No Dark Secrets In This Book

Episode 2

By the way, the road to the academy was quite fun. 

***

Strangely, ‘Cassice Demillang’ must have had good parents despite his personality, as his father even shed a few tears while seeing him off.

And I received love that wasn’t mine well too. I threw out appropriate parting words and elegantly got in the car with a demeanor befitting Cassice Demillang. 

The moment the car took off though, forget elegance, I bit my tongue.

‘Right. This is a world where cars can fly…!’ 

The setting is that while normal cars only drive on land, expensive cars can fly too, but I have no idea why cars need to fly in the first place. Honestly, I can only think it’s a setting added just to have some cool aerial chases.

But since those aerial chases were really awesome, I’ll let it slide.

The problem is that I have a bit of acrophobia. 

‘Seems this body doesn’t have acrophobia.’

My heart that should have pounded like crazy normally was calm. Thanks to that, I could settle my mind that was about to half-panic. I just had to close my eyes pretending to be tired.

As I did that, the chauffeur, reading the atmosphere, turned on some classical music at low volume. Collecting the information that Cassice Demillang’s usual playlist was quite classy, I fell into a light sleep, then opened my eyes again at the sensation of the car’s weight shifting as if the wheels were landing on the ground.

I saw the chauffeur, who had been reaching his hand out to me to wake me up or something, freeze stiff.

What would Cassice Demillang say at a time like this?

“Get lost. It’s disgusting.”

“S-sorry, I apologize.”

Wow. Unleashing the words I had been holding back without a filter, not considering social etiquette, my mood instantly improved. 

Is this why people say you shouldn’t bottle things up?

“…I’m truly sorry!”

But the chauffeur must not be one to bottle things up either, as he suddenly pulled out a pistol from his bloated sleeve and aimed it at me. And just as he was about to shoot, my palm moved before I knew it and stupidly blocked the gun barrel. Of course, I can’t handle fantasy-like ‘energy’, but in that moment, I felt something undulating near my lower abdomen and everything instantly focused into my palm. 

And then, a gunshot that sounded somehow muffled.

“Ah, ugh. Fuck-“

Wow, is this the typical life of a final villain?

Thanks to my subconscious focusing energy into my palm for self-preservation, it didn’t get pierced through. Instead, it just got bloody and tattered. 

As I crushed the gun barrel with strength I couldn’t control, the chauffeur closed his eyes tight as if knowing his fate. I snatched the gun and smashed it on his head.

Whack, whack, whack…

Wow. A dog-like life. A dog-like Cassice Demillang. My breath grew rough. I couldn’t bear the heat, whether due to my hissing breath or the smell of blood in the car. I took off my blood-soaked tuxedo gloves and threw them on the chauffeur’s crushed head. My vision was spinning. And now what the fuck do I do.

Right then, ring ring. The phone lit up. I laughed seeing my half-crazed eyes reflected on the screen.

The text on the screen. Bodyguard.

I answered the call.

[Young master, I think I heard a gunshot, are you alri-]

Isn’t it funny?

Calling the head young master ‘young master’. The ones who just waited until the young master crushed the assassin’s head himself call themselves bodyguards.

“Shut up. How dare you open your mouth when you neglect security just because you’re not paid from my pocket.”

[…May we enter?]

“Are you joking? Haha, were you waiting for me to become a corpse before entering?”

Cassice Demillang must be the type to not trust his security team because he believes in his own strength. Perhaps there were incidents that made him have to do that. He made them get permission for even entering, so. Or maybe it was just a neurotic shut-out.  

But I’m not the damn Cassice Demillang, so I couldn’t properly catch a single idiot charging at me with just a gun.

‘Damn it.’

The final villain bastard is seriously on a rock bottom life route. As I was taking out a golden potion from the shoulder holster I recalled from the in-story description and opening the lid with my teeth, the bodyguards opened the door and came in, then stopped with a gasp seeing my state.

Ah, fuck. The nerve of these bastards calling themselves guards.

“Why are you just blankly staring? Do I need to gouge out those eyeballs for you to start working? Air freshener, and a new uniform in my size. Make it or steal it, bring it here. You have five minutes.”

“…Yes, understood!”

“And investigate this guy’s background. Who instigated him and for what purpose.”

“…Yes!”

They’re good at answering at least. Idiots.

As I ripped the cork stopper off with my teeth and poured the golden potion on my palm, the bodyguards approached me as I sat cross-legged leaning against the less bloodied seat back. Then they cleaned up my gloves with pale faces and started wrapping up the crushed corpse with something. Wow.

‘You’d think hiding bodies was bodyguards’ area of expertise.’

Well, the world setting makes it plausible. Searching my settled mind, recalled content came to mind.  

