The cunning NPC and the heroine who misread the situation (part 5)

"She will become my plaything – hence, I will not pass on any requests directly involving harming her physically or mentally more than she already is~"

"...!"

The playfulness in his voice sent chills down Ava's spine.

The pixie-cut girl knew better than to mess with the most shrewd and clever character in the game, so she didn't even try to research her in fear of getting her attention... but this guy...

|...he has already done something to her...!|

Ava felt as if she stepped right onto the hornet's nest – the only good part about this situation was that the hornets were still young, half-asleep, and focused on a different target, or who knows...? Maybe she would be in Zorivia's place?

|As soon as he leaves, I need to get as much information about the villainess as possible...!|

Ava promised herself while already wanting to find a reason to cut the meeting short, even though it had barely started.

"...I see I spoke too much. That's a bit awkward – I thought you and I were the same."

"?!?!"

And then, all of a sudden, Medea leaned back in his seat and sighed with an expression that was much more disappointed than awkward or angry despite what his words would suggest.

Of course, Ava instantly flinched as if she was struck by thunder.

"Th-the same...?!"

She managed to let out a shocked shrill while her head was a mess.

"Don't mind me. It was my mistake... you probably didn't even want to talk about your plans that ended up getting messed up..."

"N-no...! Wait! We are! We are the same!"

| I'm such an idiot! Not only is he reincarnation, but he knows that I am one, too!|

Medea sighed and waved his hand dismissively, which worked on Ava just like a powerful kick in the butt, causing her to spring into action.

"Are we? Please forgive my rudeness, but I simply need to re-enter Zorivia's life to capture her, but you... well... you seem far more interested in the little Tee than he is in you."

The black-haired boy snickered, nonchalantly looking to the side to make sure that the guard wasn't taking any action.

|He knows... he knows everything...!|

"You say that, but isn't your involvement with them that gets in the way of progressing that route?!"

Ava thought and instantly said, feeling not only called out but straight up attacked by the very person who messed up everything.

"Ah. True... I might have traumatized little Tee a bit too much... but it couldn't be helped. Without being there, you would not believe what insufferable little shit he was. As for Zorivia... I know that she is doing her best to escape the brand of failure."

"..."

Medea furrowed his browns and looked up for a moment before nodding with an expression of a criminal being caught red-handed and being proud about it, making Ava close her mouth.

|Did... did he say that THE Zorivia Rotteloss was trying to escape the brand of a failure?! What in the world did he pull off?!|

The more the conversation progressed, the more terrified Ava became.

Granted, this still could be just Medea talking big and nothing less, but... Ava witnessing Theo's reaction to the black-haired boy did prove that at least that part was real.

"Just to make sure... the recipe for the miraculous tonic..."

"Don't worry, stealing it was never my intention... because obviously, I know it too."

Ava wanted to clear out the misunderstanding, but she didn't even manage to finish her sentence, as Medea was that quick to answer.

"Let's just drop this chit-chat and continue with the main point – what do you need us for? And better start considering how much you are willing to pay to make that happen."

The black-haired boy breathed out and shook his head as if he was leaving that part of the conversation behind and was ready to get down to business.

"... that's right..."

The pixie-cut girl took a deep breath and nodded.

All in all. Knowing who was the other reincarnation that ended up messing with her plans was already reassuring – at least now she knew that she should be expecting some kind of trouble when Zorivia, who was clearly Medea's target, would be involved.

...unfortunately, that meant most of the events involving Theo...

"You know about the warehouses east to the Crownhorn farm? Exactly one week from today, a special shipment will arrive there."

Ava leaned close to Medea and whispered, glancing toward the soldier in the corner.

"How special?"

|Oh, thank goodness...!|

Medea raised his brow, intrigued, causing the pixie-cut girl to breathe out in relief internally as it seemed that her connections with the people around the royal family were vastly better than whatever informants the black-haired boy had.

He already appeared to be two steps ahead of her – if the difference was even bigger than that, then she could just give up on her own plans.

...that was Ava's side. On the other hand, Medea's thoughts were quite different.

| She's really something... I wonder why she was so shocked about Zorivia? From what I know, She never left Startinton, similarly to Zorivia, not leaving Daakvillan until just recently... When did they even meet or exchange letters? I don't like it. That little dummy is mine.|

"Let's just drop this chit-chat and continue with the main point – what do you need us for, and how much are you willing to pay to make that happen?"

The black-haired boy breathed out and shook his head to clear his head and get back on the right topic.

"... that's right..."

The pixie-cut girl took a deep breath and nodded.

Medea was observing her keenly – the hazel-haired girl was an essential piece of his puzzle.

Things were different from when he and Zorivia were children – Now, meeting her wasn't as easy as chancing upon her walking in the streets.

Almost four years since the black-haired boy fled Daakvillan fearing being pursued after the blond-haired girl revealed everything that he told her to her father or the servant.

One can imagine his shock when letters sent by his mother and big sisters all prove that fear to be just a baseless assumption.

No one was looking for him. Zorivia kept her pretty little mouth shut.