Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are Are So Dangerous! [BL]-Chapter 158: A Delicate Balance of Trust and Tension

Rocco sighed in his heart.

Sure, Laxus was a schemer—that much was undeniable—but wasn’t Sylas being a little too harsh on someone who had risked his life to protect him?

As Rocco puffed out his cheeks in frustration, Sylas reached out and pinched them again with a firm squish.

Sylas continued to knead and squish Rocco’s cheeks mercilessly, leaving him flustered and teary-eyed, as he fixed a sharp glare on Laxus.

"In any case, I have no intention of accepting your nonsense. You’ll pay for dragging Rocco into this, you worthless scoundrel."

"Oh, come on... ’dragging him into this’ is such an exaggeration. Sure, Rocco’s ended up on the enemy’s radar, but isn’t that all the more reason to rely on the Del Fiore family?"

As the cheek-squishing punishment finally ended, Rocco’s reddened cheeks puffed up as tears welled in his eyes.

Sylas effortlessly scooped him up into his arms as if Rocco weighed nothing.

It seemed Sylas intended to leave, though he maintained a murderous glare at Laxus, as though he would shoot him dead at the slightest provocation.

The Sylas standing there now bore no trace of the original story’s tsundere protagonist.

This was bad... Rocco thought with a sinking feeling.

The romantic storyline between the two main protagonists was veering further and further off course from the original plot.

The current Sylas showed no signs of harboring any sweet feelings for Laxus.

Far from being a tsundere, he was just plain aloof and angry.

Meanwhile, Laxus, who had been obsessively devoted to Sylas in the original story, seemed entirely different as well.

Instead of focusing on Sylas, he had gone so far as to make what was basically a marriage proposal to Rocco.

It was as if the entire storyline had glitched.

"If you were there early enough to hear all of that, you should’ve stepped in before I said anything," Laxus said, addressing Sylas’s back.

Rocco’s eyes widened in shock.

Wait, what?!

Sylas had been there that early?

Rocco had noticed Sylas’s quick understanding of the situation, but he hadn’t realized Sylas had arrived almost from the start.

Looking up at Sylas with a face full of disbelief, Rocco saw him sigh in exasperation before muttering, "I figured you’d ignore my instructions and wander off. As expected, you did."

Gah! That hits so hard!

Sure, it was completely Rocco’s fault... but still!

Rocco felt a pang of sadness.

So, Sylas hadn’t trusted him from the start?

Despite always petting his head and calling him a good boy, Sylas didn’t believe in him at all.

Sure, everything was technically Rocco’s fault... but still!

As Rocco sniffled in his conflicted state, Sylas began stroking his head while turning his sharp gaze to Laxus.

"I don’t trust you. Back there, you held Rocco’s life in your hands. Even after you subdued the enemy, I had no guarantee you wouldn’t use Rocco for your own ends."

"Wow, that’s harsh, Sylas. Are you saying I would’ve taken Rocco hostage to threaten you? Come on, even I wouldn’t stoop that low."

"...Look at the current situation, you scum. In the end, you effectively did take Rocco hostage. You anticipated that he wouldn’t be able to refuse your threats, didn’t you, you conniving fox?"

Words like "threats," "life or death," and "hostage" flew back and forth, painting a dangerous picture.

Rocco blinked in confusion as he looked back and forth between the two of them.

What are they even talking about?

Rocco’s face reflected his bewilderment, but the two men ignored his confusion entirely, continuing their tense standoff.

Well, mostly it was Sylas doing the glaring.

"Anyway!" Laxus said cheerfully. "The priority now is to report this ambush to Father and the others. Knowing you, you’ve already sent someone after the enemies who escaped, right? That means there’s still time to fix things."

"..."

"If you don’t want to fall for my schemes, then make sure those enemies don’t escape. Just don’t let them report my little lie to their boss."

Laxus’s bright tone did nothing to ease Sylas’s icy glare, which seemed sharp enough to kill.

Rocco didn’t understand the specifics, but it was clear Sylas was furious with Laxus.

Somehow, Laxus had managed to step on one of Sylas’s landmines, and the tension between them was palpable.

Just as Rocco was caught in a whirlwind of confusion and worry, a group of men in black suits emerged from the bushes and rushed toward them.

Rocco instinctively tensed, assuming they were enemies, but Sylas and Laxus remained calm, accepting the group’s arrival without alarm.

Apparently, they weren’t foes after all.

"Our apologies, young master," one of the men said, bowing deeply. "We failed to capture the enemy."

Sylas’s brow twitched subtly in annoyance as he looked down at the men bowing before him.

Is he angry? Is he really angry?

Rocco silently observed the baffling scene, his unease growing.

Finally, Laxus, smiling as brightly as ever, gave Sylasa light pat on the shoulder and said, "Oh well, seems they got away. What a shame."

Sylas shot Laxus a glare so icy and murderous that it screamed "five seconds to carnage."

Rocco panicked, his anxiety spilling over.

"B-Brother! It’s cold! I want to go somewhere warm!"

He threw himself into Sylas’s arms, clutching to him tightly to stop him from pulling out a gun at any second.

Sylas inhaled sharply, his focus shifting to Rocco.

Without a word, he began walking briskly.

"Let’s go inside. Catching a cold would be bad for you. You’re already weak and frail as it is, Rocco."

Who’s weak and frail?!

Don’t underestimate me!

Rocco bristled internally but swallowed his retort.

Sylas is in the bad moon now and pushing him any further might result in Laxus being torn limb from limb.

Peeking over Sylas’s shoulder, Rocco caught sight of Laxus.

He frantically crossed his fingers in an "X" and shook his head.

Don’t say anything unnecessary!

The message must have gotten through because Laxus gave a thumbs-up with an expression that said, Leave it to me.

Rocco exhaled in relief.

Although, honestly, he wasn’t entirely sure Laxus can be trusted.