

“It’s not like her body is in bad shape to begin with. She just temporarily lost consciousness. If you want to blame someone, it’s mostly your fault.”

Saying so, Estelle clicked her tongue.

“…”

I was a bit skeptical, but since Estelle was so firm in her words, I decided to trust her and wait.

Estelle is not the type to confidently speak baseless things.

For that reason, we settled down and waited for Rachel’s condition to improve.

And, just as Estelle said, Rachel regained consciousness not long after.

Cautiously checking, she seemed to be without pain.

I apologized to Rachel again, and she accepted my apology.

Finally, the group, now at peace, resumed their exploration.

Due to my mistake and the mysterious man’s fault, there was a slight hiccup, but the exploration afterward proceeded smoothly, without any major incidents.

However, Rachel seemed to be avoiding me for some reason during that time.

***

“Hmm. It wasn’t too bad, after all.”

This was Estelle’s impression after spending half a day exploring.

The shops and sights here had satisfied her in their own way.

“The food… was delicious too….”

“There are many things here that are even rarer than in most cities.”

“It wasn’t boring.”

And it seemed that the other members of the group felt the same way.

I felt a small sense of pride in that fact.

Unexpected things had happened, but if we had enjoyed ourselves like this and if it had a happy ending, then it would have turned out well.

With that thought in mind, I started heading back to the villa.

“Huh?”

I unexpectedly came face to face with someone I didn’t want to meet.

“You….”

The person pointing at me with wide eyes was none other than the man I had encountered at the ice cream shop.

“Ugh….”

While sighing inwardly and thinking about how to handle this situation, before I could come to a conclusion, someone in our group reacted.

“Why…?”

It was Cedric, of all people.

His reaction was surprising.

Cedric, who always had a blank expression and showed little emotion, now had his eyes wide open and clearly looked flustered.

“Hmm? You… ah.”

The man looked at Cedric with a puzzled expression, then nodded as if something had occurred to him.

“You’ve grown a lot, couldn’t recognize you at a glance. That insolent look in your eyes is still the same, huh?”

Insolent.

It was true, but I had never heard anyone say those words to Cedric’s face.

The moment someone said those words, Cedric would unsheathe his sword without hesitation.

“… Long time no see.”

However, considering his usual behavior, one might have expected him to draw his sword in a blinding fury, but instead, after a mere twitch of the eyebrows, he calmly let it pass. No, he even politely nodded.

We could only exchange puzzled glances.

From their reactions, it was clear that Cedric and the man knew each other.

Yet, even so, Cedric’s demeanor was unexpected.

Who could be the person that elicited such a reaction?

Whether he read the glint in our eyes or not, Cedric, with a hesitant gaze, spoke again.

“…You are ‘Toogui.'”

““……!””

Our group was stirred.

Well, it was only natural to react this way.

If it’s ‘Toogui,’ he is renowned to the extent that there are fewer people unknown to him on this continent.

“Ah… I never thought I’d meet someone I know in a place like this.”

The man scratched his head, as if he hadn’t anticipated this or found it troublesome.

“…Well, it doesn’t matter much.”

However, he soon lowered his hand and began to walk forward with a calm demeanor.

“After some careful thought since then, I’ve come to a conclusion.”

While saying that, he continued.

“At first, I thought it might be a mistake. But no matter how much I think about it, I’ve never had a hunch like this go wrong.”

The man smiled.

And the next moment, my body was in motion.

“Wade…?”

Mary’s voice filled with doubt could be heard.

I was blocking the space between the group and the man.

It wasn’t a calculated move.

It was a reflex.

In the face of an aura that seemed ready to tear our throats at any moment, my body moved before my mind could process it.

The man looked at me with satisfaction and a fierce smile.

“See, I haven’t been wrong.”

One of the ten swords, discussing the strongest warriors on the continent.

Edan Bertrand, the ‘Toogui’ Duel Devil.