Pitiful Young Master in a Reversed World

Chapter 20

"Is that Louis? Come in."

A woman's voice came through, and I opened the door and stepped inside.

"It's been a while."

"Really? We usually meet around this time, right? It's been about three months, hasn't it?"

Hmm, this woman with the navy blue hair is Yelena, but who's the woman next to her?

As soon as I entered the room and scanned the interior, I spotted a woman sitting beside Yelena, staring intently at me.

When our eyes met, I felt a strange warmth in my body, and honestly, it wasn't a bad feeling at all.

'Is she a healer?'

But then again, it's not quite the same gentle warmth I feel when paladins or priests heal injuries, so I'm confused.

"You brought someone I've never seen before? Nice to meet you."

Naturally, I sat across from Yelena and scanned the woman.

Her uncommon pink hair and facial features reminded me of a character I had created in my previous life,

but her overall vibe was completely different.

Even her eyes were brown, unlike my character who had pink-colored eyes.

Smiling at the woman who was blankly staring at my face, I spoke up.

"I'm Louis Cartio. May I ask your name?"

"...Reina. Nice to meet you."

"Reina. That's a pretty name. Mind if I call you Miss Reina?"

Glancing at Reina, Yelena opened her mouth.

"She's a kid who joined recently. She's got quite a bit of talent, so I'm keeping her around."

"Heh. Are you in such a hurry to train a disciple because you think you'll die soon?"

When I joked with a smile, Yelena curled one side of her lips into a sneer.

"Yeah, I feel like I'm about to fall into hell soon. Maybe you want to come along with me, Louis?"

"Come on, why so harsh? You know it's just a joke."

"Try asking a bald guy if he's bald. See what happens."

"That's a bit...."

Since I suffered from hair loss in my previous life, I didn't want to tease bald people about hair.

"Old hag, is this all our relationship amounts to?"

"If you want to talk like that, how about you stop calling me an old hag first?"

"Hmm... fine, I guess the young me should be the bigger person. How about 'auntie' instead?"

Come to think of it, calling her an old hag might have been too much.

That kind of term should be reserved for that wrinkly old man who's crazy about elves.

Compared to him, the woman in front of me had aged a bit but had no wrinkles, firm skin, and a pretty face.

Thinking those were traces of her sucking the life out of many people made me uneasy, but just judging by appearances, that's how she looked.

"Haa...... fine. So, have you made up your mind this time?"

"About what?"

"I asked you to join Black Robe, didn't I?"

"Ah, that?"

I stroked my chin and pretended to ponder.

But my answer hadn't changed since a year ago, when Yelena first made the offer.

"Hmm...... I still don't want to join."

"Why not? If you just say yes, I can train you thoroughly.

You have talent, Louis. With my teaching and your gift, you'll easily surpass the level of a great magician."

"Sure, let's say I join Black Robe. What's in it for me?"

At my question, Yelena crossed her legs.

"What's in it for you? Plenty. You'd become a disciple of the great Yelena. As you know, I'm the third-ranking executive of Black Robe.

The moment you become my disciple, you'll stand above hundreds or thousands of black magicians."

"And how does standing above black magicians benefit me?"

"...Because you'd be in a position to command people, obviously."

"But those 'people' are black magicians. How does bossing them around benefit me? You know their personalities."

Yelena fell silent, as if at a loss for words.

Sure, some black magicians are normal, but most have nasty dispositions.

They never tolerate being ordered around and curse anyone they envy without hesitation.

They even prefer to maintain equal footing with the demons who grant them power via contracts.

If I tried to command black magicians, I'd probably die screaming from curse overload within days-if I was lucky.

Fortunately, thanks to what my father did to my body when I was young, I had quite a bit of resistance to black magic,

but still, surviving hundreds of curses cast simultaneously wouldn't be easy.

Knowing this, Yelena couldn't continue arguing.

"...Even if you can't command them, there are plenty of benefits. Learning black magic itself is a rare opportunity."

Glancing at the giggling Reina, Yelena folded her arms and spoke again.

