I Reincarnated as a Mob Villain in a Game World I Had Been Playing~ Using My Knowledge of the Game, I Lived a Carefree Life but for Some Reason I Became Famous Everywhere~ - Chapter 33 - A Calm Diner

Chapter 33 – A Calm Diner

At a diner surrounded by a calm atmosphere.

“Hah…”

“Why are you the one who’s exhausted?”

“Huh? Well, dealing with that would make anyone exhausted…”

“You were talking to Miss Nina, weren’t you? And you were even taking the initiative.”

At the moment, Nina and her escort were on their way home in the carriage that picked them up.

“Just so you know… I’m the one who should be the most exhausted.”

“Ah… Is that so? Good work.”

“Thanks. But on a different note…! You’re surrounded by important people!”

The inn-keeper regained his true self as soon as Nina and her escort were gone.

The pupils of his eyes were dilated, indicating that he had been through a hellish situation.

“I expected that you weren’t an ordinary person, but to think you can compete with the Holy Church!”

“How easy do you think it is to compete with them…”

“W-Why are you giving me that distant look…? Come on, you don’t have to keep up that act anymore… I already know you’re very capable.”

The inn-keeper genuinely believed that. He didn’t think that the man was acting.

But the man was unaware.

He was unaware that when you have the Ducal family’s emblem and its backing, you are in a position to compete with the Holy Church.

“…Ah, I just noticed. For someone who thinks I’m in a high position, you don’t seem to be showing any respect towards me, huh? Of course, there’s absolutely no need for that at all.”

“Because, you know, it’s more convenient for you if I respond like usual, right?”

“That’s right. It’d be sad if you changed your attitude.”

“Don’t sue me afterwards because of the disrespect, though.”

“I’m not going to do that. I can’t do it in the first place.”

The inn-keeper was completely locked in his thinking. It would be almost impossible to clear up the misunderstanding with someone who is so deeply convinced.

And the man also felt that he didn’t have to clear up any misunderstandings as long as the inn-keeper kept his attitude the same. 

“By the way, wasn’t that escort just plain scary…? She’s definitely the type of person who can do her job well. You can tell just by looking at her.”

The man and the inn-keeper expanded their conversation, of course, about what happened earlier.

“When it comes to the guards of the Holy Church, they are all elites, you know?”

“Ahhh, you certainly have to be in that area to serve.”

“Well, I had a good experience today. I feel like I’m mentally stronger now.”

The ‘good experience’ was being threatened by an escort.

“There’s no way something like this will happen again. That means I’m not afraid of anything anymore!”

“W-Were you alright? From what I heard, it sounded kind of dangerous…”

“If you’re asking me if I was alright or not, no, I wasn’t. I thought I was going to die.”

“Ha ha… Thought so.”

If it had been the man—He would have felt more terrified than the inn-keeper.

The man could easily imagine his legs shaking like a fawn.

“Well, you heard a rough outline of the story, but… Can I share a bit about myself? It’s a bit of a dilemma for me to have you risk your life for something like this. I do feel a sense of guilt about it too.”

“I know I’m not the best person to say this because I couldn’t protect you, but it’s also a matter of pride—So please don’t worry about it.”

The shop owner said with a smug smile, adding a cool remark.

However, sweat was dripping down his forehead.

“…Well, this time it was just a clash of pride between both of us. I’m sure they knew that, too, which is why they left a little more money.”

“When you said, ‘both of us’, did you mean the escort?”

“Of course. I was wasting Miss Nina’s valuable time when she had a limited amount of time to get out of the house, right? It was the right thing to do for the escort who had to make sure Miss Nina had time to eat. If she didn’t do that, she wouldn’t have any loyalty.”

“…I see.”

It was something that the man had no idea about, but perhaps there was something that the inn-keeper and the escort shared a mutual understanding about.

Certainly, it seemed like there was no tense atmosphere between them from a certain point onward.

“So you’re saying it’s kind of like being in middle management? Like being caught between the two sides?”

“Something like that. That position has its difficulties. You have to be willing to do things that people don’t like. I mean, you’re the one who knows best about that, right? I heard what you said to the escort earlier about ‘public and political standing to deal with.'”

“That was just something I said out of whim. I don’t actually know what I was talking about.”

Without a doubt, the inn-keeper would know about this more than the man.

“If you don’t know that, that means you’re in a ridiculously superior position… W-Wait a minute? Your position is even higher than that of the Holy Church…? Whoa…”

“No, it’s the opposite. I don’t know because I’m too far down.”

“Yes, welcome!”

“Wait, at least listen to me a bit more…”

The man spoke honestly, but this was the result of the gears meshing too well together.

He had unintentionally accelerated the misunderstanding even further. 

And at the same time, in the carriage on the way back to the Holy Church, Nina and her escort were having a serious and intense headache.

—All because of the statement Jet-black said at the inn.