The moment one of the Holy Knights mentioned that name, Clay froze completely.

"Maybe it was Maxwell..."

The knight had spoken almost casually.

As if he merely wanted to offer a possibility.

But the effect those words had on Clay was immediate.

His relaxed expression stopped moving.

Even the faint smile on his face disappeared.

For a brief moment, he simply stood there silently.

Meanwhile, inside his head—

Maxwell?

The main character Maxwell?

That Maxwell?

His eyes widened slightly.

Then immediately narrowed again.

A strange feeling rose inside him.

Confusion.

Shock.

Disbelief.

And most importantly—

Alarm.

Because if the rumors truly came from Maxwell...

Then things suddenly became very troublesome.

Very.

Inside his mind, countless thoughts instantly exploded one after another.

Wait.

Why is the main character even involved here already?

No, no, no.

Something is wrong.

Wasn’t he supposed to grow stronger first before becoming relevant to me?

Why is he suddenly appearing around the border town?

And why the hell is he spreading rumors about me?

He slowly looked toward the knight who spoke.

"Maxwell?"

His voice remained calm.

But now there was clear curiosity in it.

The Holy Knight nodded carefully.

"Yes."

Clay tilted his head slightly.

"You mean Maxwell from the Holy Kingdom?"

The knight blinked.

"Yes... Young Master."

Another Holy Knight quietly added,

"The one Lady Frazanna traveled with earlier."

Clay slowly turned his head toward Frazanna.

"You traveled with him?"

Frazanna nodded.

"Yes."

Clay became even more interested now.

Because this was the first time the main character had truly entered his current life directly.

Before now, Maxwell had merely existed in the dream.

A future protagonist.

Someone destined to oppose the ultimate villain version of himself.

But now—

The main character had already appeared before him.

And apparently...

That same main character was spreading rumors about him.

Inside Clay’s head, his thoughts immediately became chaotic again.

What the hell did I even do to him?

Did we even properly meet yet?

No wait.

Did Borzoi fight him?

Did something happen while I was sleeping peacefully?

I was literally just eating and relaxing!

Maid Cy disappeared for weeks too...

Suddenly—

His eyes paused slightly.

Then slowly...

Very slowly...

He turned his head toward Maid Cy.

Cerys immediately maintained a calm expression.

Perfectly calm.

Too calm. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Meanwhile, inside her own mind—

Ah.

This is bad.

Clay stared at her for another second before looking away again.

He did not suspect her completely yet.

But something definitely felt strange now.

Very strange.

Still, he focused back on the Holy Knights.

"What exactly happened with Maxwell?"

The question came calmly.

But everyone could feel that Clay was now genuinely interested.

The Holy Knight who first spoke hesitated slightly before answering.

"He suddenly disappeared."

Clay blinked.

"Disappeared?"

"Yes."

The knight nodded.

"After arriving near the border town, he separated from us for some reason."

Frazanna quietly continued the explanation.

"He said he wanted to investigate something personally."

Clay’s brow slowly knitted.

"Investigate what?"

This time, the Holy Knights exchanged glances.

Their expressions became awkward.

And seeing that reaction—

Clay already had a bad feeling.

A very bad feeling.

Finally, Frazanna answered.

"The beast evolution tide."

Silence.

Then—

Inside Clay’s head—

Ah.

I’m screwed.

He immediately understood it now.

Everything.

Or at least part of it.

Maxwell probably investigated Borzoi.

Then Borzoi probably said something insane.

Then Maxwell connected it all back to him somehow.

Then the rumors started spreading.

Meanwhile, the Holy Knights continued explaining carefully.

"At first, he only found the situation suspicious."

"He believed the beast rampage did not look natural."

"He also noticed that the border town strangely stabilized after your arrival."

Clay almost choked internally.

That sounds terrible when said out loud.

Another knight added,

"And then there was Borzoi."

Clay immediately focused on that name.

"What about him?"

The knight hesitated.

"He fought Maxwell."

This time even Frazanna’s expression became serious.

