Vicious Darling

[16]

Chris looked at the person approaching him with a pretense of familiarity.

Reddish-brown dreadlocks and brown eyes. With freckles dotting his cheeks, he was a handsome man with a friendly impression.

Perhaps due to his expression, he somehow resembled a retriever.

He had such a harmless appearance that an ordinary person would quickly lower their guard. However, Chris shielded Yuri before the man could even approach.

“Who are you?”

“Oh.”

Despite Chris’s wariness, the other person was not intimidated but rather impressed.

“Your feet aren’t leaving the ground? Did you do this?”

He was a scatterbrained young man.

Fortunately for Chris, he was accustomed to this type of person who just said whatever they wanted, thanks to Chase Dalton.

“Answer my question first.”

The young man, who seemed intrigued by Chris’s unshakeable demeanor, spread his palms.

It seemed like he was showing that he had no weapons.

“I’m Peter Garrett, in charge of minor errands for Barrel Society.”

He placed his hand on his chest and gave a greeting like a hotel footman.

“Sit down for now.”

Yuri nodded towards the seat across from him.

Before releasing Peter, Chris warned,

“He’s combat-capable. You should be careful.”

It wasn’t difficult to recognize that the other person was an Esper. There was a distinctive wavelength.

Yuri lowered his eyes and gave no reaction.

It was as good as a silent order.

Chris released the telekinetic force binding Peter.

“That’s too harsh. I volunteered to come personally despite everyone trying to stop me.”

The young man grumbled, rotating his shoulders as if stretching.

Chris had only bound his feet, so this was an exaggerated act of whining. But somehow, it didn’t feel annoying.

‘Is this also an ability?’

Perhaps due to his seemingly bright personality, he gave off a youthful impression regardless of his actual age.

That’s what made people lenient towards him.

Chris, coldly evaluating him, stared at the other without the slightest wavering.

“I’ll have a hot chocolate.”

Peter grinned as he ordered. Chris, without moving a muscle, used his ability to bring over the server’s order pad and scribbled down the order.

A waiter who approached belatedly took the order pad.

It was quite a casual attitude despite knowing Chris was an Esper.

Peter narrowed his eyes.

‘Indeed, Baekya’s reputation is absolute here.’

He had tried to provoke the famous Chris Danil a bit out of curiosity about what would happen, and it turned out to be an interesting sight.

‘Is it because he’s a dog?’

Quickly realizing that his chosen strategy wasn’t very effective, Peter decided to change his target.

After all, a faithful dog moves when its master is touched.

The young man turned his head towards Yuri with a painted-on smile.

“I didn’t expect to meet the master of Baekya, you’re quite beautiful.”

“I, too, didn’t expect the Barrel Society’s Keymaker to be someone who immediately judges by appearances.”

Yuri’s voice was indifferent.

But the moment he heard the word ‘Keymaker’, Peter’s eyes widened.

The executives of Barrel Society share titles like Warehouse Keeper, Cobbler, Baker, and Keymaker. It’s said that there’s at least one Warehouse Keeper per continent, and while the number of Cobblers or Bakers isn’t fixed, there’s only one Keymaker across all twelve continents.

Within Barrel Society, the Keymaker held a very special position, so their identity was kept strictly secret.

He never expected Baekya’s boss to instantly recognize who he was.

“…How did you know?”

“I guessed.”

Yuri answered as if it was no big deal, then picked up his coffee cup and brought it to his lips.

“You’re Barrel Society’s troubleshooter, aren’t you? I didn’t expect you to fall for it so quickly.”

“…”

Peter remained silent with a smiling face.

Yuri took a sip of espresso during the brief silence and then set the coffee cup down again.

To be honest, the taste was barely above garbage level, but looking at the astonished face before him was quite satisfying.

“May I ask how you deduced this?”

“Since you boldly approached Barrel Society, they would have sent out their best card. I thought it was a fifty-fifty chance, but it seems my dog surprised you quite a bit.”

A barely perceptible crooked smile lingered on Yuri’s lips.

“I’m sorry about that.”

“Really… I can’t handle this.”

Peter shook his head and raised both hands.

“Did you know as well?”

Chris remained silent at the gaze directed at him.

From experience, it was better to let them misunderstand in situations like this.

Besides, whatever Yuri knew, it wasn’t so strange to Chris.

Everything happening in the Winter Continent was always in the palm of his hand.

It was the result of somewhat paranoid efforts to filter out Rosenhauser’s trackers when he was still active.

“Seeing that the Keymaker came to greet us personally, it seems Barrel Society is taking our proposal seriously.”