Civilians with guns were too weak to protect the mana-awakened called Players.

So unlike before possession, ordinary bodyguards were hired to practically act as babysitters for the Players.  

And Cassice Demillang was already making a name for himself among Players even now before entering the academy. As someone beyond just a promising position, at the level of a cheat-like existence, perhaps mediocre guards only got on his nerves.

So I roughly understood how he ended up living a bold life without proper escorts.

I get it, but.

‘…Did I take this dark fantasy world too lightly?’

I didn’t expect to almost get assassinated by the chauffeur while sleeping in the backseat. If the depth of talent engraved in this body wasn’t at this level, I would have long died.

Sigh. I hate this…

‘At this rate, it means I’ll have to fucking study hard…’

My original plan didn’t involve intense studying. I sincerely intended to keep my head empty like I originally did. But it seemed I at least needed to get stronger to protect my body in this crazy dark fantasy world. 

However, I didn’t know how to freely use any of the techniques, magic, formations, spearmanship, swordsmanship, archery, etc. that this body originally could. I couldn’t control the ‘energy’ most important in this world either. I had to see the ‘energy’ resonating with my will just before as my instinct crying out that it doesn’t want to die.

If I wait for a fluke every time without effort, I’ll die on an unlucky day.

So to barely live, I ended up in a position where I have to study to death.

‘It’s been ages since I graduated high school…!’

There’s even one more condition to mission clear.

I absolutely can’t get caught that I’ve gotten weaker.

If I’m found out, all the skill Cassice Demillang showed until now will be treated as flukes, and then the prestigious ‘Demillang’ family will lop off Cassice Demillang’s head for the crime of disgracing the family. 

Because the damn ‘Demillang’ family are fucking bastards who don’t properly acknowledge even that Cassice as the head young master, saying something about blood or whatever. If his abilities fall behind, it’s instant death.

‘Fucking outdated. Are you Voldemort?’

No use complaining. It’s that kind of world.

After steeling my mind a bit more, I verbally roasted the bodyguards who took ten whole minutes to bring the uniform, then changed clothes, sprayed air freshener, and came out of the car.

And while forcibly taking care of my mental state, thinking leisurely thoughts like the outside air is refreshing, I’m in a good mood,

“Dalgona?”

The smell of dalgona wafted from somewhere.

Since I left early, there was still ample time until the entrance exam. Of course, Cassice had even more leeway as he was already accepted. Following the sweet smell forcibly improving my mood, I wobbled over and saw a dalgona stall.

It was a humble setup in front of a narrow alley, and business must not be good as the vendor had a pretty tired face. In front, a kid with round eyes kept exclaiming “Wow!” “Waah!” drooling.

The kid clearly looked to have no money. Judging by the dirty and messy attire, even buying dalgona seemed difficult for him. But I could eat dalgona if I wanted to.

So I squatted next to him, and the vendor slowly raising his head filled with worries suddenly opened his eyes wide.

My name was about to spill from his trembling pupils and parted lips at any moment. So I smiled coldly and raised my index finger.

‘Shh.’

Then the vendor quickly shut his mouth, catering to me. It was faster than I expected.

‘Mm, satisfactory.’

I lightly hummed and started picking out a few dalgona and breaking them apart by shape. Messing with dalgona for the first time in a while, my heart dirtied by being threatened and splattered with blood felt cleansed into innocence. But of course, splitting the dalgona didn’t go as I wanted, and in the end, I paid the price of purifying my heart by pulverizing the dalgona’s remains.

The kid next to me noisily cheered me on every time I broke a dalgona, going “Wow!” “Ahh… what a waste.” “Ooh, ack. Cheer up a bit more!” “J-just one more!” and it was fun to raise my index finger at the vendor who paled and trembled more frantically each time.

“I can’t do more.”

“Ahh… too bad. Bye, mister.”

Yeah, I should get going since the entrance exam will be starting soon.

My fingers were very sticky. I wiped them with a handkerchief, but I didn’t want to touch dalgona for about a year.

Plus I ate too much and got sick of the sweetness. 

And who would crouch on the roadside trying to taste this cheap sugar snack, when the fun is breaking it into the right shape?

“Before you go.”

“Y-yes?”

“Here, it’s for you.”

I threw the broken dalgona pieces the vendor packed into the kid’s arms. The kid seemed to not understand the situation for a moment, then opened his eyes round and bowed full of joy.

Even a rotten human like me burst into laughter for a while at the kid’s face full of delight like a full moon.

Right as I straightened my squatting legs and turned my head,

“…Ha.”

My heart dropped with a thud.

Our eyes met.

— With this novel’s protagonist.

Translation Notes: 

Dalgona are the candy that was used on Squid Games if you watch the program. The one that they used a needle to get the shape out.