Chapter 15

Too sudden an appearance of a character from the original work, and what’s more, the protagonist’s group.

For a moment, I was stunned, but quickly composed myself as if pushing down my confused emotions.

Of course, it’s true that I like the comic Pixie quite a bit.

And it’s also true that I’m the kind of person who devours anything in the problem-solving genre without discrimination.

But I wasn’t the type of hardcore fan who got overly invested in the characters.

For example, meeting a celebrity you like… sure, it would be very exciting and amazing.

But it’s not like I’d drop everything and rush over. It’s more like that kind of feeling.

‘Phew, calm down first. Overreacting here would only draw more attention. Stay normal here. Just act like I’ve been greeting customers as usual.’

After calming my racing heart with a light deep breath,

I calmly looked at the pink-haired woman, pulling out the knowledge of the original work from my memory.

‘That person… it must be Sakura Alice.’

Unless my eyes and memory were seriously faulty, she was definitely Sakura Alice, the combat specialist and the only female among the three main characters.

No matter how I thought about it, there couldn’t possibly be two people in Night Haven wearing a kimono with one leg exposed, carrying two swords at the waist, and having pink hair with such a unique beauty.

Then, this situation wasn’t exactly impossible.

Greg often appears in the role of an appraiser for the protagonist’s group.

Since I work at Greg’s shop, perhaps running into them was an inevitable event.

‘Considering what she said when she came in, her business is clearly with Greg. Then, I should… quietly step back and erase my presence.’

Alright, I’ve sorted my thoughts.

Regaining my usual calm and rationality,

I naturally stepped back slightly, intending to call Greg who had gone inside the shop.

That is, until Alice, who had been staring at me blankly, suddenly brightened her eyes and closed the distance.

“Um… Are you perhaps the new employee? Oh my, so cute! Your hands and arms are like dolls!”

“…?!”

“Greg, you should have told me if you had such a cute employee! Ah, do you want a piece of candy?”

Whoosh.

She came so close that I could almost fall into her, and a sweet peach-like fragrance emanated from her.

But before I could fully process that sensation,

I could only panic and retreat backward as much as she approached.

Seeing Alice, whose beauty could come straight out of TV, approach so closely that I could feel her breath…

As someone who still had the soul of an ordinary citizen, it was simply too much to bear.

Why, why is she approaching me so excessively?

Amidst such questions swirling in my mind, a certain setting about Alice from the original work suddenly flashed through my brain.

‘That’s right, this person… loves cuteness!’

Yes, a lover of cuteness.

Alice usually had a very rational and diligent personality.

But once she saw something cute, she reportedly lost all sense of reason.

Her level of affection for cuteness was dangerously high!

If an enemy appeared as a cute stuffed animal,

Even if they attacked with a knife, she wouldn’t be able to fight back—she was practically a severe case.

Then, let’s take a moment to reflect on my current appearance.

Right now, I am a short maid girl with white hair, wearing a cute fox mask.

Moreover, the maid outfit I’m wearing was meticulously crafted by some eccentric scientist for his androids.

It minimized exposure while highlighting the wearer’s cuteness and personality.

The fox mask covering my face only added to the mysterious charm.

‘…I didn’t expect this.’

Instinctively, I broke out in a cold sweat.

The look in Alice’s eyes was almost predatory, like an animal eyeing its prey.

Of course, she was fundamentally a sensible person.

Even if she momentarily lost control, at most, she’d probably just hug me and sniff the top of my head.

Alice didn’t have dangerous or obsessive tendencies.

She just really, really loved cute things.

But even that was troubling for me.

Facing her up close was already stressful enough; what if she did that?

There was no way my sanity could handle it.

I’d probably die of embarrassment!

“Hmm. These candies are expensive… Want to try just one? I know Greg pretty well. But you’re really cute. What’s your name?”

‘No, please don’t, stop!’

With a desperate determination, I kept my distance from the approaching Alice.

Whenever Alice took a step forward, I retreated a step back.

If she advanced again, I retreated once more.

This seemingly endless cycle soon came to an end.

Just as I tried to retreat from her approach, I felt a solid wall against my back.

I was cornered.

My spine tingled involuntarily, and Alice’s smile grew deeper when…

Greg walked out from inside the shop and stopped her.

“That’s enough. Stop bothering my employee.”

“Oh, Greg. Long time no see. But, bothering? I just wanted to give this child some candy…”

“That’s harassment, Pinky. Anyway, get to the point.”

Thank goodness! Thank you!

I slipped through the gap in the encirclement and dashed behind Greg’s desk to hide.

Phew, I almost got adored to death.

Still clutching my pounding chest,

I listened carefully to the ensuing conversation between Greg and Alice.

“So, what brings you here, Pinky? Business hours are over. You know I don’t appraise after closing time.”

Greg spoke sharply to Alice in his usual stiff tone.

Hmm, from what I observed in my five days of working here,

That was definitely his tone when he was slightly annoyed.

Unsurprisingly, he didn’t take kindly to customers showing up after closing time.

