Dan was suspicious of “Didi.”

That brat was anything but “just a human.”

‘At first, I thought it was a mistake.’

Raven, who had always been far from normal, had a skewed perception of what was “normal,” and the mercenary, who barely knew her, didn’t notice anything either. But Dan, who had been observing her constantly from a distance even before meeting her, knew it for certain.

‘She never goes to the bathroom.’

That girl lacked physiological functions.

As if…

‘Yes, just like Raven.’

Dan had been focused on watching Raven, and the girl had barely entered his field of vision as an afterthought, which is why it took him a while to notice. But there was no doubt anymore: that supposed noble never went to the bathroom.

And if that was the case, she likely shared other traits with Raven.

From that, Dan made another guess.

‘What if it’s not that she doesn’t eat to avoid bothering others, but that she actually doesn’t need to eat and just forgot about it?’

He didn’t know whether Raven “couldn’t” or “didn’t need to” eat, but either way…

‘That’s not human.’

Dan confirmed it when he looked into “Didi’s” eyes. Those weren’t the eyes of someone who considered humans equals.

That must have been what made her feel uncomfortable. A powerful being that neither understands nor wants to understand the weak can’t pretend to be one of them. How could someone who looks at him with such disdain, like an annoying insect, perfectly imitate a “human”?

…She’s dangerous.

His instincts were sounding the alarm. Despite having traits similar to Raven, she was an entirely different existence. Closer to a monster. Something unknown that exuded an abyssal presence.

‘…I’m fine.’

Despite the obvious threat to his life, Dan accepted the stack of papers from the crow while feigning calm.

His back was drenched in cold sweat.

‘Raven is nearby.’

I won’t die.

‘She wouldn’t risk killing me after going to such lengths to stay close by pretending to be a “burden.”’

It’s ironic that his life depended on his enemy, but right now he had no other choice.

So, suppressing the urge to flee, he lowered his eyes to what he held in his hands.

He hadn’t been able to observe it properly before, since he was watching Raven, but it was the thing that being always received in secret and tore to shreds before returning to him.

He needed to know what it was that monster wanted to eliminate so discreetly.

‘This is…’

“What are you staring at so intently?”

“!”

Dan jumped and turned.

Taking advantage of that moment, the mercenary Eckart snatched the stack of papers from his hands.

He began to flip through them absentmindedly, but his expression quickly turned strange.

“What is this…?”

Since the assassin apprentice had approached stealthily, he had gone to watch in case he tried to kill the boss again.

“A wanted notice…?”

Now he wants to change careers and become a bounty hunter? Well, that’s better than being an assassin or a stalker.

In any case, as long as he doesn’t try to kill Raven, it’s fine.

So, who would be the first criminal our young bounty hunter tries to catch?

Curious, Eckart began reading carefully.

‘…No criminal record. They just want to find him?’

Well, catching criminals from the start is tough.

Just about to brush it off, his eyes caught the large printed sum on the paper.

An absurdly high figure just for finding someone.

‘Now this is suspicious.’

It’d be a great business if he turned him in.

Who could this person be to warrant that kind of bounty…?

As he read the physical description, his face began to gradually change.

“This… Why does this look familiar…?”

“Did someone you know turn up on a wanted poster?”

“Ah, boss…!”

When did he get so close…!?

Raven, who had appeared without warning, snatched the paper from his hand and checked it.

Upon seeing the content, his expression completely vanished.

“…So this is what it was.”

Yes, it was definitely someone he knew.

It seemed those chasing him were quite determined.

After glancing at the wanted poster with his own description, he looked over at Eckart and Dan, then at Didi, who was some distance away, glancing around anxiously.

‘Was it that girl who collected them?’

Dan seemed especially wary of her.

Certainly, she had disappeared many times without anyone noticing.

He wanted to believe it was to use the bathroom, but apparently not.

It was quite an unpleasant and bothersome situation, but Raven responded more calmly than expected.

‘Not surprising.’

He had suspected Didi was suspicious from the beginning.

It’s not like this shocked him now.

He hadn’t expected those suspicions to include this kind of action, or that she had gathered so many notices without him noticing, but still.

“This…”

Either way, the first thing was to get things under control.

Amid the strange atmosphere where everyone seemed to be holding their breath waiting for him to speak, Raven opened his mouth with an expressionless face. His voice lacked emotion.

“If I turn myself in, do I get paid too?”

“……”

“That’s quite a large sum.”

[The guardian spirit ??? sighs.]

“No, boss. That’s not the point! What kind of person are you for them to put up that kind of bounty?!”

“Not even I know.”

The tension in the air eased a little.

Raven nonchalantly brushed off Eckart’s protest, flipped through the identical copies with disinterest, and approached Didi to hand her the papers.

Then he asked calmly.

“So, why were you collecting these secretly?”

“I-it’s just…”

“Were you planning to turn me in once we reached the capital?”

Did you hide them so you could deliver me without raising suspicion?

Judging by the fact she had done it before, she had likely been collecting them for a while and destroying them without his notice. If she failed this time and got caught, it would make sense.

He wasn’t angry. It wasn’t as if it really affected him. After all, to be betrayed, one must have trusted first.

‘Though I am curious why they’re so desperate to find me… Maybe letting myself get caught wouldn’t be so bad.’

