Shade (1)

“Well now, what brought you here? What can I offer? Looking at you, I doubt you have much money. Want to trade information for information?”

“I’m not that poor… but yes, let’s go that route.”

“What information do you have to trade?”

“About the orc you’re so curious about.”

“Not bad. But you know what? We’re more curious about you than the orc. You seem to have dropped from the sky. Where have you been all this time?”

“I don’t recall offering to trade information about myself.”

There’s not much to tell anyway.

Apart from returning from ten years in the future, there can’t be much information about me.

After all, I grew up in the middle of a forest. Having just entered the world, what information could there be?

With that background, plus the inquisitor techniques I showed this morning.

Their curiosity is natural. I deliberately showed some of it to spark that curiosity.

The more curious they are about me, the higher my value rises.

“There’s zero information about you before you entered Rock Village. Sure, there are plenty of suspicious folks like you. But when you dealt with the bandit headquarters, we couldn’t help but be shocked.”

“Do you have proof I did it?”

“Nope. Just asking based on circumstantial evidence.”

Shade is sizing me up.

More than that, these guys already knew about the bandits.

Since they were gathering that information, they must have known about the human trafficking too.

Yet they took no action. They probably thought they could sell that information later.

“Are you trying to get on my nerves? Shade. It wouldn’t be good for you if things turn sour with the church.”

“Of course not. We plan to sell information cleanly. I want to be able to face my daughter with pride.”

Perhaps because we know so little about each other? A strange battle of nerves continues.

Building information blocks with each word. Checking each other’s reactions.

After a while of meaningless conversation, Shade shrugged as if tired of this process.

With that, his leisurely aura instantly changes.

“But you know what.”

It feels like a blade is pressed right below my throat.

Seems the rumors about them being former assassins aren’t just rumors.

No one is holding me from behind. Just this man’s change in presence alone makes me feel a clear sense of death.

“That sword at your waist. Looks like quite a fine blade, better than expected.”

“I said I wasn’t going to talk about it.”

Shade changed his approach.

Despite my clear refusal, he kept pushing.

“Could I take a look? It’s my first time seeing such a fine blade.”

“You’re making this quite troublesome, aren’t you?”

Seems he wants to confirm that I took out the bandits, no matter what.

He clearly wants to verify it through my sword.

Though I hate to say it, but the swordsmanship my master taught me is quite threatening.

He wants to make things clear.

“Fine, I have time too. Just remember the price for this. You’ll definitely lose out.”

“Oh my, how scary.”

*     *     *

At the time Lost was searching the alleys for Shade.

Titan was watering the potted plant in his room.

Despite his fierce appearance, Titan was a boy who loved flowers.

“Hmm, I hope it blooms beautifully after I leave.”

After watering the plant, Titan nodded with satisfaction and left the room.

As he left, Titan found Linea crouching in front of Lost’s room, pressing her ear against it.

“What are you doing? Black fox.”

“Eek?!”

Linea jumped up dramatically as if caught committing a crime.

Well, she was actually committing a crime by snooping on someone’s room.

“Ah, it’s you, Titan? I thought someone else…”

“Lost already left.”

“I see…”

As soon as she realized it was Titan, Linea started acting boldly as if nothing mattered.

Even Titan was fed up with her shameless behavior.

“Ah, I’ll come with you.”

“……”

Titan glanced at Linea who naturally followed behind him, then immediately left the inn.

He would have eaten breakfast by now normally, but Linea’s presence made him uncomfortable.

‘How annoying.’

To Titan, Linea was an extremely uncomfortable person.

He couldn’t understand what she was thinking at all.

Lost was better – at least it was obvious he was plotting something.

With Linea, he couldn’t even be sure if she was plotting anything.

“Hmm, what kind of fruit is this?”

He’d already finished mapping out the geography around his current inn.

Titan looked around, satisfying his curiosity.

There were many things he’d never seen in his homeland.

“Th-that’s called a pineapple, um, would you like me to buy it for you?”

Of course, for people seeing an orc for the first time, it was like seeing a disaster.

How could they be at ease with a monstrous being with such a fearsome appearance walking around?

Unlike mages or knights, his overwhelming physique visible to the naked eye amplified that fear.

For ordinary people, visible strength is naturally more frightening than invisible power.

“No, it’s fine.”

Titan quietly put down the fruit called pineapple and moved on to other shops.

Linea followed behind Titan without saying a word.

Unlike before, she showed no fear of Titan at all.

Even Lost maintains some caution when talking to Titan, but Linea had none of that.

It’s not that she wasn’t cautious – she simply viewed Titan’s existence the same as any other person.

“There are roses. And over here, is that cyclamen?”

“Oh, you know… nevermind.”

