“Well then, what should I cook~?”

   Wolf grinned, the corners of his mouth slightly curled upwards after unpacking his belongings. Whenever he’s like this, there’s no doubt that he has a more sinister smile hiding underneath. To be honest, I didn’t know which of the two men was the villain here.

   As for the intruder, he was behaving himself for the time being. His lazy expression was the same as ever, though his brows were tightly knitted together. As a stark contrast to Wolf who was calmly preparing food, it was clear that the man was blaming himself for his current situation. “What could I’ve done?” I could practically hear his lines from the game just by looking at him.

   Yes, from the game.

   I had a proper look at his face again.

   Soft wavy black hair with long front bangs and a short neckline. His slanted eyes shone like a deep, dark ruby, as if a drop of black ink were to mix in red. His lengthy lashes casted shadows on his splendid eyes and unquestionably complemented his charms.

“Ah… This is the worst.”

   A sweet voice whispered out with a solemn tone.

   I started to piece my memories back together, little by little. Once I had joined the small fragments and looked at him once more, I was sure.

There’s no mistaking it, he’s Crowe.

   One of the major characters to appear in the otome game Welcome to the Reverse World and the last capture target: Crowe, the a.s.sa.s.sin.

   His age was unknown, but it was estimated that at the start of the game, he was in his mid-twenties. A beautiful young man with a slim figure that carried

around a dignified atmosphere. His popularity was so high since he was shown to have a cheerful personality.

That, and his good looks.

   But when the game was finally released and his true character was exposed, the audience’s reactions instantly died down.

   For other characters, the strategies to capture their hearts were clearly spelled out. But for Crowe, there was no such thing. The man was gay. He was into guys.

   I’m not one to judge other people’s s.e.xual orientation, but I think it’s a bit too much of a high hurdle, even for a game that’s targeted at girls.

   Leaving the issue that the main character was female aside, how do you even start to make him fall in love with you? There’s a limit to how unreasonable the developers can get. It was just absurd.

“So, who the h.e.l.l are ya? Is there someone with a grudge who hired you?”

   Wolf pulled Crowe up to his face and pointed a knife down his throat. Since I also wanted to know, I stopped digging up memories and tentatively listened.

“You were on the same s.h.i.+p as us, weren’t ya? When that maid collapsed, you were the one that gave up your room for her.”

   When I heard that, it suddenly came back to me.

   Yes, he was the one who gave up his room for Mia. He was wearing his hood all the time, so I thought he was part of the Kua Clan.

   An a.s.sa.s.sin was this close to me all along… The thought made me s.h.i.+ver.

   I was pretty fortunate to still be alive after all I’ve been through. Seemed like Lady Luck was on my side.

“When you fought the pirates with us, was that because we had

had a common interest?” Wolf asked Crowe.

   Crowe, however, didn’t even open his mouth. His expression remained calm and bitter.

   He looked like a man that valued his mission more than his life…wait, no,doesn’t he seem a bit angry right now?

   Rather than having an appropriate expression for someone of his age, he was instead pouting like an unruly child.

“Nothing to say?” Wolf spat out a sigh as he gave up.

   As he raised his face, Crowe’s legs slightly twitched. I couldn’t see very well from where I was and didn’t notice.

   Crowe kicked his heel on the dirt and a thin blade sprouted from the tip of his shoe. I took in a sharp breath.

   It’s like a scene out of a movie… Wait, this is not the time for that!

“Watch out!” I shouted before Crowe could attack.

“…!?”

   Wolf instantly distanced himself and so did Crowe, who sprang away.

   As I wondered about the approaching fight, Crowe came running towards me instead.

Was I his target after all!?

   He twisted my arm behind my back in a lock-hold and held me up with his other arm around my stomach.

   This posture again!? How many times was this now? I don’t want myself to get used to the feeling of having someone press down on my abdomen!

   Crowe kicked down the door and jumped out. Raindrops quickly dampened my body.

“Mary!”

“Wolf!”

   I cried out for Wolf and reached out my hand towards him. He yelled for me, distress clear on his face.

   Although I didn’t know who was friend or foe anymore, one thing for sure was that I trusted Wolf far more than Crowe.

“Let me go!”

   I hit Crowe on the back with my fists, but

fists, but he didn’t seem to have felt anything. His slim but firm and toned body couldn’t possibly be hurt with the feeble strength in my tiny arms.

   But Crowe became annoyed at my actions and tutted.

“Alright, enough already. You’re such a handful.”

“…Eh?”

“That man that kidnapped you is our enemy. Why are you asking him for help? Would it be better if I didn’t come to your aid, princess?”

“…Aid?”

“Yes. I’ve come here to help you. Got it?”

   I was stunned by what he told me and couldn’t keep up.

   Certainly, Wolf was the one that kidnapped me in the first place, so it would seem weird to ask him for help.

But even if that’s the case, was Crowe really an ally?

“That’s not true! You’re lying!”

“…Hah?”

   I refuted his claims on the spot and he turned his voice down an octave. ‘This tiny brat’ was what it seemed like he was thinking of me.

“B-b-b-because there’s no reason for you to help me, is there?!”

“?”

   I cried out as I tried to escape his grip. Crowe simply remained silent.

“You… haven’t you heard about me from His Majesty?”

“Huh? About what?” The question was so unexpected that I became confused.

   His Majesty? Which His Majesty are you talking about?

   You’re joking… No, it couldn’t be my father… right?

   When I couldn’t answer him, Wolf’s voice could be heard behind us. ‘Mary!’ I raised my face towards the voice calling out my name. Crowe then opened his mouth after a few seconds of silence.

“Princess, please answer my last question.”

“What!?”

“Should I eliminate that man for you?”

“No!” I replied without hesitation.

   I didn’t think I could have given this reply if Wolf weren’t my friend. I believed that he wouldn’t hurt me, but his reasons for kidnapping me remained unknown.

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me remained unknown.

   But I didn’t want him to be eliminated. Never. I absolutely didn’t want him to die.

“Would you rather escape this country, or do you want to talk to that pharmacist guy? Your call.”

“I’ll take the second option!”

“Got it.”

   Crowe nodded and stopped running.

   Wolf noticed that and stopped at a distance away, being wary of any traps.

“Wolf K. Lukka.”

“…What?”

   His full name was called out. Wolf responded with a watchful gaze.

“Are you an enemy of the princess?”

   Wolf widened his eyes in surprise.

   However, he shook his head immediately after gaining control of his facial expressions.

“No… It might not be much coming from the guy that kidnapped her, but the last thing I would do is to hurt this child.”

   Crowe sighed deeply.

“Well then, princess. What will you do? Do you believe what he says?”

   Crowe looked into my eyes and asked. It seemed that I was given a choice, but it felt more like he was testing me.

   While puzzled, I nodded. Crowe then gently lowered me down, adding that I was ‘unexpectedly heavy’ under his breath.

Isn’t this bird too rude?!

“…Hm?”

   In the corner of my mind, I had come to a realisation.

   Bird? That’s right, if I remember correctly, the word “bird” has many different meanings.

   ‘Bird’, ‘His Majesty’ and ‘I came to your aid.’ I had come to a conclusion by connecting the dots on these three words.

“Could you be… the ‘bird’ that Father talked about?”

   Once he heard that, he gave a rejected sigh.

“And you realised that just now?”

   I felt like my head was spinning, but this wasn’t the time to worry about that.

   Crowe is Father’s ‘bird’? The setting in the game and reality is somehow different. What’s going on?