"It was not a normal fight."

"He almost died."

Clay’s eyes widened slightly.

That serious?

Another knight hurriedly spoke.

"Maxwell became convinced that Borzoi and his people were connected to the beast evolution."

"And Borzoi..."

The knight swallowed.

"He repeatedly mentioned you."

Inside Clay’s mind—

BORZOI YOU IDIOT.

WHY WOULD YOU MENTION ME.

WHAT EXACTLY DID YOU SAY.

WHY ARE YOU DRAGGING ME INTO THIS.

Outwardly though, Clay merely rubbed his forehead lightly.

"I see..."

Frazanna quietly observed him.

"You truly do not know about this?"

Clay immediately looked at her.

Then he laughed lightly.

"Lady Frazanna."

"If I knew someone was spreading rumors that I’m secretly causing disasters across the continent..."

"Do you really think I’d still be relaxing around the border town every day?"

Honestly—

That answer sounded extremely reasonable.

Too reasonable.

Even the Holy Knights themselves began doubting Maxwell’s conclusions slightly.

Because Clay truly looked confused.

Not fake confused.

Actually confused.

Inside his head though—

This is horrible.

The main character is already targeting me.

This absolutely never ends well for villains.

No wait.

I’m not even the villain yet.

I’ve been trying NOT to become one.

He suddenly looked at Frazanna again.

"So Maxwell believed I’m behind everything?"

Frazanna hesitated.

Then nodded slowly.

"Yes."

Clay sighed deeply.

Long.

Exhausted.

Then he looked up toward the sky.

For a while, nobody spoke.

Meanwhile, his thoughts continued spiraling.

Why does this always happen to me?

I solved problems and somehow became more suspicious instead.

I protected the town and apparently that makes me look evil.

I relaxed peacefully and the protagonist started hunting me.

What kind of cursed fate is this?

Maid Cy silently listened to all of it.

And for the first time in a while—

She genuinely felt a little guilty.

Because technically...

Maxwell reaching that conclusion was heavily connected to her actions too.

Clay slowly lowered his head again.

Then he suddenly asked,

"Where is Maxwell now?"

Frazanna shook her head.

"We do not know."

"He disappeared after the battle."

Another knight quietly added,

"But before leaving..."

"He warned us."

Clay narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Warned you about what?"

The knight answered carefully.

"He said..."

"That the young master of the Valmont Family might become the greatest threat to this continent."

For several long seconds, nobody spoke after those words were said.

The air itself seemed heavier now.

Even the gryphon behind Clay slowly lowered its head and released a low growl, as though it could feel the change in its master’s mood.

Meanwhile, Clay simply stood there silently.

But inside his head—

Everything had already become chaotic.

Greatest threat to the continent?

Me?

What kind of nonsense is that?

Why is the protagonist already trying to label me as some final boss?

He slowly exhaled.

Then looked back toward the Holy Knights again.

"Tell me everything."

His tone was calm.

Too calm.

That alone made the Holy Knights become nervous again.

Frazanna quietly nodded.

"There is not much else we know."

"But after Maxwell fought Borzoi... he became completely convinced."

Clay’s eyes narrowed.

"Convinced of what exactly?"

"That you are connected to the beast evolution."

Another knight immediately added carefully,

"He believed the Bersuka warriors were acting under your orders."

"He also believed the creatures becoming stronger over time was unnatural."

Clay immediately replied,

"But it is unnatural."

The Holy Knights froze briefly.

Then Clay realized what he just said.

He quickly cleared his throat.

"I mean..."

"Obviously it’s unnatural."

"Anyone with eyes can tell that."

Inside his head though—

Careful.

Careful, you idiot.

Don’t accidentally sound suspicious.

Meanwhile, Maid Cy quietly looked away for a moment.

Because honestly—

That almost sounded like a confession.

Frazanna continued speaking.

"Maxwell also said Borzoi possessed strange abilities."

"Especially something similar to anti magic."

Clay’s expression twitched slightly.

That idiot Borzoi really fought him seriously?