This woman still hasn't given up her greed.

"Even so, I have no intention of becoming a black magician, so give up on that dream."

No matter how harmless those things were, the pain I experienced back then was real.

I had no intention of ever touching black magic, which had caused me such agony.

"...Fine. Then let's just share information as usual."

"Sure, I'll start as always, right? Well, our organization is the same as usual. That's it."

"That's it?"

Yelena frowned.

Honestly, there was a lot more.

Beya had infiltrated, had become my toy, and while I was meeting with this Black Robe executive, Beya was probably rummaging through the mansion with the notes I gave her,

which would result in this organization and Black Robe being attacked, and my whole family getting wiped out.

But since all that information was only in my head and would never leave my lips, I could say the organization was the same as always.

"I mean, what would change in this kind of organization? Kidnap people, sell people. Kidnap people, sell people again. Kidnap people, keep selling people. That's it. Nothing special."

"Really nothing? Are you sure?"

At Yelena's words, I studied her face.

Her tone and actions suggested she knew something, which was suspicious.

"I told you, nothing."

"...Fine. Then my turn. Recently, adventurers have been quite busy. That's it."

"What? Are you taking revenge now?"

"Revenge? Just a reasonable step to equalize the information gap between us."

"But it's true that nothing is happening at the mansion."

"Probably. And it's also true that adventurers are busy."

Wow, look at this person.

"Wow, you're seriously petty. How can someone be this petty? Is it an age thing?"

Maybe stung by my words, Yelena's face flushed red.

'Did I tease her too much?'

I smiled at her to show I was sorry.

Seeing my smile, Yelena glared at me with a resigned expression.

"......Hoo, fine. You seem curious, so I'll tell you a bit more. Not all adventurers affiliated with the Adventurer Guild are busy."

"Then who is busy?"

"Before that, Louis. I heard you recently picked up a toy. I thought you weren't interested in such things, so I was surprised."

"Is that what you were dragging this out to ask me?"

I asked playfully, and Yelena closed her eyes and said,

"It's just a trivial curiosity."

"Well, it's true. I got a new toy recently. But it wasn't of my own will.

Mother basically forced it onto me. Oh, and don't tell Mother about this, okay?"

As soon as I finished speaking, Reina leaned her head in.

I blinked at her face suddenly so close.

"Miss Reina, I get that you're very pretty, but could you please back away a little?"

Noticing my discomfort, Reina cleared her throat a few times and then spoke in a calm manner.

"Ah, I'm sorry. Could I perhaps know what kind of person that toy you mentioned is?"

"Uh... I don't really get why you're curious, but there's nothing particularly distinctive to mention."

"How could I not be curious? Hearing that such a handsome man has that kind of taste, of course any woman would be interested."

"You do realize I don't exactly have a reason to tell you, right?"

"Ah, of course."

Reina, who had been licking her lips while looking at me, leaned in again.

"If you'd like, I could become your toy instead. I promise you'll be satisfied. Whether it's night or day. I guarantee it."

I blocked Reina's approaching face with my palm.

Then she immediately rubbed her cheek against my palm.

"What the-!"

Freaking out, I pulled my hand away and looked over at Yelena.

"What is up with this woman? Ma'am! Can't you do something about her? Isn't she your disciple?"

"Ma'am--!"

"Seems like you're not immune to this kind of thing. How cute."

Reina murmured as she touched the cheek where my palm had been.

Yelena, looking flustered, placed her hand on Reina's shoulder.

"Sorry. She's not usually like this, but suddenly..."

For a moment, the room fell into a lull.

Contrary to her status as a high-ranking officer, Yelena glanced nervously between me and Reina,

Reina kept staring intently at me,

and I frowned as my body suddenly felt feverish.

Feeling a warm sensation spreading out from the palm that had touched Reina's cheek, I glanced at her.

Catching a glimpse of Reina gazing at me with honey-dripping eyes, I suddenly opened my mouth.

"Reina. Are you, by any chance, a succubus?"