Chapter 85: As Expected, I’m Not the Protagonist
Chapter 85: As Expected, I’m Not the Protagonist
Actually, Leili being able to guess the matter between Shien and Leisha’s wasn’t really all that unbelievable.
From the start, Shien was the only one who had any contact with Leisha. Thus, there’s definitely a reason that Leisha not only didn’t chase him off, but also met with him alone.
Maybe it was merely curiosity towards Shien as a new adventurer who was able to subjugate Jillian.
However, it’s also possible that Leisha knew of Shien’s secrets and had suspicions regarding his identity.
If that was what it was, then not only would Leisha have a reason for meeting Shien, she would also have a reason for her continued stay in Lamdrion.
There’s no way that an infamous wanted criminal would forget about her own status just because of a single person right? To ignore her own reality as someone on the run and stay here and just wait for people to come get at her?
Therefore, Leisha definitely has some kind of goal.
As for what that goal is, Shien had already stated that it wasn’t aimed toward Lamdrion. Thus, the only option left is that it’s aimed against the Old Demon Faction.
If that possibility was considered, plus the hints that Shien had already leaked about his own abnormalities as well as his lone meeting with Leisha, then it wouldn’t be nearly so impossible for Leili to have guessed that Leisha wanted to work with Shien to deal a blow to the Old Demon Faction.
The reason Shien was so startled wasn’t because he was overthinking things, but because he never thought that someone so highly placed like Leili would so easily believe his words just like that, and believe that Leisha really didn’t have any real plot against Lamdrion.
From Shien’s point of view, even if he said that Leisha didn’t have any goals here in Lamdrion, there’s no way that Leisha would believe it so readily.
With that, Leisha would definitely have suspicions about Leisha’s goals and start deeply thinking about it while subtly testing and gathering more information. There’s no way that she should have been able to just directly guess what he and Leisha were planning to do in secret.
Who knew though, that Leili actually completely believe Shien’s words and didn’t even consider the possibility that Leisha had some kind of plot against Lamdrion, which ended up letting her immediately lock down the truth.
Shien just plain never even considered that Leili would trust his own words so readily.
However, something the Shien didn’t know was the fact that the one Leili trusted wasn’t him, but rather Vivian.
Leili didn’t know about Shien’s identity. She just knew that it was a secret that cannot be allowed to be exposed. Plus, her unconditionally trusted childhood friend Vivian personally guaranteed it. That was why she would so decisively stand on Shien’s side and accepted everything he said.
As for Vivian, actually, she didn’t really trust Shien as a person quite that much either.
Even if Vivian was naturally kind and gentle, it doesn’t mean that she would trust someone so completely in such a short amount of time.
The reason that Vivian was willing to make guarantees for Shien and chose to believe in him so quickly was actually related to the fact that Vivian had more or less guessed Shien’s true identity.
From Vivian’s point of view, Shien’s identity is worthy of absolute faith. There was no way that he could be some kind of evil person.
Thus, Vivian put herself on the line for him. Leili trusted Vivian absolutely. With all those linked together, that’s what had made Leili not suspect Shien’s words at all.
That’s how reality is.
Reality isn’t like novels. There’s no way that everyone besides the main character would all be idiots. There would definitely be fools aplenty, but similarly, smart people would also be plentiful. There’s no way that things would end up like in novels where the world only orbits the protagonist.
In reality, everyone has their own thoughts and feelings. Everyone has their own positions. Everyone also has their own standards and judgment. Thus, every single result may seem ordinary, but in reality, it was created from a web of many kinds of actions and thoughts all linked together.
Although Shien had been drowned in the various story cliches from his previous world and he could easily ruin certain formulaic developments, formulaic is just as the word implies, those would naturally not be all that complicated. Thus, unless this world has mind reading or precognitive skills for him to learn, how could he have possibly been able to predict all the actual developments?
Reality really is just filled with unexpected events.
Now, an unexpected event had happened. There’s no way that everything would just orbit around the protagonist and allow him to easily reach his goals. The thoughts and considerations of others will also have a major impact on how things unfold.
Of course, it can all be summed up with the words that Shien was currently thinking.
“As expected, I’m not the protagonist.”
It really is a heartbreaking truth.
However, Shien still didn’t know that although Leili had guessed certain things, she didn’t plan to actually reveal them.
After all, she’s still on Shien’s side, or rather, she’s on Vivian’s side.
Thus, Leili relied as such to Shien’s words.
“Although she’s a criminal, the Kingdom itself didn’t dare to act against that one from the start. Due to fears that the unknown dangerous object would end up being used, the Kingdom had always treated that one with the upmost caution. Unless there’s absolute confidence of success, the only actions taken were temporary monitoring in order to avoid provoking her. Thus, even if we let her go, there wouldn’t be anyone who might object.”
Leili thus explained to Shien.
“As for the Old Demon Faction, they may very well end up enraged and want to take it out on Lamdrion. However, they’re not idiots either. Even Jillian was subjugated here, and to all outside knowledge, it was done by a newbie adventurer that I had an eye on who used a powerful magic item in a sneak attack. Thus, they won’t want to take such enormous risks for no gain either, right?”
What if Lamdrion still had more of those magic items capable of subjugating even Jillian?
The Old Demon Faction would definitely be cautious of that.
Thus, if Jillian was still here, they might be willing to take the risk and act anyways. However, if Jillian was no longer in Lamdrion, then there’s no way that they’d choose to take the risk of further loss when there’s no reward at all.
“Well, if I really did have such items, I really wouldn’t mind them attacking. Or rather, I would want them to attack. That way, we can finally remove those pests.” Leili showed Shien a beautiful smil and spoke with a seductive tone, “If Mr. Shien still has such powerful magic items, please do let me know. I’d be willing to buy it at high prices, alright?”
Shien couldn’t keep his cool against those words anymore.
“I-it’s not like it’s mine… It’s something Ms. Diere gave me for self defense…”
Shien once more tossed the blame, but his word had a rather nervous quality to it.
That made all the girls there roll their eyes. Especially Diere. She felt like she made a mistake covering for Shien back then.
Even Diere reacted like that, so never mind Leili and Vivian.
It must be said, Diere only covered for Shien’s lies to the party. Leili and Vivian had to cover for Shien’s lies to the outside world and claim that the magic item in question was something that they gave Shien.
Now that they’re seeing Shien toss the blame elsewhere, coupled with the fact that Shien had been doing as he liked at the guild, the two of them were seriously wondering if they had made a mistake covering for Shien so much.
“Anyways, that’s how it is.”
Leili let out a sigh before turning around and speaking to everyone there.
“This particular job is considered a secret quest. Beyond the few people who are directly a part of this, you’re not allowed to tell anyone. It’s to prevent our actions from being exposed. If that happened, no only would we not be able to reach our goals, you might also end up drawing the Old Demon Faction to you, and end up forced to receive their attacks.”
“The guild won’t be letting you guys do this quest alone. Besides you guys, there will be two other high leveled adventuring parties that will be joining this quest.”