NPC - 2

Episode 2: Fate Comes Unexpectedly

Handing over a gold coin definitely makes him a VIP. I guided him to the largest, nicest room in our inn.

"......"

He just stood at the doorway, quietly peering inside without making a move to enter.

'Well, um... It might be a bit cramped for a noble, but still.'

It was our most spacious room, and the blankets and bedsheets had just been changed, so they were soft and smelled fresh. Though it wasn't cold enough to use it yet, the decorative fireplace on the wall worked perfectly. We even splurged a bit to upgrade the furniture.

What's more, gasp!, there was even a sofa. Of course, it wasn't exactly high-quality leather.

'If you didn't like it, you shouldn't have come to a place like this.' 

To think he couldn't recognize the greatest luxury available in a small village. This is exactly why nobles are...

Step.

As if reading my mind, the man finally stepped into the room. Then, without a word, he slumped down onto the sofa.

"......"

Contrary to my worries that he might throw a fit about it being uncomfortable, he quietly sank into the cushions.

"Excuse me, sir? Do you need anything?"

"......"

"What would you like to do about meals?"

I politely clasped my hands together and put on my best customer-service smile. I wasn't trying to upsell him. it was just the standard, mandatory script for any guest renting a room.

"......"

However, he just stared at me without offering a single word in reply.

"......"

"......"

An awkward silence settled between us. I missed the timing to say anything else, and the man just kept watching me, lost in his own thoughts.

If I could at least read his eyes, I might have picked up a cue to leave. Unfortunately, he had his hood pulled down so low that most of his face was hidden.

'...Huh?'

Just as I couldn't bear the silence any longer and was about to speak, his mouth moved.

"......"

I perked up my ears, waiting to hear what he would say, but his open mouth quickly shut tight. Then, he slowly shook his head.

'I-is he mute?'

Before that worry could show on my face, I beamed a bright smile.

"Ah~ You must be exhausted from your long journey! Please, get some rest!"

Then I quickly shut the door and practically ran down the stairs. Handled like that, it was basically a customer service failure. I was supposed to prioritize the guest's mood and serve them properly...!

"Ah, Cecil! What did the guest say? When does he want to eat?" 

My father, who had been waiting for me to come down, craned his neck and asked.

"He's not eating."

"What?"

"By the way, Father. Is that man unable to speak?" I approached my father and asked, lowering my voice as much as possible. Prying into a guest's personal details was frowned upon, but this was for the sake of good service.

"...What?"

But my father's expression was strange. He looked at me like I was talking nonsense. He was the one who initially greeted the guest, so there was no way he wouldn't know.

"No, he spoke just fine."

"Really?"

"He said he didn't need a fancy room, just a place to stay for the night."

"......"

Grab.

"No, no, Cecil! Hold it in. W-we received so much money from him!"

My father tightly grabbed my arm just as I was about to storm back up the stairs. So that guy... he couldn't even be bothered to speak to me, so he just opened his mouth, gave up, and shook his head? I'd seen my fair share of terrible guests, but this was a first.

Is this what they mean when they say nobles are just built differently? He can't lower himself to speak to a commoner like me?

"Phew... Fine. I won't go up."

Even if my father hadn't stopped me, I wouldn't have actually gone up. What good would come of a commoner picking a fight with a noble? Turning my back on the stairs, I headed for the front desk.

'Let's see the name of this high-and-mighty noble.'

"Cecil, you know you shouldn't snoop around in there, right?"

"You know I can keep a secret."

It wasn't like this world had ID cards, and there was no way that noble bastard used his real name in a place like this. This was purely to satisfy my personal curiosity.

'Let's see...'

For an inn in a small village, we got a decent amount of traffic. Seeing the densely filled ledger brought an automatic smile to my face. The reason we had guests write their names wasn't anything special. It was just to keep track of who was in which room and when they checked out. Without it, we'd have to check every single room manually.

'Or we might get stiffed on the bill.'

I traced the names with my finger, moving further down the page. That noble was our last guest. I could have just skipped to the very bottom, but I had my reasons for doing this.

'Hehe.'

The longer the list went down, the more guests we had. A chuckle slipped out before I could stop it.

"Ah, is this it?"

My fingertip stopped at the very last name.

[Derek]

"......"

What an incredibly aristocratic name.

'Don't tell me he actually used his real name?'

I'd never seen a noble use their real name at a small village inn like ours. Even if they did, they were usually scum looking to demand bribes. ...No matter how I looked at it, that guy didn't seem the type.

'If you're going to use your real name, why bother hiding under a hood?'

For someone trying to conceal their identity, he wasn't very meticulous.

'Wait, this name... Why is it so familiar?'

Derek. Derek... I repeated the name in my head. It was familiar. It gave me a strange, bittersweet feeling, which meant he definitely wasn't some random extra. Plus, he was clearly a noble.

"Hmm..."

"Cecil? What's wrong?"

"It feels like it's right on the tip of my tongue, but I can't quite remember... It's bothering me."

"It's our rule not to pry into our guests' affairs."

"I know."

I knew that, but it still bugged me.

"......"

Still, nothing clear came to mind. The elusive memory felt like it was just out of reach, scratching at the back of my mind.

