Dante didn't understand where his anger was coming from. He had made a mistake, true, but he had good intentions. The right intentions. He did what he believed needed to be done, knowing what might happen if he hadn't done anything. But then-
How was he supposed to know that she was the real one? People wear masks to hide things, and they certainly don't wear masks of themselves.
[It was a rather unexpected development.] Volcan said.
'Shut up!' Dante snapped. 'And how the hell did you not notice she was a Sorcerer!!? You met her a few dozen times already!'
[My apologies. From what I have witnessed earlier, it seems that she is capable of suppressing her Aether signature to such an extent that she appears like a normal human.]
Nobara was a Sorceress. The frail old woman he was always worried about turned out to be a Sorceress, and a very powerful one at that. He looked back on all the time they spent together, and for some reason, it all made sense. The old cook ran the noodle shop on her own but never seemed tired. She was strangely nimble for her age and always hopped around as if her knees were in prime condition.
She was a Sorceress, and he never noticed, but that wasn't the problem. That wasn't the source of his anger. As he made his way back to his apartment, it finally hit him. He was angry because the old cook saw right through him. Because she discovered his secret without even trying.
Nobara wasn't the first one to learn he had powers, but the others didn't know anything specific. So far, no one should have made a connection between the armored hero killer and the red-haired mercenary, but that had changed today.
Worst of all, there was nothing he could do about it.
[I do not suppose you intend on eliminating them?]
'What? Of course not!'
He had already considered doing so, but dropped the idea almost immediately. Putting aside whether he wanted to do it or not, there was a lot to consider, including the kind of mess he would create if he was unable to finish the job quietly.
Nobara wouldn't go down easily, being a Level 4, and her granddaughter had tricks of her own, even if she wasn't a Sorceress. Now that they know they need to be wary of him, he wouldn't be able to take them out without exposing himself even further.
'... What am I thinking…'
Dante came to a stop, his gaze cast down. All of a sudden, he felt extremely ashamed.
'Am I… am I repeating the same mistake?'
Lying in his bed, Dante stared at the cracked ceiling, his face twisted with a frown. He had been like that for hours. All he did was think, and think, and think all night. He didn't eat or bathe, and though he seemed to have passed out at one point, it didn't look like he had slept all that much.
[Good morning.] Volcan said.
'Don't know what's so good about this one.'
Forcing himself to stand up, Dante went to prepare some coffee.
[Am I right to assume you are still bothered by what happened yesterday?]
[Did you not find a solution already?]
'That doesn't mean it will stop bothering me.'
For some reason, eliminating threats had always been the default mindset for Dante, and that went twice when his secrets were exposed. Nevertheless, when it comes to people he knows, he was always hesitant to go through with it.
Secrets are secrets for a reason, and just like how he doesn't want his enemies to find out about him being VOLCAN's host, he didn't want those close to him to know, either.
It would cause a whole lot of problems, impacting the relationship between them. That's why he never explicitly mentions that he works as a mercenary, and why he never intended to tell anyone about the power he obtained.
In Nobara's case, it was already too late for that. Now that she had discovered his secret, things would never be the same, and that's what bothered Dante the most.
As he reached out to grab his much, a sharp prickle struck his palm. Looking at it, he noticed the bandage and remembered the wound from the day before, causing him to grimace.
Just then, a message arrived.
[Nobara: Don't show up tonight and I'm killing you for real this time!]
He read it in her voice, imagining her angry face. His face twitched, and he exhaled a long sigh before dismissing the notification. Having decided to take no jobs in these couple of days, he suddenly found himself with nothing to do.
'... I guess I should go talk to Jonah…'
He drank his coffee, going through the report Viktor had sent him. That was when he noticed something very odd about it—the fixer didn't charge him for the service. Dante realized that he must have forgotten, seeing how he was in a hurry to leave the city. It wouldn't be long before he remembers, and once he does, he will surely send a message demanding his payment.
The report was quite detailed, but it can be summed up to what Viktor had told him yesterday. The only thing of note was the name of the corpos trying to buy Hollowgrid, but without evidence, there was nothing that could be done about them. Not that evidence mattered. They were some of the richest companies in the Radmir Union, untouched by the law. He doubted there would be a second Steel Wolf Holdings any time soon.
Taking a quick shower and replacing the bandages on his hands, Dante put some clothes on and headed for the station where Jonah worked. He went on foot, unable to ride his Raven thanks to his injured hand, and for that same reason, he took a different tour from the usual to avoid passing by the Bowl of Fortune. The most update n0vels are published on NovelHub(.)net
The moment he left the building, Dante noticed a van parked beside the building where his apartment was. It wasn't the same as the one he saw near the police station a while back, being entirely black with a shell that didn't look like it was about to fall off.
Even without looking at the map, Dante figured out who was driving it. It moved soon after he started walking, clearly following him. But then it disappeared.
'They are turning around the block.' He thought, sounding exasperated.
[They are turning around the block.] Volcan replied.
Not long after, just as he was about to cross the road, Dante heard the sound of a speeding car. For a moment there, it seemed like it was about to run him over, but as expected, it came to a halt right in front of him. The doors opened, and two street rats came out, both of whom he recognized. One of them opened the side door while the other walked over to him, trying his best to look intimidating.
"Get in." He said, gesturing toward the van with a thumb.
Dante stared at him for a moment then shrugged.