Clay continued walking through the streets without stopping.

At first, he ignored the strange feeling entirely.

The breeze was colder now compared to earlier, carrying dust and the scent of wood smoke from distant furnaces near the outer district. The sky above had begun turning orange as the sun slowly lowered beyond the walls, casting long shadows across the roads and buildings.

He breathed out slowly.

Yeah... probably just the wind.

That explanation sounded reasonable enough to him.

After all, these past few weeks had been filled with too many ridiculous events. Beast attacks. Bersuka warriors. Dimensional cracks. Systems. Missions. Explosions in the middle of sleep. Dragon people appearing from nowhere.

Anyone would become paranoid after all that.

Even him.

So Clay forced himself to relax again.

He walked beside a fountain near the center district while Maid Cy silently followed him. Several guards nearby immediately straightened their backs the moment they noticed him approaching.

One of them almost saluted too hard and accidentally hit himself in the face with his own fist.

Clay stared at him for a moment.

"...You okay?"

"Yes!"

The guard answered so loudly that nearby people jumped slightly.

Clay’s expression became strange again.

"...Right."

Then he resumed walking.

But as he continued moving through the town, something slowly began bothering him more and more.

People were still looking at him.

That part was normal.

He had already gotten used to that.

However—

The way they looked at him now felt different.

Very different.

Earlier, the gazes around him carried admiration, nervousness, curiosity, and respect.

Now— 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Something else had mixed into those eyes.

Fear.

Not ordinary fear either.

Not the kind people felt toward nobles.

Not the kind people felt toward powerful warriors.

This fear looked deeper.

More personal.

As if they were looking at something dangerous pretending to be human.

Clay slowly glanced toward a nearby woman carrying vegetables.

The moment their eyes met—

She immediately lowered her head and pulled her child closer behind her body.

Clay blinked once.

Then he looked elsewhere.

Several workers near a blacksmith station suddenly became quiet after noticing him.

One of them swallowed visibly.

Another avoided eye contact completely.

Even the atmosphere around the streets had changed slightly.

The laughter from before sounded more restrained now.

More careful.

Like everyone was trying not to attract attention.

Clay’s pace slowly became slower.

His brows knitted together slightly.

Maid Cy.

"Yes, young master?"

"...Am I imagining things?"

She looked toward him calmly.

"What do you mean?"

Clay glanced around again.

"...Why does everyone suddenly look terrified?"

For the first time in a while, Maid Cy hesitated internally.

Only internally.

Outwardly, her expression remained calm.

Because she already understood what was happening.

Rumors.

The stories had spread.

Not the full truth.

But enough.

The guards who witnessed Borzoi kneeling.

The rebuilding workers who saw terrifying beasts dragged like hunted animals.

The Bersuka warriors obeying Clay’s commands.

The dimensional crack.

The explosions.

The destroyed battlefield.

And most importantly—

People naturally exaggerated things.

Especially when fear was involved.

Now the image of Clay inside the border town was no longer simply that of a noble young master.

To many people here—

He had already become something far larger.

Far more frightening.

Meanwhile, Clay still looked genuinely confused.

"...Did I accidentally do something?"

Maid Cy almost answered immediately.

Young master killed a Warchief with one punch.

Young master made terrifying warriors kneel.

Young master casually treated monsters like hunting dogs.

Young master forced tribes from another continent to obey him.

But of course—

She could not say that.

Instead, she answered carefully.

"Young master possesses a strong presence."

Clay stared at her blankly.

"...That sounds fake."

"It is true."

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

Then he looked toward another group of townspeople nearby.

The moment they noticed him looking—

They immediately lowered their heads.

One man nearly tripped while trying to move aside quickly.

Clay’s face slowly twisted.

"...Okay no."

He pointed around them.

"This is not normal."

Maid Cy stayed silent.

Clay looked genuinely bothered now.

"I was literally sleeping peacefully a few days ago."

He pointed at himself again.

"I eat normally."

Then he pointed at the streets.

"I walk normally."

Then toward the civilians.

"So why do they look like I’m about to slaughter the town?"

Nobody answered immediately.

Even Maid Cy remained silent for a moment.

Because honestly—

From the perspective of ordinary people—

That fear made complete sense.

Clay finally sighed heavily.

"...This is exhausting."

The two continued walking again afterward, but the atmosphere no longer felt relaxed.

The further they moved through town, the clearer it became.

The civilians were avoiding him.

Not openly.

Not disrespectfully.

But carefully.

