6: Be careful not to die [pt2]

The inside of the car was quite spacious. And yet, Keith felt it get smaller and narrower as the journey progressed. He could feel himself almost choking every time he breathed.

And it was all because of the tense atmosphere of his surroundings.

"So, the dumb old day decided to join us today? What made you think it was a good idea to join us, Shimi?"

'Clair, don't speak nonsense and don't pressure Shimi into attacking. I don't think I can stop her if she does attack you.'

Keith knew he should stop the fight that this small jab was certainly shaping up to be. But how can he do that without getting involved himself?

And if he did get involved, he would be the one to suffer the most here since he was the only one who could not use magic. He should start slowly removing himself from the equation to ensure he survived in the end.

"Huh? Look at this little slave questioning me. Rather than you asking me, I should be the one asking you what you are doing here, right? A little girl like you should be sleeping at this hour of the day."

Shimi tried to counter Clair's jab with her own, this time using Clair's age as a factor. Keith could have butted in and told Shimi about Clair's real age but, once again, he was not going to get involved.

Especially more so when Shimi had her arms warped around his arm and her breasts were rubbing against his arms in a rather intimate manner.

And also, her hand might be too close to his heart, making it easy to rip it out of his chest.

"At least this young child is much more mature than an old lady like you. Besides, the master chose me to accompany him, right? It is more than what could be said about you. You forced yourself upon this journey and-"

"C-Clair, that is enough. We are about to reach our destination so I would appreciate it if you behaved now."

Keith was so thankful when his voice did not break throughout his small speech. Clair's glare warned Keith of the upcoming dangers he would have to face because he stopped her mid-sentence but he had no other choice.

The more Clair spoke, the harsher Shimi's grip on his arm became. And Keith was sure that he was even bleeding in his arm because of Shimi's tight grip now. Her nails were something else and dug deep into his arm.

Thankfully, no one spoke anything for the rest of the journey. But Keith's arm was not let go of the whole while. And he was also sure Shimi was giving him 'love-stuck' looks throughout the journey.

'What did I get myself into? I hope I will be able to get my peace back soon'

Currently, Keith felt too much like a harem protagonist, except it was not half as nice and twice as stressful for him. He wondered how those protagonists handled all this pressure. (Definitely with magic and a lot of plot armor)

"B-Boss, we are here. Are you going to get off here?"

Finally, it was over for now. Keith wanted to throw his hands up and proclaim his eternal happiness at finally being free.

But he could not do that because of 'character'. He needed to be calm and collected at all times to ensure that his secret did not go out.

"We'll be getting off here. God knows what else I will have to face if I run into an incompetent fool before the meeting. It would surely sour my mood."

Both Clair and Shimi decided they wanted to accompany him but Keith had enough of their tension. He needed to get away from them as soon as he could for his mental health.

He was sure that he would not be able to take on another subtle session of passive-aggressive fighting with him stuck in the middle.

*cough* "I will be heading in from here alone. Make sure no one follows me or I will teach them a lesson."

Shimi stopped right in her tracks as soon as Keith said that. She looked conflicted between coming after him and stopping short of following his orders.

In the end, she did decide to stay back because that was what Keith wanted. But Clair was a different case and she knew everything. Keith would have preferred to take her along but he did not want to show favouritism.

'You might regret this.'

Clair mouthed back to him as Yohan turned around. He was sure that he might regret leaving Clair behind but he did not have a choice.

'Remember the character setting. If you remember what you have learned in the last week, you will be able to get through this small meeting.'

Clair might be right and Keith might regret all he was doing. But it was a risk worth taking for him.

After all, he might not always have Clair with him in the future so he needed to know how well he could act on his own.

The hallway inside the meeting guild looked familiar to Keith. And by that, he meant that he had seen it a lot of times when he played this MMO since it was the main path players took when they got registered as a guild member.

Now, if Keith remembered correctly, there was an odd tile somewhere in the middle of the way. It had been coded wrongly for some reason and had never been fixed.

He wanted to see that tile up close since it was the stuff of legends back in the day. It was a little crooked and caused

Keith was about to lean down when he remembered that he could not do that. He had to squat down 'gracefully' and make sure his clothes did not wrinkle.

As soon as he did, he felt something *swish* right over his head, and an arrow was stuck in the ground in front of him. It caused everyone else to snap into motion.

The assassin, who finally realized that he had been caught, tried to make a final attempt. His bloodlust coated the air and everyone froze for a second.

Keith's body was frozen as well until he unconsciously took a step back and then one more. Even now, his body was following the brutal practice and was rather graceful and unhurried.

"You lucky dog. Your days of tyranny end here and now."

The assassin cried out as he almost reached Keith. He unconsciously raised his hand to save himself from being attacked and just then, Keith heard a *thud* sound which made him look down.

The assassin had fallen on the ground and it was clear that it was because of the uneven ground. If you did not know that the obstacle was there, you would not be able to see it and avoid it.

The assassin tried to get up but it was too late already. The guards already had the assassin surrounded and ready to take him into custody.

"Darn you, you heartless man. One of these days, you would die a deserving death."

The assassin cursed even as he was taken away. Keith could not tell you how lucky he got at that moment because the assassin slipped.

He was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he felt eyes looking at him. His back instantly straightened up and he looked forward with cool and uncaring eyes.

*clap clap*

The sound of clapping was loud and it was getting closer to Keith now. He tried not to seem eager to look at the one clapping but it was hard to do.

"Bravo. I saw how the Grandmaster took down the assassin with the shine of his watch. It was a clever trick on the grandmaster's part, right?"

Keith could hear the genuine admiration in the man's voice which made relief flood him. It seemed this person was not an enemy at least.

Flaming red hair and burning golden eyes were the first things Keith noticed when he looked at the man in front of him. And instantly he knew how this man was.

He was the former guild leader of Burning Abyss, the no 2 guilds of the association, and also a good ally of Grandmaster before he had been killed. This was a man who would never betray you if you were good to him.

If it was this man, Keith knew that he could count on him to understand the truth.

"I did nothing. The assassin tripped all on his own so I would say I was lucky this time."

Keith was telling the truth and as he expected, everyone else but Shinzou looked shocked at the admission.

He was breaking his character quite a bit to convey the message. He needed this man to be on his side and to help him out. And he would do this, even if he had to break his character.

After all, this man had the highest chance of sparing him if he was found out.