Yuri usually got off work at 6pm. But since there was a special situation today, she had to close the store instead of Gilbert. The streets of the evening dusk were completely quiet and dark. Yuri walked along the calm street, feeling the unique quietness of the night.
Crunch…
Then suddenly, she felt a movement behind her, like she was being followed. Her indifferent red eyes shifted slightly to the side. It didn't seem like a coincidence, so she was indeed right in thinking that someone was following her.
From the looks of it, it was probably the guy from not too long ago…
'Now, what should I do?'
Yuri wondered for a while. But she soon got tired of even thinking about it, so she tossed it aside. It had been quite some time since she went home late after work and she was a little tired mentally, so she didn't want to deal with anyone.
She deliberately entered a remote alley. Some moments later, the same footsteps that were following her approached. As soon as the person entered the alley, Yuri pulled on her thread.
"Uck!"
The thread coiled around the man's neck and tightened like a noose around an animal. Deprived of oxygen, the man quickly fainted.
Yuri bound him with coils of her thread and tossed him inside the nearby garbage dump. As a free bonus, he was also gagged so he wouldn't make any sound.
"I'll deal with you tomorrow. I don't feel like it today."
Her lifeless red eyes were the only things glowing in the dark alley. After a while, she walked out of the shadowy narrow alley and continued down the dark streets.
* * *
(Change in pov)
The moon is particularly bright today.
I stared at the round moon beaming high up in the sky. It had been exactly five months and 24 days since the heroine, Anne-Marie moved in next door. And in the meantime, my day-to-day life hadn't changed much.
I worked in the nearby coffeehouse from morning to evening, then I either returned home to rest, or took care of a request I was given. It was a monotonous routine that always ran in a similar manner.
Perhaps someone else would call it boring and uninteresting but it was very satisfying for someone like me who was pursuing ordinariness. It would be even better if I didn't have lunatics like that guy earlier, following me sometimes to try and pull crap.
"Hm?"
But for some reason, I saw a bunch of pretty yellow threads in front of my house. Feeling suspicious, I approached for a closer look and realized that it wasn't threads but someone's head. At first, I thought it was a drunk.
"Excuse me. You can't do this here…"
However, the moment I looked over the man's body with annoyance, I froze in place.
'This crazy—?'
Before I knew it, I almost cursed aloud, despite not having done so in a long time. Still, I tried to calm myself down, then I re-checked the address on the nameplate.
[44 Grey Ferret street – B04]
No matter how hard I look, this was definitely my house. So what is this? Why was this guy in front of my house?
This face was definitely the same face I had seen at the research institute. Of course, the beautiful boy from back then had transformed into a manlier , handsome young man as years passed, but he had such an overwhelming presence that it was impossible to mistake him for someone else.
I hid my bewilderment and bent down to check the man's condition first. As I drew closer to him, the thick stench of blood flooded my nose. His whole body was covered in blood, but I didn't think all of it were his, and although I was reluctant, I used my ability to check the man's condition.
A translucent white thread extended from my fingertips, pervading the man's body and made a sweep through it. He had one severe injury, but it wasn't like he was going to die right now.
I looked at the man's face, which was so angelically beautiful that it was hard to believe he was the king of the underworld, then I stood up again.
And I quietly looked around. Fortunately, it didn't seem like there was even any rats scurrying around.
Sssg.
I lifted my leg and pushed the man's torso all the way to the side. Warning sounds were ringing in my head.
Look here, aren't you the sub-villain? Then you should go faint at my neighbor's house, not mine.
"Ng…"
Right at that moment, a muffled groan came from below. I swiftly came to my senses and stopped pushing the man's body with my feet.
His head stirred a little as he lay sideways on the floor. In addition to his head turning slightly to the front, his eyelids which were heavily shut began to slowly open. His clear blue eyes revealed themselves vividly in the darkness. For a split second, those unfocused eyes of his met with mine.
Right that instant.
Click.
