Show Me Your Stats!-Chapter 64

“What?”

Ayra, who had just been thinking how difficult it would be to ever see Janus again if he left, snapped back to her senses. The first thing that came to mind was the estate’s D-day counter, which steadily ticked down each day. Did he hear something from one of his many contacts?

“You said you worked at the lord’s castle, right? No matter what they’re paying you, I can earn more than that for you. What do you think? You’ve seen for yourself—honestly, Sobletz or Bolni’s way better to live in than Solar.”

“Wait, hold on... Before that, tell me why Solar is going to collapse!”

Janus scratched his chin, looking either bothered or reluctant to explain. The answer that finally came out was one Ayra couldn’t make any sense of.

“Well, I guess I just got tired of it all. You know, looking for my lover for ten years is starting to wear me out...”

Why the hell was he bringing up that damned search for his ‘true lover’ here, of all places? Ayra was caught between wanting to scream and wanting to shake him by the collar when the stone on her hand suddenly flashed an urgent alert.

[Nilma Argan is approaching. 10 seconds until rendezvous! ;3]

What?! Him?! Here?!

Ayra whipped her head around. From the direction they were walking, a group of people was approaching. She quickly popped open the stat window of the person wearing the flashiest clothes—sure enough, it was Nilma Argan.

The group hesitated briefly, murmuring something among themselves, then began to approach quickly, as if they had business with them. Ayra, caught off guard by the enemy’s sudden appearance, spun around instinctively. She yanked her robe’s hood up to cover her face to the tip of her nose. Janus looked at her, puzzled.

“Ayra? What’s wrong?”

In that fleeting moment, Ayra made a quick decision: she couldn’t let Nilma Argan see her face. If he recognized her, then Janus would find out she was the lord of Solar. And she had no intention of revealing her identity to him—especially not when he was on the verge of saying why Solar was going to collapse.

It had to be now, of all times—at night, in a sparsely populated area, on a wide boulevard with no good hiding spots. With no other choice, Ayra buried her face in Janus’s chest and gave a flimsy excuse.

“My face is cold...”

“Hmm?”

Of course it didn’t work. Janus glanced between the approaching group and Ayra, then smirked mischievously.

“Want me to warm you up with a kiss? That’ll keep your lips from freezing.”

As he turned with that obviously teasing tone, Ayra quickly spun with him. The two of them looked like lunatics twirling around in the middle of the night, which made Nilma Argan and his group stop in their tracks, clearly uncomfortable.

“Uh, excuse me...”

He even spoke to them! Why would a man who flaunted his status as a noble heir speak directly to a mere commoner? Ayra desperately hugged Janus tighter, pressing her face so deep into his chest she could hardly breathe. If they looked like two people blinded by love, maybe they’d be dismissed as a nuisance and ignored. But Janus, far too entertained, spun her in several more circles until Ayra, breathless, smacked his chest a few times to make him stop.

Yet Nilma Argan didn’t lash out or take offense. Instead, he coughed a few times, trying to draw attention—like he wanted to be acknowledged. Only then did Janus finally stop teasing and turn toward him, his voice light with amusement.

“What are you staring at?”

“Pardon?”

“She’s my lover. Eyes off.”

The words came out with the smug swagger of a total punk. Ayra braced herself, thinking surely Nilma would blow up this time, but to her shock, his response was pathetically submissive.

“Ah, yes, of course. I’ll look away.”

As soon as she heard that, Ayra realized just how utterly bizarre and nonsensical this situation was.

Wait a minute... What the hell is going on here?

A man of supposedly lower status had just acted completely out of line, and yet the noble heir responded like it was perfectly natural.

Why the hell is Nilma Argan being so deferential to a mere mercenary like Janus?

In a society where class hierarchy was this rigid, such a scene was unthinkable. Slavery still existed, and people were clearly divided into noble and lowborn. Mercenaries generally belonged to the latter. And yet here was Janus, treating Nilma—the heir of a prominent noble family—as if he were the higher-ranked one.

Which could only mean one thing: Janus wasn’t just a mercenary.