Very carefully.

Merchants lowered their voices whenever he passed by.

Workers stopped talking.

Children were quickly pulled aside by parents.

Even soldiers stood straighter than before.

Clay slowly realized it completely.

And the moment he did—

His expression became complicated.

Not angry.

Not arrogant.

Just...

Tired.

Why is this happening?

I literally just wanted peace.

He rubbed his forehead lightly.

Then suddenly—

A memory flashed inside his mind.

The former Bersuka Warchief exploding from one punch.

The terrified silence afterward.

The kneeling warriors.

The dimensional crack.

Borzoi slamming his head repeatedly against the ground.

The people watching.

Clay froze briefly.

"...Ah."

Maid Cy looked at him.

"Young master?"

Clay’s lips twitched weakly.

"...Maybe I understand now."

The moment those words left his mouth—

A nearby civilian accidentally dropped a basket after hearing his voice.

The loud sound echoed across the street.

Everyone nearby stiffened immediately.

Clay slowly turned toward the terrified man.

The man instantly fell to his knees.

"F Forgive me!"

Clay stared at him silently.

Then—

Very slowly—

He realized something.

The people here were not simply nervous around him anymore.

They were terrified of him.

Clay remained standing in the middle of the street for several long moments.

The kneeling man in front of him still looked pale, trembling slightly while keeping his head lowered toward the ground. Around them, the atmosphere had become unnaturally quiet. Even the nearby workers slowed their movements while pretending not to look in his direction.

Maid Cy observed him carefully from behind.

"Young master?"

But Clay did not answer immediately.

Instead, his eyes slowly narrowed.

Something inside him finally clicked.

The fear around him was too heavy.

Too widespread.

This was not simply respect toward strength anymore.

Something else had spread through the town.

Rumors.

Stories.

Or perhaps—

Accusations.

Clay slowly looked around the street again.

Then quietly—

Very quietly—

He focused.

At first, all he heard was ordinary noise.

Footsteps.

Wheels moving across stone roads.

Blacksmith hammers striking metal.

Merchants speaking.

Children whispering.

Nothing unusual.

But Clay kept listening.

His senses were already far beyond ordinary humans after everything that had happened recently. Once he concentrated properly, the surrounding voices slowly became clearer and clearer inside his ears.

"...That’s him..."

"Lower your voice."

"I heard he controls those monsters..."

"No, no, I heard he made the tribes submit..."

"They said the Bersuka warriors kneeled..."

"Impossible..."

"But the guards confirmed it..."

Clay’s expression remained calm externally.

Internally though—

What?

His brows slowly furrowed deeper.

More whispers entered his ears.

"...Ever since he arrived, the beasts became worse..."

"They say the monsters are evolving..."

"My cousin saw creatures near the forest tearing each other apart..."

"And those strange warriors..."

"The ones with red skin..."

"They follow him now..."

Clay’s face slowly stiffened.

Maid Cy.

"Yes, young master?"

"...Why are they talking like I’m some disaster?"

Maid Cy became silent briefly.

Because honestly—

From the outside perspective—

Things looked extremely suspicious.

The beasts truly were evolving.

The Bersuka warriors truly obeyed him.

The dimensional crack truly existed.

And terrifying things truly started happening after Clay arrived.

Meanwhile, Clay himself remained completely unaware of how absurd his situation looked from ordinary eyes.

Then suddenly—

Another whisper entered his hearing.

This time clearer than before.

"There’s no way it’s coincidence..."

Clay’s eyes moved slightly toward a nearby alley.

Two merchants were talking quietly beside stacked wooden crates.

One of them looked nervous while glancing around repeatedly.

The other spoke with a pale face.

"I’m telling you, the former patrol captain said the invaders called him Young Warchief..."

"Stop talking..."

"No, listen first..."

The man swallowed.

"The beasts started becoming abnormal after those people arrived..."

"...And now they all obey the Valmont young master..."

Clay’s face slowly became darker.

What kind of stupid logic is that?

But before he could react—

Another voice came.

This time even quieter.

Yet Clay heard it clearly.

"They said the young master of the Valmont family was the culprit behind the beasts’ raging evolutionary tide..."

Silence.

Complete silence inside Clay’s head.

Even the breeze suddenly felt cold around him.

His footsteps stopped completely.

Beside him, Maid Cy immediately sensed the change in atmosphere.

"Young master...?"

Clay did not respond.

Because at that moment—

He finally understood why everyone had been looking at him differently.