"Ms. Yuri?"
The door of the house next-door suddenly opened. I reflexively kicked the person under my feet and shoved him into the flower beds. Thankfully, the man remained motionless like he had fallen unconscious again.
This was terrible. The situation was so absurd, and I moved before I could even think so I had no way of knowing if he would be fine. However, the person living next door appeared the next moment, so I didn't have any more time to worry.
A beautiful woman popped out from the door that was about four steps from where I was standing. If someone unraveled their trailing long hair and stuck their face out of an open door like that, they might seem like a ghost but the person in front on me right now was the heroine.
Warm orange light peeked out from the crack of her door. With light behind her, she exuded a profound beauty, like a goddess of the night. The moment our eyes met, Anne-Marie smiled brightly, happiness evident on her face.
"I heard footsteps, so I came out to see and it's really you, Ms. Yuri."
"Hi, Anne-Marie."
I greeted her back, while the man that was at my feet, was now shoved into the flower beds. Fortunately, it seemed like Anne-Marie didn't sense anything off since it had happened so quickly.
"Did you just get home?"
She asked with a voice so kind, it felt like my heart was being cleansed by the very sound. Ever since she first moved here, Anne-Marie had been very friendly to me, perhaps because I was the only neighbor in her age group. Thanks to that, our current relationship had significantly improved.
"Yes. I had to close up the store today."
"It's dangerous to move around alone this late. The security around here isn't good."
"I know. I was hurrying back too because it got later than I expected."
I was more attached to Anne-Marie now than before, so I added something I wouldn't necessarily have said previously.
"You have to be careful too, Anne-Marie. It might have not been me out here right now."
"But the footsteps sounded just like yours, Ms. Yuri."
"Someone could deliberately imitate my footsteps."
"Is there anyone like that…?"
Anne-Marie made an odd expression when she heard what I said. It was somewhat vague if she was asking whether it was possible for someone to do that or if she was asking whether someone who could do that deliberately, existed. But either way was very possible.
"Still, I'll be careful from now on. Thanks for worrying about me."
Anne-Marie soon said with a faint smile.
But even though I had said it with my own mouth, I actually felt a little skeptical. According to the law of generated events, even if the heroine stayed quietly locked up in her house, she would never be safe.
Look at today, for example.
Even though she didn't do anything dangerous in the first place, the sub-villain crawled all the way to the front of her house, trying to be a personal disaster for her. Of course, for some reason, he went to the wrong house, aka mine, instead of the heroine's house.
While I clicked my tongue inwardly, Anne-Marie asked another question.
"Have you eaten, by any chance?"
Like I thought, she didn't just come out to greet me. Her real purpose for coming out was this.
"I'm having a late dinner with Hestia right now. Would you like to come in and eat with us? If you haven't eaten yet, that is."
Hestia was Anne-Marie's younger sister. She was currently 12 years old and cute enough to make me want to give her candy when I saw her sometimes. For reference, Anne-Marie was now 20 years old.
Hmm.
I hummed faintly, without realizing it. It was only just now that I realized what I had inadvertently tried to do a little while ago, once I got past the surprise of seeing the man who was unconscious in front of my house. The realization hurt my conscience a little.
I was unconsciously trying to push the sub-villain onto the heroine, wasn't I? Even though I was very aware of the future that would awaited her if things proceeding according to the novel.
As a matter of fact, as I watched Anne-Marie up close for the past six months, I was able to directly feel how good of a person she was. Even now, she was worried about me being alone and invited me for dinner.
In this harsh world, it was rare to find people like Anne-Marie, who still had hearts full of affection. Which is why, for quite some time, I have been secretly removing all the bad guys that stuck around Anne-Marie.
Furthermore, when I saw Anne-Marie and her sister, Hestia, I kept thinking of my dog, Coco and my heart grew soft. Perhaps I had shoved Lakis in the flower bed, because unconsciously, I didn't want Anne-Marie to see the man who had appeared in front of my house.