A Mob Character Who Just Wants to Get Banished and Escape This Death Game vs. The Party Members Driven Mad by the Radiance of His Brilliance - Chapter 9

“Hm? Well, good for you, I suppose.”

Morglaid popped a strawberry into his mouth without the slightest interest.
Despite it being dinnertime, he was having nothing but tea and fruit—barely a meal fit for a human.

“She still tries to sneak into my bed, which is a bit of a concern… but overall, it went well. That hint you gave really helped.”

We were in the dining hall, and I was recounting how everything had finally wrapped up.
I gave Morglaid a respectful nod, even as he stirred his tea with the usual bored expression.

“No need to thank me. Just watching you two was entertaining enough.”

Morglaid let out a rare ku-ku-ku laugh from his throat.
Lately, I’d been too preoccupied with Isfana to notice, but I realized I hadn’t seen that suspicious smirk of his in quite some time.

“But really… Isfana, huh,” I muttered, playing with my spoon, lips pursed in mild irritation.

“If she really felt that way, she should’ve just said it.
It’s not like I ever pretended to be a good commanding officer. I assumed she had no intention of following me at all.”

With a soft plop, Morglaid dropped a sugar cube into his cup.
He looked up at me with an expression of disbelief.

“…Maybe I’m mistaken, but… how exactly do you think Isfana feels about you?”

“What kind of question is that? I just told you everything a moment ago.
Well, whatever else she may be, I am glad she respects me as her leader—more or less.”

As I tilted my head, Morglaid let out a long, deep sigh.

“You know, not even the cheapest romance novels feature a protagonist as dense as you.
You really are the enemy of women.”

I didn’t quite understand what that was supposed to mean, but I decided not to press it.

I had heard everything from Isfana herself, after all. There was no room for misunderstanding.

“Well, putting that aside for now…”

I finished the watery, yellowish soup—which hardly qualified as soup—and leaned in close to Morglaid.

“I’m thinking about going to Professor Alhansen next. What do you think?”

“You just barely made it out alive with Isfana. What on earth are you thinking?”

Morglaid gave me a flat, deadpan stare.

But I didn’t have time to waste being picky about methods.
No one knew when the main scenario of the game might kick off.

Besides, I had my own reasons.

“Professor Alhansen is a man of reason.
He won’t be as emotionally unpredictable as Isfana. Things won’t spiral like they did with her.”

“…Ah. I see.”

Morglaid’s expression suddenly shifted to that of an enlightened saint, his eyes filled with mysterious understanding.
He nodded slowly, wearing an oddly gentle smile.

“Well then, do as you please.
I suppose you’re the kind of person who won’t learn anything until someone finally drives a knife into your back.”

“R-Right… So you’re saying I have your blessing, then.”

Though a little unnerved by Morglaid’s sudden change in tone, I decided to take it as approval.

◆◆◆◆◆

“Professor Alhansen. It’s been a while.”

“…To be precise, it’s been 158 hours, 56 minutes, and 14 seconds.”

The heavy iron door creaked open slowly.
Through the rising white smoke emerged a figure, dragging the hem of his lab coat behind him.

His round glasses sat perched on his face, lifeless black eyes staring from behind the lenses.
His long, unkempt black hair was a tangled mess of pens, pipettes, and who-knows-what-else.

Ogd Alhansen.

The only one among my party members who actually appears in the main game scenario—a renowned authority on fae biology.

As his sun-kissed skin suggests, he was born in a southern desert kingdom.
He joined the military from Allegra University, the most prestigious academic institution in this world and home to its greatest minds.

In Fairy Hunters, he had been nothing more than a non-combatant supporter—a merchant who sold potions.
Yet for some reason, the Alhansen of this world could also use magic.

“So then… I assume you have something to discuss, Mikkanen.
Given past records, this would be the most probable reason for your visit.”

Professor Alhansen had been holed up in his lab for over ten days straight, and now he stared at me like I was some lab rat under a microscope—cold, emotionless.

Yes. This was it.

I pumped my fist internally.
They say the opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference—and if that’s true, then Alhansen was exactly the person I needed.

Unlike Isfana, his eyes held no emotion whatsoever toward me.
Maybe I should’ve come to him from the beginning.

Alhansen was the type of near-omnipotent scientist you often found in games.
He’d likely accept my request without hesitation or emotional conflict.

Still, I had learned something from what happened with Isfana.
I’d open with a light jab—just to test the waters.

“There’s something I want to ask.
Would you say you like me? Or dislike me?”

“You are a reliable partner.
Much of my ability to pursue my research without hesitation stems from your support.”

As he spoke with a detached calm, Alhansen picked up a petri dish from the cluttered lab table.
It must have been the product of his work over the last several days.

Surprisingly enough, it seemed he liked me more than I’d expected.
Still, wanting to be absolutely sure, I pressed a little further.

“…So if someone you trusted more than me were to appear, would that make me irrelevant to you?”

“Logically, that would be the case.
In reality… I do not know.”

He stored the dish inside a case filled with ice, his brow furrowed slightly in thought.
I watched him carefully, nervous despite myself.

“However, if you can make that happen, I see no reason to object.”

Yes. I nodded inwardly with firm conviction.

This was nothing like Isfana.
Alhansen thought with reason, not emotion—his words were honest, without pretense.

All I needed to do was find someone else he could trust more than me.
Honestly, I might not even need to try that hard.

To the military, Alhansen was likely far more valuable than I was.

There was no way Agrastein, the infamous Blitzed-out Shota, would allow anything that risked humanity’s defeat.
He’d surely assign someone else to replace me the moment I stepped away.

And with that realization, my doubts vanished.

“I see. Actually, everything I’ve said so far was just a test—to see if I could safely confide in you.”

“That is a prudent approach.
To doubt, and to test—these are the foundations of science.”

Alhansen answered without looking at me, already moving efficiently to clean his lab.

Watching him like that, I became certain:
This time, I’d made the right choice.

After all the roundabout mess with Isfana, I’d learned to proceed more carefully.
Alhansen was the one who would help me make my wish come true.

Taking a deep breath, I finally made my request.

“To be honest, I want to leave the military.
But I need your help to make that happen. I’m asking you—please, help me.”

“Understood.”

He replied without even glancing in my direction.

That simple nod was enough to make me tear up a little.
I had finally, finally, found someone who would help me walk away.

I could finally escape the nightmare known as Fairy Hunters, that infamous death-game.
No more fighting to the death against fae. No more dying on loop.

Just a warm, safe life behind the front lines.

“But before that,” Alhansen added, “as you tested me, I too have a few experiments I wish to conduct.
So, would you drink this for me?”

Still dizzy with joy, I took the green liquid he offered in a glass.
If this was part of my path to escape, then gladly—I’d drink it all.

I downed it in one gulp.

“…So, what was that, exactly, Professor Alhansen? What kind of substannnnggh…”

Wait. My tongue… wasn’t moving right.

The glass slipped from my hand and shattered on the floor.
The sound echoed fuzzily in my ears as everything went blurry.

And the last thing I saw before losing consciousness was Professor Alhansen’s black, unblinking eyes— staring at me, bottomless as the void.