I Became a Raid Boss-Chapter 206: You have no right to remain silent... (1)
“The weather is really unpredictable.”
Recently, it’s been pretty chilly, so I put on something thicker than usual, but now it's so hot that I’m sweating like crazy.
I rolled up my sleeves and took off my outer jacket, draping it over my arm, but the heat didn’t subside.
Eventually, the man gave up on chasing away the heat and simply accepted it.
‘What are you going to do if you don’t accept it? What can you do?’
Mockingly, the sunlight beat down fiercely on the man’s head.
The sweat made his clothes stick to his back.
The clingy clothes made the man feel very uncomfortable, but he couldn’t just take them off in the middle of the street in broad daylight.
Of course, such a thing wouldn’t happen even at night.
Though the man had always wanted to raise his profile, he didn’t want to get famous in this way.
“If I had known this, I would’ve driven my car.”
‘It’s not that far, so I decided to walk for a bit. If not now, when would I ever exercise?’
The man remembered that the last time he went for a health checkup, the doctor told him to get some exercise.
Though he knew the doctor wasn’t suggesting that a little walk today would count as exercise, he figured it was still better than doing nothing.
In other words, it was the minimum amount of conscience to ease his guilt.
So, the man set out with great ambition, but now he deeply regretted that decision.
“Seriously, I’m dying. I’m dying...”
If it were midsummer, he would’ve just turned around and forgotten about the appointment without a second thought.
“But it was her who forgot about the appointment. Why do I have to suffer like this?”
...Something’s off.
The man frowned at the sudden thought.
They say someone else does the dirty work while another person cleans up after them, and it felt like exactly that.
Why hadn’t he thought about this earlier?
“...Ugh, I’m so tired...”
Well, that’s because I didn’t sleep well.
Muttering inwardly, the man stretched his mouth wide for a yawn.
The ideal amount of sleep for a person is around 8 hours.
However, today the man had barely gotten half of that.
It was no surprise that his head wasn’t working properly.
The reason the man didn’t drive his car was also partly because of this.
If he had grabbed the wheel in a dazed state, he might have caused an accident.
“I should’ve just taken a taxi.”
But by now, he had already walked too far to catch one.
Taking a taxi for a 5-minute ride would feel like wasting money.
From the man’s perspective, it would’ve been a foolish action, to say the least.
Someone might say that when you earn a lot, there’s no need to be so frugal.
But when it comes to money, it’s up to the spender, isn’t it?
So, the man had no intention of convincing those kinds of people.
“Sigh... I’ve arrived.”
Half of it was useless thoughts, and the other half was empty.
In fact, walking without thinking much, the man finally reached his destination.
Along with the doctor’s advice about exercising, the man had also noticed his growing belly when he looked in the mirror while showering.
He had made a resolve to exercise.
He had asked the most athletic person he knew to help him train, and the result was that he found this gym right in front of him.
As a side note, the man, who had boldly declared he would start working out, gave up his dream of being an athlete after just three days.
“I can’t believe I built a gym just to exercise.”
Thinking about it again, it really does seem crazy.
The man, with a face full of exhaustion, approached the gym.
Since the person he was supposed to meet was unreachable and wasn’t broadcasting, the gym seemed like the most likely place to find them, which is why the man came here.
He was going to drag the battle enthusiast out of the gym who had forgotten about the appointment.
“Are they inside?”
The man was sure they would be here.
Even as he was convinced of this, he pressed his ear to the door.
“...In movies, people can sense others like this.”
Yeah, movies are just movies.
The man awkwardly pulled his ear away and knocked on the door.
Thud, thud!
Since he knocked with a bit more force than usual, the sound was heavier than the usual knock.
“...Why no response?”
He squinted at the lack of response.
Could it be that they weren’t here?
...That couldn’t be.
Just as the man was about to knock again, he realized that the door had cracked open slightly from the previous knock.
‘Why didn’t they lock the door?’
Well, it wasn’t that surprising considering the person inside had no interest in anything other than working out.
“I knocked, right?”
The man shrugged and opened the door, feeling the air inside the gym hit his face.
The strange heat mixed with the air as the man entered the gym and easily found the person he was looking for.
Even though the gym was quite spacious, it wasn’t so large that he couldn’t spot someone standing right in the middle of it.
With a frown on his face, the man slowly approached the figure standing stiffly.
“...Huh?”
He paused when he noticed something he hadn’t seen earlier.
The person he had been looking for.
The woman, frozen awkwardly in front of Yuki, was someone the man knew well.
The owner of the recently booming broadcast company, Journey.
...Could it be that she forgot about their appointment and set up a new one?
“Hey, you...”
