"Why are you here? Were you following me and slacking in your tasks?"
I sounded more accusive than I expected.
'Crap. That came out wrong.'
Guilty, I lowered my head while Shin and River looked at me with a know-it-all expression on their face.
I did try to fix the situation but I know it was no use when I got caught red handed.
"Ahem, this is-"
"Shut up."
"Who told us that he wasn't heading into the forest, huh? Just so you know, I wasn't following you!"
See? Just as I said, no use.
I didn't even dare look at the shining silver chains hanging on River's waist. Simply a glimpse of it made me blabber about whatever reason I could find in order to not get tied by it.
"Uhm, don't you know? When people say 'Don't go there!' or something along those lines, it usually makes me want to go even more. So if anything, it's your fault that I'm here."
"My fault? You're really blaming it on me, you crazy bastard?!"
"Yes, yes. It is your fault, Shin. Now, apologize."
"Stop blabbering nonsense!"
"Stop."
River got in between us before things got worse. Thanks to that, I regained my composure and calmed down.
'Why in the world am I even nervous when I didn't feel like this in front of a demon?'
Subconsciously, I rubbed the back of my neck.
'Why does it suddenly feel cold?'
Looking at me, River sighed and pointed then at Elliot, the big-headed idiot sleeping soundly in my feet.
Following his sight, I also glanced at Elliot and shrugged.
"I just found him."
"Haa. Dark, people don't randomly knock people unconscious and carry them to a place they're curious at."
"Unbelievable, you both tailed me? That's invasion of privacy."
Shin scoffed while I scolded them.
"That's because we knew you lied. Be thankful we did. Oh, wait. I didn't follow you. Only River-san did. The one I tailed was him."
"Tomato, tomahto. In the end, both of you still followed me."
Shin glared at me.
"Can't you thank us for that?"
"For what? Invasion of privacy?"
"It's an acceptable crime. If we didn't, those mutts following you would have killed you by now. Aren't you gonna thank us any time now?"
"An acceptable crime is still a crime."
I answered and turned my head to the side as if checking for something. True to what they said, there were no humans here except for the three of us and Elliot.
Now I know where my pursuers went.
'They met Satan earlier than me. I barely escaped death thanks to Shin and River. Huu.'
After sorting out my thoughts, I exhaled, or at least tried to. To me, it sounded more like a tired sigh than an exhale.
'Looks like the cat's out of the bag.'
Obviously, I can't escape this one by lying. Even so, for some reason, I can't bring myself to tell them what I've been doing on my own.
The brothel.
The drugs.
The batter of a drunkard.
All of it was hard to tell.
'Is it embarrassment? It makes me feel uncomfortable.'
Whenever I tried to open my mouth, something clogged my throat. Instead of explaining, I ended up opening and closing my mouth repeatedly.
Seeing this, Shin made a weird face and spoke.
"Dark-san, can you stop doing that? You look like a fish that was dragged out of the water."
"Fuck you, Shin."
'And here I am trying my best to open up. Haa.'
Shaking my head at this situation, I decided to keep my mouth shut on my plan. I did try to assure them I mean no harm, even if they don't believe me, that was the least I could do.
"Ahem, I may look suspicious but I had no plans in betraying anyone."
"We know."
"I really am not gonna... wait, what? You don't?"
After my shocked question, an awkward silence enveloped us for a few seconds which was broken by River's voice.
"Dark. We're not asking for everything."
Following him was Shin's voice.
"Yeah, don't keep it all to yourself. Give us a little bit more information so we can understand the plans inside your head. It's not that hard, is it?"
I gulped.
'Shit. Why is it harder to speak than before?'
If only they knew.
Precisely it's because it's hard for me to do it, that's why I don't speak of my plans to both of them.
And I'm sure they're just trying to make me feel better. Though it's not working, I appreciate the effort.
"Haa."
I sighed.