“Well, I open the right door for that person.”

Chris, who had recognized the other as an Esper, read the implications of those words.

It seemed he had a space-related ability.

“So that’s why you’re the Keymaker.”

Peter responded to Yuri’s muttered realization.

“That’s right, and also not.”

He added with a mischievous wrinkle of his nose.

“The position of Keymaker existed before I came along.”

Meaning the title was unrelated to his ability.

“You’re quite talkative.”

“What does it matter when my identity has been exposed anyway? I was planning to pretend to be just an errand boy while observing you two.”

Peter, who had been grumbling, brightened up when the server placed a steaming drink in front of him.

“The Winter Continent is really damn cold. Without something like this, I’d never want to come here.”

The young man, who had been sneaking glances, took the sugar placed in front of Yuri and poured it into his own cup.

“Hmm. It’s a bit lacking, but drinkable at this level.”

Peter took a sip of his drink and spoke good-naturedly.

Chris, who had slightly backed away from the sweet smell rising from the chocolate, was taken aback.

It looked like it would rot your teeth just by looking at it.

“Chris.”

When he turned his head at Yuri’s call, he saw him pushing the coffee cup towards him.

Chris, who would normally have declined, quietly picked up the cup.

Just wetting his lips was enough to clear his mind.

“…It’s bitter.”

It was an appreciative comment tinged with relief.

Peter, who had been engrossed in his sweet drink, finally raised his head.

“As I mentioned, I have a space-related ability and came to assist with your journey to the Spring Continent.”

“Even ordinary smugglers wouldn’t move like that.”

“I’d like to say times have changed, but… well, the majority of smugglers are still transported in containers. I’m a high-end resource that only moves in special cases. The maintenance costs are too high, you see.”

“Maintenance costs?”

Chris’s lips moved.

“Doesn’t the problem of Espers ultimately come down to one thing?”

Peter shrugged.

“Guiding, of course.”

Guides were even harder to find than Espers.

Those who awakened their abilities caused accidents big and small right after becoming aware, but Guides had none of that, making it difficult to recognize their awakening.

It was natural that there weren’t many organizations with Guides.

Among those known to the outside world, only the Esper Union was notable.

In that sense, Baekya had an unusually high number of Guides gathered. Its very owner, Yuri, was also an S-class Guide.

“Even smuggling has its tiers, I see.”

Yuri spoke in a cynical tone as he stood up.

He had no intention of refusing Barrel Society’s ‘consideration’ anyway. Finding Rosenhauser’s remnants was a time-sensitive matter.

Moreover, it was inconvenient for the owner of Baekya, who was essentially running the Winter Continent, to be away for an extended period.

“I’ll contact you when our business here is settled. Stand by.”

“Alright.”

“How do we contact you?”

When Chris asked, Peter looked at him with a bright smile.

“I’ve already given it to you.”

Following his gaze, Chris moved his hand and found a business card tucked in his jacket pocket.

Despite the casual attire, the colorless paper had Peter Garrett’s name along with a terminal code.

Chris frowned, caught off guard. He hadn’t noticed because he had only put a protective barrier around Yuri, and there was no sense of hostility.

But the ability to move that thin business card into such a narrow space as a pocket was impressive.

Despite looking young, his control ability was remarkable.

It wasn’t a bad negotiation technique to end with a demonstration of his ability.

“Impressive skill.”

Chris gave a plain compliment as he pocketed the card.

A smart collaborator is better than a stupid one, after all.

“It’s nothing.”

Peter lifted his cup and was startled. The handle had just fallen off.

The cocoa was fine, but his heart sank at the thought of almost spilling the hot drink.

“If you’re thinking of showing off your strength next time, do it when my master isn’t around.”

Chris’s blue eyes gleamed coldly.

“I’ll be happy to oblige you then.”

Chris turned around and personally handed a bill to the waiter who was looking at them with an anxious face.

“The rest is your tip.”

The server’s face lit up.

Yuri rose gracefully from his seat, seemingly oblivious to the tension between Barrel Society’s Keymaker and Chris.

He wasn’t the kind of master who disciplined his dog every time it barked.

Chris immediately went to his side to escort Yuri, his Guide and master.

With a smooth glide, a silver-gray car stopped in front of them.

Chris held the door open for Yuri and waited. Thanks to his Esper-specific hearing, he could hear Peter Garrett’s exclamation from behind.

“Wow, he really is a mad dog, isn’t he?”

‘He must be from another continent, for sure.’

Chris thought indifferently as he got into the car and closed the door.