I’m the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I’m not the Mastermind

Chapter 146

Ten minutes had passed, but the door to the pub... no, the restaurant still hadn't opened.

Bang! Crash!

The only sounds were something breaking and shattering inside, over and over again.

Luna frowned slightly.

"...What on earth is happening inside?"

"Hmph, probably busy covering up some illegal activities. Let them try. See if he can escape my eyes."

"Ha...! Senior! Could he be trying to escape with evidence of a crime? Maybe there's a hidden back alley?"

"Hmm...! That's entirely possible. Luna, could you help me for a moment? We need to check for any escape routes and block them."

"Yep! Just leave it to me!"

Normally, Rezé would have followed, but not this time.

Because...

"Hehe, hehe... I've, I've never seen this pattern before..."

The walls of the pub were filthy with various graffiti and waste.

Perhaps it was fascinating to her. Behind her long bangs, Rezé's eyes sparkled brightly.

After pulling out a few thick cardboard boxes and matching the colors here and there, she finally chose one and started working on it.

She had begun the task of creating a box that looked exactly like the wall pattern of the pub.

The situation was completely out of control.

But, it could be said to be a favorable situation.

‘I needed time to organize the information about Scarlet.’

The puzzle about the character Scarlet.

I started to piece together the puzzle about him in my mind.

Age, place of origin, achievements after the general store, the reason he is working under Caron now, hidden secrets, and so on.

‘...This should be enough.’

I had only organized what I could remember on the spot, but it should be enough.

‘The information Scarlet needs right now. I have that.’

I would have to talk to find out the exact timing, but he couldn’t refuse the information I held.

So, there was no problem with Scarlet. The real problem was.

‘I don’t know what Caron is aiming for...’

Caron is the epitome of efficiency.

He's not the type to waste time on unnecessary things.

Just the act of selecting the most suitable rat for the mission proved that point.

‘There must be a reason he sent me here, a reason he made me meet Scarlet.’

Crash!

Something else broke inside the pub.

Perhaps, this whole situation, this foolish act, was all part of a plan.

‘It’s a mess at first glance. Is this a strategy to lower Luna’s trust in me? But to think that...’

It was too sloppy.

From Luna's perspective, I must have deceived her by calling this pub a restaurant.

But our relationship isn’t so fragile that it could be shaken by something like that.

Luna would enjoy the food here anyway. Well, she might grumble a bit.

‘Why did he send me here? I can’t figure out his real intent.’

While I was pondering this and that, Rodelin and Luna approached, dusting off their hands.

"We've set up barricades in the back alley. It won't be easy to escape now. Actually, I wish they would try. Then we could arrest them and even enforce it by law."

But that didn’t happen.

Scarlet opened all the curtains of the windows, and the inside of the restaurant was clearly visible.

He was busily preparing the restaurant for business.

"No, that can't be. They're about to run away. Everyone, stay alert!"

As Rodelin's tension and anger rose without end,

Creak.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Please, come in."

Scarlet opened the door and welcomed us.

It was clear that it had been a tough time for him too.

He tried to smile, but he couldn’t hide the sweat dripping down his forehead and neck.

"What? It's cleaner than I thought?"

Luna was right.

The large hall bathed in sunlight, the white tablecloths covering the tables, the dust-free utensils and silverware, and the softly glowing candlesticks.

Though somewhat worn, everything was tidily arranged.

"It's unique. It looks like a pub from the outside."

"Guest, you have a keen eye. That’s the concept of this restaurant. We also sell alcohol in the evening due to budget issues."

"Ah~ I see. How did you find this place? Zero, you must have had a hard time?"

Yeah, quite a lot. I almost died at Caron's hand.

"...This can't be happening."

But Rodelin seemed unconvinced.

"Owner, you have a business license for this operation, right?"

"Hehe, of course. It's hanging right there."

"Hmm... not a copy. Since you’ve registered for both the restaurant and alcohol sales... legally, you can operate a restaurant. Are you paying your taxes properly?"

"Of course! We pay diligently. Tax evasion is more dangerous than an invasion by a legion commander."

Scarlet pulled out a file and handed it to Rodelin.

At a glance, it was filled with receipts for tax payments.

"Hu, hmm... You've paid diligently. May I take a look around the kitchen?"

"Hehe, feel free to look around as much as you like."

Rodelin went into the kitchen.

After a while, she returned and looked at Scarlet.

"...Nothing wrong here. The cleaning is perfect, and the ingredient management is tidy."

"As it should be for a restaurant. Now, everyone please take a seat. I'll bring out the appetizers soon."

As Scarlet disappeared into the kitchen, Rodelin whispered to us.

"...It's suspiciously perfect. Most pubs like this have terrible hygiene. And the tax payment receipts were too readily provided."

"Keke, indeed... It's a suspicious place."

"That's true. It's so perfect that it's actually suspicious. We'll have to keep an eye on it."

We chose a spot where the lighting was good and sat down.

A four-person table, which can be considered a staple of restaurants.

Luna naturally took the seat next to me, and Rodelin sat in front of me. A position directly facing me.

