A Dangerous Situation

"Trust the instinct to the end, though you can render no reason."

2

Dangerous.

That was the first impression Dice got from the clumsy-looking Assistant Kim.

The stranger looked tidy but somewhat unreliable, smiling like an overworked new hire in a company set on bootlicking his supervisor first thing in the morning. 

But despite his average face and his subservient attitude, all the cells in Dice's body were telling him that this person in a knight cosplay…was not human.

It did not make sense.

How can someone living and breathing not be human?

However, the danger Dice sensed, it was similar to the feeling he had once felt before, when he was a child and got lost in the mountains during a family trip. The moment he saw a wild brown bear looming over him, his legs had betrayed him and he could not move. The pressure he felt from that gigantic creature taught his young self the fear of death.

It was the same this time.

Fatally dangerous.

But not human?

'How did that thought appear? What the fuck is wrong with me?'

The man called Assistant Kim definitely looked human, but upon closer inspection, he was indeed a different being. Kind of like when a person sees a wax figure or mannequin of a celebrity—no matter how realistic it looked, one would notice it was not human.

'He's not a robot, is he?'

'No, he is breathing. Besides, his movements and his expressions are too humanlike. But then, I don't understand why my gut feeling is telling me otherwise. I don't think I'm drunk though.'

"Professor, is something wrong?" the man in armor asked as he placed the coffee on the center table.

Dice immediately corrected his expression, causing an unimpressed frown to appear on his face.

Dice had been a retail worker in his friend's sports business for years now. He had been doing the job of assisting customers ever since he entered university, and he returned as hired help after his military service ended. During his 2-year military service, he had been the careful kind, good at understanding the moods of his superiors and fellow soldiers.

Thus, if one were to count, he had about four years of accumulated experience when it came to reading people's faces.

Though Assistant Kim's personality seemed casual, Dice would not mistake his expression—that was the face of an employee fearing his employer.

'This robot dude…thinks I'm his Boss?' 

'Will I be killed if he learns I'm a different person?'

For some reason, Dice's gut feeling was telling him that no matter what happens, he could not allow himself to be on the bad side of this strange person.

It was never wrong to follow one's survival instinct.

'Do I have the same face as this Professor?'

As his mind raced, Dice's entire body did not relax and was as stiff as a statue. He didn't know who the guy was and neither did he understand the situation. He still didn't know how to react. 

Should he play along or ask about his situation?

'...but this Assistant Kim, is he a cosplayer?'

Aside from his strange dark green outfit that looks like it's lifted straight from a fantasy MMORPG, he's also carrying a long sword strapped on his back.

Dice chose to remain silent and observe.

Assistant Kim shook under his intense gaze and began to spill out words of apology.

"Ah, pardon, Professor, I know you don't like talking about business this early in the morning, and you really don't want to attend. However, the Second Throne specifically told me that you have to accept the summon this time and that I must do my utmost to persuade you to come. Otherwise, the materials for your current project will be reduced by a third, even if it affects the war—" 

As he listened to the bunch of words that sounded gibberish to his ears, Dice picked up the piping hot coffee brought by the man and casually lounged on the leather couch. He put on a mask of disinterest and behaved as one would if the place was truly his.

'Play along, let's just play along.'

Though he was not sure if this is how the 'Professor' behaved in front of a subordinate, he thought this was the safest option he had.

His heart was pounding painfully inside his chest and his hands felt icy cold, but he forced his expression to show nothing of the anxiety he was feeling.

'Second Throne? Summon? A project? And war? The fuck, I don't know what to make of this.' 

'Is this 'Professor' a bigshot scientist? Don't tell me he makes weapons? Real life Tony Stark?'

'He's saying a lot of things that don't make sense.'

'I have to quickly send this man away so that I can think.'

"I'm going to shower," Dice interrupted the man as he finished his coffee. His expression remained nonchalant, a little annoyed even, yet he made sure that his actions seemed like that of a young master used to getting his way.

So far, although Assistant Kim seemed confused by his behavior, his actions were within the range of his acceptance. Still, the man looked like he's just waiting for a volcano to erupt.

'That means the real Professor has a nasty temper,' Dice guessed in his heart.

"Of course, of course. I'll be waiting here, Professor. Take your time." 

Assistant Kim immediately nodded and casually waved his hand at the table—

'What the fuck?!'

Under Dice's bewildered gaze, the cup of coffee vanished in thin air, as if it didn't exist in the first place. There was no 'poof' or glow or a hole appearing on the table to get rid of the trash. 

The cup simply disappeared. Erased. Deleted.

Fortunately, Dice was able to pretend nonchalance as he was about to walk towards where the bathroom should be, only to belatedly realize he had no fucking idea where it is. There were many parts of the penthouse he was yet to explore.

'There should be a private bathroom attached to the master's bedroom.'

His footsteps hurried as he returned to where the bedroom was, and the moment he closed the door behind him, he let out another silent curse.

The door seemed so pitiful a barrier between him and the man outside.

'What did I just witness?'

Dice put a hand over his heart, urging it to calm down lest the strange creature outside hears his heartbeats. He felt like he had stepped into a nightmare, unable to escape. 

'There is no contraption on the table, and I don't think it was a hallucination. His actions imply that what he did is quite normal.

'Is that…magic? The kind you see in books and movies and games?

'Who is this Professor and what kind of situation am I in?!'