The flower shop owner stumbled over his words, shocked by Titan’s extensive knowledge of flowers despite his appearance.

“You’re quite knowledgeable about flowers?”

“And you seem to have no interest.”

“Ah, I don’t know much about flowers…”

“No, it’s not just flowers.”

“……”

“Not a single place I’ve visited has caught your interest. Is that all? While others fear me, you don’t even have that. You simply have no interest at all.”

Titan’s purpose in surveying the surroundings wasn’t just to satisfy his curiosity.

He was suspicious of Linea.

Not just now, but from the beginning.

That’s why he never once called her by name.

“You’ve only shown interest in Lost from the start.”

“Well, he’s my lifesaver, isn’t he?”

Linea said with a bright smile.

That smile was too perfectly crafted to be natural.

“By that logic, I should be your lifesaver too, since I actually eliminated the bandits?”

“Ah, right. Thank you for that.”

“Ha!”

She desperately clung to Lost, insisting on repaying her debt.

But to him, just a simple thanks like the other children gave.

This blatant discrimination made Titan laugh not from anger, but from sheer absurdity.

“What do you see in Lost? Do you see something special that others wouldn’t care about?”

“Well… I’m not sure what you mean…”

Someone else might think it was a maiden’s pure love.

But Titan saw it differently.

She was desperately seeking Lost’s attention, like someone gripped by fear.

The emotion was too deep for love at first sight.

“Hmm, I see. No matter.”

Titan turned back to examine the potted plants, fed up with Linea’s shameless attitude. He was thinking of buying one.

“…It’s not that I see something in Lost.”

“I said it doesn’t matter. I’m not interested anymore. Lost can handle it.”

“To be precise, Lost is the only one I can’t see anything in.”

“……”

Titan slowly turned his head. There he saw Linea’s ice-cold gaze.

Only can’t see in Lost.

Then that means she sees something in everyone else.

“I’ll buy this. And do you have any rosemary?”

“Ah, we’re out of stock at the moment.”

“Then I’ll just take this.”

“Yes, customer. Would you like it wrapped?”

The flower shop owner quickly lowered his guard seeing Titan’s rational behavior.

Of all things, someone this knowledgeable about flowers seemed like someone he could reason with. But there was still something he had to ask.

“But do you have money? We only accept Imperial gold coins…”

“No bartering?”

“No.”

“Can’t be helped. At least I have what Lost gave me…”

Even Titan, raised far from civilization, had some concept of money.

Though he preferred bartering, he had kept the money Lost gave him to prevent trouble.

“How many shiny ones do you need?”

“Well, the price depends on which shiny ones… Could you show me?”

Of course, Titan had no way of knowing the difference between gold, silver, and copper coins.

To Titan, currency was no different from decorative pebbles.

“Hm?”

Swish!

Just as Titan was taking out his pouch from his chest.

Someone rushed past him in an instant, snatching the pouch.

“Hooh…”

Titan knew what this was.

This was pickpocketing. And that counts as a crime.

He wasn’t sure what gave them the confidence to target Titan’s pouch, but that didn’t matter.

The conclusion was simple.

“If you’re asking for death, I’ll just have to crack your skull.”

“Titan?”

“Wait here, black fox.”

“Eh?”

The price for looking down on him must be paid in full.

*     *     *

Shade’s beloved daughter.

Mar had one bad habit.

She had an excessive need for recognition.

She could have held quite a position in the organization just by being Shade’s daughter.

Everyone called her “young lady” and bowed to her, which made her wonder if she wasn’t receiving proper evaluation because of it.

She was quite skilled even without being Shade’s daughter.

That’s why she often tried to show off her skills.

This time was no different.

The orc that even the organization was concerned about. Everyone else was just carefully observing from afar.

Though it was certainly an unusual creature, she didn’t see it that way.

The bigger they are, the more places to hit. The stronger they are, the slower they must be.

‘Is that really so impressive?’

Unfortunately, Mar didn’t have much information.

That was by direct order of her parent, Shade. Though this only intensified Mar’s rebellious phase.

Shade wanted to hide from his daughter why he was gathering information. And the result of that showed in Mar’s current behavior.

‘No matter how strong they are, with that bulk they probably can’t catch us.’

Yet the guild members’ movements were too passive.

Better to search their belongings and find some solid information.

She’d done this kind of thing before, so cleanup would be simple.

“Fine, I’ll show them myself.”

“Eh, young lady?”

Mar moved the instant she thought it.

*     *     *

And the result.

“Aaaaaahhh!”

Mar was now running for her life.

There was nothing else she could do. Titan was chasing after her with hearty laughter.

She’d die. One slight misstep and her body would be shattered to pieces.

“Like a flying squirrel! Hahaha!”

“This is!”