What exactly happened while I was sleeping peacefully?

Another knight slowly spoke.

"And according to Maxwell..."

"He only became that powerful after meeting you."

Silence.

Then—

Inside Clay’s head—

BORZOI.

YOU ABSOLUTE DISASTER.

WHY WOULD YOU SAY THINGS LIKE THAT TO THE MAIN CHARACTER.

He suddenly rubbed his forehead again.

At this point, his peaceful mood from earlier had already completely disappeared.

Frazanna carefully observed him.

"You truly had nothing to do with the rumors spreading?"

Clay immediately looked at her.

Then laughed once more.

But this time, the laugh sounded tired.

"Lady Frazanna."

"If I truly wanted to destroy the continent..."

"Would I really spend weeks sleeping inside a border town mansion?"

One of the Holy Knights awkwardly muttered,

"That... actually makes sense."

Clay pointed at the knight immediately.

"Exactly."

"Finally, someone reasonable."

He sighed deeply again.

"I’ve literally been eating, sleeping, walking around town, and relaxing."

"I even avoided unnecessary fights."

Inside his head though—

Mostly because I’m terrified of becoming the villain from the dream.

And somehow the main character is already targeting me anyway.

The more he thought about it, the more wrong everything felt.

Something was clearly spiraling out of control.

And the worst part—

He did not even know how much Maxwell truly knew.

Suddenly, Clay looked back toward Frazanna again.

"How strong did Maxwell become?"

The question surprised everyone.

Frazanna blinked once.

"He..."

"He became much stronger during the fight."

Another knight slowly added,

"At some point, even Borzoi nearly died."

Clay’s eyes immediately sharpened.

What?

That answer genuinely shocked him.

Because Borzoi was not weak anymore.

Not after receiving his upgraded potential.

Not after reaching the Berserk phases.

Yet Maxwell still almost killed him?

Inside Clay’s head, alarms immediately started ringing.

That’s bad.

That’s really bad.

The protagonist is growing too fast already.

He suddenly remembered the dream again.

Maxwell.

The main character.

The one destined to eventually oppose the ultimate villain version of himself.

And now—

That same protagonist already viewed him as an enemy.

A dangerous enemy.

The Holy Knights meanwhile continued talking.

"After the battle, Maxwell disappeared."

"But before leaving..."

"He repeatedly warned everyone about you."

Frazanna quietly added,

"He believed that if nobody stopped you early..."

"Something catastrophic would happen later."

Clay slowly lowered his gaze.

The atmosphere around him gradually became colder.

Not because he intentionally released pressure.

But because his emotions themselves were becoming unstable.

Confusion.

Frustration.

Irritation.

And underneath all of it—

Fear.

Because he knew something the others did not.

The dream.

The future.

The version of himself that truly did become a monster.

What if—

What if Maxwell somehow sensed something real?

No.

No, that made no sense.

How could he possibly know?

Inside Clay’s head, his thoughts rapidly spiraled.

Did the protagonist somehow figure out the future?

No.

Impossible.

Then why is he targeting me this early?

Maid Cy?

Borzoi?

The beast evolution?

Or...

His expression slowly darkened.

Because suddenly—

Another terrifying possibility entered his mind.

Wait.

What if the story itself is trying to force things back?

What if no matter what I do...

The protagonist and I are destined to become enemies anyway?

That thought alone immediately ruined his mood completely.

The Holy Knights quietly became tense seeing his expression change.

Even Frazanna unconsciously took a small breath.

Because right now—

Clay no longer looked relaxed.

For the first time since arriving, something dangerous finally appeared in him.

Not openly.

Not violently.

But enough that everyone around could feel it.

His eyes slowly lowered toward the ground.

Meanwhile, inside his head—

System.

His voice sounded much quieter now.

Much more serious.

What’s going on?

A brief silence followed.

Then—

His aura slowly became foul.

Cold.

Heavy.

Disturbing enough that even the gryphon behind him stopped moving completely.

And inside his mind, Clay finally asked—

System... why is he going after me?