Targeted By The Protagonist As A Villain-Chapter 35: Bodyguard (2)

Eric didn’t want to toot his own horns or anything like that, but this was probably the best idea he has had yet since recovering the memories of his past lives.

It may not seem like it at first, since Celeste hadn’t actually shown anything impressive so far, but she was considered incredibly strong even amongst the people who could use magical energy.

It’s not normal for supernatural beings to be able to just create ’dimensions’ and ’realms’ and live to over 300 years, after all.

Most supernatural beings would never even come close to reaching that kind of level in their entire lives.

For them, that sort of thing was less a realistic goal and more the stuff of distant legends.

In fact, excluding all of the villains that were mentioned in the novel, the number of people who could truly be considered her equals was incredibly small and barely reached into the triple digits...

Which still seemed like a lot at first, but considering how vast this world is, it really wasn’t.

Not even close.

As such, even amongst the supernatural beings committed to protecting the innocent just like her, she ranked near the top of the food chain, with only a handful capable of challenging her.

And that person, now for the time being, was...

His bodyguard.

"Zed, I don’t care if they threaten to destroy your limited-edition, mint-condition action figures that are still sealed in their original packaging. I mean it. Keep them away from coming to this city. Even lie if you have to. This isn’t something that we can afford to let spiral out of control." Celeste casted a communication spell without chanting or using any incantations, relying only on her hands, and spoke in a stern and authoritative voice as she sat on the bar stool near the kitchen counter.

Afterwards, she made a few more hand gestures to relay the message back to Zed before turning to Eric and saying, "Sorry, I’m trying my best here, but apparently the people coming over to attack you are being more persistent than I expected, and clearly Zed isn’t taking things like this seriously, as per usual. Honestly, I don’t really know what goes on in his head sometimes."

"It’s fine, as long as you protect me properly when anyone comes to kill me, then you don’t have anything to worry about." Eric reassured her and went back to admiring the city view from his penthouse.

It had been about two hours now since Celeste first came to warn Eric about the incoming danger, and she had agreed to protect him until the situation was resolved.

In fact, she had even gone to get her things and moved in with Eric for the time being, with her things neatly packed into the guest bedroom. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

It was quite reassuring, actually, having someone this strong on his side for the time being.

If this had been the Eric from before regaining his memories, he probably would have taken full advantage of the situation and gone out to cause some trouble in public.

But luckily, he wasn’t stupid anymore.

Well, not stupid, at least in regards to that.

But still, he knew what he should and shouldn’t do.

Speaking of which...

"Celeste, how infamous am I to the people in your circle and your line of work?" Eric thought about what Celeste had told him initially, about people wanting to kill him solely because they hated him, and asked curiously.

"You mean the ones who are coming after you right now?" Celeste asked for confirmation.

"That’s right."

"I’m not entirely sure. It varies from group to group, but if I had to guess... you’re probably one of the more infamous ones out there when it comes to a ’normal’ person." Celeste stated after putting some thought into it, and then continued...

"Rumor has it that you’ve killed a bit over a dozen innocent people by now, and some of the ways you’ve supposedly killed them can be pretty disturbing to say the least... like that one time you apparently beat someone to death with a metal chair along with a group of people, all because he had accidentally stepped on your white shoes and got dirt on them while he was hurrying somewhere out on the street."

"..."

"Of course, those are just rumors though."

"...No, I understand." Eric really wanted to just smack his head against the nearest wall right now and scream for a good minute.

After all, what Celeste said had actually happened, and he specifically remembered doing that in the past, long before even recovering his past memories.

However, he wasn’t moping over the fact that he had taken an innocent life at all, since it’s not like he could just time travel to the past and change anything about it anyway, but rather because it meant that someone had specifically been spying on him, probably by using magic from afar, when he did the deed and then spread the news about it to others.

This also meant that most, if not all, of the crimes he had committed in the past hadalso been seen, and there was no possible way that he would be able to clear up his name, ever.

’Damn it, why couldn’t I have gotten transmigrated out of this world instead?’

Eric really couldn’t help but sigh quietly and then continued gazing at the beautiful city while still in thought.

Celeste probably saw the sigh, or his annoyed body language, while she was staring at his back though, as she then stated, "For what it’s worth, I originally believed the rumors as well, but after knowing you a little better now, I doubt that you’re as cruel as the rumors suggest."

"What makes you say that?" Eric inquired out of curiosity, his back still facing Celeste as he looked outside.

"I’m the best proof of it, aren’t I? You didn’t kill me or any of my allies even after we attacked first, and you helped that girl Aria move past the trouble I’ve caused despite her being a normal person." Celeste replied respectfully. "So if you’ve killed people before, I can only assume it’s because they probably deserved it. Or maybe it was to keep your strength hidden... which is still a bit harsh, but I understand... and I’m sorry for bringing that up again."

"Fair enough." Eric simply stated and didn’t say anything else.

Seeing this, Celeste could only helplessly smile in a slightly sad manner in his direction and go back to reading a book she had brought along with her while staying at his house.

She didn’t know exactly what was going through Eric’s mind right now, but judging by his empty sigh earlier, she could likely guess that he was disappointed.

As for what exactly?

Well, it was obvious based on the conversation just now.

’He’s being misunderstood.’

Maybe he did want to be seen as a bad guy for some reason, and that’s why he wasn’t surprised when she mentioned to him one of the crimes he had supposedly committed, but he didn’t expect it to get to the point where people wanted to kill him for it.

And while it was technically his fault that he let it get to this point, especially since she had seen that fake personality of his when she had been spying on him in the past with magic to see if she could actually catch him committing a crime out of curiosity, she still couldn’t help but feel sad for him.

After all, it only made her more certain that he had walked countless paths before...

And the path he was currently on now was another dark and lonely one.

If she could, she would love to help him out in any way possible to ease the hardship, even if it was just a little bit.

But she probably wouldn’t be of any help considering his capabilities, and besides, he most likely didn’t want any help from her either.

Just as Celeste was in the middle of reading her book, and was about to flip to the next page, however...

Woosh!

Celeste immediately grabbed a nearby kitchen knife from the top of the kitchen counter and threw it toward one of the walls adjacent to the front door, seemingly hitting nothing.

But since the wall was reinforced drywall, and the knife sounded like it had made contact with a metal object instead of the wall when it landed...

"Come on out."

Shortly after Celeste coldly announced this, someone in a black long coat and dark glasses, with short slicked-back black hair, seemingly materialized out of thin air and calmly stepped forward with a smile on his face.

Afterwards, he briefly turned to Eric, who was staring back at him with a blank expression, before turning back to Celeste and saying...

"I’ve finally found you."