3. Sheep Enters the Tiger’s Mouth

After being reluctantly transported to the Rodma Empire along with Kefir and Nilu, although I was temporarily safe and leaving with Kefir was fine, for various troublesome reasons, we ultimately chose to stay in the Rodma Empire for the time being.

After all, I had just made one promise after another to Nilu, and then to turn around and leave would be too much of a scoundrel’s act. I absolutely couldn’t do that, and Kefir didn’t say much either. Moreover, the way we arrived in the Rodma Empire was rather “sudden.” At this moment, my script was unusually fraught with crises, filled with death scenarios, so staying in the relatively safe Rodma Empire wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

By the way, there was also a reason I had to keep secret that compelled me to choose to stay in the Rodma Empire, and if possible, I’d better keep it a bit hidden from Kefir while I sought it out.

Opportunities, of course, were available.

Later, at some point, taking advantage of Kefir needing to explain our current situation to the queen, I quietly began to explore both inside and outside the Rodma Empire at the moment we left to borrow the magical devices of the empire.

As a prototype of an empire that only exists in historical records, this brand-new Rodma Empire was actively “rebuilding” after Nilu’s “return,” and… the efficiency was astonishing.

The last time we visited the Rodma Empire, the surroundings could only be described as a small town with a “smoky atmosphere.” However, this time, having unexpectedly found ourselves in the Rodma Empire, I discovered that it had already expanded wildly. Not only the ordinary citizens here, but even the remnants of what could be considered “ruins” from our last visit were beginning to be repaired, giving off a strong sense of wanting to return to its “former glory.”

It was evident that Nilu hoped for her Rodma Empire to return to its original state, and this… was precisely what struck me as strange.

To be honest… I feel very familiar with this place. Should I say I “recognize” it or something else? Even in the rebuilt Rodma Empire, especially with these absurdly large interconnected castle palaces, I haven’t once encountered a situation like “getting lost.” Even if I wanted to find answers in the script, it doesn’t tell me anything at this moment—only a blur.

Surely, I can’t be a human map by nature, can I?

I shook my head and stopped thinking too much. After all, I had been wandering around the Rodma Empire all day for another purpose: to find Nilu.

Since that day when Kephiel indirectly expressed some acceptance of Nilu’s existence, Nilu’s response was far from ecstatic. She didn’t make any “advancements” afterward. Rather, Nilu’s behavior since then has been completely opposite to what I expected!

She came up with many excuses that were obviously lies, and has been avoiding us for days. While this spared us some trouble, Nilu, this Rodma Empire is yours! What will happen to me and Kephiel if you’re not around?

So, with Kephiel’s somewhat reluctant suggestion, after many twists and turns, I finally managed to find Nilu’s whereabouts through the fairies’ snippets of conversation just as the day was about to end.

“Nilu, is playing hide and seek fun?”

The moment I opened the door and spoke, Nilu was staring blankly out the window with her back to me. She had run into the town of the Rodma Empire to hide—really, was it necessary to be so afraid of meeting Kephiel…?

Moreover, Nilu must have been lost in thought at that moment. She didn’t even notice my sudden appearance and was surprised enough to exclaim when she finally did.

“Mr. Oujilide! How did you find me…?”

In the next moment, the fairies lingering beside Nilu transformed into various colored lights and flew away. Although I felt displeased with their somewhat “understanding” reaction, I couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to it now.

After all, it was Nilu, who had been avoiding us for several days with all sorts of excuses, that was my final “target” for the day.

“Before I answer you, would you like to tell me why you’ve been hiding in a place like this these days?”

The sudden sound of the door closing made my heart skip a beat. I didn’t even know which fairy had closed the door last; it must have been intentional, right?

Because when the surroundings quieted down, I realized that my sudden decision to find Nilu at such a late hour seemed a bit hasty. Nilu, in my view, looked like a child who had done something wrong—she appeared somewhat awkward and flustered. Because of this, when the layer of BOSS-like authority and dominance temporarily faded, Nilu seemed a bit… uh…

“Unsafe.”

That description was the most tactful I could muster. As various wild thoughts flooded my mind, I could only rely on this method to make myself appear “serious” for a moment.

“I… I was just worried that those fairies would come looking for me, so I’ve been gathering information in the city recently.”

As she spoke, Nilu’s gaze naturally avoided mine out of guilt.

“I didn’t… mean to hide from you.”

Such actions made her appearance seem a bit more “youthful” for a moment. This kind of disguise was certainly useless; even without looking at the script, I could guess why Nilu had been making excuses to avoid me and Kephir these days.

“Come on, being too serious makes it seem strange, Nilu. I just want to tell you: Kephir has already accepted you. You don’t need to feel guilty about what happened before, or even… avoid her. This approach is even more frustrating for her than directly arguing with her.”

“……”

Nilu’s silence was her response.

By the time I realized that I might have underestimated Nilu, it was already too late.

Nilu’s silence brought a quietness to the surroundings. Just as I was inevitably troubled by the dimness around us, which had faded to nothing but night, pondering whether my sudden visit tonight had scared Nilu, and thinking that perhaps I should give her some time to reflect…

Nilu, who had been turned slightly away from me, suddenly turned around, looked at me, and asked out of the blue.

“Mr. O’Keefe, did you go through all this trouble just to show off your understanding of Kephir in front of me?”

“Cough, cough, cough!”

No, that’s not it! Ah, I kind of regret coming here alone! If only Kephir had come along, would Nilu still have the mood to tease me? They would have already been in a “cat and dog battle” by now!

“I’m leaving.”

“Ah, wait…”

In desperation, I had to resort to my last tactic.

Although this tactic was like the Seven Injuries Fist, which could startle Nilu, it… would also make it hard for me to escape.

Nilu immediately grabbed my clothes from behind, and until that moment, I only heard her voice, which might have been deliberately cheerful, but I still couldn’t see what kind of expression was on her face.

Compared to her usual ruthless pursuit of me, this was far too fragile. Nilu, what “secret” have you suddenly remembered that made you become so…

Uh… hesitant?

“Nilu, what are you really worried about?”

Perhaps this question was the answer I truly wanted to quietly ask her when I finally got to see her alone.

This time, I won’t write any extras; after all, this volume is already suitable to be released at this moment.