Bastard NPC Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I wasn’t okay. At this point, it might be better to just pick up the phone and say, “Oh, sir, I have a bad case of paranoia, and I didn’t recognize you properly. I was rude.” And bow down right away. 

After all, if I keep resisting and upset someone as intimidating as him, my life could be logged out just like the other NPCs.

It would be a relief if I could go back to reality, but I couldn’t completely rule out the possibility of logging into the afterlife. It would be better to beg and pray to the person in power who holds my lifeline than to meet the King of Hell and regret it.

Yeah. For now, I should head home and get ready to face the crazy guy.

“….I’ll go now. Thank you for today, Colin.” 

When I got up from my seat after greeting him gloomily, Colin also got up and opened the door for me. 

“Don’t worry too much. Sure, your actions might not be to his liking, but what is he going to do about it? It’s all in the past now.”

“He said making the past into the present isn’t a hard thing to do.”

“So you’re feeling down? Scared?”

“Well, kind of. I’m still alive, but who knows what’ll happen in a little while. I could end up in handcuffs, eating prison food.”

“That won’t happen. Turning something from the present into the past isn’t as hard as it seems, Riley. After all, that’s what I do.”

Colin laughed lightly, as if dismissing my worries. I had been walking with my shoulders slumped and dragging my feet, but I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at Colin.

‘Are you being chased again? I got it, Riley. I’ll fix it right away.’

Why didn’t I think of that?

Whenever there was a bounty on my head, or I was being pursued by the authorities, all I had to do was call Colin. He would solve it immediately. 

Even the police, who had been threatening to kill me and pointing guns at me, would retreat as if nothing had happened, and the red alarms flashing on the screen would disappear.

“If it was difficult, Riley, you wouldn’t be standing here worrying.”

I had been so caught up in all the mess that I had forgotten just how important Colin was.

“Wow, Colin, there’s a halo behind you.”

Looking up at him with awe, Adam clicked his tongue and muttered, “A fly’s going to get in your mouth, tsk tsk.” 

Goodness. How could such a distinguished person be the brother of someone like him?

As I glanced back and forth between the siblings, who shared no resemblance except for their eye color, I caught a glimpse of an active monitor screen over Colin’s shoulder. 

It was the screen displaying Theo’s personal information. A sudden doubt crossed my mind. While his near-perfect record might be amazing, it was odd. Despite all the crude things he said and did, his private life was so clean. Something didn’t add up.

“But. Is it possible that Ranieri’s information is also locked, just like how you manage my information?”

“Oh, that could be possible. I’ll look into it.”

“Anything that could embarrass him, like receiving bribes from some company or having a messy private life, is fine. If it comes out-”

“You’re really clueless as you got hurt in the head.”

As I was getting excited, feeling like things were finally starting to make sense, I tried to explain eagerly. However, Adam clicked his tongue in disdain and cut me off.

“If that kind of approach worked, half of the dead I mentioned would still be alive. A mad dog doesn’t pick its prey. It means it doesn’t care if you’re a woman or not. He’s the type who hides things in his heart, so you especially need to be careful.”

“What do I need to be careful of?”

“Ranieri is a eunuch.”

“……Yes?”

“Oh, really. Don’t you know eunuchs? Their lower bodies don’t work out.”

“What are you doing, bro?”

Adam nodded at his lower body while holding his hands on his waist. Ugh. I didn’t care at all about Adam’s lower body.

Frowning and covering my eyes with my hands, Colin, who blocked my path, got annoyed for the first time today.

“I’m saying this to you, bro. Anyway, be careful not to get into trouble. There are women who approach without knowing and end up with bullet holes in their palms.”

Adam, who didn’t pay attention to Colin’s stop, pushed him away. He continued his explanation with an excited expression for some reason. 

In short, it was about someone who met Theo at a party and fell in love with him at first sight, and ended up putting her hand on his chest. But in the end, he put a bullet in her hand. If it was a guy who appeared by detonating a grenade instead of pressing the doorbell, then it could easily be true, but it was a ridiculous rumor. 

Even if all the eunuchs froze to death, that man could never be a eunuch. 

“Aha. I see.”

“Why are you opening your eyes like that? Do you not believe me now? This is a rumor that everyone in San Guarida City knows, not just you who has a head injury!”

“Oh, yes. I will keep it in mind.”

Adam followed me to where I parked my car and told me a few more rumors. However, they were all just rumors, so I just ignored them.

“Then I’ll go. Thank you for everything today.”

“Take care, Riley.”

“Look at me for a minute.”

The moment the car door opened, Adam, who had his arm draped over the door frame, handed me a secret note.

It was Adam’s account number, written in surprisingly neat handwriting. When I turned around to ask what it meant, Adam showed his neat teeth and smiled the kindest he had smiled today.

“Isn’t it right that the best service comes with a reasonable price?”

In other words, he meant that he would collect the cost of the interview with Colin.

“Oh, right.”

“Yeah, people like us tend to understand things better. I like this.”

“But shouldn’t it go directly to Colin?”

“Right. Don’t give it to my brother. He’s a money-grubbing ghost. He’s lost all his money and only this warehouse is left.”

For a moment, Burke, who had been out of sight, suddenly interjected while nibbling on a strawberry donut. Adam turned to look at Burke with a fierce expression, but Burke nonchalantly added, “Oh, brother. Do you know that you lose money more than gamblers? It seems like staying still helps you,” before delivering a slap. 

I quietly rolled my eyes and watched Adam’s reaction. Contrary to my expectation that a fight would break out, Adam slowly lowered his arm from the doorframe and muttered, as if he had discovered something interesting.

“That kid. Isn’t he an idiot?” 

“Bro! How can you say that in front of Riley? You’re gonna hurt her feelings!”

Your words hurt more, you brat.

It was even more pitiful because it came from an innocent, genuine place. Nonetheless, thanks to Burke’s interruption, I ended up learning something I was secretly curious about.

About 80% of the missions, like it or not, I end up doing with the three brothers, and their share of the payout is nearly 40%. 

Aside from Adam’s constant chatter, Burke is actually a pretty solid mercenary, and Colin does an excellent job supporting, so I didn’t have much complaint.

But still, I couldn’t help but wonder where they put all the money they earned, living in a converted factory. The outside definitely looked like a rundown factory. It had been decorated with an industrial vibe, which I had thought was just for aesthetic purposes. I didn’t expect there was this backstory behind it.

“You’ve really worked hard.”

I briefly watched Burke, who got hit again for saying something unnecessary, and then turned to Colin, offering some words of comfort.

“It’s better than causing another accident.”

Colin shrugged nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal. I then thought about the other kinds of trouble Adam could get into. Maybe it was scamming people with his mouth, luring naive folks into starting a cult, or getting involved in gambling. Whatever it was, none of them seemed like good choices.

“Stay strong, Colin.”

I patted the young head of the household on the shoulder and quickly got into the car before the two loud brothers arrived. As I merged onto the road and glanced at the side mirror, I saw the three brothers lined up, waving their hands. 

Perhaps because of the summer sunlight, Adam’s head seemed to sparkle unusually from beyond the side mirror, and I turned the steering wheel.

When I left Colin’s workshop, I had planned to immediately call Theo and beg in a cowardly manner. However, once I realized that the threat that had made me feel like a pushover was not really effective. 

Since he’s a government worker anyway, I would only be able to meet him after his work, so there was no need to call ahead to argue. Instead, I could just call around dinner time, discuss the Fixford compensation procedure, and be done with it.