If The Villain Catches Me Alive

When I opened my eyes, it was already night.

 

I slowly rubbed my eyes a bit. I hadn’t dreamed in a long time. My head felt clear and refreshed.

 

I just sat on the couch and rested for a while… I can’t believe I fell asleep.

 

“Mmph……”

 

I stretched a little and looked around. The time was already past seven o’clock. Ugh… I slept so long! The kids…

 

“Oh, they’re gone……”

 

Thank goodness. But couldn’t they have woken me up?

 

With that thought, I laid my head back on the couch. I was still a little groggy from not having fully woken up.

 

The study was always quiet at night. As I slowly closed my eyes, I felt even calmer. I need to finish the things I didn’t get to while I was sleeping… I didn’t feel like picking up my pen… 

 

I also felt a little tired.

 

But I got up anyway, knowing for a long time that procrastinating would lead to no end in sight.

 

”I still need to get the boys’ ceremony ready…”

 

Yes, I can procrastinate with my work, but I have to do the work for the boys.

 

With that thought, I went to my desk and rummaged through the papers. The documents required for the ceremony were… personal background check, recommendation letter, performance report, and certificate of mentorship.

 

I was able to complete the tricky ones without difficulty. But an unexpected document was missing.

 

“……Where did it go?”

 

I had no certificate of Theodore’s mentorship.

 

I continued to rummage through my desk, clutching in my left hand the certificate of mentorship with Jeffrey that I had just completed. No, why isn’t it here? It shouldn’t be missing, it should be here.

 

I flipped through the piles of papers on my desk, even the ones that were due tomorrow, and still, there was no sign of it.

 

“No, where the hell is it…”

 

Just in case. I searched all the way to my desk on the first floor in the R&D department. I knew it couldn’t be here, but… I can’t find it. Sure enough, the document wasn’t there either.

 

I slumped down on the couch in a panic, covering my head and racking my brain. Where did I put it? No, how the hell did I lose this important document…

 

‘……important?’

 

My head jerked reflexively to the left. I mean… To the old bookshelves that lined one wall of my study.

 

The bookshelves were organized by year, and the sheer volume of documents filled them to the brim. There was one faded bookcase in particular that held a particularly large number of documents. It hid the entrance to the basement.

 

***

 

Ugh.

 

“I never wanted to set foot in this place again……”

 

I muttered to myself as I made my way down the endless staircase. Is it trendy for mages to have their own secret lab? Or is Dante the only one who has one, because he’s a special case?

 

……It didn’t make sense, but given his behavior, it was possible.

 

“……Thank goodness.”

 

Yeah. Thank goodness… If I hadn’t fallen asleep, I wouldn’t have been able to sneak down here without the kids knowing…

 

‘It’s been weird lately… They’re not leaving the study…’

 

From some point on, Jeffrey and Theodore stayed up until I got off work, and I only realized it when I was finally done with all my work and getting up from my desk, like I always do, around nine o’clock. ……Jeffrey was sleeping on his stomach, and Theodore had reflexively raised his head in time for me to get up…

 

It was then that I realized the boys hadn’t gotten off work yet, and I told them that they really didn’t have to do that, that I had a lot of work to do (it was actually because I was slow to learn magic), that I couldn’t help it, that they should get off work first, but they wouldn’t listen… It’s been over a month since I stopped working overtime.

 

‘No matter how much I think about it, I think I’m becoming more like my previous manager…’

 

Before I crossed over to this world, I used to work with him until late… But he never told me to leave work early even when he saw me like that… Like the manager? Huh.

 

While I was thinking about that, I reached the end of the stairs and took a few deep breaths before I looked at the sight in front of me. It’s okay… there’s nothing left to cry about, I’ve cleaned it up, and I’m not going to freak out anymore!

 

I lifted the lamp in my hand. As expected, I couldn’t seem to get used to the basement lab in the absence of light.

 

I took a quick look around with emotionless eyes. I lit the candles here and there, and finally, I could see a little better.