And diagonally across was supposed to be Rezé... but she wasn't there.

"...?"

Rezé's place was next to Luna.

How could she sit next to her when I was already beside Luna?

I was on Luna's right side, and Rezé took her place on Luna's left.

That's right. Instead of sitting on a chair, she sat on the floor to the left.

Though she was inside a box, so it wasn't exactly the bare floor.

Her extraordinary choice to break the conventional thinking of a four-person table was enough to leave everyone speechless.

Rodelin's lips twitched, but then she stopped and gave me a look.

‘She wants me to handle it.’

It wasn't passing the buck; it was entrusting it to me.

Rodelin had a history of harshly training Rezé to change her behavior, only to have her run away.

It's a hassle, but I have no choice. I'll have to step in and solve this stylishly.

After all, today is the day I'm supposed to increase Rodelin's favorability towards me.

Thinking of it as part of that task makes it easier.

"Keke, Miss Rezé? What are you doing there?"

"I, I'm going to eat here..."

"Why is that? Isn't there a seat available? If you want to sit next to Miss Luna, I'll offer you my seat."

"That's not why. The seat across is close enough."

"Then, what's the reason for staying there?"

"That, that's because..."

Because?

"I, I might get attacked."

Attacked, I see.

In this perilous world, it could happen at any time.

But.

"Keke, this is a restaurant. A place where you can't be attacked. We're the only customers, to begin with."

"A, attacks can happen anytime."

"Even if an attack occurs, it'll be okay. There are reliable people around, aren't there? Including the senior."

"That's true."

After scanning our faces, Rezé finally bowed her head deeply.

"I, I still want to stay here. I, I like tight spaces."

Oh, I see. You want to stay there? Then, there's nothing I can do.

Except to coax her out.

"Keke, come out here. Don't be afraid."

"Eeek!"

Rezé began to flail her arms in resistance.

Is it because of her recent training? Her counterattack is quite fierce.

‘But I've been trained too.’

The hellish sparring with Lucia for ten days.

Thanks to that, I was able to find a gap between her wildly swinging arms.

‘Gap of Opportunity!’

My hands dove inside the crook of Rezé's arms.

At the same time, I grabbed both of her cheeks and pulled them to the side gently.

"Ah, ahhh..."

Oh, they stretch.

Is it because she's young, or because she hasn't seen sunlight?

Her cute cheeks stretched out to both sides.

‘She'll have to come out of the box soon.’

While I was stretching Rezé's cheeks this way and that, someone reached out with both hands and firmly grabbed my cheeks.

That someone was obviously...

"Hm? Miss Luna?"

"Who said you could bully my friend?"

"Keke, I haven't bullied anyone. Consider it a technique for behavior correction."

"Oh, I see. A technique for behavior correction."

Luna's eyes sparkled.

"Then you should experience some behavior correction too."

Sssnap!

Terrible pain was inflicted on both of my cheeks.

A scream burst from my mouth.

*

Even as Scarlet was busy preparing food, his eyes were fixed on the hall.

The first thing to do now was.

‘Finding out who the cute child mentioned by Caron is.’

The noisy table.

Scarlet's eyes quickly scanned them.

One girl who exuded dignity with every move and spoke like a soldier.

One slit-eyed boy getting hit.

One twin-tailed girl who was brash and violent.

And.

One girl who seemed lost and confused, her eyes hidden behind long bangs.

‘I see. That girl must be the child Caron asked me to take care of.’

There were three girls.

But Scarlet was able to immediately figure out which child Caron was referring to.

‘Haha, but they can't fool my eyes. I'm an excellent rat.’

Of course, it could be a different child. But that noisy twin-tailed one definitely wasn't it.

Cute, charming, and popular.

A violent child like that couldn't possibly be the one.

The most urgent task was completed. Now, what remained was.

‘Providing cuisine comparable to a 5-star restaurant, and extracting information from that boy.’

Scarlet's hands moved busier than ever before.

*

"The appetizer is served! Please enjoy while waiting for the starter dish!"

Something that looked like pudding was placed in front of us.

"Hmm, it's refreshing and appetizing. Quite skillful."

"Definitely...! It's much tastier than the places we usually go to?"

Just as Rodelin and Luna said.

Even with my fussy taste, I could appreciate the quality of flavor.

The strange thing was.

‘The dish in front of Rezé seems a bit better?’

From its appearance to its freshness, and even its size, it was bigger. Twice as big, in fact.

"It's, it's too much..."

"Our Rezé has too small a stomach. Well, since it's a course meal, it's best to keep the stomach as empty as possible. Let's share."

We began to share the pudding left by Rezé.

It was when I moved Rezé's leftover pudding onto a plate.

Thwack!

A knife thrown from somewhere stuck in my pudding.

Turning my head, I saw Scarlet in the kitchen, his eyes gleaming.

Had I said earlier that there was no chance of being attacked in a place like this?

I take it back.

This was a hunting ground. Caron's rat...

A hunting ground set up to hunt me.

--TL Notes--

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