I could strongly relate to that. Hating overtime was a common trait among all working adults!

Perhaps Alice sensed Greg’s discomfort.

With a genuinely apologetic bow, she explained her reason for visiting.

“Hehe, sorry about that. But today, I’m not here for appraisal… I came to ask about a rumor circulating around the western labyrinth.”

“A rumor?”

“Yes. Have you heard of… a ghost?”

What?

My ears perked up instinctively as I eavesdropped secretly.

Never in a million years did I expect Alice to bring up my name.

Rolling my eyes wildly, I anxiously focused on the conversation, wondering what was going on.

“…I do know of it. Isn’t it famous now, with everyone talking about it?”

“Ah, I knew it! Actually, our office is looking for the ghost… I thought maybe you’d have some information to share!”

W-Wait, you’re looking for it? Why?

Feeling my heart drop at Alice’s words,

I cautiously peeked out from behind Greg.

At that moment, Greg, who had been glancing at me, caught my eye naturally.

His questioning gaze prompted me to frantically shake my head, signaling refusal.

“Well… I don’t know much. Ghosts usually appear in the deeper back alleys. I’m not very familiar with those areas.”

“Ahh… I see. Sorry for dropping by so late. Next time, I’ll definitely come by with an appraisal request as an apology.”

“Hmm.”

Relieved by Greg’s smooth response, I quietly sighed in relief.

Boss indeed! He’s reliable when it comes to protecting employees.

I have absolutely no idea why Alice is looking for the ghost.

But now that I narrowly escaped being caught, I won’t have to worry about getting surrounded again.

Feeling reassured and calming down,

I wondered if asking about the ghost was truly her purpose, as Alice showed signs of leaving the shop.

Does this mean I’ve successfully overcome another crisis?

From now on, let’s keep it strictly professional—just an employee-customer relationship.

Peeking out from under the desk, I waved goodbye to Alice as she prepared to leave.

“Bye~ See you again next time!”

“…”

“Heheh, so cute… Ah, but Greg, what’s her name? She seemed a bit shy earlier…”

Whoa.

Caught off guard by Alice’s sudden question, both Greg and I froze.

Name? Uh… come to think of it, I didn’t have a specific name I went by.

Greg usually called me “ghost” or “you,”

and I hadn’t needed a name either.

But Greg had already severed any connection between me and the ghost.

So now, what was I supposed to be called?

“Ahem, well, that is…”

It seemed Greg was also feeling the confusion.

He kept clearing his throat, stalling for time.

Hmm… I don’t really care what I’m called.

I’ll just let Greg decide.

With that in mind, I calmly nodded at Greg, who was glancing at me, signaling that any name was fine.

Did he understand the meaning behind my gesture?

After some thought, he finally answered Alice.

“Yu… Ria.”

“Huh, even her name is super cute! Yuria… Yeah, thank you. I’ll see you again next time!”

Goodbye!

Alice left the shop without hesitation, waving goodbye to Greg and me.

Indeed, the protagonist’s group always brought trouble.

She was truly like a storm.

“…Sorry about that. I’m not very good at naming things.”

As I reflected on my encounter with Alice,

Greg suddenly apologized with a sheepish look.

It seemed he felt bad about arbitrarily giving me a random name.

Yuria… Was it inspired by “ghost”?

It didn’t sound bad, so I didn’t mind. I wasn’t particularly attached to names anyway.

In fact, since people had been calling me “ghost” lately,

Having a similar-sounding name might actually be efficient and not too bad.

“…!”

“Thanks for understanding.”

So I sincerely raised both arms in a gesture to show I was okay,

and whether he understood my sincerity or not, he chuckled and thanked me.

“This is the contract I mentioned earlier. Read through it and fill in the details. You’re smart, so you’ll handle it well.”

With that, Greg handed me the contract he brought earlier and disappeared into the back of the shop.

It seemed he felt a bit awkward about the whole name-giving situation.

For an orc, he was surprisingly thoughtful.

Smiling to myself, I took the contract and sat on the couch.

As I reviewed the contents of the contract, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

‘Come to think of it… why was Alice looking for me? Could she be a hired fixer like that blonde pervert?’

Lately, the reputation of the ghost in the underworld wasn’t great.

Those who received help from me or were captivated by my strength viewed the ghost positively.

On the other hand, those who heard about subsequent crimes and misdeeds saw the ghost as someone who needed to be eliminated quickly.

Meanwhile, a huge influx of bounty hunters had turned the back alleys into chaos over the past few days.

Overall public opinion certainly leaned negative.

And I suspected Alice might belong to the group of bounty hunters…

‘Well, as long as I stay quiet here, I probably won’t get involved in incidents. It doesn’t really matter. Still, I should be careful not to get entangled.’

Lightly organizing my future direction, I read through the contract once,

and was about to sign it with the name Greg just gave me when…

“Aaaaah!”

‘Huh?’

Suddenly, a man’s scream echoed from not far away.

Such a commotion in the gray zone where nothing usually happens?

Raising a question mark above my head, I stood up.

Something seemed to be happening outside.