 

It wasn’t like before, when I’d sneaked here alone to clean up. Now… I didn’t feel so much emotion even though I could see everything. ……Back then, I had to walk a little, and cry a little, and it was really hard… Well, that was a long time ago.

 

“Let’s focus…”

 

That was not what mattered. I reminded myself of my purpose for coming down here.

 

The old Dante… had a habit of keeping things he wanted to hide, confidential documents and valuables here.

 

So, it was likely that the certificate of Theodore’s mentorship with me would be here as well. I shuffled through the papers, trying to avoid looking at the space where Theodore had once been chained. The basement laboratory was filled with materials that couldn’t compare to my main study.

 

‘……When will I ever find it…’

 

Will I really find Theodore’s papers in here? I had my doubts, but there was nothing I could do, so I clung to the bookshelves, whimpering and trying not to cry. I felt quite optimistic: If I could do this until morning, somehow I would find it.

 

And that thought was shattered as soon as I pulled out the first stack of materials from the first shelf.

 

“……What’s all this?”

 

***

 

……He’s not the kind of guy who’d be late for anything.

 

Theodore’s feet tapped the ground a couple of times, where he always met Dante, and wondered if maybe he’d misread the time, but he hadn’t. If so, Dante was indeed late.

 

‘……What’s going on?’

 

For some reason, being associated with that person made Theodore feel less patient, as he was thinking the same thing… ‘Should I go find him now?’

 

Just as he was about to start walking.

 

“Huff, huff…”

 

Dante appeared from the distance.

 

Breathing heavily, his cheeks were already flushed red from exhaustion, and he was holding onto both of his knees for support. But his eyes don’t look bloodshot from running, do they?

 

‘……Did he not sleep?’

 

That’s not it. These days, he can’t work overtime… He made it so that he can’t. Moreover, didn’t he fall asleep in the study yesterday? So, he shouldn’t be lacking sleep.”

 

Theodore observed Dante for a moment before speaking up.

 

“…You’re late.”

 

“Sorry… Did you wait long? I had to stop by somewhere…”

 

“Where?”

 

“…Huh?”

 

Dante flushed a little as if he hadn’t expected to be asked that, and the words that came out of his mouth were something along the lines of, ‘I was praying……’

 

“Praying?”

 

At that question, Dante scratched his cheek with his finger in a nonchalant manner.

 

“……When my mind gets complicated, sometimes… I just…”

 

He was overcome with the urge to ask what was complicated about it, but he bit his lower lip hard, feeling a tug at his heart mixed with the realization that it was none of his business.

 

The thoughts continued as they worked out together.

 

‘……Has something complicated happened to him lately that he needs to pray about?’

 

And what about the people around him? …Theodore thought about how he and Jeffrey seemed to get along, even if he didn’t want to. ….Dante even brought Jeffrey here.

 

‘What’s so hard and complicated about him that he has to do pray…’

 

The words rose to the top of his throat, but once again, Theodore chose to keep them to himself.

 

Dante remained silent for the rest of their workout, and only at the end did he speak up, very carefully.

 

“You know what, Theodore…”

 

“I… think we should… stop working out now.”

 

Theodore’s expression crumpled reflexively.

 

He hesitated and let his words trail off. It was an unagreed-upon matter. Therefore, feeling bad was only natural, and Theodore could do nothing about it.

 

“……so suddenly.”

 

Dante nodded and subtly avoided eye contact. It was a usual behavior of his when he was hiding something. On the contrary, Dante’s words seemed strange.

 

“It’s just… I know you’re busy, and you’re almost an adult… You’ve got a lot of things to get ready for, and I’m… I’m a little tired…”

 

Hearing the last part, Theodore nodded. Okay, so he’s aware of his lack of sleep, thank goodness.

 

‘……?’

 

Thank goodness…?

 

Theodore couldn’t believe what he was thinking. Thank goodness? Now what……

 

However, the man in front of him looked like he was about to collapse. He nodded without asking more questions.

 

Then, a few days later.

 

“……Did you stay up all night?”

 

It was then that he regretted, very much, that he had nodded.