The man took a step forward, feeling a little anger rising inside him, but for some reason, Yuki shifted awkwardly.
Normally, she would’ve shamelessly asked, “What are you doing here?”
Did she realize she’d done something wrong?
But then again, it didn’t seem like she felt guilty at all.
Despite sensing something odd, the man continued to walk toward Yuki.
As he did, Yuki’s body grew even more stiff and awkward.
“...What are you doing here?”
Yuki asked the exact question the man had expected, but her voice was unnaturally stiff.
“What’s that on your back?”
“...Nothing.”
“I told you before, didn’t I? Don’t try lying. You’re no good at it.”
If she had responded smoothly, it would have been no big deal.
But her desperate attempt to hide something made it impossible to ignore.
At this point, wasn’t she practically asking him to notice?
“Did you hide a body or something?”
“What?”
“Well, if it was you, I thought it was possible.”
...Or not.
Avoiding Yuki’s intense gaze, the man shifted his eyes away.
Either way, it was clear that she was hiding something.
Squinting, the man noticed a hint of pink shifting beneath the areas Yuki had failed to cover, and he mumbled without realizing it.
“Pink?”
Yuki flinched!
“What do you mean by pink? I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“...You really can’t act for anything, huh?”
If she was going to act like this, she should’ve just stayed quiet.
As the man looked at Yuki with disbelief, he suddenly heard a small sigh.
“Ugh... I knew it.”
“Huh?”
The man’s eyes widened as he heard the soft voice accompanied by a sigh.
It sounded familiar, but also unfamiliar at the same time.
An intense sense of déjà vu rang in his head.
But the man didn’t have time to ponder the cause of the feeling.
“Move aside.”
Before he could figure it out, the owner of the voice that had sent him into a daze stepped out from behind Yuki.
Slowly, the figure came into view.
The first thing he saw was the soft, flowing pink hair from behind Yuki’s legs.
Next, he saw the small frame that had been hidden by Yuki, and it became clear why Yuki had been hiding her.
Even if he tried to be generous, her body seemed too small to be considered an adult.
Naturally, the man thought, Ah, she’s a child.
He shifted his gaze upward, and then met the striking pink eyes.
“...Huh?”
At that moment, the only thing the man could utter was a breathless exclamation.
Still frozen in an awkward position, Da-eun finally sat down on the floor.
Yuki, seeing the man still in shock, forcibly sat him down before he could say anything.
“...Is this a hidden camera?”
The man’s voice was full of suspicion and doubt.
It was a perfectly reasonable reaction.
“Da-eun acted the same way.”
Of course, Da-eun had reacted a little more dramatically, but the essence wasn’t much different.
“I didn’t make such a foolish face!”
“Wow, are you calling me a fool to my face?”
“...No, that’s not what I meant...”
Realizing her mistake after hearing my words, Da-eun glanced at the man awkwardly.
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It was a comment that wouldn’t have been unusual to respond to with annoyance.
However, the man, who had been called a "fool" by Da-eun, didn’t seem to care much about her words.
"But are you really okay? Showing yourself like this?"
“I’ll manage.”
If he wanted, he could’ve escaped without revealing himself, but seeing Yuki talk to her, he figured it wasn’t necessary.
Besides, anyone who knew where Yuki’s gym was and could come over without hesitation probably wasn’t a bad person.
“What if something goes wrong?”
“Then...”
“...Then what?”
“...”
“...Kana, are you thinking of something awful? Like... cutting them off silently...?”
I ignored Da-eun’s whispered words.
There was something more pressing on my mind.
‘Why does this feel familiar?’
Why does she look so familiar?
It wasn’t exactly her face that seemed familiar, but somehow, she felt oddly recognizable.
Like someone I’ve encountered multiple times before.
“...!”
Ah, I get it.
As I ransacked my memories, I suddenly snapped my fingers.
“It’s the person who used to bother me.”
The person who used to show up repeatedly when I lived in the mountains.
And the one who came even when the knights came to visit.
Now, I understood why the face seemed unfamiliar.
Back then, I couldn’t focus properly because of the mess Edel caused, so I didn’t pay much attention to faces or presences.
But even so, I recognized her from the habits ingrained in my body.
“...Huh?!”
The man, frozen in shock, jumped up as if he’d heard an unexpected sound.
“Wh-what? When did I bother you...?!”
He stammered, clearly flustered.
Creak.
Turning her head like a rusted doll, Da-eun stared at him.
“...Bother you?”
Her voice, which emerged slowly, was so chilling that it made even me flinch for a moment.
...Did I say something wrong?
For a brief moment, I thought that, but then I shook my head.
After all, it’s true that she came to bother me when I was doing well.
So, I hadn’t done anything wrong.
Yeah, that’s right.