Honestly, I wouldn't blame them if they started looking at me suspiciously. They could suspect that I'm going to sell them out and I'd understand. If they also sell me out, I'd understand. After all, we were living in a dangerous world filled with ninety-nine percent betrayal.
To top it off, we've only known each other recently.
And while we do have to be considerate of each other's privacy even as we live together, they'd be crazy if they aren't suspicious of me who kept on doing suspicious things.
What I was doing was clearly past the boundaries of their consideration.
Still, they don't suspect me.
There was a logical reason why, but I couldn't bring myself to accept it.
'Do they trust me? Is the reason why they don't suspect me because of trust?'
The very thought of it made me waver. It was almost as if something heavy was being placed on my shoulders.
Trust wasn't something I could easily give and receive.
I knew that better than anyone.
If they didn't, they were in danger.
Shrugging, I asked out of concern.
"Both of you are quick to conclude that I'm here for our plan. Aren't you both trusting me too easily? We're stuck in a critical situation, you know? What if I was lying earlier and I gave away everything to the other houses for a chance to join them? What if I was here to sell out your identities?"
"Are you?"
Shin's eyes glowed. Seeing those golden eyes made me flinch.
'Right, bad intentions don't get past through this guy. I forgot.'
Seeing his eyes, I knew I had to at least try meeting their efforts. I don't know if I can truly bring myself to trust anyone in this world but with this much sincerity, I couldn't help but try.
That's why I told the truth.
"Nope. As I said earlier, I'm not here to betray anyone."
"Good."
Shin smiled. However, his eyes remained glowing and sharp as he added.
"If you were, I would have killed you before you knew it."
"This crazy fucker-"
"Stop."
I was about to give Shin a piece of my mind when suddenly, River looked at me with a somehow betrayed expression.
'Why is he looking at me like that? I told them repeatedly that I'm not here to betray anyone.'
"Dark, you're not one to talk."
"What? What about me?"
"You say Shin's a crazy fucker but that's you most of the time."
"Seriously?"
My eyes went from River to Shin and then back to River again.
"Yeah."
"Yes."
The two of them nodded in agreement.
Again, there was silence but this time, it wasn't awkward at all. Just normal, pleasant silence.
After a while, I broke a little smile.
The smile wasn't because of fake politeness nor was it a reflex caused by nervousness.
It was because I felt relieved.
'It can't be helped, I guess.'
The tension was gone from my body, the thing clogging my throat was gone, and I can finally say it.
"I'm sorry. Thank you for following me and getting rid of those annoying rats."
I said in a barely audible voice.
It was the best I can do and since they were born with heightened senses, they probably heard it as clear as day.
"Heh."
"Hmp."
The two of them looked proudly at each other. Shin held our his hand, River following after, and they both high-fived like little kids.
Shaking my head, I pointed at the neglected idiot on my feet.
"In my defense, I know I was in the wrong but what can we do? We're pressed against time here."
I kicked Elliot's head.
"Ugh?"
Elliot groaned and blinked his eyes in confusion, still half-asleep despite being in a fairly serious situation.
After checking that he's fine, I continued speaking.
"We needed a spy and I found the perfect man for that. I'm just here to make sure he does his job properly."
Shin flinched when he saw what I did.
"Where did you get that information?"
"Don't ask."
"How can you say that he'll be reliable?"
"I'll make it so that he doesn't have any choice but to follow through with the plan."
My eyes lost their light as I dragged Elliot's blood-soaked head towards the silent demon in front of Riven and Shin.
This demon is a patient one, alright.
If not, then it's really cautious.
Even while the three of us were talking, it was just observing us.
I stopped walking in front of the demon, my voice still echoing in the forest as I spoke.
"Usually, demons attack all that is in their sight. It's surprising to find out that tame demons exist in the place where they should be rampant."
"You crazy bastard! Get away from there!"
Shin tried to stop me but River held him back by his collar.
"Urkk! River-san, that thing is really dangerous."
"Wait."
"Hmm?"
"Just wait."
I didn't look back at them as I said these words.
"It's about time I show you how important 'official names' are."