As he thought that indifferently, Didi suddenly grabbed his sleeve desperately.

“That’s not it! I’d never do something like that!”

“Then what is it?”

“I-it’s just…”

“……”

“I was afraid that if you saw them… you wouldn’t want to take me to the capital…”

“…What?”

“I was scared you wouldn’t keep your promise…”

Her voice faded gradually until she lowered her head.

Raven looked at her in silence for a moment, then closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

“…You worry too much for someone so small.”

“I’m sorry…”

“I’ll take you, as I promised. So stop worrying and get some rest.”

He gave her a couple of soft pats on the back to nudge her along.

Didi, still looking nervous, watched his expression for reassurance and then quietly walked over and sat down.

After confirming this, Raven turned slightly toward Dan.

‘…This guy would rather kill me with his own hands than turn me in.’

There was no need to worry about a report. He surely understood that if Raven were caught, he’d lose the chance to watch him, so he probably hoped it wouldn’t happen.

With him ruled out, Raven turned his gaze to Eckart.

“Are you going to turn me in?”

“Huh!? No!”

The man jumped up.

“You don’t seem like a criminal, so why make you hate me?”

“A criminal, huh…?”

“Wait, are you?”

“Not officially.”

He kills people, sure, but he’s never been officially wanted, so technically not a criminal.

Though, where the hell did that story about him killing Dan’s family come from?

After hearing something like that, you’d expect someone to get suspicious seeing a wanted poster, right?

Definitely not a normal person to begin with. Raven tilted his head with disdain.

“With that reward, you could live worry-free for five years. Are you really sure you don’t want to turn me in?”

“Of course not—”

“What if I don’t join your group?”

“That would be a shame…”

Eckart scratched his head with a bitter smile.

“But forcing someone with threats would only have the opposite effect. And getting revenge just because you were rejected… there’s nothing more pathetic or ridiculous than that.”

“……”

“Besides, I’m not so desperate that I’d make money by selling out a promising young guy who isn’t even a bad person…”

Silence.

Raven slowly turned his head.

“Pro-mis-ing?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“Who else? You, boss.”

He looks like he’s barely in his early twenties at most…

…said a kid in his twenties with a baby face.

Raven, who had recently confirmed his age to be 174 upon dying, couldn’t hide his disbelief and stared at Eckart.

“You… never mind.”

“Still worried? I get it, but if that’s the case…”

The mercenary, misinterpreting Raven’s reaction, moved toward his target. The bandit boss, sensing danger, tried to crawl away, but tied up as he was, it was useless.

Shing.

A shining blade was raised before him.

“Mmf! Mmmmff!”

He thrashed desperately under the imminent threat. Looking up, his eyes met a cold gaze completely different from the earlier smile, and terror froze him in place.

Despite his easygoing air, Eckart was a mercenary who had killed before.

“This guy’s supposed to be captured alive for some reason. Seems like he’s got backing, and if he dies, I’ll definitely be in trouble.”

“……”

“So…”

“Mmmf! M—!”

Slash.

The annoying noise stopped.

Without even wiping the blood off his face, Eckart turned to Raven. His bright smile aimed at the man with the unsettling green eyes.

“I guess my life now depends on your silence, boss.”

“…Why did you do that?”

“Well… consider it the price for saving my life. I don’t have the right to meddle or speak on things I don’t understand, so I thought this might at least help you relax.”

“……”

Lunatic.

Raven didn’t know what to say.

If Eckart had wanted to turn him in, he’d at least expected to negotiate. But now that the problem of silence had resolved itself in such an unexpected way, Raven was momentarily speechless.

“I wasn’t planning to kill you.”

“Eh!? So I was the only one who would’ve died!?”

“I don’t know… but I must admit, you’ve got guts. Life must’ve been boring for you.”

“Boss…!”

“If you’ve got time to complain, go deal with the corpse. Though if you want to make your life even harder, just leave it.”

He replied with a crooked grin, lifting the corner of his lips.

***

While the mercenary handled the body, Raven noticed Didi had seen everything. He picked her up and gently covered her eyes.

At his calming touch, the girl’s body relaxed and she fell asleep. Even the crow perched on a nearby tree nodded off.

At that moment, as he stared thoughtfully at the sky, Raven murmured.

“Now I understand why you feel so familiar…”

“Hmm?”

“A long time ago, I met another idiot like you.”

His quiet voice broke the silence gently.

“Someone who, without hesitation, dirtied their hands with blood for someone they barely knew.”

“Was that a compliment?”

He had been a mercenary too.

Maybe it was the job, or maybe a similar personality.

Remembering that distant day, Raven lowered his gaze.

…Now he understood why he’d been yielding to this noisy guy without realizing it.

“He was a total madman.”

“Was that an insult?”

“Shut up. You’ll wake the kids.”

Because he acted the same way. Barely knew each other, and already got his hands dirty for him.

“It’s a compliment, in a way. Not everyone has the guts to do something that reckless.”

“Ah…”

Even though that man would forget him every five hours and treat him like a stranger every morning, the immature Raven of the past couldn’t leave him.

And that’s why—

“Well, in the end, I killed him myself.”

…That’s why he had no choice but to kill him.

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