RMLP Chapter 300: What Were You Planning to Do? (Part 1)
It wasn't just Christine who froze at the appearance of the Black Scythe.
Three players, including Seonbi, also stiffened like wooden dolls, their eyes rolling around in panic.
“What were you guys talking about?”
“Ah, Mr. Black Scythe……”
Without needing to ask anyone else, Ryu Min looked straight at Jeffrey.
Then, like a proper slave, a businesslike report came out immediately.
“As per your command, I was protecting Chrissy, and those three over there approached her with ill intent.”
“W-What do you mean, ill intent?!”
“Stop talking nonsense!”
Seonbi, flustered, hurriedly turned to face the Black Scythe.
“Ah, hello. Mr. Black Scythe. You remember me, right? We even shook hands during the Death Church interview……”
“I don't know who you are.”
“Eh? Y-You don't? I made sure my face in the real world and in this world matched exactly, so there’s no way you wouldn’t recognize me……”
“I don’t bother remembering the faces of small fries.”
“Eh?”
Seonbi's eyebrow twitched, but only for a moment.
He wasn’t foolish enough to lose control of his expression in front of a max-leveled Black Scythe.
“Haha… I guess you met a lot of people during the interview, so you must not remember… T-That can happen.”
“Whatever. What did you want to say?”
“Ah, yes, yes. Don’t believe what that guy, Jeffy, said. It’s all lies. He’s spouting delusions as if they were real.”
“You’re saying you didn’t approach her with bad intentions?”
“Of course not. We’ve received help from Chrissy before, so we just came to protect her in case she was in danger. It's nothing like what that bastard is saying.”
“That’s right, that’s right. That bastard is just running his mouth without any proof. You shouldn’t believe him.”
“It’s just ‘cause our faces looked like crap to him, so he pulled out a dagger and started that bullshit.”
“Exactly. You shouldn't judge people based on appearances!”
The three of them desperately tried to explain themselves to the Black Scythe.
That they had no bad intentions.
That they hadn’t actually done anything.
“……”
Silently watching, Ryu Min turned to Jeffrey and asked,
“Is there any lie in their words?”
“…No. It’s all true. I just judged them to be dangerous based on a personal impression. I’m sorry.”
Jeffrey admitted it cleanly.
A slave didn’t want to make lame excuses in front of his master.
“See? He says no.”
“That bastard was glaring like he was going to kill us, but now he's acting like a tame lamb in front of Mr. Black Scythe.”
“You little bastard, you can’t live like that! Pulling knives on innocent people, tsk.”
“Don’t do that again! Got it?”
Now emboldened, the three each threw a word at Jeffrey before turning their backs.
They wanted to get away quickly—being around the Black Scythe was uncomfortable.
However—
“Hold on.”
The Black Scythe had no intention of letting them go that easily.
“W-Why… why is that…?”
“Who said you could go?”
“……”
“No one leaves without my permission.”
At the Black Scythe’s order, the three were frozen in place, unable to move.
None of them had the courage to defy the command of the Rank #1 player.
“D-Do you have some business with us…?”
Seonbi summoned some courage to speak on their behalf, but the Black Scythe didn’t answer.
He only stared at them silently, as if trying to see through their thoughts.
“…Forget it. Get lost.”
“Y-Yes!”
Relieved by the figurative eviction order, the three quickly left the scene.
Ryu Min, watching them disappear in haste, turned his eyes to Christine.
“You okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Nothing else happened?”
“Well…”
The answer came from Jeffrey’s mouth instead.
“Chrissy was being chased by an ogre. She nearly lost her life……”
As he reported, Jeffrey lowered his head, looking ashamed.
If he had arrived just a little earlier, Christine wouldn’t have been in danger.
Christine herself, however, didn’t seem to mind at all.
“I’m fine. Why would you feel bad, Mr. Jeffy? You saved my life anyway. I know I’m late in saying it, but thank you so much.”
With Christine’s words, Jeffrey said nothing more.
“Well then… Jeffy came because I ordered him. But what about Dorothy?”
“Huh? Ah, I…”
Dorothy, intimidated by the Black Scythe’s gaze, explained the situation.
“I see. So you came to return a favor. Got it. Either way, thank you for helping.”
“Eh?”
She came to help Christine, so why was the Black Scythe thanking her?
The reason came immediately from his mouth.
“Christine is someone I absolutely need.”
“Ah… I see.”
Hearing that openly, in front of others, made Christine’s face turn red.
“S-So, um, Mr. Black Scythe, why are you here?”
“To protect you, of course.”
Trying to change the topic only resulted in a direct hit.
Christine, her face burning, was at a loss.
“This round is too dangerous for someone like you who has no combat ability.”
“Y-Yes, that’s true. I almost died to the ogre three times…”
Ryu Min’s expression stayed calm at the mention of nearly dying, but his thoughts were anything but.
'Three times? Then if she hadn’t had god-tier armor, she would’ve already died?'
He had nearly lost Christine needlessly.
Feeling he’d been too careless, Ryu Min bit his lip.