Though terrified, Mar’s escape skills were impressive. Her fluid movements were no joke either.

Mar fled using unpredictable movements, scaling buildings and making sudden turns that Titan couldn’t predict.

Titan didn’t think he could catch Mar easily either.

That’s why Titan narrowed his goal to one thing. Catch her no matter what.

His response to this decision was remarkably simple.

Bam!

When she climbed buildings or suddenly ducked into alleys, he simply smashed through the buildings themselves.

He had the advantage of a sturdy body. Titan wasn’t stupid enough to waste that.

“What even is that thing!”

Mar felt anxious. Though her opponent was clearly slower than her, the distance was gradually closing.

It was terrifying how he crushed any bothersome buildings in his way, moving in what was practically a straight line.

Creak!

Mar realized she needed to catch Titan off guard, even if it meant taking a risk. That was the only way to create distance.

So how?

No matter which direction she fled, Titan kept following.

Then what about the opposite?

Mar, who had been constantly fleeing from Titan, suddenly turned toward him.

Then immediately twisted her body backward to pass by Titan’s side.

Whoosh!

Titan’s hammer passed over her head.

‘Ah…’

But that gamble caused their shadows to cross.

‘Got it!’

Someone of Titan’s size shouldn’t be able to stop his running momentum.

The heavier something is, the stronger its inertia.

However…

BOOM!

The moment Mar slipped behind him, Titan thrust the spear from his back into the ground.

“Wait… no way?”

CRAAACK!

The spear bent as if about to break but definitely stopped his momentum.

TWANG!

And using that rebound, Titan flew in the opposite direction.

“No, this is just too much! How is that possible?!”

Mar felt despair.

The sensation of the hammer flying over her head was still vivid.

That gamble could never be repeated. Yet he so easily countered it, leaving her with no options.

“Aaaaaaahhhh! Daddyyyyy!”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

She had to run. She had been foolish. What an utterly stupid thing she’d done.

She’d messed up with what amounted to a childish tantrum. She was such a worthless, stupid kid.

Mar kept running while experiencing endless self-reflection and self-loathing.

Only her parent at the hideout could save her now.

So Mar ran with all her might toward where Shade was, and.

CRASH!

Unfortunately, Titan caught her just as she reached the hideout.

Mar threw herself through a window but found her ankle caught.

Titan demolished the building completely, just as he had been doing.

Thanks to that unhesitating decision, he managed to grab Mar’s ankle as she fled.

“Hmm.”

Titan looked around.

Then frowned upon discovering an unexpected person.

“What are you doing here? Lost.”

Lost was waving his hand as if he’d been waiting.

“Recovering the funds I gave you in my own way.”

“I see, this was bait? You have quite a natural talent for hunting.”

Titan retrieved the money pouch Mar had stolen and gave a bitter smile. Seems he was the baited fishing rod.

Though he’d been caught too, it made him laugh rather than feel angry.

“D-Daddy…”

“Mar?! No, w-what’s going on here?”

Shade couldn’t hide his bewilderment at the sight of Mar sobbing.

“What’s going on? It means we can finally set proper terms for our deal.”

Lost smiled brightly at Shade’s devastated expression while staring at the demolished building’s remains.

Lost doesn’t know what kind of person the current Shade is.

When he had contact with Shade, it was already after the next generation had taken over.

But he knows about what comes after.

The next generation’s Shade. That is, he knows about ‘Mar Shade’.

So he laid out the bait.

“Seems your daughter has quite the bad habit? Wow, how did she think to pickpocket my companion?”

Lost didn’t give orders to Titan. He didn’t even ask for anything.

He simply gave him money in advance to create this situation.

“Lucky us. Your daughter’s still alive.”

Shade is an information guild.

Then they must have investigated Titan’s existence.

He thought they would be around Titan. After all, Titan is royalty before being an unusual creature.

Then this must be a very important task.

Isn’t it natural to want your daughter to achieve merit on such an important job?

Lost figured out Titan’s nature in the short time they’d known each other.

And he knew Mar’s nature and abilities too. Despite his appearance, Titan doesn’t take lives carelessly. He has clear standards.

Meanwhile, the Mar from before his regression had mentioned that she caused her parents a lot of trouble in her youth with her bad habits.

Thanks to that, he could lay the bait.

She had enough skill to barely avoid death from Titan but not enough ability to actually deal with him.

Being one-sidedly chased would naturally create fear.

In such a situation, it’s not strange to immediately run to where the most reliable person is.

“Shall we finally wrap up our deal? Shade.”

In the end, Mar had no choice but to come to Shade with Titan.

Though Titan actually catching Mar was slightly unexpected, the situation resolved itself without him needing to step in directly, so that was even better.

“I told you, didn’t I? That you’d only lose out by dragging this on.”