'Ugh, whatever. I don't know!'

"Well, around here, it's highly likely to be the Count Parvin or Marquis Sanetian families, isn't it? Not that a young master from such a noble house would ever come here, though. Hahaha!"

"......!"

Just as I closed the ledger and was about to walk away, I caught my father's mumbling. Suddenly, a chilling sensation ran down my spine.

The two noble families my father mentioned were important. The one that mattered most right now was Count Parvin. This village was one of the Count's territories. And Count Parvin had three sons, one of whom was...

'Derek Irnian.'

Derek. He wasn't just the son of a Count. he was the protagonist's rival. He was the character who had killed my character, the protagonist, multiple times in the game. Oh, how my heart ached every time I saw that 'Game Over' screen.

'But that's strange...'

He was definitely one-armed and always appeared wearing a bizarre mask that covered his entire face.

I hadn't looked too closely, but both of his arms seemed perfectly intact. And under that pulled-down hood, I didn't see anything resembling a mask. Actually, if he were wearing a mask, he wouldn't need to hide his face with a hood in the first place, right?

'Is it because it's still the early stages of the timeline?'

In a game centered around the protagonist, the rival character's past is rarely explored in detail. Or perhaps it was revealed in a side quest that I simply never played.

'If I had known this would happen, I would have explored the game more thoroughly.'

Anyway, if he really was Derek Irnian, his awful personality made a bit more sense. Even in the game, didn't Derek constantly hurl insults and treat the protagonist like trash?

'Still, I am a bit curious about the face... underneath that mask.'

A few talented modders had even dug into the game's data, but no one had ever found a model for Derek's bare face. And now, that precious, unseen face was sitting right upstairs in our inn.

'Tomorrow! I'm definitely going to see it tomorrow!'

I clenched my fists and made a vow. It was a more thrilling prospect than grinding for any rare item.

---

The next day, I rushed out to the front desk as soon as the sun came up. Characters like him had a habit of slipping out of inns early before anyone could spot them.

"Father, that guest from yesterday hasn't left yet, right?"

"Hm? Who?"

"The VIP."

I let out a massive yawn and stretched. I was so curious about his illustrious face that I hadn't slept properly at all. My eyelids were heavy and my mind was foggy, but my heart fluttered with excitement.

'What kind of grand fortune am I even expecting out of this...'

"Ah~ That guest? He left."

"What?!"

Those unexpected words hit my ears. I snapped wide awake as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over my head.

"What did you just say?"

"He's gone. Slipped away before dawn even broke. Wow~ Guests like that are rare! You think he'll come back?"

"......"

In other words, a guest had handed over a fortune, skipped all meals, made zero complaints, and vanished before sunrise. The room was probably so pristine you wouldn't even know anyone had stayed there.

'If we only had guests like that, we'd be filthy rich in no time.'

Sitting on a pile of money would just be a matter of time, wouldn't it? Then, instead of this rundown inn, we could build a luxurious, sparkling hotel like the ones in my past life! We could serve expensive steaks... with a glass of fine wine to match...!

'Ah, no, wait, get a grip.'

"Ahem, ahem!"

Feeling embarrassed by my own delusions, even though no one could read my mind, I cleared my throat. Thankfully, it was still early morning. Father was the only one who had witnessed my weird behavior.

But seriously, what the hell was that guy here for? What was Derek supposed to be doing at this point in the timeline?

BANG!

"?!"

"W-what the?"

Just then, a loud noise shattered my thoughts. And speaking of shattered, it sounded like our inn's door was about to be. Our precious door. Please tell me it didn't crack?!

I quickly ran over to the door.

"W-who are you people?! I'll call the guards!"

"No, wait! Hold on! We're, uh, not bad people."

Anyone who claims they aren't a bad person usually is. That's a universal truth I can vouch for across both my past and current lives.

'Who on earth are these people?'

I stroked our precious door defensively while inspecting them.

'Whoa, is that... armor?'

It was heavy plate armor, completely different from what regular adventurers wore. It gleamed brilliantly, as if showing off how expensive it was. Right in the center of the chest plate was a large emblem. Probably a family crest.

'Are they knights?'

The man standing at the front had a large scar slashing across his face. His fierce gaze was enough to overwhelm anyone just from the atmosphere it projected. He radiated an imposing aura, like a veteran who had survived countless major battles.

I honestly doubted our village guards could subdue a man like this even if they showed up. I gulped nervously and stepped forward.

"What business brings you here?"

Ah, I almost bit my tongue. When his eyes locked onto me, my body instinctively shrank back.

"We are looking for someone."

"S-someone?"

"His name is Derek. Well, he might not be using that name... Anyway, he's tall with a sturdy build. He has neat black hair and blue eyes."

"......"

Well, that was a very detailed description. However, they clearly didn't know that Derek had been wearing a large, full-body cloak with the hood pulled down tight.

'Should I tell them?'

I had no idea who these people were. Were they Derek's enemies or allies? I didn't even know why they were looking for him. On top of that, it was hard to judge if getting tangled up with them was a safe idea.

"...Excuse me!"

While I was debating what to do, my father smoothly raised his hand.

"I know him!"

"......!"

My eyes widened in pure horror.

No, Father... Why would you do that?!