What kind of status must he have for Nilma Argan to treat him like that?

Suddenly, flashes of memory surged through Ayra’s mind like lightning.

Janus’s constant talk about searching for a lover for ten years. The merciless way he cut down a so-called friend without hesitation. That unbelievable HP stat—9,999,999. The rumors swirling in Sobletz and Bolni about a certain dragon...

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No way.

No way. It couldn’t be. It made no sense—none of it did.

The idea was so ridiculous, Ayra let out a faint, incredulous laugh. And yet her ears were wide open, listening intently to the conversation between Nilma and Janus.

“Sir Janus, where have you been since early this morning? You said you’d be staying at the villa, but you left without a word—we searched everywhere—”

“I’m with my lover right now, so make it quick.”

Still chuckling, Janus gave the warning with Ayra’s face still buried in his chest. Nilma swallowed hard. Ayra could hear it from where she stood.

“My father wishes to see you. Might you be available soon?”

“I’m always available.”

Janus answered cheerfully. The name of the Bolni lord had just been brought up. The conversation was so clearly hierarchical that Ayra’s nerves were on fire.

“But if he tries to throw some man or woman at me again, I’m going to be pissed. He’ll end up just like the guy who tried to push that kid on me last time.”

“N-no! Of course not! That was... a misunderstanding! We were merely trying to help you find your partner. It’s just, it’s been so long and...”

By this point, Ayra was certain her suspicion was correct. Even so, she clung to that last shred of hope. Her fingers, still clutching Janus’s coat, were ice cold.

“Then... I’ll take my leave...”

Nilma was practically groveling, gauging every flicker of Janus’s mood. Janus sighed, openly annoyed.

“You’ll get me tomorrow morning, yeah?”

“Yes! Thank you! I’ll inform my father!”

“Oh, and I’m using your villa for the night. My lover gets cold easily.”

“Of course! Use it as much as you like!”

After buttering up Janus, Nilma even turned to address Ayra with the same exaggerated politeness.

“I hope your stay is a comfortable one as well, my lady. Thanks to the Dragon’s blessing, Bolni’s a truly lovely place to live.”

He even forced out a big, hearty laugh. Ayra, no longer able to pretend, mentally hurled every curse she knew. Across both her past life and this one, only one word truly fit the current moment.

Fuck...

“Quit pestering me and just go already.”

“Yes! Of course! I’ll take my leave now! See you tomorrow morning!”

Bowing repeatedly, Nilma hurried away with his group. Whatever had happened before, he moved like a man terrified of being devoured by the predator at his back.

And Ayra... was still buried in that predator’s chest.

Once Nilma disappeared from sight, Janus chuckled and gently pulled Ayra back to look at her.

“Why’d you suddenly hide?”

Ayra took a few breaths before lifting her head. She wasn’t in the mood to smile. Her voice was flat and serious.

“I just... have one of those faces. It’s a °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° pain if high-status people recognize me.”

She felt embarrassed saying it aloud—it sounded like arrogant self-praise—but Janus, acting like a doting lover, agreed without missing a beat.

“You’re right. My lover is really good-looking.”

It was embarrassing—and strangely touching. And yet the confusion outmatched the gratitude by far.

“You’ll like the place. That guy’s from a pretty rich family, so he really decked the villa out.”

Ayra knew exactly how rich Nilma’s family was...

Janus, looking pleased, wrapped an arm around her waist again. It felt like being squeezed by a giant boa constrictor. As they walked, Ayra replayed the conversation she’d just heard. The highest status in this world: a lord. Above most lords: a duke. And Nilma, heir to such a household, had completely bowed his head to Janus.

Is he really... a dragon? No, no way...

Spirit Pebble... please tell me he’s not.

With a desperate prayer, she looked down. The little stone spirit slipped from the back of her hand and displayed a message on its translucent body. Ayra leaned in close to read it.

[:D]

You’re smiling? When your master’s in the middle of a crisis?

She narrowed her eyes. The spirit, now crumpled like a guilty child, quickly typed out a few more letters with tiny clicking sounds.

[:Dragon!]